Bubble Gum Crisis
An Alternate Story of the Knight Sabers
2034 Year of the Tiger
Neo No Armour Against Fate (Section 2 of 5)
Flash Powder (Part 4 of 11)
by Shawn Hagen(1999;2005)

Based on situations and characters created by Suzuki Toshimichi.

Her arms full with the two shopping bags, Linna had to do a bit of a juggling act to get her keys and unlock the door into her apartment building.

Andrea had kept everyone late, working all of the dancers hard. Obviously it was important to her, Linna had heard that some of her funding would be based on it. That was understandable. She herself was looking forward to it, after what Mako had told her. A minor role, yes, but a flashy one.

It might even get her an offer. Things like that had happened. Linna laughed at herself as she pulled the door open. It would probably be a while before she might get discovered, she doubted it would be this performance. She was not worried though. It would happen. What she was more worried about was when it did happen. That was going to put her in a tough position.

She hurried into the elevator, thanking the man, one of her neighbours, who had held the doors for her. She was trying to juggle the bags so she could press the button for her floor when the other occupant asked her which floor she wanted and pressed it for her.

The doors opened on her floor a few seconds later. She thanked the man again and exited the elevator.

Re-securing her grip on the bags Linna started down the hall, towards her apartment. She noticed the two people standing outside of her door when she was a few meters away from it.

A man and a woman, well dressed, waiting in the hallway. It took her a moment to recognise them in the poorly lit hall.

"Reika?"

"Good evening Linna-san." Reika bowed slightly.

"What are you doing here?" Linna's tone was rather abrupt. "I mean why didn't you call to say you were coming."

"No time, I'm sorry. Can we talk?"

"Of course, about what?"

"Perhaps inside." Reika kept her voice low.

"I'm sorry, I'm not thinking clearly," Linna apologised as she moved towards her door. Reika suddenly appearing outside her door should have been clue enough that whatever she had come to say was not the sort of thing discussed out in the hallway.

She started to once again juggle the bags, trying to get at her keys, when Reika took one of them from her. Unencumbered she removed her keys from her pocket and opened her door.

She stepped in, kicked off her shoes and stepped up into the apartment proper.

"Please come in." She turned to face Kou and Reika.

They both entered, removing their shoes.

"So what is it?" Linna asked as she rushed into her kitchenette, placing the bag of groceries on the counter next to the sink. She returned just as quickly to take the other bag from Reika. "We can talk here."

"Just to be safe." Kou removed a cylindrical object from his jacket pocket. Flipping a switch on it he made a quick circuit of the apartment. "It's clean."

"I'm sorry if we seem rude Linna, we can't afford to take any chances right now."

"What is it?" Linna placed the second bag next to the first.

"I need some help."

"What kind of help?" She spun to face Reika.

"The kind a certain group of people can provide."

"I see," Linna said slowly.

"These people will of course be paid well, there are of course dangers but after all it is what this is all about, we all take chances, it is the choice..." Reika suddenly snapped her mouth shut, realising she had been babbling or close to it.

Linna moved closer and with speed that surprised even Kou, who had been expecting something, grabbed hold of Reika's left hand and lifted it to her eye level. She looked at the tiger marked ring on Reika's ring finger.

"Who am I talking to? A friend or a representative?"

Reika did not answer the question, she looked down, not willing to meet Linna's gaze for a moment then lifted her head back up, staring Linna in the eyes.

With her free hand she unclasped her broach and loosened a ribbon from around her neck. She undid the top two buttons then reached into her blouse then pulled at a gold chain around her neck. A golden engagement band was secured on it. After she had removed it Reika released the chain, letting it and the ring drop to rest on the outside of her blouse.

"It wasn't proper for me to wear it. It was her engagement ring, not mine. I keep it close to me at all times, however."

Linna released Reika's hand and stepped back.

"You wear the other though." Linna made it sound like an accusation.

"Should I abandon my family just so I can follow my own dreams?" Reika's voice rose slightly. She looked as if she were trying not to scream.

Linna could not answer that. It hit too close to her own thoughts of late.

"Linna-san, I can't just turn my back on my family. I told you I despised them once, and then became proud. Well, I'm still proud of everything. I can't just turn my back on all that without at least attempting to follow my clan's duties. I can still sing."

"I know. I'm sorry. Tell me what I can do." She could no longer feel any disapproval for Reika's decision.

"Get this disk to the people I want to hire." She held up one of the smaller sized MMSDs.

"I'll see what I can do." Linna reached forward to take it.

"It has all the information needed to contact me, outlines the situation, payment, everything."

"I'm sorry if this seems rude but can you please leave now?" Linna said, not looking up to meet Reika's eyes. "I'm tired."

"Of course." Reika was a little taken aback. "Is there anything wrong, perhaps..."

"No. I'm fine, it's like I said, I'm tired."

"I see." Reika nodded then turned, heading to the door.

Linna did not say anything until Reika was about to leave.

"Reika-san. I'm sorry. If you would like to meet some other time, when I'm in a better mood?"

"I'd like that." Reika smiled slightly then left the apartment.

"Take care of yourself," Linna called out a moment before the door closed.

She walked over to her day bed and sat down hard. She was tired, that had not been a lie. And there were the memories that Reika caused to come to the surface. Irene.

Linna shook her head and lay back on the bed. She needed some sleep. Groaning she reached over, groping for her phone. She would make this call, then she promised herself she would sleep for as long as she could. Kikuchi had another hard day planned and she would need the rest.


"You mean she really forced you to write the exams?" Keiko Hayakawa asked Nene as she filled her glass with orange juice.

"You should have seen it," Yukiko laughed. "Mukai-Kocho sensei bullied Nene the entire time. I thought she was going to start crying."

"I can just see it," Kate Satoo said, leaning back on the cushions around the low table.

"The witch has probably been just dreaming of this day for the past two years. I bet you I'm the only student who ever got away from her."

"Well, at least you have something to show for it." Kate reached over and tapped the tube-covered with simulated alligator like skin-that held Nene's diploma.

"You know, that was all too convenient." Nene shifted her gaze over to Yukiko, narrowing her eyes. "You wouldn't have happened to arrange things, would you?"

"I did not even know you were going to visit the school," Yukiko defended herself.

"Why not blame the most likely candidate?" Keiko asked as she brushed her black hair from her face. "Your kaachan."

Nene thought about it, wondering if her mother might have done something like that. She shook her head, of course she would. She had mentioned to her mother that she might visit the school. On further thought she realised her mother had been mentioning the possibility of visiting the school. It seemed her mother had skilfully manipulated her, once again. She was remembering once more why she had run away.

"I don't believe this." Nene flopped back onto the tatami, staring up at the ceiling of the private room.

"Looks like Nene's mama is still running her life," Kate teased.

"Did she pick out the outfit you're wearing?" Yukiko added.

Nene bolted upright. "No she didn..." She stopped suddenly, remembering that her mother had in fact bought her the outfit she was wearing. Nene's face went red as she fell back to the tatami. Her three friends were silent for a moment then realised what Nene's behaviour meant.

They burst out laughing.

"It's not funny," Nene said weakly, not bothering to sit up.

"At least she's letting you go out on your own," Yukiko told her, trying to help.

"And she lets you go to the bathroom all by yourself," Kate said, not trying to help-she was still a little angry about Nene having run out on them. As she expected her comment started the others laughing again.

"Poor Nene." Keiko took a bottle of sake and filled a glass to the brim with it. "Have a real drink," she was going to leave it at that but could not resist adding, "if it's all right with your Okaasama."

Nene sat up angrily and grabbed the glass, a little of the alcohol sloshed over onto her fingers. She downed half the glass in one gulp then started to cough. Keiko reached over to pat her on her back.

Nene wished she could tell them the truth about her involvement with the Knight Sabers. That would show them that she was not a child. Of course wanting to tell them was more than a little immature. She just could not win.

"Let's not be too cruel to Nene," Yukiko said.

"Yu-chan is always defending Nene," Kate said. "You two aren't a couple are you?"

"Of course not," Yukiko said. "I would never come between Nene and Nagane-chan."

"What?" Keiko asked.

"Chibi Ne-chan and Nagane-chan met today. I think it was love."

"Yu-chan!"

"You'll look good together," Kate said.

"Nagane-chan has that maturity that Nene lacks," Keiko added.

"I don't even know her!"

"So it will be an arranged marriage." Yukiko reached over and put and arm across Nene's shoulders. "I will of course be invited to the wedding."

"Shut up," Nene said, taking a drink of her sake.

The other three laughed and made more jokes at Nene's expense for a few minutes before it got boring. "So Nene, which Universities are you writing at?"

Nene looked at Yukiko to make sure that she was serious. "Well, I've written at Todai of course."

"For your mother of course," Keiko said.

"And at Toyoeiwa."

"Why there?" Kate asked.

"I like it. I think it is better than Todai. Tokyo University just has that old boy network going for it that keeps it at number one."

"Why am I not surprised that Nene-chan is going to a Women's University?" Keiko asked aloud.

"I think she is afraid of men," Kate suggested.

"Now now, let's not pick on Chibi Ne-chan too much. Anywhere else?"

"I have written or will write at the top ten in Tokyo. At my mother's request, that I could have refused," Nene looked hard at the others, as if daring them to say something, "I also wrote for a few universities in Kyoto."

"What about Sendai Daigaku(University) might not be the best of the best but it's still pretty good." Yukiko said.

Nene looked a little uncomfortable. "I was thinking about it, but..."

"Too many things going on in Tokyo?" Yukiko said, wanting to help Nene.

"That's about right."

"Oh well, can't be helped."

Nene nodded.

"Did you write at Genom Daigaku?" Kate asked her.

"What?" Nene asked.

"Genom Daigaku. I know it doesn't rate very high, and it is a very new institution, but it is really good. Like you said about Todai, there is that old boy's networks and such going on. It keeps Genom low."

"I don't know," Nene said, not wanting to refuse outright. That might insult Kate. "I'm not sure about it. I mean, it was set up to be the top of the escalator for Genom's private schools."

"Well sure, but that does not mean it is a bad school. I mean Genom has the money to afford the best staff. Many of Genom's top researchers also teach as the University. And their equipment is the best of course. Think about it Nene, you could be working with the best computers available."

I already work with the best computers available, Nene thought. "Well, I'm not sure. I mean, it was not even a choice of mine."

"You should at least try," Kate continued. "I did."

"What?" Keiko asked. "You never said anything?"

"I wrote it at the same time I went to Tokyo to write the Todai exam. I did not do very well on the Genom exam, so I did not feel like saying anything."

"I heard it is really hard," Yukiko said.

"The Todai exam was a lot easier," Kate told them. "Anyone who comes up through the Genom schools gets into the university easily enough, anyone else, they have to be very good. You could make it Nene. You're smart enough."

"I'm not really sure," Nene told her. Her, in Genom Daigaku? Priss would never leave her alone over that, and Sylia would not be happy about it.

"Oh, please try Nene-chan."

Nene looked at Kate, and suddenly felt guilty about having left her friends and then not letting them know she was fine. Well, just writing it meant nothing. "I'll see if I can arrange things," Nene told her.

Kate smiled. "Good."

"So that's one more university you are writing at. Think your mother will approve?" Yukiko asked in a teasing tone.

"I'm sure she will."

"Hey, Nene," Keiko said from over by the karaoke machine. "As the guest here, I think you should start." She turned the machine on. "Pick a song."

"I don't want to sing," Nene said.

"Too bad Chibi Ne-chan. Pick a song."

Nene dropped her head. She hated karaoke. Then she smiled slightly and looked up at Keiko. "They don't happen to have anything by a 'Priss and the Replicants' do they?" Priss would go insane if she learned about it, Nene was sure of it.


The lights were coming on in Hot Legs, the last of the patrons being ushered out with polite words in some cases, impolite arm locks in others. The cleaning staff, three domestic boomers with their human supervisor, were beginning to clean the night's detritus.

Sitting in a booth, an open bottle of Suntory's finest whisky between them, were Priss and a slim man with sandy blonde hair, one blue eye, one brown.

"So David, you bastard," Priss filled his glass, then her own, "why didn't you tell me you were coming?"

He took a drink of whisky then looked at her. "Didn't know I was going to be in town till two days ago. Figured I'd track you down and surprise you. This stuff sucks by the way." He held the glass up.

"You didn't mind it when we pulled it out of vending machines."

"I seem to remember, or not, as the case may be, to have been whacked out of my mind by some very fine cannabis for that year of my life. By the way, thanks."

Priss smiled. "Figured better for me to get kicked around by some cops than you getting busted for carrying."

"Japanese jails, got to avoid them."

"Hey," Priss said loudly. "We're improving. Amnesty International is considering letting up on us. What about you, you," Priss paused. "What's the word?"

"Limey?"

"Yes. What about you, you Limey Bastard. We've never had the Tower of London, and kings cutting off their wives head because they couldn't pump out a Y chromosome to save their life."

"Not fair," David said. "I don't know enough about old Japanese history to counter, and the hundred year mark has not passed for me to mention the stuff I do know."

"Damn right," Priss said, smiling. "So, what are you here for?"

"A couple of our bands are going to be making some Japanese tours so I'm advance party, just checking things out."

"Good for you. Going to give me a contract?"

"Yeah, likely."

"Corporate boot spittle," Priss said.

"How is it you pick up all the good English insults and I'm still stuck with 'baka'?"

"I guess that is just the way it is." Priss topped up his glass and then her own.

"Still, I never forget my friends."

"You got friends?"

"Oh, so wonderfully clever my dear Prisila."

"Not overly fond of your teeth are you?"

"Listen, there is this bloke in Paris..."

"Bloke?" Priss asked. Occasionally they both ran up against a slang barrier.

"Guy," David said.

"Okay, so what about this Bloke in Paris?"

"He's putting together this world album type deal and I gave him two of your songs. He loved them. Did not understand a word of it, but loved them."

"This means?"

He brought his briefcase up and put it on the table, then opened it. "Want to sign this?" He took out a contract and put it in front of her.

Priss picked it up and started to look it over. David took several other things out of his briefcase and placed them on the table. He put the case back on the floor and waited for Priss to finish reading.

Priss looked up at him. "Okay, two of my songs get put on this little CD, which probably will end up in the bargain bin of cut rate record stores the world over, and for this I get the grand total of one hundred and fifty thousand yen. Well I'm just set for life aren't I?"

David smiled. "A thank you would do. Just sign it."

Priss looked at him for a moment, then picked up a pen and signed the contract. "There," she pushed it to him. "Now where's my check?"

"Here," he handed her the money order.

"Well, this is nothing." She folded the money order up.

"Your grateful tone is reward enough."

"Stuff it."

"There is more."

"What, even more money? Where shall I keep all this new found wealth."

"Remember George Newberry, the Yank?"

"No."

"You kept that gang from stuffing him into a vending machine after he spilled coffee on one of the them."

"Fat, pimples?"

"Yes, though he has slimmed down now and no longer suffers from acne."

"What about him?"

"A year or so ago he made this movie, on the proverbial shoe strong budget. Just blew the critics away, raked in a lot of cash, got a couple of Academy Awards and made him a man in demand."

"Good for him."

"He's done a few more movies since then, not so critically acclaimed, but big money makers. The one he is working on now has this loner character who's a bit out there on the edge. I talked George into giving this character an interest in Japanese rock since it would give him a chance to pay you back."

"You didn't?"

"I did. Couple of your posters up on the wall of the set, most people have to pay for that kind of product placement, and two of your songs on the soundtrack. You even get your name in the credits."

Priss looked stunned for a moment. Then she looked straight at David. "What's my cut?"

David laughed. "For the songs used in the movie and your image on the posters, twenty thousand American, straight, and some small royalty fees that will roll in. You do get a cut of the soundtrack sales though. As these things tend to go gold a few times over, sometimes even platinum, you'll see a reasonable income come in from that."

"Well shit."

"Here," he pushed the contracts across the table. "Sign these and you are set."

Priss picked up the contracts and began reading through them. "This is all pretty generous."

"George has a lot of flaws, but he does tend to respect people who saved his life. And you slept with him."

"What?" Priss looked up at him.

"Well that is what he always claimed."

"You're joking?"

"No. You mean you never had sex with him?"

"Of course not. He's about as attractive as a Shinjuku gutter at three in the morning."

"Ouch. Having been face down in a few gutters three in the morning I'd have to say that is going too far."

"Then you sleep with him," Priss said. She began to sign the contracts.

"Pass."

"Here," Priss slid the contracts toward him.

"Good. Here's a banker's draft, for the amount in full. Now, let's get down to real business."

"Real business?"

"Can you write in English? Can you sing in English?"

"When I have to."

"A friend of mine and I are going to set up this independent label in Scotland. We got backing from this old rocker, no names mentioned, and we are going to try a few things. Give me an album worth of songs, both Japanese and their English translations, or vice-versa, and we'll cut a record."

"You're kidding?"

"Would I kid a woman who once made a sumo wrestler cry?"

"He was drunk, and college league," Priss said.

"Whatever. You in?"

"You're serious?"

"Never so much so. The rest, the Paris deal, George's movie, all just to give you some cash to live on while you work on this. So, are you in?"

Priss said nothing for a time, she just stared at the near empty glass in her hands. "Want me to change my name?" she finally asked.

"What?"

"A change of name, mine or the band?"

"Priss and the Replicants has a nice ring to it. If you want to change it, go ahead, what's in a name?"

"Just wanted to be sure. So, once I got the songs ready, we talk serious, right?"

"Right. I'd like to give you a big advance, but we are on a bit of a budget."

"I understand." Priss held her hand across the table to him.

David took it and shook it.

"Now," Priss said as she got to her feet. "Let's go celebrate."

"Dingy Roppongi club?" David asked as he began to put things away in his briefcase.

"Sounds interesting."


February 12th, Katano city, 03:23.

Bow held above her head, arrow knocked, Sylia brought her arms down parallel to the ground, drawing the bowstring back. She let out half a breath, held it, then released the arrow, her right arm swinging smoothly behind her, straight.

The arrow buried itself deep into the dirt around the targets.

Sylia moved the bow smoothly, her right hand, holding two more arrows by the metal heads, moving forward. Another arrow nocked, she raised the bow above her head, then drew once again. She released.

There was a whisper of the wooden shaft brushing the wood of the bow. The bowstring hummed, there was a soft thump as the arrow buried itself into the straw matting of the target.

She fired the last arrow, watching as it sunk deep into the target. For a time she stood there, breathing deeply. After several minutes she carefully unstrung the bow and put it with all the others. From a locker at the far end of the dojo she removed a western style re-curve bow.

After stringing it she took the quiver of arrows with her and walked back to the firing line.

She knelt there for a time, looking out at the targets, then reached for the bow.

Her motions were controlled as she drew an arrow from the quiver by her knee, nocked it and drew the string back. She did not release right away but focused, breathing slowly, emptying her mind of everything but the arrow and the target. There was a hissing whisper before the arrow thudded into the target, right beside one of the others.

There was not a single extraneous motion as she put arrow after arrow into the target in front of her. After a while she began to hear the clicking sound of metal on metal as the arrowheads began to hit others already in the target.

When that happened she switched to another target.

The aches from holding an arrow for several minutes at a time did not intrude on her thoughts.

She could not keep up that pace forever, though nearly two hours had passed before her aim began to falter. Her arms shook, and she almost let an arrow fall.

With great care she went through the precise movements required to unstring the bow, taking her time.

Kyudo demanded a lot from her but she gave it willingly. Somehow she enjoyed it more. Perhaps it was the fact she could be completely alone, that she did not need a partner to practice with.

Putting the bow down beside her she finally let herself relax, shaking slightly. Her arms ached, the muscles in her back, even her legs. It had been too long.

Picking the bow up she got to her feet, swaying slightly as blood rushed back to her legs, making her feel light headed for a moment. Once she felt steady she walked to the locker and put the bow away.

That done, she crossed the floor to the targets and began to pull her arrows free. After that followed a few minutes of work to put everything back the way it had been, cleaning everything up.

Everything done, Sylia left the dojo, bowing at the threshold. The changing rooms were close by. She began to pull the ties of her uniform loose even before she entered. She pulled off her clothes, tossing them into an untidy pile on a wooden bench.

Grabbing a towel from the shelf she walked to the shower room. A few moments later she was surrounded by steam and covered by water that was almost too hot. It relaxed and eased the tensions from her.

Sylia finished showering then dried herself off, taking another towel from the shelf for her hair. She opened the locker where she had left her clothes, putting on fresh undergarments followed by a loose pair of black slacks and a pink blouse.

As she began to stuff her uniform into the gym bag Sylia removed her NAVI from a side pocket. Flipping back the cover she saw the red message light was flashing.

She placed it on the bench, turned to volume up, and tapped the play button for the message. As she folded her uniform up and began packing it away, she listened to Linna's cryptic message. Zipping the gym bag shut she picked up the NAVI, erased the message then put the NAVI to the side.

Sylia had hoped to have breakfast with her Sensei. She saw very little of him since he had gone into semi-retirement, leaving Tokyo four years before.

It was too important that she return to MegaTokyo though. Linna had been cryptic, but Sylia could piece things together. If the Chang group wanted to hire them then things might begin to happen very fast. No time for peaceful meals with old friends.

Pulling her dark blue coat on, she grabbed the NAVI and slid it into a deep pocket.

Sylia spared a few minutes to leave a note thanking her sensei for the use of the dojo, and apologising for not being able to see him before she left.

Leaving, she locked the door behind her. Pulling the straps of the gym bag over her shoulder, and getting a tight grip on her bow case, she reached into her coat pocket and pulled her NAVI out again. It took her less time to arrange for an air taxi back to MegaTokyo than it did for her to leave the note.


The "Sun Follower" pushed through the water, riding low, its decks stacked high with containers, its holds full of cargo.

Captain Octavious Lareau leaned against the rear wall of the bridge, his hands wrapped around a coffee cup. He was nearly bald, a few wisps of grey hair all that remained. His face though held few signs of age, except for the deep lines around his dark brown eyes.

They would be docking in Yokohama soon, he would off load his cargo, take on another load, then it was down to Taiwan, maybe a trip to San Francisco, and then back to Vancouver. He had been travelling the same route for close to twenty years in three different ships. Two of those he had served as captain on, but the Sun Follower was the only one he had owned.

He did well, contacts and friends at the ports he called at helped him to find the best prices on cargoes, informed him of what might generate the most interest and highest prices and provided him with other useful information.

The smuggling he did was the true money maker for him, which would allow him to retire in splendour, if he could ever give up his life on the sea.

Usually the contraband he carried was harmless, things that were cheaper when people did not have to pay tariff duties. A cargo container or two full of cigarettes had a reasonable profit margin.

Sometimes, when greed got the better of him, he carried other things. This trip he was carrying some mercenaries and their equipment.

Their leader, who had given no name beyond Yoshito, was on the bridge with him, staring at a hand-held global positioning system receiver. Tall, thin, a handsome face marred by a long scar that ran from the centre of his forehead to his right cheek. Octavious wondered how he had avoided losing the eye. His dark brown hair was cut short, his hazel eyes had green flecks.

Octavious had considered asking Yoshito and his men not to wear their weapons while on his ship. He had given up on the idea almost immediately, deciding it was easier to let them wear sidearms then arguing about it.

The mercenary suddenly looked up from his GPS.

"All right Captain, slow your ship right down."

"Engines at eighth speed, maintain the same heading."

"I'll need some people on the crane."

"Johnson," Octavious called over to his XO, "get a crew on deck."

"Put up the lights."

"You heard him," Octavious said.

The area around the ship was lit up as the spotlights came on, turning it into a floating island of illumination. Yoshito nodded then left the bridge, heading down onto deck. Octavious looked around, nodded to his second officer then followed the mercenary.

Yoshito's men were already on deck, tying cargo straps around several of the containers on deck. They had released the straps that had held them, as well as several others, to the deck. Octavious was worried that the containers would slide off but the mercenaries seemed to know what they were doing.

The sound of a motor drifted over the water, Octavious looked to the west where it was coming from.

"That's our ride," Yoshito told him.

The captain nodded.

By the time Johnson had a crane crew up on the deck the first boat was tied up alongside the freighter. A fishing boat by the look of it, big enough to hold one of the containers, if just barely.
Octavious would not want to be on one if the waves were even a little higher.

Another boat was floating alongside the larger ship by the time the crane crew lifted the first container into the air.

Transferring it between the two craft was hard to do, even with the ships moving as slow as they were. It went smoothly though. Octavious had to admit the mercenaries were very good at their job, as were his own people.

It took a little over ten minutes to move the two containers onto the boats. When it was done the mercenaries went over the side, boarding the already overloaded boats.

Yoshito nodded at him then followed his men, leaping over the rail, landing on top of a container. He grabbed the strap holding it to the boat as the small craft's engines opened up. They were fast, Octavious was surprised at how fast they moved. Before the boat was swallowed up in the darkness he thought he made out Yoshito waving to him.

"Johnson," he called out, "make sure everything is secured and cut the spotlights."

"Yes sir."

Octavious headed back up to the bridge.


Yoshito put Captain Octavious out of his mind once the freighter had disappeared into the darkness behind him. He worked his way forward then dropped over the side of the container, landing just behind the small pilothouse.

"Tell me how things are going, Robert," he said to the man piloting the boat.

"Well enough, all things considered. We are working to keep things together, and make sure our little friends stay under control."

"How are you managing that?"

"Keeping the weapons locked up and hidden, and anything they have to train on de-clawed."

"Are they that hard to control?"

"Not all of them. Some are pitiful pieces of work; others are just trying to make a difference. I kind of feel sorry for the later."

"Moving people out?"

"All the time. Soon as we don't need them I hand them their walking papers and payment. Oh yeah," Robert paused as he reached into his jacket. He brought forth a small package. "Your passport, all properly marked."

"Good," Yoshito stuffed the package into his pants pocket. "How are conditions in the city?"

"Could be better. Both Genom and Kyuusei are paying attention to what's going on. A few of our stooges have been picked up, but they don't know anything of value."

"Can we keep these idiots under control?"

"No."

"What if our employers order us to shut things down?"

"They won't be going anywhere without us. I've pulled a few key components out of the GD-42s, and booby-trapped the weapon lockups. They don't get any toys unless we give them out."

Yoshito nodded. "Good enough. How are they coming along?"

"Not well. Not surprising, you can't make someone an effective pilot in a week or two, and all they can work on is simulations. When the time comes, they will be able to cause a lot of trouble. Put serious opposition in front of them and they will fold."

"I figure it will be at least an hour before that happens. Plenty of time for them to cause some damage. They'll be a useful distraction.

"Can we get all our roustabouts out of the city by tomorrow?" Yoshito said, pointing his chin at one of the men sitting on the bow.

"Yeah, I don't see that being a problem. Sure you don't want to keep a few people around in case these Prometheus Unbound idiots decide to cause trouble?"

"I'll chance it. The last thing we need is Genom or Kyuusei picking up someone. That would be a problem."

"Okay, they'll be gone by tomorrow."

"What about the special package?"

Robert shivered slightly. "Still being worked on. Christ, Yoshito, why the hell are we dealing with something like that?"

"Because the client has demanded it. Can you think of any better reason?"

"I don't like it."

"We're not being paid to like it. We're being paid to make sure the option is there if the client demands it."

"Think they will?"

"Depends on a lot of things. If I knew exactly why they wanted it, then I'd be able to make a better guess."

"What if they tell you to go through with it?" Robert kept his voice low.

"I might not do it. I might. It might not matter. They put one of their own people in charge of it."

"Laura is with that one."

"Laura is not the kind to put a bullet into someone's head."

"She might."

"And she might not. Anyway, it always a bad idea to disobey an employer. I'm not entirely sure, but I suspect that these people play hard and nasty. We might not like what happens if we do not honour this contract."

"Why does the big money always come with big problems?" Robert shook his head.

"I guess it is just the nature of the beast." He shrugged his shoulders. "I'm going forward for a breath of fresh air." Yoshito slid around the pilothouse and took a seat on the bow.

Robert sat down where he was and took a cigarette pack from his jacket.


An hour later, 75km from the coast, the fishing boats were met by several smaller boats.

The containers on deck were cracked open, the GD-42 A3s were walked out of their containers and onto the rear decks of the smaller craft. It was not an easy operation, moving the heavy mechs from one shifting deck to another but they managed.

Yoshito was always a little surprised at how compact a bundle a GD-42 made when it folded its legs up. Once tarps were pulled over them they looked harmless enough, nothing to attract any attention. They were the last two GD-42s they had to bring into the city.

Once that had been completed the containers were pushed off the decks into the water where they quickly sank.

Most of the men transferred over to the smaller craft, taking their gear with them. They would be put off in small groups, nothing that would attract unwanted attention. Then, if all went well, they'd be leaving the city, then the country.

Yoshito stayed on the fishing boat with Robert, they would simply put into Yokohama. He opened his duffel bag and pulled on a thick sweater that covered his shoulder holster. It would be tough to get at the weapon, but he did not think he would need it.

Zipping the bag back up he returned to his seat at the bow. If he was lucky he would get to see the city just as the sun came up. It was nice to be heading home, even if he was going to cause a minor disaster within the city, and just possibly a major one.

Then again, with all the boomer trouble the city had seen, he was not even sure if anyone would notice.


February 12th, Sunday, MegaTokyo, 08:32

Kyuusei Industries had no major holdings within MegaTokyo, and very few in Japan. Genom had made it nearly impossible for any unaffiliated companies to set up in the country.

They did own one office building in the city, ten kilometres from Genom's tower. A mission in hostile territory. Reika did not care for the title, but it stuck with the workers there. It was an expensive facility to run, running at a loss in fact. That loss was used to offset gains from other Kyuusei holdings, resulting in net gains when it came to taxes.

To Reika it all seemed somewhat dishonest at times.

She and Kou had claimed the top four floors as their office space and command post. It also served as their staging area, with a small number of armed personnel there at all times, ready to go at a moment's notice. Reika hoped the police did not get the idea to take a close look at what Kyuusei was up to.

Her office was near the middle of the eighteenth floor. Leaning back in her chair, feet propped up on the desk, eyes half lidded, she looked at the map of MegaTokyo that took up an entire wall.

There were a number of areas on it that were circled in red, blue, black, and green ink. There were also a number of pins embedded in it, small flags of coloured paper around the ends. It duplicated information she had in her computer but Kou seemed to like a little redundancy wherever possible.

She had plenty of information, too much really. She looked at the pile of reports on her desk that had come in over the last few hours. At first she had been sure it would be an easy task. It had not taken her long to realise that most of the information her teams had uncovered was useless, out of date, and in some cases obviously fraudulent.

Kou seemed to take it all in stride, looking through the information, sending people off to check anything that looked promising. Reika was beginning to see how he did it, how he used all the information they had attained previously to understand the complete picture.

She hit the scroll key on her computer, looking over some data that had come in. Half of it, once she took a good look at it, were things that they had already checked out. Even so, it still left her with a lot of new information to go through.

"Bad news." Kou came into her office, his jacket off, the sleeves of his shirt pushed up past his elbows. "We lost contact with the Red 5 team."

"They were checking out the area around the Genom research facility in Yokohama weren't they?" Reika took her feet from the desk and stood up.

"Yes."

"Am I wrong in thinking that Genom might be responsible?"

"If Genom feels threatened then they could have easily done anything." Kou did not bother to mention she had been adamant about sending people close to Genom property against his advice.

"We will no longer send our people close to Genom property if they will not allow them to operate unmolested." There was a quaver in her voice and its tone passed uncomfortably near hysteria.

"Odotte-san has requested your company at lunch, one PM today, Marion's, five star, semi-formal dress, within a kilometre of the Tower."

"Why?"

"You did agree share information."

"Or maybe she wants to gloat."

"I'll send word you cannot make it if you wish."

"No Kou, I'll go. What did she say about dates?"

"Her secretary did not specify."

"You'll come then. Now about the backup we are expecting from..."

"Reika get some sleep."

"Pardon?"

"If you are going to be dealing with Odotte you will need to be at your best if you don't want to end up signing your shares in Kyuusei over to her. You'll also want to be sharp, she may let on more than she knows if you are awake enough to listen."

"Kou, I do have responsibilities..."

"To be blunt, you will be worse than useless if you don't get some rest. You have enough problems on this mission without having to deal with exhaustion. Get some sleep."

"All right. I shouldn't be letting you talk to me like this."

"Only if I were talking to you as an employee."

"Relationships within the work place are problematic." She walked up to Kou and pulled on his tie, lifting her chin. Their lips brushed. "You look like you could use some sleep as well. Come with me?"

"I'm not much sure we'd get much sleep."

"Don't flatter yourself." Reika laughed. "I really don't want to be alone, not in this city."

"Let's go." He placed his arm around her shoulders.

Reika leaned into him, placing her head on his chest.

"Kou when will this be over?"

"If you wish to continue as you are now, then it never ends."

"Cheery thoughts to go to bed with."

"I don't lie very well to people I care for."

"Why am I not sure whether that is a good or bad thing?" Reika yawned.


Mark Kaneda blew a cloud of smoke into the air over the conference table, adding to the heavy scent of tobacco that already permeated the room. Katherine could not stand the man's habit of chain smoking when he was nervous. It was so obvious, as well as annoying.

She was careful not to show it, not to cough, to give nothing away.

Domino Odotte looked as if she was completely unaware of it, with the dead pan face she always wore, never giving anything away.

Samantha Johnson smoked as well, but she seemed to be a retaliatory smoker. She never lit a cigarette up unless someone else did first. It was sort of childish but other than that she hid her true feelings almost well as Odotte.

Kenji Sousuke blinked his red rimmed eyes almost constantly, coughed more than was necessary whenever the smoke got a little too thick on his side of the table. He had a harmless, grandfatherly look to him. Of course there was nothing harmless about him.

Manabe Takeo was the shark of the group. His freshly pressed Armani suit, the perfect, short black hair, brown eyes that always seemed to be looking past you, gave him a certain noble bearing. Katherine liked him least of all. That Odotte seemed to dislike him, not that there was anything obvious about it, as well interested her.

Of course Takeo had been one of Mason's followers, for lack of a better word, and if the rumours were to be believed, Odotte had been as well.

Odotte was still a mystery to Katherine, she was not who she said she was but Quincy knew that. Attempts to discover more about her had met with failure. She had to admit that the woman was very polite about it.

Not a single one of her operatives had been hurt when they had been sent back to her with polite warnings. Except for Kiyotaka, and considering his tendency for rudeness a broken arm was minor.

There were several empty seats around the table, those of their number who had not survived the situations of the last few days.

"We have a number of problems," Katherine said.

"I was not aware," Manabe said sarcastically.

"The damage Genom has suffered during the unpleasantness with Hou Bang is the first thing we must be concerned with," Katherine said, as if Manabe had never spoken.

"We are already moving to repair the damage," Kenji said in his soft voice. "Resources have been transferred to make up short falls and prop things up where needed. In a month you will not know this happened."

Katherine nodded, making a note. She was not surprised that Kenji had things in hand. He was good at it. And his harmless look protected him.

"Current situation with Hou Bang?"

"Fine," Domino said. "Young Miss Chang is attempting to bring things under control, and over reacting in a number of ways. She gives away much in her attempts. We watch and learn."

"Why are they letting her do so?" Manabe asked.

"Because the Chang group needs a successor and the Elder Chang is willing to let her make those mistakes so that she will learn."

"Stupid of him," Manabe snorted.

Domino levelled her gaze on him for a moment. He stared back. She knew what he thought about her, that she had slept her way to the top, either with Quincy, or Devon. She let people think that, it made them sloppy around her. "Do you think so?"

"Of course. The old man is obviously senile." Manabe waved a hand dismissively. "We should deal with the Chang Group now."

"Unfortunate that both Shosan-san and Harrison-san are dead, they would have agreed with you," Katherine said, reminding Manabe that he no longer had a support group. She hid a smile as she saw her words had found their mark.

"Yes, unfortunate that they," he stressed 'they' ever so slightly, "died."

"Enough of this," Samantha said, stubbing her latest cigarette out. "It gets us no where."

"Yes," Mark nodded, lighting up a fresh cigarette, then holding his gold lighter towards Samantha so she could light up hers. "We've dealt with Hou Bang before, we will deal with them again. We know what to do. I really don't care if Chang-san's granddaughter sells us all her shares at a fraction of their cost. What I want to know about is this blood agent that might be in the country."

"Of course," Domino said, seeing that as her cue. "As you know, this is one of Hou Bang's little embarrassments. They have a company within their fold that plays rather fast and loose, as it were. I'm sure that they will deal with the problem sooner or later, but that does not concern us, yet."

"Fine. Where is it?" Manabe asked.

"That is a very good question," Domino said, looking over at Manabe. Mason had actually liked the man. Obviously he had not had good taste in everything. "Without a very good answer I'm afraid. You have all read the specs on the storage device. It is quite possible that the threat has already been rendered harmless."

"And it might not have," Katherine countered.

"Very true. That is why Chang-san is putting so many resources into finding it. That is why we are preparing for all possibilities. We have done all we can. Now we just have to wait and see what happens. Right now I'm more concerned about what is occurring with Prometheus Bound."

"I'm not sure if I consider those people much of a threat," Mark said, blowing smoke as he talked.

"I would have to disagree," Samantha said. "We've seen what they can do properly armed. They are also a public relations nightmare. This most recent demand, for example, could blow up in our face."

"True." Katherine nodded. "We are not, however, going to remove all boomer construction facilities from this city."

"Of course not," Manabe said, slapping his open palm against the dark wood of the conference table.

"It would be rather problematic," Kenji said.

"Perhaps just one."

All heads turned towards Domino. "This will get into the media's hands tonight, tomorrow at the latest. I have no doubt that the Terrorists will carry though on their threat. We of course can spin this to keep as much blame from ourselves as possible, but I'd rather start damage control now."

"How do you propose to do that," Samantha demanded.

Domino looked over at the woman. Samantha Johnson had climbed the Genom ladder the hard way, earning every rung she took. She did not like Domino. "The factory in Shinagawa, we were planning on closing it in a year. We close it now."

"And the six hundred people who work there?" Samantha asked, a little bite to her tone.

"We move the factory to Hokkaido, as planned. Workers who wish to go can transfer, I suspect half will choose to do so. The remaining will be employed when we convert the factory over to make engines for the new series of cars Genom will be building."

"That factory was supposed to be set up in Mexico," Katherine said.

"Yes. Unfortunately President Carlos took a strong anti-Genom stand two days ago. This should be punishment enough. We'll also give some support to his political enemies, just to keep our hand in Mexico."

The people at the table looked at each other, then, after a long moment began to nod. No one there liked it when someone else came up with a good idea, but they accepted them nonetheless. Quincy was willing to put up with corporate politics, as long as they did not compromise Genom in any way.

"We'll make the announcements in the hour," Mark said. "We'll have our media people play it up."

"Well and good," Manabe said, "but what do we do if a bunch of Prometheus Bound idiots start tearing through the city with GD-42s, and that is what we are worried about."

"Combat boomers?" Samantha suggested.

"Not a wise idea," Katherine said. "That would actually strengthen Prometheus Bound claims."

"Fire fighting models," Domino said. "We'll say we want a chance to field test new units, put them into all the fire fighting companies in the city, no cost."

"It will help," Katherine said. "It still does not deal with the problem though."

"I haven't finished," Domino said, then paused, leaving them hanging. "We will program them with temporary combat protocols. They may not be actual combat models, but they are built around a combat frame."

"Yes." Katherine nodded. "We could have them in place in thirty hours. Very good."

"Fine," Manabe said. "Anything else?" He was not particularly happy with the way things had gone. He had lost two supporters, weakening his position among the executives, but it also seemed this Domino woman was becoming a threat. Why couldn't she have just been the stupid slut he had expected?

"Yes," Katherine said. "There is, of course, more to this than shows, which should not surprise any of you. At the same time Prometheus Bound was making this threat, we received another. Someone else, telling us that they would support the terrorists, not only causing great damage to our property in the city, but sullying our reputation if we did not meet certain demands.

"What demands?" Samantha asked.

"Information concerning the black box aspects of boomer technology, the real secrets."

"Ridiculous," Kenji said, his voice raising slightly. "We would do no such thing."

"Agreed," Katherine nodded, "but it shows us that there are more levels to this than we might have expected. I suggest we all be very careful. I am handling this aspect of things, with the Chairman's blessing. I just wanted you to know." That was polite speak for telling them it was hers and they would not find out any more from her.

"It seems we are taking a number of chances here," Manabe said.

"She who dares, wins," Domino said.

"True," Katherine nodded. "I think we are all in basic agreement on what has to be done. Does anyone disagree?"

While few there were particularly happy about anything, they did not see any reason to change the course they were on.

"I believe this meeting is over," Katherine said.

"Good," Manabe got up, grabbed his briefcase and walked to the door. "I'm unsealing us," he said, tapping the code into the keypad.

The door opened, connecting the room back with the real world, as it were. A number of rooms in Genom were designed for complete privacy. The walls were shielded and there were no connections to the outside world that a signal might be piggybacked on.

Manabe went out, followed by Samantha, then Mark. Kenji sat in his chair for a while, then seemed to notice that Domino and Katherine were not going anywhere. He got to his feet, bowed to them, then walked from the room.

Katherine vented the room for a minute before sealing the door. The air, no longer cloyed with cigarette smoke, was not as unpleasant.

Domino had crawled under the table, undignified as that was, to reappear a short time later holding a small device.

"What is it?" Katherine asked.

"Recording device. Manabe-san planted it." She placed it one the table, then took her shoe off. "He really should learn to not be so curious." She drove the heel of her shoe down against the recording chip. It broke with a satisfying crunch.

"If he were a little more competent he might be a threat." Katherine resumed her seat.

"I would not discount him out of hand," Domino put her shoe back on then returned to her chair. "One of the men from Toronto, Keith Otton, was found dead in his hotel in Venice. Professional hit."

"They, whoever they are, are cleaning up after themselves."

"So it would appear."

"We'll have to find those that remain, soon."

"People, of course, are on it, as you know. Mr. Davis and his associates are very good at disappearing."

"We'll just have to be better at finding them. Is there anything else?"

"No."

Katherine got to her feet. "We have work to do."

Domino nodded as the other woman walked to the door and opened it. She got to her feet, picked up her valise, and followed Katherine out of the room.


"The master who governs his domain well loves wise retainers, while the man who exploits the people loves flatterers"
- Imagawa Sadayo