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 10 of 11)
by Shawn Hagen(1999;2005)

Based on situations and characters created by Suzuki Toshimichi.

Quincy turned to look back at Reika Chang as she entered the elevator. Their eyes met just as the doors closed between them.

He smiled.

She hated him, he could see the desire to do murder dancing behind her eyes, only a fraction weaker than her desire to live.

A Reika Chang who hated Genom could be a threat. A Reika Chang who hated him was not so dangerous. It was much easier to protect his own life. With luck she would go back to her music career and leave the elder Chang with no suitable heir. The Chang Group had been a growing threat for too long.

He turned back and continued on. One of his bodyguards opened a door for him, Quincy entered. The executives in the room all came to their feet, bowing.

Quincy took the seat that Madigan pulled away from the table for him. He sat. No one else did.

"What have you found out about Rathen?"

"Nothing new." Domino told him. "We are looking for his mistress. He has not been in contact with his estranged wife for over a year. We are going to have a conversation," Domino put subtle stress on 'conversation', "with his son."

"Do you know who he was working with yet?"

"No. He may have been able to do it all on his own. He had the necessary funds, but as to what purpose we still do not know. I am still looking for links."

Quincy nodded, then turned slightly. "What about Gulf and Bradley?" he asked Kaneda.

"We should have control in a day Shachou-sama."

"Should?" Quincy asked him. "I don't want to hear should.

"Of course sir." Kaneda looked like he wanted to light up a cigarette. "We are currently making contact with the major shareholders of Gulf and Bradley. We will release news of that corporation's economic problems to coincide with those meetings, which are being arranged to all fall at the same time. There is a high probability that the current shareholders will be willing to sell, at a loss of course."

"And then?"

"Well, once we have made the necessary investments to stabilise Gulf and Bradley we will be able to absorb those parts of the corporation you wanted, the rest will be split up and sold. The profit from the venture should, that is to say, according to current computer models, will be in excess of seventeen billion yen."

"Make sure you stay on schedule," Quincy told him as he got to his feet. Everyone in the room bowed as he left the room.

Everything had worked out to Genom's advantage, he thought as he walked towards the elevators, his bodyguards flanking him. Initial losses had been very high, but not so much as to cripple Genom in any real way. The profit from the operation with Gulf and Bradley would come close to offsetting some of the losses. He stepped into the elevator, its doors opening as soon as he got near.

The damage to Genom's property in space was annoying and expensive. It would take time to rebuild and repair it. Fortunately Dr. Stingray's boomers made space construction reasonably cheap and simple.

The only thing that bothered him was who might be behind it all. Whoever it was, he, she, or they were very good. But then again Odotte and Madigan were both very good as well. He also had a number of channels of his own that brought in some very valuable information.

And once he found out who it was who dared to threaten GenomQuincy squeezed the head of his cane hard enough so the wood creakedhe would crush them.


Sylia hid a yawn behind her hand as she stepped into the elevator. Things had quieted down in the city, while there were still some terrorists at large, they seemed more interested in hiding and escaping than continuing the fight. Sylia was fairly certain that both Prometheus Bound, and the Neo Ludites would be lacking in strength and credibility in Japan for some time. Genom was probably happy about that.

In fact it was likely that events of the previous night would rebound negatively on the Neo Ludites the world over. Unfortunate for them, as they were a mostly peaceful group, but Sylia was glad. She had never been overly impressed with the Ludite beliefs.

She leaned back against the wall of the elevator, closing her eyes. Hard night all around and it was not quite over. She had to crunch some numbers and make some calls before everything could be neatly tied up. She hoped that Genom had not interfered in anyway with Chang-san's people reclaiming the container. The Knight Sabers were to get a large bonus if they helped to ensure that the blood agent was not used and that Kyuusei regained possession of the stolen goods or the remains.

Straightening, Sylia rocked forward and pressed the button for the penthouse. The faster she finished up the sooner she could get some sleep.

Linna was already asleep in one of Sylia's guest bedrooms. Sylia did not begrudge her that. She had to be up early for a day of dancing. Sylia could let one of her salesladies run the Silky Doll.

Nene had also left early, but she had gone straight back to the ADP. It was not likely that Nene would be getting any rest soon.

Priss had stayed to check her gear over and help Mackie get everything ready for repairs. They had come out of the fighting with minor, mostly cosmetic damage. That was fortunate. Then Priss had left a few minutes before Sylia herself had left the basements.

Mackie would probably just pass out on one of the cots down there.

The elevator doors opened and Sylia stepped out into the penthouse. She turned towards her office when she heard the faint notes. Frowning slightly, she turned and walked towards the living room. There she found Priss seated behind her Yamaha grand, playing softly.

"This disturbing you?" Priss asked quietly, not looking up.

"Not really. I was just curious." Sylia listened to a few more of the notes. "That is new, isn't it."

Priss nodded, then looked up. "Just writing some new songs," she said. After a few seconds she added, "An old friend offered me a chance to do some recording, if I come up with the songs first. Normally I'd tell whoever made an offer like that to piss off, but this guy I know well enough."

"Big label?"

"Not according to David-san. But, it could go somewhere. Maybe I should have mentioned this before, but after that last screw up I decided I didn't want to make too big of a deal about this."

Sylia nodded. "Good night," she said, then turned away.

Priss watched her go, then looked back at the music she had written. Picking up a pen she changed a note then played through it once more. She smiled slightly and nodded.


Things were busy at the ADP building when Nene pulled her patrol car into a spot in front of the building. She'd wait before trying to park the vehicle in the garage. It was likely busy in there.

She entered through the lobby doors and almost turned around and went back out. The place was packed with reporters, all trying to get some information. She spotted Wada, and a few other of the PR brigade fielding those questions. Nene ducked her head low and made a beeline for the elevators. She looked a slight mess, and did not want to show up on TV before she had a chance to clean up.

That's what she did in the locker room a short time later. No time for a shower, unfortunately, but she managed to clean up a little, and brush her hair out of the helmet-head-look being in a hardsuit gave her.

Time to face the music, whatever it would be.

When she entered the communications room she was surprised to see how empty it was. There were a few women sleeping at their desks, and one person standing in the centre of the room. The woman turned when she heard Nene enter.

Nene recognised her, had been fairly certain when she saw her back. Kaneko Akamura, a lieutenant who worked down in forensics. She was a little above average height, which made her taller than Nene. Her brown hair went just below her shoulders where it curled slightly. Her eyes were brown. She wore a long, black, pleated skirt that went to her ankles, a white blouse and a short, black jacket.

"Ah, Romanova-san, perfect timing." Kaneko smiled. She usually smiled.

"Akamura-keibu, can I help you?"

"Yes. Grab a computer, I need some help at a site."

"Right," Nene said, going to her desk and getting her laptop. "What is it?"

"Possible boomer problem," Kaneko walked over to the door and picked up her briefcase and over coat. "They want me to take a look at it and see if we need to get involved. And while we are there we can take care of a few other things, hence my need for someone who can work a computer."

Nene nodded as she tucked the computer under her arm and walked towards the Lieutenant. "I'm ready."

"Let's go," Kaneko said, walking from the communications room.

Kaneko led Nene down into the garage, which was as busy as Nene had suspected. Kaneko's vehicle, one of the new patrol cars, was parked close to the elevator. Kaneko opened the passenger door first, tossed her briefcase into the back, then let Nene enter while she circled around to the driver's door.

"What was it like tonight?" Nene asked a short time later.

"Pardon?" Kaneko asked as she looked over her shoulder before making a turn.

"I was busy elsewhere so I missed some of it."

"I'm not the best to ask about it. They had me out handling traffic duty and evacuation for the most part. We suffered losses, so did all the police branches. Could have been worse I suppose."

Nene nodded. It indeed could have been worse. Had the AF-5 been released. "Is it over yet?"

"Soon. No more real fighting going on, as I understand it. Now it's just clean up."

Nene, at a loss for anything else to say said nothing. Kaneko seemed content to just let the conversation die.

Later Kaneko drove through a police barricade, entering an area that had been sealed off.

That a fire had been burning through the area was obvious. One building was a gutted wreck, and the buildings on either side of it showed fire damage as well. A GD-42 lay on the street, close to the damaged form of a fire fighting boomer. Another fire fighting boomer was kneeling down, hands resting on the roadway. It looked to be deactivated.

Kaneko pulled to a stop close to the GD-42 and shut her engine off. "We'll take a look at the GD-42 first."

"What happened here?" Nene asked.

"As I understand it the fire fighting boomer over there," she indicated the one that was kneeling, "pounded the hell out of this thing. Arguably it had cause, but we can't ignore such behaviour."

Nene nodded, a little confused by Kaneko's statement, but did not ask her to clarify it. She was certain that it was just that they were both tired. Kaneko retrieved her briefcase from the car, then walked over to the GD-42. She looked it over, the placed the briefcase on the ground and opened it up.

"Here," she tossed a small package towards Nene. "Latex up."

Nene grabbed the package from the air and looked at it. Wadded up tightly in a soft plastic shell were a pair of latex gloves. Nene tore the package open and put the gloves on. Kaneko, also wearing gloves by then, began to gently poke her fingers into holes in the canopy. She knelt down and ran her fingers along the seam between the canopy and the body of the mech.

"Do you think the pilots are alive?" Nene asked, looking for the emergency canopy release.

"I doubt it." She looked up at Nene who was prying off the cover for the emergency release. "Don't do that."

Nene stopped. "Sorry."

Kaneko smiled. "Nothing to be sorry about. I just don't want to blow the canopy off." She took a cordless drill from her briefcase and found the locking bolt. After slotting the universal-locking wrench onto the bolt, she pulled the trigger. It took a little over a minute for the lock to release.

During that time a minivan with ADP markings had pulled up just outside of the police barricades. The doors opened and four people climbed out, one carrying a camera.

Kaneko looked up at them as she worked. "Ah, the film crew."

"Who?" Nene asked.

"A Canadian film crew, they've been wandering about the city all night with the various Tac squads."

"Oh, yes, Wada-san told me about that. Wasn't it dangerous for them to be out?"

"As I understand it they all have wartime experience." There was a click as the locking mechanism released. The canopy opened slightly.

Kaneko put the drill back in her briefcase then reached forward under the canopy and gave it a pull. Nene moved in to help her.

They pulled it back, revealing the scene inside. The pilot and gunner were obviously dead. Nene and Kaneko's noses were assailed by the scent of blood and other things. Nene took a step back and turned away. A look of distaste crossed Kaneko's face, but she stepped in close. Most of the blood had congealed into a gelatine like mass, though some of it was still liquid enough drip out onto the ground.

The man in the pilot's station had likely died instantly. Half his head had been blown away, and there was damage to his chest and shoulders. The gunner, a small, almost harmless looking man had probably bled to death. It looked as if his wounds had been caused by shrapnel. She reached out and gently pushed his glasses straight, then stepped back.

"Give me a hand closing this thing Romanova-san," Kaneko said. "No need for them to be recorded. We'll let them keep some dignity."

Nene moved forward and helped Kaneko push the canopy closed. "Killed by fire from the other GD-42 most likely. We can let the police handle the bodies." She pulled her gloves off. "You pull the records from the computer, I'll take a look at the boomer. Let's see if we can get out of here before we have to do an interview."

"Hai," Nene said, walking back towards the car to get her computer.


Quincy stood looking out the windows of his office. The sky was beginning to lighten as dawn came. From so high up it was hard to see any signs of the damage that had been done in the city the night before. There were a few, tall columns of smoke raising up into the air, but little else than that.

Domino stood near his desk, not saying anything, waiting for him to acknowledge her.

Finally Quincy turned to face her. "What have you found out?"

"Something intriguing turned up in the autopsy, lesions in the brain tissue. They are indicative of Stingray-hakase's process."

"Are you sure of that?"

"No. There was too much damage to the brain to be sure of anything."

"Who knows about this?"

"Satto-hakase, myself, and you. Satto-hakase will not say anything, and the boomer that was assisting her has had its memory wiped."

"Keep it that way."

"Hai," Domino said. "Also, I have to report that our attempt to bring in Rathen's mistress has failed. She left her hotel room soon after everything began. It is possible that she has left the country by now. We are continuing to search for her."

Quincy nodded. "Keep on it. What about Chang Reika-kun? She has succeeded in this. It puts her in a position of strength when it comes to her grandfather's position."

"I have not finished with her yet."

Quincy nodded. "When will you be able to speak with your guest?"

"In a few hours. I'd like to request control of her ultimate disposition."

"You have it," he said in a dismissive fashion.

Domino bowed deeply, then turned and walked from his office.


Leon walked into his office. He was exhausted, but he was not alone in that. All he wanted to do was get a few hours of sleep before he started writing reports. He walked to his desk, noting that there were several envelopes and clear plastic bags on the desktop.

Leon dropped into his chair and picked up one of the bags, looking at the contents. It looked like a piece of burnt metal. He dropped the bag and picked up an envelope, tearing it open, then removing several sheets of typed paper.

Leaning back in his chair he began reading. Suddenly the sense of exhaustion about him seemed to flow away. He sat up straight, looking the pages over. After a minute he dropped them and tore open another envelope, removing the information there.

"Damn," he said after several minutes. He reached into his jacket and removed his NAVI. "Damn," he said again.


"So was there anything wrong with the boomer?" Nene asked as they climbed into Kaneko's car.

"No, not that I could find. There may have been something, but it is hard to say."

"What do you mean by 'something'?"

"An augmentation to its core programming. It is possible, but there is no way to tell for sure."

"Do you think Genom did it?"

Kaneko started up the engine, a thoughtful look on her face. "It would be something they would do. It suggests they knew that this was coming."

Nene nodded, knowing that for the truth. "What are you going to do?"

"Take a closer looks at the programming, see if there is any real proof. If there is I'll send that information to investigations. I wonder if anyone will do anything?"

"Shouldn't they?"

"Yes." Kaneko put the car into gear and pulled away from the area. "It might be left alone. It will be hard to prove, and hard to lay the blame. Genom might simply give us a scapegoat who will admit to doing it. A lot of people in investigations have better things to do."

"How can they just ignore the problem?"

"One might argue that it is not a problem. That boomer stopped a threat to it, its fellow boomers, the fire fighters and the city. After that it calmly went back to fighting the fire, and when the fire fighters ordered it to shut down and wait, it did so. Hardly the behaviour of a dangerous boomer. On the other hand, if the boomer was altered, those who did so may have had no idea if it would really work. They took a very dangerous chance. Fire fighting boomers are one of the most useful, non-combat boomers in existence, but their size and power could make them one of the most dangerous.

"For investigations it might be a difficult choice to make."

Nene nodded, seeing the point that Kaneko was making. She was about to ask Kaneko what she would do if it were her choice when Kaneko's NAVI buzzed.

Kaneko removed her NAVI, setting it on the dash of the car, and then flipped it open. "Akamura-desu."

"Kaneko-san, this is Leon. Can you get back to the station as fast as possible?"

"I'm heading there now. What's up?"

"Not now. I'll tell you when you get here."

"I'll be there soon."

"Good," Leon said, then cut the connection.

Kaneko looked over at Nene then shrugged her shoulders. At that moment Nene's NAVI buzzed.

"I bet you it's Leon-san," Nene said as she took the NAVI from her jacket.


Reika sat across from Kou, looking over the reports that were coming to her.

"Are all our people out of the country yet?" Reika asked him.

"Almost, we have most of the heavy equipment out. In about an hour none of our personnel should be in the city except for the ones who were here before all this started. We have to thank McNichol-kichou for getting clearance for our planes. Being able to use even small airports in the city was of great help."

Reika leaned back in her seat, glad for the good news. As soon as it was obvious the terrorists were in retreat, a rout in some cases, Reika had ordered her people to begin breaking camp.

Casualty numbers of her people had been a bit high, but not that bad and fatalities were thankfully low. The different branches of the police departments had suffered higher numbers of both casualties and fatalities, but not as bad as it could have been.

Thankfully both casualties and fatalities among the civilian population had been very small. They had been successful in that part of the operation.

"Genom sent us some information," Kou told her.

"What is it?"

"It concerns the mercenaries that started this. All of them are dead. Hamilton Davis, Jasmine Byron, Tony Siprian, Keith Otton and Rebecca Lin."

"All of them?"

"Someone is cleaning up their trail. It is to be expected."

"Are you sure that they are all dead?"

"Hou Bang confirmed deaths of all of them except Rebecca Lin. A team is currently on its way to Fiji to examine Miss Lin's remains and confirm that."

"So we may never know who was ultimately behind this?"

"It is hard to say," Kou told her.

Reika nodded and said nothing for a time. Finally she looked at Kou. "Kou, how did I do?" Reika asked the question that had been on her mind since she had left the Genom Tower.

"Depends, you have protected Hou Bang from a publicity backlash we might not have recovered from. You played right into Genom's hands, but anyone might have. They are very good. Cost wise, we will suffer for from this for a time, it was very expensive with no real profit. You did as well as could be expected and you gained useful experience. Next time you'll probably do better."

"If there is a next time," Reika said softly.

"True," Kou told her.

"Do you think I should just go back to singing?"

"You ask that often, too often really." There was a touch of something in his voice, Reika thought it might be anger. "It's not something for me to say Reika. Make those decisions for yourself."

"I...I guess you're right."

"You have hard choices to make Reika. It's all a part of growing up."

Reika nodded. "So it's all over but the paperwork."

"It's never over," Kou told her.


Nene sighed as she looked at the information that scrolled across her screen. She wished that it was not so easy, but for whatever reason, finding the link between Taplin Chemicals and Kyuusei Industries had been.

She wondered how Leon had received the information, then decided that she knew. Genom. It made sense. She did not understand what they were trying to prove. The information and evidence that Leon had received could not be used in a court of law, not really. All they had was conjecture.

She had thought about lying to Leon about it, telling him that she found no link between the chemical company and Kyuusei. In a way she owed that to Reika Chang. She could not do that though. There had been something in Leon, hovering between hurt and anger that made lying to him impossible.

"How's it going?" Leon asked, coming into the room.

"I've verified the information you received," Nene told him, turning towards him. "Taplin Chemicals is owned by Kyuusei Industries, or by the same group that owns Kyuusei Industries."

"Hou Bang."

"I suppose."

Leon nodded. "Thanks Nene-chan. Go home, get some sleep."

"What about Sergeant Harrison?"

"I'll deal with Madoka-san. Just go home. You look as tired as I feel."

"Thank you Leon-san. I'll just clean up here," Nene told him as she began to erase her work.

"Do that."

Nene watched as Leon walked from the room, and then she turned her attention towards covering up everything she had just done.


Kaneko was sitting behind the counter in one of the ADP forensic labs. She held a test tube in her hand and was slowly swinging it back and forth; watching for the colour change she knew was going to come. It was just a final test to confirm everything else she had discovered. The liquid inside the test tube turned red.

She turned on her stool to face Leon. "I've confirmed everything in those reports you were sent, but that does not mean that the final conclusions they sent you are true."

"But they could be." It was not a question.

"They could be."

"How deadly would it have been?"

"Not my speciality Captain McNichol."

"Make an educated guess," he told her.

"It would have been fatal in extremely low concentrations. You would have to look hard to find a deadlier agent. That is my educated guess."

"Thank you Kaneko-san."

"From the way you look, I'm not sure you should be thanking me. Maybe cursing me would be better?"

"I'll save my curses for someone else." He walked over to her and began gathering up everything he had been sent.

"What are you going to do with all that?"

"Return it to its owner," Leon told her.


As Leon pulled his car out of the ADP motorpool he flipped on his flashing lights and the sirens. Several people were forced to get out of his way, and he had to swerve around a wrecker that was brining an APC in.

Leon drove through the streets, going as fast as the conditions would allow. He had always known that Reika Chang was holding something back. He had not let in concern him, sure that it was nothing too dangerous or important. He had been very wrong.

The sun was up, the light blinding. He put his sunglasses on. The roads were strangely empty, people not sure if they wanted to go out yet. He passed a number of police barricades that were in the process of being taken down.

The Road Chasers were the fastest vehicles in the ADP motor pool. It did not take him long to reach the Kyuusei Tokyo Foundation. He hit his brakes, the car fishtailed, he twisted the wheel, letting up on the brakes slightly. The car slid sideways into three parking spaces.

She jerked me around, Leon flung the door open, the lights on the cruiser still flashing. He grabbed the bag he had stuffed all the evidence into. She played the entire police force for her own ends. He ran from his car towards the entrance of the building. She had withheld vital information.

Leon got to the door and yanked on it. It was locked. He began pounding on the glass.

"What are you doing?" The security guard's voice was muffled by the glass. Only a normal security guard Leon noted. All the embarrassing people and equipment were out of the country by now. He had helped with that.

"AD Police, open up." Leon pulled his badge out.

The security guard looked at the ID through the glass, then he opened the door.

"Do you have a warrant? If not I'm afraid I can't let you in. We'll be open in a few hours."

Leon let his badge drop and shoulder rushed the man, knocking him back. Part of Leon's mind was telling him that this was a bad career move. Leon did not care. He grabbed the guard by the lapels of his jacket and carried him back, slammed him into the security desk, and bent him over it.

"I want to speak to Chang and if you ask me for a warrant again you'll regret it."

"She's...She's not seeing anyone." His hands were flailing about, trying to hit Leon but there was no force behind his blows.

"Tell me where she is." Leon pulled the jacket lapels in towards the centre, putting pressure on the man's throat.

"I...I..." he choked out.

"That's enough Captain McNichol." Reika's voice came from behind him.

Leon pulled the man up and then pushed him away. He stumbled back a few steps before falling on the floorhis face a deep red. Leon spun to face Reika.

"They had chemical weapons, and you knew."

"That is an interesting accusation." Reika walked towards him. "And I would guess hard to prove." She told him. Leon noticed that Kou was a few steps behind her, watching both of them.

"Nice," Leon said. "Genom teach you that line?"

Reika stopped. Had not Odotte said something similar to her only a few days ago? She shook it off and walked up to Leon.

"What do you want to talk about Captain McNichol? What's so important that you come here this early in the morning, and assault one of my employees?"

Leon took the bag he had brought with him and upended it. The samples, the vials, the balled up pieces of paper fell out, raining down on the floor. The vials rang out as they bounced off the floor, then a skittering sound as they rolled off. "The terrorists had access to a chemical weapon, one produced by Taplin Chemicals. A company controlled by Kyuusei Industries, so don't tell me that you didn't know. By the looks of things, if I had arrived any later you would have been gone." Leon looked over at several pieces of luggage being held by other security personnel.

"Are you arresting us?" Reika asked, keeping her voice calm.

"As you said, I can't prove anything. Convenient that. This evidence," he brought his foot down on one of the glass vials. It cracked under his foot, "is useless in proving a case."

"So what is this all about?" She kept her face deadpan.

"I guess I hoped you might actually be different." Leon shook his head. "You got lucky this time, no one was hurt. Next time..." Leon turned his back and began to walk towards the doors. "Are your secrets worth lives Chang-san?" Leon yelled over his shoulder. He did not know it but it was the cruellest thing he could say and it hurt Reika deeply.

She did not show it. Leon waited a moment. "I didn't expect an answer." He walked through the doors, bending down to pick up his badge on the way out. Leon was outlined in the early morning sunlight. A moment later he was gone from sight.

Reika lowered her head. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up into Kou's concerned face. He pressed a handkerchief into her hand.

"Be strong," he told her.

"Kou..." Reika suddenly buried her face in his chest, wrapping her arms around him.

Kou held her.


February 15, San Francisco, Chang Estate, 21:15

Shouki Chang looked out the windows of his office, over the manicured grounds of the estate. Bright lights illuminated the winter bare grounds. He turned his wheel chair slightly so he could see the fountain that his wife had purchased in Greece and had brought to the mansion. At the time he had thought it a foolish purchase but it had set off the grounds so perfectly.

He felt old that day, very old.

In his lap were two reports. One from Reika, one from Kou. He was pleased with his granddaughter's performance. Admittedly she had missed a number of things but with Genom that was hardly surprising.

While some of his more experienced executives might have been able to spot them he doubted they could have done anything about it. Genom had held all the cards.

Kou's report was making him feel old. He was not sure what to do if Reika was unable to take over for him. His son was dead, Irene was dead, he had no direct family left other than Reika.

His grandfather had built the company that would become Kyuusei Industries. He had brought it into the fold of the Tiger Corps, and then had risen to lead it. His father had taken over and passed it on to him. Three generations of Changs that had headed the powerful group of Asian Pacific based companies.

And now that might end.

Even if Reika chose to take over from him, he was not sure he could, in good faith, recommend her for the position. Not in the immediate future.

If only his son had survived.

Shouki wished he could step down. His mind was as sharp as ever but his body was betraying him. He always felt tired.

He moved his wheelchair across the room and placed the reports on his desk.

Perhaps he could give the position to Kou. He was the son of an old friend, was almost like another member of the family. It was something to think about.

"Sir." His secretary came into the room. "Your niece is here."

"Send her in," Shouki told the man as he turned the chair.

Louise was not really his niece. She was the daughter of a cousin. But so few members of his family survived, even a relation as tenuous as that was worth keeping.

"Uncle." Louise came into the room. "I'm so glad you could make time to see me."

"It is always a pleasure to see you, I can always make time."

"Thank you uncle." She crossed the room and bent down to kiss him on his cheek.

"Would you like anything?" he asked her.

"Well, some tea would be nice," she said.

"Of course. Thomas," he called in his soft voice. His secretary was through the door almost instantly. "Some tea please."

"Yes sir." He turned and was gone.

"So, how are your studies going Louise."

"Oh, just fine, a few problems, but nothing major."

"That's good."

"How are you Uncle? You look a little tired."

"Age." He smiled at her. "But I'm fine."

"You should get some more rest," she said to him.

"I should."

"You work so hard Uncle and you have been so good to me."

"You're family."

Louise suddenly looked uncomfortable, just for a moment but it was hard not to notice.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing, I was just reminded of something unpleasant."

"What is it?"

"Nothing really. Just one of those personal things that always seems worse than it is." She sighed. "Let me get that tea." She got to her feet suddenly and left the office. It was only a few seconds later that she came back in. "Thomas is really efficient," Louise told Shouki as she came back in and placed the silver tea service on a low table. "Would you like some tea Uncle?"

"Yes, thank you."

"Just a moment." Louise bent down to pour the tea. She made sure that her body covered her actions. She slid a small tube from her sleeve, pinched it open and poured the contents out into the cup.

It was a kindness, she told herself, repeating what she had been told, he was so old. The poison was painless, she had been assured. It would look like natural causes. And once she did it, all her problems would be over. The best for everyone. She was almost at the point where she had herself convinced.

She filled both cups with tea, making sure the fine powder dissolved fully.

"Would you like milk or sugar Uncle?"

"No thank you," he said, looking at her back.

"Just a moment then." Louise put three cubes of sugar in her own cup. She turned and handed the cup and saucer to Shouki then took a seat, holding her own cup and saucer in her lap. She took a long drink from her cup, staring over it at her uncle. "You should drink that before it gets cold," she told him. She could not hide a touch of nervousness in her voice.

"Do they think me that stupid?" Shouki asked.

"Uncle?"

"I wasn't asking you Louise." He moved his wheelchair over to the table and placed the cup and saucer down. "I'm disappointed in you and you have hurt me," he said slowly.

Louise bolted up, her cup hitting the floor. She ran towards the door, crying. She was stopped by two large men in dark suits.

"Don't hurt her," Shouki said in as loud a voice as he was capable of. It caused him to cough several times. "Find out what hold they have on her, then break it."

"I'm sorry Uncle, I'm sorry, please, don't hurt me," she sobbed.

"Take her to a secure room. Make sure she doesn't hurt herself," he told his security men.

Once they had left he turned his chair to face the window again. He had not wanted to believe it when his security people had told him Louise might be plotting his death. He knew Genom was behind it, he also knew he would never prove it.

They had used a member of his family in the attempt. That hurt him so deep he could not even begin to express it.

He doubted Genom had thought he was that stupid. They would not mind seeing him dead but they would rather break him, he knew. As tears ran down a face, deeply lined with age, he wished they had succeeded. Death might have been preferable.


February 16th, Thursday, 09:25, MegaTokyo

The room was dark. Or maybe there was something over her eyes. Rebecca was not sure. She tired to remember what had happened, maybe it would help her puzzle out where she was. She remembered walking into her bungalow after a day on the beach, well, she remembered opening the door, but after that, nothing.

What was happening?

Suddenly she felt something cool blow across the skin on the back of her neck.

"Is someone there?" she called out, wondering why her voice sounded so odd.

Suddenly she could see, as if a light had been switched on. She thought there would be that momentary pain when one went from darkness to light, but there was no discomfort. That confused her.

Sitting across from her was a girl, probably about eleven or twelve. Her black hair was cut short, just below her ears. Behind her stood a woman, probably in her early twenties. She had black hair, currently piled atop her head, and wore a suit. Rebecca recognised the Genom lapel pin on her jacket. Why was it reversed?

"So back among the living I see," the woman across from her said, but she heard it as if the voice came from above her.

Rebecca looked up, seeing a woman, a twin to the one across from her, standing behind the chair she sat on. She looked back to the other woman, and noticed the girl was doing the same thing. She stared at the girl, who was staring back at her. Slowly, Rebecca lifted her hand, touching her face. The girl across from her copied the movement exactly.

"Impossible," she said.

"Nothing is impossible," the woman said, walking around the chair, blocking Rebecca's view of the mirror. "It is just difficult and very expensive," Domino told her.

"What happened?" Rebecca asked, looking at the woman.

"There was a mercenary team led by a man named Hamilton Davis."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Mr. Davis was very good at his job, had a very good team. Unfortunately someone convinced him that Genom had set him and his people up, so he attacked Genom. This led to a state of corporate warfare between Genom and the Hou Bang organisation.

"Whoever set Mr. Davis and his team up to do this obviously did not want either Genom or Hou Bang to talk to them. In order to do this they killed Mr. Davis and his team. All of them."

"That is a lie," Rebecca said. There was no way they could have killed everyone.

"It is very true. All of his team were killed, including Rebecca Lin."

Rebecca stared at the woman in front of her. "You're crazy."

"No. I'll let you read the files on the deaths of the other members of Mr. Davis' team, but I'll tell you about Rebecca. The assassin was waiting for her in her bungalow. I suspect Miss Lin thought that her security system would warn her of something like that, but the assassin was very good, in some respects.

"Miss Lin came into her bungalow, walked into the centre of the room when he, we assume he right now, shot her the first time. In the head," Domino said as she reached out and put her finger on Rebecca's forehead. "The bullet, for whatever reason, did not penetrate, but slid along the outside of the skull, tearing Miss Lin's left ear off." She traced her finger along the path she described.

"Head wounds are very bloody, so it is probably understandable that he thought that the bullet had done more than crease the skull. There was a concussion of course. He then dropped his point of aim, a 9mm pistol we believe, and put three shots into her chest." Domino reached out and poked her in the chest, hard, three times. "Missed the heart, though he did damage superior vena cava. The other two ripped through the left lung, collapsing it.

"If it had been me, I would have made sure the job was finished, another shot to the head, just to be sure, but the assassin did not. He did set the bungalow on fire before he left though, so perhaps his mistake in understandable."

"What are you saying?" Rebecca asked, getting to her feet.

Domino pushed her back down. "I'm telling you something very important. A Genom extraction team arrived within minutes of this happening and recovered Miss Lin. A medical team was on site, and they did everything they could to save her. The burns were too extensive, and she had lost a lot of blood. She was going to die.

"One of the paramedic boomers there was one of my operatives. I had given orders of what to do in such a case. He made a copy of Miss Lin's mind."

"That's crazy!"

"Is it? Look for yourself," Domino moved back, allowing her to look at the mirror. "Is that Rebecca Lin?"

"This is some sort of trick."

Domino shook her head. "Rebecca Lin was killed. You are," she paused, as if thinking about it. "A doll. You are a doll with the memories of Rebecca Lin. I needed to know what Miss Lin knew. You are the pages I had that information written on."

"No! I am Rebecca Lin!" she screamed.

"Rebecca Lin is dead."

"No!"

Domino removed a small remote from her suit jacket pocket. "Look at this," she said, pressing a button on the remote.

In the space above the mirror and image formed. It showed a man, probably in his early fifties, smiling broadly.

Domino watched as the girl tensed up suddenly, then relaxed slightly, a look of surprise and confusion on her face. She turned to look at Domino.

"Tony Lin, Miss Lin's father, as you know. As you also know, he sexually molested her for several years. Miss Lin always claimed that she took the Growth Restraint of her own choice. The truth is her father gave it to her when he realised she was getting older.

"You know all this, you have memories of it happening, but for some reason you are not sure of, you seem to be lacking something. You can't feel the hate for that man up there. You can't feel the shame, the self-loathing when you remember what he did to you. It is almost as if you read a book about Rebecca Lin's life." Domino used the remote again, changing the image. This time it was a woman. "Miss Lin's mother."

Rebecca looked up at the image, confusion on her face.

"You know you should hate her for dying, for leaving Rebecca with Tony, but you can't feel it. You can't feel the guilt for hating her either." Domino used the remote, going through picture after picture, letting the girl look at them before going onto the next.

"This can't be," she said, but her tone told Domino that she was defeated.

"It is. Look at it as a gift. Rebecca Lin has given you her life, without the emotional baggage. Perhaps you will be able to lead her life in a way that she never did. Before you can do that though, we need to talk." Domino dropped the remote. It hit the ground with a soft crack. The projected images began to flash across the screen, creating a strobe effect.

The girl looked at Domino. "I won't tell you anything. Even if I am not Rebecca Lin, she would not talk."

"You'd be surprised," Domino said, reaching out to take the girl's hand. She gently ran her thumb across the top of it. "The people you are trying to protect are the people that killed you, well, Rebecca, and Rebecca's friends, or associates."

The girl said nothing.

Domino sighed. "This is an amazing body you are in. It has abilities that you will, in time, find quite outstanding. Right now though, you do not have access to those abilities. This body, for all intents and purposes, is human."

"Am I a boomer?" she asked.

"Maybe. It would depend how you look at it. I would not let it worry you. It will take a fairly in depth examination to discover you are other than human." Domino looked at her, then gently ran her hands along the girl's smallest finger. Suddenly she snapped the finger back, popping it from the socket.

She screamed, jerking up. Domino used an arm lock to force the girl, face down, onto the floor. Domino waited until her sobbing quieted. "Human, except you don't have the option of passing out due to pain, or from dying because of it. Do you understand that?"

She said nothing, telling herself that pain was not important. She was also remembering Tony once saying that everyone, in time, would break.

"I don't want to hurt you," Domino told her, then snapped her ring finger back, eliciting new screams. "That does not mean that I won't." Domino let her sob for a time, then removed a small, L shaped device from the pocket opposite to the one she had removed the remote from. She placed the end of the shorter bar against the base of the girl's little finger and activated the device. She did the same for the ring finger.

Her sobs stopped suddenly. "What happened?" she asked, sounding confused.

"One of the benefits I was speaking off," Domino said as she moved the girl back up onto the chair. "Perhaps I will explain later. I repeat, I do not want to hurt you, but I will. If you force me to do so, you will regret it. Co-operate, and you will be rewarded. Think about it."

Domino reached under the chair and brought forth a first aid kit. She tapped the dislocated fingers together, a piece of splinting material between them. The girl watched as this happened and wondered what she should do? She did not want to be tortured. She did not want to think what might be done after that. The threat, that she would regret it if she forced the woman in front of her to hurt her, hung over her.

Domino finished up, then looked her straight in the eyes. "Do you understand what I have said?"

"Yes," she said.

"I am going to ask you a number of questions, I know the answers to some of them. Do not lie. One lie and I'll have to do this the unpleasant way. Do you understand that?"

"Yes."

Domino smiled, and reached up to brush the hair out of the girl's eyes. "Good. Shall we begin?"


Priss yawned deeply, her bike wobbled, at those speeds she almost found herself in opposing traffic. Man am I tired, Priss thought. She had earlier fallen asleep at Sylia's piano, face resting on smooth, polished wood. The sunlight had finally crept across her eyes, waking her.

The city was coming to terms with what had happened the night before, and were dealing with it. The people of MegaTokyo were tough, you had to give them that. Priss had heard snatches of news. While Prometheus Bound had always been an outlawed group, it had been treated as something of a minor problem. They were only a militant anti-Genom group, and some people thought that not so bad. Not any longer.

Not only was Prometheus Bound suffering, but its parent group, the Neo Ludites, was coming under investigation. Supposedly a number of the leaders of both groups had turned up dead. Priss knew a little too much to pass it off as infighting, as the press seemed content to do. Someone was cleaning up a mess.

She pulled onto the off ramp and headed down into the city, driving through the area she called home. Not too many people around, Priss thought, looking around. She wondered how long before Genom started rebuilding the area.

Priss slowed down to look at something. Yellow police tape, the remains of it at least. Well, she should not be surprised. The type of area she lived in seemed to be where most of the action happened. She sped up, passing it, not her problem.

As soon as Priss saw her trailer she realised there was a problem. It was bent, part of the roof a ragged mess. Water was leaking through the floor onto the ground. She pulled her bike in beside it, shut the engine off and after putting the kick stand down she got off the bike. She hung her helmet on the handlebars, then walked around the trailer.

There were bullet holes in the sides, bending down she could see the large holes in the floor. The axles of the trailer had been snapped.

She tried to open the door, but it was jammed. It took several hard tugs to pop it free from the twisted frame. Inside she could see the large holes in the roof.

It took her a moment, but she came to the conclusion that one of the GD-42s must have done it. The leg had come through the trailer, the upper part of the leg moving much more than the lower, carving up the roof. A second leg, than a third. Priss could picture it quite clearly. She always knew the 42s were designed for the sole purpose of making her life hell.

Her bathtub was shattered. The hot water heater broken beyond repair. There was no smell or hiss of gas, which was a good thing. Priss crossed the trailer and found the shut off valve for the water.

Her computer was destroyed, it looked like it had caught a round. Her keyboard was smashed, she saw pieces of it scattered around. The TV and stereo seemed to have survived, but she would not know until she tried to turn them on.

The old electric guitar she kept for practice was snapped in two. At least it wasn't the one she liked. Her bed had slipped part way off the sleeping shelf, the mattress had slid to the floor. Her clothing rack was also on an angle. Priss stepped over the mattress and took a good look at the clothes. There were several bullet holes in each garment.

"Great." Priss shook her head than dropped down to sit cross-legged on the mattress. "Just fucking great." She dropped her head into her hands. She was too tired to deal with it.

Looking up Priss noticed he samisen case, partially covered by the mattress. She reached down and pulled it out. Opening the case Priss was pleasantly surprised to see it had survived.

"Will wonders never cease." Priss pulled it out and placed it on her knees. She drew the bone pick over the strings.

Things were not so bad. She could borrow a van, get all her things loaded in without a problem, find a new place to live. No problem at all. She had the money after all, and prospects, more than ever before. One place was as good as another.

Priss suddenly stopped her picking at the samisen. She had just lost her home. She had not spent so much time in one place since her parents had died. Yet she thought it was not a problem.

She picked at the strings again, calling forth music that was foreign to the instrument in her hands.

"The adrenaline high is where I live, but it burns me out leaving nothing to give," Priss sang softly. Her words. Her song.

"Live fast, love hard, die young," Priss whispered to herself, wondering how many times she had said those words, had lived them. "But what if you don't die young. Burned out, nothing to give. I'm only twenty," she mouthed the last, not making a sound.

Suddenly Priss knew she wanted something more than what she had. She wanted a life she could be proud of, that her friends could be proud of, that her parents could have been proud of.

For the first time Priss wondered if Mamoru, Sylvie, Anri, all the others were the lucky ones. She did not like thinking that way. It terrified her. She did not know what to do.

The music that came from the samisen was haunting and sad as Priss sat upon the mattress, wondering where her life was going to take her.

She shook her head and put the samisen back into its case. She got up and walked to the centre of the trailer, stepping around the holes in the floor. Priss pulled her cel phone from her jacket pocket and stared at the keypad for a time before tapping in a number.


"When someone gives you their opinion, you should receive it with deep gratitude even if it is worthless. If you don't, he will not tell you the things he has seen and heard about you again. It is best to both give and receive opinions in a friendly way"
-Yamamoto Tsunetomo