Objective 3: 2:32 P.M. Air Duct
As luck would have it, the duct was big enough to fit two people. The only downside was the height, which forced Claire and Yoko to crawl shoulder to shoulder through the vent. It was really a blind trek; they had no idea where they were going. The best option was to constantly turn left where they guessed the office areas would be.
"This warehouse hasn't been used since the end of World War II," Yoko stated as she squeezed through a smaller shaft. "Back then, Japan had begun its own Biological Weapon study. They used warehouses like these for some of the less suspicious experiments, but it's been said that they used abandoned areas in the subway system for more…secretive operations."
This thought gave Claire a chilling feeling. She could only imagine the horrors that were created a few feet below Tokyo's sidewalks, unbeknownst to the citizens who used the subway every day.
They came to a wider space. Claire thought it was the main duct. It stretched all the way down and it seemed like every other shaft connected to this one. If they followed it to the end they would probably get to their destination. The other direction was a dead end; a massive fan blocked their way.
"I'd hate to be stuck in here when that goes off," Claire said to Yoko. "Let's go down this way…and quickly."
They had gone a few feet when a loud bang made them turn around. A huge leech like creature had came through the pipes. It took up most of the room and oozed a sickening slime that most likely helped it to glide through the tunnels. Seeing the two girls in front of it, the worm opened its mouth revealing rows of saliva coated sharp teeth.
Claire and Yoko were crawling as fast as possible towards the end of the tunnel now, knowing that that thing was right behind them and moving much faster than they had hoped. This was a claustrophobic nightmare, there was no way to outrun the thing and they couldn't crawl any faster.
Claire grabbed her gun and did her best to turn around in the duct. "Get to the exit, I'll hold it off!" Yoko did as she was told and sprint-crawled to the end of the shaft. Claire began shooting at the creature, which let out a deafening howl at the bullets tearing through its gelatinous membranes. But any hopes of killing the creature were cut short when Claire's gun fired its last round. There was no time to reload.
Yoko had come to a grate at the end of the tunnel. She could see the small office room below her through the panels. There were four screws on every corner that bolted the gate to the duct opening. Yoko started to unscrew one of them, trying to maintain her composure. Claire was coming towards her, the worm in slimy pursuit.
One screw fell out. Three more to go. She grabbed both bottom ones at the same time and began to unbolt them. She could hear Claire's panting behind her. They too fell out and Yoko started unfastening the last one, feeling the breath of the worm behind her.
Claire came next to her and started pushing on the grating. The final bolt fell out as Yoko began to feel something slimy touch her leg. They tumbled out into the room below.
Yoko saw it first, the big yellow fuse box with FAN SWITCH in big lettering. She pulled the switch down, just as the worm started to poke its head out of the hole above them. It made a loud yelp before being violently sucked back into the passage. A few seconds later and the girls both winced at the squishing, ripping sound of the worm being torn to shreds. There was more silence before a jelly looking pink ooze began to spew out of the pipes and onto the floor. The worm had been liquefied.
Yoko turned her head the other way as Claire began vomiting in the wastebasket of the room. After she was done, she went over to the wall and collapsed onto the floor. "I feel better…" she said softly. "Where are we anyway?"
Yoko walked over to a Plexiglas Window. She pulled back the blinds and let out a small yelp. There was a woman in the other room, crouched behind an overturned desk and screaming as a zombie stumbled into the room.
Yoko and Claire burst into the room, Claire firing two bullets to the zombie's head, which burst into a spray of blood. Good thing I'm all puked out, Claire thought to herself as she turned her head away from the disgusting site.
There was a petite Japanese woman in a fetal position on the floor. She wore a sleek black skirt and was clad in what looked like a lab coat. Her face was flustered, and Claire noticed that her physical features were a little different than the Japanese women Claire had seen. If anything she assumed that the woman came from a mixed background.
The woman brushed herself off and then fixed her hair, making what Claire took for a haughty "harrumph" sound. "Thanks…" the woman said to Claire in English. She then turned towards Yoko and let out a small gasp. "Yoko Suzuki? Banyo? So I wasn't the only one sent."
This puzzled Yoko and Claire alike. This woman was the last thing they expected to find in a zombie infested Yakuza hideout. "Who are you?" Claire said at last.
The woman gave Claire a suspicious look. "I'm Lindsey Watanabe, and I was under the impression that I was the only one sent here. I'm a Biochemist."
Another one! Claire thought that Yoko was the only Biochemist sent to retrieve the virus. Something was amiss, one of them was not supposed to be here, but Claire could see Yoko was just as muddled by this meeting as she was.
"Have we met?" Yoko said to Lindsey politely.
Unlike Yoko, Lindsey wasn't the quiet voiced comely girl Yoko was. "No, but I know who you are, and I have to say I'm flattered to be meeting such a good chemist as yourself, but that's not why I'm here." The woman took out a compact and began to check her face. Claire didn't think this was a time to be worrying about appearances.
"So then, do you work for Banyo as well?" Yoko asked.
The woman flinched. "That information is classified, for all you know I may be a private Biochemist, just know that I was called here in order to examine some sort of virus."
Who is she kidding, there is no such thing as a "private biochemist", Claire knew that Lindsey was telling them less then what she actually did know about the situation. Maybe the Yakuza had called for her to come and help them handle the virus, or most likely she was liaison for someone who would pay cold hard cash for such a discovery. That would give reason for her not to disclose her true affiliations. But a survivor was still a priority, and Lindsey was going to have to comply with them.
"Don't move!" A male voice came from the doorway. In walked another business suited Yakuza member. He had a gun pointed in the direction of the three women.