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Chapter Five
Thursday, December 15
12:51 A.M.
Organization Compound 21
Kasumi groggily raised her head, not realizing where she was or what had been happening to her, but then she tried to raise her arm, and her memory was instantly refreshed when the piercing pain from her torn muscles shot through her body. She gasped loudly and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to suppress the sharp pain. Her hand was numb from the cold, but she could still feel the spot where she had been wounded by Smith's blade. The headache she had since she arrived in the chilly prison had seemed to dissipate, providing a little relief, but not much.
Trying not to move too quickly, she turned her head away form the wall and towards the door. Her neck was sore like the rest of her injured body, but she forced herself to move, hoping that she wouldn't get stiff. As Shark came into her line of sight, Kasumi sighed, knowing that things were about to go from bad to worse very fast. He didn't seem to care that she was awake, because he was too busy mixing a bright green fluid in a small vial. Then he glanced up at her and nodded.
"Good, you're awake. I guess it's time to resume our little conversation," he said monotonously.
"Wait," she said quickly, her voice full of panic, "Can you at least tell me what time it is?"
She was stalling, and she knew it was no good. She hoped someone would find her, but she also knew it was in vain. No one knew she was gone, except Jack and he wouldn't know where to begin looking. Everyone else she knew wanted her dead.
"It's almost one in the morning," Shark said. He picked up the green vial from before and filled a syringe.
Kasumi reflexively tried to jerk away from him, but she was in too much pain and far too weak to put out any sort of effort. As Shark's hand drew closer, she tried harder to move, adrenaline drowning out her agony.
"No!" she screamed at him as he pushed the needle into her skin.
Shark didn't say a word as he injected it into her arm and waited while the drug took hold of her. At first Kasumi only felt an intense cold spread through her, like someone covered her in an ice blanket. She noticed that the air in the frigid room almost felt warm to her, which made her very worried, but she hid her emotions well and put on a brave face. Then everything began to spin, making her so dizzy she had to close her eyes.
"This is a drug that will make your nerves hypersensitive to heat and motion." Shark said.
She slowly opened her eyes and tried to steady her vision, focusing on Shark with all of her pain and despair. He picked up a large glass and filled it with steaming hot water from a large five gallon tank sitting on the floor by his chair.
"If you tell me where the Shinobi village is, I won't have to use this."
"What are you going to do, give me a bath?" she managed to whisper in a mocking tone.
"Not quite. This water came from a hot water faucet upstairs. Although it is only as warm as hot dishwater, it will feel much more like scalding water to you," Shark said.
Tears welled up in Kasumi's eyes. "No! You can't do this!"
Shark sighed and raised the glass, but didn't spill it on her quaking body. "I'll give you one more chance. Don't underestimate how much this will hurt."
"I will never tell you," Kasumi said with as much effort as she could muster. The room began making her sick again so she closed her eyes and braced herself.
Shark grabbed Kasumi's arm and slowly poured the steaming water all over it. She bit her lip and made a fist with her left hand, suppressing her urge to scream. As soon as the water had run off, her arm felt like it was freezing again. Shark filled another glass.
"Stop!" she yelled. "Please..."
Shark regretted every moment of this, but Smith had promised him well over five million American currency if he could get this information. He looked down at the shivering form of Kasumi and wondered whether it was worth it. Quickly, he got a grip on his senses. She's not my problem. This is just easy money. Who cares about her suffering anyway?
"Tell me what I want to know!" he yelled.
"I can't..." Kasumi whimpered weakly.
Shark took the glass and poured it all over her injured hand, soaking the bloody bandage with the hot water. Kasumi screamed as the terrible pain burned through her hand while her wrist remained frozen. Shark looked down at her and filled another glass.
"I-I can't take anymore!" she sobbed. "Don't...."
"I won't stop until you tell me the location," he said coldly.
He poured the water on her hand again and got the same response. Kasumi cried out in extreme anguish while the hot water rushed through her wounded hand and gathered in a burning puddle on the table underneath her skin.
Shark immediately filled the glass once again, not giving her any time to catch her breath or brace herself for more. Then he drenched her waist, soaking her white shirt and making her skin burn against her clothes. Kasumi tried to hold back her tears, but the hot water was too much for her to endure.
"I...can't....tell...." she whimpered, tears rushing down her face.
Shark decided this was getting him nowhere and that she couldn't take much more for now, because she obviously hadn't fully recovered from the muscle damage that his first session had caused. He would wait a few hours and try something new, but first he had to wait for the effects of the green liquid to wear off. He began to close the tank and he took a blanket out of the cart.
"What are you doing?!" Smith yelled from behind him. "No wonder you're not getting any answers. You're going way too easy on her."
Smith took the tank from Shark, and poured the rest of the water all over Kasumi's shivering body, an evil smile darkening his face. She recoiled as the hot water washed over her, soaking into her clothes and gathering in a large puddle on the metal table beneath her.
"AAHHH!" she screamed, unable to contain herself any longer.
She sobbed, not even able to stop herself for a breath of fresh air. She finally slipped into unconsciousness, where she could hide from the scalding pain. Shark was enraged at Smith.
"Dammit, Smith! Do you have any idea how much that hurt her?!" Shark yelled at the short man.
Before Smith could yell back a reply, Shark tackled him and punched him in the face with a hard right hook. Smith rolled out from underneath Shark and attempted to kick him, but Shark was too fast for him. Smith pulled the hunting knife from his pocket and they both got up at the same time.
"Shark, you're lucky I need you or you'd already be dead. You work for me, so if I want to pour hot water on her, I will, and there's nothing you can do about it. You had best learn your place around here." Smith said as he wiped the blood from his nose.
"A lot of good it did you! You didn't get any information out of her, you just made her pass out, you fool. Let me do my job." Shark yelled angrily.
Smith put away his knife and looked at Kasumi, who was lying in the small pool of warm water that had accumulated on the table under her shivering body. She was breathing hard, but wasn't making any movements.
He then returned his focus to Shark as he got out the thick warm blanket to put over her. "Leave her like she is."
Shark wasn't sure he heard right. "Leave her uncovered?"
Smith nodded.
"She'll freeze to death if we leave her like that! Do you know how cold it is in here?"
He nodded. "Yes, I do. Maybe she'll realize the mistake she's made when she wakes up lying in a pool of icy water instead of under a nice dry blanket."
Shark glared at Smith as he put the blanket back inside the cart.
Thursday, December 15
1:15 A.M.
Myamoto's Apartment
"Shinobi?! Where does it say that?" Myamoto exclaimed.
Jack handed him the printout and pointed at the mysterious word, curiosity written clearly on his face. "Right here. What does it mean?"
Myamoto stared at the word, stunned. When he didn't respond, Jack cleared his throat. "What is it?"
"There's a Japanese legend about a mysterious people who have controlled the mountain for centuries. Translated into english the word means spy or sneak. About five years ago, the government sent up an elite squad of military agent to investigate some unexplained activity in the forest, but they never came back. Some people think its ridiculous, but I believe they were eliminated by the Shinobi. A few people are so paranoid about it that they will refuse to even enter the woods, especially at night. But there aren't many like that, most people just think that it's an old story meant to scare kids and nothing more."
"And what do you believe?"
Myamoto shrugged. "I believe that it explains a lot of things that have happened in this town over the years. It's definitely not just a story, but there's absolutely no proof that they exist. At least there wasn't until you brought me this disk."
"Hey, let's not get ahead of ourselves. For all we know Shinobi, could just be a codename for something else."
"Come on, Jack. Where's your sense of adventure?"
Jack grinned. "It does make sense that a group like that could exist. It might have been them that took her--"
Myamoto interrupted. "What? They took who?"
"Uh...nobody?"
"Jack, quit holding out on me. Who was taken?"
Jack sighed and plopped down on the couch. "It's my friend, Kasumi. She's in some kind of serious trouble, and if I don't find her soon, I'm afraid I'll lose her. You mind if I take the list with me?" Jack asked.
"No, go ahead," Myamoto said. "You think she's still alive?"
"I don't know. I can only hope so, but for all I know she's out in the woods freezing to death. I need something to go on, and this list is my only lead."
Myamoto shook his head. "I'm sorry to hear that. Let me know if there's anything else I can do to help."
"Thanks, but you're already doing plenty. You can keep the disc until you decode it. Call me if you find anything new," Jack said as he walked out of the room.
The Shinobi took her, he thought. This explained everything. But if no one else had found the Shinobi, or any proof of their existence, how would he find Kasumi? And if they managed to take down an entire trained military unit, how could he expect to single-handedly rescue her, and escape without getting killed? He walked back into Myamoto's apartment.
"How will I know if I've found a Shinobi?" Jack asked.
"You won't. And if you do, you won't live long enough to worry about it."
Thursday, December 15
4:20 A.M.
Jack's Apartment
Hayabusa watched the apartment building across the quiet street with waning interest. Then, suddenly, Jack appeared at the corner of the street where he had lost him earlier. He was carrying some papers and looked very tired. Hayabusa waited until Jack entered the building before making his move. There was a fire escape that led straight to Jack's window, and he had determined earlier that this would be the best way to enter the man's dwelling. He waited about ten minutes before stealthily climbing down to the street below. Becoming one with the shadows, Hayabusa walked silently to the back alley where the fire escape access ladder was. He had lowered the ladder earlier so he wouldn't make any noise as he made his ascension.
Jack made some of his strongest coffee and sat on the couch to investigate the list. It took him about five minutes to cross out all the meaningless stuff, so he could concentrate on the real information.
Most of the people on the list were described as having black hair, light complexion and dark eyes, which could have been anyone in town. There were a few that caught Jack's eye, though. There was one describing a tall male with dark eyes and shoulder length red hair. It said that he seemed to command much respect from the Shinobi, most likely a leader of some sort. Jack decided this was the man he would find if he ever wanted to see Kasumi alive again. If anyone knew about her capture, he would. He skipped further down the list and spotted another entry that stuck out. This one was another male with long auburn hair and green eyes. The list described him as a stoic man who seemed to look out for the Shinobi's best interests. It said that this man spent much time in the woods fishing. Right below that entry there was another describing a female with amber eyes--
Suddenly there was a cold blade at his throat.
"Do not move," the mysterious intruder said calmly.
"What the--?!" Jack said.
"I said don't move!"
Jack took a deep breath. "Are you Shinobi?"
"What do you know of the Shinobi!" the intruder yelled.
"You can put down the knife. I'm not going to do anything." Jack said. He was too tired to do anything.
The intruder never let the knife leave Jack's throat, as he stepped slowly into the light. He noticed the long auburn ponytail of the man in front of him.
"What do you know--" he started.
"I heard you the first time," Jack interrupted, "I don't know anything, but I know that you took my friend. Did you kill her?"
There was no response.
"Did you?!" Jack yelled angrily.
"No. The Shinobi are innocent."
Jack smirked. "I'd like to see you convince the locals that you're innocent."
"The girl you speak of is not with the Shinobi. I must know what happened."
"Yeah, okay," Jack grinned, "I'll tell you as soon as I find out."
For some reason Hayabusa believed he wouldn't get any useful information out of the stubborn man on the couch. He slowly placed his kunai back in it's sheath strapped to his ankle.
Jack sighed and took a big gulp out of his coffee mug. "What do you know about the Shinobi?" Jack asked angrily.
The man simply shook his head slightly and grabbed the list from Jack. "Where did you get this?" he asked coldly.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Jack wasn't going to give this guy any clues on anything. If Myamoto was right, he was already dead anyway. He grinned smugly and held up his coffee mug. "Want some, Mr. Shinobi?"
The mysterious invader glared at Jack with his penetrating green eyes. Then he crumpled the list and put it in a satchel at his side. Jack watched him carefully as he retreated to the open window and threw a small sack sharply against the floor in front of him. A brown cloud of powder exploded all around him and Jack jumped off the couch and dived into the fog. But when he entered the cloud, instead of finding the Shinobi, he sailed through the air and hit his head on the wall underneath the window.
Thursday, December 15
12:13 P.M.
Jack's Apartment
When Jack awoke, he didn't remember what had happened until he spotted the coffee stain on the floor next to the small brown pouch. Then he remembered the list. He remembered the entry on the man with the auburn hair and the green eyes. He also remembered that the entry said that he watched over the Shinobi, whatever that was supposed to mean.
After he thought about it a little more, he became more puzzled. Why would the Shinobi send someone to find him? Especially if they were the ones that took Kasumi?
Then he thought about the trip he had taken to the garage the day before and the small picture frame he had crushed. Maybe the picture that had been in the frame would give him some clues. He walked to the closet where he had stashed all of Kasumi's things after she had disappeared. The sweater he had recovered from the forest path was still covered in leaves and dirt, but there weren't any pictures in the pockets. He then checked in her black duffel bag. He was saddened by the way Kasumi had lived, and it upset him that she had never once, in all the months they've been friends, asked for his help. The bag contained the familiar gold ribbons that Jack had often seen holding her hair in a ponytail. He neatly pushed them aside and reached below a few wooden brushes and some clothes. Then he spotted it. It was laying under a beautiful blue and white kimono on the bottom of the bag. He retrieved it and looked carefully at the photograph. The date on the back of the photo said it was years old. Jack turned the wrinkled black and white image over in his hand and saw Kasumi and Ayane smiling while playing on a wooden swing hanging from a dazzling cherry blossom tree. There were flowers and some buildings in the far background. He wondered what had happened between them to turn Ayane so bitterly against her sister. They looked so happy together in the picture. Jack carefully placed the photo into his wallet and grabbed his car keys off of the kitchen table.
Hayabusa had climbed back atop the roof of the vacant brick building where he was staying and was carefully examining the crumpled list that he had taken from Jack.There were descriptions of many of the people of the village, including Ayane, Hayate, Kasumi, and himself, although the only entry with a name was Hayate's. But there was much nonsense scrambling everything up, making it very hard for him to read it. He was positive that Jack was only trying to help Kasumi, but in the process he was putting the Shinobi in danger. He wondered about where Jack had recovered this information, knowing that its source was probably linked with Kasumi's capture. He still didn't have any information about her disappearance, but he had gotten proof that a third party was involved and they had evidence of the existence of the Shinobi.
Hayabusa sighed. He had hoped that he would get all the information he needed out of Jack, but it turned out to be much more complicated than that. His friendship with Kasumi must be very strong for him to go through so much trouble. Hayabusa decided that it would be best if he helped Jack find her, but at the same time try to lead him away from the Shinobi. This way he could stop the mysterious group that was responsible for Kasumi's disappearance and hopefully get some answers for Hayate. He looked down to the street below and spotted Jack leaving the building and heading for a green Jeep. Hayabusa rushed down from the roof of the old brick building and silently followed Jack to his Jeep.
Jack exited the apartment building and headed toward the parking lot where he parked his Jeep. He was going to see if he could find anymore clues at the site of Kasumi's disappearance. He knew there would probably be nothing new there, but he wasn't the kind of guy that could sit still for very long. Myamoto would probably call soon, but he wasn't going to wait around until he did.
As soon as Jack reached his Jeep he noticed a familiar figure walk towards him from around the corner of his building. Jack quickly reached inside his leather jacket and retrieved his gun.
"What do you want? Did you come to finish the job are you ready to talk?" Jack asked. He was in no mood to deal with this.
Hayabusa stood still, clearly not intimidated. "I've come to make a deal. I want to help you find Kasumi." He slowly walked closer to Jack.
Jack cocked his pistol and aimed at Hayabusa's head. He didn't remember ever giving the stranger Kasumi's name. "Wrong answer. What do you know about Kasumi?"
Hayabusa continued to walk closer. "More than you. Put the gun down, and then we'll talk."
"Uh-uh," Jack shook his head, "Stop where you are. I'm leaving, and if you want to leave too, you had better do as I say." Jack said threateningly.
Hayabusa stopped and watched the tall man get into his Jeep and drive away.
"Chikushou," he muttered. This was going to be harder than he thought.
