DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY DEAD OR ALIVE CHARACTER. THOSE CHARACTERS BELONG TO TECMO, LTD. AND TEAM NINJA. I AM IN NO WAY INTENDING ANY COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT AND I'M NOT MAKING A PROFIT FROM THE USE OF THESE CHARACTERS. ANY CHARACTER NOT A PART OF DEAD OR ALIVE IS MINE AND MINE ALONE.
Chapter Fourteen
Thursday, December 22
7:41 P.M.
Charity Medical Complex
Hayabusa and Jack walked into Kasumi's room at around seven forty-five. The moment Jack stepped into the room she smiled brightly and sat up in her bed, glad to see him again. But when she spotted Hayabusa as he followed him into the room, she looked surprised and confused.
"Hayabusa? What are you doing here?" she asked.
Jack nodded. "I guess there's no need for formal introductions here. Hayabusa and I were working together to find you. You two seem to know each other."
Kasumi nodded. "He's my brother's best friend. Did Hayate send you?" she asked.
Hayabusa was just about to ask Jack to leave the room, when Jack's cell phone rang. "Hello?"
"Jack, I think I've found something!" Myamoto exclaimed.
"I'll be right back, guys," Jack said. "I've got to take this. Don't have too much fun without me."
As soon as Jack left the room Kasumi looked out the window. "Does he know about the village?"
"No, he doesn't know who you are," Hayabusa said. "I'm wondering why you were so reckless as to bring an outsider into this mess."
Kasumi sighed. "I couldn't help it. You don't understand what it's like to be all alone in the world."
Hayabusa knew exactly what it was like, but he accepted her response. "Hayate sent me to see who was trying to expose the village. I need you to tell me everything that happened to you."
Kasumi lay back down on her pillow and closed her eyes. "I don't know very much. Everything's so blurry."
"Are you concentrating? I need to know who these people are," Hayabusa said calmly.
Kasumi thought hard. "I remember a short man. He seemed to be the one in charge. His name was Smith. The one who hurt me, I think his name was Shark, but he left when I escaped."
Hayabusa nodded. "Good. Anything else?"
"I don't think so," Kasumi with a slightly unstable voice. Her emotions were building inside her as the memories of the past week came flooding into her mind and she was finding it increasingly hard to keep her feelings in check.
"This is important, Kasumi. Think hard!" Hayabusa pushed. "The village depends on this."
"I've told you everything I know!" she cried. "Please, just leave me alone!"
Just then Jack walked back into the room with a serious expression. Then he spotted Kasumi. "What did you do?" he asked Hayabusa.
"I didn't do anything," he said. "Who was that?"
Jack sighed. "That was Myamoto. He says he's found something, but he wants me to see it for myself. He's stubborn like that."
Kasumi looked at Jack. "Who's Myamoto?"
"Didn't I tell you about him? He's the one that pointed me towards the woods. If it weren't for him, I would never have found you," Jack said. "I'll bring him with me when I pick you up tomorrow. He probably wants to meet you."
"So he's the one you're always talking to on the phone," Hayabusa said.
"Duh. You didn't think I guessed that we should look in the woods, did you?"
Hayabusa responded by glaring at Jack. "I think I'm going to leave now."
Jack moved out of the doorway to let Hayabusa through. Then he took a seat next to Kasumi.
"It looks like you're going to be safe after all," Jack said with a smile. "Tomorrow's the big day. I'll make you a special 'welcome home' breakfast. I can make some killer strawberry pancakes."
"That sounds wonderful. I can't wait to get out of here," Kasumi said. "This place creeps me out."
What really creeped her out was the nightmares. Every time she closed her eyes she was back in the white halls, a shadowy evil voice echoing all around her. Every time it ended the same way, with the mystery man shooting her through the heart. She had bad dreams before, but never like this.
"Kasumi? Did you hear me? Jack asked.
Kasumi blinked a few times and smiled. "Oh, I'm sorry. I must've spaced out. What did you say?"
"I said I'm going to have to leave pretty soon. I just wanted to remind you to call me when you can be picked up. I don't care how early it is."
"Thanks, Jack. I will. I'll see you tomorrow."
Thursday, December 22
7:59 P.M.
Charity Medical Complex
Bayman spotted Jack as he left the front entrance. Now was his chance. He waited for Jack to drive away before he got out of the black sedan and walked into the hospital, ready to end the girl's life once and for all. He was already thinking of ways to spend his money when he stepped through the glass doors.
"How can I help you?" the receptionist asked.
Bayman cleared his throat. "I'm here to pick up a friend. Her name is Kasumi."
"One moment."
Bayman waited impatiently as the man behind the desk reviewed Kasumi's file.
"I'm afraid she's not supposed to be released until tomorrow morning."
Bayman sighed. "Well can you tell me what room she's in? I'd like to see her."
"Room 26B. If you get lost, just look at the signs posted on the walls. She's been through a lot, so try not to upset her."
"Thanks," Bayman said.
After he found her room he walked in quietly and closed the door behind him, making sure that no one would see what he was about to do. The girl lay sleeping peacefully on the bed in the middle of the room, the moonlight streaming through a large window and bathing her figure in a pale blue light and adding an eerie glow to the cluster of flowers and balloons surrounding her bed. The staff seemed to have gotten a little attached to her. He quietly walked over to her and pinned her arms down with his hands. Kasumi snapped awake instantly and tried to jerk herself free, but his grip was too strong.
"Don't move," Bayman said roughly. "Or else."
Kasumi saw the futility of fighting him at this moment, so she relaxed. "Let me go!" she yelled.
Bayman lifted one of his hands and punched her in the right shoulder, which had been shot and carved by Shark's blade. When he pulled his fist away, there was a large red stain on the girl's white hospital gown.
Kasumi attempted to stifle the devastating pain that was shooting through her arm as large tears streamed down her face. "What do you want?!" she demanded.
"I want you to check yourself out. Go get dressed," Bayman said.
"Make me," she said angrily.
"If that's what you want," Bayman chuckled.
He used his knee and pressed it down hard on her right hip, knowing that it would be especially excruciating. Smith had filled him in on where she had been hurt and he planned to use that information to his advantage.
Kasumi almost shrieked as the unbearable pain flowed through her leg. "Oh! Wait!"
She reluctantly grabbed the bag Jack had given her earlier and climbed out of the bed. Slowly, she limped her way into the bathroom, almost falling after her first few steps. When she had changed into her new clothes, she sluggishly hobbled out into the room.
"We're leaving. Now go to the front desk."
Kasumi stood still, refusing to let herself be pushed around for another second. "I'm not going anywhere."
Bayman said nothing, but swiftly approached her and threw her to the floor by grabbing her shoulders and shoving her down as hard as he could.
Kasumi landed hard, and lay on the hospital floor unable to stop herself from crying out in pain. She was still sobbing uncontrollably when Bayman hauled her off of the carpet and pushed her against a wall. He then sent a brutal punch to her bandaged waist and watched in satisfaction as she collapsed to the blue carpet, gasping for air with hot tears of agony running down her face.
Just as he was about to kick her in the ribs, Kasumi spoke up. "All right," she said in a hoarse whisper. "Just don't hit me anymore. I'll go to the lobby."
She miserably scrambled to her feet, and wiped her face with her sleeve. Then she tried to walk towards the front of the hospital, but it was hard for her to keep from falling and she was moving very slow.
Bayman tapped Kasumi on the back. "Move faster."
She glared at him with glistening eyes. "I can't."
Bayman roughly shoved her, causing her to stumble and fall to the hard tile floor. "I said move faster."
Kasumi again wiped the tears from her face and struggled to crawl to her feet, but was unable to stand. Eventually, Bayman jerked her up by her long shiny hair and forced her to walk down the hall, making her cry even more than she already was. She tried to walk at a steady pace so the man standing behind her wouldn't push her anymore, but it hurt too much, and eventually she had to stop and lean on a wall.
"Hurry up." Bayman said roughly.
"If you want me to move faster you should get me some crutches."
"Fine." Bayman walked into a nearby closet and looked for some. He eventually found them and handed them to her. "Now move before I get impatient."
Kasumi hesitated, looking for some way to escape. She could fight him, but in the narrow hall she wouldn't have any room to maneuver. It would be suicide.
"Move!" Bayman yelled in her face.
Kasumi flinched and started limping down the hall, aided by the metal crutches. She would think of something eventually, but she had to escape. However, with every second that passed, Kasumi lost more and more hope of staying alive throughout the night.
Just before they reached the lobby, Bayman grabbed Kasumi's arm and whirled her around to face him, almost making her collapse. "Clean your face. You don't want the receptionist to think something's wrong do you?"
Kasumi wiped away her tears once more and tenderly limped into the lobby. The receptionist looked up at her. "What can I do for you?"
Bayman squeezed her shoulder tightly to make sure she wouldn't try anything funny.
It took Kasumi everything she had to keep from screaming. "I would like to check myself out, please." Her voice was slightly shaky.
The receptionist looked suspicious. "Are you all right?"
Kasumi nodded and blinked away her tears. "I'm fine. I just want to get out of here."
The man behind the desk concluded she must have some kind of allergy. "Okay, hold on a second."
After about ten minutes, they walked out to Bayman's rental car. Bayman quickly took her crutches. He didn't want to let her have any chance to use them as weapons. After placing them in the front seat, he opened the back door. "Get in," he said.
Kasumi slowly walked over to the door, moving as fast as she could without falling. Suddenly, Bayman grabbed her arm and threw her into the car. After slamming the door, he grinned. "You move too slow."
"Where are you taking me?" Kasumi asked.
"The piers."
She knew what he was going to do. Smith must've sent him to kill her. She wished Jack were here to help. Normally, she could take Bayman easily, but right now her hip was still extremely sore and the bullet wounds were still very vulnerable places. He seemed to know that she had been shot, which meant it must've been Smith, or someone he worked with, who sent him. She would have to try and fight him anyway. It was her only chance.
After Bayman had stopped the car near an old warehouse, he got out and walked over to her door. She tried to hit him with it, but it was still locked. He must've activated the child safety locks. Bayman jerked the door open and pulled her out by her hair, causing her eyes to water. She let out a small whimper and winced when he brought her up to his eye level.
"You may have beat me in DOA, but you're not going to beat me this time. Prepare to die."
Then he threw her to the hard ground. He moved in to stomp on her, but she quickly rolled out of the way. After scrambling to her feet, she waited for Bayman to make his next move.
He grinned. "This is too easy."
Bayman charged Kasumi with his shoulder, but she blocked and hit him with four successive punches to the chest, knocking the wind out of him. He staggered backward and tried to catch his breath. Kasumi wasn't about to let him recover. She rushed forward and struck him with her elbow, almost losing her balance from the pain in her hip.
Bayman took the blows, but he still kept coming. "This isn't funny anymore. It's time to get serious."
He attempted to kick her in the stomach, where he knew it would do the most damage, but Kasumi disappeared in a whirl of pink blossoms, and then appeared behind him. Before he had time to turn around, she smacked him in the head with the back of her hand. Bayman's head spun, and he angrily charged Kasumi with everything he had. Quickly, she stepped aside, causing him to run into the side of the dark rental car, denting the door and causing Bayman to let out an angry howl. My best chance is to keep blocking his attacks, she thought to herself.
"You...." his voice was thick with fury and frustration, "You may be fast, but are you fast enough?" He slowly crawled to his feet, his back facing her.
"What?" Kasumi asked.
"Let's see how fast you really are, princess."
Before she could react to that statement, Bayman whirled around and threw a fistful of dirt in her face.
Kasumi let out a short stunned cry as she quickly brought her hands up to her eyes, which burned intensely. She stumbled around almost falling to the ground, unable to see anything other than blurry colors and bright lights.
Bayman laughed as he calmly walked up to the blinded girl. "Not so tough now, are you?"
Kasumi threw a punch in the direction she thought he was standing, but it was a clumsy attempt and she hit nothing but air. Bayman quietly snuck up behind her and delivered a low kick to the back of the knees, forcing her to the ground. Then he picked her up and threw her into the brick wall of warehouse eight, cracking several old bricks and leaving a small spot of crimson on the wall where she had hit. He laughed at his victory, but stopped abruptly when Kasumi sluggishly scrambled to her feet. She looked at him with watery eyes and took her stance, knowing that her chances were small. But she also knew that she would have no chance at all unless she resisted.
"I'll get you!" Bayman yelled in pure anger.
He ran up to her and tried to kick her in her bad hip, but she blocked, barely. But before Kasumi could retaliate, Bayman grabbed her by the neck with both hands and held her up in the air, letting her feet dangle about a foot off of the ground. Slowly, he squeezed her delicate neck in his large hands, causing her to let out a despairing cry of panic.
Kasumi gasped for air, and struggled desperately to free herself from Bayman's vice-like grasp. She kicked and pleaded for him to let her go, but it was no use. He was too strong, and she was too weakened by pain to resist any more. After only a few seconds, she began to feel weak and lightheaded, her vision starting to fade away. Then she slowly went limp in his hands, struggling to breathe.
Bayman waited until she was nearly unconscious before leaning her against the damaged brick wall and pounding her in the stomach with his knee as hard as he could.
Kasumi inadvertently screamed in anguish as the blow connected with her bullet wound, making blood seep onto her brand new pink blouse. She tried to keep consciousness, for she knew that as soon as she slipped away she would never wake up again, but it was so hard to stay awake. Bayman dropped her, watching with satisfaction as she crumpled to the ground like an old rag doll.
Her soft amber eyes shimmered with warm tears as her head slowly drooped towards the ground. "Jack...." she muttered. "Help....me...."
Bayman laughed as he raised his foot and kicked her in the abdomen, causing her to double over and cough, a tiny amount of blood dribbling from her soft lips. As she lay face down on the cold gravel, fighting to breathe and sobbing from the agony of Bayman's blows, Kasumi could feel him place his foot on her damaged hip.
"You lose."
"No....don't....please...." she whimpered softly, her tears escaping into the ground. "I....just want....to go....home."
Bayman mercilessly stomped down on her stressed joint, drowning out her anguished screams, only thinking of his money.
Kasumi's brain was overwhelmed with pain as the large man towering over her continued to apply more and more pressure onto her leg. All she could do was let out a sorrowful cry of suffering as she slowly lost the last of her grip on reality and fell into the infinite dark.
When Bayman was sure that the girl under his foot had passed out, he stooped down and grabbed her long red hair in his fist, yanking her head back and exposing her neck. Then he took out a long black bayonet and held it to her throat. He drew back his hand and--
Bayman jumped as his cell phone rang loudly in his pocket. He released Kasumi's hair and reached for his phone.
"What do you want?" he asked angrily into the receiver.
"Have you killed the girl yet?" Thomas asked on the other end of the line.
"You again?" Bayman asked irritably.
"Just answer the question."
"I was just about to when you interrupted me."
"So she isn't dead yet?"
"No, why?"
Thomas cleared his throat. "There's been a change of plans."
"What now?" Bayman asked.
"Smith wants you to bring the girl to warehouse fourteen. Alive."
"Alive?" Bayman asked incredulously, "What changed his mind?"
"He says he wants to try something new on her," Thomas replied. "He said something about a new approach or something like that. Just take her to the warehouse before he gets pissed."
"Whatever. She's already unconscious, so it should be easy to just dump her there. Is he going to pay me at the drop site?"
"Yeah. Just make sure she's alive." Thomas said. "We don't want any screw-ups, okay?"
Bayman heard a distinct click as he hung up the phone.
"I guess it's not over for you," Bayman said to the unconscious girl.
He put the razor sharp bayonet back in it's thick leather sheath and roughly grabbed Kasumi's sweaty arm, dragging her back to the car. He then took out some thick ropes and tied her arms and legs as tightly as he could without cutting off her circulation. When he was done, he pulled her limp body off the ground and violently threw her into the back seat, not caring when her head hit the door on the opposite side of the car. He slammed the door and walked around to the driver's side of the dark sedan. Warehouse fourteen was all the way across the piers. It would take a few minutes to get there.
Thursday, December 22
8:24 P.M.
Myamoto's Apartment
Jack walked into Myamoto's apartment at almost eight thirty. Myamoto sat with his back turned to the door. He was munching on some cold leftover pizza, as usual.
"Hey, Jack come here. I found out what the name of the organization who took your friend is. You want some pizza?"
Jack immediately became interested. "What is it?"
"The Organization."
Jack nodded and grabbed a slice out of the box. "Yeah, what's the name of the organization?"
Myamoto laughed. "That's it. The Organization."
"What a crappy name." Jack said. "Do you know who runs it?"
Myamoto swallowed another bite of his food. "Smith is the guy's name. I can't tell you if it's his first, his last, of even if it's real, but that's what it says his name is. I'm assuming he was in charge of Kasumi's abuse."
Jack sighed. "Great. How am I supposed to find him?"
"That's the good part. You already did."
"Listen Riddler, I'm not Batman. I don't have time to be messing around. If you know something, spill it." Jack said irritably, taking a bite of his piece of pizza.
"All right, all right. You know when you backtracked Kasumi's trail?"
Jack nodded.
"Well, the tunnel entrance you told me about over the phone is the registered address on the Organization's main bank account."
"How do you know that?" Jack asked.
"Because that's how I found out about Smith. The Organization footed a big bill. Five million dollars were wired to a Mr. Duncan on Friday night. Then an hour later, the wire transfer was canceled. The same thing happened to a Mr. Shark. Then another ten million was wired to a Mr. Wilson. That one hasn't been canceled as of now."
Jack was amazed. "That's great. Except for the fact that the place Kasumi's trail led me to was abandoned."
Myamoto sighed. "Why don't you just let the police handle this? It would be a lot easier on all of us."
Jack shook his head. "Two reasons, my friend. One, the cops are too slow and they'll just put him in jail for a couple years. Two--," Jack pulled his digital camera from out of his pocket, "these photos."
Myamoto looked at the horrible photos that Jack had shown Hayabusa earlier. "Tell me this isn't--"
"Yes, that's Kasumi's blood. All of it," Jack said coldly.
"I'm so sorry. I had no idea that she was hurt this badly," Myamoto whispered. "This is horrible."
Jack took the camera back from Myamoto. "I know. I want these monsters to pay."
Myamoto nodded. "I'll do my best to see if any address changes have been made, but I doubt anything will turn up."
Jack knew the odds were small. At least Kasumi was safe. He knew she loved strawberry millefeuille, and he decided he would have to buy one for her tomorrow before she was brought home. He would rent some movies too. She deserved to have some fun after all the trouble she's been through.
"Well, I'm going to head back home. Tomorrow's going to be a big day. Kasumi's coming back from the hospital. You want to meet her?"
"Do I? I'd love to see her. From the way you talk about her, she must be an amazing woman. You sure I won't be a third wheel?"
"Nah, it'll be fun. I think we'll all go to the movies," Jack said as he walked out the door.
When he arrived back home, Hayabusa was waiting for him. "I want to help, Jack."
"You know you're hanging out here too much when I expect to see you," Jack said as he closed the door. He hung up his jacket and sat down on the couch.
"I think we should work together on this."
"Whatever happened to all that 'don't seek vengeance' crap?" Jack asked.
"I still don't agree with your reasons, but mine aren't the same as yours." Hayabusa thought about the Shinobi village. He couldn't let them become endangered.
"So, what these people did to Kasumi has absolutely no effect on you?" Jack asked.
"Kasumi is fine now."
Jack shook his head. "No, Hayabusa. Kasumi isn't fine. You have no idea what she's been through, or what she's feeling inside. She probably won't be fine for a very long time."
"I will meet you here tomorrow at noon. We need to formulate a plan." Hayabusa ignored Jack's remark.
"No can do, Mr. ninja, I'm going to be taking Kasumi and Myamoto to the movies. How about later?"
"Fine, I'll be here at seven." Hayabusa opened the window.
"Hey, you see that large rectangular piece of wood over there? You know, the one with the shiny metal knob? It's called a door. Use it." Jack said.
Hayabusa glared at him and vanished into the night.
Thursday, December 22
8:52 P.M.
Organization Compound 32
Smith looked at his new headquarters with satisfaction. He had way more space under the warehouse than he did in the woods. Now he had two interrogation stations, and a vast array of tools. On top of that he had a state-of-the-art computer networking system to monitor any suspicious activity, inside the building and outside. The place reminded him of a laboratory, only way bigger than any lab he had ever seen. The walls were white and the floors were made of tile. And the fact that it was underneath an abandoned warehouse meant that no one would ever get suspicious. He was in an especially good mood since the Shinobi girl had been re-captured. He dialed Tom's phone number.
"Wilson."
"It's Smith."
"Bayman is bringing the girl to warehouse fourteen now, so what do you want?"
Smith chuckled. "I wanted to tell you to go ahead and open the second envelope. I want the second subject here by noon tomorrow. It shouldn't be too hard to find--"
Thomas cut him off. "I'm looking at the picture now. I must say, you've gathered quite a bit of information. I could probably get the subject to you before noon."
"Excellent! Make sure you don't let anyone see you. Shoot the tranquilizer darts from a distance and then recover the body."
"I think I know how to capture someone." Thomas said irritably.
After Smith hung up, he thought of the red headed girl. He was going about it the wrong way last time. He would still use physical pain, but emotional pain worked much better. He would destroy her mind and then her body, and there was no one left to stop him. Except the man who helped her in the woods, but if he was a real threat, he would've found her sooner.
He took the elevator up to the ground floor just as Bayman dragged her through the front door.
