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 Fifteen
Friday, December 23
10:02 A.M.
Jack's Apartment
Jack woke up late the next morning. The sunlight filtered through his bedroom window, illuminating the entire room with its bright rays. He groggily glanced at his black alarm clock, which read ten on it's dim face.
After taking a shower, Jack got dressed and walked out to his Jeep. This was the big day that he had been waiting for since last Saturday. Kasumi was finally getting out of the hospital. Before arriving at the medical complex, he stopped by the bakery to get a freshly made strawberry millefeuille cake. However, when he got to the hospital he received some very disturbing news.
"I'm sorry, sir, but it seems your friend checked herself out at around eight o'clock last night. She's not here anymore."
Jack shook his head. "That's impossible. She agreed to call me this morning so that I could pick her up. Are you sure?"
The woman behind the desk looked at him pointedly. "It says so right here on the computer."
"Was anyone with her?" Jack asked.
The receptionist shrugged. "I work the morning shift. You're going to have to ask the night receptionist."
"Great. Where can I find him?"
"I can't give you that information. If you want to talk to him, come back tonight."
Jack nodded. "Thanks a lot."
He turned and left the hospital, mentally kicking himself. This was very bad news. If anything had happened to Kasumi the one night he decided to go home, he would hold it against himself for the rest of his life. It was so stupid of him to leave her alone like that. Unfortunately, he would have to wait until tonight before he could do anything. He knew one thing for sure; Kasumi didn't leave because she wanted to. Someone or something must've forced her to leave. They had already made plans for today, so there was no way she would check herself out. At least not voluntarily.
Jack walked back to his Jeep with a heavy heart, placing the fresh cake he had just bought on the passenger's seat. As he started the car, Jack played all the possible options he had at his disposal through his mind, but concluded that he really didn't have any choice but to wait until tonight. He prayed that Kasumi would be all right, but things didn't look too good.
On the drive back home he thought about what could have possibly happened last night. Most likely this 'Smith' character had somehow re-captured her and killed her, but that was worst case scenario, and he refused to believe that she could be dead. Maybe she had just decided to surprise him and come home early, but if that were the case she would already be back in his apartment, and there as no reason for her to go through that much trouble when he had already agreed to give a ride.
"Damn!" Jack yelled in frustration.
It was all his fault. He suspected something was going to happen, so why didn't he stay that last night? It was so stupid of him. He was never usually that careless, especially when the one thing he valued most was in danger.
You can't watch her all the time, Jack. There was nothing you could do.
Jack knew that what he was thinking was true, but if he had just stayed a few more hours, this could've been prevented. Kasumi could have been saved from such a terrible fate. His actions had irrefutably put her life in danger, and for what reason? Why had he left?
You left because you thought she'd be safe. There was no way for you to know that this could happen.
He sighed. It was just like his father's murder. He was just a kid when it happened, and that was the main reason he worked so hard to become a private eye. At just nineteen years old he had become a dead shot with his dad's old Beretta and he had managed to start his own firm. And then after only a year, everything fell apart and he had run away to Japan.
But there was nothing to be done about his old man's death. Kasumi, on the other hand, might still have a chance. If he acted swiftly and decisively, she could be saved.
Soon, he arrived at home. He walked over to the fridge and sadly placed the strawberry millefeuille inside. Glancing at the clock, which now read eleven thirty, Jack plopped down on the couch. He picked up his cell phone and called Myamoto.
"Hello?"
"Hey," Jack said gloomily.
"What's wrong, Jack?" Myamoto asked.
Jack sighed. "She's gone."
"Kasumi? But I thought--"
Jack interrupted. "Supposedly, she checked herself out last night. I couldn't get any information from the clerk."
"I could hack into the hospital's records and see if anything looks out of place."
Jack nodded. "Good. Call me if you find anything. I might come by later."
"Sure. Just stop by whenever you want. I'll be here all day."
"Thanks," Jack said as he hung up the phone.
Just then Hayabusa climbed into the window. Jack sighed. "I'm going to have to start locking that thing again." Then he remembered that he had started locking it when his fern had been knocked over. "Did you break my lock?"
"Yes," Hayabusa said.
Jack rubbed his face with his hands. "Wonderful. This day just keeps getting better and better."
"What happened?" Hayabusa asked.
"Kasumi is missing. Again."
Thursday, December 22
12:31 P.M.
Organization Compound 32
Smith watched the sleeping form of the Shinobi girl that was now laying on the concrete floor of the warehouse intently. He wanted her to be awake when she was brought downstairs so he could see the look of pure horror in her bright amber eyes.
Kasumi, unaware that she was under close observation, stirred and let out a pained moan when she tried to move, due to the punishment that Bayman had dished out earlier. Her neck had a kink in it and her shoulders hurt from the rough way in which Bayman had tied her, especially her hurt right shoulder.
Smith grinned. "Welcome back. You honestly didn't think I was just going to leave you alone. No one escapes from the Organization, especially runaway Shinobi who give me a hard time."
Kasumi's head was pounding and she was sore all over. It felt like she had just been hit by a speeding truck. She noticed that there was fresh blood on her new clothes. The fight last night must've caused her gunshot wounds to start bleeding again. However, it seemed that the bleeding had stopped some time before she had waken up, even though the pain from the struggle was still very strong. Her entire body ached with a terribly overwhelming agony from the way she had been thrown around in the hospital. She had a splitting headache from when she had been tossed into the brick wall, and she could still taste blood in her mouth. Smith watched in amusement as she struggled with her bonds.
"Let me go! I'm not going to tell you anything!" she yelled angrily.
Smith smiled. "I know. I don't want to ask you any questions."
Kasumi stopped struggling as Smith's words sank into her thoughts. Fear welled up inside her, but she never let it show on her face.
"You will pay for this," Kasumi said, trying her best to sound intimidating.
"Oh, and I suppose your friend Jack is going to save you. Well, I wouldn't bother thinking about him. He's already been taken care of."
Kasumi froze. "How do you know about Jack? What did you do?"
"You talk in your sleep," Smith said, "Let me show you something."
Smith walked up to Kasumi and pulled her up by the arms. He then dragged her to the hidden door that led to the elevator. After crudely throwing her inside, he calmly pressed the button that led to his secret base.
Kasumi used the wall to climb to her feet, but Smith hit her hard in the hip with his knee. She howled in pain as her knees buckled, causing her to collapse to the floor, tears of misery streaming down her face.
Then the elevator's bell dinged and the doors swung open. Smith grabbed Kasumi's arm once again and dragged her to one of his new interrogation stations. This one was much different from the table. It didn't look like anything she had seen before, nor would care to see again. Basically, it was a vertical stretcher in a large metal frame. There were restraints on the frame and the stretcher.
Smith roughly picked her up and shoved her back hard against the closest stretcher, making her wince. He untied her hands and attempted to put them in the upper restraints on the frame, but Kasumi jerked her arm free and slapped him across the face with all the force her weakened arm could muster, causing Smith's nose to bleed. He responded by slamming his fist angrily into her stomach, making the injured girl double over and weep. Smith then grabbed her sore neck and slammed her flat against the stretcher.
Kasumi gasped loudly as his fierce blow knocked the wind out of her, the rest of her body going weak against the frame. Smith knew Duncan had shot her there, so he knew it would be extremely agonizing.
After he had finished securing her into the station he walked over to a nearby computer console, grinning victoriously.
"The apparatus you are now fastened to can do a great many things. Here's an example," Smith said as he hit a blinking red button.
Suddenly, the frame began to rise on hydraulic pistons, however, the stretcher remained bolted to the floor. Kasumi felt her arms being pulled upward and she resisted with all of her strength. But the machine easily overpowered her and she let out an agonized scream when her arms were stretched beyond their natural limits. He left the frame in this excruciating position enjoying Kasumi's pained cries thoroughly. Then he pressed a blue button, which lowered it again.
"I have gotten many new toys since you have been gone. Actually, I've had these all along, but I've never found a place big enough to install them. As you can see, I have now found adequate space."
Kasumi's arms were already sore from the position she had been tied in and the way Smith had dragged her around, but this machine increased her pain a thousand times over. After it had returned to it's original position, she blinked away her tears and looked at Smith with anger burning like a hot fire in her bright copper eyes.
"You might....as well kill me....because I'm not....going to say....anything to you," she panted.
"Tsk. Tsk. Didn't I already tell you I don't want any answers from you? I have another use for you," Smith said calmly. "A much more diabolical one. I'm just doing this to hear your beautiful screams. When I get bored, then I'll kill you."
"You are....one sick....monster...." Kasumi said, still unable to regain her breath.
He walked up to her and stood about five or six inches from her face. "Tell me, how is your hip feeling?"
She braced herself for a blow, but there was none. Only Smith's twisted laughter at her flinching. After she had relaxed, he slapped her hard on the swollen joint, making her yell loudly and break down in tears.
Just then a British voice came over the intercom. "I've got your second target up here. If you--," there was some scuffling in the background, "--if you want to see this person alive, you had better get your bloody ass up here before I kill--"
Smith hit a black square button that Kasumi assumed activated the microphone. "I'll be right up. Use your stun gun. I gave it to you for a reason," he said loudly over her pathetic sobs.
After Smith had left, Kasumi examined her surroundings. She was in a large room facing a glass wall of windows. Outside the windows, there were numerous computer consoles and things like that, their lights illuminating the huge room below her like street lights in Tokyo. It looked like an airport control room out there. Everything looked so complex and delicate. This place was far larger than the warehouse above it, and nearly twice the size of the place she had escaped earlier. Inside the large room there was another of the stretcher devices, and a couple of tables with various dangerous objects on them. The floors were a clean white tile, but she had a feeling they wouldn't stay that way for long. The walls were also white making the room very reflective. If it weren't for the window, Kasumi believed her headache would be considerably worse.
She thought about Jack and what might have happened to him. Smith said something about taking care of him, and she wondered if he had sent Bayman to kill him as well. She knew that Jack was a careful man, so he probably would be able to have his pistol handy if anything bad happened. But Bayman was a professional hit man, and as far as she knew, Jack had no experience with assassins.
Kasumi continued to tell herself that he would be all right and he would come and look for her, but she was still very worried, and she knew her chances were small. She thought about the way Smith had dumped that tank of water on her and hit her even though Shark didn't like his use of excessive force. It would probably be much worse when Shark wasn't here to be a deterrent.
Breaking her chain of thought, Smith and another man walked back into the room, dragging someone else behind them.
Kasumi gazed at the limp figure. Once she recognized who it was she burst into tears.
"No!" Kasumi wailed angrily, tears glimmering in her eyes."This can't be happening!"
Smith smiled an ugly smile. "I'm afraid it is." Then he turned to the other man. "Tom, go get the good doctor."
Friday, December 23
6:52 P.M.
Jack's Apartment
Hayabusa sat and waited for Jack to return from wherever he had went during the day, wanting to discuss a few things with the young detective. Their conversation earlier had ended badly and he needed to make sure that Jack wasn't going to go out and do something stupid.
At around seven o'clock Jack stumbled through his apartment door. He was holding a half empty bottle of sake, and it was immediately clear to Hayabusa that he was drunk.
"What happened to you?" Hayabusa asked.
"It's over. I've let her down and now she's gonna die. It's all my fault." Jack's words ran together slightly.
"Kasumi is going to be fine."
Jack shook his head and pointed a finger at Hayabusa. "No. You don't understand. They won't keep her alive. They have no reason to. I might as well wait for her at the city morgue."
"Jack, sit down. We'll find her."
"You don't care about her. All you want to do is protect the 'Shinobi.'" Jack said using air quotes. "These people are true monsters, and all you're worried about is saving your own a--"
Hayabusa glared at Jack. "I have dealt with true monsters. Fiends, are far worse than these people."
"Ooh, Fiends! Whatever did you do?" Jack said in a sarcastic tone.
"I'm not going to deal with your self pity right now," Hayabusa said coldly as he walked over to the window.
Jack waved his bottle at him. "Go ahead. Disappear. It seems that's what your best at. Leaving when someone needs you to stick around."
Hayabusa turned and pushed Jack up against a wall. "You know nothing about me," he said angrily.
After Hayabusa had left, Jack stuck his head out the window. "Maybe that's 'cuz you never talk," he said angrily. "You're the one who doesn't know anything!"
Jack waited for a reply, but nothing but the cool night breeze answered him. He decided to head over to Myamoto's.
Jack took another gulp of sake. He decided it would probably be better to walk.
Myamoto was watching the news when Jack arrived at his apartment.
"Hey, I found--are you drunk?"
Jack took another swig of liquor and nodded. "I think it'd be fair to say that. Want some?"
"Sake!? How can you stand that stuff?"
"After the first bottle, it doesn't really taste that bad."
Myamoto shook his head. "Not the sauce, Jack. This isn't the time to get drunk."
"I disagree. I think that the death of someone I love means it's the perfect time to get drunk."
"Kasumi isn't dead yet. She'll be all right."
"How do you know that? Even if I could do something, she'd probably hate me for leaving her at the hospital alone that night," Jack said sadly.
"And exactly how is getting smashed going to change things?"
"It won't. But it'll sure as hell make me feel better."
Myamoto glared at Jack angrily. "Kasumi needs you to be there for her. You're the only one trying to take these people down. If you give up now, you're condemning her to certain death. Now get your act together."
Jack sat down on the couch. "I don't know what to do. I can't bear to lose her again."
Myamoto took the sake away from his friend. "Sleep it off. I'll give you some good news in the morning."
Jack sat up straight. "What good news could you possibly have?"
"Come back tomorrow and find out. I'm not telling you until you're sober enough to use the information."
"Whatever." Jack staggered to his feet.
He had let her down. Maybe the first time it wasn't his fault she disappeared, but this time it was. Kasumi would be here right now if he hadn't decided to leave that night. Jack knew that she was most likely dead. He grinned as he thought of what he was going to do when he caught whoever was responsible for this.
"Gimme that," Jack said as he grabbed the bottle back from Myamoto. He took another swig and looked at his friend.
"Ya know, you're place isn't level. It slopes to one side."
Myamoto shook his head. "No, Jack. You slope to one side."
Jack nodded. "I think you're right."
He then collapsed on the floor, passed out.
Friday, December 23
9:02 P.M.
Organization Compound 32
Kasumi snapped awake as another horrible nightmare ended, only to wake up in a worse place. Smith was sitting in a chair with a tape recorder, smiling. "Having trouble sleeping?"
Kasumi glared at him and said nothing. She glanced at the still sleeping form of Ayane across the room. "Let her go. It's me you have a problem with."
Smith shook his head. "You had your chance. Now it's her turn." He got up and walked up to her, holding the tape recorder up close to her ear. "I want you to hear this."
Kasumi listened carefully as Jack's voice poured out of the speaker. He sounded drunk. "--ou don't understand. They won't keep her alive. They have no reason to. I might as well wait for her at the city morgue."
Smith stopped the tape. "I don't need to do anything. As you can see he's already given up on you. He thinks you're already dead."
Kasumi shook her head. "No, Jack will come for me. You'll see. And when he does, you'll be very sorry."
"Oh, really? Well, excuse me if I'm not quaking with fear," Smith said sarcastically.
"You can't make me believe that he doesn't care. He's the only one who's ever cared. He'll be here," Kasumi said confidently.
Smith walked up to Ayane and slapped her across the face. She immediately snapped awake, already struggling to break free.
"Let me go, right now!" she yelled angrily.
Smith grinned. "You're much more aggressive than you're sister."
"Damn straight, now let me go so I can kick your ass!" Ayane stopped struggling and looked at Kasumi. "You! This is you're fault isn't it? I should have known something like this would eventually happen."
"Ayane, it's not my fault--"
Smith interrupted. "I do believe it is you're fault. If you had cooperated earlier she wouldn't be here. Now that you're both awake I'd like to play a little game. I'm going to leave for a while, but don't worry, I'll be back soon."
After he had left the room Kasumi looked sadly at Ayane. "Ayane, I--"
Ayane looked away. "I don't want to hear what you have to say. It's because of you that I'm here now."
"Please, just listen. We have to find a way out of here."
"Look around. Do you see any way out of here? Because if you do I'd like to hear it," Ayane said angrily. "I just hope they leave me alive long enough to watch you die."
As soon as the words left her mouth, Ayane regretted saying them. Kasumi was her sister, and in a way she still slightly cared about her. Ayane closed her eyes and shook away the sad feelings that threatened to enter her thoughts. Now she was going to have to pay for Kasumi's mistakes.
Kasumi was stunned at Ayane's harsh words. She thought of all the happy memories she and Ayane had shared, and it brought tears to her eyes that she could say such a thing.
"Ayane..." Kasumi was at a loss for words.
"Just leave me alone. You've done enough," Ayane said coldly.
Smith walked back into the room dragging a large black box behind him. He stopped and brought two small machines out of the box. "This game is a sort of variation of trading punches. I'll ask a question, and if one of you lie, I'll hurt the other," he looked at Kasumi. "I know I said I wasn't going to ask you anything, but this way it's much funner than what I had planned earlier. I think I'll start with your sister," he said pointing at Ayane.
"Leave her alone!" Kasumi cried.
Smith ignored her as he connected their arms to the small machines. It looked similar to a small CPU. If Ayane was scared, she didn't show it. Smith then wired the machines to a large screen on the wall.
"These little machines are a sort of lie detector. I know that you won't stay calm so they don't rely on pulse like a conventional lie detector. To be honest, I can't tell you how they work, but they're never wrong. Let's start off easy," he walked over to Ayane. "Shall we begin?"
