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 Seventeen
Saturday, December 24
12:47 P.M.
Organization Compound 32
Smith walked over to the box Thomas had brought in earlier, ready to mercilessly murder the two innocent women in his captivity. Then Thomas again burst into the room.
"Can't you leave me alone for two seconds?!" he yelled angrily.
"Shut your bloody trap and follow me. This is important," Tom said as if he was talking to a spoiled child.
Smith angrily kicked the box towards the corner of the room and reluctantly followed Tom outside, slamming the door behind him with such force that Kasumi jumped.
She looked at Ayane. "Something weird is going on."
Ayane rolled her eyes. "Isn't that kind of obvious?"
"I was just--"
"--pointing out the obvious. Just shut up, Kasumi, before you get us into more trouble," she lashed out.
Kasumi closed her eyes and sighed. "I said I was sorry. What else do you want from me? What did I ever do to you?"
Ayane looked at Kasumi irritably. She just didn't understand. No one did, she thought to herself.
"Please," Kasumi pleaded. "I want to know why you won't forgive me?"
"Never mind," Ayane said.
She was so mixed up inside. Part of her just wanted to give her sister a hug and tell her everything would be okay, the way normal siblings would. But then there was the other part of her that despised Kasumi. When they were kids, it seemed so unimportant that they were treated differently. But as Ayane got older she began to wonder what made Kasumi so much better than her. Why did she have to be raised in secret?
Then Raidou broke Hayate's back, crippling him. Ayane had tried to take Raidou on all by herself, blaming all of her problems on him. But she failed and Hayate tried to defend her, but he had also lost. It was all her fault that his back was broken. But Kasumi had done something so irrational and stupid. She ran away from the village to hunt down and kill Raidou, never able to return again.
At first Ayane was hurt, because Kasumi was very important to her. But then she talked to Master Genra, and he convinced her that Kasumi had betrayed them all and she deserved no mercy for her rash actions, however noble her intents may have been. She was to be killed on sight. Ayane willingly accepted this task, hoping that she could finally be rid of Kasumi.
But now when she gazed upon her sister, she realized that Kasumi had been shattered inside for quite sometime, and her gentle heart was clearly broken. Having the people you love most try to kill you can do that to a person, and Ayane almost felt sorry for her. Almost.
Smith looked at Bayman with disgust. "You call yourself a professional? What happened?"
Bayman shrugged. "I didn't see it coming. I underestimated him, but I assure you it won't happen again. Now its personal. Whoever he was, he knew what I had done to the girl."
"You mean the redhead?" Smith asked.
Bayman nodded. "Yeah, he said he saw the whole thing, but I don't know how that could be. There was no one else within hundreds of feet of us when I beat her."
Smith turned to Thomas. "Run the license plates on that Jeep. I want to know who the driver is and what his relation to the girl is."
Thomas nodded. "You think this guy might be the 'Jack' the girl's always carrying on about?"
Smith nodded and started back up the stairs, but Thomas grabbed his shoulder.
"I think you shouldn't open the box. I have a better idea."
"I'm not paying you to have ideas. I'm paying you to--"
"Quit your bickering and hear me out."
Smith glared at Tom. "Fine. What is your idea?"
"I think it wouldn't be in your best interest to kill the girls yet. I think you should wait until we know what this Jack guy is doing."
Smith looked puzzled. "Why would it be in my best interests to do that?"
"Because, that way you could use them as a sort of leverage. A kind of backup plan. You see, if you use it now and this guy breaks into our base somehow, there will be nothing to stop him from killing us all, because the girls are both dead and he's already lost everything. But if you show him that the redhead is still alive and that you also have her sister, and make him choose between killing us or saving them..."
Smith nodded. "Of course! You're smarter than you look, Tom."
Thomas nodded towards the window above. "I think you should get on with you're little game, because now we're on a timetable. Have fun, you ugly little bastard."
"Who you calling ugly, you British swine!"
Tom pointed towards his watch. "Time's wasting, Smith. Take out your anger on those two and stop yelling at me."
Smith nodded a silent agreement and started back up the stairs.
Saturday, December 24
1:18 P.M.
Jack's Apartment
Jack quickly walked back into his apartment and ran back towards his bedroom. He reached into an olive drab army surplus ammo case and reloaded his black 9mm pistol. Then he started back out of the room to make some lunch and finish formulating his plan. At that moment, he suddenly remembered his laptop computer. He would need it if his idea was going to work at all, so he grabbed from its hiding place under his bedroom floor and walked back into the kitchen. He set the computer down on the table and opened his fridge to make a sandwich. The strawberry millefeuille was sitting on the top shelf, as fresh as ever. The sight of the cake stirred up a jumble of emotions inside him. He was devastated, depressed, angered, and lonely.
When he closed the fridge, Hayabusa was standing in the living room.
"What are you doing?" he asked calmly.
"I'm making lunch. What's it look like I'm doing?"
Hayabusa glared at Jack.
"You want something? I have plenty of food to go around. I was going to make something special for Kasumi, but seeing as how she's dead, I guess you can eat it."
"No thanks."
Jack shrugged. "Whatever. Actually, I was kind of hoping you'd stop by. I need you to help me with something."
"What about what you said last night?"
Jack looked confused. "Last night? Man, I was so drunk last night I didn't even know what year it was. If I pissed you off, deal with it. Are you going to help me or not?"
Hayabusa shrugged. "What do you need?"
Jack grinned. "I'll tell you on the way to Myamoto's."
As soon as they were in the Jeep, Jack told Hayabusa the plan. The plan was to get Myamoto to break into the warehouse's system so that Jack could get inside. He would need to use the laptop because of it's high versatility and wireless Internet capabilities.
"Why do you need me to do this?" Hayabusa asked. "It sounds like you've already got everything figured out."
"Because there might be a lot more people in there than I expect and I might need some backup. However, I'm assuming that you know how to use that sword that you always carry around."
"Of course I know how to use it," Hayabusa said, slightly irritated.
Jack nodded. "Okay then, so will you help out?"
Hayabusa nodded. He needed to protect the Shinobi and this seemed to be the best way to do just that.
Within five minutes, they arrived at Myamoto's. Jack knocked loudly on the door.
Myamoto walked to the door and was about to let Jack inside, when he saw the strange man behind him.
"Who's that?" he asked suspiciously.
Jack looked at Hayabusa. "Him? Don't worry, he won't do anything."
Myamoto let them both inside and as soon as he saw the sword Hayabusa was carrying, he went crazy.
"Th-that's the Dragon Sword! Who the hell are you?" he asked excitedly.
"What the heck is a Dragon Sword, and why is that so important?" Jack asked.
Myamoto sighed. "Don't you ever pay attention to me?"
Jack grinned shook his head. "Not really."
"The Dragon Sword is a legendary weapon passed down by the lost tribe of Dragon Ninjas. No one knows where the sword vanished to, until now that is."
"You're friend is very strange," Hayabusa said to Jack.
"You don't have to tell me that."
Myamoto glared at Jack. Then he held out his hand to Hayabusa. "My name is Myamoto."
"I know," Hayabusa said simply, then he sat down on the couch.
Myamoto whispered to Jack, "What's his problem?"
Jack looked at Myamoto. "He's a Shinobi."
Myamoto turned very pale. "Shinobi?! Holy sh--"
"I'm not a Shinobi, okay? I'm just a curio shop owner."
"Sure you are," Jack said sarcastically.
"I am," Hayabusa said diligently.
Jack ignored him and handed Myamoto his laptop. "I have a favor to ask."
Myamoto looked curiously at the laptop, then at Jack. "What do you need?"
Jack grinned. "I found something at warehouse fourteen. There's a secret door with a retinal scanner and a keypad. I need you to come with us so we can get inside."
Myamoto looked at Jack. "Are you serious? Do you have any idea how hard it is to get past a retinal scanner?"
Jack nodded. "I'm not trying to get past it. I just want to get around it."
Myamoto looked confused, but he agreed to come anyway. "I'll do it, but I'll need a computer."
"Done," Jack said as he handed Myamoto his laptop.
Myamoto took the small computer and laughed. "You expect me to get past a retinal scanner with your computer?"
Jack glared at him. "What's wrong with my computer?"
"Let's face it Jack. You might be one of the best detectives I know, but in the computer department you are lacking in skills. I'll have to make some preparations to the laptop before I can really use it."
"What kind of preparations?"
Myamoto powered up the laptop. "Well, your WiFi card is very impressive, but your processor isn't powerful enough to quickly get into a system and get out without being detected."
Jack sighed. "That's the best processor on the market. What do you mean its not good enough?"
"It's the best you can buy, legally speaking. I have something to put in here that will speed up your system tenfold. Plus, I need to install my thresher program. On top of that I need to make a keypad interface for the door."
Jack nodded. "Well we can't leave until late tonight, anyway. Do you think you can get it done by then?"
Myamoto nodded. "Yeah. If I work nonstop, I should be able to get it done at around midnight."
"Perfect," Jack said as he glanced at the clock. It read one-thirty-five.
He wondered about Kasumi, and if she had died quickly and painlessly. He hoped she had, but knowing these people...
"Hayabusa, we need to work on our plan of attack while Myamoto is working on the computer."
Hayabusa nodded. "Good idea."
Saturday, December 24
1:42 P.M.
Organization Compound 32
Smith walked up to Kasumi and faced Ayane. "Tell me where to find the village, NOW! Or do you want me to hurt her? Because I will."
Ayane looked regretfully at Kasumi, who's eyes were glistening with tears of torment, both emotional and physical. She didn't want to see anything else happen to her. No one deserved this, not even Kasumi. But she had no choice. "I won't say anything."
Smith was angry, but he saw something different in Ayane's eyes this time. He wasn't sure what it was, but he knew he was finally getting to her. She was finally starting to regret her actions, which meant that he might be able to crack her.
He walked back over to the console and pressed the red button for Kasumi's frame, making it slowly pull her arms towards the ceiling, stretching them past their limitations. Kasumi let out a long, mournful cry of anguish, begging for Smith to stop, but the frame continued its ascend. Only when Kasumi was unable to stop screaming from the excruciating pain, did Smith stop the frame.
But this time, instead of lowering the machine, he grabbed a clear pointed plastic stick and walked over to Kasumi, who was weeping uncontrollably and struggling to catch her breath. She was filled with fear at the look in Smith's eyes. "Don't...." she sobbed.
He ignored Kasumi's weak pleas, and faced Ayane. "I'll give you one more chance to answer."
Ayane swallowed hard and closed her eyes. She didn't want to see it anymore.
"No. I can't," she said.
Smith laughed at the response he got. Then he smacked Kasumi's sore hip as hard as he could with the plastic rod, leaving a large bruise.
Kasumi wailed loudly as the powerful impact connected with her already stressed and swollen joint. Smith laughed and then jabbed the point of the stick into her hip, making her cry out in agony, hot tears flowing down her face. Smith then walked back to the machine and replaced it to its original position. She gasped loudly as the weight of her body was again placed on her sore leg. She slouched weakly against the stretcher, powerless to stop herself from crying.
Smith then walked over to Ayane and looked at Kasumi. "Now it's your turn."
"Please....leave her....alone," Kasumi sobbed gloomily.
Smith laughed again. "Where is the village?"
Kasumi shook her head sadly. "Ayane....I...."
Smith took the rod and smacked Ayane hard across the face, leaving a thin trail of blood behind. Ayane managed to hold back her tears once again, but she couldn't help but gasp. However, Smith wasn't satisfied. He took the stick and brutally brought it down upon her waist with a loud "smack," leaving another bruise and tearing her clothes. Ayane yelled loudly, but she still didn't cry.
"Stop! Leave her alone!" Kasumi cried as Smith raised the stick to hit her once again.
Just at that moment, Thomas came back into the room. "I have the information you requested earlier."
Smith nodded and again left the two girls by themselves.
As soon as Smith was gone, Ayane finally let her tears fall, incapable of holding back her pain any longer. She sobbed quietly as the stinging on her face and abdomen continued to worsen. The tears caused the small cut on her cheek to burn, which only made her want to cry more.
Kasumi was surprised at this display of emotion. She had never seen Ayane cry like this before and she didn't know how to react.
"We're going to die here, aren't we?" Ayane said, after regaining some control over her emotions.
Kasumi shook her head. "Jack is coming. Maybe that's what the big deal with Smith is right now."
"Will you give it up already?!" Ayane said, annoyed. "He's not going to rescue us."
"You're wrong, Ayane. He can make it. I know he can."
Ayane sighed and tried to blink away her tears before Smith returned. "I hope you're right."
Thomas and Smith walked over to a nearby computer console and looked at the screen.
"You were right," Thomas said simply.
Smith looked at the information on the screen. "Jack Wallace, huh? I wonder what he has to do with the girl?"
Thomas toyed with his lighter. "It seems that he and the girl are best friends, if not more than that."
Smith looked at Thomas curiously. "How did you determine that?"
Thomas shrugged. "I have a lot of resources, Smith. It turns out that they have been seen together on several occasions in the park, at restaurants, in theaters, at the mall, and various other locations. They appear to love each other very much."
Smith nodded. "Then you were right about waiting to use the box. The girl will provide an excellent escape plan."
"Told you so," Thomas said. "I'll tell you if anything else comes up."
"Excellent work, Tom." Smith walked back up the stairs.
Saturday, December 24
1:59 P.M.
Myamoto's Apartment
"Okay we'll try this one more time," Jack said irritably. "What is the first thing you do when we go inside?"
Myamoto stopped working for a second and paused to answer Jack's question. "I know you want me to wait in the warehouse, but you might need me to unlock something else inside."
Hayabusa looked at Jack. "He's right you know. There will probably be more than one security door."
Jack nodded. "I guess so. But he's going to need a weapon. Just in case."
Myamoto suddenly became very interested. "What kind of weapon did you have in mind?"
"Something simple, but dangerous," Jack thought a moment, then snapped his fingers. "I have something you can use back at the apartment. I'll be right back."
Jack drove quickly back to his apartment building and was greeted with a surprising sight when he arrived.
As he got out of his Jeep a man wearing a white ninja uniform and a sword stepped up behind him. He had dark eyes and shoulder length dark red hair.
"Not another one," Jack groaned.
"Are you the one they call Jack Wallace?" he asked.
"Who wants to know?" Jack asked defensively.
"It's important that you tell me your name. I won't ask again."
Jack didn't have time to start another round of trouble so he nodded. "Yeah I'm Jack."
"Where is Hayabusa?"
That question really caught Jack's attention. "Hayabusa? How do you know about Hayabusa?"
The man nodded. He had indeed found who he was looking for. "Just tell me where he is and I'll leave you alone."
"Let me go get something real quick and I'll take you to him," Jack said as she started towards his building.
This was getting stranger and stranger. Now there were two of them? But there was something different about this new guy. Hayabusa's outfit was black and his was white. On top of that, this new guy looked oddly familiar somehow, but he couldn't place a finger on where he had seen him before.
Jack retrieved the eight gauge shotgun he was going to let Myamoto borrow and then he walked out to his Jeep, where the stranger had already climbed into the passenger's seat.
Jack started the Jeep and drove to Myamoto's. The ride was extremely tense, an neither one of the two men said a word throughout the entire trip.
Jack walked into Myamoto's apartment with the new guy following close behind.
Hayabusa looked up and quickly spotted his friend. "Hayate, what are you doing here?"
Myamoto freaked out. "Hayate!"
He ran to his desk and flipped through a large stack of papers. Then he grabbed on and quickly walked up to Jack.
"What's this?" Jack asked.
"This is a file on a man named Hayate. Look at the picture!" Myamoto whispered excitedly, making sure the two ninjas couldn't hear him.
Jack looked at the photo, then towards the man who was now talking to Hayabusa. "No way."
Myamoto practically started jumping up and down. "A real Shinobi ninja! I can't believe it! Where do you find these people?!"
Jack shrugged. "I guess I'm a regular Shinobi magnet. Now pipe down before you get us in trouble."
Hayate paid no attention to Jack and Myamoto and looked at Hayabusa. "Ryu, We need to talk in private."
Hayabusa nodded and they walked over to the far corner of the room, away from Jack and Myamoto.
"I have some bad news. Ayane is missing."
"Missing?" Hayabusa asked. "When?"
"We think she was taken about two days ago. I found this along the road to town."
Hayabusa took the dart from Hayate. "Do you think these are the same people who took Kasumi?
Hayate nodded. "Yes, that's exactly what I think," he looked at Jack, who was currently talking to Myamoto about something, "Has he found her yet?"
Hayabusa sighed. "He found her, but she was abducted from the hospital recently. We believe she may be dead."
The news hit Hayate hard. "Dead?"
"There's no proof, but that's what it looks like. I'm sorry, Hayate. We're planning an operation to take these guys down as we speak."
Hayate nodded. "I'm sure that the same people who killed Kasumi are the ones who took Ayane. Let me help you."
Hayabusa shook his head. "That's not a good idea. If you stick around, Jack will probably figure out Kasumi's a runaway Shinobi."
"That's a risk I'm going to have to take. Ayane's life depends on it."
Hayabusa nodded. He understood where Hayate was coming from. Ayane was the only family he had left. "I'll do my best to keep him from finding anything out, but what happens to him if he does figure it out?"
Hayate sighed. "Then I'll have no choice but to eliminate him."
