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 Nineteen

Sunday, December 25

12:13 P.M.

Organization Compound 32

"Watch your back. Jack's here," Thomas said over the radio.

"He is? Don't worry. I'll take him out," Bayman replied.

He was on the roof of the warehouse. He noticed now that the front of the building was unusually dark. It seemed Jack knew what he was doing. He climbed down the ladder leaning against the back of the building and walked around front, popping his knuckles.


"There! It's done, Jack. Give it a try."

Jack nodded and looked into the retinal scanner. There was a slight whirring noise and then...CLICK!

"Okay, you only unlocked the first lock. The keypad controls the second one." Myamoto quietly attached the keypad interface he had made earlier. "This should only take about a minute."

"Back so soon?"

Jack turned around, as did Hayabusa and Hayate. They quickly took out their swords and Jack aimed carefully at Bayman.

Bayman threw up his hands. "Hey, I'm unarmed. You wouldn't shoot an unarmed man, would you?"

Jack uncocked his pistol and returned in quietly to its holster. "I'm tempted, but I don't want to waste any bullets. Besides, I'm not a coward like you."

Bayman laughed. "A coward? Me?"

"Yeah, you. I wouldn't throw dirt in an opponent's eyes if I was losing. You knew Kasumi was beating you even though she was injured, but you couldn't take that like a real man. You had to cheat."

Bayman lunged at Jack angrily, who easily sidestepped like he had done earlier.

"You should really consider trying something new. You're far too predictable," Jack said with a grin.

Bayman climbed to his feet and threw a punch at Jack, but he blocked and countered with one of his hardest right hooks. Bayman caught the blow in the chest leaving him sputtering around until he caught his breath. Then Hayate stepped in with a high kick to the back of Bayman's head, knocking him to the ground. Hayabusa stepped forward with his sword ready, but he didn't attack.

Bayman climbed to his feet and held up his hands. "I'm through with this. If you let me leave now, I swear you'll never see me again."

Jack shook his head and got out his gun. He pointed it at Bayman's head, but Hayabusa hit his arm with the flat edge of his sword, making him drop the weapon.

Bayman took this opportunity to run outside.

Jack glared angrily at Hayabusa. "Who's side are you on here?!"

Hayabusa returned Jack's glare. "What would Kasumi have said if she had just seen that?"

Jack sighed. "You don't know what he did to her, Hayabusa."

"What's done is done, Jack. No matter how many people you kill, it won't bring her back. I know how it feels to lose someone and I also know that nothing you do will bring her back."

"Then why are you here?"

Hayabusa thought of the small Shinobi village in the mountains. "Consider it a preventative measure."

Jack was just about to ask what he meant, when Myamoto chimed in. "It's unlocked, guys."

Jack angrily snatched his gun off the floor. "If you ever interfere like that again...."

Hayabusa nodded. He knew that he was walking on thin ice with Jack. He would have to be more careful. Despite his sarcastic attitude, he liked Jack. He would hate to have him as an enemy.

Jack walked into the elevator and everyone else followed him. He hit the arrow that was pointing down.

Soon the doors swung open and Jack was greeted with a surprise. Instead of a busy villainous lair, he was greeted with a pitch black room. The only light he saw was of various computer displays. He was very cautious and instead of just walking out into the room, he crouched slowly and quietly took cover behind a nearby computer console. Myamoto did the same. However, Hayate and Hayabusa quietly walked towards the center of the room, swords ready.

"They're either extremely stupid or extremely good," Jack whispered quietly to Myamoto.


Smith watched as the two ninjas carefully made their way from the elevator. Thomas had his men hidden everywhere and he had closed the blinds on the upstairs room. The red glow would have shown Jack where the girls were and he wasn't ready for that yet. This should go perfectly.

"Okay, Tom, do it now," he whispered silently into his radio.

Thomas grinned. "You heard him guys. Attack!"


Suddenly the room was filled with mercenaries. Hayabusa took two down easily with his sword. Hayate jabbed his sword sharply into a nearby merc and the he turned and used the momentum he created to take down a man behind him. Jack rolled out from behind the console and took a shot, nailing a man across the room in the head. He got up and killed another man on his way back to the console, dodging a magnitude of machine gun fire. Myamoto peeked over the edge of the cluster of computers he was using for cover and fired a fired at a nearby merc. Jack stealthily creeped around the corner of the console and shot a merc who was just about to attack Hayabusa from behind.

The loud boom of Myamoto's shotgun startled everyone every time it went off, but he was taking down two or three men with a single blast. It was much louder than Jack's silenced Beretta or the ninja's swords.

Jack fired the last bullet in his magazine taking down another man near the back of the room, then he rolled back behind the console to reload. He grabbed another clip out of his jacket pocket and replaced it into his weapon.

"Where are they all coming from?!" Jack asked Myamoto.

Myamoto shrugged and shot another man who was trying to sneak up behind Hayate. Jack stood up and jumped over the console landing quietly behind the one in front of it.

"Cover me, Myamoto," Jack said.

Myamoto nodded and Jack quietly climbed to his feet. He glanced over at Hayabusa and Hayate, who weren't making any progress, but weren't having any trouble holding the mercs off either. Then Jack returned his attention to his own situation. He had to find Smith. He fired two shots, killing two mercs at the opposite side of the room. It seemed like that's where they were coming from. Myamoto's gun boomed behind him and he saw anther man crumple to the ground.

"Jack, behind you!"

Jack instinctively ducked as the knife barely missed him, then he jumped up using his shoulder to knock the man back. He then used his elbow to knock the man to the ground. The fallen merc raised a small gun and Jack fired a single shot into the man's chest.

Hayabusa watched as Jack continued to slowly make his way through the dark room. He swung his sword forcefully taking down a man behind Hayate. They were getting nowhere. Hayate jumped off of a nearby wall and tackled a large merc. Hayabusa rolled to the side avoiding a bullet and came up swinging his sword sharply, taking out the man in front of him. He then whirled around and kicked another merc to the ground, stabbing hi as he hit the floor, doing all this in one fluid movement. Then he stepped to the side as someone else was taken down by Jack's pistol.

Jack nodded toward Hayabusa and continued looking for Smith. Jack took out another two men who were trying to sneak around behind him. He was about to yell at Myamoto for cover, but he saw that Myamoto was busy with his own problems. Jack ducked behind a third console and checked his gun. He had only six shots left.


Smith watched in amazement as Jack kept killing his men. It was unbelievable. The man never missed his target. He was getting very close to where he was hiding, and Smith was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable.

"Thomas?" he asked into the radio. "How many men do you have left?"

"That's it. The only ones that are left are the ones in the room. You had better get ready to use that back up plan we talked about earlier."

"Damn! Isn't there another way? I still need--"

"You had your bloody time! It's too late now."

Smith watched as Jack killed four more men. There were only eight men left. This wasn't going to be pretty.


Jack was relieved to finally see that the mercs had stopped coming in. He stepped quietly over the bodies of the men he had just shot and the he rolled behind another console. He heard a merc swear under his breath as Jack again disappeared. Then the man fell to the ground when Myamoto's shotgun went off, instantly killing him. Jack was impressed with Myamoto's skill, but now was not the time for compliments. He shot another two men with remarkable precision, and slowly stood up, thinking that the area was clear. Then something amazing happened. Hayabusa could be heard chanting something across the room. Then suddenly fiery circles surrounded him and he shot a ball of flame across the room, taking out the last five men and scorching all the walls. Jack was stunned, but he would ask about that later. He heard someone mutter an amazed 'damn.'

Jack silently crept up to where the noise had come from. Then he saw him. There was a small man with dark black hair in a business shirt and slacks. He was holding a six inch hunting knife, and there was blood on the tip. Jack squeezed the trigger of his gun, but instead of firing a shot it just made a distinct clicking noise.

The man Jack had been aiming at whirled around and laughed.

Smith saw Jack standing behind him. He looked just like he had in the photos on his computer. He wore a black leather jacket and blue jeans. He had dark brown hair and eyes to match.

"We finally meet, Jack Wallace."

Jack put his gun away. "Smith," he said, as if he was spitting the word from his mouth.

Smith nodded and climbed to his feet. "I have something to show you."

He held up a remote and hit a button, which turned on the lights. Then he hit another button opening the blinds to the large window.

Jack watched curiously at the opening blinds. Then he spotted the battered and bruised Kasumi cuffed to a large metal frame, clearly terrified. There was some kind of glowing red liquid attached to her arm. Then Jack noticed someone else in the room with her.

"You bastard!" Jack yelled.

He swung at Smith with his right fist. Smith was caught off guard and he took the punch in the face. He stumbled backwards and tripped over a nearby body. Jack kicked him and he coughed, but then he reached for the remote and hit a red button.

Smith wiped the blood away from his mouth and laughed. "It's time to choose, Mr. Wallace."

Jack was unsure of what Smith meant, but he knew it wasn't good.


Kasumi had heard a lot of scuffling in the large room and every once in a while a loud boom rang out. She was surprised to see that Jack had survived the entire engagement, knowing that he must've been severely outnumbered.

When the blinds finally opened she saw him standing over Smith, who had blood on his face. Then to her horror, he hit the red button on the small remote. The electronic valves on the IV bags beeped and then the liquid started coming through.

It burned like battery acid and she let out an agonized scream as the stuff burned through her arm and eventually made its way to her chest. Every time her heart beat it seemed like it was being torn apart, and the drug seemed to pierce into her lungs, stealing her breath. She looked at Ayane sadly, who was also crying and gasping for air. Then she felt the mysterious glowing fluid burn into her sore legs, and finally, it made it's way to her head, making her brain explode with agony. She couldn't scream because her breath was gone, but warm tears continued to pour down her face as she let out her anguished sobs. The red liquid continued bore into her brain, and seemed to melt her body. It hurt so much and she couldn't even think of words to describe how painful it was. The closest she could come was that it felt like someone had slowly ripped out her insides with a red hot fork and tossed them into an erupting volcano.


Jack watched in panic as Kasumi screamed. He then noticed she had stopped breathing, but her tears continued to fall.

"What have you done?!" Jack screamed at Smith, who was still grinning.

"You have about one minute before it's too late." Smith climbed to his feet and ran towards the rear exit.

Jack put away his empty gun and ran up the stairs. Jack was relieved when he saw Myamoto run up the stairs after him, carrying the laptop, because the door was locked with a keypad. Myamoto quickly started working on the lock.

"I'll only take about thirty seconds, Jack. She should be okay."

Kasumi gasped for air, but she couldn't breathe. Her skin had started to burn and itch against anything that touched it and her wrists and ankles were on fire. It felt like she was lying in a vat of melted iron, and she was slowly sinking into unconsciousness. She closed her eyes and tried to move, but when she moved, her muscles felt like they had been shredded apart. So all she could do was lay there and sob, praying that she would survive.

"Hold on, Kasumi!" Jack yelled though the door. "Just a few more seconds!"

Jack looked at his watch which told him she only had about fifteen seconds before she crossed the point of no return. Just then the door slid open, and he ran inside, almost tripping on an empty box. Kasumi looked at him with a panicked expression, moving her lips to say something, but making no sound. Then he pulled the IV out of her arm and began to struggle with the metal cuffs.

Hayabusa followed him and quickly walked over to Ayane, also pulling the long needle from out of her veins. She didn't look nearly as desperate as Kasumi, but Hayabusa could see the pain in her eyes

Jack waited, but Kasumi still didn't breathe and soon he saw no other option than to give her mouth to mouth. He took a deep breath and plugged her nose. As soon as he had finished, she started screaming again, unable to stop herself. Myamoto looked worried, but he didn't say anything.

Ayane recovered more quickly than Kasumi and her breath returned very slowly, but the drug's painful effects still remained. She watched sadly as Kasumi continued to gasp for air. She thought it might be because of the more severe extent of Kasumi's injuries.

Jack gave Kasumi another breath of air. This time she managed to hold it in, but her skin and insides still felt like they were slowly being melted. Jack let his emotions go and he brushed away some tears.

"C'mon, Kasumi! Breathe!"

Kasumi managed to take her next breath on her own, but it wasn't much more than a quick gasp. Jack quickly found the keys to the cuffs and released her from her restraints, and her arms limply fell to her sides as he opened to upper cuffs, much like a marionette would fall after it's strings have been severed. He then spotted the burn marks on her wrists and ankles. When he tried to pull her out of the frame she screamed again, his touch burning her skin like sulfuric acid, and she couldn't help but cry out. Jack was shocked at how hot Kasumi's skin was. He let go of her and handed the keys to Hayabusa, who then released Ayane.

Ayane brushed away Hayabusa's hands and tried to stand on her own, but her leg muscles burned too much and she fell to the ground in a miserable heap. She yelled loudly when she hit the floor. When the tile made contact with her skin, it felt like she had just landed in a pool of boiling magma. Hayabusa picked her up and set her in a nearby chair. Ayane winced when she was touched, but she managed to hold back her cries.

Jack glanced at the bag of red stuff and noticed that every time a drop hit the floor, it sizzled. Whatever this stuff was, it was very strong.

"I'm sorry, Kasumi, but I have to get you out of that thing," Jack said.

Kasumi inhaled a short quick breath and tried to talk, but all that came out were whispers. She frantically shook her head as Jack reached for her once again, and as soon as his hands touched her arms she cried out once more. He released his hands immediately and sighed sadly. Her temperature had risen since he last touched her and he was extremely worried.

Jack wiped his face again. "I need to get you out of here."

Ayane's skin seemed to burn against the chair she was sitting in. She tried to get up once again, only this time she leaned against Hayabusa's shoulder. She winced, but she managed to hold her balance. Hayabusa knew that she had to be in great pain, but he didn't know how to relieve it. He hoped these effects wouldn't last long.

Jack looked sadly at Kasumi, who gazed at him with tearful eyes. He couldn't touch her, she wouldn't stop crying and she could barely breathe. Even her clothes burned where they made contact with her skin. He could only imagine how much it pained her lying in the frame. Kasumi took another labored breath and tried to move, but the agonizing scorching in her bullet wounds prevented her from making any progress. Jack held out his hand and waited to see if Kasumi would take it.

Kasumi blinked away her tears and grasped Jack's hand as tight as her burning muscles would allow. Then she leaned forward and slowly took a step out of the frame with her good leg. Jack walked closer and let Kasumi lean on his shoulder as she set her foot on the tile floor. She then pulled her beaten right leg out of the frame and tried to stand up. She slowly applied more pressure to her battered hip, but instead of standing she collapsed to the floor and sobbed. Jack gently scooped her up into his arms and set her down on a nearby crate. She had fallen hard and he hoped that her hip hadn't been dislocated again. She found it hard to move her arms, and when she did a sharp pain would shoot through her shoulders. But she thought it was only the drug.

Myamoto glanced at Jack and Hayabusa, then he wondered where Hayate had run off to. He decided that it would be best to wait to ask that question. Ayane limped for about two steps and then stumbled and started to fall, but Hayabusa caught her.

"Don't move. You're not in any condition--"

"I can take care of myself, Hayabusa," Ayane said stubbornly.

Hayabusa shook his head and loosened his grip.

Ayane started for the door, but stopped when she looked at Kasumi. She still wasn't getting any better and Ayane wondered how long she would have to endure the excruciating pain. If she was still experiencing it, how much worse did Kasumi feel? She shook her head and continued to slowly limp towards the door.

"Watch it! You won't be able to make it down those stairs!" Myamoto warned.

Ayane stopped. "Who are you?" she asked, noticing Myamoto for the first time.

Myamoto walked towards Ayane. "I'm Jack's friend. I think you should stay here until someone thinks of an idea."

Hayabusa brought the chair over to Ayane and set it down. "Sit down, Ayane. You know he's right."

Ayane sighed and slowly sat down in the chair. She flinched when she hit the seat.

Jack kneeled down and looked Kasumi in the eye. "Can I do anything to make you feel better?"

Kasumi took another painful breath. "Water..." she whispered.

Jack grabbed two small two way radios off of a nearby shelf and turned to Myamoto. "Can you go and see if there's some water out there?"

Myamoto nodded. "Anything to help."

Jack handed him one of the radios. "If anything happens, hide and tell me immediately."

Myamoto pocketed the radio and nodded. Then he turned towards the door and left.

Jack watched him leave then he stood up and turned to Ayane for the first time. She was still taking short quick breaths, but she was breathing more regularly than Kasumi and it seemed like she could say complete sentences. He wondered if she had changed her feelings toward Kasumi at all.