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.

Author's Note: Well, now that you've all read my revised version, its time to pick up where I left off. Thanks to everyone who's sticking with me on this. I really appreciate it!

Chapter Twenty-three

Sunday, December 25

1:47 P.M.

Police Station

Jack waited in the parking lot of the police station for Myamoto. While he was waiting he was looking at the photos that had been taken on his camera so far. The first photos were of the dark van that he had found hidden in the woods. After them he saw the photo of the strange symbol in the old garage. He decided to delete this one, since it wasn't going to help his story. Then he saw the gut-wrenching photos of where Kasumi had been held. It broke his heart to see such suffering happen to someone so close to him. All he wanted for Kasumi was for her to be happy, but he didn't know where to start. He would have to talk with her about the Shinobi after she recovered. But he wouldn't push her. If she felt uncomfortable, he would end it right there. She didn't need that kind of stress right now.

Just then Myamoto walked up to him. He wore a worried expression and he looked very tired. "Any news on Kasumi and Ayane?"

Jack solemnly shook his head. "They're both in some sort of coma, last I heard."

Myamoto didn't say anything. There was nothing to say at the moment.

"Where's the laptop?" Jack asked.

Myamoto leaned against the Jeep and sighed. "Jack, I didn't bring it."

"What?! I specifically asked you to--"

Myamoto interrupted him. "This isn't a smart move, and you know it. Why go to the police now, after all that's happened? They won't do anything anyway. At least they won't do anything very fast."

Jack realized Myamoto was right. "I know, but I don't have any leads on Smith. I have to flush him out somehow."

"The police won't flush him out. More than likely they'll make him go even further into hiding. Besides, if you did tell your story do you honestly think they'll believe you?"

Jack sighed. "Don't you think I've already thought of that? Do you think I want to be here?"

"I think we need to take a long hard look at the information on that laptop. When I was reconfiguring the retinal scanner, I had to hack into the mainframe of Smith's facility. Maybe there's some useful information on it."

Jack shrugged and started the Jeep. "Okay. Get in and we'll go get the computer and head back to the hospital. There's no way I'm leaving Kasumi again."

As Myamoto took a seat in the passenger's side of the vehicle, Jack glanced at his watch. It read almost two. As he drove to Myamoto's Apartment, he was lost deep in his own thoughts, again dwelling on how it was his fault Kasumi was suffering.

After they had retrieved his laptop from his apartment, Jack and Myamoto drove back to the hospital. Myamoto hoped everything would be all right.

Jack was thinking the exact same thing. Whatever this red stuff was, he was glad Myamoto took a sample for analysis. The information would definitely come in handy later, he was positive of that. But what he was thinking about more than anything was Kasumi, and if she had the strength pull through her surgery. The sight of her misery had lit a bright flame of anger in Jack and he wanted nothing more than to rip Smith apart, piece by piece.

"Well, where should we start?"

"Myamoto sighed. "I guess we should start with the electronic security files I gathered when I was recalibrating the retinal scanner."

Jack nodded. "Okay. Sounds good to me. I'm going to go see how Hayabusa holding up."

Myamoto gave a slight nod. "I'll tell you if I find anything."

Jack walked up to where Hayabusa was sitting and took a seat next to him. "Anything happen while I was gone?"

Hayabusa shook his head slowly. "Nothing. Nobody's told me anything, so I assume they're still operating on them."

"I figured as much. I sure hope it'll be over soon."

Hayabusa muttered quietly in agreement.

After a few minutes of awkward silence, Jack spoke up. "So, I brought Myamoto back with me. He's looking at some files we gathered from Smith's hideout."

Hayabusa glanced at the hacker who was sitting across the room, hard at work. "Has he found anything?"

"No, he just started. I'm not sure he'll find anything useful, but it's all we have to go on right now. Besides, he needs something to keep him busy."

Hayabusa wasn't really paying much attention to Jack right now. He was thinking of Ayane and what she must've been through. He hoped that she didn't blame Kasumi for all of this when she woke up. If she woke up.

Jack noticed that Hayabusa didn't really feel much like talking right now, and he didn't blame him. Jack wasn't feeling much like talking himself. There were so many things running through his head and he needed to keep busy with something so he ran the scene of the engagement with Smith's men through his head, trying to observe every detail from the moment he stepped out of the elevator until he freed Kasumi from her bondage. Something wasn't adding up. Hayate's disappearance was yet to be explained.

"Hey, Jack, come here a minute."

Jack got out of the chair and walked over to Myamoto. "Yeah?"

Myamoto pointed towards the screen of the laptop. "You see the red area on this map?"

Jack nodded. "Uh-huh."

"That's a sub basement. It's below the area that Kasumi and Ayane were being held on. It looks like it was mostly used for storage, but there are a few strange things about the layout."

Jack became curious and sat down next to Myamoto. "Like what?"

"Well, these rooms are way to small to be practical for storage, unless they're used to store files. If that's the case..."

Jack stood up. "...we could probably find some info there. Great work."

Myamoto got up as well. "You're going back there right now?"

Jack nodded. "Yeah, why?"

"I just thought that you might want to wait for Kasumi to get out of surgery first. I don't think it would be a good idea if she wakes up and finds you gone. She's been through enough as it is. Our little investigation can wait until both of them are safe."

"I guess you're right," Jack said. "I want to be here when she wakes up."


Sunday, December 25

7:12 P.M.

Charity Medical Complex

After nearly six hours of surgery, Doctor Nikata finished closing Kasumi's wounds. "I think that'll do it. Great work, everyone. It looks like she's going to make it."

He then prepared her bandages with a special medicine that would speed up her healing process as well as prevent any scarring, like he had done before. With any luck, this young woman would be well enough to leave the hospital in a few days.

As the surgeons began to leave the operating room, Doctor Nikata stepped outside and asked one of the nurses to come into the room.

"Yes, doctor?"

Nikata glanced at Kasumi and sighed. "Take her to the recovery area. I need to go talk to the man that came with her."

The nurse nodded and began to wheel Kasumi's stretcher out of the brightly lit room.

Nikata removed his mask and slowly made his way to the waiting area. As he entered the room, he glanced at the clock which read about seven twenty.

Jack instantly stood up and walked up to the doctor. "Is she going to be okay?"

The doctor nodded. "She'll be fine, but I'm not so sure she'll stay that way."

Jack raised his eyebrows. "What do you mean by that?"

"I think you're the one who's been hurting this young woman."

"What?! That's ridiculous!" Jack yelled. "I'm the one who's been helping her."

Nikata looked doubtful. "The first time I examined her, I noticed that she had been exposed to some severe long term trauma. Some of her wounds were almost a week old. However, it didn't occur to me that you may have been the assailant because of your gunshot wound in the shoulder. But now that I see what she's been through these past few days, I'm beginning to think your wound was from her defending herself."

Jack was speechless. "But....I...."

Myamoto noticed that the conversation was beginning to heat up and walked over to them. "What's going on, Jack?"

Jack pointed at Nikata. "This guy thinks that I hurt Kasumi. Do you believe that!"

"No way! You've got it all wrong, doc."

Nikata looked at the new guy who had just walked up. "Then why don't you straighten it out for me?"

Myamoto said nothing and Jack let out a sigh. It was an unbelievable story and he knew how it would sound to someone like the doctor. There really was no reason that Jack could think of for Kasumi's pain. She was just a normal girl, except for the whole Shinobi--

"Shinobi," Jack whispered to himself.

Nikata almost laughed. "Did you just say what I think you said?"

Jack quickly shook his head. "No. I was just thinking of something else. As for the allegations that I was the one who hurt Kasumi, you're way out of line. I can't really explain it to you right now though, but I know that when she wakes up, she'll tell you what happened to her. And then you'll know."

Nikata didn't say anything. Then he cleared his throat. "I'm sure I will. However, her new set of injuries need to be explained right now. From your point of view."

"What kind of injuries?" Jack asked.

Nikata sighed. "She suffered from numerous beatings and intense physical trauma, as I saw from the extensive bruises and small cuts on her torso, arms and face. There wasn't any big gashes this time, thank god, but there were several minor abrasions on her stomach. I also found signs of burning on her wrists and ankles that are consistent with electrical shock. On top of that, there was something I couldn't quite explain...but it caused severe internal damage and bleeding. I suspect it was some kind of biological agent or chemical. Her gunshot wounds were reopened by the assumed beatings and her shoulders had been dislocated as well as her right hip. As it was before."

Jack was horrified. "Oh my god.....no wonder she couldn't stand."

"Poor Kasumi...." Myamoto whispered.

Nikata wanted some answers. "I want to know what happened to her."

Jack reluctantly shook his head. "You wouldn't believe me unless you had been there and seen what happened with your own two eyes. I'm going to wait for Kasumi to tell you, because I know you wouldn't believe it if I was the one who told you."

Nikata thought about Jack's answer. "We'll need to talk--"

A nurse burst into the room. "Doctor Nikata! Doctor Makita is requesting your assistance on her patient. Immediately!"

Nikata put on his mask. "We'll finish this later. Don't go anywhere."

Hayabusa instantly became interested. They must be referring to Ayane. He thought of Hayate and how hard it must've been to see his sisters like that. Especially Kasumi, who he hadn't seen since DOA 3. But as far as the Shinobi were concerned, she was already dead. It was only a matter of time until the hunting parties caught and killed her like some kind of animal. That was one rule that Hayabusa didn't approve of, but there was no changing it. The risk that Kasumi might one day expose the village was real and this seemed to be the only practical way to solve the problem. This situation had shown him that the risk was not unreasonable.

But now she had Jack, and it would be better. He knew that an attack in town was unlikely and arrows didn't go through thick double paned glass, like Jack's windows were made of. She would be in good hands now, and he was no longer obligated to watch over her. He was more worried about Ayane than her sister. Ayane still had a future ahead of her.


Sunday, December 25

7:43 P.M.

OrganizationBuildingTokyo

Smith had just gotten out of his meeting with his boss and he wasn't happy. "DOA4?! He wants me to send a contact into DOA4?!"

Thomas nodded. "That's what he said, you idiot."

Smith shot him a glare. "Do you have any idea how tight the security is in those places?"

Thomas shrugged. "Not my problem."

Smith sighed and looked at the setting sun, slowly sinking behind the Tokyo skyline. He thought about Kasumi and her amazing will to survive. He chuckled at the thought of her pain. By now she would surely be in serious anguish. He may have not been able to get the information he wanted, but he took great comfort in the fact that he had damaged her spirit.

Thomas sighed. "Well, have you decided who you want to send? Most of my men are dead, so you're on your own for now."

"I can't think of anyone off the top of my head, except maybe one person. But she would never agree to go."

Thomas shrugged. "Then I guess you're screwed."

Smith was very frustrated. "I can't believe that this guy is willing to send someone into DOA 4 over the Shinobi. What could possibly be so important about that village?"

Thomas started to toy with his zippo lighter. "I thought you said that there was gold out there or something like that."

"That's what I thought too until he told me that there was no gold. There has to be something else....something of much more importance than mere money."

"Duh, you twit! Of course there's something else out there!"

Smith glared at Thomas. "You had best watch your tongue, before I--"

Thomas was not impressed. "Before you what? Kill me? You know you can't afford to lose my resources."

Smith knew Thomas was right, which pissed him off even more. "Okay, I'm calling her. But I'm going to have to lie to get her to agree. She has too many moral values."

Thomas put his lighter away. "Who are you thinking of?"

"The woman I want to send to DOA 4," Smith said as he retrieved his cell phone from his pocket. "That's all you need to know."


Sunday, December 25

7:56 P.M.

Jack's Apartment

Shark walked up to the address he had retrieved from the phone book. Jack Wallace's apartment building stood tall in front of him and Shark was surprised to see that he had come this far. He honestly didn't know why he still cared. But the man named Bayman had told him to look for Jack Wallace if he wanted and answers. But he really didn't know what questions to ask first. Maybe he should start with the death of Duncan or the fate of the red headed girl.

Shark walked through the door and shoved the crumpled page from the phone book into his pocket. The thought of seeing that girl again made him feel so dark inside. Her screams haunted his consciousness even now, almost a week after he had let her escape from a fate worse than death. He still remembered the last few words she had said to him. She had asked for his help, and he had refused her. He knew that even though he had freed her, her condition would probably kill her before she reached town. He had condemned her to certain death, and it made him feel so black inside.

But that was another puzzle he had to figure out. Why did he care at all whether the girl was dead or alive? After the things he had done to her, she was probably better off dead. He realized that if she had survived, the memories of the torture would haunt her to the worst degree.

Shark took a seat and waited for a while, wondering if he should go knock on Jack's door, or leave.

Hayate had been waiting in Jack's apartment all day, waiting for someone, anyone, to come back from the hospital. He often wondered whether Kasumi was dead, or slowly dying on a stretcher in the ER. But every time he thought about his sister, he remembered that he had been trying to kill her for years. But seeing her again had reopened some old wounds he thought he had gotten past at the end of DOA 3.

When he thought of Kasumi, he felt like the worst man alive. She had sacrificed everything she had for him, and what did he do to show his appreciation? He immediately sent assassination parties to kill her like some kind of barbarian.

It had all started with Raidou's vicious attack on the village. He had rushed out to fight him off, but Ayane beat him to it. When he saw how she was mercilessly tossed aside like a tattered doll, Hayate had let emotions consume him. One of the biggest mistakes of his life. He lost that fight, along with his ability to walk.

When he finally awakened from his unconscious state, he was greeted by a totally different world. He had opened his eyes only to find that Kasumi had run away to avenge him. The first thing he felt was worry and grief, and then anger. She had committed the one crime that was unforgivable by Shinobi standards, and she had abandoned them all. But soon the anger boiled away and only left a deep wound in his heart. He knew she had to be killed, but he could not accept it.

As time passed, he found that Ayane had bottled up her grief towards his injuries and Kasumi's running away, and turned those emotions into a deep hatred of her sister. As the weeks passed, he realized Ayane was drawing further and further into her shell, and she refused to let anyone in. As DOA 2 approached it became crystal clear that Ayane intended to join so she could murder Kasumi.

Hayate then shook away those thoughts and got up from the kitchen table where he was sitting. Everywhere he looked, was the blood of his sisters. In the back of the apartment was Jack's room, where Kasumi had spouted blood all over the bed and floor. Then as he walked back into the living room, he saw the folded out couch and the blood Ayane and Kasumi had sprayed everywhere.

"I've got to get out of here," Hayate muttered to himself.

He decided to head downstairs and continue to wait for someone to return with any news. He made sure to lock the door behind him.


Sunday, December 25

8:09 P.M.

Charity Medical Complex

After another hour of intense surgery, Ayane was wheeled out of the OR to join her ailing sister in the recovery room. As Karei Makita peeled away her mask, she smiled at Doctor Mitsuo Nikata. "I can't believe we just pulled that off!"

Nikata gave a slight nod. "I know."

His voice was flat and his thoughts were still surrounding the mysterious condition in which these young women were abused. The more he thought about it, the more he disregarded the fact that Jack Wallace was the culprit. From the way he treated Kasumi during her first stay in the hospital, it was highly unlikely that he would harm her in any way. Plus this time there were two women instead of one. He couldn't wait to get some answers from them when they awoke.

Maybe this had to do with that investigation of the park ranger murder case the cops were working on. When the girls opened their eyes, Nikata decided he would call the police immediately.

Makita noticed Nikata's glum face. "What's the matter? We just did the impossible. You should be happy."

"I am. It's just that the injuries were so...horrible. What kind of person would do that to another human being?"

Makita shrugged. "I have no idea."

Hayabusa noticed when the doctor that had been talking to Jack earlier came walking between the double doors, followed by a female surgeon. He got up from where he was sitting and approached them.

"Is Ayane going to make it?"

The doctor smiled. "She'll be fine. Both of them are resting in the recovery area."

Jack took immediate interest in Hayabusa's conversation. "Can we visit them yet?"

Makita sighed. "I know that it's hard to stay separated from someone you care about, but it would be best if you let them sleep for a few days and let their bodies heal. Both of them have just been through hell."

Jack nodded. "I understand."

He knew that Kasumi would feel like crap for the next few days and the doctors were right. She's been through enough without being pestered by any visits. When she was stronger he would talk to her. He was just thankful she was still alive.

He turned to Myamoto. "Want to go check out that storage area?"

Myamoto shut down the laptop and stood up. "There's nothing better to do. Let's go."


Kasumi had just defied impossible odds. But she hadn't gone through the ordeal unscathed. In her mind, a horrible nightmare continued to replay itself over and over again, causing her to cry even in her sleep. It was unrelenting and even though she was lost in a deep unconsciousness, Kasumi was terrified. Her skin was covered with sweat and a few stray tears rolled down her cheeks as she struggled in the awful dreams.

One of the nurses heard her let out a slight moan and she approached with a cool damp cloth. She dabbed away the beads of sweat dotting Kasumi's forehead and sighed. This poor girl had been through so much pain and suffering and it was amazing she was still breathing. She changed Kasumi's bloody bandages and left the room, on her way to inform the doctor of her delirious state.

Ayane, however, showed no outward signs of stress or nightmares. In fact, it looked like she was perfectly at peace.

As the nurse went down the hall, she found doctor Makita instead of Nikata, who she was searching for. But Makita was just as skilled. One doctor was as good as another.

"Um...one of the girls you operated on, she's having night terrors. Is there anything you can do to calm her down?"

"Which girl are you referring to?"

"The one with red hair."

Makita sighed. Hasn't she already been through enough? "It's a psychological matter. With the trauma she's just experienced it isn't uncommon to be having bad dreams. All we can do is wait until she wakes up."

The nurse nodded. "I see. I just thought I would tell someone in case it was serious."

Makita nodded. "That was thoughtful, but she'll be fine."

The nurse nodded and left, content with the response Makita had given her. Karei Makita watched in somber silence as the nurse walked away, considering this new piece of information.


Sunday, December 25

8:23 P.M.

Organization Compound 32

Jack and Myamoto strolled into the devastated compound with flashlights flooding the room. There were sparking computer consoles and live wires strewn about everywhere and it looked like it would take a while just to get through the main room. He hadn't realized how much havoc they had wrought during the intense gunfight yesterday.

"So which way is it to the storage area?"

Myamoto consulted a printout of the map form the laptop. He pointed towards the rear of the room with his flashlight. "There should be a door back there somewhere."

Jack nodded and carefully made his approach to the designated area. He didn't see any doors, but there could be another hidden entrance. The place seemed to be riddled with stuff like that.

The more he thought about the storage room, the more Jack wondered what he would find. To be completely honest, he didn't know what he was looking for, and he didn't really care as long as it told him where that coward Smith had scampered off to.

Myamoto finally caught up with his friend and scoured the wall with his flashlight. "I don't understand. There should be a door right here..."

"Damn! Why can't anything be easy for once?"

Looking intently at the wall for seams or any sort of buttons, Jack was growing increasingly more frustrated. After just a few minutes, he gave up. Then something occurred to him.

"Hey, do you think it's opened somewhere else?"

Myamoto was intrigued. "Where are you thinking this switch is?"

Jack simply pointed his penlight towards the room where Kasumi had been tortured. "Up there. When I was looking for the keys to Kasumi's cuffs, I spotted some kind of control panel. I'm thinking there might be some kind of switch there."

"It's possible. Let's go check it out."

A few minutes later, Jack and Myamoto were in the dark interrogation room. Jack suppressed his feelings of sadness and anger as the beam form his flashlight illuminated the frame where Kasumi had been abused. Then he saw it. In the far corner of the room was a pedestal with various buttons and switches on it. Jack approached the control center and was about to press a button when Myamoto interrupted him.

"Don't set off any booby traps."

Jack grinned. "I know what I'm doing. Or at least I think I do."

He spotted the red button first and figured that it was just as good as any other so he punched it and waited. To his horror one of the metal frames began to rise, but not the stretcher that it was attached to.

"So that's how her arms were dislocated! That rat bastard!"

He couldn't imagine the pain that the machine must have inflicted on his best friend and her sister, and he didn't want to try. He hit another button below the red one, which shut the machine off. Then he pressed yet another button that returned the hydraulic frame to it's original position.

As Jack tinkered with the controls, Myamoto examined the torture stations more closely. After only a few seconds he discovered the green and yellow buttons.

Jack looked up form the console just in time to see Myamoto depress a green button, sending sparks flying from the metal cuffs of the frame. Myamoto scrambled to shut it off with the yellow button and remorsefully sighed.

"I wonder what else he did to them?"

Jack shook his head. "I don't want to think about it. At least not until Kasumi is ready to talk."

Myamoto nodded and stepped away from the frame.

Returning his immediate attention to the task at hand, Jack flipped a black switch waiting for some other form of pain to reveal itself, but to his relief a loud clicking noise was made, followed by the sound of a sliding metal door.

He walked over to the window and noticed that where the wall had been before, there was now a staircase. He gazed around the room one last time, searching for any relevant clues before he left. He could almost feel the weight of Kasumi and Ayane's suffering bearing down on him. Jack left the room and started towards the stairs, continuing his search for answers.