Avenging

Act 5

Chapter 12

The Lonesome Death of Abe Kosaka

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tsommer

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Standard disclaimer: I don't own any of the Marvel characters or other characters from the numerous animes which are within.

Last Chapter: The aftermath of the adventure in Bitterfrost was dealt with. Abe moved closer to the truth about Kerberos. Ranma and Ukyou revealed each other's identities to one another. And Genma defeated Kraven the Hunter. Yes, that one.

Warning: This one is very different from the normal chapters, but it's too integral to the plot to be an interlude since skipping over it would confuse the reader.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was nearing midnight when the large cargo truck entered the grounds of Kerberos's main headquarters. It was located at an abandoned factory that had been built well away from the city, so it was relatively isolated and lacked any neighbors. The hills on three sides put in a semi-bowl, and it had a good many trees surrounding the area making it difficult, though not impossible, to observe. Perfect for what Hound, then Kerberos, had wanted in a base where privacy was essential.

The cargo truck had already passed by the guards at the front gate, so the sergeant in charge was waiting for the vehicle as it pulled up to a stop in front of the main warehouse.

The sergeant walked up to the cab and took an inventory list that was offered by the driver. "So what do we have here?" he asked as he visually looked over the manifest.

The driver said, "Bunch of power armor for you."

"I'll need to personally scan the codes on the crates to verify them," the sergeant said.

The driver got out of the cab and walked around to the back. He opened the rear of the vehicle and pulled down a ramp so the pair could enter the trailer. Inside there were several very large metal crates with sophisticated electronic locks on them. The sergeant scanned a bar code on the sides of each one and read the results. "Five Super Trooper armors. Five Raider armors. Eight Mandroid Mark I's with Stark Enterprises upgrade. It all checks out." He looked around. "Where's your lifter for getting these things off?"

"Don't have one. All the carriers with them were out."

The sergeant let out a tired sigh. "That's stupid."

The driver turned on him snarled and in rage. "Look! This is my twelfth day working in a row, and I've done overtime on nearly every one of them! I wanted to finally go home since I get tomorrow off, but my supervisor begged and pleaded with me to do this one last run since you guys were supposed to get this stuff over a week ago, and it was urgent you get them! So here I am busting my ass for you, and you give me shit for me not being able to get something we don't have!"

The sergeant made a placating gesture. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Believe me, I know what you mean about working insane hours. We've been short staffed too, and we do really need this stuff. So thanks for helping out." He got on his phone. "Hey Toshi, bring a forklift out in front of the storage facility. Power armor came in and they can't get the cargo off it… Yeah, I know it'll take a while, but it's the only way we can get them off. Hey, wait a minute. I got a better idea. Pull all the guys down here. We'll offload a crate, then open it, get a guy in the armor, then they can take the packing crate inside. I mean you don't have to be a pilot to operate those things for walking and carrying stuff. That way we won't have to take them all the way into the back of the holding area one by one since it'll take forever. Yeah, thanks." He turned to the driver. "That way we can speed things up and you can get back home."

The driver looked relieved. "Thanks. That means a lot."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Fifteen minutes later the pair of men on duty in the base security center saw a warning indicating a motion sensor was tripped. The pair located it right at the edge of the base's Eastern perimeter.

One looked to the other. "Animal or a couple going at it?"

The other said, "A couple. And if the girl's hot, we watch first, then report."

"You mean if the guy's hot," his comrade said, then smiled.

The got the long range monitors up and zoomed them in on the area. It didn't take them long to locate the intruder.

"Crap, guy with a camera. Get the security patrol to grab him, and make sure he has the camera on him," the first one said.

The second one picked up a phone and spoke to the head of security. After a moment, he snapped, "What do you mean we don't have a security patrol in that area? Yes, I understand you thought prioritizing getting the armor off loaded was more important. Ah hell, just get someone up there fast."

The pair watched the intruder for a few more minutes as the closest security detail started their vehicle and began driving in that direction. They had barely began moving forward when the intruder put away the camera and moved out of range of the monitors.

The second one reopened his line of communication to the detail. "Move fast! He's leaving!" But he knew even as he gave the order it was too late. Sure enough, the intruder was long gone by the time the detail got there. They drove up to the nearest junction, but he wasn't in sight and they had no idea which direction he went, not even knowing what vehicle he had driven since it hadn't been on camera.

The pair looked at one another. "We are so going to get reamed over this."

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Abe Kosaka felt like dancing in joy as he sped away from the base in his aging car. After five empty sites, he had at last found an active one. Not only that, it had definitely been power armor he had taken pictures of. Visual evidence of something of a military venture, by the government, was happening in secret. Power armor also upped the ante on what this Kerberos was up to. That stuff wasn't cheap, and it was exotic as hell. It would only add to the story along with the creepy soldiers with the glowing red eyes. Folks would eat that up. On one level an important story shouldn't need flashy elements; it should be informative, but the adage was true. 'Dog Bites Man,' had never grabbed as much attention as, 'Man Bites Dog,'.

'Japanese Military Power Armor Whatever' was going to catch readers' eyes, along with the apparent body count they had already racked up. He still needed more information on exactly what the organization was up to, but having proof they existed was more than half the battle. It was all urban myth until you had the pics to put on Page One. This was the hard evidence he needed.

Even as Abe drove home, he mentally mapped out what the next move would be. He needed to lean on some of his contacts in the government to see if they could dig something up on power armor and what it was being used for. He still had a few old contacts that owed him a favor or two. He'd use up every one he had, and give them out like candy on Halloween, if that was what it took to get this story published. He should also get the armor identified, then backtrack where it might have come from. Work the story from that direction and see if he could turn up more connections between manufacturers and government. Throw in some 'Military Industrial Complex' talk, that would add attention to the story.

He also needed to get more on the super human angle. He had talked with enough people in the disaster area to know the Tokyo Underground had been composed of super humans, and as near as he could tell they had all died. Was extermination Kerberos' plan? He hadn't been able to work things from that angle yet. Maybe he could contact that minister that was the head of the Red Rajah cult. He liked super humans, so he'd be more inclined to leak information on that front. But he was also still a politician so he couldn't be fully trusted. Maybe ask him for an interview and feel him out that way. If he proved sympathetic, drop a few hints and see if he'd talk, or investigate things and turn up the heat on Ariyoshi. People that felt events closing in on them tended to move fast, which led to mistakes. And he'd be there to record them for posterity with a headline to blow things wide open.

But first, he'd have to update 'The Contingency File' with copies of the pictures. The more he learned, the more he knew this story couldn't afford to disappear. Ayako's death was only the first of several so far, and no doubt there would be more in the future. He just hoped the failsafe he made would work out. It was iffy at best, but that was what happened when you were a loner whom people were wary to trust. Those you could turn to were few and far between

Sometime being a reporter was a lonely existence.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Irie Soyozoh finished reading the report he had received from Narusawa. He put it down and looked at her. "This is annoying."

Narusawa shrugged. "I can't say I wouldn't have done the same thing the sergeant did. There was no sense in leaving the power armor outside longer than it had to be, and it gave the men a chance to ascertain they were in working order and exactly what was on the manifest. The root of the problem was the same one that's caused most of our problems: we're understaffed and overworked thanks to all the casualties we sustained during the Tokyo Underground op. It was also terrible timing. We'd have had him fifteen minutes earlier, or a half hour later."

"At least we have a good look at his face." Irie tossed the blow up the cameras had gotten of the intruder. "Hopefully he's in the system somewhere."

"We don't have sanction orders like when we were Hound," she reminded him.

"True, but trespassing on government property is a crime if it comes to that. There's always an imprisonment option with those. A harsh judge giving him a maximum sentence could see him put out of operation until we go public." He put the file in a folder. "In any event we'll kick this up to the top. Now about that power armor. We need to make a roster for the members that will be using them, and a training schedule. Getting three different types presents its own set of difficulties in training and expertise in using them. However I do like the versatility they present. Even though the Mandriods are Mark I's, those upgrades from Stark make them much more effective than the originals were. The Super Troopers are clearly the most basic, so give those to the soldiers that test the worst, then have them function as a five-man unit. Being hit from five sides at once will overcome most opponents." He continued informing his adjunct of his ideas and listened to her input on modifying them.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Juna Ariyoshi slammed her fists on her desk, grateful no one was in the office to see the display of temper. Her eyes stared at the folder on her desk as though she could make it combust. A security leak! And right when the power armor had been delivered. If that went public, there would be questions raised she'd rather not answer. It was too soon. Everything could be derailed before it truly began. She wanted to toss the idiots who had allowed the security breach into a wood chipper. Inept fools. She was more than tempted to give them the axe, but Irie had emphasized the problem had arisen because of a shortage of personnel and releasing more would exacerbate it rather than accomplishing anything positive. It was so bizarre working with someone in government who didn't throw people under the bus to save their own hide. Had she not worked with Irie as long as she had, she would have assumed he was playing some sort of long-term game with his unusual behavior. But no, his only goal was to do his job with maximum efficacy, and he informed his superiors of the truth rather than telling them things that would assuage their ego and make them feel better.

He was an oddity she found unnerving, but not for the same reasons most people did.

Closing her eyes, she rubbed them with her hands. A carryover from when she was younger. It served to give her a moment to master her emotions. Complete outward control was necessary for a woman in her position. When outbursts were used, it was a tool for show to achieve a goal, not an honest loss of control. Government was all a stage, and she an actress. They all were, at least the good politicians. Noh with words. It was too sophisticated for the public to fully comprehend, and that was for the best. People who mistakenly thought they knew it all believed they were fit to rule, and often got in the path of those that actually could.

Composure regained, she read the rest of the report. At least they had managed to identify the spy: Abe Kosaka. Wait, that name was familiar. Oh yes, a journalist. An aging relic that should have been put out to pasture decades ago since he couldn't keep up with the times. A sensationalist hack making good people look bad, and occasionally a bad person look bad, but the real media already did that so nothing he did accomplished anything good, and he all too often got in the way of those that did. He always framed things as negatively as he could, when it suited his purpose. What was he even doing nosing around a Kerberos base anyway…?

And then it all clicked into place. He would have been the *exact* kind of person Ayako would have sought out. Juna's hands were trembling as she uploaded his picture to her computer, then called John Smith in the United States, explaining the situation to him and to have his men see if Abe was the individual they had seen that night. Once she sent him the photo, all she had to do was wait. She had to know. If it was, she could kill the thing that had been forcing her to look over her shoulder to see if impending doom was there at last.

The tension was too great. She ended up falling asleep in her office, unwilling to leave the sanctity of it until she got either confirmation or denial. When she woke up the next morning, she cancelled all her appointments. This took precedence over everything else. She tried doing office work but couldn't focus on anything and ended up typing ten words to a speech that she felt was the weakest opening she had ever managed. All she could think about was when Smith would get back to her. Surely his flunkies could have been contacted by now. All they had to do was look at a lousy photograph.

Normally she received messages all the time, being as important as she was. She tried dealing with calls but abandoned even that simple task. She was so distracted she might make a bad judgement call and inadvertently tank an important program or promote a terrible one. She resigned herself to ignoring everything until eight hours later, when she received a text from Smith.

"I'm flying over. We have something to discuss."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Greeting, Madame Ariyoshi."

Juna bowed formally as she greeted the American, who appeared as immaculate as ever. Her heart was soaring as she was about to finally tie up the last loose end from the Ayako matter. It was the confirmation she had been seeking. No more waiting for a call fatal for her career to rear its head. Her itch was finally going to be scratched.

"I must say it is a real pleasure to see you again." She was meeting him in her office and dismissed her staff. What was going to transpire could be witnessed by no one. She indicated a chair for him to sit in.

He accepted the invitation, crossing his legs to make himself comfortable. "For the record, I am seeing a number of environmental organizations to improve global relations in the reduction of water pollution. Since that's always been one of your platforms, this meeting shouldn't raise any eyebrows. I actually have some information and recommendations so if anyone asks, this is what we talked about." He pulled several folders from his briefcase and placed them on her desk.

She thanked him. "So, you have positive confirmation?"

"Indeed."

The look on his face was not one of the delight she thought he would have. Something was definitely off. "What is it?"

He steepled his fingers and had a slight pout on his lips. "It's about your long-range goals regarding the super human populous on your shores. We can't help noticing your stance is a bit… militaristic. Leading off with armed troopers in intimidating gear. Power armor. It's very threatening, which while absolutely necessary at times, isn't with others, especially when conducting domestic policy. If you were having trouble with Korea and sending troops overseas, it would be absolutely the correct approach. But perhaps for something closer to home you might consider leading with something positive and upbeat. Folks accept things more easily when the message is delivered with a smile. If it's a bit heavy handed, some degree of sternness, authoritative but not ominous."

Juna nodded her head politely.

"You might even consider enlisting some of those you might not care for onto your side. You know how it works having to compromise. It's the nature of politics, after all. You can have them agree to be outspoken on the necessity of the actions you're doing on their behalf. You'll have to exempt them from some of the more… restrictive elements of your plan. Not the likes of the Avengers, of course, or even a formal super hero, but there are always those of little actual consequence, and ability, who can be convinced they can finally become important to society by acting as your spokespeople. Having some of the affected on board can only help encourage others to accept the message."

He gave her an opportunity to respond to his pitch. She accepted, "I'm sorry, Mr. Smith, but this is Japan, not the United States. We are very different here, and our society requires different approaches from yours. The citizenry would correctly perceive these people as sell outs, which carries far more shame here than in your country. Likewise I have little interest in exempting any of these people. It would be far better to deal with them as a whole. The Alice Academy has had an increasingly negative effect by insinuating itself into our society and trying to make people believe their renegade actions are acceptable. Worse, they are ingratiating themselves with the more powerful elements of our country, especially in a financial sense. Their movements behind the scenes are far more effective than the protesting mobs your country seems to favor. It's not a condemnation of your culture, I'm just pointing out the differences. They are dangerous, and rather than a velvet glove approach, we'll just show the iron fist to emphasize the necessity of its use. You didn't have a cultist nearly enslave your country's minds, after all. Nor some gaudily dressed terrorist seize your mint and try to collapse your economy. Oh, you have your share of issues with super humans, which is why you're also taking steps to bring them under your control, but your methods and ours drastically differ."

"You sound determined that this is the best course of action?"

"I am."

Smith nodded. "I understand. Well then, on to the more time sensitive matter, which if left unchecked might render this entire conversation moot. This time out we cannot take the same direct action as we did with the last problem. However, I can provide you with the name of an individual, the same one who dealt with the matter, actually, and how to contact her. You'll have to arrange all the necessary details of how and where you want the matter dealt with, as well as funding for her efforts. But I can assure you she is reliable, as you've seen."

"I see." Ariyoshi was polite on the outside, while seething on the inside. She wouldn't dance to his tune, so he wasn't going to help further. Well, no, that wasn't true. He was providing her with the means to solve her problems and confirmed what the problem was. Technically he didn't even owe her that, though she now had the feeling if she had simply agreed with his approach, he would have taken care of things as he had last time. Now there were definite limits to the amount of aid he would give.

But she was not going to be a puppet of anyone, foreign or domestic. Things would be run her way. Let the Americans try their little carrot and stick approach. Smith was only fooling himself in thinking getting a handful of super humans on his side to front for him would somehow change things. His plans weren't that different from hers, especially the end result. His had the same potential issues hers did, since the problem was the same. He'd eventually have to take the same measures she was planning in one form or another. While they would be trying to control the tiger by grabbing its tail and hanging on, she was hitting it in the head, locking the damn thing in a cage, and throwing away the key. She looked forward to telling him, 'I told you so,' when the time came.

As to contacting and paying the assassin, damned but she was going to have to do it personally. Even if she knew someone that would stick their neck that far out for her, the same risk of an Ayako situation might crop up and she'd have another loose end to deal with. The only person she could count on to not betray her was herself. It also meant placing herself at personal risk. There was no plausible deniability when you were personally slipping cash and giving names to a killer.

But the knowledge it was Abe, gods he was the last man she wanted on this story. He lacked overall perception in what was newsworthy and what wasn't. He was tenacious and wouldn't give up until he had uncovered everything, and he already knew too much. The story would only die when he was dead, so the sooner the better. Before he did something to make it too late.

Perhaps it was better this way. No, it wasn't, but it was necessary. She thanked Smith kindly and accepted the information he provided, wishing him well when he went to meet with other people to add to his cover. She'd also be careful to not rely on him too much any longer. At least she hadn't conceded anything of consequence to him, though she would be certain not to go too far out of her way to assist him in any way. She didn't owe him anything either, and his interest in her was primarily self-serving anyway. Any other official with a similar platform to hers would have done just as well. Perhaps once this died down, and she gained the prime minister's seat, they could go back to more usual politicking. They did see eye to eye on several issues. A grudge would be counterproductive.

In the end, it was all politics anyway.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Abe went for his key as he stopped outside the door to his apartment. It was the same one he'd had for ten years now. Pure bachelor pad. It was a mess, despite him not spending much time in it, nor owning anything he would regard as particularly important. There were a few pieces of nostalgia. A framed copy of his first published article. His first big story. An old typewriter, though he had put that in a box in the closet since even he used word processors. The only real function of his domicile was a place to sleep and occasionally prepare meals, which he was passingly good at.

He didn't entertain guests, hell, hadn't been on a date in nearly ten years. Now that he was older it didn't matter so much, but he remembered thinking that at some point he'd settle down and do that raising a family thing. He always said he'd do it after he covered a few more stories. But there was always a hunt for the next one, some clue to something important that needed publishing. Sometimes he found enough for the story to see the light of day, sometimes he didn't, and it went into his version of a cold case file, but through it all there was never time to properly romance a woman. Then again, if he had settled down, he'd have a nagging wife insisting he spend time with her rather than following a new lead, which was all he'd been doing for the last few months with the Ariyoshi case. He would have been forced to give up one for the other.

Ah, sex wasn't that big a deal anyway. And marriage ended in divorce all the time. The only time in his life he hadn't found small children annoying was when he was one himself. What did he really miss out on anyway? Other people raised families. He had important work to do.

He fumbled with the keyring, which he always did since he wasn't exactly the most dexterous fellow around. He was such a terrible typist that when he'd used the old typewriter, he'd have to rewrite things at least three times because of typos. He'd considered getting someone to dictate to at one point. But then he'd have to pay them, and he hadn't become a reporter for the money. That was for sure.

The door unlocked and Abe stepped into his entryway, flipping the light switch. The room remained dark. He toggled the switch back and forth several times: no joy. Great, he'd have to replace the lightbulb. At least there was enough moonlight coming in through his window he could see what was in the room. And he had a flashlight under his sink. He hoped the batteries weren't dead. They always seemed to be dead when you really needed something.

He made it a handful of steps into the room when a metal club connected with his skull, breaking bone and killing him instantly.

Shenhua, aka Razorblade, silently closed the door to the apartment, then made a closer examination of her target. Yes, he was dead. She'd have preferred to slice him, her name was Razorblade for a reason, but this was to look like a burglary gone bad. And since she'd already killed someone he'd been seen with via blade, to have him stabbed would connect the two crimes immediately, which her employer didn't want to happen. So it was a skull crushing blow to the head. The setup had worked, and she caught him unaware, managing the clean kill. It had probably been unnecessary. He had been an out of shape man from off the street while she was so highly trained she could kill a dozen guys like this old-timer without her weapons.

She cased his apartment, waited for him to leave, then broke in, looting the residence and leaving a mess, like it was an amateur burglar, one who would panic and kill someone when they heard the door open. She then disabled the light and waited in silence until he opened the door and entered the room. That reminded her. She stood on a chair and screwed the lightbulb back in all the way and tested it to make sure it turned on. Odds were someone would get suspicious of why the light had been disabled and might wonder if ambush had been the intention from the start, rather than a maneuver done out of perceived necessity.

She grabbed his wallet and watch. He carried no noticeable jewelry and headed for the door. She opened it a crack and listened for noise in the hallway, but there was none. She then slipped out the door and walked toward the stairway as though it were the most normal thing in the world. Luckily this was an older apartment building with no video surveillance, and in any case, she was in disguise with an overcoat that hid her body and a hat pulled low enough it would be impossible to make out her face. Most would probably think she was a man, which was what she wanted. A female burglar would be noticed. She'd walk a distance to some public facility, hit a restroom, remove the hat and coat, turning the coast inside out to show a different color, then roll them up and tuck them under her arm, then blend into a crowd when she left. With luck no one would ever notice she had been in the area.

All in all, it was rather boring work despite doing a job for someone so prestigious. It wasn't often a Japanese politician hired a Taiwanese assassin to off a nosy reporter.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Akemi Shutaro was depressed. She had been sitting at her office cubicle, next to her desk, just starting at the ceiling lights for… she had no idea how long. A few people had passed by, some staring at her motionless state, a handful she knew somewhat asking what was wrong. She played it off like boyfriend issues, which all the women said they understood. The guys would either walk away or express some interest in her like she was soon to be fair game on the open market. Such thoughts were furthest from her mind now.

Her kind of mentor was dead. Burglary gone wrong. Could happen to anyone, which was why she was upgrading the locks on her apartment. They'd have to kick the door down if they wanted in her place, and that way she wouldn't walk into someone splitting her skull with a pipe.

The funeral had been an even more depressing affair. Abe hadn't been joking about having no family and 'even fewer friends'. About a dozen people had shown up to wish someone, who had talked to probably thousands of people in his time, a final farewell. She had only known him a few months, but she had attended. He had been helping her, but still this was cold. As another insult, no one from the company had appeared, save an elderly janitor that might have been employed there longer than Abe. It went to show what a persona non grata he was in the company. Hell, there had only been a small mention of his passing on the company's events page.

It gave her a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.

She was feeling her own mortality, she supposed. Or wondered if she followed a similar path to his, that she'd end up as uncared for as he had been. She had no inclination to settle down, and none of the guys she had ever dated had been interesting in getting serious with a woman who saw no end to her career. Or the few that did respect her drive she wasn't serious about. She couldn't bring herself to give it up. She saw way too much of herself in Abe, except he seemed to go about it smarter than she had, though he had wised her up a bit. No one wanted her gone, like him, but no one was looking to push her up the food chain either. It was a sort of media purgatory.

Thoughts of life made her unaware of the gentleman until he said her name a second time. That snapped her out of her reverie. He was an older man in an impeccable business suit. The kind of thing her more venerable bosses would have worn to look prestigious. Maybe he was important. He sure wasn't here to shake her down for debt collection dressed like that. Paying bills was more like an annoyance than a necessity in her book. Those she owed money to begged to differ. "Yes?"

"I was instructed to give this to you by Abe Kosaka in case of his demise." He handed her a small sealed box and a business card indicating he was a lawyer in a firm that she had heard of. Meaning they weren't cheap.

"You mean he left me this in his will?" she asked.

"You could say that. He requested I deliver it to you personally. That was all he said, however. So there will be nothing else if you were about to inquire." He had her sign a document indicating she was who she said she was and had received the package. He told her to call him if she had any further questions and left.

She didn't hesitate. She opened the box, which revealed a large amount of written material, several portable hard drives, and some actual photographs. One of the papers on the top had, 'Read me first' in bold red letters. So she did.

'So, if you're reading this, I'm dead. If it wasn't from natural causes, I was murdered. And if they said it was, I was probably murdered and they made it look like natural causes, since I'm on a huge story and won't die until its done. Stories keep me alive the way food and air does others.

"Now I know you're going to think, 'This is like something out of one of those noir films the Americans used to make when they knew how to make a decent movie.' Back when reporting used to be decent, which tells you how long ago it was. But I'm legit. When you look at history and see how many people that could have been a pain in the ass of the powers-that-be conveniently died, not all of them could be that convenient. Odds are too great. I'm sure I'm one of them, since my death is very convenient for certain parties. Contained within is the reason why I would say this is, since it started with the convenient death of Councilwoman Ariyoshi's chief aide right when she was about to blow the whistle on her boss. It happened right before my eyes…."

Akemi read on, almost in a daze as she absorbed the information. Her impulse on reading the first few lines had been to roll her eyes, thinking Abe had sent her a practical joke as his way of saying good bye and to keep up the good work, only it quickly became clear this was anything but. This was a conspiracy, and one having a pair of deaths, meant it was worth killing over. You might hear about a handful of these in your lifetime, but to be given one to be your story? That was a fantasy. That was also why Abe had kept her out of the loop: he had wanted this one all to himself. And she couldn't blame him because she'd have done the same thing.

And now she'd been handed the ball. Her first impulse was to run with it, but then she recalled the last runner had just been buried yesterday morning. Abe had been older, careful, and still been silenced. There was no reason to believe the same thing couldn't happen to her. She should have been terrified. This was dealing with killers that would eliminate her just as coldly as they had Abe and Ayako. A sane person would burn all the evidence and cover a story about a museum.

Sane people kissed ass and towed the company line. They settled down, got married, and had kids so when they kicked the bucket, they had mourners four lines deep circling the coffin talking about how wonderful she'd been when she'd been alive.

They also wouldn't talk about the story she never broke about a government conspiracy that had gotten people killed, because the government would have gotten away with it. The pen wasn't mightier than a shot to the back of the skull, unless one wrote a story to put the person swinging for the cranium in the spotlight, so they never got a chance to bash your head in. Prison bars were a magnificent shield in that regard.

Oh yes, the name Akemi Shutaro was going to be internationally famous when she nailed Ariyoshi and whoever else was involved in this to the wall.

Now Akemi was smiling as she stared at the ceiling above her. Abe was right. Once you got a story this big on your hands, it kept you alive in a way that nothing natural could take you down.

This was what he had meant about being a real reporter. And she was about to become one.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[End chapter]

I know this one was very different with no Avengers, but it was very necessary as to moving things forward. The next one will center on Thor and an answer to some questions that have been plaguing her for a while as I'll be introducing you to 'The Truth Revealed'.