Chapter three : Enchained

Tatsumi and Alex were both sitting in the lounge area of her penthouse. Alex was reading a book, Tatsumi was looking at her, trying to think of something to say to break the silence.

"So…how…long have you been modified?" he finally got out. Alex didn't answer back, she just looked at him from the corner of her eye and then went back to reading her book. This is so awkward, try to think of something else besides asking personal questions!

"So…what do you…I mean…how long you lived in Tokyo?" Still no answer. "So…what's the book about? Is it good?" Alex stared at him. Reaching out her hand she grabbed the remote and threw it towards him. The remote landed on his lap. Sighing, Tatsumi turned on the holoTV.

After a few hours of watching TV there was seemingly nothing good on for Tatsumi and he switched it off. He got up and stopped right in front of Alex. She was still reading her book and seemed to be on the last page. "I'm going up to my room, is that ok?" There was a short pause until she closed the book and lay it down beside her.

"Yeah, that's fine."

"That's the only thing you've said all afternoon."

"I don't like to stop reading my books unless it's really important."

"Why do you do that? Don't you like talking to people?"

"It's about what some historian believes about why JC Denton caused the collapse."

"You didn't answer my question."

"Yeah, but I answered the one you asked three hours ago."

"I'm surprised you remembered."

"Well, I am modified."

"Well, I'm off to bed, are you coming?"

"No, I'm not tired. You go on ahead."

"Ok." Tatsumi walked off and ascended the stairs. Reaching the landing he stared down into the living room. He saw her get up and walk over to the bookcase and pull out a data cube. She seemed to fiddle around with it and then put it back. Alex quickly turned to see Tatsumi, he quickly turned and sprinted off towards his room. Nosy kid.

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"Come on, Hisato, it's not like Eiichi cut off your arm or anything!" Haruki said patting Hisato on the shoulder.

"But he cut off my index finger, and on my left hand too! He knows I'm left-handed!"

"I wonder why he didn't cut off your little finger?"

"He wanted me to suffer more. God, I wish our family wasn't like this sometimes! Eiichi was less ruthless before father made him our boss!"

"Sometimes I wonder if the power's gone to his head." Haruki commented. Hisato stared up at him a serious look on his face.

"I doubt the power's gone to his head, he's just got more responsibility than we do. You and I often forget that."

"Yes, very true……I hope Eiichi is right about sending Isao to finish the hit."

"He is. Isao has been trained to be an assassin all his twenty-four years of life. And he has been modified along the way."

"Then I'll pray that he'll succeed where others have failed."

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"Wake up, darling, wake up!"

Alex blinked a few times, then rose from where she was laying and turned to the direction of the voice. There he stood, a bouquet of white roses in his arms. "Are those for me?"

"Of course they are, silly," he giggled. He held out the bouquet. Alex placed her finger on one of the petals, they were soft as silk. She looked into his eyes, "They're beautiful." He said nothing, just smiled at her. She looked around the room, she was in some kind of office. A huge holocom covered one wall and a computer lay on a desk near the holocom. She knew she had been here before, this was the chief's office of the UNATCO base on Liberty Island. How on earth did I get here?

"You recognise the place, don't you?" he said with a serious look on his face.

"John, John I-"

"I worked here when I was loyal to them. But when they found out I wasn't as loyal as I could be they activated my killswitch."

"Yes, I remember, you told me."

"Alex, you know I would never do that to you, you're too important to me. No matter what my brother or Tong says."

"John, what are you talking about?" Alex said. A concerned look appeared on her face, "Even after all I've done? Even the way I killed you and-"

"You know, Orientals say white is the colour of death. Like the flowers in my hands."

Alex was not liking how this conversation was going. She tried to move but she felt something tugging her back down. She looked to see chains on her wrists and ankles.

"You can't run away from your guilt. You can't run away from me," John whispered in her ear, his voice turning sinister.

"John, let me go!" she yelled.

"Oh, John let me go!" he mocked her, "No, actually, I won't. I'm gonna make you pay the full price for what you've done." John reached into his trenchcoat, pulled out some throwing knives, took a step back and threw one at Alex. It missed her head by a millimetre. He threw again, this time hitting her shoulder. He smiled as she screamed. He threw two knives at once, one piercing her lung, another the palm of her right hand.

"Please, John, I'm sorry, please stop it!" yelled Alex in pain.

"You're right, Alex, this kind of revenge is not the way," he said sympathetically, putting the remaining throwing knives back in his trenchcoat. He walked over towards her, putting his hand on her face, "Did it hurt very much, my little angel? Don't worry, I'll pull those nasty things out of you. This might hurt a little bit."

Alex winced when he pulled the knives out of her body. She saw the chains starting to disappear from her wrists and ankles, then she collapsed, sobbing, into her brother's arms.

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A thud woke Tatsumi from his sleep. He looked around his room, everything was normal. The sound must have come from outside of his room. He got up and exited the room. He walked down the hallway. When he reached the stairs, at the bottom was Alex face down. She wasn't moving.

"Alex! Alex!" He ran towards her, shaking her body, trying to wake her up. What if she's dead? The only person who's been willing to protect me! It's all my fault! Calm down, how do we know she's dead yet? Feel her pulse, you idiot! Tatsumi put his fingers on her neck feeling her pulse, she was still alive! Oh, thank God! He looked her over, there seemed to be not a single scratch on her. Her black hair was so lovely and flowing. He felt her hair between his fingers. So soft. Tatsumi looked down towards her legs, they weren't covered as they were when he previously last saw her. They looked like they were silky soft to touch. He reached out a hand to touch her thigh. What if she woke up and found out you were going to touch her like a pervert? No, she won't, she seems very deep in sleep. She'll throw you out, if you do it! No, she won't! Touch her! Yes, she will! No, she won't! Tatsumi cut his thoughts out and laid his hand on her knee. And without a second thought he moved his hand higher up her leg slowly and carefully. Yes, higher, higher until you reach her-

"That's far enough, young man!" Tatsumi felt a gun pressed against the back of his head. Tatsumi turned his head to see a strange bald-headed extremely pale-skinned man with red eyes holding a rifle-like weapon pointed to his face.

A/N : In this story "John" is the real nameof one of the Denton brothers