Ch 3
Dressed in a professional pants suit and changing her looks to a dark headed brunette, Kurumu coaxed her way into the office of the District Attorney. Some sweet talk got her in to see him. Going into his office, she smiled brightly and said, "Hello, I came to talk to you about the case against Akemi Aono."
The man motioned to the chair across his desk. "You have information for me?" he asked.
Adding a Charm to her smile, Kurumu said, "I do. In reviewing the case I found that Miss Aono's actions were purely justified self defense."
In a monotone voice, he shook his head. "Incorrect. Miss Aono used excessive force causing five deaths. She needs to be convicted of murder and sentenced to four life-terms in prison."
Kurumu's jaw dropped in shock. This man was human. He was completely unaffected by her Charm. That wasn't possible. "Have you reviewed the evidence?" she asked.
"I have. Any you are?" he asked in return.
Kurumu had made a point of not introducing herself. Normally, men didn't pick up on that. He was also unaffected by her Charm. Something was very wrong here. As she studied him, it hit her. He was already under a Charm by what had to be a very powerful Succubus. "Who Charmed you?" she asked.
There was a flash of murderous intent from behind her. Before Kurumu could turn to face it, something hit her in the back of the head hard. She saw stars and blacked out.
…
"Ughhh," Kurumu groaned as she picked herself off the floor. Arm on the chair she fell out of, she lifted herself up and saw blood on the tips of her fingers.
"Huh?" she asked. She had no wounds, where did the blood come from? A sniff told her it was human blood. She got up and found the DA slumped back in his chair. Four slash marks on his bloody chest showed he'd been ripped open. Four slash marks, just like four fingernails. His blood was all over the desk.
From the other room, a woman's voice cried, "Hurry officer! The murderer is still in his office, I jammed the door shut, but she still might get out!"
Kurumu sensed the woman was a yokai. She had called the police. The DA had been murdered and his blood was on her fingers.
"Oh no," Kurumu whispered. There was only one door. The windows were solid panes of glass, she was on the fifth floor. If she tried to burst out the windows, who knew how many people would see her. She dove for the door and pushed. The door was frozen in place. The magic she sensed on it told her she was not going get it open without destroying it. "Oh no," she whispered again. She was trapped in here alone with the DA's blood on her fingers. No one would believe it wasn't her who'd killed him.
This was very bad.
Desperately searching around, Kurumu looked for a way out. The ceiling was high, to one side there was an ornate fixture covering an air shaft. Jumping up, she clung to the outside and pulled. The ornate cover swung open. YES! She climbed in and shut it behind her. In the metal cavity, she found the duct shrunk down. It was wide enough to wiggle into. Kurumu got into the duct. It was a tight fit, allowing her only room to inch-worm along. She was in and being as quiet as possible as people burst into the room below.
"She killed him! She has to be in here someplace!" the yokai woman cried.
"Calm down, Ma'am and step out. Pete, call for backup and forensics. Tell them the DA has been murdered."
Kurumu stayed still in her confined space, listening. It was a no brainer that if they found her, then they would hold her responsible for that man's death. She'd been set up by that woman. Closing her eyes in concentration, she felt that woman was a succubus also but somehow … evil. That would explain why Akemi was attacked, this woman, or someone like her had Charmed those kids into attacking her and Daniel. Surely that woman hadn't expected those kids to kill Akemi. But, what if she'd told those kids they were able to?
It made sense. That Succubus Charms the kids to attack Akemi, then Charms this DA to prosecute Akemi for murder. But then why kill him? Right, to set her up so it looked like Kurumu had come to kill him herself. That didn't make any sense, for if that man was dead, then who would take Akemi to court?
"Back out guys, we have to get pictures."
"Get them, we have to get this body to the morgue for autopsy."
"Ma'am, what case was he working on?"
"He was seeing that woman about the Aono case."
"And she killed him."
"It's a message. Try to take that vampire to court, and you die."
"We got what we need. You can take the body now."
It hit Kurumu why she'd been set up, so it looked like she'd come here to keep Akemi out of jail! That Bitch! Kurumu wanted so bad to rip her way out of here and slash that other succubus apart, but she couldn't do that with all these humans around.
"Get prints, see if you can figure out how she got away."
A familiar voice came to Kurumu's ears. Detective Reynolds asked, "Do we have a description of the perp?"
"Yes sir, and an eye witness."
"Sir, we don't know how she got out."
"They don't need to use doors," Reynolds said heavily. "I have a call to make. Excuse me."
Kurumu waited until the police were done and all was quiet. She then inched along farther until she got to a larger duct. There was a square duct above her that went up, but there was no way she was going to make that corner. At the end of the larger duct ahead, there was a grating. Slowly she inched along, careful not to make any noise.
Getting close enough to see out the grating, Kurumu looked down on the room. She saw a padded bench and a few chairs. Ok, this was the waiting room outside the offices. Two people came in. Kurumu saw their heads as they passed through.
"He was killed?"
"Executed in his office and the perp fled. It had to be a yokai, there was no way out, but she left without a trace."
"Damn, what was this case about?"
A door shut.
Kurumu then felt the Succubus return. A blond head appeared below her. Not looking at her, the woman sang, "It's safe to leave now. By the way, I'm going to be found dead soon, so you are on your own. Good luck."
The woman then disappeared.
Kurumu gritted her teeth, but stayed quiet. Not trusting the woman's statement that it was safe, Kurumu cast herself in invisibility and opened the grating. Not seeing anyone, she slipped out and shut the grate then called on Yukari to retrieve her.
.
Upon getting home, Kurumu met Tsukune and Moka, who looked angry. "What did you do?" Tsukune asked heavily.
"I didn't do anything!' Kurumu shot back. "I was hit from behind, it was another Succubus, but she felt … evil. When I woke up, the DA was dead, and she'd put his blood on my fingertips!"
Tsukune lowered his head and pinched the base of his nose. "This looks very bad," he grumbled.
"Did you at least disguise yourself?" Moka asked
"Yes! But I has no idea miss Bitch was going to race in and knock me out and kill him!" Kurumu cried.
"That's why we got the call," Tsukune said. "Detective Reynolds was not just asking to see us, he wanted to find out if we were home."
"Tsukune, this succubus may be one of the devil's minions. If she is, everything that happened makes sense. He wants to discredit us, and used those kids to attack Akemi to that end," Moka stated.
"Yeah," Tsukune said in a breath. "We need to stop him from sending his demons into our world."
"How?" Kurumu asked.
Tsukune looked at his wives and said, "I need to talk to Ruby."
.
Akemi was getting better. She still had pink patches where the burns were, and was still missing hair in a large bald patch on the side of her head. She called the hospital and got Daniel's room number.
"he… hello?"
"Daniel, it's Akemi. How are you doing?"
"Akemi?" he asked eagerly. "Never mind me, how are you? I heard you got burned bad."
"I did, but I heal quick. I'm sorry I can't be there."
"Hey, you called, so it's OK. Besides, the news said you are wanted for murder. There's an arrest warrant out and you're being looked for by everyone. Akemi, they attacked us, I will swear in court that we only tried to defend ourselves." Daniel said firmly.
Akemi took a deep breath. "Daniel, I did kill people. I don't know if I'll get to see you when I return … but I will if I can."
"What? No! Akemi, stay away. They want to put you in jail!"
"Daniel, I have to come back."
"Akemi, please, stay away."
"If I don't go back and face these charges, we'll never have a life together," Akemi explained.
"Yes we will, I'll come there. Akemi, you can't come back here," Daniel said firmly.
Akemi paused for a moment, then meekly asked, "Will you wait for me?"
There was a pause, then Daniel said, "Akemi … you … Look, Barnabas is getting me a good lawyer, I'll make sure you get one too."
"I know you will. Will you wait for me?" she asked again.
"You know I will. Akemi, you're everything to me. I'll wait forever if that's what it takes."
"Thank you. I love you, Daniel. I'll see you as soon as I can."
In a sob, Daniel said, "I love you too, my Blood Mate."
Akemi hung up and stiffened herself to go tell her parents she was going back, no matter the consequences.
.
Detective Reynolds listened to the tapped phone conversation with his team and the assistant DA.
"So, she's coming back to face the music," one of his detectives said.
Reynolds nodded and said, "Somehow, I figured she would. From talking to her, I really don't believe she killed anyone on purpose. If that was her intent, then she would have killed Faust also."
The assistant DA let out a huff. "Once she arrives, Detective, call me. We'll get the official booking done right away and get bail set. I'll set up the Grand Jury at the soonest possible date."
"You're going to indict her," Reynolds said.
Looking a bit nervous, the Assistant DA said, "From everything I see, this is a case of self defense. Still, due to the deaths, we have to present the case to the Grand Jury and let them decide whether or not to prosecute on any charges."
"Can't you just call it self defense and close the case?" Reynolds asked.
"I could, but given the … circumstances, I feel it's best to take it to the Grand Jury."
Reynolds got it. The man was scared he might be next to be ripped apart in his office. Either by a yokai, or angry people who didn't get to see Aono going on trial. Security didn't mean much when people could walk through walls. He asked, "How about Betty Faust? We have tied her to this anti-yokai group that did the attack, and her fingerprints were on one of those empty water bottles we found."
"Do we have enough for a case?"
"By her correspondence and the fact she was there, we do. I know the others died, but I think it's important to make an example out of her on what happens to people who get themselves involved in a hate crime," Reynolds explained.
"Then book her too."
.
Detective Reynolds knew Betty Faust had been released from the hospital. He had a pair of patrolmen pick her up at home on charges of denial of civil rights, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and terroristic activities. He knew her lawyer would see that she didn't spend a single night in jail, at least until after the trial.
He had no more than finished dispatching the patrolmen when he got a visitor to his office. The brunette woman wore a crisp suit and handed him a card.
"Detective, I am Laurie Welsh, attorney for Akemi Aono. I was told I was going to meet her here in your office?"
Reynolds took her card. "News to me, but have a seat. I'm sure she will be here soon."
Laurie eyed him. "You haven't arrested her yet?"
He cast her a brief smile. "The moment she shows up." he promised. "I already told the judge to expect her today."
Laurie nodded. "Any evidence you have, I would like to see," she said firmly.
"Of course," he agreed. He picked up his file and said, "I already made this copy for you."
"Thank you," she said and opened the folder. "The police are not usually this cooperative. Especially with a murder suspect. The evidence is all in here?"
"All the evidence and statements are there, yes," he assured her.
"Miss Aono has not been read her rights?"
"Not yet, I have yet to arrest her. Once I do, we march down to the bail hearing. I'm sure you have authorization to post bail?"
"I do," she said. Looking at Akemi's statement, she frowned. "What I am seeing here, is that she was attacked."
Reynolds had to stiffen his neck not to nod in agreement.
Akemi, wearing a simple green button down blouse and skirt came into the doorway and knocked. She still wore a scarf over her head and her knee wraps were outlined by her knees socks. "Detective, you wanted to see me?" she asked meekly.
Reynolds noted the lost look on her face. "I do, please come in and have a seat." he said. He slide an extra chair over beside her Lawyer. "Akemi this is your Lawyer …"
"Laurie Welsh," Laurie said, interrupting him. She held out her hand. Akemi shook it. "Akemi Aono," Akemi replied in her meek tone.
Firmly, Laurie said, "Akemi, I strongly recommend you say nothing else to anyone. Let me speak for you. This is for your own protection."
"Yes, Ma'am."
"Detective Reynolds is going to read you your rights, then we will go down and see the judge to set bail. After that, You and I will go have a private talk."
"Yes, Ma'am."
Reynolds got out the Miranda card and said, "Akemi Aono, I am placing you under arrest ….."
As he read Akemi her rights, he noted she looked like she was going to cry. She held onto herself and voiced that she understood.
He didn't bother with handcuffs, by what he'd learned, she could snap them off at any time. In Chicago, her younger sister had broken her cuffs then ripped the cell door off to walk out of the jail. It boggled his mind that anyone would screw with someone who had that much power.
.
Akemi's bail was set at 1 million dollars, which Laurie took care of with a call to Tsukune. Besides the monetary portion, bail also depended upon Akemi staying in the area. If she left for any reason, bail would be revoked, and she'd go straight to jail until the trial. After the bail hearing, Laurie took Akemi to her office and sat her down to stress that she was to talk to no one about the south gate incident, and only talk to police or court officials with Laurie present, and agreeing that she could speak.
Laurie also advised Akemi to keep a low profile and wear scarves and sun glasses to help hide herself from recognition. With the rumors the press and other anti-yokai people were putting out about her being a murderer, Laurie didn't want Akemi going anywhere she didn't have to go. Akemi called Daniel. He had been released from the hospital and was back in their apartment. After she left Laurie's office, Akemi went straight home to see Daniel. She took a cab upon Laurie's insistence. Akemi wasn't to walk anywhere by herself.
As the cab pulled up to their apartment building, Akemi saw a sign hand painted in red on the front lawn.
A MURDERING VAMPIRE LIVES HERE
Akemi flushed. Besides the sign, someone had painted a large red cross on the front door. Akemi paid the driver and got out. She stepped through the garlic scattered on the sidewalk and in the yard and pulled the sign up. Going inside, she broke the sign apart and put it in the trash. If someone was trying to keep her from going in, they failed miserably. The fact they tried told her neither she nor Daniel were safe.
Going up to their apartment, Akemi let herself in. Daniel appeared holding a baseball bat. Seeing Akemi he let out a happy sigh. He propped the bat in a corner and hugged her. Akemi returned his hug, holding him gently because of his injuries. She then burst into tears.
.
Tsukune held a meeting with Kurt, Ruby, Harry Dresden, Ling-Ling who was Fang-Fang's zombie sister, Queen Akasha, Bianca, Issa Shuzen, William Smith, and Ancient Mai. They sat in a circle in the large lounge, their drinks and snacks already served, the doors to the room shut, and the room shielded from scry and warded against evil.
"Thank you all for coming," Tsukune said. "We have a problem. Tension and violence is on the rise, especially between yokai and human. Kurt, have you found anything?"
"I have. Our contacts in Beijing are sensing demonic presences. Whatever is at work is inside the Communist government there. Our contacts have also found such presences in the Mideast where fighting has broken out. We also got a trigger in Boston, though it was fleeting. We have not identified the source, but they are agents of the devil."
"California in Silicone Valley and Las Vegas too," Harry Dresden added. "They haven't done anything yet, which makes me think they are working on something big."
Ancient Mai, who bore the look of a young Chinese girl, said, "They are coming up from the abyss, but how they are getting here is a mystery. The High Council has been searching for a portal or Gate, and we're not finding one."
"We have come up empty as well," William added. "It's like they have an ... open highway to come and go as they please. Which should not be possible."
"This is very troubling," Queen Akasha said vacantly. "Unless we can stop demons from entering the world, civilization as we know it may collapse."
"Ruby, have any of your witches discovered anything?" Tsukune asked, hoping she had.
Ruby shook her head. "I'm sorry, Lord Aono, we've found nothing unusual. The conduit being used to bring demons to the material world must be well guarded and shrouded. It may not even be detectable unless someone stumbles right on top of it."
"The world is a big place, it could be anywhere," Ling-Ling offered.
'There is very little we know," Tsukune said. "There is some. China and the Mideast are hot spots, either place or both may hold these portals. As far as the demons, Kurumu ran into a demon Succubus in Boston."
"Another one?" Harry asked in a whine. "I HATE those things!"
"We also know humans are being compelled to do things," Tsukune added. "So that means there is probably more than one."
"If there is an open portal, many more may be coming. This may just be the beginning," Issa intoned.
"That is what I fear as well," Akasha agreed. "Tsukune, our top priority is finding and permanently closing those portals. Ideally, sealing off the ability to open any portal to the underworld is what needs to be done."
Tsukune looked at Harry, Ruby, then Ling-Ling as he asked, "Is that possible?"
"It is possible," Ruby said, "It would also be very hard to do, and once done, the dynamics of magic and the planes of existence themselves will change."
"The repercussions of such an act are sure to be wide spread," Ling-Ling said. "That is why it has never been attempted. The very fabric of the universe will be affected, with unknown results."
"Lord Aono?" Harry Dresden asked. "Something like that would be similar to an inter-dimensional train wreck. All the ... different realities depend upon the others that exist, even if they do not interact. Energy flows, static barriers ... there's all kinds of interconnections."
"That is, if the required immense power can be summoned up to achieve such a feat," Mai added. "The effort itself may be enough to cause irreparable harm to our, and many other realms."
"So we need to find these portals and close them," Akasha stated.
"It's going to be hard just finding them," Kurt intoned.
"Then it is," Tsukune said. "Queen Akasha is right, we have to find and close them. We also have to find the demons currently here and send them back."
"And deal with the chaos they have caused," Harry added with a huff.
Tsukune eyed Harry. Harry was an expert on the occult and at finding things. "Harry, you are the devil." he said, stabbing a finger at him.
"What?" Harry asked in shock.
"Yes, you are the devil," Tsukune intoned. "You want to open a gate, portal, whatever it is, from the abyss onto this world. You don't want anyone to find it, but it has to be usable to your minions. Where would you put it?"
Ruby caught on to what Tsukune was doing. "Somewhere remote," she said.
"Someplace anyone would least expect it to be," Kurt said.
"Anywhere but in a church," Harry said with a shrug.
"Where would you not put it?" Tsukune asked.
Ancient Mai spoke up. "Anywhere that is known, or suspected to hold evil intent. Harry would surely have his portal found if he did that, a place like that is the most obvious place to look."
Harry frowned at her. "It's not my portal," he said defensively.
"But it is, Harry. Think like the devil," Tsukune instructed. "It is vital you keep this portal open. You don't even want anyone to suspect it's there. Where it the last place on Earth anyone would look for it?"
Harry stared at Tsukune briefly, then said, "In a church … but it could not be a real, functional church in the present, or in the past. It cannot be any sanctified place, but if I made one, say if I had it built, then burned or ruined it before it was sanctified, then got people to believe it had been a church, then it would indeed be usable for dark magic."
Tsukune gave Harry a nod and said, "Then begin your search there."
"We have a vital task ahead of us," Akasha said. "Tsukune, use every resource to find where those demons are popping up from. I am going to hold court and task every Yokai to help. The moment an entry point is found, destroy it. Destroy every demon found. Report to me on everything. We must get control of the situation."
"As you wish, my Queen," Tsukune said reverently.
.
Tommy's 'harem' were settling into the Sotoba Valley well. The portals between Witch Hill and the valley were in heavy use. Chiho, the top wage earner of their 'family' - seeing how she was the overall manager of supply and transportation - had a new house constructed just for them. Seeing how Tommy and Azami were going to school and working, they were allowed to move out of the house on Witch Hill to be closer to work. Uzume, one of Tommy's Sekerei and Chiho's friend, took to doing the cooking for the family. Matsu cleaned and ran her 'premium' web sites in her computer packed room, Haihane worked her job and was constantly on the lookout for new jokes to enjoy.
Coming home from school, Tommy and Azami were surprised to see Moka in their living room waiting for them. Chiho was also home much earlier than normal.
"Hi, Mama Moka," Azami said, greeting her with a smile. "What brings you here?"
"I need to talk to all of you. Chiho is home early so she can be here too," Moka explained.
"Uh oh, sounds serious," Tommy noted.
"It is," Moka said, "Demons are back and causing trouble. We need to find them, and where they are coming from. We need your family to help find them."
"How can we help?" Tommy asked.
Moka explained. "We need to find the portal demons are coming through. We also don't want whoever that finds the portal to be vulnerable to these demons. Harry Dresden suspects they may be using a fake church, someplace where we would never look for a portal from the abyss to bring the demons over. Matsu is a computer wizard, she can help find possible sites quickly. You and Azami have fought demons before so you'll be able to defend yourselves if the need arises. With Jade's help to get you there and out quickly, you'll be able to identify it for destruction."
Azami grew a grin and pumped her first. "YES! We get to kick ass!" she cried.
"Not unless you have to," Moka warned. "Find it, mark it and call us. Do not try to destroy the place yourself."
Tommy shrugged and asked, "Can't we just … I don't know, throw holy water on it?"
Azami smacked him. "Hey, Baka, we're vampires remember? You don't want to spill any of that on you."
"I can throw it," Uzume offered. "So can Haihane."
"Just find it and tell us," Moka stated.
.
Working at his desk, Detective Reynolds picked up his phone when it rang. "Reynolds."
"Our eye witness is dead."
"What? Who?"
"Miss Shauna Blakely, the DA's secretary. She was found in her apartment, slashed open just like the DA was. She hadn't come to work, so a couple patrolmen went to check on her. No forced entry has been found, her security alarm didn't trip until the manager opened the door for the officers who went to check on her. Forensics is putting her time of death at 5:45 PM, just after she went home."
"Where's the body?"
"The morgue, Autopsy is scheduled for this afternoon."
"I'll be right down. I want her body checked over closely," Reynolds said as he got up, then hung the phone up and headed for the morgue.
.
Dead bodies were never a pretty sight. One that was once a pretty woman that had gotten multiple slashes deep in her chest was even worse. Reynolds stopped by to talk to the officers from the scene. They had interviewed the neighbors, no one had seen or heard anything ut of the ordinary. Looking at the crime scene pictures, Shauna was laid out in the middle of the floor, blood pool around her. No tracks or any disturbance to the pool, and of course no fingerprints were found.
The position of the body puzzled Reynolds. Arms at her sides, lying flat. No sign of an attempt to back away or defend herself.
Down in the morgue, Reynolds had the Doctor focus on possible signs of being bound.
"No one just stands in place and lets themselves be killed," Reynolds stated.
The Doctor waved a hand at the corpse. "I looked closely. No indentations or bruises on her arms or legs, the blood spatter on her clothes indicates she was standing when the fatal wounds were administered. Her heart was ripped open, there is a spray of blood on her door that also indicates she was upright when it happened. What I don't get is the fact that unless she did this herself, whoever did it should have been sprayed. There should be a gap in the spray pattern to show where the killer was."
Reynolds looked at the crime scene photos again. The Doctor was right, the inside of the door had a perfect spray pattern on it. Whoever did this had to be very, very fast. A Yokai. Another thought came to him. "Doctor, the slices in her chest, are they the same as in the DA's? Length and spacing?"
"They are," the Doctor confirmed.
"Thank you, Doctor," Reynolds said. He left to go to the ballistics lab. He had an idea.
.
.
Fang-Fang avoided politics like a vampire avoids pure water. After driving the government forces out of his territory, the masses were happy, and calls came for him to be the new 'Emperor'. That wasn't going to happen. He was a gangster, not a ruler. He had to do something, so he chose a Prime Minister he knew he could trust to organize the masses of humans and yokai into groups. The White Tiger, Yang Tsu was good with being firm yet reasonable, as well as being a good organizer.
Yang called for gatherings and divided the New China Republic up into districts and the various warriors by command. While the military commanders all took orders from Fang-Fang, each district was to select a leader to represent them in the new parliament.
At the first meeting, laws were discussed. Yang went for the basic laws, farmers that tilled their land, owned their land. Children would be taught by local schools, and there was no restrictions on Fong Dong, or practicing any religion, so long as it was not pushed on others, or used for underhanded purposes. The new parliament immediately voted in favor of all of Yang's suggestions. Returning to their districts, the parliament members informed their people of the new laws.
Massive cheers went up for their new Emperor, Fang-Fang.
On the military side, humans and yokai were pushed in training hard. Skills were honed and soldiers' bodies were pushed to their limits to become stronger. Tactics were taught down to the basic human rifleman. Teamwork was stressed in training from the large units all the way down to the squad level as well as inter-unit cooperation. With the additions from the Chinese army, Fang-Fang's mixed army became much more organized and efficient. With the help of magic, ruined equipment left behind by the Chinese was restored to working order and an Aonofuels plant was supplying the needed liquid fuel for the growing number of vehicles and aircraft that had crashed and were picked up and restored.
A representative from the Indian Army arrived to speak to Fang-Fang.
Fang-Fang agreed to see the man. The Indian Officer was in his best uniform. He sat with Fang-Fang and showed him the 'situation map'.
"We are here, just inside the border, you are here, 400 miles to the northeast. In between us is the bulk of the Chinese army. If we join forces, we can come at them from both sides and crush them in between us," the Indian officer explained.
Fang-Fang looked at the map and said, "I have more than one side to my border. Our fight is not conquest, but survival. However, if you were to supply us with a list of items, I am sure we can cut supplies to that army along the length of this river here. Will that not help you?"
"It will. What items do you want?" the Officer asked.
Fang-Fang had a long list. Food, ammunition for their weapons, more anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles, and women. "We have many, many human men who have no mates," Fang-Fang explained. "They suffer from the one-child policy. Few females survive it."
The Indian Officer blinked. "But, we cannot order women to come to you."
Fang-Fangs shrugged. "Then offer an incentive. Don't you have any rabbit Yokai? Their females are always in need for some male attention."
"This isn't about comfort women for soldiers," the Indian Officer said.
"For the thousands of human men here, it is," Fang-Fang countered. "You need that Chinese army cut off from supplies. I need to give men incentive to fight. Right now, you have done well against one foe. Pakistan is an ally of China. How well will you do when you need to redirect forces onto your northern border?"
The Indian Officer shook his head. "I must discuss the matter with my superiors."
"Please inform me of the results," Fang-Fang said.
.
Israel lost many of vehicles including tanks when they flowed into Palestine. The rebels were much better equipped than they had guessed. Still the overwhelming experience and numbers gave Israel the edge. The Palestinians were tenacious and radical, and they didn't give up. They died as they were steam rolled over by the Israeli army.
Other countries were angered by Israel swarming into Palestine. In Lebanon, the radicals there had also received equipment and reinforcements. The Golan Heights were attacked at night from all sides by radical and Iranian troops and air craft. Having some troops pulled to reinforce the Palestinian drive, the Israelis fought hard, and lost ground. The remains held on, hoping for relief to come. Unfortunately, what came was one of Cruella's Succubi that destroyed the command structure and gave conflicting orders. The worst was to re-take the south road off the heights as a route for retreat. Some soldiers did escape, but the Golan Heights were lost. Syrian forces arrived to reinforce and strengthen the Iranian troops with artillery, Russian tanks and anti-aircraft missiles.
.
Arm in arm, Daniel and Akemi headed out for school, determined that they were not going to be driven away from their education. Walking onto the campus, they noted everyone who saw them not only didn't harass them, they turned and walked quickly the other way. While many students agreed that Akemi Aono was a murderer, they also knew they did not want to be next, and gave the pair a wide berth. There was also rumors going around that Akemi had the DA killed for wanting to prosecute her, and the police were afraid to arrest her. Although students ached for revenge, they settled for stewing with their growing hate, letting it fester and become darker.
Before they got to class, one of the security officers hailed Daniel and Akemi. "Mr. Collins, Miss Aono, the main office wants to see you."
Daniel and Akemi looked at each other. Both knew this was not good news. They went to the Administration building. Heading up to the main office, they stopped at the front desk.
"Excuse me, someone wanted to see us?" Daniel asked.
The plump secretary eyed them. "You are?" she asked.
"Daniel Collins and Akemi Aono."
The secretary looked on her computer then said, "Yes, one moment, please." She got up and went into another room, then came back out and handed them expulsion papers. "The student handbook expressly prohibits fighting. Both of you were involved with a deadly altercation on school grounds at the south entrance," she stated. "You are both expelled for fighting, and due to being expelled, you have forfeited all funds previously paid to the school. You are required to leave the premises."
"We were attacked," Daniel said in a hard tone.
"Will you leave, or do I call security?" the woman asked.
Daniel felt a tug on his arm. Quietly, Akemi said, "Daniel, let's go."
Daniel gaped at Akemi. "But…"
"We aren't going to win. Let's go before there is more trouble," Akemi said, and led him out of the office.
"But … it wasn't our fault," Daniel said weakly.
In a harder tone, Akemi said, "They don't care."
Akemi held Daniel's hand on the way back out of the entrance. It was hard enough being expelled from College. When the cheering arose behind them, Akemi gritted her teeth in anger. She had to let go of Daniels' hand, afraid she might crush it in her fists.