*This was a rather unique experience for me. I've shown an escape through the eyes of the enemy before, but this time was a little more...extreme.
Yukiko raised the visor of her helmet, and fixed the elevator full of people with a stoic look. She beckoned for the two "riot police" to come out of the car to give her room to address the others properly.
"No one moves," she commanded flatly. "I want you to put your weapons down, one by one."
When none of the officers immediately listened to her, she jammed the barrel of her assault rifle into the ribcage of the man closest to her. "Do not test me. Lay your weapons down."
The man upon whom her gun was braced was the first to respond, slowly lowering his hand-gun to the floor.
"Kick it out into the hall," she ordered.
Yukiko systematically collected guns with the help of another warrior, until she finally settled on Sayuri in the back of the elevator. The other woman was glaring at her with clenched jaw, indicating no willingness to release her firearm.
Yukiko laughed scornfully. "Don't be a fool, Kimura. Even if you were capable of shooting me before I killed you, there are too many guns behind me for you to succeed. Now put it down, before you get someone else killed."
Sayuri's scowl deepened as she surrendered the gun angrily, but Yukiko turned away from her, unconcerned. She focused on her Master instead, bowing her head in deference.
"Greetings, Takashi-sama. It is good to see you."
"Not as good as it is to see you," he emphasized. "You have done well, Yukiko-san."
The pleasure in his voice was greater than she could ever remember hearing, and a trace of a smile lit as Takashi stepped out from among the officers.
Once the Asian man made it into the hallway, he turned around to face the car and beckoned with one finger. "Won't you join us, Kimura?"
Yukiko could barely see the other women behind the officers crowded in the elevator, but she wasted no time in selecting a hostage, should it be necessary to acquire cooperation. She pressed the barrel of her rifle into the chest of another man up front, as she searched for Sayuri again. "Off the elevator, Kimura, now!"
The Detective forced a hole through the surrounding men, and Takashi reached to take her by the arm.
"You are predictable if nothing else, Kimura," he said. "I knew that threatening you would only result in you coming directly to me. You will never learn to do things the easy way. Speaking of which, Yukiko-san, feel free to finish your own business with these men."
Takashi stepped out of the way with a hand on the back of Sayuri's neck, and Yukiko took a moment to line up with two other warriors whose guns were still trained on the elevator. With a nod from her, they unloaded their rifles on the remaining men inside the car. When two others had verified that the officers were dead, they hurried to close the doors of the elevator manually.
"I trust you planted the device?" she addressed one of original warriors who'd ridden the elevator down.
"Yes, Yukiko-san. It will detonate the elevator on your trigger."
"Well done," she told him.
When Yukiko turned around, she was grateful to see Takashi being outfitted in the same riot police gear that the rest of them were using, but she couldn't help wondering what he intended to do with Kimura. The woman was clutched between two men at the moment, although Yukiko suspected one would have been enough to contain her. The deeply set anger in Sayuri's face had been replaced with shock, no doubt over the sudden killings of the other men.
It is so strange to see, Yukiko thought coldly. One would think she would be used to it after all this time.
"Do you have something to use on Kimura?" Takashi asked her suddenly.
"Is she making the whole trip with us?"
"She took it upon herself to accompany me from Yokohama, so yes, I think she is fit for the journey."
Yukiko was never unprepared. She reached inside her black jacket to find the color-coded needles, and selected one. "I have just the thing."
"Make it fast, Yukiko-san! We need to vacate this section before the suspicion that could have been aroused by those gunshots catches up with us."
Yukiko saw the woman stiffen, but it wasn't going to do Sayuri any good. She smoothly injected her with experienced precision, and didn't even wait to see who took charge of the Detective.
"How long will she be unconscious?" Takashi asked.
"We have plenty of time. I used the extended release, so it will probably be a good five hours before she comes around again."
"Good. Is the decoy prepared outside?"
"As planned, Takashi-sama, and the evidence is planted inside his home. How did you like my angry mob?" she asked proudly.
He smiled grimly. "A well-laid plan this was. Did they prove difficult to incite?"
"The people are sheep, Takashi-sama. If you know how to lead them, they will follow. Those angry fools outside are the key that laid the stage for this entire operation." Yukiko smiled to herself. The irony is quite amusing, she told herself.
Takashi nodded before pulling down the visor on his helmet. "Then let's vacate this hell-hole and take ourselves somewhere more civilized. Where do we stand on ID?"
"It is ready for you, Takashi-sama. We are assured that it will pass the test at Customs."
"Then all that is left is to tie everything up neatly." Takashi kept stride along with her as Yukiko started toward the stairwell, and they began rapidly descending to the ground floor. "I could not be positive that Kimura would come, but I was thrilled to see that she didn't disappoint me. I am going to enjoy catching up with her."
Yukiko's smile was hidden behind her visor. I am going to enjoy catching up with the Shitenno more.
"Still no word from Daichi?" Takashi asked.
"Not in weeks. I don't know what the fool has done with himself, but I am starting to doubt that we will hear from him again. He was being careless in the United States as I understand it, but he was also causing too much strife and contention to remain at my side in Okinawa. I gave him the opportunity to do something useful, Takashi-sama, and he only proved how unprepared for leadership he truly is."
Takashi shook his head. "He always wanted to do more than he was mentally capable of. I don't know how you put up with his dissension for as long as you did, Yukiko-san. I told you to simply get rid of him."
The woman shrugged. "He served you well for many years. I gave him one last chance, and I don't know what he did with it, nor do I now care. The helm is yours, Takashi-sama. I gladly cede it to you." From her jacket she produced a small remote with three buttons. "I have the trigger for you, if you would like to do the honors outside."
"I would like that. The sooner the better, before anyone has a chance to discover the bodies."
Yukiko looked back to see the warrior carrying Sayuri. "Do you have a plan involving Kimura?"
"The possibilities are endless, Yukiko-san. We can focus more on specifics later; right now I prefer to escape with our cover still intact."
"We will exit through the back," she offered. "We can finish with the decoy and set up the trigger. Then we will be free from this mess."
Yukiko tried to allow Takashi to lead them out of the stairwell on the ground floor, but he fell back slightly.
"I prefer to remain in the middle of the group," he said. "The officers should not be able to recognize me behind the visor, but being up front could garner more attention than I want."
"Agreed." Yukiko did not speak his name allowed since they were within the range of being heard by other people.
Their custom assault rifles were holstered again, camouflaged so they would appear to be nothing more than the standard equipment that the riot police normally carried. Yukiko's heart beat a little faster as they made their way through onlookers and officers, none of whom were wise to their true identity.
Just keep moving. Keep moving. You belong here. No one has a reason to stop you. No one knows what you are doing. Yukiko carried herself confidently without displaying a hint of the threatening nerves. We are going to do it. Months of planning and preparation, watching and manipulating has led to this moment. Everything has gone according to plan, and we even have Kimura as an added bonus.
She picked up more speed as the back door came into sight. Their hurry wouldn't appear unusual in the current atmosphere. When Yukiko pushed through the back door however, she was immediately by a sight she hadn't prepared for: paramedics. Yukiko counted at least three ambulances, and a smirk returned under her visor.
They are going to need them.
She motioned for the six men to follow her past the last obstacle, but the warrior bringing up the rear was hung up the instant he exited the building with Kimura. Yukiko looked over her shoulder to see the paramedics converging on him, and she cursed under her breath. You fools, just let him pass!
"We will see that she receives attention," Takashi addressed the paramedics himself.
"You have enough to do!" one of them responded. "Do your job, and let us do ours!"
Yukiko expected Takashi to object, but the man did the opposite.
"Release her to them," Takashi ordered the warrior. "We have to keep going!"
Yukiko eyed the warrior as he somewhat unwillingly allowed paramedics to take Kimura. Then she motioned for the group to start moving again. Takashi strode to the front to join her, but neither of them said a word until they were roughly a quarter of a mile away from the Prefectural Police Headquarters.
"It had to be done," he said soberly. "We could not risk killing them in the open and drawing attention to ourselves. Kimura's time will come. We have accomplished more than enough for one day. Is that the vehicle?" Takashi motioned to the minivan across the silent side street.
"Yes, Takashi-sama." Yukiko heard the doors unlock as she approached, and she peered inside to see their man, who was sitting beside the cringing captive who was serving as their distraction.
The warrior nodded in deference to both of them, and stepped out of the way.
"Where is the note?" Takashi asked. "We need to make explanation for Kimura, if there is space. Then we can trigger the elevator, and allow this man to serve his purpose."
Yukiko eyed the civilian stonily as she climbed inside of the evidence-ridden vehicle, and retrieved a notebook. "There is plenty of room, Takashi-sama. Just tell me what to say."
The man barely took any time to think about it before giving her a couple of points to hit, and she smiled as she scrawled the addendum to the note, concentrating on the hand-writing sample she'd memorized to mimic their decoy's penmanship. Yukiko let Takashi read over the pages before she closed the notebook.
"Excellent. Now to send myself down in flames." Takashi chuckled, withdrawing the remote. He keyed in the correct combination between the three buttons to set off the explosives that would provide enough power to destroy the elevator, and the bodies that had been left behind.
Yukiko took the detonator back from him, and studied it to make certain there were no fingerprints, despite the gloves they were using. She left the trigger alongside other random personal effects inside the darkened interior of the van. Then she reached for the hand-gun that was registered in the name of the civilian they were using, and nodded at him.
"It is a far better thing you do for your country by dying, than your worthless life could ever have attained," she told him.
The gagged man shook his head at her, as though he could somehow talk her out of the plan that was already going forward. Yukiko was many things, but never a teaser. Without another word, she unloaded a single shot from close range into the side of their captive's head, and planted the gun back in his hand.
"Quickly!" Takashi urged her.
Yukiko was glad to see that the rest of the team was already out of sight, and only her superior waiting for her outside. She had a few seconds to gaze at the flames leaping up from part of the Prefectural Police Headquarters, before she heard a car approaching.
Takashi gestured to her as the door opened, and she climbed into the SUV first. Silence reined inside the vehicle for several minutes while they crept around the madness of downtown Naha.
Only when they'd left the city limits did Takashi raise his visor again. "You have all done exceedingly well. I am pleased, and you will be rewarded. I cannot tell you how good it feels to be away from those cursed walls, and wretched men. I have longed for this day as if it would never come. So now that I am dead, we are once more free to pursue the real matter at hand. I am looking forward to working with all of you again."