Young Offender, Part 42:
/Where have they gone!/
Erika picked up her husband's furious thoughts before he spoke them out loud. She opened her eyes and sat up on their couch.
"I can find nothing, my darling. He's still in a deep coma. Until he surfaces, I have no hope of finding him. He's clever enough to force himself to sleep for long time, hoping we'll give up," she answered before he opened his mouth. He nodded, all too used to his wife and child replying to his unspoken words. He handed her strong black tea.
"Lord Scar wants us to divert our attention temporarily," he said, hoping to reassure Erika. She frowned, and he knew she wouldn't like what would come next. "You need to go to Russia. There are rumors of spies around the space program. You're to help leak some to the Americans, but not everything. Lord Scar wants someone to secretly balance the tension. Neither Russia nor America can have the upper hand right now. The world's countries must remain on the verge of war."
"I understand," she said, looking very disappointed. "I'll keep searching for Ivan. In the meanwhile, I'll take Ann with me. It'll be a good education for her."
"Good. Let me know when Ivan wakes up. We'll get him back. In the meanwhile, I'll be working on my AI project. Gaia and Uranus have taken an interest and offered to help."
"Careful, darling," she said, before sipping her tea. "They have some self interest in helping you."
"Yes, I know, but I need them for now. They've done a fair bit of work on their blank slate theory. Besides..." He flashed his wife a devious smirk, "you're not the only one good at spying in our family, my dear."
"No, no, no. We're safe. Gamo's wife is being shipped off to Russia. He'll never figure out everything we're up to," Gaia whispered in hasty Greek as they walked down the hallway past several lab doors. "Besides, we need him to help complete our work with the children. We need to mold them, make them really believe they are Olympian gods. Gamo can help us with that. After the Double Zero Cyborg rebellion, he's more convinced than ever we were right."
"We can't move forward without changing them. They must believe they are brother and sister, and they really are Zeus's children. They must never have access to their memories again," Uranus acknowledge. "Until we finish picking Gamo's brain, we need to put the children on ice. Damn! Why did she leave? I gave her everything, virtual immortality!"
"003? She's an ingrate like her three Double Zero brothers. I told you we needed to eliminate their memories. You could have shaped her into anything you wanted. Forget her, for now. Focus on what we have in front of us. When we perfect our Olympian children, we can get the Double Zero Cyborgs back."
"Agreed. There is plenty of space next to Manma Yana and her failed assassins, and no one will look in that deep, dark tomb," Uranus said, glumly. "I'll go put them to sleep, while you make a schedule with Gamo. Keep in mind, one day, I do want 003 back."
"I know. By the way, a tip was given by our German agents."
Uranus nodded and scowled. "The one about her brother? If they can at least catch him, then we can question him and find her."
"You were a fool, my friend. You knew the rules and you broke them: no women, and no close family. You broke them both all for a lovely face," Gaia said, shaking his head.
"Yes, but my mistake of grabbing someone with a close family could work in our favor. If not, we can use him for bait to lead us to her and her cyborg brothers."
A wicked smile spread over Gaia's face. "Or we could use him as test material. No matter, my friend. You'll have your ballerina back one day. Then, hopefully, with Gamo's help, you can shape her into your perfect doll. Oh, are you meeting with our Japanese electronics connection?"
"Yes, but I contacted him discreetly. He doesn't want the Gamos to know we are forging a deal. It's in our best interest to do this secretly, because his sister is good friends with Erika Gamo. It turns out Mrs Gamo has been doing a fair bit of assassinations for her on the side, including Kitagawa's husband, that old Hondo Kitagawa fool. Hitomi Kitagawa or the Gamos would sell us out to Lord Scar if they knew everything we are up to."
"You don't say. That Erika... To kill with a thought... that is a frightening thought. We'll avoid the Gamos and get what we can from Fyodr. I've been thinking, too, when we get the Double Zero Cyborgs back, we need to destroy 001's mind or find a way to harness him," Gaia said in hushed tones, rationally afraid of Erika Gamo.
"I say we think about modeling a cyborg after him. We'll talk more tonight."
"Wow. This is exhausting! But at least our total is up to fifteen people sprung from East Berlin," Jet said, flopping down on the living-room floor. He looked up in time to see Albert and Francoise sit next to him. They still couldn't manage enough money for proper furniture. "And not a friggin' dime comes from this work. We're dead broke, Albert, and we can't keep doing charity work and eat."
"I know," he snapped at Jet and tugged the hat off his head.
"I wish you three would lay low," Gilmore said, walking in from the kitchen.
"Hey, where are the other two codgers?" Jet asked, propping himself up on his elbows.
"The store. Kozumi still has some money, but we need to find a way to support ourselves. He and Kaminari plan on leaving next week."
"You'd think there was a way to make money here," Jet said. "We just aren't being creative enough."
"It's been three weeks. I need to look for work if we plan on staying longer," Albert said, shooting Jet a dirty look. "Nothing that will bring attention to us."
"Me? Stand out?" Jet teased. "I guess I'll pound the pavement too."
"No, you still have that god awful American accent with a damaged voice that will give us away. I can find work without raising suspicions," Albert insisted.
"And my German is perfect! I have no accent," Jet protested, exaggerating his vowels and smiling as Albert cringed.
"Well, I'll look for something too," Francoise said. "I won't stand out as much. Frau Schuessler said her cousin owns a bookstore and might have an opening."
"Good idea," Albert said.
"So I get to sit at home and let you two bring me money like my bitches?" Jet began to chuckle. He said in heavy rasp, "Now that's cool."
"You better get familiar with mopping and cooking. And don't ever call me that word again," Francoise said in a deep, disapproving tone. Jet clamped his mouth shut and glowered back.
"Yes, you'll make us a great housewife," Albert teased, breaking the tension. Jet then hopped to his feet in mock anger; he was secretly relieved Albert finally cracked a joke. It was the first one in weeks; it was a good sign. Jet considered it a good sign the man wanted to start working again, too.
"I don't like either of you," he declared.
"I could use some help in the kitchen getting the dishes clean. No time like the present," Gilmore said, tugging Jet by the elbow into the small kitchen. His face burned hot when he heard Francoise and Albert's laughter.
Takuma Shimamura's frown would seem mild, almost bland, to any observer except another Shimamura relation. His displeasure was extreme. He stepped into the small, olive tent and looked around at his filthy surroundings. He was right to request his sister stay in Tokyo with the boys. This place would repulse her behind that icy mask she wore.
Not even her icy mask would remain after the news he'd just received. One man, who was one of his deceased brother-in-law's men, knelt on the dirt floor. Two of his sister's handpicked men stood by the shivering man's shoulders, guns drawn. Hondo never did have the knack of picking men for remorseless, blind loyalty like Hitomi did.
"My sister wanted to poison you, but I though you would be loyal to our cause," Takuma said, crossing his arms while gazing down at the man. "You know, she had every other man Hondo hired killed."
"I know! I am loyal, Shimamura-san, please... please! We were taken by surprise. Your sister was wrong about my loyalty!"
Takuma slapped the man's face at the moment of insult. "My sister's has strong instincts and is ruthless enough to carry them out. She's never wrong. Now tell me what happened to our rifles."
"A blond Frenchman! He hijacked the airplane and set the whole shipment on fire along with your plane. The fault was mine, Shimamura-san," the man said, bowing his forehead, almost touching his forehead to Takuma's shoes.
"What is the name of this Frenchman in Korea?"
"Arnoul."
"Arnoul? And he's stopping my guns?"
"Yes, sir. This was his third raid. He's stopping guns getting to the North and South."
"I see." Takuma nodded to the man standing on the right and said. "Send all of his fingers to his widow."
With that, Takuma turned away from the blubbering man and left the tent as sobs gave way to screaming. He marched to the helicopter waiting on him and hopped in. The pilot took off and they headed towards Seoul.
When he landed, he saw the Greek scientist he had made his side trip for. His sister wasn't expecting him for a whole day, so he was still safe from suspicion. Still, she was watching his son, and he knew she had no pity for anyone who crossed her.
He slid out of the helicopter and gave a slight wave of greeting. Dr Gregory Uranus waved back and walked over. They walked over to a bench in front of an empty hanger, the noise of the helicopter in background.
"Thank you, in advance, for the shipment out of Hong Kong. I checked it out on my way up here."
"You didn't come all this way, risking the Black Ghost's notice, for nothing. Make your request quickly."
"We need to double our order next year. We are interested in your new research, as well. We're willing to perform the tests and give you the feedback." Uranus slid a black briefcase across the bench. "This is an advance payment."
"I'll get in touch by next week and let you know how the research is going. You should be able to make a better acceleration device than the prototype."
"Excellent, thank you for your assistance."
Takuma said, "Oh one personal bit of research. Could you contact someone to do an investigation? It would seem Shimamura interests in Korea are under attack by a loner Frenchman."
"Of course. What's the name?"
"Arnoul," Takuma said, getting surprised at Uranus's wide eyes and sudden trembling.
"Korea? We've been hunting a man by the name of Arnoul. It is urgent we find this man!"
"Really? Why is he important?"
"He could be the brother of one of the Double Zero Cyborgs."
Takuma smiled. "Then it would seem it's of the utmost importance to the Merchants of Death and the Black Ghost. I'll contact my sister and we'll arrange for some agents to discreetly capture him."
To be continued.