Chapter 2

Sonya groggily awoke in a dark cold room. She tried to move her hands but realized that they were bound to her back. Seeing no one around her, she frantically yelled, "LET ME OUT!" After a few minutes, the door finally opened allowing for light to enter the blackened room. Sonya was squinting her eyes from the brightness of the light. A tall figure entered the room and gradually approached Sonya. When he was close enough to her, he pulled the dangling light bulb switch that was hanging above him. Sonya started to violently struggle to get her hands free as the young man got closer to her.

The young man leaned over Sonya and lifted her chin to look up at him. "Sonya Blade." Sonya darted her eyes from him and frantically tried to make sense out of her surroundings. The room was bare with no furniture, besides the chair she sat on. She noticed that there were two large banners hanging from the corners of the room featuring a black serpentine symbol. Recognizing the symbol, Sonya suddenly realized where she was and who she was now dealing with. "Black Dragon," she groggily stated. "Bingo," Jarek confirmed.

Then a woman spoke from the doorway. "It's been a long time, Blade." Sonya immediately knew Kira's voice; a higher ranking Black Dragon member. Sonya struggled a little bit more from her chair. "Kira, why am I here?" "Boss wants to talk to you, that's all," she calmly said. "He asked us to bring you here unharmed." Sonya, suddenly felt a throbbing headache and scoffed at her comment. She was even more annoyed at the idea of having to see him. "Alright, let's get this over with. Where is Kano?" Kira slyly smiled. "Come on, Jarek and I will take you to him."

She started to feel uneasy as they started to make their way through the warehouse. The floor they were on was poorly lit; the lights flickered on and off. They entered a hallway with a long staircase. After reaching the top of the stairs they made their way toward Kano's suite; he had the entire floor to himself. Sonya was surprised at the difference in the appearance of this floor as it had a penthouse vibe. Upon reaching the door, Jarek knocked hard a few times. Kano called from inside, "Bring her in."

Sonya entered inside with both Kira and Jarek. Sonya was amazed at the size of the luxurious suite. It was huge. She was able to see a large living room with tan suede love seats, as well as a sectional chair and a coffee table. There was a large flat screenTV and a fireplace below it. She could see a dining room with fine linens on the right side and the large kitchen in the room behind it. This was all she could see, as the layout of the suite was long.

Kano was standing by the fireplace. His cybernetic eye had an eerie glow from the light of the fire. A chill went down Sonya's spine at the sight of his appearance. He slowly turned to her; a small smile spread across his lips. "Hello love. It's been awhile." Sonya narrowed her eyes. "Not nearly long enough. Let's cut to the chase. Why did you bring me here?" Kano looked at Kira and Jarek. "Give us the room, will ya?" Jarek untied Sonya's wrists. As he and Kira started to leave, he looked toward Kano and said, "Holler if you need anything, boss." Then he shut the door behind them.

Kano and Sonya stared at each other a moment; the sound of the crackling fire seemed to be more profound in the silence. Kano started to approach her and sarcastically asked, "C'mon, baby, is it really so awful to see me again?" Sonya scowled. "Yes, it is. I was hoping that the next time we saw one another that you would be locked up inside a maximum security prison cell, but here we are."

"Sonya, Sonya. For once baby, can't we just play nice?" Sonya's eyes widened. "Play nice? Your men kidnapped me and threw me into the back of a moving van and knocked me the fuck out. You call that playing nice?! " Kano shrugged. " Well, I didn't think that you would have been so open to meeting me so I had to get a little creative." Sonya became annoyed. "Kano, my patience is wearing thin. Why don't you tell me the real reason you went through so much trouble to bring me here?"

"I have information that you may find interesting." Sonya regarded him cautiously.
"What makes you think that I would be interested in anything that you have to say?" Kano mischeviously smiled at her."A little birdie told me that you have been researching several phenomenon of a rather supernatural nature." Sonya gave him a surprised look. "Wait, how do you know about my research? That information is supposed to be classified." Kano smiled. "Patience baby, you'll know in due time. What if I told you that I could lead you to someone who knows the source of those disturbances?" Sonya looked at him more intently. "Congratulations, now I might give a shit about what you have to say."

"I thought you would. Some bloke approached me a few nights ago that made mention of those disturbances. Said that is it beyond any normal forces here but knows where they are coming from. You and I need to make a meet with him as he is enlisting the two of us to stop these things." Sonya looked at him with a startled expression. "Did you just say that you and I are being enlisted together?" Kano grinned. "Yes, love. We need to work together. For now anyway, until we find out what we are in this for."

Sonya laughed out loud. "I am sorry, but you have got to be kidding me. We have literally been fighting each other for years and have tried to kill each other countless times! You do realize the absurdity of this concept?" "Indeed I do, darlin. But, apparently, you and I are being sought after," he said. "By who?!" Sonya asked. Kano raised an eyebrow. "Ready for this? Some Chinese wu shu wanker that calls himself Liu Kang. He claims to be some sort of fucking fire god. Can you believe this bloody drongo?"

Sonya thought about it. "That does seem strange for sure, but after some of the things that I uncovered through my research that may be plausible..." After a brief hesitation, she looked at Kano. "As much as I despise the idea, I will agree to this arrangement if this Liu Kang can lead us to the source of these phenomenon. How soon can you set up a meeting?"

"I will work on setting up contact. You should try to get some kind of sleep... you've had quite the night," he said. "About that..."Sonya asked. "Just where am I supposed to sleep?" "Oh, right. I forgot. You'll stay here for the night." Sonya cringed at the insufferable suggestion. "You want me to stay here with YOU?! There is not a chance in hell that is happening." Kano started to laugh and shook his head. "I know you hate my guts and all, but bloody hell, woman! You do know that I'm trying to be hospitable? The suite is big enough for the both of us. You'll never even know that I am here. Lemme show you where you'll stay."

Sonya's room was at the opposite end of the suite. The bedroom was large with an inviting king size bed and ottoman bench in front. The bed was complete with a white fluffy comforter, silky white pillows and sheets. There was a working fireplace with a mounted TV above it. On the bed, Sonya noticed a lacy, white silk teddy dress that was much sexier than anything she normally wore to sleep. Sonya narrowed her eyes at Kano. " Seriously, Kano, if you try anything funny with me, I will fucking cut your balls off."

Kano found her hostility amusing. "I assure you, I had nothing to do with that. Kira has... an interesting taste in clothing." Then he looked her up and down with a smile. "Bet you would look great in that too," he said with a wink. "Get some sleep, love." As Kano left the room, Sonya wondered what the hell she got herself into. She changed into the silky dress, brushed her teeth and then laid down in bed. She immediately felt the weight of the long day and fell into a deep sleep.