TROJAN
Chapter 4: "Infestation"
A Sailor Moon fanfic
By Bill K.
Venus entered the office Mercury had gone to, followed by Sailor Moon and Jupiter. There they found Mercury standing in front of a computer. The monitor was counting down time backwards and was at four seconds. Mercury just stared blankly at it, as if she were a million miles away.
"Hey, is that a timer?" Venus exclaimed.
The next moment, the room exploded. Venus and Jupiter flinched away. For Venus it momentarily brought back a bitter memory from her foray in England years ago. Expecting to be struck by the heat and concussive force of the blast, Venus and Jupiter both were surprised when they weren't. Looking up, Venus noticed that Mercury hadn't moved, hadn't even flinched.
Then she noticed the raging fire that was consuming the broken debris left in the room, except for them. Reflexively she turned to Sailor Moon, standing behind them.
"Was that you, Hon'?" Jupiter asked. Sailor Moon had her right hand out, extended from her bent elbow. Clearly Sailor Moon had protected them all from the blast.
"Rei-chan!" Sailor Moon gasped.
A wave of her hand snuffed out the flames. Pivoting, the Queen barreled into the next room, Jupiter and Venus at her heels. The living room was a mass of furnishings flailed into useless sticks and scorched, collapsed walls. Mars was laying in a corner, dazed but untouched. Sailor Moon knelt down to her friend.
"REI-CHAN, ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?" cried Sailor Moon.
"I will be when you stop shouting," grimaced the fire senshi. "What happened?"
"I think we missed a booby-trap," Venus remarked. "Don't think I'm not really glad to see you, but why aren't you burned to a crisp?"
"I'm a priestess of flame," Mars replied, trying to disengage from the death grip Sailor Moon had around her neck. "Fire knows better."
"Man, you are so spooky when you get like this," sighed Venus.
By now, Jupiter had noticed Mercury wasn't with them. Returning to the computer alcove, she found Mercury just staring into space. The woman put her hand on her friend's shoulder. Mercury returned to reality.
"Merc?" Jupiter inquired.
"There was an explosion," Mercury said distantly, "wasn't there?"
"Yeah," Jupiter nodded.
"Since we're unhurt, Sailor Moon obviously protected us." Then Mercury grew alarmed. "The computer! The files! They're all destroyed!"
"Yeah," Jupiter said.
Protectively she led Mercury into the other room. When Mercury noticed Mars on the floor, her medical instincts kicked in and she was kneeling beside the senshi.
"Do you have any ringing in the ears?" Mercury asked. "Blurred vision? Headaches?"
"No," sighed Mars. "Just a little sore from hitting the wall."
"Good thing," Venus nodded. She glanced at Mercury. "I thought we got all of the booby traps?"
Mercury scowled introspectively. "Nothing registered on my computer. I assume that Awanishi-san's computer system was able to shield the explosive from my scan. However, I'll run a diagnostic on my computer to be certain it wasn't a system error."
"So now what?" Jupiter asked.
"Got to figure that this guy has more than one rabbit hole to crawl down," Venus suggested. "Maybe Artemis can track them down. He's good at that sort of thing."
Suddenly everyone heard sirens in the distance.
"Jiggers, the cops," Venus commented wryly. "We better make ourselves scarce before we create that international incident that Endymion was so worried about."
Nodding, the five senshi joined hands and in a flash of light and swirling air were gone.
In a quiet residential neighborhood north of the palace, a woman walked up to a door and rang the bell. She had short black hair, sunglasses over her eyes, and wore a brown leather jacket of expensive cut and faded jeans that molded to her hips and thighs. The door opened and a stout woman of slowly fading beauty with long brown hair caught at the shoulders in a ribbon answered.
"Yes?" asked Kimiko Aino.
'It's me, Mom," sighed Minako, gently pushing past her mother into the house. Once inside, she pulled off the black wig and shook out her long golden hair.
"Must you dress up like that?" huffed her mother. "I didn't even recognize you!"
"Then why did you open the door?" Minako shot back. "Do you WANT to get robbed? It's not a nice world out there."
"Well, you would know," sighed Kimiko.
"Besides, do you want the paparazzi trotting in here after me?" She grinned and shook her hair. "I am a star, you know."
"Yes, so you keep reminding me," Kimiko replied indulgently. "Can I fix you something?"
"No, watching my weight," Minako said. "Well. . .you have any of those cookies?"
Kimiko smiled and headed for the kitchen. "Is something up? You usually don't visit except for the first of the month accounting summary."
"Have to ask Dad something," she replied and headed into the living room. As expected, there sat Daichi Aino, his squat frame sunk into his favorite armchair. As usual, he was reading the newspaper.
"Are you even going to use that tablet I got you?" Minako fussed, taking a seat on the sofa next to him.
"I suppose when Tokyo Shimbun folds, I'll have to," he frowned. "It won't be the same, though. So how's my best girl?"
"Life of a star, what can I say?" she grinned. Kimiko entered with a plate of cookies. Minako and Daichi both reached for one.
"Seeing anyone?" Kimiko asked. "I try not to follow those awful gossip programs."
"No," Minako sighed. "And not for lack of trying. Maybe I am cursed." She turned suddenly to her father. "Anyway, Dad, do you remember Goro Awanishi?"
"The guy who invented the Universe Phone and sank the company I worked for?" he replied. "What about him?"
"What do you remember about him? Any place he might have mentioned favorably? Any maybe safe-havens he'd run to in a pinch?"
"He worked in research and development," Daichi explained. "I only knew him by reputation. He was the hot shot programmer who was going to save the company."
"And how did that turn out," scowled Kimiko.
"What about his friends? Did he have any?" Minako asked.
"Again, they were in R & D. Why the sudden interest?"
"Our boy has surfaced with a computer virus that steals small amounts from a lot of people's bank accounts," Minako related. "We tried to catch him, but he got away and I'm looking for leads on where he might have run."
"This is a Senshi thing?" Daichi asked. "I don't know how I could help . . ."
"Don't you still have that corporate directory?" Kimiko said. "It would have the names of the other people in the research department."
"Yes," Daichi nodded and pried himself out of the chair. The man shambled into the next room.
"Honestly, one of these days he isn't going to be able to get out of that chair," Kimiko fussed.
"Here you are," Daichi said, returning with a small three-ring binder. "Now these phone numbers are for the corporate offices, so they're no good any longer. But maybe you can run down the names. You keep it as long as you need it."
"Thanks, Dad," Minako bounced up and kissed him on the cheek. "Every little bit helps."
"Thank you for alerting me," Daichi replied. "I'm going to go back and check the books to see if this embezzlement scheme didn't touch us."
"Hey, that's right! He BETTER not have stolen from me!"
"Good luck, Minako," Kimiko said as her daughter pinned her hair up and slipped on the black wig. "I hope you can catch that wretched man before he can hurt anyone else. Honestly, I don't know why some people have to be so selfish and heartless. Weren't they brought up properly?"
"Guess not," chuckled Minako. "Bye, Mom. I'll say hello to Artemis for you."
Hard at work in her office, Ami suddenly paused. By now she had become accustom to the aura of Serenity that preceded the woman. She looked up over her glasses as the Queen entered.
"Well, I was going to apologize for interrupting, but now I'm glad," Serenity said, irritation in her tone. Ami's desk was piled with case files. "Didn't you promise me you were going to cut back on your work load?"
"These are applications and department budgets that only I can review," Ami replied in an even tone. "Going on the mission has put me behind . . ." Serenity immediately turned and glided to the office door.
"Excuse me," Serenity interrupted, popping her head out of the door and addressing Ami's personal assistant. "Could you summon the department heads who are under Ami-Chan and have them report to her office, please?"
"What are you doing?" bristled Ami.
"Ami-Chan, you need to cut back on your work load," Serenity said, her tone a stern whimper. "It's affecting your health. It's affecting your performance. I don't mean to insult you. I'm concerned about you. We're all concerned."
"I realize you're only trying to help in your own way," Ami replied with controlled thinness, "and I will cut back when I can. But I have a great deal of responsibility and I must fulfill that responsibility."
"Not if it means your health," Serenity argued. "You're always badgering me about doing too much and affecting my health. Well now it's my turn."
"I assure you, Serenity," Ami sighed. "I can handle this."
"Why did you zone out in Palau?"
"What makes you say that?" Ami asked defensively.
"Mina-Chan told me."
"Minako needs to mind her own business," muttered the doctor.
"Ami-Chan . . ."
"I'M FINE!" snapped the woman, snatching a book from her desk and throwing it at the Queen.
Serenity caught the book in mid-air telekinetically and it hovered six inches from her face. Ami's eyes bulged.
"Please accept my apology, Serenity," Ami mumbled in humiliation. "That was an irrational response to a legitimate concern. I had no right to do that."
"Of course I accept, Ami-Chan," Serenity smiled. "We're not trying to pry or to run your life for you. We're only worried about you."
"Apparently with good reason," Ami whispered. "The evidence supports no other conclusion."
Mechanically she began sorting through the files and papers on her desk. At that moment, three people entered. They were the Under-secretary for Pharmacological Study, the head of the Hospital Facilities Management Department and the General Secretary of Bacteriological Research. Each one glanced first at Ami and then at Serenity. Everyone waited silently while Ami sorted the stuff on her desk.
"Forgive me for burdening you three with extra work," Ami apologized as she handed out piles to each person, "but apparently I've over-extended myself. These must be done and I don't have the time to do them."
"It's all right, Dr. Fujihara," said the Facilities Minister. "Everyone has felt that you were taking on too much."
"You, too?" Ami whimpered. Silently she doled out the rest and then sat down. "Thank you all. If you'll all excuse me, these matters are things that only I can deal with. Now I can give them my full attention."
The others nodded and left. Serenity awkwardly remained.
"Ami-Chan," she began.
"I promise I'll be done by five," Ami said quickly, not looking at her. "Hayami will be waiting for me."
She wanted to press the issue, but the Queen sensed it wasn't a good idea. Silently she left.
"Hey, Fuzzy!" Minako shouted as she entered the quarters Artemis shared with Luna. "I got a lead for you!"
The cat trudged out of the bedroom, eyes drooping, and emitted a sigh of fatigue.
"Didn't interrupt anything, did I?" Minako leered.
"Only the first decent sleep I've had in a day and a half," Artemis mumbled. "You found something?"
"Maybe," the blonde replied and flopped onto the sofa. She waved a three ring binder at him. "Got this directory from Dad. It's got the names of everyone Awanishi worked with in R & D at Takamoto Telecom. Maybe you can track them down and get a line on where Awanishi might run to now that he's a hunted felon."
"Gee, why don't you give me something hard," Artemis scowled cynically. "None of those names are going to have addresses and the only phone numbers for them got disconnected when Takamoto went under."
"How hard can it be? You've got access to phone listings in the country. It's not like they all fled to Europe!"
"How do you know?"
"You just want to sleep all day," groused Minako.
"You say that like it's a bad thing," the cat huffed and leaped up on the sofa arm. "Well, I guess I've got no choice. Can't leave Awanishi out there to cause more trouble."
"Maybe you can get your squeeze to help you," Minako suggested as she pulled out her cell phone. "Although I don't know how you'll be able to concentrate then."
"My powers of concentration are just fine," Artemis replied, leafing through the binder, "unlike certain people I could name." When she didn't respond, he glanced over at her. "Who are you calling?"
"My agent," Minako replied. "I want to see if he's got any inquiries about my services. Maybe Hollywood called."
"Never give up hope," the cat chuckled.
"Hey, I can do an English movie. And they're doing several period pieces for the streaming networks. I can be 'Action Geisha'!"
"With that blonde hair?"
"OK, I'LL WEAR A WIG! Do you always have to be . . ."
"The voice of reason?"
"A fuzzy little pain in the butt," Minako frowned. "Hi, this is Aino. Disney want me for their next picture yet?"
Artemis shook his head.
A jeep pulled up to a small residence overlooking the east beach of Touessrak, Mauritius. The residence, just on the outskirts of Touessrak and away from the tourist hotels, was new and modern, but hardly ornate. It sat bracketed on two sides by palm trees and other vegetation, as if it were trying to hide from the world.
The jeep, newly purchased from a local dealer and with only two miles on the odometer, parked on the south side of the cottage. Out climbed Goro Awanishi. He had a briefcase in one hand. Deftly he disarmed the hidden security panel and slid his key into the lock. Once inside, he put the proximity sensors back on and bolted the door. After a detour to the electrical box next to the kitchen to put the power to the main house back on, Goro entered the small room he used as a computer office and booted up his machine. As he waited, the man looked over his computer. It was 2022 vintage. Perhaps it was time to upgrade.
But for that he'd need funds. Between the necessary expenditures to flee Palau and the loss of income from the invasive virus that had transferred his stolen reserves out of his accounts, Goro Awanishi was very low on liquidity. That was easily remedied.
Meanwhile he planned to dissect the code that had put a stop to his skimming. Opening his briefcase, Goro brought out a CD-rom and plugged it into his machine. The CD connected his computer to the files he'd stored on the cloud, including copies of his skimming program, his trojan-dodger, his current project that he'd already implemented, and the virus that had shut his old program down.
"Now let's see exactly how you managed to defeat me," mumbled the man as he studied the code strings intently. As he worked, a separate program was spreading throughout the world.
CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 5