When Ryoko returned, she held a small metal box in her hands. She placed the box down and grabbed a large hollow needle and small silver ring. Grabbing my lip and positioning the needle on the right, inside of my mouth, she thrust my lip into the needle. I didn’t react much when the needle penetrated my flesh.
Carefully she attached the ring to the end of the needle and pulled both through the new hole in my mouth. Once the ring was in place, she closed it and let go of my lip. “Much better.”
She put the needle in the plastic bag it came with and tossed it into a trashcan. Grabbing the box, she turned to return it but froze. Raikidan leaned against the doorway, a smirk plastered on his dumb face.
He wore a tight white tank and a red one underneath that. His pants were green khaki and were held up by a cloth belt, although it didn’t do such a great job, since the band of his boxers was still showing. His outfit was completed by black boots. He could have passed as a soldier out of uniform if it weren’t for the lack of dog tags.
“Well, you managed to not look like an idiot,” I said.
“I’ll say! It should be illegal to look that good!” Ryoko hung off me. “Like only gods have that good of a body.” Her eyes snapped to him. “You’re not a god, are you?”
Taken aback, his face twisted and I laughed. “Ignore her. She’s got an active imagination.”
Her face scrunched in disapproval of my claim.
Blaze, who hung by the truck Zane went back to working on, grunted. “So, he’s eye-candy for you two, big deal. What can he bring to the table that’ll actually help us?”
“Someone’s jealous,” Ryoko muttered, not happy he was spoiling her fun.
Blaze’s eyes narrowed, but I interjected before he could bite out a response. “He’s a true non-tank born shapeshifter.”
All attention fell on me but before anyone could speak, a loud knock came from the entrance door. Everyone froze. It was obvious no one was expecting any business to show up. Thinking quickly, I grabbed Raikidan by the wrist and dragged him behind tall metal shelving units full of parts and tools. The others scrambled, looking for something to make them look busy. Rylan, Argus, and Blaze settled on covering up a few vehicles, while Ryoko threw the piercing kit under the workbench and grabbed a few tools to pretend to work on another vehicle. Zane was the one to open the door and greeted our unwelcome visitors.
Peering through a gap in some of the shelved objects, I watched two armed soldiers walk in. I recognized the man in black as the general at the front gate, but the other one with him was a different story.
“Sorry to drop in on you like this, Zane, but we were wondering if you have those upgrades done yet,” General Zo said.
Zane waved him off. “You’re welcome to drop in, my shop is open. But I have to tell you, my answer hasn’t changed since you were here a few days ago. It’s nowhere near being finished. What you’ve asked for has been difficult to design.”
Zo nodded. “That’s fine. Do you mind if we see it anyway?”
Zane shrugged. “Sure. Ryoko, do you mind bringing out the order?”
“Sure thing.” Ryoko dashed off into an unknown place, but when she came back, she carried a giant gun that should have been impossible to carry.
With a loud thud, she placed it on the table. Raikidan looked at me as if to get an answer of what was going on, but I shook my head. It was best to stay quiet at the moment. He understood and went back to watching with me.
“The strength you have, Ryoko, still astounds me,” Zo complimented. Ryoko giggled but didn’t say anything. “It looks fine to me, Zane. What’s wrong with it?”
“It may look fine, but that doesn’t mean it works fine,” Zane explained. “With everything you want it to do, it just stopped working. We’ve been trying to figure out what will and won’t work, but still haven’t found the exact problem yet.”
“You will,” Zo assured. “Do you mind if I look at the specs I wanted?”
“Sure, I don’t mind at all.” I wished Zane would hurry this up, but I knew if he did, it might look suspicious. “I’ll grab it from the office.”
My pinky slid on the metal rack I was resting my hands on, hitting a wrench. It turned and knocked a lug nut onto the floor. Shit! As I feared, the sound caught the soldiers’ attention. Shit. Now I wouldn’t be able to stay hidden.
“Dammit,” I muttered as I reached for a tote just in my reach. “Just need… this one… thing…”
Raikidan, understanding what I was trying to do, reached out to the tote. “Hey, let me help you.”
I lightly pushed his hand away. “No, no, I got it, Rai.”
He sighed. “You’re so stubborn.”
“It’s because I got—” I yanked on the tote and jumped out of the way as it crashed to the floor, parts spilling out everywhere. “Dammit!”
Raikidan sighed. “See. Had you let me help, that wouldn’t have happened.”
“Shut up…”
I retrieved some nuts and bolts, a few shims, and some rubber mounts, before leaving my sanctuary. Please, gods, allow me to be right about the effectiveness of our shaman disguises… “Zane I think I got what you wanted.”
He looked at me, his eyes clear with concern. “Are you okay?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I just made a mess while trying to get these.”
“I’m not cleaning it up!” Raikidan called out.
“I know that, dummy…” I muttered.
Zane chuckled. “Well, as long as you’re okay, that’s what matters. Just put those parts down on the workbench for now.”
I nodded and did as he instructed. Zo’s intense gaze followed me. It made me feel uncomfortable.
Zo leaned on the workbench and smirked at me. His eyes showed he had no idea he’d met me before. Thank Satria. “And who might you be?”
My mind froze up. I hadn’t come up with a false name yet. Shit… shit… shit! Brain work! “It’s… um… Eira.” Dammit! I could have picked Aliyah, Silva, or even Amy. Why the hell could I not pick something besides my real name?
He took my hand and kissed it. “Lovely name. My name is Zo. I remember all beautiful women I have the pleasure of meeting, and I know I’ve never met you before. Are you a new employee?”
“Get away from him!” the voice screamed in my head.
When most men acted this way, I could handle it, but the way this Zo character acted, it just made me uncomfortable. It also made it hard to come up with some sort of cover story on the spot. Why didn’t I think of this on my way here? “Sorta…”
Zo looked to Zane. “You’ve been hiding her from me, haven’t you?”
Zane crossed his arms. “You come off too strong. You would have scared the poor girl.”
“I’m not that bad.” Zo looked at me and grinned. “How long have you been working here?”
I looked elsewhere as I tried to think. “Um… about two weeks now, I think. I’m only here a couple hours a week.” Think of something. Think of something! “Zane doesn’t think I’m ready for a full week of work yet.”
Zo’s brow creased. “You seem like you’re a capable woman.”
I wrung my hands together. “It’s not that…”
Zane, noticing my struggle and taking the hint from my use of his name, jumped in. “Poor girl has amnesia.” He pointed to his head in dramatic effect. “She can’t remember much prior to a few months ago.”
“Pity.” Zo caressed the top of my hand with his thumb. “But you’re in good hands with this lot, so I’m sure you’ll get your memory back soon enough.”
“Get away from him!” the voice screamed again.
His touching me wasn’t helping me feel any better about him. He creeped me out.
Just then, Raikidan came out with a large tool chest balanced on his shoulder. Placing it down on the metal workbench with a thud, he pulled me to the other side of him by the shoulder, getting me away from Zo. He stared the general down. “You’re making her uncomfortable.”
Zo looked
him over. “Whoa, how much you lift, kid?”
Ryoko walked over to the toolbox and opened it. “Not as much as soldiers, but enough to be of some use.” She then looked at him. “Ray, I told you one item, not the entire box.”
“Well, the way you described what you wanted wasn’t very helpful,” Raikidan replied, not taking his gaze off Zo.
She opened the toolbox and looked at the chrome objects. “Yeah, I guess ‘something shiny’ wasn’t the best way to describe it.”
I giggled and she glared at me. Even though Ryoko was playing this up, it would be just like her to say that.
“Don’t mind Ray, Zo,” Zane said. “He’s just a little overprotective of Eira. He’s the only one who has any real connection to her past.”
“I see. Well, hopefully you can help get her back on track,” Zo said.
“She’ll remember when she’s ready.” Raikidan then turned his back to Zo, putting his arm around my shoulders and placing his attention on me.
Ryoko grabbed a few tools from the toolbox. “Why don’t you two come help me with the car over here?”
I pointed to where I’d made the mess. “I need to go clean u—”
“I already did it,” Raikidan said.
My brow furrowed. “You said you weren’t going t—”
“Well I did, so now you don’t have to.”
I let out an aggravated sigh and then followed Ryoko to help her. Zane finished up with Zo and his gun as fast as he could.
I sighed with relief when Zane bolted the door shut and swapped the sign to closed. “That’s one way to be thrown back into the swing of things.”
Zane’s laughter boomed through the building. “I’ll say!”
Argus and Blaze approached the workbench, Argus speaking, “Not a bad cover story. Especially one that was clearly made up on the spot.”
Blaze snorted. “It’s a stupid one, if you ask me.”
Argus shook his head. “It’s not, if you actually think about it.”
Ryoko laughed. “Blaze, think? Yeah right.”
The building echoed with laughter while Blaze glowered at her.
“Honestly,” Rylan said, trying to help Blaze understand. “Amnesia is a great way to explain Laz’s presence as well as our new comrade. It also gives us an easy out for history crafting to keep them under the radar.” He looked at me with his head tilted. “It, of course, would have been easier if someone used a false name.”
I held up my hands and ducked my head. “I’m sorry! I didn’t think of one before coming here. I didn’t think I’d need to so soon after arriving.”
He crossed his arms. “We’re lucky Zo or that other soldier with him doesn’t know you. Of course if he uses your name around others, that might be another story.”
I held my hand out to Ryoko. “At least we have one for Raikidan, thanks to Ryoko.”
Ryoko held her head high. “Yes, we do.”
“I intended to give him an actual alias that sounded more human, but obviously that didn’t happen.”
“The fact Zo didn’t notice the change just shows how stupid he is, and easy to manipulate,” Rylan said.
I shrugged. “To be fair, Rai and Ray are quite similar. He could have thought he heard me wrong.”
“And if he didn’t?” Blaze asked.
“Then I have both names,” Raikidan said. Everyone looked at him. “Eira can call me Rai.”
Argus rubbed his chin. “That would work, actually. You are supposed to be the only person connected to her ‘past,’ so it’d make sense if she had a different name for you only she’d call you.”
I nodded. “That’s an excellent point. I’ll come up with a reason for that later. It’s not all that important now.”
Zane placed his hands on the workbench. “Now that we have that all settled, I think it’s time we hear about your explanation. Not that we’re unhappy you’re back.”
Blaze lifted a finger. “I don’t know, I’m pretty unhappy.”
I snorted. “Why, because I won’t sleep with you?”
He held up his hands. “It’s a valid reason.”
“No, it’s not,” Ryoko said. “That’s a childish reason to be an ass.”
“Bite me.”
“I’ll pass, thanks.”
He threw his thumb at Raikidan. “But let me guess, you wouldn’t pass if he said to.”
A grin spread across her lips. “Maybe.”
His eyes narrowed and I chuckled. Nothing ever changed with this group. Blaze always wanted to be the focus of a pretty woman’s attention, and with Ryoko giving Raikidan so much, it was obviously getting his blood boiling.
Zane held up his hand. “Okay, okay, enough. Blaze, Argus, go get the shutters closed so we can have our discussion without risking prying eyes.”
Argus and Blaze nodded, running off, while Ryoko and Rylan cleared off the workbench.
Zane pulled out a remote from under the workbench and handed it to me. “I’ll give you the honors.”
Chapter Twelve
I smiled and took the remote. It’d be nice to use “advanced” technology again.
It wasn’t long before metal shades slammed over the windows and the back door was locked up. Lights shut off as the two made it through the building back to us, leaving us in the dark.
I pressed a large green button on the remote. The bench transformed quickly into a table with a holographic map of the city that illuminated the room. I leaned on the table to take a closer look. Raikidan stood close to me, interested in the piece of technology.
I took command, finding it easy to slip back into the role. “Let’s begin. As we all know, I’m really here—after a very long time away—and not a spirit haunting you.” Rylan and Ryoko chuckled. “As I mentioned before, Raikidan here is a shapeshifter and is here to help as well. He’s from the West and has no experience with our modern technologies, but that shouldn’t be a problem as he’s proven to be a quick learner in the time I’ve known him.”
I looked to Raikidan. “I briefly introduced you to everyone, but now I can give a better rundown. You’ll need it as these will be the main teammates you associate with during your stay with us. There are some more who you’ll meet in time, but you can worry about that later. The rebellion is broken down into seven different teams for organization purposes. Our team is Team Three.”
I gestured to Zane. “Zane runs this shop as our main source of income. It’s mostly a car repair and restoration shop, but we do weapon work for the military on the side and use that information for our cause. Zane doesn’t participate in any of our skirmishes or assignments.”
I pointed to Blaze. “Blaze, our resident playboy. Nothing too special about him, just that he likes a good hand-to-hand combat and does well with our undercover missions.” Blaze’s expression dropped to an unamused one and I smirked before gesturing to Argus. “Argus is our weapons and technology specialist, and overall genius. You need to know anything on any weapon or advanced tech, he’s the guy to talk to.”
I waved my hand to encompass all three of them in an imaginary circle. “All three were designed before Zarda came into the picture, so unlike the rest of us, they have no significant special abilities aside from a strength increase on Zane’s and Blaze’s end, and an intelligence increase on Argus’ end.”
I pointed to the gorgeous woman standing next to me. “Ryoko here is a Brute class, so don’t let her pretty face fool you. She’s a living siege weapon. She’ll always be the first one of us in on any skirmish battle, and is always ready to do so. Her strength has been unmatched by any other experiment that I’ve seen.”
Raikidan looked at her, clearly impressed, and she bowed for dramatics.
“Her nu-human DNA was mixed with the wogrons of the South in hopes of trying out different advantages the new mix would offer.”
I motioned to Rylan. “And lastly, we have Rylan. He’s our sniper. Best shot you’ll find. He’s also ice touched, so he will use ice in battle or in other ways when
the need arises. His design was an attempt at shapeshifting. To do this, they combined his nu-human DNA with wolves.”
Raikidan nodded, taking this all in. “What about you? You said you were an assassin… or former assassin. Whichever you want to go by. Is that it about you, or are you the shot-caller?”
I shook my head. “Neither. Genesis is the team leader and calls the shots. You’ll meet her later. I’m the battle leader, which goes beyond my commander title in the rebellion’s eyes. My job is to strategize correctly for battle situations as well as non-battle oriented assignments. When I’m not doing that, I’m on my own assassin-based assignments, taking out targets that are a huge threat to us.”
“I took her place as battle leader in her absence,” Rylan said. “The Council wasn’t able to find a suitable replacement with the same rank as her, so I kept the position this whole time. Though, I’m happy to give it back.”
Raikidan leaned on the table. “This is more complex than I thought. Where will I fit into it all?”
I shrugged. “I’m not sure yet, but it shouldn’t be long before we figure it out.” I looked to Zane. “Would you be able to bring me up to speed on our current status?”
Zane nodded. “The layout of the city hasn’t changed much. It’s gotten bigger, though, and some of the walls have been moved to allow for the expansion. Zarda’s fortress is just as impenetrable as ever, so frontal assaults are still out of the question.
“The residence decree is still in place, but you probably guessed that. They’ve increased the patrols inside and outside the city walls and upped the penalty for leaving without the proper approved documentation, sometimes resorting to killing the offender on sight, no questions asked. I can’t say if your tunnel to the outside escapes their eye, but I’d be careful if you plan to use it. Those who have the courage to try and leave have been aided by the shamans, gypsies, or traveling merchants, but there haven’t been many as far as I’m aware.
“The number of tank-born soldiers has increased immensely. Intel from the inside claims there are as many as five coming out per day now, each fully grown and more savage than the last. None have been seen in the city as of yet, and I hope they won’t be anytime soon.”
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