Chapter 25
"Wait, wait, wait!" I exclaimed while trying to suppress the panic that was attempting to inundate my brain. "What do you mean you're going to kill me?"
"You call me kunoichi as a nickname; but in truth, that is what I am. I am a kunoichi. I am also yakuza!"
"The Japanese criminal organization?" I asked in shock with my heart pounding.
"Yes."
"But even if that's true, what are you doing here? Why are you…? I don't understand."
"I am here on a mission of katakiuchi."
"A mission of revenge?" My thoughts were now in turmoil. "Please, Reina, free me. Let me go."
"No! You are too dangerous. You would jeopardize our mission."
"What mission?"
"I was eight years old," she replied with a distant look now coming into her eyes. "My father was an Oyabun—the head or godfather of the Kobayashi clan of the yakuza. One day a business negotiation with an overseas associate went bad. This resulted in a murder contract being put out on him. Unknowingly, my father was being stalked by an assassin. My father's bodyguards were all paid off. We were in our house that night celebrating my birthday when the killer and his men broke in. He shot and killed my father in front of us. He took my mother and forced her into prostitution. Because my older sister was a beautiful virgin, he sold her in the sex slave trade market. Only my older brother and I escaped because we were rescued by my father's most loyal and trusted friend—a shinobi master."
"Who did this to you and your family?"
"A man named Gunther Muller—Shannon's father. Every time I look at her I see the face of the man who murdered my father and destroyed my family."
I was stunned and speechless.
At length and with sympathy in my voice, I said, "I'm sorry for what happened to you and your family. If you free me though, I will help you rescue your mother and sister. I give you my word."
She looked at me with bitterness in her eyes and replied, "My mother died from the drugs they forced into her to try to break her will. My sister killed herself shortly after being sold. Can you rescue the dead and bring them back to life?" She wiped away a tear.
I stared at her—empathizing with the grief and pain on her face, unable to say anything. Finally, I discreetly replied, "I am sorry; Reina, but Shannon, AJ, and Stacy had nothing to do with what Gunther did. I'm sure you must understand that. Killing them won't bring back your family."
"They are not going to die."
"Then… what?"
"You must know, Lance-san, that the yakuza is primarily a business organization and operation. Stacy will be forced into prostitution like my mother was. Shannon and Amber-Joy will be sold on the sex slave market like my sister was. We have already been offered an initial price of two million dollars for Shannon from a middle eastern client based solely on her pictures."
"Two million?"
"She is an American, blue-eyed blonde virgin of extraordinary beauty. She will be the showcase of his harem, that is, if she is still a virgin."
I said nothing.
"Amber-Joy will also be sold. But of course, she will bring a lower price."
This can't be happening! I thought. "You'll never pull it off. Keith has security in his house. He has an alarm system," I challenged with more certainty than I actually felt.
"We have been preparing for this mission for many years. Nothing can stop my brother. He has trained in ninjutsu since childhood. Keith's house security will be as nothing to him and his men. If they oppose him, he will kill them all. The Muller's will be taken. Keith's house borders the ocean. That makes it even easier to get them out of the country."
"LET ME GO!" I screamed while straining and struggling against the cuffs and chains to no avail.
"I am sorry, Lance-san. I am sorry you have been caught in the middle of all of this. But I have my mission to fulfill."
She picked up the bottle of fluid and stared at it.
"What… is… it?" I stammered.
"Potassium cyanide."
She attempted to stick the hypodermic needle in through the cork of the bottle in order to draw out the liquid, but her hands were shaking so badly she almost pricked herself. Again, she tried, but it useless. She was too nervous. With a cry of despair she exclaimed, "I cannot do this. I cannot kill the boy I am in love with."
"Eh?" I exclaimed in surprise. "You're in love with me?"
She shook her head and touched the side of my face with her hand. "From the moment I saw you on the beach at Keith's house last Saturday night. All week long it has been a struggle for me to stay concentrated on the mission and not lose my focus thinking about you. When you said you were leaving, I was both sad and relieved. Sad that I knew I would never see you again, yet relieved you would not be here to get caught in the middle of all of this. But here you are my ronin," she remarked as she bent over to kiss me.
I turned my head aside. I had to free myself. The longer I was trapped here, the less chance I had to save the girls before they were taken.
"You have two choices. Free me or kill me. Do one or the other!" I commanded.
"I can do neither," she replied.
"If you free me now, there's time for me to save them. I give you my word that I will not hurt you, or your brother, or anyone else. I will not turn you over to the police. You'll be free to walk away. But if you don't—and I'm giving you fair warning—I have been taught skills you know nothing about. I've sworn to protect those girls. I will search for them. I will find them eventually, dead or alive. And if they've been violated, or if any harm has come to them at all, I will exact vengeance."
She stared at me. Then AJ's smartphone rang.
Reina reached into my back pocket and pulled it out. "It is Shannon," she remarked with contempt in her voice. "She calls for you." She took the butt of one of her swords and smashed the phone with it.
I felt helpless, angry, and completely frustrated. "FREE ME OR KILL ME!" I screamed.
A sad expression came into her eyes and again, she touched the side of my face.
I closed my eyes and relaxed. "Reina, listen to me," I said while calming down. "Take a look around this room. What do you see? Do you see all the damage? That damage is from a fight I had earlier today. It was a fight against a man who was trying to rape Shannon. Do you know who sent that man to rape her? Her father! Her own father! She's a victim of Gunther, just like you were. Your vendetta is not against her, or Amber-Joy, or Stacy. It's against Gunther."
"Our plan has always included killing him, too."
"Who's plan?"
"Ours."
"Who is ours?"
"The yakuza"
"Reina, look at me, look into my eyes. I can’t believe you are a cold-blooded killer and neither are you yakuza, either. I know about the yakuza. It's a male only organization. They don't allow woman members. You might have been associated with them all of your life, but I believe you're only a pawn being used by them. I know that for a long time you've carried anger and bitterness in your heart over what happened to your family. I now know why you treat Shannon the way you do. But if I had to guess, I'd say you have been told all your life what you've had to do; that you had to get revenge and that you had to train to be a kunoichi. You've had to do exactly as your shinobi master and your brother told you to do all these years. I'm also guessing that you've never been happy or felt fulfilled with that kind of life. Am I right?"
She said nothing, but there was a look of acknowledgment in her eyes.
"Listen to me, Reina. You've been ordered to kill me because you told them about me. They know about my abilities and like you just said, they consider me to be a threat to the success of the operation. Yet you can't kill me because you say you're in love with me. What's going to happen to you if and when they find out you did not follow through on your assignment?"
"I will be considered a failure in their eyes. I will have dishonored them…"
"And the punishment for that is death isn't it?
"
She slowly shook her head in agreement.
"Here's a chance for you to leave that life behind. If you release me, I will help you find refuge in this country. I will protect you from revenge. I will hunt down Gunther and bring him to justice. Your mission of katakiuchi will be fulfilled. You can start a new life here. You are an exceedingly beautiful and intelligent young woman. I know that in this country you could find happiness and freedom from your old way of life. I'm honestly offering to help you. What do you say?"
"I can start a new life here with you?"
"Yes."
"We can be lovers?"
"No, no! We can't be lovers. I'm already in love with Shannon. She's in love with me."
"But I am in love with you. I want you to love me, Lance-san. You think I am very beautiful and intelligent. I know that in time you could love me, if you were given the opportunity."
Her expression altered and I could see she was deep in thought.
"You follow the bushido code, the code of honor," she remarked. "If you give me your word of honor that you will agree to do three things, I will release you. First, you must protect me and keep my true identity a secret. Do not turn me over to the police. Carry out all that you just said you would do for me. Second, you must not kill nor permanently injure my brother. Third, I want you to love me as I love you. In order for that to happen, you will need to remove Shannon from your heart and thoughts. I cannot stop her from loving you, but I can stop you from loving her. I forbid you to love her. Never return her love for you, or ever again, express your love for her. In time, your feelings for her will vanish and your heart will then be free to love me."
If she had stuck me with the needle of poison it would have had the same effect as I was feeling now.
"Why would you ask this of me?" I asked in disbelief. "What kind of person are you? I can't do that. I'm in love with her! She's the girl of my dreams!"
"Your love for her will fade in time. Our love for each other will be given a chance to grow."
"No! It's not going to happen. I love her too much to agree to those terms."
"Your feelings for her, or her life and the lives of her sister and mother!" she angrily challenged. "It is your choice. You decide. But time is running out!"
"Please. I'm begging you, Reina. Don't ask me to make that choice!"
Having made up her mind however, she obstinately refused to change it. She sat there while staring at me and not saying a word.
Not since Scott's disappearance had I felt this much sorrow and heartache, possibly even more. I stared up at the ceiling overwhelmed by a feeling of helplessness and self-pity. Finally, reluctantly, and with great regret, I said, "I… I give you my word of honor."
As she freed me, I could feel a growing hatred in my heart toward her.
"Take these," she said while handing me the two wakizashi swords.
"Your tanto, too. The short blade of this dagger might be of use. Your brother; what's his name and how old is he?"
"His name is Daitaro and he is 19 years old. Lance-san, my brother is shinobi. He will not fight you honorably. He will try to kill you if you oppose him."
"I know."
"His blades—do not let them cut you."
"Poisoned?"
"Yes, with Deathstalker scorpion venom."
"How many men does he have with him?"
"I do not know. I was not allowed to know everything about this mission, only my part in it. Lance-san, my life is now in your hands. I have dishonored my family and I have betrayed the yakuza by my actions. If you fail, Daitaro will seek me out to claim vengeance."
"Yet, you forbid me to kill him."
"He is my brother."
"Gunther's men will be here shortly. Leave now while there's still time," I replied while flying out of the room.
"Good luck, my ronin," she remarked in Japanese.
Now speeding towards the Mitterhauser estate in Shannon's car, I was on the lookout for any police. This time I wanted them to find me. But the old saying that, "there's never a cop around when you need one," was now proving itself to be true. Inspector Carter had promised an increased police presence. Where could they be? I wondered. I would have called them immediately after Reina freed me had she not disabled the phone lines in the house.
I looked at my watch as I approached Keith's house. It was nearing midnight. I parked a block away, equipped myself with the weapons Reina had given me, and then silently made my way toward the gate. It was open. I snuck up to the guard shack and peered inside, but I saw no one. I checked the phone and the other electronic equipment. There was no power. Reina said they planned this mission a long time ago. Their team probably included a skilled electronic technician. I was sure the alarm system had already been deactivated. My first goal now was to search for a lookout.
A quick and silent reconnoiter around the estate toward the front of the house revealed a man standing behind one of the pillars near the front door. When I saw him my spirits soared! If he was there, it probably meant everyone else was still around as well. But why was he there? This was a simple snatch and run operation that was taking way too long in my opinion. Something must be delaying them. Good for me, bad for them, I thought. I unsheathed the tanto; holding it in my hands, feeling its weight, its balance. It was superbly crafted. I stopped to think; to consider my actions.
They will kill you if you try to stop them, I thought. There's no time to try and find a phone to call the police. But maybe I can just knock this guy out and tie him up. I took a deep breath and relaxed. I searched the ground for a small pebble and I found one. After sneaking up to close range, I flicked the stone toward the pillar adjacent to the one he was standing against. Then I quickly moved toward him. Instead of looking in the direction of the pinging noise however, he quickly turned to face me! As he began to speak into a headset and draw a gun out of its holster, I threw the tanto with full force at his chest—a distance of about 20 feet. He screamed out as he died and I chided myself for my carelessness.
After rushing over to him, I quickly removed his micro radio headset. Someone who had been monitoring his conversation was now excitedly asking in Japanese what was wrong! I put on the headset and began to cough and hack while screeching back in Japanese that I had just seen a half-naked female jogger pass by! He laughed, and then told me not to get so choked up and excited. I responded back while still coughing and hacking, that he had three pretty American girls for eye candy and to not begrudge me my thrill on this boring guard duty. He answered back that they didn't have them yet, but that Akako had almost finished cutting through the bolts on the vault doors and that they would soon have their prizes. My spirits soared even higher!
I retrieved the blade out of the dead man's body along with the silenced CZ-75 pistol which he had dropped. After dragging his body off the portico, I hid it in the bushes. I then carefully opened the front door while peering inside. Where could the location of the vault be and what was I going to do next? I asked myself. Where were Keith and everyone else; perhaps in the vault too? I was going to have to do more reconnaissance while searching for the smell and sound of an acetylene torch.
All at once, I noticed a body on the floor across the room! I crept over to it. There was enough light coming in through the cathedral ceiling windows for a visual examination. It was a man. In fact, it was the same security guard who I had seen the first time I had sneaked into Keith's house a week ago. He was dead with a shuriken throwing star imbedded in his forehead! I searched him and found a Glock 9 mm handgun in his shoulder holster. This man had been killed without even drawing his weapon! I retrieved his gun and an extra clip of ammo. I made my way up the stairs toward Keith's bedroom. As I neared it, I could hear a faint moaning. From the light coming in through Keith's bedroom windows, I detected the outline of two bodies on the floor. I crept over to where they lay. One of them was Keith! He was alive, but softly groaning.
"Keith!" I whispered, "It's me, Lance."
&nb
sp; "La… Lance?" he asked with his voice trembling.
"What happened here? Where are the girls?"
"He… he made me tell him… where they were. He… threatened to cut off Mike's head if I didn't tell him. So I did, Lance, I told… him, and he… he… cut off Mike's head anyways!" He began to quietly sob. "Mike… was like a brother to me."
I looked over at the other body, presumably of Mike, and it had indeed been decapitated.
"I'm so sorry, Keith. Can you stand up? Can you follow me?"
"I… can't… move. He slashed me… and… I can't move… and I'm in agony… agony," he gasped.
I examined him and found a viscous gash on his right leg.
"Do you have a smartphone?"
"It's… in my back pocket, but… it doesn't work"
I pulled it out and I tried making a call, but the signal was not registering. They must be using a jamming device to block it, I thought. I put the phone in my pocket.
"Am I… am I going to die… like Mike?" he gasped.
"I'm not sure, Keith. I'm going to lightly wrap your leg. You've been poisoned. You have to hang in there. I took his hand and squeezed it. If I can get to a working phone or get out of range of the jammer, I'll call an ambulance for you. You have to tell me where the girls are."
"They're… in the vault in the… basement," he replied as I wrapped a strip of cloth around his leg. He groaned loudly.
"Easy does it, buddy. Hang in there as best you can."
"I don't… want to die…" he moaned as he slipped into a semi-conscious state.
Now I was furious! I wanted to severely punish Daitaro, but I remembered my vow to Reina. I quietly made my way downstairs. While carefully exploring the house, I caught the faint odor of burning metal. The door leading to the basement was shut, so I did my best to noiselessly open it. Just as I did, there was a loud cheer that startled me so badly I almost fired off both guns! I dropped to a prone position and started crawling on my stomach while following the sounds of what appeared to be a celebration. There was some light down here, probably supplied by a portable unit. While peering around the corner, I saw four men congratulating a fifth who was wearing welding goggles and holding an acetylene torch. They were all whooping and high fiving each other. Apparently Akako had done it. He had cut through the hinges and bolts and all that was left was to pry the door off. I decided to join in the party, too. After standing up, making myself visible, and then brandishing my guns, I remarked in Japanese, "You guys are outstanding professionals! If I ever need welding or repair work done, remind me to look you all up. Now stand back away from the vault door before I blow all your brains out!"
Dawn of the Knight: The Lance Rock Chronicles Volume 1. Page 42