Retaliation

by Charles Tillman

  The tone Kun used told Li that the meeting was done. He bowed low to the Master. “I will depart at first light.” He backed out of the room.

  Kun called to him before he reached the door, “If you find that the teams were discovered and killed or captured, use your best judgment on how to proceed. I will accept nothing less than your complete success. The Sacred Clan shall rise.”

  “The Clan rises,” Li Song solemnly intoned, completing the centuries-old ritual.

  Peng Kun prepared tea on a small stove in his office. When the tea had brewed, he sat on a worn cushion against the wall. He held the cup under his nose, savoring the complex scents of the various herbs and spices that comprised the blend. His thoughts wandered as he relaxed.

  The tales he’d heard about vigilante Forsaken running around policing the UnknownWorld might be more than rumors. The disappearance of the teams sent to Japan was alarming. Given the death of their last leader at the hands of that damned woman and her people, he feared that some of the rumors may be true. They’d all thought that with her leaving in that space vehicle and Michael presumed dead, the Clan could move in and none could stand against them.

  Li had seen the same reports, so if there was someone doing what they had been told, their time was running out. Li and his team had taken down several Forsaken who interfered with Clan business. This one would be no different.

  Kun smiled at that thought before he brought the cup to his mouth and sipped. The flavors exploded across his palate, causing him to groan appreciatively. Soon all the planning and training would pay off. Soon Peng Kun would have his own kingdom to run for the glory of the Clan.

  Chapter Seven

  Safe House, Yushu, China

  Miko had run hard through the mountains until the sky turned from black to dark gray as dawn broke. He had barely made it to his bolt-hole, an abandoned government research building located on the outskirts of town. It had been partially destroyed sometime in the past and was now surrounded by a new-growth forest that had reclaimed the land when the field-clearing equipment stopped working.

  The steel-and-concrete building had been a research lab where scientists studied and altered the crops that grew on the huge government-controlled farms that surrounded it. It was two stories, although the levels above the ground were damaged beyond use. What had made it attractive to Isamu was the nearly-intact level below ground. It was constructed like a bunker and had sustained little damage when the upper levels were destroyed.

  The other thing that had attracted him was the ready supply of humans who still lived in the town less than two kilometers away. It only took minutes to find victims and spirit them there.

  Isamu had prepared it as a place for him and Ogawa to use when they sought entertainment away from Heinz’s watchful eye. Isamu had been paranoid about his place after Kamiko Kana’s death and wanted a safe shelter in case Heinz and his wolves ever turned on them. Isamu hadn’t been the only one who feared betrayal. Miko had found it when he followed the two of them once when Heinz ordered it.

  He wove his way through the maze of broken concrete and steel beams on the first level until he came to an empty box freezer in an undamaged portion of the building. He pushed it down and back until he heard a faint click and it smoothly moved aside, revealing a metal door set into the wall.

  Miko grunted as he exerted himself to pull the door open. It moved slowly as his muscles strained against its immense weight. When it swung open, a scraping noise came from the darkness below. Miko squeezed through and went down the concrete stairs, making sure not to trip over the taut length of chain that ran down the center of the stairway into the darkness below.

  At the bottom, he pressed his shoulder against the chain’s anchor, a heavy concrete-and-steel block. The weight ensured no human could move the door if they found it. Miko bent his knees and pushed until it hit a metal bar driven deep into the floor and the chain pulled the door above closed. He grabbed a rope hanging from the ceiling and pulled on it. The mechanism attached to it returned the freezer to its original spot, effectively blocking the door from casual observation.

  It had taken him several minutes to locate it the night he’d followed Isamu. If Ogawa hadn’t been careless while removing their victim when they left, he wouldn’t have. The small smear of fresh blood coming from under the freezer had given the location away. It had taken him several more minutes of prodding and pushing to find the release. The door had been almost more than he could move back then. Now it was much easier, even in his weakened state.

  Miko followed his nose to a lantern hung on the far wall. A quick, bright flash lit the room momentarily as he struck a spark to the wick. Seconds later, a warm glow brightened the area to the point he could see. Nothing had been disturbed since he was last here.

  A hallway lined with metal doors spaced at even intervals stretched into the dark in front of him. He went to the closest one and pushed it open. A heavy iron bed frame with no mattress leaned against the far wall near a small table containing an assortment of medical and mechanical tools and devices. The floor around it was stained dark with blood. Two cots abutted the back wall with a table containing a partially-burned candle between them.

  The smell of old blood and Isamu’s and Ogawa’s scents made his stomach churn in revulsion. He’d never understood why the two of them had that effect on him, but they always had. He’d written it off as disgust at their depravity, but even dead, they still affected him.

  He placed the lampstand on the table between the cots and laid down. Seconds later, he was up again, ripping the soiled covers from both cots in revulsion and throwing them across the room.

  He lay there, slowly recovering as his traitorous stomach settled, and planned his next move while he waited for sunset. He needed to feed soon. Even with the upgrades from Heinz’s last serum injection, the two people he’d feasted on earlier had only served to heal the damage from the explosion that had caused his forced slumber. The energy he’d expended in his flight to safety had weakened him more. It would take several more humans to get back to his former strength levels. As he drifted off to sleep, he decided to remain in the area until he was strong again.

  Miko was in a dark corridor. Dim light seeped under closed doors that stretched as far as he could see in either direction. He ran from one to the next, pounding on each, begging for entry to escape the faceless thing that hunted him. He didn’t know what it was, only that it stalked him, and he couldn’t let it catch him. It screeched loudly, making him cringe. It almost sounded like language, but it was too feral for him to understand. He ran again, some unknown sense telling him the entity was right behind him, trying to snag him as he fled.

  Miko awoke with a start, his fangs out and his razor-sharp claws extended. He panted for breath, panic running through him as he searched the inky-black darkness for his foe. It took a few moments for his brain to catch up with his body and realize where he was. Another nightmare. Well, I guess I should call it a daymare since I can sense that the sun hasn’t set.

  He sat on the edge of the cot as he contemplated the quickly fading dream. It had been many years since he’d experienced one so terrifying that it woke him early. The last one had come when he’d traveled to Shanghai with Isamu several years back, when Heinz sent them to deal with a self-important People’s Minister who’d done something to offend him. It had been a dual lesson since Heinz felt that Isamu could teach Miko how to use the proper amount of pain and terror to achieve the objective.

  What Isamu had done to the minister covered both the pain and the terror requirements. Placing the man’s abused body at his desk in the Hall of the People during the night evoked sheer terror in his peers and colleagues. The Acheng site had suffered no further interference from the Chinese government after they received that message.

  As soon as the sun had set, Miko made his way into Yushu. His hunger drove him to waste no time finding a victim, a man making his way to his squat in an abandoned house. Miko was on him
before the hapless man knew anyone was around, his fangs ripping into his victim’s neck and releasing the lifeblood down his parched throat in hot, pulsing spurts.

  Miko greedily sucked it down, savoring the metallic taste as it poured across his tongue. Other than his mouth and throat, he was statue-still. One arm pinned the struggling man to his chest. His other hand had clamped firmly over his mouth to stifle any cries that might alert other potential victims. When the man’s struggles ceased, Miko shoved his corpse into an overgrown ditch beside the road and went in search of another.

  Chapter Eight

  The Palace, Tokyo, Japan

  Koda looked up from her computer as Yuko entered the office. “Has Akio said anything about when he will start my training?”

  Yuko pursed her lips in thought before answering, “No, Akio has been working with Abel the past week on something in China.”

  Koda pouted. “Asai said Horst mentioned something about that a few days ago. He told her Akio has either been gone in a Pod or closed up in the operations center since they got back from Europe.”

  “Yes, he told me there is something he has to take care of himself. I respect him enough to trust he will ask for help if he needs it. I find it best not to pry into other teammates' business,” Yuko gently admonished with a raised eyebrow.

  Koda blushed. “I’m not trying to pry, honest. I am just eager to get started training. Remember? I asked to do that almost the moment I first met Akio-sensei on Kume.”

  Yuko smiled at the young woman. “I remember, and I assure you Akio will train you. He is a man of his word above all else. He just needs to deal with whatever has his attention first.”

  Before Koda could respond, Asai burst into the room, dragging a befuddled Horst behind her. “Yuko! Just who I was looking for.”

  Yuko chuckled at Asai’s exuberance. “What can I do for you, Asai? Hello, Horst. It’s good to see you.”

  “I want to go to Kume with Horst,” Asai answered excitedly before Horst could respond to Yuko’s greeting.

  Yuko looked at the pair with a wicked smile and a gleam in her eye. “He doesn’t have to ask Yagi-san for your hand in marriage, does he?”

  Horst froze, his eyes moving from speaker to speaker like he wanted nothing more than to escape from a situation he had no doubt would end up being his fault.

  Koda burst out laughing when Asai’s face turned bright red as she sputtered, “What? NO! Yuko! What kind of girl do you think I am?”

  Koda noticed Horst’s distress, and her laughter redoubled until she was holding her sides, tears running down her face as she gasped, “Can I answer that?”

  Asai turned to her cousin, her face going from embarrassed to angry. “Koda Rii, how dare you!” she snapped. Her voice went cold. “You know I would never. I am with Seki, as you are well aware. Besides, he only has eyes for you.”

  Koda’s laughter cut off immediately when she realized Asai was truly angry with her. “I’m sorry, Asai, I was just joking. The look on your face when Yuko teased you was too good to pass up. Plus, poor Horst looking like he wanted to run away was the funniest thing.”

  “I was also making a joke,” Yuko apologized. “Obviously not a funny one. My apologies to you, Asai, and you as well, Horst.”

  Koda wiped her eyes and walked around the desk to wrap her cousin in a hug. “Forgive me?” she whispered.

  Asai scowled at her and then broke into a smile when she couldn’t keep her face straight any longer. “Of course I do.” She glanced at Horst. “But does he?”

  Koda released Asai and walked up to Horst, she wrapped her arms as far around his muscular body as she could and looked up at him through her eyelashes. “So, my mountain of man. Do you forgive me?”

  Horst chuckled, the sound deep in his chest next to Koda’s head sounded like thunder in the distance. “When you look at me like that, my tiny beauty, I will forgive you anything.”

  “Don’t fall for that, Horst,” Asai warned. “She’s been using that same trick on her father since she was six years old and he caught her trying to take his fishing boat out. I just knew he was going to beat her, and all he did was smile and take her with him for the next month.”

  “Hmph,” Koda grumbled. “I wish he had beaten me. I had to clean his whole catch for a solid month after that. He worked me from daylight to dark the entire time. I assure you, I never tried to take anything without permission after that.”

  Yuko cleared her throat. “Asai, getting the conversation back on track, I believe you said something about Horst going to Kume when you came in?”

  Asai nodded. “Oh, yes. Horst was telling me about his previous experience as an engineer and project overseer on several large construction ventures. He wanted to look at the site for the new port and see if he has anything to add to the project. Besides, I didn’t get to go and see my father and mother the last three times you went. I was too busy here with the opening and everything.”

  “Koda, are you comfortable running the show here for the rest of the day?” Yuko asked.

  “Sure,” Koda agreed. “Besides, Asai covered for me for a few days after my Yakuza adventure so I could go home. I owe her for that, and I know Horst is looking for some way to feel productive. I tried to get him to work here, but he said the work didn’t interest him, only the manager.” She blushed.

  Yuko smiled. “Then it’s decided. We will head over to the old temple grounds and catch our Pod there. It will only take us a few minutes to get to Kume. We can be there in a short time.”

  “Don’t worry about anything here,” Koda assured her. “I have my communicator on me, and Eve is upstairs working on that glitchy sim again. I swear, if Seki and his friends didn’t love it so much, I would take it out of the lineup.”

  “I’m not worried, Koda,” Yuko replied. “I know how hard you worked to master the training Eve gave you. I have no doubt that you can handle this.”

  Koda grinned when she heard the praise. She had worked hard to squeeze every drop of knowledge out of the training sims. She was thrilled that Yuko had noticed.

  Chapter Nine

  TQB Base, Tokyo, Japan

  “Akio, I have reviewed all the data from the drones, and there is no sign of him on any of the footage,” Abel advised. “He must have gone in a different direction from the way he went when we saw him.”

  Akio sat in the dim command center, where he had spent many hours since he had seen the video of the man he thought was Kenjii. He had focused solely on locating him, neglecting to check the data from the other groups he was monitoring. “This is not an effective use of our time. Send the other two drone carriers Eve has ready. I would like you to deploy them to cover an area one hundred and fifty kilometers around the Acheng site.”

  “Any specific parameters, or the ones currently in effect?”

  “Keep the parameters the same,” Akio instructed. “I want coverage in every town and village in the search zone. Also, get coverage on as many roads as you can. Use your judgment for those.”

  The map that showed the drones' current deployment zoomed out until it included the area requested. Dots appeared, marking all the towns and villages as well as main roads and crossroads. “That will give us a good amount of coverage, but there are still areas that need more. I have contacted Eve and secured the use of two more carriers. Those additional drones will allow any settlement bigger than five structures to have at least one unit assigned to it. She also has some of the larger drones ready, with the enhanced sensors and power they can perform random patrols through the larger towns to expand coverage there.”

  Akio nodded. “Thank you, Abel. I need to locate him as soon as possible.”

  The room was silent as Abel continued to update the map, showing the coverage that the additional carriers provided. When it was done, there were marks for over twelve hundred carrier drones plus one hundred of the new style. “Akio, I don’t want to intrude, but will you tell me why you are so concerned about one person?” Abel asked
when the task was finished. “I understand that he is Forsaken and a danger to humans, but this extensive effort is illogical.”

  Akio considered his answer before responding, “He was dear to me in the past. I’ve thought he was dead for over a half-century because of his connection to me. It might seem illogical to you, but I need to find him if for no other reason than to ask his forgiveness.”

  “Forgiveness? Did you do something to him?”

  Akio’s eyes unfocused as his mind went to a different time—a short but wonderful period when he was not Akio the vampire, but Akio the man. He shook his head, banishing thoughts best left in the past. “Yes, Abel, I loved him,” he answered quietly.

  “If he is out there, we will find him,” Abel assured him.

  “Thank you, now bring up the information on the other areas I’ve had you monitoring. Start with that group of Weres in Australia.”

  “Akio?” Yuko called over her implant.

  “Yes, Yuko?” he replied.

  “I’m taking a Pod to Kume with Asai and Horst,” she informed him. “Horst wants to look at the dock site there to see if he has anything to add to the project.”

  “He mentioned something about that to me when we went to Europe last week,” Akio recalled. “I apologize, I forgot about it when we got back.”

  Yuko thought for a moment before she replied. She had noticed that Akio had been distracted but hadn’t wanted to intrude. Abel had told her about the Forsaken sighting but hadn’t elaborated. “Is there something going on I need to know about?”

  He hesitated a moment. “No. I am trying to run down some leads in China while checking the intel on the groups I have Eve monitoring around the world.”