Apoc Series (Vol. 2): Silence of the Apoc [Tales From The Zombie Apocalypse]

by Wilsey, Martin (Editor)

  This time Okabe decided not to rise and apologize. He didn’t want to be admonished again.

  “With all due respect. I feel Tohno’s bragging and your bruised ego are clouding your judgment. An attack on his headquarters is too risky,” Senior Advisor Otsumi stated, again showing his objection to his boss’s need to lead an attack against rival Gaku Tohno.

  However, Chief Shigeru Yamada did not agree with Otsumi’s advice, especially knowing the urgency of the situation.

  “No. I agree with the boss. We cannot wait. The government secretly sends those they believe to be infected to Hachijojima. If the virus has reached Japan, how long will it be before it reaches us? The opportunity to destroy Tohno Clan and punish those who betrayed the family is tonight. Brother Hazaki has informed me that all Tohno heads have been called to Nakayasu this evening for a meeting. Hazaki has gone to great risk getting us this information. We must act upon it.”

  Isamu was glad he had the support of his senior executive and that of his first lieutenant. As clan leader he had the right to reject his counsel’s advice, but it was important that all his senior staff be given the opportunity to voice any concerns before rendering a decision. Isamu looked down the table to Kenichiro Saito, who had been silent, the entire meeting.

  “Saito,” Isamu addressed his assistant chief.

  “Hai,” Saito quickly responded.

  “You have been silent since you arrived. Do you not have an opinion on this matter?”

  Kenichiro Saito stood to address the group. He voice reflected disgust and contempt as he spoke about those who had defected. “It is no secret how I feel about those brothers, who I recruited and who snuck away like chinpira under cover of darkness to join former Assistant Chief Tohno. Their treachery and disloyalty are unforgiveable and dishonor us all.”

  The assistant chief felt the most displeasure and betrayal over one former member in particular, and that was Advisor Ryota Sakurai. Sakurai had been Saito’s mentor and the person who had instilled in him the proper meaning of honor and loyalty, only to betray everything that he stood for by deserting the clan.

  However, Saito was not the only one with a personal vendetta against a former clan member. Akira Kimura also had an issue with one of his former clan subordinates, and that was with Second Lieutenant Murakami. Kimura had recommended Murakami for second lieutenant when he was promoted to first lieutenant. Kimura was eager to make him pay for the dishonor. Pleased with what Saito had imparted, Isamu announced, “Then there is no reason why we should not go tonight.”

  ***

  At first the news of a highly infectious disease that had begun to spread around the globe, killing the infected and then causing them to rise from the dead and devour the living, seemed preposterous. Zombies only existed in the movies and in stories. However, when the World Health Organization announced that a coronavirus identified by a number of laboratories was the causative agent, the Japanese government realized it was no piece of fiction. No world health agency could confirm where the first case occurred, only that it spread faster than the bubonic plague had through Europe during the early modern period. It was being called acute reanimation syndrome (ARS).

  There had been a rumor that the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick, MD, had found a counteragent shortly after the U.S. administration fell, and that Japan’s government had been contacted by the remaining military forces, offering the antiretroviral in exchange for a cargo ship full of rice. The deal could not be confirmed, and was continuously refuted by top government officials as being unfounded and preposterous. Even though the rice exchange sounded like an odd deal and most likely false, Isamu Kudo decided to see if the rumors—at least in regard to the counteragent—had any validity.

  Using his connections in the Japanese Self Defense Force (JSDF), he confirmed that a counteragent had supposedly been discovered. He also learned that Japan had acquired a large batch of the serum through a secret trade for 326 long tons of rice with the U.S. military at Raven Rock. However, because of Japan’s isolation and lack of internal resources, the alleged serum could not be replicated in large amounts and had only been dispensed to key government officials and mid- to high-level JSDF personnel. However, the most disturbing bit of news Isamu uncovered was that Japan may not be infection free, and that Hachijojima Island, located in the Philippine Sea, was being used as an isolation ward for those who were suspected of being ill with the virus, though it could not be confirmed if anyone sequestered to the island had turned into a zombie.

  Before the fracture, Kudo Clan was one of the largest yakuza organizations in the Kanto Region and had great influence and resources. When Isamu’s clan could not buy favor with key members of the local government or the JSDF, they resorted to blackmail, extortion and violence when necessary. It was smart business to have assets within certain government agencies and the military, and this time it paid off with great reward. It had been a high ranking government official named Masahito Tada that they extorted to acquire the antiretroviral. However, Tada could not confirm the antiretroviral worked. According to what Tada knew, no top echelon government administrator had contracted ARS. That bit of information, however, didn’t matter to Isamu. He believed if the government was secretly hording the serum, then the counteragent must be effective.

  The clan’s former assistant chief had stolen what was to be the clan’s salvation if the plague made it to the mainland. It was imperative that it be recovered and those responsible for stealing it severely punished.

  ***

  While Isamu discussed his plans for retribution from his headquarters located inside Nin Jin House, across the river his nemesis Gaku Tohno was in a meeting with his own top executives in the penthouse of the Nakayasu Hotel, discussing profits and plans at striking Kudo Clan territory.

  The large penthouse suite rivaled that of the fourth floor of Nin Jin House, both in size and décor. The suite had three large bedrooms, one transformed into a conference room, two full baths, and a large kitchen/dining room, along with a spacious central living area.

  Gathered around the long conference table were Tohno’s advisors and executives, several having been recruited from his former clan. Closest to Gaku and opposite one another were Advisor Kakusaburo Kitagawa and Senior Advisor Ryota Sakurai, both looking very serious. Further down, and also opposite one another, were Headquarters Chief Eiichi Yazawa and Assistant Chief Haruki Murakami. Finally there was First Lieutenant Masaharu Fukuda who sat across from Accountant Yasuo Hazaki, who was nearly done giving his financial report.

  “It is with great pleasure that I report that our family has earned an 11.3 percent profit for the first quarter, which under these trying times is much greater than expected.”

  The serious looks on Kitagawa and Sakurai’s faces became pleased expressions, conservatively smiling at the good news.

  “I project that profits,” Hazaki continued, “will be tripled next quarter as word spreads of the unique entertainment experience Nakayasu offers its clientele, not only in our prostitution service but also in the food and alcohol businesses. We owe our prosperity to the boss. His vision and business savvy is the reason behind this success.”

  All the members gave their clan leader head bows in recognition of his great leadership.

  “That concludes my report,” Hizaki said, taking his seat.

  “Thank you, Hazaki for that report,” Chief Yazawa told him, “but before we adjourn, the boss has an announcement.”

  “As you know,” Gaku reminded them, “the intention behind auctioning off one bottle of the ARS serum was to use the money to fund the resources needed for our own replicative laboratory. However, Kudo Clan’s completion of their laboratory has left us with an opportunity to not only ensure the survival of our members, but also turn a quicker profit. Isamu’s weakened state has left him with fewer members, which he spreads thinly throughout his territory. Tomorrow night we shall seize his facility and produce the countera
gent ourselves. Brother Murakami will explain the plan.”

  ***

  It was nearly midnight when Isamu went to his eight-year-old daughter Nozomi’s bedroom to bid her a good night and to let her know he was going out on family business. Nozomi was fully aware of what family business meant and who her father was. She was proud of her father, for while other normal families suffered because of the reduced resources caused by Japan’s isolation from the rest of the world, her yakuza family fared much better in attaining items that were controlled by the government, which was just about everything Japan produced.

  Isamu pulled the sheets up, tucking Nozomi in, and then handed his daughter her most prized possession—a Walt Disney Thumper plush toy. She squeezed it tightly as two AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopters passed outside, high overhead.

  “Will you see mommy tonight?” she asked.

  Isamu tried to be vague. “Perhaps,” he told her, though he knew he would most likely see her.

  “Will you tell her I miss her?”

  “That woman is dead to us. Let that go,” he told her, tempering his true feelings for his daughter’s sake. “Brother Yamada will check on you later. Be good. You don’t want the Namahage to come for you.” Isamu attempted a scary face and clenched his hands like they were claws. “Namakemono wa ine ga. Nakuko wa ine ga.”

  They were words from a centuries-old story from Isamu’s hometown in Akita Prefecture in northern Honshu that he often told her, that the ogres in the mountains—the Namahage—would come down and steal away misbehaving and lazy children and eat them. “No lazy people. No crying children.”

  Nozomi laughed and told him, “Daddy you’re funny. It’s only a story.”

  The two hugged and Isamu tucked his daughter back under the covers.

  Ever since Isamu’s wife left them, he kept his daughter at the clan’s headquarters. Though Nin Jin House was not the ideal place to raise a child, he knew that every clan member would lay down his life if need be to protect her. Tonight he would entrust his daughter not only to his headquarters chief, but also someone who had never protected her before, and that was Yuji Osawa, who reported, as instructed, to Boss Kudo outside his daughter’s bedroom.

  “Osawa. Saito has informed me that you are his most trusted bodyguard.”

  Bowing, Osawa replied, “Assistant Chief Saito honors me.”

  “Therefore, I am leaving you in charge of headquarters security and the most important person in my life.”

  Osawa bowed again and swore, “I will not fail you.”

  “I known you won’t. Pick eight of your most competent brothers. That is all I can spare.”

  II. Kudo no Gyakushu

  Saito, Kimura, and nine other men exited the building and went to their motorcycles, but none of them moved to straddle or start them. At precisely midnight, Isamu exited Nin Jin House with Enforcer Toshiyuki Matsumoto following. Isamu mounted his Triumph T100 Steve McQueen Edition motorcycle.

  With a very concerned look, Matsumoto questioned, as he bowed slightly, “Shitsureisimasu. Isn’t the car safer?”

  Isamu looked at him for a moment as he zipped up his One Star Perfecto leather jacket, and replied in a joking but sarcastic manner, “Oh, yes, you’re right. Until you reminded me just now, I was going to ride against traffic in the wrong lane at high speeds. But now I have reconsidered. I won’t ride in the wrong lane.”

  “Oyurushikudasai,” he apologetically responded, bowing low. “I meant—”

  “Matsumoto. I have seen you fearless in the face of the enemy, but you tremble like a woman every time we ride. Go with Brother Saito; he has a helmet you can wear. Saito!”

  “Hai!” Saito responded.

  “Brother Matsumoto will ride with you tonight. For Brother Matsumoto’s sake, keep it under sixty and don’t ride against traffic.”

  “Hai!” Saito affirmed.

  The clan leader grinned and told his enforcer, “And Matsumoto. Don’t be afraid to hold onto Brother Saito. I wouldn’t want you to fall off.”

  Saito handed Matsumoto his extra helmet, telling him, “Do not worry so, Matsumoto-san. It takes time to be an expert rider.”

  Matsumoto scoffed, and replied, “Then perhaps I should drive.”

  Isamu started his motorcycle, followed by the rest of the clan. Kimura signaled to the men to move out, the boss taking the lead.

  ***

  Sergeant Shogo Hamada stood next to his patrol car at the center of the bridge. He and his three patrolmen were in charge of securing the main Asakawa River crossing of the northern end of the city. This had been the seventeen-year veteran Hamada’s decision; there were not enough police to secure both ends of the bridge. The Hachioji Police Department, like all of Japan’s police forces, was stretched thin on personnel ever since the government invoked martial law and placed a mandatory nighttime curfew on the country. The JSDF had taken charge of securing all transit hubs, ports, airports, and patrolling the coastlines, but it was up to local law enforcement to enforce the curfew ordinance in their own cities

  From Nin Jin House, the clan rode their motorcycles north to the Akatsuki-bashi crossing of the Asakawa River and right into a waiting Sergeant Hamada. Isamu and his crew slowed down as Sergeant Hamada waved his LED light baton in warning.

  As a gesture of respect, Shogo stepped around the barricades to meet the clan leader. But before he could bow, Assistant Chief Kenichiro Saito was dismounted and challenging him with several armed men, who had spread out behind him as support.

  “Bakayarou!” Saito insulted the sergeant, and then began to berate him. “This is Isamu Kudo, head of the Kudo Clan. How dare—”

  Sergeant Hamada tried not to express any feeling of intimidation, even though he was greatly outmanned. He also ignored Saito’s ranting and looked directly at the boss. “I know who you are, Boss Kudo,” he interrupted, addressing the clan leader, trying to take control of the situation. “But you will need to return to Nin Jin House, or it will be my duty to arrest all of you for violating national curfew.”

  “Impudent bastard,” Saito stated in an irate tone, as he angrily pointed an index finger at the police sergeant. “How dare you challenge Boss Kudo? You are nobody,” he stated, sweeping the threatening finger at all the patrolman. “Move now or—”

  Not dissuaded, Hamada moved past the man and closer to his boss. “I respectfully request you turn back now, and I will forget that you are violating curfew,” Hamada said to Isamu, ignoring Assistant Chief Saito’s threatening gesture. “If you refuse, then—”

  “What!” Enforcer Toshiyuki Matsumoto interrupted, rising from Saito’s motorcycle to challenge the officer.

  The boss gestured for Matsumoto to back down and got off of from his motorcycle to personally address Sergeant Hamada’s edict.

  Hamada’s men drew closer to their commander in support, though they had no weapons to defend themselves if the confrontation turned violent. First Lieutenant Akira Kimura and Assistant Chief Saito drew their pistols as a warning to Hamada and his men, but the police sergeant stood his ground as Isamu approached him.

  “Are you going to arrest me?” Isamu calmly asked, as he grabbed the sergeant by the front of his shirt.

  Sergeant Hamada had had prior confrontations with yakuza members before, none of which had ever been violent in nature, but when the clan leader grabbed him, he took it as a sign of aggression and immediately attempted to raise his light baton for defense. Before he could get it chest high, Boss Kudo slapped him hard alongside the face. It was something Isamu quickly regretted.

  “Idiot,” Isamu told him as he stopped the faltering sergeant from collapsing, and then helped him stand up, straightened the man’s disheveled uniform, and then calmly stated, “I respect your integrity, but I have business at the Nakayasu.”

  It was rare that any true yakuza would harm any police officer. The relationship between the two organizations was one of mutual respect. The higher rank on either side garnered you more respect from the ot
her’s side. It was an ideology that had been a long-standing tradition throughout modern Japanese history.

  Boss Kudo stepped back, and then gave Hamada a slight bow, letting the officer know that he was sorry for the disrespect he had shown him.

  However, Isamu’s anger had not been assuaged, in spite of the apology. As he turned from Hamada, he looked at the sergeant’s three dumbfounded men and insulted them. “Useless. I beat up your boss and you do nothing. Not one honorable man amongst you—only Hamada. You should be ashamed.”

  Isamu picked up one of the nearby lightweight plastic A-Frame traffic barricades and threw it at them. Hamada’s men scrambled out of the way.

  “Bakadomoga,” he insulted them again, and then signaled for his men to move out.

  Sergeant Hamada quickly waved his light baton at his men, signaling for them to clear the way. He let Isamu and his subordinates pass without further challenge.

  ***

  At the same time Kudo Clan was being challenged by Hachioji Police Sergeant Hamada, the manager of the Ryotei Nakayasu, the restaurant inside the Nakayasu Hotel, was confronting the pale and perspiring Jiro Sato on why he was sitting on a crate in a corner of the kitchen near the service elevator, instead of taking a food order to a very important client.

  “Sato, why are you sitting there?” the manager demanded to know. “You know Mr. Tada is to get his sushi platter at 12:30. Now get going!”

  Sato looked up at the man with indifference and told him, “Get someone else to do it. That crazy old man attacked me earlier. He bit me!”

  The manager balked at the accusation. “That’s ridiculous. Mr. Tada is one of our best customers. Now go deliver his food.”

  “Ridiculous?” Sato exclaimed, rebuking his boss’s implication that he was lying. Sato pulled back his shirt sleeve and revealed his bandaged arm. “Does this look like I am being ridiculous?” he asked, as he stripped back the dressing to reveal a deep bite wound that was bruised and festering. “I haven’t felt good ever since.”