“Grace,” she said. “Daniel told me to come here, gave me his key.”
“That sly dog,” Tanaka replied with a smile. “You okay here?”
“Yeah. This place is much better than my crappy apartment.”
“Good. Daniel might be back soon, but then again, he might not. He went to talk with Nancy’s roommate. Kind of surprised he didn’t ask you to come along.”
She shrugged. “I don’t think we’re that close.”
“Then why are you here?” He asked grabbing his cloths and walking toward to the bathroom.
“I really don’t know. I think he was just trying to be nice.”
Tanaka changed, trying to imagine his brother with a woman. “You know, he’s never really had a girlfriend.”
“Really? He’s kind of nice. Attractive too. Oh God. He does like girls, right?”
Tanaka placed his blade on the sink then took his shirt off. “Far as I know. I mean, he always seems interested in girls, just never had a girlfriend. I’ve had a few.”
“Well, you’re kind of cute too. Why are you telling me this?”
“I’ve just never known him to give a woman he’s just met his keys.” Tanaka walked out of the bathroom wearing his jeans and a shirt.
“He’s only known me for a few hours.”
“You know about his enhanced sense, right?”
“I know he has a danger sense.”
“Well, it’s more than that. His senses are so overpowering sometimes that he has to turn them off, which really means he’s learned how to ignore them, but they’re always there. I think there might be something about you that his senses are picking up, maybe on a subconscious level. All I know is, he’s never given his key to someone he’s only known a few hours.” Tanaka took a deep breath and said, “Make yourself at home. I have to go.”
He teleported away and appeared outside the strip club again. The guard looked at him, “You going to go in this time?”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Tanaka said handing the guard a twenty. He walked back into the club and looked around.
He spotted an empty table, walked over to it, and sat down. The music was loud, the lights were dim, and the crowd wasn’t nearly as thick as earlier in the evening. On the stage two woman danced, one topless, the other in what could barely be called a bikini. She was currently upside down, holding onto a pole with her muscular legs.
When the waitress came over, Tanaka ordered a beer. After she walked away he scanned the room, looking for door or stairs. He saw a door labeled ‘Employees Only’. He’d check that one out later.
The beer arrived after a few minutes and Tanaka took a sip. It tasted good. It had been a while since he’s had a beer. His phone buzzed and he looked at the text from his brother. ‘How’s it going?’
He took another sip of his beer, noticed both strippers were now topless on the stage, and replied, ‘I hate working this hard on vacation.’ He smiled at his own joke and sent the text. He sat there for a few more minutes, enjoying the view and finishing his beer before standing and walking to the door he’d spotted earlier.
He stood by the door as casually as he could, looking around to make sure no one saw him. The crowd was too busy watching the ladies dancing, the ladies were too busy trying to squeeze money out of the guys. He put his hand on the door handle and turned. The door wasn’t locked so he quickly opened it then stepped in.
A flight of stairs lead up into a darkened hallway. Tanaka wished he had Daniel’s heightened senses so he could know what might be up there. He slowly walked up the steps, listening for anything that might cause him to teleport out of there. He wanted to fight—he always wanted to fight—but this seemed more like a flee and not fight situation.
Reaching the top of the stairs he spotted a door down an empty hallway. He walked to the door and found it locked. He bent down and looked at the knob. Daniel would find a way to pick the lock. Tanaka was never really good at that skill so he held the knob and turned. His Evolutionite strength made him slightly stronger than a human, but it was enough to snap the door knob, breaking the lock. The door swung open and he walked into the darkened room.
A couch, one Tanaka did not want to sit on knowing what probably went on there, lined one wall. A cheap looking desk with an old computer on its top sat across from the couch. An old wooden chair sat between the two. Tanaka walked up to the computer, sat in a musty, leather cracked, brown chair, and booted the PC up.
The room looked as if it hadn’t been visited in a while. Dust covered everything forcing him to stifle a sneeze. He noticed a few framed pictures on the wall but wasn’t able to see them too well in the dark.
The Windows Vista log in screen appeared. Tanaka shook his head, wondering when the guy planed on updating his operating system. He logged in with the password the dancer gave him, and after several more minutes waiting for the screen to come up, he was in business.
Now what? He opened file explorer. Daniel should be doing this, Tanaka thought as he mindlessly clicked folders hoping to stumble onto something.
He found a folder marked ‘audition pictures.’ He raised one eyebrow, almost afraid to see what that could mean. He opened the folder and found pictures, oddly tasteful, of attractive woman. Most seemed to be standing in front of a blue screen, a few a gray one. Tanaka looked around and found an empty corner and decided that was where the photos were taken.
He filed through them all, admiring how many beautiful women were in Vegas when he came to a photo of a male. His looked at the picture carefully, unsure if what he was seeing was what he thought he was seeing.
He jumped up from the desk and ran to one of the photos on the wall to confirm it was the same guy. “Oh my god,” Tanaka said with a hint of humor. “Oh, Daniel’s going to love this.” He pulled out his phone and dialed Daniel’s number.
Daniel looked at the text Tanaka sent him, ‘I hate working this hard on vacation,’ and smiled. “I bet you’re working hard,” he said to himself then regarded the door in front of him. He had pressed the buzzer for the apartment building a few minutes ago and was now simply waiting for a response. The building itself was in a seven-story tall, nondescript, tan building. The vestibule he stood in had a homeless guy sleeping in one corner. He smelled bad, really bad, but that smell only added to the stench of stale cigarette smoke, which seemed to bleed out of the walls.
Nancy said she was happy and making a good living in Vegas. If this was the kind of place she lived in, he might think she was lying.
Finally, after a few more moments, a sleepy sounding woman answered, “Who the hell is this?”
“Hello, my name is Daniel. Are you Nancy’s roommate Kate Scallin?”
“Yeah. She’s not here. Try the strip club.”
“No, I need to talk to you. Nancy’s in the hospital and I have a few questions.”
There was a long pause, then the door to the inside of the apartment buzzed. Daniel opened the door and walked up four flights of steps. He found the apartment door and knocked.
A frazzled blond woman answered. The skin under her eyes were red, her lips were chapped and pale. She wore a pink tattered robe which barely stayed closed. She looked him up and down. “You just come from the strip asking for money? Getting pictures taken and stuff?”
“No,” Daniel replied dryly. “This is my uniform. I’m Shadow Ninja. I’m a Protector.”
She scoffed and stepped aside. “Well, come on in, Protector Shadow Ninja.”
Daniel walked passed her surprised at how clean the room was. He noted the smell of lavender and spotted a scented candle burning on top of a television cabinet. The living room had a nice couch and love seat next to each other. A hallway to his right lead to three doors, two bedrooms and a bathroom, he assumed.
“So, what’s up?” Kate asked, folding her arms.
“I understand Nancy went missing for a few months. Do you know why?”
“Hell if I know,” she replied with a dismissive tone. “Thought she was
dead, got worried I’d have to pay the rent all by myself, then she returned with the two months’ rent she missed and that month’s rent, too.”
“Did she tell you where she was?”
“Nah.”
“Did she seem happy, sad, anything?”
Kate thought for a moment. “I’d say motivated. Yeah, that’s it. She was motivated. Worked double shifts, bragged about how she was getting in with the boss.”
“Do you work with her?”
She laughed at the comment. “No, do I look like a ho?”
“Um,” Daniel said.
“I work as a card dealer, okay. Nancy and me, we’re just roommates. As long as she pays her rent on time and doesn’t bother me, we’re good. Kind of pissed she’s thinking of moving out. Do you know hard it is to find a good roommate in this town?”
“Moving out?” Daniel asked.
“Why else would she be getting so close to the boss and working so many hours? She’s saving up to leave.”
Daniel nodded in agreement. “Makes sense. She was never one to stay in one place for long.”
Kate tapped her foot impatiently. “You need anything else?”
“Can I look around?”
“Sure,” she pointed down the hallway, “Her bedrooms to the left.”
Daniel walked away and toward the bedroom. He turned the light on and looked around. The walls were covered with photos and posters. A neatly made bed with pink sheets sat in one corner next to a wooden dresser. A small desk sat in another corner with a laptop sitting on top of it, its lid closed. Daniel opened the laptop and turned it on.
While waiting he looked at the pictures on the wall. Most were of Nancy with other girls, laughing at a beach, drinking at a table in a bar, or hiking on trails. She lived an active life out here and seemed to enjoy hanging out with her friends. Seeing all the beautiful woman with her in the photos made Daniel regret ignoring her Facebook friend request.
The laptop finally finished booting and presented Daniel with a log in screen. He frowned. Password protected. Looking at the keyboard he activated his powers. The world around him grew quiet as he focused all his attention to his sight. He took deep, relaxing breaths, pushing his talents to his eyes. The keyboard’s letters became brighter and more defined. He detected the tiny differences between the keys, imperfections created while someone typed. The gradual wearing down of the letters from fingers hitting them. Some keys were brighter than others, residue from leftover oils on a person’s hand. Six keys stood out as brighter, their paint worn just a tiny bit more than others. He wrote the letters down then turned his powers off.
The sound of the world came rushing back to him as he did so. His enhanced sight was gone and the world returned to its normal dull, muted colors.
He looked at the letters, A,D,E,G,R, and 1. Didn’t take him more than a second to realize her password was Dagger1. “Still carrying that flame,” he thought and typed the password in.
He logged in and started looking around. He found a mail icon on the desktop and opened it, then started reading her e-mails. He saw the few she sent Tanaka about the details of coming out. Saw she had been e-mailed a few times by Sam Bulik, her boss and the guy who ran the strip club. A few e-mails had attachments so he opened them.
The first few were head shots of woman with the subject ‘starting next week.’ Or ‘Show her the ropes.’ He saw one with the subject line, ‘we look good.’
Daniel opened the e-mail, it was of Nancy and a man, his arm wrapped around her waist, smiling at the camera. The face, Daniel knew this man and the realization sent a shock up his spine.
Right then his cell phone rang. It was Tanaka. Daniel answered it and, before he could talk, Tanaka yelled, “Sam Bulik is Turing!”
“I know!” Daniel replied back. “I’m looking at a picture of him right now!”
“Me, too!” Tanaka yelled. “What do you think this means?”
“I don’t know,” Daniel admitted, “Maybe-” Suddenly Daniel’s danger sense kicked into full gear. He turned quickly to see a woman’s fist heading for his face. He blocked it with his forearm. A bolt of pain shot up his arm when he made contact. He yelped then fell to the right before a roundhouse kick would have taken his head off. He jumped up to his feet, cell phone still in his hand. “What’s going on?” Tanaka yelled in the phone.
Daniel tossed the phone onto the bed so he could free his hand. He reached to his belt and pulled out his buckler shield just as Kate turned to face him. Her face was emotionless, her eyes blank. She charged forward with her hand over her head then thrust it forward. Daniel blocked it with his shield. The force of the blow send him flying backwards. He smashed through the wall and landed on his back in Kate’s bedroom. He looked up to see her step through the hole he made.
Her strength was amazing and her speed unmatched. She brought her foot down toward Daniel’s head. He deflected it with his shield, producing an odd ‘clang’ sound as shield made contact with her foot. The foot hit the floor, splintering the wood. Lifting his feet off the ground Daniel kicked her in the chest. He slid along the rug while she barely moved. How heavy was this woman?
With some room now he jumped up and faced her, his shield held in front of him. “Who are you?”
With no words, she charged toward Daniel. He sidestepped her and brought the shield’s edge down onto the base of her skull. She fell to the ground face first.
Daniel breathed a sigh of relief. That move always knocked the opponent out for a long time. He could still hear Tanaka screaming into the phone as he took a step toward the bedroom.
Something grabbed his leg. He looked down to see Kate’s hands wrapped around his ankle. He didn’t even have time to scream before he was lifted off the ground and thrown toward another wall. He slammed into it hard, snapping several studs with his back and legs. Sheetrock dust exploded all over the place as he broke through into another apartment. He crashed into the back of a couch, knocking it over, then shattered a glass end table when he landed on it.
He lay there, stunned, looking at a spinning ceiling fan. He heard someone from the room screaming at him. He blinked a few times trying to get the dust out of his eyes. The loud thud of heavy feet snapped him back into the real world.
With a snap of his legs, he jumped to his feet and reached to his left, pulling out his katana with one sharp motion, slicing Kate in the stomach as she jumped toward him. Her robe was now wide open, the front sliced in half. A large gash caused a piece of skin to fall off her body. No blood. No sign from her that she’d been hit. Daniel saw through the split skin and saw the glint of a metal spine. “A robot,” he said, stepping back from her.
Kate placed her right foot back and lifted her hands up in front of her striking a boxing pose. Daniel lifted his shield up with his left hand then held his sword up next to his body ready for any kind of attack.
“Excuse me,” came a voice next to them.
From the corner of his eye, he saw a man standing in the living room, holding a glass of milk and a plate of cookies. Daniel kept his eyes on Kate and growled, “Leave.”
“But this—”
Kate looked over at him and snarled. “Leave!”
The man turned and ran from his apartment.
“Let me guess, you’re one of Destructo’s creations?”
“He ordered me to kill you and your brother.”
Tanaka can take care of himself, Daniel thought. “What are you waiting for?”
With that, Kate stepped forward and threw a punch. Daniel pushed it away with his shield and brought his sword down as hard and as fast as he could. The blade sliced through Kate’s face. The artificial skin fell off, revealing a metal skull.
She threw her left hand, which was also deflected with ease. Daniel brought his foot up and kicked her in the chest with everything he had. He fell back. It was like kicking a brick wall. She took advantage of his stumble and charged forward. Daniel managed to fall to his left, missing her bear hug by inches. He la
nded on a chair and flipped over it. He gained his balance quickly and stood just in time to see Kate grab the chair and hurl it at him.
He had nowhere to go as the large recliner crashed into his body. He stumbled back into the wall, the recliner hitting him a second time. The sword in his hand fell to the ground with a loud clang. He looked up to see Kate kick the chair into him. He gasped for breath, trying to get any air into his lungs as she pressed the chair against him, holding it with her robot strength.
He swung the arm with the shield, then threw it forward with all his strength. The buckler shield slid off his hand with practiced ease and sailed the few feet between the two of them. Its razor-sharp edges easily sliced through skin and metal. It embedded itself halfway through her skull. She stopped pressing and took a step back. Electric sparks shot out from the slash, setting her hair and skin ablaze. Daniel pushed the chair off him and watched as she fell to her knees, the fire quickly spreading to her robe. Her skin fell off in melted plastic blobs onto floor. The fire grew hot for a few seconds as it burned through wires and circuit boards. More sparks followed as complicated servos and gears grinned to a halt.
Daniel watched, mindful the fire didn’t spread beyond the Kate robot. Eventually the fire died out, leaving nothing more than an empty metal skeleton.
Daniel stepped over and grabbed his shield. He took another second to get his sword before opening the front door and stepping out. He walked back over to Kate’s apartment door, opened it, walked through and grabbed his phone.
Tanaka had hung up, probably trying to figure out how to get to apartment. Daniel didn’t even bother calling, instead he took a picture of the bedroom with his phone. He sent that picture to Tanaka’s phone, sighed in exhaustion, then fell back onto the bed wondering what he and his brother had gotten themselves into this time.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Tanaka popped into the room with his sword drawn, ready to fight. He looked over at Daniel, who was laying on top of a pink bedspread. The room around him had several holes in the wall and drywall and other debris on the floor and bed.
The Evolutionite Chronicles Book Two: Dagger and Shadow Ninja in: Welcome to Las Vegas Page 11