by Chris Hechtl
“Sensei?”
“Last night Thoth started coughing, then gagging. The evening shift watched it on the monitors. It went on all night. His thermal profile is elevated. We're not sure if he got into something or if it is viral. We need to get blood samples and isolate him.”
“And that's dangerous, sir,” Toshi said. “So …”
“So, yes, we want to see if you can arrange it with him. You've been working on teaching them behaviors. We want him to stick his arm through the hatch and then you can stick him,” the vet said, showing him the kit. “We'll give him some antibiotics as well.” He indicated the pile of treats nearby. Toshi could see several were wrapped around pills.
“Okay, I don't know if he'll come when called though,” Toshi warned.
“Just do your best.”
“Hai,” Toshi said softly, stepping up to the door. He nodded to Kibba and one of the other vet interns, then lowered the hatch.
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Thoth knew he wasn't feeling good, his tooth and jaw hurt. It was so bad he couldn't eat. His jaw was swollen, and it was getting hard to breath. The jaw throbbed with his heartbeat, but he wasn't sure what to do about it.
Then he remembered one of the females had been sick some time ago, and the humans had come for her. She'd been returned sometime later, better and had eventually gotten well again.
When the hatch opened, he looked over, then strutted over to it. He sat out of reach then watched as the young male human stuck his arm through the door, held it there, then drew it back. He was asking for the game again, but Thoth wasn't interested in it.
Instead Thoth touched the right side of his jaw and barked. He made pained vocalized sounds as his fingers delicately probed the side of his swollen mouth.
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“Sensei, he's indicating the right side of his mouth. From here it looks swollen,” Toshi said, glancing at the doctor.
“I see it,” Doctor Chaing replied absently, watching the monitor. The jaw did indeed look swollen. The gagging and coughing might be indicative of a tooth issue he thought, frowning thoughtfully. He pursed his lips a few times as he came to a reluctant decision.
“We need to treat him. But to do that we need an exam. Which means we need to sedate him, extract him, and then do it out here.”
“I think we can stick him with a dart,” Kibba offered.
“No, see if he'll offer his arm.”
“I'm trying,” Toshi replied.
“Try harder.”
“He's doing his best,” Kibba muttered under his breath.
Toshi hand signed what was wrong. Again Thoth touched his jaw, then his chest. Toshi turned to look at the vet just as a hand slipped into his. He turned to see the hand was Thoth's. Slowly he pulled it through the hatch. Kibba saw the arm, inhaled, and then jabbed the needle in when the inside of his elbow was exposed. The sudden pain made the primate jerk, claw at Toshi's hand, and then retreat ooking in distress.
“Damn it! Why'd you have to do that!” Toshi demanded, cradling his hand in pain.
“He get you?” Doctor Chaing asked.
“Yes,” Toshi hissed, looking at the cut flesh. The claws had dug deep into his skin, drawing blood. Doctor Chaing grunted.
“Get the first aid kit. Back away from the door, leave him alone to settle down before he gets too much adrenalin in his system to fight the sedative. Did you get the artery?”
“I'm not sure,” Kibba replied.
“You could have warned me or let me do it,” Toshi accused as he held the hand up to try to slow the bleeding.
“Bitch, bitch. It's done, right?” Kibba asked snidely.
“That's enough. We're a team, start acting like it,” Doctor Chaing said sternly.
“Hai, Sensei,” both said in unison.
“He indicated his jaw and his chest.”
“We've had issues with heart problems in the past. When he goes under, we'll do a full workup. Even a dental cleaning,” the vet replied. He turned to see Thoth slow and then crawl a bit in the grass. Finally he rolled and laid down, relaxing.
“We'll go in soon,” the vet replied as Sakura arrived on the scene with the first aid kit. She sucked in her breath in sympathy when she saw Toshi's hand. “Get that bandaged quickly,” the vet ordered.
“He bit you?”
“Scratched. A miscommunication,” Toshi replied as she examined them, then cleaned and dressed the wounds. She was quick, spraying the wounds with cleaning agents that would help with clotting. Then she wrapped the fingers.
“Well, they aren't deep so you didn't get any tendons severed. You're lucky you didn't lose a finger,” She warned.
“Finished?” the doctor asked as the vets geared up in armor.
“Sir, let me go in,” Toshi said, putting his good hand up. “I can get to him, assess him, and then ward off the others. Carry him back if necessary. The less exposure the better,” he said.
Doctor Chaing studied him for a moment, noted his resolve and then nodded once. “Very well,” he said, stepping aside.
“Be safe, Toshi,” Sakura murmured as Kibba disengaged the locks and opened the door. He peaked around it and then went in.
He was back in a moment carrying the baboon over his shoulder. The others in the troop hadn't come to investigate yet. The big male was heavy, but he was fit so easily carried the load.
“You should have let me go in with the litter,” Kibba said.
“No time. Besides, it's done,” Toshi said, not quite out of breath. He set the baboon down on the open litter and watched Kibba and another vet student bundle him up and haul him off.
“We'll take good care of him,” Sakura told him as he closed the door behind him. He locked it firmly, then shut the hatch.
“Yeah, I hope so,” Toshi murmured.
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Toshi waited anxiously for the results. He did his best to continue his normal routine but the animals sensed his agitation. He realized it wasn't a good thing for him or his safety, nor the smell of his blood so he limited his exposure to the infants for the day. Sakura came back to him agonizingly long hours later, near the end of his shift.
“He had an abscessed tooth, no problem. We got that fixed, and the infection is being treated. The heart though is a different thing.”
“Heart …”
“Yes. We did an ultrasound. He had a sticking valve, so Doctor Chaing operated immediately. That's what took so long. It's fixed.”
“Good,” Toshi said, nodding.
“You really care about them, don't you?” She asked curiously.
“They aren't just test subjects. You have to care, to empathize with them to some degree. It is what makes us human,” he replied. She looked at him for a long moment then slowly nodded. After a moment he felt her squeeze his shoulder and then move on to her work.
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Once Thoth was back in the enclosure, Toshi went in more often, if only to check up on him. Thoth seemed quiet and amused at first, but then grew testy so Toshi found more time to visit the other troops.
Two weeks later he was asked to introduce a new shy intern, Hinata Hyuga. She had long, black braided hair, and a braided belt. She had hair locks that framed her quiet shy face. He bowed to her, and she giggled, hand over her mouth. “Sorry,” she said, meeting his eyes.
“First lesson. You'll need to unlearn some traditions and habits. You need to not meet their eyes. To move backwards, it's counterintuitive, but it works.”
She nodded, sobered. “Okay.”
“Follow Toshi's lead,” Kibba told her. She nodded again. She met his eyes then looked hastily away.
“They will sense your fear so try to control it. Don't show your teeth. If you see them yawn or bristle, it's a threat. Whatever you do, don't yawn.”
“Okay,” she replied. “I'm ready.”
“You only think you are,” Toshi said. He sat her down and talked to her, explaining various things he had learned. Then he introduced her to the baby in Sakura's
sling. The young female brushed the baby's brow, cooing at it. That was a good first step so he introduced her to the nursery.
He was surprised by Sakura's dark look when he caught her looking at them. He wasn't sure what it meant. She looked … jealous, but he wasn't sure why. Hinata was a colleague! He shook his head and did his best to focus on the mission.
The young were a hit, so he introduced her to the female exiled baboons a few minutes later. She seemed excited, ready, and eager, but he didn't want to push it. He didn't want to push things too hard, too fast, no matter what the bosses wanted. Her safety and his safety were important; the animals could misread her excitement for predation.
But when they saw her braided hair, they had to come examine her more closely. He was surprised when they touched her hair. The girl held her hands to her chest under her chin, defensive and quiet.
They looked at other things on the girl, showing great interest in the newcomer for a while before their curiosity waned and other things got their attention.
Once they settled down into routine, Toshi worked on the training regime. He looked over to Hinata to see what she was doing. She had picked up a couple pieces of straw and had decided to practice weaving. One of the females came over, clearly interested in her fingers and work.
Hinata held it out to her. She sat and then looked away for a moment, then back. Long fingers traced the braid. After a moment she picked up a couple pieces of grass and tried to imitate the girl's work. She seemed frustrated when things didn't go her way though.
Doctor Ishigani saw it from the viewing room and blinked in surprise. They were indeed showing marked improvements in intelligence, beyond what she'd expected.
“Choujou. Beyond what we expected at this point. Truly remarkable,” she murmured softly. She was surprised when the young female turned to the girl's braided belt and ran her fingers on it. She traced it to the brass buckle, lifting her fluffed out shirt to see, then quickly and efficiently undid the buckle.
“What is she …,” Hinata gasped as the primate worked.
“Relax, she's just exploring. Don't get upset or we'll be in trouble,” Toshi said in a quiet voice, eying the situation. The primate pulled the belt off, then dragged it around making the other animals move away or follow along seemingly chasing it like a snake. Then she sat and worked the buckle for a few minutes. Finally she wrapped it around her own waist and tried to buckle it.
“Kyoutendouchi,” Hinata breathed wide eyed, then fainted. Toshi felt alarm as the animals looked in distress and left quickly. The female with the belt dropped it in her haste and ran off to a fallen tree.
He got up slowly, picked the belt up, and went to the girl as Doctor Ishigani called in medical support. He checked for a pulse then carefully lifted her up into his arms and carried her out.
She woke when he stepped out of the enclosure. The jostling was enough to rouse her. “Huh? Sorry, um … I'm just … I don't know what came over me,” she mumbled.
“Over excited?” Doctor Ishigani asked, her voice neutral and lacking sympathy or understanding. Toshi looked at her sharply then away. “It was shocking. Scientific discoveries can be like that.”
“Hai, Sensei,” Sakura said, shouldering her way in to them. “Set her down,” she ordered. Toshi tried to set her down, but the girl struggled to her feet.
“I'm okay. I just didn't eat this morning. I'm light headed,” Hinata said, holding onto Toshi.
“You were excited about coming and forgot to eat? You are pretty small; it might be low blood sugar,” Toshi said.
“I'll check,” Sakura said, pricking Hinata's finger. The girl gasped when the blood was drawn. “Yes, she's at seventy-six. She needs to eat and rest.” She was practically glowering at the girl. Hinata hunched up, head down.
“I can do my …”
“Shoushi,” Doctor Ishigani barked. “Don't be absurd. Do as you are told child,” she ordered.
The girl bowed her head, trembling. “Hai, Sensei,” she murmured.
Toshi helped her to Kibba's side, then he protectively took over to take the girl off. He glared over his shoulder to Toshi and then to Sakura, but Toshi just shrugged it off.
“We have some thinking to do. I'll take this to the board during the next meeting.”
“We're going to need to revisit their security, aren't we?” Toshi asked.
“Hai,” the doctor replied. “At least with this and follow-up generations. Their problem solving abilities are advancing quite well. I'm curious about what the new mods will bring,” she murmured, turning away.
Toshi was curious about what she meant by that. And what it meant for the future. He turned back to the window to see the female who had been trying to braid pick up strands of straw and grass and try again.
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“We have new orders,” Kibba said quietly, looking at Sakura as she entered the room. He'd been glad they'd finally gotten another of their number in, Hinata, but the girl had messed up right from the beginning. She was always a klutz! And from the look Sakura had kept shooting her, she knew it too.
She could tell from his look and set expression in his eyes it wasn't good. His eyes cut to the side meaningfully, but she was still processing his statement and didn't catch what he meant.
“And?” she demanded.
“Our client has decided to end it,” Kibba said flatly, locking eyes with her.
“End it how?” She asked, blinking in surprise. She'd just dealt with Hinata who had been reassigned to another job. That could mean any number of things, like a basic extraction due to nonpayment to other more ugly methods. She was starting to regret allowing the girl to get bounced so easily.
“By destroying them from within,” a familiar voice said like a zephyr in the wind. She turned in surprise to the closet and saw eyes open. His right eye was black like a shark. His left pupil was red with three marks on it. She knew it was a cybernetic implant. After a moment the chameleon cloak was shut off and Kakashi Hatake, her Sensei and handler, stood. She bowed slightly to him. “Our client has what they want,” Kakashi stated flatly.
“So our job is over? Are we going to sabotage them?” Sakura asked carefully, thinking fast. She carefully didn't ask about possible assassination. She was young but not unfamiliar with the job. She just hadn't killed people she'd spent a long time getting to know so personally.
“In a manner of speaking,” Kakashi replied. He pulled the hood off to expose his blue tinted white hair and hachimaki. The clan's mark was on the headband's brow.
“What are our orders, Sensei?” Sakura asked, standing at attention. Kibba echoed her pose instinctively.
He studied her for a long moment, smiled under his face mask, then tugged down the headband over the scar and his left eye rakishly like he normally did. Many feared that eye; it was said he could read one's konpaku, their soul. They should really fear the cybernetic implants in his arms that allowed him to perform his Chidori, his Taser strike that could kill with a touch. “We are to expose them. To bring all their darkest secrets to the light of day.”
“To do that,” Kibba bowed when Kakashi's eye cut to him. “It would be final. It would be the end of us.” What he meant was that the public exposure would destroy their usefulness to the clan as operatives. It would compromise their safety and that of their friends and family.
“We are shinobi; we endure. We will do our duty,” Kakashi replied heavily. “Sakura …”
“Wait,” Sakura said, holding a hand up as her eyes moved rapidly. She was thinking furiously, thinking of a way out of the trap. Both she and Kibba had plans for the future, but this would destroy them. They would be forced out of the clans, possibly killed by them. “Just wait. What if we gave others the information, anonymously? Enough to set the hounds?”
“The scent must be pure,” Kibba reminded her. “It must lead back to the lab or they won't take it seriously.”
“True. But if we set someone on it but also from within?” Sakura said sugges
tively.
“You are talking about a fall guy? Sakura …,” Kibba protested.
“Toshi is a good man. But he has a conscience. He'll do what is right if we show it to him,” Sakura stated flatly.
Kibba stared at her. He had thought she had liked Toshi, that she didn't want to make the sacrificial play because she had plans to be with him. But now, to be so ruthless as to set him up? He blinked when she turned cold eyes on him. That cold look told him what he needed to know. She was indeed a shinobi.
“It could work,” Kakashi murmured, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
“Will the Kages approve?”
“The order came from higher,” Kakashi replied absently, cocking his head. That made both Gennin tighten up in shock and surprise. The Jonin rubbed the back of his head in amusement and annoyance at his slip, eye crinkling in humor. “The Nakumora is distantly related to us. Toshi was to be one of us, but he failed the initial exam when he was a toddler, which was why he was passed over and kept in the dark. His heart is too pure, but he has proven himself useful in more ways than one. I will take it to … higher.”
“We may not need to do anything at all. Once Toshi starts to look beyond his own problems, he will take the timetable out of our hands,” Sakura said softly.
“That too I will take to him,” Kakashi replied after a moment.
“Should we stall him? Protect him?” Kibba asked, curious about the answer.
“No. Work on your exit strategy. You may need it in a hurry. Genetek's security is ruthless, and they don't like loose ends.”
Kibba grimaced. He would have to set fire to the room with a body within, one that had enough of his DNA to fool forensics later. Or make it look like he disappeared. Going walkabout through an airlock was a possible method as was leading them to a possible fall site near the lake or waterfalls in the area. His orders banned them from tangling directly with Genetek's version of the ANBU. He glanced at Sakura. There was only one response.
“Hai,” they said in unison, bowing low.
“I'll work on the cybers. There are hacker terrorists out there; some who are on each side. The environmentalists have their own elite; if we release enough of a scent to them and leave the door open in the firewall, they may take the bait.”