I felt the build up in my body, like a liquid burn just under the skin. It started at my toes and worked its way up through my legs to where we were joined. My sweat-slicked skin became over sensitive while my hips started bucking on their own as any semblance of control went flying out the window. As I began the climb to the nova-like explosion, my fingernails dug into his shoulders, drawing blood. Markus threw back his head and groaned. His lips then crashed down on mine like a man obsessed. He took my screams of pleasure into his mouth and gave me his cry of release in return. Both of us trembled with the force of our moment in time, sliding to the ground when his legs would no longer support both our weight.
When my breathing returned to normal and my body quit shaking, I showered his face with kisses. “I’d say wow, but that doesn’t do it justice.”
He laughed, low and sensual. “Better than the dream?” He asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
I frowned. “Was it real in the dream? Did you do that?”
He grinned boyishly. “If I concentrate hard enough, I can occasionally click with someone and walk or create a dream with them.” He shrugged, “I always could. But it’s an iffy thing. I have to be emotionally tied to that person before it happens.” He looked down at the medallion on my chest. “Of course, Amaterasu had a small hand in the link as well.” He winked.
I ran a finger down his chest. “You know what I have to do, don’t you?”
He lifted me up and climbed into the, almost, boiling hot water. Ever so gently, he lowered me onto a submerged bench and, sitting down himself, sighing in relief. “If there’s one thing that the Japanese did right, it’s the way they bathe.”
He was stalling and we both knew it. Leaning back, ignoring the stinging on my neck, and let the water envelope me up to my chin, I looked him in the eye, “Markus, you’re avoiding the issue.”
He looked at the water. “I am. Because I don’t want to face the fact that I may lose you.” He looked up at me, his eyes clouded over with emotion, “I don’t want to have to bury you, Terri. I want to spend the days making mad, passionate love to you until the end of time.”
My heart did a flip-flop. “What are you saying?”
He looked everywhere but at me, “I’m saying we’d be good together.” It was a lame statement. Even I knew that.
“You can’t say it, can you, Markus?” My voice lowered to a soft whisper, “You can’t say the word love because your heart has been locked away from this world for too long.”
He nodded, “I… I don’t know how to love. I’ve only been trained to kill.” He looked deeply into my eye. “But, ever since meeting you…“ He looked away, “If I’d finished the contract, my life would’ve become a wasteland, part of me dead, yet alive.” Markus hit the water in frustration, sending water flying everywhere, “I don’t want you to do this, Terri. Let me take them out for you. Let me kill them. One more life on my list of countless others won’t matter.”
I shook my head. “No, Markus. You heard what Amaterasu said, I have to do this on my own. They owe me and I plan on collecting.” I stretched in the water. “Trust me, the last thing on my to do list is to die. The plan is to bring justice to a crime that is unforgivable.” I started to get out of the tub.
Markus shackled my wrist with his fingers and dragged me close to him. “No!” he growled. “You’re not going to do this!” And kissed me savagely.
I met his savagery with some of my own before pulling back to look him in the eye. “I have to, Markus. If I don’t, people will die. Other people will suffer the fate of my sister, my dad, and my stepfather. People who mean a great deal to me. This means going to Japan to face Stephen Mentari and his cronies in their own lair.” Looking down at the hand on my wrist, an idea bloomed in my head. “Come to my bedroom. There is something we need to do.”
Once there, I unsheathed one of the short swords. “Hold your hand out.” He watched me, but held out his left hand. The blade made a thin line of red over his heart and lifelines. I made a similar mark across mine and threaded my fingers though his, putting the cuts together. “Soulmates we are, Soulmates we will be. Now and always.” I looked in his eyes. “When I go to do this, you will be with me in spirit, and I will be with you in blood.”
He stared at me in disbelief. “You really believe that?” His voice held a hint of amazed disbelief. “That we are soulmates?”
I moved out of his reach. “Is it that so hard to understand? You can hear the Goddess, you can dream walk, and you know my heart. Why is it so hard to believe the rest?”
“Maybe because you’re going through with this and I’m not invited.”
“Markus, don’t do this to me. Not now. I’m going, and I can’t let you interfere.” I turned and bandaged my hand, then picked up the phone. My gaze found his eyes. “I’m going to make a couple phone calls then get on a plane to finish this.”
He was angry, I could see it in the way his jaw was set. “Fine,” He turned his back on me as his cold voice chilled me to the bone. “Go get yourself killed!” Then stormed out of my room, slamming the door behind him. I looked down to see the blood trail he left behind.
Concentrating on the phone, I dialed Nogura’s number. When one of the relatives picked it up, I growled out. “I want the head of the Nakamura clan on the phone in ten minutes.” I said without preamble. “Can you set it up?”
Chapter Fifteen
>Twelve hours later, I sat in a hotel room across from the Nakamura compound. Alone. In two hours, the most vicious man in the Japanese Underworld would know my name and my face for all time. That man’s name? Nakamura Ohito. Master of the Nakamura clan and so depraved, even the Russians kowtowed to him. Those that tried, received the same treatment that most enemies of the spider clan got. Skinless and boneless, they arrived back to their respective families in little small boxes. One inch of flesh at a time. My gaze took in the great gates of the compound from two stories up. Every now and again, a guard would open them for a limousine, or an expensive car, to drive through. Not many, but it seemed that the entire inner circle had been given the heads up about my appearance tonight.
Neither Markus nor Joey were there to say goodbye when the private jet left for Tokyo. One part of me hated the way the two of us parted, but if that is what fate decried, so be it I couldn’t think about that right now. My concentration had to be on the here and now. My family left a new eye patch for me in the plane, the copper dragon would shine like the sun when justice came knocking. Before me, on the coffee table, were three photos. Sara Ashi, Nogura, and my father. The last photo got added because, although our hatred ran deep, his death remained my responsibility. The fact that the Nakamura clan influenced him into becoming something he hated also made his inclusion important. As the clock ticked away the hours, I donned my pants, tank top, kimono, and eye patch as if they were parts of my armor. The final piece of the wardrobe was the twin knives. These received one final caress before I tucked them in the belt at the back of my kimono.
Taking one last, long look at the three photographs, I lit each of them from a white candle. The only things that would remain in this room were the old clothes, the candle, and the remains of the photographs. Dropping each photo into the ashtray where the flames would consume them, my fingers made sure none of the sparks would harm anything else in the room. Without another backward glance, I opened the door and left to meet my destiny. My bare feet made little noise on the carpet leading to the elevator. My mind became blank of any thoughts, any emotions. Staying focused on the objective, and justice, were all that mattered.
At nine pm, I stood in front of the heavy wooden gates to the Nakamura compound. No spoken words into the speaker box, or to the guards ranged just outside. None were needed as they all knew why I had come. Silently, my hands shoved open the massive gates, allowing me entrance to the Nakamura sanctuary. An escort waited just inside the doors. Behind me, a solid thud told me there would be no turning back. Time to face whatever fate had dealt
me as my escort led me down a path lined with stones and wooden beams. A hundred yards down the jungle-like pathway that ended in what appeared to be a wall of flame. Panic gripped me within its power as I stood before the heat and could not move. Out of the corner of my eye, my escort watched me intently with a slight sneer of disgust at my weakness. As I watched the flames, images appeared to me. Sara Ashi smiled at me as the flames crackled and popped, then my father’s face, as stern and unyielding as ever. Yet somehow the sight of Dad’s image goaded me past my fear, to fight it with every ounce of energy I had.
The escort made a mistake, “So, gaijin pig, the rumors are true. You are as worthless as…” Those were the last words out of his mouth as my hand reached out to clamp, vice like, around his throat.
“Ungrateful dog. If you know my fears, you know that fears can be conquered.” I squeezed a little tighter, then hurled him at the flames. They parted slightly at one point to allow the body to land on the ground with a soft thump. Slowly, keeping my fear at bay, I walked across the bridge, pausing long enough to say goodbye to the images, before stepping down to see the surroundings before me.
Surrounding a raised platform were torches placed at even intervals. Beyond that, armed guards stood ramrod straight. Mindless, emotionless killers for the Nakamura clan. They had only one God, Nakamura Ohito. These were the ones that would fight rabid dogs for a scrap of rancid meat if he ordered it
I whispered a prayer for calm and peace then took the three steps up onto the finely sanded platform to face what appeared to be the lion’s share of the Nakamura clan. Amidst all the sea of Japanese faces, two people stood out from the crowd. Cosar and his father, Stephen, side by side. Both had the sneer of one who is so full of himself and the power they thought they controlled. Never pausing in my stride, my attention turned to the white haired man who sat proudly on a chair at the far end of the platform. Rumor placed his age at a little over eighty years, but time had not bent his powerful frame, nor dimmed the unusually green eyes. No wonder he’s so vicious, he’s a half-breed Japanese, I thought to myself. Great, just great. Five feet from his chair, I stopped and waited. By not bowing or acknowledging him except to stare is rude, I know, however the time had passed for feeling the need to be polite.
About thirty seconds passed before the angry murmers of the clan began, only to be instantly stopped by the raised hand of the patriarch. “You are known to us, Terri Montegard, yet you insult the clan by not following custom.”
“Following custom shows respect, Nakamura Ohito. At this moment in time, I have no respect for a clan who stabs someone in the chest then brands him with an offending Clan’s symbol. I have no respect for those who drug and beat a woman just to hurt the father, for those who turn a cop against his own daughter and force her to kill or be killed. I don’t respect men of stature who keep federal agents on their payroll who are used as breakers for the slave and drug trade. All for the sake of a pathetic clan war and the political gain of a gaijin who can’t walk on his own two feet because of his love affair with power and explosives!” I shook my head. “When I see someone or a clan that deserves respect, I will give it. But not here, not now.”
With each accusation, Ohito’s eyes darkened until the green became dark emeralds flashing angry fire. His gaze looked out over his clansmen, noting who looked away, who flinched, and who met his stare with unwavering loyalty. “I hope you have proof of these actions, Terri-san. I would be very interested in seeing what my clan has done without telling me.”
I reached a hand into my kimono, ignoring the blade that appeared at my throat, and slowly withdrew a very large envelope. My gaze found the swordsman’s eyes in a stare-down. Whatever he saw there, made him back up with fear in his eyes, as he lowered his sword from my neck. When the man retreated, I withdrew the envelope all the way. Closing the gap between myself and Ohito, the tension became so thick, you could almost see it. Handing the package over to the Master of the Nakamura clan, I returned to my starting point. While patiently waiting, my gaze took in the powerful members seated on either side of the dais. Most looked very nervous, others angry, some looked about ready to bolt for the door. My lips twitched and only my hard won discipline kept the grin from reaching my lips. Every member of this clan had a right to be terrified. Because, in that envelope were all the printed copies of the digital photos. Included were some that Markus had taken the time to get from a contact in the CIA. There were pictures that even I didn’t know about, because Joey Shin had added his own nail in the proverbial coffin. Whatever that envelope contained, lives would end if the look on Ohito’s face became a judgment. Ohito had the same aura of power that my Nogura has. Only he wore it differently. He’d been kept in the dark by his clan on a lot of things that had gone on while the Ashi clan kept themselves well informed of everything that happened within their clan’s structure. The difference between the two clans became glaringly obvious as I looked around once more.
It took fifteen minutes for him to look through all of them. I waited patiently, feeling the tension mounting around the platform. Finally, Ohito looked up at me. “I would be a fool to think that these were the only copies, but I am not old enough to have lost my mind. However, “ he said softly, “you are correct that there is no respect here,” he looked around. “I did not build the Nakamura clan into such sadists! I tried to follow the Yakuza Way. But I see now that only a handful know the path!” His voice built into a thunder that set even his soldiers cringing with the power behind the words.
I took a good look around me. Indeed, most of them looked like hoodlums in expensive Armani suits. Many of them looked more at home in a street gang than here. Impatient and awkward were words that could describe some of them. The only two non-Japanese were the Mentaris, and both of them looked distinctly uncomfortable at Ohito’s words. Wisely, I kept my mouth shut. Let him figure out the obvious on his own.
Ohito turned his penetrating gaze back to me. “The Nakamura clan has wronged a lot of people, Terri-san. Your challenge of honor is accepted. Which of these dishonored people do you fight?”
I reached behind me and drew both blades. I pointed one gleaming blade at Cosar, and another at the bodyguard behind his head. “These two. One for the drugging and beating death of Sara Ashi, Ashi Nogura’s flesh and blood, and the one behind you for the heinous stabbing and mutilation of Ashi Nogura himself!” Turning in a circle, my blades marked each man there with an invisible line. “The rest who have been involved with attempts on my life, on the lives of my friends,” I looked at Ohito, “I leave them to you.”
As I said their names, both men flinched, but Cosar stepped forward with a smirk. “I should have blown your brains out when you were unconscious, then cut the little girl’s throat for good measure.” He shed his jacket. “Your challenge, your weapons.” He turned and took the sword someone offered him, assuming the stance of a trained sword fighter.
The other one, however, stayed behind Ohito. “Coward.” I called up to him. “If you do not come down to face your fate, I will hunt you from one end of this earth to another. You do not want to know your fate if I go hunting, dog! Face me as a man, or die as a castrated coward on the run!”
“Shiro!” Ohito thundered, making many men jump at the force of the voice. “Get down there and fight, or face me over swords!” That made the wiry little guy scamper down the stairs to take up a fighting stance. Someone handed him a blade as an afterthought.
I closed my eye and centered myself then pointed one blade at each man. “Justice for the spirit of Sara Ashi and Paul Montegard. Justice also for Ashi Nogura, and all the other lives that you two have destroyed.” I sighed and shrugged twice, letting the kimono fall to the ground, kicking it out of the way. “Any time, gentlemen.”
They attacked at the same time for the quickest kill. When they moved, I reversed the grip on the blade in my right hand so it pointed downwards. As the blades whistled in, I ducked low, slashed at Shiro’s ankle with the left blade, and blocked Co
sar’s blade with my right. Shiro screamed in pain and fell with a severed Achilles tendon. When he tried to move away, his right foot dragged in a useless shuffle. Ignoring him for now, my full concentration focused itself on the man who murdered my sister.
Locking up his blade, we stood in the middle of the platform, grunting and sweating. We glared murderously at each other across the small expanse of razor sharp steel. “Why?” I snarled. “Why did you do it? You killed everything I cared about, caused pain in the rest. You’re even responsible for turning my dad into the psychotic monster that I killed!”
He laughed. “You stupid bitch. You are all alike. Thinking it’s about you,” he winked. “In this case it was. You and your damned cameras.” He shoved and we disengaged. In doing so, we each drew blood. My knife laid his cheek open to the bone while his made a thin stripe of color along my collarbone. As the blood trickled down my skin, both of my knives became a whirlwind of steel, while he had the skill of a Samurai swordsman. The sound of our clashing blades created a sharp echo in the darkness. Each of us sweating and fighting.
Our blades locked together once again. “I had everything set up,” he said nastily. “I had it all, the Mayoral slot in Seattle. The head of a Yakuza family of my own. All that and the power to do what I wanted, when I wanted. But you! You ruined everything. You took pictures of my associates when I didn’t want you to.” He hammered a fist into my ribs. “The death of your sister would’ve been much sweeter if I had been able to sell her to those CIA operatives. They wanted to see how hard it would be to break the heir to the Ashi fortune.”
Emotional pain turned into a raging inferno that rocketed through my system, burning away any lasting chains of restraint. I stomped down on his foot, breaking several toes. “Your bragging seems to be your only weapon. You screech like a wounded jackal who thinks he’s made it out from under the pride of lions.” My stance shifted and relaxed, using his momentum against him. My fists buried the hilts of both knives into Cosar’s stomach, then fell backwards deliberately, heaving him into Shiro’s retreating form, sending them both to the floor. Rolling back to my feet, I held up my left-hand sword to show the blood. “It’s time for you to learn what it means to be prey instead of the predator, Cosar Mentari.”
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