Of Cinder and Bone

by Kyoko M

  “Rhett!”

  He froze midway through his path towards the elevator, and turned to see his parents sitting on one of the couches in the lobby. Edie jogged towards him and hugged him as soon as she was close, breathing out a sigh of relief.

  “Thank God you’re alright,” she said after she’d drawn back, her hands running along his arms, as if searching for any injuries. “We heard about what happened to that detective on the news. What’s going on?”

  Jack glanced at some of the people who were murmuring and pointing to them and nodded towards a nearby small hallway. They followed him and made sure no one was within earshot before continuing. “The guy you saw in the janitor uniform, Kazuma Okegawa, is the one Stubbs and Faraday were transporting back to the precinct. His friends ambushed the police car and stole him out of the back. They’re on a plane back to Tokyo right now.”

  “Jesus,” Edie whispered. “Do you know why they did this?”

  “Okegawa is connected to the yakuza over there, and he’s got some kind of connection to the scientific community as well. We think he plans to experiment on our dragon and try to replicate her, or worse, make something else.”

  “What did the authorities say?” Richard asked.

  Jack gritted his teeth. “They’re doing their best, but it’s not going to be enough. That’s why Okegawa went back home. He knew he’d be protected there. The US government will have its hands full negotiating with the authorities to allow them to prosecute him for the murder. With him in the wind, we’re back to square one.”

  “And the dragon? The news says there are unconfirmed reports that it’s missing.”

  “She,” Jack said. “She’s missing. They took her the same night they broke into my apartment.”

  Richard sighed. “Boy, when you’re in it, you’re in it. What did they tell you to do in the meantime?”

  Jack let out a bitter snort. “To get back to my lab and stay out of their way. Consider the dragon to be collateral damage, basically.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” Edie said. “They can’t expect you to just sit around when someone stole your life’s work.”

  “Well, it’s the government, Ma. That’s precisely what they expect me to do.”

  “Are the feds involved?” Richard asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Does the dragon present any sort of threat?”

  “No,” Kamala jumped in. “She’s harmless. We project that she wouldn’t grow any larger than a medium-sized dog, since her genes are spliced with the Komodo dragon. She doesn’t blow fire, but it’s too early to tell if she’ll develop any other defense mechanisms.”

  “Then you’ve got a bigger problem,” Richard said. “Because if they do something to that dragon that makes her dangerous, the feds won’t just recover her. You know what they’ll do if they consider her a threat to national security.”

  “She’ll be put down,” Kamala said.

  He nodded. “I hate to say it, kids, but you’re out of your league on this one.”

  “Like hell we are.”

  Richard leveled a glare at his son. “And just what do you think you’re gonna do, boy? March into Tokyo, guns a-blazin’ like the Duke himself? You’d be shredded the second you touch down there. You ain’t exactly a man of action.”

  “Richard,” Edie said sharply.

  “You’re right,” Jack said. “I suppose I should defer to you, with all your expertise. Why don’t you tell me what you learned before they kicked you out of the Army three years in?”

  “For one, they taught me discipline and to respect my elders,” he snapped. “Something you apparently know very little about.”

  “The people I respect have earned it. Call me when you do and maybe then we’ll come to an understanding.” Jack turned away to head for the elevators. Edie called after him, but he ignored her and kept going.

  She glared at her husband then. “Damn you, Rick. For once, you couldn’t keep your mouth shut.”

  “You heard what he said, Edie. The boy won’t listen to reason.”

  “Yes, well, it’s not like you were offering any for him to take.”

  “Tch. Kid never listened me when he was young. Why do you think he’d start now?”

  “Because you’re both supposed to be adults, you ass.”

  Richard scowled. “And you call me the stubborn one.” He stalked off in the direction of the parking lot.

  Kamala rested a hand on Edie’s shoulder as she made a move to follow him. “No, let him cool off. Mrs. Jackson. I know it’s hard, but I must advise you to fly back home. We don’t want you to become targets too. I’ll contact you once things calm down.”

  Edie shook her head. “I can’t leave now, not when Rhett needs me.”

  “He will think more clearly if you aren’t in harm’s way. I have no doubt you can take care of yourself, Mrs. Jackson, but there are men out there who are watching us. Maybe even right now. The best you can do for your son is protect yourself.” She locked eyes with the older woman. “Please, Edie. For Rhett.”

  “Dammit,” Edie muttered. “I don’t like this one bit, but you’re right. He can’t think straight when we’re around.” She rested her hands on Kamala’s shoulders. “Keep safe. I know your work means everything to you, but your lives mean more. Take care of yourself. Promise me that you’ll do that.”

  “Yes, Mrs. Jackson.”

  She wrapped Kamala up in a hug, whispering. “Look after my boy. He needs you more than he’ll ever know.” She let go and went after her headstrong husband.

  Kamala watched her leave and then took the elevator up to her floor.

  When she opened the door to Jack’s hotel room, she could hear music thumping in the background, as he’d accidentally left the television on. Piano notes pulsed through the air. Drums thumped. She let the door slide shut and glanced at the television. Dirty Dancing. Solomon Burke’s crooning voice filled the cold air, telling tales of one’s need to cry.

  Jack stood in front of his king-sized bed, his suitcase open, and he was filling it with clothing. He didn’t glance up at her as she walked over, her arms crossed.

  “So,” Kamala said mildly. “That went well.”

  Again, Jack said nothing. He just kept packing his clothes.

  “Am I to assume this means we’re heading to Tokyo?”

  “There is no we,” Jack said stiffly. “I’m going. You’re staying here to finish working on the project and stay updated on the case. It’s too dangerous.”

  “Too dangerous for fragile little Kamala Anjali?”

  He glowered at her. “Don’t. Just don’t. It has nothing to do with you being a woman.”

  “Then what does it have to do with, Jack?”

  He walked past her towards the bathroom. “We’re not having this conversation.”

  Kamala stuck her foot out and tripped him.

  Jack crashed to the floor with a groan. “What the hell, Kam?”

  He rolled onto his back and then she was suddenly on top of him, her hands flat to the floor on either side of his shoulders, her knees pinning his wrists at his sides. He stared wide-eyed at the livid fury on her beautiful features.

  “Let us get something straight,” Kamala whispered. “First, you do not order me around like I’m your servant. You do not make decisions for me. Second, yes, it is too dangerous to fly to Tokyo alone and fight the yakuza to get our dragon back. That is why I am going with you. I am a medical doctor and a scientist, and I will be able to not only help find her, but patch you up should your stupidity cause you grievous injury. Third, we will leave the care of the project to Matt. He can assign someone in our field to continue in our stead, and keep this technology out of the hands of someone who would misuse it. Fourth, your mother charged me with taking care of you, and I have agreed to do so. But if you ever strike such a tone with me again, you’ll find yourself in sixteen different pieces
floating in the Hudson River. Have I made myself clear, Dr. Jackson?”

  Jack gulped. “Yes ma’am.”

  Then, like magic, the terrifying look in her copper eyes vanished and she sat back, seeming unfazed that she was in fact straddling him. “Now then. What do we need for the trip?”

  “I, uh, have a list.”

  “Good. I will take care of the supplies and the plane tickets. Anything else?”

  “Yeah, I’ve got one more stop to make before we go to the airport.”

  “Very well. Let’s get going. Time is short.”

  With that, she stood and walked out of the hotel room to gather her things.

  Jack stayed on the floor for a moment, staring up at the ceiling. I have the weirdest boner right now.

  ~*~

  “Two questions,” Kamala said, shifting her Volkswagen into park. She squinted past the lit streetlamp outside of a two-story house not far from Harvard Square. It was disturbingly picturesque, featuring perfectly manicured lawns, white fences, trimmed hedges, and neatly engraved names on all the mailboxes. Sprinklers clicked and sprayed water in their nightly ritual over the neat grass of each yard.

  “Go for it,” Jack said, undoing his seatbelt.

  “One, what are we doing here? Two, why do you have a Ziploc bag full of ice?”

  “Excellent questions indeed,” he replied, cracking his knuckles. “Which you’ll be getting the answers to momentarily.”

  Jack exited the car and walked briskly across the street, waving politely to a woman passing by walking her dog. He jogged up the front steps of the house and rang the doorbell.

  A moment later, a handsome twenty-eight year old blond man opened the door. He wore a black tank top, loose pants, and noticeably expensive running shoes.

  He flipped his light hair back from his brow and offered Jack a bored look. “Whatever you’re selling, I’m not interested. I’m on my way out for a run and there’s a martini at the Commons with my name on it.”

  Jack smiled.

  Then he cocked his fist and broke the man’s nose.

  The man collapsed to the porch with a hysterical cry of pain, clutching his face and rolling onto his back as blood spurted down his shirt. He took several wheezing gasps and stared up at Jack with tears in his eyes, his voice hoarse.

  “W-Why?”

  Jack’s smile vanished. He knelt in front of the man, who flinched away, and murmured.

  “You know why.”

  Then, he stood and walked back to the car, where Kamala stared open-mouthed at the mailbox, which clearly read: J. McGruder.

  Jack got back in the car, strapped his seatbelt on, and settled the bag of ice over his right hand.

  “Alright, let’s go pick up Faye.”

  ~*~

  “So are you two dunderheads going to tell me what happened to Stilts’ hand?” Faye asked, staring at the bright red flesh across his knuckles.

  Jack and Kamala shared a look and then spoke in unison. “No.”

  Faye rolled her eyes. “Fine.”

  She reached into her backpack and withdrew a modified Radio Frequency scanner, commonly known as an RF gun, the kind used in most retail settings. “Again, I remind you that this is just a prototype. I configured it to locate Pete’s DNA from within a three mile radius. That’s the closest I can get you. The range works best when you have a fresh sample, but it can work with the older scales in a pinch. If the heat is on, you can turn off the sound and follow the screen, otherwise, it beeps when you get closer to her. It can run eight hours at a time. I packed a couple of rechargeable batteries in there just to be safe. Don’t forget that and don’t lose it. I’m going to build a real locator from scratch while you’re gone, so this will have to do in the meantime.”

  She handed the device to Kamala, who analyzed it before tucking it inside her own backpack. “Call me the second you land. Don’t care what time it is here. You let me know you’re safe and you tell me what you find. This is all I can do for now, but I’m here if there’s a problem with the locator. It’s new tech, so I’m sure it’ll need some troubleshooting.”

  “Thanks, Faye,” Jack said. “Really. I owe you one.”

  “You take care of her, Jack. Do you hear me? If anything happens to Kamala…” She clenched her jaw and stepped close to him, her eyes like bits of frost on a window pane. “I will find a construction site and bury you in concrete. Alive.”

  Kamala sighed. “Saheli.”

  “You certainly have a way with subtlety, don’t you?” Jack said, but his gaze didn’t waver. “Nothing’s going to happen to her. I promise.”

  Faye stared him down for a bit and then nodded. “Good.” Then she grabbed him by the lapels, yanked him down to her height, and kissed the living daylights out of him.

  After she let go, Jack blinked at her, bewildered. Faye batted her eyelashes. “For luck, stupid.”

  He licked his lips. “Ah. Right. I think Kamala could use some luck too.”

  Kamala punched him in the arm and he tossed her a playful crooked grin before picking up his suitcase and nodding to Faye. “Hold down the fort.”

  “I will.”

  Kamala hugged her. “For the love of Vishnu, try to stay out of trouble.”

  “As long as you do the same. Go get ‘im, babe.”

  They gathered their things and headed into the security checkpoint of the Logan International Airport, and to the unfamiliar world lying ahead.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  THE IRON MAIDEN

  Jack was no stranger to international travel, thanks to his background in microbiology and genetics. A year prior, he’d been invited to do a lecture about his project at Cambridge University in England, so his passport had already been renewed. He’d expected to be on the road after its success. Kamala had also been along for the ride, though she took a yearly trip with her parents to Bangalore and Islamabad to see family, and always kept her passport current. Both were used to seeing large airports and towering buildings, but Tokyo was a different animal entirely.

  After walking off the plane, they were treated to towering steel and bright lights, and the constant buzzing, shuffling masses of its traveling occupants. It seemed to be a mash-up of modern technology and elegance: efficient, awe-inspiring, and nearly overwhelming. There were businessmen holding expensive suitcases, women in kimonos kissing their relatives goodbye, visitors taking pictures of the interior, veteran travelers grabbing a bite to eat at the bars. The escalators rumbled in the distance and a tinny voice announced flights and policies every so often. Haneda International breathed and sighed like a gigantic creature in charge of its own ecosystem.

  Once they’d collected their luggage, rented a portable Wi-Fi router for their devices, and finished up with the currency exchange, Jack and Kamala set out towards the pickup area. Taking a late flight out of Logan airport put them in Haneda slightly after one in the afternoon, so the sun was high and everything in the city was in full swing.

  Jack checked his watch. “Man. It’s going to take a while to get used to this time zone. It’s like flying straight through a time warp.”

  “Agreed,” Kamala said with a yawn. “Even with that nap, I’m already starting to feel the jet lag sink in. Where’s our ride?”

  “Should be here any second.” He squinted up at a sign, cocking his head to one side. “Pretty sure this is the right place.”

  “You should be after twelve straight hours of Japanese audio-visual lessons.”

  “Well, at least there’s an app for it if some of it didn’t sink in,” he replied, brandishing the phone. “Should get us in the general direction in case we get separated from our translator.”

  “This translator,” Kamala said, eying him. “You haven’t said much about him aside from you’ve known him for a few years. How did you manage to convince him to help us considering how dangerous this investigation has been?”

&nbs
p; Jack scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah, about that…”

  “Ahem.”

  They both turned to see a Japanese woman in a black pea coat, grey slacks, and suede boots standing there. She was in her early forties, tall, lean with muscle, and lovely with graceful cheekbones and deep-set eyes. Her hair was shoulder length and had rich, dark brown highlights, and her posture had a lazy grace to it, as if she were completely relaxed but capable of spectacular power at a moment’s notice.