Of Cinder and Bone

by Kyoko M

  They both stood there, breathing hard, invading each other’s space for several heavy moments. Then they moved at once, simultaneously. Jack grabbed her shoulders enough to lift her to be level with him. Fujioka jerked the towel off his waist.

  “It only happened once.”

  Fujioka shifted until her chin lay on his chest, observing the guarded look on Jack’s face as he stared up at the ceiling fan above the bed.

  “What?”

  “I had a panic attack,” he said softly. “After Irene cuffed me to the bed.”

  She shut her eyes for a second. “Shit. What brought it on?”

  “I got bullied all through school. The worst one was the first time I tried to fight back in ninth grade. The guys held me down on the floor and whaled on me for a while. I had a black eye for weeks, and that was when my Dad found out about it.”

  “And what did he do?”

  “Taught me how to fight. He was very sink-or-swim about it.”

  She shifted a bit closer, draping her leg across his thigh and propping her head up on her hand. “How sink-or-swim?”

  He held up his left arm, showing her the scar. “This was him.”

  She ran her fingertips across it. “Bastard. Did you say anything to anyone about it?”

  “No. He wasn’t a bad father. He just didn’t understand that I didn’t want to hurt people back. I did what he told me to do because I didn’t want to disappoint him, until I couldn’t anymore.”

  She traced absent patterns over his chest. “Little Jack, who just wanted to read books and dream of dragons, became a fighter. All that anger, all that aggression, sitting underneath the surface like magma. No wonder you were so defensive. You have no outlet. It’s like an even more depressing version of Fight Club.”

  Jack snorted. “Well, my name is Jack.”

  “But it wasn’t always. Why don’t you like your real name?”

  He sighed, closing his eyes. “God, you’re nosy.”

  She leaned down and bit his nipple.

  He laughed, squirming. “Okay, okay, I’ll talk! Mom guilted my Dad into letting her name me. She loves Gone with the Wind, so I got saddled with Rhett. I didn’t like who I was, so after I moved to Cambridge I tried to start over. New name is a good way to go.”

  Fujioka was silent momentarily. “What’s your middle name?”

  He tugged her astride his waist. “Impress me again and I’ll tell you tomorrow night.”

  The fifth night had another atypical experience for Fujioka, as the first words out of Jack’s mouth after their rigorous activities were: “Wanna take a bath?”

  She lay on the bed for a bit, catching her breath, and then walked into her ludicrously spacious bathroom with its two-person tub to see Jack dumping nearly the entire bottle of complimentary bubble bath solution into the hot gurgling water.

  “You are perhaps the strangest man I’ve ever met.”

  “Why, thank you,” he said, stepping one leg into the tub. “Ah, ooh, shit, that’s hot!” He danced around a little and then settled in, relaxing his shoulders and arms. “There we go. That’s the stuff.”

  Fujioka shook her head.

  Jack pursed his lips. “When’s the last time you had a bath? It’s pretty incredible.”

  “I work for a living. I don’t have time for baths.”

  “Your loss.”

  She rolled her eyes, but swept her long hair up into a messy bun and joined him, swiping a washcloth on the way. He massaged her shoulders and back as she washed herself leisurely. Jack’s low, slightly off-key humming underscored the occasional splash. As her overworked muscles melted like butter under his hands, Fujioka quickly realized he had a point about the value of baths.

  “Why dragons?”

  “Hmm?” Jack said, glancing up from where he’d been caressing her ribs and sides.

  “Why did you choose to focus on dragons for your project? There are dozens of extinct and endangered species. What made them so special to you?”

  “What? Were you too busy checking me out during my lecture to listen when I answered that question then?”

  “That was your PR-friendly answer,” Fujioka said, scooping up a handful of dense bubbles between her long fingers. “It’s not just because of the lack of knowledge about the creatures since they were mostly destroyed instead of studied. Even if you succeed and bring a non-dangerous species to life, dragons are among the only animals on earth that are a legitimate threat to mankind. The bigger species were at the top of their food chain, and ours as well. You’d be pitting two alpha predators against each other again. Didn’t you see Jurassic Park?”

  “You would not believe how many people have asked me that question.”

  “I’m serious. What drives a man to look into the eyes of something as ancient and powerful as a dragon and decide to resurrect it?”

  “Just because something’s dangerous doesn’t mean it has no place in the world.”

  She fell silent. Then she turned and kissed him gently without saying a word.

  A week ago, Fujioka never would have imagined she would end up breaking both her bedroom rules. But that was the least of her worries.

  ~*~

  “He’s there.”

  Kamala blinked rapidly. “What?”

  Fujioka pointed. “In the apartment. Okegawa’s there.”

  Stunned and still disoriented from being enraptured by Fujioka’s story, Kamala swung her gaze towards the suite and focused the binoculars. There, sitting on the black leather couch, was Okegawa. He wore suit pants and a white button up shirt, and had a black tie looped around his shoulders. He lit a cigarette and blew out a mouthful of smoke before picking up the cell phone on the small glass table next to the couch.

  “…well, I’ll be damned.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  AIN’T NO REST FOR THE WICKED

  “So, what does it feel like to be one-ninth of 50 Cent?”

  “What?” Jack asked through a mouthful of rice and fish, squinting at the phone on the computer desk before him.

  “You got shot once. 50 Cent got shot nine times. Clearly this means you’re ready for a career as a professional mediocre rapper.”

  “My God, am I glad I called you for your wise counsel,” he said, rolling his eyes. “What would I do without you, Faye?”

  “I shudder to think about it. Admit it, Stilts. You miss me.”

  “Yeah, it’s so hard when you’re not here so I can strangle you.”

  She laughed, a coy sound. “Skipping right to the phone sex, are we? Is that a result of the painkillers or are you just moody that your work wife left you for another woman?”

  He set the now-empty bowl down a little harder than necessary. “Faye.”

  “Alright, alright, don’t get grumpy. What’s wrong with the tracker?”

  Jack flipped the device over. “We’re having issues with the screen flickering out. It’s not the battery, I already checked.”

  “Mm. Not an easy fix, but I should be able to walk you through it. Face-Time me and we can get it working again.”

  True to her word, thirty minutes later, the tracker was back to normal. Jack winced as he flexed his hand open and closed a couple times. “Sorry that took so long. Still not getting enough use out of his hand. Plus, the painkillers make me a little dopier than usual. Dexterity went right out the window.”

  “Hey, at least you still have use of the arm, big fella. If the girls hadn’t been there, who knows what would’ve happened?”

  Jack grimaced. “Trying not to think about it, honestly.”

  “Yeah.”

  He peered into the phone at the guarded look on her face. “Uh-oh. Is that a human emotion I see coming out of you? Are you worried about me?”

  She glared. “No.”

  Jack smirked. “Love you too.”

  “I swear to God, I’ll mail you a bomb.�
��

  “It’s too late. You’ve gone soft. I knew we shouldn’t have left you there alone. We’re going to come back to the apartment and it’ll be decorated with My Little Pony and Care Bears everywhere.”

  “You’re an infernal ass.”

  “Hee-haw. Now, didn’t you have something else for me?”

  “Other than complete and utter contempt? Yes. I’m emailing you the plans I have for the tracker I’m building from scratch. Hopefully, you won’t be in Tokyo for more than a couple more days, but I tend to plan for a worst case scenario where you guys would need to extend your visit. If that happens, I’ll build it and send it to you as soon as I can.”

  “Thanks, Faye.”

  “Welcome. Heard back from the girls yet?”

  “No. They said they’d be back within the hour. They should be here any minute. Hopefully, we’ll get some good news for once.”

  “So, what’s up with you and Kam? Any progress?”

  Jack sighed. “No.”

  “Oh, come on. You couldn’t even milk some pity sex out of that gunshot wound? A little glad-to-still-be-alive nookie?”

  He glared. “Now who’s the infernal ass?”

  She winked. “Love you too.”

  “Ugh. I think I’ve reached my Faye-quota for the day. I’ll call you later.”

  “I’ll wait with bated breath, handsome.” She paused. “Be careful, okay?”

  He let the scowl on his face soften. “Yeah. You too.”

  They hung up. A moment later, Jack’s phone sprang to life. The screen showed an unknown number with a local area code. Perplexed, he answered cautiously.

  “Hello?”

  “Ohayou, Jackson-sensei.”

  Jack froze. Even over the phone, he knew that deep, smoke-laced voice and its mocking tone.

  It was Okegawa.

  “How the hell did you get this number?”

  Okegawa chuckled. It felt like bits of sand being poured into Jack’s eardrums. “Come now, my friend. We both know it’s child’s play to acquire such a thing, especially after I went through your laptop and personal information.”

  Jack gritted his teeth. “What do you want? Wait, let me guess. Still stumbling around trying to find me? I don’t know how many toe-heads you’ve got out there looking for me, but maybe you should hire ones who can shoot straight.”

  Okegawa scoffed. “I suppose you’re right. I was most disappointed in Aisaka-san’s decision to open fire when they were chasing after you. Rest assured, it’s been dealt with.”

  “Good to know you run a tight ship. So, are you going to threaten me or not? I haven’t got all goddamn day and you’re running up my cell phone bill.”

  Okegawa laughed again, softly. “Oh, Jackson-sensei. I think we both know each other much better than that. I will gain nothing by threatening you. I’ve seen the kind of man you are.”

  “Have you now?”

  “Hai. We’ve spent a brief time together, but that does not mean I haven’t had my eye on you all along. You camouflage yourself. You pretend that you are a man of intellect, but we both know better. You have instincts that have nothing to do with knowledge. You are a wolf in sheep’s clothing. And that’s fine. So am I.”

  “A wolf, you say? I thought you were just a mangy dog that Yagami let off the leash when his project failed.”

  The line went so silent Jack thought the shateigashira had hung up. Then he spoke in a hush. “You are not fit to speak his name, kono yarou, nor are you fit to discuss what you think our relationship is. You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into, and I think it’s high time that I educate you on the current stakes.”

  Jack’s phone chimed suddenly. Frowning, he pulled it away from his face and flicked to the main menu, noticing he had a text message. He opened it and then went absolutely still.

  It was a photo of Fujioka and Kamala sitting on a rooftop, both with binoculars.

  The phone chimed again and a second photo appeared; this one with the barrel of a sniper rifle visible and pointed at the two women, who seemed to only be a few yards below.

  “I will make this simple,” Okegawa said. “You will leave that apartment and walk down the sidewalk to the nearest stoplight. You will get in the car that is waiting at the curb for you. If you attempt to contact Fujioka or Anjali-sensei to warn them, my man will open fire.”

  “Bullshit,” Jack snarled. “You were told not to harm Kamala. I know you’re lying.”

  “You are correct. He will shoot Fujioka instead.”

  Jack paled. Okegawa continued. “You have my word that if you cooperate, no harm will come to your bodyguard. The men who are hunting you will be called off. You have the power to stop all of it right now without any further bloodshed. There is no hope left for you, Jackson-sensei. You knew that the second you left the shores of your beloved America. Stop pretending that you’re the hero of this story and accept your fate. You have one minute to comply or the next photo I send will be of Fujioka’s remains.”

  Okegawa hung up.

  “Goddammit!” Jack roared, flinging the phone to the floor. He paced back and forth, fisting his hair with his free hand, panting as panic rose inside him in a suffocating wave. One minute to comply. One minute to decide if rescuing Pete was worth Fujioka’s life. One minute to decide if he was ready to say goodbye to everything, because there was no going back after this.

  He grabbed a sheet of paper and scribbled on it as fast as he could and left it on the desk. He shut his eyes and pressed his hand to it, his voice hoarse.

  “I’m sorry.”

  The closest street to Fujioka’s apartment had a town car limousine with tinted windows idling with its hazard lights on, and a stocky man in a black suit standing in front of the rear passenger’s seat. Jack clenched his jaw and forced himself to walk over to him. Once in range, the man held out one hand.

  “Your firearm and your cell phone please, Dr. Jackson,” he said in hushed, accented English.

  Jack reached beneath his coat and slipped them to him. The man dismantled the gun and stomped Jack’s cell phone in half. His actions so smooth Jack was sure the guy did it several times a week.

  “Thank you. Please step inside.”

  “Wow,” Jack muttered as the man opened the car door. “You’re the politest kidnapper I’ve ever seen.”

  He climbed in and the stocky man did the same. The car pulled into traffic a second later.

  “I will keep this simple,” the man said in that same empty voice. “If you cooperate, no harm will come to you. If you attempt to escape, I will hurt you. Badly. Do you understand?”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Jack growled. “I’ve seen enough movies to know where this is going. Act like I’m totally whipped and you’ll pretend like I can make it out of this alive.”

  The edge of the man’s lips twitched. “Please hold out your hands. Wrists together.”

  Jack’s heart rabbited inside his chest. He swallowed hard as the air seemed thicker and harder to process. He held out his arms, hoping the man wouldn’t notice the slight tremor in them.

  The man slipped a pair of zip-ties on him and pulled them taut, then handed Jack a black hood. Jack pulled it on and breathed in the smell of clean cotton as slowly as he could, reminding himself to keep a cool, scientific distance about his current predicament. Instead of mouthing off more, he concentrated on the ride, noting the distance…each turn, each stop. There was little chance he’d be able to do anything with this information, but he logged it away anyhow.

  He estimated that they drove for over an hour, and as the clamoring honks of car horns and the white noise of crowds fell away, he realized they were leaving the city. What little hope he’d clung to of finding a way to lead Kamala and Fujioka to his location, shriveled and died as time passed.

  Finally, he heard the tires crunching over what sounded like gravel, and then the car came to a halt. The driv
er exchanged words with someone outside of the vehicle and then they drove for a short distance before parking.

  “Watch your head,” the man beside him said, pulling him out of the car. Jack stepped out onto concrete. The man kept a firm grip on his left bicep and led him along until he heard the faint squeak of a door opening and felt cold air whoosh over his body. Tile clicked underneath his dress shoes and the sound bounced around as if wherever he was had high walls and ceilings.