Of Cinder and Bone

by Kyoko M

  “What’s America’s golden boy up to these days?” Faraday asked.

  “Finishing up the project and looking to the future. That’s where I’m heading afterward. We’ve got to round up the new batch of dragon DNA samples to begin the next set of trials.”

  “Hopefully this batch won’t get killed or stolen, eh?”

  Kamala smiled fiercely. “I’d like to see them try.”

  “Godspeed, Kamala. Give ‘em hell.”

  “I shall. Get well soon, Detective. Take care, Evelyn.”

  She waved and strode down the hall towards the nurse’s station. She waited patiently for the woman at the desk to finish the phone call she was on. “Excuse me, but I have a question about a friend of mine who was treated here earlier this morning.”

  The blonde nurse nodded. “Who would that be?”

  “Dr. Rhett Jackson. He came in to get his bandages changed on his right arm. He suffered a gunshot wound through his bicep.”

  “Sure. What’s your question?”

  “Well, the wound was inflicted by a relatively large caliber bullet and my friend was prescribed painkillers. However, he was only given prescription for a week’s worth.”

  “I see. Is that a problem?”

  “Ma’am, my friend is a full time scientist. He works with his hands, and it requires heavy lifting on a weekly basis. It will take time for him to recover, but he won’t be able to do so if he suffers chronic pain. A week’s worth is insufficient.”

  The nurse eyed her. “And your friend told the doctor that he’s suffering that much pain?”

  “Yes.”

  “He asked you to intercede on his behalf?”

  “No. Dr. Jackson is a rather stubborn man. He’d rather keep the pain to himself than question the doctor’s prescription. I know what the long term problems can be with that type of injury. Enduring that pain can slow his reflexes, or worse, if he can’t get the correct pain medications, he may seek other less-than-legal methods to procure them. I would like to avoid either of those possibilities.”

  “Ma’am, you have to understand the statistical likelihood that he’ll become addicted to the pain medication. That is often why we only prescribe a week’s supply for that type of injury. It’s unhealthy to take them longer than that period of time—”

  “Understanding is not a problem for me,” Kamala said with a slight edge in her voice. “I’m a medical doctor myself, albeit a non-practicing one.”

  The nurse cleared her throat and seemed to rethink her approach. “If you’d like, I can send for the doctor who wrote the prescription and you can discuss it with him.”

  “I would appreciate that, thank you.”

  The nurse made a call over the intercom for Dr. Ed Gilmer. A portly man in his early fifties arrived several minutes later, muttering something to himself as he squinted at a chart through half-moon glasses. He glanced up from it after he reached the desk, addressing the nurse.

  “What’s this all about, Karen?”

  “This young lady had some questions for you regarding the care of Dr. Rhett Jackson.”

  Dr. Gilmer stared blankly at her. “Your ten-thirty appointment this morning.”

  He kept staring. Karen sighed. “The dragon guy.”

  “Oh! Yes, yes, of course.” He turned to Kamala. “What questions do you have for me, young lady?”

  “My name is Kamala Anjali.” She paused. “Dr. Kamala Anjali.”

  The doctor’s spine stiffened. “Any relation to Dr. Daeshim Anjali?”

  “Yes. He’s my father.”

  “Oh my,” he muttered. “What can I do for you, Dr. Anjali?”

  “I wanted to discuss the possibility of extending the pain medication prescription you gave to Dr. Jackson this morning. I spend several hours with him every day, and with the extent of his arm injury, I believe he will require more than one week’s worth of supply.”

  The male doctor cleared his throat and motioned towards the hallway. “Walk with me, please.”

  Once they were away from the desk, he lowered his voice. “You do realize that you don’t have the authority or the permission to ask what you’re asking, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Look, Dr. Anjali, the way things are done in this hospital is pretty routine. After all, the initial stitches that you performed when the injury was fresh were expert level. The wound didn’t become infected and it’s been taken care of since it happened. Standard procedures in this hospital are one week, no more. We have a limited budget.”

  “I understand that, but a budget isn’t an excuse to shortchange someone who doesn’t know any better. I know him, Dr. Gilmer. Even with the pain meds, he favors that arm. Our mission to Tokyo may have been a success, but there is no guarantee there won’t be further retaliation from the enemies we made there. I want him to be fully capable of normal activities, and that may include self-defense sooner rather than later.”

  Dr. Gilmer sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose. “Assuming that I went along with your request, what can you tell me about his personality? Does he have any vices?”

  “He doesn’t have addictive tendencies, if that’s what you’re getting at.”

  “Can you assure me without a doubt that he’s not going to come looking for more?”

  “Yes. I’ll be keeping an eye on his dosage and intake.”

  “How can you be so sure?”

  Kamala cleared her throat. “We recently became… involved. There is a good chance I will be with him for extended hours, so I’ll be able to monitor how much he takes.”

  Dr. Gilmer peered at her over his glasses. “Alright, I’ll prescribe him an additional week. I expect him to show up for his next appointment for another analysis, and if I deem that he doesn’t need to be on the pain meds any longer, I will withhold. Your father has supplied this hospital and several in the area with some top-notch doctors over the years. That is why I’m even humoring you. But you already know that, don’t you?”

  “I do.”

  He withdrew a pad from his lab coat and scribbled on it. He held it out. “This is a one-time deal, Dr. Anjali. Anything after this point and you’ll owe me.”

  “Understood.” She took the prescription and he walked away without another word. Kamala breathed out through her nose and headed for the pharmacy.

  ~*~

  When Jack’s cell phone sprang to life with the “la-la-la-la” chorus and chaotic guitar riff of The Fratellis’ “For the Girl,” he excused himself and stepped into the hallway, answering with a smirk.

  “Are you even supposed to be awake right now? Or on a cell phone, no less?”

  “Oh, shush, Jack. You’re not the boss of me.”

  Jack grinned. “Good to hear your voice, Misaki. I think it’s gotten sexier. It’s all throaty and Kathleen Turner-ish.”

  She laughed softly. “You’re barely old enough to know who that is.”

  “I was a teenage boy once. You’re damned right I know who Jessica Rabbit is. Anyway, what’ve you got for me?”

  “News.”

  “Is it good or bad?”

  “Just… news. First things first, I’m not paralyzed.”

  Jack lifted the phone away from his face for a second so he could let out a relieved breath. She’d fuss if she heard him do it. “Excellent news, I’d say.”

  “Let me finish. I still have motor function, but it’s going to take weeks before I’m back on my feet. The nerve damage is extensive. There’ll be surgeries in my future, but I’ll be able to walk before long.”

  “How’s your arm?”

  “Hurts like hell. It’ll heal, but the doctors say it’s likely I won’t be able to feel much in my hand or fingers. I was lucky the whole arm didn’t come off.”

  “Yeah, you don’t wear enough eye makeup to become the Winter Soldier. By the way, I got your invoice. You didn’t have to do that, you
know.”

  “Of course I did. We both know you wouldn’t have been able to come up with the full sum you owed without robbing a bank or trying to pay me back with your body.”

  “You offend me, madam. Surely you know I’d have paid you in backrubs.”

  “Bakayarou. Should have charged you. These medical bills are piling up already.”

  His grin faded. “Misaki—”

  “Don’t even go there. I’m a big girl. I can handle it.”

  “I know, but… I still wish it had been me instead of you.”

  “Of course you do, pig. You would’ve charged in guns blazing if the Tokyo police hadn’t nailed your feet to the floor, and you’d be sharing a room with me right now, assuming you didn’t end up in a pine box. I did what I had to do. You did the right thing. They’re paid to be in the middle of a firefight. So am I. Or I used to be, at least.”

  Jack gnawed his lower lip. “Any idea what you’ll do after you get out?”

  “Not a clue. But that’s the good thing about being stuck in this bed. Plenty of time to think. And plenty of time to scheme.”

  He scowled. “What are you up to?”

  “I put some feelers out to see if we can get a line on where Yagami went.”

  “Misaki.”

  “Don’t give me that tone. Do you want to know what I found or not?”

  Jack sighed. “Go ahead.”

  “Someone drove him off the farm not long before the police arrived. Word is that he went to go see his sister to negotiate some kind of ceasefire between the Yamaguchi and the Inagawa-kai. They’re way too visible right now and ever since Kamala talked to the embassy, the cops are campaigning to shut them down with extreme prejudice. The yakuza need things to get quiet again if they want to keep their operation open.”

  “Why go to his sister and not the head of the families themselves?”

  “Keiko can get them to parlay with her since her old man ran with the Yamaguchi and the mantle’s passed on to her now that Yagami’s circling the drain. My guess is both sides will slip back under their respective rocks until things blow over, and start working on the data they stole from you and Kamala.”

  He gritted his teeth. “Yeah, I’m not looking forward to that. With Yagami and that other scientist Minako, we’re going to have competition very soon.”

  “And I assume you can’t do anything legally to stop them?”

  “Not since Kamala essentially gave them permission, though under duress. Hear anything else?”

  “Sort of. How much have you been keeping up with the news?”

  “Been too busy. What’s up?”

  “They just unveiled that they found the first intact fossil of Baba Yaga that actually has DNA remains. I would bet a million yen that a piece of it is miraculously missing. I think that’s their game. Pete is a marvel of epic proportions, but she’s small fry compared to Baba Yaga. If the yakuza want to make their mark on history as your competitor, they’ll start with her.”

  He rubbed his face. “That’s an extraordinarily bad idea. Like Jurassic Park bad idea. The only predators we still have on this earth that are anywhere near her size lives in the ocean, and so there’s no need to control them. Baba Yaga could lay waste the entire city of Tokyo in about an hour and a half if they brought her to life. Even with modern weapons, she’d do a hell of a lot of damage before they stopped her.”

  “My thoughts exactly. I’ll keep you posted with what I find.”

  “Thanks. You’re a literal lifesaver.” He hesitated. “To that end… you’re not thinking about doing anything rash, are you?”

  “What?” she asked quietly. “Like paying off some medical staff to go into Okegawa’s room and pull the plug?”

  Jack swallowed hard. “Yes.”

  “Relax. Death is the easy way out for that punk. No, I want him alive. I hope he’s trapped inside himself, perfectly able to think about how he got there by his own actions and how he’s lost it all. If he ever wakes up, he’ll rot in jail for the rest of his life. That’s good enough for me.”

  “And what about Kyōya? Are you going to pursue the case again?”

  She sighed. “I… don’t know. Okegawa was pushing my buttons, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t telling the truth. One day at a time. Once I’m out of this bed, I’ll have a lot of choices to make, that included.”

  He heard a brief rustling sound, as if she’d put her hand over the mic. She returned a moment later, sounding weary. “The doctors are back. I’ll catch up with you when I can.”

  “Take care, Misaki.”

  “You do the same, Jack.”

  He hung up and headed back into the lab, where Kamala and their P.I. Matt Buchanan were waiting for him.

  As corny as it sounded, Jack’s heart did flutter just a bit when he walked towards Kamala, and he could feel the smile trickling its way across his mouth. He’d have to work on not doing that in public, but the urge was hard to resist. From what he could tell, the feeling was mutual; she looked like she was hiding a smile as well.

  “Sorry about that. It was Misaki.”

  “How is she?” Kamala asked.

  “Better. She’s dropping a line to see what she can find out about the Sugimoto siblings. And before you ask, no, I didn’t put her up to it.”

  Kamala smirked. “Didn’t think you did. Sounds like Misaki alright. She might be the only person I know who is as stubborn as you are.”

  “Gosh, you’re gonna make me blush in a second.”

  Matt cleared this throat. “Don’t stop on my account.”

  “Sorry,” the pair chorused.

  “Don’t worry about it. I’m glad. You two have been dancing around each other long enough. It’s about time.”

  The two exchanged embarrassed glances. Matt laughed. “Everyone saw it coming. There was quite an office pool going on you two.”

  Kamala gave him an arch look. “Was there now?”

  He held up his hands in supplication. “If it makes you feel any better, I did not participate.” He paused. “But if I had, I’d have won a cool two-hundred.”

  Jack rolled his eyes. “It’s always the quiet ones. Anyway, let’s get on with it. What were you able to gather for us?”

  Matt grinned. “That’s the fun part. Your project, even with its hiccups, greased plenty of palms in the scientific community. We’ve got our veritable pick of the litter.”

  He set a binder on the lab table. “Naturally, we need to take each candidate into careful consideration, but these are the species we’d be able to get a viable sample from so far.”

  Kamala flipped it open. “Diamondback dragon. Cherubim species. Found mostly in desert regions of the Middle East. Uses venom to catch live prey, but prefers to scavenge. Allegedly a pack animal. Most commonly described as tiny vultures of the reptile kingdom.”

  Next page. “Dart-backed wyrm. Aquatic species. Found in the UK. Survives on fish and only surfaces to mate and lay its eggs. Ended up being the species that explains the Loch Ness Monster phenomenon.”

  Next page. “Horn-nosed digger dragon. Creates intricate underground caves in North America forest climates. Nocturnal. Often mistaken for bats, which they happen to feed on.”

  Next page. “Bearded Chinese dragon. Highland species. One of the larger species recorded in history. The Smithsonian has a skin measuring fifteen feet from snout to tail. Was among the first to go extinct when the dragon hunters set up shop.”

  Next page. “Hercules dragon. Found in the Sahara. Its skin is so thick it can withstand .22 caliber bullets. Dragon hunters used its pelt as armor when going after the Seraphim species because it’s also inflammable.”

  Last page. “Nordic sea serpent. The first recorded dragon who can withstand freezing temperatures, which led them to believe it’s some kind of hybrid species. The blubber that insulated its internal organs went for millions on the black market before
it went extinct, because it could burn for record breaking days at a time. It used to be nicknamed Greek Fire Fuel.”

  “Gods, Matt, this is incredible,” Kamala said as she glanced up at him. “How on earth do we even begin to narrow them down?”

  “Well, that’s what we’re here to discuss. I know you’re both as excited as I am, but we have to think logically about which is the best to start with on the next trial.”