“If he has any left,” Guerra sniggered.
“Honestly… Shinsaku and Kamilia were at a serious disadvantage. Give him a sword or her a knife…”
“Well... same thing for me... just give me a gun!”
“I know... you’re the best marksman I’ve met.” said Namara.
“I’ve never seen so much light! It’s like we’re in outer space!” said Guerra, eyes still glued to the view. “You know, there’s a hundred more people milling about down there than there is in New York, and it’s a hundred times cleaner. It looks like you could lick the asphalt, it’s incredible!”
“Just about.”
Their banter was interrupted when an envelope slid in from under the door with the barest swish. They looked at it for a few seconds like it might explode. Guerra moved first; he ran to the door and threw it open, but the corridor was utterly empty – no sign of the messenger.
“What the…” He peered down both sides like he refused to believe his eyes. Then he knelt to take the envelope, letting the door swing shut behind him. Namara watched him pull out a card and begin to read.
“What’s it say?”
“Apparently we’ve been chosen to receive a… ‘unique ancestral training’,” said Guerra dryly.
“What kind of training?” asked Namara, who was not exactly new to clandestine instruction.
“Dunno. Doesn’t say. It’s an address and a time – twenty-hundred, if we’re interested – and it says to ask for ‘Maki’.”
“Alright.”
“Well, what do you think?”
“I think that I am curious even if curiosity is a bad habit!”
CHAPTER 28
The address led them to a little restaurant in a Shibuya side street. Namara and Guerra walked there in the mass of people circulating through the neighborhood and its thousands of lights. Japanese characters in all colors burned themselves into their eyeballs. They veered off into a miniscule alley where you could fit two people across. Raised white lanterns lit the street at intervals of two hundred meters. The address sat atop a huge wooden door, which Namara opened, and together they strode into the dimly lit restaurant. A hostess greeted them with a smile.
“For two?”
“Uhhh… actually, I think our friend is already here… he’s called Maki?” said Guerra hesitantly.
“Follow me.”
The hostess led them to the back of the restaurant into a little private salon, closed off by paper screens. The central table was lit with little candles and surrounded, to their surprise, by the other three finalists of the Shiai. At the head of the table sat a little Japanese man with black eyes that scrutinized them the minute they stepped into the room.
“Welcome, gentlemen, I’m glad you’ve accepted my invitation. Be seated, I pray you. My name is Maki.”
James and Danny joined the others kneeling at the table and everyone stared at each other in silence.
“Now that we’re all here, we can begin,” said Maki. “Welcome, and thank you for responding. You are here because you have been chosen out of everyone to receive a training belonging to my fraternity. It is an honor for me to be in the company of martial artists of your caliber and a privilege for our family to bestow upon you our ancestral heritage, should you agree to accept it,” said Maki in a tone that made it impossible for them to tell whether the honor was his or theirs.
“What training are you talking about?” Kamilia demanded.
“It is an art that has existed since time immemorial in our country and which is obscured in secrecy. Our reputation is legendary and our accomplishments are the stuff of history. If you accept, my dear brothers and sisters in arms, you will become the best assassins and spies the world has ever known. You will become something other. In fact, you will become ninjas!”
“Why us?” demanded Shinsaku, his gaze nearly as cold as Maki’s.
“Our family rests in the shadows, as ninjas do. We have existed for centuries and we have survived until now, despite the majority of Japanese who believe that the true ninjas are a myth of the past. Our exploits are embedded within popular folklore and they have come to believe that we are fiction, a myth. Not so. It is we who have mystified our existence by opening ninjutsu dojos, teaching a style of self-defense that has little to do with our true art. Ninjutsu is more than a simple martial art. It is training to be an unstoppable assassin in the shadow, a doctrine, an order, a business. We are merchants of death and the demand for that product is on the rise these days. We observe, we reign in silence and we seek worthy pupils to receive the knowledge of our brotherhood so that the art survives and journeys through time, as it has done so far. Our family has chosen you!”
They stayed silent and glanced at each other, trying to see if anyone understood anything more than the other.
Ming Mei spoke up next.
“Ok, but you didn’t answer the question. Why us?”
“You are each one of you agile, aggressive and gifted. With the necessary knowledge, you will be unstoppable assassins.”
“And what does that mean for us? We’ll have to join you and your family, whoever you are, is that it?” asked Namara.
“No. You will have no duty toward us, no ties at all. We want nothing from you. Our goal is to transmit our knowledge before we die and it dies with us, and we want to send it all over the world, from our continent to yours. You represent what I could call modern ninjas. Eras change, ninjas change. Adaptability is one of our strengths!”
“What kind of training are we talking about?” Guerra asked.
“You must not misunderstand me… you will be put to the test. You must make proof of your resourcefulness and endurance. You must learn how to help each other to survive, confront your fears and dominate them to sow the seeds of fear in the heart of your enemies. You must look death in the face and laugh. You will learn to defy the laws of physics and to become the masters of illusion, manipulating the elements around you. We will teach you tradecrafts.”
They looked at him and wondered what he was hiding. Maki knew how to intrigue and charm. It was difficult to say no to such an offer.
“How much?” asked Ming Mei.
“Nothing. We don’t want your money. They only thing we ask is that you bring us honor.”
“Say we were interested. When would we begin?”
“Tomorrow,” said Maki.
CHAPTER 29
Maki, with his future recruits on his tail, halted in front of a modern twenty-seven story building. The glass-paned façade was gridded with steel. The white marble foyer was utterly deserted. Maki entered a code into a keyboard and the glass doors opened for them.
“Where are we?” asked Shinsaku.
“This building belongs entirely to us. It is completely empty and arranged specifically for training. Each of the twenty-seven floors is fully equipped with electricity, elevators, computers, and several other surprises. There’s also a five level underground parking garage in which we will practice automobile techniques. You will live here, and sleep here, until such time as I decide otherwise. Yours will be the seventeenth floor. Take the elevator and deposit your personal effects there.”
“You don’t say! I had no idea ninjas were so well-off. We’re a long way off from the hooded chaps in the mountains,” Guerra muttered.
“We ninjas adapt to our environment, Mr. Guerra,” retorted Maki, who had heard James’ comment. “These days, society lives in an urban setting, and it is here where we can operate with the most efficiency. Modern challenges for ninja are much greater and more complex. But they are necessary… you will see for yourself.”
“I guess I will,” said Guerra.
Their room on the seventeenth was huge and completely empty, except for a table and their futons.
“You will sleep here. The bathrooms and the showers are at the far end.”
It looked like a gutted corner office with its huge windows that surrounded the immense open space. Several white neon lights lit the
space. They dropped their bags and looked at each other, knowing they were in it together for the next several weeks. They had no other choice but to get to know each other.
* * *
They were shut up in this building for several weeks and the awkwardness, painfully present at the beginning, began to dissipate over the next several days. They slept, ate and lived together, and bonds began to grow. They got to know each other over the course of thousands of conversations, conversation being the only activity available during their free time. Friendship and respect grew between them. Maki was their sole teacher during those weeks, instructing them in all types of detection, how to avoid them and how to cut their circuits. They learned to infiltrate any space with cameras, alarms, motion detectors, thermal detectors.
He taught them how to infiltrate and pirate any electronic network. He showed them that, no matter how sophisticated the technology, there was always a flaw. One day, as Maki gave a demonstration on explosives, James dozed in his chair at the back of the room. Maki, visibly infuriated, threw a marble under his chair, which exploded on contact with the floor. James woke with a jump, knocking his chair over as he looked around wildly.
“Wha? Wha’appened!?” said Guerra from the floor.
“Pardon me for interrupting your nap, Mr. Guerra, but I consider this information very pertinent!” Maki spat.
Guerra stood with a grunt and righted his chair as everyone laughed helplessly.
“Shit your pants, James?” sniggered Ming Mei. “Go clean up, we’ll wait for you.”
“Yeah, but don’t worry, Mingy, they aren’t mine. I borrowed your little lace knickers this morning.”
They were all laughing helplessly as James calmly sat himself back down.
“Wayyy too much information,” said Kamilia.
“A little maturity, please,” said Maki, furious.
“I just hope you haven’t gone and ruined the elastic,” Namara whispered.
“Are you kidding? She’s getting back a huge colourful me-scented parachute.”
Namara and Guerra were doubled over with laughter, trying to keep quiet, but apparently everyone had heard them and Maki was the only one not amused.
“Very well, Mr. Guerra. As you seem to be above learning this, perhaps you wouldn’t mind teaching it. Get up here!”
Guerra got up there calmly under Maki’s glare. He threw him a ball of white plastic with the texture of modeling clay.
“Would you do us the kindness of explaining the properties of this material?”
“If you insist… It’s a military explosive agent called C-4. You can manipulate it easily due to its stable nature. The only danger of explosion is if you add a detonator. It’s insoluble in water. Its means of use, its malleability and its power make it the explosive of choice for terrorists, soldiers, and emergency response teams.”
As Guerra gave his lackadaisical lecture, he was rooting through the box of objects Maki had brought. He selected something small enough to be concealed in the palm of his hand. His gaze landed on Shinsaku, specifically the pen in his hand, and gestured for Shinsaku to give it to him. He began to pry open the pen.
“You can use it in many contexts for several types of bombs. For example, a small amount of C-4 the size of a pinhead in this pen, combined with a detonator, gives you a pen-bomb in a few seconds that could pulverize almost everything in this room and the next.”
The pen-bomb took shape before their eyes. Guerra worked as though he was doing something mundane, like laundry. Everyone in the room began to feel the anticipation.
“Ok. Here, you have a magnificent working pen-bomb. One click to activate it, two to deactivate. Its beauty is its simplicity, wouldn’t you agree?”
Guerra clicked the pen and tossed it in Maki’s direction. The room fell deathly silent as Maki caught it in his hand.
“James, you’re sick!” Ming Mei shouted.
“You have five seconds before it blows. Four, three, two…”
Maki clicked it twice and everyone breathed again. Guerra had made his point. Maki’s heart was beating madly. Guerra picked up a little metallic stick, no more than a few centimeters long, and dropped it casually in Kamilia’s water glass as he walked by. Suddenly, the water began to boil as the little stick burned like kerosene on a live coal.
“That there is pure magnesium. Magnesium reacts with water, rendering it very dangerous in its pure state. The moral of the story – anything can go boom if you know how to use it. Something that looks insignificant can be a nightmare if it’s mixed with something else. That’s all for today, folks!” He took his seat at the back and grinned.
“You imbecile!” shouted Stone, who had jumped from her chair upon seeing the liquid flames jumping from her hand, and was now covered with the contents of her glass.
“Very well, Mr. Guerra, excellent presentation. I suppose you haven’t spent the majority of your time in the boxing ring.”
Maki had remained icy the duration of Guerra’s presentation. Apparently, the latter knew his stuff, which Maki had ignored, and which made him more dangerous in his eyes. He never dared to ask where he’d acquired the knowledge, because he surely wouldn’t have agreed to open up about his past so easily. But then, he didn’t need answers from Guerra’s mouth. He had a good idea that which he was able to do in his other life. Everything changed in Maki’s eyes, that which had become more interesting and more dangerous as well. A man with secrets and who knows how to hide them is always the man to fear. Maki gave no sign of his changed opinion as he continued his presentation.
CHAPTER 30
Their training suddenly took a dangerous turn. Maki, who had imparted so much knowledge technical and theoretical, decided that it was time for them to prove their ninja skills. In the dead of night, he ordered them to scale the glass-paned building from bottom to top. He equipped them with nothing but climbing shoes and bags of talc to keep their hands dry. No cords of any kind. The only thing they had to hold were the steel frames around the windows.
Maki warned them that they had to rely on their legs, not their arms, or they would become exhausted and fall to their death before ever reaching the top. No-one spoke. They all concentrated on their upcoming task, realizing that the tiniest error would put them in their grave. Dressed in black, standing in a row, they began their climb, silent like spiders. They moved slowly and silently. Every movement was deliberate and precise.
Namara had reached the eighth floor when he felt vertigo setting in. He realized that, at this height, a fall would mean imminent death, and he shut his eyes to calm himself down. His rapid breath pulsed against the window and drops of sweat pearled along his temples. It’s like combat. But I’m shooting at myself. And the only thing to do is climb, so don’t think about falling. One step at a time. Up. He could see the city lights reflected in the windows, making it all the more surreal. He could feel the wind swirling and dancing around him, as though it was speaking to him – come, jump, dance with me. Overtop of the wind rang sirens and car horns. Namara concentrated on his breathing and thought of nothing. His heart slowed and he could take better control of himself. Guerra was following him from several meters below. Namara heard him shout:
“SHIT.”
He tried to look below him, but it was too difficult from his position, and his foothold was only three centimeters wide.
“What? What is it?”
“I’m falling, I’m fucking falling.”
Namara could finally see him – he’d lost his footing, and was gripping the window frame with two hands as his feet dangled.
“Well hold on, goddammit!”
He knew it would be impossible to go down and help him. He’d kill them both. Guerra pulled himself up with his hands and found his footing again. He clung to the window, breathless.
“Are you all right to continue?” he demanded.
“Do I have another choice!?”
He hung back with Guerra for a minute until he was good to climb again. They gav
e each other courage to continue. With a rush of perseverance, they climbed with a singular goal of reaching the top. He raised his head and scanned the huge glass wall all around him. Three black shadows moved above. Stone, Ming Mei and Shinsaku seem to be all right. The wind blew.
“It’s only a test. If we’ve made it eight stories, the next will be nothing,” he told himself.
He continued upward into the black night as echoes of life rang under his feet.
Maki was waiting on the roof. Guerra brought up the rear and they sat to gather their thoughts.
“Congratulations everyone. Thank god we all made it,” said Stone as she caught her breath.
“Yes, exactly, congratulations. The climb was a test and you passed. You have accomplished the most difficult of tasks tonight and you are still alive. This climb is a gauge of self-confidence. You can scale whatever you wish now. You know that nothing will stop you. Eliminate your fear and you are indestructible,” said Maki solemnly.
“I’m starving! Let’s get something to eat,” said Ming Mei.
“Great idea,” Namara retorted. “If you’re dying of hunger.”
* * *
“What the fuck,” Namara yelled as he hurled for the bathroom with a flaming mouth.
Everyone was dying with laughter – he’d just swallowed the huge gob of wasabi Shinsaku had hidden in his plate.
“I’m dying!” he yelled from the bathroom as he gulped water.
Guerra high-fived Shinsaku.
“ He’s not easily taken, but we’ve finally done him in!” he sniggered.
“Shinsaku, you’re going down!” Namara shouted. “Aughh, it burns like fire!”
All the silliness was just another means of eliminating the stress of their daily lives.
They knew that they’d seen death tonight. These tests had been what brought them together as a group.
“Well, that was rude. Wasabi is vile,” Stone sniggered. “Hey, Danny, you want me to call the fire department?”
Redemption Page 17