By now, Dave had leaned forward next to his cousin in the middle seat, unusually quiet. After a moment more of silence, Jamie ordered, “Buster, turn on your radio to 96.9.”
“Why?” was his student’s response.
“That’s the closest radio station to Sera. It’s in Doniphan. Maybe they have something on about what’s going on.”
Buster reached over and flipped on the radio. Static rattled as he tuned in the station Jamie had asked him to find. The newscaster, Del King, was speaking, “ . . . has been evacuated from the town, per the instructions on the note. The county sheriff’s office has requested a language expert from the governor to decipher the Asian wording on the note. The governor hasn’t yet stated whether or not he will be requesting military troops in the area at this time. Again, an army of ‘strangely dressed, Asian men,’ as quoted from Tim Brown, has taken over Sera high school and, now that Sera has been evacuated, the town, as well. We’ll keep you posted of any further developments as they occur.”
Jamie interlaced his fingers and rested his chin on his knuckles, deep in thought. Finally, he spoke. “Even without telling anyone my secret, I’ve still put my classmates in danger.”
Yoshi looked back at him compassionately. “You cannot place blame upon yourself, Jamie. The Waruiyatsu have long been known to do things of this nature. If not to get to us, then to gain wealth, or power, or notoriety.”
* * *
The remaining thirty minutes of the trip from the Bluff to Aurthur went quietly. The older members of Adventure explained the details of what was going on to the younger, then everyone sat silently in the van, lost in his or her thoughts. The tension in the van had been palpable and Jamie was almost relieved when they reached Yoshi’s street.
As the van pulled into the driveway of the Funakoshi’s house, she swore. “Uncle Tanemura is not home yet,” she said in frustration. As soon as Buster placed the vehicle in “PARK,” she leaped from the passenger side and burst toward the front door, followed closely by Jamie and Dave. She reached into her pocket and fished out her house key, shoving it into the doorknob and turning it. The door swung open and the three walked inside.
Yoshi rushed to the living room phone and dialed the house where the bible study was held. “Hello, Mrs. Wagner? This is Tanemura’s niece. Is he there, by chance?” There was a pause as the person on the other end spoke. Jamie watched Yoshi’s face contort in panic, but the feeling didn’t creep into her voice. “Okay. Thank you.” She placed the receiver back on the jack. Looking at Jamie, she declared, “All of the men in the group but Uncle Tanemura and Mr. Wagner have food poisoning. It was apparently bad meat. He has taken them to the emergency room.” She sighed. “I suppose that it is good that Uncle does not like pork.”
Jamie walked over to the cabinet upon which the phone sat and opened one of the side-by-side doors. Reaching in, he pulled out a phone book and flipped through the pages until he found the hospital’s phone number. He grabbed the receiver from Yoshi and dialed it.
A voice answered, “Southern Missouri Regional Medical center. How may I direct your call?”
“Emergency room, please,” replied the young ninja.
After a few clicks, a familiar voice answered, “Emergency room. This is Cheryl. How can I help you?” Cheryl had admitted Jamie’s father for pneumonia so many times that the woman could quote their address.
“Cheryl? Can you tell me if you admitted a bunch of men with food poisoning tonight?”
“Hi, Jamie!” exclaimed the middle-aged woman. “How is your dad?”
“He’s fine,” replied the young man impatiently. “But it’s really important that I find a Japanese man that was with the men who were brought in tonight.”
“You know, now that you mention it, I do remember them.” She typed a little bit. “Yes, six men were admitted tonight for food poisoning.”
“And the Japanese man who brought them in?”
“He stayed here for about an hour to see if they were okay,” she continued, “but he just left.”
“He just left?”
“Not five minutes ago.”
“Thanks, Cheryl.”
“Tell your dad I said ‘Hi.’”
“Will do.” He hung up. Looking up at the other two, who had been joined by the rest of the group from the van, he said, “He just left.”
Buster looked at his watch. “Let’s see, it took us half an hour to get here from the Bluff and twenty minutes to get here from Jamie’s house. It’s a quarter after eleven now. If we wait for Tanemura, that won’t give us enough time to get to Sera before they kill the first hostage.”
Jamie glared at him. “What do you mean by we and us?”
Dave looked at his cousin. “C’mon, dude. Yer pretty good at that ninja stuff, but you and Yoshi, and even Tanemura, can’t fight a whole clan’a ninjas.”
“Ninja,” declared the male ninja, emphasizing the end of the word. “The plural form of ninja is ninja. And this isn’t your fight.”
Buster spoke up. “It became our fight when those jerks killed Yoshi’s parents.” He looked at her apologetically for bringing it up, then continued speaking to Jamie, “They were good people and some of the only members of your clan who didn’t treat us western kids like barbarians.”
“Yeah,” continued Pete, “and we proved we’re capable of fighting the Wara-whoosits that day, too.”
The group now looked at B.J.. “What are we supposed to do with the shrimp?” asked Pete.
B.J. shot his brother a glare and squealed, “I’m goin’ with ya.”
“Oh, no you’re not!” corrected Buster. “Mom and Dad are gonna be mad enough when they find out I went.”
“We could drop’im off at Jamie’s house,” suggested Pete.
“I’m goin’ with you!”
The group ignored B.J. as Jamie responded, “We can’t. My parents are home by now and they’ll wonder where we’re going this late at night.” He sighed. “I’ve never been good at lying. You guys know that.”
Yoshi jumped in. “We will simply leave him here.” She had been writing a note for her great-uncle. “He can explain everything to Uncle Tanemura when he arrives home.”
“I’m going with you!”
“Good idea, Sis,” said Jamie.
B.J., by now furious at being ignored, kicked his brother in the shin as hard as he could. “I’M GOING WITH YOU!”
“OOOOWWWWWW!!!” exploded Buster, hopping around on one foot.
Jamie glared at the child. “You are staying here, whether you like it, or not.” He placed his right hand on B.J.’s shoulder. “We’re doing this for your own good. And we need for you to tell Master Tanemura what’s happening.”
B.J. slumped his shoulders in defeat. “Okay.”
“But he’s only nine,” commented Zack. “Is it really safe to leave him here by himself?”
Jamie and Dave met each other’s glances. He knew that his larger cousin was having the same idea. “You stay with him,” the young ninja instructed Zack.
Zack’s eye’s widened. “That wasn’t what I had in mind . . ..”
“But dude,” interrupted Dave, “do you really wanna go fight ninja?”
Zack thought about that for a moment. “Good point.”
Chapter Six
Friday, 11:23 PM
On the opposite end of the gym from the locker rooms was a small office. Coach Bevlin, absent during the dance and attack, covered the walls of this room with awards that he had won while he was in high school and college. To most students, the framed certificates that wallpapered the room, leaving very little empty wall space, would be impressive. But to the sinister man in the black suit who sat in the coach’s chair, examining a shuriken, it was just a bunch of useless paper.
The door to the office opened and a familiar voice said, “There is still no sign of the Funakoshi, Master Obata.”
The jonin of the War
uiyatsu arose from the seat and stood at his full height of 5’10”, impressive for a member of their clan. “You have posted watches on the eastern bridge?”
“We have, Master.”
“They will come.” He continued to examine the throwing star that he held. “They are such sentimental fools. I suspect that the gai-jin has friends in this school. He will not allow them to be harmed.”
“Our spies had seen the American ninja conversing with a few of the students who are held in the locker room, Master.”
Obata turned to look at his subordinate and raised an eyebrow. “Indeed?” His lips parted into an almost friendly smile. “Well, we should make the friends of the chunin of the Funakoshi clan feel more comfortable, would you not agree?”
“What are your orders, Master?”
Obata turned away from the other ninja, examining the dartboard on the far side of the room, and stated, “I am leaving for our base by the river. I leave the matter in your capable hands.”
The other ninja, his voice tinged with excitement, said, “Yes, Master!”
“Separate these ‘friends’ from the rest in the locker room. If you have to begin killing prisoners, start with them.”
He turned his head to watch the other ninja bow in compliance. As the chunin turned to leave, his leader’s voice stopped him. “Tanemura is to be taken alive, Kuzuki.” He turned back to the dartboard, hurling the shuriken. “His niece is to be killed, but do this mercifully. She cannot help that karma has chosen her to be the one to bring about our fall.
“As for the gai-jin . . .,” he turned back to the dartboard, where the throwing star now shined in the bulls-eye, “you can make him suffer before you kill him.”
* * *
The door to the locker room creaked open and two of the ninja stepped in. One of them pointed in turn at George, Max, Steve, Jeremy and Shawna and said, “You five will come with us.”
“Why?” asked Steve as he climbed to his feet.
The ninja who had spoken appeared agitated and responded, “If you must insist upon asking questions, then we will be forced to sever your tongue.”
Steve defensively covered his mouth with both hands.
Leslie leaped to her feet and grabbed Steve’s right arm. “No!” she yelped.
The ninja who had been silent this whole time stepped forward and began to pull a dagger from his belt, but was stopped by the other. “We are not to harm them!” he snapped. The speaker looked at Leslie almost compassionately and said, “I have a wife and child. I know the pain that you feel now.” He gently removed her hand from Steve’s arm and continued, “I assure you that he will not be harmed if our demands are met.”
Steve cupped Leslie’s face in his right hand and, using his thumb to wipe a tear from her eye, whispered, “It’ll be okay. I’ll be back.” He kissed her, then turned to follow the others out of the room, trying his best to ignore her sobs.
* * *
Jamie and Yoshi wore their ninja uniforms. The suits consisted of black pants, a vest, and detachable arm coverings that fit over the back of the hand and were held in place by a black loop that fit over the middle and ring fingers. Their boots, called tabi, were also black, with a split between the big toe and the rest.
As the two walked around the weapons room in their teacher’s house, gathering up what they would need, Jamie began to worry about his parents. How would they react to what he and his friends were about to do? He knew that they were proud of his sense of responsibility, yet he also realized that they hated the concept of him being in danger. They had been relieved, but angry, when he and the others had battled the Warui ninja at Yoshi’s parents’ home. How would they react now?
The young ninja shook his head and sighed. “I’m glad that we don’t have to go to my house to get my ninja suit.”
Yoshi smiled. “I suppose that you are pleased that your young friend, Max, found it and asked you about it?”
Fortunately, Tanemura had enough weapons to arm a legion of ninja. They had each grabbed a crossbow with a quiver of bolts, several throwing stars, a couple of handfuls of caltrops (tetsu-bishi), and a few smoke balls.
Finally, Jamie grabbed a ninja-to and sheath from the wall. He examined the sword that he had chosen. Like most ninja-tos, its blade was two feet in length and straight, not curved like the katana of the samurai. The hilt was wrapped in either shark or eel skin (either way, it was probably imitation, considering the fact that these swords were made in the twentieth century) with a black cloth braided over it. This last feature was for added grip rather than decoration. He wished he had his personal sword, crafted by Deck Pendragon especially for him. But it was the one weapon that he had kept at his house.
Yoshi had developed a style where she used two of the swords. This was self-taught, as neither Jamie, nor even Tanemura, could use two of the weapons at the same time. Proud of his niece’s ingenuity, the jonin of the Funakoshi clan had commissioned Deck to craft two of the ninja-tos with Yoshi in mind. Each was balanced perfectly for her and was an inch shorter than a normal ninja-to.
Jamie looked at Yoshi and asked, “Are we ready?”
She sighed, a look of steel resolve on her face. “We are ready.”
“Then let’s get the others.”
* * *
Jamie was relieved that most of the others hadn’t taken their suitcases out of Buster’s van before they had left the young ninja’s house for the Bluff. Dave had thrown his entire bag in Buster’s van, rather than digging out his skates and leaving the bag behind.
Each was armed and ready. B.J., who sulked on Tanemura’s couch, and Zack, who sat next to him, watched the others gather around Jamie and Yoshi. The palpable emotions could be felt by everyone in the room, taking different forms for each person. Worry, fear, and even excitement were here.
Dave wore a pair of camouflage army pants with black army boots. His muscles rippled under the plain, white T-shirt he wore under a black, leather vest. Various fighting, hunting and survival knives were sheathed on his elastic belt, on his pant-legs, and on his boots. The outfit was completed with a navy blue headband.
Buster wore a pair of white, drawstring pants that were a part of a karate uniform. He had chosen white jogging shoes and a black T-shirt. Two pair of nunchaku, were sheathed in black, leather straps around his legs. His small, silver cross gleamed from the chain around his neck.
Pete had changed into a black jumpsuit. He wore a matching sweatband and his white tennis shoes.
Buster cleared his throat. “I know that you guys don’t always like to hear about religious stuff, and all that.” He sighed, and then continued, “But I just wanted to offer a little group prayer, considering the situation.”
Yoshi gently took his hand. “You know that I will gladly accept prayer.”
Jamie took her other hand and nodded to Buster.
One by one, all the members of the group grasped hands until they were standing in a circle. Buster, Yoshi on one side and his brother on the other, prayed, “Holy God of Heaven, we give You praise for the relationship that we share. Each of us feels a bond to one another that is stronger than normal friendship. We are a family . . . a family that You, in Your infinite wisdom, have brought together.
“Lord, lead us in the endeavor in which we now strive, to free those who have been kidnapped. Help us to be a beacon in the darkness . . . and keep Your protective Hand on us.” Buster took a deep, shuddering breath, then continued, “In Your Son’s Holy Name, Amen.”
Each of the rest of the group followed with an Amen of his or her own.
Buster wiped his hand across his eyes. “Now I feel a little better about walking into the lions’ den.”
* * *
The five sat in metal chairs. A raised area, the place where they were sequestered was often used as a stage when they turned the gym into an auditorium. Tonight, the only thing that was there was the stereo system that had played th
e music.
George looked at Steve and asked, “Why do you think they singled us out?”
Steve thoughtfully pinched his bottom lip. “I’m not sure.” He looked around at the other four. “I can’t see what we all have in common that would interest these people.” He gestured at Shawna. “She, Max and I are honor students, but that would leave out Jeremy and yourself.” He gave a friendly smile. “No offense intended.”
“None taken,” said George.
Steve continued. “Max and I are brothers, but there are no family ties between the three of you, and I fail to understand why they would care about that, anyway.”
He looked at George again. “You knocked a few of them around with the handle of the mop that Mr. Brown had used to clean up Freddy’s vomit. That might have caught their attention. But it doesn’t explain us.”
George looked at Jeremy. “Maybe you yelling, ‘I’m Robin Hood!’ got their attention.”
Jeremy smiled self-importantly until Shawna offered, “I’m surprised that they didn’t mark him a lunatic and kill him on the spot.”
Steve was just about to ask George where he’d learned to fight with the mop, when the silent ninja came forward. “It is ten minutes until midnight,” he hissed. “You had better hope that your friend gets here before then, or one of you will die.”
The five looked at him with a mixture of fear and confusion. “Wh . . . what friend?” demanded Shawna.
The ninja just shook his head and turned away.
Steve was really perplexed. “What friend of ours could interest these ninja?”
“How about Deck?” offered Jeremy. “He’s a pretty good fighter.”
“And more of a nut than you,” remarked Shawna. “Besides, he was supposed to be at the dance tonight. If they wanted him, they could’ve just waited a little longer and he would’ve shown up.”
“How about Jamie?” asked George.
“What would a ninja clan want with Jamie?” asked Max. “Besides, I wouldn’t exactly call Shawna his friend.”
The other three males each raised an eyebrow at him as Shawna blushed.
Invasion of the Ninja Page 5