Kenjii was quiet, lost in his thoughts as they walked the dimly lit streets home. He had been considering Akio’s offer to fix what was wrong in his body, but he still wasn’t ready to commit. Years of Heinz’s torturous procedures and experiments made him hesitate, but the more he saw of the people who surrounded his friend, the more he wanted to be part of what they did.
“Akio?”
“Hai.”
“You’ve told me some things about your life and mission here. May I ask you some questions?”
Akio clasped Kenjii’s hand. “You may ask me anything. I will be honest and tell you if it’s something I can’t answer, but you’re always free to ask me questions.”
“The humans, Koda, Asai, and Seki. Do they know what we are?”
“Koda and Asai do. Seki knows we’re warriors, but he doesn’t know our nature.”
Kenjii was thoughtful for a moment. “Koda offered me friendship, knowing I’m a killer?”
“Koda offered you friendship because she sees the man you are, not the one you were.”
“Does she know what Horst is?”
Akio smiled. “Hai. She made him shift so she could see when they started dating.”
Kenjii’s eyes widened in surprise. “She entered a romantic relationship knowing he was a wolf? Is she right in the head?”
“Koda is an amazing woman. You know she was a captive of Isamu and Ogawa. Did you hear about when the Yakuza kidnapped her?”
“Yes on Isamu, no on the mobsters.”
“They locked her in a small cage inside a joy house that catered to dark fetishes. The man who held her threatened her repeatedly with torture. When Eve found her, she would have killed him in cold blood. Koda asked her to spare his life and let him face the court’s justice.”
“Why?”
“Because she felt that Eve killing him like that would have damaged her. That’s who Koda Rii is.”
“Is she enhanced in any way? I can’t smell you or Yuko, and she doesn’t smell like a wolf.”
“No, Koda and Asai are both normal humans. Yuko didn’t feel it was time to offer them that option. They are young, and it might happen.”
Kenjii snorted. “How can you say that after Isamu and the Yakuza? She is lucky to be alive.”
“True, but she still has many years of life to experience before she has to decide if she wants to watch the people she loves grow old and die while she remains young. Yuko had to make the same choice with her parents. She did not take the full enhancements until they had gone to join their ancestors.”
Kenjii nodded.
“Besides,” Akio quipped, “have you met her boyfriend? Do you think he would let anyone harm her?”
“I saw his reaction when he spoke about family. He is different than I remember. There is a calm air about him that he never had with Heinz, but there is also an aura of danger about him. I believe he is more dangerous now than his brother or the other pack members were.”
“Hai. I watched as he fought Heinz. He ran him down and ripped his head off his body. Horst is a formidable warrior, although he doesn’t want to fight.”
Kenjii started to respond, then stiffened. “Someone is following us.”
“Hai. He’s been behind us since we left the Palace.”
“Why didn’t you say something?”
“He isn’t a threat at this time, and I wanted to see how long it took you to notice. There is a section of road ahead that has no lights. I planned to see what he wanted when we got there.”
“How do you know he isn’t a threat?”
Akio smiled and tapped his temple.
Realization dawned on Kenjii. “Upgrades.”
Akio smiled again and nodded.
They continued to walk. Akio pointed out different landmarks as they went, pretending they didn’t know they were being followed.
“Who do you think he is?” Kenjii murmured as Akio pointed at an uninteresting building without speaking.
“Yakuza.”
Kenjii shook his head in disgust. “I thought the price they paid when they took the girl would have convinced them it wasn’t worth it to mess with you.”
“Me, too. They will know that it’s a terrible idea after this time. Any who still live, that is,” Akio coldly stated.
“Ah. Snacks?”
“Perhaps. You need to stop thinking about feeding on humans, though. The daily supply Eve arranged should sustain you.”
“It does, but I enjoy the rush when it’s fresh. As long as I limit it to evil people, isn’t that enough?”
“I have occasionally taken blood from those who deserved it,” Akio admitted. “That is reserved for special cases. I would have drained the one who held Koda and delivered his lifeless body to his master with pleasure. If these mobsters think they can threaten me or mine, you will have the opportunity to bathe in their blood.”
Kenjii looked at him askance. This was a side of Akio he’d never seen.
Akio turned his gaze to him. “Some lessons need to be harsh.”
“Hai.”
“We’ve arrived. The road turns ahead, and we can wait for him there.”
Shoto Yamaguchi wasn’t happy with the mission Juba had given him. He normally worked as a bouncer at one of the prostitution operations, so dressing like a bum and spending hours watching for someone wasn’t something he enjoyed. Even the promise of a large bonus and his choice of a girl for the night didn’t make it appealing.
He spotted the man in the picture and the other when they exited the building and had trailed one hundred meters behind them ever since. Their lack of awareness, strolling along without a backward glance like they didn’t have a care in the world, disgusted him. He didn’t know why these obvious amateurs so frightened the Oyabun.
He watched as they disappeared around a curve in the road and sped up in the event they turned on one of the streets ahead. When he stepped around the curve, he felt a rush of wind an instant before an iron grip around his throat cut off his oxygen.
“What do you want, scum?” a menacing voice behind him asked.
He struggled in the unrelenting grip that held him. His hands fought to pry the fingers off to no avail. Panicked, he drew his pistol and fired into the body of the man who held him. The fingers released his throat, and intense pain shot through his hand and up his arm as the fingers holding the pistol snapped.
“Son of a bitch!” Kenjii spat as he held the bloody wound on his stomach.
Shoto’s eyes went round with fright when Kenjii looked up, his eyes glowing red and fangs protruding from his mouth.
“That was a mistake,” he growled as the blood flow from the wound slowed, then trickled to a stop.
He pulled Shoto to him, his mouth open and his free hand catching him by the hair and wrenching his head to the side, exposing the soft skin of his throat.
“Wait,” Akio commanded. “I need to find out why he is here first.”
“Okay, but this one must pay for his affront. No going free with a compulsion for him,” Kenjii demanded.
“Hai. His past actions have sealed his fate. Shooting you was one of the many mistakes he has made in his life.”
Shoto heard the conversation, but the words didn’t sink in through the pain that radiated from his disfigured hand. His fingers were broken and twisted. When Kenjii released it, the gun clattered to the pavement.
Shoto started to moan, a low sound that started deep and rose to a high-pitched shriek until Akio entered his mind and silenced his screams while he stripped the information Shoto held. When he had what he needed, he nodded once at Kenjii.
The vampire wasted no time. He pulled Shoto to him, and his fangs pierced his throat as Akio released his hold on the man’s mind. He stiffened in Kenjii’s grip and feebly batted at him with his uninjured hand as the realization of what was happening sank in. His struggles grew weaker as Kenjii pulled the rich coppery blood from his neck, healing his gunshot wound in seconds with the rush of energy.
&nbs
p; After Shoto’s struggles ceased, Kenjii released him and let his body fall to the ground. He wiped the blood off his lips and let out a satisfied groan. “You got what you needed?”
“Hai. He was only a soldier. He didn’t know why he was looking for us, but I have the name and location of the man he reports to.”
Kenjii grinned. “We have more work tonight?”
“Hai.”
Abel, send a Pod to my location.
Acknowledged. Is everything okay?
The Yakuza are searching for Kenjii and me. One found us and shot Kenjii. He’s healed the wound, but we have a body on our hands.
Would you like me to contact Yuko?
Hai. Have her notify Inspector Yonai that the Yakuza have moved against us again. I will look into the reasons and let him know.
Acknowledged. Pod inbound, ETA forty-five seconds. Yuko is connecting with Yonai now. Happy hunting.
Thank you, Abel.
“Our Pod will be here soon. Then we’ll see what his boss can tell us.” Akio cast a disdainful glance at the body between them.
Kenjii didn’t answer. The feral grin on his face said it all.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Shinjuku City, Tokyo, Japan
Shao Hua saw the Yakuza soldier dressed as a bum leave the doorway he’d been watching from when two figures emerged from the front of the Palace. He and Jin had located the watchers on either side of the building shortly after they arrived. Shao had ordered Jin to watch from a safe distance downwind of the building while he did the same at the front. He planned to follow the followers to reduce the risk of discovery by the vampires Kun sent them to find.
He worked his way down the fire escape from the roof of the building he’d used as an observation post and hung back several hundred meters behind the Yakuza soldier. He didn’t worry about losing him. The man’s cologne had a distinct scent he could have picked out in a crowded room.
He followed in silence, careful to remain in the shadows as the kilometers went by. When he passed where the vampires had stepped onto the sidewalk, another scent assailed his sensitive nostrils. It was the rotting meat smell associated with all vampires he’d encountered over the years.
Shao smiled to himself. This just got easier.
A disturbance in the distance caused him to stop and step off the sidewalk into an abandoned building. He strained his ears and heard the crack of a gun firing. Minutes later, a panicked shriek pierced the night until it was cut short.
He heard bits of conversation, but the distance and city noise prevented him from hearing clearly. He abandoned his hiding place and moved across the dimly lit street on silent feet to a vacant lot on the opposite side.
After crouching behind a pile of debris, he cautiously looked out and saw the Yakuza soldier in the grip of one vampire while the other stood behind him.
Shao winced when the vampire holding the man latched onto his throat. It was over in moments, and the vampire dropped the lifeless body at his feet. Seconds later, a black object dropped from the sky. A door slid open and the vampires climbed in, taking the body with them. The craft shot into the night sky and disappeared in seconds. Shao watched for several more minutes, ensuring it had departed before he approached the spot where the altercation took place.
The scent of blood and vampire hung heavy on the air. Shao shook his head, disgusted that the soldier had allowed himself to be caught.
Shao walked away from the scene. After he’d gone a few hundred meters, he detected the faint odor of vampire again. The scent was several hours older than the first he smelled. Shao grinned as he followed the trail, certain that his mission to find the vampire's base would be completed before the night ended.
Hotel Siena, Shinjuku City, Tokyo, Japan
The Pod descended to hover centimeters above the roof of the Hotel Siena. Akio and Kenjii stepped onto the roof and made their way to an access stairway near the landing site. Akio twisted the knob sharply, and the lock gave way with a metallic snap. He held the door and motioned for Kenjii to enter. “Eighth floor, room eight hundred and six.”
Kenjii nodded and headed down the stairs, stopping on the landing of the desired floor. “How do you want to do this?”
“Quietly, if possible.”
They worked their way down the empty hallway to the room, then Akio held up a hand as he extended his senses.
Kenjii listened and detected the soft snores and steady heartbeat of a lone person asleep in the room. “I only hear one.”
“Hai, and the rooms on each side are empty,” Akio agreed.
Akio knocked lightly on the door and called in a soft voice, “Juba, open the door. It’s Shoto.”
A muffled snort came from inside, then footsteps approached the opposite side of the door. When the door started to open, Kenjii shoved it, slamming it into the body on the other side and knocking him across the room onto the bed.
In a flash, he was in the room with his hand around Juba’s throat, cutting off the man’s shocked cry. Akio entered and closed the door behind him, then nodded at the confused figure on the bed. “You wished to find me. You have. Now, what do you want?”
Juba’s face went pale when he realized who and what faced him. He focused on the figure holding him on the bed, and his bladder threatened to release when the eyes staring at him glowed red.
“My friend asked you a question,” the figure growled. Juba’s bladder lost the fight when two ivory fangs extended across the lower lips, mere centimeters from his face.
Akio reached out with his mind, picking up Juba’s terror as Kenjii flashed his eyes and fangs. Beneath it, he saw images of a teenage girl in a school uniform and a woman in her thirties.
“Let him up, Kenjii,” Akio requested.
Kenjii caught Juba’s collar and pulled him to a sitting position on the bed, then draped one arm across his shoulders in a friendly manner while his free hand deftly removed the pistol tucked into his belt.
Akio cocked his head to the side and raised one eyebrow.
“I’ve already been shot tonight. It hurts,” Kenjii explained as he tossed the gun out of reach on the floor while allowing his fangs to retract and his eyes to fade back to their normal dark brown.
Akio shook his head, then turned his attention to the pale and sweating man. “Why have you sent your men to find us?”
Juba swallowed hard, the whites of his eyes showing all around as he tried to think of an answer that wouldn't end with him dead. “What are you talking about?”
Kenjii flicked him on the tip of his nose with a finger. “Don’t play the fool. It will not end well for you.”
Juba whimpered and reached for his stinging nose. “I, uh, I was following Kishi Sakutaro’s orders. The Oyabun forbade us to have any contact with you,” he nodded at Akio, “but Kishi and her lapdog Asaka made me find you.”
“Why?” Akio pressed him. The answers were swimming through Juba’s mind, but he wanted Kenjii to hear it, too.
“She wants to make you pay for the troubles she blames you for after the incident with Muto and Sero. She is also working with a man from China who seeks this one.” He jerked his head at Kenjii.
Kenjii stiffened as he focused on Juba. “Where is this man who seeks me?”
“I don’t know.”
Kenjii’s eyes changed back to red in an instant, causing Juba to try to pull away from the arm across his shoulders.
“I contact him by phone,” Juba almost shouted. “His name is Li Song. Kishi agreed to help him find you in exchange for him killing both of you.”
Kenjii growled deep in his throat. “You wish to kill my friend? I will take satisfaction from ending your sniveling life.” Kenjii moved the hand resting on Juba’s shoulder to the back of his neck and bent his head to the side. He forced him to watch as his fangs slowly extended from his mouth.
“Wait,” Akio ordered.
Kenjii halted, his open mouth only centimeters from Juba’s exposed throat.
“You
have a choice, Juba. You can go to Sato and confess your part in Kishi’s plans, or I can allow my friend to finish what he’s started.”
Relief flashed through Juba’s terror-stricken eyes. “Anything! Anything you want. I will go now and tell him everything. I will do whatever you want.”
Akio motioned for Kenjii to release him. Kenjii looked like he would protest, then let go of his neck and moved across the compact room in one motion. Juba slid off the edge of the bed and thumped to the floor.
“Tell Sato I will see him soon to discuss what he must do to make amends for the Yakuza’s declaration of war on me and mine. Tell him if I get any sign that you are sniffing around what is mine before then, his life is forfeit.”
“The Oyabun didn’t do it,” Juba whined. “It was Kishi.”
“The king is responsible for the actions of his subjects. Tell him.” Akio’s mouth quirked up on one side as he made his eyes glow red and pushed fear behind his words. Juba’s mouth opened in a silent scream as he curled into a ball on the floor. Akio stood and motioned for Kenjii, who looked at him with wide eyes but followed him out of the room.
Kenjii closed the door when they were out and slumped against the wall. “What the hell was that?” His voice shook.
“Upgrades.” Akio grinned as he walked to the stairs that led up to the roof.
Nakano District, Tokyo Japan
Shao followed the faint vampire scent until it turned off the road onto a side street. He continued past several darkened office buildings until it disappeared, then doubled back and stopped when he found the scent again. He looked up, noting lights shining through several windows in the ten stories above. He nodded once and moved back to the street he had taken to get here, certain he’d located the base they’d been searching for.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Kume Island, Okinawa, Japan
The sun cast a golden glow over the water as Horst brought his Pod down over the beach on Kume. He directed it to a gutted shed beside the rubble of a once-majestic resort. Yagi told him a tsunami had demolished the facility two years after the WWDE. Once he secured the Pod inside the roofless structure, he hefted his backpack to one shoulder and walked the kilometer across the sand into town.
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