Retribution
Page 24
“She will…she will be okay?” Horst asked, worry in his voice.
“The damage was extensive. The Pod-doc needs time to replicate your nanocytes to complete the healing. When she comes out, she will never need to fear four weretigers again. She will be a match for most Forsaken, I can assure you of that,” Eve told him.
Akio’s eyes widened in surprise at the conviction. “What did you do, Eve?”
“Nothing I didn’t have to,” Eve assured him.
“Eve, what are you talking about?” Horst asked, worry in his tone.
“The internal damage was extensive. To repair it, the Pod-doc will have to adjust the nanocytes you provided. Koda’s nanocytes will be on par with the Weres who now accompany Bethany Anne.”
“Are they that different from me?” Horst asked.
“Yes. Koda will be stronger and faster and have control of the Pricolici form when she comes out of the Pod-doc. If you don’t go in, she will be capable of kicking your furry ass to Kume and back without breaking a sweat.” The AI smiled to soften her words.
“I-I don’t know what to say.”
“She will need you to help her through the transition. Her lifespan is much longer now. You need to explain that, along with other Were specific issues,” Eve explained.
Horst’s face went slack. “I never thought about that. Even though I am many years older than her, she would have aged and died before me.”
“Yes. Now she won’t age but will watch her friends and family do so. She will need your help to cope with that.”
Akio looked up when Yuko entered the room. “Did you speak to the inspector?”
“Hai. He is on his way to the scene. He advised he will contact me if he finds anything we should know about.”
Yuko walked over and placed her hand on Horst’s shoulder. “I heard what Eve told you. If there had been any other choice, I would not have forced that on you. I’d planned to offer her and Asai enhancement, just not this soon.”
“It’s just a lot to take in. Koda didn’t have a choice. I never want her to feel that I would force her to do anything.” He unconsciously clenched his hands into fists.
Yuko caught them in hers. “Horst, Koda knows you love her. She won’t blame you for this. She will blame herself when she sees how much anguish this has caused you.”
Horst nodded, then his face took on a panicked look. “Asai! Has anyone told her? Is she in danger?”
“Takumi initiated a lockdown as soon as Koda reported the attack. Defensive and offensive measures are active. I advised him not to notify Asai, believing the news should come from one of you,” Abel volunteered.
“Good thinking, Abel. Contact Asai now, please. Put it on the speakers here,” Akio requested.
“Akio?” Asai answered.
“Weretigers attacked Koda and Horst on their way back to the Palace. Koda is in the Pod-doc and will be fine in a few hours. Takumi has locked down the facility and is monitoring the area for threats.”
“Koda! I need to be with her!” Asai exclaimed.
“I’ll have a Pod pick you up on the roof. We don’t know if there are other Clan members in the area.” Yuko looked questioningly at Horst.
“It was a planned attack. They told me it was because I associate with vampires,” Horst explained.
“I will go pick Asai up. If there are more of them, I want to get any information I can,” Akio growled as he stood and headed for the door.
“The Pod is coming down. It will be waiting,” Abel announced.
Chapter Forty-Two
The Palace, Tokyo, Japan
“Asai, I will pick you up in one minute,” Akio advised her as he entered the elevator.
“I’m at the roof access now, but it won’t open.”
“Lockdown protocol is in effect, I will release the locks once Akio has arrived,” Takumi advised.
“Thank you, Takumi,” the girl replied.
“Akio, I have detected a suspicious person on the east side of my building,” Takumi broadcast over the comm.
“What’s the problem, Takumi?” Akio asked as he entered the waiting Pod.
“I have noted this person walking through my surveillance area three times in the past hour. He is not in my database as someone with business in the area. He’s going around the rear of the building now.”
“I have him in sight,” Akio advised.
Akio’s Pod descended silently and hovered above and to the rear of the figure that moved furtively in the darkness. Akio stepped out of the open door, his katana ready, and landed lightly behind the man.
“Do not move,” Akio ordered.
The scent of Were hit him as he spoke. The man shifted, and a huge tiger stood in his place. The tiger snarled and twisted its body, razor-sharp claws extended, intent on tearing into Akio’s torso.
The vampire took two running steps toward the brick wall and continued up it in an arc across the face of the wall that brought him behind the Were. Akio slashed his sword down, assisted by the momentum of his running body, and cleaved into the rear quarters of the cat above its hip joint.
The weretiger shrieked in pain as the katana sliced deep, severing muscles and tendons along the hip bone.
The tiger spun toward Akio, then crashed to the pavement as its leg gave out from the deep wound.
Akio brought the tip of his katana down, slicing through the muscles of its other back leg and temporarily immobilizing it. “Shift,” he commanded.
The tiger snarled in defiance, its yellow eyes shining with hatred.
Akio took a half-step toward the cat, swinging his armored boot forward and shattering the bones in one wounded rear leg. “Shift now, or know what true agony is,” he hissed.
The Were let out an agonized snarl as the shattered bones lacerated the damaged flesh more.
Akio thrust the tip of his katana into the tiger's shoulder and twisted the blade, ripping more muscle and sinew.
“Shift!”
The wounded cat slumped to the rough pavement, and seconds later, a bloody nude man lay in its place. His eyes glowed yellow as he glared at Akio, face twisted with pain and hate.
Akio looked into the feral yellow eyes. His own glowed red in the darkness. “What do you seek?”
“Your death,” the man spat.
Akio read the Were’s thoughts. What he saw in his mind made his blood boil.
“Not today,” Akio snarled, his body blurring as his sword slashed down. When he stopped in front of the Were, blood dripped from his blade, spattering the body at his feet.
“Takumi, do you have drones out?” Akio asked as he flicked his wrist to clear the blood from his blade.
“Three. One at the attack site, one above your location, and the third patrolling an area west of my sensor zone.”
“Why there?”
“It is an area where there are no cameras,” Takumi stated.
Akio stepped into the Pod. “Takumi, are you in all the cameras around this area?”
“Affirmative, and any others in the city I wish to see.”
“When did you hack the camera network?”
“I didn’t. Abel did it when the Yakuza kidnapped Koda. He shared his access with me.”
“Who authorized that?”
“Abel.”
“I see,” Akio replied, making another check on the list he carried in his mind.
“Asai. I’m on the roof now.”
The roof access door swung open, and Asai bolted into the Pod. “How’s Koda?”
“She will be fine. She’s in the Pod-doc, and Eve assures me she will make a full recovery.”
“Thank you. I know I’ve already been told, but seeing you while you said it helped.”
The Pod door opened, startling Asai.
“We’ve arrived.” Akio motioned her out of the Pod with a wave.
Sacred Clan Farm, Xianghongdian Reservoir, Sanhe, China
“Kenjii, what are you doing?” Abel called over the communicator.
> “Leaving a message. Did the tigers show back up?”
“What message are you sending, and to whom?”
Kenjii wiped his hand in the dust, scrubbing blood off them as he looked over his handiwork. The four lay in a row in front of the barn. Each body had a head on its lap.
“I left a couple posed like this when they pursued me. It is my calling card to the Sacred Clan.”
“That is not logical. Why do you feel the need to position the bodies? Isn’t their death message enough?” Confusion laced Abel’s tone.
“It's psychological. I want them to feel hunted like I did when they chased me.”
“I will never understand people.”
“Whatever. Did you locate the others?”
“Negative. They never exited the cave entrance.”
Kenjii thought for a moment. “Abel, I want to know where they went. That could be a base for them.”
“Akio ordered you not to take unnecessary risks. I deem that to be such a risk. We need to return to Tokyo. There has been an incident.”
“What happened?”
“Weretigers attacked Horst and Koda, and she suffered a serious injury.”
“Is she okay?”
“She is receiving treatment in the Pod-doc now. Eve advises she will survive.”
Kenjii’s eyes went red and his fangs extended. “They need to understand that injuring our people means theirs die.”
“Horst eliminated the attackers.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Kenjii growled as he started walking in the cave's direction.
“Kenjii, where are you going? We need to return.”
“This will only take a few minutes. I want to know where those other four went.”
“That is unacceptable, I demand you get in the Pod.”
“Not happening,” Kenjii snapped as he started running.
“Kenjii. Kenjii, stop!” Abel ordered as the Pod followed.
Kenjii stopped at the entrance to the cave and pulled the communicator from inside his armor. “I’m only looking. Keep quiet, they might hear you,” he whispered before laying it on the ground at the cave’s entrance.
Chapter Forty-Three
TQB Base, Tokyo, Japan.
Akio and Asai entered the dining room, and Asai went straight to Horst. “You’re bleeding!”
Horst looked up, his eyes swollen and red from tears. “Asai, I almost killed her.” He looked down and his shoulders slumped.
Asai wrapped her arms around him and pulled him tight against her. “Horst, she’s alive because you saved her. Koda would have died if you hadn’t stopped them.”
“Asai, you don’t understand. It was me. I’m the one who hurt her.” He shrugged off the embrace and stood. He gripped the ends of the blanket Yuko had given him tight enough that the material strained.
Asai gazed at him, confusion on her face.
“Asai,” Yuko called, “Horst shifted into an advanced form of wolf when the tigers attacked. His injuries were extensive, and he struggled to control the rage that comes with that form. Koda touched him while he was down, and his instinct was to defend himself.”
Asai nodded her understanding.
“He fought off the rage and shifted back into a man. That is a level of control most shifters don’t have when they shift to Pricolici the first few times. He saved her life twice tonight.”
“Twice?”
“Koda will be different when she comes out of the Pod-doc. The damage was too much for her to survive the trip here on her own. Horst gave her his blood to keep her alive.”
“He gave her a transfusion?”
Yuko twisted her head to the side and grimaced. “Not exactly. Weres and vampires can create others of their kind by exchanging blood. It also has healing properties if applied directly to wounds. I gave Horst a choice: either he could use his blood or I would have used mine.”
Asai’s eyes widened. “Does that mean Koda will turn into a wolf?”
“Among other things,” Yuko agreed.
Asai was silent for a full minute as she processed the information, then she nodded once and went to where Horst stood. “Snap out of it, Horst. Koda knows you would never hurt her on purpose, and so do I. I know my cousin well enough to understand that she would choose life, no matter what it took, consequences be damned.”
Horst refused to look at her. “I should have controlled the beast.”
“You did! You didn’t run wild through the streets. You didn’t kill her. What more do you want? It is done, and she will survive.”
“She’s going to hate me.”
“Hate you? Do you hate what you are? She sure doesn’t. Koda knows what you are and loves you. Don’t put your guilt on her. She deserves better,” Asai yelled.
Horst turned away from her, his head hanging. Asai’s face turned red and her nostrils flared. She reached out and caught Horst’s arm. “Listen to yourself. Did you do it on purpose? Did you want to turn her into a wolf?”
Horst jerked away and glared at the small woman. His eyes flashed yellow and he growled, “You know damn good and well I wouldn’t do that.”
Asai stood her ground, eyes flashing. “I do know that. So why are you acting like it's your fault?”
Horst stood to his full height and opened his mouth to speak, then paused. Doubt clouded his features. “You don’t blame me?”
“No, and neither will Koda.”
Horst looked at Asai and saw that she fully believed what she had said. He moved to a chair and slowly lowered his frame into it, feeling a glimmer of hope for the first time since it happened.
Akio understood the doubt Horst felt. He had blamed himself for decades for Kenjii’s death, and though he was happy to have him in his life, he felt responsible for his being a vampire too. Maybe there was hope for them both.
“Akio,” Yuko called.
He looked up as she motioned toward the door. He followed her into the hall and waited until the door closed on Horst and Asai.
“Hai?”
“You found another Were at the Palace?”
“Hai, and more.”
Yuko cocked her head to the side, waiting for him to continue.
“He was part of another team like the one that found Horst and Koda. I saw in his mind that there are more in Japan. He was searching for a way to enter the Palace to kill anyone inside. They have orders to kill everyone close to me.”
“Do you know where they are?”
“There are six nearby and another larger group in the ruins around Miura.”
“Should I contact Inspector Yonai?”
“Hai. You should contact the liaison as well. The Clan is making a stronghold in Miura and has a ship armed with some type of missiles. The military will need to be ready to contain the ones onshore, and the navy needs to know about the ship. Fortunately, the area is remote and mostly destroyed, and could be easily blockaded with enough men.”
“Will the military be able to stop them?”
“They don’t have to stop them, only contain any who run away.”
“The biggest threat now is the six in the city. I need to deal with them first. Yonai needs to know because they are using an apartment close to the Palace. If any of the Tokyo police encounter them unprepared, they won’t stand a chance.”
“Do you need my help?” Yuko offered.
“No. I will deal with the ones in town first. You need to stay here to help with Koda. When I finish those in town I will return, and then we can decide on the others.”
Yuko nodded, willing to fight but glad she didn’t have to. “I’ll make the calls. Are you going now?”
“As soon as I change into full armor,” he answered grimly and headed toward his quarters.
Dabie Mountains, outside of Sanhe, China
The odor of big cats assaulted Kenjii’s nostrils when he stepped into the dark entrance to the cave. A stack of partially burned torches sat a few feet inside, adding the odor of charred wood to the mix.
This looks like a pass through the mountain, judging by the torches. I should return to Tokyo, but this might lead to the Clan’s base. If I can find where it comes out, it will be easier to locate them.
Kenjii continued to argue with himself, weighing the pros and cons of both scenarios. Reaching a decision, he lowered the visor on his helmet and activated the built-in night vision.
He silently made his way through the cave, stopping often to listen for signs of the Weres. The cave twisted and turned through the granite. Some places were wide enough for four men walking abreast and others so narrow his armor scraped on both sides.
He stopped after one particularly tight section and heard a faint sound. As he moved deeper, the sound became identifiable as rushing water. He rounded a curve and stopped when he encountered a river flowing through a cavern.
Kenjii surveyed the cavern, noting a narrow channel through the rock where the water whipped into a white froth as it flowed through. A narrow wet path snaked beside it and into the darkness.
Kenjii took a deep breath, squared his shoulders, and pressed on, determined to discover where the cave ended.
Chapter Forty-Four
TQB Base, Tokyo, Japan
“Domo, Yonai-san, I’ll tell him,” Yuko said as Akio walked through the door of the command center.
Akio quirked one eyebrow and Yuko raised a hand, forestalling him from asking out loud.
“Hai, silver rounds will stop them, but they are inhumanly fast. Many of your people could suffer injury or death if you go after them. Akio has their location, and he’ll deal with them. Your men would best serve by keeping innocents away. This could get ugly. I need to contact the government liaison as soon as we hang up. There is a larger group outside of town that will require the military to intervene.”
Yuko paused as Yonai responded.
“One moment, please. Akio is here now. I am switching you to the speaker.” Yuko activated the speaker and mic then nodded to Akio.