“They caught her?” Hibiki’s words all but trembled.
“Of course. And now they have both of them.” The man laughed. “Should be a real showcase tomorrow.”
Alicia closed her eyes, feeling actual gloom for the first time since they locked handcuffs on her, and then reopened them to take in the chaotic scene. Hundreds if not thousands of guards — all getting organized and ready for battle. Dozens of bosses. More weapons than she could count. Untold security precautions.
And now they were smack bang in the very middle of it.
“Fuck,” she said aloud.
The Japanese man stared at her. “I don’t know what you’re worried about. Nobody’s going to be interested in you for at least two days.”
Hibiki grunted. “I only came to drop the bitch off.”
“Then you’re out of luck. Nobody’s getting in or out of here, my friend. Nobody. Not even Special Forces could get through those doors now.”
Alicia unobtrusively caught Dahl’s eye, both of them having the exact same thought.
No. But I bet Matt Drake could.
When he took Chika’s call Drake felt elation. Against the odds but with stealth and the unexpected on her side, Mai’s sister had completed her task. Hibiki’s operation had also passed with relatively little hiccup — that was until the trio gained access to the Yakuza HQ. It was then that Drake, listening through the comms, learned Chika’s fate and saw the new dilemma.
Shit, we have a team inside that can’t operate. One sister about to go on a showcase trial and the other about to join her. How did all that happen?
He sat back in the chair, pushing it away from the table and rubbing his eyes. They were on a knife edge. Could he bridge the blade one way or another? His watch read: 3.13 a.m. So there was time. Time to come up with a new plan. But it would have to be concise — Hibiki needed to be a part of it and Drake’s involvement thus far had been passive — they had not communicated for fear of alerting Yakuza security measures. Deciding on a plan and relating it had to be a one-time deal.
The only other person in the room brought him a mug of black coffee. “Thanks, love,” he said a little gruffly. “This isn’t turning out quite bloody right.”
Grace plonked herself down next to him. “You will do it,” she said. “And if I can help…”
“We’re in a world of shit.”
“Hey, stop sugar coating everything will ya?”
Drake turned to her. This was a seventeen-year-old runaway with no good experience to draw upon, her old past a jumble of newly emerging hateful memories. Raised later by the Tsugarai and in particular her brutal master — Gozu — the same man who had trained Mai, her life until this moment had been a tapestry of evil. As she told it she was now determined to let the past go, to embrace her future potential. To rise from the depths of Purgatory.
“It’s not all like this,” he said lightly. “Sometimes we even have a laugh.”
“Next time maybe.”
Drake focused his attention fully on her. Next time? “We’re soldiers, Grace. Trained ones. You shouldn’t even be here. If Mai knew she’d blow her top.”
Grace blinked. “Eh?”
“Y’know. Like a volcano. Nobody ever said you would be part of the team, Grace.”
The young girl clenched her jaw, eyes filling so that Drake suddenly felt like a major bastard. He reached out but she flinched away.
“Don’t touch me.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything. I know… I know…” He was about to say I know what you’re going through. But how could he? He was being insensitive, bloody condescending to be honest. But it was the damn job, the situation, cluttering his thoughts.
“They’re still searching for your parents,” he said. “You’re still young enough to have anything you want. Any job. We’re all here to help. You have a new start at life.”
“Could I be like Karin?” Grace suddenly asked, eyes now filled with excitement. “A geek? I’d like to be a geek. I’d wear glasses and everything.”
“You don’t need to try so hard to fit in.” Drake smiled. “You’re already one of us.”
Her smile now included him. “Family?”
“Family.”
Drake fought an instinct to hug her, turning instead to the window before she could see the surge of empathy in his eyes. “And you can start by helping me plan how to save ‘em. How to save ‘em all.”
“There is one thing,” Grace pointed out. “What has happened to Yorgi?”
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
Mai came fully awake as the guards invaded her cell. Her stomach wound flared as she tried to stand. Two men pulled her upright, the cramped muscles in her arms screaming in protest. Guards fanned out in front of her, each one toting a mini machine gun. When she was fully vertical and alert the mass of guards parted as if split by a cleaver, leaving enough space for one black-suited man.
He stopped a hair’s breadth away, disdainful and disrespectful of her skills. “Today the Yakuza see you for what you really are,” he spat out. “Tomorrow we get to see you die. No more insolence, no more freedom, no more dreams for you, Kitano bitch.”
Her inner fury lived in her gaze, which locked onto his like a heat-seeking missile. To speak would be wasteful, expending energy which she knew might yet be needed, and attract only cruelty which she also knew these men would never have the courage to risk if they were alone with her. Cowardly, spineless, they would dare challenge her only now, and only to plump themselves up in front of their men.
So, simply, she remained mute.
The Yakuza boss barked an order, sneering in her face. His men urged her forward, pushing her out of the clean cell and into a corridor. More guards lined the walls, all with raised automatic weapons. Mai had never seen so much security, not even surrounding President Coburn in the hours after his escape from the Blood King. Were they expecting an assault? Surely all these safety measures couldn’t be for her.
The Yakuza boss read her mind. “So many bosses have come to watch you die,” he said with an air of sentimentality. “It has been a long time since we all came together. For that, at least, we have you to thank. The atmosphere up there is electric, euphoric, a thing I thought I’d never again see in our stronghold. Today,” he nodded, “will go down forever in Yakuza history as a day to be remembered.”
Mai didn’t doubt it. Her legend was strong among the police and governmental authorities. Her demise would deflate morale at the very least and leave some important individuals crushed. The optimistic part of her mind knew that Drake and the rest of the SPEAR team would have tracked her by now, starting with the symbol she drew in her own blood, but even that failed to ascertain her actual rescue. Not without bringing the damn building down. But then, if they knew civilian casualties would be non-existent, even that wasn’t beyond them.
Mai walked the line, traveled up several floors in an elevator, exited and then walked another line. By now, the corridors were wider, the men more smartly dressed. She knew they must be close to their destination. She passed empty room after room, seven floors up judging by buildings she could view out the far windows. Her only thoughts were of Drake and Grace and the man she had murdered, Hayami, and his poor daughter, adrift in the world.
I no longer feel like the strong woman I once was.
Her dilemma in a nutshell. Incident and consequence had sapped her inner strength and calm. Now, since no avenue of escape automatically existed she didn’t waste time trying to concoct one. At last her entourage slowed and finally stopped before a huge double door, but rather than fling them dramatically open she was shown a side door and made to make her way along a darkened corridor and into a spacious room.