Silence In Numbers: File One, page 15
She managed to get another two but that still left five; five that would now be much harder to kill now that her vision was blurring. “No, no, no, no, no… Please, no… Not now…” Panic tore at Katsumi as she leaned against the wall, weakness draining her ability to fight. She resisted as long as she could but willpower could only do so much. The world swam before her eyes. Balance disappeared and she fell to the floor, the gun slipping from her hands. Ayane… I’m about to be hard to reach again…
What? What’s going on?!
It’s hitting and… people are after me… They’re here to capture though, not kill. Try not to worry… Katsumi grunted in pain, her eyes closing.
How… how can I not worry about that?!
Trust me… That’s how. I’ll let you know when I’m back. Just… keep calm…
Sumi…?
She heard footsteps cautiously nearing her room, but her hearing was dimming at the same time, giving her that familiar ‘through a tunnel’ effect.
Katsumi cursed fate, God and herself, but regardless of where the blame truly lied, one fact remained: she was done.
“Did we hit her?”
Sumi!
The words were distant; she barely registered them.
“I don’t think so, there’s no blood... Something’s wrong with her.”
“Good. That’s saved us a shitload of trouble. Grab her and let’s go.”
Please stay alive…
Katsumi half-noticed large hands gripping her arms before she finally fainted.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“So Captain Samakura was down here,” Rufus repeated his question.
“Yeah, like I already told ya.”
The man sitting a few feet from where Rufus and Law were standing was a wholly unpleasant man in Rufus’ opinion. His house reflected that; Rufus wouldn’t dare sit on anything in the dingy place in his pristine white suit. The man himself was even worse; a dirty, odorous, loathsome rat of a man. The left side of his face sported some nasty bruising and he rubbed at his neck as he continued, “Bitch gave me a lotta trouble. Broke my door down, attacked me. That ‘ow you guys do things now?”
Rufus moved his foot as a roach crawled past, looking from it to the man, Lou Phelps, as if he considered him and the vermin equals. Which he did. “It depends on who we’re dealing with, Mr. Phelps. Can you tell me what she asked?”
“She was lookin’ fer some guy named ‘Director’.”
“And did you give her anything to help with that?”
“A name.”
“What was the name?”
“Gamlen Ordo. Sort’ve a merc boss who got some guys for ‘im.”
“Excellent. Anything else?”
“No, ‘cause it doesn’t matter.” The man grinned, revealing a clear lack of dental hygiene.
“Why not?” Rufus asked curiously.
“You guys got no right t’be down ‘ere, so I tipped Gamlen off she was comin’.” He snickered.
“You’ll prob’ly find nothin’ but a corpse.”
Law looked at Rufus, who tapped his chin. “…I see.”
“An’ you can’t do anythin’ t’me, that ain’t the law.”
“Mhmm.” Rufus drew his pistol, shooting the man square in the forehead. “You saw that, right, Law?”
“You mean how he tried to attack you?” Law shrugged. “Damn tragedy.”
“Indeed.” Rufus holstered his pistol. “Let’s go pay Ordo a visit, and fast. I really doubt he’ll get Captain Samakura, but I’m not willing to leave it to chance.”
“Right behind you.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Katsumi woke with a scream, jerking and unable to breathe. Only after it stopped did she recognize the effects of electrocution. An old friend… She opened her eyes to see that she was inside some basement, which was not surprising in the least. A few thugs stood before her, including one undoubtedly more important man who was looking at her like a dog with a bone. Unlike some of his men he wore a suit and looked far cleaner.
“Welcome back to the world of the living, Ms. Samakura. I hear you’re looking for me. It appears you’ve been successful.”
Katsumi tried to stand only to realize her wrists were manacled to the wooden chair she’d been placed in. Wiring connected to the manacles showed her where the shock came from.
“Yes, I’m quite aware rope would be useless on you. I wanted a conversation, though, with one of the people who have made our enterprises so difficult over the last few years.”
Katsumi shot him a glare that could melt metal. “You’re just asking for a painful death, aren’t you?”
The man shook his head and pressed a button on the remote he held. Katsumi screamed again as electricity ran through her, setting her nerves on fire. It lasted long enough for her to smell burning before he turned it off. “We can have as many of these lessons as you like. Sooner or later you’ll learn to be my pet, and then you’ll get to leave the chair and get a collar. Won’t that be fun?”
Katsumi seethed, grinding her teeth together and testing the manacles with a few pulls.
The man gleefully electrocuted her for another ten seconds, enjoying the screams. “Those are reinforced, my dear, you won’t be breaking them. Calm down and chat with me.” He grinned, obviously trying to get under her skin. “Why don’t you tell me the kind of outfits you’d like to wear for me? I do try to be kind; I’ll let you wear your preference, so long as it’s suitably… entertaining.” He was enjoying having such a powerful enemy in this position far too much.
Katsumi wrenched her hands down, setting her feet firmly on the floor. She looked down for a few seconds before realization hit her and she smiled. “Alright then… You’ve hit the jackpot because, let me tell you, you have no idea what I can do.” She looked up at him through her hair, her voice lowering to a sultry tone. “I can do things for you…” She smiled playfully. “To you… in exchange for letting me go. All I want is to get out of here.”
She obviously had the man’s attention now, as well as the attention of the other men in the room. She tilted her head, letting her violet hair fall to hide one eye. “I can’t fight my way out of this and I have more important things to get to, so I’ll do whatever you want in return for a quick release.”
“This is a pathetic escape attempt.”
Katsumi shook her head. “I can’t do an escape attempt. There’s only one way out of here and even if I somehow took you out while we were alone – while in this chair where you can shock me at any time – I don’t have any weapons and your men would be guarding the only exit.”
The man raised an eyebrow. “You’re really trying to barter for your escape?”
“Really. I’ll do anything to catch the man I’m after. I just want you to promise you’ll release me.”
The man grinned. “Very well.” He waved to his men to exit the room and guard right outside the doorway. Once they were alone he walked towards her. “I still think you’re bluffing, but that will make it more entertaining. I’m not letting you out of that chair and I’m keeping this,” he held up the remote, “in my hand.” He gripped Katsumi’s chin roughly, enjoying the disgusted look she got, and pressed his lips to hers in the worst excuse for a kiss she’d ever imagined was possible. He even had the gall to shove his tongue down her throat. It took everything she had not to retch right then.
At least until she snapped the chair arm free with her right hand and stood, spinning around him and wrapping her free arm around his neck from behind. She set her left foot on the chair and shoved, tearing the other arm free just in time as the man jammed on the button. Fortunately, with the wires torn, the button now did nothing. “You’re an idiot,” she hissed into his ear as she choked him, ignoring his nails tearing at her arm. “Reinforced manacles don’t mean anything on a wooden chair. I would love to take my time killing you, but the screams would alert your men. You have no idea how much this disappoints me.”
Katsumi jerked her arm and snapped the man’s neck, releasing him and letting his lifeless body crumple to the ground. She immediately spat on the ground several times, coughing and rubbing her mouth with her arm. “Fuck… Fucking pig… I will never be able to rinse enough.” She shuddered, suppressing the urge to vomit by kicking his corpse. She then picked him up and headed for the door, opening it and flinging the body out. All she needed was for the eyes of the men on either side of the door to follow the body, which they did, curses of surprise forming on their lips. They would be simple; it was the two men further down the hall, outside of melee range, that would be trouble.
Katsumi went for the guard immediately to her right, shoving her arm into his neck and slamming him back into the wall, crushing his windpipe. She ripped the gun out of his hand and ducked as the man directly behind her fired, turning and kicking upwards with her left foot, disarming the second guard. She set her left foot down, stood and spun, her right foot kicking the man into the wall. As he bounced off of it from the impact she slid behind him and caught his shirt, holding him in front of her as the guards down the hallway opened fire. The man’s body took most of the bullets as she put her right arm over his shoulder, returning fire and taking out one of the guards.
She felt a bullet hit her stomach and grunted, focusing and shooting down the last guy. She threw the body away from her, leaning back against the wall and feeling her stomach. The bullet was still in her, she could tell, but she’d be alright. Her abnormally high CP meant it wouldn’t get infected, so as long as she could stand the pain – and didn’t bleed out – fixing it could wait. Right now Katsumi had more important things to do. I’m back, Ayane.
Oh, thank God… The relief in Ayane’s voice was palpable. What happened?
Captured, some electrocution, had to kiss the most disgusting mouth I’ve ever touched, got shot but it’s not bad.
Oh my God… You’re supposed to be being careful!
I am being careful.
Well you’re terrible at it! Katsumi heard a sob through the link and it pained her. She stopped and leaned against the wall for a moment.
Ayane, listen to me. I’m fine. If I was in real trouble I’d go back, but I’m not. And you know I can’t go back, not now.
After that boy…
Yes. I can’t let someone like this get away.
No, of course not, I just…
I’ll stay in contact with you now. I need you to focus me and you need reassurance. Besides… it’ll be like old times.
Really? I’d appreciate that… Okay, but if you black out on me again I’m coming down there myself.
Katsumi smiled. I expected no less. She picked up a new gun and readied it, intent on finding hers, as well as information on her target, before leaving this place.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Jesus.” Rufus stepped over another corpse, avoiding the blood pooled around it. “I guess I was worried for nothing.”
Law shook his head as they entered the last room. There was a dead man in a nice suit in the middle near the wreckage of a chair which he pointed at. “Not for nothing. Torture chair right there.” He walked over and held up the torn wires. “Electrocution.”
Rufus sighed, rubbing his eyes. “Lucky for these guys they’re dead already. Looks like we were slow on this one, Law.”
“I agree. If she hadn’t been able to escape on her own, by now we’d find barely anything left.”
“We have to do better, then.” Rufus turned and headed for the door.
Law nodded and followed him. “We can’t leave her alone on this. We’re a team, it’s not right.”
“Maybe you should’ve told her that.”
“She wouldn’t have listened. She’s just going on instinct right now.”
“Trust me, I understand. I just wish she wasn’t. This bastard she’s after isn’t worth losing her, it’s simple math; she’s worth more than his death is. If I’d known this was what she was going to do I’d have gone with her.” Rufus looked back at Sam. “I’m not trying to retrieve her, Law. I’m just trying to catch up to her so our kill counts remain competitive.”
Law smiled. “Now that is a thought she’d appreciate.”
“She and I are more similar than most people realize.” Rufus stopped outside the door of the room, looking down. “Hold up.”
“See a sign of her?”
“Unfortunately…” Rufus knelt, gesturing for Law to investigate with him. He pointed to a small patch of blood and fluid on the wall and floor. “Unless one of these guys has a CP over fifty.”
“Doubtful.” Law shook his head. “Looks like she got hit.”
“Think it was bad?”
“I only know it’s not bad enough to drop her or we’d have found her, and it’s not bad enough for her to call this off.”
“That’s something, then. Still… Feels like we should speed up a bit.”
“I’m with you.” Law stood and started down the hallway. “None of us ever did know when to back off.”
“At least we’re dealing with humans for this. If she was going after a Class A supernatural target or something alone, we’d be in a lot more trouble.”
“Don’t give her ideas.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Date: April 1, 2068
Time: 1:18 PM
Location: Aegis Corp HQ, Hangar
Reno set the chopper down with a sigh, turning everything off and exiting it with no joviality. Everything was grey right now; even the skies reflected that, overcast and dreary as a light drizzle cast a depressing pall over the city. Weather was fascinating in the way it sometimes matched the mood, Reno thought. It was April 1st – April Fool’s Day – usually one of Reno’s favorite days of the year, but not this year. No one was joking, no one felt like joking and no one had anything to joke about.
Captain Sama had been missing for four days. Rufus had reported his and Law’s trail had gone cold, though they were still out looking. Reno himself was getting in a car to go home because he had nowhere else to look and nothing else to do. He’d been needed when the team was together, but now they were all split apart and he knew going his own separate way wouldn’t make anything worse. Sano was stressed out but being there wasn’t helping him at all. The problem wasn’t too many things to deal with; it was having nothing to do. Ironically, the one thing that always drove Captain Sama crazy was now being inflicted on all of them by her actions.
The drive home was as dreary as the rest of the day had been, and Reno was glad to finally get home. Lenora was waiting for him at the door and questioned him as he wiped the rain from his glasses. “Still no word about her?”
“None,” Reno shook his head. “No more leads or anything.”
Lenora’s expression saddened. “I’m sure she’s fine.”
“Probably. Everyone’s just unhappy with the ‘unsure’ part.”
Lenora sighed and closed the door. “I’m worried about her myself.”
“Didn’t you just say you’re sure she’s fine?”
“Well… It sounds like she took what happened really hard, right?”
“Yeah.”
“If she was doing fine emotionally she wouldn’t have run off on her own.” Lenora folded her arms. “This was obviously the last straw for her. You saw her when she was over here – this whole thing has been pushing her, and four days ago was the breaking point. I’m worried about her emotionally and physically, though I’m starting to understand how much she’d hate knowing that.” Lenora looked at Reno. “I had started to believe she and I could be friends. I’m hoping I’ll still get that chance.”
Reno hugged her. “You will. We’ll find her or she’ll finish her job and come back, one or the other.”
“I hope for her sake it’s the latter.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Date: April 3, 2068
Time: 5:01 AM
Location: Takagawa Building Basement Level
“Your Captain has been causing quite a stir in the Underworld.”
“She’s on a warpath,” Sano sighed. He was leaning against a wall in ‘Room 3.5’ again, hands in his pockets and eyes on the mysterious man in the next room.
“She’s caused enough casualties.” Briggs hit a button and a panel slid open in Sano’s side of the room. “I’ve got something you’ll appreciate much more this time… a location.”
Sano stood up quickly. “What? The Director’s location?!”
“Jerne Kintashi’s location,” The man corrected. “Trying to be known by the alias ‘The Director’, which he’s hardly worthy of. I suggest you send that to Captain Samakura quickly so she finds him before he finds her.”
Sano ripped the paper out of the alcove. He once again wished Katsumi had her cyber link open but it’d been off since she’d disappeared, so he quickly entered everything he saw into his phone and sent it to Katsumi’s. He looked through the window at Briggs. “I need to go now, then. I guess now we’ll see if you’re really telling the truth.”
“I do suggest you hurry. And don’t forget our deal.”
“If you really just helped us catch this guy, I’ll do what I can to make it happen,” Sano nodded before rushing out of the room and contacting the rest of the team over the cyber link. “Guys? Get ready and get moving, we have a possible location for our target. I’ve already sent it to the Captain.”
Rufus’ voice jumped in. “That contact, Briggs, really came through, didn’t he?”
“I guess we’re about to see if he did,” commented Law.
“Hey, how about we all rush out there and see for ourselves instead of debating?” Reno interjected.
“Get the chopper and let’s go, then. I think we’re on a time crunch because, if I know anything about her at all, Captain Sama’s already on her way.”
