by S D Rogue
Hana moved away. She was quiet for a minute, “I don’t date Paladins for a reason—things always get too complicated too fast. All you guys are the same—drama follows you wherever you go.”
Bashir stood as she walked towards the door. “Hana, wait!”
She ignored him and left the balcony.
As Hana ran away, Beckett appeared. “It seems there may be trouble in paradise?”
Bashir rolled his eyes. “Not now, Beckett.”
He shrugged. “She has a reason to be mad. I’ve been watching things progress—you really should have warned her about Riko.”
Bashir pushed past him. “Go eavesdrop on someone else.”
Hana made her way outside and walked aimlessly down the sidewalk. She didn’t know where she was going, but the way she was walking, she was getting there fast. A part of her didn’t even know why she was mad at Bashir. Maybe it was the jet lag. Maybe it was the stress of someone almost killing her several times. Or maybe she was just mad that she had almost broken her cardinal rule and dated a Paladin. Whatever it was, she just couldn’t stand the sight of Bashir’s face—and yet all she could think of was that face and how much she wanted to kiss it.
“Hana?” A voice called from behind her. “Hana Nakamura?”
She turned. As she did, an Asian man in dark clothing charged at her. Before she even knew what was happening, he had grabbed her and tossed her into a van that pulled up beside her. Before the van doors were even closed her hands were zip tied, a piece of masking tape was put over her mouth, and a black hood was placed over her head.
Chapter Twelve
“D
id anyone see?” a man asked, followed by what sounded to Hana like a slap on the arm. “What?”
The man whispered, but it didn’t matter because Hana could hear everything. “She can hear everything?”
“Oh yeah.”
Hana listened carefully to their tones, to their voices. If it was someone she had met before, she would have known their voice. They were both unknown to her. But they knew her name. They knew her.
That was the last sound she heard from them. She tried to list to the outside noises, anything that would help her know where she was. It was useless. It was a foreign land and almost everything she heard was in Japanese.
The longer they drove the more distant the city noises became. The traffic and people both became less populated.
A little less than an hour later she heard the loud hum of a jet engine and the van stopped; seconds later the door opened. She was pulled out of the van and led upstairs to an airplane. It was still quiet. Everyone was careful not to speak as she was led onto the plane.
Hana heard a door open on the plane and then close. It was darker and she knew that wherever she was on the plane, there was no light.
She lost track of time, but she imagined about an hour had passed when she heard another car coming. She could hear resistance as another van door slid open and knew it was another person who had been kidnapped.
Light came in the room as the door was opened and the other person was led in. “I will find you and kill you!” The voice was Riko’s. A part of Hana was relieved she wouldn’t be alone wherever they were taking her, but another part was disappointed that it was Riko.
“How’d they get you, speedy?” Hana said when the door closed.
“Who else is here?” Riko asked.
“Just me.”
“Well that’s not very hopeful—guess it will be up to me to get out of this mess. A nurse like you should be thankful you’re in a situation like this with me.”
“So thankful,” Hana said, annoyed. “Did Bashir tell you how we escaped my house?”
“No.”
“It was all me—Bashir’s only achievement was figuring out how to open the window.” Hana paused and added, “I’m ex-Special Forces, you know.”
“Yeah, you really like to brag about that, don’t you?” Now Riko sounded annoyed. “Remember I read your file—but you were a nurse. Not exactly the same thing.”
Hana rolled her eyes even though Riko could not see them. “I was a combat nurse. Not that I need to explain myself to you or anyone else.”
“Well that’s not exactly fighting.”
“Unless you count fighting to stay alive—running between crossfire to make sure a person doesn’t die.”
The plane’s engines rumbled louder as it began taxiing. Riko sighed. “If we are going to make it out alive, then I guess we should try and put the past behind us and work together.”
“Fair enough,” Hana reluctantly agreed. After a moment of silence, she asked, “What happened between you and Bashir, anyway?”
“We going to girl talk now?”
“Just trying to pass time,” Hana said. “Would you rather talk about what Netflix shows you’re into?”
“Grace and Frankie.”
“Grace and Frankie?” Hana laughed. “The show about the two old women?”
“I have a weird taste in comedy—best thing on TV since the Golden Girls.”
“Well that certainly is a fetish.”
“What? You think because I’m some Asian commando I should be into Crouching Tiger?”
Hana said nothing.
“Maybe I’m not the girl you think I am.” Riko said softly. “I only play one on TV.” It was quiet again, then Riko added, “The reality is, every night I go home alone—not such a commando when you see me eating ice cream by myself watching a bad Netflix comedy. And Bashir left me because I cheated on him if you want the whole story.”
Hana was caught off guard by Riko’s statement. “You don’t have to go into it.”
“Well you wanted to know. There it is. It was dumb. He really loved me, and I broke his heart.” Riko stopped momentarily, audibly upset. “It was getting serious and it terrified me. I acted out. It was dumb.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry—now he can have the woman he deserves, I guess.”
Hana didn’t know Riko was capable of being vulnerable. It had almost seemed like she was trained to have no emotions.
“It’s not easy being a Paladin you know—a female one at that. You have to be tougher than the men,” Riko explained. “Then I find Bashir and he’s literally my equal—even in speed. It was the first time I could be myself around anyone in a long time. And I guess that scared me—so I acted out. I pretended like I wasn’t that girl and acted out. I wanted the cheap thrill. I told myself I didn’t want to feel safe—I wanted that dangerous thrill. And so I started hooking up with this other guy. It went on for a few weeks until Bashir found out. And then I found out how incredibly stupid I was.”
Hana heard a crack in her voice as she added, “He really is into you—that much I know,” Riko said. “I’m going to cut you some slack and stop being a bitch. But if you don’t want to pursue him, then I’ll be all over that. Fair?”
Hana didn’t reply. She didn’t know what to believe. She felt a twist coming on—like it was all some long con that Riko was playing to somehow get Bashir back.
“How’d they catch you anyway?”
“Bashir was upset,” Riko explained. “I knew there was only one way to make it right between Bashir and I, and that was to make it right between us, Hana. I have to earn his trust back and make him like me as a friend—he was my best friend and if I can’t have at least some of that, then it makes all of this harder. Maybe friends is all we’ll ever be, and if it is then that’s what it is. But I hate the idea of not even having that. And so I left to find you and was picked up off the street. That’s what I get for being vulnerable—I let down my guard and wasn’t thinking about the enemy.”
“Thanks for trying to help, but I would have been fine without you.”
“Real fine,” Riko laughed. “What do you say we get out of here?”
“What do you mean?” Before Riko answered, the hood over Hana’s head was removed.
&nb
sp; “If you’re going to be kidnapped, make sure you do it with the right person,” Riko said as she took a knife and sliced through the zip tie on Hana’s wrists.
“I’ll keep that in mind next time I get kidnapped.” Hana looked around the room. It was dimly lit, but it was no cell. The small plane window on the wall illuminated the room just enough to make it clear that this was a bedroom she recognized. It was the bedroom on York’s plane. “This is York’s plane?”
Riko nodded. “I guess we know who’s behind all of this.”
Hana immediately went to the window and looked out. She expected to see city lights below, but all there was was water. “It’s nice to know where we are. But what’s the plan?”
“Look at how high we are,” Riko said, standing behind her.
“Okay.”
“We aren’t high enough to be going far—York has a facility on Hachijō-kojima Island—it’s about an hour from Tokyo by plane.” She explained. “Used to be for exiles, but was abandoned all together in the 60s; it stayed that way until York leased it from the government about two years ago—I guess we know now why he wanted it so remote.”
“Perfect—so we’ll be in the middle of nowhere. Even if we do somehow manage to fight our way off this plane, then what?”
Riko shrugged. “Not up for the challenge?”
“I don’t think I have a choice.”
“We should touch ground in about 30 minutes. We do nothing until then—there’s no sense trying to get off this plane now. Our best hope is on the island.”
Hana nodded. “So we take them all out. Then what? We’re still on an island in the middle of nowhere.”
“Who said anything about taking them all out?” Riko asked. “They won’t exactly be unarmed. The plan here is escape. And they do have boats. There are other islands.” She paused. “Do you trust me?”
“No,” Hana said honestly.
Riko smiled. “Yeah, I guess I wouldn’t either. But I’m your best bet.”
Hana held up her finger to silence her, and softly said, “Someone is coming.”
Hana and Riko each stood on one side of the door. Hana could her the steps getting closer until they stepped in front of the bedroom door. She heard the key being taken from the person’s pocket, slowly slide into the handle, and then slowly open the door. The person entered the room and shut the door.
As soon as the door shut, Riko went behind the person and covered their mouth so they couldn’t speak.
“Kenna?” Hana said in disbelief.
Riko kept a firm grip on her so she couldn’t get away but slowly moved her hand away so she could speak.
“I come in peace,” Kenna said softly with a fearful smile. “What are you two doing here—and why are the lights off?”
“Good question,” Hana said. “We were both picked up off the street, tied up, and brought here. Something you want to tell us?” She looked at Riko and said, “She’s not going anywhere—let her go.”
Riko reluctantly released her grip and moved one step back. Confused, Kenna turned and looked at the zip ties and hoods lying on the ground. “I don’t know anything about this—I swear. I was in the lab and smelled you, so I came up here to see what you both were doing on the plane. I didn’t think any Paladins were coming to the island until tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?”
Kenna’s expression changed. She grew nervous as she considered what she had just said.
“What’s tomorrow, Kenna?” Riko asked.
“York is moving all the Paladins to the island.” She explained, then continued, “Look, I don’t know everything going on. I just know we’re close to a breakthrough.”
“Kenna, what are you not telling us?”
“We cracked the code—sort of,” Kenna explained. “York—he’s sort of a Paladin now.”
“Sort of?” Riko questioned.
Kenna nodded. “He’s fast—just like you and Bashir. But it doesn’t last, and it’s going away. We need to do more tests, but Bashir isn’t open to it. You know how he is.” She paused. “I really don’t know all the details—I just know that York is bringing everyone out here. The plan was to bring a Paladin here, and then tell the others that they were taken, the location was compromised, and that they were no longer safe. And then once everyone was there, he was going to make it clear that if you work with him you are well rewarded—but if you work against him…it’s like I told you, Hana, no one gets in his way.”
“And you’re okay with all this?” Hana asked, confused.
“This is my work, Hana—I’ve spent months doing research. We’re so close. York promised no one would get hurt.”
“Did he also promise no one would get kidnapped?” Riko smiled.
Kenna looked up and said softly, “I just thought he was going to take a Paladin that already knew the plan—I didn’t know he’d take both of you.”
“This is mad science, Kenna—you know that, right?”
Kenna didn’t speak.
“No one stands in his way,” Hana warned her. “And you really think he won’t hurt anyone? You spent all that time researching, and York—that’s who you want to give all that work to? Someone who will stop at nothing to get what he wants? Seems a little supervillain-like, doesn’t it?”
Kenna sat on the bed and looked up hopeless at Riko and Hana. She was quiet for several seconds, then finally said, “I’m the key to all of this—if you want to stop York, then you can’t let him find me.”
Chapter Thirteen
“T
here she is,” Riko said, tapping on the window and looking at the forming island off the tip of the wing in the distance. “Hachijō-kojima—York’s private oasis.”
Hana walked up behind her while Kenna sat nervously on the bed. Even from a distance, Hana could make out a large strip next to it. “What is that on the side?”
Riko smiled. “That is what you get when you have ridiculous amounts of money.” She paused, then explained, “York wasn’t happy taking a helicopter or small plane out here. He wanted to be able to land this enormous beast we are flying in. So he made a manmade runway that was large enough to land it. He had huge ships come out here dumping off dirt.”
“You should destroy it,” Kenna said abruptly.
They both turned. “What?” Hana asked.
“All my research—the computers—the whole island really.” Kenna solemnly explained, “Destroy all of it. Even if you stop York, someone else will find it.”
Hana walked to the bed and looked down at Kenna and offered compassionately, “Kenna, you’re young. You’re brilliant. This is a year of your life—but you have many years to come.”
She nodded sadly. “But the work was groundbreaking.”
Riko turned around and said, “Nobody wants to be known as the creator of the atomic bomb—it’s groundbreaking science at the costs of millions of lives. That’s what your work is—in the wrong hands, this science kills. You don’t want to be known for that.”
The plane was rapidly descending. Hana looked at Riko and said, “Do you trust me?”
Riko smiled. “No.”
“Well I’m your best shot too—sit back down with the hood over your head and pretend your hands are tied.”
Riko looked at her curiously, but finally obeyed.
Turning to Kenna, Hana said, “I’m going to need you to hide in the bathroom—no sounds.”
The plane taxied on the ground, and almost as soon as the plane stopped, she could hear movement outside. The hood over Hana’s head was surprisingly helpful; Hana was more aware of all the noises around her. When the door opened, she was able to concentrate on the peoples’ movements and know exactly where they were and even what kinds of guns they had.
There were two men. There were others on the plane, but they were near the front doors. No one would hear the struggle that was about to take place.
One man walked towards Hana and the other went to Ri
ko. Hana waited until he was close enough, then kicked him in the balls, and used her leg to wrap around his and tackle him to the ground. He was still in pain from the hit, and while he was on the ground, Hana hit him in the neck—a pressure point that rendered him unconscious.
With the hood still on, she went to the next man. She detected the gun was raised at her, but he was caught off guard. She used the element of surprise to grab the gun and hit him in the temple. He fell to the ground and would also be out cold long enough for them to escape.
Hana removed her hood and then pulled off Riko’s and smiled. “If you’re going to be kidnapped, make sure you do it with the right person.”
Riko looked up at her, surprised. “Not bad, newbie. Maybe your good hearing has its advantages.”
Hana ignored her and opened the bathroom door; Kenna was sitting fearfully on the toilet. “Coast is clear.”
“I can hear three in the lounge and a few more in the back of the plane,” Hana explained. “Those ones don’t sound armed.”
“The plane isn’t that full,” Kenna offered. “York was mostly just sending cargo over. He has all the Paladins coming in the choppers.”
Riko moved to the window. “The ones on the plane aren’t the problem.”
Hana moved to the window and caught her stare. There were several men in army fatigues with assault rifles. An unmarked white van was on the tarmac. Hana figured that was what would be used to take them to their next cell.
“The men in the lounge,” Riko said, “are they armed?”
Hana put her finger to her lips to silence her and listened. They were talking in Japanese. It sounded like casual talk because they kept laughing. She listened to their movements several seconds before finally saying, “It doesn’t sound like it.”
Riko looked down at the menand grabbed their guns. She opened them up. “Ugh!”
“What?”
“They don’t have enough rounds.” She explained. “That’s going to make it more difficult.”
“What about the plane?” Hana asked. “York has a swimming pool but no extra guns? I’m a little surprised he doesn’t have a shooting range somewhere on this flying boat.”
