Changing Masks

by Nicholas Metelsky

  'Well, well, well. Couldn't the witch Nakata find a better place for her games?' I heard a male voice. 'Quite aggressive games, too.' He must have been hinting at the chaos in the office.

  'How witty, Bolt.'

  'Don't call me that, skunk!' Wow, he has no patience. If this is their boss, I'm very surprised he ever became one. Although he might be some small criminal.

  'Well, I'm sorry, but I don't know what else to call you.' That was a blow below the belt, judging by the way he reacted to his nickname.

  'Scum.' I'd rather call her a witch. 'Give me what I came here for, and I promise: you'll die fast.'

  'Well, at least tell me what you came here for...'

  'Be quiet!' Mother of God, he's completely out of his mind. 'Give me the documents, creature!'

  'Ooh,' I could hear the pain in her voice. 'Just as always. Breaking in, leaving a mess, and being rude.'

  'Silence!'

  'Ok, I got ya. Boys, be so kind…' In a second, the room was filled with gunshots and screams. I looked out from behind the bookcase and saw an empty cabinet and my backpack. Akemi was still sitting on the table, dangling her leg, looking contemplative. Apparently, having decided something for herself, the woman had rushed to the exit, not forgetting to pick up the revolver of the forty-four monstrous caliber.

  I have to act fast. With this thought, I knocked out my thumb and released my right hand from the handcuffs. It's a very unpleasant procedure, but I felt no pain. It's just the general feeling was still there. After putting my finger back in place, I rushed to the backpack on all fours since it was nearby. I turned around and crawled to the desk where my mask lay, at the same time, grabbing the taser by the leg of the desk. When I reached out for the mask, my gaze rested on the safe. O-la-la! The safe is open. It was half-shut, to be exact. The foolish woman hadn’t shut the door, she was so arrogant. So, what would you have done if you were me? Right! Same thing I did.

  I finally grabbed the mask and put it on, then as fast as my four limbs could carry me, I charged in the direction of the safe. I looked inside and found what I was looking for right away — the thick folder labeled 'Three Sakura.' There were also three more folders, a tin can, and seven packs of money. I didn't have time to check what I was stealing, and there was no point in doing it right there anyway. I quickly shoved the documents into my backpack and deliberated for a moment. Then I thought, Why not? and threw the money in too.

  Now I faced the most interesting challenge: how to get out of the building. The sounds of fighting were getting louder. The symphony of pistol shots was now accompanied by the famous product of Count Kalashnikov and even something explosive in place of drums. Most likely, it was the equivalent of RGD-5, judging by the sound. The exit from the office led to the office area, which was connected to a large room, packed with boxes and bales. The office area also had bulletproof glass on all the windows, although why, I did not know.

  A fleeting glance through the doorway proved that no one was in the room nearest the office. Crouching, I ran to the exit along the wall. I carefully looked out and saw an episode of fierce fighting. Mouse, as it seemed, was pushing through, trying to reach three thugs, who were at the same time bursting fire at him at close range. Serge was holding his knife and prancing around a group of men trying to stay clear of the gunshots fired by some other muggers hiding near the riflemen. He was a real fighter. I was pretty sure that he was a Veteran; that meant that he, just like Mouse, could withstand bursts of gunfire, but he still tried to avoid them. By then, I already knew what ‘spirit armor' was and how it was different for soldiers of different ranks. I had known nothing of Virtuosos then. Thanks to Shina's father, I had an idea of the Veterans' capabilities. I also knew about the two junior and two senior ranks. Yet, it was still weird to see it with my own eyes. Even when I was at the peak of my development in my native world, I was recognized as the most dangerous fighter on Earth, but even then, I wouldn’t have survived being shot in the head. Here, some civilian was barging against three Kalashnikovs and didn't give a hoot.

  Isiatama and his nameless partner were spinning in the crowd of adversaries, taking out one after another. As far as Akemi and the Chinese guy were concerned, I couldn't see them, but I could hear them. It was hard to figure it out off the reel, but I heard shooting and even explosions coming from the depths of the building.

  So, first, I had to figure out how to get out. Even though the windows here were not bulletproof, they were too high. To get to the emergency exit, I had to pass by the crowd of fighters and remain unnoticed passing by the shooters that were sitting just 6 feet from the door and then out into the hall. To get to the main exit, which was clear right now, meant facing a fight with Akemi. That's where I had to go. I might run into the woman and the psycho, or I might not. I highly doubted I would make it to the emergency exit. I had to keep moving and try to stay close to the wall.

  When I was about half-way there, a shrieking body was thrown out of the mass of fighters. The body hit the boxes near me and collapsed from hitting the wall. Broken arms, legs and, perhaps, back tempted me to put him out of his suffering for good, only for a moment though. Eventually, someone would do it without my help. At the door, I was almost knocked over by another body that literally took the door off its hinges. Freezing for a moment, I turned around and noticed that the Russian was about to send another body my way. I waited until the body hit the wall, snuck out of the room, and ran at full speed towards the main exit.

  Hallway. A door. Hallway. Turn. Turn again. A door. Another office. A door. A fork, to the right. Another door. A fork. Another shot. I rolled over my shoulder and shifted to the right in the direction of the shot.

  'Freak! What a night.'

  Thirty-three feet from me, stood the psycho, the leader of the guys who had been banged against the wall. He was aiming his Glock 17 at me. It was one of the products that copies the analog in my world, matching every screw. Now this excellent pistol was in the hands of the jerk, and judging by his face, his rage was out of control. He had taken some hits as well. His right cheek was scratched and bleeding, his left sleeve was torn off, his right pant leg was held in place by a few threads, and his left thigh was covered in blood. He looked like he had been in a good fight, overall.

  Behind my back, seventy feet away, were the doors to the hall. After that, just a couple of hallways through the building, a locked exit door, and what I needed, regular windows, not the bulletproof ones. In front of me, however, there was the man with the gun and a thirst for blood while my former speed and strength were still lingering in the process of 'being here someday.' Ah, let's shake the cobwebs and do the pendulum trick, not the original one, but the one with the step back.

  All right. Jerk your head to the left, step right, shot. Gently pull the right hand, slightly noticeable movement of the right knee, step to the left, shot. Move your shoulders to the right, one step to the left, shot. Pendulum is not just hurling your body back and forth, it's reading the enemy, his motor skills and the surrounding space. It's about superior body control. Pendulum is so-called kinesthetic hypnosis. Not only do you know where the enemy is going to shoot, you basically control where he aims. Move the right foot, then the right hand, slightly bend the left leg, step right, shot. Another shot. Another shot.

  Bang! A shot of the forty-four caliber from behind my back demolished part of his skull and the body of the one who used to be a psycho.

  'Finally. He made me jump around like a squirrel.' Akemi, dang it. Who else could it be? 'You keep surprising me, kid. That’s the first time I’ve seen anything like that, as if you knew where he was going to shoot.' Really, no one practices Pendulum in this world? 'Will you teach me?'

  I wasn’t not sure what to say.

  'Come on, don't be selfish. Let's go get the rest and have a quiet talk.'

  What crap! Was it my fate to perish tonight? The vixen was standing in the doorway blocking my only exit. I had to run, but I had nowhere to go. She wouldn't have a
llowed me to anyway.

  'All right, buddy, give up. You have nowhere to run. My guys should be done by now and will be heading here. Going back is not an option, and here, you have me. I'm not even gonna shoot. I'll just catch you. I'm a Veteran, after all. Have you heard of us?'

  Hmm, what a...

  'Not gonna shoot?' I twisted my neck from side to side, then cracked my back. 'Then catch!'

  I started to back up to give myself a good start. I stopped in front of the door, slightly bent my knees, positioned my arms, and got ready to take off. A moment or two later, I shouldered the door open and rode for dear life back into the depths of the building. Why did I go back? Well, how do you imagine a child getting past a Veteran? It's impossible. Even if I miraculously managed to get passed her, I simply would not have been able to escape. Akemi would have caught me within a few feet from her. At least this way, I ran the chance that she might decide not to chase me since I was running into the hands of her men.

  Having passed almost the entire hallway located behind the door, I made sure my assumptions were correct: the woman had just walked into the hallway. I pushed the door in front of me and found myself on a staircase. Jumping two steps at a time, I made it to the second floor. Using the taser that I was holding, I opened the closest door. Luckily, the locks in the building were all identical. I was lucky—the first room had an air vent. Since my plan wasn't based on secrecy, I tore out the frame. I had enough strength for that. I made my way inside the air duct pipe like a worm. Five minutes later, I could be sure that no one was going to pull me out. The size of the pipe wouldn't allow it.

  The plan was simple: I had to get to the nearest ventilation exit that led outside. The exits had fan blades attached to them, which I could stop but wouldn't be able to squeeze my way out of. My persecutors, though, might not know that. Given the distance between the blades, it was not so obvious. I had checked when I was visiting Funtik, but Akemi did not know that. That's why I had to get to the external ventilation and stop the blades using a short crowbar that I always had with me. Then, I just had to lie deep in the pipes for a couple of days and wait until the hype settled down. Then, at night, I would quietly climb out and exit the empty building. There was only one problem — finding the freaking way out. I wasn’t prepared for this plan, and hadn’t memorized the air-duct system. I didn't really know it at all. It worked out though with a few exceptions.

  First, it took me three hours to get to the exit. Three hours of crawling in this gut! Let me remind you once again that in my past life, I had been a Destroyer. I wasn't a spy or scout, like Shadow; I wasn't a killer, like Abolisher, after all. I wasn't an ordinary fighter, but still, I was nothing special so I wasn't used to such tricks. A couple times, I even experienced what claustrophobic people feel. In general, I wasn't having a great time those three hours.

  Secondly, it was a waiting game. Once I blocked the blades, I crept away, pulled a water bottle out of my backpack and put the backpack under my head. Then I stretched out inside the pipe and prepared myself to have to wait for a couple of days. However, I didn't know if Akemi or her fellows had a good eye, or whether they were simply stubborn, but only on the fifth night, did the crowds of people leave the building, and I could finally get out of there. And let me tell you: it wasn't easy. Four days without food is too long for an adult. The bottle of water I had contained just 11 ounces.

  I carefully crawled towards the nearest exit from the duct, and for a couple of hours, I listened for any slight noise made on the other side of the frame. Not hearing anything that was worth my concern, I made it out of the pipe and, unsteady on my legs, headed to the rear building entrance — the same entrance that had gotten me into this damn place, and that's the one I hoped would be the easiest way out. Hallways, rooms, forks, doors. A wide hallway took me to an unloading dock. I started going down the stairs, sighing. These freaks didn't think that a regular lock was enough, so they also added a huge barn lock. Too bad. I had wanted to leave quietly, but that wasn't an option. Taking it off wouldn't be a problem, but it would be best to put it back on, too. Heck with them, I decided to take it with me and make them wonder what it was all supposed to mean.

  The removal of the lock, as well as the opening and closing the door took me eight minutes. Once I was outside, I sighed with relief and, for a couple of moments, was even able to relax. Soon after, I started heading for the closest hideout, making sure to look around. The hideout wasn't great. It was located at an abandoned construction site and didn't imply the presence of people. It wasn't good for anything, really. However, I had a number of caches like this one. Each one of them had regular clothes, a pair of shoes, and a bottle of water stashed away. I changed, took the edge off my appetite, quenched my thirst, and was finally able to relax and get some rest. It didn't last long though — two cans of beans didn't suffice. I decided to leave the documents and my belongings here: I didn't want to drag the evidence around with me. The clock showed 7:23. When I got home in an hour-and-a-half or two, I planned on having a rest day. In the evening, I could pick up my things, hand over the documents, and collect my hard-earned royalties.

  I was in a pretty good mood on my way home. No wonder. A seemingly simple and well-planned job had turned out to be a disaster. Regardless of that, I passed all its tests with flying colors and was able to obtain the bloody documents. As a bonus, I pocketed a certain sum of money from Mrs. Nakata's safe. Oh yeah, they saw my face. I didn't care though. What were they going to do about it? Would they try and find a child in a multi-million person city like Tokyo based on the description of his appearance? Triple 'Ha.' I assumed that they would also be searching for a masked dwarf. I could simply change my appearance or think of something else. Once I’d received my money, I wouldn't have much time to deliberate. Also, it's not a fact that they'd be searching for me at all: all I am is an executor working through mediators. The only important thing was that I had managed to get out! So, I had every right to be in a good mood.

  Only after walking into the house and shutting the door behind me did I start to feel the tension leave me.

  'Home, sweet home. I'm so happy to... God, when is it gonna be over? '

  In the living room, Kagami and Akeno Koyama were sitting on the couch and in the armchair... Their stares made it quite clear that someone was in big trouble. Guess who.

  * * *

  'Leave me alone! I’ve told you twenty times. I was running errands, of a personal nature. It's nobody else’s business.'

  'Okay then. Why didn't you come back before the beginning of the school year?'

  The story took place during the school break and it had meant missing the first two days of school. What a meticulous person! What does he want from me? It was pretty obvious actually: he wanted to know where I had been. That didn’t fit with my plan though.

  'I've said it seven times already: I got sick, Akeno-san. I had a fever for three days, and I was glued to the bed. I came back as soon as I could.'

  Kagami was tinkering in the kitchen leaving the men to it. She just looked me over with a stern face in the mudroom, touched my forehead, and, without saying a word, went back into the kitchen. Apparently, my enforced fest and generally lousy look had not escaped her. Now, after half an hour of interrogation, I smelled amazing aromas coming from the kitchen.

  'Who took care of you all this time?'

  'The people I was visiting.'

  'Who were you visiting then?' Shina's father started a new round of questions.

  Oh, how I wanted to blurt out something snarky!

  'It's my personal business and I don't need anyone else getting involved.'

  Akeno looked at me sternly. He inhaled and was ready to continue the interrogation, but suddenly paused, holding his breath for a moment, and then exhaled:

  'Fine. Let's leave it alone for a while. Otherwise, you'll drool everywhere. Kagami, is the lunch ready?' He asked in a loud voice. Good, I’ve fought them off! Incidentally, Koyama never raised the topic a
gain; apparently, they had acknowledged that even a little guy like me has a right to his own secrets. However, if you think that this was the end of the story, then you are deeply mistaken. Ironically, it had only just begun.

  At the end of the week, after getting back on track with nutrition, sleep, and school, the Koyama family settled down, so I was on my way to deliver the documents. I received my wage and was ready to depart, when the mediator stopped me.

  'Wait, Dwarf, I have a job for you.' The overweight, unremarkable shopkeeper looked at me cunningly. In response, I wrote in the notebook: 'Taking new jobs in a month, no earlier.'

  'Well, that's up to you. There’s something else I want to talk to you about too.' That piqued my interest, and I nodded my head indicating for him to continue. 'Someone contacted our guild yesterday and asked to arrange a meeting with you.'

  'With me?'

  'Well, not with you exactly, but with the person who stole the documents.'

  What an annoying woman! I was sure it was Akemi, so I shook my head and turned to leave.

  'Do they take me for an idiot?'

  'Hold on, Dwarf!' The mediator called out. C’mon, man! All right, I'll listen, I thought and turned around, indicating for him to continue.

  'Look, Dwarf, this meeting will be held under the patronage of the Guild's intermediaries. There is no threat to you at all. Come, listen to what they have to say, and then leave. They might offer you something worthwhile. You could also solve your problems without bloodshed.' Under the patronage of the guild, huh? That might be a solution. I didn't really want to be constantly looking over my shoulder. So, I wrote in the notebook 'Where and when?'

  * * *

  The Tokyo in this world is very similar to the Tokyo in mine despite all the differences in history. These were the thoughts running through my mind as I sat in a family cafe on Omotesando Street, located in the Shibuya area. Similarly to the one in my world, this street stretched from 'Omotesando' metro station to 'Meiji-jingu mae' station. It would be just as unremarkable as any other, if it weren’t for one small detail. This street led to the Temple of Meiji, the largest Shinto shrine in Tokyo. In this world, Emperor Meiji was one of the most popular in Japan, and his history was completely different from the history of my world. Oh well. The entire history of this Japan went differently thanks to this ruler. So, it's not surprising then, that here, this street has special historical significance and is very popular, and that with the popularity and crowds of people, came those who wanted to make money out of it.