Warrior Spirit
Page 26
“What if there are some left?” Annja asked.
Ken shrugged. “I’ll take care of them.”
Annja raised her eyebrows. “You’ll kill them?”
Ken fished the car keys out of his backpack. “Annja, I don’t ever look for a reason to kill. Neither would you. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that the universe has a scheme of totality to it. And places and events and people all fall into that scheme. Our destinies are designed so that we all intersect how we’re supposed to intersect. It may be that I’m not supposed to kill them or it may be that I am.”
“But how will you know what the universe or God or whatever wants you to do?”
Ken pointed back toward the mountain. “The same way we figured out what we were supposed to do in the labyrinth.”
“Instinct?”
“Sure.”
“I guess I’m not all that comfortable yet with the idea of using my instinct to guide me entirely through life,” Annja said.
“No one’s saying to exclude your logical, rational mind. You’ve got that for a reason, as well. But use it as part of your entire arsenal, not as the single guiding compass. The more tools you have and know how to use, the better and more fulfilling your life will be,” Ken said.
“I guess that makes sense.”
They ditched their bags in the trunk and then got into the car.
Ken slid the key into the ignition. “Think anyone planted a bomb on this?”
Annja frowned. “I hope not.”
“Better check.” Ken closed his eyes and then reopened them. “We’re fine.” He turned the key and the engine caught immediately.
Annja exhaled. “That’s a relief.”
Ken put the car into gear and they backed up on the gravel bed, listening to the tires crunch the stones underneath. Ken eased out onto the road and they drove back toward Ueno.
“You’ll come back to Tokyo with me?” Annja asked.
“Sure. I have to go back there anyway. No sense staying out here anymore. I’ve got what I came for.”
“I can book a return flight to the States for tomorrow.”
“Which would leave us…tonight?”
Annja smiled. “A nice dinner?”
Ken nodded. “That sounds good to me.”
Annja watched the scenery whip past the windows. “What did the vajra do to Shuko in the monastery?”
Ken frowned. “I’m not really sure. Traditionally, the vajra was used as something to remind the wielder of their incredible personal power. But I have no idea if the same thing applies to this particular vajra. After all, it was given to my family for very specific reasons.”
“It looked like she’d been hit with laser beams or something.”
Ken nodded. “Yes.”
“Maybe the light of truth?”
“It’s an interesting idea,” Ken said. “You mean the vajra showed Shuko exactly who she was in a split second of time and the illumination of her true spirit was simply too intense for her to bear?”
“Something like that, I guess. I don’t know. All this talk about truth and its reflections and that stuff has me thinking along those lines, but I don’t know if I’m making any sense of it all,” Annja said.
“You’re doing fine.” Ken rested one hand on the steering wheel. “And you might be right, who knows? As I said, I’ve got a lot of work to do in order to discover its secrets. Just as, I’m sure, you have to with your particular situation.”
“Seems like we’ve each got our crosses to bear, huh?”
Ken smiled. “Looks that way.”
“It’s kind of nice, actually,” Annja said.
“What is?”
They were on the outskirts of Ueno. Farmhouses gave way to apartment buildings. “Knowing that there’s someone else in the world who’s got something incredibly powerful that they need to figure out. I don’t feel so alone anymore. Before this, I felt like some weird almost messiah.”
“A reluctant messiah,” Ken said. “I could see it in you when I first saw laid eyes upon you.”
“I never asked for it.”
“I know that. I think that’s exactly why you might have been chosen to carry this particular responsibility. Most other people would go out of their way to seek the very thing you struggle with.”
Annja frowned. “You sought your vajra. Does that make you less worthy than me?”
“I hope not,” Ken said. “But only time will tell.”
“I don’t envy you.”
Ken smiled. “I’m not sure I envy either of us.”
“You promise to stay in touch? Let me know how you’re progressing? It might be nice to bounce some ideas off of me now and then.”
“Only if you do the same.”
“I will.”
“I’ll tell you this,” Ken said. “I’m glad I don’t have to carry that sword.”
“Why not?”
“It’s far too large for me to handle. The vajra is nice and small.”
“Size isn’t everything,” Annja said.
“It’s what you do with it,” Ken said. “Isn’t that right?”
“Absolutely.”
Ken chuckled. “The next time we get together, we’ve got to make sure we continue this awful string of innuendo.”
“Oh, definitely.”
“I feel so enlightened when we talk like this.”
Annja smiled. “Don’t you know that’s the secret to all of this stuff?”
“What is?”
“Not taking it too seriously. I don’t think either of us is a candidate for sitting on a mountaintop dispensing wisdom to the acolytes who traipse after us.”
“Probably not.” Ken shrugged. “So we’re both reluctant messiahs.”
“As long as we remember that the true path to enlightenment comes from living in the moment and embracing life, rather than retreating from it in some remote monastery or cave.”
“I couldn’t live in a cave,” Ken said.
“Why not?”
“I’d miss my high-def television far too much.”
Annja pointed. “You see? That’s surely the sign of someone destined for great things.”
“You think?”
“I know. Only the wisest people know that true happiness is found in a giant-screen TV.”
“Keep that up and you’ll be hawking electronic goods when you get back to the States,” Ken said, laughing.
“I hear the money’s good,” Annja replied.
Ken frowned suddenly. Annja watched him tense up.
And then she felt it, too.
She spun around in her seat—
“If you two don’t stop this inane chatter, I may just vomit all over the both of you.”
“You!” Annja couldn’t believe her eyes.
Garin sat in the back seat of the car.
Aiming a pistol at them.
39
“Hello, Annja. Nice to see you again.”
Annja frowned. “I’m not so sure I can say the same thing about you.”
Garin shrugged. “Well, that’s to be expected, I suppose. After all, I am holding a gun and aiming at you.”
“Who is this man?” Ken asked.
“Just keep driving, pal. Don’t try anything funny. I’m not like the other people you’ve been dealing with lately.” He glanced at Annja. “No offense, sweetheart.”
“Go to hell, Garin,” Annja said.
He shook his head. “Is that any way to treat an old friend? Really. So rude and the tone of your voice is completely uncalled-for.”
“What’s uncalled-for is you hiding in the back seat of this car. How long have you been here?”
Garin shrugged. “An hour or two. Ever since you left the monastery. I just took a quicker way down. Got here first and hid out. I didn’t think you’d mind.”
“Oh, but I do.”
Ken looked at Annja. “Is this your boyfriend?”
Garin exploded into laughter. “Please. Stop. How rich!”
Annja scowled. “He’s not my boyfriend.”
“Much as she’d love having a roll in the hay with me,” Garin said, “the truth is we are not lovers.”
“I don’t want to sleep with you,” Annja said.
Garin wiped the tears from his eyes. “Oh, sure. Keep telling yourself that, kid. You might believe it some day.”
Ken glanced at Garin in the rearview mirror. “So what can we do for you, exactly? Are you looking for a ride into town?”
“Actually, no.”
“Seems such a waste to come all the way out here just to talk to Annja,” Ken said calmly.
Garin smiled. “I want the vajra.”
Annja looked at Garin. “It’s not yours.”
“Obviously.” He held up the gun. “Hence the pistol. I find it helps separate people from their belongings when they are reluctant to do so otherwise.”
“He won’t give it to you,” Annja said. “It belongs to his family.”
Garin leaned forward. “Let me put it this way—ever since you found that sword, I’ve been wondering what my worth is and what will happen to me now that you’re around.” He leaned back. “And you know what I came up with?”
“No idea. But I’m sure you’ll tell me,” Annja said.
“I came to the conclusion that it would behoove me to have other things I might fall back on in case it does come to pass that I find my strength waning. As a result of this epiphany, and really, it was a fabulous one over the most exquisite Italian food I’ve ever had—But I digress. As a result, I’ve been looking to acquire other items of antiquity that might help me preserve my current state, so to speak.”
“Try a bottle of formaldehyde,” Annja said. “That’s what works for most old farts.”
Garin chuckled. “I love it when you get that barb in your tongue. It’s quite refreshing to see you still have it.”
“I’ve still got the sword, as well.”
Garin frowned. “Yes, well, we won’t be pulling that out anytime soon, will we? After all, if I get one indication that you are, I’ll put several bullets into your new paramour here.”
“We’re not lovers,” Annja said.
“Oh? And that dalliance by the waterfall? What was that?”
Had everyone in the world seen her make love to Ken? Annja sighed. “I think we’re still trying to work out exactly what that was. But neither of us is getting hung up on it.”
“Exactly,” Ken said.
“How nice you’ve got that understood,” Garin said. “But I’ll still kill him if you pull that blade out.”
“I’m not pulling it out. It’s been acting funny anyway lately.”
Garin blanched. “It has?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t suppose you’d care to elaborate on how it’s been acting funny, would you?”
Annja pointed. “I don’t suppose you’d care to toss the gun out of the window and act like a civilized person for a change?”
“I don’t think so.”
Annja nodded. “So, I guess this will be something I talk over with Roux, then. I’m sure he’ll be most interested. Even more so when he finds out that he’s got valuable information that you don’t have.”
Garin frowned. “That’s not fair, Annja. I helped you acquire that sword.”
“I never wanted the sword. I was simply there at the right moment and you and Roux didn’t have a chance to get your greedy mitts on it.”
“You’re punishing me.”
“Yes. And you’re not going to get Ken’s vajra.”
Garin chewed his lip. “You could be lying. Making the whole thing up. Just to protect your boyfriend here.”
“Yep,” Annja said. “I could be. But you won’t ever know, will you?”
Garin stayed quiet for a moment. Annja shook her head. “Is this why you approached me in the hotel? When you tried to warn me about Ken? Planting all that stuff in my mind that he might not be who he said he was? Was it all for this? Just to get the vajra?”
“Will you be mad if I say yes?”
Annja smirked. “No. I’ll chalk it up to you just being you. And to think I thought you were actually concerned about me. Well, at least until you went after that waitress.”
“I have needs,” Garin said. “Don’t begrudge me my primal desires.”
“Whatever.” Annja saw they were approaching the heart of Ueno. “Were you on our tail ever since the hotel?”
“Yes.”
“And you saw, presumably, everything that happened?”
Garin shrugged. “There were a few instances where you went to ground and I couldn’t locate you. But I tagged your other interested parties, knowing they’d lead me back to you, and here I am now.”
“Thanks for all the help.”
“My pleasure.” Garin cleared his throat. “You really won’t tell me what’s been going on, will you?”
“Not one word of information as long as you think about stealing the vajra from Ken.”
“And if I play nice and let him keep it?”
“I might think about sitting you and Roux down and having a chat about what’s been going on,” Annja said.
“It would have to be neutral ground. The crazy fool still wants to kill me even though he claims he doesn’t.”
“Neutral ground is fine.”
Garin sighed. “I’d really like that vajra.”
“So take it,” Annja said. “Enjoy it. But it probably won’t help you when it comes time to deal with Roux or your own destiny.”
Garin shook his head. “All right, fine. Whatever. You win. I won’t take it.”
Annja looked at him. “I want your word of honor or whatever it is you hold dearest to your soul.”
Garin held up his hand. “You have my word as a master of the horizontal tango that I will never endeavor to steal Ken’s precious vajra. Are we done now?”
Ken pulled over to the curb, got out and went to the trunk. He took out his backpack and Annja’s and then walked over to Annja’s door.
“Ready?”
Annja got out of the car and shouldered her pack. Garin looked out from the back seat.
Ken tossed him the keys. “The rental agency is down the road about a mile. You’d better get it gassed up first, though, or they’ll charge you.”
“Charge me? Now wait a minute, this is your car—”
Ken shook his head. “No, it’s registered under your name. You see, I took the liberty of shadowing Annja, too. And when I saw you taking such an interest in her, I decided it might be a good idea to know who you were. Not an easy task—you’re quite the interesting fellow.”
Garin said nothing.
“But,” Ken continued, “I managed to dig up some stuff on you. Nothing too big, but a usable credit card number and a nifty passport photo. Anyway, I charged our entire trip to your credit card, so expect that bill to be coming in soon.”
“You son of a bitch,” Garin shouted.
Ken shook his head. “Nope. I was legit, but thanks for asking.”
Annja waved to him. “Goodbye, Garin.”
He got out of the car. “I’ll expect to hear from you, Annja.”
“You will.”
Garin tossed the keys into his other hand. He grinned at Ken. “Nice meeting you, pal.”
Ken bowed. “The pleasure, as they, was all mine.”
Annja looped her arm in Ken’s and nudged him. “Come on, we’ve got a train to catch.”
As they walked to the station, Ken glanced back in time to see Garin drive off. “You think he’ll be okay?” he asked.
“He’s managed for many years,” Annja said. “I don’t think he’ll have too much trouble.”
Ken stopped. “Maybe I should have told him about the explosives I stowed in the trunk.”
“You didn’t,” Annja said laughing.
Ken shrugged. “It’s the stuff we got from Jiro. I needed to put it somewhere.” He sighed. “That just might delay your friend and give us enough
time to put some distance between us.”
Annja dragged Ken toward the train station. “Good. Now let’s talk about that dinner you owe me.”