Eternal Samurai

by B. D. Heywood

  “I’m certain I don’t want to just fuck him. And the only thing I am sure of is he’s not a guy.”

  Galloway reeled back in pretended shock. “Huh, a chick? No. Fucking. Way. You ain’t hardwired fer pussy.”

  Tatsu gulped, embarrassed, suddenly reluctant to reveal more. “Gomen nasai. I’m sorry I should not have bothered you about it.” He started to rise but Galloway’s iron fingers clamped like a vice around his wrist and yanked him back onto the chair.

  “Sit your butt down Ninja Boy, and shove that Japanese apology crap up your cute, tight ass,” The blond’s fierce cerulean eyes locked onto Tatsu’s jade ones. “You’re not just my teammate, you’re my friend. You can trust me with anything, and I mean anything. So, spill. It can’t be that bad.”

  “Oh yes, it’s that bad.” Tatsu’s misery-filled eyes skittered off Galloway’s stare. Without thinking, he rolled a brass casing between his thumb and forefinger. “He’s a vampire.” The words eked out in a whisper as if to deny their reality.

  “Huh, a what? You’re telling me a bloodsucker got you so horny you want to fuck him? No big deal. A quickie never hurt anyone no matter whose ass is involved.”

  Tatsu gulped. “I want more.” How could he explain about the huge hole in his heart that disappeared every time Arisada called him koibito?

  “He ain’t the one you’re hunting? I mean maybe you’ve got some sort of bizarre Stockholm syndrome.”

  A shocked expression crossed Tatsu’s face. “No, it’s not him. I’m positive. Grandfather almost severed that monster’s spine. This one has no scars on his back. I made him show me.”

  Galloway’s laughter bounced around the cold room. “He stripped just because you asked? A bloodsucker? Man, you are one talented little Ninja.” He leaned across the table and skewered Tatsu with an intense, definitely not friendly stare. “What are you hiding?”

  The events of the shinkendo bet, Arisada’s tattooed back, even the blow job, tumbled out of Tatsu’s mouth in a confused rush. Somehow, Galloway followed the erotic and strangely poetic story.

  “A blow job? He sucked you off? You sure this vampire’s not playing you? I mean, you’re still a baby to the Life. I’d hate to see any bloodsucker getting his teeth in my friend’s adorable, not-quite-virgin ass.”

  “He’s not playing me. And leave my ass out of it,” Tatsu snapped. “I can’t stop thinking about him. How he looks at me, his arms, his kisses, his voice. Jigoku, he didn’t just blow my cock, he blew my mind.”

  “What about your vendetta? He’s still a vampire.”

  “I do not think of him as kyūketsuki. He’s … he’s just mine. Shit, just listen to me. I’m pathetic.”

  “Not pathetic, maybe just this side of crazy, but not pathetic. Not all of them are vicious animals. Look at Fornax? People hook up with vampires, live with ’em. I hear some secretly marry them,” Galloway rambled. Damn, many times he had listen to guys lament the I’m-in-love-with-the-wrong-cock conversation. But this one was way out of his league. “You think this vampire knows the one you’re hunting?”

  “Maybe.” Tatsu’s reply was slow coming out.

  “You too afraid to ask him? Sounds like you’re not sure you can trust him.”

  “I trust him.” But did he really trust Arisada? The vampire had not contacted him since that night in Kuboto Garden. “Only he’s not been around for a couple of weeks.”

  “Maybe he got what he wanted from you.”

  Tatsu glared at Galloway. “He wouldn’t do that. He’s honorable in a way you’d never understand. Says he loves me. Aishite imasu. Said it every time we met.”

  “Cool it, Tatsu. Just trying to help.” Galloway held his hands aloft in mock surrender. “Shit, it’s going to be a cluster fuck no matter what happens. Mind telling me his name?” He resumed loading empty shells. Breathed soft and quiet during the long minute of silence that hung between them.

  “Saito … Saito Arisada?”

  Priceless gunpowder blew over the table as Galloway dropped the measurer. He stared in shock at his younger teammate. “What the hell, Saito Arisada? The second top dog in Tendai? You have got to be bullshitting me. Saito fucking Arisada says he loves you. And you love him. You don’t do anything half assed, do you Ninja Boy?”

  Suddenly, Tatsu wished he had never confided in Galloway. Eyes downcast, he nodded but quelled another apology.

  “Shit, you’re messing around with Ukita Sadomori’s Primary.” Galloway leaned over the table and gripped Tatsu’s chin, jerked his head up, forcing the younger man to look at him. They were almost nose-to-nose.

  “Tell me everything about him,” the blond demanded. “You owe us that.”

  “I don’t owe anybody anything.” Tatsu jerked his head out of Galloway’s hand. “He’s no threat to us.” Yet he knew his actions went against the every code of the Leper Colony.

  Ignoring Tatsu’s hostility, Galloway sat back with a sigh. “Maybe, maybe not. I know you won’t deliberately endanger any of us. I trust you. But you gotta admit, you’ve dropped one big-assed bomb on me.”

  “I have to know if what I feel is real. Sage said there was someone waiting for me. Maybe Arisada is it. My life cannot just only be about killing.”

  “This has really got your dick tied up in knots. Tell me, is he hot?” He faked his best actor’s leer, deliberately luring Tatsu into revealing everything he knew about the one of the most dangerous vampires in Seattle.

  Tatsu dug his cell out of his jacket, flipped it open and spun the instrument across the table. “Here, Saito Arisada. He used to be a Buddhist monk.”

  Galloway gave a long low whistle as he stared at the image of Arisada. He’d seen his share of gorgeous men, but this one transcended mere beauty. No mistaking that translucent skin or those golden eyes. Yet the exquisite perfection of the vampire’s face made Galloway gasp.

  “Man, this guy’s drop-dead gorgeous. Look at that incredible red hair. It looks like living flame. Don’t Buddhists shave their heads? And those eyes. Should creep me out but they’re beautiful. They’re promising something wonderful if you just ask for it.” Galloway murmured. He snapped his eyes from the cell to stare at Tatsu. “And he says he loves you?”

  “I already said that.” Tatsu felt a wash of pride at Galloway’s frank admiration of the vampire. No, of his lover. He was glad he’d trusted the blond mercenary. “He says I am the reincarnation of his long-ago lover, Koji Nowaki. After I dreamed Nowaki’s memories, I’m convinced.”

  “Sonofabitch,” Galloway shook his head looking once more at the image. “Don’t know about the reincarnation shit but if you think this love is real, be hard to turn your back on it. Just be sure you can trust him.”

  “I trust him. I think he’s really on our side. I just don’t know if I can trust myself. I’m fucked,” Tatsu moaned.

  “No, we’re both fucked.” A sardonic smile twisted Galloway‘s handsome features. “You’ve fallen for the enemy, and I’m in love with a straight guy. Dunno know which one’s worse. You gonna try to find him?”

  “You know I will.”

  “Bad idea. You gotta back off, Cobb. Tell the Major. He doesn’t give a rat’s ass who you sleep with, but he should know you’re close pals with the second-top dog in Tendai.” Galloway’s look said he sympathized but regulations were regulations. “I’m sorry, kid; you got one day to log that pretty picture in along with a report. Wakarimasu ka?”

  “Hai, hai. Wakarimasu. I understand. I’ll inform the Major immediately.” Tatsu stilled his expression to hide the lie. Only one path lay open to him now. The path of fukushū.

  Reassured, Galloway left the table to lock trays of brass into the reloader. “Holy shit. You and Saito fucking Arisada.”

  “Kuso, will you stop saying it like that.”

  Galloway snorted with laughter as he pulled down the start lever on the machine and drowned out Tatsu’s next comment.

  .

  Eighteen

  “So, Mr. Cobb, I can’t pers
uade you to reconsider? You are a valued member of this organization.”

  “Gomen nasai, Major Blenheim-san, but it cannot be helped. I must resign from the Leper Colony.” Tatsu dropped his eyes afraid they’d give him away. Against Galloway’s suggestion, he’d not revealed his association with Arisada to the Major. Hiding his intimate connection with the second-in-command of Tendai was a clear betrayal of his agreement with the Lepers. Revealing it would be a betrayal of Arisada.

  “Very well. I asked for one week’s notice and you have honored that.” Disappointment dragged on the Major’s voice. “I expect you to be out of Seattle within twenty-four hours after your last assignment.”

  Tatsu nodded his acceptance in silence. Head bowed in misery, he followed Major Blenheim into the Pit.

  “Gentlemen, last week I asked you to prepare for a major assignment. It begins tonight. Dr. Wyckes will explain the details.”

  The doctor limped up to the head of the table. “There have been major outbreaks in Europe and Western Russia of a new strain of sanguinae virus. Unlike the original, this bug, designated SAE-49, is airborne and extremely viral. The bad news, full physiological change occurs within twelve hours after infection. The really bad news. There is a seventy percent survival rate—as a vampire.”

  The room buzzed with “what the fucks” and “oh shits.” Wyckes ignored them and continued. “One of the nasty side-effects, other than becoming a bloodsucking monster, is the total destruction of the ventromedial area of the brain.”

  “Okay now you’re fucking with me,” Phoenix interrupted. “In English, man.”

  “Victims lose all sense of morality. They become killing machines. Think shark with a tad more brainpower. Moreover, their mutated DNA puts them immediately under the control of any alpha vampire, a Master such as Ukita Sadomori.”

  “So, you’re saying we’d be totally fucked without the dinner and a movie first,” Galloway joked. A few laughed.

  Not to be outdone, Phoenix added, “We’re gonna be looking at an army of zombie vampires.”

  “Sounds like an oxymoron to me.” Galloway was not about to give up.

  “Who you calling a moron, you mother—” Fist clenched, Phoenix rounded on the grinning blond. Galloway raised his hands, palms out, in a fake surrender.

  “Stand down, gentlemen.” The Major’s quiet order stopped Phoenix’s next retort cold. “The Jiangxi-Dai Pharmaceutical Corporation opened a new research satellite in the old Olympic Hill Hospital. Their program starts next week with the first shipment of SAE-49. We have been hired to provide protection.”

  “The Chinese have an entire army. Why they need us?” Bell asked.

  “Unfortunately, a typhoon has delayed the Jiangxi-Dai teams. Until they arrive, we will protect the center.” The Major turned the large-screen monitor behind him. “The labs are on the ground floor. Only three access points—the front to the lobby and two rear doors for the loading docks and parking areas. The rest of building is sealed. Four teams of three, nine hours on, overlapping coverage. I do not see the necessity of automatic weapons for this job. Now, Mr. Cobb has a rather regrettable announcement.”

  “Gomen, gomen nasai. I … I must leave the company right after this mission.” Tatsu bowed, held it a fraction longer than necessary, hoping to avoid looking anyone in the face. When he raised his eyes, Galloway stared at him with a look of hurt accusation, stood abruptly and stomped out. Tatsu prayed the blond would say nothing to the Major about Arisada. Not immediately, anyway.

  On his last night as a Leper, Tatsu parked his bike beside the Humvee at the rear of the research facility. The tedium of the assignment left him with too much time to think. Already he had discarded several ideas to hunt in Tendai without the Major finding out. Even considered indenturing himself. Nothing seemed even remotely workable.

  It didn’t help that his body surged with heat every time he thought of Arisada—his deep voice, the exquisite brush of his fingers, the fierce possessiveness of his mouth. Tatsu had come to Seattle to settle a blood debt not find a lover—a kyūketsuki no less—who had seduced him with gentle words and an amazing, cocksucking mouth.

  And then dumped him. Fakku, maybe when he was done, he’d head back to New Mexico and look for Sage. The Indian can’t hide for—

  An explosion followed by the ear-rending screech of alarms ripped Tatsu’s musings apart. Choking on smoke that filled the building, Tatsu raced along the corridor to the center to the laboratory. Utter carnage met him. A dozen scientists lay amid the smashed glass and broken instruments. Many were missing limbs. One had been decapitated.

  Galloway burst into the room, followed by Passebon. The three men ran from body to body, checked each one for a pulse.

  “This one’s alive,” Passebon crouched beside a man, curled against the scorched wall. A scarlet stain blossomed over his white lab coat. He stared around with glazed, uncomprehending eyes.

  “Don’t move. Can you tell me what happened, mon ami?” Passebon soothed the dying man.

  “Three techs … took virus.” Blood bubbled from his mouth. He coughed once and died.

  With a jerk of his head, the Cajun indicated the receiving doors leading from the laboratory to the loading docks. Weapons raised, the three Lepers covered each other as they slipped toward the rear of the complex.

  In the lead, Tatsu pushed one of the swinging doors ajar with the tip of his katana and glanced into the parking lot.

  Three men, one clutching a steel container, scrambled into the back of a white panel van. Another man leaned out of the driver’s side door. There was no mistaking that curly black hair or the string of Irish obscenities spewing from his mouth.

  “Kuso! It’s Bana.” Tatsu kicked the doors open and dashed through. He sheathed the wakizashi and charged toward the van.

  “Bana, wait.” He pounded on the driver’s window. He twisted the door handle, tried to pull it open.

  Bana snapped his head around and stared at Tatsu through the glass. An angry look flitted across his face.

  “Boyo, get away from me,” he spat and stomped on the gas pedal. The van fishtailed, the back bumper knocking Tatsu to his knees. Before he recovered, the vehicle careened out the parking lot and skidded around the end of the street.

  “Fakku, Bana stop!” Tatsu leaped to his feet, sheathing the katana as he dashed for the Kawasaki.

  Galloway and Passebon scrambled into the Hummer. The roar of the Drifter’s engine drowned out Galloway’s, “Cobb. In the truck now.”

  With a recklessness that bordered on stupidity, Tatsu full-throttled the engine, lifting the heavy bike on its back tire. At the gate, he dropped onto two wheels and screamed after the van.

  “Cobb, what the fuck are you doing, man?” Galloway’s bark crackled through Tatsu’s dog collar.

  “Bana’s driving that van.” Tatsu yelled unnecessarily. The dog collar screeched with feedback.

  “Mon dieu,” he heard Passebon in the background.

  “Bana, gotta catch Bana.” The demented mantra pounded through Tatsu. Twisting the throttle wide open, he raced through the twisting, littered streets. No thought on his mind except intercepting his old partner.

  He caught a glimpse of the van cresting a hill less than a block away, cranked the throttle wide open and felt the Kawasaki leap under him. He was close enough to see one of the thieves peering through the back window when a pack of feral dogs darted in front of him. Reflexively, Tatsu swerved. He heard one yelp as his front wheel clipped its haunches.

  The impact sent the Drifter into a skid. Even his Leper reflexes and strength were not enough to save the heavy motorcycle. The rear tire screamed as it lost traction. The bike spun out from under him and slid several feet along the street. Man and machine crashed against a mountain of garbage covering the sidewalk.

  Cursing, he scrambled to his feet, and hauled the bike up. The front fender lay crumpled against the tire. He tore off the useless piece of metal and tossed it. Breathed with relief when he kicked th
e starter pedal and the engine roared to life. Thanked all the gods for Japanese engineering. Thanked them again for TAC gear that had saved his ass from a world of hurt.

  But when he looked down the street, the van was long gone.

  “Cobb, what’s your ten-twenty?” Galloway’s voice crackled in his ear.

  “Near the West Bridge. Harbor Island.”

  “We’re about half a klick behind you. Wait there, copy?” Do. Not. Cross. That. Fucking. Bridge.”

  Tatsu could not wait. The hell if he gave up on Bana now. He kicked the bike into gear and rode across the bridge. Keeping his speed down to a wobbly crawl, he rode through darkened streets. Derelict warehouses and factories lined either side. His eyes swiveled back and forth. The back of his neck crawled with the feeling that any second he’d be surrounded by screaming, out-for-his-blood monsters. Yet, he saw no sign of any life. No sign of a white van. Kuso, where the hell did it go?

  Just as he was about to give up, he rounded a corner and spotted it entering the gates to a massive power plant. The van halted with a squeal of brakes. Bana and the thieves clambered out and headed toward the facility.

  Tatsu cut the engine and pushed the Drifter behind a dumpster. He dug into his pocket. Kuso. No cell. He must have dropped it when the bike went down. Hoping it worked, he whispered into his collar for back-up.

  Passebon’s welcome drawl rumbled into Tatsu’s ear. “Where the hell are you, mon ami?”

  “Harbor Island. Bana’s here, at least a couple of dozen vampires.”

  “Harbor fucking Island? Bad place Ninja Boy,” Galloway said. “Stand down. ETA about ten minutes. And Cobb? If you disobey me again, I’ll personally kick your pretty ass back to Japan. Do you copy?”

  Tatsu ignored him. No time to wait, he had to get inside that plant. He wriggled through a tear in the chainlink fence and crouched beside a mountain of garbage. A thin, pale light from the moon filtered through the clouds, revealed every detail of massive complex.