Ryan searched Takeshi’s body, looking for wounds or any other indication as to what had killed him. He hadn’t turned to ash or bones like the Black Skulls outside. So what then?
“I’m sorry, Sofia. We’ll figure something out.”
“What, Connors? What?” Sofia said, her dark Columbian eyes flaring. “What have we got left? Are you going to pull a rabbit out of your ass?”
“Hey, Sofia. C’mon. We all risked our lives to get him out.”
“Don’t ‘c’mon’ me, Cal. You… You disappeared for three bloody years. We all thought you were dead. I buried your fucking coffin, for Pete’s sake. Held Zanzi while she cried her eyes out at your wake as your mother and father berated Ryan for putting you in a dangerous situation. We cried for you, Cal. It tore our hearts out, and then you come walking back like some savior. Well, look around. You didn’t save shit!”
Cal pulled her lips back tight and her face turned red. “Don’t you think I know that! It wasn’t like I had a choice. It was that or everyone died. Everyone. You, Eddie, Keiko. Booth and his family, and especially mine. Offenheim gave me a choice. My service for your lives. I spent every night lying awake knowing the pain I must’ve been causing. But do you know what got me through? Knowing that you were alive and breathing. If you were all still alive, then we had a chance. A tiny sliver of a chance, sure, but it was all I had.”
Cal sat back down and pinched the bridge of her nose. The two women glared at each other, but nothing more was said. It was out there now, the emotions that had been simmering just beneath the remains of their friendship. The Nameless were professionals. They had done their job to the best of their abilities. Sometimes, despite their best efforts, things didn’t work out well. Sofia had said what they had all thought at one time or another.
Ryan jumped up. “Allie, what’s happening out there?”
“The wolf things are sniffing at the ash remains.”
“Keep watching. Anything changes, give us a heads up.” He grasped Cal’s shoulder and turned to Sofia and Booth. “Listen up. I know emotions are high. Our mission failed, putting the kids in danger, but we are The Nameless. This is what we do. We get out of tough situations, think on our feet. We still have a greater mission. Stopping Offenheim. Now, as we have done before, it’s time to put aside our differences and do our jobs. For the many.”
“For the many,” Cal, Sofia, and Booth murmured in response.
“Sofia. You know the frequency for the wand devices. Can we jam it, deny Yamada access to our nanites? If it comes to that…”
“It’s possible yes. I’ll need something powerful to broadcast the signal, and all the time you can give me.”
“Something like what’s on top of this building?” Ryan said.
Sofia grunted. “Yeah. That’ll do. I need to find the right server. Could take some time.”
“Good. Cal, you help Sofia. Your computer skills are sharp. Allie, Booth, we’re on guard duty.”
The Nameless clicked into job mode, the emotion and argument isolated, to be discussed at a more opportune time. As he walked up the stairs to the first floor, Ryan’s radio hummed to life.
“Connors. Do you copy?” Yamada said.
“Go ahead.”
“We’re on our way. Did the plan work at your end? Everyone accounted for?”
“Affirmative. All safe. Hostiles neutralized. But we have some wolf-like creatures sniffing around. Would advise to keep clear until we’ve taken care of it. Keiko and Hogai? Over.”
“Safe. Say again. Wolf creatures?”
“I don’t know how else to explain it. Dr. Ando was into some weird shit. Think werewolves. Takeshi called them Horkew something.”
“Horkew Kamuy? Ando, what have you done?” Touma Yamada’s voice trailed off. He barked orders to someone before speaking back to Ryan.
“I have a few men left after our skirmish with the Black Skulls. We’ll come to you.”
“ETA?”
“Twenty minutes.”
“Copy.”
Ryan switched the radio off and thumbed his throat mic. “Nameless. We have twenty minutes. Make it count. Give me a SITREP.”
“We found the server that broadcasts the data. I’m attempting to utilize it. It’ll be close. Over.”
“Booth?” Ryan said.
“Hound creatures are sniffing around.”
“Copy. Allie, keep watching. Booth, I need you back down in the server room. Bring an office chair.”
Ryan had a plan in mind for the exchange. It was absurd, but it was their only shot. He met Booth on the stairs and helped him lift the wheeled office chair down into the server room. Without a word, they lugged Takeshi onto the chair. Using duct tape from Ryan’s satchel, they taped him upright.
“This isn’t going to work,” Booth said.
“It only has to give us a few minutes. Enough time to take Keiko and Hogai while Sofia jams the wand frequency.”
He let Booth wheel Takeshi’s body to the foot of the stairs. He was curious about how he had died. As far as he could ascertain, he had no visible wounds. It had to be the back-up plan. When Yamada had activated the nanites in the soldiers, something had happened to Takeshi as well. Maybe his alpha nanite was faulty? Whatever it was, it had put them in a sticky position.
“Sofia,” he said, pivoting back. She looked up from her tablet. Blue and yellow cables ran from her device into the server.
“Is there any chance you can activate the alpha nanites in Touma and Goro as well as the yakuza?”
“The yakuza, that’s definitely possible. Yamada, nope. Their Alpha nanites are heavily encrypted. It would take me weeks to figure out, if at all. It’s the same reason he can’t turn us into ash now, but I like how you’re thinking.”
Ryan grunted as they hefted Takeshi’s body up the stairs and placed him amongst the old seafood factory equipment. The factory looked like it hadn’t been used in some years. Heavy plastic sheeting now covered the abandoned machinery. Despite this, the air was heavy with scents of the sea. Fish, oil, and salt.
“I still don’t think your Weekend at Bernie’s idea is going to work,” Booth said.
“That’s why Allie and you are going to flank the yakuza. Plenty of buildings out there to hide behind.”
Ryan snapped his head up at the faint sound of an engine whining along the coast road. His comms sparked to life.
“Silver SUV heading our way,” Allie said.
Ryan cursed. “Sofia. Cal?” he called down the stairs.
“Ready. But I haven’t tested it,” said Sofia.
Ryan’s ears pricked; there were howls and shrieks nearby. He took a quick look out the window and saw the Hounds sprinting up the road toward the oncoming SUV.
“Booth, Allie. This is our chance. Keep out of sight. Once Yamada arrives, keep your weapons on his yakuza until we can activate their nanites. As soon as you see them twitching, secure Keiko and Hogai. Understand?”
“Got it,” Booth said. Allie smiled but remained silent. She slipped out into the chilly morning.
The others rushed into position. Tires squealed on the road as the vehicle swung from side to side, trying to shake off the Hounds. Small arms fire exploded from the yakuza inside. The pops of handguns and the rapid fire of the submachine guns the gangsters favored. Metal screeched and the SUV spun out, skidding as the driver fought to keep it under control. It clipped an ancestor temple on the side of the road and tilted, thumping onto its side. Some Hounds clung to it while others were thrown off, slamming into the asphalt. They didn’t move again. A second SUV tore up the road, killing any of the remaining wolf creatures. They looked vicious and were fearless and fast, but that was their downfall as they charged into the direct line of fire with no sense of self preservation.
Cal squeezed Ryan’s shoulder. “I hope this works.”
“Marginal at best.”
“Marginal? Better than nothing,” Cal said. “Touma’s not going to be happy.”
“I don’
t understand how Takeshi died. He was fine, no injuries, no bullet wounds. Nothing.”
“Maybe the signal that killed the Black Skulls fried his alpha nanite?” Cal mused.
“I hate this.” Ryan sighed. He checked his magazine before holstering it. “We really need someone who knows about nanotechnology. We’re making assumption after assumption. It’s not how we do things. We’ve always gone in with all the information. Every time. Remember that operation we called off in Cali because we had the wrong blueprints? And here we are, stumbling in the dark like a couple of drunks coming home, trying to be quiet.”
“Agreed. We need to contact Zanzi, Lisa, and Avondale – if they’re still alive. Find experts so we can bring down OPIS. Fight fire with fire,” Cal said.
“First let’s deal with Yamada,” Ryan said.
Cal helped wheel Takeshi to the front door. “This better work.”
They walked outside and Yamada drove up in a third SUV, black with dark windows.
“Why is my son in an office chair?” Yamada said.
“He passed out during the back-up plan. We haven’t been able to wake him yet.”
Yamada signaled one of his yakuza to check on Takeshi. Ryan flicked his gaze behind the Yamadas. There was still no sign of Booth and Allie. The yakuza checked Takeshi’s pulse, shaking his head when he didn’t find one. Goro hissed and lurched forward, only to be held back by the elder Yamada. Goro hissed again, fighting his grandfather, but he was no match for Touma.
“Sit down, Goro,” he instructed.
Ryan spotted Booth and Allie creeping along the road. Five meters out. Maybe six. He just needed a little time. “I’m sorry, Touma. It was beyond our control.”
“You disappoint me, Connors. Not only did we lose all that research and equipment. Dr. Ando is dead. Now my son too.”
“It must have been the signal. Give us Keiko and Hogai and we’ll be on our way.”
“But you failed. The deal was to get Ando and Takeshi out. That hasn’t transpired.”
“What about Offenheim?”
“I can deal with him.” Yamada raised the same gray wands as before. Ryan caught another glimpse of Booth and muttered under his breath. “C’mon, Sofia. Anytime now.”
He never got to see if she triggered the signal. Like before, the pain erupted behind his left ear before spreading across his brain. He dropped to his knees and looked back at Sofia. He gritted his teeth. “What’s happening?”
Sofia was shaking, trying to type something into her tablet. “I don’t know. My signal isn’t getting through.” She gasped and held her head in her hands.
Cal groaned and fired a couple of rounds at the parked SUVs. Three yakuza stood guard, cradling weapons.
The pain in Ryan’s head increased tenfold, erupting behind his eyes in an explosion of fireworks.
He managed to fire his Glock at a couple of the Japanese gangsters before his world faded to black.
Seventeen
Ryan slowly became aware of his surroundings. The first thing he felt was the damp and cold seeping through his clothes. Next, the silence. It was complete and unnerving. No clocks ticking. No humming of electronics. No sounds of animals. Just the steady breathing of others around him.
He forced himself to remain calm and keep his heart rate steady. He flexed his feet, stretched out his toes, and slowly worked his way up his body, checking for any injuries. Apart from his throbbing head and dry throat, he was unscathed. Gently, he sat up and looked around. Cal lay next to him on one side, Sofia on the other. Keiko, Booth, and Allie were a couple of meters away, against a wall. Hogai was nowhere to be seen. The room was made of concrete. Walls, floor, and ceiling. Dim lights were evenly spaced at intervals. A few wires poked out of the wall, with no indication as to what they were for. Their gear was piled next to a table, minus their guns. The only other objects in the room were a desk with a TV on it, and a stack of crates.
Ryan rose and checked that everyone was breathing and uninjured. The crates held water and food: cans and MREs, a few candy bars and boxes of crackers. He ran his fingers along the smooth concrete walls, pressing and prodding, looking for a door. He found it after ten minutes of searching. Tiny seams indicated the entrance, but there was no handle, no buttons. No way of opening it.
He walked back to Cal and shook her awake. “Hey.”
“Hey.” Cal pinched the bridge of her nose with her finger and thumb. “Where are we?”
“A concrete room of some sort.”
Cal sat up. “A room?”
“Yup. You feel okay?”
“You mean apart from the pounding head? Yes.”
“I’m going to wake the others,” Ryan said.
It took some time to rouse everyone. Booth grumbled and belched, muttering that he wanted another ten minutes. Keiko groaned and swatted Ryan’s hand away.
***
Sometime later The Nameless stood in a huddle next to the TV, sipping on the provided water. They were weaponless but had all their other gear. Rucksacks and bags. Tablet and food.
“How long were we out for?” Booth said.
Sofia brought her tablet to life, the glow from the screen illuminating her face. “Eight hours, twenty-two minutes.”
“Any theories, Connors?” Booth said.
“Yamada, a step ahead of us again. I’m beginning to wonder if he even wanted Takeshi rescued. He asked more questions about Ando, like he needed the doctor for something. Takeshi was the edge. The pull on our heartstrings.”
Cal, Sofia, and Booth mumbled their agreement.
Keiko picked up the remote and switched on the TV. Immediately, Touma Yamada’s face came into focus and what was obviously a pre-recorded video played. His voice came through, deep and commanding.
“By now you are wondering why you are in the concrete room with no way out. What is going on? We had a deal? First, I don’t accept failure. You failed. Both Ando and Takeshi are dead. All Ando’s decades of work, destroyed. That is unacceptable. After we triggered your Alpha nanites, knocking you out, Goro and I debated about what to do with you all. He and the yakuza wanted to shoot you execution-style, leave your bodies for the wildlife. You may have encrypted your alpha nanites, but that doesn’t stop us from giving you an electric shock before putting a bullet in your skulls. You see, the electricity temporarily knocks out the nanites’ capabilities. Iro, my yakuza chief, wanted the women, but I said no. You needed something worse. Something much worse. Then it dawned on me as I looked at the power plant. One reactor still operates. Radiation, Connors. That room you are in is radioactive – or soon will be. Small amounts, but enough to kill you slowly. Smart people like you will know how it starts. Vomiting. Diarrhea. Fever. Then it gets serious. Weakness and fatigue. Hair loss and bloody vomiting. The food and water are so you don’t starve to death before the fun begins. If you somehow survive, remember, you don’t only have to take down Offenheim. He is but one of four. You need to take them all out.” Touma Yamada smiled, his face barely creasing. “The TV has an internet connection so you can watch as the world is reborn. Instead of being emperor of Japan, maybe I’ll be emperor of the world.” He smiled again. “Oh, and the boy you had with you, Hogai? He’s with me, where he belongs, in Japan. Good luck.”
The screen went black. Keiko cycled through the channels, looking for anything else. Sofia took the remote from her and switched the TV off.
“What a douche,” she said.
Ryan was stunned. So many feelings and thoughts rushed through his mind, he wasn’t sure how to prioritize them into anything resembling a plan. For once in his professional life, he was stumped. The only way out of this room was the door, which had to be opened from the other side. No one, other than Yamada, knew where they were. They had no back up. No cavalry. Nothing. Overriding all this was his deep guilt. He had led his family and friends into danger. Now they were going to die in an excruciating, painful way. For three years he had prayed for a miracle. Prayed that somehow Cal was alive, and they could
be a family again. Drink tea and watch the sunset over the Pacific Ocean. Not much to ask for, was it?
“I’m sorry, everyone. It was my plan and it failed,” Ryan said.
“We all agreed to it,” Sofia said. “If anyone is at fault, it’s me. I should have figured out the programming quicker. We knew Yamada couldn’t be trusted. But Yamada, OPIS, they’ve always had the upper hand. They wrote the code. They know the code. I’m working with scraps.” She hugged Keiko and kissed her on the forehead.
Booth picked up the TV and threw it against the wall, shattering the screen into a million pieces. He stomped on the electronic parts, grinding the circuitry into the floor. No one stopped him. They watched and waited for his anger to subside.
“You know something?” Booth said, kicking the larger pieces across the room. “Rita made me promise that after the kids were born, I’d take a desk job. File paperwork or run mission control. You know, a safe job. I played that role for what – two months? It sucked. Boring as hell. I belonged out here, with you guys. I was good at it. The Nameless, a team of individuals coming together to achieve something. I felt like I was doing something useful for the world. Never in a billion years would I have imagined this madness. Now, because of those pricks, I’m never going to see my kids again. I’m going to die a slow and painful death? Now I’m wondering if I made a huge mistake not keeping that desk job.”
Allie, who had remained silent till now, sat on the desk. Booth embraced her.
“Did I ever tell you guys about my first flight instructor in the Air Force?” she said.
Ryan and the others shook their heads.
“Total hard ass. Ground me down into a weeping mess on the floor, then built me back up, molding me into the pilot I am today. We trained in the worst storms you could imagine, flying through rain so hard the window wipers were bystanders. Lightning fizzled all around. In commercial jets we fly over that shit. This guy wanted us to fly into it. He trained me for every possible catastrophic failure. Like your debriefing on the train the other day, after every session we went through it. What went right? What went wrong? Why? What did we learn? How can we improve?”
Shadows of Ash (The Nameless Book 2) Page 13
