“I’m sadistic? Hypocrisy is unbecoming in an agent of the Tokko.”
“We have nothing in common,” she angrily asserted, even though she knew they did. “You’re a disgusting–”
“Be careful of your words here. Military courtesy has its limits.”
“That’s why you’re not dead,” Akiko stated.
“We are all servants of the Emperor.”
“I doubt you are.”
“You know how many I killed in his name? You can be content wiping his ass. I won’t anymore.”
The man’s insatiable screams were causing him to spurt blood out his throat.
“Shut him up or I will,” Akiko warned, thinking back to her first subject. Two hours after she’d stopped torturing him, he was still screaming. She wanted to kill him, if only to silence him. Her superiors wouldn’t let her. Not until she got enough information. They kept on sending her back in.
“Even the Americans didn’t dare order me,” Koushou said. “You are excused.”
“I’m excused?” The tone of his voice reminded her of her superiors.
“You heard me.”
Akiko raised her viral gun and fired a shot at the man’s forehead, infecting him with the disease. His silence overwhelmed her with a feeling of relief.
“WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?” Koushou raged. “Do you know how much he cost to retrofit?”
“There’s one body,” Akiko said. “I’ll give you seven more. Deal?”
“You’ve just signed your death warrant.”
“You’re a traitor who has misappropriated official equipment for your own selfish purpose. I’m placing you under arrest.”
“You know what they’ll do to you for arresting me? I have friends in Tokyo Command.”
Akiko pointed the gun at the woman in the three-sixty twist and fired.
“STOP IT!” Koushou roared, racing towards Akiko.
“Are you ready to talk for real?” Ben jumped in, seeing things were spinning out of control.
“Talk some sense into her,” Koushou demanded. “Tell her to stop!”
“Where can we find the George Washingtons?”
“They’re on their way here.”
“Why?”
“I told them you were here in case you weren’t cooperative. Looks like I was right.”
“How soon will they be here?”
“Soon.”
“I can arrange the bodies if–”
But, before Ben could finish, Akiko walked towards Koushou and grabbed the controller. Koushou glowered and spat in her face. His breath smelled like garlic.
“Agent Tsukino,” Ben called.
The agent in her didn’t hear him. She stabbed the pointed edge into Koushou’s neck, blood splattering as it ruptured his esophagus. Koushou gasped, tried to speak, but his throat was being devoured by blood. He stumbled back and fell into the water, vermilion staining the pacific blue and billowing into corruption.
“Why did you do that?” Ben yelled, as he splashed his way towards them to examine Koushou’s livid corpse.
Akiko wiped the spit off her face. “He mocked the Emperor,” she said, not caring that it was a limp excuse.
“He is a war hero with connections to the cadre.”
“Was,” Akiko said. “He’s a traitor that deserved execution.”
“But–”
“Look around you! He’s insane.”
“How is this diff…” Ben was about to protest, but stopped himself.
“Finish what you were going to say.”
“Forget it.”
Akiko shoved Ben. “Everything I do is for the Emperor.”
“I know.”
“Do you?” she asked, though the question wasn’t solely pointed at Ben.
“I do.”
“I should bring you up on charges of negligence and cowardice.”
“For what?” Ben asked.
“You should have killed him the moment he questioned the divinity of our Emperor. And before that, you should have reported his behavior,” she stated, though she was really furious with herself for losing control again.
“Where do you think he developed this taste? He was a professional torturer in San Diego. This whole area is sanctioned by the USJ.”
“You called him a king. A king! There’s only one Emperor in the Empire. This baka is a civilian. I should have you charged for your treasonous suggestion. But I held my breath in the hopes that you knew what you were doing. It’s a wonder you’ve survived as long as you have.”
“I’m sorry. My figure of speech was–”
“Shut up, Ishimura. My jurisdiction transcends the USJ. My duty is to the Emperor. Do you have any issue with that?”
“No, sir. I’m very sorry.”
Akiko looked back at the living statues.
Ben, too, gazed at the monstrosities disguised as art. “I know it may be hard to believe, but he used to be a really gentle guy. He went crazy because they forced him to torture people, including his best friend, an officer they thought was spying for the GWs. Turned out they were wrong. The guy was innocent. But his brain and his testicles were carved out by then. Koushou was never the same.”
Akiko stared at Koushou’s body, ignoring her reflection in the shallow pool.
“I’m having this place shut down as soon we get out,” Akiko said.
“You can try.”
“What do you mean, try?”
“I’m not being disrespectful to you, but places like this are here to stay.”
“For you, it might be hard. Not for me. The commanders will listen,” Akiko affirmed.
“I hope so. What should we do about the Americans?”
“We need to contact General Wakana so we can get backup.”
Ben checked his portical. “No link.”
“How do we get out of here?”
“We hope that security doesn’t catch on, and go back the way we came.”
Akiko’s eyes went to a door beyond the altar. “What’s over there?”
“I don’t know.”
Akiko rushed into a narrow passage with doors on either side. They were locked and Akiko was about to use her gun to blast them open, but Ben stopped her. He used the digital key on his portical to unscramble the number lock. Inside the first door were two emaciated men who had been guillotined. They were surprisingly clean and well-groomed, though gaunt, their bones protruding from their taut flesh. When they entered the second room, it felt like a freezer. There were six people in a huddle, shaking in fear.
“You’re free to go!” Akiko ordered. When they didn’t comply, she fired her gun into the ceiling. “Get out of here!”
“Where do we go?” one asked.
“We signed a contract with Koushou.”
“He takes care of us.”
“Koushou’s dead,” Akiko answered. “Get out of here before I kill you too.”
That got them running. Ben had a pained expression on his face as he watched the bone-like structure of the prisoners stumbling to their egress.
“What’s wrong?” she asked him.
“These people.”
“We have eight more doors.”
Five of the rooms were packed with torture gear, from thumbscrews to iron maidens, pillories, cattle prods, racks, jia gun, tean zu, and breaking wheels to disrupt the lymphatic and circulatory systems. The equipment would have made even the most zealous heretic penitent, defying malleability by dying in a row of cedars and spruces. The final three rooms were mazes and Akiko presumed they were a way for Koushou to play with his victims.
“Not to rush you, but we should get going,” Ben said.
They scurried back into the lobby. Ben’s tense glances betrayed his anxiety. Akiko’s step was indignantly stiff, her hand on her weapon. “You still have your gun, right?” she confirmed with Ben.
“I’m not a very good shot,” Ben answered.
“If we come across any trouble, just point and fire.”
Ben fingers went to his holster. “If we get high enough for me to get a portical connection, I can actually help us.”
Two dogs were fornicating while a group of drunk patrons laughed. A woman carried the doll of a pink teddy bear that was almost the same size as her. Akiko and Ben climbed up the stairs to where they’d first met the eunuch.
“Why did Koushou release his contractors?” the eunuch asked.
Akiko raised her gun, about to fire, but Ben held her hand and gently pushed it down.
“He got bored with them and dismissed us,” Ben said to the eunuch. “Didn’t want to be disturbed.”
They exited into the fish store.
“What are you doing?” Ben demanded.
“Don’t ever touch me again,” Akiko warned.
“You going to kill everyone in your way?”
“You’re still alive. Does your portical work?”
Ben was about to call Wakana when someone seized him from behind. He elbowed the man, but the wall of muscle confronting him was barely affected by the blow. He was bulky, a steroidal bulge connected by valley-like veins.
“Let him go or I’ll shoot,” Akiko warned.
The man ignored her and was about to break Ben’s neck. She fired a bullet into his shoulder. The impact pushed him back and she charged forward to kick him in his gut. He huffed and winced backwards. She grabbed his arm and twisted it around his spine, stopping right before breaking it. He tried to break free and she broke his arm. He cried out in pain. She pushed him to the floor, pointing the gun at him. “Who are you working for?”
The man refused to answer.
She aimed her gun at his leg, fired right below his foot. “I won’t ask again. Who are you working for?”
He stayed mute. She fired a bullet into his calf and his skin ruptured. He roared in pain, tried to stand up, but she had her foot on his chest.
“I’m not going to kill you. But I’m a believer in the idea that if your leg causes you to sin, tear it off. I will make you a cripple for the rest of your life,” she said. “No legs, no arms. I’ll put a hole in your gut so that you can’t use the bathroom without pain. I’ll rip out both your eyes. I’ll put a bullet in your cheek so women will know you’re a–” A pool of piss formed around his waist that made her jump back. “That’s disgu–”
She felt something cold and round on the back of her head – a gun barrel. “Drop it,” a voice warned.
Akiko spun around, grabbing the gun and bashing it into the head of her opponent. The woman dropped to the ground. Three more rebels arrived and Akiko charged into them, kicking one in the groin, another in the head, and the final one in the side of his torso. They all fell. A dozen more arrived, wielding automatic guns and melee staffs.
Akiko was looking for an escape route when four of them slammed their electrically charged poles into her. She fell to the ground, the blows knocking her unconscious.
12:15PM
Akiko was in a meeting with her superior officers when she farted and tore a hole in her chair. The fart was so powerful, her commanding officers fell back. She wanted to deny it was her. But the gaseous quandary of trees wounded by the compunction of her flatulence left her embarrassed and her stomach wouldn’t stop growling. She didn’t know what to do, wondered what fate awaited her in her rise up the chain of command, when she woke and found herself in a cage. It was a tight space, more appropriate for an ape than a human. The lighting was dim and there were dozens of cages around her. They’d stripped her of her insignia and weapons.
“You’re finally up.”
“Ishimura? Where are we?” Akiko asked.
“The George Washingtons have taken us captive,” Ben replied. He was in the adjacent cage.
“How?”
“They were waiting for us. Their leader, Martha Washington, is furious with you.”
“Me?”
“I don’t doubt your integrity or your loyalty to the Emperor,” Ben said. “Just don’t provoke her or give her an excuse to make things worse. If you give them what they want, they’ll take it easier on you.”
“Are you suggesting I surrender to them?”
“Just suggesting you be thoughtful in your responses.”
“I serve the true god, the Emperor.”
“And they serve a callous Western deity that died long ago. I know the drill. The only thing is, they still worship that God.”
“Their God failed them, which is why we’ve won. I will act in accordance with the dignity and responsibility that position bestows on me,” Akiko swore.
“I sometimes wonder about all of that. Gods, their commands, all the things people do in their names. Is any of it what they really want? Like San Diego. Would the Emperor really have wanted what we did to take place if he knew all the details?”
“If you continue with this talk, I will personally execute you once we get out of here.”
“If we get out of here. I’ve resigned myself to a slow, painful death. Unless you have some secret Tokko method of escape?”
“If I did, I would not take along a traitor like you,” she stated empathically.
“In the end, we’re both going to give them what they want. Believe me, I saw it in San Diego. The more you resist them, the more pleasure they’ll take in breaking you. Why fight it?”
“There’s honor in resistance.”
“Was there any honor in that woman you executed – that was yesterday, wasn’t it?” Ben asked.
“There is never honor for traitors.”
“You think you could have resisted?”
“Of course. I would rather die than betray the Empire.”
“You aren’t much good to the Empire dead.”
“You aren’t much good to the Empire alive,” Akiko said.
“I’m the most loyal servant the Empire has.”
“Not anymore.”
“I don’t need my loyalty questioned by you.”
“You think just because you turned in your parents, you’re beyond question? Do you know how many children turned their parents in last year alone?”
“I’m glad you value my sacrifice.”
Akiko was riled up. “I would remind you your superiors think you’re a liability, too cavalier with your tasks. You have no idea how many complaints you have against you about tardiness, absences, and inappropriate behavior.”
“I’ve never denied my work ethic or that I like to party.”
“Incompetence should be a capital crime,” Akiko said.
“Then me and three quarters of the Empire would be executed,” Ben muttered. “That’d probably make you happy, huh? But not really as you’d have no one left to persecute.”
“Bad fortune has made you bold.”
“This is more than a little bad fortune. Your careless behavior is going to get us killed tonight.”
“My careless behavior?”
“Koushou,” Ben said.
“I saved you up there.”
“And I’m grateful. But I think I would have preferred a quick snap of my neck to whatever torture they have in store for us.”
“You’re a coward,” Akiko angrily spat out.
“Whether I’m a coward or the bravest man alive, they’ll still break me.”
Akiko was frustrated at being caught and even more frustrated by Ben’s attitude to the situation. She was a member of Tokko, trained to resist any kind of torment.
“What do they want from me?” she asked.
“I don’t know.”
“What do they want from you?”
“They didn’t seem that concerned about me.”
“Is General Mutsuraga with them?”
“Not that I saw. But they haven’t told me much. I have a feeling they were behind the bombing last night.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Martha Washington asked how I survived last night.”
“Were you able to get any messages out on your portical?”
“No,” Ben replied.
“None.”
The lights turned on and they heard footsteps coming their way. A Caucasian woman covered in tattoos of the American flag stomped forward. She was at least six foot seven, shaved bald, steely lines carved into her flesh, wearing green fatigues, and a black jacket made of wool. She was followed by a coterie of men and women of different ethnicities.
“You’re the one who killed Jenna,” she barked to Akiko.
“Who are you?”
“Martha Washington.”
Akiko had read the reports about the staggering prowess of Martha Washington. She had been shot with ten bullets in her chest during the SD uprisings, but she’d shrugged off the pain as though they’d just been pellets and killed her assailants. She was the third column of the Congress of the GWs who weren’t so much people as they were pillars of violence and pain. Bitterness jolted their dendrites full of daily rage so they could lead their people to survival.
“What happened to her?” Martha demanded.
Akiko answered, “She’s dead.”
Anger contorted Martha’s face. “I know that. How?”
“She died during interrogation.”
Martha held up Akiko’s gun. “Killed by this?”
Akiko nodded.
“She had nothing to do with any of this,” Martha said.
“She helped your group kill loyal servants of the Emperor in Palos Verdes,” Akiko stated.
“What happens to someone shot by this?” Martha asked.
“They die a painful death.”
Martha raised up the gun and fired at Akiko. A bright arrow of green thrust into Akiko. She looked up indifferently and said, “If you all surrender now, I promise you a merciful death.”
“Why isn’t it working on you?” Martha asked.
“I’m vaccinated.”
Martha smiled. “I thought so. We have our own form of punishment for people like you. But I believe in a merciful God. If you beg for forgiveness and give me your Tokko access codes, I will grant you a quick death.”
Akiko snorted. “I’m not afraid of you.”
“Good.”
Three men opened the cage and pulled her out. She didn’t resist, maintained her composure, and marched proudly out.
“Bring the other one too,” Martha ordered.
United States of Japan Page 12
