Ok, so I'm am terribly, horribly past due. I know this, and apologize for it. Writer's block and general lack of inspiration (and being sick for two
weeks doesn't help either) can be partially to blame.
Credits and further comments at the end.
-------
Board Fighters - Chapter 38: Intentions and Mistakes
Somewhere in Tibet circa Chapter 35
Stalactites cast eerie shadows for miles. Cold moisture hung in the air, the occasional sound of a bat's wings echoing in the dead silence. Esperanza Rios had seen plenty of elaborate structures during her lifetime. But no structure had ever resembled this. This labyrinth of plain rock and columns with high ceilings had been the only environment she and Jacob Turner had seen the last four hours.
It was certainly inspiring - giving one a better appreciation of nature. And yet, in spite of the strange circumstances surrounding their mission, neither of them felt out of their element visiting the places they had so far.
He led the way along a path nearly thirty feet wide, framed on both sides by stalagmites and columns, a light stick worn as a makeshift necklace, its neon green color illuminating a three foot radius around him, leaving his hands free if needed. Esperanza had worn her light source in a similar fashion. Every couple feet, he'd mark the ground with charcoal so that they would know where they had come from.
This had been their routine. Walk, rest, and set up camp to sleep.
It had taken a couple hours, but they had managed to climb out of the ditch at the temple steps. Once inside, he'd been amazed at the emptiness of the temple. One wouldn't even know that they were in one to begin with. The only indicators had been the steps leading inside and the structure's appearance on the outside. Once inside, they had to navigate around cave dens, constantly reaching dead ends until they reached their current location - a wide, open cavern that seemed to stretch endlessly.
Unlike the temple in Peru, this location had no precautions created by builders to keep intruders out. Instead, the terrain alone would discourage any aspiring treasure hunter to turn back, given that very little clues and finds were left around the temple.
Unfortunately, this gave Esperanza plenty of time to think, and Turner's near-drowning experience, as well as Kundu's death, was never far from the recesses of her mind. The danger of their mission was becoming much more obvious even without the threat of Veracruz and his partner. Judging by Turner's unusually quiet behavior since they left Kundu to the natives, she sensed he shared the same sentiment. When he was nervous or agitated, he became silent. It was a contrast to her, since she tended to rattle on with incomplete and sometimes incoherent sentences. When she discovered after about three hours that Turner was acknowledging only half of her babble, his mind obviously somewhere else, she forced herself to be quiet and focus on their goal, since her conversation really wasn't contributing to the situation.
Turner bent slightly to mark the ground, glancing at her over his shoulder. "Do you need a break?"
And be stuck to her own thoughts? That was something she could do without, to be honest. "No, thank you."
"Let me know when you want to stop."
They walked for another twenty minutes, pausing as he adjusted the strap of his backpack. Her eyes surveyed the cavern, narrowing slightly at something just ahead of them. Slowly, she moved forward, trying to get a closer look at what lay ahead.
She swallowed, her heartbeat loud in her ears. "Turner."
Esperanza immediately sensed him behind her and to her right.
"Is that...?" He left his question unfinished and she gave him a brief smile, the first since they got here.
They stepped closer, examining the carving on the wall. It appeared to be several centuries old. The detail in the rock was almost worn away, but they could see a simplified landscape, with mountains on each side, and a sun high in the air above the horizon.
"The first sign in hours that we're going in the right direction..." Esperanza breathed a sigh of relief.
Jacob frowned as he glanced at his wristwatch. "Let's get moving..."
Another hour later, the cavern became smaller and smaller, now twenty feet high. Jacob took the lead position, stopping once they reached two different tunnels.
"Should we split up?" Esperanza asked.
"No," Jacob responded. "Pick one and if it leads nowhere, we'll just go back." He couldn't help his wry smile as she closed her eyes and waved her hand left and right.
"Left," she announced.
They entered a large fissure in rock and emerged onto a ledge about seven feet wide, into a larger cavern, about five stories tall from their standing position. Esperanza and Jacob looked up to see a thin stream of sunlight through the cracks in the rock above them. Esperanza looked down to see a dark abyss. Instinctively, she reached to her right to alert her partner.
He was already a step ahead of her. Jacob went down on one knee, surveying the area. The expanse of darkness was almost the length of fifty yards. The trick was getting across. Jacob pointed to his right.
"There."
Esperanza watched Jacob move along the ledge to what appeared to be a very narrow and flat walkway made of the same rock they were standing on. Esperanza followed, shaking her head.
"Of course."
Jacob grinned. "Did you expect all of this to be easy?"
The walkway was narrow enough for her to crawl on her hands and knees across. "How is your balance?" she asked.
"Not bad," Jacob answered. "Yours?"
"I don't trust it." Esperanza pulled out a pair of thick gloves and moved down to her hands and knees.
"Don't look down," Jacob warned.
She crawled about three feet before she looked over her shoulder to see that Jacob was also making his way across in a similar fashion. Esperanza faced forward and continued to move. "I thought you said that your balance was good."
"I don't trust it right now."
Once across, they came to another fissure in the rock and crawled through. Esperanza's eyes widened at the sight of a river about ten feet wide. And on the other side, a steep hill with a small scatter of trees. Tilting her head up, the hill could pass off as a mountain. High above at the very top, stood a structure hundreds of years old - another abandoned temple, where their prize lay waiting for retrieval.
~*~*~*~
Present Chapter
Undisclosed location, 8:05 am
Sitting at the computer terminal in her quarters, Chun Li waited for the machine to boot up. Earlier in the wee hours of the morning she had returned to Ryu's hotel room to retrieve a couple of things. At that time in the morning there were hardly any curious eyes around to question her whereabouts. By now it would have been a known fact through the fighters' community that Victoria had disappeared and Iwa had gone on her sporadic disappearing acts again until her next important fight.
On that note, she knew that Ryu would be found in the training room of this facility working out his frustrations. She pitied the idiot who would dare challenge him for a spar when he was in one of his quiet, simmering moods.
She plugged the thumb drive into the USB slot and clicked on the virus scan icon to start the standard procedure. This piece of course was the most recent one that Iwa had given her. The older one was handed over to Guile. It probably contained things he already knew about and judging from Cammy's reaction to certain contents, it was no doubt that she was already familiar with the cross-dressing ways of the Spanish ninja. It made Chun Li wonder just what the rest of Shadaloo got into on their off days, although frankly she would rather not have known. On a cautious note, she had given the thumb drive to Guile with warning that information within served as one of Bison's baits.
The virus scan indicated that the thumb drive was free of any viruses, malware and tracking programs. On that note she clicked on one of the folders. The photographic previews shown that they were maps and photographs of a facility, there was nothing on its co-ordinates and much less any identifying landmarks.
One enlarged photograph showed a corridor with sensors and security cameras marked on the walls. There was a brief note in the folder as well. Clicking on that, it revealed itself to be a brief report on the security layout and what was assumed to be the protocols needed to enter that area. Just how much did Iwa find on her recent trip in anyway?
The thing that caught her attention was a mention of the creation of Super Soldiers and something in the general direction of being 'unnatural' monsters hiding in the basement. There were a few more photographs that corresponded to the report, although limited by distance and too blurry to be conclusive. She assumed from the camera angles that someone had been spending time in a ventilation shaft.
The thought of that made her look up the ceiling. She tried to recall if there were any accesses to ventilation shafts or false ceilings in the quarters assigned to Iwa. If she had developed a habit of traversing in such an environment, what odds had she in making her way out of this place or collecting information about them for Bison?!
The next picture, though, stopped her from pulling out the thumb drive. It showed mostly empty holding cells. Why would Bison be interested in the holding cells? The answer came to her in the next photograph. Huddling in a corner of a cell was Ken's missing disciple. With the exception of the angle of the photograph, it was very similar to the one Guile had shown Iwa. Trap or no trap Guile needed to know, and Chun Li had a feeling that Iwa might make a run for freedom in her coming match, as long as Ryu didn't beat her up too badly.
~*~*~*~
U.P.R.F
Level 2 Research Labs, 10:30 AM
The electronic doors slid open, seated before the computer consoles was a rather disheveled scientist. Reaching the console the visitor was greeted with the sight of piles of paper and cups of half drank coffee. The scientist at the table was oblivious to him and kept on studying his notes and the results on the monitor, occasionally clicking at this point or that on the skew graph.
"Have you seen Red?" The blond Doctor Markus asked. He was referring to their red headed colleague. He was answered by silence and a few more clicks of the mouse. Thinking that his colleague was ignoring him, he proceeded to ask again.
"Probably on shore leave. She heard great things about The Makai spa from Squirrel-chan. You know how women are," Yamada answered without looking up as he reached for a cup of coffee while another piece of data loads up on the screen.
"Didn't the Master order a communication blackout on the Squirrel? Is she trying to get us killed?"
"The Detective has Squirrel-chan. Yalana knows what she's doing. And I doubt you're here to look for her." Yamada swiveled his chair towards Markus, bloodshot eyes trained on him.
"You should be the one getting some shore leave. When was the last time you slept?" He was obviously disconcerted.
"I'll sleep when I need to. You were looking for me?" Yamada took another sip of coffee.
"Someone been asking questions about the Soldier."
"That's nothing new. We're pretty much doing the same thing about their projects."
Yamada shrugged. Markus sighed and made for the console. He rummaged through the pile of notes and data and pulled out a photograph and showed it to Yamada.
"He's been asking the lab assistants questions about our boy. I'm sure you know he's Umbrella's 'delivery man.'" He indicated the man in the photograph.
"And you have been talking to him?" Yamada took a sip of his coffee. All the while his eyes remained on his blond colleague.
"Not yet but I thought you should know." He then grabbed a few graph charts from the table and shuffle through it.
"This! From the first dive." He pointed and traced a portion of the graph skew. "This from the run in at the corridor. And this was yesterday morning. The chip has been giving out the same type of skew patterns where this Rez is concerned."
"He's probably having a nightmare. Residual Psycho Power has that effect to the unaccustomed."
"Yes, imagine the data we can get from their physical interaction."
"Imagine us dead and our project stolen." Yamada wasn't entirely keen on this. It was quite a huge risk to let the so-called Umbrella Super Soldier get so close to them.
"Yes, I know. But this Rez is supposed to be Umbrella's Super Soldier. We haven't seen what he's capable of doing. On one hand we could see if he's worth the money our Master is spending and on the other hand we could see if we're going the right way with our boy."
"And if you have ears in the right places you would know that he lost one of Umbrella's pet projects. His superiors aren't too pleased. What are the odds that he would steal ours just appease his superiors?"
"But think of the results we could get from live testing. The Dolls won't touch him what with their potential team mate mindset going on. For all we know we might even get The Deep Doll incident." He was trying to argue his case but it made Yamada suspect his intentions.
"He could kill us all and Umbrella would turn a blind eye."
"I believe a man like him would be happy enough to be reunited with an 'old friend' to care about such things."
"You're playing a very dangerous game," he warned his colleague.
"The results would be worth a gamble."
"There will be rules." As much as he didn't like it, there was the off chance that Markus might just sneak this Rez in just to prove a point or two.
"What game isn't?"
"Arrange a meeting with him. I want to see what he's all about."
"Very well. I'm glad you see things my way."
"I'll hold you responsible for his good behavior."
"Of course." With that done the blond retreated out of the room.
With the exit of his blond colleague Yamada got up from his chair and took a cup of coffee with him. He headed behind one of the large computer server racks and squatted down with the rest of his colleagues and handed the red-haired Doctor Yalana her cup of coffee while Doctor Ryan inserted one of the motherboards back into the server racks. With them was their Resident Doll, whom he only referred to as Ferret-chan. No doubt they'd heard the earlier conversation and for whatever reason chose to hide from the blond scientist.
"I don't like it." Satsuki was the first to voice her opinion.
"I doubt you do."
"But you're still going through with this."
"He's right on getting good results. Make sure your sisters know about this when they take over."
"I'll make sure of that."
"And you," he turned to Ryan, "alert your monitoring team. Tell them to stay alert when this Rez is in the holding cells. As long as he's in the vicinity of the Soldier switch off the qi inhibitor."
"Really?"
"A knife can only go so far. I don't intend to keep him defenseless."
"What about the empath?"
"If they think he can't handle the situation alone, switch hers off as well. Let them double-team him if they want to. I have no intention of losing either one of them." With that done Yamada hopped to his feet and headed back to the computer console to switch it off.
"I'm going to grab some sleep." He headed off without waiting for any reply.
~*~*~*~
The Makai - poolside, 1:20 PM
Stretched out on a lounge chair, absorbing the rays of the sun in order to sooth his still-aching body, Fei Long looked at his cell phone's display. Hmm, no messages or missed calls. One speed-dial later, he had the phone to his ear and waited, only to have it go directly to voicemail.
I guess he hasn't recovered yet… he thought with disappointment. Though Jin had taken one hell of a beating the day before, he would usually have been up and about. Fei knew him enough to know that no hard feelings would come from the loss, so what was wrong?
He wasn't oblivious to Kushina's distance the past few days, nor was he unaware that Nat hadn't been around much. In fact, he hadn't seen her at all…
Speaking of her, he wasn't the only one wondering over her absence.
"Whatcha doing?" a female voice asked from his left. He set his phone aside and saw Sakura setting her towel and drink on the short table between them. Clad in a red bikini, she was dripping wet from swimming, her short hair dangling in her eyes.
"Just tried to get in touch with Jin to see if he wanted to hang out later."
She snorted and sat in the chair, kicking off her flip-flops.
"Good luck," she said. "I tried four times in the last couple of days and he's not answering. And Nat's nowhere to be found…"
Long caught the wrinkle of irate worry that formed between her brows.
"Yeah, I haven't seen her either…" He left off the small concerns that formed in his mind when he thought of the job she had. Maybe something's happened, and that's why…
"Well, I'm kinda sick of it all," Sakura said, cutting into the action star's thoughts. "I haven't seen Victoria either, and Karin seems preoccupied about something and avoids the subject whenever I ask. I'm not stupid, something's going on here."
Fei sighed, folding his arms behind his head. "Yeah, I know what you mean. There's a lot of people that just… aren't here anymore. Karin and the other sponsors probably have their hands full trying to figure it out themselves and keep the media out of it."
"You know, don't you? About Nat-chan's job, I mean…"
Fei raised a brow at the inquiry. "How'd you know?"
Guilt crept into Sakura's expression. "When she fought Jin and lost, I got her jacket and stuff from the ref. Her gun and badge were in there." When Fei gave her a bit of a reproving look, her hands shot up in a defensive gesture. "Well! I couldn't help it! The gun was impossible to miss and the badge… okay, that part I had to dig for. But really, everyone knew something was up when she went from goth-like to business woman."
Fei chuckled and adjusted his sunglasses. "Yeah, I guess. I'm kinda surprised you didn't snoop sooner."
He jerked with an oomf! when her towel popped him across his still-bruised stomach.
"Ha. Ha," Sakura drolled as Fei rubbed the new red mark across his abs. "I plan to do some more snooping if someone doesn't tell me what the hell is going on soon."
Resuming his former position, Long sighed. "Well, when I talk to Jin next, I'll ask him." If I can get him to talk about it… he added in his mind
"Well, if I find anything out before then, I'll let you know, and you let me know what you find. Deal?" Sakura said, looking at him from under the towel as she rubbed her hair dry.
Another sigh came from him as he wondered if this was for the best, but…
"Deal."
~*~*~*~
Undisclosed location in Oahu, near Honolulu - 1:40PM
"How's she doing?"
"As well as we expected."
The answer wasn't a comforting one to Enrique Pierantoni, but it was the only honest one the doctor could give. Both stood outside the holding cell that also served as a medical care facility for the young girl they viewed through the glass.
She was thinner now, waif-like with sallow cheeks. Dark circles hung heavy under distant eyes that were a dull blue-black. The red marks that had been on her pale face were now gone, but beneath her near-translucent skin the inactive synthetic pigmentation could be faintly seen, the only color in her face.
Enrique sighed and shook his head slightly. Observing the way she pulled her knees to her chest and stared blankly at the sheet covering them, he asked, "How long has she been like this?"
"Since she woke up. She's too weak to warrant restraints, but we've still taken precautions. We can gas the room if there is a need." The doctor - a man in his forties with a ruddy complexion and graying hair - removed his glasses and sighed as he wiped the lenses with a handkerchief from the pocket of his white coat. "Since she's been like that, her deterioration has slowed, even improved. If she continues, she may have a small chance at recovery, at least physically. Mentally, I expect that all she's ever known is what they used her for. And that may be all she's capable of knowing, this late in her childhood."
The agent gave the doctor a questioning look.
"She's autistic," the older man clarified, replacing his glasses on the bridge of his nose. Riq's green eyes widened slightly as the man continued. "We think so, at least. The signs are there. She doesn't respond well to touch or other invasion of space, she doesn't make eye contact, and she hasn't said a word. All the possible genetic markers and brain patterns match up as well, though science has yet to pin down how accurate those are."
Stepping closer to the glass to look at the child on the bed, Pierantoni felt a strong need for a smoke or a drink, but could indulge in neither. "What kind of company uses children with mental problems as killers?"
"The kind you have to stop," the doctor answered without hesitation as he pulled some papers from his clipboard and handed them to the agent. "Here are copies of her files. She hasn't responded to anything yet, but I'll let you know of any changes."
Riq appeared silently thoughtful for a long moment, simply holding the papers without really looking at them. After a moment of consideration, he spoke. "I'll be back by later. I'll need to see her."
Though wondering if that were a wise action to take, the doctor hesitated only a moment before nodding. "Alright, then."
Briefly thanking the doctor, Enrique turned and left, his mind on the errand he hoped might end in some progress.
~*~*~*~
Owner's Office, The Makai
Upon permission from Meliza's assistant, Raquel, Ken opened the owner's office and stepped inside. He was greeted by a glance and nod of acknowledgement from an Asian man currently using Meliza's desk phone, and Karin who raised a hand holding a nail file. She was currently perched on the couch, wearing a bright red sundress that ended several inches above her knees. It hurt Ken's eyes and the office didn't have THAT much sun.
"Yes...No...Try it again...Yes, I'm sure. I'll talk to you later." The other man promptly hung up and turned to Ken. "Meliza will be here in a few minutes."
"Thanks."
"Mr. Cai, Ken Masters, fellow tournament sponsor and martial artist. Ken, this is Devlin Cai," Karin spoke up.
The two men shook hands briefly.
"Sorry I'm late," a female voice announced.
They turned to see Meliza shut the door behind her. She was dressed in her usual business clothes, but she looked like she had been running around by the flushed color of her cheeks.
"I see you've already met the man in charge of my 'personal security'," Meliza said with a wry smile as she tossed her blazer over her executive chair.
"Are you still worried that safety is an issue here?" Ken asked, a slight alarm in his voice.
Then it occurred to Meliza that she had incorrectly assumed that Karin had made all formal introductions. From behind Ken, Meliza could see Karin rolling her eyes and shaking her head. Oh well, she wasn't going to bother to correct him, and neither were the other two individuals.
"I'll be outside," Devlin said before moving towards the door.
"I'm fine with you staying if everyone else is," Karin declared. "You should."
Meliza shot Ken an inquiring look. "It concerns all of us."
Ken glanced at everyone and nodded. Meliza pulled up chairs to face the couch. Ken sat next to Karin while Devlin leaned against the front of her desk. She sat facing her two guests.
"If I seem a little aggravated, I'm sorry, it's been a long week." Meliza took a deep breath. "I just recently came back from Maui because my cousin was in a car accident. And I come back after a match to find that one of my old friends who was in that match went to the hospital and is now missing."
"We talked to everyone else who knows her," Karin piped up. "They haven't seen her. I called the hospital five times. They're not telling me anything."
Victoria too, now. Ken briefly closed his eyes. What a mess this all was...
"So Karin and I decided to see if anyone else was unaccounted for."
Ken knew where this was going. Immediately, his hands curled into fists, and he noticed that the other three watched him closely. He couldn't let anyone know who was responsible for Sean's disappearance. Or Umbrella swore that Sean and his family would suffer. "Sean...is missing. Anyone I've talked to doesn't know anything." He suspected that both women had just been aware of his status, but they probably wanted to hear it from him.
A pensive look came across Karin's features and she went back to her nails. Meliza, however, continued to watch him. And so did her 'bodyguard'.
"This shouldn't be your problem alone," Meliza said after a few moments. "After I last met with you and Mr. Hoshi, we all agreed that something strange was going on and that we needed to be more careful."
Karin sighed. "And it's just not your student...there are a few more...and basically, the three of us are all sponsors together, so if something happens to those missing people, we'll all be responsible."
Ken blinked. "Who else is missing?"
Devlin handed him a file folder containing several photos clipped to dossiers that the tournament staff had put together to register all contestants. A sticky note was attached to several dossiers. Tseng, Reno - missing. Verdandi, Cana - missing. Croft, Ming - deceased. Mien - ?. Heagy, John - missing. Ken instantly recognized Sean and Victoria's photos.
"We've seen the security tapes of the floors those contestants reside on," Devlin announced. "The first three all have had no activity for too long. Matsuda and Millan should have returned from the hospital not long after their matches. And according to front desk, Millan's name is still listed under her respective room. As for the other woman...her male roommate is the only one coming to the room the last few days. However, she's been coming in late hours off and on during her stay here."
Ken smiled dryly, glancing at Meliza. "So this is how you know who stays in your hotel." He focused on the other man. "You think her late hours have something to do with the fact that she hasn't been around lately?"
"I think it's safe to say that she wasn't here just to win a prize," Devlin declared.
Meliza tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Plenty of people are here for their own reasons. It doesn't matter to me what those reasons are, but the participants and their safety should be one of our biggest concerns. We could always just ask."
"And how do you suggest we do that without alarming the guests?" Karin asked.
"Given the fact that some contestants have already gone missing, we're just trying to help. It's probably nothing, and I don't want to pry into anyone's business, but if she went home, she went home."
"Fine."
"This guy here...he's military. I could ask some friends here..." Ken offered, looking at one of the dossiers.
"Thanks. I think I should pay a visit to the hospital director," Meliza added.
"And do what?" Karin asked.
"I'm a tournament sponsor...wondering why the hospital cooperating with me for this event is just letting people disappear."
"You obviously don't want your company name dragged in the mud, you have every right to be pissed off," Ken agreed.
"You should hold off on that," Devlin said.
"Why?"
"Whoever is responsible for the disappearances will be extra careful if they know that someone is suspicious," Devlin continued.
"I'm not waiting until someone disappears again," Ken responded. "And worst of all, we don't know who is targeting and whom."
Karin said, "We'll have to keep an eye on the participants who go to the hospital..."
"What about hospital security?" Devlin asked. "Has anyone checked to see if they have videos of anything?"
"If they do, they're not willing to share," Ken said sourly.
Devlin picked up a list on Meliza's desk, studying the contents. "Mr. Masters, your fight is coming up, am I right?"
"Yeah?"
"How confident are you in your ability to leave the match without requiring hospitalization?"
Ken's eyes narrowed as Karin and Meliza turned heads to look at Devlin.
"Are you asking him to throw a fight?" Karin demanded.
"No," Devlin retorted. "You'll need more opportunities to find out what's going on. What better way than for someone to be inside?"
"There's no guaranteeing that whoever is responsible for the disappearing patients would go after him," Karin reasoned. "And what if they would? They wouldn't dare take him when his disappearance is such a high risk."
"You might be right. But it would give us time. And someone inside will be able to spot strange behavior."
Ken looked at him. "You have a very interesting way of thinking, Mr. Cai."
A ghost of a smile appeared. "Some people would say it's paranoia."
Ken grinned at Meliza. "I hope you're making his presence here during this mess worth it."
"Oh, I am," came the reply. Meliza shot daggers at Karin for her muffled snicker.
Ken, completely oblivious, crossed his arms in thought. "Okay, how about this? We'll see how my match goes."
"And we'll watch," Karin offered. "Once you're in, keep an eye out for strange behavior. Maybe ask around about the staff. Are they being bribed or does this go all the way to top management?"
"All right," Ken said.
As he and Karin left, Ken could be heard saying, "It must be serious if she hired a bodyguard..."
Followed by Karin's, "And here I thought the other Shotokan master was the idiot..."
Meliza waited until the door closed. She turned her head slightly. "How good are you at being hospital security?"
Devlin pushed away from Meliza's desk. "Already thinking ahead of you. I'll be back in a few hours."
~*~*~*~
Credits and further comments at the end.
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Board Fighters - Chapter 38: Intentions and Mistakes
Somewhere in Tibet circa Chapter 35
Stalactites cast eerie shadows for miles. Cold moisture hung in the air, the occasional sound of a bat's wings echoing in the dead silence. Esperanza Rios had seen plenty of elaborate structures during her lifetime. But no structure had ever resembled this. This labyrinth of plain rock and columns with high ceilings had been the only environment she and Jacob Turner had seen the last four hours.
It was certainly inspiring - giving one a better appreciation of nature. And yet, in spite of the strange circumstances surrounding their mission, neither of them felt out of their element visiting the places they had so far.
He led the way along a path nearly thirty feet wide, framed on both sides by stalagmites and columns, a light stick worn as a makeshift necklace, its neon green color illuminating a three foot radius around him, leaving his hands free if needed. Esperanza had worn her light source in a similar fashion. Every couple feet, he'd mark the ground with charcoal so that they would know where they had come from.
This had been their routine. Walk, rest, and set up camp to sleep.
It had taken a couple hours, but they had managed to climb out of the ditch at the temple steps. Once inside, he'd been amazed at the emptiness of the temple. One wouldn't even know that they were in one to begin with. The only indicators had been the steps leading inside and the structure's appearance on the outside. Once inside, they had to navigate around cave dens, constantly reaching dead ends until they reached their current location - a wide, open cavern that seemed to stretch endlessly.
Unlike the temple in Peru, this location had no precautions created by builders to keep intruders out. Instead, the terrain alone would discourage any aspiring treasure hunter to turn back, given that very little clues and finds were left around the temple.
Unfortunately, this gave Esperanza plenty of time to think, and Turner's near-drowning experience, as well as Kundu's death, was never far from the recesses of her mind. The danger of their mission was becoming much more obvious even without the threat of Veracruz and his partner. Judging by Turner's unusually quiet behavior since they left Kundu to the natives, she sensed he shared the same sentiment. When he was nervous or agitated, he became silent. It was a contrast to her, since she tended to rattle on with incomplete and sometimes incoherent sentences. When she discovered after about three hours that Turner was acknowledging only half of her babble, his mind obviously somewhere else, she forced herself to be quiet and focus on their goal, since her conversation really wasn't contributing to the situation.
Turner bent slightly to mark the ground, glancing at her over his shoulder. "Do you need a break?"
And be stuck to her own thoughts? That was something she could do without, to be honest. "No, thank you."
"Let me know when you want to stop."
They walked for another twenty minutes, pausing as he adjusted the strap of his backpack. Her eyes surveyed the cavern, narrowing slightly at something just ahead of them. Slowly, she moved forward, trying to get a closer look at what lay ahead.
She swallowed, her heartbeat loud in her ears. "Turner."
Esperanza immediately sensed him behind her and to her right.
"Is that...?" He left his question unfinished and she gave him a brief smile, the first since they got here.
They stepped closer, examining the carving on the wall. It appeared to be several centuries old. The detail in the rock was almost worn away, but they could see a simplified landscape, with mountains on each side, and a sun high in the air above the horizon.
"The first sign in hours that we're going in the right direction..." Esperanza breathed a sigh of relief.
Jacob frowned as he glanced at his wristwatch. "Let's get moving..."
Another hour later, the cavern became smaller and smaller, now twenty feet high. Jacob took the lead position, stopping once they reached two different tunnels.
"Should we split up?" Esperanza asked.
"No," Jacob responded. "Pick one and if it leads nowhere, we'll just go back." He couldn't help his wry smile as she closed her eyes and waved her hand left and right.
"Left," she announced.
They entered a large fissure in rock and emerged onto a ledge about seven feet wide, into a larger cavern, about five stories tall from their standing position. Esperanza and Jacob looked up to see a thin stream of sunlight through the cracks in the rock above them. Esperanza looked down to see a dark abyss. Instinctively, she reached to her right to alert her partner.
He was already a step ahead of her. Jacob went down on one knee, surveying the area. The expanse of darkness was almost the length of fifty yards. The trick was getting across. Jacob pointed to his right.
"There."
Esperanza watched Jacob move along the ledge to what appeared to be a very narrow and flat walkway made of the same rock they were standing on. Esperanza followed, shaking her head.
"Of course."
Jacob grinned. "Did you expect all of this to be easy?"
The walkway was narrow enough for her to crawl on her hands and knees across. "How is your balance?" she asked.
"Not bad," Jacob answered. "Yours?"
"I don't trust it." Esperanza pulled out a pair of thick gloves and moved down to her hands and knees.
"Don't look down," Jacob warned.
She crawled about three feet before she looked over her shoulder to see that Jacob was also making his way across in a similar fashion. Esperanza faced forward and continued to move. "I thought you said that your balance was good."
"I don't trust it right now."
Once across, they came to another fissure in the rock and crawled through. Esperanza's eyes widened at the sight of a river about ten feet wide. And on the other side, a steep hill with a small scatter of trees. Tilting her head up, the hill could pass off as a mountain. High above at the very top, stood a structure hundreds of years old - another abandoned temple, where their prize lay waiting for retrieval.
~*~*~*~
Present Chapter
Undisclosed location, 8:05 am
Sitting at the computer terminal in her quarters, Chun Li waited for the machine to boot up. Earlier in the wee hours of the morning she had returned to Ryu's hotel room to retrieve a couple of things. At that time in the morning there were hardly any curious eyes around to question her whereabouts. By now it would have been a known fact through the fighters' community that Victoria had disappeared and Iwa had gone on her sporadic disappearing acts again until her next important fight.
On that note, she knew that Ryu would be found in the training room of this facility working out his frustrations. She pitied the idiot who would dare challenge him for a spar when he was in one of his quiet, simmering moods.
She plugged the thumb drive into the USB slot and clicked on the virus scan icon to start the standard procedure. This piece of course was the most recent one that Iwa had given her. The older one was handed over to Guile. It probably contained things he already knew about and judging from Cammy's reaction to certain contents, it was no doubt that she was already familiar with the cross-dressing ways of the Spanish ninja. It made Chun Li wonder just what the rest of Shadaloo got into on their off days, although frankly she would rather not have known. On a cautious note, she had given the thumb drive to Guile with warning that information within served as one of Bison's baits.
The virus scan indicated that the thumb drive was free of any viruses, malware and tracking programs. On that note she clicked on one of the folders. The photographic previews shown that they were maps and photographs of a facility, there was nothing on its co-ordinates and much less any identifying landmarks.
One enlarged photograph showed a corridor with sensors and security cameras marked on the walls. There was a brief note in the folder as well. Clicking on that, it revealed itself to be a brief report on the security layout and what was assumed to be the protocols needed to enter that area. Just how much did Iwa find on her recent trip in anyway?
The thing that caught her attention was a mention of the creation of Super Soldiers and something in the general direction of being 'unnatural' monsters hiding in the basement. There were a few more photographs that corresponded to the report, although limited by distance and too blurry to be conclusive. She assumed from the camera angles that someone had been spending time in a ventilation shaft.
The thought of that made her look up the ceiling. She tried to recall if there were any accesses to ventilation shafts or false ceilings in the quarters assigned to Iwa. If she had developed a habit of traversing in such an environment, what odds had she in making her way out of this place or collecting information about them for Bison?!
The next picture, though, stopped her from pulling out the thumb drive. It showed mostly empty holding cells. Why would Bison be interested in the holding cells? The answer came to her in the next photograph. Huddling in a corner of a cell was Ken's missing disciple. With the exception of the angle of the photograph, it was very similar to the one Guile had shown Iwa. Trap or no trap Guile needed to know, and Chun Li had a feeling that Iwa might make a run for freedom in her coming match, as long as Ryu didn't beat her up too badly.
~*~*~*~
U.P.R.F
Level 2 Research Labs, 10:30 AM
The electronic doors slid open, seated before the computer consoles was a rather disheveled scientist. Reaching the console the visitor was greeted with the sight of piles of paper and cups of half drank coffee. The scientist at the table was oblivious to him and kept on studying his notes and the results on the monitor, occasionally clicking at this point or that on the skew graph.
"Have you seen Red?" The blond Doctor Markus asked. He was referring to their red headed colleague. He was answered by silence and a few more clicks of the mouse. Thinking that his colleague was ignoring him, he proceeded to ask again.
"Probably on shore leave. She heard great things about The Makai spa from Squirrel-chan. You know how women are," Yamada answered without looking up as he reached for a cup of coffee while another piece of data loads up on the screen.
"Didn't the Master order a communication blackout on the Squirrel? Is she trying to get us killed?"
"The Detective has Squirrel-chan. Yalana knows what she's doing. And I doubt you're here to look for her." Yamada swiveled his chair towards Markus, bloodshot eyes trained on him.
"You should be the one getting some shore leave. When was the last time you slept?" He was obviously disconcerted.
"I'll sleep when I need to. You were looking for me?" Yamada took another sip of coffee.
"Someone been asking questions about the Soldier."
"That's nothing new. We're pretty much doing the same thing about their projects."
Yamada shrugged. Markus sighed and made for the console. He rummaged through the pile of notes and data and pulled out a photograph and showed it to Yamada.
"He's been asking the lab assistants questions about our boy. I'm sure you know he's Umbrella's 'delivery man.'" He indicated the man in the photograph.
"And you have been talking to him?" Yamada took a sip of his coffee. All the while his eyes remained on his blond colleague.
"Not yet but I thought you should know." He then grabbed a few graph charts from the table and shuffle through it.
"This! From the first dive." He pointed and traced a portion of the graph skew. "This from the run in at the corridor. And this was yesterday morning. The chip has been giving out the same type of skew patterns where this Rez is concerned."
"He's probably having a nightmare. Residual Psycho Power has that effect to the unaccustomed."
"Yes, imagine the data we can get from their physical interaction."
"Imagine us dead and our project stolen." Yamada wasn't entirely keen on this. It was quite a huge risk to let the so-called Umbrella Super Soldier get so close to them.
"Yes, I know. But this Rez is supposed to be Umbrella's Super Soldier. We haven't seen what he's capable of doing. On one hand we could see if he's worth the money our Master is spending and on the other hand we could see if we're going the right way with our boy."
"And if you have ears in the right places you would know that he lost one of Umbrella's pet projects. His superiors aren't too pleased. What are the odds that he would steal ours just appease his superiors?"
"But think of the results we could get from live testing. The Dolls won't touch him what with their potential team mate mindset going on. For all we know we might even get The Deep Doll incident." He was trying to argue his case but it made Yamada suspect his intentions.
"He could kill us all and Umbrella would turn a blind eye."
"I believe a man like him would be happy enough to be reunited with an 'old friend' to care about such things."
"You're playing a very dangerous game," he warned his colleague.
"The results would be worth a gamble."
"There will be rules." As much as he didn't like it, there was the off chance that Markus might just sneak this Rez in just to prove a point or two.
"What game isn't?"
"Arrange a meeting with him. I want to see what he's all about."
"Very well. I'm glad you see things my way."
"I'll hold you responsible for his good behavior."
"Of course." With that done the blond retreated out of the room.
With the exit of his blond colleague Yamada got up from his chair and took a cup of coffee with him. He headed behind one of the large computer server racks and squatted down with the rest of his colleagues and handed the red-haired Doctor Yalana her cup of coffee while Doctor Ryan inserted one of the motherboards back into the server racks. With them was their Resident Doll, whom he only referred to as Ferret-chan. No doubt they'd heard the earlier conversation and for whatever reason chose to hide from the blond scientist.
"I don't like it." Satsuki was the first to voice her opinion.
"I doubt you do."
"But you're still going through with this."
"He's right on getting good results. Make sure your sisters know about this when they take over."
"I'll make sure of that."
"And you," he turned to Ryan, "alert your monitoring team. Tell them to stay alert when this Rez is in the holding cells. As long as he's in the vicinity of the Soldier switch off the qi inhibitor."
"Really?"
"A knife can only go so far. I don't intend to keep him defenseless."
"What about the empath?"
"If they think he can't handle the situation alone, switch hers off as well. Let them double-team him if they want to. I have no intention of losing either one of them." With that done Yamada hopped to his feet and headed back to the computer console to switch it off.
"I'm going to grab some sleep." He headed off without waiting for any reply.
~*~*~*~
The Makai - poolside, 1:20 PM
Stretched out on a lounge chair, absorbing the rays of the sun in order to sooth his still-aching body, Fei Long looked at his cell phone's display. Hmm, no messages or missed calls. One speed-dial later, he had the phone to his ear and waited, only to have it go directly to voicemail.
I guess he hasn't recovered yet… he thought with disappointment. Though Jin had taken one hell of a beating the day before, he would usually have been up and about. Fei knew him enough to know that no hard feelings would come from the loss, so what was wrong?
He wasn't oblivious to Kushina's distance the past few days, nor was he unaware that Nat hadn't been around much. In fact, he hadn't seen her at all…
Speaking of her, he wasn't the only one wondering over her absence.
"Whatcha doing?" a female voice asked from his left. He set his phone aside and saw Sakura setting her towel and drink on the short table between them. Clad in a red bikini, she was dripping wet from swimming, her short hair dangling in her eyes.
"Just tried to get in touch with Jin to see if he wanted to hang out later."
She snorted and sat in the chair, kicking off her flip-flops.
"Good luck," she said. "I tried four times in the last couple of days and he's not answering. And Nat's nowhere to be found…"
Long caught the wrinkle of irate worry that formed between her brows.
"Yeah, I haven't seen her either…" He left off the small concerns that formed in his mind when he thought of the job she had. Maybe something's happened, and that's why…
"Well, I'm kinda sick of it all," Sakura said, cutting into the action star's thoughts. "I haven't seen Victoria either, and Karin seems preoccupied about something and avoids the subject whenever I ask. I'm not stupid, something's going on here."
Fei sighed, folding his arms behind his head. "Yeah, I know what you mean. There's a lot of people that just… aren't here anymore. Karin and the other sponsors probably have their hands full trying to figure it out themselves and keep the media out of it."
"You know, don't you? About Nat-chan's job, I mean…"
Fei raised a brow at the inquiry. "How'd you know?"
Guilt crept into Sakura's expression. "When she fought Jin and lost, I got her jacket and stuff from the ref. Her gun and badge were in there." When Fei gave her a bit of a reproving look, her hands shot up in a defensive gesture. "Well! I couldn't help it! The gun was impossible to miss and the badge… okay, that part I had to dig for. But really, everyone knew something was up when she went from goth-like to business woman."
Fei chuckled and adjusted his sunglasses. "Yeah, I guess. I'm kinda surprised you didn't snoop sooner."
He jerked with an oomf! when her towel popped him across his still-bruised stomach.
"Ha. Ha," Sakura drolled as Fei rubbed the new red mark across his abs. "I plan to do some more snooping if someone doesn't tell me what the hell is going on soon."
Resuming his former position, Long sighed. "Well, when I talk to Jin next, I'll ask him." If I can get him to talk about it… he added in his mind
"Well, if I find anything out before then, I'll let you know, and you let me know what you find. Deal?" Sakura said, looking at him from under the towel as she rubbed her hair dry.
Another sigh came from him as he wondered if this was for the best, but…
"Deal."
~*~*~*~
Undisclosed location in Oahu, near Honolulu - 1:40PM
"How's she doing?"
"As well as we expected."
The answer wasn't a comforting one to Enrique Pierantoni, but it was the only honest one the doctor could give. Both stood outside the holding cell that also served as a medical care facility for the young girl they viewed through the glass.
She was thinner now, waif-like with sallow cheeks. Dark circles hung heavy under distant eyes that were a dull blue-black. The red marks that had been on her pale face were now gone, but beneath her near-translucent skin the inactive synthetic pigmentation could be faintly seen, the only color in her face.
Enrique sighed and shook his head slightly. Observing the way she pulled her knees to her chest and stared blankly at the sheet covering them, he asked, "How long has she been like this?"
"Since she woke up. She's too weak to warrant restraints, but we've still taken precautions. We can gas the room if there is a need." The doctor - a man in his forties with a ruddy complexion and graying hair - removed his glasses and sighed as he wiped the lenses with a handkerchief from the pocket of his white coat. "Since she's been like that, her deterioration has slowed, even improved. If she continues, she may have a small chance at recovery, at least physically. Mentally, I expect that all she's ever known is what they used her for. And that may be all she's capable of knowing, this late in her childhood."
The agent gave the doctor a questioning look.
"She's autistic," the older man clarified, replacing his glasses on the bridge of his nose. Riq's green eyes widened slightly as the man continued. "We think so, at least. The signs are there. She doesn't respond well to touch or other invasion of space, she doesn't make eye contact, and she hasn't said a word. All the possible genetic markers and brain patterns match up as well, though science has yet to pin down how accurate those are."
Stepping closer to the glass to look at the child on the bed, Pierantoni felt a strong need for a smoke or a drink, but could indulge in neither. "What kind of company uses children with mental problems as killers?"
"The kind you have to stop," the doctor answered without hesitation as he pulled some papers from his clipboard and handed them to the agent. "Here are copies of her files. She hasn't responded to anything yet, but I'll let you know of any changes."
Riq appeared silently thoughtful for a long moment, simply holding the papers without really looking at them. After a moment of consideration, he spoke. "I'll be back by later. I'll need to see her."
Though wondering if that were a wise action to take, the doctor hesitated only a moment before nodding. "Alright, then."
Briefly thanking the doctor, Enrique turned and left, his mind on the errand he hoped might end in some progress.
~*~*~*~
Owner's Office, The Makai
Upon permission from Meliza's assistant, Raquel, Ken opened the owner's office and stepped inside. He was greeted by a glance and nod of acknowledgement from an Asian man currently using Meliza's desk phone, and Karin who raised a hand holding a nail file. She was currently perched on the couch, wearing a bright red sundress that ended several inches above her knees. It hurt Ken's eyes and the office didn't have THAT much sun.
"Yes...No...Try it again...Yes, I'm sure. I'll talk to you later." The other man promptly hung up and turned to Ken. "Meliza will be here in a few minutes."
"Thanks."
"Mr. Cai, Ken Masters, fellow tournament sponsor and martial artist. Ken, this is Devlin Cai," Karin spoke up.
The two men shook hands briefly.
"Sorry I'm late," a female voice announced.
They turned to see Meliza shut the door behind her. She was dressed in her usual business clothes, but she looked like she had been running around by the flushed color of her cheeks.
"I see you've already met the man in charge of my 'personal security'," Meliza said with a wry smile as she tossed her blazer over her executive chair.
"Are you still worried that safety is an issue here?" Ken asked, a slight alarm in his voice.
Then it occurred to Meliza that she had incorrectly assumed that Karin had made all formal introductions. From behind Ken, Meliza could see Karin rolling her eyes and shaking her head. Oh well, she wasn't going to bother to correct him, and neither were the other two individuals.
"I'll be outside," Devlin said before moving towards the door.
"I'm fine with you staying if everyone else is," Karin declared. "You should."
Meliza shot Ken an inquiring look. "It concerns all of us."
Ken glanced at everyone and nodded. Meliza pulled up chairs to face the couch. Ken sat next to Karin while Devlin leaned against the front of her desk. She sat facing her two guests.
"If I seem a little aggravated, I'm sorry, it's been a long week." Meliza took a deep breath. "I just recently came back from Maui because my cousin was in a car accident. And I come back after a match to find that one of my old friends who was in that match went to the hospital and is now missing."
"We talked to everyone else who knows her," Karin piped up. "They haven't seen her. I called the hospital five times. They're not telling me anything."
Victoria too, now. Ken briefly closed his eyes. What a mess this all was...
"So Karin and I decided to see if anyone else was unaccounted for."
Ken knew where this was going. Immediately, his hands curled into fists, and he noticed that the other three watched him closely. He couldn't let anyone know who was responsible for Sean's disappearance. Or Umbrella swore that Sean and his family would suffer. "Sean...is missing. Anyone I've talked to doesn't know anything." He suspected that both women had just been aware of his status, but they probably wanted to hear it from him.
A pensive look came across Karin's features and she went back to her nails. Meliza, however, continued to watch him. And so did her 'bodyguard'.
"This shouldn't be your problem alone," Meliza said after a few moments. "After I last met with you and Mr. Hoshi, we all agreed that something strange was going on and that we needed to be more careful."
Karin sighed. "And it's just not your student...there are a few more...and basically, the three of us are all sponsors together, so if something happens to those missing people, we'll all be responsible."
Ken blinked. "Who else is missing?"
Devlin handed him a file folder containing several photos clipped to dossiers that the tournament staff had put together to register all contestants. A sticky note was attached to several dossiers. Tseng, Reno - missing. Verdandi, Cana - missing. Croft, Ming - deceased. Mien - ?. Heagy, John - missing. Ken instantly recognized Sean and Victoria's photos.
"We've seen the security tapes of the floors those contestants reside on," Devlin announced. "The first three all have had no activity for too long. Matsuda and Millan should have returned from the hospital not long after their matches. And according to front desk, Millan's name is still listed under her respective room. As for the other woman...her male roommate is the only one coming to the room the last few days. However, she's been coming in late hours off and on during her stay here."
Ken smiled dryly, glancing at Meliza. "So this is how you know who stays in your hotel." He focused on the other man. "You think her late hours have something to do with the fact that she hasn't been around lately?"
"I think it's safe to say that she wasn't here just to win a prize," Devlin declared.
Meliza tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Plenty of people are here for their own reasons. It doesn't matter to me what those reasons are, but the participants and their safety should be one of our biggest concerns. We could always just ask."
"And how do you suggest we do that without alarming the guests?" Karin asked.
"Given the fact that some contestants have already gone missing, we're just trying to help. It's probably nothing, and I don't want to pry into anyone's business, but if she went home, she went home."
"Fine."
"This guy here...he's military. I could ask some friends here..." Ken offered, looking at one of the dossiers.
"Thanks. I think I should pay a visit to the hospital director," Meliza added.
"And do what?" Karin asked.
"I'm a tournament sponsor...wondering why the hospital cooperating with me for this event is just letting people disappear."
"You obviously don't want your company name dragged in the mud, you have every right to be pissed off," Ken agreed.
"You should hold off on that," Devlin said.
"Why?"
"Whoever is responsible for the disappearances will be extra careful if they know that someone is suspicious," Devlin continued.
"I'm not waiting until someone disappears again," Ken responded. "And worst of all, we don't know who is targeting and whom."
Karin said, "We'll have to keep an eye on the participants who go to the hospital..."
"What about hospital security?" Devlin asked. "Has anyone checked to see if they have videos of anything?"
"If they do, they're not willing to share," Ken said sourly.
Devlin picked up a list on Meliza's desk, studying the contents. "Mr. Masters, your fight is coming up, am I right?"
"Yeah?"
"How confident are you in your ability to leave the match without requiring hospitalization?"
Ken's eyes narrowed as Karin and Meliza turned heads to look at Devlin.
"Are you asking him to throw a fight?" Karin demanded.
"No," Devlin retorted. "You'll need more opportunities to find out what's going on. What better way than for someone to be inside?"
"There's no guaranteeing that whoever is responsible for the disappearing patients would go after him," Karin reasoned. "And what if they would? They wouldn't dare take him when his disappearance is such a high risk."
"You might be right. But it would give us time. And someone inside will be able to spot strange behavior."
Ken looked at him. "You have a very interesting way of thinking, Mr. Cai."
A ghost of a smile appeared. "Some people would say it's paranoia."
Ken grinned at Meliza. "I hope you're making his presence here during this mess worth it."
"Oh, I am," came the reply. Meliza shot daggers at Karin for her muffled snicker.
Ken, completely oblivious, crossed his arms in thought. "Okay, how about this? We'll see how my match goes."
"And we'll watch," Karin offered. "Once you're in, keep an eye out for strange behavior. Maybe ask around about the staff. Are they being bribed or does this go all the way to top management?"
"All right," Ken said.
As he and Karin left, Ken could be heard saying, "It must be serious if she hired a bodyguard..."
Followed by Karin's, "And here I thought the other Shotokan master was the idiot..."
Meliza waited until the door closed. She turned her head slightly. "How good are you at being hospital security?"
Devlin pushed away from Meliza's desk. "Already thinking ahead of you. I'll be back in a few hours."
~*~*~*~
