Darkest Before The Dawn Read online

  A few moments later the bell rang again, but Jan heard nothing. He was already grabbing the leather he needed to work.

  Tokyo, Japan, Chinese Embassy

  Chang Feng, forsaken by his emperor, found himself being dragged from his office through the now-deserted corridors of the embassy and into the state office.

  Riku held him unceremoniously by the scruff of the neck, his grip so tight that Feng dared not resist for fear of tripping and being strangled with his own collar.

  Haruto followed them in, closing the bullet-riddled doors behind them. Plaster from the ceiling had been strewn all over the previously pristine carpets, and a film of dust covered everyone who had been in the room. Consequently, on arrival, Chang Feng looked a little out of place. His uniform was still clean and untouched by the white dust.

  Riku released his grip and pushed him roughly over the mess of debris and dead bodies to a chair in front of Eve and Yuko.

  Ichika stood menacingly behind the two men who had been in the meeting with Qin Shi, proud that Yuko had indicated for her to keep them quiet and out of the way of the ensuing interrogation.

  “We’re here for information,” Yuko said quietly to a petrified Feng. “You tell us what we need to know, you get to live.”

  Chang’s eyes darted to his emperor, who nodded his assent to answer the questions.

  He glanced back at Yuko. “How do I know that if I tell you what you want you’ll let me go?” he queried uncharacteristically bravely.

  Yuko moved toward him, her eyes glowing red again. “Because some of us operate by a code—a code of ethics. If I give you my word, you are lucky indeed,” she told him, her voice still low but definitive, making it even scarier than if she had shouted at him.

  He nodded, glancing down to where a wet patch was forming on his pants.

  Yuko stepped back a little, averting her eyes. Akari glanced at Ichika and nodded at Feng’s pants. Ichika smiled in delight at the fear her new leader had instilled.

  Yuko turned her back for a moment, glaring at Ichika for her childish, uncompassionate reaction. She walked away a few paces before turning back to Feng. “We’re here about the Sacred Clan boxes,” she explained. “They don’t belong to you, and now we have a use for them,” she declared, strategically assuming rightful ownership. “I want to know where they are.”

  She paused, holding his fearful stare steady, ready to flash him the red eyes again. As it turned out, there wasn’t any need.

  He raised his hands, flinching without her needing to move a muscle. “Ok, ok. I tell you.”

  “They buried all over China,” he explained in his imperfect English. “We have no way of finding them though. The intel was stored on a physical server, but during the earthquake of 2045 it was lost.”

  Eve’s eyes darted from side to side as she accessed information to confirm or reject his story. She nodded, affirming to Yuko there had indeed been an earthquake in this area at that time.

  Yuko had taken a necktie from one of the security personnel who lay dead on the floor and was carefully cleaning off her sword. She sighed and told Feng flippantly, “I’ve just started getting this clean. Don’t make me mess it up again.”

  He raised his hands in panic again. “No, no…please. Let me explain,” he panted. “The earthquake destroyed our secret base. It was under the Kurobe Dam. When the quake hit, it not only destroyed the dam but the bunker we had built underneath it. As far as we could tell, it was completely flooded and the servers with all the information on them were lost.”

  He added, “It wasn’t just the location of the boxes that was lost, either. Japan suffered a great deal, for reasons that were never released to the people.” His eyes darted over to his emperor, looking somewhat sheepish for having divulged potentially embarrassing information about their tentative allies.

  He tried to cover his tracks by returning to the technicalities of the matter of the servers. “Ever since then we have worked to find better ways of protecting our data, blockchain protocols being one of them.”

  Mark stepped forward, his eyes lighting up in interest. “You mean spreading sensitive information over multiple client terminals?”

  Feng looked momentarily surprised that someone might understand his discourse. “Yes.”

  Yuko glanced sideways at Mark, pulling the conversation back on track. “You built a bunker underneath a dam? Surely that was a high-risk location?”

  Feng nodded. “Yes,” he agreed, his attention peeled from Mark and his potential geek-out, “but—forgive me—you’re thinking about this the wrong way.”

  Yuko frowned, thinking that if Michael were here, Feng would not dare to be so casual with him.

  Feng continued, “Why do you think they built the dam in the first place?”

  Eve had stepped a little closer, being unable to smell the urine Feng had excreted into his pants. “For hydropower, of course.”

  Feng shook his head, looking down. “No. So they could construct secret bunkers.”

  Yuko glanced at Eve. “This means they had this in place long before we came here. Long before the WWDE and the need to protect Japan.”

  She turned her attention to the sofa where Qin Shi was being guarded. “Why were we never told of this? We had an open relationship with Japan.”

  Qin Shi shrugged. “Perhaps not as open as with the back channels of the Chinese at the time, though I cannot comment with any certainty. This was obviously something arranged by one of my many predecessors.”

  Yuko relaxed a little and sighed. “Yes. I suppose there is little to be done about it now.” She turned back to Chang. “We need the location of the bunker, then.”

  He nodded. “It’s located in the central mountainous national park in the eastern part of Toyama prefecture. If you had a map…”

  Eve pulled up a map on a screen that opened out of her arm and Feng showed her the location. “The bunker, I believe, stretched over this kind of area,” he explained, indicating a larger area under the water.

  Yuko frowned and glanced at Eve. “Do you think we’ll be able to do a seismic scan with the equipment we have?”

  Eve processed the question for a few moments before her activity returned to normal. “I think it is possible. Yes.”

  His need to be right seemed to outweigh his desire to stay alive. “The servers were destroyed, though.”

  Yuko glanced at him. “Well, we’ll just have to confirm that.”

  They tied the officials up and quickly left the building just as sirens approached the area.

  —

  Jogging into the night, Jacqueline found herself alongside Ichika as they left the rear of the building to avoid the crowd forming out front.

  Jacqueline glanced at her. “Those were pretty nifty moves back there.”

  Ichika smiled back at her, carefully avoiding some street furniture as they bounded into a nearby alleyway. “You didn’t do too badly yourself,” she said, bowing her head in respect. “I wish I had that kind of power in my upper body,” she added a little shyly.

  The rest of the group arrived and the black container appeared, looming above them.

  Mark inserted himself into their conversation. “Ah, that’s nothing,” he told Ichika. “Wait till you see her slip into Pricolici mode,” he said, a hint of pride in his tone.

  “Pricolici?” Ichika asked.

  Haruto came up behind them. “As in the legendary beast?”

  Mark chuckled. “You might want to refrain from using the word ‘beast’ around her, but yeah. Sounds about right.”

  The black box reached the ground and the group piled in before it disappeared into the fading twilight.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Frankfurt, Germany

  The three walked down the street, Michael amazed that anyone in this time, so many years since he had last been on Earth, had tracked any of his whereabouts.

  These people needed someone to believe in, and apparently, a man from the dark ages was what Jan and his
late wife had chosen. Perhaps he had more to give than just ensuring he got back to Bethany Anne.

  They made their way across two streets and walked through a park. Sabine was shocked by all the technology she could see, including flying cars in the skies. “It’s like this isn’t even a part of the same world,” she commented aloud.

  “It is a factor of where people are and where technology survived, including the knowledge of how to make it,” Akio told her. “Germany had the skills and the technology was given to them by a group Bethany Anne saved in Antarctica.”

  “Is it like her technology?” Sabine asked, turning all the way around as she watched a flying car first circle and then land in the park.

  “No,” Akio answered. “It doesn’t work the same, and is not nearly as efficient. Her technology would make this,” he waved at the flying cars, “seem medieval by comparison.”

  “How?” Sabine turned and spoke directly to Akio. “We have flying cars. Your plane is impressive, but not that much more sophisticated.”

  “When we meet up with her,” Akio looked around, “you will understand the difference.”

  “Speaking of meeting up with her,” Michael said, “do you know any good Japanese technology workers we can trust?”

  “We will have to mind-read them all,” Akio admitted. “My comment from before is true. They are the best people to manufacture the equipment, but also the best to steal it.”

  Michael considered Akio’s warning. “We will have to move our manufacturing location off the islands.”

  “I will speak with Yuko and Eve about locating the pieces we need.”

  The trio had started walking away from the park when Michael stopped and turned into a small store. “I’ll be but a moment.”

  Akio looked at the store. It sold chemistry components.

  A few minutes later, Michael stepped back out holding a small brown package. “Thank you,” he told the two, and they continued their discussions as they walked down the street.

  —

  The little bell rang and Jan pushed himself out of his chair. Although his back hurt, he was ready to deliver the finest hat he had ever made. The skull was so realistic it could almost talk.

  It had taken him until five thirty in the morning. He’d had an hour nap and had been drinking caffeinated beverages since then to keep his old body ticking. He might be pushing it, but there was no way he would miss this opportunity to complete his side of the bargain.

  His beloved Gertrude and their daughter Holda would be able to rest easier now, knowing that he had set into motion an agreement that pitted the Patriarch against their daughter’s killer.

  He tried his best not to think about her death—how they found her, and all the research the two of them had done to figure out who had killed their daughter.

  Although they finally solved the murder, they knew they had no options against one so powerful. Jan had turned his sorrow inside, but Gertrude had sent her sorrow into more research. She was the one who had found the truth.

  And the truth had walked into his little small shop yesterday. It had been designated by the god of Justice, he knew.

  He grabbed the box that held the hat and walked to the front. Michael was waiting for him, his hands behind his back. His two friends were with him. Jan had read Gertrude’s notes and now knew who Akio was. He was probably the one Gertrude had expected to reach out to and ask.

  But she had died unexpectedly.

  Jan set the box down on the counter and lifted off the lid. He reached in and pulled out a black leather hat. It was a Stetson design, with the carvings of a vampire skull, roses, the pistols, and angel’s wings on it. He handed the black hat to Michael, who took it and turned it, reading the words that Jan had chiseled into the leather of the band.

  “Honor or Death” had been inscribed into the little band, and “ArchAngel” on the back.

  Michael felt the leather, the indentations that made the skull look like it had been carved of ebony marble. He reached up and placed the hat on his head, then tipped it a little forward. Jan watched him smile. “You are a master of your craft,” Michael told him.

  “I’m a man, no more, no less. One who wishes justice be served,” he told Michael, who nodded.

  “Justice will be served,” Michael replied, leaving the hat on his head. He reached into his coat.

  “No!” Jan waved him off. “I will not take money for the hat. A deal is a deal.”

  “The deal was struck,” Michael agreed, “but I will not allow you to give of yourself so deeply without something from me. Your heart is one of the purest I’ve met since I came back.” He pulled out a vial. “When we leave, close and lock the door and drink this, then lie down.” He handed the vial to Jan.

  Michael tipped the hat in Jan’ direction, who recognized the salute. “Make sure you destroy the vial and get rid of any evidence that it was around.”

  “What do I do when I wake up?” Jan asked, wondering if what he guessed was in the vial was correct.

  Michael considered the man a moment. “Know that your vengeance is complete and your responsibility for your daughter to your wife is done. Allow your sorrow to go down the drain and decide when you look in the mirror in the morning, what the next stage of your life will be.”

  With that, the bell rang as the woman left, and then Akio and finally Michael, wearing his hat, stepped out.

  The door shut behind them, the tinkling of the bell slowly dissipating as Jan stared at the vial in his hand.

  After standing there for a couple minutes, he stepped around the counter and locked his front door, pulling the shade and making sure the sign said his business was closed.

  He went back to his workshop, set the vial in a safe place, and looked around. He busied himself for twenty minutes cleaning up. He set the tools in the right places, making sure that no scraps were lying around. He wasn’t sure what would happen, but if he died, he didn’t want someone to see a mess in his workshop.

  Finally, he took the vial and went to his apartment above. There, he first made his bed and then unstoppered the vial. He drank it quickly and re-capped it, setting it aside.

  He laid down wondering how long it would take, and never realized he was asleep before a second thought went through his mind.

  Late morning the next day, Jan’s eyes opened. It took him a moment to get his bearings. He was alive! He thought it had been a dream, but no, the vial was still on his nightstand.

  He rolled out of the bed easily and walked to his bathroom. The Patriarch had mentioned that he needed to…

  Needed to…

  Jan stared at himself in the mirror. He reached up and rubbed his cheeks. He looked at his hands, turning them so he could examine both sides. “I’m…” he whispered.

  He looked in the mirror again in confusion before uttering the words he didn’t quite believe.

  “I’m young,” he said aloud.

  Tokyo, Japan, Chinese Embassy

  The ornate old building stood against the dying light as sirens approached from a distance. The staff who had managed to escape stood outside the gates, huddled behind the few guards who remained, their weapons protecting those they could.

  Alert and watchful though they were, no one noticed the slight shimmer in the darkness as numerous dark figures scaled the walls of the embassy.

  Breaching the windows at several levels, they made their way through the corridors like an infection entering a bloodstream.

  “What is the meaning of this?” Feng tried to rise from the seat he was tied to as the second wave of intruders swarmed through the two doors of the office and the window.

  “We told you everything already. You talk to us of honor, but now you’re going back on your word?” he blurted in protest.

  The masked ninja lowered his face to the restrained technology officer. “I’m sorry, you must have mistaken us for someone else.”

  Chang Feng craned his head back to allow him to look into the man’s eyes. “Who a
re you?” he demanded, intent on drawing attention from the emperor if he at all could. Redemption was always something he could strive for.

  The intruder stood upright and moved catlike around the room, taking in the details of the situation as he spoke.

  “My name is Orochi, and we,” he indicated the team of half a dozen ninjas who now controlled the room, “are the protectors of the Sacred Clan’s secrets. We will do whatever it takes to preserve the technology and keep it from falling into the hands of outsiders and heathens.”

  One of the emperor’s officials found his courage and his voice. “What do you want from us?” he demanded from the footstool where the three of them had been tied up together, separate from the recently interrogated Chang Feng.

  Orochi turned on him like a snake and approached the lounge area of the office. “We want to know what you just told your captors.” He paused and glanced at one of his minions. “Your other captors,” he corrected, a hint of snide humor in his tone.

  “We told them nothing,” the other official protested. “Honestly.”

  “Honestly?” Orochi repeated. “You’re lying! He already said you told them everything,” he said, pointing in Chang’s direction without taking his eyes from the terrified, overdressed official. “Plus,” he added, “they wouldn’t have left you alive had you not cooperated. We know of their leader. He is ruthless.” He pulled a sword from its sheath on his back and placed it deftly at the man’s throat.

  “Tell us or die.”

  —

  Armed police stormed up the stairs of the embassy, clearing sections of the building as they went.

  “Get me eyes on this place,” an annoyed voice commanded through the radio as various statements of, “Clear” echoed over the shortwave communicators.

  A second voice reported back to him. “Sir, the central computer was compromised. We have someone trying to restore access to the cameras, but it may take some time.”

  Commander Ugaki looked dismayed as he nodded his understanding to Koga, his second-in-command, who acknowledged the information.