It was late in the evening in Honolulu, Hawaii. Most people were either turning in or enjoying the evening partying, but not street fighter and tourney entry Luke Blaze. As usual, he was up and about, running through the city streets, trying to get some last minute training and exercise. His match and Alex's were gonna be up and soon and he needed all the edge he could get before the big fight with his two targets - Guile and Ken. He wore a red tank top, yellow shorts, and white sneakers with white-bandaged tape on his fists.

Luke was also still reeling from the recent event of being somewhat humiliated in front of Guile when someone threw a stun grenade and poor Luke had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. After he'd woke up, he and Alex were treated to a game of finding and dancing with some pretty ladies at the luau they were having, but alas, it didn't go well for him or his partner.

Luke still remembered when he left the party and seeing Guile again.

FLASHBACK.

"Hey wait a minute, Blaze," said Guile.

"What?" said Luke, a little annoyed.

"Look man... I uh, I know it wasn't my fault, but sorry you had to be the butt of that cruel joke there. I mean... I felt kinda guilty what happened to ya there."

"Ah, forget about it," said Luke. "The fault was my own and I shouldn't have gotten too ahead of myself there. It'd be best to fight you and others in the contest anyways."

"Couldn't agree more there," said Guile. "And I don't admit this much, but after the little excursion there, I do remember facing you after all from the last US tourney. You were good though, but if you don't mind me saying so, you need to brush up on your skills and stamina there if you really want to dethrone Ken in the championship."

"Duly noted, soldier man," said Luke. "But I think you and your vest wearing friend there better do the same, 'cause I'm gonna be ready for ya both. But... if I don't make it this time, try to succeed against Ken this time okay? Someone's gotta take him down for the title sooner or later."

"That's... just one of the reasons I'm here," said Guile. "Either way may the best man win."

"Ditto," said Luke. "See ya at the tournament." The kick boxer then ran off into the sunset.

Guile sighed and shook his head.

"Man, now don't that remind ya too much of what either Ken, or yours truly was like?" he said.

"Aw, he don't seem to bad to me, Guile," Charlie replied. "Come on, let's get some rest, it's getting late, and then tomorrow we'll go over the info of the tourney.

END FLASHBACK.

My sensei once told me to never try to hold grudges, he thought. Hatred only makes it worse for ya in the end. But no matter what, I'll do my best and try to win the title of COF or US, if it's the last thing I do!

Luke then ran past a man smoking a cigar very heavily, but Luke had the misfortune of running into a bit of the patron's cigar smoke.

"KAFF-KAFF!" he coughed waving the smoke away. "Hey buddy ya wanna put that out when you're walking?" he said. "Other people are trying to live and breathe you know."

The stranger said nothing and then tossed the cigar into an alley after he was finished with it and then went on his way. "Butthead," Luke said as he ran off again. "What's his problem? As a matter of fact, I think I saw him along with the other tourney entries around here. And wouldn't ya know it, he's a huffin' puffin' stuffer-geez!"

While Luke continued his jog, another fighter was at large and ready to venture into his own agenda.

====

Penthouse Suite – The Makai

At the dining room table, Locke, using his laptop, was in the middle of cleaning out his email account. The sound of running water could be heard from the bathroom. Meliza had plans to spend only half the day in the office - the other half she was going to Honolulu to spend some time with relatives. Her uncle, also a hotel owner, wanted her to meet some of his business associates.

He had found out from her not too long ago that she and Karin Kanzuki had come across a little adventure - purely on accident of course.

"I didn't know he was going to get shot," Meliza had explained. "He wanted a job in my company, and then he was dead. Then the whole establishment went crazy. Karin and I managed to duck out of there before the police came."

He frowned, running his fingers through his black hair. While he was glad to know that she came out all right, a part of him was worried, too. Meliza had proven time and time again that she was more than capable of taking care of herself...but it didn't stop him from wondering what would happen if she were to...

Locke caught himself and forced the thought away. He couldn't allow himself to think anything like that. He'd lost someone before - if he could help it, he wasn't planning on a repeat.

After cleaning up his emails, he glanced up as Meliza emerged, dressed in a pale pink sleeveless blouse and a dark gray skirt that reached her knees. Her long hair was pulled up in a twist, away from her face.

"You planning on being good today?" he asked casually.

 She arched a brow. "It's just a meeting."

 "I've heard that before."

She grinned. "You can call my uncle to verify I'm going to meet him." Meliza raised her hands in surrender. "I'm not going anywhere else." She reached over to grab her purse, fishing inside for the directions, her eyes widening as she grasped a folded piece of paper she had forgotten about.

"What is it?" He hadn't missed the expression on her face.

Meliza pulled out the paper and unfolded it, skimming it and tossing it onto the table. "Holden's resume. I forgot that he had given it to me."

Locke leaned forward, reaching for the paper. "He was really serious about applying for a job, then."

"Yeah...and he made it sound as if it was the most natural thing in the world. As if anyone goes around applying for jobs like that," she shook her head.

His dark eyes narrowed before asking quietly, "Have you looked at this?"

"No, I put it away as soon as he gave it to me."

"Something's not right..." Locke began. "Some letters look larger than others..." He reached over to the fax machine and pulled out a piece of paper and wrote down the letters.

"Word scramble?" she asked, sitting down next to him once she saw what he was doing.

"'Answers'...and...," Locke frowned in thought. "The rest...look to be just repeating l, t, r...and..."

"Some of this is in Hawaiian," she said softly. At his puzzled look, she grinned at him. "So...based on your limited knowledge of the Hawaiian language and what you've heard from me...see if you can solve the puzzle, Detective."

He frowned, knowing that he could easily ask her for the answer. Locke stared at the piece of paper before indicating the letters. "These letters could spell out 'kai'...meaning 'sea'..." He began to write various letters on the page, in random order. "'Hoku'...meaning 'star'..."

"How did you know that?" she asked incredulously.

He shrugged. "A few days ago I was near Diamond Head...there was a jewelry store in the mall that had this word in its name."

Her smile widened. "I'm impressed."

A wry smile appeared. "Besides...I have to pick up some of the language to keep up with your cousins and their Hawaiian-English."

She laughed softly. "That last family reunion was pretty crazy...I'm glad you were able to come with me and get along with them."

"Free trip to Las Vegas...I couldn't resist," Locke answered, not flinching as Meliza socked his shoulder. He typed in some words into his laptop and turned it so they could see the screen as he scrolled down. Various jewelry stores, local and online, pictures of starfish, pictures of the ocean...

"Stop," she instructed, pointing at a link. "Hokuikekai...star of the sea..."

He settled back in his chair, selecting the link and viewing the page. "Six hotel properties...Honolulu, Waikiki, Maui, Hawaii, and Kauai...."

"Hotels?" Meliza glanced at him, confused. "Why would he point us in the direction of them all?"

Locke's eyes narrowed slightly. "One of them...or maybe all of them...can tell us what we're looking for."

"Or we're on a wild chase that will go in circles."

He shrugged. "It's all we have right now. I'll go to the other islands to investigate...and when I come back, we'll go to Honolulu and Waikiki."

She shifted slightly. "We'd save time if I just-"

"It's dangerous, so it's best if you wait."

While she could understand his concern for her considering what happened not too long ago, it was impractical to waste time. "I think-"

"Meliza," he cut her off firmly, his tone indicating that her arguments would be useless.

She blew out a breath and stared up at the ceiling.

He took her silence as agreement and shut down his laptop before placing it in its carrying case.

She sighed and looked away before saying in defeat, "How long will you be gone?"

"Three or four days at the most," he responded.

"All right..." Meliza reached out to wrap her arms around him, briefly resting her head against his chest. "Call me as soon as you find out anything. No matter how insignificant it seems."

He kissed her briefly before pulling away. "I will."

"Would you like a little help during your stay in Maui...?" she asked with a mischievous smile. At the warning look in his eyes, she quickly added, "Not from me...from someone else...I know a great place where you could stay for free..."
 

--Somewhere in Honolulu, around midday--

"'You'll be back at your hotel in a few hours, Wyn. I swear!' F--k you, Parker, you c--k-sucking ass-pirate sonuva-"

It took a lot of stress, a lot of stress, to make Natalie string together as many curses as she continued to do now, muttering under her breath, but twenty straight hours of doing things most agents never had to do seemed to nip her fuse a bit short. Crawling on her belly through the ventilation ducts of a building filled with questionable smells and the loud hum of various machines was uncomfortable enough. Doing so after infiltrating two other buildings - with a fully armed team and everything - only to find that both leads were bogus, made it all the more aggravating. It was quite possible that something illegal was going on in this place - a three story building in Honolulu - but Natalie guessed that whatever it was, it was likely a matter for the police. Not the Feds, and certainly not for a lone agent sent to do would-be spy work because any more large scale botch-ups would look bad. They'd nearly scared the factory workers in the last building to death.

She peered carefully through every vent, and only saw crates, boxes, or empty rooms. In a couple of rooms she found a handful of people packing something which she couldn't identify into the crates, but since that wasn't what they were looking for, she moved on, guided now and then by the team's intelligence operative, Michael Kovich. Parker had chided her every now and then through her ear piece early on, but had since quieted down, all attention now focused on the objective. Natalie found it odd that she usually had been, and was now being sent on missions involving more of this kind of work and less of what she knew traditional Feds did. On average, agents were given a partner, and the two were given assignments that mostly required investigating into something and on occasion a gun was brandished and back-up called in. She'd done far more brandishing than investigating, and rarely did she have a partner. As she continued her crawl-and-peek routine, Parker's words came back to her mind. "They were grooming you for Section. Quite the opportunity."

She didn't know a lot about the group, but had heard of a couple of issues reportedly resolved by "a third party." Kovich had shared with her years back that those words were usually associated with the elitist group of Section. If Parker was right, then it may have been possible that she was thrown into the FBI as an impromptu training exercise, and had been intended for Section all along. She really hoped that was untrue. She planned on as short a career in the field as possible, even if Parker didn't keep up his end of the deal.

====

Downtown Honolulu

Ming carefully reviewed his notes as he exited the museum. The curator was kind enough to give him plenty of information on artifacts located across the Pacific Islands. He figured he might as well start with what was local. What the curator had said had been a little disturbing...

He had been staring at a statue made to resemble King Kamehameha, covered with a bright yellow and red cloak made of bird feathers.

"The craftsmanship is impressive," the curator had spoken as he made his way towards him.

Ming glanced in his direction. "Yes...it is..."

"It was said that such an item not only distinguished him as royalty, but it protected him. Royalty were living containers of mana...the universal life force...and if any mana were to escape its container, it could not only harm its original vessel...but anyone else who was nearby. Many Polynesians had several methods of binding or containing mana. Tattoos...cloaks...these were several forms of protection..."

Ming's eyes travelled up the statue to rest on the face made in honor of the great king who unified all of Hawaii. "So...anything that touched a vessel as protection...would also have some form of it?"

"Correct." The old man smiled wistfully. "The Polynesians would use different methods to harness this power...they placed items containing mana in their ships so they could sail...in their spears and shields when they were at war...In ancient times, such items could only be handled either by royalty or by chiefs..."

"But if someone had the ability to use it without getting harmed...they could?" Ming had asked.

The older gentleman had nodded his head once.

At least it was a start.

It was better than nothing.

And he wouldn't be surprised if other cultures around the world had the same belief...that certain artifacts in their history contained power.

He frowned as he made his way towards the center of downtown Honolulu. Might as well catch up on some souvenir shopping...it'd be a good time to buy some things for people back home.

Until he caught sight of two familiar figures across the street sitting outside of a coffee shop.

Ming quickly slipped behind the shadows of a palm tree.

Pablo.

Juli.

Go figure.

They sat at a table outside shielded by an umbrella. Between them, a well-dressed man with glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. Ming couldn't hear from this distance, but the conversation seemed to be lacking in tension.

Click. Click. Click.

Ming glanced to his right to see a young woman aiming her camera to the buildings behind them, a single reflex with a telescope lens in her hands.

"Excuse me..." he spoke up. "Nice camera. How far can you see with that?"

She looked up and blinked. "Oh...pretty far." She glanced at him, noticing that he looked towards the café. "Why?"

"Just curious."

She began to set her camera on a tripod, turning knobs here and there. "Are you trying to spy on your girlfriend?"

"What?" Ming stared at her incredulously.

With a warm smile, she shook her head. "There's only one reason why you're looking towards that café..." She adjusted her camera one more time before pointing towards it. "Here."

Ming grinned at her and took a look, zooming in with the lens.

"You should trust her. If there is no trust...what's the point?" the woman asked.

"I'm just a little worried about the company she keeps, that's all..."
 

====

Meanwhile, outside of the Makai...

Bushinryu ninja and Metro City Hero Guy sat cross-legged upon a small hill, deep in meditation. However, he soon discovered that no place holds enough silence for anyone or for long.

"Hey Guy, wassup?" said Cody patting him on the back.

"Uh, nothing, until you came in," replied Guy. "But otherwise okay as usual."

"Oh, sorry about interrupting your meditation there," said Cody.

"S'alright," said Guy. "It's good that you're here as well. Having an old friend takes the pressure off that I'm not alone in this... pursuit."

"Pursuit?" said Cody. "Ah, I take it that you see this as more than just another fighting tourney, right?"

"Bingo," said Guy grinning. He then reached under his belt and showed Cody the envelope he received weeks ago at his doorstep and pointed out the stamp on the back. Cody recognized it as well.

"Oh, them again... Shadowlaw." Cody said.

"No matter how many times any of us put him away or out, Me, Rose, Chun-Li, Guile, Charlie, and especially Ryu and Ken, he pops up again like the bad penny that he is," Guy remarked.

"I heard he took it pretty bad at Fighter's Isle years ago," said Cody. "But true, ya can't keep a good lug down. Well, no matter, we've kicked his ilk ourselves before. And whatever kind of madcap plan he's got, we'll face it again."

"That's the spirit," said Guy. "And... maybe if we're lucky, we'll get to kick some more can during the contest."

"Yeah, but let's see who wins besides Ryu and Ken for once," said Cody.

"You said it," said Guy. "By the way, who's that fellow in the Hawaiian shirt you brought in with you earlier?"

"He said his name is Aaron Volpe," said Cody. "Nice, but an oddball guy. He says he can't recall much of his past, and that he simply needs money by fighting in the contest."

"To live on till he regains his old life?"

"Ah, no... he said he wanted money for doughnuts."

"Rrriight..." Guy raised an eyebrow in response and sweat dropped. "Well, just as long as long as he don't get unfit from it... that is, if he wins."

"Yeah, but maybe he should buy a better wardrobe while he's at it!"

The two friends laughed long and hard as they gazed at the setting sun.

"I also wish that Haggar was with us in the contest like he was in our battles against the Mad Gears and other terrorist gangs," said Guy.

"Hey, as long as Mike's got the political arena in his hands, he's doing fine," said Cody. "But... maybe someday, if we find one of those team tournaments they have in other countries, maybe the three of us along with Maki could enter in one them, together as the Final Fight heroes."

"Team tourneys?" said Guy. "Where are such things like that?"

"Hey, I get around in the fighting world myself ya know," said Cody. "There was this city in the south that came up with one and they've been holding 'em in Japan lately and well - maybe we could discuss that when this tourney is over and we get back home."

"Good idea," said Guy.

"Well, best of luck at the next part of the contest, Guy," said Cody. "I intend to give it my best and then some."

"Same here," said Guy as he shook Cody's hand firmly. "May the best man win!"

Cody then returned to the town area to get some more training while Guy continued his meditation.

====

--Room No. 87, The Makai--

While in one of the rooms of the hotel, Ryu and Chun-Li were resting after yesterday's match that had occurred between herself and Iwa. Li was in a robe with her hair down and a cold compress was placed on her forehead, while Ryu sat cross-legged in a sofa chair across from her.

Ryu watched her with great concern in his eyes; he couldn't believe what had occurred. They catch up with their beloved Iwa only to have Chun-Li fight and reach a no-contest in the latest tourney match.

Iwa has gotten stronger and more skilled since we last saw her. Ryu thought. I just hope she knows what she's doing when this is all over.

Ryu then heard a groan.

"Chun-Li?" he said. "Are you all right?"

Li sat up and wiped the dampness of her face with a dry washcloth.

"Iwa's... gotten better than we expected," she said. "I just wish she hadn't gone overboard with that last move."

Ryu grinned. "She's learned well you know."

"I know," said Li. "And don't worry, she'll be all right once this plan is completed."

"I hope so," said Ryu. "She's dealing with Shadaloo scum here - and the worst of the bunch."

"She learned from the best and then some," said Li. "As long as she doesn't blow her cover,she should be all right... but not a word of this to the others got it?"

"Sure thing," said Ryu. "I can't wait to see who's next in the matches tomorrow."

====

Finally... Natalie let herself breathe a sigh of relief. ...I've got something.

From her vantage point, Natalie peered through intently at the action below, all the while formulating an effective course of action. Thankfully, she had demanded to have Claire and a few other things extracted from the hotel, and Parker had grudgingly complied. Keeping her eyes on the men below and the situation unfolding, she carefully unbuckled the leather that kept the .454 snug in her holster against her right thigh. Her Kevlar vest felt a little uncomfortable, but she was thankful for the protection it would give her. Various pockets, along with her belt, would provide enough extra ammo to level at least three-dozen foes, for both the Casul and the Beretta M9 she currently clutched in her left hand. Parker had scoffed at her need for a secondary weapon, but then he wasn't exactly risking his ass. If she'd had her way, she'd have gotten some minor explosives and a shotgun as well, but crawling around as she was, she didn't exactly have a large carrying capacity. Natalie watched the men load the apparently living, yet limp bodies into cramped holding containers, keeping her attention on their conversation. Through her mic, Parker and the others could hear bits of it as well.

"Hurry it up! They're expecting this shipment by tonight. How many are packed so far?" the one seeming in charge griped. He was a tall, slender man, with a greasy, unkempt look to him, oily black hair slicked back and a cheap tan suit. He did almost nothing but stand and watch the others. Nine did the lifting and packing, four seemed there as extra muscle in case any incidents happened... fourteen in total.

"Only fifteen, sir. We had a problem with the medication."

Natalie narrowed her eyes and whispered into her communications mic, "Parker, you getting this? These have got to be the ones." She heard a huff, then, "About time. How many?"

"Fourteen in this room, counting their boss. at least three dozen more throughout the complex. At least four are armed. Engage?"

"Of course. Extreme prejudice, but keep the leader alive. We're infiltrating the rest of the building now." By "we" he was probably excluding himself.

"Got it." She took a breath and breathed a prayer silently. There were a lot of innocent people to worry about. A gun-fight could be fatal for some of them, if she wasn't careful. With the flexibility of a cat, she manoeuvred herself sideways across the shaft, placing her boots silently against the steel, her face almost pressed to the vent with her body in a tight ball. Even with the vest, she would be slender enough to fit. Taking one last look to gauge how fast each opponent would react, and how accurately, Natalie then twisted enough to duck her head, crossing her forearms above it, then pushed hard with her feet, knocking the covering off the vent and launching herself out, rolling once along the floor into a crouching position when she hit.

Shouts broke first, then gunfire, but it was her bullets that struck their targets first. She rolled to her left, towards the leader, who appeared to be procuring a weapon from under his jacket, however he was fumbling with it. Two targets were down, one certainly dead, and a third soon joined them, before Natalie tired of the lack of power the M9 held and pulled Claire out, holstering the Beretta with the other hand. If she was going to kill them, she'd much rather be sure they were dead on the first hit and take no chances of retaliation from a target that appeared to be down. The leader finally took aim at her, only to have his gun knocked from his hands with a spinning back-kick, following by a simple standing sidekick that bloodied his nose and stunned him for the time being.

Having no time nor patience to run for cover from the spray of bullets, she used her Neo Shift technique several times in rapid succession, appearing only as a blue-black blur zig-zagging across the room and pausing only split-seconds to return fire. She was careful to avoid any of the containers holding the prone subjects, though she winced every time a stray bullet hit one of them, and she could only hope it had somehow missed the living occupants. Luckily for her, these guys were rather poor marksmen. The only bullet that struck her hit her vest, and would only leave a nasty bruise later. Every round launched from Claire found its mark in a spray of bone-chips, blood and soft tissues. The fortunate ones were killed instantly. Those less fortunate lay in stunned, convulsing helplessness, gurgling protests as they bled to death. Nine targets had been subdued or killed by the time she re-holstered the Casull and reverted to the M9 to finish the remaining five. Blue eyes were cold, set in an expressionless face as she absorbed each death with more apathy than regret. When had she gotten so used to it? When had it become so very easy to deal out the carnage that decorated the room - and her - now? When it started involving more than just my life at stake, she answered for herself. Parker knew exactly what he was doing when he brought Jin into the equation.

The last man fell and Natalie turned to the leader just in time to see him picking up his gun again, one hand busy trying to stem the flow of blood from his nose. One more Neo Shift and she was on his back, roughly yanking his arms behind him as he struggled to roll over. The gun fell away, useless as Special Agent Wynshire twisted his arm until he screamed and released the weapon. Keeping the man pinned on his belly, Natalie went through the motions of reciting his Miranda rights as she pulled the handcuffs from her belt and snapped them on his wrists. "You have the right to remain silent..." She was practically sing-songing the rest as she planted both feet firmly on the ground and hoisted him up by the arms while he babbled incoherently. "Wh-what the hell is wrong with you? Y-you can't.... can't just come in here with no warrant and.... You'll see! I'll get out, you'll see. My boss'll take care of it!" Those words, of all of them, made the most sense amid his rattling.

She heard gunfire throughout the building now, and simply sighed as she used a second pair of cuffs to bind her captive to a crate in order to save her the trouble of dealing with him should he try anything. She sat and waited for the others to arrive and looked at her watch. "...I hate my job."

====

--The Lobby, the Makai--

Sitting alone on a couch sofa was a Shadaloo agent. She was dressed in a black trench coat and hat and had light red hair and was speaking on a small black cell phone.

"Yes sir," she said. "This is agent Juni reporting. Yes, everything is still going according to plan. Yes sir, I have further photos and statistics and info on each of the fighters and am heading to the local HQ located in town. Yes sir, I will have the info downloaded ASAP. Yes sir, over and out."

Suddenly, just as she got up and turned around, she saw someone sitting across from her behind the couch.

It was Shing Venom himself.

She gasped softly as she saw him.

He was sitting in a white sofa chair, one hand on his lap and the other he rested on his chin. He appeared to be lost deep in thought as he was thinking about something since his eyes were closed.

Juni breathed a sigh of relief. Good, he didn't see me after all,. she thought. But... Shing Tao Venom? What the hell is he doing here, at this tournament?!

Juni still remembered several months ago when she, Juli and April tried to break into his hideaway in the forests and jungles of Rio. They tried to rob his secret vault, but instead found him to be a fierce fighter and killer - and Agent April paid with her life for their intrusion.

I should go and kill him for what he did to her! she thought acidly. But... no, not now. Not yet anyways. I have business to conduct, but I'd best report this to the Master next time I get a chance. I just hope he doesn't plan on being a nuisance of any kind while he's here.

Juni then went off to her destination point, but little did she know, once she left, Shing's eyes opened and a wicked grin crept on his face.

It's her, I'm sure of it, he thought as he arose. He then went off to follow her.
While he was about to shadow her, he still remembered his just recent encounter with Locke and his irritating gesture as well as words.

"Trouble" he says? Ha, he doesn't know the meaning of it and I shall do as I chose since I am here! I didn't come to this island for just a vacation - I shall find and do away with this Shadaloo, and if that fool Locke gets in my way or even breathes in my direction - he too shall fall before my hand!

Juni then went into town by way of cab and was dropped off at a lone warehouse near the beaches. She then went up to the door entrance and lifted a hidden panel near it. Underneath was a secret set of ID controls. Juni then placed her left eye up to the scanner and a red beam shone over it.

"Retina scan confirmed," said a computerized voice. "Welcome to Shadaloo Hawaii HQ, Agent Juni,"

"Agent Juni..." said a voice behind her.

"WHAT?!" she replied in a startled fashion.

It was Shing himself.

"Ah, we meet again my dear," he said smiling.

"What?" she said. "I... never met you before in my life!"

"Liar... typical scum," he said.

Juni then went for her hidden firearm, but Shing grabbed her by the wrist and squeezed it in a grasp of iron. "You, along with your companions, dared to invade my home. I recognize your voice, and your size and shape. You were one of the three thieves from this... Shadaloo."

Juni struggled.

"Release me at once - you common criminal!" she said. "You don't know who you're dealing with!"

"Oh I don't do I?" he said. "I have crushed many powerful crime lords under my feet... and your kind is no different. Speaking of which, where is he? Where do I find this... Bison?"

"I will tell you nothing!" said Juni as she kicked him in the shins. Shing felt the kick, but gave no sign of withdraw.

"No matter." he said. "You appear to have a place here where I can find my answers." He then slammed the back of his fist into her face, knocking her unconscious and leaving her to the ground.

"Be grateful that I am in no mood to kill accomplices at this time," he said. Shing then turned to the scanner Juni was at.

"Please identify yourself," said the computer.

Shing scowled and slammed his fist right through the controls.

"BAMMM----ZZZT!"

"Identification confirmed," said the computer before it shorted out and the doors opened.

"Excellent." said Shing as he entered and found a lone stairway that led to darkness.
"If this Bison is here, then I shall usurp him before this night is through."

====

--Room No. 105, The Makai--

She didn't make it back to the Makai until almost one-thirty that night. Or rather, the next morning. She wasn't the least bit surprised when Parker had informed her that her fiancé had escaped. Kyle was willing to let it slide in light that the mission was - for the most part - a success. They were interrogating the man she'd taken in now, and recovered various forms of evidence that the people being transported were heading for a scientific facility. With the man's confession, they hoped to connect it to Umbrella Pharmaceuticals, to aid in a years-long investigation into the company. Either way it went, Natalie didn't care as she slid her card-key in the door-lock and entered the room. It was dark but not so much that she didn't see the figure lying on the bed. She sighed heavily and forced a smile, "Honey, I'm home." The jest would probably not go over very well.

"Y'know... it's a good thing this place doesn't hold a curfew, right?"

Natalie's expression turned a bit wry. "Yep, cuz then I'd have to sneak in. There's no way I'm going to try to make it an even 48 hours without sleep." She sighed, divested of all weapons and her wallet and badge, and then flopped tiredly across the foot of the bed. She needed a shower, but couldn't bring herself to crawl in there just yet.

"Knowing you, you'll roll over during the night and crash into the floor, sleeping like that" Jin commented. He had heard Parker was notorious for putting Natalie through demanding, strenuous tasks in the past, something he himself could relate to once past. Her clothes had managed to carry the faint smells of blood and gun smoke, tickling his nostrils, but he was relieved to see no traces of blood or bullet wounds on her. "Hey, you still awake?"

With arms above her head and legs sprawled, she nodded mutely, then noticed it was dark, suddenly feeling more or less like an idiot. Nothing new really, being caught and all the events following proved that already. "Mmm hmm..." she answered, resting one arm over her eyes. He was right that if she didn't move soon, or at least keep talking, she'd go to sleep right there. And wake up on the floor.

"Good," Jin responded, simply out of acknowledgement of Nat's reply, drifting back into momentary silence. With a tired, exhausted groan, Natalie peeled herself off the bed, moving to a more favorable position, lying next to Jin who still had his attention focused upwards. Just as Natalie was about to ask him what he was thinking about, Kushina spoke out first. "So...what plans do you have tomorrow?" He already had a feeling what the answer would be, but since he wasn't about to fall asleep anytime soon, he might as well attempt to spark a conversation.

"I had planned to kill my superior, but that might land me in jail," Natalie started. "So I guess I'll be going back to work now. I'm not about to go in before I get at least half a day's worth of sleep though. Parker can very well kiss my ass," she grumped, resting her head on his shoulder, not really noticing or caring about the fact that she still wore her work clothes, minus the vest and other protective gear. She took some comfort in the fact that Jin was no longer in lock-down, but knew it would happen again if she didn't fulfill her duties. Either way, she just didn't feel like thinking too much on it. The future was what they would make of it... at least she hoped.

"Mmm hmm," Jin said. He himself didn't have any plans for tomorrow. He and Fei's next match wouldn't be for a good while, and he didn't feel like training tomorrow either, despite his last training session being interrupted. "Well, I might just stay in tomorrow, but I'll probably see what Fei's up to first." He hadn't heard from or seen the Hong Kong native in a while, but when one was well known as Fei Long was, you couldn't exactly afford to be around openly all the time.

She nodded against his shoulder with a sigh. "Tell him 'hi' for me. Funny. We get to Hawaii, and it's only to beat up people, get beat up, or work." She snorted softly at the irony and forced a small smile, "Some vacation I planned, huh?" She'd have to get that shower soon; her body was slipping into lethargy. Still, she didn't move. That bruise on her chest was starting to really smart, too.

"Yeah, some vacation..." Jin trailed off. He draped one arm lazily around Natalie, who took it as an invitation to snuggle up closer to him. Still, Kushina made no attempt to slip into a slumber. At this rate, he thought, I might have to have a shower or something... A few seconds later he felt Natalie moving again, but this time up into a seated position, and gradually off the bed. "Where you off to?" Jin questioned.

"Taking a shower," was the reply, followed after by her walking out of the bedroom door.

"Wait, I was just about to go," Jin half-protested. Well, he hadn't completely, totally decided on going yet, but waiting to go for a shower after Natalie was usually something he tended to avoid. "By the time you finish I'd have fallen asleep wait-" Jin stopped in mid-speech. "Never mind," he finished, lying himself back on the bed and resuming his late-night musings.

Natalie leaned out of the doorway and peered at him with a wry look. "You know, you could just join me," she mused as she dropped her shirt and jacket on a disgruntled Freckle who had intended to pad into the bathroom behind her. The cat wormed its way out of a sleeve and stared up at her, ears back as she ignored him.

"You're right, I could," Jin said. The thought had crossed his mind, but he also hadn't wanted to be the one to initiate it into action. "Let's just say I'll think about it." He wasn't that eager to follow after her yet, plus he felt like at least teasing her for a bit.

Another article of clothing was tossed in his direction, landing on the bed as she walked to the shower to run the water, smirking to herself. Always difficult, that man. "You keep thinking about it and my shower will be over and I'll be asleep for the next 12 hours. So I hope you enjoy whatever you're brooding over."

Jin let out a small smile to himself, knowing he could still afford to hold his ground for a few more short moments. "Will do," he shouted back Especially when what I'm "brooding over" is what's going to happen to you once I get off this bed.