Board Fighters 2 Chapter 35: Tribulation Writer: Vicky (w/ Animenadie, Gouki and Iwa)    


-Somewhere in Pattaya, Thailand-



Pablo stared out critically at the row of passing houses and vehicles as he and Juli cruised down various residential streets. After flashing a satisfied smile he brought the sports car to a stop, just in front of a large single-story house.



"Looks like Tai's home," Pablo noted as he spied out a silver-grey convertible parked on the house's driveway.



"Nice place." Juli made a quick survey of the area with an immediate expression of approval. Tai's chosen profession had certainly served him well, enabling him to dwell comfortably in what had to be one of the quiet, nicer parts of the city.



Pablo stepped out of the car and headed towards the front door, with Juli right behind him. He rung the doorbell once, and waited. Just when he was about to ring it again, the door then opened to reveal a slim Asian figure with dyed blond hair and strong, weathered features. He wore a simple grey button shirt over a pair of slacks.



Tai stared at the pair confusingly for a frozen second, then he spoke. "Pablo?"



Veracruz nodded with a small smile.



Tai's eyes widened with some surprise, then he spoke again. "The f--k brings you over here, Veracruz? Ran out of whores over in the West?"



Pablo's grin only grew wider at the joke. "Same reason I'm always anywhere, Tai: business." He emphasized his response by gesturing towards Juli. "This is my partner, Juli."



Juli gave a simple nod.



"I see," Tai responded. "So what does this have to do with me?"



"I'd prefer not to speak on that outside, if you don't mind."



"Fair enough," came the reply. He then stepped to the side. "Come on in."



---



-U.P.R.F-



Footsteps and the sound of someone struggling with equipment alerted Doctor Yamada and Doctor Yalana to company. Popping his head out from the room where he had been comparing notes with Yalana, it confirmed his guess that Doctor Ryan had brought down that somewhat flighty assistant technician. He frowned on seeing Doctor Markus trailing behind them, taking in the environment like some sort of a tourist in museum. If it hadn't been for him they wouldn't need to reroute the camera.



"Well you wanted some kind of results." The blond commented on seeing Yamada. He stopped walking when he reached the young soldier's cell and idly studied him. After jotting down some notes he joined the others outside Victoria's cell. Yamada soon joined them. He noted the young soldier had come to the bars and observed them. Was it out of concern?



"Boss, she looks ready to eat me," the technician commented to Ryan, afraid to be the first one to enter her cell.



The person they were waiting for finally arrived, strolling casually towards as she finished off her cookie. Yamada caught the change in expression on Victoria's face as Satsuki, the Assistant Doll, stepped into Victoria's line of sight. Even with the do-rag covering the top of her head and stray locks of black and red hair escaping from the nape, it had given Victoria a very specific impression of her identity.



"Iwa!!!" She called out. Her very action led to a mad bout of scribbling from his fellow scientists, the Doll made no acknowledgement. Why should she?



"Iwa!! This has gone too far!!!" She rushed to bars. "Damn it!!! Look at me when I'm talking to you!!!"



The Doll looked to Yamada as a silent conversation passed between them. He smiled in approval and the Doll just shrugged and turned to face the captive. Confusion deepened upon the young captive's face at seeing someone familiar yet appearing to be such a stranger. She took a nervous step back when the cell gates slid open. The leering Doll casually walked right into the cell as Victoria backed away. Alarm bells were probably ringing in her head warning her that something was so very wrong and she couldn't quite place it.



At the same time the assistant technician inched his way into the cell and set about to dismantle the remaining wiring.



"Victoria chan!!" She's not Iwa." The young soldier cried out from his cell, as if that would ease the situation.



"Then who the hell is she?!"



"Who am I suppose to be." The Doll smiled, tapping the identity card clipped to her pocket. Little gestures too similar to an old ally failed to allay her confusion. Whatever it was that made the Master integrate little gestures of the trio of Dolls to each other was quite brilliant indeed. Her former allies knew it was not her and yet it confused them enough.



He caught the girl staring from the Doll to the working technician and back. Was she thinking of escaping? Yamada scribbled something down and the Doll seemed to have caught on as she dropped into stance.



"You're welcomed to try." She smiled broadly, knowing Victoria was not in optimum condition to fight.



With a whimper, the technician finished off his job, scrambled down the ladder and scurried out of the cell with his equipment. Breathing a sigh of relief that he was still alive he started work on installing the outer camera to monitor Victoria.



"Boss. Wouldn't she try to kill the camera again?" The technician commented, likely afraid of coming down here again.



"She's welcomed to try, Tim. You'll just have to keep coming down here for repairs until she runs out of things to throw." Yamada laughed, watching the Doll slip out of the cell and gates slid shut.



"Won't it give him ideas?" Yalana indicated their other test subject.



"Not while she's here. Though I doubt he'll try anything until Squirrel-chan comes back. Unless I'm wrong that they are no longer interested in redeeming her." Yamada winked.



"You know we can start on her today." Doctor Markus joined in the conversation.



"Has she acclimated?"



"A few hours more, but since the Psycho Drive can be up in about a hour, it shouldn't be a problem." There was a huge smile on his face for he was eager to start after seeing Victoria's antics.



"Weren't you the one with the 'no testing on first day' policy?" Yalana turned to him.



"Its no big deal. The sooner we get results, the easier it is to report to Master. A good mind like hers shouldn't be idle too long."



"Aren't you afraid of blowing up her brains?" Ryan added much to the annoyance of Markus.



"Hey!!!" A shout came from the cell of the young solider but it was drowned out by the brewing argument.



A little tug on his sleeve distracted Yamada. The Doll jerked her head slightly to indicate attention to the young soldier. Yamada winked back in response, he had not missed the reaction. Someone seemed more active today.



"There's the off chance she might snatch Ferret-chan during the dive. We don't want her slaughtering us now do we?" Yamada pushed his glasses up. The first dive would be pretty much a battle of wills to link up. If their captive turned out stronger than their Doll they would be in deeper trouble than simply blowing up their test subject through a Psycho Power overload. At least the master had sent them the more disciplined Dolls.



"Think about the results."



"I am curious about the outcome…" Yamada toyed with the idea. But he disliked being rushed into it, especially by Markus



"Leave her alone!"



There was a little tug on his sleeve and he sidestepped to it. A projectile whizzed passed his head hitting the frustrated Markus square in the face. Even though it's merely a coffee roll, the already frustrated doctor lost it, with two fingers in a circling motion he gestured to the camera.



"Damn you," he cursed.



As if in response, John grimace as someone in the control room activated his pain receptors. Not satisfied with the apparent tolerance to the mild force, the German doctor made the similar motion in an ascending manner. The magnitude of the pain stimulation increase forcing the young soldier to his knees, still he tried to fight it. He scribbled something down in his notes.



"Doll-chan." Yamada addressed the Doll, from his point of view this would only serve to build up the young soldier's tolerance to the magnitude of the pain stimulation. She understood as she whipped out her remote and overrode the controls. Gradually she decreases the stimulation.



"Still in one piece?" Yamada addressed his colleague.



"He's going to kill us one of these days," Markus hissed as he rubbed his face and nursed a wounded pride.



"Well, lucky us it's only a bread roll. It could have been a boot or that knife Squirrel-chan gave him." Yamada squinted at the camera. "Makes you wonder if the techie was sleeping on his job." Squatting down by the young soldier, Yamada was scribbling away again.



"Good aim, Little Ookami," he had to add. He was waiting for John to get his bearings again before addressing him seriously.



"So. What were you saying?"



"Leave her alone… Test me first," John managed to say.



"See even he agrees with us." Yamada laughed as he scribbled down the words 'get new Sudoku booklet'



"Ryan. Prep the Psycho Drive. We start work after lunch, if we can get through this without blowing him up then we're on a good thing." Yamada hopped to his feet, his colleague gave him a thumbs-up in answer.



"After lunch? The machine will be up in a hour. No need to wait that long."



"I don't like working on an empty stomach." He rummaged through his pockets and retrieved an uneaten ham sandwich and tossed it by John's side.



"Come along people." A rather chirpy Yamada led team out. At the end of the corridor Satsuki deviated from the team and took up her station near the entrance, remaining quiet and out of the way from the prisoners.



~*~*~*~*~



Reclining in his plush chair situated across from the wide-screen flat-panel television in his living room, Special Agent Kyle Parker took a long draw of the cigarette tucked between the first two fingers of his right hand. A crooked smile twisted his lips as he glanced over the printed statement from his offshore account. Even if his leg still hurt like hell sometimes, it was well worth it for the amount of money he got paid.



As the television news droned on in the background, Parker thought back to the first time he'd met Agent Natalie Wynshire. Back then, he'd never been able to see why she was deemed a valuable asset to anyone. She was bratty, annoying, moody, and she ate every snack in the damned break room. As far as he had been concerned, she was a jailbait test to fish out the office lechers… at least he'd thought that until he saw her after her first mission.



After an extended, nearly non-stop crash course of training, she had been sent as the trump card in a team of agents targeting an arms dealer's business. As expected, the man refused simple arrest warrants and the result was an all-out gunfight. Two members of the team were killed, two others injured, including Wynshire, yet the brat had been the one, using her freakish pyrokinetic ability, to put an end to most of the conflict.



Unfortunately, she'd also killed the man they intended to take alive for questioning, but overall it was considered a success. It was the first of many, as she was sent from state to state, then country-to-country.



She wasn't the only "person of special talent and interest" in the bureau; just the only one Parker had personally met. And when she went on her last mission to Fighter's Isle, her former SAC retired, leaving Parker to be her superior in the States.



Her failed mission and subsequent death had reflected poorly on him, and he was demoted from his newly acquired position of SAC to simply another agent. And it was all because the little !#%@+ decided to play hooky from her job.



For four damned years, Kyle struggled to get back to Special Agent in Charge, where he hoped to then move on to Assistant Director. And when he finally attained that small step… she came back into his work life.



Another taste of sweet nicotine, then Kyle smiled and sighed a gust of smoke. "Now, she's where she belongs," he mused to himself, loving the additional monetary benefit of his revenge.



Interrupting his selfish wallowing, a knock came at the door. With a soft snort, Kyle turned off the television and got up. "He's too damn early," he muttered as he reached for the doorknob.



The door barely cracked open before it pushed open forcefully to catch a surprised Parker in the chest, reeling him backwards. The agent is only given the chance to wince in pain while a gloved hand clasped around his face and his right leg was kicked out from under him. He heard the door slam shut just as a burst of pain exploded at the back of his head, courtesy of his skull being driven against the unforgiving carpet floor. Parker, still too stunned to fully react, tried to will the pain away from his senses. With the gloved hand still pressed over his face, Kyle stared up at his assailant.



His blood froze.



"Nice house, Kyle," Jin said. He was smiling, yet the look could be described as anything, including rage.



"Wh-what the fu-"



His reply was cut off as Jin drove his head against the floor once more.



"Shut up," he warned, allowing his anger to surface in his features. "You remember what I told you last time?"



"Th-this is assaul-"



As before, Jin didn't let Kyle finish whilst adding to his pain. "This time I came for your head, you conniving, c-ck-munching traitorous f--k!"



Parker's breath caught in his lungs as he realised the implication behind the word 'conniving.' Did Jin find out somehow? No way, Parker inwardly told himself. There's nothing to link me to what happened to her.



Going on that assumption, on that hope, Kyle spat out his reply while wrestling in vain to pry the deadly hand off his face. "What the hell are you referring to, Kushina? I told you-"



This time, Jin emptied his left fist into Parker's stomach.



"The game is up, Parker," Jin stated. As Kushina kept Parker pinned down, he fished his free hand into his jacket pocket. Kyle could only stare with a growing dread, which peaked at the surprised expression his face wore as Jin brandished Natalie's phone. His surprise then morphed into a visible trace of fear as the events of his treachery revisited him in the form of a recorded mp3 audio transcript.



The gravity of the situation caused him to tremble inwardly.



In spite of his fear, however, Parker's typical snide nature returned. No point in denying now, he thought as the recording ended and he watched Jin put the phone back into his pocket. Though a chagrined smirk formed to replace his pained expression, there remained some nervousness in his tone - rightfully so. "A cellphone… heh. Who'd have thought she was such a clever little !#%@+."



Jin matched Parker's smirk with a similar one of his own. What happened next was too fast for Kyle to witness fully. One moment, Jin was reaching one hand into the inner folds of his jacket; the next was that same hand lashed out towards him. Parker then felt something collide against his temple, before everything around him went dark.



~*~*~*~*~



-U.P.R.F. - Level 2-



The metallic shackles that restrained his wrists and ankles slid open. It took a moment for him to register that nothing held back his movement, and then he slowly glided off the hard seat he was freed from. Feeling zero strength in his legs, he fell to his knees and held himself up by fisted hands.



At first, Sean Matsuda did nothing to study his surroundings, as he waited for his body to recover from the forced paralysis instilled on him by the uncomfortable restraints. He didn't miss much. The room was empty; the only thing adorning the steel walls was a long, horizontal mirror and there was no obvious way in or out. Other than Sean, the only other thing in the room was the metal seat he was released from and its various appendages leading to unknown places through the back wall.



He tried standing, being successful at least half way, supporting himself from the armrests of the cold furnishing. After he managed an upright position, his next self-given task was to assess the thoughts going through his head.



What's my name? Sean… Matsuda? Yeah that sounded about right.



Other than that he knew nothing. Not where he was nor how he got there. The only familiar face that came to mind was his own, recognizable only because he had just glanced at its reflection on the mirror.



Friends? Family? Matsuda had practically forgotten what those terms meant.



He looked down at his hands, moving each finger once, finally feeling more comfortable with mobility. Sean glanced briefly at what he wore, light blue shirt and pants, something very similar to what patients in a hospital bear.



To his right, a door suddenly slid open on what had been a seemingly solid wall. Sean cautiously peeked into the dark corridor. Startled, he jumped back, as a chain reaction of fluorescent light fixtures illuminated the hallway. After deciding there was nothing more for him to do in the empty chamber, he began making his way through the passageway with slow, cautious steps.



Not long after, Matsuda found himself facing a dead end. Looking back, he considered returning to his starting point but soon dismissed the thought and investigated more options to move on forward away from the test chamber. A quick glance above and he discovered that the next route would take him through the air ducts.



After an effortless hop on the ball of his feet and a strong tug, he removed the metallic vent and pulled himself up into the duct. Compressed by the tiny space, he was able to move only by crawling on his belly. Sean progressed slowly, reaching at last another vent through which by peering carefully, he noted there was nothing in the room below of interest for it was another empty chamber. The ventilation duct ended just a meter from his position, and the vent in front of him was the only obvious exit from the passageway, giving Matsuda no other option than to maneuver his way out of the duct and into the room below.



He reached the cold floor with a crouching position, a low thud announcing his landing. Like the floor, all four walls were also made of steel, but the wooden door opposite of him differentiated this room from the previous and otherwise identical one.



Sean began making his way to the door, but stopped at the sound of a loud detonation and a bullet grazing the skin of his thigh. The detonation had Matsuda assuming that more would follow, so he sprinted towards the other side of the chamber, pummeling through the wooden door with his right shoulder. Two seconds later, the young warrior was already propping himself up to his feet. He blinked several times to clear his vision, ignoring the slight stinging sensation on his leg, where the bullet had torn.



This room was like none of the others he had already seen. The traditional Victorian décor and heavy, musky air resembled a scene from a horror movie. Several candles and one faint desk lamp were the only sources of illumination. Movement on the far left corner caught Sean's attention.



An old man rested on an armchair, rocking back and forth carelessly. Wanting some sort of answer, Matsuda approached the man, who continued ignoring Sean's presence. Or so it appeared.



Just when Sean was mere feet away from him, the old man decided to greet Matsuda with a snarl. His twisted grin portrayed an array of rotten if not missing teeth. Sean blinked and after one moment of confusion stepped back. The distance between them was not enough to keep the pale elderly man away for long. Launching himself at his lively prey, the man was able to dig his teeth into Sean's bare shoulder. The pain inflicted was not enough to make the young fighter falter, and he instead lifted the struggling man up and hurled him against a nearby armoire. The helpless piece of furniture shattered into thousands of wooden bits, and from them emerged the man appearing only annoyed by Sean's attack.



Learning quickly from his living counterpart, the undead being lifted a solid wood desk, and with inhuman strength heaved it towards his prey. Sean easily maneuvered out of its way.



Another growl as the zombie savored his meal to come. Again he hungrily advanced towards Matsuda, teeth ready to sink into warm flesh. Matsuda was far from becoming dinner however; his fingers wrapped into the decomposing skull, twisting the melting neck and destroying any life left in the corpse with a sickening crack.



With bare toes, Sean tapped on the fallen, cold body. He took a quick glance at the bite on his shoulder and remained there in a disoriented and bewildered state. Unseen by the young warrior, a strong though un-lethal current of electricity cascaded invisibly through the floor. It reached him and rendered him unconscious, his trembling body falling to the floor.



-*-



Strength: +25%...



Speed: +45%...



Psionics: +0%...



The soft beeping sound signaled the end of the data buffering on the monitor.



Disappointing Was the only thought of the unseen scientist sitting at the desktop computer. With the press of a button, another monitor flickered on to his right. In it he could see several assistants removing the specimen's limp body from the experimental area. With the click of another button, he powered on the intercom that communicated him with those inside the laboratory.



"Prepare specimen for Test B. If it results in failure, no more resources will be spent on this project."



Both monitors powered off.



~*~*~*~*~*~



-Pattaya, Thailand-



"So you're the next in line to chase after that legend." Tai threw his gaze at Juli. "Or rather, your organization is?"



Juli gave a simple nod.



"I can see why Pablo brought you here," Tai went on. "The myth surrounding them may be common knowledge in our field, but not many were as dedicated as I was to discovering at least one of those things."



Currently the three of them were in Tai's living room, seated around a large table completely made of glass that had been blown black. For the most part Pablo and Niran had been engaged in polite conversation (as polite as it could get if she ignored the latter's occasional vulgarities, that is), until Veracruz then decided to cut right to the chase onto the subject of the relics.



"But that was then," Tai said. "I stopped trying to take bullsh-t like that seriously years ago. If I were you, I would do the same before you end up only wasting your time."



Juli gave Niran a composed stare. "I'll take my chances."



"And I relish the challenge," Pablo added.



The Thailand native seemed to half-shrug. "Well, it it's information you want, then I'll give you what you're looking for."



Pablo and Juli watched on as Tai rose up from his chair and went towards the bookcase at the back of the room. He quickly returned back with a folder in his hand and opened it to take out an image of an ancient-looking building that resembled a Buddhist temple in appearance.



"Back when I was chasing that legend," Tai began. "I eventually heard about an ancient temple, here in Thailand, that was said to house one of the artifacts."



"So that's meant to be it?" Pablo questioned.



"Correct," Tai confirmed. "The sh-t's just ruins now, but most of the temple is still intact. If you go there, then you may find what you're looking for."



"And how do we find this place?" Juli asked.



Tai brought out another sheet of paper, which revealed what appeared to be a simple but decrepit-looking settlement. "In the north of Thailand, within the mountain range near the Thai-Laos border, is a small hidden hill tribe village." He pointed at the image for emphasis. "Pass through that village, through the nearby forest, and you'll find the temple."



"A hidden hill tribe village?" Pablo spoke up, his face etched with some interest.



"It's "hidden" in the sense that not many know about the place, let alone the temple, its biggest secret," Niran explained. He placed the two documents back into the folder and passed it across the table to the pair. "Any other information you need should be in that."



Pablo reached out for the folder. "Thanks Tai. Looks like I owe you this time."



The two of then got up to leave. They got as far as the door until Tai spoke up again.



"A word of warning, Veracruz," Niran's face went blank as he said this. "I may not believe in that bullsh-t anymore, but there's definitely something f--ked up about that temple. Not many make it outta that place in one piece, and that ones that do, like me, end up with nothing."



Veracruz merely flashed a wide smile. "And not many are Diablo, either."



Tai frowned slightly. "You and that "Diablo" sh-t. That reckless attitude will be the end of you one day."



"Far from it," Pablo opposed, still wearing that smile as he opened the door. "Not when it makes Diablo what he is."



With that, him and Juli were gone.



~*~*~*~*~



His immediate thoughts were on how much his head ached. Those thoughts then shifted to wondering how much blood he lost, judging from the sticky substance drying on the side of his head. After that, his next thought came in the realisation that he was sitting up, and that his arms and legs wouldn't move.



Slowly, Kyle Parker opened his eyes. The dim light in his living room was enough to make him quickly shut his eyes again in a flare of pain throbbing in his skull. He supposed he should be glad to be waking up at all as he recalled what happened and who had knocked him out, yet he wasn't stupid enough to think he was that fortunate.



If he was alive, Parker knew it was only because he was needed for something.



Lifting his head and forcing his eyes open again, Parker tried to focus on his captor. "So… what the hell do you want?"



"Information, of course."



To Parker's surprise, the voice is from behind him instead of in front. It turned out what he perceived to be Jin's silhouette earlier had only been a cruel trick of the shadows on his senses. He held back on a quick-fire, smart comment for the moment, which invited Jin to continue his matter-of-fact reply.



"I'll get to the point: where exactly did Natalie end up?"



Parker exhaled slowly to calm his nerves, arming himself with a hint of his usual smirk. He hated feeling like he wasn't in control, and in this case, he was about as far from it as he can be. The one thing he held in leverage was info, yet he knew the price of giving it up. He was also certain, however, that should he fail to give Jin something to go by, he'd most certainly die.



"They didn't give me details, Kushina. They just gave me money, and I gave them your girl. I didn't bother to ask where they'd be keeping their guinea pigs." The arrogant tone remained throughout his words. "I might be convinced to tell you what little I do know, if I could be sure you wouldn't kill me for my trouble."



"I may be persuaded to let you live, Parker," Jin revealed. "Depending on how useful the information is." Kushina paused after that, yet Kyle could hear his approaching footsteps. "But until then…" Parker suddenly felt something stab into his shoulder as a bolt of pain raced up his arm, "…you haven't answered my question."



Biting down a cry of pain, Parker's breath hissed through his clenched teeth with muted sounds of pain. When he recovered enough breath, he spat out as vile a curse as he could think of before saying, "Son of a !#%@+! Ah… there's a man-made island that's registered as being owned by the Umbrella Corporation. If she's there, you won't be able to get close…"



A plan instantly formed in Parker's mind. He had no doubt that Jin would kill him once he gave him enough info, or that he was stupid enough to think he wouldn't report this and have agents on his ass in no time. No, Parker would do just that, but he had to make sure Jin didn't believe that. "If you let me go, I can use my connection to them to get you in somehow…"



"Thanks for offering, but I've already established your purpose," Jin said dismissively. "Now what you said earlier leads to my next question: how do I get to this island?"



"A boat, $@*%!!#," Parker couldn't help but snort. A part of him soon regretted it as he felt a second stab into his shoulder area instantly after.



"I see my sword isn't the only thing that gets to the point. Mind being more specific this time, or do I get to have more fun?"



This time Parker couldn't hold back a short cry of pain. Another curse, then he panted his reply. "It's a ways off shore from that hotel you stay at. I can't recall exact coordinates with my f--king shoulder bleeding…"



"Need I remind you that your life is at stake, Kyle?" he heard Jin question, although it almost sounded like a taunt. He heard Jin's footsteps fade off towards his left and he surmised that he'd gone into the kitchen. It was about a half-minute later until he heard Jin's footsteps return back into the room.



"What, you get hungry in the middle of torturing me?"



Jin didn't answer him in words, but in action. All Parker caught was the sound of something being unscrewed, followed by the smell of strong alcohol. Parker was given time to widen his eyes in fear, then in pain, as Jin held the bottle over his shoulder and let a downpour of liquid cascade onto his wound.



"Sh-t!! F--k you, you son of a f--king !#%@+!"



Kushina let a fleeting smile appear on his face in response to Parker's plight. "That doesn't answer the question, Kyle," he said. "You mentioned coordinates."



"I told you," Kyle panted as sweat ran down his forehead, which threatened to get into his eyes. "I don't remember…" As he sensed the threat that's no doubt coming, he quickly continued. "But what good will it do you anyway? You'll never get close enough to do anything, they've got the whole place guarded and it's full of freaks just like Wyn! And worse…"



Behind him, Jin was content on giving Parker the opportunity to continue his rant. And indeed Parker would have fully taken advantage of it, if not for the loud thumps against the door that intruded into his thoughts and into the room.



Jin cast a cursory glance towards the door, then at Parker's back. "You expecting someone?"



A nervous chuckle followed Parker's shrug. "Girlscouts?"



A none-too-gentle thump on the back of the head with the hilt of Jin's kodachi silenced any further attempts at humor.



Just then, a voice called out from the other side of the door… one Jin recognized.



"Parker, answer your damned door," the person outside boomed.



That voice, Jin discovered. That's the same person Parker spoke to on Nat's recording.



Suddenly, the blade was at the agent's throat as Kushina went to loosen his captive's bonds. As Jin worked quickly, Parker felt the slightest bit of relief at no longer being tied to the chair, although he knew the task now expected of him.



The knock at the door sounded again, more impatient this time, as the agent stood up slowly, Jin's blade still at his throat as he walked behind him. When Parker reached for the doorknob, he was stopped by a pair of handcuffs, which were quickly clicked around his wrist and around the doorknob. Jin then removed the kodachi from in front of Parker's throat only to replace it at his back.





~*~*~*~*~



-- Undisclosed Location --



Guile held the manila folder in a tight grip. In what felt like an eternity rather than a second, the Colonel reviewed the report's contents in his mind once again, having read it one too many times several hours earlier. With a low sigh and a loud thump, he let the array of bounded documents fall on the desk in front of him.



With an ungraceful thud, he slumped on the chair. Things had gotten out of hand and on the borderline of personal. The kid, Agent Natalie Wynshire, had gone missing. Nothing official had filtered from the insiders, but Guile was certain they presumed her dead. Sergeant Heagy was also MIA and there was little cooperation to interrogate Iwa Hoshi who at this point was the only one with and leads to where the boy might be.



A powerless notebook paper was witness to the colonel's frustration as it was crushed mercilessly in his hand. A knock on the door pulled him out of his thoughts. Soon after, Charlie Nash entered the office followed closely behind by Cammy White. Their faces, Guile noticed, showed anything but optimism.



"I take it you guys read the report." Guile said in a casual tone, motioning to the papers spread out on his desk.



Nash nodded. "The girl was definitely altered. Now they're fighting to keep her alive." He said, referring to little Eleonore Dumont who was now, fortunately, under federal custody.



It was now Cammy's turn to speak. "Pierantoni was brief in his report. I don't…"



"He's probably busy." The colonel interrupted with a low sigh. "His student has gone missing."



An awkward moment of worried silence ensued, finally broken by White. "We cannot keep losing our people."



Guile nodded in understanding. "I think it's time we bring Hoshi in."



~*~*~*~*~



With a grimace of both pain and dread, the agent unlocked the door and slowly opened it.



"Took your f--king sweet time, didn't you?" Rez muttered as he burst into the house, right past Parker, and towards the living room without so much as a polite gesture.



"I was, uh, in the middle of something," Parker quickly explained, albeit by force. He didn't say anything else beyond that, as a swift blow from Jin to the skull drove him into unconsciousness. The Crimson Phantom, meanwhile, remained with his back to Parker, rendering himself oblivious to the situation.



"Like I got time to waste dealing with-" Sergei suddenly paused in mid-step as his eyes alerted him to the empty wooden chair on his right with several cords of rope coiled haphazardly around it. Despite the dim lighting, he could see that some of the rope was stained with blood, along with what he can tell is a small pool of blood on the surrounding floor. Now wearing a slightly confused expression, Rez turned around to ask Parker what was going on.



He didn't get the chance.



Without a second thought, Rez threw his body backwards shortly before Jin swooped in with a wide horizontal slash. Narrowly avoiding the attack, a mix of surprise and anger poured into him whilst his right hand reached down to his waist in retaliation. In a smooth motion he pulled out and aimed his customized, suppressed Desert Eagle at Kushina's face, just as the latter closed in with a second attack. Seconds later, both men found each other at a deadlock, neither one able to secure the advantage. Poised dangerously close to Rez's throat was Jin's kodachi, prevented from going any further by his own hand clamped around Jin's forearm. Likewise, Romanav's desire to fire several bullets into his attacker was thwarted by Kushina's grip over his hand in order to trap his fingers. The entire scenario, therefore, was rather reminiscent of a Mexican standoff.



"Kushina Jin, right?" Sergei affirmed. Had he been able to reach the trigger in time, he would've won this exchange. Despite the current situation, however, he found it within himself to reveal a small grin.



"I don't know your name, but I'm glad you turned up," Jin answered. "Now I can kill two birds with one stone. Or in this case, one sword."



"Nice of you to share those thoughts, Jin-san," Romanav said in a half-mocking tone as his grin widened into a smile. "Seeing as you're a simple mistake away from having your thoughts shared with the wall behind you."



Kushina's eyes narrowed yet otherwise appeared to be unfazed beyond that. "Since Parker's unavailable right now, you're gonna tell me where I can find Natalie," he demanded.



"Knowing her fate won't do a damn thing to change yours," Rez replied. "Besides, if you got him to talk then you should know she's somewhere being Umbrella's lab rat." His smile took a fouler turn as he added on. "Parker certainly brought in a nice catch. I definitely made sure I got a piece of her - if you catch my drift."



Now it was Jin's turn to smile as he observed Sergei with a critical stare. "I'll send that lie with you to your grave as well."



Drawing on the power associated with his namesake, Jin instantly caused his left hand to burst into a surge of violent flames. Rez let out a curse in pain as he reactively backed away from Kushina whilst tending to his burnt hand. The Desert Eagle, now effectively disarmed from Romanav's grip, dropped undisturbed to the ground where its impact sent it scuttling away to the side. Within that same time period Jin has already closed in on the Crimson Phantom, seeking a fatal slash.



With a slight smirk that looked a bit strained, Sergei arched backward to narrowly avoid the blade. Allowing gravity to follow through, he brought up his right leg in a flipping kick, intending to target Jin's jaw but only able to catch his chest when he turned his head.



While Jin staggered back, Rez took the opportunity to right himself and get his back away from the wall, where he had landed when he completed the flip. Casting a glance at Parker's unconscious body and the wounds on his back, Romanav chuckled and assumed his combat stance.



"I see you're quite headstrong about finding her. Kinda convenient that I'd find you here, since I did promise her I'd bring you in. It'll be all we need to make her cooperate like a good little girl." With those words he rushed at Jin, recklessly going for a combination of punching attacks.



Kushina revealed a confident gait as he darted his body away from the range of each individual strike. After he sidestepped the last strike, Jin launched his counterattack. Romanav managed to avoid a slice to the face, yet it opened him up to a roundhouse to his side. Sergei's body crumpled under the blow and Jin immediately pressed the advantage with a various series of quick slashes and feints.



Two light wounds appeared on Rez's arm and chest as he tried to avoid the assault. In a swirl of black leather, Jin unleashed a wide horizontal sweep across his opponent's stomach. As he expected, the kodachi tore through fabric and flesh with little effort as the force of the attack edged the Crimson Phantom backward. What he didn't expect, however, was the calm expression on Romanav's face as if unaffected by the slash. In fact, as Kushina stared at the wound, there didn't seem to be a great loss of blood as there should be under normal circumstances.



Seeing the slight surprise on Jin's features caused Rez to pause. "Part of my 'benefits plan', you might say," he said in a brief explanation before attacking again. This time, he feinted low with his right fist but brought his left hand up almost simultaneously to strike across Jin's jaw. Instantly, he followed up with another punch to the face of the reeling fighter, enforced with an unnatural strength.



Before Jin can be propelled too far from him, Rez caught him by his sword hand, narrowly avoiding the blade as he yanked Kushina into a knee to the midsection. While Jin is stunned, Sergei kept a crushing grip on his wrist, bashing his hand into the nearby facing of a door to make him lose hold of his weapon. He then delivered another knee to the stomach before shoving Jin backward.



"You'd be surprised at the perks of this business," he said, almost without a hint of breathlessness. "If Natalya is lucky, she'll end up like me. If she keeps being stubborn… eh, who knows? She'll still be useful as a corpse… but I'd much prefer working closely with her when she's alive." He smirked as he bent down to pick up the dropped kodachi, looking at it admiringly. "It's too bad about those scars, though. She'd look so much prettier without them. Then again, they do add a certain appeal… perhaps I can give her a couple more before all is said and done."



Jin's response came in the form of a burning fist. Rez went to deflect it, yet the fire continued to bite into his guard to cause him pain. Romanav clenched his teeth as he threw out a wild slash only for Jin to duck under it and catch him with another flame-empowered fist. Jin heard his opponent curse loudly as fire met flesh, before he planted a standing uppercut to the chin. The Crimson Phantom's head is snapped backwards while his body followed after helplessly, and Jin pushed himself off the ground to slam his right leg into Rez's stomach.

Breath was forced out of Sergei's lungs as he felt his feet leave the ground and his body hurled backwards. For a split-second his world seemed to slow down, until his back collided with a door, falling into the room behind him, bringing him back into harsh, painful reality.



Kushina didn't go after him immediately but cautiously waited. With Romanav somehow managing to hold onto the kodachi despite the damage he'd just taken, Jin knew to rush after him at this point could end up working against him.



Damn it, that fire still hurts, went through the mercenary's mind as he laid on the floor for a precious couple of seconds while his body recovered. He rolled onto his stomach and slowly pushed himself into a standing position, just before he noticed something vibrating against his chest. Extracting his phone from his jacket's inside pocket, Romanav frowned at the call-ID and answered.



"Yeah? What? I'm kinda busy." His voice turned into an impatient growl. "I can bring in another if you just give me more ti-… fine. Have it your way." He flipped the phone closed and ended the call, placing both it and Jin's treasured weapon in his jacket, where his hand lingered. "Sorry, Kushina-san. Looks like I have to cut this short." His hand came out holding a flash-bang grenade to illustrate his point, with the pin already pulled. "I'll be sure to give your girl a lil' something for you." With a smirk, he threw it down in front of Jin.

"Kusotare…" (Motherf--ker) Jin muttered, quickly forcing his eyes shut a second before the weapon detonated to flood the room with a flash of light. By the time he opened his eyes again Romanav was already gone. He frowned. Not only had the guy managed to escape, but he'd stolen his sword as well.



Much to Jin's slight surprise, the explosion hadn't been enough to snap Parker out of his comatose state over by the door. As Kushina walked over towards him, he felt something knock against his right boot. That's when he saw it, lying on its side: the Desert Eagle.



Not quite an equal trade, in my opinion, but... He let the thought trail off whilst kneeling down to pick up the weapon. Now closer to the door, Jin slipped the gun into his inside jacket pocket and went to unlock the handcuffs. Good thing Parker was still unconscious, he found himself admitting. It would make the next series of steps much easier.



-*-



Five minutes later, Parker's head stirred as a groan escaped from his lips. The realisation that he was back to sitting up with his arms and legs tied reached him with a sobering impression. When Kyle dared to open his eyes, not knowing what to expect, there was only Jin's cold and indifferent stare to return his gaze.



"That man," Jin began, keeping his arms crossed. "Who was he?"



With a quiet yet pained and tired groan, the traitorous agent tilted his aching head back, looking around to see his living room in ruins and the door to his office knocked off the hinges. Surmising that Rez had escaped, Parker felt his hopes of living steadily dwindling away.



"He's a mercenary," he gave a straight answer for once. "I think his name is Rezlorn Romanav, but it could be an alias. He's been on Umbrella's payroll for a while. His job, as far as I know, is to collect 'specimens' or some sh-t, not unlike someone else's been doing… but for a different boss." He didn't really know why he was all but prattling off this information, but perhaps it was the hope that if he gave Jin enough info, he'd go after Rez and somehow let him live.

"Good," Jin replied. He silently committed Romanav's name to memory before he asked his next question. "Now what are the coordinates?"

Parker bit his lower lip in frustration, seeing that nothing would sidetrack his interrogator. Jin's demeanor was too calm, too cold to be read as anything positive. Anger flared up again as his voice rose in response and he leaned forward.

"What good is it going to do you, huh? What're you going to do, rescue her?" He scoffed again. "Good luck in that. She won't even be the same person. Do you have any idea what they do to people?" Breath hissed between his teeth as Kyle seethed. "The best thing you can do is hope they kill her quickly." In spite of his fear, there remained one elusive truth within Parker regarding his reluctance to give the coordinates: that Jin would succeed.

Kushina slowly turned away from Parker, taking a few steps forward as he did, leaving the agent to simply look on with contemplation. Had his words got to Jin back there? Was he forced to turn away in order to hide his emotions from him? A part of Parker couldn't help but feel slightly satisfied at the possibility, although it left him no more comforted about his fate.

In an instant, Jin snapped his head back in Parker's direction and burst forward, clearing the expanse between him and his captive twice as quickly, driving a clawed palm into his solar plexus. At first glance the damage appeared to be minimal - the chair hadn't even budged from the impact - but then Parker's body suddenly stiffened as his eyes began to bulge slightly. With his fingers still pressed against Kyle's midsection, Jin applied more pressure, which caused the agent to cough up spurts of blood onto Jin's glove. Kushina forcefully tipped the chair backwards to drop Parker onto the floor, and then stooped down to grab him by his shirt collar to hold him slightly above ground.

"You're in no position to f--k with me, Parker," Jin growled. At this point, Kyle appeared to be struggling to breathe as a temporary side effect of Jin's attack. "If you even think to keep stalling me, not even the damn maggots will find your corpse."

The pain in Kyle's chest choked all words, but the look of fear in his eyes was sufficient to show his understanding. As he coughed more blood to clear his trachea, Parker began to realize that Jin's anger was enough to ensure he will die.

"If I tell you," he croaked, "you're gonna kill me anyway. Why the hell should I bother?"

Before Jin could lash out at him again, he added through a bout of coughing the mumbled coordinates. Tears of pain welled in his eyes by now, or at least that's what Parker's pride told him. "I hope you die there," he spat out along with the blood in his mouth, "but not before you get to see her dissected and mutilated like the f--king animal she is."

Maybe it was a desperate final attempt at salvaging his life, but Kyle threw in a tone of condescension, "Without me to help you get her back, you're f--ked and you know it. I'm your only real way to get her back." With a bloody sneer, he went on for visual effect. "Oh, you might get there, and you might even get in. You might kill the whole damn base, and I wouldn't care if you did. But it'll take some time, days, maybe longer for you to get some half-assed plan together. So you'll go in, all on your own, only to find your fiancée in some lab hooked up to god-knows-what, with all kinds of horrible things done to her. Maybe you'll find her in pieces… a heart here, a kidney there. Or maybe…" Kyle's grin turned just a little more evil, interrupted by another short cough before he spoke. "Maybe she'll be a corpse who doesn't know she's dead yet. At the very best, she'll be the same thing she's always been to us; a weapon to be used and discarded when she's not necessary anymore. The only difference then will be whether or not you can put her out of her misery." The agent didn't know everything about Umbrella, but he knew enough to understand they had ways of making people cooperate, willingly or not… and it was far beyond the simple blackmail he'd used.

Jin let go of Parker as he stood back up. "You talk too much," he stated bluntly. Kyle's fears were then realised once Jin reached one hand into his jacket and pulled out the Desert Eagle. "And you've now served your purpose."

"You won't get to that island without my help!" Parker implored in a vain attempt to prolong his life. "They'll destroy an outsider like you before you'll even smell the sea breeze."

"You'd only be a liability," Jin said coldly. When it looked as though Parker would speak again he fired a bullet across Parker's throat to cut him off. Whilst Parker could only choke due to the build up of blood in his windpipe, Jin emptied a second shot into his wounded shoulder, then a third to the other. "Not that it helps, but you were never making it out of this alive," he admitted. "Besides, even if I did let you live, it's not like you'd have let me get away with all this, would you?"

The barest hint of a satisfied smile graced Jin's features as he observed his victim's struggle to remain alive. He made sure to reduce such a possibility with two more shots, this time to each thigh. "As for Natalie, no matter what happens to her, at least I was able to take you out of her life. That's what's important to me right now."

As the blood quickly drained away from Parker's irreparable body, from the graze across his throat to the gaping holes in his shoulders and legs, Parker could only look up with dimming eyes that leak hatred. "Fu… f--k y-" he tried to murmur, only to choke on his own blood. This wracking bout of coughing was his last, as sight faded from his eyes and his head lolled back with an empty stare.

Jin exhaled a slow breath whilst his eyes scanned over Kyle Bradford Parker's corpse. With a mechanical gait, he raised the weapon for a final gambit. The sixth bullet burrowed into the agent's chest; the final shot ripped directly into his face to leave behind a gaping, disfigured façade. While the putrid smell of gun smoke and blood pervaded his nostrils, Kushina let his arm drop limply, along with the weapon, as if letting a huge weight off his shoulders.

He wasn't done, however.

Bringing up his hand once more, trailing dark fire, Jin grabbed onto one of the chair's legs, letting the flames transfer onto the wood. Seconds later the fire spread all over the wood, pouring its way through blood-soaked fabric, and then finally onto flesh. Now feeling accomplished, Jin took in a closing, lingering stare at the scenery before him, followed by him exiting the scene.



~*~*~*~*~





Some hours later…





The looming presence of the Doll at his cell's gate signaled that it was time to go.



"Would you rather walk or we cart you in?" the Japanese Doll asked in a manner that was uncannily familiar. It made John wonder just what Bison put these young women through.



"I'll walk." Were they really going to take such chances with him?



As he made his way out of his cell, he spotted Victoria by her cell gates. He tried to smile at her in assurance that he would be fine as ironical as that seemed to sound.



As if in answer to his earlier question, they were there waiting for him. Four grim looking guards of the Shadowloo contingent, the moment he cleared his cell, the guards moved in to take positions. Two in front and two at his back, all four were within three feet from him. The Doll then took up position just a step behind him. No doubt she knew about the knife. Was she daring him to use it?



"Let's go." The Doll commanded.



He had another reason for volunteering to be tested first as it afforded him the chance to study the layout of the facility however limited his movement would be. Security cameras on various intervals on the wall tracked his movements. Exiting the first fork of the long corridor, he caught sight of a pair of guards from the Umbrella facility watching him as the Shadowloo side guards cleared him.



"Unless you want to be their guinea pig instead…" the Doll commented as if anticipating he might try an escape. A short walk and they reached the transport lift. Two sets of guards were stationed here as well. It was obvious that Bison wasn't taking any chances when he sent his scientists and resources to this place.



Even during the lift ride they kept him in the center. Would there be even be half a chance of escaping the moment the doors open? Glancing at the control panel showed that it only serviced two floors, and made him wonder how he came down here in the first place.



The lifts eventually stopped and the doors slid open. Again four guards stationed outside it, waiting for him, eyeing him as his entourage moved into the lobby. They moved on when the lift guards gave them the clearance. Beyond the four guards was a long silent corridor; cameras mounted at periodic intervals of the ceilings whirled in his direction. Dull uniform doors flanked both sides of the corridors; signs by those doors indicated a laboratory number. Strange that there wasn't anybody else around, not even an assistant or even a wandering scientist.



Two Shadowloo guards were waiting for them outside one of the doors, beyond them were two Umbrella guards stationed outside a room marked as 'guardroom'. It was pretty much a dead end. One of the guards used a card key to slide through the scanner, it beeped a green light in approval and the sound of a locking mechanism whirled and turned. Eventually the door slid open, greeting John with the sight of two armed guards who had been expecting him. Herded into the room, he caught sight of all four scientists and there were two other guards at the other end of the room standing by another door. It would have explained a lot of things.



"Ah you made it. Come sit!" The annoyingly chirpy Yamada gestured to a platform right in the center of the room. There was a recliner like chair of sorts, only less comfortable looking with various cables and tubes connected to it and the platform. What look like a huge glass bowl was suspended above it. The good doctor personally secured John to the contraption. The sharp of sound of a pair of high heel shoes signaled an impending injection from the redheaded female.



"This is for you to relax, but if you resist me and this breaks in you, it's not my problem," she warned John, showing him the syringe containing a blue color liquid. A mere second passed allowing him to digest the fact that she meant it. Seeing that her warning got through she proceeded with the injection.



~*~*~*~*~



--Somewhere in Tibet--



Esperanza held the wooden vase up to the battery powered incandescent light. Putting it down, she then examined two brass bracelets, queues of bright beads, a blouse, and a colorful woven blanket along with several other trinkets she had obtained earlier that evening. Although their arrival at the small town had been almost at sunset, the villagers flocked with excitement when greeting the foreign visitors. Outsiders who wandered about these areas were close to zero, as the region, let alone the native population, did not appear in any maps or official government documents. Few knew about the place and few ever reached it, and unknown to Esperanza, few ever made it back to where they came from.



After arriving at a new destination, Esperanza did what most other women would have done: go shopping. She didn't have to do much purchasing however, since the villagers were more than willing to offer an extensive array of gifts to the wealth bearing tourists, in hopes that this would ignite their money spending habits.



Other than the fashionable items Ms. Rios had gladly accepted, the team had also stocked up on supplies needed for tomorrow's trek: food, water and, most importantly, information. The latter was the hardest to obtain for it was something the townspeople did not give away cheaply.



"We're leaving before sunrise." Turner's voice cut the silence as he entered the hut. He then sat cross-legged on the ground opposite of Esperanza, bowl of rice in hand. "I think its best we leave before the villagers know we're gone."



Esperanza glanced at Jacob as she put her things away into a bag, then at the small house they had been given as shelter for the night. "They seem so hospitable", she emphasized.



"A little too hospitable, especially after we asked about the temple ruins."



"How long until we reach the temple?" Rios asked.



"Kundo said it'll be about a four hour walk through the woods."



Esperanza winced at the thought of another treacherous hike through the forest, but what had to be done had to be done.



~*~*~*~*~



Still standing there, she was studying him with her intense green eyes. Feeling very uncomfortable, John broke eye contact with the redhead and was rewarded with a hearty laugh.



"You're not thinking of trying another one, are you?" The serious voice of the Hong Kong doctor broke the awkwardness.



"Jealous now? You know he's the right age. Teenage hormones settled by now, body in excellent physical condition. The last one was still a teenager. Don't feel left out, you're still special to me, making up for it all in the brains department," she mused.



Yamada broke in with a hearty laughter.



"Pffff.. You two should get a room. Fawning over a boy like that." Markus butted in as a helmet of sorts was attached to John's head.



"Ah. So sorry you feel left out. You're just not my type. I'm just partial to young Asian boys." She smiled



"Well there's Golden Eyes too. He makes for another adorable kitsune (fox) if not a neko. Unless of course you want another ookami." Yamada added, studying the monitors. A little distance away from John was the Doll Satsuki, hooked to an almost similar contraption. With a hand signal he told the Doll to wait.



"Are you sure this would work? Why not dismantle the chair and go in for a Dollfication." Markus was trying to change the subject.



"A dive estimates his defenses against the Psycho Power, where and when we can latch onto and how far we can go with him. Its one thing to release a large of smack load of Psycho Power into him, but it's another thing to guide it. The Doll can only break him down for the final linking. All we can do is prep work. High resistance could mean high qi potential or just a very strong will."



Yamada gave a thumbs-up sign to Satsuki and got one in return. They were counting on their long droning conversation to distract John. But he wouldn't hear much once the helmet was on as it effectively shut out all outer audio and visual sensory.



"You not going to throw in the whole midichlorians thing," Markus interrupted again, annoyed with the distractions of his colleagues.



"He's the Star Wars fan, not me." Yamada thumbed Ryan. He smiled, seeing a reaction on the monitor, a signal to Satsuki, directed her to chase whatever thought it was that produced the spike. Compared to the other two Dolls, this one was a battering ram so he had to watch on carefully.



Yalana directed his attention to John. A gesture from her indicated the young soldier was obviously uncomfortable with the probe. He should be, since the first dive always tears at the mind and especially since it would probably feel like the master was in his head. He glanced to Satsuki, the Doll was holding up well, there was a somewhat amused look upon her face as she 'chased down' her quarry. He took another a look at John's monitor.



"Adrenaline level went up. Fight or Flight. There's fireworks in his head," Ryan commented while Yalana and Markus were scribbling down notes by John's side. The young soldier was clearly agitated now. It made Yamada wonder exactly just what the Doll found in there and what reality was she messing with. He took another look at monitor and signaled her to slow down gradually.



"What did you find?" Markus was the first to inquire when the Doll ended her dive.



"It's a war zone in there." The Doll nodded.



"It does explain a lot. Tell me more." With renewed frenzy the quartet started gathered around Satsuki and began bombarding her questions and started to compare notes, leaving the disoriented young soldier to calm down before they do anything else.



-*-



Bison!!! The one named popped up when John realized who it was that had been trying to invade his mind. When had he gotten in?! Since when did Rez start working for him?!!! In the darkness, the silence was overwhelming. What were they planning?! He could still feel the tattered remnants of Bison's mind numbing qi gnawing at him.



Light assaulted his eyes, in desperation John made a lunge forward and attempted to grab the knife. The sharp pull of the restraints was a reminder where he was. But other than two of the guards some distance ahead of him. Where was Bison? Or Rez for that matter? He tried to look around but the backboard of his seat limited his view.



He threw a hateful glare at the first person who came into view, the Doll almost flinch but the amused look never left her face.



"Can you stand?" She asked as one of the guards proceeded to undo his restraints. All thoughts of escape were put aside for the moment as the numbing effect of the Psycho Power still remained. Where is he?



They were patient with him, allowing him his own time to stand, making notes of it with their mindless scribbling. Without any other choice for now, he followed as the guards moved, careful not to fall over his own feet. Half way back to the lift, opportunity presented itself as a door open and someone stepped out. John had intended to break for it but stopped before his body even moved a muscle. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place, his own personal nightmare - Rez was no more than a few strides away looking somewhat roughed up.



It was unavoidable; he saw them and walked towards them. Controlling his emotions, John clenched his fist, summoning his qi by instincts. He was very much surprised by the ease in which it flowed to him as well as the lack of pain from the inhibitors. He stole a glance at the Doll behind him, she just yawned and blinked at him. Why was she taking such chances with him?



"Well, well, well. So this is where your loopy little fangirls spirited you away to. I always thought you'd prefer the dominatrix type. But then runts attract runts." Rez laughed. He was only a couple of steps away now. Was he working for Shadowloo?



"Is it some kind of 'In' trend for big bad megalomaniacs to have a team of fangirls beating the crap out of boys like you? Maybe my employers could do with a few. So, Pick some for me. Your leggy, glompy partner prehaps? Those two hyperactive schoolgirls? That hobbit-footed tomboy? This geeky runt or her clone in Oahu? Or maybe that cute Latina I saw you with?" Rez laughed again grabbing John by his shirtfront.



Too close, too close for comfort. It triggered a reaction as John released a build up blast of qi at point blank towards Rez, throwing the mercenary the lobby, immediately he began to build another for the Doll behind him. And the pain hit him just as hard, almost forcing him to his knees.



"Shall we go?" The Doll asked, a somewhat smug look on her face. John gritted his teeth and moved with the guards, passing Rez. He realized the mercenary was merely bruised and sitting on the floor studying him.



"I know who pulls your leash. And we will be seeing each other more often." The mercenary broke into a bout of laughter as the lift door closed.


"Yes. I overrode the controls." The Doll started to speak into her earpiece. "You could see it on the videos, he was provoked into action. It's not my fault that Umbrella's people can't keep their hands off our test subjects." The Doll spoke into her earpiece the moment the lift doors closed. Those beside her could hear faint conversation.



With the Doll distracted by her conversation it wouldn't be too hard to take her hostage, even with the four guards around. But how was he to get out of this place? Or for that matter how far can he go with this thing stuck on his head?



"Yes I saw the guy in there. He did have some sort of reaction to that guy. You wanted some kind of results. I doubt you want a potential host or doll broken too much, do you?" The Doll rolled her eyes in annoyance, obviously talking to more than one person at the same time. "I know what I'm doing. Do you?"



The lift doors opened and they eventually marched back to his cell. Victoria got up on seeing him, a slight nod to indicate he was alright and the cell gates closed again, leaving John in his cell while the Doll continued her conversation with whoever's on the other end. It was a quite worrying thing if they intended to bring Rez into the equation just to provoke him into reacting the way they want to.



~*~*~*~*~



Esperanza listened with interest as Kundu explained the impressive engineering talent of the hill tribe they had left behind and how they used bamboo trees to build pipes that would carry water to the village from a nearby source. Something that always marveled Esperanza was human genius, and how even the most outcast societies managed to adapt in hazardous environments.



"Most tribes even use tourism as a means of economy, trading goods with foreign visitors." Kundu explained. "This village though, not many know it exists."



"They were certainly friendly peop-"



"WATCH OUT!"



Esperanza's words were cut short when both she and Kundu were pushed several feet from their position, hard onto the ground, by Jacob Turner. The trio looked back several steps. Half a dozen arrows pierced the soil they had stood on seconds earlier.



Turner gave a quick glance to the lush jungle above, and then pulled both his colleagues up to their feet. "Go, go, go!"



Not giving it an extra thought, the three sprinted away from their attackers, who were hidden within the vegetation that only favored the natives and not the unwelcome hikers. The merciless arrows showered from the branches, missing flesh by mere inches.



"The temple is straight ahead!" Kundu yelled between breathless huffs. "We can take shelter there!"



Turner dashed in the direction the guide instructed, pulling Esperanza at speeds her feet normally wouldn't carry her. The distance of Kundu's voice told Rios that he had fallen behind. Looking back, she gasped in horror when an arrow perforated Kundu's shoulder, the momentum of both the arrow and his own running sent him to ground with a painful thump.



"Kundu, NO!" Esperanza managed to release her hand from Turner's grip and retraced her steps on her way to the fallen man. Jacob followed; both surprised and grateful Esperanza was able to wiggle out of the way of the arrows that did not seem to halt.



Esperanza stifled a scream as three more projectiles assaulted Kundu's unprotected body.



"No, no, no!" Rios' panicked frustration was evident, but her attempt to reach him was stopped by Jacob, who had wrapped an arm around her waist to drag her out of harm's way.



"We can't leave him!" Esperanza protested angrily.



"It's too late for him now!" Jacob attempted to persuade Rios, but his blue eyes betrayed his otherwise stern features.



Esperanza choked back the lump in her throat and nodded in understanding. They either had to continue forward or risk losing their chance at retrieving the artifact.



The sound of footsteps approaching caused the team to run once more, this time they could see the temple ruins amidst the vegetation. Just as they were almost able to touch the stone steps, the ground beneath them failed and both pummeled down into a man-made trap along with camouflaging dirt and foliage.



Jacob Turner landed on his back and grimaced slightly at the pain that coursed along his spine, quickly ignoring it as he threw himself over Esperanza's form to protect her from falling debris.



A quick check on Esperanza's pulse assured him that she was alive and breathing, although knocked out. Turner released another yelp of pain as he sat up, studying the deep crater they had fallen into.



This was definitely going to slow them down.



~*~*~*~*~



-10PM Local News Broadcast-



"In tonight's news, an FBI agent's body has been discovered in a house in Mililani after a fire hours earlier. Fire fighters were alerted to the area around 8PM, where they found the body after extinguishing the house blaze. Investigators at the scene believe the cause of death to be murder, and not an accident. We'll have more on this story as it develops…"
tbc...