Chapter 26
Wednesday started well enough. I received payments for several recent translating jobs, so I was less strapped for cash. That meant I was able to pick up a few replacement items for my utility belt, including some chemicals I'd had to special order online – flash powder and capsaicin. I had determined I could use my poltergeists to spread fine particles and liquids to cover an area and, if flammable or explosive, use the fire spirits to ignite them. I made sure the powders were tightly sealed. Better to take a few seconds to prepare them in combat than have them spill out at inopportune moments.
[Jin, going on a special mission out of town with the hunters. Not sure when I'll be back. Taking the drone.] I messaged so the still fragile fellow would not worry too much. I also sent a similar message to Kan-sensei in case he tried to contact me that evening.
I had my geists lift the drone, turned off to preserve power, up to the edge of my range. I masked it from the ground with a cloak of wisps colored to match the sky above. It was not invisibility, but it added a layer of stealth. Finally, I checked my three phones. All were charged. All were working. And all were programmed with the important numbers. I had no reason to believe Greedo's special contract would be trouble, but I had to prepare as if it were a certainty. After making all the preparations I could think of, I made my way to the Bounty Hero Agency.
"Good, you're here," Jeeta said as I came through the door. She was packing what looked like batteries into a padded box. "We've got to get the van loaded. We have to be ready to go no later than 1715."
"I thought it was 1830?" I said.
"Someone forgot to factor in traffic," she said. I could tell she was stressed. Her color was off and her funnels were drooping. "We've got a number of cases to go. Why don't you start over there. If you have questions you can ask, but you should be able to figure out what goes where." She gestured to a pile of miscellaneous technology and several padded cases. I sent some poltergeists to map out the interior of each box. Then I used the spirits to sort each item quickly. A few minutes later the pile was cleared.
Jeeta looked surprised, but just pointed me to some other gear to pack. Some of this made sense to take on a combat mission – spare parts, extra ammo or power packs, first aid kits. I had no idea why she was packing data storage and personal items. When I saw how full they were packing the van, I had an idea.
This can't be a regular combat load out. I informed Emily. I think they're getting ready to run away.
Not having your familiarity with standard pre-battle preparations, I cannot gainsay you. One must wonder why would they abandon their office and business?
Can't say. Given how excited Greedo was yesterday after his client meeting, I'm guessing someone made him a job offer he's not interested in refusing. I just don't know who.
What does that mean for us?
It means we have to keep our eyes open and be ready for things to go south quickly. Something tells me Landmark, whoever they are, may have just lost some valued contractors. The question is who the client is tonight, and what the contract is.
After Jeeta had me rearrange the packed boxes, crates, and containers several times to pack in as many as possible, barely leaving room for the four passengers, Bosuku returned from whatever errand had occupied his time. He took a long look at the over-packed vehicle then went add armor to his costume. Greedo and Jeeta also armored up. They looked more than a little like the Fetts. When offered, I decided against adding plates to my costume. While I liked armor, I had to be very careful of my weight if I wanted any sort of combat maneuverability. While I would be able to reach a decent speed for long distance flight wearing armor, the initial acceleration/deceleration was the issue.
We got rolling at 1733. Greedo drove. While he steered the vehicle through traffic, he briefed us. "The Nine Head Dragon, a Chinese Triad starting to operate in Japan, is smuggling a shipment of Dragon's Blood, their version of Trigger, on tonight's Yokohama Express."
The Express was the only train that actually stopped in Mosuaizuri. My understanding was that it was a freight train coming directly from the Yokohama docks that usually carried a mix of legal and black-market goods to supply the neighborhood and for larger distribution. Drugs like Trigger, a quirk booster I had been hearing about, fit the bill.
"Our client informed us the train is due to take an unscheduled stop in Hosu City this evening. Our mission is to get to the train while it's stopped and remove the drugs. The police are waiting for us to drop off the evidence not far from the stop's location." Greedo looked back at me in the mirror, then shifted his gaze to Bosuku. The lizard man nodded slightly.
"Greedo got these trackers for each of us," Jeeta said, handing out a small device shaped like a popsicle stick. "Put it against your skin so it can register your vitals. If something should happen to you, or you get to far from the rest of us, it will sound an alert." She lifted her helmet to show the strip against the back of her neck. Bosuku put his in the same spot. I put it against the inside of my arm. I wanted to be able to get it off quickly if I needed to.
"Tatari," Greedo turned to address me directly as we were stopped in traffic. I noticed his head rotated on his neck further than a normal person's could – almost like an owl. "I want you to follow standard intern procedure. In combat situations, you are to observe safely from a distance if possible. If attacked, you are to defend yourself and retreat. Understood?"
"Understood," I said. I had been recording the whole interaction from my collar camera. Unfortunately, these instructions limited my choices, if I chose to follow orders.
The rest of the ride was spent with Greedo getting more agitated as traffic increased. At one stoppage, he exploded in a deluge of what had to be invective in a different language. Jeeta put her hand on his arm and tried calming him in the same tongue.
I decide to ignore them. I don't know what we're headed into, but I'm going to need you awake for this, partner.
I will do my best.
I'm not certain these three are on the wrong side of the law, but I need to make sure I can take them down quickly if I need to. Can you keep an eye on them using the shadows while I feel around their gear with the geists?
I'll ask if they'll cooperate, but I cannot command them as you can. The quirk passed with the body.
Just let me know if things start looking weird.
With Emily on watch, I was able to use the spirits to feel out the various obvious and hidden weapons, armor, and miscellaneous pieces of technology the others were carrying. After a few minutes, I determined where I thought they would be easiest to disable. While I was no specialist on tech, especially what amounted to tinker tech, I could find power sources, circuit boards, and connectors. All of which were vulnerable to pinching, smashing, or burning. I prepositioned spirits in the places I thought they would do the most damage, ordering them to stay in place even if the devices moved. I even found what I thought were the quick release catches for the armor and the equipment webs. They got some dedicated spectral fingers as well.
I spent much of the rest of the trip gathering spirits from the areas we passed until the van was completely engulfed in unseen passengers. I would need enough to rotate through the spirits so no individual spirit became exhausted. That kind of swarm management had become an almost unconscious action for me. I had stuck the drone and a spare phone to the roof of the van and used some of the new spirits to strengthen my hold on them. With a final check of my weapons and utility belt contents, I relaxed and closed my eyes.
Sensing through the spirits, I examined the area round us. In the darkening night sky, I thought I caught a glimpse of a flying figure carrying a second person princess style. It's possible it was Jin, but there are a lot of flyers in this city. If it was him, I wondered who the second figure might be. I hoped he wasn't following me. If things went bad, I didn't want him getting involved. The road signs counted down the distance to Hosu City.
By 1930 we are on surface roads making our way through an industrial district. There is a resounding crash in the distance. A minute later, we turned a corner. In a large overgrown lot chaos reigned.
Fifty yards away, a short freight train had crashed engine-first into a concrete-sided waterway – as someone collapsed the bridge that had spanned the river. On the roof of one of the freight cars, two dragons were battling each other. One – Nightwing – soared on wings of black metallic feathers and scales, illuminated by flames licking at the ground. The other was larger, still mostly humanoid, but with an elongated torso. It had no wings, but red and green scales, scimitar claws, and a lion-like head that snapped and snarled at the flying foe.
Eight men, all large and distorted with green scaled skin, clawed hands, and protruding fangs, dressed in torn tactical armor were positioned around the freight car, firing submachine guns to pin down three costumed figures. They were yelling in what sounded to me like Chinese.
The three figures under fire were obviously a team. They wore coordinated grey and dark blue costumes with accents of orange and purple. The most obvious of the trio was a large man – almost six and a half feet tall – with broad shoulders emphasized by the spiky orange stone pauldrons. He was spraying a barrier of thick, glowing orange liquid from his palms. The smaller man – with light brown skin, a somewhat muscular physique, and an elongated, almost duck-like face – was cooling the spray with his spinning hands, causing the lava to set into a basalt barrier that deflected most of the gunfire. The third figure – a tall, curvy woman dressing in skimpy grey costume with a complex respirator mask – was sending out a cloud of dust and ash to obscure their individual positions behind the barricade.
"Damn," Greedo snapped. "I knew we were going to be late. Stupid traffic."
"If we'd left earlier …" Jeeta started only to be cut off.
"Not the time," Greedo barked. "Everyone out. Not you girl." The last was directed at me. "You stay in the van unless I call."
"Understood." I replied. Until I knew what was going on and who the players were, I wasn't ready to do anything. So, I'd be a good intern – for a while.
I sent the drone to circle the area, getting video of everything happening on the ground. I hoped Nightwing wouldn't ram into it. I also sent my spare phone flying with a wisp to block the screen light and act as cameraman. Both devices were casting to the cloud so if anything happened to them the video wouldn't be lost.
I watched as the three bounty hunters moved to take up a position to bring fire down on any of the players around the wrecked train. Both Jeeta and Bosuku had full-auto heavy blast carbines. Greedo was carrying a large, stubby rifle with a four-pronged barrel. Wedged at the end of the barrel was a complex projectile.
What is that?
It … It is the Freeze Grenade from the terribly popular UltraHero SubZero movie series. My father took me to see them against my mother's wishes. I am certain she knew, but it was somehow all the more thrilling for the clandestine nature of the …
Not the time, I snapped. Freeze grenade?
Yes.
At that moment, an explosion rocked the area. It came from somewhere behind us. My eyes in the sky showed me a cloud of fire and smoke rising from the center of the city some blocks away. I noticed a bullet train heading in that direction on a nearby elevated track. I hoped it would pass unharmed.
The noise caught the attention of the combatants and they all turned towards us. So much for the element of surprise, I thought.
"About time you got here!" shouted the large orange-haired man as he sent another jet of lava towards a gunman. The targeted man teleported about three feet to the left, avoiding the attack and diving behind one of the train's wheels. "They're all hopped up on dragon blood. Ash, down!"
One of the gunmen spat out of thin stream of liquid that sizzled as it splashed against the wall of liquid basalt the big man created in front of his female teammate. She cartwheeled closer to her partners, leaving a cloud of soot to obscure her position. "Thanks, Volcano."
"Don't just stand there!" Volcano continued yelling at Greedo. "They're tougher than planned. Flank them and we can get them in a crossfire." Bosuku started zigzagging across the field to get a better firing angle on the gunmen by the train.
We know who he's working for. I commented.
"I've got a new plan," Greedo grinned and fired the freeze grenade, hitting the shocked magma blaster. My fire spirits could feel the temperature plummet as even they were pulled toward the sudden vortex that sucked all heat from the area, leaving the big villain encased in an opaque boulder of ice.
Bosuku yelled, "What are you doing? You traitor!" before he trained his blaster on Greedo. It was the first time I had heard his voice. It was high pitched and squeaky, almost like he was breathing helium.
Jeeta pressed a button on her gauntlet and the strip on the back of the lizardman's neck activated. Suddenly his muscles seized, and he toppled unmoving to the ground. "You thought we didn't know who you really worked for you fool!" Jeeta crowed.
At the same time Bosusku's strip activated, I felt a flash of bitter cold from my eyepatch and the strip on my arm sparked and fell off.
That wasn't me. I clarified.
Nor me, Emily echoed.
I tried to make sense of the situation. It was obvious that someone had hired Greedo and company to work with the Volcano crew. Unfortunately that didn't tell me who the other people were.
It looked like Volcano had used his lava power to derail the train. Greedo had said the train would be stopped in Hosu City. Were the Volcanos another hero team trying to stop the drugs?
What was Nightwing doing here? Was he with the Volcanos?
It looked like Greedo has switched sides. If the Volcanoes were thieves, maybe Greedo was working on the side of the angels trying to take them down? If the Volcanoes were good guys, then the bounty hunters had betrayed them for the Triad?
I tried to call the police to report the situation, only to find no cell connection.
There were no civilians in the area in need of evacuation, so that wasn't a priority.
A clap of thunder, coming from the wingless dragon knocked Nightwing for a loop, but he quickly recovered and returned a volley of razor pinions, which slashed into the sinuous torso of the thunder dragon. They seemed to be concentrating on each other, so helping Nightwing wasn't a priority.
I finally realized I couldn't act until I found out more. I waited and watched, readying strategies against the potential enemies.
Greedo was pouring freeze grenades on the expanding glacier imprisoning Volcano while Jeeta set up a kinetic sink around in front of them, protecting them from the two teammates' ash and wind attacks.
"Get around them, Gust," Ash ordered. "I don't think that shield goes full circle."
"You got it!" Gust set his fans behind him and took off running like a second-rate Velocity. He was able to use his wind gusts to maneuver in a tight circle, only to be forced to dodge a burst of plasma from Jeeta.
"You think were amateurs?" she yelled as she continued firing, tracking him until he was on the other side. She snapped her gun up just before she blasted her partner standing between her and her target.
Gust was concentrating on the bounty hunters and missed the dragon goon throwing a ball of lightning at him. It would have hit, except Ash enveloped it in a soot cloud, grounding it out.
"I think we're outnumbered here. Gotta free the boss!" she cried, panic edging into her voice.
Just then, the ground at their feet erupted in a geyser of magma and rock. Volcano rose out of the ground a dozen yards from the glacier which was supposed to be his prison. He stepped to Ash and Gust – who looked more than a bit relieved at his appearance.
"You scum! You attack me!" the massive man roared, pointing at Greedo. "I don't know what the Dragons are paying you, but I'll show you what you've bought!"
"Oh shit!" the faux-alien mercenary shouted and dove to the side, leaving Jeeta in the path of the expected blast.
"Ready? Three, two, one, Eruption!" Volcano counted down quickly.
At the final word from the big man, the three teammates intermingling their powers. A virtual volcano burst open – a deafening crack echoed, followed by a fast-moving wave of lava, ash, and flying stone. The shockwave and debris blanketed an area at least thirty yards in diameter and rocked the van an additional twenty yards away.
As the dust raced forwards, I came to the conclusion that Greedo and Jeeta were working for the Triad. Probably Landmark or someone had hired them to steal the drugs, along with the Volcanos, only for the Nine Head Dragon to make the mercenaries a better offer. That was why they packed all their stuff. They weren't going back to Mosuaizuri. After this job, the Chinese would relocate them somewhere outside their former client's reach.
Satisfied with my deduction, I pulled out my phone and tried to call for help. Once again, the lines were busy. From the continuing sounds of explosions, there was a lot going on in the city tonight. Even if the towers were still standing, a lot of people were trying to use the bandwidth at once. I dedicated a few spirits to keep making the attempt.
If I waited it was likely someone was going to get killed. Even if they were villains, I didn't want that. And the drugs – there had to be something valuable on that train and given the transformed goons, dragon blood was at least involved – were going to get grabbed by whoever won the battle. They'd be sold, ruining who knows how many lives. Drugs like that were too dangerous to leave as a prize.
It was time to stop watching and get involved. They were all bad guys. Everyone was going down.