Stones: Theory (Stones #4) (46 page)

Ryzaard stops. “No need for you to concern yourself with it. Just keep doing your job. The same for all of you.” He walks through the open door and shuts it behind him.

The rest of them remain at the table. With Ryzaard gone from the room, Jing-wei slowly relaxes and sinks deeper into her chair.

“Anyone else feel it?” Jing-wei’s finger goes up to the implant behind her ear.

Diego swivels in his chair. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Feel what?” Jerek says.

“My point exactly.” Jing-wei’s arms go down to the table. “I got the implant five days ago, just like the rest of you. Before that, I was seriously considering quitting the team, regardless of the threat to my family.”

“Why would you ever want to quit the team?” Elsa asks. “You saw what happened to Alexa, didn’t you?” She closes her eyes and shakes her head.

“Again, my point exactly,” Jing-wei says.

Kalani leans close to her. “Are you feeling OK?”

“I feel fine. But haven’t the rest of you noticed a subtle shift in your thinking. I remember, before I got the implant, thinking that just maybe Ryzaard had gone crazy. That his idea of using nuclear detonations to kill millions and get the attention of the world was . . .” Her gaze drifts out the window to the city below.

“Was what?” Jerek smiles. “A stroke of genius?”

“No.” Jing-wei shakes her head. “Evil.”

“Why would you think that?” Kalani says.

“I don’t. Not now. But I think I did before.” Jing-wei pushes away from the table and slowly walks around it. “Each of you were the same. I remember. But now all of that is gone.”

“So what’s the problem?” Diego says. “Ryzaard really
is
a genius. He’s going to eliminate suffering once and for all. Paradise is on its way. How can we argue with that?”

“You’re right.” Jing-wei stops. “Don’t you see? We
can’t
argue with it. We’ve all lost the ability to argue or disagree with Ryzaard.”

Kalani laughs. “What’s so bad about that?” His fingers go up to the implant behind his ear. “I’m really getting to like this. Can’t imagine how I got along without it before.”

One by one, the others walk away from the table, leaving Jing-wei standing by herself.

F
inally away from the madness.

Matt walks through a field of sunflowers, fingers entwined with Jessica’s warm hand. Yarah runs ahead, raising her arms to the full moon that floats above.

Stepping out onto a paved road, Jessica points down a long driveway. “I’m surprised to see a house there.” She moves across the road. “Last time I was here, everything was destroyed. It must have been rebuilt.”

Matt and Yarah follow Jessica up the lane.

“Who lives here?” Matt scans the Japanese house. It looks like a two-story box rising in the middle with a low, flat roof spreading out on both sides below it like wings. Glossy clay tiles reflect the moonlight and cling to the roof in neat rows like perfectly aligned cockroaches. It appears entirely uninhabited, no lights, no well-trimmed garden of trees and bushes in front, no car. Nothing but flat ground and fresh wood construction that smells of raw cedar sap.

“Her name is Michiko.” Jessica balances a pulse rifle on her shoulder, the barrel pointing up at the moon. “She was educated in America and speaks flawless English. I met her a few months back, while I was with the Inuit people. We crossed over from Alaska and came here on a submarine to find a certain freedom camp. Her father was a wealthy farmer, loosely affiliated with the camp.” She stops in front of the entrance. The sliding door is open a few inches. No sound comes from inside.

“I remember you telling me the story,” Matt says. A hidden cicada starts buzzing in the darkness to their right. Another one joins in the chorus behind them. “Ryzaard’s people attacked and destroyed the house and killed everyone in it. You, your Inuit friend and Michiko got away.” He pulls the two parts of a pulse rifle from his backpack, clicks them together and turns to the right, squinting his eyes. “But Michiko got separated from you. What ever happened to her?”

“I don’t kn—”

“Right here.”

Matt and Jessica pump their rifles in unison and swing the barrels to the right in the direction of the voice.

A Japanese woman steps out of the shadows behind the corner of the house into the moonlight, her own rifle pointed at Matt.

Jessica lifts her cheek off the stock of her gun. “Michiko, is that you?” She lets the barrel drop to the ground and takes a step forward. “It’s Jessica. From America. With some friends. Remember me?”

Matt’s rifle sags down. His hand slowly goes into a side pocket and fingers the cloaking box with its open lid, making his Stone feel dead and useless.

Keeping her rifle in a horizontal position trained on Matt, Michiko slides forward. “We found the submarine destroyed. I thought they killed you as well. Why have you come back?”

“We need your help.” Matt lets his rifle fall to the ground and raises his hands. “A place to hide. Time to organize our forces against Ryzaard.”

Michiko walks close to Matt and thrusts the tip of her rifle against his chest. Her gaze goes down to Yarah standing beside her.

“Will you help us?” Yarah has a big smile on her face.

Michiko shoots a glance at Jessica. “The last time you came here, Ryzaard’s men killed my father. They destroyed our house, the farm, everything we had. They drained my father’s bank accounts. They took it all and left us nothing.” She drops the gun and steps back. “I had some money in an account overseas. Enough to rebuild the house, but now someone else owns the farm.”

“I’m sorry.” Jessica drops her gaze to the ground. “You saved my life before. I wish it could have worked out differently for your family.”

Turning, Michiko opens the sliding door behind her. “It can’t be helped. Come inside.”

The three of them follow her into the dark interior, slipping out of their shoes and stepping onto the main floor. They move on a cold wood surface down a dark hall and through another sliding door into a small
tatami
room on the right.

Michiko pulls thick curtains over the windows and turns on a single light drooping from a wire over a low table. She goes to a closet and pulls out four
zabuton
cushions, dropping one on each side of the table.

A picture of her father with a thick, black ribbon running through it hangs on the wall.

Michiko points at the cushions on the floor. “Sit down. I’ll bring tea.” She slips out through the sliding door.

The receding patter of her bare feet lingers in the hallway.

Yarah remains standing. Her eyes wander to a bookcase with a long row of colorful old paperback books with large Japanese
kanji
running down the spines. She pulls one of the books out of the middle and stares at the yellow pages as she fans them from front to back.

“It goes the other way,” Matt says. “Back to front.” He takes one of the books. “Looks like an antique collection of Japanese
manga
from a long time ago.” He reads the cover and smiles. “
Naruto
. It’s about a boy that’s a ninja.”

“
Ninja
?” Yarah’s brown eyes stare up at Matt. “What does a ninja do?”

Michiko walks in with four cups and a steaming pot on a tray. “A
ninja
is a person with unique talents.” She casts her gaze in the direction of Matt. “Someone who fights in unusual ways to accomplish what no one else can do.” Kneeling down, she places each cup precisely six inches from the edge on each side of the square table.

Matt follows her delicate fingers as she lifts the teapot and pours out the smooth green liquid. “You’ve studied
chanoyu
. The Tea Ceremony.”

“Is that a question or a statement?” Michiko pours her own cup last and sits back down with her legs perfectly aligned under her body.

“An observation.” Matt nods toward his cup. “You pour tea like my mother used to.”

“It’s no great accomplishment to have studied the Tea Ceremony.” The cup goes up to her lips. “They didn’t tell me that the Finder was an expert in Japanese culture.”

Matt senses the tension in Michiko’s voice.

“We’ve been out of the loop for quite a while,” he says. “It may help if you could tell us what you know about Ryzaard and his current plans.”

Michiko takes a sip from her cup, holding it with both hands. “The nearby freedom camp was destroyed and the people disbursed. Or killed. I don’t know if any freedom camps are left anywhere in the world. Rumors of the Finder and his last words are whispered and passed in secret by word of mouth.” She takes another sip of tea and swallows.

“Last words?” Matt raises an eyebrow.

“Yes,” Michiko says. “Two words, to be precise. It’s all the wisdom he was able to offer. Not much to go on if you ask me.” Her eyes sweep past Matt. “And now the Children still devoted to the cause wander without a leader, hanging on to those two words, always looking for the day of Abomination.”

“I remember now.” Matt pulls a small amount of tea between his lips and lets it spread out on his tongue, noting its bitter flavor. “The two words.
Avoid Shinto
.”

“As luck would have it, it may turn out to have been good advice.” Michiko stands. “I have something to show you. But first things first.” She looks at Yarah. “Are you hungry?”

Yarah’s eyes shoot open. She nods vigorously.

“Then let’s eat.” Michiko taps Jessica on the arm. “I have food in the kitchen.”

Jessica gets to her feet. “I’ll help you.”

The two of them leave the room, their voices trailing off. From the kitchen down the hall, the far off sound of dishes and glasses floats in the air.

Matt takes the time to decide whether Michiko can be trusted, but her and Jessica come back with platters of food before his mind settles on a decision.

It all goes down onto the table.

“Watch the video while we eat.” Michiko walks to the wall opposite the bookcase and pulls back a curtain to reveal a bluescreen. “It happened a few hours ago, just before nightfall.” She stands back and points her jax, causing the screen to light up.

It starts with a wide angle view of a Japanese Shinto shrine with three torii gates standing in the water.

“Itsukushima Shrine,” Matt says. “On Miyajima Island. One of the most famous shrines in Japan.”

“No need for commentary,” Michiko says. “Just watch.”

The view zooms in on a single Shinto priest standing on a platform in front of the shrine. Luxurious white robes envelope his body.

“Who’s that?” Jessica says.

“Mr. Miyazawa,” Michiko says. ”Master priest of EUSA. The Earth United Shinto Alliance. Watch what he does.”

As they stare, Miyazawa holds up a small, clear cube in his hand. It opens, and he takes out an exquisite blue jewel floating inside. A young woman walks forward, and he presses the blue jewel to the flesh behind her ear.

It all triggers a distant memory in Matt’s past.

They watch as the view switches to avatars of Miyazawa and the young woman travelling through the Mesh.

“Of course.” Matt’s chopsticks fall from his fingers. He rises to his feet, staring at the bluescreen, mouth open. “Why didn’t I think of this before? I should have known.”

Jessica touches his knee. “Should have known what?”

“It’s so obvious!” Matt’s hits the heel of his hand against his forehead.

“What?”

“The implants.” Matt motions up at the scene of Japanese Shinto worshipers pressing the blue jewels to their ears. The view zooms in on a close-up of a small group. Their dilated eyes and slow movements tell him everything he needs to know. He’s seen that look before. Images flood into his mind. “Ryzaard showed this to me. A long time ago. This is how he brings Paradise to the Earth. Everyone gets a blue jewel. He takes over their minds. No more crime, no more wars. A planet of zombies.”

“So this is the
Abomination
?” Jessica says.

Matt nods. “It’s finally made itself known.” He brings a bowl of
miso
soup up to his lips and slurps. “Now it all makes sense.”

Michiko points her chopsticks at the bluescreen on the wall. “If that is really what it looks like, a direct neural connection to the Mesh, then you have your work cut out for you if you’re trying to stop it.” She picks up a thick strip of white squid
sashimi
and touches it lightly to the soy sauce. “Everyone on the planet is going to
crave
one of those. A dream come true. It’s going to be hard enough keeping the Children raised in freedom camps away from the implants. I don’t know how you will keep everyone else away.”

“I think you’re right.” Jessica’s eyelashes drop down for a long blink, and she turns to Matt. “What can we do?”

“No idea.” Matt no longer has an appetite as nausea overtakes him. “But we’ve got to think of something. Ryzaard’s moving fast.”

Michiko stabs a ball of sticky rice with her chopsticks and stares at it. “You have a major problem on your hands.”

“We
all
do.” Matt says.