The Hinomoto Rebellion (25 page)
After making sure there were no guards in the main storehouse, the Aka Ryuu eased over the handrails of the catwalk and onto the tops of the crates, spreading out and avoiding the floors. Each of them had a bag to put whatever they could carry in. Roni was the first to fill hers, eagerly shoving anything that would fit into the sack.
D and 26 went across to another stack of crates and began to rummage through them. A short distance away, Kanjou and Aki pried open a crate while Fushi tried to keep Roni quiet and entertained while she kept an eye out for guards. Luckily they had chosen a spot where they would be able to see someone approaching before the Aka Ryuu would be spotted, and a game of hide and seek would be easy in the rows of crates.
D shoved the top off a wooden box and peered inside, his eyes wide. “Wow,” he sighed. He reached in and pulled a kitana from the depths of the container. The
tsuka
was long and made of some sort of ivory, wrapped with black, gold and crimson cord. An ornate golden hand guard shone in even the dim light of the warehouse, seeming to bring extra light into the room. The sheath was a deep red and had once been lacquered to a brilliant sheen, though it had lost some of its shine while sitting in the box.
He gripped the
tsuka
in one hand and the sheath in the other, giving the sword a tug. It didn’t move from the sheath, which caused D’s brows to knit together.
“I can get it.” D gripped the hilt harder and gave it another pull. When that wouldn’t budge the blade from its housing, he yanked even harder.
The sword came free of its covering easily, sending D offbalance. 26 lunged for him, but missed his arm by a few centimeters. She managed to let out a short cry as he tumbled backwards off the stacked crates, heading directly for the laser-trapped floor.
Andrea’s ice blue eyes shot open. Her breathing was ragged, coming in short gasps. She had seen blood, pain, and death. Something terrible was going to happen, she was sure of it. But in order to prevent it, she would have to throw herself into the danger. Maybe she couldn’t even prevent it, maybe the end would be the same.
Andrea had never had an experience that was even slightly prophetic, but she got the distinct impression that the terror her subconscious had shown her just may have been a glimpse of the future.
She looked around at the dojo, at the place where she had spent most of her time as a child and learned to be a strong Martial Artist. She was surprised slightly by the realization that it no longer felt right to be there. She knew in her heart that no place would feel right anymore, not until she worked her life back into some semblance of sanity.
There was only one way of doing that, and it involved taking out the government that was smearing her name and preventing her from living. It involved the Aka Ryuu.
“Shit,” muttered Andrea. She jumped up and took off, heading out of the dojo, out of the ancient remedies store, and into the summer night...
D landed hard on the floor of the warehouse, the sword popping out of his hand and scuttling across the floor like some living insect. It disappeared down the pathway just as red emergency lights flashed on and a shrill siren pierced the air. Densetsu sat up, rubbing his head.
Just then they heard muffled shouts and the sounds of running feet coming down the catwalk at the other end of the warehouse. D suddenly found the Aka Ryuu surrounding him, and before any of them really knew what was happening, they were moving as a group down the stacks of crates. They moved away from the catwalk, then turned in the direction that the shouts were coming from. Finally, they crouched behind some of the crates and waited, biding their time as the guards came closer and closer, their voices becoming more distinct with every passing second.
Andrea skidded to a halt at the edge of the warehouse parking lot, her chest heaving as she attempted to catch her breath. She could hear an alarm going off inside the warehouse, and she cursed inwardly at the Aka Ryuu. In her mind she reviewed the blueprints Kanjou had shown them. No doubt they had gone in the fire exit on the roof and that was exactly where Andrea couldn’t get to. And, of course, there were cameras at the other entrances.
smirked Andrea, looking around the parking lot for several large rocks.
“Spread out!” yelled a guard as they reached the middle of the catwalk. The Aka Ryuu crouched closer to the boxes. Roni let out a low whimper, which caused 26 to reach down and gather her up into her arms. Kanjou and Aki each peered around either side of the stack of crates. “One of them is still on the catwalk... coming in this direction.” whispered Aki urgently.
“Let’s get under the catwalk! Hurry!” urged D in a whisper. The group of Aka Ryuu moved as a unit, cautiously creeping back toward the catwalk in an attempt to be out of sight from above.
They crouched there, waiting breathlessly as the guard above them came closer and closer. He was wearing some sort of body armor and carrying a large black gun. His heavy boots made a clunking sound on the mesh grating of the catwalk as he came forward. The guard paused directly above the huddled group of
ronin
, looking slowly from left to right.
“Sir! I found the problem!” came a voice from further away. The guard above them acknowledged his companion and walked quickly down the catwalk, causing the Aka Ryuu to let out a sigh of relief.
There were a few moments of silence as the Aka Ryuu held their breaths, waiting to see if they could get away with setting the alarm off. “Keep checking. There’s no way that fell on its own. I want this whole place searched!” was the gruff answer from the catwalk above.
The rebels clutched their bags of much-needed supplies tighter as they heard the sound of a bare sword being placed on top of a wooden box. Tension ran high as the footsteps began again.
Kanjou motioned for the others to follow him as he started creeping along through the rows of boxes, listening to the echoing footsteps of the guards as they came closer to the group. The brunet stopped at the end of the row of crates, motioning for the others to stop behind him. Fushi and Aki came over to the other side of the aisle, pressing against the boxes and crouching low to the floor. Aki poked her head out around the corner some, then pulled it back quickly and pointed behind her, mouthing “Guard,” to Kanjoi.
The tall brunet let a litany of curses go through his head.
We’re going to have to fight... or run... Maybe running would be the better option.
He looked from Fushicho to Roni, a frown creasing his face.
I owe Andrea an apology if we ever make it out of here.
The footsteps came closer and closer, echoing on the hard concrete floor. The Aka Ryuu tried to disappear in to the floor and get lost in the flashing red light, hoping that the guard wouldn’t see them. A man in a light blue shirt and dark pants walked in to view just then, looking ahead with a rifle ready at his shoulder. The
ronin
stiffened, watching as he walked by.
Aki got up from her crouch and started stepping out in to the hall behind the guard, following him as quietly as she could. She closed in on him, lifting her fist to knock him out.
The guard turned suddenly, shocked by the sound. His eyes went wide at seeing the black-haired
ronin
behind him. He jumped back a step, too surprised to lift his gun before Aki could rush behind the crates. “Run!” she cried just before the guard started yelling for them to freeze.
Aki and the others turned to the opposite direction and ran while Kanjou reached around and pulled the guard over the crates. The brunet smashed his fist in to the man’s face, immediately causing blood to spill from the guard’s nose on to his blue button-down shirt as he let out a shout. Kanjou shoved him back and did a side-kick to the guard’s chest, sending him back in to the crates before he turned and followed the rest of the Aka Ryuu as they fled.
Andrea experimentally tossed the rock she had picked up a few times, then decided it had a good enough balance and weight for what she needed. She headed around the building to the back door.
The large loading dock was empty this time of night, one orange bulb the only illumination in the area. A few moths fluttered around the light, making a soft “tink” noise whenever they collided with the glass. About 200 yards and several medians away the parking lot for the adjoining warehouse began. No one was in sight except for the lone
ronin
.
Andrea stood back about 20 yards and regarded the loading dock. There was a large open space between her and the short flight of stairs that led up to a regular sized steel door. To the right of the door was a wide concrete ledge with three doors that rolled up into the ceiling. Andrea noted that there was only a flimsy key-card lock on the small door, and directly above the door was her target: a tiny blinking light that betrayed the presence of the video camera.
“You’re mine,” Andrea growled with a smirk. She tested the rock one more time, then pulled her arm back as though she were a pitcher in the extinct game called baseball. She let her arm rocket forward, turning the stone in to a deadly projectile.
There was a crash and a small shower of sparks before the red light stopped blinking. Andrea gave a smug grin and headed for the door. As she mounted the short flight of stairs, she could hear the buzzing of the alarm more clearly from inside. Before she had gotten all the way to the door she heard several bursts of gunfire.