CHILDREN OF TIME (2025 Edition) by Michel Poulin - HTML preview

CHAPTER – TOKYO RUMBLE

 

15:40 (Tokyo Time)

Tuesday, November 10, 2015 ‘A’

Room 402, Ibis Hotel, Roppongi District

Tokyo, Japan

Nancy, quite tired from her long air trip from Los Angeles, where she had met Marvel Studios officials before flying to Japan, put down her suitcases with a sigh of relief and closed the door of her hotel room. She certainly wouldn’t mind the couple of days before the coming Friday to recuperate from the change in time zones. A makeup team from Marvel Studios was due to join her in Tokyo on Thursday, in time to prepare her for the Japan premiere of the film AVENGERS 2. As one of the movie characters, albeit not a true primary one, and due to her knowledge of the Japanese language, she had been designated by Marvel Studios to go help spice up the movie’s premiere in Japan, which would precede the various North American premieres by a week. The film had been originally due out in May, but an unfortunate accident to one of the main actors had delayed the completion and release of the film by many months. One unexpected result of that was that Nancy’s public relations stint would be followed only a week later by the 5th Women’s World Open Karate Tournament, itself running concurrently with the 11th World Open Karate Tournament, traditionally reserved for men. Nancy had registered herself as part of the Women’s Tournament and was firmly resolved to target the top prize. Her winning of the top women’s title at the 2014 IKO tournament actually gave her good hopes of winning again this year. After unpacking her suitcases and undressing, Nancy stepped into the bathroom of her hotel room and took a quick shower, then went to bed for some much needed sleep. Her last thought before she fell asleep was for her three young children, Eli, 22 month-old, and Patrick and Suzanne, both eleven month-old, whom she had left under the care of the loyal Diana in her Jerusalem ‘B’ suite. She had left them two months ago already by her biological clock, to live another period of her life in the 21st Century, but would actually reappear in her Jerusalem suite a mere ten minutes after her disappearance there. Still, she missed

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them a lot, even though her babies wouldn’t even be conscious of her short absence from Timeline ‘B’.

20:33 (Tokyo Time)

Office of the ‘Red Dragon’ pachinko parlor

Shinjuku District, Tokyo

‘’You asked for me, Mister Harakawa?’’ said Jiro at the same time he bowed to the thin man sitting behind the desk. Harakawa, a feared man in the Shinjuku District, nodded once and slid a large envelope towards Jiro on his desk.

‘’Hay! A Gaijin12 customer has contacted our organization with a request to kill a visiting female Gaijin. The contract pays well and should be relatively easy to complete, since the woman in question does not expect trouble here in Tokyo. This envelope contains the information you will need to find and kill this woman.’’ Stepping forward, Jiro grabbed the envelope before sitting on the chair facing the desk, then took out the few sheets of papers inside the envelope. Harakawa didn’t miss the double take that Jiro did on seeing the large picture of a young woman that had been inside the envelope.

‘’Is there a problem, Jiro?’’ asked the Yakuza sub-boss in a dangerous tone. The young mafia enforcer hurriedly shook his head, trying to hide his true feelings.

‘’Uh, no, Mister Harakawa. It is just that this Nancy Laplante is reputed to be a very tough, dangerous woman. She in fact won last year’s Kyokushin Karate

tournament, on top of killing those Indonesian pirates who had hijacked a Japanese tanker ship.’’

‘’A very tough, dangerous and unarmed woman out of her normal element. As I said, the contract pays well and the customer wants her dead before she can leave Tokyo. So, will you do the job or will I need to ask someone else?’’ Jiro couldn’t help feel cold sweat on his forehead at the tone of Harakawa. If he refused this contract, he could very well be considered a liability and be gotten rid of. Very few people could annoy Mister Harakawa without paying a price for it. Jiro thus bowed low while replacing the papers in the envelope.

‘’The job will be done, Mister Harakawa.’’

12 Gaijin : pejorative term used by many Japanese to designate Caucasian foreigners.

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‘’Good! Then, you may leave.’’

Jiro didn’t waste time and left as quickly as decency permitted, the envelope still in one hand. Going to a nearby washroom in the pachinko parlor, he locked himself up in a stall and looked again at the picture and papers inside the envelope, his heart sinking. He had loved the movie CROSSROADS and had been fired up by the character of the Shadow Dancer. In truth, he had developed a crush for the actress playing that role, whose real life exploits had also inflamed his imagination. In that, he was not the only young man in Japan to be fascinated by Nancy Laplante. Now, he had to kill her.

21:08 (Tokyo Time)

Wednesday, November 11, 2015 ‘A’

Lesbian bar ‘Lagoon’, Shinjuku-Nishome District Tokyo, Japan

Hoshi Minori and Kimiko Sakai screamed with joy the moment they saw Nancy enter the small ‘Lagoon’ bar where they were having a late drink together, making the other female customers jump on their stools.

‘’NANCY!’’

Both young Japanese women then jumped off their stools to go hug and kiss Nancy, who returned their kisses in kind. The three of them finally parted, smiling.

‘’Why didn’t you warn us in advance that you were coming to Tokyo, Nancy?’’ asked 21-year-old Kimiko.

‘’For two reasons, Kimiko. First, I was told by my present employer to keep my arrival discreet; second, I wanted to make it a surprise for you. Are Akira and Hiromi due to end working at ten tonight?’’

‘’Yes, as usual!’’ answered Kimiko, who then threw her curious look.

‘’CNN told you to keep your arrival in Tokyo discreet? Why?’’

‘’While I still work on a part-time basis for CNN, I don’t presently work on any specific reporting. Instead, I am presently here on behalf of Marvel Studios.’’

‘’You came here to work for Marvel Studios?’’ asked Hoshi, opening wide her eyes. Nancy then got very close to her two Japanese friends/occasional lovers and answered Hoshi in a near whisper.

‘’Keep this to yourselves but I am here to help promote the opening in Tokyo of their new movie, AVENGERS 2.’’

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Both young women sucked air in on hearing that. Hoshi then whispered back to Nancy.

‘’Does that mean that you played a role in it, Nancy?’’

‘’Yes, I did play a role in it, a secondary one. Don’t ask me now what role: you will be able to see by yourself on watching the premiere of the movie this Friday...with the help of those four invitation tickets.’’

Both Hoshi and Kimiko stared with big eyes at the four cinema tickets Nancy had just taken out of one pocket and was now brandishing close to them, then screamed in delight.

10:26 (Tokyo Time)

Thursday, November 12, 2015 ‘A’

Japanese National Police headquarters

Tokyo

A young Japanese policewoman escorted Nancy to the office of Chief-Inspector Kido, where she knocked on the glass door of the cubicle, situated in one corner of a large open office space. Getting a ‘come in’ from Kido, Nancy then entered the cubicle and was about to bow to Kido when she was struck by his downcast expression.

‘’Uh, is something wrong, Chief-Inspector?’’

‘’Yes, but my services are working on it, Miss Laplante. To what do I owe your visit in Tokyo today?’’

‘’Well, I was hoping to see Kimi here this morning, so that I could give her two invitation tickets for the opening premiere of the movie AVENGERS 2, which will play tomorrow evening at the Nishigeki Plaza Cinema, in Ginza. Do you know where I could find her?’’

That apparently innocuous question seemed to make Kido suddenly age and he sat back heavily in his chair while lowering his head and eyes.

‘’I... Kimi disappeared five days ago while investigating a big Yakuza13 crime boss. We are still searching for her.’’

Both stunned and deeply shaken, Nancy went to sit in a chair facing Kido’s desk before asking him a question in a hesitant voice.

13 Yakuza: Very powerful and influential Japanese organized crime group composed of multiple family clans and counting tens of thousands of members.

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‘’Do you have any clues about where she could be, Chief-Inspector?’’

‘’We only know that she was due to meet with an informant who claimed to have some information on that Yakuza boss. Her boyfriend told us that she never returned home and is not answering her cell phone.’’

‘’Dear God! When was she last seen and where?’’

Kido then looked up at her, caution in his eyes.

‘’Nancy, this is a police case: you can’t get involved in it.’’ With her expression hardening, Nancy stared back at him.

‘’Kimi is my friend, Chief-Inspector, so pardon me if I don’t care about your interdiction or about the sensitivities of your police department. I am an investigative reporter and have covered war theatres dozens of times, so you better believe that I am more than able to help you find her. So, where and when was she last seen?’’

‘’She was last seen here, as she was leaving to go meet with her informant, last Saturday, at 16:30 in late afternoon. As for where she was going, I don’t have a clue: she kept that information to herself, as is usual when dealing with sensitive informants.’’

‘’You mean that you don’t know anything about that informant, Chief-Inspector?’’ asked Nancy, a bit incredulous about that. ‘’You should at the least know the identity of that informant, right?’’

‘’No, I don’t! Due to a rash of recent leaks among the Tokyo District of the JNP, we now keep all information on our informants very confidential, with only the case officers involved knowing details about them.’’

Nancy’s expression hardened even more at those words: the Japanese police was notorious to be fairly corrupt, especially where the Yakuza was concerned. Many Japanese politicians of medium and high level were also in the pay of the Yakuza, which was like an octopus spreading itself all over Japan.

‘’Could you at least tell me on what kind of case she was working on? Was it on drug trafficking?’’

Kido, still unwilling to look at her directly, shook his head.

‘’Not drugs. She was investigating a human sex trafficking ring involved in the disappearance of dozens of young women and of even teenage girls, both Japanese and foreign ones, in the Tokyo area. I am sorry but I can’t tell you more than that.’’

‘’That will be enough for me to orient my own investigation, Chief-Inspector Kido. If I find anything, I will contact you immediately. Thank you again for the information.’’

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Getting up from her chair, she shook hands with Kido, then left his cubicle and walked out of the large police office room. Unknown to Kido, she already had a card up her sleeve concerning her search for Kimi, a very big card.

Stopping in one of the public washrooms of the JNP headquarters, she locked herself up in one of its toilet stalls and sat on the toilet before activating her implanted radio transceiver, which worked on a frequency that could not be intercepted by 21st Century radios, then spoke mentally in it.

‘’WALKUREN, this is Nancy: urgent priority task for you. Police Detective Kimi Miura, of the JNP, has disappeared five days ago and was at the time investigating a human sex trafficking ring dealing in young women and teenage girls, both Japanese and foreign ones, and run by the Yakuza. She was last seen on last Saturday, November seven, at around four thirty in the afternoon, when she walked out of the Homicide Division of the JNP headquarters in order to supposedly meet an informant concerning that trafficking ring. Find Kimi Miura and rescue her anonymously, if she is still alive, along with any trafficked girl or woman you will find at the same time. If you see her about to die, then rescue her, again anonymously. If you can find the ones who kidnapped her, then let those bastards disappear as well...to the distant past. Acknowledge!’’

‘’To Nancy, from Otto: we will get on this right away, out!’’ Nancy felt some reassurance as she closed her radio link to the scoutship WALKUREN: Otto Skorzeny was an extremely competent agent and he also could rely on extremely advanced and effective ways to help his work. Praying that Kimi Miura would get out of this alive and well, Nancy walked out of the toilet stall and left the JNP headquarters to go to the Haneda International Airport, where the makeup team sent by Marvel Studios was due to arrive in the early afternoon.

16:23 (Tokyo Time)

Saturday, November 07, 2015 ‘A’

Homicide Division, JNP headquarters

Tokyo

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Kimi Miura was working at her assigned desk in the large open office space assigned to the Homicide Division when her cell phone rang, making her grab it and open the link, which showed an anonymous caller.

‘’Detective Miura speaking!’’

‘’Hello, Miss Miura!’’ replied a male voice that she didn’t recognize. ‘’My name is not important but know that I may have some information of interest for you about the sex trafficking ring run by Masaki Aonuma. I would like to meet with you this afternoon in order to pass to you an envelope containing photos and information. Could you meet me at, say, six o’clock at the ‘Shiba Café’, near the corner of Shinjuku-Dori and Meiji-Dori?’’

Kimi looked quickly at her watch before answering her anonymous caller.

‘’I can be there for six, mister. How will I recognize you?’’

‘’You won’t! I will instead recognize and approach you at the time. Please do not have someone trailing you, miss. If I detect any surveillance, then I will stay away and you will be able to forget about my information.’’

‘’Very well, mister. Once at the Shiba Café, I will sit at an empty table and wait for you there.’’

‘’That it will be fine with me, miss. I will see you there at six.’’ The line was then closed, leaving Kimi to look for a moment at her cell phone before pocketing it and grabbing her coat and purse. What she couldn’t know or see was that two micro-probes, each the size of a fly and working under cloak, had been spying her for the last half-hour and had heard and filmed her conversation with her anonymous caller, retransmitting it to the WALKUREN, where Otto Skorzeny and his assault team were watching on her. Kimi then went to the cubicle used by her boss, Chief-Inspector Takashi Kido, where she knocked on its glass door before sticking her head and torso inside.

‘’Excuse me, Kido-San. I just got a call from a claimed informant who wants to give me some information concerning Aonuma’s sex trafficking ring. I am going to meet that informant in Shinjuku and will keep you informed of the results of that meeting.’’

‘’Please be careful, Kimi: Aonuma is known to play quite nasty. If he finds out that you are investigating him...’’

‘’Don’t worry, Kido-San: I will be careful...and armed.’’

Kimi then left the Homicide Division and went down to street level. There, she debated on how best to get to that ‘Shiba Café’: she had once gone there and knew that the car

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traffic there was quite hectic, while finding quickly a parking spot could prove difficult. She finally decided to use the subway system and go to the Shinjuku Station, which would bring her to less than 200 meters from the Shiba Café. With that decision taken, she put on her trench coat and walked out of the headquarters building, heading to the nearest subway station.

Kimi, still unaware of being followed by a pair of micro-probes or of unconsciously carrying a micro-locator at the bottom of one of her pockets, arrived at the Shiba Café some twelve minutes before six o’clock. Taking place at an empty table inside the café and ordering a coffee, she then waited patiently while observing discretely the people in and around the coffee shop. At close to six o’clock, a man who passed close to her table while on his way out discretely dropped a piece of crumpled paper near her cup of coffee, then continued on his way to the door. Giving the man a quick look first, Kimi then took the piece of paper and opened it in her lap, under the table. It said simply ‘follow me outside’. Leaving money on her table to pay for her coffee, Kimi then got up, put on her trench coat and grabbed her purse before walking out. Seeing the man who had dropped the piece of paper, who was now walking away slowly and following the façade of the building containing the café, Kimi started following him. The man soon turned into the next street connecting with Shinjuku-Dori and walked on the sidewalk until arriving near a brown Toyota sedan car. Unlocking and opening its front right door, he then partly opened the rear right door before sitting behind the driver’s wheel. Understanding that her informant wanted her to get in his car, Kimi only hesitated for a second before opening the rear right door and sitting on the rear bench seat. As she was closing her door, the man quickly turned in his seat and jabbed a syringe into her left arm. Realizing too late that this was a trap, Kimi tried to unholster her revolver but started to feel dizzy nearly immediately after having been jabbed. She fell unconscious within two seconds, with her revolver dropping to the floor of the car. As she collapsed on the bench seat, one more man who had been sitting at a nearby bench while reading a newspaper got up and quickly walked to the car, where he sat in the back, next to Kimi. Grabbing the revolver dropped by Kimi and putting it in a pocket of his trench coat, he nodded to the driver.

‘’You can roll, Kenji.’’

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The driver did so at once and started rolling north. The man on the rear seat made a cruel smile as he looked at the unconscious Kimi and took a few seconds to fondle her breasts.

‘’She is not bad at all. Maybe we should have some fun with her before we make her talk about what she knows about the business of Aonumi-San.’’

‘’Careful, Hondo!’’ warned the driver. ‘’You know how much Aonuma-San is impatient to interrogate her. He may just want to play with her as well. If he finds that you soiled her before he could, he then may get angry at you.’’

‘’Er, you’re right, Kenji. Too bad, though: by the time we are finished with her, she may not be pretty anymore.’’

‘’Well, you could always satisfy yourself with one of the newer girls at the Ecstasy Club: we got a new, very young gaijin girl yesterday who is quite juicy.’’

‘’Oh?! From where is she?’’

‘’She’s a fourteen-year-old Swedish blonde named Greta. You will really like her.’’

‘’If you say so. Still, if I can’t fuck that police woman, then I will still be able to have fun with her, in another way.’’

Both Yakuza men then laughed together at that declaration from Hondo.

Some 25 minutes later, the car rolled inside the private underground garage of the ‘Ecstasy Club’, which was reserved for the use of Masaki Aonuma and of the members of his gang. Parking their car near one of the elevators linking the garage with the club, Kenji and Hondo stepped out of it and pulled out the still unconscious Kimi from their car, to then carry her to the nearest elevator. However, instead of going up, they went down by one level, ending in an old wartime bomb shelter which had been reconfigured into a secret detention and storage facility for the Ecstasy Club. Carrying the female detective to a special padded room with thick sound insulation, they dropped Kimi in the middle of the room, on top of a steel grating plate.

‘’Alright, Hondo, strip her and prepare her while I will inform the boss by phone that we got her. I am sure that he will want to watch and enjoy while we will work her up.’’

‘’Got it!’’

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As Kenji went to the phone hooked to a wall of the torture chamber, Hondo started stripping Kimi of her clothes, being none too gentle about it. He had a sadistic smile on his face when the poor Kimi ended up fully naked on the floor. Mindful of the warning Kenji had given him in the car, he did not rape her on the spot but spent a minute fondling her body and penetrating her with two fingers.

‘’This should be really fun. This police bitch will have plenty of time to regret getting nosy about Aonuma-San before she dies.’’

He barely had time to say that before three big men appeared out of nowhere in brief flashes of white light, well dispersed around the room. The two Yakuza men, utterly surprised, did not have time to react before being stunned unconscious by the stun pistols of the Time Patrol agents. Falling to the concrete floor, their bodies then disappeared in flashes of light, carried away by spacetime transfer probes. Otto Skorzeny, approaching the still unconscious Kimi Miura with young Michel Hoffman, looked at her with relief as George Townsend watched the access door.

‘’That poor girl just avoided spending some horribly painful hours in here at the hands of those Yakuza bastards. Let’s collect her clothes and carry her to the WALKUREN. As for those Yakuza men whom we will capture, we will forget about leaving them marooned on some past island: those sadistic bastards don’t deserve such a gentle treatment. We will strip them, remove anything that could identify them as modern men and then dump them into the Pacific from high altitude. Let the sharks deal with them!’’

‘’With pleasure, Otto.’’ replied young Michel before collecting Kimi’s clothes, which had been carelessly thrown into one corner of the room. Otto, having picked up Kimi’s inert body into his arms, then disappeared with her, soon followed by Michel and George.

However, the Time Patrol was not finished yet with Masaki Aonuma and his gang as Otto and his team of five assault troopers soon started roaming the Ecstasy Club and its secret detention facility, going around under cloak and stunning unconscious every Yakuza man they encountered. Next, they lightly stunned all the captive women and girls they found and transported them to the WALKUREN, where Jenny Kawena ‘B’, Johanna Fink ‘B’, Ilsa Bauman ‘B’, Sylvie Comeau ‘B’, Keiko Miramoto ‘A’ and Esperanza Valido ‘B’ received them and put them into a deeper sleep, then dressed them up properly. By that time, both Kenji and Hondo were already gone, thrown out

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from high altitude into the waters of the Pacific Ocean after being stripped to their shorts by Jack and Mike Crawford. When Masaki Aonuma was transported, stunned

unconscious, to the WALKUREN, Mike Crawford gave him a hateful look.

‘’Falling into the Pacific while unconscious would be too kind of a punishment for this human monster. We will tie him and gag him up after stripping him, then we will revive him before throwing him out: let him be conscious while he falls to his death.’’

‘’That would still be a more merciful death than what he did to so many people, but I concur.’’ said Jack Crawford.

At the end of the operation at the Ecstasy Club, the Time Patrol members ended up with a total of 37 young women and girls who had been detained and sexually exploited by Aonuma’s gang. A few were of shockingly young age, like in the case of two twelve-year-old Japanese girls who had been kidnapped on their way to school, and in the case of fourteen-year-old Greta Nystrom, grabbed while visiting Japan with her parents. What was left now was to return those poor girls to their families without giving them a hint of how they had been rescued or on the existence of the Time Patrol, something easier said than done. Otto Skorzeni, always the devious type, proposed the solution as the team looked at the 37 sleeping ex-captives.

‘’Let’s return them all to where they were being held in the Ecstasy Club while they are still unconscious, returning them to the club on the evening of Thursday, November twelve, after Nancy visited the JNP headquarters. We will put up ‘temporarily closed for renovations’ signs on the doors of the club, lock them up and unhook the phones. They will then wake up, with no Yakuza left in the club, as the police will take over the place. That way, the police will be able to believe that they were knocked out by some kind of sleeping gas, like their captors, with the latter then removed by whatever rival gang or organization hit the club.’’

Mike Crawford thought that proposition over for a moment before nodding his head.

‘’Not the perfect solution but a damn good one nonetheless, Otto. The police may end up asking themselves who could have done that but they won’t have anybody available who could tell them about strange men and women aboard some kind of big aircraft. Sold! Let’s just make sure that the police will raid that club in force and quickly...after six o’clock on November twelve.’’

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16:01 (Tokyo Time)

Thursday, November 12, 2015 ‘A’

Torture chamber, basement of the Ecstasy Club

Shinjuku District, Tokyo

When Kimi Miura woke up, feeling quite groggy, she found herself in a rather sinister-looking room with concrete walls and floor, with torture instruments, including a battery with a pair of electrodes, lined up in a corner. In that same corner was a small table on roulettes supporting a syringe kit and multiple small bottles. Kimi then realized a bit late that she was naked, save for her panties. Looking around for her clothes, she found them in an opposite corner, on a folding table. To her immense relief, she also found on the table her service revolver. Quickly putting back her clothes and then grabbing her weapon, she cautiously walked towards the steel door visible on one wall, listening carefully for any sound of steps approaching. She then saw with a jump of her heart a telephone hooked to the wall, near the door. Going to it while praying that it would be in working order, she picked up the receiver and blew air out in relief when she heard a tonality. Forming quickly the personal number of Chief-Inspector Kido, she felt immense relief when he picked up on the second ring.

‘’Chief-Inspector Kido speaking!’’

‘’Kido-San, it’s me, Kimi! I just woke up in some kind of basement which is probably a torture chamber, judging from the instruments in it.’’

‘’Kimi?! By the Kamis, are you alright? Where are you?’’

‘’I am alright, albeit half-groggy: I may have been drugged. As for where I am, I still don’t know: I haven’t had a chance to find out and grabbed the first phone I saw, which was in this torture room. Can you see from your call display from where I am calling from? The phone I am using doesn’t have any number indicated on it except for a list of internal numbers... Wait! One number says ‘show room’, while another says ‘Aonuma-San’.’’

She heard Kido swear briefly on hearing that.

‘’Masaki Aonuma’s sex club, in Shinjuku, the Ecstasy Club: that must be it! Are you armed?’’

‘’Yes, Kido-San! I was able to find my revolver, which was next to my clothes. I woke up naked, save for my panties.’’

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‘’My poor Kimi! Hold on and defend yourself if need be: I am going to send as big an armed force I can to the Ecstasy Club.’’

‘’Will do, Kido-San!’’

Takashi Kido then hung up, imitated by Kimi. Next, she checked the steel door and, finding it unlocked, cautiously stuck her head out to look. What she saw was a concrete hallway of apparently fairly old construction, with a number of doors along its walls. Deciding to take a chance and explore at least this part, Kimi walked into the corridor while holding her revolver at the ready and went to the nearest door, which had a steel door with a peeping hole in it and a solid steel bolt closing it. Looking inside, Kimi saw with a jump of her heart a young girl lying on a steel bed, naked and unconscious. Hurrying to unlock and open the steel door, Kimi went to the girl, a tall Caucasian teenager with blond hair, and checked her pulse. To her relief, she found a strong pulse, while the girl breathed in a calm and steady rhythm. Kimi gently shook her, trying to wake her up, but had to try three times before the girl finally woke up slowly. When she spoke, it was in a language Kimi didn’t know. Kimi then decided to try English with her: it was still one of the most known around the World.

‘’Miss, I am a Japanese police officer. What is your name and where are you from?’’

The girl, still half out, answered her in English after a few seconds.

‘’I’m Greta Nystrom. I’m Swedish. A bunch of bastards forced me to prostitute myself. When I resisted, they slapped me around and put me in this cell, promising to teach me obedience. You are from the police, you said?’’

‘’Yes! I am Detective Kimi Miura, of the Japanese National Police.

Reinforcements should arrive soon.’’

‘’Thank God!’’ said in a shaky voice the Swedish teenager while hugging Kimi. ‘’What a nightmare this has been.’’

‘’You are safe now, Miss Nystrom. I saw other doors along the corridor in which your cell is. I will let your door wide open while I will go look if there are more girls held on this level.’’

‘’Wait! I will come with you! I am not staying one second more in this cell.’’ The Swedish girl, not finding any of her clothes in the cell, grabbed the single bedsheet of her bed and wrapped it around her body, then followed Kimi out of the cell. Both were shocked to find a very young Japanese girl who was at most an early teenager. She,

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like Greta, had been kept naked in her cell, while her back bore the marks of a beating done with a leather belt. Anger filled Kimi on seeing that.

‘’If I find that Aonuma bastard... I am Police Detective Kimi Miura. What is your name, girl?’’

‘’Miri, miss. Miri Naboko. Am I free now?’’

‘’Yes, you are, Miri. Can you walk?’’

‘’Yes!’’

‘’Then, do as Greta here and use your bedsheet to hide your nudity, then follow me.’’

The trio then explored the remaining cells lining one wall of the corridor, finding them empty. When Kimi checked out the doors on the opposite side of the corridor, she first found what was in essence an arsenal, with many dozens of firearms of all kinds, all highly illegal in Japan. Finding there a tactical pump-action shotgun with which she was familiar, she holstered back her revolver and grabbed the shotgun, then loaded it before pocketing extra rounds. Now feeling much better, she continued her exploration of the corridor, finding in the next room a large stash of drugs, which included marijuana, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines and steroids. Greta opened her eyes wide as she looked with Kimi and Miri at the packs of drugs lining the tablets in the drugs room.

‘’Wow! This must be worth a few million dollars, at the least.’’

‘’At the least! Masaki Aonuma will have a lot to answer, once we catch him.’’

‘’Who is that Masaki Aonuma, Miss Miura?’’ asked twelve-year-old Miri.

‘’He is the one who owns the sex club we are in now, Miri. He is also the leader of a Yakuza crime family of the Inawaga Kai organization. Let’s continue our exploration of this corridor, girls. Reinforcements should be about to arrive.’’

The remaining doors revealed a crude bathroom and a communal shower room, plus what looked like a sort of guardroom, which proved empty. They however found some food and drinks in the refrigerator of the guardroom. Greta and Miri, having apparently been fed a minimal diet only, took the time to eat some of that food while Kimi watched from the open door, her shotgun at the ready. She suddenly tensed up as she heard noise from the elevator cage at the end of the corridor.

‘’Somebody is coming, girls. Quick, crouch in that corner!’’

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The two girls obeyed her at once, their fears coming back. Kimi, tense as a steel bar, then saw the door of the elevator shaft open, with someone then stepping out in the corridor. She felt immense relief and immediately lowered her shotgun when that person proved to be her boss, Chief-Inspector Takashi Kido, holding his service revolver.

‘’KIDO-SAN, IT’S ME, KIMI! I HAVE TWO GIRLS WITH ME.’’

‘’THANK THE KAMIS: WE ARRIVED IN TIME!’’ replied Kido, who then motioned to the three armed tactical squad officers who had run down in the elevator cabin with him. ‘’Sweep the rooms around this corridor, quickly!’’

‘’I ALREADY DID THAT, KIDO-SAN! THERE IS A TORTURE CHAMBER AND SIX CELLS ALONG THE LEFT SIDE OF THIS CORRIDOR. THE CELLS ARE NOW EMPTY. THERE IS A WEAPONS VAULT AND A DRUGS STORAGE VAULT AT THE END, ON THE RIGHT SIDE, ALONG WITH A BATHROOM, A SHOWER ROOM AND A GUARDROOM, IN WHICH I AM WITH TWO EX-PRISONERS.’’ Letting the three tactical squad officers pass him so that they could do a formal search, Kido then nearly ran to Kimi, hugging her frantically and kissing her on the cheeks.

‘’My poor Kimi! I was so worried about you. Did these bastards hurt you, apart from drugging you during those five days?’’

His last words left Kimi both stunned and confused.

‘’Wait! Did you say ‘five days’? Aren’t we on Saturday?’’

‘’No! We are on Thursday, November twelve. Why do you believe to be still on Saturday, Kimi?’’

‘’Because I was abducted on Saturday, at six, while meeting with that supposed informant. That bastard proved to be a Yakuza and he drugged me with a syringe the moment I sat in his car. Then I passed out and woke up, naked, in the torture chamber at this level, less than half an hour ago. There was a syringe kit and a number of small drug bottles in that chamber, so I suppose that I could have received successive injections during the last few days.’’

Seeing that Greta and Miri were now approaching her and Kido, she pointed them to her boss.

‘’Chief-Inspector Kido, this is Greta Nystrom, a Swedish citizen, and Miri Naboko, both of whom I found in cells along this corridor. Both were sexually abused, with Miri having been beaten with a leather belt.’’

Kido looked with sadness at the young teenagers, still wrapping their nudity with bedsheets.

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‘’My poor kids. You are now safe and you will be soon able to be reunited with your families. Kimi, did you meet any of those bastards after you woke up?’’

‘’None! It is as if they all fled in a big hurry.’’

‘’I believe so: we found improvised posters fixed to the doors and saying ‘closed temporarily for renovations’. To date, we found no Yakuza members, only girls who we found unconscious.’’

Kido then used his tactical police pocket radio and spoke in it.

‘’Sergeant Shimeda, this is Chief-Inspector Kido. Have you encountered any Yakuza man up to now, over?’’

‘’None so far, sir. We however found and secured to date over thirty young women and teenage girls, all of whom were unconscious when we found them. I...wait one!’’

There was a delay of a few seconds before Sergeant Shimeda came back on the air.

‘’Sir, one of my men just found a sort of empty gas canister in a corner of what was probably the guard room adjacent to the communal detention room where we found the girls. According to my man, who once served in the Self-Defense Forces’ special forces, that canister contained a sort of potent, military-grade sleeping gas. I believe that whoever entered this club and then made Aonuma and his men disappear used a sleeping gas to take both them and the girls out. However, those same invaders didn’t seem interested in the girls and left them alone.’’

‘’What about Aonuma himself? Did you find him?’’

‘’Negative, sir! When we searched his private office and suite, we found another empty canister of gas but no-one, except for a sleeping naked and very young girl. That girl told us that she was eleven-year-old and that Aonuma was ready to abuse her when she fell unconscious. We also found Aonuma’s safe opened and empty, except for a pile of passports and identity papers, all belonging to the girls we found.’’ Kido exchanged an angry look with Kimi when the sergeant mentioned the eleven-year-old girl. Kido then returned his attention to his radio.

‘’Very well, Sergeant. Find clothes for the girls and make a list of their names, home addresses and phone numbers, so that their families could come recuperate them after they will have time to make depositions at our headquarters. Also, give them back their passports and identity papers. Please note that I have two more girls here in the basement, plus Detective Miura, which I thankfully found in good health. That basement also contains a weapons vault and a stash of drugs. Have a crime scene team come at

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the double to the Ecstasy Club, so that we could start documenting properly all this. I will now go up to the ground floor with those two girls and Detective Miura, out!’’ Hooking back his radio microphone, Kido then shook his head in bewilderment.

‘’This must be the most bewildering case I ever had to deal with. Thankfully, it ended well, with all the innocents safe and sound, including you, Kimi.’’ Miri Naboko, who had listened to the radio conversation and to the exchange between Kimi and Kido, then spoke in a timid tone to Kido.

‘’Excuse me, sir, but I am confused. You told Miss Miura that we are Thursday, November twelve. Yet, before I fell asleep, it was Saturday. How could we have been asleep for five days, sir?’’

That question left both Kimi and her boss with blank expressions, unable to answer the girl.

Only much later, at around nine in the evening, as Kido processed with the help of Kimi the mountain of evidence found at the Ecstasy Club, did Kido remember to mention to her the visit by Nancy Laplante on Thursday morning. Kimi raised an eyebrow at that.

‘’Nancy-San is in Japan? And did she say why she wanted to see me?’’

‘’She told me that she came to give you two invitation tickets for the Tokyo premiere of the movie AVENGERS 2, which will be presented tomorrow evening at the Nishigeki Plaza Cinema in Ginza.’’

Kimi’s eyes instantly lit up at those words.

‘’She has two tickets for me to go watch the premiere of AVENGERS 2?! Hell, I must call her now. Besides, she must be mortally worried about me. Give me a minute, Kido-San.’’

‘’Take your time, Kimi.’’

Taking out her cell phone, she called Nancy’s cell phone, whose number she had in her wallet, and anxiously waited for her to answer. Thankfully, she did so after two rings.

‘’Hello?!’’

‘’Nancy, this is Kimi!’’

‘’KIMI? OH MY GOD! ARE YOU ALRIGHT? WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?’’

‘’It is a long story, Nancy. Suffice to say that I was kidnapped last Saturday evening by the Yakuza and held for five days, to be freed late this afternoon, along with 37 young women and teenage girls held by a sex trafficking ring. However, I am not at

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liberty to tell you the details on the phone. Kido-San just told me that you have two invitation tickets for me for the Tokyo premiere presentation of AVENGERS 2. How did you manage to get such tickets?’’

‘’Er, by having played a role in that movie, duh!’’

‘’You played a role in it? What role?’’

‘’Sorry: that’s a state secret, Kimi. Where are you right now?’’

‘’At the Homicide Division of the JNP headquarters, in Kasumigaseki. However, I will probably spend the night here, helping Kido-San to untangle the strings in this affair.’’

‘’Shoot! I would have loved to see you tonight, Kimi. Could I come and see you at around noon, tomorrow, so that I could give you those two invitation tickets and so that we could have lunch together?’’

‘’I would love that very much, Nancy. I will impatiently wait for you tomorrow at noon. Thanks in advance for the tickets.’’

‘’My pleasure, Kimi.’’

As Kimi closed her cell phone, she noticed a weird expression on his face.

‘’Is something wrong, Kido-San?’’

‘’Yes: this whole affair. This five-day gap in your souvenirs and those of the 37 girls we found, along with the utter disappearance of Aonuma and his men, still mystifies me. Did Nancy-San sound truthful to you during your phone call?’’

‘’Uh, yes: she sounded sincerely relieved and happy to hear my voice. Why do you ask that, Kido-San?’’

‘’Kimi, do you remember when, one year ago, we found those two empty cars which had been rented respectively by Israeli and Russian agents? Those cars were apparently targeting Nancy Laplante’s hotel, yet those agents all disappeared without a trace. Don’t you find funny that her enemies disappeared, while your own enemies among the Yakuza disappeared, and this a few hours after she came here to visit you?’’ Thinking about that, Kimi had to say that there was effectively a kind of strange correlation about those two widely separate incidents.

‘’Uh, I effectively can’t explain either of those two incidents, Kido-San, but what are you suggesting? That Nancy had a hand in both cases? How could she make me and those 37 poor girls forget everything about their last five days? Could it be more like a side effect of the sleeping gas used on them? Frankly, I don’t see a better logical, sensible explanation, Kido-San.’’

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Kido then apparently gave up on understanding this whole thing and shrugged his shoulders.

‘’You may be right, Kimi. The important thing is that you and those girls are now safe and mostly sound. Besides, with Aonuma and his men all vanished into thin air, there won’t be much of a point in pursuing a detailed, full-fledged investigation and prosecution, since we don’t have anybody left to prosecute and judge. We will thus limit ourselves into publishing international arrest warrants against Aonuma and his men as fugitive suspects accused of human sex trafficking of young girls.’’ Kido’s telephone on his desk then rang, interrupting him. Picking the receiver, he then listened for a few seconds. Kimi saw a surprised look appear gradually on his face as he listened, then spoke.

‘’Alright, I will be there with my assistant, Detective Miura. Thanks for informing me of this.’’

Kido hung up, to then look at Kimi, appearing a bit agitated.

‘’You know the ‘Red Dragon’ pachinko parlor in Shinjuku, Kimi?’’

‘’Of course I do, Kido-San! It is one of the money-making places in Shinjuku for Aonuma. One of his lieutenants, a Junsho Harakawa I believe, runs the place and controls a good part of the area around it. What about it?’’

‘’Well, not anymore, if I can believe our police station in Shinjuku 3-chome. Apparently, a bunch of big Caucasian men speaking between them in Russian just raided the Red Dragon, armed to the teeth, and basically massacred Harakawa and his men present at the parlor. We may now know who emptied the Ecstasy Club, Kimi.’’

‘’The Russian mafia? Hell, that is liable to cause a lot of waves around Tokyo, Kido-San!’’

‘’Definitely! Grab your coat: we are going to the Red Dragon.’’

‘’Uh, could I plead with you in advance that you will let me go to that premiere tomorrow evening of AVENGERS 2 with my boyfriend, Kido-San?’’ Takashi Kido couldn’t help smile in amusement at Kimi’s sudden worries.

‘’You really want to see that premiere, Kimi.’’

‘’Who wouldn’t, Kido-San?’’

21:21 (Tokyo Time)

The sidewalk facing the ‘Red Dragon’ Pachinko Parlor Shinjuku 3-chome District, Tokyo

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Jiro stood among the first rank of the crowd of curious onlookers standing behind the police tape and mobile barriers now blocking the street and sidewalks around the Red Dragon Pachinko Parlor, looking with intense interest the dozens of policemen, detectives and ambulance paramedics going in and out of the arcade. His eyes then followed a gurney being pushed out of the arcade by two medics: a man’s shape lay on it, fully covered by a bedsheet now widely stained by blood. One arm of the dead man then slipped out from under the bedsheet, showing a hand which wore a large gold and rubies ring that Jiro recognized at once. That sight then brought a huge relief to him: he didn’t need any more to be afraid of the redoubtable Mister Harakawa. With the news of the demise of Harakawa’s boss, Masaki Aonuma, Jiro was now free to forget that killing contract against Nancy Laplante that Harakawa had forced on him. Now feeling at peace, Jiro discretely walked away from the scene.

18:32 (Tokyo Time)

Friday, November 13, 2015 ‘A’

Room 402, Ibis Hotel

Roppongi District, Tokyo

‘’The paint is now dry, Miss Laplante. You may put on your costume now.’’ Her body now nearly all covered by a special green paint which was both resistant to water while letting her body perspire through the pigment, Nancy looked at herself in the full-length mirror of her hotel room. Only her vaginal lips and the inside of her buttocks were not painted over in emerald green color, while dark green lipstick and makeup enhanced the effect of the paint. A wig made of long dark green hair falling to the middle of her back covered her natural hair and was fixed securely to her head. She made a pause, still naked, while flexing her muscles, which she had worked hard on for months to develop them further, looking even more like her character. One of the two makeup artists, a certified male homosexual, smiled while looking at her reflection in the mirror.

‘’Just perfect, Miss Laplante. Your fans will go wild tonight.’’

‘’It should be good fun indeed.’’ said Nancy, smiling. ‘’Time to put my superhero outfit.’’

That outfit, a stretching, form-hugging white and violet one-piece sleeveless bathing suit with a deep and wide cleavage, also included a wide white belt which discreetly included

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a few zipped compartments for her identity papers, room keys and money. It took her only a few seconds to put it on. Fingerless white and violet gloves and white running shoes went on next. The running shoes were however specially made ones, with extra-thick soles and heels, adding a good seven centimeters in height to her already respectable natural 183 centimeters. With her thick wig, she now appeared like a muscular green woman standing close to two meters in height. A last look at the mirror brought a satisfied smile to her face.

‘’The She-Hulk is ready to rumble around Tokyo. Is the rest of the studio team already at the cinema, along with our supply of personalized cards and other paraphernalia?’’

‘’They are, Miss Laplante.’’ answered the other makeup artist, a young woman. ‘’You only need to arrive there at no later than eight O’clock.’’

‘’Then, I will see you there.’’ said Nancy before resolutely walking out of her room and into the main corridor of her floor, painting on a ferocious expression on her face.

She encountered a few of the other customers of the hotel on her way out, making in particular a young boy who Nancy met with his parents in the elevator all excited and happy. The boy in return got from her one of her personalized cards adorned with a hologram picture of the She-Hulk, which she signed for the boy before giving it to him. She caused more sensation once she stepped out of the main entrance and started running on the sidewalk at a good speed towards the nearest subway station. Seiji Morita, who had been sitting and waiting in the front passenger seat of a car parked near the hotel’s entrance, smiled to himself before speaking in the microphone of his radio.

‘’Team ‘B’, this is Leader. Keep your eyes open: the She-Hulk is now out of the Ibis Hotel and running towards the Roppongi subway station.’’

‘’Team ‘B’, acknowledged!’’

The experienced eyes of Morita then spotted another car that was now pulling out of its parking space. It had three men inside it and started rolling slowly, following the female silhouette running on the sidewalk.

‘’Team ‘B’, be advised that a suspect car with three men inside is now following the target. The plate number is C24 H880.’’

Morita then noted down that plate number and car make in his notepad. As his driver followed Nancy from a distance, varying his speed and sometimes stopping temporarily

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to keep his distance, Morita couldn’t help marvel at the speed and endurance shown by the running Nancy.

‘’That woman is decidedly a true athlete, Reiko. She certainly looks her part as the She-Hulk.’’

‘’She’s indeed quite a woman, Seiji.’’ Said his driver, smiling.

Once at the entrance of the subway station, Nancy slowed down and went inside, going down the mechanical stairs and using a prepaid card to pass the turnstile and step on the train platform. Morita, who had left his car and also went in to follow her, saw one big Caucasian man come out of the suspect car to also follow Nancy, prompting another discreet radio call from Morita to his team.

‘’This is leader. A Caucasian man left the suspect car and is following Laplante inside the subway station. Exercise caution if approaching that car.’’ Like most early Friday evenings, the subway station was packed with people. Fortunately, the uncommon height and green skin paint worn by Laplante made her easy to spot in the crowd. Morita chose to use a subway car door next to the one used by Laplante once the train showed up in the station and stopped, disgorging a crowd of humanity. Morita then was dragged inside, crammed in the car with other travelers pushed inside by the famous Tokyo subway pushers, with their white gloves and service caps. Nancy herself was pushed along others inside the subway car, ending up sandwiched tightly in the middle of a group of men and teenagers. One small young man wearing spectacles ended up with his face firmly buried between her large, firm breasts. Nancy smiled down to him.

‘’Sorry about that, mister.’’ she said in Japanese, to which the young man simply replied by grinning like an idiot, attracting more than a few amused comments around him, along with excited exclamations from other travelers as they raised their cell phones to take pictures of Nancy. Morita himself took a few pictures with his cell phone, making sure that the Caucasian man following Nancy was framed in at least one of the pictures. One of the male travelers who raised his cell phone to get a plunging view down the deep cleavage of her outfit got a ferocious growl from Nancy, something that only made other travelers laugh.

Laplante finally got out at Ginza Station, exiting in the open air and starting to run again, sprinting along the sidewalk of the Harumi Dori Avenue towards the nearby

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Mullion Building, a massive glass and steel complex. While the Caucasian man following her on foot started looking for a taxi, Seiji Morita kept a normal pace, as he knew already where Laplante was headed: the Nichigeki Plaza Cinema, situated inside the Mullion Building. Before she could get there, though, Nancy had to stop and wait at a corner and wait for the pedestrians signal to turn green: Japanese bylaws were actually quite severe about jaywalking. That gave her time to distribute to the excited Japanese around her a few of her personalized cards and to autograph them, signing using the name ‘Jennifer Walters’, which was the name of the She-Hulk’s alter ego. Then, with the signal turning green, she resumed her run at Olympic sprint speed, deftly jumping clean over a parked car with a ferocious roar and heading for the entrance leading to the Nichigeki Plaza Cinema, all the while causing quite a commotion in her wake. Morita’s eyes then saw the suspect car which had dropped one man at the subway station arrive in an obvious hurry before dropping off a second man and then search for a parking spot. Morita keyed his radio microphone and spoke in a low voice while walking towards the cinema.

‘’Leader to Team ‘B’, the suspect car has dropped a second man near the cinema and is now parking along the Harumi Dori in front of the Mullion Building. Drop off Kazuo so that he can join me, then stay in sight of the suspect car.’’

‘’Team ‘B’, acknowledged!’’

Following the man who had just stepped out of the suspect car, Seiji entered the building twenty meters behind him, to find that the lobby leading to the cinema entrance was nearly packed with people waiting to go see the premiere of ‘THE AVENGERS 2’. Nancy Laplante, followed by a few television cameramen and a small army of photographers, was going slowly down the line of expectant spectators, distributing cards and autographs and chatting in Japanese with her fans, while a young woman who must have been hired by the Marvel Studios carried for her a box full of She-Hulk cards. Seiji smiled on spotting Kimi in the lineup, about as excited as the other spectators and holding hands with a young Japanese man. A discreet look told him that the two men following Laplante were now sitting on a bench in the lobby, watching discreetly the tall Canadian. Seiji reasoned that they were probably not foolish enough to try something against her with such a crowd and a number of cameras present, but he didn’t like the idea of armed foreign agents going around Tokyo, bent on committing violent acts, and neither would his superintendent. He thus resolved to neutralize that possible threat as soon as practical instead of waiting for things to sour. Since these

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men were probably carrying illegal weapons, he would have the perfect excuse to arrest them on probable cause. Japanese laws were very severe concerning illegal

possession or carry of firearms and their nationality would not do much to help these men in front of a Japanese judge, unless they had diplomatic immunity. In that last case, they still would be kicked out of the country and a stern protest note would then be given to the Russian ambassador.

Nancy disappeared inside the cinema a few minutes before the film was due to start, with the crowd in the lobby now inside the cinema. With the hall now fairly empty of people, Seiji decided that it was time to act. Alerting Kazuo and Takashi Kido to back him up, he gave the order by radio to his second team to close in and confront the occupant of the suspect car, then walked calmly towards the two suspected Russians, who were still sitting on their bench. The two men eyed him suspiciously as he got closer, then became downright nervous on seeing two more men closing on them from separate directions. Thankfully they didn’t react stupidly, like going for their weapons. One of them however spoke briefly to himself in Russian, probably alerting his driver. Tense as a steel bar and ready to draw his own pistol in a flash, Seiji stopped squarely in front of the two sitting men, keeping a good three paces from them, and spoke in English while showing his JNP badge to the man who had spoken in his microphone.

‘’Detective Morita, from the Japanese National Police. I will ask you two gentlemen to slowly get up and keep your hands away from your bodies.’’ With Kazuo Asakura and Takashi Kido in their back and left side and obviously ready to draw their weapons, the two Russians complied, although they were quite displeased.

‘’Why are you accosting us like this, Detective?’’ asked the Russian who appeared to be the senior agent of the pair. ‘’We did nothing illegal.’’

‘’You are actually suspected of carrying illegal weapons. If nothing is found on you, then we will leave you in peace. Kazuo, search them!’’ With Kido covering him, Kazuo quickly patted down the two men. He found nearly at once two pistols, spare magazines and two combat knives, plus two miniature radio transceivers with lapel microphones and ear pieces. He also fished out the passports carried by the two men: by Japanese law, all foreigners had to carry their passports at all times, something the two men clearly knew. With the weapons taken away by Kazuo, Seiji looked at the passports, which were Russian, and gave a severe stare at the two men.

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‘’Misters Baranovich and Zaitsev, I am arresting you for carrying illegal firearms on Japanese soil. Further charges may still be brought against you. You have the right to remain silent and to ask for the services of a lawyer. However, anything you will say from now on may be used against you. Do you understand?’’

‘’Yes!’’ said the senior Russian agent, clearly pissed but also resigned to what would follow. ‘’We want our embassy to be advised, so that we could get consular assistance.’’

‘’That is your right, mister. Kazuo, cuff them!’’

Once the two men were cuffed, Seiji contacted his second team and asked for a report, getting an excited answer from the team leader.

‘’Team ‘B’ to Leader: we have the driver of the suspect car in custody. He was armed with an unregistered pistol. On searching the car, we found an arsenal of automatic weapons in the trunk, along with stun guns and what looks like a drug injection kit.’’

‘’Acknowledged! Bring the lot to the headquarters for detailed search and interrogation. We have the two other men in custody here: both had pistols on them.’’ Seiji then threw a hard look at the Russians, who were still impassive.

‘’May I ask you why you were apparently after Miss Laplante, gentlemen?’’

‘’We will talk only in the presence of a lawyer assigned by our embassy.’’ was the answer of the senior Russian.

‘’Very well! Your embassy will have a lot to answer for anyway. Please follow us quietly to our car and don’t force us to become rough.’’

The Japanese policemen then dragged out their two prisoners, watched by the few people present in the lobby.

Nearly three hours later, the crowd of spectators started filing out of the cinema, commenting excitedly on the movie they had just enjoyed. Kimi was actually as pleased by the movie as the others around her. Having been especially interested for obvious reasons in Nancy Laplante’s performance in the film, she had to say that she had been impressed. While not a primary role, her character had added quite nicely to the film and her sole fighting scene had been nothing less than spectacular. In fact, her role as the principled lawyer Jennifer Walters had been more important to the plot than her role as the She-Hulk. It also had helped that the rest of the actors and the script had been at least as good as in the first AVENGERS movie. As she was walking out with her

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boyfriend towards the exit, she saw Nancy Laplante, still in her She-Hulk makeup, being interviewed by a small crowd of reporters and cameramen. The events of last Wednesday then came back to her mind, making her wonder why the Russian government would be after such a woman.

17:09 (Tokyo Time)

Friday, November 20, 2015 ‘A’

Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium

Sendagaya District, Shibuya-Ku, Tokyo

Kimi couldn’t help jump up and shout enthusiastically as the referee on the competition floor declared Nancy Laplante the winner of her last fight, which made her now the World Open Karate Tournament female champion, all categories. Takashi Kido, sitting next to Kimi in one of the spectators sections of the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, where both the Men and the Women’s World tournaments were being held but in separate parts of the Metropolitan Gymnasium, showed less excitement but was still smiling at the outcome of the fight. This was supposed to be part of their work in trailing Nancy Laplante in order to protect her but, to be truthful, the tremendous fighting abilities and unorthodox but perfectly legal style of the tall Canadian had won him over as a fan. Laplante had shown incredible speed and agility in her movements which, allied to her superior reach due to her height for a woman and her expert karate technique, had brought grief to her seven successive opponents, even though those opponents had been no slouches. The rest of the spectators cheered as well as Laplante saluted first her opponent, who was still wobbly on her legs after a lightning kick to the head, then the judges. The head of the International Karate Organization next showed up on the competition floor and handed to Laplante the trophy for the Women’s World Champion, to the applauses of the crowd. Seeing that Laplante was going to retire afterwards to the women’s locker room to shower and change, Kido patted Kimi’s shoulder.

‘’Well, enough with the entertainment, Kimi. Now is the time to do our work. Let’s wait for Laplante in the lobby of the gymnasium.’’

Kimi followed him out of the sports hall, which could house up to 10,000 people, still feeling excited.

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‘’Wow! I wish I could one day become as good as her in karate. My own brown belt feels puny compared to her level of skills.’’

‘’Don’t sell yourself short, Kimi: you are plenty skilled for me. However, I have to agree that Laplante is a true fighting machine, with or without weapons. She certainly earned the right to gloat today.’’

Once in the large lobby of the sports center, they took a discrete position in a corner near a sales booth and waited for Laplante to come out. However, when she did so twenty minutes later, her big trophy in one hand and her gym bag in her other hand, a small army of news cameramen, reporters and press photographers rushed her, their cameras pointed and clicking, to interview her about her new title of Women’s World Karate Champion. Kido and Kimi thus had to be patient as the reporters and cameramen took turns at her. As the excitement was still on, a big, beefy man with a crooked nose and a shaved head purposely made a detour to pass near the group, stopping behind Laplante and speaking loudly enough for everyone nearby to hear him.

‘’Don’t waste your time on her or other female karateka: the title of World Karate Champion will always belong to a man.’’

Kimi, like Laplante and all the women within earshot, instantly stared at the man with an insulted look.

‘’Who the hell is that asshole?’’ she asked in a low voice as Laplante turned around to face the man.

‘’Sergei Borisov, the incumbent Men’s World Karate Champion, here to defend his title.’’ answered Kido, now following with interest the confrontation. If Laplante was intimidated by Borisov, she didn’t show it one bit, shooting back a reply to the Russian.

‘’One of the goals of karate is to teach humility and respect towards others, Borisov. Obviously, you missed something during your training.’’ With the reporters and cameramen gleefully recording the verbal clash, Borisov gave a mean smile to Nancy.

‘’Why should I care about what you think, Laplante? For a female karateka, you’re good, but you still are second class.’’

Many people around them held their breath, as the manager of the tournament hurried up to prevent a possible scuffle. Nancy took one disdainful look up and down Borisov before speaking in a strong, firm tone, making sure that all around her could hear her.

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‘’We will see who is second class, Borisov, unless you are too scared to back your words with action. I formally challenge you to a public, full contact match right after this tournament. Or do you prefer to wait for later, after you can treat the lumps you will get during the men’s tournament?’’

The big Russian laughed derisively as the tournament manager froze, realizing at once that this could be a golden opportunity to attract a lot of extra publicity…and rake in more revenues.

‘’I won’t need even to rest after I win my last match and keep my title, Laplante. I can take you on right after the official end of the men’s tournament.’’ As reporters wrote down notes frantically, the tournament manager then stepped forward, inserting himself between Laplante and Borisov and facing the cameras.

‘’A formal challenge has been issued and, in the true spirit of Kyokushin karate, has been accepted. I, as the manager of both the women’s and the men’s tournament, thus authorize a match between Mister Borisov and Miss Laplante, to be held half an hour after the award of the top prize in the men’s tournament. The match will be a regular, three-minute full contact round following standard open tournament rules. You are thus invited back here for Sunday afternoon, Miss Laplante.’’

‘’I will be there, sir.’’ replied Nancy before saluting the chairman and turning around, followed by a few persistent reporters and photographers. On her part, Takashi Kido blew air out, both amused and excited.

‘’By the spirits, this match is going to go viral on the sports networks, and not only here in Japan. Imagine, Kimi: a challenge by the female champion to the current male champion. I admire Laplante’s balls, but I’m afraid that she may have bitten in something too tough for her.’’

He then had Kimi stare hard at him.

‘’And what tells you that Laplante will lose? I bet you 10,000 yen that she wins.’’

‘’Sold! This is going to cost you, my dear Kimi.’’

The news of the challenge and of the match to ensue took less than half an hour to make it on not only the sports news but also on the prime evening news, first in Japan, then around the World. Bookmakers in and around Tokyo immediately started taking bets on the match, bets which came in fast and furious. While Borisov was widely favored to win, the bookmakers quickly noticed that most if not all the women who placed bets did so in favor of Laplante. A reporter caught on that and the match soon

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was called by many as being the ultimate confrontation between machismo and feminism. The fact that Nancy Laplante was a hardened combat veteran who had often killed men in wars was also used by some reporters and commentators to spice up the debate about the oncoming match. At CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, Dean Price, himself an accomplished karateka, listened on with a smirk to the animated discussions and predictions around him about the match and quietly placed a sizeable bet in favor of Nancy. In Tel Aviv, a disillusioned Mossad agent named Bennie Kellerman also went against the flow and bet on Nancy, imitated in Teheran by Lieutenant Farah Qalibaf, of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps Intelligence Bureau.

17:41 (Tokyo Time)

Sunday, November 22, 2015 ‘A’

Main arena, Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium

Nancy could feel the excitement and expectation around the bleachers of the main arena as she stepped barefoot on the competition floor. The seats were all sold out today, while twice the number of television cameras which had previously covered the men’s tournament was pointed at her and Sergei Borisov, who was waiting on the other side of the mat-covered fighting area. This match was in fact going to be retransmitted live around most of the World, but that didn’t make her nervous one bit. It was not that she was overconfident, or that she underestimated her adversary, on the contrary. Borisov was known to be an extremely tough man who was also very strong and hard-hitting, while still being quick for his size. However, Nancy was much quicker than him and had developed over the last few years her own fighting style, of which she had not demonstrated yet in public all of its techniques. She was resolved not to use deliberately her super strength, wanting to win fairly, but even her natural strength was far from negligible. She would however have to be cautious about avoiding Borisov’s blows: one well-placed hit from the powerful Russian could send her to the carpet and cost her the match.

With her and Borisov waiting on the sidelines, the referee announced the opening of the match, reviewing quickly the base rules in both Japanese and English, then presented each opponent in turn, starting with Borisov. Then, with a veil of tense, excited silence falling on the arena, the two fighters saluted each other the Japanese

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way by bowing before adopting combat stances and approaching each other cautiously at first. Borisov decided to take the initiative, taking one step forward to deliver a powerful punch aimed at Nancy’s plexus. Most karate fighters would block such a blow, then deliver a counter-punch or strike. However, Nancy’s personal style, which she called Juko, called for many simultaneous moves which were both defensive and offensive at the same time, while still respecting karate rules about how and where to strike. She avoided Borisov’s fist by jumping high above his extended right arm while at the same time delivering a Yoko Geri kick to his head, hitting him in the forehead. Seriously shaken and half knocked out, the Russian staggered backward a few paces while Nancy landed back on her feet and waited for him to come back. There were gasps of surprise and shock around the spectators as Borisov shook his head to regain his wits: Nancy could have easily delivered a second, potentially match-ending blow then but was instead calmly letting her adversary recover. Furious at having been hit so quickly, Borisov stepped forward more cautiously this time, dancing around Nancy and searching for an opening while feinting repeatedly. He then delivered a straight kick towards Nancy’s chest, ready to follow up with a Uchi Mawashi high swept kick to the head. Stepping aside while pivoting on one heel to the outside of his raised leg in one lightning-quick move, Nancy again avoided the blow and hit Borisov hard in the ribs with a closed first punch while pushing a piercing scream. Continuing her swirling move while crouching down, she then swept one leg around and sweeping the Russian, who was grimacing with pain from the blow to his ribs, off his feet and down to the mat with a loud ‘THUD’. With Borisov clearly unable to get up and fight for at least three seconds, the main judge stepped forward and signaled to stop the fight while shouting out loud in Japanese.

‘’IPPON! LAPLANTE WINS!’’

After a second of stunned silence, most of the crowd of spectators erupted in cheers and applauses, while the rest sat silent, unable to believe the outcome.

At the Lagoon Bar, in Shinjuku District, the exclusively female patrons and staff watching the match on television exploded in wild cheers as the judge was shown raising Nancy’s right arm high to designate her the winner of the fight. Hoshi, Kimiko, Hiromi and Akira, who were part of the celebrating patrons, ordered a fresh round of drinks for the four of them as a result. They then watched and listened intently to the replay of the fight, commented by experts, as Nancy stepped off the mat and as two

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paramedics examined Borisov, who seemed to have one or more broken ribs. Nancy’s novel combination of moves and strikes was particularly analyzed in depth, being pointed as a truly new technique that was however completely legal under the present Kyokushin karate rules. Nancy was then shown again, surrounded by reporters and cameramen who wanted her comments about her win. One American network reporter then asked her a question while the camera was zoomed on her face.

‘’Miss Laplante, how do you explain that you, a woman, could defeat the Men’s World Karate Champion?’’

She responded in a calm but firm voice while looking directly at the camera.

‘’He was forged in the dojo. I was forged on the battlefield.’’