The Lost Continent (12 page)

Lucas nodded. “Just a sec.” He looked at Elisa. “Do me a favor—I know you hate the things, but make sure my guns are all set?”

Elisa nodded. “Yeah, no problem.”

“Thanks.” Lucas left her side and followed Wade out the door. Once there, the bodyguard slammed him against the wall and held a dagger to his throat. Lucas tried to struggle against him, but the guard's grip was like iron.

Wade removed his straw hat as he stepped closer to Lucas. “I noticed you two were getting pretty cozy in there. That makes me nervous.”

“Just remembering old times is all,” said Lucas.

“Yes, old times, let's talk about those, shall we?” asked Wade. “Specifically fifteen of them.”

“What?”

“Fifteen times you've encountered Hill since you two ended your partnership. And fifteen times she's still walked away when you could have killed her,” said Wade. “My superiors don't like that. They don't like that she's still alive and running around to make our jobs a lot harder than they should be.”

“Then maybe you should be thanking me.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“If Elsie were dead, you'd be standing here holding your dick,” said Lucas. “It's because of her we've gotten this far and it's because of her we're going to find the remains of Lemuria.”

“And it's also because of her that sword-wielding nutcase has gotten involved, or did you forget about that part as well?” asked Wade.
 

“Nah, he would've gotten involved one way or the other, this is too big and Seth enjoys messing with you too much, doesn't matter if Elsie's alive or dead. But with her alive, you've got a shot at getting him out of the picture once and for all.”

Wade nodded and donned the hat once more. “Maybe you're right, maybe I am being too hard on you. But orders
are
orders and mine are to ensure you follow through with your end of the bargain. To that end, my superiors have requested something from you once this job is over.”

“Yeah? And what's that?” asked Lucas.

“Either Elisa Hill doesn't make it home alive, or you don't,” said Wade.
 

“That was never part of the deal,” said Lucas.

“The deal's changed, Mr. Davalos.” Wade's eyes flashed with the same change Lucas witnessed before in Mexico. “If you're not willing to cooperate, you can easily be replaced with someone who is.”
 

After their plane landed on Yonaguni Island, Elisa and Lucas began the three-mile walk to the place Seth informed them they were to meet at. It was a small bar not far from the southeastern coast of the island.
 

Both Elisa and Lucas wore long coats to conceal the weapons they wore beneath. Lucas had twin Zastavas strapped to his legs and holstered at the base of his spine was a Serbu short-barreled shotgun. He also had combat knives holstered to each of his boots.
 

Inside the bar, they grabbed a table towards the rear, where they could keep an eye on everyone. Most of the people were older men stopping in for drinks on their walks home from work. As Yonaguni had a small population, two white faces stuck out like sore thumbs, but Elisa ignored the attention. Lucas had to only fire off an angry glare every few minutes to dissuade anyone curious or drunk enough to try and start up a conversation.

“You've been pretty quiet since we left,” she said.

“Just trying to concentrate on the job, that's all,” said Lucas. “I want to finish this and get out of here. Whole thing's been pretty unpleasant.”

“Don't think I've ever seen you this rattled before,” said Elisa. “It's kind of endearing.”

“Don't get cute, Elsie.”

“Someone's a bit on edge,” said Elisa. She looked up as a waitress came up to them.
“Nama biiru onegaishimasu.”

Lucas held up two fingers.
“Futatsu.”

“Hai.”
The waitress nodded and left.
 

Lucas sighed and leaned closer. “Let's get this straight, okay? We're not partners, not anymore. We've just got a common enemy and once Seth is out of the way, we'll have to tangle again.”

“Like it or not, I'm working for the Order right now, that means we're in this together and that means we have to trust each other,” said Elisa.

“No, we don't.” Lucas leaned back in his chair a little. “We both know what's going to happen—after we ice Seth, you're going to want to take the secrets of the Naa'cal with you and I'm going to want to—scratch that—
have
to give them to the Order. And when that happens babe, we're going to rumble.”

“We cross that bridge when we come to it, Lucas—
not
before. Right now, we've got a specific problem to deal with and if we don't concentrate on getting Seth out of the way, the Order's desires are going to be the least of our worries. So I need you to back me on every move I make.”

“No arguments from me, Elsie—I'm with you until the end,” said Lucas. “But the end may come sooner than you think.”

“What's that mean?”

Lucas waved dismissively as the waitress approached holding a tray. “Forget it, let's just have a drink and wait for this prick.”

The waitress set two shot glasses filled with a clear liquid in front of them both.
“Hai, dozo.”

“...that doesn't look like beer,” said Lucas.

“Sumimasen.”
Elisa motioned to the drinks.
“Nan desu ka?”

“That would be hanazake.”

The waitress stepped aside and bowed, not looking at the man in white with silver hair who sauntered up to the table. He grabbed a chair from another table and sat down, holding a shot glass of his own.

“It's only made on this island,” said Seth. “Hundred and twenty proof awamori.”

“I was looking forward to a nice, cold beer,” said Lucas.

Seth ignored him. “Do you know what's interesting about hanazake?”

Elisa rolled her eyes. “No Seth, what's interesting about it?”

“Well, at first it was only used in religious ceremonies—like funerals.” He tipped the glass back and swallowed the entire contents in one gulp and set it gently on the table. “Somewhat appropriate, wouldn't you say?”

“Can we just get this over with?” asked Elisa.
 

“Very well,” said Seth. “I've got a boat and diving equipment as well as the Keystone.”

“And King?” asked Elisa.
 

“With the boat, although I left him tied up underneath it, so we may need to hurry. I don't know how much longer he can hold out.”

“Gods...” muttered Elisa as she rapidly stood from her seat.

“Ah, ah, ah.” Seth held up his hand and then pointed to the glasses. “Finish your drinks first. It's rude otherwise.”

Elisa and Lucas each picked up their glasses and took their shots. The hanazake burned as it flowed down their throats and both of them needed a second before they were ready.

“Now can we go?” she asked.

Seth stood and motioned for them to follow.

***

When they reached the boat Seth had chartered (or stole, Elisa couldn't be sure which), she saw Jackson King laying unconscious on the deck, chained to one of the seats. Elisa pushed past both Lucas and Seth and jumped onto the boat.

She did a quick check of his vitals, satisfied that he was at least still alive, if not a bit worse for wear. Elisa turned her head back towards Seth in disgust.

“Was all this necessary?” she asked.

“Necessary, of course not.” Seth hopped on the boat. “But it
was
fun.”

Lucas shook his head as he boarded. “This bastard gives mercenaries a bad name.”

“King, King wake up, can you hear me?” asked Elisa.
 

Jackson King's eyes slowly rose and he took in the sight of Elisa kneeling before him. “Hill...”

“Are you okay?”

“Didn't I tell you...you were gonna get someone killed?”

Elisa smiled slightly. “Thank god. If you didn't berate me, I'd think you were dying.”

“Glad to...be of service...” he muttered before he passed out again.

“He's been doing that a lot lately.” Seth moved into the driver's seat. “Davalos, make yourself useful and untie the boat. Hill, I've got the diving equipment there at the back, mind setting it up?”

“Where's the Keystone?” asked Lucas.

“Around.”

Davalos grumbled to himself as he untied the ropes. Seth started the boat and pulled it away from the pier. They rode a little further out to sea before Seth brought the boat to a stop.

“We drop anchor here,” he said.

“We've got a problem,” said Elisa. “There are only two sets of equipment, where's the third?”

“Only two?” Seth smirked. “Why, my mistake, I
thought
I brought three.”

“You sonnuva...” Lucas drew his coat back, drawing the Serbu. He pumped it, preparing the shell for fire but before he could, Seth had his katana drawn and pointed right at him, edging past the barrel.

“If you miss, your head will be feeding the sharks before you have a chance to reload.”

“What makes you think I'll miss?” asked Lucas.

Seth grinned. “The odds aren't in your favor, friend.”

Elisa had her khopesh drawn, the sickle-like sword catching both the katana and shotgun and slowly she forced them both to lower their weapons.
 

“Enough with the pissing contest. We've got a job to do so let's do it.”

Seth nodded. “Suit up. There's a small cabin below.”

“You go first,” said Elisa. “I'm going to have a word with my partner.”

Seth gathered his set of equipment and proceeded down to the cabin. Once the door closed, Lucas raised the shotgun and moved towards the door. Elisa blocked his path with the khopesh.

“What are you doing?”

“What do you think, I'm going to blow his damn head off.”

“No, you're not,” said Elisa.
 

“Don't you see what's going on here?” asked Lucas. “He's trying to get you alone so he can take you out.”

“Think I don't know that?” It's a risk, yes, but we don't have a choice. Besides, someone has to look over King.”

“Oh to hell with King, he's passed out, he'll be fine,” said Lucas. “Who's going to watch your back down there?”

“And if Seth tries anything while we're in the water, what are you going to do, exactly?” asked Elisa. “If it comes down to a one-on-one fight between you two...well...”

“Well
what?”
asked Lucas. “You think you're a better fighter than me, Elsie?”

“I
know
it,” said Elisa. “Leave this to me.”

“King was right, you
are
going to get someone killed—yourself.”

“Lucas, I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself,” she said.

The cabin door opened and Seth stepped out onto the deck, dressed in a wetsuit with a diving tank affixed to his back and his sword sheathed by his side. “Have a nice chat?”

“I take it you were listening,” said Elisa.

He nodded. “And it was very amusing, let me tell you.” He gestured towards the remaining set of equipment. “Your turn, Ms. Hill.”
 

The warehouse the Order had set themselves up in was surrounded by a barbed wire fence. Two guards armed with scimitars stood at each entrance. Asami crouched outside the grounds, her copper eyes following the guards, perceiving and tracing their movements.
 

When she saw a moment with both guards having their backs turned, she ran for the fence, crouching at the last second before springing over it, her shadow cast in the shape of a fox as she soared over the barbed wire. Asami rolled on the ground and moved into the shadows once more, never making a single sound.
 

She looked up the wall and figured the roof was the best way to get inside. Asami examined both her hands, watching as they grew a fine coat of reddish fur and sprouted claws. She used them to scramble up the wall as fast as she could. Once on the roof, Asami pulled off a wall grating and began to shimmy into the air ducts. By the time she was inside, she had transformed fully into her fox form.
 

She scurried through the air ducts, relying on her senses to lead her in the proper direction. When she came to a vent a few feet ahead, she peered down from it. In the room, she saw two guards with scimitars watching over Max, who sat quietly leafing through an old, leather-bound book.
 

Asami burst through the vent and transformed mid-fall into a state somewhere between fox and human. One of the guards was on top of his game, blocking her claws with his scimitar. He stepped back and swung the scimitar in several arcs, which Asami flipped through.
 

She fell to the ground and her tail swept past, wrapping around the guard's leg and flipping him against the wall. The second guard jumped towards her, bringing down his scimitar in a stabbing motion. Asami flipped up to her feet and jumped to meet him in midair. Her body just barely twisted out of the path of his blade and she used her claws to slice open his chest.

The first guard came back at her and Asami pounced, bouncing off his head and landing behind him. She touched ground for only an instant before lunging at his back and driving her claws into it as she bit down on his shoulder with her powerful jaws.
 

Max ignored the entire scene as if it never even occurred, still concentrating on his book. By the time Asami came up to him, she had transformed back into human form and took the book from his hands.

“Time to go,” she said.

“Asami, I presume.” Max looked down at his watch. “Thought you'd be here sooner.”

She smirked. “I like you, old man.”

“Maxwell Finch, but you can call me Max,” he said.
 

“Ready to get out of here?” she asked.

Max looked around the room. “Seems like as good a time as any, although I don't think I can fit through that vent.”

“Don't expect you to,” she said.

“Then how are we getting out of here?”

“Through the front door, of course.” Asami went to the door and transformed again, ramming into it and breaking it down. Three more guards came at her, two of them side by side with the third coming up the middle a little behind them. She jumped forward, claws slashing through the throats of the two as she passed by them. She landed on the third and bit down into his neck.