Sci Co: Takeshi's Castle fanfiction

A sleek black car stopped outside a large building in the centre of Tokyo. A uniformed man got out of the driving seat and hurriedly walked around to open the door for his two passengers. A man and a woman clambered out, staring up at the large building, shielding their eyes from the neon glare of the street lamps, which blocked out the twinkling of the stars overhead in the night sky.

Both passengers were western, and the voice of the man when he spoke was business-like and clipped, with English tones. His green eyes took in their surroundings. He had dark red hair which almost looked brown tied up behind his head in a pony tail. He wore a black suit, and almost looked like a lawyer. He shot a glance at the woman beside him.

She was tall, straight-backed and proud, tottering on high heels. Her skin was very pale, a ghostly white, as though she had covered every inch of her body with white powder. Her hair was creeping halfway down her back and was the same colour as freshly fallen snow. Her eyes had a pink glow. She wore a short black skirt which skimmed her thighs, and a tight black strappy top. Wrapped around her body was a black heavy fur lined coat. As the uniformed escort walked past her, her eyes followed him, cold disdain written all over her face, as though she did not want to be seen consorting with somebody as lowly as him.

Two of the most important people in Japan were hovering in the night, hiding in a shadowy area, both furious at being called out of their homes at such a ridiculous time of night, and waited impatiently for their visitor to show up.

‘No you won’t Takeshi. You know that as well as I do. I should imagine this is important,’ replied his friend.

‘You’d think he could at least hurry it up a bit, though,’ he muttered, mainly to himself.

Another man came running at full speed towards where the two men were hiding and waiting. Their attention was drawn to him as they heard his breath escaping in short gasps and heard his heavy footsteps on the ground. He stopped in front of the pair and bent over, resting his hands on his knees, catching his breath.

‘I am so sorry I’m late, Count Takeshi. General Tani,’ apologised the man, nodding respectfully at each figure as he said their names.

‘Never mind that,’ snapped Tani. ‘Just tell us what on earth we are doing here, in the freezing wind at gone midnight to meet you, when we could during the day.’

‘No sir. Night time would be better. Don’t want this to be overheard. Thing is, sirs, they’ve arrived.’

‘No, sir, you misunderstand. Those people, from, from, that new company opening up here. Those notorious people who have been kicked out of every country in Europe because of what they do. They’ve arrived, I’ve just seen them. A man and an albino woman, both in their twenties, they’ve just arrived at the department building which has just been sold.’ He was babbling in his anxiety of what Takeshi and Tani would have done to him, if they thought their time was being wasted.

He had their full attention. White steam was still rushing out of the mouth of the newcomer as he breathed and spoke, still not fully having got his breath back.

‘Just tell us,’ began Tani. ‘What is it this company are so notorious for?’

‘Illegal drug production,’ came the reply instantly. ‘Viral research. There was a huge scare in England when this company produced a virus and it somehow managed to escape and infected most of England. They, they do genetic experimentations on, on, animals, and, and have even managed to get a few human tests as well.’

‘They’ve managed to get away with it so far because, I dunno how, but they kept evading prison, and it was decided that the only way they could stop all the madness was to exile these people. Now they’ve just arrived here.’

‘Yes, yes, so you’ve said. But you know that we can’t do anything until we are positive that they are continuing with all this illegal work over here,’ retorted the Count.

Their informant looked petrified. Tani picked up on this and smiled reassuringly at him.

When he nodded, and the three started to go their own ways, Takeshi, who was walking in the same direction as the General looked at him.

‘Don’t look at me! I don’t know. I know what he is saying about this lot is true, because, if you remember, it was on the news and in the papers worldwide for a good long while when the virus broke out in England.’

‘Like you said, we can’t do anything until we are one hundred percent positive that they are doing illegal activities over here. Say, do you actually know the name of this company?’

The two who ran and owned Sci Co examined their new location thoroughly. Their employees would be coming over to Tokyo by plane in a few days. They could finish the work they had begun in England.

The building was perfect. Very tall, very wide, and with an extremely roomy basement under the ground, which was possibly even bigger than what was visible above the ground.

‘Excellent,’ said the woman. ‘We can have the employees live under the ground, with kitchens and bathrooms and other necessities, and have the work above ground. This place is even better than what we had in England.’

‘I do hope you are not planning on comparing everything with what we had in England, Topaz. You know that gets on my nerves. England is over for us. There is no way to reverse exile.’

‘I do know that Jase, having exiled a few disloyal employees myself. But, you have to admit, we have more security for our experiments and productions here.’

Jase rolled his eyes in an exasperated way. He was loathe to admit it, but Topaz was right. This building was better than they could have imagined. We should have come over here years ago, he thought, grinning to himself while Topaz had her back turned.

Nothing more was thought of about Sci Co for several months. The only piece of news about them was the confirmation of rumours that they were the company who were kicked out from Europe, and also people were talking about the work they were doing on the building, making it fit for their employees to live in.

Topaz and Jase watched the work closely, snapping at those who slacked or made a mistake, and sent a few workers into nervous breakdowns. Tani and Takeshi spied on the employees, to try and get some information on the kind of people Sci Co were paying to work for them.

All of them seemed scared. Not just scared, but if Topaz or Jase were to come over them, they would end up freezing solid, clamming up completely, and babbled rubbish in their faces until they walked off.

After everything had been finished, and the final touches on the department building had been completed, the Sci Co workers were moved in, after several months of being forced to sleep in a hotel.

They assembled on the ground floor of the building, and were lectured by Topaz and Jase, and were instantly set to work. One woman was watched intently by Topaz as she walked out near the back of the crowd. She walked up to the third floor of the building and joined another group of women in a room and changed into her work clothes.

Jase examined everything that was going on, spotting mistakes instantly, eyes glaring around, like a hawk. People were huddled together, wearing large white suits with reflective helmets used for protection against the toxins in the air. Gloved hands were holding test tubes tightly and adding elements and poisons to their concoctions, keeping them safely contained.

Some of the things that were produced were sent to the experimentations floor, where there were hundreds of animals kept, like rabbits and dogs. A pale blue liquid was injected into the neck of an animal, and almost immediately after, the effects of the liquid were stopped by the green liquid that was injected only seconds after.

Tani and Takeshi had come to the conclusion that there was nothing to worry about with Sci Co operating in Japan, because it did not seem like they were doing anything illegal. They thought that it would be fairly obvious if they were, because there would be tell-tale signs.

They were aware that Topaz and Jase knew about them, and the Sci Co couple felt slightly threatened by them, because they knew that if anybody had the power to ruin them, it would be the Count and the General.

A droning bell sounded in the chambers which were the public bedrooms for the male and female employees of Sci Co. There were mumbled curses and a lot of sighing as they were all rudely pulled from their sleep. A brunette woman ignored the bell and tried to continue sleeping, almost suffocating herself with her pillow as she tried to drown out the constant clanging. A blonde in the bed above her climbed down and shook her gently.

‘Sarah, get up. You know what’ll happen if you’re late again. You don’t want to go missing, do you, like those people in England who got on the wrong side of Topaz and Jase?’

The brunette called Sarah quickly jerked to life. There was a loud hammering on the chamber door as one of the more important people, higher up in Sci Co rapped on the door with his fist, in case anybody decided to slack off and try to stay in bed.

The blonde’s words stuck in her head. Sarah looked at the ring on her left hand. Her wedding ring. Her husband had been killed because he got fed up of the mistreatment inflicted upon them by Topaz and Jase and their cronies. She had vowed since the day she heard the news that she would get revenge on Sci Co, even if it cost her own life. She would not care if it did. At least she would be reunited with her husband again.

She had been thinking about exposing Sci Co to the papers for a while now, but then just as she had managed to work up the courage to go and say something, tell the truth about the horror that went on inside the building, they were exiled. This only acted as a hindrance. Surely there has to be somebody who can send Topaz and Jase to prison? She thought, dejected, depressed by the fact that they were getting away with murder, and the worst thing that happened to them was exile, so they could relocate and continue their evil in a different part of the world.

‘Alison, who were those two blokes that apparently intimidate Topaz and Jase? Those guys who actually have the power to ruin Sci Co?’ asked Sarah, looking at the blonde who had fished out her white uniform and was starting to get changed, along with the rest of the women in their vicinity.

‘Dunno, all I know is that they’re big wigs over here, but dunno who they are,’ replied Alison. ‘Why?’

Sarah and Alison filed out of their huge room once they had got dressed and had a quick breakfast before heading up to the top floor of the building, which, even when using the elevators took at least five minutes.

They snatched up a plastic packet containing thin white protective gloves and slipped their hands awkwardly into them and tied their hair back, then covered their faces with masks.

There were rows of cages in the next room, where hundreds of dogs were kept locked up, ready to be experimented on. Alison unlocked one, and led it over to Sarah who crouched down to its level, waiting with her hand out for the syringes she needed. She injected a blue substance into the veins of the dog, and it started to bark loudly and sounded in incredible pain. Sarah winced at the loudness of its barks and hurriedly grabbed at the other syringe, containing a green liquid, and injected that in the same area of the body where the toxin was inserted.

‘God, I wish we could let one of these animals go without injecting the antivirus, so people know what goes on in here,’ muttered Sarah, mainly to herself. Alison froze at a nearby table, holding the dog she was experimenting on tightly.

‘Don’t say that. God knows what could spread from one infected dog. Even if one of the rabbits got loose, it could be catastrophic. I know you’re mad because of what Sci Co has done, but that’s taking it too far,’ she snapped, looking hard at her friend. Despite the myth of blondes being of lower intelligence than anybody else, she was the more level headed out of the two.

More barks sounded as the poor animal Alison was working on felt the searing pain of the virus through its veins. She clamped its mouth shut with one hand and groped for the antivirus. The dog still wailed, but they came out slightly muffled.

Sarah sighed. She already felt bored out of her skull, and she had only been working for a few minutes. This was her job all day long, each day, even at the weekends. Staying locked in a tiny room with Alison, injecting the virus and the antivirus into dogs all day, and only making any notes if one animal reacts oddly to the toxins shooting through its veins. Only occasionally she got to do something more interesting, and she only found the prospect of making the virus itself interesting because she knew that it was a perfect opportunity to steal some of it and prove that Sci Co were doing illegal viral research.

Topaz was walking through the streets of Tokyo, still feeling pleased that things finally seemed to be looking up, and that they would soon have perfected a wide range of viral weapons. She had already seen Count Takeshi wandering along the streets, but had yet to meet this General Tani, who had not seemed it was necessary to introduce himself, which surprised Topaz, because she heard that he was supposed to be a gentleman. But she was glad that he had not. Perhaps the Count and the General are the first two to use the virus on...get them out of the way so that we can continue our work without any risk of being exposed...

She saw two men coming in the opposite direction. She studied the face of one, and instantly noticed how attractive he was, and she looked at his friend, almost choking on nothing when she saw him. It was Count Takeshi. So, she assumed the other man had to be General Tani.

Determined not to let on that their presence bothered her, she boldly walked on, until she almost stepped on their shoes. The Count beamed at her, the warm smile on his face hiding the fact that he thought she was repulsive.

‘Topaz, how good to see you again,’ said Takeshi, seizing her hands and shaking them. ‘Have you met General Tani?’ He motioned to the man Topaz had instantly noticed and admired.

He shook her hand as well, but his smile was less warm. He did not see the point in hiding his mistrust for her and her company. A large black helicopter flew overhead, with the letters ‘SC’ painted clearly on the bottom, so they were perfectly visible from the ground.

‘Sci Co helicopters? Why would you need them?’ asked Tani, his voice only sounding slightly stony.

‘Incase either Jase or myself get called away for something at the last minute. It has happened before,’ replied Topaz, in a much more icy tone.

‘Probably the last time that happened was when you were summoned to be told that you were being exiled, am I right?’

Topaz replied with a glare, baring her teeth. She walked on, ignoring the two men.

Tani gave her one last glance over his shoulder before whispering to Takeshi when he was sure that she was out of earshot.

‘I don’t know how they managed to get in this country,’ he spat venomously, still staring at the albino woman’s back.

‘Shh,’ hissed Takeshi, also glancing back. ‘Well, come on, they need somewhere to stay, don’t they?’

‘I don’t mean a place to live and you know it. For God’s sake, practically the whole world knows what they did to England, but still they’re allowed to waltz in here with their employees and no doubt hidden agendas and continue as though they’re obeying the law. It makes me sick. She makes me sick,’ snapped Tani quietly, withdrawing his gaze from Topaz.

‘They’re not doing anything at the moment,’ said Takeshi in what he hoped was a soothing voice, trying to pacify his friend. ‘It looks like they’re doing something decent now. Perhaps they learned their lesson.’

They walked along until they came to the huge building, which now that the bright neon sign blazing ‘Sci Co’ out on the front. Tani had to admit, he was tempted to bust inside and see for himself what was going on in there.

But before he could even think of saying this to Takeshi, a black suited man walked calmly out of the front doors and up to them. It was Jase. He smiled at them as he passed and turned back to the doors. Tani was certain Jase was mouthing something. Looking through the glass of the front doors, he thought he could make out movement from the inside of the building. Tani listened to the sounds of Jase’s footsteps retreating into the distance.

The Count and the General started up to the front doors, and before Tani’s hand touched the door handle, it opened and two thickset men, both wearing the same suit Jase was blocked their path. So these were who Jase was mouthing to, thought Tani. He doesn’t want us in there...

‘Just a friendly visit,’ said the Count, smiling in a way he hoped would win over these two brutes. It did not.

‘No one’s allowed inside unless they’re a boss or an employee,’ snapped the second man. ‘Now bugger off!’

The door was slammed in their faces. General Tani and Takeshi looked at it, stunned.

‘Who lets these people out?’ asked Tani. It was meant to be a rhetorical question, but Takeshi felt obliged to answer it anyway.

‘Another pair from the shallow end of the gene pool,’ retorted the General. ‘Just like their cronies.’

Takeshi rolled his eyes at the General’s comment and pulled him away from the front door.

‘They don’t want us in there, Takeshi. When are you going to realise that they haven’t changed? They are doing illegal things in there, and that’s why Jase has made sure those two men are standing guard there. Incase we try to break in. I’m telling you, there’s a reason for all this, and that is that they are doing things they shouldn’t be doing!’

‘Tani, Tani, Tani, can you name me one large corporation like Sci Co - er, with the exception of the past illegal activities - that would allow anybody to walk in and have a nose around?’ queried Takeshi.

‘We should be able to. Jase and Topaz know who we are. They know that we are the ones who could ruin them if we had sufficient evidence. If we wanted to have a look around, you know as well as I do that normally we can. I don’t trust them. Neither should you.’

Takeshi sighed. His friend had been in somewhat of a permanent bad mood since Sci Co had arrived in Tokyo. He had to admit that the General had a point, but there were no tell tale signs that Sci Co had not yet cleaned up their act. Tani stared up at the large building.

Sarah was staring out of the window, at something at ground level, like she had been doing for several minutes. Alison kept shooting annoyed looks at her, but Sarah ignored them.

‘What is it that has held your attention for so long?’ she snapped, standing next to the brunette.

Sarah pointed at two figures who had tried to get inside the building, but were stopped by the thickset men who always guarded the doors. Sarah had not noticed them come with them to Japan from England. She had hoped that perhaps they stayed in Europe. Alison looked down at them, a smile spreading over her face.

‘Dunno, but they tried to get in. Well, they went up to the front door and spoke to the thickos and then left it at that, if you can call that trying to get in,’ replied Sarah.

‘How did you come to that conclusion? They look like ordinary Tokyo citizens to me.’

‘Come on, we’d better get back to work. Supposing someone walked in and caught us slacking off? Then we’d be in for it,’ she said, turning away from the window.

Sarah was reluctant to draw her gaze from the two men who were strolling away now, side by side.

‘God, I dunno. I just think that they may be important people. I can’t figure out anything else about them.’

‘Maybe they’re that General Tani and Count Takeshi. The two who can stop Sci Co.’

‘Well, if they are, we’ll never find out know, and even if we did know, our chances of getting to them are remote,’ Alison glanced out the window again, and then injected the antivirus into yet another dog. ‘They’re leaving now, anyway.’

But that was as far as she got. Sarah ran out of the room and headed straight for the elevator, saw that it was full and dashed for the stairs, running down at full speed, ripping her face mask from over her mouth and trying to keep her balance.

Eventually she made it down to the ground floor and almost ran straight into the two standing guard at the front doors.

‘Quick, up in the animal testing floor, there’s been an accident! Contamination! I would tell this to Topaz or Jase, but I don’t know where they are!’ screeched Sarah, knowing that this false piece of news would get them flustered and end up trying to find one of the bosses.

Sure enough, feeling panicky, they shot past her. Sarah practically pulled the door clean off the frame and threw herself out, luckily seeing the retreating backs of the two men she and Alison had been spying from up above.

General Tani and Takeshi could hear heavy footsteps and loud breathing behind them and quickly turned around. They saw a brown eyed brunette in white protective clothing and a face mask around her neck. Tani gave Takeshi a look which said one thing: ‘this looks suspicious.’

‘Excuse me sirs, but are you General Tani and Count Takeshi?’ she asked, wheezing as she spoke.

They nodded and introduced themselves. Tani started to ask her what she wanted, when there was a blur and Jase was suddenly blocking Sarah from their view. He pulled her away from the pair, cold fury etched into every line on his youthful face.

‘What the hell do you think you are doing? What in God’s name are you doing out here?’ he hissed.

‘I- I’m sorry sir, it’s just, that - that -’ Sarah surreptitiously shot a glance at the huge building and thought she could just make out Alison watching, ‘there was an accident, and - and I tried to find you, but I didn’t know where you were, and I saw them and - and thought that - that maybe - maybe they had seen you.…’

Sarah ceased her stammering and watched Jase’s expression closely. She knew that she was in trouble.

Alison turned away from the window and contemplated going down to help Sarah. She felt scared. She wondered what was going to happen to Sarah. Several minutes later, the door burst open and Jase entered, holding onto Sarah by her ear, in even more of a fury than he seemed to be when he caught her outside the Sci Co building.

‘So there has been an accident, I understand. Where?’ asked Jase, turning his evil eyes onto Alison. She quaked under his stare.

Jase stared around the room, taking in the appearance, and realising that there was nothing out of place.

‘So you lied to me? You lied, saying that you were trying to find me? What did you say to them?’ Jase seized Sarah and shook her by her shoulders. ‘What did you say to them?’

‘I didn’t! I didn’t get the chance!’ screamed Sarah, feeling terrified, wondering what was going to happen to her, and if anything was going to happen to Alison. She was sure that he would punish her as well.

Jase slapped her around the face, forcing her to stagger backwards from the heavy blow. Alison had shrank backwards, away from the pair as Jase vented his fury on her friend.

General Tani and Count Takeshi were still standing near the Sci Co building, wondering what the brunette they had spoken to wanted.

‘Maybe she had something to tell us. Something important. Like that maybe Sci Co are still doing illegal work,’ suggested Tani, putting a stress on his sentence, trying to get his point across to the count. Takeshi sighed.

‘Please, Tani, don’t start that again. You’ve got to be more trusting towards these people.’

The General clamped his mouth shut to try and contain the sarcastic remark that he was dying to throw at his friend.

Sarah was leaning against the door which had been slammed shut after Jase had left. She was breathing heavily. Her eyes welled up with tears and her whole body ached painfully. She rubbed her shoulders which felt numb, numbed by the hits that her boss had landed on her. Alison was trying to be sympathetic, but could not fight the traitor voice in her head which said that Sarah had it coming to her, by running hell for leather out of the building after those two men.

‘Which one was the guy in the dress?’ she asked, whilst being more clever than blondes were given credit for, but was still ignorant of the traditional Japanese dress.

‘Oh good. So the other one was General Tani? Damn, he’s pretty good looking, actually.’

Sarah smiled at the behaviour of her friend and rolled her eyes. Only Alison could watch one of her closest friends take a severe beating and then comment about somebody else’s looks almost straight afterwards.

Jase was pacing through his office, glaring at the phone on his desk, waiting for it to ring. Being the impatient man that he was, he snatched it up, flicked the top open and punched out a number but reached the same answering machine message. Angrily, he snapped the top down again without bothering to leave a message. The door opened and Topaz stood in the doorway.

‘One of our employees who do the testing on the animals decided to run outside the building while we were out, and obviously had spotted the two men who could bring us down! I saw the cow talking to Tani and Takeshi! She claims that she did not get the chance to say anything to them, and that statement does not exactly fill me with confidence.’

Sarah and Alison were continuing with their work, handling the virus carefully, preparing the syringes. The door flew open, making them both jump. Alison shrieked and dropped the syringe she was holding, causing pale blue liquid to spread over the ground fast. Cursing loudly, Sarah and Alison both snatched a cloth each and started to mop up the spillage, not paying any heed to the thickset men standing in the doorway, who had been instructed by Topaz to keep a close eye on the pair, in case they should attempt to speak to Tani or Takeshi again.

A small rat, which had somehow managed to work its way into the Sci Co building, and into the animal testing floor scampered across the floor when Alison and Sarah had their backs turned, over the ground to a minuscule puddle of the virus, which had been missed. The rat sniffed at it, and gingerly licked the virus, infecting itself, and scurried across the floor, between the legs of the men and out the door.

‘Miss Topaz says that you two were trying to speak to people on the outside,’ managed one of them, speaking in a low voice which clearly indicated its speaker was of a low IQ.

‘Yeah, well Miss Topaz says a lot of things. Like that Sci Co are going to sort out their act, for example. Proof that you can’t believe everything you hear,’ snapped Alison uncharacteristically in reply.

They spent the rest of the day working furiously under the eyes of their guards, until it was time to call it a day, and they, along with the rest of the Sci Co employees gathered in the huge dining hall for their dinner. The news that Sarah had tried to get out of the building had spread around fast, although, how it had, neither Alison nor Sarah could say.

‘Oi, Sarah, is it true you tried to bring this place down and speak to that Count and General, or whoever they are?’ shouted one man.

‘Ohh, don’t do that, Sarah, this corporation is the only thing I’ve got, despite it isn’t exactly my dream job.’

The woman who made that bold statement radiated under the laser glares of those around her, who heard what she said. She flushed furiously and wiped the lenses of her glasses, and walked off to a bench, not making eye contact with anybody.

‘Weird old bat,’ spat another man, watching her retreating back. Sarah restrained herself from saying anything. She felt great in the knowledge that everybody respected her nerve to pull off a stunt like what she did, and was not prepared to blow it by defending the company oddball who actually wanted Sci Co to stay in power.

A pale woman with waist length black hair and penetrating brown eyes walked past her, stopped and rested a hand on Sarah’s shoulder.

‘I envy you,’ she murmured. ‘I wish I had the courage to try and bring this hell hole down. I hope that if you try it again, you’ll be more successful.’

She walked off, leaving Sarah feeling stunned at Alison fighting to keep a straight face.

‘Did I dream that, or did she actually speak to me?’ asked Sarah, turning her head round to look at the black haired woman walked across the other side of the cavernous canteen. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever heard her speak, not even to Jase or Topaz!’

‘Obviously, more people than we thought wants Sci Co to meet its end. Are you going to try it again?’

Sarah shrugged. She did not know if she wanted to risk it again. She was aware that she was covered with bruises and other tell-tale marks of her beating. She could still feel Jase’s hands on her as he landed blow after blow. She mentally shook herself and followed the blonde head trying to find a table to sit down at.

Tani and Takeshi strolled through the streets as they so often did, still discussing Sci Co and what they thought the brunette wanted to say to them.

‘You have to admit,’ started Tani. ‘She had something important to say to us, judging by her fearful yet rebellious expression, and the hint of urgency in her voice.’

‘Yes, okay, it did seem she did, and the whole thing, the way she was dressed and how Jase reacted when he saw her are all suspicious. But I really don’t think we can do anything about them until there is sufficient evidence that they are breaking the law.’

‘Does this mean that you’re finally convinced? You finally think that they are up to no good?’

A young girl was skipping along the road in the direction of the pair. Because of the day’s heat, and in spite of the chilly night air, she was wearing a t-shirt and shorts, and her feet were encased in flip flops. She slowed down to a walk and grinned at the General as she passed. They both turned around as she muttered ‘ouch,’ under her breath. A rat was skittering along the curb and into the road. She examined the bite on her left ankle.

She exchanged another smile with Tani and Takeshi and continued on her way back to her home. The front door had been opened by a furious and anxiety ridden mother, obviously scared to death that something had happened to her daughter when she was pushed aside and the girl collapsed to her knees in the bathroom and threw up.

Sarah and Alison were in their group bedroom, pulling off their work clothes and tugging on their pyjamas. Sarah was still being congratulated by her colleagues on her commendable effort to destroy Sci Co.

‘At least you know what the General and Count Takeshi look like, now. That’s always going to be a help,’ remarked one woman, beaming down at the brunette from her towering six foot height. Sarah nodded politely and gave a strained smile. Alison was watching with a genuine look of amusement on her face.

‘Talk about being spoken to by all the unlikely people,’ she whispered. Sarah nodded again.

Sarah’s actions had caused the streak of rebellion in the rest of the workers to show, and she was offered a sample of the virus to sneak out of the department building and into the hands of the press.

‘Nah, I’m not going to try it again. At least not soon. I want a chance for my body to heal before being battered again.’

‘Jase. When he dragged me back to where I was supposed to be working, he beat me black and blue.’

‘Look, I’ll tell you what. If and when I decide to pull a suicidal stunt like that again, you’ll be the first person to tell, so I hope you’re going to place that virus somewhere that’s easy to get to,’ replied Sarah, with a grin.

‘Tut, I would have hoped that I’d be one of the first people you’d tell,’ jested Alison.

Alison laughed and clambered into her bunk above Sarah’s. Sarah fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

What felt like only seconds after Sarah had drifted off to sleep, the morning bell signalling that it was time to get up sounded. She groaned and rolled over, turning her back to the rest of the room. As per usual, it was Alison clambering down and prodding her whilst asking whether she wanted to get into even more trouble that finally persuaded her to get up.

They changed into all white again, and filed out of the room, after the rest of the women, into the canteen again. It was only this time in the morning, and late in the evening when the workers of Sci Co were able to speak freely amongst each other.

Naturally, Sarah was still attracting the occasional appreciative grin. She caught her friend’s eye across the table.

‘I wonder how much longer people will commend me on my brave actions,’ she pondered.

Their conversation broke off at that moment, as did the conversations of the rest of the people as Jase and Topaz stopped behind Sarah. She only noticed when she saw that everybody else was staring in her direction, deadly silent and realised that two long shadows were falling over her. She craned around in her seat to stare them straight in the eyes.

‘Come with us,’ ordered Topaz, in a tone that suggested that under no circumstances would she be disobeyed. ‘You too, Alison.’

They avoided looking at anybody, not wanting to catch somebody’s staring eye. They followed Jase and Topaz up to their work area, where they spent their monotonous days injecting the virus and the antivirus into different animals each day. Sarah thought after her first day working in Sci Co that she had seen enough of her work room to last her a lifetime. She wondered what her reaction would be if she found out, there and then, that she would be confined to that same one room for almost every day for the next six years.

Already in their room was a small Japanese boy. He looked anxious and jumped when the door opened. He seemed frightened of Topaz and Jase. Suspicion rose in Sarah. She exchanged a meaningful and surreptitious look with Alison. She shrugged very slightly.

They stared at their feet in silence until Topaz decided to break the ice and tell the pair what they were wanted for.

‘We have, at last, managed to find a human experiment,’ she explained, motioning to the small boy.

Jase gripped Alison by her upper arm and pulled her out of the room, leaving Sarah alone with Topaz. She felt sick to her stomach. This was wrong. Making this poor boy ill deliberately, just because Sci Co wanted a viral weapon ready at hand. She knew fully well that it was a different matter testing on humans than it was testing on animals. She knew that there was a chance the antivirus might not be strong enough to completely kill the virus once injected into a human body, even one as young as this small boy, who looked to Sarah to be no more than ten years of age.

This is sick, snapped Sarah, glaring at Topaz. You know as well as I do the risks of injecting the virus into a young child.

Silence! You will do what you are told. You almost blew our cover yesterday with your stunt of trying to speak to General Tani and Count Takeshi. You are lucky we don’t inject the virus into you, and allow you to die. I will carry that out if I have to.’

Sighing, Sarah followed Topaz meekly into the next room, where they changed out of their clothes and into full biohazard outfits. Sarah waited unhappily for Topaz as she swept her pure white hair back behind her head and covered it with a net and slipped a shield over her face. She pulled a laboratory coat over her body which was as white as her skin and motioned for Sarah to head back into the other room. The little boy watched as they walked through the door and closed it.

Sarah saw that tears had started to build up inside the boy’s eyes. She bit down on her lip, because she knew that if she did not somehow restrain herself, she would end up doing or saying something she regretted to Topaz.

Topaz poked Sarah roughly in the back and handed to her a syringe with the virus. She kept a grip on the syringe with the antivirus. Topaz watched Sarah closely as she crouched down to the same level as the boy and rolled up the left sleeve of his t-shirt. Sarah made sure that the fluid in the syringe was at the tip of the needle-point and lowered it to the bared arm in front of her. The boy let out a frightened whimper. She injected the virus into the vein in his arm.

It felt like undiluted acid was roaring through his veins. He screamed and jerked his arm away from Sarah, the motion causing the needle of the syringe to break off, the tip of it still in his arm. He clawed at it frantically, tears pouring down his cheeks, yelling in pain and fear. Topaz observed the reaction closely, mentally making notes.

A wave of nausea struck the boy and before Sarah could even get the antivirus from Topaz, he pushed past her and ran out of the room, hand over his mouth, searching for somewhere to relieve himself. Topaz cursed loudly and tore out after him. Sarah was the only one who stayed in the room.

Topaz dashed down the stairs, searching for the little boy, and also keeping an eye out for Jase. She saw him appearing from a doorway at the bottom of the stairs and she called out to him, almost jumping straight onto him when she reached him,

Jase never before thought that it would have been possible for an albino to turn even whiter than they naturally were, put Topaz seemed so pale, she resembled the dead.

‘The boy - the boy - Sarah - he ran -' she was stammering as she spoke, unable to utter a coherent sentence.

‘No, you misunderstand...' Topaz took a deep breath to calm herself. ‘The human experiment. He ran off, before Sarah could inject the antivirus. He’s infected, and I don’t know where he went!’

Alison was in the same room she was a moment ago, feeling sickened by herself. Jase had just forced her to use the virus on a human, to see if it and the antivirus worked well on creatures larger and stronger than animals. The little girl seemed fine. But that was not the point.

A loud, droning siren echoed through the building of Sci Co. She had never heard it before, but still, she knew what it meant. There was only one thing it could mean. Contamination.

‘Oh hell, no…’ whispered Alison. The girl next to her raised her head in question.

‘Don’t tell me you had to test on a child as well?’ she exclaimed. The blonde nodded.

‘So did I,’ murmured Sarah, her face falling. ‘The kid ran out to find somewhere to chuck before Topaz handed me the antivirus. That little boy’s running around in here, infected.’

‘Oh hell, hell, hell.…’ whispered Alison, pressing the tips of her fingers against her lips. ‘Goddamn…’

They both ran out of the room and headed straight for the main doors and attempted to pry them apart. To their dismay, they were locked. Sarah swore loudly.

Sarah and Alison pummelled the doors with their clenched fists, wailing loudly for help. They were desperate. They were determined to break free. They needed help.

Tani walked to his front door when he heard somebody knocking, and opened it to see the face of the Count on the other side. General Tani stood aside to let him in.

‘Have you noticed how the streets seem to be somewhat deserted today?’ asked Takeshi as he entered, shivering from the crisp, cold wind. Tani shrugged.

‘Well, everybody who we normally see clogging up the pavements have taken shelter in the doctors’ surgery today. As though they’ve all got some strange illness.’

The General looked over the shoulder of his friend, out of the window of the door. The same small girl they saw yesterday, who received a bite on her ankle was hobbling past. Tani and Takeshi watched her as she rubbed the bite they heard her get, and she sank down to the ground. Her face was a deathly pale white, her skin taut. She looked gaunt and almost menacing. Her black hair, yesterday sleek and shiny, was now tangled, and generally in a mess. She turned her face to where the pair were watching, but did not see them, and held a hand over her mouth. She hap-hazardly staggered to her feet and tried to continue walking along, but her legs gave way from underneath her.

She hit the ground again, Tani yanked open the front door and gathered the tiny girl up in his arms. He carried her into the living room and rested her on his sofa, signalling to Takeshi to call a doctor. When one finally came, what was said only made General Tani more suspicious of Sci Co.

‘Ah yes, another one,’ he said, as soon as he saw her. He took her temperature and pulse.

‘What do you mean another one?’ snarled the General. The doctor gave him a look.

‘There are a lot of people at the surgery who seem to be suffering from this disease. A few people have died already.’

‘That, none of us can answer. So far, everybody who has complained of an illness has suffered vomiting, a burning pain in all areas of their body, which most have said feels like acid. All have suffered a high temperature, a weak pulse, and have, unsurprisingly, been lethargic. Whatever is causing this illness ends up effecting their lungs, causing them to shut down. Then, obviously, it is only a matter of time for the patient.’

Tani and Takeshi exchanged horrified glances. The girl let out a choking sound, as she fought for breath.

‘I swear, if Sci co are behind this, I will go there and sort out Jase and Topaz myself,’ growled General Tani, still feeling shocked about what had happened to the small girl.

Her breathing was becoming more and more laboured. She was wheezing. It looked like it was only minutes before her lungs stopped drawing in any breath whatsoever. She coughed, making a pathetic little sound. She could not even get enough breath to clear her throat properly.

The small boy had found a darkened corner in one of the many rooms of the Sci Co building. He sat huddled at the far end, hugging his knees, and struggling to contain the howls of pain which were trying to break free. He still had the terrible feeling of acid inside him. His face was damp from tears. He wiped them away.

Hearing movement outside, he drew into himself some more, trying not to be noticed. He recognised the voice of the strange pale woman with the one who injected the virus into him.

‘Find that boy now! You know full well what will happen if the virus breaks free.’

He noticed that one of the windows was open slightly. Keeping his movements quiet, he stood up, carefully, not wanting to draw any attention to himself and made his way silently to it. He pushed out, opening the window as far as it could go. He pulled himself up and slipped through the small opening. Turning back to close the window again, he saw the pale woman. She cried out and ran across the room. The boy slammed the window completely closed on her hand and made a break for it.

It was amazing how fast the virus had spread. Overnight, the one infected rat bit several more, as well as a few people along the way. The other infected rats did the same. The humans started suffering the first symptoms of the virus and accidentally spread it further, to the other members in their household. Feeling strange, they hurried to the surgery, or called out a doctor, infecting more people. The contamination continued to spread. The antivirus was still locked up, deep inside the locked Sci Co building, bar one window.

One doctor, Ein Roku, had spent all his working day so far, in the surgery, staring at the large amount of ill people filing through the doors, all with the same pale, taut skin. All with the same, shibito-like manner, all wearing the same grim expression of death. Now he was in the same room as General Tani and Count Takeshi, examining the form of a small girl, he suspects has the same virus.

Ein tapped her chest, and tried to make out any sign of her breathing. He fumbled for her wrist again.

‘She is still alive. But not for long. Her lungs have finally shut down. She is now suffocating, dying of a lack of oxygen.’

There was one mark on her body, which he noticed was also consistent with the rest of the patients he had seen, who had come down with this mysterious illness. On the back of the neck of all patients had been a small lump. A small red lump had formed on the same place of each patient. He had originally noticed it on his first patient, who was a balding, elderly man. Ein had seen the back of him, and instantly noticed the little boil, which he had checked for on the rest of his patients. Sure enough, they all had the same swelling.

Sarah and Alison gave up trying to break the door down. They were in a blinding panic, as were the rest of the workers.

‘We have to get out of here!’ bellowed Sarah. ‘We have to find somebody!’

In a moment of desperation, she turned back to the door and rammed into it with all her force. She bounced back from it and rubbed her now aching shoulder. She kicked at the glass of the door, trying to work her foot through it.

Sarah stopped just before she threw herself into the unresisting door again. She rested one hand on the cool pane of glass, feeling weary. How where they going to get through this? How long was it going to take before the whole building became infected with this disease? She looked at her wedding ring again and ran a finger over it for comfort. At least we’ll be together again soon...

There was the sound of hurrying footsteps behind them. They turned to see another woman running up behind them, She came to a halt when she rested eyes on Sarah and Alison.

Both women nodded. The newcomer groaned. She fumbled about in the pockets of her lab coat and picked out a paper clip. She straightened it and then bent down to the lock and picked it. There was a small click. Alison thought that it was the prettiest sound she would ever hear for a long while.

The front door opened, and the three women ran out of it. Sarah, who was last out, kicked the door shut again.

Ein, the doctor, had made himself scarce, and waited for his mobile to give that inevitable ring, and the Count to be on the other end, telling him that it was time for another body to be taken away.

Tani and Takeshi watched the small girl, lying in the General’s arms, perfectly still. She had her eyes tightly closed, her mouth open slightly as she tried in vain to fight for her breath. Tani bent over her, bringing his ear near to her mouth.

‘She’s not been breathing for a while,’ reminded Takeshi. ‘I think she’s passed.’

Count Takeshi snatched up his mobile phone, and called the number the doctor had left. He had a brief conversation with Ein and then hung up, staring at the opposite wall.

Tani nodded. He felt strangely numb. He was unsure why this girl meant so much to him, why the fact she was dying in his arms was having so much of a negative effect on him. He knew, he knew, in the back of his head, that it was Sci Co who was doing it. It always was. No doubt about it. The chaos outside, all the death, which had happened in the space of one day was just the beginning of what seemed like a monster nightmare about to unfurl, and he knew, that it was Jase and Topaz. They were the ones responsible.

‘We’re going to have to do something about this,’ he spoke, in a bland monotone. ‘I blatantly refuse to allow Sci Co to continue with this.’

‘Don’t say that we can’t because of lack of proof, because that’s crap and you know it,’ snapped the General.

There was a soft tap on the front door, and Tani heaved himself up off the sofa, and staggered behind Count Takeshi to the door, the tiny, young form in his arms, her head rolling about on her shoulders from the movement of being picked up. General Tani passed her over to Ein with a morose look, and a shake of the head.

Alison and Sarah skidded to a halt on the pavement, gasping for breath, after having run a number of streets away from the Sci Co building in their terror of potential contamination and will to perhaps run into somebody who could help, like Tani or Takeshi.

Sarah realised that she was still wearing her full protective, biohazard clothing and pulled the face mask from her mouth and threw it down to the ground in disgust and contempt. She ripped off the lab coat and hurled that down, too. Alison watched her, carefully peeling off her own face mask.

‘This is it. I don’t believe this is happening again!’ snarled Sarah. ‘God almighty, I hope there’s somebody here who will actually destroy Sci Co, bring them down.’

‘Ha, no, knowing our luck, Tani and Takeshi will be just as stuck up as those in England, and just get us all exiled from another continent. Jesus, if this doesn’t stop soon, none of us will be allowed anywhere in the world.’

Sarah glared at her friend, feeling angry at everybody any everything. A gust of wind swept around them. Alison pulled her lab coat tightly closed over her slim frame.

Takeshi stepped out of the General’s front door and turned back to say his goodbyes to his friend. Tani merely acknowledged it with a slight nod of his head. He closed the door and turned back, leaning against the wooden door. He closed his head and thought, straining his mind for a strategy of attack on Sci Co. Maybe we could just wait until they all become infected, he thought viciously. It would serve them right.

The General barricaded himself inside his home for the rest of the day, not answering his phone if it rang, and keeping his mobile switched off. After half an hour, he decided to unplug his answering machine, because of Takeshi leaving as many messages on it as he could, almost seemingly to be on a mission to use up all his tape.

Takeshi hung up, staring at the mobile in his hand. He wondered why Tani was ignoring all his calls. He felt worried about his friend. He had hardly joked or smiled in any way for ages. He used to have an air of warmth about him, which dissipated over the weeks, which he knew started with the arrival of Sci Co.

Tani did not venture outside for the rest of the week. It was a Sunday now, and the Count had finally given up ringing either his mobile or landline, so he could relax by attempting the games on his phone, without the risk of it ringing loudly all of a sudden.

He had a quick shower and after he stepped out, caught sight of himself in the condensation clogged mirror. He wiped it clean and saw himself clearly for the first time in a few days, and realised just how awful he looked. He had really been neglecting himself. His eyes were red and puffy from going to sleep at the early hours in the morning each night, and waking up at eight o’clock. He had barely ate anything, just drank. His face was covered with stubble. Anybody who was studying the way he was acting during that week would have thought that he must have been through something traumatic which drove him to search for solace in alcohol.

Shrugging off his ill appearance, he padded into his bedroom and pulled on his pyjamas, not bothered to fasten the buttons on the shirt and fell to sleep instantly.

General Tani was woken naturally, having slept through his alarm at eight in the morning, and felt strangely refreshed, which was not something he normally associated with getting up. Normally, first thing in the morning, he felt like cursing loudly and throwing his alarm clock through the window before rolling over and drifting back to sleep. Then he noticed that it was one in the afternoon. Ah, no wonder I feel awake, he thought, happily, knowing that he had the best night’s sleep he had for a good while.

He kicked off the duvet and headed straight for the kitchen, nosing around for something to eat, then headed straight for the bathroom again. He saw in the mirror that his puffy red eyes looked almost human again. He had a quick shave and slapped on some aftershave and shrugged off his pyjamas shirt as he headed back out. He heard a knock on the door, quickly threw his shirt into his room, changed direction and answered the door. Three figures were standing on the other side, two female, one male. Takeshi smiled at him. Tani recognised the brunette who tried to speak to him a few days back, and a blonde woman.

‘These are Alison and Sarah,’ said the Count immediately, pointing at each woman in turn.

Sarah felt her stomach turn as she took in the sight in front of her, of this tanned, muscular and topless man, clean and shaven and smelling of aftershave with tousled hair, which she thought made him look sexy. Alison had fallen under the spell as well, but not to the same extent as Sarah, who had a pink flush rising up and tinting her face. Alison decided to say something, fully knowing that if her brunette friend opened her mouth, she would end up making some strange gurgling noise at him, and just, in general, make an arse out of herself. Sarah averted her face and tried to hide from view, knowing that the pink tint was now a blood red tidal wave covering her face.

‘Just a hunch,’ replied Takeshi, shrugging. ‘Anyway…’ He turned to the girls.

Before Alison could open her mouth to say something, Tani had looked past the group, actually trying to get a look at Sarah, as he had not yet worked out why she was hiding, and saw that almost every house on the road had a thick, blood red cross painted on the front door. He looked at the houses on his side of the road, and saw, that his home was the only one without a red cross on the door.

‘What the hell, in God’s name, is going on?’ he cried incredulously, goggling at Count Takeshi.

‘During your week of absence, the virus spread further. So, those people living with at least one infected person in their house have to paint a red cross on their door.’

‘God, what a medieval approach to things,’ commented the General. ‘Didn’t that happen ages ago in England? People painting crosses on the door if they had someone living with them who had the plague?’

‘I’ll let Alison and Sarah speak.’ Or, rather, just Alison, Takeshi mentally added, seeing the state that Sarah was in.

‘Sci Co -’ started Alison, and that was as far as she got. ‘They’re behind this, aren’t they? Don’t you both work for them?’ interrupted General Tani. Alison nodded.

‘Yes sir, we do. Also, yes, this virus that is breaking out was created by Sci Co.’

‘I tried to tell you the other week,’ came a murmur, and Sarah stepped out from behind Takeshi, fighting to keep the blood from rising to her face again at the sight of the General. ‘But Jase caught me. Beat me for it.’

She showed Tani the marks on her arms from where she had tried to defend herself against Jase’s onslaught. Tani looked at her in stunned amazement.

‘Nothing else. They both refused to say anything to me until you were present as well.’

‘So, as you both work there, do you know if there’s a way to reverse the virus? A cure for it?’ asked Tani, hoping against hope that there would be. He still felt effected by the fact that a week ago he had carried a dead girl in his arms.

‘Yes, there is. Sarah and me, we test them. We had to test the virus and the antivirus on, as much as I hate to say it, on animals mainly, but just before the virus broke out, we both got human experiments from Topaz and Jase.’

‘That’s sickening,’ growled the Count, voicing the same words that General Tani was about to.

‘The boy I was working with, that Topaz brought me,’ mumbled Sarah, looking at the ground, ‘he ran out of the laboratory before I got the chance to inject the antivirus into him, and so he was probably one of the first deaths, spreading around the virus.’

‘So, the only way to get the antivirus would be to bust into the Sci Co building and take it? Or are Topaz and Jase planning on giving it out?’

‘No sir. They’re just allowing people to die. But yes, to get the antivirus, you’d have to break in.’

‘What’s the point? I mean, why can’t they just hand out the antivirus to those who are infected?’ asked Takeshi, staring hard at Alison. ‘Surely they worried when they realised it had broken out.’

‘Well, yes, they did worry, I think, but that was only because they knew that they were going to be caught out. At least, that was the reason in England, and they obviously haven’t changed their attitudes here,’ replied Alison.

‘You can say that again,’ sniffed Tani. ‘Right, come in, come in, and wait for a minute. I’m assuming we’ll be going to get the antivirus?’ he added, looking at the Count.

Tani closed the door behind Takeshi, Sarah and Alison and guided them into the living room, while he jogged into his bedroom to make himself look more presentable. The Count settled down on the sofa, looking out of place in his billowing orange robe next to Sarah and Alison, in the remainders of their white, western style biohazard clothing.

The General emerged into the living room minutes later, wearing the outfit which could make even the most ignorant of people realise that he was somebody important.

He was wearing black trousers, which were tucked into yellow boots that were resting on his calves. The outside legs of his trousers had a yellow strip running down the side. He had a white t-shirt on underneath a black jacket, with a shining golden collar. There was a row of gold buttons which had been fastened, a thinner yellow strip on each side of the buttons on the black material. There were two more stripes on the cuffs of the jacket. Two detailed, red, green and gold Oriental style dragons danced around, one on either side of the row of buttons. A much larger dragon, almost double in size of the ones on his front was on his back, nearly taking up every inch of black material. Golden epaulets gleamed on his shoulders from the sunlight pouring through a nearby window. He had two normal sized pockets, with a yellow strip at the top of the sewn-on fold of material. On his upper left arm was a shiny silver band. In his yellow gloved hands was a katana.

‘Uh oh,’ grinned the Count. ‘I know what that suit means. It means trouble.’

Tani gave a sarcastic smile. He walked to the front door, the other three figures trailing after him. Sarah to her relief found that she could just about brave looking at the General now that he was dressed slightly more suitably. He waited holding the door open for Takeshi, Sarah and Alison to walk out onto the street and slammed the door shut. The rows of red crosses jumped out at them all, as a reminder of the damage Sci Co managed to inflict on Japan’s capital.

Topaz felt horrified. But there was not a scrap of guilt lingering in her heart. She did not feel guilty about the numbers of people who were dying because of her and Jase. She felt horrified only because there was no way she and Jase could cover up their mistakes and pretend to Tani and Takeshi that it was a coincidence. She decided to go to the department building, just to see what was left of their workers. She also wanted to find Jase, because she knew that they had to somehow infect Tani and Takeshi, especially now there was outbreak. Without those two, then there was nothing that could be done. Sci Co would still be up and running.

She stopped outside the building, looking through, and wondering what was going on inside. She strode forwards with purpose and swung open the door. There were a few people lingering around inside, all leaning against something or slouched against a wall on the floor. It was a sorry sight. All these people were going to end up dead unless they were able to get a hold of the antivirus. Not a chance in hell, thought Topaz evilly.

Her high heels clicked as she hurried up the steps to the higher stories of the building. She opened one laboratory door to see Jase, breathing heavily as though his lungs were trying to shut down and groped around, looking for something.

‘Jase,’ said Topaz. ‘We need to get a batch of the virus and somehow dispose of Tani and Takeshi.’

‘Hello! Answer me!’ she snapped, looking at him. He turned his head to look at her, his face gaunt and pained.

‘Antivirus,’ he moaned, slamming a desk door shut. ‘where’s the...antivirus?’

‘Don’t tell me you’re…’ Topaz trailed off. She shoved Jase out of the way and snatched up a syringe filled with green liquid. Jase pulled it urgently from her grasp and hurriedly slammed the needle end into his arm with such vigour Topaz had to look away. She heard him breath a sigh of relief as the acidic feeling of the virus ceased and he could move without feeling pain. He tugged the syringe out of his arm and threw it down to the floor. It smashed, the glass spreading out all over the tiles underfoot.

‘In the laboratory that Alison and me work in, probably, unless Jase and Topaz have moved it since the outbreak of the virus.’

‘Don’t say that,’ retorted Takeshi. ‘Knowing our luck, that’s probably exactly what will happen.’

They walked through the front doors and stopped in their tracks. In front of them were a fair number of people, all slouching around, lying on the floor or standing up at an angle against a wall, all with the same hollow, pained expression which Tani and Takeshi had gotten used to now. Both Tani and Takeshi had their faces contorted into horrified grimaces as they saw the infected people huddled around, clinging into the last of their shortened lives pitifully. Tani looked back at Sarah and Alison.

The two men followed the women up a set of stairs and they paused outside a white door, hearing heavy breathing coming from inside. Tani raised his eyebrows at Takeshi. The Count nudged him hard in the side.

Alison twisted the handle and allowed the door to swing open. Inside were Jase and Topaz, who both looked shocked to see the four standing in the doorway. Topaz narrowed her eyes and glared at Sarah when she saw the General and the Count. Tani was the first to take a step into the laboratory.

His eyes searched the white room, taking in every detail. Jase leaning against a desk, looking pale and hovering near death, Topaz who had leapt several feet in the air when the door opened, and was now glaring daggers at them all, and a smashed syringe on the floor. The glass from it had spread far over the tiles. As he walked further into the room, some of the glass crunched under the soles of his yellow boots. He was certain that Topaz had backed off very slightly as he took one move in her direction. She almost looked scared underneath her snarling expression.

Takeshi, Sarah and Alison stood frozen in the doorway, watching as General Tani continued to slowly make his way through the room. Sarah realised that there was nothing really threatening about his manner; he was just walking, with a slight look of disdain on his strong features. But she could see that he definitely had power over the two bosses of Sci Co. They were anxious. They were worried about what he was going to do, what he could do.

The Count took a few quick strides into the room as well, and stood next to his friend, both of them staring at Jase and Topaz. Jase blinked and turned his attention to the ground, not mentally able to look either of the pair in the eyes. He felt like a schoolboy who was about to be told off by one of his teachers.

‘Congratulations,’ sneered Tani. ‘You have finally provided me with proof of the work going on in here.’

‘You don’t know it was us,’ retorted Topaz, baring her teeth. Tani sighed incredulously and rolled his eyes.

Topaz growled at him. Tani grabbed at Jase and pulled him away from the albino woman. He forced Jase around and looked at his neck, underneath the vivid red hair. He had a small red lump on the back of his neck.

‘Strange. If you don’t have anything to do with this disease which has broken out, then how come Jase here, looks just as ill as the rest of the sufferers, and also has the red spot on the back of his neck, which is also consistent with the disease?’

‘So what you’re trying to say is this. There’s a disease, and you think it’s us, because of the bad timing of our arrival. Also, just because Jase happens to have it as well, that counts as more proof that we created this virus? Is that what you’re saying? Well, I’m afraid you’ve got the wrong end of the stick.’

‘But it isn’t just Jase who has it. Everybody in here is infected! All of your workers have been struck with it, with the exception of Sarah and Alison. We saw all those men down on the ground floor! Lying there, without a hope in hell of continuing with their lives, because you felt the need to have a viral weapon ready!’ The voice of the Count had raised in pitch as his anger at the pair increased.

Jase, feeling like he could take no more, gave Tani a heavy push and lumbered towards the door, slamming through the barricade of Sarah and Alison. Alison rapidly snapped her arms around and caught him, holding on. Sarah came around in front of him and helped Alison contain him. Tani and Takeshi walked almost serenely out of the laboratory. Topaz followed, trying to keep her steps light, so that they would not hear the clicking of her ridiculous shoes.

Tani threw out and arm and grabbed Topaz around the waist as she too, tried to make a break and run for it. She struggled relentlessly in his grasp, twisting and turning her torso, but unable to break the hold he had on her.

‘You’re not acting like an innocent person,’ said the General, his words coming out jagged as Topaz fought for freedom.

She had started to break free. Topaz was leaning her body forwards, her arms pulled back, with General Tani holding onto her elbows. He let out a cry of pain as she raised one foot and caught him with a hard blow with one of her heels. He involuntarily let go and crashed into a nearby wall, eyes watering with agony. Topaz sprinted down the stairs, Takeshi deciding to give chase.

I wonder if it is really necessary to chase after her, thought Takeshi. Perhaps we could just wait for her to trip in those shoes and fall down the stairs...

Three steps from the bottom, she rested her weight on her shoe awkwardly, and as Takeshi has suspected, she toppled over. She held out her arms and landed hard on her hands, breaking her left elbow. Her legs caught the steps she fell from and the weight which did not caught her elbow to break fell on her left thigh, which was slammed into the corner point of the bottom step.

Topaz disentangled herself and ripped off her shoes as Count Takeshi drew closer and, holding her broken bones, launched herself at the front door, where she bumped into the solid wall of the two thickset men who normally guarded the doors.

‘Quick, quick, stop him!’ she instructed, pointing with her good arm at Takeshi. She fled out of the door, and felt the wind whip through her hair, a feeling of relief surging through her. She did not even feel bad because she knew that Jase had not made it out.

Dodging the two Sci Co cronies, Takeshi made his way back up the stairs to Jase, Tani, Alison and Sarah. General Tani was still leaning against a wall, pain sparkling in his dark brown eyes. Takeshi failed to contain a laugh.

I’m glad you find it funny,’ snapped the General, in a somewhat higher toned voice which caused the Count to crease up laughing. Even Alison and Sarah found it hard to hide their smiles.

‘She got away. Fell down the last two or three stairs, broke her elbow, took off her shoes, made it to the doors, ran into her two monkeys and set them onto me before splitting,’ said Takeshi.

‘Yeah. Those two blokes coming up the stairs now,’ explained Takeshi, pointing at the men who were trying to quietly stagger up the stairs.

‘God almighty. To say that they are from the shallow end of the gene pool would be a great compliment to them. The shallow end of the gene pool is too deep for them,’ whispered General Tani in his strange high pitched voice. Takeshi nodded, agreeing.

They made their way in front of Takeshi and Tani, glaring - or at least trying to glare - and cracked their knuckled. The Count only let the slightest sign of a wince wash over his face. General Tani pushed himself away from the wall and rested a hand on either man’s shoulder. He gently pushed them back, until they were standing at the top of the stairs again. One seemed to notice this and threw a punch, which was easily avoided. He pushed them down the stairs. But the man who had not thrown the punch reached out and grabbed the front of the jacket Tani was wearing, grabbing a hold of his pockets and pulling him down. There was no way to break the grip, no way to reverse what had happened. Tani was forcefully brought down forwards. Both Count Takeshi and Sarah screamed and ran over to try and grab a hold of him, but both were too late.

The three men tumbled down, striking each step hard with a part of their bodies. As they fell, there was a metallic clang. The katana which had been tightly held on to was falling down the stairs, just ahead of the three. As they reached the bottom, Tani struck his forehead on the corner of the same step Topaz hit her thigh on as she tumbled. Both men had been knocked clean unconscious. General Tani was half aware of footsteps thudding quickly, but cautiously down the stairs behind him. He was unsure whether he was now dreaming. He was unsure if this whole nightmare was just a figment of his imagination.

The Count gripped Tani by the shoulders and pulled him back, so he was on his knees on the stairs. His head fell back, his mouth half open, eyes wide and staring, a trickle of blood sliding down his face from his forehead. He looked dead.

There is no Sci Co...no virus...no Alison, no Sarah...no death...all...just a dream...unreal...it can’t be real...all false...

‘Is he dead?’ she whispered. There was no sign of life on his face. No flicker of intelligence in his warm eyes.

No Jase...and...no Topaz...no dead girl in my arms...all a dream...lies...untrue...

As though a light was turned on inside his head, Tani snapped his head forwards, blinked a few times, wiping the blood from his head and leapt down the last few stairs, snatching up his katana.

‘Take care of Jase!’ he stopped in front of the door and pulled it open. ‘I’m going after Topaz.’

Topaz was lingering in the shadows behind another large building near Sci Co. The pain in her elbow mounted. She had kept a good lookout behind her as she ran from the department building to make sure that neither Takeshi nor Tani were following her. But she thought it was unlikely that Tani would be able to make it out of the building, she made sure of that. She had congratulated herself secretly on pulling off such a good move on the General, instantly disabling him from his attack and allowing her to get free.

She was breathing loudly, her right arm cradling her left, her left hand on her chest, her fingers reaching just underneath her chin. She could hear footsteps. Shuffling to the end of the wall, wincing occasionally as she stood on a sharp stone, she carefully peered out, and saw, to her horror General Tani prowling around, searching for her. She let out an audible gasp and cursed in her mind as Tani shot a glance in her direction.

Tani was certain he had heard a gasp. He had tried to catch a glimpse of whoever might be hiding there, and only saw a flash of something pure white retreating out of sight. Thinking it might be Topaz, he crept forwards, closer to the corner of the building he was near. His footsteps were deadly quiet on the ground.

He peered around the corner and saw a bear footed, white haired, pale skinned woman, tightly clutching her left arm and running. He knew instantly that it was Topaz.

Topaz peered around, let out an animal cry of horror and put on a burst of speed when she heard something slapping the ground, looked back and saw that the General was giving chase and gaining.

Tears had started to form in her eyes and make their way down her face. The feeling of fear was a completely new experience to her. She was always the one scaring everybody else, instead of being scared. But she now knew what it felt like, and for the first time in her life, realised why fear was such a powerful emotion.

Her breathing had rose as she drew in her breath more sharply to give her body the oxygen it needed to keep her running. She turned back again and saw Tani was even closer behind her, running with a grim expression on his face. As she faced forwards again, her feet went out from beneath her one more time and she fell, scraping her knee on the ground. She quickly picked herself up from the ground so fast, she almost gave the illusion of bouncing back to her feet, as though made of rubber. But she was not fast enough.

Tani deliberately caught her broken elbow and spun her around, keeping a tight grasp on it, in case she felt like trying to take off again. She brought up a knee. Tani did the same, blocking the blow and wishing he had the foresight to wear a cricket box.

Streams of tears were running rivers down the ghostly white cheeks of Topaz, in her fear and also in her pain, which seemed more real at the moment than her fear as the evil grip on her elbow tightened further. She let out a small hiss between her teeth and tried to raise her knee again. Once more, Tani also lifted up a leg and knocked her knee away from him.

‘That’s not going to work this time. You caught me with that once,’ murmured Tani, his voice starting to deepen again, but still obviously not as low as it normally was.

‘Once was enough. I seemed to strike you hard enough, judging by your tone.’

Tani released her broken arm but kept a grip on her working wrist and pulled it so that her arm had no choice but to bend and she was inexorably drawn in closer.

‘Please, don’t hurt me. I know I can trust you,’ repeated Topaz, her tone pleading. She stared into her eyes, working her charm which she knew that worked on so many men before. It seemed to be working on the General as well, as he noticed for the first time, what an attractive woman she really was. He was able to, for the first time, look past the malice and saw the insecure woman underneath. He felt his righteous anger slip away.

‘Please, if the truth be known, all this, it was Jase’s idea. I had no choice but to play along, because he threatened to kill me otherwise. I never meant for anything to happen like this. I never meant for it to go this far,’ whispered Topaz, in the tone of voice which would cause her to win the ‘Most Convincing Actress Award’ every time. She could clearly see that Tani was about to relent.

‘If you say it like that,’ he started, pausing. ‘No. You’re lying, I can tell, and I’m not going to fall for it.’

She bolted. Topaz saw that she was now in real trouble and bolted. Tani gripped her right upper arm again, but she straightened it out behind her, and his hand slid down along, unable to regain purchase on her. Their hands met briefly, and he tried to tie his fingers up in hers, to keep a hold onto her, but she slipped through his guard and ran like the wind.

She held onto her broken elbow again as she ran, trying to keep herself from looking behind her. She could hear the inevitable sounds of boots on the ground and knew that she was being chased again.

Topaz turned a corner and ran out onto the pavement into the street. There were still a few people wandering around who had not yet managed to contract the virus, but the numbers had depleted considerably. The few who were walking around as though it was a normal day stood and watched Topaz and General Tani in interest, wondering what was happening.

Topaz whirled past one woman and then suddenly changed direction and charged, trying to get past the General. He took one step to the side and blocked her path. Topaz cascaded into him, and was instantly grasped by the shoulders. The woman Topaz ran around swiftly backed off, not wanting to get involved. She punched Tani hard in the stomach, winding him, turned on her heel again and continued to flee.

Knowing that he only had a few seconds to act, Tani ignored the sharp pain in his abdomen and threw himself to the ground, landing heavily on one elbow and reached out with his other arm, his fingers curling around a running ankle.

Topaz stopped moving quickly as she felt the pull on her ankle, almost falling over. She regained her balance and pulled her ankle free, kicking Tani in the face, causing his nose to bleed.

Tani contained the harsh curse willing to escape his lips and picked himself up from the ground in a flash, holding onto his nose and trying to stop it from bleeding. He almost instantly caught up with Topaz and grabbed her around the waist again, picking her clean up off the ground, while she screamed and shrieked, kicking her legs, trying to catch a blow on the shins of her captor. She threw her head back and struck Tani forcefully in the face. He turned his face away and spat out blood. She pushed at his arms, still locked firmly around her waist.

He dropped her and before she got the chance to run off, one of his hands shot out and seized Topaz roughly around the neck. He put a heavy force on the sides of her neck with his thumb and index finger, and kept his other hand on her shoulder.

Pain flickered across her face. She tilted her head back in an automatic reaction, resting her head on the grasping hand around her throat.

‘You’re not going to run,’ whispered Tani, bringing his face down so it was level with the albino woman’s ear. ‘And if you try, I’m going to tighten my grasp on you, like this.’

He exerted more force on the same spot on her neck, and Topaz uttered an inaudible cry of pain, her eyes screwed up. He relaxed slightly. The expression on her face made her look as though she was going to cry.

Takeshi watched Jase closely, waiting to see if he was going to try and escape. He did not look fit to do anything, let alone make a break for freedom. Topaz seemed more of a threat than he did at the moment. The Count wondered what Tani was doing, whether he had found her, whether he was still looking for her, or if they were perhaps fighting one another in the streets of Tokyo.

‘Stay here,’ ordered the Count. ‘I’m going to see if I can help Tani with Topaz.’

Topaz had barely moved for several minutes. She was wondering what Tani was going to do to her. Boredom was starting to seep in, because neither of them had moved at all. For the last few minutes, she had stood as still as a statue, with Tani holding onto the pressure point in her neck, almost silently daring her to move.

Topaz readjusted herself on the pretence of getting her broken elbow into a more comfortable position. She allowed her useless arm to hang down, rubbing the broken joint, feigning a look of pain, so not to arouse suspicion. Her right arm shot up and grabbed some of the hair on the back of the General’s head and pulled sharply. She then drove her working elbow into his side took one step forwards, felt the resistive force of General Tani on her and caught him full in the face with a backhand slap with the whole of her forearm instead of just her hand.

He followed her as she took a sharp turn to the right and ran down a little alleyway between two large buildings.

The alley ahead of them had a turning to the left coming up, but she did not yet know where that led and decided to continue onwards, unconsciously realising that by doing that she was allowing Tani to catch up with her.

Before she made it to the turn off in the alley, Count Takeshi stepped out of it. Topaz screamed to a halt, hurting her bare feet on the rough ground. Tani had slowed to a walk behind her, katana in hand. Topaz stared in disbelief at the Count, craned her head round to see Tani, and whipped back in front of her, where Count Takeshi was still standing.

Topaz dissolved into a heap of tears on the ground in front of them, sobbing hysterically into her hands as the two men drew in closer to her. Tani reached her first. He rested a hand on her shoulder in an almost comforting way and then pulled her to her feet. She averted her pink eyes away from him and stared at the Count.

‘Please, don’t, don’t hurt me! I - I tried to say to - to Tani,’ she gave him a terrified look ‘but he didn’t believe me. All...all this, it wasn’t up to me! It was all Jase’s idea! He forced me into it!’

‘Apparently he was going to kill her if she refused to co-operate,’ added the General, in a highly sceptical tone.

‘That’s - that’s right!’ she managed to miss the disbelieving tone of voice the General spoke with, too busy feeling worried about what was going to happen to her. She wondered if Jase was getting help.

Count Takeshi and General Tani met eyes again and Takeshi sighed in an exasperated way.

‘Yeah, I know.’ Tani lowered his eyes and glanced at the woman, who was still sobbing.

Topaz straightened up and turned to Takeshi. She threw herself at him and buried her face in his shoulder, still crying. Takeshi looked uncomfortable. He shot Tani and glare which told him plainly to get Topaz away.

Tani turned her around and started to drag her away from the Count, when she sent back both heels, one at a time, and kicked Takeshi forcefully in both shins. Taken by surprise, he shouted out. Topaz slammed Count Takeshi into a wall and made yet another break for it, not yet learnt her lesson, Tani hot on her heels, the Count hobbling behind him.

Topaz ignored the building pain in her elbow. She ignored the fact that her chest felt fit to burst from the amount of running she had been doing. She ignored the fact that she was wincing a lot because of the sharp stones beneath her feet, and she ignored the feeling of pulled muscles in her legs. She drowned out the sounds of Tani and Takeshi behind her with her own worried thoughts. She burst out back onto the streets again, accidentally bumping into a somebody who was in her path. She jumped out in front of an incoming car which was speeding along. The driver pressed down hard on the breaks. Topaz held out one hand and rested it on the bonnet as the car stopped inches away from her. The horn blared angrily in her ears. She ran around to the driver’s seat.

He closed the door and received a filthy look from Topaz. He looked behind her and saw Tani and Takeshi making their way ever closer.

Topaz shoved the driver roughly away from his car and opened the door, dodging out of the General’s way. She allowed the opening car door to slam into him painfully. He clung onto the door as she piled inside the seat and refused to let go, and ended up with his fingers shut as she closed the door. Topaz stood on the accelerator peddle and took off, driving the best she could with only one arm.

Fuming, Tani turned around, strode silently past the Count and back through the alley they had chased Topaz down. He punched a wall hard as he passed, pretending not to notice the pain shoot through his fist on contact.

‘Goddammit,’ he whispered to himself, feeling mentally and physically exhausted with the effort of trying to get Topaz under ball and chain.

Feeling angered with his mistake of allowing Topaz a run for freedom, he and Takeshi drudged back to the Sci Co headquarters, where Jase was still hopefully contained.

‘What’s the betting Jase has managed to escape from Alison and Sarah’s grasp?’ asked Tani bitterly.

‘Nah, I doubt it, mate. You saw the state he was in before you ran off after Topaz. Even if he did, he wouldn’t be running for long.’

After the initial bit of maniacal driving to try and get away from her chasers, Topaz slowed down slightly in her stolen car, not wanting to be stopped for speeding. She wanted to try and look as inconspicuous as possible. She knew that it was going to be hard enough as it is, with use of only one hand, but she did not need to draw attention to herself by racing down the roads.

Alison and Sarah kept a watch on the front doors, in case Takeshi or Tani came back with Topaz in their hold. The brunette made her way to the top of the stairs when she heard the door close. She was surprised to see that the General and the Count had come back on their own.

‘She got away,’ was the only answer she replied. The freezing cold tone of the General’s voice told her clearly not to ask any more questions. They both made their way up the stairs to Alison and Jase. Jase still looked ill, if not terminally unwell.

Takeshi looked at his companion in horror, staring at the back of his head. Never before had he ever uttered such words which clearly showed his contempt for another person.

‘Which is what we were supposed to be coming here for,’ stated General Tani, signalling to Alison for her to follow him with a nod of his head.

They walked into the laboratory, Tani standing in the middle of the white room, watching as Alison took out two large bottles filled to the brims with green liquid. She started to hand them to Tani, but he shook his head.

‘Go down to the doctors’ surgery, and tell them what it is. Takeshi and myself are going to deal with Jase now. Or, at least, I am.’

The blonde nodded to show that she understood and made her way to the door. She heard a heavy sigh behind her, and turned back to see that the General had moved so he was leaning against a wall and rested his head on his, eyes closed. He seemed so unhappy.

‘She got away. Stole a car, slammed the door into me, shut my damned fingers in the doorway and sped off into the distance before we had so much as an idea of how to get after her.’

Alison shrugged and walked through the doorway again, not paying any heed to the three still outside the laboratory as she passed. She took a slow jog to the doctor’s holding tightly onto the antivirus, careful not to drop it.

She came to the first problem when she arrived at the surgery, wondering how to get inside the building when both her hands were filled, and there was nobody else around to open the door for her.

Somebody walked past the door, on the other side without spotting her. Alison kicked the door a few times to attract the man’s attention. He looked at her, and realised what she wanted and held the door open for her. She muttered ‘Thank you’ to him, not seeing the confused expression on his face at what she had said, as though he had not understood her.

She made her way to the reception area of the surgery and coughed loudly and pointedly at the secretary who was too busy staring into outer space to notice her. She started at the sound of the cough, and glared at Alison before saying something in rapid Japanese. Alison looked blank.

‘Er...wakarimasen,’ she replied, using the only word in Japanese she knew, saying that she did not understand. The secretary repeated herself, but slower, and still in Japanese. Alison shook her head. As though faced with a rather unintelligent child, the secretary sighed loudly which slightly annoyed Alison and fixed the blonde with an expressionless stare. Alison gave a small shrug and a questioning look.

‘Then can you please make one, instead of just turning up and expecting to be seen straight away?’

‘Do you know what this is?’ snapped Alison, looking at the two bottles in her arms. The woman shook her head.

‘No. Exactly. I do, and I’ve come here because I know that it is of great importance to you and well, most people living here.’

‘That comment was in rather poor taste,’ retorted the idiotic secretary. ‘Now, if you have finished jesting, can you either make an appointment or leave, please?’

‘I wouldn’t joke about this sort of thing. Now, I’m going to leave these bottles here. This is the antivirus. You have two choices. You can either continue not to take my word for it, and bin this, and count your days until somebody comes and infects you, or you can believe me, and reassure the patients here that they are going to be fine.’

‘Fine,’ came the cold reply. ‘I’m going to choose not to believe you and bin it, ‘cause this illness is a completely new one which has just broken out, and there is no way in hell that somebody could have already spent enough time researching it to find out what causes it and produce a successful antidote to it.’

‘Obviously you don’t care what happens to these terminally ill people then, judging by your reply.’

‘If you do, then, if I was in your place and somebody came in with two bottled filled with a liquid they claimed was the antivirus, I would immediately believe them and relieve it from them.’

‘Do you know where this virus came from?’ the secretary shook her head. ‘It was a creation of Sci Co. You know, the company who were exiled from Europe for illegal viral research. I should know. I, unfortunately, work for them. This is the antivirus for the disease, and that was also the last time I’m planning on stating that. Just do everyone a favour and take the bloody thing.’

A doctor walked past and caught the back end of the exchange, and turned to the secretary. He said something which Alison could not catch. The secretary replied, motioning to the bottles filled with the antivirus. The doctor looked amazed, glanced at Alison and snatched the bottles off her. Before he walked off, he turned back to look at her.

‘That means ‘thank you,’ sneered the secretary, watching Alison carefully.

‘I know,’ she lied, and walked out of the surgery, made her way back to Sci Co.

Tani stood in front of Jase, who was huddled against a wall, cowering under the glare of him and the Count. Sarah stood behind Takeshi, watching the scene which was unravelling before them.

Despite having injected the antivirus into himself, Jase still looked as though he was suffering from his own creation. He was horrified to discover that his breathing was also starting to become more difficult. He found himself wondering what Topaz was doing, where she was, if she was going to come back and help him escape from the General and Takeshi.

General Tani grasped Jase’s shoulder and heaved him into the wall he was leaning against, so he was standing up properly, instead of hunching over. The General’s face was only inches away from his own. Jase could quite clearly see a faint flicker of anger in his eyes, which would be missed from even a slight distance. Jase involuntarily glanced down and saw the katana was still held in his hands. Oh God, he thought. What is he going to do to me? Is he going to kill me?

‘Are you going to kill me?’ he blurted out. The expression on the face directly in front of him darkened ominously.

Jase let slip a hideous gagging sound as Tani, wielding his weapon, thrust the blade through his stomach, tearing through flesh and skin, bursting veins, allowing the precious red fluid to escape.

‘No, Tani!’ screamed Takeshi, seizing Tani and pulling him away from Jase. The sword slid out of Jase’s stomach.

‘Let me finish. Not now. Let’s do what those in England never thought to do. Imprison him.’

‘And what good will that do?’ snapped Tani loudly. ‘Scum like him and Topaz deserve to die!’ He poked a finger in Jase’s direction angrily. Count Takeshi whispered something into his ear, which even Sarah could not make out; she was standing close enough to try and get a good idea of what was being whispered and almost started when the General raised his voice.

Tani seemed pleased with what his friend had suggested. He glared at Jase again and nodded to Takeshi. Jase was tugged roughly away from the wall, a firm grip around his throat, almost blocking his trachea.

Topaz managed to guide her stolen car one handed as far away from the Sci Co building as she could. Luckily, she had not been stopped by anybody, and she was determined to remain as inconspicuous as possible.

Blood had built up at her broken elbow and gave it an ugly pulsating sensation. She tried to move it and hissed between her teeth. She contemplated going to a hospital to get it treated, but she knew that she could not run that risk. There was always a chance that Tani or Takeshi would check out all the hospitals to see if anybody of her description came in, complaining of a broken elbow. No, she resigned. She was going to put up with it.

She kicked the car door open, relishing with the memory of getting one over the General and escaping from inches of his grasp. She had to admit, she was surprised, because she knew that he had several favourable reputations floating around Tokyo, about being a ladies’ man, charming, a gentleman, and also highly intelligent. He can’t be too clever if he allowed me to get away like that, Topaz told herself, smirking maliciously.

She slammed the car door shut again and walked on foot in no real direction, just wandering. She attracted a few stares, which made her wonder what they were looking at and giving them strange looks, before remembering that it probably was not everyday they saw an albino woman, wearing scientist-type clothing, barefoot, and holding a shattered elbow.

Jase was thrown into a wall again, cracking his head painfully on the plaster, trembling and aching all over, feeling rigid with fear. Tani slammed a fist into his throat again, while Takeshi maintained a safe distance behind, still unused to the idea of the General being somebody who got answers out of people by causing them pain. He had never thought of General Tani as a sadist.

‘Away!’ screamed Jase, flinching, eyes screwed up in pain and turning his head away, so he would not have to stare at the form of evil in front of him.

‘I - I dunno! She’d probably flee as far away as possible, now - now that she knows you and the - the Count are on the warpath! She - she’d probably check into a hotel somewhere, no doubt in the direction furthest away!’ stammered Jase, struggling to draw breath.

‘What, so you mean, if something happened in the north, she’d run south?’ asked Takeshi. Jase managed to nod slightly. ‘How stupid can you get?’ he added, smiling gleefully.

‘I’d be grateful for that if I were you,’ he said, for once, losing the bitter tone in his voice.

‘So let’s see...' muttered Takeshi to nobody in particular. ‘This building is north-west, so she’s probably heading south-east. Is there anything else you can tell us, Jase?’

He was breathing heavily, trying to draw in the same amount of breath he normally would, if General Tani did not have a death grip on his throat.

‘She...probably will stay in a hotel, right on the edge of Tokyo, not a famous one, one preferably on the edge of having to shut down because of lack of business, where it would be private for her,’ wheezed Jase reluctantly.

‘That’s enough information for now. I think I know where she’s heading,’ stated Tani. He barely nodded to Takeshi to signify that he was going to take care of Jase.

Topaz stopped outside a building, looking up at the name. The flickering sign cut out of power as she looked at it. It was small, dank, shabby, the last place she would be seen in normally, and for this, it was perfect.

She stepped inside, noticing instantly, the look of gratitude on the face of the aged, balding man behind the front desk as she approached. She spoke as little as possible to the man, as she tried to get a room. He asked her for her name.

‘Anzai Michiko,’ replied Topaz instantly. She snatched the key to her room from the hands of the small man, and gave him a cold smile, before heading up to her room.

She sat down on the lumpy bed, on top of the thin blanket and buried her face in her arms, a rush of breath escaping from her in her exasperation and panic of her situation. For the first time in her life, she fully regretted every messing around with viral research and genetic modification.

Tani strode out of the Sci Co building, flanked by Sarah and Alison, Takeshi bringing up the rear, holding onto Jase firmly. It was a kindness of some sort. The Count did not hold onto people like he was trying to suffocate them.

Jase wondered why he did not feel too worried. He knew full well that he was being taken to the police, to be locked up, and then dealt with accordingly to his crime. He wondered what his punishment was. Probably death.

He was surprised at the reaction of the police force when General Tani burst through the doors. They were, before he entered, sitting around on desks, happily chatting to one another, and just generally enjoying being off duty. When Tani entered, they leapt up and stumbled over each other’s feet, standing up straight, respectfully.

Every eye was on the General as he made his way slowly through the rows, like a teacher examining the smartness of his pupils, until he found the chief. He explaining the situation, who Jase was, and also that they were on the lookout for Topaz. He chief offered to send out a search party for her, which General Tani accepted. One police officer then took Jase away, and locked him up into a cell.

Before the cell door was even closed, the front door of the station was already swinging shut after Tani.

‘So where do you think Topaz has gotten to?’ asked Sarah timidly, looking at Takeshi. He shrugged and gave his companion a questioning look.

‘If Jase was telling us the truth, then I think she’s probably headed to Hoteru Kyu. It fits with the description of the kind of place Jase described she would hit if on the run.’

‘I’d say he was telling the truth, Tani. You saw how terrified he was,’ smirked Takeshi. Tani grinned evilly.

‘You both go down to the doctor’s surgery and make yourself useful. Takeshi and myself will go after Topaz,’ he paused. ‘Again.’

The women nodded and hurried away. Tani and Takeshi looked around and the General flagged down a passing cab, who practically stood on his brakes to stop for the two men. They both climbed into the back of the cab and Takeshi leaned forwards.

‘You don’t wanna go there, do you?’ asked the driver incredulously. ‘It’s a pit!’

‘Not that it’s any of your business,’ started Tani, his voice icy, ‘but neither of us are staying there ourselves.’

By the time the cab pulled up in front of the Hoteru Kyu, it was night time. The General and Count Takeshi were seriously contemplating getting a room for themselves as tiredness set in. On their journey, they had seen a number of police cars zip around the roads, looking for Topaz.

‘Don’t you think we ought to have tipped off the police to where we think Topaz is hiding?’ asked Takeshi, staring at Tani. He shook his head.

They entered the hotel, where the tiny man behind the desk was controlling a fit at the sight of the two most talked about men in Japan as they made their way over.

‘Would you like a room?’ he blurted out before they could say anything. Tani shook his head.

‘No, we’re looking for somebody we believe is staying here. Did a woman of the name of Topaz check in?’

‘Let me ask you another question then. Did a western albino woman wearing all white with no shoes and a bossy voice come in here?’

‘Oh! Yes, she did, I remember her well. Um, Anzai Michiko, she called herself. Yes, she’s staying in room seven.’

Topaz had given up on trying to make herself comfortable on the lumpy bed in her room and had made her way down to the canteen area, where she was currently drinking a flavourless tea from a chipped and dirty mug. She took a gulp and shuddered. She had specifically requested for a clean mug and stood over the man as he washed one before filling it. She looked at it again and repressed another shudder at the thought of what the other mugs were like. She shifted her weight precariously on her chair and listened to it creak underneath her as it threatened to fall apart. The only way she could really sit on it would be if she hovered a few centimetres over it.

‘Well, so much for that,’ said Tani scornfully, as they knocked on door seven only to get no reply.

‘Okay, so, she’s not in her room,’ replied Takeshi. ‘But at least we know she’s staying at this hotel.’

They both made their way back down the staircase, walking carefully down the steps, which were covered with a red threadbare carpet, showing the wood underneath. They made their way to the lobby, when they heard the door to the canteen area open.

Several policemen had spoken to Jase about where he thought Topaz may be hiding after General Tani and Count Takeshi and the two women left, and he gave them the same information he shouted at Tani before, when he was still in the Sci Co building.

Two police cars, each containing four officers drove to the Hoteru Kyu, something else that Jase let loose.

Topaz froze. She stopped dead in her tracks. Every muscle in her body seized up completely, as she locked gazes with General Tani.

A friendly grin spread over the General’s face, and Topaz forced herself to move.

She ran. She heard the footsteps of Tani and Takeshi echo around the cavernous lobby behind her. She forced herself through the door, and made her way out into the cold, crisp air. She turned to the left and started down the road, and came to another standstill, when she saw the policemen all looking at her. She turned on her heel and saw Tani and Takeshi behind her, both giving her the same look of satisfaction. She was trapped. There was nothing she could do. She would not be able to run past either the General or the Count without being grabbed, and there were only two of them. There was no way she would be able to get around eight policemen, either. Even less chance of that.

She did consider running again, but deep in the back of her mind, she knew that running would never get her anywhere. But she also knew that she had to take the chance.

The policemen were a fair distance away from her and the two men behind her. She charged at them, trying to slip past the Count and the General.

Takeshi threw out an arm and snatched at her clothing as she passed. She thrust back with her working elbow and struck Takeshi in the stomach as one of the officers called out a warning that if she did not stop attempting to run, then they would be forced to fire. She ignored it.

She shoved her shoulder into the Count, to try and bowl him over and punched the General in the face. He grabbed hold of her damaged elbow and twisted her arm around. Her foot flew up and caught Takeshi again, but higher, in the chest. The first gun shot was fired. Tani leapt away from her as a bullet tore through the air and embedded itself in her side. Topaz uttered a weak cry. When she inhaled, the pain in her side mounted.

She half staggered and spun around so she was facing Tani and collapsed on him. Her arms snaked around his neck and she buried her face in his shoulder. Disgusted, he shook her off him in contempt. The second was fired, and caught her in the ankle. Still hovering near the General, she drew him into her, and in her madness, she did something that nobody present would ever imagine would happen. She kissed him.

Tani pulled away from her and shoved her slightly too roughly, which caused her to loose her footing and tumble to the ground. Tani wiped away the trace of her lipstick which had been left on his lips as the policemen surrounded the fallen woman and dragged her up.

Topaz was pulled away, and forced into the back of one of the police cars, and they drove away. Takeshi placed a hand over his mouth in an effort to stifle his yawn.

‘Well, I don’t know about you, but I don’t particularly want to spend the night in one of those rooms,’ replied Tani, gesturing to Hoteru Kyu. ‘But it doesn’t look like we’ve got much choice, does it?’

General Tani awoke the next morning by Takeshi throwing a spare pillow at his head. He groaned loudly into the pillow his face was already buried in, and he heaved his chest up, and sat up, bleary eyed and tousle haired.

‘Thanks a lot,’ muttered Tani reproachfully, with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

‘You mean to tell me that you didn’t see her reaction when we came to get you, after your hibernation period?’ said the Count, incredulously. Tani gave him a questioning look.

‘She went bright red and blushed like a good ‘un at the sight of you tousle-haired and scantily clad. She’d probably go bright red again if she saw you now,’ explained Takeshi, still in a teasing tone.

‘Oh yeah, because what woman could possibly resist me, when I’ve just woken up, with eyes that are almost completely clogged up with sleep, messy hair, and am feeling slightly cranky because of a night on a ridiculous bed and being woken up by a low flying pillow?’ retorted the General, smiling slightly.

‘You never know, it may very well have been the hair that set her off. The messy just-got-out-of-bed look,’ laughed Takeshi.

Tani shivered violently as he climbed out of his bed and reached down for his jacket which he had carelessly thrown to the ground by his boots before trying for some sleep. He put it on and did the buttons up to his chin, wrapping his strong arms around himself for warmth.

Takeshi made his way to the bathroom section of their room, and turned away when he saw the unhygienic mess it was in. As he walked back he saw Tani wiping his mouth.

‘I was going to splash myself with some cold water, but I don’t want to catch dysentery,’ joked Takeshi. ‘What’s wrong with your lips?’ he added as Tani ran his hand over his mouth again. His lips had a distinctly waxy feel to them.

‘It still feels like I’ve got some of that cheap tacky lipstick Topaz was wearing on them,’ he explained, frowning to himself.

‘Good thing you weren’t in any other place, otherwise she may have tried to seduce you,’ stated Count Takeshi. He ducked quickly as another pillow flew over his head.

Tani yawned loudly and stretched before reaching down to slip his freezing feet into his boots. Takeshi stood up and made his way over to the door, and they both walked down to the lobby. Tani signed them out of the hotel while Takeshi called a cab, and they stood outside, in the cold morning air, hands shoved into pockets, shoulders hunched against the cold.

By the time the pair reached their destination and met up again with Sarah and Alison, the police had already arranged how they were going to deal with Topaz and Jase.

‘Public execution,’ replied Sarah, when the General asked her what the police had decided.

‘You thought the crosses on the doors were old fashioned,’ she added, as Tani looked around. There were one or two less crossed painted on the doors. ‘Well, what the police decided on is even worse. Not just a public ‘execution in this day and age, but a public hanging.’

‘I wonder if I’ve got any knitting to bring with me,’ mumbled the Count. The other three figures gave him a look as though he was insane.

‘Well, there used to be at least one old crone with knitting at public hangings, and I doubt that there will be one at Topaz and Jase’s hanging, so I thought I might dress up in drag and bring some with me. You know, for old times’ sake,’ explained Takeshi, through his laughter.

Tani, Takeshi, Sarah and Alison were lined up where the hanging was due to take place. It was very grim, and felt very old fashioned, watching as the contraption which would kill the Sci Co bosses was prepared.

Several other people had also come along to watch their demise. Tani stared at the platform grimly, eyes squinted against the sun. There was a wooden pole up where the noose was attached.

A hubbub kicked up in the crowds of other people watching as Topaz and Jase were dragged through. Jase was kicked up onto the platform first. An anonymous hangman stepped up behind him and slipped his head through the noose and tightened it.

‘You were right,’ whispered the General to Sarah and Alison. ‘All this, it’s very old fashioned.’

Jase’s breathing rose and became heavier as he was ushered onto the trap door below his feet. A gloved hand rested on the level which would open the trapdoor. The hangman pulled it, and there was a slight choked groan cut off quickly from Jase. Topaz turned away from the sight. His neck snapped instantaneously. She was roughly pushed forwards to take his place after his broken body had been removed.

Her head was shoved through the noose and she looked at the General, who was staring at her, trying to hide a satisfied smile. A tear started up in her eyes, but she blinked it back, determined not to cry at her own death.