Chi.  Ten Chi
					  007

	   The man with the Golden Sword



	He walked along the railing of the bridge, not looking down;
he knows from prior experience to never look down.  The bunji
cord is tucked securely in his jacket pocket.  He also knows to
not get himself tangled in his jacket, which could lead to
strangulation, and nobody likes that.  He fastens the bunji cord
around his ankles once he gets to the center of the railing.  "I
hate this kinda job," he mumbles to himself in the thin autumn
air.  It always seemed to be autumn or winter, winter mostly, in
Russia.  "Why can't Q create a better way to fall?"  And with
that thought, he jumps.  He starts his descent with a swan dive,
and then after a few feet, spreads his arms and legs out like a
parachute.  This is to prevent a severe case of whiplash that
could snap the spinal cord and break the neck in two.  The cord
pulls him straight after another couple of yards or so, and he
reaches into his jacket pocket carefully and pulls out his 9mm. 
He aims it carefully before putting two holes in the large, steel
building below him.  He fires rapidly at the two holes, creating
more holes to accompany them.  As he slows to a momentary stop
above the building, he puts as many fingers in the holes as he
can, while doing so, stretching his feet out to points, slipping
through the knot, letting him land with a bump on the steel roof
of the large, armored building.  "Great," he mumbles to himself
again, clutching his derrier.  "Another three point landing."
	His name is Chi.  Ten to his friends and Mr. Chi to his
enemies, and Ten Chi to everyone else.  His code name is 007. 
His choice of cars is a BMW and is favorite drink is a martini,
shaken, not stirred.  He drinks it straight up with a twist.  He
works for British intelligence, under a man code named M.  He has
no family, his parents killed in a climbing accident.  He goes
through partners like some walk through halls.  He is trained in
the martial arts and is familiar with all types of weaponry and
transportation.  He is a playboy by nature, and a smooth cat by
definition.  He likes all types of girls, especially beautiful. 
He wears a suit wherever he goes, unless the calling prefers
differently.  He is the top agent in all of Britain, his skill
only matched by his debinair and suave.  He is the hero of
countless countries, and millions of people, and not to mention
this story.
	Ten Chi walked carefully across the roof of the arms
dealership, his feet barely touching the ground.  One hand
clutched his 9mm and the other was busy reloading it.  The old,
empty clip fell out of the holster and hit the roof with a small
clank that no one inside heard.  He shoved a new clip in, which
he grabbed from his jacket pocket, which contained two more
clips, with a silent clink which still no one inside heard.  He
stopped at a metal grating and looked in.  Below was a bathroom,
where a rather chubby soldier was busy taking a crap.  "Ugh," Ten
whispered.  "Smells like he slaughtered a cow in there."
	The fat man stood up, grabbing a handfull of toilet paper
from the rack.  As the man was busy polishing the inside of his
ass, Ten silently pulled up the grate.  Suddenly the man bolted
around at the sound of an explosion that took off the toilet
seat.  Suddenly smoke erupted from the toilet, and the man had
hardly enough time to cough before blacking out and falling, head
first, into the toilet, giving himself a face wash in his own
fecis.  "Sorry about that," Ten mumbled.  "Certainly no way to
go."
	Ten left the man there, washing his face in toilet water,
and silently creeked the door open.  The coast was clear.  He
sneaked out and tip-toed down the hall.  He could hear voices
from the next room, and figured it was probably another briefing
meeting about security.  What he didn't hear were footsteps
creeping up behind him.  He caught on when a gun-barrel was
pressed against his head.
	"Ten seven nine four one," a woman's voice, definetely
American, ordered.
	"Only the Britains know how to have fun," Ten replied,
turning around.
	"You're late 007, and it's supposed to be Americans know how
to have fun," the woman said.
	"Maybe for you," Ten said, turning around.
	Her name was Kiyone Daniel, agent 006, working for the
British secret intelligence, Chi's current and longest going
partner.  Her long, black hair cascaded down her shoulders in
thick strands, a red head band keeping it out of her eyes.  She
also had no family, her father a soldier in the Cold War, a
tragedy in the deciding battle, her mother a former US senator
and late cancer victim.  She enjoyed bloody marys and a good
Mercedes.  Her passions included business men and a husband back
in the states.  She always carried an extra gun in her back
collar, using for emergencies only.  She was fluent in over forty
languages and forms of writing and communication, including morse
code, a lost art in the world.  She enjoyed Ten's company, but
seemed one of a few string of girls that had no interest in him
sexually, which drove him crazy.
	"You're looking as beautiful as ever," Ten whispered as they
both crept down the hall towards the next room, a briefing room.
	"Put a sock in it, Chi, I'm married."
	"Se la vie," he whispered as she cracked the briefing room
door.  From inside, the mutterings turned to loud talking.  A
large seargent was at a podium, explaining the importance of
always being alert.
	"Twelve of them, none armed.  Get out your silencer."
	"Already on, my sweet."  The two charged in, aiming
carefully before shooting; they were blocking the only non-locked
exit and were the only ones armed.  Ten took out the first three
quickly, shooting them as he just came in the door.  Kiyone
plugged two as she came in, aiming more carefully than him,
hitting each in the center of the forehead as they turned around. 
The rest went scattering, some flocking to the door, others
hiding under tables, most screaming their heads off.  Ten and
Kiyone killed the screamers first, among them the seargent.  The
rest went down easily enough, only one, tough soldier requiring
more than one shot to kill.  The next room was sound proof and
had no windows: the lab.  The result was that the two agents
still had the element of surprise.  "I love to watch you work."
	"Put another sock in it, Ten."  The entrance to the lab was
locked down tight with a double reinforced steel door, totally
bulletproof.  "Got any ideas, Ten?"
	"Q to the rescue, my dear lady," he chimed, pulling a small
device from his coat pocket.  "Thermal detonator.  Emits a blast
equal roughly to that of a tank shot.  Big bang, better cover
your ears."
	"I'll keep that in mind."  Ten attached the device to the
door, set a timer for ten seconds, and the two dived behind
desks.  There was a thunderous boom, and the door emploded into
the lab, taking out one unfortunate scientist leaning against the
steel exit.  Kiyone was out first, automatic revolver in hand,
blasting strings of shots into the white lab coats of everyone in
her way.
	Ten came out a little more reluctantly, brandishing his
small 9mm, firing pot shots at escaping lab workers.  It took
about a minute and a half to dispose of the scienti"Don't sts,
who were also unarmed.
	"You got the detonators?" Kiyone asked.
	"Nice gun," Ten marveled.
	"Shut up, Ten.  Do you have the detonators?"
	"I'll have you yet," Ten said as he pulled a small package
from his coat pocket.  He opened it, and produced more of the
small devices that took out the steel door.  He handed a few to
Kiyone.  "Set them for six minutes."
	"Got ya."
	"Ready?"
	"Always."
	"Let's go."  And they were off, each slapping devices on any
large machines in the lab they could find.  Their orders had been
simple enough: There's something damaging in the lab, something
that could kill a lot of people; destroy it.  The rest of the
briefing had been useless detail.
	After about half of Ten's detonators were depleted, he heard
a sound that made his heart jump: an unforeseen shot.  He leaped
to the ground and rolled behind a large machine that looked like
a copier, but had millions of little lights and dails.
	"Don't shoot that you fools!!" a man's voice thundered
through the lab.  The firing immidiately stopped around him. 
"The girl!  Go for the GIRL!!" the man shouted again.  Shots
immidiately began firing, blasting somewhere to the right of him.
	"Don't let them get you!!" Ten screamed, peaking out from
behind the large machine.  He could see three men with machine
guns, blasting at a machine that looked like a large printing
press, and three others aiming at the machine he was behind, and
behind these six one man shouting orders.  The three aiming at
him seemed to see him, but were reluctant to fire, risking damage
to the precious device behind which he hid.  Ten rationalized
that this might be the device he was sent to destroy.
	Ten didn't want to wait until the soldiers made up their
minds.  He fired three shots rapidly, catching one of the
machine-gunners in the gut, the chest, and finally the eye.  He
fell down dead, his gun firing off one more shot before his
finger fell limp and the gun rested.
	One of the machine gunners stopped firing, and stared at the
machine in front of Ten.  A shot from behind the printing press
like device caught him in the leg, and Ten finished the job.  The
men aiming at the copier like machine still hesitated.  "Hey
Kiyone!  I think it's time to go into half time!!"
	"Got ya!" she called from behind the press.
	"You can't escape!" the one ordering the soldiers shouted. 
"We've got this place surrounded!  No way in or out!!"
	"Then how did we get in?!" Ten shouted, firing a shot,
barely missing the one surviving machine-gunner.
	"That doesn't matter!  You can't get out of this room!"
	"We don't need to escape!" Kiyone called from behind the
larger machine.  "Our job is done!  We have enough explosives to
blow this whole lab to hell!"
	"Ha!  There's nothing in here that's of value!  You have
failed!!"
	"Then how about I blow a seeing eye hole through this
whatchamacallit?" Ten shouted.
	"NO!" the man cried.
	"Then what do you propose we do?"
	"Well . . ." the man thought.
	"Tick tock, tick tock, only two more minutes on the clock!"
Kiyone rhymed.  Ten looked to his timer and saw only one minute,
almost fifty seconds, on his.  What was she up to?
	"Two minutes, eh?" the man asked shakily.
	"Yep!"  There was a deadly standstill for a few seconds, in
which time the clock winded down to forty-five seconds.
	"Alright!  Blast them to smithereens!  If we go, they go
too!!"  From Ten's hiding place, he could see the machine-gunner
look to one of the guys holding the pistols on the copier like
machine.  That man looked to his two comrades who looked back. 
Then all broke off into a run out of the room.  "STOP YOU
COWARDS!!!" the commander shrieked, but was cut short as a shot
from the large machine that looked like a printing press caught
him in the throat.  He gurgled another coupla sounds before
falling to the ground.
	"Let's get out of here!" Kiyone screamed, leaping from her
hising place, her arm glazed in blood.
	"Yes let's!" Ten agreed.  Kiyone started towards the lab
door before Ten stopped her.  "NO!  The others went that way." 
Ten pointed up to a ventilation grate.  "That way."
	"But how-" but Kiyone already knew how.
	"Q to the rescue!" he rhymed, pulling out a revolver like
instrument.  "Grappling hook."
	"By God, Chi, sometimes you really surprise me."
	"I love it when you call me Chi."
	"Shut up, Ten.  And let's get out of here!"  Ten answered
her by aiming the grappling hook towards the vent, and firing.  A
claw like hand jumped from the barrel, and pierced the vent.  Ten
pressed another button, which sent the claw back to them, vent
and all.  He shot it again, catching the inside of the vent. 
Kiyone grabbed ahold of him as he pressed the button again,
lifting the two towards the open vent.  The two climbed in,
Kiyone looking at her watch.  "Thirty seconds," she chimed.  The
two bustled through the small corridor, Ten in the lead, and
crawled for fifteen seconds before reaching another vent, this
one leading outside.  Ten rammed his neck up into the grate three
times, quick and hard, before the grate busted loose.  
	"Figures it would lead outside," Ten mused.  "Commies never
did have that much of a budget, and since when did they need
electrical air-conditioning?"
	"Ten seconds," Kiyone chimed as they climbed out.
	"Ok ok," he said as he snatched her hand and they raced to
the edge of the building's roof.  It was five seconds when they
jumped, although Kiyone failed to remind him, and the explosion
took out half the building as they plunged into the waist high
snow at the base of the building.  The building collapsed onto
itself as they trudged through the snow, and by the time the last
of the fires went out, Ten was already on the cel-phone, calling
for a chopper pick up.
	"You know I love it when we have these little dates, don't
you?" Ten asked, his smile spreading over his chattering teeth.
	"Puh-put another sock in it, Ten."


					The Capture

	Nagi Hayashi landed agilly on the palace floor.  So far so
good, she thought.  It should be at least five minutes before
anyone noticed those two guards at the gates dead.  That should
give her at least enough time to get her job done and get out of
here.  She walked silently down the palace halls.  The princess's
bedroom should be right down here somewhere, she thought with a
smile.  No killing her, though, she thought.  Princess or no
princess, she was still a civilian.  Nagi held a mercenary's code
sacred.  It said that a mercenary was a soldier for hire, and a
soldier never killed civilians.  Other soldiers were ok, they
knew what they were getting into when they signed up, but
civilians were different.  A soldier could not kill a civilian
unless he or she was posing an immidiate threat.  The very
definition of a soldier prohibited it.  Besides, her job
specifically stated for her to bring in this princess alive. 
Under any and all circumstances, must this girl be kept alive
until she is delivered to her employer.
	Nagi was once a soldier for the Britain army, once loyal to
the country of whose princess she was now kidnapping.  She was
born in Russia, but went to help Britain during the Cold War, her
home town neutral in the battle, on the outskirts of the former
Soviet Union.  She rose fast in the ranks, becoming a captain,
which was as high as women got back in those days.  She was the
hero of many battles, including the intial storm on Moscow.  But
then she got news that her family was dead, killed when their
home town was burned down by Britain soldiers.  The government
tried to dress it up like the town had been calaborating with the
communists, providing arms for the rusky soldiers.  Nagi
immidiately relinquished command and quit the army, no longer
able to fight for the country that murdered her parents and
brother.  She then became a mercenary, along with other former
soldiers of all nations, taking an oath for mercenaries,
accepting certain rules and regulations that even they had to
follow to be advertised and respected in their field.  Those who
broke the code were black balled, often ratted out by their
partners.  Nagi had worked hard to gain and keep the respect of
all her peirs in her profession.
	But then, one day, one of her partners, an American
mercenary, struck a deal with the Britain and American
governments, giving the address of their meeting place and the
names of many of her comrades.  Nagi returned to the meeting
place, looking for more work, to find it burned to ashes, and
what left of it surrounded by cops.  She saw, personally, when
they dragged out her dead partners from the smolder, their faces
nothing but black, smiling skeletons.  She vowed to one day find
and kill that traitor, her former partner, named Ryoko.  The army
had done a good job of hiding her, but Nagi was determined to
find her before she died.
	She ran into money problems quickly during her search, and
looked for work.  It was surprisingly difficult to find any now
that the meeting place was destroyed, and she spent many
countless hours waiting in bars, eaves dropping on countless
conversations to find what she wanted.
	Then, finally, in some bar in southern London, she heard of
a plan in the making between two people, one a sneeky looking man
in a black shroud, the other a huge behemoth of a man with some
metal gadget in his mouth, which restricted him from speaking
more than grunts to add to the conversation.  The plan involved
the kidnapping of the princess Sasami Jurai and holding her for
ransom, for some greater scheme.  Nagi introduced herself, saying
that she couldn't help but over hear, and that she had done this
kind of thing before, and would do it again, for a small price of
course.  The sneaky man asked how small.  She said one hundred
thousand dollars, half up front.  She thought that this might
scare them away, that maybe they were just small time punks or
something, but the sneaky man only smiled, saying that that price
was very reasonable.  They made plans for the money to be
delivered to the grand central station nine-o-clock the next
morning, and low and behold, when she arrived, a suitcase with
fifty thousand dollars was waiting for her.  She considered
running with the money, but figured that these men were not ones
to run from, and she needed the money.  So here she was.
	She opened a large wooden door, revealing a titanic thrown
room.  Five guards were there.  In a flash, she had out her 9mm,
and with five quick shots, they were all down.  One was still
twitching.  An extra shot in the head took care of him.  Damn,
she thought.  One bullet wasted.
	The princess's bedroom was at the end of the thrown room. 
She quickly crossed it, putting her 9mm in her shroud and
replacing it in her hand with another pistol.  This one shot
tranquilizers.  Enough morphine in them to put down a horse, and
enough to almost kill a eight year old.  She entered the bedroom,
and found the little princess asleep in her bed, taking a nap
during the middle of a beutiful day.  If asleep, the morphine
would definately kill her.  She opened the holster and pulled out
the dart, letting a few drops out, and putting it back in.
	Suddenly, the princess began to stir.  "Shit!" Nagi
whispered, stuffing the dart in.  She shot at the princess,
hitting her with a prick in the neck.  Sasami jolted up with a
scream, staring wide-eyed into the room.  She saw Nagi, and her
mouth tried to say something, but the morphine was taking affect. 
She fell back on her pillow, her hand to her neck, and lay still. 
"Shit!!" Nagi whispered again.  She wouldn't be asleep for long
after the drops that Nagi emptied were gone.  She had thought
that the princess was sound asleep.  "That's what you get for
that," she scolded herself.  "Next time make sure before you let
some out!"
	Suddenly an alarm thundered in her ears, a loud, blaring WHA
WHA WHAAA!! all around her.  "SHIT!!" she screamed.  "They must
have found those two at the palace gates!  Dammit!"  She bolted
to the bed, and lifted the princess to her shoulder.  "Got to get
you out of here!" she said, scurrying out of the bedroom.
	As she opened the door, she caught a peak of the throne room
and saw five more guards.  Lifting her tranquilizer gun, she
fired at the first three, putting them down with three quick
shots.  After a moment, the others started firing.  She ducked a
bullet and then ran back into the bedroom.  "How did they get
here so fast?!"
	"What are you doing?!" a voice shouted in front of the door. 
"You might've hit the princess!!"
	Suddenly Nagi realized her ticket out of here.  "Got to be
careful with you," she said, opening the door slowly and sticking
the princess's head out.  "SHIT!" she hears, and then snatched
out her 9mm and busted open the door.  The last two went down
before they knew what hit them.
	She took a look at the two that had been tranquilized. 
"Lucky for you," she said.  "I don't have to kill you."  She
hurried through the throne room and up to the door.  Pressing her
ear to it, she could hear voices on the other side.  Just getting
there, she supposed.  Well, she certainly wasn't going to
disappoint them.  She put up the 9mm and took out a large 357
magnum.  She backed away, the child laying limp over her
shoulder, and fired three times, rapidly into the door.  The
bangs came sudden and loud, like the holes that appeared on the
large wooden door.  She looked through and saw blood on the
opposite wall.  She also saw more guards heading towards her. 
She fired the rest of her clip through the door, taking out a few
more soldiers, and backed back into the room.  She looked around
and noticed a large picture window at the far end.  Perfect, she
thought.  She dropped the 357 and pulled out the 9mm again.  She
fired rapidly into the window, shattering it, and scurried over,
elbowing away the shards that were still atached to the frame. 
She looked over and out the window and saw a good thirty feet of
nothing but air, straight down.  She had almost forgotten that
there were over ten stories to this place, and she was on the top
one.  "Oh well," she mumbled, climbing to the ledge.
	"NO!  STOP!" she heard from behind her, and then jumped. 
She fell for a full five seconds.  Somewhere in that time, the
princess had chosen that moment to wake up and start screaming. 
Nagi was so caught up in thinking of a way to make the blow less
painful that she hardly heard the wails.  She landed on her feet,
leaping at once forward, pivoting in air, and finally landing on
her side.  She took all of the damage, including busting her
shoulder out of her socket, but still held onto the kid.  The
princess, Sasami was it?, had apparently had the wind knocked out
of her, and had exchanged her wails of terror for gasps of
breath.  Nagi found this a much better alternative, but was too
caught in her own pain at the moment.  She lifted herself up with
her undamaged shoulder and stumbled over to the palace wall.  She
rammed her busted shoulder hard into it, letting out a scream of
pain, and fell to her knees, her shoulder now back in socket. 
She picked herself up, and came back to the princess, who had in
that time learned how to scream again.  Impatient, Nagi silenced
her with a quick smack to the mouth from her undamaged arm,
knocking the child unconcious.  She picked the kid up again and
trudged along.  She noticed that she was now in the palace
gardens.  She heard screams from somewhere above, and decided to
pick up her pace.  She trudged at a fast jog and found three more
soldiers at the palace gates.  Being unprepared, the soldiers
weren't much of a threat, although they did make her use three of
her remaining five bullets.
	Outside the gates was a limo waiting for her.  She climbed
in the back, next to the sneaky man, and listened to him thank
her and accepted the next suitcase of money.  The driver was the
man with the metal thing in his mouth, but also up front was a
new one, a small, pudgy man with a top hat.
	"Excellant," the sneaky man was saying.  "I didn't think you
could pull it off, but when you told me you were once a part of
the mercenary guild Hanshan, I had to let you try.  How did you
manage to avoid getting killed like the rest of your comrades?"
	"Let's just say I didn't stick around to find out what
happened to them when they were killed.  I've worked hard to keep
my identity a secret, and I'm sure I can trust you to keep it
that way, right?"
	"Yes, of course.  By the way Miss . . ."
	"Hayashi."
	"Hayashi.  Have you ever considered full-time employment?"
	"How much will it get me?"
	"You certainly get right down to the-"
	"I said, how much will it get me?"
	"How does one million dollars sound to you?"
	"That would get me enough to find her," she said to herself. 
"Defanitely enough."
	"Find who?"
	"Let's just say that I'm going to try my best not to end up
like my falling comrades.  Ok?"
	"Ok.  Fine.  So, have we got a deal?"
	"Fine.  But only until I've found my girl.  If I find her
and kill her, I'm gone, but if I don't, I'll stay til the job's
finished and I get paid."
	"Don't you want to know what the job is?"
	"I have very few morals, Mr. . ."
	"Mitsato.  Kagato Mitsato."
	"Mitsato.  Whatever the job is, I'll do only what I think
one million dollars is worth, nothing more, nothing less.  And
let's just say that I value money very highly."
	"Yes, of course."
	"By the way, who are your friends?" she asked, pointing to
the front seat.
	"The big man is Jaws, named that for obvious reasons.  He
got his teeth knocked out by a magnum shot."
	"Ouch."
	"Yeah, did some nasty stuff to his brain too.  Hasn't been
the same since."
	"Aren't you afraid he can hear you?"
	"No.  He knows what he is.  Stupid but loyal.  The other one
is Oddjob.  He's an assassin, can throw that hat of his up to one
hundred yards.  Its rim is plated with steel.  He can take the
head off a bull with one clean swipe."
	"Mmm."
	"Yep.  You'll meet the rest of our crew tomorrow."
	"How many more are there?"
	Kagato began to laugh, long and hard.  "We're an army!" he
laughed.  "United like every other army, under one cause and one
symbol.  That symbol is a golden sword."
	"What's the cause?"
	"Why should you care?" he asked, and to tell the truth, she
didn't.  This man was obviously insane, and she would probably
find out tomorrow anyway.  "We'll drop you off her," he said, and
the car stopped at a bus stop.  Amazingly, no cops had followed
them.  "Here's your money.  We'll have geussed you've changed
your mind if you're not here at precisely nine tomorrow morning."
	She exited the car.  "What are you going to do with the
princess?"
	"Why should you care?"
	"I do!" she said sharply.
	"Well then, we are going to keep her prisoner and hold her
for ransom for more funds."
	"Will you hurt her?"
	"It is not in our best interest to harm our merchandise, Ms.
Hayashi.  No, we will not hurt her."
	"Good."
	"Why?"
	"It just is," and with that, she started to walk off.  Those
three in that car, they weren't civilians.  One was an assassin,
and the other two were at least part of an army, but that
princess was a civilian.  And never wrongfully kill an innocent,
that was what the oath said.  That job was better left to
assassins, like that Oddjob.  She was no assassin.


						M

	Ten and Kiyone stepped towards M's office together, side by
side, as if in a dead man's march to the electric chair.  Seeing
M was never a pleasurable experience.  The old man usually
complained, and Ten could not recall a meeting with their
resident superior where the old man had congratulated him. 
Usually, after a succesful mission, M didn't even ask for him,
and when he did, it was only about upcoming missions.  A meeting
after an unsuccesful mission was pure hell.  The old guy seemed
to enjoy putting him under some kind of discipline, or giving him
some crap mission.  He really didn't know what the guy's problem
was.
	M's real name was Katsuhito Masaki, a fifty-five year old
man from Japan, who was supposed to have been a real top agent
back for Brit. intelligence a couple of decades ago.  As a boy, M
grew up in Japan, leaving to Britain to fight with them during
the first World War, dirong which time he became an agent for
British intelligence.  He had no family, and was a widower.  He
never had kids, for reasons Ten could imagine easily.  He was not
very much liked by anyone in the company, and he usually tried to
give everyone a hard time.  He was transferred to Britain a year
ago after a short retirement in Japan.  He was transferred back
to British intelligence immidiately.
	Only a few knew his real name, and most referred to him by
his code name, M.
	Outside of M's office, Mihoshi Moneypenny's desk sat. 
Mihoshi was an agent, but worked as secretary to him for extra
money.  She came from a poor family and often was in debt for
something.  She didn't know how to manage money very well, seeing
as how she never had much of it, but she was well trained.  She
was a tad on the bimbo side, and had to be explained to a few
times at briefings.  She was mainly an explosives expert, but had
much to be desired in the feild.  She had puffy blonde hair and
large, bright, blue eyes, which gave her a look of a beutiful,
although somewhat vacant, woman.
	"Oh hello, Mr. Chi," Mihoshi Moneypenny called.  "And
Mrs.Kiyone Daniel, what a pleasure to finally meet you.  My name
is Mihoshi Moneypenny."
	"Please to meet you," Kiyone said.  This was her first
meeting with the frizy haired agent, and she had not heard much
about her, although Ten was very well known to Mihoshi.
	"Hello, Moneypenny," Ten said, staring down at her with
cool, piercing eyes.  "You look simply lovely today, might I
add."
	"Well thank you," Mihoshi said, putting a hand in her hair
and starting to blush.
	"Yes, well, could you call up M for us?" Kiyone said, eyeing
Ten carefully.
	"Yes maam," she said.
	"There's no need to call me maam.  Kiyone will be fine."
	"Ok, Kiyone."  Mihoshi smiled up at them for a few seconds.
	"Uh . . . the call, Mihoshi," Ten reminded.
	"Oh yes!" she said, looking back down to her desk.  The desk
was cluttered with all kinds of papers and little trinkets like
various paper weights and troll dolls.  Kiyone grew up with the
notion that you could tell a lot of a person by looking at the
tidiness of his or her house, working space, or desk.  Mihoshi
pushed a stack of papers aside, letting a few tumble to the
floor, revealing an intercom underneath.  She pressed the button
and started to speak into the com.  "There here to see you, Mr.
M."
	"He makes you call him Mr. M?" Ten asked.
	"Yep.  You know that guy can be a real grouch sometimes."
	"What?!" a voice shouted from the intercom.
	"Oops.  I forgot to take my finger off the button."
	"We'll talk about this later," the voice said.  "You can
count on it.  Meantime, send them in."
	Mihoshi slapped herself on the forehead and looked up to the
two agents.  "I guess it's just one of those days.  You can go
in."
	Before going in, Ten thought that Mihoshi had a lot of
"those days".
	M's office had a stale smell, like a prison cell, or a
germfree lab.  The room had no windows, and its walls were
painted plain white.  A large chair behind a small, barren desk
faced away from them, facing the only two things hung on the
walls: a large sword, like some sort of kitana blade, and one
small picture of an elderly woman, situated directly under the
sword.
	Ten could not imagine working in such an atmosphere.  He
felt that he would defenitely go insane after the first day if he
did not at least hang more pictures, or maybe wallpaper the room.
	Ten and Kiyone stood side by side, at firm attention. 
Neither moved a muscle for the full three minutes that the chair
stood, unmoving.  Then, finally, it turned around, revealing an
old man with graying hair and a gray mustache.  He wore a pair of
small, square-framed glasses, and a white, Japanese looking robe. 
His voice was cold and stern as he said, "Good job today."
	Ten was utterly flabbergasted, his eyes widening, almost
breaking attention.  He had to bite his lip to keep his mouth
from dropping open.
	"You did good today," he said, his voice still stern and
cold, obviously mot taking pleasure in giving praise.  "But I'm
afraid I'm going to have to give you some bad news."
	Ten's moment of awe faded.  M always had some kind of bad
news, although he didn't seem to be enjoying giving out this
news.
	"You're a great team, and I, along with a whole bunch of
people, know that.  But this order doesn't come from me or any of
those people.  It comes from the parliament.  They asked me to
pick my two best agents, and I had to do it, although the choice
made my stomach turn, but there's no denying it.  You two are the
best."
	Ten and Kiyone kept silent still.  It was better not to
interupt M, ever.  M was happy with his discipline, and it was
better with him happy.  Besides, he was giving out praise, and
neither could even begin to guess what the bad news was, although
Kiyone had an idea.
	"So they told me that you two were going to head a mission
of utmost importance, a mission that could decide whether there
is going to be a second Cold War.
	"Now here's the bad news. . . I'm going to have to split you
two up."
	"What?!" Kiyone yelled, her attention disappearing.  "You
can't let them do this!"
	"Did I ask you to speak, Miss Daniel?!" M snapped.  She gave
a feeble no sir and went back to attention.  Ten, who was about
to join the argument, clamped up tight.  "Now, although you two
will both be working on this mission, you will be working on it
in different areas.  And you will, of course, be given new
partners."  M looked down to his desk, and opened a drawer below
the agents' line of vision.  "Mihoshi," he called into the desk. 
"Send in the other two recruits, and accompany them into my
office."
	There was a little chatter coming from the desk which was
too low to be understood by the agents.
	"No, it is not about that!" M said, scowling down at the
desk.  "Just do as I say!"
	After a few moments, the door opened, and Mihoshi, followed
by two other women in uniform, came into the room.
	"Ten, you know Mihoshi, and I'm sure you've met her,
correct, Miss Daniel?"
	"Yes sir," Kiyone chirped automatically.  "Very briefly
though."
	"Well, she is n explosives expert, hailing from our very own
British secret academy, graduating with expertise in all kinds of
explosives known to British intelligence, including your larger
bombs such as nuclear weapons and atom bombs.  Her code is 003. 
Miss Daniel, she will be your new partner for this mission."
	Ten could see her expression drop.  He felt a little sorry
for her, but tried to hold it off until the end of the meeting. 
Mihoshi could be a little vacant, and Kiyone seemed to know that,
but these other two might be much worse.
	"Behind her is Agent Ryoko McCalaster of the American
Special Forces.  She is trained in over seven kinds of martial
arts and fighting styles.  She is familiar with over forty kinds
of explosive weaponry, all kinds of firearms known to the US and
Britain forces, and her hobbies include mechanics and plastic
explosives."
	Ryoko looked tough alright, not so much by her muscles but
by the look she had in her eye.  Ten didn't think that this girl
lacked anything in the self-confidence department.  She had large
white hair, which was very unusual, and Ten guessed that she had
had it dyed.
	"Next to her is Agent Aeka Honda from Japan's finest.  She
is our wiz-kid, familiar with all computer makes and models and
programs.  She has hacked into country's whole mainframes,
crushing terrorists with the click of a mouse and the tap of a
keypad.  She is currently hailed as Japan's finest computer
expert known, finer than our very own.  She is invaluable to our
mission.  She is also trained in ninjitsu and tai kwan do and is
familiar with standard firearms.  She is also fluent in all major
forms of communication in North America, Europe, and Asia."
	Aeka looked a lot more fragile than her companion, Ryoko. 
Ten wondered if she could really stand herself in combat.  Then
he remembered a fight he had had with two certain women assassins
named Bambi and Thumper, in a mission to retrieve a fortune in
stolen diamonds from a crime lord named Ernst Blofeld (<from
diamonds are forever>), two women that had been more than a match
for him in hand to hand combat, and who had looked just as
fragile and beautiful.  It wasn't how strong you fought, it was
how you fought.
	"For Aeka and Ryoko, your partner is Ten Chi, one of
Britain's finest.  Although on the surface he may be an
undesciplined, attrocious playboy, he can get the job done.  He
is trained in all types of fighting styles open to Britain's
secret academy, and is well known to every type of weapon and
firearm known to us, and even a few Q has cooked up on his own. 
He is well versed in all European languages and a few Asian.  His
code is 007, and be warned: he will hit on you."
	Ten's mouth flopped open in faked astonishment.  "That is
certainly not true."
	"Hmph!  You'll see.  You will also be working with Mihoshi
and Kiyone for awhile.  You have heard about Mihoshi.  Kiyone is
also one of our finest.  She is fluent in over forty types of
communication, including all American and Euraopean languages,
and even a few African tribe languages.  She is well trained in
all fighting styles presented to our academy, and has even spent
a little time in China, studying down there for further training. 
She knows the mechanics of every known form of air and land
transportation.  Her code is 006.
	"I will also have to designate codes for the two of you. 
Miss McCalaster, you will be 005, and Miss Honda, you will be
008.  I hope you enjoy, or at least stand, working together. 
That is all.  Any questions?"
	No one spoke.
	"Good.  Now, all of you report to Q's testing area.  There
you will be given certain instruments that you may need for this
mission.  That is all."
	The agents filed out single file and M was left alone again
in his office.
	"I hope that Ten can lead them through this," he said as he
sat down, turning his chair around again so he could see his
wife's picture.
	Outside the office, all the agents gathered around Mihoshi's
desk.  "Wow Kiyone!" Mihoshi was saying, her hands clapped
together in front of her chest.  "It's gonna be so great working
with you, I can just tell!  You know, it's gonna be fun going out
into the field again!  It's sorta been a long time since I was
out there."
	"How long was that?" Kiyone asked.
	"Well never, heh heh.  This is my first mission, at least
real one."
	"Figures."
	"Yeah," Ten said, "she just got out of the academy, but
she's supposed to be the best at what she does."
	"Do you have any ideas what this mission might be about?"
Ryoko asked, looking first from Kiyone to Mihoshi and finally to
Ten, letting her eyes linger on the man.
	"Nope," Kiyone answered, unnoticing of her searching eyes. 
"M just said that the parliament thought it was very important."
	"Q will tell us," Ten said, smiling broadly, also unnoticing
of Ryoko's eyes.  "Anyway, why don't you girls tell us a little
about yourselves.  Miss McCalaster, or is it Mrs?"
	"You can just call me Ryoko.  And no, I'm not married."
	"Well, isn't that too bad."
	"No, not really.  I enjoy having my freedom, and it sure
lightens the worries when you're out on a mission."
	"How about you, Ms. Honda?"
	"You can call me Aeka," she said timidly, looking down to
the floor.  "And no, I'm not."
	"How about either of you?" Ryoko asked, looking at Mihoshi
and Kiyone.
	"Nope," Mihoshi said cheerfully.
	"Yes," Kiyone answered.  "He's back in the states, a
business man."
	"Really?" Ryoko asked, smiling.  "What's his name?"
	"Tom.  Tom Daniel."
	"So, tell us more about yourselves, you two," Ten said,
urging them on.  "What do you like to do?  Where are you from? 
What about your families?"
	"I think we better go onto Q's," Aeka piped up, looking up
from the ground with cool eyes.
	"Well, yes, of course."
	Aeka led the way down the hall, Mihoshi and Kiyone
following, Mihoshi talking steadily, and Ryoko and Ten in the
back.
	"What's up with her?" Ten asked.
	"I don't know.  We just met in front of M's office.  I don't
know anything else about her than you do."  Ryoko gave a little
shrug.  "Maybe she's just that type of girl."
	"What do you mean?"
	"You know, all serious, mind on the job, no time for a life
type of girl.  You heard what all she knows.  That kind of
studying takes up a lot of a girl's time.  I wouldn't be
surprised if she's just not someone who likes to be around other
people."
	That was certainly food for thought, Ten thought.  He looked
down at his feet as he walked the rest of the way, llistening to
Mihoshi go on about her college years.  That woman liked to talk,
alright, he thought.


						Q

	Kiyone tried her best to listen to her new partner's
ramblings, but it was just so hard.  Mihoshi's voice was a high
one that seemed to make even the slightest hint of a headache
grow and grow and grow.  Kiyone bit her tongue to scream at the
girl to stop already.  She didn't know how she was going to
survive a whole mission cooped up with this woman.
	She looked back and saw Ten walking with Ryoko.  She felt a
little jealous, and then stopped herself.  It was good that Ten
was having a new partner, one that didn't seem to mind his
flirtations that much.  Then she remembered the other partner. 
She didn't look like she was in the least interested in either
one of her new partners, but she felt that this Aeka would not
stand for any of Ten's shanagans on this mission.  She looked
like the type of serious girl who worried about the job first and
her and others' well being as a far second.
	She looked up and saw Q's testing area in front of Aeka's
thin figure.  She smiled, seeing the end of Mihoshi's ramblings
up ahead, and started to walk a little faster, catching up with
Aeka.
	"So, Aeka.  You got any family?  Kids or brothers and
sisters or something?"
	"Six sisters and three brothers," she said simply.
	Kiyone's mouth dropped open.  She had never heard of a
family that big.  "I have, uh, a brother back in the states."
	"Why do you live in the states and work with the British
intelligence?"
	"Uh, because it's part of a kinda exchange program.  The US
needed some tech guy who knew a lot about computers-"
	"Like me."
	"Uh, yeah, I suppose.  And the Brits needed some good
agents, like marines, so I was exchanged."
	"Why didn't your husband come with you?"
	"Um, he did.  But he had to go back because of his business. 
You see, he works for the government too, for the FBI, as an
investigator."
	"But you said he was a business man," Aeka said, looking at
her.
	"Uh yeah.  He investigates businesses, goes under cover,
gets hired and finds out about them.  It's hard to explain off
hand so I say he's a business man, which he really is.  He just
works for the government in secret."
	"Oh," Aeka said, again looking forward.
	"So tell me a little bit more about you."
	"Q's office is up ahead," she said, motioning forward.  Aeka
started to walk a little faster, into the test area.  Kiyone
watched her go.  She was painfully aware that Aeka had found out
all about her and that she had found practically nothing out
about Aeka.  Except that she has a huge family, Kiyone thought,
and sighed.  She would remember that.
	Q's testing area was littered with agents in white lab
coats, most fiddeling with gadgets on white working tables.  As
they walked in, Kiyone noticed a few men working on something
inside a guitar case.  Suddenly one of them screamed CLEAR! and
everyone dived behind tables.  A sudden boom filled the room as
the guitar case exploded in a million pieces, sending them flying
around the room.  Two of the men peeked over a working table,
observed the destruction, and excitedly exchanged high-fives.
	Kiyone caught sight of a worker peeking from behind a table
and see them.  The man waved excitedly and started to bustle
forward.  "Q!" Ten yelled excitedly.
	The man was a middle aged man with a raggedy mustache and a
broad grin.  Q had been raised by a family of intellectuals, all
wanting great things from the boy.  He grew up and joined the
British army, crafting weapons and designing ships for their
navy.  His work was renowned in its complexity and ability to
blend in with camoflauge.  He once designed a slow moving cruise
missile as an exact replica of an alligator.  The craft would
swim up and catch the enemy ship totally by surprise, exploding
just inches away.  British intelligence heard of his unusual
weapons and hired him as a weapons designer for feild agents.  Q
was an instant success, leading the country in a wave of
psychotic mayhem that paved their way to defeat the Russians time
and time again.
	Q was also renowned in the office for being a slight
pervert, trying to win the female agents.  This reputation made
him boath praised and loathed in the office.
	Q bustled toward them, huffing a little as he made his way. 
"Ten my boy!" he yelled.  He seemed to get along well with Ten,
which didn't surprise Kiyone much.  "I see you've brought more
beautiful ladies with you!"
	Ryoko and Mihoshi gave out a giggle; Aeka frowned deeply;
Kiyone smiled; and Ten laughed heartedly.  "Yes, well, these two
new ones are my new partners," he said, proudly.  "I think
they're going to work out just fine."
	"Yes, well, I have some marvelous inventions for you all,
Ten.  Real gassers this time.  Take a look."  Q led them down the
hall, passed the men in white coats who seemed to be thoroughly
wrapped in their work.  He stopped in front of a table with a few
pound bills.  "You see these?  These are not just regular money,
oh no.  These are thermal detonators, huge ones in fact.  To set
the detonator, all you have to do is tear the corner off the
upper-right hand corner, let me demonstrate."  He tore the corner
off and small beeping sound came from the dollar, becoming more
rapid with time.  He walked over to where a dummy in a lab coat
was standing.  He stuck the dollar in his hand and ran back to
the others, the pound beeping wildly, warning of impending
danger.  In another second, the dummy was gone in a flash of fire
and a large bang, revealing only a pair of dummy shoes when the
smoke cleared.  "How's that?"
	"Impressive, Q," Ten said, smiling.
	Q smiled in pride.  "Then you'll love this.  This money is
otherwise, undamagable."
	"Really?"
	"Yes.  Watch," and as they did, he tore the corner off one
and placed it back in the stack.  After the beeping and another
thunderclap of destruction, the smoke cleared.  All bent over the
money, to see five undamaged bills.
	"That's amazing!" Ryoko said in awe.
	"Heh heh, yes."  Q led them away, to another table, where a
stack of pens and pencils lay.  "If you liked that, you'll love
this."  He grabbed one of the pens and pressed the top, making
the tip of the pen slide down, hiding in the plastic body.  "Now,
once you push the button, this thing goes from regular writing
pen to a small automatic rifle.  Watch," he said, pointing the
pen at the wall closest to them.  "Jocobs!" he called to a
scientist who was in the way.  "Move out the way."  The scientist
scuttled away, and Q held the pen tightly.  Suddenly the room was
filled with sounds of gunfire.  Everyone in lab coats dived to
the floor at once, the chatter that had previously filled the
room disappearing.  Then the fire stopped, and Q was smiling
broadly.  "Lookit that!" he said to his guests, looking around to
find them all on the ground, holding their heads.  "Oh, sorry,"
he said, and looked around the room.  "My bad!" he called into
the room.  Scientists began to appear from behind tables.  "So
how was that?" he asked proudly.
	"That was great," Kiyone said.  "How about we stop with the
demonstrations?  We'll believe you."
	"Oh.  Ok."  Q led them over to another table.

	After half an hour, Q had managed to show them every single
one of his inventions.  In that half hour, Ten managed to give
steady compliments, Kiyone managed to keep herself from screaming
for the man to stop, Mihoshi managed to rant more to Kiyone,
despite whatever Q was saying, Ryoko managed to smile at Ten
every chance she got, and Aeka managed to show almost no signs of
emotion, except a few dirty looks she gave to Ryoko when she
would look at Ten with that knowing look she always seemed to
have.  Kiyone geussed that both the girls might have a thing for
Ten, a predicament that she doubted even Ten could be prepared
for.
	Q was now leading them to his office, next door to the
testing lab.  Inside, animaginable gadgets and unidentifiable
trinkets covered the ground from wall to wall.  The floor was not
the drab gray as the walls and ceiling, but rather the red, blue,
yellow, and every other color that the creations were.  You could
not see a single spotch of gray unless you dug and threw a few of
the creations out of the way.  Q led the party of agents through
the mess, to a desk at the far side.  "I feel more comfortable in
this room than in any other," Q said.  Kiyone imagined that to be
very true.  "That is why I didn't tell you in there of your
mission.  M ordered me to tell you, saying that he was uncapable
for some reason.  Let me start by saying that this could very
well be the most important mission of your lives."
	Kiyone noticed Aeka smiling, seeming to revel in the
briefing.  She could not imagine why.
	"There is an organization of extremenists, of anarchists
that are completely oposed to all forms of organized governments. 
Usually, such an organization would not have gathered the
attention of Britain intelligence, but this one has grown to an
enormous size, spanning over a million recruits in over five
countries: Britain, the US, Russia, Canada, and Spain.  Their
main numbers are in Britain and it is believed that their
headquarters may also be located here too.  We think that their
might also be a headquarters in France, but there was never any
reports of any, 'recruits' shall we call them.  This organization
is called the Society of the Golden Sword.
	"It is headed by one, Kagato Mitsato, a former Britain
parliament member who left due to, I quote, 'All the corruption
of such a titanical government', unquote.  He bought out an
auction for a golden sword hailed from China that was said to
have belonged to Ganghis Kahn, one which was rumored a long time
ago to have given him all his power.  All at once, after he
attained the sword, did people flock to him wherever he went to
join a cause he made, to make a radical group which oppose the
very idea of organized governments.  There was practically no
trouble from them before, besides small riots that broke out in
Moscow, Washington DC, and London.  They were the ones
responsible for the riot that they're calling The Big Ben Bang."
	Kiyone remembered the Big Ben Bang, which she had been
caught in the middle of a few months ago.  A group gathered
around the Big Ben clock tower and started huddling together. 
Kiyone caught glimpses of them as they were conspiring but
thought nothing of it.  Then, all at once, they began shouting,
pushing people out of the way as they stormed the clock tower,
trying to literally tear it down from its foundations.  The
police spent a good twenty-four hours trying to calm the people
down, who had this wierd, vacant look in their eyes.  Kiyone had
tried to help the police, and despite taking down three of them,
was beaten into submission by a small mob of the rioters, of
which none of them seemed to say anything intelligable.  All just
shouted grunts and screams at one another, first pummeling
Kiyone, and later eachother.  They did more damage to eachother
than the police did.  Kiyone managed to escape that rumble with
only a bloody nose and a few bruises.  They seemed to not beat
her up as much as the men, including the men that were rioting
with them.  They were a strange bunch, seemingly just zombies
that had caught themselves into a pushing contest.  She was able
to come back to duty just in time to go galavanting off with Ten
to Russia to destroy some gadget that was deemed by the
government "dangerous".  When she came back, she had read that
almost all of the original rioters were part of an organized
radical group, although she didn't catch the name of it.  Now she
knew, though.
	"But now, we believe that they may be the ones that are
responsible for the kidnapping of princess Sasami Jurai."
	"Oh my God," Ten said.  "The princess has been kidnapped?!"
	"That information hasn't been released to the press yet, but
there is no way we can keep something like this bottled up.  So
three groups shall be working together to stop the Society of the
Golden Sword from whatever they may be scheming and to rescue the
princess.  The princess is top priority, then gathering
information, and lastly to stop any menacing plans that they
might be unfolding."
	"M only divided us into two groups," Kiyone said.
	"M and I will be the third group.  Ten, Aeka, and Ryoko will
infiltrate the organization.  Mihoshi and Kiyone will provide
backup and assitance whenever necessary, and also conduct
investigations outside of the organization.  M and I will be on
full radio contact at all times, always close by, ready to
provide any equipment and backup you may need."
	"Is there any conclusive proof that the Society are the ones
that have kidnapped the princess?" Aeka asked, stunning everyone.
	"The one identified as the kidnapper has no recorded
identity, or else it has been erased, so that means only one
thing: mercenary.  This woman was seen talking to Kagato about
something.  The contents of the conversation were unable to be
found, but they were talking.  That is our only lead in this
case.  Does that answer your question?"
	"Yes sir."
	"Alright.  Anymore questions?"
	There were none.
	"Good.  Let's get you started then, shall we?"


					Oddjob

	Nagi was picked up at nine-o-clock sharp by a large white
limosine driven by Oddjob.  He still wore his top hat and suit
from yesterday, but they looked neatly cleaned and pressed.
	Oddjob drove the limosine to a large office building, which
peaked over the other buildings in the middle of town.  Nagi and
Oddjob got out and a man in red uniform came from out the
building, bowing towards Oddjob, and entered the car.  The man
drove the car around back, and Oddjob escorted Nagi inside.
	"Is that all you do?  Drive that car?" she asked the man.
	Oddjob remained silent.
	"Did you hear me?"
	The man nodded slightly as they entered, coming into a grand
lobby covered with expensive carpet and extravagant apolstries. 
From the ceiling hung glamorous chandaliers of polished brass. 
The brass was so polished in fact, that it looked like gold as it
sparkled off the sunlight that entered through the large windows
over head.  Nagi gave out an awed "Wow," as they entered.  "How
does that guy afford all this stuff?"
	Instead of answering, Oddjob pointed across the lobby
towards a small door which read "Restricted: Specialized
Personnel Only."
	The two crossed the lobby, and he pressed his hand on the
knob.  There was a small click, and the door swished open by
itself.  "Dandy," Nagi marveled.  Oddjob pushed past her into the
room.
	It was dark, no lights burning, no electricity.  The room
was surprisingly cool, no heaters humming.  The room was
obviously left alone by whatever power feuled the rest of the
building.  The room was pitch black, and by now Oddjob was lossed
in the darkness, although he had only preceded a few feet.
	"Oddjob?-"  Suddenly the door slammed behind her, and the
darkness engulfed the whole room, the small light coming from the
outside now gone.  "Where?" she asked herself, turning and
grabbing the door handle, but it wouldn't open.  He had done
something to make it open, something that she could not.  "Where
are you?" she asked into the darkness, but there was no answer.
	Suddenly she heard a swish, as if a frisbe had just been
thrown, or a boomerang, or-
	"He can throw that hat of his up to one hundred yards,"
Kagato had said.  "Its rim is plated with steel.  He can take the
head off a bull with one clean swipe."
	Nagi dived to the floor jus as something swished by
overhead.  Her eyes were wide in the dark, her hands in her
cloak, searching frantically for her pistol.  Fianaly she found
it, pulled it out, and raised it, arms outstretched in the
darkness, unaware of what she was aiming at.  Suddenly she heard
a foot step behind her.  How did he get behind me?! she wondered,
and then realized the hat was back there.  She whipped around,
but knew it was too late.  She dived again, something sharp
slicing through her white hair as she hit the floor.  That one
was close, too close.  She ogt up again, and aimed her pistol. 
Then she put it down and started to back up slowly, on her knees,
back to the door.  Her back pressed against it and she leaned
heavely on it.  Then the swish came again, coming in low, almost
to the ground.  She leaped up to her feet and into the air as
quickly as she could, hearing the pang as the hat hit the door. 
She snatched it out of the door quickly and raised it up to her
chest.  Suddenly she heard a foot step somewhere close, and let
it fly fast.  This time she heard no pang as it hit the other
side.  A minute went past and nothing happened.  She got to her
feet and nothing happened.  She walked forward, one hand on her
pistol, and she could hear someone's heavy breathing, labored
breathing.
	Then it stopped.  Suddenly the lights banged on, showing a
small steal room, barren, totally metalic.  A few scratches
littered the walls on all sides.  This place had been a place of
many battles.  Nagi squinted at the sudden light and let her eyes
slowly adjust to the brightness.
	Then a loud voice boomed over a speaker in the brightness. 
"Congratulations," it said.  "You've passed the first test."  She
recognized it slowly as the voice of Kagato.
	"Kagato!" she screamed into the brightness.  "What is the
meaning of this?!  Why did your lackie attack me?!"
	"Simple, my dear.  He was told to."
	"WHY?!"
	"Because you were going to be his replacement.  After that
stunning display at the English palace, I wanted to make you
mine, but I can only afford a few top soldiers in my army, so I
pitted you against eachother to see which one I should keep.  I
was leaning towards you, but this clinches it.  Definitely."
	"This is outragous," Nagi said, calming down.  She could now
make out shapes in the brightness.  "This is not what I was
interested in."
	"The mercenary society must have had some kind of tests. 
Something to prove yourselves."
	"That's true, but they told you when the damn test STARTS,
DAMMIT!!"
	"No need to get touchy.  No real harm done.  And besides,
you proved yourself, defeating someone with a definate
advantage."
	"What advantage?  That hat?"
	"No.  The infrared goggles."
	She could now make out Oddjob's figure on the ground, and
had to stare at it for a few seconds before she could make out
the pair of green infrared goggles on his head, which was
surrounded by blood.  The hat was still caught in his neck, which
now connected to the head by only a sliver of skin.  The man had
blocked it with his hand, which now was lying next to him,
totally detatched from his body.  Now Nagi's suspicions were
confirmed.  The man had had to be mute to keep off the screams of
pain.
	"Still angry?"
	Nagi put a hand up to her hair and felt where the hat had
given it a rather close scalp.  "You owe me a new hair cut," she
said, getting up.  She could now see a figure coming towards her,
holding something bright, almost blindingly bright, like a staff
of pure light.
	The golden sword.


				Princess Sasami

	Princess Sasami sat alone in her cell, a cold, dark room
with no lights and bars on the only small window.  She was now
tending to the bruise which was welping up on her face.  She
looked up at the window and could see the full moon through the
bars.  She prayed to the moon, prayed for, not her safety, but
the safety of her mother, the Queen Tsunami.  She would be
worried sick about her, Sasami knew that, and so she prayed that
her mother not worry too much.  Her father, the king Azusa, had
died when she was just four years old, and she still had vivid
pictures in her mind of what her father looked like.  Since the
death of her father, her mother had been pampering her more and
more, almost to the point of refusing to let Sasami go out in the
street, even with guards.
	No one was to mess with the queen, though.  Tsunami had been
the one to lead the Brits against the British, keeping war a far
threat after the iron curtain fell.  She would be rescued by her
mother, there was no question, and these men had nothing to gain
by killing her, so her safety was practically guaranteed.  It was
just a matter of when, and for this reason, she had no need to
pray for herself, and concentrated on other things.
	She remembered back when she had been captured.  That day
she was taking an afternoon nap after a long day of schooling. 
She had told her pet cabbit, Ryo-Oki to stay outside because she
needed her sleep.  She prayed that the cabbit hadn't tried to
interfere in anything.  She desperately wanted the cabbit not to
be harmed.  Since her father's death, Ryo-Oki had been kind of a
plug to fill the hole that was left when her father died.
	Tsunami had gone out of town the day before on business. 
Undoubtedly she was back.  Sasami wondered if her captors had
made any ransom demands yet.  She also wondered how long she had
been here.  She had woken up here only minutes before.  She had
had glimpses as she had bounced in and out of conciousness
before, glimpses of a man with deadly black hair, and a woman
with wild white hair, and a black cloak.  The woman had been the
one to kidnap her, she remembered that, and so she was the only
one Sasami really feared, for to kidnap her, the woman had had to
wade through a whole platoon of guards.  And to come out
unscathed meant that she had won.
	She then prayed for the safety of those guards, may they
have not been hurt.

	Nagi carried the tray of food into the prison chamber.  Have
to fight through hell, she thought, and my first job is to
deliver her majesty's food.  What a joke.
	After her first "test", Nagi had been sent straight to the
building's cafeteria, which was on the fourth floor.  She had
been handed food and escorted upstairs to the prison area where
Princess Sasami was being kept.  She had asked why she was the
one who was supposed to play waiter for the little brat, and
Kagato had called it another test.  A humble test, to see if
you're not too proud to take on even the smallest job for the new
empire.  She didn't know about this empire stuff, but if this was
all she had to do to get enough money to track down that American
mercenary, she would gladly serve up her majesty's royal gruel
and rotten eggs.  Anything for the empire, she thought wickedly.
	When she opened the door to the prison area, the coolness
hit her immidiately.  It was too much like the battling chamber
where she had defeated Oddjob.  She went in and had to stop to
let her eyes adjust to the sudden darkness.  She walked carefully
over to a door on the far wall, and opened it, revealing a caged
door on the other side.  She couldn't see far past it, and the
door was locked shut.
	"Princess?" she asked carefully.
	"Yes?" a small voice answered from within the darkness.
	"Food time."
	No answer.
	"Don't you want food, your majesty?"
	"You're that woman."
	Nagi stopped for a second.  She hadn't expected that answer. 
"Uh, what do you mean?"
	"The woman that kidnapped me."
	"Uh, yeah, that's me.  You want food or not."
	"Tell me, miss, how much did they pay you to throw me in
here?"
	"Do you know who they are your highness?"
	"I have a feeling."
	"Enlighten me, if you would."
	The child gave out a sigh, and then crawled out of the
darkness to the steel door.  "The society, of course.  Now, if
you would, could you hand me my dinner?"
	"Uh, yeah, sure.  Here."  Nagi handed over the grub.
	"Uck. . . Thank you.  I will pray for you."
	"What?" Nagi asked, looking down at the princess poke at an
egg with one dirty finger.
	"You are obviously in need of prayer, miss.  I will pray for
you if you would pray for me."
	"What?  Why should I?  And I don't need your sympathy."
	"Maybe not, but you don't have my sympathy.  You have my
word.  I pray for all those I know.  Now that I know you, miss, I
will pray for you.  I am asking that you pray for me because it
is the right thing to do for someone you just met who is in a
predicament like this one.  Please, miss.  Pray for me."
	"Uh . . . I'll think about it.  And I'll see what I can do
to get you a better room, your highness."
	"Thank you, but I doubt it will happen.  It's the thought
that counts, though.  Thank you."  Sasami then stuffed an egg
into her mouth, munching on it carefully.  Nagi could see her
wince, and judged that she must be quite hungry.  She then turned
away, and without another word, closed the door behind her.  She
was unsure about whatever this society, or empire, or whatever
they called themselves, but she knew that that was no way to
treat a civilian, captive or no captive, especially a child.  She
would have words with Kagato about this.


				Ryoko's Secret

	"Where are we going?" Ryoko asked as she got into the front
seat beside Ten.
	"To meet a friend," Ten replied as Aeka piled in the back
seat.  The car left its space beside the Hotel Marmaduke, where
the two girls were staying in Britain, and started off.
	"Who's the friend?" she asked.
	"Well, he's not a friend, persay, more like an acquaintance. 
Have you ever heard of Fisk the Fish?"
	"I have," Aeka said from the back.  "He's a crime boss up
here, isn't he?"
	"Yeah."
	"I must ask, Mr. Chi, how you are acquainted with such a
man."
	"Well, how do you know of him?"
	"I looked up the crime reports of all the big criminals in
London before I came here."
	"And what was so unusual about Fisk?"
	"He runs many casinos and night clubs.  He likes the company
of only women, and, ah yes!  He has a rather bad limp."
	"I gave him the limp."
	"Oh."
	"And you think he'll help you?" Ryoko asked skeptically.
	"I'm sure he will."
	"How come?"
	"The intelligence department of Britain has a rather large
account for use in persuasions."
	"You're going to bribe him?!"
	"I geuss you could call it that, yes."
	"And what if he doesn't go for it?"
	"Oh, he will.  Aeka, why do they call him Fisk the Fish, do
you know?"
	"I would assume because he likes fish," Aeka geussed.
	"Wrong.  It's because, when you cross him, you sleep with
the fishes that night."
	"What does that have to do with it?"
	"That proves how sure I am that he'll go for it.  If I
wasn't sure, I wouldn't go to him."
	They rode a few more minutes in silence before Ten finally
broke it.  "So, Aeka, tell us a little about yourself.  You got
any family?"
	"Uh . . . yeah.  Six sisters and three brothers."
	"Wow.  That's quite a lot of mouths to feed."
	"My father had a lot of wives."
	"Oh.  So they're all half-brothers and sisters?"
	"Most of them."
	"Who's your father?"
	"His name's, . . . uh, not important.  What about you?  Do
you have any brothers or sisters?"
	"Nope."
	"Mother or father?"
	"Killed in climbing accident."
	"Married?" Ryoko asked.
	"Why?  You asking?" Ten laughed.
	"Yeah, why not?"
	Ten stopped laughing.  "Hmm."
	"I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable," Ryoko said,
placing a hand on Ten's thigh.  "It was a joke of course."  She
could feel the swell in his pants.
	Ten could feel that swell also.  "If I didn't know any
better, I'd so you were coming on to me, Miss McCalaster."
	"Who? . . . Oh yes!  Well you just might be right."
	"Well, I must say that I've never made a woman so love
struck that she'd even forget her own name."
	"You do have that effect, Mr. Chi."
	"Will you two cut that out?!" Aeka asked angrily from the
back seat.  "It's very unbecoming."
	Ryoko started to rub her hand up and down Ten's thigh. 
"Yes," he said at last.  "I must agree, this is not the time. 
I'm still driving."
	"Fair enough," Ryoko said slyly.  "But as soon as we stop,
I'll be ready for you."
	"I'm not sure Fisk will like that too much on his doorstep."
	"Poor Fisk."
	"I'm sure your galavanting can wait until tonight when you
two can have suitable quarters for such jariatrics, but we are on
a mission right now, Miss McCalaster," Aeka said angrily.  She
didn't like how Ryoko was feeling up their new partner like he
was some play toy.  Especially when she had feelings about him
too.
	"Put a sock in it.  Why are you so uptight?!"
	"I'm uptight because your sexual outbursts are getting in
the way of his driving, Miss McCaster."
	"Well, you sound like something more is bothering you, you
party pooper."
	Didn't even notice I mispronounced her name, Aeka thought to
herself.  "Well, Miss McCaster, it looks like you'd be more at
home in a whore house rather than on an important mission such as
this one."
	"Yeah, well, it looks like you would be more at home
drinking tea in your little Chinese boarding home where you
probably grew up, sipping tea with the other stuck up sissies."
	"Girls, can't we get along?" Ten asked.
	"Sorry Ten," Ryoko said angrily, "but this girl here has
been hiding under a shroud of secrecy this whole trip, and I'm
just a little bit curiuos why she's so secret about everything in
her past."
	"What are you talking about, Miss, what was it?  McCaster?"
	"Maybe it's just your forgetful brain that's making you so
untalkitive!"
	"What is your name again?  My forgetful brain just can't
remember."
	"Miss Ryoko McCaster, you twit!  Can't you remember
anything?!"
	"I thought you said that your name was McCalaster."
	"Huh?"
	"That's right," Ten said.  "Your name is Ryoko McCalaster,
isn't it?  Not McCaster."
	"Yeah, that's what I said."
	"No!  You said your name was Ryoko McCaster," Aeka retorted.
	"They sounded so much alike that I got confused!"
	"Got confused about what your own name was?  I doubt that."
	"Will you quit with these mind games?!"
	"Well, what is your real name?"
	"Ryoko, uh . . ."
	"McCaster?" Ten offered.
	"Yeah!  I mean no!  I mean . . ."
	"Looks like I'm not the one keeping all the secrets," Aeka
said.
`	"SHUT UP!!  I can't believe you would play MIND games with
your own PARTNER!!"
	"It wasn't that hard with such a simple mind," Aeka said.
	"Eaargg!!  I HATE you!"
	"So what is your real name?" Ten asked the detective.
	She sighed.  "My real name is Ryoko Malancher.  I was a
mercenary here in Britain before something went wrong and I had
to flee to America."
	"But you have an American accent."
	"I was born there and lived there til I was ten, and then my
family moved to Britain because my dad wanted to help here
against the Iron Curtain.  He was killed and my mother died of a
heart attack afterwards.  I ran away to avoid being adopted by
the state.  I had no interest in being raised in a country I knew
nothing about."
	"But you were going to live alone in it?!" Aeka asked
skeptically.
	"Pretty cool adventure.  I grew up on the streets,
pickpocketing mostly, before I was adopted by a man called Kinso
Martain.  He taught me the martial arts.  He was drafted and I
never saw him again.  I became a mercenary and wasn't too bad at
it.  But then something happened and the government shut us
down."
	"What happened?" Ten asked.
	"I'd rather not talk about it."
	"Who's being secretive now?!" Aeka said.
	"Consider yourself lucky I'm telling you this much!  Anyway,
I adopted a new name and raised enough money to go to the US."
	"Why?" Ten asked.
	"Because when you're a mercenary, being lawabiding is very
difficult when you want to get paid."
	"You're a criminal?!" Ten asked astounded.
	"Yeah, but not anymore.  I joined the army and evolved up to
Captain.  I consider my debt to society paid."
	"I suppose."
	"You're not seriously thinking of not turning her in, are
you?!" Aeka asked.
	"Turning me in?!" Ryoko screamed.  "Oh please no!  You
can't!  I've worked so hard to get where I am!"  She was
bordering on tears, leaning against Ten's shoulder and sobbing
softly.
	"Do you expect us to just let a criminal action go on right
under our noses, Miss Malancher?" Aeka asked.  "Do you really
expect us, as Federal agents, to let a criminal dabble in our
midst?  I think not."
	"Oh that?" Ryoko asked.  "This isn't against the law."
	"What?!"
	"Yeah.  I personally checked.  Nothing in Britain or
American law says that this specifically can not be done.  No one
is harmed by it, and I've turned a new leaf, I swear.  In fact,
I've been spending all my time since my identity change helping
my country.  I was only worried about the deceit I've been doing. 
They would have me discharged for it, and it really has become a
major part of my life that I like very much."
	"Oh!" Ten exclaimed happily.  "If that's the case, then your
secret's safe with us."
	"Not with me!" Aeka exclaimed.  "Illegal or not, it isn't
right."
	"C'mon Aeka," Ten said.  "Give her a chance to start anew. 
She's sorry for what she's done, really."
	"And if it makes you feel any better," Ryoko said, "I never
killed a civilian."
	"What?!  But you're a mercenary!"
	"Was!  And they made us take a code, one of honor as a
mercenary.  No civilian killings, under any circumstances.  In
fact, all I was was a common thief, stealing from drug lords and
giving to other lords.  The people were bad anyways."
	"C'mon, Aeka," Ten pleaded.  "Let her go."
	"Well . . ." Aeka said.  "Ok.  But I'll have my eye on you,
Miss Ryoko, and I won't hesitate to turn you in if you pull any
tricky stuff."
	"Ok ok!" Ryoko said.  "I get it!  No tricky stuff, I
promise.  Last lie I tell you guys, I swear!"
	Aeka leaned back in her chair.  There was something fishy
about this new partner, she knew it, but she would have to prove
it first.  And besides, Ten was on her side.  She couldn't look
bad to him, not now.
	Ten watched the road, happy that his suspicions were now
confirmed.  Her identity was all that it was, he thought.  He had
known something was up with her from the beginning, like she was
hiding something under all that flirtation and jabbering.  That
was what it was after all, just her identity.  He didn't exactly
approve of it, by any means, but he felt that she would be useful
in this mission.  She won't be of any use, he thought, if she
turns traitor.  He knew this, but he still trusted her.  There
was something about these women that made him want to trust them. 
He couldn't pinpoint it, but he would.  In time he would.
	Ryoko sat uneasily in her chair.  She had to keep her guard
up, now.  She had been trapped to easily by that bitch, Aeka, but
no more.  She would come totally clean with them later, but not
now.  She hadn't wanted to even tell them of her identity until
much later, and she would have to work doubly hard for her plan
to work now.  This will work, she thought to herself.  It has
too.  It just has too!
	They rode the rest of the way in silence.


				Nagi and Sasami

	"Mr. Kagato.  I need to have a word with you," Nagi said as
she walked into the office.  The room was gigantically large and
well furnished, swords hanging on the walls, which were neatly
furnished.  In the corner of the room, a punching bag waved
calmly in the air, and at the far wall, a desk stood, with a
large leather chair in front of it, facing away from her.  "Mr.
Kagato.  I must have a word with you about your captive."
	"Yes, Miss Nagi?  What can I do for you today?" Kagato
asked, out of sight, in the chair.
	Nagi took a gulp before continuing.  "I think that you're
not treating Princess Sasami, as a civilian, with enough, um . .
. curtousy."
	"You don't think?" Kagato asked.  "Are you making
suggestions already?  On your first day here?"
	"Um, yes sir.  I am."
	"Well then.  I think you are ready for this little bit of
news, my dear mercenary.  I'm the boss here, got it?"
	"Yes sir, but I thought-"
	"You thought?!" Kagato yelled, whipping the chair around. 
He was wearing a kind of Japanese fighting garb, worn by
samuries.  In his lap was a large kitana blade made of gold, the
same one he had carried into the fighting chambers when Nagi had
defeated Oddjob.  "I do not pay you to think!  I pay you to kill! 
Why are you developing a contiounce now?!"
	"Don't you talk to me that way, you little bastard!" Nagi
screamed angrily.  "You may think you're top dog around here, but
to me you're just a little shit on an ego trip!!  If you want my
assistance, you better start treating me with a little more
RESPECT!!  Now!  I came here politely to humbly ask for your damn
consent!  But if that doesn't work, I can always take that kid to
the authorities, GOT ME?!!"
	"I seriously doubt that you'll be taking her anywhere,"
Kagato said as he touched a button under his desk.  Suddenly,
three soldiers in gold uniforms bustled in.  "Teach her a lesson,
boys."
	"You don't really think that . . .  Well, ok.  If that's how
you want it."  The sodiers advanced, but suddenly spun around,
reaching into her cloak, and with three quick movements, and
three quick bangs, the soldiers were dead on their feet.  They
stood their for a second, shocked expressions on their faces, and
then they fell, first to their knees, and then to their faces. 
"Any more?" Nagi asked, turning around, pointing a small 9mm at
Kagato.
	"Perfect," he said, clapping his hands.  "You'll make an
excellant soldier, my dear lady.  I commend you on your job well
done.  You've just passed your second test, a test of fidelity
under pressure.  Congratulations."
	"And what about the girl?"
	"You may lead the girl personally from her cell to the
private bedroom on the third floor."
	"And what about her meals?"
	"The meals will change with her room, my dear lady.  Only
the best for her, now.  Good job."
	"Yeah, sure," she said, turning around, and without another
word, she was gone.
	She might be a problem, Kagato thought to himself, but no
matter.  Once she's served her purpose, she'll be dead anyways. 
Smiling pleasently, he sank back into his chair, feeling once
again happy with his position.

	As Nagi made her ways back to the prison area, she wondered
if this girl was worth the trouble she was getting into.  Or was
she in any trouble?  Could this all be some plan Kagato worked
out, some test?  Was that the reason she was sent to give that
little girl her meals?  Was she supposed to grow fond of the
girl?
	She reckoned that she would have answers to all of these
questions in due time.  She had already been given the full tour
of the place by Kagato himself, and he seemed to treat her with
more respect than he treated his underlings, like those soldiers
he put against her.  Why did Kagato put those men against her? 
He knew that she had conquered more soldiers than that.  Why, she
had to do that at the palace to kidnap the girl, Sasami.  She
didn't know what Kagato's main plot concerning her was, but she
would, in due time.
	She did know one thing about the man, though.  He was
utterly mad.  The way he treated his underlings, like dogs,
faithful but stupid.  He insulted Jaws to his face, one who
didn't look like he would stand much for insults on a man that
was obviously very puny compared to the mammoth man.
	Either Kagato was very insane and the people somehow admired
that and followed him, or he had some secret ace up his sleeve,
something with which he could control these people, whether by
fear or some other means.  Maybe he treated her with respect
because she was not so easily frightened.  Or maybe because he
didn't want to show her what he was scheming.
	As she entered that outside prison area, a vile stench
immidiately cut off her thoughts.  It smelled like something
rotting, something spoiled in the hot air.  But it was cold in
here, so what was that stench?  As she opened the looking slot,
the smell plunged itself into her nostrils, and she knew exactly
what it was: poop.  The poor thing must have crapped all over
herself.
	As she looked in the cell, she could see a small mound of
the stuff halfway in the darkness, black streamed with green,
mounding like toothpaste.  Like diahrea, she thought to herself. 
She put two fingers up to her nose and called out, "Sasami?"
	She could hear a small, high-pitched grunt from the
darkness, followed by a tiny moan.  "Those damn eggs," she said
to herself.  "Sasami, come to the light."
	"I . . . can't!" she managed slowly.  She let out another
moan, followed by a tiny whimper.
	"Dammit," she said to herself.  She walked away from the
hole and out the door.  Standing outside the outer prison room
was a man in uniform, one who had before introduced himself as
Roy Rodner.  "Roy," she said to the man.  "Open the cell door."
	"Sorry, miss, but I can't unless given order by the high
commander himself," he said, looking up at her.
	"And who might that be?"
	"Commander Kagato, ma'am."
	"Kagato gave me permission to move her to a nicer room," she
said irritably.
	"Impossible, ma'am.  If he had, he would have radioed me. 
And since he has not-" Roy was interrupted by a squawk over the
radio attached at his belt.  Picking it up, he answered into the
link, "This Private Rodner, how may I help you, sir?"
	There was a muffled squawk over the radio.
	"Understood, sir.  I'll let her right in."  And with that,
he opened the door to the prison area.  "Whoo!  Did she die in
here?!"
	"Nope, but I don't think she has a toilet."
	"Oh, man.  Well she must have had to go real bad.  Ok, I'll
open her up."  As he said this, he went to a corner of the room,
shrouded in darkness, and stood next to it for a few seconds. 
Suddenly, the door with the looking slot swished open silently,
letting light flood the cell.
	"How did you do that?" she asked, looking at the corner.
	"Top secret, ma'am."
	"But I didn't see any controls there or anything."
	"Aren't any, ma'am."
	"Then how . . ?
	"That's confidential.  You have what you wanted, so get her
and move on so I can clean that shit up."
	Nagi walked to the cell door and called in.  "Princess?" 
Inside, a little figure was squatted over the floor, letting out
little moans.  "Are you ok?"
	"I'll be . . . ok," she said weakly.  "What's this about?"
	"You get a new room," Nagi said.
	"That's . . . nice."  Just then, Nagi could see a small
black substance come out of her lower end.
	"Are you done?"
	"Yes, for now at least."  She pulled up her panties and
walked forward.  Nagi could see poop all over her shoes, legs,
and dress.  As she advanced, the smell grew to an umbearable
stench.  Also, Nagi noticed a large bruise on the girl's forhead.
	"I geuss that's my fault," she said, looking at her head.
	"Could be," the girl said.  "But I forgive you."
	"Uh . . . thanks.  We'll have to get you cleaned up first,
though."
	The girl smiled.  "I would like that, very much."
	Nagi smiled too.  She was beginning to like this girl.


					Fisk the Fish

	"Now, just follow my lead," Ten said outside the casino
doors.  "Fisk doesn't like me by any means, but he will not talk
to absolutely anyone he doesn't know.  He might talk to me, and
he won't talk to you, so just let me do all the talking."
	"Ok, we got it," Ryoko said.  "Let's just do this thing."
	"Alright."  Ten opened the doors only a little so he could
squeez through.  It was better to not make a scene.  Behind him,
the two agents followed suit.  In the casino, the hall was filled
with people and noises of all kinds.  Roulette wheels spun
rackotlessly, dice were thrown on craps tables, and the loud
sound of cards shuffeling filled their ears.  Ten spotted Fisk at
a table at the far end of the casino, drinking an alchoholic
concoction and talking to a table full of gentlemen.  The secret
agent walked up to the table, and around to Fisk's back.  "Hiya
doin Fisk?" he said in the fat man's ear.  "Leg healing ok, I
hope."
	"YOU!" Fisk shouted, spinning around.  "What do you want in
my casino?!"
	"Nothing, really, although it is a nice casino.  What I want
from you is information, my dear man."
	"HA!  That's a laugh!  Do you have any idea how much my leg
pains me?!  Everytime it rains I have cramps in it!  Everytime!"
	"I really am sorry about that," Ten said, "But you see, I
really need this information."
	"Would you like me to throw this guy out, Mr. Fisk?" one of
the gentlemen at the table, a large man in a dark blue suit,
asked.
	"Let's not get rough," Ryoko said, pulling a small pistol
from her jacket and pointing it at te man.  It was half hidden by
the coat, but the man could see it fine, and thus sank back down
in his seat.
	"Yes," Ten said, smiling at Fisk.  "By all means, let's not
start any unneeded ruckess in your casino.  Now, I'm sure we
could think something out, like gentlemen.  For starters, I could
inform the authorities about your recent drug smuggling campaigns
in Tokyo and Hong Kong."
	"You could never prove it!" Fisk said.
	"Maybe not, but I could have them out there looking for
proof, and just maybe, I won't need that much proof to put you
behind bars.  Aren't you still on probation?"
	"I've been on probation almost all my life."
	"Indeed, so it shouldn't take that much to put you behind
bars.  And I could also arrange it for you to be cell mates with
Looie the Lizard.  Isn't he after you for screwing his mother?"
	"It was his sister," Fisk said, deeply worried.
	"Whatever.  Looie's a big man, and I'd hate for you to be
pulverized by him on a daily basis, wouldn't you?"
	Fisk looked a tad sick at this proposal.
	"But," Ten continued, "let's look at it from another
direction.  If you give me the info I want, we could maybe put a
blind eye to all of this, and you could continue business with a
little change in your pocket, huh?"
	"What do you want to know?"
	"What do you know about the Society of the Golden Sword?"
	At once, the whole table tensed.  "Well," Fisk said, "all I
know is what I've heard about the kidnapping of the little
princess kid, Sasami."
	"And what's that?"
	"Well, for starters, I know it happened.  That I got from a
guy called Jaws.  He comes in hear every so often, likes to brag
about stuff, you know?  Not a real bright bulb that guy, but he's
a big one.  After that, I got a little curious, and started
digging around, you know?  In my business, information is money. 
I'm sure you know all about that.  Anyways, what I found was that
the kidnapping was done by one woman, by the name of Nagi
something.  I didn't get her last name, but my source told me
that she was one tough girl, took out half the damn soldiers on
her own, and escaped out the damn ten story palace window.  No
one's heard of her before this though.  It's like she never
existed."
	"Who's your source, Fisk?"
	"Hey!  You lucky I'm telling you this much.  Anything else
could get me killed!"
	"Alright.  Do you know anything about Kagato Mitsato?"
	Fisk was silent for a moment.  "Well . . . I'll tell ya, but
if this is traced back to me, I'm going to be totally dead.  You
hear me?  Dead!"
	"Your name will never be mentioned, like always."
	"Ok.  Well, all I hear was that-"
	Suddenly one of the men sitting at the table pulled out a
pistol and shot Fisk.  The bang pierced the noise, and a deadly
silence hovered in the air for a second before panic insued. 
Screaming, everyone ran to the doors.  "IT'S A HOLD-UP!!" one
frantic woman was screaming.
	Ryoko lost no time in putting the guy down.  With two quick
shots to the head, the man lay face down on the table, blood
spreading over it.
	"BOSS!!" the fat man in the suit cried out.
	"Shit," Fisk mumbled.  "Had . . . a damn leak . . . in my
own table."
	"Fisk," Ten said softly.  "You're gonna be alright."
	"Get away from him!" the fat man screamed.
	"No," Fisk managed.  "Come here. . . What I heard . . .
about Kuh-Kuh-Kagato. . . His sword . . ."
	"The one he got from Ghangis Kahn?!" Aeka asked.
	"Yeah. . . That's the one. . . It can control your . . .
mind. . . Make you . . . his. . . That's what . . . the guy said.
. . Guy said that and . . . killed . . . himself. . ."  And then
Fisk was dead.
	"Damn, boss," the fat man sobbed.  "Why'd you have to tell
them that?"
	"What did he mean, kill himself?" Ten asked the man.
	"When the guy told him that, he suddenly pulled out a gun
and shot himself.  I was there.  Eyes went kind of far off, you
know?  And then he just shot himself, like he was programmed to
or something."
	"And what did he mean that the sword could control you?"
	"You think I want to end up like him?!  You got your
precious information so just get the hell out!"
	"Ok.  By the way, who's in charge now?"
	"I am."
	"You don't look very happy about it."
	"The boss was my brother, you shit!  So get out!"
	"Alright," Ten said, turning around.  Together, all three of
the agents walked out of the casino and on to the street.
	"Now how are we going to find out where the headquarters
is?" Ten asked.
	"Oh, I know how," Aeka said deviously.
	"How?"
	"Doing what I do best.  Is there a laptop in the car?"
	"Yeah."
	"Perfect.  We'll have that information in no time.  Better
get a move-on, though.  It's hell trying to explain everything to
the regular police."