One Last Ride

Mr. Fujisaki steps onto the stage, a huge, shit-eating grin on his face. Hosokawa can’t hold it together and bolts up from his chair, only to sit just as suddenly, as if pushed down by an unseen force. Of course, Fujisaki must have his own stealthed goons stationed throughout the warehouse, and these guys know how to cooperate under stealth without sonar.

“I would like to thank the board for their wisdom,” Fujisaki addresses the crowd. “With the resources of The Hosokawa Group and the technological breakthroughs of Fujisaki Heavy Industries, we will usher in a glorious new era of innovation and prosperity.”

His announcement is met with mild applause from the crowd. I don’t know if they’re just used to being dramatically locked in during investor meetings or if they’re playing along out of fear. That applause grows when a woman steps on to the stage and stands next to him, putting one arm around his waist. I don’t recognize her, but Chiyo, standing next to me disguised as an investor, is practically jumping up and down in excitement.

“That’s Ms. Hosokawa! Can you see how pissed off Mr. Hosokawa is? They’re fighting over her. Urrrrgh, that’s so hot. It should be me up there.”

“According to the agreement between our two companies,” Ms. Hosokawa says, “we will trade the CEO position back and forth each generation. My son, Ryuuzaki, will be trained to inherit the reins from Mr. Fujisaki. Come up to the stage, dear.”

I don’t dare turn to look as I hear Ryuuzaki’s shoes scuffle against the floor. He’s being led up to that stage, whether he wants to go or not. Out of the corner of my eye, I see him break free of his captors momentarily and lunge for me, his hands reaching for my throat, desperate to kill me before Fujisaki can use me.

“It’s OK, Ryuuzaki,” I whisper, projecting a confidence I don’t really feel. “I have a plan.” I don’t. This is game over. The only thing left to consider is whether I let myself get turned into Xyrite or I bash my own head in to prevent it.

Who am I kidding? I don’t have the guts for that. To kill? Sure. To run headfirst into enemy fire? Yeah. But to die? If I could do that, I’d have been dead long ago, but I just can’t leave Chiyo all alone in the world. Not again.

As Ryuuzaki walks toward the stage, Fujisaki starts speaking again. “Normally, these kinds of mergers require a lot of paperwork, along with regulatory scrutiny, but I’m happy to report that the paperwork has already been filed, and thanks to The Hosokawa Group’s connections in government, the emperor himself has approved the merger. Some access, huh? I’m looking forward to making use of that myself.”

His non-joke is met with polite laughter from the crowd. After making a big show of shaking hands with Ryuuzaki, he brings the meeting to a close and hops off the stage, making his way toward me. “Nice to see you again, Mr. Tsuruta. Let’s have a chat, shall we?”

“Lead the way.” I gesture to the closest door, and it opens, allowing us to walk to a limousine waiting outside. I climb in first, then sit awkwardly as the car shifts from the weight of the invisible guards taking their seats next to me. Finally, Fujisaki gets in and takes one of the backward-facing seats across from me. Once all the doors are closed, the air around us distorts, and the guards pop into view. They’re all women, and the one sitting to Fujisaki’s right has quite the figure, if I do say so myself.

They’re also all armed with submachine guns.

“We can talk freely, Mr. Tsuruta. These ladies are my personal guard. I trust them with my life.”

“Is that so? How personal are we talking about?”

“I assure you, it’s not what you’re thinking. I never mix business and pleasure. Things get messy too quickly.”

“So you and Mr. Hosokawa’s wife aren’t…?”

A sly smile spreads across his face. “Sometimes we must make exceptions to achieve our goals. Still, I wouldn’t call it pleasure exactly. She’s a scary woman, that one. Tough negotiator. But let’s get down to business. I wanted to thank you for all the work you did delivering The Hosokawa Group into my hands. You saved me a lot of time and effort, and I suspect I wouldn’t have been able to pull off a unanimous vote if I had approached them myself. They don’t trust me, but when you got the brat to sell them that tall tale of immortality, they practically stepped over one another to be the first to beg for an alliance.”

“Was that your plan all along? Use me to deliver Hosokawa to you on a silver platter?”

He leans back, and his smile grows into a grin. “Please, I’m not that good. All I wanted was for Hosokawa to get a hold of the prototype. Once he realized he lacked the knowledge to replicate it, and that I was on guard against further espionage, he’d be forced to propose a merger himself. But instead, you accelerated my plan by years and put yourself in a position where you have no choice but to become a model for my army of the future. It’s almost as though a divine wind blew from Siberia and deposited you on my doorstep.”

“Hey, I came with you willingly. Are you going to hold up your end of the deal? I want my sister back. The original.”

“Hmm.” He pretends to examine the backs of his fingernails while he thinks about it. “From where I’m sitting, you’re in no position to be making demands, but why not? It won’t cost me much, and I did mean what I said before, all of it. I’m a patriot, and as long as you’re a patriot too, I don’t really care what motivates you, even if it is a bit strange for a man your age to be so attached to his little sister.”

I sigh and hang my head. “Truthfully, it’s not really about her. I would have done the same for a son or a cousin. It’s just that I’m her last surviving family member. Fear of leaving her all alone in the world was what kept me alive on the front lines. I’d die for the emperor, but I lived for my family.”

He snorts. “Most men would simply make sure she married into a good household. Too late for that now, I suppose, but fear not. Once we crystallize you, we can ensure she’s never lonely again.”

“Yeah.” Lifting my head, I look him in the eyes. “Only thing still bothering me is I don’t understand why you need The Hosokawa Group anyway. From what I could tell from their presentation, they’re trying to cover up a massive decline. In a couple of years, surely you would have eclipsed them.”

“Yes, but I wouldn’t have gained the kind of access they enjoy to the upper echelons of the military. You have no idea how short-sighted high-ranking military commanders can be.”

“Try me. After all the stupid orders they gave me, I bet I know it better than you.”

“Yes, I suppose you might. Well, then it won’t surprise you to learn that both the army and the navy turned down my proposals for robot troops. They won’t even consider non-human support staff! ‘War is about honor,’ they keep saying, ‘and there’s no honor without a heart.’ Hypocrites, the lot of them. They act as they please and only get the emperor’s permission afterward, and they have the gall to lecture me about honor.”

“Yeah, that sounds like them.” I’m about to say something more, but the limo comes to a stop, and railings pop up all around us. A moment later, we start moving down, into the ground on some kind of large car elevator.

That wasn’t a very long drive. I guess Fujisaki’s secure location isn’t too far from Hosokawa’s warehouse.

The guards seated next to me grab my shoulders and keep me in place while Fujisaki exits first. Once we’re all out, we walk forward through a dark tunnel, guards flanking us both.

I can’t help but rest my eyes on the one with the rockin’ bod walking by Fujisaki’s side, and for the first time, I realize I’m about to lose my little soldier when I get turned into a robot. Maybe if I ask Fujisaki real nice, he’ll let the little guy serve one last tour before he crystallizes me. I wouldn’t mind it if it were with this guard. The way she sways her behind as she walks…

Wait a minute. That butt looks familiar. Her face and hair are different, but I’d recognize that ass anywhere.

It’s Saionji!