Shadows May Fall (18 page)

“What do you mean?” This was the first Niko was hearing about any incident.

“Well, I cannot say for certain but I think our Dom expected this to be a one-off and is too proud to speak a word of it to the Senatus. They have no clue this is a global situation and the way the Council handled the shipment, well...” Hans drew deeply from his cigar and let the smoke waft from his lips a moment. “... they didn’t do any investigation at all to track down the source or who was involved. They just let the ship leave port then torched it in the North Sea as soon as it was at a safe distance.”

“Do you suspect a cover-up by the Council?” Niko felt his blood getting hot.

“No, absolutely not.” Hans was insistent. “I do think they suspect someone, though. But I think they suspect it’s outsiders pushing their way in here.”

“Into the Hague?” Niko wanted specifics.

“No, the whole of the Netherlands.” Hans paused to sip his cognac. “I mean no disrespect to you when I say this, but I think it’s a similar situation as was with your Gilroy. A rogue element, given too much freedom in St. Petersburg. Possibly in China as well. The world has grown massively, my friend. I honestly believe certain regions should be divided, and additional Dominors put in place. Russia is chaos, the Dom there is spread far too thin. You and I both know good men in that Council, they simply cannot keep an eye on everyone, especially with the region in such turmoil.”

“I understand.” Niko couldn’t blame Hans for thinking some restructuring was needed. He too thought so on more than one occasion. “So the Aegis only learned of an illegal blood shipment?”

“That is what I know.” Hans nodded. “It was an anonymous tip to your counterpart, personally. He breached the ship, undetected, located the crates to verify the information, then reported it back to our Dom. He, in turn, ordered that charges be placed on the ship very strategically so that all the crew would have time to abandon ship before it blew completely. I suspect they had a man on board to give the green light once everyone was off. The ship went boom and is somewhere at the bottom of the sea, crates and all.”

Niko thought it was a very irresponsible way to deal with things. But considering he had blown up a medical facility in Cuba only a few weeks ago, he really was in no position to say. The difference was, however, that was a joint operation between themselves and the South American Aegis. At this very moment his counterparts there were hunting down leads the same way he was. What they witnessed in Cuba was horrific, and it had evoked a rage in Niko that he scarcely remembered ever having. He and Lena, his South American Aegis counterpart, had rescued scores of kidnap victims that had been used as blood factories for God knows how long. They would not rest until they tracked down every other facility on the planet and burned them to the ground.

After a bit more discussion, Niko had made the decision that he needed to discuss this very carefully with Max. After Niko’s meetings in the morning and his reconnaissance at the port, he figured he would have a better feel for what the proper approach with the Dominor here would be. Despite being scattered all over the globe, the Aegis was a rather tight knit community. It was the ones on the fray that he was seriously concerned about and he sure as hell didn’t want to start a civil war. That was the absolute last thing anyone wanted.

Without a warrant
, all Lou and Dillon could get out of the hotel manager was a computer print out. The document listed exit times for every vehicle in the parking facility within their forty-eight hour window. They needed a lot more probable cause for a warrant to get the security footage to match the actual vehicle to the corresponding exit time. There were only three vehicles that exited the lot between two and nine that Friday morning according to the printout. The truth of the matter was they only had a hunch. Lou’s hunch, that the killer even had a car there. For all she knew they called a cab or used an Uber. There was a lot of digging to do and Lou had a lot on her plate. Besides the three murders, she had the big meeting with the other Principates in three days and the whole blood smuggling operation that she had fallen behind on. They were making a stop at the last known address for Hunny Trainer and then Lou was going to meet the infamous Sensei, who would be training both her and her cousin, Liam. It was a welcomed distraction, and she looked forward to burning off some nervous energy. Anything that helped her to not think about Max was a good thing.

Without a warrant
, all Lou and Dillon could get out of the hotel manager was a computer print out. The document listed exit times for every vehicle in the parking facility within their forty-eight hour window. They needed a lot more probable cause for a warrant to get the security footage to match the actual vehicle to the corresponding exit time. There were only three vehicles that exited the lot between two and nine that Friday morning according to the printout. The truth of the matter was they only had a hunch. Lou’s hunch, that the killer even had a car there. For all she knew they called a cab or used an Uber. There was a lot of digging to do and Lou had a lot on her plate. Besides the three murders, she had the big meeting with the other Principates in three days and the whole blood smuggling operation that she had fallen behind on. They were making a stop at the last known address for Hunny Trainer and then Lou was going to meet the infamous Sensei, who would be training both her and her cousin, Liam. It was a welcomed distraction, and she looked forward to burning off some nervous energy. Anything that helped her to not think about Max was a good thing.

Hunny Trainer’s apartment was just off of Washington and Sawtelle, not exactly a glamorous apartment complex or a stellar part of town. There were a dozen single story bungalow style units all lined up like boxes in neat rows. The manager was a reluctantly cooperative man who managed to produce a handwritten letter that was left for him by Hunny on a Tuesday in mid-March. The note told him she was moving, and he should let the Salvation Army in when they came on the fourteenth. Apparently she left everything she owned behind and gave no forwarding address, not even for the return of her security deposit. Fortunately, but not surprising given the area, the unit hadn’t been rented yet, so he let them take a look at the place. It was a twenty by twenty square that included a kitchenette, a half bathroom, a view of a graffiti-riddled alley and the ass end of a liquor store. She had lived there for five years without incident as far as the manager could remember and kept to herself. They talked with the only other tenant that had been there for more than a month, and she couldn’t remember what year it was, let alone any of her neighbors. The forty-five minutes they spent at the building, Dillon counted seven sirens screeching passed. It was a dismal place, to say the least, and it made no sense because Hunny had been making a good living even with Gerald Griffen’s ridiculous contract. She could have easily afforded a much better place in a much nicer location far closer to the studios. Something didn’t make sense at all. With Hunny leaving everything behind, giving it all away, abandoning her lucrative albeit sleazy career, Lou and Dillon couldn’t help but wonder. They left the place with more questions than when they arrived. Lou was doubting Hunny’s involvement in their murdered pervs. At least not in the way she thought before. They were going to interview her coworkers in the morning but now they were headed to the dojo. They couldn’t get there fast enough for Lou’s liking.

The dojo was located in Gardena; just a couple zip codes east of the pacific Ocean, an unassuming part of town to be sure. With everything Lou had read about the Sensei, her imagination had run wild. She expected some state of the art training facility with lots of shiny glass, chrome, high-tech gel mats, full locker rooms with saunas, showers, possibly even a lap, and whirlpool. What she got was no fuss, no muss, the equivalent of a good old boxer’s gym from days when hard work and sweat were the tools of the trade, not anabolic steroids. The actual name, Shugyokan Dojo, literally translates to “House of Austerity” which the dojo, and the Sensei embodied in every sense of the word. It was nothing like she had imagined and that made her worry.

They had arrived at the dojo twenty minutes before six and Liam was waiting outside for them. Her cousin seemed to be taller than last time she saw him, which was only four days ago.

“Hey!” Liam was excited to see them.

“Hey, yourself.” Lou gave her cousin a hug. “Why are you outside?”

“Hey, Dillon!” Liam was Dillon’s new pal, and they had bonded like brothers. “Sensei is finishing up a class, so I figured I would wait out here for you guys.

“You met him already?” Lou was dying of curiosity.

“Not yet, I just peeked in.” Lou couldn’t resist a peek herself, so she cracked the door open and looked inside. “You can’t miss him. He’s the only one over ten years old.” Liam chuckled.

A dozen or so miniature people lined the main hall standing equidistant, all performing their kata in unison with absolute precision. It was impressive. Weaving his way through the rows of children was a man of medium stature, perfect posture and close-cropped jet-black hair that was silvering at the temples. He moved slowly, with deliberate purpose, inspecting the form of each of his charges with a critical eye. He walked to the head of the group and stood stoically as the kata winded down. When the children finished, they all were silent for a long moment.

“Seiza!” Sensei shouted, and the children immediately sat on their heels, hands on thighs, backs straight. Not a single one slouched or sat skewed. Sensei took the same position, facing them at the head of the matted floor. “Mokuso!” He shouted, and the kids all bowed their heads and closed their eyes. “Mokuso yame!” Everyone lifted their heads and looked forward. “Shomen ni rei!”

After he shouted the next command the children placed their hands out on the mat in front of them, in a sort of semi-bow. They then shouted “Arigato Gozaimashita”.

With another command and another shout of Arigato, Sensei began calling the students up one by one. He started with a tiny girl with blond curls, who looked to be no more than nine years old. He handed her a card, and she thanked him with “Arigato Gozaimashita” another bow, and then she took three steps back, bowed yet again then left the floor. The ritual continued until the last child had made their final bow for the day.

It was a precise and methodical process. Quite impressive with children that are normally unruly and bouncing all over the place. Lou could only imagine what was expected of her. She closed the door and paced up and down the sidewalk until all the children filed out and went along their merry way. When the last child left, Dillon opened the door, and they all went inside.

Akashiro Tahaya Sensei was born on a tropical island in the philippines, known today as Cebu. After the island was liberated from Japanese occupation in 1945, Sensei traveled to Japan and spent two decades in Okinawa where he trained under legendary Karate Masters. Lou tried to find details on how he came to be with the Sanguinostri, whether he was a Steward or what, but she could find nothing. Even when she asked Niko, all he would tell her was at some point, ages ago, Sensei was offered a seat on the Far East Aegis Council. The word was that he declined the position and opted to serve as a trainer while continuing his work to preserve traditional Karate. Lou wasn’t necessarily expecting an old man bent with age and time or anything, and he sure wasn’t six feet of massive. But there was something about him that she found fiercely intense and intimidating. Something she knew would make even Chuck Norris and Steven Seagal pee their pants.

Liam shoved Dillon ahead and into the dojo while Lou cowered behind Liam. Sensei motioned with his hand for them to come closer then looked them over one by one without saying a word. Awkward was an understatement. Lou felt like she was ten years old and had just been sent to the principal’s office.

“Give me your car keys.” He demanded. Dillon and Liam looked at each other then dug their keys from their pockets to comply. Sensei looked at Lou, expecting her to hand the keys over as well.

“He drives.” Lou said as she pointed to Dillon.

Sensei looked at the clock on the back wall then back at them, drilling holes in their craniums with his intense gaze. “You have ninety minutes to run to the ocean and back. Bring me two fistfuls of sand.” They all looked at each other then back at Sensei as if he were insane. He stared at them with a deadpan expression, then glanced back up at the clock. “You now have eighty-nine minutes.”

Liam was the first to scramble out the door, Lou scurrying after him and Dillon last. They had no clue how far the beach was, but Liam took a right out the dojo and another right on Manhattan Beach Boulevard. From there he knew it was a straight shot west, and Dillon just followed his lead. They tried to pace themselves to avoid getting caught at traffic stops and conserve energy, but they had to push it to make it in time, especially Lou. She had half the stride the guys did, and her competitive nature would not allow her to come in last. It was just under an eleven mile round trip to the beach and back, and none of them were dressed for a run. Liam had the foresight to change out of his uniform when he left his station and was running in sweats and a t-shirt. Dillon was running in jeans, a decent dress shirt and tactical boots and Lou couldn’t remember what she had on since her mother had shoved her into it on her way out the door that morning. She knew, however, that she was grateful she wasn’t wearing heels, but the moto boots she had on felt like her feet were stuck in molten lead. She had half a mind to rip them off at the next red light.

Lou had been working out regularly as part of her rehab and had starting running regularly but five miles a few times a week at best. This was going to be tough especially after she and Dillon stuffed their faces at lunch. They had wanted a nap before, this was going to kill them. Getting to the sand seemed like it took an hour since they had no idea how far away they really were. Dillon was especially lost without his SUV’s navigation but when Lou crossed against the red at Valley Drive, she knew it was only a couple more blocks. The beach fog had come in thick so none of them could see the ocean until they were almost on top of it. When Liam and Dillon hit the mouth of the pier they took a hard left and ran down the steps to the beach, scooping as much sand as possible but Dillon saw Lou go flying straight over the railing and keep running for the shore. He hesitated for just a second but refocused. He and his handfuls of sand were headed back to the dojo as fast as he could run. Liam took note of his cousin overshooting the sand but dismissed her and headed after Dillon, backup the boulevard.