Steel Rain (6 page)

A hundred years ago, at the heart of Tokyo's Ginza District, the Honjowara-gumi was controlled by violent gangsters. The clan battled the Ginza Tiger and others for control of gambling, restaurants and bars, narcotics, and a multitude of illegal enterprises, till, at times, the streets ran with blood. Little changed when the clan made its move to North America. The criminal bosses remained in control till the end of the millennium.

Then came Nagato Kurobuchi.

He came to power as the protector of Honjowara Okido, who was then a child, and his mother, recently widowed by the very violence that had haunted the clan since its earliest beginnings. He shamed the gangsters for violating basic tenets of the clan, for doing violence to the wife and child of the oyabun, Honjowara
-sama's
father, and for other crimes, such as revealing secrets to enemies of the clan, and for having personal addictions to narcotics. He added to the gangsters' shame by reminding them of their ancestral ties to the feudal-era
machi
-
yakko
, who, though commoners, banded together to defend towns and villages, merchants and farmers, women and children, from maurauding bands of unemployed samurai warriors.

He forced all to see the dishonorable way of living they had been leading, full of treachery and treason.

"We must have a New Way," he declared, and through all the tumultuous years of the food riots, the rise of the megacorps, the VITAS plague and the Dawn of the Awakened, and finally the Great Ghost Dance, Nagato Kurobuchi pursued his New Way.

That Way included organizing the clan to function as a corporation, and preparing to meet the Sixth World not as gangsters, but as honorable persons not unlike the former
machi
-
yakko
. Not as renegades against their heritage, but as true servants of the people.

When Honjowara Okido assumed his role as head of the clan, he expanded this vision to include not merely people, but all peoples, including metahumans: elf, ork, dwarf, troll.

"The samurai's word is harder than steel," he declared. "We must prove our honor and resolve to be even more durable than this. We must move with the tide of the Sixth World or be swallowed by our enemies. We must forge an alliance of clans or face destruction. We must welcome all into our house who would serve us loyally and aid in fulfilling our mission."

Thoughts, feelings, memories—all this intrudes on Machiko's mind and spirit as she passes the clan leadership to the doors of the Chairman's home. It stirs her unworthy heart. Again and again, she looks to the doors of the entrance and yearns to go inside, to learn what the leaders know, to hear what they will tell the Chairman. For she will learn nothing of the threat facing the Nagato Combine standing out here in the dark. She will find no answers in the night. Here, there is only Gongoro's venom and her own uncertainties. Yet here she must remain. She is a warrior of the Green Serpent Guard. She is acting senior member. She must stand the watch. She must command. She must stay where her steel and armament and skill will do the most good. This is her duty.

She resists the thought that her duty to the clan perhaps stands larger than her duty as a warrior. Her duty is to serve as she is best able to serve. As a warrior.

Then, her commlink beeps.

She keys the link on her left vambrace and flips open the small screen. The face of the Chairman's personal aide immediately appears. "The Chairman asks that you join him in the Autumn Garden Room as soon as you are able, Machiko-san."

She acknowledges this and looks to Gongoro.

"Speak of Yoshida," he growls lowly.

9

At the end of the corridor is a door paneled to resemble wood the color of honey. Before the door stand six GSG, familiar faces all. To the right is a wooden bench of some dark-hued wood. Beneath the bench, seven pairs of shoes.

As Machiko approaches, she lifts her hands, showing her empty palms and the twining serpents emblazoned there. The senior member of the detail responds with a brief bow in the manner of GSG standing watch. He bows from the shoulders only enough to indicate respect and does not lower his head or his eyes. Machiko bows in the same manner.

"The Chairman is in conference," the senior informs. Machiko nods. "I am called here."

"Should I announce you?"

"Did you announce the others?"

"The door remained open till the others were inside."

"Then announce me."

The senior turns and kneels, one knee to the floor, and slides the door open only enough for him to peer into the room. It is strange for Machiko, watching this. She has rarely been formally announced. As a senior member of the Guard, in performing her duty, she has walked in and out of rooms where the Chairman was holding conferences more times than she could hope to recall, without anyone appearing to notice. She could walk in and out at will. Now she stands and waits while another GSG looks into the room and waits to say her name. It makes her feel odd, unsettled, as though she pretends to be someone or something she is not.

In a firm, clear voice, the senior says, "Machiko-san of the Green Serpent Guard."

And, abruptly it seems, the door is slid fully open and the Autumn Garden room comes into view. A familiar room. A quiet room, suitable for contemplation, for reflection. The style is traditional. Furnishings are minimal. The ceiling is low and gives the space a private, comfortable feel. The floor is wood of a brown like caramel, covered in clear waxy varnish. The walls wrapping around to the left simulate rice paper panels. The long wall on the right, opaque in the night, like rice paper, may be turned transparent during the day to provide a view of one of many gardens, the Autumn Garden, lying just outside.

Opposite the door, on a low dais of varnished wood, sits Chairman Honjowara. In place of his usual suit, he wears a robe bearing the Nagato
mon
and the lotus and reed pattern of the clan. The pale pastel colors of the robe only seem to emphasize, to exaggerate, the stem gravity of his expression.

Machiko bows, and briefly moves her eyes over the GSG body detail. The main group waits, one knee to the floor, three to the Chairman's left, three to his right. The remaining two wait just inside the room, facing Machiko from just beyond the doorway. None give any sign of recognition or acknowledgment. The task of the body detail is to evaluate threats, to hold themselves ready, to act. Polite greetings would distract from their duty. Anything not essential to the performance of this duty is absolutely prohibited.

The leaders of the clan sit before the Chairman. Six males, one female, one ork, one elf. These are the leaders' most obvious distinctions. Their commonalities are far more imposing. They share the Chairman's grim expression. They are all dressed in dark, conservative suits that tonight seem like the uniforms of generals, each lapel adorned with a pin bearing the
mon
of Nagato Combine. They are arranged in two precisely ordered files, four on the left, three on the right. They sit on round cushions that appear to provide only a modest comfort, laid directly on the floor.

Before each of them lies a small black lacquered tray with matching tea service.

"Machiko," says Honjowara
-sama
. He extends a hand to the one remaining unoccupied cushion. This is located at the end of one file of leaders, on the right.

Machiko bows and moves to her appointed place. Here, she puts one knee to the floor; in this case, the cushion. Members of the Guard do not sit while on duty. Neither do they eat or drink. She is therefore served no tea.

"Arinori," says Honjowara
-sama
.

A panel along the wall to the left slides open and the

Chairman's personal aide steps into the room, bows, then kneels.

"What is Sukayo-san
's
condition?"

The aide makes brief use of a portable telecom. "Sukayo-san is still in surgery, Chairman
-sama
."

Honjowara
-sama
nods; then, with his eye still fixed on the aide, he extends a hand toward the room. To Machiko, it seems as though the Chairman gestures directly at her.

The aide says, "The Chief of Surgery at Mather University Hospital informs that Sukayo-san is suffering from multiple trauma injuries, such as would be consistent with the effects of an explosion. Sukayo-san is in a most critical condition. It is not yet known whether he will survive. It is expected that the surgery will continue for several more hours."

Since this news seems directed at her, Machiko bows to express her gratitude. The news is hardly reassuring, but she reminds herself of one inescapable truth. Sukayo is not yet dead. And this leads her to a second greater truth. Her "older brother" has immense force of will and a relentless fighting spirit. If fate but allows it, Sukayo will survive, no matter the degree of his injuries.

Again, Honjowara
-sama
nods. The aide withdraws. Honjowara
-sama
then looks to Bessho Chikayo, chief of the Nagato Corp Directorate of Security.

In Machiko's view, Bessho-san exemplifies the sort of leader whom the Chairman has described many times in discussing the New Way. He appears the meticulous corporate executive. His suit is pure Dunhall Lane, conservative and refined. His manner is polite and dignified. He manages his directorate with efficiency and dedication and tolerates nothing that would hint of gangster tactics from either the Security Service or the Security Defense Force. His hand-picked deputy, chief of operations, Colonel Satomi, is a veteran of the United Canadian and American States armed forces and a former director with the NYPD, Inc.

Bessho-san briefly bows in answer to the Chairman's look, then says, "It will be several hours, Chairman-sun, and in some cases days, before precise details are uncovered. However, I am now able to provide you with a better summary of what has occurred. I will call on my deputy to describe certain technical matters."

Honjowara
-sama
nods. "Proceed."

"We know now that all five of the attacks on members of the Guard were initiated at approximately five minutes past the hour of one a.m. All five members were attacked at locations they have frequented regularly. Sukayo-san, Mitsuharu-san, and Ryokai-san at their condos, Jiksumi-san at the residence of a friend. Machiko-san at her parents' home. In each case, the attackers utilized automatic weapons. In the case of Sukayo-san and Mitsuharu-san, explosives, possibly grenades, were also used."

Zoge-san politely coughs. This man, seated nearest the Chairman on the left, is thin enough to seem gaunt and sufficiently tall that he could be an elf. Yet he is not an elf. He is in fact of Korean lineage. He goes by the name Zoge, "ivory," for it is said the Chairman considers him as valuable as ivory. He is a lifelong friend of the Chairman and one of the Chairman's most devoted servants. He is also an authority on matters of finance and corporation law.

Honjowara
-sama
acknowledges him with a glance.

"How did these attackers gain entrance to the various sites where the GSG were attacked?" Zoge-san asks.

Bessho-san replies, "Moments before the physical assaults began, all five sites were invaded via the Matrix. Physical security systems were thereby neutralized."

"You say these attacks occurred simultaneously."

"That appears to be correct."

Coordinating the efforts of five individual assassins is not a small task. Further coordinating five individual Matrix runs adds yet another layer of complexity. The point does not seem lost on the clan leaders. Several expressions turn particularly grim. Machiko's own regard for the people behind the attacks goes up several notches, and she feels absolutely corroborated on one point of disagreement with Gongoro. Whoever these people are, whatever their strengths and weaknesses, they are anything but amateurs.

"How many of the attackers were taken?" asks Ohana Toyonari, another of the Chairman's close advisors.

"The ones who attacked Sukayo-san, Machiko-san, and Ryokai-razz were killed," Bessho-san replies. "There is evidence to suggest that the ones who attacked Mitshuhari Krai and Jiksumi-san were perhaps wounded before making their escape."

"How did Sukayo-san, who is now near death, manage to kill his attacker?" Ohana-san asks.

Bessho-san says, "It would be premature to attempt to describe this in detail. An autopsy is being performed on the killers as we speak, and we have hopes of learning more from Sukayo-san, should he regain consciousness. However, it is clear from the damage to Sukayo-san's condo that a brief but intense battle occurred. It appears that Sukayo-san was able to inflict a number of wounds on his attacker, perhaps using improvised weapons. His attacker was found a short distance from Sukayo-san's condo. This attacker was apparently fitted with some form of cranial explosive, like the other two attackers we have recovered. A preliminary examination indicates that the one who attacked Sukayo-san would likely have succumbed to blood loss had the cranial device not detonated."

Ohana asks, "What form of cranial device did the attackers carry?"

Bessho-san looks to his deputy, Colonel Satomi, who bows and says, "The exact nature of the device has not yet been determined. But it is clear from the extent of injury inflicted, that the devices used were of a type generally known as microbombs. A small quantity of high-energy explosive, often in gel form, combined with a detonator. The detonator itself may be linked to various bioware such as a pain editor or damage compensator, which monitor pain and injury to the body. The microbombs utilized here were sufficiently powerful to fracture the skull and deform the bones of the face, thus complicating the process of identifying the attackers."