The Collab...

Chapter 70

By Shell97

Out of breath, Phoenix Mark opened the door with both his bound hands. He entered the doorway, only to come face to face with the black chasm of a high quality MA 275. Smiling he raised his handcuffed hands in an effort to look vulnerable. "Hey Linc, could ya help a guy out?"

Slowly, the older man lowered his handgun. With a trained eye he looked the hunter over. "Sure, after you step inside and tell me what happened."

Kusanagi was the name he had chosen for himself when he joined the Syndicate. He never expected that one day he'd be driving Hihori Yodama. The young leader of the Syndicate was amazing, a human dynamo, issuing orders and making preparations, all from behind a strange wooden mask.

Kusanagi pondered the oddness of the wooden mask as Yodama approached the vehicle. Startled, he rushed to open the car door for him. "Sorry, sir."

Hihori answered him with a curt nod. He couldn't worry about social niceties right now. What really mattered was ridding the world of Dalasius--for good.

It was to this end that Hihori travled to the Core now. The drive was short, but it still left him time to brood over recent developments--like his face. In reality, the damage wasn't all that bad. His bone structure had been ruined by Darian's tumbling bullet but is wasn't anything modern plastic surgery couldn't fix. But in Hihori's mind it was the ruination of the perfection of his face that bothered him. His skin was no longer an even creamy tone, it was blochy and Dr. Itoga's handiwork stood out in shocking blue. It would be another week before the stiches came out but he already knew that he would scar. It was impossible not to after sustaining such damage. The small details mattered very much to Yodama. After all, he could only be viewed as grotesque.

The car stopped at the first security checkpoint. Yodama waited patiently while his driver hurried to open the door for him. He waited patiently, and contemplated what he'd do if Darian happened to appear.

Byrce could hear his blood pumping in his ears. He didn't know what to do. Everything seemed to be crashing down around his head. Talehn looked like he felt the same way. This would make quite a story, Byrce thought. The only thing needed now was the ending. He anticipated that it would be coming soon when he heard the door to their prison begin to open.

Talehn and Byrce had no choice but to watch the door apprehensively. To their surprise and relief, it opened on a stocky middle aged man.

"David!" Talehn said in disbelief. "What are you doing?"

David shook his head. "I'm the one who should be asking you that, Talehn. What did you think you were doing?"

Talehn stared, his mouth hanging open. Finally, he found his voice. "You could get in a lot of trouble for this," he told his former assistant technichian.

David smiled and shrugged. "It wouldn't be the first time. Hurry up, Sammy's waiting in the car."

Talehn didn't move. "I can't," he looked at Byrce. "There are some things I need to do first. Thanks for opening the door, but I can't go with you."