[ Contents | 1. The Student | 2. The Lord of Monsters | 3. What Life Has to Offer ]
The radio crackled. "The somni-inducer is in place, Colonel," said the voice of Dr. Soliere over the earpiece nestling in the tall, black-haired man's ear.
Colonel Jerome Sebastien Dark smiled, showing perfect white teeth; things were going as planned. He turned to the man beside him, his long black ponytail swaying with the sudden movement of his head.
"I told you that you worried too much, Pie Pie," he said with rich, aristocratic British accent.
The man he addressed stared back at him blankly--which was to be expected, for much of his head was cybernetic reconstruction, including his eyes. His narrow, hard mouth--which was his own, not a mechanical replacement--flattened out from a frown into an expressionless line. He sniffed.
"I do not 'worry', but I will not be satisfied until Soliere has that monster fully wired," Tao Pie Pie said coldly to the broad-shouldered, sharp-featured commander. "This is no mere dinosaur!" He frowned again. "A creature of this magnitude... if it gets loose and I have to deal with it, you will pay me an additional 100 million zenni!"
"Of course, my dear Pie Pie. I shall dock the surcharge from Mathieu's pay if he is so careless," Dark smiled indulgently at the fretful assassin. He flipped open a small video communicator. "Perimeter Security One--report!"
The communicator came to life, revealing the scowling face of a gorgeous blonde woman. "Colonel Dark, all is secure! No air or sea-surface traffic."
Dark smiled again. "Thank you, Mistress Lunch. Carry on."
"Perimeter Security Two--report!"
Again the communicator crackled; this time two green, almond-shaped eyes stared out of a beautiful young woman's face. Light and shadow played across her high cheekbones in shifting waves; she was beneath the water. "All is secure, Colonel. No sub-sea traffic, and the seismographs indicate no subterranean activity."
Dark smiled and glanced at Tao Pie Pie. "Thank you, Mist. Carry on." He looked at Tao Pie Pie again. "Your apprentice does well; she is a credit to you--and well worth the extra fee."
Tao Pie Pie smiled coldly. "Of course. She is my apprentice."
Dark nodded politely, blue eyes glittering. "Of course."
Dark's earpiece crackled again. "Soliere, here. The main assembly is in place, and I'm ready to implant the control harness."
Dark flipped the curved wire-mike up from its resting place below his chin to in front of his mouth. Hard lips curved up in a wicked smile. "Excellent! You may proceed, Dr. Soliere."
Tao Pie Pie tensed; this was always the riskiest part of the operation. At least they were on dry land this time; if he had to fight a rogue monster, there were places to land and solid footing. He hated fighting over water--though the late Dr. Gero had long ago assured him that the cybernetic replacements were just as waterproof as his own flesh, Tao Pie Pie had a fear of what might happen if damaged cybernetics were plunged into all-too-conductive seawater.
After several tense moments, Dark's earpiece crackled again. "Soliere, here. The control harness has been successfully implanted and the external somni-inducer removed. Somni-inducer functions were successfully switched over to the control harness; operation complete. Over and out."
Dark smiled cruelly. "Perfect!" He whispered, "Gojira is mine!"
* * * *
A ruddy sun sank from a clear red sky into a blood-red sea. The Sykes Line freighter Maria Sykes was three days out of port and well ahead of schedule. Captain Surokawa looked over the weather report; nothing more serious than scattered thundershowers. Good--not that he was worried about anything less than a hurricane; he ran a tight ship and had a good crew. However, coming in ahead of schedule for the fifth time in succession certainly couldn't hurt his upcoming evaluation.
A few hours after sunset, Captain Surokawa looked up from his desk. Something was wrong; the whole ship vibrated. Then came a noise like an old rusty hinge screeching as it was forced open--a hinge the size of a building, deep underwater.
"What the--??" Captain Surokawa cursed, and grabbed for the nearest rail as the ship heaved upwards--
The ship heaved upwards as the pressure wave hit it, and then shuddered as the hull buckled from below. The shattered hull was forced up--in the last instant of his life, the Captain glimpsed something grey and spiky, with mad yellow eyes--and then the hull split apart with a horrid groan of twisted metal, crushing and drowning all within.
Something huge flung its head back and screamed that terrible rusty hinge noise at the sky, once, and then dove.
* * * *
On a certain remote island, an grey-uniformed aide handed a message to Tao Pie Pie as the assassin entered his employer's presence. His cybernetic eyes shifted focus to study the message, and a thin smile spread across his face as he handed the message to Colonel Dark. "Mistress Lunch reports that they have accomplished their mission, and will be departing for base with the prisoners tomorrow night." The assassin smiled unpleasantly.
Colonel Dark smiled back, very pleased. "Excellent! I shall have to commend her; I did not expect success so soon!" He leaned back in his command chair. "And Gojira's mission?"
"The ship reached the zone of operation a day early. After Gojira is done, the Seatopians should be able to recover the cargo." Tao Pie Pie frowned.
"What is it, Pie Pie?" Dark asked, alerted by his subordinate's discomfiture.
"The Seatopians are not to be trusted," Tao Pie Pie said. "They hate you, and obey only under duress. You should destroy them now, before they find a way to cause trouble."
"They can do nothing. We control their god-monster Megalon, and they know it! In any case," he waved one hand languidly, "they hate all surface dwellers. Even if we did not exploit them, they would hate us for stirring up the deep sea monsters." Colonel Dark noted Tao Pie Pie's persistent frown and added, "When we are done with them, I will dispose of them. I do not leave vengeful enemies at my back, but for now, I have need of their talents--and I will pay you no extra fees for them! If they betray us, their civilization dies that much sooner."
"That does answer certain of my questions." Tao Pie Pie's cold smile returned. "Who is next on the schedule--Gamera? Or.."
Dark's piercing blue eyes glared at him, and his smile faded to a tight line. "Have you anything to report on Monster Zero?"
Tao Pie Pie shook his head, wincing internally. Damn that he had to bring up that topic again! The missing Monster Zero was a sore point with Dark, who particularly wanted the winged leviathan. "Your best sources indicate that what's left of him might be found at the bottom of Lake Vaikal...." Tao Pie Pie paused, waiting for Dark to pick up the implications.
Dark almost frowned. "In the People's Republic." It was not a question, it was a statement.
"Yes. The High Command has not been... cooperative. They seem to think you have enough monsters to deal with their southern neighbor. You will have to secure the Republic to obtain the monster you desire to secure the Republic.." the assassin shrugged.
Dark began to pace. "A pity; I had hoped to get more out of our alliance with the People's Republic before destroying them. We have Gojira, Rodan and Barugon as mobile assets. A decapitating strike, taking out the Politburo and the High Command, should throw the Army into enough confusion that only a few monsters will be necessary to secure the country." The grey-uniformed colonel tapped his thumbs together, thinking; then glanced at Tao. "What is the current status on the rest of our assets?"
Tao Pie Pie nodded. "Megalon is in reserve to insure the good behavior of the Seatopians. Reptilicus is in reserve because he is simply too slow and vulnerable--though his incredible regenerative ability makes up for a great deal. That over-sized shrimp of Soliere's--Ebirah?--is strictly water-breathing and useless for anything practical, in spite of what Dr. Soliere claims."
"Ah, yes." Dark nodded dismissively. "Obstacles?"
"When Mistress Lunch arrives with her prisoners, the possibility of Mothra's interference is eliminated. As for Gamera, your people may have located the child who can summon him--"
"You have? Good." Dark's smile turned less wintery. "Deal with the child correctly, and Gamera will not be a problem."
Tao Pie Pie smiled cruelly. "Kill the boy?"
Dark stopped smiling. "One of the things I value you for is your intelligence, Tao. You are rapidly decreasing in value right now."
Tao Pie Pie winced; he hated being called by his family name. It was disrespectful--and he would have killed anyone else who dared call him that, paying customer or not--but he deserved it this time. "Ah. How stupid of me! Yes, harming the child who summons Gamera would be.. unwise. Simply watch him, then?"
"No. Arrange to have his parents win a all-expenses-paid trip to Disney World for the whole family, or something like that. Make sure he's on the other side of the world, and happily involved in something that demands his entire attention when we commence our final stage of operations." Colonel Dark smirked.
Tao Pie Pie also smirked. "Of course!" He shook his head. "I seem to have forgotten the art of subtlety over the years." He bowed to Dark. "The student teaches the master."
* * * *
CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 3. What Life Has To Offer
[ Contents | 1. The Student | 2. The Lord of Monsters | 3. What Life Has to Offer ]
Disclaimer: See Credits.
Copyright 2001 by Dragoness Eclectic
Last Updated: Mar 8, 2009