the dojo in a fog. The words of his
Sensei came back to him time and time again. Still unable to grasp the full
meaning of the lesson, Iaido rearmed himself and moved out into the streets of
New Atlanta.
Chapter 7
As he watched his favorite pupil depart, Sensei was
filled with sadness.
Even now, he wished he could’ve told him more but
the words of honor spoken in the past still bound him as secure as iron. Taking
one last look around his garden, the old man slowly made his way past the koi
pond and the cherry trees to return once more to the shrine. As he knelt before
the sacred altar, the Sensei wasn’t surprised to find the second sword of
Musashi missing.
“You can come out now. We are alone.”
A dark shape moved out of the shadows to stand
before the old man. Dressed in black, the shadows seemed to cling to his frame,
masking the true form underneath. Brief hints of the figure could be gleaned if
one stared long enough. When the shadow spoke, it was in a hoarse whisper.
“Hello Sensei.”
“The prodigal son returns,” Sensei said without
looking up. “Have you returned home only to kill those that love you?”
“Love?” The shadow spit out the word. “Love is for
weak fools. What most would call love is the lust between two primitive species
drawing them together to help procreate the race.”
The shadow lifted the ancient blade and pointed it
at the old man. The firelight glinted off its razor sharp edge. “I just came to
New Atlanta to pay back some old debts and collect a few things. This is one of
them.” He rested the ancient blade against the Sensei’s neck. “I’m only going
to ask this once, where is the sword’s twin?”
“Gone. I sent it away.”
“That was foolish old man.”
“No. It was the honorable thing to do.” The Sensei
looked up at the shadowy figure for the first time. “I knew this day would
come. No one believed me about you. I knew you were flawed from the beginning.
I knew your heart wasn’t pure.”
“Pure? I may be different from my brethren, more
enlightened maybe but none of us were pure. No thanks to those of you on the
project board.”
Seeing the look of shock on the old man’s face,
the shadow laughed a husky chuckle.
“Yes, I know your true role in our creation. That
fool Achilles doesn’t but I am no fool.”
“So, I am to die? So be it, I have lived a good
life. My karma is clean.”
“You think I want to kill you?” The shadow shook his
head. “I have something more devious in mind.”
Looking past the shadows that clung to the figure,
Sensei finally locked eyes with those of his wayward pupil. For the first and
last time of his life the Sensei knew fear.
Chapter 8
After leaving the dojo, Iaido made his way to the
scene of his friend’s death and took the elevator to the thirty-second floor.
It had been nearly two years since he had last seen his friend.
Even if he had never been to the apartment, it
would’ve been obvious which apartment had been the Sgt. Major’s due to the
bright yellow ‘Do Not Cross’ police tape stuck to the doorway. However, someone
had cut the security seal and the door was slightly ajar. Iaido removed his
dark shades and tucked them into a pocket.
Drawing his Graver Mark 7 energy pistol, he
toggled the switch to power it up before he pushed open the door with his foot.
Using the doorframe as a barricade, he scanned the apartment for any hostiles.
Nothing moved.
The apartment was in shambles. If a tornado had
landed in the living room, it couldn’t have made more of a mess. Someone had
been through the apartment looking for something and didn’t care if they
destroyed everything to find it.
Iaido moved slowly through the apartment with his
weapon at the ready.
The study was only halfway trashed as if whoever
was searching had been interrupted. The desk had been overturned and the
drawers pulled out and smashed. The Sgt. Major’s pictures and medals
Dean Wesley Smith, Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Martin A. Lee, Bruce Shlain