Chasing Chase

1

Ken Hayata rode down to the coast. His bike ticked quietly as it rolled along the highway. He had worked feverishly to repair the damage from his battle with the concrete woman's underlings.

The American had agreed to face them in a place of their choosing. That had not been wise in Ken's opinion. He had done it to save the bike rider's life. That had made things worse for the young hero.

Ken had thought he was saving the other man's life. Having it turned around was humiliating to him.

He wondered how much of a headstart everyone else had on him. He would have to move fast if he wanted to make it to the meeting place in time to pay the American back. The man didn't need him, but he was going to try to help anyway.

He paused where the highway gave a great view of the ocean. He would have to cross to China, and make his way to the meeting place, then back, without anyone knowing where he had come from in the first place. His armor was tough, but military grade weaponry would give him a problem if he was spotted by the authorities.

He considered what he was about to do as he watched the ocean from the high cliff. He was about to risk everything to save a stranger, who probably didn't need him. Was he acting out of altruism, or pride? Was paying the man back an excuse for revenge?

Where were these thoughts coming from? They were totally alien to his normal experience. He wondered if crossing into China was throwing unaccustomed fear across his determination.

He only knew of one way to handle something like that. If you wavered in your course, you threw yourself in your chosen direction with new determination.

Ken swung his bike to face the guard rail. He poured on the speed. At the last second, he raised the front tire and boosted over the railing with jets. He started down to the ocean's surface.

He activated the transformation sequence as he fell. His bike wrapped him in a suit of armor. He fired the jets to let him pause before he hit the water. Then he sank below the surface.

That had went better than he had planned. Now came the hard part.

His armor gave him green lights all the way across the board. He had enough air for a day of travel underwater. His jets would give him enough speed to make the crossing with several surfacings, while keeping him close to the time Chase would have his showdown.

He was cutting it close. He hoped to make up time once he was on land and headed for the interior. His map feature should help him move in a straight line to the meeting place. That should save some time for him.

The only problem he could foresee was with the authorities. He decided to stay away from major population centers as much as possible. He didn't want to shoot a Chinese cop with his stun gun because the man was trying to stop him.

He was a hero, and he only wanted to fight bad guys.

And as much as he didn't agree with the Chinese government, he was going to be the bad guy when he made landfall.

Ken let the armor do the swimming for him. He reviewed his course work as he rocketed toward the continent. He needed to make sure he had the papers ready to go when he returned from his mission.

He had to return from the mission first. Having it done before he did, would be a bonus.

He paused in his dictation to watch the sea life flee from his metal craft as he coasted along. His computer reminded him to keep working.

He headed for the surface when his air alarm sounded later than he had expected. He checked the gauge. He was breathing less than he should be. He smiled at that.

His position indicator put him right on course. He should expect to see land soon, unless he hit a current to slow, or hasten, his progress.

As soon as his tank was full again, he headed for the deep. He didn't want to get caught by coast guard before he even reached the shore.

Ken finished his school work and saved it for transmission back to base when he hit the surface again. He would turn it in when he got home. He turned his attention to the fish fleeing from him as he knifed through the water.

He smiled as even sharks looked worried as he passed. He made sure he had a shell ready just in case one of them got aggressive. Attacks on divers weren't unknown.

He didn't want to use a punch shell on an innocent shark, but he wasn't going to have one latch on him and try to bite through his shell.

He smiled when the shore appeared in his monitor screen. He checked for any vessel that might see him when he surfaced. He was in the clear.

He found himself in a dock area. He pulled himself up a column to get to the paved loading area. He looked around. He didn't see anyone.

He had to get out of the yard and out on the street. Once he did that, he could revert the armor to a bike and ride away. He would look like any other bike rider in the country.

He moved with stealth to the edge of the yard. He spotted a guard patrolling the loading area. He waited for the man to walk away. He jumped over the fence. He walked into an alley to get away from the traffic on the road.

Ken activated the transformation sequence again. He pulled out with the traffic. His helmet translated the signs so he could move around without violating the traffic laws. His helmet pointer showed him the direction, even if he couldn't drive in a straight line to his destination.

At some point he would have to leave the road behind and cross the country on robotic feet. He decided to enjoy the road as much as possible until he reached that point.

If he was caught out in the open in his armor, he would have to do whatever he could to get away. He wasn't about to let his technology to fall in anyone else's hands.

He certainly wasn't about to let it fall in the Chinese government's hands.

Ken rode along until he found something marked as a rest stop. He pulled in and locked his bike down. He needed the chance to use the facilities and look around for a place to eat.

He realized his first mistake. He had forgotten to bring the right currency to operate in the country. He was broke and couldn't buy anything.

He rubbed his face at the realization. He had to complete his mission without food, or water. Why hadn't he thought of that back home?

He used the restroom as he thought. Maybe he could lift the money from the right people.

He wondered who would be considered the right people?

2

Cindy Taggert walked out of the airport in Hong Kong. She went straight for the car with a driver that was waiting for her. She gestured for him to start driving as she got in the back seat.

She had come a long way to kill someone. She didn't have time to be polite to a flunky.

She wanted Cory Chase's head on a stick before the rest of her face cracked away after what he had done to her.

Her first attempt had ended in a disaster thanks to the interference of some guy in a suit of armor. No one had expected that. At least that loser was out of the picture thanks to one of her minions.

Chase had promised a rematch if they met him at some village in the interior. She planned to be there to get rid of him before he cropped up in some other plan she wanted to carry out.

She wanted to show her sister what happened when someone got in her way. Chase's head on a pike would do that. Diana would even cry about it.

That would make her day complete.

Then she planned to do something to that furball her sister had married to really dump her sister in sorrow and despair.

She needed to find Chase first before she went ahead with the rest of her schemes. This little chase had cost her some money, and distracted her from things she should be handling back in the States.

Some gimp probably thought he could take her place while she was going about her personal business. She might have to make examples if that happened while she was away.

A phone rang in the car. She glanced around in the back. The driver held up a cell for her.

"Talk." Cindy held the phone to the side of her head that didn't have the plaster fix on it. Sometimes she could hear air escaping the hole where things weren't sealed as perfectly as she wished.

It was something that she owed Chase.

The voice on the other end reported what he knew with brief phrases. He was careful. Even cells could be tapped with the right equipment these days.

She frowned at the news. What was wrong with this guy? He made no attempt at being circumspect at all. Now two of her rivals wanted him dead too.

Why had he kidnaped a Mafia princess? Didn't he know what the girl's father would do to him? Was he counting on being able to take everyone on and walking away?

She planned to make sure he didn't do that at all. If anyone got in her way, they would go down too.

She had been in the villain business too long to have some kid dump on her and live to tell. That was bad for business. Everyone would start thinking they could do that and then she would lose everything.

She didn't plan to let that happen.

"Take me to the hotel." She handed the phone back. She had to make sure her minions were at the meeting place. Then they would go after this upstart and get rid of him once and for all.

She planned to be flying back home in a few days, maybe a week at the most.

If it took longer than that, she might as well retire. No one would hire her to take care of business. They would think she couldn't handle things anymore.

The driver cut through traffic smoothly. He remained silent during the trip. He stopped in front of the hotel and got out to open the door for his passenger. She brushed by him and headed into the building.

The driver took the car around the corner to a parking garage. He settled in with a paper while he waited. He had a feeling this latest passenger wouldn't be staying long.

She had the look of someone who only paused before doing something bad to anyone in her way.

Cindy crossed the lobby to the elevator. She got on and rode up to her floor. She didn't need a key. One of her men should be waiting there for her. If he wasn't, he wouldn't be going home.

One of the doors opened for her. Her man smiled slightly when he saw her. She glowered at him to show she was in charge of the show.

"Are we ready to move out?" She pushed past him. She didn't want to have this conversation in front of the whole hotel.

"Yes." He stepped in the room and shut the door. "Some of the mercenaries are already headed to the next stop. The master left directions."

He handed over the sheet of paper. Precise sentences told her what to do to catch up to her hirelings. A simple map had been drawn at the bottom of the page.

"This says this place is a long walk from the nearest train station." She gave him a look.

"He said the masters tended to persuade the builders to keep things away from the village." He shrugged. "Something about it being good for their training."

"How many men were you able to get?" Cindy tucked the directions away in a pocket.

"About twenty." He frowned. "I couldn't arrange for more on short notice."

"That will have to do." She looked around the room. "Where are they?"

"I sent them ahead with the others." He gestured at the windows. "They should already be heading north on the train."

"What about the two syndicates also chasing our guy?" Cindy didn't want to start a war with other networks over one man. She would if they hindered her.

"They flew to the nearest airport, and are moving overland to the village." He took out his phone. "I have a local watching them for us."

"How fast are they moving?" Cindy had heard that both of the leaders of the syndicates were city men. She doubted their personal interest had made them move fast out of their natural environment.

"Not as fast as our men, or the mercenaries." Her contact smiled slightly. "I have been asked for permission to get rid of them."

"Tell our men to leave those others alone unless running into them is unavoidable." Cindy knew her reputation had took a hit with that pronouncement. "We only want to kill one man. Killing two syndicate cores is something we do when we have to go to war with them."

"I'll send the word out." He reached for his phone. "Do you want to get something to eat before moving on?"

"I want you to get me on the next transportation to catch up with our men." Cindy started for the door. "Then I need you to make sure we have transportation overland to get to this hole in the wall."

"Everything is already arranged in country." The contact joined her at the door. "I called some people we know to arrange for horses."

"Let's go then." She headed for the elevator.

The contact grabbed a coat and a travel bag with heavy clothes in it for where they were headed. He hid his displeasure at leaving Hong Kong. He didn't want to have some broken limbs for lipping off to the boss.