Chapter 21

  As they like to say on the Inside; We're not in Kansas anymore.

  The city is a site I could never have imagined; buildings so high I can't even guess how many floors they have, lights of all sorts everywhere illuminating the night sky. There is a giant wall around the shore for as far as the eye can see, well lit with spotlights. And drones, some the size of a small room, buzzing around in an organized chaos, all around the walls and city like a bunch of angry hornets.

  I'm separated from the rest of the crew, in shackles. The crew are disembarking one by one, walking down a 50 metre long catwalk that's surrounded by a giant tube. There are guards everywhere, most holding what looks like a scanner in their hand. They don't have combat shades, but they have small lenses that articulate like a horizontal blind over their eye occasionally, somehow held in place on their temple. There is a woman on a speaker, as she speaks there is a weird echo. I've been told she's speaking on a universal translator, every known language can understand her.

  “Attention unauthorized passengers: Please declare yourself to report for deportation.” She calls.

  All the passengers are off the boat, they bring me forward.

  “Name.” A man asks. He's dressed different than the others; he has what looks like a revolver but also the most peculiar looking sword, he's dressed head to toe in a snug dark urban camo uniform.

  “You speak English?” I ask. He just looks at me expectantly, “Goliath.”

  “I'm Shimura, Fathers Son taught me English. We've been expecting you. We need to arrest your 'shadow' as the crew has called him. We can get you set with a universal translator once things are settled.”

  His men spread out, scanning the boat. One of them yells, they all head towards him.

  There is a shimmer, Stinger appears in front of Shimura.

  “Sorry, no time to be arrested.” Stinger says, he flicks Shimura in the nose then shimmers. But in that instant, Shimura shimmers as well. In a blur they reappear with a bang as loud as a cannon, Shimura holding Stinger by the waist, they are at the now dented deck wall of the ship. Stinger looks shocked, they both have a trickle of blood running down their nose. Shimura flips Stinger onto the ground.

  Shimura flicks Stinger in the nose, “You're under arrest.”

  They blur, then reappear standing opposing each other; Stinger with his heavy combat machete, Shimura with a katana that has a blue glowing edge that seems to shimmer.

  They charge into a blur of sparks, clanging sounding off like an automatic weapon. They reappear. Stinger has all kinds of cuts on his face and hands that instantly heal, the blood is still there though. Shimura has all kinds of cuts that he's still bleeding from.

  “What is that suit? You should have died.” Shimura says.

  “See, you act like it's the two of us fighting, it's not. It's you versus 4 of us.” His suit moves, covering most of his head.

  “Omae nanke shinee!” Shimura yells and they blur again.

  The blur and noise ramps up, blood lands on the deck around me. Then silence as the katana slides into the deck wall, Shimura's hand still grasping it. They both appear again, breathing heavily, Shimura less one hand. He blurs a moment and the stump is tied off. Another two men dressed like Shimura appear with a shimmer, glowing katanas drawn.

  “Chikusho! You're under arrest!” Shimura yells.

  “I must say, that's the most fun I've had in years. But I need to settle in.” Stinger blurs, the other two blur as well and they all take off down the cat walk.

  He goes over and sprays his severed hand with an aerosol, it looks like it's freeze dried. He hands it to what looks like a paramedic, and other paramedic sprays the stump of his arm, they take his hand away.

  “Ok, I have two hours to have my hand reattached, that gives us a bit of time.”

  “That's not the first time that's happened, is it?”

  He holds out his arm to me; I can see scares further up his forearm that indicate it was indeed not the first time he's lost a hand.

  “Things happen when you move that fast. We'll get you situated shortly, you will be questioned for a long time.”

  There is a commotion, a group of 6 officers in different uniforms appear from the covered catwalk.

  “Kuso... Let me deal with this.” Shimura walks over to a woman with the group.

  The two of them are having a very heated conversation, there is some yelling, then the woman lowers her voice and says something very quiet. I can hear her, her tone is soft, I don't know all the words, but I did make out the word 'trust'.

  They walk over to me. She speaks to a device that's a bit echoey.

  “Greetings, welcome to The Port of Tokyo. Come with me big guy, please have your paperwork ready, we need to process you.” She says.

  “Go with Border Agent Lucy for now, don't say anything until I get back with my hand.” Shimura says.

  “No, the big guy will be speaking to us before we release him.” She says. ”Come with us.”

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  I follow her down the catwalk, a couple of her Agents stay behind, some go ahead. She powers down the hand held device she was using to speak to me and speaks.

  “Um, danger still, we need Charlie, he... he with Father? Shimura not enemy, but not friend. Understand?” She says.

  I nod.

  She unlocks my shackles and lays on the cat walk, reaching under she pulls up a string that gets thicker and thicker until it's a rope end. She stands and turns to me.

  “You lift big guy.” She slaps my bicep with a smile. “Hurry.”

  I pull up what has to be 40 metres of rope. She coils it behind me until I pull up a harness. She squeezes me into the harness, it's uncomfortable snug around my waist.

  “Oh, you big boy, hope it hold, haha, maybe not break. Walk over edge.”

  “Wait...”

  “No other option. You go with Shimura, you slave.”

  “What?”

  She sighs. “Trust, no use device.” She holds up the powered down translator. “It record. Just trust. Tell Charlie teach me English more next time.” She shoves me to the edge of the catwalk.

  “Ok, ok. How do you know Charlie?”

  “We break rules together... we together, not supposed to be. You keep secret.” She says poking me in the chest then putting her finger to her mouth with a wink.

  I can't help but smile; she reminds me of Maria. I stand on the outside of the cat walk.

  “Ok, you drop some, then lower. Drop.” She says.

  I drop down a few metres, the harness between my legs and waist stops me from falling in a most uncomfortable way. I'm lowered some ways. I'm about 5 metres from the ocean before the harness stops. The ocean is a bit rough, a small submarine surfaces, the top opens up, a man yells.

  “Release!” He yells.

  “Release what?” I yell.

  “Da harness.”

  “How?”

  “She dint tell ye?”

  “No, are you Charlie?”

  “Ye.”

  “She said to teach her more English.”

  He curses to himself and shakes his head. “Its on de side, flip de buckle.”

  I flip the buckle and fall to the water. It's a struggle in my soaked clothes in the cold ocean. A round life preserver lands close to me. I grab it and am pulled towards the sub. He helps hoist me up the short mast.

  “Welcome to de SS Inky Winky, I hope ye fit in 'er, yer a big lad.” He says, slapping me on the shoulder.

  He wasn't far off, I had to squeeze myself down the inside of the mast, I find a place where I can squeeze my butt in below, I can't stand upright anywhere. The subs interior seems to be about 4 metres long by 2 and a half wide, there is a clear glass bubble on the front that lets us see the ocean below, a blue light illuminates the outside, bits of seaweed and other debris drift about.

  Charlie squeezes past me. Climbs up and seals the hatch.

  He sits beside our rather angry looking captain, letting a rather loud bit of flatulence go. The Captain of the sub starts yelling at him in Japanese, waving his hand in front of his face, he argues back in a very heavy accent like Father but in Japanese.

  “Leave stinky ass in ocean!” The Captain says, then turns to getting the sub in motion.

  “Look, I can't help it, so much bloody rice...” Charlie turns to me, “How much did Lucy tell you about us?”

  “She said you break the rules together.”

  “Is dat it?”

  “Well, she also implied that you were together and to not tell anyone.”

  “Dammit. She really should have let me... just please don't tell Father or Mother, dey'll want me home if dey find out.”

  “Wait, you look to be the same age as Father, you're his son?”

  “Well not by blood, dink of it like a title.”

  The sub moves smoothly through the water, the sound of the whirling electric engine and swish of the water going by can be heard, the interior lighting a soft purple blue with glowing buttons of all sort. The cramped sub reminds me of the suit I once wore, of Carl with me, a part of me. That's not a feeling I want to get used to again. I bet Jennifer would love this, be fascinated by the ocean drifting past.

  “Ye ok b'y? Ye got all quiet.”

  “Yeah. So, about the training module...”

  He clamps his hand to my mouth, glancing over at the Captain that doesn't even look over. He leans so close I can feel him whisper in my ear, “Don't bring dat up, to anyone. When it's time we'll bring it up wid you. You're safer ere from yur Shadow Friend then anywhere else on de planet. De may ave even caught im.”

  He pulls back, I nod in agreement.

  “How long have you been in Japan?”

  “Over 'tree years. I'm de local Envoy for me Family back home.” He leans close, speaking low, “Yur going to be know as a Cousin of de fam. Think of it as a rank, Cousins are like Sargent's. Story is you speak wid a funny accent 'cause you just spent 'tree years undercover in de Province.”

  “I'M the one with the funny accent?” I say with a bit of a grin.

  “'Oi, don't ye start wid dat! It's bad enough Lucy is give'n me guff over me sound'n different den de English tutorials she played around wid. She keeps asking if I'm speaking de same English.” He says, giving my shoulder a nudge. “So, she let de cat outa de bag wid us. You'll be staying wid us, she 'as a young boy. I know yer a family man so...”

  Frick me, does he not know? I really don't want to talk about it.

  “Ah fuck, I'm sorry der mate. Me mouth was running faster den me brain. I know the broad details, very sorry for what ye go'n through. I couldn't imagine dat.”

  “Yeah, everyone seems to be sorry.”

  “Look, mate. Believe me, I get a lot of what you're going through. Lucy's son Edmund is 25 months old. I've been here for 'tree years. I don't 'ave to fill in de blanks, yah?” I nod. “I'm only telling you because you'll be living wid us, and I ain't going to be lying to me son telling him to not call me Da. One misstep and I'm going to be recalled back to de other side of de world. Neither of our governments want us to be together, let alone having no child.”

  “More than you can imagine I understand your plight. You have my word I will not jeopardize things in any possible way with your son.” I strain to pull my hand around, banging my elbow on the sub wall, but we shake hands as best we can in the cramped quarters.

  The sub slows, the engines whirl in reverse as we come to what looks like a round, barred entry way, about twice the diameter of the sub. A spotlight on the sub turns on, illuminating what looks like a sewer gate. The Captain talks to someone on the radio, the gate swings open. The engines whirl as the sub presses on, through the ancient, stone brick tunnel. After a short while the engines slow as we approach a wall, covered in vegetation that sways with the current.

  Charlie pushes past me and opens the hatch above.

  “Let's go big guy.” he says.

  “You can call me Anthony.”

  “No Goliath?”

  “That was a name from another life others gave me.” I stand and manage to squeeze out of the sub.

  Stepping out on the dock Lucy and a little boy are there. Lucy holds hands with Charlie, but they are distant, talking in Japanese, periodically looking at me.

  “I told him.” Charlie says, looking at me. Grinning, she puts her arms around him and they embrace. A bitter sweet feeling washes over me watching them, but I'm happy they have this moment.