Amazing Spiderman Issue Seven
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Kazuya placed the phone reciever back in its cradle, unable to believe his
good fortune. The report from one of his wakagashira-hosa, an underling, had
practically delivered the case into his lap.
Pao Leung, one of the Triad's most ruthless leaders, had a fatal weakness
that had just landed for a visit at JAL Tokyo. His daughter, Lan, would be
the key to accomplishing his oyabun's task.
Kazuya had considered using her before, but had discarded the idea.
Kidnapping a Chinese citizen who attended an American university would have
been a disaster. Now that she was on what the Americans called Spring Break,
kidnapping her would be much easier.
He smiled wistfully at the prospect of bringing the Triad leader to his
knees. As the saying went, target the horse if you want to hit the master.
==========================================
//This is crazy,\\ Nabiki thought as she stared at the note on her laptop's
screen. Not for the first time, she found herself wondering if she could
indeed pull off such a scheme as she was planning. Would it work? Would he
take the bait?
The entire plan hinged on that, and Nabiki knew it. She had spent the past
two nights alone drafting and re-drafting the note, analyzing it each time
for anything that could give away her ruse. Finally, she had written a note
that appeared convincing. All that was left was to implement the plan and
see what developed.
Nabiki never gave up when she got on the trail of a juicy secret. If there
was one thing she prided herself on, it was that nothing could be kept from
her inquisitive mind. She sometimes considered a job in the American news
media, she would be a sure bet to unearth even the most well-hidden details
of any story anywhere on earth. However, the pay wasn't all that great when
compared to a life on Wall Street, or trading on the Nikkei.
She pushed the doubts and thoughts of career options out of her mind. At
the moment, Spiderman was her concern. She would learn just how he and
Gosunkugi were connected even if it was the last thing she ever did. Oddly
enough, she didn't really stop to consider that it just might be.
============================================
"Hey, Gos!" Gosunkugi turned at the sound, seeing Kenshiro Sakai waving him
over. Kenshiro, or Ken as many called him, was a thin waif of a man, his
neat brown hair kept in a simple cut. Intense blue eyes gazed with a
constant fervor of excitement from his otherwise plain face, his body
beneath the uniform no more impressive than the average small-fry on campus.
"What is it this time?" Gosunkugi asked, hoping that it wasn't another of
the man's inventions. Ken prided himself as an inventor, despite the fact
that most, if not all, of his "innovations" had a habit of blowing up in his
face. It was a running joke that Ken could screw up an anvil with a ball
bearing.
"I just got finished with a great new invention!" he shouted
enthusiastically, the announcement causing several students to trade nervous
glances and flee for the nearest exit. Ken's gadgets were almost as infamous
as Akane Tendo's cooking, and ellicited a similar response. Gosunkugi,
however, found himself unable to flee as Ken handed him a small piece of
dull grey metal.
"Uh, w-what's this?" he asked, eyeing the device warily.
"THAT, Hikaru, is a portable homing device!"
"A homing device?" Weren't things like that already available?
"And no ordinary one, either!" Gosunkugi watched as Ken dipped into his
bag, producing a small black box. He flashed the small LCD display to
Gosunkugi, a maniacal grin on his face.
"A GPS unit," he said before Gosunkugi could ask. "Actually, it used to be.
Anyway, that little gizmo you're holding transmits a signal set at a very
precise frequency. I re-wired this GPS unit to recognize the signal, and
point you in its direction!"
"Well, that's pretty impressive," Gosunkugi allowed, hoping that the device
wouldn't blow up in his hand.
"See, watch!" Gosunkugi cringed when Ken activated the device, expecting it
to explode on the spot. As the seconds wore on, and no violent disaster
happened, he began to relax a little.
"Look!" Gosunkugi glanced at the screen, the display showing the direction
of and distance between the transmitter and receiver.
"Hey," Gosunkugi said, "not bad, Ken. Not bad at all."
"I can make my fortune with this!" Ken exclaimed, visions of yen signs
dancing in his head. The door to the classroom opened, a student anxiously
poking his head in. Seeing everything more or less normal, he stepped
through the door with the others in tow. Gosunkugi cast a final glance at
the GPS unit, thinking that maybe it could come in handy someday.
====================================================
Pao Lan stepped out of the shower, toweling her hair as she stepped in
front of the mirror. Wiping away the steam that had condensed on the glass,
she hummed a jaunty tune while she discarded the towel and reached for the
nearest hairbrush.
Her wet black hair fell in disarray around her face and shoulders, the
brush straightening out the errant strands. Blue almond-shaped eyes rested
above her porcelain cheeks and full lips with a pert nose in the center. In
her term at Yale, she had drawn the eye of several men on campus. Such
attention flattered her, but her father would flip if he found her dating an
American. And those two bodyguards could be so damn difficult to ditch.
Lan knew her father loved her dearly, but wished time and again that he'd
call off the watchdogs. At times she felt more like his prisoner than his
daughter. Despite that, she still loved him.
She emerged from the bathroom clad in only a towel wrapped tight around her
shapely frame. The deep carpet cushioned her feet as she walked, almost
giving the feeling of walking on a cloud. An enormous bed rested in the
center of the room, easily large enough for four people. Against the wall at
the foot of the bed was an ornate vanity, several drawers resting in the
polished wood structure. The entrance to the walk-in closet was on the
adjacent wall, a picture window on the opposite giving an impressive view of
Tokyo's skyline.
Lan flopped down on the bed, jet lag having sapped her strength. She
briefly considered calling room service for a burger, but was far too tired.
In fact, she had never been so exhausted in her whole life. As she closed
her eyes, she wondered just where the potpourri smell was coming from before
the abyss of sleep claimed her.
=====================================================
They moved with the discipline of trained warriors, quickly and quietly
making their way through the penthouse suite. Two men clad in dark suits lay
face-down on the carpet, their breathing deep and regular. The three paid
them no heed, for time was of the essence.
The scent of the gas, which many would confuse with potpourri, still
lingered in the luxurious room. The smell would fade within the hour, but
the effects would last only another ten minutes.
Lan lay unconscious on the bed, her towel-clad body quite pleasing to their
eyes. Keeping their minds on the job at hand, one pulled her over his
shoulder in a fireman carry and turned to exit the room. The remaining two
followed closely, both sneaking glances up the towel's hem.
======================================================
"WHAT?!" Wu Long flinched at the unbridled rage in Leung's voice. His hand
gripped the telephone's handpiece tighter and tighter, his knuckles going
white from the stress. Leung's face grew bright red, screwing itself into an
expression of animalistic fury as his eyes practically glowed. Whatever the
person at the other end was saying, it couldn't be good news.
With a primal roar, Leung slammed the reciever down on the cradle,
shattering the entire device. Long continued to stare at him, unwilling to
ask what had happened. For the first time in as long as he could remember,
Wu Long was afraid.
"They have her," Leung snarled between clenched teeth.
"Pardon?"
"THOSE YAK BASTARDS KIDNAPPED MY DAUGHTER!" Long felt a cold lump of dread
settle into his stomach like a lead ball. This was most definitely not good
news.
"How?"
"Nevermind how!"
"What are their terms?" This was obviously a ransom kidnapping, but what
could they want? Money? Not likely. There was only one thing Long could
think of. "The case, correct?"
"Very insightful, Fixer," Leung growled, steepling his fingers on the desk
as he took several deep breaths. Long felt his own anger rise at the
audacaty of the Yakuza. Was nothing sacred to them?! "They will send
instructions in five hours. From there, we have another twenty-four to
comply." Leung didn't need to finish. Long knew full well what would happen
if they didn't get their way. Of course, it would probably happen even if
they did.
"Perhaps we could send Doctor Octopus to make the exchange?" Long suggested.
"No! He has already bungled one assignment, and I will not risk it with
Lan's life on the line!"
"We cannot simply stand by and wait!"
Leung rubbed his temples in short circles in a vain attempt to ward off the
oncoming migraine. Long's declaration of the obvious wasn't of any help
either. With a herculean effort of will, Leung managed to bring his whirling
emotions back under control. He needed to think this through as a Triad
leader, not as a father.
The call had been far too short to trace, even for the cutting edge
equipment at his disposal, but reason declared that it had to have come from
close by. Each Yakuza gumi operated within a set narawabi, a territory
established by every oyabun. Gumi from one would not infringe on another's,
gang wars having erupted along bordering narawabi for years. Lan's
kidnapping could have been the result of a rongo, but such alliances were
rare and completely non-binding. No, this was most likely the work of one
individual gumi. But which one?
"What Yakuza cell operates within this region?"
"The Kabudosai," Long answered after a second's thought. The Fixer's eyes
widened after a moment, realization dawning on his features. "Is it possible?"
"Very likely." Someone in the Kabudosai, most likely the oyabun, had to
know just what those cases held, and the power they represented. As such, he
would stop at nothing to gain the other case. With the right connections and
funding, he could develop the weapon and gain unchallenged power over all
the gumi. Leung could not let that happen. But he could not allow Lan to
remain in danger. Not for the first time, Leung recalled the novel
"Catch-22", the no-win scenario. However, Leung didn't believe in the
catch-22. There was a way to solve this, there had to be.
"Raizo Yamata."
"Pardon?"
"He is the oyabun of the Kabudosai, correct?"
"I believe so, sir," Long said, "may I ask where this is heading?"
"He has a wife if I am not mistaken," Leung said, letting the hint hang in
the air. Long, astute as ever, immediately picked up on it.
"We are to kidnap his wife, then," Long said with a smile, "He may not be
expecting this move. But, if we are wrong..."
"I am not." Leung said with unwavernig certainty. "Take her at once."
"Yes, sir." Long said smartly. "Perhaps Doctor Octopus could be of some use?"
"I will call him in."
"Good. We can have her within the hour."
========================================================
//Ahh... This is what I needed,\\ Gosunkugi thought as he swung from
skyscraper to skyscraper, the wind ripping at his frame as the city passed
below. The sun began to gradually sink beneath the towering spires of Tokyo,
the waning light fading as the artificial glow of man-made illumination
tried in vain to take its place.
The past two days had been rather quiet, a relative term in Nerima. He
hadn't found a trace of any flying robots, nor had Nabiki bothered him. He
knew she hadn't given up, though. Maybe she was biding her time?
Gosunkugi fired another web into the distance, the silken strand anchoring
on the edge of another building. Pulling his legs perpendicular to his body,
Gosunkugi swung outward and curved south. His muscles tingled with the
exertion as they expanded and contracted, performing feats of strength few
others could match. He had to admit, web-slinging was great exercise and was
beginning to pay off.
//Aw, what now?\\ he thought as the tingling appeared in the back of his
skull. There was danger nearby, it screamed, and he was getting close to it.
Gosunkugi quickly scanned the air, looking for any signs of flying robots.
Seeing none, he looked to his right and noticed a shattered picture window
not far from his current position. The spider sense pointed him in the
ruined window's direction, but he was hesitant. The last time he stepped in,
he and Nabiki ended up in a world of trouble. He did not want to risk that
again.
Despite that, he still changed course for the window just as a faint scream
reached his ears. Looked like it was time for Hikaru Gosunkugi to play hero
again. Joy.
==================================================
"Get away from me!" she screamed as Otto Octavius stepped closer. The two
men behind him moved in time with his steps, awaiting his signal to move. He
didn't need them, nor did he need to waste his time on such menial tasks.
His research would not be completed if he was not in the lab, couldn't Leung
see that?
"I am afraid not, miss," he said in what was meant to be a gentle tone. "If
you will come with us..."
"NO!"
"Then you leave me no choice." Anxious to be done with it, he reached out
for her with his top two tentacles. The red-haired fortyish woman attempted
to run past them, a futile move but not unexpected.
"Let her go!" shouted a voice from behind just before the sound of someone
hitting the floor reached his ears. Before he could turn to face that
familiar voice, twin strands of webbing wrapped around his midsection.
"SPIDERMAN! How did you get here?"
"Easy, I swung thought the city and right though the window," he said
sarcastically, "any more questions?"
"GET THE WOMAN!" he shouted, indignance rapidly boiling to rage, "I'll deal
with the wall-crawler!"
"Don't think so!" Spiderman shouted as he moved to intercept the two
lackeys. With a roar, Octavius ripped his tentacles free of the webbing and
sent one streaking toward's Spiderman's head. The costume-clad man dodged
the strike, the next one missing by centimeters as he leapt up to the ceiling.
"You can't dodge me forever!" Octaius exclaimed as his metal tentacles
slashed and struck at his nemesis. He still had to pay the little twerp back
for the humiliation he endured at the warehouse, and the sooner the better.
//He's right,\\ Gosunkugi thought as he desperately leapt between Doc
Ock's onslaught. In such a closed space, his maneuverability was severely
limited and just avoiding the other's blows was a challenge in and of
itself. There was no way he would get to the woman at this rate!
A well-placed swipe slammed hard into Gosunkugi's back, sending him sailing
into the far wall by the door. He heard the surface crack under the sudden
impact, bright spots of color dancing in his vision as he tried to shake off
the effects. His spider-sense flared suddenly, prompting him to dodge left
just before another strike impaled the wall where his head once was.
//No more of this!\\ Gosunkugi hurriedly charged out of the still-open
door, running for all he was worth as the sounds of the wall crumbling and
supports splintering filled the space. A few doors opened as people peeked
out to get a look at all the commotion. Startled shouts and screams mingled
with the slamming of doors as Doc Ock burst from the room and into the hall.
"Get back here, Spiderman!" he heard the Doc shout, "We are not through yet!"
"Love to oblige, Doc!" Gosunkugi shouted in reply as he dodged a stabbing
thrust from a tentacle, "but I gotta run! Places to go, people to save, that
kinda thing!" Had he stopped to think about it, Gosunkugi would have been
amazed at how easily the quips and one-liners came while he wore the
costume. However, having a crazed maniac with four extra limbs chasing him
took priority at the moment.
He leapt aside as another tentacle lanced the air next to him. He
desperately searched for a way out, finding the door to the emergency
stairwell standing open.
//BINGO!\\ Without a second's pause, he made for the darkened doorway, the
sound of Doc Ock's pursuit not far behind. Not bothering with the stairs,
Gosunkugi immediately attached himself to the closest wall and began a mad
scramble up the cold concrete surface.
"Do you really think you can escape me?" Doc Ock's voice echoed in the
close confines of the stairwell. The sound of metal clanking onto the stairs
and railing filled the air as Gosunkugi continued his climb. Not much farther...
"The thought crossed my... MIND!" The last came out a surprised shout as he
narrowly avoided another strike that left a small hole in the reinforced
concrete. He kept dodging in a random zig zag pattern, leaping from spot to
spot on the walls of the stairwell as he fought to keep ahead of Doc Ock's
tentacles.
As he neared the top, he felt a light vibration in the surface of the
walls. Paying it no heed, Gosunkugi made a final leap toward the topmost door.
The metal door burst outward as Gosunkugi collided with it, the wind
hitting him with surprising force as the noise of rotors chopping the air
filled his ears. Ahead of him hovered a jet black helicopter, its running
lights off as it rested a few meters above the gravel rooftop. Below it was
the woman he had seen in the apartment earlier, flanked by two armed men.
//A HELICOPTER?!\\ Gosunkugi had to admit, it made for a flashy exit, but
why use a helicopter? Why not be more subtle? And why kidnap some woman in a
penthouse apartment?
The sound of gunfire joined the roar of the rotors, bullets pocking the
raised entryway as Gosunkugi leapt clear. The one on the right ceased fire,
siezing a rope ladder that had been dropped from the chopper. Before
Gosunkugi could move to stop him, the doorway to the stairwell exploded in a
shower of brick and mortar.
"Don't you ever quit!" He shouted as Doc Ock climbed out of the ruined
entryway.
"NEVER!"
Gosunkugi cast a split-second glance at the helicopter as the remaining man
climbed into it. If he stayed and fought Doctor Octopus, he'd lose them for
sure. He had to get to it somehow.
The helicopter remained in place as Gosunkugi leapt around his six-armed
nemesis. What was it waiting for?
//Doctor Octopus!\\ Wu Long's voice shouted in his ear over the small
transmitter, //Come on! We don't have time to waste on Spiderman!\\
"He is mine!"
//You can kill him later! Get up here!\\
Doctor Octavius began to make his way back to the waiting chopper,
tentacles flying in a futile attempt to squash Spiderman as he went. Long's
voice continued to shout for him, driving his irritation to new heights as
he retreated. After a few seconds, he hooked his top two tentacles to the
foot rail of the waiting helicopter, the force of the suden lift catching
him by surprise. The roof began to rapidly shrink as the helicopter gained
altitude, Spiderman reducing to a small blue and red dot on the surface.
Grunting in disappointment, he pulled himself back into the chopper as it
sailed above the darkening city.