Waiting longer than he had wanted, Stone and Mariko left the dojo. He had made her change clothes before they left. Mariko had came out dressed in her kevlar reinforced bodysuit. Stone had shook his head. This was a recon mission, he told her. She had left, and she returned dressed in a blue evening dress. It was somewhat sheer, with a slit up the side that showed her shapely, tanned legs.
Michael was dressed in one of his best Armani silks. He looked every bit the part of a wealthy American businessman. Mariko looked as much like an expensive Japanese prostitute. Their facade was a shroud for two deadly hunters of vampires.
Stone drove Mariko's four-door Toyota down the winding mountain road. It was night, and it was cold. The car's heater had not yet warmed the interior of the car. Stone could still see his breath. A glance at Mariko's chest showed the outline of prominent and hardened nipples atop the swell of her breasts. Outside, a brilliant moon shined upon the landscape. The lights of Tokyo skylined before them.
"You seem impatient, Stone-sensei," Mariko noticed.
Michael glanced quickly at her. "You need to get used to calling me only 'Michael'", he told her. He received a polite nod. "And, I may seem that way, but I am not. However," he added, "I am ready to see this particular mission end. I had plans for a vacation."
"A vacation?" Mariko smiled. "To what part of the world are you off to?"
Stone smiled slightly. She probably thought that he would go to Paris, Rome, or maybe the Austrian Alps. To him, however, a vacation meant a trip home.
"To see my father," he answered.
Mariko's eyes widened in astonishment. She had assumed that Stone was like most other hunters in The Organization. An orphan. She was, and she had no idea who her parents were.
Stone nodded. "He has a farm in Indiana," he began. He then told her the story. Stone's father, John, had been a hunter as well. John Stone was one of the few in The Organization's long history to become a Director. John was not appointed by a government. He had been selected by The Organization's Council of Directors based on 'job performance'. It wasn't long after that John Stone's wife, Jeanine, became pregnant. She died shortly after Michael was born. She was killed by a vampire. Michael's father had designed much of the parameters within which the present-day hunters operated. He had retired ten years ago.
Michael maneuvered the car through the crowded streets. The neons glared upon the black paint, shining their hideous light without mercy. Stone parked the car in a partially sheltered area that belonged to a photographic equipment company. They were within a block of the target area. An area that Osato-sensei had remarked as being possible hunting ground. It was area filled with nightclubs. Nightclubs that particularly catered to the appetites of businessmen, both American and Japanese alike.
It was the third one that they entered that made Michael's blood chill. Inside, with the garish neon lights bathing them in an eerie glow, were vampires. Stone slowed his breathing, centering himself, assuming the posture of the wind. He glanced, and to his relief, saw that Mariko had done the same.
They took a table, where a waiter took their orders for drinks. Stone then took Mariko by the hand, pulling her to her feet. They headed to the dance floor, where speakers blared out a hip-hop song in Japanese.
Stone held Mariko close as they began to gyrate their hips to the music of the bump-and-grind beat. He spoke into her ear. "They are all around us," he said to her. "Male and female. I have never seen such a concentration of them in one place."
Mariko felt his breath as it tickled her ear. She reached up and smoothed her shiny, black hair away from her face. She pressed her ear closer to him, feeling the light brush of his lips against it. A shudder ran through her. Her arms went around his neck, pressing her pelvis against his leg, riding his strong thigh. "What do we do?" she asked, looking up at him.
"We wait," he told her. "This is a recon mission. Stay centered and focused. We will return in daylight."
She started to speak again, but Stone silenced her with a slight smile. He then pushed her away from him, and took her hand. He pulled her from the dance floor and headed towards the exit.
Outside, Stone glanced up. The building was as he thought. It was tall, at least four stories. There were no windows at all above the first floor. A likely nest for the creatures, he knew.
Michael and Mariko disappeared onto the crowded sidewalks. They had walked for half a block when Mariko suddenly looked up at him. "The car is back that way," she said.
Michael nodded his head. "I know," he said. "Keep walking."
"What is wrong?"
"They knew we were human sooner than I knew they were vampires," he told her. "There is one following us now."
Mariko knew better than to turn around. But, she did not know what to do.
Stone understood this without her having to say it. "Taking her out is our only option," he said.
"Her?"
Michael nodded. "She was standing near the door when we entered the club. Japanese. Short hair. Wearing a black leather skirt."
Mariko nodded again. "I remember her," she said. "How did you know?" She had been trained in their recognition, but she saw no tell-tale movements, or the extreme blank stares from this one.
"It comes after many years of experience," Stone answered. "You learn to pick up on the vibe that they give off after a while. The only way you can do this," he explained, "is when you shut off all your mental emissions, and exist only in mushi-no-in."
Michael looked at her intently as they turned the street corner. "The reason we left so quickly is because I knew that you had slipped your concentration. They felt you. Instantly they knew that you were afraid. So did I."
"How?"
"I could sense it," he said. "And you are afraid now."
Mariko looked down at the sidewalk. Stone pulled her close, then quickly turned into an alleyway that ran behind several shops. They walked a few paces into the alley, to the point where the lights from the street only cast shadows. Michael pushed her up against the cold wall. He put his strong hands on her thighs, prodding gently for her to open her legs. Mariko complied, moving the slit of her dress high, opening her strong, tanned legs. Michael slipped in between them. He looked into her eyes.
"She will be here any second now. Be ready." Mariko nodded, then looked down, between them. Stone was quietly fitting a small sound suppressor onto the muzzle of his Glock 36.
Mariko noticed that Stone's lips were only a fraction of an inch from hers as he spoke. "You will have to tell me when," he said.
Mariko watched out of her left eye. She saw the opening of the alley. There were a few people passing by, some thirty yards or so across the street. Then she saw the vampire.
The female turned quietly off the street. It seemed to see the two figures against the wall. Either they were about to do it, or they had just finished. Mariko saw the vampire smile. She came down the alley at a slow pace. Smiling. A brilliant smile. And then Mariko saw the fangs.
"Now," she breathed.
