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.
