James stared at the phone as if it were about to bite him.

  “What? No!” he exclaimed, putting the phone back to his ear. “What do you mean, took out?”

  “Do I need to switch to English?” Shion asked. “Dey ez down for da count,” she said, in what James could have sworn was an attempt at an Austrian accent.

  “I didn’t—that—” James tried to calm down. “Are they dead?” he forced himself to ask in a normal tone.

  There was a pause. “I don’t think so,” Shion said, finally. “They’re stuffed in lockers right now. I’d have to go and check to be sure.”

  “Why—” James stopped himself. Asking Shion why never helped. Instead, he focused on their immediate needs. “Call Harue. She’s with Matsuri; she’ll know what to do,” he said.

  James really hoped that cancelling the tournament would mean that Harue could convince Matsuri to give up on this idea and sneak out, leaving no one the wiser. A smaller, more cynical part of him suggested that Harue was the person who knew the most about hiding unconscious bodies.

  “Okay, dokay!” Shion said, switching back to poorly accented English again. She hung up, and James returned to the group with a pained expression on his face.

  “Oh dear, not bad news, I hope?” Elidor said solicitously.

  “It’s still unclear,” James admitted. He forced himself not to stare at the dragon disguised as a Japanese businessman.

  “Well, sit down. Galloway-san was just about to tell us how my donation will help them penetrate the Japanese—” he gave a little chuckle “—market.”

  James felt a little sick. He sat down carefully next to Suki, who took hold of his arm reassuringly.

  “Actually, boss,” Kuronaga Takeshi, the younger terrorist, spoke up diffidently. He was addressing Elidor. “You mind if I have a private word with ah… Ikari-sama, there?”

  “What the hell, Taka?” Galloway muttered quietly. “Keep it in your pants for an hour, can’t you?”

  Elidor raised an elegant eyebrow. “I have no objections, but there might be others who do.” He looked at Kana, who looked at James.

  Who glared at Takeshi.

  “Not alone,” he growled. It wasn’t jealousy, truly. He just had a lot on his mind and didn’t need… whatever this was.

  “She is quite beautiful, but to go after a woman in front of her boyfriend is… a choice,” Elidor mused.

  “Nah, nah, nothing like that,” Takeshi said, holding his hands up placatingly. “Boss-lady just wants me to pass on a message, is all.”

  “Oh? Am I being surveilled?” Elidor’s eyes narrowed. James wasn’t sure what that meant, but Galloway jumped in quickly to placate the dragon.

  Our leader can’t show her face here, as you well know, my lord,” he said quickly. “But she is keenly interested in obtaining your backing and has been monitoring us through the existing arrangements.”

  He pointed at the cameras in the ceiling. Elidor sniffed.

  “I suppose I’ve had to make my peace with these devices,” he said. “I shall have to have words with our hosts about their security.”

  Galloway bowed. “Our leader is confident in her skills,” he said. “She told me that the Raimēkai would not be able to detect her even if they were tipped off.”

  Elidor smiled slowly. “Oh? That sounds like an interesting wager, and a test of skill to boot,” he said.

  Galloway bowed. “If you choose to take it so, Elidorious-sama, we would be pleased to demonstrate and entertain you.”

  Takeshi cleared his throat ostentatiously. Suki rolled her eyes in response.

  “Fine, come with us, then,” she said, dragging James off to a more secluded section of the lounge. Takeshi followed.

  “So who is this leader of yours, and what does she want?” Suki demanded.

  Takeshi looked around warily. He glanced at James but decided not to make an issue of his presence.

  “Her name is Kaguya; she’s one of your sisters,” he said.

  Suki narrowed her eyes. “I don’t know anyone by that name, let alone a sister.”

  “She said she escaped before you arrived,” Takeshi said quickly.

  “You escaped?” James blurted. “From where?”

  Suki looked at him apologetically. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. But that… makes sense. We wouldn’t be allowed to know about anyone who escaped earlier.”

  She looked back at Takeshi. “That doesn’t make it true, though,” she pointed out.

  Takeshi spread his hands, palm out. “Hey, you gotta understand, this encounter was pure chance, we don’t have anything prepared to prove our bona whatevers.”

  “This… Kaguya saw me on the surveillance feeds and recognised me,” Suki said slowly.

  “That’s what she said, yeah. You ready to hear the message now?”

  “I’m not sure if I’m ready to believe you yet, but I will listen,” Suki told him.

  “Fair enough. The boss has been monitoring an increased presence of Kotodama Corp forces in this area. Until she saw you, she didn’t know why.”

  “You think I am the cause? But why? Kotodama Aiko founded her company precisely for the cause of separating herself from her father. For that matter, why is Scarlet Moon going after the daughter so viciously?”

  “Oh, the boss hates them both; don’t worry about that,” Takeshi said. “But the dad is holed up in the compound in Hong Kong. We can’t get near him. Kotodama Heavy Industries, though, that’s got targets all through Southeast Asia.”

  “And you claim they’ve started working together?” Suki asked doubtfully.

  “They always have been, under the Kokuryūkai. They’re both members. But the Boss has picked up signs that the father has been reaching out to the daughter. Her best guess now is, he’s outsourced your retrieval to them.

  Suki looked worried. “KHI has… considerably more resources than…”

  James put his arm around her. “Don’t worry,” he said. “The academy will protect you, right?”

  “I suppose,” Suki said doubtfully. “But they did say they’re not all-powerful. And—”

  “And you’re not on the island,” Takeshi broke in. “That’s the Boss’s main bit of advice. Get back there where it’s safe. Safer.”

  “Wait, you—she— knows about the Academy?” James asked.

  Takeshi shrugged. “Only one place you could be talking about like that, around here. Even I know that.”

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  “That’s good advice, but I don’t think I can take it,” Suki said. “There are things I need to do off the island.”

  Takeshi sighed. “Yeah, the Boss never does the safe thing either. She wants you to have this.”

  He pulled a business card out of his pocket and scrawled something on the back.

  “This is where we’re staying for the next three days at least. After that, maybe your dragon friend can get in touch with us.”

  Suki took the card. “No phone number?” she asked.

  “Too easy to trace. Something you should keep in mind,” Takeshi said.

  “I’ll try. Thank your—thank Kaguya for me.”

  “No problem,” Takashi said, bowing.

  “Should we get back to the group?” Suki asked James. He wanted to ask about where she escaped from, but the look on her face said that she didn’t want to talk about it.

  “Fine,” he agreed. When they got back, both Elidor and Galloway were looking pleased with themselves.

  “Then, if everyone’s business is concluded, we shall take our leave,” Galloway said, bowing deeply to Elidor and Kana.

  “Yes, I look forward to hearing from you,” Elidor said, returning a much shallower bow.

  The two terrorists departed. James wanted to ask if the negotiations were successful, but at the same time, he very much did not want to know.

  “Interesting chat?” Elidor asked, just as James’s phone rang again. It was Harue.

  “Excuse me,” James said and took a few steps away. Elidor watched him with interest.

  “Such full social lives the children of today have,” he commented idly.

  James didn’t reply; he just answered his phone.

  “New plan,” Harue said succinctly. “I need you all to get down here in the mechanical bay.”

  “That’s a staff area, Harue!” James protested. “How are we supposed to get from here to there?”

  “Actually, I can help you with that,” Elidor put in. James winced. He should have kept his voice down.

  “Who was that?” Harue asked.

  “Kana’s brother,” James said, keeping his reply succinct.

  “Oooohhhhh…” Harue said. “Is he sexy?”

  “Can you stay focused!” James whispered intently. He held on to the small sensation of relief that he had felt when Harue said she had a plan. If somebody had a plan, there was a chance that they could get out of this. Of course, it was Harue’s plan, so it was likely that the feeling would evaporate as soon as she explained it.

  “I’m afraid not,” Harue said. “An ancient compact with the Imperial throne requires that I keep my focus on the bottom line, as it were. Get it?”

  “No,” James lied through gritted teeth.

  “Allow me to be more explicit then. You see, as a shrine maiden, I’m required to—”

  “Just shut up!” James shouted as quietly as he could into the phone. Holding it away from his ear, he addressed Elidor.

  “Can you really help us?” he asked.

  “I can, and I will,” Elidor continued, “As long as you promise to come back here when the fights start to watch them with me, dear sister.”

  Kana looked away. “I’m not sure I can promise that,” she admitted. “I’m not sure what we’ll be doing and—”

  “Just the honest intention is enough; I’m well aware that circumstances may alter what is possible.”

  “Then… all right,” Kana said.

  “Can we exchange mobile numbers?”

  She nodded, and they tapped their phones together.

  “Very well, then!” Elidor declared. He snapped his fingers. James was expecting a servant to appear out of nowhere, but it took a little time for a thug dressed in a fancy uniform to show up.

  Elidor winked at James. “There are guests, and there are guests. Escort these guests to the mechanic bay and see that they are allowed inside,” he told the thug. The thug didn’t look too pleased, but he bowed.

  “Off you go,” Elidor said. “I hope to see you all when the fights start.”

  They all bowed and followed the yakuza deeper into the building. James wasn’t surprised, exactly. Elidor’s confidence that he would be obeyed was absolute. But it did feel a little unreal how little trouble they had passing through guarded doors. It only took a few minutes before they were reunited with Harue and Shion.

  “Piss off,” Shion said to the yakuza when she saw them. The man glared at her but turned on his heel and strode away without saying anything.

  “Thank you!” Suki called after him.

  “These guys are your friends?” James asked Shion.

  “Yeah, yeah, we’re best buds,” she replied. “Go out drinking and all.”

  James was about to say something about underage drinking, but Harue intervened.

  “Okay, everybody, come in here, and I can explain the plan.”

  Harue led them all into one of the large alcoves that lined the huge open space that was the mechanic bay. This one held two Frames, both painted black as their main colour. One of them was accented in gold and looked slimmer and more elegant than the other one, which had flames painted on its arms and legs.

  “These are the mechs belonging to the two pilots that accosted Shion,” Harue explained. “They worked together and were really stand-offish to the people here. I’m pretty sure they didn’t like working with criminals, and they didn’t hide that fact. To the point that this area was supposed to be hands-off to the gang members.”

  “No one told me that. How do you know that?” Shion asked.

  “Matsuri knew,” Harue answered. “She’s still going over her Frame for sabotage,” she explained to the group. “These two objected to Shion sniffing around for Matsuri; she objected right back, and now they’re unconscious.”

  “You mean, she assaulted them,” James said disapprovingly. “For no real reason.”

  “You got a problem with that?” Shion said belligerently.

  “Yes! Yes, I do! Matsuri wasn’t even here, and you wrecked the whole plan for no reason!”

  Shion clenched her fists. “I don’t like it when people tell me what to do,” she growled.

  “Maybe if you did the right thing in the first place, people wouldn’t have—”

  “Hey, hey!” Harue interrupted. For no apparent reason, she jangled a bundle of keys in the air. “It’s all fine! Nothing’s ruined!”

  “How is it not ruined?” James asked hotly.

  “See, because they were all aloof and didn’t want to associate with criminals, they made a point of always wearing their framesuits,” Harue explained. “Including the helmets.”

  She pointed at two small piles of clothes. A pair of helmets and a pair of one-piece jumpsuits.

  James frowned. “If they always wore the suits, then why are they here?”

  “Oh, they’re naked right now,” Harue said. “My shrine has a special shrine-maiden technique for stripping the clothes off an unconscious person.”

  “I’m not sure that is a technique a shrine maiden should know,” Suki said politely. “But I fear that we are moving off-topic. What is the plan?”

  “It’s simple,” Harue said smugly. “You two dress as the pilots, impersonate them in the competition, and the show can go on!”

  James stared at her.

  “You’re insane,” he said.

  “Oh, I’m crazy… like a fox!” Harue exclaimed. “Give me one reason why the plan won’t work.”

  “We don’t know how to pilot Frames!” James snapped at her.

  “Um, actually,” Suki said meekly. “I know how to pilot Frames.”

  “I knew it!” Harue crowed.

  “You did not,” James said sulkily. How on Earth does she know how to pilot Frames?

  “Why wouldn’t she?” Harue replied as if she were reading his mind. “She can pilot everything else, after all.”

  Suki looked embarrassed.

  “That's… even if she can, I can’t!” James protested.

  Harue waved a hand dismissively. “Suki can teach you the basics in an hour. It’s not like the plan depends on you winning the fight. You just need to show up.”

  “That’s…” James couldn’t find words. “Why can’t you do it?”

  “It’s a skin-tight suit, James,” Harue said. “It needs to be a boy. And besides, I’m not good with machinery.”

  There were a number of cabinets about the place, loaded with mechanical devices that James didn’t know the function of. Tools or spare parts, he didn’t know. Harue picked up one of these and crushed it in her hand.

  “See?” she said brightly. “All thumbs!”

  “I have to go back and watch the fights with my brother,” Kana said abruptly, before James could look at her.

  “And I have to go and take a look at her brother, see how hot he is,” Harue said with a grin.

  Kana frowned. “You should be careful with my brother,” she said. “He is not to be trifled with.”

  “Obviously,” Harue said. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to jump on him. I just want to see how he looks. For science.”

  Suki picked up one of the suits and looked around for somewhere to change. “I guess we’re going with the plan?” she asked.

  “No! We’re…” James sighed and gave up. Harue clapped him on the back.

  “Think of it as practice for the big guy!” she said brightly.

  It turned out that there was a small area set aside for changing. James and Suki took turns. He eyed the lockers but didn’t open them. He didn’t want to find a body unconscious or… otherwise.

  James couldn’t help but blush when he saw Suki in her framesuit. Skin-tight was… accurate. The material wasn’t latex-thin, but it was form-fitting.

  “I think your breasts are bigger than… whoever she was, but I don’t think anyone will complain,” Harue said thoughtfully.

  “It’s more comfortable than I thought it would be,” Suki said thoughtfully. “It’s quite breathable.”

  “Good to know,” Harue replied. “This one is yours, Suki, the Obsidian Wasp.”

  She pointed at the thinner, black and gold Frame.

  “They kept to the stereotypes, so the guy had the other one, the Inferno Reaver. That one is in the first round, so let’s get James set up first?”

  She handed James a keycard, and they headed over to the Frame. Aside from its bulky fists and the sword attached to its side, it looked like the primary armament was some tubes attached to the back of the hands, which were connected to a tank on the back. Given the name, James suspected it was some kind of flamethrower.

  Suki opened the cockpit with a push of a button and helped James get inside. At her direction, he inserted the keycard in the dashboard, and the Frame started to power up. Lights came on, status text rolled across screens, and a humming started as the main engines powered up. Suki seemed to understand what was happening and pointed out to James what he needed to know.

  “It looks ready,” she told him. “Fuel, both for the engine and the flamethrowers, is at full. All the actuators are reporting nominal function.”

  She showed him how to move it. The arms were controlled by a sort of three-dimensional joystick. There was a part that he gripped, with buttons and triggers. It was held in midair by a collection of rods and gimbals. He moved that, and the arm it controlled moved in the same way.

  The legs were controlled differently. He was strapped into leg controllers that monitored his leg movements. He just had to twitch one leg, and the Frame would take a full step forward. With Suki’s guidance, he could soon walk haltingly around the mechanical bay.

  “Looks like you’ve got this!” Harue said. “Your fight starts in half an hour. Make sure to keep your helmet on, and just sneer at anyone who talks to you. You’ll be fine!”