Different Paths (9 page)

“Time is like the metal used to forge a blade. It
unfolds slowly and at its own pace. Any attempt to rush will be blocked by the
principles of the forge. You must keep the metal the right temperature, too hot
and the metal becomes unusable; too cool and the metal becomes brittle. You
must find your time. You know the rhythms of the blade, they are part of you
but now you must strive to grasp the rhythm of the forge. The rhythm of the
forge is the lesson of nature; everything has its own time and its own season.”

Not comprehending the full meanings of his
master’s words, Iaido accepted that he was trying to teach him something
important and resigned himself to listen. Many of his master’s lessons were
taught in this manner, in riddles, stories or puzzles; things that Iaido would
have to contemplate during his daily meditation to grasp the full meaning of
the lesson.

Sensing that his master was waiting for him to
speak, Iaido replied, “I will strive to understand the lessons of the forge,
Sensei.”

“I know you will my son but in this case time is
moving against you. You are out of rhythm with the forge.”

Iaido shook his head. “I do not understand,
Sensei.”

Taking a deep breath, the Sensei reached out and
lifted a fallen cherry blossom. “This bloom is like you and me. It was a bud;
it bloomed at its peak before falling to the earth. There it will wither and
die but it will nourish the ground and so the cycle repeats.” Dropping the
bloom, the Sensei fixed his pupil with a stare. “Everyone dies, Iaido. The
secret is to fulfill your destiny before your time is ended.”

“And how do you know what is your destiny?”

“That is the lesson of the forge.”

Still not sure if he understood what his master
was trying to teach him, Iaido decided to try a different approach in his
questioning. “You know about the Sgt. Major’s death?”

“Yes, his spirit will be missed but his destiny was
not yours. He walked a different path than you.”

“Sensei, my path was chosen for me. I was created
to walk this path.”

“No. You believe your path to be laid before you.
You have walked your own path by your own choice. We all choose which path to
walk.” He gestured at the two of them. “We decided to walk different paths than
the average person. It was not preordained that I would become the Sensei; I
chose my path. My parents wanted me to follow my father and grandfather and
become a physician. That was the path I was to follow but I chose a different
path. Your feet were set on a certain path at the beginning but you have chosen
to continue that path. It was not your birth, the only difference between us is
that I was born of nature and you were born of science.”

Iaido tried to absorb the meaning behind the
Sensei’s words. It seemed that his mentor was trying to tell him something
important, something cryptic; but Iaido couldn’t grasp the full meaning of the
words.

Waving his hand as if to dismiss the subject, the
Sensei continued, “I have an errand for you.”

“What is it you desire of me?”

Pulling forth the scroll case, the old man handed
it to his pupil. “I need you to take this to Haven. There is a man named
Ishmael who runs a small store there, give him this. He will know what to do
with it.”

“I will do this for you Sensei but surely there
are faster couriers. It may be months before I return to Haven.”

“You will arrive at the time foretold of this I am
certain.”

Still confused, Iaido accepted his mission. Bowing
his head slightly, “I am honored to do this for you Sensei.”

The Sensei returned the bow. “Now humor your old
teacher and promise me you will be here for this evening’s lesson. I have a few
dignitaries in from the old country and I would like you to perform for them.”

“I will be here Sensei.”

Suddenly the old man shivered as if cold and
looked around the garden slowly. After a moment, he waved his dismissal to
Iaido and said, “It is time for my meditation and you have an investigation to
do.”

“It is always a pleasure to see you master. I shall
contemplate your words.”

Iaido moved away slowly and glanced back once more
at his master. The old man had his eyes closed and his hands resting on his
knees, seemingly oblivious to his surroundings. Iaido felt slightly troubled at
his abrupt dismissal and moved through the dojo in a fog. The words of his
Sensei came back to him time and time again. Still unable to grasp the full
meaning of the lesson, Iaido rearmed himself and moved out into the streets of
New Atlanta.

Chapter 7

As he watched his favorite pupil depart, Sensei was
filled with sadness.

Even now, he wished he could’ve told him more but
the words of honor spoken in the past still bound him as secure as iron. Taking
one last look around his garden, the old man slowly made his way past the koi
pond and the cherry trees to return once more to the shrine. As he knelt before
the sacred altar, the Sensei wasn’t surprised to find the second sword of
Musashi missing.

“You can come out now. We are alone.”

A dark shape moved out of the shadows to stand
before the old man. Dressed in black, the shadows seemed to cling to his frame,
masking the true form underneath. Brief hints of the figure could be gleaned if
one stared long enough. When the shadow spoke, it was in a hoarse whisper.

“Hello Sensei.”

“The prodigal son returns,” Sensei said without
looking up. “Have you returned home only to kill those that love you?”

“Love?” The shadow spit out the word. “Love is for
weak fools. What most would call love is the lust between two primitive species
drawing them together to help procreate the race.”

The shadow lifted the ancient blade and pointed it
at the old man. The firelight glinted off its razor sharp edge. “I just came to
New Atlanta to pay back some old debts and collect a few things. This is one of
them.” He rested the ancient blade against the Sensei’s neck. “I’m only going
to ask this once, where is the sword’s twin?”

“Gone. I sent it away.”

“That was foolish old man.”

“No. It was the honorable thing to do.” The Sensei
looked up at the shadowy figure for the first time. “I knew this day would
come. No one believed me about you. I knew you were flawed from the beginning.
I knew your heart wasn’t pure.”

“Pure? I may be different from my brethren, more
enlightened maybe but none of us were pure. No thanks to those of you on the
project board.”

Seeing the look of shock on the old man’s face,
the shadow laughed a husky chuckle.

“Yes, I know your true role in our creation. That
fool Achilles doesn’t but I am no fool.”

“So, I am to die? So be it, I have lived a good
life. My karma is clean.”

“You think I want to kill you?” The shadow shook his
head. “I have something more devious in mind.”

Looking past the shadows that clung to the figure,
Sensei finally locked eyes with those of his wayward pupil. For the first and
last time of his life the Sensei knew fear.

Chapter 8

After leaving the dojo, Iaido made his way to the
scene of his friend’s death and took the elevator to the thirty-second floor.
It had been nearly two years since he had last seen his friend.

Even if he had never been to the apartment, it
would’ve been obvious which apartment had been the Sgt. Major’s due to the
bright yellow ‘Do Not Cross’ police tape stuck to the doorway. However, someone
had cut the security seal and the door was slightly ajar. Iaido removed his
dark shades and tucked them into a pocket.

Drawing his Graver Mark 7 energy pistol, he
toggled the switch to power it up before he pushed open the door with his foot.
Using the doorframe as a barricade, he scanned the apartment for any hostiles.

Nothing moved.

The apartment was in shambles. If a tornado had
landed in the living room, it couldn’t have made more of a mess. Someone had
been through the apartment looking for something and didn’t care if they
destroyed everything to find it.

Iaido moved slowly through the apartment with his
weapon at the ready.

The study was only halfway trashed as if whoever
was searching had been interrupted. The desk had been overturned and the
drawers pulled out and smashed. The Sgt. Major’s pictures and medals were
thrown all about the room. Oddly enough, the picture and frame of Omega
Squadron was still intact and lying face up on the remains of the desk. Iaido powered
down and holstered his Graver Mk7.

Kneeling down to retrieve the photograph, he
studied it for a few minutes before removing the photo from the frame and tucked
it inside coat. Ignoring the rest of the room, Iaido studied the markings on
the bookshelf until he found three studs that seemed slightly out of place. He
tried several combinations of pressing or twisting them until he was rewarded
with a loud ‘click.’ Stepping back, Iaido watched as the fish tank slid out
into the room to reveal a hidden passageway.

Squatting down, Iaido glanced inside. The room
beyond was dimly lit and he couldn’t see any movement within. “Eve, you can
come out now.”

It was several moments before her blonde locks and
emerald eyes peeked around the corner. “Is it safe?”

“Yes princess… it is.”

“Uncle Achilles!” Eve screamed as she leapt into
Iaido’s arms and hugged him tightly. After a moment she asked, “Where’s my
daddy?”

Taking a deep breath, Iaido knew he was about to
step on fragile ground. Telling her the truth at this time could be detrimental
but lying to her was wrong, so Iaido decided to be vague. “I’m sorry Eve but
your dad is gone but I’m here to take you someplace safe.”

“I’ve been so scared. Daddy and Amy have been gone
for so long. Then, bad men came and made this mess but left when the police
arrived.”

“How long ago was that?”

“A long time ago.” Cocking her head to one side,
Eve glanced toward the main entrance. “The bad men are coming back.”

Setting her down, Iaido faced the doorway and
waited.

It wasn’t long before two men in black suits with
short dark hair and dark sunglass moved into the room and took up flanking
positions on each side of the doorway. Even without his armor’s senses, Iaido
could tell that both of these goons had full military-grade combat augments
just by the way they moved. Iaido gently nudged Eve back into the panic room
passageway. She moved inside without complaint but didn’t close the hatch.

The three men stared at each other for several
moments each sizing up his opponent. It’s a natural thing, especially for those
who walk the warrior’s path; every person you meet is another predator or prey,
ally or enemy, friend or foe. Most warriors do this on a subconscious level but
in a meeting like this, it’s almost a tangible thing that fills the air. After
a moment, the goon to the left of the door began to reach into his inside
jacket pocket. The ringing sound of Iaido’s katana clearing its scabbard filled
the room and caused both goons to flinch.

Iaido kept his voice low when he said, “I don’t
know you buddy…but if that hand moves any faster or comes out of your jacket
with any type of weapon, it will be lying on the floor a few seconds before
your head lands beside it.”

The goon moved his hand with exaggerated slowness
and pulled out a small black metal box that Iaido recognized it as a portable
holo-emitter. He pressed the button, placed it on the ground and stepped back.

A blue-white light filled the air above the
emitter. Slowly it refocused until it became a floating head which Iaido instantly
recognized. The disembodied head scanned the room briefly before fixing his one
good eye on the bounty hunter.

“Achilles. Please forgive the rudeness of this
meeting but somehow I don’t relish being within range of your blades again,
even after all these years.”

“Hello General, what do you want?”

“Actually its President now or haven’t you heard?”

“Semantics. General, President, High Chancellor…
it doesn’t matter what title you call yourself, you will still be a coward. Now
get to the point. What do you want?”

Anger flared across the President’s face for a
brief second before he regained control. “Watch your tongue, pod-born. I could
have you killed in the blink of an eye or shipped off to New Leavenworth
again.”

Iaido sheathed his sword. “Get to the point General.
You didn’t arrange this meeting to exchange threats about the past.”

“No. You are quite right. I need your unique
skills.”

“Sorry, not for hire. I’m already working a case.”

“Yes, I know. The murder of retired Sgt. Major Spenton
and his wife, Amy…but my job and your case are linked. They were killed on
orders from your former commanding officer, Major Marcus T. McDowell.”

“So you say.”

“Incidentally he is wanted on multiple accounts of
grand theft, larceny, desertion, dereliction of duty and extortion.”

“Not interested.”

“There is a rather large bounty on the Major’s
head… two-hundred and fifty thousand credits; dead or alive.”

“Not interested.”

The President continued as if he didn’t hear him.

“I want you to find Major McDowell. His desertion
is a stain on my honor.”

“You have no honor.”

Again the President ignored the insult. “No one
has come forward to claim the bounty but I want him so I have increased the
bounty to a half-million credits. I want the best and as much as I hate to
admit it, that’s you.”

“Not interested.”

The holo-image of the President’s head frowned at
Iaido’s continued refusals. “Let me ask you a simple question, Achilles.”

“That is no longer my name.”

“It was the name we gave you and it is what you
were created to be; the ultimate warrior but that isn’t the issue or the
question. What do you remember about a mission twelve years ago called
Operation Lodestone?”