PRIMAL Fury (The PRIMAL Series) (39 page)

CHAPTER 73

MORI-KAI CASINO CONSTRUCTION SITE, HIMEJI

“I take it this will suit your requirements, Ryu?” Masateru stood on the upper level of the partially constructed casino.

Ryu surveyed the construction site. “It has everything we need: isolation, places to conceal our men, and elevated firing positions.” The upper levels of the seven-story, crescent-shaped complex were still naked concrete forms piled high with building materials and equipment. A high, chain-link fence surrounded the site, separating it from the surrounding properties, also in various stages of development.

“There are a number of methods they could use to get in,” Masateru observed.

“We will position men to cover all of them. We have the numbers. Look, the first of them are here.” Ryu pointed to the bus that turned in through the front gate. It drove down the main access road and stopped inside the crescent. “We have already issued them their disguises.”

The doors of the bus opened and men dressed in fluorescent vests filed out and clustered around one of the construction foremen, a Kissaki operative.

“And the security cameras are all working?”

“Yes, cameras, motion sensors, the security system is complete. No one will move without us knowing about it.”

“Excellent. How long until everyone is in place?”

“Half an hour.”

“Then I think it is time we laid the bait.”

The two men walked into an elevator. Masateru got out at the second floor, leaving Ryu to continue down to the casino’s underground security center.

The lower floors were almost finished; the builders had completed the basic fit-out with walls, doors, and wiring. Electricity and air-conditioning had also been installed. Masateru headed down a bare corridor to where they were keeping Karla.

He nodded to the guard on her door and knocked gently.

“Come in,” Karla said as she stood up from the bed.

Masateru entered the room, one of the first in the casino complex to be completed. Fully carpeted, painted, and furnished, it could have been in any modern hotel.

“How are you feeling?”

“I thought you had forgotten about me.” Karla’s eyes were glazed, a bottle of sedatives on the bedside table. She wore jeans, midcalf boots, and a cashmere sweater.

“How could I forget you?” Masateru sat on the bed and gestured for her to sit next to him. “It is my responsibility to protect you.”

“Is that why I am here?” she asked as she sat.

“Yes.” He stroked her hair. “I’ve identified a rival organization that is trying to take you from me.”

“Who?” She looked startled.

“You remember the men you told me about? The Interpol agent Kurtz and his friends.”

“Yes, they saved me from the castle.”

“Not saved, Karla, kidnapped. They were pretending to be policemen. Their men were the ones that attacked us when we arrived in Japan.”

Karla looked confused.

“These men are actually a powerful crime syndicate that trades weapons, women, and drugs across the world.”

“He seemed so nice.” She hung her head. “They saved my sister. Without them she would have died.”

“That’s what they
wanted
you to think. What they really wanted was both of you to sell to their clients.”

“And these men are here now, in Japan?”

“Yes, last night they attacked the apartments. They killed two of the girls and took the others.”

Tears filled Karla’s eyes. “
Killed
? Why would they do that?”

“Clearly, the girls resisted. They didn’t want to be taken. I’m telling you, these men aren’t who you think.” Masateru put his arm around her shoulders and held her tight. “That is why we have moved you here. This is where we are going to make them pay.”

Karla pulled away from him. “I already sent the e-mail to Kalista like you asked, and she gave you the phone number. I don’t want to do any more. Please.”

“You’ve done very well. I just need you to do one more thing. That’s all. I need you to call this man Kurtz and tell him where you are.”

“If I do that they will come for me.”

“Yes, and I will destroy them. Then there will be no more fighting, and you’ll be safe.”

She nodded. “OK. I will make the call. But only if you promise that once it is done there will be no more killing. No more blood.”

“I promise, once these men are dealt with there will be no more.” Masateru pulled a phone from his pocket. “Now listen closely. I’m going to tell you exactly what to say.”

CHAPTER 74

YAMAGUCHI-GUMI SAFE HOUSE, KOBE

The sound of a ringtone woke Bishop from a nap. Kurtz’s iPRIMAL was ringing and vibrating on the trunk they were using as a coffee table. “Kurtz!” he yelled. “Incoming call, you’re up.” He glanced at his watch: midmorning.

The lanky German appeared from the direction of the bathrooms, still zipping his pants. “I’m right here.”

“What’s going on?” Aleks leaped from the other couch with his pistol in hand.

“What’s up?” Saneh yelled from the top of the stairs. She was wearing tracksuit pants and a T-shirt but had her Tavor in one hand.

“Everyone quiet! It’s the call we’ve been waiting for,” said Bishop.

The phone continued to ring and vibrate. Kurtz watched it move in little circles on the plastic. Finally he picked it up. “Hello.”

The voice on the other end of the line was a whisper. “Is this Kurtz?”

Everyone in the room was silent, listening to the call on the speaker that had been set up on the bar.

“Yes it is. Who is this?” Kurtz replied.

“It’s Karla.”

“Karla? Karla, is that really you?”

“Yes, it’s me.”

“Where are you? Are you OK?”

“No, I’m not. I need you to help me. I need you to get me out of here.”

“All right, let me know where you are.”

“Japan, I’m in Japan. I think the city is called Hajami or Hejimi.”

“What about the building, what does the building look like?”

“It’s a construction site, a new hotel. Only a few of the floors are finished. There are workers everywhere, I found one of their phones.”

“OK, Karla, that’s good. Very good. Now I need a little more information about your location. Do you have a window?”

“Yes.”

“Describe what you see.”

“It’s a wide-open area filled with trucks and building things. I can see that the hotel curves around like a horseshoe.”

“Very good. What else?”

“I don’t know.” She started to cry. “Just get me out of here. I want to go home,” she said between sobs.

“We’re going to come for you, I promise.”

“I have to go. If they find me with a phone they’ll hurt me. I have to go. Help me.” She terminated the call.

Everyone sat in silence for a moment watching Kurtz, who looked stunned.

“It was her. No doubt,” he said quietly.

“And we’re going to get her back, comrade.” Aleks grasped him by the shoulder.

Bishop stood up. “OK, team, Chua’s going to want to brief us in the next couple of minutes. Saneh, can you give Kenta a call and find out where he is and when he can get back? Aleks, you set up the laptop and open a comms line to the Bunker.” He walked across to where Kurtz was sitting on the crate. “You did well, mate. This time we’re going to get her back.”

Kurtz ran a hand over his face and nodded. “Let’s just focus on the mission.”

“We’re hooked into the Bunker,” Aleks announced from behind the laptop.

“Kenta’s thirty minutes out,” Saneh confirmed as she sat next to Aleks.

“Roger, let’s hear what the Bunker’s got to say.”

They all focused their attention on the screen.

“Hello, guys.” Chua’s face popped up onscreen. “Hey, great work, Kurtz. You kept her on the line long enough for us to get a fix and you also extracted some good detail that we’ve used to confirm the location.”

“So you know where she is?” Kurtz could not hide the excitement in his voice.

“Yes,” Chua responded. “Flash pulled a 100-meter bubble off the satellite and our work on the description narrowed it down to this location west of Himeji.” Chua’s face was replaced with a satellite image.

Bishop whistled appreciatively; he had no idea how PRIMAL’s intel chief managed to access NSA resources.

“It’s exactly how Karla describes it,” said Chua. “A curved building under construction. It’s located in a new development zone, listed as an entertainment complex being built by a large conglomerate. We’re doing a deep dive to see if there are any links to the Mori-Kai.”

“Is it a hotel or a casino or something?” Saneh asked.

“I did a quick search on the net and I found this.”

The map was replaced with a flyer showing a dazzling seven-story, crescent-shaped casino complex.

“It’s being plugged as a top-dollar destination that places particular emphasis on being able to satisfy any desire.”

“Sick fucks are building their own rape hotel,” said Bishop. “Can you imagine what’s going to go on in there?”

“Flash is hacking the construction company’s server at the moment. I should have a full set of floor plans within the hour,” said Chua.

“Good stuff. What about the big question: Is this a trap?” asked Bishop.

“Stress levels in Karla’s voice could indicate she was lying or it could simply be a result of her kidnapping.”

“Well,” said Kurtz, “there’s one thing she wasn’t lying about. She wants us to get her out.”

“No doubt,” agreed Bishop. “But that doesn’t mean Masateru isn’t using her to lure us into a trap. Chua, what about the phone, does it tell us anything?”

“Not really, based off its data it could well be a construction worker’s.”

“Why are we even discussing this?” Kurtz demanded. “We know where she is. Let’s go and get her.”

“I’m not going to let us blunder into a trap,” Bishop snapped.

“But what if it’s not a trap? By the time we make a decision they’ll have moved her again.”

“He’s right,” Chua added. “If this isn’t a trap and they find out she’s made a call, they’ll definitely move her.”

“Have you run this past Vance?” Bishop asked.

“I’m here, Bish.” Vance’s face appeared onscreen. He looked haggard, the result of pulling some long shifts. “You’ve got my approval for a recovery op but I don’t want you to take any unnecessary risks. The priority is taking down Mori-Kai and generating more intel, got it?”

“Loud and clear, boss.” Bishop gave Kurtz a pointed look.

“Good luck.” The screen went dead.

“You heard him, team. We need to come up with a rock-solid plan that mitigates the risk of this being a trap.”

“I’ve got the quadcopter for the recon,” said Kurtz, nodding toward the boxes stacked in the corner of the room.

“That’s a bloody good start,” said Bishop. “Let’s take a closer look at this casino. You know what Vance always says…”