The Devil Inside ch. 19

[Shinobi]

Notes: awww the flames. the death threats. the kicking! you sure know how to make a guy feel loved!

so here's the next part

and the [] represent another language.


and stuff



The Devil Inside
Chapter 19

?You know this geezer?? Crispin regarded Sousuke suspiciously as the white-haired man open his arms wide and embraced the Mithril sergeant.

[Kashim!] The old man laughed delightedly in a language unknown to Crispin. [You?ve grown.] He clapped his gnarled hands on Sousuke?s shoulder and beamed. [Grown indeed. A fine young man.]

[Thank you. You?re looking well.] Sousuke returned the old man?s smile.

[Why didn?t you say anything? I had to put up with your rude friend for almost ten minutes! Kashim how could you?] The old man said the last with a grin.

[He?s not a friend.] Sousuke frowned.

?Hello?? Crispin waved his hands between the two. ?I?m still here ya know. It?s pretty rude to ignore someone like this.? Crispin was getting irritated. It sounded like they were conversing in Pashto, one of the languages of Afghanistan. Clearly Sagara and the geezer knew each other. Crispin narrowed his eyes. So why the games? ?We don?t have time for this!?

[I see.] The old man peered at Sousuke and Crispin. [Yet your hearts are united. You seek the same thing no?]

[Yes.] Sousuke nodded in agreement. He hesitated and finally explained their situation. [A girl?s life is in danger. We must act quickly.] He trailed off.

[And you come to me in your hour of need. I?m honored.] The old man bowed his head. [Forgive my rudeness Kashim, but I thought you?d left with Kalinin. Why is he not here?]

[He is?otherwise occupied.] Sousuke finally answered. It was true, maybe not the whole truth.

[I understand.] The old man?s clapped Sousuke on the shoulders again. [And I will help you.] He stepped past Sousuke and a startled Crispin and locked the front door of his shop.

?Follow me.? The old man said to both teens in near flawless Japanese. He lead them toward a shelf in the shop?s rear.

?Wait, you can speak Japanese? Without the accent?? Crispin looked incredulously at the old timer and turned on Sousuke. ?Sagara what kinda game is this??

?It?s no game.? Sousuke followed after the old man. ?He?s going to help us.?

?Help us?? Crispin looked the shop over skeptically. ?I?m all for alternative medicine, but I don?t think dried chicken guts is going to help us.? Crispin smirked as the old man started shuffling thru dirty jars muttering to himself. ?Though I guess a prayer or two couldn?t hurt.?

?Ah ha!? The old man exclaimed. There was a distinctive click when he lifted one particular jar off the bottom shelf. ?Help me with this.? He gestured toward the shelf. Under his direction Crispin and Sousuke pushed the large shelf to the side. When it was moved it revealed?

?Holy shit!? Crispin gaped. The shelf had covered a stairway that lead into some kind of hidden basement. ?What the hell is this??

?You?ve improved it.? Sousuke commented matter of factly.

?Yes, The locking mechanism?s a nice touch. Don?t you agree?? The old man cackled as he lead them down the stairs.

Crispin looked in alarm at the old man and grabbed Sousuke by the arm as the sergeant began to descend. ?Is this guy?ya know?" He made a twirling motion with his forefinger.

?No. As I explained. He?s going to help us.? Sousuke freed himself from the Lance Corporal?s grip and walked downstairs.

?I don?t believe this.? Crispin muttered. With a curse he ran a hand thru his sweat-slicked hair and followed the old man and Sousuke.

**

?Sorry we?re late!? Kurz called out in greeting as he and Melissa made their way to the back of the briefing room on the Tuatha de Danaan. ?Can you believe they made us take the bus!?

Melissa smacked the back of Kurz?s head and faced Kalinin. ?Reporting for duty sir.? She and Kurz sat down.

?Glad you could make, Sgt. Major.? Kalinin nodded in greeting. He was standing before three digital projection screens. Assembled before him were almost forty Marines and Pilots. Kalinin was about to conduct the officer?s briefing. It would then be the job of the assembled officers and senior NCOs to brief their own troops on the upcoming operation.

?I?m sorry to have called you here on such short notice.? Many of the Marines assembled had been on leave or were off-duty when their COs call came. ?While successful, it seems the cruise missile strike we conducted nearly a week ago did not disrupt our enemy?s plans as hoped.?

Kalinin turned toward the large digital display behind him and a topographical map of the Okinawan archipelago flashed on screen. ?You will begin search and retrieval operations immediately on Okinawa.? There were a few scattered murmurs of surprise but no one interrupted.

A string of lights began to blink on the main island of Okinawa. Starting just north of the southern capital of Naha and extending all the way to the northern tip of the island. ?As you are aware, Okinawa is home to some of the largest and most powerful US military bases in Asia. I know we?ve been having some difficulties with the Americans.? Chuckles broke out at that. ?But their presence will be one of our greatest assets.?

Another image appeared on a smaller display. A picture of a young blue-haired girl. ?This girl, code-named Angel, has been kidnapped.?

?What?? Melissa stood up in shock. ?Sir, that impossible! Urzu-7 has been with Angel 24-7!?

Kalinin regarded the young woman calmly. He had expected a reaction like this. ?This information comes directly from Judas-1 Sgt. Major.? He turned back to the display of Okinawa. ?As I was saying.?

?Judas-1!? Melissa all but shrieked. ?Your going to trust that bastard-?? Melissa stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and saw Kurz shake his head. The dark-haired woman glared at Kurz and finally starred around. Almost forty men and women regarded her curiously. Much to Melissa?s displeasure she could not afford to reveal the identity of Judas-1.

?I apologize Sir.? Melissa sank into her seat with. She knocked Kurz?s hand off her shoulder. ?Don?t get fresh!? She hissed under her breath.

Kurz just held up his hands in a ?who me? gesture.

?Okinawa is an archipelago of 161 islands. Forty-four of which are inhabited.? Kalinin continued his briefing unmoved by Melissa?s outburst. ?That?s a lot of rocks to hide under so rapidity is essential.? Several heads bobbed in understanding. Others scribbled quick notes.

?As explained earlier. The presence of so many US forces will actually be an asset. It?s in the US?s best interest to stop these terrorists.? Kalinin smiled wolfishly. ?And if there?s one thing the Americans are good at it?s looking after themselves.? He received a lot of chuckles at this. ?Furthermore. US forces will be assisting us in the search.? Shock spread thru the room in a palpable wave.

?Sir, why are the Americans going to help us? They won?t go anywhere unless they?re running the show.? One young lieutenant asked. Most the others in the room agreed with the assessment.

?Yes, two points. First the Americans will be unaware of our own involvement in the operation. Our search patterns will keep you completely out of the Americans sight. And second,? Kalinin allowed himself a smile- What he was about to tell them they did not need to know but he knew it would greatly motivate his own troops- ?The Madam Captain asked them.?

?What?? Shook turned to amazement as the marines sat up straight to make sure they had heard right. ?Is that true?? They asked. ?She can do that?? They looked at each other in amazement. If the Captain went to that much trouble failure was not an option.

?From the capital Naha south, you will each be assigned a five by five kilometer sector to search.? Kalinin launched into the details of the operation as squares began to pop up on the southern end of the main island. ?Once you?ve swept your sector you will move to the next sector designated in your search vector.? For the next forty minutes he detailed sector assignments for each team. The order in which they will search and their follow up sectors.

?This operation will be conducted without the use of AS. Even with ECS we can?t take the chance of alerting American forces to our presence. A Special Response Team will be assigned to each squad in the search.? Kalinin suppressed a grimace at that order. It was never a good idea to breakup unit cohesion by placing regular infantryman under the direct orders of special operators like the SRTs. But as well trained and disciplined as the Tuatha de Danaan?s marines were they had little practical experience in hostage rescue. If they found the girl, an SRT?s leadership would be vital.

Kalinin nodded to an aide who began passing a large stack of folders around. ?Contained within are the tactical frequencies to be used during the operation and all known frequencies used by US forces. Also included is a picture of the girl for your men to study. Be aware that photo is approximately four years old.?

?Yeah, let me tell ya. She?s a first class babe now!? Kurz crowed. He was cut off by an elbow in the gut courtesy of Melissa.

Everyone smiled at the blonde AS pilot?s antics, including Kalinin. Once the folders had been distributed, the Russian finished the briefing. ?I know it?s hard to understand, but we cannot allow this girl to remain in enemy hands. We of the Tuatha de Danaan are the only ones in the world who could pull this off. And I ask for everyone?s best effort in this mission.?

**

?Jesus!? Crispin starred in shock. He followed Sousuke and the old man into a miniature armory. ?What the hell?? He stood in a thirty by twenty room. It had a rack with two rifles and some pistols. A worktable to clean and repair them. Empty crates of ammo were stacked in the corner. Several metal cabinets lined the walls. It was very crowded.

?It?s not chicken guts.? The old man smiled. ?But I thought you?d prefer this.?

?Yeah.? Crispin absently agreed. He walked over to a metal cabinet in daze.

Sousuke?s eyes swept the area and settled on another cabinet. He opened it and nodded in satisfaction. Inside was a box of chemlights, also known as glow sticks. (Plastic tubes filled with colored liquid and a glass ampoule inside.) The liquid softly illuminated an area of about fifteen feet in radius when shaken and the glass ampoule was broken. The lights would be necessary if they were to operate in the moonless night.

?Eight pounds of Symtex?? Crispin shouted in surprise. He turned to the old man wide-eyed. ?You got eight pounds of Symtex! WHY?? He pointed agitatedly at a gray colored lump of wet looking clay setting on a shelf in the cabinet he had opened.

?No.? The old man coughed. ?Check the lower shelf.? Crispin did as asked.

?More?? Crispin stared wide-eyed at the lower shelf packed with even more of the explosive. ?What the hell are you trying to do old man??

?It helps to be prepared.? The apothecary shrugged.

?Prepared?? Crispin rounded on the white-haired man. ?For what? World War Three?? At the old man?s shrug Crispin dropped his head with a sigh. ?Forget it.?

Sousuke walked over to another cabinet in the corner. He opened it and found a MP-5 submachine gun, complete with a fold-out stock and three magazines, stored inside. ?Do you have ammunition for this?? Sousuke pulled the sub-machine gun out.

?Yes, the third shelf over there.? The old man nodded and gestured to a another cabinet. Next to the one Sousuke was looking thru.

Crispin starred numbly at the weapon in Sousuke?s hands. Somehow his mind had a hard time processing all of this. Japan had some of the strictest gun-control laws in the world. He could not comprehend how this old man had this much weaponry.

?Daniels. Are you alright?? Sousuke asked the dazed mechanic.

?Huh? Y-yeah I?m fine.? Crispin shook himself from his daze and began to look for a weapon himself. He quickly found an M-16A2. The standard rifle for the US military and highly illegal for a civilian to have. Somehow the Lance Corporal was unsurprised.

?Hey you got ammo for this thing?? Crispin pulled the assault rifle from it?s cabinet and inspected it. It was in very good shape. The bolt and firing chamber were free of rust and carbon, and it was well oiled. In answer to his question, the old man reached over and pulled out a box of 5.56 mm ammunition. He placed it on the work station with a loud thump.

?Thanks.? Crispin just stared. After several moments he shook himself and began loading the ammunition into the three magazines he found with the M-16.

?Daniels, you sure you know what you?re doing?? Sousuke asked as he watched Crispin load a thirty-round magazine. He was a mechanic after all.

?Yes!? Crispin snapped. ?I know what I?m doing! I spent thirteen months in the Marine Corps you idiot!? He was insulted by the implication he did not know how to use a rifle. After all, in the Marines you were an infantry-man first, regardless of your actual job description.

?I know that.? Sousuke conceded reasonably. ?But that was what? Fourteen months ago?? Even if Crispin was an expert marksman that?s a long time to go with out practice. If they ran into trouble (which was highly likely) Sousuke wanted to be certain of the mechanic?s marksmanship.

?Yes it was.? Crispin bit back several vile epithets. He could understand the sergeant?s concern-- even if it was irritating (and insulting) as all hell. He decided to put Sousuke?s fears to rest. ?I also completed Phase One of SRT evaluation.?

?You did?? Sousuke starred at the other teen in surprise.

?Yes! I did.? Crispin slammed the magazine he was loading onto the table in irritation. ?Is that so hard to believe?? He snarled the last.

?I believe you.? Sousuke held up a hand in surrender. ?I was just surprised. That?s all.? Sousuke shrugged and returned to loading his own weapon. He was satisfied Daniels could hold his own in a fire-fight.

Crispin peered suspiciously at Sousuke, but the sergeant ignored him. Crispin finally muttered curses and returned to loading the magazine in his hand. After he was finished he turned to the old man. ?Hey, you got a satchel or something to cart this stuff around??

The white-haired man nodded and dug out a large dusty dark canvas bag. It zipped up on the one side and was large enough to stuff a half dozen rifles into. ?Will this do?? He grinned at Crispin?s bugged eyed look.

?Uh, yeah.? Crispin shook himself (again). He really should stop being so surprised by this old timer. Crispin frowned as a thought trickled in his mind. ?Have the sights been zeroed on this thing?? Crispin held up the M-16.

?Yes, I aligned them personally about two months ago.? The old man looked thoughtful. ?No I guess it was three.? He finally decided.

?That?ll do. I suppose.? Crispin sighed and shoved the weapon into the bag. A second bag was provided for the magazines. Sousuke came over and started loading his own equipment into the bags as well.

?Here.? Sousuke handed Crispin a dozen glow sticks still in their foil wrappers.. ?We have no night sights. We?ll need these.?

?Yeah, good point.? Crispin dumped the chemlights into the weapons bag. His eye strayed over to the cabinet where he found the Symtex earlier. Finally he asked. ?You mind if I take your Symtex?? All movement in the room stopped at his question. Crispin looked up and saw Sousuke and the old man gaping at him ?What?? At their stares he finally protested. ?I don?t want ALL of it!?

?Take what you need.? The old man gestured to the cabinet.

?Alright.? Crispin rubbed his hands together and started to search thru the cabinet. ?You got detonators? Timers? Cause I don?t got time to make my own.?

?Daniels.? Sousuke asked somewhat worriedly. ?Be careful.? The thought of Crispin with high explosives bothered Sousuke. A lot.

?I am!? Crispin snapped. ?I was a member of EOD in the marines so back off!? He exhaled angrily and continued his search. ?Prefect!? He crowed. Crispin found three detonators, five timers, and two activators. (One of which had a suicide switch.) ?Now we?re talking!? He pulled out the detonators et al. and the eight pound brick of Symtex. ?Got another bag?? His eyes shone like a kid at Christmas.

The old man chuckled ruefully and retrieved a shoulder satchel for Crispin.

The two Mithril agents spent another ten minutes packing. They also each took a pistol at the old man?s prompting. Sousuke was handed a Steyr SPP and Crispin was given a Springfield M1911 .45.

Sousuke nodded in approval at the Steyr Special Purpose Pistol (SPP). It was the same type of pistol that was confiscated his first day at Jindai High. The semi-automatic pistol was one of the best handguns to have in a hostile environment.

Crispin marveled at the solid feel of the heavy M1911 he held. It looked brand new and with its forty-five caliber round the large pistol had more stopping power than almost any side arm in the world.

?Alright! Now all we need to do is figure out a way to walk out of here without getting busted!? Crispin quipped. ?Somehow I don?t think we can take the bus.?

?Yes.? Sousuke agreed. ?We?ll need some kind of transportation.?

?Not a problem.? The old man smiled. ?Your can use my car.?

?No, you?ve done too much already.? Sousuke shook his head. ?And we may not be able to return-?

?Kashim.? The old man cut off Sousuke?s protest with a smile. ?Because of you, I can spend my last days playing with my granddaughters. This,? he gestured all around, ?is the least I can do.? He clapped Sousuke on the back warmly and laughed. ?Perhaps I?ll introduce you to them someday!?

?Perhaps.? Sousuke nodded and smiled. ?Thank you.?

**

?What do we do now?? Sousuke asked his companion. He was in the driver seat of an old Audi in a darkened parking lot just outside the city limits of Naha.

?Good question.? Crispin shifted in the passenger seat of the very old and rusted Audi the old apothecary had given them. ?First thing we ?oww! What the hell?? He searched the seat for what was jabbing him in the ass and pulled out what looked like the broken arm from a doll.

He tossed the broken piece of plastic out the window with a grimace. ?Like I said. We got to figure out what the kidnapper?s plan is. They can?t just hop on a plane and take her out of the country.? Crispin glanced at Sousuke. ?Can they??

Sousuke shook his head. ?No, airport security is a high priority these days. It would be too risky.? Sousuke trailed off and the two teens sat silent.

Finally Sousuke asked. ?What about your tracker? Can you pick up anything now?? They were outside the city and hopefully the interference would be minimized.

?I doubt it.? Crispin answered slowly. He reached between his legs and pulled up his book bag. He dug around in it and pulled out his minicomp. As he did so a large folded up map fell out onto the floor board. ?Damn.? Crispin cursed. He handed the minicomp to Sousuke and picked up the map. He stopped when his fingers closed around the map.

?Is their a problem?? Sousuke asked when the mechanic suddenly froze.

?I-I.? Crispin?s breathing became erratic. He shook his head and took a deep breath. ?It?s crazy, but I have an idea.? He slowly set up with the map in his hand. ?Turn on the interior light.?

Sousuke did as instructed. He froze when his eyes fell onto the cover of the map Crispin was holding up. It was a map of the cavern complexes dug by the Japanese Imperial Army that they had studied on their school trip two days ago.

?What are you thinking?? Sousuke asked. His eyes never left the map.

?I think.? Crispin wet his lips and rubbed the palm of his free hand on the leg of his pants. ?It think this may be their plan.? He waved at the map for emphasis. At Sousuke?s skeptical look he pressed on. ?There are miles of these things. Sure a lot of them have collapsed, been filled in, or are monuments and tourists attractions. But all of them?? He shook his head and his confidence grew as he spoke. ?I don?t think so. They could hide out in one of these and it?d take an army to find them.?

?Yes.? Sousuke nodded. What the Lance Corporal said made sense. ?They could wait for the excitement to die down and then walk out of here with Chidori.?

?Or they could have a boat or some other kind of transport waiting for them.? Crispin pointed out. ?Remember the caverns we visited overlooked the seashore.? He snapped his fingers in excitement. ?And remember what the old man said? The majority were dug throughout the southern part of the island. That way the kidnappers could avoid the Americans!?

If word got out one of the Whispered was on Okinawa, Crispin had no doubts the US would mobilize everything they had to find the Whispered. Therefore the kidnappers would try to avoid any American presence. And going thru these caverns made that entirely possible.

?True, good thinking.? Sousuke actually smiled at the mechanic. ?But where? As you said there are miles of these caverns and catacombs. And I recall that map only covers the south eastern shore of the island.?

?Yeah, but remember the US Army and Naval Engineers conducted a full survey of the area in 1947.? Crispin smiled and pulled out his laptop. ?And I got them all right here!?

Sousuke starred at Crispin as the mechanic booted up his laptop. He did not bother asking how the AS engineer got a hold of American military records. Indeed, the Mithril sergeant felt a spark of hope surge in his breast. He did his best to stamp it out. It would not do to let his emotions sway him. That could lead to a fatal mistake for them and for Kaname.

?That?s still a lot of ground to cover Daniels.? Sousuke finally pointed out.

?Yeah, I know.? Crispin opened the door and got out of the car. He groaned and worked the kinks out of his legs. He scowled at the rusted Audi. It was far too cramped for the tall engineer?s taste. Not to mention a piece of plywood served as the floorboard.

?So what do we do?? Sousuke asked as he got out from the drivers seat.

?The only thing we can.? Crispin shrugged. He set his laptop on the roof and folded the map out on the hood of the car. ?Figure out the best place to hide a teenage girl.?


End Chapter 19



The Devil Inside-Glossary of Terms


MCMJ -Mithril Code of Military Justice. Basically the legal code and rules of conduct all Mithril personal are subject to.

CO - Commanding Officer (This is actually used by the US military)

MCF- Mithril Correctional Facility. Most ships and bases have their own brigs or jails, but those are only designed to keep a prisoner for a short period of time. The MCF serves as Mithril?s more permanent jail. It?s used to hold those who are awaiting their hearing or trail, and for those who?ve been sentenced for longer than a month, to a maximum sentence of a year or two.

MDC- Mithril Detention Center - basically prison. This is where Mithril throw's their hard-cases and long terms sentences. It's a great place where you get to spend twelve hours a day making little rocks out of big rocks. Sounds fun doesn't it?
Basically, think of it as Mithril's equivalent to Ft. Lebonworth.

Old Man - just an affectionate way the soldiers of Mithril have of referring to Kalinin. Of course, they'd never address him like that!

LP/OP ?Listing Post and Observation Post.

FARP ?Fuel And Rearming Point. It?s a forward staging area combat-vehicles (such as an Arm-Slave) can use without having to leave the combat zone.

Mikes ?short-hand for minutes.

ETA ?Estimated Time of Arrival

Hawkeye ?Refers to a US radar plane. The Hawkeye usually flies ahead of a US naval task force (among other things) and gathers useful information about the area and reports it back.

AS- Arm Slave. Ya know, those big freaking robots Sousuke and the others pilot.

SRT- Special Response Team. Sousuke, Melissa, and Kurz are member of Mithril?s SRTs. The way I look at it, the Special Response Teams are Mithril?s equivalent of Special Forces. They do many of the same tasks as special forces: Recon. Infiltration. Sabotage. Lightning raids, Hostage rescue, and assorted other tasks.

MOTC ? Mithril?s Officer Training Course. Most military organizations have additional requirements for their officers besides just time in service and demonstrated ability. Most officers under go specific and grueling training and are usually required to have a four year college degree of some kind.

M9- Called the ?Gernsback? it?s the AS used by Mithril. Considered the next generation of AS.

M6- the AS used by the US Military.

RK-92- Soviet era Arm Slave. To quote Sousuke. ?Move you Soviet-made piece of Junk!?

Ninety-six- refers to the ASG 96-B manufactured by Bofors. It?s a 57 mm smooth-bore rifle and part of the M9?s standard armament. It?s the rifle Kurz used in episode five during his duel with Gauron.

NCOIC- Non-Commissioned Officer In Charge. It refers to the highest ranking enlisted person within a unit. In the case of Crispin?s orders it refers to Melissa.

DI ?Drill Instructor. Another way of referring to a Drill Sergeant.

SitRep- Situation Report. Basically a quick run down of what your situation in a field (or combat) environment.

WA2000- very high-quality German sniper rifle. Considered by some to be one of the best in the world. It?s only down side is its weight. (16 lbs) and cost. It?s highly customizable and sleek in design. It seemed appropriate for Kurz to use. Though I think the one he?s actually shown using is a PGS-1(another German rifle). I?m not certain.

Tac-Net- Tactical Network. A radio network set up and used by members of the same unit during tactical (i.e. combat) situations.

HE- High Explosive.

Fifty Cal ? short hand for fifty caliber. Which is the size of a heavy machine gun. A machine gun this large must be mounted on a tripod or vehicle in order to fire it. A fifty caliber round is about six inches long and can tear a man in half, and it can also destroy trucks, light armored vehicles and buildings.

NVGs -- Night Vision Goggles

EOD ? Explosive Ordinance Disposal

FTX ?Field Training Exercise.

Gunny- Short for Gunnery Sergeant. It?s an advanced NCO rank in the United States Marine Corps

Shiwa Statue ?those Lion statues you?ll see in front of temples and important buildings. There supposed to be guardian spirits and they are very prominent in Okinawa.

Klicks- short hand for kilometers

[pilot03]

Yes, now where getting somewhere. Another chapter down. I guess all the death threats are being put to good use.!!

[necowaffer]

Whoo!

Yeah!

More!

Now!

[darkbane]

yo, still waaaaay too slow. *fires a couple of nukes*. good job but we want the rest, and we want it, like, yesterday