By EliadS

** A few blocks away from building where Adam Winters ditched Ibuki **

Adam is walking carefully, his senses alert and ready for action should he pick up Ibuki’s aura once more. His brown eyes gleam with concentration and are cold and calculating.

Upon being positive he isn’t being followed he calms down, his muscle tone loses its tension and he sighs in relief. ”That was one close call, She almost had me there, who’d of thought she’d try a crazy stunt like climbing the rails like that…” He thinks and stops for a second.

”I wonder why the clan’s after me; I didn’t step on any of their toes, right? I’ve never went up against them, I’m not suicidal, everyone knows who’s got the real power between the organization in Tokyo, and it sure h*ll ain’t the Yakuza.” He thinks and his eyebrows furrow as he begins thinking.

”Hmm…It must be that Microchip I stole for Vibora…but why would the Shinobi want it? This doesn’t make sense…I need more info, guess I’ll have to call up and find out…” He muses to himself and looks for a Telephone booth.

He punches in the code for a collect call (Author’s note: sorry don’t know the numbers in Japan) and then dials in the number Vibora had given him a few weeks ago when she had hired him.

He waits a few seconds before he hears Vibora’s low and soft voice. “Hello? Who is this?” She asks, subtle watery splashes can also be heard in the background.

Vibora is sitting in a large Bathtub, crafted into the shape of a large hand holding the tub made of granite. She’s holding the wireless phone in her hand and stretching in the warm and steamy water. Her bodily features are hidden by a layer of white bubble, a soft aroma of flowers filling the air from the soap.

“It’s me, Adam, I hope I’m not interrupting anything” Adam says casually.

“Oh, Adam darling, how can I help you?” Vibora purrs in a low and seducing tone while blowing some bubbles off her hand while smirking at the receiver.

“I need to ask you a few questions…I…Is this a bad time?” He says before adding the question.

Vibora laughs lightly, “Oh don’t worry darling, You just caught me in the bath, Nothing to serious, just a warm, hot, pleasuring bath tub, just me and the warm water which cling to my…” She says, emphasizing the right words accordingly.

“Ok, Ok I got the point,” He says, trying to brush the pictures from his head, so he keeps in focus, his eyes a lil’ wide and his breathing a little heavier.

”Geez, talk about a hot and seducing woman, and they we men are bad…” He thinks and wipes some sweat off his forehead, still a little tired from his pursuit only around 40 minutes ago.

“Well then Adam, ask away, I’ve always got time for a good employee” She says and shifts slightly in the water, finding a more comfortable position and sighing contently while shivering, the bath indeed tense removing and pleasing to the female assassin.

“K, this woman’s looking for me, and she’s from the Shinobi? Care to tell me why I wasn’t informed about this detail?” He asks, checking around occasionally that nobody's around.

She grins to herself and brushes some wet locks of hair from her forehead. “Oh you mean the Shinobi are looking for you now? Excellent, just as I suspected” She says in a smug and satisfied tone.

“What?! You never said anything about f**cking with the Shinobis! That’s suicide! Those guy’s are practically the strongest force in all Japan, even the Yakuza don’t mess with them” He says, slight anger and shock in his voice.

“Calm down dear, It’s ok, You’ll be paid for this…don’t worry, How bout 30 grand, will that be a fair confiscation for you troubles?” She asks.

“I guess so…but d*mn the Shinobi, couldn’t you have messed with some organization with less power?” He asks while sighing lightly.

“As I said before, relax Adam, they aren’t after you? Only one of them is…and even she doesn’t care about you, she’s looking for the part you stole for me” She says casually.

“How do you know all this?” He asks, though his tone giving in that he agrees to her offer.

“Don’t worry yourself with details dear, It’ll be ok. Now…if this Shinobi corners you, don’t tell her who I am unless you have to. If you’re life is in danger, do tell her, and also give her my name and address” She says.

“You’re the boss Vibora, anything else I should know?” He asks, looking around again and noting it’s quiet, almost too quiet and feeling a little nervous, although it is early in the morning, he doesn’t want to get jumped by muggers now, he’s too tired.

“No, not really, just take care, I might want to hire you again someday, don’t get yourself hurt of killed.” She says, smiling to herself.

“Don’t worry, I won’t…bye Vibora,” he says and hangs up after she replies with a gentle “Goodbye Adam”. Then he exits the booth and walks away, heading for his apartment.

Meanwhile Vibora places the phone on the side of the Bath and soaks her head in the hot water for a short while before resurfacing and brushing the water out of her now wet and smooth Blond hair.

“Did I forget to mention Ibuki’s not going to give up till she gets you Adam? Oops, must have slipped my mind. Oh Adam you're indeed the perfect pawn to use as I move another step forward in my chessboard game of vengeance. And the little Shinobi fly gradually comes closer and closer, a little bit at a time to my web of wrath. And then when she's where I want her…SPLAT…I’ll get her.” She thinks smacking her hands together on the splat part and grinning evilly.

Then she gets up, moving from the tub and stepping into a shower. She turns on the faucet and sighs while shivering as ice cold water drizzles down her naked body. She feels her blood rush and sighs. “Soon, Soon You’ll be here Chiquita, then I’ll have to beat you as a payback for you beating poor Martin…” She thinks and then turns off the water.

Then she grabs a towel and dries off before tying it around herself and moving to brush her hair. “Now All I need to do it wait for you Chiquita, But unfortunately for you I have time, all the time in the world to wait and fight you” She mutters and smiles to herself.

** Meanwhile Ibuki’s house, an hour later **

Ibuki is sitting in the living room while holding the phone to her ear. She is sitting leg on leg, comfortably on her couch. Her back sinking into the soft material of the furniture item.

She has been talking on the phone for a few moments and is now heading towards the main part of the conversation, her face turning serious as she thinks well of every word she is about to voice.

“I…I have something to ask of you, I hope you don’t mind” She says, her voice a little uncertain and nervous, leaving a quite big question to the identity of the person on the other side of the call.

“I’ve got a problem with someone…I need you to help me find his location, the guy who knows won’t cooperate, and I’d appreciate it if you helped me out a little” Ibuki says, looking hopeful as she does.

“You will? Oh domo Arigato!” She says, her eyes lighting up with delight, a large smile reaching her lips.

“I’ve got some more things I need to ask you about, I’ll explain everything when we meet up, ok?”

“Great! Can you tell him to come too? I hope he won’t mind, but I just know his help would be priceless, thank you, you’re the greatest” She says and blushes slightly for some reason.

“Thank again, you’re too sweet, bye bye for now” she says and smiles again before hanging up the call.

She then lies down on the couch, looking up at the ceiling and sighing contently. The smile refusing to leave her lips as her heart beats slightly faster than usual.

“This is great, Everything is going by my plans for a change…” she mutters and leans her head on her palms, crossing her hands behind her head and slowly drifting to sleep.

“Tomorrow, tomorrow will be better, and I’ll be closer to that VB part…I wonder if things are as easy as they seem, I always seem to get involved in some bigger plan of someone’s. I really hope that for ONCE, Nothing happens. Buthen again why even bother doubting it, my luck hasn’t changed since last summer…” She thinks and sighs, her eyes closing.

Then she calms down and silences her thoughts. Feeling her tension melt away as she tries to sleep, slowly but surely letting the slumber overcome her.

** Underground complex, hidden under the Middle Eastern Desert, The Negev, Southern regions of Israel **

A man is sitting beside a table, drinking coffee from a plastic cup. He’s middle aged and a little beefy. He’s wearing a suit of some kind of leather uniform, with gold trimming and a strange symbol over his heart.

His eyes are totally black, and his hair is sliver. He is leaning against a metallic wall and sipping his coffee slowly.

He is sitting in the most secretive and well-hidden prison in the world; nobody would ever seek the world's most deadly criminals 50 feet under the ground in the middle of the desert in Israel of all places.

It's the perfect and most unexpected country for this place, a small blob on the map, almost like an ink stain on the globe. Also it is a place so full of conflict and warfare that nobody in his/her sane mind would even consider of holding a prison in such a delicate and dangerous region. That's exactly the reason the psychic council chose this place.

Yet surprisingly this prison is not large, and it holds only one captive, yet one captive which the council fear greatly. The whole complex is not large than 100 square feet in its size, ever more concealing its importance and location.

The man finishes his coffee and throws the cup away. “This job is the worst, All I do is guard this b*tch 24/7. What can one stupid woman do? I mean…why is she so freaking paranoid” He rants to himself and pounds on the wall angrily.

“Luckily I get swapped once a week or I’d go mad” He thinks and whistles to himself. He sighs and grunts before getting up. “Oh what the h*ll, I’m bored, lets go lay her, always cheers me up.” He thinks and grins evilly.

He is one of the members of the council of psychics, also known as Joseph, Yet he is one of the younger members, so he is still in his initiation stages. Therefore as part of his training he has been left in charge of the most dangerous and powerful prisoner the council has within its custody.

The council was so paranoid about this woman escaping that they had used their powers to bind her powers and keep them dormant by a set of powerful, power nullifying bracelets.

Why they bother puzzles Joseph, he had beaten, raped and burnt the time by testing his powers on her for months now, and never had she shown any type resistance to his actions beside pleading before him to stop or crying out in hope for him to stop.

But he isn’t complaining he had a good life, he was well paid on a daily basis. The prisoner was very beautiful and he finds great joy in exacting his fantasies on her, though he feels her cries and pleas are beginning to get a little bothersome at the times he spends with her.

“Hey, If I have to guard her, I might as well guard her womanly assets too” he says and feels his hunger and lust grow as he approaches a cellblock. He opens the cell door and pulls it open.

A woman is leaning against the wall; she is curled up to a ball and shivering, sitting on the cold floor giving her frostbite. Her skin is bruised and covered with several ugly gashes.

Her hair is long and purple, growing wildly and now covering her up. Hiding her face. “Please…don’t…It hurts so much…please…don’t rape me… please Joseph…” she pleads in a small voice, her voice wavering and full of fear, sniffing and sobbing raking the woman’s body.

“Shut up you treacherous b*tch, this is what you deserve for doublecrossing the council. No shut up and get ready” he says and his eyes flicker with energy.

She gasps and hugs herself harder, crying against her legs and shivering. Joseph arranges his pants and looms over her. Before grabbing her and pulling her up.

”Somebody help me…please…Somebody take me from this place…please…” She thinks.

Her sobbing and cries of pain, her desperate cries for release and for the pain and torment filling the air, but the only one who can hear her is the antagonist himself, the walls amplifying the sounds and making the heart-wrenching sounds ever more tough to endure.