The Kenji Files Dark Garden Part 3 - Reasonable Deniability

The Kenji Files:
Dark Garden Part 3
Reasonable Deaniability

The chopper slid through the air stealthily while the passengers looked out at the dawning sky. Everything was a blur, still, but Kenji didn't mind his poor vision for that moment. Instead, he focused inward and began formulating conclusions to the tiny bits of information he'd gleaned from their brief interment.

The feeling he got reading over the light case-file led him to politely request Agent Ibarazaki's assistance, and, even though it had been an ordeal, he was happy with the result. Whatever the suspicious characters were doing at Purgatory Chasm, it was clearly something worth investigating. The connection to Maine was harder to pin down, but he thought perhaps their society had a base of some kind in this region.

Kingsmouth, Ibarazaki had said, was the name of the little town they wound up in, but Kenji didn't recall it from any of the maps he poured over in his free time. That detail seemed rather askew considering they had just been there not ten minutes before. Perhaps he hadn't seen the marking, or maybe it was newly added, but maybe, just maybe, Kingsmouth was another secret in the web of conspiracies he spent the better part of his adult life researching.

Feeling the cold stare from his partner, Kenji glanced at her and smirked apologetically. Whatever else they may have discovered in their trip to Massachusetts, Kenji now knew her more intimately. Circumstance demanded it, but they would never have been in that situation if not for his bumbling of protocol. Eventually, she would come around to forgiving him, but, for that moment, he held the crossbar over his chair on the off-chance she might decide to push him out of the helicopter.

Laromy was suitably annoyed, he gathered from watching the phone conversation, but seemed willing to listen. He even sent a spec-ops team along with the regular rescue crew and ordered them at Ibarazaki's disposal. That was fine, he figured, she was the more tactically minded between them, after all. Ibarazaki also carried most of the physicality between them, but Kenji's instincts and attention to detail usually helped more than she might admit.

Flying away from the rising sun, time seemed to stand still as they passed over the heavy forests, but soon they came to a clearing where a small, gray, inconspicuous shed stood. Landing nearby, the door swung open and out stepped a familiar, grinning figure. Ibarazaki brightened visibly as she recognized the face, but Kenji crossed his arms in suspicion.

Few people were familiar at that distance, but the white lab coat, purple shock of hair and shit-eating grin were unmistakeable. A specter from their days at Yamaku, Nurse stayed true to his word, promising to remain nearby like a pseudo-father, and followed Ibarazaki when she joined the NPC. Approaching the chopper, carrying a metallic gray suitcase, he ducked down away from the whirring blades and called out a greeting, "hey, Emi! Kenji!" nodding to each.

"Word came down you needed some support," he remarked, close enough not to yell. Swinging the case up into the chopper, he flicked the locks open and lifted the lid revealing a new pair of prosthetic legs; apparently for Ibarazaki.

Not being particularly adept at noting subtle differences, they didn't look terribly different from the spikes she often wore, but the look in Ibarazaki's eyes indicated otherwise. Lifting one out of the case, she stared at it wide-eyed with a broad grin.

"This is a modified Cheetah Mach-three," she surmised, turning the technological marvel over in her hands. "Any surprises I should know about?" she inquired, turning her quizzical gaze at Nurse.

"Get them on, and I'll explain inside," he said, glancing at Kenji, "you're due for a de-briefing anyway, so there's no rush." The double meaning in his statement was not lost on Kenji, and he grimaced at the prospect.

Quickly untying her pant legs, Ibarazaki went about fitting the new spikes over her stumps. Watching with some interest, Kenji marveled at how quickly she fitted and strapped them into position; she had gotten a lot of practice over the years. Once she had them secured, she leaped out of the chopper and bounced on the new spikes, feeling them for the proper fit.

Satisfied, she offered Kenji a slight grin, remarking, "maybe losing my legs over your stupid plan wasn't such a bad thing after all."

Following Nurse toward the shed, Ibarazaki bounded ahead, drawing a despondent roll of the eyes from their purple-haired compatriot. "Try not to accidentally set off one of the special features," he scolded, "they're perfectly safe, but not if you don't know they're about to happen." His cryptic warning caused Ibarazaki to turn a curious glance, but Kenji merely smirked; Nurse always made sure his surrogate daughter had the latest toys.

The shed, of course, was not just a shed. The top floor was laid out like a gardening shed complete with tools, barbed wire rolled against the wall, and the distinct smell of fertilizer and decaying plant matter. However, once they crept inside and the door closed, the carefully projected images fizzled into a solid gray elevator. Large enough for cargo, the platform was pristine and polished to a reflective shine, though he could hardly enjoy the spectacle.

Pressing a series of buttons to unlock the security protocols, Nurse paused and turned. "Gird your loins!" he exclaimed as he pressed a large blue button and the elevator started moving down slowly.

After sharing a disbelieving glance with Ibarazaki, Kenji smirked at Nurse and chided, "always the kidder."

As the last syllable escapes his lips, the room seemed to fly downward and Kenji was nearly thrown off his feet; the elevator suddenly dropped, full-throttle. Feeling sheepish after his comment, Kenji looked away; partly, though, it was to hide his paled expression.

"I'd offer you Dramamine," Nurse joked, "but watching you eat your words is a lot more fun."

Kenji groaned and folded his arms, watching as the gray walls slipped away into a clear capsule; through which he could see the towering facility stretching into the blurry darkness. Well-funded, their parent organization spared no expense to turn every operational base into an acropolis. Complete with living quarters for over a thousand employees, full athletic and recreational facilities, medical staff, gardens, and even a small animal farm, the NPC prepared to carry humanity through an apocalypse if necessary.

Constructed as the northern hemisphere base of operations for the Americas, this particular base, merely referred to by its serial number, UQC-13, rested below an expanse of Maine forest, far from prying eyes. Its proximity to the mysterious town of Kingsmouth brought up more than a few questions, but Kenji knew better than to ask anyone directly involved with their organization. Resigning to await their assignment, already knowing he was on thin ice, Kenji quelled his inquiries and followed Nurse dutifully to the medical annex for a complete physical.

Hours of poking, prodding and generally uncomfortable questions followed, such that by the time he found himself staring at the bed assigned to him by the porter, all his thoughts had left and he slumped onto the warm mattress heavily, feeling completely exhausted. Sleep took him quickly, but it was not to last. Merely a few hours later, the door drew open and in stepped a very red-faced Laromy, shrieking curses that launched Kenji out of his slumber, and right out of the bed, landing unceremoniously on the floor.

"Do you have any idea the shit-storm you stirred up with the higher ups?" Laromy barked, his flustered cadence just starting to rise in ire. "The fuck were you thinking skipping protocol like that?" he inquired, though Kenji assumed it was mostly rhetorical.

"You saw the file," Kenji stated, "we were checking out a simple lead." His explanation, however, was not received with much sympathy.

"Without telling me? Without informing your team? Without so much as a phone message to explain your absence?" Laromy's questions hung in the air, but Kenji really didn't have any good answers, so he didn't bother replying. "Whatever you ran across down there, it's someone's personal nightmare or some shit!" Laromy spat, "they can't even tell me what's in that file you found. Some jack-hole carted it away and fed back a rescinded stack of illegible shit!"

Kenji nodded at hearing this development. Laromy didn't miss the gesture and turned a quizzical eye on his subordinate, asking, "what do you know?"

Straightening, and shaking the fatigue away, Kenji stepped over to Laromy and whispered, "there's something fishy about this whole thing. What did they say their plan is for Purgatory Chasm?"

"Off limits," Laromy balked, "they'd have my head."

Laromy was a reasonable guy if you caught him in the right mood. One of those right moods was when something didn't smell right, and this whole situation stunk. Deciding to work on the assumption that Laromy was equally perplexed by and wary of this sudden secrecy, Kenji leaned in close and said evenly, "punch me."

"What?" Laromy questioned.

"Just do it before I punch you first!" Kenji threatened, "just tell me what room Ibarazaki is in first."

"How do you plan to get past security?" Laromy inquired, his face contorted into a disbelieving scowl.

"It's better you don't know," Kenji replied cryptically.

"D-deck, room two-twelve," Laromy stated, then added with a disdainful smirk, "she's prolly gonna beat the shit out of you for this."

Kenji smirked and leveled his head, staring straight into Laromy's eyes. "Now make it look real," he said, preparing for the coming blow.

Without waiting another instant, Laromy wound up and threw a right cross across Kenji's jaw, sending him reeling backward. Glancing back up at the burly man, there was a delighted smile splayed wickedly across his lips; he probably wanted to do that all day. Unfortunately, what Kenji had to do next would be much less enjoyable.

Darting across the room, he wrapped Laromy in a sleeper hold, assuring him, "the headache will be worth the peace of mind."

As Laromy struggled a bit, Kenji tightened his grip, waiting for the tell-tale relaxation before sliding him down to the floor and heading for the door. Hopefully his gut was right this time, or Ibarazaki really might follow through on her historically empty threats.

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