Lost In Japan: Chapter 7, Felix Appears

Created By Brandon K Montoya

This Chapter Written By Brandon K Montoya

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It was the middle of the night in Tokyo.

It had been two hours since I talked to Muschi on the phone.

The city was quiet in this part of town in spite of the loud river beneath me, a complete contradiction to the silence of night here.

The rain was drizzling, not pouring.

But it dripped just enough to start running down my face until I had to frown to keep it out of my eyes.

Things had been going smoothly. So smoothly. And then just enough went wrong that I’m all wet. I hate being wet. What cat doesn’t?

Cat? “Cat.” Whatever I became that day.

Project Bluebird was progressing so well. It was going without a hitch. I sent my agent out to capture an enemy leader as a test subject. An easy task. “We really needed that palooka in one piece. I can’t experiment on a mutilate corpse.” That’s the other thing. I didn’t tell her to do that. “What was she thinking? Was she thinking?”

“Mr. Trinity, are you okay?” My driver, Dottie called out through the car window in the rain. Apparently I was so angry I didn’t realize I was talking to myself quite loudly. My driver’s concern for me was quite real, her perfectly trimmed hair framed the frown on her face quite nicely.

I shouted back with a feigned smile “I’ll be fine Dottie, roll up the window.” Her make up was running. I didn’t have time to think about that. I was annoyed, “I never miss little details.” I turned my attention back to the near deafening river. “So if I don’t miss little details me how did this happen?”

The Sumida’s torrents rolled loudly beneath the Ryogoku bridge, leaving white curls of water visible in the moonlight. The waves were violent enough to vibrate the bridge I was on. We were alone on the bridge, no one to bother us the ghosts of my own thoughts.

I took a deep breath and clutched the railing so hard I felt the metal crumple under my fingers. “She escaped? The broad took off! Why? How? This was absolutely not in the agenda tonight. Rats.”

I could smell the perfume I picked for her on the rails. “Tabu by Dana. That’s definitely Tabu by Dana. Nothing else smells like that.

“I mark what is mine,” I growled over the roaring river with no one to hear me at all. I beat the rails with my fist. “Don’t touch what is mine.” So now the question. “Who touched what was mine? Who did this?” She was absolutely here. “Now where was she? Did she jump? No. She hated water.”

I paced quickly, “where else did she go? Did she get in a car?

The railing groaned again as I unconsciously started to bend it in anger. “My hold never breaks on a weak mind. I’ve had her under my thumb for years.” Suddenly I became aware that I was leaving rounded grooved in the railing where my fingers were. Leaving evidence wasn’t my bag. “Curses.” I sighed. “I need a drink.”

I raised my hand to my face and rubbed my mouth in confusion. I stood there but I couldn’t put the jigsaw pieces down right. I kicked a beer can down the roadway with a load grunt and considered various other options.

“No, she didn’t get in a car,” I muttered. “The dogs would have kept chasing her.” I walked back to the rail with my hands behind my back and looked down into the raging waters. That would absolutely drown a human. I watched two large logs smack into each other in the white water with  so much force that the resounding clap almost sounded like thunder. “Hmmph. That’s why so many of those worthless humans come here to off themselves.”

“Brave biddy.” Hardly a compliment I was angry. “Those waves wouldn’t kill her. No. We’re too tough for that.” I only chose the best, and with Muschi I got the best. She was one of my own kind and blonde to boot.

I only knew of one other. I began to rub the scar on my neck. I shuddered. My body still remembers that fight.

I pointed at the water. “I’m going to find you! Just you wait.”

I swore I heard laughter. I glanced around but there was absolutely nothing human on this bridge except Dottie. The winds briefly became colder and I brushed off my imagination as casually as dust on my jacket sleeves.

There was a low rumble near my hands; that was not my imagination at all. The okuri-inu had been waiting so quietly I forgot they were there.

“Hey Tex,” I said as I gently scratched him between his ears. I still can’t get over petting dogs. It’s something humans showed me, but it keeps them loyal between feedings. That and names. Humans love naming things. Only dogs are so stupid as to be affected by it.

Stupid or not the smelly beasts had lead me to her. Or where they last saw her. I’d have to feed them later. There would be some vexing people at the base that would have an accident tonight. “Maybe that boy in supply depot that keeps eyeing Dottie? He is working alone tonight” I mutter as I walk along the rails while Tex and Williams both rubbed up against me for attention. I’d have to wash to get their stink off of me. I never betrayed my thoughts on this. I’m far too calculating for that.

I slowly trotted back to the car but stopped. I looked back at my trained dogs; with a wave of my hand and the words “find her,” they dispersed in multiple directions.

I stepped back into the sleek, black Packard that Dottie kept running for me. Even with my window wide open the smell of L’Origan by Coty overwhelmed me.  She overindulged the scents I picked for her on occasion. Tonight was one. I felt like I was bathing in it.

Dottie was extremely loyal and followed directions to such a great degree I found myself complimenting her quite often. Considering that I hated and still hate people, that’s two compliments.

“At least I don’t have to worry about you jumping off a bridge.”

“What was that sir?”

“Nothing sweetie.”

Humans don’t notice scents. They don’t notice pheromone changes. I do. If you’re not using all five of your senses, you’re blind. I can tell my chosen officers and representatives before I see them.

The sound of their voice. The sound of their gait as they walk. The vibrations on the wood floors that are unique to their weight. The midday smell from their daily work. I can tell when they’re going. I could tell when they’re coming. I can tell when they’re interested in me and when they’re lying. All information is power.

And by accepting my gifts, I have gained even more over them.

Gracie, my secretary has a Youth Dew scent. It’s bolder than most females around base use and it lets me know when she’s underfoot.

Jane my army Liason… It would not be a lie to say I liked that human a bit. She wore L’Air du Temps fit her quite well. I could pick her presence out in a busy barracks full of sweaty men. It’s important when I need someone that’s going to cover my tracks carefully.

That’s another reason I keep men away from them. They like to contaminate my girls with their stink. Army men stink so bad. “Muschi hasn’t had any weird scents on her. Then how did she break free?”

“Any luck Mr. Trinity?”

“No Dottie, our target seems to have eluded us.”

“Aw shucks that’s too bad. Shall we go back to Hardy Barracks sir?”

Dottie’s smiling face was smiling back at me in the mirror, never breaking eye contact. She had been under my control since she joined the army, which was not long after she became an adult. I’d already put four perfectly good soldiers in the dirt making sure she didn’t go anywhere. “I mark what is mine” I think as her sparkling eyes beam at me.

“Not yet, let me think a moment.”

In my mind I ran through a list of faces of men that might have influenced my Muschi. But I couldn’t think of a single man on that base brave enough to tangle with me. Not that any of them knew that an awesome creature such as myself existed in their presence. Disgusting simians pretending to be apex predators.

“Muschi, pour me a shot.” I thought it was a good time for a drink, not that alcohol was able to affect me. It’s a habit I picked up from humans, it helped me blend in. I licked my lips anticipating the flavor. A long silent moment passed before I realized the only person with me was Dottie.

“Sir?”

I sighed. Great. I don’t pour my own shots. I like being served. It makes me feel good. I glanced at Dottie’s smiling eyes. “Maybe I should change her role? It’s not hard?” True, molding weak minds was easy. I don’t love at all and I don’t love people in particular. But I am partial to human women thanks to my first. I did like Dottie’s smile, I did kill four men for it. She’s obedient but not an equal. I tried to imagine her sitting in the back seat with me serving me drinks in a more casual outfit but it didn’t suit my army girl. It wasn’t revolting but it lacked any appeal whatsoever. I recoiled more at the thought of having to make real conversations with her. She was as green as a new leaf and I was allergic to small talk. She was best as I chose her. She should stay that way for a while. I would just need to find my Muschi.

“Sir? Mr. Trinity?”

I looked up and realized I was more lost in my thought than she was. “Nothing, Take us back to base. I need to talk to Jane.”

“Yes sir.”

She put the car into gear and I watched Tokyo’s night lights slip into a blur. My mind was focused on my loss, and I wasn’t about to give up.

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I was more distracted than I felt I was. I know the schedules of all my chess pieces, she wasn’t a night worker of course I knew that. They may not realize they have internal clocks and recognizable patterns, but I do. Those patterns are memorized, I know this entire base. Every officer every private. Even the merchants that come in and stock the store. No one escapes my sight. She was important enough that I didn’t disturb her unless I needed to.

The barracks slowly moved by my windows as we killed a few moments driving down random streets. Dottie knew me quiet well and was reacting to an unspoken mood of mine.

I was frustrated, so I needed a pick me up. Nothing was open at that hour. All the important people were sleeping.

Wait. There was the lab. I could play god for a little while to pass the time.

“Dottie?”

“The hangar, sir?”

“Yesssss… good guess.”

Dottie accelerated to through the barracks and past the officer’s row. We flew by the supplies warehouse and motor pool until we came to the old airfield. There in that rusted old building were the closest thing to humans I could tolerate.

There were two things that separated the science team in the hangar from the rest of the base besides being scientists and not mindless grunts. The base was full of people whose brains had been manhandled by yours truly and quite a few people I didn’t dare try that too. The first big difference was that there in the old hangar, those were my people. Cruel. Heartless. Mean. The closest thing humans had to being chimpanzees. I didn’t respect these creatures, but they spoke my language. I could stand being around them without being sick to my stomach and grinding my teeth putting on a fake smile.

Here I didn’t toy with their minds, I wanted them free as they were. Pure filth. Nazi scientists. Japanese scientists that had been to Harbin. The worst of the worst. What kept them loyal? The noose I saved them from. They were already sentenced to die. Mr Dulles said I could have anyone I wanted for Bluebird. Operation Paperclip was a buffet and I was allowed first serving. Even the rocket boys didn’t get in line before me. N.E.S.S.A.? N.E.E.S.A.? Ha. Something like that. Chase the moon boys.

But before I allowed them to hide under my wing they had to show me they were better than these other monkeys. They had to be able to see me as I am unprompted. If they couldn’t see my ears or tails I didn’t want them near me . Controlling them corrupts their thinking. I even let a few men in, if they were smart enough. But they had to be obedient and produce results. Quite a difference from Dottie. She’s useful in her own way, but she has no spiritual sight. I asked her to draw me once. I do admit it was a good likeness, but she only saw me as a handsome young man. I wasn’t angry. She was always ready with whatever I needed like a good luck charm. She had her place. Quite frequently I’d ask her to get something important for me and she’d already have it. She was a like a Swiss Army Knife. My Swiss Army Knife.

Every tool in its place. And there, in the hanger, was the place for dirt. The place for nasty people of the worst kind. It was a mix of medical equipment, tables and books. When we were busy experimenting, this place smelled like an infirmary. But when we were short of people to open up? It was sterile. Too sterile and too silent. Normally it was at bare minimum full of copper scents and the moans of someone we decided the world would be better without, usually some idiot communist.

“Mr. Trinity!” LaBender rushed to greet me, the smell of Miss Dior flooding my nostrils. “You’re back early. Did Muschi capture our subject?”

“Sadly, no. Muschi is awol.”

“What?” LaBender wasn’t a Nazi or a war criminal. But I chose her for this job, which should tell you a lot. “What happened?”

“I’m not certain yet. But she’s gone and our subject is ripped from his throat down to his waistline.”

I pause and watch LaBender’s face contort into several different stages of confusion. “Muschi did this?”

“Yeah missy.” I looked out across the operation tables and desks to a sea of disappointed faces.

“Darn it I wanted to see it work,” Hilda was not pleased.

“Ja, I haven’t killed a commie in a while.” There were giggles.

As I said, these were my kind of humans. Absolute killers. “Don’t we have a few prisoners,” a simple question to throw to a bunch of war criminals.

“Well there is that one man but he hasn’t been processed yet.”

“Is his name Houdini?” I smiled, “that will make it easier for him to disappear. Get him in here.”

I laughed, “finally something good tonight.” I reached my desk at the hangar. “Muschi, pour me a…. ” I rubbed my temples. “Curses, I did it again.”

“It’s late at night Mr. Trinity, do you want me to wake the base commander for the prisoner transfer?”

“No just… ah shoot. Wake up Jane. Let’s keep this discreet.”

LaBender nodded and scurried off to a phone.

“Excuse me” a quiet voice said with a German accent. “Can I pour your glass?”

It was Gertrude, Ilse’s assistant? Or was it Sophia? I couldn’t place the name. She was a second rate scientist who didn’t amount to much. Her eyes were sparkling and I felt like being served.

“Sure toots, if it makes you happy.”

“Oh thank you sir!” she exclaimed.

She was a bit too happy but I didn’t think too much about it at at the time. I was too used to all these people being absolutely weird. Once they saw my ears they’ve been trying to fit my existence into their pagan / Christian worldview. I’m not a god to them. Maybe an angel of death.

“Here you go sir.”

“Thanks sugar.”

There was a very contented, melting sigh. The kind I hear dames let out in moving pictures sometimes when I get bored and go. I wasn’t sure what to make of that so I blocked it out of my mind and moved on. Out of the corner of my eye I saw LaBender shaking her head. I’d have to ask her about that later.

I sat down and relaxed with my drink for a few minutes, reflecting on things tonight. Only then did I notice she was still standing there. She was blushing. “Oh no,” I’d been avoiding this.

“Can I help you?”

She opened her mouth as if to speak but no words came out. I think I heard a faint syllable but she didn’t have the courage to continue it. She closed her mouth and managed a weak smile. I wasn’t interested in returning it. I’m not one to chew the ladies out, I could only hope she’d get the hint.

A long uncomfortable silence persisted until I heard LaBender yell at her. “Gertrude, zurück an die Arbeit.” Dr. Laura LaBender was born in Montana, German was not her first language but she studied hard to wrangle every miscreant in the room.

Truth be told the last time I had to kill one of those scientists to prove a point was two years beforehand. If the worst I had to deal with was a Nazi hot under the collar I felt I could deal with it as long as I brought along a stick to fend her off with. Or LaBender. LaBender works.

I smirked and muttered “No thanks. That’s not how Mr. Impossible does his job. No one is wrapping me around her finger while I’m breathing.”

I smiled and raised my glass at her as she walked away, I would regret that later. I sipped on that drink for what felt like half an hour before things finally got interesting.

Unfortunately I had to rouse Jane from bed after all, the MPs currently on duty were not under my control. She struggled to walk in with a very hostile man with his arms chained behind his back. He was a smaller man than her, but I could see she wasn’t fully awake yet. He must have known. Suddenly the prisoner kicked Jane in the legs and threw himself into her. Both of them went down quickly and I heard Jane hit her head on a desk.

The ice in the glass of whiskey glass clanked as I tossed it backward. I noticed that none of the lazy men in the hangar were moving.

I glowered at them horribly. “Well you slowpokes whaddya’ think I keep ya around for!? Your looks? Help her stupid!” I felt like cursing louder but I didn’t want to put down my glass to do it. Useless. Men are so useless.

After a few minutes of grunting, shouting and lots of very vulgar language in both English and Japanese, the man they had brought in was strapped to a nearby gurney. He still continued to cuss up an incessant stream like an open fire hydrant, so I had them gag him with a bandana.

“Is this one of Tokuda’s people?” I asked, jingling an empty whiskey glass.

“Yes,” LaBender casually said while the scientists took his blood pressure and prepared him. “He’s the secretary of the party. Quite worthless. We already know everything. I suppose we can prove whether or not you can mentally fold a hardened target.

“We don’t know.” I gestured widely. “And that’s why we experiment.” I not so gently slam my glass down on the table. “Pour me another glass. I don’t pour my own and I don’t want any more of your girls to get ideas.”

LaBender frowned so hard I felt the facade she kept would crack open and she’d reveal she was a yokai as well. But no, she was just a mean woman and I could tolerate that quite well. I smirked at her. I saw her lips move. Did she enjoy that?

“You haven’t asked how we’re administering this.”

“Well your team normally does the thinking, but enlighten me.”

“Sodium pentathol, pervitin, periston and isolate X from our favorite blood donor.”

“That’s quite the knock out,” Dottie chimed in out of nowhere. “If that doesn’t make them talk I can’t imagine what would.”

“Dottie I forgot you were here.”

“Sorry sir.”

“Don’t apologize. You don’t get in my way.”

“So as I was saying,” Dr. LaBender raised her voice much louder, “the isolate should react with the other sodium pentathol and pervitin to create the kind of mind bending results we want. Even if the target wants to resist your commands, you should be able to have them clucking like a chicken if you want to after we’re done.”

Just then we all began to hear the patient groan as the fluid was being injected into his veins. His moaning grew exponentially as it was clearly painful.

“We did discuss other methods,” LaBender continued. “But eating the isolate or taking it in pill form seemed ineffective. We figured this was the best way.”

Suddenly there was a metal pop of a rivet coming loose, something a human ear would not quite catch but I did.

“Oh great. Dottie?”

“Yes sir?”

“Fetch my Saturday Night Special from the car.”

“I already have it with me sir. I felt you needed it.

“Good girl.”

In a moment the cool steel of a 45 caliber revolver was in my hands. A moment later my army girl was busy digging the bullets out of her purse.

The scientists wasted no time in taking notes. A group of a dozen women stood with clipboards writing away quickly with every outburst and twist the man made. Chalkboards were getting tapped louder than a newsroom full of typewriters as scientists were trying to figure out in real time what these chemicals were doing in that filthy commie.

The groaning turned to anger, raging anger as the man strained incredibly hard against the multiple straps holding them down, but I could hear the metal bending under newly found strength. “Exactly what was… uh oh.” I saw the problem more clearly, a pair of ears was starting to fade into existence and a shadowy tail started to whip behind him. “This is not what we were aiming to do.”

The chalkboards became louder. The writing became frantic. And I was the only one smart enough in the room to arm up. Humans. So stupid. They men rapidly ran out of room, dozens of blackboards flipped at once.

The man made eye contact with me, his human nature degraded into something I couldn’t quantify. “I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!!! I’ll tear you apart!” The man screamed louder and louder. More rivets popped. I’d created a monster.

“Is he going to be okay?”

I loaded each chamber with a special bullet and locked the cylinder into place. “No, he’s going to sleep tonight one way or another.”

“Should I hit the base alarm?” Jane asked.

“No. We can handle this.” Truly I didn’t know if we could, but I didn’t want to wake up the base over one idiot. “Start coming up with a cover story for the body please.”

“Yes sir.”

His raging scream became so loud it began to hurt my ears and then he had… wait what? Three tails? No four… five…

I wasn’t alone in noticing this. A quick glance showed me that the men were still writing but the women were staring in shock. Then as I was looking they suddenly winced backwards in fear.

The man’s screaming became a shriek of fear and pain as the color faded from his face and his eyes glossed over in terror. He began to shake and convulse so hard we could all hear the wheels tap the concrete floor.

“Mein gott!” someone exclaimed.

His screaming became muffled as he became to foam at the mouth and the room filled up with a stench somewhere between bile and sulfur.

A cacophony of pain and the desperate scratching of pens paying tribute to it. My ears were filled with the sounds of screaming and writing.

Suddenly there was an extremely loud bang, followed by hissing flame erupting from the man’s body. I held the gun in front of me with my finger near the trigger as he quickly turned into a thirty pound block of human shaped charcoal. Sputtering and hissing… he came to a smoking stop with the stench of burnt flesh filling the hangar.

And just as quickly the room became deathly quiet. The chalk did not tap. The pens did not scratch. Instead there was a slow, pitiful wail that filled the room like a police siren, but slower.

“Hiro… Hiro no…. nooooooo…”

“Oh what now?” I was a little irritated to say the least. “What’s this about. Are they husband and wife or something?”

“No sir. Maybe they loved each other though?”

“Ah. How tragic. How sad.” I took a sip of my whiskey. “Welp. No experiment is good unless you collect all the data.” I looked up coldly. “Strap her down. Use more straps.”