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  “Bringing a gun to a knife fight – stupid.” she said.

  She opened the door slowly, ducking her head in and out quickly to draw fire in case someone was waiting for her. No response. She pushed open the door with her foot while remaining out of sight. Nothing, there was no motion or sound in the room.

  She crouched low and rolled in the room to find a battered and bleeding Mikaela and two more dead Blades. Helen smiled in admiration as she picked up the unconscious Mikaela.

  “Good job,” she said more to herself.

  Mikaela grunted as she was lifted. Helen could tell from the wounds that Mikaela needed medical attention. It was time to go. She almost crashed into a woman in the corridor. Helen instantly had her gun in her hand. Noise no longer an issue.

  “Who the hell are you?” said Helen.

  She noticed the two swords, one in the woman’s hand and one strapped to her back. The one in her hand was bloody.

  The woman came to a stop. She sheathed her sword slowly.

  “My name is Rukio. You need help or she won’t make it.” Rukio said pointing with her chin

  Helen couldn’t see the woman’s face behind the white mask she wore, she knew she was right: Mikaela needed help.

  An interminable moment passed as Helen weighed if this woman was a threat.

  “Fine, don’t give me a reason to end you.” said Helen. Rukio bent down and pulled out some supplies from her pack. She gestured to the room

  “Let’s go in there, out of this corridor.” said Rukio. “Bring those bodies in here too.”

  Rukio looked at the two Blades by the door. Helen cursed herself for not thinking of that – it was a rookie move. Helen put Mikaela down as gently as she could and pulled in the two Blades. Rukio went to work dressing Mikaela’s wounds. When she was done, Helen checked the dressings.

  “Not bad. What do you want?” said Helen.

  “I need you to deliver a message for me.”

  “A message to who?” said Helen.

  “John. John Kane.” said Rukio.

  “You have my attention.” said Helen.

  “Tell him this goes beyond the Kage. He has to look at the Heads. Tell him to look for Ikken Hisatsu.”

  “For who?” said Helen.

  “Could you repeat the message please? It is very important he gets it correctly.” said Rukio.

  Helen repeated the message without error. Rukio gave her a short nod and stood to leave.

  “I’m sure I will see you again. Please take care of your friend.” said Rukio.

  With that she ran out the door and headed down the corridor, without making a sound. Helen lifted Mikaela, careful not to cause her wounds to reopen and made her way to the door at the other end of the corridor, marked exit.

  Chapter Fifty Four

  Lea and Masami crashed into the office. Masami quickly grabbed John’s arm. The pain subsided instantly.

  “Masami, you are only prolonging the inevitable.” said Kage.

  Masami’s face was unreadable as she stepped forward to face Kage.

  “You are so eager to throw your life away?” said Kage.

  Masami remained silent but stood between John and Kage.

  Lea grabbed John and began pulling him to a corner. Kage gave no indication he noticed the movement.

  “Very well Masami, mistress life giver, let’s end this.” Kage said as he drew into a fighting stance.

  He blurred and Masami reached behind her, placing a palm on his chest. A look of shock and rage crossed his face before he composed himself.

  “Well done.” he said as he massaged the muscle of his left pectoral where the blow landed. He blurred again drawing his short sword as he cut her abdomen. His cut was not as deep as it could have been, but the damage was done.

  The poison coursed through her body. As she slid back, she allowed the poison to flow through her body. She absorbed the poison letting it course through her body. She controlled its flow reversing it and concentrated it in her hand.

  Masami placed her hand on Kage’s back allowing the poison to flow freely, giving him a massive dose. Then she fell to one knee holding her midsection. He meant to disembowel her and nearly succeeded.

  “Is that the extent of your ability? Are you just going to reach out and pat me on the back?” he said.

  He began to laugh and stopped short pointing his sword at her.

  “You are pathetic and deserve to die.” he spat on her as he raised his sword for the killing blow.

  As he brought his sword down, he began to cough. He placed his hand over his mouth and blood covered the back of his palm when he pulled it away.

  “What did you do?” he demanded.

  Masami was breathing shallow now. Her face was covered in sweat. The poison burned her from the inside out.

  “Death’s Hand.” she said in between breaths.

  “That is a myth! A story invented by my grandfather to scare us!” yelled Kage.

  Fear crept into his voice now.

  “A life giver must also be a life taker.” she whispered as she lost consciousness.

  “No.” Kage said more to himself as the realization dawned on him. “No, No!” He raised his sword and brought it down to strike Masami. The blow never reached her. John had intercepted the killing blow and placed a blurred palm on Kage’s chest sending shockwaves through his body, destroying the muscle tissue of the heart and causing a complete loss of cohesion, disintegrating it. Kage slumped to the ground lifeless.

  “John! We need to go now!” Lea was over Masami’s body.

  “Is she –?” asked Lea.

  “No, but she will be soon if we don’t get out of here.” said John.

  Now that he was able to take a moment, he saw that Lea was covered in small cuts and lacerations.

  “Are you ok?” said John.

  “It wasn’t a cakewalk to get to you, but she did most of the fighting. Not since Sensei –” Her voice caught then.

  “I know.” said John as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

  Lea recovered quickly.

  “She is an amazing warrior. I would not want to face her in combat.” said Lea.

  John nodded, as he picked up Masami.

  Her breathing was ragged and he feared for her life.

  “Hang in there, Masami.” John whispered.

  As he walked out of the office, he saw the destruction caused by the Hummer, before and after the explosion. The Hummer itself was a burnt out husk. He could see where Trevor laid, his body placed against a wall, his face twisted in agony in the midst of the carnage. Rukio was nowhere to be seen but he knew she had been there. All around lay Blades dead or dying. John could see her handiwork as clearly as a signature. John headed down the stairs with Lea in tow.

  “We need a way to get out of here before any authorities show up. We have five, maybe ten minutes at the outside.” said Lea.

  John was out of options. He doubted Iris would send him another car, considering he had just destroyed two of her vehicles. She was not going to be pleased. He found his cell phone and called Mole.

  “John! Are you ok?” said Mole.

  “I’ve been better. Listen Mole.” he said quickly to cut off any further questioning.

  “We need a ride and emergency med care.”

  “Shit John, Iris is going to be supremely pissed if you damaged her vehicles.” said Mole.

  “Three minutes Mole, then we are on the news.” said John.

  “OK give me three. I know a way Iris will agree to give you another car. No frills right. Just get from point A to point B right?” said Mole.

  “Right point A to B.” said an exhausted John.

  “Ok see you in three, well two and a half. Leave the phone on.” Mole hung up.

  Before John could wonder what he meant by that last sentence, Helen stumbled in, holding Mikaela.

  “She needs help now.” said Helen.

  “I have a ride coming soon. Will she make it? It will be two minutes.” sai
d John.

  “She can but she needs real medical care soon. I don’t know how much damage she took. Not my expertise, I’m usually the one doing the damage, not treating it.” said Helen.

  John understood, he felt as helpless with Masami. They made their way out of the warehouse through an exit to the rear. He hoped Mole would get someone there fast. He knew he could find him through the phone. It was one of the prearranged scenarios they had established. If John ever needed to be found in a hurry, he would leave his phone on and Mole would be able to pinpoint it within two feet.

  John scanned the roofs of the building across the street. It was an old habit. Standing on the corner was the same man from earlier. He appeared to be waiting for someone. He bowed slightly to John, and then faded into the shadows.

  “I think we need to put some distance between us and this place.” said John.

  John could hear the sirens in the distance, still a way off but getting closer. As he looked up the street, a van pulled up to them, screeching to a halt.

  “Get in!” said the driver.

  John knew it was Mole even though he had on a baseball cap and sunglasses. A bandana covered the lower half of his face. John opened the side door and Masami and Mikaela were placed in makeshift beds. Lea and Helen climbed in behind them. John rode shotgun.

  “You look crazy with that on, you know.” said John.

  “Can’t be too careful out here John, plus it was the only way I could get another vehicle. I had to personally guarantee it.” said Mole.

  “Thanks.” said John.

  “I live to serve.” said Mole. “Now where are we going?”

  “Furthest safe house from here with a med center.” said John.

  “I know which one. Ok buckle up!” said Mole.

  As Mole pulled away, a series of explosions rocked the warehouse. John could see several fires starting on many of the floors. By the time the fire department arrived, it would be a full blown inferno. As he kept looking in the rear view mirror, a flash of red caught his eye. He could have sworn he saw Rukio walking away from the blazing warehouse.

  “Wake me up when we get there, and take off that bandana. You’re going to get pulled over.” said John.

  Mole took off the bandana but left on the rest of his disguise as he drove off, smiling.

  Chapter Fifty Five

  The implosion sounded like a muffled thump and was pretty quiet. It was the building collapsing afterwards that made the noise. Years ago the area below Canal, known as Tribeca, was an industrial wasteland. Now art galleries and designers had decided it was the new place to be. CATT had purchased the warehouse as an all-purpose storage facility. David had it rigged to collapse in the eventuality they needed to get rid of the sensitive materials inside.

  It was never used as storage but the failsafe was functional. It was an implosion you could survive if you knew where to be, and which areas were meant to provide escape.

  David, who had overseen the installation, knew. He extricated himself from the rubble slowly. One of the beams had bounced and gashed his left thigh. As he limped away, he heard footsteps behind him.

  “That looks painful.” said the figure still in the shadows.

  “It’s not too bad. And you are?”

  “Here to end your life.” David nodded.

  “Mikaela?” said David.

  “Alive and kicking, last I heard. That partner of hers is something.”

  David smiled. He knew having Helen with Mika was good.

  “Will be a shame to eliminate her, but I do look forward to it.” said the figure.

  “You will find it much harder than you think.” said David.

  David had prepared for safety.

  “Perhaps, but it is no longer your concern. Fast and painless or slow and painful, I was told to give you the choice.” The man said this as he placed the silencer on a Glock 20.

  “I prefer not to drag it out, Fa –“started David.

  The whisper of the silenced death cut through the night, two shots in the forehead. The wounds blossomed as David fell to the ground. The assassin walked over and put two more into David’s chest.

  “I hope that was fast enough,” he said as he walked off, into the night.

  Chapter Fifty Six

  The drive out to the safe house was long. Long because of the distance and long because of the route Mole took to avoid being followed. When they finally made it, the sun was high in the sky. John knew it had to be around just after dawn. As they pulled into the driveway, several people in scrubs greeted the van. John could tell they were at the Montauk property.

  “I made a few calls ahead. They should be ok.” said Mole.

  “Thank you Mole.” said John as the medical team carefully lifted Masami and Mikaela onto their respective stretchers and wheeled them into the basement of the house through the garage.

  As safe houses went, this one was one of the most secure; one road leading to and away from the property. An eight foot wall surrounding the house proper and direct access to the ocean made it very hard to approach unnoticed, and easy to get away from.

  The house itself was a fortress, with underground bunkers and reinforced walls and windows. It had its own power supply located beneath the property and enough food supplies to last six months. An extensive weapon cache was also located adjacent to the infirmary. This was a good choice.

  “How long Mole?” said John.

  “We have three, maybe four weeks. If we stay any longer, we need to scrap it.” said Mole.

  “Understood, get us ready to move in two weeks.” said John.

  “On it.” said Mole.

  Mole headed off making calls.

  Lea and Helen made their way to the kitchen to get some food. John walked to the rear of the property. He was processing the events of the last few days and he did best thinking as he walked.

  “Perimeter check?” It was Helen.

  “Pretty safe out here for the moment, just thinking.” said John.

  “That reminds me, I have a message for you.” said Helen.

  “From who?” said John as he stopped walking.

  “She was at the warehouse, white face, red silk and two blades, looking very dangerous, as in I wouldn’t want to tangle with her. Ring a bell?” said Helen.

  “Yes, yes it does. I wouldn’t want to tangle with her either. What did she say?” said John.

  “She said you need to look at the Heads. It goes beyond the Kage. She said to look for Ikken Hisatsu.” said Helen.

  John turned at the last sentence. Helen saw the expression on his face.

  “That someone you know, this Ikken person?”

  “Ikken Hissatsu is not a who but a what.” said John.

  “That’s what she said. Ok, what is it?”

  “It means ‘one blow, one kill,” he said as the pieces started falling in place.

  END

  Thank you for reading Blur. I truly hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. It was a great process, thank you for coming along for the ride. Please visit my blog, leave a comment and join my email list.

  I look forward to hearing from you.

  Other Books by Orlando Sanchez

  The Spiritual Warriors

  http://www.amazon.com/Orlando-SAnchez/e/B008T8MMQ0/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

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  About the Author:

  Author Orlando Sanchez has been writing ever since his teens when he was immersed in playing Dungeon and Dragons with his friends every weekend. An avid reader, his influences are too numerous to list here.

  Aside from writing, his passion is the martial arts; he currently holds a 2nd Dan and 3rd Dan in two styles of Karate. If not training, he is studying some aspect of the martial arts or martial arts philosophy, or writing in his blog. For more information on the d
ojo he trains at please visit www.mkdkarate.com