Since then I have learned that my father is Dr. Fu Manchu, the most insidiously evil man on earth...and that to honor him would bring nothing but dishonor to the spirit of my name."
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#8
NOV 11 |
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“Reston’s Search”
Clive Reston looked around as he walked out of the jetway. It had been a long time since he’d been on his own and now he was back in the field. He smelled the air and a smile crossed his face. Despite the normal smells of airports, there was always something about Japanese air…
He shook himself out of his reverie. Since his only luggage was his briefcase he made his way through customs quickly. Normally he could have skipped that entirely but secrecy was of the utmost importance – even though he suspected that Fu Manchu already knew he was there.
Reston smiled. This was turning out like one of his father’s adventures.
After a quick shower, Reston walked out to the desk in his room and opened his briefcase. He took out a small DVD player and a disc that contained footage that a drone had shot a day before. He played the video as he studied a map that displayed Fu’s base, studying the differences and noted guard movements. He smiled as he grabbed a pencil and began sketching out an entrance route that should be unobserved.
He paused long enough to grab a cup of tea from the meal that had been delivered while he’d showered. He decided against any of the breakfast and instead dipped a piece of paper into the tea. He let it soak a moment, then pulled it out; inspecting it and, satisfied that the tea wasn’t poisoned, took a sip. He sipped the tea while he began committing the map to memory.
As the sun began dipping below the horizon, Reston walked out of his hotel. He was dressed in a tuxedo and looked for all the world like a bored rich boy out for a night on the town. A red Ferrari was brought around for him and he climbed in, tipping the valet before tearing out of the parking lot on squealing tires.
As he sped down the road, Reston smiled. His father’s love for fast cars had definitely been passed down to him. It was just too bad that he’d have to swap cars soon. The Ferrari was fun to drive, but a little too noticeable to go skulking around one of Fu Manchu’s bases in.
He took a moment to imagine that this car was outfitted with all the gizmos like his father’s cars had been. He smiled again and gave in to temptation as he floored it to see what the car could do.
Later that night, Reston pulled up along the property border. The Ferrari was gone, swapped out for an average sedan. (Of course, that would mean that average sedans included armor, bulletproof glass and an engine that the Ferrari would envy.)
Reston climbed out of the car and leaned against it as he pulled a pair of binoculars from the passenger seat. He raised them and began studying the field in front of him, frowning when he saw no sign of any defenses. He pressed a stud on the center of the binoculars and they began scanning the infrared spectrum. He smiled as a network of lasers appeared before his eyes.
“There you are,” he murmured. “I knew you’d be there somewhere.”
Reston lowered the binoculars and began heading around the car, pulling his bowtie loose as he did so. Despite himself, he found himself smiling.
The game was afoot.
Reston soon stepped back around the car. His tuxedo was gone and he was now wearing a sleek black jumpsuit which boasted the latest in MI6 stealth technology. He lowered goggles over his eyes which showed the lasers in the dark. He quickly and silently began crossing the field, carefully stepping between the beams.
After what seemed like an eternity, Reston found himself on the far side. He smirked as he studied the complex before him. “Looks like you might have trusted your lasers a bit too much,” he murmured. “Or maybe that’s what you just want me to think.” He squatted down in the tall grass that surrounded the complex. He checked his watch – plenty of time. He adjusted the goggles to image magnification and started studying the movements of guards inside the complex.
Finally Reston decided he was ready. He slipped a tool from a pouch at his waist and quickly cut through the fence surrounding the complex and slipped inside.
“Now, where would I be if I were Fu Manchu?” he muttered as he flattened against the back of a building. He smirked as he saw a guard emerge from a door nearby. The guard was looking the other direction as he lit a cigarette. Reston silently slipped down the building behind the guard and slid inside as the door closed.
Reston silently made his way down stairs at the end of the hall and found himself in a deserted corridor. He started forward only to freeze when he heard an odd clicking. He slipped back into the shadows as a blond-haired woman entered. The clicking was a mix of her boot heels and the claws of the panther walking beside her against the concrete. “Come out, Mr. Reston,” Pavane called. “The game is over.”
Reston raised his hands and put on his best smile as he obeyed. “Well, well, well,” he said. “It looks as if you win this round of hide and seek.”
Pavane smirked. “Your charm won’t work on me, Mr. Reston,” she said. “I know what you’re looking for and Fu Manchu is not here.”
Reston cursed in his mind without letting his facial expression change. “Then it looks like I’ve made a wrong turn,” he said. “I suppose I’ll be leaving.”
“I don’t think so,” Pavane said as the panther growled. She finally allowed herself to smile a sadistic smile. “You see, you’re my guest of honor. I couldn’t dream of allowing you to leave this early.”
With his hands still held high, Reston allowed Pavane to lead him down the corridor deeper into the bowels of the base. The panther clicked along behind him, removing any thoughts of escape.
Reston soon found himself shackled to a wall. The panther watched intently as Pavane searched him and confiscated his weaponry. The final touch was for Pavane to pull the goggles off his head. “So is this what MI-6 is issuing these days?” she asked as she inspected the goggles before tossing them aside. “I thought you weren’t much for gadgets.”
Reston smiled. “Whatever floats your boat, darling.”
Pavane slapped Reston as the panther roared. “Don’t try to get cute with me,” she warned. “I’m all that’s keeping my pet from tearing you apart.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Reston said. Pavane scowled and walked out of the room with the panther, locking the door behind her.
“Thought she’d never leave,” Reston said as he worked his head down to his collar. He used his teeth to pull at a loose thread, which soon exposed a sliver of metal. He gripped the metal between his incisors and craned his head to his right wrist. He carefully stabbed the lockpick into the lock and started working it with head and tongue movements, just as he’d learned in his MI-6 training.
Moments later the lock clicked open. Reston eased his hand free and removed the pick from his mouth. “Been a while since I’ve had to do this,” he murmured as he unlocked his other hand. He quickly grabbed up his equipment from where Pavane had left it lying, and a quick check of his pistol confirmed his suspicions – she’d unloaded it. He slid the useless pistol into his holster and leaned against the door. He listened and heard the panther’s claws clicking back and forth as it guarded his door.
He smirked and popped a button off his sleeve. He scratched it with his fingernail and slid it under the door.
The panther saw the button slide out from the door and growled as it walked over and sniffed the button. Intrigued, the cat licked the button and the center of it erupted in a cloud of gas. The cat tried to roar but was unable to get a sound out before the gas took effect and it fell to the ground unconscious.
A moment later Reston popped the lock and opened the door, smiling at the panther. “Sleep tight,” he whispered as he rushed down the hall.
Pavane was mere steps behind him. She knelt beside the panther and rested her hand on its side, lingering only long enough to ensure that the cat was breathing easily. She gently stroked its side and stood. She released the whip at her waist before setting off in pursuit.
Reston was starting up the stairs when a whip cracked and wrapped around his arm. “Leaving so soon?” Pavane asked as she pulled Reston back down the stairs.
“Hardly,” Reston said. “I still haven’t found the secret plans yet.”
“What secret plans?” Pavane asked as Reston returned to his feet.
“I think you know quite well,” Reston said as he pulled his pistol and aimed it at her chest.
Pavane smiled. “And what are you going to do with your little gun?” she mocked. “You’ll find it’s quite unloaded. All you’ve done is ensure that you’ll be food for my cats.”
Reston smirked as his thumb pressed a stud on the pistol before he pulled the trigger. Pavane’s eyes went wide as she looked down to see a dart sticking out of her chest. She started to speak but her legs crumpled beneath her and she fell to the ground.
“Knockout darts,” Reston said as he returned the pistol to its holster. “Take all the bullets you want, that won’t affect them.” He ran up the stairs, knowing it was only a matter of time until his escape was detected.
Reston climbed into the car. He’d made his way across the laser-protected field and reached the car before alarms started sounding inside the compound. “Sloppy, Fu,” Reston said as he closed the door and tore down the road.
“That’s right, Sir Denis,” Reston said as he relaxed in another hotel room, this one on the French Riviera. “There was no evidence that Fu had ever been at this compound.”
Back in Scotland, Sir Denis frowned. “I don’t like the fact that Pavane was there. It’s like the enemy knows our moves before we make them.”
“I wouldn’t worry too much,” Reston said. “He may have suspected that place’s secrecy was compromised already. Anyway, I’m here on the Riviera to establish an alibi and I’ll see you in a few days. Any word on Chi?”
Sir Denis shook his head. “None. He and Tarr are over the continent now, flying toward another location we’ve identified.”
“All right,” Reston said. “I’m heading to the beach. Let me know if you need me back earlier.”
“Understood,” Sir Denis replied. “The castle’s been secured again by MI-6, so we shouldn’t need to worry about any more intrusions.”
Reston finished the conversation and hung up the phone. He left his room and headed down the hall. As he went, he didn’t notice a man who paused and looked at him. Shinobi Shaw’s eyes narrowed as he watched Reston go.
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To Be Continued...
Next: In Master of Kung-Fu #9: Chi and Tarr’s trip takes an unexpected turn as they land in a small European country and encounter one of the few people who could ever give Chi pause.
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