The Ghost Ships of Arizona

CHAPTER SIX

Mai Kitano winced as a bolt of pain radiated out from the area in which she had been shot. The wound had healed but the trauma to her body would be everlasting. Still, she had survived that dreadful night in Hong Kong, that hotel battle, the long chase across the rooftops, the alley-fight afterwards.

Some had not.

Komodo took the blow that had been meant for her. Why would he do that? The man had a future. A girlfriend. A life. What did she have? Nothing but a twisting gut-full of guilt and angst. Nothing but a long downward spiral. Grace was her only salvation. The young woman she had saved from the dreaded hand of the Tsugarai clan was her future, her absolution and her gift all rolled into one. Grace was already far beyond the broken, quiet figure she had saved — the girl was forward, boisterous, even offensive at times. If it had not been for the inescapable sojourn to find her parents’ graves and the agony it bestowed then Mai thought she would already be as close to “normal” as she was ever going to get and fully able to make her own next decision.

Mai shielded her eyes again, now ignoring the twist in her gut. They stood together at the edge of a vast graveyard. Built on the side of a green hill the cemetery descended in steps, each one crammed full of square or rectangular gravestones, mostly gray in color, bordered by trees and dotted by tiny individual lawns. Flowers lay everywhere, adding color to the otherwise austere scene. Narrow paths ran down the center of every step. Mai couldn’t help but lose herself inside a miasma of gloom as she appraised the cemetery.

No gravestone should ever need to have a teddy bear clinging to it.

Tears formed in her eyes and she led Grace downhill as fast as she could. They had already acquired a map from a groundsman and knew where Grace’s parents were buried. Mai thought about them giving up when their daughter vanished. She could never imagine what it must be like for a parent to lose a child and never know…

Such morbid thoughts, she reflected, are surely a part of why this is all happening to us. Snap out of it.

There had to be a way to live again.

But today was always going to be drenched in sadness. The steep slope took her attention for a while, the angle making her stomach hurt yet again. Grace stepped lightly before her, concentrating on the ground. Today, the dark-haired Japanese girl was dressed in loose pants, flat shoes and a simple white blouse. Her hair was clipped back, away from her strained face. Hers was a head that had seen too much and a body that had lived too hard. The next few years should be peaceful to allow her time to catch up. Mai doubted the girl would see things the same way. Headstrong, and thinking she had already experienced the worst of the world she would crave to be out in it.

And Mai didn’t really blame her.

They descended together, step after step, until the green hillside rose behind them, the summit high above. Gray headstones stretched to both sides. Mai paused to consult the map, pinpointing their destination which in fact proved to be at their very feet.

Mai stared at the gravestone. Grace looked ahead with a positive expression, determined to search on. When she started to move off Mai cleared her throat.

“We are here,” she said, taking hold of Grace’s hand and showing her.

Grace stared, face slipping as if she’d been struck in the face. All of a sudden the bravado vanished and what was left was a scared little girl, a child adrift, finally confronted with the reality of what had happened to her parents.

“Sit.” Mai pulled her down before she collapsed. They had brought nothing with them. Neither Mai nor Grace held to any accepted ceremonies, not anymore. Mai felt almost as if her belief in decency and morality had been wiped clean. A ceremony couldn’t hope to change that.

Grace knelt on the dusty path, staring at the headstones. A respectful sun beat at their backs, not too hot but simply dispensing warmth. The day was silent, inconspicuous, as the two women paid their respects to yet more who should not yet be dead.

Back at the hotel Mai gave Grace some space, giving her the use of the main apartment and shower while she retired to the bedroom. Even today, she had much to do. Sitting on the bed she stretched her back and made a call, managing a smile when Dai Hibiki answered.

“Mai? Is that you?”

“It is, my friend. I hope you are well.”

Hibiki knew what was supposed to happen today and had never been one to waste time. “How is Grace?”

“She will be all right. The fight inside that one is beyond anything I have ever seen. Her will to overcome…” Mai paused, surprised at herself.

Hibiki’s smile was obvious despite the distance. “I know of one other who might come close.”

“One day again, maybe. But life drains the fight out of you, Dai. If you’ve done something that deprives you of all the best feelings — passion, struggle, victory, humor — how do you get past that?”

Hibiki sighed. “Are you coming to Tokyo?”

“Yes. We leave tomorrow. I will see you then.”

“Okay. And Mai, before you ask — no, they haven’t yet found Emiko. I know you killed her father but that girl can no longer be found. She’s not trained. Not a fighter. The wolves will swallow her whole and probably already have.”

Mai didn’t appreciate the bluntness of his delivery but knew what Hibiki was trying to do. She ended the call before he could try anything else. Behind her, the small window looked out over a small park. Sounds of normality drifted through the barely cracked-open window — dogs barking and the groan of swing-chains. Laughter. The whooping of children. The warning shouts of adults.

Something she had been keeping from Grace now swam back to the forefront of her brain. Two days ago Hibiki had gotten word that the Yakuza had held another meeting to decide the fate of their newest nemesis — Mai Kitano. Although the original, rigged trial hadn’t finished before Drake rescued her, the warriors dispatched to kill her hinted that Komodo’s death may be enough, but the Yakuza figureheads had now decided that satisfaction had not actually been gained. Komodo’s death was not enough.

Instead, through Hibiki, they had offered a final resolution. An ending of sorts.

They would send their best trained warrior for a showdown at a place of Mai’s choosing. Only a victory would save her. Mai had instantly acquiesced to their offer, seeing a way out for her sister and Hibiki and the entire SPEAR team. The Yakuza were formidable opponents and needed to be placated. The showdown would give Mai a chance to fulfil her obligations and maybe even earn a little redemption. Life might yet return to normal.

Survival is not necessarily essential for any of that to happen.

Her mind flicked back to the night Komodo died. Yes, she had been willing to die. Yes, she had almost accepted it. Then Komodo saved her from a death she could not have saved herself from. How did such an act change a soul? Was there more of her story yet to be written?

The warrior was coming.

Mai had yet to decide on a venue but she knew it would be Tokyo. If she died she wanted to be close to her sister and Hibiki, and far from Drake. The Englishman had to get on with his life. Their future had died the moment she killed a man called Hayashi.

The healed bullet wound throbbed. She realized that she didn’t want to die. She would kill the warrior if she could.