Reprisal Read online

  Reprisal

  Akio Revelations™ Book One

  Charles Tillman

  Michael Anderle

  This book is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Sometimes both.

  Copyright © 2020 LMBPN Publishing

  Cover Art by Jake @ J Caleb Design

  http://jcalebdesign.com / [email protected]

  Cover copyright © LMBPN Publishing

  A Michael Anderle Production

  LMBPN Publishing supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.

  The distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

  LMBPN Publishing

  PMB 196, 2540 South Maryland Pkwy

  Las Vegas, NV 89109

  First US edition, June, 2020

  eBook ISBN: 978-1-64971-005-5

  Print ISBN: 978-1-64971-006-2

  The Kurtherian Gambit (and what happens within / characters / situations / worlds) are copyright © 2015-2020 by Michael T. Anderle and LMBPN Publishing.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Epilogue

  Retaliation

  Author Notes Charles Tillman

  Author Notes Michael Anderle

  Connect with The Authors

  Books By Charles Tillman

  Books By Michael Anderle

  Dedication

  To my Wife Danette, thank you for being behind me while I did this.

  A huge thank you to Michael Anderle who let me come and play in his world.

  There are also two others who worked hard to help me bring this to you:

  John Ashmore, Alpha reader extraordinaire

  Tracey Byrnes, Alpha reader and first pass editor who kept me and my sentence structure on track. I couldn’t have done it without you.

  And most of all thanks to you the Kurtherian Gambit Fans for reading.

  —Charles

  To Family, Friends and

  Those Who Love

  to Read.

  May We All Enjoy Grace

  to Live the Life We Are

  Called.

  — Michael

  The Reprisal Team

  Thanks to our Beta Readers

  Kelly O'Donnell, Micky Cocker, Daniel Weigert, James Caplan, Rachel Beckford, Larry Omans

  Thanks to the JIT Readers

  Dave Hicks

  Veronica Stephan-Miller

  Diane L. Smith

  Jackey Hankard-Brodie

  Peter Manis

  Misty Roa

  Dorothy Lloyd

  Kerry Mortimer

  Deb Mader

  Angel LaVey

  Paul Westman

  Tim Bischoff

  If we’ve missed anyone, please let us know!

  Editor

  Skyhunter Editing Team

  Chapter One

  Kume Island, Off the Coast of Okinawa, Japan

  Just my luck, Taka Ogata thought sourly as he held the twenty-meter fishing boat steady in the current fifty meters from shore. That idiot Issa forgot to tie the anchor, so I’m stuck minding the boat while he goes ashore. He should have gone over the side with the damn thing.

  The earthquakes that struck Japan after the day now called the World’s Worst Day Ever, or WWDE, had destroyed the docks on Kume Island, and there had been no attempt yet to rebuild. The only way to get there was to take a small craft that could handle the shallow water near the beach.

  Ogata watched through binoculars as the ship’s dinghy approached the shore. A man waited with a group of what appeared to be teenagers. When the crewmen stepped onto the sand, the teens surged toward them in a wave. Ogata watched helplessly as they quickly swarmed his crewmates, whose panicked screams echoed across the water as they went down under the onslaught. He stared in horror as the group tore the men to shreds. When a young girl came into focus, Ogata’s blood ran cold as he saw her glowing red eyes.

  He shoved the throttle wide open and spun the wheel sharply, racing for safety as the powerful engines carried him away from the island and the demons who lived there.

  She watched her opponent warily as he approached, her sword held ready and a look of determination on her face.

  He moved with fluid grace, his feet seeming to glide across the floor as he nonchalantly stalked her. A slight smile played on his lips as he held his blade in a deceptively casual grip.

  She struck with the speed of a snake when he came into range. He never slowed as his sword appeared, like magic, to push hers aside. She twisted and quickly leaned back as he reversed his motion in a counterblow, his sword-tip creating a breeze that ruffled her hair in passing.

  She circled left, feinted with a strike at his leg, then immediately swept the blade up to slice his sword arm as she pressed the attack. Again, his weapon was there before she connected. He casually pushed her blade down, and she barely avoided his backstroke before it took her in the throat. She kept moving, her eyes never leaving his body as she watched for the slightest hint that would signal another attack.

  They continued their deadly dance, both silent except for the clash of steel-on-steel that echoed through the room in a rhythm of strike and counterstrike. Neither gave an inch as they dueled. She defended more than she attacked, growing increasingly frustrated each time he effortlessly blocked her. After each failed attempt she changed her form, hoping to catch him off-guard with the quick changes.

  When all her attacks proved unsuccessful, frustration turned to anger. The angrier she became, the faster she moved until their figures were colored blurs as they moved about quicker than the human eye could follow. They came together in a flurry of ringing blows and slid apart before the sound of the first strike died away.

  The dance continued for several minutes, until her body slammed forcibly into the wall. The impact momentarily disoriented her. The other blur flashed across the room and stopped, revealing a sword that rested lightly against her exposed throat.

  “Akio, could you have hit me any harder?” she huffed.

  “If you think more pain would help you remember not to let your emotions interfere with your fighting, I will be happy to provide it.” Akio fought
to keep a slight smile from forming as he spoke. “You must learn to control your anger. The angrier you are, the more you telegraph your intentions. You were so focused on attacking and ending the fight that you failed to see the techniques that allowed me to take you again,” he explained calmly as he pulled the blade back.

  Yuko stepped away from the wall with a groan. A slight indentation marked where her body had impacted it. “Hai, Akio. I saw you commit to dodge the feint and thought you had taken the bait. I should know by now that you do not fall for such things.”

  Akio permitted the smile to slip. “Your form and instincts are good, Yuko. You simply allow yourself to see what you want instead of what is. You can’t let your frustration and anger blind you. Against a less-skilled adversary, you would have been successful. Unfortunately, one seldom has the luxury to pick their foes based on known skills. Shall we continue?”

  Yuko was about to reply when Eve’s voice came through their implants.

  “Akio, Yuko, would you please come to the operations center? I have received a message from the Japanese government liaison. I think you both need to see this.”

  They replaced their practice swords on the rack and walked down the hall into the operations center, where Eve was standing in front of a large monitor on the wall with an e-mail message displayed onscreen.

  “There have been some strange occurrences on an island located off the coast of Okinawa,” Eve informed them. “The information indicates that there might be Forsaken there. Two police inspectors were sent to check on a report of missing people. They called in after they arrived, but the transmission stopped suddenly. There is an audio file attached.” As she finished, the speakers in the room came to life.

  A panicked voice babbled, “Hiroso is dead! A monster, a monster with red eyes came from nowhere and tore his throat out. I shot— NO! NO! STAY BACK!” Rapid-fire gunshots, followed by a blood-chilling scream that abruptly ended in a frantic gurgle, signaled the end of the recording.

  Eve folded her hands, a grave expression on her face. “The Okinawa police plans to send a larger group to investigate. Our contact in the ministry requested your input based on this discovery.”

  Akio grimaced and glanced at Yuko. “Please contact the liaison and ask them to have the police wait. I do not believe they should risk more lives if this is what it sounds like.”

  “Yes, I believe you are right,” Yuko agreed as she reached for the phone.

  “Eve, what island was this?” Akio inquired. “See if you can locate more information. Also, what was that about missing people?”

  Eve was silent for a few seconds, and then additional documents appeared on the screen. “It was Kume Island. They were investigating a report about a fisherman who went there after he could not contact a family member for several weeks. His boat was found adrift a few days later, and he has not been heard from since. I have discovered other, similar instances of boats found in that area. The reports date back for several months. There are rumors that pirates are operating there, but this is the first official report I have found where the authorities are involved.”

  “Yuko, please let me know if your source has any additional information. I will prepare the Pod,” Akio called as he stepped out of the room.

  Chapter Two

  TQB Base, Tokyo, Japan

  As Akio prepared the Pod, he reflected on the time that had passed since Bethany Anne left to take the fight to the Kurtherians. Before she departed, she had given Akio the duty to protect humanity from the UnknownWorld and Yuko the task of taking care of those who honored Michael’s family. After losing his team early on, Yuko had chosen to take a more active role in assisting him after her parent’s deaths.

  Japan had fared better than most places after WWDE. Its economy was recovering, and there was some working infrastructure in place with more coming online every day. Thanks to the tech giant’s reliance on domestic manufacturing for computers and components for its utilities and most critical networks, it had avoided the worst of the economic meltdown and loss of services that the rest of the world suffered when a computer virus created by the Chinese military was unleashed by General Li. This single act of revenge for the death of his son had effectively destroyed the modern world.

  The protections Bethany Anne put into place for Japan in exchange for a safe place for her people had ensured that there were no attacks there. When the nuclear missiles started flying, they were destroyed well before any targeting Japan got close. Thanks to that protection It was now the most modern country left in the world.

  There was still much to do since earthquakes and their subsequent tsunamis had ravaged the islands shortly afterward, but the Japanese people were resilient and already making great strides toward restoring what was lost. Being a nation of islands seemed to have moderated the major climate shifts experienced elsewhere. Before the new weather patterns settled, there had been a slight increase in average temperature, but it looked to be leveling out. Fortunately, only some low coastal areas had been taken by the sea. That small blessing had helped them recover much more easily.

  Akio had been training Yuko in fighting from the beginning. At first, it was because she’d wanted to be able to defend herself. However, after a building collapse had buried his brothers under tons of rubble, she and Eve had become his closest backup.

  Yuko was becoming an accomplished fighter but was still unseasoned as a warrior. She had trained with minimal enhancements for the first twenty years, but after both her parents died, she’d opted for the full upgrades. She had refused them while her parents lived, not wanting to explain why she never aged from year to year. They had enjoyed her company until they passed away from natural causes within months of each other.

  She had learned to control her enhanced strength and speed well over the past few years. She also had greater control over her emotions than before but still allowed them to overrule her brain in times of stress. Akio delighted in goading her when they sparred, pushing her harder and harder until she became angry.

  A slight smile crossed his lips as he thought of how the young woman continually worked to best him, pushing herself to her limits and beyond. Although she was now over forty years old, she would always be young to Akio, who had been an accomplished warrior before he became a vampire several hundred years ago. While he knew that most opponents wouldn’t fare well if they faced her, he would still work to bring her anger to the surface at the worst possible time until she attained the control she needed to survive.

  “Akio, I have discovered more information,” Eve announced.

  Akio closed the hatch he was inspecting before he answered. “I’ll be there in a few moments, Eve.”

  Several minutes later, he walked into the operations center. “What have you found?”

  “There was an incident on the island a few months ago. A fishing vessel went there, and four of the crew went missing. One survivor returned, but the authorities in Okinawa did not believe his story. He was arrested on suspicion of murder since he has a reputation for drinking and has had some violent encounters with the authorities.”

  As Eve spoke, she gestured toward a monitor on the wall, and a copy of the police report appeared. “He insisted that his crew died when they went ashore. He claimed that he stayed on the boat and watched as ‘demons with red eyes who looked like children’ attacked and tore the crew to shreds. He stated that he fled out to sea before they reached him. The police investigated, but the town’s mayor informed them that no boats had come to the island that day, so the inspector assumed that the survivor had killed them at sea and dumped the bodies. For some reason, this information did not get shared with the entire force. I found it buried in another file on the local Okinawa server.”

  Akio’s eyes narrowed as he heard this. “Where is he being held now?”

  “He was transferred to the psychiatric ward in Kuda Hospital on Okinawa.” A map highlighting the location replaced the report on the monitor at Eve’s command. “He
continued to rant about demons, and they had to restrain him several times when he became violent in jail. I will send the coordinates to your Pod and contact the Okinawa authorities if you wish to speak with him.”

  Akio’s lips pursed before he answered. “Yes, that will be fine. I want to know what this man saw before I go to the island. Inform the liaison that we are invoking the Bitch Protocol and to contact the Chief Inspector of the Kyushu Police Bureau. I will need him to arrange for me to speak to the survivor.”

  “Inspector Nakano, thank you for meeting me here.” Akio greeted the middle-aged officer with a slight bow.

  “The Chief Inspector told me to assist you and indicated that you have a way to determine what happened to the boat crew on Kume.” A hint of skepticism colored his voice. “I am not sure what you believe you can do that the doctors have not. From all reports, Taka Ogata still swears that demon children with glowing eyes killed his crew. Even with the medication, his story remains the same.”