Rise of the Fallen: Ascensionis

The year is 2009 and twenty-five year-old Gina Stewart is preparing herself for the annual Cleveland Kendo Tournament. She had won the previous two tournaments and is ready to battle her final opponent. As Gina meditates, she can’t help but reminisce about her early childhood years in Detroit, Michigan. Her father who worked as a truck driver and was rarely present in the household. Her depressed mother who would remain fixated on the television from morning until night. It was a rather lonely period in her life with a lack of attention from her parents. Now she lives in this cold city of Cleveland, Ohio. Gina’s trainer tells her, “It’s time.” She takes her shinai and rises to her feet.

While facing her opponent, Gina looks at the proud parents of the other fighters. She grins at how the father of one of them pats him on his back and can’t help but feel envious. Here she is winning the tournaments and all she has is her cat, Sam, to welcome her at her small apartment. Gina does manage to see two familiar faces. They are men dressed in business suits and are talking to each other while looking at her. These two men have been present throughout the entire tournament. Could they be fans that keep up with her activities over the Internet? The match begins and everyone gazes at both of the highly skilled competitors. One of the men in the business suit says to the other, “Gina will win again. She’s perfect for this operation.”

The other man does not reply and observes her fighting style. She does have that determination to win in her eyes. Almost like a need to annihilate anything in her path. Gina finally defeats her opponent and once again wins this year’s event. The man replies, “Let’s recruit her.”

Hours after the tournament, while walking to her car, Gina hears a man behind her say in Japanese, “Congratulations.”

This startles her and she quickly turns around to see the two men in business suits. The one that spoke to her had a Japanese facial structure. She replies in a serious tone, “Thank you. Are you fanboys stalking me?”

The Japanese man grins and removes his sunglasses. He takes out his identification to reveal himself as a CIA agent and says, “I guess you can say we’re fans, Miss Stewart. I’m Agent Jason Wong and this is Agent Todd Leifeld. Can we have a moment of your time?”

Gina hesitates for a moment and glances at his blonde haired partner He is much older, maybe late forties, and looks very intimidating. Jason notices this and says in Japanese, “He’s a cuddly teddy bear once you get to know him.”

“Would you like to talk here?”

“We would like to recruit you.”

Gina is not prepared for this and, if not for her car, would have probably fallen on her back. In a jittery voice, she asks, “Me? You sure you’re not making a mistake?”

Todd says in a gruffy voice, “You’d be surprised at who the CIA recruits, Miss Stewart.”

Jason adds, “Believe me. This is not a mistake.”

He then hands her a business card and tells her, “On that card you’ll find directions on where to meet us tomorrow. If you’re interested.”

As she watches in utter disbelief both of them walk away, Jason shouts, “Six AM!” Gina cannot believe what just happened. She puts the card into her pocket and opens the driver’s side door of her car. Gina just sits there for ten complete minutes biting her nails while staring at the business card.

That same night, Gina is in bed stroking her cat. She says to herself, “I don’t know. It seems like a dream...yet I’m afraid to meet them.” She looks at the time...eleven o’clock. She gets comfortable and closes her eyes. Gina whispers, “It doesn’t matter. No one will care if I do this or not.”

The next morning, Gina arrives at the bus stop indicated on the card that was given to her. She looks at the empty bench and then at her watch. It’s 5:58. She sits down and puts her hands between her legs. The time reaches 6:05 and there still is no sign of anything. Gina sighs and says to herself, “Stupid girl.”

Gina stands up and starts walking away. The blaring sound of a truck’s horn is heard and she immediately turns around. The trailer truck stops next to her and the driver asks, “Gina Stewart?”

She closes her eyes in frustration and whispers, “Of course. It just had to be a truck.” Then, she says to the driver, “Yes.”

Gina climbs aboard and closes the passenger door. The driver puts on his sunglasses and asks her, “Nervous?”

She is feeling a bit apprehensive about the whole thing and admittedly says, “Well, now that you mention it. How do I know this isn’t a human trafficking scheme?”

“I guess you’ll find out soon enough. Buckle up. This is gonna be a wild ride.”

Gina finds his comment very strange but does as she is told. The driver shifts the gears and applies pressure on the gas pedal. He pushes several buttons located next to the radio which makes her ask him, “What did you just do?”

The driver does not reply. She looks up to see that the truck’s speed is gradually increasing to a dangerous speed. Is he out of his mind? Up ahead are vehicles that have stopped at a red light but the driver is not slowing down! Instead, the truck is picking up even more speed. This suicidal behavior makes her look at him with fear and ask, “You’re going to kill us? Why?”

“Don’t be silly, girl. Look up ahead.”

Gina cannot believe what is happening. They are now traveling down a completely different road! Before she even has a chance to ask the driver how this occurred, his cell phone starts ringing. He giggles like a mischievous boy and says, “I’m gonna put this on speaker.” He answers the call by asking, “Yeah, Glen?”

After a brief silence, Glen says coldly, “Very funny, asshole. I almost crashed.”

“But you didn’t, Glen! Just goes to show how good you are!”

Glen ends the call by saying with a bitter tone, “Yeah, whatever. Go fuck yourself, Vinny.”

Vinny notices Gina waiting for a logical explanation. He smiles at her and says, “You haven’t seen anything yet.”

He applies the brakes and tells her, “This is where you get off.”

Gina exits the trailer truck and closes the passenger door. She takes several steps forward and observes the building belonging to the Central Intelligence Agency. Inside the building, the secretary gazes at the business card and then looks up at Gina. She is unimpressed with Gina’s boring and sad appearance. She hands her the card and tells her, “You can wait right over there, Miss Stewart.”

Gina turns her head to look at a bench. She notices a two young ladies around her age. One with a ponytail and eyeglasses hugging a man in a suit. She is wearing a casual military uniform and seems extremely excited. The other is sitting down deeply involved in a novel. She seems much more introverted and not very sociable. Gina becomes nervous as the girl sits down on the bench and waves goodbye at the man. She gathers up her strength and makes her way in that direction.

As Gina sits down on the bench, the military girl proceeds to look at her from head to toe...as if analyzing her competition. Gina senses this and tries to alleviate the tension by smiling at her and saying, “Good morning, soldier.”

Much to her relief, the girl gives her a warm smile and replies, “Good morning, civilian! I’m Second Lieutenant Rikki Hillman of the US Army.”

Gina widens her eyes in amazement. Rikki continues, “Yeah, I know. It wasn’t easy. But here I am now...with the CIA needing my help.”

Gina extends her hand and introduces herself, “I’m Gina. Gina Stewart.”

Rikki promptly shakes Gina’s hand and says, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Gina. This gloomy thing sitting next to me is Donna Lenz.”

Donna pulls her head out of her book and gives Rikki a bitter stare. She tells her, “I can introduce myself, thank you.”

Donna takes a quick peek at Gina and says, “Hi.” She then continues reading her book.

This makes Rikki laugh and shake her head while looking at Gina. She reaches into her paper bag and offers Gina a chocolate chip cookie. Gina accepts and Rikki says, “This is my only weakness. Now you know how to bribe me.”

Gina laughs and takes a bite of the delicious cookie. Just her luck to find someone nice, and this may be the last time she sees her. While eating her cookie, Rikki asks, “So tell me. What do you do?”

Gina swallows and becomes saddened. Her life is nowhere near as exciting as Rikki’s. She finally replies, “I’m a waitress at a Japanese restaurant in downtown Cleveland.”

Rikki notices her sadness and says, “No, Gina. I mean, what are your skills? They’re obviously interested in you for a skill that you have. For instance, hard to believe, but Donna here is a master of disguise and a real good hypnotist.”

Gina grins and says, “Well...I am skilled at Kendo. I won the tournament three straight years.”

Without looking at them, Donna sings in a low tone, “You know what that means.”

Rikki does, in fact, know all too well what the CIA has in store for Gina. Probably train her as an overseas operative and have her getting close to a dictator, or criminal, that the US has deemed a threat. They will put her through hell to break her...and change her into a killer. Rikki places her hand on top of Gina’s and says in a low voice, “Gina. Are you sure that this is what you want? The training is very scary. That man that you saw me with is my uncle...and he told me some stories. Of the toughest men breaking down and quitting.”

Gina appreciates the advice and replies, “It’s nice that you have a family that cares about you. I never had that kind of support...not even from my parents. This is what I want. If I break, so be it.”

A man arrives and says, “Lieutenant? Donna Lenz? Both of you come with me.”

Rikki looks at the man and nods her head. She gives another look at Gina and says, “I’m sorry to hear that. Good luck to you, Gina.” Rikki stands up and tells her, “Maybe we’ll meet each other again.”

Gina smiles at her and says, “Good luck to you too, Lieutenant.” Rikki softly punches Gina’s shoulder and says, “Call me Rikki.” Gina watches Rikki walk down the hallway and wonders why God is so cruel. To have her meet nice people only to quickly take them away from her. The familiar voice of Agent Jason Wong is heard as he says, “Gina. I’m glad you’re here.” She stands up to greet him and admittedly says, “I had my doubts. So this is for real?”

Jason nods and tells her, “I see that you met Lieutenant Hillman and Donna. They’re going to do big things...just like you. Follow me.”

As they both walk down the hallway, the sound of a man shouting angrily can be heard nearby. Gina can’t help but take a quick peek inside of the office where the shouting is emanating from. She recognizes this man! He is the popular conspiracy theorist Brian Gunn! What is he doing here? He notices Gina peeking through the crack of the door and tells everyone inside, “Pardon me, for a second, gentlemen.”

As Brian closes the door, he says sternly, “Moving right along, girl.”

Gina catches up with Jason and asks, “Wasn’t that....?”

“Yup. The conspiracy nut himself.”

Her perplexed expression amuses him and he adds laughingly, “What? You thought he was some kind of revolutionary? We write the scripts, Gina.”

She remains silent and continues to walk beside Agent Wong down the hallway. He opens a door and allows her to enter. Gina asks him as he flicks the light switch on, “When does the training begin, Mr. Wong?”

Suddenly, her mouth and nose become covered with a cloth which causes her vision becomes blurry shortly afterwards. Gina loses consciousness and falls to the floor. Jason stands above her and says, “It begins now.”

Several unknown hours later, Gina awakens to find herself stripped down to her panties and a t-shirt. Her arms and feet are tied up to a chair. She begins to panic as she realizes she is inside of a prison cell. Gina cries out, “Where am I? Hello?” She struggles and screams, “No!”

An hour passes and she begins to shiver with fear. She begins whispering over and over, “This isn’t happening. This isn’t happening.”

The sprinkler system turns on and she is now being showered with ice cold water. Gina struggles to break free and starts to scream hysterically. The sprinklers turn off and Gina lowers her head to cry. A distorted voice is heard saying, “This is a test.”

She raises her head and asks, “Why are you doing this? Agent Wong?” There is no response...just an eerie silence with the exception of water drops hitting the floor.

Gina feels so cold that her teeth begin to chatter. Suddenly, an ear piercing shriek is heard. The pitch becomes higher by every passing minute. Gina shuts her eyes tightly and screams, “My God! Stop it!”

After five minutes, the room becomes quiet again. Her ears are ringing at this point and she can barely hear the distorted voice again repeat, “This is a test.”

Gina yells in despair, “Please! I don’t want to do this anymore!”

She realizes that the voice is not going to reply in order to grant her wish and lowers her head to cry again. After an hour passes, the voice says coldly, “You abandoned your own mother.”

Gina slowly raises her head and says, “No. She didn’t want my help. She was stubborn.”

“You never even bothered to get her help. You just ran away.”

A tear rolls down her cheek as she replies, “Stop it. Please.”

“And you wonder why you’re all alone.”

“He should have helped us! He was always gone!”

There is nothing but silence. She asks, “Hello? Are you there?” The sprinklers turn on and she once again gets showered with the frigid water.

Second Lieutenant Rikki Hillman exits the briefing room with a folder in her hand. She turns around and the man in the suit tells her, “Your flight leaves tomorrow, Lieutenant. We appreciate your help.” She nods as she shakes his hand. He says, “Looks like we finished this ahead of schedule. Do you want a tour, Lieutenant?”

Rikki takes a moment to think and replies, “Well. I’d like to see the assassin training program, Agent Wilcox...if it’s okay.”

“There is a training scheduled for today. It shouldn’t be a problem. Give me minute so I can call Agent Wong.”

Rikki gives him her trademark warm grin and says, “Thanks!”

He walks back into the briefing room as he begins speaking to Agent Wong. Rikki takes this opportunity to ponder why she is worrying so much about someone she just met. After all, she did win those tournaments so she should be able to handle the training without much effort. Still...she just wants to make sure. Agent Wilcox exits the briefing room and says, “Good news! He said that it’s fine. Now...one thing, Lieutenant. This is pretty nasty stuff. It’s nothing like the Army training.”

Rikki remembers her uncle’s stories which makes her feel a slight uneasiness. She notices her hand trembling and quickly hides it from sight. Agent Wilcox gives her a concerned look. His daughter, Kelly, is about the Lieutenant’s age and he can’t help but notice the fear in her eyes. He then asks, “Are you sure?”

Rikki puts herself together and replies, “Don’t worry about me. Let’s go.”

Jason Wong presses a button and speaks into the microphone, “This is a test.”

He folds his hands and rests his chin on top of them. As he glances at the frightened image of Gina on the monitor, he whispers to himself, “Come on...you can do this.”

Agent Wilcox and Rikki enter the room. Wilcox says, “Hey, Jason.”

Jason spins around in his office chair and says, “Hey, Cameron. So this is the bright new star?”

“Yup. Lieutenant, this is Agent Jason Wong.”

Rikki smiles as she shakes his hand and says, “Thanks for the compliment, Agent Wong.”

Jason looks up at Cameron and says, “Well, guys. Grab a chair.” Then, he spins around and tells Rikki, “I hope you don’t hate me after this, Lieutenant.”

Rikki sits down on one of the office chairs and moves closer to Jason. Her eyes widen in shock as she looks at an imprisoned Gina in the monitor. Cameron’s fatherly instinct takes over as he places his hand on her shoulder and says softly, “Let me know the second this becomes too much for you, kiddo.”

She sees Jason’s finger pushing one of the buttons on the console. The high pitched shriek startles her and she immediately looks at Gina’s reaction. Gina is now struggling with all of her might to break free of the straps. The noise becomes so unbearable that she cocks her head backwards and bites her lower lip. Rikki places her hand over her mouth and whimpers. Cameron tightens his grip on her shoulder and tells her, “Easy, now.”

Jason releases the button. He presses a different button and speaks into the microphone, “This is a test.”

Gina lowers her head and cries in desperation. Rikki uncovers her mouth. She is speechless. She never imagined something so terrifying. Gina utters in a low voice, “Rikki.”

The sound of a folder dropping on the floor is heard followed by sheets of paper spreading everywhere. Cameron glances at Rikki’s horrified face and asks her, “Lieutenant?”

He sees a tear roll down her cheek and decides that he needs to get her out of there. Cameron lifts her up and says, “Okay, soldier. Let’s get a coffee.”

Cameron takes Rikki out of the room while holding her arms. She suddenly tries to break free and says, “I have to help her.”

He wrestles with her and tries to calm her down by saying, “Lieutenant. Lieutenant!”

Rikki doesn’t reply and keeps trying to break free of his grip. She yells, “Let me go!”

Cameron shakes her and says firmly, “Rikki!” This makes her look at him. He tells her, “I know it must be hard for you but you need to pull yourself together.”

She leans back on the wall and covers her face with both of her hands. Rikki is embarrassed at the scene she just made in front of everyone in the hallway. She wipes the tears from her eyes and says to Cameron, “I’m so sorry.”

He places his hand on her shoulder and says, “Come on. Let’s get a coffee, Lieutenant.” While walking away, Rikki turns her head and whispers, “Gina.”

Gina’s eyes are now darting back and forth. She tells herself, “I’m being punished.” She begins to breathe faster and faster. After a few minutes, she confesses, “I ran away and I deserve this.”

A large screen appears from above and lowers down. Gina curiously looks at the screen and asks, “What’s this?”

The screen turns on and a picture of her father appears. She exposes her teeth like a ferocious animal and whispers, “You bastard.”

The next picture shows him holding a five year old, red haired girl in his arms. Gina is now confused at what is being shown to her. The next picture shows a woman kissing her father’s cheek. She says, “No. What have you done?”

The next picture shows her father kissing the little girl’s forehead. This makes her feel completely rejected. The love that she so deeply craved from him was being given to that little girl. Gina opens her eyes wide and, once again, breathes faster and faster. The screen turns off and proceeds to move upward until it disappears into the ceiling. Gina opens her palms and asks while crying, “Am I a bad girl, daddy?”

She then says, “Mommy. I ran away.” Her eyes are now moving in every direction and she begins to hyperventilate. After a few minutes of this, she loses consciousness.

Jason Wong is resting his chin on his folded hands as he looks at a destroyed Gina Stewart. He whispers, “You did good, Gina. That’s enough for now.”

Jason turns off the monitor and sits back in his chair. He lights a cigarette and inhales deeply. As he exhales, he says to himself, “I hate this part of my job.”

The following morning, Cameron Wilcox arrives at Rikki’s home and honks the horn. The front door opens and she steps outside. Rikki smiles at him and closes the door. She’s wearing a long sleeved, turtleneck sweater and checkered shorts with boots. Her hair is straightened and untied making her look extraordinarily beautiful. Rikki opens the passenger door and steps inside while saying, “Good morning, Agent Wilcox. Thanks for doing me this favor.”

“No problem, Lieutenant. She can use the support.”

As he drives away from her home, he notices that she’s holding a brown paper bag and asks, “Can’t stand airline food?”

“Huh? Oh, this?” She begins to blush and explains, “Just a little goodbye gift.”

He shakes his head and laughs as he says, “Awww. Very sweet of you, Lieutenant.”

“Shut up and drive.”

Inside of the CIA building, Gina stares at her breakfast and tries to use her fork to pick up her scrambled eggs. Her hand starts trembling and the fork starts tapping on the plate. She changes her mind and places the fork next to it. Gina touches her lips and whispers, “That’s not good.”

She rests her head on her pillow and gazes at the window while whispering, “Stupid girl.”

Jason arrives and taps on her door. He says, “Gina. You have a visitor.” She remains in the same position and does not reply. He tells Rikki, “Go ahead.”

Rikki walks inside Gina’s room and is saddened by her condition. She says softly, “Hey, Gina.”

Gina is surprised and swiftly turns around. Rikki uses her hand to brush her smooth hair away from her face and gives her that warm smile from yesterday. Rikki tells her nervously, “My flight leaves in three hours and I just wanted to make sure that you’re okay.”

Gina and Rikki share a moment of silence as they look into each other’s eyes. Gina finally says, “Thank you.” While still mesmerized by Gina, she says in a low voice, “You’re welcome.”

Gina looks down and notices that Rikki has a very tight grip on her paper bag. She asks, “What’s that?”

Rikki snaps out of it and extends her hands. She replies, “It’s for you. I made them myself. Tada!”

She closes her eyes and is overcome with a sensation of embarrassment for sounding so childish. Gina takes the bag and bows at her. Rikki now feels quite awkward and says while pointing her thumb at the doorway, “Enjoy them. Agent Wilcox is waiting for me so I have to go.”

She turns around to walk away thinking to herself that she made a complete fool of herself. Rikki feels a hand holding her wrist very tightly. She turns her head to look at a teary eyed Gina say, “Please. Don’t go.”

Rikki whispers, “Gina.”

“Stay with me for a while.”

“Sure. Okay.”

Gina sits up on her bed while Rikki sits on the chair beside her. Gina tells her, “I’m sorry, Rikki. I hope I don’t make you miss your flight.”

“I’ll stay here as long as you want. Maybe...I can reschedule.”

Gina shakes her head and says, “No. I don’t want to ruin your life too.”

Rikki stands up and says in a firm voice, “I’ll be right back.”

Gina watches her leave and she whispers, “Thank you.”

After a few minutes, Rikki returns and says, “See...I did it. They need me more than I need them. I can leave tomorrow morning.”

Gina smiles and says, “I’m waiting for bad news.”

Rikki slowly sits down and asks, “Huh? What do you mean?”

After a brief pause, Gina tells her, “I just feel like this is too good to be true.” She begins crying and asks, “I’m scared. Can you hold me?”

Rikki removes her boots and lies down on the bed next to Gina. She extends her arms and Gina immediately hugs her tightly. Rikki gently rubs her back and whispers, “It’s okay now.”

Gina confesses to her, “I don’t normally do this with strangers. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, Gina. I’m here for you.”

Jason enters the room and just as he is about to call for Gina, Rikki gives him a very angry stare. He raises his hands, as if surrendering, and exits. She continues rubbing Gina’s back and says, “I’ve never done this for anyone. Not even Don.”

“Is he your boyfriend?”

Rikki takes a moment to think about him. She replies, “I guess you can call him that. I don’t know.” Gina looks up at her and asks, “You don’t know?”

“He can be mean sometimes.”

She notices that Gina hasn’t touched her food and says, “You should eat that, you know. You’ll need your strength for the rest of the training.”

Gina reaches into her paper bag and takes out a chocolate chip cookie. She takes a bite and says, “I’ll eat this.” Gina raises it to Rikki’s mouth and she also takes a bite. While chewing, Rikki says, “Yeah, why not.”

Hours later, Rikki is observing Gina preparing herself for the next phase of her training. She has already passed the physical fitness exam and is now waiting for her trainer. Gina is dressed in a standard CIA martial arts uniform and is getting warmed up. Jason Wong enters the gym and says loudly, “Let’s get this show on the road, Gina.”

He arrives next to Rikki and nods while saying, “Lieutenant.”

Rikki grins and replies, “I do hate you after that.”

Jason laughs and walks up to Gina to commence the exercises. He explains to her, “We’re going to be forgetting about your shinai for now. Today, we’re going to be focusing on five techniques.”

Jason raises his fist and extends his fingers one at a time while saying, “Punching, kicking, throws, choking and grappling.” He says jokingly to Rikki, “And don’t you give her any ideas when we get to the kicking part.”

Rikki asks with an innocent expression, “Why would you even think that, Agent Wong?”

Jason continues his training by telling Gina, “Since you have already mastered the arts of physical and mental balance when facing an opponent, we’ll skip to how to perfectly position your body when using only your fists.”

Gina raises her hand as if she were in school to ask Jason a question. He shakes his head while smiling and asks, “What is it, Gina?”

“To be honest, I can’t throw a punch to save my life, sir.”

“I’ll help you with that. Now...pretend you’re holding a shinai and go into your battle stance.”

Gina does this and gets into position. Jason steps up next to her and adjusts her fists and arms into a boxing pose. He explains, “You’re a righty. So you’re going to use keep your left arm extended and use that as your defense. You’re going to keep your other fist several inches from your face.”

Jason steps back and continues, “Gravity is key here, Gina. The majority of people use too much momentum when throwing a punch. Let me show you. Throw a punch at me.”

Gina hesitates and looks at Rikki nervously. Rikki grins at her and says, “It’s only an exercise, Gina. Don’t worry.”

Gina moves toward Jason and throws a punch at him. He uses his left fist to block the attack, pulls on her sleeve making her lose her balance and, in a split second, his fist is an inch away from her left eye. Jason explains, “Now in all fairness, I am stronger than you so making you lose your balance was easy. I wouldn’t recommend this on a guy because it just won’t work.”

Gina steps back and asks, “So what do I do?”

“This is where timing comes into play, Gina. If the guy’s a righty, his first punch will be with his right fist. Likewise, if he’s a lefty, he’ll come at you throwing a left punch. The trick is anticipating his move right before he executes and then moving in for the counterattack.”

Jason goes into his boxing pose and Gina goes into the same pose as well. He makes his way toward her and says, “I’m a righty, Gina.”

As soon as he throws his punch, Gina blocks it and throws her punch a second afterward. To her surprise, Jason ducks, grabs her wrist and throws her over his shoulder. Gina flips over, hits the mat and glances at Jason as he laughs. She pounds her fists on the mat and angrily yells, “Hey!”

Jason helps her up and says, “Sorry. I didn’t want a black eye. You did good, Gina.”

She smiles and says, “Really?”

Rikki is more concerned than glad of her new friend’s progress. The torture that she was made to experience yesterday was a way to break her. Now, Jason is making himself seem like someone she needs approval from. After several hand to hand fights, Jason grins and says holding his shoulder, “You anticipated my dodge and managed to hit my shoulder. Very good, Gina.”

She smiles and says, “I did good.”

“One more and we’ll take a break.”

Gina nods and goes into her battle stance. Jason moves in closer and fakes a punch which doesn’t even make her flinch. She’s a quick learner, indeed. At this point, he will need to have leverage in order to win. Jason performs a leg sweep toward Gina’s left leg. This causes her to lift it to evade the attack and she gasps as she sees his fist coming straight at her chin. She successfully blocks the uppercut with her open left palm but his momentum pushes her backwards. Gina then feels the sharp pain of his elbow hitting her stomach. The wind gets completely knocked out of her and she collapses to the ground gasping for air.

Rikki becomes angered at Jason and says loudly, “Agent Wong! You didn’t have to hit her that hard!”

Jason turns her head to look at her and replies, “She needs to be prepared for any kind of attack, Lieutenant. Even the cheating kind.”

Gina slowly stands up and says in a raspy voice, “Again.”

Jason is proud of his student’s determination. His grin disappears as he sees a different look in her eyes. It is almost as if her eyes were piercing his soul...the eyes of a killer. Jason replies, “That’s good. Get pissed off.” They both go into their battle stance. Gina says in Japanese, “This will hurt. A lot.”

Jason patiently moves closer inch by inch. Gina’s cold stare is disturbing him. Has he pushed her too far? He decides to try a double jab using both fists and a knee thrust. He’s hoping she will block the first jab, duck to evade the second and will have no time to avoid the impact of his knee. Gina’s movements are blindingly fast as she ducks to avoid the first jab. While Jason is throwing his second punch, his nose gets hit by the back of her heel causing blood to gush out. As he covers it with both hands, Gina punches his stomach hard causing him to lower his head and spit out saliva. She grabs his head and flips him over. Jason lands on his back hard and yells, “That’s what I’m talking about!”

Rikki has her mouth covered with her hands in utter shock at what she just witnessed. Gina is just standing there staring at her with a soulless expression.

Moments later in the cafeteria, Rikki sits down across from Gina and places her tray on the table. Gina is saddened over the fact that she lost control of herself during the training earlier. Rikki tries to cheer her up by saying, “I don’t think any differently of you, Gina.”

Gina grins at her and asks, “You’re not scared of me?”

“No. I like you.”

She can’t believe that those words came out of her mouth and blushes as a result. Gina stares into her brown eyes and is finding herself becoming attracted to her. Rikki lowers her head and says, “Sorry.”

She doesn’t understand why she is having these feelings for her. She knows that being with Don is something that she enjoys very much. But with Gina, she has completely opened herself...and she feels scared. Rikki becomes startled when she feels a warm hand touching hers and looks up. She sees that Gina is happy but crying at the same time. Gina wipes the tears from her own eyes and says, “Just my luck. I find someone nice and, in a few days, I’ll be on the other side of the world.”

“Huh?”

Gina lowers her head and explains, “Agent Wong told me after our training. I’ll be going to Japan.”

Rikki adds in a somber tone, “I kind of figured, Gina. To make things worse, we’re not going to be allowed to maintain communication while undercover.”

Gina raises her head and tells her, “This isn’t fair.”

Rikki takes Gina’s hand and, while squeezing it, says, “Let’s just make the most out of the day.” This gives Rikki an idea and she tells Gina in a low voice, “Let’s get out of here.”

A few minutes later, Gina is waiting outside of the building. She becomes startled at the sound of a car horn and sees a red convertible Mustang approaching. To her amazement, she realizes that it is Rikki behind the wheel. She applies the brake and shouts at Gina, “Hurry! Get in before my uncle changes his mind!”

Gina quickly opens the passenger door and hops inside. She asks, “This is his?”

Rikki nods and laughs as she hits the gas pedal. Gina unfastens her seat belt and stands up to let the wind flow through her hair. She says loudly, “I must be dreaming!”

Rikki takes a brief moment to observe Gina’s happiness. Her cell phone suddenly begins to ring and, to her dismay, sees that it is Don. She asks Gina, “Can you do me favor?”

She sits down, fastens her seat belt and replies, “I’m sorry. I got carried away.”

“No. It’s not that.”

Gina becomes puzzled and asks, “What is it?”

“Can you take my phone? But don’t answer it.”

Gina takes the phone and awaits further instructions. Rikki continues, “Turn it off and take out the battery.”

Gina can’t help but feel that she is causing her a lot of trouble with her boyfriend. Rikki explains, “I don’t want anyone to ruin this day for us. Not even him.”

Gina proceeds to turn it off and then removes the battery as requested. Rikki asks her, “Can you just hold on to it for now?”

Gina places the battery in her pocket and says, “I hope you’re not doing all of this because you feel sorry for me.”

Rikki decides to pull over to the side of the road in order to make things clear to Gina. She shifts the gear into park and gives her a serious look. Gina is looking down at her hands and says, “I do thank you.”

“Look...I’m scared too, Gina. You’re not the only one in the world that’s been hurt.”

Gina doesn’t believe that a person with so much in her life understands true pain. She says to her, “That’s just it, Rikki. You think you know what pain is but you don’t.”

While Rikki bites her nails nervously, a tear rolls down her cheek and she whispers, “This was a mistake.” Gina turns her head away and remains silent. Rikki uses her trembling hand to grab her phone and she says in a shaky voice, “Give me my battery...now.”

Gina looks at her and says, “No...wait. I don’t want to ruin this.”

Rikki doesn’t reply and extends her hand but Gina doesn’t do anything. After a minute, Rikki gets agitated and attempts to reach into her jacket pocket. Gina quickly prevents this by grabbing her wrist and says loudly, “Rikki!” Rikki tries to break her grip and screams, “Give it to me!”

Gina gazes into Rikki’s teary eyes and finally realizes that she is being true with her feelings. She is not doing all of this out of sympathy. Gina reaches over, takes her by the back of her neck and gives her a long kiss on the lips. They eventually stop kissing and Gina rests her forehead on Rikki’s. Rikki tells her, “My dad gave me a boy’s name, for Christ’s sake.”

Gina holds her hand tightly and replies, “Forgive me. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Rikki wipes away her tears and says, “It’s okay. Let’s get going. I want to take you somewhere.”

An hour later, they both arrive at Langley Fork Park located in Fairfax County. Gina steps out of the Mustang and marvels at the beautiful scenery. Rikki stands next to her and says, “I usually come here to relax. It’s nice, right?”

Gina smiles at her and replies, “Yeah, it is.”

Rikki takes Gina by the hand and says, “Come on. Let’s forget about the real world for now.”

After walking for several miles, Gina sits down on a bench and says, “Let’s sit here for a while.”

This gives Rikki an idea and she asks, “Can you give me my battery?”

Gina frowns at her request but reaches into her pocket anyway. Rikki reassures her by saying, “It’s not what you think, Gina. I just want to take a picture of us.”

As she waits for her phone to boot up, Rikki sits on Gina’s lap and hugs her tightly. She then tells her, “Don’t you die on me while you’re over there...please. I’ll wait for you...no matter how long it takes.”

Rikki prepares to take the picture and says, “Smile!” The phone saves the image of both of their happy faces.

A year later, Gina is in her kitchen staring at the lovely picture in her locket. After placing it in her pocket, she prepares her tea and makes her way to the living room of her home. She smiles at her guests. The oyabun of Japan’s current largest Yakuza family, Ryu Miyazaki returns the smile and says in Japanese, “Thank you for the tea, Haruka.”

As he takes the cup, Gina bows at him and replies, [J]”You are very welcome, Miyazaki-san.”[J]

She then gives a cup to his son, Ken Miyazaki and sits down next to him. Ryu tells her, [J]”The sumo wrestling tournament tonight should be quite entertaining. I am glad that you will be attending.”[J]

Gina smiles and replies, [J]”I would not even think about missing it, Miyazaki-san. It is also your birthday.”[J]

It’s so hard for her to believe that the sweet sixty year-old man sitting in front of her is in actuality the crime boss of a huge Yakuza organization. She never expected to find herself so comfortable around him. And his son, Ken, is such a respectable gentleman who treats her gently. How will she bring herself to kill Ryu Miyazaki when the time comes? After all that he’s done for her. If not for him, she would not have her job as a manager at Dogma. A film studio that specializes in adult entertainment located in Tokyo.

After several minutes pass, Ryu looks at his watch and says, [J]”Will you look at the time. I must leave now, Haruka.”[J] He stands up followed by Ken and Gina. Gina then escorts the both of them to the front door. Ken tells her, [J]”I will come for you at seven, my love.”[J]

Gina grins and nods in agreement. Ryu takes her hand and bows. He says, [J]”I am so grateful to have you in our family, Haruka. Take care.”[J]

[J]”And I am grateful for the love you all have given me, Miyazaki-san.”[J]

She closes the door and leans on it while thinking about what she told Ryu. It was not a lie. For the first time in her life, she feels the warmth of belonging to a real family.

Hours later, Gina is putting the finishes touches of her makeup and lipstick. She becomes startled by the sudden and rapid pounding on her front door. It can’t be Ken because he said that he would arrive at seven...it’s 6:40 right now. Gina arrives at the front door and asks, [J]”My love? Is that you?”[J]

The panicked voice of a young man is heard screaming in English, “Gina! Open the fucking door!”

She recognizes the voice belonging to her fellow agent Tommy Yamada and immediately opens the door. He rushes inside and tells her, “Close it...now!”

Gina becomes annoyed at him and asks, “What’s with you, Tommy?”

As she proceeds to close the door, a foot appears and prevents it from shutting. Gina gets forced back by the person and yells, [J]”What the hell?”[J]

The person enters the home. She is a young, Hispanic woman pointing a handgun at her. The woman explains in a rough Japanese, “I am sorry for intruding. I am police officer Barbara Echevarria and he is suspect of murder.”

Murder? What has Tommy gotten himself into? Gina grins at her and says, “We speak English, officer.”

Barbara also grins and tells her, “Then you can understand that he’s coming with me.”

Tommy becomes agitated and yells, “In your dreams, bitch!”

Gina slowly turns her head to look at him and whispers, “You shut up.” She then looks back at Barbara and replies, “I don’t think so. You see...in about fifteen minutes, the son of the head of the biggest Yakuza gang is about to step through that door. And then you’ll be a dead officer. You understand that?”

Barbara tightens her grip on the gun and says, “You’re bluffing.”

Gina takes a step forward and replies softly, “I’m Agent Gina Stewart and that’s Agent Tommy Yamada. We’re with the CIA. I can show you our credentials but we really don’t have time for that shit. If you want to get out of this alive, you’ll follow my every instruction.”

Barbara becomes frustrated and lowers her gun. She tells Gina, “This isn’t right. He...”

Gina interrupts her by saying, “There are a lot of things in this world that isn’t right, officer. Now, follow me to the bedroom.”

As they both walk in that direction, Gina says to Tommy, “We’ll talk later. Close the front door.”

Gina closes the bedroom door and says to Barbara, “This is what your story is. You came here so that I can interview you for a job.”

“Okay. That doesn’t seem like a bad idea.”

Gina gives her an evil grin, walks toward her and says, “As a porn actress.”

Barbara’s eyes widen and she feels insulted by what she feels is disrespect. She firmly tells her, “Uh, no! Fuck that! I’d rather get shot by the Yakuza.”

“If you have a better idea then share it.”

Barbara covers her face with her hands realizing that time is against her. She finally says loudly, “Madre de Dios...fine! Let’s get this over with.”

“Good. Now take off those clothes.”

Tommy is sitting on the sofa while snorting the cocaine on his finger. He looks at his watch and sees that the time is 6:57. The bedroom door suddenly opens and Tommy rises to his feet. He is completely stunned at Barbara’s makeover and whispers in Japanese, ”Hot.”

She is dressed in a stunning, black Dolce and Gabanna cordonetto cotton lace bustier evening gown. Her hair is untied and shimmers with the lighting. As she walks toward him, she says, “Not one word, you little shit.”

The three of them get startled at the sound of the knock on the front door. Gina takes a deep breath and says in Japanese while walking in that direction, “God help us.”

She opens the front door and smiles at Ken Miyazaki. He says, [J]”Good evening, Haruka-san. Are you ready?”[J]

He notices Barbara standing behind her and asks, [J]”And who is this?”[J]

Barbara feels intimidated by his tall stature and shaved head and folds her hands. Just as Gina is about to speak, Tommy steps in front of her and says, [J]”Boss. This is Tora Rios. I got her here to work at Dogma! We met on-line.”[J]

Barbara bites her lower lip and gives Gina a surprised look. Ken grins at him and replies, [J]”Really?”[J]

He gently pushes Tommy aside with his finger and begins to study Barbara’s body. He asks her in English using a thick accent, “You speak Japanese, Tora?”

Barbara quickly replies with a nervous tone in Japanese, “Yes, sir.” Ken then takes her hand and looks at it for a minute. He lets go and sternly tells Gina, [J]”Her hands are rough. You need to fix that.”[J]

Tommy slaps Barbara’s buttocks hard which makes her gasp. He tells Ken in a cocky manner, [J]”She’s got it where it counts, boss.”[J]

Gina becomes concerned as she sees Barbara clenching her fist but is relieved to see that she just smiles at Tommy instead of punching him. Ken chuckles and replies, [J]”Now, Seiji! Behave yourself.”[J]

He then looks at Barbara and says, [J]”Forgive him, Tora. He can be a brute at times. Would you like to accompany us to a sumo wrestling tournament? You and Haruka can discuss business there.”[J]

Barbara ponders the idea of being in the company of these people and hesitates for a moment. There’s no turning back now. She made this choice and now she must take this ride. Barbara bows and replies, [J]”I have never seen a tournament in person, sir. Thank you.”[J]

Ken grins at Gina and tells her, [J]”She has good manners, too. I like her.”[J]

Gina says while grinning at her, [J]”I like her, too. We should be on our way, my love.”[J]

She waits for everyone to exit her home before closing the front door. Barbara is the last person to step outside. As she walks past Gina, she whispers, “He better not do that to me again.” Gina shushes her and closes the door.

Barbara enters the limousine and sits down next to the window. Tommy quickly sits down next to her and smiles. She becomes annoyed and points her finger at him while whispering, “Watch it.”

Ken notices this strange behavior and asks Tommy, [J]”Is something the matter?”[J]

[J]”She’s just worried about ruining Haruka’s evening gown.”[J]

He then places his hand on Barbara’s knee and says, [J]”Don’t worry, baby. Relax and have fun.”[J]

She cannot believe that her knee is being touched by the hand of a murderer. But she cannot break out of character. As Barbara places her hand on top of his, she says, [J]”Okay, Seiji-san.”[J]

Barbara then forces a smile at both Ken and Gina. Gina returns the smile and takes a sip of her champagne while being very impressed with Barbara’s level of restraint. She does not approve of Tommy’s obnoxious behavior, however, and gives him a furious look. This makes him shrug his shoulders and he then hands Barbara a tall glass of champagne. She snatches the champagne glass out of his hand and, while taking a big sip, is praying for this hellish nightmare to come to an end quickly. She realizes that undercover work is an important facet of law enforcement but this is different.

Barbara does not have the luxury of having her fellow officers backing her up if things fall apart. Rather than having to make eye contact with a drugged up Tommy, she focuses her attention on the scenery outside. Barbara can easily tell when someone is under the influence of narcotics and knows that it’s best not to upset him too much.

The limousine arrives at Kokugikan, the sumo stadium located in Ryogoku. Barbara sees several muscular, well dressed men waiting outside of the vehicle. As soon as they come to a stop, one of them opens the passenger door and says to Ken, [J]”Oyabun Miyazaki is waiting for you inside, sir.”[J]

Ken steps outside and greets him by saying, “Ohikaenasutte, shateigashira.”

The man bows his head respectfully and says, “Ohikaenassutte.”

Tommy steps out and grins as he says to the second lieutenant, “Ohikaenasutte, Takeshi.”

Takeshi gives him an annoyed look and, as he slaps him on the back of his head, asks, [J]”What the fuck are you doing here?”[J]

Barbara is the last person to step out of the limousine and makes eye contact with Takeshi. She bows her head and says, [J]”Thank you, lieutenant.”[J]

He does not reply and continues staring at her in a suspicious manner. She begins to feel uncomfortable standing in front of this rather intimidating individual. It’s almost as if he can see right through her little charade. Gina steps between them and tells him in an aggravated tone, [J]”This is Tora and she is a potential employee of Dogma, lieutenant. I certainly hope you are not making my guest feel unwanted.”[J]

Takeshi bows his head and replies, [J]”My humble apologies, Haruka-san.”[J]

Gina takes Barbara’s hand and they proceed to walk away from Takeshi. Barbara turns her head to see that he is still giving her that creepy, suspicious stare. She looks forward and whispers to Gina, “I’m so dead.”

Gina replies softly, “He’s like that with new people. You’re doing good so keep it together.”

They both arrive at the box seats area to find Ken kneeling down on a light blue colored cushion next to his father, Ryu Miyazaki. Ryu’s eyes become filled with joy at the sight of Gina’s arrival and quickly rises to his feet to greet her. Gina finds his reaction to be very flattering and gives him a big smile. She says to him, [J]“Greetings, Miyazaki-san.”[J]

Ryu takes both of her hands, kisses them and tells her, [J]”Come! Sit next to me, my dear Haruka.”[J]

At this point, he notices that she is accompanied by a very attractive, young woman. Gina introduces her by saying, [J]”This is Tora Rios. She may be a potential actress at Dogma.”[J]

Ryu smiles at Barbara and says, [J]”Ahhh! I am sure you will do just fine, young lady! You are very attractive!”[J]

She blushes and replies while bowing her head, [J]”You are too kind, sir. Thank you.”[J]

Ryu Miyazaki kneels down on his cushion and Gina kneels down right next to him. Barbara removes her high heels and kneels down on the cushion in front of Gina. Tommy rushes to her side and smiles at her while whispering, “Hey, baby.”

She rolls her eyes and tries to ignore his bothersome presence. She suddenly gets a strange feeling that she is being watched and, instinctively, attempts to catch a glimpse of anything out of the ordinary. Without turning her head, Barbara sees two men at her lower left speaking with each other while looking at the box seating area. The younger of the two becomes enraged and slams his fist on his own lap. He then stands up and begins to run in her direction while reaching into his jacket pocket. Tommy sees this and says in a low voice, “Oh, shit.”

Tommy stands up and a confused Ken asks, [J]”Seiji? What are you doing?”[J]

Ken notices the angry youth running towards them and reaches for his gun. As the young man points his gun at Tommy, he screams, [J]”You killed my brother!”[J]

A woman is heard screaming and Tommy jumps to hide behind Gina. Barbara closes her eyes, leaps in front of both of them and she hears the gunshot a second later. She screams at the burning sensation of the bullet piercing her abdomen and collapses to the floor. Ken fires his gun and shoots the boy right in the middle of his forehead instantly killing him.

Barbara hears the entire stadium erupt with panic and sees the blurry vision of Gina’s face just above her yelling something. The overwhelming noise of the crowd makes it impossible to understand what she is trying to tell her. As Barbara slowly loses consciousness, a tear rolls down her cheek and she starts hyperventilating from the fear of dying. She says to Gina, “I told you. I’m so dead.”

Barbara coughs up blood and begins crying hysterically while whispering, “No...I don’t want to die. Please.”

Gina hugs her tightly and whispers into her ear, “You’re not gonna die, Barbara. Do you hear me?”

Barbara begins to feel numb and the noise around her gradually fades away. She hears a faint voice saying, “Thank you.” Everything becomes dark and there is nothing but silence. Is this how it feels to die?

Barbara is awakened to the sound of a page being turned is heard and opens her eyes to become blinded by the bright light surrounding her. She grunts at the sharp pain at her side as she tries to move. A man with a British accent is heard saying, “Easy now, young lady.”

Barbara’s vision finally returns to normal and she finds herself sitting down on the passenger seat of what seems to be a commercial airliner. The man sitting beside her looks to be somewhere in his late sixties but she can tell that he keeps himself in good shape. She glances around and realizes that the plane is completely devoid of passengers. He closes his newspaper and says to her, “You are one lucky individual. If not for Agent Stewart, you would most certainly have died that night.”

Barbara grimaces in pain as she tries to see if there are any passengers behind them. The plane is completely empty with the exception of her and the man. She sits back down and asks in a panicked tone, “What is this? Where am I? Who are you?”

“You’re on a flight headed to JFK International in New York. I can give you false name, but I won’t. Just call me X.”

Barbara remembers that quote from the Oliver Stone film JFK and gives him a bewildered look. He laughs and says, “I’m joking, of course. My name is Gerald Hawkins.”

She then touches her abdomen gently and then and says admittedly, “I never took a bullet for a complete stranger. To come face to face with death like that actually terrified me.”

Gerald realizes, at this point, that her near death experience has traumatized her to a significant extent. He places his hand on hers and tells her softly, “You are a brave one, indeed. I’m glad to have someone here accompanying me on this flight.”

The stewardess arrives and hands Gerald his vodka martini. He thanks her, takes a very small sip and says, “Exquisite.”

Barbara is beginning to become aware that the person sitting next to her is not affiliated with the CIA or any U.S. government agency. She asks him, “Mr. Hawkins? You’re not CIA...am I right?”

Gerald takes another sip of his martini and replies without looking at her, “Never on an official capacity. My services are usually sought after by the wealthy elite.”

Barbara immediately knows what kind of services he is referring to and says, “You’re a corporate assassin.”

“You’re good.”

“And I’m betting Gerald Hawkins isn’t your real name.”

“Right again.”

Barbara rests her head on the pillow again and lets out a heavy sigh. She then says, “Great. I’m with another killer.”

After a brief moment of silence, the assassin tells Barbara, “Speaking of Tommy, Ken Miyazaki was not very pleased at him using Haruka as a shield. I would rather not be in his shoes right now.”

“Tommy’s a pig.”

She then tilts her head slightly and asks out of curiosity, “Who are your clients?”

He finishes his martini and replies, “If I were to tell you, Miss Echevarria, you would never be able to sleep at night.”

Suddenly, a beeping sound is heard and the assassin gazes at his watch. He says to Barbara, “Well, now. This is where I get off.”

“What? Now? But we haven’t landed yet.”

The assassin stands up and reaches above for his black bag. As he begins to walk down the aisle toward the emergency exit, he says, “You stay alive, Barbara. Great things are in store for you.”

The mysterious man opens the hatch, and he is heard saying in a low voice, “Now, Indrid.” Barbara is perplexed at the fact that the interior of the plane is not being affected by decompression. She is blinded by a bright light and, in reaction to this, shields her eyes with her hands. When her vision returns, she sees that the emergency exit hatch has been closed. Barbara quickly turns her head away and wonders if what she experienced was real or the result of being heavily medicated. She slowly moves her eyes to see that the empty martini glass is still there on the tray. Barbara closes her eyes and whispers to herself, “Go to sleep, Barbara.”