Chapter 91: Chapter 91
XXX
The warehouse was a dull place. Thirty year old walls did not lend any excitement to a glorified hidey hole that had never seen "better days". It was accessible, was painted a dull brown and had an extended loading dock. The only impressive thing it could claim was perhaps its anonymity. Consequently, the two people who pulled up to it with a flatbed truck carrying the grey forty foot long container, did not feel as confident as they ought to have been.
"Stan, are ye sure yeh got the right place? All these bloody things look the same to me!"
Said Stan laid a reassuring hand on the other mans shoulder.
"Relax. This is the address, this is the place. We just have to get the crates in and we can head fer the nearest pub. Twelve hours drivin' ain't so bad when yeh got beer waitin fer yeh at the end."
"I hear yeh, now we jes need to rustle up some local lads tha' don't mind helpin' a-"
The words were interrupted, as the speaker suddenly found himself the victim of a throwing knife embedded in the skull. Actually, it was the eye socket and had managed quite the spatter of blood and viscera, panicking the other man completely.
The still living man, tried to run away in his panicked state. But even as he leapt from the cab, he was dead, his head landing a few feet from where his body crumpled. Two men walked quickly and quietly to the back of the truck. Both wore jumpsuits, balaclavas and utility vests, all a dull tan color.
"Check the serial number."
"HNJU7511926. It is the one."
The first speaker nodded. He motioned with his hands and the two of them carefully began the process of disposing of the bodies. There was no need to chance evidence. The two began the process of covering their tracks. The first was to temporarily set up a Torii for cargo transfer. A few sleds were used to remove the contents of the container, various crates. For half an hour, the only noises were the sounds of sliding and rolling as the men methodically removed wooden crates through the luminescent gateway. At the end, the Torii was taken down and disappeared, its one time use having finished. Finally, the truck was driven off by one of the pair while the other man began the laborious process of erasing the body, ensuring that the deaths could not be discovered by magic, sorcery or ordinary forensics. First step was to remove the bodies, which had been already done through the Torii. Next was to remove the physical evidence. The contents of a spray can were carefully applied over each of the areas with blood, from the runner. Beheading was a messy but efficient thing. A minute was all it took before the dead organic matter on the floor began to smoke and flake. Five seconds later, all that was left was carbon dust, which was getting dispersed quite easily. No stain, no protein trail. An elegant paper fan blew dust back into place, erasing tire tracks and dust voids. Next, a scentless incense stick was burnt. The magical smoke quickly purified the area, removing all traces of spells, auras and magical traces. As the man left, the stick burnt and sublimed into the air, leaving the empty warehouse just as it was, dusty and unused, just as it had been that morning
XXX
The man looked at the reports with a fair deal of resigned amusement.
"I should have expected this, I really should have. But it seems I was too late on that front."
The woman in front of him looked at his shadowed face grimly.
"It was unexpected my lord. This happened only two days ago, and our intelligence is not perfect. In any case, the Japanese have managed to do the impossible. They have put a metal vessel in the air. And in two engagements the Japanese have shot down a good chunk of our fighting fleet strength, 24 ships, and have also damaged a Zheng-He. The opinion in the imperial court is that the Japanese are turning into a menacing enemy."
"Indeed, my Hornet. It seems these ninja are persistent. What exactly does the court have to say?"
Hornet winced.
"The Immortal Emperor is in favor of ceasing hostilities as soon as possible. Considering that we have been stalling the progress on the official prototype being constructed at Shanghai, it is expected that he would be interested in the Japanese specimen. From what our men can see, the two they are fielding are seemingly more advanced than the ones we are developing."
"Describe them if you will, these poorly written words…are giving me a headache"
"Yes My Lord. As far as we have been able to confirm, there are two vessels. Both are clearly military submarines of a relatively recent build. One is a Russian Kilo class hull, flying Peoples Republic colors until it rose from the water and proceeded to score a point blank salvo on the Whisper of the North Wind. It seems to use its torpedo tubes to fire a more potent version of our standard capital ship ammunition. Its maneuverability and performance is comparable to a raider but it has demonstrated far more offensive and defensive capability. After revealing itself, it fired forty three more rounds in seven minutes while violently maneuvering and then retreated underwater, sinking seven ships in all. It was unfortunate for the Chinese that their defending cruiser was taken out first. The others were unable to counter it without risk of friendly fire before she dived. At this point we are not sure why they did not consider it suspicious, especially since the Chinese navy does not currently operate Kilo class submarines. The participating ships are also reorganizing to counter an ambush from within friendly territory.
.
.
.
patreon.com/Black_Zetsu
You can follow me on my Patreon for more advanced chapters. The story is on the Silver level
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone