Hondo I. Sackett
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Hondo took the card, knowing better than to argue about it. Valentine looked up a few restaurants and Hondo Called about reservations. His accent being a little thicker than Valentine’s, and his not having the ear for language and discerning accent’s like she had, she ended up taking over the phone calls. After a few strike out’s they found an open reservation at a place called, Ninja Akasaka. It was a bit of a tourist spot, as it was Ninja themed, as even the wait staff dressed as ninja’s and all had some skills to enhance the experience with theatrics. It was not Hondo’s first choice, but it would be an evening together.
Hondo finished up what he was doing and shut the cargo bay while Valentine went to get dressed. Before heading to their room Hondo grabbed a western suit out of a garment bag he kept in the cargo-bay lockers. He was not a fan of suits but the business he and Fernando had to attend to required such fancy duds at times.
By the time he got to their room, Valentine was sitting on the bed, pulling on her last stocking. She was wearing a black lace mesh bra, g-string, and garter belt. She stood up, securing the last stocking top to the garter belt, before showing it off to him.
“What you think? You like it?” She asked.
He grinned at her, “I think if you don’t get your dress on, we’ll never make our reservation as I’d like to take it off ya an’ do ya lovely again, right now!”
She blushes slightly and smiled as she walked up to him and pressed her body against his. Something hard poked her belly, so she was sure he liked her ensemble, or maybe it was just her he liked. Either way, it made her happy that she pleased him. He leaned down and kissed her softly. He pulled away and started to unbutton his shirt.
“I’ll get dressed so as not to tease you any further at the moment. I will enjoy you takin’ them off me when we get back, though.” She said with a wink.
He smiled and watched her as she slipped into her dress. He helped her fasten the dress up and wrapped a grey shawl around her shoulders, before finishing to undress. Once undressed, he slap on some deodorant, a bit of cologne, and then slip into his suit clothes. He secured his ankle gun into his nice boots, slipped derringer into his coat pocket and another into his vest, put on a shoulder harness with a new 1911 double stack, a silencer, and two spare mags, all of which Fernando had given him last Christmas, and a couple well placed knives. (one horizontal along the back of his belt, one in his other boot, and one up his sleeve.) Valentine secured a derringer and knife on a garter strap style holster, that Hondo had gotten for her on her birthday right after their last mission in Italy. She put a small revolver in her purse as well. Though they both had weapons, they had no plans on having to use them that night.
Once ready they jumped into the mustang and pealed out of the hanger. It was a nice evening and the air felt good. Since they got on the road by 6:30pm and their reservation was not until 9:00pm they stopped by the Two-Dogs Taproom for a beer. Valentine got a ‘Roppongi Pale Ale’ and Hondo got a ‘The Day Innovation Red Lager’, both of which were local craft specialties.
After the beer they hit the road again. Due to the location of the restaurant they had to park almost a mile away and walk. Hondo parked the car, opened the door for Valentine, and helped her out. Not that she needed help, but it was one of the ways he showed he cared. Words were not Hondo’s strong point, but long ago he found he could speak volumes with his actions alone. He offered her his arm, which she took without pause. She leaned against him as they started to walk, enjoying the touch and presence of her man.
They walked slowly and talked about things they wanted to do on the ranch when they got some time off. They knew that the way things were shaping up, that time off would not be something they would see anytime soon. It did not bother them as they knew what they did mattered, but sometimes just talking about plans was fun. A lot had changed for them since Italy. Hondo was finding he could smile and laugh more these days. Trusting Valentine had been an effort at first, as was letting himself love again, but she made both easy for him. Valentine found the world not so lonely or threatening anymore. She still secretly hoped her father was alive somewhere, and the scars from her past still ran deep, but the nightmares were few and far between, and the scars no longer mattered. She was loved by a good man, a man who was not using her, disregarding her, nor thought she was inferior. He treated her like a woman, because she was, but not like a lesser being as many had done before. On missions they both saw horrors and both had to kill, though Hondo tried to take that burden on himself more often than not to protect her. At the end of the day, though, they could be together, work of their fears, guilt, and frustrations together, then hold each other in the night to keep at bay the nightmares they saw during their waking hours. They had both lived and survived alone, but they found they thrived together.
Their relationship was not always champagne, roses, and perfect nights, unfortunately. At times Hondo got distant and would shut down, still. He got tired and snapped from time to time. Valentine had nightmares occasionally, and days she doubted she was good enough for him, and there were times after a bad night or when he was grouchy that she found herself shrink from his touch. It was not him, as he never laid hand to her unless in love or help, but it was just her own past haunting her. They argued from time to time, and had days they just needed to be alone. They were just like any other couple, imperfect. Unlike many couples, though, as imperfect as they were they were perfect for each other. They had only two big fights, but they regretted them both and promised to work with each other to never let something like that happen again. The reality was that it would someday, but they worked to at least make those fights be rare. “Fight the world, but not each other,” had been a promise they made each other and worked to uphold.
It seemed like in no time they had made it to the restaurant and were being seated. There was a lot of dark stone work, and the place was set up so the seating was fairly private. The waitstaff all were dressed as ninjas, or at least how ninja’s were depicted to dress. A few of the waitstaff were actually acrobatic stuntmen and women who came around doing special stints from time to time to entertain the crowd.
There were five or six dinner choices that was served in courses. They did not each get to order separately, but ordered the course set as a table. The food was slightly Americanized Japanese dishes. It was good enough for Hondo’s liking. He really did not care for fish, unless it was breaded, deep-fried, and covered in beans and tarter sauce. Valentine liked sushi and other seafood from time to time, but rarely asked to go to such places knowing her husbands dislike for such food. This place had the perfect mix to the courses that they each got something they liked and got to try some new things that did not sound too bad. They were served a beer each, at first, then they had a wine parring with the main course. With dessert they had a choice and Hondo ordered a Japanese whiskey called ‘Suntory Toki’ and Valentine had a Sake.
The food was good, the entertainment was interesting, and the company was great. Neither of them forgot the danger they could be facing, but for the moment, all that seemed so far away. The evening had been perfect so far, except for a Japanese man in a suit and sunglasses, whom had been leaning against a wall a ways off from them for most of the evening. Hondo almost swore he was watching them, but never caught him staring at them. It was more of a feeling, anyway, and he chalked it up to a subconscious paranoia that he had seemed to developed on missions. He shrugged it off fr now. They were not being obvious and made no moves against them. A waiter came to bring their ticket and Hondo gave him the card. Valentine looked around a moment before standing up.
“I’ll be right back. Need to use the lady’s-room, if we are going to be leaving soon.” She said.
Hondo pointed, “Looks like it’s down there. Should be ready to go once you’re done.”
She smiled and nodded, “I’ll be right back, my love.”
Hondo smiled and nodded at her, finishing off the last of his whiskey as she turned and left. Hondo pulled out his phone and checked the messages. The phone itself looked out of date, but it was actually a quite impressive piece of hacked CIA tech. Fernando had given one to him and one to Valentine. They had special encryption that made them un-hackable and untraceable by anyone else than Hondo, Valentine, Fernando, and a couple other trusted individuals. As he looked at the phone he found there were no new messages, but some movement caught his eye.
Hondo noticed the man in the suit and sunglasses move a bit. Once Valentine was out of sight the man nod at someone, stand up straight and head down the hall towards the restrooms. Hondo acted like he was looking at the phone but his peripheral vision was extremely acute these days.
He attributed his change in vision to the bio-pills he had ingested after being injured a few times on missions. All of a sudden one day found he no longer needed glasses, and his vision seemed to heal way beyond what he ever remembered it being. The only down side was his light sensitivity seemed to get worse. Daylight without sunglasses gave him a bad headache, but that was hardly a major issue. Even when he needed glasses, his peripherals had been extremely good, now they were even better and had severed him well.
After the man disappeared down the hall, Three more came, seeming to try to act nonchalant. One was dressed exactly like him, another looked similar but did not have a coat or sunglasses, and the last was bald and three times the size of the other three, which made him a little bigger than Hondo.
Hondo waited for a second before standing up and heading down the hall himself. Something felt off and he had to check. He passed the ladies room and headed to the men’s-room, which was the only other door on that dead end hall. As he opened the door he noticed the men’s-room was empty. He did not pause a moment to look around before spinning on his heals. As he walked quickly back to the lady’s-room door, he pulled his pistol and threaded on the silencer. His pulse quickened as he kicked the door open and entered all almost in one seemingly fluid action.
The scene before him was this: Valentine was in the middle of the room. She was leaned backwards, legs spread, dress pulled up, and her g-string lay around one ankle with one band cut. The large, bald man was standing in the open door of a stall, behind Valentine, holding her by her arms. The guy who had been leaning against the wall had her shawl wrapped around her neck and was keeping enough pressure on it so she could not scream and had to struggle to breathe. The other man in sunglasses was leaning against the sink watching with sadistic glee, as he held a large knife, in his left hand, pointed menacingly at Valentine. The guy in the white shirt with no coat or sunglasses had Valentines knife in hand, his pants were around his ankles, and his pathetic excuse for a dick stuck out.
His mind took in the sight that lay before him in a micro second and he made his first strike before they could even process his presence.
He pistol whipped the guy with his pants around his ankles, causing the man to collapse, unconscious, onto the floor. He then shot the man, who was choking Valentine with her own shawl, right through the head. As his brain matter splattered the wall his body crumpled to the floor where it lay in an ever growing pool of his own blood. The man on the sink leaped at Hondo as the big man simultaneously threw Valentine against the wall. Hondo was momentarily distracted, as he looked to where she landed. That lapse in concentration cost him. The man with the knife swung it at Hondo’s face. He tried to step back but the knife still cut a gash from his forehead, down through his left eye and across his cheek. HE reflexively put his left hand over his injured eye. He ducked another slash and tossed Valentine his pistol. She caught it and shot the big man through the leg, causing him to cry out and fall to the ground. The man with the knife switched hands and slashed at Hondo again, but his comrade crying out caused him to be sloppy. With his blood covered left hand Hondo grabbed the man’s wrist and he threw his weight into the man’s elbow, snapping the man’s elbow backwards, causing him cry out and drop the knife. Hondo grabbed the man by the shirt, as blood continued to drip down his own face, and pulled a derringer from his pocket. He slammed the man against the sink, knocking the sunglasses off his face as he pushed the pistol onto the man’s nose.
“Who the #$@! are ya?! Who sent ya?!” Hondo growled.
The man laughed, his right arm hanging useless by his side, “You #$@!er’s do not know who you mess with! You all die!”
Hondo slammed him into the mirror, shattering it. The broken glass cut up the man’s scalp.
“I’ll beat it outta ya, you #$@!in’ animal!” Hondo growled, getting angrier.
The man groaned, laughed again, “I no talk! I die, then you die!”
The man laughed, crunched down on something, and then started to convulse. After a moment he stopped moving and stopped breathing. Hondo threw him to the floor, cussing as he did.
“You damned, muther-#$@!in’ dickless bastard!” He growled.
Valentine was shaken but held herself together. The big man looked at them and his buddies for a moment. He started to panic but before he could bite down Hondo stepped in, pocketed the derringer, and punched the man in the mouth. The bald man grabbed his own mouth but Hondo kicked him in the gut, making him vomit. In the process the man spit out his tooth. Valentine handed Hondo back his pistol and grabbed up her shawl. She tried to take a look at him, but he held her off.
“Let me handle this first!” He snapped without meaning to.
She just nodded and stepped back, still shaken from the event.
Hondo points the pistol at the man, growling as he stood there.
“You know the drill, you oriental shit-stick! Who do you work for!” Hondo barked
The man shook his head and Hondo slammed the mans head into the toilet, breaking the porcelain and knocking the man out. The man on the floor groaned. Hondo turned with a growl and leaped on him. He pulled the asshole up off the floor. The man’s pants and underwear were still around his ankles, showing what little he had to offer still. Hondo hit him in the mouth several times, knocking more teeth out than needed, knocking the man unconscious again. He picked up Valentine’s dagger, the one the man had taken and used to cut off her g-string. He put the man’s hands together and pinned him to the wall by piercing the knife through the man’s shirt sleeves.
Hondo slapped the man awake. He looked at Hondo, groggily. He sneered at him and said something in Japanese.
Hondo shook his head, “I don’t speak that gibberish! Now speak! Who do you work for?!”
The man babbled something angrily and spit in Hondo’s face. Hondo back handed him.
“English, damn you!” He growled
The man babbled again.
“I … I think he doesn’t speak English.” Valentine said shakily.
“I know somethin’ he does speak then!” Hondo growled.
He grabbed up the big knife that still lay on the floor, and cut off the man’s underwear, shoving them deep into the man’s mouth after. He then held the knife to the man’s face. The man only glared at him.
“Val, turn around. You shouldn’t see this.” Hondo said as he cut the man’s pants off and kicked his legs apart.
“Hondo, I ...” she stammered.
“Turn around!” He growled.
She turned around and he turned back to the man. The man glared at him until he moved the knife down.
He growled and spit the words into the man’s face, “You might not understand English, you #$@!in’ bastard, but you’ll understand this. No one touches my wife!!”
The man’s eyes got wide and he shook his head as Hondo held the knife low. He tried to pull his legs together to protect himself but Hondo hit him in the gut, causing him to sag and not be able to control himself for a moment. Hondo took that opportunity to thrust the large blade through the mans balls and into the wall. The man screamed into the underwear gag in his mouth. Hondo turned and walked to Valentine. He pushed the door open in front of her and nudged her into the hall. As they stepped out Valentine turned to him and put her shawl over his cut eye to help with the bleeding.
“This’ll hurt like hell when the adrenaline dies off.” Hondo said.
“I’m … I’m sorry. I… I .” Valentine stammered.
Hondo put a hand to her face, “It’s alright. Now, we need to lock this door before someone comes. We got lucky so far.”
“What ... what are we goin’ to do?” She asked.
“We wing it. Can you lock the door?” He asked.
She nodded and fished some lock picks out of her purse. Her hands shook a bit but she managed to get it locked.
“What now?” She asked softly.
Hondo put his hat on her head.
“Hold onto me, an’ play along.” He said.
She held onto his left arm, leaving his right arm free. His left held the shawl over his face, his shirt, vest and coat were messed up and stained with blood now, and Valentine looked pretty ruffled, but he figured it should work. As they walked quickly out of the hall they met a waiter coming their direction.
Hondo waved and pointed to the bathroom, “Help! Some psycho attacked us! He cut me with a knife an’ the ran into the lady’s bathroom! Call the cops! Quickly!”
His shouts got the waiter panicked, and he ran to a phone. They went by their table and grabbed the credit card, repeating the act for any waiter or waitress they came to. The wait staff rushed into action. Many of the patrons thought it was some kind of act to go along with the ninja theme. The staff worked to secure the area, call the police, and get the crowd to understand that it was not an act and they needed to stay seated. In the ensuing chaos, Hondo and Valentine slipped out and into the night.
Sticking to the dark was impossible but they stayed to the edge of people walking and Hondo kept his face away. The dim lights outside on the path back to the car kept them from being too noticeable, and most people were to busy with their own thoughts or tasks to pay them any attention. As they got to the car they saw the police rushing past them and towards the restaurant.
Once at the car Hondo unlocked the car door.
“I’ll drive.” Valentine said softly.
“No, you’re too shaken still.” He replied.
He did forgo helping her into the car this time. He drove, one handed, holding the shawl to his face with his left hand. Valentine stayed quiet for a while. After a while she sighed, looked at Hondo then looked away sadly.
“I’m … I’m so sorry. They … they jumped me and I … I wasn’t strong or fast enough.” She said shakily.
Hondo shook his head, “Darlin’, it’s not your fault! I should have walked with you. Damn them! Did … did they do anythin’ to you? Are you alright?”
She nodded, “I’m ok. You came in time before they could have their way. I’ll have a few bruises, but …”
A tear started to fall down her cheek, “They hurt you, though.”
Hondo shrugged, “I’ll be fine. I’ll heal in time.”
HE grinned slightly and tried to cheer her up, “Might need an eye-patch for a while. You think I’d look more dashin’ with an eye-patch?”
She sniffed and gave a soft giggle, “You’re bleedin’ and wonder if an eye-patch will make you look dashin’? Men… Besides, Fernando has bio-pills.”
“He has some. Unfortunately we may need them all on this mission. This injury isn’t worth one. I can wait until after.” Hondo said.
Valentine reached over and put a hand on his shoulder, “Thank you for savin’ me.”
Hondo smiled, “You save me every day, Darlin’. I owe ya one once in a while.”
She smacked his shoulder lightly. He complained teasingly.
“Hey, no beatin’ the wounded!”
She chuckled, “I do love you, ya know. Very much. But … You didn’t have ta … you know… what happened back there at the end.”
Hondo frowned, “I love you more than my own life, so what I did I had to do. Sorry ya had to be there.”
She just nodded. He looked at her briefly then back at the road.
“You goin’ to be alright?” he asked.
“Once I know you’ll be alright and I can hold you for a while.” She said.
“It could be a long night, but I’ll hold ya as soon as I can. Now, Jefe is gonna be pissed, so let him be pissed at me. Take my phone an’ message him. Tell him we are comin’ in hot an’ there was trouble.” he said.
Valentine nodded. She wanted to argue, as she felt it was all her fault, but she’d take blame later. She had been scolded by Fernando before. It was not fun but she’d rather take that then have Fernando distrust Hondo’s abilities. She sent the message and sat back into her seat.
Hondo took a different route and doubled back a couple times to make sure they were not being followed. He was not sure when or how they found them to begin with. Was this a random hit and an unlucky coincidence? Or was this tied to with why they were here? Since he did not believe in coincidences, there had to be a connection. About an hour later they pulled back into the hanger.
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GsB IV: Enemies of Space, Murderers of Time. (Read 30295 times)
