Minako and Mai walked into the hospital and found everyone standing
around them.

	Makoto was standing with a skinny looking boy with straight black hair.
He looked quite serious, as all of their guardians did. "Hi," she said
irritably as she realized Minako had entered the room. 

	Ami and her shinobi stepped in right behind Mai. 

	"Everyone is here?" said Aman coolly. "Good." 

	"We were getting worried," said Ami nervously. "What's going on?"

	"You are being taken to safe places, away from here. Someone was here
earlier, I had to drive him off." Aman turned to the other ninja and
glanced at them. "Any other reports?"

	"Minako and I were attacked by monsters of some sort. There was what
appeared to be a man commanding them. He had strong magic." Mai's tone
was even and collected as she said this. 

	"We should be on guard then. You all know where to take them, make sure
they stay hidden. You are only permitted to go out as Senshi from this
day forward. Personal lives are a thing of the past for you."

	"What?!" they all cried in unison.

	"Do you understand that you are targets? You are dangerous to anyone
near you. You must remain hidden, until this evil is defeated. Your
identities are not safe." Hito frowned down at Ami as he realized that
she understood at least. 

	"You can't do this to us!" cried Makoto angrily. 

	"They're right you know," said Ami softly. "We're not safe. What
happened to Minako is proof enough of that. I believe him about what he
saw here. What about Rei though? She's not stayed awake long yet."

	"She will be moved to better facilities in the morning. You will see
her when she has recovered a bit. I am certain her life is no longer in
danger medically. Her magic has protected her this long after all." Mai
turned towards the door and glanced at Minako. "Come on. We should go."

	"We aren't staying together?" asked the girl in confusion.

	"That will be too dangerous. You may only communicate with each other
through your personal communicators," said Aman firmly. "Please. You
must trust us. It is how we earn our living after all."

	The girl nodded quietly and followed after her guide. She knew this was
something Luna would warn against. Artemis spent his days with Usagi,
but she imagined he would advise caution as well. They weren't winning!
It was time to throw caution to the dogs!

	Mai glanced back and growled. She could tell by the look on her face
that the girl was being stupid again. "I did not imagine my career would
include such things." She steeled herself to be ready for the trials
ahead. 

+++++++++++++++++++++++

	Carrot put an expensive cell phone up to his ear as he put on a clean
shirt and adjusted his sunglasses. "I don't care about that. Look, just
get it done all right?"

	Gia was watching him from the door of her bedroom. She looked terrible
and her hair was a complete mess. "What are you doing?"

	"Business," he replied simply. "My broker insisted that I buy a phone.
It's damned annoying."

	"Broker?" she asked dumbly.

	"Yeah. I stole some money from those Yakuza that where trying to kill
me a while back and made a few investments." There were still a few
bruises on his face, but he looked mostly healthy. Of course, it was
nearly two in the afternoon at this point. If he still looked as bad as
he did it had to be a rough night. He did have a sly looking grin on his
face though as he spoke to her. She didn't know it, but the market was
doing pretty much exactly the same thing it did on his world. He knew
more than enough to put his money into fast growing industries and
companies. He was already making excellent returns on more than half of
his investments. Others would be a bit more long term, but would
probably pay off more given time if things kept going the way they were.
The eighties were the age of excess after all. 

	"Why didn't you wake me up last night!? Look at you! I'll bet you were
a mess!"

	The boy glared at her and frowned as he puffed on a cigarette and
started to button up his shirt. "It's nothing to worry about. You've got
enough problems, and I'm starting to get a handle on mine."

	"Michiru wants to speak with you," said the woman as she yawned and
rubbed at her eyes. "You haven't called her in the last few hours or
something."

	He snorted at that. "I'm going to give her this number later," he
replied as he held up the phone. "I'm leaving it for you guys too. Don't
give it out. I only want a few people to be able to get in touch with
me."

	"You look nice," she commented. He was wearing clean slacks and a
button up shirt. A brown leather jacket was being hung across his
shoulders as she said this. 

	"My costume is torn to shreds, and every thing else I owned was
destroyed. That's why I made a costume in the first place actually. I'm
gonna have to make more than one this time," he responded casually.
"I've got some people to see today anyway."

	The woman nodded slowly and sat down at the nearby table. It was easy
to see she was starting to feel better. "Where's Luna?"

	The cat was sitting in front of the television screen purring
cheerfully as the usual soaps played on the screen. "You need to ask?"

	"I heard that," she growled at them. 

	"It's true. You're lazy, and you don't contribute."

	"I remember stuff, just not a lot," she muttered irritably. "I'm not
going to keep hitting myself on the head just to please you."

	"Tried it and it didn't work?" he asked calmly. 

	"Shut up!" she muttered as she settled back down on watching the show.

	"Mei Lin is at work. She said to call her about that lead you've got
for her later tonight."

	"I need to talk with some people today. Maybe I can find Uranus? I'd
like to ask her how her fight went for myself."

	He tapped the paper in front of him. He was sharing the headlines
again, this time Uranus fighting Nine was next to a rather fuzzy photo
of his barely covered face and another picture of the two monsters
fighting just below that. "Spiderman Unmasked and Mid Town Rumble! Tokyo
in rubble once again!" Most of the story involved a few sorted facts
about the fight the night before, and what the government was planning
to do about the new problem they were facing. This was starting to cost
the people of Japan quite a bit.

	"At least it puts you in a good light," said Gia nervously. "No one can
identify you either. That mask of yours worked." She laughed a little.
"They're not calling you a bad guy. They're just wondering why you and
those others are doing what the government can't."

	"Or more likely won't," responded the boy casually. "Beryl has a hand
in someone in the system. Things are getting too out of hand now to keep
things quiet though. That makes whatever sap she got her claws into a
dangerous man to be right now."

	He glanced over his shoulder to look at her for a moment. "Sorry about
your sister. This thing won't be easy to get rid of though."

	"You know something?" she gasped.

	"I ran into it last night. That thing at the concert, that's your man."

	"I realized that," she said softly. "It even says so in the paper."

	"Mei Lin?" he asked as he stared down at the credit. Someone else had
written the story, but her photos had made the front page. 

	"You should have seen her face. Turns out the photos fit the piece that
was already written for the front page. They just added a bit about the
fight last night."

	He sighed as he turned towards the door. "I'm going out again."

	"You just got back!" said the woman dumbly.

	"I needed new clothes. All of my others have been destroyed. Now I've
got to go take care of business."

	Gia was staring at the bags on the floor. The stores were expensive.
"How much money do you have anyway?" 

	"Enough to pay for any damage to the clinic after I'm gone," he replied
as he frowned at her. "The rest is my business." He calmly left the
building.

	She sighed at this. He didn't buy much, but he usually spent a bit of
money when he did. Nothing he owned was inexpensive. She was starting to
become suspicious of him. She could actually smell after-shave? She
cocked her head and sniffed at the air.

	"I feel sorry for that poor girl," she muttered as she shuffled off to
grab some coffee. She was going to open the clinic back up the next day,
and it would take a lot of preparation to do it. 

+++++++++++++++++++

	Carrot calmly walked down the street. His sense kept him informed of
any danger, and at the moment it was free and clear. The streets were
busy, but he wasn't really deep into the Urban jungle. He glanced up at
the small temple and smirked. 

	An old man opened the gate for him and stepped back in slight shock.
"What do you want?"

	He glanced down at the old man coolly. "I understand you're keeping
something here for me?"

	"You?" muttered the man dumbly. "Please forgive me, I was not expecting
a..."

	"Gaijin?" asked the boy cheerfully. "I don't think anyone was expecting
me really. That's the whole problem." 

	"Please, this way..." said the old man as he bowed slightly and waved
his arm. 

+++++++++++++++++++++

	Carrot removed his sunglasses as he walked into the temple. His shoes
were gone, and the floor was a polished wood. The remaining three senshi
were all glaring at him angrily. Ami was looking into the screen of her
communicator. She could see Rei lying in a hospital bed with an open
book on her lap. The ninja Aman was leaning against a dresser beside her
with his head down. He appeared to be sleeping.

	"What have you done with Rei?" asked Makoto angrily. 

	"She is in a medical facility that will remain unnamed," replied the
boy calmly as he strolled into the room. "She is safe, you can see that
clearly enough. I wouldn't worry. The facilities where she is are state
of the art. Unfortunately, there is only so much they can do to help
her."

	None of the girls looked happy with him. Each of their shinobi stood
calmly aside while the meeting took place. 

	"I'm giving you the help you need. Don't look at me as if I'm the bad
guy here."

	"All right," said Ami as she stood up and glared at him firmly. "What
is your plan?"

	"We're going to have to start gathering information for one. Getting
Usagi back to normal is another priority. I know better than to think
that will be easy." He paced back and fourth in front of them for a
moment. "Your families are under guard as well, but I doubt they'll see
much excitement. You on the other hand."

	"We don't like hiding," growled Makoto.

	"So don't," he replied with a small shrug. "I mean, how long will it
take them to attack you if they know exactly who and where you are?
Isn't much we can do about who you are."

	Aman arched his eyebrow slightly at that. They could easily acquire
such false documents. He didn't speak any more than that though. "This
will make them easier to watch," he commented to Mai softly.

	She nodded and wondered exactly what their new master was plotting. He
didn't seem entirely stable. 

	The senshi weren't really arguing with him. None of them looked
pleased. 

	"Don't look at me like this is my fault," he growled. "You got your
names in lights on your own. I may have threatened it in the past, but I
didn't follow through."

	"How dare you talk like that?!" snarled Makoto. Rei had nearly died,
her identity had been revealed along with their own when help had
arrived. 

	Carrot sighed. "All right. You think I like paying for this?! You
ungrateful little brats! I'm going out on a limb for your sorry butts. I
don't even like you!"

	Ami's face softened a little at this. "We can't just abandon our
lives." She seemed quite adamant about it.

	"Don't you get it? Those things have already destroyed any chance of
that," said Mai firmly.

	"What she said," agreed Carrot. "I've been hiding from things like this
for a while now. That's how I got into this mess in the first place." He
didn't look very pleased with his situation at all.

	"What are we supposed to do?" cried Makoto.

	"Same thing as always. Once we defeat Beryl and Metallia and all that,
you should be all right to go home at least." The boy actually looked
like he was really looking forward to that day. 

	"Is there anything else master? It is not wise to gather together this
way," commented Hito somewhat impatiently. 

	"Wait! What are we doing? You've got some sort of plan right?" cried
Minako anxiously.

	"Not really no. Getting you guys safe like this was Aman's idea. I just
found out about it this morning. I'd trust his judgement if I were you
though. I'm sure we'll think of something though." He actually smiled at
them as he said this. 

	"Are you feeling all right?" asked Ami.

	"Not really, no," he said cheerfully. "I think I'm gonna die. Might as
well go down fighting though!" With that said he turned away from them.

	"Oh god," muttered Ami as she cradled her face. "This situation doesn't
seem to have improved anything."

	"Have faith Mizuno," said Mai. "Master Hakage says he will become a
great man one day. I have faith in what he tells me. Times have been
very hard for him. If all what I have heard is true, I am amazed he
still lives."

	"Well you don't know him as well as we do," growled Makoto. "I was fine
at home! I don't have a family to worry about!"

	"I would not risk my own life so needlessly," said Kenshi firmly. "It
was better for both of us if we left."

	"Are you sure I can't get you to go out with me?" she whined as she
looked up at him.

	He growled under his breath. Mai was laughing at him silently, he could
tell. "I am not to be seen," he replied coolly. "Keep your hands to
yourself."

	The girl looked completely frustrated with him and walked after him as
he and the others began to depart.

	"Why won't he tell us where Rei is?" asked Ami as she glanced at Hito. 

	"If one of us fails, and one of you is captured, you cannot give away
the location of the others. That is why we ask that you not tell each
other where you are staying. It is for your own safety."

	"We would not betray each other that way! Even if we were tortured!"
snapped the girl angrily. 

	"Enemies like this one, have ways of making even those with the
strongest will speak. It is not wise to tempt fate."

	The girl blushed and nodded slowly. It was a perfectly reasonable
explanation. That was probably what worried her most.

+++++++++++++++++++++++

	Carrot landed on the rooftop of the bar and strolled over to the door.
He pulled it open and walked down the service stairs into the building. 

	Spike was standing next to Jiro. "Where's Yoshi?"

	"I've got him doing dishes in the back. That man has no spine," said
Jiro calmly. "I appreciate you letting me watch him. I haven't had to do
anything besides pour drinks all day."

	Carrot blinked at this. "No problem. I need him back though. I've got
to make him build something for me."

	"You can go and get him. He's in the back, by the sink." Jiro nodded
his head and the boy simply turned away.

+++++++++++++++++++++

	Carrot walked into the kitchen and found the man humming cheerfully as
he washed dishes in a large metal sink. "Yoshi. I need to talk with
you."

	"I have some ideas on how to deal with our problem!" said the man as he
instantly seemed to forget about what he was doing. He did stop to take
off his apron and gloves, but did not stop speaking to do it.
"Unfortunately, none of them would take less than a million yen to
build."

	The boy was taken completely by surprise. "Huh?"

	"The sonic gun is our best bet. I've been kicking around a few other
ideas as well. It wouldn't take much more than a large tuning fork and
some high-end motors and electronic parts. The tricky part will be
building something to focus it properly. Unfortunately, a tuning fork
large enough for our needs won't be easy to find, or inexpensive. We'll
probably have to get it custom made. It will also be fairly heavy."

	Carrot sat the man at the small table in the back for taking breaks and
folded his arms on the table after sitting across from him. "Okay.
That's a start."

	"Well. I've had a few ideas about a bomb that might do it with minimal
damage to the surrounding area as well."

	"Bomb?" asked the boy. He was quite interested in hearing the rest of
it. 

	"Yes. It would be a relatively small explosion that would emit massive
amounts of Gamma radiation. Harmless to your average human, but levels
that high would definitely have an adverse effect on the unit's
electronics."

	"Actually. I'd rather steer clear of that sort of thing," said Carrot
as he stared at the man dumbly. He wasn't touching that one with a pole.

	"I'm thinking of building it anyway. It would be quite an interesting
experiment!" said the man cheerfully. "I've been working on funding for
the project since I started this one. We were always interested in ways
to stop one if it got out of control. We weren't very good at it. They
didn't seem interested in funding it though."

	"Yoshi. Have I ever made you angry?" asked Carrot suddenly.

	"Huh? Well. I mean, I could have been treated a little better. I want
to help you though." The man shifted in his chair nervously. 

	"I think you and I should become friends Yoshi. If there's anything you
need. Just let me know." The boy seemed quite nervous at this point. "I
mean it man. I like you for some reason." He patted the man on his
shoulder and received a large dumb grin in return.

	"Really?"

	"Sure Yoshi. Gamma Bomb is it?" asked the boy. 

	"Oh yes. I'm sure it will be quite impressive. I think this problem
will be solved by then though. So I suppose it's just a personal project
now." He pushed his glasses up his nose. "It will have practical
applications against all sorts of electronics though. A very high tech
weapon for use against advanced electronics!"

	"Really? Sounds dangerous. I'd be careful if I were you," warned Carrot
with a false looking concern. "You like staying here?"

	"Well, I'd rather not," muttered the man. "I do have an apartment
though."

	"Your boss will be looking for you there. Anywhere you can go where he
can't find you?" asked the boy.

	"I suppose my Aunt Mika will take me in for a short time," grumbled the
man nervously. "She was always my favorite aunt. Such a sweet old lady."

	Carrot grinned at him. "Why don't we go see her right now? I'd rather
not make this uncomfortable if I can help it. I'd rather think of us as
a team really."

	"I'm having trouble trusting you," said the man nervously.

	"I'm not real good at the whole being nice thing. I think it's a good
idea if the two of us get along though. After all, we'll be working
together, and I don't want to get smashed."

	"What?" asked the man dumbly.

	Carrot shook his head. "Come on. I can't keep you here forever, and I
can't take you home with me. I'm gonna trust you Yoshi. You seem like a
nice guy."

	"Thanks," said the man cheerfully. His mother would be so pleased to
hear he was making new friends. She'd been asking about it for years. 

++++++++++++++++++

	Carrot grinned as he found himself standing no more than a block away
from Michiru's place. Yoshi was at his side as he stood in the gateway
of a kindly looking old woman. 

	"Oh. Yoshi! Have you come to visit?" she asked sweetly.

	"Hi Aunt Miko!" said the man cheerfully as he waved at the woman. 

	Carrot was trying his best to look pleasant. The woman glanced at him
nervously and seemed to realize that he was trying. "Is...this a friend
of yours?"

	"Yes," said Yoshi cheerfully.

	The boy hung his head in defeat. "Look. I need your son to lay low, so
he can help me with something."

	"Has something happened?" asked Miko with a worried looking frown. 

	"Something kind of got out at work. I need his help to catch it. My
boss is trying to cover it up because some people died because of it. We
have to stop him!" said Yoshi firmly he clenched his fist in front of
his face and stood as proudly as he could. "He shot up the lab auntie!"

	"That's nice dear. You can have the spare bedroom."

	"Oh. Thank you auntie!" cried the man. He seemed to be getting into his
adventure. "Don't worry my friend! We shall defeat this evil!"

	"Yeah. We'll do that." Carrot looked both annoyed and embarrassed. The
sound of tires screeching to a halt behind him caught his attention. He
turned around to see Michiru driving up with a smile on her face. 

	"Oh. Hi," he said as he looked down at her. This was exactly what he
needed. His girlfriend had come to watch him make a complete ass out of
himself. She was already out of the car and standing with them by this
point.

	"What are you doing here?" she asked him.

	"You know this boy?" asked Miko cheerfully.

	"Yes. This is my boyfriend. Good afternoon!" she said cheerfully to
her.

	Carrot could feel the vice that had started to crush his skull grow
tighter. "You remember Yoshi? He's going to be staying here for a
while."

	The girl looked up at the man and her face fell slightly. "Oh. Hello."
The man waved at her nervously. "Are you working right now?" she asked
Carrot. 

	"Not really. I was planning on going out with Yoshi here. He needs to
get lucky." The boy nodded at the man.

	The old woman sighed. "Ain't that the truth. I've been trying to calm
his mother down for years. She's growing quite worried. We would
appreciate any assistance you can give him."

	The boy had almost forgotten she was there and scratched the back of
his head as Yoshi passed out in embarrassment. "I know. It's fairly
obvious."

	Michiru blushed and stared down at the man. "Um, what?"

	"We might wanna go out tomorrow or something. I don't think you'll be
very happy with me if you come along. I'll call you."

	"What?" she said as her gaze suddenly went stone cold. 

	"Well. I'm taking a guy out to help him get laid," said the boy as he
pointed at the fallen Yoshi. The man had not yet risen, and everyone
pretty much ignored that fact. "Do you really want to watch me do that,
and find out just how big a pervert I really am? Trust me, no woman
wants to know these things."

	"That's disgusting!" cried Michiru.

	"It's normal," replied the old woman flatly. "They never grow out of it
either." She turned her head slowly back towards the small old Japanese
man who was casually smoking a pipe on the porch.

	"Oh," muttered Michiru. "Really?"

	"I'm afraid so," said the old woman. 

	"Now that we have that covered," said Carrot as he picked the man up by
his shoulders. "If we're lucky, I'll have him back sometime tomorrow."

++++++++++++++++++++++

	Neon lights flashed pink and blue into Yoshi's face as his jaw simply
went slack. This was the greatest thing he'd ever seen in his entire
life span. 

	Carrot was standing with Spike just behind him laughing hysterically at
what had happened when the man had walked through the door of the club. 

His senses were pounded with a techno remix of 'Baby got back'. Scores
of beautiful women were dancing on slightly elevated poles all around
the room. Most of them completely nude, all of them were at least
partially nude. There was not a single covered female breast in the
entire building. 

	He could not take such a powerful blow to his senses, so he simply
froze. 

	One of the girls bounced up to them cheerfully. "Hey Spike! Friends of
yours? Um�Is he all right?" she looked concerned suddenly.

	Yoshi tried his best to say something, but all that came out was a tiny
squeak. 

	"You were right, dis is fun!" said Spike.

	"Told ya," said the boy as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Who's
gonna help our friend tonight by the way. I understand you've got
someone set up already?"

	He puffed on his cigarette and tapped Yoshi on the shoulder. "Hey. I'm
paying for this by the way. Just to let you know up front what you're
getting into."

	"Dis is Sasha," said Spike as he walked over with a small but
incredibly well built girl with long dark hair. She was completely nude
and smiled at him warmly. 

	"Sasha here is going to be your special friend tonight, Yoshi," said
the boy cheerfully. "You're gonna sit over at that booth with me and
Spike, get drunk, and wake up with a warm glow and fond memories. How
does that sound?"

	The man was already bowing before the boy on the ground. He plucked him
to his feet by his collar and grabbed him firmly around his shoulders as
he pushed them towards their waiting table. 

	"Hey. How ya doin!" said Spike to a group of dancers. They all knew him
of course. He worked for the people who owned the place. They owned a
lot of things on that side of town. He came in and did this sort of
thing for people doing business with his bosses sometimes. 

	"Spike. We're in a dangerous place right now. Let's not get ourselves
killed. I'm fairly sure my girlfriend will shoot me."

	"Right," said the man glumly as he allowed himself to be pulled away. 

	Yoshi was passed out cold with his face between Sasha's breasts. She
didn't seem to mind that he'd landed there. "Hey guys." She waved at
them both. "This ones gonna take a little time I bet?"

	"Yeah. Sorry. Make sure he knows he can't keep you," said Carrot.

	"And you are?" asked the nude girl casually.

	"Dangerously attached to someone right now," he replied calmly as he
gave her a short bow. "Sasha? You a brat or something?"

	"Dat ain't nice!" said Spike irritably. Carrot's face was now covered
by his fist and his head was driven into the padding in the seat. 

	"Actually, he was asking if I'm a military child," said the girl with a
small sigh. The man in her chest hadn't woken up yet. "He's right too."
She lit a cigarette and puffed on it. 

	Spike was too interested in the rear of the dancer in front of him as
his fist simply slid off the boy's chest. 

	"Ouch," grumbled the boy irritably as he shook his head. "I told you
about hitting that hard!"

	"Aw, you can take it," said the man with a shrug. He had yet to take
his eyes off the dancer.

	Carrot was watching as well, but not with near as much interest. She
was a pretty girl, but didn't really appeal to him for reasons he could
not explain. 

	"Boys," muttered the girl as she leaned back a bit. The man's head slid
into her lap and he uttered a muffled squeak. "You know. You can do more
than just look at it if you want. I've already agreed to the rest of it.
Just keep it under control until we get somewhere private." She paused
as no response came. "Can you talk?"

	He simply put his hand on the table and gave a small thumbs up. 

	"Why are we doin this again?" asked Spike. 

	"I've got a funny feeling about this guy. Having him around might be
useful. You never know when you might need a scientist, or someone who
knows a few. I don't think it's a good idea to make him mad either."

	"Why would you need a scientist?" asked Spike dumbly.

	The boy looked at him and grinned. "You never know. Besides, I like
this guy. I wanna make him less of a wuss."

	"You said not to make him angry," said Spike dumbly. "What for? S'not
like he can hurt you."

	"Yeah. Now," muttered the boy as he took a sip of the beer that had
been placed in front of him.

	Spike decided that the dancing girl was more interesting.

	 He didn't notice the girl sitting next to him as her eyes narrowed
slightly at him. "I'll be seeing you around I think," she said quietly.
This one definitely needed some more looking into. He was one of the
really dirty ones. She could feel it in her gut. 

	She winked at him and scratched his chin lightly with her fingernail. 

	He shifted a little uncomfortably and ignored it. She had a strange
look in her eyes when she had done it. It was quickly forgotten though.

++++++++++++++++++

	Morning came and Carrot stood outside of Yoshi's new home away from
home. The man had tears in his eyes as he clutched at the boy's shirt
and muttered his thanks over and over. 

	"My god! You've done it!" said the old woman as she walked out to meet
them. She looked completely shocked.

	"Took him four hours just to regain normal movement again."

	"I'll make sure his mother sends you a nice thank you card!" said the
old woman cheerfully.

	This caught him a bit off guard. "Yeah. Sure."

	"I'll do anything you want! Name it!" cried the man as he repeatedly
bowed as he backed towards the house.

	"Don't build a Gamma bomb?" said the boy as he arched his eyebrows at
the man.

	"Anything but that," responded Yoshi. "It's my life long dream! I'm
grateful, but not that grateful. Why wouldn't you want me to do that?"

	"Darn. All right. Just forget about it. I want you to lay low for a
while though. Stay around here for a few days or so. I want you to make
a list of what you need. I'll probably be able to find whatever it is
through someone I know." Carrot smirked. His delivery boy days were
paying off now. "I'll stop by to pick it up in a day or so. Don't tell
anyone where you are. Not even your friends."

	"I wouldn't worry about that," grumbled the old woman. 

	"Yeah," muttered the man.

	"If you talk to them, don't tell them where you are. No matter what
they say. I'm betting your friends are people you used to work with."

	The man nodded slowly. "I've got a few others, but you're right. A few
of us graduated together."

	"Are you willing to bet none of them will trade your career for yours?"

	The man frowned at him. "They wouldn't do that to me! Well, most of
them."

	"Don't tell any of them." Carrot frowned at him and stared at him very
firmly. "I mean it Yoshi. This is dangerous, not just for me. They
didn't seem too concerned with shooting you in that lab."

	The old woman slowly turned her head towards the boy. "I had no idea
this was that serious."

	"Afraid so. They've been quiet since then so far too. I'm betting it's
because they don't know where we are. They wouldn't think much of
eliminating the both of us to keep this quiet." He turned away from the
old woman and walked away.

	"Get into the house. I've got to call your mother! She'll want to speak
with you! I'm so proud! Such a good friend! What's this trouble you're
getting into anyway? What's wrong with you boy? On such a wonderful day,
you have to go and ruin it for yourself by getting yourself killed. Your
mother will be beside herself!"

	"What?" muttered Yoshi in horror. What very little strength was left in
his body became sapped away as he slowly dragged his feet towards the
home. 

+++++++++++++++++++++

	Carrot frowned as he held the phone up to his ear. He was about halfway
to Michiru's home when it started ringing. "What?"

	"You promised me a story!" snapped Mei Lin angrily.

	"I got you one. You were at the stadium last night!" he growled in
retort. 

	"I want the big one!" she said firmly. "You'd better promise me!"

	"When this is over, you can have it. I'm still not sure what's going on
completely myself all right? These things take time. It's too dangerous
for us if this is in the papers right now."

	"I just want to take that inside info on what Venom is to the editor!"

	"No," he replied Calmly. 

	"What? Why?!"

	"Because that will put heat on me, and Yoshi. Plus, they'll be gunning
for you as well. I'm not going to be around to save your ass if you get
a hit on your stupid reporter ass. I've got enough trouble as it is.
Keep a lid on it until this is over. You can release the exclusive
details then. If you want me to keep you informed about what's going on,
you have to obey the rules."

	"Asshole!"

	"This line is for emergencies Mei Lin. I could have had something
trying to take my head off."

	"You haven't been around to talk about it!" she snapped. 

	"Obey the rules," he said simply. "They are there to keep all of us
alive. Have a nice day." He hung up on her and continued towards his
girlfriend's house.

++++++++++++++++++++++

	"That jerk!" snarled Mei Lin as she hung up the phone. 

	"What's up?" asked Hibiki.

	"Carrot is holding out on me," she grumbled. 

	"The guy is a great source," replied the man with a small shrug. 

	"Yeah. I know," she said with a small sigh. 

	Yamada strolled by her desk and stared daggers at her as he walked by
towards the editor's office. He looked somewhat tired and dirty. He was
also covered in small sores.

	"What's with him?" asked the girl as she noticed his mood. "He's never
in a good mood, but lately..."

	"He hates your guts. You keep stealing the front page away from him.
He's been killing himself over those murder stories. Word is Nagami beat
him to the punch this time when he covered both of them in the same
story. Just bureaucrats screaming about losing control of the city with
a few paragraphs about both events tacked on really. This town is
becoming dangerous. That's how he got the front page away from you."

	The Chinese girl nodded and settled down into her seat. Yamada had just
walked into the editor's office. 

+++++++++++++++++++++

	"Yamada. I think we need to talk," said the old man as he puffed on a
cigarette and offered the man a seat. 

	"What is this about? I've got work to do," said the man irritably.

	"No. You don't," said the old man calmly. "I want you off this story.
You should see what you look like. Investigative is one thing, this...
Are you following this thing Yamada? Because if you are, we need to talk
to the police about it. They're starting to ask questions about you. I
don't think its lead to anything yet though. I'm growing worried."

	"This is my story," replied the man flatly. "I'm not losing it now.
It's too important to give to someone else."

	The old man glared at him and frowned deeply. "You are sure about this?
I'm not going to protect you from the police Yamada. If there is
something going on, I won't be brought into it."

	"I don't need you to protect me from the police," said the man as he
stood up and turned towards the door. 

	"I'm glad to hear that," said the man diplomatically. "You're fired."

	The door opened and a small cheerful looking young man popped his head
into the office. "Hi! I need to get you to go over these...sir..." He
trailed off as he noticed Yamada standing there. "Hey. I've been
following your work on that monster. Great stuff!" 

	The man did not smile at him and he backed away a little nervously.

	"This is not a good time, Nagami," warned the old man.

	Yamada merely turned his head to look at the old man. "No. It isn't."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

	Around fifteen minutes had passed since Yamada had gone into the man's
office. It had been surprisingly quiet once the shades had been drawn to
the window. No one noticed or cared as they went about their business
throughout the newsroom.

	Mei Lin was rushing across the isle between the desks when Yamada
brushed past her. She stumbled back and shied away from the look in his
eyes as he glanced down at her as he passed. "Something isn't right
here."

	She looked down at her shoe and gasped. A small drop of red liquid had
splattered onto it. She bent down to peer at it a little closer and
touched it with her finger. It was blood. She looked up at the elevator
as it closed on the man. He was still staring at her as the doors closed
between them. 

	"This is giving me the creeps," she muttered under her breath.

	The girl froze quite suddenly. Yamada had been with her on the day that
thing had escaped the lab. Slowly she stared at the elevator as
something unsettling started to form in her head. Tears flowed down her
face as she came to a horrible realization. "It...it can't be!" She
quickly snapped herself out of it and rushed towards the editor's
office. 

	Without thinking she burst into the room. "Mr..." Her voice trailed off
and left the rest unsaid. She opened her mouth and screamed. 

	The editor's throat was slit as his body sprawled across the top of his
desk. Negashi's head was shoved firmly up the man's ass up to his
throat. Both of them were quite dead. She noticed that the editor's
mouth was full of some sort of sticky red fluid that looked a bit too
thick to be blood. 

	She fell to the floor on her rear and scrambled out the door to the
office. Everyone in the office was staring at her as she screamed and
tore across the newsroom to the opposite wall. 

	The last thing she noticed before she fell and rushed out of the room
was a photo of her that was stabbed into the editor's back with a pair
of scissors. 

+++++++++++++++++++++

	TBC�

	Next Time: The big meeting.

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