Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Seeing Stars ❯ Chapter 22 ( Chapter 22 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Seeing Stars
By Jason Ulloa
Original story by Moonsong
Continued with her permission.


Chapter 22

"Well, that's done and over with," Jack sighed as the police who had arrived on the
scene left to go check out the building where the sniper had fired from. He glanced
down at the small bandage that Diane had placed on his shoulder and moved his arm a
little to test his arm's mobility. The bandage wasn't hindering his movement any, so
he pulled his shirt back on.

"Aw...," Diane pouted. "And here I was hoping to leer at you some more. Do you work
out?"

Tira giggled at the look on Jack's face. "Sometimes he does," she told her. "He has
his own home-gym-thing, but he spends a lot of his time here. You'd think that this
place was his home."

"Well, I guess you have an excuse to go home then," she said, winking at him.

"All right, you two," Jack said in exasperation. "That's enough joking around about
me."

"I think he's getting embarrassed," Diane said to Tira in a wisper that was meant to
be overheard.

"All joking aside," he said, giving Diane a pointed look, which she pretended not to
notice, "I've told the police everything that I've found out last night at Juléi's
place. They should be looking out for our friend as well, although I doubt that he'll
be sticking around here for very long."

"So, why are you after that man anyway?" Tira asked.

"I've already told Jack, but there's no reason that you shouldn't know, either,"
Diane told her. "The man I'm after kidnapped the daughter of a good friend of mine,
along with her boyfriend. Hotaru Tomoe, age 18 and Ryoku Kino, age 19. The only
reason that they got kidnapped was that they got in his way when he was after their
Orange Nijizuishou crystal."

"Nijizuishou?" both Jack and Tira said at the same time and glanced at each other.

"Something wrong?"

"You never mentioned the Nijizuishou crystals to me before," he told her, frowning
slightly.

"You never gave me the chance, Mr. I-Can-Figure-Everything-Out," she retorted.

"Okay, so I jumped the gun slightly," he admitted. "But I did figure the important
parts out, didn't I Miss I'm-A-Top-F.B.I.-Agent-So-I-Can-Do-Everything-Myself?"

Diane grimaced, then grinned. "Point taken. So, what's with you two and the
Nijizuishou crystals?

"Before Erwight and Juléi were killed, they managed to steal a very valuable item
from Juléi's former employer. The Yellow Nijizuishou crystal."

"Just like in Madrid...," Diane murmured to herself.

"So, our friend is after the Nijizuishou crystals?" he reasoned, to which Diane
nodded in reply.

"The Red crystal was stolen from Madrid first," she said. "Then, the Orange from
Souichi's place, along with Hotaru and Ryoku. Now, the Yellow...."

"Do you think that he's taking them by color order?" Tira asked as she started typing
away at her computer.

"I thought of that," she replied. "Only, I don't know where the Green Nijizuishou is.
Maybe I should ask Artie to look into it."

"Artie?" Jack asked.

"My supervisor, Artemis D'Loire," she replied. "Why'd you wanna know? Jealous?"

He wisely chose to avoid the bait, remaining silent.

"Vancouver," Tira said suddenly with smug satisfaction.

"Huh?" Diane said, turning to glance at her.

Jack merely grinned. "Internet search, Ti?"

"Bingo," she said, nodding as she began typing away again. "I have the names of all
the locations of each Nijizuishou crystal. I've also noticed something else. There
may be another reason why he's taking the crystals in the order that he is."

"Why's that?" he asked.

"For some reason, he started in Madrid," she began, but shrugged. "I don't know why,
but that hardly matters. Anyway, the next closest crystal was the Orange Nijizuishou
crystal in Washington D.C. and the next closest after that was the Yellow one, here
in L.A. Following that pattern, the next one would be the Green one in Vancouver.
Coincidentally, the pattern doesn't change, whether going by color or location."

"Where's the Blue crystal located, Ti?" Jack asked.

"Why do you wanna know, Jack?" Diane asked.

"If we find out where the Blue crystal is located, then we can lay a trap and catch
him before he can get to it," he explained.

"I know that," she began slowly. "I thought of that, too, but I made a promise to
Souichi that I would bring back Hotaru and Ryoku as soon as possible. I don't know
how long it'll take for him to get the Green Nijizuishou crystal, but if there is a
possibility that I can get him in Vancouver, then I'm going for it.

"It'll take time for him to make plans, Jack. Vancouver isn't that far from here. By
the time he's ready, I'll be there, ready to take him down."

Jack nodded understandingly. "Ti, what can you give us on the Green Nijizuishou?"

Fingers raced across the keyboard. "The Green Nijizuishou is owned by a professional
racecar driver named Haruka Tenou. She was born in Japan, but she moved to the U.S.
seven years ago to start her career. She lives in Phoenix, but she has a house in
Vancouver where she goes during her off-season to pilot her own small plane as a
hobby. She keeps her Green Nijizuishou here, which she inherited from her
grandmother; both the gem and the house, that is."

"Does it say where in Vancouver she lives?" Diane asked.

"Hmm...," Tira murmured as she checked. "No. None of the locations given here are
exact, but I'm guessing that it was meant that way. You know, to protect the privacy
of others and all that."

"Of course," Jack said as he frowned in thought, then grinned. "Christy."

"Christy?" Diane asked.

"If anyone can help us, she can," he said, turning to leave. "Ti, can you try to get
as much info on the rest of the Nijizuishou locations as you can, please."

"Wait," Diane said as she got up as well. "I'm going, too."

"All right," he agreed as he opened the door. "Let's get going."

**********************************************

"W hat's up, Jack?" Christy asked as she continued to type at her keyboard, finishing
up a report. "Heard you were fired upon at your office. No damages?"

"Just a scratch," he replied off-handedly. "Nothing."

"Yeah, nothing wrong with him," Diane agreed as she slapped him jovially on the
shoulder where he was grazed. Jack winced slightly, but that was it. "See? He's
perfectly all right."

"Thanks," he muttered flatly, then turned back to Christy. She had just finished her
report and was now saving her work.

"All right, now," she said as she turned towards them and folded her hands on the
desk in front of her. "What is it you need, Jack?" she asked. "You're here for a
favor; I know you are. You still owe me for the last couple of favors that I did for
you, you know."

"What?" Jack said indignantly. "Don't tell me you forgot that I helped you fix your
car when it broke down last week?"

"I remember," she replied. "It held out long enough to get me to the auto shop where
people who know what they're doing took care of the rest." Jack didn't have to glance
over to his left to know that Diane was smirking at him, more than likely about to
make some joke about his mechanical skills.

"Okay, so let's say that I count that little favor you did for me," Christy said
speculatively. "That means you still have one favor you still owe me. If you want, I
can let you off on both for... say, a date?" she said, grinning playfully.

"Well, if that's what it takes...," he began when Diane interrupted.

"That's it?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "You just give in without negotiating?
If that's the extent of your negotiating skills, then it's a wonder why your private
investigation business hasn't gone flat broke yet!" At that, both women started
laughing. Jack grimaced for a moment, then smiled.

"Well, it's not like she's asking for a trip to D.C.," he replied, putting slight
emphasis on D.C., which made Diane's laughter cut short. "As for the date," he
continued, glancing toward Christy, "it'd have to be at one of those very fancy
restaurants. You know, where you have to dress very formal. Dresses and tuxes and the
like." Christy's laughter quickly cut short as well. She hated dressing formally and
he knew it. After all, she was the one who told him so. "How's that for negotiation?"

Diane gave him a level look. "It'll pass," she said dryly, then grinned slightly to
herself. 'I think he's learning....'

"All right, you win," Christy relented. "No date. Well, I'll just add it to your
favor tab."

"Thanks," he said gratefully.

"I take it that this's on her behalf?" she asked, nodding toward Diane.

"Yes," Diane said, nodding. "I need you to find out where someone lives."

Christy frowned as she turned toward Jack. "I thought that you and I had words about
that guy...."

"Not him," he told her.

"Oh?"

"I need to find out the Vancouver address of one Haruka Tenou," Diane said urgently.

"Vancouver?" she repeated, blinking. "Miss Silver, we have the addresses of mostly
people who live in L.A. in our data files. Do you have any idea of how hard it is to
get the permission to access the files of a police station in another city, let alone
another country!"

"Please, Christy," Diane begged. "I really need you to find out. This is very
important to me."

Christy looked at her with a flat, stony expression for a minute. "This is about him,
isn't it?" she asked, almost accusingly. "I thought I told you to leave off, Jack.
That man is a suspected murderer. Dangerous. You must forget about him and leave
finding him to the police...."

"I can't do that," Diane said quietly, then sighed to herself. "I was hoping that I
wouldn't have to do this...." Without another word, she reached into her shirt pocket
and pulled out a small leather wallet-like case and presented it to Christy.

Jack had never seen it before - he felt a little foolish about swallowing her story
without asking for proof; some detective he was - but, there was no doubt as to what
he was looking at. Christy stared at Diane's badge in disbelief for a long time, then
finally looked back up at her.

"Why?" she asked quietly, then glanced toward Jack. "You knew, but why didn't you
tell me?"

"I only found out recently," he told her as Diane retrieved her badge and put it away.

"He couldn't tell you because I asked him not to," she said with a professional tone
that Jack had never heard come from her before. He supposed that it was the federal
agent in her speaking. "Officer Taylor, the man I'm after is not only a suspected
murderer, but he is also responsible for the kidnapping of two victims; Hotaru Tomoe,
age 18, and Ryoku Kino, age 19. I believe that I know where he may be going, but I
need to know that address in order to get to him. Will you please help me?"

"I see," Christy said quietly as she took all that in. "I'm sorry, Miss Silver, but
unless I have permission, I can't get into the Vancouver police department's data
files. If you ask Chief...."

"I can't let anyone know that I'm a federal agent, Christy," Diane cut in.

Christy frowned in thought for a moment. "Why Haruka Tenou? Is she involved somehow?"

"Not in the way you think," Jack told her. "We need her address because she has
possession of a valuable gemstone that our suspect is after. The Green Nijizuishou
crystal. He has already acquired the Red, Orange and Yellow Nijizuishou crystals, and
we believe that there is a pattern to his acquisitions. According to what we have
discerned from the suspect's M.O., he is going after each crystal in order of their
color."

"And that means that the Green crystal is next," Christy finished.

"So, is there anyway you can help us?" Jack asked. "You're the resident computer
genius here. You're the only one I can trust with this.

"I would love to help, Jack; you know I would," she said regretfully. "However,
things have changed since you left five years ago. The network security is much
tighter now since we were hacked into a year and a half ago. It was a real mess. If I
try to hack in myself, I'd be caught for sure no matter how good I am. I'm sorry, but
I can't help you. Not in the way you want, at least."

He was halfway out of his seat when a sudden realization hit. Did she mean what he
thought she did? One look at Christy's face confirmed it.

"Well, thank you anyway, Christy," he said as he stood up all the way. Christy
reached over to write something down on a notepad before she stood up as well and
reached out to take the hand that he was offering out to her.

"I'm just sorry that I couldn't be of any more help," she said regretfully as she
shook his hand.

"That's all right," he replied as he turned to leave. "Anyway, I'll be sure to get
back to you on that favor I owe you."

"You owe me two favors, Jack," she told him, winking. "I don't think that that shoddy
patch job you did on my car was worth it, after all."

"What?!?" he exclaimed, frowning. "Hmph. Fine then. I owe you for two."

"Damn right," she said with a satisfied nod, then smiled at Diane. "And don't worry.
I won't tell anyone."

"Thank you," Diane said as she followed Jack out of the building.

'Good luck,' she thought as she turned back to the computer and started on her next
report.

**********************************************

Diane sat in the passenger seat of Jack's car and stared out of the window for a long
time, thinking. "You know, Jack," she said, breaking the silence, "for a moment
there, you sounded a lot like a cop when you were talking with Christy."

"It's kind of hard for me not to," he replied without taking his eyes off the road.
"Not when I'm there, at least."

"Well, I suppose old habits are hard to break," she added.

"Sometimes they are," he replied quietly.

She turned to look at him and noticed that his expression was completely neutral, as
if he was trying to hide or avoid something. "Something wrong?" she asked concernedly.

"Hmm? Oh, it's nothing," he said, shaking his head slightly.

Diane didn't think it was nothing, but she looked back out her window, letting the
matter drop. If he didn't want to talk about it, fine.

The beeping of a cell phone being dialed caught her attention. "Ti?" she heard him
say after a moment. She turned around to see him holding his cell phone in one
hand... and a piece of paper from a notepad in the other. It was crumpled up as if it
had been folded up....

"Listen, Ti," he continued. "Normally, you know that I don't approve of you doing
this, but...." He paused as he grimaced slightly. "Yeah. That. Listen, I.... Yes, I
know you can do it by yourself, but...."

"What are you talking about, Jack?" she asked questioningly.

He went on as if he didn't hear her as his grimace deepened. "Yes, I know you've
never been caught before, but.... Tira! Listen, I know how good you are and all that,
but you WILL use the information that I've got from Christy, you hear me?"

Diane smiled to herself as she put two and two together. 'So, Miss Tira Jenner is a
computer hacker as well as a secretary.'

"Good," he sighed in vexation. "Ready? IP Address: 210.48.9.117; Subnet Mask:
255.255.255.0; Gateway: 210.48.9.1; Domain: vcpd.gov.ca; Login: fordatser; Password:
MapleRed486. The database password is: cannuck."

She blinked as he read off all that technical jargon, trying to figure out what any
of that nonsense meant, but she couldn't make any sense of it. Apparently, neither
could Jack, but he nodded, confirming what Tira was reading back to him.

"That fast?" he asked, blinking in surprise. "Well, all right then, but you be
careful, all right? The information may be legit, but that doesn't mean what you're
doing is. Good, I'll see you when we get there." With that, he hung up.

"So, how long did Tira say that it would take her to hack into the Vancouver police
department's database?" Diane asked, grinning.

"Hmm?" he said as she turned toward her, then realized that she must've figured it
out from the conversation he was having with Tira. "She says that she'll have the
database downloaded and be out of their system before we get back."

"Wow," she said, impressed. "That's pretty good, considering how close we are."

"Then again, she thinks we're still at the station," he said with a pleased smirk.
"She's cocky when it comes to things like this, so I prefer to keep her from hacking
as much as possible. Of course, I can't stop her altogether, so I don't try, but I do
try to limit how much she does it."

"Not to mention the fact of how handy it is at times like this," she added.

"Don't get me wrong," he said defensively. "I rarely ever ask her to hack for me and
she knows that. I only ask when it is extremely important, like now. She knows where
I stand on hacking, but she also knows that sometimes it's necessary to use methods
that you dislike if the need is strong enough."

"Yeah, I know what you mean, Jack," she replied understandingly. "I've had to resort
to methods like that to get a job done. I'm not proud of it, but that's the way it
had to be." She was quiet for a moment, thinking again.

"Don't worry about Ti," he said after a while. "I know her. She's probably already
suspected that I intentionally called halfway there and is probably almost done as I
speak. Like I said, she's cocky, but she is cautious. She'll get the job done."

**********************************************

Art emis looked up from the book he was reading and reached over toward the end table
sitting next to the chair and picked up his cell phone. One glance at the screen
showed him an unfamiliar phone number, but the area code was the same as the one
Diane had been calling him from. It was more than likely her calling to give him an
update. Hopefully it was good news this time.

"D'Loire here," he answered.

"Hey, Artie," Diane said in a slightly eager voice. Perhaps she did have some good
news. "How're things on you're end? The official side of it, I mean?"

"Nothing still," he replied, resisting the urge to sigh. "No phone calls, no demands,
nothing. Professor Tomoe and Mrs. Kino are both slowly going out of their minds with
worry. Right now, I'm here with Miss Olinite trying to keep both of them from
breaking down, but it's been hard."

"That bad?" she asked. "Is Souichi there? Maybe I can talk to him."

"He's shut himself in his lab right now, working, or so he says. Miss Olinite says
that he can't concentrate at all and that's worrying her."

"Oh. What about Mrs. Kino?"

"She's finally cried herself to sleep," he said tiredly. "The poor woman had been up
for almost three days, insisting that she had to stay awake in case the kidnappers
finally decided to call. She needed to know that her son was still alive. I'd almost
considered giving her something to make her sleep, but it's unnecessary now. I
suppose that it's because she's a widow and her son is the last of her family now."
He finally did sigh. "Any good news on your part, Diane?"

"I now know where our man is going to strike next," she told him. "We've discerned
that he's going for the Green Nijizuishou crystal in Vancouver. Right now, we're
trying to find out exactly where in Vancouver he will strike."

"Wait. 'We'?" he asked.

"You remember that I've hired a private investigator?" she reminded him. "He's been
helping me in this. Right now, we've acquired a copy of the Vancouver police data
files which has the address in question. However, due to the fact that they use a
program written exclusively for Canada's police departments, we need a program that
will convert the file into something we can read. As I speak, we're searching for
such a program, or barring that, a copy of the program itself. It shouldn't take no
longer than a day or two, at most."

"Well, that's better news than we have. I'm sure Professor Tomoe and Mrs. Kino will
appreciate some good news for a change. They need some measure of hope to keep from
wasting away any more than they already have. You'll be sure to keep me informed?"

"Of course, Artie," she assured him. "Please let Souichi and Mrs. Kino know that I'm
doing all I can to find Hotaru and Ryoku, okay?"

"I will," he agreed. He was about to hang up when Kaye entered the room holding an
unopened box in her hands. She had a very disturbed, yet determined expression on her
face, as if there was something in the box that she didn't want to see, but knew she
had to. "What's wrong, Miss Olinite?" he asked, getting up out of the chair as he
started toward her.

"This...," she began, then swallowed nervously. "This... came for Professor Souichi
Tomoe and Mrs. Sakura Kino a few moments ago. There's no return address on it." She
glanced toward the direction that the lab was in, as if she could see Tomoe through
the walls. Her gaze slowly drifted toward the direction where Mrs. Kino was sleeping,
then turned back to Artemis. "I don't want to get them yet," she told him. "It's
better if I know first. That way I can soften the blow for them... should this be
what I fear it is."

"Artie, what's going on?" Diane asked concernedly on her end of the line.

"Hold on, Diane," he said as he nodded understandingly to Kaye. She handed him a
small, plain letter opener and stepped back as he quickly cut through the tape and
opened the flaps, revealing the contents of the box.

"Clothing," he said as he reached in and pulled out a small violet dress and frowned
in thought. However, Kaye's frightened gasp quickly cut off his train of thought. A
sudden realization hit him then. "This clothing.... These are what Hotaru and Ryoku
were wearing before they were taken, aren't they?" he asked, turning to look at Kaye
for confirmation.

"They must be," she breathed fearfully. "I know that dress. It's Hotaru's favorite.
I remember Professor Tomoe telling Hotaru that he thought the color matched her
eyes...." She trailed off as she wiped away some of the tears that were threatening
to run down her face.

"Bastard...," Diane growled fiercely. "I swear... if I find that bastard... I'll kill
him!"

He set the dress aside and continued to bring out more clothing. "Shoes, socks,
jackets, pantyhose...." He paused as he brought out what must've been Ryoku's
clothing. His pants had a long dark bloodstain running down the left leg with a long
slit in it to match. His shirt was worse. There was a lot of blood on the shirt,
soaked in mostly on the top half of it, and there was a hole in the right shoulder
that was most certainly a knife wound.

"Well, at least they still have their underwear," Kaye said in a tone that showed how
hard she was fighting her tears. "I suppose it's better than being completely naked."
She was fighting them very hard, since she felt that she was supposed to be helping
to keep Tomoe from breaking down. It wouldn't help much if she herself broke down.

A scowl slowly formed on his face. It seemed obvious that they were serving two
purposes at once by doing this. They wanted to send a strong message to him and
anyone else concerned: we have them and we don't mind if we have to kill them. The
other reason was that it would be easier to hold the two children if they had no
clothes, since they would feel even more helpless if they were fully clothed. Whoever
was responsible for this action was definitely good at playing mind games.

A small sliver of white amongst the brown of the cardboard caught his attention. It
was a folded sheet of paper. He unfolded it and read it aloud.

"Halt your search for them. If you do not, you will not have to search for them any
longer, for we will send them to you... in boxes, just like this one. Many boxes."
The words were printed out so that tracing the sender by handwriting was not an
option. He doubted that there would be fingerprints on the paper, either. This person
was definitely a crafty, sick bastard.

"Diane...," he said finally, after a long period of stunned silence has passed. "I
have no choice. I must halt the search to keep the children alive. My hands are tied,
so you're now my only hope of finding them. I'm still unable to help you, but I know
that won't stop you. It's all up to you, now. Find Hotaru and Ryoku. I'm counting on
you."

"I promise you that I'll find them, Artie," she said solemnly. "No matter what it
takes, I swear I'll find them."

**********************************************

Dia ne sighed as she purchased a pair of plane tickets for herself and Jack. She could
still recall every word of that conversation she had with Artie. Poor Hotaru. Poor
Ryoku. She couldn't afford to waste any time.

As she finished her purchase, she left to go meet Jack outside at his car. He was
responsible for making reservations for a hotel. She was partly surprised that he
insisted on going with her, especially since this wasn't his fight. He didn't know
Hotaru or Ryoku. Why was he so set on going with her?

For the beginning of the drive back, Jack was silent, as usual. It seemed that he
didn't talk much when he drove. She used the silence to think about the reason that
he might he had for coming with her. One reason did come to mind....

"Hey, Jack," she said, breaking the silence. "Why did you decide to come with me? I
mean, the contract between us is done and I've paid my bill in full. There's no need
for you to help me anymore than you already have."

He was silent for a moment before he finally answered. "Maybe a guy just wants an
excuse for being with a beautiful woman," he said grinning.

"What?!?" she exclaimed, staring at him in disbelief.

"Oh, don't tell me that you don't believe me," he said, feigning hurt. "After all
we've been through?"

"I hardly think that this's a time to be joking around," she said, frowning.

"What?" he asked, grinning even wider. "Diane Silver, the great tease, can't take a
joke? I'm disappointed."

"Okay, you made your point, funny man," she growled, folding her arms. "Now, stuff
it."

"As you wish, O great F.B.I. lady," he replied with a small mocking bow.

"Whatever. Now, can you please answer my question?"

He nodded as the smile disappeared from his face. "You remember what happened to me
yesterday, don't you?"

"I thought as much," she said, nodding. "So, until we find our man, he'll be after
you."

"I know his type," he said, frowning. "Vengeful. I've dealt with enough of them as a
cop to know his type. That attack wasn't the last. Since I've positively identified
him, he'll be after me for as long as it takes to kill me. The only way I can stop
him is to do it myself, rather than wait for someone else to do it for me."

She nodded understandingly. "I'm sorry I got you caught up in this, Jack," she said
regretfully.

"Don't be," he replied. "I was caught up in this before I met you," he told her.

"I still feel as though it's my fault."

"It's not," he said certainly. "The blame lies with Juléi and Erwight. If they hadn't
stolen the Yellow Nijizuishou, then I wouldn't've been caught up in this." He smiled
at her reassuringly. "But, I'm not mad at them. Actually, I should be thanking them.
After all, thanks to them, I got to meet you. All things considered, I think it's
worth it."

She stared at him in astonishment for a moment before smiling to herself. "That's...
nice to hear, Jack," she said finally, then grinned mischeviously. "By the way, I
think you're improving with your teasing, but you're still lacking. Then again, with
me as your tutor, how can you not improve?"

He blinked as he glanced at her from out of the corner of his eye. 'Well, I suppose
it's still worth it,' he thought patiently to himself as the car pulled to a stop and
Diane opened her door to get out....

**********************************************

Je d frowned as leaned back into his seat, letting the back tilt until his eyes were
level with the bottom of the car window. He had rented the car using one of his
numerous aliases, and now he was parked just opposite of Terrance's office, waiting.
No sniper rifle this time. It would be quick and quiet, thanks to the pistol he had
fitted with a silencer. One shot was all that he would need this time. His prey would
not be lucky a second time.

After a long wait, he saw his car pull up. He watched as that woman he saw him with
yesterday came out of the car, followed by him as well. He raised his pistol and
aimed it for the door to his office. When he opened the door to go inside, he would
have him. Already, he was reaching out for the doorknob....

**********************************************
Tira sighed as she browsed through directory after directory. After learning that the
owner of the Yellow Nijizuishou crystal never bothered to call the police after
learning that his precious gem was stolen, she had had this nagging suspicion about
him. Jack had allowed her to hack into the Vancouver police department's system, but
he never did tell her that she couldn't continue to hack. Sure, that didn't mean that
he meant that she could, but that was just semantics. Besides, there was just
something about that one fact that kept bugging her. She had to know for sure, so once
again, she was in Stanton Aeronautical's system, searching the president's personal
files. There was a LOT of security, but she was good. Very good.

"Oh?" she said to herself as she spotted a file that caught her interest. "Project:
Ginzuishou, huh? Well, don't mind if I do." She downloaded the file and logged out
of the system. Easy. Now, all that was left was to access the file....

"Damn," she growled as she tried to open it. "So, password protected, eh? We'll
see about that." A few moments later, she cracked the password and opened the
file. "Hmm.... Oh, my God," she murmured as she read. "You've gotta be kidding
me.... Jack! I've gotta warn him and Diane!"

The sound of a car pulling up caught her attention. One look out the window confirmed
that it was Jack's car. She wasted no time in jumping out of her seat and rushing
toward the door, only to trip over the power cord to her computer and fall facefirst
to the floor. "Ow...," she muttered as she glanced back toward her computer. The
screen was black. "Damn," she growled, realizing that she must've unplugged her
computer when she tripped on the power cord. Well, she had the information in her
head, so she'd just have to tell them first and show them later. This was important!

She pushed herself back to her feet and rushed toward the door. She could already
see the knob turning. Wasting no time, she rushed through the opening door, knocking
Jack backward into Diane.

"Jack!" she shouted urgently at him just as she felt something smack her in the chest.
The impact was so hard that she was knocked off her feet and fell crashing into the
floor behind her. There wasn't as much pain as there was shock, but she had to warn
Jack. She had to....

Slowly, everything turned to darkness.

**********************************************

To Chapter 23

**********************************************

Author' s Note: The return of the cliffhanger! Mwahahahaha!!! ^_^ Sorry for taking so
long, but my work schedule's gone completely outta wack, so I've been trying to
adjust. Not only that, but I accidentally erased the first version of this chapter,
which pretty much added insult to injury. Oh well, nothing for it but to cope... and
write fanfiction! ^_~ Anyway, I hope this chapter - the longest one to date - is
worth the wait for you guys. If not, well, um... please don't hurt me! -_-; Next
chapter: the rush to save Tira's life; Darien talks with Jason; and Serena discusses
Darien with Tanya.

Disclaimer: All original materials belong to their respective
owners. Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi and a bunch
of big companies. No copyright infringement is intended. This
story belongs to Moonsong and myself, and I would appreciate
you emailing her or myself for permission before posting it
anywhere else. Thank you.

Prologue Copyright © January 24, 2000 Moonsong.
Other Chapters Copyright © August 12, 2000 Jason Ulloa.
All Rights Reserved.