Ninja Gaiden III The Fury of the Dragon Written by Jeff Nussbaum deuce@scsn.net ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Chapter Three The elevator door slid open, and Ryu stepped out. He had been utterly amazed at the ease with which he had made his way up to the penthouse level. He had expected a far greater degree of security... but the place was practically abandoned. Perhaps his quarry was simply of the opinion that he was in no danger. He would soon learn the error of his ways. Ryu looked at the lush interior of the apartment. Evidently, Foster had been living it up. The room was filled with expensive fusnishings, paintings, and electronic equipment. Off in the next room, he heard the sounds of light splashing, and a woman's laughter. Wait... two women. Foster was living it up indeed. Well, all that was about to change. As silent as death, he crept over to the doorway of the bathroom and observed. Sure enough, there was Foster, sitting in a jacuzzi with two women, all three sipping champagne. Ryu was hardly one to wait at this point. He announced his presence with a simple "ahem." The women immediately ducked deeper into the water in some reflex of false modesty. They had certainly not been modest two minutes ago. Foster blinked, looking up at the intruder. "Who the hell are you?" he demanded angrily. Ryu ignored him for the moment and directed his attention to the women. "If you don't want to get hurt," he said, "I suggest you leave, ladies. "As for you, Foster," he continued, returning his attention to the confused and slightly drunk man, "You're not going anywhere." The women were scrambling for towels and were out of the apartment in no time. Ryu wasn't worried... that particular type of woman was unlikely to call the police. Ryu watched them leave, and noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. With a lightning-fast motion, he hurled a throwing spike from the folds of his ninja uniform with unerring precision, and it embedded itself deeply into Foster's hand. That same hand which had previously been reaching for a nearby gun. Foster grunted in pain and clutched at his wrist. He glared at Ryu in anger. "Damn you! What do you want? Who are you?" Ryu almost laughed. "Don't you remember? Your little play-toy ninja whom you tried to have knocked off?" "Ryu!" exclaimed Foster. "How did you find me?" Ryu folded his arms, comfortable that Foster wasn't going to pose much of a threat. "It wasn't too difficult. Living a life of excess is hardly the best way to hide from a ninja." Foster grimaced in pain, "What do you want?" Ryu shrugged. "Revenge... I thought you were at least smart enough to figure that much out." The wounded man shook his head. "You never understood. I only wanted to--" he began, but Ryu cut him off. "Spare me the sob story, Foster! You tried to kill me! But now, the shoe's on the other foot, as you Americans say." His eyes were narrow slits. "I'm going to enjoy this." Before Foster could protest, Ryu hoisted him out of the jacuzzi. "What... what are you going to do?" stammered the CIA agent. "Not much," said Ryu, and hurled him face-first against the mirrored wall of the bathroom. The silvered glass shattered, cutting open Foster's face and chest in several places. He hit his head and fell to the floor and rolled over weakly, glaring in hatred up at his assailant. "You know, Foster, I don't think I am going to kill you," said Ryu. "I'd prefer not to stoop to your level. This will be payment enough. The look on your face is priceless." He stepped over him. "Ryu...," gasped Foster. "Where are you going...?" Ryu didn't bother to turn and look back. "To live my own life." Foster slipped into unconsciousness as the ninja walked out. When he awoke, the ninja was gone. He scrambled to the remaining mirror and begin picking pieces of glass out of his skin, dabbing at his wounds with a towel. He grimaced at the pain, but was determined not to be defeated. He had two phone calls to make.... The first was a number he had never thought he would need to call. One ring... two rings... an answer. "Hello?" came a male voice. "This is Foster... I need a favor." "The ninja? He came after you?" came the reply. Foster coughed. "Yes... I'm going to be in the hospital for awhile. I've got some injuries... but I'll meet up with you in a few days. Follow the plan like we worked out." "Will do." And the man on the other end hung up. The next call was to the hospital. He was going to require some massive stitches to cover this... and no matter what, he would never look the same again... Ryu would pay for this... if it took him years. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ TO BE CONTINUED ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ninja Gaiden, Ryu Hayabusa, Irene Lew and all characters are the sole copyright of Tecmo. This document is meant for public distribution in its ORIGINAL FORM ONLY, and should not be sold at any price. All events portrayed in this story are the inventions of Deuce, and do not reflect the "proper" story as shown by Tecmo (even though Tecmo screwed the pooch on the NG3 story).