talien
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The Jaded Temple: Part 1 – Zombie Ninjas
The loggia was an open-sided, roofed porch area that connected the various sections of the temple building. Pillars stood on either side of the hallway at ten-foot intervals.
"This place has got to be blanketed with a security network," said Guppy, checking his cistron nervously. "He's going to set off about a dozen alarms."
Jim-Bean didn't turn to address Guppy but had clearly heard him. "Relax. I can see ahead of us. There's no traps."
"How can you be sure?" asked Caprice.
"I'm sure," Jim-Bean said with a smirk. He waved a hand, and there were a series of clicks as double doors unlocked themselves and swung open. "See?"
Guppy hung back long enough to catch Hammer, who was bringing up the rear. "I don't like this. Jim-Bean is out of control. He's acting crazy. And I know crazy."
Hammer didn't look Guppy in the eyes. "I have a contingency. If I have to, I'll use it."
"But he's getting more erratic," said Guppy, struggling to keep his voice to a whisper. "He could put us all in danger!"
"I'll deal with it," said Hammer. "Worry about yourself. We need to find out where that book is, and my guess is that we're going to have to hack into the Tiger Transit database to do it. You do your job, and I'll do mine."
They made their way into a giant room with parqueted walls and floor of dark wood. The interior was s tastefully decorated in modern decor. The western section of the room contained three small, short-legged tables, each accompanied by six large throw pillows. The eastern part of the room had a longer dining table, also short-legged, with twelve throw pillows around it. A variety of items hung or leaned against the walls, mostly paintings and some canvas hangings of Asian poetry.
Jim-Bean looked around, unimpaired by the dim light. "There," he pointed with one finger.
More doors clicked softly open to a practice room. The southern two-thirds of the room’s floor was covered with large padded mats for practicing martial arts routines. On the uncovered floor were five single-unit saunas, a weight and bench-press machine, three punching bags, and a set of barbells, plus some thirty individual loose weights ranging from five to twenty pounds.
Jim-Bean kicked one of the mats. "There's something beneath here. A lift. And the switch is over…" he spun on his heel, pointing to the southeast corner like a human dowsing rod. "There."
The agents filtered into the room. "How big is the elevator?" asked Guppy.
Jim-Bean flicked a finger and the hydraulics system beneath them whirred to life. A fifty-foot-square platform around them began to slowly descend. "Oh, I'd say pretty big."
Dark flashes of movement blurred out of the shadows. They were surrounded by men in black outfits wielding thin-bladed swords. They all wore peculiar masks over their faces, expressions of fanged beasts, jovial fat men, and weeping courtesans.
"So much for not setting off any traps," muttered Guppy.
"Oh great," said Caprice. "More ninjas."
The leader stepped forward and slowly drew the mask away from its face.
It revealed the head of a mummified corpse, its eyes empty and dry and its wrinkled mouth open in an eternal moan, with a long moustache gauzy with cobwebs.
"Worse," said Archive. "Zombie ninjas."
The loggia was an open-sided, roofed porch area that connected the various sections of the temple building. Pillars stood on either side of the hallway at ten-foot intervals.
"This place has got to be blanketed with a security network," said Guppy, checking his cistron nervously. "He's going to set off about a dozen alarms."
Jim-Bean didn't turn to address Guppy but had clearly heard him. "Relax. I can see ahead of us. There's no traps."
"How can you be sure?" asked Caprice.
"I'm sure," Jim-Bean said with a smirk. He waved a hand, and there were a series of clicks as double doors unlocked themselves and swung open. "See?"
Guppy hung back long enough to catch Hammer, who was bringing up the rear. "I don't like this. Jim-Bean is out of control. He's acting crazy. And I know crazy."
Hammer didn't look Guppy in the eyes. "I have a contingency. If I have to, I'll use it."
"But he's getting more erratic," said Guppy, struggling to keep his voice to a whisper. "He could put us all in danger!"
"I'll deal with it," said Hammer. "Worry about yourself. We need to find out where that book is, and my guess is that we're going to have to hack into the Tiger Transit database to do it. You do your job, and I'll do mine."
They made their way into a giant room with parqueted walls and floor of dark wood. The interior was s tastefully decorated in modern decor. The western section of the room contained three small, short-legged tables, each accompanied by six large throw pillows. The eastern part of the room had a longer dining table, also short-legged, with twelve throw pillows around it. A variety of items hung or leaned against the walls, mostly paintings and some canvas hangings of Asian poetry.
Jim-Bean looked around, unimpaired by the dim light. "There," he pointed with one finger.
More doors clicked softly open to a practice room. The southern two-thirds of the room’s floor was covered with large padded mats for practicing martial arts routines. On the uncovered floor were five single-unit saunas, a weight and bench-press machine, three punching bags, and a set of barbells, plus some thirty individual loose weights ranging from five to twenty pounds.
Jim-Bean kicked one of the mats. "There's something beneath here. A lift. And the switch is over…" he spun on his heel, pointing to the southeast corner like a human dowsing rod. "There."
The agents filtered into the room. "How big is the elevator?" asked Guppy.
Jim-Bean flicked a finger and the hydraulics system beneath them whirred to life. A fifty-foot-square platform around them began to slowly descend. "Oh, I'd say pretty big."
Dark flashes of movement blurred out of the shadows. They were surrounded by men in black outfits wielding thin-bladed swords. They all wore peculiar masks over their faces, expressions of fanged beasts, jovial fat men, and weeping courtesans.
"So much for not setting off any traps," muttered Guppy.
"Oh great," said Caprice. "More ninjas."
The leader stepped forward and slowly drew the mask away from its face.
It revealed the head of a mummified corpse, its eyes empty and dry and its wrinkled mouth open in an eternal moan, with a long moustache gauzy with cobwebs.
"Worse," said Archive. "Zombie ninjas."
