Godzilla Lives!
A Godzilla fanfiction by Travis J. DeSantis
Chapter Thirty-Six
The next day, the Waterfront Subcenter was a flurry of activity once more. But instead of soldiers or kaiju, the crumbling streets were now swarming with rescue workers and contamination control specialists. The latter, suited in bright yellow biohazard suits, were busy taking various samples as well as flushing the streets with some kind of foamy blue liquid.
"What is that stuff?" asked Tomoyuki Tanaka. He had come by as part of a team to retrieve the Super-X2 and was now having flashbacks of the last time he saw the evidence of Godzilla's wrath.
The scientists next to him turned his head. "A special organic chemical," Haruo Nakajima answered. "It's actually made from algae-like bacteria. Instead of using light for photosynthesis, this bacteria feeds on nuclear energy. It was whipped up by some bio-engineers that have been studying Godzilla. We're also testing it for the treatment of radiation poisoning."
The former soldier rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm, that might make a pretty good weapon against Godzilla."
Nakajima regarded the older man for a moment, then turned away. "I wouldn't know anything about that. But then, that's your department, isn't it?"
Down on the previous night's battlefield, one of the contamination control workers was taking a few more samples of Ogakor's cells than was needed. Hawk-like eyes behind the visor made sure no one noticed as the man covertly tucked a small vial of chemically-mutated crocodile blood into his belt.
~~~~~
"You did it!" the programmer cried. Yashiro rushed across the hospital room and grabbed Sergeant Higa in a vice-like bear hug. He had been stitched and bandaged up in G-Force's medical ward, but the injuries did not seem to take a toll on the teen's youthful exuberance. "You beautiful bastard, you did it!!"
"All in a day's work," Amane stated with a humble shrug. "But nevermind that, are you guys all right?"
"Yeah, we're fine," Yashiro replied with a wave of his good hand. "But the lovebirds over there have been acting all awkward since we got here."
Miki blushed and tried to shrink away, now resembling a small tomato. Sho snorted into his glass of water, almost choking on the headache pills he was trying to swallow.
"Well!" Amane began. "I think I better inform that commander as to this little development."
"Belay that, sergeant," Major Kuroki said warningly, his serious tone causing the two younger men to laugh. "Or I'll have you in thrown in the brig."
Miki looked out the window, eager to find something that would get the conversation of the subject of that vulnerable moment. She berated herself for her foolishness. Kuroki was so stoic, she didn't know how the major felt about her, before or after the incident. Heck, she didn't know how she herself felt. It was such a spur of the moment thing and now she was regretting it. If she didn't die of embarrassment now, Asuka would be sure to make sure it happened sooner or later.
The psychic's gaze drifted over the broken city to the south. Dark clouds still hovered over Tokyo, as if to remind people what had transpired the day before. She recalled the sights and emotions of the battle, and it made her feel cold all over. She hugged herself tightly, wondering if she would be able to sleep any more tonight then she did last night.
"Oh!" she exclaimed. "Major Kuroki, I remember something from when I did the mind dive."
"The what?" Yashiro asked.
"Right before Godzilla killed the other monster, I tried to read its mind. The one thing that stood out in my mind was a memory of a man on a boat. It was the Jodie Ley, that Australian garbage barge that was destroyed in May. The man looked pretty ordinary, maybe a little nasty. But I remember seeing a scar on his chin," she said, tracing on her own face where it was.
Sho leaned back in his seat and folded his arms. "A scar on his chin? ...Patterson."
"You know him!?" Amane asked in shock.
"Not personally, but I know of him. Have you ever heard of the Red Bamboo?"
"Yeah, they're an international terrorist group or something, right?"
"More than that. Connections have been made to the Red Bamboo in black market arms sales, corporate espionage, drug smuggling, and slave trade. If it's illegal, they probably have a hand in it. The Red Bamboo is believed to be responsible for the deaths of two scientists in 1985. They also stole the scale from Godzilla those scientists had been studying. Anyway, Patterson is a sloppy one. He's one of the few people we know for sure that's part of their organization."
"No way. No way, man!" Yashiro shouted. "There's no way you're telling me that humans made that other monster!"
"Godzilla was made by radiation from the A-Bomb," Miki stated solemnly. "Playing in God's domain is nothing new for us. It's not impossible that someone has been doing such experiments." The young woman's fingers clawed at her arms. "It disgusts me."
Higa sighed. "Either way, that's one beast down. Ms. Saegusa, can you tell if Godzilla survived the laser?"
She shook her head. "I can't tell. I'm not connected to him psychically anymore. I haven't sensed anything...amiss recently, but that doesn't prove anything. I think he's out there." Miki's eyes wandered over the sparkling blue sea, barely visible from this far away. "Somewhere."
