The Darkness Before Dawn

Chimera

He looked at the reports in his hands. No fingerprints or DNA were recovered from the bullet casings. That didn't surprise him as the shop talk was that this assassination and murder was done by a professional. He sighed as he put the reports back into the case file.

"Dr. Hoshigaki?" one of his lab techs asked while approaching him. "Yes?" he queried. The tech handed him a fingerprint report and a DNA profile. "These came from the body that was found yesterday. The coroner was kind enough to rush samples to us". Kisame nodded, dismissing the tech as he began to read.

According to the fingerprint report, the victim was Hoku Shinoki, the multi-millionaire real estate mogul. However, the DNA profile did not match the known profile of him in the system. He furrowed his brows as he thought back to his readings, trying to remember if there was a condition that could cause separate DNA profiles in the same person. The only condition he could recall was chimeras but this rare condition wasn't documented as part of his medical history.

"Aiko!" He said. The lab tech that had approached him earlier returned. "Run a genome on our guy. Genetic testing for chimera." She wanted to say something but held back, nodded, and went to her workstation to begin the genome mapping.

Kakuzu knocked on Kisame's office door. "Come in" was heard and he entered the office. Scientific journals and lab reports were stacked in leaning towers on his desk, the spare chair had a rumpled suit on it and Kisame sat in his chair with his legs propped up on the desk and a pair of glasses resting in his blue spiked hair. "Do you want the good news or the bad news?" He asked. "Bad" Kakuzu growled.

"The bad news is that our vic has two DNA profiles which suggests either a rare genetic disorder or somehow his DNA has been manipulated. The other bad news is there's nothing on the casings; no DNA, no fingerprints, sweet fuck all" Kisame said while resting his hands behind his head. "Is there anything going right in this investigation?" Kakuzu scowled.

Chuckling, Kisame tossed Kakuzu the case file. "We've tentatively identified your vic but until the testing is complete, hold off on informing the family and the Chief". Kakuzu grunted and left the office. "You're welcome!" Kisame called out to him before settling back in his chair to study the reports on other cases.

Umiko walked the halls of the infectious disease ward of the city's hospital. She saw unique cases of parasites that ate people's brains while they were alive and functioning and bacteria that melted skin and forced it to slough off, revealing the structures underneath.

Her latest assignment was monitoring a growing outbreak of lung worms in Kirigakure and analyzing and studying the worms to help pinpoint their source.

She was quietly analyzing the microbe structure of the lung worm when the phone at her desk rang. She slipped off her gloves and picked up the phone. "Hello?" she asked. "Hello my love! What is the status on your virus?" Umiko thought before answering "it's almost ready. I need to tweak a gene before it can be unleashed. If we use it now the mortality rate would be too high". A few seconds of silence lingered before Mother spoke, "don't take too long as we need the weak and vulnerable gone. A population is only as strong as its weakest member". "Yes Mother" Umiko said before hearing the click of a phone disconnecting.

She looked at the phone for a few seconds before muttering "rude". She locked her lab door, sat at her desk and opened her laptop. She brought up the genome map that Yukiko had made for her and Umiko set about devising a plan to fix the gene and how to release the virus into the population.

She had decided to aerosolize the virus, meaning it would become airborne and people would breathe it into their lungs, infecting themselves and each other, easily. She had the canisters in her lab at home and had planned to ask Kay to plant them around the city as she was an expert at working in the darkness.

Standing up she closed her laptop and put it into her bag, grabbed her keys and left her lab. "I'm going home. Female issues" she said casually to the department secretary who gave her a confused look.

"Is Yukiko here?" Umiko asked while stepping into the foyer. Tenno took her bag and held his arm out so she could step out of her shoes without the risk of falling. "Thanks Tenno!" she said and he smiled at her. "Mistress Yukiko is at her workstation" he said as he put her bag and shoes away.

Umiko headed to the lab, determined to fix the gene issue and have the virus ready for release in a few days.

Exactly 48 hours after Mother had called Umiko a thick envelope was delivered to the house. Tenno read the note aloud:

The time has come to destroy the weak and elevate the strong. I expect headlines in 48 hours. Mother.

Yukiko laughed softly and looked at Umiko. "It's a good thing we figured it out and put the virus in it's containers!" "Are they ready?" Tenno asked. "Yes" Umiko responded. "Then I suppose it's time to unleash the plague on the city" Yukiko said.

Checking her map, she moved from location to location, placing the canisters in hard to find and reach spots at each strategically chosen site. Kay placed the last canister and flipped the arming switch. The little light on it changed from red to yellow, showing that it was armed and ready.

She left the location and walked back to her motorcycle. If anyone had spotted her they would have assumed she had been visiting someone in the estate complex and was now heading home.

Revving the engine, she released the throttle and roared into the night. She had always preferred the night and the empty streets compared to the crowds during the day.

Turning a corner, she revved again and was bearing down on the intersection when a man entered the crosswalk. She slammed on her brakes but knew she wasn't going to stop in time. She let go of the bike and sent it skidding onto the sidewalk harmlessly while she rolled on the asphalt.

Groaning, she sat up clutching her helmet. "Are you ok?!" A male voice asked. "Fan-fucking-tastic" she muttered before getting unsteadily to her feet. Strong hands and arms steadied her and she looked at him. He was tall with a muscular build, blue spiked hair, blue skin and tattoos on his arms. "Are you sure?" he asked, worry evident in his voice. "I'm peachy. Can you please get my bike?"

He wheeled the motorcycle over to her and she did a quick examination. Straddling the bike, she kick started it and the engine roared to life. "Can I make a suggestion?" she asked him and he nodded. "Watch where you're going!" she said as she sped off into the night. Kisame had a few choice words about her so called suggestion but she was gone before he could say any of it.