Jun was feeling 100% better than she did a couple of hours earlier.  A faint smile touched her lips as her hands brushed the long skirt she wore.  Sometimes, Ken could amaze her.  She had earlier stared in shock at the shopping bags on her bed, with a complete ensemble for her to change into.  There was even a note from Ken, telling her to try to blend in with the crowd with the clothes he bought for her (probably with Hakase's credit card.)

Joe and Ryu had also contributed to her gifts with fragrant bath salts and some craft jewelry.  They were worried about her and it touched her heart that they'd go to so much trouble to try to make her feel better.

A long soak in a fragrant bath and dressing up in her new finery did cheer her up, but her thoughts still sat with her brother.  It wasn't easy drifting through the beauty of French Corsica without wondering where and what Jinpei had gotten himself into.

He was always independent and dependent, the changing nature of little boys who get too big for their britches at times.  She sometimes wanted to leave him alone since he could handle himself.  Then that boyish insecurity would creep in and he'd be clinging to her, looking for restoring and reassuring love.

She also thought about the trip itself.  Jinpei was right about not being able to visit the sights of France.  They passed by Omaha Beach, where so many men gave their lives to defeat the evils of Hitler, the German madman.  They barely spent one day at the rich city of Cannes.  Now here they were in Marseilles, seat of Corsican wealth...  and the Corsican Mafia.

The Corsican Mafia...  She had read a little about them in the book 'The French Connection.' They were a bad set of characters indeed.  There were persistent rumors that the Corsicans killed American President John Kennedy in 1963; Olof Palmer of Sweden, in 1984.  Stories about them had faded into obscurity for a long time.  Then Ambassador Greerson of the UN had died of suspicious circumstances last year, and the rumors began again.

Jun stopped by a roadside cafe.  As she took a cup of hot French mocha in her hands and sipped it, the logic began to work.  #Could they be involved in a death threat against Cain?#

Slowly, she continued to walk down the cobblestone streets towards the fishing wharves along the harbor, the thoughts still running through her mind.

Some fishermen gave her appraising looks as she passed.  Jun just grinned at the wolf whistles that followed her as she slipped down the next street, camera in hand, looking in all the world like a typical tourist.  But it was all a facade, her mind was whirling with conspiracy theories and crime mythology.

Nambu's briefing had been terse about the Corsican Mafia.  In fact, he would not have made any mention of it if Jinpei had not brought it up.

~<The Corsican Mafia is long dead.  End of question.>~

When it was still around, the Corsican Mafia were spoken of like a legend.  Very little was known about it and most of the knowledge was unofficial.  The local police dare not take too great an interest.  They were in control of much of France and Europe for decades.

Then there was that great bust of 2006.  Interpol had slammed down on them.  Making arrests, and making them stick.  A bust which seemed almost reminiscent of that made by the fictional Lt. Popeye Doyle in 'The French Connection.'  Their power was crippled, if not destroyed.  What remained of the crime families tried to rally together, but petty rivalry, jealousy and distrust soon made that empire crumble even further.  It was thought to have finally dissolved and stories of the families soon retreated into legend.

But what if all that had only been a sham?  What if... the Mafia had managed to preserve their existence in secrecy?  A chill started to close its fingers around her heart.

Even in the old stories, it was whispered that the Corsican Mafia produced some of the finest assassins in the world.  That branch of the Mafia was always shrouded in mystery and secrecy.  They were thorough, efficient...  deadly.  It was whispered that their assassins made it a game to kill their marks as they slept beside their spouse; leaving the murder undetected until the morning.

In all probability, if even one branch of the Corsican Mafia survived, it would be the Assassins.

"Cain." Jun breathed sharply as the thought struck her.

They had received rumors of outside involvement in the contract on the UN Secretary General's life.  What if these assassins were the ones Katse hired to kill him?  What if Jinpei had really foiled an attempt by the assassins?  What if he was with them now?  A prisoner, unable to free himself, or call for help?  What if he was--if he was already--dead?  Was it that difficult to hide a body?  Especially one as small as--

Jun almost reached up to slap herself.  She stopped short of the act as she recalled her presence in a public place.

#I will not think down that line.  I'll drive myself crazy.  Ken's right, I'm falling apart with paranoia.

#Assassins.# She snorted mentally.  #If they are as good as legend, Cain would already be dead.  It's been so quiet... it's actually boring.  Maybe that's all it was, an idle threat.  We've never known Galactor to be so insidious as to wait on their threat to kill anybody.#

Galactor never operated by half measures.  They thrived on publicity and propaganda.  The night Jinpei disappeared would have been the best time for the hit or at least some flaunting of their skills.  Public place... plenty of delegates... security at the max, with a small army literally surrounding the hotel one block deep.

An 'incident' on that night would have made the strongest statement of the entire tour.  But Cain still lived, unharmed and unmolested.  There wasn't even a hint of an attack.

#Ken's right, Jinpei's probably out somewhere in this beautiful city, eating croissants and rubbing shoulders with the locals.# She lifted her head and pushed back her shoulders defiantly.  #He's a big boy.  He can take care of himself.  It's not like Ken and Joe have never taken off on their own, without telling the rest of us.

#I have faith in his own ability to take care of himself,# she huffed, #It'll be just like him to do this anyway.# A smile crept over her lips as she toyed with the idea.  #We both know Ken well enough, that he'd send me out on pretext as a tourist.  It gives us *all* a chance to have a good look around the city.

#That little twerp!  At the end of all this, I'll bet he'll throw us a curve, something like 'I hit my head and had amnesia.  *Honest*, didn't know who I was for days.'#

Jun started to giggle to herself.  Oh, she wanted so much to believe that.  She started a skipping step, in the direction of the next attraction she knew of in the city.  #Well, I'm still going to tan your hide when I catch you, mighty Swallow.  Lets see if I can chase you up around the other tourist traps of Marseilles.#

At the monastery, Ken, Joe, and Ryu were still watching the UN Delegation during an open air meeting.

<Shit.  Maybe the kid had the right idea?>  Joe muttered as he slowly scanned the hill below the corner balustrade that once served as a battlement of the old Corsican castle.

He thought about trying to contact Jinpei by comlink... at least to check on him, warn him about Ken's difficulty and tell him to get a good excuse ready.   But he discarded the idea, Ken's orders; they couldn't risk letting the Galactors know that the Kagaku Ninjatai Gatchaman were in the area.

<Heck, why worry about Jinpei anyway?  That's kid's a smart little son of a bitch, he can watch his back pretty good.  He'd just fly off the handle like always.>

#Yeah, Joe, repeat that often enough and you'll start believing it too.#  Joe looked down to where Ryu was making rounds of the perimeter about a mile away.

Ryu liked the scenery and the salty air of the sea, which had been his first true love.  His mind wasn't on Jinpei or Cain at all but on the ocean, on the ascetics of Marseilles.  He swore if he wasn't in the Kagaku Ninjatai, he'd retire here and work the seas again, as he did with his father, Kame, in Omaya, Kyushu.

He was raise out of his reverie by something which caught his eye not too far away.  A glint.  From that old shack.  He tried to think it was just some harmless reflection at first, but when it popped up two more times, he ran towards the shack out of sudden fear more than curiosity.

#Day dreaming, Ryu?  Keep your mind on the mission!  Move it!  Move it!#

Reaching the door, he ripped it open and grabbed the startled, portly old man standing inside out into the light.  The Frenchmen was roaring with anger as Ryu checked through the shack.  He could hear Joe coming from atop the hill.

<What's going on, Bigs?  What did you find?>  Joe asked as the Frenchmen grabbed him by the shirt, intent on venting his anger on another target.

Joe just gave the guy one of his 'steely specials.'  A cold 'If you don't shut up, I'll kill you!' look.  The man wisely departed.

<Nothing, Joe.  My freaking imagination's playing tricks with me again, I guess.>  Ryu said as he closed the door.

<Better to err on the side of caution than not at all, Bigs.>  Joe grinned as he tapped Ryu's shoulder and started back up the hill.

<You've been up on that monastery for too long, Joe!  Reflective verse spouting is *not* you!>

Ken smiled to himself as he watched Joe climbing back to his post.  But he let the smile fade as he turned his attention back to the watch.  Contrary to all their beliefs and knowledge of Galactor, the terrorists had not made an assassination attempt yet and this unusual behavior was driving him up the wall.

<What *are* you up to, Katse?>  he cursed softly as his eyes continued to scan the crowd around the open air meeting.  <It's not like you to take your time.>

A slight glimmer caught his attention.  Ken did not wait, he was sure of what he saw.  Using prearranged hand signals, he told Joe to hang back while he investigated the disturbance.  Joe gave him the thumbs up to indicate he understood the orders.

Ken hugged the shadows as he made his way down to the disturbance.  But there appeared to be nothing out of the ordinary.  He frowned again as he moved silently through the shadows to the position where he thought he had seen a glint of metal.

#I'm getting as paranoid as Jun.  Damn Jinpei, his disappearance has us all spooked.#

Suddenly, he heard the sound of something metallic striking the cobbled stones of the streets.  Ken raced in the direction of the sound.  Faintly he could hear the discord sounds of a struggle taking place, mingled with the normal street noises.  He knew he did not mistake the sound of metal against flesh.  There was a fight over the next street.

But as abruptly as the noise began, it died.  Ken rounded the corner to find himself alone in an empty courtyard.  He stared around him in frustration.  This courtyard was quiet, too quiet.  Something had just gone on here, Ken could sense the dissipating energies surrounding him but whoever was involved had fled.

#Kuso!  Am I jumping at shadows now?#

Something drew his eyes towards a small stain.  Ken walked over to it.

<Blood.  Fresh blood, with some saliva.  But whose?>  He scrutinized the ground, but there were no more traces.  <Who was attacked here?  What the hell is it about this place?  The Galactors have never been this meticulous to pick up behind themselves.>

Ken stood up.  He suddenly felt vulnerable standing in the middle of the courtyard, as he eyed the shadows nervously.  #Kuso!  Why do I suddenly feel like I've been caught napping?#

He scanned the shadows, trusting his instincts to warn him of any danger.  But that chilling tingle was missing.

Ken shook his head as he started back from where he came.  #Jinpei's disappearance and this guard duty must be getting to me.  We're missing something, I can feel it.  But what?  There's nothing happening around us, this is all wrong!#

Behind him, Ken did not notice the glow of a cigarette as the smoker uncovered its glowing tip.  The smoker moved further back into the shadows as Ken continued his track back to the monastery.

Joe sat back against the balustrade wall atop the old monastery compound, as he tried to make sense of Ken's words.

<You want to know what I think?  We're being f$%ked with!  All this is getting crazy, Ken!  First Jinpei vanishes, then Ryu almost takes this French punk out, now you're looking for fights and bodies that don't exist...  It's a big freaking put on!>  Joe snarled in pent-up frustration.

<You know, if I thought better... I'd follow your advice, Joe, but we're stuck between a rock and a hard place.  If the Galactors are here, they could be looking for a shot or just keeping us unbalanced so they can smack some other target.>  Ken rubbed his chin thoughtfully.  <We're missing something.  And I'm beginning to suspect that there may be some truth behind the rumor that Katse engaged a third party outside the Empire.>

<An Assassins' Guild?>  Joe looked at him in surprise.  <Do you think that one actually exists?  But why play around?  Why not-->

<Someone's engaged in a little shadow play around us.  We may even have an ally in this city.  One thing we know for sure, this doesn't fit the Galactors' MO at all.  Whoever is out there is much more meticulous and secretive than any of Katse's people.  I know what I heard, and I know what I found.  I wasn't hearing things, there was a fight down the street.  And I did find fresh blood.>

<That's all we need, Ken, added paranoia.  If an Assassins' Guild exists, we're in deep shit.>

<Jinpei-->  Ryu paled as the thought washed over all of them.

<We have to trust that he can take care of himself,>  Ken snarled angrily as the anxiety for the boy's safety built within him.  <It doesn't matter one way or the other because we have to stay put with Cain.>

Joe just shook his head in frustration.  Down below him, the delegation was breaking for the late afternoon dinner meeting at the Chateau la Coupe, the residence of the Mayor of Marseilles at the Northern edge of the city.

<The delegation's moving, Ken.  Should we contact Jun?>  Joe asked as he moved to the balustrade staircase.

Ken wanted to, but decided not to for the moment. He shook his head as they joined Ryu near the rental car.  <She'd think I was babying her.  Let's give her the rest of the day off.  She'll contact us if the need arises.>

Jun, meanwhile, had stopped for more coffee at a small roadside cafe.  Her thoughts were heavily on her brother.  Though they weren't blood brother and sister, they had become such out of need in that orphanage hell that Nambu took them from.

She had more pleasant thoughts though, the warm nights out on the field during their training where she hugged him closely and showed him the stars... the presents he would make for her... the teasing over Ken... She was crying again when a small rock hit her off the back of the head, causing her to jump from her seat and scan the surrounding buildings.

#Nothing!#  <Damn it!  Just some falling concrete off a building or some little kid thinking that chucking rocks is fun!>  She growled as she replaced the fallen chair and returned to her coffee.  She didn't know it... but the shadows were watching her.