Vengeance In His Veins

Chapter 9: Vault of Bonds

Lucas approached the vault steadily, his mind urging him to move a little faster as it yearned to uncover whatever laid behind the metal door. He glanced back at Kenji and the elderly japanese man was standing with a stoic gaze and so was his brother. Lucas furrowed his brows and turned back to face the vault, taking a deep breath, he placed his thumb on the electrical scanner attached to the vault. A sharp pain punctured his thumb as he saw a small pin take a bit of his blood.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, with a loud hiss, the vault slowly creaked open. Lucas stepped back, watching as the heavy door revealed what was inside. Stacks of paper, cut to the size of money, filled the space in neat rows. He stared at them, confused.

“What are these?” he asked, reaching out to touch one of the bundles.

Kenji stood beside him, watching calmly. “Those are bearer bonds,” he explained. “They're worth thirty-five billion dollars.”

Lucas froze. Thirty-five billion? He had been used to wealth and had even spent lots of money but never had he seen such a ridiculous amount of money stacked together in one place. He realized something at that moment as he glanced at both the Kishimoto brothers who were now staring at him.

Bearer bonds were an untraceable way of carrying huge amounts of money and it allowed business men to hoard huge amounts of money; non taxable and untraceable, keeping it from the eyes of the government. But the main problem with such a ridiculous system is that the money can be used by anyone who bears it. So it doesn't matter who the owner is, it is the one who holds such money that owns it.

He glanced back at the Japanese men who were now walking slowly towards him with sinister expressions. He glanced at the vault and then at them, frozen to a spot. The men reached his side and glanced at him. “For a party boy, you sure haven't seen a lot of money, have you?” Kenji said with a chuckle. “And cast that stupid thought from your head. I can override that safe and it has been in my backyard for decades. If I killed your father, trust me it won't be over money.”

Without thinking, Lucas slammed the vault door shut, his heart racing. “That is huge,” he sighed.

Kenji placed a hand on his shoulder. “It is indeed, your father always thought you won't come to any good, he was partly right so he left funds for you and your sisters in case he passed away unlawfully.” He gestured for Lucas to follow him out of the basement. “Let's eat and talk.”

Lucas nodded, and from the moment they entered the house, he began to fill the gnawing pang of hunger. The entire room was filled with an aroma of food. Lucas didn't know what it was but it smelt good and he could feel the taste on his tongue already.

As they sat down to eat, Kenji looked across the table at Lucas. “Now that you’ve made up your mind about what you want,” he began, “I am going to help you sharpen your skills. You might not know this, but do you know you have enough IQ range to be considered a genius?” The man asked him.

Lucas was taken aback for a moment. “How did you know that?” He demanded. Not even his father knew these facts about him, he’d always been good at remembering things that he should otherwise forget. His brain could process things faster than it normally should and it was what drove him to the wayward life he lived in the past. He saw no meaning in anything.

“Did some tests on you. You ranged at one hundred and sixty seven to one hundred seventy five,” he sighed. “And I used very crude methods so I believe I am off by at least fifteen.” Kenji sighed.

Lucas swallowed a bite of fish. “When do we start?”

Kenji nodded. “ We start tomorrow.”

The next day, true to his word, Kenji began to prepare Lucas for what lay ahead. But before they dove into the physical training, Kenji had one more stop planned; a visit to a plastic surgeon. They drove through the winding streets of Kyoto until they arrived at a small, unmarked clinic tucked away in a quiet neighborhood. Lucas felt a surge of anxiety as they stepped out of the car.

The surgeon was a middle-aged woman with sharp eyes and a steady hand. She introduced herself as Dr. Zoya, but it was Kenji who explained her real background.

“She’s a pseudoscientist,” Kenji said with a faint smile. “Decommissioned by the KGB for being ‘crazy,’ or so they said. But she’s brilliant. She used to help agents with extreme facelifts for undercover missions.”

Lucas blinked. “So, why am I here?”

Dr. Zoya stepped forward, inspecting Lucas’s face closely. Her expression was professional but not unkind. “The burns on your face… they can be fixed. It won’t be fast or easy. We’re looking at a process that could take two, maybe three years. But by the end of it, your face will be as good as new.”

Lucas hesitated. The idea of being trapped in this process for years wasn’t something he’d considered. But then again, he didn’t want to live the rest of his life looking the way he did now. The scars were a constant reminder of everything he had lost. “How do we start?” he asked.

Kenji stepped in again. “While the surgery takes place over the next few years, we’ll use the time to plan and prepare. You’ll train every day, and by the time your face is healed, you’ll be ready for what’s to come.”

Lucas stared at his reflection in the clinic’s mirror. His face was a mess of scars and burns, the result of his past that he couldn’t forget. He ran a hand over the damaged skin, wondering what it would feel like to be whole again. “Let’s do it,” he finally said.