Chapter 2

Outside the gate, the six travelers met up and walked down to the baggage claim area. As they went out the door, Jinpei could see a long black limousine waiting for them.

“Oh, cool! We get to ride to the hotel in a limo?” he asked, eyes wide.

No one answered, for at that moment Director Anderson walked up to the group, accompanied by a sizeable security contingent.

“Good afternoon, Dr. Nambu, Team.” he greeted them. “I trust you had a good flight.”

“Hello, Director Anderson. Yes, yes we did. Very good.” Nambu responded, as he stole a glance at the five teenagers.

“Excellent.” the Director replied, then seeing the limousine he added, “It seems we’re all ready to go.”

Jinpei was prepared to bolt to the limo, but stopped when Nambu turned his attention to his charges.

“I hope you all have an enjoyable afternoon and evening.” he bade them. “I will see you in the conference room tomorrow afternoon, at one pm sharp.”

“What? Aren’t we going with you?” the Swallow asked, startled at this revelation. His eyes darted in the direction of the limousine.

“No. There’s only enough room for Director Anderson, his entourage, and me. You’ll have to take a taxi.” Nambu informed the team.

Jinpei was crestfallen; Joe was just even more irritated.

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The five ninjas waited until the limo departed before making way for their own transportation.

As they walked over to the taxi stand, a beautiful buxom blonde wearing a white halter top, too-tight blue miniskirt with matching leather bolero jacket, and black stiletto heels rushed up to Joe’s side and pushed a pink paper into his hand. Joe scrutinized it briefly, as he did the blonde, then turned it over to read the flyer.

A mischievous smile crept across Joe’s face.

“Looks like my luck is finally changing!” he muttered to himself.

“What was that?” Ryu asked.

Joe smiled wickedly at Ryu. “Come here and I’ll show you.”

Ryu slid over to the Condor and took the paper from Joe’s hand. As he read it, a smile crept across the Owl’s face.

Unfortunately, Jinpei had witnessed the entire exchange.

“Are you in?” the Condor quietly asked the Owl.

“Hell, yeah! With a name like ‘Pink Treasures’ how could I not?”

“In for what?” the Swallow questioned as he ran over and tried to read the paper in Ryu’s hands. Confusion spread across his face as he tried to understand the flyer he was reading.

“What’s a ‘gentlemen’s club’?” he asked, perplexed.

“It’s a club for adult entertainment.” Ryu tried to subtly explain, while Joe blurted out, “It’s a strip joint.”

Shocked, Ryu responded, “Joe! Don’t you think he’s kind of young….”

“Oh, come on, Ryu. In a couple of years he’s going to be looking at those magazines you keep under your bed. He might as well know what a gentlemen’s club is now.”

But the conversation that transpired was lost on the Swallow, as Jinpei had started to shout, “Entertainment? Like an amusement park? I want to go! Come on Joe! Can I? Pleeaasseeeee??”

Joe rolled his eyes. Jinpei was not part of the plan. But then it occurred to the Condor that the Swallow was too young and wouldn’t be admitted to the club anyway. What a great way to get back at the kid for all the years of torment he had put Joe through…

“Ssh! Not so loud!” Joe ordered, then with exasperation in his voice added, “Fine, you’re in. Just keep your mouth shut. If Ken finds out, he’ll tell Nambu and none of us will be going!”

A broad smile appeared across the young Swallow’s face.

“Ok, so what’s the plan?” Ryu whispered as a mischievous smirk spread across the Condor’s lips.

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“Joe! Ryu! Jinpei! Let’s go!” Ken’s voice came from the taxi stand, Jun standing next to him. “We’re next!”

It wasn’t until a cab pulled up that the Eagle realized all five of them, plus their bags, wouldn’t fit in one taxi.

“I guess we’ll have to take two…” Ken announced, then falling into Commander mode, added, “Jun, Joe, you two come with me. Ryu and Jinpei, you take the next one.”

“You know, we are on vacation, as short as it may be…” Jun reminded him haughtily, as she added, “I think I would like to go straight to the shops to find my dress. Joe, would you like to come with me? It seems you could use a new pair of pants…”

The Eagle caught the Condor as he looked down at his stained jeans, slightly embarrassed. Ken tried not to laugh as he realized just where some of the stains resided on Joe’s pants…

The Condor reluctantly agreed to join the Swan, leaving Ken to ride with Ryu and Jinpei down the Strip to the hotel. Joe and Jun had also left their luggage with the other three, rather than take it with them to the shops.

The taxi pulled away, and out of the corner of his eye Ken looked out the window, stealing a glance at the Swan as she walked away with the Condor. On the plane she had seemed so distressed by Jinpei’s teasing, and Ken’s heart had gone out to her. He liked Jun, more than the others thought he did, but knew that a relationship of the kind she wanted between them would never work; at least, not as long as he was Gatchaman. Unbeknownst to everyone, there were times when he longed to forget about his duty and just hold her in his arms. Unfortunately, he knew that that couldn’t happen as long as they were both members of the Science Ninja Team, and, as the Eagle, it was his responsibility to ensure that it never did happen. Ken sighed, turning his attention to the flashy casinos passing by.

As they rode down the Strip, all three ninjas were taken with the bright lights of the city and all of the excitement it had to offer. Though Jinpei’s eyes were wide with wonder and awe, Ken suddenly felt awkward and out-of-place. The glitz, glamour, and scantily-clad women are more Joe’s scene than mine, Ken thought, as he leaned back in the cab and hoped they would arrive at the hotel soon.

“Aniki! Look!” Jinpei suddenly yelled out and started shaking Ken’s shoulder. “I want to go there! Can we go there first? Huh, can we?” he pleaded as he leaned forward in the seat and pointed to a casino in the shape of a castle.

Ken looked at the Swallow quizzically, then responded, “Excalibur? Sure, Jinpei. Whatever you say…”

“Did you hear that, Ryu? We’re going to go gambling!” Jinpei relayed to the Owl excitedly.

“Actually, we’re going to go gambling.” Ryu corrected him. “You’re going to have to find something else to do.”

Jinpei stared at his friend with a blank expression on his face.

“Huh?”

“You have to be twenty-one to gamble. You’re only twelve. You’re too young – you won’t even be allowed on the gaming room floor.” Ryu informed him.

“WHAT? What do you mean I’m too young? Aniki…” Jinpei whined as he looked from the Owl to the Eagle.

“It doesn’t matter, anyway.” Ken responded curtly. “Need I remind both of you that we’re on assignment, here?”

Ignoring his Commander, Jinpei suddenly had another thought and continued.

“Wait, I have my special ISO ID… I can do anything with that!”

“I don’t think that’s going to help you here, Jinpei.” Ken responded reprovingly.

“Why not? It allows me to do anything you guys do, including driving!” the Swallow tried to reason.

“You can try it, but I don’t think it’s going to work…” Ryu replied back.

Without offering any additional help, Ken added, “Nope. I think you’re going to have to deal with the limitations all twelve-year-olds contend with.”

Sobered and sullen, the Swallow sat back and remained uncharacteristically quiet for the rest of the ride.

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Despite his initial annoyance at having to take a separate vehicle, Joe gave a slight smile as he got into the taxi. It was hardly the most luxurious mode of transportation, but it was far more comfortable than the cramped airplane had been. Sighing blissfully, he stretched out his legs as he settled himself into the far seat.

“Move over, Joe.” Jun urged him, gently pushing his legs aside with her own. “I need to sit too!”

Obligingly, Joe moved just enough so that Jun could put her feet on the floor, but the Condor was clearly not going to accommodate her request any further.

Jun apparently had her mind on other things.

“What’s the best place to go shopping on the strip?” she asked the driver.

“Do you want to buy, or do you want to window shop?” he asked.

“Both.” she grinned.

“How are you going to pay for this stuff, anyhow?” Joe asked curiously.

“Hakase gave me his credit card.” Jun exclaimed gleefully, waving the platinum Visa under Joe’s nose. “Sky’s the limit!”

“Well, in that case, I’ll take you to the WynnEsplanade.” chuckled the taxi driver. “You can definitely give that card a workout there.”

The car pulled away from the curb, and Jun looked thoughtfully at Joe.

“How did you get such a mess on your pants?” she asked. “Were you guys having a food fight or something?”

“Next time, you try sitting next to Ryu.” Joe rolled his eyes. “If he wasn’t crowding Jinpei, he was crowding me. His elbow must have knocked my drink at least three times.”

“Oh.” Jun smiled slightly. “I guess I should be grateful, then. Tell you what, when we get to the hotel, I’ll rinse them out for you, so you can wear them tomorrow.”

“Thanks, Junie!” Joe grinned, planting a quick kiss on her cheek. The Condor hadn’t been looking forward to wearing a sticky Birdstyle at the conference the following day.

“At least someone appreciates me.” Jun replied ruefully, looking down at her hands in her lap.

“What’s wrong?” Joe asked, concerned as he sensed a change in the Swan’s mood.

“Just… you know.” Jun turned her head to stare out of the window at the passing scenery, to avoid looking at her companion.

“It’s Ken, isn’t it?” the Condor remarked. “He’s still ignoring you.”

The Swan’s silence only confirmed what Joe already knew.

A light bulb suddenly turned on in Joe’s head. He and Ryu wanted to visit Pink Treasures. But there was no way the stodgy Eagle would ever approve. The Condor needed a distraction.

“He’ll come around.” Joe promised Jun. “You’ll see. We’ll get you an outfit guaranteed to knock his socks off tonight. When he sees you, he won’t be able to take his eyes off of you.”

“Really?” Jun turned back to Joe, her eyes shining with hope.

“Really.” Joe nodded reassuringly. He was doing Jun a favor. Ken too. And if it worked out the way he wanted it to, he and Ryu would be enjoying themselves as well.

It was win/win all around.