CHAPTER FIVE

The jeep took a sharp left turn and began to travel down a lonely dirt road. Fresh tire tracks from the other jeeps lay in the ground, holding tiny puddles of morning dew that splashed weakly as they drove over them. As they drove, Dom spied a white booth up ahead. The jeep slowed down as they approached it.

“Good morning, General Satomi.” The man in the booth said, standing at attention.

“Permission to enter, soldier.” Satomi said.

“Who are those two…?” The man, who was apparently not Japanese, asked hesitantly.

“They’re new recruits.” She replied, nodding towards Will’s camera on the floor of the jeep.

“Ah. Alright. Permission granted.” The man said, pressing a button in his booth. The roadblock lifted, and the jeep’s driver put his foot back on the gas pedal.

The jeep steadily made it’s way to wherever they were going, and Satomi sat up straight in her seat. The jeep slowed down again, and Dom saw a large gate. Behind the gate, he could just barely make out a building. Satomi opened the door on her side of the jeep and aptly walked out. Both Dom and Will were expecting her to pull out a key as she strolled towards the gate. But she did not.

She casually approached the gate, and flipped open a steel plate that neither men had noticed. She pressed her right hand against it, and a bright white light scanned her palm. A green light appeared above, and the gate slowly began to open. Wow, Dom thought, impressed. Pretty state-of-the-art.

Satomi returned to the jeep and sat down without a word. Will shrugged to Dom, and the jeep lurched forward. As the jeep drove on, Dom got a good look at the building they were nearing. Aside from the two large satellite dishes on top of the building, it didn’t look like anything special. It was gray, and two or three stories tall. There were very few windows. The jeep parked in a small clearing close to the building‘s entrance, and the driver got out of the vehicle and departed silently.

“Alright,” Satomi said, turning around in her seat. “Before I take you any further than this, you have to swear to secrecy. Everything you see in here… is top secret. If you tell anyone about it, or record anything with that camera of yours, we will find you. And you will be punished. Got that?”

“Got it,” Dom muttered. “I promise.”

“Yeah, me too.” Will agreed. “My lips are zipped.”

“Good. Then I can tell you.” Satomi said, unclipping her seatbelt. “This isn’t just any military base. This is the world’s first and only anti-kaiju area of operations.”

“Kaiju?” Will asked.

“Yes. Kaiju- it’s another word for giant monster.” Satomi explained.

“So this military base was created for the sole purpose of fighting Godzilla?” Dom asked.

“No.” Satomi said coldly. “I told you, anti-kaiju. Not anti-Godzilla…”

“You mean…” Will trailed off, remembering the comment about Seattle.

“Yes. Unfortunately, Godzilla is not the only kaiju in existence.” Satomi sighed. “And that is why this base is so essential. Scientists from all over the world chipped in to build this base, and have all made contributions to tracking and studying every kaiju that shows it’s face. We selected this location because it was close to the most urgent of all kaiju threats, Godzilla.”

“So how many other monsters are there, and where?” Dom demanded. For a moment he wished he could be recording this, but it passed.

“That much I don’t know.” Satomi replied. “If you want to know that, ask our scientists. The only one I’m concerned with right now is Godzilla.”

“Fair enough.” Dom said, looking up at the base. “But you did say something about a monster in Seattle. What do you know about that?”

“Not much more than that, Mr. Giovanni. But we have more important things to deal with than that at the moment.” Satomi grunted. “You’ve both got a lot of paperwork to fill out.”

“Great.” Will sighed haggardly. “I love paperwork.”

After two hours and a barrage of waivers and disclaimers, Dom and Will were walking down a cold, gray hallway with General Satomi. The hall was very plain looking, and the air smelled like pine sol. As Satomi lead the way directly ahead, Dom wondered where they were going, and what they’d do once they got there. Meanwhile, Will was becoming apprehensive. He was thinking the same things as Dom, as well as several other worrisome thoughts, no doubt.

They reached the end of the hallway and halted, only Satomi stepped forward. She reached out towards the end of the hall way; a black door. She grasped the doorknob and slowly turned it. The door cracked open, and bright light entered the hallway. The door suddenly flung open, and Satomi jumped back. Standing in the doorway was a tall, dark haired man with a stern face. He wore a white lab coat and black sunglasses. His glare was obvious even with the shades on.

“What are they doing here?” The man snapped.

“They’re the new kaiju surveillance team.” Satomi replied, standing straight.

“I asked what they were doing here, not who they were, General Satomi!” The man barked.

“I’m sorry, father!” Satomi gulped quickly. Dom and Will’s eyes widened, and Satomi quickly realized her mistake. “I mean, sir! Sir!”

The man leaned forward, his sunglasses slid down to his nose, and Satomi could see his furious eyes. His mouth curved into a strong frown, and his gaze shifted to Dom.

“Put this on.” He snarled, reaching over to somewhere Dom could not see. He pulled two lab coats out and threw them through the door. “Both of you.”

He then turned his attention back to Satomi, and lifted his shades back over his eyes, arms crossed sternly.

“Have they filled out all their paperwork yet?” He asked.

“Yes, sir.” Satomi said. Her voice held an uncharacteristic hint of uncertainty. “All of it.”

“And have they sworn not to tell anyone on the outside about what they see here?”

“Yes.” Satomi replied. “They’ve promised to maintain total secrecy.”

“Good.” He replied. “But, you have not yet explained to them the full extent of their job, have you?”

“No, sir.” Satomi replied.

“And they have clearly not been suited up yet.”

“No, sir.” Satomi repeated.

“Nor do they have any of their equipment?”

“No, sir.”

“I see…” He said, putting his fist up to his mouth. He pondered a moment, then continued. “General, your assistance will no longer be needed here. You may return to your duties with the second wave.”

“Yes, sir.” Satomi replied, bowing.

She exchanged nervous glances with Dom, then departed down the hall. And for that brief moment, Dom learned a great deal about her. She was a product of her environment. She was a pain in the neck because she had been raised by an even bigger pain in the neck. But more importantly, he had learned that her bark was worse than her bite. She may act tough around Dom and Will, but around her father, she was different. She was scared.

“Ah, forgive me. I have forgotten to introduce myself.” Satomi‘s father said. His harsh, monotone voice didn’t change with the subject. “My name is Akira Takogawa.”

“Pleased to meet you… sir.” Dom said, extending a friendly handshake. Akira declined silently.

“The General said we were getting new equipment… exactly what kind of equipment is it, sir?” Will asked.

“You will be receiving a newer, more efficient camera, and all the film you’ll ever need.” Akira said. “Also, you’ll need a vehicle to track the kaiju. We have a helicopter in the hangar you can use. Also, we’re aware that neither of you have any military training and do not posses any piloting skills. So a pilot will be assigned to man the helicopter as you get footage.”

“Sounds good. Where can we pick it up?” Will asked.

“You’ll receive it shortly. But first, you need to put on your uniforms. And after that, you must be briefed on your first mission.” Akira said sternly.

“Yes, sir…” Dom said. “Where do we go?”

“Follow me.” Akira said, briskly walking away. Dom hurried behind him, with Will admiring the technology around them and taking up the rear.

And Dom couldn’t help but notice too. All around, supercomputers and other large machines hummed and beeped. Monitor screens wider than Dom’s arm span glowed blue, and men and women in white coats shambled about with clipboards. Dom realized that one of the mechanical monsters was a radar machine of some sort. On it’s giant green screen, a large red dot was slowly moving upwards. Directly above it, several much smaller dots were racing towards it. Lime green topography lines showed the landscape, or more correctly, the battlefield.

“They’re attacking Godzilla again?” Dom blurted out, stopping to watch the screen. Akira turned around glaring.

“Yes. But that’s none of your business right now!” Akira snapped. “You’ll have time to gawk like an idiot later. Now come along!”

“Sorry… sir.” Dom grumbled, forcing his eyes away from the screen and shuffling after Akira.

----

“FIRE!” Satomi screamed into her walkie talkie.

Explosive shells launched from the nozzles of battle tanks as Godzilla continued his rampage through Tokyo. The shells detonated in giant fireballs that might have been impressive if they weren’t being compared to the immense bulk of Godzilla’s body. Godzilla shook his head and brushed away the flames casually as he waded through the city. Small buildings crumbled and sunk into the ground as he pushed through them with his pillar-like legs, sending clouds of smoke into the air.

Satomi began to run in the other direction as Godzilla grew ever closer. He seemed slow, but with each stride being hundreds of feet long, he was gaining fast. Each footfall shook the ground, making it ever-more difficult to escape. Satomi tripped, but caught a street sign and righted herself. Around her, soldiers carrying bazookas fled as well. Behind them, the sound of crashing buildings encouraged them to run faster.

The tanks fired another volley of shells at Godzilla, with expected results. The shells exploded against Godzilla charcoal black hide, but failed to leave so much as a scorch mark. Godzilla snarled, directing his attention to the puny machines. He lifted one clawed foot, then brought it down with all his weight. Al 60,000 tons of it. The tanks didn’t even have time to explode- no air to fuel the fire. They were flattened instantly, and along with the ground underneath Godzilla’s foot, sunk twenty feet underground.

“Initiate attack phase Omega!” Satomi yelled into her walkie talkie, trying to shout over the sound of Godzilla’s feet pounding the earth.

“Roger that, General. Attack phase Omega in progress.” Replied the pilot on the other end.

Behind Godzilla, six Chengdu J-10s with 9,000 lb payloads of laser-guided bombs rocketed towards Godzilla. Simultaneously, ten Eurofighter Typhoons were approaching Godzilla from each side; five to his right, five to his left. They carried Storm Shadow missiles under each wing. Each missile was designed to penetrate it’s target with an initial charge, then detonate a warhead once inside. Meanwhile, Satomi was reorganizing her troops. They would all launch their bazookas at Godzilla, aiming for his neck and stomach- presumed weak spots.

Godzilla paused, sniffing the air. He could sense a trap being set. He snorted loudly and stopped. He decided to humor the human’s feeble attempt to destroy him.

“He’s stopping!” Satomi cried. “Quick, get ready! Lock and load!”

The pilots of the Chengdus and Eurofighters locked onto Godzilla and listened intently for the order to fire.

“Get ready!” Satomi ordered, speaking both to her troops and into the walkie talkie.

“Lock acquired, general! Awaiting permission to fire!” The captain of the Chengdu force announced.

“Likewise, general!” The leader of the Eurofighter squadron replied.

Satomi took in a long breath, glaring up at the monster before her. He loomed over them all like a living mountain. She watched in curious fear as Godzilla stood his ground, looking cautiously from left to right and thrashing his tail about. She could tell that he knew what was coming… and he didn’t care. Satomi thought of their last attack on Godzilla, and the crushing casualties that came with their failure. She hoped that this attack would far better.

Satomi crossed her fingers and lifted the walkie talkie to her mouth.

----

Dom took a step forward, and into the dimly lit room before him. Lined along the walls were hundreds of hanging uniforms.

“Go ahead, try one on. We’ve got them in every size.” Akira said, crossing his arms.

Will joined him in picking out a uniform to wear. They both found their won sizes quickly, and noticed the design. It was a dark gray two-piece suit, and on the front of the top was a circular logo. In the center was a jolly roger of sorts- Two missiles crossed behind the forward-facing skull of Godzilla. Beneath it, “IAKU” was spelled out in bold letters.

“IAKU?” Will asked, looking up at Akira.

“It’s an acronym. It stands for the International Anti Kaiju Unit. The organization which you both work for.” Akira said, raising an eyebrow. “You didn’t notice it when you filled out your paperwork?”

“I must’ve passed over it by mistake…” Will lied, remembering how he had just mindlessly signed everything he was given. Dom grinned slightly, he had done the same thing.

“Well, once you put those on, I can give you your briefing and be on my way. I do have other things in need of my attention, gentlemen…” Akira growled.

“Of course.” Dom said, striping down to his wife beater and boxers and donning the uniform.

“Now,” Akira said as Will slipped on his pants. “Your briefing. As you well know, Godzilla is on the move in Tokyo.”

“Right.” Both men agreed.

“As you noticed, we are sending a second wave to attack Godzilla, and the general is escorting them. IAKU is an organization with connections on all the continents, except for Antarctica, and we have a large store of weaponry from around the world to use against Godzilla. At this very moment, Godzilla is being met head-on by our best technology. You will not be able to arrive on the scene in time to record the results, and we will once again be going by word of mouth. So this is your job: To arrive after the battle has taken place, and keep a sharp eye on Godzilla.” Akira said flatly.

“What if your troops succeed, sir? Wouldn’t our presence be unnecessary?” Will asked.

“They won’t succeed.” Akira said with shocking certainty. “With the exception of Dr. Serizawa and his damned secret weapon, nothing ever devised by human minds has been able to put so much as a dent in Godzilla. At this point I’m just hoping they get out of their alive.”

“And what is the purpose of our mission, sir?” Dom asked, trying not to think poorly of Akira’s pessimism.

“We are tracking Godzilla by radar, but that only gives us an idea of what direction he’s heading. We’re sending you in because we want to see Godzilla for ourselves. We want to see his behavior, and maybe figure out why he’s got it out for us.” Akira said.

“Acknowledged, sir.” Dom and Will replied together.

“Good.” Akira said, opening the door. “The hangar is clearly marked to your left. Your pilot will be waiting.”

And with that, he departed. Dom sighed and looked to Will.

“He’s nice.” Will said, enticing a laugh out of Dom. “No really! I can already tell I’m going to see eye-to-eye with him on a lot of things!”

“Well, let’s just get through today in one piece.” Dom sighed. “Let’s go find the hangar.”

They left the room and looked around. Will pointed out a small, worn sign on the left wall that read in English and Japanese: HANGAR.

“That’s what he calls clearly marked?” Dom scoffed. Will shrugged, and they kept walking.

They followed the sign into a corridor lit by red lights. Will took the lead this time. They had decided it’d be best that way- if someone were to stop them and ask who they were, Will could show them the camera as identification. But if they stopped Dom, and he asked Will to reach behind his back and pull something out… well, things might not go as smoothly.

As they walked further down the corridor, they began to hear noises. Metallic clanging, the hiss of blowtorches, the voices of dozens of mechanics. They were getting close to the hangar.

“I was thinking…” Dom muttered. “How are we supposed to know which helicopter is ours?”

“Whaddya mean?” Will asked, slowing down.

“Well, it is a hangar, isn’t it? Won’t there be more than one helicopter in there? Akira never told us what ours looked like, or who our pilot was.” Dom said.

“Hmmm, good point.” Will said, stopping. “Well, we’ll just have to ask around. I’m sure Akira informed our pilot we were coming. Maybe he’s waiting for us in there.”

“Maybe.” Dom repeated, following Will our the end of the corridor.

The hangar was a large room with metal walls, and thick cords dangled from the ceiling. Aircraft of varying size and design filled the room, and much to Dom’s relief, very few of them were helicopters. There were only five, and seeing as four of them were equipped with rocket launchers, Dom decided that it wouldn’t be hard to find the right helicopter.

“Hello.” Said the pilot with a heavy accent.

“Greetings.” Dom and Will said, bowing.

“I am your pilot, as assigned by the president of the I.A.K.U. My name is Shinji Otami.” He said.

“Pleased to meet you, Mr. Otami. My name is Dom Giovanni.” Dom said.

“And I’m Will Griffin.” Will said, shaking hands with Shinji Otami.

“Please, call me Shinji!” Shinji said, smiling. He was a kindly-looking old man, with a short white beard and a bald head. He wore a suit like theirs, and held a black helmet under one arm.

“So, have you been a pilot a long time, Shinji?” Dom asked, walking over to the helicopter. It was dark green, and had IAKU painted on the side.

“Oh, yes! I’ve been with the I.A.K.U. since it first formed, after Godzilla first showed up!” Shinji said excitedly. He opened the helicopter door and ushered Dom and Will inside.

“Were you in Tokyo when it happened?” Will asked.

“No, I was not, thank goodness. I was in Osaka- that’s nearby, though. This will be my first time seeing Godzilla in person.” Shinji said as he donned his helmet. “What’s he like?”

“Big.” Dom said. “Really, really, big.”

“Ooooh, I cannot wait to see him in the flesh! Something that great must be a truly majestic sight…” Shinji sighed. The engine roared to life and the propellers began to spin.

“We were too scared to be impressed.” Dom said, laughing.

“Ah, well, that’s unfortunate. Maybe it’ll be better for you this time. We’ll be much safer, up in the air.” Shinji said comfortingly.

“Hopefully.” Dom said, leaning back in his seat. Then he thought of something. “Hey, Shinji?”

“Yes?” Shinji responded.

“Why are we in the hangar if this is a helicopter? Shouldn’t we be outside, on a helipad?” Dom asked.

“Don’t worry.” Shinji said, grinning. “Just watch.”

The helicopter’s blades spun faster and faster, until they seemed to fuse together into one whirring circle, and the helicopter began to hover off the ground. Dom looked around, confused- they were rising straight up, towards the ceiling. What was Shinji planning?

And while Will braced himself for the seemingly inevitable impact, Dom watched through the window- On both sides, he could see walls passing by.

“What?” Dom whispered.

The helicopter hovered higher, and Dom peered further out the window. Below, he could see the roof of the hangar- and directly below them was a huge, circular hole. Curved metal plates un-retracted from the sides of the hole and slid together perfectly, sealing the hole. Green lights lit up around the hole as it locked shut.

“Impressive, huh?” Shinji laughed. “It’s easier to get them in the hangar this way, so that they can be repaired faster. Plus, it’s much cooler than a normal helipad!”

The helicopter slowly began to move forwards, and Dom and Will finally got a good bird’s-eye view of the I.A.K.U. base. It was larger than Dom had originally thought, but still didn’t seem quite large enough to be a military base. Maybe most of their equipment was underground? As Dom wondered about it, something caught Will’s eye. Near the back of the base, there was a tall metal frame. It reminded him of the launch pads NASA used to launch rockets.

“What’s that?” Will asked. Shinji glances at the structure, and frowned. Hesitantly, he replied.

“I can’t say. But I will tell you that the president of I.A.K.U. spent a lot of time and money getting it there.” Shinji said, shaking his head.

“Who is the president of the I.A.K.U., anyway?” Will asked.

“Akira Takogawa.” Shinji said.

“Of course.” Dom sighed, putting his hand up to his mouth.

“I take it you’ve met Mr. Takogawa before?” Shinji replied.

“We just spoke to him.” Dom said. Shinji laughed.

“Yes, Mr. Takogawa is a very strict man. Not very forgiving. Even with his daughter, Satomi.” Shinji said. “But you have to understand, he’s had a very rough life.”

“How so?” Will asked, leaning forward.

“He was in Tokyo when Godzilla first appeared. When there was no evacuation. When the I.A.K.U. wasn’t around.” Shinji said solemnly.

“The incident in 1954 was a lot worse than this time around, huh?” Will asked.

“So far.” Shinji sighed. “The casualties have been much lower. The only people who have been killed were military personnel- the evacuation order was a good call. A very good call. It saved a lot of lives. But this thing isn’t over yet, boys.”

“Right.” Dom said. “Godzilla is still on the move.”

“Not just that.” Shinji said. “Godzilla isn’t the only kaiju around this time.”

“That’s right!” Will said, sitting up. “Satomi said something about a giant monster in Seattle!”

“Well, it’s not in Seattle just yet. More like… over Seattle.” Shinji said hesitantly.

“Over?” Dom gulped.