He tightened the coat of his perfectly pressed suit around himself out of no more then nervous habit before he told his butler to answer the incoming call from his boss. He sat in his office, the holographic screens illuminated with a dark blue levitated from his state-of-the-art, expensive desk that made a semi circle with his body at the center- covered in a chrome finish, with touch-sensitive controls on top, truly the epitome of the hopes and dreams for the futuristic twenty-first century. He had literally six seconds to admire the machine before he heard a female voice, resembling of a cinderblock wrapped in velvet, ring throughout the room in a dangerous tone.

"Hanai."

He jumped out of his trance and looked upward, as if a God were addressing him.

"My apologies, General, I was-"

"No time for excuses, Captain." The exasperated agent bit his lip in silent embarrassment- it was as if the entire room was belittling him with a voice that could move mountains. "Have you made any progress with the task at hand?"

Hanai usually wasn't one for sitting around, fidgeting his thumbs- for the General to even question his work ethic meant that she was on to him and his recent struggles with doubt- something he didn't usually associate with his job. He usually received his orders and carried them out, and didn't let any of his personal feelings on the assignment get in the way. But with this most recent order, something- and that something was definitely doubt and maybe a tinge of fear- was holding him back from doing what his superior was telling him to do.

"I…" Even in verbally responding to the General did his reluctance come through. "I haven't put the effort into it that I necessarily need to, and for that I apo-"

"And why not?" The General asked impatiently. Hanai felt his head begin to ache. "I gave you this assignment well over two weeks ago."

"I know, ma'am, I just don't…" and there it was again, the reluctance that had choked Hanai since the General assigned this mission. "It's definitely on my list of priorities, I haven't necessarily-"

"You don't trust us," she said, cutting him off and causing Hanai to shut his eyes in frustration, "do you, Captain?"

Hanai sighed. He wasn't certain if it were them or himself that he couldn't bring himself to trust. If he was going to speak his mind, he had might as well let it out now. "It just doesn't seem like a smart option, considering what happened eight years ago-"

"First of all, Hanai, what happened eight years ago was an experimental resolution that was made by a completely different generation of officials, and can be fixed. And second, smart option or not, it's our only option."

Hanai knew he should just nod his head and give the typical "roger that", like he did when General Momoe first gave him his assignment. But the words came out before he could even think to stop them- "I don't think you've got the right guy for the job, General. This just seems impossible." He started to regret saying them, but didn't have time to before Momoe bounced back, as she always did.

"If we didn't think you to be capable of the impossible, Hanai, we would have never asked you to join us." The authoritative voice had always been able to both stop Hanai's heart and melt it. "We gave this to you for a reason. We believe in you. All that's missing is for you to believe in yourself."

Hanai gulped. It's all he could think of to do.

"Now listen," she began, taking the quiet as an acceptance that she was right, "hop on this, immediately. It's critical that you get these men together for us."

Hanai nodded before he remembered that she couldn't see it. "Yes, General."

"This is more important than any task we've ever given you."

"I know, General. I understand."

"That was your identical response the last time we spoke."

Hanai groaned. "I don't know what else I'm supposed to say," he began massaging his temples as he brought up the files that Momoe had sent him when she first asked him to do this for her- the profiles of nine young men that had been asked to go anonymous after the Secret Sevice had ordered that superhumans no longer make public appearances, or risk being assassinated on the spot. "Other than to pray for me."

"I will, Captain." Hanai knew she meant it. "Oh, and Hanai…"

Hanai lifted his head and made a quiet noise behind his lips as a half-hearted response.

"You could've just asked to have Tajima removed from the assignment if that's what the problem is."

Hanai's eyes went wide and his cheeks turned a deep scarlet. Oh, fu-

"Th-that was never a concern, General!" He suddenly found himself losing his professional composure, a feeling that made him extremely uncomfortable. "I'm busy with this task now, so if you don't mind, I'll excuse myself… over and out!"

He heard the slightest beginnings of one of General Momoe's famous laughs before he hung up and buried his flustered nose into his work.


In New York City…

While searching for an apartment, Takaya Abe never dreamed he would've ended up with a skyline penthouse on one of the most highly priced buildings in the city, with stainless steel appliances and a view that could put a postcard to absolute shame. Then again, he was searching for an apartment long before his dramatic, unexpected promotion to CEO of Pilot Inc., the leading manufacturer of the newest generation of expensive computers and holographic organizers.

He drank his coffee in his living area, looking out into the city, while expensive hardwood floors reflected his figure below him as he stood before a giant window that covered the entire north wall of the first floor. He could see all the traffic, all the people, all the beautiful buildings of the concrete safari. How had he ended up here? This time ten years ago he was barely making it off of dumpster scraps in the slums of the darkest places in Japan, all the while trying to support his brother.

He laid his coffee down on a black, modern coffee table that sat in front of his white leather couch, which was an absolute bitch to keep clean- not that he was the one with that responsibility.

"Abe-san." he heard behind him in a soft but rushed voice. "If you don't leave soon, you'll be late to work."

He turned to see Chiyo, his faithful house maid, in her typical sweater and jeans washing his dishes from a wonderful breakfast, looking at Abe with a worried, but kind light in her eyes. "I know you've moved up to quite a high position, but you still have to be on time…"

"I know, Chi-san." he saw her lightly blush at the mention of her nickname and smiled to himself. "I'll leave soon. Please dust off the alter for me really quickly, I need to say a word before I go."

She wordlessly left her dishes to accomplish the short task, knowing that there was no arguing with Abe when there came to paying his daily respects- and there didn't need to be.

On his way out, both he and his friend kneeled before the small white table alter- made of pure marble, for Abe would have it no less then extravagant- the picture of a smiling young boy in white resting next to a dimly lit candle that Chiyo lit every morning as part of her routine.

"Thank you for watching over me yet another day, Shun." Abe whispered lovingly with his head lowered and his eyes closed. "Please keep your loving eye on me for now and for always, brother."

Chiyo whispered similar respects before the two bid each other farewell and Abe was out the door.

It was a typical business day- answering emails, discussing possible purchases for an expansion (how Pilot could expand anymore than it all ready had, Abe had no clue- he just knew that businesses were going under and wanted to save jobs) and texting Chiyo on what dinner needed to be. Anything more dynamic than that could wait until tomorrow, or next week- Abe was the CEO, now. He said when and he said where and he said how, but most importantly he said if. If Takaya Abe didn't get around to doing it, then it wasn't important enough in the first place. A simple philosophy.

He shouted his near-flawless English at employees all day, every day- so it was certainly improving, so he had grown accustomed to speaking the difficult language. He would often catch himself speaking English when he got home out of sheer habit, to the flabbergasted (but hilarious) facial expressions of his maid and friend. He wondered when he could forget Japanese all together- he wouldn't have minded doing such if he didn't have to communicate with Chiyo and the few friends he still had in Japan.

His secretary beeped in as he was finishing up on his reading of sales reports. "Mr. Abe, you have someone trying to reach you."

Great, he thought with a tired exhale. He wasn't in what would exactly be known as a mood for conversation. If he were in the mood for anything, it would be to either punch someone or have a bowl of Chiyo's miso soup. "Transfer them over." he told her flatly.

"Takaya Abe here of Pilot Inc., how may I help you?" he said it with such a monotone that he was shocked to hear the other line actually respond back.

He heard a soft giggle, followed by perfect Japanese. "Your English has improved so much, Takaya."

The voice, a voice so perfect and calm and gentle, shocked him so strongly that he dropped his diet coke on his desk, and then proceeded to go into a panicked attempt to clean everything up, a blush apparent on his face. "R-Ren! Hey… Hold on, I just spilled something all over my desk…"

"Is now a bad time?"

"No, no, I just… I didn't expect…I mean last time you called the house… How did you get to a phone?" he cursed and heard his friend laugh at him. "H-hold that thought, Ren." he put the phone down on a dry spot and rushed to his office bathroom, which he thankfully had to himself. He pulled a few paper towels out of the dispenser, simultaneously taking a deep breath to get his emotions in tact-Mihashi always made him a bit anxious- and rushed to get back on the phone with his old friend.

"Ok, that's better…" he wiped the beverage away and trashed the paper towels, now with free hands, but still unable to relax. "I'm sorry, you uh… you kind of surprised me there."

He heard Ren Mihashi giggle again, and Abe pictured his loving, shy smile and felt washed over in peace. "I didn't mean to scare you or anything."

"No, It was a nice surprise. A very welcome one." Abe sighed in contentment- how he had missed this man. "But anyway… how did you get to a phone, again? I know you used the one at the store last time, but you also told me it was about to go under…"

"I'm living with Shuugo and Hiroyuki-san for the time being. They have one."

Relief settled in Abe's heart. "Good to know you're somewhere safe."

"Of course I am. Things have gotten better since you left. Well, for us at least."

Abe's head drifted back to some of the few good memories he had while still living in Japan- he, Shun, Mihashi, and a bunch of other boys playing around like the world didn't suck as much as it did- like tomorrow didn't hold hell. It was when Abe was with Mihashi- and only when he was with Mihashi- that he wasn't completely miserable as a child. They liked to call themselves a group of bandits, when all they stole was petty things and garbage.

As a child, the blonde was nothing less of a spastic, wet mop when it came to socializing. Mihashi made conversation, with much struggle, with Abe and their group of friends, but whenever someone else had to be talked to, Abe usually did it for him. And now, eight years later, he was talking in complete sentences.

"Yeah, we're not in the slums anymore… we've all kind of moved into a cheap neighborhood. We were able to get decent jobs and whatnot… and Shuugo is a really great cook." Despite Mihashi's attempts at reassuring Abe that he was in a good place, the CEO couldn't help but long for his best friend by his side again. "Atsushi lives here too."

Abe scoffed. "You mean Kanou dropped his pride long enough to let that chubby skinhead move in with him?"

Mihashi sighed. "We've all made peace with him since you left, Takaya."

Abe rolled his eyes. The old group, the gang that Abe and Mihashi rolled with back when they were just gum on the bottom of Japan's boot, were all living together in a small house in a cheap neighborhood, as grown men, while Abe was living the life in a high-class apartment, complete with a maid. He didn't know whether to be proud or guilty.

"So it's you, Kanou, Oda, and Hatake all in the same house? Is it not cramped?"

"It's a one bedroom. I have a futon on the floor in the living room while Atsushi gets the couch-"

Abe couldn't help but growl a bit under his breath.

"No, I prefer it, really. And Hiroyuki-san and Shuugo sleep together in the bedroom. It's low on space, but it's actually really fun." Abe could hear the gentle smile in Mihashi's words. "We're like a family."

"Son of a bitch, maybe I should just move back." Abe replied sarcastically.

Mihashi gasped. "Y-you wouldn't really do that, would you?"

Abe knew deep in his heart he only said that to hear Mihashi's adorable stutter- it had been limited to when he was shocked, or worried, or scared, or happy, or any deep emotion, rather then every single situation in the boy's life. "You know, if you really wanted or needed me to… I probably would." And Abe meant it, too. "I have the funds now, I could get back to Japan and we could try to work something out?"

There was silence on the other end for a while. "I-… I would never ask you to do that, Takaya. And certainly not for me." Abe smiled at Mihashi's hushed tone, despite the pain growing in his heart. "As much as I miss you… I could never ask you to do something like that… it's not even an option."

Of course it wasn't. All either wanted for each other was the other's happiness. It had been that way since they had first met… But if Abe could, if Abe could risk going back to that town, he would do it in seconds to get Mihashi and Oda and the rest of his boys out of that hell and into America- but Kanou was stubborn and didn't want to go to some unknown country, and Oda wasn't about to go anywhere without Kanou, and Hitake wasn't really invited, but still wouldn't have the balls to take the risk- and Mihashi, beautiful Mihashi, the one person in the world that could make Abe's heart beat louder and faster then he ever thought possible, couldn't bring himself to leave his friends, despite Abe begging him to escape to America with him, despite Mihashi wanting to be by Abe's side for the rest of his life, despite Abe feeling his soul melt away a little more every day that he and Mihashi were apart.

"You've worked so hard, Takaya." Mihashi said. "You have your own company now! A big, successful, expensive company!"

Abe bit his bottom lip before speaking. "I'd let it crumble for you."

"I know you would." Abe leaned back in his chair and sighed. "But don't."

Mihashi had grown up, and had better developed his speech… but the ideas in Mihashi's head that never came out because he simply couldn't express them were there and running wild now that he had improved his way of communication. Abe loved him and Mihashi knew that he loved him… that was what really mattered. But damn, it would be so much easier to wake up in the morning if Mihashi were there next to him.

"You don't understand how badly I wish you were here… Ren, I-"

"Mr. Abe." A figure in his office doorway interrupted. The brunette secretary looked at him nonchalantly, almost melancholically, like her eyelids were only open because they had to be. She had cold eyes, but perfect posture, as if she were a robot. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but you have another phone call."

Abe downcast his eyes at her, not sure if he was in the mood to kill. "You couldn't have paged me?"

"I did." she replied, just as coldly, "You didn't answer."

Abe looked down at his telephone to see three missed calls on the screen.

"I'm sorry to hold you. I'll call you back later if you want."

Abe ignored him. "You tell them I'm busy with another client, Janice, it's that simple."

She sighed. "I tried that too, Mr. Abe. They say it's urgent, and then they proceeded to threaten to go to much more drastic measures if you didn't answer."

Abe's eyes widened in disbelief. "Sounds like a lunatic. Tell him or her that I'm not interested in speaking with clients who threaten me."

"I tried that too."

Abe groaned. "Ren, I'll save this number and call you when I get home, okay?"

"Okay, Mr. Abe." Oh, he had developed a sense of humor, too. Abe considered smiling before he remembered why it was he was having to hang up.

They exchanged subtly reluctant goodbyes before Abe looked down to see that the line wasn't on hold anymore. "They hung up!" he exclaimed angrily. "Fuck, I'm sick of dealing with people."

It was then that Abe's cell phone went off.

He looked at it to see that the number was oddly laid out- a lot of zeroes, possibly an automated message tone. He knew that if he didn't answer it, they'd just leave a message or call again, so he pressed "Answer" and held it up to his ear.

"Hello?" he barked coldly.

"I tried to contact you in a more professional way, but you didn't want to talk to me." Was the first thing the stranger said, in flawless Japanese. The voice was a tad low, though it seemed forced, but it had a young-sounding rasp in it. It wasn't threatening, though it was certainly trying to be.

Abe's eyes narrowed. He motioned for Janice to close the door behind her. "Who is this?" he replied in his native language.

"You can just call me Captain." the man told Abe. The CEO rolled his eyes.

"I don't have time for this bullshit. Are you the shit-hook who threatened my secretary?"

"I just told her that what I had to say was urgent, and if I didn't get to talk to you I would bring some boys to come speak with you in person." Fifteen seconds of talking with this guy and Abe's patience was all ready running dangerously thin. "Abe, this is a representative of the Secret Service of Japan. I have the ability to use whatever kind of persuasion I need."

"Secret Service of Japan?" Abe replied, unimpressed. "Puh. What a joke."

"Do you truly feel that way, Takaya?"

The inquiry was mocking and childish sounding, and that set Abe on the edge. "I don't allow anyone but my friends to address me by my first name, punk. If this is a prank, then you should hang the fuck up before I have your line traced and your ass thrown in jail."

"You're not taking me seriously- typical from a slug who grew up on the streets in Japan."

Abe's eyes widened and his heart dropped to his chest- this guy knew about his past. He got over his shock quickly to slam his fist against his desk, frightening his secretary.

"Why don't you get your ass over to New York and say that to my face, you motherfucking pig?"

"Oh I'm here, Abe. Long distance calls are a bitch… Expensive too."

Abe dropped his phone on his desk and glared out the window to see the street blocked by a large, black vehicle and the base of the building surrounded by soldiers in black. So this guy was serious, after all.

He cursed loudly and told Janice to get security, only for the brunette to be gone when he turned to talk to her. He raced out into the hallway to see that it had been evacuated while the door was shut. Where a hundred workers once moved about freely was now desolate, as if the rapture had come and taken them in the short moments that Abe was on the phone with Mihashi and the asshole that dared make a fool out of him.

So this was where Japan was going to catch back up to him once and for all- Abe was physically sick at his stomach.

He heard footsteps down the hallway and turned to look at in their direction, his eyes aflame with anger and a pinch of fear. A young man in a suit, who couldn't have been much older or younger than Abe himself, walked coolly towards him, three guards behind him.

"Nice place you got here." he said with a grin. "Kind of reminds me of my own establishments in Tokyo."

"Burn in hell." Abe replied, venom leaking from his words. "What do you bastards want from me?"

The savvy leader of his group, his head shaved albeit a thin layer of platinum hair, carried himself with professional posture and a defined smirk. Abe couldn't help but take in the sight of the arrogant young man and feel as if a bit of his aura was forced.

"Wouldn't this have been so much easier if you would've just answered the phone the first time?" He tightened his suit coat around himself. "My name is Azusa Hanai. I've been working for the Japanese Branch of the Secret Weaponry and International Military espionage and law enforcement agency since I was eighteen." He grinned wickedly. "But people mostly call me Captain, considering I'm the Captain of the branch."

Abe rolled his eyes and groaned. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, S.W.I.M.. I've dealt with you assholes before." He felt his eyes turn cold, and his heart suddenly began to ache at the name of the secret agency. "You're the bastards that murdered my little brother in Japan eight years ago."

Hanai gulped back some of his cockiness. "I'm aware of that. I read it in your profile. I knew you'd be a hard recruit because of it."

Abe's eyes went wide with disgust. "Recruit?" he barked hatefully. "I don't know what the hell it is you'd want to recruit me for, but I'd rather eat off my own face then work alongside you assholes."

The face off in the hallway was going to go absolutely nowhere until Abe put his foot down, and he knew it.

Hanai sighed out of frustration. "That was eight years ago, Abe." he muttered. "We have different people on top now, and drastic times call for-"

"You think I care?" the CEO spat. "You think eight years makes so much of a difference that I'd just forgive the people that shot my little brother? Get the fuck outta my sight."

"At least let me explain." The Captain asked hurriedly, holding out a hand to try and calm Abe. "We have a gang residing in Russia that has a threat level that is beyond critical. We need to recruit a team that has the ability to stop them. We've come to you because-"

"I know why I'm on your list. Trust me, it's been the bane of my existence." He mimicked Hanai by tightening his coat around himself. "And I'm not interested."

Hanai caught the mockery and felt a stab of anger. "Who said you had a choice?"

"Who says that I won't completely undermine the whole thing purposefully with my abilities?" Abe wasn't usually one for threats, but he was so angry and hurt that these people thought he was asinine enough to help them after all that they had done to him.

Hanai shook his head. "Don't do something you'll regret, Abe."

Abe snapped. "Why the hell would I help you?"

"Because you care about the safety of this fucking country?"

Abe laughed maniacally. "Don't make me bust a gut, you skinhead." He looked at Hanai as if he were the scum of the universe. "Get out of my fucking building."

Hanai returned the glare, but with much more frustration in his eyes. "I'm not going anywhere."

Abe felt his fists ache with the need to attack. "You want a broken nose?"

"You ever want to see Ren Mihashi again?"

At this, Abe went cold. All this time he had been led by anger and a hatred for S.W.I.M., not giving them the opportunity to even relatively convince him to join their forces. But now, he was throwing a person in the argument- a person that so happened to be Abe's world. Abe was shocked and scared for a slight moment in silence… and then, his anger rushed to his head, and without thinking he stomped over to where Hanai stood and grabbed his collar, their eyeballs nearly making physical contact.

"What did you do with Ren? Where is he?" Hanai's men rushed forward to try and free their leader while Abe's grip tightened. "I swear, if you laid a finger on him, I'll kill you!"

The soldiers, donned in black slacks and button-ups, grabbed Abe by the shoulders, and by the wrists, attempting to drag him away from their "Captain". But the damage to the man's emotions had all ready been done, and the fire within him led his body to do things that didn't necessarily associate with backing down.

The bodyguard holding his shoulders got a hard headbutt to the chin, causing him to back up from the shock and allow Abe to kick the man holding his right wrist hard in the groin, and with the rest of his arms freed, he put all of his upper body strength in grabbing the third and final guard and flipping him over hard on ground.

Hanai saw the entire spectacle, unsure if he should be impressed or terrified. When he saw his last man end up on his back, he contemplated running… but that would be a cowardly thing to do, and no Captain should ever have to be a coward… But Abe was headed for him, and fast.

Hanai put two fingers in a V and pointed them in the direction of Abe's eyes, causing the man to stop. Hanai breathed heavily, trying to regain his confidence.

Recognizing the gesture, the CEO stopped. "Oh." was all Abe said before he took a few deep breaths of his own to calm his racing heart. "So that's your little magic trick."

Hanai shook his head, his fingers still pointing in Abe's position. "I didn't want to do this here. I don't have a warrant to." his eyes were hard with a serious threat. "But if you keep up with the violence, I'll have no choice."

Abe's eyes narrowed. He folded his arms, no other option sounding more likable, to express his backing down. "You threatened me with Mihashi's safety."

"Not with his safety, Abe, with you seeing him again." Hanai refused to drop his hand. "You just spoke to him, moron, he's fine."

For a second, Abe considered asking what he meant by his threat before it hit him, hard in the heart. "You made him call me, didn't you?"

Hanai smirked. "How else was he supposed to get the number to your office?" He slowly dropped his fingers, but not his fist. "How else were we supposed to keep you occupied while we surrounded your building?"

Abe shook his head in disbelief. "You used my secretary, too… How did I not figure it out?"

Abe tried to have a fierceness in his irises but the hurt came out nonetheless. Hanai saw it and pitied him, knowing that he felt used. "Mihashi doesn't have the money to make a long distance call. And your office number isn't published anywhere. And, what lousy secretary would let some Japanese-speaking man without a good enough reason to talk to you through to your phone?"

Abe honestly felt like a complete idiot. He was so blinded by the happiness he felt when talking to his best friend that he didn't consider any of these things. "But… Ren would never…"

Hanai dropped his offensive tactic long enough to have a heart to heart with the other man. "No, you're right. He wouldn't. We made him."

Abe's eyes shot up to meet Hanai's, but Hanai explained before he had a chance to get angry again. "We had to push him to come out, too. He's dangerous when he's scared, so we didn't threaten him or physically harm him… but goddamn, your little pack of baddies that he's living with can shoot like no one's business."

Abe smirked out of pride. "I'm guessing the reason you didn't bring more guards is because Oda socked them all."

Hanai shook his head at the memory. "That guy is scary. And the big bald one wasn't about to go down without a fight either."

Abe sighed. "So, you 'recruited' Mihashi too? What happened to Hatake, Oda and Kanou?"

"Your boys eventually backed down after we explained that we didn't mean any harm. They thought we were about to arrest someone. After we told them the situation, Mihashi made us promise that the other guys would be safe."

With Mihashi in this too, Abe suddenly had a slightly new outlook on the situation. "Initially, he wouldn't give us any information on your whereabouts." Hanai told him. Abe looked up at him, surprised. "We had to look up all of your information, and told him that if he ever wanted to see you again, he'd make the distraction call."

Abe felt guilty as all get out for ever doubting Mihashi's loyalty to him. "He's quite the actor."

"I think he was just happy for the chance to speak with you, that he didn't even think to get scared or defensive." Hanai grinned. "You two are such suckers for each other."

Abe blushed lightly before he walked towards the Captain. If was really going to do this… and he didn't really want to, but knew that Mihashi was on the same side and that he would get to see him again… then he had to be committed and he had to get some of his stuff.

"I'm not doing this for you S.W.I.M. bastards. I'm doing this to be with Ren, and I'm doing this because you made a big show out of it and if I don't go I'll just look like a coward…"

"That was the plan." Hanai threw in.

Abe felt the urge to smack him fire back up in his stomach. But he doused it with the thought of being reunited with his best friend.

"But I'm only doing this if I can go home and get a few things." Abe demanded. Hanai nodded quickly.

"Of course." he said, holding out his hand for Abe to shake. The CEO looked at it and rolled his eyes, refusing to touch the Captain.

Abe went right past the man and towards the elevator, and behind him Hanai pursed his lips to stop a curt comment from escaping. He turned to follow his new teammate, and right before Abe turned the hall, he stopped.

"Oh, and one more thing." Abe turned to look at Hanai with serious eyes. "I don't want to be led by a 'Captain' that doesn't have any power worth seeing. So give me a sample, Nancy."

Hanai was taken aback by the statement, but knew that Abe was serious. He searched the office for a target. "The office closest to mine with the New York Giants jersey on the desk. That asshole has been showing that damned shirt off all day." Abe ordered, pointing in the boxed off office.

Hanai nodded and aimed with his two fingers, using two fingers on the other hand to rest on his temple for focus. Abe watched with shock and a bit of glee as the chair, with the jersey resting on the back, suddenly burst into violent flames, with fire so bright that Abe could no longer see what it was that the fire was consuming. Hanai forced the flames to disappear, and all that was left of the chair and that dumbass's beloved jersey was a pile of black ashes.

Abe couldn't fight a chuckle. "I'm sure moving targets aren't nearly as easy."

Hanai growled under his breath. "Get a running start so I can practice."

Abe threw back his head and laughed louder then he had in eight years.

"Stop laughing at me, asshole!" Hanai cried out as both men made way for the elevator.