"Is this an emergency?"
They both knew it was. Before he could pull his own grenade out of his pocket she held hers in her hand. She clicked the top and threw it hard around the pay phone and they both immediately ducked and covered their ears.
The explosion was instantaneous. The glass windows of the room shattered and debris rained down on them. They looked around amid the smoke and fire and needed no encouragement to know what to do.
They stood up, jumped through the broken windows, and ran.
-H50-H50-H50-
TWELVE HOURS LATER
Danny, Chin, Adam, and Doris had spent the past twelve hours scouring the city for Steve and Kono. They had no way to contact either of them and so were reduced to driving carefully around the area, in a new car this time, hoping to catch a glimpse of them.
Every now and then they would see someone suspiciously driving around as they were, or see someone walking through the streets and paying a little too much attention to what was going on through the windows of buildings. But no Steve and Kono.
They were positive they were alive. The Yakuza would have announced the killings in some way if they were dead. Or if they had been captured they would have communicated it to them somehow in hopes of drawing the four of them to their friends. But even still the doubt crept in.
It hadn't been as bad as when they saw the hotel that had endured some kind of explosion. Rumor was that there had been a short gunfight before it had happened, and that three bodies, those of known Yakuza gang members, had been found. They all knew Steve carried grenades, so they all reasoned it must have been he who set it off, and that he and Kono had then run away. The question now was, where were they?
They all knew how dangerous it was to be there. It was only a matter of time before they were found out. Chin and Danny had discussed this alone, talking about how Adam was still a target and was extremely unsafe in this city. They knew they had to get him out of there, and soon.
As for Doris, the same held true. She was known to have been traveling with Adam and Kono all this time, and the Yakuza would not forgive that. Especially not considering who her son was.
But as for the actual leaving, it was something that neither of them could decide to do. Leaving without having brought Kono back, and losing Steve in their attempted rescue, felt more wrong than they could say during their early morning talk when both had realized sleep was impossible at this point. If they had some kind of contact from them, if they could at least hear from them to say that yes, they were alive, then they could take Adam and Doris back to Hawaii where they had the governor and the entire Hawaii State Police Force on their side. Without knowing, they each knew that they could not leave yet.
Danny and Chin walked to the table of the small coffee shop where they had convened for a brief rest. They spotted Adam and Doris waiting for them by the doors, talking tensely, looking all around them. They clearly weren't giving up either.
"Poor guy," Danny said, referring to Adam. "I've never seen anybody look sicker and still be walking around."
"He looks how I feel right now," said Chin, and Danny patted him on the back.
"Ready?" Adam asked, looking at them expectantly.
"Yeah," said Danny. He paused. He wanted to say something encouraging, maybe We'll find them or I can sense they're okay, but he couldn't. He was met with the overwhelming hopelessness and danger of the situation and he couldn't.
He almost didn't register as his phone rang. A full second passed in which Chin, Adam, and Doris looked at him wide-eyed and he blinked, looking down at the phone as if he'd never seen it before in his life. But a second later he had pressed Talk and held it so hard to his head that it hurt. "Hello? Steve? Kono?"
"Danno!" came Steve's cheerful, wonderfully alive, voice from the other end.
Danny bent over and placed his free hand on his knee. He sighed. "Where the hell are you two?"
"Well, you'll never believe it," said Steve, and Danny could hear what sounded like wind in the background.
"Are you two all right?"
"Yeah man, we're all right. How about all of you?"
"We're fine," he said as he surveyed their group of pale, sleep-deprived members who all looked like they'd been hit by a car. "Where are you?"
Steve laughed on the other end. "Beijing."
Danny said nothing. He waited. Surely he had heard wrong. Surely not another something so random and difficult had just come into his life. Again.
"I'm sorry, you're going to have to repeat that."
"Well, somewhere outside of Beijing, I don't know. We got through it about an hour ago. Or two hours ago. We're in the middle of nowhere, somewhere outside of Beijing."
"What's that noise I hear?"
"We caught a ride on the back of a train."
Danny closed his eyes. Of all the things that had happened over the last five weeks, of everything they had endured during their time here, and of all the things Steve and Kono had ever gotten themselves into, this was it. This won, hands down.
"Danny? You there?"
"What is it?" asked Chin. "Where are they?"
Danny could not speak. He simply handed the phone over to Chin.
Chin listened for a moment and a look of awe mixed with tired frustration crossed his face. Doris and Adam looked to Danny for information. "On a train," he said. "Near Beijing."
"He wants to talk on speaker," said Chin as they grouped together at a table and he held the phone between them.
"Kono?" Adam asked desperately.
"Adam, I'm here," she called out, and it was obvious they were outside.
"What's going on? Danny said you were on a train."
"In a very literal way, yes," she answered.
"Listen," came Steve's voice. "Literally no one on the planet could find us here. We're going to get back to Hawaii eventually, so don't worry about us. You guys need to all get back now too."
"Okay, but if we find you, we can help you get back," Danny argued.
"If I barely even know where we are, I don't think that's going to happen."
Danny threw his hand up in frustration and rolled his eyes.
"Steve, are you two sure you're all right?" asked Doris.
"Yeah Mom, we're fine. Trust us, and get back to Hawaii and put Adam in protective custody. Mom, you should too, they know you helped. We'll get back as soon as we can."
"Do you even have any money?" asked Danny. "You've never had your wallet before, why would you now?" He was starting in on another rant, but they all knew it was because of his relief.
"I've got a credit card but I'm not sure about using it since it can be tracked. Other than that, I've got about a hundred bucks."
"I've got fifty!" came Kono's voice from the background.
Danny sighed. "Oh good, so then you can afford lunch for a few weeks, that's great."
"Where do you eat lunch?" Steve asked, genuinely sounding curious and confused.
"Oh, I eat lunch at the normal places, thank you—"
"Who spends that much on lunch?"
"No one! How are you going to get back on that kind of money?"
"Well, as long as we don't eat at the same places you obviously do—"
"You'll be lucky to get a decent hotel room for that much—"
"Guys!" came Kono's voice from the other end.
"How can we reach you?" asked Adam.
"I'm sorry, but we'll have to contact you," said Kono. "We're using a phone we stole and we'll have to get it back soon."
"Kono, Steve, listen to me," said Chin in his most serious tone. "Be careful. Take care of each other, and don't assume for a second that it isn't possible for them to find you."
There was a pause on the other end, and then Kono said, "Okay cuz. We will."
Though it was hard they said their goodbyes then, Adam and Kono obviously wanting to talk longer but they both knew they had more important things to do at the moment. They hung up the phone and Adam sighed.
"Well, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I've never been happier to go back to Hawaii," said Danny, smiling for the first time in days.
-H50-H50-H50-
Kono looked over at Steve as he hung up the phone and put it safely in his pocket. Holding onto a rail in front of her, legs hanging off the train by her knees, she watched the fields and forests as they passed them, thinking of all that had happened in the last twelve hours.
She looked over at Steve again and they caught each other's eyes, waited just a moment, and both laughed. They laughed with relief at having confirmed everyone they cared about was safe, at having finally escaped the Yakuza, and over the sheer ridiculousness of their situation.
After their laughter subsided, Kono leaned back against the car and let her mind wander, as safe a thing as that was to do when hanging off the back of a moving train.
They had run out of the hotel after the grenade went off, through the midnight streets of Shanghai, with seemingly inexhaustible Yakuza members chasing them down, finding them wherever they tried to hide. They tried their best to stay in the area where their family was. But eventually it all came down to simple survival, and to do that, they just had to keep running.
"Where do we go?"
"I don't know. Hang on."
"They're coming right now!"
"Okay, okay. Here, quick, get on the bus."
They climbed aboard the bus at the last second, Steve throwing cash at the driver as he and Kono rushed down the aisle to a darkened seat, sitting low into it. There were only a few other passengers and they paid them no attention.
Both breathed heavily as they sat low in the seat, tired from running, which they had been doing for over an hour by now. Steve watched Kono's darting gaze, her pale face occasionally illuminated by a street light. He knew that although it hadn't been literal until just now, that Kono had been running for a long time. He thought about his life in Hawaii these past few weeks and at once felt incredibly guilty for having ownership over such concepts as safety and peace of mind.
"Hey."
She looked at him, worry etched on her face.
"No, it's okay. Are you all right?"
She made a noise of agreement and went back to looking out the window. Her eyes never stopped moving.
"We'll find them, and we'll go home. Promise."
A pained expression came over her face. She looked like she was going to cry, but didn't. He reached for her hand and she held his back tightly. They continued sitting low in the seat together and didn't say another word.
As it turned out, the bus ended up taking them to the other side of the city entirely. As neither of them knew the city well they didn't realize this until the driver told them it was time to get off.
They stepped out onto the curb of the unfamiliar setting, still holding hands, and looked around. "Where the hell…" Steve began.
It was two in the morning. They walked for a ways through the streets before deciding that they could not have ended up in a worse neighborhood to be in at night. Finally they stopped to rest on the front stoop of a small shop.
Kono did not remember falling asleep. She remembered sitting down, asking Steve what time it was, and the next thing she knew, early morning light was beginning to filter through her eyes and the sounds of the city waking up greeted her.
Steve was still holding her hand and sitting up, wide awake.
They walked through the early morning, looking for a place to make a call from, looking for anything that was familiar, but found nothing.
Kono was hungry and incredibly thirsty, but nothing could be done about either of those things and so she said nothing.
"When one of these places opens, we'll go in and see if we can use a phone," said Steve. "Then we'll just hide somewhere and wait for them."
"They must be losing their minds."
They walked slowly down a sidewalk, looking for a coffee shop or some other business that would be open this early. There was hardly anyone else out at this time of day, which made it a lot easier to watch for people who were after them. A few people walked by them who were obviously on their way to work. One or two teenagers strolled around, taking their time getting home. A few people who had obviously partied too hard sat on benches or simply laid on the ground.
One in particular was walking toward them on the sidewalk. He stumbled in their direction and they both ignored him, focusing ahead of them. As he got closer though, he reached out in Kono's direction, saying something foreign and grabbing her arm.
"Hey!" Steve said, leaning in front of Kono to push the man away.
And at that very moment he was knocked forcefully into the man and Kono by the bullet that tore through the early morning air.
All three tumbled to the sidewalk. The man began screaming and waving his arms at them. "Steve!" Kono screamed. He had a hand to his side but did not appear to be in any pain. "Go, go!" he yelled as they both jumped to their feet.
Another shot rang out and hit a lamppost near them. They ran back down the sidewalk from where they came and darted into an alleyway.
They ran for six blocks before Steve grabbed Kono's arm and pulled her roughly to the side where they ran onto a smaller street and up to a loading dock. They jumped into the back of an eighteen wheeler and ducked behind boxes just as a man came out of a nearby building and slammed and locked the lid, plunging them into total darkness. Within a minute the truck had started and they felt themselves being driven along a roadway.
"Steve, are you all right?"
"Yeah. Just got the vest."
She sighed in the darkness.
"I know. Not the best plan," he admitted.
"No, it's…Steve, they almost killed me. We walked right into them. If that guy hadn't have grabbed me and you hadn't stepped in front of me just like you did…"
"And I'd do it all again."
"I hate this. You might die and it's all because of me."
"No. No, it isn't. It's about very corrupt and dangerous people who hurt others without a thought for them. It is not about you, or anyone else but them." He paused in the dark, and they were inches from each other. "And just for the record, if I died saving you, I'd consider that a pretty good way to go."
She laughed bitterly. "Well, you shouldn't think that. I never wanted any of you dragged into this."
"And we never wanted this for you. But you're in it, so I am too. Got it?"
"Yeah. Got it."
"Good."
They sat together in the dark for a while and said nothing, reflexively sitting close to each other. Kono's head was spinning. All the running, all the stress, now combined with anxiety for the others and sitting in the pitch darkness of a truck they were locked in, and she didn't think she could take anymore. Her instinct was to first claw her way out of this truck and after that, run back to where she knew the rest of her family was. But she knew she couldn't listen to that right now. Nothing about this situation demanded a normal handling.
So they sat quietly, unmoving, for three hours. Steve fell asleep after ten minutes, and while Kono hated the idea of basically being alone, she did not wake him up. Letting him get a few hours of sleep was the least she could do considering everything he'd done for her.
After three hours the truck had stopped, been unlocked, and wonderful light had been let in to them. When the driver was distracted they had jumped out of the back and set off to explore their new surroundings. In a matter of five minutes Kono thought she saw someone she recognized from Hawaii, someone she saw with Michael a few times. She and Steve had taken no chances and had set off at a run around the small town they found themselves in.
"Listen," Steve had told her as they came to a momentary stop. "We've got two choices: one is we stick around, try and find a phone, a safe place to wait, and have the others come and get us; two is we keep running, hope we lose them, and get home on our own. What do you think?"
What do I think? I want to be with Adam. I want to see Chin and Danny, and be with Doris again, who reminds me so much of you it's insane. "They're probably still there looking for us."
"I know. And the further we get the harder it's going to be for them to find us."
"So we should split up for good?"
"It might be for the best. Look, they'll be fine. They've got enough money. All we've got to do is call them and tell them to get themselves back home and that we'll meet them there when we can. It's quicker than us trying to find each other, and we might be safer in two groups anyway."
She sighed and bit at her lip. It felt wrong—no, it felt insane to be separated from them, but Steve had a point. They were already here, wherever here was, and the longer they took trying to find each other the more danger they were both in.
"Okay," she agreed almost silently.
"Okay," he said, standing up straight and looking around. He seemed to be focused on something over Kono's shoulder. "I've got an idea."
By far the hardest part about the train ride was jumping onto the already moving train itself. It wasn't going too fast, but the idea sounded a lot easier than it actually was. It took every last bit of strength and concentration she had, and once they were settled onto the last car, on a space just big enough for two people to sit, Kono had finally been able to relax.
It was impossible not to, surrounded by such a beautiful landscape. It took her mind away from the countless hours and endless days filled with one hotel after another, always keeping one eye open, always watching, counting, wondering. Doris had told her that the one thing that kept her sane on her days on the run was being able to live in such a beautiful place. Kono had thought she understood at the time, but she really didn't. Not until this very moment.
Steve waited an hour and then carefully opened the door to the back of the train, announcing that he was going to find a phone. Kono assumed he would find one and use it there, and so was a little surprised when he came back with a regular cell phone in his hand.
"People shouldn't leave their purses open," he said. "Although that'll make it easy to give back later."
An hour had gone by since they had finished their conversation. They decided to wait to return the phone in case someone saw Steve going in and out of the train.
"So what's it been like hanging out with my mom?" He was smiling.
Kono smiled too. "Bit like hanging out with you."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah. She reminds me a lot of you. She always knew how to take care of things, what to do."
"Then she can't remind you of me. Look at where we are."
"But we're alive. In the past twelve hours you've saved my life about forty seven times. I'd say you're doing a good job."
"I couldn't have done any of this without you. You saved me too."
"Luck."
"No, I'm serious. I think as a team we're doing pretty good."
They lapsed into silence, simply reveling in the fact that they were able to feel sunshine and take a break from being hunted like animals.
"She missed you."
"What?"
"Your mom. She missed you."
"Oh."
"It's been hard on her Steve. Not just these past few weeks, but before too."
"What makes you say that?"
"I felt almost like my own mom was there with me. She wants to be that way. She wants to be there for you."
"She didn't happen to tell you anything about Wo Fat, did she?"
"No. Why?"
"Because until she does, things aren't gonna be like she wants. I can't ignore the fact that she's keeping something from me."
Kono sighed. "I think she really cares about us. I believe that. If she's keeping something from you, she's got a reason."
-H50-H50-H50-
Danny, Chin, Doris, and Adam arrived in Beijing six hours after their last phone call with Steve and Kono. They were accompanied by fatigue, sleeplessness, hunger, and a general paranoia about what could possibly surround them.
Chin had never been more exhausted in his life. He had been awake now for nearly seventy-two hours and in that time had been on a nine hour flight, had driven for hours, scoured a foreign city for his cousin and friend, and had just managed to keep a man from breaking down at every turn. Now, he was still in a foreign city, albeit a different one, having escaped three close calls in as many hours from the gang members, who, it seemed, were now coming after them.
They checked into a hotel under fake names and paid with cash. It was a small hotel that was in a busy area of the city, but not so busy as to seem obvious. They all went into Chin and Danny's double room to discuss a plan.
Chin had almost suggested they stop at a hospital instead. Adam had worried them all in Shanghai and was now, if possible, even worse. He leaned over and rested his head on his knees once they were seated around the small table in the room, eyes closed.
Chin took a breath, fighting his own tiredness. "I can't say anything to make this better." he began. "Except I really do believe in them. You know Kono, and I know both her and Steve. If any two people in the world can make it through this, it's them."
Adam nodded slowly, head still resting down. "It kills me that there's nothing I can do," he mumbled, eyes still closed. "God knows where they are right now, when we'll hear from them, and there's nothing I can do."
Chin couldn't think of what else to say, not because he had no more encouragement left to offer, but because he was currently slumped against the back of his chair, fast asleep.
-H50-H50-H50-
Danny tried to think of something to say, drew a complete blank, then settled for simply shrugging at Doris from their place on the small balcony, where they had left Chin and Adam who had both fallen asleep at the table.
"Crazy, isn't it?" She sounded as though they were discussing a mystery novel.
"Uh, yeah, crazy," said Danny, trying to be polite.
"I know my son," she said, looking him right in the eye. "And I know he'll be okay. They both will. They're strong."
"Yeah, they certainly are," said Danny. A memory suddenly came to him. "Did he ever tell you about the time he got caught by these guys we were investigating for running a drug ring? They were too scared to kill him, so they tied him up. Handcuffed him, too. So he chewed through the ropes. The three of us were all ready to go in after him, but before we could, he just walked out of there. Still had the handcuffs on though."
Doris laughed. She shook her head, looking out the window.
"Yeah," said Danny, happy to be brightening the mood. "And then another time we were all running after this guy, and he knows he's about to get caught so he jumps off a pier. He didn't think we'd follow him, see? But Kono jumped in after him. She caught up to him, and when she did, she just decked him right across the face. Then she cuffed him, still in the water. She dragged him outta there."
Doris smiled at him as he recounted the story. "Thank you Danny. Somehow tales of my son and Kono going through life-threatening situations and getting the upper hand are very comforting."
"Oh, well, you're welcome."
They looked out at the new city before them, each wondering when the next time would be that they would see their own city, one where dangers might still exist but were not around every corner, one where it didn't take aliases and pockets full of cash just to survive.
-H50-H50-H50-