Chapter Seven: Hiding Demons.

"So, besides the little accident, everything went smoothly. I guess, she had calmed herself again and hangs out at the bar in this excellent hotel.
Why are you so worried anyways? I mean okay she's special in many ways and it's your decision but she's not the type of woman that has to be watched the whole time. She can defend herself well and is strong enough to handle guys like us easily. But I have to admit, that I don't think it is a good idea to let her carry a knife."

"Like you've said it's my decision so deal with it. It's not like I don't trust her with a weapon but I don't like the idea of her running around on her own. She's too unpredictable to let her wander of and fall into some other hands. Our enemies are everywhere and even if she seems to be loyal we shouldn't forget that we only know her for a couple of days so… I want you to keep an eye on her. That's why you are there, remember?"

"Relax, okay? Man, you should take some days off, too, Oh. Seems like Hong Kong doesn't do you good."

FaceTime with Soryu Oh was one of the things the long haired thief didn't seem to like a lot.

With his hair tied together, he sat on his bed with crossed legs and a bottle of Singha in his hands, while his mac book was right in front of him.
For more than 30 minutes, Baba had to report everything to Soryu like one of his lackeys and he didn't like that fact at all.
While Baba himself was all cool about that trip, the usually cold and reserved mobster was more than over exactly with everything and so the thief wondered quite, if it was because of his usual strict working self or because of the woman. Of course it was more than exciting having a woman bond in their activities, an extremely beautiful one at that.

"Well, I want you to keep an eye on her and report any more strange circumstances."

"Alright, Mr. Oh-verprotective!"

Furrowing his brows, Soryu's stare got even colder than before, if this was even possible.

Like always he was sitting straight like a post in his boss chair, probably in his Hong Kong office.
Suited up he huffed in a rather dark voice that would tense up anyone.

"You should be glad you're not around, thief. Calling you tomorrow."

And with this he hung up.

"This man is such a pain."

Murmuring, Baba made a face palm before he stood up and took his hat from the little nightstand on the side of his bed.
Maybe he should go and check out the hotel bar or the pool. When Ota came back from his meeting, he could watch some rather nice looking ladies walking with their towels towards the opulent swimming area outside of the hotel.
The Artist had decided to go to bed early since the next few days would be stressful and strictly planned so the thief had to go on tour without his wingman.

The relationship between him and the more than ten years younger man had grown to a bond, like between brothers more than close friends.
Since they knew each other, Ota had been his wingman and the other way around.

A little bit disappointed about the absence of his fellow, he walked along the hallway, heading straight for the pool.
Compared with Tokyo, even the nights in winter were extremely sticky. 25° C and a rather high humidity were too much, even for Baba and so it came that he couldn't wear his usual elegant suit and tie.
Wearing beige cotton shorts and a baby blue short sleeved buttoned up shirt he sat down at the bar, next to some stunning looking ladies. Of course he pulled of his straw hat, causing the women to giggle.

For a few moments, the charming man could flirt with those women, causing them to giggle and playing with their hair.
A sign, Baba knew only too well;
A giggle here, a sudden touch there and the nervous playing with one of their stands was all he needed to know, that she was willing to leave with him. With a smile clearly visible on his well-defined face he listened to the mind candy but in the blink of an eye it changed into a pair of rolling eyes.

Vibrating, his phone made itself felt by playing the godfather theme.

Soryu Oh.
Again.
Even if he wasn't Italian, he was a mobster and at the beginning, the brown haired thief thought it would be funny, choosing this ringtone for him but now, he regretted his decision.

Bugged by his control call, he considered, if it would be a good decision to ignore it.

For a moment, his plan seemed to work but before his facial muscles could relax again, the mobster had sent him a message;
"Go get her!" it said with a screenshot of her position.

What the hell did she do somewhere outside of Phuket town? And far more important was the question 'Where did she have gotten there?'

Excusing himself, he started to run off towards the lobby.

"Please leave a message for Mr. Ota in room twelve. The bird has flown."

He screamed running outside and heading for the taxis waiting in front of the hotel.

One of the benefits of being a much travelled thief was his ability of speaking multiple languages, including Thai.

Asking if anyone of the drivers had seen Kimiko, he jumped from door to door, showing them the position on his phone until he found someone who agreed to drive him. Baba wasn't sure how he should find her and even if he did, how he could take her with him without looking like a creep.
With force, it wouldn't be an easy endeavor. Even if she was about a head smaller than him, she had proofed her strength more than clearly.

It seemed like it took an eternity to reach the old abandoned building she was probably still in, an old warehouse were some people hung out in front. Paying the driver, Baba didn't hesitate to run straight into the building. Especially natives were making party in here, dancing to some rave-similar, industrial music.

"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck."

He murmured to himself making his way through the crowd of sticky people. Finally when he had gone through a strange lightened hallway he reached the toilettes.
Maybe she was in here.
No.

"Damned."

Cursing was not like Baba at all, but this time was an exception.

Normally it wasn't hard for him to find the things he wanted to find but tonight, it wasn't like stealing an expensive statue.
The air was thick and sweaty inside the building and full of smoke, not the best circumstances to think or find this little troublemaker.
Asking some more people, which were too stoned or drunk to answer he was almost at the point to give up.

Pushing up the heavy iron doors, he leaned against the cold wall of the building.
Heavy breathing left his lips, savoring the fresh air. It had begun to rain slightly. Drop after drop landed upon his head and face, cooling him off, at least a little bit.
Suddenly he could hear something or someone chewing, no rather smacking. His natural, curious self didn't allow him to walk away without looking. Careful he leaned over the bushes a few steps in front of him and couldn't trust his eyes.

Kimiko was sitting behind, no, in the bush eating a cake with one of her hands while in the other he could recognize a bottle of Jack.

"Want some?"

She asked rather euphoric when she realized someone behind her.

"What do you think you're doing there, beauty?"

In his voice was pure concern, no more anger or anything like that.

"Aw, you're concerned, aren't you? That's so nice of you, but you don't have to. I'm drunk and…" she swayed a bit, obviously without any sense of balance. " high as fuck…Mr… hey I still don't know your full name…"

"You're what? Woman, are you crazy?"

Only too well, Baba knew how the public authorities react relating to drugs in Thailand. Walking in front of her he crouched down, grabbing for her arms to help her up. She was right. Unnaturally widened pupils were clearly visible and the long haired thief wasn't eager about being found by some cops in civvies or money-grubbing bartender.

"Come on little troublemaker, you should rest now. Let's go."

"No!"

She yelled now, causing him to stop in tracks.

When he turned around again to grab for her upper arm he could feel wounded flesh.
With gentle force Baba turned her arm towards him, earning more groaning and yelling. Easily he could see what had been the reason for her behavior and he took a close look on her face. The black haired woman must have had a hard fight because there were cuts and bruises on the inside of her upper arm, like she tried to block an attack.
Because of her struggle, he hadn't recognized at first but now;
She must have had cried.
With swollen eyes and smeared make up on her face she darted a very dark glance on him.

"What does all this mean?"

"What? You are seriously asking me what?"

Now she was screaming at him, still sitting on the wet grass in the opulent bush.

"I'm telling you what, okay? I hadn't asked to be like I am! I hadn't asked to be sold to five total jerks I don't know at all! This isn't what I wanted and now I'm taking a break from everything!"

"Oh, dear…"

Never in his life, had he heard more pain and desolation in a voice before. She had been such a strong woman, asserting herself against him and the other men more than clearly but now he could see what was hiding beneath this trembling body.

"I am not able to sleep in peace, not even rest so this is my resort! Let me go you filthy bastard! Go away!"

Crying out of her hidden anger, Kimiko tried to push Baba off, slapping hard on his hands and chest but he didn't care.
Wrapping his arms around her tiny, huddled body he tried to calm her instinctively.

"Shhhh, okay? Let's just come down."

First, the black haired woman tried to slap or kick him off, without success. The Kush in her system in combination with the alcohol was making her imprecise and numb.

"Come on beautiful."

With ease, the thief lifted her body up, carrying her bridal style. Still sobbing she held tight onto him, without struggling this time. Finally it seemed that she calmed down when he carried her to the taxi stand a few streets away. Driving of in the direction of the hotel his own heartbeat became steady again. Worriedly he took a glance on the curled body of hers while he could realize something on her body that he hadn't recognized until now.

I'm scared to get close and I hate being alone. I long for that feeling to not feel at all.
The higher I get, the lower I'll sink. I can't drown my demons, they know how to swim.

Freshly these lines of a song, he knew only too well, were tattooed on the side of her ribcage, exposed because of the cropped top she was wearing.

What the heck did she do?

When he carried her into the hotel, Ota was already waiting in the lobby.

"What happened?"

He asked with his angelic smile fading not a bit.

Without attaching value the brown haired thief continued his way, followed by the artist who closed the door so he could lose his cool and angelic smile.
When Baba laid her down onto her mattress and throwing her backpack and coat to the side he sat next to her on the side of the bed.

"Baba?"

"Nothing to care about. She just got lost in the city, nothing to worry about, I guess. Tomorrow, she may will have a hangover, but nothing serious so don't stress yourself."

"She shouldn't be wandering around on her own, I thought?"

"What the eye does not see, the heart does not grieve over, so I don't think we shouldn't mention this in front of Sor or one of the others, or do you think it would be a good idea?"

Both of them glanced over to the heavy sleeping girl, tossing around on her bed.

"You're right."

In the blink of an eye Ota's face changed into his normal, angelic smile but before he left the hotel room a dark glance appeared on his face again.

"Make sure she's fit and ready tomorrow. I won't excuse any problems caused by her behavior."

And with that, he left.

For the first time in Baba's life, he didn't know what to do with a woman lying in a bed next to him.
They didn't know each other at all and they just had met a few days before but Baba couldn't deny he felt awfully close to her.
Not in a romantic way. It was more like he could feel all the pain and self-doubts she held captive in her. She was so young, and must have had suffered her whole lifetime. Baba wanted to ease the pain, but how?
Disillusioned about the idea, he could help her he stood up from her bed, walking towards the door and left her alone in the dark.

God damned, when in her life had she ever been knocked out by kush and alcohol?
Too many times she had used this way of rest to react so sensitive about it. Rubbing her spinning head she tried to get up.
No use.
The whole hotel room rotated and she felt like she was sitting on a roundabout.

"Ugh."

She groaned heavily.
For at least 20 minutes she stayed like this with a dry mouth and no strength in her body to walk to the minibar and fridge on the opposite of her bed.
Maybe there was more than weed and jack in her system? A knock, almost not audible couldn't been heard by her because the numbness of her senses.

"Good Morning, beautiful, how… oh!"

Baba stepped into the room with a serving trolley but immediately he stood still as she couldn't hold herself anymore. Rushing over to her he jumped onto the bed ready, to hold her hair but she already had back her self-control.

"I didn't know what you liked to eat for breakfast so I decided to order some of everything."

Kimiko didn't answer, instead of it she stood up slowly and stumbled towards the delicious looking food.
Eggs and bacon!
The best food for some hangover mornings.
Starving the food she stopped paying attention to the brown haired thief who made himself a home, flopping onto her bed and silently chuckling.

"You know that women, who are drunk aren't sexy or hot in men's eyes?"

Without swallowing the food in her mouth she began to speak, a bit muffled.

"So doesn't women who're eating too much, sweating or cursing and still I'm don't wasting a thought about stopping it! Now tell me why do you even think about I want to look 'hot'!?"

Bursting into a loud laughter the thief began to stand up again.

"You've got a point. That's what I like. Now I would go and rush a bit because Ota awaits you in the lobby in… about 45 minutes and you sure have to take a shower."

With an chuckle he pulled of his hat, charming as always and left.

Shoving the last piece of bacon into her mouth she watched the thief leaving in disbelieve.
45 minutes to recover from a hangover?

"Fuck."

She muffled while slowly turning around towards the bathroom. Hopping into the shower she thought about last night.
Well, at least she could remember buying some clothes and cigarettes in the shopping district before the taxi driver set her off at that old fabric. For the huge tip she had payed him he had given her a pack of weed.
By the thought of it she smiled satisfied.
Even if it had an extreme strong effect on her, it was one of the best 15 g she had ever had. With an unexpected rush she began to wrap her body into an oversized towel before she grabbed for the blow dryer.
What?
Since when did she have that tattoo!?
Curious she eyed the thin lines on her ribcage. Blinking a few times she ignored the questions in her head like she ignored the pain on the inside of her upper arm.
Maybe it would be the best if she didn't know what exactly happened last night.

It was already warm outside even if it was early in the morning but gladly the air conditioners in the hotel were more than exclusive.
Deciding to not stress the two criminals more than she had already, she reluctant pulled out her piercings again. Kimiko grabbed for some clothes she had bought last night; a destroyed looking, high waist jeans hot pants and an oversized white tee, since the mobster wasn't here so she probably hadn't too look 'classy'. With her aviator glasses and a snapback she left her hotel room. Heading towards the lobby she tried to get her head straight but it didn't seemed that easy.

"There you are goddess. Come on, let's go! Ota is already gone and awaits us down on the beach. We have to hurry up. Time is money."

Greeted the brown haired thief with his usual charming smile.

"Kay. Can you tell me what exactly I have to do? I mean, no one really explained it to me so I only know I have to help the artist with a model job." "I think I'm the wrong to ask, but I'm sure he will explain it to you asap."

And with that he guided her to a nearby section of the beach.

There were no tourists or rubbish lying around, just Ota standing far with some people which looked like a filming crew and make up artists peeking outside of a trailer.

Some clouds blocked the way of the sun and a so the breeze was almost chilly on her skin.
It would start raining in about two hours she guessed while walking on the fine sand and watching the low waves rolling easily on the surface of the ocean.

"Finally!" Ota called, with his typical angelic smile and a friendly tone in his voice which caused Kimiko want to throw up immediately.

"Kimiko, Honey this is Prasong Sudarak, the director for today."

Greeting her with a small peck on her cheeks, Prasong allowed her to call him by his nickname 'Song' or 'Goldfinger' and walked over to his stool, were some notes were lying after she and Baba introduced their selves.
She could tell by the way the crew was acting, everyone thought that Ota was one of the kindest and loveliest persons and he did everything to hold up this impression.
Sneaking an arm around her waist as if it was the most natural thing the blonde man guided her with gently force towards the staff.

"I know it was spontaneous to help out Ota with his idea but I'm glad you agreed since it's a long-cherished wish of mine to work with you."

"Yeah, it's a pleasure to work with you, too and I haven't slept enough tonight since I was so excited for today."

Kimiko remembered him from some commercials he had filmed. A special eye for upper class needs and elegance were one of his features and in the world of media he the man in in his early fifties had made himself a name. Almost everything he laid his fingers on turned in to gold which was the reason for his nickname.

"I'll go and get ready. Please make sure to explain every detail of our concept to her, since I hadn't had the time explaining it to her and it would be tragic, if anything would fail today."

"Isn't he priceless? So much creativity in such a young man and also he is extremely talented."

Goldfinger held out the concept to her and explained every detail while she was browsing the pages in a rapid pace.
After about ten minutes of introducing her to the idea Ota had worked out with him she found the air to spoke.

"Are you for real?"