Contract 10: Hours Of Abyss 4

"Gotcha." Akihito zooms in on his target with his camera.

He's currently following Kagawa Daisuke to a giant warehouse by a river. There are over twenty men in black and armed with guns guarding the entrance and all around. It's 3 in the morning so none of their faces were clear enough for him to see. The last three days had been tough. He's still sore from being fucked him into oblivion by Asami day in and night out. He almost lost track of Kagawa Daisuke at one point. Right now, he's outside the warehouse by Hirojima Bay. Akihito stay behind a forest of bushes and trees many meters away. He couldn't get any closer than this. Then a black car stop at the entrance. The guards are alert and pull out their weapons in case of emergency. The door open to reveal an old man somewhere in his 50's. Akihito grab his binocular and observes from behind the thick layer of bushes. It's Koizumi Ichirou. He could barely hear what they're saying, but he catch on to a word or two. Kagawa Daisuke walks out of the warehouse and give him a warm welcome. Even a drug deal is this uptight. Definitely not his style. Akihito keep trying to move closer to get a clear picture. He wants a closer view.

"Takaba, don't you think this is close enough?" Suoh asks.

The blond glares at him, but refused to say anything back. He's too mad. Asami made Akihito share with him every single details about the scoop (save for the Sakazaki thing though). Then he refused to let him finish his job. But Akihito persist; he begged and pleaded until the man gave in. Asami set up a condition, saying that he have to take Suoh along with him. That was total bullshit. He's being babysit like a little kid even though he's a grown up man. That's quite an insult. Akihito creeps closer until Suoh grab him by the collar of his hoodie.

"What do you want?" He says, a bit annoyed.

"This is close enough," he says sternly.

"To hell with it. I want to get closer. Let me go."

"I'm afraid this is close enough. Take what you can from here," he says. He had gotten used to the blond's tantrum the last few months.

"Why the hell should I?"

"Boss's order."

"Tch."

There goes his good mood. He hates it when Suoh, Kirishima, and the others are like this. Their undying loyalty annoys him to no end. It wasn't even that. They worship Asami and his words too much and there's a limit to that. But Akihito being Akihito, he never listen. He tread further in. If he can't get a good angle for a shot, his effort until now will be for nothing. Besides, he needs to know the face of the one who ordered his kidnapping. Then another five black cars with no license plates stop in front of the warehouse. The door open to reveal a man with long hair in black suit and his men in black (Akihito counted that there are over twenty of them). Kagawa Daisuke comes out to greet him and they went inside. Now that both parties are here, most guards went inside with them. Only three guards are left to guard the entrance. Akihito sees a small opening a few feet high on one side of the warehouse and a few boxes are stacked up on the ground below. A great plan comes to mind.

"Suoh, don't stop me," he says.

That's when Akihito run from his hiding spot in the bushes and dash for the warehouse a few meters away. Thankfully, none of the guards noticed him. Suoh runs after him just as quick. Then he smack Akihito hard on the head.

"What were you doing? We could've been seen," he says sternly.

Akihito glares. "What are you, my mother? I came here to get the scoop so I'm not going to sit behind some trees and hide. That's unprofessional."

"Asami-sama said to not get into trouble."

Akihito just rolled his eyes at Suoh's arguing statement. "Oh please. Just watch out for me, will ya? Thanks."

He carefully climbs the stack of boxes and balance himself on top. Akihito peek in and see Fei Long and Koizumi Ichirou shaking hands. Their men stand behind them, stiff and alert. It's too intense. There's a large cargo box behind Koizumi Ichirou guarded tightly by his men. One of Fei Long's men hold a large suitcase in hand. Akihito take out his mini camera and start snapping a few pictures. He almost forgot to turn off the flash too. Mini camera are safer to use in this situation. Large cameras have better photo quality, but with such a heavy thing on him he won't be able to run fast enough if he happens to get involved in troubles. But then the pictures didn't turn out the way he wanted. He couldn't see the faces without flash. But it will give them away if he use flash. Akihito just take what he can for now. He look around for a certain foreigner in the crowd of the Koizumi gang, but there were none. Akihito climb down slowly.

"Hey, Suoh. There are no foreigner anywhere in there. Are you sure he's a member of the Koizumi gang?" He asks the giant.

"Yes. Kirishima checked twice. The man known as J is definitely affiliated with the Koizumi gang. Besides, you found out from one of his underlings yourself," he says coolly.

"No need to get snarky with me. I was just asking."

"I was simply answering your question. No sarcasm needed."

Akihito rolled his eyes. "Gee, thanks."

He began to climb back onto the stacks of boxes, but loses his footing. Suoh sees this and quickly drop his gun to dash over for the falling blond. Akihito stumbled back a bit and fell into Suoh's arms safely. Suoh let out a exasperated sigh.

"Oh my god, Suoh. I'm really sorry. I honestly didn't mean to-"

"Quiet," he quickly shush.

"Sorry and thanks."

"It would be really unpleasant if you cause anymore sound. We do not want their attention on us. It's troublesome," he says, annoyed.

Akihito just pout. He already apologized twice and Suoh simply brushed him off. Asami's men are all insensitive like him. They're birds of a flock. Akihito jump out of Suoh's arms, not wanting to sour the mood too much. He walks over to the boxes and readjust them so that it's nice and balanced. He check his camera first before climbing onto the boxes again. Thank god they're still okay and working. That's when the boxes gave out and Akihito fell down with it. The loud sound alert the three guards by the entrance.

"What's that sound?"

"I don't know."

"You two go check it out, I'll stay here and watch."

"Okay."

The two guards quickly draw their guns. They carefully walk to the corner and turn to see that there are just boxes left unorganized by the wall of the warehouse. Seeing this, they relaxed their guards a bit.

"Probably just a cat," one says.

"We should do a recheck just in case," another says.

Akihito and Suoh peek from behind another corner of the warehouse. As soon as they heard that the guards are coming, they made a run for it. It was a really close call. Then the two guards walk closer to their hiding spot, unaware of the two people in the shadow. Suoh is armed and ready.

"Hey, Suoh, I have an idea," the blond whispers to Suoh. "We should…."

The men were totally caught by surprise. Suoh suddenly appear behind one of them and engage him in an armlock. The man drop his gun and gasp desperately for air. His face is apple red. The other man was ready to fire at Suoh until Akihito comes up from behind and strangle the man's neck with his flannel. The man drop his gun and claw at the flannel around his neck. The two silently chokes for air until they both collapsed. Suoh and Akihito quickly drags both of them into the bushes. Akihito strips the smaller man of his suit, leaving him in his boxer. Akihito strips himself down to his boxer and hands his clothes over to Suoh.

"Put them in my backpack for me. Thanks," he says.

Suoh makes a face, but did as he was told. Akihito put the suit on and brush any excess wrinkles away. It's a little bit big on him, but it still fit somehow. Coincidentally enough, he brought a hat with him today.

"Hey, everything's alright over there?" The guard by the entrance asks.

Akihito (in his disguise) walks over to where he is, keeping his head low. "Yeah, everything is good."

"Where you get the hat?"

"Oh, I found it by the bushes and I took a liking to it," he says.

"You got some weird taste, kid."

"Haha, guess so."

"Where is Yuta?" The guard asks.

"Who? Oh, him? He's checking around a bit more just in case. He told me to tell you that," Akihito says nervously.

"Hm, okay. Hey, Yun, I been meaning to ask. Are you sick or something? Your voice sounded a little higher than-"

The man didn't even get to finish his sentence when Akihito kicks him hard in the stomach. He stumbled a bit. Before he can drop his gun or make a sound to alert the people inside the warehouse, Akihito grab his gun and knock him out with it. That was too easy. Suoh comes out of the bushes and help Akihito drag the body over to where the other two is. They're simply unconscious.

"That's the craziest shit you've ever pulled," Suoh says, a bit annoyed.

"Hey, don't complain. It worked so that's that." Akihito shrugs.

"And if it didn't?"

Akihito rolled his eyes for the third time the past hour. "Stop thinking about that. It worked, okay? You're such a party pooper."

"Fine, but we should kill these guys just in case they wake up and make a ruckus," Suoh casually says.

"Suoh!"

ViewfinderViewfinderViewfinder

Suoh, on one knee, grunted when Akihito put all of his weight on his shoulder. The blond may not be that heavy, but he's not light either. Akihito whose shoes is off stand on top of Suoh's shoulder, not particularly gentle with his steps either. The giant refused to let him stand on the boxes, afraid it would catch more attention than necessary. Since the blond refused to leave it at that, this is the only option left. Akihito brings out his binocular when watching the exchange. He'd missed out on the most part of their conversations and refused to miss out on more. But nothing happens for a moment. The two mafias just engaged each other in a long staring contest. Definitely weird. Then Fei Long's guard step up to front and open the suitcase, revealing millions of dollars in real cash. Koizumi Ichirou had one of his men step up and check through each bundle of cash thoroughly, in case of counterfeit. The guard nodded in confirmation and step back to his post. They then proceed with caution. Koizumi Ichirou's men push the large cargo box upfront and open to reveal countless bags of neatly-packaged powder and greenish-looking leaves. Akihito wonder if one of them is marijuana or something. He seen a lot of those in almost every illegal trade he managed to scoop up and escaped alive. Fei Long have his men confirm its authenticity. Just as they are about to go through with the last part of the exchange, the door open and someone began to open fire at them, particularly for the crowd on Koizumi Ichirou's side. It totally caught them by surprise. Some of the guards were hit and quickly stumbled in their steps. Fei Long and Ichirou Koizumi take cover behind empty cargo boxes that's been left behind in the warehouse. They draw their guns and fire at the intruders by the entrance. Akihito gasp when he sees Kirishima and others had been the culprit behind the open fire.

"Oh my god, Suoh, what the heck is happening? Why is Kirishima shooting them?" He asks the giant under him.

Suoh grunted at the slight shift of weight on his aching shoulder. He's totally aware of what's happening inside. He draw out his gun, fully load them with bullets, and ready to pull trigger at any given moment. "This is the reason why Asami-sama had me tagged along with you. He wants me to make sure you won't try and get yourself killed. Besides, it would be troublesome for the boss if the exchange go through successfully," he says.

Akihito let out a gasp of horror at the giant's confession. "So he just comes out of nowhere and planned to have his men kill them?"

"Precisely."

"What the heck."

"Koizumi Ichirou would never back down even if Asami-sama were to verbally confront him. Fei Long is another matter entirely," he says coolly.

"I get that Koizumi Ichirou is a stubborn old mule, but why you gotta kill him?"

"It's because he is stubborn."

"Then what about Fei Long? Are you guys going to kill him too?" Akihito asks. He keep a firm eye on the scene that unfold in front of him. Kirishima and the rest of the men is creeping in on a particular crowd behind a tower of cargo boxes further back on the left, the number of men have been reduced by half at Kirishima's hand alone in a matter of minutes.

"Boss have no interest in Fei Long. What matters to him is that the threat is disposed of."

"Then where is he?"

"He's in there."

There was a look of horror on the blond's face. "Are you serious? Is he trying to get himself killed? Why the hell do you think I gave him that stupid information about the deal to begin with? I was trying to get him out of this mess! Now look at what he's doing."

Suoh raised an eyebrow at the blond's statement. "You gave him the information? Don't worry. Boss can look after himself."

"Sure he can," Akihito says sarcastically. "Yeah, I bugged one of their men and listen in on them for over a week."

"You followed them? You crazy bastard."

"Right back at ya."

Akihito focus at the scene of bloodbath in front of him. Kirishima killed over twenty men with a clean head shot each time. The rest of the men fire to keep the others on opposite team at bay. The amount of dead bodies on the ground accumulates in numbers. Akihito could only gape his mouth wide open at seeing a real shootout for the first time in his life. He watched in horror as blood began to pool all over the ground. Akihito began to noticed that Fei Long and his men simply hides behind another tower of cargo boxes to the right and that Kirishima and the rest of the men seems to pay them no mind. Fei Long's men occasionally comes out and fire in retaliation which ends with their death. Akihito winced a bit when another guard was shot clean in the head. That's when a stray bullet fly his way and almost hit him had he not dodge it quickly enough. Akihito stagger a bit on Suoh's shoulder, but catch himself in time.

"Takaba, stay still!" He says, annoyed.

"Well sorry I was about to die from a stray bullet," he says, irritated at the giant's tone towards him.

"Just stay still for a minute, okay."

"Fine."

The blond's mind drifted back to his lover. Suoh said he's in there, but Akihito could only hoped he's not. Asami may be strong and a God in many things in life, but he's not immortal, that's for sure. The only reason he bother to emailed Asami that audio clip was to avoid this, his worst nightmare. He thought the older male would be smart and somehow resolve the issue without using violence, but here they are. Asami better be prepared for a lecture of a lifetime after this shit he just pulled. The thought of getting a scoop no longer occupies his list of priorities. His camera is long forgotten and is tucked in the pocket of his trouser. Akihito keep his eye out for Asami. But paranoia creeps in as the minutes ticked by and there's no sight of him.

"Oi Suoh. I don't see Asami in there. Are you sure he's not dead?" He asks nervously.

"He's not. Boss is a very capable man," Suoh says firmly.

"You guys sure believe in him. Don't you guys have any doubt at all? But are you sure he's even alive?" He asks again.

"We have no doubt. He's our boss for a reason," he says.

"Really? I mean, are you really really sure he's-"

"Takaba, calm down. You're being paranoid," he says sternly.

"I am calm," the blond retorts.

"But you won't shut up."

"I'm worried, stupid," Akihito says, a bit annoyed.

"No, you're just paranoid. Now stop overthinking and have some faith."

"Tch."

Kirishima shoot most of the guards in various area of vital organs for a finishing blow each time. He and his men prowl closer to their target. The last few of Koizumi Ichirou's men bravely comes out of their hiding place and attempt to take out Kirishima, but Masai seemingly appear out of thin ear behind them and finish them off with the same style of a clean headshot. Asami appear behind Koizumi Ichirou with the barrel of his gun to the old fox's right temple. Koizumi Ichirou gulps audibly at the sound of gun clicking. Akihito let himself breathe for the first time at the sight of his lover standing there in the flesh. He knew he wouldn't have to worry about Asami, but who could help it. There are people attempting to take him down so how could the blond stand by idly and just not worry. Then everything stilled on the spot. Koizumi Ichirou didn't dare to turn and look at the man behind him, instinctively knowing who it is. He glance to see Asami look down at him with a murderous intention and quiver at the sight. He's now a helpless old man at another's mercy. Asami said nothing and pull the trigger. Koizumi Ichirou is no more. His corpse lay indignantly on the ground for all to see; this is the price of going against Asami Ryuichi and the old fox is just one of the few examples. But it ended quickly just as it began. No one said a word. That is, until Fei Long comes out of his hiding place and draw his gun at Asami. So did the rest of the Chinese mafia members. All of Asami's men are alert once again, their guns are loaded and drawn to defend their boss. Akihito gasp at the scene in front of him.

"What is the meaning of this? I thought we had a deal," Kirishima says in a dark tone.

"We agreed that you killed Koizumi Ichirou and I share none of his consequences. But I never agree to be friends or allies. Now that that's done and set, I still have things to settle with you, Asami," Fei Long respond coolly.

Asami merely chuckles at the Chinese man's statement. "How childish."

Fei Long's eyes narrows dangerously at the laughing man, his finger settled on the trigger of his gun. "What did you say?"

At this scene, Akihito jump off Suoh's shoulder and make a run for one person, forgetting that he's barefoot. His heart is pounding like crazy. Suoh reacts too late when the blond dash for the entrance of the warehouse and inside. Akihito saw that Fei Long fire at Asami and jumps in. He tackle Asami to the ground and out of harm's way. The blond's interference caught everyone by the surprise and even speechless. Everything stilled once again. Akihito lay on top of Asami unmoving. The older man then proceed to push the blond off of him when he saw blood. The color red began to seeps into the fabric of Akihito's clothing. One thing comes to mind; Akihito had taken the bullet for him.

A/N: Is Aki going to die or is he going to live? Take your votes, girls! So this is the latest update. I've spent the entire week working on the last 3 chapters. So now I'm going to focus on writing the next few chapters of 'The Crime Lord The Pauper' this week. I've been stuck on the what to write and I'm trying to figure out something thrilling. But hope you guys enjoy reading and stay tune for more