The Unceasing Path

Ch 12 : 飛越危牆

Flying Off the Rails - wherein nothing goes according to plan


[Haruka's living room, 10 days later]

A few days passed. A week. A week and a half. 10 days.

No contact. Not a word. It had been 10 days since she last saw Ami in that hotel room.

Makoto carried on, business as usual, as if there wasn't a giant gaping hole in her life where Ami used to be. Her partner was missing. There was nothing Makoto could do about it. She closed her eyes, squeezing them shut against the increasingly obvious truth. Ami was in trouble. She was probably dead. Makoto fumed. Ami'd better be dead. If she wasn't, then Makoto would kill her personally...leaving on a mission to do god-knows-what all by herself. Fucking idiot. Makoto hoped that she was alright, wherever she was.

"Damn. Your poker face sucks. You going to call this or what? All in."

Makoto's head snapped up at the clattering sound of Haruka pushing her chips to the centre of the table. She took another look at her cards having forgotten what she was holding. 2 pairs. Aces and eights. That wasn't the worst hand in the world. She could work with that.

"I'll see that bet. You're all talk." Makoto tossed her chips into pile and revealed her hand. A schoolyard chorus of ooohs sounded from Motoki and Umino at the challenge.

"And you rush into things." Haruka slapped her cards onto the table revealing a full house. Nines over queens. "See? Sometimes, I'm not actually bluffing."

"Ugh! Makoto! You played the Dead Man's Hand?" Motoki raised his hands and backed off in a melodramatic display of fear. "That's bad luck you know."

"I wouldn't dismiss it so easily. It's still statistically better than 95% of the possible hands out there." Umino commented to no one in particular."Although she still loses to Haruka this time."

Makoto rolled her eyes, thankful for the boys' easy going banter. She was playing cards with the guys. Everything was normal. She was not a cop. Her partner was definitely not dead.

"Thank you Professor IQ! We all needed to know that. Besides, I've got two red aces. Dead Man's Hand is supposed to be all black. This doesn't count."

"Ah! The lady knows her obscure poker trivia."

"Surprised that the meathead knows her stuff? Yeah. I had a lot of time to read while I was in jail." Makoto shot Haruka a shit-eating grin. "We're lucky we're not right now eh?"

"Ugh, not you too. Goddammit, everyone's on my case about that whole highway clusterfuck." Haruka's cell phone rang at that moment. "Well damn, speaking of. I got to take this call. Be right back. "

Motoki whistled through his teeth. "Whoa! 'Ruka's wound up a bit tight. Did I miss something?"

"It's probably about that jewelry store job those two bungled last week."

Makoto whirled around on the gossipy little accountant.

"How did you know about that?"

Umino held his hands up defensively.

"Hey! Hey! It's cool! I know because I'm trying to clean up after you and Haruka. Boss has me keeping an ear out for any fences trying to move diamonds right now. You know how he hates loose ends. He wants his diamonds back badly. Oh, I'd love to be a fly on the wall when the thieves find out the diamonds are synthetic."

"You're kidding! Fake diamonds?"

"Not fake." Umino corrected. "Synthetic. Specifically, chemical vapour deposition diamonds. They're still diamonds. Completely identical to "real" diamonds, except that they're are grown in a lab. Oh! That, and they're worth WAY less then what those Yuet To Tong assholes were expecting when they stole them. Funny huh?"

"Dammit! What the hell? I risked my life for fake diamonds?"

"No, you risked your life because the Boss said so." Haruka's re-entry into the conversation was sharp. The temperature in the room seemed to drop a few degrees. "That's how things work around here."

Motoki broke the awkward tension "Sorry. Didn't hear you come in. Everything ok Haruka?"

"You guys go. I need to talk to Makoto alone." Haruka shot the swirly eyed man-child a death glare. "Oh, and Umino: shut up."

Umino 'eeped' and scurried out of the penthouse as fast as he could.

"I guess that's game over then. See you guys next time!" Motoki chased after Umino. "Wait up! We're supposed to share a cab remember?"

Makoto turned to Haruka with a nervous chuckle as soon as the door slammed shut in the wake of Umino and Motoki's hasty retreat.

"Shit. Sorry. Everything ok? I didn't mean what I said earlier. Just caught off guard I guess."

Haruka frowned, but Makoto got the sense that her irritation was directed somewhere else.

"No, I get it. I'd be upset too if I were you. Between you and me, I didn't like walking into that situation blind either. Hell, all I got told was "Stop that van, steal what they have". I didn't even know it was the Yuet To Tong until I saw Michiru. If I had known, I might have done things differently. Sorry about that." Haruka sighed "Ah well. Boss is the boss. Can't argue with that. Money talks."

"Ain't that the truth. Money. That's how little guys like you and me get screwed eh?" Makoto put her hands behind her head as she propped her feet up on Motoki's now vacated chair. "So, you needed to talk to me?"

Haruka took a look at the poker chips still littering the foldout table.

"Ugh. You all owe me at least a few hundred bucks each. We'll cash up later. Come on, no time to sit." Haruka walked towards the door and gestured for Makoto to follow "Boss has a job for us."

"Both of us? Uh...are we in trouble?"

"No. If we were, I'd warn you. I promise. Umino, that gossipy bastard, was right though." The edge on Haruka's voice made Makoto nervous. "It is that damn diamond job. It's like the gift that keeps on giving. We've got a mess on our hands. Hurry up, I'll fill you in on the way."

"I'm right behind you." They walked to the elevator and rode down to the carpark in silence. Makoto turned to Haruka the instant they got into her Ferrari. "So tell me what's happening." There was no mincing words. No way in hell was anyone going to leave her out of the loop ever again. Luckily, Haruka was far more forthcoming than Ami ever was.

"Apparently, we need to get some information from someone. Those diamonds that Umino mentioned? Yeah. The Yuet To Tong still have them, and the Boss wants them back. I don't have all the details, but I've been told that we've got one of the Tong locked up at the autobody shop over in To Kwa Wan. Boss wants us to interrogate her."

"Really!? Who?" Hope leapt into Makoto's voice and made her squeak like a prepubescent girl. Makoto cleared her throat and tried again. "I mean, shit! That's bad. Do the Yuet To Tong even know we have one of theirs?"

"I don't know. Maybe not. This is all news to me too. I've been freaking out ever since. I don't even know who we have. It sounds like someone important though. All I know is that Rei has been interrogating her all week and she hasn't cracked yet. Boss wants us to take over." Haruka gave a low whistle of appreciation. "That's impressive, but stupid. This is going to get ugly."

Holding out after a week of interrogation from a sociopathic assassin? Yeah, that sounded like Ami. Makoto felt a twinge of guilt for how happy she was right now. Sure, the situation was dire but this was the best news she'd received all week. At least now she knew where Ami was and she knew what to do next. It was business as usual. Makoto turned to Haruka and pressed for more information.

"So where do we fit in? I mean, If Rei can't get her to break then what does Boss expect us to do about it?"

"Well, knowing Rei, she's only got the one approach and it clearly isn't working. I think Boss wants us to try something different. Mix it up a little. You want try good cop/bad cop?"

Makoto answered without hesitation "I'll take bad cop. I beat her down, then you come in with the charm. That ought to do the trick."

It was a surprisingly easy decision to make given the circumstances. This was the best course of action. Ami's lessons from training echoed though her head. Always be in a position of power. Be in a position to to limit the harm and keep casualties to a minimum.

Damage control.

This is what Ami herself would have done.

In some ways, this was very much like their first mission together where she had been forced to beat Ami within an inch of her life. Strange how comforting that memory was right now. She and Ami had come a long way since then. Makoto grinned, feeling a surge of confidence that wasn't there 10 minutes ago. They had been through worse and survived. Between the two of them, they would figure a way out. She was sure of that.

Thanks to Haruka's ridiculously overpowered vintage Toyota roadster, they arrived at the body shop in no time. Rei was waiting for them outside on the street. Makoto had seen only Rei in the flesh once or twice over the years, and she got the chills every time. Still, she waved a friendly hello to the assassin. Rei however, was all business. She simply put out her cigarette, tossed over a set of keys, hopped on her motorcycle, then sped off without saying a word.

"Damn." Haruka stared as the assassin disappeared into the night. "Anyone else get the creeps around that one?"

Makoto nodded. Rei was unsettling. She was highly effective and absolutely the best at her chosen field. Too bad her chosen field was 'murder for hire'.

"Anyways, here we are." Haruka messed about with the keys. Eventually, she found the right one. The metal security gate rattled up with a clatter that was lost in the night.

Makoto looked around the facility. The small garage was dark and appeared empty. "Hm. No one here. I guess we're supposed to head to the back office."

"You go on ahead. I'm going to bring the car in. I'm not leaving my baby outside in this neighbourhood."

Haruka handed the keys to Makoto and sauntered off. Makoto thanked the gods for this unexpected opportunity. She hurried towards the back. The sooner she got to Ami, the more time they would have alone to plan out their next move.

Makoto was ready. She was ready for blood and violence. She was ready to get her hands dirty. She was ready to act the rough and vicious triad enforcer she'd hated being, but first, she had to see Ami and figure out what the hell was going on.

She found the back office and opened the door.

She was ready for anything, but she wasn't ready for not for this.

"Back for more asshole!? You have some nerve asking me questions after you killed my best friend." The blonde woman tied to the chair spat at the ground in front of Makoto's feet. She stopped struggling for a moment and squinted up at Makoto's face through puffy eyelids. "Wait. You're not Rei. Who the fuck are you?"


"WHAT! NO!"

"Hmm?" Ami's face was the picture of innocence. "Something wrong Mako?"

"AHHHH!" Makoto clapped her hands to her mouth, eyes wide and disbeliving. "You did NOT just kill my favourite character!"

The devilish little smirk on Ami's face melted into much more tender. "I'm your favourite character? Really?"

"Of course! I mean, the story Ami is kind a paranoid jerk, but there's good in there. Plus, she's a total badass. I can't help but love that. Also, her and Makoto. It's us! Come on! Who wouldn't be pulling for them to have a happy ending together?" Makoto stopped to think. "Wait. Ami was there at the wedding hall shootout in the end wasn't she? That means she can't be dead now! You're plotting something."

Ami shrugged noncommittally.

"Of course I'm plotting something. I'm the author. Maybe the ending's changed?"

Makoto groaned.

"You. Are. Evil. At least go back and tell me what happened at the diamond exchange!"

"Of course! Your wish is my command. Looks like we're in for a flashback chapter..."


A.N.

:D Did anyone miss real!Ami and real!Mako? I know I did.

I have to say, setting up a flashback chapter is alot easier when I can have the characters just say "yo, flashback coming up.". Actually alot of things are easier when I have a plot device that lets me smash the 4th wall at will...like letting y'all know that maybe the ending's changed...?

haha, and yes brycelozier, this story really was fully spoiler-ed since ch 1...or was it? Only Ami knows...or is she? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Cheers,
-Drift.


Up Next:

Ch 13 - 友情歲月 - A Story of Friendship – wherein a story is told, beginning, middle, and end.