AN: Hi readers! Thank you for the continuous support. I am safely back from my vacation and has acclimated to the routines again with my two boys. It was tough being away from them. Lesson learn, never go on vacation without them. Luckily I did get some plotting and writing done. Unfortunately, I did more reading them writing. So I'm out of practice once again. And oh, if you find my writing style mayhap changed just a tad, it's probably influenced by a bit from my readings, mainly Jane Austen's work and the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. Hopefully, I'll be back to my usual quick writing self once again and this story will be finished a few more chapters. Twenty chapters tops. We are already half way through. Please enjoy!
Part 12:
If both men look like two drown rats the cat drag in, no one dare comment aloud.
With utmost professionalism, Kirishima school his expression as soon as the boss and bodyguard step into the borrowed Club Manager's office. Two male attendants were light on their feet as they assist Suoh-san and Asami-sama out of their drench clothing and into already prepared dry replacements.
The secretary waits patiently; his outward appearance impeccable, although one wouldn't have guessed he directed a flurry of activities just moments ago.
As if watching straight out from a cheesy D movie, the ninja style smoke bomb Takaba Akihito delivered instigated a series of events. The diversion did its trick. When the smoke hit the detectors, the sensors activated the localized sprinklers. Thankfully, each room's response is independent of the others. Kirishima immediately went into action. He ordered the facility manager via the headset to have the ventilation in the Red Room reversed to divert the smoke out of the building. He then mobilizes the on-call security team to have the boy's escape stymied. Guards were dispatch at the Club entrance and the back fire escape routes posthaste.
Meanwhile his eyes never left the monitor. He knew the plot and wasn't fooled by the smoke screen. It took a few minutes, but once the smoke cleared, the images on the panel became clearer. Two people drench to the nines and coughing excessively, remain. Neither of them was Takaba Akihito.
Once confirmed, Kirishima refocus his eyes to scan the other monitors. He motions with his hand to the two present security guards to do the same.
"There, sir! Camera 13 and 14, main gallery."
Kirishima darted his eyes to the specified panel. A large blur was speeding down the main gallery. He blinked twice, his brows creasing inward before they unfurl. In the direction the blur was heading, it led to the employee staff access directly to the kitchen. His instincts kicked in and expediency made his orders terse to the on call security staff over the mic.
"Unit one, move in to block the kitchen loading dock now! Deny all access until further notice. Unit two, close in the main gallery towards the staff kitchen. Intercept a shirtless man in his early twenties. He's fast. Stay sharp. Detain him with any means possible, but do not harm him. I repeat, do not harm him. All other units converge at the scene to assist."
Satisfied with his quick thinking, Kirishima pushed his slipping eyeglasses back up with a middle finger at the bridge of his nose. It was a matter of time before that blur was captured. He knew that must be Takaba Akihito. It had to be. Strangely, the boy was inhumanly faster than the frame capture speed of the cameras. Due to lag perhaps. Still, there was no way Takaba-san could slip past the Club's tight security.
He stared intently at the screen. The blur stopped briefly at the double doors leading to the kitchen. A shirtless Takaba Akihito swiftly pushes through.
Kirishima flip a few switches to change the feed targeting the kitchen area onto the main monitor. He wanted a bigger view. His team should be in place by now. Takaba-san was as good as captured.
The screen flickered briefly before the scene in the kitchen unfolds.
It must have been only a minute tops, but unit two members were already down on the floor not moving. The kitchen staff was scurrying about in confused chaos. Sweat drops beaded at his temple. Kirishima frantically sorts out the moving bodies in search of the photographer.
Takaba-san couldn't be located. He tried the intercom in desperation.
"Unit two is down! Unit one, do you copy?"
Nothing but static greeted him.
"Kirishima, report."
Those oh-so-familiar words shook him out of his musings. Asami-sama and Suoh-san have finished changing their suits. Both men have dismissed their attendants and have taken their respective positions, with Suoh-san by the office entrance and Asami-sama at the seat in front of the desk.
The look on both men's faces would have intimidated most. He could understand why. The preemptive shower could sour anybody's mood, let alone these two studious men. For a certainty, Kirishima knew one of their looks was going to be somewhat fiercer, if that was even possible, before the night is over.
Preparing himself, the secretary imparted the news.
"Water damage has been contained to the Red Room only and was kept to a minimum. Hashimoto Constructions has been contacted to begin remodeling first thing tomorrow morning. That section will have to be cordon off until all repairs have been mitigated. Estimated time of completion will be four days. Normal Club operations would not be hindered."
"So long?"
Kirishima glance briefly at Asami-sama's face. He knew his carefully chosen words weren't capable of masking that little fact. He cleared his throat before resuming his report.
"After the kitchen staff vacated, further inspection indicates reparation must be made to patch up the holes on the walls and ceilings. Luckily the gas line was left unscathed although a few major appliances were damaged. These items will need to be replaced. Orders have already been made, sir."
The silence was expected. What was left unsaid had the secretary waiting in anticipation of Asami-sama's wrath. He knew no amount of rewording could have missed that big of an elephant, for lack of a better description.
The tension in the lines of the boss' face was quite pronounced. In fact, if he was brave enough, Kirishima could almost see a vein at Asami-sama's temple throbbing steadily.
At last, the man spoke. The secretary quickly unfocused his attention.
"They shot at him."
It wasn't a question. The clench fist atop the desk demonstrated the boss' wishful enactment of said violence against the perpetrators spoke clearly enough. Kami knows, he'd bear witness to more than one bystander who's received the brunt of Asami-sama's rage looking for an outlet. Takaba-san's rescue from Hong Kong could have easily been a massacre if the boss had free reign.
Kirishima swallowed a gulp before continuing. He wasn't planning to champion the security team, but he couldn't let them take the fall either.
"Not intentionally, Asami-sama."
The full force of that pregnant pause that came afterwards along with the boss' direct glare caused him some anxiety. However, having been on the receiving end on many occasions throughout the years provided the secretary a small level of immunity. Still, like clockwork, the goose bumps at the back of his neck peppered up and a shiver ran down his spine.
"Explain."
That singular word held more weight and responsibility than any other. Kirishima knew he had to tread carefully to save the security team from a literal firing squad. He forcefully relaxes his stance and specifically changes his tone.
"The unexpected resistance and struggle raised, elevated the misfiring, sir."
That statement got him a brow raised from Asami-sama. Good. The boss was intrigued.
"How so?"
To make the situation lighter, Kirishima affected a cough and raise a hand to adjust his glasses before directing the topic further.
"Ahem. Unit two was provoked, sir."
Both brows were raised immediately upon the boss' realization behind his words. Kirishima silently release a sigh of relief.
"You mean to tell me, Takaba initiated it?"
He wasn't lying when he decided to played up Takaba-san's role in the matter.
"Yes sir."
The boss actually pushes back from his seat behind the borrowed desk and a thoughtful frown cross his face.
"Bring him in here now."
There was no way around it. Kirishima took a quick intake of breath and rapid fire his responses.
"That is impossible, Asami-sama."
"If he's injured –"
"He escaped, sir."
"Then the medical staff dispatch –"
"—was for the security team, sir."
"Kirishima, no more interruptions."
"Yes, sir."
He received a pointed look for that rejoinder. Out of the corner of his eyes, the secretary could have sworn he saw Suoh-san actually smirk at him. Kirishima turns his head slightly to catch a better look at the rare sight. The expression disappears the moment Suoh-san caught him gawking.
"You mean to tell me, not only have Takaba escaped, but he injured all my security team members in the course of a few minutes?"
The secretary immediately returns his attention towards the boss. They were back into familiar, less volatile territory.
"Not all, sir. Unit three is in pursuit as we speak. Unit four remains unharmed and on call. "
"Show me."
"As you wish, Asami-sama."
Kirishima anticipates this request. He presents a remote from his coat pocket and pressed a button. A hidden horizontal slot on the ceiling panel flips open from behind him. The slight buzzing of electrical motors twirl to a stop when the forty inch LED screen fully descended.
With some quick editing, he had the security manager prepares a brief clip of the night's events from various camera perspective. He chose not to narrate and allows the images to speak for themselves.
The boss watches in silence. His stoic face gave no hint of his thoughts.
A few minutes in, a movement from the bodyguard's end caught his attention once more. Kirishima turn his head towards Suoh-san and discovers another rare expression upon the older man's normally stone demeanor. He couldn't put a description at first. It was a cross between a scowl and distaste or perhaps constipation. The secretary quickly shook his head of that connecting image.
For the first time in so many years, the secretary wants privy to Suoh-san's thoughts on the matter more than Asami-sama's. That odd look somehow disturbed Kirishima more than the images of Takaba-san kicking security butt like one of those big budget Hong Kong kung fu movies on screen, even after knowing it was done without those special affect wires.
It was another few minutes before the clip faded and he turn off the screen.
Despite his mental toe-tapping, Kirishima maintain his relax stance and waits patiently.
Asami-sama had risen from his seat and quietly moves to the mini bar located at a corner of the office. The boss pours himself a full tumbler then tosses the amber liquid down like it was a shot of whiskey. Internally, the secretary winces in reaction to such an abuse. The second tumbler the boss poured didn't raise the same treatment.
The man took the glass in hand and quietly walks toward the wall to floor window behind the desk, overlooking the meat packing district. Kirishima knew this pattern well and began to gather his thoughts. Any moments now, the boss would ask a variable of questions and he would offer a variable of suggestions and solutions. In this case, despite the oddity of Takaba-san's behavior, the cat and mouse pattern was a signature category he was most familiar with. It was a game they all play well.
So it never ceases to amaze him when Asami-sama makes a comment that challenges all his preconceived notions.
"So Kirishima, what do you think of our little imposter?"
To the reviewers:
muumuu122 - When I'm on a roll, quick bursts of writing induces me to post early depending on where I want the cliffhanger to be. I'll try to beef it up a bit more for the next chapter prior to posting this one. I do feel a bit rusty.
Takkie - I'm glad you enjoy my descriptions. I was trying to liven it up with witty dialog, some insider jokes and such. I thought about drugging him too, but I think in Asami's defense he could have assume Akihito would have the same low tolerance for alcohol so didn't bother.
SasuNaruAngel - Thank you. I'm glad you enjoy my sense of humor. I'll try to add a few more gems like that.
chickie434 - I'm glad you're enjoying the development. I have more plot to dispense before the story is over. As for the quicker updates, I'll see what I can do.
hawk1891 - I hope you like this chapter update as well. Thanks for reading.
Sashimio - Thank you for following this story. I'm sorry you didn't like the whole fox fetish part, but meant that as more of a joke than anything.
SweetMary16 - I'm happy to know you enjoy the dialog. I enjoy writing those parts very much.
