Chapter 14
"My world has turned upside down." Asami said, giving his broken globe a spin just to prove his point. It wobbled and then fell over on the floor, landing so that Antarctica was at the top. "They even broke my favorite coffee mug." His favorite coffee mug was a birthday gift from his men and had the words World's Greatest Mob Boss with a picture of a grinning dog holding a smoking gun. Irreplaceable.
Someone was going to have to pay for that.
"Guess the police weren't raised right, breaking things that don't belong to them. Such a shame." Kirishima remarked, looking so thoroughly disappointed in Tokyo's so-called protectors of the public good.
"Well, what did they cart away for "evidence" this time?" He said, and yes he did the air quotes.
"Nothing much. Your term paper on economics of the Heian period, a screenplay Akira wrote about the French Civil War in French no less, sixteen copies of Dr. Zhivago – in the original Russian of course, and Suoh's thesis entitled Famous Body Guards through the Ages." He replied.
"Well, I'm sure they will find that light reading fascinating," said Asami, grinning like a cat that ate the canary.
"Perhaps we should spring a pop quiz on them later," replied Kirishima, with an equal sadistic grin.
"You're such a genius, hiding important data in plain sight." He said, and picked up the Yellow pages from his desk and thumbed through it. Instead of ads and phone numbers, there were hidden compartments for computer discs. "Pure genius."
"You'll make me blush, Asami-sama." He said. Of course, he didn't blush. Kirishima never blushed. He didn't even get pink cheeked when it was cold out. "Are the cops getting stupider? Or are we just that good at out thinking them?" He asked.
"Ah, the gods have smiled on us, I think." He said flicking a toothpick into his mouth like it was an M&M. He'd gotten rather good at that. "Close the club for remodeling."
"Already done."
He sighed. Well, not really sighed, it was more of an exhale, because tough mob bosses don't sigh. "How's Akihito? Any change?" Asami asked, sitting down on the only useable piece of furniture in the place, a metal folding chair.
"Well, thanks to your rather large and generous donation to National Geographic, I was able to make some friends who seem very inclined to keep me informed." He said. "They are extremely grateful."
"I'm sure they are, but naming an entire annex after me was going a bit far. Don't you?"
"Your donation was indeed generous."
"Fu fu. Pocket change." He said, giving Kirishima a dismissive gesture. "So Akihito…."
"Well, he's in and out of consciousness and seems rather confused at times. He gets belligerent and keeps asking for Pocky." He replied.
"And this is different from before…..how?"
"He's lost a good deal of his memory. He doesn't remember the attack, which is probably a good thing." He replied. "And then there's the whole missing limb thing."
"Yes, there's that." He said his eyes darkened for a moment. "Let's hope he doesn't remember that day. From the report I understand it was a blood bath." Asami liked money baths, but blood baths were a different matter. Well, he liked those too, as long as he was on the winning side.
He adjusted his glasses and took out his notepad. "I got new information just this morning. The UN team arrived just minutes after their car hit the land mine. Akihito and his colleague, a man named Keir Shelly, were the only survivors, although Shelly is said to still be comatose. He was ejected from the vehicle."
"Ouch." He said. "What happened to the bad guys?"
"All dead."
"Awwww…that's just too bad." He said, with sarcasm, actually extreme sarcasm. "So, Akihito wants Pocky, I'm happy to oblige. I think 5 cases would be nice for a start? Send them anonymously, of course. I don't want people to think I'm soft-hearted." He could be hard-headed and heavy-handed but never soft-hearted.
"You're generosity continues to amaze and baffle me." He replied.
"I aim to please."
-BVF-
Akihito was running, as if he was late for school or the train or something. He ran so fast, that it almost seemed like the background moved with him, in tiny little lines. He jumped over a fence in his attempt to…..he wasn't sure. He was clueless as to who was chasing him or if he was being chased, or why he was running even, he just knew he had to get away. His head and his leg hurt. Did he get injured? He wasn't sure about that either, only that he was in pain and he was running. He turned a corner and ran smack into a man blocking the sidewalk. He tried to go around him, but the man seemed to move with him, as if he knew what he was going to do before he did it. The man was either clairvoyant or just a really, really big guy.
"Excuse me." He said to the man, who was dressed in red jeans and a yellow t-shirt. An odd combination, like the guy was color blind or really wanted to stand out. He looked familiar, but couldn't place his face, as it seemed obscured, like he was wearing a mask. The man was smiling at him. It was such a nice smile, and his eyes were the color of the bright blue sky.
"You shouldn't go running in minefields." The man said and laughed.
"I need to get around you; you're like a brick wall."
"You can't run forever."
"Huh?"
"You can stop running now. Ok, Akihito?"
"Keir?"
"You just need to wake up. Son? Wake up."
"Huh?" Akihito startled awake suddenly, trying to hold onto that strange dream but it was gone the minute he opened his eyes and saw his dad's smiling face hovering over him. "Dad?" He asked weakly, startled by the sound of his raspy voice.
"Hey sport. You want to kick the ball around?" He said sarcastically.
"Dad. You're a butthead." He replied, as he tried to sit up. "What day is today?"
"Friday. That means yesterday was Thursday." His dad said, stating the obvious, his specialty.
"I mean the date." And he pointed to his butt and then his head. "Butthead. And I don't mean that as an endearing term."
"Akihito! Don't use that kind of language!" His mom yelled, suddenly coming into the room to catch only part of their ridiculous conversation. She had food, a big plate of something that looked like food anyway. He couldn't be sure.
"I think we should put the tube back in his mouth. At least it was quieter in here." He suggested, with a devious grin.
Akihito rolled his eyes, as he leaned over to scratch an imaginary itch where his leg would have been. "It itches."
"I know, son. I'm sorry." She said, and put his plate in front of him. "Here let me feed you."
"Nothing is wrong with my hands, mom." He said and wrestled the fork away from her.
One of his doctors came in the room, holding a bunch of charts and some other doctory type crap. But it wasn't any doctor, it was his favorite doctor. Dr. Orange, the asshole.
"Hi, Akihito. How are we feeling today?" He said in a flat wooden tone. Maybe Dr. Orange talked like that because his first language wasn't Japanese. That would make sense.
"WE are feeling fine, Dr. Orange. Mom brought me crap to eat. Does this look like crap to you?" He asked, holding up a weird looking piece of meat.
"My name isn't Dr. Orange. It's Dr. Nash. And it looks good. It's Kofta Challow, the cafeteria's regional specialty. Really tasty. Be glad you're not eating the hospital food. It makes you lose weight." He gave Akihito the once over. "And you can't afford to lose weight."
"But it's so bland."
"I had them make it not spicy. It will upset your tummy." His mother said, patting his hand like he was a child. Which, in her eyes, he would always be her little Aki-chan.
He rolled his eyes again and took a bite. They all watched him chew like he was a monkey in the zoo. "Stop staring at me." He said.
"We're just wondering what will come out your mouth next." Dr. Orange said, leaning over to check the stitches on his head.
"Spit will be coming out of my mouth if you don't get the hell away from my head. Stop picking at my stitches, you asshole!"
His mother paled.
"Don't upset your mother like that." He warned.
"So sowwwy." He said, and he flashed his puppy dog eyes at his dad.
"All right, I know you can't help it." His dad said.
"Akihito, are you ready to receive a visitor? National Geographic is here to chat with you." Dr. Orange asked.
"Really? Someone to visit me? Are they bringing me something to eat? Because this stuff tastes like..shi….I mean it tastes funny." Akihito said.
"You still need to eat it." Dr. Orange warned. He went to checking his bandages on his leg. Dr. Orange poked a little too hard, and Akihito flinched.
"Ouch! And just for that, I'm not going to eat." He said, and then he stuck out his tongue.
Dr. Orange fumed and his face turned red. "You need to eat, or I will put you back on nutritional supplements!"
"That stuff tastes like chalk!"
Dr. Orange took out his pen and started to write something in his chart, giving Akihito a warning glance. His pen hovered over the paper, ready to write the order. The air in the room became crackly as the two stared at each other in a silent dare. Someone (his dad) started whistling the theme from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Dr. Orange narrowed his eyes, and pushed the end of the pen a couple of times, grinning when he heard the click-click that sounded really loud in their confined space.
It was the classic Mexican stand-off.
And Akihito caved. "Fine, I'll eat it, Dr. Orange!"
"My name is not Dr. Orange!" Dr. Orange said.
"Hahahahah! Dr. Orange, you look like an anime character. You should have veins popping out of your forehead or a sweat drop or something." He said, while holding back a laugh.
"Knock knock." A woman's voice said at the door. "I'm Annette Kinder, from National Geographic?" She said it in a question, so Akihito guessed she wasn't sure where she was from.
"Hi, nice to meet you. I'm Takaba Akihito." He said, giving her a little wave.
"Do you remember me, Takaba-kun?" She asked.
"Umm..no. Should I?" She had a familiar face, but couldn't place it.
"We met at our office here, in Kabul. But that was a while ago." She took out a file. "How are you feeling these days?"
"I'm ok. A little confused. What happened to my colleagues? Did they get hurt? I thought they would come and visit, but….."
"Can you leave us alone please?" He turned to his parents and doctor. "This is confidential." His mom went to say something to him, but decided against it. They all left, quickly closing the door behind them.
"What have I forgotten?" He asked, lowering his voice. Akihito's tone became serious. "I want to know. Keir and Topkay…something is wrong and my brain hurts from trying to put together the pieces."
She took a breath. "Topkay was killed, execution style by the rebels." She stated flatly. There was no tender way to break this news.
Akihito's felt coldness running down his face. He was crying. "I'm sorry." He said, trying to wipe away the tears.
"It's ok to feel sad, Takaba-kun." She said gently.
"And where is Keir? He said, sniffling loudly and rubbing his nose with his sleeve.
"Keir has been on life support since that day."
"Is he…is he going to wake up, like I did?"
"Takaba-kun, life support just delays the inevitable. We're just waiting for his family to make the final decision." She said sadly.
"I just, I feel like I'm being disloyal, (sniff) because I don't remember much about them. I don't even remember (sob) what they looked like, really."
"Would you like to see the photos you took, maybe that will help you remember them?"
"What photos?"
She handed him a layout, he guess it was for the next issue. "Are these mine? Wow. They're kind of good." He flipped through the sheets and came to the last page. There was a photo of him and his two colleagues. Keir looked goofy, he looked dirty, and Topkay looked uncomfortable. It was a rather comical photo.
Hey, let's take a group shot. Keir, you stand there, Topkay you stand there. Com'on, don't make that face!
Akihito, hurry up, I have to piss
Piss later, I want to catch the sunset in the background. You can hold it.
Hahaha. It will be your fault if I piss my pants.
What are you 5? You can't hold it for a few seconds, really?
Ready, Set
click
Fine. Go piss. I'm done.
"It's…it's a good photo. I'm proud to have been part of the team." He said.
She handed him a tissue. "Natgeo is proud to have you on the staff."
He blew his nose, but it didn't help his mood. "Thank you for coming, and for the update." He said politely. He looked thoroughly red-eyed now. His mom was going to be all over him with tissues and hot soup. Well, he could enjoy being pampered by his mom. He needed it.
"Call me if you need anything. I'll be in touch." She said, and handed him her card.
"All right." He replied.
"And Takaba-kun, we will be talking soon about continuing your work in the field. So that means, hurry up and get well. Ok?"
"Uh...ok." He gave her the thumbs up.