XXI – The Chase
In the outskirts of Tokyo someone was aiming for the stars. The Green Snake's owner was rubbing his hands together, watching the tapes that were to buy him all of Japan – for now. He wanted to try his luck with what he considered a small bet, the islands he had tried to steal but didn't succeed.
"He thinks he can take everything and step over everyone else… But I'll show him. I know what he loves most, and these are two things. His precious little girl, and his honor… his name. Whatever the difference."
The man was talking to his dogs, keeping one hand on the head of the one sitting beside him. He had three black dogs, but only one was offered the bigger bone. It was the Snake's belief that by favoring one dog over the others, it would become the leader of the pack. At the same time, he hoped to have at least one loyal dog by his side, literally.
"I'll take Japan from him, then Asia, and with that, there will be nothing in my way…" The man growled. He set an empty glass on a little glass table. Snapping his fingers, he ordered one girl to fill his glass again.
"And then…" he smirked, taking the glass and playing with it in his hand. "Then, I'll take his daughter. Be a good boy, and I'll let you crack his bones," he addressed the dog and continued to pet its head, chuckling.
The Snake pointed his finger at the girl that served him earlier. "Come here, Bunny. Come here and bring me that phone, over there."
According to different sources, the Dragon was still in China – though he was most likely preparing for something. The Snake knew the police was following leads – some of which he had sold them on fabulous sums – and he also knew it was only a matter of time before the old man made a fabulous comeback. He was not going to let that happen.
At the other end of the line, the Dragon was just about to shoot the phone and destroy it when it began to ring… Cautious, the Dragon pressed the green button and waited in complete silence. It took the Snake a few seconds to realize the conversation was on.
'So you won't talk to me…? You're replacing me, hah…? A really bad move in your situation, don't you think?'
Immediately, the Dragon recognized the voice. He held the phone to his ear, so tight it was about to break.
"Speak."
'I've got a little something you may want. A little something that might stain your image… or rather, reveal it to the world. You're already stained, aren't you?'
The Dragon growled into the phone. For once, something he had not planned was happening. The Snake was turning against him. No… he had been against him for a long time, only he hadn't been able to see it.
"Go on."
'Na-ah… Not so fast. Aren't you going to ask what I want first?!' the Snake hissed into the phone.
"What do you want?" the Dragon found himself asking.
'I have one word for you and a deadline. Japan. By September the first. I want the black market, the white market, the politics, the bank, the connections, the money, the hoes, the drugs - absolutely everything.'
"If I say less…?" the Dragon tried to negotiate. It would mean losing everything he had built over the past decade in the country of the Rising Sun.
'Then I will sell the world two important things. One will be the tapes I have of your wife… You've trained her well! Really, I was amazed. It had been a few years since I had such a skilled whore. The porn industry could take some serious lessons – Oops! They no longer can. Seems the teacher is out of town, or this world!' The snake laughed at the other end of the line. 'Don't you dare hang up on me.'
"…It was you… It was you, all along…"
'Oh, spare me the drama! It wasn't me – I was only a spectator. But I want my prize, Dragon. Do you hear me? And just so you don't call me a 'ungrateful bastard' – you had thirty seconds.'
The very next moment, Caterina ran into the backyard where her father was supposed to destroy a phone he had used for a few days. She was out of breath, half of her face turning a dark shade of red and her lower lip bleeding. She slammed the door shut behind her.
"They're coming! We have to go!" she said in a low voice, running straight for her father.
"Who? Where is the King?" he asked her, already boiling with the wish for revenge from seeing his daughter bruising.
"Arrested. Someone turned us over."
Right then, the door behind her opened and masked men armed to their teeth burst through. The Dragon pulled his daughter behind him and put the keys of a car in her hand, using his other hand to shoot the enemy team. It was the first time he had to retreat – and it was even more humiliating than his worst nightmares of defeat.
Across the Pacific, a certain boss was receiving a live transmission from the scene.
"Is that the girl?" he asked into the microphone.
'A little bruised, but she's a beauty. And daddy's pride and joy,' the Snake laughed on a mocking tone.
On the screen, the man Ross assumed to be the Dragon was pulling the arm of an auburn-haired girl, stepping before her in a protective stance. Soon, the cops were falling over, dead or injured. The man didn't waste a bullet – they all hit their moving targets.
'So, do you want her?' the Asian asked from the other end of the line.
"She could make me some money… But she looks a little flat. Here in the States we like girls a little more feminine."
'Don't worry about that. A year or two from now she's gonna be the splitting image of his tramp. You know Sia… I've showed you.'
A wide grin spread on the bald man's face. "Oh, yes, I know her…"
On the screen, the Dragon had ran out of bullets and was taking the remaining cops head on. He was breaking bones and twisting necks, acting more like an enraged beast than the calm man everyone knew him to be.
'She's already got her face, and I bet she's gonna have her body soon enough. All I'm askin' is some generosity.' To the Snake, this would have been a double opportunity. First, it would have been the finishing blow for the Dragon. Second, he could use the girl and get her in the 'industry'.
Ross lit up a cigar and grinned even wider. "You'll get your greens when I get my girl."
He had no rush - for Ross, it wasn't a pressuring matter. For the Snake on the other hand, it was a life and death situation. His reputation depended on the success of his mission. He had sent his best men after the couple and was determined to play each and every card he had left. After all, how much could it take to get past the Dragon? He was alone and surrounded – not to mention, aging.
The only option the Dragon seemed to have left was running away. He drove as fast as the engine allowed him, while Caterina curled up under the passenger seat. She could hear the bullets that reached the car. The window in the back was long gone and there were glass shards everywhere. Still, she tried to remain calm. Covering her head with her arms and keeping quiet, the girl tried not to distract her father. A split second of carelessness could cost both of them their lives when her father was driving that fast.
It wasn't for another half an hour before they got out of the city and away from their pursuers. The feeling of being chased must have been the worst she had experienced yet. Her little heart was trembling in her chest like that of a small rabbit that had just found a hole too small for the fox to fit through. Still, it was no guarantee they were safe.
"…Padre?" she said after a few minutes of driving through the silence.
"Are you alright?" He didn't take his eyes off the road, but looked a little less tense than before. He also looked tired, perhaps a year or two older. Everything was a bit too much, Caterina knew that, and was left wondering… if her father looked older after this past week, how did she look?
As careful as she could, she cleaned the passenger seat off glass shards before taking a seat. They seemed to be approaching a high way. Caterina didn't speak Chinese, she couldn't read the signs on the road either, but she trusted her father to know where to go.
"I'm fine, don't worry. How are you?" she asked quietly. Her father's shoulder didn't look good, covered in a lot of drying blood, swollen and bruised. Asking if he was alright would have been ridiculous. Even so…
"Don't worry." The answer was short and sharp. They entered a high way and the man drove at a constant speed. People were looking at them because of the horrible state in which the car was. Either that, or because of how they both looked, the girl thought. When she saw herself in the mirror, she froze. The right half of her face was bruised, her lower lip swollen and darkened, dried blood on her chin and chest. Her shoulders were bruising as well, but for now she was thankful she felt no pain. In biology they said the body does something tricky in order to survive – it releases adrenaline and a few other substances, she couldn't remember which, help numb the pain and keep her alert.
The girl looked outside the window, watching the sun as it set. She decided to ignore all of the questions that came to her mind. She paid no attention to any thought in particular, simply staring ahead as her eye lids became heavier. She may not care about her mother much, but she did miss the life she had before… It was all Vincent's fault! She cursed his soul and his bloodline, the living, the dead and the unborn. Cursed be all for what they did to her, to her beloved father and even to her mother…
The Dragon knew his daughter had fallen asleep. If he was tired, he could only imagine how exhausted she must have been, so he decided to stop at the first refuge he saw. It happened to be a motel that didn't look very frequented, but for one night it should do. The man stopped the engine and tried to wake up his girl. Poor child, she didn't even move. Instead, her head fell from the shoulder of the chair to that of her father.
There didn't seem to be any other car in the parking lot. Picking up his daughter using his good arm, the man went to check in. He was so tired, keeping his eyes open alone seemed to be a challenge. Clearly he was in no condition to keep driving. Had he been alone, this wouldn't have been a problem, but considering he had his girl with him, he couldn't afford such risks.
What the Dragon had not considered was that the Snake was more venomous than he first imagined. He knew the direction in which the two had left and anticipated where they should stop to rest.
After signing in the register, the Dragon received a room and the key. He went to find it and hoped there wouldn't be any insects, mice or other pest there. His daughter's arms went loosely around his neck as she seemed to be waking up for a short moment, only to fall back asleep.
When he opened the door and saw the inside, the man thought it was acceptable. He locked the door, let his little girl on the bed first, then crashed next to her. There were few things as sweet as feeling a clean bed sheet against your face when you have been spending your past week running for your life.
Only minutes later, the man woke up to the muffled scream of his Caterina and the door being slammed shut and locked. There was an artisanal bomb on the floor, in the middle of the room. Its clock was ticking in the countdown of destruction. Jumping on his feet, the Dragon looked around. There was nothing that could help him break down the door, unless… He saw the window as his only escape. Without a second thought and using his already wounded arm as a shield for his vitals, he jumped through. Outside, a car was rushing down the road and towards the high way.
Running back around the motel, he found his car wouldn't start. It looked even more chopped up than before – it didn't surprise him it was no longer starting. His only chance was to remember the plate of the enemy car.
Soon enough, the clock reached the final of its countdown and the bomb exploded, sending the motel into a huge cloud of dust and fire. Caterina could only watch in horror, tears running down her face. She had a cloth tied over her mouth and she bit into it, trying to hold back from crying.
The hands of one of the three men were on her ass before she could even realize what was happening. When she did however, she kneeled down on the man's lap, crushing his family inheritance. The man gasped in pain, his face turning almost blue from asphyxiation. But the girl's short moment of glory was done when she heard a gun being loaded and felt its cold touch to her temple.
"Now, now, princess. I suggest you just go along with it, if you know what's best for you," the one in the passenger seat said while grinning at her from behind a pair of sun glasses.
'I'd rather die,' she thought as she leaned against the door. With her hands tied behind her back, she still managed to unlock the door and roll out of the car. The girl came to regret her decision the moment she felt the impact with the asphalt. She had no idea how to fall in order to minimize the damage and she felt one of her shoulder and a few ribs bursting with pain.
"Shit! After her!" the one in the passenger seat yelled as the driver was trying to turn the car around. However, turning the car around on a busy highway was a difficult task, if not almost suicidal.
The girl's eyes widened when she noticed a car coming straight at her. The driver pressed the breaks so hard, she could hear that horrible screeching everybody knew. She began running towards the edge as fast as her bruised legs could take her, despising the rope holding her wrists tied together. The driver tried to change his direction and avoid the girl, crushing into the car of her kidnappers. A few other cars followed in what had became a fiasco.
A chain accident was formed in seconds, as Caterina was running back towards the burning motel. Her ribs cried in pain with every step, but the fear of being used by a bunch of men was terrifying enough for her to ignore the pain.
Back in Japan, the police were making progress in revealing the many identities used by Giuliano. Light was watching it quietly most of the time, asking insignificant details just so they would think he was interested in the mechanism of an investigation. He was much more interested in who the man really was. He looked at the way he had scattered his fortune all over the world – each identity he used held a few belongings and two or three bank accounts. Each identity was known to be very discreet and there were no obvious links between these other than the recent bank transactions. No common contacts or contracts, no partnerships, nothing that could give it away.
On the other hand, Light became interested in the person who had sold these names to the police. Under the pretext of going home early to do homework, he got away from the rest of the team. Using the lie that this was an important detail for the investigation, he tried to ask for the identity of the person who had sold those many names. It was an impressive list with not one fake lead. Someone must hate Caterina's father to do this… and also know him very well.
A week had passed and Light was secretly doing his own research on the case. To him, it was obvious the plane that had burned and crashed into the ocean had been the work of Caterina's father. He managed to find the list of its passengers and Vincent was there – Light even found the seat he had. It was terrifying how the man could operate. Although Light knew the man was leaning on many others for help, favors and deals, it was amazing how fast he could react. What he couldn't find was where the two were at the time. Not even the bank transactions represented a lead anymore. It seemed the police had lost track of the money – Light figured most would have been taken as cash and moved into new accounts, scattered between new fake identities. The teenager noticed Caterina's father was not a man to risk having many associates. Most of them were fictive.
A knock on the door woke him up from his thoughts. His sister opened the door and looked inside, uneasy and avoiding his eyes.
"Um… Light? You know, I'm not exactly good at math…" she began.
"I know. So?" he asked in return, waiting for the girl to enter and close the door behind her. It was an old habit of his – he never felt comfortable with the door of his room open.
"I, uh… had that test, and…" the girl swallowed her nervousness. To her, it was humiliating to go ask for her brother's help when she had been picking on him for studying too much ever since she could remember.
"Last week, yes. You mentioned it. How did it go?" His darker side was enjoying this. Sayu would have to admit her inferiority every now and then and if she came to him, it meant she was in a pretty sticky situation.
Looking away and holding her notebook a little too tightly, the girl began to speak faster, whining and protesting. "…I don't get it. What goes where? And how? Why? I have no idea what that dumb teacher is saying. I don't understand a thing! I tried, I only skipped one of his classes. I don't get it!"
"So you are afraid you won't pass, went crying to our mother, and in turn, she sent you here. Am I right?" A smirk appeared on Light's face when he saw his sister sighing.
Setting the notebook on his desk, she crossed her arms. "I just want to pass… I won't need any of this nonsense, anyway!"
At that point, Light was almost laughing. His little sister puffing and pouting while partly admitting she needed help was amusing. "Fine, we'll take it from the beginning. Bring yourself a chair from the kitchen."
"Can't I sit on yours?"
Both seemed surprised she had to ask. "You can bring some water too, since you're going there," he answered her. Sighing, Sayu dragged her feet out of her brother's room and down the stairs.
"Bring a chair, bring some water… what am I, his slave?" she mumbled under her breath, but did what Light asked her anyway.
Left alone, Light gathered a few papers and notebooks of his own and took them out of the way. He was done for the day, anyway. As he stacked his notebooks on a shelf, the news report caught his attention. He took the remote and turned up the volume enough so he could hear what the reporter was saying.
The images showed a chain accident on a highway in the South-East of China with multiple victims. 'So far, there are no deaths, but seventeen victims are severely wounded and their situation could change any moment. They have been taken at the nearest hospital where the doctors are trying to stabilize them. From the declarations of the witnesses, it seems a woman had jumped out of the first car that you can see behind me, the black one. The driver of the second car, the red one, said he had been trying to avoid hitting the woman. Could we have a case of kidnapping on our hands and a miraculous escape? Unfortunately, it is too early to say, as the driver of the red car is now at the hospital with multiple traumatisms. The man was conscious when he had been taken out of the vehicle, but could not feel his lower limbs. He was driving with his wife and two children.'
'What about the supposed kidnappers? Do we have any information about the suspects?' the news anchor asked the field reporter.
'There were two suspects found in the black car, unconscious. Both are in critical condition and have minimal chances of survival. The paramedics had been resuscitating one of the two victims until a moment ago and it seems the efforts were not in vain.'
When his sister returned, she found Light standing with the remote in one hand. She set the chair down silently thanks to the carpet, then leaned to the side so she could see the TV screen. Getting an idea, Sayu sneaked up behind her brother and tried to pour some water down his shirt. However… just as she was about to do it, Light turned around and caught her hand.
"Tag, you're it," he chuckled and took the glass of water from his sister.
"That's not fair! You weren't paying attention, you didn't hear me walk in-!" she tried to complain.
"I heard you coming up the stairs and knew how long it would take you to enter. When you were late, I figured you must have something in mind. Because I sent you to bring water, I guessed what you were going to do."
Sighing, the sister put her chair near his and sat at his desk. "Fine… no fun, then. Let's get this over with…"
Light muted the TV and took his usual seat at his desk. "First, let's set a few rules – and I don't want to hear you complaining or not following these. If you do, you are on your own."
"That's already a rule…" Sayu mumbled.
"I will explain one thing at a time, then we'll solve a few problems together. You'll be doing your homework on your own though – and I want you to ask your teacher to look over it during breaks."
The girl's eyes widened. "Wait, what…? You mean, talk to that guy during my ten minutes of freedom?"
"Exactly. This is to your advantage," Light began, trying to change the girl's attitude towards math so he won't have to play teacher for long.
"Surprise me."
"Well, the teacher will think you are interested in learning and improving – you don't have to be, just make him believe that. He will most likely start explaining better and with a bit of luck, if you are polite and start asking him something every now and then, he could even help you in tests."
"That's illegal and he's an ass, anyway!" Sayu protested the second Light closed his mouth.
"But teachers often do that when they see one student showing interest. Or they ask you something easy and basic in order to give you another few points, if you need it. That's not illegal, just a matter of choice."
After a moment of thought, Sayu threw him a suspicious look. "You did that…?"
"A few times, in middle school," Light admitted. "Or they intentionally overlook a few small mistakes – but they have to be small, and you must never brag about it to others."
"Because it's not fair?" she asked.
"Exactly. That's why you have to become friends with the mean and strict teachers," 'so I don't have to be one at home', he continued in his mind.
That evening, the loyal driver of the Amadeo family had received a phone call. Judging by the number, the man thought whoever was calling him was using a public phone.
'The cruise had been canceled,' the voice at the other end of the line said. It was deep and a little hoarse. The man recognized it immediately.
"Where, Sir?" Communicating without too many details was vital when using a phone. The servant remembered the instructions received and went over them in his mind. It was a trait he had in common with the Dragon – his excellent memory.
As soon as he hung up, the man took out the SIM card and soaked it in a glass of water. That should destroy all electrical circuits. In a backpack he folded a change of clothes and a wig, along with a suitcase and his phone. Before throwing it in, the man looked through his wallet. He had his documents and a fake identity prepared since a few days before the Dragon left on a cruise with his family. Diego smirked – his employer had thought of every possibility and even in the worst scenario, he would not leave his loyal driver behind.
Before leaving, Diego took out the SIM from the water and scratched the golden part – just to be sure no information could be recovered from it. He had a flat in a hotel rented by the Dragon – nowhere near as luxurious as his own, but only because he asked for it. The driver offered to follow the Dragon out of gratitude, but didn't feel comfortable in a luxurious place. To him, it had to be more simple in order to become comfortable – a single room with a bed, wardrobe, table and chair, with a window and a door to the bathroom was more than enough.
After a last glance behind, he poured a bottle of alcohol in the middle of the room and set it on fire. It would serve as a sign to the world the Dragon was not dead – and neither were his people.
Dressed casually in jeans, a t-shirt and a hoodie, the servant walked to the train station. He would have to use a fake ID to cross the border, but until then, he probably had another few hours. On the way to the station, he stopped to buy another SIM to use while he was still in Japan. He called Misa – the girl had grown attached to him pretty fast and he thought she had at least won her right to know when she would be left on her own for a while.
"Did I wake you? It's Diego," he introduced himself.
'No, Misa was watching a film. How come Diego is not asleep?' she giggled at the other end of the line.
"Misa, Diego needs to do something very important, alright? I will be back, but I do not know when. It may be days, or it may be months."
At that point, the girl began to whine. 'What? No! Don't leave Misa alone~'
"Listen to me, Misa. I do not want you to go talk about this conversation to anyone. If you do, you may put me in danger, do you understand? I may not return to you if you talk about me to anyone you know – not your friends, not on TV, not anywhere. Alright?"
'Mm-hmm… But what will Misa do all alone?'
"You will be alright, you are a big girl, right? Every two weeks, you will receive some money from you-know-who – try to spend them only for what is necessary." The man was growing more relaxed once he managed to receive a positive answer from Misa. He stopped at a traffic light, waiting. "I promise to contact you as soon as I can, but until then, be a good girl and remember what I told you."
Author's Note:
Chapter proofread by my lovely beta, Eat4Fun. And let me say, I am disappointed with how long it can pass sometimes without any review, PM, or anything like that. Thank you for follow's and favorite's though - and because there have been a few, I decided to publish this chapter even if the previous didn't get any written reaction.
In other news, if you know -Man, go check out my dear friend's three-shot featuring Tyki Mikk and occasionally other characters, The Embalmer by Blob80. It's a creepy-cute tale with a very well-fit OC (as expected from Blob80) with mentions of madness and an atmosphere reminding me of the Victorian horror tendencies or Tim Burton's animated films. It's a strange romance with... I could say mentions of some gore and implied intimacy, though I don't think there's anything graphic. I won't spoil the ending, though it does have to do with necrophilia. Hopefully I didn't give away too much...
And while we're advertising, let me shoo you towards my Yu Yu Hakusho stories. I hope you are at least familiar with seeing Mandala on my profile - it's not on hiatus, I just have terribly little time to write and exams coming up soon. It's my first fic, so under those circumstances, I think it's readable. Wildest Dreams Come True is newer and I really would appreciate the support. Slow updates because of the same reasons above. But I'm a bit prouder of how it's turning out. Anyway, if you know the fandom, go check one of these out. Or both. I'll love you.
I have a new possible ship. What would you say if the driver / Diego would be shipped with Misa? It's not decided yet, so here's something to think about. Also, the next chapter will be the grand finale for this part. Part 3 will begin with chapter 23 and it will pick up at he beginning of the anime. But before that, the Dragon has a message to deliver - a very explosive one too. (Psst. It's already proofread, getting cold in the Doc Manager.)
