Sorry that this took so long. I got really lazy, and I mean really lazy :P I didn't really feel like writing either. I kept on thinking on ways to approach this chapter and made so many versions. I really dug myself into a deep hole when I revealed that TK knew something. Maybe I shouldn't have done that. I'll compromise. What else will happen? Read and find out! Thanks for the reviews! Keep them coming! Once again, I'm sorry for this chapter's delay, and without further ado, I bring you chapter 16. Enjoy!
Mask of Deception
Chapter 16: Tight situations
"Don't lose him, keep going!" Tai yelled from behind as the chase continued down the street. They were so close to finding out. Or so they thought. The chase had been going on for a duration of about thirty minutes at full speed, and all of the participants of this marathon, were beginning to slow down, but were still going at an amazing speed.
After a few more minutes, Mimi started to drastically lose speed. TK was catching up and soon they were side by side.
"Mimi, you've had enough. We can take it from here." TK said as he took a concerned glance to his right. "Are you kidding me?" She said between pants. "How – wheeze – can you even think, - gasp - about leaving me out!?" She cried out, while fighting for air. "Fine, but if you can't go on any further, I want you to stop, okay?" He said, giving into her determination. "Fine."
The man had turned a corner, and Tai presumed that they were heading for the mall. He decided that they would try and corner the guy, so Tai took off in one direction, while TK and Mimi kept behind the man. They came to the parking lot, and TK was finding it harder to keep up with the man with all of the cars blocking his way.
For a split second, He had lost sight of him. He looked over to Mimi and saw that she had lost sight of him as well. He ran around, searching everywhere for sight of the man, when finally, he saw him about a hundred meters away from where he was. He made a mad dash for the man, but the man was too fast. Then TK realized why he was running as hard and fast as he could. A black car had stopped for the man, presumably to pick him up. The man jumped into the car, and the car sped off onto the road just as Tai had come from the other side, but TK didn't give up, he kept on running. Mimi followed behind, determined to keep up, but failed to, and fell behind the others.
TK cut through the parking lot, and ran onto the sidewalk. Tai followed soon afterwards, even though he didn't see the point. They continued running down the street, burning off what little energy they had left. When they turned the corner of the street, they saw that the car had disappeared from sight.
When TK saw that it was hopeless for them to catch up, he came to a slow stop. "We'll get 'em next time." Tai said from behind him. TK started to walk away in frustration. "So close…" he muttered. Tai followed his partner silently, only to find themselves at the park a few minutes later.
"Where have you guys been? I've been looking everywhere!" Mimi yelled from down the park's pathway. She walked up to them, tossing one bottle of water to each. They opened them gratefully and started to drink the contents of the bottle. Mimi joined them on the bench, and they all sat there silently watching the kids play on the field.
"TK, is something wrong?" Mimi asked.
"I'm gonna go home and sleep. I'm thinking of skipping school tomorrow too, I suggest that you guys do the same." The other two dumbly nodded, and TK walked away.
Takaishi Residence
Monday 9:32 PM
Ring! Ring!
"Who could be calling at this hour?" TK asked himself while rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He glanced at the clock in the living room. "I must have fell asleep on the couch."
Ring! Ring!
TK grumbled at the sound of the telephone and was reluctant to pick it up. "I'll let the machine pick it up," he decided, then rolled onto his side in attempt of going back to sleep.
"Hello, you have reached the Takaishi residence, we are unavailable right now so could you please leave your name and number after the beep." Beep!
"He he he, Falcon, can you come out and play?"
At the sounds of these words, TK instantly sat up and stared at the answering machine.
"Still don't want to pick up? Well, we'll see if you change your mind after you hear what we have to say. If you don't come before us soon, we're gonna kill a very important friend of yours."
"TK don't c--" The voice was cut off.
"That's Mimi's voice!!"
"He he he, We have your little friend here, Falcon. This is your last chance to pick up, or we'll kill her!"
TK ran to the phone and picked it up in an instant.
"Ah…so you finally decided to pick it up Falcon. You had better listen carefully boy, I will only tell you once. If you don't come to the abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of east Tokyo by midnight, the girl dies."
In the background, TK could hear yells and shouts. He listened carefully and realized that it was Mimi. "TK! Don't come, they'll kill you!! Don't come!!" Then he heard a thump and a man started yelling. "Shut up, don't say anything or I'll shoot you!"
"So, will you come?" The first voice said once again.
"You're going down"
TK hung up, picked up his equipment, then ran out the door.
Abandoned Warehouse
Monday 11:44 PM
"Can we kill her yet?" A big man in a brown leather jacket asked as he played with his gun.
"Not yet! Stick to the plan. He'll show up. Now get into position!"
"Y-yes sir!"
*~*~*~*~*~*~ Outside ~*~*~*~*~*~*
'Hang on Mimi, I'll get you out of this.' TK had finally made it to the warehouse, and was now thinking of a way to approach the situation. He looked around for a decent viewing platform, for the windows were too high up for him to see.
He walked around the corner of the old building, and found that there were a few old crates stacked up in a pile. He scanned the area for anything suspicious, and when he saw that it was clear, he carefully and quietly picked up a crate, and brought it back to the window. He stepped on top of it to take a look inside.
In the very center of the factory, he saw a figure, tied to a chair. He assumed it was Mimi. He looked around the room, but saw that no one else was there. The first thought that came to his mind was that could be trap. If it weren't a trap, he could possibly save Mimi with ease, but if it were a trap, then he was at risk of putting Mimi and himself in danger. He was having a tough time deciding what to do. The minutes were counting down, and the fact that he didn't have anyone to help him was another factor he had to overcome.
"I'll wait," he decided. "I'll wait till the last minute. If nothing happens I'll go in. If something happens, I'll still go in, but, I'll wait."
He decided to use his last ten minutes to rest. His body was still tired from the day's run, and if he didn't take it easy for a while, it could mean his downfall. He counted the minutes in his head, the sound of his heart pounded in his ears. He was getting anxious, but he kept his composure.
"5 minutes till midnight." TK kept counting.
4
3
2
1
Abandoned Warehouse
Monday 12:00 PM
TK waited, nothing happened. Mimi was still sitting there, no one was on the move. 'where are they?' TK wondered as he looked around the warehouse. 'They're probably hiding…but they aren't making their move! Do they know that I'm here? Maybe I should wait a little longer…or should I go in now?' TK was debating what to do next. Risk being killed, or risk Mimi being killed. Little did he know that the conspirators inside had no intention of killing him.
*~*~*~*~*~*~ Inside ~*~*~*~*~*~*
A shady character in a black suit and sunglasses took out his cell phone and started to dial in the numbers. His hand shaking with excitement, his aura filled with blood lust. He wanted to see the thick red liquid, and he wanted to see it now.
"Hello?" The voice on the other line asked. "Who is this?"
"Ha ha ha ha!" The man laughed evilly. "Stealth I presume?"
"What the—who are you!?"
"That does not concern you, but I will tell you something very interesting. Unless you want to see your two partners bathed in blood, I suggest that you come down to the old warehouse on 24. *beep!*
The line went dead.
*~*~*~*~*~*~ Outside ~*~*~*~*~*~*
'Okay TK, get a hold of yourself. It's now or never. The outcome will be the same no matter what you do, so get a grip and go in there!!'
TK tried to move, but found that he couldn't, or wouldn't. He questioned himself. Could it possibly be fear? Was he actually scared to go inside? But he knew who the enemy was. They were nothing to be afraid of, but then why?
He took a few deep breaths to calm him down. He felt relaxed, but something told him that something was wrong. Something was out of place. He knew it was passed the deadline, but why didn't anyone make a move? Were they really waiting for him? If that were the case, he had no choice. He crept to the garage door that was open on the far side of the factory.
He poked his head from the side, taking a peek. Completely empty…
He saw Mimi's head hung low, with the rest of her body tied to a chair. He took out his gun, and shot a bullet into the warehouse, not aiming at a particular spot. He waited for signs of movement, but there were none. Completely quiet, not even Mimi moved. This made him worry a little. He looked strait at her, and he saw the look of fatigue on her face. 'Poor Mimi' he thought.
He approached her with caution, his gun held out in front in case someone was to sneak up on him, checking his surroundings once in a while. He looked around the warehouse. Top and bottom, there wasn't a soul in sight. Seeing the emptiness of the warehouse caused TK to let his guard down, a very unwise decision. As he got closer to Mimi, he saw that her mouth was taped up and her hands tied behind her back. It looked like a very uncomfortable position to him.
When he finally approached her, he gently shook her to wake her up. Slowly, her eyes fluttered open and she turned her head to meet his worried look. He went towards the tape on her mouth, and with a loud but gentle 'Rip,' followed by a yelp from Mimi, the tape came off.
Immediately, Mimi began to yell. "TK, don't do this! Go back! It's a trap!!"
TK, who was completely ignoring her, had started to cut the ropes that restricted her freedom of movement. "What are you talking about Mimi? There's no one's h—"
*Bang!*
The next thing TK knew, he was on the floor, his gun thrown meters away from him, clutching his arm and groaning in pain as he lay in a puddle of his own blood. He had been shot. Mimi shrieked and ran to TK's side to aid him in any way that she could. A sickening laugh echoed throughout the entire building, and Mimi turned her head towards the second floor railing where a tall tanned man dressed in black, held his gun for all to see, the gun still smoking from the previous shot. There were five men behind him, and from each side of the building, five more men appeared from the shadows and surrounded the two in the center.
"Foolish boy! You really think that I would leave your friend there unguarded?" He said, still laughing. TK
was still on the floor, trying his best to cope with the pain.
"Don't worry. We won't kill you… Yet." The man laughed out.
"Shut up!" TK said, while attempting to stand up. "You stupid…!" TK stopped mid sentence when he finally looked at the surrounding men. "But…!?"
"What's wrong boy? C'mon, what is it? Spit it out!"
"You…aren't the Eagles…" TK gasped in shock. [Eagles = Mafia/bad guy group (yeah, I know the name sucks)]
"The Eagles? Ha! How insulting! You really thought that we were the Eagles?"
"But, the guy we were chasing…He's from the Eagles!"
"Who? Ruki-kun?" The man asked, then started laughing. "Oh yeah! He was from the Eagles wasn't he boys?" He asked looking around at his men. "Ruki, show yourself."
The man that TK, Tai and Mimi were chasing that afternoon stepped forward. "He was from the Eagles, but not anymore. It saddens me that you have forgotten us Falcon. How could you forget your old friends? Don't you remember who we are?"
The man then proceeded to take off his sunglasses that concealed his identity. "Remember now?" The man asked with a wide and evil grin playing on his face.
TK froze. "Y-Yoshiwara!" 'Of course! Why didn't I see it before? The clues were in front of me the whole time. I'm such an idiot!'
"That's correct" the man gave a mock applaud. "We are Yoshiwara's men, but…don't you remember me dear Falcon?"
"Codename : Zenon, real name : Take Hayamaki. How could I forget?" TK asked.
"Hehe, you're on a roll aren't you Falcon? You sure have grown up since the last time I saw you. How's your partner? Did I leave a scar on him from our previous meeting, I still have to repay him for the one he left on me! Well, I hope you are feeling lucky today, because we have a little game we want to play with you before the reunion."
"Reunion with Yoshiwara I presume?"
"Correct again! Now on with the business. We're going to have a little fun with you and your little friend over there. All of us will be aiming for the girl, of course we mean to kill her. It's up to you to do whatever you see fit, of course they are allowed to beat the crap out of you as well. We'll go five at a time to make it fair."
"Since when have you been fair? And why didn't you just kill when you had the chance?"
"My, my, you do ask a lot of questions. If you really need to know, the boss would be really mad if he didn't get to kill you himself, and we also wanted to have a little bit of fun and watch you suffer. Is that a sufficient answer?"
"Bring it on." TK challenged.
The man shouted "GO!" and they were off. The first five men came from behind TK and Mimi. TK pushed Mimi behind him in a protective manner. "Don't worry Mimi, I won't let them touch you." TK told her. "Now, aren't you the confident one? Oh, I forgot to tell you, if you don't get rid of all five groups of men within this hour, we'll all go after you at once. Even we have our limits you know." Hayamaki laughed "I knew there was a catch. There always is." TK muttered.
The men were coming in from all sides. Some of them empty handed and some of them with knives, big knives. They all jumped forward to surround the two, but TK quickly pushed Mimi out of harms way, earning himself a nice deep cut to his side. The warm liquid trickled down his side, and gracefully dripped onto the floor as TK held onto his fresh wound. Mimi watched in horror as they tried to beat up TK. She knew she needed to help him, so she looked around for something that might have been useful.
While looking around, two of the men hungrily stepped towards her direction, inching closer and closer. She took a desperate glance around, and spotted TK's fallen gun. She ran for it as fast as she could, and picked up the gun with great speed and dexterity. She spun around, took aim, and shot at the two men, missing a few times, but after the second attempt, she managed to hit one, then the other, each falling like a freshly cut tree.
Meanwhile, TK was having troubles of his own. He had already lost a lot of blood, and he didn't know how long he could hold out. He still had twenty men to take care of, twenty-three counting the men he was fighting, and twenty-four counting Hayamaki. He was in for a long ride.
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A lot of question and exclamation marks eh? Anyone confused yet? Maybe not… Tell me what you thought about the chapter!! Still more to come, but I don't know how long it will take at this point.
Also, a few chapters ago I mentioned something about starting a new fic, prior to this one…I have an idea, but I'm still putting them into words so it might take a while…(does anyone really care? I guess not…)
Thx for reading!!
