Cross the Floor by taketo
Chapter 10
Disclaimer: please see chapter 1.
Previous chapter…
Akemi's room was fairly large. It was furnished with a king size bed, a table and two chairs. Akemi stood at the door and gestured her two guests inside. "Please…"
Ken entered, followed closely by Aya who immediately took post by the window.
Ken however, made his way to the spacious bed. He lay on his side and propped up himself with an elbow. Smiling invitingly, he patted the space next to him. "Come Akemi…"
The girl didn't move. It was like she was rooted to the spot. Ken kept his smile and repeated the same gesture. Aya on the other hand wasn't that accommodating. He shifted his weight to one foot and showed his annoyance with an impatient click of the tongue against the roof of his mouth.
The girl flickered a nervous glance at Aya and back to Ken. Slowly she inched forward until finally she was at the bed. Cautiously, she lowered herself next to Ken. A pair of huge, scared eyes looked at warm brown ones.
Ken wasn't sure if their room was rigged with hidden video cams and mics. Rooms with such electronic devices were common practice and often used for blackmail. So before they could ascertain the room was clean, Ken had to play his part of the interested client.
Besides, they didn't know where Akemi stood in all this. Was she an unwilling victim or a willing one? "Akemi… such a lovely name. So feminine and sweet."
Akemi just managed a weak smile.
"Do…." Ken paused to glance at his new partner. Aya was standing by the window with a mobile in his hand. To anyone else looking, it looked like Aya was either trying to make a call or send a text message or check his messages. The truth was, Aya was scanning the room for waves emitted by electronic devices. "…do you know what it means?"
Akemi nodded, glad that this client was just still talking although she knew at anytime all that will change. But she wasn't sure about the silent raven head though. Since they came, all he did was stand there, staring at his mobile! Maybe he is the shy type or likes to watch. Now this other guy… he seems nice and his eyes are so sincere. "Akemi? It means…."
The meaning was lost to Ken. The second time Ken glanced at Aya, he gave Ken the thumbs up sign. All was okay, the room was clean. No signatures or waves were detected. Great! Time to get down to work! They only paid for an hour's worth of service, so they had to hurry.
Ken saw something shiny hanging from the girl's neck. It was an oval shaped locket. He reached for and the girl flinched to the back. "It's okay, okay. I just want to take a look."
Relaxing slightly at Ken's reassurance, Akemi let Ken touch the locket. Palming it, Ken pressed a small button at the bottom and the locket sprang open. Immediately Ken recognized the picture inside. It was Shimada! Pressing the two halves of the oval pieces close, Ken said. "Hmmm, isn't he a bit too old to be your boyfriend?"
For the first time that evening, and perhaps in a long time, Akemi laughed. It was brief but it gave Ken and Aya a glimpse of who she was before. "No." Akemi's reply was low and laced with sadness. "That's my father."
"Tell me a bit about yourself. From your accent, I can tell you're not from here." Ken sat up and sat crossed legged on the bed. He gestured Akemi to do the same.
Tugging at her kimono, Akemi replied. "No, I'm from Niigata."
Ken feigned a look of surprise. He had already known this. "Nigatta? You're a long way from home."
"Hai…" Akemi choked back a sob.
"Why Tokyo then? There are other cities closer to Niigata." Ken kept his gaze on Akemi.
Akemi remained silent. Why does he want to know? Was this a trap? She glanced at the man gazing steadily at her. He didn't look like the others and there something about him that made her want to tell everything.
"It's okay, Akemi. You can trust me." Ken coaxed gently. From the corner of his eyes he can see Aya getting impatient.
After about half a minute, Akemi finally answered. "A friend of mine from school said that she can help me find a job here. Since she's already working here…."
Ken nodded and urged her to continue.
"So I packed my bags and came here. With her help and a friend from an employment agency, they found a clerical job for me at a company called Fujimiya Inc. But… but it was nothing but a lie!" Tears threatened to fall from her huge eyes.
"It wasn't a clerical job but this…" Akemi swallowed and the tears fell. Hastily, she wiped them with the back of her hand. "My father thinks I'm working as a clerk." More tears fell.
Aya looked about the room for some tissues. There weren't any. The room apparently had one sole purpose. Sighing in disgust, Aya pulled out his own handkerchief and tossed it to Ken.
Ken quietly handed the handkerchief and let her cry her heart out. Soon the sobs subsided.
"I'm sorry…" Akemi apologized.
Ken smiled kindly. "It's alright. Once in a while, it's good to let your feelings out. Not good to keep them inside. Clearly you're unhappy, why don't you leave?"
Dabbing her eyes, Akemi said, her voice hardly above a whisper. "I can't! There are guards and we don't go anywhere but here!"
Ken nodded, half wishing he wasn't here either. All his questions seem to make the poor girl even sadder. From the window, Aya cleared his throat and gently tapped his watch. Looking at his own timepiece, Ken saw that they had about 15 minutes left. Stretching his legs across the bed, Ken suggested. "We still have a few minutes left, why don't we walk around the garden?"
Akemi brighten immediately. The lotus pond behind the mansion was the only thing she liked here. "Of course, if you could give me a minute to freshen up?" There were tear streaks down her delicate face.
Lotus pond.
As they walked, admiring the lotus floating in the pond, Ken discreetly looked around the mansion and made mental notes in his head. He noticed that there were guards positioned in various strategic places. Even if the girls could outwit the guards, the barred windows and high gates and walls made it impossible to escape but… Ken smiled. No matter how tight the security, he knew there was bound to be a weakness somewhere!
Politely, Ken bowed to Akemi. Their time was up and it was time to go. "Good night Akemi-san. Perhaps some day, we'll see each other again."
Akemi returned the bow. "Good night and thank you."
Ken was puzzled. "Thank you?"
Smiling a little, she replied. "Hai, I haven't really spoken with anyone since I arrived."
Ken smiled in return and stepped back, allowing Aya to step forward. The raven haired Aya bowed slightly. "If there was one thing you could wish for, what would it be?"
Akemi bowed quickly to hide her surprise. She had spotted her madame nearby and hoped she didn't see the look of surprise. That woman was a curious creature and wanted to know EVERYTHING! Keeping her voice to the minimum, Akemi answered. "I would like to go home, see my father but that's 2 wishes."
"Hai… good night then, Akemi-san." Both Aya and Ken bowed and turned to go.
The madame who was watching smiled to herself. At least tonight 2 of her clients left happy and Akemi herself was looking happy. Slowly, the madame thought, she will be like the rest of the girls!
In the car….
"Well?" Ken asked as they drove away from the mansion. "What now?"
"What's happening there is sickening and revolting!" Aya replied furiously whipping his wig off.
"Some people may beg to differ." Ken said dryly.
"I'm sure there are Akemis in that mansion and other mansions."
"Yeah."
Aya bit his lip, his forehead creased in deep thought. Finally he said. "Let's help them but … I don't know how."
Ken smiled in the near darkness of the car. "Leave that to me. Just say when."
"Is tomorrow too soon?"
"Not at all but I'll need to take tonight off." Ken's mind was already planning what to do.
"Fine, take all the time you need just…." Aya cleared his throat. "Just be careful."
A sudden warmth spread across Ken's cheeks. Did Aya just tell him to be careful? Biting his lips to stop himself from grinning like an idiot, Ken mumbled an affirmative.
***********************************
Some time later
Aya's living room.
It was now 11:13pm and Ken wasn't back yet. Aya lifted the beer bottle to his lips and took a swig of Kirin beer. Nanako had came in earlier on, asking if he wanted to eat. Politely, Aya declined saying that he wasn't hungry.
Taking another swallow of the beer, Aya got up and walked around his empty living room. Well not exactly empty. It was filled with all kinds of things. Big bouquets of flowers, hampers, other gifts like a pair of brass deer, crystal bonsai, mainly amethyst and peridot that was supposed to be good for business and harmony. But one of the spectacular gifts he received was a horse, carved from jade. It stood there gleaming and proud, looking simply magnificent!
Suddenly Aya laughed. It wasn't a happy laugh but one that was cynical and dry. Were all these gifts given because Leo ordered it? Or was it because these people wanted to butter him? Get on his good side? Or because they like doing business with Fujimiya Inc and it was their sign of appreciation? Nevertheless, Aya said to himself, it was so easy to lose yourself in all this, in this world. And if he wasn't careful, he might just lose himself and Leo's plan would have worked.
RINGGGG! It was his mobile. Aya flipped the contraption and brought it to his ears.
"Moshi moshi."
"Aya!" Leo's voice crackled through. "What are you doing?"
Putting his beer bottle on the coffee table, Aya said. "Nothing really."
Leo laughed. "You're worse than an old man! Get out of that house and join us. I'm here at the Kitty Club with some friends. Don't you dare say no because if you do, I'll come over and drag you down here myself!"
"Leo…" Aya was in no mood to go to some smoking bar or club.
Leo seems determine on having Aya join him. "Come on Aya! Just for a few hours! Relax! You're gonna get old before its time. I've someone wait for you at the front door. Bye Aya!"
Click and the line went dead. Sighing, Aya rose and headed for his room to change.
What's a few hours? Maybe by the time he came back, Ken would be back.
******************************************
In another bar….
Ken was already done with his mission. Everything was set for tomorrow. He did think of calling Aya but decided against it when he realized it was quite late. His boss could already be in dreamland. Besides, he could easily tell him tomorrow.
"Yo Ken!" Yohji waved his hand directly across Ken's face. "Are you here with us?"
Blinking in surprise, Ken quickly answered. "Yeah, of course I'm here."
"You looked like you spaced out a moment ago, Ken-kun." Omi said with concern.
"Just tired I guess." Ken brought the glass to his lips and took a sip of the bitter concoction.
"Hmmm…so you're gonna save that girl tomorrow?" Yohji took a handful of peanuts.
Ken had briefed him on what had happened earlier in the evening.
"Yeah."
"The operation is tomorrow too."
"Oh yeah? You think I should delay…" Ken sat up.
Yohji disagreed. "No, they might shut down that mansion and Akemi may be moved elsewhere. I want Fujimiya to save that girl. Make him feel good about something. Right now he is sick with all of this, isn't he?"
Ken nodded.
"Good. All this is gonna help us turn him. You did say you could?"
"Yeah."
"Alright then, proceed as planned."
"Okay, I'll …." The mobile in Ken's pocket began to ring. Ken pulled out and mobile and frowned when he read the name displayed on the screen.
"What's wrong Ken-kun?" Omi peered over his shoulder.
End of 10.
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