Chapter 3: The New Mission
A little girl sat in the richly green grass alone, shyly watching the excited children frolic about in groups with their gladdened families. For minutes she sat there placidly, feeling exiled, abandoned by her male parent, for he had seemed to take interest in another little girl other than her, that little girl being her own sister. Everyday she would try to draw herself closer to him, but there was always a gapping distance spread between, wedging them apart from warm, affectionate embracement. During the seasonal icy coldness of the hectic blizzard evenings, the girl sat in the corner, chill bumps dispersing all over her frail skin, with shivers running along the sides of her thin neck as she searched for the pleasantness of her father's touch. However, over to her left, she saw her father and sister laying side by side on the soft, velvet couch, cozily warm. Again, her father was showing more attention toward her sister, not giving her the same.
Abruptly, Anna shook out of the fogginess of her daydream, deliberately coming back into reality as her long, silk crimson skirt swayed around from left to right, accompanied by the loud pat of her feet hitting the floor as Kieran and her stepped into a quaintly stylized restaurant, located a few minutes north from the beach area. Upon sitting down, across from Kieran on the soft, tatami pillow placed on top of the Goza Mat flooring, and making an order, Anna folded her refined legs, looking gloomily at the Kotatsu table, running a polished, red nail across it.
Kieran, aroused in suspicion, had asked, "Is there something bothering you?" In regards to that, Anna gave a simple shake of the head and shifted her mouth from a frown into a perpetrated smile.
"Me? Oh please," she said with untroubled confidence. Then she suddenly changed the direction of the conversation, her voice becoming less squeaky and more seductive. "So, tell me about yourself." She gently placed a soft hand upon the hard knuckle of the balled fist he had made on the center of the table, caressing it up and down with a tepid touch.
"I really don't have much to say," Kieran replied with a bored sigh. "And I would rather us talk about you. I am sure your life is more interesting than mine. Explain to me how a beautiful woman like you ended up here."
"Oh, your too kind," Anna said after a sheepish giggle, again flattered by his complement.
"My dear, you look like you have much to tell."
"Possibly, I do. There's so much going on in my life, I don't think I'd want to bore you."
"If that's how you feel, you necessarily don't have to say anything."
Anna scrunched her face, her head nodding a few seconds after.
"I guess I can tell you," she began, heading into the story of her mission, as well as the feud between Nina and herself. "I am here to help a close relative, one who I've known all my life. We have been through a lot here and there. You can say it's been one hell of a ride for both of us."
Kieran folded his arms on the table, his eyebrows declining slowly as he gazed at Anna's moving lips.
"For years we have practically hated each other, blinded by our love of a person very close to us."
"A deceased uncle?"
"No, our father, Richard, Richard Williams. He died one day, somehow, and we ended up accusing each other as the cause for his death. We fought over it for a long time, that is, until my sister suffered amnesia. You see, she lives this sort of depressing, rough life, and I'm doing the best I can to draw her away from that bad side of the road she continues to stay on. During her amnesia, I did what I could to help her come out of that depressed lifestyle, but she would not let me, and she chose to stick with it, letting it conquer her soul."
Kieran raised his head. "Did she ever gain her memory back?"
"Yes, after she called me one day and told me to meet up with her. The moment she saw my face, that brought back the anger instilled within her heart. So many of those hatful memories returned, causing us to fight again."
A lighthearted waiter, with a clean-shaven head that shined as the light reflected off it, then proceeded to their table before Anna could start again. He came up to them with plates in hand and put each meal on the table. After laying the meals of white rice completed with a side dish of vegetables and meat on the table with two added cups of Sake, the waiter quietly left the two customers to their conversation, as he vanished out of sight.
"You were saying?" Kieran said, asking Anna to continue with her story, after taking a light sip of his Sake.
"I don't know what to say. Nothing of what I do seems to work with that woman."
Anna then rested her hand on Kieran's knuckles again, squeezing tightly. "What would a person like you do in this situation?"
Kieran closed his eyes for a moment, reopening them with a blank stare.
"This is my own advice, but you don't necessarily have to follow it. I think you should go to this person, wherever she is at, and try to settle this meaningless dispute. Do you know where she is, so that you and her may be able to solve this issue?"
"She's at the Sun Dragon Hotel, not very far from here. But I don't see why I would even bother going there. Last she saw me, the reaction was far from positive."
"Well, have you ever tried talking to her when she's in a good mood?"
"If you ever met the woman, you'd know that she's never in a good mood. She's the nonnegotiable type. "
"Oh really?" Kieran said, his brows elevating. "Well, I think you could work something out with her. In time, eventually, she should come around and listen to what you have to say. On the other hand, there are other ways you could settle it if that does not work.
"That's right, handsome, you got it. See, I knew you were smart," Anna said, a smile forming over her lips.
Anna finished off her rice before going to the Sake that stood in front of her. Her discussion with the Irish man had soothed her and cleared her mind. She felt that was all she had needed was someone to talk to, someone that made her feel comfortable. As the diamond coated watch around her wrist beeped, Anna had to conclude the exchange.
"Oh, look at that. I have to run. Will I see you again, Mr. Kieran?"
"You might," he replied.
"I might if what?"
"You might if I see you again, that is."
Anna reached into her purse and pulled out a card positioned between her fingers, handing it to him. "That's the hotel I'll be staying at with my room number scribbled on the back." She then rubbed his shoulder after standing up. "You come see me sometime," she added with a parting wink.
Nina cracked the door of the hotel room closet open, hauling out and throwing on a trench coat that nearly dragged on the floor as she walked, moving narrowly to the table to grab the rest of her items needed for her new assignment. Concealing her weapons within the hidden pockets of her coat, she took one last glance at the sweet smelling room before leaving to ensure she had everything, noting the possibility of her habit to leave things behind during times when she needed them the most. But not this time, for she was prepared and properly equipped, having all the essentials. She went out the door and into the parking lot to start the engine of her motorcycle, but, unfortunately, it would not cooperate as it kept shutting off on her with a spurted cough.
"Useless piece of junk!" Nina huffed, kicking the motorcycle with her boot.
This would not derail her from her mission, however. There were other ways to solve her problem of transportation. When she spotted a taxi coming up in the distance, she immediately ran into the street, blocking its path as it drew closer. Upon seeing the icy woman standing in the traffic filled road, the cab driver quickly slammed his foot on the brakes, coming to a complete stop. Eyeing him menacingly, Nina walked toward the rear of the vehicle and causally opened the door, seating herself on the fine leather seats. She then removed a semiautomatic pistol from the inside of her coat pocket and pressed it forcefully against the back of his neck.
"Take me eight blocks from up here, to the first apartment building on the left. You either turn your head toward me, scream, or say something I don't like, well…I guess you'll just have to be imaginative in what I'm going to do to you," she said threateningly in fluent Japanese.
A line of sweat ran down the cab driver's neck. He was just doing his job and now he had to deal with chauffeuring a foreign assassin around the city to her mission.
"Y…y…yes ma'am," he said nervously in Japanese as he eased his foot on the gas.
The whole trip through town, the driver was very cooperative with Nina. He did everything she said, behaving in accordance with her wishes, not attempting to disobey the cold woman that sat behind him with her legs crossed as she easefully kept her pistol pointed to the back of his neck.
Japan had a lot to look at in Tokyo and Nina could defiantly see that. There were an abundance of areas constructed for business, shopping, and entertainment purposes, just like any other city, only with different writing and language. But Nina did not fancy them. Of course, it would make a lovely place to go on vacation, but Nina was not on vacation. There was work to do and it did not involve sightseeing, though she had to admit, what she saw through the window was magnificent.
When the taxi reached her appointed destination, Nina opened the rear side door and stepped out, throwing back her lengthy ponytail behind her as it got in the way of her eyes. Slowly, she went to the passenger door and leaned against the open window as she glared at the cab driver, waving the front of her pistol in his face.
"You stay here," she demanded, "and keep the motor running. This should not take too long."
She walked into the apartment complex that stood before her and entered, going up the steps until she reached the fourth floor. Knocking on the third door to the right, she came face to face with a gruff looking, heavy set Japanese man. His face matched the description and picture sent to Nina through her laptop. Indeed, he was the man; he was the target.
"Can I help you?" He said in Japanese.
Nina flashed out her pistol, with a silencer attached to the front, and shot four bullets into his chest, closing the door after the heavy set man fell backward on the floor.
"No," she said, sweetly answering his question, as she turned toward the metal railing to go down the steps.
Outside, the cab driver remained parked by the curb, just as she had ordered.
"Ok, now take me back to the hotel, behind the building," she said.
The driver, again, did as told, gripping his hands firmly against the steering wheel, slamming his foot on the gas pedal, with the engine of his car screaming louder than ever. Upon reaching the hotel, Nina disengaged from the back seat of the vehicle and went to lean against the passenger window again.
"Not bad. You were very cooperative with my demands. You listened and did everything well. And for that, I leave you with this."
The blonde woman pulled the pistol from her pocket and shot the driver in the temple. She then pushed his corpse over and got into the driver's seat, driving the car straight into a nearby ocean and watching it sink below as she leaped out before it reached the choppy waters.
"That takes care of that," she muttered.