Chapter 33: The Beat
One Week Earlier
October 1st 2010 0545 Hours
East Sussex County, England, HCLI Training Center
This was one of those few times I truly put my foot down and didn't budge no matter how badly she yelled at me. Or in this case how badly she whined. But after I told her I would do this because I was doing what was best for her, she started to ease up a bit and accept it. I still couldn't get over the fact that despite all the years she had known Lehm, Wiley, Sophia, and hell even Chiquita she only learned how to shoot and never defend yourself with your bare hands. I already knew that it was our job to keep her safe, but common sense would at least tell you that you had to have SOME form of knowledge in defending yourself. This was actually the first time I ever taught somebody how to fight. Naturally I couldn't make her a pro and most of the stuff I knew took years to do but I think Krav Maga would work the best for her. It was straight and to the point, and fairly easy to learn unlike Silat. It would also give her an opportunity for us to come immediately to her aid if someone got too close. I wasn't gonna take another risk of that happening ever again, Koko was gonna learn how to make sure that the next would be assassin tries to take her out gets a nasty surprise.
Of course that only worked if she had the strength and endurance to do that. Fighting is like any other form of training, you had to be fit to do it or else your opponent would simply overpower you. I wasn't gonna turn her into the next Ms. Olympia but I had to get her at least past zero. Despite on how hard she works her brain and being a good shot I learned long ago that you can't have both extreme positives and negatives for on how you build yourself up. Army life taught me this well, you had to be an all-rounder. If you were too great in one thing something else that could be vital would slack. It would also make your intentions predictable and clever opponents can use that to their advantage.
"How are you not out of breath? Or cold for that matter?" Koko said struggling to keep pace with me.
It was a little colder than usual this morning, but then again England doesn't necessarily have what you would call a cool Autumn compared to the States. But the scenery was just like back home, endless amounts of trees with the fall colors of yellow, red, and orange. Running along the dirt road made me feel like I was living back in North Carolina again. Every now and then the commanders of different units did family runs on the holidays, so we ran with each other at a rather slow pace since most of the spouses and kids couldn't really keep up with them.
However I was going incredibly slow as compared to my normal runs because I was the pacer for Koko. I deliberately placed myself in a handicap but if we went any slower I was gonna start walking. We got up early and were supposed to start off with a five mile run and then move on to training. But we were only at a mile and a half and we were at the twenty minute mark. I didn't want to cut this short but I might not have had a choice considering how slow Koko was going. I promised I'd teach her and I would but I'd have to be careful on balancing between being educator and hard ass. She was still my friend and the woman who pulled me out of the dark void. That being said I would never allow her to be weak.
"I don't care about temperatures and you're the one moving slow. Keep it up a bit longer! I don't wanna cut our run short!"
I was keeping ahead of her the entire time but every now and then when I turned around she would try and sprint up to catch me. If I could call it anything, I'd say that the "slinky effect" ruins a person's run time and pace more than anything. I could see her sweating through her track suit like she just came out of the shower. That might have the cue to cut this run short even though I didn't want to. I checked my watch and we were taking up far too much time. Once I saw the sign that pointed in the direction of the range entrance we made that turn and the made for the car. Koko stopped at the car with her hands on her knees and bent over, I hoped to God she didn't throw up.
"Can we…not run…that far next time?" She said panting like a dog.
"Actually we only ran just over two miles we under cut it. And it's way past sunrise so we're out of time." I then opened the trunk and took a bottle of water from the cooler and handed it to her. "Here, sip and don't guzzle."
"Why am I regretting doing this with you?" She said wiping the sweat off her forehead, her hair sticking to it like a mess.
I leaned down and got face to face with her.
"I cannot in good conscience let you continue to conduct your business and rely solely on us to protect you. I'm not just doing this because of what happened in Budapest, I'm doing this because it's the right thing to do. Besides the littlest ones always pack the biggest punch." I said forming my hand into a fist.
The smile then came back. "Does that me I can finally take my frustration out on you?"
I held up my hand. "Let's get you a decent sparring partner first."
0700 Hours
Indoor Training Center
After she changed into some dry clothes and had a chance to breathe we then started off with the basics. Of course though I had to find someone that was at least somewhat her height and size to be her sparring partner, that's were Mao came in. I couldn't really choose anyone else though since all of us were near or over six feet tall and he stood at around five ten. Fighting is a real science when it comes down to it and there's a tremendous distance between sport and combat. Combat was quick, violent, and unfair so you had to exploit all of your enemies weaknesses. But just because you had a few advantages over your opponent didn't mean that you could win automatically, if your opponent was three times your size you're not going to win. But if you were a good and trained fighter then you could hold your ground and Sophia was a perfect example. I would have asked her for help in this but she was always too soft with Koko and she would have yelled at me for being too rough. But hey, getting stronger is never easy.
"Ready to help man?" I asked Mao as he took off his shoes and stepped on to the training mat.
"Hell yeah. I could use some brushing up too, thanks for asking. You sure Koko is up for this?"
"Well it'll put my mind at ease a lot more that she has a little knowledge defending herself."
I then saw Koko eagerly approach the mat, dressed in a new set of gym clothes and hair wrapped up in a messy bun.
"Alright can I finally kick your ass for making me run so early in the morning Damien?" She said cracking her knuckles.
"You needed to build up some stamina and Mao's gonna be your sparring partner but before we start let me tell you the basics."
She pouted but then looked at me with full attention.
"Getting this out of the way first, the only unfair fight is the one that you lose. That doesn't mean that you just straight up walk up to a guy and kick him in the dick, the average fighter always has their guard up. This is how you can get a guy reeling in pain so that you can do the appropriate follow ups to either get back to your weapon or in the case with us allow us to handle the situation from there."
I then looked to Mao and he nodded to begin and we both got into defensive stances. I briefed him earlier to just fall into the moves and would do it slowly and several times so that she could know how to pull them off properly. Naturally this wasn't a test that you had to do every move by the book but as long as she got the general gist of it, that was fine. Violence of action doesn't always mean you do the same thing over and over again. I explained the moves as Mao delivered the first punch.
"In this instance if he were to deliver a straight I take my left arm and push his arm down or to the side to block. Then I take my right hand and push his face back, then you use that opportunity to deliver a straight of your own. Blocks and strikes make up a good portion of Krav Maga but it's not strictly defensive. You can use your opponents own moves against them, by moving out of the way of your opponents punch you stay in close to them and deliver a combination of jabs on their striking side. What this is primarily called is bursting and can work on not just punches and kicks but also knives and guns. We'll do that later in the week but for now let's focus on hand to hand. During your opponents initial phase of going on offense you won't have time to do a proper wind up so use your legs to burst forward, block the strike, and deliver one of your own. Target the vital points or anything that will cause the most pain. If you remember when Sophia grabbed that poor guy at the airport she was holding him by the pressure point behind his jaw. There's multiple ones all over the face, like in between the eyes and nose, the nose itself, the temples and most importantly the throat. I like to target the neck because it doesn't matter how strong you are, one strike to the neck and you're gonna be on the ground. It actually takes more force to crush an empty beer can than a man's windpipe. An experienced opponent though will have their chin down so as not allow their windpipe to be hit and keep an eye out for uppercuts. It won't always be just against one opponent though and more often than not in this past year we've always come across groups of attackers. Key thing there is to never stop moving. When you see an opportunity take it, like a kick to the side of the knee, punch through his defense and land some jabs, if they get too close land an elbow or a knee."
I kept focusing on her while we were doing the mock spar, making sure that she was listening to what I was telling her. Her eyes didn't lose focus on us, so if she wanted to start then she wasn't going to learn anything by just standing there.
"Alright step on the mat and let's get started."
October 3rd 2010 0730 Hours
She was actually learning faster than I had expected as if she was falling into the moves by instinct. Of course though she would have to continue to build up her power and stamina because, not beating around the bush, she had to catch up on matching an average man's physic. But considering the pace that she was learning was exponential, it would be as if she would be compensating strengths and weaknesses. It's the same for all types and theories of fighting styles like speed over strength, offense over defense, or fineness over brute force.
The lesson's for today would be the disarming moves. These are the more dangerous ones that you have to get right on the very first try because if you didn't then you were dead. Since we came across more gunfights than anything else we would practice those techniques last. We would begin the training with rubber practice knives, and implement the ability to either disarm or kill your opponent with his own knife. This time it was Koko's turn to fight off Mao. He held out the fake blade and began to slash.
"Remember to keep you distance and block! It's better to be cut than stabbed!"
Waiting for the opportunity to present itself Koko allowed Mao to lunge forward. She moved to the side while grabbing his arm at the same time. She then kicked out his knee and using the circle technique curled his arm so that his own knife was at his neck. She was actually putting some force into it as well, I could tell because of the look on Mao's face that she was serious. After he got back up he then held the fake blade like a pro and came at her with an overhead strike. Using the block she pushed the knife to the side and grabbed the back of his neck to push him down while she landed a knee just barely making contact with his face.
"I think she has the knife defense pretty nailed down Damien." He said nervously.
She then smiled with confidence and let Mao go. It was only a few days and while I was amazed and how much she adapted she was still a novice. Mastering any form of fighting, even something as simple as boxing, takes months or even years to perfect.
"Be that as it may, the little lady has a while to go. But good job Koko."
"Thank you sensei." She said while bowing comically like in an old kung fu movie.
"Remember though this is just to defend yourself for only a moment to either get back to your gun or have us take over."
"I know, I know, fighting fair is never an option."
Just then her sat phone started to ring. I motioned for her to go and take it, since it had to be business and she never ignored calls from it.
"This is Koko!" She started off with her chipper self but it turned neutral. "Yes what is it? Really, and how is this my problem?"
She then turned and focused on me and then looked back to her phone, the one on the other end taking their time to explain.
"Uh-oh. I know that look, you know there's only two people she uses that tone with." Mao said.
She then shut her eyes and took a deep breath, it looked like someone wanted a favor from her. I prayed it was the other one though.
"Alright fine. Call me later." She then hung up and looked at me.
"Well?" I asked.
"Mao, better go get the car ready cause I think we're done for the morning. I need to talk to Damien in private."
Mao took the hint and left quickly. As I walked off the mat she grabbed our sneakers and handed me my own.
"We're taking a trip to Japan. Kasper needs my help so just listen to what's going on."
Oh God why'd it have to be him?
Present Time
October 7th 2010 0040 Hours
Club Eden, Tokyo, Japan
"Just because you gave her a few lessons doesn't mean she can fight for real! Why didn't you tell me you were doing that with her?"
"Because you would have held back too much. And you should see how she handles herself, you'd be amazed."
I kept a hold on Sophia as she was trying to go to Koko's aid from the weirdo who had ruined our champagne. But I think this would have been a good opportunity to see what she was capable of. Whoever this moron was he was about to get a surprise.
"You with me now!" He said with a poor pronunciation of English and clearly not getting the point.
"And now you've pissed me off. Get lost fuck wad." She said while flipping him the bird.
A clearly angry look came over the guy, he winded up to try and slap her but she saw the move coming a mile away. Putting the practice into proper form she blocked it with her left arm and delivered a jab to his left eye causing him to stumble back into his slut squad in pain. Now even more angry he then moved forward to deliver a swing but Koko caught the swing and then bursted forward and with her other hand pulled his head down into her knee and made several connections with his face. The last strike knocked him off of his feet and he fell on his ass while coving his rather bloody nose. Koko held firm with a serious look on her face and the loser on the floor had no idea what the fuck just happened to him. He stood up and finally got the hint to leave, disappearing into his girls.
"You dead bitch! DEAD!" He said leaving like a clumsy idiot.
Knowing she won, she then turned to return to our lounge. Slightly hesitating when she realized that Sophia and I saw the whole thing but unfazed if we cared or not. I held a smirk that let her know that those lessons and exercise paid off. Sophia had a blank look on her face unable to process the fact that Koko and quite frankly kicked a guy's ass in a rather embarrassing manner.
"I'm assuming that champagne was rather good?" I asked Koko.
"It was and I don't think I'll be pulling out my credit card to get another one that quick."
"Oh well." I then stretched my arms and stumbled a little, it appeared I had too much to drink and I wasn't gonna get any more drunk for the night.
"Since I think that was the highlight of the night you wanna call it quits? Still got two more days till your brother gets here so we should enjoy it."
"I agree, all this dancing has worn me out and it's starting to get a little hard to hear. What do you think Valmet?"
We both looked at her and she still had the same expression on her face, still unable to believe what Koko had did. I then brought her out of her trance by poking her cheek.
"It's getting late. You text Ugo and I'll get Lutz."
"Oh yeah. Right." She said as she pulled out her phone and I led the both of them back down to the dance floor.
As we got to the first floor I immediately spotted Lutz and Ugo closing out the tab. They knew the drill and we started making our way through the crowd of people being sure not to get separated from each other. Everybody was still having fun with the pulsing lights and thumping music of both J-Pop and a few American hip hop beats. The amount of bodies in the club was causing the temperature to rise, I was beginning to sweat through my shirt. Plus since I had a lot to drink tonight I was getting a bit dehydrated. As we passed the bar I put my hand on Lutz's shoulder.
"Hey I'll see you guys at the entrance. I'm just gonna grab a bottle of water."
"Sure just don't take too long." He said somewhat slurred and his English was breaking down into his German.
After pushing through a few people I got to the bar and motioned to the bartender for a bottle of water. The moment he handed it to me however there was commotion over the music. Having a height advantage on everyone I saw that there was a bunch of guys including a few bouncers blocking the exit of the club. I then shoved my way through the people and got closer and in even in the dimness of the club I spotted an asshole that apparently didn't want to learn his lesson and this time he had back up. Eight of them to be precise and they were in front of Koko, Sophia, Ugo, and Lutz. The one in the center, probably the leader, stepped forward and pointed a finger at Koko.
"Anata wa watashi no kyodai o osotta hitodesu ka!?"
(Are you the one who hit my brother!?)
"None of us speak Japanese shit head and I don't like the way you're saying it!" Ugo said as he got in front of Koko.
He scoffed. "Damn American tourists, always causing fights." He said in a basic form of English, meaning he probably dealt with a few rowdy tourists before.
"Says who?" Koko.
"German." Karl.
"Finnish." Sophia.
"I don't give a damn! You're beatings will be a fair payback."
These clowns were about to start a fight with the wrong party goers and there was a crowd starting to form around them. If this was any other situation I would have pulled my gun and told them to back off or I'd blow their heads off. But tonight was supposed to be strictly fun and we left our guns in the car. I was looking forward to this night ending on a positive note but it looks like that wasn't gonna be the case. I didn't know if the booze was causing me to think this way but I didn't care at that point, they wanted a brawl then we'd give them one. But with the fast paced music going along with the flashing lights I thought it would be awesome if I could get the DJ to play something a little more appropriate. While they were arguing I quickly made my way to the DJ's turntables while most of the crowd was focused on the crew and the bouncers. I put my hand on his shoulder and he turned around, looking up at the sight of an inebriated and very large man caused him to wonder what he did to anger me. But after I looked up the translator app on my phone I pulled up the sentence to play a specific song. He reluctantly agreed and the sound of horns with a slow hip hop beat began to play along with an angry voice.
Don't get it twisted this rap shit is mine, motherfucker!
And it's not a fucking game! Fuck what you heard!
There were a few times in the two and a half years I spent on the run working in a few high end clubs and casinos as a guard I had to take care of a few drunks, fights, or sore losers. But now I was one of the drunks looking to start a fight and once again, irony. Which in the long run is gonna be a bad idea but I don't think these guys were gonna let us go quietly anyway and I don't think any of us wanted to start shooting people the moment we arrived here. As I made my way to their left side I saw Sophia look at me as I approached one of them, probably acting a bit too cocky. I winked at her and she looked back wondering why the hell I was about to do what I was going to do.
It's what you hearin, listen.
It's what you hearin, listen.
It's what you hearin, listen.
I put my hand on the shoulder of the bouncer. "Excuse me."
"Nani!?"
(What!?)
I've always wanted to do this.
"SHORYUKEN!"
Then all hell broke loose.
X gon give it to ya! Fuck waiting for you to get it on ya own!
X gon deliver to ya! Knock knock! Open up the door its real!
With the Non Stop Pop Pop of Stainless Steel!
After my big uppercut two of them tackled me and started wailing on me. But before they could start, one of them got a big foot to their face and I saw the figure of Ugo grab the other one and pick him up and throw him to the side like a rag doll. I sprung to my feet just to see Sophia kick one of them back and nail another one with a right hook, Koko was standing behind her with a bottle of rum ready to clock anyone who got close. Another grabbed Lutz by the collar but he then started delivering elbows to his face. But he didn't see another one about to hit him from the rear with a chair. Taking his advantage of focusing on Lutz I ran to him and tackled him to the floor. I then slammed my forearm down on his face and after he was dazed, stood up and stomped on his chest. He howled in pain, I must have broke one or two of his ribs. But out of nowhere came a fist to my jaw, another thug wanted to try his luck. But this one was actually doing some damage because of how much alcohol I had in my system my reactions were slower.
First we gonna rock! Then we gonna roll!
Then we let it pop! Go! Let it go!
X gon give it to ya! He gon give it to ya!
X gon give it to ya! He gon give it to ya!
After he had me reeling I noticed that the crowd was starting to thin out a bit, probably not wanting to get caught in the brawl. I then took a hit to the gut, I had to power through the pain and get back on the offensive. As he was about to make a haymaker I caught his arm but not before he wanted to use his other arm to deliver another punch. Falling back on my Silat training I took his left arm and ran it over his other one, taking the right it and curling it so that he was holding on to his own arm and using his leverage against him. Putting pressure on his socket I swung him around and slammed his back on the bar counter and finished him off with a knee to his gut.
I'm a wolf in sheep's clothing, only nigga that you know that can chill come back and get this streets open!
I've been doin this for nineteen years, niggas wanna fight me! Fight these tears!
After taking care of him I saw across the dance floor that things were starting to get out of control. Other people that weren't part of our fight started beating each other up. Mike was using his size and strength to his advantage by shrugging off blows and knocking out one with his huge fist and then lifting another one up by his neck and slamming him through a table. Lutz saw one coming at him with a beer bottle but he quickly ducked and took him off of his feet with a leg sweep. I then saw one of the two that tackled me grab a chair and was about to hit him while he was on the ground. But as he charged at him Lutz kicked his leg up so that it hit him in the chest and using his own momentum against him, hurled him over into the dance floor where a mosh of people where already brawling.
Sophia was blocking the strikes from one of the larger ones until she managed to loop his arm behind his back, get behind him, kick out one of his legs and elbow him in the head. But then the leader of the bunch came up from behind her and put her in a choke hold. I then dashed towards them but before I could do anything Koko came up from behind and smashed her bottle over his head. But it only sent him stumbling and not knock him down. Bleeding badly and clearly enraged, he moved towards her but just as he was about to deliver a swing I got in front of him and caught his fist. Taking advantage of the surprise I twisted his wrist and as he reacted to the pain I shoved him back. He then tried to deliver a kick but I caught it and twisted it so that he got off balance and fell to the floor. Still holding on to his ankle I thrusted my knee into his and his leg bent in a way it wasn't supposed to. As he laid on the ground screaming in pain, I turned back to the girls.
"I think we better get out of here before this gets any worse!"
"No argument here Damien. Ugo! Lutz! We're leaving!" Koko shouted over the ever increasing mosh pit.
"In a minute!" Ugo said as he slammed two bouncers heads together. "Right!"
"Aww man my suit's ripped!" Lutz said after delivering a finishing blow to the nose of the last of the ones that started the fight.
X gon give it to ya! He gon give it to ya!
X gon give it to ya! He gon give it to ya!
First we gonna rock! Then we gonna roll!
Then we let it pop! Go! Let it go!
The four of us then fell back into our drill of how to protect Koko when dealing with crowds. We shoved our way past the exit and made our way out of the club. We had to get the hell out of there fast because more likely than not somebody had already called the police. We hurried to our car and after getting Koko in first the rest of us piled in with me last but just before I got in the back seat I heard a shout in Japanese and the click of a hammer.
"Hands up!" He said crudely.
Koko and Lutz were both looking at me knowing I'd been caught off guard. Lutz motioned his eyes to where he left his pistol in the car and I shared his thoughts. Give him the opportunity and let him take him out. For now I did what the thug said and turned around with my hands in the air. No surprise to who was pointing the gun at me was the skinny pretty boy douchebag holding a silver snub nose .38.
"Watashi ni on'nanoko o ataete, anata wa kizutsuite inai!" He said pointing at Koko.
(Give me the girl and you don't get hurt!)
The stupid asshole didn't wanna quit but this time he was pushing the issue where his life was at stake. I may have been drunk but not drunk enough to see that this altercation warranted a man losing his life. And since I had a few blows to the head my perception was much better. I held out my finger to let Lutz know not to jump the gun, figuratively speaking. I then smirked arrogantly at the guy to get him even more pissed to create an opening.
"Watashi wa itta-!"
There was my opening, I bursted forward and placed my thumb at the hammer so it wouldn't fire, twisted it to the side and after I got closer to him bursted back with his own weapon pointed at him. Not feeling so confident anymore he put his hands up high and looked like he was about to shit himself. I then grabbed him by his collar and lifted him up slightly, he then realized he was clearly outclassed by the towering monster that he thought was gonna kill him with his own gun. But using my free hand I opened the cylinder and emptied the cartridges one handed and threw the gun away. He relaxed a little bit but I wasn't gonna let him off the hook just yet.
"Hey Sophia, I don't got time for this shit. You want this one?" I tiled my head towards the car hoping she heard me. But Koko jumped in before she could answer.
"All of us don't have time for this shit Damien! We need to go!"
"Ten seconds? I'll buy lunch for everyone tomorrow." I said pleading while looking at her hoping for pity.
She then shut her eyes and looked towards the front seat.
"Make it quick before I hear sirens."
The one eyed amazon then got out of the front seat and cracked her knuckles but looked more angry at me that the scrawny punk.
"You and I are gonna talk later." She said pointing at me letting me know she was serious.
I threw him at her and the punishment began. Even though it was their fault, I was the one that caused it to escalate.
0200 Hours
Rihga Royal Hotel, Koko's Suite
"I should have gone with you guys instead. You three look like you had the time of your lives." Lehm said in his shit giving tone as he lit another cigarette.
We just glared back at him as we were sitting on the angular couch finishing patching ourselves up from our bar brawl. Lutz got a serious cut where his favorite blazer got ripped but he was more depressed realizing that he would have to get a new one. I myself having a pack of ice on my very sore jaw from that haymaker out of nowhere. Ugo wondering why he felt so sore all over figured out why when he took off his flashy shirt to reveal that his torso was covered in bruises.
"I don't think I'll be going out like that again any time soon. OW! Damn!" He said as he put his hand on the bruise on his ribs.
"You owe me a new suit Damien." Lutz said poking a finger through the cut in his jacket.
"Hey none of this was my fault Karl. It was that ass hat that started it by trying to put his hands on Koko." I said gritting because it hurt to move my jaw.
"So how did she handle herself?" Mao asked from the kitchen heating up some noodles he brought back.
The three of us sitting down looked at each other and we all agreed. She surprised the hell out of all of us.
"I have now have more of a reason to NOT get the little lady upset." Lutz said.
I then stood up with somewhat of a stumble, it looked like I hadn't gotten all the booze out of my system. It wasn't the first time I stayed up all night and I knew I was gonna get punished later for escalating the brawl. I might as well have gotten back to work even though we were gonna do more stuff tomorrow.
"I'll go relieve either Tojo or Wiley. I don't mind staying up a few more hours."
Before I could leave Lehm put his hand on my chest. "You're still drunk, we'll handle guard for the rest of the night. You get some sleep."
My vision then started to blur a bit and I just realized that that wasn't really a good idea. I would have to sleep it off and possibly deal with a hangover the next morning. Realizing that I should make the smart decisions for the rest of the night, I should continue to do so.
"Your right but before I do, where's Koko? I should apologize for things getting a little out of hand."
He thumbed towards the door where the girls were sleeping. Lehm and Mao then went to relieve Wiley and Tojo. Lutz crashed on the couch and Ugo went to his room. I then knocked on her door.
"Koko it's me, I'm coming in."
I entered the room and I saw her sitting at a table looking out the balcony door at the Tokyo cityscape with an empty glass in her hand. To my left was the bathroom with the door closed and I could hear a shower running. Sophia must have been in there sobering up. A single lamp on the table was the only illumination from the room. Next to the lamp though was an open half drank bottle of wine, I wondered why the hell she was still drinking after the night we just had. She then set down the glass and looked at me.
"What's up Damien?"
"I wanted to apologize for the night getting out of hand. I can't just blame it all on the drinking cause I'm still the one that caused that little standoff to explode. Plus I should have gone with you when you went to get that champagne, if I did then that goofy haired loser wouldn't have done anything."
I looked away from her as I said that. This one was entirely my fault but as she stood up she walked over to me and looked like I hadn't done anything at all. She then put her fist on my chest and from what I could see, it looked like she had been done drinking for a while.
"The only thing we were doing tonight was having fun and that asshole decided to ruin it. Plus he made a pretty good punching bag for me."
I chuckled. "Aren't you glad those lessons paid off?"
"I always welcome the idea of learning something."
Ok, I'm may still be somewhat inebriated but she can't fool me. Might as well ask.
"You're not mad?"
"Of course not." She then made for the door. "But she is. He's all yours!"
She then slammed the door hard and I heard a lock, she led me into one of her traps. Feeling like an absolute idiot I hurried to the door and was about to kick it open. But I heard another one slam behind me. I then heard a slurred woman's voice.
"DAMIEN…"
"Oh shit."
But as I turned around I was hit with fear, confusion, and arousal all at the same. Sophia was standing in the bathroom doorway drenched from the shower wearing nothing but her eyepatch and looking at me rather angry. As she approached me though her steps were not well placed, it seemed as though I found out where all that wine went. But as I was unable to comprehend what I was looking at I couldn't move and when she closed the distance grabbed me by my collar and pulled my face closer to hers, her eye filled with murderous intent. It wasn't that much of a pull though, sometimes after you're done drinking a lot crazy facts come flooding back. She was not your average woman by any means necessary, it's not often you come across one that's only a few inches shorter than you but cut like a statue while maintaining her feminine curves.
"STOP LOOKING AT MY TITS AND LISTEN UP."
"Uhh…are you still drunk Sophia?" I asked somewhat terrified.
"THAT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS. I WANNA KNOW ONE THING FROM YOU AND I WANNA KNOW NOW."
"S-sure what is it?"
Probably wanted to know why I caused the fight to escalate.
"ARE YOU TRYING TO BE WITH BOTH OF US?"
"Uhh." My brain stopped again.
"I DON'T MIND HER SHARING YOU WITH ME BUT SHE ONLY DESERVES ONE PERSON AND THAT'S ME. YOU'VE BEEN AROUND HER A LOT MORE THAN I LIKE."
Hold up. Sharing? The hell's she babbling about?
"I TOLD HER THAT I BELONG TO HER AND ONLY HER, FOREVER AND ALWAYS. BUT THEN YOU COME ALONG AND SHE JUST THROWS HERSELF AT YOU! YOU! A MAN THAT THINKS HE'S SO COOL JUST BECAUSE HE THINKS HE CAN THROW A FEW PUNCHES AND SHOOT A COUPLE OF BULLETS. I CAN DO ALL THAT TOO."
As she continued to spout, now wine scented, nonsense I took her hand off my collar. Normally in situations where an argument is getting out of control the best thing to do was walk away and let things calm down. This would be the plan to implament.
"Alright, how about we pause this and continue this conversation later? You're drunk, it's late, and I have no fucking clue where this is going. How bout you-WHOA!"
Even drunk she still didn't lose her finesse. She twisted my arm behind me and put me in a chokehold, then kicked my knee out and held my leg in place with her own. I didn't want this to go any crazier because I really didn't want any of the guys to walk in and have a shit load of ammo to use on the both of us later. The plan to wait until she calmed down went up in smoke.
"ACK! Ok! Shit! No I haven't done anything with Koko! I told her no! Happy?" I said choking.
Her grip then tightened further but as I was about to pass out she let go. I collapsed to my knees on the floor trying to get my breath back. But then she grabbed me from behind, the water on her body was soaking through my silk shirt. I hoped this ended soon, women's emotions are something no man will ever understand. It's even worse if they're drunk. First she wanted to strangle me and then she embraces me.
"I'm glad that you're not acting like some horny idiot." She said still somewhat slurred but not as fanatic.
"You're welcome. But can you at least tell me why you're acting this way? I can't figure it out with all the craziness, or the booze." I said catching my breath.
She then rested her head on my shoulder.
"Koko and I had a little talk a while ago, I think you can figure out what it was about. All I want for her is to be happy and not have too much stress in her life. So unless the other side causes things to escalate, don't add fuel to the fire ok?"
"Ok. Is there anything else?"
"I said what I meant, I belong to her. You however…" She then began to unbutton my shirt. "…belong to me."
As flattering as that sounded, I couldn't do this. I grabbed her hands as she started to undo my belt.
"Sophia you're still drunk. This isn't right, just dry off and go to bed."
As she let go of my belt she then slid her body over to my side, tilting my head up to look at her face and not her hypnotizing chest.
"I'm not that drunk, plus that fight was kinda fun, and beating the shit out of that guy who tried to hurt Koko was even better." She then slid her hand down from my chest, to my abs, and towards her target. "I want you to make it perfect."
I grabbed her hand before she did anything else. I was fighting to hold back with all my strength, I couldn't take advantage of her like this.
"Your eye, breath, and the fact you're still naked says otherwise. We still got a few more days so clear…"
"Damien…" She said putting her hands on my face. "Rakast-uhhh." She said in a sloppy form of Finnish as she passed out onto my chest.
"Ugh. Well at least that's over with."
I then picked her up and placed her in the bed and covered her up. She, like me, was gonna have a bad hangover tomorrow. I just hoped she didn't remember this. I then propped up two chairs as my bed for the night. I didn't want her to freak out first thing in the morning. I then turned toward the bathroom, the shower was still running. I figured I might as well rinse the stink off before I go to bed. Tomorrow we'd do the tourist thing, I had to look at least somewhat fresh.
October 9th 2010 1000 Hours
Narita International Airport
The next two days were a lot more quiet than our opening night in Tokyo. The second day we started a little bit later because half of us were still recovering from our hangovers. Like any vacation there was only so much we could do in the short amount of time we were there. But I managed to fill my camera and scrapbook up with a whole lot more pictures. From the restaurants, the botanical gardens, The Meiji Shrine, the Imperial Palace, walking around Ginza there was always something to explore and learn about the culture of Japan. I won't lie though that I felt a little awkward taking so many pictures and looking at the sights in awe that every now and then I caught the locals looking at me. They knew for a fact that I was an American but they didn't expect one to look so, best way to describe it, overwhelming. Even more so that I had an equally powerful woman at my side most of the time, and it wasn't just Koko. I had to enjoy it while it lasted because now came the rather unpleasant part of the trip where I had to deal with Kasper. But since we actually had some fun in the three days we were waiting on him, I wasn't in a terrible mood. Sophia apologized for her behavior, even though I doubt she remembers it, and I managed to make good on the dinner promise I made to her. But despite the enjoyable evening of sushi made fresh right in front of us, she told me she would keep an eye on me in case I did anything crazy again. Along with a rather lengthy lecture she gave me over dinner about how not to be an ass.
As we were waiting in the main terminal for Kasper I walked to the side and leaned on a pillar, she kept looking at me still.
"It's a public place and an airport no less, I'm not gonna go all 'Hulk Smash' ok?"
"It always comes in threes. Just because you've behaved doesn't mean I won't let my guard down." She said.
"You're kinda taking this to a stalkers level. Is that what you're doing? Cause if you are that be hot." I winked.
"Idiot." She then looked to the rest of the crew and moved towards Koko. "He's here."
I looked from behind the pillar to see Kasper in his usual dark blue suit with Chiquita and his goon squad in tow. I still couldn't believe he had a group who's last names all formed into the names of one of the US's darkest poets and writers. I thought he gave them code names as some sort of joke but after Koko told me they were real, I stopped asking questions.
"Hey thanks for waiting! Sorry to make you guys come all this way out here, I hope it's not too much of a pain."
"It wasn't so bad. We had some fun while we were waiting on you." Koko said.
"So you guys started having fun before or after you decided to cause a riot at one of the most high end clubs in Tokyo?"
She sighed. "Why am I not surprised that you know that?"
That makes two of us. Nosy prick.
"Koko's been doing her best to keep morale up ever since R died. Her high spirits have been quite adorable, impeccable and all together awesome. Unlike a certain muscle bound, long haired, know-it-all, questionable preference, man child who's wanted to add extra stress onto our trip!" Sophia said frustrated in my direction.
Jesus woman I'm right here.
"Somehow that doesn't surprise me, but drama aside I actually came here to speak with Tojo."
"Me? What for?" He asked.
"Well here is not the best place to talk about this. Let's find a tea house somewhere and we'll-"
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Stop!" Koko said cutting him off. "Before you ask for whatever the hell it is you want there's someone else here that needs to talk to you. Damien?"
That was my cue. I then walked toward him with my hands in my pockets and expecting that he made good on his deal by helping out those orphans. He and Chiquita still had those same damn lazy smiles that never left them. Chiquita then gave me a "hang ten" gesture trying to get my attention.
"Hello mishka. You been having fun out here?"
I ignored her comforting tone and after giving her a look of disinterest, turned to Kasper.
"Hello shit head."
"Hello Damien, straightforward as ever."
"I'll cut to the chase. I want to follow up on our deal. To see how those three kids are doing."
He then checked his watch. "Of course, that's no problem. Allan go get us a rental car, I'm gonna take him to see his little friends."
He then looked at his boss concerned. "Uhh sure Kasper. But you don't mean by yourself?"
"Don't worry I'll be fine. Chiquita, meet us at this Chotoro place I was looking up before we arrived, seems nice enough."
"Sounds good boss."
As we followed Allan to get a car Kasper put his hand on my shoulder.
"Koko is right you know. Since it was the two of us that made the deal it only be appropriate for me to let you know how you're orphan friends are doing in their new home."
"I agree cause if I find anything less than adequate, that hand is the first thing I'm going to break."