February 24th, 2012

Detroit, Michigan

"A BOMB! ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS!"

Hunter's voice roared, making Roman take him off speaker. He sat in the back of an ambulance with Becky, who held Dean's hand as they were rushed to the hospital. She seemed to be zoned out, not even once taking her eyes off him.

"Yes sir, a bomb. Dean and Kidd are in critical condition."

Hunter viciously rubbed his eyes in frustration. He already had one of his top guys on the bench in Seth. Now things got even worse with two more guys down.

"You okay boss?"

"I'm fine Roman. Just having a grade A aneurysm. Once everything gets situated, report back by the end of the night."

"Yes sir."

Roman hung up and let out a sigh of frustration. He leaned back in his seat, staring at his unconscious brother. The doctors keep applying oxygen to keep Dean's breathing in order.

"Becky...Becky!"

She turned to Roman. Her face in distress, but looked to be holding it together.

"Dean's a tough guy. He'll pull through."

"I know." She replied. "He's told me about all of his near death experiences. It just worries me because I've seen this scenario too many times. Someone you care for dies in your arms. Honestly I blame myself."

"These things happen Becky. The thought of me dying always runs around my head. If I'm going out, I wanna go out doing something heroic like my man Dean here. It's what we all would do in his place. Let's just bask in our victory. Dean and Tyson will be back in no time."

Roman placed his arm around her shoulder. Giving her the biggest grin possible. Dean started coughing, grabbing everyone's attention. The paramedic removes the oxygen mask, letting Dean catch his breath. He looks over at Roman and Becky, who are overjoyed.

"Sup."

"Damn, thought we lost you for a minute." Said Roman.

"Can you guys stop crying, its bumming me out."

"Sure thing man."

"Is Kidd okay?"

"Their still working on him, but they said he can recover." Said Becky. "Just focus on resting."

"Cool. Wake me up when they fix me."

Dean closes his eyes as the ambulance rides on.

Osaka, Japan

Heavy breathing. Muscles getting tense. Heartbeat up to 100 beats per minute. Adrenaline at an all time high. Seth's body was feeling a little bit of everything as he dangled 50 feet above open water. He didn't know where the helicopter was going, and that honestly didn't matter. Two minutes had passed. His muscles were strained and his grip was soft. It was either make a move, or fall into the ocean.

"Wo bù gan xiangxìn! Zhè shì dang nín chángshì dàfang shí fasheng de qíngkuàng! (i can't believe this! this is what happens when you try to be generous!)" Yelled Mr. Smoke.

He rode in the heli with just the pilot, as his companions were killed in the gunfight.

"Laoban duì ci bù huì tài gaoxìng. (Thr boss won't be too hppy about this.)" Replied the pilot.

"Míngrìxiang furén hen kuài jiù huì shou dào women de huíyin.(Lady Asuka will be hearing from us real soon.)"

Seth inched across the landing bar, taking his time. He reaches the helicopter door and pulls himself up. Their backs were turned. Easy pickings. As Seth opens the door, a small gust of wind makes slip. He catches himself, but draws the attention of Smoke.

"Zhen ta ma de! (What the fuck!)"

Smoke draws his pistol and Seth leaps inside, tackling Smoke against the seats. Both men roll around, fighting over the gun. Smoke was old, but stronger than he looked. He overpowers Seth, pointing the gun towards Seth. As a last minute power move, Seth spits in Smoke's face, then kicks him away. Smoke falls back and his gun goes off, killing the pilot.

"Oh shit!"

The heli starts spinning out of control. Smoke loses his balance and is thrown out the helicopter. Seth leaps forward and grabs the control stick. He pulls back as hard as possible. With enough strength, the heli is balanced out. Seth pushes away the dead pilot and takes his seat.

"How the fuck did I get into this! I don't know how to fly! Black to Cleaner! Rouge? Hello? Damn! I'm too far away. Okay, think, think. Can't call anyone from work. Ummm. Shit, gotta call her."

Lyon, France

De Fleur Estate

Sasha sat back in a recliner, playing with a Rubix cube. Bopping her head to Latin party music, that's blaring on the stereo. A tall, curly haired woman enters from the kitchen, handing Sasha her phone.

"Vous avez un appel manqué. (You got a missed call.)"

"Je vous remercie Monique. Au travail? (Thank you Monique. Off to work?)"

"Oui. Mon patron est un tel ravageur. Je t'appellerai plus tard. (Yes. My boss is such a pest. I'll call you later.)"

Monique bends over, giving Sasha a nice goodbye kiss.

"Au revoir. (Bye)"

Sasha watched her lover leave as the phone rang again. Same number.

"Salut. (Hello)"

"THANK GOD YOU ANSWERED!"

"Seth? Quoi de neuf fuckboy. (What's up fuckboy?)

"CUT THE CRAP! I NEED YOUR HELP!"

"Okay, but please stop yelling. What's the problem?"

"Long story short, I'm in a helicopter with a dead pilot. I don't know how to land this thing."

"Why are you calling me? Call your boss."

"I'm in a little 'off the record' situation. I can't do that."

"Oh. You getting into some shit! What's in it for me?"

"Are you serious right now?"

Sasha does a fake yawn and stretches.

"Well, I'm kind of tired. Maybe I should just go to bed."

"NO! Okay. I can't promise you anything right now. I got some connections in Japan. Real good for some future business."

"Sounds good. I'm holding you to that. Pay close- Hero! I told you stop licking your crotch around me. That shit is nasty."

"Woman, I am going to die! Please help me!"

"Sorry. So pay attention."

Seth follows her instructions. Flipping a few switches and carefully steering. He manages to land at a nearby scrap yard. He bumped a few trees, but nothing serious. Once on the ground, he leans back in relief.

"Thank you. I really appreciate it."

"Just remember you owe me for this. Bye."

Seth steps out as Ruby and Kenny come running over. They tracked Seth with the Ipod, driving over 10 miles to keep up."

"You crazy fuck! Why would you jump on a helicopter?" Kenny asked.

"I got the jewels didn't I?"

Kenny smiled. He wasn't upset, just surprised.

"Yeah. I guess you did. Got a chopper too. We can get some big money for this. I'll make a few calls to get this picked up. Let's get out of here. Don't need anyone asking questions."

Ruby and Kenny talked on about what happened during the ride back. Seth stayed quiet. Back at the house, they celebrated with a bottle of plum wine. Ruby and Kenny laughed and danced all night. Seth sat back, watching his teammates enjoy themselves.

"This was fun." Said Kenny. "Now duty calls. Nakamura's been on my ass lately. All that guy does is throw his weight around and eat dessert. Lazy son of a bitch."

"Hey Ken, you gonna tell me why you're working for him in the first place?"

Kenny folded his arms, pondering for a moment. He sat Indian style on the floor and locked eyes with his best friend.

"I guess I do owe you an explanation. Back in '09 when we separated, I went around the world, learning new fighting styles like I wanted to. I won tournaments. Trained with the best in the world. Met all kinds of awesome people and went to some awesome parties. Yet, I wasn't happy. I had everything I ever wanted. Even then, something was missing."

"Like what?" Asked Ruby.

"Love."

"Love?"

"Yeah, love. My reputation made me a walking target. Drunk idiots picking fight with me. My house got broken into. People who claimed to be my friends, stealing from me. Dealing in bets behind my back. It was awful. Everything I worked for, only got me trouble. I sold my valuables and came back to Japan. I went back to a quiet life. Started working at Blossom Bomb. Money was decent, but not enough to live on. That's when I met Lady Asuka. Came into the cafe looking for me. Said she needed a tough guy to knock around some deadbeats. I wasn't really into hurting innocent people. At first I didn't have to."

"Why?"

"They knew who I was and didn't want any problems. It was easy. I got more and more work. Of course empty threats would go so far. Beat the crap out of them anyway. Soon after I got moved to work for Nakamura. Just staying low key, making small moves."

"Cool story bro. I'm going to bed."

"Damn. I pour my heart out and that's the response I get?"

"Yup. Night."

Ruby starts giggling and Kenny smacks her leg. Seth sat up and started walking to his room. He stopped at the door and looked back at them. They both waved at Seth in a goofy manner. Seth smiled, shook his head, and went to his room.