Chapter Seven
Count the Shadows

Sakura raised a rifle up to her shoulder and checked the sights. She pushed her lollipop into the opposite cheek, the white stick poking out between her lips, as her hands moved with practice over the deadly weapon.

Beside her, Naruto did the same. He held up his own rifle before he cleared the chambers, checked the sights, and ensured the weapon functioned exactly how it was supposed to. He may be annoying and a bit of an idiot in her opinion, but he knew his way around guns. Which was good because this shipment needed to be perfect.

So far, Sakura was satisfied.

About an hour later, the steel door of the warehouse creak open. Naruto turned to look, but Sakura continued with her work. Kakashi would have killed anyone else but their invited guests. She heard the clack of expensive shoes, similar but different than Tobirama's. She didn't look up until Hashirama was standing over her where she sat on the steel desk.

He eyed the guns on the table, then Naruto, then her. "I'm assuming everything is here?"

Sakura smiled around her sucker. "Of course. I'll even sit here and let your men check it if they want. But I promise you won't be disappointed."

He stared at her before nodding at the men flanking him on either side. Sakura didn't question Hashirama, simply watched as his men began rifling through the various crates spread out nearby.

When she turned back to Hashirama, she found him already watching her. "I must admit I am impressed. You certainly live up to your reputation, Tsunade."

Her lips curved around the stick of her candy in a secret smile. Then it faded. "I have your goods. Now where's my money?"

"Already wired to your account," he told her. "I think you will be very happy."

"Perfect."

Sakura turned to Naruto then and nodded towards Hashirama's men, a silent order to go. She waited until he was out of hearing range to speak. "I heard rumors Akatsuki is dealing in Cairo," she said casually, watching him out of the corner of her eyes. Gauging his reaction.

When Hashirama remained silent, Sakura turned her head to look at him fully. His face was passive. Except his mouth where the smallest of frowns pulled the corners of his mouth down. "I heard the same rumors. I was hoping they were false but it sounds like you heard more fact than rumor." When Sakura didn't speak, he answered, "No, I didn't know. Of course I would have told you if I had known for certain."

"But you did hear the rumors before I left," she pressed.

Hashirama held her gaze steadily. "Do not think I was attempting to keep you in the dark, Sakura," he said grimly. "There are millions of fish in the sea, but not all are worth eating. There is much hearsay out there. Some of it is true, but much is just speculation. I would have told you once I knew anything concrete."

Sakura wasn't sure she quite liked his answer, but she couldn't find fault with it. That was one learned skill of their lifestyle: weeding the truth from all the rumors. For now, she would let the matter go. This wasn't the time to press anyway; they were with company. She watched the men silently as they lifted the lid of a wooden crate to examine the stock.

"When are you moving against Newark?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Tomorrow night."

Her brow arched curiously. "Are you sure you're ready?"

"Securing the weapons is your job. Let me worry about the rest," Hashirama told her simply.

Someone was moody this morning. Sakura resisted the urge to smirk. Instead, she pulled the lollipop from her mouth to examine the glistening red ball. Her stare was a little bored. "Well just make sure you write me into your will to take over your business before you go charging into battle."

Hashirama slanted his gaze to her, an amused smile on his face. "You do not know the first thing about stocks. And it won't be I that leads the assault."

"Oh?"

"Tobirama has always enjoyed a good raid. Anything to wrap his hands around the necks of those that oppose us," Hashirama said airly, like he had long grown bored of his younger brother's shenanigans.

Sakura tried to keep her surprise off her face. She had been kidding when she asked if Hashirama was going to fight in person. She had fully anticipated for him and Tobirama to hire men and sit back. Not lead the assault themselves.

"And what of Izuna and Madara?" she asked, lowering her candy.

"Newark falls under Senju territory. Izuna and Madara have lent us their resources but they won't get involved any more than necessary. That's not part of our agreement," he explained vaguely.

Sakura stared. "So you're going to let Tobirama go in alone?"

There was genuine curiosity and a single note of surprise in her tone. Enough so that Hashirama pulled his eyes away from what his men were doing to eye her. "Tobirama is more than capable of handling himself. He may appear to be a businessman, but he was raised in the streets."

Sakura said nothing, but she couldn't help but wonder why Hashirama seemed so unconcerned for his only brother's wellbeing. Before coming to New York, she had read Tobirama's background, read up on him and learned what she could. He was fierce and brutal and smart. Smarter than he made himself out to be. Hashirama was likely correct in that Tobirama could handle this without a problem. So why couldn't she shake the feeling that there was something more? Something she couldn't yet see?

Sakura chewed over this until she finished her candy. She wound her wrapper around the sticky end before she stuck the garbage into her pocket. Never one to leave a trace.

"Are we done here?" she eventually asked.

Hashirama nodded. "I think we have everything we need."

Without another word, Sakura stood, calling for Naruto to follow. She led the way out of the warehouse and to the large, concrete parking lot outside. There she gave Naruto orders to see if they could track any guns coming into the surrounding states from Africa. She wanted to know more about Akatsuki's plans. If their stint in Cairo was a one-time deal or the possibility of something bigger. Because if it was, she wanted it shut down. Immediately.

Sakura watched him jump into a yellow jeep and drive away. It was a bright, obnoxious looking thing. Fitting, she snorted. She followed it with her eyes until he disappeared around the corner. She was just about to turn away to slip into her own car when a shadow caught her attention.

It was another vehicle. A black car with dark, tinted windows. Sakura observed it, noting that it was almost completely hidden in the shadows. She likely would have missed it completely if Naruto hadn't driven right by it. It was seemingly ordinary. Just another abandoned car in a sea of cement.

But that feeling of being watched still hadn't left. It weighed on her and pressed at her back like a physical pressure. The incident in Tel Aviv was still fresh in her mind. She had yet to convince herself it was all in her head.

Eventually Sakura turned away to slip into the red sports car she had acquired earlier that day. She drove into downtown, using every back road and complicated route she knew until she pulled into a familiar neighborhood.

Just like every time before, she parked her car a few blocks away, leaving the doors unlocked and the keys in the ignition. An easy steal for any criminal brave enough.

Ino answered the door after Sakura's first knock. The blonde left it open in invitation as she returned to whatever she was doing inside her home before Sakura's arrival. Sakura slipped in quickly, shutting and locking the door behind her.

She toed off her shoes and hung her jacket on the hook beside the door before venturing in. Inside, she found Ino sitting with Shikamaru at the table in the border between her kitchen and living room. The dark-haired male was dressed in a pair of jeans this time and a grey sweatshirt with 'MIT' printed across the front.

Sakura eyed it. Perhaps he was smarter than he looked.

Shikamaru glanced up from the computer the pair were studying to acknowledge her with a nod. Sakura smiled tightly in response before she settled into the chair across from them.

"So, do we know anything more about these Inspectors Haswari and Tuvia?" she asked.

Shikamaru sat back in his chair with a long, heavy sigh. "Only that they don't exist."

The news hardly surprised Sakura but she frowned nonetheless. "What about Mossad?"

"I checked their personnel database too. Both the one available to the public and not, but neither name came up," he told her.

"Dammit," Sakura cursed softly. "I thought Tuvia's accent sounded a little off. I've been out of Israel too long it seems."

Ino looked at her then. "What do you want us to do?"

"I want you to stay out of this," Sakura said pointedly. "I don't know who these men are yet and until I do, you aren't safe. Shikamaru, on the other hand, will keep looking into it. But be careful. I have a feeling they weren't quite satisfied with my answers."

Ino glared in response but it quickly faded. They both knew Sakura was just looking out for her. "You think they're still following you?" Ino asked.

When Sakura shot her a silent look, Shikamaru frowned. "If they're following you internationally, that could mean FBI or CIA."

"We better hope it's not either of them. I have enough problems right now already," she sighed.

"I heard," Ino said. "What's Akatsuki doing in Egypt?"

"Hell if I know. I was going to have Kankuro look into the matter until he got his dumb ass arrested. Sounds like he'll be behind bars for at least a couple of years."

"One of my sources said Akatsuki picked up a couple of people over there," Shikamaru said. His tone was cool, almost nonchalant like he was discussing the upcoming football game. "I believe they go by Deidara and Sasori. Not much is known about them other than Deidara has quite an act for building bombs and Sasori...well Puppet Master would have been a more fitting name for him than Kankuro."

Beside him, Ino made a face. "Ew…"

Sakura didn't ask him to clarify. Criminals may be more common in the States but over in that part of the world, they were twisted in ways that would make even the most hardened gangsters grimace. Gaara was much like that, she recalled. He had enjoyed burying his victims alive in wooden boxes. Just low enough beneath the surface for them to slowly suffocate but close enough he could listen to their screams. Those haunting shouts still echoed in her dreams some nights.

Sakura gazed about Ino's townhouse aimlessly as Shikamaru returned to his computer. The clicking of keys filled the empty space as she admired the beautiful home Ino had created. It was clean, polished. Like something out of a magazine.

But there were still signs of life. Like the fluffy, grey blanket thrown over the back of the couch and the pictures lining the walls and the shelf above the television. Sakura already knew she wasn't in any of then. She had asked Ino not to. In case she ever got caught. There could be no physical evidence that they knew each other. Even if their friendship had spanned over the last decade.

Sakura could still recall those days she and Ino tore up and down the southern California coast. Fifteen and still thinking the world was theirs for the taking. Looking back, Sakura couldn't remember much about the day they had first met. Only that they had been at the same party. Guns just as common as the cheap liquor bottles spread out on the counters.

Police had raided the house, and she and Ino had run. Jumping fences and streaking through backyards in dresses that were too short and heels that were too high. Several blocks down they had stopped in a dark side yard. Leaning side-by-side against the fence, they caught their breath, listening to the pulsing music that came from a few houses down at another party.

"Your eyeliner is smudged," Sakura had told her, not yet knowing her name.

Ino eyed her, looking her over once. "Your hair is a mess."

Neither had meant it as an insult. They simply straightened each other up before they headed out onto the sidewalk and to the next party. Ready to play pretty and take what they could get.

It was only after Ino kept showing up at the same places Sakura did that she learned Ino's name and how her parents were small time smugglers. But more importantly, how they were the eyes and ears of the underground, exchanging information for money and goods. The kind of people Sakura wanted to get to know.

Ino was surprisingly good at seeing and not being seen. Just another gorgeous face on the arm of a powerful man. Only too happy to keep his drink full while he discussed business. And Ino had taught Sakura how to do the same in exchange for learning how to fire and dismantle a weapon.

For four years, they had worked the underground. Sakura in arms and Ino in information. Until a group in Israel, Sakura later dubbed the Sand Siblings, had begun causing problems for Tsunade's contacts, forcing Sakura back home to Tel Aviv.

Looking back, Sakura had never regretted staying in contact with Ino while she had been overseas. Even though Ino had taken a step back out of underground, she always had Sakura's back. A constant in an ever-changing world. Someone Sakura could trust. With her life. With her thoughts. With her emotions. Something Sakura was never allowed to do under Tsunade's watchful stare.

"You were CIA," Sakura suddenly said, her mind pulling back to the present as her eyes flickered to Shikamaru. "Do you still have your connections?"

Shikamaru's fingers paused over his keyboard briefly to glance at her before he turned to Ino. The blonde shot him an apologetic look. "I told her. Sorry."

A low sigh passed his lips before he resumed whatever it was he was doing on his computer. "I still have some contacts inside the CIA and FBI. I'll ask around and see who was over in Tel Aviv while you were there."

Sakura smiled her thanks. She didn't feel much better but it would have to be enough for now. Hopefully Shikamaru would find something. All this paranoia was making her anxious, jumpy.

A fact she proved less than ten minutes later when a knock sounded at the front door. Ino withheld her scream to put the damn gun away as she ran to get their pizza.

xx

A gust of wind dipped below the tall, city buildings and swept through the streets. It pulled at Sakura's hair, tugging on her pink tresses and scattering the ends around her face. She pushed a lock out of her eyes and pulled her jacket tighter around herself. With the sun sinking below the horizon, the temperature had already dropped a noticeable amount.

This was one reason why Sakura had enjoyed her time in Israel so much. It hardly ever dipped below fifty degrees, never mind forty. And it wasn't even the coldest part of the year yet.

Shoving one hand into her pocket, Sakura stood on the sidewalk as she scrolled through her phone with the other. She sighed. There were a few new messages but none for those she had been hoping for. Ino and Shikamaru were still investigating, Naruto was god knows where, and Tobirama was silent.

She knew better than to expect something from him. They were...what? Fuck buddies. That was probably pretty close to accurate. But she still couldn't shake the seed of concern that had planted itself in the bottom of her stomach. Honestly, how could Hashirama really be okay letting his younger - his only - brother raid an Akatsuki warehouse? It was stupid. It was careless.

And it wasn't her concern.

Darkening her phone, Sakura slipped her other hand into her pocket. She eyed her surroundings absently. The businessman talking on his phone on the corner, the man walking his dog, the woman jogging with a stroller across the street. All these people had such simple lives.

Sometimes Sakura wondered how different her life would be had she never been brought to Tsunade all those long years ago. Sakura would probably be more like Ino. Into fashion and the latest trends. Finding the new clubs purely for the sake of having fun. Not because Sakura wanted to claim it as her own territory for dealing.

It all sounded a little...nice. If not a little boring.

A black town car with dark tinted windows pulled up to the curb as Sakura was still pondering this. She eyed it, her hand already tensing in anticipation of grabbing her gun. She didn't relax as the back door opened.

"Get in. We need to talk," Madara said.

Sakura didn't move an inch. Her eyes narrowed. "How did you find me?"

"I have my resources," he told her, mimicking her very words. However, there was no sarcasm or arrogance to his tone. Just pure, simple fact. Madara gestured towards the empty seat.

Warning bells erupted in Sakura's head.

When she still didn't move, Madara visibly sighed. "I am not my brother. I have no intentions of strangling you."

That didn't mean he wouldn't put a bullet through her head or run a knife across her throat. She trusted this man as far as she could throw him. Which given her slight frame and his broad shoulders was about as far as one would expect.

Every bone in her body, every instinct was telling her to turn and flee. To get herself as far away from him as possible. She had seen pictures of the bodies of Madara's victims. Tortured and mangled beyond recognition. She still didn't trust him not to try and kill her.

Sakura hesitated a fraction longer. Then she slipped inside the car.

As soon as her door was closed, the driver pulled away from the curb. She didn't ask where they were going. Only eyed Madara as he sat opposite her on the soft, smooth leather, one leg crossed neatly over the other.

It was her first real look at his face, she realized. Before in the elevator, she had been too concerned with what his hands were doing to study him. He looked young. Far too young for his age. He was approaching fifty, if she remembered correctly, and yet there wasn't a single age line marring his face or a grey hair in his mane of black locks. It was almost disturbing.

"You said we needed to talk," she said after they had gone nearly two blocks without speaking. "What about?"

"Your arrest in Tel Aviv."

Sakura didn't dare let her start show on her face. Her heart pounded against her ribs. "What about it?"

If Madara knew her nonchalance was all a face, he didn't show it. He merely watched her with that utterly unreadable look. "You seem awfully unconcerned that you were held for nearly six hours."

"Is that how long it was?" she asked, her voice indifferent. "It felt much shorter than that. They treated me so well. Especially after learning my abusive boyfriend had gotten so upset with me that night."

His eyes dropped to her mouth where a small, barely noticeable scar now lingered. In a few months, it would fade completely. "They believed that?" he asked.

"I sold that," she told him flatly. "And why wouldn't they? I'm just a poor, average American girl."

"But you're not, are you, Sakura?"

She stilled at the use of her given name. She stared at Madara, attempting to read his blank, blank face. She didn't know how he had come to learn of her real name, but she said nothing. Neither confirming nor denying his claim.

It didn't matter. He continued anyway, "You were born in the States, adopted in Russia and raised in Israel. Perhaps by citizenship you are American, but American you are not."

"I fail to see what importance that has," Sakura said coolly.

He observed her without speaking, his eyes as black and fathomless as the night. Eventually he said, "Deepen your cover story. You're a danger to us all."

The car pulled to a stop then. Sakura chanced a glance out the window to find they were in the parking lot of the car detailing shop she had taken her BMW to. She said nothing else to Madara. Only slipped out of the back and watched him drive away.

It was only after he had disappeared around the corner that she realized she had never told him where she had been going.

xx

Less than an hour later, Sakura found herself at the abandoned docks outside of town. She stood at the edge of the crumbling pier, eyeing the black water below where pockets of air continued to bubble to the surface, growing smaller and less frequent each passing minute.

Kakashi joined her soon after, the scrape of his boots against the concrete drawing her attention. She picked her head up and glanced back, ensuring it truly was him before her gaze returned to the water. He stopped beside her. The top of her head barely reached his shoulder.

"What are we doing here?" Kakashi asked, briefly glancing around.

Sakura said nothing, merely handed him a black box only a few inches wide. He looked it over slowly.

"A tracking device," he concluded.

"Found on the BMW Hashirama gifted me," she told him.

Kakashi frowned in confusion. "Hashirama was tracking you?"

"Not him. Madara."

That made the ex-marine hum thoughtfully. "You want me to destroy it?"

"Not yet," Sakura shook her head. "Are you still in contact with your friend, Genma?'

That question caused Kakashi to cock his brow curiously. As if reading her own thoughts, a smirk curved in the corner of his mouth. "I'll give him a call, see if he can reverse track it. I think he still owes me a few favors."

Sakura smiled in response as the last air bubble broke the surface. Her once sleek BMW now laid to rest in the bottom on the river.

to be continued...

Thank you to everyone who recognized how important feedback is and left me a review. Due to the rapid increase, I have decided to continue with my updates for now. So if you would like to see another update, don't forget to leave me your thoughts. Itachi next!