Chapter 4: Miracles Happen
"So, are you going to tell me what's up or not?" Leon asked Kai as he drove across the Callahan Bridge and onto Staunton Island.
"I could, but I thought you might like to see for yourself," Kai responded. "Trust me, it'll be much better this way."
"Come on, you know I hate waiting. Tell me!"
"Nope. You'll just have to wait and see."
"Fine. Where are we going anyway?"
"Waterfront condos, just down the street from the multistory car park. I happen to have a little place there."
Leon knew where the condos were and headed there at top speed, narrowly avoiding major collisions and scaring the hell out of Kai.
"Can you be a little more careful next time? I don't want to die young!" Kai shouted as the two exited the vehicle after parking.
"I thought you enjoyed a little risk," Leon said.
"Yeah, when I'm fairly sure I won't die!"
Leon laughed upon hearing this. To him, Kai was an incredibly reckless person. He was the son of Yusuke Shirow, the leader of the Yakuza in Cordell City. As his son, Kai was a well respected member of the Yakuza who was in line to lead the organization after his father stepped down. Kai, however, never really cared about being Yakuza and often preferred to help Leon on his jobs for the Raven Syndicate rather than learning the ways of the Yakuza. Whenever Kai was around, things would always get perilous. Kai liked to put himself into situations that were exceedingly dangerous, often making Leon risk his own life in order to make sure Kai didn't die. Despite this, Leon considered Kai one of his best friends.
The two walked into the condominium and up to the fourth floor, where Kai's place was located. As he placed his key into the door and turned it, Kai gave Leon a large smile and ushered him inside. Leon scanned the room, but saw nothing of particular interest.
"So...you wanted me to see your place? Not bad...I guess."
"It's not a matter of the place itself, but rather who's in it. Look in the kitchen, she's probably in there."
Leon walked over to the kitchen area and looked. His eyes widened upon spotting a young girl over by the sink who was washing dishes. He couldn't see her face, but he was sure he knew who it was. Moving quietly, he approached her and kissed her on the head.
"Hey, Kai. We're friends and all, but I don't think we're that close. Back off!" she said, jamming her shoulder into Leon's side. He let out a groan of pain and took a few steps back.
"Damn, that hurt! You could be a little more gentle with your brother, you know!"
The girl gasped loudly and turned around, realizing who it was she hit.
"Leon! You're alive. Oh my God, I thought you were dead!"
"Me? I thought you were dead! Weren't you Jerome's captive?"
"She was, but I managed to change that," Kai interjected. "When I heard Jerome was after you, I figured it would be a good idea for me to get Violet out of there before he killed her."
"How the hell did you do that?"
"Got my father to help. The Yakuza and the Ravens aren't exactly the best of buddies, so it was easy to convince him to launch an attack against them. I got Violet out during all of the commotion."
Leon stared at Violet and smiled at her, but the smile slowly faded as he came to realize what she had on. She was wearing nothing but a white tank top and some plaid shorts, which didn't cover up most of her legs since they weren't even the length of what Leon considered 'normal shorts'. Leon sighed, wondering if Kai tried anything. Violet wasn't anywhere near ugly. In fact, Leon often referred to her as one of the prettiest girls he knew. Violet had a soft face and beautiful jade eyes that could soften even the hardest of criminals. She also possessed a body that most girls would die for, something that was a natural gift for her rather than a hard earned reward. Adding to all of that, when Violet wore clothing that hugged her body in all the right ways, most men gave her their full attention, even if she hadn't asked for it. Violet's beauty was a constant pain for Leon, as he was quite defensive of her, and often resulted in him beating up others for hitting on her. Violet wasn't interested in a boyfriend, however, and actually appreciated her brother's actions. Stranger still, she often did the same thing regarding the girls that spoke to Leon. Most people always described Leon as a male counterpart to Violet, as he himself was blessed with good looks and a nicely built body for a teen. The biggest difference was that Leon's eyes were brown, not jade. Girls loved to talk to him, but Violet always disproved of the girls who tried and usually made them leave him alone. Like Violet, Leon wasn't interested in a lover and thanked Violet for her interference.
Leon hoped that Kai didn't want to try anything with Violet, because if he did, Leon wasn't going to have it. Friend or not, Leon would end up doing something painful to him, which he didn't want to have to do. Luckily, Kai never seemed to think about anything like that, which meant that he would stay on Leon's good side.
"Violet, could you please put on some more appropriate clothing?" Leon asked. "I don't need to see your long legs, alright?"
"I can't believe this! We see each other for the first time after believing the other to be dead, and that's all you can say?"
"Sorry, but you know how it is for me. I'm your brother, and I'll always say things like that, no matter what."
"Yeah, I know. It's cool. So, what have you been up to out here in Liberty?"
"I'd like to know that myself," Kai added. "How long have you been here?"
"I arrived about a month ago. Things moved kind of quickly for me, way faster than I expected." Leon answered. "As soon as I got here, I managed to get work with the Mafia. Now, I'm a trusted member of the family."
"What family?" Violet asked.
"The Leones."
"Huh, you're not doing too bad for yourself, eh?" Kai said. Leon nodded and began to shoot into an explanation of how it all happened, but the ringing of his cell phone interrupted him. It was a gift from Joey to make it easier for them to keep in touch.
"Hello? What? The Diablos are attacking? Hold on, I'll…what? They've teamed up? Who with? I'm on my way, just hold on!" Leon put his phone away.
"That was the Don. Some shit is going down back in Portland. I gotta get moving, but I'll be back soon."
"Let me come with you, you can use my help," Kai said.
"Yeah, you're right. Grab some guns and meet me at the car."
"What about me?" Violet asked.
"You stay here. We'll be back in no time," Leon assured her.
The two got what weapons they needed and drove back to Portland. Neither of them noticed the jet black Cheetah sitting in the condo parking lot that was watching them as they left.
Once they entered the area, they could see things were bad. Chinatown was a war zone, with Mafia members taking on the thugs in purple on every corner. Driving through town, Leon made his way to Joey's mansion, where all of the major action was taking place. He and Kai hopped out of the car and went directly into the gunfight, blasting on every enemy they saw. Leon informed Kai on who was who as to avoid having any Mafia goons killed. It was total hell fighting through the crowd of gunmen. Bullets were flying everywhere and bodies were dropping left and right. Using some expert gunplay skills, Leon wiped out a whole group of Diablos, all the while avoiding enemy fire by ducking and dodge rolling effectively. Kai fought in a far different manner, using whatever cover he could find to his advantage and shooting out from behind it.
It took over an hour before the battle was over. There were a whole bunch of Diablo bodies littering the ground, and more than a few of the guys in purple too. Leon looked on with satisfaction, knowing that many of the kills were his and Kai's. He ran over and gave his friend a slap on the back.
"Nice shooting! You got better since I last saw you."
"I know. I've been practicing non-stop," Kai said with a wide grin.
It looked like everything was over, but the ringing of Leon's phone changed all that.
"Hello?"
"Am I speaking to a Leon Masters?"
"Yeah. Who is this?"
"I'm just calling to let you know I've got your sister here with me, and she doesn't look too good."
"What the fuck are you talking about?"
"I thought I was clear. Your sister is here with me, and if you don't come get her, who knows what will happen to her."
"You better be lying, you fuck!"
"Why don't you come and find out. I'm at the old mansion in Shoreside Vale. If you want your lovely sister back, you can come get her." The unknown caller hung up, leaving Leon perplexed.
"Who was that?" Kai asked.
"I don't know, but he said he's got Violet. I've gotta go and check this out."
"You're kidding, right? We just left her! She was perfectly safe!"
"I know, but I'm not willing to take any chances. I'm going to find whoever that was, and crush his fucking skull!"
"Who has your number? That's an easy way to narrow down the list of who it might've been."
Leon thought about that. The only people who had his cell phone number were Joey and Toni, but neither of them would've done something like that to him. The only explanation was that someone got the number from Joey or Toni, and the only person they would've given it out to would be someone in the family. That meant that there was a traitor among them, but that still didn't make sense. If their was a traitor in the Mafia, how did they know of Violet's existence, and who would even benefit from this? Nothing made sense.
"Kai, go back to the condo and see if Violet is still there. Here's my number. Call me if she's okay."
"You got it."
"Here, take my car." Leon threw him the keys to the Infernus.
"What are you going to ride?"
"I'll find something. Just take care of my car. I don't need to lose that too."
Kai hopped into Leon's Infernus and sped off, while Leon headed out into the street and pulled out his pistol. He pointed at the first car that came down the road, making the driver stop immediately.
"Get out of the damn car!" Leon yelled.
The driver leapt out and scurried away, leaving his car, a very nice Super GT, for Leon to take. He got in and drove off, heading to the Porter Tunnel.
"First a miracle happens, then I get shit shoveled in my face! Just my fucking luck!"
