[SORRY GUYS FOR MY LATE UPDATE! I WAS OUT OF TOWN! WILL BE UPDATING THIS STORY WITH ANOTHER CHAPTER SOON ENOUGH! THANKS FOR YOUR REVIEWS! AND PLEASE CONTINUING SHOWERING ME WITH BOTH POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE REVIEWS.
PS: THANKS NEHA :)]
ERIKO'S POV:
'Guess that completes the entire list. I hope there's nothing else left out. If it hadn't been for Saeba san, I wouldn't have been able to carry all these things' I thought to myself, holding a couple of carry bags stashed with jewellery and accessories for my upcoming fashion show. Since I came to Harajuku, the most fashionable and trend crazy part of the town, all the way from Shinjuku, I guess my trip would be incomplete if I missed out the fresh aroma of coffee from 'Grazie's'. So while making a final check through my list, I planned on a coffee date with Saeba san at Grazie's. I also wished if Kaori could have joined us. But I guess Saeba san was right when he said it would be too dangerous for Kaori to tag along, given her condition. 'Yeah, but I guess nothing could be done about that. And after all that he's done and still doing for me, I guess that's the best way to repay him.' I thought. I was going to turn my back to suggest him my idea when suddenly I heard a woman scream out 'Pervert!' in the streets. I turned around only to notice Saeba san being knocked out like a piece of trash.
As the most commendable sweeper in town kept on grinning I said 'You never do learn, do you? Are you alright?' The man immediately got up to his feet and replied 'I'm strong like iron. After all, I am the stallion of Shinjuku.' 'Umm, Saeba san' I asked confused. 'I'm done here. Would you like to hang out in some place, you know for some fun time? Actually-' I said but before I could complete, the raven haired handsome sweeper held me by my waist and interrupted my speech, as he suggested 'I know, how about we go to Hotel Lovelace. It's a great place for our mokkori date and maybe we can, ouch, that hurts, Eri chan' he said as I twisted his ear. 'No not that kind of date, Saeba san. I'm asking if you'd like to go out on a coffee date. You see I know this great place in Harajuku where you can get some great coffee. So I was wondering if you'd be interested' I asked. 'Yeah, any date is good, as long as Kaori isn't involved' he said.
Although I knew Saeba san kept on pretending that his partner and my friend was a real pain in the ass. But in reality, he really loved her and was over-protective about her. I kept on smiling to myself as I thought how happy my friend was with this man while we made our way to the cafe.
'Thanks Saeba san' I said while taking a bite off my black forest.
'Thanks for what? Carrying all these?' he said gesturing towards the bags.
'No, for all that you and Kaori have done for me' I replied.
'Save it' he said while a taking a sip off the coffee cup and he added 'actually I wanted to ask you, who you think could be behind all these attacks?'
'I don't know' I said taking a sip of coffee as I added 'but I guess it could be the work of Antoine Guiselli, a popular name in the fashion milieu.'
'Hmm' he murmured with a finger on his chin and added 'besides that, I was wondering what could be so-'but before he could complete, my cell phone rang. I graciously apologized to him and rushed towards the washroom to pick up the call. I searched my bag through and through for my cell phone. But by the time I fished it out of my bag, it stopped ringing. 'Damn who could it be? If it's Stephanie again, I'll-' I thought. But the minute I checked the call list, I got the greatest shock of my life. 'Sonia?' I thought as I ran my eyes over the missed call list again 'But how could it be?' I said to myself petrified at my own thoughts.
When I dialled back, a pre-recorded voice tone played back which said 'The number you have dialled is currently unavailable. Please try later.'
I got back to the table, only to notice Saeba staring lecherously at a couple of pretty blond women sitting next to our table. On noticing my all worked up face, he asked 'What's the matter, Eri chan?'
'Nothing' I replied trying to maintain my cool demeanour. 'I guess we'd better go back home, right? Kaori would be mad if she saw you flirting' I smiled trying to cheer up and divert myself from the shock I just went through right now.
'Alright, lets go' he said. While driving back home I asked him what was he about to tell me back in the cafe when my phone rang and interrupted the conversation.
'No, it's just that I was wondering what could be so important about that shoe' he said gesturing at the 'Ciara' pair in my bag 'that they could be ready to kill people' he added.
'I don't know' I replied, my eyes drowned in sadness and tension.
On reaching Saeba san's apartment, he helped me out carrying all the heavy bags. Saeba kept on entertaining me with all his usual jokes and chit-chat when suddenly the atmosphere between us changed and he got serious. Like a sudden tempest in a calm ocean, Saeba san suddenly appeared cold, alert and serious.
'What's the matter?' I asked.
'Quiet. Something's wrong' he replied as he rushed upstairs to his apartment with the python in his hand.
I followed him only to find him standing alert at the edge of the door while the telephone rang away. Unable to take it any longer, I decided to answer the phone leaving my stuff at the staircase while Saeba san performed a quick reconnaissance of the apartment.
'Hello' I said picking up the receiver. But the minute I picked up the receiver, the call got disconnected. 'Weird' I wondered to myself, when suddenly Saeba san exclaimed 'Oh no! Get out fast' and added 'there's something planted here' as he pulled my hand and we rushed out of his apartment only to thrown back by the deafening sound of a low intensity bomb.
'Are you alright?' he asked, holding onto me.
'Yeah, I guess. But what just happened?' I asked confused.
'By receiving the call, you unintentionally triggered off a low intensity bomb that had been planted below the table where the phone was kept' he surmised. 'When I saw the reflection of a red light blinking on your shoe, I realised what was going on' he added with a serious tone.
'I see' I murmured and while looking around for my best friend I asked 'But then where's Kaori?' to which Saeba san opened a crumpled piece of paper in his hand. As I ran my eyes over the content in the paper I received another shock of my life.
The paper read 'Quite a pretty wife you have, Saeba Ryo. I bet your baby will be prettier. But if you don't do as I say, I can't guarantee whether you'll see that woman of yours alive. So here's my deal. You hand over the pretty lady you're protecting right now. And we give you back what's yours! Meet me an hour before midnight tomorrow at Tokyo Bay's Shirokawa warehouse and don't try any games. And PS, ask the pretty lady to bring the original Ciara shoe, otherwise, her friends will have to face what Sonia faced!'
As I read out aloud, tears dribbled out from my eyes and I held onto to Saeba san seeking comfort in his hefty arms. I wiped my tears away and lifted up my head only to find Saeba san crushing that piece of paper with a murderous look on his face. I found it hard to digest a completely different side of Saeba who seemed like a cold blooded contract killer, very separate from his usual lecherous self. To dispel the air of discontent, I asked 'So what can be done now?' to which he replied with a husky tone 'Grab your stuff. We're leaving because now war has been declared.'
I was confused regarding our destination while Saeba san drove with a cold and no nonsense expression on his face. So I asked 'Where are we going?' to which he replied 'You'll see. Times like these calls for back-up and right now no one can help us better than Miki and Umibozu' he said.
After sometime, we reached a western styled homey cottage with a light coloured door on which was etched 'Cat's eye'.
'Here we are' he said as he parked his Austin mini and added 'Let's go.'
On entering, we were greeted by a pretty young lady and a herculean sized gentleman as they said in unison 'Welcome.'
The young lady on noticing Saeba san austere expression asked 'What's the matter, Saeba san?' to which he replied expressionlessly 'I need your help'.
'Why? What happened?' she asked twitching an eyebrow.
'I'll explain. But first, could you brew up some coffee?' he asked.
'Yes. But then who's she?' asked the young woman gesturing towards me.
'I'm Eriko, Kitahara Eriko. I'm Kaori's friend' I said introducing myself.
While sipping on our cup of coffee, we explained the situation. 'I see' replied the young lady. 'But then what are they really after?' she asked to which I took out the pair of shoes from my bag and replied 'after these.' I continued explaining as to how these thugs were using Kaori as collateral to get hold of these shoes when suddenly Saeba san snatched one of the pairs from my hand and tried opening the heel.
'What are you doing?' I asked as I noticed Saeba knocking the heel open on the coffee table. The minute he knocked it open, we were in for the shock of our lives. Diamonds, tiny shiny diamonds, at least hundreds of them came out as Saeba san knocked out the heel open.
'What!' we said in unison.
'Diamonds, hundreds of them' replied the young woman 'but I don't get it. How did they get in there?' she asked.
'Looks like some one in your group is involved in some stellar diamond smuggling business here' surmised Saeba.
'But how did you figure it out, Saeba san?' asked the dark haired young woman.
'When she took out the shoe from her bag to show it to you, I noticed that the heel was loose as if someone had altered or comprised it' he replied. 'But it wasn't the heel that caught my eye' he said as he picked up a tiny diamond and added 'it was this or rather the glint of this precious gem that caught my eye.'
'No but it can't be' I protested, my eyes moist. 'Ciara isn't the type of person who would get involved in such things. I know her too well, Saeba san, trust me' I added.
'Then who can it be?' asked the hefty gentleman.
'I don't know' I replied as I wiped my tears.
Saeba san picked up the heel as well as the diamonds and he asked 'Besides Ciara and Sonia, who else were involved in this?'
'Besides Sonia, Maybel was involved. But she was hospitalised after suffering a major poisoning attack a few months back, following which she backed off the project, fearing for her life. It's my fault that Kaori got kidnapped. I knew something was fishy since the time we got death calls' I said as tears dribbled from my eyes.
'Get a hold of yourself' said Saeba san as he shook me up and added 'you need to be strong now, Eri chan. Without your help, this mission would be impossible to achieve'.
'Hmm' I murmured nodding my head.
'We'd be glad to help' replied the barista couple in unison.
'Miki will take care of the ammunition, while I patch up my jeep and you'd better inform Saeko of the developments. I think its better we involve her in this' suggested the behemothic barista while puckering up a smile on his face.
'I understand' replied Saeba san and he added 'This is war.'