Chapter 15
We waited till the snowstorm died down before we returned to the cabin.
"I'm so glad you two are ok." Kenshi beamed.
He picked me up and have me a big hug and did the same to Riki.
"We got caught in a snowstorm, so we had to take shelter in a hut." Riki explained. "But the painting is safe. Takuto, when we get back to Tokyo, I want you to start trying to break the code."
Takuto remained silent.
"Takuto?"
"Yeah I know." Takuto said.
"What's up, Takkun? Spacing out like that. You look pale." Hiro said.
"I'm fine." Takuto said.
"So now all we have to do it figure out where Lady of the Camellias is." Riki said.
"And we're all done." Kenshi said.
When we got all of Gramp's stuff back, I could finally go back to my old life. I couldn't wait.
"Faye, you must be chilled to the bone. Go on and have a bath." Boss said.
"Thanks, I will." I said and walked upstairs.
After my bath, I walked down the hallway and Takuto appeared.
"Can we talk alone?" he asked.
"What about?" I asked.
"Why are you so defensive?" he asked.
"I'm not, I just want to know why you want to talk to me." I said.
He brought me into his room, he just stared at me silently.
"So.. what did you want to talk to me about?" I asked.
"Oww!"
He flicked me on the forehead.
"What was that for?"
"Don't make me worry like that." He said angrily.
I stared at him.
"Don't make me worry like that, idiot." He said and then hugged me tightly. "When I was waiting for you to come back, I didn't give a shit about the mission or the painting. I just wanted you back here safe and sound."
"Takuto, its ok. I'm fine. You can let go of me now." I said and gently pushed him away. "I'm sorry for making you worry."
"Don't do it again." He warned.
I smiled and flicked him back on the forehead.
"I won't."
It had been a few days since we got back from the mission, Takuto was busy trying to solve the code. I was on my way to work at the restaurant.
My phone then started ringing.
"Hello?"
"Hey Faye, how was your holiday?" Ranko asked.
"Really fun." I said.
"Was your boyfriend there?"
"How many times, Riki isn't my boyfriend." I said.
"Really? And why not, he's hot." She said.
I shook my head, she really wasn't going to let this one go.
"Anyway, how are you?"
"Fine, I was wondering if you wanted to come over tonight and catch up?"
"Sorry, I can't. I have work." I said.
She sighed annoyed "Faye what's going? I've got a feeling that you're avoiding me. Is it Tatsuro? What's he done now?"
"No, no no. Honestly, it's just work. Look, I promise I'll call you on my next day off and we'll meet up. Ok?"
"Ok, speak to you soon. Bye." She said and hung up.
I'm so sorry Ranko but as soon as my business was done with the Foxes, we could start seeing each other again.
"Hey everyone!" I said as I walked into the staff room.
Everyone looked very serious.
"Is something wrong?" I asked.
"There was a guest in the Camellia room who said he wanted to buy the restaurant." Gen said.
"Really? Who?"
"Some guy. He said he wants to redevelop this whole area and he's offered Mrs Ianagaki a ridiculous sum of money." Gen said.
Could it be that guy I saw before, the one who kissed my hand? He looked like he had a lot of money.
"Really?" I asked.
"Yeah, I heard them talking about it when I went in there." Wakana said.
"Who was it?"
"The foreigners that came lately." She said. "They're from some investment firm from Hong Kong or America."
"But urban development, doesn't that mean they'll tear down the restaurant?" a waitress asked.
"Well, it's possible we could move to another location. But we'd have to cease operation here. They want to build a trade center or something here." Wakana.
It had to be that guy from before, it just had to be!
The door to the staff room then opened and Satoko came in.
"What are you all doing?" she asked.
"Mrs Inagaki." Everyone gasped.
"It's almost time, is everyone ready?"
"Mrs Inagaki, are you going to sell Kikufuji?" Wakana said bluntly.
Satoko was taken back but her sudden outburst.
"Is it true those guys are going to be buy it and tear it down?" A waitress asked.
"I won't let them." Satoko said.
"Really?" Wakana asked.
"Of course. I don't care how much money they offer me."
"Mrs Ianagaki!" Wakanan beamed and looked relieved.
But I couldn't help but look at Satoko, she looked very pale. I followed her out of the room and called after her.
"Are you ok? You look pale." I said.
"Don't worry, I'm just worn out." She said with a smile.
"But-"
"Can you take a beer to the guests in the Cherry Blossom room?" she asked.
"Sure." I said and nodded.
Was she really just tired? I hoped that she was ok.
I went into the kitchen to get the beer when Kenshi greeted me.
"Yo." He said.
"Oh hey. Back already?" I asked.
"Yeah, I worked today so I came home to eat dinner." He said. "So, what's up? You look upset."
"I'm worried about your mum."
"What about her?"
"She's been really pale and tired." I said.
"Yeah, I heard she really got into it with the guys from Shisei Corp."
"Shisei Corp?"
"The foreign company that wants to turn this area into a shopping mall." He said. "Some really annoying guys are backing them."
"Really?"
"Damn that Sean…"
"I knew it was Sean." I said.
"Huh?" Kenshi gasped and suddenly looked worried.
"Yeah I met him a couple of weeks ago and he told me about his plans but I didn't think he meant this place." I said.
"Wait. How do you know Sean Kim?"
"I waited on him when he dined here the other night." I said.
"What? But you were supposed to be off work that night Sean Kim came here!"
Why did he looked so worried?
"Your mum was short staffed so I offered to help out. What's the problem?"
"Damn it."
He then grabbed my arm.
"You're leaving."
"What? Why?" I asked.
"Go to Le Renard Noir, don't come back here for a while."
"No wait, tell me what's going on." I said and refused to be moved.
"I'll explain later, let's go." He said before he dragged me out of the restaurant.
We arrived at the Le Renard Nori and everyone was already waiting for us.
"So you met Sean Kim, Faye?" Boss asked.
"Yes. Would someone mind explaining what's going on?"
"That's not what you told us Kenshi." Riki said angrily.
"I'm sorry. Faye was scheduled to be off the day Kim came, so I assumed they hadn't met." Kenshi said.
"Damn it." Boss said.
"First the detective, now Sean Kim." Riki said and sighed heavily.
"What is going on here? Why wasn't I suppose to meet him?" I asked.
Everyone all looked at each other with troubled looks on their faces.
"Should we just tell her?" Takuto said.
"Tell me what?"
"Takuto." Kenshi said.
"This is as good time as any." Takuto said.
"I agree, I think we should tell her." Hiro said.
"Tell me what?! Seriously." I said and looked at Kenshi for an explanation.
"Let me explain." Boss said. "Faye, how well do you know Sean?"
"I just spoke to him for a few minutes, I know what he looks like but that's about it." I said.
"I see. Actually Sean is an urban developer. But he's also a big wig in the Hong Kong mafia. And the leader of a group of thieves." He said.
"The mafia and thieves?"
"Originally he was just active in Hong Kong." Riki said.
"But the mafia boss took a liking to him and he's become very successful." Hiro said.
"He steals all kinds of things but he does a lot of ridiculous things, regardless of expense." Riki said.
"He's a bad guy." Hiro said.
"Right… and what does that have to do with me?"
"Sean has his eye on something very valuable here in Japan. Blueprints your great-grandfather created." Boss said.
"Blueprints? To build what exactly?"
I could think of only one thing a mafia would want blueprints for, some kind of weapon. But gramps wouldn't make something like that.
"Nuclear weapons." Kenshi said.
"What? Please be kidding." I said.
"He's after the plans for nuclear weapons that your great-grandfather made." Kenshi said.
"No! No! Gramps would never make something like. Never! You're lying or your info is wrong."
"Kenny, you're leaving out something important. It sounds like you're saying her great-grandfather had planned to make nuclear weapons." Takuto said. "He wasn't trying to make nuclear weapons. He was trying to make a source of energy."
"What we call nuclear power plants today." Kenshi said.
"But he didn't create the plans with today's technology. Keep in mind this was during the early 1900's. The first nuclear power plant wasn't actually built until after world war II. So he thought of it first." Riki said.
"So your gramps entrusted those blueprints to the future. He thought someday, someone will make these plans a reality. He had such high expectations." Boss said.
"But as time went on and science and technology progressed those blueprints took on a different meaning." Kenshi said.
"Someone realized that you could make a weapon out of them?" I guessed.
"Yes, very powerful ones at an extremely low cost." Kenshi sad.
"So it's rumored that the government has kept the plans hidden in a certain location." Boss said.
"And that's what Sean Kim is after? But what does that have to do with me?" I asked.
"You need a special key in order to access the plans." Takuto said.
"But Sean doesn't have the key yet." Hiro said.
"Right ok, so let's track down the key and destroy it." I said.
"The key is your fingerprints." Takuto said.
"What? No way!"
I stared down at my fingertips. Seriously, all my fingertips seem to do was get me into trouble.
"It's true. When he first met you, Sean and his team had already known about you for some time." Kenshi said.
"The employment agency your registered at, the museum, your address. There's evidence they knew all of that." Takuto said.
"So that's why we brought you here." Kenshi said.
"And the reason you made me quit my job?" I asked and looked at Boss.
"We knew he was going to see you there and try to kidnap you." Kenshi said.
He then took hold of my hand and stroked my fingertips.
"We want to get those plans and we need you to help us." He said.
"I'm not going to tell you that you have no choice this time. We want you to choose." Riki said.
"Riki… guys.." I said.
Everyone was looking at me.
"Before I decide, once you get the blueprints, what will you do with them?"
"Give them to you." Riki said.
"They were your great-grandfathers, they belong to you." Kenshi said.
I nodded "Let's do this, I want to find these blueprints and destroy them." I said and everyone smiled.
It was decided that I was going to stay at the Le Rendard Noir for a while, on the second floor. Riki offered me his room again but I couldn't kick him out, I was going to be here for a while so I took one of the spare rooms.
"Kenshi, I can carry my own bags." I said.
He was dragging my suitcases up the stairs for me.
He was trying to make up for the fact that I had met Sean. Even though I had told him not to worry about it, he was insistent that it was his fault that I had seen Sean. He was being really nice to me.
"It's fine, just let me carry them." He said.
"Kenny, can you carry my laptop too?" Takuto said.
"Do it yourself." Kenshi said.
"So mean.." Takuto grumbled.
Everyone was going to temporarily live here, just until we could find the blueprints and destroy them. I couldn't believe they were all doing this just to protect me.
"Faye, this is mine." Takuto said as I walked over to the first best I saw.
"Oh ok." I said.
"What are you Takuto, a child?" Kenshi said.
"We gotta have rules if we're gonna live together." Takuto said.
"Takuto's right, we have to be strict if we're all going to live together." Riki said.
"Faye, I got you some pink sheets." Boss said.
"Thanks…"
"These will increase your luck in love." He beamed.
"I don't need luck in love, thank you." I said.
"Don't worry, here's a pink pillow case to give you even more luck love!"
"Why do you care so much about my love life?" I asked.
"Because.."
"'Cuz you look like the type who really needs it." Takuto said who was smiling.
"Oh really?" I asked and looked at Boss.
"No! It was just a show of encouragement." Boss said.
"She doesn't need luck in love." Kenshi said.
"Yeah. There has to be a guy somewhere who'll love a girl like Freya." Boss said.
"Enough nonsense." Riki said loudly. "How did Sean seem when you spoke to him Faye?"
"Um…"
"He probably flirted with you, right?" Boss said. "Let me guess, he called you beautiful?"
"He said that to you?" Kenshi asked.
"Guessed right, huh?" Riki said.
"Even though it was a lie, you must've been happy." Takuto said.
"Kind of but to be honest, he was a bit full on. Kind of creeped me out a bit." I said.
"Not use to a guy's affections?" Takuto said with a smirk.
"Poor thing. I guess we should be nicer to you." Riki said.
I rolled my eyes and sighed, they were so annoying and now I was living with them!
"My specialty is seduction. Damn that Sean for copying me." Boss said.
"Do you know him?" I asked.
"Both their great-grandfathers knew each other." Kenshi said.
"I heard he's trying to take over to take over Kikufuji? That means he must think the blueprints are somewhere in that area." Riki said.
"Probably. He's probably going to search everywhere under the guise of urban development." Boss said.
"He's inefficient, as usual." Takuto said.
"Yeah, but what do they care? Even if they don't find it, if their development succeeds, they'll still make money." Boss said.
"He sounds like a right scumbag." I said. "I don't want Kikufuji to get torn down."
"Faye." Kenshi said.
"Yeah." Riki said.
"Me either." Takuto said.
"I don't want that either. So we need to hurry and find those plans to make them back off." Boss said.
"But where would the plans be?" Kenshi said.
"Most likely a government facility, probably the ministry of defense or the ministry of foreign Affairs or science and technology." Takuto.
"Faye, do you have any idea?" Riki asked.
"I don't know." I said.
"Yeah, if you think of anything let us know." Boss said. "Even if it seems small, it could be a hint."
"I will." I said.
"Ok, I'm going home." Kenshi said.
"Thanks for helping with my stuff." I said.
"Sure, later." He said and left.
A few hours later, I was led on one of the bunk beds but I couldn't sleep. I just couldn't stop thinking, I was trying to remember anything that could help us.
I turned over and grabbed my phone, I really wanted to talk to Tatsuro but he wouldn't understand plus it's not like I could tell me what I was doing. I decided to get up and go for a walk. I went downstairs and sat on one of the tables and made myself a cup of tea.
I was surrounded by people yet I felt so alone, confused. I just wanted things to get back too normal. I wanted to be able to leave my house and have a normal day, spend time with my friends and go to a job that I love.
I stayed downstairs for a few hours and then went up to bed and finally managed to get to sleep.
"Why can't I keep playing here, Gramps?" I asked.
"This park is for soldiers. You can't play here." Gramps said.
A white fence was in the park, I was running up and down whilst Gramps tried to control me and get me to stop.
"But I want to play with the clay." I said.
"You can't."
"Noo! Clay! Clay!" I shouted and started to jump up and down.
"Lunch." Someone said loudly and I felt someone shake me awake.