The Unceasing Path
Ch 20 - 潜行狙击
Hidden Sniper - wherein you'll never see this coming...
ding
A woosh of cold air drew a sigh of relief from Ami's lips as the cafe's automatic doors parted. It was a pleasant change from the hot and humid Tokyo afternoon. She had rushed here from home, walking faster than was comfortable on a day like this, because a thunderstorm was brewing. She could feel it in her bones.
Now then. Where was Rei? Ami looked around at all the tables.
"Ami-chan!" Rei rose from her seat and waved. Ami hurried over was surprised to find herself enveloped in a quick hug. Rei did hugs now? "It's so nice to see you. I hope you don't mind, I got here early so I ordered for you. Ice coffee, black, and a cream anmitsu unless I am mistaken?"
Ami's eyes widened, seeing the dessert and drink waiting at the table. Rei even went to the trouble of ordering extra fruit on the anmitsu – just the way she liked it.
"Oh! Thank you Rei-chan! This is a nice surprise. Sorry I'm late. I got held up moving all of Mako's plants indoors from the balcony. I think it's going to rain today."
Rei smiled and pointed at the umbrella "Always prepared I see! So smart. That's my Ami-chan! No matter, no matter. It's nice to see you. Now, let's get down to business." Rei's gaze grew sharp and steely. Ami started to get a bad bad baaaaaaaad feeling about this. "I hear that in your story I'm cast as the deadly assassin?"
"Has Mako been retelling this story to everyone!? "Ami sputtered. The sip of coffee she had been taking aspirated into her lungs. "Sorry Rei-chan!" She apologized as soon as she stopped choking. :It's nothing personal. It's just a story, and I needed someone that kind of fit into that strong, silent antagonist archetype and -
"No no. It's fine. I love it! Cool, mysterious, badass, highly competent with goos business sense. The inspiration is obvious. The scene where I speed off on a motorcycle while Haruka and Makoto stare after me in awe?" Rei kissed the tips of her fingers. "Bellissimo. I loved that. That is not the issue."
"Thank you?"
Rei smoothed out the napkin on the table in front of her. "The issue is that you've agreed to let Minako kill my character off. THAT I won't stand for. You realize what this means Ami-chan? It means that she wins. Do you know what Minako is like when she wins? She's insufferable! I'll never hear the end of it. And furthermore, I don't think it's very realistic. I could totally take her in a one-on-one fight."
"But – I – it's not real Rei-chan! Besides, I already promised Minako...and I -"
Rei banged her fist on the table making all the cups and plates clatter and jump. Several of their neighboring tables turned to look, but Rei paid them no mind. "Ah-HA!" She pointed a finger at Ami accusingly. "So she did get to you first! I knew it! What'd she offer you? I'll triple it."
"What? No! Nothing like that. I just said I would consider it! I don't know how the story is going to go - I haven't written it yet!
"Hmmm. Artistic integrity. Alright. I can respect that." Rei nodded, seemingly satisfied with the explanation. "You got to do, what you got to do. I get it. I approve. Just whatever happens make it really cool. No begging for mercy alright? That's all I'm asking."
Ami sighed.
"Alright. I'll see what I can do..."
[A nice, middle class residential tower block complex]
The lift came to a stop with a metallic shudder. Minako took a deep breath. Her knees were weak, palms, sweaty. for the briefest moment, she thought she might throw up. She wiped her palms before last night's dinner could stage a comeback. Regurgitated spaghetti wasn't exactly the look she was going for today. Minako looked down at her outfit for a quick double check. Stretchy leggings, high boots, a tight white t-shirt, leather vest, a cute wide metal cuff bracelet, her chain strappy purse, sunglasses. A little more punk-rock then her usual ensembles, but it suited her purpose today. On top of being functional, the outfit looked damn good. Hell yeah. She looked damned good.
Minako smiled.
Yeah. She was ready.
The elevator doors parted with a light ding. Minako straightened her shoulders then strode across the tile floor of the lobby. The doorman pulled the heavy metal gate open for her courteously. Minako flashed him her best smile.
Showtime.
[Meanwhile, outside in the courtyard]
Today's the day.
10:12 am, and already, the weather was sweltering. 31 degrees Celsius and climbing, humidex approaching 100. Judging by the rustle of the palm trees, windspeed was less than 5 km/h, steady at 247 degrees West-south-west. This was setting up to be a typical tropical day.
Excellent. Everything was within expected parameters.
Rei could feel the rightness of the custom VSS Vintorez suppressed sniper rifle hidden in her briefcase. Small, and silent, with an operating range of approximately 400 m. It wasn't as powerful as some of the other tools she had at her disposal, but the Vintorez was perfect for use in the urban jungle that was Hong Kong.
Good.
She wanted this over and done with. She had already spent a solid week casing out the suburban building estate that Minako called home. It made her skin crawl knowing that Minako was alive and well. Rei mentally recalculated her shooting parameters as she waited. She had to be ready when the opportunity presented itself. Her killer's instinct told her today was the day. Surely, today was the day that one of her custom 9 mm bullets was destined to blow through Aino Minako's blonde skull.
She had been sitting outside Minako's apartment complex for 4 hours now, and so far, she had yet to spot her prey. She'd already burned through 2 disguises and three surveillance spots with nothing to show for it. Normally, targets didn't irritate her like this, but Minako had a way of getting under her skin.
Yes. She was going to enjoy pulling the trigger on a more-than-professional level.
Rei smiled at the thought, and then quickly surpassed it. There was no such thing as "personal"in this line of work. A common thug like Aino Minako was not going to be the one that got away just because she was distracted. Rei redoubled her focus, eyes flicking around the courtyard to all the possible entrances and exits.
Ah! There!
Finally.
Minako strutted out the door of apartment block 2A, then, after a quick exchange with the doorman, started down the western path towards the subway station.
Rei looked down at her phone, her fingers flying in a simulation of texting as Minako walked by. She waited 10 paces before getting up to follow.
The hunt was on.
[A busy pedestrian bridge, Yau Ma Tei district, Hong Kong]
Minako leaned on a railing as she pretended to adjust her shoe. She glanced up at the big security mirror out the corner of her eye. There, down the stairs and around the bend, was her dark shadow.
Fantastic!
Rei was every bit as good as she thought she would be. Weaving in and out of crowds, taking back alley shortcuts, wandering into shops, Minako knew she wasn't making it easy for Rei to follow.
And still, there she was.
It was hard not to be impressed with someone that could keep up with her. It was also difficult to not laugh out loud when she traipsed through the wet market. The look of disgust she caught on Rei's face was worth every minute spent in that gross stinky fish market. Minako popped the last of her curry fishballs in her mouth and chewed happily. The fact that the wet market had some excellent snack vendors inside was a nice bonus. Minako tossed the skewer stick into a convenient trash bin and then with a smooth florish, stole a quick look behind her. Sure enough, Rei was with her – across the street, but still present.
Minako took a deep breath. Today had been fun, but it was the endgame now. The parking garage was coming up. The final stop.
Time to get serious.
[10 steps behind Minako, Yau Ma Tei district, Hong Kong]
Subway ride. Mei Foo to Jordan. 7-11. The mall. Lunch at Cafe de Coral. 7-11 again. An electronics shop. A bunch of street vendors. Milk tea at a bakery. More street vendors. A goddamn fishmarket, back into the subway, and now, wandering around the city for no apparent reason. Rei watched as Minako climbed up the stairs of a pedestrian crossing bridge. She stopped and lowered her head when Minako stopped to adjust her shoe. What the hell was Minako doing anyways? She seemed to have no actual plan or objective for her day. What a waste of time.
Rei followed along silently, letting her target out of sight. This was turning into a frustratingly long hunt. Worse of all, her target stayed to chat with someone at nearly every stop. Goddammit. Was Minako friends with everyone in the entire damn city?
No. She could not stand for that.
Rei watched. She stalked. Across the street, behind a bus shelter, around the corner. Whatever was necessary. Minako was her prey, and she, the hunter. Rei waited. The opportunity to strike must present itself eventually. Minako would never see it coming, and on her pride as a professional, no one else would either. Rei was the best at what she did. The best of the best – and the best did not leave witnesses.
Rei took a quick look up into the sky. The sun was dipping lower into the horizon. At this rate, she was going to have to follow Minako to back to her home and do her there. It wasn't ideal, but Rei knew she could make it work. In the mean time, she crossed over to the west side of the street. Her sniper's instinct was soothed to have the sun at her back.
Ah!
There!
Perfect.
Rei allowed herself a small smile as Minako entered – alone – into a parking garage. She took a quick look around the field of battle, searching for high ground.
Yes. There it was. Perfect. A 4 storey tenement across the street that overlooked the garage. The sun, the wind. It all lined up. It was too good to be true. It had to be destiny. Minako's fate was sealed.
[Parking garage, hiding behind a retainer wall]
If Rei didn't swallow this bait, then it was back to the drawing board.
Minako was sure this would work however. They had gotten to know each other very well during that week spent as torturer/torturee. Minako was always good at people and everything she knew about Rei pointed to one thing. Rei was a perfectionist, and thus, Rei was predictable. She would take this, hook, line, and sinker. It was the perfect set up for a sniper.
Minako crept out of the elevator, crawling low between cars to be sure she would not be seen from the outside world. Her rental car was here, stashed and ready to go. All that was left to do was to make herself irresistible.
Easy money right? Who could resist Aino Minako?
[Across the street, on a roof]
Rei lay prone on the hot asphalt, the stock of her rifle cool against her cheek. She peered down her scope. The target was in her sights. Her calculations were complete and judging from the smoke blowing off of Minako's cigarette, even the wind was on her side. It was like Minako was making easier for her on purpose. She was just standing there, leaning against the half height railing of the parking garage.
Rei waited. Her finger hovered over the trigger. She zeroed in on the hair bow on the back of Minako's head – a red fruit ripe for the taking. It was a pity that Minako had her back turned. She would have liked to see Minako's face one last time. The bow was acceptable however. That would be a fine memory to take away from this kill.
Rei exhaled, emptying her lungs. Everything was in place. The kill waited for her. Her heart beat counted down to the end.
Ba-boom. Ba-boom Ba-boom. Ba-
She pulled the trigger.
Boom.
That beautiful sound. That most beautiful sound, and then -
Wait. What?
No. No. No!
This was all wrong. Bloodspray was a beautiful red bloom, not a ephemeral white dust. Rei blinked. Hard. What the hell was going on?
"You shot a dummy. Dummy."
There wasn't a word to describe how shocked she was. Stunned really. Absolutely flabbergasted to hear the sunny voice of Aino Minako suddenly call out behind her. A fluttering sound snapped towards her. A clank of metal. Years of training took over. Rei rolled away, spinning back from the roof's edge on instinct. A violent force yanked her rifle out of her hands.
That had never happened before, she had never been disarmed, and yet, it was happening now. This was not what she had prepared for. Nonetheless, she reacted. Rei sprang up from her previously prone sniping position. Her hand was at her belt, and her knife sailing through the air even before she was on her feet.
Metal clanged off metal as she straightened into her fighting stance.
Well, well.
Rei frowned. She knew what had happened without looking. Minako had somehow managed to parry the knife.
That lucky bitch.
Let's see how long her luck lasts.
"Remember what I said Rei? That week you spent trying to break me?" Aino Minako struck a pose, pulling the golden whipchain tight between her hands. "I told you you were going to die with my chain wrapped around your neck. This is my chain. Prepare to die."
Rei studied her opponent. Minako was angry. Good. Angry meant undisciplined. That was something that could be taken advantage of.
"Silly Hong Kong girl," Rei smirked. "likes to play with shaolin weapons. Did you miss me so much that you came looking for me?"
"I'm not playing." The flag tied to the end of the chain snapped in the air as Minako started swinging it again. The weapon flashed fire as it built up speed in the dusky twilight. Up, down, left, right, across her body, behind her shoulder, around her neck, then, quicker than the eye could follow, the tip shot forward. Rei dodged – fast, but not fast enough. The metal dart at the end cut a line across her cheek.
Rei licked her lips, savouring the taste of copper. Minako was stupid, angry and undisciplined yet, she had drawn first blood. No one had ever done that before.
Finally.
Rei smiled. She had been waiting a long time for this. Maybe. Just maybe, she had finally found a worthy opponent.
[A windswept rooftop]
What the shit? How the hell did Rei manage to dodge that? Was that goddamn creeper smiling Minako suppressed the urge to shudder. There was no time. Rei was coming right at her.
Shit. Rei was fast. Really fast.
OH FUCK!
Minako flung her body to the side, another knife zipped through the air where she had been standing a microsecond ago.
Sweet bloody hell, How many of those did she have?
Minako was forced to break her rhythm. Her chain wavered uselessly limp at her side when Rei came in swinging. She fell back, losing precious ground on the tiny rooftop to avoid getting cut to shreds.
Seriously now – how many knives did Rei have hidden in that vampy dominatrix catsuit of hers? Where was she keeping them all? That raised so many questions.
Minako watched the tip of the stiletto blade punch forward at her ribs. She brought her arms together. The metal cuff bracelet around her wrist prevented her from being skewered, but did nothing to stop the raking slash that Rei scored on the backhand of that stroke. Minako reeled back. Her leather jacket had protected her from the worst of it, but she could feel the wetness dripping down her side.
Rei wasted no time in pressing her advantage. It took everything Minako had to avoid the assassin's lighting-fast thrusts.
Damn.
This could be it.
Minako kept dodging. Was this the day her luck finally ran out? She was triad. There was always a good chance she would die on the streets one day.
No.
Not this place. Not today. Not by Rei's hand.
At first, this fight was entirely personal. Petty vengeance, avenge the fallen friend, the whole "you-tortured-me-so-now-it's-time-for-payback" routine. Minako had been alright with that. She wasn't such a melodramatic dipshit that everything she did needed to have a deeper and more significant meaning. She just went with the flow of things, and that's just the way she liked it.
But now, seeing Rei once again, she was reminded of one very important fact: Rei needed to die. A mercenary assassin had no place in the societies of Hong Kong. Unlike a mercenary, even the worst Triad had some sense honor and loyalty It was simply really. Rei made her beloved city a more dangerous place. Minako could not stand for that, and so Rei needed to die. Minako was going to see this one through. She had promised Ami that, sometime during that hellish week in the autobody shop. More importantly, she had made that promise to herself. Every day, every minute, during that week of torture, she had told herself that she would survive so that she could get out and kill Rei Hino.
For honour, for duty.
Whatever.
She was doing this, and dammit. This had better work.
Minako leapt backwards, twirling aside even as she sent the weighted tip of her chain flying in the opposite direction. There was a heavy thud as the blow connected and the sound of clattering metal as Rei's dagger was sent clattering across the concrete rooftop. She swung the chain up again. A sharp kick shot the tip screaming directly at Rei's face. This time, Rei saw it coming and dodged the blow like the annoyingly perfect martial artist that Minako knew she was. It wasn't just hype or rumours. Rei's really had skills that lived up to her reputation.
What Rei didn't have however, were eyes in the back of her head.
Minako smirked. There was no way for her to see that the last attack was just a feint. She had landed the blow right where she wanted it.
The tip of the chain bounced off the metal pole behind Rei's head. Minako flicked her wrist hard, timing her movement so that the the chain swung around and wrapped itself around Rei's neck.
Gotcha.
Minako caught the other end and pulled. She pulled with all her might. The assassin trashed and struggled, but it was no use. Minako had her literally by the throat. She stepped forward, wrapping the chain around her forearm to keep up the pressure. Rei fell to one knee.
"You were right you know. Silly Hong Kong girl, with shaolin weapons? Yeah. It is just for show. I considered tying a blade to the end, you know, just for the extra cool factor, but then I thought 'hey, who am I doing that for?' I'm gonna kill you anyways. It's like I said. You're going to die, with my chain wrapped around your – urk!"
Minako's witty one liner gurgled in her throat.
Oh. Of course Rei had another knife hidden up her sleeve! How dumb of her not to realize that sooner.
And now it was hilt deep in her chest.
Fuck.
She could feel herself getting weak. Time was an issue. There was only one thing she could do now.
Minako dropped the chain, and with all of her failing strength, wrapped her arms around Rei instead.
"If I'm going down Rei, you're coming with me!"
Then, screaming her defiance to the winds, Minako jumped off the roof.
[Bus: Route 6F Lai Kok - Kowloon City Ferry]
Ugh. It was so hot and sticky in here.
ViVi resisted the urge to lean against the bus window. She was tired, but it was kind of gross seeing the smear of oil from other people's hair just kind of there.
Oh well. At least she got a seat today. A good one too – first row, her favourite. She used to drag her poor mother to the upper level of the bus even though there were perfectly good seats on the bottom just so they could sit in the front. It was fun to look out the windshield and pretend that she was a bus driver or something.
Vivi chuckled to herself as she tried it again. She snuck a quick look down the mirror hatch at the real bus driver below to see what he was doing.
He looked...really, really bored.
Ah well, being a bus driver probably looked more fun when she was a kid. Vivi leaned back and stared out the window instead. Traffic wasn't too bad today. She should be back at the office in about a half hour. How shitty was it that her boss needed her to hand-deliver the plans to the client, but wouldn't let her use the company account for a cab ride? She was stuck using her own Octopus for this trip...not that it was expensive or anything. It was more the principle of the thing.
So dumb! She was supposed to be a junior designer, not an errand girl. ViVi supposed she shouldn't complain though. It was her first "real job" since graduating from university – not all of her peers were this lucky.
One day, she'd be a big success. Then she could buy her own place. Something actually In the city. A nice condo. Maybe close to a park. A park that she'd designed – full of open spaces that encouraged people to come out and native plants that offered a respite from the everyday city grind. An award winning park that they would write articles about and set a new standard in urban landscape design...
Yeah. That was the dream. Just had to work hard.
She plugged her headphones into her phone. Was she more in a mellow, relaxing mood, or was it time for something more upbeat? Probably something more upbeat if she didn't want to be half asleep when she got back to work. Coffee might be a good idea too, especially if Andy the barista was in today. He made the best matcha lattes and he had great hair and the cutest smile.
Vivi texted her boss, letting him know she was on the way back and asking if he wanted anything from the Pacific Coffee downstairs. A little brownnosing never hurt anyone. She debated lying about the traffic to buy herself a little extra time, but decided against it. The more face time she put in at the office, the keener she would look as an employee. Plus, she actually did have work to do on the West Kowloon proposal and -
What the-? Did she just see that? Oh no! Did someone just fall out of one of the buildings? Vivi fell forward as the bus driver slammed on the brakes.
Oh my god, where was her phone? Where was it? She had to call the police. two women just fell out of one of the buildings and now they were lying in the middle on the road! They need an ambulance now!
What? How?
Vivi watched as the two women somehow got up. They staggered at each other. The blonde woman threw herself on top of the woman with black hair. They rolled around in the middle of the road, twisting and writhing in every which way. Were they fighting? What the hell was going on? This was awful. Vivi screamed and looked away. She didn't want to see this. She didn't need to, and later, when the police came to take her statement, she knew she said the same thing as everyone else on the bus:
It all happened so fast. There was no way the bus driver could have stopped on time.
(Real life, the following morning.)
"..."
"A BUS?!"
"What the fuck?"
"I'm sorry, did we just get hit by a bus?!"
"AMI-CHAN!"
The stunned silence in Makoto's bakery kitchen gave way to a series disbelieving shrieks.
Ami continued to study the fascinating stain on the ceiling as her friends got more and more insistent. Was that frosting? How did that get up there? Mako was normally extremely vigilant about cleanliness in her kitchen
"Yes. Rei and Minako were hit a bus." The ceiling could only save her for so long. She had to answer sooner or later. "Sorry everyone." Ami shrugged. "I couldn't figure out a good ending to that scene. At least this way, no one loses right?"
A.N.
I direct all flames re: the anticlimatic ending towards Ami, the author avatar who wrote this fic. I mean, really, how could she choose?
So...did anyone see that bus coming?
brycelozier : the instance of lampshade hangings are numerous and abundant in this here fic. I gave myself the warm fuzzies writing about Real!Ami and Real!Hotaru's friendship as well. As to Triad!Ami? Well, heck. She's plenty cautious, just her priorities are a little different-y aren't they?
Cheers,
-Drift.
P.S. Shameless self plug: How did that stain get onto Makoto's ceiling? Why wasn't it cleaned up before it stained? Find out in Ami and Makoto: 5 Years and a Day.
Up Next:
Ch 21 : 護花危情 - Dangerous Protection- wherein the guardian needs guarding.