The Immortals and the Businessman 1

"We better go inside or we will really be late for our business meeting," Aaron urged Dave.

He and Dave had been friends for many centuries, more like brothers then just best friends and that bond had developed quite a bit over the last few hundred years ever since they had met. The instant they had met many decades ago now they had felt an instant connection to each other. Dave who had been born immortal and had told Aaron what he was after he had felt that instant connection to the other man. The bond that they shared had helped Aaron get over the loss of his family because of the dreaded influenza, as there had been no cure or at least a prevention back then. Aaron's wife had been the first to succumb to the disease, because she had a weak immune system, something that Aaron hadn't known as such things hadn't been studied at the time. His youngest son had been the next to succumb as he was only a toddler and then his older children had followed. His second daughter had lasted the longest as she had a strong immune system like Aaron himself.

Aaron had mourned their loss and had wanted to die himself for he'd loved his family, but he also had a strong will to live. Dave had just met Aaron recently before the influenza had hit and had helped out his new friend as much as he could, because he knew that he couldn't catch it due to the fact that technically he was immortal.

Aaron had been rather astonished at Dave's story and also disbelieving at first, but after Dave had proved it to him he had been stunned but accepting. Dave had seen what an honorable man Aaron was, trying his best to take care of his family, as there was no money for a doctor.

Dave had offered to pay for the doctor, but Aaron had refused, and Dave had respected his decision. He could see that Aaron Hotchner was a proud man, to proud to accept money from a relative stranger, since they had just met, shortly before the epidemic hit. The connection they both felt was inconsequential at the time. There might've been a chance that the doctor could've saved Aaron's family, but the chance had been slim at best, as influenza knocked off thousands of people every year in the century in which Aaron had been born, as there had been no kind of prevention back then.

It was that sense of honor that had made Dave offer to turn him immortal, because in the short time he had known Aaron Hotchner he could tell that he shared many similar personality traits to himself. He was law-abiding, honorable, proud, loyal, compassionate, moral and willing to give others a helping hand, though he was also nobodies fool. Dave had felt a connection to him the minute that the two of them had met, which was one of the reasons for the offer.

Aaron had asked for some time to think about it and Dave had given him all the time he needed, even as the two of them traveled together, after burying his family at the local graveyard.

Aaron hadn't agreed for quite awhile to be turned immortal, but the two of them had grown ever closer as they traveled to various cities all over the world.

Finally, Aaron had consented after the two of them had been traveling together for a decade, as he had seen that Dave was an honorable man. Dave had never mocked him for mourning his family, even though he had cried more than once when he thought about his children and his wife. Aaron knew very well that any other man would have mocked him for crying at all, because supposedly men weren't supposed to cry no matter the situation.

Dave had told him it was okay to cry, because he had loved his family and of course, he missed them very much, as he should. He had said that he had often cried himself when he lost somebody that was important to him at the time.

By the time that Aaron had finally consented to be turned immortal he was nearly 40 years old, as he had gotten married at just 20 which was quite common back in the age of which he had been born. Aaron, had been quite old actually for the time, when he had gotten married.

During that decade he had gotten over the loss of his children and his wife, although he would always miss them, which was something that Dave genuinely understood. Aaron was beyond grateful for Dave's caring, compassion and friendship and now the two of them were closer then brothers that had been born from two sets of parents.

More than once however, their closeness had been mistaken for the fact that they were in a sexual relationship and no matter how much they protested a lot of times it did no good. They had been chased out of town more than once as two men being together was taboo until a few decades ago. Trying to explain that they loved each other as brothers and were not in a sexual relationship had a lot of times not done any good due to ignorant people who refused to believe them because they simply were that close and so they had been run out of town, a lot of times with rocks thrown after them.

"Yeah, we should," Dave agreed calmly. The two of them didn't necessarily need the money that this business deal would bring, but more money always came in useful considering they were basically immortal. Besides, they gave big chunks of their portfolios to worthy charities and just didn't keep all their billions of dollars to just themselves. Also, Taro Kurosawa was an old friend of theirs and this would not be the first time they had supported one of his projects, nor would it be the last. Well, so long as the man survived that attempts on his life.

Dave walked in the door to the restaurant confidently with Aaron following just a few seconds later. Dave gave their names to the maître d' and the man had another waiter escort the two men directly to their table where three other men were already waiting.

"Good afternoon gentlemen," Dave said shaking the three gentlemen's hand.

"David-san, it's good to see you again, my friend," Taro said smiling at the sight of his old friend. He had often wondered why his two friends hadn't seemed to age a day in the over 20 years he had known them. He had his suspicions, but since they were honorable men, he hadn't asked as that would be a breach of trust, but in the back of his mind he wondered.

Aaron also greeted the three men politely before they sat down and looked at their menus.

All five men chatted casually until their meals arrived and then they got down to business.

By the time everybody rose to leave it was clear that it had been a very good and profitable meeting and everyone was more than satisfied.

They set up a meeting for the next week and Dave and Aaron both promised to be there.

"This should be very profitable for all of us David-san," the leader said shaking his hand for a second time.

"Yes, it should," Dave agreed cordially smiling. "This will help a lot of people, which is definitely a project Aaron and I can get behind."

"If only more people who were wealthy would do something like this the world would be a much better place. This little project should give a lot of people jobs, so should lower unemployment."

"On that we agree on, Aaron-san," The older Japanese man who was leader said. "I'm looking forward to doing business with you in the future."

"So are we," Dave said before he and Aaron departed.

"There goes two honorable men," the older Japanese man said quietly and his two companions nodded in agreement

~~~Criminal Minds~~~

"You'll be okay," Dave soothed his old friend Taro Kurosawa.

Dave and Aaron had detected an attack on the three Japanese businessmen at the last possible second. Dave well knew that businessmen of Taro's caliber had many enemies. Taro came from a rather poor family, but had a rather innate business sense. He had managed to get a full ride scholarship to college and had worked hard to found his own company and this was way back in the 1940s when Japanese weren't exactly well thought of. In fact, anyone who wasn't completely white was often beaten up for the stupidest of reasons and were often stopped by the police just because they were African or Chinese or Japanese. It wasn't fair how humans in general had acted, especially those that were supposed to enforce the law, but Dave well knew that even policemen had feelings and prejudices and weren't shining pagans of virtue.

The attack had been designed to look like a drive-by shooting, but Dave well knew that it wasn't that at all, even though this was Chicago. They were hardly in a bad part of town where that kind of thing was more likely to happen. No, this was a very influential part of the city and Dave wouldn't say that things like drive-by shootings wouldn't happen here, but it was much more unlikely.

No, Dave was sure that this had been a deliberate attempt to kill off a businessman who was trying to make things better in one of the poor sections of the city. Taro, had plans to create a shopping complex that would not only create jobs for numerous people, it would also bring in a lot of money to the area. If his plan succeeded, it would give hundreds of people decent jobs, with decent pay. Dave knew what Taro was planning wouldn't be okay with the mob and other various criminals as it would cut down on the drug trade. When people had hope they wouldn't buy drugs and other things. The complex would also include a hotel and Taro wanted to transform the area, so there was no longer a slum and this was just the first step.

Dave had been with him all the way, even though he knew how dangerous it was, because the mob, the drug lords and all the other criminals wouldn't give up their territory easily. Still, Dave would like very much for Taro's plan to succeed, as it would help many poor people that lived in Chicago.

Dave would do his best to protect his longtime friend and knew Aaron would agree with him. The two of them had expected this type of thing, though not this soon, as the process was only in the planning stages.

Dave heard the sirens of the ambulance, his sharp ears easily able to discern the difference between ambulance and other emergency vehicles, as they all made slightly different sounds.

Taro would be okay, Aaron knew as he had pushed his old friend out of the way just in time. He had gotten hit by a bullet, but it wasn't as serious as it could be, as it was in a non-vital area. If he hadn't been pushed out of the way at the last second he would've been hit by many more, as the men in the car had had submachine guns, not regular handguns.

Unfortunately, one of Taro's associates hadn't made it, because neither he or Aaron had been expecting the attack and so hadn't been fast enough to prevent it.

The other man however, was much more gravely injured then Taro was, although at least he was alive for the moment. He would either need to be turned immortal or have major surgery and there was no guarantee that he would survive the surgery. Still, the secret of immortality was not something you told anyone lightly, although Dave was sure that Taro suspected at least that he and Aaron were not exactly mortal.

Dave and Aaron were not ones to turn somebody immortal without knowing them well and only with their permission, unlike some of their kind. One reason that Dave, Aaron and Taro were so close was because they shared the same sense of honor and did their best to help those in need.

All three of them came from poor backgrounds and while they had money now, at one point in their lives they had struggled to take care of their families, put food on the table and clothes on their backs. Also, all three of them were the oldest sons of their parents with a strong sense of duty to their fsmilies, which gave them another point of commonality.

Taro had a family of his own, a wife that would be waiting at their home in New York for him and eight children, most of whom were already grown, the youngest two being in college, though about to graduate, as they were identical twins.

This was one reason that Dave was determined to save his friend, as his wife would be devastated as would all his children and grandchildren. Dave was well aware that Taro would die in another 20 or 25 years, since he was already over 60, but he was determined to give his friend that time with his family.

The ambulances and police cars arrived and immediately screeched to a stop, the ambulance attendants immediately loading the three men onto three different vehicles.

"We need to be more aware in the future, this took us totally by surprise and it shouldn't have. We knew that Taro's ideas, especially considering we are in Chicago could turn out to be rather dangerous," Aaron murmured softly to Dave who nodded in agreement.

"Yes, we knew that the mob bosses wouldn't be happy with what Taro was planning," Dave quietly agreed. "However, I certainly didn't expect for word to get out about this project before it even got off the ground. I expected danger later, as right now, the project is only in the initial planning stages and is a long way from actually starting to build the complex that Taro has in mind. I won't make that mistake again. Personally, if it is the mob that tried to kill our friend, well, I think they were a little bit preemptive."

"Taro does have many enemies. For all we know, it could have been one of them and not just the mob here in Chicago," Aaron said.

"Yes, he does, but only because he's such an honorable man who won't accept a bribe and keeps a close eye on everybody that works for him to make sure that there's no skimming, that everything is up to code," Dave said. "We both know that if close eye isn't kept on people then a lot of times they will skim off the top, use poorer materials that are more likely to not last like they should. Building a reputation on honesty and unshakable ethics is hard and it's very easy to lose."

"The mob bosses know by now that he's unbribable and completely honest in the way he practices business and would want to get rid of the competition," Aaron said.

"We'll really have to keep an eye on him in the future," Dave said.

"And on ourselves, because even though we can't be killed by a bullet that doesn't mean that other people can't be," Aaron said.

"And these people have no problem taking out innocent bystanders in order to get to us," Dave said by way of agreement. "I wish we could convince Taro to hire a couple of bodyguards."

"You've tried in the past and it's never done any good," Aaron said smirking a little as Taro Kurosawa was a stubborn man.

"Yes, he is," Dave said already knowing what Aaron was thinking, because they knew each other very well. "I can't really blame him for not wanting to be followed around by bodyguards, even if it's for his own good."

Both men fell silent as the cops finally approached and started asking questions about what had happened only a short time ago.

Dave and Aaron answered as best they could, really wanting to head to the hospital to see how their friend was doing, but knowing that this was a legal obligation and they didn't want to be seen as uncooperative as it would only make the officers suspicious.

~~~Criminal Minds~~~

"You saved my life," Taro told Dave.

"It was nothing," Dave tried to divert Taro's attention.

"I owe you more than I can ever be able to repay," Taro said.

"You owe us nothing," Dave tried again. "We've been friends for over 20 years, which means something to Aaron and I."

"Well, I always knew you were extremely modest at least in certain ways," Taro smiled. "I will never forget what you did for me, even though one of my associates died. I hope you realize that is neither one of your faults."

"We know that," Aaron said speaking for the first time from where he was leaning against one of the walls of Taro's hospital room. "Both Dave and I still feel a little guilty for what happened, but I don't think there's anyway we could have prevented it."

"No, the people who shot your associates, plus yourself, are the ones at fault and I suspect that they probably work for the mob, as this is Chicago after all. Aaron and I knew that your project wasn't going to be popular with the criminal element or some other people like dishonest government officials, but we certainly didn't expect this kind of drastic action, especially not for a project that is only in the initial planning stages," Dave agreed.

"We should have expected it though or at least anticipated it," Aaron said.

"There's no way you really could have my friends," Taro said shaking his head.

Aaron and Dave shared a look that Taro couldn't translate, but that tended to happen from time to time in the 20 or so years he had known them. At first he was sure they were lovers, but then over time he changed his opinion and just decided that they were just as close as brothers born to different parents.

He really didn't know much about either one's past, but he suspected that maybe they had met in childhood and clicked instantly as siblings, as that did happen sometimes. Two people just met and instantly felt as if they had known each other all their lives. Sometimes that developed into a bond where they became lovers once they were old enough and other times they were as close as siblings, twins in everyway, except biologically.

"In any case, you're going to have to be very careful from now on," Dave said finally, after his long silent conversation with Aaron came to an end. "Aaron and I know you don't want to have bodyguards all the time and neither one of us can blame you for that, but what would your wife say if you were to get yourself killed?"

"She knows what I do is dangerous sometimes," Taro answered simply. "She knows that it's not always easy to help people that need it, because of outside forces that want to see things remain the way they are. This is a rather ambitious project and we're all aware of it and not just because it will help hundreds of people, but because of the danger from outside forces that would like to see us fail and things remain the same. We all know that true change is not easy, but nobody can stop progress, even if they delay it for awhile. I will not let a bunch of goons stop me from helping people that really need these jobs that the complex will provide. I will not allow Daiki's sacrifice to be in vain."

"We just knew you were going to say something like that," Aaron sighed, resignedly.

"Yeah, we did," Dave said, his expression rather resigned. "Most people don't realize that being a businessman can be rather dangerous, depending of course, on what kind of business you're in and what you trying to do with your money."

"You're a rather rare breed, you know," Aaron added smiling a little. "Somebody who doesn't leave everything to their employees, who likes to help those that are poor. The complex you're going to be build is going to help hundreds of people, so of course, the mob bosses don't like that very much."

"I like to make sure it's done right," Taro said simply. "There're no guarantees, if you leave it to somebody that works for you that they won't try to rip you off or that it will be done in the correct way."

"We know not many people understand that or if they do they still don't give it their personal attention, not even really big projects like this one," Aaron said. "But then, I know that not many businessman come from the a poor family or at least don't stay connected to that side of them once they manage to escape like you did."

"Or say they don't do their best to help people in the same situation that they were in," said Dave, "which is why Aaron and I would like to see you survive for a little longer. By the way, I agree with Aaron's comment of a minute ago about how many successful people seem to want to forget their childhood, even though it forms who we are."

"Those who forget the past are destined to repeat it," Taro quoted softly.

"Exactly," Aaron agreed.

"So when are you free to leave this place?" Dave asked.

"Not for a couple of days anyway," Taro said. "You saved me from getting a worse injury and even possibly losing my life, I'm grateful, but the flesh wound is still going to need time and the doctors want to keep me for a few days to make sure it's healing well. As for poor Hiroto, he was still in surgery last I knew and his injuries are bad enough that there is only a 50% chance that he'll live."

"Well, he seems like a strong man, which will only help him," Dave told his old friend.

"He is and it will," Taro agreed, "but still the doctors weren't very comforting."

"You'd rather the doctor be honest then tell you pretty lies," Aaron told Taro with certainty.

"You know me too well, Aaron-san," Taro sighed, with the barest hint of a smile.

"We've known each other for a long time," Dave said and Taro nodded in agreement.

"Yes, we have, over 20 years," Taro agreed looking at both men speculatively. "What you did knocking me out of the way was very brave and it's only because of you that Hiroto has a chance to survive. How you in particular Aaron managed not to get hit with some of those bullet is a miracle."

The statement was said in a perfectly innocent and reasonable tone of voice, but both Aaron and Dave recognized the statement for what it was. It was a query, a question, that Taro had wanted answers for, likely for a long time. He had known both Dave and Aaron for over 20 years and both men looked like they hadn't aged a day in all that time. In fact, they looked exactly the same.

"I'll tell you what, Taro," Dave said finally after communicating silently with Aaron, who nodded. "Once you're out of this place and we can go somewhere and talk privately we'll tell you some things that we've been holding back ever since we met."

"I'll look forward to it," Taro said.

"Well, I think it's time Aaron and I took our leave, as you need to rest," Dave said. "Just let us know when they are going to let you out of this place and we'll go somewhere and talk.

Taro nodded unable to resist the drugs that were in his system anymore and closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep instantly.

Aaron and Dave quietly left closing the door gently behind them.

~~~Criminal Minds~~~