“No. Not at all. I believe they have a number of plans on-running and will end when they choose to. If ever.”
Hayden came over to them then, a phone pressed to her ear. “Just got word,” she said. “General Stone hung himself. Tonight. In his cell. Bastard won’t ever stand trial for what he did.”
Alicia sat forward. “And Dudley? He worried me the most.”
“Still alive. Still in custody. They’re moving him to a black site in the next few days.”
Drake frowned, wondering if SPEAR should take charge of that operation, and then waved away the work talk. Instead he stared at Dahl. “So? Dropped out of private school, eh? Why did you never mention that?”
“None of your bloody business. I mean, me? Part of the rich crowd? Belonging to the set who already had a job for me in mind when I was eight? Already feathering my bed and shaping my future? Told what to do and when to speak since I could form words? I don’t think so. That’s chains, man, believe it or not. Besides, would it make you treat me any different?”
“Don’t be daft.”
“Thought so.”
“You’re a good man, Dahl.” Later, Drake would put it down to the beer talking.
“I know.”
The music swelled and the drinks flowed. Collins came over and danced by their table, taking them all into a bear hug. The guys from the Razor’s Edge were left grinning in her wake.
Drake lifted his glass. “To you.”
Trent nodded. “If you’re ever in LA…”
Silk and Radford dropped down on nearby chairs. “Take the bus!”
Laughter rang out, and the world was happier, safer and full of camaraderie.
For a while.
CHAPTER FORTY SIX
Mai Kitano woke in the dead of night, instantly aware, senses seeking outward for what might have disturbed her. Three seconds later her cellphone rang.
Ah, that was it.
Dai Hibiki, her old friend from the Tokyo police, spoke quickly, his voice full of weariness and strain.
“The days treating you well, Mai? The nights? We’ve had major problems with the Yakuza since you humiliated them this latest time.”
“The last time,” Mai said, sitting up. It took only a moment to remember she no longer slept beside Drake, and that this was a new hotel room. She wore a black tank top and white Lycra shorts in bed and now padded over to the window. With one hand she twitched open a curtain, staring over the benighted city below.
“Are you alone?”
“Yes. I needed space to get whatever I did to that family straight in my head. And now, there is also Grace to consider. Life has changed.”
“Well, your parents are fine. Chika is fine too. We are… happy. I’m guessing that Grace will ultimately go her own way.”
“Good. So what do you want, Dai?”
Her friend hesitated. Mai instantly knew the next sentence would be very hard for him.
“This may only make things worse, but the girl that survived? Emiko? She has been asking about the woman that killed her father. Even in protective custody she is reaching out. I’m scared it will bring her to the attention of the Yakuza. I’m worried she will develop a debilitating hatred.”
“Do you want me to come over there?”
“No, no. You shouldn’t be here. I only wanted to make you aware of that and one more thing. You remember Hikaru? The Yakuza boss you kind of humiliated in the men’s room?”
Mai watched the city breathe below. “I remember him.”
“He’s a bigger boss now.”
“Don’t worry. We came to an understanding.”
“I only wanted to keep you informed.”
“Thank you, my friend.”
Mai ended the call and placed her cell carefully on the narrow window sill. Outside, the city lights twinkled, trees swayed to a stiff breeze, and horns honked. The window itself reflected three extra images — the figures of men.
She turned slowly. So this was the noise that had awakened her — not three but six men spread out, all Japanese, who had broken into her hotel room in the dead of night. So ironic that Dai had called her at that moment. So stupid of her to accept that his call, three seconds later, had been the cause of her waking.
Hikaru walked one step forward. “Do not struggle. We know you. We have come for you.”
“Did we not have a deal?”
“The Yakuza do not make deals,” he spat. “We do not forgive humiliation. And you are twice guilty. Mai Kitano — come with us now. Do not make this any harder.”
Five men spread out to his sides. All of them carried silenced handguns. Mai wondered then about the trials she had faced in her life, about the girl that sought her, about that girl’s father whom she had killed for the Tsugarai clan.
“Have you come to murder me?”
“That sounds like you want us to.”
Mai shrugged. “I’m not happy with what I have done.”
“Oh, I know that. We took care of the man’s family for you. Only the girl escaped. But let us not digress. We’re here for you. Do you want to die now for your sins against the Yakuza? If so, you know what to do.”
Mai stared down the barrels of all five guns. Would it be simpler to just let go? She had been fighting ever since she’d been dragged screaming from the loving hands of her parents. So long. So… damn… long.
She looked around. “Only six of you?”
“It will be enough.”
Time to decide.
But Hikaru was faster. “Just shoot her where she stands.”
Mai moved fast. The first bullet nicked her arm. In a blur of motion, she angled toward her enemies.
The second bullet took her in the stomach and when the pain hit it was like a lightning bolt going off inside. She fell instantly, bleeding out on the hotel room floor. Gasping, gritting her teeth against the terrible pain she nevertheless hunched her body so that she could use her own rapidly draining blood to draw three distinct letters on the worn wooden floor.
Hikaru stood over her, his own gun now raised. “This is what we do to the people that have wronged us.”
Smiling, he squeezed the trigger again.