Finally, unable to stand the nervou

Finally, unable to stand the nervousness any longer, I ask him, "Excuse me. Is there any problem with my passport?"

Indeed, I may have entered the country illegally. But Tao's men told me that the 'fake' entry stamp in my passport was official and legal. They explained that having no official entry stamp in my passport might cause problem if there was any documents checking. That was why, even though my entry to the country was not officially registered (which apparently is possible in some countries!), I should be able to pass the immigration safely if needed. Or so they told me.

The officer tries to smile to calm me down, but he doesn't look convincing. In a slightly broken English, he explains, "It's okay, Sir. My colleagues will come assist you. Just wait here."

His colleagues consist of three bulky men whose appearances scare me right away. All the terrible stories about people being sent to jail in some third world countries flash in my mind. And for a while, I think I can't breath. Horror fills my entire body when I realize that I am in a big trouble. Alone. In a country which language I can't speak at all. Without Tao or Asami to save me this time. The next thing I do before I can think properly is to turn away and run.

"Sir, stop!" one of the officer barks loudly at me.

But my basic instinct tells me to ignore him. I run as fast as my feet can bring me, which is quite fast, actually. But obviously those men are fast as well. People scream all around me as I push them out of my way. A lady falls hard on her side when I quickly run between her and a fat man beside her. Looking back over my shoulder, I yell my apology to her. But I can't just stop to help her now. Not with the additional officers who are now running towards me.

By the time I reach the end of the hall, people shout in a few different languages from every corner of the airport. I can hear a lady yelling the word 'bomb' somewhere behind me. Shit. In my panic, I don't pay attention to where I go. The signs in this country are not so clear. And I am not familiar with the place. I scan my surrounding quickly to find anything that can help me to escape. Think, Akihito, think!

"Sir, this is second warning. Stop!" The same voice warns me.

I decide to take my chance with the door. But before I can grab the handle, a loud gunshot echoes clearly behind me. Everyone around me screams and covers their heads, lowering their body to the ground.

I freeze instantly.

The officer talks to me calmly in his stuttering English, "Sir, that's warning shot. Come peacefully and we don't shoot you."

Both our ability to speak English may not be so perfect, but his message is clear to me. And so, I slowly turn around and carefully raise my hands.

After putting handcuffs on my wrists, they take my satellite phone and backpack and leave me in a small room. Seeing the handcuffs sends a sharp pain to my heart, remembering the unreasonable feeling of safety that I felt as Asami caressed me while I was kneeling naked at his feet inside his luxurious office. Deep down I wonder whether I will be able to see him again. Will he reply if I send him a letter from jail? Will he come to see me? Will he even remember me? What if he has another lover by now? But, isn't it me who asked him to do so?

An officer comes and gives me a glass of sweet tea, some snacks and even an international newspaper. This people are quite friendly, in my opinion, considering I am someone who will go to jail soon. I try to ask why they detain me. Inwardly, I am worried that it is because of my illegal entry to the country. But they simply smile and shake their head. I am not sure whether it means that they are forbidden to talk to me, or they simply don't understand what I am trying to say.

However, I don't wait for long. In less than an hour, two other bulky officers come and bring me towards another door. The door leads to a gate connecting to a plane. I feel so confused. Where is the jail? Why do they bring me to a plane? Is the jail in another city?

The entire plane is lavish but empty. It seems that I am the only passenger. They help me to sit on one of the seat near the alley, fasten my safety belt, and leave.

As soon as the plane takes off, a Japanese looking man comes to sit beside me. The man looks friendly and kind. And when he greets me in Japanese, I immediately release a relief breath.

"Takaba-san, my name is Himura. I am from the embassy of Japan and I am here to assist you. You are safe and there is nothing to worry. At least, for now. We are now in a flight back to Japan. For some reasons that I don't know in details, our government has requested every country in the world to deport you as soon as you pass their immigration. Which is why you are here now. I have made a call to Japan before we take off to make sure that someone will take care of you as soon as we land," he explains politely with some sort of pity in his eyes.

I raise my eyebrow and then shake my head in confusion, "What? Our government? Why? I am nobody."

Looking extremely uncomfortable, he avoids making any eye contact with me as he lowers the volume of his voice, "I don't know, Takaba-san. Do you remember crossing the wrong people? Do you disturb a high profile person? Does your line of work annoy someone? Do you borrow money you can't return? Do you sleep with the wrong person, you know, someone's wife or lover maybe?"

With a completely blank expression, I shake my head along with every question.

"I am just a freelance photographer for a science magazine, Himura-san. I haven't been in Japan for half a year, travelling for my project. The only things I can annoy for the past six months are a family of Orang Utan in Borneo or the monks in Cambodia. Can you please be more specific on which one of those two that I somehow annoyed?" I ask sarcastically.

He sighs. His whisper is almost inaudible as he answers carefully, "Do you happen to recognize the name of Asami Ryuichi? Because you must somehow make him truly upset for him to spend so much resources to track you down."

I look at Himura for a second before I fight to break free in a complete anger. I swear I will kill Asami.