Xx Business as Usual xXShit. Toru cursed as he watched his master emerged from his hiding area and moved to the front door.He didn't have the time to run to his master without being detected. So he remained at his position; his gun out and ready. Anytime his master strikes, he'd take his opponents down; Chief Narcotics Ishizaka be damned.Akihito had detached the lens from his camera, clearly telling Toru his weapon of choice. Toru gripped his gun harder, pointing it to the Chinese, taking his aim.And then it happened. Akihito barged out from his hiding place, moving behind the Chinese and slammed his lens on the Chinese's head.The grip of Tao loosened; and Akihito took the chance to pull the boy away. He ran without turning his back, half dragging the boy behind him. Akihito heard a gunshot flew passed him, hitting the trash bin in front of him. His knees nearly turn into jelly but he couldn't stop."You punk!" The narcotics' chief shouted; immediately retrieved his police issued gun from his coat pointing it at Akihito's back.Toru fired, aiming Ishizaka's hands. The Japanese let out a scream as he let the gun fall onto the ground. Caught by surprise, the Chinese turned around frantically searching for signs of another person around the warehouse. Toru fired another round but it merely grazed the Chinese's shoulder. Frightened, the drug dealer jumped into his car and drove away, leaving Ishizaka kneeling on the floor, clutching his bloody hand.Toru emerged from his hiding spot and moved towards to the injured police officer."Who the hell are you?" Ishizaka asked; his eyes never left Toru's.Ignoring the man, Toru moved nearer and pressed the gun on the man's temple. With his free hand, he took out his phone and speed dialed Asami's number."Sir, we have a problem."Xx Business as Usual xXAkihito didn't stop until they reached a family restaurant. A poor choice to hide but what options did he have? The gun shots were terrifying and he could only thank the men for their poor aim. Pulling Tao into the restaurant, he went to the innermost table in the restaurant before pushing the frightened boy to the upholstered restaurant booths."Akihito –," Tao stammered.Akihito gripped the boy's shoulders. "Tao, what are you doing here in Japan? Where is Fei Long?"Tears began to pour down the boy's cheeks. "Chen – Chen tried to kill me," he spoke in Cantonese.Akihito couldn't really speak Cantonese but he understood what Tao told him. "Chinese man? Who is he?" Akihito replied in Japanese, thankful that the restaurant was somewhat deserted. Apart from them, there were only three other couples sitting by the window."He's – Fei – sama's assistant, he boy hiccupped, trying to form the words.An elderly waitress came to take the order and Akihito mumbled two drinks. He made sure that the waitress was a good distance away before asking again, "What are you doing here?"Tao hugged Akihito. "Fei sama came to Japan and I missed him since I haven't been spending time with him. Chen – he came to my room one night asked me if I want to see Fei sama. Of course I said yes."Akihito stroke Tao's hair. "Does Fei Long know about it?"The boy shook his head. His tears were soaking Akihito's shirt but he showed no signs of letting go. "I didn't know what happened but when I reached Japan, Chen brought me somewhere. He – ," Tao halted, finding it difficult to continue.The photographer hugged the boy tighter. "What did he do?""He – he tied me up and put me in the car." Tao pulled away, gazed his black round eyes at Akihito. "I tried kicking him but he was stronger," Tao whispered, crying as he hugged Akihito again."It's not your fault, Tao," the photographer replied, patting the boy's back. Akihito curled his fist in anger. He noticed Tao's cheek was swollen and there was a cut on his lips, indicating that he had been beaten by Chen. How could anyone do that to a child?"Do you know why he wants to kill you?" Akihito asked in a hushed voice.Tao shook his head again. "But I heard Chen said something about killing me –" Tao stopped and thought for a while, recalling the words Chen had used before continuing, "—to start a war.""To start a war?"Tao pulled back, wiped his tear stained face with the back of his hand. He nodded. "Akihito, help me to look for Fei sama," he said urgently. "Please," he shook Akihito's hand.For the lack of a better option, Akihito nodded his head. Besides, he couldn't really say no to a child. When the drinks arrived, Akihito urged Tao to drink, knowing that the boy had not really eaten or drunk anything. Tao took the glass of orange juice gratefully, gulping it down as Akihito took out his phone."Do you know Fei long's number?"Tao's face fell. "No, I only know the headquarters number in Hong Kong.""Good enough." Akihito unlocked his phone. "We'll call Fei Long's office in Hong Kong and get the number from his men."It took a few minutes but Akihito finally managed to patch through Baishe's headquarters. He gave the phone to Tao immediately and sat closer to the boy, trying to listen to the conversation."Hello?" Tao whispered. "Yang, is that you?" He looked at Akihito and nodded his head happily. "I'm Tao."Akihito heard a string of questions were thrown at Tao. The boy tried to answer as quickly as he could; giving them the barest details. He spoke for a few more minutes before finally obtaining the numbers."Fei sama's number while he's in Japan," Tao pushed the serviette containing numbers to Akihito as he ended the call.Akihito stared at the number with a heavy heart. He didn't want to contact Fei Long but he knew that he couldn't leave the boy alone. Crumpling the edge of the serviette, Akihito looked at the numbers again. Should he contact Asami first? The photographer shook his head stubbornly, reminding himself that he was old enough to solve his own problems.And how hard can it be? Akihito scolded himself. Call Fei Long; have him come to take Tao – that's it. Determined, he punched the numbers on the phone and waited.His heart pounded, hammering against his ribs as he waited for the call to be answered. The boy next to him stared at him in anticipation, his small hands clutching on Akihito's jacket."Fei Long?" Akihito asked, trying to sound confident."Akihito, what a pleasant surprise," the deep voice on the other end answered.Immediately Akihito gulped. "How did you know it was me?""Instincts," Fei Long answered smoothly."Fei sama!" Tao burst out, trying to grab the phone. Akihito held him back, placing a palm on the boy's chest and spoke hurriedly. "There's no time for small talk. You have to come and get Tao."Immediately Fei Long's voice turned hard. "Yoh informed me that Tao called the headquarters a few minutes ago. Were you the one who found him?""Yes, he was nearly killed by one of your men. I believe his name was –" he looked at Tao."Chen.""That's him," Akihito said."Where are you now?" The tone became serious.Akihito mumbled the location and the phone went dead. Beside him, Tao looked relieved. He smiled. "Thank you.""Take it as a favor. You helped me when I was in Hong Kong." Akihito returned the smile. "Now that everything is settled, we have to be careful. Chen might still be looking for us."The photographer looked around. The family restaurant he chose was about 40 minutes away from the port. It was a cozy place to hang out and Akihito decided to seek refuge in it for a reason; he had the escape routes ingrained in his mind.
He looked at Tao again. The boy had dirt on his face and lips. Signaling the waitress for some ice, Akihito turned to Tao and smiled. "I'll cold-packed the bruises for you. It'll help you to ease the pain."
Xx Business as Usual xX
Kirishima stood behind his boss, unmoving. The crime lord hadn't uttered a single word since the phone call from Toru, indicating he wasn't at his best moods.
His boss took the call on loud speaker, so the secretary heard every word Toru said about the shooting incident between Akihito and the Narcotics Chief. Thankfully his boss installed a GPS tracker on Akihito's Vespa so Toru managed to locate the photographer easily.
đang được dịch, vui lòng đợi..
