6- Alex
I walked through the club, flanked on either side by Yamota’s security. I’d already been patted down, and the bottle of sake checked over for anything that might be dangerous. Considering the shape of the bottle and the fact it was made of pure titanium. I could have either stabbed someone with the lid, or bludgeoned someone over the head with it.
And unless the night went perfectly, it could still be an option,
Up two flights of steps, and along a gangway which felt barely stable, we stopped in front of a door, which showed our own reflections back at us. I’d dressed down. Simple pair of black dress pants, white business shirt and leather jacket. All my tattoos were covered, and I was weaponless.
We waited there, for what seemed to be an eternity, before the door clicked open and one of the biggest fuckers, I’d ever seen took up the whole doorway.
“Kazumi, from Takada clan, to see Yamota–San.” One of the men by my side said, in a voice which conveyed the fear they had of the bigger man. “He is expected.”
I swear in the torrent of Japanese which was spewed from the big man in front of me, I heard some colorful cuss words and bit my lips between my teeth, to stop myself from laughing.
“You two can fuck off.” The big man spat, stepping to the side. “Kazumi, get your ass inside. Now.”
I stepped forward, past the big man and into an office, while opulent like Yuka’s, screamed cheap. I waited as the security guard passed another wand over me and stepped back. “He’s good, sir.”
“Of course,
he is. He listens to his Master.”
I let the comment roll off my back and bowed, holding out the bottle of sake, in front of me. “Yamota–san. A pleasure. Thank you for allowing me to return home to my brother’s wedding.”
The bottle was plucked from my hands by the security guard, and I put my arms down next to my body, as I waited, gaze still on the floor. While I may not have been born into the clans, I had been trained from a young age in how to respect those in a higher position than me.
“You may sit.” I nodded and stood straight, taking myself to one of the seats in front of Sana Takada and sat stiffly in it, while his guard offered him the sake. “Thank you Doi.”
Do Mountain.
That was fitting.
I looked back to the man who had allowed me into his office. The voice that came from him did not fit the man who sat in
front of me.
While my boss. Yuka Takada still looked incredibly young and virile for his sixty–eight years.
Sana Yansota looked like a shriveled prune, at fifty–six. The only black hair on his head was sporadically scattered through his busy eyebrows and he rose one as he took in my appearance, a wry smile coming to his lips. “Alexander Kazumi. The legendary ghost of the Takada Clan”
1 kept my mouth shut and Sana looked at the bottle in his hands.
“This must have put Yuka–san out considerably. Sana grinned, showing yellowed teeth and I had to hold back a snort, the knowledge Yuka had two more bottles sitting there, gathering dust. “He must think very highly of you.
with
Sana pur
the bottle to the side and nodded at Doi. The big man turned and walked to a chair in the corner of the room and sat, bringing a pistol to his lap, the barrel pointed right at me.
Yeah this was the part I didn’t like.
Being in a rival club, surrounded by guns, with no way to get out in one piece. I knew I would be able to get out, I just didn’t know what part of me would survive. Yamota’s men had a nasty habit of taking fingers and toes or breaking knees. I quite
liked all those things
“Humour me. Kazumi. “
1 gulped
This wasn’t part of the deal I wasn’t supposed to sit and chat. I was supposed to deliver the sake, then go to my hotel room
and sleep, before I had to do the niceties tomorrow with family. But I nodded, “Sir.”
*How many rival clan members have you dispatched? Doi tells me, you’ve got quite the record.” Sana smirked and my gaze flicked from the man in front of me, to the one sitting off to the side, before returning to the older man
“I am unsure.”
“You don’t keep a tally?”
“Not really, you lose count, after the first fifty.” I replied, looking back at Doi for a moment. The bigger man smirked and nodded but didn’t say anything.
“Cocky answer, but I will let it slide.”
“Sir.” I bowed my head slightly, before looking at Sana again.
“So, tell me, how long has it been, since you set foot in Miami?”
It was no secret I’d grown up here. My brother, my parents and have moved on “Uh, it has been ten years, sir.”
“Ten years.” Sana watched me and an uneasiness came over me.
my grandparents still lived in the area. I was the only one to
I’d learned in my line of work and who I worked for that uneasiness was never a good thing.
“And are you planning on returning, after this four–day trip?”
“Not in a hurry. Maybe only to see to my parents when they pass.”
“Ah, yes. Your parents. Genki and Maria Kazumi.”
My stomach dropped to my feet.
Fuck How the hell had he found out who they were? I guess it wasn’t that fucking hard. There were not many with the last name Kazumi in America to start with, let alone in Miami And with the mixed–race makeup of my family, my mom being American and dad being Japanese, it wouldn’t take much to figure it out. Plus, with the fact he’d asked about me, in his call with Yuka, they probably had a file on me, somewhere in this dingy ass club,
“Are they well!”
I blinked and lifted my chin slightly. “Last time I spoke to them, they were. Sir.”
“Good, good. Would hate for something to happen, before the wedding. “My jaw clenched and Sana smirked as he leaned back in his chair. “If you catch my meaning.
“Of course.” I growled between my teeth, and I heard the click of the pistol, as Doi flicked off the safety. I lazily flicked my gaze to him, trying to keep my cool and he smirked at me. “I would not want that either.”
“I hear the hotel you’re staying at has everything you need. There’s no need to stray from it, unless absolutely necessary.”
I knew what he was implying.
If I stepped out of line during my stay, the consequences would be severe and swift. Which meant, I would be watched carefully while I was here. Spending the least amount of time with my family would be the best option. I would not be leaving the hotel room, bar to see them tomorrow and then for the wedding on Saturday. My flight left at ten on Sunday morning. I would make sure I was on it, and I would kiss Miami goodbye pretty much for the rest of my life.
“Sir.” I replied calmly, looking back to Sana and I heard the click of the pistol as Doi put the safety back on. Fuck, the sooner I got out of here, the better, before I said something I shouldn’t.
“Good. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I am going to enjoy this sake with my head of security,”
“Sir.”
I stood slowly and waited for Doi to come to my side, before I turned, and he led me out of the room and back onto the gangway “Look forward to seeing you at the annual fight, Kazumi.”
The door closed with a firm thud behind me, and I closed my eyes, inhaling deeply. If that big fucker was going to be at the fight, I’d have to train more. I was the current champion and wasn’t going to lose my title to Doi. Not when his boss had literally just threatened my parents lives.
“You done?”
I looked at the pair who had brought me up to Sana and nodded. “Yes,”
Alex
“We’ll walk you out
As we walked back through the club. I could feel no less than a dozen pairs of eyes on me.
I was literally a sitting duck, until I stepped out of the club and into the street, and even then, I wouldn’t have put it past one of Sana’s underlings to try and take a pop shot. Especially if they knew who I was, regardless of the fact I was now allowed into the territory, as long as I didn’t conduct any clan business. My blood pooling into the gutter would be their ultimate trophy.
Stepping out into the night air had me inhaling deeply and I turned, bowing slightly to the two men who had seen me out. They returned it and turned, heading back inside.
Sighing. I turned and headed toward my hotel. I was so fucking done.
I needed a good stiff drink and time to prepare to see my family tomorrow.
