84- Alex
the We watched as the soldiers from Eguchi carried Yuka out of the basement and off into a waiting car to be taken to hospital, and I waited until I was sure they were gone, until I started to complain
“Fuck, he didn’t have to hit me so hard.” I winced, as I held the ice pack to the back of my neck. “I owe him a black eye for
that shit”
*And he’ll happily take it.” Sota replied, “How’s your head?”
“Feels like a two–hundred–and–sixty–pound Japanese bodyguard whacked me on the back of the head with a gun.” Sota chuckled and my pain. “Oh wait. He did.”
“He played his part perfectly.”
That he did
When we realized it wasn’t the Ikeda who was causing the trouble in the Takada territories, Aoto had the bright idea to come up and trick whoever was responsible into showing themselves, by carefully voicing his disquiet about Yuka and his leadership
And low and behold… we had a bite.
Beiji
But the sly little bastard was careful about what he said, and never named who was employing him, just that if Aoto played his part, there would be a tidy sum in it for him.
I never, for a second, doubted the big man’s loyalty.
He was so protective of not only me, but of Joey as well, and he knew, unless something changed, she would always be in danger. So, he had liaised with Reiji and come up with an elaborate plan to get to Yuka, because he was always the main subject.
But something changed.
When Aoto told me there were credible threats of Joey being taken too.. I almost called it all off, just to make sure she wasn’t hurt. Until Aoto told me if anything ever happened to her, he would be in the best position to get her out of danger, because they trusted him.
I just hoped he was right, and he still held their favor, because if he didn’t then they would be in deep trouble.
“Has Oliver managed to find the tracking dot?”
Sota looked down at his phone. “He said give him another five. They’re struggling to pinpoint it. There must be some sort of shielding on the vehicles they’re in.”
I didn’t doubt there would be. Jake was just as savvy with tech as Oliver.
“Let me know when he’s found something.”
Sota nodded and I looked around the room, hoping Jake might have left something behind, which might tell us what his plans were. But it was no use. There was nothing.
Sighing. I walked back over to Sota, who looked at me and grinned. “We’ve got them, Oliver managed to ping Jake’s phone. No pickup on the tracking dot though.”
I frowned, worried something might have happened to Apto “It’s the best we have. Let’s go.”
Running up the steps, I walked out of the house and into the early morning. There was a car waiting for us and we climbed in. Sota sat in front, while the driver took directions from him. We left Lake Las Vegas and moved back toward Henderson, and something niggled in the back of my mind.
Why would Jake risk going back to Henderson?
I pulled out my phone and dialed Oliver.
“Alex? Are you okay?”
“Bump on the back of the head, from Aoto, but I’m okay.
“I told ham not to hit you too hard.”
“Yeah, well he knocked me out. But that’s not why I am calling. Can you do me a favor? We haven’t got the tracking dot but are following Jake’s phone.. but something seems wrong. Pull up Reiji’s.”
I could hear tapping on the other end of the line. “Are you thinking they split up?”
“That, or they’ve sent Jake’s phone with someone else. He always was a deceitful little shit.”
–
“Ok. give me a minute.” It was a very fucking long minute and as I opened my mouth to say something, Oliver came back to me. “Well, looks like your hunch is right. They’ve split up. Reiji is headed toward Vegas.”
I leaned forward and tapped the driver on the shoulder. “Pull over.”
He did and as the car came to a stop. I climbed out and walked back to the other vehicles, which were following us. The drivers stepped out and gathered around me and Sota, who, like a puppy, followed me. “Right, Reiji and Jake have split up. Hirano clan, you continue to follow Jake’s phone.”
Sota stepped forward and gave the tracking information to the driver, who put it into his GPS unit, before stepping back behind me.
“Namura clan, I want you with us. I have a feeling they might have sent Jake’s phone on a trip and Jake is with Reiji. So, we’re going to need the backup.”
The drivers nodded and headed back to the cars and the Hirano clan drove off. I turned and went back to the car and climbed in, Sota climbing into the back, and we headed off again, the Namura clan following us
This could be totally wrong. Jake could possibly be heading back to Henderson. But something told me he was thinking of the bigger picture, and how to get the hell out of Nevada, or even just to hide. There was nowhere really that he could hide in Henderson. Not now that the clans knew who he was, or what he’d done.
The phone rang and I answered it, putting it on speakerphone. “Ollie what’s up?”
“Yuka is in surgery. He’s lost a lot of blood, but the doctors said there was a p kit.”
“A what?”
puncture wound to his arm… from a transfusion
“Blood transfusion kit. Someone gave Yuka blood. The doctor said if he hadn’t received it, he wouldn’t have made it.” My stomach dropped to the floor. Joey….
She ga
gave Yuka blood. But from where?
“Fuck Joey would have given Yuka her blood, which means she will be weak. Lethargic..”
“Shit. Well, I’d hurry up. If she doesn’t get help soon, she might not make it.”
Thanks man Keep me up to date with Yuka”
Will do
The line clicked and I turned looking at Sota, who frowned. “And you thought she wasn’t tough enough for this life.”
I turned back to the front and hung my head, and as we headed toward Vegas, I just hoped I was right, because I knew if I wasn’t Joey was in a ton of shit.
