86–Alex
The phone rang in the car and Sota reached across, pressing the button on the steering wheel. “What do Hirano?”
you have,
My stomach leaped into my throat, as we waited for the reply. “Alexander–san, you were right. We caught up with the car which had Jake’s phone. He wasn’t in it, and after a couple of punches the driver admitted Jake and Reiji went the other way, with Aoto, and a white girl.”
“Good job.” I said and Sota hung up. “Sota, get Oliver on the phone.”
Sota dialed Oliver and the car speaker picked up. “Alex?”
“Have you had a ping on the tracking dot yet?”
“As of five minutes ago, we hadn’t, but let me check.” There was a bit of a pause. “Yes! We have. It’s moving pretty damned quickly too, through dense bushland, by the look of it.”
“Where?” I asked, sitting forward. I picked up the bulletproof vest from the floor next to my foot and started to strap it up. If I was going to be running through bushland, I wasn’t going to go in, without protection.
“Less than a mile from you.”
“We will find them.” I replied, checking my gun.
“Alex, be careful, Reiji’s phone is pretty close to them. Not following directly, but it’s close. Aoto might have lost them.” Fuck, I hoped so. But at the same time, I knew Aoto would not only have injured himself, from the gunshot wound to the shoulder, but he was probably carrying Joey. She had given Yuka blood, she would be fatigued and wouldn’t be too
coherent.
“Oliver, call Hirano and get them to send over a car, with a universal blood pack. If we don’t get blood into Joey, we might lose her.”
“Got it.” He hung up and I sat back, as our driver raced us toward the spot where they were. I didn’t know the first thing about a blood transfusion, but surely, I could read the instructions…
I watched through the windscreen as we drove along, trying to find anything that told us where-” There! Stop that car!” Our driver skidded to a halt, and we stared at the vehicle in front of us, waiting for a few moments, to see if anyone would pop up and take potshots at us. The doors of the vehicle were open, and it seemed abandoned.
I carefully opened my door, at the same time as Sota, and stepped out, keeping my body behind the bullet–proof window and door. I really didn’t want to be shot.
I waited for a few moments.
Pop.
Pop.
I turned my head, listening to the gunshots. “Sota.”
“I heard them.” He said, coming around the back of the car to my side. He looked down at me. “Are you sure you want to go
in there?”
I rolled my eyes and looked at him.
“Yeah, yeah. Okay.” Sota checked his gun and lifted it in a defensive stance, ‘After you, Boss.”
I followed his move, lifting my gun and moved toward the bushes and found an opening. Moving quickly, we both checked every little cove and underbrush we thought would hide someone, before we moved forward. The further we went into the dense scrub, the more nervous I became.
What would I encounter?
Would I be able to handle it if I found Joey hurt?
Or dead?
A couple more gunshots, followed by yelling and both Sota and I slowed our pace.
Setting
15.05
86 Alex
“I fucking knew it was too convenient to have you suddenly become disenchanted with the Takada Clan.” Sota and I ducked down and moved along a set of bushes until a clearing popped up and we saw the scene. Reiji. That little fucker was going to get what was coming to him and more. “But no. Jake said you could be trusted. Fuck that.”
Aoto was on his knees, grimacing in pain, as his hands sat on the back of his head, and he looked up at Reiji… then spat on his
shoes.
Reiji looked down, then stepped forward, pistol–whipping Aoto across the face, opening up the just–healed slice, Joey had stitched up. Aoto’s head snapped to the side, but the big man didn’t wall, instead he turned back to Reiji. “You’re a pussy.”
Reiji dropped his head to his chest. “See, that’s the problem with the Takada Clan. A bunch of big heroes, thinking they are top shit and that they are tough guys. But you know what? You’re not that tough.”
Reiji moved his arm, raising it and lifted the pistol, aiming it at Aoto.
“I just have to decide whether to shoot you in the head, or the heart.”
Before I could even blink, Sota launched himself out of the bushes and ran across the clearing, roaring. Reiji turned, shock and fright on his face, and I watched in horror as Reiji’s gun turned and aimed at my friend.
“Sota!” I screamed, launching from the bushes and ran, trying to get to him, to knock him out of the way but I couldn’t and the gun went off… “Sota!”
Sota stopped in his tracks and looked down at his chest, as Aoto lifted his own injured body and tackled Reiji to the ground and started to pummel him.
“Sota!”
I grabbed the big guy’s arms, just as he started to pitch backward. We fell together, my breaking his fall, and he landed on my chest, winding me. I tried to move, to get myself out from under his big frame, while I also listened to him gasping for
air.
“Sota. Sota. Sota.” I kept repeating. I finally got out from under him, and lay him in the dirt, as I watched blood blossom across the shit shirt. “You big dumb fuck.”
Sota was gasping, his hand scrambling to grip my arm, as he struggled to breathe.
“Get over here!” I screamed, trying to get Sota to put down his arm. I needed to be able to figure out where the bullet had gone. I looked back to Aoto, who still pummeled Reiji. “Aoto!
Th big man looked up, rage on his features, punched Reiji once more, then scrambled to Sota’s other side. “Shit, shit, shit, shit.”
“Just hold down his arms.” I said, pulling a flick knife out of my pocket. I sliced open Sota’s shirt, as Aoto held his arms still and opened it. The bullet entry was small but bruised quickly. There wasn’t heaps of blood loss, so I knew it hadn’t hit an artery. It was higher than the average person’s heart, sitting just under his collar and I worried it had lodged in his breastbone. “Aoto, help me roll him a little.”
We rolled Sota a tiny bit, enough for me to look at his back.
“Fuck. It’s still in there.”
We laid Sota back down, and his breathing continued to labor. “Hang in there Sota.”
I pulled out my phone, swearing as it fell from my hands, slick with Sota’s blood. I finally held it steadily and dialed Oliver.
“Alex…”
“Sota’s been shot in the chest. The bullet is still in there. What do I do?”
“Fuck.” Oliver’s reply came. “Where?”
“Upper left quadrant, about an inch below his collar bone. It doesn’t look like it’s a big bullet.”
“Ok, can you just feel the wound see if it might be lodged in his breastbone?”
I put the phone on speaker, then down on the ground. My hand moved to the wound and I looked at Sota. “Sorry about this big guy.”
My finger slipped into the bullet hole, and Sota roared in pain, bucking, before becoming still. I looked at his face, then to Aoto. “He’s out.”
“Good.” I replied. I dug into the wound and closed my eyes. “I can feel the edge of it. But it’s in the bone.”
2/3
86 – Alex
“Right, I have another team on the way. The first one, with the blood for Joey, will take Sota to the hospital. The second team will help you.” Oliver sounded just as stressed as we were. “Who shot him?”
“Reiji.” I said, looking back to the bloody mess that had been Reiji’s face. He wasn’t breathing and I knew Aoto had killed him. Better him than me. “Aoto pummeled him to death. He’s out of the picture.”
There was a pause. “And Jake? Joey?”
I looked at Aoto, who stood and looked down at me. “Go. I’ll take Sota back to the cars.”
picked up my phone and turned, as Aoto lifted Sota to him and I replied to Oliver’s question.
“I’m about to go
and get them.”
