NALEDI’S POV
“H-how?” The man stuttered and it was a comic sight to behold.
My eyes corked in amusement. “Did you miss me?”
That only seemed to scare him further. The older-looking man scrambled to his feet, getting the farthest from me as soon as possible.
“What do you want? Money? Just take whatever you want and leave me alone!”
Now I felt bad. The corner of my lips sagged at his display. “I thought we were friends! I came here thinking we could catch up. I’m hurt.”
An alarmed look clouded his face. “I’m sorry! What did they do to you?!” He looked around, shooting glares at his boys, “Lie down and apologize!”
I felt Ezra’s gaze on me and turned around to meet his eyebrows corked in question. I shrugged in reply before I returned to the matter at hand.
The men were all lying on the floor now, apologizing to me for what I didn’t know. “Rino Martinez, don’t make this harder than it should be. I don’t want trouble, I just want the money you owe the Yakuza clan.”
The last set of words rolled naturally out of my tongue. It’s been a while since I did something like this. I didn’t realise how much I missed the whole thrill of it.
Rino suddenly nodded, then kicked one of the men lying on the floor. “Quick! Go get every single penny in my drawer and hand it over to her! Waste any second and you will pay with your life!” He roared, and the poor boy got up, gulped hard, and rushed into the office.
“Would you like to take a seat? Why the hell did they not welcome you properly?” He looked distressed when he looked at the men in his shop. “Are you trying to get me killed?!”
Then to me, he said. “Please, feel comfortable. It might take a while before the entire thing gets ready. What would you like? Water? Tea? I’ll have it ready in a second.”
I shook my head. “I’m alright. Except my colleague over here wants something.”
Rino Martinez turned the other way, ready to fuss over Ezra who gave me a funny look, cleared his throat, and softly dismissed him.
“I’m fine. Just get the cash and we’ll be out of your hair.”
Rino acknowledged him with fervent nods, before sending some other men to help the other in what I presumed to be the arrangement of the money. All through the fifteen minutes we spent waiting, Rino had lived a total of nine lives.
It was funny and refreshing to see. Throughout my stay there, I forgot every worry I had of the future, and for the first time in a long time, just lived. By the time the money was brought out, I didn’t need to check to know it was complete.
But just for necessity, I took another fifteen minutes to ensure I was going with the full amount. It’d be a shame if I had to kill him after the first class reception he gave to me.
“Complete,” I said after counting the final dollar. “Thank you, Rino. It’ll be a shame if I had to use extreme measures to get them out of you.”
The words seemed to harm what I intended, or perhaps there was a miscommunication because the next thing I knew Rino Martinez was on the floor, kneeling with his hands in the air.
“Please! Spare me!”
Safe to say it took a whole lot of time and explanation to convince Rino Martinez that I wasn’t about to end his life or that of his children. We left there with our money and a smile on my face.
This was the comic relief I didn’t know I needed. I hope I visit here more often. “You definitely didn’t need me to come on this trip,” Ezra remarked passively as the car sped through the city. “Why is he so scared of you?”
I laughed. For the first time in a long time, I fucking laughed my ass out. “Are you sure you want to hear this story?” I asked between laughs.
“From your reaction, I guess it would be one for the money. Hit me.”
I went on to explain to Ezra how I had once met Rino in one of my missions as Attai. At the time, he was still working under a drug lord who did something to piss off Don Yakuza that warranted my skills in taking care of him.
That night, I entered through the windows and met him inside his master’s bedroom, stealing money. Thinking he was my target, I got started with him, tying him to the bed as I ranted the many things I wanted to do to Arturo Morello when I finally got my hands on him.
Pro tip. They were not good things.
What I didn’t know was the fact he thought I was joking. I didn’t blame him, I was a little girl with a lot smaller stature from my lack of proper sleep, care and money. When I realized I got my hands on the wrong person, I had tucked him inside a wardrobe and killed his boss, leaning into my intrusive desires and test-running my plans for Arturo on the man.
After the deed was done, I fled, leaving Rino to deal with the aftermath. I didn’t know the level of damage I had caused until the next time we met. I couldn’t lie and say I didn’t feel a bit of remorse for how badly I had handled that but I wasn’t one to cry over spilt milk.
Rino was a man who learned just what morbid thoughts flowed through my mind during some of the most damaged years of my life, while simultaneously getting a front-row ticket to witness the gore in life action. It did something to him, and definitely made my business with him a lot more smooth sailing.
It was bittersweet that he still reacted to me in such a manner and a part of me that hoped he would have come of it while on my way here was disappointed. The car arrived at the Yakuza estate and I felt a sense of foreboding.
The atmosphere seemed pregnant, and we walked into the house, headed straight for Draken for a situation report. After that, we went through a couple of other things that involved the day-to-day workings of the business.
I was in my ‘office’ going through some files when Ezra suddenly walked in and shut the door behind me. I looked up, ready to sass his ass about waltzing into my space without permission when he said something that had me coughing in disbelief.
“I found out where the shipment would be arriving.”
I blinked, “What shipment?”
“Draken fucking Yakuza.” A smirk. “I got to admit, that bitch is either the silliest man to have walked this planet or the smartest man alive. You will never believe where his shipment is scheduled to dock.”
I was sufficiently hooked. “Moscow,” I said because he seemed to have an obsession with carrying out deals in Russia.
“Close.” Ezra handed a paper slip to me. “Sicily.”
I shook my head, unable to believe it. “Italy?” I looked at the darned paper and sure enough, Ezra had managed to crack the location within one day. “He’s fucking crazy,” I stated, unable to hide my shock.
“Or fucking smart,” Ezra stated. “Think about it, he took food from Caellum’s mouth. It is no surprise that Caellum Morello would be on the lookout for opportunities to get back at him. One shipment for another. Where do you think Caellum would look first if he wants to conduct a shipment heist on the Yakuza?”
“Tokyo. He’ll set ambush right here.” I find myself saying.
“Bingo.”