There was no answer. Not even a voicemail to cry her desperate plea to. Oshun’s chest ached with panic. The more she tried to think of allies that could and would help her, the less she was able to string a coherent thought together. She was the great organizer, and yet when it mattered, she couldn’t come up with a basic plan to save her man.
Heart had called it. She’d counseled Oshun that she couldn’t control everything. And now, when it mattered most, life had chosen this very dark moment to prove that point to her in a perilous way.
M asaki stepped inside of the dimly lit warehouse, calculating his next move. He was strapped, his gun sitting in the small of his back, if he needed it, another secured inconspicuously on his ankle. The cops had tried to stop him from bringing it with him, but an open-carry permit proved to be a valuable thing in situations like these. He’d have to thank Stein for that privilege when he put a bullet in him later.
“Not that big a fan of the new digs, Stein,” Masaki commented. “But, I guess they’ll do in a pinch. Anyone else attending the party?”
Stein stood there in his expensive suit, looking every part the mouthpiece he was. Masaki was pissed with himself that he hadn’t figured the son of a bitch for the rat bastard that he was without Oshun’s help.
There she was again, even when he was seething with anger, she was there in the middle of his thoughts, making everything better. By now, he should’ve accepted that as her role in his life. If he had, maybe the last set of words he’d spoken to her wouldn’t have been in anger.
He rolled his shoulders, trying to release some of the stiffness there. It didn’t matter how foolish he’d been, Masaki knew he had to make things right with her.
The heavy slide of the metal door opening pulled Masaki’s attention away slightly. He watched a hulking figure step inside and slide the door closed again.
About time the undercover cop got here.
As the newcomer neared, the hair on the back of Masaki’s neck stood up. Something was wrong.
The Caucasian man, an inch or two taller than Masaki, stood next to Stein. His bald head and broad chest just added to the menacing picture the stranger presented. From a distance, he looked similar to the undercover detective Lieutenant Smyth had shown Masaki a picture of earlier. But, upon closer inspection, the man’s facial structure was more angular, where the detective’s face was rounded. This was not the same man.
Although this threw an unexpected turn in Masaki’s plan, it didn’t deter Masaki from his goal. If this dude wanted trouble, he was just another body to dispose of when shit went down.
“Who’s your guest, Stein?” Masaki’s voice was calm, with no hint of the alarm he felt zipping through him. He casually moved toward a stack of boxes and leaned on them with his hands folded behind his back, and his ankles crossed. Keeping things calm was the only way to ensure he walked out of here alive.
“This is my new associate in a business venture I’ve recently taken on. His name is Mr. Charles,” Stein replied. “Were you expecting someone else, Masaki? Perhaps the undercover detective you and Ms. Sampson had the police send my way? Fortunately, Mr. Charles recognized the detective from a previous encounter. Otherwise, who knows how this meeting might have turned out.”
Masaki didn’t react. He didn’t allow anything but his objective of getting out of this scenario alive to determine his next move. He could see the expectation in Stein’s eyes. The man was waiting for Masaki to tip his hand. “Not sure that I know what you’re talking about, Stein. Not even sure I really care. Now, this new business venture, that seems like something I should be interested in,” Masaki stated calmly. “Since you work for me, am I getting a cut?”
Stein laughed, and spared a knowing glance to his associate. One that screamed of some secret knowledge that only the two of them shared.
Masaki’s lips bent into a smile too. He chuckled slowly, as he inched his hand around the butt of his weapon, securing it in his grip.
“Mr. Yamaguchi,” Stein continued. “I’m afraid tonight will serve as my notice to rescind my appointment as your attorney. I’ve decided to take on bigger things, such as buying up the land you’d intended to lease from the Brownsville Council, and making a mint on a development deal from the city.”
“Ah, so you plan to cheat me, Stein? That can’t be right. You know how badly a move like that would be for your health. You might want to think about that again.”
Stein shook his head. “I’ve thought about it in depth. The one-point-five billion I stand to make is more than enough to keep me healthy and happy, Masaki.”
Masaki gripped the handle of his gun even tighter, readying himself for the moment he would have to draw his weapon. It was no longer an “if” situation. There was no way Masaki was walking out of here alive if he didn’t set it on the man he once trusted. The cold, blank look of indifference in Stein’s eyes told Masaki this had devolved into a situation where words wouldn’t help.
“Even if I weren’t going to kill you over this, Stein, which I most assuredly am, how do you think you’re going to get away with this? The Brownsville Council is never going to sell to you.”
“Ah, and you would know this since you’re fucking their leader, right?”
A chill ran down Masaki’s spine. Any delusion he had about Stein only wanting him dead was completely erased in that moment. Stein intended both Masaki and Oshun to fall prey to this deal he was making.
Masaki eased the gun out of its holster, knowing he had to be careful, but quick, if he was going to blaze his gun before Stein’s henchman. As it was, Masaki could see the man carefully sliding his own weapon from behind his back.
“I actually approached both your right hands to see if there was a possibility of brokering a deal,” Stein offered. “I mean, I knew you wouldn’t go for it, but I needed to see if she would. I offered both Izzy and Aesop ten million dollars each to either convince the two of you to go along with the sale, or to take you and Ms. Sampson out of the game. Guess what? They each chose to off you and your consort. Imagine my surprise when I realized money could in fact buy loyalty.”
“Too bad it can’t buy you a longer life,” Masaki countered as he raised his gun arm, aiming it at the muscle Stein had hired, taking the large man down with two bullets to the head. Suddenly, Masaki heard return fire. He ducked behind a barricade of boxes, peeking around them to see Stein walking toward his hiding space with a raised revolver.
“You weren’t half the man your father was, Masaki. He would never have made the concessions you’ve made as leader of the Canarsie Yakuza.”
“He also didn’t make as much money as I did either,” Masaki yelled as he continued to watch Stein move closer to his crouched down position. “The more you kill, the less likely people are to do business with you.”
“It doesn’t matter.” Stein’s voice was shaky with excitement. There was no doubt in Masaki’s mind that sick fucker was taking some sort of pleasure in this. “When you’re gone, I make this deal, and take over your leadership. It will all be mine.”
