Kari’s white button up t-shirt and khaki pants had ensured that she would be roasted the whole ride over. She had found herself a couple of drinks in before she started to finally get the courage to poke back. Pablo did not take much at all to get him rowdy. The whole gang had been at one of the bigger bars in Paradiso—she had not bothered to look at the name, but had known that the gang always came here once a year. The sounds of Latin Pop and Techno had been off putting, but it was a fresh break from the music-less lifestyle of the farm.

“Hey, they don’t mean anything when they say you’re butch.” Pablo called out, trying to make sure he could be heard over the music.

“Butch, huh? Well, you know what they call a boss in Japanese?” Kari asked them.

“Boss?”

“Bucho.”

The men around the table had lit up, each starting to repeat “bucho” while erupting into a frenzy of snickering at the newfound knowledge. Kari tilted back her glass of beer, quickly finishing it off before slamming it down on the wooden counter.

“Hey, bucho,” another one of the farmers quickly spoke. “Why don’t you get us a round?”

“Alright, one more,” Kari laughed before standing up. She started to fan herself with her hand before snapping her fingers to Pablo and asking, “You got a smoke?”

“You told me not to let you smoke.” Pablo returned.

“I’m nickin’, and I need one. C’mon, give me one and I’ll get the drinks.”

“I think it might cost you more than a drink.”

The table had lit up again with a few howls before following up with laughter. Kari reached across and dipped her hand into Pablo’s front pocket for his pack of smokes. After placing one of the cigarettes into her lips, she casually lit up and tossed the pack in front of him.

“Alright,” she said, letting out a big cloud over the top of their heads. “You guys better be ready for something hard. We gotta be back early.”

More roasting would follow, but she laughed it off. A few steps in, she had started to feel a little dizzy. It was the first drink she had had in months and the first in the city in years. Walking through the bar and seeing the skyline on the outside had given her a chill. From here, she could see one of the major landmarks—the Hinobu Castle. It was an fashioned Japanese temple that had been constructed in the middle of town.

It was still under construction the last time she was here, but at first glance she could see that it was already open to the public. Once again, she started to think of Isamu holding Patricia in tears. She took another long drag and continued over to the bar. The music continued to blare while the bartender continued to work on his tips. After noticing her, he quickly flashed a smile and stepped over.

“Hey there, what can I get you?” He asked quickly.

“I need six shots of jack for me and the gentlemen at the table.” She replied.

“Make that seven,” a familiar voice had interrupted them. Kari felt her heart skip a beat once she had turned to the source. She had made out a man in a suit with shiny blonde hair. It was Andrew. He started to approach her with a smile, continuing with, “On me, of course.”

He flashed a smile to her, which she had returned with a quick gasp. The two shared an awkward silence, leaving her in a drunk stupor while trying to think of something to say.

She finally asked, “How did you find me?”

“I come here to do a pick-up every week. I wasn’t expecting you here,” Andrew had drawn closer, keeping a few feet between them as he began to address her. “I have been trying to keep my nose clean. So, what brings you here?”

“I don’t want any trouble.”

“Wow, first thing you say to me in years and you think I’m sour?”

“I’m sorry,” she said to him, shaking her head before trying to take another drag from her cigarette. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here. It wasn’t my idea to come here, my friends come here once a year and they talked me into coming. We were just about to leave.”

“Wait up,” he said. “Things are different now. The Masaru isn’t around anymore. You know, you haven’t done anything that would warrant any retaliation.”

“That’s assuring.”

“So, what are you doing for work now?”

“Farming,” she replied. The bartender had already poured the shots and moved the tray over to them. “It’s not the best, but it’s honest work.”

“It looks like you got a lot of sun too.”

Kari laughed and reached over for the tray to motion him over. After giving him a quick cue, the two started to move back towards the others. There was a few cheers from Pablo and the others as they eyeballed them carrying the shots.

“Looks like Mel picked up a friend!” one of the men shouted.

“Hey,” Pablo shouted, enraged before slamming his fist against the table. “It’s bucho.”

“Bucho!” they all shouted together.

“Alright guys, let’s get drinking. Drinks are on the handsome blonde.” Kari said to them, giving Andrew a nod before scurrying into the rotation. They all had let out a collage of different reactions after choking back the shots.

“Hey, he bought us a round, you still owe us one!” another exclaimed. Pablo had stepped in and gone back and forth in Spanish with him.

Kari looked back to Andrew and said, “They’re a handful.”

Andrew gave her a nudge and leaned in to give her a quick whisper. Right as he started to walk away, Kari turned back to the crew and forced herself to crack a smile.

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“This is an old friend, I need a minute,” she said again. More cheers started to echo from the table, prompting her to flash a smile to Andrew. “Shall we?”

The two started to make their way across the bar towards an empty booth in the corner. The top of the booth had been covered with random splotches of beer and ash from the last guests.

“I think I’m gonna have to let the boss know they’re not keeping the place that clean.” Andrew said after reaching over towards some napkins. He brushed down the top of the wooden plank before gesturing to Kari to take a seat.

“Are you a bar manager or something?” Kari asked while she plopped down into the booth.

“No,” Andrew said, remaining conscious of his suit before sitting across from her. “I do pick-ups here. Was pretty stoked to see you had walked in.”

“Cut the crap, Andrew. How did you know I was here?”

“Well,” he reached into his breast pocket for a cigarette. After she had reached over to snatch one out of the pack, he casually placed the smoke in between his lips and started fumbling around for his zippo. “Let’s just call it a coincidence.”

“What do you want from me?”

“I just wanted to have a smoke. Tell me, what are you doing these days?”

“Living the life.”

“Let me guess, out in the country somewhere?”

“I’m leaving now,” Kari placed the cigarette on the table and started to stand up before he had reached over to her. “I’m not looking for trouble.”

“Sit down and just calm down for a bit,” he hissed over to her. “I don’t give a shit about the Masaru Crime Syndicate, and I don’t want to start trouble.”

“Then what?” she replied after taking a seat once more.

“What’s the money like where you live now?”

“Good.”

He let out a quick chuckle and started to knock his fist against the table in rhythm with the music playing over the bar’s sound system.

Kari shook her head and quickly muttered, “It sucks.”

“Your roommates seem jolly,” He said after taking another drag of his cigarette. The two had peered over to the other table to see Pablo and two of the others doing a mock catwalk. Andrew shook his head and continued, “I’m being serious. I don’t think the old crew got along this well.”

“It wasn’t exactly that kind of work.”

“Do you miss it?”

The question had hit hard. Sure, she had not worried about facing death every day. It took her a moment to try and process a proper response. Andrew had a way with words that puzzled her. Each question felt as if he was staring directly into the back of her mind.

“I swore by blood I wouldn’t fire a gun ever again.” She repeated the same oath aloud.

“Yeah, I know,” Andrew exclaimed before taking another lengthy drag and staring out the window towards the castle. “The Way of the Gun, Houshido. All that nonsense doesn’t have any weight in this line of work. Also, you didn’t answer my question.”

“When I spend weeks on end having to work through the field,” she stopped short to lift the cigarette form off the table and light up. “I do think about it, and I do miss it; but I can’t do that anymore.”

“Slow down there, kiddo. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. You know that I’ve been doing a lot of leg work as a courier for the last few years.”

“Sounds like shit.”

“Beats farming.” He shot back, causing her to bite her lip. Kari shook her head before taking another drag and enjoying the sudden rush of dopamine.

“So what about the old crew, do they care that you bailed?”

“Nobody bailed, everything just fizzled out.”

Kari had been receptive to much of what he had to say. Following her leaving, the Masaru Crime Syndicate had plunged into chaos—leaving room for other gangs to take over the city. Nobody had managed to get a stronghold quite like what they had before. The amount of money that had been pumped into the city had only hindered most crime operations.

“What happened to Kurisu?” Kari had felt a slight sense of awkwardness saying her name after all these years.

“She runs some club over on the Red Light District. You know, she was really eaten up when you quit. Hell, even Brian and Joutoro practically disappeared off the face of the Earth.”

“What about you?”

“Well, I cried myself to sleep every night for a few months,” he jokingly stated after letting out a huge cloud of smoke over his head. “I tried to get some more ‘legit’ work if you will.”

“What are you transporting?”

“Money,” he slowly began to stamp out the embers of his cigarette into a small clay ash tray between them. “Most importantly, the type that people like to keep hidden. You know how it is, the IRS wants to make sure they know where all the extra money goes, and sometimes we skim a little off the top.”

“God forbid you forget to steal.” She interrupted him.

“God forbid.”

“So, why are you telling me all this?”

“Because we need an extra hand, and you are the best gun in the west. You know how to take control in tough situations. We need that.”

Kari pondered the thought of going back into the life and then muttered, “I’m sorry, I can’t do that.”

“Kari,” Andrew stopped himself short and took a double take towards the other table. “I know you’re still eaten up over what happened that day.”

“Is it that obvious?”

“Do you know how many bullets I’ve shot from my gun on this job? Zero. Fucking nil, nada, none. This isn’t the wild west, and there’s no substantial crime organization that would have the muscle or even the balls to try and step in on this. You know how much money I make?”

“I couldn’t guess.” She snapped back, shrugging before extinguishing the cigarette between her fingers. Andrew pulled another from the pack to offer her, but she had waved it away.

“Much. I’ve never had to do anything like what we were doing before and I never have to worry about money. Never had to shoot a gun, never had my ass chewed, and I never had to stay in a corn field all day.”

“It’s an avocado field.”

“Do you want to worry about making sure you have the rent for the rest of your life or enough for a harvest? C’mon, think about it. We’re harvesting money, and this shit has a paper trail. I’ve never had the IRS or any of those dick bags in D.C. in my business.”

The offer had been tempting, but she refrained from giving a nod of approval while he continued with his speech. Instead of dismissing him outright, she started to indulge him.

“Who’s the employer?” she inquired.

“We like to keep on a need-to-know basis. When you’re moving dough, people tend to be quiet.” He replied firmly.

“I like quiet.”

“Payment happens after every job.”

“What’s the payout?”

Andrew smirked before lighting up another cigarette and saying, “It’s juicy.”