The Bronto had sped up the on ramp on the thruway. Kari could not hear the motor, Andrew’s chatter, or the ambience of the city night. She had only heard a ringing noise begin to swell with her heartbeat. Finally, being forced to do the one thing she had spent years running from had reopened past wounds. The smell of gun smoke was intoxicating as it had only forced her to think of that day.

“Are you going to be alright?” Andrew’s voice pierced through the noises in her head.

“Yeah,” Kari muttered after waving her hand past her face. “I feel like I’m overdosing on adrenaline.”

“I didn’t think something like this would happen. There’s something off about this entire ordeal.”

“What were you doing at the Castle,” she asked while trying to remain calm. “How did you know they were going to be there?”

“I didn’t,” Andrew shrugged and started to slowly merge the vehicle back into traffic. “I had been speaking with Fabricio and he said you were doing a pickup. A Friday night pickup is not something the boss does, ever.”

Kari shook her head and replied, “What now?”

“I need to get this car off the road. How much is even in that bag?”

“I dunno, five hundred?”

“Five hundred dollars?”

“Five hundred thousand,” she corrected him. “Where to?”

The beat up Bronto continued down the road with it’s rear bump barely hanging on. Andrew tried to go with the flow of traffic. The darkness of the night barely masked the bullet holes that had been punched into the side of the car.

“We’re going to Isamu’s, we have to finish the drop and hope we still have jobs,” Andrew quickly declared after weighing the options. “Everything about this is fucked.”

They had avoided the authorities for the remainder of the drive. By now, it was a little over an hour from midnight. The night had cast a veil over them while they made the approach to Isamu’s mansion. Much of the traffic had started to wind down near that end of the city. By now, most of the roads had appeared desolate while the bars had started to fill up.

Shortly after, the car had exited the thruway and made its approach towards the mansion. The roads had led them past numerous high-class neighborhoods and patrol cars still on the street. They had been fortunate to not raise any red flags, but Andrew had felt some confidence about being able to keep a low profile.

After getting to the estate, Kari had begun to feel off put by the lack of activity on the outside. Normally, the outside lights would be shining on the lawn while a few guards kept doing their routes. Instead, the mansion appeared deserted during the approach. It had stood in the moonlight, giving off a haunting aura.

“This isn’t right.” Andrew muttered.

“I hope he’s alright,” Kari replied while scanning the front lawn. “What’s the game plan?”

Andrew had brought the vehicle to a stop just in front of the main gate. Aside from the lack of activity, there had not appeared to be any damage to the property or any signs of a break-in. He finally killed the engine and slowly pulled his pistol from its holster.

“Let’s keep staggered,” he said. “If Joutoro was ballsy enough to try and attack us in public, who knows what’s waiting inside.”

“Alright, I’ll keep you covered.” She replied.

The two cautiously exited the vehicle and approached the front gate, keeping a few yards from each other. Kari could only feel the chill from the night air greeting her sweat drenched clothes. Her teeth slowly began to chatter while her body began to shiver.

“It’s open,” Andrew hissed over to her after examining the front gate. He grabbed the handle on the front and pulled it towards them. The metal of the hinges leak out a loud squeak that caused him to wince. “Keep close.”

The walk up had been especially quiet. The dogs in the pen around back had been unresponsive and the motion sensors had not been triggered on the approach. As soon as they made it to the front door, Andrew turned back to her and waved his gun.

“You go around the side; I’ll go in the front.” He whispered to her. Kari found the side door and the scenery had not been much of a change from what they had seen so far. The patio and the tables set up for the dinner guests had remained intact along with the side door. She stepped over to the side entrance and had been alarmed to see it unlocked as well.

The inside of the house was pristine like usual. Everything from the living room to the kitchen had remained in place. After the two had made a clean sweep of the entire mansion, they had gathered in the kitchen. The two had taken positions on the opposite ends of a large marble countertop that had practically divided the room in two.

“Was the boss planning on going anywhere tonight?” Kari asked.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“He isn’t the one to do surprise trips,” Andrew replied. He placed his pistol down on the counter and started to rub the sweat beading off his forehead. “Something definitely happened here.”

“Something bad,” she stopped after hearing a small buzzing sound. In the middle of the countertop, a small flip phone had lit up and began to vibrate its way towards her. “Who’s phone?”

“Answer it.”

Kari bent over the top of the large marble counter between them to grab the device. She could see a small lcd screen on the front with the word “restricted” displayed. After opening the phone and placing it up to her ear, she had been greeted to silence.

“Who is this?” she finally asked.

“Back in the game, I see,” the man on the other end of the line said to her. Kari’s right eyebrow had raised while she listened. “What did you do to Joutoro?”

“Brian,” Kari laughed before pulling the phone away from her face and pressing the speaker button. Andrew quickly lifted the gun off the counter and began to make another sweep of the area. Kari continued, “If you want to know, I blew his fucking head off.”

“Really taking it to the next level, huh?”

“Where’s Isamu?”

“He’s going to be alright, but maybe I can give him the same treatment.”

“If you hurt him, I’ll do the same to you times a hundred you mother fucker,” she had started to raise her before repeating, “now where is he?”

“Patience, I can assure you Mr. Hinobu is safe,” Brian continued before letting out a soft chuckle under his breath. “Does he know you killed his wife?”

Kari paused to take a long breath of air to try and ease some of the tension. She continued to trail Andrew with her eyes as he made his way around the counter towards her.

Brian spoke again, “Are you there?”

“I’m here,” she groaned back to him. “I’ve had a long night, so if you want to get this over with, let’s do this.”

“Exactly what I wanted to hear. I know you and blondie are together.”

“What do you want?” Andrew spoke up after leaning onto the phone.

“You got a bag with you. I know there’s a lot of money in it, and I want it,” Brian declared after letting out a quick snort. “We can talk Isamu after you bring it to me.”

“Where?” Kari asked.

“That’s the fun part,” Brian replied. “I’m not a fan of two on one death matches, so I want you to meet me alone. Just you, Kari.”

“Where?” she repeated while the phone started to tremble in her hand.

“There’s an old payphone at the Howell Park that is still in commission. You have one hour to get there. At midnight, I’m calling that phone. After that, I’m going to give you another location to go, just so we can make sure you’re not being followed. We’re going to play a little game. If you don’t answer, game over. If I see Blondie or that piece of shit Bronto he keeps driving, game over. Don’t forget the money, and don’t be late. You got that?”

“I got it.”

“Don’t get all pissy with me,” Brian hissed before repeating, “you got that?”

“I’ll be there.”

The line had went silent. Kari slipped the receiver on the phone back into place while reaching towards the handbag to stash it away. At the same time, Andrew began to nervously pace back and forth between her and the sink.

“This is a trap.” Andrew said.

“I know it’s a trap, but we have to do something or Isamu is going to die,” Kari snapped back. She brushed her hand across her sweaty forehead before finally placing the bag on the counter. “I don’t think he wants the money. I’m willing to bet there a contract out for us.”

“No way, I’ve been in this circuit for years and not once has you or your alias come up.”

She turned to face him and asked, “If there is anything you know that you’re not telling me, now is the time.”

“Damn it,” he shouted before turning back to her. “I enjoy this life and I’m not about to throw it out the window to carry out some revenge plot! If I wanted to kill you, believe me, I would have done it ten times over already.”

The two had went silent once more, only causing Andrew to shake his head. Before he could even think of apologizing, she had sighed and placed her hand over eyes.

“I’m sorry,” Kari cut him off. “I know you’re on my side. I don’t think sometimes.”

“Look, I know you’re worked up, you’re really fucking pissed off,” Andrew said as he raised his hands towards her to try and calm her down. “We can still fix all of this. If you’re going to Howell Park, you need to catch a cab or something. Brian says the rules are I can’t show up.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I have a two-way radio in my car, it’s got an ear piece. We’re going after him, but I need you to wear it. In the meantime, I’m going to listen in and see where he is trying to lead you. I’m not going to let him hurt you, and we’re going to get Isamu back.”

“What happens after that?”

“We go for the bait and switch,” Andrew reached over towards her pack and pulled it towards him. After opening up and looking at the money inside he began to start stacking the money on the counter. “We’re not giving that asshole this entire score. We just need something to hand over for now, so I’m going to put some books in here so when he feels the weight they don’t think it’s off.”

“What if he looks inside?”

“We’ll put a few stacks on top and just hope they don’t start digging.”

“Alright then,” Kari started to scratch her face as a nervous bead of sweat started to roll down it. “What if they do start digging?”

“We have to hope they don’t.”