Kari’s experience with adrenaline and the constant fear of death had not compared to this night. Everything following the pickup had been nothing but pure chaos. She had started to make sense of the events but had still felt there was something missing.

Why would Kurisu kidnap Isamu? Why now? She had begun to ask herself many questions that she could only hope would be answered by this meeting. There was not much she could figure out on her own. The drive over had made her continue to repeat the events in her head. By now, Andrew had driven her a few blocks away from the club. He had finally brought the vehicle to a stop in a small alleyway and took a moment to brief her.

“Alright, this is how this will work,” Andrew declared as he turned over towards the bag. He started to shuffle through the wads of cash and paperback books in the bag before grabbing the C4 charge. After flipping the toggle switch on the top, the red led over the top of the charge had started to shine. “It’s armed now. The range on the remote only goes a kilometer, so you can’t let her get too far away.”

“What if Isamu is there?” Kari replied.

“You know, I don’t think he will be. Use your best judgement.”

Kari nodded and started to reorganize the contents of the bag to ensure the explosive device remained concealed. She reached for one of the books and opened to a blank page on the front before tearing it from the binder.

“Do you have a pen?” she asked.

“Glove box,” he replied. Once she had reached inside the glove box to retrieve the pen, she began to write on the blank page. “What’s that for?”

“Kurisu.”

“Are you scared?”

“Yeah.”

“Kari,” Andrew reached over and gently grabbed her hand as he spoke. “I really did not want this to happen. I tried everything to keep this from going south, and I would have told you to run if I had the slightest hint that this was going to happen.”

“It’s ok,” she said before turning up to face him. “I really appreciate you saving me back there. Not just from Joutoro, but I hated it on that farm. I wanted to turn things around, but after tonight I think this was for the best. I’ll never be at peace for what happened before, but I think if I save Isamu, it will be over.”

Andrew reached up towards her face as a tear started to bead up in her eyes. He gently brushed it aside and smiled at her. Kari reached up and pulled his hand down into her lap before lowering her head. The silence had become deafening at this point.

“After all this is over, things are going to change for the better.” Andrew assured her. He did not have much else to say. Seeing her visibly stressed and starting to open to him was jarring to say the least.

“I’m going inside now.” Kari said as she finally closed the pack and opened the door. Andrew remained silent as she exited the vehicle to begin walking towards the club. The night sky had been glowing from the excessive lighting of the city. Not a star could be seen above as she approached her destination.

Kurisu’s club was an underground establishment. The front entrance contained a large sign which read “Shang-Ri La” which had emitted a green glow. Beneath it was a large staircase that led down towards the front door. Once she started to make her way down, she began to clench her Glock in preparation for what had lied beyond. Upon arriving at the front door, she had taken notice of a small security camera pointing at her.

She stopped to take a deep breath before finally grabbing the handle on the front door. After a small nudge, she found the door was unlocked. Instead of creeping through, she rammed her shoulder into the center and forced her way past it. The inside of the club had barely been lit by the interior lights. The floor was still cluttered from the party that had taken place hours earlier. Across the floor were small catwalks with poles—one of the few strip clubs in the city and one she knew Isamu would have wanted to get a hold of.

She found herself zig zagging between tables with her pistol still drawn while she started to search for any signs of Kurisu. By the time she started to make her way past the stages, the door behind over in the back behind the bar had started to open. She immediately took a knee behind one of the catwalks and pointed her pistol towards the opening.

“You’re really jumpy,” Kurisu’s voice rang out of the loudspeakers hanging from the ceiling. “Lower your weapon, it’s embarrassing.”

Kari started to rise from cover and cautiously approach the door. The moment she stepped behind the bar she was greeted with the faint smell of gasoline. After poking her head through, she paused and turned back to cover after seeing darkness.

“What are you planning?” Kari shouted into the opening.

“Kari, I’m here!” Isamu shouted to her. She had gone against the gut feeling—she had been telling herself to turn back but chose to rush into the darkness. The smell of gasoline started to become more pronounced in the dark room. Right as she started to gag, the lights in the room had been flipped on. She raised her pistol ahead only to be greeted by dozens of guns pointed at her.

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There was a gunman at every angle with pistols drawn and pointed towards her. She could not imagine a way out of this situation. Kurisu had emerged from between a few of the men wearing a blue school blazer and flannel skirt. In her right hand, she had held a silver Kahr 9mm pistol. It was the usual weapon she had chosen for her more up close and personal assassinations. To Kari’s left, she had taken notice of a bright red mop of hair starting to approach.

“Hey Kari,” Tina called out to her. She casually approached and grabbed the handbag off Kari’s shoulder before cradling it in her arms. She smiled and continued, “Looks like you did a good job keeping the money safe.”

“You sold us out.” Kari said to her.

“No, she didn’t,” Isamu called out. The sound of his voice alarmed Kari and the others in the room. He had been sitting across the room behind a table, still dressed in the same suit he had worn earlier. Before continuing, he stood up and started to walk over to Kari. Instead of his usual jolly smile, his face had been filled with conviction. “I planned this. I know all about your exploits with the Masaru Crime Syndicate. You tried to kill me.”

Kari lowered her head. She had found herself trying to keep her mind away from it. Isamu and Kurisu started to approach with a few of the men to surround her.

“I did.” Kari muttered under breath.

“You failed. Instead of taking me, you took the one and only person I loved.” Isamu said again.

“Did you know about her role in this operation?” she snapped back before pointing to Kurisu.

“I know she was a member of your rag tag team, which you’ve done a good job taking out for me.”

Kurisu had kept the same wicked smile on her face as she stared at Kari. The sadistic side of her was something Kari had known about, and she would not have second guessed Kurisu trying to sell out the whole team.

“I know you would never forgive me, but I tried everything to make it right.” Kari said to him.

“Everything,” Isamu hissed. “I lost everything. You have killed so many people in your rampage, why have remorse now? Have you even thought about that day since?”

“I have,” Kari raised her head to him as a few tears started to stream down her face. “I took an oath to never shoot again. It is the one thing I wish I could have prevented. Every day I think of you holding her. That feeling is something I’ve never been able to shake. Everywhere I turn, I see something that reminds me of Patricia.”

“Don’t say her name,” Isamu shouted, cutting her off before swinging towards her face with an open palm. The slap had knocked her off her balance, but she froze in place. “You spit in my face and try to work under my nose!”

“Please, stop.”

Isamu balled his hand into a fist and struck her across the face once more, this time causing her to fall to the floor. He followed up by kicking her directly in the solar plexus, knocking the wind out of her. By now, she had been devastated both physically and emotionally. The remote in her pocket to detonate the bomb was only an afterthought. Isamu continued to deliver kick after kick into her.

“Do you want to do the honors?” Kurisu asked him as she presented her pistol to him.

“Kurisu, why?” Kari said, barely managing to get the words out.

“You already ran out on us. Isamu and I are going to take over this city. I’m glad you took out Joutoro and Brian for me because they would have been a problem later down the road.”

“He’ll kill you too.”

“No,” Isamu spoke up as he grabbed the pistol from Kurisu. “She helped bring you to me and get my revenge. The world will be much safer without them around.”

He lifted the pistol to her face, only causing her to seize up again. Kari could not go through pressing the remote, and instead just closed her eyes as he began to pull the trigger. At the last moment, Isamu shifted the gun towards her abdomen and fired a shot. The impact caused her mouth and eyes to shoot open in agony. There was not a scream or hardly a gasp and she cupped the wound.

“It’s time to go,” Tina interrupted them. “We need to clear out so I can call the fire department.”

“Yes,” Isamu nodded. He looked down at Kari while she started to writhe in pain. “I’m going to make sure you suffer just like I did. The difference is, you’re not going to walk away from this. Blondie can’t save you now.”

He handed the weapon over to Kurisu before stepping away. Further back, there was another exit that contained a stairwell which led to the streets above. Tina and the men started to follow, leaving Kurisu and Kari alone. Kurisu bent down to her and gave a quick sigh as she started to crack a smile.

“Well, I guess this is it. I was hoping we would get a final gunfight. I wanted to show you how much I’ve improved. Well, not that you would have stood much of a chance,” Kurisu said softly. “I was kind of hoping to keep the club, but the insurance payout is worth more than any contract on you.”

She slowly stood tall and bent her head down to simmer in the enjoyment of watching Kari suffer. Kari slumped back onto the floor and began to watch everything around her start to blur. Although this had certainly not been the first time she had been shot, this bullet had struck her abdomen and ruptured something. Blood continued to stream from her mouth and the wound while Kurisu started to walk away from her.

“The way of the gun brought you here,” Kurisu stopped and turned back to face her. “You have failed to learn its code, that’s why you are stuck bleeding out. Send Joutoro and Brian my regards.”

She had pulled a matchbook from the pocket of her blazer and grasped it with her finger. After striking one of the matches, the entire book had lit up with it. She finally tossed it behind her, causing a small puddle of gas on the floor to ignite.

“Sayanora, Kari.” Kurisu said before exiting through the back. Kari tried to stand as the fire from the gasoline across the floor started to rapidly approach.