Kazin

I wake to the burbled sound of deep voices. Somehow, I know to keep my eyes shut. It doesn't work, though.

"Hey, Baku," a silky voice says, "the kid's awake. Time to greet him good morning."

I feel a slim finger with calloused skin thrust my chin upwards.

"Open your eyes," someone says roughly. "The faster we get this over with, the faster we go home."

I continue allowing my head to loll in the desperate hope that they'll believe I'm unconscious. I scream as I feel a stinging pain on the side of my face, and the next thing I know, I'm rolling on the concrete floor, gasping for breath. I try to sit up, but my hands are restrained behind my back by a pair of plasmaCuffs.

"And I feel like going home now," the rough voice coos.

I try to see through the blur of my tears. I can make out the shape of a tall man with broad shoulders bent over me. He is dressed in a black business suit. He has short and messy hair, and a pattern of tattoos works its way up the side of his neck.

"Kashniro's not gonna like the sight of his kid all beat up," says the smooth voice. "Rein it in, Baku." I look over Baku's shoulder and see another man leaning against the wall. His hair is styled, and a cigarette burns in between his fingers. He's wearing several rings.

"Well, Taiki, bit of shock factor in the beginning works wonders, especially on little kiddos like this one," Baku retorts. "Might want to write that down." Baku hauls me up and drops me back into the chair. "Now. Ready to talk?"

I nod frantically as I take in my surroundings. I'm in some sort of shed with rippled walls—most likely soundproofed polycarbonate. There are only two lights: one over my head, and another by the door. I stare at the door desperately, wishing I could escape through it.

"Where's your dad, kid?" Baku growls.

I shake my head. "I don't know." I clench my teeth as he takes a handful of my hair and makes me look into his eyes. One glows slightly red, a sign of bioEnhancement.

"Would you like a kick to the other side of your face? To even things out? It always bothered me when things weren't symmetrical."

Taiki smirks. "Calm down, Baku. You're not talking to some clan grunt. He's just a high schooler."

Baku seems to surrender willingly. As he recedes into the shadows to light himself a cigarette, Taiki emerges into the spotlight. His face is kind, almost pretty, the kind of guy you'd see in a web comic or on the cover of a magazine. He kneels in front of me.

"You'll forgive my rough friend there." Taiki pulls out another cigarette. "For one who has such an affinity for symmetry..." He turns to Baku. "That's why I've been telling you, Baku, you'd be a much happier man if you got your other eye augmented too."

Baku only grunts in reply.

Taiki chuckles and shakes his head. He turns back to me and offers a cigarette. "Would you like one? Might calm your nerves."

"I...I don't smoke."

Taiki shrugs. "Alright, well let's get down to it. We're looking for your father, Kazin. He bailed on a very important meeting—pissed a lot of very important people off. And these important people, well, they don't like being flaked. Too bad Kashniro never considered that we already had eyes on you, kid, the moment he set foot in Byanza Quarter."

Baku roars in laughter. "Even Kashniro makes mistakes sometimes."

Taiki shakes his head. "Grown soft is what happened to him. Spent too much time in the countryside: had a wife, a kid, the whole package. He forgot the ways of the city." Taiki stares deep into my eyes as if searching through my mind. "We know you contacted him just moments before you were taken, Kazin." He draws my cTab from his pocket and dangles it in front of me like raw meat before a dog. "What we would like to know, is what you told him in those moments?"

I take in a short breath. "Why are you looking for him? Who are you guys?"

Taiki chuckles. "Come on, kid. I'm not much older than you, so I'd rather not do this Baku's way, and I'm sure you'd prefer likewise." He smiles at me, almost kindly. "And don't think to lie, either. We have orders to keep you in custody until your dad is located."

"Are you Sangsum's guys?" I try not to let my anger shine through as I say this, but then, does it even matter in my predicament? There's no bargaining or negotiating in my position.

Taiki's face hardens into steel. "Don't test my patience, Kazin."

The room is dead silent. Not even the sounds of the city outside penetrate the shed. I feel uneasy and alone, the latter of which, I guess, I am.

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"I just told him that he was in danger," I finally stammer. "That's it. P-please don't hurt him. He didn't do anything."

"That's it?" Taiki says suspiciously.

I gulp. "That he should skip the meeting."

"And where did you hear this?" Taiki asks. I can sense that this is the question he really wants answered, his main and true objective.

"At the VR café," I reply, attempting to deflect. It was a foolish move, but even now, I want to delay whatever might inevitably follow.

"I told you, dumbass," Baku scoffs. "The kid made the call when he was at Mezi's. Where else would he have heard it?"

"You know that's not what I meant!" Taiki snaps at Baku. He turns back to me, a cold gleam in his eyes, and I feel my insides shrivel under his gaze. "Don’t play with me. Do I have to word it carefully for you too? From whom did you obtain the information which led you to believe that your father was in imminent danger?"

Baku chuckles in the background. "That's more like it."

I feel my dread weighing down the air of the room. "From a kid I know." I hope with all my heart that they don't ask the question that I know will naturally follow, but my hopes are dashed to the ground.

"Name," Taiki growls. There is no longer any hint of gentleness in his voice.

I swallow dryly. "Vorin."

"Vorin?" Baku says incredulously. "Isn't that Danba's kid?"

"Vorin told you this directly?" Taiki asks menacingly.

"I...overheard," I answer, shocked that they know who he is by name. Suddenly I am very aware that I have, without a doubt, condemned Vorin and his family to peril.

"Sounds like someone's been telling their kid too much," Baku says with a chuckle.

"It's only normal for a Contractor to teach his kid aspects of the business, particularly concerning the workings of the clans," Taiki observes. "Whether the higher-ups will approve of the son's unintended snitchery, however, is another matter entirely."

"He didn't snitch," I croak. "I overheard."

"Because the imbecile was saying it in a place he shouldn't have been, telling someone, let me guess, who has no business knowing." Taiki stands. "I can guarantee the kid was thinking with something other than his brain. Maybe he wanted to impress a crush."

Baku nods ponderously. "We all think with the littler head now and again."

"Some more than others," Taiki agrees. "Looks like we'll be catching us two fish tonight."

"Please, my dad is innocent," I say, stumbling over the words. "Please, don't hurt him!" I'm shrieking now, unable to care whether they beat me senseless or not. My only thoughts are of Dad. "He didn't do anything! He didn't do anything!"

"Exactly," Taiki says coldly. "And that was the problem. He should have shown up tonight, even if it meant his life. And now it means his kid's."

I feel the tears streaming down my cheeks.

Baku abruptly throws his cigarette to the ground and stands up straight. "Wait a minute, Taiki, if this Vorin kid is with—”

"Shut up, Baku," Taiki snaps. "We have company, or have you forgotten?"

"Does it even matter?" Baku spits out, glaring at me. His eye pulses red in a reflection of his mood.

I look frantically at the two men. Am I as good as dead? Will they do it here, now, inside this shed?

"You're scaring him, Baku," Taiki coos. Suddenly he looks down at his pocket, then draws out his cTab. He presses his thumb onto the screen to answer, then holds the sleek metal rectangle against his ear to put it into anti-hologram mode. I begin wondering if I would have recognized the figure if the hologram were to appear.

"Yes sir," Taiki says. "We'll need to retrieve Danba and his son as well. I have an inkling of where the boy might be. Yes sir. Yes sir. You as well, sir." He taps to end the call. "We're to wait until the big man ditches the blackHats. Then we begin."

"Yes!" Baku's eye begins flaring into a blazing red. "Let's do this!"

blackHats? I think to myself. They're the elite tactical troopers of the Handata Constabulary. I feel a small sliver of hope spring up inside me. They're looking for me and Dad.

Taiki notices my expression. "Hope," he says mildly. "Cute." The smile he gives me make my blood run cold. "Let's go crash a party, Baku." Taiki leans closer to me. "Then, we'll go and meet your dad, Kazin."

Taiki takes a step towards me. He reaches with his hand. I feel a prick on my neck, and I'm out again.