“So you can shoot Kiko in the head?”
“No. I’m going to choke that bitch until she stops breathing and those twins pop out her dirty vagina.” I shook my head. “I want the gun to shoot people just in case Kenji’s father gets here before I can leave.”
A wicked smile spread across his face. “I heard the Tiger has claws, but now I can finally see them.”
“Yep. I have sharp ones.” I slashed the air with my fingers. “Do you have an extra gun?”
“Let’s get you to your destination first and then we’ll give you a gun from one of the guards.”
“Sounds good.”
“Do you know how to shoot a gun?”
“No.”
He laughed. “Well, perhaps a lesson is in order.”
“Perhaps.”
“Hopefully, the Dragon doesn’t get pissed about these lessons.”
“He’ll be fine.”
At the end of the hall, a terrified maid clutched a tiny dog against her chest while being escorted toward the evacuation route.
Men in black tactical gear moved furniture aside to barricade the side entrances.
Fucking Kiko.
We got outside and the noise hit me before the sight did. Helicopter blades chopped the air somewhere to the north. A boat horn blared low and long across the water. Men barked orders in Japanese over each other. A woman screamed a name I couldn't catch. A radio somewhere blasted a voice in fast clipped sentences.
Boots pounded.
Dozens of boots.
Crates slammed into truck beds.
A child cried somewhere I couldn't see.
The island had its own heartbeat now and the heartbeat was panic.
I took in all the chaos around me.
The sun had died while the moon arrived.
The path was clogged with people. Men in dark jackets were distributing rifles from the back of an open truck, handing them to other men who had clearly never held a rifle in their lives. A teenager took one of the weapons with both hands and almost dropped it from the weight.
Others sprinted in every direction. A man ran past us with a rifle slung across his back and a child in his arms. A woman ranthe other way with what looked like a photo album pressed to her chest.
Two staff members were dragging a heavy trunk between them.
The island typically smelled like—salt off the water, jasmine along the path, smoke from grills, and the faint sweetness of plumeria.
Those scents were gone now and replaced with fuel, gun oil, sweat, and fear.
I spotted four empty helicopters far off on the other side of the island. Tons of people gathered around them, wagging their hands and yelling.
Several smaller boats were heading toward us, but it would take them some time.
