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Kashimora was furious. He ignored Oni and focused on Han. “You bring this wild man to my place of business and you lose control of him. You let American agents follow you without even warning me to watch out for them. I ought to kill both of you.”
“Just kill the American and toss him in your koi pond,” Oni said. “Better yet, let me do it.”
“No,” Han said. “We have to know if he came alone.”
“That will be difficult, if not impossible, to determine,” Kashimora said. “For obvious reasons, there are no video cameras here.”
“So torture him or beat the truth out of him,” Ushi-Oni said, rising to his feet.
Kashimora didn’t like the Demon being in his establishment. The man was too prone to unnecessary violence. And far too headstrong. “I’m tempted to expel you both,” he said. “If the Americans came here looking for you, I can only assume they will leave once you’re thrown out.”
“Carrying with them whatever information they’ve picked up on their journey,” Han pointed out. “Including evidence of who comes here and what they do. Don’t think that information won’t find its way back to the police.”
“I’m not worried about the police,” Kashimora said proudly. “In the meantime, I’ll throw all the foreigners out.”
“I have a better idea,” Han said. “Put the American in the ring. Make him fight for his life. Plaster his image on every screen in the establishment. If he came here on his own, you’ll get nothing but a thrilling fight. But if he has comrades in the crowd, they will no doubt come to his aid and try to rescue him. Position your men accordingly and you’ll be able to grab them all with one swish of the net.”
19
KURT GATHERED his chips, left his winning table and circled around the room, walking up behind Akiko. “What’s a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?” he said. “Then again, somethin
g tells me that’s the wrong question.”
She froze at the sound of his voice, her back stiffening.
“Card?” the dealer asked.
Akiko did not respond.
“Would you like a card?”
“You have sixteen,” Kurt told her.
Akiko was playing blackjack. She refocused on the game and made the motion for another card instinctively. A red king gave her twenty-six and the dealer took her chips.
“Now would be a good time to walk away,” Kurt suggested. “And I’m not just talking about the game.”
She stood and brushed past Kurt without looking him in the eye.
He followed, moving alongside her and matching her stride. “Aren’t we on speaking terms anymore?”
“You’re going to interfere,” she said.
“With what?”
She glanced at him. “How do you even know about this place?”
“A little bird told me. What about you?”
“This was my home,” she said. “My prison.”
Kurt grabbed her by the arm and turned her. “What are you trying to say?”
“I was owned by Kashimora,” she replied bluntly. “It’s nothing special. They own plenty of people. But I was property and I did what they told me. You can imagine what I was used for. But, as it turned out, I had a knack for fighting and when a chance came to be more than a prostitute, I took it. I taught myself everything I could. I studied the martial arts, the samurai, the way of the warrior. A chance encounter led me to Master Kenzo and, when I had the opportunity, I left here and joined him. But they found me. They came after me.”
Kurt was beginning to understand. “You think that—”
“They found me,” she repeated. “Because I tried to escape them, they punished my new family. Kenzo tried to save me from myself and now he’s dead. So I’m going to make things right even if I have to die to do it.”
