Crossing the Line

by Naomi Aoki

  Kennosuke didn’t answer. He thought it was obvious why Jamie was here. If they wanted to take Takeshi out once and for all, they needed to draw him out into the open and the easiest way to achieve that was to put himself and Jamie into the line of fire. Make them tantalising targets that Takeshi couldn’t resist. Not that it would be easy. Takeshi knew who the high-ranked members of the Arakigumi were -the men Gou would trust to keep Jamie safe whatever the cost – because before he’d decided to take a shot at Jamie through a misguided sense of jealousy, Takeshi had been one of those men.

  Takeshi believed Jamie made his uncle weak. But he’d gotten wrong. So, very wrong. Kennosuke realised, watching Jamie and his uncle together, the pair only made each other stronger. Fiercer. He’d gotten off lightly last time. This time Takeshi would die. And Kennosuke would enjoy the satisfaction that came with it.

  Kennosuke straightened up and strode ahead of Brian as the headed out of arrivals into the main terminal. What they were counting on was Takeshi coming alone. Betted on his being desperate enough to risk one last shot at Jamie or himself and hurt Gou in the process.

  He wondered how long before the chaos began.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Brian gripped the straps of the bag he carried and stayed quiet as he followed behind Kennosuke, not wanting to draw attention to how much he was shaking. He didn’t want to add to the tension already breaking through the confident figure Kennosuke thought he was presenting. Not surprising when Brian thought of the memories attached to this place that haunted Kennosuke as they walked into the airport terminal. Made even harder still with the knowledge that Takeshi was here, waiting for Kennosuke or Jamie to appear. Brian wished he was armed, wanting nothing more than to kill the man threatening his best friend’s life and that of his lo- husband.

  “Fucking Jamie,” he muttered. The passport had been a shock, not only the name written on it, but that Jamie had gone so far as to prepare one for him. Hated how referring to Kennosuke as his husband sent spikes of warmth through him and Brian wished they were anywhere but here. He wanted to drag his husband away from the looming chaos and shove him hard against a wall or onto the nearest bed. But the chaos would follow them.

  Brian stopped behind Kennosuke and glanced around the crowded terminal as people in suits rushed through it with trolley bags and groups of people casually clothed waited for passengers coming off the arriving flights. But the longer he stared at them the stranger they all appeared. An air of danger swirled around them and his grip on the bag he was holding tightened. He eyed them carefully, trying to see who might be carrying a weapon and wished he had one himself. Brian could almost guarantee someone amongst the crowd was hiding something, whether it a knife or a gun, that could harm them. But even more concerning as he glanced over his shoulder, Brian could see no one else from their flight walking into the terminal.

  “Keep moving Brian, we can’t stop here.” The quiver in his voice betrayed the calm on his face.

  “Where is Jamie? And why does this feel like a trap?”

  “Because it is,” Kennosuke hissed. “But at least try to act normal.” He strode off ahead as though it was perfectly normal to walk through a room of people who potentially wanted you dead.

  Brian hurried after Kennosuke. They didn’t get far before they were forced to stop; the entrance to the airport terminal within sight. A familiar man strode out in front of it blocking their path, a weapon held comfortably in his hand. Takeshi sneered at them as he raised his hand, pointing the gun at Kennosuke.

  “Where the fuck is Jamie?” he hissed, grabbing at Kennosuke and pulled him closer. And if these men aren’t passengers, then whose damned side were they on.

  “So, lovely for you to make it home, Kennosuke. Didn’t expect you to get back so quick nor that you’d bring your lovely man with you. Of course, it would be even more perfect if Jamie was here too-” Takeshi glanced around searching for Jamie and showing no sign he feared being so exposed. It began to feel even less likely that the men surrounding them were Araki-gumi.

  “Did you really expect your thugs to kill me?” Kennosuke began, antagonising Takeshi. “Or that cops would hold me indefinitely?”

  Takeshi snorted, the gun lowering slightly. “I counted on your man there-,” waving the weapon in Brian’s direction. “-to get you out. Such a credit to his uniform,” he sneered, eyes shining with a dangerous amusement. “But, I still require Jamie’s presence. This is all his fault to begin with.”

  “Jamie isn’t here.”

  “What?” Brian screeched, dropping the bag he carried and grabbed at Kennosuke. “What do you mean, Jamie isn’t here? Is there anyone here from the Araki-gumi at all?”

  Panic was becoming a firm friend that Brian didn’t like. Kennosuke had walked him into a trap, without back up and he couldn’t see any way out of it. He knew it could all still be a ruse to knock Takeshi off balance by luring him into a false sense of victory. But Kennosuke didn’t look like a man playing a game of chicken. Instead he looked like one prepared to die, resigned to its inevitability. Brian wasn’t opposed to laying his life on the line to save Jamie; to save Kennosuke... but not like this.

  No. Not like this.

  Brian refused to die in a fucking airport unarmed. Refused to be taken out as part of someone else’s cruel revenge without any means to fight back. If he knew this was where it was all heading, he would have stayed in New Zealand and taken his chances with his former colleagues. He might have ended up in jail, but at least he’d still be alive. Dealt with the disgrace; serve his time and then take his place alongside his father.

  He didn’t come to Japan to die.

  “JAMIE ISN’T HERE.”

  Kennosuke uttered the statement and watched Takeshi’s cocky expression falter. Good. They needed to push Takeshi off balance for this to work, he just didn’t like how it was tearing Brian apart. Never thought he’d see Brian panic like this, not that he could blame him. Brian came to Japan with him because he had no choice and only to be walked into a trap that the chances of escaping looked low. Kennosuke could only hope that once Brain calmed down he’d see his words for what they were – a carefully spoke lie.

  Jamie was here. At the airport. Somewhere surrounded by Araki-gumi who wouldn’t hesitate to put Jamie’s life ahead of their own. The men surrounding them Kennosuke assumed were Araki-gumi as well, just not from Kyoto but from the areas in Osaka they’d grabbed and wouldn’t be recognised by Takeshi. The downside was, Kennosuke didn’t recognise them either. He’d been too busy with the venture in New Zealand that he hadn’t spent any time in Osaka. So, these men might be friends, or they might just as easily be foe. There were still plenty of men in Osaka baying for his uncle’s blood who’d happily join forces with Takeshi to take him down.

  He wished they’d thought to arrange for weapons to be slipped into their luggage as it passed through the baggage claim.

  “You never were a good liar, Kennosuke-” pointing the gun at Brian as he cackled. “I know Jamie is here... hiding. Maybe even with Gou. Wouldn’t that be great... I could kill his lover and the nephew who’s supposed to succeed him right in front of him.”

  The tight grip Brian had on him loosened and Kennosuke spun to see him begin to move toward Takeshi. He grabbed him and tugged him back not wanting him to do something stupid like take down an armed gunman without a weapon. Police style heroics wouldn’t be welcome here. His grip tightened more as Takeshi began to stalk toward them.

  “Jamie. Jamie,” Takeshi bellowed waving the gun wildly between Brian and Kennosuke. Finger sitting dangerously close to the trigger. “I know you’re here, so why, don’t you come out and join us... we’re going have so much fun. Or if you’d rather, I can kill one of your best friends and make this place... a little less crowded.”

  This wasn’t going to plan. Not that you could really plan how to trap a man who had nothing left to lose and everything to gain by killing you. Kennosuke could only pray Jamie knew what he was doing
, because it was definitely getting more crowded. The men surrounding them moving in closer, unsettling Kennosuke not knowing, who might be foe, rather than friend. But then they began to move, shuffling aside and created a gap that grabbed everyone’s attention.

  And then Kennosuke cursed as he figured out why.

  Jamie strode through the gap. Eyes furrowed, hands hanging loose at his sides. He hadn’t thought Jamie would show himself without a weapon or at least without one visible. So, focused on Jamie, Kennosuke hadn’t realised Brian had shaken his hold off until he saw the man race toward Jamie, anger rolling off him in waves

  “What the fuck, Jamie?” A fist balled at his side ready to strike. But there was no way could Kennosuke let that happen. Not with the way Takeshi grinned, enjoying how distracted they’d become.

  “Brian. No.” He turned his back on Takeshi as he grabbed Brian’s hand before it struck Jamie. “You can get angry at Jamie la-” his words cut off as a weapon discharged. The echo of it firing rang in Kennosuke’s ears before a blinding pain ricocheted through him. Knees buckled as the shock of it registered on Brian’s face. He didn’t know whether to count himself lucky Takeshi had only aimed at his leg or if he should be worried where the next shot might hit.

  NO. NO. NO. Brian’s hands scrambled to grab Kennosuke, catching him before he hit the polished concrete floor. Slinging Kennosuke’s arm over his shoulder and taking a firm grip of his waist, Brian helped him to the side of the building and lowered him carefully to the floor before his hands started their urgent search for where the bullet had hit. Not that it was hard to find, blood seeping out of the jagged tear in Kennosuke’s jeans, staining Brian’s hands as he tried to stem the flow. His mind still trying to catch up to the fact that Kennosuke hadn’t died and wasn’t going to any time soon.

  “Jamie, kill the fucking bastard.”

  “That’s the plan.”

  “You could have fooled me.” Brian ready to do the job himself if Jamie didn’t move faster. They couldn’t give Takeshi a chance to fire his weapon a second time.

  Brian glanced over at the Takeshi wondering why he hadn’t already, now that his panic over Kennosuke had cleared enough to let him assess the situation more clearly. And in his professional opinion: Takeshi was unhinged, dangerous and unpredictable. The worst kind of shooter to come up against as a cop. Takeshi paced the floor, hand brandishing the gun wildly between his three targets and his finger twitched over the trigger. The manic look in his eyes was almost gleeful – not surprising considering how long he’d been holding this grudge against Jamie – and unsure of which target he wanted to choose next.

  If it was him in Takeshi’s place, the decision would be easy. He’d take out Jamie who was the only one with a weapon, then himself and Kennosuke who in his injured state would be easy pickings. The only uncertainty about everything was the men surrounding them, watching and not reacting to anything, not even when Kennosuke was shot. Brian realised he couldn’t rely on them to back Jamie up.

  He couldn’t let his best mate face Takeshi alone.

  He didn’t want to leave Kennosuke’s side either.

  “Go. Help. Jamie,” Kennosuke told him as he finished tightening the makeshift bandage around Kennosuke’s leg. “I’m not going anywhere and it’s only a flesh wound,” he lied trying hard to keep pain from filling his voice. They both knew it wasn’t a flesh wound and Kennosuke couldn’t hide the grimace flitting across his face with every little movement he made.

  Brian hesitated. He pushed his hands slick with Kennosuke’s blood through his hair and stood, switching his focus to Jamie. A menacing air circled through the terminal weaving its way through the crowd as Takeshi’s words continued unabated. He couldn’t understand why neither Takeshi or Jamie had fired. Wondered why the police had not yet arrived, surely a man with a gun loose in an International Airport would warrant their presence. Though, he supposed Gou had sufficient clout to keep them at bay until he deigned their presence was necessary.

  Carefully, and not taking his eyes off Takeshi, Brian moved toward Jamie. He cursed softly as he got closer to Jamie, noticing his friends hand shook. The gun he held wavering too much to make a kill shot. Brian knew Jamie had killed before, but he hadn’t stopped to give the circumstances of it too much thought. It had been done in anger; in a situation far removed from this.

  “Jamie, why haven’t you shot him,” he hissed, circumstances aside, the longer Takeshi remained alive and capable of shooting them, he was a serious threat.

  “This wasn’t the plan. Ken was supposed to kill him, not me.”

  “And what? You were the one who was supposed to get shot? I can’t see how that would be any better. These men-” glancing around and surprised to see their hands still free of weapons, though he didn’t doubt they were carrying. “-are they yours or Takeshi’s?”

  “Neither-” They ducked as a shot whizzed overhead, accompanied by Takeshi’s cackle. Brian knew Takeshi had deliberately missed them, but next time... “-local group from Wakayama whose territory includes the airport. Allied with Gou, but this issue is seen as an internal Araki-gumi one; they are only here to watch, keep people and the cops out of the way.”

  Not good. Not bad either. Brian not sure if he liked knowing that they wouldn’t interfere or not.

  Ja-mie, why haven’t you shot me?” Takeshi taunted, drawing their attention. He stood there, arms spread wide; an open target. “Come on. I’m making it easy for you. I’ll even let you take the first shot. One chance to hit me... but you can’t, can you.”

  Brian had had enough of Takeshi. He was tired from the flight and just wanted to crawl into bed, after getting Kennosuke seen too.

  “Give it to me.” He snatched the gun out of Jamie’s hand and fired it at Takeshi. “There. Done.” Watching as Takeshi crumpled to the floor, surprise etched on his face as blood bloomed across his chest. “Right, so can we get Ken to the hospital now?”

  “That easy, huh?” Jamie shook his head and grinned.

  “Yes. The man was a pest. No different to the rabbits we used to take pot shots at back on the farm.” He handed the gun back to Jamie, but not before unloading it. Some habits were hard to break.

  Epilogue

  “I’m never going to get used to this,” Brian grumbled tugging his tie loose. They weren’t out on the street anymore and the appearance he needed to maintain could be dropped.

  “You could have taken the job at the bar-” Kennosuke snorted. “-at any of them. Or the one at the micro-brewery that I acquired.”

  “Like hell I was going to be stuck behind a desk in some management position doing paperwork I have no hope of understanding. Ever.”

  He scowled as Kennosuke laughed.

  Jamie had been teaching him Japanese and he’d progressed fairly well in the three months since he fled New Zealand to Kyoto. He could bumble his way through most conversations and snarl out an intimidating threat. Reading it however, Brian was beginning to think it was a lost cause trying to teach him that struggling to remember any of it, let alone master enough to work in any of the positions Kennosuke had first offered him. Honestly, none of the positions had been offered with any serious belief he’d take them up. There was only one job Brian could consider accepting: Kennosuke’s bodyguard. It didn’t matter that there weren’t many threats right now, but Brian knew that they would occur again. And he’d be the one to keep him safe, not trusting anyone else to do it.

  “Is there still beer in the fridge?” His tie hung loose around his neck, and the top two buttons of his shirt had been flicked open. He strode down the hallway after Kennosuke dodging the items of clothing being dropped not bothering to pick them up like normal.

  “Yep. Do you want ice?”

  “Nah, the bottle will be cold enough.” If he could curl his fingers around it. “But that guy had bloody solid jaw.”

  Kennosuke chuckled, handing him the beer he’d pulled from the fridge. “Never seen you yelp like that before. Are you sure you don�
�t want it checked out? It won’t be an issue to get the doctor to come here.”

  “It’s not broken.” Brian flexed it, wincing as swollen flesh pulled over bruised knuckles. “Will look impressive in the morning.”

  He leaned on the bench as he twisted the cap off the bottle and brought it to his lips. It wasn’t a bad drop, one of the brews from Kennosuke’s micro-brewery; a pale ale that was proving popular amongst the local bars, but Brian still missed a good New Zealand lager.

  “So, what is happening tomorrow? All I’ve gotten out of Jamie is that it’s important... important enough for your mother to turn up yesterday and fuss over my suits.”

  Kennosuke didn’t reply, not that Brian expected him too. He watched him shake his head and smile as he wandered over to the couch, collapsing onto it with a tired groan. Brain stayed where he was, happy to simply stare at Kennosuke. His heated gaze burned across Kennosuke’s body, lingering on the exposed skin at his throat and in no hurry to do more. They would soon be in bed, naked.

  “Well? What’s happening? You’re all bloody cagey over it.”

  “All I’ll say, is that if my mother suggested you wear a certain suit... then wear it.”

  “Planned to. Rule one-oh-one in the new husband’s handbook: don’t piss off the mother-in-law.” Especially a mother-in-law who had no compunction about killing someone.

  Hell, Brian still struggled at times to believe that he was someone’s husband; that he was Kennosuke’s. And it wasn’t just a trick of paper to create his fake passport – which now wasn’t really that fake at all. He’d almost decked Jamie one; blasted his sister down the phone for solid five minutes when he found that one of the legal documents he’d signed when sorting out a contingency if things went south with Jamie’s venture had been a marriage certificate. Still didn’t know how John had wrangled the form from Internal Affairs and keep it on file for just in case.