My Yakuza

here often?” he asked.
“Once in a while. I’ll look for you the next time I’m in here, okay?” Shiro asked trying to get rid of the guy.
“Wonderful. I like Asian men and would enjoy your company.”
Shiro didn’t know what else to say so he said, “Thank you,” and smiled.
As the man walked away, the door once again opened and this time, a tall good-looking Asian walked in that Shiro recognised from the photos at once—it was Kono. Now his stomach flip-flopped not knowing how the conversation would go down between himself and his supposed target. He continued to watch the door as Kono began to look around, to see if other officers would enter. None followed and Shiro breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe this meeting would go down as he had hoped.
Kono took his time, looking around to see if he felt any danger. His senses were heightened beyond what was normal. It wasn’t every day he was in the bar to meet a man who told him it was his job to kill him. As he looked around, Kono saw no reason for alarm until his eyes landed on the nervous Asian-looking guy at the bar. His hand automatically slid to his right hip to reassure himself that his police-issue weapon was still where it was supposed to be. Having felt the familiar hard bulge, Kono walked towards the far end of the bar as Shiro watched him. With one final check around, Kono felt it was safe to approach the man nursing the dregs of what looked like whisky. He took the seat next to the guy and gave his ticket to the bartender and ordered a beer.
“Are you the person who called me?”
“Yeah. My name is Shiro, and you’re Kono, right?”
“Yep. Now that the introductions are finished, you better explain quickly what your phone call meant before I slam your face into the bar.”
“Okay, don’t be hostile! I told you I had no intention of carrying out my instructions, which places not only my life in jeopardy but the lives of two women in Japan, one of them being my mother. So, just chill out and realise that I’m a victim here.”
“Who sent you and why?”
“Someone you know…Nobuo of the Yakuza in Tokyo. As for why, I assume it has something to do with the arrest of Shun’ichi Harada and your pending testimony. The Yaks wanna shut you up for good and are trying to use me as the means. Another complication for me is that the Tinaken clan here in New York is trying to kill me so I can’t get to you. I’m pretty sure they killed a woman who was known as Chizu who worked for the Harada clan and was babysitting me here in New York. When a man answered her cell phone that only she should be answering, I realised she’d been had.”
“What was the purpose of her babysitting you?”
“For one thing, to tell me where to get the gun I’m supposed to use on you if I choose to shoot you, and to give me things that I need while in New York. The other reason was to make sure that I carried out my assignment or she was probably supposed to kill me.”
“How did the Yaks get a hold of your mother?”
“Ah, that’s a long story, but suffice it to say that Shun’ichi Harada personally lured her to Japan and she has been under his control ever since. I think she may already be dead but I can’t take the chance that she isn’t.”
“And the other woman?”
“A friend, nothing more. She’s a sweet, silly girl who works as a hooker for the clan. She gave me information on the last place my mom was seen…a love hotel. I guess she asked the wrong people, because next thing I knew, I was being hauled out of the parasite museum and then—”
“The parasite museum?” Kono shook his head. “Kid, slow down.”
“I can’t. He sent me this picture just as I was boarding the flight to New York.” Shiro opened the phone and brought up the picture of Miki in a cage.
“Did they give that phone to you?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Get rid of it. They can track you through the GPS chip inside the phone. The longer you carry that, the more chance you got of being located.”
“I never thought of that. I’ll get rid of it when I leave here tonight…but what if they can’t find me? They’ll kill Miki for sure.”
Kono took a pull on his beer. Maybe he could have the cell phone number moved to a different phone. A police-issue phone. His thoughts raced.
“Why did you choose to risk their lives instead of carrying out my murder?”
“Because I’m not a killer. The only reason I was involved with them in Tokyo was to locate my mother. The only thing I did for them was bike messenger.”
“How long has your mom been missing?”
“A little over a month. She…we live in Honolulu. She’s a good lady…honest…but she likes money and occasionally sleeps with men for it. I’m a student. I can’t support her the way she wants. But Shun’ichi was different—to her, anyway. I personally never met the guy. He lured her to Japan, which is where she’s from. She was desperate to go. She sounded really happy at first…then sad…and then…she just stopped calling.”
Kono started to feel sorry for the kid who looked as if he was gonna bawl. He was handsome, in a stressed out kind of way. Kono felt Shiro’s fear and could smell the isolation, the panic.
“My grandma got a phone call one day saying my mom was dead. My uncle at the bank arranged for me to get to Tokyo and to start an entry-level job with the Harada clan. I was there for a month before they realised I was Siono’s son.”
Kono had heard enough of the sob story. He didn’t want to feel compassion, or even attraction for the guy.
“Okay, I think I get