My Yakuza

smelled trouble. Especially when he smiled.
“No problems, grandma,” said the one beside her. “We just want to have a little talk with you, okay?”
“Okay,” she said, knowing she didn’t have a choice. She cursed the day she gave birth to Siono. This had to be her fault. And now she might have lost Shiro. She’d tried a couple of times to return his call from the other night but always got his voicemail.
“Take your shoes off,” she said, a little surprised at her own forcefulness.
The two men glanced at one another. They did as they were told, leaving their shoes lined up outside the door.
“Nice socks,” she said. “You can tell a lot about a man by his socks.”
“Thanks,” the second one said.
They followed her inside and the second man closed the door. They seemed to be appraising her home. She knew it probably seemed stuffed to the brim with Hawaiiana but she’d never been to a yard sale yet where she hadn’t found something she liked.
“You mind if I make tea?” she asked. “I’m an old lady and I need to pee, then I need a cup of tea.”
“Go ahead,” said the second man. “We’ll wait.”
The two men talked quietly, pacing the hallway of her house. Alia listened at the bathroom door.
“I will be very nice…until she doesn’t tell me what I want to hear,” the second man said.
“She’s an old lady,” the first one said.
The nasty chuckle on the other side gave her pause. The old lady washed her face and hands, sending a prayer to the volcano goddess, Pele, to help her in her hour of need.
* * * *
When Kono got to the part about how they would be together after the “shooting,” Shiro smiled.
“It makes sense to keep us together. Easier to keep track of us. Unlike movies and TV shows, real police resources are limited. Plus I can protect you if I have to.”
“Well that’s the first part of this plan I really like,” Shiro said.
“Keep your mind on the plan and not your dick! We’ve got to make this look good. You’re gonna walk up behind me while I’m sitting at the picnic table, and you’re gonna fire three shots while pointing the gun at my back. When you do, make sure you are no closer than five feet. If you get much closer, I’ll be hit with the wads that are going to come out of your weapon along with powder burns. Make sure you drop the gun and run back the way you walked in from so that the beat car can time it right to make the arrest. They’ll know this is a setup, so don’t panic thinking they think you just shot someone or shot a cop, okay?”
“I understand. I’ll be glad when this is over. I’m not much of an actor you know.”
“There really isn’t much acting to this. You just walk up, shoot me, and run. The rest will unfold as planned.”
“Okay. Can we stay someplace nicer than this place?”
“We’re going to be staying at a Sheraton out on Long Island so that we can have room service. Once my funeral is over, we’ll have to move once more. But I’ll take care of all those arrangements, Shiro. Don’t worry about anything. All you have to do is get rest tonight and be ready for an unmarked car to pick you up in the morning.”
“Once they pick me up, where will I be taken to?”
“There’s an empty warehouse not far from the little park where I’ll be. You’ll stay there with the detectives that pick you up, and then you’ll walk from there to the park. This will work, just do your part.”
“Okay, I trust you for some reason. Maybe because you’re cute,” Shiro said flirting a little.
“You are too much. Our lives are on the line tomorrow and your head is in your pants. You really do need to get laid.”
With that, Kono hung up.
The phone rang a couple of seconds later. He recognised his grandma’s voice.
“Where are you?” she asked.
“I’m in…” he almost said Long Island, but realised secrecy was essential.
“New York,” he said.
“What are you doing there?”
Her total lack of surprise was shocking. She’d flipped out about Tokyo. Now he was back on US soil, albeit, the mainland, she should have been praising her favourite deity, Pele.
Something’s wrong. Shit…I just know it is.
“Grandma…I have something to do. Tomorrow I have something to do. It will all be over soon. Have you heard from mom?”
“No, I haven’t.” she paused. “You mean she’s alive?”
“I don’t know.”
He had to know if she was okay. Maybe she had…company.
“I love you, grandma,” he said.
“I love you too, son. “
Shit. She’s in trouble. She never, ever says things like that.
“Aloha oe,” grandma said. Love forever? Man, she was in some deep shit!
He put a call through to Kono, but got his voice mail. He left a message outlining his concerns. He lay down on the bed, firing up the remote. On TV, was an old Robert Mitchum movie, The Yakuza. He’d had enough Yakuza to last a lifetime. He changed the channel and found that crazy-assed TV chef Andrew Zimmern eating a giant grilled spider and declaring it to be tasty. He changed the channel again and hunted for something that, just for a little while, would make him feel as if the world was a beautiful place.
* * * *
Kono bunked down in the station. There were four single-bed bunks, camp-style in a room wedged between the two main interview rooms. It was a great place to catch some Z’s when you were pulling double shifts, or when you just didn’t want to go home. It was alarming how many guys in Far Rockaway didn’t want to go home. Sometimes, you could hear intense interrogations going on in the interview rooms. Kono was always intrigued by different cops’ interviewing techniques. Now, it was quiet. Most of the squad cars were patrolling the beaches and parks,