Within: Chapter 3

   "Aoshi! Get in the car!" 

    He heard Von Erich shout at him.  Aoshi shook his head, refusing to leave Von Erich out in the open without cover fire.  He crouched down a little lower behind the wheel well of the vehicle and picked off the two men that had peeked around the corner of the building with their rifles.

    Von Erich shouted in German to the remaining security detail who was struggling to find more ammunition to press into his handgun.  Von Erich had told him to grab Aoshi and shove him into the car and try to leave.  Von Erich was still a hundred yards away and he feared more men would be dispatched to wear down the last three survivors of Aoshi's group.

    "Don't touch me! You stay where you are!" Aoshi screamed at the security as soon as he started to move toward him.  He looked angrily at Von Erich.  "All of us leave or no one leaves!"

    Von Erich cursed under his breath and ducked by a stone pillar to change his ammunition clip.  It was his last one and by the sound of the gun reports, there were at least two more gunmen.  Aoshi had been shot, he knew.  He had seen a splash of red that had been growing on the pale sleeve of his left arm.  It was probably superficial but the wound would eventually slow him down.

    Aoshi repacked his ammunition into a fresh clip and seated it into his Beretta.  He nodded to Von Erich.

    "On three," Aoshi said as he held up three fingers.  "I'll cover you."

    Von Erich nodded and readied himself into a sprinting position.  Aoshi silently lowered his finger. Two... One...

    Von Erich ran in a crisscross pattern across the open parking lot.  Aoshi shot at the gunmen aiming at Von Erich.  A bullet grazed Von Erich across the temple, its hot lead burned him but it did not cut him.  He grimaced and continued his course.  The thought of getting Aoshi out of there was the only thing on his mind.

    "Get in the car and get it ready to go!" Von Erich shouted at the guard who was tightening the blood soaked handkerchief he had used as a tourniquet to stop the bleeding.  He had his middle and ring finger shot off of his left hand.  The young German nodded and tied the tourniquet off with his teeth then slid into the car from passenger side. 

   "Aoshi, get in!"

   Aoshi stood against the frame of the vehicle, his gun still leveled past Von Erich as he did so.  Then both of them heard it.  The sound was two shots from the same gun that came out in rapid successions.  One bullet following another.  The sound was distinct and different from the small arms fire they were receiving.  It was the sound of a high-power sniper rifle. 

   The first bullet tore through Aoshi's left shoulder, the impact of it slammed him against the frame of the car.  The second bullet he had expected to rip through his chest.  He was too stunned to move out of the way.  Then a rain of hot dampness filled with coppery scent of blood spilled over him, but he felt no pain.  It took him a few seconds to realize Von Erich was holding him, and the wetness he felt was not his own. 

   "Are you hurt?" Von Erich asked softly.

   Aoshi held himself away from Von Erich and he nearly started to scream incoherently when he saw a hand-sized hole that had been ripped through Von Erich's chest.  Aoshi heard another report and it was pure instinct that made him roll out of the way, taking Von Erich down to the ground with him.  Aoshi trained his gun toward the direction of the last gun shot report and mapped the location of the gunman before squeezing off a shot.  Then there were no more sounds. 

    "I'm sorry," Von Erich whispered as he reached up and tried to wipe the blood off Aoshi's cheeks.  Instead, he smeared more of his own blood there.  "I'm sorry I can't keep my promise."

   "Don't talk," Aoshi said.  His throat burned as he spoke.  "You'll be just fine."

   "I want you to be happy..."

   "Then don't do this to me!" Aoshi screamed.  Tears spilled out of his eyes, cutting clear paths along the blood splattered on his face. 

   "I'm sorry I can't stay with you anymore..."  Von Erich smiled.  "I'm sorry I can't give you what you want..."

   Von Erich's stroked Aoshi's cheek.

   "I just want you to be happy.  I don't want you to hurt anymore..."

   Von Erich's hand dropped and his eye lids had fluttered close.  There were no more sounds except for the gentle hum of the car engine behind him.  Aoshi leaned in and held Von Erich's head against his and cradled it, pleading for Von Erich to open his eyes.

   "Aoshi-sama! We have to go! They are trying to close the gate!" The detail screamed out of the window.

   Aoshi didn't appear to hear him. 

   "Goddamn it..." The guard said and scrambled out of the car.  He picked grabbed Aoshi by his arm and roughly pulled him up to his feet and pushed him into to the backseat.  He then picked up Von Erich's body and laid it across the seats in the back with Aoshi.  He slammed the door close and ran back to the driver's seat.  He cursed again as he floored the gas pedal and sent the tires screeching out of the body strewn lot.

   "Aoshi-sama..." The guard began.  He wanted to ask if Aoshi had been injured.  He could not tell from the blood-soaked clothing and blood-streaked face.  He looked up at him through the rearview mirror.  Aoshi had rested Von Erich's head on his lap.  Aoshi was still crying as he spoke in a small voice that sounded like a child.

   "I promise I will be good...just don't leave me...  I'll be good..."

    "You knew as much as Interpol knew," Okita said.  "Probably a little more than they do.  There's little information on the incident.  The shoot out took place in the part of the city the cops stayed out of.  They got on site long enough to pick up the bodies and not much else.  No pictures and no reports."

    Okita stirred a dash of cream into coffee and took a careful sip from his cup.  He nodded approvingly and told Kyrie the coffee was exceptional.  The two broke away from the tense conversation for a moment and discussed the blend of the imported beans Kyrie used.  It had been three days since Von Erich died and Aoshi went missing.  The topic was something that none of us knew how to broach without involving personal feelings.  Especially for Kyrie.

    I let them talk until they exhausted the topic and looked at me to speak.  I rubbed out the cigarette into the crystal ashtray and picked up the slim folder Okita had brought with him.  

    "Asides from the name of the person who was most likely the mastermind behind all of this..." I looked at the papers inside for the name.  "....Ushakov.  What do anyone know about him?"

    "Again, not very much," Okita said.  "He was a former Soviet General who'd stayed behind after the Berlin Wall came down.  He recruited who he could from the military associations and formed his little band of thugs.  Not much of a politician but he's done quite a few contracts with them.  He makes a lot of money when election time rolls around."

    I looked at the grainy satellite photo of Ushakov.  It was hard to make out much details from the heavily dotted print out but his feature were strong enough to make an impression.  He had a thick square jaw which complimented his squared cheekbones.  The straight-lined features were made even more prominent by his shaved head and lack of facial hair.  He looked like someone had drawn him with a ruler.  Even his eyes had the rectangular shape to them.   

    "Ishimaru told me Kanryu sometimes paid Ushakov to do clean up details," Kyrie said.  "Take out the people who'd cheated or stolen from him.  Kanryu also padded extra money into Ushakov's account to finance political movements."

    "To slide in the politicians that's already in your pocket, you've got to get rid of the people running against them," Okita nodded.  "Kanryu'd done many investments like Ushakov but he seemed to be the only one who took offense to Aoshi's decision to break away."

    I closed the folder and slid it back onto the table.

    "It's going to get a lot more personal now," I said and tapped another cigarette out of the pack.  "We won't find Aoshi until Ushakov's dead."

    I pressed the cigarette to the corner of my mouth and lit it.  Kyrie and Okita glared at me as if I had made a grand revelation.

    "He won't die until Ushakov's dead," I said.  "And at this point, there's really little we can do from here.  Aoshi's fluent in German  and knew his way around.  He does have connections and unknown cash reserves so there won't be any credit cards or electronic transfers to track from.   I don't think he would be careless enough to leave a trail for us or anyone to find him anyway.  Ushakov's still looking for him, I am sure.  What we do know is that Kyrie's still a target.  If Ushakov takes Kyrie, even if he can't squeeze money out of Aoshi -- I am sure he could get some out of daddy."

    Kyrie remained expressionless as I spoke.  I wasn't certain if my words registered with him at all.

    "Now what? We wait for Aoshi to take Ushakov out so it'd be safe to go outside again?" Okita asked.

    "Pretty much," I said.  "No one knows how much resources or influence Ushakov's got outside Germany.  I'll ask Joe to be here when I go back to Okinawa."

    Okita laughed.  "As if Kyrie didn't have enough stress already..."

    For a moment, the empty facade in Kyrie's face was filled with concern mixed with curiosity.  

    "Joe's a good guy.  A bit of a conceited, self-professed playboy, that's all.  He'll probably insist on watching you disrobe or shower as part of his duty.  Then he'll try to convince you that sleeping with you in the same bed is to make sure you are fully protected at all hours." I said.  "He is good at what he does and I trust him to do what he has to do."

   Then there were silence.  Okita finished his cup of coffee and got up to help himself to a second cup from the kitchen.  Kyrie stared down at his hands, there were still concerns in his face but I knew he was not worried about Joe.

    "So bottom line is," Kyrie said.  "We wait this out?"

    "The bottom line," I said.  "Aoshi might not be able to pull himself together when it comes to his own past or problems but I do know he's different when it comes to other people.  Especially when those people mattered to him.  His pride and ego won't let him die until he evens the score."

    "Ushakov doesn't seem to be the kind that will be easy to take out..."

    "Either is Aoshi," I said.  "I don't know much about Ushakov but I do know Aoshi's professional record.  He will kill Ushakov and he will come back.  There's still things here he'd left undone."

    Kyrie bit down on his lower lip and gave me a slight motion that might have been a nod.

    "He will come back..." he whispered in the way he would say a prayer.  "He will come back."

    Aoshi laid down a fresh bouquet of white roses on the freshly tilled earth.  He ran his finger tip over the soil and smiled.

    "I'm sorry about the headstone, Ian," Aoshi said softly.  "What I asked them to make for you, it would take a few more days."

    "I'm sure he won't mind," a voice said behind him.  

    Aoshi straightened and spun around.  His right hand shot toward the holstered gun he had worn under his jacket.  His gun was half way out of his holster when he recognized the speaker.

    "Derek..." Aoshi whispered as he slid the gun back into its place.

    "I'm sorry we have to meet again under this kind of circumstance," the dark-haired man said as he took off his glasses and slipped it into his pocket.

    Aoshi bit down on his lower lip.  Suddenly he wanted to cry again.  His throat burned and his chest hurt.

    "I know how much he meant to you," Derek said as he walked toward Aoshi.

    He wanted to tell Derek not to come any closer.  Or at least, make himself back away.  Aoshi found himself frozen where he stood.  The pain in his chest grew worse as Derek came closer.

    "What are you doing here?" Aoshi managed to force the words out of his mouth.  Then he felt something wet trickling down his face.  He was crying, he cursed at himself in his mind.  He could not even make himself move to wipe away the tears.

    "Aoshi..." Derek said and gathered him into his arms.  Aoshi was shaking.  He couldn't stop crying and suddenly he didn't care if he couldn't.  

    "I came to fulfill a promise I've made to someone long ago," Derek said.

    Aoshi's heard the words but his mind refused to comprehend the meaning.  He clung onto Derek tightly, grabbing onto fistful of his shirt as he did so.  

    "I'll be good..." Aoshi whispered.  "Just don't die...Oh God, please don't die..."    

    I stayed with Kyrie for five more days then discussed with him about hiring Joe to be his guard in my absence.  Kyrie was reluctant and tried to guilt me into staying with him longer.  

    "By the way you described him, wouldn't that man try to take advantage of me?"

    "I take advantage of you all the time," I said.  "Aren't you used to that by now?"

    Kyrie laughed.  It was the first time in the week I had been with him that I heard him laugh.  He walked toward where I sat and sank into my arms.  He smelled of an unfamiliar exotic perfume that was a little on the sweet side.  Probably a new soap he tried out.  I've never met someone who had a thing for bath goods like he does.  He spent hours in the showers or in the bath, always simmering in a new fragrance from another part of the world.  I doubt he had used the same bar or jar of soap twice.         

    "I don't know what to do if he's gone..." Kyrie said.  "I feel like I am still a child in this frightening adult world."

    "You will know," I said and kissed him on his forehead.  "Aoshi knew what he was doing when he chose you.  His motives may not be obvious but they always come to its fruition the way it was meant to be."

    "I wish I knew where he is..." Kyrie said.  "What he is doing right now..."  

    He paused and he smiled.  "You know, I've always been selfish and mean-spirited.  I guess it came with the territory being born into a privileged family.  My mother passed away when I was seven and since then father became extremely over protective and over indulgent.  The family psychologist told me father was over compensating for lack of mother figure while his political career kept him away as a real father figure. As long as I am a perfect little doll for daddy, I will always get what I want.  Then I left home after I stopped getting what I want.  I've never cared if what I did would hurt father or his career.  As long as I get what I want. Then when Aoshi came to me.  It was another game, I thought.  Kiros was another stupid man I would play with then leave outside to be devoured by the wolves.  Just like all those men I played with then left behind."

    "Was I suppose to be left outside to be devoured too?"

    He laughed softly.  "No.  I wasn't even suppose to play with you.  I've still not told Aoshi that you were in the same house that night Kiros met his end."

    "He'd be jealous?"

    "Aoshi doesn't get jealous.  What I did that night compromised his plans.  I asked you stay simply because I was curious."

    "I'm not sure if I should be offended."

    Kyrie's eyes sparkled brilliantly as he laughed.

    "Sounds terrible, doesn't it? Aoshi warned me about you," he said.  "You know how some people are.  They won't be convinced the stove top's hot simply because someone told them it was. They just have to touch it and get burned to learn the same thing."

    Before I could return a perfect curt reply on his analogy, a butler knocked on the ajar door and announced Okita was here.  I patted Kyrie on his ass and he got up.  Kyrie told the butler to show Okita in while he went to the kitchen to ask for some coffee to be made.    

    Okita followed the butler into the room moments later, a white folder tucked under his arm.  He politely thanked the butler for seeing him in and looked at me with the bright smile that was suppose to force anyone around him to return the same.  I resisted and only gave him a small nod. 

    "Anything?" I asked.

    He handed me a white folder with red German lettering and took a seat in the sofa across from me.  I opened it and flipped through the pages inside.  It was all typed or handwritten in German.

    "I didn't learn how to read German since I last saw you," I said.

    "You said you want everything Interpol and German agency can get. Now, you get."

    I looked to the last page and it was a black and white photo of Aoshi in dark glasses and long coat.  They were sitting out in the open, in a sidewalk cafe with two pale cups on small saucers set in front of them.  He was speaking to someone with his back turned to the camera.  

    "Where was this taken?" I said and held up the photo.

    "Central London.  Trafalgar Square," Okita said.  "Two days ago."

    "Interpol couldn't find anyone to translate this before they sent it?"

    "They weren't even suppose to send me this at all.  Beggars can't be choosers."

    Kyrie came back to the room and took a seat next to me.  

    "Coffee will be out in a minute," he said.

    "Know how to read German?" I asked and handed the folder to him.  He took it and flipped open the cover.

    "Not terribly proficient," he said.  "I only studied two years of it in school."

    Okita asked about my job while Kyrie read the ten-page report.  Then the coffee came.  Kyrie looked up from the papers but didn't speak until the maids served the coffee with a tray of pastries and left.

    "It looked like the German government's following Aoshi to find Ushakov.  The Berlin police want to arrest both of them," Kyrie said.  "Aoshi's nothing more than bait for the Germans at this point.  Especially when they believe Aoshi's living with a high-powered English politician at the moment.  The politician's most likely high up enough to cause a stand-still if German government move for an extradition.  One recommendation from one of the agent was to leave Aoshi as he was and hope he would be able to find Ushakov for them.  Ushakov's considered a higher threat than Aoshi at this point."

    "So when Aoshi crosses into Germany to take out Ushakov..."

    "Most likely they will wait until Aoshi killed Ushakov or Ushakov kill Aoshi, then either kill the survivor or arrest him," Kyrie finished for Okita.  "They've been following Ushakov quite intensively for sometime now but the German government could never pin him down.  Letting Aoshi find Ushakov and finishing him off would close two cases -- Takeda Kanryu being the other."

    "Kanryu's dead...and Aoshi severed the ties with Ushakov that started all of this," Okita said.

    "They can't fry Kanryu but they can certainly get to his son," I said.  "Aoshi does have some political pull but they might not be enough to keep him out of the German prison."

    "We need to find him and get this information to him," Kyrie said.  "The last sighting of him was in London two days ago.  Let me go find him then.  If he's involved with a politician, I am sure my father can help -- "

    "I don't think that would be a good idea, Kyrie-san," Okita said.  "If you get snatched by Ushakov or conveinently detained by the German government, Aoshi would have no choice but come out of the hiding."

    "I am not that helpless," Kyrie protested.  

    "It's not a matter of weakness or strength," Okita said.  "It's not just one person or one group of people you are confronting.  These people have the kind of resources you can't buy.  An established militant group with unknown capabilities and a government."

    "Stay here," I said and stroked Kyrie's hair to calm him down.  He was clutching the folder so tightly in his hands that the edges of it had crumpled in his fists.  "I'll go find him."

    All eyes in the room were fixed on me that instant.

    "I've got some leave accrued.  I'll go sight-seeing in London first then head into Germany."

    "You can't be serious -- " Okita said.  "You can't speak the languages and you don't know your way around...how do you expect to find someone who is fluent in several languages and have connections all over Europe?"

    "I can find him," I said in English.  "I won't be able to make him come home but I can find him."

    "Since when did you learn to speak English?" Kyrie asked, his blue eyes widened into an impossible size as he spoke.

    "I think all the sex with you might have helped me to absorb the language.  Osmosis," I said.  "Isn't your Japanese getting better?"

    Okita laughed his usual bubbly laugh.

    "Don't make fun of me," Kyrie said and elbowed me hard in my chest.  

    "I had to learn English since I've been in Okinawa.  Kadena Air Base fell into my jurisdiction.  Easier to deal with the American military when I know what they're saying."

    "He's pretty proficient at all of the foul words too," Okita said.  "Saitoh-san, you may be able to get by in England but what about other countries? English is not a universal language in Europe."

    Before I said my response, the butler who had shown Okita in knocked at the door and peeked in.

    "I am terribly sorry," he said.  "There is someone to see you, Kyrie-sama.  He asked me to show you this --"

    The butler held up a small silver ring in his gloved fingers.  Kyrie went to the butler to look at the ring.  His eyes narrowed as he recognized it and took it from the butler.

    "Show him in," Kyrie said, his eyes still fixed on the small silver thing in his hand.  He glanced up at both of us--a look that's crossed between fear and anxiety came over his face.  "It's Aoshi's ring."

    "I didn't recall Aoshi wearing any jewelry," I said.  "Especially a ring."

    Kyrie came back to his seat and palmed the ring into his fist.

    "He never wore it," Kyrie said.  "He didn't like jewelry because he thought those things were useless decorations.  It made him feel pretentious, when he wore them.  This ring was the only gift he kept from Kanryu.  He never told me why.  His 12th birthday present, I think he said."

    Okita looked at me with an expectant look.  He knew I understood why Aoshi kept the ring but I didn't want to tell them.  It was a part of Aoshi's life that I didn't want to talk about with anyone else but with Aoshi.

    "Another time," I said to Okita.  He finally nodded and let it go.

    Another slight knock at the door and the butler half-stepped into the doorway to open the door wider for the guest.  A tall, muscular built man I guessed to be in his mid-thirties stepped into the room.  There was something instantly familiar with him although I couldn't grasp what it was.  He was quite good looking with strong Anglo-Saxon features.  He was aging gracefully in the way all men would like -- with the age showing but with all of the handsome features intact.  I got up first and walked toward him to greet him.  Actually, I wanted a closer look at him.

    "Saitoh Hajime," I said and extended my hand out to him.  He took it in a firm grip and shook my hand.  "You are?"

    The man took off his rimless glasses and slipped it into his breast pocket of his jacket.  That was when I realized that although his eyes were hazel-colored, they were distinctly Ian Von Erich's eyes.

    "Come back to bed," Parker said and patted at the empty space next to him.  "It's three in the morning."

    Aoshi glanced up and looked at Parker and smiled. 

    "I've got to follow up on a lead before he disappear," Aoshi said as he pressed the bullets into the ammo clips.  "I'll try to be back tonight."

    Parker groaned and rolled out of the bed.  

    "You have an eight o' clock meeting with the Prime Minister, Walter.  I'll be finished in a few minutes and let you go back to sleep in peace."

    Parker tugged on his robe and shuffled toward Aoshi.  

    "I don't want you to be finished," Parker said as he wound his arms around Aoshi's shoulders, careful not to touch the bandaged wound.  "I want you to stay with me."

    Aoshi pushed the emptied bullet cartridges into the small trash can and lined up the clips on the table to take another inventory.  Eight clips of twenty for two Berettas.  

    "I don't think this would be what Ian would want you to do," Parker said and kissed him on the side of his neck.  "I can protect you from Ushakov."

    Aoshi turned slightly to kiss Parker on his mouth.  

    "I don't want to hide in England all my life, Walter.  I am not just doing this for Ian -- " Aoshi broke off his sentence and stood up.  Quietly he removed Parker's arms from his shoulders and walked across the room toward the closet.  

    "For this...Kyrie?" Parker asked.  "I have influences over his father, I can -- "

    Aoshi held up his hand and gave Parker a stern look that cut Parker's sentence off abruptly.

    "Don't involve politics or him or his family into this.  I will never forgive you if you did.  I am not doing this for him."

    Aoshi opened the closet door and selected a pair of dark denim pants and a black sweater that would hide the bulk of the guns.  

    "You know, Ian was not the only person who loved you all his life," Parker said, his voice changed into a flat, accusatory tone.  "Did you think I've put up with Kanryu's ridiculous ideas because he had anything to do with furthering my career?  What you feel about losing Ian now, I would feel ten times that if I were to ever lose you."

    Aoshi said nothing as he dressed.  Parker made his way toward Aoshi, his face reddened with anger when Aoshi showed him nothing but a perfect mask of indifference.

    "Do you even care about me?" Parker said, struggling to keep his voice low as he spoke.

    "Honestly, I can't.  Not in the way you wanted me to," Aoshi said as he slipped on the sweater.  It was a size bigger than what he usually wore and it hung loose over the belt line.  

    Parker grabbed Aoshi by his arms and it was after a moment's contemplation that Parker decided to throw him onto the bed.  He knelt over him before Aoshi could get up.

    "How dare you..." Parker said.  He fought his urge to slap Aoshi.  Instead, he gripped Aoshi's wrists tightly in his hands and held them.  "How dare you say that after I took you in -- "

    "And I paid my dues by letting you fuck me, no?" Aoshi said.  

    "You say this after I told you I loved you?"

    "As much as I want to love you...or even Ian, I can't.  I do care about you, Walter.  Ian's death took nearly everything from me.  I don't think I have anything left if I lose any more...."

    Parker's eyes softened.  He loosened his grip on Aoshi's wrists and lied on top of him.  He pressed his ear against Aoshi's chest, listening to the steady beat of the heart as he breathed in the Aoshi's soft scents.

    "Just don't go..." Parker whispered.  "I thought I lost you once...if I lose you again -- "

    "If you really love me," Aoshi said softly as he threaded his fingers through Parker's dark brown hair.  "Then you would let me go."        

END PART 3   

~Narcissus