Wake up
And face me
Don't play dead
'Cause maybe
Someday I will walk away and say
You disappoint me
Maybe you're better off this way
++Life in Tokyo was hard to adjust to, but it eventually came. Azami was thrilled to have us. Devon, not so much. He kept to a distance and his responses were curt and monotone. But I always caught him glaring from the corner of my eye. I loved Azami like a sister but I loathed the sight of her husband. He was wonderful to her, don't get me wrong. She was the most precious thing in his eyes and heart but he was territorial and he knew nothing but chaos and blood came in my wake. Eoin was obvious to Devon's disdain of me and was close to confronting him. While I would have loved to see Eoin beat Devon within an inch of his life, I had to step in. This was my mess, I needed to try and draw the battle lines. I sat sipping tea in the garden. Azami was out doin errands. Eoin was off on a walk. That left me and Devon. If we were going to lock horns, it would be now. I light a cigarette and called out to him. After a few moments the door to the sitting room slid open++
Devon: What do you want you harpy?
Elizabeth: To talk.
Devon: I don't even want you here why would I willingly sit and talk to you?
Elizabeth: For Azami. For her safety.
Devon: Are you fucking threatening…
Elizabeth: Erika has come home.
++I knew I had to be forthright. He didn't owe me a damn thing. I expected the hostile hospitality I had gotten from him, but this was more important than a family feud. I just let the words linger in the cold Tokyo air as I took another drag off the cigarette. He finally came around, bumming a cigarette from me and sitting across from me with the chair he pulled up. I tossed him a lighter and inhaled deep++
Devon: What proof do you have that she is back?
Elizabeth: A murdered bystander and the Yakuza.
Devon: Are you fucking serious Liz? You were involved in that bullshit? I knew it was a cleanup job but you never crossed my mind. Your old man bailed you out, fixed it so his precious little girl wouldn't be linked to a dead girl and a Yakuza hit.
Elizabeth: He didn't. I did. Except there's more to it. I had a debt I owed. Same fine people. It was settled. After the attack I reached across party lines and confirmed that it was not due to the debt. It was a hired hit. There is only one person, besides you, who would pay to leverage such a price over my head and who would have zero issues with innocent lives being taken in the process. Erika. As much as you hate me, and while I did suspect you at first, you would rather pull the trigger yourself than let someone else claim the glory. Erika on the other hand…
Devon: Would she come for Azami?
Elizabeth: I honestly don’t know. Erika lives by a totally different set of rules. The only family she recognizes is those within her inner circle that sees the world as she does. My existence is putting both her and you in danger. But due to things beyond our control, I can’t exactly skip town and go lock down in France somewhere. We’re ground zero and she has decided now is the time to strike. I would high tail it to a safehouse or appeal to the Yakuza but a deviation from normal behavior will tip her little crows off that we’re aware.
Devon: But its been almost a year! You’ve kept us in the dark almost a year! What the FUCK were you waiting for? An invitation?
Elizabeth: Confirmation. I had suspicions, but Erika went so far off the grid that I had to call in quite a few favors and really dig deep into the resources I had at my disposal to even confirm it was her. Do you know what it is like to negotiate with warlords in Mumbai? Pakistani hackers? I work in a world where information is a commodity. Knowledge is both powerful and a curse. I didn’t want to broach the subject until I was absolutely sure it was her. Somewhere between a kidnapping and blackmail, a retired Yakuza clansman admitted she placed the price on my head. Now I’m telling you.
Devon: Jesus fucking Christ Liz. What are we going to do? I need to call Azami, find her someplace safe…
Elizabeth: There is no safety now. Only caution and shadow dances. You run, you die. It’s me she wants but she will have no issue going through all of you to punish me. I knew she would rear her ugly head like the snake she is. She just can’t let it go…
Devon: Do I even want to know what you did to her?
++I looked away. Killed the cigarette and nimbly fumbled another one through my fingers. My hands are shaking. I knew what I did. All I could see though was that young woman's limp body in my arms, the blood pooling in the rain. All I could smell was the fired shells, gunpowder, and brain matter. The bullet wounds and missing parts of her skull cap. I clenched my eyes and shuddered as the memory played in my broken mind like an 8mm film++
Devon: Jesus Liz…look at you. Where is your bravado now?
Elizabeth: Now you know why Eoin has been coming home bruised and bloody a few times. They sprung for him first. I suspect you will be next, family and all that. Might I suggest working from home for the time being?
Devon: What…did…you….DO!
Elizabeth: No. I’m not there yet. I can’t talk about it. I know what I did and that’s all that matters. The less you know, the better. For Azami’s sake. We have to keep her in the dark. She has to be protected at all costs. I’m heading off in a few hours. Eoin will be coming with me. UW has me booked in a stable match. I know what you’re thinking, how the fuck could I possibly be interested in fighting right now when a psychopathic bitch is just merrily killing random people. Habit. Safety. As long as I keep moving around here and there, her and her ilk will be more inclined to keep tabs on me rather than you and Azami. Who knows, one of these days Devon you may get the call that she cut my brakes and I died in a fiery horrible hellscape. So I keep fighting. I go and do my song and dance. I go out there and I bleed for them. I put it all on display, taunting her. I know she’s watching. In every town, at every event, I look at everyone I pass with suspicion and discretion. Eoin refuses to let me travel on my own so he got a manager's license. I just have to keep moving…
Devon: An act of selflessness? From you? You’re scared aren’t you? You can’t just wave your hand and make this all go away. For once your money, your name, your legacy doesn’t matter because what Erika seeks in payment is your blood. I never thought I’d see the day when the great Elizabeth Devereaux was scared of a ghost…
++I whipped my head around, my teeth bearing. His amusement was displaced. My hand whipped out and my finger pointed, the stiletto nail threatening but at a distance++
Elizabeth: You’re right, Erika is a ghost. An onryō. She lurks beneath the surface and bides her time, waiting to extract her revenge. You would be best to treat this whole situation with more seriousness than making light of the predicament. You can look at me however you want, but she is coming. She will come. God help you if I’m not here when she does. I see the face of that young woman in my nightmares. I’ve had dreams of Azami being tortured. You’re throat slit. I’m putting myself out there to do my best to protect you both, hate me all you want Devon, God knows you have your reasons, but this is real. This is serious. Damn how you feel about me I NEED you to be with me on this. I NEED you to keep up the appearances at home. You can gleefully wish me dead, but it won’t save you.
++I stood up and threw the cigarette pack at him then started making my way inside to finish packing. As I stepped into the house, he called out++
Devon: You really thought I sent them to kill you?
Elizabeth: The list of names of people who hate me is pretty significant. The list of names who would pay an underworld entity to kill me is pretty short. Your name is second. Jorge was third, but steroids got to him first. What’s a little contract killing amongst family, cousin?