“Westbrook and Sixth?” It means nothing to me.
“Yeah. That’s Yakuza stronghold here in town. It’s under the back vaults in The Emperor’s Chalice. We’ve been trying to find it for a while from Chicago. It was only when Gabby followed your man that I managed to get some serious intel.”
“My man?”
“The one you sent to tell Yakuza of the triple deal?” The hell was she following him for? And why send a woman at all? He raises his brow at me and then looks back at the screen. “Trust goes two ways, Vico.”
“You sent your woman to snoop on me?”
“Yes, but I didn’t know what she’d been up to until she got back.” Quinn laughs at me as I watch them both. “She followed your guy into the restaurant, watched as he headed out back to the whore house, and then ended up being Gabby and getting into shit she shouldn’t have been anywhere near.”
“Once a thief, always a thief,” Quinn cuts in. Nathan snarls, tinged with a sense of pride.
“Still, the safe codes were hacked to get her through into the vault, then she found the door into the main rooms behind. It was empty at the time, but she got hold of that folder.” He nods at the one I’m still holding. “I’ve inputted most of the relevant data from it, but the really interesting bit is the last page. Hisa. She’s the one we’ve been after all along. She went quiet after I took the money from them.” He looks back at the screen, focusing again as Quinn walks around the desk to me.
“I'd assumed it was because the family would have killed her for what Nate did,” he says. “Normal fucking behaviour for them. But no. She’s here in New York. Your backyard, Vico.”
“Who is she? I only know of Hazuki in New York. He's been the chief here for years.”
“Yeah, well, our intel suggests she’s far higher up the ranks than him. She's the granddaughter of Yakata-Kai, Japan's answer to God,” Nate mutters, still flicking his fingers over two keyboards. “That means whatever hold you’ve had here is coming to an end unless you stop with all the goddamned paranoia. And, while we're at it, I swear to God, you ever put a gun to Quinn's head again, I'll return the favour. You got me?”
Quinn sits on the desk, his arms folded, and a smile on his face as his brother stares me down from behind. I smirk. He's turned sharper, more aggressive. Bullish even. Or stupid. But useful in more ways than one. At least regarding his family.
I back away from the pair of them, taking my coat from my shoulders so I can sit. “We didn't come here to destroy you, Vico. We came to help.” Quinn brings my attention back to him.
“Fuck you. You came here because you needed a show of strength against the Yakuza and I’m the only one big enough.”
“Yeah, well. Same shit different day.”
There’s silence for a while after that. They keep looking at their screens, muttering with each other, and I watch on, accepting that after all that’s happened so far, maybe they can be of some help as well. Trust is, as they say, a two-way affair. And for now, I do trust them. Why would they bother offering all this shit up if not to work together?
“You up for a party?” Quinn asks, swiveling his chair back towards me and pulling out his gun. I keep gazing at him for a few seconds. Loading. Reloading. He's ready without much thought on the matter, eyes focused. I’m amused at this sidekick I’ve suddenly acquired. Nathan hovers his fingers and turns.
“Quinn, you can't just … There will be civilians. And we still haven't talked about Andreas. . .” The glare that is sent back to Nathan is harsher than I've seen between them before now. It's full of animosity and threat, something that stops the rest of the sentence dead.
“You coming?” Quinn asks me, still staring his brother down as he stands. Nathan stands, too, feet and mouth primed to act stupidly given their connection.
“What is this?” I ask, intrigued. My hand whips back and forth between them. “Because it's entertaining me.” Both brothers look at me. “You’re like a perfect team most of the time, but this… this keeps creeping in with you two, like there's something you're not letting me in on.” They look back at each other again, barely interested in my question.
“You knew this would come, Nate,” Quinn states as his eyes peel to Nathan, waiting for a comeback, but big brother carries on. “They all need ending, Andreas included.”
Little brother seems conflicted about what they're discussing, fidgety. I smirk. He doesn't like it, does he? Doesn't like the sweet smell of death and chaos. Some Cane brother. I was right. He’s weak, even if he is smart.
“You want me to save a piece of him for you?” I ask, rising from my chair to put my coat back on again. “Cut his eyes out for your woman to reminisce over?” He glares at me for that, taking a half step in my direction like he's about to rip my fucking head off. That's more like it. “This version of you is better, Nathan. Keep it up.”
He grumbles and turns back to his screens. Probably wise. I'm in no mood for weak or distracted, regardless of my joviality. We've got a joint enemy to destroy in the only way they seem to understand. Death.
“You ready?” I ask the only brother who's capable of serious intent. I don't bother waiting either. I head straight back out into the lobby towards the elevator, checking my gun as I go.
Time to finish this.
* * *
“See?” Quinn points out, tipping his chin at the blacked-out SUVs parked up round the side. I flick my eyes over them as his dice turn in his hand. Other than five of them being there, there's nothing overtly threatening. “That usual on your streets?”
“Could be.”
“That's planning.”
