Episode 1: Handle With Care Part 1

I took another swig from my beverage that contained high amounts of alcohol.  Poison, yeah that’s what this is isn’t it.  Poison.  Call it whatever you want, but at least it kills bad memories, if only for a while.

        As I looked around the only bar on this seaside port I took in all the faces that surround me.  Some from the local gangs, and some from the bigger mafias, some just lost souls.  Yeah, this sure was a boiling pot for the wicked.  The dead men walking as some people like to put it.  The bar itself was in good shape considering where it’s location was.  I’ll assume that it’s backed by some some rich gangs, and has good insurance.

        I sighed, and took another drink.  Fuck me...  What the fuck am I doing here?  Sure, I need money.  Yeah I’m pretty handy with a gun, and yeah, I do enjoy a few shootouts here and there, but still.  I never knew this is what Kim had in mind.  Can’t even remember the name of this shitty port town she dragged me to.  I do some crazy shit because of her, normally it all turns out good in the end, but sometimes, well sometimes it goes south, and I have a feeling this may go all south.

        Kim was just twenty five percent of our little group of misfits.  Although I’ve only known her for a few years, well since I’ve been under her “employment” at least.  John, and Lilly made up the other fifty percent.  Kim was... well Kim I guess.  She had brown hair, brown eyes, a very athletic figure, but for this line of work, that was must.  She was cool headed, calm, and a great tactician, and damn could she fucking shoot.  Hell, I wouldn’t do half this shit if she wasn’t the one spearheading it.  Still, as calm as she seems to be, she still has a crazy side as we all do.  Hers is just a little more extreme than most peoples.  I’ve been there when people have set her off, and goddamn, is it not pretty.  She also gets this wicked creepy smile when she gets set off that would even scare the devil.  Ugh, best not to think of it.

        John is just a good friend from school.  Back when I thought the only way to make money was to sign my soul over to a bank in order to go to college.  John was never much of a scholar when it came down to it.  He was good at fighting, and well that’s where it ended.  Back then, we were pretty much opposite personalities that were somehow able to coexist.  Much like Kim now, in my school days he was the one dragging me off to do stupid shit.  From skipping school, to that time we ditched town and went to Florida to see a concert.  We did it all.  It was in his backyard that I learned how shoot.  Somehow he talked me into traveling with him.  By the time I graduated high school, and he decided that he wasn’t going to repeat Jr year again, so he took me along on a little trip.  My parents weren’t too concerned seeing as were high most of the time, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to miss home.  Somehow our little misadventures landed us in a bad situation.  I guess the mob doesn’t like it when you start selling drugs, and guns in their territory.  But thankfully the head of said Russian mob for one reason or another liked us.  I like to think it was our stunning personalities, but it more than likely how much money we gathered from just a few days of work.  After she asked us to work for her, and by ask, I mean put a gun to both of our heads, we met Kim and Lilly.  While they didn’t work for the Russians, they were pretty friendly.  The Russian asked them if they needed two new members, and well, here we are now.  John was pretty easy going when it came down to it, but still, he didn’t like being fucked over.  He was also the demo expert in our group.  I have no clue where the fuck he learned about explosives, but he somehow pulls it off.  Sometimes I think he just makes it up as he goes.

        Then there was Lilly.  Crimson hair, blue eyes, and a great figure.  She was beautiful, friendly, and seductive.  She loves to flirt with the men at the bars.  And she loves to accept all the drinks that are surely going to be bought for her.  She also loves knives, guns, and murder.  If you bought her a drink, and somehow managed to go home with her, you were fucked.  Wanted by every country she ends up, she has been given the name, “Lady in Red.”  People thought it meant that she likes to wear red.  Truth be told, it’s just because whatever clothing she has on will end up being red when she’s done with you.  Thankfully she has a sense of loyalty and doesn’t try that shit with John or I.  But that doesn’t stop her from fucking with us every chance she gets.  I recall the first night staying with her at some shit hotel we ended up in waiting for a job.  Her and I shared a room.  While trying to get some sleep she somehow managed to tie me up, take off most of my cloths, and straddle me.  She told me that she was going to enjoy working with me, and hoped we could get close.  I would have told her to go fuck herself, but she had stuffed a sock in my mouth.  I think it was her idea of a prank, or maybe she was just testing me out as a rookie.  But from what I know John didn’t suffer have to endure that type of shit.  Anyway, it wasn’t a very good first night.  Sadly I’m sharing a room with her on this trip too.  Thankfully I got out unscared, well physically at least.  To this day, I still get creeped out by the thought of bondage.  She is skilled with knives, guns, and hand to hand.  The craziest on our team, but the most dedicated.  I can’t count the times she has saved my, or John’s ass.  Her main use for the team is offense, and seduction if needed.  Although I figured it was be embarrassing for her to play that role, she seems to enjoy it, or at least she enjoys the looks of the men as they die.

        A gunshot forced me out of my thoughts.  Seemed like someone pissed off the wrong guys outside, and just payed for it.  I heard the sound of tires screeching, and then a few more shots rang out.  Like me, the other people in the bar payed no mind to the trouble that existed beyond the bar door.  Either they didn’t care like me, or knew not to fuck with the people outside.  The sound of a man screaming in pain soon made itself clear as the bar door opened and a man ran in.  He started screaming about his friend being in pain.  One of the customers said something about not pissing off the Columbians in this city.

        I downed the rest of my drink and made my way out of the bar.  The man was laying on the ground, two holes in his stomach.  He glanced at me while still screaming in agony.  I had somewhere to be though.  It was six o’clock and whatever job we got assigned takes place at nine.  I’m assuming Kim wants to take two hours to plan out something that doesn’t need more than a thirty minute briefing period.  But again, that’s just Kim’s style.

        I walked down the lonely streets of the decomposing city.  Hookers and drug dealers lined the sidewalks.  The few gangs that belonged to this city would give me a threatening glance every time I would pass by.  Did I mention how shitty this city is?  I finally made it to the one star hotel that we choose to stay at while we were on this job.  I descended the stairs to one of the two rooms that we happened to rent.  Kim, and John’s room was the first room I checked, Kim was sitting on one bed, while John was sitting across from her on the other bed the room housed.  I walked over and leaned against the wall closest to John.

        “So how is the local bar?”  John asked.

        “Surprisingly the liquor is good, and the bar isn’t as shitty as most of the ones we visit.  I can’t say the same about the people though.”  I said.

        “It’s a small port city outside of Japan.  You would think it wouldn’t be as rotten as it is.”  John said.

        “It might be near Japan, but that doesn’t mean Japan controls it.”  Kim said.  “It’s main leaders are the heads of each Mob that occupies this town.”

        “Wow.  Mob leadership must mean Mob police right?  Remind me not to call 911 if we have a problem.”  I said.

        “We have guns.  I’m pretty sure they’ll help out more in case of an emergency.”  John said.

        Another shot rang out from the street that our hotel room faced.  I looked out and saw a car drive speed away from the buildings across from us.

        “No rest for the wicked.”  I mumbled.  “There was a drive by at the bar I was at today also.”  I said.

        “No shit?  This town just keeps getting better and better.  I might think about investing in some real estate while we’re here.”  John said.

        “What the hell is taking Lilly so long?”  Kim asked to no one in particular.

        “She could be getting friendly with some of the guys on the streets.”  John said.

        “Probably would help drop the crime rate if she was.”  I said.

        “I said six, and it’s now six-fifteen.”  Kim said.  “That girl was never very timely.”

        “What do you expect from a psychopath?”  I asked.

        “Just because she played that prank on you when you first joined doesn’t make her a psychopath.”  Kim said.

        “Yeah, sure.  That’s why I called her a psychopath...”  I said.  “It can’t be because she gets pleasure from tricking men into bed with her, only to slit their throat.”  I said.

        “Everyone has fun in different ways.”  Kim said with a sly smile.

        “Oh, and what’s your idea of fun?”  John asked.

        “I’d rather not tell you.  I feel like it could harm our business relationship.”  Kim said.

        “I think I’d just rather not know.  I already have to worry about Lilly enough, I don’t want to have to add another one to the list.”  I said.

        “Okay, this is just getting annoying.”  Kim said.

        “I say we wait a little bit longer.”  I said.

        “You’re just worried I might choose you to go find her.”  Kim said.

        “Well that, and it’s not like she hasn’t been late before.  I’m sure is just taking her sweet ass time in coming back.”  I said.

        “That, or she is in deep shit.”  John said.  “This is Lilly we’re talking about isn’t it?”

        “John has a great point you know.”  Kim said.

        “I don’t like where this is going...”  I said.

        “Well then, Davis, looks like you’re going to be tasked with the mission of finding Lilly.”  Kim said.

        “Why don’t you ever choose John for the search missions?  Everyone time Lilly ends up missing, it’s always me that ends up walking the streets for hours trying to find her.”  I said.

        “Because she likes you better than John.”  Kim said.

        “No she doesn’t!  Wait, seriously?  Does she not like me as much as him?  What does he got that I don’t got?”  John asked.

        “Oh, shut the fuck up.  It’s not like we’re fighting over a prom date.”  I said.

        “Get to it Davis, we don’t have all day.”  Kim said.

        “Hey!  You should take some virgin blood with you!  I’m sure she’s attracted to that shit!”  John shouted as I was leaving the motel room.

        Yeah, if it was only that easy.  Lilly isn’t the easiest person to find.  It’s to be expected from how many people want to find her, but still, it gets annoying going on hide and seek missions.  I’m sure John, and Kim are making bets on how long it takes me to find her.  Maybe I should just go back to the bar, wait for some time to pass.  It’s not like walking around theses desolate streets are going to help.  Only thing waiting for me here is a knife to the stomach, or a bullet to the head.

        I saw a few more cars drive by.  My hand immediately went to the gun that rested in my holster.  I had on a jacket to cover up my guns from anyone who wanted to pick a fight.  But again, in this city didn’t seem to mind if you were armed or not.  The car sped by.  The tinted windows prohibited me from seeing in, although as fast as they were driving, I wouldn’t have gotten a good look anyway.  I was a few blocks away from the hotel when I decided that if I went any farther I would end up getting lost.

        As I turned around I saw some people crowded around a figure in an alley.  They were across the street from me.  They must have appeared from one of the buildings.  I doubt I wouldn’t have noticed them before.  I crossed the street and slowly started to walk up behind them, hoping I would go unnoticed.  I hugged the wall and took a quick glance into the alley.

        “Do you know how much fuckin’ trouble you’re in bitch?”  Asked one of the guys.

        “Did ya think you could just fuck up one of our guys, and walk on out the front door?”  Asked another.

        Seven guys, one unknown figure that murder one of their members.  That does not mean it’s Lilly.

        “I saw you hittin’ on him too bitch.  Don’t fucking think you can get out of this.”  Said another.

        Okay, so this unknown figure is female, and seduced someone.  This is a pretty shitty city.  Has to be more than just one psycho women in it.

        “It sounds to me... like you boys want to play.”  I heard a voice say.

        Goddamn it Lilly.

        “It’s seven to one bitch.  Do you really think you have a chance?”  Asked one of them.

        “Seven to two actually.”  I said come out from behind the wall.  The shit I do for my friends...

        “Glad you could make it baby.”  Lilly said.

        “You’re late.  Someone had to come and get you.”  I said.

        “Aww, you’re so sweet for volunteering.”  Lilly said.

“Okay assholes!  Enough!  So you both wanna die, is that it?  No sweat off my back.  KILL EM ALL BOYS!”  The one who I’ll take as their leader yelled, or maybe he was drunk.  Yeah,  probably drunk.

“Let’s do this.”  I said

Lilly already had two medium sized knives in her hand.  The two gang members closer to her were still fumbling to get their pistols out.  She dug the hooked blades into the man on her rights back.  He screamed out in pain as she removed them from his back.  By this time the second man had turned around and had his gun out.  She sunk the hook into his throat, and ripped it out.  He fell to the floor gurgling on his own blood.  The man that had been struck in the back was on his knees now.  She decapitated him with ease.  Now she is starting to look like The Lady in Red.

I had my pistol out already.  The three men in front of me were sidetracked by the screams coming from their friends behind them.  They aimed their guns at my blood crazed friend.  I lined my sights up with the closes one and pulled the trigger.  I quickly changed targets to the one to his left, as soon as my finger tapped the trigger, his head ceased to exist.  I smoothly moved my arm to the right, and squeezed the trigger a third time.  Damn, they didn’t even get a shot off.  This must be the lowest gang in the city.  Well, that leaves two.

The other two weren’t as armed as the other five it would seem.  One held a bat, and the other held a pipe, a large pipe, but still, just a pipe.  The one holding the bat rushed Lilly in a fear induced rush.  He held his bat up, ready to strike.  Lilly brought down one of her hooks onto the poor souls bat, slicing it in half.  The other gang member stood frozen with fear.  The man with the bat didn’t know what to make of the situation.  He dropped his bat, and prepared to throw a punch, as soon as he threw his fist in Lilly’s direction she moved slightly and slashed at his fist.  His hand fell with a fountain of blood following.  The sound of the hand falling to the ground, and the following screams seemed to have awoke the second gang member from his stunned phase.  While Lilly had her back to him, he decided to rush her.  I guess he forgot about the guy standing behind him with a gun.  I aimed my gun at his left kneecap and squeezed the trigger.  He immediately fell to the ground in agony.

Lilly picked up the handless man and started to laugh.

“You look so cute.  It’s a shame we couldn’t have met properly.”  She said to him.

“Lilly.”  I said.

“Yes Davey?”  She responded.

“You’re fucked up, you know that?”  I asked as I put a round in the man missing a kneecap.

“You can’t blame me for wanting to have a little fun can you?”  She asked as she drove her hooked blades into the top of the mans head.

“According to theses guys you seem to have already had your fun.”  I replied.

“He told me he wanted to have a good time.  I know for sure I had one.  I can’t say the same for him though.”  She said with a sick smile.

“You know if he has anymore friends?”  I asked.

“Why do you care?”  She asked, lighting a cigarette.

“Because if he has anymore friends, this might not be over.”  I said.

“I don’t know.  I didn’t ask for his life story you know, I was little busy doing other things to him.”  She said.

“You know a simple ‘no’ would suffice.  I don’t need anymore bad images circulating around in my head.”  I replied.

“Well I guess we should get back.  Kim doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”  Lilly replied.

I nodded in agreement and we began our long walk back to the shitty hotel.  When we finally arrived it was almost seven-thirty.  Hopefully Kim won’t be too pissed off, and if she is, hopefully it will directed at Lilly and not me.  For the second time, I climbed up the rotting stairs of the hotel and opened the door to Kim and John’s room.  John was leaning against the wall smoking a cigarette and Kim was impatiently tapping her nails on the headboard of her bed.

“What took you so long?”  Kim asked, clearly not too happy about the situation.

“Lilly was having her fun, and I, again, like I have so many times in the past, had to save her crazy ass.”  I said.

“You can’t blame me.  He wanted to get in bed, and so we did.  He just wasn’t prepared for what was in store for him.  And then his stupid friends had to corner me in an alley.  It was all really annoying to be honest.”  Lilly explained.

“You do release we have to be at the pick up point in only an hour right?”  Kim asked.

“It’s just a simple delivery job.  Nothing too difficult.  I don’t know why we all have to go.  I’d like to stay here and have some fun.”  Lilly said.

“It’s not as easy as a job as you all seem to believe.”  Kim said.  “We are taking the package to some big names in Japan.  I got notice that some other people would love to have the package too.”

“Oh, so it’s actually going to be a fun job?”  Lilly asked.  “Our last job was a snore fest.”

“Just because you don’t get to brutally kill someone, doesn’t make it a boring job.”  I said.

“Okay, shut up for a minute so I can explain the job as best I can with the little time we have.  We are going to meet Gus for a package.  It’s very fragile, he wanted to make that clear to you.  So don’t go throwing it around, I don’t want to deliver damaged goods.  Once we get it on the boat, we will take it to a port about eighteen miles away.  Once we get it to the port, we will hand it off to some of Jumbo’s boys.  After that job is done, and we get paid.  Any questions?”  Kim asked.

“What’s in the package?”  John asked.

“They didn’t say.  They just said be sure not to open it, or mess with it.”  Kim said.

“What if it’s like a setup, and there’s a bomb in the package?”  John asked.

“We have worked with Gus longer than you two have been in the crew, so I don’t think he will be looking to destroy us.”  Kim said.

“It just sounds funny.  Normally we are at least given a hint as to what’s in the package.”  John said.

“Maybe it’s some sort of new drug they don’t want anyone to know about.”  I said.

“Maybe it’s a bunch of dead hookers that this guy order.”  Lilly said.

“Maybe it’s none of our business.”  Kim said.  “We’re just hired to deliver the package, not to ask questions.”

“Come on.  Don’t tell me you aren’t just a little bit curious?”  John asked.

“We’re not paid to be curious John.”  Kim said.

“Fine, fine.  I get the point.  So are we leaving now?  I’m ready to get this job over with already.  Hopefully we don’t get fucked over in the processes.”  John said, standing up.

“We probably should get going.  Gus hates it when you make him wait.”  Kim said.

“Gus hates everything.  If we were early he would bitch at us for that, if we were on time he would bitch at us for not being early.  Might as well be late so his bitching is actually deserved.”  I said.

With that, John led the way out the door, followed by Lilly, Kim, and I.  I shut the door, and hit the lights.  No ones coming home tonight it seems.

The car sped down the the street.  There wasn’t another vehicle on the road that I could see.  The occasional parked car, but no one seemed to be on the move.  Must be a slow night, or everyone is scared of the drive bys that have been happening lately.  Maybe it’s not as common as I first thought seeing as how empty the streets are tonight.  Most of the street lights had been shot out, or were just not working.  The only light we saw came from the car’s headlights, or the lights from the buildings we drove by.  It created a somewhat evil feeling.  That what we are getting ready to go do might change us.  Maybe I’m overthinking it.  But I’m starting to get that bad feeling that John was complaining about.  Something about this just doesn’t seem right.

We arrived at the pickup spot.  It was near the docks, and by the boat we used to get here.  Gus was in a shit mood as always, but seem to be more nervous than mad.

“Remember don’t fucking drop this thing alright?  It’s worth more than all of your lives combined.”  Gus said.

“It’s nice to see you too Gus.”  Kim said, while motioning over to John to get the packet on bored.

“Fuck, it’s kinda heavy.”  John groaned as he lifted the large crate.  “What the fuck’s in this thing?”

“Don’t ask question you dumbfuck.”  Gus said.  “And don’t you dare ask the guys you’re delivering this too any questions.”  He finished.

“It’s not even the main people, is it?”  I asked.  “Not like they are going to give too much of a shit, they’re just delivery boys like us right?

“It’s not who they are that matters.  It’s who they’re being employed by that will fuck you up.”  Gus said.

“It’s just another brutal fucking mob boss right?”  Lilly asked.

“Not just another brutal mod boss.  One of the most brutal mob bosses in all of Japan.”  Gus explained.  “He wouldn’t think twice about slitting your fucking throat.  One wrong word, and BAM, you’re fucking through.”

“Sounds like most mob bosses to me.”  I said.

“John, are you done loading that crate yet?”  Kim shouted.

“Yeah.  They were right by our boat.  I don’t see why they couldn’t have loaded it for us.  Seeing as how special it is.”  John said rubbing his back.

“Physical labor is your job asshole.”  Gus said, while walking back to his car guarded by two gun toting men.  “You and your crew better get to it.  The man doesn’t like to bet kept waiting, nor does his crew.”  Gus entered the back of the car, and the two man sat in the front seats.  They quickly sped off to wherever that crazy bastard lives.

“Like I said.  I got a bad feeling about this.”  John said.

“Stuff it, and get on the boat.  We got work to do.”  Kim said.  We all followed her onto the boat.  After a few minutes the medium sized boat’s engines came to life, and we were setting sail for our course.

The night of the voyage was restful, well for most of us.  Kim had to stay up and keep an eye on the ship.  Lilly and John were passed out from their night of drinking.  I spent the night reflecting on the previous days events.  Well, at least so far the trip wasn’t too dangerous.  And thankfully no attacks.  As boring as it could be, I’d rather be bored than under attack constantly.  All in all, I could look forward to a night of rest for a change.

“Hey there.”  Lilly said.

Well it was a good thought while it lasted.

        “Didn’t you drink yourself into a coma?”  I asked.

        “I can handle my alcohol, unlike some of us.”  Lilly said, I’ll assume she meant John.

        “Well John has his strong suits.  For example, he doesn’t go crazy, kill some gang member, then almost get killed in an alley.”  I said.

        “Aren’t you over that yet?  Admit it, you had fun.”  Lilly said.

        “Saving your ass gets old after awhile you know.”  I said.

        “My ass will never be old to you.”  Lilly replied, then winked.

        “I’m not falling for that one again.”  I said and couldn’t help but smile.

        *CRASH*

        “Shit, what was that?”  I asked.

        “I'm awake!”  I heard John yell from another room.

        “Was that our package?  Is someone trying to break in them... or maybe out.”  I wondered.

        “Doesn’t matter, we need to go check now.”  Lilly said.

        We made our way to the area that housed the package and ran into Kim on the way there.

        “What the fuck was that?”  Kim asked, clearly pissed.

        “No fucking clue, going in there to check it out.”  Lilly said.

        “Good.”  Kim said, trying to calm down.  “Lets do this.”

        “Ladies first.”  I said.

        We made our way into the housing area for the cargo.  It wasn’t that large, but still, there were a few boxes blocking our view.  We scanned the area, and found that our package had been broken open.

        “Shit.  Did someone take what was in there?”  John asked, finally making his way to our position.”

        “No, we are right here.”  An unknown voice said.

        “Huh?”  I asked.

        “Oh God.  What the fuck?”  Kim said.

        “Aw, look!  Ponies!”  Lilly said.

        “Well this just got more interesting.”  John sighed.