by Carrie Asai
But then, out of nowhere, the hold on my neck slackened. The knife fell to the man’s side. He took me by the shoulder and spun me around. “Heaven? Heaven Kogo?” he asked in an amazed voice.
He lifted up his ski mask, and a chill ran down my back. Nausea gripped my stomach.
I was looking at the face of Teddy Yukemura.
8
Seeing Teddy was like seeing a ghost. He stood nearly a foot taller than me and looked like he’d put on some weight. In other words, he looked like he could beat me to a bloody pulp. His already slimy hair was slicked back and he wore a grubby black hooded sweatshirt. I could see what looked like the inkings of a tattoo poking out from under his sleeve, snaking up his arm. Out of self-defense and fear, I reached up my hand and tried to punch him in the face.
“Hey!” Teddy said, catching my arm and holding it there. I wrenched my arm out from his grip. He stood back and looked at me with this stupid grin. “Wow, check you out! You look fly, girl! What’ve you been doing with yourself up in this place?”
“Why were you waiting here? Were you waiting to kill me?” I demanded, my eyes flashing. Although my voice rang out steady and certain, inside I was shaking.
“Of course not!” Teddy said. “I was waiting here to talk to you!” He seemed to be studying me intensely, searching every little crevice of my body. It actually felt a little slimy. Oh my God, I thought. Is Teddy checking me out?
I narrowed my eyes. “Were you going to wait all night? It’s dark in there. How did you know where to find me?”
Teddy shrugged. “An acquaintance of mine told me that you were here. Said you were acting strange, kind of suspicious. He looked up your picture after he left and realized it was definitely you. So he called me about it.”
God, I was such an idiot! “Yoshitomo,” I breathed, feeling utterly stupid. So much for my subtle sex kitten act. What the hell was wrong with me? I obviously had a lot to learn.
“Who’s Yoshitomo?” Teddy asked, frowning.
“Your associate, right?” I demanded. “The guy who called to tell you about me? He came into the café this afternoon.”
Teddy shook his head. “I don’t know any Yoshitomo,” he said. “The guy who called me is in there a lot. Name’s Shigeto. He said you were looking up some weird stuff on the Internet.”
My stomach dropped into my shoes. Sweet, open Shigeto. God. I couldn’t trust anyone, ever.
Teddy gripped me by the shoulders. “Heaven, what are you doing? Why are you hanging out here? Why are you looking up your father on the Internet?” Teddy looked up at Life Bytes’s rickety sign and the sad, small lights of Chinatown blinking in the distance. Life Bytes was about as far as you could get from the lush surroundings we’d both grown up in.
“None of your damn business! Now leave me alone before I scream!” I said, wondering who would hear me if I did. The street was deserted. I hadn’t even seen a car go by once. I lunged for Teddy again, burying a blow into his side. He jumped back and then held my shoulders. He towered over me and anger flashed in his eyes. I don’t know why, but I stopped. My whole body shook—it was then I realized how terrified I was. I equated Teddy with death. I was on the run from him. It could be Teddy behind all these mysterious thugs attacking Hiro and me. And here he was, right in front of me, tall and horrible and carrying a knife. The Yukemuras are the worst of the worst. I shuddered. My breathing was short and nervous. I glared at him and tried to wrench myself from his grip.
“Heaven, control yourself!” Teddy said in a large, somewhat terrifying voice. His hands on my shoulders dug deep. I wriggled around, but that made him even angrier. “Listen to me!” he said. “I just want to talk to you! I’ve just been trying to find you because I think you’ve misunderstood my role in all of this…mess.” He took my hands in his. I made a face and wrenched them free.
“Did you send some big guys out to find me a couple of days ago?” I demanded. “Guys who practically gave me brain damage?” Teddy’s in the yakuza, I thought. Teddy could kill you. He’s probably killed tons of people.
Teddy shook his head. “Of course not! But that’s why we should stick together. You’re in a lot of danger being alone, Heaven. I’m your friend. I don’t know what’s going on, but together we could try to find some of it out. I had nothing to do with what happened on our wedding day. Honest.”
“Ha!” I said. “Why should I believe you?”
“You just should,” he said, staring at me, practically shaking me. “I can get us both protection. You can trust me, Heaven, I swear. I want to help you.”
I averted my eyes and stared off down the empty street. “No, thanks,” I said. “I can get by on my own.”
“Where are you staying? Can I call you?”
“I’m not telling you that, baka, you idiot,” I said. “How stupid do you think I am?”
“Heaven, come on. I’m not your enemy. You’ve got to believe me. I want to help you. You could be in great danger, but I can get us both protection.”
“You already said that,” I said.
He pulled out a little scribbled-on piece of paper. “This is where I’m staying,” he said. “It has my phone number and address. I can help you, Heaven. At least take my information.” He wrenched open my palm and thrust the piece of paper into it. I stared at my hand, as if it had just been overtaken by aliens. I noticed that my hand was shaking.
“Why don’t you come with me right now?” Teddy asked. “How safe do you think you’ll be even going back to where you’re staying? How safe will you be tomorrow?”
“Is that a threat?” I said fiercely. I shoved his phone number and address into my pocket. My hands curled into fists.
“No,” Teddy said. “I just want you to be safe.” He took my arm and tried to pull me in the direction of the street.
“Get away from me!” I said, feeling Teddy’s pull. This had to be a setup. Suddenly I remembered a flipping move Hiro had taught me a couple of weeks ago. I stepped back, planted my legs, straightened my arms, and lifted Teddy up. He weighed a ton, and I only half believed it when I felt his body rise into the air and flop over onto the street. I’d actually flipped him.
On his back he wheezed, unable to breathe. “Stay away from me,” I said, and slipped into a shadow and started to run.
I ran faster than I ever had before. The trees and the streets were blurs. The few cars on the road were moving slower than my running pace. Once I ran up the driveway of Cheryl’s house, I quickly opened the door and closed it behind me, breathing hard.
And then I lost it.
“Oh my God,” I sobbed to myself, dissolving into a mess of tears. So much for strong Heaven. My whole body shook. I worried that I was going through shock, so I sat down and put my head between my legs. “Oh my God,” I said again. Teddy had found me. What if it were his family who were behind all these attacks, all these horrible things that had happened? Had I just narrowly escaped from my murderer? “Oh my God,” I whispered again.
The house was still quiet. I didn’t know what to do. I tried to watch TV, but all I could think about was Teddy’s huge, dirty, snarling face. I crawled into bed but kept one eye open all night, frozen with fear that someone was going to break through my window and hurt me if I dozed off. I got up to check it seven times in one hour. I put my bo, my long fighting staff, under my pillow. I stashed the Whisper right at the side of the bed, where I had easy reach to it.
Teddy knew where I was now. He knew where I worked. My father was a yakuza mastermind. He’d overseen thousands of killings. Yoji Yukemura was presumably the same kind of man and had maybe even orchestrated Ohiko’s death. And who was Teddy? I pressed my hand to my head in a desperate attempt to expel these characters from my brain.
Then I realized I’d forgotten the printouts again. I’d have to get them tomorrow. And I couldn’t work at Life Bytes anymore. Teddy had found me in just one day.
The next morning I really needed the sunglasses. My eyes were puffy and red, with dark
circles under them. I couldn’t sleep, so I got up and went through some exercises on my own. Hiro was coming later; I had to go get those printouts from Life Bytes and talk to Farnsworth before Shigeto got there.
Taking the same route I had the night before was strange. I carried my bo with me, concealed in my coat. I came around the corner to Life Bytes, almost covering my eyes, afraid of what I’d see.
But Teddy was nowhere to be seen. I breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of Farnsworth unlocking the store. “Farnsworth!” I called. He looked over eagerly.
“Hey, Heaven,” he said, looking puzzled. “A-Are you on the schedule today?”
I shook my head. “No, but I need to talk to you about something.” I looked around me for any suspicious figures lurking. “Let’s go inside.”
As soon as Farnsworth got the door open, I rushed past him straight to the printer. All of my printouts were still there. I grabbed them and stuffed them into my coat. “Listen,” I said. “I don’t have much time. I can’t work here. I have to quit.”
Farnsworth looked like someone had told him he’d been diagnosed with a terrible, incurable disease. “You’re kidding,” he said. He looked almost like he was going to cry.
I shook my head.
“What’s going on? Why do you have to quit?” Farnsworth said.
I bit my lip and looked around. I had this paranoid fear that Teddy was going to break in any minute and catch me off guard. “I can’t explain,” I whispered.
“You’re acting so strange…,” Farnsworth said.
I shook my head again, my eyes filling with tears.
Farnsworth shyly shifted from one foot to the other, tentatively putting his hand on my shoulder. He said. “It’s okay. It’s okay, Heaven. You don’t have to explain. Do you need some help or anything? Is there anything I can…uh…do?”
I shook my head and tried to smile. “Thanks,” I said. “I’m so sorry.”
Farnsworth snorted. “Don’t worry about it. We really didn’t need somebody, anyway. But it was nice to have you here.” He said that last part quietly, not looking me in the eye.
I glanced around again. “Look, I would love to stay and, uh, talk some more, but I should get out of here.”
“Okay,” Farnsworth said. Then he held up a finger. “Hold on. I have something for you. The Professor was able to get you something last night. He brought it by after you left.” He went in the back office and came out with a paper bag. He pulled out three strange-looking cell phones. They were brown and looked like they were made out of cardboard and bits of cheap plastic. “Disposable cell phones,” he said. “You use them a few times, then throw them away. He said if you need more, just give him a call.”
“Thanks,” I whispered. Then I had a terrible thought. What if Shigeto had overheard our conversation about the cell phones? Was there any way he had the numbers?
“Uh…,” I began, “do you know if anyone else knows about these? I mean, besides you and the Professor.”
Farnsworth looked confused. “I don’t think so,” he said. “I mean, the Prof came by late last night, right before I closed up. Everyone was gone. Heaven…” He looked at me sadly. “Are you in some kind of trouble?” He raised his eyebrows curiously. I could feel how badly he wanted to help.
I forced myself to shake my head, anyway. “It’s better if you don’t know,” I said, taking the bag and walking toward the door.
“If you need anything…” Farnsworth said again.
“I’ll call you,” I answered. I raised my hand in a wave. “I’ll talk to you soon,” I said. Farnsworth gave me a sad smile. He still looked about ready to cry. I walked out the door.
I got back home without a hitch and put the bag of cell phones in my room. There was a message from Hiro on my machine: “Hey, Heaven. It’s Hiro. We’re meeting in downtown L.A. for practice today. Take the DASH and get off near Little Tokyo. It’s on the corner of Los Angeles and Temple near the Japanese American National Museum. I’ll see you soon.”
Ugh. The last thing I wanted to do was practice. Or get on mass transit. And go near Little Tokyo. I didn’t know what friends or associates of Teddy would be lurking around that part of the city. I had no idea where they’d be lurking. I put my coat back on and found my sunglasses on the table. All of a sudden I hated L.A. It was so huge and confusing. It was so difficult to get anywhere without a car.
When Hiro saw me walk into the warehouse, he gasped. “What happened to you?” he said. “You look…awful.”
Oh, you probably say that to all the girls. “Great,” I said. “I was wondering about that. Thanks.”
But Hiro looked at me with kind eyes. “Heaven, what happened?”
I took in a breath, and my chest shook with tension. I needed to talk to someone. I felt myself break down. “I saw Teddy Yukemura in front of Life Bytes. I think he was trying to set me up. And I found out all this information about my father and the Yukemuras. All about the yakuza. Teddy found out where I worked because some guy from Life Bytes recognized me. This other guy told me my dad is a huge yakuza kingpin and I think my father has killed like thousands of people, and I feel like such a stupid naive little kid because I’d always suspected he was involved in something, but I didn’t know what, and apparently all these things have been going on before my eyes for…well…my whole life and—”
“Wait a minute,” Hiro said. “Stop. Slow down.” He held me by the shoulders, the same as Teddy had but in a much gentler, reassuring way. “Teddy was outside your work?”
I nodded, looking out the window. I didn’t want to meet Hiro’s eyes. Seeing pity there would only make it worse.
“And he found you because some guy came in and recognized you and told Teddy. But how did the guy recognize you?”
I sighed. “He saw me looking up information on the Internet about my father.”
Hiro stared at me. He shook his head, as if he hadn’t heard me correctly. “Why did you do that?”
“Because I wanted to see what I could find out about my father. I thought I might learn something about who might be after me. And I did. My father is a yakuza boss, Hiro. Someone from his crew may have double-crossed him, or someone from the Yukemuras may be after me. They’re a rival family.”
Hiro sighed. “A crucial strategy that I’ve been trying to get through to you in training is knowing your enemy and not revealing yourself. I know that you wanted to find things out that could help you and your father, but it wasn’t wise to look for information in a place where you didn’t know who surrounded you. Especially information that could give away your identity.”
“I know,” I said quietly, staring at the ground. I noticed Hiro didn’t seem very shocked to learn that my father was a kingpin of the yakuza. Had he already known? Had he assumed that I’d known, too? I felt so stupid, like the only person who hadn’t caught on. “I’m sorry,” I said.
Hiro shook his head. “No matter. It’s done now. But I wish you’d told me sooner than you did. Why didn’t you call last night? You don’t have to go through this alone.”
I shrugged and immediately felt even dumber. I hadn’t wanted to call Hiro because, in a way, I didn’t want to interrupt his time with Karen. Or more to the point, I didn’t want to know I was interrupting his time with Karen. If I hadn’t been so brazen in trying to find my information, Teddy might not have found me. Or at least not as fast.
“Are you okay to practice?” Hiro said.
“Yes,” I said, sluggishly straightening up. “It’ll help me burn off some tension.”
We began with aikido, making short arm punches to warm up. I could barely do ten. Then we added in feet, jumping from stance to stance. I was a half step off the whole way. We started the sparring part of the day, practicing some of the defense moves I’d learned the other day. Hiro asked me to do a flipping move on him—the same one that I’d managed to do on Teddy. I took Hiro by the shoulders and planted my feet but couldn’t get him off the ground. I was too weak.
Hiro stood back and brushed his hands together. “You’re not focused today,” he said. “I think what you need is to get some sleep. Let’s end practice early.”
I sat down on the dingy floor of the warehouse and stared into space. “I wonder if it’s the Yukemuras who are planning all these attacks,” I said. I shared with Hiro what Yoshitomo had said about the Yukemuras—that they were in pretty dangerous waters. I also explained that since Yoshitomo had told me about the Yukemuras, Teddy was probably involved, too. “If he is, it could make sense that they wanted my father out of the picture,” I said. “And maybe they planned a kind of double cross at the wedding.”
“There are definitely things we should look into,” Hiro said. “First off, we need to see if Teddy is an initiated member of the yakuza. If he’s working with his father. That could explain why Teddy’s searching for you.”
“That could also explain why I was supposed to marry him,” I said wryly. “Well, in a way, anyhow.” Imagine me, a yakuza wife.
“I know some people who might know if Teddy’s in,” Hiro said. “I have a friend who sometimes trains at the dojo whose uncle is in one of the yakuza gumi. He knows a bunch of people who are involved, and I bet that if Yukemura’s the oyabun, then it’s pretty common knowledge if Yukemura’s son is in, too. Let me go make some calls to find out.” He walked to the far end of the room, where a phone hung from the wall.
I stared out the dingy windows. I was so exhausted, I could hardly keep myself in a sitting position. It was nice that Hiro was paying all this attention to me. Maybe…?
I frowned to myself. Distance, Heaven, I told myself. I had to get over him. I lay down on the mat and went into a very brief, light sleep.
Hiro tapped me on the shoulder with his foot. “Heaven, wake up.”
I opened my eyes. Hiro stood over me, looking serious. For one brief, ridiculous moment I flashed back to the kissing part of my dream. What if I just leaned up into him…cupped his cheek in my hand…
“My friend had a lot to say,” he said. “First off, Teddy is definitely an initiated member of the yakuza. He was initiated sometime last year. He was given a tattoo of initiation.”