Day 162 - Like Father Like Son

 Like Father Like Son

 Matthew Ryan Fischer

 

The day after the brawl, Seven met in private with Rama and Junko. They made it clear this was not a negotiation and that Yaz would not be there. Seven smiled to himself, but allowed them to set the terms. Rama appeared Javanese. Or close enough. He should have known better than to be doing unauthorized business. Junko was Japanese though, and there was a chance that this was all a mistake. They hid Yaz, acted like he was the boss, but clearly, he needed protecting. Probably from himself. Seven guessed Junko was his bodyguard, but probably not hired by Yaz himself. Maybe someone higher up in the organization, an uncle or older brother or perhaps even his father. Rama was probably only there because he had been at the club and had been caught by The Agents on the way out the back door.

If there was money to be made, the bosses wouldn’t mind a few weeks of unauthorized activity. All could be forgiven when faced with the long shadow of the almighty dollar. But that was the other thing about Club B – there wasn’t just one or two things going on in that club. It seemed like every worker on every floor had a side hustle. And then there was the manager letting it all happen. He would be replaced. Maybe it had already happened, never to be seen again. Seven heard chatter that half the money in the register was counterfeit. And perhaps as much as a third of the safe was fake too. That was a bigger problem.

If Junko knew anything about that, she wasn’t letting on.

That pretty much confirmed in Seven’s mind that she absolutely knew what was going on at that club. But how big was the problem? And how widespread? The street relied on cash transactions. If that trust got spoiled, it could ruin all business. A problem like that could bring down bosses. A problem like that had to be solved before all other problems.

Seven couldn’t help but think of Nine and the information he died trying to protect. Someone had a target on all their backs. Killing an Agent was one thing; killing the families was another.

Seven wanted to tell his father and get his advice, but it was private and Ace was no longer privy to such information. His father was training dozens of fighters now, men and women. The bosses had allowed it because times seemed dangerous and the streets needed to be reminded who was in control. Still, Seven didn’t approve. There was only so much intimidation an Agent could do if the whole world was ready for a fight.

If Ace agreed or disagreed, he kept it to himself. His father was a good man, but smart enough to keep his opinions out of the ears of the bosses or anyone who might disagree. One more thing they could talk about if they ever talked about such things. A secret for a secret. It might be the smartest thing they could do.

Seven came to the dojo whenever he had spare time. He liked sparring with his father, and his father needed the help. For all his private protestations, he enjoyed teaching and found he was good at helping the other men.

And it didn’t hurt that Jade was there most everyday as well.

Jade wasn’t afraid of a challenge and would pick a fight with Seven as often as she could. She was not much of a fighter, but she never gave up. Seven appreciated that. His father would kid him at night that wasn’t the only thing he appreciated about Jade. True, it was hard to resist an attractive woman who was working out and sweaty. True, she was obvious and eager and used their fights as an excuse to make physical contact. Seven didn’t have a problem with that. But he also had Kira in his bed at home most nights. He had made no promises or proclamations, but it would be difficult to bring a different woman home and not have Kira notice. Still, the way Jade looked at him, the way she tried to turn every fight into a wrestling match so she could hold and feel his body, Seven was sure it was just a matter of time. Seven knew better. Jade was Queenie’s great niece. It would be bad for business, his family and hers. It wasn’t logical or rational, but that rarely was the important thing in moments like these. It was fairly certain that it was just a matter of time.