Midori sat in the car, waiting.
Midori decided to conserve gasoline and avoid draining the battery, so she turned off everything in the car. With twilight settling in and the mountain casting its shadow, the temperature dropped noticeably. Condensation from Midori's breath began to collect on the windows, obscuring visibility. Midori switched on the car to run the defroster for a moment, then turned off the engine again. The dashboard lights faded, enveloping her in shadowy darkness once more. As she peered out the windows, wisps of thin fog drifted by, adding to the eerie atmosphere of the empty road she was parked along.
Midori checked her phone and revisited the text she received twenty minutes ago. The message indicated that Naora's absence had been noticed, and she was evidently en route. Two ominous words were written in capital letters: GET READY.
Midori sighed and reached into her jacket, retrieving a small envelope. Ripping it open, she emptied the contents into her mouth, washing them down with a gulp of flat soda lingering in the cupholder. The double dose of painkillers she had just ingested was meant to take the edge off the impending, and inevitable, beating she was about to endure.
Time passed.
And passed.
And passed.
Time had slowed to a crawl. The shadows within the car deepened, grew heavier. On this secluded mountain road, devoid of streetlamps, darkness enveloped everything. Yet, sitting in the dark, Midori's eyes gradually adjusted, allowing her to discern shapes against the backdrop of the surrounding forest.
Finally, a figure emerged from the gloom. Midori tightened her grip on the cracked faux leather steering wheel as the silhouette drew near the driver's side window. She pressed a button and the window whirred down, delivering a gust of frigid air that smacked Midori right in the face.
Naora surveyed her surroundings as she neared the car. It was a small two-door compact, the kind one might find at a rental office. The plates appeared suitably generic. While not a high-performance vehicle, it would blend in inconspicuously on the streets of Tokyo. Nondescript and perfect for staying unnoticed, Naora nodded in approval at Midori's choice as the driver's side window rolled down.
Something was off.
Naora stopped and quirked an eyebrow before looking around in anticipation of an ambush. She tensed up, ready to bolt if this was some kind of trap.
Midori turned to look out the window at the approaching woman. "Are you crazy? You need to stay out of sight!" she hissed, urgency in her voice. "If she sees you, she'll be spooked, and—"
Shizuya's driver interjected, "It's been over an hour." The woman leaned into the window, her voice carrying a weighty implication. "Naora should have been here by now, so we went looking for her trail." The gaze that locked onto Midori said that this woman knew exactly what was going on.
Engines roaring, cars closed in from both ahead and behind. Two dark sedans screeched to a halt, effectively trapping Midori's vehicle. Doors were thrown open and figures emerged. A pallor washed over Midori's face. Shizuya's enforcers were making their move and it was evident they had no intention of letting her attempt an escape.
Not that she would.
That was never part of the plan.
Moonlight glinted off Naora's ebony hair as she leaned down to peer inside the car's dark interior.
Kagi smiled back, "Hiya boss!"
Kagi reached down and pulled a release lever, causing the trunk hatch to pop open. "Get in the trunk. They have cameras with facial recognition all over the place. You can't be visible through the windows until we get off the mountain and onto the main road. Cover yourself with the blanket, just to be safe."
Naora hesitated for only a moment before getting into the storage space behind the back seat of the hatchback. It wasn't completely sealed off from the rest of the interior, allowing the two to talk freely if they spoke loud enough. Naora covered herself with the blanket as Kagi pulled away.
"Where's Midori?"
Naora was answered with silence.
The car door on the driver's side was flung open and Midori was forcefully pulled out of the driver's seat. She found herself pressed up against the car's side, restrained by some of her fellow associates serving the Terauchi family. Shizuya's dedicated chauffeur took out a phone, tapping on it repeatedly while awaiting a response. After a moment, she held it up towards Midori who now faced an image of Shizuya's icy glare staring at her.
"It seems Naora opted for a route down the mountain different from the one you informed me she intended to follow," she stated in a flat, monotone voice that was utterly terrifying, "Care to offer an explanation?"
Midori replied just as flatly, "I gave you the note. You read it yourself."
"That is not an explanation."
Midori swallowed against the fear seizing her throat, "Maybe she doesn't trust me anymore." Even to her, the excuse sounded hollow.
Shizuya's eyes were black pits that Midori was afraid she might vanish into, never to be seen again, "Somehow I doubt that."
Midori closed her eyes in anticipation of what was about to happen next, "Yeah. Didn't think you'd buy that excuse either."
Shizuya regarded Midori for a long time before she spoke again, "No matter. I was hoping to teach Naora a lesson tonight, but it seems I will have to settle on sending her a message."
Midori took in a deep breath before speaking through gritted teeth, "I'll make sure she gets it."
Kagi drove in silence.
Kagi disregarded everything except the need to distance herself from Togakure. While driving, the burner phone provided by Midori beeped. Curiosity getting the better of her, Kagi picked it up and flicked her thumb along its surface. A single glance later, Kagi's face lost all color. Without hesitation, Kagi pressed the button to lower her window. A moment later, The phone hit the road. The picture flickered. The case shattered. Fragments tumbled through the air in the car's wake as Kagi stomped down on the accelerator.
Finally, the car merged onto the highway, and a sense of relief settled in. They were essentially out of immediate danger. While Kagi negotiated the on-ramp, Naora climbed over the back seat and made her way to the front, settling into the passenger seat beside Kagi. "Hey," she began staring at her bodyguard as she spoke without any emotion in her voice, "I asked, where's Midori? She was supposed to be the one to pick me up."
Kagi glanced sideways, "Huh? Oh. Midori? Right. Midori. Well..." Kagi shrugged with one shoulder, "She got the note you slipped into her back pocket. We did exactly what you wanted."
Kagi cast a glance into the rearview mirror, capturing the sight of the mountain they were swiftly distancing themselves from. The landscape loomed behind them, gradually veiling itself in deepening darkness as the remaining hints of daylight succumbed to the encroaching night. Twilight yielded to the embrace of true darkness.
Kagi bit her lip, either unwilling or unable to continue.
Naora swallowed once before continuing, "Kagi? Where. Is. Midori?"
"Hana?" Upon hearing her name, the driver pivoted the phone so she could face her employer. Shizuya's tone was matter-of-fact as she issued instructions, "Don't kill her. Also... don't break any bones." A brief pause followed as if Shizuya were contemplating her choices. "Well... now that I think about it," she mused, tapping a finger against her lips for what seemed like an eternity to the restrained Madori.
"On second thought, break her nose, but otherwise leave her face intact." There was one final pause, "Put her back on." Hana rotated the phone once more.
Midori looked up as Shizuya spoke.
"Well played."
Midori could not have been more shocked at the unexpected praise had it been delivered by Satan himself.
"Oh. Just so you know. You're still getting that bonus."
Shizuya ended the video call.
Kagi's mind flashed back to the image she had just received from Midori's phone. A battered and bloodied friend lying crumpled on the ground beside a strikingly similar two-door hatchback rental.
Kagi cleared her throat before answering.
"Something came up."
