Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Continuity

The Viper and Shin Lao walked the blocks around The Pit. It was a seedy little bar in the south end of Hell’s Kitchen. If the term “worst of the worst” could be applied to anything accurately it would be to this bar. It had been taken over by the Irish mob roughly five years before and had become something of a base of operations for Tommy MacGregor and his Irish Boys as he called them. Tommy was something of an oddity amongst gangster, and oddity amongst the Irish gangsters to be sure. Tommy was something of a Film Noir nut and loved the language. To hear him say things as “You’ve got moxie, kid” in his thick Irish accent was almost humorous, if you didn’t know that he was holding a pump shotgun under the table. But like most Irish mobsters he was true to his word and repaid his debts, when he gained any that was.

They entered the place and were instantly struck by how much of a shit hole the place was. They could see where it had once been half reputable, that was before the gangs had declared it their own. The place now had a haze of thick smoke that hung almost three feet from the ground and the smell of stale beer was almost nauseating. Many of the tables had been broken over the years and now a patchwork of different types littered the place. None of this fazed the pair however. When you’ve seen a man die in horrible ways, a little beer and clutter didn’t seem to get to you too much.

They had a seat at a couple of sticky stools at the bar and shortly an overweight slovenly bartender walked over to them. His aroma arrived seconds before he did however. The smell of body odor and stale beer, and some other smell which could have been aftershave at one point in history made for a horrid combination. “Whut cen ah do for ye?” he asked in a thick Irish accent. He was wiping a beer mug, almost stereotypically with a bar towel that could only be described as disgusting. “Just a couple of beers.” The Viper peered around the hazy bar trying to get an idea of the lay out and how many people this place held. There was roughly fifteen people in the place, all clustered around the pool tables.

The barman tapped him on the shoulder roughly with his meaty finger. “I’ll serve ye yoor beer, but she’s ginna have ta leave. The management doona like her kind around here.” The man’s breath could possibly have been worse than his aura of filth that preceded him. “Very well sir. Didn’t mean to offend” The Viper replied diplomatically. He gave Shin Lao a quick glance and she understood. No need for trouble at this point before they were ready. She hopped down off her stool and sauntered to the door. Despite the racial problems the bartender may have he couldn’t help but check her out as she walked to the door. The bartender dropped the beer in front of him, some sloshing over the rim and onto the bar.

“Ye know we’re na stupid.” “Excuse me?” The Viper replied, genuinely surprised at this comment. “Let’s be honest here. Ye know that ye stick out like a sore thumb around here. We’ve seen plenty a’ professional around here. So there’s only three things that ye can be. Yer’re either incredibly lost, a cop, in which case ye’d be incredibly stupid, or yoor a professional, in which case ye’d be more than likely na walkin outta here.” “Who’s to say that if I were a professional that I’m here on business? You know I’m not a cop because I’d be ridiculously trying to blend in and still sticking out like a sore thumb, and if I we’re lost I’d have left when you asked my friend to leave.” “Tha’s very truthful of ye sir. So as long as ye don’t cause any trouble, and you finish ye’r beer an leave, there won’ be any trouble.” “Understandable.” The Viper finished his beer, aware of the bartender’s vigilant stare at the side of his face. Leaving a twenty on the table he smiled at the bartender. “Tell Mac I’ll be back in three days. It’ll be up to him whether we talk or I turn this place into the world’s first eighteen thousand hole golf course.” The bartender reached for something under the bar but when he turned around to bring it to bear on the Viper there was no one there. He’d never even heard the door close.

Outside Shin Lao leaned against the Aston Martin and smiled. “So, what’d you find out Shin?” He asked. He knew that she wouldn’t quietly sit here and wait. “There’s an alarm on the roof. The top three floors are occupied, undoubtedly by Tommy and some of his men. They’re holed up like rats here, but they would have to be all over this neighborhood or else Tanaka would have simply sent someone to “rezone” the place.” “They know we’re hitters. I just raised the stakes a bit. Hopefully we can get this thing done quietly.” She nodded and opened the door. “Where to now?” “Dinner” he simply said.

He chose a place down on 144th named Trattoria Dopo Teatro. The Viper had a soft spot for Italian foods, and despite the fact that there were many finer restaurants around the greater New York area; this one seemed to be his favorite. They were seated quickly as the Maitre D’ recognized his face. “So, why the sudden dinner? Shouldn’t we be gearing up for the job? You had said that they’re onto us so why slack off?” Shin Lao was often more business than pleasure and often didn’t understand how the Viper could so often find time to relax in the middle of his jobs. “Why not? We have three days to carry this out. Why not take the time to relax a bit.” “You know what I mean. The bartender made you, and now we’re dining in a very public place. You don’t exactly have the least noticeable car in New York either. What if they decide to…” She was cut off abruptly by the Viper’s hand over her mouth, the pressure of his hand turning her head slightly so that she caught a glimpse of the door over the bar. “I don’t think it’s Tommy’s men that we should be worrying about.”

The four men that walked through the door were obviously Yakuza. The tall bald man in the middle they both recognized as Kajiro Shinikawa, something of an underboss in the local Yak circles. The three around him were just a few nameless goons that were simply members. Something of bodyguards to be sure, they were here looking for something or someone. “You have your piece on you?” He asked Shin. He was sure that she did but he always liked to know where things stood before he was possibly forced into a fight. “Do you have yours?” She retorted. He never went anywhere in public without them, except for certain circumstances where it would be impossible. He reached his hand into his jacket, reaching his fingers around the gel grips. “Cocked and ready.” He kept his eyes locked on the four men. He’d had a run in with Kajiro in the past, and was responsible for at least two of the bullet scars in the man’s chest.

“This isn’t the place for a fire fight. There’s too many people here. Though of the six people carrying weapons in here, we’re probably the only two that care about that fact.” The Viper unsnapped the strip of leather that held his pistols securely into his holsters and was ready to lay down fire if he needed to. The four men seemed to be circling through the crowd and would be at their table at this rate in less than a minute. He looked over at Shin Lao who had reached behind her where she kept her .45 underneath her jacket. They both saw the glint of the micro-Uzi underneath the man’s waist-length leather jacket. “Get ready” he whispered to Shin Lao as he slowly began to draw his pistols. The goon locked eyes with him moments later and shouted to the others in Japanese. This was going to be hell.

All four men drew aim on the table nearly instantly. The Viper pushed back in his chair, sending himself over backwards, kicking the table up on its side as bullets started flying in their location. Being around the corner of the bar offered them a little more cover, but the oak wouldn’t last long under the fire of the submachine guns. The Viper peeked his head around the edge of the table, getting a good location for where the gunmen were. “Lay down some suppressing fire, I’m going for it.” People were running and screaming for the door. Those that happened to be between the two hired guns and the Yakuza were quickly gunned down in a hale of gunfire. Bolting across the room, the Viper took aim on the closest of the gunmen, firing his twin .50’s straight into the man’s chest. The force of the bullets spun the man around, his vital fluids pouring out of the two quarter sized holes in his chest. He came to a skidding stop behind a couple of tables that had been knocked over in the chaos that had suddenly broken out. He glanced over at Shin Lao who was firing shots into their general direction.

The men had started to fan out in an attempt to flank around the duo. Shin Lao popped up, her fingers a blur on the trigger as she emptied shot after shot into the goons. The Viper stood up, took a quick glance around and squeezed his triggers repeatedly, firing off at the two furthest goons. Both were hit repeatedly, sending them off their feet into several overturned tables. That left only Shinikawa who apparently had a grudge to settle, and wanted it settled tonight. “Come on out you bastard” The large men howled into the deserted restaurant. “Why would I do that?” “Because if the situations were reversed I would do the same for you.” “Would you? That’d be pretty nice of you Kajiro. Why don’t you just go ahead and save me the trouble. Just go ahead and drop the steel you’re carrying?” “Why would I do that? I’ve got you pinned down. All I’ve got to do is pull the trigger and fire into that table you’re hiding behind. But I’d really rather save the bullets, you’re not worth the price.” “Now that hurts Kajiro. That really does. But really what makes you think that I’m at a disadvantage?” This seemed to make Kajiro think. He glanced around nervously at the room. There had been two of them. “Dammit” he thought to himself. He had lost the girl in the firefight and so the next few seconds came to him as slightly less of a surprise than they otherwise would have been. “Checkmate you bastard” Shin Lao spit through her teeth. The cold, disconnected sound of her voice made his blood run cold before she emptied the rest of her clip into the back of his skull.

“Thanks” the Viper said as he rose from behind the table, dusting his suit off. He holstered his guns and walked over across the carnage towards the door. He looked down at Kajiro’s body, a frown on his face. “It’s a shame really. He was a decent man and a professional at one point. But I killed his brother for the boss a couple of years ago and he went downhill after that.” They left the restaurant, stepping over the body on the way through the door. Their night however wasn’t over. The sounds of sirens echoed through the night like a banshee. The skyscrapers and alleys of the city made a perfect canyon for the sirens to be twisted into dirges that sent low life criminals and muggers scurrying like roaches. The Aston Martin roared to life and the Viper pulled it into a hard skid face into traffic and tore off into the dark cloudy streets of New York.

Several cops turned around and sped off to chase them. The speedometer on the AM Vanquish hit 4200 and the Viper threw it into the next gear, lurching the car forward with the expanded torque of the engine. He couldn’t open it up on the busy streets, but he could lose them. He fishtailed around a corner sending other drivers skidding trying to avoid some imagined accident. This bought them a minute or two before they heard the heartbeat of the chopper that was quickly chasing them. “Never a dull night out with you Elias.” Shin said holding her gun in her hand, the empty clip ejected onto the floorboard. The new one slid in easily with a hard click indicating that the next round was chambered. “Just take out the light; we don’t want a cop’s blood on our hands tonight as well. We’re already in enough trouble with the Yaks, we don’t want the cops onto us more than necessary.” “Aww where’s your sense of adventure?” Shin retorted jokingly. “Driving close to one hundred and twenty down a New York street after having a shoot out with Yakuza enforcers in a crowded restaurant is more than enough adventure for me. Get ready and hold on” The Viper pulled the hand brake and cut the wheel, sending the car into a controlled skid that brought Shin Lao’s side of the car to face the helicopter. She stepped out, drew her .45 level and fired six shots at the helicopter. Her aim was of course true and the high powered halogen searchlight exploded in a shower of hot sparks. The chopper pulled off from tailing them. She jumped back into the car and the Viper revved the engine to 3500 and released the brake, clouding the street with white smoke and a harsh squeal as the sped toward the interstate exit. “They’re going to be blocking off the interstate soon. We’d better hurry.” Sixth gear came quickly at the Viper shifted hard through the gears, propelling them at close to one hundred and thirty miles per hour towards the freedom of open road.

“We’re here Skinner; we’ll wrap this up later.” “I remember that case. I was the first detective on the scene. That was a real bloodbath you know.” “Yeah, I do. Elias felt horrible about it as well. But you must understand that we didn’t go in there with the intent. Things just happen how they happen, and you live with the consequences.” “I will say however that the chopper pilot was pretty amazed. Usually perps will shoot for the glass trying to take out the pilot. He was pretty freaked when the searchlight went out and you stopped firing.” “Let’s talk to the old man. I’m going to need some new artillery if things are progressing like I think they are.”