The Silent Death – One Chapter Preview

The Mean Streets of Toshima – A preview of “The Silent Death”

Despite Hondo’s protests, Xavier had left the Iron Tigers’ compound in Saitama and taken the train to Toshima to meet an old associate. Hondo would have preferred that Xavier allowed one of the Iron Tigers to chauffeur him there, but Xavier felt like that would risk drawing too much attention to himself. In the end, to Xavier’s surprise, Hondo relented and allowed him to leave.

As he strolled from Ikebukuro Station past the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, Xavier paused to listen to a saxophonist playing in the plaza before the theater. The melody carried a feeling of loneliness, and for a moment, Xavier found himself swept away in his thoughts. Xavier remembered a time not so long ago when he was last in Tokyo. At the time, Xavier promised not to come back. And he did not doubt that there would be retribution if certain parties discovered he had broken that promise. With any luck, he could help Hondo clear up this mess and leave before anyone found out.

Suddenly, something caused Xavier to snap back to his senses. What had it been? He turned his head slowly, letting his eyes scan the crowd that was milling about. Across the plaza, Xavier spotted a man in a black suit and sunglasses. He was casually smoking a cigarette and leaning against the wall. As the saxophonist continued to play his lonely song, Xavier only pretended to listen as he continued to assess his surroundings. Soon, Xavier counted eleven men with identical black suits hanging out at various locations around him. Xavier pulled a roll of money from his jacket pocket and pulled off several bills, which he deposited in the musician’s cup. Placing the money back in his jacket pocket, Xavier casually walked across the plaza and away from the theater. As he joined the flow of pedestrians on the sidewalk, Xavier used the various reflective surfaces to keep track of the men. A side mirror on a parked car showed him that several men were following him directly down the sidewalk. When he paused at the crosswalk, he noticed another group approaching from the cross street.

When the light changed, Xavier crossed the street and used the reflection in a storefront window to pick out five more men in dark suits who emerged from an alley across the street. While his pace remained casual, Xavier was on high alert. He calculated that at least twenty-six men were around him at various points. Like a massive net of humanity slowly closing in on him. If he stayed on the street much longer, they would no doubt push him into a waiting van or corner him on a side street.  Xavier knew he had to get off the street, and soon.

The pedestrians stopped at the crosswalk to wait for the light when suddenly Xavier ran out between two cars and crossed the road in front of a large truck. As he hoped, the truck blocked the crowd behind him, but one glance confirmed that several smaller groups of men were closing ranks on him from all directions. Xavier turned and entered a small restaurant on the corner. Once inside, Xavier shot past the hostess, across the small dining room, and straight into the kitchen.

“Oi, Koko kara deteike!” The cook yelled as he waved a spatula in Xavier’s direction.

Xavier nodded as he shot past the cook toward the establishment’s back door. Seconds later, Xavier ran out into a small alleyway between buildings. With no time to think, he turned right and ran full speed down the alley before ducking into a half-open door and pulling it shut behind him.

“Hey, gaijin, we’re not open yet!” Yelled a voice from behind the small bar.

Xavier nodded as his eyes adjusted to the dark. “I know. Where’s the backdoor to the place?”

The man gave Xavier a puzzled look and pointed to the hallway beside the bar. Without another word, Xavier shot down the hallway and out the door into another small alley. Making a split-second decision, Xavier ran to his right again, knowing he had to keep moving at top speed to stay ahead of his pursuers.

As Xavier ran, several men in black suits emerged from an opening and ran straight for Xavier. He counted four of them as they closed on him. Moments before they collided, Xavier shifted his weight and slid across the ground, knocking the closest man off his feet and causing him to collide with the wall. The man behind him followed so closely that he tripped and tumbled across the asphalt. Before the other two could react, Xavier caught one man under the chin with a forearm strike, knocking him to the ground. Xavier then grabbed the last man’s arm and threw him over his shoulder and into the side of a trash bin. That entire encounter had taken approximately ten seconds, but Xavier knew that was precious time lost.

As Xavier approached the end of the alleyway, he saw a group of men in black suits fill the opening. Immediately, Xavier stopped and reversed directions with the men in pursuit. Desperately, he turned into a crossing alley, only to see another group of black suits approaching from the opposite end. Xavier ran straight toward them before turning left into another cross alley. Xavier glanced over his shoulder and saw a sea of black suits behind him. His heart raced as he saw another group charging at him. Desperately, Xavier turned and ran down a small service road. As he rounded the curve between the buildings, he found, to his horror, it was a dead end. Behind him, Xavier heard the clatter of business loafers on the asphalt. He tried the doors to the nearest buildings, but they were locked. Slowly, Xavier turned as the road filled with black suits. Eyeing the group, Xavier reached under his jacket and removed his specially made katana from its holster. As he did, several of his pursuers reached for their weapons. Xavier didn’t know his odds against nearly thirty men but was determined not to go down alone.

For a moment, no one moved, each waiting on the other to make a move. Then, there was a murmuring at the back of the crowd of black suits. Xavier watched as the crowd parted, allowing a single man to move forward to the front of the group. The man wore a black suit and a skinny tie like the others. He brushed his black hair out of his eyes and looked at Xavier as he pulled a cigarette from a pack in his jacket pocket.

“Damn, man,” he remarked as he lit his cigarette. “You gave us quite the chase.”

Xavier frowned at the man. “Perhaps you could have kept up better if you smoked less.”

The man took a drag and pondered Xavier’s words before chuckling. “Maybe.”

After taking another drag, the man threw the cigarette to the ground. “Xavier Greene, my name is Itaru of the Tanahashi-Kai. Hinata Tano has requested your presence and won’t take no for an answer.”

The Silent Death arrives on August 12 on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited. Preorder now.