My feet felt like lead as I trudged home dejectedly, my mind a jumbled mess of confused thoughts and self doubt. Had I really seen the face of the assassin mere moments before or was it all a horrible hallucination? How was this possible? A mirror reflection or a cruel trick of the gods I thought grimly while heading down the metal fire escape. A fire was raging inside me and I wanted to know why she had followed me through time, all the way from the Caribbean to modern day Tokyo and what she wanted with me. One thing was crystal clear in my mind though and that was the fact that we would run into each other again and this time I swore I would get my answers out of the bitch.
I found Adelmar a few minutes later, breathing heavily as he lay under a steam pipe. He had taken a nasty kick to the ribs and the swelling was evident, even in the pale reflection of the city’s blinking lights. The wolf growled angrily, more to himself than anything else. He was clearly upset that the assassin had gotten the better of him so easily and I could see the thoughts of revenge dancing in the corners of his yellow eyes.
“Easy boy, easy does it. I got you.” I gently lifted him up, cradling the wolf as best I could. He was heavy as hell and I grimaced as the pain shot through the wound in my arm. In the far distance, I could hear the whining, ominous sounds of approaching police cars. They would find nothing and the chances of them tracing the bullet back to my apartment were slim at best. We did not have to worry about them sticking their noses into my affairs as Adelmar and I slowly traipsed back home. Tokyo remained quiet but expectant, like a theatre audience holding their breath in the dark, waiting for the next act to unfold before their eyes. The only sounds drifting on the nights wind that of a far off Karaoke bar and some line cook banging garbage cans in a forgotten alley somewhere.
It was an ominous hush before storms of war.
We finally made it back home as I dragged Adelmar through the front door. It was a miracle that nobody had seen us but we made it. I laid my friend on the soft carpet mat before heading to the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. Luckily the last tenant had left it well stocked and I easily found what I was looking for. The wolf growled softly as I sat down beside him and started wrapping the white cloth bandage around his bruised ribs.
“Oh don’t be such a baby, I’m almost done.” I chided him, grateful that I could feel no broken ribs. The swelling should subside in a few days and the big lovable lug would be on his feet again shortly thereafter. With a groan of creaking and tired bones, I sank down into a nearby comfy chair and reached for a bottle of vodka. It was a cheap, nasty brand but it would serve my purposes nicely. Biting my lip, I unscrewed the top and slowly poured the clear liquid on my wound. It burnt like a bastard but the bullet wound needed to be disinfected. Luckily, the shot only grazed the top of my shoulder, missing any vital arteries. A thought occurred to me as I wrapped it tightly with gauze.
“If this really was the same person from back in New Providence, the one that could shoot through a gallows’ rope at a hundred feet then how the hell did she miss me? Surely a shot of such skill would not make the mistake of only wounding me?”
Angry that I could not figure it out, I flung the half empty bottle of vodka across the room at watched it shatter against the far wall. Adelmar cocked his head worriedly but said nothing. Without thinking, I reached for another bottle and downed it without hesitation. The fiery liquid scorched my insides but it felt so damn good, I could forget about everything around me, even if it was only for a short while. It was a beautiful release to be drunk for the first time, to finally let go and slip away. I had taken a few swigs of rum back in the Caribbean but this was a new experience and it felt so damn right. Drunkenly, I stumbled through the shattered remains of the glass doors and looked out over the city sprawled out before me. Lifting the whiskey bottle to my lips, I drained the last few drops, tasting the fire die down in my throat. With all my might, I hurled the bottle into the waiting arms of the night.
