Snakeskin (Tangerine) ✓

四

The Cobra

The table across from where the Twins were seated was unoccupied, so I scooted over to the window seat, and leaned against it. I made sure my face was tilted away from them so they wouldn't see me. Lemon was talking quietly, but I couldn't quite hear what he was saying.

"Ok, the train's gonna stop in Sendai in an hour, so we need to find that briefcase right-to-the-fuck now!' I turned my head ever so slightly so I could see them. They both looked very nervous. Lemon's leg was bouncing up and down beneath the table and Tangerine was white as a sheet. He had his hands clasped together and they were turning white due to how hard he was clenching them.

It took me back to our last mission together. It was four years ago and we hadn't crossed paths since. We were in Washington D.C. and had been tasked with infiltrating the White House to steal special documents containing details of delegations visiting from Australia, England and New Zealand. It seemed easy enough: steal a security clearance card, get into the restricted section and find the requested documents.

We should have been in and out in twenty minutes, but Lemon—who was supposed to be watching from outside the record roo—wandered off to look at something else. Security burst into the room where Tangerine and I were searching for the document and busted us. Tangerine had the security card and showed it to them, coming up with a made-up story about how he worked there. Since I didn't have one, they called the police and Tangerine slipped out with Lemon and left me to try and escape on my own.

Luckily, I managed to slip out in all the chaos, but I had to go underground since there was a warrant out for my arrest. I moved to New York City and started picking up jobs by myself. Now and again I would hear about the Twins on a job in some new exotic location. It angered me to the core that they had escaped scot-free, and I was having to look over my shoulder every time I went outside.

Sitting mere metres away from the two people that had ruined my life made my blood boil. It took everything in me to hold back from going over there and strangling both of them right then and there. Just as the thought entered my mind Tangerine stood up. He stepped into the aisle, followed by Lemon. They whispered between themselves briefly before Lemon slapped his brother on the shoulder and sat back down beside the dead man in the momomon glasses.

Tangerine headed down the aisle towards car four, so I quietly slipped out into the aisle, trying not to alert Lemon to my presence. I snuck after Tangerine who had just entered the gangway between cars 3 and 4. He was waiting by the door, where the rushing scenery outside the window was visibly slowing down.

"Now arriving at Sendai Station. Doors opening on the left."

Tangerine heaved a sigh and tapped his foot on the ground as the brakes screeched. He looked the most nervous I'd ever seen him; mainly because I had never seen him nervous or worried before. He was alway so calm and collected. He must have changed since I had seen him last.

As the train pulled into the station I could see the few people milling about on the platform. But, what caught my attention was the group of about twenty people, all huddled together by the vending machines. They looked pretty intense, wielding baseball bats and punching the glass of the machines. By the direction, Tangerine was facing it looked as if he was watching them out the window too.

The Shinkansen came to a complete stop and Tangerine straightened his jacket, composing himself. His eyes were darting in all directions and his hands were shaking like a leaf. For a split second, I almost pitied him, but then I internally slapped myself, remembering all the terrible things he had done. Unforgivable, vile things that would make a normal person cower in fear. He was a horrible, insane, disgusting psychopath.

But standing before me, he seemed so small-so fragile-like a gust of wind would just knock him over. I clenched my fists, cursing my mind for feeling sorry for him. But before I could think about it too much the door hissed open and he stepped out onto the platform.

He sauntered over to the gang by the vending machines and they stood up to meet him. His nervous expression was gone, replaced by a confident, cocky facade that I knew all too well. It was the expression he wore when he was trying to impress someone. He used to always display it when he tried to convince me that he knew exactly what he was doing. He usually didn't.

I crept back towards the Twin's row so I could watch Tangerine out the window. I didn't even have to hear him, to know that he was cussing uncontrollably at the gang. He seemed to be getting a little worked up as he spoke to them.

Suddenly he gestured in my direction, so I ducked back into the seat I had just been in. Lemon was hunched down in his seat behind the dead man, holding his arm from behind and making it wave. "Wave to your fuckin' fans."

I cringed at Tangerine's livid expression. Clearly, that wasn't planned. But then the loudspeaker dinged and he dashed back towards the door, just managing to slip through as it closed.

He slumped into his seat as the train sped out of the station.

"Fuck, that was close," he panted, leaning his head back against the seat. "Those bloody geysers were asking too many fuckin' questions."

"Well, now we just have to find the case before the train gets to Kyoto," Lemon said, sitting up and pushing the dead man back against the window. "We need to hurry though. Between here and the last stop whoever took it might get off."

"Bollucks!" Tangerine dropped his head onto the table with a thud. "Ok fuck it. Lemon, you go..." He pointed towards car 2. "Whatever the fuck that way is."

"Up."

Tangerine glared at Lemon. "What?"

Lemon rolled his eyes. "That way is up." He pointed in the direction of car 1. "Car 1 is always the car closest to Tokyo. And since we're heading away from Tokyo." He pointed towards the other end of the train. "That way is down."

Tangerine just stared at his brother with a look of defiance. "Do you think I care which end of the fuckin' train is up?" Lemon just shrugged. "The only thing I care about is the leader of the biggest criminal organisation on the fuckin' planet that's shoved right inside our fuckin' asscheeks!"

Lemon looked slightly taken aback by his brother's outburst, but he recovered quickly. "Fine." His voice was quiet. "I'll go up." Tangerine nodded in agreement. "Be careful, okay?"

He began to head down the train when Tangerine called out. "Lemon?" His brother halted by the door and turned around. "You be careful too."

"I always am."

As they headed their separate ways, I followed after Lemon. Even though Tangerine was probably going to cause an amusing scene, Lemon was heading in the direction of the stashed case. So, I headed after him.

A/N: If you had a fruit codename, what would it be? I would be a watermelon: tough to crack open, but once you do it's nice to know me, haha... I hope at least.