Fists clenched, heart-pounding and blood boiling, Tora storms down the corridor, Ash following close behind with gritted teeth.
Pounding her fist against the door, she taps her booted foot against the floor as they await entry inside. They hear Chinese being spoken inside the room when it abruptly stops and the door is opened by one of the servants.
Tora's eyebrows raise and she marches into the room. "Who was in on it then? All of your men?"
Yut-Lung waves a hand dismissively to the other servants as Tora points a finger at them accusingly. "I have no idea what you're insinuating."
"Bull-shit!" She growls. "The guards got word of it and called for back-up."
"She'd only taken the guy away for two minutes before they were on her case and I had to stop them. That's not just a coincidence." Ash interjects, crossing his arms and eyeing the servants as they walk out of the room upon Yut-Lung's request.
"Is that so?"
"Cut the crap Yut-Lung!"
He shakes his head at her, leaning back on the seat of the plush sofa. "Please elaborate. I would be interested to hear the full events of the night."
Through clenched teeth, she places her hands on her hips. "Fine. Things got out of hand and Ash had to come help get rid of his officers. Exits were locked so we had no choice but to go back to the main hall, which was in chaos, only to be taken in a car from 'Yut-Lung' but your men turned against us and tried to take us somewhere else instead."
"What happened with Liu Chang?"
She furrows her eyebrows. "What?"
"What did you do to Liu Chang?" Yut-Lung asks.
"Once I'd taken him upstairs? I injected between his toe with air, only after realising you gave me fucking Banana Fish!"
Yut-Lung crosses his arms. "So you disobeyed my orders? If this had been a paid job then you'd be $25,000 down. You realise that?"
Lunging forward, Tora grabs his vest with both hands, breathing heavy and eyes burning through him. "You'd better get your shit straight and tell us the truth. You're so full of shit!"
For the first time since meeting him only a few days before, she sees an almost scared look on his face, eyes wide as she grabs fistfuls of his vest. If it hadn't been for how abruptly his mood changed, she may have believed his façade. She almost feels sorry for him, his face turning paler by the second. Her eyes narrow.
"Please, Tora, I didn't—"
Ash interjects. "You're so slimy, Yut-Lung. A weasel, a rat, a—"
"Serpent."
Yut-Lung looks her straight in the eye as she says this and as she watches his eyes flicker to his laptop, she releases her grip on his clothing and he places a hand to his chest.
"I would appreciate it if you didn't threaten me when I didn't do what you're accusing me of."
The pair eye-up Yut-Lung, who pushes the hair out of his face and straightens his vest.
"What are you talking about?" Ash questions.
"I didn't set you two up."
They share a bewildered look, both taking a step closer to him.
Tora clenches her jaw. "But the fire exit was locked."
"That wasn't me."
"And the associate's guards?" Ash mentions.
"Not my doing."
"The drivers?"
Yut-Lung stands up and looks at her, his eyes narrowing with an almost condescending look on his face —a sudden switch from his previous act. "I think you can tell where I'm going here."
"So who was it?" She asks.
Pouring three cups of tea, Yut-Lung holds up a cup for her to take. "I had a feeling this may happen, but I can assure you it wasn't me."
Tora throws the cup to the floor. "Who the hell was it then??"
Yut-Lung huffs, tossing his long braid over his shoulder and turning his back to them as he looks out the window.
"Narita Kenji."
"The new leader of the Daikoku-Kai syndicate?"
He turns back, nodding in response to Ash's question.
Clammy hands squeezed together, Tora takes a seat on the chair, afraid her legs may buckle beneath herself. "That just makes no sense."
"Don't believe me?" Yut-Lung hands her his open laptop. "Read for yourself."
On the screen is an email from an unknown user, with the subject: TIGRESS.
As her eyes start to scan the screen and her stomach twists and turns. Ash steps closer, Yut-Lung crossing his arms.
"Don't be shy, you can read it aloud."
Tora nods weakly. "Mr Yut-Lung, following our last email and other means of contact regarding the possession of a sample of Banana Fish, we had word that one of our Chinese associate Liu Chang was to be assassinated by your doing. It is also in our knowledge that the assassin, known by the alias of The Tigress, is to gain some information regarding said drug after the assassination is complete. Let it be known that we do not care if this happens, but that The Tigress will regret her actions and we will find out who she is. Try to contact this address again and you will have no luck. It is unfortunate that our business together has to end so suddenly. Kind regards."
"What business have you been doing with the syndicate leader?" Ash questions.
Yut-Lung takes a seat at his chaise lounge. "It was when Golzine was alive and his foundation was at its peak. They'd been in contact regarding Banana Fish and using it for themselves. The Monsieur never told me too much, so I discreetly found out for myself."
"And?" Ash continues.
"The leader, Narita Kenji— he's not as he seems."
Ash crosses his arms. "How so?"
"When I'd been in contact with the syndicate, it wasn't Narita who I'd been speaking to, but someone else of extreme importance," Yut-Lung tells them. "He wouldn't tell me who he was, so to maintain our connection I didn't pry. However, he explained that their leader had been a follower of their old boss and was liked by many. So when it came time to overthrow the boss, he wasn't happy doing so. This was the first time that they had used it within the syndicate, they decided it would be best to put him under the influence of—"
"Banana Fish."
The pair look at one another, Ash taking a step towards Tora before she abruptly stands up.
"Narita is a puppet leader, right?"
Yut-Lung smirks. "You've got it. And he's being controlled by Banana Fish."
"Who's doing it?" She questions and he shrugs in response. "So, that's it? The guards and drivers with Liu Chang were members of the Daikoku-Kai syndicate, there to set us up and take me out?"
"It seems so." Yut-Lung sighs.
Clenching his fists, Ash storms over to Yut-Lung, grabbing him by the ponytail as he yelps out in pain.
The doors are immediately thrown open and four of Yut-Lung's guards rush in, two holding guns up at Ash's back.
"You set us up, you bastard!" Ash grips his hair tighter. "Those guys had better not come any closer."
"Let go!" Yut-Lung cries out. "You're hurting me!"
"Tell us what happened back there, that wasn't just a set-up. You tipped them off! You'd rather we get killed than get closer to the truth and stop all of this!"
"I didn't do it!"
"You know exactly what happened! You—"
"—Ash."
With a tight grip on Yut-Lung's hair, Ash turns to look at Tora, his chest rising and falling rapidly, blood boiling. She shakes her head, pursing her lips as she looks down.
"He didn't do it."
"What do you—"
"Let go of him." She says, turning on her heel. "He didn't betray us."
Huffing, Ash does as she says, releasing Yut-Lung's braid, who cowers on the edge of the sofa as two of the servants rush over to his aid.
Ash walks over to her. "Are you crazy? He set us up to fail, don't you get that?"
She shakes her head —her voice is despondent. "I put us in danger accepting his offer in the first place. I put us in danger by coming here to try and find the truth."
"What are you talking about?"
Sighing, she walks over to the door, Ash looking on with furrowed eyebrows. She looks back at him from the doorframe.
"This is too dangerous. If the leader of the syndicate is being controlled by someone else, who knows what will happen to us if we get any closer."
Ash scoffs. "You can't be serious."
Pursing her lips, she shrugs. "I don't know what we can do. I think... I think it's over."
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"she sleeps beneath the surface
consorting with the serpents" - Neck Deep