The phone vibrated in Matt’s pocket. Matt turned it off and breathed in, to focus. The music in the front was loud, blaring and overwhelming. Block it out. Block out the smells and the sounds. Focus on their footsteps, focus on the rhythm. The leader was at the end of the hallway, in a vacant office. 10… no 12 men on his way to the office. And two footsteps headed his way. Matt shuffled through his pockets, feeling his cloth masked and wrapped it around his face.

…

Reiji opened the door and a wooden cabinet exploded over his face. Before Reiji could take out his gun a man in the mask tackled him across, Kyoko heard Reiji’s breath explode outwards. The man pulled away as Reiji fought to regain his breath. Before Reiji could regain his breath, the man in the mask kicked off the wall with his right leg and kicked him with his left.

Kyoko was about to break into a sprint when the man held out a hand to make her stop.

“Wait,” the man said. “Wait. There’s something going on.”

…

Fernando took a puff off his cigar and coughed. “Cheap shit.”

The faded neon lights of Oriental Delights fizzled on and off, shining red across his face. Two of his men stood on the sides of the door, holding machine guns ready to enter at Fernando’s command. The rest were on the rooftops, ready to take down anybody who tried to escape/ Fernando pulled his knife out of the bouncer’s neck as he stood in the middle of the door.

“Que se haga justicia aunque caigan los cielos,” Fernando said, fingers running his fingers over the picture of Ignacio in his pocket. He flicked the cigar stub away just as the door to Oriental Delights burst open as gunfire rained down in the lobby, the glowing red ring around the cigar fading to black.

…

“Wear this,” the man said, draping Reiji’s blazer over Kyoko. “It’ll keep you safe.”

Just then the sound of gunfire filled the air like a thunderclap.

“There’s a fire exit after three doors to your left,” the man said. “Use that and get out of here.”

The man ran on ahead as gunfire riddled through the lobby. At first, Kyoko was ecstatic. Finally, freedom. She’d get out of here and forget about everything, head to Metropolis or New York by herself and never come back here. To hell with this place, to hell with the people here, to hell with Haruka…

She remembered her hands on her cheek, warmth and love that she never received. Love she ran away from like she was running away right now.

Doors slammed open as the people she worked with burst through, running to the fire exit. But she didn’t see Haruka amidst the panicked crowd.

She walked towards one of them. Shaking her and stopping her in her tracks.

“Where the hell is Haruka?”

“She… was… she was in the lobby,” the woman said, her voice shaking. Kyoko’s hands dropped. She’s dead, she had to be dead. There’s no way she was alive, a fact that made her heart ache. She should run, get out of here. Go find that lady she talked about.

But her body wouldn’t listen. Straight towards the gunfire. Straight towards the storm.

…

People ignored him as he walked past the crowds. Yakuza men rushed through the lobby, guns at the ready. The panicked screams of the crowds and gunfire was making it hard for Matt to focus. His senses were overstimulated from the tsunami of smells and sounds.

“…Haruka…”

“… God, save me god…”

“… Too many…”

“…Ignacio…”

“… He’s headed straight for the boss…”

The sound of a gun clicking.

Matt ducked as the bullet struck a metal pipe and air hissed out of it. 2… no 3. He felt someone kick him in the stomach. Another readied his gun, Matt ducked before he could fire, kicking his leg, causing him to fall but not before a third punched him in the face.

Two more footsteps. Five, no four. Each of them ganging up on him. It was so loud, the hiss of pipes, the chaos, the gunfire. So damn loud.

Focus.

Breathe.

He felt the gun press against his forehead. Matt kicked him in the shin, keeling him over. He twisted his arm as the man fired wildly, scaring away the other 3… no 4 men. He twisted the man’s arm as he let out a scream of pain. Matt picked up the gun as another one of the men loaded his gun and through it straight at his face. While on the floor, Matt rolled, throwing the man over. While the man lay down on the floor, disoriented, Matt snapped his leg causing him to let out a scream of pain. The goon Matt threw the gun to regained his bearings. Matt heard and rolled out of the way as the other four men started firing at him, shooting at the pipes causing hot air to blow. Matt stood right in front of one of the men, who had his gun ready pointed straight at Matt. Matt ripped out the pipe and blew air at his face. While he was disoriented Matt tackled him across the floor, punching him in the face. When the second was unconscious and the steam blew off, three guns were trained on him. Three guns fired at him.

Matt focused on the trajectory off the bullets, the world seemed to slow as he weaved past the bullets, all three of them missing him within inches.

Matt disarmed the first man, kicking his arm and elbowing him in the jaw. The second tried to fire at Matt but Matt caught the gun in mid-air and threw it at his face before tackling him into the third. The first regained his bearings but Matt was faster, he picked up the gun, threw it into his gut and knocked him out with an uppercut to the chin. The two men tried to get up but one kick each to both of their faces and they were out.

After making sure they were unconscious, Matt caught his breath. He ran his hand over the wall to the boss’s office. One hostile. No guns, just one dagger in his pocket. There was a vase on a wooden cabinet, only object in the wide-open room. Hanging on he wall in a lavish sheath that smelt like gold was a steal katana.

Matt made a mental note of the objects and opened the door to the boss’s office.