Utsukushi - Banana Fish

Chapter 25

"Why're we stopping?" Shorter asked as Max pulled up to the curb of a house, one that was not at all the address we drove across the country for. Max quickly got out and began puking in the grass.

There was a little kid out front, swinging on a tree swing. He turned our way, and his eye's immediately lit up as he jumped off the swing.

"Papa!" he yelled.

Max straightened himself up, wiped his face, and smiled the brightest smile I've ever seen him with. "Micheal!" The two began to run toward each other for an embrace, but were abruptly stopped.

"Hold it right there!" A woman yelled.

We all turned, confused by the entire situation, to a woman with a shotgun in her hands at the doorway of the house. It was pointed right at Max.

"Trying to kidnap him before you lose in court, huh?! I knew you'd try something once I heard you got out of jail." she yelled from across the yard.

"J-Jessica?" Ibe, who was in a confused state like the rest of us, stepped out from the truck.

"Ibe?"

"H-hey!" Ibe said, nervously. "We're not here to cause any trouble, really, Jessica. Max said he just wanted to quickly stop by while we were here."

Jessica turned back to Max with a furious expression before putting the gun down. "You're damn lucky, Max." she growled at him.

Shorter, Eiji, Ash, and I hopped out of the truck to join Ibe.

"And who're they?" Jessica asked, a hand on her hip.

"Friends." Ash said.

I could hear a faint 'hmph' from her, but her she took a deep breath and her expression instantly switched to a smile. "Care to join us for dinner?"

--

I learned some of what the hell was going on as I sat silently at the dinner table.

This woman- Jessica- was Max's ex-wife. The kid- Micheal- is his son, and it's plainly obvious they're in some kind of custody battle. Tomorrow was Micheal's birthday apparently, so perfect time for our arrival in LA I guess.

Max kept apologizing for not telling us and was saying the visit would be quick, but non of us really minded. It's for his kid after all.

"Are you sure you're not hungry, sweetheart?" Jessica asked me, snapping my attention away from the window near the front door.

I shook my head. "I'm alright, thank you."

I felt too uneasy to eat anything. A couple hours after we got here, I had the feeling we were being watched. Just by glancing at Ash across the dinner table, I could tell by the look on his face that he could feel it too.

Halfway into dinner, my phone rang.

It was strange. Nobody ever calls me besides the people sitting right in front of me. No one else should have the number.

I excuse myself to the other room and take it.

"Hello?"

"Is this Rosaline Jiang?"

My heart skipped a beat. Very few people knew my real name. "Who is this?"

There was faint, muffled crying in the background. "382 Parkland Court. Is this where you are right now?"

I almost dropped the phone as I scrambled to the window facing the front yard. I peeked through the shades, but saw no one. The others at the table looked at me strangely. Ash picked up on it immediately.

"Don't bother with doing all that right now."

"The hell do you want?"

There was silence on the other end, and the crying stopped. Shortly after, a new voice spoke up. But it wasn't a man or woman, it was a boy. A young boy. He sounded terrified.

"S-s-sis? I-is t-that you?" he struggled to speak.

It seemed as though my heart truly sank into my stomach. I felt sick beyond belief, yet horrified and angry at the same time.

"Jacob?" I asked softly, his name barely able to escape my lips.

"Sis!" he yelled, and began to cry. The was rustling on the other end and I could still hear him, but he sounded far away now. "No! Don't hurt me! Please don't hurt me!" he screamed.

A feeling of utter horror washed over me at the sound of his screaming.

I ran for the door, throwing it open and running out into the street, rapidly turning every-which-way in search of some kind of car or van.

Nothing. No one.

"Where are you, you goddamn bastard!" I yelled into the phone.

"22418 Oliver Street. Come alone. You have 2 hours or he dies."

They hung up, and I stood in silence in the middle of the empty street. The phone still rested at my ear like I was hoping I'd hear Jacob speak on the other side again.

"Rose!" The others ran out of the house after me. I didn't want them to see me. Not now. I could feel tears streaking down my cheeks as a horrible feeling gripped my chest.  "Rose?"

"They found me." I told them quietly.

"Found you? Who?" Max pressed.

I took another look around. There wasn't a soul in sight besides us, but how could that be? Someone had to be watching to know where I am and what I was doing while on the phone.

But I didn't feel like anyone was watching anymore. They probably already fled the area.

"Get inside."

-
"A brother? You told me you didn't have any siblings." Shorter said.

"I lied. I've never told anyone about him to avoid this very goddamn situation." I took a deep breath and stood up. "I need to go get him."

"Wait a minute, what's happening?" Jessica came around the corner from the hall after putting Micheal to bed.

"Just a small problem. I'll take care of it, don't worry. You and your son aren't in any danger." I assured her.

"Hold on, you're not trying to go alone, are you?" Max asked. "Don't be stupid, kid."

"This isn't your problem." I began to raise my voice. "I'm running out of time. I need to go."

"Rose, hold up a second." Shorter stopped me.

"No," I told him before he could speak further. "They'll kill him the second they see any of you. We don't know who we're dealing with. My best bet is Golzine. I don't wanna risk it."

"Then we won't go with. But we'll stay close by. If we don't hear from you in 20 tops, we'll go in." Ash said.

I checked the time- a little more than an hour left. I wasn't sure how far the place was, so I needed to leave and soon.

My jaw tightens in frustration and I let out a heavy sigh. "Okay, fine." I say sharply. "Just come on already we need to leave. Now."

Max quickly explains to Jessica some of the situation while everyone gets into the truck. Max jogs out of the house and climbs into the driver seat. I give him the address and he speeds off.

I was in the back with the others- Ibe with Max in the front per usual.

"How did Dino not know?" Ash was the first to finally speak up in the rigid silence.

"He never knew my real name, or I don't think he did. Regardless, he's not the type to worry himself over background checks on people like you and me. Same reason he never caught you with your brother."

"If you've never told anyone, how'd these people find you then?" Eiji asked.

"...I don't know."