Fists and Lipsticks 2: The Silver Crescent

CHAPTER 59: Power of Trust

CHAPTER 59: POWER OF TRUST

 I realized how similar power and lipsticks were. They do not only smear. They also fade.

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As the Jieitai bound my wrists with tight, ice-cold handcuffs that numbed my bloodstained hands, I began to perceive little by little the cruel and sharp recoil of the double-edged sword wielded by my own hatred and revenge. Crosse was right to doubt; I was wrong to persist. Alas, another grave mistake I committed – a failed, sinful mission, a gamble of useless deaths, and an addition to the price of revenge I ought to pay for.

 Amidst the brimming tension brought about by the high-power assault rifles pointed directly towards us, the strong gust of wind coming from the massive hole created by the glass-melting lasers, machine gun ammunition shells rolling on the bloodstained floor, the sound of sinful men begging for their lives, pleading surrender, and the overwhelming guilt from the impulsive decisions made, I focused all of what was left of my consciousness, energy, and attention to him. Kosuke stood before me, his eyes never ceasing to return my rueful gaze. I watched helplessly as he voluntarily surrendered his wrists to be bound like mine.

He was silent, still, and calm. I did not know if it was a good thing or not.

I suddenly became so scared, feeling as if every cell of my body was bursting one by one like balloons poked by sharp needles. With Kosuke's hands handcuffed, he continued to look my direction with an expression I could not decode.

I sensed the fangs of guilt sinking into my neck. My mouth went dry. My fingers tingled. My strength liquefied. My world shattered. In that brief moment, I realized how similar power and lipsticks were. They do not only smear. They also fade.

I did not have the strength to utter even a single word as the soldiers forcibly pulled us towards the exit. I lost count of the number of steps we took in our descent from the top-most floor of the Cuervo Casino all the way to the ground using the spiraling emergency staircase. All I heard was the sound of soiled boots squeaking on the floor, the sharp echo my heels produced along the stairwell, the thudding and clicking of machine gun ammunition sashes hung upon the soldiers' shoulders, the jingling chains from Crosse's leather coat, and my own respiration. Just like Kosuke and I, Crosse and Saori were wordless, opting to save a stressful conversation for later…

…or perhaps, also like us, simply say nothing at all.

Silence was broken the moment the soldiers kicked the exit door open. Waiting for us in front of the Cuervo were hundreds of prying people, including media men who took pictures of our disconcerting capture. I squinted from the flashing lights emitted by hundreds of cameras clicking endlessly. I looked away from them in my futile attempt to conceal my wretched face. It was too late to hide. The whole Japan already knew of the fiasco long before we were captured to be taken into custody.

FLASH REPORT! More than one hundred people dead, several hundreds more wounded in a mob here in the Cuervo Casino. Yamazaki Kosuke, the son of Prime Minister Yamazaki Daisuke, Lady Nu Huang, a Chinese hotelier and entrepreneur, and more than two hundred others were arrested for an alleged assassination attempt against the prime minister. Nu Huang, who had been recently plagued by controversies for being suspected as a leader of a top-secret, grand-scale crime organization called the 'Silver Crescent', was spotted in the Cuervo Casino during the ambush and is now being taken by the Jieitai to the Tokyo Detention Center for further interrogation. The involvement of Yamazaki Kosuke in the attempted assassination of his own father still remains a mystery. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Yamazaki Daisuke is safe and will be releasing an official statement to the public in a short while…