BLADE (√)

●Chapter Seventeen●

A/N *things are about to get crazy.*
Thank you guys for your  support

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‘Bradley really is your brother!? I thought he was fucking with me when he told me this. ’ Tanaka laughed. ‘this is a Good thing.’ He chuckled again. I turned to Tanaka and glared questionably. This was new information.

Alexia straightened up. Her face got serious again. ‘How?’ she asked. She was looking at me.

‘I did my digging Lex. Jacobs Lied to me, he said they were all killed--.’

’They were.’ She interrupted

‘Yes, by him!’

‘No...’

‘What do you mean no? You said that I could trust you with anything and that you’d always be there for me, despite Jacobs. He killed my parents, my little sister and almost Bradley. HE knew Bradley was brother, that’s why he wanted me to kill him.. ’ I stopped to breath, ‘Before I found out too much.’

‘What about the other four?’ Tanaka asked

‘Cover up casualties, so that no one asks questions. They had already tried to rob him so that served as motive.’

‘It was too small...’ I continued. ‘Jacobs killed people who crossed him, deeply, like if they killed one of his own, or were ruining his business. These fools had made him richer by trying to rob him and failing. He had nothing to gain or lose by their existence or absence. So I did a little more digging and never told him everything I knew. HE WAS GOING TO MAKE ME KILL THE ONLY FAMILY I HAD LEFT. ’

A few seconds passed. I breathed out and Tanaka looked at his hands, a sign of boredom. Alexia put her bag down and  went to sit behind Tanaka’s desk. She switched on his computer.

‘Okay...’ Alexia said.

‘What?’ I said swallowing tears.

‘Nothing.’ she replied.

I bit down on my teeth and swallowed my words. She already knew all of this. She knew I had a brother and didn’t tell me. Why didn’t she tell me?

‘How did you know it was Brad?’ She finally said after about a minute or so.

‘What do you mean? I did my research like I said.’ I answered.

‘No...’ she said. ‘No.’, she repeated. 

‘I had him on my snapchat, he told me he was adopted and his parents were killed. He had two little sisters. One had been killed right in front of his eyes and the other, he said she was a blur. He wasn’t sure whether she died or was taken. He said I reminded him of her. So I started digging.’

‘It could’ve have been that easy...’ she said

‘It wasn’t. I killed for it.’

‘Your disappearing.’

‘What?’ I asked confused. Where was she going with this? My heart was heavy with emotion and I could feel myself physically regret not eating earlier.  I moved in closer to the desk and automatically leaned against it, sighing out of fatigue.

‘Jacobs has eyes on you, always. I told him once that there was always a time, between 12 and 1 am where your heart rate would race so fast then shut down, slowing as if you were dead.’ She muttered then paused. ‘Still, you couldn’t have known... Where did you find all this, I didn’t give...?’ She paused again. My head throbbed. I still had no clue what Alexia was going on about and I really wanted her to speak in full sentences for once.

‘He changed the codes.’ Tanaka said after a while, he stood up. ‘I’m just a mindless business man.’ He said, chuckling.  I wasn’t fazed by his words so I simply ignored him and turned to Alexia.

‘YOU...you work for Anthony?’ Alexia proclaimed. Her eyes widen and her finger pointed at him then gasped. ‘I am his best...he didn’t tell me.’

‘Of course he didn’t... sister Lex. And no i don't.’ He dragged out, mockingly.  Amanda took too long on this last mission, he knew something was up. So he changed the codes. He knew that if she called you, you’d come running...duh.’ He stopped, giggling. He walked towards his door and closed it. He walked towards his bookshelf and pulled out one of his files. Part of me expected the shelf to turn and they’d be a secret room behind it, like the movies I used to watched with Shaun.

‘Jacobs was sloppy, he underestimated me, the way he underestimated my father.’

‘Your father?’ Alexia said, then she smiled in realisation. ‘Tanaka, Gray Tanaka!... That’s your father.’ She kept repeating it like she didn’t think we’d heard and understood what she said. 

Tanaka opened the thick file and it contained no pages. It was a tablet. He placed his hand on it and it switched on and there was a video playing. It was my apartment. He turned to me.

‘The second I came to know that you were researching Brad, you became a person of interest. You were going rogue.. I liked it so I decided to help. I helped you hack into Jacobs’ computer and I gave you the codes. That’s how you got all the plans to kill your family because of what your family was involved in. There was one survivor, your...brother. The files had him labelled as a family friend, that’s why I thought he was lying to me. I gave you all the resources to find out all you needed to know. Of course...’ He stopped and looked at Alexia. ‘I didn’t give you everything.’  He closed the file then he smirked, looking at me, ‘Insurance.’

‘I’m sorry,’ Alexia said. She had tears in her eyes, visibly fighting them back.

I was still looking at Tanaka, he had this sickened pity look on his face and so I asked. ‘Why?’

He returned the file to the shelf and turned to me. He walked closer. ‘I was born in Japan, my father, a Japanese man, wasn’t my father. I’m Jacobs’ son. He and my mother were together at the time and well my mother started having an affair, Jacobs got furious and well...he obviously wanted blood.’  He rolled his eyes.
‘But he underestimated him. My father, the one who raised me, was a genius, he hacked all of Anthony accounts. He had information that could ruin Jacob and everything he worked for. And so they made a deal... Gray Tanaka would get to walk away without a bruise and get the girl because Jacobs loved his business more than anyone else.’

‘Your father was found dead one morning ten years after moving to South Africa.’ Alexia pitched in.

‘Mysteriously they said.’ He finished. ‘I loved that man. And so when I saw you looking for something that belonged to you, I did some digging of my own.’

He was closer to me now, almost smelling my neck. ‘I saw an opportunity...’

I looked at Alexia. She had her head in her hands. I turned back to Tanaka, then took a step back. I put my arm on my trousers.

‘Go over there.’ I said to Tanaka.

‘What?’ He questioned. He wrinkled his forehead.

‘I said, Go Over There NOW.’ I repeated. ‘You, step away from the computer and come stand next to him.’ I told Alexia.

‘Blade, what are you doing?’

‘I said, STEP AWAY FROM THE COMPUTER.’ I pulled out my knife from behind me and pointed it towards them. I took another step back and hooked my leg onto Alexia’s bag. I opened it and reached inside. ‘Don’t move.’ I ordered. 

I pulled out her gun, put my knife in my mouth, and pointed that at them instead. Alexia started to talk. I put the safety off and she kept quiet.
I walked towards the computer and looked at it.

‘Hello Amanda..’ Jacobs said. Alexia had him on video call this whole time.