Erase

Act 17: The Contraband

In order to pay for his sister Yukari's exorbitant hospital bills, Yuichi has to work several "jobs", in hopes that he would get to earn enough yen.

However, he eventually realized that, being an inexperienced 15-year-old, most part-time jobs would only give him minimum wage at best.

Desperate to find a high-paying job to support his sister, he had no other choice but to enter the dark world of drug trafficking.

In particular, the White Lion Triad, a Hong Kong-based criminal triad and drug cartel known for their stronghold in the worldwide drug trade, was hiring several children and teenagers under 18 to become traffickers, since young people are usually free from persecution of several crimes.

Yuichi was hesitant to join the Triad, knowing the immorality behind their actions. But after being offered tens of thousands of yen, something that he could never get on other jobs alone, he had no choice but to agree.

Since then, Yuichi has been dealing drugs for the Triad for months. However, deep inside, he wants to find a better job to support Yukari. Unfortunately, this is the only high-paying job that he knows.

-Kai-En-Tai 8:11 PM-

The Triad's secret hideout is located in the second floor of the popular nightclub Kai-En-Tai, found in the middle of the Kabuki-cho red light district.

Only the members are allowed to enter the second floor, where they must show their White Lion mark before gaining access.

As Yuichi enters the nightclub, he was immediately stopped by a pair of bouncers.

"Hey, kid. Nobody under the age of 18 is allowed here." Said a bouncer.

Yuichi then shows the White Lion mark on his left shoulder blade.

"Oh, you must be one of Miss Lau's peons..." Said a bouncer. "Right this way, sir."

The bouncers lead Yuichi to the door to the second floor, where the leader of the White Lion Triad, Evelyn Lau, awaits. While a Hong Kong native, Evelyn usually spends a lot of time in Japan, calling it "her second home".

-Triad Room 8:14 PM-

Yuichi then enters the second floor, where he is welcomed by none other than Evelyn Lau herself.

Evelyn had black hair tied into a single bun, and brown eyes. She wore a red,  sleeveless Chinese qipao with a small cleavage window, accentuating her beautiful figure and alluring features, as well as long red gloves and red high-heel shoes.

"Ahh, there you are, Onodera. I was waiting for you." Said Evelyn.

"Is there... anything you want to do for me, Miss Lau?" Yuichi replied.

"Hmm, let me think... Oh, yes. There is one." Said Evelyn. "Let's see..."

"I want you to take this: a backpack full of methamphetamine. Or meth. Or shabu, whatever you wanna call it." Evelyn continued. "Deliver this package to the alley near the alley near the train station."

Evelyn then hands over to Yuichi a smart watch.

"I marked you destination on that smart watch through GPS." Said Evelyn. "Don't mess up this simple task up, okay?"

Yuichi thinks about his task for a while, before eventually agreeing to Evelyn's orders, despite the protests in his mind.

"I won't." Said Yuichi, as he nods.

"Very well. Wish you luck, Onodera." Said Evelyn.

Yuichi then leaves the room. Meanwhile, Evelyn ponders.

"That's one thing I like about these youngsters: They don't know much about right or wrong yet." Evelyn thought. "And so you can bend them into the direction that you want, as you please."

"And by teaching them to do illegal stuff while they're still in their younger ages, they will grow up into reliable henchmen." Evelyn continued, as she stares at a portrait of her late father. "Ain't that right, Daddy?"

-Alleyway 9:46 PM-

An hour and a half has just passed since Yuichi accepted the assignment. He had just arrived at the destination: the alleyway near the train station, where the buyer was waiting for him.

It was a tall man dressed in a black trenchcoat and sunglasses. Yuichi knew the man was shady, but if he wanted to get the money to pay for Yukari's bills, he had to entrust this man with the contraband that he has.

Yuichi walks toward the man, and proceed to bow before him, before handing over the backpack to him.

The man checks the contents of the bag and sees a whole bunch of methamphetamine inside. Suddenly, he smiles and raises his hand, signalling two men to come out from behind Yuichi and grab and restrain his arms.

"Argh! What is the meaning of this?!" Said Yuichi.

"Hehe... Looks like Lau's lackeys aren't as up to snuff as I think they were." The man replied. "By the way, forgot to introduce myself: Ren Hong, of the Red Lion Triad. And you just feel into our trap, little cub."

"Argh, let go of me!" Said Yuichi.

"No can do, young man. The boss needs something from you." Ren replied.

While struggling to let go, Yuichi noticed that his feet are free. Realizing this, Yuichi proceeded to swing and kick one of the lackeys in the groin with his right foot, causing his grip to loosen as he felt immense pain in his crotch area. Eventually, Yuichi did the same to the other lackey, breaking him free and giving him the perfect chance to run off in the process.

Ren clenches his fists in anger. He couldn't believe that he was fooled that easily.

As soon as the two lackeys recovered from Yuichi's attack, Ren points two fingers toward Yuichi's direction to order his lackeys.

"Get him! NOW!" Said Ren.

The two lackeys then run toward Yuichi. They won't let Yuichi get away alive.

-Streets 9:56 PM-

Yuichi was running from two angry Reds who want him dead. He had no weapons at hand, so he had no other choice.

Yuichi ran and ran until he found and hid himself near a dumpster. In the dumpster, he looked around for a weapon that he can use, and found a broken camera tripod. He forcibly pulls out one leg and takes it, planning to use it as a makeshift blunt weapon.

It was then that the two lackeys found Yuichi. The first one rushes after Yuichi, but promptly gets smacked in the head by Yuichi's tripod leg.

While the first man was down, Yuichi continuously whaled on him with the tripod leg. Eventually, one huge smack to the head cracked open the man's skull, fatally injuring him.

Almost immediately after, the second man then rushed after Yuichi, only to be whacked by Yuichi, causing him to fall down back first. While the second man was getting up, Yuichi gets up to his chest and steps on his stomach as he forcibly stabs the tripod leg on his chest.

The ordeal ended with two lives ended by Yuichi. Yuichi himself is breathing heavily, exhausted after the long ordeal with the Reds.

Yuichi grabbed his cell phone and called Evelyn to update her about what had just transpired.

"Hello, who is... oh. It's you, Onodera." Said Evelyn. "How was the transaction."

"The transaction was a trap! Those guys were Reds!" Yuichi replied. "Two of them chased me down, but I managed to take care of them..."

"Well, shit. Those damn Reds always messing with our business." Said Evelyn. "There's always next time, Onodera."

"About that... I... actually want to talk to you about... leaving the Triad." Yuichi replied. "I don't think I can do any more of this..."

"Leaving the Triad...? Ahahahaha! No can do, Onodera." Said Evelyn. "Once a Triad, always a Triad. And if you're gonna leave, there's a price you gotta pay."

"Price? What price...?" Yuichi replied.

TO BE CONTINUED