Characters who chatter in my head - Caught, Chapter Two.
Feb 19, 2021 2:28 pm
Kia Ora....
I always have great ideas what to talk about in this part of the newsletter, right up until I need to write it and sometimes it can be like that when writing a story too. Great ideas always come when you least expect it. There are characters who decide that one am in the morning is a great time to chat when all I wanted to do was go to the toilet. Other characters think it's fun to chatter away when I'm hanging out the washing, doing dishes or out for a walk, but then clam up tight when I sit down at the computer to write.
I have even had characters who like to pop up and give their opinion on random things... like the music being added to the playlist I listen to while working on their story... seemingly Grant and Corryn from Not Invisible to Me do not like the Spice Girls, Ricky Martin, Robbie Williams, any boy band from the nineties and especially not Celine Dion. Yes, they are a very opinionated couple.
Updates
- Not Invisible to Me: on target for release in March. It's currently sitting at 23k words and if you're a member of the readers group - Greenwood's Groupies - then you'll get to read exclusive excerpts of it each week.
- Deadly Gifts (Tokyo Nights 3): I have about 7k written on this so far and a few ideas for different scenes that I've yet to get written down. Hopefully I'll release this in May or June
Caught (Smoke and Shadows 1) - Chapter 2
As this is a work in progress... it will not be fully edited.
Previous Chapter: One
******
“Come on, Matsumoto,” Tomu Aragaki said, striding across the pavement toward the young Shirokawa-gumi heir. “We only want to talk… share a bit of intel on how things are in Osaka right now. Nothing more than a friendly bit of gossip.”
He grinned at the young man, not ready to mistake Matsumoto’s youth for inexperience like the others who’d been tasked to grab the man had. Young, Matsumoto definitely was but there was an air of maturity surrounding him that only existed in those who’d been born into this world. Saw the danger that lay hidden in the shadows and embraced it rather than fearing it. This man truly was a threat to his boss’ plans and so, it wasn’t surprising that Matsumoto refused to buy into Tomu’s performance.
“Your idea of a friendly talk and mine are vastly different. Friends don’t usually abduct each other from outside of train stations… hold them captive for a couple of days and give them the gift of bruises.” Matsumoto shifted his gaze away from Tomu, no doubt gauging the risk the men surrounding him posed. “Nor do they go unnamed… I mean it’s not really fair that you know who I am, but I don’t know who you are…or why you think you’re important enough to waylay me from destination.”
Tomu’s smile grew more sinister, safe in the knowledge that Matsumoto wouldn’t recognise his name having arrived in Osaka mere days after the young heir had been shipped off to Tokyo. He’d heard the rumours as to why the younger Matsumoto had left the city and each one carried a kernel of truth, but not even the young heir truly understood why his father had sent him away. Didn’t understand the danger that had lurked in the shadows surrounding him—a danger more potent than the hatred his grandfather had carried for the head of the Araki-gumi.
But still, Tomu saw no value in Matsumoto knowing his name either. “My name, and that of my boss is not important… at least, not right now or while we stand in the open where it isn’t safe.”
Matsumoto snorted. “I highly doubt I’ll be any safer with you.”
Tomu sighed and shook his head. His orders had been to capture the young heir, rough him up a little and hold him captive until his boss decided to move forward with his plan. And unlike many in the small group of men working under him, only Tomu knew the exact details of the boss’ plan, one that could work or just as easily blow up in their faces. But he knew better than to question his boss, the man unstable and conniving at the best of times, and yet the man’s obsession with the young heir went beyond the power of the Matsumoto name. Couldn’t quite see it himself.
“We only want to talk, Matsumoto. Come quietly and I won’t need to resort to more… extreme measures.” He counted to three slowly and when the coiled tension in the man showed no sign of easing, Tomu jerked his head at his men. “You could have made this so much easier on yourself.”
His men rushed forward surrounding Matsumoto quickly and left him with little room for escape. Tomu could see the young heir eyeing up the river, calculating how long he’d survive in the frigid water versus standing and fighting his attackers. Noticed too when the man chose to fight as his stance changed, feet forming a steady base and hands held loosely at his sides. Yeah, the men he’d sent after Matsumoto when he’d arrived back in Osaka had sorely underestimated him. This kid had been taught to fight and while it might be a futile strategy considering the odds were against him, Tomu knew those facing the young heir wouldn’t walk away unharmed.
**
Takeshi braced himself for the first attack, brow furrowing as he deflected the attack. Sloppy and well telegraphed, it was obvious the men weren’t accustomed to solving arguments with their fists and yet none made a move to pull a weapon on him either. They’d been ordered to subdue him by whatever means necessary—to injure, not kill Takeshi—but he wondered if they’d regret that decision when the men not him lay sprawled on the pavement at the end of the fight.
And it confused him too. There was no way these men belonged to one the other rival organisations in Osaka or neighbouring Kyoto, Nara, and Wakayama. None of them would be prepared to lose a high-value target like himself by sending green-arsed enforcers after him. They weren’t from the Shirokawa-gumi either—or what remained of it—as Takeshi imagined those factions wouldn’t have gone through the farce of kidnapping him when a bullet was more efficient.
He’d reduced the number of opponents from eight down to five with three of his attackers lying bloodied and bruised on the ground. The fiver remaining men were wearier of him now, their attacks becoming more deliberate and less frenzied as they realised their mistake in underestimating his abilities. They moved together, crowding him against the railing of the bridge with rapid strikes of their feet to his abdomen, head and legs and left him struggling to defend against each blow. Their confidence growing, sniggering as they realised
Takeshi was tiring… body moving slower and his strikes carried less power behind them while his attackers’ punches grew heavier. His legs grew weaker…wobbled and Takeshi needed to lean on the bridge to keep himself upright.
Takeshi struggled to breathe.
Refused to give in. A sneer still affixed to his face and defiance shone bright in his eyes.
But it only took one strike. One lucky swing of a foot that connected with
Takeshi’s head in just the right place for his world to slip sideways. Darkness reached for him, cold and comforting as it tugged him away from consciousness, but never quite winning. Voices swam around him, some familiar and some not as they shouted with a franticness that Takeshi couldn’t quite decipher. A lazy grin spread across his face at the sight of familiar amber eyes that appeared magically in front of him as though conjured up from a dream… and it had to be a dream because Yoshitake couldn’t really be here.
It couldn’t be Yoshitake’s arms lifting him up and holding him close.
It couldn’t be the man who’d long kept him safe, rescuing him once more.
Takeshi desperately wanted it to be true.
His return to Osaka with death of his father and grandfather would be expected, but with the chaos that had ensued as a result of their deaths, Takeshi hadn’t thought it wise to alert anyone to his impending arrival. At least not until he’d reached the safety of the family home in Suita on the outskirts of the city.
And yet the voice whispering familiar words of comfort as Takeshi was deposited into the backseat of an SUV could only be his former bodyguard Yoshitake.
Thank you for reading!!
If you're enjoying the story so far... why not checkout my other Yakuza romances.
Dangerous Lessons (The Yakuza and the English Teacher)
Or my Crime Lords series written under my Mandy Greenwood pen name.
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