Resolution

KEVIN

Nico was seething with rage, his nostrils were flaring as he paced back and forth. Astherielle joined me in staring at him, her arms folded across her chest as we both sat at one of the tables. However, unlike the usual, she made no side comments nor did she try to say anything to calm him down. Instead, she remained silent which was not like her at all.

I could think of several reasons why Astherielle chose to be quiet as of this instance. One, she was contemplating Rose's identity. The fear in her eyes earlier when Rose plunged the knife on the wall beside Nico was unmistakable.

She and Nico might constantly be bickering from time to time but that did not mean that they seriously hated each other. The events from earlier had clearly made her dislike Rose and was now questioning her identity.

Another reason I was thinking of for Astherielle's sudden silence was that she was taking Nico's side. She was in agreement with him now regarding refusing to help Rose with her venture to fight against Takahashi Ryuji, getting vengeance for her people.

In all honesty, I had no idea what to make of that anymore. I, too, was contemplating deeply.

Nico abruptly stopped, briefly taking me out of my thoughts. He looked at me and Astherielle, a bewildered expression on his face.

"What if this Rose woman was Takahashi Ryuji's fiancé?" he exclaimed. "And then she ran away and Takahashi Ryuji wanted her back," he paused, pacing a little before halting yet again.

"What happens now?" Nico stated, eyeing me and Astherielle. "At any time, we might find a sword pointed to our throats or better yet a gun pointed to our heads and that Takahashi guy will torture us to our deaths, punishing us for something we do not deserve," Nico shook his head, running a hand through his hair, letting out a frustrated groan as he resumed his pace.

I raised my right hand, signaling to Timmy who has been watching us from his place by the drinks. I saw him give me a nod before he proceeded to make my request.

"Nico has a point. Kev. Aren't you worried?" Astherielle asked her eyes most likely boring into me. I refused to look back at her, knowing that she was going to try and read what was going on inside my head.

Ever since Rose and her friend left, I haven't uttered a word. I silently helped the rest of the crew in picking up the half-dead bodies of the Japanese yakuza, letting Kent and Doug take care of getting rid of them.

If those yakuza managed to wake up, they would be surprised to find themselves in the middle of nowhere with no sense of where was north, south nor the east and the west. Unless they would be lucky to spot a road or something close to it, then they can say goodbye to civilization for quite a while.

I waited for Timmy to get to our table and placed the drinks I have ordered, one for each of us.

Before Astherielle could stop me, I downed the cold beer in one gulp, slamming the glass on the table a little too forcefully right after. Noticing the drinks, Nico finally stopped his nervous pacing and sat with us, mimicking what I had just done.

"Another round?" I gave Timmy a nod of approval and watched him leave, going back to fetch more beer.

"Now what?" Astherielle prompted, eyeing both me and Nico. I stared at the two of them, somehow regaining a tiny bit of control over my swirling emotions with what just happened tonight.

Nico had a point. I know that. Takahashi Ryuji sits on top of the Mafia community within the country right now. I had heard a few things about him here and there.

He was continually rising in power among the Mafia across Asia. It won't be long before he will reach Europe and all other continents.

From what I heard, Takahashi Ryuji was a man you do not want to have as an enemy. He has quite a reputation for getting what he wants. He will stop at nothing and given that he has every resource that there is, everything being available at his beck and call, whoever pissed him off will most likely see no daylight and no bright future.

I mentally scoffed.

In our case, that warning is a little late, All thanks to Rose, the kingpin of the Mafia is now looking for me and my crew. It would only be a matter of time before mine and my crew's lives, even the personal ones, would come to ruin.

I had seen it happen before. If there was one thing that I had learned ever since I had taken part in the Mafia was that, you do not provoke the Mafia boss if you wanted to live long. You should remain in the shadows as much as possible and simply do your thing. If you see an opportunity to make a good impression and rise to some position, grab it.

However, I can't let Takahashi Ryuji bring any kind of harm to my crew. I can't allow him to ruin their lives and the lives of the people around them.

I honestly don't mind what he ends up doing to me but he better not lay any finger on any of my people or I won't let him get away with it.

If he ever tries to touch my father, Nico or Astherielle, all hell will break loose and I don't care if he was the boss of all the bosses.

I am well aware that this man exudes power, money. He has all the resources he would need to make it a point that we shouldn't have helped Rose and her friend escape the grasp of his Japanese yakuza. However, no matter how right Nico could be, I had no regrets in providing assistance to Rose earlier. In fact, I think I was ready to make a decision.