Chapter 46 Mogadishu, 2° 2′ 0″ N, 45° 20′ 0″ E Mogadishu Market

Andalas flew to Mogadishu after he saw that Akiko's condition had improved a lot. Hitoshi visited Akiko every day and he would stay to accompany her for a little while. It was awkward for Andalas, so he decided to visit Akiko occasionally instead. Andalas would come over after Cecilia told him that Hitoshi had gone back to the hotel or to take care of other things.

The events of the past few years had left a deep impression for Andalas and Hitoshi. Andalas almost killed him and vice versa. Andalas almost died at the tip of Hitoshi's sword.

It all started when Andalas executed the Consultant's order. The fifth person killed by Andalas, unknown to him was Hitoshi's cousin. After confirming that the person was dead, Andalas was suddenly surrounded by a group of Yakuza led by Hitoshi.

There was a fierce fight. Andalas managed to take down several of Hitoshi's men but he himself was injured in the fight. Andalas escaped and was chased by Hitoshi. In a one-on-one fight at a dead-end alley on the streets of Nagoya, although injured, Andalas managed to defeat Hitoshi.

The Yakuza boss begged Andalas to finish him off. Because for a Yakuza, losing in a one-on-one fight was unacceptable. But Andalas spared him because he was not his target.

Instead of thanking him, Hitoshi cursed Andalas as a coward for not finishing what he had started.

One year later. Andalas again clashed with Hitoshi. This time the problem was quite trivial. Andalas beat some of Hitoshi's men who destroyed an old couple's sake shop in Kyoto. Andalas was immediately hunted that night.

This time they managed to subdue Andalas. When Hitoshi arrived, the Yakuza boss let him go and said that he had humiliated Andalas as a return favor. Hitoshi also reminded that at the third meeting later, one of them must die.

That's why the unexpected meeting between the two at the hospital was tense. Andalas had no idea that Akiko's father was Hitoshi Nakamura. The person who called him the eternal enemy.

So did Hitoshi. The Yakuza boss didn't expect to meet Andalas again. The person who had humiliated him greatly. Moreover, he sensed that Akiko was very close to the man.

Andalas left Helsinki for East Africa to track down the Executor. Akiko was able to return to her activities and decided to immediately go to Geneva the day after Hitoshi returned to Japan.

Before going, Hitoshi gave the wakizhasi to his daughter. He said Kaiken was too short for a fighter of Akiko's class.

Arriving in Mogadishu, Andalas didn't go to a hotel or restaurant to investigate the Executor whereabouts. He chose to go to the bustling Mogadishu market for a reason.

One of the Executor's confidants named Abdelahi was the boss of a much feared armed gang in Somalia. They were not part of the government but had strong support base from the Somali parliament, so it was difficult to shake their position both from a military and political perspective. Moreover, Abdelahi had been handled by the Organization for quite sometimes.

Abdelahi was quite unique. He really liked shopping at the market. He bought fruits, drinks, anything at the market. The leader of Malaa`ig Mogadishu, which meant Angel of Mogadishu, was a war veteran. They were tough on all terrains. Even in the sea, the Abdelahi people were very domineering. No one knew how much ransom they got from the ships that were being held hostage.

Andalas was wearing typical Somali clothes and pretending to be shopping. He could see from afar Abdelahi was picking up local fruit from vendors which were then loaded into military-style cars parked haphazardly on the streets.

Most of Abdelahi's men wore black headscarves so they wouldn't easily identified by secret agents from various countries who also roamed in the city.

Andalas walked quickly and then slid when he saw two members of Abdelahi walking toward his position. He planned to tackle one man who had same build as him so he could disguise himself as that person and blend in with them.

The two of them didn't realize they were being followed. One of them went into the toilet after swearing at a vendor who was blocking the way. His friend was waiting outside smoking.

That was when Andalas moved and acted quickly. The man collapsed and immediately dragged by Andalas into an empty toilet. After changing into the unlucky person's outer clothes, Andalas came out whistling while continuing to smoke cigarettes. He had injected enough dose of sedative that would make the person unconscious for several hours. Andalas also broke the lock and posted a broken toilet sign which happened to be on the toilet door next to it.

His friend, who had come out of the toilet first, was surprised by Andalas, who looked taller. Shit! I forgot to change my shoes. Andalas cursed silently. Fortunately the man didn't pay any further attention because Andalas asked him to leave while offering him a cigarette.

Andalas winked and placed a few bills in front of the merchant who had witnessed his action on Abdelahi's men. The merchant was just dumbfounded, but then smiled broadly and gave a thumbs up.

Suddenly there was a burst of gunfire from outside the market, followed by a huge explosion which overturned one of the cars of Abdelahi's party. There were screams from Abdelahi's men.

Shaydaan Mogadishu! Shaydaan Mogadishu! Which meant Mogadishu Devil.

Andalas understood what was going on. There was a rivalry between the two biggest criminal organizations in Mogadishu for a long time. But clashes between them were rare. In fact, they often cooperated when hijacking ships sailing the Somali sea.

There have been several small clashes triggered by trivial matters. So what had caused the Mogadishu devil to blow up a car that day?

Andalas also ran out of the market while occasionally taking cover behind buildings dodging the continuous shots fired by members of Shaydaan Mogadishu.

Andalas saw Abdelahi crouched beside the post at the crossroads not far from him. Andalas took aim. A member of the Shaydaan collapsed right behind Abdelahi. The Malaa`ig Mogadishu leader gave a thumb up and signaled Andalas to come closer.

Andalas ducked down and moved quickly to avoid Shaydaan's relentless shots. Once beside Abdelahi, the Malaa`ig leader told him that a technical would come to get him.

Andalas was told to jump to the back and use the machine gun. Abdelahi moved closer to the road. Andalas followed behind.

Car brakes screeched as an improvised pickup truck with a machine gun mounted on its open-backed stopped next to Abdelahi. The leader of Malaa`ig got jumped into the front seat. Andalas followed suit by jumping in the back.

Apparently the shooter who was supposed to operate the machine gun had died. His body laid in the back of the technical with multiple gunshot wounds. Andalas took his place.

As the technical sped through the street invested with flying bullets, Andalas cocked the machine gun and aimed it across the street. The series of shots from the M2 Browning's muzzle apparently made the opponent jitter. The gunfire from across the street paused for a moment.

The short paused allowed the technical to move quickly away from the carnage of Mogadishu market streets which had turned into a battle ground. Andalas continued to shoot the large-caliber machine gun shells into the air. He only wanted to frighten those who intended to pursue them.

He couldn't afford if Abdelahi was harmed. He needed him to the Executor's hideout.