Goodbye My Lover, Goodbye My Friend

"Memory is such a fragile thing," he says with a sinister smile, "May this memory last." He says as he closes his eyes one last time.

"He left like he lived, like a joke," Emi says, a tear rolling down her face. Unsure whether to be angry at her now late husband for leaving them or to be sad that he was gone. All the memories collected, he had been her lover and friend. Her partner in crime. The ying to her yang. The one serious clown that could crack a joke out at the wrongest of times. He was such a master at bad timing that you could say he was good at it. Maybe he was good at timing bad timing.

She chuckles internally at her own joke.

Emi was the type to start telling a joke and half through starting so hard at her own joke that she would never complete telling a joke. Which in a funny way, turned out funny all the same, but it usually got people laughing...or maybe it was just her laughter that was that contagious...contagious like the virus behind the global pandemic that had just claimed her husband's life. So young, so full of life...so.full.of.life. she repeats the thought word by word.

"May this memory last" she whispers to herself...wipes off a tear, then steps out onto the Moscow pavements. She is now Nguyen, she is a cougar, and she's on a prowl.

Aoki wakes up hours later,

Looks like it was a success.

"You love to live dangerously," remarks Bruno, as he unhooks Aoki from the life support machines. "I would strongly advice against facing a mirror" he adds.

Aoki proceeds to coldly start inquiring about the state of business like he wasn't literally faceless.

These mafia men, Bruno thinks to himself, its like they're programmed for power and power alone. Look at this one, not even concerned that his face is off, that he woke in the middle of a plastic surgery procedure. His main concern is the state of business? Oh my goodness...

"Business is good. She is good.

You trained her good."

A heavy Russian accent interrupts his thought process.

Aoki lays back down on the surgical table, like a zombie that is just chilling out.

Keep an eye on her, keep her away from those damned Yakuzas..they should never have come between me and what is mine. His eyes glow as he barks at Bruno..

"Make it fast" ...the sedative kicks in...