Eshe froze with the others just in the mouth of the alley. She held her breath as Eiji looked down at the mess Leora had spewed all over him. A thundercloud of anger descended over his face. He barked something in Japanese and pointed at his ruined jacket.

Leora shakily stood upright. Large tears leaked from her eyes and dripped from her chin to splat on the light grey concrete of the sidewalk, leaving a pattern of dark circles around her.

She held out a hand, placating him. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "It's hot, and I ate so much sushi, then we were running so fast, and I'm so scared, and it's hot..." She unzipped her unicorn onesie and wiped at her sweaty brow then held out her hand for him to see.

Eiji's eyes were murderous as he stripped off his sodden jacket and dropped it with a plop on the pristine sidewalk. His voice was low and ominous as he muttered in Japanese, his eyes pinning Leora the entire time. He reached up to twitch down his sleeves over his muscled arms, then smoothed down the front of his button-up shirt.

"Grab her!" Joey yelled from nearby.

Eshe followed Joey's voice and saw him racing towards them from twenty yards down the sidewalk.

Before she could look back, Eiji had lunged forward and grabbed Leora, twisting her around to press her back to his front.

"Not her!" Joey yelled. "The other one!"

Eiji narrowed his eyes at Eshe, unreachable several feet from him.

A shiver of fear went through her. Every muscle in her body tensed.

She'd sensed dozens of murderers under the ground, felt their emotions, or lack thereof, but she'd never stared into the cold, flat eyes of a real-life murderer. Until now.

It was clear in Eiji's eyes that Masahiro's warning was not unfounded. This man would go to any lengths, use any person in any way necessary, to get what he was after.

She swallowed hard. Ruslan touched her lower back and took a step closer to her, giving her a moment's reassurance that she stood with friends who would fight with her. She shivered again, but with sympathetic fear for all of his victims that had had to face this killer alone.

Shifting his eyes to Ruslan, Eiji tightened his grip on Leora. Through clenched teeth, he muttered to her in Japanese. They couldn't understand the words, but his low threatening tone and Masahiro's tightening fists told them it was nothing good.

Joey ran up and skidded to a stop. "Remember that I told you she's just the assistant. It's her-" he stabbed a finger at Eshe, "who is our jackpot. The assistant is good for nothing."

Eiji picked up Leora's long ponytail and ran the long, silken, brown strands through his fingers.

They all started in surprise when he said in perfect English with a surprisingly authentic British accent, "Joey, she's good for the only thing all women are good for. You are still a romantic thinking women are useful for anything other than serving a man's sexual needs."

With a smirk, Eiji looked at their stunned faces. "You look surprised that my mind is as sharp as my blades. I'm sure all of you have learned that it isn't nice to be judged by your appearance."

"You-" Eshe began, fist raised, but Masahiro held a hand out to silence her, his eyes wide with fright.

With a deep laugh, Eiji dropped Leora's hair and held a hand out to Eshe. "Yes, come! I will happily take you both."

Eshe lurched forward to slap him but Ruslan caught her arm and held her in place. He hugged her to him tightly, and held his lips to her ear. "Not now, my sweet Eshe," he whispered. "When I squeeze your hand three times, you jump at Joey. I'll get Leora. Now, pretend to still fight me to get at him."

Keeping a scowl on her face, Eshe strained against Ruslan's arms. "Just let me slap that smug, sexist smile off his face! Let Leora go, you jerk!"

Ruslan grimaced between Joey, who crossed his arms and smirked, and Eiji, who had gone back to running Leora's ponytail through his fingers.

"Oh, I love your fire! Breaking you would be such a pleasure." Eiji grinned, but it was anything but pleasant. "Alas, I'll content myself with this one for now. If she hasn't been used, then I can get an excellent price for her. Even if she's been screwed, with her looks and this hair, she'll still get a fairly high price. Although maybe I'll keep her for myself for awhile before I sell her. Or maybe I'll just keep her to play with my knives. It's been a long time..."

The blood drained out of Eshe's face.

Leora turned sheet white and gave a sob of fear and a hefty sniff. With her arms pinned by her captor, she wasn't able to wipe away the snot and tears that ran down her face.

Joey scoffed. "Not wise, man. You remember what a mess that got you into last time?"

Eshe gaped at him and looked at Ruslan who was now the one with a murderous expression on his face. He muttered something in Russian.

With a slow turn of his head, Joey responded in fluent Russian, then said in English, "Once we get the information, we'll consider selling her, too."

Eshe blanched again. A lump formed in her throat that blocked her windpipe. A wheezing sound came from her throat and spots swam before her eyes.

From down a long tunnel she heard Ruslan call, "Eshe, Eshe! Count to ten. Relax and breathe." Ruslan wrapped an arm around her shoulders to catch her if she fainted.

Her mind struggled to remember how to count. The constriction in her throat tightened.

"Yes, pass out! It will make it that much easier to get you away from your Russian bear," Eiji said. Joey and Eiji's laughter mocked her.

She bit hard on her cheek to distract her from her closing throat until she tasted the coppery tang of blood and her eyes smarted with tears. Her throat opened and she was able to draw in air.

"I'm okay," she whispered to Ruslan. Her throat whistled slightly but she was able to take in a deeper breath.

Concern etched deep lines across Ruslan's face. He lifted her chin slightly and wiped the beads of sweat off her brow. He took Eshe's hand and squeezed lightly once, then ducked his head to hide the meaningful look he gave her. She stood upright and covered a nod signalling her readiness by rubbing her face with her free hand.

She turned to stand beside Ruslan, hand in his, waiting for his signal.

"Do you even know what Eshe found?" Ruslan asked.

Joey snorted dismissively and waved a hand in the air. "Whatever she finds is always of value. All I need to know is that it was some kind of genetic code. I know some scientists who can put me in touch with the right people. Money will open a lot of doors."

"I burned the papers!" Eshe said. Inspiration struck and she hurried on, "When we went back, I couldn't read the ground anymore. Whatever was there was too traumatic and the ground is blank to me now."

"You will with the right motivation." The gangster drew a finger down Leora's jawbone and said to her, "I will free one of your arms. Use your shirt to wipe that disgusting mess off your face."

He loosed one of Leora's hands and she used the inside edge of the unicorn outfit's collar to wipe her nose.

Joey bared his teeth at Eshe. "Well, you will find a way to access that information. Whatever was down there must be valuable or you wouldn't have passed out." Joey's eyes lit up. "It doesn't matter that you can't read the ground! Whatever you saw is still in your mind. We can get the information out with hypnosis!"

Eshe clenched her jaw. There was no comeback or way around that logic.

Ruslan glared at his assistant. "How will you pay all those scientists you mentioned? I know you are not rich."

"That's why I wanted to work for you so badly. I wanted to get access to her and all of that treasure! You never noticed the items I pilfered right from under your nose. That is the real payday here, and the real reason I wanted to get you to Japan. To introduce you to my distinguished friend here," he nodded at Eiji. "He is the brawn to match my brains."

Ruslan said something vehemently in Russian.

"Now, now, Russie, don't swear in front of the ladies." Joey smiled like a shark at Eshe. "Now that we have her, all of her finds will be ours. We'll be rich! Won't we, Eiji?"

"Yes, of course, we will," Eiji chuckled and flicked his eyes at Joey, who frowned slightly in unease.

"I will never work for you!" Eshe protested and stamped a foot. "You're despicable!"

Eiji gripped Leora's chin hard and she whimpered in pain. "You will do anything I say if you want your little assistant here to remain in good health."

Goosebumps broke out all over Eshe's body. There was no doubt in the quiet, steady timbre of Eiji's voice that he wouldn't give a second thought to hurting innocent Leora.

She balled her hands into fists. "I won't work for you if you hurt one hair on her head!"

"Oh, you will. Even when I do more than hurt one hair on her head. I won't kill her. That I promise you."

"You're a monster!" Hot tears ran down Eshe's face, blurring Leora's face.

"No, I'm a businessman. I deserve to be rich. And you will help me because you're weakness is helping others. Pathetic. Your Russian bear will help me, too."

Eiji smiled ruthlessly at Ruslan. "Joey has already told me all about your expertise. You'll come along with us to help sell whatever she finds. There is an excellent network of collectors who pay top dollar to get their greedy hands on antiquities. How does it feel to be my employees?"

Masahiro's voice had a slight tremble when he asked, "But, I thought you want to save face? With Daisuke?"

"Ah, yes. Masahiro Tonibashi. It seems I've overlooked your true value as well. Hiding away in your shop like you have been." Eiji eyed the hoverboard Eshe still clutched under her arm. "You'll be a good employee to have as well. I see much profit from you in the future."

Eiji curled Leora's ponytail around his hand until he reached her head and began pulling her head farther and farther back. "As for Daisuke," he spat the name and Leora gave a small cry of pain when he wrenched her head to the side, "I will have so much money, power and influence, he will be coming to me to gain face!"

Ruslan gave Eshe's hand a firm squeeze, then three quick squeezes.

When he let go, Eshe quickly slid the hoverboard forward with her elbow so she could grasp it firmly with both hands. Then as Ruslan launched himself towards Eiji, she jumped at Joey and smacked him across the head with it.

"Take that, you ass!" she screamed on an adrenaline-fuelled high.

Joey's head snapped up and to the side. Off-balance, his body fell backwards towards the hard concrete sidewalk. He cried out in pain and rolled over to cradle his right elbow.

Eshe turned to see Ruslan pummeling Eiji's nose. He yanked on Leora's shoulders trying to pull her free, then gave the Japanese man another blow so hard they heard the sickening crunch of bone. Eiji's hands flew up to his nose, now spouting blood.

"Come Leora!" Ruslan called and pushed Eiji to the concrete as he pulled her out of Eiji's grasp. "Now, run!"

Ruslan didn't wait for Masahiro to lead them. Instead, he just turned and ran back the way they had just come, dragging Leora, who was sobbing loudly and stumbling along behind him, seemingly kept upright only by Ruslan's hold on her hand.

Eshe shifted the hoverboard back under her arm and followed Ruslan.

Masahiro wasted no time falling in step beside her.

As they ran, Eshe looked back to see Joey struggling to his feet. Eiji sat pinching his nose to stem the flow of blood with one hand and in the other the sun glinted off a blade that he pointed straight at her.

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