The Black Cobras waited impatiently for him to arrive. They weren’t the most feared gang in Tokyo for nothing. The seconds passed into minutes, the minutes, into hours.

He was late; what arrogance! They had determined the time to meet, and he was late! He dared to be late? He’d soon learn that you didn’t mess with the Black Cobras.

A black car came round the corner. Even though the windows were tinted, they knew it was him. Who else would drive such a nice car to this section of the city?

“Finally,” muttered Fang, jerking his hand through his hair impatiently, “He’d better have a good excuse for being late, or he’s dead meat…”

The car pulled to a stop, and the door opened. Kame stepped out, a cold, fearsome expression on his face and in his eyes.

“Where were you?” Fang asked quietly, menacingly, “You’d better have a good explanation.”

Kame stared Fang right back in the eyes before a slow smile spread over his features, “Why, I was making sure no one was following me. Too many fans these days. I had to sneak away from a public place and bring the cash. Unless…you’d prefer I’d forgotten it?”

“No, no,” Fang said hastily staring at the trunk of the black vehicle, his eyes turning from anger to greed in a split second.

Kame chuckled darkly, “I thought not,”

“Let’s go someplace private,” Fang suggested. Now that he knew that Kame wasn’t lying about the payment, he (and the three other Black Cobras members who’d come) could afford to be a little hospitable. Besides they wouldn’t want any other gangs that could be spying listening in, and trying to interfere with the transaction.

They waited for Kame to open the trunk and take out a dark suitcase. Then they led him through an alleyway into the side of an abandoned shop; a place that was theirs, but not their ‘real’ hideout. They weren’t stupid. Just because they were about to make a deal, did not mean you trusted strangers with your hideout.

If he wanted, he could call the cops on them and wipe them out. No one would believe they were conspiring with him. It would be his word against theirs. But if he did double-cross them, he would be the one to pay. You don’t mess with gangs. Especially the Black Cobras.

They sat down at a wooden table-Kame and Fang. The other three guarded the door and kept lookout at the windows. A dull light flickered against the walls from the weak light from the chandelier. It hung in the middle of the room not giving much light. Not much light meant deeper shadows. More shadows for them to hide their faces and their crimes. Kame didn’t show any expression as he handed over the money. It was time to get serious. They were done with pleasantries.

They wouldn’t double-cross him. They didn’t know it, but he had enough evidence against them stored in his secret files that could destroy them completely. Wipe them out. He never dealt with ‘scum’ unless he had to. And he didn’t do it stupidly. He made sure he had all the cards before he even contacted them. He had also been in a gang when he was younger. He knew how they worked; quick, ruthless, secret. He knew their ways, he knew their weaknesses, he knew how to break them. They never stood a chance…

He watched as Fang counted the money.

“What,” said Fang slowly, “Would stop us from taking the money now, slitting your throat, and be done with it?”

“If you do,” Kame replied calmly, “I have all your information in my files. Videos, recordings, pictures, names…everything. I even know where your hideout is. If you kill me, people will find my body; the great celebrity viciously murdered…and my files will be opened. You will be just as dead as I will be. But…if you don’t kill me, I can make it very worth your while…I can give you this much again, after you complete the job.” He gestured to the suitcase held protectively in Fang’s arms.

“You could be bluffing,” Fang said suspiciously.

“I could be,” Kame conceded, “…But I’m not.”

Fang didn’t understand the emotion welling up inside him when Kame said those words. It wasn’t hatred, he’d felt that hundreds of times; it wasn’t anger, although it did gall him that he should be threatened. He didn’t understand that the emotion he was feeling was…fear. Deep down, somehow, he knew that Kame had all the cards. He knew they were all lost if they didn’t cooperate.

He was afraid.

“So,” Kame said smoothly, “Here’s what I want.”