The Wise Words of Billy Williamson

“Now Billy, there’s no need to cry. You’ll be alright,” Harry said, leaning back against the wall as the Vegas tough guy turned drunken hostage strained against the ropes tying him to the chair. The air in the hotel room was dense, stale and dark, with only a desk lamp showing the outlines of the three people who had kidnapped him. Though, they would all have to admit, kidnapped would be a strong word. Good ol’ Billy had thought the tying up thing had been leading to something kinky and highly Japanese. He had been shocked when Hinata had untied Harry while he remained tied to his chair, and was even further surprised when she had stripped and grown a few fox tails.

All in all, it had been a stressful few minutes for Billy Williamson.

Reo stepped forward, knowing exactly where to stand so the light caused his glasses to shine, making him look like a dark shape with glowing eyes. Harry couldn’t help but be impressed whenever he saw the effect. The little nerd had watched enough anime in his life to know how to make a dramatic image.

“My sister does not understand English,” Reo say slowly, letting each word settle onto Billy, allowing him to absorb the meaning behind them. Hinata flexed her hand, allowing the claws to extend and glint in the limited light. She was dressed only in her underwear, both disorienting Billy with her curves and showing off the full extent of her demon form. She wanted the Vegas gangster to know what he had been hitting on all afternoon.

Billy chose then to throw up on himself. Stress and alcohol did not do his physiology any favors. His three captors backed up slightly, not knowing how to respond. Truth be told, none of them were experienced when it came to kidnapping men and forcing information from them.

“Sorry. Look, tell me what you guys want to know,” Billy slurred.

“Rolling over so easily?” Harry asked, his eyebrow arching a bit.

“Yup. I ain’t dumb enough to piss off a demon bitch,” Billy said, giving a quick nod. The man was apparently a terror when he was in control, but as soon as he was behind the eight ball he completely collapsed. Harry caught the surprised looks from Reo and Hinata and shrugged, never one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Harry dragged him over to the desk in the corner where a map of the area was. Hinata walked over, claw extended, and sliced through Billy’s ropes. Reo pulled his gun, letting the hostage know if the large angry man or the demon woman didn’t scare him, a bullet should.

“You’re going to confirm where Gouki God damn Kageyama lives,” Harry said, tapping the map. “Then you’re going to make a map of the house, pointing out rooms, guards, all of it.”

“Gouki? Figures you’re after his psycho ass. He’s outta control,” Billy said, pointing to the exact spot Harry had already guessed he was.

“What do you mean?” Harry asked. The Kurosawas exchanged a nervous glance. Out of control was not something they needed right then.

Billy hesitated as Reo slid a large sheet of blank paper and a crayon to him. Finally he picked it up, tapping it against the paper.

“I’m only selling drugs,” Billy said, doing his best to remember how Gouki’s house looked. “Gouki, though…he’s talking apocalypse. Like D Day was this great thing he misses. Don’t you want to feel like the king of your world again? Like, hell no, I only want coke, money and bitches. This demon shit freaks me out.”

They watched as the layout for the house took shape, with Billy labeling rooms where he had been, as well as the positions and routes guards had walked in his presence. As he did so, his hand continued to shake harder, as if he were sobering up and realizing exactly who he was pissing off. Billy was a sleaze, but he wasn’t someone who yearned for the end of the world to roll around again.

“Why would Gouki trust a sleaze like you to go to his home?” Reo asked.

“Because being a crazy asshole requires money. I’m one of the best at what I do,” Billy said, a gold tooth glinting in the light. “And I insist on talking face to face.”

A half hour later Billy had produced the best map of Gouki Kageyama's home his drunken brain could remember. Harry, Reo and Hinata looked it over, noticing there wasn’t much of a presence outside of the large house. They all had the same thought. Gouki wanted it to look like any other rich man’s home. What seemed like an initial blessing, though, probably meant tighter security inside where there was less room to maneuver. Still, with what Billy had provided them, they at least had a heads up.

“It’s not much, but it’ll work,” Harry said. He hated they were relying on a drunken scumbag for their intel, especially since he hadn’t told them anything about any demon presence in the house. And there was something else severely bothering Harry. “The Seven? Are any of them there?”

“Those whackjobs?” Billy said with a nervous laugh. “They ain’t been around for weeks. Word is, Gouki is betting big on one last chance power move. Got them moving behind the scenes.”

“Last chance?” Harry asked.

“Yeah. The creep is obsessed with demons. Way too obsessed. Most criminals see demons as tools. With Gouki, it’s more like…religion,” Billy said.

Like a religion. Those words struck Harry right in a cold part of his heart. He remembered the spray of the ocean mixing with the blood of Reiji Kageyama as he shot him in the heart. Eight years ago he had come to Japan to learn about demons. Somehow the Kageyama family kept getting mixed up in his life. The final day on the beach, when he had found them ready to kill a group of women, it hadn’t seemed like a crime which used demons. It had felt like a ritual.

An empty pit in Harry’s stomach opened up. He fought to suppress the dread. He had work to do.

“Well, I guess I’m an atheist,” Harry said curtly.

“I’m not,” Billy said, his drunkenness suddenly gone. “I believe. Thing is, I think God’s a bastard. Demons and death and all. Hell, look what he did to your girl.”

Harry’s fist lashed out before he even knew what it was doing. It cracked against Billy’s skull and he slumped in the seat. Harry stared down at his own hand, still curled up so tight his knuckles were white. Reo and Hinata looked at him, shock and concern on their faces. Especially Hinata’s. She didn’t know English. She didn’t know Billy called her God’s mistake.

Wise words, Billy, Harry thought bitterly.

Harry walked away, not looking back to see if Billy was unconscious or brain damaged. He didn’t care. The discussion with the actual mistake of humanity was officially over. He didn’t need to think anymore about him, or the rage he felt when a drug dealing murderer called Hinata a monster. It was time to focus.

Within half an hour they were standing in the tree line near the home of Gouki God damn Kageyama. The moon sat fat and bright in the sky. The breeze was slightly. The lake beyond the house rippled, looking like wavy glass. Hinata’s eyes shone in the dark as she scanned the windows. The men patrolling around the compound matched up with what Billy had told them. But there was still much about the compound they didn’t know.

It didn’t matter. Harry was going to end it before the sun rose.

Hinata rose from the bushes and began her run.

It was time to knock on Gouki’s door.