Bring The Pain_An Urban Fantasy Action Adventure Read online

  “Okay.” James stared down the body. “Sounds good.”

  He smiled to himself. Next time he would handle the body better.

  19

  Shay waited across the street from the Tokyo police station while Brownstone collected his money. She didn’t understand why the tech-loving Japanese, of all people, insisted that someone show up in person so they could initiate an electronic money transfer.

  The sun hung low in the sky, and it wouldn’t be that much longer until night fell. Then again, night never truly fell in Tokyo—one of the few cities on the planet that could make New York look like it lacked sufficient lighting.

  The tomb raider continued to watch the flow of humanity walking up and down the street and thought about the impact of the return of magic. Twenty years before Japan had been one of the safest countries on Earth, with crime rates so low the police had begun obsessing over the most trivial of crimes to justify their existence.

  The return of magic had hit the safe country harder than other, rougher countries. Maybe the ancient magic ran deeper in the island nation for good or bad, leading to a dangerous concentration of magical criminals and monsters.

  After a good thirty minutes of people-watching, Shay narrowed her eyes and ducked into a nearby alley. She had almost missed it.

  Every few minutes a Japanese woman passed by the police station and looked toward the entrance, first a young woman wearing a low-cut black dress and matching tights, then an elderly woman, then a policewoman, and then another young woman, but this time in a pantsuit.

  By the time pantsuit woman went by, Shay realized what small detail had been poking at her from the edge of her subconsciousness. The women were all wearing the exact same ankle-high black boots.

  Could mean nothing. Maybe it’s just a popular brand here.

  Shay pulled out her phone and dialed Brownstone.

  “I’m almost done,” he rumbled.

  “I’m pretty sure I’ve got eyes on Hisa,” Shay murmured.

  “She’s not gonna kill me in front of a police station. That’d be fucking stupid.”

  “No, but she’ll follow you and waste you when you’re not paying attention. If I’m right, she keeps changing her appearance except for her boots for some reason.”

  “Maybe she really just likes the look of the boots. You’re the one obsessed with fashion.”

  “Huh? I’m not obsessed with fashion.”

  “You bitch about my coats all the time!”

  “Hating those ugly-ass things isn’t the same as being obsessed with fashion.” Shay sighed. “It doesn’t matter. Anyway, focus on the boots. Because she can change her appearance, we might not get eyes on her before an attack. You should go into the bathroom and put on the amulet just to be safe.”

  Brownstone grunted. “I don’t need the amulet. From what you told me she’s not super strong or anything. She can just use the illusion magic.”

  “If she shoves an ice pick through your brain you’ll die, Brownstone. Stop bitching about your whispering-doom necklace and use it to make sure we take this bitch down.”

  “Okay, okay.”

  “Thank you. I’ve got a plan. When you come out, go to your right. About five blocks down there’s a subway entrance. Go down there. Make sure you look for a suspicious-acting Japanese woman with ankle-length black boots.”

  “What else is she wearing?”

  “Could be anything, remember? She’s probably not gonna keep the same appearance.”

  “Good point.”

  Shay rolled her eyes. “I’ll jam the cameras once the action starts, but we’re not gonna have a lot of time. Anyway, once you spot her, keep her busy.”

  “Keep her busy until what?”

  “You’ll see.”

  When he stepped out of the police station James was still awed by the amount of paperwork the Japanese police had made him fill out to claim his bounty. He’d assumed after they accepted a phone picture of the dead despair bug that collecting his payment wouldn’t be a big deal, but the gauntlet of forms had seemed like it would never end.

  He stifled a yawn and made his way down the street. At least he’d get a little action soon to get his blood pumping.

  Been a busy day. Killed a despair monster, and now we’re about to finish off the third assassin.

  The amulet whispered in the recesses of James’ mind. He tried to concentrate on what language was being spoken. He began to wonder if it was just sending sensations to his brain rather than speaking a language.

  Guess that shit’s not important right now. Do your worst, amulet. After the fucking bullshit with the despair bug, you don’t seem so bad.

  James’ heavy booted steps echoed on the stairs leading to the subway.

  Too many damned people crowded the subway platform; if a fight broke out there somebody innocent would be hurt. A few people glanced his way, but no one wore suspicious boots.

  The bounty hunter looked up and down the platform and started walking toward an area where there were fewer people. The ocean of humanity became a lake and then a puddle, and in the end, he found a lonely stack of crates next to a wall.

  Yeah, this will work.

  A few moments later light footsteps sounded behind James and he turned around. An attractive young Japanese woman in a leather jacket, white t-shirt with what looked like an angry cartoon rhino, and jeans stood behind him smiling. She’d accessorized with ankle boots. She ran her fingers along the hem of her jacket.

  The boots combined with her sudden appearance left James no doubt as to her identity.

  Should have tried to take a shot, Hisa.

  “I saw you on the street,” the woman told him. “I love your sense of fashion, since it matches mine.” She offered him a playful grin. “I want to show you something I think you’ll appreciate.”

  James grunted. “What’s that?”

  Her hands trailed up the side of her legs, then underneath her jacket until they arrived at the hem of her shirt. “I’m not wearing a bra.”

  The bounty hunter bit back a groan. He was almost embarrassed for the assassin.

  Didn’t these assholes do any research on me? She seriously thinks that shit’s gonna work?

  The woman whipped her shirt up, exposing herself, and James sighed in response. Then there was a click and she kicked at his leg. A knife protruded from the tip of the boot. It slammed against James’ leg and snapped off, clanging to the asphalt.

  The woman frowned and leapt back, adopting a defensive stance. “You’ve been poisoned, Brownstone-san. You’ll be in agony in seconds. I considered trying to take you alive, but after you emerged from the forest unharmed by Connor I knew you were too dangerous.”

  James shrugged and cracked his knuckles. “I’m no doctor, but I’m guessing you have to actually get that shit into my blood for it to work and that weak-ass kick wasn’t enough. Sorry, Hisa. That’s who you are, right? Hisa the Kunoichi?”

  “Yes. You deserve to know the name of the woman who will take your life.”

  Hisa spun around to deliver a roundhouse kick to his head. James grunted and only moved about an inch.

  The assassin launched a series of quick strikes, and James blocked them with little effort but didn’t counterattack. Without enhanced strength, a normal person couldn’t generate enough force to injure him when he wore the amulet.

  And people say I’m the one with the attitude problem. Just wandering the streets and people show up to kill me.

  Hisa followed up with a flurry of kicks, punches, and sweeps. James either blocked them or moved out of the way. Frustration continued to build on the woman’s face.

  “You see, you didn’t have to do this,” James remarked. “I just mind my own fucking business, but people keep trying to kill me. It’s really fucking annoying. And don’t you dare feed me some bullshit line about how it’s nothing personal.”

  “Death is always personal.” Her breathing ragged, Hisa stepped back to glare at James. “Why won’t you fi
ght me? You think a Japanese person is unworthy to take your life?”

  James snorted. “One of the few guys to get a decent hit on me lately was Japanese. I don’t give a shit where you were born when it comes to ass-kicking.”

  “What then? You disrespect me because I’m a woman?”

  Out of the corner of his eye, James spotted Shay creeping around a corner toward Hisa. The bounty hunter kept his gaze focused on the Japanese woman. If he shifted his eyes it might tip off the assassin.

  “I don’t care about sex either when it comes to ass-kicking. It’s a brave new fucking world, and everyone can kick ass with the right magic.”

  “Then why won’t you fight me?” Hisa tried to slam her fist into his neck, but he blocked.

  James chuckled and stepped back. “You bitch way too much for someone who is supposed to be a pro.”

  Shay continued moving toward Hisa, her face a mask of concentration.

  “Your arrogance will be your end, James Brownstone. Enough disrespect.” Hisa reached into her jacket to pull out a pistol. “Now you die.”

  Shay whipped out a knife and stabbed Hisa in the back. “He’s not disrespecting you, bitch. He’s respecting me.”

  The assassin collapsed to the ground, coughing blood. She turned her head, her eyes wide, to stare up at Shay. “No, it can’t be! You’re dead!”

  Shay winked. “Like I told someone else, it didn’t stick.”

  The Japanese assassin smiled, surprising James. Her head lolled to the side, and her breathing stopped, then her body shimmered for a moment and the young attractive woman was replaced by an older and plainer woman in shorts, a tank top, and boots.

  “Good call on the amulet,” James said. He pointed to the boot with the broken blade. “Poison knife. Not sure I would have been able to take it.”

  He’d had no plan to purposefully test his poison resistance anytime soon. He still didn’t understand the nature of the amulet’s protection.

  Shay pointed to the crates. “We could put her body behind there. No one will find her for a while.”

  James reached into his pocket and pulled out a small brush with white bristles. Glyphs decorated the handle. “I’ve got a better idea.”

  “What, you’re gonna paint her? Not exactly the time to get into disturbing hobbies.”

  “No, watch this. It’s an artifact the Professor loaned me. I asked for some protective stuff, but he thought this would be more helpful.”

  The bounty hunter knelt by the body, then sucked in a breath and dipped the brush in the still-spreading pool of blood. His hand made careful movements as he drew a glyph on the corpse’s forehead.

  “Okay, Brownstone, you’re officially creeping me out,” Shay muttered.

  “This shit better work in English. The Professor said it would.” James took another deep breath. “Too far, too near. Too empty, too full. Too living, too dead. Dispose. Dispose. Dispose.”

  Don’t make me regret this, Professor.

  A flat and opaque black circle appeared over the body like a hole in the fabric of reality.

  James blinked. “Huh. Didn’t expect that.”

  He couldn’t spot any texture or patterns. It was like looking into a part of the world God forgot to paint. Light didn’t penetrate it.

  “What the fuck is that?” Shay exclaimed.

  The hole doubled in size and. James jerked back and scooted away.

  You could have explained that part, Professor.

  Droplets of blood started rising into the hole to be swallowed. The perfect darkness didn’t change. Hisa’s hair flowed up, pulled up by the silent force of the hole. A few seconds later, the whole body jerked up and disappeared in an instant.

  James’ stomach knotted.

  You said I didn’t need to turn this shit off, Professor. I hope I didn’t just start the destruction of Japan.

  “Brownstone, do we need to run for our lives about now?” Shay asked, uncertainty underlying her tone.

  “It’s okay...I think.”

  “You think?” Shay said. “You don’t fucking know?”

  Oh, fuck. Did I accidentally just end the world?

  The hole winked out of existence. The apocalypse was over before it started.

  James scrubbed a hand over his face and let out a sigh of relief.

  Shay poked at the air where the hole had been. “Where does that dump her? Staten Island? Bermuda Triangle? Atlantis?”

  The bounty hunter chuckled. “Nah. The Professor explained it to me. There’s...this kind of world in between. I don’t quite understand it all, but it’s not Oriceran or here. You can send shit there but you can’t get it back.”

  Shay nodded. “I’ve read a little about it. It’s the last resort for some Oriceran banishments and shit like that. Perfect way to clean up a body.” She laughed. “So we’re filling the void or whatever with our trash and bodies?”

  “Something like that. Just, with the Japanese being more uptight, he thought this might help. I figured we didn’t need it in the forest because we were in the middle of nowhere.”

  “Yeah. And how did you convince the Professor to loan you something like that?”

  James grunted. He thought about lying, but Shay would find out eventually.

  “I have to participate in a bullshit dirty limerick competition.”

  “One of those Bard of Filth things?”

  “Yeah.”

  Shay burst out laughing. “Oh, I can’t wait to see the video. That shit will go viral in two seconds.”

  James tried to burn a hole through her head with a glare. “I made it fucking clear there’s not gonna be anybody taping that shit. I’ll burn down the entire Leanan Sídhe before I let anyone record me.”

  “I guess I’ll need to make sure I’m in the country that night then. Once in a lifetime and all that.”

  James shrugged. “Whatever. Let’s just go get something to eat. I want something in my stomach before the next asshole comes to kill me.”

  Shay smiled as she plopped the sauced beef slice into her mouth with her chopsticks. “Sure, it’s not your kind of barbecue, but yakiniku is close.”

  The way Brownstone gobbled his meat suggested he liked it well enough, or at least that he was hungry, though the sight of the muscled and squared-jawed bounty hunter stabbing his meat with a fork in a restaurant filled with slender Japanese businessmen amused Shay.

  Brownstone swallowed. “It’s not Jessie Rae’s, but it’s not bad. The Japanese know their way around seasoning meat, I’ll give them that.”

  Shay rose and dusted her hands on her pants. “I have to go hit the ladies’ room. Try and not get killed while I’m gone.”

  “Sure.”

  The field archaeologist smiled and headed down a short hall. She glanced back and forth, and after confirming no one was there she pulled out her phone.

  It was still ass-early in Virginia, but Shay had made certain promises to Alison—even if Brownstone didn’t know about them.

  The teen answered on the second ring. “Is he all right?” she whispered.

  “He’s fine. We’ve already taken out three of the five, and then there’s the headquarters.”

  “But that’s just normal guys, like before in LA?”

  “Yeah, for the most part.”

  Alison sighed at the other end. “Will it be over after this?”

  “The problem with running a big criminal gang is that other people are always ready to stab you for your position. Once we take out the headquarters, I’m sure all sorts of groups will move in and finish off the remaining Harriken.”

  “But those are just more bad guys, right?”

  “Yeah, but those bad guys don’t have a grudge against Brownstone.”

  “Just...keep him safe.”

  Shay wished she could give the girl a hug.

  “He’s fine, sweetheart, and I won’t let anything happen to him.”

  20

  James sat on the edge of the hotel bed feeling pretty damned sat
isfied. He’d done a little pest control, and two more of the assassins were down.

  The bounty hunter had worried that the assassins would play it safer than the hitmen who’d come after him in LA during the Harriken’s previous attempt to take him down, but now the trip to Japan was looking like it’d last days instead of weeks.

  Shay linked her hands and stretched her arms over her head. “Almost time for the big show. Maybe you shouldn’t even bother with the other bounties. Killing that fucked-up monster is more than enough service.”

  “Nah,” James replied, pulling his phone out of his pocket and bringing up the bounty app. “I definitely want to go after the next guy.”

  “The serial killer?”

  The bounty hunter nodded.

  Shay shook her head. “You don’t know anything about him, other than it’s a Japanese guy in his early twenties. Shocker. They’re not exactly rare in Tokyo.”

  “He’s not just some random killer. He’s using magic to paralyze people somehow, then the fucker disembowels them while they are still alive.” James’ face tightened. “At least that despair bug has the excuse of a parasite who feeds on humans. This is just a man who tossed away his humanity.” He curled his free hand into a fist. “I want this fucker.”

  “And how long do you intend to spend running around a foreign country trying to find a serial killer? You’re not a detective, Brownstone, you’re a bounty hunter.”

  James grunted. “Reach out to Peyton and have him narrow shit down. Break into the police computers if he needs to.”

  Shay snickered. “Not like I’d have to tell him to do that. Then what? If it were that easy the cops would have found him ages ago.”

  “We don’t have to find him. Not with my plan.”

  “Huh? How the hell do you figure?”

  James stared down at the victim list on his phone. “Have Peyton start spreading rumors electronically, and I’m gonna spread a little money around on ads. The cops are being tight-lipped, but once Peyton confirms the general hunting grounds for the fucker I will run some local ads talking about how I’m coming for him and calling out his manhood—that sort of shit.”