“How about you? Where did you grow up?” she asked after a few moments of silence.
“Hawaii, the big island. Have two older brothers and a sister. I’m the baby.” He grinned.
“It shows. Idiot.” She grinned good-naturedly.
He laughed and nudged her with his elbow. They walked along the sidewalk, passing tourists of all kinds, it was a pretty day and good for sightseeing.
“They’re all still there, they keep telling me to come back, but I can’t. Not after seeing the world, like the military was restrictive for you, island life was restrictive for me. Where my folks live, everyone knows your business and, in our business, that isn’t a good thing.”
“So, how did you get started?” She asked, looking up at him.
“Ah, well, I was a stupid, know-it-all eighteen-year-old. Me and a friend went on a trip to Mexico. Thought we were hot-snots.” Haiden laughed shaking his head. They walked past a vendor selling fresh small pizzas. Imani stopped and looked at him in question, and he grinned and nodded.
“Due pizze, per favore.” She said and handed over money, shoving Haiden’s attempt to pay out of the way. She also got two waters. They ate and walked.
“Anyway, we are having the time of our lives when Brant gets kidnapped. He was a blond haired blue eyed American, and I guess the kidnappers figured they could get money for him. Long story short, I caught up to the assholes that had taken him. They’d killed my friend. I waited and looked and found them. I followed them and killed them. There were three of them. And though I was just a kid, I was methodical and organized about it.” He said softly.
“I’m really sorry Haiden.” She said and laid her hand on his shoulder.
“Yeah, that was twenty years ago. I got the shit kicked out of me. But I realized it was something that I might be good at. When I was older, I hired an ex-marine to teach me hand to hand and also how to handle weapons and different weapons as well. For over two years I did nothing but trained and get the shit beat out of me.” He laughed.
“Yeah, before you can kick someone’s ass, you have to take a few knocks yourself.” She agreed.
“Anyway, I started up a small network of ex-military guys and they helped me get contracts, most down in Mexico. I was still pissed and wanting payback. Then as I got better at it, I branched out. And here I am today.” He grinned down at her, his arms spread out.
“Idiot, you have sauce on your face.” She laughed and gave him another wipe.
“How about you?” He asked.
“I was stationed in Japan, my first and last duty station. I came across some asshole trying to rape a fourteen-year-old Japanese school girl. I punched him in the spine, told the kid to beat it and then killed the asshole. I found that I was good at it, efficient and calm. I had a rage inside of me for assholes like that. But, can’t pay the bills with it, and so figured since I was good at killing, I might as well get paid for it. I knew Nobu then and he helped me with the techy stuff. Especially the dark web.”
“Yeah, I’ve had a hard time over the last few years. Things are getting more complicated. Do you think Nobu can hook me up with a reliable techy? It’s difficult if not impossible to trust someone. It is a way to get your head blown off if you hook up with the wrong person on the other side of the net.”
Imani looked at him and then nodded. “I’ll see what I can do. Nobu has a lot of connections he’s made over the years, I’m sure we can figure something out. You can’t be doing too badly, you live in a nice building.” She laughed.
“Yeah, I do alright.”
They walked along the sidewalks, window shopping.
“Glad you aren’t wearing your jewelry.” She said, looking at him sideways.
“What?” He asked, looking confused.
“Your beaded necklaces and bracelets. You really look like a douchebag you know.” She laughed up at him.
“I’ll have you know that it is a very subtle disguise, though you wouldn’t get that would you?” He answered in mock distain, looking down his straight nose at her.
“Oh okay. Not.” She laughed.
“Eh, well, I want to appear nonthreatening. What is more nonlethal than a metrosexual?” He laughed.
“You got me there. I guess it works.” She admitted grudgingly.
“Well, because of my black hair and when my beard grows out, I have a tendency to make people nervous. If I wear a man bun, earring, and beaded jewelry, then I look like a stereotypical urban dude. No one notices me, no one looks very hard at me and that is the name of the game, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, okay. I got it.”
“So, when are you scheduled to go?” He asked softly.
“Tonight, I’ll need to swing by the bank on the way back to the hotel.” She said.
“Bank?”
“Yeah, safety deposit box. Little secret, you keep your weapons of choice handy in the cities you work in, especially internationally. That way, you have a reliable weapon of choice. Nobu helped me set it up.”
“Holy shit, that’s a great idea.”
“I know.” She grinned, pleased with herself.
They spent the rest of the afternoon meandering through the streets of Rome. They made a stop at the bank, and Imani retrieved her weapon, it was broken down to fit in the long lock box. She slipped it into a long bag that was slung over her shoulder. She’d return it in the morning.
They arrived at the hotel and each went to their separate rooms. It had been a nice day, and it was nicer to spend it
