Jaxson (6 page)

You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain

Too much love drives a man insane

You broke my will, oh what a thrill

Goodness gracious great balls of fire

Jerry Lee Lewis

Monday morning was Kehau's least favorite day of the week
.
She loathed having to get up and actually be somewhere after a weekend
.
Especially after having such a good time like this last weekend!

“Somebody’s in a good mood today,” a voice called out. It was Mrs. Parajillo, the head of the dance program at HPU.

“I think I have a new boyfriend,” Kehau said cheerfully.

“Well I think this one’s legitimate,” Mrs. Parajillo replied. She opened the office door for Kehau and flipped on the lights. On her desk stood a massive vase, full of pink and white roses. Kehau pulled up short in shock.

“I had a delivery guy waiting for me when I got here this morning,” Mrs. Parajillo said from behind her.

Kehau’s eyes went wide.

Mrs. Parajillo handed her a card. “He said this was for you too.”

It was a simple thing, but the sight just reminded her of one more thing Sione had never tried to do for her and it was enough to make Kehau feel like crying.

“Are those happy tears or sad, my dear?”

Kehau wiped away the tear that had started to form. “Happy, Mrs. Parajillo, very happy.”

Mrs. Parajillo gave her a hug and a pat on the back.

“Oh good. I'm glad to hear that, dear.”

“Thank you.” She smiled.
I’m going to drive him crazy every day this week
.
Gone
unti
l Thursday and only gets texts in
Wi-Fi?
We’ll see about that.

*****

The day had been a long one already for Jaxson. Flying to Tokyo was not cheap and jet lag was always a royal ass pain. Could he have done everything over Skype? Possibly. But some things were meant to be done in person. And in his line of work, he wanted everybody involved to make sure they understood what they were getting. Unreal expectations and all that happy nonsense.

It justified why he was sitting in a corporate boardroom in downtown Tokyo, rather than chasing Kehau around a beach on Oahu. His mind slowly drifted back to Saturday night. Damn, what a good time that had been! He could still taste her cherry lip gloss, feel her hair playing across his hands, the way she’d moaned as she gave herself to him…
Down boy
!
he ordered himself as an erection began to build up. Now was neither the time nor the place for that, shifting in his chair to relieve the pressure.

“Mr. Kuznia, we need to discuss the options you have presented to us. May we speak with you again tomorrow morning, perhaps over a late breakfast?” Director Hiroyo Kikuchi asked.

“Of course.” He stood. “I will be in my hotel next door if any of you should require my services.”

Jax walked through the double doors of the building and out onto the Tokyo street as the late afternoon sun shone all around. He enjoyed Japan for visits. Granted the manner of doing business here was very different from America, but still enjoyable.
Not as much fun as being with Kehau though
!
That’s for damned sure
! If
I keep thinking about her, the front desk will think I’m a pervert
.
He tried to relax.

A woman walking past tossed her hair over her shoulder and the scent hit him. She must have recently washed her hair with something fruity and delicious though, causing even more memories to run through his mind.
Thursday will not get here fast enough
!
As he walked along, a man followed him, shadowing his footsteps.

All the way up to the hotel room, he kept thinking about her. “Wonder what she’d want to see if she were here with me?” he mused aloud to the empty elevator. The door dinged, signally they'd stopped and the doors slid open smoothly. Jax exited, watching for any signs of trouble. It came with the territory. Xavier was waiting for him in the hallway. The elevator next to them dinged and the door opened. Out stepped the shadow.

“We should be good, boss. No trails that I picked up,” Joachim Drake announced.

Both men were slender, Joachim’s complexion being darker, his café au lait skin in sharp contrast to his razor-sharp black suit. Xavier was taller and lanky, wearing tattered blue jeans with a baseball sized bulge in his right cheek and heavily scuffed up work boots.

“So what's the news, hoss?” Xavier asked as he spit into a convenient wide-mouthed bottle.

“They seem solid, but Kikuchi needs to confirm it with the board.”

“Oh lovely,” the bearded Idahoan said as he swiped his room key through the lock.

“Relax, Hillbilly,” Jax countered. “If we don't get the contract it’s not the end of world.”

Within the multi-roomed suite, two more men lounged in casual pants and t-shirts. Normally, Jax traveled alone. After the Belmopan Incident, he never left American soil without an escort. This time it was the squad leaders. Donny "Rockstar" Seth, Marius "Pop Eye" Colonna, Xavier "Hillbilly" Bell, and Joachim "Dandy Man" Drake.

Even when he’d been in the service, Jaxson Kuznia knew he couldn’t stay forever. It was a good life, but not what he wanted. One did not join the military to become rich. And it was hard on the body. He had over a dozen friends who were medically retired with spinal compression, arthritic hip and knee joints, plus dozens of other problems.

One night over a handle of Jägermeister Donny had brought to his house, Jax, Donny, and a couple other NCOs had come up with an idea to start a security and training company. People with security problems called looking for a team to show them how to improve their physical systems. Police departments in desperate need of a better public image could hire them to teach modern breach and sweep techniques so they didn’t screw up and shoot innocent civilians. Things that utilized the skills they'd gained in the service of the government. Jax had written down everything that night before he passed out. It had taken some work to convince everybody the day after, when they sobered up, but he’d gotten them onboard. Three sergeants and a corporal, all signatories to ‘The Plan’. Two years later, the men began to make their idea come true as they mustered out of the service. In honor of the beverage which had inspired the idea, the company was registered and Jaëger Guard LLC was born.

Staying in Hawaii had been Marius's idea. Most of the major corporations were based out of the Eastern Seaboard, leaving the Pacific Rim region a fertile ground for them to harvest. To his credit, the former Petty Officer had been right. Jax had met Marius when he went aboard ship as part of a Marine Expeditionary Unit. A fist fight started in the well decks over allegations of cheating from a sailor toward one of Jax’s Marines, leading to a fight between the two senior NCOs. After putting each other in sick bay, they’d become fast friends as men have since time immemorial. Sounding him out confirmed what Jax had already observed, and after the approval of the others was obtained, he had brought Special Boat Operator First Class Marius Colonna in on ‘The Plan’.

Marius was also responsible for the third major tenet of their business—word of mouth only. No business cards, no fancy skyscraper office, no t-shirts. Nothing. Quiet, simple, effective. And lucrative. If they got the job in Japan, it would mean nearly ten million dollars in revenue. Even after taxes, overhead, and splitting it up evenly amongst themselves, it was still a butt load of cash. And Jax had a good thing going with Mrs. Franklin’s famous son, Benjamin. He’d invested smartly, and assuming nothing else went wrong, they were going to be very rich men in the near future.

Japan being Japan, certain sectors had heard quite a bit about Jaëger’s work. Which led to an industrial magnate calling them out of the blue for contract negotiations. And now he was here, with his four best men, one step closer to making it into the millionaires’ club.
Damn I love my job
,
Jax thought cheerfully.

“Hey, Johnny Rocket,” Donny called out from the opposite end of the room where he was watching an Angels’ baseball game. “You should know your iPad’s been going off like crazy. Somebody’s been texting you a ton.”

“So what's her name?” Xavier asked from the suite’s dining table where he was seated once more, inspecting their firearms. A self-taught machinist, the lanky machine gunner did double duty as the team’s resident Armorer and the heavy weapons squad leader.

“Kehau,” Jax said casually, pulling a beer from the fully stocked fridge.

“Local girl?” Joachim asked in surprise.

Donny was looking upward at the ceiling and mumbling to himself. Then he looked back at Jax with a grin. “Nope, can’t remember catching any Kehaus recently. You’re safe, boss man.”

“Appreciate it, Donny.”

The company’s resident womanizer, Donny sowed wild oats with abandon. Mothers locked their daughters up when the Rockstar went to town.

“Hey, look on the bright side,” Joachim announced as he grabbed a bag of popcorn from the microwave. “At least you won’t have to worry about clap or gonna-sypha-jerp-alitis.”

Donny threw a finger at him from the couch and Joachim laughed.

“So, where’d you meet her?” Xavier asked.

“At the gym. Took her for a date that night. Saw her again the next day.”

Every eye in the room stared at Jax.

“What?” he said exasperatedly. “I can’t help it that she’s hot, a college dance teacher, and knows how to cook.”

Donny looked at him desperately. “Please tell me she has lots of hot friends.”

“Yes and they’ve all got more IQ points than you have brain cells.” Donny’s face fell as the others laughed.

“Somebody hand that man a beer so he can cool that burn off,” Joachim quipped, barely able to contain himself.

Jax picked up the tablet as he wandered back to his room, closing the door behind him.
Wonder what she’s thinking right now?
Pulling up his text message, he started to read.

Kehau: What do u think I should wear for class tomorrow?

Jax's eyebrow rose as he scrolled down.
Holy butt cheeks batman
!
The tight shorts she had on left absolutely nothing to the imagination. Continuing to scroll, he stopped again.

Kehau: Or should I go with the pants?

Now she was in leopard print yoga pants with ‘PINK’ stenciled on the side and a sports bra that looked ready to explode trying to contain her ample bosom.

Jax groaned as his loins stirred to life and he adjusted himself. This was awful! He continued to the next text.

Kehau: I was thinking of going to the beach later too.

Jax continued to scroll down further. Bit by bit, she did a fashion show for him, torturing his mind and incredibly horny body with her tantalizing images. By the time he finished reading all of them, Jax had already decided on an ice water bath.
Because otherwise I’m going to be up all night
,
he decided as he tapped out his response.
This woman is almost salacious
.
And to think Sione had been stupid enough to mistreat her! The hell was he thinking? “Oh well” Jax told the empty room. “His loss, my gain.”

An idea struck him then. Jax knew exactly how to mess with Kehau. A few minutes and a little creativity later, he had twenty-four pictures of himself ready to go. Nothing indecent, but definitely guaranteed to pique her interest.
Want to play games
,
little girl
?
I’m a master at them
.
And I’ve got all the time in the world
.
It was almost 4 p.m. anyways. Close enough for his purposes. Selecting one image, Jax sent it to her.
Gotta make sure I get logged into the
Wi-Fi
at
Kikuchi’s
place tomorrow for this to work perfectly.

There was knock at the door. “Hey, hoss,” Xavier said in a casual tone. “There’s some gents here to see you. Mentioned you by name and asked to see you soonest. Pretty please with a cherry on top.” That was one of their brevity codes. Translated, it meant “the visitors brought back up”.

Jax almost walked out the door without his shirt on. Then he remembered where he was.
Best to play this one by the rules
.
“Xavier, call down to room service, ask for a tea service to be sent up. Make sure there’s enough for our guests.”

“Roger that.”

Stepping back to the closet, Jax pulled on a fresh dress shirt and tie as he freshened himself up. Japanese culture had certain rules. If one kept their guests waiting because one was refreshing and cleaning up, it was seen as a sign of respect. Jax didn’t have crystal ball handy, but he had a good idea who the gentlemen were.

Jax waited to emerge until Xavier told him the tea service had arrived. He walked into the anteroom where a distinguished looking elderly gentleman sat in a comfortable chair, two men, obvious heavies, in black suits flanking him, their backs to the wall. Marius pushed the cart into the center of the room then stepped back.

Jax stepped in front of the gentleman and bowed at the waist. “
Gogo, kôei oji yoi, watashi wa anata no namaenode, watashi wa tadashiku anata ni taisho suru koto ga dekiru ga aru kamo shiremasen
?”

The man’s eyes sparkled for a moment with the respect Jax showed by speaking in his language, 'Good afternoon, honored uncle, might I have your name so I may address you properly?', before he returned in perfect English, “I am Tomihisa Shiroo. Your Japanese is good.”

“Thank you. Would you care for some tea, Mr. Shiroo?”

“But of course.”

Both Jax and he sat as Jax served them, and spoke pleasantries for a while. At length, Shiroo finished his cup of tea and placed it on the saucer.

“Tell me, if you would, how has your visit to our nation been thus far?”

“Quite pleasant. I've visited before and I find the atmosphere agreeable. As well as the food.”

“And the people?”

“Polite. Decent. Honorable even.”

“It is well then. I am sent by one higher who wishes to know these things.”

“To what end?” Jax asked.

“We hope you have a quiet, enjoyable stay here in Tokyo. Preferably not playing poker.”

Ah
…
Belize
.
So word
had
gotten around
, Jax thought very cheerfully.

Jax had been in Belize on business when he got caught in the middle of a kidnapping attempt. Without weapons, he'd been powerless to stop the kidnappers from taking himself too.
Kidnap the Gringo they'd said
.
All gringos are rich they'd said
.
He'd promised one hundred million dollars for his return, and the kidnappers let their greed override good sense. They'd called the number Jax told them to, demanding their ransom money—one of many contingencies the Jaëgers had planned for. They hired professionals, men who didn't need to have their hands held to do their job.

In the hours that followed, fifty-two very angry men took a trip to a quiet Central American country, fully determined to prove themselves loyal to their salt. The city of Belmopan became host to the largest running urban battle since Ramadi or Fallujah. And the gunmen Jax had on his payroll were the victors of those fights. Urban combat, even on unfamiliar territory, was their specialty.

The long bloody swath they cut through the criminal underground saw buildings burned to cinders, spent brass cartridges all over the ground, and the smoky reek of burnt cordite everywhere. Cartels blamed each other, the government, and the Americans for their woes; government blamed the contentious street gangs; and Interpol didn't have a clue. But Interpol had never learned about the playing cards the Jaëgers left behind as a warning to others. Jack of Diamonds—the suicide Jack. Or the sheer blood-minded terror they’d left in their wake. The Belizean government knew just enough to hand Jax a suitcase stuffed with money to stay silent about the whole matter and to never come back to Belize.

“You may tell your patron that we are not here for personal reasons, simply professional business with Hiroyo Kikuchi. On this he has my word of honor.”

This answer seemed to relax Shiroo. He nodded his head slightly, then stood and bowed deeply at the waist. “Please enjoy your stay here.”

“Always.”

The men were ushered out and Xavier closed the door behind them. “I wasn't listening to all of that. Care to explain what the hell just happened, please?”

“That was the senior most advisor to a Yakuza boss. They were checking to make sure we didn't come here to do a Belize.”

There were chuckles around the room. “I think our contract is secure. Deferring to the board was probably Hirohito’s way of getting me out so their boss could have a chat with him.”

“Judging by the tattoo on big boy’s neck, Yamaguchi-gami,” Donny interjected. “Biggest of the Yakuza, sixty thousand known members. We kept tabs on them when I was in Counter-Intelligence.”

Xavier gawked. “Sixty thousand?”

“Yeah,” Donny smiled. “Those are the made men, the shot callers. They started moving into Tokyo a few years ago. Smart businessmen, but ruthless. They probably have controlling stakes in this hotel, and a quiet interest in our clients.”

“If they have so much power, why do they need us?” Xavier asked.

“Russian gangs started playing hard ball. They filled their ranks with veterans of Chechnya and Afghanistan. If we can find the holes in the Yakuza security, they'll be less likely to be blindsided when the Russians start a war. Not if,
when
. Probably come from one of the gangs out of Vladivostok with backing from St. Petersburg.”

Xavier shook his head. “Freaking intel punks. You're too damned smart for your own good.”

“I, personally, am not going to worry about it,” Jax declared as he finished his beer. “I have a girlfriend to chat with. Unless we get more visitors, don't bug me.
Capisce
?”