Ruslan took a step the way Masahiro came. "Joey-"

Masahiro put a hand on his arm to stop him. Sadness filled his eyes. "No, Ruslan-san. Please, come. I will explain."

Eshe, Leora and Ruslan exchanged perplexed glances, then nodded as one and followed Masahiro as he almost ran out the opposite side of the park.

"Where are we going?"

She rushed to catch up to him and catch his hand. Tugging once sharply, he glanced back over his shoulder.

He frowned and pursed his lips as he read her face, then turned on his heel and led them down a narrow alley stacked with pallets and behind the large stack. Turning back, Masahiro waited until they had all assembled around him.

Ruslan stood close to Eshe and took her hand, squeezing it. Eshe looked up at him gratefully. Leora stood the hoverboard on its end and held it with one hand while she leaned against the pallets, cradling her stomach.

From his pocket Masahiro took out some paper and began to write in Japanese as he spoke, "We are going to Namba station. It is not far. Eshe-san, you must take the Nankai train to Kansai airport and get on the first flight out. You must change trains once at Tengachaya station, it is the first stop. I will write it down in Japanese for you to show to get help."

"Nankai line to Kansai airport, change at Tenga...something, first stop," Eshe repeated. "But why, Masahiro?"

Handing over the paper which Eshe slipped into the front pocket of her jeans, he took out his wallet and retrieved a small plastic card.

"This is a train card. I only have one, but it will get you to the airport. Ruslan-san and Leora-san, if we have time to buy both of you one before Eshe-san gets on a train, we will. If not, she goes on ahead, then you follow."

Ruslan was shaking his head as he took out a similar card. "Joey got us train cards as soon as we arrived."

Masahiro's shoulders drooped with relief. "That is very good. Please put them in your front pocket so you can get them easily. We may run for the train. What hotel are you staying at? I will make sure your luggage is retrieved and forwarded to you."

Eshe told him, then laid a hand on his arm. Her voice pleaded for an answer, "But why, Masahiro? Why do we have to run?"

Masahiro's shoulders sagged again, but with sadness. "When I went to find Joey, I overheard him speaking with someone. It is good I went, because he was speaking Japanese and none of you would have understood, and-"

Masahiro's voice choked up. He closed his eyes and took a deep, shaky breath. "I never would have expected Joey to do this."

"Do what?" Ruslan asked. "Joey has been my assistant for almost six months. I feel responsible for whatever he has done."

"No, Ruslan-san," Masahiro said, looking at him with sad eyes. "This is not something you feel guilty about. Only Joey. It was very not possible you would know the choice he could make."

"What choice!" Eshe demanded.

"To sell what you found to the Yakuza."

"The who?" Leora asked.

"You would call them the Mob or gangsters in your old movies. They are very powerful in Japan. You do not cross them without risking your life."

The burgeoning smile of dismissal on Ruslan's face died at the seriousness on Masahiro's. "Joey recognized whatever you wrote on the papers and called someone to make a deal for whatever it was."

Eshe pulled the stack of papers she'd scribbled on. "This is the genetic code for a virus more deadly than anything the world has seen yet. Do you have a lighter, Masahiro?"

He nodded and took one out, handing it over. "Yes, but it will not be enough. Joey said they must take you as well, because if the papers are destroyed, you will be able to write down the information again from the park. He also said you could be a treasure hunter for the Yakuza."

Eshe gave a short bark of laughter. "There is no way I'd work for any one organisation, and definitely not gangsters."

Masahiro shook his head slowly. "These men... they will find a way to make you do what they want. I will not tell you stories I know of what they do. They are very awful stories. Eshe-san, someone with your samurai-heart will not let innocents suffer."

"Then I would just refuse and say the information couldn't be accessed from the ground again. It was a one shot thing." She lifted and dropped one shoulder smugly at the plan. "There is no way I could remember so many pages of random letters!"

"You could if you were hypnotized," Leora said, rubbing her stomach.

Eshe opened her mouth to protest, then slowly shut it and nodded. "Well, at least I can make sure these don't fall into the wrong hands. Hypnosis will work both ways. As soon as I can, I will get it to forget the formula."

Without hesitation, Eshe flicked the lighter and held it to the bottom corner of the stack. They stood in silent awe of the tiny flame intent on devouring its fuel. The bottom corner of the top page curled up. The creamy paper turned to dark grey ash. Eshe tilted the stack, encouraging the element to purify in its destruction by catching and decimating each paper.

When each page was fully involved, she dropped the papers on the ground. They stood around in a loose circle and watched them burn.

When a pile of smoldering ash was all that was left, Ruslan stepped forward and ground the pile into the asphalt until there were just dark smears streaking out in a strange abstract fireworks pattern.

Leora reached to wipe the sweat running down her face, then gave a blood-curdling scream. The hoverboard clattered to the ground as she held up her arm, staring aghast with wide-eyes and open mouth at the massive cockroach crawling down her sleeve.

Eshe approached Leora with a hand out placatingly, scooping up the hoverboard that was in her way. "Leora, it's just a bug. I'll get it off."

Leora's breath started coming in shorter and shorter waves. When the bug took a step up her sleeve, Leora backed away as if she could distance herself. The bug took a few more quick steps and Leora responded by racing backwards out onto the sidewalk.

When it began to run towards her shoulder, she began to shriek and flail around, slapping at her arm with her other hand, not noticing in her panic she had already dislodged the insect.

"Leora!" Eshe yelled, racing out and grasping her assistant by the shoulder. "It's gone! It's gone! It ran into the sewer drain."

Tears streaked down Leora's face and shudders wracked her body. "I-I-I..." she stuttered.

"We have to go. Now!" hissed Masahiro and pulled on their arms.

"Why?" Eshe saw no sign of Joey.

"Because now I know who Joey called. We must go immediately. We are in much danger. Please come!"

Eshe followed Masahiro's frightened eyes across the wide avenue. On the far side, a Japanese man wearing a stylish track suit was staring hard at them and lifting a mobile to his ear.

"Now!" Masahiro called and took off running.

WORD COUNT: 1347

AUTHOR'S NOTE: To give authenticity to Masahiro's character, his English grammatical errors are intentional.