FALLOUT: War for Vegas {WattyAwards 2013 Contender (Did not make Finalist) }

Chapter 15

The sun rose with a strange green tint as Henry awoke. Feeling groggy, he pulled out a bottle of purified water and downed it in three large swigs. Curious to what was loot able in the store, he walked downstairs to where the store's main shopping center would be.

Looking around, Henry saw of interested. But when he knocked a wooden crate aside, he saw a safe that looked it had been recently closed and locked. Pulling out a few bobby pins and a screw-driver from his pants pocket, he worked on picking the lock. The first attempt failed, as did the second, and third. The fourth attempt, however, struck gold. The lock clicked and the safe door swung open. Inside were a few caps, a box of .9mm rounds, and a folded up note. Taking the note out, he read:

Kano,
     Got last shipment of weapons. Payment with notes
     9mm rounds are homemade condition, so should
      do some massive damage to the mafia
                           Nero

Confused, Henry re-read the note again. The ink was fresh, only about two hours old, so Kano would be grabbing his payment shortly. Giving himself a idea, he got up and closed the safe, locking it. He then tied a thin strip of wire to the top of a shelf, which he also tied to a large tub of flour. Satisfied with his trap, Henry walked back up the steps and laid back down on his cot.

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An hour or so later there was a loud crash from downstairs. Henry jumped up and ran downstairs as the others were startled awake from the noise. What he saw brought a smile of satisfaction in his trap to his face.

A thin Asian man with a long ponytail was covered head to foot in white flour. Henry rushed up and grabbed him by the collar, pointing a knife to his face.

"Your name Kano?" he asked.

The Asian man spoke in a unfocused and confused tone. "No, where did you think that? Now let go of me or the Yakuza will drop a can of 2,000 year old Chinese whoop-ass on you!"

Henry heard Arcade, Shank, and Boone run down stairs. He heard Arcade yell out "Jesus what the hell happened here?"

"Who are you?" Henry asked more aggressively.

Realizing defeat was upon him, the Asian man said. "My name is Shiro Tekanato, but you can call me Tek."

"Ok, Tek." Henry said, still holding onto his collar. "Who's Nero and why is the Yakuza providing them weapons?"

"If you let me go, I will tell you everything you want to know." Tek said.

"I'll let you go," Henry agreed. "But if you attempt to escape or attack, we'll Swiss-cheese your ass." He let him go . Tek surprisingly made no attempt to escape or draw his weapon. Instead he grabbed the worn chair behind the counter and sat down.

"Ok, you want to know who Nero is," he said, staring at the floor. "I've never dealt with him to be honest. But Zero Kano, the current leader of the Yakuza, has met him on numerous occasions; All I know is Nero is the head of the Caesar’s Encampment near here."

Henry felt his color drain from his face. He looked to see similar expressions of despair on Arcade and Shank, and Boons face was beat red. "I guess we'll have to take out the Yakuza and more Legionaries in order to get the Mafia on our side."

"You’re going to attack the Yakuza?" Tek asked, weariness and hope in his voice.

"Yes." Henry replied. "Don't get involved you've helped out enough by explaining who-"

The thin Asian man interrupted. "I want to get involved, but not in the way that you think. A few Yakuzians and I want to overthrow Kano and ally with the Mafia."