Chapter 14

Samson walked into the empty Japanese restaurant and looked around. A small Japanese man with a straight, long beard came from the back, flanked by two larger men.

"Thank you for coming, Mr. Vartan," the man said, bowing.

Samson bowed back. "I was intrigued by your proposal, Ito-san, but I need you to know up front, I'm not a bodyguard."

"As you can see," Ito said, "a bodyguard is not what I require."

"Then I'm all ears."

"If you wouldn't mind handing over any weapons. I can't take too many precautions."

"Of course." Samson unbuttoned his suit jacket and pulled his gun from his side. One of the bodyguards took it while the other patted him down.

"I'll return your weapon when we've finished here."

"No problem."

"Now, before we talk business, let's drink." He led Samson to a table, where they sat. Then he raised his hand. A waiter came over, setting two small cups and a bottle of sake on the table.

Ito lifted the bottle with two hands. "A toast."

Samson held his cup while Ito poured, then nodded his head. "Kanpai."

The two men sipped; then Samson set his cup on the table. "Now to business."

"Do you have somewhere you need to be?"

"No."

"Then why hurry?" Ito smiled and took another sip. "Drink. Please."

Samson took another sip, then another while Ito watched. After he finished, he set the cup down. When Ito lifted the bottle again, Samson placed his hand over the cup. "That's enough for me."

Ito frowned. "If you insist."

"I don't like to drink while I'm working."

"That's not what I hear. Please. One more. Otherwise I'll be offended."

"I'm afraid I must decline."

"Very well. To business. I have a shipment coming in shortly."

"I'm going to assume there's nothing illegal?"

"Of course not."

"If I speak to my federal contact, am I going to find out anything I don't like?"

Ito laughed. "No. Feel free to check up on me if you must."

"I will."

"This shipment is very valuable to me, and I need to make sure no one is going to make an attempt to rob me."

"That's where I come in?"

"Yes. I have a few enemies. I need you to make sure they're behaving themselves. Just until the shipment is safely in my possession."

"Sounds simple enough. Do you have details on those you suspect?"

"I do, but I'd also like you to use your contacts to make sure there's nothing unexpected."

"I will. Is that everything?"

"Everything you need to know. Are you interested?"

Samson nodded, his head buzzing with the movement. He hadn't had enough sake to make him heady like that. But Ito had drunk from the same bottle and looked okay.

"Are you well?" Ito said.

"Yeah. Do you have a file I can take with me tonight?"

Ito snapped his finger, and one of the bodyguards brought the folder. "If there's anything else you need, don't hesitate to contact me."

"Thank you for the drink." Samson stood.

"Do you have a few extra minutes?"

"For what?"

"I have a small museum at the back of the restaurant. I'm very proud of it, and I'd love to show it off if you have time."

"Yeah, sure."

"Wonderful. If you'd like to follow me."

Samson followed Ito through a curtain and then into a large room with lights highlighting various pieces around the room.

"This is impressive." He approached a line of samurai armor covered in lacquered leather plates. Each of the helmets was different. One had horns that, sitting atop the armor, nearly touched the ceiling, while another reminded him of Darth Vader.

There were also various katanas and other swords

"Some of these pieces are priceless," Ito said as he walked slowly through the room with Samson.

"I bet." He leaned closer to examine a scroll that was encased in a glass box. "What does it say?"

When Ito didn't respond, he looked up and found no one beside him. He looked back the way he'd entered and found four men barred the door. Each one holding a sword.

"What is this? Where's Ito?"

"He had somewhere he needed to be," said the bodyguard who'd taken his gun.

"I see. I guess you don't mind if I interfere with your display." He reached for the nearest katana and pulled it from its scabbard. "It's not my best weap—" He remembered the conversation he had with Delilah but shook it away. He needed to focus.

The first man approached, spinning his sword with complicated twists.

"You look like a pro," Samson said, lifting his own sword in defense. He was no match for this man's skill, but that didn't mean he didn't have other options to defend and attack. He waited until the man was close enough to strike, then jumped sideways, hooking his hand on a mannequin wearing a kimono. He kept his fingers in the fabric to pull it away as the rest of the dummy crashed into his attacker.

He swung the sword behind him, catching the guy's shoulder, cutting him as the other three approached.

"You don't want to do this," Samson said as he sidestepped, keeping himself as far away from the men as he could.

One of the other bodyguards charged and Samson ditched his sword and used the kimono to collect the other man's weapon, ripping it out of his hand before going back to the first man, launching the sword at him. It sliced him across the chest.

"Who's next?"

All three came at him, and in the flurry, Samson wasn't even aware of his movements. His focus was a pinpoint, and at the end, he was left breathing hard while all four men lay unconscious or dead on the floor.

He shook his head and tsked, then climbed over one man to reach the one who had taken his gun.

After retrieving it, he returned to the dining room, where he found Ito.

"Thanks for the tour."

Ito didn't move but kept his eyes on Samson's gun. "I—I wasn't responsible for that."

"What about the sake ? Did you put something in it?"

"You didn't drink enough for it to affect you. Please. I had no choice."

"Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you. But unfortunately, I've decided not to take the job."

Samson walked to his car while he held his phone to his ear.

"Have you got something for me?" Trevors said when he answered.

"I sure do."

"I hope it's Demir."

"Maybe. It's connected at the very least. Look into a restaurant called Izakaya."

"Japanese?"

"Yeah. Hang on." Samson got into his car and connected his phone before pulling onto the street. "It's run by a man named Takashi Ito."

"How do you think he's connected to Demir?" Trevors said.

"Don't know. But Demir must have him on the bank roll, or he's got a connection to Marc Rubin. Either way. He attempted to do Demir a favor tonight."

"Were you injured?"

"I'm fine. On the bright side, it was the first time I had the opportunity to fight with a katana."

"How'd you manage that one?"

"They tried to drug me with sak e, then came at me with swords."

"Maybe you should give up drinking."

"That's what you got out of that? I was thinking I should brush up on my swordsmanship."

"Why not do both?"

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you cared."

"I do care. And what made them attack you with swords? Sounds random."

"They had their reasons."

"You sound disappointed."

"It's one of my weaknesses. I'm not good with anything sharp."

"How'd they figure that out?"

He didn't want to think about what it could mean. "Who knows. Anyway, I've left the scene, but I thought you might want to contact the local PD and let them know you've got it covered."

"How many were there?"

"Four."

"Do they need a trip to the hospital or the morgue?"

"Don't know. I didn't check before I left."

"For all your trouble, did you learn anything tonight?"

"Yeah, that you don't always know who you can trust."

"I thought you already knew that one."

"It's more poignant tonight. But it could be for the best. I may have a lead."

"Great. Care to share?"

"Not yet. I have to see how deeply she's involved first. If I can get her to cooperate, I'll let you know."

"Her?" Trevors chuckled. "I'm sure you won't have any trouble."

"You'd think so, wouldn't you?"

"Don't tell me you've found a woman who is indifferent to your charms. Hang on, let me get this on record."

"Funny."

"Who is she?"

"Let's just say she's a woman I thought I could trust."

"This sounds personal."

"It is."

"Then Samson, do me a favor and be careful."

"Don't worry about me. I'll do whatever it takes to get her to talk."

"Good luck."

"Luck's not what I need."

Samson hung up and leaned his head back on the seat. His head was pounding, and he wondered what they'd put in the sak e to get his head spinning. If he'd continued drinking when Ito insisted, he may not have made it out of there alive.

He spent the rest of the drive trying not to think about Delilah. It had been a long time since he'd let anyone get behind his walls, but he couldn't reconcile her breach of trust with the woman he'd gotten to know the other night. He wanted to believe she'd have an explanation, but how could she?

He shook his head. There was no way to know until he confronted her. The thought of it made him hot with agitation. He tried to take off his jacket as he drove, but his arm stung with the movement. When he checked his bicep, he saw blood.

Turning on the car light, he tried to assess his injury, but he couldn't get a good look at it through his jacket. Judging by the amount of blood, it was a deep cut, but he wouldn't bother with stitches. Not tonight. Not when all he could think about was how this was God's way of putting him in his place. Samson had begun to believe there were better things in store for his life. He'd begun to hope that he could have a life that satisfied more than his flesh. But he'd been wrong.

A scripture came to mind. It was one his father had tried to use to scare him into behaving differently.

His mind now drifted over the words, letting them burn into his soul like a branding iron, reminding him of the hopeless man he'd become.

Therefore, God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the degrading of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator…

He'd suspected for a long time that he was a lost cause in the eyes of God, and now he knew for certain it was true.