The Devil Inside Read Online Free PDF Page A

LA.  
    Masa grins, but his eyes are hard. “Things are good. There are more cashed-up Japanese here now than ever.” He leans forward, dropping his voice. “It’s been a long time, Aniki . I knew you were here, but you’re a hard man to find.”
    He leaves an unasked question hanging between us. I know. Why the fuck have I turned up now? Why no contact for three years?
    “I’m living the quiet life now, Masa. There’s not much use for that kind of work in this town.” That’s all he needs to know, for now. I feel a little bit bad about that, but it can’t be helped. I fish a cigarette from my jacket pocket. Masa leans forward with a lighter, cupping the flame as he lights the smoke in my mouth. It’s just like the old days. A hostess appears with an ashtray, breasts straining against her too-tight strapless top.  
    Smoking’s a dirty habit, I know. I always figured I wouldn’t live long enough for it to kill me.
    I exhale, a white plume dissipating in front of my face. “Tell me, Masa. What do you know about Lucini?”
    “The Lucini family?” A frown crosses Masa’s pretty face. “They’re Italian Mafia. We’ve got an agreement. They leave us alone, we leave them alone. Why the interest?”
    “Two of their guys tried to extort one of our places tonight. I just wanted to know if that was the done thing around here.” I can’t keep track of all the different crime families in this city. Between the Italians, the Hispanics, the Armenians, the Koreans, the Vietnamese and the rest of the United fucking Nations, it’s hard to know who owns what.
    America is such a complicated country.
    “They should know better.” Masa looks surprised. “We respect each other’s turf. But business is drying up and they’re getting desperate.   They might try stupid shit from time to time. What happened?”
    “We had a cultural exchange.” I watch the tip of my half-smoked cigarette as it burns, turning from ember to ash. “Now, they know about yubitsume .”
    Masa lets out a scandalized laugh. “No way. You made a gaijin cut his finger off? We don’t do that shit to non-Japanese. Coming from you, though, I’m not surprised.” His expression turns serious as the information sinks in. “There’s going to be trouble from this.”
    I grind out the cigarette and stand. “That’s why I’m here, Masa. I need you to sort it out. I don’t want them going near Fat Dragon Sushi again. Call me when it’s done”
    I pat Masa on the shoulder and drop my business card on the table. It says Kaito Araki - Chartered Accountant in Japanese and English. Masa’s eyes bug. “Accountant? Seriously, aniki ? And is that the name you go by now?”
    I shrug, then smile. “It’s a living. Keeps me out of trouble.”
    Masa takes the card with reverent hands and stashes it inside his jacket. I down the rest of my beer. “Take care of the Lucini thing and I’ll call us even.”
    “Consider it done, aniki . If Lucini’s people are fucking with us, we need to send them a message. And you know we’ll never be even on this one. I still owe you.”  
    This is why I can trust Masa to deliver. I saved his life once, and he hasn’t ever forgotten it.  

Adele

    When I arrive home, I hear shouting and gunshots. I sigh. When he’s not earning a living doing web design, my housemate Dio is a hardcore gamer. His office looks like a high tech military command center, with two massive screens bolted onto the wall and pieces of hardware everywhere. I don’t even know what half of it is for.
    “Hey Dio.” I pop my head in.  
    “Hey Adi.” He doesn’t look away from whatever game he’s playing. He’s in the process of shooting a guy, who falls to the ground with a theatrical scream.  
    Then another guy rounds the corner and shoots Dio’s character in the head. There’s a digital spray of blood and he falls to the ground.
    “Motherfucker,” he snarls, as he removes his headset. He finally turns to look at me. “Hey, you