Samantha paced back and forth in front of the Bunny's barista. She was supposed to be meeting up with Isabella to give her an answer. At first, she wanted to say no, but she was growing more uneasy about the deadline. She didn't want to be fired, she knew Mr. Giles would fire them both without hesitation if they didn't come up with and publish a story.

"Move." She heard a deep voice command behind her. She stopped pacing and looked at the rude person. It was the Asian man who worked there, and he was carrying a stack of big boxes.

"Oh! Sorry!" She stepped out of his way after realizing why he commanded her. She even held the door open for him and he stepped inside without saying thankyou. It was a bit rude of him, but she sort of deserved it for being in his way.

"Sam!" Samantha heard Isabella's call and watched as she jogged over to her. The two greeted each other briefly before walking inside the building. Samantha noticed that this time there was another worker behind the counter. It was an Asian woman who was helping the guy with the boxes in his arms.

"Have you given it any thought yet? About helping me?"

"I have. And I decided to help you only because I don't want to get fired. But if I feel that my life is in danger in any way, I'm backing out." Samantha stated firmly. She did her research. If the Yakuza were powerful enough to smuggle drugs, prostitute women, and sell weapons illegally all while hidden in the United States, she could only imagine what they'd do to her and Isabella.

They could kill them and wipe them out of existence for all she knew. She wanted to make sure she was careful. Risking her life for a $1000 bonus and promotion wasn't worth it.

"What exactly do we need to find Kaito?"

"Just proof of some sort. Do you remember his sign?" The two women sat inside the shop near the bookshelf. Isabella reached in her bag and pulled out her notebook and a few pictures. She gave one particular photograph to Samantha.

"The X's and O's?" Samantha frowned at the photo. She saw the letters on a wall that looked like it was written with a sharp object. A knife of some sort.

"Kaito is a skilled swordsman and knife user. I've heard that after he finishes his targets, he leaves his signs with a dagger or a katana." Isabella hummed. "I have a cop friend who's been giving me tips about this case. He says that there have been XO symbols left on the walls on the sides of buildings near Cartersville but also Delsa Valley."

"Is there any work in this building who speaks ENGLISH? In America, we speak ENGLISH! Not Ching-Chong language!" A random shout from an older white woman caused Isabella and Samantha to glance at the front counter.

The Asian woman was moving around frantically with the register while the guy working was trying to help her. The man rolled his eyes at the Caucasian lady.

"Speak English!" She shouted at the two again.

"That's very rude of you, ma'am." Isabella stood up and confronted the woman. "I speak Spanish, and I'm American."

Samantha walked over to the counter and glanced at the register screen to see if she can offer any help to the new worker.

"What exactly is the problem?" She asked the Asian woman. But before she could answer, the Caucasian woman blurted out her complaints.

"I'm trying to order one coffee, 2 sugars, and no milk. I also want a blueberry muffin. But she keeps asking that Chink over their questions, and I can't understand them. This idiot over there replies back and she gets my order wrong!"

"Ma'am, let's not resort to name-calling. It was just a small misunderstanding. Maybe she is not fluent in English." Samantha huffed and rolled her eyes at her.

"Well, they both should learn! We speak English here, get it right!" She swore at the two workers.

"English is not the only language spoken here." Samantha hissed. "People come here from all over and they do the work that Americans don't want to do. It may be a little frustrating because of the language barrier but they're trying their best. They can speak Chinese all they want."

"We don't speak Chinese," The Asian man spat. "We're Japanese."

"He can speak Japanese all he wants!" Samantha corrected herself in embarrassment. "This is their shop, so please be patient as they try to help you. If you don't like it because they speak another language, then simply leave."

"I'm never coming back here again!" The lady grabbed the coffee table and was about to throw it at the Asian woman, but Samantha snagged the cup. It was too late. The hot liquid flew all over her shirt and it seeped through her clothing and touched her skin.

The Caucasian woman never even apologized. She just left in a fit of rage. "Oh Sam, are you okay?" Isabella ran over to her and grabbed some napkins from the napkin holder and brushed them all over Samantha's torso. Samantha was just happy that the coffee wasn't scalding hot, because if it was, she would've sued the woman for assault.

"I'm... fine." Samantha groaned when she looked at her white dress shirt. It was new, but now it was completely stained.

"Do you need us to get the video footage so we can report her?" The Asian woman said with her thick accent.

"It's not that deep. The coffee wasn't that hot. Just warm. Make sure to ban that woman from ever entering your cafe again. You have the right to refuse service to her." Samantha grunted in response. "I'm sorry you had to deal with that. Not all American people are like her. She's just the few that give us a bad name."

A white towel appeared in her view. She realized it was the Asian man who was giving it to her. Before she could take it, he wiped the side of her face with it which surprised her. "T-Thanks."

The Asian man placed the towel in her hands and mumbled out a small "you're welcome" before heading back behind the counter.

~

After the shop closed, Kaito went out back to smoke a cigarette while Nina, the Japanese detective would shut everything down. He was finally glad that she was there to bake the items needed for the display case, it was much less work for him.

He was thinking about what he heard the other day. Asuka's sudden disappearance was extremely suspicious. Asuka didn't have friends, he just had people who worked for him. Kaito knew that like it was the back of his hand. He needed to find out where Asuka was headed before he disappeared, but the only hint he got was Delsa Valley and the code word "company".

Haruka scolded him that night after he cut off the earpiece communication between the two. Kaito tried to explain that he did what he had to, but Haruka wasn't up for accepting any excuses. Haruka usually never listened to Kaito, it's why their relationship was so rocky. The two only tolerated each other because of the jobs they were doing.

Kaito explained what he had learned about Asuka's whereabouts so far, and Haruka told him that he and his team would handle trying to locate him. But they were taking too long. Kaito decided to take the matter into his own hands. He knew someone who could find Asuka within 3 hours.

He pulled out his cell phone and dialed a specific number. It rang a few times before going to voice mail. He dialed it again 4 more times, and the person on the other line finally picked up. It was a woman with a heavy accent.

"Hello?"

"Is the Doctor there?" Kaito's bottom lip twitched. He knew It was one of the doctor's lovers who answered.

"Who is this?" She huffed.

"If your boyfriend doesn't want to be blown to smithereens, tell him to take the call." Kaito snapped at her. He heard some shuffling and then some murmuring.

"Jesus, Kaito! Do you have any idea what time it is?" A man's voice hissed.

"Wilson, it's a pleasure to finally speak with you! I see you've returned to Japan after I was arrested." Kaito glanced at the time on his phone. It had to be 7 in the morning there, which was too early for his partner in crime. "How are you enjoying my money and things?"

"I'm not—"

"I can hear my neighbor's dog barking in the background, Wilson. Don't lie to me. You're in my apartment, aren't you? What did I tell you about bringing your bimbos back to my place?" Kaito snorted. "Women like to snoop around. If they find something they shouldn't, I'm going to have to kill them. And you know how much I don't like killing women."

"Shite!" Wilson grumbled.

"Tell that woman to leave my home immediately, then come back to the phone when you're ready to talk business." Kaito hung up before Wilson could reply. He knew that he would call back if Wilson knew what was good for him. He took a few more puffs out of his cigarette before tossing it aside and putting it out with his shoe.

A few minutes later, he got a call from an unknown number. Kaito smiled and picked up.

"How did you get out of prison? Queenstown Penitentiary is the most secluded and heavily guarded place in the United States." Wilson wheezed.

"Unimportant. How soon can you bring your lazy arse back to America?"

"Why?"

"Do you have a death wish?" Kaito's voice darkened.

"I'm kidding." Wilson chortled on the other end. "You know that my loyalty to you is unquestioned. You've done a lot for me, so I appreciate it."

"Stop kissing up and give me an answer." Kaito was growing upset. He was feeling like he needed another cigarette.

"I can probably get there in a week. There are some things I have to handle here before I can travel back. It won't be.. easy."

"What did you do while I was locked away?" Kaito huffed. He knew Wilson better than anyone else. The guy had a record for getting into things he wasn't supposed to whenever unsupervised. Kaito was always one to clean up after Wilson's mess.

"Don't worry about it. It's fiiiine."

"What did you do?" Kaito grumbled.

"If you insist.." Kaito could hear Wilson panting and shuffling some more. "I sort of.. exposed a secret to the police. And now I have a hit on me."

"A secret of which family?"

"Hiroto's. I was drunk, and while I was walking the street a cop took me to the station. You know I am after I drink, I sputter nonsense. And you know what happened next." Wilson replied nervously.

"Shite." Kaito growled through his teeth. "I'm giving you 2 days to come here. Don't get yourself killed."

"I can't come in 2 days! I need more time—"

Kaito hung up the phone and shoved it into his pocket. He was going to text the address to Wilson when he stepped foot off the plane in this country. He took out another cigarette and placed it in between his lips, but a hand snatched it out and tossed it away.

"Smoking is not good for you." It was Nina. She placed her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at him. "What would your father have to say?"

"Haruka has nothing to do with myself or my choices. Piss off." Kaito shrugged and walked back inside the shop. He was going to have to figure out and form a plan to find out where Asuka's precise location was.

He made sure all the window shades were shut and sealed, this way, no one could see anything from outside. He pressed the small button under the counter and the wall behind him shifted forward. He walked inside the hidden room and pulled out a small laptop. Then he pulled up a map of Cartersville and Delsa Valley.

The map was going to be useful to pinpoint Asuka's last location for sure.