Page 35 of The Queen's Denial

If I go back to that mansion, everything will go back to normal, except that Andy won’t be there. Everything will stay status quo, even as my anxiety over Andy’s wellbeing will quietly eat away at me, minute by minute, as I walk through room after room of where we… what? Became friends? Became… lovers?

I can’t go back there without knowing. And there’s only one way for me to know.

I dial the number I need, and it’s picked up after the third ring.

“Listen, this is the last fucking time, Princess Chee-chee. We’ve won, okay? I’m not going to keep picking up the phone. I told you what you wanted to know last time, but even I can’t be swayed by your fucking blood money again—”

“Oxy! It’s not about the war. I just want to know where Andy is.”

There’s a pause, and then a slow question. “Why do you think I would know where he is?”

I huff out a sigh. I don’t have time for this shit. “Because you know everything. Please just give me his coordinates.”

Oxy pauses for even longer this time. I’m about to speak again when she finally fills the silence. “Listen, Chi. I believe you really do want to know about how he’s doing. I guess you don’t have some strange ulterior motive. But you don’t want to go where he went, and I can’t help you get there.”

My brows furrow in worry. “You make it sound like he went to hell or something, jeez.”

Oxy gives a rare, deep, raspy chuckle. “I have no idea what it’s like inside, but from what I’ve heard, it sounds like hell would be an island vacation in comparison. Seriously, I could be killed just for knowing where it is. Trust me, babe, you do not want to try and go there. If you don’t get killed by one bad dude, you’ll get killed by another.”

I’m so confused, and I’m sick of hearing Oxy talk in riddles. “What ‘bad dude?’ Why would Andy go with them if they were that bad? Is he a prisoner? Why wouldn’t they just kill him?”

“Chi! Jesus Christ, calm down!” Oxy cuts in before I can spiral further. “He’s one of them. He’s one of the bad dudes.”

This confuses me even further. “Okay, well he knows a lot of bad dudes. I’m not sure if you knew this, Oxy,” I drop my voice to an exaggerated whisper. ”But he’s the head of an Italian crime organization, and I’m going to be queen of the Yakuza one day.”

“These guys are not mafia, girl. From everything I can find, which is honestly not much, it’s a secret military hospital on top of an even more secret CIA black site. I don’t even investigate them anymore. I saw a video of a nearly fully-skinned corpse rolled out of there on a stretcher by men who were laughing. Laughing. Even I’m not that fucked up.”

I laugh while Oxy stays quiet and lets me have a moment. She says nothing for a long time, and I finally break the silence. “You think some secret military branch is worse than fucking Casca and Andy Scutari?”

“No. But you alone are absolutely no competition, honey.”

I’m pissed and determined now, so I cut the bullshit. “Enough, Oxy. I can take care of myself. Please give me the location.”

Another long pause, and finally a sigh. “If you get a chance before they blow your fucking brains out, do not mention my name. They don’t know who I am, and I’d like to keep it that way.”

*****

Sneaking out of a historic mansion is easy. Daiki doesn’t expect me to do it, and it’s not like I’m a prisoner there anyway. Once Daiki and my father find out I’m with Andy, they’ll be okay with it, I’m sure. I’m going regardless. A Yakuza queen doesn’t need permission.

I drive to the coordinates Oxy gave me and find… an abandoned fucking junkyard. Metal scraps and actual garbage litter the ground. There are some beat up, stripped cars a few hundred yards off, and lots of caution signs about all sorts of worrisome things, like trespassing or poisonous gasses. But I walk through anyway.

“Hello?” I say, testing out my voice to the utterly deserted area. “Is… is anyone here? I know what this place is. I have questions!”

There is no answer as I walk through the vast area and past another gate. “I want to see Andy Scutari, and… and I know someone is here!” A bird squawks overhead as it flies through the bright, cloudless sky. I’m glad it’s broad daylight, because the further into this haunted place I walk, the further my feeling of dread intensifies.

Finally, I walk up to a blind wooden fence. I test the door before I open it slightly. I feel it at that moment: the presence of another human being. I know they must be waiting to strike if they’re being this quiet. There is a moment of indecision, of course, because I don’t know what the person wants or what they’re going to do to me once I walk through the fence. But I decide to push through anyway with a burst of energy, and I go to face them with my hands up, speaking as fast as I can as they rush me.

“I’m just here to see—”

The person is on me with lightning speed, covering my mouth with their hand in an iron grip. I came without my knives on purpose, but I can’t help regretting that now.

I don’t have much time to think about it, though, because I sense another presence behind me and my neck is wrenched sideways and pricked with a needle.

“Oh my god!” I cry, my words clear, even muffled behind this masked stranger’s hand. “What did you give me? You better not fucking kill me. I’m…I’m—”

“Holy shit, this is Chi Yan,” one of the voices says, although whatever they gave me is quick acting, and I feel like I’m seeing and hearing everything through a faraway tunnel.

“Yeah, I am, you fucking assholes. And I swear to god… if you… touch me… I’ll… I’ll…” I lose my battle with speaking, which is just as well, considering the fact that I’m slurring all over the place.

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