Daniel nodded at the bouncer who waived him into the Elevate club. He tried to keep his steps and expression even; he had to pretend it was just another night at work.

Never mind that his girlfriend’s life was on the line, and he’d roped his best friend into this mess. He’d given Lucas explicit instructions to not bring his car too close to the club. Dan had promised to call him when he was ready to be picked up.

Daniel walked past the mostly empty dance floor and down a set of stairs. All the glamor of the club was left behind as he navigated the concrete hallways until he came to a locked door. He entered a five digit code into the keypad. The lock clicked open.

He slowly swung the heavy door open and entered the dimly lit storage room, heading for the row of lockers lining one wall. He removed a key from his pocket and unlocked the fourth locker down. Inside, there was a long black case. As he reached for it, a voice caused him to freeze.

“Gate-san,” Nobutoshi said. “What are you doing?”