Everybody in the room was stunned at Chris's accusation.
They would have to have been living under a rock to not know who Tetsuhiro Suzuki was. He had his hands in everything; politics, sports, mainstream media.
Silently, everybody moved their gaze to Minoru, the boss of the Tozuka family. His wrinkled features were turned up in a frown, but he didn't outright reject the claim.
"Hmm, it's certainly a possibility. I had been wondering how the Hokori family had been able to stay in Tokyo for so long. If they have the backing of such a figure then it makes sense." He said thoughtfully.
Only after the boss had said his piece did the others around the table speak up.
"So what if he's the mastermind behind the Hokori family? How does that get us any closer to finding my son." Tomoya said, sounding rash.
"Tomo, I know you're stressed, but we now have a lead." Naoki said, trying to calm him down.
"He's right." Shin said, caressing the handle of his katana. "If that man is behind it, Katsuya is probably being held in a building owned by Suzuki Corporation or its subsidiaries."
At these words, Tomoya's eyes lit up.
"I have a list of their subsidiaries that I can send over." Chris's voice sounded out from the speaker phone, grabbing their attention.
"Mmm, please send it through." Minoru replied thankfully.
"I'm hanging up now, I'll send it through. Tetsu, can you give me the address? I'll be there as soon as I can."
"Sure."
With that, Chris hung up, leaving the men in the room feeling slightly better than before. With the company names from Chris, they would be able to narrow the search considerably, saving valuable time in the search for the two boys.
BUZZ BUZZ
The sound of a phone ringing sounded, but this time it was not from Tetsu's phone.
Minoru fished his phone out of his kimono and looked at the number, not recognizing it.
"Hello…"
"Minoru Tokuzo, I'm surprised you answered my call. I guess you must be getting desperate. Hehe."
A deep voice sounded out from the phone, causing the old man to frown in response.
"Let me guess, you must be the leader of the Hokori family." He said simply.
The others around the table straightened up in response. Tomoya was the most affected, gripping his fist tightly and awaiting the conversation.
"Bingo! It seems you aren't suffering from dementia just yet."
SLAM
Naoki stood up, his rage from the insult to his boss evident in his features.
However, Minoru raised his hand, as if trying to calm him. Thanks to the respect he had for his boss, Naoki was able to retrieve his anger, sitting back down in his chair.
"Oho? Are you with your other members? Why don't you put me on speaker phone. I'm sure that Tomoya guy will want to hear what I have to say."
A few moments later, Minoru placed the phone in the center of the table.
"Tell me what you want." He said, trying to cut to the chase.
"Hey now, who said that you could talk yet?" The voice replied, oozing with amusement.
Minoru's face turned into a frown, clearly not happy with the way he was being toyed with. He had killed for far less.
"Are you ready to listen now? Good."
"As I'm sure you've realized by now, we've invited young Katsuya for a visit. He's a little busy right now, but—"
"ARGHHH!"
His words were interrupted by a shrill scream in the background, causing everyone at the table to jump from their chairs.
"KATSUYA!"
"Oi idiots, I'm on the damn phone can you keep it down?" The leader of the Hokori family chastised over the phone, but one could hear a slight amusement in his voice.
"Ahem… I'm sorry, my boys can be a little rough sometimes." He said casually, though it was clear everything was intentional."
"YOU BASTARD! Give me back my son!" Tomoya couldn't control himself, hearing his son scream out in agony over the phone.
"Bastard? Who me?" The voice asked, sounding as if he was offended.
"Go ahead and hit him for me would ya Kuma?"
"N—NO!" Tomoya's face fell. It took all of his willpower to contain his anger.
This time, a loud grunt came through the phone speakers, causing everyone to flinch.
"No, not him you idiot. The pretty boy." He said, sounding exasperated.
This time, Ai, Tetsu and Tsukasa's face morphed. They knew that Ken was also captured, which meant he was also being subjected to torture right now.
Ai was shaking, tears running down her face silently as she feared for Ken's safety. This was not something that she'd ever thought would happen, yet it was currently her reality.
"Man, it's tough to find good people these days am I right Minoru?" He said, though a small chuckle could be heard from him.
"Anyways, like I was saying. I've got one of yours and I'm sure you want him back right?"
"Yes…" Minoru stated. He knew that any other words would only provoke the man on the other line further, so he stuck to a simple answer.
"Mmm. Well I guess I could give him back to you. But see the thing is, you'd have to give me something that I want in return." Though his voice was deep, there was a playful attitude beneath, as if he was enjoying this moment far too much.
"State what it is that you want."
"Hehe… I want Tokyo."
The whole atmosphere in the room changed at those words. Throughout the over 1 year turf war between the two families, this had been their goal the entire time.
It was only through their vigilance that the Tozuko family was able to hold on for so long, yet now they had captured a family member, things were looking grim.
Tomoya's eyes widened as hope flashed in them, however despair soon flashed past again. Asking the boss to give up all of Tokyo was not something that he could ask.
But this was his flesh and blood that was at risk.