The Clout of Gen (13 page)

Tao was emotional while giving his speech. He talked very fondly about John, as the two of them had really clicked from the start. John thanked all the staff for their hard work and said he hoped he would have the opportunity to work with them again in the future, should their paths cross. John made sure that all the employees would be well taken care of by Yaturo, and Yaturo had promised him that all of them would be welcomed at the newly structured group.

Yaturo, Yuuka, and Mitsua were busy with the restructuring. As planned, most of Hitari’s companies were sold, and it was clear that their direction for the future was to head solely into the health industry. Yaturo started another charity for the research of a cure for intestinal cancer, the cancer he couldn’t beat. It was obvious to everybody that his cancer had returned. Yuuka and those closest to him urged him to go through with treatments again, but he decided he had had enough. He didn’t want to waste time and money on treatments that would likely be painful and worthless in the end. The doctor only gave them a slim chance of success, and Yaturo decided that he wanted to use his last months more wisely. He was confident that Mitsua and Yuuka would handle his business in the right way, so his only focus became finding Alexi.

After weeks of preparation, the place was ready for their meetings with the three suspects, who were invited to one of the big meeting rooms at the main Hitari Group office. Hidden cameras were installed, and two professional DNA forensics specialists were hired to ensure that DNA could be collected from all three targets. Everything was perfectly planned out. John was forbidden from attending the meetings because they did not want to arouse any suspicions by having an American there. Yaturo and Mitsua had arranged the three meetings in the same week.

The first was with the pharmacist from the Ukraine. He had built the largest factory in the region for IV infusion. He was in his forties, and within ten years, he had managed to gain control of the entire health sector in the country. He had started as a distributor for several products, but when he went into business for himself, it skyrocketed in a short time. His criteria matched John’s and Yaturo’s suspicions, for there were some questionable gaps in his story of how he achieved the necessary capital to enabled him to go from being a distributor to a manufacturer.

The meeting went on for several hours, and Yaturo carefully analyzed every move the man made and every word he said. He felt the man had some features that resembled Alexi’s, the Alexi he remembered, but inside his gut, he didn’t feel the connection. As was the case with all the meetings, both parties presented their points, and his DNA was easily collected without anyone suspecting a thing.

After twenty-five years of unsuccessful searching and millions of dollars invested on a futile hunt, Yaturo had never imagined that the day would come. Their next meeting was with a physicist from Yakutsk, the capital of Sakha in Russia He specialized in the energy characteristics of minerals, and he was the head of a university physics department. He’d left his work seven years prior to start his own diamond-mining business. Once the business grew substantially, he then started other mining companies to supply a variety of minerals to the world at large.

At first, the Russian seemed normal enough. He had blue eyes, but Yaturo decided they were not quite as distinctive as Alexi’s. His body build was typical for people of that region. However, as soon as he started talking, Yaturo’s heart began to beat wildly. There was a great resemblance in his facial expressions and body movements, and his smile that was more of a smirk jolted Yaturo back to 1967. He would have sworn on his life that there was some connection between the physicist and Alexi. Yaturo excused himself and immediately called John. “I think we got something,” he said, breathing heavily.

When Yaturo went back inside, they talked about the details of the sale. During the meeting, the man’s DNA was discreetly collected, and the meeting adjourned a few hours later.

The third meeting was like any other meeting in the world. The oil specialist was a hard worker, a motivated self-starter. He’d spent years coming up with studies and inventions, and his story held up real well. If Yaturo was going to sell, this man was the perfect buyer, and in the end, he did, in fact, buy Yaturo’s company. But the sale wasn’t what mattered; Yaturo was much more interested in the results of the DNA comparisons.

Those three days waiting for the results were like years for Yaturo, and when John passed by to tell him that the physicist named Dmitri Armanov was related to Alexi and that Dmitri had a nine-year-old son named Sergi, Yaturo shed some tears. He shouted excitedly, “John, do you know what this means? We might change the past, the whole world…and I am sure for the best! There is no way things can get worse than they are now. This world is filled with inequality, wars, greed, crime, and poverty. I have waited for this moment for so many years, John—for so, so long.” He was so euphoric that he went on and on and on about the changes they could make. “Finally, John, because of you, I may be able to right some of the wrongs I made in my foolish youth.”

John tried to calm him down, but Yaturo was like an erupting volcano. He went on and on, and it was too much for him. In the next instant, he collapsed. Yaturo, sick as he was, suffered a stroke. His blood pressure hit the roof, and he was already admitted to the ICU by the time his good friend Mitsua arrived at the hospital.

“What happened?” Mitsua insisted.

“We were talking business, and I guess…well, I guess he just got too excited about it,” John explained. “He just passed out.”

Mitsua had already informed Yuuka, and she was on the way. Both John and Mitsua decided that it wouldn’t be a smart thing for John to leave, as seeing him there might spawn some questions from Yuuka. “I will call you when we hear of any developments,” Mitsua promised as John made a quick exit.

Yaturo was in critical condition. He could no longer move the right side of his body, and his tongue felt heavy, so it was very difficult to understand what he was saying.

Two days later, Mitsua called John. “Hitari is asking for you,” he said. “Please come to the hospital.”

It was sad for John to see Yaturo lying there connected to so many tubes and machines. His blood pressure was stable, but the prognosis was not a good one. Nevertheless, Yaturo was happy to see John and did his best to give him half a smile. He motioned for the nurse to give them some privacy and then stumbled to ask John to write down two names. He explained in stuttered talk that John would need a new passport and a disguise, and one of the names belonged to a man in Kyoto who could help. The other name was Russian, and Yaturo assured John that if he needed anything there, his secretary could help. “John…my friend…this…this is your only job from…now on…you only. Mitsua will not…he will not be involved anymore. These two…these people are the only…only contact them if you need anything.” He muttered, looking as if he was in pain with each word. He informed John to forget about the hidden room. “When I…when I die, my friend…that must…that must die with me. Everything has been…taken…care of.”

Finally he asked John to be strong. He implored that no matter who Alexi was, John had to take care of the matter. “Do not have a weak heart,” he said. He then whispered two words in John’s ear: “Thank you.” And those were the last two words John would ever hear from Yaturo Hitari.

Mr. Hitari passed away the next day. His nurse said he had asked her for a mirror moments before his death. He stared in it, smiled at himself, and took his last breath. John wondered what Yaturo was smiling about in his last moments.
Was it a taste of victory against Alexi after all these years, or was it the final relief from all the pain he has endured, the guilt he’s had to carry?
Either way, John was sure Yaturo deserved to see a reflection smiling back at him. He had done everything he could to make amends.

His burial ceremony was attended by people from all over the world, including ministers, ambassadors, business tycoons, media figures, and friends who wanted to pay tribute. John stayed in the back, as he didn’t want to risk being recognized. He watched closely as Mitsua and Yuuka said their final farewells. Hitari had led a great and successful life, and he deserved an honorable farewell.

-

As days passed, life eventually returned to normal. Mitsua gave John a package left to him from Hitari. It contained a check for two and a half million dollars and the two rings that he’d had in his possession.

Just as Yaturo had instructed him to, John contacted the man in Kyoto. The guy had spoken to Yaturo before his death and knew exactly what he had to do and invited John to drop by. Just as Yaturo had mentioned he would, he advised John on how to change his looks. Once John had his disguise in order, they took a new photograph to use for his passport, which would be ready in a few days. John had to dye his hair blond and grow a beard.

John called Mitsua and told him that he would be sending a very important letter. “If you don’t hear from me in three weeks, please forward the letter to the address written on the envelope.” When Mitsua asked where John was planning to go, he replied, “I just need to relax a bit. I’m taking a short vacation away from here for a while.”

John had prepared himself for the worst. The letter he gave Mitsua was for his son Adam and included a check for one and three-quarter million dollars. It would be delivered to the boy’s grandfather, along with a note asking him to take care of Adam and choose whatever he thought best for him in John’s absence. John was a very cautious man, and he didn’t know what the outcome of his trip to Russia would entail. If his plan succeeded, neither that money or his current life would mean anything anyway. It wouldn’t even exist. If he didn’t succeed, at least Adam would have that to fall back on, and it was better to be safe than sorry.

John made all the arrangements for his travel, and he even gave Takishi, his driver, a hefty tip and a nice gift of thanks. Takishi was very overwhelmed with John’s gesture, and after they talked for a while, he dropped John off at Kyoto Station.

There, John retrieved his original tape and the ring from the locker. He made sure that all the notes he had written from the start of his journey, as well as the two rings left to him by Yaturo, were in his possession. He didn’t want to leave a trace anywhere, not one shred of evidence. As he looked at the tape and the small card, he couldn’t help reminiscing about how far he’d come, the lengths he’d gone to, and the way his life had changed. What a journey it had been since he found the box on the cliff that day, and now he was preparing to travel to one of Earth’s coldest cities without a clue of what he was in for.
This is it,
he thought.
This might be the last time I’ll ever see beautiful Kyoto, my home away from home
. He didn’t have any idea about his next step; all he knew was that he had to focus on fulfilling Yaturo’s legacy. He had to find Alexi.

Ever the researcher, John read as much as he could about Yakutsk. He already had all the details about Dmitri Armanov, Alexi’s DNA match. The man had two children, a boy and a girl, and John decided that would be the best place to start. 

He planned his trip wisely: He would fly into Stockholm with his original passport. Once he was settled, he would promptly start up a company there, linking all its expenses to an account he would set up with whatever money he had left. He also needed to reserve a safety deposit box at the bank, where he could store his original passport, along with all the rings and notes. He requested maximum security for his box, the only access being his own fingerprints.

It took John only a month to set everything up, and finally, he was ready to take the next step. He would change his looks to match his fake passport. Once he looked like a Ukrainian with dyed blond hair and a full-grown beard, not looking like himself at all, he would take a ferry to Estonia. From there, he would enter Russia and make his way to Yakutsk. There, he had many things he needed to sort out before he could start his investigation about Dmitri and Sergi and their connection to Alexi. He would try to get in touch with Yaturo’s contact there, but he had to do it in an intelligent and secretive way, as he didn’t want to give out any information about his visit and where he was headed. It was very important that no one had any suspicions about what he was up to or who he was.

Yakutsk was freezing, and it was only September. The hotel John was staying in wasn’t far from Dmitri’s residence. Dmitri’s place was very secure, and there was no way anyone could get too close to the place without him knowing.

John decided to set up a stakeout at the café around the corner. He arrived early every day and had coffee, read a book, and carefully watched what was going on at the man’s residence, which he could see clearly from the café. He noticed that around a quarter till eight every morning, a car left the residence; it was the driver taking the kids to school.