Tokyo Enigma (10 page)

"How'd you get that?"

"We've been working on it since you and Morimoto-san
surmised the yakuza connection."

"We?"

"Protect Agency. We're set up like a consultancy. A manager
oversees a few cases and a director oversees a few managers. We
also have a pool of assistants who do routine jobs and check
questions without knowing the context. That lets us exchange
information among investigative teams without compromising
confidentiality."

"That's not very Japanese is it?" I flicked a glance at
Morimoto. "No walled-up fiefdoms."

"People here are willing to break the mold. That's why we're
successful. I also think I speak for everyone, when I say we're hoping
you won't single-handedly send us all to hell in a hand basket."

"I'll try not to."

"Thanks to you, we've decided that it's too dangerous to use
the recorder that we planted in the tree. So we put one in a tearoom.
The reception isn't good, and there's a chance someone will find it,
but it's safer to check on."

Morimoto was quiet, but his eyes had been sniping at me
from under bushy brows. Being double-teamed was bad enough.
Deserving it made it worse. There wasn't much point in trying to
explain the emotion that dogged me after Yuri was attacked. Some
things I didn't understand well myself. It was time for
appeasement.

"I know who the mystery man with Ito is."

Yuri didn't exactly sheath her sword, but she lowered
it.

"Who?"

"He isn't a bureaucrat," I quoted Will Simons and paused to
give Yuri a moment for no-one's-perfect self-reflection. "But you
were close. He's the chief secretary to Hisahiko Ohashi, FTC
commissioner."

Yuri's personal storm clouds started dissipating. She leaned
toward me.

"Which means?"

"I'm not sure. I should have the name of the secretary before
noon, so you can confirm the ID."

"How did you find out who he is?"

There seemed to be more suspicion than admiration in
Yuri's question. I wasn't ready to admit my pact with Will, so I
hedged.

"It comes from a personal contact. I trust that the
information is accurate, but like I said, you should check it."

Morimoto made a note in a pad.

I made one in my mind. No more self-recrimination for
today.

"What's the story on the bug? Anything useful?"

"No," Yuri looked disappointed. "We still haven't checked
the recorder in the tree, but one day's tape from the tearoom didn't
have much on it."

"I'll get the tree tape."

"You should wait until dark. Gotoh people might be
watching the area."

"All the more reason to go in broad daylight. They see us.
We see them. The neighbors see everybody."

"I'm going with you."

"No you aren't."

"All right then, I'll get there first and wait for you under the
tree. Someone has to keep you out of trouble."

"We'll go together. Somebody has to keep you out of the
hospital."

I called Will, got the name of the secretary—Hisao Ueno—and
gave it to Morimoto to find out what he could on the guy.

Yuri escorted me to her motor scooter. It was hardly big
enough for me, let alone both of us. I asked if there were any
company vehicles, and she took me to a small parking lot. We might
not have a lot of time to snatch the tape, so a motorcycle would be
better than a car. A motorcycle could thread through traffic easier. I
picked out a one-thousand cc Honda Hurricane.

"Get the key. I'm driving."

"Do you have a license for Japan?"

"I have an international license."

"For motorcycles?"

"I didn't say I was driving legally. I just said I was driving.
You coming or not?"

Yuri brought the key and a few helmets. I found one that fit,
and we took off on the very fine bike. Yuri clung to me from behind
and shouted directions. Best of all, I was riding illegally, no
motorcycle license. It was the most fun I'd had since I got here. I was
even close to forgiving Abe Granger.

We made it across town in good time. When we got to the
vicinity of Foxx Starr, I no longer needed Yuri's guidance. I turned
onto the street that was home to the tree that hid the recorder. If the
area was watched, going fast might attract attention. So could going
slow. I leaned forward and sped down the street.

It didn't take long to find out the area was watched. As soon
as we stopped under the tree, a man came walking toward us. I could
jump for the limb or give Yuri a boost. I didn't want to leave her on
the ground, so I cupped my hands and hoisted her up. The man
shouted and started running toward us. He was about five seconds
away and talking into a mobile phone. We weren't going to make it.
Yuri would have to get down on her own.

I charged the man and threw a linebacker forearm into his
chest. He staggered back. I followed up with a punch to his sternum.
He clutched his chest and dropped to his knees. I sprinted back to the
bike. Yuri was on the ground and waving the recorder. Four other
men were running toward us and a motorcycle was closing fast from
behind. Yuri and I leapt onto the Honda. It had quick acceleration,
but not enough. The motorcycle rider edged slightly ahead of us. I
veered toward a wall.

We had a heavier bike, but he was in better position and a
good rider. We were hemmed between him and the wall and were
bearing toward a concrete lamppost. I was about to ram the guy and
send us all into the street, when I felt Yuri's hand on my shoulder.
She was using me for support. Her other arm arced, and she brought
her homemade sap down on the guy's wrist. He lost the grip in his
right hand, swerved left and took a hard fall. We did better. Only my
forearm hit the post.

I wasn't sure who had fired the first shot, but it was clear
that Gotoh Gumi had declared war against us.

"Were you really going to spend all day at the hospital?"

Yuri held my skinned and bruised arm over the lavatory and
scrubbed. As a nurse, she'd make a good stable girl.

"Ouch." I left her question hanging.

"Just to watch me?"

"Ouch."

After we had cleared the Gotoh Gumi sentries, Yuri had
brought me to her apartment. It was a nice place. Three tidy rooms, a
kitchenette and a goldfish. I was grateful to be here. My coat sleeve
hadn't suffered much damage, but my skin had, and blood had
stained my shirt cuff. I didn't relish passing the concierge again with
blood on my clothes. He might think I was rowdy.

Yuri smeared antiseptic cream on my arm and covered it
with gauze, which she secured with large strips of medical tape. That
was going to be fun to take off. Lots of ouches there. She had also
thrown my shirt into a washing machine.

"There you go." Yuri patted the bandage.

"Do you have liability insurance?"

She frowned.

"In case I get infected."

Yuri stepped back and looked at me as though I'd just
filleted her pet fish.

"American humor." I shrugged and made a limp grin.

Yuri had insisted that we take care of my arm before we
tried to listen to the tape. We might as well have gone out for dinner
and a show. The bug had worked fine; the recorder hadn't. Voices on
the tape were drowned by static. Yuri reverted to Japanese as she
tried to make out intelligible words above the white noise. From her
tone of voice, it appeared that Japanese had more swear words than I
had guessed.

"We can try sending it to a lab," I said.

"Where?"

"We can ship it to my company."

"You have a sound lab?"

"No, but we use experts in private industry, sound
technicians included."

"I'll make a copy."

"All right, but who gets the original? It could make a
difference."

You could almost see Yuri's mind ticking through its options.
It was clear that she didn't like any of them, but she came up with the
right decision.

"You can have the original."

By the time we made a copy, my shirt had been washed and
dried. I was presentable when a FedEx man came by for the tape and
gave his personal oath for next-day delivery. I didn't think to ask if
he meant real time or if crossing the International Date Line gave
him an extra twenty-four hours to make good.

I thought we had an excellent chance of getting back an
audible version of the recording, but that didn't guarantee we'd have
much worth knowing. The only thing we'd learned from our
near-death experience was that we were making someone very
nervous.

I didn't believe that the hornet's nest we ran into was put
into place just because of my fight with a lower echelon goon. We
must be getting close to something. That worried me, because we
didn't have much of an idea what it was. So far, they had been on the
defensive. How far could we push before they became the
hunters?

Yuri still looked upset, and I couldn't think of anything to
cheer her up. "I guess we'd better take the bike back to your
agency."

"You got an agenda?"

"Not for today."

"Would you like some tea?"

"Sure, I'll try almost anything once."

"You don't drink tea?"

"It's been a while."

"I'd offer coffee, but I don't have any. I don't drink alcohol at
home, so no luck there either."

"Tea's perfect."

Yuri busied herself with kettle, cups and strainer, while I
stared at the goldfish.

"What's its name?"

"Wanda."

"Really?"

"No, it's a movie title." She crinkled her forehead in a scowl
but smiled with her mouth and eyes. "Do I look weird enough to
name a fish?"

I held up my hands in surrender. "Just making
conversation."

"You aren't very good at it."

Yuri was. I didn't have to say much else. She told me she
wouldn't mind having a dog, if she had a yard or time to take care of
it. In New Orleans, she used to throw sticks into a bayou for her
aunt's Labrador retriever to fetch. She'd often dived in too, clothes
and all, even though her aunt had warned her about the dangers of
alligators and water moccasins. The dog loved the water, which
cooled it off in Louisiana's steamy summers. Having a dog in tow also
made it easier to meet boys. She made her lopsided grin when she
said it.

How would that grin look on top of wet clothes and bare
feet?

"I doubt you needed much help from a pet Lab."

"I don't know why you doubt it." Yuri set two cups on a
coffee table and sat on the sofa beside me. "Didn't you just ask me
the name of my fish? Pets help conversation."

That was different. Hadn't I figured out we were only
colleagues? Didn't a man answer when I called here? Didn't you say
he'd stay to take care of you?

Didn't I have anything to say out loud?
"I'm not a boy.
I mean..." I gave up.

"You're no youngster, but that's not what you wanted to say
is it?"

"I mean I'm no suitor."

If that had been true and if we'd both understood it, we
would have chuckled and sipped tea. Instead, Yuri recoiled almost
imperceptibly and shifted her weight away from me. She couldn't go
far. It was a small sofa.

It was also what historians call a defining moment.
"
Carpe diem
, now, Mick.
Mañana
doesn't
come."

"I was going to stay at the hospital because I was worried,
because I felt some responsibility for what happened. And
because..."

The tension in Yuri that I couldn't see, but could sense,
dissipated. She ran her finger over the handle of her teacup but
didn't pick it up.

"I wanted to be with you when you were hurt. I made
Morimoto-san give me your home phone number."

"He told me what you said."

"When I called, a man answered, then you said he was going
to watch over you for a couple of days. I was already angry about
what happened to you."

In truth, angry wasn't even close to what I'd felt, but it was
as much as I wanted to say. "I won't apologize for going to Foxx Starr.
Considering the state I was in, not going was not an option, but I'll
admit it might not have been the smartest move."

Normally, Yuri would have come up with a chastising
one-liner. She was silent.

I reached for her hand that was tracing the teacup's handle
and touched my fingers to her palm. She looked at me, and her gaze
flicked back and forth from one of my eyes to the other as though she
sought passage to my soul.

"About the man who was here when you called..."

I touched my lips to her ear and spoke softly. "I don't
care."

We spent a long time on the sofa before the phone
rang.

Yuri answered. She spoke a few words, and then wrinkles
played across her forehead. "You ought to take this."

It was Morimoto. He'd gotten a call from Dorian's
replacement.

I had meant to talk to people at Dorian's company, but it
hadn't been a high priority. His problem was hardly business related.
"Give me his number, Morimoto-san. I'll call first thing
tomorrow."

He gave it to me. "He says it's important."

"I'm not a doctor or a fireman. Anything I can help him with
can wait until tomorrow."

"He said it was an emergency."

"All the more reason to wait."

"But..."

"Goodbye, Morimoto-san. By the way, if I get any more calls,
just take a message."

* * * *

I woke before Yuri and went out quietly to buy coffee and
toiletries. By the time I got back, she was up and didn't look
happy.

"What's wrong?"

"I just—" She shook her head slightly. "You weren't
here."

I smiled, glad that she cared. She returned it.

"Afternoon tea is all right, but I don't want to face the
morning unarmed." I held up the coffee. "I also got a razor. Can I
borrow your shower?"

"Mm hmm, but wait." She kissed me hard on the mouth and
made a husky growl in her throat.