The Boy Who Glowed in the Dark

CHAPTER 13

Johnny led Nadia and Bobby along the streets of Shibuya toward a low-key shabu-shabu restaurant, where customers cooked their own dinners on a skillet at the table. They’d left New York on Tuesday and arrived in Tokyo Wednesday afternoon. Johnny’s jet lag had vanished from the moment he’d laid eyes on Nadia. His gut told him she was in more danger than either of them knew, but at least the three of them were together.

Nadia and Johnny walked close together so their conversation couldn’t be overheard. They let Bobby get a few steps ahead of them so they could keep an eye on him. He gaped and gawked at the people and the neon lights.

“We were followed from my apartment to the airport,” Nadia said. She told him how Bobby duped airport security into taking the men into custody.

Johnny wasn’t surprised by the kid’s balls or skills. The backstory to his murder accusation had established he was no ordinary seventeen-year-old. “Who were they?”

“Don’t know,” Nadia said. “They looked straight out of central casting for Russian or Uke mafia types. Right off the streets of Moscow or Kyiv. But when things look one way, they’re often another.”

“Yeah, but in this case, given Bobby’s from Ukraine and you guys spent all that time there, odds are high they are what they look like. Which leaves only one question.”

“Who do they work for?”

“Exactly.”

Nadia shook her head. “You got me.”

“Could it be someone who knows about the formula?”

Nadia thought about the question. “Johnny, at this point, it could be anyone. Bobby and I had the same conversation about the source of the e-mail, the person who called himself Genesis II. We shouldn’t make any assumptions. When we assume, we create a bias that can prevent us from seeing the truth.”

Johnny chuckled. “You sound like a lawyer.”

“Heaven forbid.”

They walked quietly for ten more minutes until they arrived at the restaurant. It was packed and noisy. Johnny looked around for suspicious characters, especially Caucasians, but didn’t see any. If locals were following them, he wouldn’t know it.

Nadia’s phone rang while they were perusing the pictures on the menu. She lowered her voice and turned away. It was a quick exchange but enough to put a healthy glow on her face.

“How’s your Russian sweetheart?” Johnny said.

Nadia fired a quick glance at Bobby. She frowned at Johnny as though he’d embarrassed her. “He’s my client, not my sweetheart, sweetheart.”

“What did he want?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“It’s a game. It’s silly. He’s trying to figure out where I am. And how did you know it was him on the phone?”

“You were blushing. You know, the way a woman does when she’s talking to any old client.”

Nadia blushed some more. Johnny savored the victory until he realized he was losing the war. She didn’t blush like that in his presence, and he didn’t play silly games. He was too busy solving her problems and trying to keep her and Bobby alive.

They ordered plates of beef and exotic Japanese vegetables. Johnny’s phone rang while they were waiting for their food. He recognized the voice from the bar.

“Are they with you?” Nakamura said.

“Yes,” Johnny said.

“Let me talk to her.”

Johnny handed his phone to Nadia. “He wants to talk to you.”

Nadia leaned in close to Johnny so they both could listen without using the speakerphone. “Hello?” she said.

“Is your cousin with you?” Nakamura said.

Nadia took her time answering. “Maybe.”

“Ask him what Dr. Arkady used to give him when he was done with treatments.”

Nadia glanced at Johnny. Johnny shrugged and nodded. Nadia repeated the question to Bobby.

“Marzipan,” Bobby said.

Nadia repeated his answer into the phone.

“You brought the locket?” Nakamura said.

Johnny glanced at Bobby. The locket was in its original place, hanging on a necklace around his neck, hidden beneath his turtleneck. Nadia had told Johnny that they’d photocopied the engravings and left copies at home and in a sealed envelope with the professor from Columbia. She’d given him instructions to disseminate the contents of the envelope to the scientific press if she and Bobby suffered fatal accidents during their trip or disappeared. If the second locket did contain the rest of the formula, she wanted the world to know about it.

“Yes,” Nadia said. “We brought the locket. Are you going to bring yours?”

“Put Mr. Johnny Tanner back on the phone.”

Johnny leaned in. “I’m here.”

“Tomorrow. Ten-thirty a.m. There’s a hot springs resort called Higashiyama Onsen. It’s in a town called Aizuwakamatsu. It’s a three-hour train ride from Tokyo. Three and a half hours by bus. There’s a café near the lobby. Tell the maître d’ you’re waiting for me. He’ll get me.”

“Why do we need to go there? Why can’t we just stay in Tokyo?”

“Because I am not in Tokyo anymore.”

“Why did you leave Tokyo?”

“Because I’m a working man,” Nakamura said. “The nuclear reactors in Fukushima prefecture are located in Okuma and Futaba. Okuma and Futaba are at the epicenter of the twenty-kilometer Zone of Exclusion. Radiation levels are severe. No humans are allowed in the Zone. They are ghost towns. Aizuwakamatsu contains the largest settlement of refugees from Okuma. That is why I will be there. And that is where Genesis II will be.”