The Last Assassin

47

The next morning, I did another hard workout and again it helped calm me down a little. I showered and shaved, ate a good breakfast at a nearby restaurant, then went out for a walk.

It was a sunny morning, cold and crisp. I walked east from the restaurant, past the caffeinated torrents of humanity flowing through and around Shinjuku Station, and eventually arrived at Shinjuku Gyoen park, where the chrysanthemums were enjoying their brief bloom. I wandered among the stalls and gardens, and for a while was able to lose myself in the small seas of yellows and pinks and purples.

As I was leaving the park, my cell phone rang. It was Tatsu. I flipped it open and said, 'Yeah.'

'They moved him this morning. Intermediate care. He's stable but very sedated. Tell me when you'll be ready.'

'I'm ready right now. How many people are watching him, who are they, and where?'

'There are seven of them. Three outside the room, two at each end of the corridor.'

'The nurses are putting up with that?'

'If you saw his men, you wouldn't argue with them, either.'

I thought for a moment. The layered security was smart. I couldn't get to the guards near the room without first engaging two on one end of the corridor. At a minimum, that would slow me down, giving the ones inside the perimeter time to prepare and the two at the opposite end time to move in as reinforcements.

'Didn't you say you were going to take care of this?' I asked.

'Yes. I'm going to have them all arrested.'

'I thought you couldn't…' I started to say.

'I didn't say I'd be able to hold them for long. And yes, this little stunt will probably cost me my job. If they want to fire me, though, they'll have to hurry.' He laughed, then coughed.

The cough went on for a while. It sounded like he was drinking something, then it stopped.

'How soon can you be ready?' I asked.

'Give me an hour. I need to assemble a sizable unit. Yamaoto's men might be… uncooperative.'

'You got hold of those items I asked you about?'

'Of course.'

'Then we're good to go. I'm on my way now.'