The Last Assassin

54

I went to a bar I liked, D-Heartman, on one of the back-streets in Ginza. Heartman is an old but elegant place, all mahogany paneling and low light and bartenders in formal pleated shirts and black bow ties. They take their cocktails seriously and have an excellent selection of single malts, and it was just what I needed at the moment.

I called Dox when I got there and told him where he could find me, if he wanted to.

'How did it go in New York?' he asked.

'It went fine. They're all dead.'

Something in my tone must have told him not to inquire further for now. He said, 'You going to call Delilah? She's still here.'

'I don't want to see her. If you want to come, come alone.'

I took the elevator up to the sixth floor and walked inside. The two bartenders bowed when I came in and welcomed me with a low 'Irasshaimase.' I told them I wanted the window seat, and someone walked me over. Heartman does most of its business after midnight, and for the moment I had the place to myself.

I ordered a sixteen-year-old Lagavulin, straight. I sipped and watched the quiet street below. I focused on the taste, the smell, the feeling in my throat. I tried not to think.

Dox showed up forty-five minutes later. I had just ordered my fourth Lagavulin. My head felt mercifully fuzzy.

He sat down across from me. 'Should I order what you're having, or is it that medicine-tasting stuff?'

'Oh, it's medicine,' I said.

He turned to the waiter. 'I'll just have a double Stoli on ice. Ah, make that a triple. I think I've got some catching up to do.'

I translated, then said, 'I didn't think you'd still be around.'

'Where'd you expect me to go?'

I shrugged. 'I don't know. Where you live. Wherever that is.'

'As it happens, I'm transitioning to a place in Bali I know. I like it there. Our little score at Wajima ought to speed things up for me, too. But I thought I'd spend some time in Roppongi first. Plus I was hoping you'd be back and we'd get to see each other.'

The waiter brought our drinks and moved off.

'Cheers,' Dox said.

We touched glasses. Dox leveled off about two-thirds of his vodka and let out a long, contented sigh. He leaned back in his chair and said, 'You going to tell me what happened in New York?'

I told him all of it. I felt detached as I recounted things, as though I was listening to someone else talking. Must have been the booze.

When I was done, he said, 'Goddamn, man. I'm sorry to hear that. Truly.'

I nodded and drained my glass. Dox did the same and signaled the waiter for two more.

'But you know,' he went on, 'they're safe now. And with Yamaoto dead, so are you.'

'Yeah,' I said. 'They're safe.'

'What I mean is, give it time. You're that boy's father, and nothing can ever change that. Eventually, Midori's going to come to her senses. She's freaked out now, of course she is, but that's not going to last forever. Blood is a powerful thing, partner.'

I laughed without mirth. 'That's funny, she said the same thing.'

The waiter brought us the drinks. He collected our empty glasses and moved on.

Dox took a swallow and said, 'I know what's going on with you and Delilah, man.'

I looked at him. 'What do you know?'

'That you've gotten your signals crossed one too many times.'

'Is that what you call it? You know what she did? She went to New York to try to scare Midori away. And she's so good at what she does, it worked.'

'I know what she did. She told me. She feels awful about it. She tried to tell you when you were leaving for New York, but she says you wouldn't listen.'

'What is there to talk about? She did what she did.'

'She made a mistake, is what she did. And she knows it.'

'Yeah? Well, fuck her.'

'Pardon me for saying so, partner, but is it possible you're being just a tad ungrateful here?'

I took a swallow of the whiskey and glared at him.

He stared right back. 'You know, she flew halfway around the world and risked her life to help you with your problem. She killed one man who was trying to get the drop on you. And she killed two more the moment she realized they would harm your family if they lived.'

'You know why she came out here? She felt guilty over the little op she pulled on Midori behind my back. The one Midori was so freaked out by, it made her set me up to be killed.'

'Who cares why she came? That woman is devoted to you, son, only you're so eager for an excuse to go back to your "it's me all alone against the world" bullshit that you won't even admit it.'

I looked at him. 'What do you want from me, Dox?'

'I want you not to become the miserable recluse part of you insists on being.'

'You want me to tell you I'm hurt? I feel betrayed? Well, I won't. I don't need your shoulder to cry on.'

'Yes you do, partner. You need someone's.'

'You're wrong.'

'I see what you're doing. You got hurt 'cause you trusted. And now you're telling yourself, "See? I was right not to trust, this is what happens when you trust. Well, I'll just never trust again, that's what I'll do."'

'Are you coming up with this shit yourself, or have you been talking to Delilah?'

'She sees it, too. But that doesn't mean much. You're so damn obvious.'

'You know, the two of you understand each other so well, why don't you just take her. You've been spending enough time with her, from the sound of it.'

'Oh, this is the part where you make the outrageous accusations to insult your friend so he leaves and spares you the burden of having to admit that you're the asshole who pushed him away.'

I put my elbows on the table and rested my face in my hands.

'It ain't like that between Delilah and me,' he said, 'and you know it. But it is like that between the two of you. And if you walk away from that now, you are the biggest fool I've ever known.'

I looked at him. 'She sent you here to plead her case, is that it?'

'No, dumbass, you told me not to invite her, remember? She doesn't even know you're back in Tokyo, and she's worried about you, too. I'll call her and tell her, otherwise I'll be complicit in your childish nonsense. But if you were smart you'd call her first.'

I finished my whiskey and stood up. 'Do whatever you want,' I said, throwing some bills on the table. 'I just came back to pick up my money.'