Rules of the Hunt (49 page)
It was time
for an illusion of change.
New blood
would be brought in, to public acclaim.
But, of course,
real
kuromaku
, the
continue as normal.
Tatemae
and
honne
.
The public image and the private reality.
second-largest economy — but the operative word was ‘second.’
In the final analysis, a country of one hundred and twenty-nine million
people on the wrong side of the globe, living on a chain of a thousand islands
without almost any natural resources, could never fundamentally change the
world's true leader.
And if it thought
of so doing, it would not be allowed to.
What was needed to be
done,
would be done.
Every action that might
prove necessary.
The last item that made it possible, even desirable, for Katsuda to
initiate his move was an act of sheer hubris by the Hodama faction.
With their confidence boosted by their
economic success, they started dabbling in the arms trade and then moved to
supplying enemies of the West.
Rumors
surfaced of the North Korean deal.
This
was impertinent and would not be tolerated.
Nothing was said directly to Katsuda, but suddenly the signs were there
that Hodama and his faction were no longer protected.
It was open season, if handled discreetly and
with
a certain
sophistication.
Katsuda made his move.
He had personally led the assault group on Hodama and had taken the
greatest pleasure in linking the killing to the Namakas.
Month by month, he had tightened the
noose.
At the same time, he had set in
motion his economic initiative.
The
Namaka's financial power base was being weakened.
The elements in the plan were working and
coming together.
Yet the Namakas endured.
They had
taken the heaviest pressure and were still in business.
And there were now signs that they were rebounding
stronger than ever.
Evidently, Katsuda's
actions had been too subtle.
Fortunately, the Namakas' own actions had thrown up an unlikely
ally.
This
gaijin
, Hugo Fitzduane, could make the necessary difference if the
right circumstances were created.
An Irishman, another islander like the Japanese.
An interesting man, by all
accounts.
Katsuda picked up the phone.
*
*
*
*
*
Fitzduane looked up from his
Japan
Times
as Adachi made his way across the floor of the hotel restaurant.
The remains of his Western-style breakfast, except for his tea and toast,
were cleared away as the policeman approached.
"Good morning, Adachi-
san
,"
said Fitzduane, waving the policeman to a chair.
"You have a look about you that suggests
developments."
A waiter rushed up and brought Adachi some green tea.
The service was excellent in
Fitzduane
had
found, though the language barrier could be a problem.
His waiter, for instance, was convinced that
hot milk was what the Irish
gaijin
required with tea, and he would not be persuaded otherwise.
Still, that slight eccentricity
notwithstanding, Fitzduane felt he was in good hands.
"Would you ever think of trying Japanese food, Fitzduane-
san
?" said Adachi.
He was used to
gaijins
demonstrating their skill with chopsticks and endeavoring,
unsuccessfully, to be more Japanese than the Japanese when it came to
food.
Fitzduane, in contrast, asked for
a knife and fork and did not seem to feel he had to prove anything.
Sometimes he ordered Japanese dishes, but
mostly he ordered Western.
It was easy
to do so in
Practically every
type of national cuisine was represented there.
"Fish, rice, vegetables and seaweed," continued Adachi.
"It is a very healthy diet."
"A vicar was once served a dubious egg for breakfast," said Fitzduane,
"and was then asked if everything was satisfactory.
He replied, ‘Good in parts.’
Well, that is pretty much my impression of
Japanese food."
He smiled.
"Though it is all
superbly presented — a feast for the eye.
Unfortunately, my taste buds do not always
agree.
They have a weakness for French
and Northern Italian cooking, with forays into Indian and Chinese and the
occasional medium-rare steak.
Doubtless,
they need further education."
Adachi laughed.
He had been
skeptical of the DSG's initiative in bringing a foreigner into what, in his
view, was a Tokyo MPD affair, but Fitzduane, for a
gaijin
— a fundamental qualification — was an agreeable surprise.
Despite their unfortunate introduction, Adachi found the Irishman easy to
get along with.
He had a generous,
low-key personality that invited confidences and he was sensitive to nuance, to
the unspoken word.
Also, his style was
intuitive.
He could almost have been
a Japanese
in his respect and understanding for
giri-ninjo
, yet he was very much his own
man.
Adachi was somewhat puzzled by his own reactions to the man.
As a
Irishman had wrought the day they had met, yet Adachi still found he greatly
enjoyed the man's company.
Here was a
man whose personal code seemed to reflect the most human of values, yet who
killed without hesitation and without visible remorse.
Adachi had never met anyone quite like him
before.
"The two
yakuza
of the
Insuji-gumi
who you captured, Fitzduane-
san
," said Adachi, "have
confessed."
He did not sound
surprised.
It had been over a week since
the botched assassination attempt.
Fitzduane tried to imagine what a week of
police-custody system would have been like, under these rather embarrassing
circumstances for the Tokyo MPD, and decided he did not particularly want to
find out, nor was he overly sympathetic.
It was hard to feel much about people who tried to kill you.
Fitzduane nodded.
Adachi was
slightly taken aback at Fitzduane's lack of reaction.
It was yet another example of the man's
atypical behavior.
In his experience,
most
gaijin
were surprised and
sometimes shocked at how consistently Japanese police were able to get
criminals to confess.
They would raise
questions of civil rights and habeas corpus and all kinds of legal mumbo jumbo,
as if the rights of the victims and ordinary citizens were not an issue
also.
In Adachi's view, the West
were
hypocrites and had their priorities backward.
"The two
yakuza
,"
continued Adachi, "made separate confessions and have now signed
statements.
The contract on you,
Fitzduane-
san
, was initiated by
Kitano-
san
, the security chief of the
Namaka Corporation.
He personally
briefed the killing team."
Fitzduane raised his eyebrows.
"You surprise me, Adachi-
san
.
Why would he get involved personally?
Isn't a cutout the normal procedure?
Hell, this links the assassination attempt
directly to the Namakas.
It sounds too
good to be true."
Adachi shook his head.
"Unfortunately, Fitzduane-
san
,"
he said, "this development is not all to our advantage.
Yesterday, just prior to the
yakuza
confessions, we also received a
written complaint from the Namaka brothers about their security chief,
reporting their suspicions that he had been using his division for his own
private advantage and also accusing him of embezzling company funds.
Early this morning, we attempted to arrest
Kitano.
We were not successful.
Instead we found him and his wife dead and a
brief suicide note.
In the note he
stated that he had disgraced his entirely innocent employers by carrying out
criminal activities and associating with terrorists.
Yaibo was specifically mentioned.
Effectively, the trail ends with Kitano.
The evidence, regarding the attempts on your
life at least, no longer points to the Namakas — whatever we may suppose."
"How did Kitano and his wife die?" said Fitzduane.
"Could the suicide have been
faked?"
"We have already carried out an autopsy," aid Adachi, "and
although the results of some tests still have to come in, the findings seem
fairly conclusive.
The woman was shot in
the back of the neck at close range by a .45 U.S. Army Colt automatic as she
knelt on the floor.
Kitano then placed
the barrel of the same weapon in his mouth and pulled the trigger.
There are no signs of a struggle, and there
is evidence that Kitano fired the weapon with his right hand.
And though the note was typed on a word
processor, it was signed and we have verified the signature.
The evidence says suicide."
"Was the weapon his?" said Fitzduane.
Adachi smiled.
"Fitzduane-
san
, you already know how hard it is to
own a legally registered gun in this country.
No, although Kitano-
san
was
head of security, he was not licensed to carry a firearm.
However, there is a black market in such
weapons, and all too many are in circulation as a result of the
presence and smuggling.
Regrettably, the
yakuza
are tending to use firearms
more frequently than they used to and their ownership is something of a criminal
status symbol."
"Leaving evidence aside, Adachi-
san
,"
said Fitzduane, "what do you think about the Namakas themselves?
Were they behind the various assaults on
me?
Are they really responsible for the
Hodama killing?
Perhaps they are really
the high-minded captains of industry they purport to be, and all of this is a
smear caused by a renegade employee."
"I'm a policeman, Fitzduane-
san
,"
said Adachi, "and I have to go by the evidence.
The fact is there is now no evidence at all
linking the attacks on you with the Namakas.
Instead we have a culprit, the late Kitano-
san
, with the means, motive, and opportunity — and a signed
confession.
As to Hodama, the evidence
against the Namakas did appear strong, but on closer examination, I'm not so
sure."
"You're still not saying what you think, Adachi-
san
," persevered Fitzduane, but gently.
"
Go-enryo-naku
— please
do
not hold back."
Adachi smiled at Fitzduane's Japanese, but not at the thoughts he was
expressing.
The Irishman was touching on
the
amae
element of a relationship —
roughly translated as ‘childlike dependence’ — so important in Japan, which
results in
shinyo
— absolute
confidence in another person, confidence not only in his or her integrity but
also that such a person will do whatever is expected, whatever the cost.
Such a trust normally took years to develop
in
but curiously Adachi felt that he could have
shinyo
in Fitzduane.
"I think the Namakas are an evil pair who should be put out of
business," said Adachi," and were certainly behind the attempts on
your life and are involved with terrorism as a means to commercial gain.
As to the Hodama business, here I do not feel
they are guilty.
Instead I believe that the
Hodama killings are part of a power play, and that part of that scenario is the
destruction of the Namakas.
It's
ironic.
My investigation of the Hodama
affair puts me, in a way, on the wrong side."
Fitzduane thought about what Adachi was saying.
"The thought strikes me, Adachi-
san
," said Fitzduane, "that
unless we are both careful, we could end up as the filling in this particular
political sandwich.
Perhaps a little
pooling of resources might be an idea."