The Secret Meaning of Blossom: a fast-moving spy thriller set in Japan

by T. M. Parris

  “That’s not the way it works. It’s completely new. It’s—” James was almost visibly biting his tongue.

  “Yes! I know, that’s what we’ve heard. Very new, much safer than anything that’s come before. Likely to take off and be widely adopted. People will trust it with their millions, their billions! Which is why we want a secret way in. That you will give just to us. Don’t tell me you can’t. I know you can.”

  “I’d get fired,” said James. “They’ll cancel the project, stop the development. I’d be out of a job. Out of the industry.”

  “They won’t know it’s there. Our back door will be a secret back door.”

  “That’s not the way you usually operate. You like the publicity, the fireworks and all that. You’ll do some enormous hack a few weeks after launch, millions’ worth of coin will go missing and you’ll be jumping up and down all over the dark web shouting about how great you are. That’s your usual gambit, isn’t it?”

  Milo blinked with mock shame. “You don’t like us very much, do you?”

  “No, I don’t. And once that happens they’ll go back and analyse how you got in, and it will come back to me. Sooner or later, it will come back to me.”

  “They’ll never prove it, though. You just have to keep denying it and say we got lucky.”

  “Lucky? The odds of you stumbling on the right key are astronomical! That’s the whole point!”

  “Don’t worry so much, James!” Milo raised his hands casually. “Even if they do point at you, there’s always a living to be made with Fire Sappers. We can find openings for you. Get you out of sticky situations. As long as you’re loyal.”

  “I’ll keep my life the way it is, thank you very much.”

  “Your life the way it is? But that’s over. You’re with us now. Whether you like it or not. Perhaps I need to show you. Which one of these children is your favourite?”

  He turned in his chair to examine the Japanese trio. “Mirai? But you didn’t like her, did you? You rejected her! Interesting. Maybe one of the others, then.” He nodded at one of the mobsters. “The little one, bring him over here.”

  “I have to say, I really do think—”

  But James’ disgusted voice was drowned out by the Japanese man’s hasty interpretation, which prompted two of the guards forward to grab Tomo from the sofa. He gave an “Eyy Yayy!” sound, and Mirai breathed a soft “No!”, barely audible. Haruma sat staring, face pale, sweat beading on his brow.

  The thugs dragged Tomo to the middle of the room. Milo turned to the one who interpreted. “Let’s give him something to think about.”

  A flurry of words then the goons set upon the small Japanese guy, repeatedly kicking his curled-up body. They could easily kill him that way, Rose knew. Milo stood up and peered, arms folded, as if watching some vaguely interesting spectacle. Haruma rose slowly to his feet.

  “For heaven’s sake, Milo,” James said. “It’s got nothing to do with him. This is really very unfair!”

  “Fair has nothing to do with it,” said Milo lightly. “And if Fire Sappers decides it’s his problem, it’s his problem.”

  The next thing happened so lightning fast no one could have stopped it. Haruma took a sharp breath as if bracing himself, and ran straight into Milo. Milo staggered backwards. Rose was on her feet. It may be she was the only one who saw the flash of steel. But when Milo fell to his knees, everyone saw the blood seeping through the fingers clutching his abdomen, and the knife in Haruma’s hand.

  The room was a blur. Tomo lay forgotten as the guards grouped around Milo, trying to staunch the blood flow and running for first aid. Two of them were on Haruma, who dropped the knife and raised his arms, his eyes skywards. He didn’t even try to fight or run. Between the two goons he crumpled while they battered him. On the sofa, Mirai sat forward, one arm outstretched in some kind of silent entreaty. James’ mouth was open, literally. No one was looking at Rose, who silently stooped to pick something up.

  The men beat Haruma until he didn’t move. Bandages and tape were brought and applied to Milo’s stab wound. Lying on his back, Milo lifted his head. His attendees took a step back. He sat up on his elbows and looked at Haruma, who was moving a little, face down.

  “Get him up,” said Milo. The command was passed on and two of them pulled Haruma onto his feet. Through bloated eyes and over a broken nose, he looked at Milo defiantly. Milo tried to get up. They jumped forward to help but he waved them off. He turned and pulled himself up on the armchair, climbing to his knees and then his feet, breathing heavily. He was soaked in blood but the bandages were holding. He met Haruma’s defiance with a look of his own.

  “You people, you just can’t manage to do anything, can you?” he said. He held his hand out. “Pass me a gun.”

  Words were exchanged between the Japanese men – followed by a look. Slowly, one of them got a gun from his belt and passed it to Milo. Swaying slightly, Milo checked the barrel and clicked off the safety catch. He aimed at Haruma.

  No one moved. Mirai breathed a word, too quiet to make out. Milo fired three times at Haruma’s chest. The sound in the confined cabin was deafening. Haruma fell to the floor as the noise still echoed. Milo threw the gun down.

  “Lock them up. I don’t want to see any of them.”

  He sank into the side of the armchair as they were led away, past Haruma’s still body.

  Chapter 32

  The planning meeting was in a room inside the vast US Embassy, which seemed to reflect who was in charge now. When Fairchild arrived, Zack came down to let him in and updated him on the way to the room.

  “We’ve done a complete analysis of ships leaving or arriving at Tokyo or Yokohama that belong to the company in question. One of them was due to leave for Busan in South Korea, but didn’t. Just sat there for a day. No freight on or off. They claimed a mechanical problem but there wasn’t much evidence of anything getting fixed. We got a satellite feed up and running but the conditions aren’t ideal. Sporadic cloud cover.”

  “Don’t you have satellites that can penetrate cloud?”

  “We do. But they don’t give us a live feed. There’s a delay of at least an hour.”

  “So what’s happened now?” They were at the room.

  “We’ll cover that. If you’re holding something back, Fairchild, bargain hard.”

  Zack opened the door and they went in. A dozen people at least were sitting around a table. Fairchild didn’t know any of them. The room was airless and smelled of the half-eaten food all over the table. They’d clearly been in here for hours. The screen on the wall was showing the satellite feed, winking lights on a wide dark channel lined both sides with city lights. Patches of darkness obscured some of it. Other screens on the desk were showing schemas of cargo ships and detailed maps of the area.

  Rapp was speaking but she stopped when Fairchild came in. “Glad you could make it,” she said, not sounding as though she meant it.

  “We have eyes on the ship?” he asked.

  Zack stepped in. “A car rolled up a few minutes ago. One passenger boarded, a male. Then they prepped for leaving and set off.”

  “They were waiting for him,” said Fairchild. “He must be a key player.”

  “Which is why we’re going in now,” said Rapp. “The task force is scrambling. You can watch from here if you like.”

  “I don’t think so,” said Fairchild.

  “Excuse me?”

  “That’s not how it’s going to work.” He drew out a chair and sat. He’d certainly managed to get everyone’s attention.

  “That is exactly how it’s going to work,” said Rapp. “Whoever this guy is, this is a huge opportunity. They’re sitting ducks out there right now. We’re going in while we have the chance.”

  “Good. But I’m coming too.”

  Rapp’s lips were thin. “We don’t need you. What we need is that guy, before he disappears underground again.”

  “And what if you don’t get him?” said Fairchild. “What if he s
lips away somehow? What if he’s caught in the crossfire and killed? What will you have then?”

  “We’ll have the others, the Japanese students and Clarke. That’s a lot better than nothing.”

  “Well, I have something even better than that.”

  Rapp stared at him. “Like what?”

  “My source in Hong Kong told me more than just the name of the shipping company. I know the real name of the Fire Sappers leader, and his nationality. What’s the betting it’s the guy who just stepped onto that ship?”

  “Well, you’d better tell us, then.”

  “Sure I will. Just as soon as I have both feet on the deck of that ship. And you’d better keep looking out for me, because I have the actual evidence linking the guy to Fire Sappers. If this plan goes up the creek, that could be the only lead you have left.”

  Rapp pointed a finger at him. “Now you’d better cooperate with this mission.”

  “Or what? You’ll get me fired? You can try that with Rose Clarke but it won’t work with me.”

  “Do you have any idea how long we’ve waited for an opportunity like this?”

  “And we need to use it. Fast. So don’t argue. Here’s how it will work. Zack will head up the extraction force. The top priority is the rescue of the captors alive. The next priority is to apprehend the guy who just boarded. Minimal casualties. I will be a part of the team. If things go as agreed, I will share the information I have with you. If they don’t, I won’t. It’s as simple as that.”

  They stared at each other across the table, two people who wanted something equally badly. Rapp wanted it all, she wanted the intelligence and the firepower, but she wasn’t going to have them both, at least not yet. If it pissed her off, too bad.

  “All right.” She nodded at one of the men. “Tell the squad to stand by.” The guy got on the phone and relayed the message.

  Rapp rolled her eyes. “Zack, it’s your show. Get to the muster point. Take your friend here. And I’m coming too. Now you listen!” Her voice rose to cut Fairchild off as he started to protest. “You want teamwork, you got teamwork. Without me, we don’t have an extraction at all, and you know it. I’m coming, and I’m not letting you out of my sight. You will tell me what you know. You will tell me everything.”

  “Like I said, as long as you keep your side of the bargain.”

  Fairchild looked round at Zack who was carefully retaining a neutral expression. “Well, we’d better get moving, then, hadn’t we?” he said.

  Chapter 33

  Rose wasted little time once they were back in the cabin. The ship was now moving at a steady pace some distance from shore, making everything more difficult. Wherever Milo planned to take them, she didn’t want to go there. Now she knew what they were up against, bigger risks were called for. And there was no sign of any rescue mission.

  While the others fell silently into the bunks, she washed and cleaned off Haruma’s knife, which she’d picked up from the floor earlier. It was a folding penknife, usefully sharp but not a killing weapon, as they’d seen. Who knew where he’d got it from or how long he’d been harbouring it, along with his plans for it? What they witnessed was shocking, tragic, but she had no space to process it now; time was critical and she was the only person here who seemed to realise that.

  She stepped up to the window and ran the knife along the rubber seal. It cut open nicely. This would work, but she needed help.

  “Listen, all of you,” she said. “I don’t know what Milo has in mind for us, but I for one don’t want to be part of it. So I’m going to take a look around.”

  She showed them the progress with the window seal. James peered out of the window. “That’s quite a drop. How are you going to get down there?”

  “Bedsheets. There are four beds in here. So there ought to be enough sheets tied together to reach the deck.”

  “Bedsheets? Seriously? That actually works, does it?”

  “It actually does. And it’ll get me back up again. This is a recce, not a one way journey.”

  She started working the window seal with the knife. “We need to think of a way of fixing this back in place once I’m out, in case anyone comes in.”

  “Okey-dokey, then.” James seemed unsure but was probably too shellshocked to argue. He started hunting around in the cabin.

  “Mirai and Tomo,” said Rose. “Can you make me a rope from the bedsheets? Put the bed clothes back again so no one can see the sheets are gone.”

  After only a slight hesitation they got up and started pulling everything off the beds. It felt right to be doing something and not sitting and thinking.

  Rose worked the seal. As the knife became blunter the job got harder and she had to dig in deep to reach the edge of the pane. James took over for a while, having found sticking plasters in a first aid box that might work okay if enough of them were used. A load of questions hung over them that no one wanted to ask. What could this achieve when they were away from shore on a bleak December night, on this huge hulk of a ship full of armed mafia with a ruthless killer of a leader? But still they worked, each of them, lost in their own thoughts.

  The seal was cut all round; Rose and James worked the window loose and pulled it into the room, bringing a blast of cold air into the musty cabin. The door rattled. Tomo shoved a towel along the bottom of it to stop the noise. Rose stuck her head out. On deck, the stacks of containers loomed. No one was down there. With one end fastened around a bed leg, Rose threw out the other end. It dangled below, within three or four feet of the deck.

  “Should we pull it up again when you’re down?” whispered James.

  “No. I’ll have no way to get you to drop it when I’m ready to come back. We’ll just have to hope no one sees it. It’s the same colour as the tower at least.”

  She checked her coat was loaded up with her gear. At the last minute she went to grab a glass bottle from the bathroom and stuffed that into a pocket too. She clambered out, lowering herself down the sheet rope with hands and feet. It was slippery, but she managed to grip hard enough. On deck, she wrapped the glass bottle in the bottom of the rope and hung it. The weight stopped the rope from moving around too much in the wind. That would have to do.

  The containers loomed over her, packed tightly on the raised deck. She moved over to the outer deck on the starboard side, making for the bow, using her torch sparingly. The deck was unlit and clouds obscured the moon. There was a cold steady wind; the speed of the ship was much more noticeable here.

  She heard voices. She killed the torch and ducked into a passageway beneath the container stacks. Two guys were walking along, flashing their torches and chatting. Rose held her breath, but they didn’t even look her way. They were crew, not mafia, smaller guys, not the big beefcakes looking after them, and not Japanese. Filipino, maybe. It was almost reassuring to see some evidence that life was going on as normal at least for some people on board. What did these crew make of their visitors? They must know that the ship’s movements were determined by who was coming and going and not by cargo requirements. Did any of them hear the gunshots? Were they completely unaware of what was happening? Or just paid extra not to see or hear those things?

  The men gone, Rose continued towards the bow, not looking for anything in particular, just ideas for a way off the thing. At the bow she leaned over the side and watched the hull cutting through the water. It wasn’t obvious looking at the shoreline how fast they were moving. There was no time to waste. Right out at sea this would be much more difficult. She made her way round and down the port side back to the stern, crossing the base of the tower with care. She looked up at the lifeboat suspended above, a huge covered cylinder attached with thick wires and hooks to a crane. How to even get it into the water? And then what?

  She continued her circuit, pausing to look down at the roiling water around the stern and picturing the size of the propellor that could move a ship like this. Passing the tower on the other side, she looked up. On a raised dock was another craft, also held
with wires and winches, but smaller than the lifeboat. There was no one about and the windows facing this way were dark. She climbed up a set of steps onto the dock, praying that none of the windows would light up, loosened the canvas cover and took a brief look inside the boat. Then she replaced it and returned to deck.

  At the base of the tower she tugged the sheet-rope twice and got two tugs back: all clear. As she climbed she saw the window pane come out above her, angled awkwardly. For a moment she thought it was going to fall and hit her, but instead it disappeared inside. James and Tomo pulled her into the room, and they hurried to get the rope in and replace the window. Then they gathered round her expectantly.

  “Well,” she said, “how desperate are you to get off this ship?”

  There was a pause. “It’s that bad?” said James.

  “It won’t be easy. It’s a risk. Is it worth taking?”

  “Well, let’s think about this. How sure are we that any friends of ours know where we are?”

  “We can’t be sure at all. And if they don’t know we’re on this ship we could end up anywhere in the world. James, you have the most to lose. Milo will happily kill the rest of us, but he’ll hang onto you out of sheer greed. If you agree to what he wants you can survive this.”

  “It’s not much of a life if you ask me,” said James grimly.

  Mirai and Tomo exchanged words briefly. Mirai looked at Rose. Her face had a hardness that wasn’t there before. “We want to leave. We try it,” she said quietly.

  “Well, it’s dangerous,” said Rose. “Some might say better to wait for the possibility of rescue. But that’s an unknown. And we know what Milo is like, now. We all want to take the risk?”

  All three nodded.

  “All right, then. Well, the way I see it – the only plan that will work involves one of us going overboard.”

  Six shocked eyes looked at her.

  “And, I’m sorry, James,” she said, turning to her brother, “but it has to be you.”