And it would mean a firing squad.
His masters, if accused of plotting terrorism, would be honor-bound to sacrifice a scapegoat. And who better than a rogue agent who’d overstepped his bounds—or, better, yet, who’d gone insane? Sun would confess, of course; that was inevitable. In his final statement, he would thoroughly exonerate his various superiors and shoulder all the blame himself.
It was the least that he could do, to keep the remnants of his family alive.
But it would only come to that if Amago broke down and spilled his guts. That was a gross American expression, but in this case, Sun regarded it appropriate.
He hoped the captain might, quite literally, spill his guts, an act of expiation to his homeland through seppuku, capped by a confession to his role in the conspiracy, with no mention of Sun, China or anyone outside Japan.
And if Amago chose some other path…well, there were ways for suicide to be arranged.
* * *
“YOU’RE LATE,” THE colonel said, as Captain Amago approached his sidewalk table. Even now, with all their plans in ruins, Sun still radiated smug superiority.
“It’s busy at headquarters, as you might imagine, Colonel.”
“Well, you’re here now. What exactly do you want?”
No mention of Amago’s rank or any other gesture of respect, however small. Amago felt his cheeks warming, anger the first emotion he had felt besides pure dread, since learning that their plan had failed.
“Master Kodama has been found,” he said. “With Toi Takumi, in a safe house used by the police department. It appears that a lieutenant kidnapped and interrogated both of them, then caught Kazuo Takumi’s helicopters on the ground, destroying them before they carried out their mission.”
“One man did all that?” Sun asked him, sounding skeptical.
“We’re looking into that, of course. So far, we have identified no cohorts.”
“You’re lucky, then. The trail ends with Kodama and Toi Takumi.”
“For now, but when investigators focus on Saikosai Raito—”
“There is something to consider,” Sun said, interrupting him. “If you are troubled by the prospect of investigation and exposure, you may wish to—”
When the colonel’s head exploded, Amago first thought he was hallucinating, but the spray of blood that flecked his face seemed real enough. He raised a hand to wipe it off, but only smeared it as the nearly headless corpse of Fulian Sun sagged in its chair and slithered toward the pavement. The remaining portion of Sun’s mouth sneered at Amago, mocking him even in grisly death.
Sniper, he thought, but there had been no sound of gunfire.
Silencer.
Amago sat, waiting his turn to die, then realized that if another shot were coming, it should already have struck him down. He bolted to his feet, then, knowing he could not let himself be found with a decapitated Chinese spy.
And as he turned to run, a squad car pulled in to the curb. Three officers got out, led by a major Amago recognized, from the National Police Agency’s Organized Crime Department. The new arrivals stared at Amago and at his leaking lunch companion, sizing up the situation in an instant.
“So,” the major said, “it seems the information we received was accurate.”
“What information?” Amago demanded.
The reply ignored his question. “Captain, you will come with us. I’m placing you under arrest.”
* * * * *
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First edition July 2015
ISBN-13: 9781460384701
Special thanks and acknowledgment to Mike Newton for his contribution to this work.
Ninja Assault
Copyright © 2015 by Worldwide Library
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereinafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Worldwide Library, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario M3B 3K9, Canada.
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