by Alex Ko
“Oh, me!”
“Yoko, pick me!”
“No, me, me!”
Josh pressed himself against the wall to let them pass. None of them gave him a second glance – or even a first one. “At last, Grandpa’s come through for me.” Yoko clutched her mobile phone to her chest.
The crowd passed by and disappeared around a corner. Josh brushed himself down. “Come on,” he said, “let’s get back in there and get on with the plan.”
But Jessica didn’t move – she was frozen to the spot, staring after Yoko. “Josh!” she said. “Yay’s not her real name!”
“Well, no,” said Josh. “Sounds like a stupid stage name to me...”
“But Josh, her real name is Yoshida.”
Josh stared at her. “...You think Mr. Yoshida is Yoko Yay’s grandfather?”
“The leader of the Iron Fist – the one who has Kiki!” Jessica grabbed his arm. Josh felt a chill run down his spine as it all started to fall into place. Yoko’s ambition, the sabotaged pop stars... “And, and, she was saying banzai!”
“Of course!” Josh said. “Banzai Banzai Benzaiten! Mr. Yoshida kidnapped Kiki so Yoko can take her place on that new music show.”
“They are not going to get away with this,” Jessica hissed, opening the door to their private room.
“You’re right, Jess,” Josh replied. “We’re not going to let them.”
“Ah, Josh-kun, Jessica-chan. Did you have a nice look at the view?” Hina asked, as they stepped inside.
“Oh yes, it’s fantastic,” said Josh.
“Where is Mimi?” Yoshiko said.
“She’s just gone to the bathroom,” said Jessica smoothly.
“Well, it’s your turn,” said Hina, handing Jessica the microphone. Josh and Jessica nodded to each other, and Josh checked his watch. About four minutes, then Granny would be ready for them to lure the bodyguard out of his room. Jessica went to the song list and picked something, and a few seconds later a familiar base line kicked in and Josh grinned at her. It was that song of Kiki’s – “Kumo no ue no ai”!
Despite feeling the beginnings of a nervous twitch, Josh threw himself into the song. Then it was over, and Jessica and Josh bowed to the three old ladies.
“Excuse me,” Josh said to Hina. “Could I please borrow your camera? The view from the window was so beautiful – I would love to go back and take a picture.”
“Of course,” Hina said, taking her digital camera out of its case and handing it over.
“I thought we could try to take his picture,” Josh whispered after they’d left the room and shut the door behind them.
“Good idea,” Jessica said. “He’ll hate that.”
“I just hope the camera’s still in one piece at the end of this,” Jessica whispered as they crept up the corridor towards the VIP suite.
“I just hope we are!” Josh muttered back, checking the camera flash. “Three, two, one – go!”
They pushed open the door to the VIP suite and Josh raised the camera, pressing the button over and over again. Snap snap snap snap snap snap.
The group of girls cringed away from the camera and squealed, and the bodyguard and Yoshida’s goons blinked in surprise.
“There he is!” Jessica cried. “There’s Kiki’s bodyguard!”
“You again!” the bodyguard roared, and he leaped to his feet.
“Go!” Josh yelled. They bolted down the corridor. He glanced over his shoulder and saw that yes, the bodyguard was following them – and so were the other two Yakuza thugs.
Josh and Jessica ran through the lobby and past the receptionist, and Josh pounded the “down” button on the elevator.
Nothing happened. There was no noise of the elevator wheels moving; no lights flashing.
“Oh, come on!” Josh snapped. A smashing noise made them both turn – the bodyguard was crashing through the lobby with the goons in his wake, upsetting the leather sofas and antique vases.
“Come on, come on...” Josh jabbed the button again as the receptionist shrieked and sprinted to catch a falling vase. The bodyguard was storming closer.
A uniformed staff member leaped in front of the bodyguard.
“Excuse me, what do you think you’re—” The bodyguard shoved him aside.
“Take the stairs!” Jessica snapped, diving for a door on the other side of the room. Josh followed, and they started down a concrete stairwell, Jessica taking the lead. Josh peered over the edge of the banister – the drop seemed to go on for ever.
Suddenly a terrible thought struck Josh.
“Jess!” he said, swinging around a corner as the door banged open above them.
“What?” Jessica shouted back. There were heavy footfalls on the stairs.
“How will we get to the alleyway now?”
“...Don’t know!” Jessica said. “Just keep running!”
Josh flew down the stairs. Just ahead of him Jessica grabbed the banister to pivot around another corner and kept on going. Josh ran until his legs felt stiff, then until they felt like jelly, then until he couldn’t feel anything any more. Josh didn’t know what floor they’d reached; he didn’t even know how close the two goons were to catching him. He just kept running.
Finally, they hit the last set of stairs. A flash of black caught his eye. He turned to look, misjudged the corner, and ran smack into a wall. When lights stopped flashing in front of his eyes, he looked up and saw the lithe silhouette of Granny Murata swing across the stairwell and into the two Yakuza thugs that were following them, knocking them off their feet.
The bodyguard was clattering down the stairs towards Josh, his face red with rage. He grabbed for Josh’s throat but he ducked away and the bodyguard ended up punching the wall.
“Argh!” he groaned, cradling his hand. He turned on Josh. “You little—” Josh backed away, but before the bodyguard could make another grab for him Jessica appeared, sprinting back up the steps to their landing. She cannoned into the bodyguard with her shoulder. He staggered, but recovered quickly and got an arm around her neck. Josh tried to land a kick on the back of the man’s knees, hoping they’d buckle, but the bodyguard used Jessica like a shield. She let out an angry choking noise, and scrabbled with her hands on his arm as her face turned red.
Suddenly the bodyguard yelped – Jessica had found his little finger and pulled with all her might. His grip came loose and she scrabbled out from beneath his arm and ran over to Josh. The bodyguard looked at them with eyes full of loathing. Josh knew what to do, without even glancing at Jessica. In unison they spun around and placed two high kicks in their enemy’s face. There was the snap of bone breaking. He fell down, out cold.
“Josh, Jessica – you are all right.” Josh looked up to see Granny Murata descending the stairs two at a time.
“Granny!” they both cried out. Looking up, Josh could see two figures spread out on the concrete floor of the landing above them. Groaning and rolling from side-to-side, they had clearly taken a battering. Granny looked down at the bodyguard, whose huge limbs spread out around their feet. She nodded slowly, looking him up and down.
“Your technique is still in need of improvement,” she commented. “But your improvisational skills are good.” Josh and Jessica grinned at each other.
Josh kneeled down, turned the bodyguard over and rummaged in his jacket pocket. He found a wallet and a mobile phone.
“These should help,” he said, passing the wallet and phone to Granny. He turned back to the bodyguard and checked him for other pockets, or any kind of clue. He pulled the man’s jacket open. That was funny – the lining was black silk, apart from one white seam. He pulled on the silk and the seam split open. A hidden pocket! And there was something inside...
“I’ve found something,” he said, pulling out a small folded-up piece of paper.
“What is it?” Jessica asked.
“Dunno – it looks like a ticket for something. Why would he hide this?” He squinted at the letters. “Tokyo Tower...Ro Ningyok
an.”
Jessica’s eyes lit up. “That’s the waxworks museum – you remember Kiki said she was going there? That can’t be a coincidence.”
“No,” Josh said, his heart beating even faster. “It’s better than that – Mr. Yoshida owns a load of museums, right, Granny? Is this one of them?”
“It is,” said Granny, raising her eyebrows. “You two are sharp thinkers. You believe Kiki might be hidden there?”
“Well, it’s a public place. Mr. Yoshida can control the security, and Kiki loves to go there.”
“Plus the bodyguard said on the phone that everyone would be able to see her,” Jessica added.
“That is very plausible,” said Granny Murata. She switched on a walkie-talkie. “Nana, can you call up activity outside the waxworks museum on the day Kiki was kidnapped?”
“I’m on it.”
It was just a couple of moments before Nana’s voice came back. “I’ve got Kiki’s bright yellow electric hybrid car pulling up to the museum about an hour after she got off the plane.”
“That confirms it. Good work, everybody,” Granny said. “Team O will investigate the museum.”
“We’re coming with you,” Jessica said.
“Please, Jessica – this is a serious matter. If you are right, the place may be filled with Yakuza.”
“But it’s a tourist attraction, and we’re tourists! It’s a brilliant cover,” Josh argued.
“Exactly,” Jessica agreed. “What’s more natural than seeing the waxworks with your grandchildren – your unruly, curious grandchildren who have a tendency to open doors marked Staff Only?”
Granny Murata sighed. “If you do precisely as I say, and if you promise me you will stay safe, and if you remember your training...” She hesitated. Josh held his breath.
C’mon, Granny, he thought. We don’t have much time!
“Then, it looks like we will be paying a family visit to the waxworks museum this summer,” Granny said. Josh had to clench his fists to stop himself from whooping for joy. He and Jessica bowed respectfully to Granny, and then high-fived behind her back as they stepped over the unconscious bodyguard and started down the steps.
“What about your friends?” Jessica asked. “Are they still singing karaoke? Should we go and get them?” Josh remembered that they’d left the three old women in the booth.
“Don’t worry about them,” Granny reassured her. “I phoned Hina’s mobile phone to say we’ve been called away, and I’d return her camera when I see her tomorrow.” She held out her hand and Josh dug the camera out of his pocket. To his dismay, the screen was cracked. It must have happened when he ran into the wall.
“I’m so sorry, Granny – I’ll pay for it,” he promised.
“Well – that is very honourable of you,” said Granny Murata. “But I’m sure Sachiko can fix it in the Team O workshop.”
The Tokyo Tower was an old radio tower that had been turned into a tourist attraction. It was shaped like the Eiffel Tower, painted in orange and white stripes. Josh leaned up against the passenger window as their car pulled up to the front of the four-storey building that sat at its centre. One of the tower’s legs passed them by, with its massive steel latticework gleaming in the late afternoon sunlight. He and Jessica had been there once before – one summer their parents had brought them to Tokyo and they’d gone to the special observatory at the top, and had totally failed to see Mount Fuji on the horizon because it had been too cloudy. But it had been an awesome day anyway.
The car stopped, and the doors opened. Josh climbed out to see five ancient people standing in front of him, wrapped in warm clothes and leaning on sticks. If he hadn’t already seen it with his own eyes, he never would have believed that Nakamura, Sachiko, Nana, Mimasu and Mr. Yamamoto were capable of standing up straight, let alone fighting off armies of Yakuza. Now, they looked ancient. Mr. Yamamoto was carrying a backpack that looked like it might topple him over at any minute. Granny Murata adopted her own elderly body language as soon as she stepped out of the car, bending over and taking small, shuffling steps and nodded curtly to the others.
They entered the building, which was swarming with tourists and locals. Josh spotted two TV screens showing the early evening news. A scrolling subtitle said Chiba Mikiko still missing – bodyguard found assaulted in stairwell, two known Yakuza arrested. Granny ushered the group into the lifts.
“Keep your eyes open for anything suspicious, any heavily guarded areas or hidden doors,” Granny told the rest of Team O as the lift whirred up to the third floor. “Thanks to Josh and Jessica, now we know what Yoshida’s up to.” Josh felt his face flush with pride as Sachiko and Nana both grinned at them. “If we do not find Kiki within an hour and a half, Yoko will take her place on her new music show – and we do not know what will happen to Kiki after that.”
The wax museum was impossible to miss – the doorway was painted bright yellow and the president of America was standing outside with three members of the Beatles. A sign on the wall said “Apologies – John Lennon removed for cleaning.”
Granny hobbled up to the counter and bought a group ticket for them. “I am here with my English grandchildren,” she told the girl at the counter.
“Awww – kawaii!” The girl beamed at Josh and Jessica.
“Yes,” Granny said, looking every bit the sweet, twinkly-eyed grandmother. “They are kawaii, aren’t they?”
Josh wasn’t sure about being called kawaii – it was like “cute”, but with an extra veneer of sickly sweet adorableness.
They went into the museum through a group entrance. Nana pulled a shiny gadget from her pocket. “There are twelve surveillance cameras in this museum,” she whispered to the others. “So there will be certain times when we need to tread carefully – we will almost certainly be watched.”
“Let’s make sure our cover holds up,” Mimasu added under her breath. “Plenty of shuffling. I’ll be stone deaf; Nakamura-san, you can be nearly blind.”
A young lady in a red blazer met them in front of the first room.
“Ohayō!” she chirruped, handing them all leaflets about the museum. “I am Mandi! I will be your guide for today!”
Sachiko immediately engaged her in conversation.
She’ll keep her occupied, Josh thought, while we investigate.
Mandi led them through a set of doors into a room full of European royalty, including a wax sculpture of England’s crown jewels. The room was almost empty of other visitors. Josh supposed the museum might be winding down for the night. It would be shutting soon. Josh looked around for anything that could be suspicious – hidden doors, obvious security cameras, roped-off areas – but he couldn’t see anything. Mimasu beckoned him over to take a picture of Mr. Yamamoto with the Queen.
Josh sidled up to Jessica, who was examining a slightly wonky version of Prince Philip. “See anything?”
“Nothing,” she said. “Except that I think the prince’s wig might be on the wrong way round.”
They kept their eyes open, but after a few more rooms, Josh started to get jumpy. There seemed to be nothing here except waxworks and tourists. Where’s Kiki? he thought. If they didn’t find her soon... Josh felt an involuntary shudder pass over him. He only hoped that their new friend’s life wasn’t in danger.
They passed through rooms celebrating the ancient emperors of Japan, the Japanese space programme, and Hollywood movie stars. The crowds of visitors got bigger and noisier. A loud group of American teenagers was gathered in the Hollywood room.
“Oh, take my photo with James Bond!” one of them cried.
“Ewww, Clark, quit kissing Superwoman; that’s disgusting,” shrieked another.
“Everything seems normal,” Granny said to Nakamura, the noise of the teenagers covering their conversation.
“For a waxworks museum, anyway,” Jessica added to Josh.
“And this is our music celebrity room,” said Mandi, leading them into the biggest, loudest room yet. “Very popular, come inside and mee
t the stars.”
People were forming queues to get their photos taken with their favourite singers, and a crowd had gathered around a large exhibit in the middle of the room. It was a four-poster bed, draped in silk and gauzy fabric that swayed gently as people passed by. And lying on the bed, as if she was fast asleep, was the waxwork of Kiki that she mentioned on the plane.
“Oh,” said Jessica. “It’s so realistic. It’s set up just like her video for ‘Dreaming of You’. Just look at that dress.”
Josh was looking. The dress had to be about ten metres long, wrapping the waxwork in artful folds. It was made of some kind of shimmering cloth that changed colour as they walked around the display.
Team O spread out around the room. Mr. Yamamoto leaned close to Josh’s ear.
“Mimi says to stay alert. It would be just like Mr. Yoshida to hide Kiki somewhere near here.”
Josh looked around the room. There was a door marked Staff Only. Maybe Kiki was in there, hidden away from the public? He nudged Jessica and started to walk towards it, letting his path take them a couple of times round a blond pop star and in between the cast of a famous movie musical, until they were passing by the door.
“Ready?” Josh whispered to his sister. Jessica nodded, her face pale. Then he took a deep breath, grabbed the handle and flung the door open.
Josh braced himself for wailing alarms and the sight of Kiki tied to a chair, but he didn’t get either. The room was a store cupboard, full of wigs, costumes and bits of waxwork, including a box of arms and a shelf of heads.
Beside him, Jessica sighed. “Good try,” she said.
“Hey!” cried Mandi, rushing up to them. “Really, you cannot go in there.”
“Josh, Jessica, you stop that this minute,” said another voice. Josh turned. Granny was smiling and bowing to Mandi. “Please excuse them, they are half-English. They’re staying with me for the summer.”
