Mei nodded. It made her queasy just to think about it.
“That’s what happens when you try to force people to show respect without actually earning it. The second Kim Jong-Ho’s motorcade broke down in the middle of the parade, his own people turned on him and ate him.”
The image was still fresh in her mind from the newscasts a few years back. The mob of people surrounding the car. The ‘dear leader’s’ own people ripping him, his family, and the members of the regime from the motorcade. The frenzy of blood and limbs that followed. News reporters warning their viewers of the graphic nature of the footage, right before showing Kim Jong-Ho’s pudgy head mounted on a spike being paraded through the streets.
“You know, watching him get what was coming to him didn’t bother me,” Endo said. “But seeing the same thing happen to his family … I mean, his wife was someone he just plucked off the streets and forced to marry him. She had no choice in it. And she always had these barely concealed bruises on her face during public appearances. She didn’t deserve to share his fate. Neither did her kids. But then, it’s rarely the people that deserve to suffer that do. It’s usually the innocent that take their place.”
Mei nodded. She had seen it all too often.
“I’m glad to see we’re on the same page on this. I’m afraid there aren’t many of us that are.”
When Mei left Endo’s office, she didn’t return to her basement headquarters.
She walked out the door, not even bothering with her overcoat and respirator, and began walking. She needed some time to clear her head and think. She walked into the fog surrounding Shibuya and headed away from the police station.
She paused at a bridge over one of the emergency water runoff channels that cut through the city. Normally they were almost entirely empty, except for during the rainy season and particularly bad rainstorms. But anymore, they usually had a foot or two of dirty water running through them, runoff from the sodden ground all around them.
As she stood there, she felt a tremor pass through the concrete under her feet. She looked over at a nearby storefront to see the lanterns out front swaying from the earthquake. Just another one of the dozens of minor earthquakes that struck Tokyo each month.
She shook her head. Nothing felt solid to her anymore.
Mei looked at the date on her watch.
Not even two weeks had passed since she had been put on this case.
Two weeks that had upended everything she thought she knew about the order and structures all around her.
Now here she was seeing eye to eye with Endo. Questioning the police force she had devoted her life to. Considering helping a known criminal murder another criminal.
This was the question she couldn’t shake, or resolve. The fact that she was even mulling it over gnawed at her.
She knew that this was the only way that Matsuo would see justice, and he had tried to have her killed. But then, so had other people too, and she didn’t turn around and murder them. She did her job, her duty.
Now she wasn’t sure if that was good enough. Going through the official channels seemed like an empty gesture. Justice wouldn’t be served, not for guys like Yoshii or Matsuo. And certainly not for women like Iveta and Alyona, who would just be ground up and spat back out.
And in the end, wasn’t an empty shrug of indifference from some bored official just as bad as a contract kill, if they both left people dead?
She tried to convince herself that it was.
She didn’t exactly succeed.
But she had to find an answer to these questions plaguing her, and soon.
Vasili was awaiting her answer.
Chapter Twenty-Six
“Satoshi,” his mother said. “This is a pleasant surprise.”
“Hi, Ma,” he said as he gave her a hug. He walked through the living room into the kitchen. “Wanted to stop by and see you. And to give you your medicine.”
He removed the pill bottle from his pocket and placed it on the kitchen table.
“Thanks, Satoshi. I don’t know what I’d do without you. Some of my friends at my mah-jongg club are having trouble getting their medications. They say it’s too expensive anymore, and insurance only covers part of it. Some of them are even thinking of turning to the streets to get it. Here, let me fix you some tea. Sit down.”
Satoshi sat down at the table. “I know my bosses are doing their best to get it, but it’s getting harder. They’re cracking down on the generic stuff. And I hear the companies that make it are raising the price again.”
“Honestly, I don’t know why the government or someone doesn’t just make it. If ever there was a place that needed it, it’s Japan.”
“They tried that, Ma. The companies sued them over it. Remember?”
“Companies can’t sue a country. That’s preposterous.”
“Well … it happens. That’s why there aren’t cheap cancer drugs.”
His mother sniffed as she put a cup of green tea in front of him. “Stupid,” was all she said.
Satoshi nodded.
“Anyway … have you talked to Akari recently?” his mother asked.
He shook his head.
“You should call her.”
“I never know if she wants to talk to me or not.”
“Why would you say that? You’re her big brother. You … you practically raised her.”
“I dunno. Sometimes she seems nervous around me. Uncomfortable.”
“If you’re talking about last time, she was nervous,” his mother said with a smile. “She was afraid you wouldn’t like that guy she brought around. Your approval is important to her.”
“Are they still together?”
“See, if you talked to her, you’d know. Yes, they are, and starting to look serious.”
“I’ll give her a call.”
“You should maybe think about visiting her too.”
“I don’t know, Hiroshima is a long way away.”
“Maybe you and Hisoka can go when the baby comes. I heard they recommend keeping newborns out of the Tokyo air as much as possible.”
“I heard that too. I’ll mention it to Hisoka. We’ll have to see how she feels after.”
His mother smiled her wan smile. “I have to say, I’m really looking forward to it. I can’t wait to see what little Satoshi looks like.”
“I’m sure like any other baby.”
His mother looked away, as if she could see the memories playing out on the wall beside her. “You were such a good baby. Always smiling. I remember how you rarely cried, even as an infant. You just sat there gurgling happily away.”
“Sure, babies are great because they can’t move far. How was I as a kid?”
“You were a good kid. Again, always smiling and happy. You’d talk to anyone, just happily chatter away. You were like that right up until … well …” His mother trailed off, then looked down. She fell silent, and Satoshi thought she was going to cry.
“Ancient history, Ma. Don’t—”
“It’s not, though,” she said, tears welling in her eyes. “You know, I always blamed myself for you. For how … how you turned out.”
“Oh, I don’t know, I think you did alright. I mean, I hold doors for women, say ‘please’ and ‘thank you,’ I always wash up before entering temples, I—”
“You know what I mean. How you … how you had to walk the Path because of me. To support us. I should have been the strong one, not you.”
“It’s in the past, Ma.”
“It’s not, though. Not really. You still walk the Path. I still worry about whether I’m just going to stop hearing from you someday, and know that it happened again. And soon you’ll have a child and … and what if someday you’re gone and your child … it happens again with your child and …”
His mother broke down sobbing. Satoshi went to comfort her, putting his hands on her shoulders, then folding her into an awkward hug. She held on like a drowning person handed a lifeline. He held her until her sobbing had
petered out to sniffles.
“You can’t think like that, Ma. It’s not going to happen again. Besides, Hisoka and I are planning to move away. And then I can leave this behind me.”
“Good, good. That’s smart.”
“And we want you to come with us, too. It would do you good to get out of Tokyo.”
“Certainly nothing keeping me here, except for you two.”
“We’ll talk soon, when we have a better idea of what our plans are. But for now there’s something I wanted to talk to you about.” He hesitated, unsure of how to proceed. “Look, I hate to do this … but can you tell me what you know, about Dad? About what happened?”
She blew her nose. “I don’t know.”
“What do you remember about when he went missing?”
“Satoshi, please don’t make me—”
“Please, Ma, it’s important to me.”
“I don’t know. Not much. There were a lot of frantic phone calls in the lead-up, between him and his crew. I don’t know what it was about, but I got the impression it wasn’t good.”
“Do you know who he was talking to?”
“I can’t say—his crew.”
“Kumagai?”
“I imagine.”
“Did they say anything—”
“What is this about, Satoshi? Is there a reason you’re stirring this up?”
“I spoke with Kumagai recently. He said something about Dad’s death that got me thinking. Do you know anything about it?”
“No.”
“Did you hear any—”
“Look, if Kumagai knows what happened, why don’t you ask him? Don’t make me relive it. It’s already caused me enough pain.”
“I told you, Ma, I don’t want you blaming yourself for me.”
“You’re sweet, Satoshi, traces of the boy you were. But you can’t convince me I wasn’t at fault.”
Satoshi started to protest, but she shushed him and went on.
“You’re young yet, but I’m not. And I see now, how every decision has its impact. Like ripples on a pond that only grow bigger over time. Every time you hold someone close or push someone away, it has an effect. And sometimes, when we push our loved ones away, we don’t know what we’re pushing them toward.”
His mother broke down sobbing again. Satoshi held her tight, to comfort her.
And so that she wouldn’t see the tear forming in his eyes.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
[Car parked outside Torakichi Restaurant, Chiba; 6:49 p.m.]
“Have you got a visual?” came the voice over the phone.
“Yeah, I see the fat man, the Twins, and someone who looks like Tengu.”
“Looks like? Or is?”
“How the fuck should I know? They’re wearing respirators, makes it hard to see. The guy’s got Tengu’s haircut, near as I can tell.”
“What are they doing?”
“They’re just standing around in front of the restaurant.”
“Do they look nervous, or suspicious in any way? Maybe like—”
“What, like twiddling their mustaches? Come on, if they were going to pull some shit, you think they’d look nervous? If anything, they look pissed off that the boss has kept them waiting this long.”
“Look, cut the sarcasm. Vasili has every reason to be pissed at Matsuo, and there’s a good chance he might try something tonight.”
“I doubt it. He’s got to know we’re watching him closely. There’s no way he’d be that reckless.”
“He’s not reckless. But is he cunning and cold-blooded. So just keep your eyes peeled. Obinata said they left the site about twenty minutes ago. Should be here in a few minutes.”
“Roger.”
Once the speaker had hung up the phone, the man in the passenger seat asked, “Hideyoshi?”
“Yeah.”
“How do things look inside the restaurant?”
“Didn’t say. Probably fine, it’s a restaurant. Matsuo and the others’ll be here soon.”
“Good. I’m tired of waiting in this car.”
They had been sitting in their cramped car for hours. Their spot gave them a view of the restaurant where the meet between Matsuo and Vasili was to go down. Vasili had asked for a sit-down to hammer out the terms of their arrangement regarding the new payments (“He’s going to beg me to be gentle when I assfuck him. No dice!” was how Matsuo had put it earlier). They had been staking out the restaurant since late afternoon to make sure Vasili’s people didn’t pull any shit.
“You think they can see us in here?”
“Not a chance. Not with this tint.”
“I don’t know why they even need us here, if we’ve got Hideyoshi’s guys inside.”
“Matsuo’s afraid of Vasili. Says he’s dangerous.”
“Then why piss him off?”
The man in the driver’s seat shrugged. “Who knows why the bosses do anything? Power games? Dick measuring?”
“I’m just saying, if they—”
“Look, they don’t pay us to do their thinking. Just to do what we’re told.”
[Foreman’s trailer, HM Kensetsu, Chiba; 6:38 p.m.]
“They’re there now?” Obinata said into his phone. “Alright, we’ll head out.”
“What’s the rush?” Matsuo said from the sofa. “Let Vasili enjoy the slow pace of life out here in the countryside.”
His men laughed.
“But, I suppose we should get this over with,” Matsuo said, standing up. “What’s the word from the restaurant?”
“Hideyoshi and his men are in place inside. Everything looks good. Kahae and the new guy are parked outside. Said they’ve got a visual on the fat man, the Twins, and some guy they think is Tengu.”
“That fucking Tengu,” Shibaguchi said from over by the window. “I’d like to break his fucking beak off and shove it up his ass for that shit he pulled a few days back.”
“Now, now,” Matsuo said, exiting the trailer. “Let’s play nice tonight. Vasili is already liable to be pissed that he lost out to me.”
“Fuck that guy too,” Shibaguchi said. “His time has more than come and gone.”
Matsuo looked up at the sky. It was a clear night out. One of the best in a long time.
“Such a beautiful night,” Matsuo said, looking up. “So rare when you can actually see the stars!”
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Shibaguchi’s head snap back to his left. Then he heard the report from the gunshot. He began to look around in confusion. To his right, he saw Obinata reach for his weapon, only to double over as the sounds of more gunshots reached him. And before he could realize what was happening, both of his guards were dead at his feet. He looked up to see shadows moving all around the deserted construction site.
Shadows with guns. Every one of them trained on him.
He held his hands up. The nearest shadow butted him hard in the gut with the end of a rifle. Then shoved him towards a waiting van parked behind a pile of steel rods.
Matsuo turned around to see the shadows had partially lifted the black hoods covering their faces.
They were smiling.
[Car parked outside Torakichi Restaurant, Chiba; 6:54 p.m.]
“Man, that Kameko sure is a piece, though.”
“Who’s that?”
“The woman with Vasili.”
“Hard to tell with that overcoat and respirator on.”
“Trust me. She’s hot.”
“Is he fucking her?”
“Probably. If he …” He trailed off when his phone started ringing. “Goddammit. Hello?”
“Status?” asked Hideyoshi.
“Still standing there. No sign of the boss.”
“How do they look?”
“Hard to see with their masks. But they’re pacing around, so I’d say impatient. Pissed off, maybe? Oh, wait, Vasili’s taking a phone call.”
“Alright. Call as soon as they get here.”
[HM Kensetsu, Chiba; 6:42 p.m.]
“Get in the van,” said the lead shadow.
Matsuo realized it was a woman.
“Do you have any idea who—”
He trailed off when she shot him in the knee, then began howling in pain as he slumped to the ground.
“Get him in the van,” she said, motioning towards the others. “Take the other two to the secondary van and dispose of them.”
Matsuo was in too much pain to resist at this point. He was only dimly aware of being manhandled into the back of the van by the others. He clutched at his ruined knee, with blood and bits of bone sticking out of it. It was only once he was inside the van that his voice caught in his throat. He started to struggle, but it was too late by then. The doors had already closed with him and two of the shadows inside with him.
He looked around in horror. Every inch of the back of the van had been carefully sealed in plastic sheeting. The only objects inside the plastic womb were a flat wooden stretcher with arm and leg restraints on the floor, and a tray full of gleaming medical instruments.
Matsuo tried to struggle, but the fight was ebbing out of him through his knee, along with a good deal of blood. The two shadows in the back soon had him strapped down to the stretcher, completely immobilizing him.
“What do you want?” He meant for it to come out as a snarl, but instead it squeaked out.
The woman from before took off her mask and looked at him. She seemed vaguely familiar, but it took a moment before realization set in.
“You!” he said accusingly.
“Me,” she said with a smile.
She knocked on the wall behind the driver’s seat and the van took off.
[Outside Torakichi Restaurant, Chiba; 6:49 p.m.]
“You going to tell me what the plan is at some point?” Mei asked.
“Oh, we’re almost done here,” Vasili said. “Shouldn’t be long now.”
“Why am I here again?”
“Keeping up appearances.”
“Whatever. Who are we waiting for?”
“Oh, we’re not actually waiting for anyone. Just a phone call.”
Tokyo Noir: The Complete First Season Page 66
