First was a reporter. Kris asked Captain Miyoshi if it was possible to skip him. The Marines at the gangplank sent him on his way.
The next could not be avoided. A lieutenant ushered Mr. Nigel Pennypecker, the senior representative of Nuu Enterprises into Kris’s quarters. The door was open as had become the custom; six Marines now stood guard under the watchful eye of Gunny himself. Kris appreciated the honor.
The small man neither bowed nor offered his hand but launched immediately into why he was there. “I am instructed to tell you that you may make no demands or requests on Nuu Enterprise assets, nor will you receive any assistance from the same.”
“Thank you,” Kris said through the wide smile that she reserved for people she’d rather shoot but couldn’t. “I wasn’t planning on making any such requests.”
“Oh,” the little man said, deflating in the face of acceptance when he clearly was prepared to weather a hurricane-size blow.
“What did you do to Alexander Longknife?” he asked. “I’ve never received instructions like these for the visit of a major stockholder, or even a minor one.”
Kris allowed herself a shrug. “Apparently, I’m not on Grampa’s nice list.”
“I should say so,” the man said, and settled, uninvited into the closest chair.
Kris took the one across from him.
“I did try to arrange a line of credit for you at All Nippon Bank. I’m afraid to report that I failed. It seems that you cannot access any of the accounts that have your name on them.”
“Yes, I know. I think Grampa Al has made a special naughty list just for me.”
The little man actually seemed concerned. “I am sorry to hear that. I understand that you are in quite a bit of trouble. If I can advance you some funds personally . . .”
Kris shook her head. “No. I don’t want anyone to end up on Grampa’s naughty list on my behalf. I’m a Longknife. I will figure out a way to survive.”
“Even broke?”
Kris thought about that for a moment, then laughed. “I’m sure that Great-grampa Ray must have had some tight months on his army pay before Rita Nuu fell head over heels in love with him.”
The man seemed to doubt that, but having nothing more to say, he stood to go. Then he paused.
“There is another man on the pier waiting to see you. A Mr. Kawaguchi. He’s one of the best men of the law on the planet. I would strongly suggest that you listen to anything he has to say to you.”
“I imagine if he’s the best, he must also be the most expensive,” Kris said.
“He is most definitely that,” the Nuu manager said as he dismissed himself.
The quarterdeck called about Kris’s next guest. A lawyer who identified himself as Kawaguchi Tsusumu. Kris allowed that he be brought aboard.
A few minutes later, the young lieutenant was back with a tall man in a blue three-piece suit. Bald, with a small gray mustache, it was his smile that drew Kris’s eye. It took up his entire face and gave her the feeling that he found the world a place of endless jest. He bowed from the waist as he entered the room. “Your Royal Highness, I have the honor to be Mr. Kawaguchi, a man of the law, and I wish to place myself at your service.”
Kris stood to meet him. She returned his formal bow, but then said, ”Why don’t you call me Kris? I’m not sure the princess thing applies at the moment. I’m not even sure about the Lieutenant Commander anymore.”
“Ah,” the lawyer said. “May I suggest to you that your case will be more likely to succeed if you hold on to all of yourself with both hands. If you begin allowing others to take your honors, they may soon take your life.”
Kris nodded. “I see. I thank you for the good advice. I only regret that I am not in a position to pay you for it.”
“Yes. I understand that you are in unusual straits for a Longknife. I placed the issue before my partners, and we decided to take your case pro bono.”
Kris had not been prepared for such an offer of charity. She found her knees going weak and offered Mr. Kawaguchi a seat before quickly folding herself into one.
“I am not used to taking charity,” Kris said.
“Yes, I know. You are much more likely to be giving it than taking it. My partners are not unaware of your past gifts to those in need.”
Kris leaned back in her chair and glanced at Jack and Penny. They shared one of the couches and had sat quietly during the last visitor. Now they both looked like they were doing their best to decode this man and his offer.
“You will excuse me, sir, but I know that my defense will be long and time-consuming. Therefore, it will not be cheap. You offer to undertake it at no charge. Therefore, I must assume that you expect to profit from it in some other manner. I have been played as a pawn before in other people’s games. I find I make a better pawn when I know what game is afoot.”
The man laughed. It was something that started in his belly and rose happily to his face, bringing red to his cheeks. “They warned that you were not only brave but wise as well. Very good, I like the way you play your cards faceup on the table. It is a poor hand, but not one you shrink from.”
He leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, and gave the appearance of becoming comfortable for a long stay. “My partners and I are not of the party in power. We believe they made a major blunder bringing charges against you, and we will enjoy helping them reap the full error of their ways. I am confident we can get you acquitted of all charges. Though, I must say, after meeting you, I am conflicted. A woman of your stature and beauty, going bravely to the headsman would be a picture to guarantee their party minority status for twenty years.”
Kris swallowed hard. “You will excuse my reluctance to provide you with a photo op of such long-lasting power.”
He laughed again. “Ah. And a sense of humor. Even more I look forward to working with you. Do we have a deal?”
He rose, and Kris met him halfway. His handshake was firm but not demanding or combative.
“Will we be meeting after this in jail?” Kris asked.
“As we speak, one of my partners is arranging for your release under your own recognizance. I very much doubt you will ever see the inside of a Musashi jail.”
“So, I need to find a place to live,” Kris said, grateful to have the problem but not at all sure how to handle the honor.
“If you do not object, I have made arrangements. Mrs. Fujioka is a strong supporter of our party. She has several homes, one of them in New Kyoto, and would be only too happy for you to use her town house.”
So, Kris would not be homeless. She knew not to look a gift house in the mouth, but she also knew that few people of wealth splurged on gifts. “And she’s willing to open her home to an indicted war criminal because . . . ?” Kris said.
Mr. Kawaguchi nodded at the question. “Many of the old families of Musashi have a tradition. Their young men, even some of their young women, spend four years in the Emperor’s service. Her youngest son, Tomio, was almost through with his four years. Already, he was a lieutenant in our Navy.”
Shivers went down Kris’s spine. Not another death on my soul, she prayed.
“He could have asked to be transferred off Haruna. Everyone agreed his four years would be up well before they returned,” Mr. Kawaguchi said. “He told his mother he wanted to go. He wanted to see sights never seen before. He didn’t doubt that following a Longknife he would get his heart’s desire.”
“I allowed anyone who wanted to return before we left for the battle,” Kris said.
“Yes. He told his mother that in his last letter home to her. But he would not desert his battle station even though his four years were up by then. He also told his mother that he could not return knowing he’d left an entire people to be murdered. He begged his mother’s forgiveness, but he could not come back.”
Kris nodded slowly. “Many followed because they could not desert their comrades. I had hoped things would go better than they did. But tell me, what does this mother want from me
?”
“Musashi lost two ships and over three thousand men and women,” the lawyer said, leaning forward. “This government seems to think we need a scapegoat for some sort of failure. Mrs. Fujioka and I think the fight of Haruna and Chikuma is something to be proud of. That our people died in a worthy cause. There is no shame in dying for a just cause, and, what do you Christians say? Laying down your life for another, even if they have beaks rather than noses, is a holy endeavor.”
Surprisingly, Kris found herself tearing up. “I am glad to make your acquaintance, Mr. Kawaguchi, and I look forward to meeting my patron, Mrs. Fujioka. You wish to stand by me for the fight that I owe those who died following me. I welcome you at my side. Win or lose, those who oppose us will know they’ve been in a fight when we are done.”
“Rest assured, young woman, this is a fight we can win. Yes, we can win this one.”
45
A few minutes later, Captain Miyoshi personally ushered in several police officers of the Kyoto Prefect. Their leader did not look at all happy to see Mr. Kawaguchi sitting beside Kris.
“Chasing ambulances again, Tsusumu-san?”
“Ah, Orochi, you are too late for this one. I got her before you.”
The police officer gave Kris a hint of a bow. “I am Inspector Dogen Osamu and you must come with me.”
At that moment, paper began to issue forth from the admiral’s desk. Mr. Kawaguchi fairly skipped over to pull them from the printer. “I regret to disappoint you, Osamu-san, but Miss Tanaka of my office has already presented our motion before a magistrate. I know this will break your heart, but Her Royal Highness will not be spending the night in your jail.”
“And where will she be staying, in your basement?”
“Hardly, my good man of the law. Mrs. Fujioka has offered her the use of her town house. We will be going there as soon as we are done here.”
“Then you won’t mind if I accompany you,” the officer said.
“And I will be accompanying the both of you,” Captain Miyoshi said.
“You will?” came from both representatives of the law.
“I am instructed to post a Marine guard detachment at the Fujioka residence. Commander Longknife is charged with causing the loss of two ships of the Imperial Musashi Navy. That gives us an interest in this case. The Navy will assure that the commander stands trial for the crimes she is charged with.”
Kris might have been disturbed by this latest development, but Gunny had edged into the room and gave Kris a cheerful wink. Something was going on here she didn’t understand, but if Gunny was good with it, it was good enough for Kris.
With that, they prepared to depart the Mutsu. Jack ducked into Kris’s bedroom, a sight he hadn’t seen before, and returned with Kris’s two self-propelled steamer trunks. His and Penny’s gear had easily been merged into them. With the captain leading the way, a small procession followed. Kris and her lawyer, Penny and Jack, the trunks, the police, and six Marines marching solidly up the rear.
On the pier, several station carts were waiting for them, and they quickly blended into traffic. Their route to the space elevator took them past the Mitsubishi Heavy Space Industry yard just as a shift was letting out. Traffic got much heavier. Still, they made it to the elevator a good five minutes before it departed.
On the ferry, the police officers took over leading the party until Kris’s lawyer objected. “Orochi, you are not trying to take my princess to your holding cells, are you.”
“And if I am?”
“Why don’t we try the VIP lounge instead?”
“Do you have an access card?” the officer asked.
“No, but no doubt Princess Longknife does.”
The cop’s “If it still works” look clearly held confidence that it would not.
To Kris and the police inspector’s great surprise, Kris’s Identacard opened the door to the VIP lounge. Apparently, Grampa Al’s vendetta against Kris had yet to reach its full extent.
Mr. Kawaguchi did a poor job of suppressing a grin as he ushered the police and the Marines into the plush surroundings, thus taking the lounge from nearly empty to overflowing in one quick move.
Several businessmen already enjoying a drink took one look at the new arrivals and took their drinks elsewhere. Kris was left to wonder if it was her, the cops, or the Marines that drew that response.
Likely it was all three.
At the downside station, a limo waited for Kris, as well as several police cars, and a bus of Marines with room for six more.
Kris offered Captain Morishita a seat in the limo, and Mr. Kawaguchi made sure that Inspector Dogen did not get in.
As they pulled away from the curb, Kris asked, “What is going on here? I’m grateful for the Marines. I always feel more comfortable with them around, but a busload of them?”
“And there is a company already deployed at the Fujioka residence,” Captain Morishita added.
“What do all of you know that we don’t?” Jack asked, his security-chief hat now solidly in place.
“We have problems with street ruffians,” the captain said. “Some of them almost seem to work hand in hand with the party in power.”
Kris raised a questioning eyebrow.
“Please understand,” her lawyer immediately said, “I golf with the Prime Minister almost weekly. He is a fine gentleman. It is true that we may shout some things that are less than refined when our young men play his party’s young men at their monthly baseball game. Still, we are all gentlemen.”
The captain of the Mutsu raised both eyebrows.
“Yes, yes, there is a faction among his supporters that no one would accuse of being gentlemen. They are rowdy troublemakers. Still, Torinaga Aki would never give a moment’s thought to anything so uncultured.”
“My Marines will assure that no one else does, either,” the captain said.
The arrival at Fujioka House showed the captain to be correct. There was a small mob waiting on the street outside. Before the Marine guards could open the iron gate, the mob swarmed around Kris’s limo, striking it and rocking it. Several eggs blotted the windows.
The police in the trailing car got out but were quickly lost in the scuffle.
The Marines in the bus dismounted, formed ranks with riot shields, and moved forward with solid intent. The mob backed off; those reluctant to do so were shoved along with the Marines’ shields. Only when the Marines had control of the gate did it open and admit the cars.
Under Gunny’s orders, the Marines folded themselves back through the gate as it closed. Still, the mob swept in, clambering up the iron gate. A few last eggs arched out to yellow the Marine bus.
“What was that all about?” Kris asked no one in particular.
“Did you notice that the mob was just large enough to fill a tight camera shot?” Mr. Kawaguchi said. “Those who watch it on the ten o’clock news tonight won’t know that all that noise was made by less than a hundred thugs. Your Highness, the fight for your life has begun.”
“If we are to join those who have fought for my life,” Kris said, glancing at Jack and Penny, “you must call me Kris.”
“And you must call me Tsusumu.”
The driveway opened into a circle before a huge stone mansion. The entrance to the circle was under a large stone torii.
Milling around the front door was another mob, only slightly less violent-looking. The presence of cameras proclaimed them to be representatives of the media.
“Oh no,” Kris muttered under her breath.
“Your Marines let them in,” Tsusumu said to the Mutsu’s skipper.
“Would you have rather had them in the mob outside?”
The lawyer accepted the lesser of two evils with a resigned sigh. “Try to say nothing,” he said.
“Would it be easier if I agreed to a news conference tomorrow?”
“It will be easier for the moment, but it will still be dangerous to your future.”
“My future is always dangerous,”
Kris growled.
At her elbow, Jack sighed.
“Very good, then. We will promise to feed you to the lions tomorrow,” Tsusumu said, and opened the door.
Kris was immediately swept by a tidal wave of questions mishmashed into such a noise that she could understand none of it.
The lawyer went first, followed by Jack. They blocked the door well enough to let Kris and Penny get to their feet.
Tsusumu raised his hands for quiet and got none. He shouted, “The Princess will have a press conference tomorrow at noon,” but Kris doubted that anyone heard him. If they did, they only shouted their questions louder.
Kris was saved by the arrival of a dozen Marines, who formed a phalanx around her and led her into the house.
Once the door was closed, the silence was deafening.
“Is that what I have to expect everywhere I go?” Kris asked.
“I’m afraid so,” Tsusumu answered. “Captain, how long before your Marines are recalled?”
Captain Miyoshi had stayed in the limo until the Marines arrived and had come quietly up the rear of their movement. Now he shrugged. “The Navy Ministry has acquiesced to my request to guard Fujioka House. No doubt pressure will be brought to bear on them.” The captain turned to the lawyer. “Is there any chance that you might use your good offices with the Prime Minister to reduce those pressures? Is any interest of his party served by your princess’s being torn limb from limb?”
Tsusumu did not answer nearly as quickly as Kris would wish. Unbidden, the image of her going as an innocent victim to the headsman came to mind. What kind of game was she being played in? All she wanted to do was get out the word about the fight her people had died in and the fight that might be headed for them all.
Finally, the lawyer spoke. “I do not see any upside to this for Aki-san and his party. I will do what I can to help you keep the Marines here. Clearly, they are needed.”
That settled, Kris took her first look at her new quarters. Though the outside was weathered stone, the inside was simplicity itself. The walls of the entrance were white with parchment hangings, the floors parquet.
Kris Longknife: Furious Page 23
