***
Mark was up and in the shower ahead of Kaori. He had explained the situation as best he could and was apologetic about taking off in a rush. Although she couldn't quite work out what the fuss was all about, an important meeting with your business partner was as reasonable an excuse as you could come up with in Japan to take off quickly.
Dressed, showered and apologetic, Mark tossed over ichiman en (ten thousand yen) to Kaori to cover the room. She threw it back, but without time to 'argue the toss', Mark adjusted his tie and left the money at the foot of the bed.
"Ja, mata, denwa suru ne," (I'll call you later, OK?) he said as he walked out the door towards the elevator.
The elevator announced Mark's arrival at the second floor as the doors opened to the lobby. A balding businessman in a grey suit glanced at him momentarily as he walked past the reception desk then on to the restaurant. The reception staff smiled at him and bowed slightly as he continued on, politely paying them no attention.
Entering the doors of the restaurant, Mark could see Kenichi sitting on his own at a window table, smoking a cigarette. Mike smiled a little as he was happy to see someone who could help him make sense of this mess, but was a little worried about how this was going to go. As Mark arrived at the table, Kenichi stood and greeted him.
"Ohaiyou gozaimasu," (Good morning) he said quickly in a very serious tone. Mark responded with the same and they both sat. The waiter came quickly and Mark was glad to get his Oshibori. It was hot and refreshing on his forehead. They both ordered salmon and miso soup, the waiter refilling their glasses of water before moving on.
"This is big problem," started Kenichi. "My company…my father… they are worried about this image."
"I am so sorry," responded Mark. "I didn't order it. This guy… umm Tsubasa… he was angry I think."
"Angry?" interrupted Kenichi.
"Well… Jon's girlfriend was there. She is with Greenseas and she…"
"Greenseas!" exclaimed Kenichi. "They are very large group, also in Japan."
"Yes…well, they argued about whaling and then after, at the restaurant, he ordered it and we didn't know," Mark continued.
"Did she eat?" asked Kenichi.
"Well no… she wasn't there so…"
"What? Not there?" exclaimed Kenichi.
"No… well she left after the argument, but I think… Tsubasa just wanted to make some foreigners eat whale. You know… a kind of payback after the argument," explained Mark.
"Mark, you have to do better," lectured Kenichi. "Tsubasa… who is he?"
"I don't really know him that well. He's a friend of Jon's," replied Mark. "He and Jon have some connection––maybe some business connection, I'm not really that sure."
"So Jon was also there? Did he eat?" asked Kenichi.
"Well yeah… he did but he… I mean it was nothing to him. This guy… Uumm… Tsubasa… Yamamoto, he…"
Kenichi cut Mark off.
"Yamamoto?" Kenichi repeated.
Mark's keitai buzzed. He looked at the screen and saw that it was Mike but declined the call.
"Yes, he was Yamamoto, Tsubasa."
"You know Mark, this is so serious. He is… how to say…"
Mark's heart raced as his keitai buzzed again. He glanced down quickly, expecting Mike, but was surprised to see his Australian friend Shannon from Channel 12 on the screen. He declined the call, but thought it strange.
"Does Jon know him?" asked Kenichi while shaking his head, drawing breath and frowning. "What is connection? Do you know?"
Mark didn't really want to explain his suspicions but was finding it too difficult to defend Jon. He knew that he should have told Kenichi yesterday but thinking it was better late than never, he decided to 'spill the beans'.
"Look Kenichi, there is some strange stuff going on with Jon." Mark told Kenichi about the drugs, Marley and Josh, the card connecting Tsubasa to that seedy downtown apartment and Jon's new Internet business. This was the first time that Mark had mapped out Jon's mess in his own mind and he started to see connections.
"This is all at my house?" sighed Kenichi.
The question needed no answer, so Mark just nodded then looked down.
"Yamamoto," continued Kenichi "is a friend of many Yakuza. His father, my father, are friends. Tsubasa is bad son… he is spend, spend, spend father's money. His father stop money so… Tsubasa is need new business… maybe he sells."
"Sells?" questioned Mark.
"The drug," stated Kenichi bluntly.
Mark's mind raced through the possibilities. He realized that Jon was either supplying Tsubasa or selling for him. He tried to see where Marley, Josh and Kimberly were placed in all this but his concentration was broken as Kenichi continued.
"Mark, Mark… are you listening? About the kujira: I think that maybe we can talk to NHK reporter together. Me and you."
Mark was paying attention.
"So…you say, I just want to try. It's all. Just try and thank you… it is taste like a fish or something and finish. I think you can make some new friends in Japan. You are special foreign guy… you know. This could be good for you … for Nihon Shyokuhin business."
Without thinking things through, Mark’s eyes lit up. The plan sounded like it could net him a great deal of cash and a new role in the company.
"Yeah, I think that could be OK. We just have to be sure that Australian people don't get the video. They don't care about Japanese news, so I think maybe we are OK."
"So, I will make a call to reporter. We can maybe talk at my office on Skype?" concluded Kenichi. "You know, Mark, maybe my company can have a great benefit from this."
Mark couldn't help but feel that he was being pushed into this, but what could he do? There really wasn’t time to think. He felt bad about not telling Kenichi about Jon earlier and he had to make sure that the Nihon Shyokuhin's reputation remained in intact for his own sake.
Memoirs of a Vending Machine Page 4
