by Barry Eisler
At one point Rain, obviously concerned about why she hadn't yet given him a go sign, asked her to say something or at least clear her throat if she was all right. His timing was good — Big Liu had just drained his glass. She said, 'More champagne?' and gave everyone a refill. Rain said all right, he wouldn't bother her, but let's finish this soon.
'As I mentioned on the phone,' Yamaoto was saying, 'I'm convinced that my men were blameless. But certainly someone betrayed us, someone who knew where and when the transaction was to occur and what it was to consist of. We need to list the people on both sides who had access to that information and start there.'
Delilah glanced at Kuro. The man's face seemed a bit too set to her. Maybe his English was limited, and he was uncomfortable not being able to participate.
'Don't know all details,' Big Liu said. He leaned forward and began chopping the air to emphasize his sentences. 'But having man make list. Then ask people on list. Ask hard.'
Yamaoto nodded. 'And I'll do the same.' He turned and spoke in Japanese to Kuro, whose sole response consisted of the word hai, repeated crisply several times and always accompanied by a stiff bow of the head.
'One other thing I meant to mention,' Yamaoto said. 'Your man Chan in New York. He hasn't checked in with me in over a week. We had this problem once before and you told me it wouldn't happen again. I'm afraid he's now disrespecting both of us.'
Delilah thought, Ah, merde. Rain had briefed her on all this on the way from the airport. It wasn't going to be helpful for Yamaoto and Big Liu to discuss it now.
'Mmm, Chan,' Big Liu said. 'Have… problem there. Have to replace.'
'I'm sorry?' Yamaoto said with a frown.
'Chan have bad blood with soldier Wong. Wong hothead. Kill Chan, then disappear.'
Yamaoto's frown deepened. 'When did this happen?'
'Happen one week ago. Big Liu men look for Wong now. Find Wong, he very sorry.'
'You've found Wong or you're looking for him?'
'No find,' Big Liu said, chopping the air again. 'Look. Try to find. Will find. But… Wong was man watching woman for Yamaoto. So no report now. Need good replacement.'
'Wait just a moment,' Yamaoto said, leaning forward. 'Are you saying the man who was watching Kawamura Midori disappeared a week ago, after killing his own boss?'
Yamaoto was becoming increasingly direct, even aggressive, in his tone and posture, and Delilah realized she was seeing some sort of default persona come to the surface. It was considerably less polished than the one he'd been displaying until now.
Big Liu nodded. 'Wong bad man. Unreliable.'
Yamaoto shook his head as though he couldn't believe it. 'Killed him how? How do you know?'
'Kill with knife. Find Chan, he very stabbed.'
'Why didn't you tell me this before?'
'Big Liu… embarrass by unreliable man. Find replacement first, then tell Yamaoto, better I think.'
'Yes, but don't you see? Chan was killed and Wong "disappeared" just before the ambush in Wajima! You think that's a coincidence?'
Merde, Delilah thought again. She should have left earlier. And getting up now, in the midst of Yamaoto's agitation, might precipitate a connection in his mind that she needed to avoid. She would have to ride this out.
Big Liu looked at Kuro, plainly at a loss. Kuro started to translate, but Yamaoto cut him off.
'My men told me they were ambushed by two men at Wajima. Right after your problem in New York. I don't believe in coincidences. This is the work of John Rain. The man you were supposed to be watching for.'
At the mention of his name, Delilah realized that everything Rain had hoped to accomplish was about to fall apart. Yamaoto had just infected Big Liu with suspicion. For the moment, Big Liu seemed disinclined to agree with Yamaoto's theory, but if Yamaoto died this very night, Big Liu's views would surely change. He would realize that Rain had killed no fewer than five of Liu's people. And his men had been watching Midori in New York. They knew where she, and the child, lived. They could get to them, either as retribution or to bring Rain out in the open, it didn't matter.
There was only one way to prevent that. None of the three men could leave here tonight. She had to tell Rain and Dox, but couldn't until she could excuse herself.
Big Liu was frowning, either at Yamaoto's tone or because he didn't understand, Delilah wasn't sure. Yamaoto barked a few curt words in Japanese to Kuro, who translated.
The men were focused on each other now. They seemed to have forgotten her entirely. But she was aware of exactly how that could change. And how quickly.
Big Liu was quiet for a moment, then said, 'New York and Wajima… far apart. Seem…'
'They're not far apart at all. Rain must have gone to New York to see the woman and the child, as we had hoped. He spotted your surveillance and eliminated it, either by accident or design. And then Wajima…'
He paused there, then sat back in his chair and was quiet, his head tilted forward, his hand rubbing his chin. Delilah knew he was just a thought or two short of a dangerous epiphany. He would either hit it, or skip right over it, she judged it fifty-fifty.
'You see,' he said, to no one in particular, 'Rain must have had access to someone who had information about Wajima. And…' He looked at Delilah, as though noticing her for the first time. 'There are people who knew about Wajima who also know about this very meeting. Tonight.'
Big Liu started to say something, but Yamaoto stopped him with a raised hand and continued looking at Delilah.
'You came to the club just last night, is that right… Laure? And tonight you came back to interview with Mr Kuro, yes?'
She knew he knew, or almost knew. But she gave no sign of it. She thought, It's hot in here, but wanted to be sure before she said it.
'That's really a remarkable coincidence,' he went on, with a chilling smile.
The extra comment suggested to Delilah that he wasn't quite certain of himself. He was probing, trying to get her to react and confirm his suspicions. She sensed she could bluff her way through.
She smiled and dipped her head as though pausing to digest his words, then said, as though her substandard English hadn't been adequate to the task, 'Thank you. It's very nice to be here.'
Yamaoto nodded and started to turn back to Big Liu. Then, without warning, he lunged across the table and grabbed the front of her dress. He yanked it hard toward him and the straps gave way, exposing her breasts and belly. Delilah, not expecting the move, gasped. Before she could react, Yamaoto had grabbed her hair and slammed her face into the table. She saw a flash of white light, then felt Yamaoto's fingers digging into her ears. She twisted her head and jerked back, but too late. Yamaoto pulled out the earpiece and shoved her away from him.
'What the hell?' Big Liu shouted. 'What the hell?'
Yamaoto held the earpiece up so Big Liu could see it. 'She's wired!' he said.
The bodyguards had all come to their feet and were looking around wildly for the source of the threat. Their hands were inside their jackets, on the verge of bringing out hardware.
Delilah swept the front of her dress back up and held it against herself. A natural enough reaction, under the circumstances, but she wasn't thinking about her exposed body. The microphone was attached to the halter top, and it wasn't going to pick anything up if it wasn't close to her mouth.
'It's hot in here,' she said.
39
Delilah had been in there for almost a half-hour, and I was getting antsy. I could hear her talking periodically, and from what I could tell she was still at the table. She must have had a good reason for the delay, but I couldn't imagine what it was. The generator was out, she knew exactly where Yamaoto was, all she had to do was get up and give me the word and we could finish this damn thing.
Several times, I considered pushing her, but always decided against it. I didn't want to distract her, for one thing. She had a lot on her hands and needed to focus, to stay in the role. Also, she had a tendency to get prickly when
she thought I was telling her how to do her job, and, although I wouldn't have admitted it, Dox's comments about 'micro-management' had stung a little. Anyway, there was nothing I could tell her that she didn't already know.
I cracked my neck and bounced on my toes to stay limber. I'd been out here longer than I'd first expected, and it was cold.
In my ear Delilah said, 'It's hot in here.'
My heart froze. I felt blood draining away from the skin on my face and hands.
'Fuck!' I said. 'I'm on my way.' I sprinted along the west side of the building, the night-vision goggles dancing around my neck.
Dox said, 'I'm coming, too.'
'No, stay put! Cover me at the entrance, I'm going in the front.'
'But…'
'Don't argue with me, just do it!'
There was no time to think, but I was aware on some level of just how much danger she must have been in to call for help. Danger I had put her in. And the comforting, back-of-my-mind notion I'd been carrying around, that at least if I died here it would end the threat to Midori and my son, was useless now. Killing myself in front of Yamaoto would do nothing to save Delilah.
I cut right onto the street that led to the front path. The two valets were standing there as Delilah had described in her briefing, watching me approach.
'Drop the valets,' I said. 'Now.'
If there had been another way, I would have used it. But I wasn't going to waste one second getting to Delilah. And I couldn't take a chance on these two using their lapel transmitters to warn anyone of what was coming.
The near valet's head erupted and he slid to the ground. The other guy didn't even have time to register surprise before he was down, too.
I pulled out the Benchmade Dox had given me and thumbed it open without slowing down at all. I leaned over one of the bodies, cut the cord around his neck, and took his magnetic keycard.
I put the knife back in my pocket. My mind was screaming for me to get inside, but I needed just one more second. My hand shaking, I pulled out my cell phone and hit the speed dial I had created for Tatsu's man in the substation.
He answered on the first ring. 'Hai.'
'You ready to cut the power?' I asked, in Japanese.
'Yes, I'm ready.'
'Do it exactly thirty seconds from now. Got it?'
'I'm looking at my watch,' he said. 'Twenty-nine, twenty-eight…'
I closed the phone and dropped it back in my pocket. I took two deep breaths, in and out, in and out, and moved up the path toward the front entrance.
40
Yamaoto seized Delilah by the wrist and stood, pulling her halfway out of her seat and across the table. His grip was hellishly strong. He brandished the earpiece and shouted, 'What's this? What's this?'
'C'est un appareil!' she screamed. 'A hearing aid, you
Pig!'
'Why did you say, "It's hot in here"? Why did you say
that?'
Big Liu and Kuro seemed horrified by Yamaoto's behavior. Maybe it was a hearing aid, they might be thinking, see, that explains her conversational difficulties, it wasn't just a language problem…
Yamaoto grabbed the halter top again and pulled. Delilah got her hand over the transmitter and pulled back — too hard. The fabric tore, and the transmitter detached. She heard it fall to the ground.
Yamaoto shouted, 'Where's Rain? Tell me, you whore, where is he!'
Delilah, staying in character, used her free hand to hold up what was left of the dress and screamed, 'Aidez-moi! Somebody help me, please!'
The bodyguards had all surrounded the table. Their guns were out now, but they were confused. They didn't know whether to focus on the table, on somewhere else in the club, or on one another.
Delilah looked around. Everyone in the club was watching, trying to see what was going on. About half of them were out of their seats.
Big Liu stood. 'Yamaoto…' he started to say.
'Shut up!' Yamaoto yelled. Then he looked around, too, and seemed for the first time to understand the commotion he was causing. He turned to Kuro and barked something in Japanese. Delilah had a feeling she knew what it was: he wanted to take her somewhere he could control better, where he could get rough and get the information he wanted without frightening the patrons.
She made no move for the knife on her thigh. She was boxed in now and it wouldn't do her any good. When they tried to take her somewhere else, though, there would be an opening, and she was going to cut right through it.
Yamaoto still had her by the wrist. He said to Big Liu, 'Get out of the way.'
Big Liu made no move to comply. He said, 'Bad business you do. This is nice girl. You very rude man.' He called to his associate, who got up and ran over.
More of the patrons and hostesses were getting nervously to their feet. A few had started backing toward the swinging doors. Delilah thought she heard a woman scream from near the front entrance, but the sound was faint and she wasn't sure.
Yamaoto, obviously making an effort to calm himself, said, 'This nice girl is a danger, as you'll see in a moment. Now, if you'll just…'
And then the lights went out.
41
I followed the path along its right turn and headed straight to the doors, the keycard in my right hand, night-vision goggles in my left, the HK in the thigh rig. I imagined the hostesses were watching me now through the wall camera, trying to figure out, Who's this guy in the suit? Why don't we recognize him? The security guy would be standing by the entrance, his alertness level low as long as the door was closed.
I strode up the stairs, my heart hammering. I moved directly to the magnetic card reader and swiped the card in front of it. There was a clack inside the door as the lock disengaged. I slipped the card into my jacket pocket and took out the HK. I held the gun behind my back as the door swung open.
The security guy was right there, just inside the entrance. He frowned when he saw me — obviously, when the door had opened in the absence of the buzzer, he'd been expecting one of the valets. As I stepped past him he said, 'Oi!' Hey!
I glanced left, absurdly aware of some sort of techno music playing in the background. There, the other security guy. I tracked right. The hostesses were staring open-mouthed, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. There was another guy behind them, a valet, from his appearance, just as Delilah had described in her briefing.
The first security guy said, 'Oi!' again and started coming toward me. Clearly he had misunderstood the nature of the threat. He must have thought he was dealing with a party crasher or something, someone who would be intimidated by a tough-guy stare and a little woofing. Then he noticed my hand behind my back. His eyes widened and he reached inside his jacket.
I brought up the HK and put two rounds in his chest and another in his head. Everything was quiet: just three pfffts, then the sound of his body hitting the floor.
I tracked to the second security guy. His eyes were bugging out and he was groping under his jacket. I dropped him with a single head shot.
I looked around again. The hostesses were frozen, obviously in shock. Likewise the valet.
Then the lights went out. The music stopped. The club was suddenly, eerily silent.
One of the hostesses screamed in the dark. I pulled on the goggles and moved through the swinging doors into the main room.
I didn't know where Delilah was. And I had only two minutes of darkness to find her.
42
The moment the lights went out, Delilah dropped the halter top and reached under her dress. She slid her fingers into the Hideaway grip, pulled the knife free from its sheath, and slashed Yamaoto across the forearm. The razor-sharp blade parted skin and muscle like water and sliced down to the bone. He howled in the darkness and released her wrist.
She shoved Big Liu hard and he spilled out of the booth and into the bodyguards. She felt Yamaoto grabbing for her and slashed him again. There were shouts and cries of confusion from all over the room now, the sounds of people st
umbling into one another and cursing in the dark.
She crouched on the bench and walked to the edge of it, then dropped down. She started edging along the wall.
Then someone grabbed her ankle, and she was falling.
43
The scene through the green light of the goggles was like something out of a George Romero movie: scores of people stumbling in all directions, expressions fearful, arms splayed in front of them, bumping into one another and crying out in the dark.
I moved to the right, my head swiveling in sync with the front sight of the gun. The near panic in the room was palpable. Things felt one step away from a stampede.
I kept my back to the wall and kept moving to the right, toward the private rooms. That was my best guess for where Delilah had first joined Yamaoto.
I reached the corner of the room and started moving forward. Here and there small flares of light were appearing as the relatively cool-headed took out lighters and turned on cell phones. Come on, come on, I thought. I was running out of time.
I reached the first private room and tried the door. It swung open. Empty.
From somewhere in front of me, I heard a man shout in Japanese, 'The emergency exit is stuck!'
A woman cried out, 'What if there's a fire?'
And that was all it took. Everyone charged, mostly toward the front, but some, disoriented in the dark, went the wrong way and collided with the others. People tripped and fell over one another. The ones on the ground, their faces kicked and fingers stepped on, started screaming, and the screams fed the panic.
I heard Dox in my ear. 'You all right, man? Delilah, can you talk?'
'I'm good, I'm in,' I said, moving. 'Stay put., Cover the entrance.'
'Roger that,' he said. There was nothing from Delilah.
I made it to the second private room. Empty, like the first.