The Quest for the Fuji Cipher (A Richard Halliburton Adventure Book 4)

by Garrett Drake

  Chapter 12

  RICHARD PLANNED TO MEET Hisako for lunch near the embassy. However, he needed to shake the two detectives following him. Hisako had given him some ideas on how exactly to do that.

  Two blocks from the designated restaurant, Richard entered an acupuncture clinic. He was greeted by a doctor in a white robe who introduced himself at Hideyo Tezuka. Richard scanned the waiting area, which was decorated with nature sketches and consisted of three chairs up against the far wall.

  “Do you speak English?” Richard asked.

  Tezuka, his hair bunched in a tight bun, nodded. “Wait one moment while I prepare your treatment.” He motioned for Richard to sit down.

  Before Tezuka returned, the two detectives entered the clinic and sat in the empty seats next to Richard. He smiled politely at the men but didn’t say anything.

  When Tezuka returned, he said something to the men in Japanese before looking at Richard and inviting him to enter the back room. A pair of women smiled at Richard as he entered the treatment area. One tried to take his coat, but he drew back, refusing to allow her to help him.

  “I need your help,” Richard said. “I’m not really here for acupuncture.”

  “I know,” Tezuka said. “Hisako told me. But we need this to be as realistic as possible if you want this to work.”

  Tezuka nodded knowingly at the women. One took Richard’s coat, while the other directed him to the table. She unbuttoned his shirt and gently leaned him back.

  “Please turn over,” Tezuka said.

  Richard embraced adventure and had heard plenty about this ancient Japanese art, but needles weren’t something he was fond of. And when he saw Tezuka grab a fistful of them, Richard’s breathing grew shallow.

  “You’re not going to stick those in me, are you?” he asked as he turned on his side.

  Tezuka held up a needle and studied it. “This is what acupuncture is all about. If we’re going to make this realistic, I’m going to make you scream. Now, please lie on your stomach.”

  “Isn’t there another way to do this?” Richard asked.

  The two women massaged his back while gently pushing him onto his stomach.

  “Is this going to hurt, doc?” he asked.

  “Of course not,” Tezuka said before jamming the first needle into Richard.

  He screamed as the first one pierced his skin.

  The women giggled, but Richard wasn’t amused. “Come on, doc. This isn’t necessary.”

  “Aren’t you writing a book on Japan?” Tezuka asked. “Don’t you want to tell readers about Japanese traditions?”

  “Yes, but I want to live to tell about them,” Richard said. “It feels like my entire body is on fire.”

  “That will soon change,” Tezuka said as he guided another needle into Richard’s back.

  This process continued for several minutes—Tezuka easing a needle into Richard while he begged for the doctor to stop. Eventually, Richard resigned himself to his fate, and strangely enough, the pain dissipated.

  After ten minutes, Tezuka pulled up a chair next to the table and crouched down so he could get eye level with Richard.

  “How are you feeling?” Tezuka asked.

  “Weird, but better,” Richard said. “What kind of magic is this?”

  “The kind that will heal your entire body,” Tezuka said before dropping his voice to a whisper. “I’m going to remove the needles, and I want you to be silent. When I am finished, I will help you up and lead you to our back exit into the alley. These procedures can last as long as an hour, and that should give you more than enough time to escape.”

  Tezuka then stood and initiated the process of taking out all the needles. When he was finished, Richard felt better, as if the past week of sleeping on hard surfaces or in awkward positions never happened.

  “Thanks, doc,” Richard said in a hushed tone before handing him a wad of cash three times what Tezuka’s hourly posted rate was.

  Tezuka smiled. “Good luck,” he whispered.

  Richard stole into the tight corridor behind the acupuncture office and headed toward the main street. After winding his way through the streets of Tokyo, he entered the designated restaurant and found Hisako sitting in the back corner just as she had promised. And the detectives who’d been tailing Richard were nowhere in sight.

  “How was Dr. Tezuka?” she asked.

  “Pleasant and painful,” Richard said. “He made me undergo acupuncture for authenticity.”

  “It gets easier the more often you do it.”

  Richard shook his head. “I’m not sure I want to acquire such a tolerance for that.”

  They both ordered and commenced to plotting.

  “So, I made a big promise,” Richard said. “I told the ambassador at the embassy that I would get the cipher back. Are we still going to be able to do that?”

  “If everything goes as planned, it should be a simple mission. First, we find out where it is; then we steal it back.”

  “That’s not a plan. That’s a goal.”

  Hisako nodded. “Sure, but there’s not much use in concocting a plan when you don’t know where the cipher is. Once we know the location, we’ll devise a scheme to steal it.”

  “And how are we going to find out where it is? I was hoping you already knew.”

  “Not yet,” she said. “But I found out from one of my associates that Prince Naruhiko will host a meeting with several other members of the intelligence branch of the Japanese military. And I received confirmation that they will be discussing the cipher.”

  “Will it be there?” Richard asked.

  Hisako shrugged. “Even if it is, we can’t charge into the room and seize it. The men invited tonight will be some of Japan’s finest. Without a meticulous plan, we’ll be captured or killed. That much I can guarantee.”

  “What do you want me to do?” Richard asked.

  “I’ll need your help breaking into the compound where the meeting is scheduled to take place. Once I’m inside, I’ll sneak up to the room, listen to the conversation, and report back to you what I learned. Deal?”

  “Sure,” Richard said. “It’s not like there’s much of a choice for me. My grasp of the Japanese language is a loose one at best.”

  “And did you ask the ambassador about granting me my request?”

  “He’s on board, but we have to get that cipher back in twenty-four hours.”

  “Twenty-four hour? Are you insane? I hope you didn’t promise them that.”

  Richard winced. “Actually, I did.”

  “You’re crazier than you look.”

  “We can do it. We’ll just have to move quickly.”

  “If you say so,” she said.

  Richard smiled and winked at her. “You gotta have a little faith.”

  * * *

  JUST AFTER DARK, Hisako led Richard along a corridor near the heavily guarded compound where Prince Naruhiko held his regular meetings with higher-ups in the Japanese military. She crouched low, staying in the shadows from the streetlamp around the corner of an adjacent building.

  “When I tell you go, I need you to boost me as high as you can so I can reach the top of that wall,” she said.

  “You think you can get up there?” Richard asked.

  “It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve scaled a fortress.”

  “You are aware that if you hadn’t stolen that cipher from me, we wouldn’t have to be doing this,” Richard said.

  “You won’t let me forget. But why don’t we focus on the present?”

  Richard nodded. “Just give me the word.”

  Hisako waited for the two guards near the entrance to turn their attention in the opposite direction. But they didn’t, faithfully holding their gaze along the street that ran in front of the building.

  “We need a distraction,” she said.

  “Coming right up,” Richard said.

  Before she could protest or even ask what he planned to do, Richard hurled two rocks in quick su
ccession toward the other side of the gate. The noise drew the guard’s focus.

  “Good work,” she said. “Let’s go.”

  Hisako and Richard hustled up to the corner of the wall and sprang into action. Backing up a couple strides so she could get momentum, Hisako waited for Richard to form a makeshift step by interlocking his fingers.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  She nodded before exploding into a sprint. After she stepped on his hand, he thrusted her upward. Hisako rose high enough to get her arms well over the wall, gripping the other side and pulling her body flush up against it. She flashed a thumbs up sign to Richard before hurling herself over the edge. For a moment, she hung by her fingertips and scanned the ground beneath her. Satisfied that she wouldn’t be impaled or land on something that would draw the ire of the entire company of men handling security inside, she let go. Her light landing barely made a sound.

  She glanced up at the building in the middle of the compound that towered above the ground. With numerous nooks and crannies to stay in the shadows, she went to work wedging her feet in tight spaces opposite of one another.

  As she glided up the wall, she couldn’t help but think about how easy it was, a far cry from the first time she attempted it under Prince Naruhiko’s watchful eye. He’d recruited her a week earlier to serve as a courier before deciding she could be even more useful. But just as she had seen the prince do so many times before with others, he cast her aside, branding her as a traitor.

  At least that’s what she thought. And she wasn’t interested in verifying that information given how she’d seen the prince follow this same path many times before when he was ready to discard someone.

  Hisako shimmied up to the ledge just beneath the window. A fire crackled across the room, making it a little more difficult to hear the conversation. She peered through the slats in the window, taking account of all the officials in the room: two military commanders as well as Prince Naruhiko and three other intelligence officers.

  “Gentlemen, thank you for joining me tonight,” Naruhiko said in Japanese. “I appreciate everyone taking the time to be here for this emergency discussion. We have a problem, and we need to act quickly.”

  “A few days ago, one of our spies retrieved this from an American on a ship crossing between Russia and Japan,” he continued.

  Hisako couldn’t see the object since she remained out of sight, but she knew exactly what he was talking about, even if he did so only in vague generalities. As she tried to remain in position, she felt her calf muscles burning.

  “Unfortunately, we’ve made the determination that this object has likely been replicated many times over and it would be in our best interest to create a new cipher to distribute and retire this one.”

  “This isn’t an easy process,” one of the commanders said.

  “Of course not,” Naruhiko said. “However, I had the foresight to order the monks at Taiseki-ji to begin crafting us a new one several weeks ago, the moment I learned our cipher had been compromised.”

  “Any idea when it will be ready?” an intelligence officer asked. “We can’t delay in deploying a new code or else our entire communication will be hampered.”

  “I’m going to go to Taiseki-ji’s hidden temple first thing in the morning to see what I can learn,” Naruhiko said.

  Armed with all the information she needed, she slid down the wall and then hustled across the courtyard to where she first came over where Richard had left a rope for her. Tossing it over the side, she waited until she felt a tug, signaling that he was in place. Then she tied it around her waist and climbed up and over.

  Once she reached the other side, she detached from the line and hustled down an alley with Richard. When they stopped, he bombarded her with questions.

  “What’d you find out?” he asked. “Was the cipher with them? Can we get the device back tonight?”

  Hisako caught her breath and sat down. “It’s not good.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The prince is going to Taiseki-ji’s secret monastery to retrieve a new cipher that’s being built and will be deployed to all the spies,” she said.

  Richard furrowed his brow. “Taiseki-ji?”

  “Yes, it’s an ancient Buddhist temple in the foothills of Mt. Fuji.”

  “And what’s so bad about that?”

  “The monks who have helped create the cipher live in a secret temple on Mt. Fuji, closer to the peak.”

  “And how’s that a problem?” he asked.

  “It’s a treacherous journey.”

  “Then how is the prince going to make it?” Richard asked.

  “There are locals who will help him because he’s the prince, but you’re not a native.”

  Richard shook his head. “I can still do it.”

  “It’s a mission destined to end in failure.”

  A wry smile spread across Richard’s face. “Those are my favorite kind.”

  Chapter 13

  RICHARD RUBBED HIS eyes in an effort to diminish the sagging bags caused from a lack of sleep as he strode up to the gates of the American consulate. Aside from already being tired, he could hardly sleep after Hisako relayed what she learned at Prince Naruhiko’s secret intelligence meeting. Richard was going to get the opportunity to climb Mt. Fuji, even if it was perilous or even foolish, according to Hisako.

  Harold Newton sat on the porch that extended the width of the building, puffing on a cigar and rocking in a chair.

  “Is this how you deal with being homesick?” Richard asked.

  Newton stood and shuffled over toward Richard. “What do you mean?”

  “Don’t you have big porches in Mississippi, just like we do in Tennessee?”

  “How did you know that’s where I was from?”

  "I'm in intelligence, sir. Information is my lifeblood."

  Newton grunted. "Right now, your lifeline depends on whether or not you got that cipher back last night."

  Richard sucked a breath through his teeth. “It didn’t go exactly like we thought it would.”

  “Then how did it go?” Newton asked.

  Richard relayed all the important discussion points Hisako had passed along, including the most rage-inducing nugget about the cipher. Mouth agape, Newton stared at Richard.

  “What do you mean the Japanese don’t intend to use the cipher anymore?” Newton asked. “How are they going to communicate?”

  “They’re building a new cipher.”

  Newton removed the cigar from his mouth. “Building one?”

  “According to Hisako, a group of Buddhist monks aid the Japanese intelligence department. And the prince announced that he tasked them to work on this urgent project weeks ago. He’s heading up to a secret monastery today to check on the project.”

  “What temple is that?” Newton asked.

  “Taiseki-ji,” Richard said. “Or rather, Taiseki-ji’s hidden temple. They have a team of master craftsmen who create the cipher from wood who live in the mountain. It’s fascinating from what I understand.”

  Newton puffed on his cigar and slapped Richard on the back. “Well, son, we’re not here to marvel at trinkets a bunch of monks can whip up, especially if it means they pose a threat to our country’s security. Now, I need you to do your best to go get that cipher for Uncle Sam. And if you fail, it’s on you. If you hadn’t lost the thing in the first place, we wouldn’t be in this situation.”

  “I’m aware of how we got here, sir,” Richard said. “I should’ve kept my guard up. But the truth is we have an extraordinary opportunity to steal their cipher before it even reaches offices worldwide.”

  “That’s a big if,” Newton said. “You have to go get it—and not get caught.”

  Richard took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I’m going to make you proud, sir. But there’s just one thing I need.”

  “And what’s that?”

  “I need help from someone who knows how to navigate the mountain.”

  Newton glanc
ed at Ford, who’d just arrived in time to hear the last minute of the conversation.

  “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Ford asked.

  Newton nodded. “Get him Thomas’s information. If anyone can help, he can.”

  Ford scurried off and returned moments later with a piece of paper that had an address scrawled on it.

  “Mr. Thomas Orde-Lees,” Richard read aloud. “Friend of yours?”

  Newton closed one eye and looked skyward, as if searching for how to answer the question. “More like a helpful contact. He’s former British military and has been willing to help us on occasion.”

  “But if you’re going to get him to help you, you’re going to need this as well,” Ford said before tossing a stack of cash to Richard.

  “How much is in here?” he asked as he flipped his thumb along the edge of the bills.

  “Two grand,” Ford said. “That should be enough to get him to help you. But if he’ll do it for less, that would be even better.”

  “And what kind of temperament does this Mr. Lees have?” Richard asked.

  Newton chuckled. “Go see for yourself.”

  * * *

  RICHARD RENDEZVOUSED with Hisako as they went together to the address listed for Thomas Orde-Lees. After a short walk, they approached the steps of the British Embassy.

  “You didn’t tell me we were going to visit a diplomat,” Hisako said.

  “If I knew that, I would’ve told you,” Richard said. “Everyone seemed reluctant to tell me the truth about this man. So, I guess we’ll find out about him together.”

  A guard ushered them onto the grounds before escorting them to Thomas Orde-Lees’s office. He knocked on the door, which flew open. A man with an aviator hat and a cigarette dangling from his lips greeted them with a sneer before walking away without inviting them in. However, he left the door open, an invitation Richard seized.

  “May we come in, sir?” he asked.

  Lees looked over his shoulder and waved the duo inside. “Might as well see what you came here for.”

  He stroked his goatee while studying the parachute spread out across the floor, refusing to initiate any conversation with the visitors. Falling to his knees, he folded the material back and forth while mumbling to himself.