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

by Garrett Drake

  “What are you trying to say?” Richard asked.

  “I know who you are and what you are trying to do,” Saichō said. “And while you may think it’s noble, your deceit grieves me and has brought an unwelcome spirit into our sacred temple.”

  Richard slid to his left in an attempt to create some space between the two men. He was about to respond when he noticed Bhodi ease up behind Saichō.

  “I’m sorry,” Bhodi mouthed.

  Richard glared at Bhodi. “How could you do this?”

  “How could he do this?” Saichō asked before he poked Richard in the chest. “You are the one who shielded the truth about why you are here.”

  “I’ve never lied to you,” Richard said.

  Saichō scoffed. “Writing an article on Buddhism and Japan? You only sought refuge here when you were threatened with your life. And you thought you could just come in here and pretend like you were our friend when you had sinister plans all along.”

  “I’m not sure I understand,” Richard said, holding to his story as long as possible.

  “Give me your bag,” Saichō said.

  “What?” Richard said, tightening his grip on the straps.

  “You heard me,” Saichō said before glancing over his shoulder at Bhodi, who wrapped his hand around his dagger.

  “Fine,” Richard said. He handed his pack to Saichō.

  The priest put the bag on the ground and knelt next to it, rifling through the contents.

  “What are you searching for?” Richard asked. “I swear I didn’t take anything from your temple here. I would never do that.”

  Richard craned his neck to see what Saichō was searching for. He grabbed every journal, flipping through the pages.

  “What are you looking for?” Richard asked. “I didn’t take anything.”

  After a few tense moments, Saichō pulled his hand out of the bag, holding up his fist triumphantly.

  “This is what I was looking for,” he declared.

  Richard swallowed hard, hoping that what was in Saichō’s hand wasn’t what he feared.

  “This,” Saichō said, revealing a small object wrapped in cloth.

  Richard sighed in relief, though it was only temporary.

  Instead of being killed now, I’ll be killed later.

  “I’m sorry,” Bhodi said. “I didn’t want to get you in trouble, but I thought more about what I’d done, and I just could let a poor soul be desecrated in that way.”

  Richard closed his eyes and shook his head. “I was only trying to help.”

  Saichō stood. “And so was Bhodi, but then his conscience got the best of him and he realized how disrespectful this was to the deceased. Would you want someone dismembering you after your death?”

  “I don’t imagine I’ll care very much then,” Richard said with a shrug.

  “Then you learned nothing while you were here. Before you go, I forbid you from ever writing about us, and I banish you from returning to any of our houses of worship. You have defiled this temple and enticed one of our fellow brothers to join you in a disgraceful act.”

  Richard placed his hands together in a gesture of prayer. “Please, I didn’t know. I never meant to harm anyone. I was only trying to save Bhodi.”

  “Bhodi will have to atone for his own sins,” Saichō said. “He doesn’t need your help.”

  “Whatever you do, please don’t blame him. It’s my fault.”

  Saichō waved dismissively with the back of his hand at Richard. “We’ll deal with Bhodi’s punishment in whatever way we see fit. But I urge you to leave now before word of this reaches members of the council.”

  “Of course,” Richard said as he bowed his head.

  Richard flung his pack over his shoulder and hustled down the hallway and through the gates. Saichō shuffled behind him, ushering him outside.

  The sun peeked over the horizon in the distance, illuminating the eastern side of Mt. Fuji. A cold wind nipped at Richard’s extremities, stealing whatever bit of warmth he’d had inside the mountain.

  Both men stopped and took in the scene.

  “Glorious view, isn’t it?” Saichō said.

  Richard eyed him cautiously. “Sure is.”

  “Enjoy it because it’ll be the last time you see it. If I ever see you around here again, we’ll deal far more harshly with you.”

  Lines creased Richard’s forehead. “I thought you were all about peace.”

  “We are,” Saichō sneered. “And we’re all about keeping it too. Now I suggest you run along so you have enough time to make the descent today. It looks like another storm is headed this way.”

  Richard returned to the path that led him to the monastery. However, he stopped and looked back to see that Saichō was gone.

  Finally alone, Richard sat on a rock and contemplated his next steps. While he wanted to go down the familiar route, he considered his immediate future, which was sure to include a clash with the samurais. That wasn’t his preference. Without proof of Bhodi’s death, Richard needed to plot a different way off the mountain, anything to avoid dying at the hands of vengeful warriors.

  He ventured around the edge of the mountain and peered at the route along the eastern side. That route was supposedly far more difficult to climb up or down. But he didn’t care.

  Richard cinched his straps, pulling them tight on his shoulders before he stopped and glanced upward.

  If I hurry, I can make it to the top.

  Richard checked his watch. At two minutes before 7:00 a.m., he figured he’d have just enough time to reach the summit before heading back down, and going in a route that would avoid the samurais.

  Richard put on his boots and began the climb. Despite windier conditions closer to the top, he soldiered on. After two hours, he proclaimed victory as he reached the summit. He raised his hands to celebrate and was knocked over by a strong gust. He managed to regain his footing and proceeded to pack for the journey home after grabbing a quick picture from the top.

  The return trip was more treacherous than the ascent. After the storm, the ice had hardened overnight, making digging his spikes into the thick surface more challenging than ever. And small slips became harrowing, as he sometimes slid ten or fifteen feet down the mountain before managing to get a foothold.

  After four hours, he stopped to take a break. His legs ached from the pressure he put them under while heading downward. While it was almost 3:00 p.m., Richard could tell from how low the sun hung in the sky that he didn’t have much time. He drank some water before resuming his descent.

  At 4:30 p.m., he considered that he had at least an hour or more remaining. He also figured that most of that would need to be done in the dark, a none-too exciting prospect.

  He came to a small plateau and sat down for another short break. With his toes already numb, Richard now couldn’t feel his face. Spending the night on the side of Mt. Fuji would surely prove disastrous, if not fatal. That thought spurred him to leap to his feet and continue along.

  However, the creaking of ice made him stop and turn around to find the source. When he did, he saw the samurai warriors fanning out to form a semicircle around him. As Richard walked backward in an effort to stay away from them, they closed in around him. After a few more steps, he realized that there wasn’t anywhere else for him to go. He peered behind him, glancing over his shoulder at the landscape that seemed to disappear into the burgeoning night.

  “Mr. Halliburton,” Hattori Mitsunari said, his weapon drawn, the tip pointed at Richard, “did you think we wouldn’t find you?”

  Richard stopped and glared at Mitsunari. “I will not be held captive by you.”

  Mitsunari threw his head back and laughed, joined by all the men who were with him after translating Richard’s statement.

  “Did you think I didn’t meant what I said earlier?” Mitsunari asked. “When I said if you didn’t bring us proof that you murdered Bhodi, we would make sure you took his place? So, where’s the evidence?”

&nbs
p; Richard held up his right hand and then sank to the ground. “Just a minute, I have it for you, but I have to retrieve it in my bag.

  Richard sifted through his backpack. He caught Mitsunari staring out across the horizon before glancing back at Richard digging through his things.

  “I know it’s in here somewhere,” Richard said. “Just give me a minute.”

  The longer Richard’s exercise in stalling went, the more restless Mitsunari became. “Mr. Halliburton, we’re running out of daylight. And you’re running out of time. Now show me something before I have to assume that you’re lying.”

  “What I’m looking for is in here,” Richard said. “I just know it.”

  “What are you doing?” Mitsunari asked. “Do you intend to fight all of us? I can promise you that such an effort will not end well.”

  Before Mitsunari could say another word, a wry smiled spread across Richard’s face.

  Then he took off running away from the other soldiers. As he neared the edge, he took a flying leap into the dusky sky.

  Chapter 20

  RICHARD CLOSED HIS EYES and tried to remember everything Thomas Orde-Lees had explained about how to operate a parachute while jumping off a stationary object. Don’t wait too long before deploying your chute.

  The wind seared Richard's face as he dove toward the bottom. Tears welled in his eyes as he zoomed toward the earth. Richard counted in his head before tugging hard on the string.

  In an instant, the blast of air that had been assaulting his face stopped, providing him with a much-needed respite. His body jerked upward before continuing a new trajectory that included a much slower descent. The wind swung him around, giving him a view of the mountain. Looking halfway up, he saw the samurais standing on the ledge of the plateau and shaking their weapons.

  Richard smiled and gave them a taunting wave. For the first time in days, he wasn’t worried about maintaining his cover in a monastery full of monks working for the enemy or fulfilling his assignment to sword-wielding warriors. Instead, he basked in the grandeur of the moment, drinking in the last few minutes of twilight before darkness enveloped the land.

  He hit the ground hard but remembered Lees’s instruction to immediately roll in order to absorb the impact. Despite the jarring landing, Richard hopped to his feet, feeling fine as ever. Working quickly, he gathered up the parachute and stuffed it into his pack.

  While he was scrambling to wad up his chute, he didn’t notice the small group of people who stared at him in awe. A man stood outside a bus and shouted at the crowd, motioning for them to come to him. Slowly, each man and woman peeled their eyes away from Richard and trudged toward the bus. Upon not seeing any other transportation options, he followed after them.

  “Can I get a ride back to Tokyo?” Richard asked. “I can pay.”

  The driver didn’t understand and scowled as he studied Richard up and down. After waving him off, the driver turned to leave. Richard, fearing that he might get stranded, grabbed the man’s arm with one hand. In the other, Richard jangled a purse full of yens. That was a sound the man understood. He quickly held out his hand before relenting and inviting Richard to board.

  Richard navigated his way through the crowded bus before taking the last remaining seat on the end, three rows from the back. He sat in silence as he felt the entire bus full of people staring at him, shooting fire at him. The bus sputtered as the driver wheeled it around the parking lot and navigated to the main road. They traveled several miles before anyone spoke. But when they finally did, he was pleasantly surprised.

  “What is that contraption?” the man asked.

  Richard looked at the man and smiled. “It’s called a parachute. Have you ever seen one of these before?”

  The man shook his head. “Not in person. I’ve read about them and seen pictures of them, but never witnessed one in use.”

  His grasp of the English language put Richard at ease. “Where did you learn to speak such fluent English?”

  “I know I may look like most Japanese, but my mother was an American,” he said.

  Richard cocked his head to one side. “Fascinating. How did your parents meet?”

  “They met in San Francisco while he was in port after serving on a shipping vessel. She was the cook at their boarder house. They fell in love, and she moved back to Tokyo with him. And, as they say, the rest is history.”

  Richard shook his head. “It’s an amazing world we live in, isn’t it?”

  The man nodded in agreement. “What were you doing up there this afternoon?”

  “I hiked to the summit of Mt. Fuji,” Richard said.

  The man chuckled. “You’re quite a rascal with that tale.”

  Richard shrugged. “Believe me or not, but earlier today I was at the top. If I could show you these pictures, I would. But I have to get them developed.”

  “It’s far too dangerous to reach the top of Mt. Fuji in the winter. No one has ever made done that.”

  “Until today,” Richard said, flashing a wide grin. “Of course, that was only half as challenging as escaping a band of samurai warriors.”

  The man shifted in his seat. “Did you fight your way out?”

  “That’s what the parachute was for.”

  “You’re a smart man. They would’ve carved you up.”

  Richard nodded. “Especially since I didn’t have anything to fight them with.”

  “If you try to play their game, you will regret it. But if you can take another escape route, you’ll have a chance.”

  “Sounds like you have some personal experience with them.”

  “Once,” the man said. “A long time ago.”

  “And how did you avoid getting killed?”

  “The legend of suzumebachi.”

  “Suzumebachi?” Richard asked, his eye widening. “Who’s that?”

  Several people sitting nearby started chuckling, making Richard wonder if more people knew English than he suspected. He scanned the smiling faces and then cracked a faint smile.

  “What? Was it something I said?”

  “Suzumebachi isn’t a person. It’s an insect. In America, you call it a hornet. But here, we call it a suzumebachi with one major difference.”

  “And what’s that?” Richard asked.

  “It’s poisonous and quite lethal.”

  Richard, seeing an opportunity to include this story in his article, pulled out his journal and started taking notes. “So, there’s a legend around this bug?”

  “In a manner of speaking, yes. The ancient samurais revered the suzumebachi. At some point, warriors began using them as a test to determine if their enemies were lying. If someone survived a suzumebachi bite, they were seen as someone who was to be trusted and freed. The process became known as the ‘Suzumebachi Test’. If you were captured and demanded to be given the test and survived it, you were set free.”

  “Sounds like it’s somewhat similar to the pirate version of parlay,” Richard said.

  The man nodded. “However, there is some danger involved since they aren’t required to release you. But more often than not, they do since the insect usually doesn’t inject a person with enough poison to kill them.”

  “How does the poison kill?”

  “I’ve never seen it happen, but I’ve heard that your breathing passageways are blocked and you suffocate to death, as if someone is choking you.”

  Richard shuddered. “Sounds awful.”

  “That’s why the suzumebachi are both feared and revered. Many Buddhist traditions discourage killing any insects, so they thrive and kill people here every year.”

  “Thank you for the lesson,” Richard said as he tucked his journal back into his bag.

  “Yes, so next time you run into samurais and don’t have a parachute, you can demand to be put to the Suzumebachi Test.”

  “I’m not sure that sounds like a great direction to go.”

  “Better than sure death,” the man said. He leaned over and spoke in a hushed tone. “A
nd they’re not nearly as lethal as everyone makes them out to be. But don’t say that too loud or people will get upset.”

  Richard nodded knowingly before settling in for the rest of the ride back to Tokyo.

  When the bus finally came to a stop near the city center, Richard threw his pack over his shoulder and then hustled down the steps. He recognized the location, which was only a few blocks from his hotel.

  As he rounded the corner leading to his hotel, someone tugged on Richard’s collar, pulling him backward.

  “Hey!” Richard exclaimed as he was released. He stumbled in an attempt to regain his balance before finally reaching an upright position. “What’s the meaning of—” Richard said before he froze, recognizing the man in front of him. “Oh, it’s you.”

  Thomas Orde-Lees gave Richard a shove in the chest, pushing him back into the alley. However, the former British soldier didn’t say a word.

  “What’s the meaning of this?” Richard demanded.

  Lees put his index finger to his lips.

  “What is it?” Richard asked in a whisper.

  Lees peered onto the street, looking in both directions before ducking back into the alley.

  “Will you please tell me what’s going on?” Richard asked.

  “You can’t go back to your hotel,” Lees said.

  “Why not?”

  “The Kenpetai is looking for you. They know you’re a spy.”

  Chapter 21

  RICHARD RUBBED HIS FACE and considered the implications. His time in Japan was coming to an abrupt end, while his greatest fear was being realized. Despite his deep patriotism, he didn’t want to die in a Japanese prison somewhere. He always envisioned himself dying on a grand adventure. But caged up only to be shot or hung was not the blaze of glory he preferred when his life had run its course.

  Lees shook Richard. “Hey, man. Are you still with me? Did you hear what I just said?”

  Richard nodded. “I heard you. I’m just trying to think about what this means.”