“I fear that someone on my side has compromised the meeting. I am very asha—”
He waved his hand. “We don’t know that for sure, but I agree that the more people are involved, the greater chance that the yakuza is going to find out what we’re planning.” He frowned, trying to think of his next step, when Farnsworth’s computer gave a little ping that indicated an incoming email. Charlie and Kobayashi looked on in silence as Farnsworth clicked the message open.
“She confirmed Lepage is the account holder,” she said, in an animated voice. “She wouldn’t say much more, but it must be a significant account.”
“Why do you say that?” Kobayashi asked.
“Because she refers to him as an NKA,” Farnsworth said. “No questions asked — I think we’ve got our answer.”
Charlie heard footsteps out in the hall and looked with alarm toward Kobayashi. Seeing their fear, Farnsworth went to the door and looked through the peephole.
“It’s just my neighbour, coming home for the day.”
“Well, Lepage’s place is going to be full of people before long,” he said, taking the scrap of paper with the account number written on it and putting it in his pocket with the postcard, as Farnsworth looked on.
“You should delete that email, and leave the apartment. Maybe stay with a friend, or in a hotel.”
“I’m not going to tell anyone if that’s what you —”
“That’s not what’s worrying me,” he said. “You have knowledge that people are willing to kill for, so you don’t want to take any chances.”
Farnsworth turned to the laptop and deleted the email. “I’ll go to a friend’s for the night. I’ll just throw some things in an overnight bag.”
“Are you going to stay and wait for your colleagues?” Kobayashi asked as Farnsworth disappeared down the hall.
“If I don’t manage to convince Kimura that I have something worth trading for Lepage, I have a feeling he’s not going to make it through the night. You stay,” he said. “If you could tell them that you haven’t seen me …”
Kobayashi’s eyes narrowed. “I will not allow you to go to Kimura alone. You don’t know how things work here.”
He met her stare and then smiled. “I was hoping you’d say that. Come on. We’ve got to get out of here.”
She followed him to the door as Farnsworth re-emerged with a leather tote bag.
“Is there a way out the back?” Charlie asked her as they stepped out into the hall. She nodded and pointed to the end opposite from the elevators.
“There’s a service entrance at the back. I’ll show you.”
CHAPTER 37
Kobayashi said something in Japanese and the cab pulled over to let them out in Shibuya. Charlie followed as she led them onto a side street and then into a small, dimly lit bar, where they took a seat in the corner.
“So how do we get in touch with Kimura?” Charlie said as they settled in their seats.
Kobayashi was shaking her head. “I think we need to go above Kimura. We need to talk to Miyamoto.”
Charlie remembered the name, belonging to the man he and Redford had seen with a Nippon Kasuga executive outside Kimura’s club. “Okay, so how do we meet him?”
“Meeting him will be the easy part,” Kobayashi said. A waiter came to their table and she ordered sake. “Convincing him to release Lepage will be more difficult.”
“I give him the account number,” Charlie said, with a shrug. “That’s what he’s after. Obviously, I insist on getting Rob back first.”
She frowned. “If he knows you have the account information, you will be in a very dangerous position. He may well kill you, as well as Lepage. He has to have a reason not to.”
Touché, Charlie thought. He wasn’t keen to be subjected to whatever means the yakuza had at their disposal to make him divulge the account information. He imagined himself in a Yokahama warehouse having his fingers snipped off, one by one. “We have to make it worth his while,” he said. “A sweetener.”
Kobayashi nodded. “Miyamoto is driven by greed, so we must use that against him, but how?” They sat in silence for a moment, then she cocked her head and smiled.
“What?”
“Perhaps instead of a sweetener, as you say, we offer him a … good reason not to kill you, or Lepage.”
“You have something concrete in mind?” he asked, as she leaned forward over the table and lowered her voice.
“Miyamoto is a senior member of the Inagawa-kai,” she said. “They are the largest Tokyo-based gang, but there have been a lot of changes in recent months, with the Yamaguchi-gumi becoming more and more active in Tokyo.”
“And you said they’re not based in Tokyo.”
Kobayashi shook her head. “No, Kobe, but they are much bigger than the Inagawa-kai and they have been expanding, trying to establish themselves outside Japan. The sort of operation that Lepage was involved in is exactly what they are trying to pursue more actively.”
“I take it Miyamoto’s gang is not that receptive to the Yamaguchi-gumi trying to set up shop on their turf.”
She was shaking her head again. “There was a similar attempt to expand into Tokyo a few years ago, and there was much violence. Then it was quiet for a while, but they seem to have renewed their efforts. We have begun to see incidents between the rival gangs in the past few months. Some of my colleagues in the gangs unit thought that Seger’s death might have been related to that struggle. There have been other deaths that are not so easily explained. Both sides are said to be gathering funds and preparing for a war.”
They went quiet while the waiter delivered their sake and poured it into little earthenware cups. Charlie leaned forward over the table after he had left. “So that’s how to play him. Miyamoto has to think that I’m capable not only of refusing to tell him where the five million is, but also of giving it to the Yamaguchi-gumi if he doesn’t give me Lepage. It would be a double loss for him.” He was still thinking it through as he sipped the warm sake. Kobayashi was frowning again.
“There is another problem,” she said.
He knew what she meant — what had been left out of the discussion so far. He nodded. “Even if we get Lepage back, the price will be to hand over millions of stolen money to one criminal gang or another. By the time the authorities catch up, they’ll have cleaned out the account and gotten away.”
“Your embassy will be very angry with you, no?”
“I don’t imagine the Tokyo Police will be too happy with you either, if you go along with some half-baked scheme that gets Lepage back but screws up the fraud investigation.”
“Half-baked?”
He smiled. “Unsanctioned.”
“Ah.” She drank some of her sake. They sat in silence for a while, then she looked at him. “You believe your friend is worth saving, even if the consequences for you are … grave?”
Charlie considered the question and put his cup down on the table. “Whatever he was before, I think he wants to do the right thing now, and I gave him my word I would try to help him.” He frowned. “On the other hand, a lot of people have done a lot of hard work to get the fraud investigation to where it is now. I don’t really want to undermine that either, but we both know that we can’t involve the whole team in our plans, not without risking another leak.”
She smiled. “You must choose, Charlie. Whatever your choice, I will make it with you.”
He watched for a moment as she put her hand on his, then a flicker of a smile appeared on his face and he looked up at her. “Maybe we don’t have to choose, after all.”
CHAPTER 38
Charlie followed Kobayashi’s directions to a side street in Shinjuku and spotted the bar he was looking for, its doorway bookended by two large-framed men in dark suits. He was beginning to wish he had taken Kobayashi up on her offer to accompany him to the meeting, but he knew she had other things to do and, having been the one to drag her into this mess, the least he could do was pull his own weight. Besides, he w
as confident that greed — in this case, the possibility that Charlie had the means to access the considerable funds in the mysterious offshore account — would prevail over all other motives, at least in the short term. It was solid logic, and it had seemed even more so when Kobayashi had given a reluctant nod to his reasoning an hour ago, but he couldn’t help a sinking feeling as he approached the bar and felt the cold stare of the two men at the door. To think that just a couple of months ago he was safely tucked away in a basement cubicle in the Pearson Building writing policy papers no one would ever read. Now, here he was on the threshold of Tokyo’s shadowy underworld.
What the fuck are you doing, Charlie?
A terse command in Japanese from the larger of the doormen brought him out of his uncomfortable reverie and he took a deep breath, remembering why he was here — Rob Lepage.
“I’m here to see Mr. Miyamoto,” he said as the first man scrutinized him, then looked to his partner, who barked something at Charlie which he interpreted loosely as get lost. He stood his ground and added calmly: “Please tell him Charlie Hillier is here to meet him, regarding Rob Lepage.” The nearest man took a step toward him, but Charlie had seen a flash in the other man’s eyes at the mention of Lepage’s name, and he put his arm on his colleague to restrain him, then gave an order and disappeared inside the bar as his partner watched Charlie with a mixture of disdain and curiosity.
A minute later, the other man emerged and waved him inside. Charlie followed him into a dimly lit bar with throbbing music reverberating through the smoke-filled room, its tables occupied mostly by men in dark suits. Women in revealing tops and tight-fitting skirts shuttled between the tables with drinks. Charlie found himself under a series of watchful stares as he followed the doorman to the rear of the club with a corner booth in a semi-circle around a glass table. A man in his fifties sat alone at the table, and Charlie recognized his sharp features and grey-streaked hair immediately. A tall man with a scar on his left cheek seemed to be standing guard next to the booth. He stepped forward at their approach, exchanging a quick word with the doorman before ordering him away and motioning for Charlie to sit.
“Welcome, Mr. Hillier,” the seated man said. Charlie bowed and took a seat while Scarface looked on.
“Mr. Miyamoto.”
“I am surprised to see you here,” Miyamoto said, sipping his drink. “There are some parts of Tokyo that are dangerous for gaijin.”
“I’m here about Rob Lepage.”
Miyamoto smiled. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“As I’m sure you know, there was supposed to be a meeting tonight with Ms. Kimura and Mr. Lepage, but it seems that things have changed.” Miyamoto said nothing, just eyed Charlie in silence until he continued. “So I came directly to you to propose an alternate arrangement.”
“And what arrangement is that?” Miyamoto’s manner was offhand, but Charlie sensed that it concealed an underlying interest.
“Things have gotten complicated, with so many people involved from all sides,” Charlie said. “I’d like to simplify them. For you, and for me. I know why you’re holding Rob and I know what you want from him. I’m prepared to give it to you.”
Miyamoto smiled again, showing small, white teeth. “I think perhaps you are mistaken Mr. Hillier, about many things.”
Charlie shook his head. “I have the account number you’re looking for, and I’m prepared to give it to you, but only in exchange for Lepage.” Miyamoto’s smile vanished and he took on a different expression, one that made Charlie see how he had risen to the position he had. It was sheer menace. Charlie tried his best to ignore it and continue with his pitch. “Tonight at midnight, the temple at Asakusa. You bring Lepage and I’ll bring the account information.”
“What makes you think you’re in a position to demand anything of me?” Miyamoto finally said.
“Because I know how much you want access to that account. Besides, I’m not involved in all of this — I’m an outsider, on the fringes, and killing me will only cause you problems in the long run.” He paused as Miyamoto listened in silence. “Bad for business,” Charlie added, managing a smile.
Miyamoto sat back in his seat, as though reclining with a book — perfectly comfortable and in control. “It’s an interesting proposal, Mr. Hillier,” he said. “I cannot accept it of course, as I have no idea of Mr. Lepage’s whereabouts.” Charlie searched his face for some unspoken message, but saw nothing, then Miyamoto threw him an inquisitive look. “Where’s your girlfriend, Mr. Hillier? I’m surprised that she would let you put yourself in this most dangerous position.”
Charlie was quick with another affected smile, to display a confidence he definitely lacked. “She’s watching my back.”
Miyamoto let out a little laugh, but Charlie thought he detected a slight recoil, and there was definitely a quick glance to the scarred man, but he couldn’t see any response.
“Well, Mr. Hillier, I am grateful that you would think of me for your proposal, but I must refuse. And if you will forgive me, I have other business to attend to.”
Charlie stood and gave a quick bow. “I appreciate your time.”
“Be careful, Mr. Hillier. Shinjuku can be dangerous.”
“Thanks for the warning,” he said. With that, he was on his way back to the front door, under the same succession of watchful gazes. He stepped out into the street and drew a deep breath of cool night air as he walked away from the club, back toward the main street nearby, wary of anything in his peripheral vision. He had barely gained the other side of the street when he turned to see the man with the scar approaching. He tensed for a confrontation, but the other man stopped a few feet away and spread his hands in a gesture of peace.
“Midnight at Asakusa,” he said, before turning back toward the club, as Charlie breathed again and hurried toward the safety of the crowds on the main street just a few feet beyond.
CHAPTER 39
Charlie descended the stairs into Shinjuku Station, dropped a few hundred yen into the machine and waited for his ticket. His pulse was still racing from the encounter with Miyamoto, and the walk to the station in the cold evening air had done nothing to staunch the sheen of sweat on his forehead. He grabbed up the ticket and made his way to the turnstiles, scanning the overhead signs for the Marunouchi Line as he slid his ticket into the reader. He hurried to the escalator and joined the mass of humanity headed down to platform level, where his train was waiting. Installing himself in a corner near the door, he looked at the map and confirmed he had five stops to go. He didn’t bother with his phone — there was no reception in the Metro, and he was glad for a few minutes to catch his breath. The meeting with Miyamoto had gone as well as could be expected. All he could do now was hope that he showed up at Asakusa.
Taro Furuno stood at the opposite end of the car, content to join the studious avoidance by everyone else of direct eye contact with the foreigner at the far end of the crowded car. But while he might appear to be focused on the doors of the subway car, Furuno had the gaijin square in his sights. The man was either stupid or endowed with balls of steel, Furuno thought, to venture onto the Inagawa-kai’s turf and start making demands. As the car braked, Furuno twisted himself away from an adjacent passenger, who had pressed up against the side where his razor-sharp knife lay concealed in its sheath. He scowled at the elderly man, who averted his eyes after he took in Furuno’s stature and icy eyes. Furuno kept his own eyes on the doors as they opened and closed — the foreigner staying put in his corner, oblivious to the fact that he was being watched.
Furuno suppressed a smile at the shock the gaijin would get when he found himself confronted with the Inagawa-kai’s most feared enforcer. The hapless bureaucrat would give up his secret quickly enough, or take it to his grave.
CHAPTER 40
Charlie started moving toward the doors as the automated female voice announced Akasaka-mitsuke Station as the next stop. Emerging from the station, he pulled out his phone and headed north, crossing Ao
yama-dori and pausing at the end of the crosswalk to check the message from Kobayashi: You have a tail. I’m right behind. Proceed to rendezvous. Don’t look back.
He slid his phone back into his jacket pocket and set off over the bridge, fighting the urge to glance back over his shoulder. He had to trust that Kobayashi could close the gap in time if need be. Arriving at the familiar entrance — he had stayed at the New Otani Hotel until his apartment was ready, and was familiar enough with the attached shopping mall on the concourse level — he made his way to the escalator leading to the Garden Tower. As he reached the top, he glanced at the mirrored glass and caught a glimpse of a tall man stepping onto the escalator at the bottom. He didn’t dare risk eye contact, so he couldn’t be sure, but he thought he recognized the man from the Metro. As he walked down the carpeted hallway leading to the hotel, Charlie realized he had seen no sign of Kobayashi below, but then she wouldn’t be so close as to give herself away. He pulled out his phone and was comforted to see she had texted again: Remain calm. I’m right behind you.
He breathed a sigh of relief and continued along the hallway of the massive hotel, passing by a row of closed shops on the right whose windows displayed the sort of designer menswear, luggage, and jewellery that he could only afford in another life. The muted clink of china and glassware from the restaurant to the left competed with the soft classical background music as patrons dined overlooking manicured gardens beyond massive windows.
At the end of the restaurant, Charlie took a hard left, down a ramp that led to a door to the outside, and a set of steps down into the garden. Apart from a solitary smoker standing by an ashtray, the open part of the garden was empty. Charlie continued toward the red bridge leading over a large pond, its red spans adorned by strips of light that reflected in the water below. He had strolled the gardens a couple of times during the day, and while the gravel paths were lit by floodlights every few feet, the serene calm of the daytime experience was replaced with a rather eerie feel now. Arriving at the bridge, he paused by a wooden bench and texted Kobayashi, then carried on, with a casualness that was in stark contrast to the anxiety he felt as he approached the darker part of the gardens beyond the bridge.
Remember Tokyo Page 28