“Your family…? But the records…” Erika stopped herself as she remembered the phtoographs. “Keiko Izumi? The girls?”
Miyata nodded, staring out the window. “They were orphans. We took them in, gave them a home.”
“Why is there no record of any adoption?”
“Before a child can be adopted, they need legal status. These girls didn’t have that. If we tried to make their adoptions official, they would have been arrested for violating immigration laws.”
“What happened to them?” asked Erika.
“They’re with their mother.”
“Their mother…? Then Keiko Izumi…”
“Her suicide was faked,” said Miyata. “We used connections I’d made through the years in order to craft new identities for both her and the girls. In another year, I was going to join them.”
“And Yoshida knows about this?” asked Erika.
“Shortly after they went into hiding, I discovered a private investigator was looking into my affairs. I don’t know how much he told Yoshida, but I’m sure if they could find any evidence of Keiko and the children, they’d use it against me,” said Miyata. “That computer is the only thing I have to connect me to them.”
“You’re taking a risk by trusting me with all this information,” said Erika. “Why? For what possible reason would you think you could tell me all of this?”
“Because I investigated you and your background,” said Miyata. “I know you’re different from most of the Tokkei.”
“And how do you know that?”
“Your father, for one.”
Erika closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “You knew my father?”
“No, nothing like that,” said Miyata. “But I knew of him. He was a good man.”
“Yeah, so good that he abandoned his wife and child to a life of struggle.”
Miyata gave her a concerned look. His eyes conveyed warmth and sympathy. It was a look Erika hadn’t seen in another person in longer than she could remember.
“Do you really believe that?” he asked.
“It’s not a matter of belief, but fact,” said Erika.
“Your father was a champion of human rights. He died protesting the government. I find it hard to believe that he’d ever abandon anyone. Especially not his own family.”
“Maybe he wasn’t quite the man you imagine,” said Erika.
“Fair enough. But let me ask you a question—why did you enlist?”
Erika gave him an incredulous look. “You’re the second person in as many days to ask me that question.”
“And?”
“I needed the money,” she said.
“That’s what I thought. Based on your psychological evaluations, you aren’t an ideologue. And I’ve also got some personal testimonials.”
“What does that mean?” asked Erika.
Miyata rested his head on the back of his seat and closed his eyes. “You’ll find out soon.”
Erika sighed and looked out her own window. She didn’t recognize where they were and she brought up the map on the console before her. The screen read, “CANNOT LOAD DATA.” She looked back at Miyata.
“What’s going on? Where are we?”
“There’s one more thing I have to show you, Agent Kuroki,” said Miyata. “You see, I’ve been looking for someone like you for a while. Someone I believe I can rely on.”
Erika lunged for Miyata and braced her forearm against his throat. She raised her other hand in a closed fist.
“I may not be armed, but I don’t need to be to kill you.”
Miyata gasped, his eyes bulging in their sockets. He struggled to get the words out. “I—I believe you…”
“So tell me why I shouldn’t kill you right now.”
He gagged, struggling to speak. Erika weakened her grip just enough so he could speak clearly.
“If you kill me, the car will still proceed to its preprogrammed destination. You won’t be able to override it, nor will you be able to escape,” he said. “And once you get where you’re going, I don’t think my associates will be too happy with what you’ve done.”
“Tell me what’s going on.”
“Just sit back and be patient,” said Miyata. “You’ll find out soon enough.”
Erika’s arms tensed. Her training told her she should snap his neck and then try and figure a way out of here. But she had an instinct that he’d been honest with her the whole time. And that was more than she could say about what she’d heard from many others lately, particularly her superiors.
“We’ll do it your way for now,” she said as she sat back in her seat. “But you’re on thin ice.”
20
The taxi finally came to a stop in an underground parking garage. When the doors opened, Erika stepped out and took stock of her surroundings. There didn’t seem to be any other vehicles in the garage. Erika faced Miyata, her fingers curling into fists.
“Okay, you’ve got your chance. Now are you going to tell me what we’re doing here? What do you want with me?”
Lights came on from behind Erika. She turned and saw headlines on her. Two shadows moved in front of the lights, one larger and one much slimmer. The lights died and Erika recognized the two figures.
“Ishiyama? Himiko?”
They both moved closer. Masao folded his arms over his broad chest and Himiko stood with her hands resting on her hips. Erika was still looking between the two of them as if she were trying to determine whether or not they actually stood in front of her.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“Miyata has been leading a resistance group for some time,” said Masao. “In fact, it was the whole reason I joined the Jietai in the first place, to try to work my way up the ladder and get into a position of power.”
“And I’m the one who roped the big guy into this,” said Himiko.
“So that’s what this is all about? You’ve been trying to get me to sign up?” asked Erika.
“You now know what Yoshida and the Ministry are up to. You saw the results of their experiments when you went after Kitano,” said Miyata. “These are gross violations of human rights and we can’t do this on our own.”
“I was keeping tabs on you when we were stationed together overseas. Paying attention to the way you operated, how you acted with the other soldiers and the locals,” said Masao. “Most hafu who enlist try to overcompensate for their foreign blood. But not you. And then when you came to me about needing some help outside the Ministry, I realized we could trust you.”
“And all due respect to Agent Ishiyama, I still wasn’t completely convinced. Hence why I had Himiko meet with you in person,” said Miyata.
“Is that why you contacted me once Himiko brought me to her place?” asked Erika.
“Yeah, I sent a quick message saying I was onboard,” said Himiko.
“That was why I decided we’d meet at Ueno. Speaking with you and seeing that you indeed came alone was everything I needed to know that you are a woman of your word,” said Miyata. “That’s why I’m willing to trust you.”
“What do you expect me to do?” asked Erika. “Rebel against the Tokkei? Start a revolution?”
“A revolution isn’t that simple and if we blow your cover, then we’d lose a valuable resource, now wouldn’t we?” asked Miyata. “Trying to launch a revolt against the entire government would just result in instant defeat. They’d bring the full force of the Jietai and the Tokkei down upon us and we’d be crushed. We need a scalpel, not a shotgun.”
“How do we do that?” asked Erika.
“If we released the documents we’ve got, that alone wouldn’t be enough,” said Himiko. “Most people wouldn’t bother reading through all that and they wouldn’t be reported on. But if we had some actual footage of what was happening and broadcast that across the internet, it’d be hard to ignore. There would have to be a response.”
Erika glanced at Himiko. “And how do you expect to get that?”
“
You were tasked with investigating Kitano’s men,” said Masao. “But I checked the reports and you wrote that they were a dead end. Was that true?”
“I found one of them—Takahashi—and confronted him,” said Erika.
“And what did you learn?” asked Miyata.
“He told me what you did and also said there’s an island where the successful subjects are taken,” said Erika.
“That island’s where we can get what we need. We can document on video what’s been done,” said Himiko. “But we haven’t been able to find out where it is.”
“Kuroki, did he give any indication of where that island might be?” asked Masao.
Erika sighed and nodded. “More than that. He told me the name of the island.”
“Seriously?” asked Himiko. “We’ve been trying to figure that out and he just told you straight-up?”
“Did you check it out?” asked Masao.
Erika shook her head. “I wanted to, but Hiro—Agent Yoshida confronted me about it. He said the investigation was over and that I should report that Takahashi was a dead end.”
“We need to get someone on that island,” said Himiko. “Get footage of what’s being done to these people and broadcast the shit out of it.”
“Which island is it, Agent Kuroki?” asked Miyata.
“Hachijo-kojima,” said Erika.
Miyata looked to Himiko next. “Does that fit with any of your research?”
“I never found any mention of any Yoshida holdings on that island,” said Himiko. “But that’s not unusual. They might have it hidden away in some shell companies.”
“Or maybe it’s not a Yoshida holding. Could be government,” said Masao. “But there’s no doubt something that sensitive will be well-guarded. Getting in won’t be easy.”
“But can you do it?” asked Miyata.
Masao took a deep breath and tilted his head back in thought. “I really don’t know. Even with Himiko in my ear on tech support, this is gonna be an uphill climb.”
Miyata turned his gaze from Masao to Erika. Soon, both Masao and Himiko’s eyes also fell on her. Erika met each of their stares, beginning to sense what they were hinting at. And in response, she shook her head.
“You can’t be serious,” she said. “All due respect, but as skilled as Ishiyama is, he can’t break into some kind of island installation.”
“Not even with you by his side?” asked Miyata.
Erika shook her head. “Not at all. Maybe if we had our Tokkei armor, but that’s not an option.”
“Why not?” asked Masao.
Erika’s eyes bulged as she heard his response. “Please don’t tell me you’ve been wearing that thing on non-Tokkei business. Because they can track it. And they have the means to shut it down if need be.”
Masao smiled and looked at Miyata and Himiko. They also wore smiles on their faces and then all three began to chuckle. Erika was starting to feel like she was losing her mind.
“Why are you laughing?” she asked. “Is there something I missed?”
“I developed the technology for that armor, Agent Kuroki,” said Miyata. “Don’t you think I’d know how to override it?”
“You’re telling me you can disable the Tokkei’s ability to track and control us?” she asked.
Miyata nodded. “Precisely. And I can do much more than that. All I need is for you to bring it to me and I can handle the rest.”
“That’s the pitch, Kuroki,” said Masao. “So there’s only one question left—you in or you out?”
Erika stood on the roof and looked out at the night lights of Tokyo off in the distance. She had agreed to Miyata’s offer, at least in this instance. She wasn’t comfortable with the idea of becoming some kind of revolutionary, but she knew that she couldn’t just stand by as innocent people were being experimented on for the benefit of Yoshida Tech’s bottom line.
Her reflexes were as on-point as ever and as soon as she sensed a presence, Erika immediately turned and went on the defensive, readying a fighting stance. Masao stood behind her and offered his hands up in surrender.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to sneak up on you like that,” he said.
Erika relaxed and looked back at the city. She still felt strange whenever she looked at Masao. First their drunken night together and now finding out that he was actually a spy working against the Tokkei.
“Are they done yet?” she asked.
“Not yet. Reprogramming the nanosuits can take some time.”
After she agreed to help, Erika returned home to retrieve her armor, then brought it back so Miyata and Himiko could work on it. She was growing impatient waiting for them to finish.
Masao moved closer to her, but he still kept some distance between them. “While they’re doing their thing, I thought we might have a chance to talk. I know this might all seem pretty overwhelming to you right now.”
“That’s putting it mildly…” she muttered. “Why did you do it anyway?”
“Join up with Miyata and Himiko?” he asked.
She nodded.
“I told you, I grew up in a rough neighborhood. Lots of workers from abroad, coming here to take up low-paying jobs in fields like construction. I grew up with people like that, so I never had the kind of ’us vs them’ mentality you see in so many others, especially in the Tokkei.”
“What was the trigger?” asked Erika. “Something had to have happened to make you go from hard-luck case to rebel.”
“You remember James from the bar?” asked Masao. “Well, he had an older brother, Andy. The two of them, Himiko and me, we were inseperable as kids. But as we got older, Andy fell in with a different crowd. Found his way into a bosozoku gang, dropped out of school, then eventually started doing some low-level enforcer work for one of the yakuza outfits. And then he was killed in a Tokkei sting operation.”
“And you blame the government for that?” asked Erika, giving him a disgusted look. “I’m sorry about your friend, but—”
“But what?” asked Masao, meeting her gaze with a harsh intensity. “But he was a criminal? But he dug his own grave? You think I haven’t heard all that before?”
Masao sighed and looked down.
“It’s easy for most people to just dismiss this kind of stuff. But what other choices did Andy have? Their dad died in a construction accident and the company refused to pay any benefits because he was a contract worker. His mom had trouble finding work that paid well and they were denied public assistance. Not many jobs for people like them, so Andy fell in with the bosozoku as a way to make money.”
Erika’s head felt heavy after hearing Masao finish the story. She thought of the struggles her own mother had in trying to make ends meet. Remembered waking up at night sometimes to hear her mother softly crying in the next room. She still didn’t completely agree with Masao, but his story was enough to make her feel guilty about her earlier dismissal of it.
“I…I don’t know what to say.”
Masao took a deep breath. “You don’t have to say anything. But that made me realize that there’s something rotten in this society. Desperation makes even the best people turn to extreme actions. And I felt like there was something I could do. Himiko was already involved with some anti-government work, so she put me in touch with some of them. They told me that what they needed was someone on the inside and they hadn’t had any luck trying to turn existing agents. So I joined the Jietai in hopes of working my way up the ranks and eventually getting into the Tokkei.”
“And now you’ve brought me into the fold, too.”
“Have I?” he asked.
Erika looked him in the eyes, but then she quickly broke contact. “I don’t know about all of that. I think you’re doing the right thing in this instance…trying to help those people. But beyond that…”
“You still don’t really realize what it is we’re up against,” said Masao.
“There is something broken, you’re right about that. I just don’t know if burning down the whole syst
em is the way to change it,” said Erika. “Can you understand where I’m coming from?”
Masao nodded. “Sure, I can understand it. Because I used to be that way, too. I felt that maybe within the Jietai, I could work to change things. But in the war, my view changed. And since being promoted to the Tokkei, I’ve come to realize that maybe more drastic action is necessary.”
Erika turned and looked at him. “Listen, I want to help you this time. But after we’re done, I think it’s best if we go our separate ways. I don’t want to get you in trouble, but I also don’t want to lie for you.”
“What are you saying?” he asked.
“I’m saying that once we finish this job, I’m going to put in for a transfer to another Tokkei branch,” said Erika. “I don’t want to get in the way of your work, but I also just can’t get involved in this. And I’m afraid that if I stay, that’s what will happen.”
Masao’s eyes drifted a little and his eyelids started to fall. His lips tightened slightly and he had what Erika could have sworn was a sad look on his face. But it was gone almost as soon as it had appeared.
“I get it,” he said. “This kind of life ain’t for everyone. And I appreciate you willing to do that for me.”
“Thanks for understanding,” she said.
“Yeah, no problem.” He paused and silence filled the void for a few moments. Then, he added in a much lighter tone, “Besides, if you did turn me in, I’d just name you as my accomplice anyway.”
Erika scoffed. “And here I thought you were a gentleman.”
Masao let out a loud laugh in response. Erika found his laughter infectious and joined in herself. It only lasted for a short while and when their laughter had subsided, the silence had returned.
21
Hachijo-kojima was a small island in the Izu archipelago, located off the coast of the larger Hachijo. Its length was just under two miles with a width measuring less than a mile. During the Edo era, both Hachijo islands were used as a place of exile for criminals. Hachijo-kojima was surrounded by high cliffs and the strait separating it from Hachijo had a powerfully strong current, making swimming or rafting all but impossible. For these reasons, the most serious criminals were exiled to the smaller island.
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