“Of course. Everyone’s watching out for them. The CIA, FBI, Homeland Security, you name it.”
“They’ve recently raised the bar on bio-warfare. They’ve been researching a very deadly microbe.”
“What type of microbe?”
“It’s called Pandora.” Fox took a sip of water. “Sound familiar?”
“Yes. I was a weapons analyst back in the days the Defense Department was researching it. But wasn’t that project cancelled several years ago?”
“It turns out that some people didn’t want that. Ares is trying to market Pandora. I managed to stop them from selling it to Sudanese government officials who were going to use Darfurian locals as guinea pigs. But we believe that Valerik has obtained samples of Pandora and has given them to this man.”
Fox reached into the blazer that hung on his chair and pulled out a rolled-up legal-sized brown envelope. He handed it to Parris. She opened it and removed the pictures.
“I believe you’re well acquainted with him?”
Parris stared briefly at the picture. “Of course. He’s my boss.”
“Small world, isn’t it? Several years ago he was believed to have helped the Soviets develop a brainwashing program. Today he’s a cult leader. I’ve been informed that the Boeisho has been keeping close watch on his cult. Three of their agents infiltrated the group. Lately, they’ve all gone missing.”
She stared at the photo. “If he’s involved, then it’s possible that all of our test subjects who’ve been given the drug could be recruited as cult members. They’d be easy, vulnerable targets. All this time I thought this talk of a cult was part of the experiment.”
“It’s very real. Your experiments were nothing more than a front.”
Parris raised a hand to cover her mouth. “Oh, Lord.”
“Don’t be too hard on yourself, Doctor. You would’ve found out sooner or later. Valerik’s picture’s there as well.”
Parris took out his photograph. “Yeah, I saw him yesterday as I was leaving Hashimoto’s office. He didn’t look too friendly. I also passed him on my way to work this morning.”
“He has a history. He went off the CIA’s radar several years ago-”
“During the Cold War, only to resurface now. Yeah, I’ve learned that much from Tomas. If he stole samples of Pandora for Hashimoto, then he could easily hide it at Hexagon.” Parris poured herself a cup of tea. She took out a navy blue handmade table napkin with yellow frilled borders. She placed it on the corner of the table, when suddenly her jaw dropped and she looked past Fox.
“What’s wrong?” asked Fox.
Parris leapt from her chair and dashed over to the television in a few long strides. She turned up the volume-Valerik’s picture was on the screen. She heard Fox’s chair sliding in the background and heard him approach. She couldn’t understand what was being said, but seeing Valerik’s picture could only mean bad news. Her thoughts were later confirmed when a multi-car pile-up on a highway was shown.
She glanced over at Fox before looking back at the television. “What just happened?”
“For starters, he’s dead.”
Parris rolled her eyes. “Now tell me something I couldn’t have guessed for myself.”
“An eye-witness claimed that his body was dropped from an overpass into oncoming traffic late this morning, which resulted in the pile-up.”
“Any idea who did this?”
“My guess is someone who couldn’t stand him, considering the way he was disposed of.”
“You mean, you don’t know.”
Fox gestured to the television. “Hey, I’m seeing this for the first time like you. We’re bound to find out more later on.”
The news report ended. They both returned to the table.
Parris continued to eat and then wiped off the corner of her mouth with the table napkin. “So, Valerik’s dead. We have an idea of who his allies were. We’re just unsure of his enemies.”
“There’s something else I should add. A few members of the Boeisho met me at the airport. Their Head of Section was the one who briefed me on what happened in Chechnya. But just before that, someone else ran into me at the airport and slipped me a note that said not to trust them. And that he’d contact me later.”
Parris sipped her tea as Fox recounted everything Tanaka had told him. “Do you think the Boeisho could’ve killed Valerik?”
“They could’ve, but I doubt they would’ve disposed of him in such a manner. Whoever did this wanted an audience, or to send a message to his colleagues.” Fox finished his roti and drank the rest of his water. “Like Ares.”
“You think they’re here?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised. They’re pretty resourceful. And they seem to be getting better at it. I’m surprised they were able to track him down this quickly. Hopefully, my informant can tell me more.”
“I’d be careful.” Parris held a finger to her lip briefly and then pointed it at Fox. “We don’t know anything about this informant. He said you can’t trust the Boeisho. They were expecting you and knew when and where to meet you, which means that someone tipped them off. And for this informant to know your whereabouts could mean that someone tipped him off also.”
“If he’s Boeisho, and let’s just say he is for argument’s sake, he’d have his channels. I doubt that he’s working alone.”
“And what if he’s one of Hashimoto’s men? Tanaka told you that he lost touch with his three agents. Who’s to say that your informant isn’t one of Hashimoto’s brainwashed cult members? I know I wasn’t involved in brainwashing all of them, but you have to still consider the possibility.”
Fox leaned over the table and looked Parris in the eye. “I realize that. But he has something to share with me. And with Valerik dead, it’s all we have to go on right now. If someone’s lying, then I’ll know soon enough.”
Parris copied Fox’s actions and leaned in herself. “In that case, I’m coming with you to meet him, the next time he contacts you.”
Fox dropped his head on a slant and raised an eyebrow. “Say what?”
“You heard what I said.”
“He asked for me. That means I should go alone.”
“So what. I’ll hide. If he’s one of Hashimoto’s men, chances are I’ve seen him around Hexagon.”
“And if he’s not, you risk blowing your cover.”
“I’ll be careful.”
“You’d be doing just that…by not showing up. You don’t need to attract attention to yourself. You’re NOC, remember?”
“I’m glad to hear you say that. I guess that’s why you sent me a boat-size bouquet of roses to my workplace?”
“Do you always have to have the last word?”
Parris got up and leaned on the table towards Fox with outstretched arms, eyes narrowed. “I do, considering I wasn’t aware you were put in charge.”
Fox stood up and duplicated Parris’s actions. “It’s not a matter of who’s in charge of what. It’s about the Boeisho not knowing about you, and its best that we keep it that way. I’ve done exceptionally well so far.”
“You think so?”
“Are you always this argumentative?”
“When I don’t agree with something, I’ll damn well let you know it. But if you want to go it alone, fine. You’re better off letting Tomas hook you up with one of his gadgets, preferably a mini video camera that can pin to your jacket. At least that way he can run a search on your informant. It’s the same way we caught Valerik’s image. Is that too much to ask?”
Fox looked away from Parris for a few seconds, to the television which now showed a chewing gum commercial.
“No,” he said and then looked back at Parris. “It isn’t.”
There, at least we actually reached a compromise. She couldn’t believe it. Just as they were starting to warm up again he had to insult her like this. Who’s he to tell me that I shouldn’t come? This wasn’t working, it was an unavoidable mistake that they wound up working together in the
first place. She had to get away from him. Parris looked at her watch and stood up from the table. She grabbed her purse from the back of the chair as though she were in a hurry. “I have to go.”
Fox called out as she headed towards the door. “Don’t get me wrong, Dr. Parris. I just don’t want to see your obituary on the evening news.”
That did it. She turned around, and walked towards him slowly while she stared him straight in the eyes. “You expect me to get hurt, don’t you?”
“To be blunt, you already have been.”
“I’m quite capable of taking care of myself. I’ve learned that from the past, so I don’t need a bodyguard.”
She turned and walked back to the door. “You’ve found me so I assume that you can find Tomas. But let me warn you, he’s not as sociable as I am.”
Fox watched her disappear. He expected to hear the door slam, but she didn’t do that. She was feisty, irrational, not to mention cynical and paranoid, and maybe she was better off on her own. He would later get in touch with Tomas, but not because Parris had suggested it. He always thought one way of dealing with unpleasant people was to do or say the opposite of what they would expect. Parris didn’t expect him to agree with her on meeting Levickis, so he agreed.
It was the same way he dealt with Jessica. Always act unpredictably, that always calmed her down. He remembered when he had proposed to her. They had an argument the night before about how he put his life on the line all the time and that it wouldn’t be conducive to their relationship. He couldn’t forget the shock and delight on her face when he had walked into her workplace on her lunch break the next day, dressed in army fatigues with a large garbage bag. Then in full view of all of her colleagues, he had stripped down to his boxer briefs and bagged his fatigues telling her that he’s throwing it all away. Never mind the commotion that it caused, even the security guards that arrived didn’t bother to stop him. And that’s when he got down on one knee and showed her the engagement ring.
Before he realized it, something rolled from his eye and down his left cheek. He immediately wiped away the tear. Why the fuck is this happening? I’ve scarred her, and it has changed her life forever. Now she’s involved in a life that I was ready to leave.
His thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. He hid his face from Sora. “We’re done. Can you please call me a taxi?”
“Yes, Mr. Ripley. By the way, someone dropped this off for you.” She walked up to him and handed him a letter-sized envelope.
Fox took the envelope while covering his eyes. “Thanks.”
She bowed and as she turned to walk out the door, she paused and looked back at him. “Is everything all right?”
“I’m fine. Thanks for being concerned. I just need to be alone for a bit.”
When she left, Fox tore open the sealed envelope and took out the paper that was inside. The handwritten note read, Koishikawa Korakuen Gardens tonight at 8:00 PM. I’ll carry a brown paper bag and will pass the Weeping Cherries.
Fox held the paper over the open flame on the table. He let the fire consume it until it reached his fingers, and then he blew it out. He dropped the blackened pieces onto his lunch plate.
This guy knew Fox better than he’d thought. How’d he know to look for me here? He had been certain no one had followed him and he had personally swept the premises for bugs or any other listening devices. The place was secure, but whoever this guy was, he was top notch, and if he was on the run from the Boeisho, it would explain why he’d been able to avoid them.
With that taken care of, his attention focused on the meal. Where else could one get a foreign meal prepared the right way on such short notice? He reached into his wallet and took out a wad of bills. He had already run out of Japanese currency. The last cab driver didn’t complain when Fox gave him two hundred dollars for dropping him off at the mall and then picking him up ten minutes later from another entrance in his new disguise. Oh, what the hell.
He tore out a few American bills and tossed them on the table, right beside Dr. Parris’s table napkin. Well, how about that-she forgot her own table napkin. She’s too steamed. Better to wait and give it back to her later when she’s cooled off. With West Indian women, it was always about timing. But Parris, as he now learned, was a lot more unpredictable.
He folded it and placed it into the breast pocket of his blazer. He checked the tip on the table. Three fifties, was that enough? Fox tore out a few more bills from his wallet. There, an extra hundred should make them happy. No need to piss anyone else off today.
Chapter 16
Koishikawa Korakuen Gardens, 7:58 PM
The park lamps beside the path glowed like individual lighthouses on a foggy distant coast. Fox could not see much from either side as the thick fog obscured everything that was more than thirty feet away. His informant could not have predicted the fog. That didn’t bother Fox considering that it would be harder for someone to follow him. On the other hand, it would also be easy for someone to ambush him. Fox sat down on a bench beside a sign that said Shidarezakura, which meant Weeping Cherry in Japanese. He looked at his watch, leaned on the arm rest and tapped his fingers.
A couple passed by him, hand in hand. The age difference was obvious. Jesus, another sugar daddy. They were a few feet away when Fox glanced at them a second time. He’d recognize them for sure if he saw them again.
Why the hell did I get stuck with someone that holds grudges? He rubbed the spot where Parris had kicked him. It still hurt slightly to the touch. Maybe I deserved that. An older couple walked by in the opposite direction from the previous couple. Maybe I should’ve added ginger beer or the sorrel to the lunch menu today. Those were popular Caribbean drinks from Barbados. Fox rested both elbows on his knees. Here I go again, thinking about what I did wrong. Why the hell am I even thinking about her? Why should I even care if she likes me or not? Fox glanced at his watch a second time.
Maybe things would’ve been better had he been partnered with an antisocial, like Levickis. He’d be more focused and have no one to pester him, that would work. Thanks to him, he was now armed with a Beretta 92G Elite II regular sidearm, along with its relative, the Beretta 950 Jetfire mini-pistol that was concealed in his ankle holster. Fox then checked the pen in the breast pocket of his jacket to make sure the micro video camera lens was facing outwards. Other than the weapons, the other concealed item he had was a Hexagon Pharmaceuticals guest ID.
At that point, Fox noticed a man approach. His face was partially hidden under the peak of his baseball cap. He wore a green polyester spring jacket, blue denim jeans and slightly worn running shoes. He came close to being five foot five inches tall-about the same height as the man that had bumped into him at the airport. But it was the brown paper bag he carried that gave him away. Fox stood and joined him in his stroll.
“I trust you weren’t followed,” said the man.
“I trust that you trust me when I say I wasn’t.”
“I’ll take your word for it. You can call me Ken Katori, a Boeisho operative. I’ll make this meeting as brief as possible. I take it that you met with Tanaka?”
“Yes.”
“I am one of three that had infiltrated a doomsday cult. We had reason to believe that they were planning a major attack on Japan. But our cover was blown.”
“Was it Tanaka?”
“Yes, he’s the mole for the cult. He blew our cover.”
Fox looked at him. “Explain.”
“Have you heard of a man named Hideaki Hashimoto, the CEO of Hexagon Pharmaceuticals?”
“Tanaka spoke of him.”
“His group somehow got to Tanaka and recruited him,” said Katori, as they walked around a curve.
“Why would Tanaka join with Hashimoto?”
Katori dropped the paper bag in a trash can. “He didn’t join Hashimoto’s group, he was coerced.”
“Hashimoto brainwashed him, didn’t he?”
“So you know of his alleged involvement with the Soviets during
their war with Afghanistan.”
“I’ve been briefed about it.”
“Well it doesn’t stop there. It appears that he’s started up his program again. Tanaka, along with members of the police department and other organizations, were also his victims. My colleagues didn’t know about Tanaka until recently. The Boeisho has been keeping a close eye on cults since cult groups were responsible for the wave of pipe bomb explosions and other terrorist activities that rocked Japanese cities back in the mid 1990s. Hashimoto’s group was no exception. I was recruited as one of the guards, or a ninja if you wish, and so were my two colleagues. He’s recruited people from all over the world to build his group, mostly those between the ages of thirteen and twenty-five, from all cultural backgrounds, and of all types.”
Fox checked their surroundings surreptitiously to make sure they were not being followed. “What do you mean by types?”
“Hashimoto hasn’t limited his selection to a specific group of people. Along with small-time criminals and juvenile delinquents, he’s mostly recruited academics. Not the ones you’d find interning or looking for jobs, but the ones who failed or cheated on their exams. Especially those that were kicked out or who had dropped out of school. There were many from all over the world.”
“So Hashimoto’s been profiling these individuals. Why?”
“I’ll get to that part later.”
Both Fox and the informant descended a curved stairway while they continued talking.
“What about the ninjas? Were they brainwashed also?”
“No. They’re Hashimoto’s own private army, and they’re all loyal to him. They will do everything necessary to protect him and his goals. But before my team and I were compromised, we suspected that Hashimoto may be taking orders from someone.”
“Like who?”
“We weren’t able to find out. But we discovered Hashimoto’s plans to assault Ares’s Groznyy laboratory to steal a specific bio-weapon, we immediately informed Tanaka. The problem is that he informed Hashimoto and that’s when they decided to get rid of us. If only we’d known that Tanaka was on their side from the beginning, one of my colleagues would still be alive.”
Pandora's Succession Page 12