The Gate

by Bob Mayer

  “I understand your concerns about my identity,” Araki said. His English was precise and each word was enunciated clearly. “But you must know that I do not carry an identification card. I am working in your country on a mission of deep concern to my own country.”

  “Pretty weak,” Lake said, checking the direction finder. The small dot indicating the Koreans had stopped a few miles to the east. “Unfortunately, I really don’t have the time to have a deep discussion with you about all this. There’s some people I have to catch up with.”

  Araki nodded. “The North Koreans.”

  “They’re from the North?” Lake wasn’t too surprised. “What are they doing here?”

  “I don’t know,” Araki replied.

  “Why are you following them, then?”

  “I am not following them,” Araki said. “I am following a man who is following them.”

  “The Japanese guy with the Steyr AUG,” Lake said.

  “Correct.”

  “And who is he?”

  “That is my concern,” Araki said.

  “He tried blowing my head off back there in the tunnel,” Lake said. “That makes it my concern. Also, bud, in case you haven’t noticed, you’re in America now. I could have your ass thrown in jail.”

  “As you threw me in jail, would you also admit to selling the Koreans those weapons last night?” Araki asked in a level voice.

  Lake pushed the barrel harder into Araki’s side, evoking a surprised grunt of pain. “Don’t fuck with me, son. I could also just make you disappear.”

  “I imagine you could,” Araki said. Lake could see him swallow, trying to control his fear. The man was doing a reasonably good job of remaining calm, but Lake sensed that Araki wasn’t a seasoned agent. He didn’t have the hard edge that men in the world of covert operations gained after only a few years in the field—if they survived that long. Of course, he could also be better than most and a good actor. That made Lake wonder exactly what Araki’s role here was.

  “We need each other,” Araki said.

  “Why do I need you?” Lake said, checking the direction finder one more time. The dot was still stationary.

  “I want the Japanese man,” Araki said. “You want the Koreans. But I do not think you know what the Koreans are up to. I do not know what Nishin—that is his name—is up to, other than the fact he is following the Koreans also. There are many unanswered questions. Two minds can answer them better than one. I have access to my agency’s resources, which are quite extensive. Remember, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

  Lake snorted. “You sound like fucking Confucius.”

  “Confucius was Chinese,” Araki began. “I am—”

  “Yes, Confucius was Chinese,” Lake interrupted. “Confucius, originally known as Kung Chiu, born 551 B.C., died 479.” He removed the gun from Araki’s side and holstered it. “Personal virtue, devotion to family, most especially one’s ancestors, and to justice—all are tenets of his teachings.” Lake tapped the direction finder. “In the interest of justice, let’s track these little shitheads down.”

  Araki was staring at Lake. He turned the key, restarting the engine. “Yes. Let us go.”

  They drove up University Avenue. The dot on Lake’s screen remained stationary. “I’d say they are about three or four miles, dead ahead,” Lake said.

  At the university, Nishin watched as the four remaining Koreans parked the LTD. His own lights were off and he’d kept a more discreet distance behind ever since the gunfight in the tunnel. Obviously the Koreans had spotted the American gun dealer and in their usual abrupt manner had decided to stop him from following them. Nishin was disappointed that he had not been able to kill the American, but at least there were two less of the enemy to deal with. More importantly, whatever the North Koreans were after now must be the key to their mission, otherwise they would not have caused such an incident to prevent someone from following them.

  Nishin glanced around. The University of California at Berkeley was not unknown to him. It had a reputation as a center of liberalism and protest that Nishin had heard of in his time working underground in the States during his training. The campus was practically deserted this time of night, but Nishin knew there must be some type of campus police and he kept an eye out for patrol cars as he parked the pickup truck behind a building, across the street from the lot where the Koreans had parked.

  He quickly ran across, keeping the four men in sight. He had the Steyr tucked into his side, a fresh magazine in the chamber. The Koreans walked up to the side door of a large academic building and opened the door, disappearing inside. The name on the building, Wellman Hall, meant nothing to Nishin.

  Nishin paused outside the door, then decided to move along the outside wall and find another way in. He found a door two hundred meters farther down and cracked it open. He was in a short corridor. Moving forward, he peeked around the edge, toward where the Koreans had entered. There was no one there, but he could hear noises, as if someone was moving something heavy. There was a light on every twenty feet, giving a faint glow to the hallway.

  He got to his knees and peered around the next hallway.

  A Korean, MAC-10 at the ready, stood guard outside a door, forty feet away. Nishin sat down, back against the wall and became perfectly still.

  Araki drove the van into the west entrance of the UC-Berkeley campus.

  “Close now,” Lake said. He continued giving directions as they wove through the campus, until he spotted the LTD parked outside one of the buildings. “There she is.”

  Araki drove farther down the street and parked the van in a position where they could observe the car.

  “Any ideas why they would be here?” Lake asked. He pulled his gun out of the holster and replaced the magazine with a fully loaded one, Araki watching the action.

  “No.”

  “So who is this guy Nishin that you’re following?”

  “He is a member of the Black Ocean Society.”

  “A ronin,” Lake said.

  The comment earned him a surprised look from Araki. “You know of the societies?”

  “A little,” Lake said. “They’re your version of our Patriot groups or militias. Bunch of wackos running around so far right of right that they aren’t even on the map board anymore.”

  “But our societies have been in existence for many years,” Araki said, “while yours are a recent phenomenon. The Black Ocean dates back well before World War II. You used the term ronin,” Araki continued. “That is what an agent of one of the overseas societies used to be called. I suspect your knowledge is deeper than you are willing to admit.”

  “I ain’t admitting anything,” Lake said. “And you still haven’t told me much about Nishin.”

  “I do not have much to tell other than some of his background. As I told you earlier, I do not know why he is here in the United States, but there is no doubt that it is not for a noble reason.”

  Lake thought about it. Could there be a connection between the Japanese societies and the American Patriots? While seemingly farfetched on the surface, the concept held intriguing possibilities if one looked deeper. Starry and Preston on the bridge with the paint sprayer. The part-Japanese man in the boat below. Most curious. Lake pulled back the slide on the Hush Puppy, insuring a round was ready in the chamber.

  *****

  Nishin heard someone cry out what sounded like an order, but he couldn’t make out the words. Boots pounded on the tile. Close to the floor, Nishin looked around the corner. The four Koreans were running toward the door, one of them holding a cardboard box in his arms. Nishin sprang to his feet and the second they were out the door, he sprinted after them.

  *****

  “There!” Araki cried out.

  Four men were hurrying across the lawn toward the LTD.

  “They’ve got something,” Lake noted.

  “What now?” Araki asked.

  “We—” Lake paused as another figure came out of the building. “S
hit!” As the last figure raised the Steyr automatic rifle and opened up on the Koreans, Lake kicked open the door to the van.

  The man with the box tumbled down, papers spilling out. The other three Koreans dove for cover behind some abstract concrete sculptures that decorated the lawn. Two kept up an effective covering fire as the third collected the box. The gun battle was played out in silence, the flashes of the weapons the only indication that things were amiss on the lawn in front of Wellman Hall.

  “Police!” Lake called out from behind the security of his open door. “Freeze where you are!” He was too far away for the Hush Puppy to do much good.

  One of the Koreans fired a half a magazine in the van’s direction, the other kept the Japanese man pinned down near the building and they beat a hasty retreat to their LTD. Fortunately MAC-10s weren’t much more effective than the Hush Puppy at ranges over twenty-five meters and the bullets passed by harmlessly.

  The Koreans worked as effectively as any elite infantry squad Lake had ever seen. The Japanese man with the Steyr retreated back inside the building and out of sight. As the LTD roared out of the lot, Lake made a quick decision.

  “Drive up to the body,” he ordered Araki as he regained his seat inside.

  “What about Nishin and the Koreans?”

  “We can find the Koreans again. Right now, we need to do some cleaning up.”

  Araki did as Lake requested, parking at the curb, fifteen feet from where the body lay face down in the grass. Lake lifted the man and carried him back to the side door of the van, ignoring the blood that was staining his clothes.

  “What are you doing?” Araki asked as Lake dumped the body into the back.

  “Cleaning up the scene of the crime,” Lake said. He turned and walked back to where the body had been.

  “Why?” Araki asked, this time accompanying Lake.

  “We left two bodies back there in the tunnel, that’s enough publicity for one evening. No one heard this here. I don’t hear sirens yet, so there’s a good chance no one saw it. The less that gets in the news, the better.” He scooped up the loose papers that were on the grass. “When the sprinklers come on in the morning, it will wash away the blood. No one will ever know.” He picked up the MAC-10 the man had been carrying and added that to his load.

  They got back in the van. Araki started the engine and they drove off the campus. Lake turned on his direction finder and cursed.

  “What is the matter?” Araki asked.

  Lake picked up the MAC-10 he had recovered. He unscrewed the back of the pistol grip and held up a small metal object. “A one-in-eight chance and of course I end up with my own bugged gun.”

  “They will go back to their trawler,” Araki said confidently.

  “So you were watching there, too,” Lake said.

  “I did—” Araki began but caught himself. “I followed Nishin to the trawler.”

  “Uh-huh,” Lake said.

  “What are we doing with the body?” Araki asked.

  “Drive to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area,” Lake said. “I know where to dispose of it.”

  “Aren’t you worried about the Koreans getting away?”

  “Aren’t you worried about Nishin getting away?” Lake asked in turn. He didn’t wait for an answer. “The Koreans are going back to the ship, like you said. That ship isn’t going anywhere this morning. You can’t just pull up anchor at one in the morning and sail away. They have to file a request and get permission from the harbormaster to leave port. The Coast Guard would be on them in a heartbeat if they didn’t and I don’t think they want that to happen.”

  “You’ve checked on that?” Araki asked.

  “They haven’t got a departure slot,” Lake confirmed.

  “What about whatever was in the box the Koreans stole?” Araki asked. “Won’t someone at the university report that?”

  Lake picked up the handful of papers. “That’s who I’m going to talk to first thing in the morning, after we get rid of the body.”

  CHAPTER 7

  SAN FRANCISCO

  TUESDAY, 7 OCTOBER 1997 1:30 A.M. LOCAL

  The body hit the water with a splash and the chains wrapped around it took it instantly out of sight. Lake walked from the pier back to the van and sat down in the passenger seat. They were parked on the shoreline, just east of the south part of the Golden Gate, near the point where Lake had come ashore the previous week after spoiling the gassing plot. It was a calm place, the only sounds that of foghorns off to the west and the gentle lap of water on the shore. The Coast Guard Station was farther up the shore, well lit, but otherwise looking very quiet.

  Lake took a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it, ignoring Araki’s look of distaste. Lake inhaled deeply, then let out a cloud of smoke. “Okay, so we’re here together,” he said, “but I still don’t know whether you are who you say you are and even if you are who you say you are, whether I ought to be sitting here with you.”

  “I understand your concerns.” Araki said. “I have similar concerns. I do not know if you are truly an agent of your government and, if you are, whether I should also be sitting here with you.”

  “I don’t give a fuck about your concerns,” Lake said without raising his voice. “I’ve got the home-court advantage here, which means you play by my rules.” He reached inside his windbreaker and pulled out his satellite phone. “I’m going to bounce this to my higher-up and see what he has to say about you.”

  “I do not think that is a good idea.”

  “Why?” Lake was punching in the numbers to the Ranch.

  “Because this situation might be harmful to your country and mine, and if we keep it between us, no extra harm is done. I believe we can handle this ourselves. If you call your supervisor, then this is out of our hands.”

  Lake pushed the off button and folded the phone shut. He thought of Feliks looking at him at this very spot, giving him grief for killing all three men at the bridge. If he told Feliks that there was an agent of CPI here in San Francisco, Lake knew that the long hand of the Ranch would clamp down on all operations. The Japanese material that had been found in the van on the bridge, combined with Araki’s presence, would send red flags flying. It would also slow things down. Lake knew that the freighter wasn’t leaving in the next twelve hours, but it could leave as early as this evening. The Ranch was efficient, but it wasn’t that efficient. They could lose this whole operation. The bottom line for Lake, though, was that he would lose his operational control. Already he’d had Feliks here once and Randkin here on another occasion. If they wanted to run the show, then they should be the ones getting shot at Lake reasoned.

  “All right” Lake said. “We’ll work this together for now.”

  “What about the papers?” Araki asked. “What do they concern?”

  Lake looked at the top piece of paper in the glow of the overhead light. It was a Xeroxed page covered with Japanese writing. He handed it to Araki. “Make yourself useful.”

  Araki scanned the page. “It is dated 1945. From the heading it appears to be a document of the Imperial Navy, detailing supply operations in the China Sea.”

  “That’s something to kill over?” Lake wondered out loud.

  Araki was thumbing through the rest of the few pages the Koreans had abandoned in their haste. “They are all Japanese naval documents, dated 1945. Some are about operations; some about logistics; some concern personnel assignments. There are several orders detailing ships to conduct certain missions. There is no readily apparent pattern.”

  “Why would these be at UC-Berkeley?” Lake asked.

  “Most likely there is a historical archive in the building,” Araki said. “At the end of the war, you Americans took whatever wasn’t destroyed that could be of intelligence value.”

  “Why would the Koreans be interested in such documents?” Lake asked.

  Araki was silent for a few moments as he read, then he glanced up. “I do not know. Obviously they are interested in something con
cerning the Japanese Navy in the last year of World War II.”

  Lake felt stupid asking obvious questions, but he was at a loss with this development. “Why is Nishin following the Koreans? What does the Black Ocean Society have to do with this?”

  Araki explained the role the societies had in Japanese culture and the strong influence they had exerted in politics, particularly during the war. “It is something difficult for Americans to understand,” he added. “For example, in 1943, the head of the Black Dragon Society made a radio broadcast directly to your President Roosevelt and to Churchill also, threatening the most dire of consequences if the Allies did not unconditionally surrender.”

  “It is little spoken of or understood in the West, but much of the problem the Allies had trying to negotiate with my country near the end of the war stemmed from the fact that the secret societies and the military exerted such strong influence. Even though there were many in the government who wished to negotiate a surrender, they were unable to counter the weight of the societies until finally the Emperor himself had to make a radio announcement after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which before that time was unheard of.”

  “That is why,” Araki continued, “my unit was formed a few years back when it appeared that secret societies were again rearing their head. The extremists who were behind the Tokyo gas attacks were much more radical than the traditional societies, but the fear of a repeat of events that happened prior to and during the Second World War was so great that those high in the government did not want to take a chance.”

  “That’s all nice and well,” Lake said, “but it brings us no closer to explaining what is so important about these papers to both the North Koreans and the Black Ocean Society.”

  “As you said,” Araki pointed out, “you must go and ask someone at the university about the papers. Maybe you can find out then.”