Careful to stay out of sight, Alison eased closer to the Forest Mansion apartment building. Peering from the shadows, she watched the commotion outside Sogo’s flat.
Siren wailing and lights flashing, a minivan arrived at the scene. From her hiding spot, Alison saw Fairfax, Saito, the computer nerd Peterjohn and some other men jump out. Kiyoshi greeted Saito, and the two conferred before Saito introduced Kiyoshi to Fairfax.
“Thanks for calling Saito-san with the heads-up about Sogo,” Fairfax said to Kiyoshi. “We’re expanding the scope of our investigation, and Sogo’s name keeps popping up.”
“Glad I could help,” Kiyoshi said.
“Sogo’s been a naughty boy,” Fairfax said. “Messing around in a lot of stuff he shouldn’t have.”
“We got some echo logs of online chats between Sogo and that dead Canadian girl they found,” Peterjohn said.
“Where’s Sogo now?” Fairfax asked.
“He’s being detained inside.”
“Was there anybody with him?” Saito asked.
“No,” Kiyoshi said. “There was nobody.”
Fairfax turned to his men. “We’re going to pay the suspect a little visit, boys. Pack up his gear.”
Fairfax’s crew invaded the SysOp’s apartment, edging past police who were marching a sullen and handcuffed Sogo out the door. The SysOp paused near the building’s stairs, threw his head back and yelled. “TokyoAli!”
Kiyoshi approached Sogo and glared at him with a withering gaze. He slugged Sogo hard in the gut, and the SysOp doubled over. “You didn’t know her, Sogo. Baka!”
Fairfax’s brigade paraded out of Sogo’s apartment with a procession of computers, hard drives and discs, which they loaded in their minivan.
“Seems he had quite an operation going on,” Fairfax said. “We were lucky that Crane girl got a bead on him.”
“Lucky, right,” repeated Kiyoshi.
“Thank you, Fairfax-san,” said Saito. “The Bureau’s cybercrime specialists will meet you at the embassy, and you can get started examining Sogo’s gear.”
“Roger that.” Fairfax saluted from the window of the minivan and sped off with his men.
Saito clutched Sogo by the shoulders, shoved him into the backseat of the car and slammed the door. The car rocked from the impact. Saito bowed to Kiyoshi then got in the police car with Sogo and the officers.
Sirens quieted, the car slipped off, and a restrained SysOp faded into the anonymity of the Akihabara night.
Alone in the dark street, Kiyoshi scanned the shadows. After a minute, Alison appeared from behind a tree in the next-door lot. Kiyoshi smiled when he saw her. “I thought you might still be here,” he said.
Alison’s face was stony with contained anger. “Who are you, Kiyoshi?” She set her computer on the ground and crossed her arms. “Who the hell are you? Really.” Alison’s rage burned through the dimness of the night.
Kiyoshi’s smile dissolved, and he lowered his head. “I’m sorry, Alison. I’d wanted to tell you.”
“Tell me what?”
Kiyoshi rubbed his hands together and shoved them in his trouser pockets. “Alison. Please try to understand. I’ve been working with MITI, the Ministry of—”
“I know who they are. But who are you? Some kind of cop?”
“A cop?” Kiyoshi’s smile returned. “No. What I do for MITI, I guess you’d call information gathering.”
“You said you were a businessman in marketing.”
“I am. And in my work I meet lots of people, companies, go to trade shows. Sometimes the government is interested in what I’ve seen. That’s all.”
“Are you talking about corporate espionage? You’re some kind of spy?”
“If I were a spy would I have tried to save you with a Swiss Army knife?”
Alison couldn’t help but smirk. “Hardly James Bond.”
“That’s what I’m trying to tell you.”
“But how do you know Saito? I heard him greet you by name. He was one of the ones searching my house. With that jerk Fairfax. I thought they were going to arrest me.”
“Saito’s the Police Security Bureau liaison to the American Embassy. We’ve worked together before. When you said that you’d left the embassy and were on your way to Sogo’s, I was worried. I thought that if anybody could find out where you were headed, it would be Saito. I didn’t know that they were investigating Sogo separately and that he was involved with the Canadian.”
“The poor girl.” Alison’s hand went to her mouth. “Why didn’t the cops know about Sogo sooner?”
Kiyoshi shook his head. “A missing foreigner. It just wasn’t a high enough priority.”
“Until she turned up dead.” Alison snorted.
“I told you to let me handle things, Alison. I didn’t realize you’d make a personal visit to Sogo’s apartment.”
“And I told you I could take care of myself.”
“So I see.”
“What’s going to happen to Sogo?”
“Since he’s a Japanese national, Saito’s Bureau will be interviewing him first. Then they’ll probably turn him over to Fairfax. The Canadians will want to talk to him, too.”
“I’m glad I had a chance to hit him where it hurt. He deserves everything coming his way.”
“Yes, but you’ve got to tell me. Where’d you learn to shoot like that?”
Alison shrugged in aw-shucks modesty. “We lawyers have to know how to protect ourselves. Mostly from our clients.”
Kiyoshi laughed and coughed. “It was a good thing you missed your target.”
“Who said I missed? I got exactly what I was aiming for.” Alison blew on her index fingers and pocketed her pistols in an imaginary holster.
Kiyoshi stepped closer and put his arms around her. “So did I,” he said. He kissed her on the neck and stepped away.
“I’ve got to get back to finish with Sogo, but can I see you tomorrow at five?” he asked. “I want to start again with you, Alison. To do things right. Will you give me a second chance?”
Kiyoshi’s eyes, usually animated and dancing, were motionless with vulnerability as they pleaded with her. Alison’s chest tightened and a rush of warmth flooded her body.
“Tomorrow at five?” She looked up as if trying to recall her schedule. “I’m not sure if I’m free.” Alison picked up her computer case and smiled. “I’ll send you an email.”
The End
Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed Tokyo Firewall, I’d really appreciate it if you’d take a moment to leave a review.
And if you want to get tips about traveling to Tokyo on budget and in style, please join my mailing list at elizabethwilkerson.com.
— Elizabeth
Acknowledgments
I woke up one morning after a particularly cinematic dream. Sitting at the keyboard, I pounded out a movie treatment which became Tokyo Firewall. Lots of people helped.
I’ve got the world’s best siblings who each — in their own special way — encouraged me to get the book out. Freda, my precious oldest sister who I miss every day, was my first beta reader and returned my manuscript pages covered with sticky notes, red ink, and highlighting. Joyce was my self-appointed publicist, and Edward composed a score for a trailer before I’d even finished writing.
Thanks to Mary Ann Zimmer who championed the embryonic novel; Vero Angriman and Marissa Marchese whose enthusiasm refueled mine; Ashley Forson and Kieshia Divers were insightful sounding boards; and Reshauna Striggles who only sees silver linings. Rafael Andres generated cover designs with impressive creativity and patience; Julie Mianecki and Monica James provided eagle-eyed editing and proofreading.
I offer a bear hug of gratitude to Leigh Jackson, Arden Kass, and Carol Baker for their support, creativity, and nudging.
Most of all, I’d like to thank my ever-supportive husband, Tetsuki. His belief in me makes all the difference.
Please join my mailing list at elizabethwilkerson.com to stay in touch. And let me know if y
ou found the Easter egg!
— Elizabeth
ELIZABETH WILKERSON was one of Silicon Valley’s first cyber lawyers. She lived in Tokyo where she practiced securities law, studied Butoh dance, and founded a company to present African-American culture to Japanese audiences. A native of Cleveland, she graduated from Harvard and holds JD and MBA degrees from Stanford.
Get in touch at elizabethwilkerson.com.
Tokyo Firewall: a novel of international suspense Page 30