“Okay, so I was asking around, like you told us—”
“Actually, it was Vasili who told you that.”
“Right, the big boss. So anyway, I was talking to this clubber chick I used to bang, and she told me that she was there the night that guy got killed outside Hyperion!”
Hikaru motioned for Okabe to take a seat. “And?”
“And she got a look at one of the guys who grabbed him after he got tossed from the club. In fact, she said she used to date him, so she knows—”
“Hold up, you’re sure you can trust what this chick says?”
“Well, she was probably exaggerating about the dating part. She’s more the fuck-buddy kind of girl, but—”
“I was talking more about her eyewitness testimony.”
“Oh yeah, she’s solid. A little druggy, maybe, but she always held her shit together. Good memory too. So anyway, she said one of the guys who grabbed him is yakuza with connections around the Kabukicho area. So I’m thinking maybe there’s a connection to Akiyama, or Miyagi, or one of the other bosses out there, you know?”
“You want me to take the word of some druggy clubber chick and run it up the flagpole to Vasili?” Hikaru said, folding his arms over his chest. “Sounds a little thin.”
“Totally! But check this out: I was talking with another friend of mine who’s got connections to Yoshii’s crew, and he said—”
“Hold on, got connections how? Like he’s actually walking the Path, or just a gun for hire?”
“He’s freelance. Gun for hire.”
Hikaru snorted. “This ought to be good.”
Okabe resumed, more reserved than before. “So anyway, he said that one of Yoshii’s crews has been active around Tsukishima a lot lately. Something real hush-hush like. He even says that one of those guys hasn’t been around lately. Like he’s disappeared or something.”
Hikaru looked nonplussed and made an Is that it? gesture with his hands. “And?”
“And? Tetsuo got got on Tsukishima, so it sounds like maybe there’s something there. Possibly.”
“You think so?” Hikaru said icily.
“Well … yeah, taken together, I figured it’s at least worth looking into.”
Hikaru sighed. “Alright, I’ll let them know.” With that, he went back to his ledger.
When Okabe didn’t take the hint and fuck off, Hikaru waved a hand as if to shoo him away. Okabe kept sitting there.
“Well, are you going to tell them? The big man made it seem like it might be urgent.”
Shooting his underling a harsh look, Hikaru took out his phone and began dialing. “Fine, I’ll call now.”
Okabe nodded, clearly not sure if he had fucked up somehow or not.
“You can go now,” Hikaru said, waving his hand away again.
He watched Okabe walk over to the door and turn around again before disappearing outside with a confused look on his face. When he had gone, Hikaru canceled the dial and put his phone down.
Chapter Thirteen
Satoshi emerged into the grimy hall that led to Tengu’s lair. Along the wall to his right was a painted dragon that stretched on for about twenty feet. It wound its way up the staircase, through the handrail, and around the corner, ending just before the restaurant’s door. On the wall on the right were paintings of oni, tengu, and other mythical demons. The other businesses renting space in the building must hate the wall paintings. But they lent a nice atmosphere to the entrance to Oni no Kubi, the restaurant that served as Tengu’s base of operations.
It was early still, at only four in the afternoon. He nodded to some of the restaurant staff he recognized on the way in, as they busily prepared to open. The hostess smiled when she saw him and pointed to a back corner. There he saw Tengu sitting alone in the corner reading the paper.
Tengu looked up and smiled when he saw Satoshi approach. He waved him into the seat opposite, then set down his paper and took off his reading glasses.
“Satoshi, long time no see, brother.”
“How are you, Tengu?”
“I’m good. Busier now that you’re off on some secret mission for the big man, but good. Hey, you want a beer? Something to eat? I can have the kitchen whip something up for you.”
“I can’t stay long, unfortunately. I have an appointment soon. But I wanted to ask a favor, if I could. About that ‘secret mission’ you mentioned.”
“Oh? You want to go into the backroom?”
The “backroom” Tengu spoke of was the manager’s room, where Tengu handled sensitive Kaisha business that the restaurant staff didn’t need to know about. It was decorated with motivational posters and charts detailing different Japanese and foreign management strategies. Satoshi had always figured that Tengu’s obsession with management techniques had started out as a joke. But considering how much Tengu dropped references to KPIs and Six Sigma strategies into his everyday conversations with his soldiers, Satoshi couldn’t tell anymore. Tengu was the only person he knew who was capable of both strictly enforcing the 5S’s of workplace management and splitting a person’s head open with just his fists.
“No, here’s fine.”
“What’s up?”
“I can’t go into too much detail, but basically I need to find Masa for the big man. Haven’t had much luck so far. But the Festival of Knives is this week—have you heard of it?”
“The Festival of Knives? Yeah, isn’t that the monthly circle-jerk the right-wingers and ultranationalists hold over by Yasukuni?”
“Pretty much. They also have a fighting tournament as part of it. This month is the semifinals for the yearly finals next month. Masa will be there.”
“You really think Masa would show up at the Festival of Knives when he knows you’re looking for him?” Tengu asked.
“He can’t not show up. There will be thousands of people watching him and cheering the fighters on. Masa needs attention and validation the way we need food and water.”
“True. But it’d be risky of him.”
“Look, you don’t know Masa like I do. He’s been doing these fights since as far back as I care to remember. Back when it was just the brownshirts in the Japan Patriot’s Society getting together to beat each other up in empty basements and car parks. He’ll be there. Trust me.”
Tengu nodded. “Alright. You need backup, I’m there for you.”
“I don’t want to trouble you. I know you’ve got your hands full. But if you could spare Hiro, or Lee, or someone, I’d appreciate it. I don’t know what the festival will be like, so it might pay to have some backup.”
“I do have my hands full. But my job is to round up shitheels and question them about the serial killer. And it sounds like I might run into a few at this thing. We’ll call it a working playdate. Besides, I want to see one of these things for myself.”
“Alright, sounds good.”
“And what’s the other thing?”
“Huh?”
“What’s the other thing troubling you?”
“That obvious?” Satoshi asked.
“Eh, you’ve got your tells.”
Satoshi nodded. He sat quietly thinking about how to broach the subject. He hadn’t really planned on talking about it, but he felt comfortable discussing it with Tengu. He was probably one of the few people who’d understand.
“Tengu … do you ever … have doubts? About what we do?”
“Nope. Vasili’s always done right by me. I trust the big man.”
“I’m not talking about that. I mean … walking the Path. Is this all it’s ever going to be? Is this all I’m ever going to be? Just a thug cracking skulls on command?”
“No. I think the big man has ideas for you to move up the ladder. But what’s wrong with what you do now? You’re good at what you do. Most people don’t even have that to fall back on.”
“Well, I had a good teacher.”
“The best!” Tengu said with a smile. “And most modest too.”
“Even if I’m a lieutenant, or whatever Vasili has
planned, I guess I just don’t know about how that works with a kid. I mentioned I’m having a kid soon, right?”
“You did. Though I believe your exact words were something closer to ‘Oh shit, Tengu. Oh fuck, she’s pregnant. Oh shit oh shit oh shit. What am I going to do?’ But I’m just paraphrasing there.”
“Yeah, sounds about right. I’m past that phase now.”
“Yeah? Where are you at now? The my-life-is-over phase, or the calm resignation phase?”
“Somewhere between the calm resignation phase and the actually-excited-to-be-a-dad phase.”
Tengu smiled. “That’s the best one.”
“Yeah. It’s nice. But I just worry about doing this job and trying to have a family, you know?”
Tengu nodded. “I know. I worried about that shit too when Aika first got pregnant. But you manage. It’s nice, actually, having a family to come home to. Like, it gives you a reason sometimes, you know?”
“What do you mean?”
“Like, if I come back from a particularly shitty day, or from an ugly job, or something, and I see my kids, it’s a reminder of why I do what I do. They’re the reason. And I would put up with just about anything—put up with all the ugliness and filth, the things I have to do sometimes—because I’m doing it for them. I’m doing it so that my kids can have it better than me. Does that make sense?”
Satoshi nodded. “I get what you mean.”
“Yeah, keeps you grounded. And when your back’s against the wall, it’s just another reason to keep fighting.”
“Thanks, Tengu. For everything.”
“Anytime, brother. After all, you’ve got to look out for family.”
“Hey, sorry I’m late,” Satoshi said as he entered their apartment.
Hisoka looked up at him. She was seated on the couch with the birth coach in a chair facing her. She beamed at him. It made him feel good to make her happy. It also made him feel like shit to know that the bar was now set so low that just following through on a simple promise could earn him a smile like that.
“It’s alright. We just sat down.”
The woman stood and bowed to Satoshi, introducing herself as Komagata. Satoshi introduced himself, then sat down next to Hisoka on the couch.
“We were just discussing possible prenatal diseases to be wary of,” Komagata said. “Not because I mean to scare you, but because I think everyone should be aware of the risks.”
“Satoshi and I were talking about this the other day,” Hisoka said. “Is it true that the Zika virus is now in Japan?”
“Yes, it is, but I wouldn’t worry about it.”
“Don’t worry about it?” Satoshi asked. “Sorry, but isn’t that the virus that decimated large parts of South and Central America?”
“Yeah, I remember how horrible the news coverage was a few years ago when it was rampant,” Hisoka said. “All those babies born with tiny heads from microcephaly. Plus, I hear it can make you infertile, if it doesn’t kill you outright.”
Komagata put her hands up. “Alright, now let me tell you why you shouldn’t worry. The version of Zika found in Japan was from a man in Shikoku who picked it up while traveling through the United States. And it was the FlZ-135 variety, which is much more benign. Yes, it can still cause microcephaly, but it’s rare. It only happens with about one percent of pregnant women. And it’s unlikely it will spread beyond this one man in Shikoku.”
“That’s a relief,” Hisoka said.
“The variety that nearly wiped out the Americas was FlZ-597. And that one you don’t need to worry about either, because there is little chance of it making it out of the quarantine areas. I’d put it out of your mind. There are other, more pressing things to worry about.”
“Such as?”
“Well, have you heard of Tianjin’s disease?”
Out of the corner of his eye, Satoshi saw Hisoka shudder. “The glass babies.”
Komagata nodded. “Exactly. Now, so far it’s been—”
“Wait, glass babies?” Satoshi asked.
“They’re called that because the babies are born with skin that is so thin that it’s almost translucent. They die almost immediately upon exposure to air. It usually kills the mother too, as it tends to cause severe internal bleeding.”
“Fuck me,” Satoshi said leaning back. “And this is in Japan?”
“Well, it’s mainly in and around the Tianjin region in northern China. But there have been two cases of glass babies in Japan.”
“What causes it?” Hisoka asked.
“We don’t know, unfortunately. The best guess is the industrial pollution in that area. But then the cases that have appeared in Japan or elsewhere were people without any connection with the region. So, doctors are baffled.”
“Well, then how do we guard against it?” Satoshi asked.
“Your best bet is to avoid pollution as much as possible.”
Satoshi stood up and walked over to the window. He pointed to the milky haze of fog illuminated different colors by the neon lights of Shibuya outside their window.
“Yes, well, wear a respirator, avoid prolonged exposure, always be sure to—”
“You know, it almost sounds like the safest thing for a child is to move out of the city,” Hisoka said.
Komagata smiled. It was a look of resignation. “Yeah. It is. And I always used to tell people that first. But I stopped pushing it after a while.”
“Why did you stop?” Hisoka asked.
“Nobody ever listened.”
Chapter Fourteen
The vehicle hugged the side of the green hillside as if for dear life, winding its way through the hills and valleys of Chiba Prefecture. They had passed Chiba City an hour ago and were now somewhere south of Ichihara.
Mei had to drive slowly and carefully here. The fog was too thick to see very far. Vehicles would periodically break out of the fog ahead of them for a few moments of visibility, only to be swallowed up by it again. At one point she had to swerve at the last second when a massive truck laden with construction materials appeared.
“Fucking Chiba,” Kentaro said from the passenger seat. “So this is where they make the air unbreathable.”
“Is this all for the Barrier?” Mei asked.
“Not all of it, but a lot. Remember, the Greater Tokyo area is something like thirty-three hundred square miles. And considering how quickly it consumes and regurgitates itself architecturally, it needs a lot of construction work and a huge industry just to keep pace. On top of that, now you’ve got the Barrier, which is one of the largest and most complicated civil engineering projects in the world. Probably the most pointless, too. So you’ve got all the concrete, cement, steel, petrochemical, and whatever else. Plus, the coal-fired power plants and natural gas plants to run them, now that nuclear power is off the table.”
“And that’s what makes the air so bad?”
“Yeah, all the shit they pump into the air is what gives us this lovely gray air we all breathe. But it’s not the whole story.”
“Oh? More good news?”
“No. Depending on the winds, we also get China’s pollution. Southern China is an industrial powerhouse, so we get the same shit from them. Northern and inland China have basically been reduced to desert by this point. So, you sometimes get these huge sandstorms of yellow dust that will make it as far as Tokyo.”
“I don’t remember seeing any yellow dust in the air.”
“No, it’s all just brown and gray by the time it mixes with the dust here. Don’t get me wrong, the shades of brown and gray are lovely, but still …” Kentaro shook his head.
“And this dust, the fog in the air, is this what’s causing the high cancer rates in Tokyo?”
“Well, it’s definitely a huge contributor to it. But you’ve also got the undead corpse of the Fukushima plant spewing radiation into the air. Hard to say on any given day if you’re just breathing toxic particulate matter that will tear your lungs to pieces, or if it’s mixed with a heavy dose of radiati
on being pumped out by Fukushima. Depends on the winds, really.”
“That’s not true. The government said the radiation is localized, that it’s not a danger in Tokyo.”
Kentaro snorted. “Those spent fuel pools and rods have been burning for years. Sure, the radiation is lower when it reaches Tokyo, and sure, we don’t get it every day, depending on the winds. But we’re all slowly being bathed in it, year by year.”
“You really think it’s behind the cancer?”
Kentaro looked out the window. “Your body has trillions of cells. All it takes is one of them, just one, to mutate and become cancerous. To not die when it’s supposed to, and turn your other cells cancerous. Just one genetic mutation. Every day we spend bathed in this fog, soaking in particulate matter and radiation, increases the chance of that mutation occurring.”
They soon arrived at HM Kensetsu.
“You in charge here?” Mei asked a guy giving orders on the site.
“I’m the foreman, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“We’re with the Shibuya Police Department. Wondering if we could ask you some questions about Tetsuo Kobayashi. Specifically, the last time you saw him.”
“Be about a week and a half ago, I guess. The day he disappeared.”
“Did you happen to see anything—” Mei said.
“Look, let’s just speed things up here, because I’ve got a site to run. So no, I didn’t see anyone suspicious. No, he wasn’t acting strange or frightened or doing anything out of the ordinary. Yes, it was just a normal day. No, he didn’t have any enemies that I knew of. Frankly, we all liked the guy. No, he didn’t owe any money. He mentioned that his next stop was the main onshore camp for the workers building the Barrier. That about cover it?”
“Seems like you’ve done this before,” Kentaro said.
“Yeah, well, you’re not the first cops to come out asking questions about shit I got nothing to do with.”
“And why do you suppose that is?” Mei asked.
The foreman rolled his eyes. “We both know goddamn well why that is.”
“So you know your employer has yakuza ties, right?”
Tokyo Noir: The Complete First Season Page 42