Broken Arrow (A Breed Thriller Book 5) by Cameron Curtis

Author:Cameron Curtis [Curtis, Cameron]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Inkubator Books
Published: 2022-09-24T16:00:00+00:00

20

Tokyo Station

Rin’s dojo is dark. A light is on in her living quarters. I stand next to the Toyota, parked on the street. Rin and Niko have gone inside to fetch his things. Items held for safekeeping while he was in prison.

I take out my phone and hit Stein’s speed dial. She picks up on the first buzz.

“Niko paid off,” I tell her. “We found Goro at the safe house.”

“Where is he now?”

“He didn’t survive interrogation.”

“Pity. Did he provide useful intel?”

“Goro went to meet Tono alone. When the exchange fell through, Goro and Soryu were left with the initiator and no money. KOK contacted Soryu and gave him new instructions. This afternoon, he left on the Tokaido Shinkansen for Kyushu. He was on the train while we were in Yamashita Mas’s office. We’re going to follow him.”

“I’m surprised Soryu told Goro the plan,” Stein says. “Need to know and all that.”

“Soryu didn’t tell Goro. The little creep eavesdropped on the call.”

“Curiosity kills the cat, every time. What’s in Kyushu?”

“Soryu is taking the initiator to a castle on Arashi Bay, on the east coast.”

“Why not fly? There are direct flights from Tokyo to Oita.”

“Can’t take weapons on a plane, and he would have had the same problem with the initiator that he faced in San Francisco. He wasn’t about to try the FedEx trick again, so he took the train. We will too.”

“You’re going with Niko and Rin?”

“Yes.”

I can hear Stein tapping keys on her laptop. “Assuming Soryu took the Tokaido Shinkansen after lunch, he arrived at the castle a couple of hours ago. That’s quite a head start.”

“Rin tells me there is a new sleeper service to Fukuoka,” I tell her. “I reckon he’s got twelve hours on us.”

More tapping. With her customary efficiency, Stein is checking schedules.

“You know they’re going to be watching for you.”

Little Miss Sunshine. Of course, I’ve thought of that. The Yakuza we left at the kissaten will tell KOK that we took Goro. Goro wasn’t supposed to know about the castle, but they won’t take chances. They’ll spare no effort to track and eliminate us.

“I’ll handle them.”

“Do you think Yamashita Mas is running the operation?”

I’d wondered why the oyabun gave Niko the location of the safe house. Giri toward Niko is a powerful motivating factor for a Yakuza. But Yamashita is also a businessman. “I don’t know. By telling Niko about the safe house, Yamashita extinguished his lifelong obligation to Niko. That’s a big deal, and he didn’t think he was giving up anything of value. Soryu was long gone, and Goro wasn’t supposed to know anything.”

“Maybe he is, and maybe he isn’t. I don’t see a Yakuza running KOK.”

“True enough. KOK’s tentacles seem to reach everywhere.”

“Okay,” Stein says, “what’s the deal with Niko?”

I don’t like saying it, but I give Stein the news, straight-up. “Niko’s a psychopath.”

“Okay.” Stein draws the word out as she processes this information. “Whose side is he on?”

“Niko is on Niko’s side. He and Ken don’t speak. He’s protective of Rin, but he’s pissed off at her.

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