The Last Assassin by Barry Eisler

Author:Barry Eisler [Eisler, Barry]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
ISBN: 9780141025940
Google: fp9RPgAACAAJ
Amazon: 0451412400
Barnesnoble: 0451412400
Goodreads: 1131592
Publisher: Onyx
Published: 2005-12-31T11:00:00+00:00

20

Yamaoto Toshi was asleep in his Moto Azabu apartment when his mobile phone rang. He glanced at the bedside alarm clock, which read 5:30 A.M. A call at this hour could only mean bad news, and he immediately thought of the delivery that had been scheduled to take place in Wajima just a few hours earlier.

He sat up, switched on a light, and cleared his throat. He looked at the caller ID display on his phone. It was Kuromachi, Kuro, the man who was handling the Chinese. Yamaoto's foreboding that something had gone wrong in Wajima increased.

He opened the phone and placed it to his ear. 'Hai.'

'Yamaoto-san, forgive me for calling at this hour,' Kuro said in Japanese. 'We've had a problem with tonight's delivery, and I thought you should know right away.'

'What is it?'

'The Chinese sent three men ashore on a catamaran to deliver the shipment and collect payment. When the men failed to return, another launch was sent to find out what had happened. The second crew found the three men shot to death. The money and the shipment are gone. So are Kito and Sanada.'

Yamaoto wiped a hand over his face and thought, Komatta. Shit.

'Kito and Sanada are reliable men, sir,' Kuro continued after a moment. 'I'm certain…'

'For the moment,' Yamaoto said, cutting him off, 'it doesn't matter what we're certain of. It's what the Chinese think that matters. You heard this from them?'

'Yes, sir. From the pilot of the boat. He called just five minutes ago.'

Kuro had spent several childhood years in China when his father's employer had sent the man there to work in a fan factory, and as a result Kuro spoke excellent Chinese and was the perfect conduit to United Bamboo. Yamaoto had been happy having Kuro run that operation and the man had been doing well, but there were times when the boss had to become personally involved, if only to convey the appearance of proper concern to the other side. Kuro would understand that.

'You have men looking for Kito and Sanada?' Yamaoto asked.

'Yes, sir.'

'Make that a priority. All your resources. Find those men and find out what happened.'

'Yes, sir.'

Yamaoto clicked off. He sat for a few minutes, thinking. What the hell had happened? Kito and Sanada were indeed reliable. Even if they weren't, they would know stealing from Yamaoto would mean at best a paranoid life as a fugitive, and more likely a swift death.

Still, with the amount of drugs and cash involved, the temptation would have been substantial. And if they were innocent, why didn't they come to him?

The moment he posed the question to himself, he knew the answer. The Chinese would want blood. Whether his men were guilty or innocent, Yamaoto was almost certainly going to have to sacrifice them if he wanted to prevent a war. Kito and Sanada would understand that. They would know their deaths now represented the quickest and surest way of resolving the matter.

He got up, used the bathroom, and pulled on a robe.

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