Hard Rain

fucking
    God!" he spluttered. "Oh my God!"
    "First time you've seen something like that?" I asked, my tone
    deliberately casual. "It gets easier as you go along. Of course, in
    your case, the next time you see it, it's going to be happening to
    you."
    His face was white and getting whiter, and I wondered for a moment if
    there was some danger that he might faint. I needed to help him
    focus.
    "Kanezaki. You were telling me about Haruyoshi Fukasawa. About how
    you knew that he's an associate of mine. Keep going, please."
    He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "We knew ... we knew he was
    connected to you because we intercepted a letter."
    "A letter?"
    His eyes opened. "From him to Midori Kawamura, in New York. Mentioning
    you."
    Goddamn it, I thought, at the mention of her name. I just couldn't get
    clear of these people. They were like cancer. You think you've cut it
    out, it always comes back.
    And spreads, to the people around you.
    "Keep going," I said, scowling.
    "Jesus Christ, I'm telling you that's all I know!"
    If he panicked completely, I wouldn't get anything useful. The trick
    was to keep him scared, but not so scared that he began to make things
    up just to please me.
    "All right," I told him. "That's all you know about how. But you
    still haven't told me about why. Why you were trying to find me."
    "Look, you know I can't talk about..."
    I seized his throat hard. His eyes bulged. He snaked one arm between
    mine and tried to lever my grip open. It looked like something he
    might have picked up in one of the Agency's weekend personal security
    courses. Kudos to him for remembering it under pressure. Too bad it
    didn't work.
    "Kanezaki," I said, loosening the grip enough so he could breathe, 'in
    one minute you will either go on living or someone will find you next
    to your friend there. Which it is depends entirely on what you say to
    me in that minute. Now start talking."
    I felt him swallow beneath the pressure from my hand.
    "All right, all right," he said. He was talking fast now. "For ten
    years the USG has been pressuring Japan to reform its banks and get its
    finances in order. For ten years things have only gotten worse. The
    economy is beginning to collapse now. If the collapse continues, Japan
    will be the first domino to fall. Southeast Asia, Europe, and America
    will be next. The country has to reform. But the vested interests are
    so deeply entrenched that reform is impossible."
    I looked at him. "You've got about forty seconds left. You're not
    doing well."
    "Okay, okay! Tokyo Station has been tasked with an action program of
    furthering reform and removing impediments to reform. The program is
    called Crepuscular. We know what you've been doing freelance. I think
    ... I think what my superiors want to ask you for is your
    assistance."
    "For what purpose?" I asked.
    "For removing impediments."
    "But you aren't sure of that?"
    "Look, I've been with the Agency for three years. There's a lot they
    don't tell me. But anyone who knows your history and knows about
    Crepuscular can put two and two together."
    I looked at him, considering my options. Kill him? His superiors
    wouldn't know what had happened. But they'd assume I'd been behind it,
    of course. And although they wouldn't be able to get to me, they had a
    good fix on Harry and Midori.
    No, killing this kid wasn't going to get the Agency out of my life. Or
    out of Harry's or Midori's.
    "I'll think about your proposal," I told him. "You can tell your
    superiors I said so."
    "I didn't propose anything. I was only speculating. If I tell my
    superiors what we just talked about, I'll be sent back to Langley for a

desk job."
    "Tell them anything you want. If I'm interested, I'll get in touch
    with you. You personally. If I'm not interested, I'll expect you to
    understand that my silence means no. I'll also expect you to stop
    trying to find me, especially through other people. If I learn that
    you aren't respecting these wishes, I'll hold you responsible. You,
    personally. Do you understand?"
    He started to say something, then gagged. I saw what was coming and
    stepped out of the way. He leaned over and vomited.
    I took it as a yes.
    I walked back to Ebisu and caught a Yamanote train to Shibuya. I took
    the Miyamasuzaka exit to Shibuya i -chome, then walked the short
    distance to the Hatou coffee shop. Windowless Hatou, with its dark
    wood floors and tables and long hinoki counter, its hundreds of
    exquisite porcelain cups and saucers, and