The Last Assassin

kill him for it. And he was nearly apoplectic after the shootout at his club. But I expect he’ll be mollified now. No one is better positioned than he to take over Yamaoto’s operations.”
    “His colleagues aren’t going to suspect he was behind all this?”
    “They might. That fear has always inhibited him from moving against Yamaoto previously, despite my strong encouragement. That, and of course his fear about the consequences if a move against Yamaoto failed. But now we’ve given him a fait accompli. What else can he do but move aggressively to consolidate power?”
    “What about the Chinese?”
    “Kuro was always Yamaoto’s conduit to the Chinese. If he doesn’t tell them you were behind this, they’ll have no reason to know. And even if he did tell them, would they believe it? More likely they would think you’re a bogeyman he was making up to divert attention from yakuza responsibility for the massacres at Wajima and Whispers. No, I suspect Kuro will find a way to end this war simply by putting as much blame as possible on Yamaoto.”
    I nodded, thinking about it. It sounded reasonable. But I expected it would be a while before it completely sank in.
    “You see?” he asked. “You can go to Midori and your son now. There’s nothing stopping you.”
    “I might do that,” I said. But the truth was, at that moment Midori and Koichiro felt farther away than ever.
    “Just be sure to stop by before you leave town. I’d hate to miss you.”
    “I’m not going anywhere right away. I’d like to spend some time with you, if that’s okay.”
    He squeezed my hand. “It’s fine. And I can promise not to keep you long.”
    I shook my head. “Come on, stop that.”
    He shook his head. “I have to. I wouldn’t have known it, but this is the way I cope. And you have to admit, it’s more becoming than self-pity.”
    “Mildly,” I said, provoking a short laugh that degenerated into a cough. I got him his water and he sipped it through the straw.
    My cell phone buzzed. I looked down and saw a 212 area code. It took me a second to recognize it and realize who it was.
    “It’s Midori,” I said, standing up.
    He smiled. “Perhaps this is fate.”
    I walked over to the window and flipped open the phone. My heart was beating hard.
    “Hi,” I said.
    “Jun, two men just threatened me outside a club right before a gig. They had pictures of Koichiro and the nanny at a park, our address, my schedule, everything. They said they would hurt us if I didn’t tell them where to find you!”
    My stomach flipped and I felt like I was going to vomit. I took a deep breath and said, “Slow down. Did they say who they were?”
    “No. They were Japanese, yakuza from the way they looked and talked. You fuck, what did you do?”
    “Take Koichiro. Right now, take him somewhere no one would know to look for you. Don’t use credit cards, don’t use your cell phone…”
    “I am not going to just pull the two of us out of our life! Because of you!”
    “Midori, you have to…”
    “No!”
    I thought for a moment. “Okay, it’s going to be okay. I’m going to come out there, I’m going to take care of this.”
    “Don’t come out here. Stay the hell away from us!”
    “That’s not going to solve the problem,” I said, surprised at the calm in my voice. “Let’s solve this problem, then you can do anything you want. Did you tell them anything? How to find me?”
    “What could I tell them?”
    “Okay, I’m going to check on something, then I’m going to call you back in fifteen minutes.”
    I clicked off without even waiting for an answer. Tatsu was already pale from what he’d overheard. When I told him what had happened, he went white.
    “What the fuck is going on?” I said. “You just told me…”
    “I told you, Kuro isn’t in control yet. No one even knows yet that Yamaoto is dead.”
    “Yeah, but when could Yamaoto have…”
    “Maybe on the way from the club, in the limousine. Before he got to the hospital. Let me check.”
    Tatsu picked up his phone and input a number. He asked questions. Listened. Asked more questions. Listened again. He said, “Call them off.” He listened more, then swore and clicked off. He looked at me.
    “Yes, it seems Yamaoto made the call on the way to the hospital. He sent two soldiers to New York. To pressure Midori and the child to get to you.”
    “And if the pressure doesn’t work?”
    He didn’t answer. He didn’t need to. I could see it in his