The Last Assassin

arrangement could cause problems for us.
    In fact, it already had, because she was no longer free to speak and so couldn’t give Dox and me the real-time updates I wanted. She’d been doing a nice job of keeping us informed under the guise of talking to the people she was with, true, but that kind of communication had its limits.
    Well, she knew where Yamaoto was right now and could tell me soon enough. In the meantime, I wanted to get things rolling.
    “Delilah,” I said, “I’m going to jam the main room emergency exit door now. We’ll use the basement exit, per the plan. If that’s okay, clear your throat.”
    She did.
    “Okay,” I said. “I’m on my way. I’ll be in touch again in a few minutes.”
    I picked up one of the steel bars and started moving in. I was wearing a navy suit, deep blue shirt, and a navy tie. Dark, dark, and dark isn’t exactly the height of sartorial splendor, in my book, but the outfit served two purposes. Out here, it would reassure anyone who might see me that I was a fine, upstanding citizen, perhaps carrying away some refuse. I’d have to keep my right side away from an onlooker, of course, lest the suppressed HK and thigh rig spoil the effect, but in low light that would be good enough. A black ninja outfit and matching balaclava just wouldn’t have conveyed as favorable an impression. And later, inside the club, with the lights out, the outfit would make me that much less visible. The rubber-soled Clarks shoes I was wearing weren’t going to threaten Jermyn Street fashion dominance anytime soon, either, but they were as sure-footed and quiet as sneakers. Comfortable, too.
    At the end of the alley, I stopped to look and listen—all quiet—then crept over to the rear of the building. I put one end of the bar in one of the expansion gaps in the path, then quietly placed the other at about waist level on the nonhinged side of the emergency door. I played with the angle, up and down, left and right, until the fit was snug, then repeatedly shoved down on the bar until it was wedged as tightly as possible into place. I tried to pull it out, but it wouldn’t budge. Okay. I headed back to my position.
    “The emergency exit off the main room is jammed,” I said into the transmitter. “So now it’s up to you. I’m waiting for your signal. Clear your throat if you copy and I’ll stand by.”

38
    D ELILAH SAT WITH BIG LIU , Kuro, and Yamaoto as a quick succession of waitresses brought them hot wash towels, a variety of snacks Delilah didn’t recognize, and a bottle of Taittinger champagne. Kuro spoke with the waitresses in Japanese. Delilah pretended to understand the men’s English only slightly better.
    “Well,” Big Liu asked as a waitress poured their champagne, “what do you think of Whispers?”
    “Whispering?” Delilah asked, with a confused smile. If she played it right, they would think her not only English-incapable, but a bit dim, as well, and it was always good to be underestimated by the people you were manipulating.
    “The club,” Big Liu responded, gesturing to their surroundings and smiling indulgently.
    “Ah, of course! The club…very beautiful, yes.”
    The waitress placed the champagne bottle in a silver ice bucket on the table, bowed, and moved off. Yamaoto raised his glass and said, “Well. To good business.”
    They all touched glasses and drank.
    She heard Rain in her ear, telling her the door was jammed now, that she should clear her throat if she heard him. She did so.
    She glanced around the room. Their toast and apparent bonhomie seemed not to have relaxed the nearby bodyguards, who still looked as though they were on a hair trigger. Rain wanted her to proceed right away, but she thought that, with the way the bodyguards were wired, if the lights went out now they might spring into some kind of action. It would be better if a little time passed and they settled down before something out of the ordinary occurred. She decided to wait just a little. When the atmosphere was more relaxed, she would excuse herself to use the restroom, give Rain the word that she was on the way, and let him in when his man cut the power.
    For a few minutes, the men, led by Big Liu, tried to engage her in some polite conversation about how she liked Tokyo, but in short order tired of her struggles with English. They began talking among themselves, their references to business matters initially guarded, but then increasingly transparent as they drank more