Finally, mercifully, the thousands of gallons of flammable diesel fuel that fed the ship's huge engines erupted into a fireball.

The Azure Dragon was blown to bits.

CHAPTER 5.

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE PORTLY.

May 13, 1998, 11:58 A.M.

The newsroom, INN headquarters

Tokyo, j.a.pan

All dressed up like a Thanksgiving turkey.

That's exactly how Brian Shimura felt as he stepped out of the elevator and onto the twentieth floor, where INN's suite of executive offices were located. He took another deep breath as the doors closed behind him. Brian found himself alone in a tastefully decorated waiting area.

The day had not begun auspiciously.

Nick woke him up in time for a quick shower and shave. Then Brian, clad in his best suit, waited for half an hour, until Nick finished dressing. Brian was stunned when his roommate emerged from his bedroom in blue jeans, a faded shirt, and a blue blazer with matching tie. "Don't worry, Brian, things are pretty relaxed once you've made an impression," Nick informed him.

Then Nick led Brian to the staff cafeteria, where he gobbled up a hearty meal. Brian, his stomach in knots, fingered his fruit salad.

"Nervous about meeting Boss Gaijin?" Nick asked.

"A little," Brian confessed.

Nick nodded sagely. "Just remember that Superman has his Perry White, Spider-Man has his J. Jonah Jameson, and we've got Everett P. Endicott the t.u.r.d - er, Third!" Nick said. "My advice to you is the same I offer to every other rookie who's wet behind the ears! Suck up, defer to Endicott's infinite wisdom, and don't talk back. Do all of those things, and you'll be just fine."

Brian shook his head dubiously.

"Look, there's really not much the guy can do to you," Nick said. "The worst he can dish out is a week in the mailroom, then a stint as a fact- checker... and he won't do that to an up-front guy like yourself!" Nick slapped him on the back. "You're in like Flynn, my man."

After breakfast, Nick led Brian to the personnel office and dumped him there.

"I'll meet you in the newsroom at eleven-thirty," Nick promised. "You might be done with your paperwork by then. Have fun!"

Nick trotted off just as a smiling j.a.panese woman handed Brian a huge folder. "Please fill these out, and I will bring you the rest," she said.

Two and a half hours later, Brian found the newsroom. The room itself was a maze of cubicles. Most of the desks had computer stations tied to a central information bank. There were dozens of men and woman busily processing bits of information. These items would be used as fodder for INN's hundreds of radio and television outlets worldwide.

A leather-faced j.a.panese man wearing a white shirt and a stained tie touched Brian's shoulder. He pointed to a cubicle in the far corner. "Sit there!" he said, then hurried off.

Brian sat down in front of a desk, a computer terminal, and a telephone. Otherwise, the cubicle was barren. Brian eyed the beige plastic part.i.tions warily. His claustrophobia mounted.

"Knock, knock!" Nick announced, peeking around the edge of the part.i.tion.

"Hey." Brian said with a wave of his hand.

"Almost time to meet Boss Gaijin, eh?" Nick asked.

"I'm afraid I'm gonna call him Boss Gaijin instead of Mr. Endicott," Brian said weakly.

"Don't worry so much!" Nick replied. "You're here now. He can't send you back home. You'll be fine."

Brian nodded. Nick was trying to comfort him, but his words had the opposite effect. "Hey, I have to talk to Boss Gaijin - I mean, Mr. Endicott - too. But you better meet him first - seeing me always puts him in a foul mood."

Just then the phone buzzed. Brian lifted the receiver. "Mr. Endicott will see you now," a woman's voice said on the other end of the line.

Brian rose, took a deep breath, and turned to Nick. "Wish me luck," he said.

Nick smiled as he straightened Brian's tie. "Break a leg," Nick said. "Preferably his." They headed to the bank of elevators together. Nick waited with Brian.

"I'm going to find Yoshi," Nick announced. "He's the best cameraman in Tokyo, and a great guy, too. You'll love him! Maybe I can wrangle us up an a.s.signment."

The elevator arrived and Brian stepped inside. He pushed the b.u.t.ton for the twentieth floor and rode up.

As he left the elevator, a young woman in a well- tailored designer jacket and a very short skirt turned the corner. She brushed her long auburn hair away from her face and smiled.

"You're Brian?" she asked. He nodded.

"A pleasure to meet you," she said brightly, extending her hand. "I'm May McGovern, Mr. Endicott's personal a.s.sistant."

"Hi," Brian said, momentarily tongue-tied. She's gorgeous! he thought.

"Mr. Endicott will be with you shortly," Ms. McGovern said. "If you'll just follow me."

She led him down a long hallway lined with office doors made of rich wood. They were all closed. As they walked, Brian eagerly antic.i.p.ated the rest of his first day on the job in his mind.

"Here we are, Mr. Shimura," May McGovern said as she opened a door, then ushered him into a huge corner office. With a final smile, May closed the door behind him. Brian turned.

In the center of the room, between two huge windows that looked out over Tokyo, sat a ma.s.sive teak desk. Behind the desk was a huge chair, and on that chair sat Everett P. Endicott. He did not look up from the papers spread out all over his desk.

"Find your office okay, Shimura?" he asked, still reading the papers in front of him.

"Yes, sir," Brian replied. You mean my cubicle, he thought.

"Good," Endicott nodded absently. "Sit down."

Brian reached out to shake Everett Endicott's hand, but the man's eyes never left the papers in front of him. After a moment, Brian lowered his hand and sat clown.

"You were supposed to be here for the Winter Olympics in Nagano," Endicott said with a trace of annoyance in his voice. "I could have used another sportscaster wannabe back then. I don't have much use for one now."

"Yes, well, I'm sorry," Brian answered uncomfortably. "It was... unavoidable." He didn't want to explain yet again about the family tragedy that had held up his arrival for four months.

"Never mind," Endicott said, glancing at the papers again. Brian realized with a start that his new boss was reading his academic file. Well, Brian thought, he already knows why I wasn't here, then.

They sat in silence for a minute or two. Finally, Endicott lifted his beady eyes and stared at Brian.

Everett P. Endicott the Third was a portly man, though his tailored suit hid some of the damage. The suit was the best money could buy, which was about what Brian expected of the grandson of the owner and founder of INN, but there was no hiding the thick roll of fat under his chin, nor the puffy hands that sat crossed on the desk.

Brian realized he was staring, and his vision drifted to the view outside the windows. Tokyo at lunchtime.

"I don't know what you'll do or where you'll work right now," Endicott said. "Not much interest in j.a.panese baseball in the States. You won't be doing work in your chosen area of interest. I'm sorry for that.

"So, for the present, I'm going to a.s.sign you to the mailroom. In a week or so we'll see about moving you up to filing and fact checking."

Brian groaned inside, but carefully hid his disappointment.

Endicott nodded, obviously happy with his own solution. "Yes, that will do..."

Then the big man rose ponderously from his desk. He stuck out his beefy hand and took Brian's.

"Welcome aboard." he said. "I'll have my secretary draw up your a.s.signment roster. See May if you have any problems at all."

Just then, the office door flew open. May McGovern tried to block the door, but Nick Gordon pushed right past her. She stared at his back, her eyes ablaze.

"Sorry to barge in, chief, but this is important!" Nick announced.

Endicott's face clouded. He motioned May to return to the outer office. Then Endicott focused his gaze on Nick.

"h.e.l.lo. Gordon," he said icily. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?"

"Well, you know that the Kawasaki plant is opening its new, totally robotic a.s.sembly line tomorrow. There's a big bash tonight, a tour -"

"And?" Endicott interrupted coldly.

"Well, if you sign our vouchers, Brian and I can take the bullet train. We can be there in a couple of hours. We'll take Yoshi and his camera, too. We'll stay the night, then cover the event tomorrow. I can show Brian here the ropes, and it'll be a great story for INN Science Sunday."

"I'll be the judge of what's a great story," Endicott barked pompously.

"Well, chief," Nick said innocently. "If you'd rather, I'll work with Max Hulse. Isn't he covering that Sea Base One story?"

"What's your a.s.signment for the week, Gordon?" Endicott demanded.

"Fact-checking," Nick said with a sigh.

"Then do it!" Endicott shot back. "Anyway, I've already sent Blackthorn Adams to cover the Kawasaki story. So get out of here, and take your new roommate with you!"

Brian grabbed Nick's arm and pulled him out of the office. Nick left without a struggle.

"What a jerk!" Nick declared as the office door shut behind them.

"What happened to your advice?" Brian asked. "Especially the part about sucking up... and shutting up?"

"No, no." Nick shook his head. "That's what you're supposed to do -"

"You little sneak!" May McGovern cried angrily. Startled, Nick and Brian turned to face her. May's hands were on her hips and her green eyes were flashing.

"I told you before, Nick Gordon," she hissed, wagging a finger at him. "Never ever barge in on the boss! Do you want to see me fired?"

She slammed some files down on her desk. Papers scattered. "Knowing you, that's probably exactly what you want!" she spat.

Nick stammered. Brian blushed. When May realized no answer - or apology - was forthcoming, she pointed to the door. "Get out of here, Gordon," she commanded.

Nick and Brian rushed to the elevators and returned to the newsroom.

Back at Endicott's office, May apologized to her boss. "Don't worry about it, May," the fat man said as he settled into his chair.

"It was all that moron Gordon's fault," May said. She was still hissing mad. "I can't wait until INN sends him back to Cleveland!"

A few minutes after she returned to her desk and gathered up her files, the intercom buzzed.

"Get Blackthorn Adams on the line," Endicott told her. "I want him to go up to Kawasaki's new plant and cover the opening of their robotic a.s.sembly line. He can take that new cameraman, what's his name?"

"Yoshi Masahara." May answered.

"Yeah, that's him," Endicott replied. "Tell them to tape a feature for INN Science Sunday. They should go up there tonight on the bullet train. I'll sign their vouchers."