They spotted the police officers congregating near a corner of the emergency department. Each bed was sectioned off with curtains.

Nezuma nodded at Shuko, who slid behind one of the officers and then came back a moment later as he stood there studying a sheaf of papers on a desk nearby.

"The chart says she is scheduled for X-rays in twenty minutes," Shuko said.

Nezuma nodded. "Fast for a hospital this size."

They walked out of the emergency department and Nezuma led them toward radiology. Along the way, he grabbed a large brown envelope with X-ray screens from a clear plastic file holder outside a patient's room. Shuko helped herself to a clipboard and pen and appeared to be taking notes as they walked.

"There's no telling how many people will be in the department," Nezuma said. "Hopefully, there won't be too many."

"Incapacitate or kill?" Shuko asked.

"Just knock them out," Nezuma said. "And I'd prefer if we did this as covertly as possible. No sense having our faces televised. I have a reputation to keep up, you know."

"I understand."

As they approached the radiology department, they suddenly found themselves facing a group of doctors engaged in a spirited conversation as they walked toward Shuko and Nezuma.

Nezuma started talking to Shuko. "Mr. Hanaguchi's X-ray films show that he has a stress fracture on his right fibula, possibly resulting from an overexertion during his daily fitness regimen. However, certain diseases cannot be ruled out as the cause of bone weakening and fracturing, so I'd like to make sure..."

The group of doctors pa.s.sed by without incident, not even pausing to say h.e.l.lo. To them it probably looked as if Nezuma was an older doctor discussing a diagnosis with a younger intern.

The doors to the radiology department slid open. Nezuma kept up his monologue with Shuko, who pretended to jot down extensive notes on the clipboard she carried. Nezuma noted to himself that she carried it just high enough to obscure her face. Nezuma himself was turned slightly toward Shuko and he had changed the timbre of his voice.

He could see a door leading back to the X-ray room. A lone nurse sat at the desk busy working on a computer. Nezuma kept talking as Shuko moved forward and then behind the nurse at the desk.

Within seconds, the nurse was unconscious. Nezuma helped Shuko move her and then he nodded at the doors. "Better check and see who else is here."

Shuko slid through the doors. Nezuma thought he heard a brief snippet of conversation, followed by a thud. Shuko reappeared and waved him back.

Nezuma took the nurse by her armpits and backed through the doors.

Shuko waited by an empty closet. The radiology technician was already bound and gagged. She tied up the nurse and then gagged her, as well.

Nezuma glanced at her. "How long do you think we have until they come around?"

"A half hour, no more. We'll have to be quick."

Shuko took the nurse's place behind the desk. Nezuma waited on the other side of the doors.

Five minutes later, he heard the approach of a wheelchair. He looked out through the doors and saw a lone schoolgirl sitting in the chair with her head bent slightly forward. Nezuma frowned.

He could see the girl was playing on her injuries. Every so often she would surrept.i.tiously scan the area. He smirked. Whoever had hired them knew how to find talent.

He walked through the door and saw a police officer and nurse's a.s.sistant standing next to the wheelchair.

"What do we have here?" Nezuma asked.

"She won't tell us her name," the nurse's a.s.sistant said. "But she took quite a thump on the head. Dr. Tohno wants a complete X-ray of the skull to make sure she doesn't have anything to worry about."

Nezuma took the chart from the nurse's a.s.sistant and opened it, pretending to scan the information. He snapped it shut and nodded. "Very well. Let's get her in back."

Shuko came around from the desk and took the wheelchair. Nezuma held the doors for her. The police officer and a.s.sistant started to sit, but Nezuma smiled and said to them, "There's no need to wait. I'll have my a.s.sistant bring her back down when we're done."

The nurse's a.s.sistant frowned. "I'm supposed to wait for her. Apparently, she's been a bit troublesome."

Nezuma shook his head. "If she's got a knock on her head, she's probably got a headache that won't quit. That makes anyone cranky." He gestured to the police officer. "You look tired. Are you all right?"

The cop nodded. "I'm fine."

"Tell you what, why don't you two go and grab a cup of coffee upstairs? Come back in about forty minutes and I'll have her all ready for you to take back."

"Are you sure?" the nurse's a.s.sistant asked.

Nezuma waved at them. "Go. Enjoy."

They started to leave but as the doors to radiology slid open, the police officer stopped. "Doctor?"

Nezuma turned around. "Yes?"

"Can we bring you anything back?"

"Hmm? Oh, you know, that would be very kind of you. If it's no bother, I'll take a large coffee with extra cream, please. And my a.s.sistant is a real lover of the chai chai they serve there now." they serve there now."

The cop grinned. "My partner digs that stuff, too. Me? I can't see the attraction."

Nezuma smiled. "Thanks. I'd better get back there and start the X-rays. If she's as cranky as you say, I don't want her around here any longer than necessary."

He watched them leave and then slid back through the doors into the X-ray room. Shuko was standing over the girl. Her hands were bound to the wheelchair and her ankles were tied, as well.

Nezuma could see the fear in her eyes. She looked as if the entire situation simply didn't compute.

He bent down so she could see his face. "h.e.l.lo there, my dear. You and I are going to have a nice little conversation. And if I like what you have to say, I'll even let you go."

He patted her hand. "But if you don't be a good little girl and tell me exactly what I want to know, then my a.s.sistant here is going to make sure your life becomes very painful indeed."

Shuko made a show out of sliding a scalpel under the girl's nose, just an inch from her skin. The girl's breathing increased. Nezuma could see the line of sweat that broke out along her hairline.

"Now, I'm going to take the gag out of your mouth and ask you some questions. If you scream, you will only do so for a mere second before we kill you." He chuckled. "I'd suggest you refrain from such activity."

Shuko stood poised to strike. Nezuma leaned closer. "Do we have a deal?"

The girl nodded.

Nezuma smiled. "Excellent. Let's begin."

16.

He was a huge man by j.a.panese standards.

Towering over most people, he didn't so much walk as he did loom. His shadow fell long over the hallway he stalked down, and the people he pa.s.sed only dared glance after him before turning back to their own worlds.

He detested the idea of impersonating anyone, but even he recognized the value of blending in. After all, he'd survived as long as he had based on his ability to remain undetected.

The hit had gone wrong.

Terribly so.

And the sudden appearance of a monk of all things meant that the plan had backfired in the worst way. Now he was left with the task of cleaning up the entire mess and ensuring that no one would be left alive who could link him to the attempt.

That meant doing things he would have normally preferred to employ someone else to do. He frowned. Doing so would have meant another loose end. A liability he simply couldn't afford.

His navy-blue uniform looked more black and reflected the dour mood that had come over him upon learning of the failed a.s.sa.s.sination. Not that he had expected it to go off well in the first place. Something like this was, after all, more of an experiment than anything else. But it had gone so utterly badly, that even he had been surprised.

He strode into the emergency department at the hospital and saw the relaxed group of patrol officers scattered all over the ward. When they saw him, they immediately snapped to attention, one of them going so far as to throw up a hasty salute.

"Who is in charge here?" he snapped.

Another officer stepped forward. "Shiraishi, sir!"

He looked around the room and glowered. "Your men are pathetic. They lounge about as if this were break time rather than a place of professional business. Get them looking sharp. I want to know all the latest information about what happened in that alley and I want to know it right now."

The patrol officer named Shiraishi turned and pointed at another officer. "You there-get the commander the latest reports."

Shiraishi turned back to him. "Can I get you something to drink, sir?"

"No."

"Very well. I was not informed you would be coming down to oversee this operation."

He barely even glanced at Shiraishi. "And since when is headquarters required to inform you that I am taking a personal interest in a case? Or are you now of the belief that you have the experience to run such things?"

"No, sir. I was merely commenting that I find it strange to see you here. Mostly, we never even see you at all."

"And you should count yourself lucky you do not. The more times I have to come out of my office to supervise something, the more likely it is that things have been done wrong. I am sent out to correct errors, Shiraishi. And I do not like finding them in the work of supposedly competent police officers under my command."

"No, sir."

"Where are those reports?"

Shiraishi turned and waved over the man he'd spoken to earlier. The officer ran up with a sheaf of papers and handed them to Shiraishi, who in turn handed them to him.

He glanced at them, scowling and grunting at the appropriate times and places. Finally, he took a deep breath and huffed it out.

"A monk."

"Sir?"

"A monk was able to disarm and render unconscious twelve armed schoolgirls?"

Shiraishi nodded. "It certainly appears that way, sir."

"What about surveillance?"

"Sir?"

"The video cameras, Shiraishi. Have you been able to pull anything from any of the local surveillance cameras?"

Shiraishi looked confused. "We weren't aware there were any in the area, sir."

He sighed. Of course, this dolt did not know about the cameras. Most of j.a.panese society didn't know about them. But the government had secretly and very quietly put an extensive network of video cameras throughout j.a.pan's major cities. The cameras were linked to huge computer banks that constantly ran facial-recognition software, comparing the thousands of faces that pa.s.sed by them daily with the faces of known radicals and terrorists.

But Shiraishi didn't know that. He wasn't supposed to know that. And the dim look on his face told him as much.

He cleared his throat. "The Internet cafe didn't have video cameras? All that computer equipment and they're not the least bit concerned about getting robbed?"

Shiraishi shrugged. "I'm not sure, sir."

"Well, maybe it would be worth the time to send an officer down there to see if maybe he does have any cameras. And if so, could he potentially have a glimpse of our mysterious monk lurking through a frame or two?"

Shiraishi turned and dispatched two officers to investigate.

He glanced back at the report and then looked back at Shiraishi. "What about a composite sketch?"

"Sir?"

"Of the monk, Shiraishi. If you've got the witnesses this report claims, then maybe they could get together and come up with some sort of rendition we might use to track this character down. I wouldn't think it would be too difficult to spot a monk in robes wandering the city with a staff, would you?"

"No, sir."

"Get it done."

"Right away, sir."

He glanced around. The emergency department was fairly empty. The evening rush hadn't started yet and most of the staff was relaxed. He looked back at the report, aware that Shiraishi was looking at him again.

"What are we doing about the j.a.panese man and the American woman?"

"We have officers out looking for them, sir." Shiraishi looked decidedly uncomfortable. "But they seem to have disappeared."

He grinned. "Who can blame them? If I'd just been targeted by a dozen schoolgirls, I'd make myself scarce, too."