"Yes."

She leaned against the armrest of the black BMW they rode in. "Do you remember when you took me to Milan for my birthday?"

"What about it?"

"The fashion show we went to, the one where you said I was more beautiful than any of the women who walked the runway."

He nodded. "I remember. And it was the truth. You always take my breath away."

She touched the side of his face. "I never said thank you for that trip."

He smiled. "I thought you said thank you in other ways."

She turned away. "Well, yes, but I like to say it for real, too. You didn't have to take me anywhere for my birthday, but you did. And it meant the world to me. Spending time with you was the best gift of all."

"That dinner we had was amazing. The wine especially was incredible."

Shuko nodded. "The waiter said it was from a local winery. That the restaurant was one of the only places in the world where you could get a bottle of it. And how it was aged, the secret family recipe."

"We had some great times together, didn't we?"

She smiled at him. "Yes."

He patted her thigh. "And when we get the dorje dorje, we'll have even more of them, just you wait."

"I am."

Nezuma looked back at the noodle shop. "I must admit I was a bit impressed by Creed's athletic ability with that fire escape. Part of me expected she would fall when it came to the sudden stop."

"As did I. But she managed to hold on. I think it's fair to a.s.sume she injured her shoulder, though. I saw her clutching it as they ran down the street," Shuko said.

Nezuma frowned. "Knowing the ninja, he'll have some sort of herbal remedy that will make her all better."

"Too bad."

Nezuma shrugged. "No matter. She's as good as dead anyway as soon as they locate the dorje dorje."

Shuko checked her watch. "They really ought to be coming out any time now."

"You're going to estimate how long it takes them to eat?"

"These subway noodle stands don't make money if they don't keep the customer turnover high. Meals get served fast and customers know to eat just as quick. I should know-there were enough of them where I begged for food when I was younger."

"Before me," Nezuma said.

She smiled at him. "Yes. Before you."

He pointed. "It appears you were right."

In front of the car, Annja and Kennichi walked away from the noodle stand. Nezuma nodded. "She's not clutching her shoulder anymore."

"You think she's acting?" Shuko asked.

"Maybe."

Nezuma started the car and slid it into Drive. "This is the tough part. I've got to keep tabs on them, but without making this car an item of curiosity for them. That wouldn't be good."

"I'll go on foot," Shuko said. "That way we'll have me as point. You can trail behind at a safe distance."

Nezuma frowned. "You're sure?"

"Why not?"

"Because that man ahead is a ninja. And he's very well-trained. He's shown himself to be extremely capable at detecting surveillance."

"You think I can't stay concealed?"

"I didn't say that."

She smiled again. "I appreciate your concern, master, but I'll be fine."

"There's a risk of him seeing you. He might think we were the ones who killed his contact back at that warehouse. He might just take his anger out on you."

"I can handle myself."

Nezuma shrugged. "It's your call."

Shuko opened the door. "Then I choose this." She opened her cell phone. "I'll be in touch."

Nezuma watched her go and shook his head. He couldn't remember her being quite so stubborn before this. He wondered if the near choking he'd given her last night might have been just a bit too much.

He sighed. The hunt for the dorje dorje had absorbed much of his life, from the time he was a young boy and had heard legends about it. And when he'd grown up and learned that the had absorbed much of his life, from the time he was a young boy and had heard legends about it. And when he'd grown up and learned that the ninjitsu ninjitsu family that had been given the family that had been given the dorje dorje had then entrusted it to mere monks, it had angered and infuriated him. had then entrusted it to mere monks, it had angered and infuriated him.

As the last remaining descendant of Shotoku Taishi, Nezuma took it personally that the gift his ancestor had given to the ninja had been so callously disregarded. And if the dorje dorje was returned to the Taishi family, the legends spoke of untold wealth and power that would be theirs. was returned to the Taishi family, the legends spoke of untold wealth and power that would be theirs.

Nezuma had spent much of his family fortune trying to locate the dorje dorje. And he had spent much of his time scouting for an a.s.sistant he could secure the dorje dorje with. with.

Shuko was that person.

Or she had been until recently. Certainly Nezuma had feelings for her. He wouldn't deny himself the truth, and the truth was simply that he had affection for her.

But love?

No.

And that was precisely what she wanted.

From the way she spoke-the memories of past trips, the dinners, the wine and the vacations-all of it meant she was thinking far too much about what their time together meant to her.

She wasn't thinking about the mission.

And that was dangerous.

Nezuma sighed. He would definitely have to kill her.

He ruminated on the matter but then pushed it out of his mind. He'd killed others whom he'd cared for. He'd murdered his own mother when she'd threatened to cut him off from any financial support when he was just eighteen years old.

He would have expected it to be difficult to kill the woman who had brought him into the world kicking and crying, who had suckled him at her breast while he grew.

But no.

In fact, Nezuma had relished the utter feeling of absolute power as he grasped her tiny throat in one hand and simply flexed his wrist the right way. The barely audible crack as her neck popped surprised him more.

It was so easy.

And he never had nightmares about it, either. But Nezuma wasn't sure he believed in an afterlife anyway. Or heaven and h.e.l.l. But the promise of magic with regards to the dorje dorje had been enough to make him sit up and buy into the superst.i.tion. had been enough to make him sit up and buy into the superst.i.tion.

He grinned. Who wouldn't?

Ahead of the car, Nezuma watched Creed and Kennichi walk purposefully down the street as if they were headed right to their location.

"They're in a hurry," he said to himself.

Shuko lingered behind, on the opposite side of the street. She perused the sidewalk market stalls and only showed the vaguest sense of direction. Nezuma smiled and shook his head. She was the best at tailing someone on foot.

And in a car, she was pretty good, too.

Shuko moved down the street and then pressed the b.u.t.tons on her cell phone. A second later, Nezuma's own purred on the seat.

"Yes?"

"You see them still?" Shuko asked.

"They're out of my range. I can see you."

"They look like they're grabbing a taxi. You'd better come and pick me up."

"Wait it out until that's confirmed. I don't want to risk burning you."

He could hear her impatience on the phone. "And if they get into a fast cab, it will take too long for you to pick me up. We could lose them again."

He frowned. "Your impatience almost cost us this yesterday. Let's not make that mistake again."

"Trust me."

Nezuma cut the phone off and slid the BMW into gear. He rolled down the street slowly and then pulled over by the corner, idling.

Behind him now, Shuko still showed no interest in either the party she was tailing or the car that Nezuma sat in. He glanced down the street and could see Kennichi and Creed hailing a taxi.

Shuko slid into the front seat. "There they go."

Nezuma pulled out and into the traffic slipstream. The taxi cut down a side street. Nezuma frowned. "I don't like this."

"You think he's directing the driver?"

"Wouldn't you?"

"Yes."

Nezuma pointed. "You see? He just had him pull over and idle for a moment." Nezuma drove past the street and then took the next option left.

"You know your way around Ueno?" Shuko seemed surprised.

Nezuma smiled. "I've been here a number of times. Each one ended worse than the previous trip. Nothing but endless frustration in my search for the dorje dorje."

"So you suspected that it was hidden somewhere in Iga?"

"Suspicions," Nezuma said, "are at best worse than a.s.sumptions. But yes, I suspected it. And I spent long hours up in those mountains looking and trying to find anyone who could help me uncover where it might be."

"And now we're back here again."

Nezuma frowned. "This is not a sweet homecoming, either. Not by any stretch of the imagination. I abhor Iga and what it represents. The fact that ninja used to flourish in this geographical location leaves me nauseous."

"Why do you hate them so much?" Shuko asked.

"Because they are the ant.i.thesis of what true Bushido stands for. Ninja operate outside the law of moral conduct."

Shuko looked at him. "Master..."

Nezuma smiled. "I know, I'm stretching things a bit, aren't I?"

"Just a bit."

He nodded. "When my ancestor gave them the dorje dorje, he was bestowing a tremendous honor upon them. And I feel like they spit it back in his face by relinquishing their responsibility to care for it properly. It's almost as if the ninja themselves knew what they were capable of and that the dorje dorje couldn't be expected to survive their natural greed." couldn't be expected to survive their natural greed."

Shuko pointed. "The taxi has moved."

Nezuma waited for it to pa.s.s by. "It helps knowing the streets of the town, though."

"Does that knowledge extend into the mountains, as well?" Shuko asked.

"Yes. It does."

She smiled. "Good. Because I think that's where we're headed next."