Ink Portals

Reporting for duty

16

The chopper ride back to Tokyo seemed surreal after spending time in the beautifully secluded, almost other-worldly mountainside that was home to Kazunori. Inside the noisy cabin Arthur sat watching the twins. They had donned their masks before boarding the chopper in the presence of the pilots. He peered down through the window as they flew over the city; the organized chaos of cars and people below them seemed absurd, churning out in all directions across the busy streets like ants - the inhabitants of a massive concrete hive that lived to serve the Japanese economy.

The helicopter touched down on the rooftop-helipad and everyone disembarked, luggage in hand, keeping their heads low under the spinning rotors. They entered the building through the rooftop doorway, then followed the short set of stairs down into the penthouse. The twins, along with Jack and Arthur, reported to the office in the main hall. There they found Chong, snappily dressed as always in a tailored suit, skimming over photos that were scattered across his desk. There were little memos, all scribbled in Japanese, attached to various photographs. It looked like the desk of a detective, piecing together a crime scene.

Jack and Arthur approached the desk and bowed.

"Good," Chong said, putting his elbows on the desk and clasping his hands together. "The boy has survived. Now we can move to the next step of the transaction - my payment."

"Let's hear it," Jack said.

Chong motioned for Arthur to come closer as he sifted through piles of documents, he found a photograph and slid it over to the corner of the desk. The snapshot was of an elderly, grey-haired Japanese woman; it was taken as she was getting out of a car while a chauffeur held open the door. She wore a woman's business suit and bulky, black-rimmed glasses on her face. She looked like she could have been Kim Jong-un's grumpy grandmother.

Arthur glanced up at Chong and said: "Who is she?"

"Ming Yamoto," Chong said. "She will be paying for your initiation. She just doesn't know it yet. Ming is the CEO of a family-run jewelry business, one of Japan's largest chain stores. She has shied away from dealing with the Yakuza after she made her millions, even though we are the ones responsible for her late father's early success in the trade."

"Alright," Arthur said. "What do you need me to do?"

"I want you to bring me that," Chong said, leaning forward and tapping his finger on Ms. Ming's wrinkly old neckline.

"To say that this is an absurdly expensive piece of jewellery would be an understatement. It was made from the purest of gold, with a vulgar amount of flawless diamonds. It also has great personal significance to Ming; it was given to her on her eighteenth birthday by her father. I want to send a message to the elite business owners of Japan, the ones like Ming, who think they are untouchable by the Yakuza."

"So that's my fee, the necklace?" Arthur said.

"Correct," Chong said, smiling and making the scar on his face tighten over the bridge of his nose. "Good luck to you."

"And when I bring it to you, we don't owe you anything else? No more chopping off fingers? Then you'll help us get rid of Kurtis?"

"I will keep my word, if you keep yours. Only the necklace," Chong said, his smile fading a little. "Whether or not anyone else loses a finger depends on their own actions."

"Where do I find her?" Arthur said, turning his attention back to the picture.

"Mei has been watching the old bat's movements, she will brief you on her daily routine," Chong said, as he sank back into his chair and waved them out of his office.

"Please, follow me," Mei said. She led Jack and Arthur through the boardroom area to a hallway where Hiroko was settling Pierre and Abby into their rooms.

"I will gather my notes and brief you on the way into the city," Mei said, checking the time on her Hello Kitty watch. "Ming likes to get her appointments out of the way early in the day. She is most likely already on the move. We should get going."

"Be careful, kiddo," Jack said. "I know this a rite of passage and all, but just promise me you'll be careful."

"I will, dad," Arthur said.

"Can't I come with you?" Abby said.

"I don't want to put you at risk, Abby," Arthur said, touching her wrist. "I'll be back before you know it."

"And where are you going?" Jack said, catching Pierre leaving his room and heading towards the elevator.

"Heading out," Pierre said, donning his coat and throwing a scarf over his shoulders. "I wish to revisit the back alleys of Tokyo. I am curious to see if all the happy-ending-massage-parlors are still where I left them. Good luck to you, Arthur," he said as the elevator doors slid shut in front of him.

"Yeah, good luck, kiddo." Jack said with a wink. "We'll be here waiting to celebrate when you get back."

A black SUV rolled out onto the busy street with Hiroko at the wheel.

"We are going to a mall that Ms. Ming visits on a Friday to have her nails manicured," Mei said. "It will be crowded so blending in should not be a problem."

"Alright," Arthur said.

"This is her file," Mei said, retrieving a folder from the glove box and passing it to Arthur in the back seat. He leafed through photographs taken of Ming coming and going from her estate, along with notes on times spent at various places around the city. Looking at the times it was clear that Ming was a creature of habit.

"Is that what she's driving around in?" Arthur said, holding up a photo of a sturdy Rolls Royce.

"Yes," Mei said. "Ms. Ming has an armed driver that ferries her around town in a bulletproof car. You will need to catch her just as she enters or exits the vehicle, if you miss that opportunity you may not be able to get to her. I have noticed that she sometimes rolls down her window while smoking. That might be the point of entry you need."

"Got it," Arthur said.

"You must take care to avoid conflict in crowded areas," Mei said, staring at the strings of traffic moving by her window. "We do not want innocent bystanders to get hurt; the honour of the Yakuza is at stake."

"Honor?" Arthur mumbled. "You guys are a crime syndicate, but sure, whatever you say."

Hiroko glared at Arthur in the rear view mirror, clearly offended.

"That may be true," Mei said. "But the Yakuza also help the people of Japan in times of crisis, for instance, in the two-thousand-and-eleven Tsunami."

"I remember seeing that on the news," Arthur said.

"Perhaps what you didn't see on the news was that the Yakuza launched a relief effort. We organized trucks that brought in boxes of supplies during the night. And we sent out search and rescue operations led by under-cover Yakuza members."

"I never knew that," Arthur said.

"Most people don't," Mei said.

After almost an hour in traffic Hiroko turned onto a slipway that took them into an underground parking garage. The SUV prowled the lot and stopped a good distance away from the elevators. Hiroko pulled the car in backwards, possibly preparing for a quick getaway, and turned off the engine.

"We will be waiting here," Mei said leaning back in her seat. "Make sure you do not run or act suspicious on your way back to the car, there are security cameras everywhere."

"Will do," Arthur said, shutting the door and walking off towards the elevators.