'Kathleen is alive,' said Fitzduane flatly, 'and we're going to get her back. That is one of two certainties. The other is that this time Oshima will be stopped permanently.'
'Fitzduane- san,' said Chifune cautiously, 'it is not certain that Oshima has Kathleen.'
'But it is probable?' said Fitzduane.
'Yes, Fitzduane- san, it is probable,' said Chifune.
'Let's talk,' said Fitzduane. 'How much time do you have?'
'As long as is necessary,' said Chifune. 'Oga- san was in the Japanese airborne, you may remember, Fitzduane- san, and the airborne have an expression which sums up our situation.'
'‘All The Way,’' quoted Oga.
The thought came to Kilmara that Oshima seemed to have much the same motto. She would stop at nothing.
Three hours later, Fitzduane was acutely conscious of not having had enough sleep and strongly suspected that whatever the FBI medic had pumped into him was not the kind of thing you wanted to play with too often.
Still, fatigue and headache apart, some of the helplessness he had been feeling had evaporated and he felt a course of action was beginning to come clear. It might not conform to the standards of evidence the FBI required, but he, Fitzduane, ran on instinct and it seemed to work for him.
Chifune and Oga had gone, Fitzduane and Kilmara were going over what they had heard.
'Something to bear in mind,' said Kilmara, 'is that Chifune's position is not easy. Her own side don't entirely trust her, or they would have told her that Oshima was still alive much earlier. Even more relevant right now is her situation in the U.S.. She can't just go to the FBI and pour out her life story. She's the agent of a foreign power, and currently she's working through a Koancho network set up in the U.S. Tell the feds all about this, and they'll roll them up quicker than the NRA blocking a gun-control bill.'
'The Japanese are a friendly foreign power,' said Fitzduane.
'That doesn't give them carte blanche to have a network of spies in the U.S.,' said Kilmara. 'And remember that friendly covers a multitude, including quite a dose of international espionage, which gives the feds gas pains. So friendly doesn't mean let's all trust each other and share secrets. Its more like how you treat your in-laws.'
'Okay,' said Fitzduane. 'I understand that Chifune is here to track down Yaibo and is working through her own people, but why, when she got wind of action here, didn't she contact me? She knew I was around. She'd rung home. They know her. They'd told her where I was.'
Because in my opinion she's still in love with you, Hugo, and did not know how to handle an encounter, Kilmara felt like saying, but this was not quite the time for such directness.
'I guess she was going to contact you,' said Kilmara, 'but all this shit blew up first. Also, Chifune and Oga are emphatic they did not know what was going to happen. They thought there was going to be some kind of terrorist meeting. They did not envisage any action, let alone this kind of carnage. Hell, who would!'
'But when Kathleen was brought to the terrorist safe house, Chifune made contact,' said Fitzduane. 'But then Kathleen was moved before we arrived.'
'This time with Chifune following,' said Kilmara. 'Until they boarded a helicopter and headed out to sea. End of the trail.'
'And the woman killed at the safe house by the terrorists was one of Chifune's agents left behind on watch,' said Fitzduane. 'What a mess!'
'The good news is Kathleen is definitely alive,' said Kilmara, 'and since they could easily have killed her it is reasonable to assume they intend to keep her alive for some purpose. They killed that unfortunate hitchhiker she gave a lift to without hesitation.'
Fitzduane nodded. 'But we don't know where Kathleen is or who is holding her. Oshima is a good guess, but here people were only one of several groups involved in the assault. Oshima herself was not seen. So Kathleen could be anywhere. Or held by anyone.'
'You don't believe that, Hugo,' said Kilmara.
'I guess not,' said Fitzduane. 'Every instinct tells me she's in Tecuno, but without proof the U.S. is going to do nothing. And even with proof, Mexico seems to be a no-go area.'
'All true,' said Kilmara, 'but those kind of constraints never stopped us before, and this time I don't think we'll be alone. Have faith.'
Fitzduane went over to the window and peered through the blinds. Night had fallen, and under the lights outside he could see the sheriff's deputies and state police. Off to one side a Humvee mounting a 40mm automatic grenade launcher was parked.
'Serious security,' he said.
'One of these days we are going to learn to hit them before they hit us,' said Kilmara.
'If they hit us tonight, I'm going to sleep through it,' said Fitzduane. 'I'm going to hit the sack.'
'You've one more thing to do,' said Kilmara. 'Talk to Dana. She'd like to apologize about losing her charge.' He stood up. 'I'll go get her.'
According to Captain Dana Felton, Kathleen had asked her three times to leave her alone. She was fed up with all this security and needed some space. Eventually, Dana had pulled way back out of sight and then lost her client when Kathleen had switched off the agreed-upon road.
The rules of the bodyguard business were that your client's safety was more important than a client's feelings. On the other hand, when Kathleen needed her space it was an unwise person who got in her way, and she was eminently capable of losing her tail. Dana's story had the ring of truth, and in all honesty Fitzduane could not see that she could have acted in any other way.
Dana came in. Kilmara stayed outside.
'I feel like shit, sir,' said Dana. 'I should have known better. I was trained better. I have no excuses, sir. I feel sick about Mrs. Fitzduane. Anything I-'
Fitzduane held up a hand to halt the flood. 'How many people does it take to provide real security on someone, Dana?' he asked.
'It depends, sir,' said Dana. 'Six at least if the threat is serious. One or two if you're going through the motions. Shit, sir, I didn't mean it that way.'
'I know my wife when she wants to be alone,' said Fitzduane, 'and I know you did what you could, Dana. None of us anticipated this level of threat. If you'd been with Kathleen when she was jumped, you'd have been killed. Simple as that. You'd be dead like Texas, and I'm damn glad you're not.'
Dana took several deep breaths. There was a glint of moisture at the corner of each eye.
'I miss Texas, sir. She was a good buddy. I'd like to even the score, sir. What can I do?'
Fitzduane smiled tiredly. 'Keep me safe while I work on getting Kathleen back Can do, Captain?'
'HOOAH, SIR!' said Captain Dana Felton.
Kilmara returned after Dana left. He had a bottle of red wine and two glasses. 'Better than pills,' he said.
'What does hooah mean?' said Fitzduane.
'‘Fucking A’ or similar,' said Kilmara. 'It's also used to indicate the right stuff. If you are an Okay guy in the airborne or rangers, you are ‘hooah.’'
'What's the origin?' said Fitzduane.
'Rangers in World War Two had completed a hazardous mission and were resting when they were asked to go back into action. ‘Who, us?’ they said indignantly, but back they went. And ‘Who us’ became ‘hooah.’'
Fitzduane suddenly felt a rush of fatigue and emotion. His voice broke. 'You know, Shane, in the middle of all this shit it does sometimes strike me that there are some really good people out there. Despite everything.'
Kilmara filled their glasses. 'Despite everything,' he said with feeling. He raised his glass. 'To Kathleen. We're going to get her back. Whatever it takes.'
'Whatever it takes,' said Fitzduane.
