The Last Assassin

put one end of the bar in one of the expansion gaps in the path, then quietly placed the other at about waist level on the nonhinged side of the emergency door. I played with the angle, up and down, left and right, until the fit was snug, then repeatedly shoved down on the bar until it was wedged as tightly as possible into place. I tried to pull it out, but it wouldn't budge. Okay. I headed back to my position.

'The emergency exit off the main room is jammed,' I said into the transmitter. 'So now it's up to you. I'm waiting for your signal. Clear your throat if you copy and I'll stand by.'

38

Delilah sat with Big Liu, Kuro, and Yamaoto as a quick succession of waitresses brought them hot wash towels, a variety of snacks Delilah didn't recognize, and a bottle of Taittinger champagne. Kuro spoke with the waitresses in Japanese. Delilah pretended to understand the men's English only slightly better.

'Well,' Big Liu asked as a waitress poured their champagne, 'what do you think of Whispers?'

'Whispering?' Delilah asked, with a confused smile. If she played it right, they would think her not only English- incapable, but a bit dim, as well, and it was always good to be underestimated by the people you were manipulating.

'The club,' Big Liu responded, gesturing to their surroundings and smiling indulgently.

'Ah, of course! The club… very beautiful, yes.'

The waitress placed the champagne bottle in a silver ice bucket on the table, bowed, and moved off. Yamaoto raised his glass and said, 'Well. To good business.'

They all touched glasses and drank.

She heard Rain in her ear, telling her the door was jammed now, that she should clear her throat if she heard him. She did so.

She glanced around the room. Their toast and apparent bonhomie seemed not to have relaxed the nearby bodyguards, who still looked as though they were on a hair trigger. Rain wanted her to proceed right away, but she thought that, with the way the bodyguards were wired, if the lights went out now they might spring into some kind of action. It would be better if a little time passed and they settled down before something out of the ordinary occurred. She decided to wait just a little. When the atmosphere was more relaxed, she would excuse herself to use the restroom, give Rain the word that she was on the way, and let him in when his man cut the power.

For a few minutes, the men, led by Big Liu, tried to engage her in some polite conversation about how she liked Tokyo, but in short order tired of her struggles with English. They began talking among themselves, their references to business matters initially guarded, but then increasingly transparent as they drank more champagne and became accustomed to talking in front of her. She wasn't surprised. It wasn't as though she could understand, anyway.

At one point Rain, obviously concerned about why she hadn't yet given him a go sign, asked her to say something or at least clear her throat if she was all right. His timing was good — Big Liu had just drained his glass. She said, 'More champagne?' and gave everyone a refill. Rain said all right, he wouldn't bother her, but let's finish this soon.

'As I mentioned on the phone,' Yamaoto was saying, 'I'm convinced that my men were blameless. But certainly someone betrayed us, someone who knew where and when the transaction was to occur and what it was to consist of. We need to list the people on both sides who had access to that information and start there.'

Delilah glanced at Kuro. The man's face seemed a bit too set to her. Maybe his English was limited, and he was uncomfortable not being able to participate.

'Don't know all details,' Big Liu said. He leaned forward and began chopping the air to emphasize his sentences. 'But having man make list. Then ask people on list. Ask hard.'

Yamaoto nodded. 'And I'll do the same.' He turned and spoke in Japanese to Kuro, whose sole response consisted of the word hai, repeated crisply several times and always accompanied by a stiff bow of the head.

'One other thing I meant to mention,' Yamaoto said. 'Your man Chan in New York. He hasn't checked in with me in over a week. We had this problem once before and you told me it wouldn't happen again. I'm afraid he's now disrespecting both of us.'

Delilah thought, Ah, merde. Rain had briefed her on all this on the way from the airport. It wasn't going to be helpful for Yamaoto and Big Liu to discuss it now.

'Mmm, Chan,' Big Liu said. 'Have… problem there. Have to replace.'

'I'm sorry?' Yamaoto said with a frown.

'Chan have bad blood with soldier Wong. Wong hothead. Kill Chan, then disappear.'

Yamaoto's frown deepened. 'When did this happen?'

'Happen one week ago. Big Liu men look for Wong now. Find Wong, he very sorry.'

'You've found Wong or you're looking for him?'

'No find,' Big Liu said, chopping the air again. 'Look. Try to find. Will find. But… Wong was man watching woman for Yamaoto. So no report now. Need good replacement.'

'Wait just a moment,' Yamaoto said, leaning forward. 'Are you saying the man who was watching Kawamura Midori disappeared a week ago, after killing his own boss?'

Yamaoto was becoming increasingly direct, even aggressive, in his tone and posture, and Delilah realized she was seeing some sort of default persona come to the surface. It was considerably less polished than the one he'd been displaying until now.

Big Liu nodded. 'Wong bad man. Unreliable.'

Yamaoto shook his head as though he couldn't believe it. 'Killed him how? How do you know?'