I stood, pressing my fists down on my desk. “Would someone mind explaining what the hell everyone is talking about?”

“We have to be extremely careful with how we proceed,” Thomas said. “Travis could be in real trouble if this isn’t seamless.”

Val sat in the club chair, defeated. “When Maddox transferred to HQ in Washington before he was promoted to ASAC, he caught a lead on one of Benny’s goons from an agent working in HQ’s Asian Criminal Enterprise Unit.”

I looked to Thomas, dubious. “You caught a lead on one of your Italian mob bosses in Vegas from the Asian Crime Unit in Washington?”

Thomas shrugged. “I’d call it luck, but I’ve worked on this case day and night since it landed on my desk. There isn’t a fingerprint I haven’t checked or a backlog I haven’t accessed.”

Val sighed, impatient. “You can call it bad luck. The goon was a kid. His name was David Kenji. Travis beat him unconscious one night in Vegas to protect Abby.”

“That’s not in Travis’s file,” I said, looking to Thomas.

He looked away, allowing Val to continue.

Val nodded. “That was intentionally kept out, so it wouldn’t throw up any red flags for Grove. He can’t know anything about Travis. If he passes on the plan to any Yakuza, Travis is no longer an asset to the Bureau.”

“Why would Grove pass on info about Travis’s recruitment to any Yakuza?” I asked.

Val sat forward. “David is the son of Yoshio Tarou’s sister.”

“Tarou, as in the second-in-command of Goto-gumi in Japan?” I said, in disbelief.

Goto-gumi was one of the oldest syndicates of the original Yakuza Japanese gang. Tarou was a prominent boss, leading Goto-gumi since the 1970s. Tarou didn’t just intimidate his enemies. He was creative with his executions, leaving their mutilated bodies for all to see.

Val nodded. “Tarou’s sister lived with him until she died when David was fourteen.”

I nodded. “Okay, so you’re telling me Travis is also a target of Yakuza?”

Thomas shook his head.

I frowned. “I’m not hearing why there’s a goddamn Inspector General’s report on my desk.”

“Tarou is bad news, Liis,” Thomas said. “Grove has been passing him information via the Yakuza he’s interviewed here, and more recently, he’s been speaking to Tarou directly. That’s why we’ve had no traction on their criminal activity despite all the interviews. They’ve been one step ahead.”

“So, we let the IG arrest Grove. Who cares?” I asked.

Thomas’s face fell. “It gets worse. David died a couple of months ago. He was beaten unconscious during a fight, and no one has seen him since.”

“Does Tarou think it was Travis?” I asked.