“It was all very friendly. I asked him to deliver a message for me.”

“To who?”

“Takashi,” he said. “I’m going to go and meet him tomorrow.”

Her eyes widened. “Why would you do that?”

“I’ve been thinking about the best way to get you and Yamato out of this mess in one piece,” he said. “It’s like I said to your father—if I can get the tantō, we’ll have something to negotiate with. I’ll offer it to him in exchange for your and Yamato’s safe passage to somewhere you can start again.”

“It’s not just the tantō,” she said. “It’s the principle. You heard my father—Takashi is traditional. Miyasato dishonoured him—he dishonoured his own father and brought shame onto the family. That’s why he’s made me do what I’ve been doing. It’s not about the money or the deal with the premans. I’m not saying that’s insignificant to him, but it doesn’t have to be me who moves the heroin. He’s doing that to make a point. To me, to my father, to anyone else who might think to do what Miyasato did. That’s how he is, John. It’s what he does.”

“I understand that,” Milton said. “And the tantō isn’t all I’m going to offer him.”

“What else do you have?”

“It’s not what I have,” he said. “It’s the trouble I could cause.”

“You’re going to threaten him? That won’t go down well.”

“I’ll imply that working together will be better than working against each other. I understand what you’re saying about honour, but he’s a businessman, too. I think he’ll see the good sense in my proposal.”

They sat in silence for a moment as the taxi was slowed by the traffic in Shinjuku.

Sakura looked over at him, her face set with determination. “I’m coming, too.”

“No, you’re not. That would be a really bad idea. I know this is going to be frustrating and difficult, but you have to trust me. We know they’re looking for you—we saw that tonight. Right? It’s important that we don’t give them the opportunity to get to you before I’ve been able to discuss what a deal between us and them might look like.”

“What does that mean? Stay in the hotel?”

“That’s exactly what it means.”

“What about my father?”

“They didn’t follow us to your father, so I think we have to assume that they’re watching him. I’ll go to his sushi bar and speak to him again tomorrow.”

“Do you think you’ll need his help?”

“It won’t hurt.”