“Think, Katsuro. There is the university, but it’s not the kind of place a tourist would visit. This man—I think he is cunning. He knew that they were being followed, he spotted that pair of idiots, and he deliberately chose a station that would be quiet so that he could accost them.”

“Shinoda and Kodama are idiots, though.”

“You would know.” He ignored his son’s pained expression and turned back to the window. “They are, I agree, but they should’ve been good enough to follow a foreigner without giving themselves away. Whoever this man is, he had the experience to spot them and then the confidence to ambush them. And to send me a message.”

“Stupidity, Father, not confidence.”

“Perhaps.”

Takashi gazed out at the stupendous view of the city, the millions and millions of lights twinkling against the black canvas of the night, and found that he was anticipating the prospect of making the gaijin’s acquaintance.

VI. Sunday

Part VI

Sunday

83

Milton awoke early, as usual, and dressed without disturbing Sakura. She had been tired upon their return to the Gracery last night, her fatigue amplified by the fright that she had been given upon the revelation that Takashi’s men had been following her father. Milton did not speculate as to how they had discovered that they were in Tokyo, but knew it could only really be one of two possibilities: either the Nishimoto-kai had put Hachirō’s house under surveillance, or they had tapped his phone. Perhaps both. He had to assume that Hachirō would still be under surveillance, and concluded that he would be even more careful when he returned to the hotel after meeting him later that morning. He doubted that Takashi would have enough decent surveillance experts to follow him without him being aware of their presence, but he would conduct a thorough dry-cleaning run to make absolutely sure.

He went to the bureau, found a pad of paper with the hotel’s logo and a pen in the drawer, and sat down to compose a message. He addressed it to Sakura and told her that he was going to see her father and that he might be out all day. He told her to call him if she needed anything, but reminded her that she should stay in the hotel. He wondered if he should just wake her up and tell her himself, but, as he looked over at her and saw her laid out in calm repose, he decided that it wasn’t necessary. She needed to sleep. If he was able to bring matters to a conclusion today as he hoped, she was going to need to be refreshed for what would come next. There would be a lot of travel before she and her son were able to start their new life, and she would need a full tank to manage what that might entail.