Ueno stepped over the expanding crimson puddle at his feet and opened the door, waving in five more men. A moment later Smith had been rolled onto his stomach and his numb limbs were being wound with duct tape. From his position he could see that Randi was getting the same treatment, though at least she was putting up a respectable—if completely pointless—fight.

Smith barely managed not to vomit from nausea and pain when he was thrown over a man’s shoulder and carried out into the hallway. Randi was right behind him, still kicking and shouting threats as they went through the front doors and were deposited into the trunk of a waiting vehicle.

“You better just kill me now, Noboru. Because if you don’t, I’ll be back.”

Smith couldn’t see the man from his position with Randi on top of him but when the Japanese man spoke, he sounded genuinely shaken.

“This was very difficult for me, Randi. I’ve always liked you and to be completely honest, I’m afraid of you and your Central Intelligence Agency. But the men who want you…” His voice faded for a moment. “I’m afraid of them more.”

13

13

Outside Imizu
Japan

Randi Russell realized she was hyperventilating and forced herself to get control. Her mouth was taped shut and her face was crammed into the trunk lid, so the deep, cleansing breaths she normally used to keep her rage in check weren’t an option. She tried to picture a peaceful landscape dappled with sun, but Noboru Ueno’s face kept intruding. Fantasies of his death filled her mind—from the classic simplicity of a bullet between the eyes to more exotic scenarios involving stampeding cattle and Rube Goldberg dismemberment machines.

Pull it together, Randi!

The white heat of her anger was one of her greatest strengths. It could keep her going when everyone else collapsed from exhaustion, and it could keep her locked on a target when everyone else had given up in frustration. But it could also run out of control and make it impossible for her to think. That’s where Jon usually stepped in with a calm assessment and well-thought-out plan. From the looks of him when they were being carried out by Ueno’s men, though, about the best he could do at this point was not drool down the front of his shirt.

She held her breath for a moment, silencing the loud rush of air coming through her nose and trying to orient herself to her surroundings.