The two people assisting him that day were dead—though not by natural causes as Ito had been told. They’d simply not been valuable enough to warrant the cost of dealing with their radiation injuries. Hideki Ito was quite a different matter, though. There were no limits to what Takahashi would do to keep the man alive and working.

“I’m pleased to hear it,” the general said, pulling out a chair and holding it as the frail scientist sat, a grateful smile on his peeling lips.

Takahashi took his place at the head of the table and looked at Himura. He seemed nervous. As he should be.

“It’s my understanding that you’ve identified the man who escaped with Randi Russell?”

“Yes, sir. His name is Jon Smith. Though we found him through his personal connection with Russell and not through the CIA.”

“He’s not an agent, then?”

“No, sir. He’s an army doctor stationed at Fort Detrick. A microbiologist and virus hunter.”

“What was a virus hunter doing in a Japanese fishing village collecting reactor samples?”

“We don’t know, sir. He has a Special Forces background, which explains how he was able to kill a number of our men and make it to the water, but there’s very little additional information available on him. Suspiciously little.”

“Military intelligence?”

“That’s my assumption, though we can’t find any connection between him and that division in the US Army’s computer files.”

Takahashi’s first order of business when he’d begun designing Japan’s clandestine remilitarization program over thirty years ago had been building Japan’s cyber warfare unit. Computers were still crude and largely unconnected at the time, but he’d predicted with uncanny accuracy their proliferation and how critical they would become to modern warfare. He’d pulled together Japan’s top minds and, with that head start, put together a system that was now a decade beyond anything even America’s NSA could bring to bear. With a few notable exceptions, Himura’s people could bypass the security of any private or government database in the world. Or so he’d thought.

“Maybe our abilities aren’t as advanced as I’ve been led to believe.”

“I don’t think that’s the case, sir. While our access fluctuates when our targets upgrade or change systems, it’s quite good right now. More likely Smith is involved in a unit that’s kept off the books.”

The danger signals continued to grow.

“Any leads on finding either him or Russell?”

Himura’s mouth tightened. “Not yet. Russell is on paid leave awaiting an inquiry relating to the killing of an American citizen in Egypt. Smith is on paid medical leave for injuries that officially occurred in a scuba accident. He has not, however, received care at any army facility.”

Takahashi nodded. “Why him? Why Smith?”

“He’s a scientist,” Himura responded.

“But not in this field.”