Victor O'Reilly - Rules of The Hunt

"Chifune," said Fitzduane. "Try binoculars. We need a second kibitzer. I think I'm missing something here."

"Affirmative," said Chifune, and put down her rifle. Her binoculars gave her a much wider field to examine, and the brilliantly lit triangle seen from above was easy to search.

She followed the driveway in and searched the open garden area to the right. There was a bench, some stone pots containing dwarf plants, and a couple of stone lanterns strategically placed on a bed of pebbles. It was very simple and beautiful, and the thought came to her that whatever villainy Hodama had been up to, he had good taste. The entire garden was an exercise in simplicity. Which meant there were very few places to hide in, and the house had already been searched by representatives of both sides and sealed. No, Fitzduane was right to worry. Something they had not anticipated was going to happen.

She swung her binoculars to the left of the driveway and began searching the much larger area of garden there. Her glasses rested on an ornate well with a small pagoda top, but she was looking diagonally and could not see down it.

"The well," she said. "It's a possibility. It's big enough."

"Maybe," said Fitzduane, "but it doesn't lead anywhere and it was searched and sealed when they did the house."

"They're going to zap each other with telepathy," said Lonsdale.

"Shut the fuck up, Al," said Fitzduane politely. "Please," he added.

Chifune scanned to the open-sided summer house. Still nothing, except Fumio Namaka standing there and Katsuda, still about thirty yards away, walking toward him on the irregular stone path that circumscribed the house. By agreement, their respective drivers had both stayed with the limousines.

She was running out of time. She searched the bank of ornamental plants. No room to hide even a midget here. She swept on past another ishi-doro to a decorative pond which was positioned to the side of the house fairly close to the surrounding wall. A stone bridge led to a miniature island which actually touched the perimeter wall.

"A way-out thought," she said. "Could they have tunneled under the wall?"

"Supposedly not," said Fitzduane. "There are sensors against that possibility and the police have the outside walls under observation."

Chifune did a quick sweep along the back of the house past an inscribed Garden Tablet and then moved on to a boulder garden. Still no sign of anything except what was supposed to be there.

Something niggled at her.

The circling airship had now moved on so that she could see not only Hodama's residence, but also the adjoining house and gardens. This was an area of luxury residences. The neighboring house also had a pond and it was on the other side of the wall from Hodama's Neither actually touched the wall, but the congruence looked more than coincidence.

Suppose they shared the same water? A culvert between them or maybe just a grating. Sensors in the water with goldfish and turtles paddling about the irises? Unlikely!

"The pond," she said urgently, her binoculars now focused on the black surface of the water. "Hugo, LOOK AT THE POND!"

Fitzduane had been concentrating on Fumio Namaka and the approaching figure of Katsuda, but at Chifune's shout he looked quickly at the black water. Something was decidedly odd about it.

As he watched, it began to undulate, as if it was coming to a boil or was haven to a mass of writhing snakes.

Suddenly, he understood at least part of what was happening. And he had an uneasy feeling that this was only the beginning.

"Hold your fire, people," he said. "But stand by on my mark."

This was a scene that had to be played out. Chifune returned to her. 300 Winchester Magnum.

Fitzduane focused on Namaka and Katsuda and the summer house with its broad-eaved thatched roof. Katsuda, unaware of the airship on high and assuming support from Schwanberg, knew better than to go inside. His guardians had to be able to see him.

It was going to start happening any second now.

"Fitzduane- san," the Spider's voice sounded in Fitzduane's headphones urgently. "Something we did not expect in central Tokyo. I have received reports of two Huey helicopters without lights approaching low and at speed. No flight plan has been filed and they are headed precisely in your direction. ETA within two minutes, perhaps sooner."

Civilian helicopter overflight was supposed to be banned in central Tokyo, particularly in Akasaka, where not only did Hodama have his exclusive residence but so did the Emperor of Japan. Clearly, the imminent arrivals were no respecters of the rules.

A neat operation looked like it was turning very messy; or maybe a great deal worse.

Their invisible airship suddenly felt like the very large target it was.

Tokyo, Japan

July 12

Fumio Namaka watched the gaijin walk toward him.

In the glare of the perimeter floodlights and from a distance, he looked somehow smaller and slighter than when they had met in the Namaka Tower, but doubtless that was an illusion. The Irishman was wearing a dark suit, and that tended to reduce the impression of size. Or perhaps it was natural to imagine a much-hated enemy as larger than he really was.

The steel-gray hair and features were unmistakable. As he looked at Fitzduane, Fumio almost regretted the imminent arrival of the Yaibo helicopters. His anticipation of this man's death was fulfillment in itself. The actual execution would be almost an anticlimax.

"Namaka- san," said the gaijin. He had stopped about ten yards away. "It is good to see you," he said. "It is a long-deferred pleasure."

Fumio started. The voice was different, and the gaijin was speaking in Japanese! He did not know what, but something was definitely amiss.

He looked around uncertainly. Where before the garden had been empty, now heavily armed masked figures in black rubber suits and hoods were emerging from the pond like some nightmare of hell.

Within seconds, he was surrounded, his arms and legs pinioned, and he was rammed against one of the summer-house uprights. He felt cold steel against his wrists, and he realized that he had been handcuffed in place.

He could hear the distant whump-whump-whump of helicopters. It was not too late. There was still time.

The gaijin approached, put his face close to Fumio's, and as Fumio watched helplessly, the gaijin put his hand up and tore his own flesh from his skull.

Fumio gagged as gobbets of flesh and tissue and hair were torn away. And then came the sudden realization as the deformed face underneath appeared. His bowels turned to liquid and he could smell his own reeking fear.

"Katsuda," he whispered.

The hideous head nodded.

Pieces of artificial flesh still adhered to it, and the effect was to give a leprous, rotting look to Katsuda's features.

It looked as if the real flesh was also peeling away. The man seemed to be decaying in front of him.

"Your executioner," said Katsuda.

Fumio smelled the liquid before it was poured on him, and instantly he knew how he was going to die.

The noise of the helicopters was now overwhelming, and a split second later two black shapes appeared overhead and black ropes snaked down from one.

Katsuda stood well back and a frogman handed him a short cylinder. A moment later, it burst into brilliant pink light.

The burning flare arced through the air toward the screaming, struggling Fumio.

A distinctive black shape blocked out Fitzduane's vision and then settled in the front garden, and once again he could see Fumio Namaka and Katsuda.

Fitzduane had lost a few seconds and was not quite sure what was going on. He had seen the eruption of frogmen and Fumio being seized, but then had lost continuity.