The Sword, page 4
part #19 of The Project Series
Selena picked herself up from the steps.
"Are you all right?"
Nick coughed. "Yeah. You?"
"I'm fine. What's the matter with your arm?"
"I can't feel it. The bastard hit a nerve center. I'm lucky he didn't go for the throat."
"He was in a hurry," Selena said.
"Did you see his face?"
"Yes. He was Japanese."
"I wonder if he was the one who set fire to that nursing home?"
"Judging from what we saw downstairs, I'd say that was a good bet."
"He must've been looking for the sword."
"If he was, he didn't find it," Selena said. "He wasn't carrying anything when he attacked you."
Nick rubbed his arm. "I can't help thinking he wouldn't have gotten away with that ten years ago."
"I wouldn't be too sure about that. He has training. The way he jumped over us tells me he's not someone you'd want to mess with."
"I think Branmore would agree with you."
"Should we call the police?"
"Are you kidding? They'd lock us up in a New York minute."
"Then we should get out of here."
"Not before we look for that sword," Nick said.
The sword wasn't in any of the rooms on the third floor. There were signs of a search, broken off.
"We interrupted him," Selena said.
"Then it could be here."
"But where? We've looked in all the rooms."
"How about an attic? There must be an attic in an old house like this."
He stepped out into the hall and looked at the ceiling. There was a trapdoor with a short rope hanging from it. He reached up and pulled the cord, bringing down a folding wooden stair.
"I'll go up. You keep watch, in case he decides to come back."
"We should get out of here, Nick."
"We will. Don't worry, I won't be long."
The attic was dark except for light coming through a round window on the street side of the building. A bare light bulb hung from the ceiling. Nick pulled the chain. Nothing happened.
The attic was filled with junk. An ugly floor lamp, some wooden chairs, an end table. Cardboard boxes, marked personal . More boxes, marked books . A large, old trunk with handles on the ends. Nothing that looked like a sword.
Nick lifted the lid of the truck. Inside was a flat tray with compartments for personal items. It was empty, except for a field manual about the M1 rifle. He lifted the tray away. The bottom of the footlocker contained folded khaki and olive drab uniforms. He rummaged through the clothing and felt a hard shape on the bottom of the trunk. It was wrapped in soft, brown cloth.
Nick lifted the object out of the footlocker and felt the hard, smooth shape of a wooden scabbard through the wrapping.
He closed the footlocker and went back down the stair.
"Is that what I think it is?" Selena asked.
"Let's take a look."
Nick undid the wrapping.
"Oh my," Selena said. "That's exquisite."
The scabbard formed an elegant curve of polished black wood. A band of leather and gold surrounded the wood at the base of an oval black guard set with gold designs. A strip of black leather bordered with gold and decorated with fan shaped inlays of gold lay alongside the scabbard where the blade was inserted. The long hilt was formed of hard, black leather. It was set with diamond shaped inlays of gold, each one engraved with a simple design.
The hilt felt warm to the touch. Nick pulled the sword from its scabbard. The air made a soft sound as it parted in front of the blade. Tiny lights like stars glittered in the polished steel. Gray shapes ran along the cutting edge, like mountains seen through a distant haze. They were part of the blade, formed as it had been forged. Nick had the odd feeling that clouds could form any moment over the mountain shapes.
The tip of the blade was shaped to a deadly point. The ancient steel gleamed in the lights of the hall.
"Oh, my," Selena said again.
"It's beautiful," Nick said. "I've never seen anything like that."
"Be careful, Nick. It will be very sharp."
Gently, Nick put the sword back in the scabbard. Then he handed it to Selena.
"Here."
She took it with both hands and looked down at it.
"You look like you're in church," Nick said.
"It's just that this weapon is legendary. There really isn't anything else like it. There are only a few of Masamune's blades left in the world."
"When we get back, you can show me how to use it."
"Wrap it up again," she said. "We'd better get out of here."
They went down the stairs and out the front door, locking it behind them.
NINE
Nick's paranoia was in full bloom on the train back to Washington. His eyes never stopped moving, searching for any sign of the man who had attacked them in Branmore's house. He saw nothing out of the ordinary.
They picked up their car at the station and drove out to Virginia. Elizabeth and Stephanie were waiting for them in Elizabeth's office. Nick had the sword in his hand, inconspicuous under the cloth wrapping.
"You actually found the sword," Elizabeth said. "I don't believe it."
"How can you be certain it's the right one?" Stephanie asked.
"Trust me, it's the right one," Selena said. "All you need do is look at it. Masamune's swords are unmistakable."
Then Nick told Elizabeth about finding Branmore's head on his desk.
"You have to be kidding me," Elizabeth said.
"I wish I was."
"Did you touch anything when you were in the house?"
Nick looked at her.
"Oh, shit. I know where you're going. Fingerprints, right?"
"When they find the body, they're going to blanket that house with forensics teams. When your prints turn up, the NYPD is going to be very interested in talking with you."
"We didn't kill him."
"Of course not, but it could be a problem convincing them. Why is it every time you go somewhere I end up doing damage control?"
"Just lucky, I guess."
"All right. I'll see what I can do."
"Let's see the sword," Stephanie said.
Nick handed the sword to Selena.
"You show them."
"I'm almost certain no woman has ever drawn this blade," Selena said.
"Then you'll be the first."
Selena was highly skilled in martial arts. Her main study was in Korean Kuk Sul Won , but she was equally adept in Tae Kwon Do and an esoteric sword fighting form of Tai Chi. To hold Masamune's fabled weapon was like a gift from the gods.
She undid the wrapping and set it aside. The sword and scabbard made a perfect, graceful curve. Selena took a deep breath and moved away from Nick and the others.
She held the sword and scabbard at her side. With a quick movement she stepped back, knees bent, one foot planted at an angle behind her. At the same time she drew the blade, dropping the scabbard on the carpet. The sword came out of its sheath with a whisper, shining in the sunlight streaming through the office windows. She held it upright in front of her in both hands, ready to strike.
"Whoa," Nick said.
Selena moved in rapid sequence through an eight-sided series of movements mimicking the thrusts and parries of battle, the sword a blur. She ended with the blade once again held upright in front of her, ready to strike.
A yellow tennis ball lay in a tray on Elizabeth's desk. She used it to strengthen her hands and relax tension in her fingers.
"Elizabeth," Selena said. "Throw that tennis ball at me."
"Throw it at you? Are you serious?"
"Of course. Throw it as hard as you can."
"This should be interesting," Stephanie said.
"You asked for it," Elizabeth said. "I should warn you, I've got a mean arm."
She picked up the ball.
"Ready?"
Selena nodded. Elizabeth hurled the ball. The blade flashed and cut it in half. The two halves dropped to the floor.
"Holy shit," Nick said.
Selena's face broke into a wide grin.
"Sharp, isn't it? That's one of the ways you know it's a true Masamune."
"I can't believe you did that," Nick said.
Selena bent and picked up the scabbard, then re-sheathed the sword. She sat down, flushed with pleasure, holding it across her lap.
"What happens next, Director?" Nick asked.
"We're supposed to turn the sword over to Nobuyasu. But I'm beginning to wonder if he has something to do with these deaths."
"I thought we said it wasn't to his advantage."
"That was before someone killed Branmore's son. The only common factor in the murders is the sword. The only link to the sword is Nobuyasu."
"The only link we know of," Selena said.
"It doesn't make sense to me that it would be Nobuyasu," Nick said. "The proof is right there in Selena's lap. He hired us to find the sword. Why would he interfere? I don't trust him, but I don't think it's him."
"The man you saw in Branmore's house was Japanese. If Nobuyasu isn't behind these murders, who is?"
"It would have to be someone from Japan who knows about the sword and wants to keep it away from Nobuyasu."
"We're missing something," Selena said.
"What do you mean?" Elizabeth asked.
"What I mean is that we keep circling the same issue. There's something we don't know, some piece of information we don't have. Why is this sword important enough to kill for? Yes it's valuable, and yes it's an important cultural artifact, but cutting off someone's head?"
"You think there's something we don't know about it ?"
"I don't know, but putting Branmore's head on his desk sends a message."
"If it's a message, who is it for?"
"Maybe it's for us," Stephanie said.
"How about Nobuyasu?" Nick said.
"Why him?"
"Why not? Who else is involved? If someone sent me a message like that, I'd think long and hard about the implications."
"Such as?" Elizabeth asked.
"Such as, that could be my head," Nick said. "Or the head of someone I care about. That if I kept looking for the sword, it could happen to me."
"What if you had already found the sword?" Selena said.
"Then the message would be to hand it over, or else."
"I wonder what Nobuyasu will say when we tell him we have it?" Elizabeth said.
"You think we should give it to him?" Nick said.
"I'm not sure."
"What about Branmore, and those people who died in the fire at the nursing home? Do we give that up? Let it go? It doesn't feel right."
"Nick's right, Elizabeth," Selena said. "We can't simply hand it over and forget about it. Like it or not, we've landed in the middle of something that goes beyond recovering a cultural treasure. We have an obligation to find out what's going on."
"How do you propose that we do that?" Elizabeth asked.
"We have to go to the source."
"The source?"
Selena nodded. "Japan."
"You want to take the sword to Japan?"
"I didn't say that. That wouldn't be a good idea. I think we need to put it where no one can get to it until we find out what's going on."
"I know the perfect place," Stephanie said.
TEN
Sora Tanaka was a powerful man within his organization, the largest of the four principal yakuza families in Japan. Tanaka was a wakagashira , an underboss, responsible for operations on the West Coast of the U. S. mainland. It was an important job, and Tanaka took it seriously.
He was a short, hard man, sixty-four years old, broad shouldered and thick through the waist. His close cropped hair had once been black as the night sky, but had turned to gray as he aged, just as the tattoos that covered much of his body were beginning to lose their luster.
Tanaka's office was in California in Torrance, a city with a large Japanese presence. He sat behind a desk of lacquered wood in his office, looking out at the bustling crowds on Crenshaw Boulevard below and thinking about what to do about Saito, the man who had failed to retrieve the sword in New York.
Failure always had consequences. Saito had correctly offered to make up for his failure through the ritual of yubitsume. But having him cut off a digit of his little finger in an act of apology, though personally satisfying, would not solve the problem. If Tanaka could not successfully retrieve the ancient weapon, he would be the one bowing to the oyabun back in Kobe and taking up the knife to atone.
Failure to produce the desired results was unacceptable. It made him appear weak, and that was not tolerable. Tanaka had many enemies who would be happy to see him removed from his position, men who wanted to take his place, men who had little regard for the old traditions of respect.
These were men Tanaka held in contempt, but he could not afford to show weakness in front of them. There was only one possible course of action. He must succeed in bringing the sword back to Japan.
Saito had reported seeing the two Americans come out of Branmore's building carrying something wrapped in brown cloth, a package long enough and of the correct shape to be the sword. It was logical to assume Masamune's sword was now in their possession. They would contact Nobuyasu and hand it over to him. Tanaka would have to do something before the transfer took place.
Extreme violence was an integral way of life in the clan. Tanaka had hoped more violence could be avoided, but there didn't seem to be a choice. The Americans wouldn't give up the sword voluntarily. A man of violence was required for the assignment. He would use Saito, give him a chance to redeem himself.
Tanaka was sure Saito would never live to see thirty. He had a tendency to over react, with bad results for those who had gotten his attention. More than once, his temper had nearly cost him his life. One day it would be his undoing, but for now he was perfect for the plan forming in Tanaka's mind.
Nobuyasu was off-limits for the present. Killing him had been specifically forbidden. Tanaka thought that was a mistake. If Nobuyasu was eliminated, it would make it that much easier to retrieve the sword. The oyabun was worried that eliminating such a high profile target would create problems for the clan, problems with the police, with the government. The oyabun was getting old, but for now he was still the supreme boss.
There was no such limit regarding the Americans. Saito would be operating in the territory of the Eastern boss, Watanabe. Tanaka saw no reason to tell him about Saito's mission. The men were unfriendly rivals. Watanabe was insufferable. He would stick his nose in where it didn't belong and screw things up.
Tanaka picked up his phone.
ELEVEN
Hinata Saito stood naked in front of the full-length mirror mounted on the wall of his bedroom, admiring his body. The upper half of his muscular chest, his shoulders, and his arms down to the elbows were covered with brilliantly colored tattoos. They had been applied in the old way, with needles of steel and bamboo. He flexed his muscles and posed, turning back and forth in front of the mirror.
His large organ had not been tattooed. Few could handle the pain involved, but it was something he was considering for the future. The whores would find it impossible to resist, though they didn't seem to have any problems with it now, except to remark on the size.
A fierce demon in red and black and white with sharp teeth and tusks glared from his right arm, a depiction of an Oni . Oni were terrible demons who loved to feast on human flesh. The tattoo identified Saito as an enforcer of the rules of behavior. It also symbolized punishment, something Saito was experienced at providing to those who failed to meet their obligations to the clan.
On his left arm was an angry Samurai, sword raised, fierce-eyed, ready to attack. Saito believed he was descended from samurai forebears. The tattoo was both a warning and a demand for respect.
His back was still bare, but Saito was planning on getting a dragon. He hadn't decided which color to choose, and a tattoo that large would take several weeks to heal. He needed to put it off until he was sure there was enough time between assignments.
Saito was tall for a Japanese, a handsome man with fine, almost feminine features, and full, black hair. He was skilled in kendo and the traditional use of swords. He'd been looking forward to exercising with Masamune's mystical blade before he brought it to Los Angeles, but then the Americans had surprised him. Thinking about their unworthy hands defiling the ancient blade made his humiliation even more painful.
His cell phone buzzed where it lay on the unmade bed. The room was heavy with the odor of sex. An hour before, the bed had been occupied by a big-breasted blonde waitress he sometimes brought to his apartment. He'd sent her away as soon as he was done with her. Saito picked up the phone and looked at the display.
Tanaka. Shit.
"Yes, boss."
"I have an assignment for you. Do not fuck it up. You understand? I'm giving you another chance."
"Yes, boss, thank you. What must I do?"
"The people who have the sword are in Virginia. Go there, and retrieve it."
"Yes, boss. Where are they?"
"I will send you the location after this call. You need to be careful. These people are skilled. Do not underestimate them."
Fucking Americans, they don't know anything. Tanaka's getting to be like an old woman.
"Yes, boss."
"Saito. I can hear your thoughts. I'm serious, do not underestimate them. You understand?"
"Yes, boss."
"Do whatever you have to do, but get that sword. Your debt will be eliminated."
"Yes, boss. Thank you. I will not fail."
"Good, Saito. I count on you. Succeed, and you will be rewarded. Do you have questions?"
"Only one, boss. What if it's necessary to kill them?"
"You have permission. Do not get caught."
