The second plane roared overhead with its guns spitting at the prey the first one had flushed. Rows of dirt exploded in the field, sending soldiers tumbling and flying, landing in bloody heaps. Within seconds, the first plane returned and it strafed the shrine, while the second sliced bloody ribbons in the grove where so many of his men were bivouacked. Sakei could only hope that his men had made it to the protection of the numerous slit trenches dug in the area.
In the grove, a soldier with more bravery than sense fired on the Yanks with a machine gun and drew the attention of a fighter, which silenced it with one savage burst of gunfire.
Sakei lay by the road as the planes made repeated passes in an arrogantly leisurely and lethal manner. For long minutes there would be relative silence, with only the distant whine of the planes' engines and the cries of the wounded to be heard. Then the screech of the fighters and the cacophonous chatter of machine guns as they sought targets became deafening. At least there were no bombs or rockets. The racks under the planes were empty. They had been dropped on targets elsewhere.
After a while, the planes bored of the game and flew off, or perhaps they were out of ammo. Sakei got to his feet and ran toward the priest's quarters. If Hirohito was dead, Sakei would have failed in his duty and the missing Crown Prince Akihito would be emperor. It could not be!
It wasn't. Sakei found Hirohito in the doorway to his quarters. He was covered with dirt and his glasses were askew, but he seemed unharmed, although obviously shaken. He heard from a noncom that the emperor, on hearing the attacking planes, had virtually flown into a trench to save himself. Sakei was pleased. Let the Son of Heaven know a soldier's fear.
Hirohito dusted himself off and acknowledged Sakei's existence. "Ah, Colonel, another Japanese victory, is it not? Very soon the Yanks will run out of bullets and surrender, won't they? After all, that is Anami's plan, isn't it?"
Sakei bowed respectfully and ignored the sarcasm. This time Hirohito was right. Japan had no roof to deflect the rain of American bombs and bullets. "I am glad you are unharmed."
Hirohito straightened his glasses. "As you should be. What went wrong with your precautions, Colonel?"
Good question, Sakei thought. The obvious culprit was the ass who'd sent that group of soldiers across the field. If he wasn't already killed by the fighters, Sakei would have him shot. He felt only slightly shamed that the men in the field had broken and run. He wondered what he would have done had he seen a plane aiming its guns directly at him.
But the American planes had taken them all by surprise. "It appears, Your Majesty, that the Americans have adopted flying extremely low as a surprise tactic. We shall have to be even more vigilant on your behalf."
Hirohito made a small noise that might have been either a snort or a derisive laugh and disappeared inside his quarters.
"Colonel?"
Sakei turned quickly. He had forgotten the kempei officer who'd been cycling down the road to meet him. The man was disheveled and wide-eyed with scarcely controlled fear.
"Captain, I see you too survived our little adventure."
"Happily, yes, Colonel. Do you have a moment to talk now? I did tell you it was a matter of urgency and importance regarding your honored guest."
Sakei had informed the local kempei commander that the emperor was under guard at the shrine. It was only logical since the kempei would wonder what was going on and expend a lot of effort finding out anyhow. Besides, the kempei were allies, however unsavory they sometimes were.
The captain looked around where the numerous dead were being stacked and the wounded were being treated. Blood was everywhere and the sounds of pain filled the air. Sakei looked around as well and grimaced. His battalion had been cruelly punished for one man's mistake.
"What I have to tell you, Colonel, may cause you to wonder whether this raid on the shrine was an opportunistic accident or an attempt by the Americans to assassinate our emperor."
Sakei almost staggered. "What?"
The captain bowed slightly. "Last night we managed to confirm the existence of either a spy or a traitor in this area. I think we should consider the possibility that the emperor's location was given away to our enemies."
Sakei's hand went instinctively to the handle of his sword. Murder the emperor? Why not? The Americans had been guilty of such criminal acts in the past. After all, hadn't they assassinated the revered Admiral Yamamoto by ambushing his plane with their fighters while he was on an inspection mission?
The more he thought of it, the more likely it became. "How?" Sakei demanded.
"We have intercepted what we strongly believe are signals to the Americans that emanate from a clandestine radio in this area. While we were never able to pick up all the transmission, we did record parts and have had them decoded. It was a simple code so it didn't take long to break. They are in English and tell of conditions here on Kyushu."
Sakei nodded grimly. "We must catch that spy and stop him." And I must make other plans for Hirohito, he added to himself. He must become even more stealthy in his actions. The Americans were too strong to confront with strength. He would keep Hirohito alive with cunning.
Chapter 18
"Welcome back to Okinawa, General Monck. We all trust you had a fruitful journey."
"Up yours, Colonel Parker," General Monck said in a low voice that could not be heard by others. Parker's promotion to lieutenant colonel had come through shortly before Monck's officially taking over the regiment. This made Parker the second-in-command.
Parker ignored him. "And how were things on Mount Olympus this time, and aren't you just a little late getting back?"
Monck threw his bag of spare clothing on a table. With the exception of a couple of NCOs who were monitoring radios and pretending not to listen, he was alone with Parker in the regiment's command tent.
"We had to take a detour around a pretty big storm that's out there. In case you hadn't noticed, it's getting cloudy and might just rain."
Monck marveled at the changes only a few days away had wrought. The entire island of Okinawa looked as if it were nothing less than one giant staging and training base for American military might. Here, where his regiment was bivouacked, was a giant tent city, and scores of them were elsewhere on the island. A couple of miles away, an enormous air base was being built near the ruined city of Kadena, with other, similar fields under construction elsewhere. It was incredible and Monck was proud to be a part of it. Even though he had his own share of misgivings, sights such as this made him confident that the United States would prevail against Japan.
"For your information, Parker, not all the gods were at Olympus, otherwise known as Guam. MacArthur deigned not to come. Instead he sent Eichelberger and Krueger, and they met with Nimitz and his staff. When I looked around, I realized that I was one of the lowest-ranking men invited to that conference."
"Did you meet Nimitz?"
Monck smiled. "Yeah, and he's really a pleasant, gentlemanly sort of man. Very easygoing. I even got in a game of horseshoes with him. His staff makes him play each day to keep him relaxed and healthy. Spruance was there too, and he's sort of the same way. Halsey's out blasting the Jap shoreline. Nimitz's staff reflects his attitude. Very friendly and helpful. Not at all like MacArthur's, although Eichelberger and Krueger tried hard to be cooperative, and, in the main, they succeeded." Monck shrugged. "Maybe it was better that MacArthur didn't come. Along with his ego, he would have brought Sutherland and Willoughby, and those two have caused trouble in the past."
Parker pulled out a cigarette and offered one to Monck. They lit up and Monck drew a deep breath. "The invasion is still on for November first. We are designated I Corps reserve. I Corps consists of the 25th, 41st, and 53rd divisions, and we'll be going in on X plus one or two depending on the circumstances. I Corps will be attacking north of Ariake Bay and near a town called Miyazaki. XI Corps will be on I Corps' left and will consist of the First Cav, the Americal Division, and the 43rd Infantry."