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."
"And the marines?" Parker asked.
"They will land to the west of Kagoshima Bay on a spit of land called the Satsuma Peninsula. The V Amphibious Corps consists of the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th Marine divisions. All of this is the Sixth Army and General Krueger commands it, with MacArthur working his magic from the Philippines."
Parker had known some of it as rumors had been rampant for weeks. "Incredible" was all he could think to say as he considered the scope of the coming operation.
Monck chuckled. "Oh, there's more. IX Corps will stage a two-division diversionary thrust towards the island of Shikoku just before X-Day. They have the 81st and 98th divisions. Follow-up forces are the 11th Airborne and the 77th Infantry, and, oh, yes, let's not forget the 158th Regiment, which will land on a couple of small islands off Kyushu just prior to X-Day."
"Are we still part of the 41st?"
They stepped outside and walked a little ways away from the tent. The fresh air smelled good. Monck blew a fairly decent smoke ring that the wind quickly took away. "Who the hell knows. For administrative purposes, I guess so, but General Swift- he's I Corps commander- made it plain that we could be plugged in anywhere. By the way, with X-Day only three weeks away, we've got to step up training even more than we have."
Parker nodded, although privately wondering just how the men could work harder than they were. "Don't you think we should give them some rest before we go in?"