The Last Assassin

I repeated the procedure on the west side of the building, where the basement exit was located at the bottom of a utilitarian concrete stairwell. This door was identical to the first one. Okay.

I continued on my morning run, stopping at Aoyama Park to call Tatsu at the hospital. The phone rang several times, then I heard his voice, almost a groan: 'Hai.'

'It's me,' I said. God, he sounded terrible. 'I'm sorry to bother you.'

He said nothing for a moment, and I could tell he was trying to catch his breath. 'Bother me?' he rasped, finally. 'These calls are all I look forward to. And visits from my grandson.'

'Any further word on tonight's meeting?'

'Yes, the informant just confirmed. No wonder I'm in pain, no one will let me get any sleep. The meeting is at ten o'clock.'

'Good. We're done with the initial pass. And I'm going to have that man inside tonight, after all.'

'What else do you need from me?'

'Like I told you last time, someone positioned to take out the place's power on my signal.'

'You want the lights out.'

'Yes.'

'What about the backup…'

'It's taken care of

'I have a man who can help with this. But… you're going to have to work fast.'

'What do you mean?'

'From the substation my man can access, he can't shut down power to individual buildings, only to entire blocks. And if the power goes out on an entire Tokyo block for more than two minutes, city regulations require an investigation.'

'Can't you just…'

'City regulations. I'm federal. Trust me, we don't want an investigation. It would jeopardize good people. Can you do what you have to do in under two minutes?'

I thought for a minute.

'I guess I'll have to,' I said.

'Good. I'll have someone standing by tonight with clear instructions.'

'I'll need his mobile number. I want to talk to him directly, make sure he understands the plan. And I'll need to be able to signal him when I'm ready to go in tonight, too.'

'I'll have him call you.'

'All right. Good.'

We were quiet for a moment. I said, 'You holding on?'

There was a pause. He said, 'Finish it tonight.'

I nodded, feeling grim.

'I will,' I said.

35

Delilah called later that morning. We all headed back to Dox's hotel room. I brought in another Dean & DeLuca meal.

'Here's what I've got in mind,' I told them while we ate. 'We'll be wired up the way we were last night. But this time, Delilah will wear her hair down and keep the earpiece in. There's a construction site just north of the club entrance. Dox, have you checked it out?'

He nodded. 'Last night, like we discussed. I can get in fine, and there's good cover and concealment. The problem is the angle. I'll be a hundred yards out but only ten feet up. That means the possibility of unanticipated, moving obstructions becomes significant.'

'You mean other people,' Delilah said.

Dox shrugged. 'Could be people, could be a car. Hard to say. I do know it won't be like shooting from the top of the University of Texas tower. But that path in from the street runs about fifteen feet before turning right behind a wall. That'll give me time, if nothing's in the way.'

'What about body armor?' Delilah asked. 'You've said Yamaoto is paranoid. You sure he won't be wearing it?'

Dox shook his head. 'Most concealable armor won't stop a high-velocity rifle slug. There are a few that do, but they weigh close to twenty pounds and they're still bulky. Not something you'd want to strap on under a suit.'

'All right,' I said. 'If the shot is there when Yamaoto arrives, Dox takes it and we can all go have a beer. If the shot isn't there, Dox remains as backup, in case Yamaoto manages to make it out of the club despite my best efforts inside. And Delilah, if you get a chance, look Yamaoto over and if you think he's wearing armor under his clothes, you let us know. Questions or comments so far?'

They both shook their heads.

'Delilah, you arrive before ten. We want you there before Yamaoto so you can see where he goes when he gets inside…'

'If he gets inside,' Dox added.

I nodded, 'If he gets inside. But the main thing is, I need to know where Yamaoto is inside the club. Who he's with would also be useful. And so would confirmation on the numbers and positions of club security and any bodyguards. With just a little luck, you'll see Yamaoto and Kuro when they arrive, and you'll be able to watch them to see wherever they go. Don't wait. As soon as you have Yamaoto's position, let me know, and go take out the generator. Or, better yet…'

'Take it out before Yamaoto arrives,' she said.

I nodded. 'Yeah, that's good thinking. It's not as though anyone's going to notice until afterward. And it'll be one less thing for us to worry about once he's there.'

'But how do we take out the main power?'

'My contact here will have a man in the appropriate electrical substation. But there's a catch. He can only give us less than two minutes of darkness. More than that, and there'll be some sort of investigation by the city authorities, which my source doesn't want.'

'Two minutes…' Delilah said.

'It should be enough. Because before I call our man and the lights go out, you'll already be next to the emergency exit to let me in. In fact, you'll have to be.'

'Because once the power is cut, the front door will be inoperable. It's got an electronic lock.'

'Exactly. And at the same time, we can't use the emergency door before the power's out — otherwise, the exit alarms would give us away.'

She nodded. 'And the camera pointing at the exit door…'

'It'll already be dead when you let me in. I don't know if the video feed gets recorded, but with the power out, it won't make a difference.'

'But what about inside the club? Even after you cut the lights, it won't be totally dark. People will have lighters, cell phones…'

'That's perfect,' I said. 'We want just enough light so that people don't panic and start moving around. A little bit of light will keep them calm and in place for a couple minutes while they wait for the power to come back on. With lighters and cell phones and before their eyes have adjusted, they're not going to be able to see more than a few feet in front of them regardless. I'll be moving through in night-vision goggles with a suppressed HK. I'll be in and out in less than two minutes. No one will even know what happened until the lights are back on and we're gone.'

Delilah nodded. We were quiet while she digested it.

'You checked into a new hotel?' I asked.

She was using the same name at Le Meridien and at Whispers, just in case anyone at the club thought to check up on her. Obviously, after tonight, that arrangement would no longer be tenable.

She nodded. 'The New Otani. Near Akasaka Mitsuke subway station. Under Aimée Ackers.'

'Good, then we're set. Now listen. If something goes wrong, if you need me in there for any reason, you just say, "It's hot in here," and I'll come running.'

'How would you get in?' she asked.

'I think the HK will be persuasive in a pinch.'

She laughed.

'I'll come, too,' Dox said, 'but I'll be farther away and it'll take me longer.'

Delilah smiled. 'I doubt we'll need the cavalry.'

I looked at her. 'I doubt it, too. And I know you're used to operating without backup, but tonight you have it. "It's hot in here." Use it if you need it.'

She nodded, but I could tell it was more to placate me than out of any real conviction. Well, there wasn't much I could do other than to let her know the backup was there. She was probably right, anyway. We probably wouldn't need it.

36

Delilah got to the club at nine-thirty that night. She was wearing a crimson satin halter-top dress she'd bought that afternoon. She'd noticed a lot of black on the hostesses the night before, and thought it would be good to stand out a little. Well, the red satin would be perfect for that, it would catch the club's subtle lighting just the right way. The accessories were right, too: black patent leather heels with a closed toe; an antique silver mesh evening bag; a silver ruched silk stole, to add some texture. On her left wrist she wore a single diamond bangle to catch the light; on her ears, small diamond studs, selected for the opposite reason. No earrings at all wouldn't have been right with this outfit, but she didn't want something that would draw unnecessary attention to her ears, either, given the earpiece she was wearing in one of them. The earpiece was small and flesh-colored and her hair was down, so she would probably be fine regardless, but why take chances?