“They have a walled compound, Drake. A guarded headquarters inside the city of Kobe. For real. The place is impregnable.”
“And that’s where they’re taking Mai? Can we stop this freighter at the docks?”
“I have a few of the Kobe police looking into that. But…” Hibiki paused and sighed. “You have to understand the Yakuza and their reach. It is said they own the police. A few years ago one of their leaders was allowed to be honorary police chief for the day. There really are pictures, believe me. I can only seriously trust half a dozen people.”
“But would they risk going up against the Yakuza?” Dahl asked. “In their home town?”
“Not a chance,” Hibiki said. “In truth, Kobe is one of the safest cities in Japan. This is because no other criminal entities dare operate there and the Yakuza don’t crap where they eat. But my police friends are strictly reconnaissance only. They will not challenge and they will not get physically involved.”
“How many men do the Yaks have?” Alicia asked.
Hibiki laughed. “Normally? Only a thousand or so. But for such a showcase trial designed to inspire its members? To put fire in their bellies? You could double or treble that. And add a private video and audio network, I’m sure.”
Drake suppressed the relatively alien rush of sudden panic. “So what can we do?”
“Seriously? If it were anyone else with lesser comrades-in-arms I’d say prepare for the funeral. I don’t know what the answer is, my friend, but I do know this. You have to get yourselves over here. Over to Kobe as fast as possible.”
Drake nodded. “Text me a location. We’ll find you.”
Dahl turned to Hayden, stony-faced. “We’re going to have to split this team up.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Hayden watched as a major part of her team vacated the room, illogically intent on rescuing Mai Kitano from the world’s biggest criminal organization in their own back yard. Of course she would not even try to stop them, and if it had been up to her, and Dudley hadn’t just resurfaced, she would undoubtedly be climbing aboard the same plane with the same motives.
Once they were gone, however, the remainder of the team needed refocusing. Hayden encouraged Karin to concentrate on Dudley, his friends and Walcott, and what they may have stolen, then asked Kinimaka to keep tabs on the police visit to the Smithsonian’s boss’s house. Her own first task was to inform her boss — Robert Price the new US Secretary of Defense — as to Callan Dudley’s new venture. The man sounded genuinely shocked and supportive, but Hayden was beginning to detect a peculiar detachedness there, as if Price didn’t give too much of a hoot. Obviously, although he was in the same job as Jonathan Gates, the man’s motives were a whole lot different. Don’t be surprised, most officials have different notions about how to perform their duties once they’re in office. It’s not unknown.
At least Price was leaving them alone. But that only reminded her of Jonathan and how he had died. A tragic, tragic waste. Same as my father.
Karin spoke up. “Okay, well, the FBI have taken charge of the Smithsonian robbery. They’re not taking any chances with Dudley. They’ve drafted in Walcott’s underling, guy called Kyle, and one of the old relics who's worked there practically since he left pre-school. They think they’ve identified what was taken.”
Hayden leaned forward. “Which is?”
“The Peking Man.”
“What’s that?” Smyth barked. “Sounds old.”
“You’re right. Peking, now Beijing — the older English spelling was the Chinese postal map Romanization Peking — the city is three thousand years old. This city alone has seven World Heritage sites, including the Forbidden City, the Ming Tombs and the Great Wall, so it’s not surprising that such an ancient, momentous find was made there.”
“This Peking Man?”
“Yes. Discovered in the 1920s the bones are said to be three quarter of a million years old. The site also revealed teeth, bones, skulls and tools. Some of the fossils even ended up in Uppsala University.” Karin smiled wistfully. “Neighboring unearthings of animal remains, and fire and tool usage were used to identify this find as the very first tool-worker, actually a great example of human evolution. He is chiefly a human ancestor and the earliest known ancestor of the Chinese people.”
“So why the hell isn’t he in China?” Smyth wondered. “Instead of being stored in a dusty vault underneath the Smithsonian?”
“Well, that’s where it gets even more interesting. We know from the Odin quest that there are many out of place artifacts — OOPArt — in this world, artefacts that defy time-stamping and challenge accepted historical chronology as being far too advanced for the accepted level of civilization of the time. These objects are usually collecting dust in some vault somewhere. Though not an OOPArt, the Peking Man has been subject to the same kind of concealment.”
Hayden shared a look with Kinimaka. “I heard something about this. The bones were lost, right? And the Americans had something to do with it.”
“Not exactly,” Karin stressed. “In 1941, while Beijing was under Japanese occupation, the fossils were squirreled away. Packed into two large crates they were loaded onto a US Marine vehicle heading toward northern China, near a Marine base at Camp Holcomb. This was of course before the outbreak of hostilities between Japan and the Allied Forces in the Second World War. From this camp they were to be shipped to the National History Museum in New York, possible for safe-keeping, or some other reason, no one really knows.”
“And?” Smyth urged her.
Lauren put a hand on top of his. “Relax.”
Karin continued, “They disappeared en route. Many, many attempts have been made to find the fossils, mostly frantic attempts by the Chinese, but nothing was ever found. Most theories suggest the fossils were aboard the Japanese ship, the Awa Maru¸ and that’s where our mystery deepens.”
“Shit.” Smyth shook his head. “I’m gonna need espresso for this. Anyone else?”
Komodo gave him a thumbs up, also mentioning cookies. Lauren nodded. Smyth used Dolce Gusto pods to deliver the strong, steaming brews.
“In 1945 the Awa Maru was being used as a Red Cross relief ship, carrying essential supplies to American and Allied Prisoners of War in Japanese camps. An agreement — Relief for POWs — had been signed by all and was universally being adhered to. She was supposed to be given safe passage by everyone and all commanders had orders issued to that effect. Now, once she’d delivered her supplies the stories around the Awa Maru begin to get more captivating. It may be intrigue… but then again? In Singapore she took on several hundred marine officers, military and civilian personnel and diplomats. She also carried a treasure worth over five billion dollars, that’s—”
Smyth choked. “Five billion?”
“Yup. Forty metric tons of gold. Platinum. Diamonds. There are even reports of the docks being cleared for several more precious cargos to be loaded in secret.”
Hayden cleared her throat. “The Peking Man?”
“Like I said, nothing’s written down in black and white. But the likelihood is there. It all fits. Her subsequent voyage coincided with the last sightings of the Peking Man fossils which were in Singapore at the time and, of course, priceless in their value. Many believe the bones were aboard that ship.”
Smyth was intrigued, despite himself. “What happened to it?”
“On April the first, the Awa Maru, outfitted and sailing as a civilian and a hospital ship, under the protection of the Red Cross, was mistakenly identified as a destroyer by the US submarine — Queenfish. Intercepted in the Taiwan Strait and despite previously disclosing her route to the Allies, she was torpedoed by the Queenfish and sunk.”