KYOTO
David drove straight to Toshika’s apartment complex and took the elevator to the third floor. He knocked four times in rapid succession at her door.
The door opened slowly, the chain lock still on. Her face flushed, Toshika peeked through the small opening.
“Toshika, please let me in. It’s important.”
“After what you made me do!”
“What?”
Toshika was in tears. “Colonel Mason had a heart attack today.”
“He did?”
“That little session of yours about the codename was probably too much for him. He may not make it through the night. And for what? Something that happened nearly fifty years ago. I told you on the phone I wanted to be alone.”
“All the more reason to see you. I have something to tell you that will explain everything. Please.”
“Oh, all right,” she said, wiping the tears from her eyes with her hand. She removed the chain and David entered.
“Here, read this. I just got it two hours ago. Sit down. Relax.” He handed her a ripped-open envelope with a PRIORITY stamp on it, then headed to her liquor cabinet. Inside the envelope was a typed piece of paper, a US Navy dispatch on a proper letterhead from the commanding officer of the carrier USS Midway. She sat on the couch and read the first sentence.
FOLLOWING THE READING OF THIS DISPATCH, PLEASE DESTROY AND DO NOT REVEAL THE CONTENTS TO ANYONE.
“David, it’s addressed to you and it says that no one else is—”
“Never mind that.” David poured vodka and lime juice into a glass. “You were involved and you have to know. The wrath of the US Navy if I do tell you is nothing compared to your wrath if I don’t tell you. Read on.” Then he poured a second drink.
YOU WERE GIVEN THE JOB OF FINDING THE CODENAME FOR A REASON THAT FOR SECURITY REASONS I CAN’T DIVULGE. HOW YOU EVER STUMBLED ONTO MASON WAS A STROKE OF LUCK AT A TIME WHEN WE NEEDED IT. YOU DID A GREAT SERVICE TO YOUR COUNTRY AND THE WORLD. THE MISSION IN QUESTION DID NOT EXIST. DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR? MANY THANKS. COMMODORE PRENTICE. USS MIDWAY.
Toshika’s tears stopped in an instant once she read the dispatch. “David, what’s going on?”
“Let’s not ask.”
“I’m so sorry for how I acted, David.”
“Forget it.” He walked over to her, a drink in both hands, giving her one. “Now, to something else. I want to ask you a simple question.” He sat on the couch with her, the paper falling to the floor. “A drink to us.”
“What’s this all about?”
They sipped their drinks. David set his glass on the nearby table.
“Will you marry me?”
Toshika sat speechless. “I don’t… know what to—”
“Just say, yes. That’s all I want to hear.”
“You’re not proposing just to shut me up about the Mary Jane mission, are you?”
He laughed. “It did cross my mind. No, of course not.”
“It that case, I say… yes.”
Then… the doorbell rang just as they were about to kiss.
“I’ll flush the dispatch down the toilet while you answer it,” Toshika said.
“Sure.”
David got up and stared into the peephole. At first he thought he was seeing things. The toilet flushed and David heard Toshika approaching.
“Well,” she said, “who is it?”
“I don’t believe it.”
The doorbell rang again.
“It’s my mother. Here! Now!”
“Let her in.”
David swung the door open. “Mom, what are you doing here?” He looked down the hall. “Where’s dad?”
“Still on Guam. I just got off the plane. Your butler told me where you were. Don’t just stand there. Let me in.”
David and Edna hugged at the door, while Toshika closed it.
“Mom, I’d like you to meet Toshika Ushida, my… my fiancée. I just proposed a minute ago, actually.”
“Aren’t you the sly one? That’s great!” Edna embraced Toshika.
All three settled on the couch.
“I know dad won’t approve,” David chuckled.
“Ah, to hell with him.”
“But you’re the one who has to live with the guy.”
“Leave it to me.”
“So, why is dad still on Guam?”
“He and Phil Cameron are sticking it out with Les and the family until the typhoon passes.”
“Geez, that’s kind of dangerous, isn’t it?”
“I know. But they’re taking the precautions. Denise, Cameron’s wife, flew back to California today. I came here. Your dad will join us later. Maybe Les, Gail, and the kids, too.”
David sighed. “I sure hope so.”
“They better be careful,” Toshika added.
The other two could only nod.
Chapter seventeen
GUAM
As Matilda neared Guam, the typhoon watch turned to a typhoon warning. The weather forecasters believed that in a matter of hours Matilda, with all its fury, would smash into the island. High winds, high water, and rough seas were predicted.
Although several Guam residents who thought the eye of the storm would miss them were caught off guard, the Shilling household were swinging into action. Because the house was on higher ground and not along the coast, Cameron and the Shillings didn’t have to worry about the rising water of the storm wave. Their main concerns would be the wind and the rain.
Cameron and Robert boarded up the windows firmly and brought everything from the yard into the house. Les turned off the water heater and the gas at the main inlet. He also unplugged everything electrical except for the freezer, the fridge, the radio, and the television.
Over the radio, Cameron heard that the storm would probably approach the island from the southeast. Therefore, he opened two windows on the east side to act as a release valve inside the house. Immediately, a strong, howling, damp wind greeted him. Looking up, he saw that the sky was a fierce gray.
JAPAN
Tiger woke up, the second time in an hour that he had fallen asleep. He was still in the sunken tub and the water was still quite warm. He slid up, rubbed his eyes, and spread his arms on the sides of the tub, his eyes on the door.
“Hello, lieutenant.” Saburo bowed and entered the room. “I was beginning to think you had drowned. Did you sleep well?”
“For not being a bed, I slept very well, thank you. It felt so good, I couldn’t stay awake.”
“I heard some talk in the village. Were you the one who destroyed the planes at the base?”
“Yes, I was.”
“It seems several guards are searching the countryside. They are looking for the man in the magic machine, as they call it. You hurt the pride of the base.”
“How did I do that?”
“By destroying the new elite Zero squadron. They are long-range fighters with drop tanks. The pilots are in training to attack Superfortresses before they approach our mainland.”
Tiger perked up. “Did you say, long-range. How long of range?”
“They can fly to Iwo Jima and back, I’m told.”
“Is that so?” Tiger calculated in his mind… 1,500 miles one way. Could he still catch the Mary Jane? It was worth a try. “How far is it to the base?”
“Oh, ten miles.”
“What’s the quickest way of getting there?”
Saburo held a finger up. “Ah, you’re planning an escape, are you?”
“You bet I am.”