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CHAPTER 25
Ushikawa
COLD OR NOT, GOD IS PRESENT
“You won’t die that easily,” the man’s voice said from behind him. Like he had been
reading Ushikawa’s mind. “You just lost consciousness for a moment. Though you
were right on the edge of it.”
It was a voice he had never heard before. Neutral, utterly devoid of expression. Not
too high or low, neither too hard nor too soft. The kind of voice that announces
airplane departures or stock market reports.
What day of the week is it?
Ushikawa thought randomly.
Must be Monday night.
No, technically it might already be Tuesday
.
“Ushikawa,” the man said. “You don’t mind if I call you Ushikawa, do you?”
Ushikawa didn’t reply. There was silence for a good twenty seconds. Then,
without warning, the man gave him a short, clipped punch to his left kidney. Silent,
but a punch with force behind it. Excruciating pain shot through his whole body. All
his internal organs clenched, and until the pain had subsided a little he couldn’t
breathe. Finally he was able to get out a dry wheeze.
“I asked you politely, and I expect a reply. If you still can’t talk, then just nod or
shake your head. That’s enough. That’s what it means to be polite,” the man said.
“It’s okay to call you Ushikawa?”
Ushikawa nodded several times.
“Ushikawa. An easy name to remember. I went through the wallet in your trousers.
Your driver’s license and business cards were in there. Full-time Director, New Japan
Foundation for the Advancement of Scholarship and the Arts. A pretty fancy title,
wouldn’t you say? What would a Full-time Director of the New Japan Foundation for
the Advancement of Scholarship and the Arts be doing shooting photos with a hidden
camera in a place like this?”
Ushikawa was silent. He still couldn’t get the words out easily.
“You had best reply,” the man said. “Consider this a warning. If your kidney
bursts, it’ll hurt like hell the rest of your life.”
“I’m doing surveillance on the residents,” Ushikawa finally managed to say. His
voice was unsteady, cracking in spots. To him, blindfolded, it didn’t sound like his
own.
“You mean Tengo Kawana.”
Ushikawa nodded.
“The Tengo Kawana who ghostwrote
Air Chrysalis
.”
751
Ushikawa nodded again and then had a fit of coughing. The man knew all this
already.
“Who hired you to do this?” the man asked.
“Sakigake.”
“That much I could figure out, Ushikawa,” the man said. “The question is why, at
this late date, Sakigake would want to keep watch over Tengo Kawana’s movements.
Tengo Kawana can’t be that important to them.”
Ushikawa’s mind raced, trying to figure out who this man was and how much he
knew. He didn’t know who the man was, but it was clear Sakigake hadn’t sent him.
Whether that was good news or bad, Ushikawa didn’t know.
“There is a question pending,” the man said. He pressed a finger against
Ushikawa’s left kidney. Very hard.
“There’s a woman he’s connected with,” Ushikawa groaned.
“Does this woman have a name?”
“Aomame.”
“Why are they pursuing Aomame?” the man asked.
“She brought harm to Leader, the head of Sakigake.”
“Brought harm,” the man said, as if verifying the phrase. “You mean she killed
him, right? To put it more simply.”
“That’s right,” Ushikawa said. He knew he couldn’t hide anything from this man.
Sooner or later he would have to talk.
“It’s a secret within the religion.”
“How many people in Sakigake know this secret?”
“A handful.”
“Including you.”
Ushikawa nodded.
“So you must occupy a very high position.”
“No,” Ushikawa said, and shook his head, his bruised kidney aching. “I’m simply
a messenger. I just happened to find out about it.”
“In the wrong place at the wrong time. Is that what you’re saying?”
“I think so.”
“By the way, Ushikawa, are you working alone?”
Ushikawa nodded.
“I find that strange. Normally a team would conduct surveillance. To do a decent
job of it, you would also need someone to run supplies, so three people at the
minimum. And you’re already deeply connected with an organization. Doing it all
alone strikes me as unnatural. In other words, I’m not exactly pleased with your
reply.”
“I am not a follower of the religion,” Ushikawa said. His breathing had calmed
down and he was finally able to speak close to normally. “I was hired by them. They
call on me when they think it’s more convenient to hire an outsider.”
“As a Full-time Director of the New Japan Foundation for the Advancement of
Scholarship and the Arts?”
“That’s just a front. There’s no such organization. It was mainly set up by
Sakigake for tax purposes. I’m an individual contractor, with no ties to the religion. I
just work for them.”
752
“A mercenary of sorts.”
“No, not a mercenary. I’m collecting information at their request. If anything
rough needs to get done, it’s handled by other people.”
“So, Ushikawa, you were instructed by Sakigake to do surveillance here on Tengo,
and probe into his connection with Aomame.”
“Correct.”
“No,” the man said. “That’s the wrong answer. If Sakigake knew for a fact that
there’s a connection between Aomame and Tengo Kawana, they wouldn’t have sent
you by yourself on the stakeout. They would have put together a team of their own
people. That would reduce the chance for mistakes, and they could resort to force if
need be.”
“I’m telling you the truth. I’m just doing what the people above me told me to do.
Why they’re having me do it alone, I have no idea.” The pitch of Ushikawa’s voice
was still unsteady, and it cracked in places.
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