“Take your time and ask any questions.”
“Alright. I’m just wondering why would you go all the way to France for weapons, especially when it is your father’s friend? Surely, you could have gotten weapons from one of the groups in Asia like. . .the Naga Syndicate or even the Four Aces.”
"The groups in Asia would have known immediately I was moving against my father and they would have refused. We’re more powerful than all of them, except the Four Aces. They definitely would not have wanted to tango with the Fox later. However, the trip to France was about something more than weapons.”
“Oh.” I tried to see where he was going with this, but couldn’t see it.
“The trip had to look legitimate. A son visiting an old family friend and maintaining relationships." His hand moved to Paris on the map, and I noticed tiny red dots there I hadn't seen before. "But the weapons weren't therealreason I went to Paris."
My pulse quickened. "What was the real reason?"
"Spies." His finger traced the red dots. "And hackers. During our trip, my Fangs planted the spies and hackers throughout the city while I was there. The Butcher doesn't know they came with me."
Oh shit.
The pieces were falling into place now, the strategy revealing itself like a puzzle.
Kenji picked up the Fox piece, turning it in his fingers. "I knew that once the bombs hit Tokyo—which they already have—my father would go into hiding. What does a fox do, Tora?”
I thought about it. "It. . .hunts."
"Yes. What else?"
"It outsmarts larger predators."
"In what way?"
My mind worked through everything I knew about foxes. "It adapts. Changes tactics. Plays dead when cornered and. . .it burrows."
"Very smart. It burrows." He set the Fox piece back on the board. "My father is notorious for going underground when threatened. The Fox has tunnels throughout Tokyo, secret bunkers, places even I don't know about. He could hide for years, so I had to set a trap."
I stared at the board, at the intricate web of pieces and territories, trying to see the trap Kenji had laid months in advance.
He picked up the Butcher piece. "Using the French’s weapons, I bombed all of our weapons and killed my father’s men. Now, he needs more of both, if he plans to fight me.”
I scanned the pieces throughout Asia. “And no one in Asia will help him, they're all waiting to see who wins."
“Very good, Tora. You are catching on fast.” Kenji smirked. “No one in Asia will help. That is our way. It is very different from the Western groups. We do not interfere in each other’s domestic wars.”
"So. . .” I put my gaze back on France. “Oh. Your father will have to call the Butcher and ask for help.”
“Yes.” Kenji chuckled. “My Tiger is very fucking fast. And so, due to the bombs, my father will ask Jean-Pierre for weapons and men, maybe even asylum in France, and when he does. . .”
I stared at the red dots. “Your spies and hackers will know.”
“And they will track the call. We'll use that to find my father’s location under Tokyo. And then we'll end him."
I stared at the board, at the intricate web of strategy he'd woven. "That's brilliant."
"But there's a problem." His voice went hard.
"The spy on the island."
"Exactly." He moved the Dragon piece slightly, positioning it defensively. "If my father still has a spy here. They'll report to him my location, my numbers, my plans, even. . .my Tiger. And the Fox will come for me while we’re exposed."
The room felt smaller suddenly, the walls pressing in.
"That's why we need to find the spy," I whispered.
