“Wow,” Jiro breathed, finding this extremely hard to process.Maybe it was a good thing Aurora hadn’t been here to listen to all this.What would she have done with the information?Would she have been duty-bound to report it?The criminal activity was taking place in a foreign country and well out of her jurisdiction.But he guessed the Swedish police force would communicate this kind of information back to their American counterparts, especially something this big.
“Yeah, wow,” Taro repeated.He stood and paced over to the window, staring out at the dark landscape below but without really seeing it.“About a year ago I started to have severe misgivings about the whole thing.Thalia was pregnant with Ren, and she had really bad preeclampsia.She was admitted to the hospital, and the doctor said it was serious; she could even lose the baby if she didn’t take care.”
“Shit, sorry, bro, I didn’t know.”Jiro felt a rush of shame that it’d got to the stage where he and his brother led such completely separate lives that Taro wouldn’t even confide in him about something as intimate as this.Ren was Taro’s second child, a boy born in June this year.Jiro had gone to visit about a month after the birth, to see his new nephew, and reacquaint himself with Taro’s first born, Hana.She was three years old now, and cute as a button.And he’d only been to see her three times over her lifetime.Another source of guilt as he thought about what a bad uncle he had been.
“We didn’t tell many people, so don’t beat yourself up too much.”Taro lifted a wry eyebrow in Jiro’s direction.“She spent about a week in hospital, then was allowed to come home, but had to be on bed rest most of the time.”Taro waved a hand as if to dismiss any more discussion.“The point is, it made me think a lot about her and my kids.I was really stressed at work, and also by Hiroshi’s increasing demands, and I knew I was taking that stress out on Thalia.We were fighting all the time, and I was worried that perhaps I was the cause of her high blood pressure.The fact that we could lose our little baby was a huge shock.It made me take stock of myself and my entire life.”
Again, Jiro was hit with a new rush of guilt.His brother might be a greedy asshole sometimes, but he was still human, with very human emotions and feelings, and he was also Jiro’s flesh and blood.He should have been more understanding, perhaps tried to talk to Taro instead of always assuming that his brother was fine.Taro’s hard outer shell was a façade, a face he showed to everyone that made him seem invincible.But Jiro should know better; he wasn’t indestructible.
“The other reason I was stressed was the Kyodo-kai had just put forward another business proposition to me.They had a really big shipment, one that could make me millions of dollars.This was different from the normal weapons we were running.Hiroshi wouldn’t tell me exactly what it was, but I have my suspicions.”Taro leaned his forehead against the windowpane, and Jiro held his breath as he waited for the explanation.“I think it might have been some sort of nuclear material.Hiroshi said there would need to be extra safety precautions.”
“What the…?”Jiro couldn't believe what he was hearing.
Taro held up his hand.“I don’t think it was a nuclear bomb, so don’t go all Ninja Turtle on me.But it could have been weapons-grade plutonium; I’m not sure.”
“Holy fuck,” Jiro breathed.“That’s big shit, bro.”
“Don’t I know it.And it would also increase the risk of being found out.I’m pretty sure American law-enforcement agencies would be keeping a strict eye open for things like that, don’t you?”
“Ya think?”Jiro was so astonished he could barely speak.
“I asked for some time to think about it, and then I arranged another face-to-face meeting with Hiroshi.I told him I wasn’t happy with the big shipment, and didn’t agree to it.I also wanted to scale back on the other shipments.”
“What was his reply?”Jiro asked the question even though he already knew the answer.
“He was very polite, very matter of fact.He said that unfortunately at the moment, my services were too valuable to be reduced or let go.”
“He didn’t make any threats?Demand that you keep their agreement, or else?”
“No, he just didn’t give me an option.And it doesn’t take a genius to work out that when the Yakuza says no, it means no.”
“Jesus Christ, Taro.”Jiro was the one who felt the need to sit down now.His mind was spinning; this was too much to take in all at once.Even though he had suspected something like this, he’d never dreamed it would be this huge.Coming back to practicalities for the moment, he asked, “So is that why Papa was kidnapped?As a message to you?To make sure you kept up your end of the bargain?”
“I guess so.They were showing me how easy it is to get to my family,” Taro nodded glumly.“But they possibly also found out I was secretly investigating other avenues.A way to find some leverage on them so I could get out.”
“Oh.”His older brother suddenly went up in Jiro’s estimation.At least he was trying to fight back, trying to right one of the many wrongs he had committed.“Did you find anything?”
“I have a contact in the LA police department.I asked him to pass the information up to the FBI, and I was waiting for a meeting with confirmation from my police guy.I was hoping to cut a deal, give them information that would help catch the big honchos and break up the smuggling ring, in exchange for my testimony.I’m just a small fry in the scheme of things, really.”
“That’s risky.You could still end up in jail, you know.”Jiro had no idea Taro was dealing with all this.No wonder the poor guy was looking stressed and disheveled.Even if he managed to find a way out of being an unwilling partner with the Yakuza, he could still spend time in a maximum security prison.
“I know.But right now, that seems a better option than constantly watching my back.Constantly being worried about my family’s welfare.I sent Thalia and the kids away to try to keep them safe.Thalia wasn’t happy, but I eventually told her the truth, and she’s going to stay with our uncle in Grand Rapids.”
“Shit, that’s intense.”Up until this point, Jiro hadn’t even considered his wife and kids.What a complete fuck-up.“But you didn’t think to warn me and Papa?”
Taro sighed heavily, and a look of pure remorse crossed his face.“I was going to,” he admitted.“But I thought you were probably safe all the way down in San Diego.And I guess I stupidly assumed they wouldn’t mess with an old man.I thought Hiroshi had more respect than that.I also hoped that this cruise would keep you out of harm’s way while I made the deal and that it would all be over by the time you returned.I was due to meet with this FBI contact tomorrow.But Hiroshi must’ve got wind of it somehow.”Taro’s face screwed up, and for a second Jiro was afraid he was going to cry.His brother had not cried in front of him since they were both very little.And for a few seconds, Jiro stood frozen, unsure whether to comfort his brother or pretend everything was fine.Tarot hated any show of weakness and would hate that Jiro had seen his moment of vulnerability.In the end, his brother collected himself, clenching his fists at his side, his face going hard as stone.
“So you see, I need your help.I need a plan to get away from this fucking Yakuza group.And I need to do it before they carry through on more of their threats.”
Jiro didn’t know what to say.How the hell were they going to come up with an idea that would free his older brother from a criminal group who were renowned for exacting revenge on people who double-crossed them?And who was he to even be thinking he could do such a thing?
CHAPTER NINE
AURORA SAT AT her kitchen table still in her pajamas.Karl was seated next to her, but neither of them spoke.This was their normal morning routine.She got him out of bed as he grumbled and complained all the while about the fact his socks were too tight, or his sweater too itchy.Then she fixed breakfast, and they both sat and ate before she got ready for work.He could no longer eat the Frukost breakfast crackers he loved so much, as he had difficulty chewing and swallowing them now, and so she’d had to swap it out for a softer rye bread, but he still protested about not being allowed to eat what he wanted every morning.Now his grumbling had finally come to an end, and they were sitting in blessed silence as she listened to him chew.Today, her shift didn’t start until midday, so she had a few errands she wanted to get done this morning.
Even though it was still dark outside—the sun yet to rise although it was after seven-thirty a.m.—she could see snow was beginning to drift lightly down from the indigo sky.Bugger, she’d been hoping there’d be no snow today; she hadn’t managed to clear the driveway and the front path from yesterday’s fall.It would mean Karl wouldn’t get out today either.She didn’t like his being cooped up in the house all day, but there were few other options for him, especially in freezing weather such as this.Last time she’d taken him to see the doctor, just as she was leaving, he’d handed Aurora a couple of pamphlets to do with support for carers and respite care.Aurora already knew the Luleå Municipality offered various options for day trips or tours run for people with disabilities, and sometimes she thought she might organize one for her father.To get him out of the house, as well as give her some breathing space.But then she realized he would hate it, socializing with all those other people, and most likely be rude and unhelpful to any of the well-meaning staff.He was his own worst enemy.And she didn’t have the spare time to take him out much.Sometimes she would wheel him down to the lakeshore, or on a day off, take him into town to look at the cruise ships.But more often than not he was an ungrateful grump, and they always returned from these trips with her feeling frustrated and miserable.
As she stared out the window, her mind drifted inevitably to Jiro.She’d texted him a few times last night before she went to bed but had no reply and so decided to leave it for this morning.Her phone was on charge next to her bed, and if he had any news he wanted to relay then he’d get in touch.A tiny part of her had hoped he’d contact her anyway, even if there was no more news about his father, but she’d quickly brushed that silly thought away.Their relationship was purely platonic.Purely professional.And she shouldn’t hope for any more.
