Chapter Two

Chapter Two

The helicopter made an emergency landing at the Defense Agency heliport just as dawn was breaking. Its one passenger was greeted by ten high officials.

“Welcome, Mayor Kajiwara. I’m Director Yamase.”

Kajiwara answered with a firm handshake. On the flight from Galeen Nuvenberg’s house to Roppongi, he’d learned that a new director had been appointed that afternoon. The two had never met, but Kajiwara greeted him like an old friend. His were the polished skills of a veteran politician.

When he’d first proposed the meeting over the phone from the helicopter, Yamase pretended to be out of the office, out fighting to make sure the monsters and gremlins in Shinjuku didn’t transgress the city boundaries and wreak havoc in the rest of Tokyo.

Now he was all friendly and warm, a different person entirely.

Kajiwara had every reason to believe the director would be here before sunrise, just as he was certain the Defense Agency had been informed of the Pentagon’s plans to nuke the city.

Briefcases in their left hands, surrounded by guards, they entered the conference room and seated themselves across the big table from each other.

“They didn’t waste any time filling the position,” Kajiwara said. He suspected a connection to the previous night’s destruction of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Complex. “The newspapers haven’t been informed, and I’m sure there are members of the cabinet still in the dark.”

“The appointment came as a complete surprise to me as well. The prime minister probably doesn’t know my name yet,” said the director, looking at him.

The man reminded Kajiwara of a large boulder, with eyes like cool porcelain. This one’ll be a hard nut to crack, Kajiwara thought to himself.

“I’m sure you’ve seen my dossier. And I know a thing or two about you. I truly appreciate receiving such a warm reception from the man in command of such an amazing city.”

“Thank you.” Kajiwara smiled, a bit too forced perhaps. His opposite here wouldn’t be as easily taken in as the run-of-the-mill pol.

“There is still the business of Demon City’s demons coming here.”

“They are being kept in check,” said Kajiwara, knowing full well how that statement would be answered.

“In check? It hasn’t been thirty minutes since our last contact. And the word then was that nothing was working.”

“A combination of nerve gas, mantras and incantations. That last communication was a little overboard. With this concoction we can hit their central nervous systems. We should have everything under control by tomorrow evening. But I’m calling on you today for a quite different—and far more serious—reason.”

Kajiwara expected a reaction, but the stalwart middle-aged man was as unmoved as a chunk of granite.

“And what would that be?”

“Today—to be more precise, likely last night—a plan was made operational by the U.S. Department of Defense. I would like to see it belayed immediately.”

No need to beat around the bush. Kajiwara didn’t know exactly when the attack would come, but his burning intuition was that it was coming soon.

“A Pentagon strategy?” Yamase said at last, furrowing his brows. If nothing else, the man could act.

“No need to play dumb,” Kajiwara said. All he had going for him right now was persistence—keep pounding on that chunk of granite until it started to chip. “I am not boasting when I say that the city I am responsible for does not operate by the same rules as the average metropolis. To start with, Shinjuku maintains the necessary information networks that its unique nature demands. An extraordinary place often requires extraordinary measures.”

“The Defense Agency’s intelligence arm bows to no one in that regard,” Director Yamase said with a scowl. “I should like to meet these tellers of such tall tales.”

“Director, this is not a problem that can be dealt with using bluffs and feints. This concerns the lives of the three hundred thousand residents of Shinjuku.”

“Mayor Kajiwara, nothing personal, but you do seem a bit tuckered out.”

“I am as perfectly fit as always. No mayor could serve Shinjuku for a single day otherwise. Do you think I requisitioned a helicopter and came to see you at the break of dawn so we could share dreams and fantasies?”

“I did not live to the age I am by only looking upright men in the face.”

“Taking out a city with a nuclear missile—surely the kind of thing that none but upright men could imagine.”

“Mayor, do you have any idea how nonsensical the words coming out of your mouth are?”

“My head has never been clearer than on this night,” Kajiwara shot back. Falter for a moment or show the slightest hesitation and the game would be over.

The director leaned back in his chair. A more inviting atmosphere flowed back into the room, evidence that he was recognizing the strength of the hand Kajiwara held. A point for the mayor.

“Do you have any physical evidence that Shinjuku is being targeted with a nuclear missile?”

Kajiwara suppressed a smile. He’d seen this one coming a mile away. The director wasn’t playing dumb. He was fishing for information that could pin down the identity of Kajiwara’s mole. A perfectly normal strategy. If this was the way his mind worked, then Kajiwara should be able to find a crack in the stone wall.

“You and the prime minister are well aware of the evidence. That is all I have to say.”

“In that case, I can only call it a mad delusion. Otherwise, Mr. Mayor, this is the kind of thing that will just have to be reported through the regular channels.”

“That would be after the mushroom cloud rises over Shinjuku, Director? Your extermination efforts won’t end without involving all of Shinjuku’s neighbors. If a single bomb could do the trick, Demon City wouldn’t deserve the name.”

Kajiwara sensed a shock coursing through Yamase’s frame. His stony surface was turning back into human skin. This was the opening he needed.

“When it comes to any threats to the outside world, the appropriate authorities in Shinjuku will take full responsibility and deal with them. For the time being, I think everybody needs to calm down and take a few deep breaths and rethink any drastic measures.”

Kajiwara bowed his head for a long time.

“C’mon, you don’t need to do that,” the director said. “The fact is, I haven’t the slightest idea what you’re talking about. More than anything else I can do for you, what I think you need is rest.”

Kajiwara slowly raised his head. “So you’re not going to see things my way no matter what?”

“Well—”

Kajiwara placed the briefcase on top of the table. At the same time, the door opened with unusual alacrity and armed security guards surrounded him.

“Place your hands on the table,” Yamase ordered.

“Relax. I’m not so stupid as to walk into the Defense Agency carrying a bomb. Besides, I can honestly say I’m the best mayor the citizens of my city could hope to have at the moment, and it’d be a terrible shame to lose me. Nevertheless, if I try anything funny, feel free to shoot away. Though I’m sure you’d regret it afterwards.”

Director Yamase thought it over. He said, “Take five steps back.”

The security guards complied.

“All right. Let’s see what is worth risking your life over.”

“Thank you.”

Kajiwara opened the briefcase. He reached in and took out a thickly padded cylinder. The lid was held shut with large springs. As he went to open it, the guards leaned forward, their 5.56 mm submachine guns aimed at his chest.

As he lifted the lid, releasing a puff of white water vapor, those fingers were itching at the triggers.

“Take it easy.”

Kajiwara smiled and opened the lid the rest of the way. He tipped the cylinder forward. Seeing the object wobble across the table top, everybody there thought the same thing.

Four inches in diameter and ten inches long—it was an egg.