PRIMAL Fury (The PRIMAL Series) (27 page)

CHAPTER 52

MORI-KAI APARTMENTS, HIMEJI

“All of them? They took all of them? How long until you get here?” Masateru waited for the response from the other end of the phone, then threw it across the room.

He ran a hand through his hair, adjusted his suit, and gazed out the windows of the apartment. Built on the side of a hill on the outskirts of Himeji, it commanded an uninterrupted view of the low city skyline. A company contracted by the Mori-Kai had recently completed the six-level luxury accommodation. A second building was under development in the adjoining block, a testament to their expansion.

Known as “The Apartments,” the complex was an unobtrusive fortress, home of the Kissaki and the
oyabun
’s finest women, a living arrangement that Masateru took full advantage of. A door led from his own apartment to a lounge and bar shared with the apartments of the girls. It served as an entertainment area for him and his men.

A firm knock heralded Ryu’s arrival. Masateru opened the door and fixed the leader of the Mori-Kai’s paramilitary warriors with a hard stare.

“It seems the Kissaki become soft when I am away.”

Ryu looked down at the carpet. “My apologies,
waka-gashira
.”

“What happened this time?”

“The Yamaguchi-gumi attacked, with two
gaijin
. Our men killed some of them but there were too many. They took all the girls, killed four Mori-Kai, and put one in a coma.”

Masateru walked away and returned to the view, looking out over the city.

Ryu continued, “The police were there. They’ve claimed it a great victory against organized crime.”

“Corrupt dogs, they couldn’t find our operations if we set up shop inside their buildings.” Masateru absentmindedly took the tanto knife from inside his jacket, extended it, and spun it in his palm. “We’ve taken serious casualties, Ryu. The disaster in Europe, the Yamaguchi on the train, and now this.”

“You think they’re all related?”

“A week ago no one knew we existed. Now we’ve been raided by Special Forces in Europe, investigated by the FBI, and attacked by the Yamaguchi. There’s no doubt in my mind that these events are all related. And there’s one man involved in it all.”

“The FBI agent.”

“Yes, if that’s what he really is. He and his whore have cost us dearly.”

“We need to find them and kill them.”

Masateru pondered the idea as he watched the evening traffic. The city lights were starting to turn on. Soon the view would be transformed from a picturesque landscape to a hectic light show.

“I suspect that the
gaijin
are part of a larger organization. What we need to do is separate them from their new friends. We need to hit the Yamaguchi hard and teach them a lesson.”

“And at the same time flush out the foreigners.”

Masateru turned back to Ryu. “Precisely. Without their local support we’ll be able to deal with them on our own terms. Then we’ll find out who they actually work for. We will need to select our target carefully.”

“Yes,
waka-gashira
. After they killed my men on the train I have been developing a suitable target for retribution. One that will strike fear into the Yamaguchi-gumi.”

“Who?”

“Your counterpart.”

Masateru’s lip curled up in a half smile. “Very good, develop a plan. Once it is ready we will brief the
oyabun
. He will want to strike swiftly.”

“As you wish.” Ryu paused. “You should also be aware that the
oyabun
requested an increase in training for the gangs.”

“And?”

“And I thought it would be prudent to comply, considering it aligned with the guidance you provided.”

“You have acted accordingly?”

“Yes, we have commenced training of another sixty men.”

Masateru nodded. “My army grows stronger. That will be all, Ryu. Finish your planning.”

“Yes,
waka-gashira
.” Ryu dipped his head and left the room.

Masateru recovered his phone from the other side of the room and dialed his boss, anticipating his fury.

“Welcome home,
waka-gashira
.”

“Thank you,
oyabun
.” Masateru was surprised at the relaxed tone.

“I trust you have the girl?”

“Yes, she is in good health.”

“A shame the same cannot be said for her sister.”

“An unfortunate circumstance.”

“Indeed, and not the only one to have been bestowed upon us.”

Masateru paused, unsure of what to say next.

“The attack at the dockland stables,” probed the
oyabun
. “How bad was it?”

“Our men are dead; the girls are gone.”

“The press is reporting that the raid was conducted by the police following a tip-off from the Yamaguchi-gumi. Is there any truth to that?”

“There was a Yamaguchi element involved.”

“I trust that you are putting together a suitable response?”

“We already have a target in mind. Once it is fully prepared I will call for your approval.”

“There is no need; use your judgment. I want action taken immediately.”

“It will be done.”

“The man from the castle, the British mercenary. Is he involved? Superintendent Tanaka believes he and his female companion were planning to meet with the Yamaguchi.”

“We can safely assume that they are now working together. I’m not sure if he is in fact British. He’s using a US passport and claiming to work for the FBI.”

“Whatever he is, my chief concern is his influence over the Yamaguchi. Should I be worried about this sudden show of teeth? Can I expect a repeat of what happened in Europe?”

“No, the Yamaguchi are as weak as ever. They stumbled on one of our locations with the help of the foreigners, that is all. It will not happen again. Our security measures have already been enhanced and there was nothing linking the docklands facility to our other locations.”

“What about our European operations? The Frenchman, has he found a new provider?”

“Not yet, but he will. He would not dare to fail us.”

“He had better not.” The authoritative tone of the
oyabun
softened. “Masateru, I am concerned we do not have enough men.”

“Our numbers are more than adequate. But if we decide we need additional Kissaki, Ryu has already identified more candidates among the Tokushu Sakusen Gun,” said Masateru, referring to the Japanese Special Forces Group.

“Good. In your absence I ordered Ryu to begin training the gangs.”

Yes, as Ryu already told me, thought Masateru. He smiled to himself and said, “A wise decision,
oyabun
.”

“We will need their loyalty once we strike back at the Yamaguchi. Ensure your attack is decisive and report to me once it is done.”

“Yes,
oyabun
.”

The call disconnected.

Masateru stared out over the lights of the city for a few seconds, contemplating the
oyabun
’s words. He walked through the doorway that led into the adjoining lounge.

The room was spacious and had the same view as his own. There was a well-stocked bar, leather settees, and a pool table. The smell of cigarettes lingered in the air—the
oyabun
would not let his women smoke but there was no such rule for the Kissaki. They drank here often, not allowed to touch but reveling in the company of the
oyabun
’s harem.

He stopped at the bar and took a cold bottle of champagne from the refrigerator. With two glasses and the bottle in hand he walked into the hall that led to the individual apartments of the
oyabun
’s harem. He stopped at one of the doors and knocked.

There was no response.

He punched an override code into the security lock and pushed open the door.

The luxurious apartment was strewn with women’s clothes and shoes. Hundreds of thousands of dollars of glamorous dresses were thrown across the king-size bed. Shoes were piled up on the floor. Handbags, scarves, hats, and other items were hanging on chairs and tossed on a dresser. Cupboards and drawers hung open, revealing even more clothing.

Masateru smiled as he surveyed the mess. A noise from the bathroom caught his ear. A woman hummed a tune as she splashed.

He knocked softly on the door.

“Who is it?”

“It’s Masateru. May I come in?”

“Do I have a choice?”

Masateru laughed as he pushed open the door. “No, I guess you don’t.”

Karla was neck-deep in the spa bath, her naked body hidden underneath a blanket of bubbles.

“What do you want?” She did nothing to hide the venom in her voice.

“I just wanted to make sure you had settled in. I see that you have been trying on the clothes.” Masateru placed the glasses on the marbled side of the spa and popped the champagne cork.

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry about today. I did not want to expose you to such danger.” He poured the alcohol and handed her a glass.

“No, thank you.” She glared at him suspiciously. “I know why you are really here.”

Masateru gave her a wounded look. “I think you have me wrong. My job is to keep you safe, not to take advantage of you.”

She eyed him suspiciously. “Those men today, they were really trying to take me?”

“Yes, of course. You’re a very valuable commodity in Japan. If you behave you will find there are great rewards.” Masateru sipped his champagne.

“You mean if I sleep with your boss and his friends?”

“I could always take you back to the stables if that is what you would prefer.”

Karla shook her head.

Masateru raised his glass. “Then make sure you behave.” He got up to leave the bathroom. “You never know, you might even be able to send some money to your family.”

He left Karla crying in the bath next to the bottle of champagne.

CHAPTER 53

YAMAGUCHI-GUMI SAFE HOUSE, KOBE

“The girls are all safe?” Bishop was sitting at the bar in their temporary safe house, his local cell phone held to his ear.

“Yes,” replied Baiko. “There were six of them, all in very bad shape. Addicted to heroin, heavy bruising, and evidence of violent sexual assault. They ranged in age from sixteen to nineteen.”

“Fucking scumbags.”

“That isn’t the worst of it,” the police investigator continued. “Two of them had been subjected to an operation to return them to virginity.”

“You’re kidding me.”

“No, they sew the—”

“That’s enough, I get the gist of it.”

“The worst thing is, this doesn’t end with the one facility.”

“I’m sure it doesn’t. Did forensics find any leads? Phones, computers, client lists?”

“No, no records at all. One of the girls told us she’d been there for three months, though. She said there were other women.”

“What happened to them?”

“She didn’t know. They took them away and they never came back.”

“Sold?”

“Or worse.” Baiko paused. “One of the girls described a beautiful blonde girl who came in today.
She positively ID’d the photo you sent me.”

“I think she was there for about half an hour before they took her to another location.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“It’s OK, we’ll find her. Did you get any information on the other photo I sent you?”

“Yes and no. One of my team recognized him as a low-level Yamaguchi from a few years back, but there is no information in our databases. Like the others he seems to have been removed.”

“All right, keep your ear to the ground. And be careful. The Mori-Kai seem to have friends in high places.”

“I will let you know what I hear.”

“Thanks, Baiko, I appreciate everything you’ve done for us.”

“No, thank you. If you hadn’t done something about those girls they would have eventually been murdered. Good luck.”

The policeman terminated the call and Bishop returned his phone to his pocket. He climbed the stairs up to the offices that were serving as their accommodation.

“Saneh, you set up?”

“Yes, connecting now,” she said as he stood behind her. She had set up the laptop on a desk next to her bedroll. Kenta had provided her with a wireless Internet dongle and she was using it to connect to the Bunker. The link was secure, encrypted to military standards at both ends.

On the screen a program similar to Skype was attempting to link to one of PRIMAL’s remote servers. A rapidly lengthening blue bar indicated its progress.

“Just a few seconds…” Saneh adjusted the volume as she waited. “And we’re up. Bunker, this is Saneh, how do I read?”

Vance’s big bald head appeared on screen. “Got you loud and clear, Missy; how you guys doing over there?”

“We’re doing fine. Ran into a bit of trouble but nothing we couldn’t deal with.”

“What sort of trouble? Not the type where Bishop levels an entire block, I hope.”

“No, nothing like that,” Saneh continued. “We tailed Karla and Masateru from the airport. They stopped in at one of their warehouses, where they kept kidnapped women. At that point we were forced to intervene.”

Vance’s brow furrowed. “So, Karla…I gather she’s not with you now?”

“Ah, negative,” interjected Bishop. “She got away with Masateru. We rescued six other girls and took down the Mori-Kai—”

“Saneh, didn’t I tell you to keep him the hell out of trouble? You’re supposed to be doing recon, not starting a war with the Mori-Kai.”

“It wasn’t just his idea, Vance. We both decided it was the only option after one of the Yamaguchi surveillance teams was compromised.”

“Did you at least grab some useful intel?”

“Our Yamaguchi liaison got some photos of Masateru, thinks he’s a former Yamaguchi member, excommunicated for dealing drugs,” said Bishop. “They’ve got no recent leads.”

“Anything else?”

“We bagged a Mori-Kai gangbanger but he wouldn’t talk. The girls were handed over to the cops. Apart from weapons the site was pretty clean.”

“So we’ve got nothing?”

“Pretty much. The cops ran a fine-tooth comb over the joint and came up cold. The Mori-Kai have things locked down pretty damn tight.”

“Well, that’s awesome—not only do we have jack shit, but a bunch of tooled-up, sake-swigging, psycho Yakuza are now fully aware of your presence in-country.”

“It’s not that bad, Vance. We’ve won serious face with the Yamaguchi. With their help we’ll find these bastards fast.”

“That’s if the Mori-Kai don’t put a hit on us first,” Saneh added. “Vance, I think the recon phase is over. We’re going to need some extra hardware. We’re up against automatic weapons, body armor, and god knows what else. We need a full loadout.”

“I’ll get Mitch on it.”

“What about reinforcements?” Bishop asked. “Are Aleks and Kurtz done yet in Europe? Mirza and his team?”

“I can’t get you anyone yet. Mirza and his guys are about to deploy on another op in Myanmar. Aleks and Kurtz are tying up some loose ends with our Interpol cop. Once that’s done they’ll RV with you.”

“Kurtz is going to lose his shit when he hears we don’t have Karla.”

“Yep, I’ll leave that in your hands.”

“The joys of being a team leader.”

“The weight of command, bud.”

The throb of the twin exhausts on Kenta’s bike shook the building as he arrived in the basement garage.

“Nice-sounding pipes,” nodded Vance. “Looks like you’ve got company.”

“Yeah that’s Kenta, our Yamaguchi liaison,” said Bishop. “He was off checking in with his people so we’ll need to find out what’s going on. Will check back in as soon as we get anything concrete.”

“Well, stay out of trouble and keep us in the loop. If we’re going to wrap up these fuckers we need intel.”

“Roger,” replied Bishop.

Saneh nodded and shut the laptop, and they made for the staircase.

“You didn’t need to cover for me like that,” said Bishop.

“You might have forgotten that we’re supposed to be a team, but I haven’t.”

Bishop shook his head as he followed her down the stairs. She was pushing him further and further away and he wasn’t happy about it.

Kenta met them at the bar. He was still dressed in his leather jacket. His helmet was under one arm, a backpack hung over his shoulder. A broad smile was painted across his normally impassive features.

“Brian, Sarah, I have very good news.”

“We’re not in trouble?” Saneh asked.

“No,” Kenta shook his head. “The
oyabun
is very impressed.”

“Even though we got three more of his men killed?”

“You inflicted a great defeat on our enemy. The loss of foot soldiers is acceptable. Now the
oyabun
wants to do more.” Kenta hefted the backpack off his shoulder and unloaded half a dozen boxes of ammunition.

“What does that mean?” Bishop asked as he checked one of the boxes. “Better weapons? More intel? Good work, by the way, these are top-quality slugs.” And more than enough to top up their .45 pistols as well as the 9mm MP9 submachine guns they had looted from dead Mori-Kai.

“Thank you. Yes, we are all to meet with the
waka-gashira
to discuss how best to apply his people to defeating the Mori-Kai and finding the girl.”

“That’s good news, Kenta,” Saneh said as she took one of her spare magazines out and thumbed rounds into it as they talked. “How is Hero?”

“The
waka-gashira
follows the
oyabun
’s orders, but I know he too is very worried about the Mori-Kai.”

“Damn straight he should be worried,” said Bishop. “But we can help even the odds. I should have some more men and equipment arriving in the next few days.”

“Anything that can help will be greatly appreciated.”

“So your boss Hero wants to work closer with us? It’s going to be good to have the full extent of the Yamaguchi’s resources behind us.” Bishop followed Saneh’s lead and started reloading his own weapons.

“The Yamaguchi is not as powerful as you seem to think, Brian. The subelements have become richer and more powerful but the
oyabun
has been forced to relinquish power. He no longer commands his own army of foot soldiers. He must pander to the subclans for additional support.”

“That also means you are vulnerable, yes,” said Saneh. “If the Mori-Kai can weaken the head, then the clans can be targeted individually or even bought off.”

“Yes, that is why the
waka-gashira
wants you to come to the meeting early tomorrow.”

“How early is early?” Bishop asked.

“First thing in the morning. The
waka-gashira
has called an emergency meeting at the Hotel La Suite. You have been invited. It is a great honor.”

“You’ve done well, Kenta. We’re very grateful,” said Saneh. “Now if you will excuse me, gentlemen, I am going to get some sleep.” Saneh left the two men standing at the bar.

There was a long pause before Bishop broke the silence. “I bet you’ve never met a woman like her before.”

“Most Japanese women are more, how you say? Submissive?”

Bishop reached behind the bar and pulled out a bottle of clear liquid. “Drink?”

“Yes.”

The PRIMAL operative splashed the liquid into two glasses and handed one to the Yakuza criminal that had become his comrade. “I’ve never met another woman like her. She drives me insane, but on the other hand she’s damned good at her job.”

“She is most impressive.”

Bishop lifted his glass. “To impressive women.”

“Yes, impressive women.” Kenta downed the drink in one gulp and proceeded to splash another round into the glass.

Bishop held out his own glass. “I’ve been wanting to ask you. What did you do to lose your finger?”

He shrugged his powerful shoulders. “I was young and foolish. I cannot remember the exact details, but now it is a badge of honor, like your nose.” He downed his sake.

“What the hell’s wrong with it?” Bishop rubbed his fingers along the crooked bridge of his nose. It had been broken on more than one occasion, but still…

“Nothing, it is very honorable.” Kenta splashed another shot of sake into his glass. “More?”

“Negative, big man. I’m going to get some sleep. Gotta look my best for tomorrow’s big meeting.”