PRIMAL Fury (The PRIMAL Series) (41 page)

CHAPTER 77

MORI-KAI CASINO CONSTRUCTION SITE, HIMEJI

“There are heavily armed police all around us now,
waka-gashira
.” Ryu and his team were monitoring both the police radio band and their CCTV network. The initial cordon by the general duties police had been a surprise but not a worry. The deployment of the SAT was another matter altogether.

“That doesn’t make any sense. We own the police.” Masateru drummed his fingers against the desk he was sitting at. “There’s no need for concern,” he said, more for himself than anyone else. “But we’ll need the police dealt with before the
gaijin
would dare attack. Hideaki, phone.” His bodyguard handed him one of a number of cell phones he carried.

Masateru dialed a number and waited for the call to connect. “I need to talk to the boss. There’s a problem.”

There was a short wait.

“What is the problem?” the
oyabun
asked abruptly.

“The police, they’ve surrounded the casino.”

“That’s not possible.”

“I am looking at them right now. The place is crawling with them, including a SWAT team.”

There was a pause on the other end of the call. “Don’t worry, I will have our man deal with it.”

“Many thanks.” Masateru handed the phone back.

“What about the police?” Ryu asked.

“They’ll withdraw. Just make sure none of your animals start something.”

As Masateru left the command post with Hideaki in tow he almost ran into two of the Chinese gang leaders. “Why are the police here?” one of them demanded in Japanese.

“They’re just leaving,” Masateru barked in response.

“Why? We have plenty of firepower—we should fucking kill the dogs and show them who runs this town.”

“They already belong to the Mori-Kai. Keep your cock out of your hand and wait until the real enemy appears.”

The Triad leader grinned and Masateru and his bodyguard continued down the concrete corridor to the elevator.

They headed to the second floor’s section of completed hotel rooms. A Kissaki operator was guarding the door to Karla’s room. Masateru turned to Hideaki. “I’m going to get some rest. You are to stay here and not wake me unless it is an emergency.”

His bodyguard nodded, “
Hai.
”

Masateru knocked softly on the door.

“Come in.”

Karla got up from the bed where she had been sleeping. “What is it?” she asked groggily.

He glanced at the bottle of pills by the bed. “I want you to make sure you are ready to go at any time.”

She gave him a confused look. “Is something wrong?”

Masateru reached out and grabbed her by the waist. He slipped an arm around her and pulled her close, savoring the feeling of her breasts against his chest.

She stiffened but began to relax as he held her more tightly.

“Nothing is wrong.” He kissed her as he slid his hand up underneath her sweater and unclipped her bra.

“Sir, the regional director is on the phone.” The black-clad Japanese Special Assault Team officer handed his superior a telephone handset.

The phone was part of a complex communications suite inside the SAT mobile command post. The heavily armored black bus was parked in a lot a block from the casino.

“What does he want?”

“I don’t know, sir, he asked for you by name.”

The commander took the handset. “Hello.”

“Inspector Hyuman, it’s Superintendent Supervisor Tanaka. I understand you are undertaking an operation in my jurisdiction.”

“That is correct, sir. It has been sanctioned by the commissioner general and the head of the Organized Crime Department.”

“And yet I know nothing about it.”

“That is something for you to discuss with them.”

“Listen to me, Inspector, you are compromising a police investigation, and you are to end your mission now. Take your men and return to Osaka.”

“With all due respect, sir, I am taking my orders direct from Tokyo for this mission.”

“Stand down. I will talk with the commissioner.”

“Sir, as I said—”

“Don’t do something you will regret, Inspector. Stand your men down immediately.” The phone went dead as the director hung up.

The SAT commander handed the telephone back. “Something’s not right here.”

“What do you mean, sir?”

“Why is the regional director being kept out of the loop?” Hyuman knew Tanaka by reputation; he was a highly influential commander responsible for the entire regional police bureau that included Kobe, Himeji, and Osaka. Although technically the Osaka-based SAT was working within Tanaka’s jurisdiction for this operation, it was authorized direct from Tokyo. He pondered the issue for a moment, then turned his attention to the rudimentary map of the casino facility that had been drawn on a whiteboard. “Is the sniper section in place?”

“Yes, sir. We have three pairs covering the entire frontage of the facility.”

“Good, what about the assault teams?”

“Team Alpha and Bravo are in place with their vehicles here and here.” He indicated two locations on the map.

“What additional intelligence do we have?”

“Technical section is still setting up. Once they are up and running we will be able to scan for all communications in the area.”

“Good, I think we might sit tight for the time being and let the senior hierarchy sort out exactly what’s going on. If they can’t come to a decision we’re pulling out.”

The door to the command bus opened and Baiko walked up the stairs.

“Maybe you can shed some light on the situation,” Hyuman said.

“What do you need to know?” Baiko took up a position next to the door. He had briefed the SAT in Osaka and driven down with the commander.

“How about we start with why the regional director is out of the loop on this. I just got off the phone with him and he’s pissed.”

“I’m afraid that’s well above my pay grade. All I know is the operation was compartmentalized.”

“You think the local cops are corrupt?”

“Not for me to say, but the Mori-Kai have a lot of money to throw around.”

“Well, so far I’ve seen nothing to suggest that any of your intel is good. This place looks dead.”

“They’re in there,” Baiko replied. “I can guarantee that.”

“Good for them, but as long as the hierarchy can’t sort themselves out, my men are going nowhere. We’ll sit tight for the next thirty minutes, but if nothing happens I’m going to draw back to the holding area and hand over to the local guys.”

Kenta parked the van in front of the shabby-looking apartment block. Chua had highlighted it in his intelligence package as having excellent observation onto the casino. The quadcopter had identified a number of apartments on the top floor that appeared unoccupied.

“You guys good to go?” asked Bishop as Kenta moved into the back of the van.

Aleks and Kurtz were dressed in their standard rig, heavy-duty cargo pants and long-sleeved shirts. They carried large wheeled equipment bags and had day bags slung over their shoulders. Kenta was wearing a similar outfit and was carrying two heavy-duty Pelican cases. He wore a radio scanner on his belt that was wired to an earpiece.

“We’re ready,” said Aleks.

“OK, good luck. Saneh and I will stay here until you give us word.”

The overwatch team jumped out of the back of the van and carried their equipment across to the building. The entrance was in disrepair, paint peeling from the ceiling, glass filthy, and the electronic security system decrepit.

“That makes life easier,” said Kurtz as he pushed open the front door and led the team into the foyer.

They waited patiently for the elevator to arrive. When it did, the doors opened with a noise that sounded like a dying cow.

“You trust this thing?” asked Aleks.

“Get in the elevator, you big baby,” said Kurtz. “In Russia this would be five stars.”

They entered the elevator and selected the top floor.

“You hearing anything interesting on the scanner, Kenta?” Aleks asked.

“No,” the Yamaguchi shook his head. “Nobody wants to make a move.”

“Well, that’s about to change.”

They stepped out of the elevator into a long corridor of doors. Judging by the distance between them, the dwellings were shoebox-size.

They counted the room numbers and halfway along the corridor Kenta banged on a door. As expected, there was no answer. He tried again with the same result.

It took Kurtz a few seconds to pick the lock and they all filed in, dead-bolting the door behind them. It was a tiny, furnished apartment; a single bedroom doubled as a living area and compact bathroom-cum-laundry. It had a futon pressed up against the wall and a small table and two chairs crammed in the corner.

Kurtz frowned as he surveyed the room. His previous recon using the quadcopter had identified the overwatch position as being unoccupied, no furniture. They had entered the wrong apartment.

All three looked at each other. It was obvious someone lived here. Aleks checked the bathroom. “I think the owner must be at work,
da.
”

Kenta already had one of his cases open and the loaded KRISS submachine gun in hand. He shrugged. “If he comes home early, I will convince him to help us.”

“This will do,” Kurtz said. “We’ll only be here for an hour.” He opened the curtains to reveal the view. From their fifteenth-floor vantage point they had an uninterrupted view of the back of the casino. They could actually see through the entire unfinished structure. He slid open the window but left the insect screen in place.

“Keep the lights off,” said Kurtz. “If we keep it dark in here they won’t be able to see us.” It was just after midday and the sun outside was shining brightly.

Aleks dragged the dining table away from the wall and positioned it a few feet back from the window. He pulled a blanket from the futon and draped it over the wood before positioning two chairs behind the table, facing the windows.

Meanwhile Kurtz opened Kenta’s cases and plugged the laptop into the scanner array. Within thirty seconds he had the system set up and Kenta was sitting on one of the empty cases monitoring all of the police channels through his communications headset. The Yamaguchi’s KRISS submachine gun lay beside him, loaded and ready for any unwanted visitors.