The Gatekeeper's Son (32 page)

I knew I’d done the right thing today—I’d kept the company out of Walter’s hands. But I was worried. Today hadn’t been a spur-of-the-moment power grab—the lawyers were there, the paperwork already drawn up. Walter must have been planning this for a while.

I opened my eyes to see the last rays of daylight shining through the clouds. I pulled the visor down to block it out, but when I caught my reflection in the vanity mirror, I froze.

“What’s wrong?” Mr. Barrymore asked.

Dark eyes stared right through me. I looked away, but I forced myself to turn back. The face—my face—was still there. Those eyes had gazed toward the top of the Izumo shrine and into the eyes of Shoko. They looked different … powerful.

“Nothing.”

I glanced in the mirror again. They were my new eyes and I liked them.

We saw nothing suspicious, no surveillance vans or occupied cars, when Mr. Barrymore dropped me off at home. Still, I felt something dark and menacing, like the storm clouds above us. I couldn’t pin it down.

The house was dark when I walked in, no smells of dinner cooking. Tama ambled down the hall toward me, looking bleary-eyed and disheveled. She meowed and rubbed against my leg and sauntered into the kitchen toward her food dish. I followed her, heading toward my own food dish—the cookie jar—and found a note on the counter.

Okaasan had gone to see Dad off at the airport and wouldn’t be home until later. I grabbed a handful of cookies and headed to my bedroom.

While I waited for my laptop to power up, I thought about Walter. He’d shown his true colors today, and he obviously didn’t think Grandpa was coming back.

I was fuming when Tama strolled into my room. She looked at me with her bored cat expression and headed straight for my legs. I reached down, lifted her onto my lap, and stroked her back for a minute before I started to laugh, realizing I looked like some crazy movie villain. I rubbed her fuzzy chin. Her purrs vibrated through my body and my anger began to subside.

My thoughts wandered—from Grandpa’s announcement on my birthday to the way Walter had looked at me, then to Lin and how she’d smelled when she kissed me. My thoughts lingered on Lin for a while, and then I thought of the day Shoko had stolen the journal.

I opened my eyes and sat up straight, knocking Tama to the floor. She let out a meow of indignation. Something about Grandpa’s office … specifically his desk.

Passwords! I still remembered the passwords on that yellow sticky note.

It felt good to touch a keyboard again, something I understood. A minute later, I was inside his account on the Thompson Group’s network. I wasn’t sure what I’d find, but I needed more information—about the company, about everything.

I spotted a dull-looking paper-and-pencil icon and clicked. It opened what looked like accounts, showing financial transactions, with more numbers and commas than I’d ever seen together. I rested my elbows on the desk and stared at the screen, scrolling at full speed until the numbers started to melt together. The evidence of what Walter was up to—what he’d
been
up to—was probably right in front of me, but I knew as much about accounting as a turnip did.

I stood up and paced, treading a path from my doorway to my bed, trying to get my thoughts together.

I needed to find out what Walter was plotting. If I could get into his e-mail, I was sure I’d find what I needed. But cracking into the corporate computers would be a nightmare—way beyond my skill level—and Grandpa’s security department would track me down in minutes.

Besides, I doubted Walter would keep any records at the office, and from what Lin had said, he’d packed all the paper records into that van and made them disappear while Mack and I enjoyed the baseball game. But Walter was bound to have a computer at home, and getting into that wouldn’t be a challenge at all.

But getting
to
his computer was another matter. Walter lived in a penthouse apartment. To get in there, I’d need to be some kind of …

Ninja.

I logged out of Grandpa’s account and shut off the screen. Outside, the rain had stopped. I’d just finished calling Shoko, asking her to help me later, when I felt someone coming—Okaasan.

When I strolled into the kitchen, she was struggling to close the door with her foot, her arms loaded with grocery bags. I took two bags from her and peered inside.

“I didn’t know you were home,” she said, sounding annoyed. “You’re getting good at hiding your energy.”

“Yeah? I felt you coming a block away.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Then why didn’t you get off your lazy butt and come help me?”

While Okaasan unloaded the groceries, I told her what had happened at the office. Her mood grew darker the more I talked.

I frowned. “What’s wrong?”

She turned to me, holding a cabbage in her hand like a basketball. “Your father already told me what happened.” She didn’t look impressed. “You’re trying to fill very big shoes and you made a powerful enemy today.”

“Walter was already the enemy. I’m not worried about him.”

“A log can block a creek but not a river. You don’t know what’s coming. Don’t get overconfident.”

“Walter’s trying to take the company. I can’t sit back and do nothing.”

She gave me a look as she pulled some strange root out of the bag. “Are you sure that’s what he’s doing?”

“It’s obvious.” I shook my head. “And Dad almost gave it to him. If it wasn’t for me …” I stopped as a cloud of disappointment moved across her face.

“Please tell me you didn’t use your energy on him. He never would have gone to Brussels otherwise.”

My gaze dropped to the floor. “I didn’t force him to do anything.” Had I?

She sat down and stared at the table, not saying anything. I glanced around the kitchen, at the groceries still on the counter, then back at Okaasan.

“Your father’s spent his whole life trying to stay away.” Her voice was so quiet I had to strain to hear her. “You understand that?”

“You’re talking about Grandpa and maybe Bartholomew, though,” I said. “Not the business itself … right?”

She stood up. “They’re one and the same.” Her voice was strained. “Damn it, Junya, you just put him right into the middle of it!”

I let out a deep sigh. “He just needs to sign a few papers in Brussels, then every once in a while when he’s back. He doesn’t have to even go the office.”

“Junya—”

“No, Mom! It’s not just about the business and it’s not just about Dad. If we save the company, we stop Bartholomew. Grandpa will finally be free of him.” I pointed at her. “I’m going to find out what Walter’s up to—tonight—and Mr. Barrymore’s looking into the accounting. We got this buttoned down.”

“How can you possibly have this
buttoned down
?” She was angry now. “You don’t even know who tried to kill you.”

“It was Walter.”

“Can you prove it?” When I didn’t reply, she crossed her arms. “You pulled your father into this, but no one knows what
this is
!”

I heaved a huge sigh. “I need to focus on what I understand, and that’s getting into Walter’s computer.”

Okasan threw a meal together in about ten minutes, some meat-and-vegetable thing over rice, and I gulped it down, eager to get started on my clandestine operation. I was clearing the dishes off the table when I felt a disturbance in the earth’s energy. A long moment later, Okaasan jumped to her feet.

“Took you long enough,” I said.

She gave me a look. “You’ve been oblivious for the last sixteen years and now you’re an expert?” She pointed at the stack of dishes. “I’ll go meet Shoko. Wash the pots!”

I was up to my elbows in soap bubbles, grumbling under my breath and wondering if there was some way to travel the pots somewhere, when Shoko strolled into the kitchen.

“This house is amazing!” She pointed at the skylights. “I can see the sky!” She was dressed in skinny black jeans and a tight-fitting T-shirt. Her only accessories were her silver ring and a black hair band, holding her hair in a high ponytail. A black jacket completed the look.

“Wow!” I tried not to stare. “You look great!”

“Thank you,” she said and her cheeks reddened. “I had a friend help me buy them.” She moved closer. “I did not expect you to be useful around the house.”

I flicked a wad of soap bubbles at her before rinsing the last pot.

“Okaasan works me like a horse.” I tried to sound grumpy, but I was happy to see her. “Thanks for coming.”

She tilted her head to the side and looked at me. An uncomfortable silence settled over us. There were things we needed to talk about, but I didn’t have a clue how to start. From the look on her face, I figured she felt it, too, but she wasn’t ready to say anything either. Our thoughts—and our feelings—would remain unspoken, at least for now.

She broke the silence. “I felt no distress when you called.”

“Do I need a reason to call you?”

“You always have before.”

I sighed. “We’re going to break into someone’s house. We can be sneaky like ninja.”

She brightened. “That sounds fun … in a silly sort of way.”

“You’re not going anywhere until I make sure those pots are clean,” Okaasan said as she strode in from the hallway.

“They’re clean,” I grumbled and turned back to Shoko. “We’re going to Walter’s apartment. I need to get inside his computer.”

“Really? Then why do I need to rewash them half the time?” Okaasan said, hands on hips.

“Why don’t you do them yourself and save all the trouble?”

Shoko poked my arm. “What is a computer? Will we both fit inside it?”

Okaasan and I stared at her. Then Okaasan started to laugh.

“We’ll be OK,” I said.

Shoko didn’t look impressed with our laughter, but my thoughts were back on my plan, on what software I needed and how we’d get to the tenth floor of Walter’s apartment building.

“Do you have any climbing gear?” I asked Okaasan.

“I have a few things … from long ago.”

“Can you get Shoko set up? I need to load my memory stick.”

“Do not bother yourself, Misako-san.” Shoko glared across the kitchen at me. “If you want to climb, go ahead. I will meet you at the top.”

It was late when Shoko and I left the house and walked to the dojo. The air had a heavy, close feeling, and the damp seeped through my jacket, chilling my body. The rain was holding off, but the low clouds looked heavy.