Red Shark

“But true.” To prove it, she told him what they had discovered about Tokugawa in the JDIH top-secret files.

Kida, his face a mask, listened intently but said nothing. Clearly, it was the first time she had ever revealed to her father anything about her work at the agency.

“Dr. Kida,” Scott said after Fumiko had finished, “we need to know whether he can build nuclear weapons or if he’s bluffing. Can you tell us?”

Kida looked intently at Scott and said, “Why would you, an American in Japan, want such information? Who are you to come here demanding answers to things that don’t concern you?”

“On the contrary, Dr. Kida, they concern me because they concern the United States.”

“Father, please,” Fumiko said, “we don’t have time to argue. Just tell us what you know about Tokugawa. It’s vital to the investigation we’re conducting.”

Kida considered for a very long moment. Then, as if weighing his obligation to Fumiko, as well as the fact that his denials had been upended, making his loss of face all the more painful to bear, he nodded as Fumiko prepared to take notes.

“All I can tell you is that a man who heads an association determined to make demigods of our war criminals would likely want Japan to have the power and prestige that accrue to those nations armed with nuclear weapons. Above all, he would see Japan accepted by America as her equal, if not her better.”

“Okay, agreed, but how would he build nuclear weapons?” Scott asked. “What manufacturing capabilities does he have access to? Where would he get fissile material?”

“As my daughter has apparently discovered, he owns high-tech plants in Russia. Russia has hundreds of former Soviet-era weapons designers. Perhaps they could turn their talents to weapons development. As for fissile material, Russia is awash in it. Perhaps Japan already has a stockpile he could use.”

Perhaps, perhaps. Scott kept his frustration in check and tried another tack. “What type of weapons did he propose to build? Do you know anything about their design and yield?”

“Mr. Scott, I’m a political scientist, not a nuclear physicist. You should talk to an expert. I’m sorry, I just don’t know.”

“Dr. Kida, forgive me, but you’re involved in issues of nuclear proliferation. That means you understand nuclear weapons technology. Am I wrong?”

Kida looked down at a pair of clenched fists resting on his knees.

“Father, what you have told us is very helpful,” Fumiko said gently. “But it’s mostly anecdotal and theoretical. What we need is hard information — no, proof — that Tokugawa has provided the technical assistance North Korea needs to bolster their nuclear arsenal.”

The room fell silent but for the hiss of the kotatsu.

Kida looked up, his face troubled. “What are you involving my daughter in, Mr. Scott? Why do you come to Japan to stir up trouble? In our country Tokugawa is what you Americans would call an ‘untouchable.’ You don’t understand what you are dealing with, especially the right-wing political atmosphere that grips Japan.”

Fumiko interrupted him. “Mr. Scott is not here to stir up trouble. And we understand exactly what we’re dealing with. I told you on the phone, I can’t go into why we need this information, but…” She checked herself, then glanced at Scott. He understood where she had to go and gave her a nod yes.

Fumiko took a deep breath and said, “Father, listen to me.” She held his gaze as she spoke in a careful and measured tone. “Everything we have uncovered so far indicates that Iseda Tokugawa is helping the North Koreans prepare to launch a nuclear attack on the United States.”

Kida reacted as if he’d been struck across the face. “I don’t believe you.”

Fumiko told her father about Matsu Shan, the meeting at the villa, the SEAL insertion, the battle, the video DVD and stonewalling by Kabe, her demotion, the ransacking of her apartment.

Kida covered his face with both hands and bent double until his knuckles touched his knees. He moaned, “This can’t be possible.”

“It is possible,” Scott said. “If Tokugawa has the means, he also has the motive: revenge.”

Fumiko reached out and put a comforting hand on her father’s back.