looked back
at Chifune and then raised himself on one elbow. He drained his glass and she refilled
it. As she came closer to him, he was
acutely conscious of her body and the softness and texture of her skin. She returned to her original position.
"What is
Koancho's interest?" he said.
She shook her
head. "I can't tell you. You know that."
He
smiled. "I know very little about
you," he said. "I don't know
what you may or may not do. I only know
what you do where I am concerned, and you do that extremely well."
Chifune
returned his smile. "You're a male
chauvinist," she said sweetly, "but perhaps a little less extreme
than most Japanese men. Make the most of
it. Times are changing."
Adachi had to
admit that she was correct on all three points. He did like — and had been brought up to expect — subservience in a
woman. But he also had learned to enjoy
and respect independence in the opposite sex. Truth to tell, Adachi liked women.
"Tell me
about Hodama," he said.
"You know
about Hodama," she said.
"Tell me
anyway," he said. " The what I know
will join with what you know and that
will add up to what we know, which
quite probably will be more than I know right now. I think it's called synergy."
"Gestalt
psychology," she said. "The
whole of anything is greater than its parts."
"Tell me
about the whole Hodama," he said. "Who would want to boil a nice little old man like that — to
death? Actually, it looks like he died
of a massive heart attack almost immediately, but you know what I mean."
"I think
our problem is going to be too many candidates," said Chifune. "Hodama led a long, active, and mostly
evil life."
"‘Our
problem’," said Adachi. "That's encouraging. I
thought observer status meant just that. Koancho is not really into the sharing business." He grinned. "Like most security services, more into paranoia."
"‘Our’
problem," Chifune repeated quietly.
"Ah!"
said Adachi, savoring this new insight. He decided not to pursue it for the moment, at least verbally. Instead he stretched out a bare foot and
slipped it between Chifune's knees and then a little further. She did not resist. There was a faint flush in her cheeks.
"Hodama,"
he said, "but perhaps the shorter version for now."
Chifune was an
expert in various martial arts and related disciplines. They all put a heavy emphasis on mind over matter. She drew on this training as she spoke.
"Kazuo
Hodama was born in
Tokyo
early in this century, the son of a civil servant. He actually spent much of his early life in
Korea
. His father was part of the Japanese
occupation forces. Hodama therefore grew
up with both military and other government connections — which he was to put to
good use later on in life."
The occupation
of
Korea
was not one of the high points in Japanese history.
Japan
had annexed the country in 1910, and for the next thirty-six years
Korea
had been
subject to an arbitrary and frequently brutal Japanese military-dominated
regime.
"In
Korea
, Hodama
worked extensively for the authorities and specialized in putting down
resistance. Mostly, he worked behind the
scenes. He organized gangs of thugs to
beat up or kill Koreans who wanted independence, thus enabling the
administration to pretend they were not involved in the more extreme acts of
repression.
"Hodama
returned to
Japan
in the 1920's. The world was in
recession. That was a period when there
was major conflict in
Japan
between democratic government and the ultraright headed by the military. Since the moderates could not seem to do
anything about fundamental issues like feeding the people, it is scarcely
surprising that the rightists won out. The same thing happened elsewhere — in
Germany
,
Italy
,
Spain
, and
Portugal
. Empty rice bowls are not good for
democracy."
"That was
a period of secret societies and assassinations," said Adachi. "Various
at Chifune and then raised himself on one elbow. He drained his glass and she refilled
it. As she came closer to him, he was
acutely conscious of her body and the softness and texture of her skin. She returned to her original position.
"What is
Koancho's interest?" he said.
She shook her
head. "I can't tell you. You know that."
He
smiled. "I know very little about
you," he said. "I don't know
what you may or may not do. I only know
what you do where I am concerned, and you do that extremely well."
Chifune
returned his smile. "You're a male
chauvinist," she said sweetly, "but perhaps a little less extreme
than most Japanese men. Make the most of
it. Times are changing."
Adachi had to
admit that she was correct on all three points. He did like — and had been brought up to expect — subservience in a
woman. But he also had learned to enjoy
and respect independence in the opposite sex. Truth to tell, Adachi liked women.
"Tell me
about Hodama," he said.
"You know
about Hodama," she said.
"Tell me
anyway," he said. " The what I know
will join with what you know and that
will add up to what we know, which
quite probably will be more than I know right now. I think it's called synergy."
"Gestalt
psychology," she said. "The
whole of anything is greater than its parts."
"Tell me
about the whole Hodama," he said. "Who would want to boil a nice little old man like that — to
death? Actually, it looks like he died
of a massive heart attack almost immediately, but you know what I mean."
"I think
our problem is going to be too many candidates," said Chifune. "Hodama led a long, active, and mostly
evil life."
"‘Our
problem’," said Adachi. "That's encouraging. I
thought observer status meant just that. Koancho is not really into the sharing business." He grinned. "Like most security services, more into paranoia."
"‘Our’
problem," Chifune repeated quietly.
"Ah!"
said Adachi, savoring this new insight. He decided not to pursue it for the moment, at least verbally. Instead he stretched out a bare foot and
slipped it between Chifune's knees and then a little further. She did not resist. There was a faint flush in her cheeks.
"Hodama,"
he said, "but perhaps the shorter version for now."
Chifune was an
expert in various martial arts and related disciplines. They all put a heavy emphasis on mind over matter. She drew on this training as she spoke.
"Kazuo
Hodama was born in
Tokyo
early in this century, the son of a civil servant. He actually spent much of his early life in
Korea
. His father was part of the Japanese
occupation forces. Hodama therefore grew
up with both military and other government connections — which he was to put to
good use later on in life."
The occupation
of
Korea
was not one of the high points in Japanese history.
Japan
had annexed the country in 1910, and for the next thirty-six years
Korea
had been
subject to an arbitrary and frequently brutal Japanese military-dominated
regime.
"In
Korea
, Hodama
worked extensively for the authorities and specialized in putting down
resistance. Mostly, he worked behind the
scenes. He organized gangs of thugs to
beat up or kill Koreans who wanted independence, thus enabling the
administration to pretend they were not involved in the more extreme acts of
repression.
"Hodama
returned to
Japan
in the 1920's. The world was in
recession. That was a period when there
was major conflict in
Japan
between democratic government and the ultraright headed by the military. Since the moderates could not seem to do
anything about fundamental issues like feeding the people, it is scarcely
surprising that the rightists won out. The same thing happened elsewhere — in
Germany
,
Italy
,
Spain
, and
Portugal
. Empty rice bowls are not good for
democracy."
"That was
a period of secret societies and assassinations," said Adachi. "Various
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