The Last Assassin by Barry Eisler

him, not the other way around. The politics is just a hobby he can use to indulge his right-wing convictions and convince himself that all the crime is really for a noble purpose.”
    He scratched his head. “And you met Midori through him?”
    â€œSort of. He was the one who hired me to take out her father, although at the time I didn’t even know I was on his payroll. I met Midori by a coincidence after that, and when I learned Yamaoto was gunning for her, too, I stopped him. Midori and I…for a while we were on the run together. It was…I don’t know, it was just one of those crazy things that happen.”
    He nodded. “Yeah, I’ve had a few of those.”
    â€œAnyway, apparently Yamaoto is still unhappy about the damage I did to him when we locked horns. It’s become a grudge.”
    â€œHe’s in Japan but he’s got people here?”
    â€œHe’s getting help from the triads. The Chinese mob has a bigger presence in New York than the yakuza.”
    â€œHaven’t those triad boys been moving into Japan, too?”
    â€œYeah. There’s a long-running struggle in Tokyo between the yakuza and the triads there. They both want the drug and prostitution trades for themselves. Yamaoto must be ceding something to the triads in Tokyo in return for their watching Midori in New York.”
    â€œAll right, I get it. And you want me to help you identify the surveillance so you can circumvent it.”
    â€œExactly.”
    â€œWell, hell, this isn’t even much of a favor. When you first called, I figured it was because you wanted to send someone on a Valhalla vacation.”
    â€œIf that’s all it were, I could take care of it myself.”
    â€œYeah, I expect you could.” He took a swallow of beer. “You know, the surveillance doesn’t really bother me. I reckon we can spot the gaps easily enough and slip you through one of them.”
    â€œOkay, good.”
    â€œBut, have you thought about…you know.”
    â€œNo, what?”
    He finished his beer and signaled the waitress to bring us a couple more. “I mean, she knows you killed her old man. I expect that’s a hard thing for a person to get over. It sure would be for me.”
    â€œWell, what am I supposed to do? Just pretend I don’t know there’s a child?”
    â€œNo, I guess you can’t do that, either. It’s a complicated situation, I’ll give you that.”
    The waitress brought our beers and moved off.
    â€œThey’ve been watching her since when?” Dox asked.
    â€œSince they learned about the baby. About a year. That’s what convinced them I’d come back to her.”
    He looked at me, half amused, half concerned. “Well, looks like they might have been on to something there.”
    I shrugged.
    â€œYou thought about calling her first?” he asked. “Or sending an e-mail?”
    I shook my head. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
    â€œYou worried they’re monitoring her electronically?”
    â€œNo, Tatsu told me they’re not. But I don’t know how she’ll react to hearing from me. It’s better if I do it in person.”
    He nodded and drained a third from the mug. “Well, she’s a jazz pianist, right? Her schedule’s public. If you wanted to get to her, that’s where you’d most likely start.”
    â€œRight. So we can expect surveillance at her performances. But the photos Tatsu acquired weren’t taken at a performance. She was at an outdoor café somewhere, with the baby. Daytime.”
    â€œIf it was daytime, my guess is they followed her from where she lives.”
    â€œAgreed.”
    â€œYou know, sending a foot soldier to take in a public jazz performance from time to time is one thing. But if they’re giving Yamaoto enough local man power to watch Midori’s apartment, too, that’s a pretty big favor he must