Cajun Justice Read online

  Cain hugged Bonnie. “Sorry I’m late.”

  “It’s six oh one. You better have a good excuse,” she joked. “Because the trains are never late in Japan.”

  “This station is an absolute madhouse,” Cain said.

  “If you think this is bad, you should try Shinjuku Station at seven in the morning. It is a confusing maze, with millions of people going to work, and thousands of kids rushing to school. Sometimes the trains are so packed that people can fall asleep standing up!”

  “Oh, hell no!” Cain replied. “I’m not ready for that.”

  Bonnie took Cain to one of her favorite sushi places. It was quaint and cozy inside the small restaurant.

  “I still can’t believe you are really here in Japan, about to eat sushi with me.”

  “Give me some credit. I would’ve eventually made it here.”

  “Not if you were still working for the Secret Service.”

  “It was hard to take any vacation with the demanding schedule,” Cain admitted. “The president received at least five threats per day, and each one had to be thoroughly investigated.”

  “Is that normal, or is it just this president?” Bonnie asked.

  “Nah, doesn’t matter who’s in office. The crazies are always looking to get themselves in the paper. Plus, we were always short-staffed. Lots of agents were jumping ship to other federal agencies. But I’m here now. How do we order?”

  “I’ll do all the translating, buddy,” Bonnie said. “As the conveyor belt rotates, I’ll let you know what’s on the plate. If it sounds good, just grab it. At the end, they’ll stack our plates up and charge us.”

  “You mean me?” Cain asked.

  “Exactly!” she exclaimed.

  Bonnie described the various sauces at the table and showed Cain how to use the chopsticks.

  “They’re called hashi, and the Japanese take eating with them very seriously. As with most things Japanese, there are lots of rules regarding the use of hashi. For example, make sure to use the chopsticks holder. But don’t cross the chopsticks when you put them on the holder.”

  “That sounds dangerous,” Cain joked. “What happens if I do that?”

  “It’s a major faux pas. Also, don’t stick your chopsticks in a bowl of rice, and don’t pass food from hashi to hashi. It’s all got to do with funeral rituals here.”

  “Got it,” Cain said, and diverted his attention to the conveyor belt, which was on a continuous loop to provide the hungry customers with ever-present plates of fresh sushi. “I can recognize a few dishes,” he said, and pointed at one. “That looks like tuna.”

  “Yes, it is. And they have a few different grades—depending on how much you want to spend. That’s why the plates are different colors.”

  “My first time eating sushi in Japan—I want the best.” Cain reached for the plate and used the wooden chopsticks to dip the tuna in a mixture of soy sauce and wasabi. “Ah, this is delicious! So fresh.”

  He and Bonnie took turns grabbing plates off the conveyor belt and together enjoyed their meal.

  “Oh, you’ll like this one,” Bonnie said as she grabbed the red plate from the conveyor belt. “It’s the chef’s special, and he barbecued it. They use a special sauce that really brings out the flavor.”

  Cain was getting competent at using the hashi. He picked up the sushi, put it directly in his mouth, and slowly chewed. He closed his eyes and relished the moment. “You’re right. This is really good.”

  “I knew you’d like it. It’s a delicacy here.”

  “A delicacy? I’ve heard that word used before.” He looked suspiciously at Bonnie.

  “I told you eel was delicious!”

  “I wish you hadn’t told me what it was,” Cain said. “I would have enjoyed it more.”

  “Eel is delicious!”

  “Don’t say that word again, sis.” His stomach was churning. “You know what they say about payback.”

  She laughed. “You’ve always been good at payback!”

  The conversation flowed naturally for a bit before turning to their family back home.

  “Have you talked to Pops?” Cain asked.

  “He and I talked yesterday. He asked about you, and I told him you had arrived safely and that you were doing just fine getting settled in.”

  “Thanks. We don’t want him and Mom worrying. They still look good and healthy, but they’re getting older.”

  “So, what was so important you couldn’t wait to see me?” Bonnie asked.

  “What can you tell me about the yakuza?” Cain asked.

  Bonnie quickly looked left and right to see if anyone had heard Cain. “The Japanese don’t even say that word in public. And I only know what I hear from some of my Japanese friends.”

  “Well, what do they say?”

  “I guess they’re like the Italian mob back in New Orleans. You know: they stick together, wear suits, and when somebody crosses them, they are dealt with by violence. Why? You’re worrying me.”

  “I met Mr. Sato this morning.”

  “What does he have to do with the yakuza?”

  “I’m about to tell you if you’ll let me finish.”

  “Sorry,” she said.

  “Mr. Sato had everyone leave the room, and he told me that he is most worried about the yakuza attacking him.”

  “Why would they go after him?”

  “He said the yakuza had invested heavily in his company’s emissions reduction technology, and now they’re losing a lot of money. I mean a lot.”

  “I’m so sorry, Cain. I didn’t mean to get you involved in this. I thought this would be an easy security job for you.”

  “Easy is boring,” he said.

  “The yakuza are outcasts here,” she continued. “They’re bad people. Killings are very rare here, but when somebody does get murdered, you can almost bet your life on it that it was the work of the yakuza.”

  “Do you know anybody I can talk to who would have more information?”

  “What about Tanaka’s dad? He’s an inspector with the Tokyo police.”

  “I already thought about that. I’ve gotta tread lightly. I don’t wanna put any more tension between Tanaka and his dad. You know: the whole thing about Tanaka being yanked out of America and brought back to Japan.”

  Bonnie nodded. “I met an American journalist several months back who knows a ton about Japanese culture and crime. He works for the military newspaper—the American Flag or something like that—”

  “The Stars and Stripes?”

  “Yes! That’s it. He’s also married to a Japanese woman and speaks really good Japanese.”

  “That’s great,” Cain said. “What’s his name and number?”

  “His name is Champ Albright the Third. I have his contact information somewhere at my apartment.”

  “It’d be nice to meet another American here.”

  “What are you gonna do?” she asked, looking very concerned.

  “I took on this job knowing the risks. It’s my problem to deal with, not yours.”

  “There’s no dealing with the yakuza, Cain. You’re a gaijin.”

  “That’s right,” he said, and grinned. “I’m a barbarian.”

  “An outsider. And it’s not funny.” She pointed her finger at him and shook it. “They won’t think twice about hurting you if you get in their way.”

  Chapter 39

  The security department’s small break room had a coffee machine and a rice cooker on the countertop. One lone vending machine with flashy lights was situated in the corner. A calendar with a dozen pictures of Mount Fuji was tacked to the white wall.

  Cain pulled Tanaka aside. “Can I count on you to translate for me?”

  “I can, but they all speak English.”

  “They told me they spoke very little English.”

  “If a Japanese person cannot speak perfect English, they say they cannot speak it.”

  “English is my mother tongue and I don’t speak it perfectly. I’m
a product of the Louisiana public school system. Have a seat, Tanaka. I’ll speak to everyone in English.”

  “Very well.” Tanaka bowed his head and gathered the three security guards and the driver before he took his seat.

  Cain began the meeting promptly at 8:00 a.m. “Gentlemen, what is our greatest threat?”

  Cain watched the men look at one another. Tanaka spoke up. “An employee who was laid off by the company and is now angry.”

  “Hai.” The other guards agreed and nodded their heads in unison.

  “That is certainly a threat,” Cain said. “But our greatest threat is the unknown—the one thing we cannot predict. That is what we must train for.”

  “How do we train for the unknown?” Tanaka asked.

  “Great question. My father had a good friend named Frank Rogers, who was an old crusty flight instructor. He was known for telling his students, ‘In der Nott frisst der Teufel Fliegen.’ That’s German for ‘In an emergency, even the Devil eats flies.’ We are in an emergency situation. We are a global automotive company with over 135,000 employees. Our cars are sold in more than one hundred countries. Yet as a security staff, we are understaffed and undertrained. We’re going to have to make some sacrifices until we get some backup. I’m increasing our shifts from eight to twelve hours.”

  Everyone looked on with great focus. Then one of the security guards raised his hand.

  “Speak freely,” Cain said.

  “Will we get overtime for this?”

  “I’m working on that. I just have to find the right person to discuss this with.”

  “That will be Umiko-san,” Tanaka said. “She is the executive assistant to Sato-san. She can usually cut through a lot of typical Japanese bureaucracy.”

  Perfect! Cain thought. He had hoped to find an excuse to see Umiko again. “I’ll talk to her as soon as this meeting is over.” He turned his attention back to the entire group. “So, we’re going to increase our work hours, and we’ll need to find and hire three additional security guards.”

  The oldest security guard finally overcame what seemed like hesitation to ask a question. “Cain-san, Japan is very safe. Why do we need more guards?”

  “Because I’m adding Mr. Sato’s house under our protection umbrella. Our team is going to start watching it, too.”

  “He lives in a very nice neighborhood. Very expensive. Very safe,” the guard replied, clearly thinking the gaijin was overreacting.

  Cain kept the yakuza threat to himself. He didn’t want to spook his security guards until he had learned more. “We also need to update our equipment. No more black-and-white CCTVs. We need color cameras, and a pan-and-zoom feature. We need earpieces for our handheld radios.” He looked one of the security guards directly in the eye. “And no more reading hentai on the job!”

  The three security guards sat quietly in their chairs. “Are there any questions?”

  Nobody said anything. “Now is the time to ask any questions, because we’re about to stomp on the gas and go full speed ahead. We all need to be operating on the same eight cylinders. Or, in the case of Japan, on all four cylinders.” Cain smiled but noticed that nobody got his joke. “Complacency kills, gentlemen. We’re going to start asking ourselves every day: ‘How would I attack Sato-san in this scenario?’ And we’re going to start training in self-defense. We’re not talking about doing katas and swinging nunchucks here. I’m going to teach you the skills I learned at the Secret Service and in the navy. I’m talking about being able to put a suspect on the ground quickly while the other team members cover and evacuate our protectee. That’s cover and evacuate. That will be our MO.”

  Tanaka looked around the room, then stood and bowed before he asked, “Boss, what is MO?”

  “Modus operandi. How we will conduct the business of executive protection.”

  “Arigato gozaimasu.” Tanaka bowed.

  “Okay, that’s all I have for now. Let’s get back to work.” Cain clapped his hands in a gesture to motivate his team.

  The security guards and the driver stood in unison and bowed. As they were exiting the room, Cain asked the driver to stay behind.

  “Morita-san, how long have you been with the company?”

  He strained his eyes as he thought. “Forty-seven years.”

  Cain’s eyes widened and his mouth gaped open. “Wow! That’s impressive.”

  Morita-san smiled and nodded his head with several short, quick bows.

  “How long have you been driving for Sato-san?”

  He held up two fingers.

  “Ever since Sato-san became the CEO two years ago?” Cain asked.

  “Hai.”

  “Forgive me for asking this, but how old are you?”

  “Sixty-seven,” Morita-san replied.

  “It’s my pleasure meeting you.” Cain bowed.

  Morita left the security office and Cain approached Tanaka. “Are the guys always this quiet, or just in my meetings?”

  “This is very typical of a Japanese meeting. We have two ears and one mouth, to listen twice as much as we talk.”

  Cain smiled.

  “But they understand what is required,” Tanaka said with confidence.

  “What do you think about Morita-san?”

  “He is very loyal, and very reliable.”

  “Yeah,” Cain said. “But he’s getting up in age. Can he see well? What are his reaction times like?”

  “He drives very safe,” Tanaka said. “He is very cautious.”

  “Wouldn’t Sato-san want a younger driver who could probably see better and have faster reflexes?”

  “Old age is relative in Japan. We have more centenarians than any other country. Plus, loyalty is very important to Sato-san. Morita-san has been with the company since he was twenty years old. He has no family. This job is his only family.”

  Cain understood what it was like for a man’s job to be his only family. He took a deep breath and exhaled. “I’m heading over to Umiko’s office to talk about some of these changes. Can you talk to your dad for me? See if he has some people he could recommend to add to our security staff? Maybe some recently retired cops who still want to work, or maybe some applicants who were qualified but didn’t get hired by the police department?”

  Tanaka inhaled air through his teeth with a slight head tilt. After a brief hesitation, he nodded his head.

  “Good! Can you get right on that for me? We’re about to apply full military power.”

  Tanaka nodded, but it looked to be more out of habit than out of understanding.

  “That’s a navy term,” Cain said. “It means we’re about to maximize our protection for Sato-san at a speed never seen here before.”

  Tanaka smiled and nodded his head. He was clearly excited to be working for Cain.

  Cain started walking toward the exit. “Time for me to go grease the wheels with Umiko-san.”

  Chapter 40

  Cain walked across the parking lot, entered the main lobby, and took the stairs to the second floor. Umiko was sitting behind her desk, finishing up a phone call in Japanese. She wore a black fitted blazer with a white blouse. Her hair was pulled back, and she had sweeping bangs. When she finished her call, she stood and walked from behind her desk, now revealing her pencil skirt and heels.

  She is so beautiful, Cain thought.

  Umiko seamlessly switched from her native Japanese to English. “Cain-san, it’s nice to see you.”

  “You, too, Ms. Umiko. Are you busy?”

  “We have a lot of important meetings today. We have the press conference next week in downtown Tokyo.”

  “Where in Tokyo? I thought it was going to be here.”

  “We changed it at the last minute. It will be at the Tokyo International Forum. It has a beautiful glass atrium. All the Japanese press will be there and Sato-san will be talking directly to the news. Many people will be there. It’s very exciting.”

  “I’m sure it is, but this event is a nightmare from a security standpoint. I
t’s televised, located at least an hour’s drive from here, announced a week in advance, attended by the public, and I’ve only got three inexperienced security officers on the payroll. I don’t like it at all. We’re not ready for this type of event yet.”

  “The building is significant. It will symbolize Sato-san’s courage and strength as he moves our company forward.”

  “I thought Sato-san was the one giving the statement, not the building,” Cain quipped. “I was assured by Mr. Sato that I could make any security adjustments that were necessary. And considering the scope of this type of event, I will need to make some changes.”

  “Okay,” she said. “Mr. Sato told me to give you anything you needed.”

  “We need to hire three more security professionals.”

  “Where will you find these people on such short notice?”

  “I talked with Tanaka-san. His father is an inspector with the Tokyo police.”

  “I think the extra security will be good. I’m sure Sato-san will be pleased with your changes.”

  “Also, I need to update our equipment. We’re going to need a drone. We’ll use it for aerial surveillance and for crowd control. And we’re going to update our security cameras to something more modern. I’m also going to have them installed at Mr. Sato’s house.”

  “Sugoi!” she said, sounding amazed. “You are making lots of changes.”

  “I hope it’s not a problem,” he said.

  “No. I think it’s good that you are here.”

  He smiled. “I’m glad to be here.”

  “Please have Tanaka-san prepare and forward these requests to me. I will personally get them approved.”

  “Merci beaucoup, Umiko-san. And there’s one last request.” He figured this one would be difficult for them to understand.

  “Yes?” she said, and waited patiently.

  “My team is not ready to provide the type of security needed for this large-scale event. It’s a long drive, through a heavily populated city, with lots of choke points and ambush spots. My team is not used to operating in motorcades, and they’re not familiar with all the potential safe havens. It is my strong recommendation that Sato-san and I take a helicopter to the event.”