saying, Detective, he must have deployed many hundreds. Our intelligence indicates his entire cult is fewer than a thousand strong. Not all of them can be in his inner circle. One of them will talk.”
“We can hope. But I don’t like our chances. Start looking at traffic camera footage. Maybe we can spot . . . no, you’ve tried that already, haven’t you?”
“Yes. The entire system underwent a ‘routine software upgrade’ at a quarter of eight this morning—seven hours after it was scheduled to happen, and about ten minutes before the first report of an abduction. We trained Koji-san too well.”
“You think?”
Mariko threaded her arms awkwardly into yesterday’s blouse, shifting the phone from one ear to the other and back, then pinching it between her ear and shoulder as she buttoned up. “Okay, but he took them by car, neh? Like, a lot of cars. It’s the only way to move that many kids. So what if—?”
“Let me stop you there. The answer you’re fumbling for is traffic helicopter footage. We’ve already captured it and we’re analyzing it now. He was very careful; thus far we have detected no anomalies.”
“Okay, fine,” she said. “So you’ve thought of everything. I’ll talk to my people, for all the good it will do. But word gets around about cops, so some of my CIs will know I’ve been suspended. They may not be willing to talk.”
“You can tell them you’ve been reinstated. You’ll find a badge and identification waiting for you in a box on the porch. A pistol and holster too; you prefer a SIG-Sauer P230, as I recall.”
“How did you—?”
“There is no place the Wind cannot reach.”
Mariko groaned. “What if I hadn’t called this morning? You were just going to leave it sitting there?”
“Oh, but you did call.”
“Whatever. I’m not taking the pistol.”
“It’s not illegal. I took the liberty of creating a permit for you.”
“I said I’m not taking it.”
“Joko Daishi is dangerous. You should know when it comes time to face him: he is extraordinarily difficult to kill.”
Face him? Mariko had no intention of doing that. She’d find him, keep eyes on him, and call the cops. Regardless of whether Furukawa was right about all the fate stuff, it was clear that Mariko and Joko Daishi were on a collision course. She couldn’t be tempted to pull a gun on him if she didn’t carry one in the first place, and then she couldn’t accidentally fulfill the destiny the Wind had planned for her.
Even so, something Furukawa had said made her curious. “You told me something like that before. You said he’s almost bulletproof. Why?”
“There was an ancient weapon. Streaming Dawn, it was called. It had . . . oh, shall we say, unusual properties.”
“I know. Yamada-sensei wrote about it in his notes.”
“Well, now! You’ve been quite the diligent student, haven’t you?”
Mariko let out an exasperated grunt. “You don’t have to sound so surprised.”
“Oh, pleasantly so. A historian’s scribblings hardly make for exciting reading material. If you’ll pardon my saying so, I didn’t know you had the patience.”
“Thanks. That makes me feel so much better. What’s the deal with Streaming Dawn?”
“Ah, yes. The blade that heals. Well, after a fashion. The Wind unlocked its secrets some years ago. Do you know what we found? The blade needn’t be whole to exercise its remarkable power.”
“And?”
“It was broken. Four shards, none of them as potent as the original, yet each one has the power to stave off death. The shonin bestow them upon an operative when they deem he is too important to lose.”
Mariko nodded. “And they gave one to Joko Daishi. Got it. I’ll toss it in an evidence bag when I arrest him.”
“I’m afraid it’s not that simple.” Furukawa breathed heavily into the phone; Mariko couldn’t read the emotion there. “Streaming Dawn had to be embedded in the subject’s body to be effective. That was the curse entwined with its blessing. The fragments are no different, but the shonin found an alternative to stabbing oneself. Their solution was . . . well, more permanent, shall we say.”
“Yeah?”
“The shards are surgically implanted.”
Mariko squirmed. The thought of having a shattered knife stuck in her body made her shudder. “Eww.”
“Yes. It’s quite painful. Nevertheless, I must urge you to carry that pistol, Detective. You needn’t fear killing him with it; your bullets are only likely to slow him a little. But slowing him might make the difference between your survival and an excruciating death.”
“Right,” Mariko said. It was exactly what he’d like her