“That’s....” Chuck began to say before he felt the building below his feet begin to move. The shaking lasted only a few seconds. “We just had an earthquake.”

“Yes, we certainly did,” Hiromi replied,“but it wasn’t anything to worry about. We have small temblors like that all the time.”

This was the third earthquake Charles McBride had endured since coming to live in Japan, and he wasn’t nearly as jaded by them as his fiancée seemed to be. “I won’t miss those things.”

Synopsis – The Swan Song committee and Gabrielle Tanaka begin to worry as both agents Ripley and Chrysanthemum fail to report in as scheduled. At the same time, Hiromi Sato sets her personal plans into motion.

Thank you to Puddin and John for their help with this installment.
 

~*~
 
Hiromi went straight to the basement area rather than her apartment after arriving at the Negishi Bay apartment tower. Before heading down a flight of stairs, she gave an order to Kimo, “Go upstairs and fetch one of my robes.”

The Negishi Bay apartment building had both central air and heating due to the building’s recent construction. There was, however, a small furnace in its basement. This was there for one purpose only, to destroy incriminating evidence from Yakuza-related criminal activity.

In order to maintain the apartment building, the Watanabes employed dozens of workers. Some of these same people were allowed to live on the premises. One such worker was Fumahiro Suzuki. It was Fumahiro’s job to maintain the furnace and some do other assigned work in the basement. In exchange for this, Fumahiro received a small salary in addition to being allowed to live in a small room located just a few feet from the stairs Hiromi Sato had just come down.

Fumahiro was ready for bed, but not asleep yet when bodyguard Yuri loudly knocked on his door. To say Fumahiro was shocked when he discovered Hiromi Sato was in the basement area and that he was being asked to do some small task for her was the understatement of the year. Fumahiro was just a humble janitor, and felt honored to be in the presence of a senior Watanabe Yakuza, alone perform a task for her, however small.

As soon as Kimo was back downstairs with her robe, Hiromi asked for some privacy. As soon as the men had left, Hiromi took off all her clothes. After she was done, Hiromi put on the robe and then summoned Kimo and Fumahiro back into the room.

“Destroy these at once,” Hiromi told Fumahiro, at the same time handing the still-shocked man all her recently-removed clothing. The dress Hiromi had worn that day was a favorite of hers, but this was no time for sentimentality, not when an article of clothing can tie you to a murder scene.
 

~*~
 
Chuck McBride was waiting for Hiromi when she got upstairs after a few minutes. He immediately took his fiancée into his arms.

When the kiss was over, Chuck had a question, “What’s going on?”

“Business. I want you to make love to me later.”

Chuck smiled, “Anything you want, my little sports car.”

“Did you bring me dinner?”

“Of course. I’ll heat it up for you if you like?”

“I’d like that. Give me ten minutes to get freshened up.” Hiromi allowed Chuck one more kiss before heading straight into her bedroom.
 

~*~
 
Downstairs in the basement, Hiromi’s clothing was ready to be burnt in the furnace. Bodyguard Kimo had stayed behind to make sure the task was properly accomplished.

Fumahiro Suzuki began the process by making sure the furnace was properly heated. He took his duties very seriously and wanted to make sure that everything was done in proper order.

“How long will this take?” Kimo asked the janitor. He knew that the clothing needed to be destroyed in its entirety, and quickly, but he was getting impatient. Fumahiro was just waddling around the room as he mumbled to himself for no apparent purpose. The Polynesian had already judged the janitor to be of little intelligence, and he was right. Fumahiro, if given an IQ test, would have been lucky to score in the eighties.

The furnace was finally ready. Fumahiro opened the front hatch and began the disposal process. He used a poker, like those used in fireplaces, to make sure the articles of clothing were put in the hottest part of the furnace. When using the poker, Fumahiro wore gloves.

Most of the clothing was already in the furnace when Fumahiro looked up and directed Kimo’s attention to a large pair of clippers on a table a few feet from where the bodyguard was standing, “Can you get that for me?”

Kimo didn’t say yes or no, but rather grunted in reply.

As the Polynesian turned his back to Fumahiro, the janitor made his move. Fumahiro nudged Hiromi Sato’s sheer stockings under a table and out of sight. The whole process took less than a second.

Kimo wasn’t expecting trickery from the man he’d dismissed as an inconsequential fool, so he casually got the scissors. Fumahiro needed and handed it to him.

Fumahiro thanked the bodyguard profusely before going back to the task he had been given.

When the job was completed, Kimo left the room feeling disgusted. Fumahiro Suzuki gave the Polynesian bodyguard the creeps. He was so dumb, and his mannerisms so unnerving. Why was somebody like this doing for the Watanabes? Kimo had heard a rumor that Fumahiro had once done a Watanabe shareigashira a small favor and was given this job as a reward. That made sense but still……….
 

~*~
 
Fumahiro went back to his room. Then waited ten minutes before going back to the furnace to retrieve Hiromi Sato’s stockings. The single janitor had some kinky plans for these articles of clothing.

Once he had the stockings, Fumahiro went back to his room. Making sure his door was both locked and latched. For the janitor knew what he was about to do next could cause bad things to happen to him if caught.

The first thing did in his room, was to get totally undressed. After that was done, Fumahiro sat on the edge of the small metal cot he called a bed. Here he listened to every noise, small and big, till he felt confident there was no one else in the basement.

Once he felt safe, Fumahiro took the stockings worn by Hiromi Sato off his pillow where he had placed them and began examining at them with awe. For Fumahiro it would be the closest he’d ever get to a real woman.

The next thing Fumahiro did, was use the stockings as a means to masturbate. This he did by sometimes rubbing the stockings on his genitalia, other times just staring at the clothing as he used his hand to get off. At the same time

Fumahiro would mutter things like he was talking to Hiromi. Asking if she liked him fucking her.

It took a while for Fumahiro to get off, mostly because he was jumpy when some unexpected noise was heard, but when it was over the orgasm the janitor felt far superior to those he had when getting off using an adult magazine. When he did shoot his wad, Fumahiro made sure none of it got on the precious stockings.

When he was throughm Fumahiro stored the stockings in a secret box before going to bed. He’d keep them as a memento of the extraordinary visit he’d had that evening.
 

~*~
 
Charles made love to Hiromi as she’d requested earlier that evening. After they were through, the newly-engaged couple showered together before sitting down to watch ‘Live Free or Die Hard’ on pay per view, which Chuck had thought might be interesting.

“How did you like it?” Chuck asked as he got up from the couch and began to stretch as the credits rolled.

“Action movies are all the same. The stunts are phony.”

Chuck laughed, then said, “I think you’re right. Are you sleepy yet, Kimi-chan?”

“No, not yet. You go to sleep. I’ll be in soon.”

Chuck leaned over and shared a long passionate kiss with Hiromi. “I’ll love you to the day I die,” he whispered as he broke the kiss.

“Yes, I will too. Good night.” Hiromi said after the kiss was finished.

“Good night, my little sports car.”

After Chuck retired to the bedroom, Hiromi got herself a glass of water from the kitchen before going to the den. Wanting some privacy, Hiromi closed the door.

Hiromi had gone in the den in order to think before going to bed that night. A lot had happened that day. Hiromi would soon begin mapping her future.

The traitorous bitch, Reina Shimizu, had been dispatched, but the discovery of a traitor so close to a Watanabe Saiko-komon was troubling. Hiromi planned to be extra cautious from now on.

Like by not hiring another bodyguard to replace Reina. She wanted no more outsiders. If a suitable woman could be found within the Watanabe Yakuza, then Hiromi’s protection detail could be expanded to its full complement again. Otherwise Yuri, Roger, and Kimo would have to do.

Chuck’s wedding proposal didn’t interfere with Hiromi’s future plans. That is, if the Australian understood that his girlfriend was the boss in the relationship and not his equal. If Chuck accepted that, Hiromi saw no problems with getting married.

To Hiromi, Chuck was a good fuck and useful for a few other things, but she felt little emotional attachment to her future husband.

The lack of emotional attachment applied to the Watanabes also. Hiromi Sato was back in charge, and would begin to set her plans in motion. An article in that day’s Mainichi Daily News said that rough times were ahead for Japan’s wireless firms. Goro Watanabe’s risky purchase of Central Nippon could boomerang badly for the Oyabun.

The Watanabe Yakuza’s leadership were primarily businessmen. They did not like to lose money they had worked hard to earn. If Central Nippon imploded, Goro’s reign as Oyabun could be at an end. If it ended, who better than Hiromi Sato to take over as Oyabun. Keiji Watanabe was retired, Dai Hashimoto was a useful thug but lacked the business acumen needed to run a organized crime family.

The Watanabe shareigashiras were young and talented at the work they did, but they were inexperienced and didn’t know the big picture. That left Hiromi Sato. Hiromi would have to wait while events unfolded before she would rise to Oyabun. The wait might last months or could even be years away.... Or it might happen a whole lot sooner... with just a little unexpected help.
 

~*~
 
Saturday was a busy day. Hiromi began it by playing handball against Chuck at a nearby gym. After returning to the apartment to freshen up and change clothes, she went out to have her hair and nails done, just as Tom Slater had planned to do.

Hiromi was only a few minutes from the salon when her cell phone began to ring. “Hello,” she said.

“Granddaughter, how are you this morning?” Keiji Watanabe asked.

“I am well, Grandfather. Yourself?”

Hiromi spoke to Keiji Watanabe about two minutes before the purpose of the retired Oyabun’s phone call became known. Keiji was bringing his companion Ai Toguchi to Yokohama that morning. Would Hiromi and Chuck like to join them for dinner that evening?

“Of course, Grandfather, we’ll come.”

“I look forward to seeing both of you at 5 p.m. then.” The phone call ended moments later.

Chuck approved of his fiancée’s new appearance when Hiromi got back to the apartment in the early afternoon. “Kimi-chan, you look marvelous.”

Even the scheming Hiromi Sato liked to be complimented on her looks by the people around her. “Thank you. Grandpa called.”

“Yes, I know. I bumped into him and Ai earlier. We’re going to have dinner with them tonight.”

Hiromi was surprised that Chuck already knew about what was planned for the evening. Was he talking to Keiji Watanabe behind Hiromi’s back? If there had been a conversation, then who had started it and what exactly had it been about? Hiromi believed in being paranoid. “Yes, we will.”

“That’s....” Chuck began to say before he felt the building below his feet begin to move. The shaking lasted only a few seconds. “We just had an earthquake.”

“Yes, we certainly did,” Hiromi replied,“but it wasn’t anything to worry about. We have small temblors like that all the time.”

This was the third earthquake Charles McBride had endured since coming to live in Japan, and he wasn’t nearly as jaded by them as his fiancée seemed to be. “I won’t miss those things.”

“What?”

“I was talking about the quakes, forget about it. So, Kimi-chan, what are our plans now?”

“Let me use the bathroom, then I’d like us to have a light lunch.”

Before Hiromi could get to the bedroom, Chuck took his girlfriend into his arms and began to hug and kiss her.

The kiss soon ended, but Chuck continued to hold Hiromi in his arms. Chuck looking down into Hiromi’s beautiful eyes and said, “Thank you for saying yes last night. I promise to be the husband you always dreamed of, till the day I die.”
 

~*~
 
The next Swan Song committee meeting was on March 4th. Its main purpose was to go over the questions to be asked of Ripley at her debriefing in Singapore. The day before the planned teleconference call began, Gabrielle was faxed a copy of the questions she was to ask Ripley in Singapore.

Gabrielle had made up her mind. She was going to persuade Tom Slater and Tonichi Ogawa to abort their missions. If this damaged or destroyed Gabrielle’s career with the FBI, so be it. Tom mattered more to her than the stinking FBI.

“Any thoughts on the questions you been given, Agent Tanaka?”

“No, Sir, they’re fine,” Gabrielle said before taking a deep breath. “Sir, I do think we need to be prepared for the eventuality that Ripley and Chrysanthemum called this rendezvous in order to end their mission.”

Inspector Yoshida concurred with Gabrielle, “As this meeting is so close to the previous one, I agree with Agent Tanaka. It would seem likely Ripley and Chrysanthemum consider themselves to be in grave danger at this time.”

“Have we received any warnings?” Grant Williamson asked.

“No, Sir.”

The Deputy Director had thought the matter through already. “Agent Tanaka, you are to tell our agents they should only abort their mission if they feel the threat to them is imminent. Is that understood?”

“Understood, Sir.” Gabrielle said. ‘What an asshole this man is,’ she thought to herself.

“Then our business is done for today. We look forward to reading your next report, Agent Tanaka. This Swan Song meeting is adjourned.”
 

~*~
 
A inquest-like meeting of the Watanabe Yakuza took place two days later. Goro Watanabe chaired the meeting, which had Keiji Watanabe, Hiromi Sato, and Dai Hashimoto in attendance.

The topic of discussion was what happened the previous Friday night. Reina Shimizu’s betrayal being only the latest in a string of similar incidents, each more troubling than the last.

Omar Rafique gave a verbal report, “An illicit program was in the process of being installed on the computer I was asked to inspect.”

“Do you know what type of program?”

“A worm. It was intended as a trojan to allow files on the computer to be downloaded from a remote location.”

“Had it begun downloading before you examined the machine?” Hiromi asked.

“No, it didn’t.” Omar told Hiromi Sato. The Indian was working very hard to remain calm, but he sweated profusely, beads of nervous perspiration trickled slowly down his forehead as he gave his testimony. The Indian-born programmer was under no illusion as to what took place Friday night after he left the warehouse.

Omar feared that the police could charge him one day as being an accomplice to murder or worse. The Watanabes could also see fit to terminate ‘The Indian’s’ services permanently because he knew too much.

“How do we know that?” Hiromi asked.

“The program was still being installed when security arrived. The compact disc was immediately ejected. I was told this by one of the security guards present when the thief was captured.”

Omar went on to explain the thorough examination he had conducted of Goro Watanabe’s computer. Nothing was found amiss, but as a precaution all data was transferred to a new hard drive. After that was accomplished, the original machine was destroyed and the hard drive then installed in a new computer.

The security guards who had been on duty Friday night were the next to be questioned, followed by the people who guarded Goro Watanabe and his property. All seventeen men and one woman called to the meeting that day were extremely frightened when asked to testify.

The last report given was the status of both Reina Shimizu and Arihito Onishi’s remains. The Watanabe Yakuza leadership were assured the remains of both traitors would never be found. As for the prostitutes, Tom Slater’s prediction of Friday evening proved to be correct. Both were given a fatal drug overdose shortly after being taken out of the warehouse. Their bodies then dumped in Yokohama’s red light district.

When the last witness was finished, Keiji Watanabe had everyone exit the room except for himself, Goro, Dai and Hiromi.

“This is disturbing.”

“I agree, Grandfather. How do these people keep getting in our midst?”

Keiji Watanabe himself didn’t have any theories but Goro commented, “The police are getting very clever these days.”

Dai Hashimoto proposed stepping up security. Hiromi partly agreed with her fellow Saiko-komon, “Some measures would be useful. Still, we can’t read what is in a person’s heart or mind.”

The meeting broke up a short time later. Before everyone went their separate ways, Keiji Watanabe asked Dai Hashimoto to stay behind because he wanted to speak to Dai alone.

“Now explain yourself to me, Dai-kun.” Keiji angrily asked the Saiko-komon.

Dai Hashimoto and Keiji Watanabe went back a long ways. Over thirty years in fact. Dai not only respected the retired Oyabun but feared him as well, something that couldn’t be said of any other current member of the Yakuza, Watanabe or otherwise.

“There was a security lapse, Oyabun-san. One of my people and one of Hiromi-san’s. I believed....”

“You believed wrongly, Dai-kun. My granddaughter should never have been put in the place she was last Friday night. Such decisions are not to be asked of her, EVER.”

Dai bowed his head towards the retired Oyabun, belatedly realizing that he’d made a serious error in judgment.

“Hiromi is not one of us. Certain matters are never to be asked of her. If anything should happen to my granddaughter because of the other night, I will hold you, Dai-san, personally responsible.”

“My deepest apologies, Oyabun-san,” Dai said as he bowed deeper and longer towards Keiji Watanabe. “I will see to it nothing happens to Hiromi-san. She is excellent at managing our money.”

Dai truly believed the last words he said to Keiji Watanabe. Hiromi Sato had won some respect from the Saiko-komon through her wise investing and financial counsel to the Watanabes. Dai had to admit that Hiromi Sato’s judgment was often good in non-financial Yakuza matters as well, even if this admission was somewhat grudging.

“Yes, my granddaughter certainly is,” Keiji said to Dai before explaining the changes that lay ahead for the Watanabe Yakuza. Among the changes were those Keiji had in store for his granddaughter.

Through this, the Dai learned that he and the retired Oyabun held many of the same opinions and prejudices, which increased his respect for the retired Oyabun.

“When all this is finished, my granddaughter will be leaving us for a new life. I don’t want anything to spoil that. In the meantime, you are not to speak of this to anyone.”

Dai understood Keiji Watanabe’s need to be protective of his granddaughter. Few people in the Watanabe Yakuza knew it, but the Saiko-komon was a dedicated family man, a father to five children, 4 boys and one girl, plus grandfather to three. Dai, like Keiji, was proud of his children and grandchildren while at the same time protective.

Dai had heard through the Watanabe Family grapevine of Hiromi’s engagement. The Saiko-komon had congratulated Hiromi before that day’s meeting, so he bowed low. “Yes, Oyabun-san, I will do as you say.”

A few minutes later, Dai’s meeting with Keiji Watanabe was over. The Saiko-komon was confident that the Yakuza he worked for was on the right path, except for one serious weakness. Goro Watanabe was not fit to be Oyabun. What could be done about that?
 

~*~
 
The Watanabe inquest made for a long day at the office for Hiromi, so she didn’t arrive at the apartment till almost 9 p.m. When she got inside, Hiromi found that Chuck had already eaten and was watching television in the living room.

“Kimi-chan, welcome home.” Chuck said as he got up to welcome his fiancée. After a brief kiss, Chuck spoke again, “I missed you.”

“Miss you too.” Hiromi answered with little emotion. Seeing a pile of mail on a table by the front door, Hiromi decided to leaf through it.

“Have a tough day?”

“No more than usual,” Hiromi answered as she walked towards the kitchen. “Did Juanita prepare dinner?”

“Yes, she did. Sit down, my little sports car, I’ll get dinner heated up for you.”

“Thank you.”

Chuck had dinner on the table for Hiromi a few minutes later. As his girlfriend ate, Chuck tried to make small talk.

“I haven’t seen Reina the last few days. Is she on vacation or something?”

“She is no longer with us.”

“You mean she quit?”

“I said, SHE IS NO LONGER with us.”

Chuck was surprised by Hiromi‘s sudden change of attitude. “Ok, Kimi-chan. How is dinner?”

“It’s good, thank you.”

“Are we all set for Singapore this weekend?”

“We’re not going.”

“Any reason?”

“I changed my mind.”

Chuck decided to drop the matter. The cancelled trip to Singapore was disappointing to Chuck, but ultimately unimportant.

This wasn’t the only time Hiromi had acted oddly over the last few days. Chuck had observed at least a half dozen bits of weirdness from Hiromi. His girlfriend was also in a grumpier mood than usual that night, so he wanted to humor her, “Whatever you decide is fine with me, Kimi-chan.”

“Good,” Hiromi said, before taking a sip of wine. It was good that her future husband knew who was boss.

“Will we begin making the arrangements for the wedding soon?”

“When I have time.”

“Your grandfather said a spring wedding would be nice.”

“I know. Right now I’m busy.”

Chuck thought to himself, ‘What’s gotten into you, Kimi-chan? The other night you were so happy and now it’s like we’re discussing a business meeting.’ Maybe it was a phase, or a sign of nervousness about the upcoming wedding. Chuck sincerely hoped that it was something like that rather than some sordid Yakuza business matter again. The type of work Hiromi did couldn’t help but make Chuck anxious sometimes.

When Hiromi was through eating, she got up from her chair, but not before looking at her wristwatch. “Would you like to make love to me now?”

“Of course, my little sports car,” Chuck replied cheerfully before accompanying Hiromi to the bedroom. Chuck thing to himself along the way.

‘Yes, Hiromi is just having a mood swing. Get used to them, Chuck, she’s going to be your wife till the day you die.’
 

~*~
 
Midori Slater’s sixth sense was telling her that one of her children, her son Tom, was in some kind of trouble again.

The mother wrote Gabrielle Tanaka an email. Less than a day passed before the FBI agent called Midori Slater back.

“Hi, Mom. You wanted to talk to me?”

“Yes, Gabrielle, have you seen or heard from my son Tom recently?”

“No, Mom, I haven’t.”

“Gabrielle, I’m worried about Tom right now.” Midori then proceeded to open up her heart to the FBI agent for a few minutes.

“Mom, I will be checking on Tom again real soon.” Gabrielle told Captain Slater’s mother. The FBI agent couldn’t tell Midori Slater more for operational security reasons. Gabrielle’s Swan Song rendezvous with Ripley in Singapore was just a few days away.

“Please tell Tom how much I love him.”

“I will, Mom. I love Tom too.” Gabrielle talked to Midori Slater for a few more minutes, mostly to inquire about how Shannon Zebriskie was.

“Shannon is all right,” Midori told Gabrielle, her voice choked with emotion. “I just lost Susan. Now I worry that I will lose Tom.”

Gabrielle didn’t share her own worries about Tom Slater’s physical and mental state. It would only have made Mrs. Slater more upset than she was already.

“Mom, I’m going to make sure Tom survives this mission. For both of us. I love him.”

Mrs. Slater cheered up a little, “I know, Gabrielle. Right now I’m just worried. I’d like you to be Shannon’s Mom when Tom comes home.”

“I’d like that too, Mom. I’ll be in touch with you again shortly.”

“Thank you, Gabrielle, for talking to me. I’ll let you go now, you’re busy I know. Bye for now.”
 

~*~
 
The disposal of Reina Shimizu’s body took place the next day. The first step had been by means of a small, nondescript, fishing boat which sailed out of Izu Oshima harbor in the early morning darkness. Many fishing vessels were sailing that morning, as they did every day of the week, including Sundays, for Izu Oshima was one of the biggest sources of fresh fish sold to the millions of Japanese living in Tokyo and its surrounding areas.

On board the small fishing vessel were five employees of the Watanabe Yakuza. The shareigashira known as Katsuaki Koike was one of them. He was there to supervise the dumping of Agent Chrysanthemum’s body. Katsuaki Koike given orders by Dai Hashimoto that the body was never to be seen again.

Five minutes out of harbor, the small fishing vessel broke off from the rest of the fleet. It was a foggy morning, which was perfect so far as Katsuaki Koike was concerned. There would be less chance of the burial being accidentally observed.

Reina’s body was in a black chest six feet by two feet. Holes had been drilled into it in order for salt water to pour inside once the box was placed in the ocean. Heavy weights had also been added, so that it weighed over 200 lbs and once settled on the bottom of the ocean floor would lie there permanently.

The Yakuza captain of the boat checked his charts. They were at the designated location. He called down to Katsuaki Koike, “This is it.”

To get the chest overboard, it took all the muscle and strength of each man aboard the fishing vessel. Once the chest was over the side, it began to fill with water. Within thirty seconds, the ocean had swallowed it up.

Katsuaki Koike waited another five minutes before getting the boat under way again, having finished the job and orders given to him but waiting to make sure that they hadn’t been observed. His orders had been that the chest was to be disposed of in such fashion that it would never be seen again and Katsuaki Koike felt confident that he had done as ordered. A miracle, or more likely a couple of miracles, would have to take place in order for the body of Reina Shimizu to ever be seen again.
 

~*~
 
Later that same day Hiromi had a chat with Chuck. It took place in bed, shortly after the couple had finished a passionate bout of sexual intercourse.

“I love you, my little sports car. I hope you enjoyed it.” Chuck said to Hiromi as they lay in bed next to one another.

“You were very good.”

“I’m glad.”

“You aren’t disappointed about this weekend?”

“No, Kimi-chan. Whatever you want to do is perfectly all right with me.”

Hiromi ran her right hand through the coarse hair on Chuck’s chest, “Ai called me today.”

“What about?”

“We will meet on Saturday to talk about the wedding.”

“That’s good.” Chuck was happy that Hiromi would begin planning their wedding. For the last few days Chuck had been wondering if his girlfriend was having second thoughts.

“I think we will get married on May 31st. That is the last Saturday of the month.”

Chuck kissed Hiromi on the forehead as he hugged her tight, “That’s a good date. The weather should be beautiful then.”

“I’m glad you agree.” Chuck would listen to her always. That was good.

Marrying the Australian fit in with the future Hiromi had mapped out. “One day I want to have children, do you?”

Chuck would have raised this subject on Friday night, except for the fact that they’d gotten sidetracked. “Yes, two if you would like.”

“Yes, two would be a nice number.” Hiromi wanted one of her children to rule the Watanabe Yakuza one day. There would no messy succession like had happened over the last ten years with the Watanabe family. When power passed first from Keiji Watanabe to Hiromi’s father, then back to Keiji, and then to Hiromi’s cousin Goro.

Hiromi would be the next Oyabun. Two children would, as the saying goes about monarchies, give her an heir and a spare.

“You and Ai will have a lot to talk about and plan this weekend.” Chuck replied before kissing Hiromi again.

“Yes, that is why I must start preparing now.”

Chuck was still thinking of the family plans he and Hiromi seemed to share, “Two little girls, each as beautiful as their mother, would be nice.”

“I’d like us to have a son.” Hiromi told Chuck.

Whether he and Hiromi had boys or girls didn’t matter to Chuck. All he wanted when Hiromi did become pregnant was for her and their baby to have a safe pregnancy and delivery. “A son, or sons, would be equally nice.”

Chuck then hugged Hiromi tight before kissing her, “May 31st will be the most wonderful day of my life, Kimi-chan. I love you so much.”

Hiromi Sato didn’t love Chuck the way the Australian loved Hiromi. To Hiromi, Chuck was just one small part of her plans for the future.

If some day Chuck were to too forcibly oppose his girlfriend over some matter big or small, or if the Australian ever outlived his usefulness, Hiromi might do to her boyfriend what she had done to Reina Shimizu. Acts of personal treason against her were no different to Hiromi than those done within the world of the Yakuza.
 

~*~
 
The Malay word Sentosa means peace and tranquility. It hardly seemed an appropriate name for Fort Siloso on Sentosa Island, one of the busy tourist areas of Singapore, which was where Gabrielle was supposed to make her Swan Song Song rendezvous with Captain Slater. The time was 10:55 in the morning on Saturday, March 8th, and Agents Ripley and Chrysanthemum were already twenty-five minutes late for their rendezvous.

Gabrielle was walking around the museum that was located within Fort Siloso. The exhibits told the history of Sentosa, with an emphasis on its use by the British during the days leading up to the Battle of Singapore and then the Japanese occupation that had followed.

“Merlion Two, come in.” Gabrielle said into her communicator.

A voice reply came two seconds later, “Merlion Two reporting, Sniper.”

“Any sign of Ripley and Chrysanthemum?”

Merlion Two was stationed near one of the three possible ways of getting to Sentosa from the Singapore mainland. One was by car or bus, usually bus in the traffic conscious city of Singapore. The second was by monorail, a public transport system only opened in 2007. The third and last was by cable car. Swan Song personnel were stationed at all three arrival areas. Merlion Two was standing a few feet from where passengers disembarked from cable cars coming from Mt. Faber. “None, Sniper.”

Hiromi then asked each of the other five team members to check in. For this Swan Song meeting with Ripley, Gabrielle had a bigger team than at the Hong Kong meeting, since Sentosa Island was much larger than Hong Kong’s fashion mart.

Merlions One, Three, Four, Five, and Six all said the same thing, no sighting of Ripley and Chrysanthemum.

Gabrielle believed her fellow team members. They had all been briefed on Ripley’s appearance. There would be no case of mistaken identity as had happened in Hong Kong. Now Gabrielle was really beginning to worry.

‘Hang in there, Gabrielle. They’re just running late for some reason.’ Gabrielle thought as she moved slowly from exhibit to exhibit, being careful not to get in the way of a group of schoolchildren who were visiting the fort. They were accompanied by a single female teacher.

Gabrielle had so much she wanted to say to Tom Slater. Most importantly, how much she loved him. That night she would give her body to the brave Army Captain, allowing the straight man encased in a woman’s body to have Gabrielle in any way she liked, with the exception of sexual assault of course. Captain Slater was a gentleman, Gabrielle had nothing to fear from the Army Captain.

Did Gabrielle have any reason to fear Hiromi Sato that March morning? Gabrielle was unarmed, and an easy target for a killer employed by the Watanabe Yakuza.

Totally oblivious to the potential danger, Gabrielle was daydreaming. Gabrielle pictured Tom Slater tearing the FBI agent’s clothes off, so that the Army Captain could recover his masculinity and feel like a man again. Gabrielle just hoped that her nakedness met with Tom’s approval.

Gabrielle wanted to see Tom Slater naked in her female form. While she’d seen breasts before, none had been anywhere as big as Hiromi Sato’s were now. They had to be very nice, and Gabrielle so wanted to suck on Tom’s nipples.

That is, if Tom wanted Gabrielle to do that. Female on female sex was wonderful, but it could also remind Tom Slater of her present gender. Gabrielle would let the sex flow one way, only pleasuring the Army Captain if she wanted it.

Before any of that could happen, Gabrielle would have to debrief Ripley. A safe house, really an apartment, was being supplied to Swan Song by the British. The apartment was within walking distance of the Singapore botanical garden. Only fifteen minutes away from Sentosa via the cable car and then a short taxi ride.

But before anything could take place, Tom Slater would have show up. “Merlion One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, report in. Anyone see Ripley?”

All six agents reported within a minute. Agents Ripley and Chrysanthemum still hadn’t been sighted. Gabrielle was growing increasingly worried. To keep her mind at ease, Gabrielle tried thinking of what she and Tom would do that evening.

“Excuse me.” Gabrielle said to a female school child. The FBI agent’s day dreams were so consuming and vivid, she hadn’t noticed a young girl in Fort Siloso museum and she had ended up bumping into the child.

The teacher supervising the schoolchildren immediately came up and apologized for the behavior of the girl.

“It was an accident. No harm done.” Gabrielle answered. At the same time Gabrielle finally took notice of another child, a boy who was staring at one of the museum displays. The boy had been almost motionless for the best part of five minutes, so Gabrielle decided to find out what was so interesting.

The exhibit was about the infamous Alexandra Hospital massacre. The day before Singapore was conquered in 1942, Japanese troops came upon the medical facility. They soon began killing patients and staff alike. Other male patients were led away, housed over night and then bayoneted the next morning. The estimate of those killed varied anywhere from 200 to a little over 1,000. However many there were, Gabrielle considered the massacre a disgrace to the ancestry she and millions of others in Japan and around the world shared. How could anyone be so cruel?

Alexandra Hospital was only one of many atrocities committed by the Japanese in WW II. Far worse, at least for Malaya and Singapore, was the Sook Ching massacre. Sook Ching meant ‘A purge through cleansing,’ which was the term used by the Japanese for the systematic extermination of Chinese people by the Japanese military. Again, the numbers of those killed varied, but all estimates were in the thousands.

Outside of Singapore, who could forget the rape of Nanking? Gabrielle believed there was still a great deal of hatred for the Japanese in Asia. Those who had lived through the war were dying off, but the memories were being kept alive by the following generations. The horrors done by Japan in World War II ensured that many years would pass before the ill will and hatred they’d caused would begin to subside, if it ever did. Japan was now seen as not a military threat to other parts of Asia but as a economic rival. Nationalism was as strong as ever in Asia, and Japan was an easy target.

As she passed through the museum, Gabrielle continued to act like she was interested in the exhibits on display. Oddly, Gabrielle knew much of Fort Siloso’s history before that day. She had always been a bit of a history buff.

Fort Siloso had been built by the British between the two world wars in an effort to fortify Singapore against attacks. Large guns in the fort itself, and the creation of a large naval base for the British fleet were an enormous but essential expense for the British Empire. An estimated 500 million dollars in the currency of the time were spent, but all of this didn’t stop the Japanese from conquering Singapore on February 15th, 1942.

The British defense strategy was flawed. First and most famously, were the guns at Singapore. The myth about them was that they only were able to face the sea and were of no use against Japanese troops attacking Singapore from its land side. This was only half true. Out of the twelve guns at Fort Siloso, ten could be turned to fire at Singapore’s rear, but the large shells they fired, designed to penetrate the hulls of warships, were of little use against advancing infantry.

The second flaw in the defense of Singapore was that the British lacked the fleet to protect the city. By the time Japan began its campaign of conquest in late 1941/early 1942, the British fleet was mostly tied up protecting Great Britain itself and its tenuous and vital sea lanes with North America.

Great Britain’s defense of Singapore was a complete debacle. British and commonwealth troops outnumbered the Japanese and were close to their supply bases while Japan wasn’t, but the use of psychological warfare, and particularly control of the skies above Singapore, proved to contribute almost as much to the undoing of British defenses as the lack of of the fleet and the bad choice in naval batteries on Fort Silos.

A great deal of money, but more importantly thousands of lives, had been wasted in wrongheaded efforts to fortify the island nation. As a history buff, Gabrielle remembered a famous quote from General George Patton, “Fixed fortifications are a monument to man’s stupidity.” Seeing Fort Siloso up close, Gabrielle had to agree.

Gabrielle couldn’t help comparing Operation Swan Song to the failed British defense of Singapore. Money and human lives had been expended. Was bringing one Japanese gangster to justice worth the cost?

Checking her watch, Gabrielle saw the time was 11:20. The time for the Singapore rendezvous was 10:30 — 11:30. If Ripley couldn’t make it, the alternate meeting site was at The Newton Food Circus. The time frame for that rendezvous was 18:00 — 19:00.

Gabrielle didn’t only want Tom to show up at the earlier meeting time in order to make her fears, but so that she and the Army Captain could have some time together Saturday night. That would be so much harder if Tom showed up at Newton around 1900.

‘Stop making excuses, Gabrielle. If the debriefing is over at midnight, you’ll still take Tom to the hotel and screw his brains out, for AS LONG AS TOM WANTS.’ Gabrielle told herself as she continued walking around the museum, having grown uninterested in the exhibits and bored by her surroundings.

Tom Slater was never boring. An idea then flashed through Gabrielle’s head, maybe Tom would like to wear a dildo, also known as a strap-on, that night. For a moment Gabrielle kicked herself for failing to think of this earlier.

Reason soon returned to Gabrielle’s mind. A dildo was hardly a substitute for a penis. Tom Slater would know the difference and the sex toy, rather than reminding Tom he was a man, would instead remind him of what he was missing right then. ‘No sex toys’ Gabrielle told herself.

Right then the sound of a voice came over Gabrielle’s communicator, “Sniper, it’s 11:30. Do we call it quits now?”

“No, we’ll wait another half hour. Repeat Merlions One, Two, Three, Four, Five, and Six, stay where you are for another thirty minutes.”

“Affirmative, Sniper,” Merlion Five said. “Staying put.”

Gabrielle was really feeling frightened for both Tom and Tonichi Ogawa now. Where were they? Were they even in Singapore? If not, why hadn’t they made the trip from Japan?

Speculating about why the rendezvous hadn’t gone off as planned was a waste of time, Gabrielle told herself. Instead she tried to daydream again once again about Tom and forget the dirty look she got from an old man who had just walked by. Some of the locals didn’t like the Japanese and weren’t good at hiding it.

Soon Gabrielle dreamed up a reason for Tom’s delay in coming to the rendezvous. Tom was at some hotel working hard to look her prettiest, to make sure that Gabrielle wouldn’t turn down another request to get nekkid with Tom. Tom Slater was using psychology with Gabrielle in order to win, just like the Japanese had with the British before the fall of Singapore in 1942.

If Tom only knew how Gabrielle felt in her heart right then. The Army Captain’s physical appearance that day mattered little or nothing to Gabrielle. She would jump Tom Slater’s bones if he showed up wearing an old smelly Stanford University sweatshirt and torn blue jeans.

Tom Slater and Tonichi Ogawa were delayed for some reason. They would show up at Fort Siloso any moment now. Gabrielle kept repeating this to herself. It kept the FBI agent from thinking about the alternative.

Ripley and Chrysanthemum might even abort their Swan Song missions today, so what would happen after that? Captain Slater would need a thorough debriefing, Tonichi Ogawa a less intense one. Would this come before or after they went back to Dr. Wagner to get the DNA formula? Gabrielle would try to ensure it came first. These men deserved a return to their original gender sooner as soon as possible after risking so much for their dangerous mission.

Gabrielle had talked to Dr. Wagner just days earlier. She and one of her teams were free over the next two weeks. So that was one reason to change Chrysanthemum and Ripley at once. Another was Momoko Ogawa, Agent Chrysanthemum’s wife. She had grown increasingly upset of late, due to the long absence of her husband. This caused Momoko’s politically-connected father to make inquiries with Nagoya police as to when his son-in-law would be able to come home.

If Tonichi Ogawa was returned to his original body soon after his Swan Song assignment had concluded, why not Tom Slater? Gabrielle saw no good reason to delay, and if needed, would get Dr. Wagner to butt in with several good reasons to do Captain Slater’s DNA therapy right away.

So Tom Slater would be male again soon and, when he was up to it – Gabrielle was barely able to avoid giggling over the words ‘up to it,’ – capable of demonstrating how much of a man he was again. Thinking ahead, Gabrielle saw how the timing of Tom’s return to his male body and her own biological clock would be in almost perfect sync.

In nine months Gabrielle pictured herself waddling her way into some hospital Labor and Delivery Unit. Her proud masculine husband Tom holding her hand on the way in. Fatherhood seemed like the perfect counterstrategy to the feminization that Tom Slater had undergone for the last six months. Gabrielle would either work part-time or be a stay-at-home Mom.

Maybe she would write a book about Operation Swan Song. Gabrielle had poetry of hers published in the past. If Gabrielle was in a better of frame of mind, she may have laughed at the thought of what a potential book agent might say to her, “If I find you a publisher, where are they supposed to put this book, Fiction or Non-Fiction?”

The FBI and Grant Williamson could take a flying leap so far as Gabrielle was concerned. Gabrielle, on deeper reflection, saw that her parents had been right all along; their pushiness had caused their daughter to revolt, even when it was not in her own best interest.

Gabrielle was still daydreaming, far off into the future she hoped to have with Tom, when the beeping of her communicator signaled a return to reality. “Yes, Merlion Four, what do you need?”

“It’s noon, Sniper. Do we call it quits now?”

‘Tom Slater where are you? I love you so much.’ Gabrielle thought as she fought hard to stifle her tears.
 

~*~
 
Hiromi Sato, with Tom Slater still buried deep within her, spent most of Saturday March 8th planning a Japanese wedding. As Hiromi had previously told Chuck, the wedding was scheduled to take place on May 31st at Keiji Watanabe’s home near Mt. Fuji.

Those were the easy decisions. Acting on a suggestion from Ai Toguchi, a wedding planner was invited to come over to the apartment on Saturday morning in order to discuss the many details that would need to be agreed on almost immediately. Early in the morning, Hiromi made the decision to have a Japanese ceremony. This was a sign of respect to Hiromi’s heritage, rather than one to her family. Hiromi’s marriage would neither change or eliminate the resentments and hatred she felt toward the Watanabes.

The wedding planner stayed through lunch and almost halfway into the afternoon. Afterwards, Ai and Hiromi went out looking for a wedding dress, but Hiromi didn’t see one she liked. A trip to Tokyo to visit other bridal shops would have to be planned before the end of March.

While out with Ai, Hiromi had learned some interesting news which she shared with Chuck later that evening, “Ai and Grandfather are getting married.”

Chuck went big-eyed, “They are? That’s wonderful news, don’t you agree?”

“Yes, it is. I’m happy for Ai.”

“So when will their wedding take place?”

“March 29th.”

“That soon? I guess there’s no time to waste at your grandfather’s age.”

Hiromi let out a rare laugh. Keiji Watanabe had turned seventy-two years of age in February. Ai was a little over twenty years younger. She’d turn fifty-one in May. “Yes, Grandfather needs to hurry.”

Before Hiromi went to bed that night, she thought of her grandfather enjoying life with Ai. It could be to Hiromi’s advantage as far as her Yakuza ambitions went. If not, Keiji Watanabe had better enjoy every moment he gets with Ai. Hiromi Sato would destroy her grandfather in order to get what she wanted.
 

~*~
 
By the time Gabrielle Tanaka left Singapore on Monday morning, she regarded the weekend just past as a complete disaster. What had gone wrong?

Gabrielle and her team were at the Newton Food Circus from 1800-1930 on both Saturday and Sunday nights. In hope, or desperation, Gabrielle did a do-over of the two rendezvous on Sunday. Just as on Saturday, Agents Ripley and Chrysanthemum didn’t show up.

On her own initiative, Gabrielle tried to check if Tom Slater had even come to Singapore. Based on her knowledge of Hiromi’s travels to Hong Kong, Gabrielle guessed her friend would stay at The Raffles Hotel while in Singapore. The Raffles was rated five stars and was Singapore’s most famous hotel.

Gabrielle inquired at the desk of the Raffles. The staff was reluctant to help at first, but Gabrielle showed her FBI badge and said she just wanted to know if her friend had a reservation. The answer – Hiromi Sato at no time had a reservation at the Raffles for the weekend of March 7—10.

There were at least six other five-star hotels in Singapore. Gabrielle could have enquired at each of those but didn’t. Something had already told her on Saturday night that Tom Slater hadn’t made the trip to Singapore, but she hadn’t wanted to believe it.

After the second failed try at the Newton Food Circus, Gabrielle placed a phone call from her Orchard Road hotel to Inspector Yoshida in Japan.

The Japanese police man was at home when Gabrielle called, “Yes, I agree, that is most disturbing.”

“Have you had any reports from our agents or contact from them at all?”

“No, Gabrielle-san. I didn’t go into the office today, but if such a message had arrived I would have been notified.”

Gabrielle was beginning to panic. She took a few seconds to gather herself, “Inspector, could you possibly do something for me?”

“I’ll try, Gabrielle-san.”

“First, can we get a urgent message to Chrysanthemum. Just asking her to check in.” Gabrielle was again taking some initiative. It could have repercussions so far as Gabrielle’s relationship went with Director Williamson, but she could care less at this point.

“Yes, I can do that tomorrow morning.”

“Could we also do a sighting?”

A sighting wasn’t easy to do and potentially risky to the two Swan Song agents. Inspector Yoshida reminded Gabrielle of this, “We could, but I wouldn’t recommend it.”

“How about causing an incident instead?”

Inspector Yoshida didn’t answer Gabrielle’s question for almost a minute, but Gabrielle refrained from interrupting his thoughts.

“I think we can arrange that. Tomorrow, I will confer with two of my best detectives.”

“Do that, Inspector. This is very important,” Gabrielle said before hanging up the phone. As soon as she’d finished putting the receiver down, Gabrielle began to cry uncontrollably. She had a very bad feeling about this.

The plane ride back to Japan was ten times more difficult than the one from Hong Kong had been for Gabrielle. Had she made an error that cost Tom Slater his life? Gabrielle had never been religious, but she prayed to God for her friend

On arrival in Tokyo, Gabrielle sent an urgent message to Director Williamson stating that the Singapore debriefing had failed. Because of the time difference, the next Swan Song committee meeting was unlikely to take place before Tuesday evening Tokyo time.
 

~*~
 
At about the same time Gabrielle Tanaka arrived in Tokyo, Midori Slater was trying to calm a constantly crying Shannon Zebriskie. The little boy had an ear infection again, and the pain made the boy cry almost non-stop.

Midori held her grandson Shannon close to her, his head leaning on her shoulder, “It will be all right. Grandma will make you better.”

Shannon Zebriskie continued to cry. Midori was a good mother, she would sacrifice herself for her children. The same went for her grandchildren. If there was only something Midori could do for Shannon.

Since his parents’ death, Shannon had gotten ill on three separate occasions. Midori couldn’t verbally communicate with her grandson, but her motherly instincts were telling Midori something. Shannon missed his parents.

“Is there anything I can do?” Stewart Slater asked. Shannon’s grandfather had just gotten out of bed.

“No, Stewart, I’m fine. You go back to bed.”

“All right. I’d better go use the bathroom first.”

Midori watched as her husband slowly made his way to the bathroom.

Midori and Stewart Slater loved their grandson, but caring for the soon-to-be two-year-old boy was exhausting work. What Shannon Zebriskie needed was a mother and father again. As she tried to comfort Shannon, Midori couldn’t help but worry for her husband’s health. The death of Susan Zebriskie’s had been a cause of considerable stress for the retired Army Master Sergeant. When you added to this Stewart’s need to care twenty-four hours a day for his young grandson, it was just natural for Midori Slater to fear for her husband’s health.

Stewart liked to appear strong, but his wife knew better. Midori knew the outward signs of the aches and pains her husband felt every day but rarely said anything about. Stewart would never admit to anyone but himself, that he was getting old and less able to do things than he was say ten or twenty years earlier.

The best overall solution for Midori, Stewart, and most of all for Shannon, would be for Tom Slater to adopt his nephew after he married Gabrielle Tanaka. Shannon would then have a mother and father again. Midori wanted her family to be happy again, ending the sadness they’d experienced over the last few years.

Midori saw her husband leave the bathroom and go back to bed. As Stewart closed the bedroom door, Midori said a silent prayer, that her son Tom would return home from Japan safely and in good health.
 

~*~
 
The ‘incident’ requested by Gabrielle Tanaka took place on Hiromi’s Tuesday morning ride into work. After dropping Chuck off at the bank, Hiromi began her usual drive to Watanabe Trucking. The SUV with Roger driving, and with Kimo and Yuri hanging on inside, was working hard to keep up with Hiromi Sato’s sportscar.

Hiromi didn’t get even three blocks from the bank when she found that her usual route was blocked. A minor fender bender had stopped traffic up ahead, evidently just minutes earlier.

“Why the fuck does this have to happen on a day like this?” Hiromi mumbled to herself. She had what she termed a ‘shitload’ of work waiting for her to do at Watanabe Trucking. Now Hiromi began to wonder when she would make it into the office.

After a few minutes of being stuck in traffic, Hiromi finally lost her patience and got out of the Fairlady. Seeing this, Roger Hyde jumped out of the SUV and ran right to his Taro’s side.

“Boss, I’d prefer if you stayed in the car.”

“I’d prefer NOT to be stuck in traffic. If this doesn’t end soon, I’ll walk a couple of blocks and hail a cab. You men can drive my car into the office after this mess clears up.”

Roger shook his head, “Boss, I can’t let you do that.”

While Roger and Hiromi argued, two men were taking photos of the accident scene and their immediate surroundings. If asked, the two photographers were prepared to show identification that said they worked for a new Japanese news service that was internet only.

In reality the two photographers were Yokohama police. The crash had been staged in order to photograph agents Ripley and Chrysanthemum. Both photographers managed to get over a dozen shots with their zoom cameras of Hiromi Sato and Roger, plus the nearby SUV and Fairlady. Some of the photos taken were extreme closeups, others were not.

After their assignment was completed, one photographer pushed a remote beeper he carried. Within seconds a Yokohama motorcycle policeman was on the scene of the accident. Less than five minutes after that, Hiromi and her bodyguards were back on their way. None of them knew that what they had just witnessed had been totally fake.

Gabrielle Tanaka was waiting impatiently at the Yokohama police station for the two ‘photographers’ arrival. After receiving the film, a photo lab technician asked Gabrielle if she wanted to join him in the dark room while he processed the film. Gabrielle immediately said yes.

Developing the film took time. Five rolls of pictures had been taken in order to avoid making Hiromi or her bodyguards suspect that the accident had been a setup. The fourteen photos taken for Operation Swan Song were therefore scattered among the five rolls.

Gabrielle was glad to know Tom Slater was alive. She had been told before the photographers arrived at the police department that Ripley had been sighted and was alive. What then was the cause of the aborted Singapore rendezvous?

Even before all the rolls were finished being developed, Gabrielle began to examine those that were finished. It was the third photograph she looked at that grabbed her attention.

“No, it can’t be.” Gabrielle spoke out loud to herself.

“Can’t be what?”

“Nothing. Can you enlarge this photo when you’re done with the others?”

“Sure.”

It was another thirty minutes before the enlargement process could be begun. Gabrielle telling the technician she wanted to see Hiromi close up from the waist down.

“Anything you’re looking for in particular?”

“Her hands.”

The technician looked at Gabrielle for a second, then back at the work he was doing. “My father and grandfather worked in the jewelry business. I’m certain that’s a diamond engagement ring on her right hand. Is that what you were looking for?”

Gabrielle’s heart sank. “Yes, it was. You can forget about enlarging the photo any further.”

The Swan Song committee met Tuesday night Tokyo time. All in attendance had gotten Gabrielle’s report on the Singapore trip, plus copies of the photos taken on Tuesday. To say that Grant Williamson didn’t hide his anger at Ripley well, if at all, was an understatement.

“She’s alive. How about Chrysanthemum?”

“She wasn’t seen.” Gabrielle answered back.

“Perhaps she remained in the SUV. Or maybe today was an off day for her,” Major Hollins commented from an office at the Pentagon.

“For what possible reason or reasons was the Singapore rendezvous aborted then?”

Gabrielle had lots of theories, none of which made total sense. If Tom was in some form of danger, then why was she seen acting normally? A last-second change of plans? Then why hadn’t Chrysanthemum made contact? Lastly, Tom’s engagement to Charles McBride. Had Tom forsaken the Swan Song mission for a man?

Even if the feminization of Tom Slater was complete, Gabrielle thought the Army Captain would see her mission through. Captain Slater had a strong sense of duty, whether he was male or female. Besides, she couldn’t continue life as Hiromi Sato, the Yakuza accountant, forever. Swan Song would sweep in at some point.

There was a fourth theory, the only one that made sense. At the same time, this theory was the scariest of them all. Gabrielle shared her first two theories with the committee.

“Has contact been made with Agent Chrysanthemum yet?” Grant Williamson asked after the committee finished discussing Gabrielle’s theories.

“We sent a message coded urgent but I think we still have to expect no less than five days will pass before a reply is received.” Said Inspector Yoshida.

Another report from Debra Dudley, the forensic accountant being used by the Swan Song committee, was discussed. The computer downloads were still being studied. Debra again emphasized the importance of getting Agent Ripley out alive.

“We did get one more document overnight,” Debra added. This was a slither of good news so far as Gabrielle was concerned. Maybe her darkest fears for Tom weren’t warranted.

Finally, Grant Williamson was beginning to see the necessity of getting Captain Slater and Tonichi Ogawa to safety. “Once we hear back from our agents Ripley and Chrysanthemum, we’ll have to begin setting a time, date, and location for their withdrawal.”

Everyone at the Swan Song meeting was in agreement with Grant Williamson. Dr. Wagner added, “My schedule is fairly open. I can give both agents their DNA therapy at once after they return.”

The Swan Song meeting was adjourned minutes later. Another meeting wouldn’t be held for at least a week, or till word was received from Ripley or Chrysanthemum. As Gabrielle gathered her things in order to go home for the evening, she once again considered her last theory of what could be happening with her friend.

Had the Hiromi Sato persona taken over the body Captain Slater resided in? If so, why? More importantly, what could be done for Tom Slater?
 

~*~
 
What *could* be done for Tom? He was alive but overwhelmed by the persona of Hiromi Sato as they both resided in the same body. The mental trauma Tom had undergone during his forced murder of his friend, Reina Shimizu, could only be healed with time.

Tom Slater had volunteered for Swan Song but never once expected to be put in the situation she found herself in on the night of February 29th. Killing another soldier in combat wasn’t the same as deliberately pumping two bullets into the head of an unarmed woman. Tom knew now that he had made a mistake in promising Tonichi Ogawa she would make it through Swan Song safely, and he’d pulled the trigger himself.

The deed was done however. Now Tom needed to fight his way back to supremacy of the body she was in. The difficulty Tom faced was that Hiromi was back in her natural environment and at the same time a strong willed woman. Tom wasn’t strong enough to conquer Hiromi Sato yet, nor was she a member of the Yakuza.

After the initial shock began to wear off, Tom tried clawing her way back to the top. Once or twice she almost succeeded, both times when Hiromi was in the arms of Chuck McBride. The real Hiromi Sato didn’t love Chuck, he was just a toy to be used and manipulated as part of the plans the scheming woman had for the future.

In bed together, Hiromi was at her weakest and, as impossible as it had seemed ten months previous, Tom Slater had grown to love Chuck. Twice on the weekend of March 15-16, Tom almost came bubbling to the top, only to have the strong willed Hiromi Sato bat her back down on each occasion.

Tom would keep fighting. She wanted to be alive again, not a prisoner trapped in the body of Hiromi Sato.
 

~*~
 
A week passed without any message from Chrysanthemum to the Swan Song committee. Inspector Yoshida and Major Hollins, in addition to Gabrielle, believed that something had gone wrong.

“I’ve made contact with two employees at The Starbucks Chrysanthemum used to drop her messages through. The employees swear they have not seen Chrysanthemum since late February,” Inspector Yoshida reported.

There was more.

“On Friday and Monday I had a person sight Ripley at Kanagawa Bank. In one instance her bodyguards arrived. In the past there were four of these people, and Chrysanthemum was the only woman among them. On Monday, only three bodyguards were seen with Ripley, all of them male.

“We may have lost another agent,” Major Hollins said grimly.

“Maybe Chrysanthemum was assigned other duties.” Grant Williamson noted.

That was a possibility but Inspector Yoshida had already thought of it, “Agent Chrysanthemum was under orders to communicate with us if such an eventuality occurred. A classified advertisement in any one of six newspapers scattered around Japan. I fear we’ve lost her.”

“It may be time for us to withdraw Ripley now too,” Major Hollins said. “Do we have any other contact persons within the Watanabes?”

Inspector Yoshida shook his head, “Low level informants mostly. We have no active agent at present who would be of any use for contacting Ripley.”

Grant Williamson asked Inspector Yoshida to elaborate and the Yokohama policeman did so. Japanese police did have informants inside the Watanabe Yakuza, but they were almost entirely small-time criminals. Inspector Yoshida had double-checked on this prior to the meeting, none of these people were of any use as far as making direct contact with Ripley goes.

The police also had five contacts who were in one way or another employed by the Watanabes. They were codenamed Stenographer, Possum, Concierge, Flight Attendant, and Boxer. A review of these five people showed them to either be inactive or without access to Hiromi Sato. Inspector Yoshida reported all of this to the committee of this.

“Have we heard from Ripley?” FBI Director Williamson asked.

Gabrielle answered what she considered a dumb question, “No we haven’t.” If Tom had made contact, they wouldn’t be having the conversation they were engaged in at that time.

Inspector Yoshida had something to add, “It would be risky for Ripley to send messages directly to Swan Song. That may account for why none have been sent. If Chrysanthemum was discovered, as we suspect, Ripley may fear that she is next.”

Gabrielle believed none of this, but hoped Inspector Yoshida was right. For the moment, Gabrielle again kept her knowledge of the two personas in Hiromi Sato’s body to herself.

‘Should I tell everyone about the two personas Tom mentioned to me back in Hong Kong and the possibility the Hiromi persona has taken over?’ Gabrielle asked herself. It was tough decision, but Gabrielle decided not to. Deputy Director Williamson would probably dismiss the theory as hare-brained.

Besides, Tom Slater had told Gabrielle about the Hiromi Sato persona only at their meeting in the Hong Kong McDonald’s, not her debriefing. Raising it now would only complicate further the relationship Gabrielle had with Grant Williamson.

Grant Williamson remained silent for a minute. He wanted the completion of Swan Song’s operational phase to coincide with a certain political event, the naming of the Democratic candidate for President. Grant had a lot invested in the man who was almost certain to be the next President of the United States, who would be able to name the next FBI Director, so his planned upward career move was at stake.

“Send the abort message immediately.” Grant Williamson told Inspector Yoshida. The Deputy FBI Director couldn’t risk the case against Goro Watanabe unraveling because Agent Ripley didn’t survive her mission.

“I’ll have it sent tomorrow morning.”

“How long before Ripley can be expected to receive it?”

“The digital billboard advertisement is on the route Ripley takes to work. She should see it within the first 48 hours but it will be run for five work days just in case.”

“After she gets the message, what does Ripley do? Just walk into the Yokohama police department?” Major Hollins asked.

“Perhaps. While on our reconnaissance trip last July, Ripley was made aware of where the police department was located, in addition to the US consulate in Yokohama.” Gabrielle said.

Then it was Inspector Yoshida’s turn to speak, “Ripley can also signal us in order to set up her retrieval.”

Major Hollins spoke again, “We can’t really expect Ripley to turn herself in like Agent Tanaka is suggesting. She has bodyguards almost everywhere she goes. If they see her heading for the police department they may take action.”

Gabrielle grinned, “With all due respect, Major, you haven’t been in a car with Ripley.”

Inspector Yoshida let out a laugh. “Chrysanthemum did make mention of how Ripley drove the sports car Hiromi Sato owns. She said it was very stressful, riding with Ripley.”

Grant Williamson looked down at his note pad, “I think we can trust Ripley to turn herself in safely. If that’s all....”

Dr. Wagner then spoke up. She was taking part via conference call from her office at the University of Virginia. The German born scientist didn’t speak often at Swan Song meetings. She usually used the time to catch up on her notes or sometimes to see to personal matters. On this particular day, Dr. Wagner had been spending her time by polishing her nails. “I’d like to say something.”

“Go ahead, Dr. Wagner,” Said Grant Williamson.

“I’d like to offer my DNA therapy to change Captain... I mean Ripley back as soon as her mission is done. At present I have many openings.”

Inspector Yoshida spoke, “Speaking for the Japanese authorities, I see no problem with that. We can wait, and I’m sure the South Koreans can too.”

“My procedure only takes one day. Ripley would be able to discuss her mission no later than forty-eight hours after therapy is finished.”

Gabrielle played advocate for Tom Slater again. “Ripley strongly expressed her wish to have the therapy as soon as the mission was complete. I think we owe that to her.”

“Ja, Fraulein Tanaka. You did tell that to me the last time we spoke,” Dr. Wagner said.

“Thank you for the offer, Dr. Wagner.” Grant Williamson answered back. The return of Captain Slater to his original gender would wait till after the debriefing was done. He’d have Major Hollins make it an order if necessary. “Anything else?”

“Do we inform Tonichi Ogawa’s family?” Inspector Yoshida asked. He was already planning to alert all neighboring police departments to be on the lookout for what the Americans called a ‘Jane Doe’. Law enforcement would be given a description of Reina Shimizu and a copy of her DNA, plus dental records in order to compare to any unidentified bodies that might show up.

Grant Williamson shook his head, “No, not at present. We aren’t certain about agent Chrysanthemum at this time. This meeting is adjourned.”

Gabrielle Tanaka was having more trouble sleeping with every passing day. She was feeling not just worried for Tom, but guilty also. Not just for saying no in Hong Kong, but also for not speaking up for her friend more strongly.

Before going to bed most nights, Gabrielle watched television. The same day as Swan Song’s latest meeting, another minor earthquake struck the Yokohama area. On an evening news broadcast, a Japanese vulcanologist said the earthquake activity was a sign of one of Japan’s many volcanoes getting ready to erupt.

Gabrielle did a little erupting of her own. She cried her eyes out before finally going to sleep that night.
 

~*~
 
The Swan Song committee received no message from Ripley. Within another week all Swan Song members were in agreement that something had gone very wrong with the mission.

Hiromi Sato was still in charge, tweaking her future plans, and waiting for events to unfold, while still overwhelming Tom Slater. Without outside help or some unknown catalyst, Captain Slater would remain a prisoner

Keiji Watanabe and Ai Toguchi got married on the last Saturday of March. Of course Chuck and Hiromi were there. Afterwards, the retired Oyabun and his new wife went on a three-week honeymoon outside of Japan.

On their return to Japan, Keiji went back to his role as senior advisor to Goro Watanabe. Ai Toguchi on the other hand, Ai had to leave almost at once for Nagano. Her sister Reiko Okamoto was ill and needed Ai to help care for her.

In early April, the family of Tonichi Ogawa was informed that he was missing and presumed dead. Momoko Ogawa did not take the news well of her husband’s possible death well.

Momoko Ogawa’s father, Fukushiro Nukaga a former Japanese Defense Minister, went to see the Deputy Chief of the Nagoya Police. Fukushiro wanting to find out all he could about what had happened to his son-in-law.

“Nakuga-san, I have told you all that I know,” Deputy Chief Tomokazu Haru said. “I assure you, when more is discovered, you will be told immediately.”

Fukushiro Nukaga accepted this explanation. He then went back to his daughter’s apartment. Momoko was still crying, and this distressed her father greatly. What was Fukushiro Nukago to do for his daughter?

In mid-April, Hiromi Sato made a business trip to Switzerland. Her bodyguards Roger Hyde and Kimo, plus Charles McBride, accompanied her. Since late March, the Swan Song committee had asked Japanese immigration to immediately alert them if Hiromi Sato exited the country. Hearing Agent Ripley was bound for Zurich by the way of Singapore, Swan Song scrambled to get agents into the field.

Most of Hiromi’s visit to Switzerland was Kanagawa Bank business related. The Japanese financial institution had an office in Zurich, as it did in Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul, and London also. Hiromi was just making a routine check on the Kanagawa Bank branch office.

This kept Hiromi busy for two days and allowed the Swan Song committee to get people in place. A hasty plan, codenamed Operation Snowflake, was drawn up in order to snatch Agent Ripley. Snowflake was quickly approved by Grant Williamson.

No attempt was made to go through diplomatic or Swiss channels in regards to Operation Snowflake. If the local authorities complained afterwards or the operation was botched for some reason, Grant Williamson would take the heat. Better yet, the FBI Deputy Director would appoint a fall guy or fall woman to take his place.

On her third day in Zurich, Hiromi had plans to visit a bank but it wasn’t Kanagawa. “I need to do something this morning by myself.”

Hiromi and Chuck were having breakfast together in their hotel suite.

“All right. Can you tell me what it is?”

“No, I can’t.”

Chuck studied Hiromi’s face. He loved this woman, but Hiromi was continuing to act weird. Had Chuck made a mistake in asking Hiromi to marry him?

No, it was too late to for Chuck to re-consider. To turn away from Hiromi Sato now would make Chuck no better than his father. Charles McBride never wanted to be compared to his father.

“Very well,” Chuck said before wiping his mouth with a napkin. “Will you be long? If not, we can do something together this afternoon.”

“I should be done by lunch. We can go out after that.”

Chuck smiled, “That will be splendid then, Kimi-chan.”

The Strauss Bank was located on a side street off Nordstrasse in Central Zurich. It was there that Hiromi had a 10 a.m. appointment with the financial institution’s senior Vice-President, Herman Strauss. The banker saw Hiromi at once. It was the policy of Strauss Bank not to keep powerful and wealthy people waiting.

After a few brief pleasantries, Herman Strauss got right down to business. The banker could see his new client was a serious woman.

“How may I help you today?”

“I wish to open three accounts here.”

The Swiss banker knew what Hiromi Sato did for a living. A banker would only go to another institution than their own for one of two reasons. They were misappropriating funds, or they wanted to evade some banking or tax law.

Herman Strauss had been in banking for over forty years. A client’s motive for wanting to do business with Strauss Bank was none of his business. Swiss bankers didn’t concern themselves with anything else than helping their clients.

“You have come to the right place, Fraulein.”

Hiromi took a folder out of the women’s briefcase she brought with her that day to Strauss Bank. Inside the folder were three checks. Hiromi passed these to the Swiss banker, saying “I’d like to open the accounts I mentioned with one of these each. Can you do that?”

Herman took a couple of minutes to study the checks. They were each drawn on Kanagawa Bank’s Singapore branch. Hiromi and Chuck had stopped in that Asia city before flying on to Zurich.

Having a new client in your office ready to open accounts worth forty million US dollars warms the heart of any Swiss banker. “Yes, Fraulein, the Strauss Bank will be happy to help you. First, I need some information....”
 

~*~
 
Hiromi was done at the bank before noon-time. As soon as she exited Strauss Bank, she called Chuck on her cellphone. They would spend the afternoon sight-seeing, but not before lunch together first. Hiromi knew a splendid little café that made Weiner Schnitzel like nowhere else in the world.

At the same time Chuck and Hiromi were spending a day out together, The Operation Snowflake team commanded by US Army 1st DW Connors was busy making its preparations. A check with the hotel Agent Ripley was staying at showed she had reservations for two more evenings. It was therefore decided to snatch Ripley the following morning.

But once again, the Swan Song committee was taken by surprise. Agent Ripley and her entourage left for Rome the next morning, less than ninety minutes before the snatch was to have taken place.

After Hiromi arrived in Italy, she and Chuck, plus their bodyguards, rented vehicles and then disappeared into the Italian countryside. Within twenty-four hours, Swan Song had to abandon all hope of catching Ripley while she was visiting Europe.

“We’ll just have to apprehend her in Japan. That can’t be all that hard,” Deputy Director Williams said at a Swan Song meeting held one week after Operation Snowflake was abandoned. “We do have people working on a plan, don’t we, Major?”

“Yes, we do,” Major Hollins replied from the an office at the Pentagon. At least two plans were in the works to grab Hiromi Sato, who had returned to Japan the previous day. One of these operations was codenamed Firecracker.

“The trouble I see is that we rarely know Agent Ripley’s movements in advance. Without prior knowledge of her whereabouts, any mission to snatch Ripley is liable to end up like Operation Snowflake,” Inspector Yoshida said bluntly.

Gabrielle Tanaka hadn’t gone to Switzerland or taken any part in the Operation Snowflake business. Instead the FBI agent had been studying the possible plans to reel in Tom Slater. Like Inspector Yoshida, Gabrielle had little confidence in any of them working. They could even end up killing Tom Slater if the Operation went badly wrong.

On her own initiative, Gabrielle had formed an entirely different plan. One she proposed for the first time that day, “I’d like to volunteer to go undercover within the Watanabe Yakuza in order to make contact with Agent Ripley. We still have DNA samples from some of Hiromi Sato’s associates, don’t we, Dr. Wagner?”

“Yes, we do, Fraulein Tanaka,” Dr. Wagner said in reply from Virginia. In their effort to topple the Watanabe Yakuza, DNA samples had been collected from a little over a dozen people.

Grant Williamson had already made a decision in regards to what Gabrielle Tanaka was proposing, but for the moment the Deputy FBI Director would remain silent. He’d remind Agent Tanaka at an appropriate time that she had little authority when it came to the Swan Song operational decisions.

“One of them is from Suki Kobayashi, the other from Roger Hyde.”

“Yes, Fraulein, that is correct.”

Inspector Yoshida then spoke up, “Seizing Suki Kobayashi would be feasible, capturing Roger Hyde less so. The man is a trained and armed mercenary.”

All of those at the meeting but Dr. Wagner knew how the capture of the real Reina Shimizu had gone. The female Yakuza had seriously wounded two members of law enforcement with a knife before being subdued.

Deputy Director Williamson let the other Swan Song members talk for a few minutes longer before putting an end to all debate, “Thank you for your offer, Agent Tanaka. Due to the lack of information we have in regards to Agent Ripley, it would seem too risky to put another agent undercover within the Watanabe empire. We have lost three agents to date.”

“I know that, Sir, but I’m still willing to volunteer.”

Grant Williamson shook his head, “No, Agent Tanaka, I won’t risk more lives at this point. If the need arises, I may re-evaluate our decision.”

‘What OUR, you dumb prick,’ Gabrielle thought to herself. Judging by their expressions, every other member of Swan Song had thought that Gabrielle’s plan had merit.

The Swan Song meeting broke up not long afterwards. Gabrielle Tanaka felt more hopeless than ever in her quest to save Tom Slater.
 

~*~
 
Not unexpectedly, there was a large stack of mail and messages for Hiromi at Watanabe Trucking when she returned for her first day of work after returning from Europe. As Hiromi sipped on some tea brought to her by Suki Kobayashi, she began sorting the mail in order of importance.

It only took approximately a minute for a large bulky manila envelope to attract Hiromi’s attention. It had been mailed from Kobe Japan six days earlier and was marked confidential.

Hiromi ripped the envelope open. Inside were some thirty-three computer printed pages. They were financial documents related to Central Nippon Wireless. Some parts of the documents were marked with the help of a yellow highlighter. Hiromi immediately began an intense analysis of their contents.

This work took Hiromi nearly two hours. Her degrees in finance and accounting, plus seven years of work experience, enabled the Yakuza accountant to study complex financial documents very quickly. For her study of Central Nippon’s financial statements, Hiromi kept notes to herself on a separate legal pad.

When she was finished, Hiromi couldn’t prevent herself from smiling. The day for her ascent to Oyabun of the Watanabe Yakuza might not be that far away.
 

~*~
 
A large storm lingered over Japan the first weekend in May. Some weather forecasters calling it a subtropical system. Whatever it was, heavy rain and wind sometimes over 40 miles per hour in strength, pummeled Yokohama Japan for parts of three days.

By Monday the storm had cleared and Yokohama Police Inspector Yoshida was busy at work. A veteran of the Yokohama police for thirty-one years, Inspector Yoshida worked in the organized crime division. Operation Swan Song wasn’t his only duty.

Inspector Yoshida was taking a short break around 3 p.m. in order to have some coffee, when a visitor came to his office. It was Senior Detective Kichiro Toyoda.

“A decoded message has just arrived.” Detective Toyoda said as he handed an envelope to Inspector Yoshida.

“Domo arigato,” Inspector Yoshida replied back to his colleague. Detective Toyoda then left the office

Inspector Yoshida didn’t inspect the envelope or the message inside it until another five minutes had passed. When he did, Inspector Yoshida read the message over three times to make sure he understood it correctly. When done, the policeman muttered.

“Agent Concierge has gone active.”
 

~*~
 
To be continued in Part Nine