A video of a meeting taking place at the home of Keiji Watanabe was shown next. Present were Keiji, his nephew Goro, Dai Hashimoto, Hiromi Sato and at least two shareigishiras plus guards. The audio wasn’t of good quality and only snippets of conversation could be made out by Captain Slater.

“Where did this video come from?”

“Captain, we have a source in the Watanabe family. You’ll learn more in due time.” Agent Tanaka replied. As Major Hollins narrated the meeting, Captain Slater was already drawing conclusions as to what lay ahead for him.

Or was it her? It was too mind boggling, something out of a science fiction story. Captain Slater had to be wrong.

A brief synopsis- Army Captain Tom Slater has been asked by the FBI and the US Army, to infiltrate a Japanese organized crime family. But first the Captain has to undergo some interesting DNA therapy and training to prepare him...her for the mission.

This story is dedicated to Sharonna. Sharonna created a few stories featuring what she called the ‘Community Service’ program. My transformation and plot in this story were inspired some by Sharonna’s story U.S. Marshals.

~*~
Note- I used a plot device once used in a Tom Clancy novel, “The Bear and the Dragon.” Chalk it up to a lack of computer expertise or imagination from me. I just didn’t know how else to work this part of my plot. In any event it’s just a very tiny bit of the story that follows.

I want to say thank you to Andi, Circe, and in particular Daphne for their help with this story.

Enjoy. This is a long story with just a smidgen of sex.(Two scenes and not till later in the story) If you’re looking for either a short story or lots of sex, don’t bother reading.
 

~*~
 
Thomas ‘Tom’ Slater arrived at Fort Riley’s main gate a little past two thirty on May 2nd 2007. He was third in line, his Toyota pickup truck loaded with almost all of Tom’s belongings.

Some may have described this scene at the gate with the Army(Military) saying ‘hurry up and wait’ but not Captain Slater. He was a veteran of two tours in Iraq, and was reporting to Riley two days ahead of schedule that day. Tom liked to be punctual.

“Good afternoon Sergeant.” Tom said to the black enlisted man at the front gate. The Captain, was already prepared and handed the sergeant his driver’s license, a copy of his orders, plus his military jacket.

The Sergeant handed all of these back to Tom within sixty seconds of getting them. “Welcome to Fort Riley Sir. Do you need directions?”

“No Sergeant, I know the way.” Tom replied back. After rolling up his car window, he drove through Fort Riley’s main gate. It was a little more than thirteen years since the Captain’s last visit to the base, but Tom knew his way around like it was yesterday.

For those in-processing at Riley, the first stop was the 1st Replacement Center. It is located on Custer Avenue, in Building 208. Tom parked his truck in a parking lot across from the building before walking inside.

Just like at the front gate, Tom was third person in need of being waited on. Here it took a little longer, but the Captain soon got to the front of the line.

“Good afternoon Sir,” Said the female sergeant behind the desk. Tom was in civilian clothes at present. “May I please have your MPRJ and other records?”

Tom handed them straight over to the Sergeant whose name tag said Hook. Today would only be the first step in the Captain’s in processing. Usually anywhere from a week to ten days were required to complete this process for a soldier completing a PCS. The length of time varying on whether the military member had family, where they were coming from, and what unit they were being assigned to.

As for Tom, he was thirty-years-old, very single, and in possession of his first orders since returning from Iraq with a period of fourteen months of convalescence at Walter Reed in between. Over a year earlier, an IED wounded Tom while he was serving in Iraq. The explosive blowing a hole in Tom’s right leg that required four operations. After these were done, Tom had to undergo physical therapy and be medically cleared for active duty. All of this had only been completed two weeks previous.

Tom, who had grown up as an Army brat, was very eager for his new assignment. Promoted to Captain after his wounding in Iraq, Tom would be commanding a company in the 1st Infantry Division.

Sgt. Hook spoke up only moments after getting Tom’s orders. “Sir, you need to go in that room and make a phone call to this number.”

Tom looked at the piece of paper he was given. On it was written a seven digit number, the area code of which was the same as Fort Riley. Without saying another word, the Captain did as he was told.

The phone number Tom called was picked up after three rings. “Major Hollins.”

“Sir, my name is Thomas Slater, Captain United States Army. I was told to call you.”

“Yes Captain, it is good to hear from you. Are you at Fort Riley at present?”

“Yes sir. I’m at the Replacement Center.”

“Captain, we need to talk. Can you be at Fort Leavenworth tomorrow morning, say at 1030 hours?”

Tom Slater had been to Fort Leavenworth just once in his life. A visit to the base with his family when he was sixteen. Leavenworth was best known to the general public as the home to United States Disciplinary Barracks. The post was also home to U.S. Army Combined Arms Center, also known as CAC and the Command and General Staff College.

“Of course sir.” Tom replied back. He was clueless as to why he needed to go to Leavenworth but orders were orders.

“Do you have a pen and piece of paper handy?” Major Hollins asked. Tom confirmed that he did. “Good, write this down.”

A few minutes later Tom walked out of the office. Sgt. Hook was still there and not helping anyone at that moment. “Can I have my jacket and other things back?”

“Of course sir.” The female Sergeant replied back. A few minutes later, Tom Slater was back in his truck, and on the road again. The drive to Leavenworth Kansas would take approximately two hours.
 

~*~
 
On arrival in Leavenworth, Captain Slater checked into a Days Inn near the Army installation. A room had been reserved there for him. Knowing no one in that town, Tom had dinner and then went to an early movie. By 2230 the Captain was in bed and fast asleep.

Tom had no idea why he had been summoned to Leavenworth, but didn’t dwell on it. The Army always had a reason and Tom would learn what it was soon enough. Rising at 0530 the next morning, Tom began his day with a morning exercise routine he’d been doing for years. The last part of which was a three-mile jog. Tom took pride in having gotten back to his old exercise regimen after his wounding in Iraq.

After his jog was finished, Tom returned to his room to shower and dress. Then the Captain went to a nearby diner for breakfast.

Tom checked out of his room a few minutes before ten. Unlike the day before, Tom was wearing his Army uniform for whatever business he had been summoned to Leavenworth for.

Fort Leavenworth was five minutes away and after being waved through the main gate, Tom drove straight to the Adjutant General’s Office on McClellan Ave. Tom checked in at the desk and was told to take a seat. A sergeant telling Tom someone would be out shortly.

Major Hollins emerged from an office a few minutes later. “Captain Slater?”

Tom sprung to his feet and saluted the Major. “Yes I’m Captain Slater, I’m reporting as ordered sir.”

The major took Captain Slater’s hand and shook it. The informality struck Tom as odd or strange. Little did Tom know but his day was about to get a whole lot stranger.

“Good to meet you Captain. I’m Major Edward Hollins. Please come with me.”

Captain Slater was shown into the same room Major Hollins had come out of. It was a windowless, plain office with one desk, three chairs and little else.

There was one other person in the room. She was in her mid to late twenties, stood about 5'4, was wearing a grey business dress, and was clearly of Asian heritage.

“Captain Slater, this is FBI Special Agent Gabrielle Tanaka.”

Tom shook the woman’s hand. “Nice to meet you Ma’am.”

Major Hollins took a seat behind the desk. After shaking Tom’s hand, Agent Tanaka sat to the Major’s left. Captain Slater was told to take a seat.

“May I see your Jacket?” Major Hollins asked. Tom passed the MPRJ, besides his other documents across the desk to Major Hollins.

Tom sat quietly as Major Hollins studied his MPRJ. He had a thousand questions to ask, biggest of which was why he had been summoned to Leavenworth, but Tom remained silent. Soon enough Tom would start to get some answers.

“Everything appears in order.” Major Hollins said after less than a minute. “Captain you’re probably wondering why you were brought here.”

“Kind of sir.”

Major Hollins let out a short laugh. At the same time Gabrielle Tanaka’s face showed no sign of emotion. The look on the FBI agent’s face remaining unchanged since her shaking hands with Captain Slater.

“You’ll learn soon enough. First we have some questions for you. After that we have something for you to read, we’ll discuss it after you’re done.”

“I’m ready sir.”

The first question from Major Hollins took Tom by surprise. “Your mother is Japanese, isn’t she?”

“Yes sir, she is.”

“Midori Sasaki Slater?”

“Yes sir, that is my mother’s name?

“You’ve visited Japan a few times in your life?”

Tom smiled briefly. “I actually lived there for almost seven years starting when I was seven years old. My father was stationed then at Camp Zama”

Stewart Slater Sr, a career enlisted man, had been assigned to Camp Zama three times during his career. The first occurring in the early 70's, the second and third period of times happening between 1984 and 1991. In between two three year stints at Zama, Stewart Slater did a one-year remote tour in Korea. During that period of time, the sergeant’s family stayed behind in Japan.

“When was the last time you been to Japan?”

This Tom had to take a few seconds to recall. “When I was seventeen. I traveled to Japan with my mother and sisters for my grandfather’s funeral.”

“Your mother is from the island of Hokkaido?”

Hokkaido, whose main city was Sapporo, was the northern most major island in Japan. “Yes my mother is from Hokkaido.”

“How’s your Japanese?”

“Sonna ni joozu ja nai.” Not so good.

“You’re modest Captain.” Agent Tanaka said, finally speaking up.

“I’m badly out of practice Ma’am. My mother is from Japan and its been quite some time since I had any need to use it other than when speaking with her.” Tom replied back. His mother spoke good English but sometimes spoke in Japanese to her children. “I did take two elective courses in Japanese at college also. That’s some time ago.”

For a few minutes Major Hollins quizzed Tom about his education. The Captain had originally been a reservist, working on degrees in both accounting and economics. That all changed when 9-11 happened. Tom deciding to become a full-time soldier. In need of fighting men and women for The War on Terror, the Army was only too happy to oblige Tom Slater.

Tom had gotten his degrees but was never able to take the CPA exam. He explained this to Major Hollins.

“You are able to read Japanese?”

Tom nodded his head. “Kind of sir. I haven’t had much reason to practice of late.”

Again Tom was being modest. While in Japan, he had learned not to just speak the language but read it also. This being the result of Midori Slater’s influence. Besides attending all of his regular classes at Zama’s elementary and middle schools, Tom took Saturday classes in Japanese. He had done quite well in these.

Growing up at Zama wasn’t the easiest of experiences for a ‘haifu’ or half Japanese. Facing prejudice both on base and off, Tom Slater became a bit of a introvert when young. His friends all being carefully chosen, but once selected, Tom was very outgoing and sociable with those boys and girls who mattered to him.

Like twin brother and sister, Hiroshi(or Hiro) and Suki Kobayashi. Tom Slater met the siblings through a Judo(Something Tom excelled at) class he attended with Hiro. Hiro was Tom’s best friend during the last four years he lived in Japan. Maybe more importantly, Suki Kobayashi was Tom’s first crush. She was the girl he shared his first kiss with.

Life in Japan had shaped Tom in many ways. He was a leader of men in the Army, but when it came to his personal life, the Captain was shy and modest. Tom was well liked and friendly but without many friends. Those he did have, the Captain was very close to.

Major Hollins passed a folder across to Tom. “Try practicing with this.”

Tom opened the file, and not surprisingly, found it to all be in Japanese except for two photographs that had names printed underneath. The Captain began to read.

“Take your time Captain. I’ll be back shortly.”

“Yes sir.” Tom replied back, his head still buried in the folder.

It took Tom over ten minutes to read the file. By that time Major Hollins was back in the room.

“They’re police reports on two US airmen murdered in Yokohama.”

Agent Tanaka smiled thinly. “Correct Captain. What else did you learn?”

Tom gave the FBI agent a rundown. “Tech Sgt Swanson had a wife and two children.”

“Yes he did.” Major Hollins replied back

“Are there any leads? The report mentions none, sir.”

Major Hollins nodded. “Nothing concrete, or provable in court. We do believe the airmen were killed by people working for this man.”

Captain Slater was handed another file. A picture inside showed a middle aged Japanese man. “Goro Watanabe?”

“Yes, Goro Watanabe is his name. Have you heard of him?”

Tom shook his head. “No sir. Not before today.”

While Major Hollins leaned back in his chair, FBI agent Tanaka filled Tom in. “Goro Watanabe is one of the most powerful men in Japanese organized crime today.”

“Yakuza?”

“Yes Captain.”

Agent Tanaka began to fill Tom in some more. Both airmen, Fred Swanson and Robert Unger, were believed to have been in debt to loan sharks working for Goro Watanabe. When it became obvious both men wouldn’t be paying back what was owed by them in addition to being their being PCSd back stateside, the airmen were murdered.

Both killings had taken place twelve to fifteen months earlier. Captain Slater even remembering a Stars and Stripes article on Tech Sgt. Swanson.

By now Captain Slater was drawing his own conclusions. “You want my help in putting Goro Watanabe behind bars?”

“Yes Captain.”

Major Hollins spoke up for the first time in over five minutes. “Captain before we get to that, I want you to go to lunch with Agent Tanaka.”

“Lunch, sir?”

“Yes, lunch Captain. When you come back, we’ll talk some more.”

The time was a little past 1130. “Very well sir.”

“One last thing Captain. Till you return, you’re to speak to Agent Tanaka in Japanese only. Is that understood?”

“Yes sir.”

Captain Slater left the room moments later. Special Agent Tanaka coming with him. “Where to now?”

“Please speak in Japanese, Captain.”

“Gomen nasai.” Tom said with a slight bow of his head. This got a thin smile in return from Agent Tanaka.

Tom and Agent Tanaka went to a small Mom and Pop diner in Leavenworth. There they discussed everything but Army business. From the weather to politics, to almost anything. Captain Slater quickly concluded this was a test to see just how good his Japanese was.

The question Tom began asking himself, was why was he was needed in some plan to bring down Goro Watanabe. Tom got his answer not long after he and Agent Tanaka returned to Major Hollins office shortly after 1300 hours.

“How did the Captain do?”

“He needs polishing but Captain Slater should be fine.”

Captain Hollins nodded his head as he leaned forward in his chair. “Captain, it is time we tell you why you were brought here.”

“Thank you sir. I have been wondering.”

“We want to put you inside Goro Watanabe’s empire.”

“A source to get inside information on this....thug?”

“Yes, Captain exactly. This assignment, which I stress is voluntary and which you may refuse, is both dangerous and highly unusual.”

Tom was used to the dangerous part. He had done two tours in Iraq, the first back in 2003 and lasting twelve months. The second tour, that began in 2005, lasted ten months rather than the planned eighteen. It being abbreviated because of Tom being wounded by an IED.

Getting inside a Japanese crime family was certainly the unusual part. Tom would hear out Major Hollins and Agent Tanaka before passing judgment or volunteering for special assignment.

The briefing was moved to another room. In it were fifteen to twenty chairs in a semi circle facing a large screen television. Captain Slater and Agent Tanaka both took seats in the front row, three chairs apart.

“We have some video for you to watch Captain.”

“Yes sir.”

The video Tom first saw looked as if it had been taken in a park, but the Captain quickly changed his mind. It was a garden and a sizable one. A man in his sixties or maybe early seventies was ambling around tending to his flowers.

Major Hollins hit the pause button. “That is Keiji Watanabe. Also known as Uncle within the Yakuza family headed by Goro Watanabe.”

“Don’t let the name fool you,” Agent Tanaka said to Captain Slater. “Keiji Watanabe is absolutely ruthless.”

Captain Slater knew the meaning of the name Keiji. It was cautious ruler. “Goro Watanabe is this man’s nephew?”

Major Hollins answered. “Yes Captain, Goro is his nephew.”

“Prior to Goro, Keiji Watanabe was head of the family. Nowadays he is more like a trusted adviser.”

Captain Slater nodded as he studied the face. The video wasn’t very good. Where did the FBI get it?

“Goro Watanabe wasn’t supposed to take over the family. In 2001, a war broke out between some of the Yakuza families. One of the casualties was Keiji’s son Hideki. Hideki was being groomed at the time to be the future boss or Oyabun.”

Oyabun meant family head in the world of the Yakuza. While he was half Japanese, Tom Slater knew very little about Japanese organized crime or the culture surrounding it.

More video of Keiji Watanabe was shown. While this was watched by Tom, he was told of the man’s background and history It was all pretty sketchy, Keiji Watanabe was a very private man.

“Where was the video shot?”

Gabrielle Tanaka had the answer. “An estate Keiji Watanabe owns. It is located near Mt. Fuji.”

Majestic Mt. Fuji was fairly close to Yokohama. The capital of Kanagawa prefecture, Yokohama was the home base for the Watanabe Yakuza family. Camp Zama, where Tom Slater had lived for seven years, was also in the Kanagawa prefecture.

The next person to appear on screen wasn’t a pleasant looking chap at all. A short heavyset bull of a man with a crewcut like hair cut.

“That’s another of Goro Watanabe’s Saiko-komon(Senior Advisors). His name is Dai Hashimoto, also known as Tiger.”

Captain Slater watched the video of short squat man, who if he had been 100 or more pounds heavier, could have have been a sumo wrestler. The names Dai, which means large boy, fit the man to a tee.

After the introduction to Dai Hashimoto, Tom was given some background on some of the shareigashiras in the Watanabe family. There were at least five that the FBI knew of, Agent Tanaka said.

“Last but not least, there is the family’s accountant or some may say chief financial advisor.” Major Hollins said as he advanced the DVD to its next chapter.

On the screen popped a closeup picture of a young woman’s smiling face. She didn’t look a day over eighteen and if not beautiful was certainly cute. She reminded Captain Slater of one of his cousins.

“That is Hiromi Sato. Don’t let the photo fool you, she is twenty-seven-years-old. Born November 3rd, 1979 in the small coastal village of Hiroo. Hiroo is in the Hokkaido prefecture.”

“Ms. Sato is a graduate of the University of Tokyo. Class of 2001.”

Captain Slater nodded. The University of Tokyo was Japan’s most prestigious school. “What was her major?”

“Accounting.” Agent Tanaka replied.

“Our sources say Hiromi Sato is a whiz so far as numbers and understanding the financial markets goes.” Major Hollins said as he began giving some more information about the woman.

A video of a meeting taking place at the home of Keiji Watanabe was shown next. Present were Keiji, his nephew Goro, Dai Hashimoto, Hiromi Sato and at least two shareigishiras plus guards. The audio wasn’t of good quality and only snippets of conversation could be made out by Captain Slater.

“Where did this video come from?”

“Captain, we have a source in the Watanabe family. You’ll learn more in due time.” Agent Tanaka replied. As Major Hollins narrated the meeting, Captain Slater was already drawing conclusions as to what lay ahead for him.

Or was it her? It was too mind boggling, something out of a science fiction story. Captain Slater had to be wrong.

Glancing to his left, Tom noted how Agent Tanaka was paying attention to him not the film. Like she was sizing him up. For what, Tom asked himself.

Then Major Hollins stopped the video. It was all over and it was time to get to business. Before anything else, Major Hollins turned the lights back on in the room.

“Captain, we’re going to get right to the point. We want you to become Hiromi Sato.”

Captain Slater’s conclusions from a few minutes ago proved accurate. “Sir, how is that possible?”

“One moment Captain,” Major Hollins went to a nearby phone and dialed a number. “Tell Dr. Wagner to come in.”

Not another word was spoken till Dr. Wagner arrived about two minutes later. She was a tall Nordic blonde and drop dead gorgeous. Dr. Wagner wearing a lab or doctor’s coat that hugged her feminine figure. Age? Captain Slater thought 23-25 but he was only guessing. Dr. Wagner walked straight over to where the television and DVD player were.

“Dr. Wagner has a video to show you Captain. Please watch and listen. Your question should be answered shortly.”

“Can we proceed?” Dr. Wagner asked in a husky voice with a strong German accent.

“Yes Doctor, we’re ready.” Major Rollins replied. While Dr. Wagner restarted the DVD player, Major Rollins again turned off the lights in the room.

“If you’re wondering Captain, Dr. Wagner is an expert in genetics.”

“Thank you sir.” Captain Slater replied as the video presentation began.

Dr. Wagner began a fifteen minute lecture on DNA Therapy. While Dr. Wagner tried using plain language, most of what the scientist said flew over Captain Slater’s head.

The German born scientist along with some other colleagues of hers, invented a method to change a person’s form with a synthesized DNA altering drug. The drug when combined with a certain dosage of radiation, would alter the person receiving the injection.

At least that’s how Tom understood it. It all sounded like the work of mad scientists. Mad scientists who in conjunction with the US Army and FBI wanted to change Tom Slater into a woman.

That’s if the Captain volunteered for the assignment. At present Tom would need a lot of convincing before allowing Dr. Wagner to use her drug on him.

Dr. Wagner began saying. “The patient you are seeing now is Hans Uhlman. Age forty-seven, he was suffering from terminal lung cancer.”

A male patient was shown being placed in a MRI like machine. “Is the patient awake?”

“No Captain, he isn’t. A patient is sedated and will stay so for the first twenty—four to thirty-six hours after being injected.”

A camera with a time stamp in the bottom corner focused on the man’s face. The patient was middle aged, had wrinkles, the beginnings of a double chin and a hairline that had long since begun receding. Hans’ nose was average to large.

This all begun to gradually change. Time snaps were taken every five to ten minutes. The changes at first were almost invisible, but gradually became more noticeable.

“This procedure must be painful.”

“That is why we sedate the patient Captain.” Dr. Wagner answered.

“How about afterwards?”

“The patient suffers some discomfort, muscle weakness, disorientation, lack of balance, and feelings of constant nausea. These symptoms all disappear within twenty-four to seventy-two hours after the patient wakes.

When the video ended a man around twenty five years of age lay in the same place the forty-seven-year-old man lie hours earlier. A full head of blonde hair, blue eyes instead of brown, and jug handle like ears being just three of the most visible changes to Hans Uhlman.

“You have me sold doctor,” Captain Slater said as he stared at the image on the television screen. “I never believed anything like this was possible.”

“We have another patient to show you now.” Dr. Wagner said as she picked up the DVD player’s remote control.

“No need to doctor. I....”

Major Hollins spoke up. “Captain just sit back and watch.”

“Yes sir.”

The second video didn’t focus on just the patient’s face, but their whole body. This male patient lay totally naked on a similar slab to the original patient. There was no part of his body that couldn’t been seen. Including the man’s genitalia.

“Our next patient is a white male, age twenty-six. He was serving a fifteen year sentence for drug possession in South Carolina before volunteering to be a test subject for the DNA therapy I helped create.”

Again the time stamped video began. Changes again were gradual, but not as much so as the first patient. After two time stamps you could the man’s skin color already changing. It was darkening.

Other changes began kicking in, the man’s body began getting smaller, and at the same time his face changing. Most striking of all, his male genitalia was beginning to disappear. By hour fifteen it was either damn near microscopic or totally gone on what was once a white man’s body.

For when the process was done, the body was now of a South Asian female, probably Indian. Approximately the same age as the man she had started out as.

‘They really can change someone’s....make that my sex. This is just incredible.’ Captain Slater thought to himself.

“The patient is now an Indian age twenty-four. The Chromosomes, blood chemistry, and physiology now entirely matching someone of the female gender. A fully functional woman.”

“You mean they can reproduce?”

“Yes Captain, the patient has a woman’s reproductive organs after treatment.”

“Incredible isn’t it Captain?” Agent Tanaka asked.

“Ma’am the word incredible doesn’t do justice to what Dr. Wagner just showed me.”

Major Hollins went to turn on the lights back on. Just before he did so, Dr. Wagner spoke again. “Captain you will soon be experiencing the same therapy. I guarantee you it will be a pleasant experience.”

“Doctor, just finish your talk.” Major Hollins said as he turned the lights back on.

“Very well Major.” Dr. Wagner then went on to discuss the changes done to her patients. All had been either terminal cancer patients or men and women serving time in prison for non-violent crimes. Dr. Wagner explaining that a cancer patient’s new body was free of the disease that had been about to kill them.

“How about the prisoners? What was done to them?”

That proved to be a little more complicated. Some prisoners, but just a handful, were given the choice of accepting their gender change in exchange for their freedom. Only a few took this option, the others all asking to be reverted back to their previous body.

“How did that work out?” Captain Slater asked.

“Messy.” Major Hollins replied back. Dr. Wagner then began explaining what was done to those patients who asked to be returned to their previous form.

Before their first change, three DNA samples were taken from all of Dr. Wagner’s patients. These were then frozen. The patients who opted for a return to their original form, were again given the synthesized DNA/Radiation therapy.

“The success rate was only fifty-two percent.”

Captain Slater said nothing. A temporary change of gender, as Dr. Wagner and Major Hollins called it was one thing, but having it become permanent was certainly not in the Tom’s future career plans.

“Of the other patients who failed to revert to their original form, severe abnormalities occurred.”

“Like what?”

Dr. Wagner asked for the lights to be turned off again. Major Hollins took care of this. As soon as the lights were off, Dr Wagner restarted the video.

“In the cases of these patients you are about to see a mutation occurred. We’re still uncertain how this happened, but we do know that the DNA the person was injected with combined with the original DNA the patient had at the time of their second injection.

What came next was a human freak show. Male bodies with a woman’s head. A black man from the waist up and white woman from the waist down and others. After pictures of six patients were shown, Captain Slater had seen enough. “I think I understand.”

“There is a risk Captain, we had to tell you this before hand.” Agent Tanaka said.

“I appreciate that Ma’am.”

Major Hollins spoke. “We’re through now Dr. Wagner. You may leave.”

Dr. Wagner gathered her things. Before stepping out, she spoke to Tom one last time. “I hope to see you soon Captain.”

Captain Slater watched the Doctor as she swivelled her way out of the office. Had she used the DNA treatment on herself?. Had Dr. Wagner once been a man?

That mystery would have to wait for another time. Major Hollins wanted to get right back to business. “Dr. Wagner and her researchers are working on an improved process. In a few months they will test it. The hope is that this improved DNA treatment will make the reversal success rate over eighty percent and the chance of abnormalities to around five percent or even less.”

“I understand sir.”

“Captain, as I said before we won’t order you on this mission. It is strictly voluntary. Would you like to hear exactly what we’ll be asking of you?”

Tom had made up his mind but thought it prudent not to give his answer yet. “Yes Major, I’d like to hear it.”
 

~*~
 
For the next five hours, with only a one hour interruption for dinner, Major Hollins and Agent Tanaka explained in detail the plan they had for Tom Slater. It was complicated and risky, but if it succeeded, justice would be served for two murdered US airmen in addition to possibly putting part of the Yakuza permanently out of business.

“A great deal of thought has been put into this plan.” Major Hollins said.

“I can see that sir.”

“For operational security, only six people will know your identity and mission. We don’t want to risk blowing your cover if you volunteer.”

“I appreciate knowing that.”

“Agent Tanaka and myself are two of the six. The others will be in Japan.”

“The one person you mentioned before, who would assist me. Are they already in place?

“Yes Captain, they are.”

Captain Slater just sat there quietly. Despite the efforts of Major Hollins and Agent Tanaka, Tom’s mind remained unchanged. His answer was still no.

“As we told you Captain, we have a D date in mind for when we would insert you or someone else in the place of Hiromi Sato. First, we will give you a few days to think this over.”

“I appreciate that Major.”

Major Hollins took a folder that he kept nearby and opened it. He then passed a slip of paper to Tom. “Agent Tanka and I suggest you visit your parents for a few days. That in order to think this plan over. Perhaps ask your family for advice.”

The piece of paper Tom Slater was given was a eticket itinerary. A one-way plane ticket from Kansas City Missouri to Seattle Washington for the following day. Tom’s parents lived in northwestern Washington state, about an hour and a half drive from Seattle.

Captain Slater took the Major’s suggestion to visit his folks as an order. “I’ll do that sir.”

“When you’ve made up your mind, you call me but no later than next Wednesday.” Major Hollins explained to Tom. Tom was then given a number to call when he made his final decision. He was to call any hour of the day, no matter what the hour. “Don’t feel rushed Captain.”

‘Sure.’ Tom thought to himself as he folded the slip of paper up and put it in a uniform pocket. He could tell the Major wanted an answer pronto, like tomorrow. Or better, yesterday. “I appreciate that sir.”

A few last things were gone over. For the trip in to Kansas City, a car with an Army sergeant to drive it, was waiting outside for Tom. A hotel room near Kansas City airport had also been reserved for Tom.

Tom was also told if he accepted the mission, he could possibly be up for promotion afterwards.(No guarantee though)and given any and all assistance he...she needed after returning from Japan.(Tom taking this to mean if stuck as a woman, career and some financial assistance to get resettled would be offered. A whole new wardrobe would be needed. Those boxer shorts Tom had bought a week earlier would no longer be of use.) Also Tom’s possessions would be stored by the Army. That included his truck and its contents, plus other belongings that were already in storage at Fort Riley.

“We want to make this as smooth and risk free as possible for you.” Major Hollins said as he began to rise from his chair. Tom and Agent Tanaka got up also. “You’re dismissed Captain.”

After saluting Major Hollins, Tom said goodbye to Agent Tanaka and then left the room.
 

~*~
 
Tom arrived in Seattle a little after 1130 local time the next day. He had flown Delta Airlines from Kansas City with a change of planes in Salt Lake City. After collecting his one and only bag, Tom went straight to the rental car counter.

It was over two hours later when Tom pulled up outside the country home in Darrington Washington that his parents owned and lived in. Being located in the mountains, it was still a crisp May day even in mid-afternoon. The sound of someone operating a chain saw could be heard.

The place Tom’s parents chose to settle in after Stewart Slater Sr’s retirement from the Army was heavenly if a little remote. Darrington Washington lay in the western part of the Cascade Mountain chain. Beautiful Whitehorse Mountain was only miles away.

Tom knew why his parents chose to move here. His father loved the outdoors, and this part of the Cascades was a great place to fish and hike. Both activities Stewart Slater loved to take part in. As for Tom’s mother, Midori Slater loved this part of Washington state for it so reminded her of the region of Japan she had grown up in many years ago.

The only trouble Tom had with any of this, was the remoteness of where his parents lived. It was two miles out of town, and at least a half hour from more developed parts of Washington State. The Slaters were getting on in years, and even if in good health, Tom worried for them like any good son would.

Tom got out of his car, grabbed his bag off the back seat, then set off for the front door of the Slater home. However Midori Slater arrived there first.

“Tom, it is so good to see you,” Said the smiling white haired mother of three. “Come in, come in.”

Before doing that Tom bent down and kissed his mother. “Hi Mom, how are you?”

“I’m wonderful. Come in.”

Tom’s parents had a three-bedroom one floor country home spread out over some 2,000 sq. feet. The first room one comes into on entering the house is the living room which had as its main feature a fire place. Waving for her son to sit down on a couch, Midori Slater began asking her son some questions.

“Was your trip good?”

“Yes Mom.”

“You must be hungry.”

“Not really Mom. I had....”

Like most Moms, Midori Slater worried her children didn’t eat enough. “I will make you lunch. We won’t have dinner till seven, you must eat.”

“Whatever you say Mom.”

Tom’s mother fixed him a Peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The mother serving it with a glass of milk, like she had for her son when he was young. While Tom ate his lunch, he caught up with his mother on what was going on in their lives. .

Stewart and Midori Slater were about to celebrate their thirty fourth wedding anniversary the next month. The couple met in 1972, at the Sapporo Winter Olympics. Midori Sasaki Slater, in spite of her silver hair, looked younger than her fifty-five years of age. She and her sixty-eight year old husband Stewart were very happily married and devoted to each other.

Since Tom averaged talking to his parents twice a month or more, there wasn’t much new to discuss. Tom deciding not to mention his visit with Agent Tanaka or Major Hollins at Fort Leavenworth.

“Your sisters are coming. They will be here by seven.”

Susan Slater Zebriskie was married to airman named Simon Zebriskie. Simon was stationed at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho and he and Susan had a seventeen month old son named Shannon. Tom Slater’s sister was a stay at home Mom.

Deborah Riko Slater lived outside of Portland Oregon. Like her brother, Deborah was unmarried. She did however have a live-in boyfriend, an architect named Donald Mason. The youngest of the Slater children was a social worker.

All three of the Slater children coming to their parent’s home simultaneously was unusual but not unprecedented. “That’s good Mom. We’ll have a family re-union. Are Don and Simon coming?”

Midori Slater shook her head. “No just your sisters, but Susan is bringing Shannon also.”

Shannon Zebriskie was the one of three grandchildren Tom’s parents had, but the only one living nearby. It would be a crowded and noisy weekend at the Slater home.

The family members who would be missing that weekend were Stewart Slater Jr and his family. Stewart was Tom, Susan, and Deborah’s half brother, the only child from Stewart Slater Sr’s first marriage. Like his father, Stewart had chosen the Army as his career.

That ended in August 2006 when Sergeant First Class Stewart Slater was killed by an IED in Iraq. Tom’s brother now lay buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Stewart at the time of his death left behind a German born wife Ilsa, a four-year-old son named Paul and a fifteen-month-old daughter named Nicole.

In early 2007, Ilsa Slater and her children had moved back to Germany. The Slaters never discussed it, but Tom knew his parents missed both their son and his family very much.

When he was through eating, Tom got up from the kitchen table. “I’ll change clothes before seeing if Dad can use some help.”

By the time Tom got outside, he found his father chopping branches off a tree the father had recently cut down. For a man nearly seventy years of age, Stewart Slater had the strength and stamina of a man half his age. He was wearing no shirt in spite of the cold, and had been working on his ‘project’ for almost five hours. Stewart was showing no sign of letting up.

Stewart Slater’s ‘project’ was to build a log cabin home with his own hands. While never said, Tom thought his father did the homebuilding not as a hobby, but as an enticement for one of his children to come move in alongside their parents. Midori and Stewart being happy to give up their main home if it meant having one of their children living close by.

“Son, its good to see you.” Tom’s father said as he put down his axe in order to shake his son’s hand.

“Good to see you too Dad. What can I do to help?”

“I want to get this chopped and sawed into smaller pieces,” Tom’s father explained. “Take the chainsaw and start working on that part.”

Tom offered to switch jobs with his father. Swinging an axe was hard work, but Stewart Slater would hear nothing of it. The two men then went to work.

An hour later, while stopping for a drink of water, Stewart Slater had a question for his son.

“So did you meet that FBI woman and Major....Major Hollins? The Major said there was something they wanted to discuss with you.”
 

~*~
 
Tom was astonished by his father’s question. The Army Captain now knowing the ‘suggested trip’ home by Major Hollins was no accident. Did his parents know what the Army and FBI were asking of their son?

The answers to those questions didn’t become available till the next day. Tom spent the rest of Friday assisting his father. After that was the Slater family get together. Tom and his sisters getting re-acquainted with each others lives.

While the family was talking Friday night, Stewart Slater invited his son to go fishing the next morning. Tom accepted of course.

In order to go fishing, Tom and his father rose at 0530 the following morning. Midori Slater got up also in order to make breakfast for her husband and son.

This provided Tom his first chance to talk to his parents about what happened in Kansas. The Captain was still prepared to say no.

“Tom, why would you not do what Army ask?” Midori Slater asked as she poured everyone a second cup of coffee.

“Mom, if I do this mission the change to me could be permanent.”

“Yes but you still be alive.”

Tom looked at his father, but the man was saying nothing. His face an expressionless mask. Retired Army Sergeant Major Stewart Slater was clearly keeping his feelings and opinions to himself for the time being.

“You should do what the Army asks you.”

Tom was starting to question himself. Would it the act of a coward by if he said no to the Army?

Midori Slater sat down at the kitchen table across from her son. “Gabrielle Tanaka is a nice lady. You should help her.”

Tom looking up at his mother got the message she was relaying her son. Midori Slater like all good mothers, wanted to see their children happy, married and with children of their own.

Right then there was no one in Tom’s life. That had pretty much been the story of his personal life since late 2001. When 9-11 happened, Tom was engaged to a Karen Gibson. On hearing of her fiance’s plan to change careers, Karen put her foot down. Tom being given a choice, Karen or the Army. The rest is as they say history.

Based on their careers, and other factors, Tom was not likely to know Gabrielle Tanaka on anything but a professional basis. Back to the subject at hand, what to do in regards to the mission Tom was being asked to do.

Tom had seen combat during the initial invasion of Iraq back in 2003. Then coming back to Iraq to fight the insurgency in 2005. In each case Tom had put his life on the line for his country. What Major Hollins was asking wasn’t all that different, the US military and Japanese police wanted Tom’s assistance to bring down a person responsible for killing Americans. A risky and dangerous business that could cost the Captain his life. Just like serving in Iraq.

The key difference between Iraq and Japan was simple. Even if Tom Slater returned home alive and having accomplished his mission, the Captain could still be a loser.

“Men and women come back from Iraq. Without arms, without legs, they learn to live on. You will too Tom, if same happen to you.”

Tom’s mother made a very good point. “Mom, you could lose your son.”

“I lose son already. I gave Stewart for my country. I’d do it again if country ask me.”

Midori Slater was as patriotic as any American, maybe more so. Tom’s mother loved her adopted country and always would till the day she died.

Later on when they were out fishing, Stewart Slater expressed his feelings to his son. Mostly by retelling his son some of the experiences the retired Sgt. Major had when serving in Vietnam.

“I’ve faced almost every danger imaginable son, but I never backed down once. When asked to fight I fought. Life is uncertain, but we can’t run away from it.”

“Dad I never have.”

“Then tell the Army you’ll do what they ask of you.” Stewart Slater said as he cast his line into the stream. “These criminals are little better than Al-Qaeda. They sell dope to children, did you know that?”

Tom knew his father’s opinion so far as drug dealers were concerned. The father considered them some of the lowest scum on Earth. “Yes Dad, I know.”

Later that evening, Tom had a talk with his sisters. Deborah and Susan. The sisters, unlike their brother, had gotten their looks from their mother. Susan and Deborah both knowing what was being asked of their brother by the Army and agreeing with their parents on what course Tom should take.

“Big brother, we will always love you. That will never change.” Debbie Slater told Tom.

“Look at the bright side,” Susan said with a giggle. “If you remain a woman afterwards, you can join Debbie, Mom, and I in going to the mall.”

Deborah Slater gave her sister a dirty look. She sympathized with Tom, and understood what her brother feared. This wasn’t the time to make fun of it.

“Tom, you’ll be fine. As they told us and you, the doctors are working to improve the formula. I’m betting it will all be set by the time you get back home.”

On Sunday, Tom went to church with the rest of his family. Afterwards the Slaters had lunch in Darrington. While eating his meal, Tom came to a final decision.

After excusing himself, Tom went to a pay phone in the back of the diner. There he made a long distance collect phone call.

“This is Major Hollins. Whom am I speaking to?”

“Major, its Captain Tom Slater.”

“Hello Captain. I assume you made your decision.”

“Yes sir I have.”

“And what is it?”

“Sir, I want to accept the assignment you offered me the other day.”
 

~*~
 
A car with two FBI agents in it arrived at the Slater home at 0700 sharp the next morning. Tom was up and dressed already, as was the rest of his family.

“Good morning Captain. Are you ready?” Asked FBI Special agent Gabrielle Tanaka.

“Yes I am.” Tom began saying his last goodbyes to his family.

First to say goodbye were Tom’s sisters. Both Susan and Debbie kissing and hugging their brother one last time as they wished him well and good luck.

Then Tom and his father shook hands. “Remember General MacArthur’s speech at West Point?”

Tom got the message his father was relaying him. “Duty, Honor, Country.”

“Exactly, good luck son. Get that Japanese bastard, whatever his name is.”

“I will Dad.”

Last but not least was Tom’s mother. “Be safe Tom.”

“I will Mom.” The Mom then gave her son one last goodbye hug and kiss. “Love you.”

“Love you too Mom.”

Special Agent Tanaka watched and waited in silence as Tom Slater said his last goodbyes. Who knew if or when they would ever see one another again.

Tom picked up his bag and was about to walk over to Agent Tanaka, when Midori Slater said one last thing. It was in Japanese. “Gabi-erru-san no koto wa suki na no. Kaette kara, ano hito to daato o sureba wa doo?”

“I’ll try Mom.” Tom then walked over to the waiting FBI agents.

“Are you all set?” Agent Tanaka asked.

“Yes Ma’am.” Tom said as he placed his bag in the trunk of the car Gabrielle and the other FBI agent had arrived in. “How about my rental?”

“Agent Collins will turn it back in for you.” Gabrielle Tanaka told Tom as she climbed in the driver’s side of the car. Tom taking the front passenger seat for himself.

Tom and Agent Tanaka didn’t say another word till the car was on I-5 heading south. “Where are we going?”

“SeaTac,” Agent Tanaka replied. SeaTac was short for Seattle Tacoma International Airport. “There is a Gulfstream waiting for us there.”

“Then where do we go?”

“Maryland. Are you familiar with Fort Detrick?”

Captain Slater nodded. Of course he had heard of the Army installation that was home to USAMRMC which is short for United States Army Medical Research and Material Command. It was at Fort Detrick that research was done for fighting biological warfare.

“Yes Ma’am, but I’ve never been there.”

“You will be later today.” That was the last bit of conversation Tom had with Agent Tanaka before getting to SeaTac airport.

As previously announced, a Gulfstream Jet was waiting to take Tom and Gabrielle back east. Other than the flight crew, they were the only people on board.

As Tom buckled himself in, Agent Tanaka relayed some information to Tom. “The flight takes about five hours. There’s a refrigerator in back with sandwiches, fruit and beverages. Feel free to help yourself to any of it once we’re airborne.”

“Thank you Ma’am. I’ll do that.” Tom replied as the plane began to taxi. Reaching down with his left hand, Tom unzipped the duffel sack next to his seat and removed a book he purchased only a few days earlier in Salt Lake City.

“Interesting reading?” Agent Tanaka asked. The book Tom was reading was ‘Fiasco’ by Thomas Ricks.

“Yes Ma’am.”

The plane was airborne a few minutes later. It was then that Agent Tanaka asked another question. “What do you think of the war?”

“Forgive my language Ma’am, but it’s a clusterfuck.”

“Do you think we can win in Iraq?”

Tom shrugged. “I’m just a lowly Captain. ”

Agent Tanaka smiled. “I know. What is YOUR opinion?”

“Winning will be difficult if not impossible. I don’t think we can ever stabilize the situation on the ground even if the US were to stay there fifty years. We’ll be out in five or less, there is no support in the American public for a long-term occupation.”

“For what its worth Captain, I agree.” Then Agent Tanaka left Captain Slater to continue reading his book, while the FBI agent took out a notebook computer to do some FBI related work.

Tom was growing tired of reading by the time the Gulfstream was about a half hour out from Maryland. The Captain putting the book back in his bag before going to the restroom in the back of the plane.

When Tom was back, Agent Tanaka spoke again. “You’ll need to finish that book by Saturday or Sunday latest.”

“I think I can manage that Ma’am.”

“Captain we’ll be working together over the coming months, maybe for over a year even. You can call me Gabrielle if you wish.”

“How about Gabby?”

“I don’t like that name.”

“Gabrielle it is. Call me Tom.”

Nothing was said again for about a minute. Except for an announcement from the plane’s Captain. “We’ll be landing at Frederick Municipal Airport in fifteen minutes. Please buckle yourself in if you haven’t already.”

After the announcement was done, Gabrielle spoke again. “Are you excited for the assignment, Tom?”

Tom smiled for a second. “I don’t know if excited is the right word, but I’m prepared for it and will do my best to make it a successful mission.”

“That’s good.”

“How long before I get that treatment Dr. Wagner told me about?”

“Is 0800 tomorrow too soon?”

“No Ma’am...I mean Gabrielle it isn’t.”

“Tom we have a one hundred day schedule to get you changed to Hiromi Sato, trained and prepared, and then successfully planted in her place. Day one was when we met at Fort Leavenworth.”

“We have to move fast then.”

“Yes Tom we do. Normally an operation this complex would be planned for and prepared over a period of six months, or even over a year.”

Tom hoped the rush job didn’t end with him or her laying dead in some Yokohama Alley or being dumped in Tokyo Bay with his feet in cement. “I’m ready.”

The plane landed in Frederick Maryland ten minutes later. After the plane came to a stop by a hanger, Tom and Agent Tanaka disembarked from the aircraft. An FBI agent with an unmarked car was there waiting to take them to Fort Detrick.
 

~*~
 
At Fort Detrick, Captain Slater was shown to a large hospital like room in one of the base’s many buildings. The room consisting of a hospital bed, a small sitting area, plus a television set. There were no windows.

Not long after Tom got settled in, Major Hollins showed up. “Captain glad you could join us. How was the trip?”

“Good sir.”

“Any questions right now?”

“No sir, Agent Tanaka filled me in. Are we still on for tomorrow morning?”

“Yes Captain we are.”

“I’m ready sir.”

“Good, I’ll leave you then. We’ll see each other again tomorrow, till then I’ll leave you with Agent Tanaka and the good people here at Fort Detrick.”

Tom had only eaten a fruit on the plane trip east. His stomach was beginning to growl. “Can we grab something to eat?”

“Absolutely Tom. There’s an excellent steakhouse five minutes from here. Does that sound good?”

“Perfect. A hearty meal for the condemned man.”

Gabrielle laughed slightly. “You aren’t condemned Tom. Just going to be altered slightly.”

Having one’s sex, or as Dr. Wagner would say gender changed, wasn’t a slight alteration in Tom’s opinion. More so if the process couldn’t be reversed.

“Lets get going, I’m starved.” Tom and Gabrielle left the room a minute later.
 

~*~
 
Since Tom’s dinner would be his last meal till after his alteration was complete, the Captain ate heartily. Getting a 15 oz. Prime Rib, baked potato, plus a slice of apple pie to eat. Gabrielle having informed Tom that he would have to begin fasting at 2300 hours.

While they had dinner together, Tom and Gabrielle talked. Being in public, the topic of the Captain’s mission was off limits. Instead they talked about almost anything, but quickly the conversation turned to each other’s backgrounds and Tom’s recent trip home to Washington.

“You did such a good job selling my family on this mission, that they sold me too.”

“Tom, we went there to better understand you before selecting you for this job,” Gabrielle said before taking a sip of iced tea. Tom was having a beer to drink. “I will admit that I, the Bureau and Army hoped your family would help you make the right decision. Did it bother you what I did?”

“No Gabrielle it didn’t.”

Gabrielle smiled. “Good.”

Tom turned reflective for a moment. “Before I left Walter Reed, were those psychological tests I underwent somehow connected to this?”

“Yes Tom they were. Trust me, from now on you’ll know everything the Bureau or I know in regards to your assignment. We’re taking your personal safety very seriously.”

“I appreciate that.” Tom replied back. At the same time his and Gabrielle’s salads and rolls arrived.

The next subject of conversation was each other’s personal backgrounds. Since Agent Tanaka already knew about Tom’s, the conversation mostly centered around Gabrielle. Since they would be working together, Gabrielle didn’t mind sharing some personal information about herself.

Gabrielle Tanaka was the second of three children, all girls, born to a fourth generation Japanese-American Fresno State College Professor and his Stay at Home Mom wife. Dr. Makoto Tanaka and his family living in the same city he taught Advanced Chemistry in.

After high school, Gabrielle went to the University of California at Berkeley. There she decided to major in Criminal Science in order to pursue a career in law enforcement.

“My parents were shocked when I told them what I wanted to do for a career.”

“I bet they were. How are they now?”

“They still don’t accept it. Mom keeps asking me when I’ll settle down.” Gabrielle said

Tom could feel the sexual tension between him and the attractive FBI agent. If the Captain was reading Gabrielle’s body language right, the feelings were mutual.

“You sure we don’t have the same Mom?”

Gabrielle laughed. “No, I don’t think so.”

“My Mom told me before I left to ask you on a date after I came home from Japan.”

Again Gabrielle smiled. “Yes I heard that also. I think we can do something about that. To make Mom happy.”

Conversation continued about Gabrielle’s career in law enforcement. She never picked up a gun in her life before age 21, but was an exceptional shot.

“492 out of 500 is excellent.”

“Thank you.”

“Maybe we can have a match some time before I go.”

Gabrielle nodded her head. “I don’t know if we’ll have time but we can try. As part of your preparation, you’ll do a firearms refresher course.”

“You aren’t related to figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi? You two do look a little alike.”

Tom got another warm smile from Gabrielle. “Actually we are. We have the same great grandmother.”

“Do you know Kristi well? She seems very nice from her appearances on television.”

“A little but Kristi and I haven’t seen each other or talked in a few years.” Dinner arrived right then. The Prime Rib was both tender and delicious.

An hour later Tom and Agent Tanaka were back to the room at Fort Detrick. There Gabrielle briefed Tom, about what to expect in the next couple of days.

“I’ll awake twenty-four to thirty-six hours afterwards?”

“Correct. You’ll feel a little dizzy or nauseous for a day or two at most. That is all.”

“Have you ever worked with someone who went undercover like this or something similar?” Over dinner Gabrielle had told Tom she had been working for the FBI for four years, the last two of which were spent in its Organized Crime Division.

Gabrielle smiled thinly. “Lets say if I have, I couldn’t tell you.”

“That’s all the answer I need.” As time continued to tick away, Tom found himself paying less attention to the Oriole game on television and more to the fine specimen of womanhood in his presence.

“Gabrielle can I ask you something without you getting angry at me?”

“Go ahead Tom.”

“Seeing that I may not......be a man after tonight, you wouldn’t allow me one last chance to you know...”

“Make love to me?”

“Yes I find you very attractive.”

Gabrielle smiled. “Tom, I like you but I have to say no.”

“Sorry if I offended you.”

“No Tom, you didn’t. I may well have said say yes but for where we are right now. Thank you for the compliment also.”

"Your welcome." Tom knew what Gabrielle was saying. “It could endanger your job with the bureau because we’re working together right now?”

“Exactly.”

“I should have thought of that.”

Again Gabrielle gave Tom a warm smile. “You have a lot on your mind right now, it’s understandable.”

Gabrielle had mentioned earlier on that she’d be leaving by ten. Before leaving she reassured Tom about both the formula and the chances of returning to his old self on return from Japan.

“Dr. Wagner and her researchers are confident about the new formula. While you’re busy, they’ll be testing it on volunteers. When you get back, I’m betting the chances of success will be like Dr. Wagner promised.

“Eighty percent.”

“Or more. So Don’t worry Tom.”

“I won’t,” Then Tom laughed. “Maybe I can ask the nurse to help me out tonight. If she’s my type.”

Gabrielle laughed very hard. “Good luck with that.”

“Will you be here tomorrow?”

“No, it’s my day off. I'm going to get a few personal things squared away and done that I been putting off.”

“Have a good time.”

A few minutes later Agent Tanaka left the room. Before leaving, Gabrielle surprised Tom by allowing him a brief kiss

Tom was tired of the baseball game and looking for something else to watch, when his nurse for the evening entered the room. “My name is Emma. You are Tom Slater, am I right?”

“That’s me Ma’am.”

The heavyset forty to fifty year old nurse, who looked as if she worked on diesel trucks on her off days, handed Tom a plastic sack and a hospital gown. “Please place all the clothing you are wearing in the bag and then put the gown on. I’ll be back in a few minutes to start your IV. Any questions?”

“No Ma’am.” Tom answered back. This nurse was definitely not his type.

Nurse Halprin was back five minutes later and Tom was ready for her. The first thing the nurse did was put a needle into Tom’s left hand. This was where he would get the IV.

After the IV was started, Nurse Halprin had paperwork for Tom to sign. “Sign all the forms on the line I’ve highlighted for you.”

Tom did this without reading any of the forms. “Anything else?”

“Just this.” Nurse Halprin handed Tom a small covered specimen cup and a plastic bag. In the bag was a recent copy of Playboy.

Tom looked at the jar and magazine. No questioning of Nurse Halprin was necessary, Tom knew what these were for.

“This is strictly optional. When you’re done, call me so I can pick your sample up. Any questions?”

“No Ma’am.”

After the nurse was gone, Tom looked at the things he was given and after a slight shrug, went right to work. Who knows if he’d be in need of it in sometime in the future.
 

~*~
 
Tom had no idea what time it was when he woke up the next morning. There was no clock in the room in addition to his nurse/diesel mechanic having taken his Tom’s watch along with his clothing.

A pretty blonde haired nurse in her late twenties entered the room a few minutes later “Good morning Mr. Slater, I’m your nurse for today and my name is Christine Jennings. How are you feeling?”

“Can’t complain.”

Christine began her examination by checking Tom’s vitals. After that the nurse began getting ready to draw some of the Captain’s blood. “Sleep well?”

“Yes I did.”

After his blood was drawn, Nurse Jennings left the room. At the same time, a Dr Dietrich entered the room. Once he was through introducing himself, the doctor asked Tom his medical history. Other than his being wounded in Iraq and having an appendectomy done at age sixteen, there was little to discuss.

Shortly after that, things began to pick up. Major Hollins was back.“Ready for the big day Captain?”

“Yes sir, very much so.” Tom said trying to sound enthusiastic in place of the reservations the Captain honestly still felt.

“Good. Any last minute questions?”

“No sir.”

Major Hollins went over a few last things with Tom. Mostly about the chain of command, till further notice Tom’s immediate superior officer was the Major. In the future he would receive orders from Major Hollins through Special Agent Tanaka, and several other people when he finally reached Japan.

While Major Hollins was explaining this, Nurse Jennings came in with a few pills for Tom. The Captain took them with a small sip of water. “Are these to help put me to sleep?”

“Partly Captain Slater.” Nurse Jennings replied back. “If you need anything else, just buzz me. They will bring you to the lab in thirty minutes.”

“Thank you nurse.”

Major Hollins left a minute or two later. After he did, Tom got up to make one last trip to the bathroom. It could be his last chance to do it standing up.

After that Tom decided to watch ESPN but he couldn’t really concentrate on the broadcast. Too much was on his mind. It was around 0720 when Nurse Jennings came in the room one more time.

“How are you doing?”

“Fine.”

“How are you REALLY doing?”

Tom wouldn’t admit to being scared, even though that was how he felt partly. “Nervous.”

“Don’t feel that way, you’ll be fine.”

“That’s what everyone keeps telling me.”

“Everything will be fine,” Nurse Jennings said with a slight grin. “Almost everything. I mean but for that big guy down there.”

‘Yes, big guy will be gone all right.’ Tom thought to himself. He felt like a man knowing he was about to be castrated.

“You don’t look like you have cancer?”

“I don’t.”

“Can you tell me why you’re doing this?”

Tom laughed for a second. “Would you believe I have over two hundred unpaid parking tickets?”

Nurse Jennings laughed very loudly. “No I wouldn’t. I think I get the answer now, you can’t tell me.”

“No I can’t.”

“I was in your spot about two years ago,” Nurse Jennings began explaining. “Back then I was twenty-five years old and had advanced testicular cancer. The doctors had given me only a few months to live.”

Tom was surprised by the nurse’s revelation. The woman apparently was trying to cheer Tom up.

“One day over at NCI a doctor told me about this program and asked if I wanted to be a test patient. With little other prospect than a painful death, I jumped.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Absolutely. By the way I was a nurse too before this.”

Tom wasn’t thinking about that, but it made sense to him. “Why didn’t you just become another man, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“No, I don’t mind you asking. Dr. Wagner and the other doctors couldn’t guarantee my original cancer would go away with a new male body.”

“It did go away afterwards?” Tom asked.

“Absolutely, I got a clean bill of health.”

“That’s great news then.”

“I’d rather be a live woman than a dead man any day. You’ll be fine Captain.”

“You know I’m in the Army?” Tom asked just before he let out a big yawn. He was beginning to feel a little sleepy.

Christina laughed. “Yes, it’s in your medical file.”

Tom was about to say something else, when two orderlies entered the room. “It’s time to go.” One of them said.

Christine began to unhook Tom’s IV. When that was completed, the nurse lowered the bed rail. Tom made an easy transfer from the bed to the waiting gurney.

Tom had one last question for Christine. “Will you be in the lab with me?”

“No, I won’t. You’ll be fine like I said.”

A few minutes later Tom was down in the lab room. Around five or six men and women were there in preparation for that day’s procedure. As soon as he got there, Tom was moved from the gurney to a flat, solid, and very uncomfortable table. A pillow was placed underneath the Captain’s head and his IV restarted as soon as he was laying down again.

Dr. Wagner came over shortly after that. “Good morning Captain.”

“Hello doctor. I’m all yours.” Tom said to the woman he considered a mad scientist. By now Tom was beginning to feel groggy.

“Ya, you are.”

A minute later an unnamed nurse gave Tom an injection. “Sir, begin counting from ninety-nine downward.”

“Ninety-nine, ninety-eight, ninety-seven, ninety-six, ninety....” It was at this point that Tom Slater fell asleep.
 

~*~
 
To be continued in Part Two

“Fourteen is good?” Midori asked with a large smirk on her face. Fourteen bullets had gone through the bullseye ring, the remaining one through the next outer ring.

The Sgt Major shook his head. “Ma’am, I was told you’re not FBI or law enforcement. So what really is your occupation?”

“Would you believe I’m a CPA?”

A brief synopsis- Army Captain Tom Slater having been successfully transformed into a woman, begins the training phase of Operation Swan Song.

This story is dedicated to Sharonna. Sharonna created a few stories featuring what she called the ‘Community Service’ program. My transformation and plot in this story were inspired some by Sharonna’s story U.S. Marshals.

Note- I used a plot device once used in a Tom Clancy novel, “The Bear and the Dragon.” Chalk it up to a lack of computer expertise or imagination from me. I just didn’t know how else to work this part of my plot. In any event it’s just a very tiny bit of the story that follows.

I want to say thank you to Andi, Circe, and in particular Daphne for their help with this story.

Enjoy. This is a long story with just a smidgen of sex.(Two scenes and not till later in the story) If you’re looking for either a short story or lots of sex, don’t bother reading.
 

*****
 
Tom felt really unpleasant when she woke up. Her head was aching, she felt nauseous, and just weak all over. On top of that, Tom’s stomach was making gurgling noises. She was feeling very hungry.

Other than that, Tom didn’t feel any physical differences at first. Her eyesight appeared the same, as did hearing. The same could be said about the rest of Tom’s senses.

Tom looked down the bed at herself. She was covered with a bed sheet, but one arm was out in the open. It had no hair, was soft and not very muscular. At the end were some very un-masculine like fingernails.

“It really worked.” Tom said out loud in a soprano sounding voice with a Japanese accent.

Tom then pressed the buzzer for the nurse. May as tell who whoever was here he...she was awake. While she waited, Tom peeked down her hospital gown.

“I got breasts.”

“You certainly do,” Said nurse Christine Jennings as she came into Tom’s room. “How are you feeling?”

“Crappy.”

“It’s that way for the first twenty-four hours.”

“So everyone has told me.”

Christine smiled. “Let me take your vitals. When I’m done, we can talk.”

Tom waited patiently for the nurse to do her work. ‘This is so unreal. Someone pinch me, this has to be a dream.’

After noting Tom’s BP and pulse, Christine started asking some questions. “Do you feel any shortness of breath?”

“No.”

“You don’t have any chest pains? Or feel as if your heart is racing?”

“No but I feel a little dizzy.”

Christine nodded. “Yes I felt that way too.”

There were still a few more questions for Tom to answer, which she did. Tom also mentioning to Christine about the headache she had and how her body ached.

“That’s normal. When I go outside, I’ll get you some Tylenol. You’re allowed to take them.”

“Thank you. Right now I’m hungry.”

Christine moved a tray table over close to Tom’s bed and poured her patient a cup of water. Tom drank every last drop of it.

“You’re lucky, I have no other patients right now. I’ll be back shortly.”

“Christine, what time is it?”

The nurse reached in her pocket to remove something. “I was told to give this to you. The time is a couple of minutes before 2 or 1400.”

Tom clipped the time piece to her wrist as Christine exited the room. In addition to having breasts, the Army Captain now had a female wrist watch.

“What’s next a set of three inch heels for when I get out of bed?” Tom asked the empty room.
 

*****
 
Not long after Christine left, Tom got a visit from one of her doctors. He examined Tom and asked her some questions.

Tom had a question or two of her own. “How am I, Doc?”

“You are doing very well Miss Sasaki.”

It wasn’t till Christine got back, that Tom got an explanation. “You were given a new name.”

“The doctor called me Miss Sasaki.”

“Yes I was supposed to tell you.”

Tom concluded the FBI and Army had to give her a temporary identity till she actually took the place of Hiromi Sato. “One question, my first name isn’t Midori is it?”

“Yes it is.”

“That’s my mother’s maiden name.”

“Oh. Does it bother you?”

“No, not at all.”

Later on Gabrielle would explain the name to Midori. Saying someone at the FBI picked it out for her after reading the Army Captain’s personnel file.

“If I must have a woman’s name, might as well be my mother. I love her very much.”

Gabrielle smiled. “That is a good way to approach it Captain.”

That conversation took place later on. Back to the present, Midori’s soup was ready for her. It was chicken noodle.

“One piece of advice. Eat slowly, there is less chance you’ll vomit if you do.”

“Thanks Christine,” Midori said before taking a taste. “It’s not bad.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

“When can I get out of bed?”

“Not yet, but don’t worry. You have a catheter inserted.”

“I noticed that already.”

Christine explained to Midori that it was unlikely she would need doing her other personal business. Patients receiving the DNA therapy were usually constipated for 2-3 days after treatment.

“When you do go, the shit will hit the pan.” Christine joked.

“Pan?”

“That’s a joke. Pan, fan, bedpan. Get it?”

Midori laughed. “I get it.”

“Want a hand mirror to look at yourself?”

“No, it isn’t necessary. It can wait.”

“When they let you out of bed, I’ll bar the door for you. You can look in the big mirror as long as you need or want to.” Christine smiled at Midori.

“Thanks.”

“That’s what I did afterwards. Though it was kind of revolting too.”

“What do you mean?”

“My DNA came from my sister Charlene. Instead of having a slightly older brother, Charlene has a identical twin sister now.”

Midori finished her soup then. What was she to do next? Read her book or talk to Christine? After a few seconds thoughts, Midori decided the book could wait.

Christine and Midori talked for about a half hour. The Army Captain and the nurse talked some about what is was like to have their gender changed. It was a productive talk for Midori, it soothed over a lot of the doubts she still had in regards to what lay ahead for her.

“You and I don’t have the same reasons for having our gender to be reversed, but Midori I think I can relate to how you feel. You’re where I was just twenty-three months ago. You feel almost like an alien, a person in some different world. Don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“You shouldn’t. Use what you’re doing as a challenge. A challenge to grow and learn. If you do, you will be a better person from this time you spend as a woman. You’ll emerge as a deeper and more wonderful man in the end.”

“You’re right.”

“Don’t worry about getting changed back. The doctors will get it right for you, tell yourself that. Better yet, don’t think about it at all. Concentrate on the job you’re working on right now. You can’t be distracted by something that is months or a year or more off. Am I right?

Again Christine hit the nail on the head for Midori. “Yes you are.”

“Midori I don’t know what you’re about to do but it has to be important for our country. You’re making a sacrifice, and it is just a temporary one, I feel honored to know you. You’re a hero to me.

“I’m not a hero. What I’m doing is just my duty.”

“Midori, you are a hero.”
 

*****
 
Christine’s talk with Midori proved to be a turning point for the Captain. From then on she’d be focused on her assignment. What would happen after Japan was to be buried and forgotten for the time being. Midori didn’t need to be distracted in the dangerous days that lay ahead of her.

Gabrielle noticed the attitude change when she arrived at Ft. Detrick around 1900 hours. By then Midori was feeling fewer sides effects from her gender change. The dizziness was gone, and her headache greatly lessened since the time she woke up.

“It’s time for me to go to work,” Midori told Gabrielle only moments after the FBI agent entered the room. To prove her point, Midori threw her copy of Fiasco in a garbage can next to her bed. Tom Slater would get a chance to read the book another day. “What can I do now to prepare for Japan?”

“Quite a bit. Why don’t I show you.”

“Please do.”

Gabrielle had brought a laptop computer with her to Detrick. On it was all the known information on Hiromi Sato, plus the Yakuza Crime family run by Goro Watanabe. There were videos, briefings, police and intelligence reports etc. Everything the Bureau, with the assistance of Japanese police, could dig up.

Midori was shown the files on the computer. “Are they in Japanese?”

“Just the newspaper clippings.” Gabrielle explained. The Microsoft Windows operating system on the PC able to read either English or Japanese.

“I need to improve my reading skills. Gabrielle can you please bring some Japanese newspapers or publications the next time you come up?”

“Of course.”

The following morning, Midori was allowed to get up and walk around. She still felt a little weak, but not too bad. Midori felt certain she would be 100% fit by the end of Friday worse, and probably much earlier than that..

Midori spent almost all of Thursday reading and memorizing what Agent Tanaka brought on the Watanabe Yakuza family. Midori took this very seriously. One slip up in Japan could kill her.

Major Hollins and Gabrielle paid visits on Thursday. Both were glad to see Midori almost 100% fit. Gabrielle also brought Midori the Japanese publications she requested.

It was on Thursday when Midori took time out to check out new female body. Not that Midori needed confirmation of her new gender, this was just to satisfy her curiosity.

“That formula of Dr. Wagner’s is like magic.” Midori said as she stared at the naked woman’s reflection in the mirror. The body of the former Tom Slater stood 5'4 and weighed 119 lbs.(Not long after getting out of bed, Midori was weighed and measured by one of the Doctors who were attending her.) The undergarments and clothing furnished to Midori earlier in the day, showed she wore a size four dress, six shoes was a 32b bra size.

Midori spent some time looking at her breasts. They may not be big, but they were a nice pair. Tom Slater was one of those guys who didn’t think big breasts meant beautiful. He would have certainly gotten a rise out of Hiromi’s.

A few other things of note, were a small scar on Midori’s right knee and a mole on her left butt cheek. If Midori was expecting the massive tattoos some members of the Yakuza had on their bodies, she was to be disappointed. There was just a small tattoo of a dragon on her left leg a few inches above the knee.

Midori was still participating in self-voyeurism when Christine walked in the room. “Midori, I came....”

Startled by the presence of the nurse in the room, and feeling ashamed of what she was doing, Midori threw her arms across her body as if they were a fig leaf. “Christine, I’m sorry. I was....”

Christine turned around so as to face away from her patient. “Midori you are doing what I and every one else who went through a gender change here has done. You’re doing nothing wrong.”

“I was checking myself out.”

“I don’t blame you. What do you think?”

“This is incredible.” Midori grabbed a nearby bathrobe and put it on. She felt embarrassed standing naked in front of the nurse, even though the Captain knew she shouldn’t be.

“Sure is.’

“You can turn back around. I got a robe on.”

Christine faced towards her patient. “You didn’t have to. I’ve seen more naked bodies than I can count.”

The purpose of Christine’s visit to tell Midori of some tests she would be having over the next few days. A PET Scan, a EEG, and the treadmill test. The PET Scan would be done Thursday afternoon at a nearby hospital. Midori would be driven there around 1300 hours.

“These are just routine. The doctors do it to make sure no problems cropped up from your transformation. They rarely do.”

“I understand. Thanks Christine.”

“You’re welcome Midori. I’ll leave you alone. If anyone needs to come in, I’ll make sure we knock first.”

“Don’t worry, I’m done.”

“No, go back to what you were doing and enjoy the view,” Christine said as she began walking over to the door. Before letting herself out, the nurse winked at Midori. “You’re a real cutie. Talk to you later.”

Midori had all those tests that Christine informed her of. The results came back normal.

When she woke up Friday morning, Midori felt almost entirely fit. There being almost no side effects from her transformation left. When the doctor came by to examine her, Midori asked if she could begin working out a little. The doctor gave the ok, but said for Midori to not push herself too hard.

Courtesy of Christine, Midori was given a Army sweat suit. After putting this clothing on, the Captain went about doing his old exercise regime. Pushups, situps, and some stretching exercises. Midori felt no discomfort doing any of these. In actuality Midori was discovering her new body was very physically fit.

The last part of the workout was the daily jog Tom Slater used to do. At first Midori planned to only jog a mile, a run from the building she was housed in, to another base building that the Captain calculated to be about a half mile away. Midori reached her halfway point with ease, and then decided to push on further. In all, Midori ran almost three miles that day.

Later on Midori told all of this to Gabrielle Tanaka when the FBI agent came to pay a visit. “I’m ready to get out of here.”

“That’s good Midori and I’m glad to hear it. We’ll have to get a doctor’s ok first, but I’m guessing Sunday will be your last day here.”

“Good. I’m eager to get started on this assignment.”

Gabrielle was glad Midori was enthusiastic about her mission. The agent was wondering to herself what had happened to the Captain over the last few days. On arrival at Detrick, Tom Slater seemed very much the reluctant warrior.

“When I leave here, am I going to Japan straight away or somewhere else?”

“Somewhere else. South Korea actually. Don’t worry Midori, you’ll be briefed before going.”

“Want to quiz me about the Watanabes?”

Gabrielle proceeded to ask Midori about the briefing she had gotten using the laptop. Midori answered almost all the FBI agent’s questions correctly.

“Impressive.”

“I better memorize everything I can about these Yakuza. It will my ass if I don’t.”

“Such a nice ass too.”

Man and woman, woman and woman, the sexual tension was still there between the FBI agent and the Army Captain. Midori found that very interesting.

“I regret I have only one ass...gender err....life to give for my country.” That comment resulted in a laugh.

“Before I forget,” Gabrielle said taking an object out of her purse. It was an envelope with a CD disk in it. “We have some more information about the Watanabe Yakuza plus Hiromi Sato.”

Midori took the CD. “Thanks, I’ll study this after dinner. Could you stay around and have a meal with me?”

“Unfortunately no Midori. I got to go back to Bureau headquarters after I’m done here. There are some interesting and useful things we discovered about Ms. Sato.”

“Like what?”

“Hiromi Sato was once one of Japan’s elite marathon runners.”

“Really?” Midori asked. Thinking back, it didn’t surprise her. While out running, Midori hadn’t felt spent at all after running three miles.

“Yes, really. She was first alternate for Japan’s 2000 Olympic team. You do remember who won the women’s marathon that year?”

Midori nodded her head. “Sure do. I never saw my Mom scream so loudly as when Naoko Takahashi crossed the finish line at the Sydney Olympics. Which is pretty incredible if you knew how uninterested my mother is normally about sports.”

“Mom didn’t tell you to ask her on a date if you two ever met?” Gabrielle joked.

“No, never. Gabrielle, I got two questions about Hiromi Sato. Maybe you can fill me in.”

“I’ll try.”

“First how did we get her DNA for Dr. Wagner?”

“We have a source close to Hiromi. They got us the sample.”

Midori nodded. Sooner or later Midori would be briefed on who the source was. “Second question, How did Hiromi get to be so influential at such a young age? I mean, she isn’t even five years out of Tokyo University. Is she related to the Watanabes or have some other connections to them?”

“Midori I have to be honest, we don’t know.”

Gabrielle gave Midori a rundown of what she had to look forward to the next two days. After this task was over, Gabrielle left.

It was almost 1800 when Midori decided to go get some dinner. There was a cafeteria on base about a mile walk from where the Captain was staying. On her way out, Midori stopped by the nurse’s station.

“I’m going out to dinner. Is that all right?”

“Of course,” Christine replied. “I want to wish you well Midori. Starting tomorrow I will be off for three days.”

“Thank you Christine, I appreciate it. It has been nice knowing you.”
 

*****
 
That Friday evening there was a meeting of the Swan Song committee. Gabrielle Tanaka was in attendance.

Swan Song was formed by the FBI with the cooperation of Japanese and South Korean police authorities. Its only mission was the eventual destruction of the Watanabe Yakuza family.

FBI Deputy Director, Grant Williamson was the chairman of Swan Song. The committee only had five members but could co-op other people if needed. Japanese and South Korean officials had also put aside their usual animosity towards one another in order to achieve the committee’s goal.

To bring down a crime family, more than one person is needed. In all almost two hundred people(at one time or another) would be assisting Midori Sasaki/Hiromi Sato behind the scenes to penetrate the Watanabe organization and hopefully cause its destruction.

Friday’s meeting was about Phase two of Swan Song. “Are your resources in place Inspector Kim?”

The meeting was being done by teleconference. Inspector Kwang-bok Kim was the South Korean representative. “Yes, but Dr. Cho is not available till Wednesday earliest.”

“That isn’t a problem inspector. Ripley won’t be arriving in Seoul till Tuesday evening.” Deputy Williamson said.

Ripley was Swan Song’s codename for Captain Slater. It coming from the Sigourney Weaver character in four Science fiction movies, the first of which was ‘Alien’. The code name was Special Agent Tanaka’s idea.

Ripley’s delayed arrival in South Korea, was also due to a medical hold placed by Dr. Wagner. Midori had complained of being imbalanced on a few occasions. This was not an unusual symptom among Doctor Wagner’s patients, still Swan Song was being cautious.(One previous DNA patient was discovered to have a brain tumor two weeks after their release from Detrick) Midori would undergo an MRI Friday evening as a precaution.

“We have some bad news.” Inspector Yoshida of the Kanagawa prefecture police reported. “Agent Lily was found dead early yesterday a.m.”

“Do we know the cause of death?” Agent Tanaka asked. Lily was one of three people Swan Song had within the Watanabe organization. Now with Lily dead, only one agent remained, they were known as Chrysanthemum. Three months earlier, an agent codenamed Sumo, had been brutally murdered.

“An autopsy is being done as we talk, but a drug overdose is the probable cause. We believe Lily’s death to be the result of foul play.”

“Is there anything new regarding Chrysanthemum?”

“No, not at this time.” Inspector Yoshida said.

A few more things were gone over before the meeting was adjourned. Agent Tanaka, who knew of Japanese authorities dismal record of breaking the Yakuza, was beginning to re-think Swan Song. Was Captain Slater being sent to certain death?
 

*****
 
Gabrielle kept those doubts to herself when she saw Midori the next day. “It’s set, you’re leaving on Monday from Dulles Airport to Incheon. It is a non-stop flight ”

“I’ll arrive there Tuesday afternoon or evening South Korea time?”

“Correct. If you don’t mind, you’re going to check out of here tonight and come stay at my place one night.”

“I don’t have a problem with that. Gabrielle you do so much running around, anything to make it easier for you is fine with me.”

“Thanks Midori, it will make it much easier. My boss signed off on it.”

“That’s good.”

“I’ve planned something for tomorrow.”

“What is that?” Midori asked and Gabrielle told her. “Interesting ”

“We better get going. There are a lot of things for us to cover today.”

“You’re going to teach me how to be a woman.” Midori remarked. “By the way, my things arrived last night while I was having an MRI done.”

(The MRI was negative, and as soon as this was confirmed, Dr. Dietrich released the hold on Midori. In any case Midori wasn’t having any balance problems anymore.)

Today Gabrielle would give Midori lessons in women’s clothes, accessories, jewelry, makeup and other areas of female life that men that are almost always ignorant of. With Midori departing in two days, it would have to be a crash course/ Gabrielle would have more time down the road. to further educate Midori before she took Hiromi Sato’s place.

Midori paid close attention to what the Special Agent taught her. Especially the lessons in makeup and color coordinating clothing. Gabrielle thought most men were horrible at the later.

“Would you believe I once saw a man wearing a dark purple shirt and brown pants?”

“I’ll believe it.”

For Midori, it meant matching up the clothing she was provided. The two suitcases she got had clothes for ten days .

“You’ll receive more once you get to South Korea.”

“Gotcha.”

After the lesson was over, Gabrielle planned to quiz Midori on what she had learned. First she had a question to ask of the Army Captain. “You’re flying to Incheon on Monday, what clothes would you wear?”

Midori answered immediately. “That outfit, along with matching shoes, purse and camisole.”

Gabrielle smiled. “Excellent Captain. That would make you appear to be the traveling executive businesswoman that your cover says you are.”

“It was just a good guess.” Midori replied back with a slight grin.

Midori was doing well so far as the color co-ordination and the other lessons Gabrielle gave her. The FBI agent telling Midori she was a quick learner.

There was also a lesson in hair care. While Hiromi Sato's hair reached only a few inches beneath her shoulders, this was still many times longer than the hair style Tom Slater was accustomed to. Gabrielle taught Midori how to brush and comb it properly, plus how to use hair clips.

The lessons in makeup were basic. They consisting of how to use face powder and lipstick. Midori caught onto these without much struggle.

“The real Hiromi Sato uses a ton of eye makeup. If you ask my opinion, she uses too much.”

Gabrielle grinned. “Midori, I happen to agree with you.”

“I wonder if she gets a discount for buying it in bulk.” This quip by Midori caused Gabrielle to laugh.

When they were through with the makeup lessons, Gabrielle and Midori got to the last task of the day. The briefing in regards to Midori’s trip to South Korea.

“Have you ever been to the Republic of Korea?” Gabrielle knew Captain Slater’s military service inside out. While the officer hadn’t been ever stationed in South Korea, it was still possible Tom had visited the country.

“No, never. My Dad was stationed there, but his tour was unaccompanied. I was ten at the time, and Mom and us kids stayed behind in Japan while Dad was stationed at Camp Red Cloud.”

The next thing Gabrielle did was open a large Manila envelope she had brought. Inside it were keys plus various identification for Midori. A Japanese driver’s license was in a lady’s wallet which contained American money totaling one thousand dollars and travelers checks in a similar amount.

“Gee I can almost settle down in the ROK if I want. Forget the Army, find myself a husband and start a family.”

Gabrielle laughed. “I don’t see you doing that Captain.”

“Me neither. By the way, since we’re talking about the ability to reproduce, when do I start menstruating?”

“Approximately four weeks from the date of your gender change.”

“I was just curious.”

“Every woman’s cycle is different, I’m sorry I can’t be more specific.”

“No problem Gabrielle. I grew up with two sisters and was engaged to get married once. All of that gave me a little bit of an education.”

“If you don’t mind me saying, Karen was a complete idiot, when she dumped you. It makes me question if she ever loved you.”

“Forget it Gabrielle. I have, its ancient history to me now.”

Another document Midori got was a Japanese passport. She was officially Midori Sasaki, born May 1st, 1982 in Tokyo Japan.

“The passport is real. It was supplied by the Japanese so you need not worry about it.”Midori nodded her head. She was fully aware of Japan’s cooperation. If only Midori knew of the Swan Song committee.

Gabrielle’s briefing on Midori’s trip to Seoul and her visit to that country didn’t take long at all. It mostly consisted of Midori being told where to go on arrival, who would contact her, and where the Army Captain would be going in the ROK after that.

“People will be there to help you when you get to the base. Your lessons and training begin as soon as you arrive.”

“When do you get there?”

“Not sure. At least a week after your arrival but not more than two weeks either.” Gabrielle was taking a week’s vacation. Her sister Candace had just had a baby boy named Michael Lawrence Ishii. He was scheduled to be baptized the Sunday after next.

Once the briefing was over, it was time for Midori to leave Fort Detrick. Everything Captain Tom Slater had brought with him to the base was either to be put away for safekeeping till after Japan, or discarded.

In the end Midori had just the two suitcases full of clothes, a computer bag containing the FBI issued laptop given to the Captain by Gabrielle, and a airplane carry-on bag with some miscellaneous items stored in it. It was around five p.m. when all of these items were put in Gabrielle’s SUV for the drive to the FBI agent’s apartment in Arlington Virginia

On her way out of the building she had been staying in since Monday, Midori was given a white card like envelope by the nurse who was on duty. To Midori Sasaki was neatly printed on front. Midori thanked the nurse.

On their way to Arlington, Midori and Gabrielle stopped to have a quiet dinner at a Thai restaurant. After that they went to the FBI agent’s apartment. Feeling mentally exhausted, Midori hit the sack not long after 10 p.m.

The following day saw Midori and Gabrielle go to the FBI training facility in Quantico Virginia. There they were met by a Marine Sergeant Major named Mike Dowd. Mike was there at the request of the Swan Song committee. The Sergeant Major giving Midori a crash firearms refresher course.

After introductions were made, things got right down to business. “How much experience do you have with firearms?” Sgt. Major Dowd asked.

“A little Sgt. Major.”

“Well I’m going to teach you the right way to use a gun. Now listen carefully.....”

While Midori thought the firearms training was unnecessary for someone with almost eight years spent active duty in the army, she paid attention anyway. Acting like she was a total beginner. There would a time to show off if Midori was patient.

The weapon chose for Midori’s lesson was a Glock 22, a semi-automatic pistol. It used .40 mm. ammunition and came with a fifteen round magazine.

Sgt. Major Dowd spent almost two hours teaching Midori about the Glock 22. First describing the gun and then demonstrating to his student how to handle it properly. “Now hold the gun firmly like I said and fire. Firing one round only.”

Miidori was all set. She plus Gabrielle and the Sgt Major all having ear coverings on. A paper target standing some thirty-three feet away, was what Midori would be aiming at.

Midori didn’t fire one bullet as told, but emptied its entire magazine in quick fashion instead. When done, Midori put the Glock 22 down on the ledge. “Think I did all right?”

Sgt Major Dowd gave Midori the result moments later. “Holy shit.”

“Fourteen is good?” Midori asked with a large smirk on her face. Fourteen bullets had gone through the bullseye ring, the remaining one through the next outer ring.

The Sgt Major shook his head. “Ma’am, I was told you’re not FBI or law enforcement. So what really is your occupation?”

“Would you believe I’m a CPA?”

“Yeah and I’m Commandant of the entire fucking Marine Corps. Your lessons are over Ma’am.” Sgt. Major Dowd then walked off in a huff, muttering underneath his breath about his day and time being wasted.

“Thank you Sgt. Major,” Midori said to the departing marine. She also called out “Have a great day.”

Gabrielle let out a loud laugh once Dowd was out of earshot. “Guys rarely like being out shot by a couple of women.”

“They sure don’t. So can we have that pistol match like I mentioned earlier?”

“Just as long as money is on the line. How about $100 to the winner in addition to another $50 for every point of margin between us. Sound good?”

“You’re on.”

“Want to do the popup range or continue with the paper targets?” Gabrielle asked.

Midori knew what the popup course consisted of. Silhouettes with images on them would appear from behind trees or in windows. The shooter has to make a quick decision if the popup is a threat or not.

“No, lets go with the paper targets.” Midori told Gabrielle. Because of Gabrielle’s FBI training, she would have a decided advantage on the popup course.

Final score of the match? 494 to 491 in favor of Gabrielle. As soon as they were done, Midori went looking for money to pay off her bet.

“Shit, I’m so used to having a wallet in my back pocket.”

“You’ll get used to carrying a purse in no time.” Gabrielle remarked back.

“I just hope I don't leave it somewhere first.”

“Midori, you have adjusted great. I’m not lying when I say that.”

“Thanks. Lets get our purse....purses and let me pay you what I owe.”

“Forget it for now Midori. You can do it after Japan. The money you have at the moment is the bureau’s.”

“I forgot. By the way you’re one of the best shots I know.”

“Thank you. Lets call it a day here, what do you think?”

“Lets do that.”

The trouble Midori and Gabrielle had now was what to do for the rest of the day. It wasn’t quite 2 pm in the afternoon and both women weren’t hungry or anything.

“I don’t want to go to the hotel. What am I going to do there? Sit around and watch television the rest of the day? I had enough of that when laid up at Reed.” Midori said to Gabrielle as they pulled out of a parking space.

“There’s a mall not far away with a movie theater? Want to go there? We can see a show maybe or just walk around?”

Midori looked over at Gabrielle. No matter whether he was male or female, the Army Captain found the FBI agent a very attractive woman. Had Gabrielle just asked him on a date? “ The mall is fine with me.”

On the way to the mall, Midori asked about the firearms refresher course she had just taken. Why had the Bureau ordered it? It wasn’t like Midori didn’t know anything about guns.

“It didn’t make sense to me either, but my bosses said it was a must.”

“Will the Sgt. Major say I passed?”

Gabrielle laughed. “I don’t think that’s a problem.”

When they arrived at the mall, Gabrielle and Midori lucked out. A new comedy movie was showing at 2:30. After the movie was over, Gabrielle and Midori walked around the mall till almost 6 p.m.

Midori made no purchases in the mall, instead she and Gabrielle engaged in some window shopping or in the case of one store, the trying on of shoes. While there, Midori had a sudden realization.

“Shit I totally forgot what today is.”

“You got a lot on your mind.”

“I know, but it’s still careless of me. Is it all right if I make one call at the hotel?”

“Absolutely. If the bureau objects, I’ll pay the bill. They won’t say anything.”

“I won’t talk long.”

“Talk as long as you need.”

On their way to the hotel, Gabrielle gave the Midori a last minute pep talk. “Midori, starting from the time you’re picked up in Seoul, you need to be Japanese. Live it, breathe it, eat it, think it, sleep it. Every minute of every day. For your own sake.”

“Gabrielle I know. I’ll not disappoint you or the Bureau.”

“Midori it isn’t that. I’ll be worried about you when this mission finally gets under way.”

Taking Gabrielle’s right hand as the FBI agent continued to drive, Midori reassured her friend. “If I can survive an IED going off 10 yards away from me in Iraq, I can survive anything the Yakuza throws my way.”

Midori and Gabrielle arrived at the Hilton Hotel, Washington Dulles Airport, just a few minutes before 7 p.m. “Good luck till I see you again Midori.”

Still inside the FBI agent’s SUV, Midori and Gabrielle, were looking each other in the eye. Their faces only a foot apart. “Thank you Gabrielle for everything. You take care.”

Midori and Gabrielle’s faces slowly reached out for each other. Hoping for a kiss on the lips, Midori got a kiss on the cheek instead.

“Bye Midori.”

Midori climbed out of the SUV. A hotel porter coming over to assist her. ‘May as well start playing my part’ Midori thought to herself.

“Young man, could you please take my bags out for me. I have a reservation for tonight.”

“Of course Ma’am.” The bellhop replied. Once her bags were placed on a cart, Midori went inside the hotel to check in.
 

*****
 
Midori made her phone call around 2100 hours. Before doing that, Midori had gotten settled into her room, freshened up, and had dinner in the hotel restaurant. After finishing her meal, Midori went back upstairs to her room.

There she took a bath. After a long day spent working with firearms, some of Midori’s muscles ached. Particularly those in her upper arms. The warm bath helped alleviate the soreness.

The phone number Midori was calling got answered on the third ring. “Hello.”

“Hi Simon, can I speak to Mom?”

“Who am I talking to?”

Midori then realized the error she just made. Her brother-in-law didn’t recognize whom he was speaking to. “Simon can you please put your mother-in-law on the phone?”

A few moments later, another person was on the phone. “Hello.”

“Hi Mom, it’s me Tom. Happy Mother’s Day.”

“Hello Tom. Thank you for calling. I been thinking of you all day today.”

Midori felt ashamed about almost forgetting Mother’s Day. “Mom I almost forgot about today. I’m sorry.”

“No need to be sorry. You are busy right now. Are you on mission for Army yet?”

“Almost Mom, I leave tomorrow.” If Midori Slater considered it strange to be talking to her son now as a woman, the mother didn’t show it.

“You be careful.”

“I will Mom. I love you.”

Midori talked with her mother for a few minutes more. Tom Slater’s parents were in Idaho visiting for a few days but would be returning to Washington on Tuesday. Through her talk with Mom, Midori learned her parents were having a very good time. Particularly since they were getting to see their grandson Shannon.

“Your father wants to speak to you. Hold on.”

Midori waited less than a minute. “Hello Son.”

“Hi Dad. How are you?”

“Good, good. Your mother said you will be leaving tomorrow.”

“Yes Dad, I will. Sorry but I probably won't be able to call on Father’s Day.”

“That’s all right son. You have a job to do. Remember what I reminded you about?”

“Yes Dad. Duty, honor, country.”

“Exactly. I know you’ll do your best for our country and both your Mother and I. Hold on, your mother wants to talk to you again..”

“Goodbye Dad.”

After his mother got back on the phone, the phone call began to resemble ones Tom had with his Mom in the past. Mrs. Slater telling her son to be safe and careful while she was gone.

“I’m proud of you Tom. Never forget that. I will always love you, no matter what.”

“I love you too Mom.”

“When you get back, come visit us.”

“I will Mom, I promise.”

“Bring that nice FBI girl.”

Midori knew her mother worried for him, even if she showed no fear. The next thing Midori said was meant to make his Mom feel a little better. “Gabrielle and I are already becoming friends.”

It was true. Midori and Gabrielle had become friends in only a matter of days. Their personalities seeming to mesh. Would that continue after Japan? Midori hoped so.

Mrs. Slater got more than a little excited after hearing what her son said. “Tom, I would be very happy if you marry Gabrielle one day.”

Funny but Tom could never remember Mom saying the same when he became engaged to Karen Gibson in the spring of 2001. Not that Mrs. Slater hadn’t liked Karen, but there hadn’t been this sound of joy in his mother’s voice before. Midori hoped she wasn’t giving her mother false hope.

“I will try Mom, I promise. Mom I got to go.”

“Love you Tom. Be careful for me.”

“I will. Love you too Mom. Bye.”

“Bye.”

After hanging up the phone, Midori sat at the edge of the bed thinking. Would she ever see Mom and Dad again? Midori couldn’t dwell too much on the dangers facing her. It could effect her mission.

Midori planned on watching some television before going to bed, but first she wanted to do something else. It was time to open the card given to her at Ft. Detrick the day before.

Midori was astonished by the type of card someone had given to her. It was for Mother’s Day.

Inside it was a long note or rather a short letter.

Midori,

Let me be the first person to ever wish you a Happy Mother’s Day. I hope you had both a safe and enjoyable day.

Now you may think me nuts for calling you a Mother but I’m not. Today is a day to honor Mothers, not just those who are ones already, but those who long to be one, and those who can be a mother. In other words all women.

Ok I know you’re only a woman because our government or the Army asked you to do them a favor. Still if for this one year only, you are a woman and one who should be congratulated or honored today.

Did you call your mother today? I’d understand if you didn’t but I’m sure she was in your thoughts today. If you couldn’t see her, always remember our Moms are always with us in our hearts. I think you will understand what I mean. You always came across to me as someone in touch with their emotions.

Let me wish you success and good luck on whatever job or work you’re doing in the months ahead. May God protect and bless you. You’re a brave woman Midori and I mean it when I say I consider you a hero.

A few more things. If you ever need someone to talk to, and have the opportunity to do so, give me a buzz. I wrote my phone number and email address down just in case. If you’re in the Maryland/Washington DC/Baltimore area maybe we can even get together and chat.

This is just an offer from a friend. One who knows a lot of how you got to be feeling right now. You’re both getting used to and seeing the world in a whole different light. I was like you not long ago, and can relate to the experiences you’re having.

Anyway, Happy Mother’s Day again. I know you’ll get back safe, I feel it in my heart. You’ll come back to Detrick and get your male body back. It’s a shame, you’d make a beautiful woman not that you aren’t cute now . One thing is certain, your experience will make you a better man in the end. I’m being honest when I say, some woman will be very lucky to have you for a husband one day.

Sincerely,

Christine Jennings

Midori was moved by the thoughtful and kind card. She planned to keep it and thank Christine one day for giving it to her.
 

*****
 
The Monday after Mother’s Day was the real thing for Midori. Her first full day living as a woman out in the real world.

It started at the unusually late hour(For Tom Slater that is) of 0630. After doing her morning exercise and stretching routine,(but without any morning jog.) Midori put on some temporary clothes before going downstairs for breakfast.

After having breakfast, Midori returned to the room and just killed time till 0900. Then she began getting ready in for the day in earnest. First showering throughly for it would be a long time before her next, and after that by getting dressed and made up for the day. It was 1015 when Midori left her room to go downstairs to check out. A bell hop having already come upstairs to collect the Captain’s bags.

If someone wanted to look like a business woman about to make a long flight, Midori couldn’t have done much better. She was wearing Navy blue pants with matching shoes and blazer. Under the blazer Midori had a white camisole on. Pearl earrings adorned both ears, with a similar necklace around her neck. This was the outfit Midori had chosen two days earlier and it meeting with Gabrielle Tanaka’s approval.

Midori left on the 1030 airport bus to Dulles. Her flight wasn’t till 1:30 but the old habits of Tom Slater hadn’t died with his old form, Midori was giving herself plenty of time. Her Korean Air flight was on-time, and after checking in at the counter for Business Class customers, Midori went straight to the security checkpoint.

Midori Sasaki hated the hassles that came with flying in the post 9-11 world but she felt they were needed. Terrorists wanted to bring more death and destruction to the United States. To stop this required vigilance. Waiting in long lines and having to take one’s shoes off to go through security were minor conveniences compared to having yourself and others flown into a skyscraper or monument. There were still men and women who would do it if given a chance.

After security, Midori went to KAL’s airport club. From what she could see, the flight to Incheon was heavily booked. Midori killed more time in the club by reading a book she had brought with her.

If not for having no cell phone, Midori may have given Gabrielle a call. If only to say her flight was on time, or maybe just to have someone to talk to. For at that moment, Midori was feeling all alone.

Midori boarded her flight when Business Class customers were called. For her flying comfort and convenience, Midori had both the roller and laptop computer bags with her in addition to a purse.

Once on board the plane, Midori went straight to her assigned seat, 9B. As soon as she got there, Midori stowed the book(A Japanese romance novel given to Midori by Gabrielle. Midori was using it in order to improve her reading aptitude) she brought and the laptop computer down below.

Getting the rollerbag up in the overhead proved to be a struggle for Midori. Her arms were still sore from the day before, and this caused Midori trouble lifting.

“Let me do that for you.” A man around thirty-five years of age said to Midori. Without waiting for Midori to reply, the gentleman put the bag in the overhead compartment.

“Domo arigato.” Midori said with a slight bow of her head. The helpful gentleman would be seated next to her in Seat 9A. A few moments later a flight attendant asked if Midori wanted Champagne, Orange Juice, or another beverage before taking off. Midori selected the champagne After getting her drink, Midori kicked off her shoes and made herself comfortable for the long flight.

The flight was what Midori expected it to be, long and boring. Midori spent almost all of her time in route either reading(The book was dreck in Midori’s opinion. Tom Slater being a person who didn’t read books of the romance variety. Still the Captain knew a good book when she read it. This particular piece of Japanese literature left much to be desired), listening to music or just sleeping. The plane getting to Inchon a few minutes before 1700 local time. Arrival in the ROK was as routine as the flight for Midori, and after clearing customs, she got onboard a Korean Air limo for the ride into Seoul.

Like in Washington, Midori was booked into a Hilton Hotel. Freshening up, including the taking of a shower and a call to room service for dinner, were Midori’s first actions after getting in room 805. She was glad to be on solid if unfamiliar ground.

Midori had trouble sleeping that night. It wasn’t jet lag, but rather anticipation of what lay ahead. Midori was feeling very wound up. So shortly before 2300, Midori donned some clothes in place of her pajamas and went downstairs for a snack. The Hilton having a 24-hour restaurant

While in the restaurant, Midori noticed a man in his mid thirties eying her. Not just once or twice for a second or two, but repeatedly and for long periods of time. Midori had drawn the attention of a man for the first time.

Midori ignored the guy, and instead finished eating and drinking the slice of pie and glass of milk she had ordered. After paying her bill, Midori went back to where the elevator was. She was surprised to see the guy there. He seemed to be waiting for Midori.

“My name is Lance, yours?”

“Midori.”

“Nice to meet you Midori.” The guy made small talk for only a few seconds before getting right to the point. “Want to come to my room for a good time?”

Right then the elevator doors opened, Midori stepped forward like she was going on, but then stopped. Lance passing her in the process and getting on board.

“You’re not coming? I promise to show you a good time.”

Without saying a word, Midori answered in a very unladylike way. Midori giving Lance the finger.

Unfazed, Lance blew Midori a kiss just moments before the elevator door closed in his face. A few minutes later Midori got on another elevator car for the ride upstairs.

“Welcome to a man’s world, Midori Sasaki.” Midori muttered once she was back in room 805. Life had changed for the Army Captain in a way he would have never thought possible less than two weeks previous.

While Lance was a total prick in Midori’s book, she couldn’t forget her seat mate on the plane. His name Bob Hall and he had proved to be pleasant company for Midori on the trip over to South Korea. Bob, who was some type of businessman, spoke glowingly to Midori about his family and kids(Even sharing pictures of them) back in Virginia. All the time Bob speaking to Midori in halting Japanese, a language the businessman was trying to learn.

So if Lance was a prick, Bob was a total gentlemen, helpful to women in need, and a loving family man. Midori knew there were many types of men between the two extremes she had encountered in her first two days out as a woman. She would try hard to remember the Bob Halls of the world, while ignoring the Lances.

Midori was fully aware Asia’s culture and society were considered patriarchal and male chauvinistic in nature by Western standards. It was true, and Midori or any one woman couldn’t change it. The Captain would roll with the punches, knowing in the end she’d get an experience that may do wonders one day for Tom Slater. He’d have a better appreciation for women.

The dessert and glass of milk did wonders for Midori. She fell fast asleep less than a half hour after getting back to her room.
 

*****
 
Midori was seated in the Hilton Hotel’s lobby the next morning. She was waiting for someone to pick her up. This time Midori was dressed casually, a powder blue blouse plus white pants. Gabrielle had briefed Midori that someone would be picking her up at 1000 Wednesday morning.

While she waited, Midori passed the time by trying to calculate what nationality everyone was that walked by her. It was a practice taught to Tom Slater by his mother years ago. Midori Slater said she could tell by a person’s facial, what particular nationality of Asian they were. When able to check her work, Midori Sasaki was proved rarely wrong.

Midori was doing this little game as she waited to be picked up. Excluding Hotel employees and westerners, Midori surmised that most men and women who passed her seat in the hotel lobby were Japanese like her.

Japan and South Korea are two countries separated by the relatively small Sea of Japan, but the chasm between the two societies is much wider. Japan ruled the Korean peninsula for almost half of the 20th century and this caused hard feelings between the two nations. There are few quicker ways to get a Korean angry at you than to call them a Jap.

Both countries are fiercely nationalistic in addition to being economic competitors. Midori knew all of this and wondered how Japan and South Korea came to co-operate on the matter of bringing down the Watanabe Yakuza family. There had to be a reason, but at present Midori was clueless to what it could be.

Midori had just checked her watch, discovering it was ten minutes after ten, when a Western man entered the hotel. By both his demeanor and haircut, Midori was guessing this had to be the person picking her up. He had military written all over him.

“Are you Midori Sasaki?”

“Yes I am.”

“I’m Corporal Joseph Marsh United States Army, and I been directed to pick you up and transport you to Camp Casey,” The Army soldier said as he showed Midori his identification. “Are these your only belongings?”

“No. The bellhop has two more suitcases of mine. They’re right over there.”

“Please follow me Ma’am.”

The drive to Camp Casey took almost two hours. Casey is the biggest American military installation in South Korea and is close to the North Korean border.

On arrival at Casey, Midori was taken to where the base’s main food court was. Not feeling terribly hungry at the time, Midori got only a salad to eat.

After that Midori was taken to where she’d be spending the next five weeks. A square two story building. On the first floor was an office, and that was where she found Major Ed Hollins already waiting for her.

“Good afternoon Captain. I hope your trip was uneventful.”

“It was sir.”

“Captain, we have little time to waste,” Major Hollins said as he handed Midori one sheet of paper. On it was a schedule of Midori’s activities. Almost all her non-sleeping hours were accounted for one way or another for the coming week. “You will start training the minute you leave this room.”

“No problem sir. I’m ready.”

“Good. Any questions at this time?”

Midori had some. Mostly about where she would be quartered on base, how she would get about and a few other miscellaneous details. Major Hollins filled her in.

“I’ve never been to Casey before sir.”

“It’s not a hard base to learn Captain. Anything else?”

“No sir.”

“Then report to Room 12 on the second floor. Professor Yamada is expecting you.”

“Yes sir.” After saluting his commanding officer, Midori left the room.

Professor Yamada was waiting patiently upstairs for his student. After a brief introduction, the Professor who had only one student, began class.

“I’m here to help improve your knowledge of and fluency in Japanese. We begin today.”

“Sensei no okage de, gambarimasu!”
 

*****
 
Midori’s lessons in the weeks ahead were grueling. Afternoons were spent with Professor Yamada from 1230-1600 hours. With the help of textbooks, Midori worked hard to improve how she both spoke and read Japanese. Textbooks weren’t the only way Midori learned either. Scenes were staged, like how would Midori order a meal at a restaurant, ask for directions, things like that.

Mornings were spent with Professor Cho, a famous Korean economist(but one was also fluent in Japanese) who taught Midori a crash course in Economics and everything financial. Those classes started at 0730 and ended at 1200. In between classes there was a half hour for lunch.

Every morning Midori’s day began at 0600. First with exercise, with a shower and breakfast to follow before class with Dr. Cho. Evenings weren’t exactly free. Midori had briefings on the Watanabes and everything known on Hiromi Sato to attend plus lessons in Japanese history, with an emphasis on the Yakuza to learn.

Midori also had to study for the next day’s lessons and review what she had learned so far. This all coming before bedtime, which was supposed to be 2200 hours but often lasted till midnight.

This taking place seven days a week, always at Camp Casey.

On Sundays there were no classes. Instead Midori would spend the day watching Japanese television via satellite or watching shows that were taped during the week for the Captain to watch. This in order for Midori to be up on Japanese pop culture.

Midori also had to familiarize herself with Japanese pop music. According to sources, Hiromi Sato was very much into Japanese popular music. It was said Hiromi attended the occasional concert.

There was a lot for Midori to learn but she never complained. Instead she put all her energy into the complicated and multi-layered training she had to undergo. For Midori knew one slip up as Hiromi Sato could be fatal for the Captain.

Gabrielle arrived in South Korea during Midori’s second week of training. The FBI agent stopping by to check up on Midori late on a Friday night.

“You’re doing well I hear.”

“Thanks Gabrielle. I’m really trying to do my best.” Midori said as she rubbed her eyes.

“Are you all right?”

“I’m just a little tired.”

“Your trip, did it go smoothly?”

“Yes except for the guy at the Seoul Hilton who offered to show me a good time up in his room.”

Gabrielle asked for Midori to elaborate. Midori did just that, which caused her friend to laugh. “I would have given Lance the same reply you did.”

“I’ve become a woman in the service of my country but there are some things I just won’t do. Besides I still like women.”

“Are you saying you’re gay Captain?”

“No, not at all. For the moment, I’m just a straight man trapped or encased in a woman’s body.”

Gabrielle grinned. “Good answer.”

“It isn’t original. Some years ago I heard some male radio talk show host say he was a lesbian in a man’s body.” Midori said as she began to rub her eyes again.

Gabrielle and Midori only chatted a few more minutes before the Captain excused herself in order to prepare for bed. The following morning Gabrielle went to speak to Major Hollins.

“Major, I believe we need to work some rest time into the Captain’s schedule. If not she is liable to burn out before stepping foot in Japan.

“I’d like to Agent Tanaka, but we have a very tight schedule to maintain.”

Gabrielle wasn’t budging. She could see the tiredness in Midori’s face the night before. “We’re still over 70 days from D day. Every one of her instructors says Captain Slater is doing better than anyone hoped for, plus we have extra time built in for any problems that may arise. Can’t we give the Captain a break one day and one night a week?”

After giving it some consideration, Major Hollins agreed to Agent Tanaka’s proposed schedule change for Midori. At the end of the day, Gabrielle shared the news with Midori.

“So what am I supposed to do tomorrow?”

“That’s up to you. Your day is totally free.” Gabrielle told Midori. “You can stay at Casey, go into Dongduchon or even visit Seoul if you want.”

Midori wasn’t certain what she would do the next day but there was one thing she didn’t want to do. “The last thing I’ll do is watch any Japanese soaps. I’m so tired of that programming. Why do women watch that crap?”

Gabrielle sympathized with Midori. She wasn’t a fan of soap operas either. “I guess women are supposed to like drama.”

Midori spent Sunday working out at one of Camp Casey’s gyms. Some of the time there was spent using a punching bag. Other than that, Midori watched a movie, played some billiards versus a Army Sergeant and generally took a break for the day. On Monday Midori felt refreshed, this proving Gabrielle to be right about the Captain needing some down time.

After five weeks at Casey, Midori was considered ready to move her training to Japan. Using a Air Force transport plane, Midori and Gabrielle Tanaka were flown from Osan Air Base South Korea to Misawa Air Base Japan. It was there Midori would continue her training..

As the weeks passed, Midori got more detailed briefings on Goro Watanabe, the branch of the Yakuza he headed, plus Hiromi Sato. Some of the information was either interesting, very useful, or both.

First there was some of Goro Watanabe’s habits. For a head Obuyan, Goro was a surprisingly public man. Goro didn’t mind at all having his picture taken by the local media. Often smiling and waving to the cameras when these photo ops happened.

Goro also liked to be seen in the presence of Japan’s biggest sports stars. He owned a box at Yokohama Stadium, home to the Yokohama BayStars Baseball team. Goro was usually in attendance at half or more of the BayStars home games. There was quite a collection of photos of the Yakuza head with some of Japan’s top baseball stars, including Hideo Nomo and Ichiro Suzuki, both of whom went on to play professional baseball in the United States.

Other Japanese athletes who met Goro on at least one occassion, included figure skater Midori Ito and golfer Ai Miyazato. Goro’s sports interests were quite wide, and it was rumored he owned a piece of the BayStars baseball team.

There was new information on Hiromi Sato also. The first impressions the Swan Song committee had in regards to Hiromi’s proficiency in English, were almost all wrong. Based on a reliable source, it was learned Hiromi spoke and read at least fair English. Hiromi supposedly being able to read English language newspapers as part of her work.

“That’s important to know.” Midori said after being told this new information.

Gabrielle still had a good point. “Midori, you must still become Japanese. It’s one thing that Hiromi knows and speaks English, but she’s Japanese in almost every other aspect of her daily life. You have to continue becoming Japanese in order to pass as this woman.”

“You’re right Gabrielle.”

There was good reason to believe some politicians, plus Japanese police and self defense officials, were in Goro’s side pocket through the use of bribes. While in Japan, Midori’s security and cover were taken very seriously.

Still in order for Midori to pass as a Japanese, she had to get out sometimes into public. In order for the real Hiromi Sato’s doppleganger not to be noticed, Midori was ‘disguised’ with the help of a Hollywood makeup artist. Some makeup, a change of hairstyle, a set of glasses, and no one would think Midori and Hiromi Sato were the same person.

“Before I was cute, now I’m ugly.” Midori said to Gabrielle shortly after the makeup artist was done.

“You’re not ugly.”

Midori wasn’t buying it. “Come on, tell me the truth.”

“Ok, you’re ugly then.”

Ugly was good so far as Midori was concerned. For after two weeks moving around other parts of Japan, Midori entered the lion’s den one may say. That was when she, Gabrielle and the makeup artist paid a visit to Yokohama, the base of the Watanabe organization.

Visiting Yokohama was dangerous but essential. For Captain Tom Slater knew little about the city or how to get around it. As Hiromi she would be expected to know all of that. So it was vital for Midori to familiarize herself with the city of 3.5 million people.

Five days were planned in Yokohama for this important training. The cover for Midori was pretty simple, actually almost out in plain sight. She and Gabrielle were to be Japanese-American sisters paying a visit to Yokohama with their adoptive father.(The Hollywood makeup man) All three of them staying in one of the City’s major hotels, The Pan Pacific.

While in Yokohama, Gabrielle and Midori took the names of Daphne and Tiffany Brown.(The makeup man was Ted Brown). All the proper documents were supplied to make the women and ‘their adoptive father’ appear authentic to anyone who cared to check on them.

“I’m Daphne?” Midori said looking at the documents she and Gabrielle had gotten. “You weren’t behind this, were you?”

“Hell no. I rather be called Gabby than Tiffany any day.”

“Daphne and Tiffany. We’re a couple of girly girls.”

“Yes but ones that can blow a guy’s pecker off if provoked.” Midori and Gabrielle shared a good laugh after that joke.

Daphne and Tiffany played the part of spoiled rich college students playing tourist as their wealthy father saw to business. Their clothing, including Juicy Couture, 7 for all mankind jeans, plus Miu Miu handbags, were all designer brands. For moving about Yokohama, Heidi and Tiffany rented a red convertible sportscar.

If adjusting to being female had been hard, learning to drive on the left like people did in Japan, was tougher at first for Midori. Things began to change her second day in Yokohama. Driving on the left, and even finding her way around town becoming like second nature to Midori.

It was on their second day in Yokohama, that Midori and Gabrielle made a discreet scouting trip. Passing within three blocks of Hiromi Sato’s apartment.

“Goro, lives in the penthouse or top floor, Hiromi on the floor underneath. All residents of the building are either Watanabe employees, family members or old and trusted friends.” Gabrielle said pointing out the Negishi Bay Tower. She and Midori had temporarily parked the convertible some five blocks from the apartment building.

Midori nodded. “Are we sure there isn’t something going on between Goro and Hiromi?”

“Positively nothing. Goro is married and has one son. We better get out of here before someone notices.”

Midori still wasn’t convinced as she drove off. Married men, even ones with their family living nearby, were known to have affairs. It would also account for why Hiromi had risen so fast in the Watanabe Yakuza. There really was a lot Midori didn’t know about the Watanabes or Hiromi Sato. Would her ignorance be Midori’s undoing one day?

"Are we sure Hiromi is single?"

"Yes. A check was made by the Japanese, there is no record of her ever being married."

'Probably a career woman, married to her job.' Midori thought. Japan had plenty of those of late, as evidenced by the country's declining birth rate.

On the fourth day of their ‘visit’, Midori and Gabrielle paid a visit to the Mt. Fuji area. This to some is considered the prettiest part of Japan. For surrounding Fuji, are many lakes. This making it a popular tourist destination.

It was while driving around the Mt. Fuji area that Midori had her second deja vu moment. “You know its like I was here yesterday. I think to myself where I want to go, and it comes right to me.”

“You said once that your mother took you here as a child sometimes.”

“Gabrielle that’s not it. It’s like I was here just days ago.” Midori said as she turned off a main road. “If we drive this road another four kilometers we’re almost at the home of Keiji Watanabe.”

“I believe you Midori. Why don’t we turn around? We shouldn’t take any chances.”

“You’re right Gabrielle.”

Midori and Gabrielle returned to Yokohama later that evening. As soon as she was alone in her hotel room, Gabrielle made a discreet phone call. It in order to set up an urgent meeting of the Swan Song committee.
 

*****
 
The meeting took place Sunday night around 11 p.m. Japan time. By then Midori and Gabrielle had left Yokohama and were now living in a safe house in the northern Japanese city of Aomori. It was there that Midori would get her final, Phase V training, before taking the place of Hiromi Sato.

Midori wasn’t aware of the Swan Song meeting, for she was asleep at the time. In addition to Gabrielle Tanaka, Major Ed Hollins, Deputy Director Grant Williamson, Dr. Wagner and Inspector Yoshida were all on the teleconference call. All five committee members being in different locations.

“What is your opinion Dr. Wagner?” Major Hollins asked the research scientist. This after Agent Tanaka explained about Midori’s deja vu moments when in and around Yokohama.

“Some patients after my DNA therapy gain the memories of the person whose DNA was selected for them.”

“You mean the Captain may now have some of Hiromi Sato’s memories? Gabrielle asked.

“Yes Fraulein Tanaka.”

“That isn’t necessarily a bad thing.” Major Hollins said thinking out loud. Inspector Yoshida seemed to agree. “Agent Tanaka, did Ripley show any side effects from these memories?”

“No major she didn’t.”

“What is your take on this Dr.Wagner?”

Dr. Wagner prefaced her comments by saying she and her research scientists were still studying what effects retained memory had on those who had the DNA therapy. “Our data is not sufficient enough to make a final conclusion.”

“But your tentative opinion doctor?”

“It shouldn’t interfere with the Ripley’s work. I think it may rather prove useful.”

“Are we all in agreement then?” Deputy Director Williamson asked.

Gabrielle had no reason to contradict the doctor. She only called the meeting as a precaution. “We are Major.”

“Thank you Agent Tanaka for sharing this information with us. It is the opinion of the committee that these issues won’t adversely affect either Ripley’s safety or the success of Swan Song. This meeting is adjourned.”
 

*****
 
After Yokohama, Midori began her final briefings before actually taking the place of Hiromi Sato. What started out as a 100 day operation was now down to its last twenty-five.

For the first time since leaving Ft. Detrick, the pace of operations began to slack off. Midori being declared ready by her instructors and the Swan Song Committee. One of Midori’s final briefings involved lessons in how to install computer software.

It was two weeks before D Day, when Midori learned about the Swan Song committee. She and Gabrielle were chatting over a beer while watching television. “How many people are working behind the scenes on this?”

“At one time or another or now?” Gabrielle asked. “I’d say almost two hundred for the first, at present about fifty.”

“But only a few know my identity?”

“Yes Midori, that’s correct. We been using a code word for you. We’re even tight lipped about that.”

“What is it?”

“Ripley.”

“Like believe it not I’m a woman?”

“No like the Sigourney Weaver character in the Aliens movie series. It was my idea.”

“You remembered me telling how Stewart got me into that movie when I wasn’t old enough to see it?”

Gabrielle laughed. “Yes I did, because I envied you having a brother who would do that for you. My oldest sister Roxanne wouldn’t do shit for me.”

“How about Swan Song? Where did that name come from and what does it mean?”

The title of the committee was pretty simple as Gabrielle explained. It arose from the names of two people killed by the Watanabe Yakuza. The first was the US airman Fred Swanson who had been murdered because of his debt to a loan shark.

The other part of the committee’s name came from a South Korean Judge whose family name was Song. Less than two months after sentencing a Watanabe cousin to a long jail sentence for drug trafficking in the ROK, the Judge and his wife were found murdered in their home. South Korean police believed the Watanabes were responsible for the killings but lacked proof.

“That’s why the South Koreans co-operated in the plan to infiltrate me as Hiromi Sato?”

Gabrielle nodded. “Yes it is. They want Goro Watanabe taken down as bad as we and the Japanese authorities.”

“I’m ready to my best. The anticipation is killing me now.”

Right then Midori felt like a soldier knowing they were only hours away from battle. Gabrielle understood how the Captain felt. “I know Midori. Eleven days from now is the best time to begin the snap and switch.”

“I understand that. Is there a Plan B in case Hiromi Sato doesn’t show up?”

Gabrielle nodded. “Yes but we hope not to have to use it.”

“Can I ask you a favor?”

“Absolutely.”

“Can I call home again tomorrow? It is my mother’s birthday.”

“We can do that Midori. You’re a good son.”

“I got the best parents.”

Midori called her mother just before 0800. the next day. It was late afternoon in Washington state. The Slaters were home.

The phone conversation closely resembled Midori’s mother’s day call. Mr. And Mrs. Slater were very happy to hear from her son. Midori telling them her training was almost over.

“Mom this is the last time I can call.”

“I understand Tom. You remember me during mission.”

“Mom, I’ll never forget you. I love you.”

Gabrielle was nearby and trying not to listen but couldn’t help doing so. The FBI agent wishing she and her parents got along similarly to how the Slaters did. Instead Gabrielle avoided her Mom and Dad, who still didn’t approve of her career choice. That’s why the agent had gone home only twice in the last two years and only called infrequently also.

“Are you working still with that nice FBI agent?”

“Yes Mom, she’s here. Hold on for a minute.”

Gabrielle tried waving off Midori. “No, I don’t want to.”

“Mom just wants to say hi.” Midori said as she handed Gabrielle the phone.

After some hesitation, Gabrielle took it. “Hello Mrs. Slater....yes we’re working together....he is doing good.....oh.........Yes I will try.......Thank you.......Nice talking Mrs. Slater, say hello to Mr. Slater for me. I’ll put your son back on the phone.”

Midori talked with her mother a few more minutes before saying hanging up the phone. “Mom turned fifty-six today.”

“She looks good for her age.”

Very little or nothing was planned for that day and Midori was itching to get into action. Gabrielle had another idea. “You know what we both need?”

“What’s that?”

“A manicure and a pedicure.”

Midori looked at her nails. “You got a point. Lets get going then.”
 

*****
 
Six days before the snatch of Hiromi Sato was to take place, the unexpected happened. Inspector Yoshida got a message from one of two Yokohama plainclothes policemen who were keeping a discreet surveillance on Yakuza accountant.

“Beancounter(Hiromi Sato) is moving. She has baggage with her.”

“Repeat.”

“Beancounter is MOVING AND HAS BAGGAGE with her.”

“Tail her but be discreet. Check back in after you find out where Beancounter is going.” Inspector Yoshida told the plainclothesmen. Then the policeman picked up his phone to begin a series of long distance calls.

An emergency session of the Swan Song committee was called into session via teleconference call a few hours later. Midori was allowed to sit in.

“Beancounter took a flight to Chitose this afternoon.” Chitose was the location of Hokkaido island’s largest airport.

“We thought she wouldn’t be leaving till Friday.” Deputy Director Williamson remarked. “Do you we know yet what caused the change in plans?”

“No sir. Her plane is en route to Chitose at this moment. I’m trying to put together a team to follow Beancounter once she arrives in Chitose but her departure has caught us unprepared.”

While Director Williamson grilled the Japanese officials on how this could have happened, Midori turned to Gabrielle and whispered. “Does this mean it will be Plan B then?”

“Don’t know Midori. We’ll have to wait and see.”

Another twenty-four hours passed before Swan Song discovered the reason for the abrupt departure of Hiromi Sato for Chitose. It was because the woman’s Great Aunt and person who had raised her, Emiko Takagi, had suffered a stroke. Emiko was eighty-three years of age and not expected to live.

Discreet enquiries made at the hospital told Swan Song that Emiko Takagi was on life support and that Hiromi Sato was staying at her Great Aunt’s bedside. A second meeting of the Swan Song committee in the same numbers of days had everyone re-evaluating Plan A and if it was still possible.

Plan A’s genesis came from one of the Hiromi Sato’s few known tendencies. Every year in Japan there is the festival of Bon. Bon is when Japanese return to the place they grew up, honored their dead ancestors and often had family reunions. Hiromi Sato was from the city of Kushiro on Hokkaido’s north eastern coast. Every year Hiromi would return home at the time of the Buddhist holiday, always visiting her Great Aunt in Kushiro.

This known movement of Hiromi Sato wasn’t the only reason Swan Song had been planned and scheduled as it was. There were two other key factors. First was the fact that Hiromi made these trips unaccompanied. Without the goon squads that usually accompanied high ranking Yakuza wherever they went.

Secondly, after Bon was over, Hiromi Sato always took some time for herself. After some investigation was done, it was discovered that Hiromi had a small cabin near Mount Ishikari. Hiromi would stay at the cabin for anywhere from two to four days and always by herself.

The cabin was the location chosen for the snatch of Hiromi Sato and putting Midori in her place. Now if her Aunt died, would Hiromi still make her annual visit to the cabin?

“May I ask a question?” It was the first time Midori had spoken up at a Swan Song meeting.

“Of course Captain.”

“Are we certain Hiromi Sato is always alone at this cabin? I mean there has to be a reason this woman goes there.”

“We’re ninety percent certain Hiromi visits the cabin by herself. The reason? Your guess is as good as mine Captain.” Replied Major Hollins.

Gabrielle spoke up. “This is just my and a few other’s theory. We think Hiromi Sato goes there to take a rest.”

Midori nodded her head. ‘What all of you are telling me is this is all guesswork. Great if its not your ass on the line, instead its MINE.’

A plan to make the snatch and switch in Kushiro was proposed but ultimately rejected. Since arriving at her Aunt’s bedside, Hiromi Sato had been in constant contact with friends and family in Yokohama. If Hiromi suddenly went quiet, suspicions may be raised. There was also the fact that associates or family could arrive in Kushiro to be at Hiromi’s side. This could happen at any time.

While the Emiko Takagi death watch continued, discussions about Plan B took place. What Midori found out was- There was no real Plan B.

Any possible Plan B also consisted of snatching Hiromi Sato when she traveled outside the Yokohama/Mt. Fuji area. The drawback in this plan, and it was sizable, was that Hiromi’s other travels were almost never known in advance.

Inspector Yoshida filled in the known details of Hiromi Sato’s prior international. “She has been abroad to Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, Zurich Switzerland, and London England. All in the last three years”

Most of those cities made sense based on their importance in the world financial community and Hiromi Sato’s known role in the Watanabe Yakuza. Her most recent trips were to Hong Kong in June, Singapore in May and Australia in January.

“We were notified of the Hong Kong trip. By the time we learned of it, Hiromi Sato had already left for the city.” Inspector Yoshida informed Midori.

What little was known about these trips was discussed. Which wasn’t much, only when traveling to Australia had Hiromi traveled without Yakuza backup. While down under, Hiromi made a visit to Alice Springs.

“Who the fuck goes to Alice Springs in January? It’s 115 in the shade there at that time of the year.” Major Hollins remarked. Being located south of the equator, January was summertime in Australia.

After considerable discussion, no action was taken. However it was mentioned at the end of the second meeting, that if the snatch couldn’t take place on Hokkaido within the next month, Swan Song may have to be aborted. Either temporarily or permanently.

Midori decided to have a Japanese beer after dinner that night. Gabrielle noticed the odd choice in beverage by her friend.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“No, come on and tell me.”

Midori looked at Gabrielle, then at her beer, then back at Gabrielle before speaking. “Since before I left Detrick, I’ve put aside any and all reluctance that I had about this mission.”

“Yes Midori, I know you have.”

“Now I’m being told this whole thing could end up being cancelled. That means I got to go back to Dr. Wagner and both you and I know what that means?”

“You get to be a man again.”

“If the formula works.”

“It will.”

Midori drank some more of her beer. “Stop bullshitting me Gabrielle. We were both there. Dr. Wagner said it is only fifty percent.....”

“Fifty two percent.” Gabrielle corrected Midori.

“Whatever. Fifty-two percent successful. So how do you think I feel?”

“Midori you got to think it will work.”

“That’s easy for you to say. You’re not the one who got their gender changed permanently for a mission that ended up never happening.”

Gabrielle didn’t say anything while Midori drank some more beer. The Captain had to express her feelings.

“As much as I may have disliked it, if I’d gotten that cocksucker Watanabe and his family dead or thrown in jail for life, I would at least feel my sacrifice was worth it.”

“Midori it isn’t over yet.”

“I am going to get drunk if you don’t mind.”

“Captain I can order you to stop drinking.”

Midori looked at Gabrielle and then at the beer she was drinking. Japanese beer tasted like shit to the Captain. The threat to get drunk was an empty one.

Right then someone began knocking at the door. Gabrielle went to see who it was. While the FBI agent was doing this, Midori got up to use the bathroom.

When Midori was done, she found Gabrielle waiting for her. “We got some news. Emiko Takagi died three hours ago. There is going to be a funeral in two days.”

Operation Swan Song may not be cancelled after all.
 

*****
 
Emiko Takagi’s funeral went off as announced. In addition to Hiromi Sato, Keiji Watanabe and six other known members of the Watanabe Yakuza were in attendance. Plus another fifteen to twenty men and women. These were either friends or co-workers of Hiromi.

Swan Song kept the burial ceremony under discreet surveillance with the use of long range cameras. After the funeral was over, the first good news in almost a week occurred.

Hiromi Sato didn’t return to Yokohama. Instead she went back to her Aunt’s home.

Another committee meeting was held. By this time Gabrielle, Midori, and other participants in the planned snap and switch were at a 7th Division Army installation near Chitose. Everyone ready to move on one hour notice. Others were watching the home of Emiko Takagi

“It was hoped we could detain Miss Sato in order to interrogate her and extract more information before putting you in her place Captain, but that doesn’t look possible now.” Director Williamson said.

‘I’m going in blind then. You know being stuck as a woman might not be so bad after all.’ Midori thought to herself.

The details of the snatch operation were now made known to Midori. Originally the plan was to take Hiromi at her cabin. Use thiopental to learn anything from Hiromi, then insert Midori in her place. All while making certain no one saw the switch.

The remoteness of Hiromi’s cabin, made this the ideal place. However it wasn’t known if Hiromi would still be going there. Instead a raid was set for 0530 hours the next day and would take place at the home of the late Emiko Takagi.

Some good news arrived during the meeting. It was learned Hiromi Sato had just made plane reservations to return to Yokohama in five days.

“She called Yokohama and spoke to one of the Watanabe shareigashiras,” Inspector Yoshida said after returning to the room. The policeman had stepped out for almost twenty minutes. “ Hiromi Sato said she would be flying to Yokohoma four days from tomorrow.”

A messenger then came into the room with a slip of paper for Inspector Yoshida. “We’ve confirmed an All Nippon Airways reservation for that date in the name of Hiromi Sato. A 11:17 a.m. flight from Chitose to Haneda Airport.” Tokyo/Haneda, rather than Narita, was the airport most convenient for people living in Yokohama.

“Then we’re a go for tomorrow. Are you ready Captain?”

“Yes sir, I am.”

“Good. Tomorrow is Day one, at the end of Day three you will get your final briefing. Then on Day four you become Hiromi Sato. Day five is the day you return to Yokohama.” Major Hollins explained.

“Understood sir.”

The next day the snatch team went in. It consisted of five men and one woman. They were successful in capturing Hiromi Sato, without either a struggle or a shot being fired. To make it look like Hiromi went away unannounced, her rental car was driven off by one of the team members.

Two nights later, Midori got briefed on what was learned from Hiromi Sato. It wasn’t much, thiopental aka truth serum, is notoriously unreliable.

Gabrielle wouldn’t be seeing Midori off on Day four. “Good luck, please come back in one piece. For me.”

“I’ll try.”

“When you get back I want to see you Tom.” Then Gabrielle reached out with her face, Midori met her halfway, the end result was a brief kiss on the other’s lips.

Major Hollins saw Midori just before she left for Kushiro the next morning. “There are three countries depending on you Captain.”

“Yes sir, I understand.” Midori replied back. After being wished good luck, Hiromi Sato drove off. From that point on, that was who Army Captain Tom Slater would have to convince the world she really was.

The drive to Kushiro was uneventful, with Hiromi arriving at the home of the late Emiko Takagi shortly before 4 p.m. No adults were around in the small alleyway where the house was, however there were three or four children outside playing. None were paying particular attention when Hiromi let herself into the house.

Hiromi spent the rest of the day familiarizing herself with the possessions she now had. There were few surprises, the real Hiromi dressed well but conservatively. The only two things of note were a prescription, a small white pill that Hiromi was to take daily. After getting herself a glass of water, Hiromi took the pill.

During her briefings, Hiromi had been advised she might suffer from allergies. So far, Hiromi had no sign of this or any other medical issue. Perhaps it was seasonal, or maybe the Army and FBI had gotten their information wrong. If the later, what was the medication for then?

The other item Hiromi found among her possessions was much more interesting. After looking through one of the handbags she now owned, Hiromi learned she was now the owner of a Glock 26 handgun. Also known as a Baby Glock.
 

*****
 
At about the same time that Hiromi Sato re-appeared in Kushiro, a private jet took off from Chitose Airport bound for the United States. On board were FBI Deputy Director Grant Williamson, Army Major Ed Hollins and Special Agent Gabrielle Tanaka. Their destination? Washington DC.

Gabrielle would only be away from Japan for a short time. Till Swan Song was terminated, the FBI agent would be in close contact with those Japanese also working on the operation. Gabrielle would have quite a few cross Pacific plane trips to do in the days ahead.

Few trips would be as interesting as the first one for Gabrielle. Only minutes after takeoff, Grant Williamson and Major Hollins began having a conversation. Gabrielle wasn’t a part of the chat, but couldn’t help hearing it.

“Good luck Captain Slater and may God be with you.” Major Ed Hollins remarked as he looked out the plane’s window.

“What do you think are the chances of Captain Slater surviving Swan Song?”

“One in ten.”

Gabrielle’s ears perked up on hearing this. She began to listen more carefully without it looking like she was eavesdropping. That Gabrielle appeared to be reading, proved to be helpful.

“You’re right. There is too little we know about the Sato woman. Sooner or later the Captain will be tripped up.”

“Overall I think Swan Song’s chance of success is at least fifty-fifty. The Captain should at least be able to start phase six. When we start receiving those computer downloads, the Watanabes goose should be cooked. For good.”

Deputy Director Williamson nodded. “One life lost won’t matter much if that happens. Captain Slater isn’t married?”

“No. The only family he has is his parents and two married sisters. There is no one else.” Major Hollins said.

‘There’s me you dumb fuck!’ Gabrielle thought to herself as she fought to keep her feelings deeply buried inside herself. Three months of working side by side with Captain Slater had caused the FBI agent to grow closer to that person than anyone Gabrielle had ever met before.

Gabrielle growing fond of or falling in love with Tom Slater wasn’t supposed to happen, but it did. If anything happened to Tom Slater, and Gabrielle was fully aware of the extreme danger the Captain was in, she would be deeply hurt. These idiots were so cavalier in regards to Tom Slater’s fate, it made Gabrielle want to scream.

“If the Captain dies, we’ll have her remains sent home for burial.”

“That is if THERE are any,” Major Hollins added. “Her body is liable to end up at the bottom of Tokyo Bay if she’s caught.”

Gabrielle wanted to get up and slap the shit out of these two male jerks, but remained seated. ‘One day you two will get your payback. Payback is a bitch!’ The FBI agent thought to herself.

It wasn’t till they were halfway across the Pacific, that Gabrielle learned a new bit of intelligence about Hiromi Sato. It arrived in an email from Inspector Yoshida and it would certainly complicate the life of Captain Slater in the months ahead.

“Holy shit,” Gabrielle muttered under her breath. “How will Tom react when she finds out about this?”
 

~*~
 
To be continued in Part Three

          My little sportscar - Hiromi had taken Chuck for a ride and used his stick(shift/shaft) to drive very fast. It was all a bit perverted, but still an apt nickname.
          Not long afterwards, Hiromi fell asleep. Captain Slater had re-emerged by then, feeling repulsed by what she had just done. She knew she had no choice if Swan Song would have any chance of succeeding. How many more times would Tom have to please Chuck before completing this mission?

A brief synopsis- Army Captain Tom Slater has been asked by the FBI and the US Army, to infilitrate a Japanese organized crime family. But first the Captain has to undergo some interesting DNA therapy and training to prepare him...her for the mission.

This story is dedicated to Sharonna. Sharonna created a few stories featuring what she called the ‘Community Service’ program. My transformation and plot in this story were inspired some by Sharonna’s story U.S. Marshals.

Note- I used a plot device once used in a Tom Clancy novel, “The Bear and the Dragon.” Chalk it up to a lack of computer expertise or imagination from me. I just didn’t know how else to work this part of my plot. In any event it’s just a very tiny bit of the story that follows.

I want to say thank you to Andi, Circe, and in particular Daphne for their help with this story.

Enjoy. This is a long story with just a smidgen of sex.(Two scenes and not till later in the story) If you’re looking for either a short story or lots of sex, don’t bother reading.
 

~*~
 
Hiromi had been up around about an hour, when she heard the sound of someone knocking at the front door. Who could it be? A neighbor? By Hiromi’s watch it was barely 6:30 in the morning. The knocking sound became louder as she approached the door. Without asking who it was, Hiromi opened the door.

“Morning boss,” Said a sandy haired man in his late thirties. His voice had a Cockney accent. “Mind if we come in?”

Hiromi immediately recognized the man from one of her many briefings. His name was Roger Hyde, a former member of the British SAS, and supposedly head of the goon squad that kept a close eye on Hiromi Sato when she was in Yokohama and most anywhere else.

“No, come in,” Hiromi said as she watched Roger, a Polynesian man only known as Kimo, and a Japanese woman named Reina Shimizu come into the house. “I’m almost through packing.”

“Can we help?” Roger asked as Reina and Kimo kept busy by checking the rest of the house out.

“You can put the bags in my car outside.”

After Roger instructed another guard named Yuri to see to Hiromi’s bags, the head bodyguard passed some information on to his Taro or boss. “There’s been a change of plan boss.”

Hiromi had already guessed that. She wasn’t anticipating anyone coming to meet her in Kushiro. That wasn’t the plan laid out by the Swan Song committee. “Like what?”

“Oyabun wants to see you pronto. Like yesterday in fact. He sent us to fetch you. We got a plane nearby to take you back.”

“Just give me a few minutes. I’ll be ready.”

“We’ll be waiting boss.”

Hiromi went back in the master bedroom and closed the door. Admittedly she wasn’t dressed for an audience with Goro Watanabe, but Roger and his goons appeared impatient. For some reason the Oyabun wanted to see Hiromi immediately.

For her return to Yokohama, Hiromi was wearing a fuschia stripped polo shirt, white pants and shoes, plus she had a black hobo bag. For her trip back to Yokohama, Hiromi had planned on wearing dark sunglasses.

After double-checking her appearance, plus putting on some earrings, Hiromi emerged from the bedroom. “I’m ready.”

On leaving the house, Hiromi was walked over to a nearby SUV. “What about my rental?”

“Reina will return it for you. She’ll come back on the flight you booked. Won’t you love?”

The female bodyguard answered in the affirmative at the same moment Hiromi got into the SUV. As soon as Roger, Yuri, and Kimo were inside, the four of them drove off.

The city of Kushiro has a small executive airport. A Grumman jet with two pilots on board was waiting for Hiromi and her party. The plane was airborne less than five minutes after the aircraft’s main door was shut.

‘Swan Song is now go.’ Hiromi told herself.’ Over three months of hard work had culminated in Captain Thomas Slater taking the place of Hiromi Sato. The danger factor in regards to her mission was already being felt. Hiromi was on board a plane with three very dangerous men who could just as easily break her in two as throw her out the plane door at 35,000 feet. Roger, Kimo, and Yuri, were not men to be fooled with. They were also paid help, or mercenaries. They could switch sides very easily and become foe instead of protector. Hiromi knew she couldn’t allow herself to get too close to these people.

The flight to Haneda airport took an hour. On arrival, Hiromi climbed in the back of a car that was waiting for her. As soon as the guards were in the vehicle too, the vehicle set off for Yokohama.

The Watanabe Yakuza, like many American based organized crime, used legitimate businesses to cover their activities and launder their money. Goro Watanabe’s empire was based out of the same building that was home to Yokohama’s biggest bank, Pacific Sun. The office was in Nishi-Ku, one of Yokohama’s eighteen wards.

Hiromi was again getting those deja vu feelings again as she arrived at the bank. It was like she had visited the place before. The moment she got out of the car with Kimo and Roger flanking her, Hiromi knew exactly where to go in the underground parking garage. A single elevator, around a corner, was just twenty feet away.

A key was needed to use this elevator, and Kimo had it. Once they were all inside, Roger hit the button for the twenty-third floor, the ride being made in absolute silence.

The elevator opened on the twenty-third floor to a narrow, short hallway. Guards were posted at both ends. Hiromi went straight to the end. When she got there, the door was held open for her.

On the other side of the door were metal detectors and a conveyor belt, just like at an airport. Hiromi placed her bag on the conveyor and walked through the detectors.

It just now occurred to Hiromi, that the Glock-26 was still in her handbag. Certainly the security had to have seen it when it went through x-ray. Still they gave the black hobo bag back to her. No questions asked.

On the other hand Hiromi’s guards had to wait outside. That gave Hiromi the impression that there were either degrees of trust in the Yakuza or that or Hiromi Sato was very close to the top of the Watanabe Yakuza. She was someone much more than just its accountant and financial advisor.

Hiromi had truly arrived in the Yakuza. If someone expected a seedy like atmosphere, they would have been surprised. The offices were modern, the people working there all professional looking. The same could even be said for the guards.

As soon as Hiromi walked in, every last man and woman not standing, did so and bowed at Hiromi. Hiromi had another deja vu moment, recognizing the men and women there and even being able to name some of them.

'I really have Hiromi Sato’s memories. Is that good or bad?’ Hiromi thought to herself as she walked towards a back office. A secretary approximately thirty years of age rising as she approached.

“Ah, Sato-san, yoku irrasyaimashita! Oyabun anata o matte imasu. Doozo, ohaite kudasai.” The secretary said. Without stopping, Hiromi bowed her head in acknowledgment, before going straight into Goro Watanabe’s office.

Goro Watanabe looked even more impressive in person than he did in the many photos and video Midori had seen over the last few months. Immaculately dressed, he looked like any other Japanese business tycoon, but Hiromi knew the real Goro too. A man who could be absolutely ruthless as quickly as it took to flip a light switch.

The Oyabun was on the phone when Hiromi entered, but gestured for her to take a seat. Hiromi waited silently till Goro finished his call.

When he was off the phone, Goro Watanabe was all smiles. "It is good to see you again, Hiromi.”

“It is good to be back Oyabun-san.”

“Hiromi-chan, doo shite sonna takai Nihongo to boku ni tsukatteru? Futari dake deskedo.” Why so formal Hiromi? We are alone and after all cousins.”

‘Cousins?’ Hiromi asked herself in shock. Now a lot of things began making sense. Like how Hiromi Sato had risen so quickly in the Yakuza.

Of course there were still many things Hiromi didn’t know. "Sumimasen, Goro-san! Kuse desu kara. Toku ni, anata to.”

Hiromi had just told the Oyabun she was being respectful. This caused the otherwise businesslike Goro to smile. “Grandfather sends you his best. He hopes you can pay him a visit this weekend.”

Another thing clicked in Hiromi’s mind

“How was your trip today?”

“It was good.”

Goro looked Hiromi in the eye as he used both hands to twirl a ballpoint pen in his hands. “I am sorry about Aunt Emiko.”

“Thank you.”

“Regrettably I could not come to Kushiro for the funeral. Are all her affairs in order now?”

“Almost. I have put her home up for sale.”

Goro nodded. “Hiromi, I wish it would have been possible of me to allow you more time now, but Uncle and I needed you back.”

“Oyabun, I am ready to return to work.”

“Good, good. There are financial reports prepared and waiting for your examination. There will be a meeting Friday to discuss these.”

“I’ll go right to work on them.”

“Then I won’t keep you any longer.” Goro replied. Hiromi took this as a message that their meeting was over. After rising from her chair, Hiromi bowed to Oyabun before leaving the office.

Roger and the goon squad were waiting for Hiromi. “Where to boss?”

“The office.”

The office, one of several but the most used, of Hiromi Sato was at Watanabe Trucking. Yokohama being a major port city, trucks were needed to move cargo and freight to and from the port. The company made the perfect cover for Goro Watanabe’s illicit activities.

On getting to her office, Hiromi again had a deja vu moment. They were unnerving, but made it easy for Tom Slater to pass as Hiromi Sato.

“Welcome back Taro-san. I am so sorry to hear about your Aunt’s passing.” Said a secretary standing in front of Hiromi’s office.

“Domo arigato.” Hiromi replied back. The secretary then handed her boss a large amount of phone messages. After receiving these, Hiromi went straight into the office.

The office was approximately half the size of Goro’s but still spacious. A large desk with a computer on it and was the main feature of the room. There were three vases of flowers spread around the room.

As soon as she got behind her desk, Hiromi pushed the start button on her PC and proceeded to kick her shoes off. While the computer warmed up, she checked the dozen red roses that were on her desk.

A small card came along with the vase. All that was written on it was ‘From C’

Hiromi had more pressing concerns than guessing who C was. Like how was she to evaluate financial reports for a company she knew little about.

Later on Hiromi checked the other flowers in the room. The cards that came with them said they were people in the office. As the day went on, more flowers arrived for Hiromi.

As Hiromi signed onto the computer, the password she used was one of the few bits of information learned from the real Hiromi during the time she was under the influence of thiopental, one of her employees walked it. She was a young woman in her late twenties and she was carrying a tray.

“Taro-san, it is good to see you back. I have brought you your tea and newspapers.”

“Thank you Suki.” Hiromi replied back. Suki then gave her boss three newspapers, The Asian Wall Street Journal, The International Herald Tribune, and lastly The Mainichi Daily News. After that Hiromi’s tea was poured.

As a financial advisor, Hiromi would have to be up to date on both financial news and world events. Not long after settling in, Hiromi turned a television set on in her room. Its volume turned down low, and its channel set to CNBC Asia.

“Anything else you need now?”

“No nothing Suki.”

After bowing to Hiromi, Suki left the room. As she did, Hiromi watched the young woman carefully. Suki’s name had appeared on her lips as freely as if Hiromi had known the tea server for years.

Which in reality, Hiromi had but in another life. The tea server’s name, was Suki Kobayashi, the first girl to ever share a kiss with Tom Slater.
 

~*~
 
As Hiromi got settled into the office, she found out just how acquainted she was with the Yakuza family she was now a part of. The financial reports, were monthly statements on the receipts and expenses for every business Goro Watanabe had a piece of. Reading and evaluating these took time. While doing this, Hiromi took notes so in order to make her report to Goro.

The more Hiromi worked that day, the more at ease she felt in her surroundings. Employees came in to consult with her, or give reports. Each time Hiromi feeling like she had been there before, and the answers she needed to give coming like she had done this all her life.

All of this Hiromi considered good news. This would have been a suicide mission without the real Hiromi’s inside info. It did occur to her, had the Army or bureau known she would get these memories all along?

During the day Hiromi had phone calls to answer and some calls to make herself. Suki came in at a little after 4 p.m. to give her boss a message along with some more tea.

Meeting at 11 a.m. tomorrow, Tuesday. Will you be in attendance?

The message was signed by Chokichi Sato, Vice-President Kanagawa Bank.

Hiromi checked the financial reports she received that day, one was there from the bank. So Goro Watanabe had a stake in that financial institution. That meant Hiromi should attend the next day’s meeting.

Picking up her desk phone, Hiromi buzzed her secretary. “Aki, please call Mr. Sato at Kanagawa Bank. Tell him I will be at tomorrow’s meeting.”

“Yes Sato-san. I’ll do that at once.”

Later on, Hiromi got to check her email account. It was the usual collection of spam mail, a lot of good viagra and penis enlargement would do her now, plus at least fifty business related mail. Hiromi decided she would let Aki Yomura, her personal assistant and secretary, go through these email and sort them out in order of importance.

There was one email titled Hi. Curious as to what this was, Hiromi opened it.

I get back to Yokohama Wednesday night. See you soon.

C

‘Who is C?’ Hiromi asked herself. That part of her acquired memory was at a loss for this bit of info. With more work to do than she had hours in the day, Hiromi moved on other matters.

Hiromi called it a day shortly before 7 p.m. Tuesday would be another day, and actually a very important one so far as Swan Song went.

It took Hiromi around forty minutes to get to the apartment building she first saw during her scouting trip to Yokohama with Gabrielle. A private elevator took Hiromi and her goon squad up to the forty-fourth floor or just one below the penthouse.

Coming out of the elevator one stepped into a small reception area. More men were positioned here, one of who held a door open for Hiromi to pass through.

On the other side the doorway were even more guards lining a wide hallway, a large apartment being on either side of it. Hiromi walked toward the main door on the hallway’s left.

“Anything else you need tonight boss?” Roger Hyde asked.

“No, nothing.”

“See you at the usual time boss,” Roger said as he held the door open for Hiromi. “Have a good night.”

Hiromi took, her shoes off and put slippers on instead as soon as she was in the apartment. Feeling starved after a long day at work, Hiromi wondered what she would do for dinner.

Preparing dinner for herself was something Hiromi need not worry about. Someone had beaten her to it.

“Good evening Miss Sato,” Said an Asian woman who wasn’t Japanese. “Please be seated, I’ll have dinner for you in a few minutes.”

“Thank you Juanita.” Hiromi replied back as she took a seat. The real Hiromi’s memories were again coming to the rescue. Juanita Perez, a native of the Philippines, was Hiromi’s cook/housekeeper.

“Juice or wine tonight?”

“Juice please.”

Hiromi was served some Japanese seafood dish, along with salad and a glass of freshly squeezed Orange Juice. The fish was quite delicious.

After finishing her meal, Hiromi got up. She wanted to check out the apartment.

“Anything else you need tonight Miss Sato?”

“No Juanita, I won’t be needing you anymore.”

Hiromi had already seen the center of the apartment, the large living room combination sitting room/dining area, which had large draped windows one could look on high at the City of Yokohama below and in the distance..

The master bedroom was the next room for Hiromi to survey. It was.....well a bedroom. There was a bathroom next to it and a large walk-in closet. Hiromi was hardly surprised by the large amounts of female clothing, shoes and accessories she now owned. Having something appropriate to wears on any given day was not a problem for Hiromi

On the other side of the apartment were three rooms. Two of the rooms were smaller bedrooms, one of which doubled as a study. If Hiromi had work to do at home, this room was where she would do it.

The fourth room was an exercise room. In there were a treadmill, stationary bike and weight bench. In addition to all of this, the apartment had a high tech sound system, with speakers in each room. From any room, Hiromi could hear and experience music like few others on the planet Earth.

Hiromi had seen enough, so she retired to the bedroom and prepared a bath for herself. She was living in luxury but extreme danger at the same time. A few months of the former wouldn’t compensate for ending up dead, if Hiromi was ever unmasked.

Before going to bed, Hiromi spent time reading that day’s newspapers (She hadn’t had time for this earlier in the day) while listening to music. Just before going to sleep, Hiromi looked out her bedroom windows at Negishi Bay. Hiromi contemplating not just what lay ahead for her in the days ahead but where a friend was right then.

“I miss you Gabrielle Tanaka.”
 

~*~
 
Tuesday began for Hiromi when her alarm clock went off at 5:45. As soon as the sleep was shaken from her head, Hiromi began an exercise routine not all that dissimilar to one done by Tom Slater: Sit-ups and push-ups but in smaller amounts. Then fifteen minutes on the treadmill in place of Captain Slater’s morning jog.

After that, Hiromi showered, dressed, and made up for the day. Hiromi had long ago decided to make a few ‘improvements’ on her new appearance. One being a drastic reduction in the eye makeup she wore. Not wanting to draw attention or suspicion, Hiromi would gradually make her planned changes.

With a Bank board meeting to attend, Hiromi dressed appropriately for that day. A pin stripped skirt and white blouse without ruffles plus a knee length skirt. On Hiromi’s feet were two-inch Salvatore Ferragamo pumps.

Hiromi came out for breakfast a few minutes before 7:15. Not surprisingly, Juanita was waiting for employer. As soon as Hiromi was seated, Juanita poured a cup of coffee.

It was an exceptional cup of Java, Hiromi quickly concluded as she began to read the morning headlines. A few moments later, a bowl of oatmeal was served to her.

While Hiromi was finishing of her coffee, Roger Hyde came into the apartment.“Boss, what’s the plan for today?”

“My car.”

“We’re ready whenever you are.”

Hiromi left the apartment five minutes later. Roger, Kimo, and Yuri joining their boss for the elevator ride down to the parking garage.

The previous night, Hiromi had gotten a glimpse of ‘my car’. A yellow 2006 Nissan Fairlady. It was parked three spaces away from the elevators. For the ride into the office, Reina Shimizu back from Kushiro after taking the plane reservation meant for her boss, would be accompanying Hiromi. The rest of her protection team would be in a trailing car.

“Good morning Taro-san.” Reina said with a bow of acknowledgment to her boss. The two women then climbed into the car and drove off.

Hiromi had little time to waste on Tuesday morning, therefore she delayed beginning Phase VI of Swan Song. This did not go unnoticed either in parts of Japan or the United States.

For her bank meeting, Hiromi had familiarized herself as much as possible with Kanagawa Bank. What she learned, intrigued Hiromi.

Kanagawa Bank had been in business a little over a century. Today it was still owned in part by descendants of its original owner, Wataro Kurosawa. The bank was well connected in Japan, both through its support of various political candidates and because a member of Japan’s Royal family had once acknowledged he did all his business with Kanagawa. That kind of endorsement does wonders with the Japanese people.

As Japan emerged as an economic power, Kanagawa changed. While it still provided traditional banking services, it moved into other financial services like the stock brokerage business. Kanagawa also became a significant Asian player in the business of Currency trading.

The last almost proved to be Kanagawa’s undoing. In 1997, financial markets across Asia were rocked when Thai government’s decision to float their currency, the baht. This had ripple effects throughout the region. Japan maybe more than others, because the country was in recession at the time.

Kanagawa Bank, caught moving the wrong way in its currency holdings, was soon in a dire crisis. Not just because of the financial crisis, but because one Kurosawa family member had been misusing large sums of Japanese yen belonging to the bank. Almost all spent on extravagant living, and this combined with the bank’s other problems, had left Kanagawa on the brink of collapse.

That’s when Keiji Watanabe stepped in. To save their bank, plus face which in Asian culture matters greatly, the Kurosawa family allowed the Yakuza head to buy a secret majority share of the bank. Kanagawa after some revamping and a overhaul of management, had become a major cash cow for the Watanabes and a conduit for the crime family to launder its money.

What Hiromi discovered on Tuesday was, she was the largest stockholder of Kanagawa.(To cover their tracks, Hiromi and the Watanabes used holding companies to avoid showing a direction connection to Kanagawa. However these were all owned by Hiromi) Had been since the Watanabes bailed the bank out in 1998. The bank a toy or present from Keiji Watanabe to his beloved granddaughter.

Bottom line - Hiromi Sato was one very wealthy woman, wealth meant power, not that Hiromi didn’t wield plenty of that in her work for Goro Watanabe. She wasn’t a glorified bookkeeper, that was for certain.

The bank meeting was long and tedious. Things like audits, an upcoming stockholder meeting, the possible purchase of a Hong Kong based bank and other matters were discussed. About halfway through the meeting, those in attendance broke for an hour lunch.

This and her work for Goro Watanabe put Hiromi further behind schedule. Phase VI of Swan Song would have to wait. With her life at stake, Hiromi wanted to do it at a time she was the least distracted.
 

~*~
 
The delayed implementation of Swan Song’s Phase VI, as already noted, had not gone unnoticed. Deputy FBI Director Williamson therefore called a meeting to discuss it. It was Wednesday morning East coast time or almost midnight in Japan Wednesday night/Thursday morning

“Theories on why Ripley hasn’t begun the next phase?” Deputy Williamson asked.

Gabrielle was at the meeting via conference call. She was in New York City, readying to testify in federal court involving the trial of a Vietnamese-American gang involved with the selling of narcotics in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Staten Island.

“Operational Security.” Was Gabrielle’s answer to Deputy Williamson’s question.

“Elaborate Agent Tanaka.”

Gabrielle did just that. “We should expect her to be cautious, because of the dangers involved.”
“Yes but Ripley has been in place three days already. She should have had the time by now.” Deputy Director Williamson stated and Major Hollins concurred. “If Phase VI isn’t started by say Monday, we may have to make contact with Chrysanthemum in order to find out what the delay is for.”

Again Gabrielle had to hide her annoyance. Almost everyone but her was being impatient, but it wasn’t their life on the line. All personal feelings aside, Gabrielle felt certain Tom Slater had to have a good reason for not starting Swan Song’s Phase VI yet.

At least Inspector Yoshida was on Ripley’s side. Well sort of. “Contacting Agent Chrysanthemum is risky for both that agent and for Ripley. I would only advise such action when absolutely necessary only. We can always make contact if necessary.”

Gabrielle added. “Besides Ripley has been sighted each of the last two days.”

In the end The Swan Song committee took no action. The meeting did confirm again that Captain Slater was considered expendable by almost everyone involved with Swan Song. That is except for Gabrielle Tanaka.
 

~*~
 
Not long after getting the body of Hiromi Sato, Tom Slater learned how heavy a sleeper she had become. Take for instance alarm clocks, if not set to maximum volume and preferably a heavy metal rock radio station, they may not cause Hiromi to do anything more than roll over. When extremely tired, like she was after first taking the real Hiromi’s place, Ripley was even more of a heavy sleeper.

So when someone entered the apartment, showered, changed into pajamas and then climbed into bed aside her, Hiromi heard or noticed nothing. That was until a scratchy face firmly planted a kiss just below her left ear.

“Kimi-chan! Modotta-yo! Aishiteru ne?” Hey, Baby I’m back! I love you, y’know?

Hiromi’s eyes opened wide as the man kissed her again on the neck. Spinning herself around, Hiromi quickly found herself in the arms of a very tall man. The dimly lit bedroom made it hard to see the person’s features.

The guy then pressed his lips against Hiromi’s lips. Everything Tom Slater was began to revolt at what was happening, even as Hiromi Sato began to kiss back.

That wasn’t all. The man’s erect penis was pressing against Hiromi. At the same time Hiromi was feeling very warm and or tingly in her genitalia.

Even in this moment of passion, memories came flooding into Hiromi’s mind. Now she knew who the mysterious C was. His name was Charles or Chuck McBride, and he was Hiromi’s live-in gaijin boyfriend. Chuck originally being from Australia.

“Chuck?”

“Yes my little sports car?” Chuck asked between kisses. “Sorry if I surprised you.”

Hiromi lied. “No....no you didn’t. I was....I am so tired.”

“Ok love. You been busy since getting back?”

“Yes very busy.”

“I’ll let you go to sleep then,” Charles said before kissing Hiromi one last time before releasing her from his grasp. “We’ll chat in the morning.”

Hiromi turned back on her side, facing away from Chuck. Not surprisingly, she had problems falling back to sleep. The possibility of Hiromi having a live-in boyfriend was never mentioned in the preparation phase of Swan Song.

This would certainly complicate things. That was the understatement of the century Hiromi felt as she fell off to sleep.

The bedside alarm went off at 5:45 as it did every morning. Hiromi sat up in bed but wasn’t feeling terribly refreshed. As she made her way to the bathroom, Chuck called out.

“I’ll be up shortly Baby.”

‘He’s going to want to fuck me tonight. What the hell do I do then?’ Hiromi asked herself as she sat to pee. Could she make up a reason to abort Swan Song? Agent Chrysanthemum still hadn’t made contact with Hiromi. Who was he or she? Could it even be Chuck?

Before leaving the bathroom, Hiromi took one of her prescription medication. Now these even made sense, Hiromi bet they were birth control pills. Sure enough, an internet search confirmed it later during the day.

Hiromi tried to distract herself from all these thoughts when she arrived in the exercise room. It was when she walked in the room that a bit of the real Hiromi’s memory popped into her mind. A check of that room’s closet showed men’s clothes hanging up. Now Hiromi knew where Chuck’s things were and why they hadn’t been in the master bedroom.

Chuck came in the room while Hiromi was in the middle of doing some sit-ups. That’s when Hiromi got her first good luck at Chuck. He was a tall muscular man. Probably 6'4 or even 6'5, Chuck had wavy hair that was very blonde, like that of pro golfer Greg Norman when he was younger. His eyes were a sparkling shade of blue.

As Hiromi continued with her sit-ups, Chuck hovered over her. “Trying a new workout routine?”

“Thought I’d do something different.” Hiromi said as she finished counting off to twenty-five. Being done with this particular exercise, Hiromi scrambled to get to her feet. That’s when she got a helping hand from Chuck.

Chuck pulled Hiromi to her feet and took his girlfriend in his arms. The two of them instantly began to kiss.

“I’m so glad my little sports car is back.” Chuck said as he squeezed Hiromi tight to his body. All of the same responses and feelings were happening again like the night before. Chuck’s penis was erect and pointing at his girlfriend. Hiromi’s genitalia were warm and moist at the same time her nipples were hardening.

“Glad to see you too.” Hiromi replied back. She was trying to act like the loving girlfriend of this strong giant of a man. The top of Hiromi’s head not coming anywhere close to Chuck’s neck.

Chuck and Hiromi kissed again. Then when it was over, Hiromi smiled. “I will take you for ride tonight.”

“I look forward to it.” Chuck said with an evil grin on his face. At the same time Hiromi was asking what had gotten into her. ‘You just promised to let this guy screw you!’

Hiromi then did the treadmill, while Chuck used the weight bench. That piece of exercise equipment was entirely for Chuck’s use. After their workouts were done, Hiromi and Chuck went to the bedroom.

When they got in the room, Chuck wasted no time in stripping his clothes off. Hiromi had gotten her first glimpse of Chuck naked, but from the rear.

“Going to join me?” Chuck said turning slightly around. Hiromi had a clear view of his penis, which was still very erect.

Whereas Tom Slater would have diverted his eyes from another man’s privates, Hiromi’s eyes focused on her boyfriend’s organ. It was a very impressive one, if Hiromi’s bodily reactions were any guide. “I’ll be in shortly.”

“See you there.”

Hiromi was in the shower with Chuck a minute later. While she washed herself entirely, Chuck asked for his girlfriend to wash his back. That and the tight confines of the shower created a lot of sexual attention.

After the shower, both Hiromi and Chuck got ready for work. Chuck of course getting done first, Hiromi still having her hair and makeup to fix. This she did at a makeup table in the master bedroom.

“I’m going outside. Don’t take long” Chuck said as he bent down to kiss Hiromi. Then he left the bedroom. Though it required her turning her head, Hiromi watched carefully as 15-17 stone of strong Australian male muscle left the room. Of particular interest to Hiromi, was Chuck’s buttocks.

Hiromi shook her head. ‘Stop that, you’re starting to think like a woman or the real Hiromi. What is getting into Tom Slater?’ Then Hiromi went about finishing her makeup, not noticing she paid even more care to it that day than the days before.

Chuck’s eyes went wide when he saw Hiromi emerge from the bedroom. “You look fantastic.”

Hiromi came right over and allowed the man a kiss. “Thank you.”

“That’s one of my favorite dresses of yours. What’s the color again?”

Hiromi answered a moment after she took a seat at the table across from Chuck. The morning newspapers were already there and Juanita was readying to pour her employer coffee. “Coral.”

“That’s it! You look smashing in it… always have.”

“Thank you.”

Roger came in during breakfast in order to touch base with his boss. Hiromi would definitely be taking the car today; she’d be dropping Chuck at work on the way in to the office.

Where was Chuck’s work? He worked the Chinese trading desk at Kanagawa Bank. While Australian by birth, Chuck had lived much of his early life in Hong Kong. There Chuck learned to speak good Cantonese and fair Mandarin.

In spite of five years living in Japan, Chuck’s Japanese was average at best. Not that he ever had any problem communicating with Hiromi.

After their meals were finished, Chuck and Hiromi went back to the bathroom to brush their teeth before leaving. Five minute later, with Hiromi behind the wheel of the Fairlady and with Chuck in the front left passenger seat, the couple was speeding their way towards Yokohama’s financial district.

It didn’t take long to learn why Chuck affectionately called Hiromi his little sports car. Her driving, which included a heavy foot when using the accelerator, made the Australian very nervous.

“Same old Hiromi. Haven’t changed one bit.” Chuck chuckled as he held on for life and limb.

“You like it when I drive you fast?” Hiromi replied back. “Ride, fast, Sportscar? My little sports car?” Hiromi thought. “All of this was adding up to Chuck’s pet name for his girlfriend.”

“Only so far as it gets us to work faster.” Chuck said as a grin began to form on his face. “If I didn’t love you so much, I’d take public transport before getting in a car with you.”

“Look what fun you’d miss then.”

“If you call having a heart attack fun.”

Chuck talked to Hiromi about his recent trip. While Hiromi Sato took the festival of Bon to return to her old home in Northern Japan, Chuck went to visit his mother in Australia. Mrs. McBride was sixty-one-years old, widowed, and lived in Alice Springs now.

“Mum says hello.”

“How is she?”

“Good. Mum asks if you plan to visit again anytime soon. She is so looking forward to it.”

Now the reason for the real Hiromi’s trip to Australia the previous January became known. “It is too early to tell yet, but I’ll try.”

This answer pleased Chuck, but in reality Hiromi was thinking the opposite. Tom Slater didn’t want a boyfriend, or anything to do with meeting the man’s mother. Who knows? This guy may have marriage on his mind? That wasn’t in any of the Swan Song briefings Hiromi received.

Just before they got to the bank, Charles came up with a good question. “Will you be bringing me home tonight or should I make other plans?”

Hiromi had a long day ahead of her. Most of it was spent preparing for the next day’s financial meeting with Goro Watanabe. “You better make other arrangements. I don’t know when I’ll be finished today.”

“No problem.”

A few minutes later, Hiromi pulled up outside the bank. “This is where I get off. Bye love, talk to you later.” Chuck said to Hiromi before kissing her on the cheek.

As Hiromi drove off, she realized she had forgotten something that morning. It was the things she needed for Swan Song’s Phase VI. Being so distracted by the presence of Chuck that morning, Hiromi had totally forgotten the computer disks.

‘The Swan Song committee is probably going apeshit right now because of the delay. Screw them, I got bigger problems. One REALLY BIG problem’ Hiromi thought to herself as she continued driving to her office.
 

~*~
 
Hiromi got a visitor at the office a little after 11:30 that morning. Suki Kobayashi tried to announce him.

“Sato-san, you say you don’t want to be disturbed but....” Suki Kobayashi began saying till someone spun her in the air like some ballet move. Once her feet were firmly back on the ground again, Suki ‘the ballerina’ made a hasty exit from Hiromi’s office.

Hiromi’s visitor was no ballet dancer. It was Dai Hashimoto, another of Goro Watanabe’s Saiko-komon. The short, squat, sumo wrestler like man, was even scarier looking in person than the pictures Hiromi had seen as part of her Swan Song briefing. If Hiromi Sato was the CFO to Goro, Dai was the Oyabun’s military advisor. In other words, Dai represented the muscle end of the family.

“Hiromi-san,” Dai said with a bow to his fellow Saiko-komon. “I need to talk to you.”

Dai made Hiromi feel very nervous. The Saiko-komon had this effect on people. “I always have time for you Dai-san. What brings you here?”

“You are preparing financial statements.” Dai said, not asked. The Saiko-Komon took a seat across from Hiromi.

“Yes I am. They are for tomorrow’s meeting with Oyabun. You will be there?”

“Yes Hiromi-san. I will be there.”

Dai got right down to business. He owned a piece of six clubs and businesses that were also Watanabe property. The Saiko-komon seemed particularly interested in how these were doing.

In order to make it easier to explain, Hiromi had the relevant data printed so in order to show Dai. “Receipts, as you can see, are up at these four clubs, while at the same time, expenses are either stable or slightly down.”

“The others?”

Hiromi pointed these ones out also. “Here. These receipts are slightly down while expenses are level or the slightly higher.”

The Saiko-komon stared at the printout for the longest period of time. If Hiromi had to hazard a guess, it was that Dai wasn’t very astute when it came to financial matters. Maybe that accounted for today’s meeting.

“Someone maybe stealing from us there?”

“I see nothing to prove it. Do you know anything?”

“No.” Dai replied back immediately.

Tom Slater was a fan of old television detective dramas. Most of which presented a simple theme. That there was no honor among thieves.

That went for the Watanabe Yakuza also. Money illegally earned, could have a way of disappearing. There was nothing to show that at present, maybe Dai was being a little paranoid. He was the family’s enforcer; suspicion probably came natural to the man.

“I could look into this more, if you wish.” As part of Hiromi’s work, she had random unannounced audits done on any and all businesses that were part of the Watanabe Yakuza. A quick check of her computer showed this nightclub, that catered to US military personnel in Yokohama, had last been audited seventeen months ago.

“Please do that Hiromi-san. I think we have a thief there.”

“I’ll begin in an audit within two weeks. Is that acceptable?”

Dai remained sitting in his chair, looking more and more edgy with every passing second. Finally Dai got up to leave. “Yes it is. Thank you for seeing me Hiromi-san. I will go now.”

‘Thank God, that’s over.’ Hiromi thought as she watched Dai Hashimoto leave the room. The Saiko-komon gave her the creeps.
 

~*~
 
The rest of Thursday and Friday were long days for Hiromi. She had so much to do in order to prepare for Friday’s meeting. Not getting back to the apartment till 1 am Friday morning had thrown everything off and had left her very little time in which to prepare. She then returned to the office at 7:30 the following morning. Hiromi skipping her morning exercise routine even.

Chuck was fast asleep when his girlfriend arrived home late Thursday night. He barely stirring as Hiromi tiptoed around the bedroom as she got ready for bed.

While in reality she was an Army Captain who was used to hard work and long hours, Hiromi still felt fatigued - not physically, but mentally. By the time she left the office to go to dinner on Friday night, Hiromi would have been the first to admit she was physically exhausted. A trip to the ladies room and a look in the mirror told Hiromi all she needed to know.

The financial meeting went well. In attendance were Goro Watanabe, Dai Hashimoto, and the family’s most senior shareigashiras. They were a surprisingly young group, only one looking to be anywhere near forty years of age and at least one who couldn’t be much more than twenty-five years of age. She was also female - her name Ryuku Kinjoh.

Keiji Watanabe wasn’t in attendance. As time passed, Hiromi would learn the retired Oyabun rarely came to Yokohama. The other 44th floor apartment at Negishi Bay Towers was rarely used by Keiji. That didn’t mean the elder Watanabe didn’t wield considerable influence in the family he once headed.

For the meeting Hiromi and her team, Yuka Kawamura and Ryoji Ishii, presented detailed summaries on all of the major Watanabe business holdings. This was followed by a question and answer session.

Hiromi’s final conclusion- Business was good but there was always room for improvement. If the nodding of Goro Watanabe’s head was any indication, the Oyabun seemed pleased with Hiromi and her team’s work.

After the financial presentation was over, lunch was served. Yuka Kawamura and Ryoji Ishii left at this time and Hiromi planned to do the same. At least she had planned to, until Goro intercepted her.

“Hiromi I want you to stay. There is still much to discuss.”

“As you wish Oyabun-san.”

Goro didn’t like to talk business over meals, so discussions in the room only ranged from politics to sport. Hiromi ate her meal and didn’t take talk in the conversations. Instead, she surveyed the room, asking herself if Agent Chrysanthemum was present.

Hiromi knew Chrysanthemum would approach her, not vice versa. This had been made clear to her in the briefings. That didn’t stop Hiromi from wondering who it could be. One of the shareigashiras? An employee at Kanagawa Bank or Watanabe trucking? Even possibly Suki Kobayashi? Or was it someone else? Hiromi didn’t consider it impossible that Chrysanthemum was Charles McBride. For whoever it was, they knew a lot of inside dope on Hiromi and the Watanabes.

After lunch was over, Goro called the meeting back to order. It was time to discuss the nuts of bolts of running a Yakuza family. Here Hiromi got not just inside dope on the dirty dealings of the Goro Watanabe Empire, but learned about its internal politics.

Six years earlier a Yakuza war broke out being the Watanabes and a neighboring Yakuza, the Inagawa-kaí run by Kakuji Inagawa. The war was short but bloody, Oyabun in waiting Hideki Watanabe had been among its casualties, and today some of those at the meeting were still smarting from what had happened in 2001-2002 - Particularly Dai Hashimoto. He saw recent losses in some of the Watanabe’s business holdings as directly attributable to poaching by the Inagawa-kaí. Dai thought a message should be sent to these Yakuza.

“The Inagawa are moving into Seya-ku.” Dai said. Seya-ku was one of Yokohama’s eighteen wards. “We cannot allow it.”

“Do we have proof for this?” Goro said.

Dai mentioned sightings of people known to work for the Inagawa-kai. However none of these were seen by Dai himself. “No but I believe my sources.”

None of the shareigashiras said anything to contradict Dai. Hiromi wasn’t surprised. Few people would want to get cross with the powerful and dangerous Saiko-komon.

“I think Hashimoto-san is right.” One of the shareigashiras said.

“If we allow the Inagawa-kaí a foot hold within Seya-ku, they won’t just stop there. All our holdings will be at risk.”

Goro wasn’t buying this. “I spoke to Kakuji Inagawa just recently. He would not do what you are saying.”

Looking over at her fellow Saiko-komon, Hiromi didn’t think Dai believed a word Goro said. Dai didn’t challenge the Oyabun any further. That battle being put off to another day.

Other discussions included smuggling, dope dealing, and suggestions how to make these aspects of the Watanabe Yakuza work better. Hiromi was occasionally asked by Goro for her financial counsel and she gave it. Based on this and other counsel, Goro made some decisions right there at the meeting, others were deferred for further study.

The meeting dragged on till a little past four p.m. before breaking up. After everyone was gone, Goro spoke to Hiromi. “What is your opinion in regards to the Inagawa-kaí at this moment?

“I think Dai-san is mistaken. These are just innocent happenings or coincidence.”

Goro nodded. “Hiromi-chan I agree. Dai seems to forget it was the Inagawa-kaí who tipped us to a Yokohoma police raid last month. Kakuji Inagawa and our business interests do overlap sometimes.”

“Yes they do.”

Goro then checked a legal pad he had brought to the meeting. As if the Oyabun was checking if there was anything else to bring up. “I won’t keep you any longer Hiromi-chan. You did an excellent job today.”

“Thank you Goro-san.” Hiromi said with a bow. She then left the room.
 

~*~
 
The Yakuza meeting may have been over, but Hiromi still had work to do. She went straight from the meeting to her office at Kanagawa Bank. There she had some urgent catching up to do in regards to an upcoming audit.

Hiromi didn’t call it quits for the day till 7:30 p.m. Rather than go home directly, Hiromi and her goon squad went to Yokohoma’s finest seafood restaurant. There Hiromi had a quiet and pleasant dinner in a private room in spite of a headache that caused her to take two Tylenol soon after entering the establishment.

After dinner, Hiromi went to her apartment. The first thing she did on arrival was start a warm bath. Chuck wasn’t home yet. He had gone out with some friends after work was through for the day.

Hiromi hadn’t been in the tub a minute, when she heard someone in the apartment. It was Chuck. He was now home for the night.

“I’m in the bathroom.” Hiromi called out.

Chuck was in the bathroom seconds later. He announced his presence by bending down to kiss Hiromi. “Kimi-chan, how was your day?”

“Long and tiring.”

“Mind if I join you?”

“Not at all.” Hiromi replied back. There certainly was enough room for two in the large marble bath tub.

In a few moments Chuck was naked and hovering over Hiromi. He motioned for his girlfriend to move a little forward in the tub, which Hiromi did. When that was done, Chuck sat down in the tub directly behind his girlfriend, his legs spread wide.

The second he was settled in, Chuck said. “I know what you need?”

Hiromi could feel Chuck’s large erect penis pressing against her. “What’s that?”

“A massage.” Without saying another word, Chuck began massaging Hiromi’s neck.

The massage she was getting felt real good to Hiromi. Chuck’s fingers expertly releasing the tension in his girlfriend’s body. While he did this, Hiromi continued to bath herself.

Captain Slater had only been living the life of Hiromi Sato a few days, but she was beginning to act in some ways like the real woman. Hiromi began to notice how she acted in ways only a woman would, rather than the man she really was: like paying attention to clothing and fashion, and not to mention how she behaved around Chuck.

None of this was necessarily bad, but it was awkward or strange to say the least. Like right there in the bath tub. Hiromi on the physical level was enjoying the presence of Chuck. She was feeling so sexually aroused. This at the same time that the part of Captain Slater inside of Hiromi felt revulsion at what would soon be expected from her.

Hiromi and Chuck took turns washing each other. Between the warm bath and her boyfriend’s massages, Hiromi felt very relaxed as she climbed out of the tub. After drying themselves off, Hiromi and Chuck put on bathrobes and went out to the living room. There they watched some television for almost an hour.

“What’s the plan for tomorrow? Chuck asked. “We never had a chance to talk last night or this morning.”

“I got to go into the office. Do you mind?”

Chuck held Hiromi a little tighter. He was a very strong man. “No baby, I just wished you didn’t work so hard.”

“Goro and Dai have work for me to do. I was gone too for so long. Work just piled up”

“I know, but I miss you.” Chuck said before kissing Hiromi. “Guess I will see if one of my friends wants to play handball with me in the morning.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t work too long tomorrow. I’ll come home by 5:00. Sunday we’ll have the entire day to ourselves.”

When the news was finished, Chuck got up and stretched. “I don’t know about you, but I’m tired.”

“Me too. Time to go to bed!” Hiromi replied. Then with a helping hand from Chuck, Hiromi rose from the couch. They then went in the bedroom.

Hiromi already knew Chuck’s preferred way to sleep. In the buff, that’s if the weather was warm, which it was in Japan at the time. Summer had not ended yet.

With her boyfriend already out of his bathrobe, Hiromi took hers off also. She then climbed into bed next to where Chuck was already sprawled. As soon as she was near, Chuck put an arm around Hiromi.

Chuck was flat on his back with Hiromi lying next to him with her left arm tucked underneath him. As Hiromi did this, she became even more sexually aroused. Her body was craving something very badly at the moment. Hiromi Sato felt that she was very a woman at that moment.

Taking her right hand, Hiromi began to handle Chuck’s penis. “He’s so big.”

“You missed him?”

Hiromi giggled. “I missed your stick. Let me take you for a ride.”

Neither Hiromi nor Chuck wasted any time on foreplay. Hiromi rolled flat on her back, with her legs spread wide. Chuck then slid on top of her. A few moments later the Australian penetrated his girlfriend with his penis.

Later, Hiromi would understand the double meaning of Chuck’s pet name for her, ‘his little sports car.’ For the time being, Hiromi exhorted her boyfriend to make love to her. She craved his penis to stroke her insides. With every passing moment Hiromi and Chuck grew more aroused.

Somehow, nothing felt gross about the Chuck’s lovemaking. She was a woman with raging hormones who needed some manly love. Hiromi Sato was all female and desired to be no other place than here with her gaijin boyfriend.

Hiromi grew more and more aroused, her breathing becoming labored. At the same time Chuck’s penis began to pulsate and then explode within her. Hiromi’s body was quivering from head to toe as she moaned and gasped at the intenseness it had been.

Both were spent afterwards. Chuck’s penis soon fell out of Hiromi. Then couple assumed the same positions they had before they began their lovemaking session.

“You enjoyed it? Chuck asked.

“Yes! I like your stick.” Hiromi said with a giggle. Her hand was again touching Chuck’s penis, playing with it.

My little sportscar - Hiromi had taken Chuck for a ride and used his stick(shift/shaft) to drive very fast. It was all a bit perverted, but still an apt nickname.

Not long afterwards, Hiromi fell asleep. Captain Slater had re-emerged by then, feeling repulsed by what she had just done. She knew she had no choice if Swan Song would have any chance of succeeding. How many more times would Tom have to please Chuck before completing this mission?
 

~*~
 
Having finished testifying at trial in New York, Gabrielle returned to the cubicle she had at the Hoover building in Washington D.C. late on Friday afternoon local time. One of the first things she did was check her email.

Other than the case now on trial in New York, Gabrielle was only working on Swan Song at present. In her email account that day were seventeen email, the FBI agent having not opened her mail since arriving back in the USA. Most of the emails came from addresses and people she knew, that is except for one. It was dated three days earlier. Using her mouse, Gabrielle clicked on the email to open it.

The email wasn’t addressed to Gabrielle but to Major Hollins. It appeared a blind carbon copy email had been sent to Gabrielle by mistake. The email contained many previous back and forth messages between its sender and Major Hollins. Most were pretty innocuous or about details concerning Swan Song that Gabrielle fully knew about.

However there was one interesting message in the lengthy email. It was dated almost two weeks earlier.
 

~*~
 
Sir,

Owl was terminated as per your instructions.

1LT DW Connors
 

~*~
 
Gabrielle read the email again. Who was 1LT DW Connors and who or what was Owl?
 
~*~
 
As Saturday began, Hiromi was trying hard not to think of Friday night and what had happened between her and Chuck. It was time now to begin Phase VI of Swan Song. As she drove into the office, Hiromi thought that maybe the delay worked in her favor. There would be fewer people around the office, and less chance of being caught.

The offices of Watanabe Trucking are thinly staffed on weekends. Suki Kobayashi was off that day, and so was Hiromi’s secretary. Hiromi wouldn’t be needing either of them. If she needed food or drink there was always her bodyguard Yuri, or Hiromi could get it herself.

Once in the office and after turning on her computer, Hiromi took a Compact Disc out of her purse. The case had been opened previously by Hiromi. Once her PC was warmed up, Hiromi inserted the disk in the CD drive.

At the same time a screen prompt appeared. ‘Do you wish to install?’ Hiromi, using her mouse, clicked on yes. Within seconds, the sound of a popular Japanese singer could be heard on the PC’s speakers.

‘That was easy.’ Hiromi thought to herself. If what the computer technician had taught her in Japan was true, Hiromi had just started Phase VI. There would be at least five more computers for Hiromi to repeat this process on.

At the same time the music began, a binary code written on the compact disc, uploaded itself onto the PC. Nothing happening at the moment, Hiromi went about her work like she always did. When the music had stopped playing, she would put the compact disc up with the rest of the music collection Hiromi kept in her office. No one would be the wiser.

As she had promised to Chuck, Hiromi got off of work by 5 p.m. Actually finishing a little after four. After a call to her boyfriend, Hiromi rendezvoused with Chuck in Central Yokohama. They’d spend the rest of that afternoon and early evening either walking from shop to shop, having dinner together, or going to a popular entertainment club that catered to people in their twenties.

Before the night was over, Hiromi was in Chuck’s arms again and the two were again making love. The end result just was pleasing to Hiromi as had the previous night.
 

~*~
 
Four hours after Hiromi turned off her computer and left the office, the computer software she installed kicked into action.

The program first searched for every data file on the computer, when they were found, an index was made of them. Then compressing it all into a innocent looking file. Only a computer expert doing a discreet search would ever locate it. With Hiromi’s high standing in the Watanabe family, this wasn’t likely to happen.

Once the file was completed, the program began its next step. Whereas the PC was in all appearances asleep, it quietly came to life. Without making a sound, the machine’s modem dialed a local Yokohama number. Once the connection was made, the file was transmitted.

After this was over, the computer would go back to sleep. The program noting the file it sent and in the future only making indexes of newly created files or updated ones - always transmitting updates long after business was through for the day at whatever office the computer was located.

Where the file was transmitted to was an apartment in Aoba-ku, one of Yokohama’s wards. The apartment was rented by a single man in his thirties working in the cities’ financial district. It was in reality a safe house run by the FBI in co-operation with the Yokohama police.

The file from Watanabe trucking was downloaded to the PC in Aoba-ku. When the owner of that machine next turned it on, he would be alerted to what had taken place. Phase VI had begun, the Swan Song committee would soon get the good news.
 

~*~
 
Sunday was an off day for Hiromi. She spent the day doing little if anything in particular: Handball with Chuck in the morning, shopping in the afternoon, lovemaking with Chuck in the evening. Again, the end result was the same.

“God, I am a horny bitch!” Hiromi exclaimed out loud Monday morning after letting Chuck off at the bank.

After four straight nights in a row of lovemaking, Hiromi and Chuck took a breather. It wasn’t a matter of choice, but rather a result of Hiromi’s work. She had to make a trip to Zama for parts of three days.

On her first day in Zama, Hiromi’s menses arrived. She was glad for that, this told her the birth control pills worked. The alternative was something Captain Slater did not even want to contemplate.

The city of Zama is home to the US Army base that bears its name. It had been 17 years almost to the day since Tom Slater’s last visit. In the interim, the city had grown by leaps and bounds and changed tremendously.

As part of Hiromi’s work for the Watanabe Yakuza, she did periodic unannounced spot checks on businesses the family owned. Hiromi’s visit to Zama was specifically for that purpose. Not far from Camp Zama’s front gate is a club called the Manhattan. The club catered to military personnel and it was owned by Goro Watanabe.

Hiromi visited the Manhattan for the first time Tuesday night. She came through the front door, along with Roger and Yuri. To get there, Hiromi had to pass prostitutes who plied their trade out front, some of whom offered their services to Hiromi. For money, they would go either way.

The club manager, Eishin Mori, was surprised by Hiromi’s visit, but not overly so. Mori quickly gave Hiromi all of the club’s financial records she had requested.

While in Zama, Hiromi stayed at a small apartment kept by the Watanabe family in the city. All of Wednesday and part of Thursday were also spent in examining the Manhattan’s financial records, receipts and records in particular. In the end, no irregularities were found.

It was Wednesday afternoon when Hiromi got a call from Goro. “Hiromi-chan, I will be traveling to Osaka for the next few days.”

“Have a safe trip Goro-san.”

“While I’m gone, you may make any decisions that would normally require my attention. I will be back on Saturday.”

‘Have I just been made acting Oyabun?’ Hirom asked herself. A female Oyabun wasn’t unprecedented in the world of the Yakuza. For a brief time in the late 90's, the Yamaguchi-gumi was run by a woman.

“Yes Goro-san. I will return to Yokohama tomorrow. Have a safe trip. ”

After a pause, Goro said. “One more thing, Uncle asks if you can pay him a visit this weekend. He says Charles is welcome to come also.”

Hiromi didn’t have any pressing business this weekend. “Of course, we will come visit.”

“I will be back then on Saturday.” A few moments later Goro hung up the phone.
 

~*~
 
Back in the United States, Swan Song had run into an unexpected snag. All the files that had been transmitted by Hiromi’s office computer were encrypted.

“Sir,” Said the bespectacled computer expert named Scott Avery who worked for Swan Song. “I’m sorry to inform you but the files at present are totally unreadable.”

Major Hollins asked a question. “Any chance we can break the code?”

“Unlikely sir. The encryption uses an advanced algorithm. Without a copy of the program that creates them I’m afraid the files are useless.”

It wasn’t till the computer expert departed the room, that a discussion began about what next steps would need to be taken next.

“We’ll have to make contact with Ripley through Chrysanthemum. I don’t see us as having any other choice.” Major Hollins stated.

“Agreed.” Director Williamson said. “Inspector Yoshida, has Chrysanthemum been in contact with Ripley yet?”

“No, not to my knowledge. Chrysanthemum was hoping to make first sometime during the next few days”

“How long would it take on your end to make a signal to Chrysanthemum?”

“Perhaps as soon as tomorrow possibly, but no later than Saturday.” The Japanese police inspector replied.

The next thing to discuss, was exactly what message needed to be sent to Ripley. Almost an hour was spent hashing this out.

While this was happening, Gabrielle pointed something out. “There is the possibility Ripley won’t be able to supply us with a copy of the program we request.”

“We know that Agent Tanaka,” Deputy Director Williamson replied. “However without that program, Operation Swan Song is almost worthless. Ripley has to find a way of supplying us with a copy.”

Once the message had been hashed out, Inspector Yoshida re-entered the meeting by teleconference. He was verbally given a summary of what would soon be transmitted to him in Japan.

“We’ll get this message to Chrysanthemum as soon as possible.”

“Do that Inspector. Make this your top priority.”

The rest of the meeting was spent Monday morning quarterbacking in regards to what Ripley was or wasn’t doing. At one point Major Hollins insinuating that Captain Slater wasn’t living up to the committee’s expectations.

Gabrielle again felt like throttling the Army major, but bit her tongue instead. ‘These bozos have no idea what it’s like to go undercover in enemy territory. I just hope Tom gets out of there alive and in one piece.’
 

~*~
 
In spite of holding the reins of power within the Yakuza for a few days, little was asked of Hiromi while Goro was away. As soon as work was over on Friday afternoon, she and Charles left for Lake Yanagawa. There Goro Watanabe had a large estate bordering on the lake. Hiromi would stay there for the weekend while also paying Keiji Watanabe a courtesy visit.

Lake Yanagawa, which is in close proximity to Mt. Fuji, is one of prettiest parts of Japan. It was also one of the most expensive areas so far as the cost of real estate goes. People living on or around the lake were without exception, millionaires(US dollars not yen) many times over. Like Goro Watanabe, most of these people took their personal safety seriously.

What that meant for Hiromi was she couldn’t just leave the Watanabe compound for a long jog without protection. Roger Hyde wouldn’t allow it. One of Hiromi’s protectors would have to run along her. The person chosen for this was Reina Shimizu.

Given the beautiful scenery and good weather, Hiromi planned on pushing her body harder and longer than she had at any time previous. The real Hiromi had been a marathon runner, and when visiting this part of Japan, she would go on long jogs - usually over ten miles in length.

While Hiromi went jogging, Charles played tennis against Goro. The two men got along surprisingly well. Maybe because Charles was the only one around who could give the Oyabun a reasonably tough time at tennis. At one time, Goro had considered a career in the sport

Dressed in almost marathon like outfits, Reina and Hiromi began their run in the foothills of Mt. Fuji. Roger and Yuri trailing a short distance behind in a SUV .

The dirt road Hiromi and Reina ran along was oh so familiar, like she had run on it hundreds of times instead of just this once. Reina surprisingly was keeping up with her boss as they approached a fork in the road.

“This way.” Reina said to Hiromi as both women made a sharp turn to the left in order to go up a narrow hill-side path. One Roger and Yuri couldn’t take the SUV up.

“You must know the way?” Hiromi asked Reina. The run was uphill and tougher on her legs but Hiromi was still holding up tremendously. That could change of course on the way back down.

They were well up the hill and out of sight, when Reina suddenly stopped. Hiromi did the same. “Are you all right?”

Reina nodded her head. She was a little out of breath but that wasn’t why she stopped “Did you ever pick your feet in Poughkeepsie?”

‘You’re my contact?’ Hiromi thought as she stared into Reina’s eyes. “No, but I have been to Peoria.”

“The people in Peoria are very nice.” Reina replied back.

“Yes they are. You’re Chrysanthemum?”

“Yes and you’re Ripley.” The two women then shook hands.

“That I am.”

“Can you give me a progress report? Quickly, we can’t spend too much time up here.”

Hiromi told everything she had done so far. The next week would allow Hiromi to install the software on two more of the computers she used.

“The trick will be my getting onto Goro’s computer.”

Reina nodded her head. “That will be a bitch.”

“Is the apartment closely guarded when Goro or his family aren’t in?”

“Yes it is, but I’m working on a couple of plans in order to get around that. We have time.”

Hiromi wasn’t in a rush. Yes, she’d like to be male and serving in the Army again, but getting through Swan Song intact was more important.”

“That’s it so far. Anything for me?”

“No, not at the moment.” Reina answered.

Reina went over quickly how they would meet in the future. The easiest way to accomplish this was for Reina to travel to or from work with Hiromi. She had done this already on two occasions.

“I’ll make some excuse with Chuck, so we can be alone. When do we meet next?”

“Week after next.” Reina answered. There was also a series of non-verbal signals for Reina to go over with Hiromi quickly. Using articles of clothing, jewelry, or accessories, Reina and Hiromi could pass simple signals to the other. For instance if Reina wore a scarf one day, that meant she needed to talk with Hiromi.

If it was Hiromi who needed a meeting, she would signal it to Reina but placing her wrist watch on her right rather left wrist. Hiromi Sato was ambidextrous, but usually wrote with her right hand.

“We better start jogging again.” Hiromi told Reina, just before the two of them began running back down the hill.

When the run was over, Hiromi helped herself to some bottled water. ‘A twelve-mile jog, even with a five minute break in the middle. Damn this body is impressive.’

While Hiromi quenched her thirst, Roger came walking over to her. “Boss, I really prefer if you don’t run like you did today.”

“You mean the hill?” Hiromi asked. “It’s a good workout for me.”

“I know boss, but I’m paid to protect you.”

“Reina was with me. She can take care of both of us.”

“Whatever you say boss.” Hiromi then went inside the house.
 

~*~
 
Charles, Hiromi, Goro and his wife Keiko, arrived at Keiji Watanabe’s home shortly before 3 p.m. The retired Oyabun happy to see his family, but most particularly, his granddaughter.

Keiji’s home was close to but not bordering on Lake Kawaguchi. It lay off a side road that was barely visible to passing motorists. A bamboo fence and gate were at the front of the property. There two guards stood watch. Hiromi and Chuck were waved through without hesitation.

Hiromi drove down a dirt path for some 1,000 yards or so, passing through immaculately kept garden areas. At the end of the path, was a small old style Japanese home. As soon as they were parked, Hiromi and Chuck got out of the car and walked hand in hand to Keiji Watanabe’s front door.

Before they got there, the door slid open. An elderly man only slightly taller than Hiromi smiled broadly at his guests.

“Granddaughter, I am so happy to see you.”

Hiromi bowed. “I have been away too long Grandfather.”

Keiji warmly greeted his granddaughter. “Come in, come in.”

Hiromi and Chuck entered the house. After closing the door, Keiji greeted Chuck. “It is good to see you Charles.”

“Thank you for inviting me over sir.”

The first thing Hiromi and Chuck on entering, was take off their shoes and exchange them for slippers. While they did this, Keiji made small talk.

“Goro said he and Keiko will be here shortly.” Hiromi told her grandfather. Almost like magic, the sound of a car pulling up could be heard outside. The Oyabun of the Watanabe Yakuza and his wife had just arrived.

The afternoon was spent having tea or sake as Keiji talked non-Yakuza matters with his family and their other halves. All discussion taking place in Japanese, which Chuck understood most of the time, but still needed an occasional interpretation from Hiromi.

“I am so sorry about Aunt Emiko.” Keiji said not long after everyone was settled in. “You must miss her.”

Hiromi had to choke back tears. She was getting emotional for a person she never met. “Yes I do very much.”

Chuck patted his girlfriend’s hand. “At least Aunt Emiko didn’t suffer.”

“Yes, you’re right.”

Keiji Watanabe talked about Emiko Takagi for the next thirty minutes or so. The retired Obuyan seemed to know her well. As he talked, the young lady dressed in a kimono served tea and snacks. As tea was poured for her, the name Riko entered into Hiromi’s mind.

“Hiromi-san, is there anything else I can get you?”

“No thank you Riko.” A minute later Riko left the room.

Goro then spoke. “Uncle, I see Ai is not here today.”

Ai Toguchi was Keiji Watanabe’s long-time cook and housekeeper. “Ai is visiting with her sister in Nagano.”

A thin smile appeared on Goro’s lips. “She visits her sister often these days.”

Family talk continued through the rest of the afternoon and into the evening. Not even stopping for dinner, which was served at 7 p.m.

It was during dinner that Keiji complimented Hiromi’s boyfriend. “You’re Japanese is improving Charles. One day you may speak it as if you were born here.”

“Thank you sir. Hiromi here is helping me, but I don’t think I’ll ever speak the language that good.”

One thing Hiromi noticed early on was how Chuck was treated by Keiji and Goro. It was very different from how Tom Slater’s father was treated by his wife’s parents. None of the stiff politeness or awkwardness was present that a young Tom Slater had noticed whenever his maternal grandparents met their son-in-law.

Instead Chuck was treated as if he was family already by the Watanabes. That was interesting to Hiromi, and with time may tell her more about the personalities of both Goro and Keiji Watanabe and how their Yakuza family worked. Getting into the heads of these men would prove useful in order to bring Swan Song to a safe and successful conclusion.

Shortly after desert was finished, Keiko and Chuck got up and excused themselves. They would return to Goro Watanabe’s home together. Their leaving signaled, to Hiromi at least, that some Yakuza related business was about to take place.

Before getting down to business, Goro and Keiji changed drinks. Up until then, both men had been consuming tea, sake, or bottled water only. Now it was time for alcoholic drinks. In Keiji’s case, it was bourbon, for Goro it was scotch. Hiromi stuck to the tea, her cup being refilled once again by Riko.

As soon as Riko had exited the room, Goro got down to business. “Dai seems to think the Inagawa-kaí are elbowing in again on our turf.”

“Dai said the same thing to me also.”

Keiji nodded. “It is too soon since our last trouble with the Inagawa.”

“I agree Uncle. It wouldn’t seem wise for them to do as Dai suggests.”

Goro and Keiji discussed the various business arrangements the Watanabes had with the Inagawa-Kai. The Inagawa’s Oyabun, Kakuji Inagawa. He and Goro spoke on as frequently as ever other week.

“I only spoke to Kakuji ten days ago. Nothing seemed amiss.”

Hiromi then spoke up. “They did tip us off to that warehouse raid by the police only a month ago.” While the various Yakuza families were rivals of one another, they often co-operated with each other, especially when it came to law enforcement intelligence either because the business interests of the Yakuza often overlapped, or in hope a rival would supply any similar tips in the future.

Goro nodded. “Yes Hiromi-san, they did. That is why I think Dai is wrong in this matter.”

“He sees shadows where there are none.” Hiromi said after sipping some tea.

Keiji Watanabe seemed to understand Dai best. “True but shadows are only seen when there is light.”

Hiromi, Keiji, and Goro talked family business almost up to midnight before calling it a day. When done, Hiromi went with Goro in the Fairlady to his estate on Lake Yanagawa.

The following day, everyone returned to Keiji’s home once again. This time, most of the day was spent outside in the retired Oyabun’s garden areas. Like the day before, no family business was discussed because of Keiko and Chuck’s presence.

A late lunch was served at 1 p.m. Shortly after 3 p.m. Goro announced he and Keiko would be leaving for Yokohama. That’s when Hiromi decided she and Chuck would leave also.

“Goodbye Grandfather. I promise to visit again soon.” Hiromi told Keiji Watanabe.

What Keiji did next surprised Hiromi. He squeezed her cheeks as if she was a little girl. “Every time I see your face, you remind me of Hideki.”

“I know Grandfather.”

“Your father would be happy you are assisting me and Goro now.” Right then Hiromi got the confirmation of what she had been suspecting almost since the moment she arrived in Yokohama. The late Hideki Watanabe was the real Hiromi Sato’s father. So why had she grown up in Hokkaido Japan?

That question became the subject of much thought as Chuck and Hiromi began the ride back to Yokohama a few minutes later. Naturally, Hiromi was behind the wheel of the Fairlady. Roger and the rest of Hiromi’s goon squad following close behind in an SUV.

“Kimi-chan, I hope you don’t get angry at what I’m about to say.”

“You don’t like my driving fast?”

“No, not that. It’s about your grandfather.”

“What about him?”

“I think the reason Ai isn’t around is because.....” Chuck began to say but then seemed not able to put his thoughts to words.

Hiromi was amused at how tongue tied Chuck had become. “Like Americans would say, spit it out man.”

Chuck laughed. “Ok, then. I think Ai and Grandfather are seeing one another.”

“Oh..... What makes you think that?” Hiromi asked. Thinking about it, the elderly widowed Oyabun taking up with his long-time housekeeper made absolute sense.

“Well.....it’s the way your grandfather talks about Ai. There’s something different about it.”

“Grandma died when I was sixteen.”

“Yes I know that, your grandfather deserves to have some company again.”

“You mean a companion.”

Chuck laughed. “You speak better English than I do at times, my little sports car.”

The little sports car was about to get ready to drive like one. A slow moving truck was blocking Hiromi’s path and a bend in the road wasn’t far off. Growing impatient, Hiromi shifted gears and then accelerated around the truck.

“Hold on tight.” Hiromi warned her boyfriend. Chuck pressed back into his seat as the Fairlady accelerated around the truck as another vehicle rapidly approached in the opposite direction. Hiromi made the pass successfully but not without scaring the shit of Chuck first.

Once in front of the truck, it was clear sailing again. Unfortunately, Roger and the rest of Hiromii’s protection squad couldn’t motor as fast in the SUV. By the time they got around the truck, Hiromi was a couple of kilometers ahead of them.

“You really should ask your grandfather about your entering the Japanese Grand Prix one day.”

It took a few moments for Hiromi to frame an answer. Some of the real woman’s memories were again bubbling upward. “Grandfather wouldn’t approve, he didn’t like my being a runner.”

The conversation quickly changed to different matters. Chuck was soon discussing what they would have for dinner that night. Juanita was off that weekend, and anything back at the apartment was frozen and not ready for cooking.

“You’re always hungry.”

Chuck bent over and kissed Hiromi. “Mostly for you Kimi-chan. I hope we can have fun tonight.”

“Of course. I’ll take you for a ride again later.” Hiromi said with a girlish giggle. That was the exterior reaction. On the inside Tom Slater reacted with revulsion.

The conversation reverted back to why Chuck thought Keiji and his housekeeper, Ai, were now an item. There wasn’t any concrete proof for it, just suspicions.

“Don’t get me wrong, I think Grandfather deserves to have someone. It has to be tough being alone when you’re old.”

Hiromi laughed. “What would you think or say if your Mom brought someone home.”

Chuck’s father had died over ten years previous. His car crashed one rainy night in Hong Kong. The shock that Chuck and his mother suffered afterwards wasn’t just over Peter McBride’s death but who was also in the car with the businessman that night. A Eurasian secretary who worked at the same company Peter did. They weren’t exactly on company time at the time of the crash.

Finding out his father had been unfaithful to his mother had changed Chuck tremendously. It made him more dedicated or loving to the people around him that mattered most. That included Hiromi Sato.

Chuck therefore was honest with Hiromi when answering her question. “I’d say welcome mate. Let’s get to know each other better.” Hiromi laughed at this reply.

On the way into Yokohama, Chuck and Hiromi made dinner plans. They would eat at the apartment but would stop at a market first. By this time, Roger and the others had caught up to their boss. About five kilometers from the apartment and after making a very slight detour, there was a medium size food market. After hunting down a parking space, Chuck and Hiromi went inside. A half hour later they emerged with some Kobe steaks, the makings of a salad, plus some other groceries.

After dinner that evening, Hiromi and Chuck watched some television together. When that was over they retired to the bedroom and got ready for bed. Before Chuck went to sleep that night, Hiromi took him for a ride as promised.

Instead of going to sleep immediately afterwards, Hiromi slipped out of bed and made her way to her office area. There Hiromi just sat quietly thinking.

First about Chuck. The Australian had to know what his girlfriend did for a living. Living in a fortress and being accompanied by bodyguards would tip off any person with half a brain that Hiromi Sato was no ordinary accountant.

Was Chuck involved with the Watanabe Yakuza? Not to Hiromi’s knowledge was he. Chuck was an investment banker/currency trader, and Hiromi’s live-in boyfriend as far as she knew. Not all the memories of the woman’s body she now possessed bubbled forth freely. They often were like a spring or geyser, that erupted every so often.

Another comparison of Hiromi’s memories could be made to the many layers of an onion. They had to be peeled back in order to reveal what was inside.

That evening Hiromi was doing some peeling back. It was in regards to the ancestry of the real Hiromi. It certainly proved to be revealing.

Hideki Watanabe was Hiromi Sato’s father. Almost thirty years earlier, the young Yakuza was wanted by the police on suspicion of murder. Seeing this, Keiji Watanabe sent his only son into hiding on the island of Hokkaido.

There Hideki couldn’t escape trouble. This time however it involved a young, strong willed, lady named Ryoko Sato. The short relationship between Hideki and Ryoko was as passionate as it was tumultuous. Neither young person was ready to settle down, Hideki barely twenty-one-years-old at the time. Ryoko a few days short of nineteen when she first met Hideki

Complicating matters was the fact Hideki was promised in marriage to a daughter of a man Keiji Watanabe was in debt to. When Hideki’s legal problems cleared up, the young Yakuza rather than bring his girlfriend home to Yokohama, left her behind. Ryoko at the time was pregnant with Hideki’s child.

Hiromi was born six months later, but her mother died in childbirth. Rejected by her mother’s family, and with no place within the Watanabe family, Hideki having married shortly after his return to Yokohama, the infant Hiromi Sato was given to Emiko Takagi. Emiko was no aunt of the girl, rather someone paid by Keiji Watanabe to care for Hiromi. No matter who the girl’s mother was, the Oyabun couldn’t turn his back on his own flesh and blood.

Hiromi was told all of this by looking at the pictures in her office area. The other spark for these memories coming forth was the weekend visit with Keiji, plus the conversation Hiromi had with Chuck on the way home.

There were other feelings and experiences too. Hiromi was just beginning to unpeel these, when she heard a voice calling for her.

“Kimi-chan,” Said a robed Chuck McBride as he stepped into the room. “Aren’t you tired yet? It’s been a long day.”

“I was just thinking.” Hiromi said as she got up from her chair. More unpeeling of memories would have to wait till another time. They certainly gave Hiromi insight into the Watanabe family.

“About your Aunt Emiko?”

“Yes about my Aunt.” Hiromi replied. Chuck responded by giving his girlfriend a big hug, followed by a kiss.

“I’m sorry Hiromi. If there was something I could do for you.” Chuck said as he hugged Hiromi tight.

“There is nothing. Let’s go to bed now.”

Hiromi was laying naked in bed a few minutes later. As she tried to go to sleep, strong emotions began to bubble up inside her. They were in regards to how the real Hiromi felt towards her family.

The feelings Hiromi felt were very strong, but that wasn’t what caught her by surprise. It was the nature of the feelings. They weren’t love, but hate. Hate and resentment towards those family members who rejected her and denied Hiromi a proper place in the Watanabe family for so long. If unchecked, these emotions result in people dying. Like Goro Watanabe, or if that failed, Hiromi Sato.

The real Hiromi Sato felt she had one rightful place in the world of the Watanabe Yakuza. That of Oyabun. As she went to sleep, Hiromi tried to forget these feelings but not all of her could.

Little did Tom Slater know, two personas were already at battle inside the body of Hiromi Sato. Hiromi was already noticing how sometimes she would black out, then suddenly come conscious again. When this happened, the persona of the real Hiromi took over if only for a short time. Like tonight when Chuck made love to his girlfriend.

So far none of this bothered Hiromi. Actually she felt relieved by these episodes. Little did Hiromi know that the episodes were a sign of the battle of personas being fought inside of her. Only one would come out on top.
 

~*~
 
To be continued in Part Four

“So what do you have for me?” Hiromi asked as she pulled out of the parking lot. Reina then began to explain what the Swan Song committee was requesting of Ripley.

When Reina was finished explaining, Hiromi shook her head. “Are they nuts?”

“I’m just the messenger Ripley-san.”

Synopsis- Hiromi Sato (Captain Tom Slater) and Operation Swan Song continue to make slow progress in their efforts to topple the Yakuza family led by Goro Watanabe.

 

~*~
 
A few things happened that Monday morning, one odd and the other a concern to Hiromi. Both happened shortly after she and Chuck woke up.

After a good morning kiss, Chuck said. “Is everything all right? You seem a little off of late.”

“I’m fine. Have I been doing something wrong?”

“No, not at all. It’s just since you came back from Kushiro, I don’t know how to put it but you seem different.”

“Different as in bad?” Captain Slater had reason to be concerned. By now, the only person who seemed likely to discover Hiromi Sato wasn’t who she appeared to be was Charles McBride.

Even if he wasn’t Yakuza, his discovering Hiromi was actually someone else could have fatal consequences for Tom Slater.

“No, just different. Forget it.”

Tom Slater couldn’t. She was genuinely concerned right then. Feeling an urge to go pee, Hiromi loosened herself from Chuck’s grasp and began to get out of bed.

“It’s been a long time since I last licked you in the morning.” Chuck told Hiromi.

Tom forced a smile. “Give me a couple of minutes and you can have me.”

Chuck smiled. “I’m looking forward to it.”

Hiromi went straight into the bathroom. Before using the bidet, Hiromi went pee first. When finished, Hiromi just transferred herself to the low mounted plumbing fixture used for washing one’s anus and genitalia.

‘What guy goes down on his girlfriend?’ Hiromi asked herself as the bidet washed her vulva. Tom Slater was about to engage in a sex act she had never once contemplated doing when male. Were Hiromi Sato and Chuck McBride somehow out of their minds?

As Tom sat there, she repeated a message she had been telling herself for at least a week. ‘I got to do what Chuck wants. No matter how much I dislike it or find it distasteful.’

Hiromi re-entered the bedroom a few moments later and presented herself to Chuck. After a quick kiss, Hiromi laid herself down at the far end of the bed with legs spread wide, at the same time Chuck positioned himself by kneeling down on the floor. Once they were both set, Chuck began licking his girlfriend with considerable gusto.

Expecting to flinch the moment Chuck’s tongue touched her genitalia between her legs, Hiromi instead shivered in response. The Australian continued to lick his girlfriend till Hiromi had climaxed. After which Hiromi asked Chuck to stop.

“I love you my little sports car.” Chuck said.

“Love you too.” Hiromi replied back. Chuck then climbed to his feet and immediately lent his girlfriend a helping hand. This helped pull Hiromi to her feet. At once, Chuck took Hiromi in his strong arms.

After a few passionate kisses, Chuck and Hiromi went about their usual morning routine: exercise, a shower, and then Hiromi and Chuck both getting dressed and ready for another day’s work.

Chuck had just put down his glass of orange juice, when Hiromi emerged from the bedroom. “Kimi-chan, you look smashing.”

“Thank you,” Hiromi said as she took a seat across from Chuck. Juanita was already there with her employer’s coffee.

“You went back to the old way you did eye makeup.”

“I did?” Hiromi said after taking a sip of her coffee.

“Yes you did.”

“I must have forgotten. You don’t like?”

Chuck smiled. “Doesn’t matter. You always look smashing.”

Hiromi was enjoying a morning bowl of oatmeal, when Roger Hyde and Reina Shimizu came into the apartment. Reina wasn’t wearing a scarf that morning. She was not in receipt of the latest message from Swan Song yet.

“Morning boss. Will you be taking the car to work this morning?” Roger asked

“Yes I will.” Hiromi replied back. Her third week of working undercover inside the Watanabe family was already under way.

For the trip into Yokohama that day, Hiromi asked Chuck to put the top down on the Fairlady. It was a Sunny if brisk September day.

“Are you sure?” Chuck asked.

“Positive.” Hiromi answered back at the same time noting the look of displeasure on Roger Hyde’s face. If the former SAS man had his way, Hiromi would be commuting back and forth to work in an armored car.

The Monday ride into work was ordinary. Chuck was making small talk and Hiromi driving as if she was preparing for the Japanese Grand Prix. They were outside Kanagawa Bank in a little under thirty minutes.

“This is where I get off,” Chuck said after giving Hiromi a goodbye kiss. “Will I be getting a ride home tonight?”

“Of course. I have business to do at the Bank this afternoon. If I can get done early at Watanabe, we’ll have lunch.”

“I look forward to it Kimi-chan. See you later.” Hiromi then put the Fairlady in gear and drove off.

While finishing her drive into the office, Hiromi continually checked her appearance in the rear view mirror. Even at one traffic light taking the time to redo her lipstick.

A few minutes later Hiromi was at Watanabe Trucking. As she climbed out of the car, Hiromi saw Reina, Roger, and the rest of her bodyguards rapidly approaching her.

“All set boss?” Roger asked.

Hiromi mentioned the roof of the Fairlady. Roger said Kimo would take care of it. “I’m all set then.”

‘These things are killing my feet.’ Tom thought as she walked towards the elevator. On her feet that day, were a set of two-inch heels. It was only the second time Tom had picked this particular type of footwear to wear. Or had it been Hiromi who made the decision?

Tom was feeling very confused as because of this as she walked onto the elevator. ‘Stay focused Tom. Remember you have a mission to do and when it’s over a life far away from this place.’
 

~*~
 
Gabrielle Tanaka arrived in Japan in the early hours of Monday evening. Her flight was from Washington DC via Los Angeles arriving at Tokyo-Narita airport. After a good night’s rest, Gabrielle made her way to the office of Inspector Yoshida.

“There’s nothing new to report. So far as we know Agent Chrysanthemum hasn’t made contact yet.”

Unlike other members of the Swan Song committee, Gabrielle wasn’t impatient. She had no other cases to work on, and would therefore be in Japan for some time in order to keep tabs on Ripley.

“Is there anything new I should know about?” Gabrielle asked.

Inspector Yoshida passed the FBI agent a slim folder. “Very little right now. I got some other work to do, if you’ll excuse me.”

“Thank you Inspector.” Gabrielle left Inspector Yoshida’s office a few moments later. Outside a cubicle had been set aside for the FBI agent. It was there that Gabrielle would read about the latest Swan Songs and any other intelligence gathered about the Watanabe Yakuza.

Later in the week Gabrielle discovered what the term OWL in the email from 1st Lt DW Connors referred to. Shaking her head in disbelief, Gabrielle muttered to herself.

“Bastards! Total bastards!”
 

~*~
 
Elsewhere in the world Dr. Wagner and her team were conducting a case study on the updated DNA formula. One hundred sixty two men and women, all either with terminal cancer or serving time for non-violent drug offenses like DUI, manslaughter, burglary, and corruption to name a few, had volunteered to be test subjects. Three labs, the one at Fort Detrick in addition to ones at the National Cancer Institute and the University of Virginia, were used for the study. Working eight hour shifts five days in a row, Dr. Wagner and two other teams would be able to transform forty five patients a week. In all 3.5 weeks would be needed to conduct the first phase of the new DNA study.

The DNA gathered for the test subjects had been collected at five locations scattered throughout the United States. Advertisements were run in local newspapers asking for people to volunteer for a research study. If chosen, a patient would get $1,000 and a full medical checkup in return for them donating a sample of their DNA.

Naturally more people came forward than Dr. Wagner and her team needed. The main criteria for those selected were- the person must be in good health, between the ages of 20 and fifty (another study involving teenagers and children would be done at another date and time) and that the percentage of patients chosen be 65-35 female to male. That because those stepping forward to undergo the DNA therapy were in reverse proportion. Race and other criteria didn’t matter.

If it didn’t matter, that didn’t mean there were some odd demographics in the men and women that were eventually selected to give a DNA sample. One research study was done in South Florida, and ended up with a high proportion of Hispanic females as a result. (When asked, these women said they volunteered in order to earn money for household expenses or for upcoming Christmas shopping)

Another study was done in a major northeast university town. There a high proportion of the women selected were from South Asia. When these women were asked why they volunteered, most stated they did so in order to help pay for their college education.

The result was of the 106 women who volunteered a DNA sample, 36 were Hispanic and thirteen were South Asian. Of the remaining fifty seven women, there were only eleven non-whites.

After receiving the first DNA therapy, volunteers would have to wait one month before an attempt would be made to return them to their original form. Between DNA therapies, all test subjects were kept at a secure facility in Northern Virginia.
 

~*~
 
“No Chuck, I don’t know what time I’ll be home,” Hiromi told her boyfriend over the cell phone. At that same moment, Hiromi was twirling a strand of her hair with two fingers. “Don’t wait up for me.”

“I won’t. Love you Kimi-chan.”

Hiromi wasn’t alone, so she replied back in a conservative fashion. “Me too. Talk to you later.”

As soon as she was off the phone, Hiromi’s assistant, Yuka Kawamura spoke. “Chuck nice, Chuck handsome, but gaijin always go away.”

Maybe Yuka was right, but this was none of the woman’s business. “You have work to do. Do it!”

Yuka hung her head and went back to work as told. She was feeling ashamed at being so personal with her boss and former University of Tokyo classmate. ‘Hiromi-chan, whatever happened to the fun loving friend I once knew?’

It was the Tuesday after her return to Yokohama, and Hiromi was working late. She was at The Orleans, a club Dai Hashimoto got a share of the profits from. Besides Yuka, Hiromi had two other people assisting her.

What Hiromi was doing wasn’t really an audit, but a randomly selected check of the bar’s financial records. To do this one week was chosen, and everything that had happened during that time frame, from the sale of liquor to the purchase of office supplies was gone over in meticulous detail. All receipts checked and totaled and then checked against the records for the Orleans. It was very detail oriented work.

The Orleans was a busy bar, and checking just one week of business activity took time. Hiromi had set aside two days for the job, but a third day could be needed also.

All was going well so far, that is except for the presence of Dai Hashimoto. The Saiko-komon seemed to trust Hiromi and her team as much as Dai trusted those who ran the club. Which meant very little, if at all? Dai was constantly looking over Hiromi’s shoulder in addition to asking many questions.

“Dai-san, this is how we do it. I study one week, totally chosen at random. If anything improper is happening, I’ll find it.”

The Saiko-komon said nothing for almost a minute. The silence was unnerving to Hiromi, for Dai seemed more menacing this way.

“You should check all the records.”

“That isn’t practical.”

“Why?”

“It would take too long. I could do it, but I’d have to have someone else supervise plus I’d have to hire outside help.”

Dai began shaking his head violently. “No, no. You must do it and only you.”

Hiromi worked hard not to appear intimidated by the Saiko-komon. “With all due respect Dai-san, I cannot undertake such a job. I have other responsibilities, jobs that Oyabun requests me to do.”

The Saiko-komon got the message that Hiromi was making. That didn’t mean Dai was happy about it.

“Dai-san, I’ll do this for you. You pick any week since the last audit took place here. I will stay here and supervise this additional financial check till its completion. Is that acceptable?”

Another records check of The Orleans meant 2-3 more days of work for Hiromi and her crew. That in addition to Hiromi’s other responsibilities, both Yakuza and non-Yakuza related. If Dai accepted the offer, Hiromi was going to have to put in 14-15 hour days till at least the coming Sunday.

Hiromi tried to put this in perspective. ‘Think of it this way, you will be too tired to have time for Chuck. Is that really a bad deal?’

After a minute of unnerving silence, Dai gave his answer. “I accept.”

“Then let me and my people continue the work we’re doing now. I promise you’ll be satisfied with the results.”

The Saiko-komon bowed to Hiromi before leaving the room. Hiromi and her team sighed with relief as soon as Dai was out of the room.

“You heard it people, we got work to do.” Hiromi said to her assistants. It was going to be a long week.
 

~*~
 
Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho.

Susan Zebriskie, Captain Tom Slater’s sister, was busy vacuuming the two-bedroom home she lived in along with her husband Simon and their son Shannon. It was shortly before eleven in the morning and the phone was beginning to ring. After turning the vacuum clean off, Susan picked up the closest available receiver and called.

“Hello.”

“Hi sweetheart!” said the familiar voice of Simon Zebriskie. “How are you and Shannon?”

“We’re fine, I was just vacuuming. What’s going on?”

“I got some news. My new orders have come in.”

Susan and Simon had married a little over three years earlier. Simon, then like he was today, stationed at Mountain Home AFB. His five-year tour working Air Traffic Control at the base was almost at a close and the couple was eager to learn where they would live next.

“So what base did we get?” Susan, like her brother Tom, was used to the nomadic life of a military dependent. Some people didn’t like it, but Susan found it enjoyable for the most part. It was interesting to live in different places both around the world and in the United States.

“We got our #2 US base on the wish list I turned in.” Enlisted Air Force personnel are allowed to turn in a list of bases they would like to be assigned to. Of course, the military assigned people where they would be needed. Still some people got their wishes granted.

“Altus?” Altus AFB was located in southwest Oklahoma. It wasn’t in the most populated part of the USA, but the base had a great reputation with Air Force families. The city the base was located in, also named Altus, was supposed to be a wonderful place to raise a family.

“Yes Altus. We will be moving there in January.”

“That’s great news.”

“Yes it is. Susan I got to get going. Love you.

“Love you too. Bye.” Susan Zebriskie, after then hung up the phone before going back to her vacuuming.
 

~*~
 
Instead of her usual oatmeal, Hiromi was having pancakes for breakfast on Thursday morning. She was about to take her second bite full when Roger and Reina walked into the apartment.

“Morning boss.” Roger said to Hiromi, whereas Reina just bowed. “We’re ready any time you are.”

“I’m still eating breakfast.” Hiromi growled back. Her moodiness wasn’t an act. Could her bodyguards let her finish breakfast in peace? Hiromi had only gotten home around 11:45 the previous evening.

“Take your time boss.”

Hiromi must have been a little fatigued from the night before, for only now did she notice what Reina was wearing that morning. She had a pink scarf on. That meant Chrysanthemum needed to meet with Hiromi.

That could prove tricky. It was too late to tell Chuck he’d have to get to work in another fashion. This meant Reina would have to ride home with Hiromi that night. The previous day, Reina had retired for the evening by the time her boss had finished work. (Roger having to ride home with Hiromi after work. The Brit no fonder of the way his boss drove than Chuck McBride was.) The female bodyguard would have to work late Thursday, that’s if she wanted a meeting with Ripley.

Reina made her meet with Ripley. Hiromi not being able to quit work at The Orleans till past 11 p.m. Dai Hashimoto again keeping a close eye on Hiromi and her team for much of the evening.

Once they were in the Fairlady, Hiromi asked a question “Is it safe?”

“Yes. The car isn’t bugged if that’s what you mean.”

“So what do you have for me?” Hiromi asked as she pulled out of the parking lot. Reina then began to explain what the Swan Song committee was requesting of Ripley.

When Reina was finished explaining, Hiromi shook her head. “Are they nuts?”

“I’m just the messenger Ripley-san.”

“Yes I know. How am I supposed to do what they’re asking of me?”

Reina showed her boss the computer printout Swan Song had sent her. “These are computer instructions.”

“They really are nuts.” Hiromi replied back. “Put them in my purse. I guess I got to try what they’re asking, but no one better get their hopes up too high.”

“I’d put the instructions somewhere safe if I were you.”

“Trust me Reina; I’m locking them in the apartment safe the minute I get home.”

“Good or we both are screwed.” Reina replied back. “You do know the safe’s combo?”

“Yes I do. I got a question for you now. Are my personal offices or the apartment under video surveillance?”

“Don’t know Ripley-san, but I’ll check that out.”

“Do that. I won’t even attempt what is being asked of me if I am being videoed.”

“I don’t blame you.”

Hiromi had a question for Chrysanthemum. “Why doesn’t the Swan Song committee just contact the maker of the encryption program? I could even check my PC and see who designed it. You’d think that would be easier and safer for both of us not to mention a copy of the program may not work.”

“Won’t work Taro-san. The computer program is almost certainly designed by ‘The Indian’.”

The Indian was a thirty-one-year-old Indian Muslim software designer who was on the Watanabe payroll. His name was Omar Rafique.

“My asking The Indian for a spare copy of the program won’t work. What do you think?” Hiromi asked half jokingly.

“No, probably not.”

“Don’t worry Reina, I was just joking.” While Hiromi Sato was a Saiko-komon to Goro Watanabe, and she could ask almost anything of people on the Watanabe payroll and be certain to receive it, some actions would be just too risky. Asking Omar Rafique for a copy of the program was a definite non-starter.

The drive back to her apartment would take almost thirty minutes. Hiromi took this time to learn a little about Chrysanthemum.

“My real name is Tonichi Ogawa.” Reina told Hiromi.

“Mine is Tom Slater. I am a Captain in the United States Army.”

“I work for the Nagoya police.” Reina went on to tell a little more about herself as Tonichi. He was married and had only become a father two weeks before becoming Reina. “I hope I get to see my wife and son again.”

“You will. How old is your boy right now?”

“His birthday is next week.”

“Don’t worry Reina; you’ll be there for the second one and all those after that.”

“I hope so.” Reina said to Hiromi. The bodyguard went on to tell how his wife didn’t know where he was now, or what kind of job Tonichi was working on at present. Momoko Ogawa only knowing her husband was on a very secret undercover assignment.

Sometimes Tom Slater wondered where the real Hiromi was. She had to be in police custody, for there couldn’t be two Hiromi Satos out in the world. Where was the Yakuza accountant being held? Another question- where was the real Reina Shimizu?

“Momoko’s Dad was a real pain. He never approved of me seeing his daughter.”

“Fathers can be like that.”

“I suppose so. Mr. Nukuga hasn’t been too happy of late. Not since he was forced out of office.”

“Your father-in-law isn’t Fukushiro Nukaga? Hiromi asked. Being half Japanese, Tom Slater kept up some with Japanese politics. Fukushiro Nukaga was once Japan’s Minister of State for Defense.

“One and the same.” Tonichi replied back

While she and Reina talked, Hiromi learned Tonichi Ogawa had done some police training in the United States. Hiromi also shared personal info about herself. Including how Ripley was so fluent in Japanese. Reina had been particularly curious to learn since learning Ripley was an American.

“I can’t tell the difference between you and the real Hiromi. That’s the honest truth.”

“I’m glad. That was one of my biggest concerns.” Hiromi enjoyed the chat she was having with Reina. It was nice to have someone she could relate to for a change. At the same time Hiromi wondered if she should be more circumspect in regards to what information she was telling Reina. What would happen if Reina was unmasked by the Watanabes and faced a choice of death or spilling the beans over what she knew about Hiromi?

Tom made no mention of the strange episodes she was going through or the presence of Hiromi Sato inside her. So far it wasn’t interfering with the mission, besides what could Chrysanthemum do about it?

“How’s Chuck?”

“Interesting.”

“I bet it is.” Reina said. There was very little traffic that night in Yokohama but Hiromi was still hitting a lot of traffic lights. “As you Americans might say, we went from being the screwedriver, to the screwed.”

“Or the fucker to the fucked.”

Reina laughed. “That too.”

“I get a break tonight. That’s one benefit of working late. How about you?”

“I’m single.”

“Lucky you.”

“It hasn’t been easy. Kimo is a real pain. Typical Polynesian male, thinks he is God’s gift to women.”

“How’s your luck been with him so far?”

“It’s been good, mostly because I almost shot him in the balls one night.”

“How did that happen?”

Reina explained. She had an apartment in the same building as Hiromi, down on the eleventh floor. One night, Reina was awakened by the sound of someone in her apartment. It was Kimo. Somehow he had gotten a key.

“Wow, what happened next?”

“Kimo didn’t count on me having my glock under the pillow. I pulled it out and told him to get out.” Reina let out a loud laugh then. “Never seen a guy piss in his pants before.”

Hiromi laughed too. “Glad you came out all right in the end.”

“Thanks.”

“Can you possibly explain something to me? Why didn’t Swan Song know about Chuck?”

“I didn’t work Hiromi’s detail till a month before you came in.”

“What did you do before then?”

“I was a bodyguard for Keiko Watanabe.”

Hiromi nodded. That would explain things then. Keiko rarely had any interaction with Hiromi, other than when her husband Goro was around. And that didn’t happen all that often.

“Call working for Keiko the shop till you drop detail. I mostly had to carry her bags around. Still I got lots of useful intelligence. The woman can’t help herself but talk too much sometimes.”

“All I say is thank God for birth control pills. I won’t volunteer to have anyone’s baby.”

“Don’t blame you there.” Reina replied back.

A few minutes later Reina and Hiromi arrived at the apartment house. Before exiting the car, Hiromi had one or two things to ask? “When do we chat again?”

“Not till next week. I’ll send you the usual signal.” Reina replied back.

“I won’t do anything in regards to the computers till I get an answer from you regarding surveillance. Anything else I need to know?”

“Nothing.” Reina told Hiromi just before both women stepped out of the Fairlady. Yuri and Kimo were already waiting to take their boss upstairs.

Hiromi quietly let herself in the bedroom, tiptoeing around in order to make as little noise as possible. Charles was snoring loudly in bed.

Before climbing in the shower, but after stripping her clothes off, Hiromi had to go pee. Two things that grabbed her attention were- the toilet seat was up and that the rim around the toilet had the splatter of Chuck’s urine. Hiromi couldn’t stand this smell.

Hiromi was almost through wiping herself, when Chuck stepped into the bathroom. The tall Australian didn’t have the slightest bit of clothing on his tall body. “Kimi-chan, you’re home.”

“Yes, I’m tired and in no mood for lovemaking.” Hiromi said as she stood up. Chuck tried to give his girlfriend a hug, but Hiromi pushed him away.

“Is everything all right? Is there something I can do for you?”

“Yes start putting the seat down after you go pee. Better yet, sit when you go so I don’t have to smell your urine when it’s my turn!”

Chuck was caught off stride by Hiromi’s slight outburst. The Australian decided not to argue, for fatigue was almost certainly the cause of Hiromi’s venting. Chuck knew just how hard his girlfriend worked sometimes.

“Sorry Kimi-chan. I’ll do as you wish in the future.

While taking her shower, Tom had to admit females had a point. Men did splatter when urinating and women had to both clean up behind them and put up with the smell when using the toilet themselves. Tom would try hard to be a more thoughtful man in the future.

‘This is getting so weird’ Tom thought to herself in the shower. ‘These Hiromi episodes are becoming more frequent. Could she somehow end up in control? Then what would happen to both of us?’

Tom didn’t get an answer. Twenty minutes after her shower ended, she was in bed fast asleep. The computer instructions given to her by Reina being locked up in the apartment safe.
 

~*~
 
Hiromi’s work at The Orleans was completed by Sunday afternoon. In the end, nothing was found amiss. That answer didn’t seem to please Dai Hashimoto.

That job completed, Hiromi’s work pace only slowed down a slight notch for the rest of the week. Hiromi Sato was both powerful and rich, but that didn’t mean the woman was idle. The hours along with the stress of her profession, could easily break or burnout the strongest of women.

Hiromi and Reina had their next meeting the following Tuesday. Chrysanthemum informed Ripley that none of Hiromi Sato’s offices or living quarters was being videoed.

“I’ll try doing what they ask by the middle of next week worst. How do I get the disk back to you?” Hiromi asked.

Reina had thought of that already. “Put it in one of those music CD boxes you have in the office. You’ll then relay it to me.”

“Ok.” Hiromi replied back as she rubbed her eyes some. Hiromi was feeling both mentally and physically exhausted right then. Chuck had seen this and suggested they get away for the weekend, either to Hong Kong or Singapore. Another possibility was for them was a visit to Hokkaido and Hiromi’s cabin in the mountains there. As of yet no plans had been made.

Roger Hyde wasn’t too keen on his boss leaving the Yokohama or Mt. Fuji areas. If needed, Hiromi would have to remind Roger who the boss was.

As events unfolded, Hiromi’s plans were made for her on Wednesday by Goro Watanabe. The Oyabun was paying his cousin a rare visit at Watanabe Trucking.

“Hiromi-chan I will be departing for Osaka later this afternoon.”

“Have a safe and pleasant trip Goro-san. How long will you be gone?”

“A few days at least. Maybe as long as a week.”

“Is Keiko joining you?” Hiromi wondered what was taking Goro to Osaka. The Watanabes had no business interests there.

“Regrettably no, Hiromi-chan. While I’m gone you may make any decisions that would normally require my attention...”

“I hope I am worthy of your trust Goro-san. Is there a number I can reach you at if I need to consult you?”

“No. You may speak to Uncle if you need assistance.”

“I’ll do that Goro-san.”

“Feel free to use the lake house till I am back.” Goro left Hiromi’s office about a minute later. Hiromi called Chuck a few minutes later.

“We can play tennis, go for a swim, I’ll even go jogging with you if you want. We can just do nothing and goof off too.”

“You mean take me for a ride.” Hiromi giggled.

“That too, my little sports car.” Chuck and Hiromi were soon in agreement on what to do the next weekend. They would spend their time at Lake Yanagawa.
 

~*~
 
There were two things for Hiromi needed to do on Friday before leaving for the weekend. First she informed Dai Hashimoto and the shareigashiras where she would be till Monday afternoon. They could reach Hiromi at the lake house if any urgent Yakuza business came up.

The second thing to be done by Hiromi on Friday was an attempt at copying the encryption program. The previous night, Hiromi had spent an hour just before going to bed; studying the detailed computer instructions she had been given. Tom Slater was no dummy when it came to operating computers, nevertheless a great deal was being asked from her.

On Friday morning Hiromi began her day as usual, checking her phone messages and email. Two important calls had to be made in regards to Kanagawa Bank .After these calls were made, Hiromi went to work.

First, Hiromi told Aki and Suki that she wasn’t to be disturbed. Once that was done, and after locking her office door, Hiromi took the printed instructions and compact disc out of her purse. She had placed both of these all the way at the bottom of her handbag the night before.

The first step for Hiromi was to place the blank compact disc in the CD-Rom drive. After that was done, Hiromi followed the instructions given to her line by line. All along wondering even if she copied the software right, would the Swan Song committee be able to use it?

Hiromi did the best she could with the instructions and disc given to her. After a few miscues, the PC began copying the program to disc. When done, Hiromi ejected the disc and placed it in an empty jewel box the accountant usually used for burned music CDs. Hiromi had a supply of these in a bottom desk drawer.

Hiromi would give the disc to Reina sometime over the weekend. It would then be up to Chrysanthemum to get the box disc back to Swan Song.

The rest of Friday was pretty routine. One Watanabe shareigashira, Katsuaki Koike, had an appointment with Hiromi at 10 a.m. Hiromi Sato invested the man’s money and Katsuaki sometimes paid a visit to the Yakuza accountant to see how his investments were growing.

Hiromi spent about a half hour with Katsuaki Koike doing just that. The shareigashira’s investments were doing very well. When finished the Katsuaki thanked Hiromi profusely.

Before leaving for the weekend, Hiromi noted she had three similar appointments with shareigashiras over the next two weeks. One meeting would be with Ryuku Kinjoh, the second highest ranking woman in the Watanabe Yakuza.

Hiromi was just beginning to organize her desk in preparation for the weekend, when Chuck surprised his girlfriend by his coming to her office. “Hi, love. How has your day been?”

“Nothing special. How about yourself?”

“The same. Are you ready to go?”

“Almost.” Hiromi told Chuck as she began shutting down her PC. When that task was finished, Hiromi grabbed her purse.

“Anywhere in particular you want to go to for lunch?” Chuck asked a now standing Hiromi Sato. Before Hiromi got a chance to answer, Chuck kissed her.

“No, anywhere you want to eat is fine with me.” Hiromi told Chuck. They then left the office.

 

~*~
 
Hiromi and Chuck spent a relaxing weekend at Lake Yanagawa. A few Yakuza matters were brought to Hiromi’s attention while she was there, but none were of a time consuming nature. Hiromi quickly issuing whatever orders were needed.

While at the lake house, Hiromi went out jogging with Reina on Saturday morning. While they ran, the two women talked.

“I followed all the instructions and made the copy Swan Song wants.” Hiromi told Reina about a mile into their run. “Do you have any messages for me?”

“Not now. Just leave the disk in the Fairlady’s glove compartment when all of us return to Yokohama on Monday. Place it the second box from the top. I’ll take it from there.”

“Will do.” Hiromi replied back. Inside the Fairlady one more CD box wouldn’t look out of place. The last time Hiromi checked, the car had at least ten of them inside it.

This time around Hiromi decided to push her body a little harder than previously. Running some fifteen miles in length, Hiromi was making comments to Reina on the way home about how the bodyguard was able to keep up with her.

“You’re pretty strong too.”

“Not really. It took me a week to recover from our last run together. My legs were killing me for that long afterwards.”

“Sorry about that.”

Later that day, Hiromi and Chuck paid another visit to Keiji Watanabe. It was a social visit, no Yakuza business was discussed.

Keiji’s housekeeper Ai was around but hardly in a worker capacity. She was seated alongside Hiromi’s grandfather all through the afternoon and into the evening. No one said anything about this, but Chuck later on reminded his girlfriend about his being right.

“Maybe you’ll have a new Aunt or Uncle one day.”

If Hiromi had been eating or drinking something right then, she almost certainly would have gagged. “That will never happen.”

“Why because Ai is too old?” Chuck asked. “You’d be surprised what people Ai’s or your grandfather’s age can do these days. Don’t you remember reading about.....”

“Let's change the subject.” Hiromi growled back.

“Forgive me Kimi-chan. Let me just say I’m happy for your grandfather and Ai.”

“I’m happy for Grandfather and Ai also.” Hiromi said as she pulled the Fairlady up outside Goro Watanabe’s lakeside home.

After they got out of the car, Hiromi and Chuck were greeted by Roger Hyde. “Going inside for the night, boss?”

Chuck looked over at Hiromi. “Why don’t we go for a walk? It’s a lovely evening tonight.”

“Yes let’s do that.”

Hiromi and Chuck took a stroll down by the lake. Holding hands as they talked, or just ambled along in silence. It was a wonderful night for a moonlit walk. A cool breeze and fresh mountains were helping make the setting and mood almost perfect.

“Isn’t it beautiful tonight?”

“Yes it is.” Hiromi replied back as a momentary shiver resulted in goose bumps covering her entire body.

“You must have loved it here when you were little.”

“I never came here as a child....” Hiromi growled at Chuck once again.

“Sorry Kimi-chan, I forgot. Please forget what I just said.”

Hiromi bent down to pick up a small stone. She examined it for a few moments before flinging it into the lake.

“At least they left us alone tonight.”

“Yes we’re alone.”

“Kimi-chan, is there something bothering you?”

“No. Why is there something bothering you?” Hiromi shot back.

“Kind of.”

“Well, tell me.” Hiromi said in a demanding voice.

“I love you.”

“Yes.”

“Yes what?”

“I feel the same.”

Chuck stopped walking. “I need to get you away from this place.”

“Goro needs me.”

“I need you Hiromi. Who matters more to you?”

“You of course.”

“Why don’t we get away from here? Let’s go to Hong Kong or Singapore, get away from all this. I know they’re your family......”

“My family needs me.”

Chuck could have voiced his opinion on how little Keiji and the rest of the Watanabes had wanted his Hiromi for so long but the Australian kept that counsel to himself. “Kimi-chan, look around. Is this the way you want to live the rest of your life?”

“If you can’t accept it, then leave!” Hiromi then turned her back to Chuck but didn’t move an inch.

“Hiromi I won’t leave you. I love you.”

“Then let’s go inside and you show me your love.”

Hiromi and Chuck went back in the house and had sexual intercourse. Afterwards they showered and then watched television for an hour before retiring to the bedroom.

Chuck went right to sleep within minutes, but Hiromi refused to close her eyes. A series of calculations were being made in her mind. Not by Tom Slater, but by the Yakuza accountant who shared the same body with the Army Captain.

After putting on a sweat shirt and pants, Hiromi stepped outside of the house. A bodyguard was surprised by the appearance of the acting Oyabun. He asked if there was something wrong.

“Bring me to Radek.”

Radek Krejci was chief of security for Goro Watanabe. He had already retired for the evening, when one of his men came into his living quarters to say Hiromi Sato was asking for him. Of course Radek immediately answered the summons.

“How may I help you Sato-san?” Radek Krejci was forty-eight years old and had been in the employ of the Watanabes for almost ten years. Born in Czechoslovakia, Radek had once served in that country’s intelligence service, the STB.

“I’d like a briefing on security here.”

“Sato-san I assure you......”

“Did I NOT make myself clear? I want a security briefing and a tour.”

“Yes Sato-san. Let me get one of my assistants out here to help. I’ll only be a moment.”

Radek’s #3, was another Londoner like Roger Hyde. Except this one’s name was Simon Dawes. He and Radek then began giving Hiromi the tour she requested.

The first stop was the control center. From there three people monitored the entire property with the help of surveillance cameras.

Hiromi asked a great many questions, all of which Radek or Simon answered. Neither was used to sharing details in regards to security, Goro Watanabe was rarely interested in such matters. Both Radek and Simon were aware the Oyabun had turned over the reins of power to Hiromi. Any questions which she asked would be promptly answered.

“How many people are on duty here at any given time?”

“About twenty-five, they all work twelve hour shifts.” Simon explained. Hiromi asked for a precise number. This required a check of that day’s personnel scheduling. “There are twenty-four people not including Radek and I on duty right now.”

“Are there people guarding the property when no one is living here?”

“Yes of course. Just not as many.”

Hiromi asked to be given a tour of the property and shown how it was protected. To accomplish this, Simon Dawes fetched a land rover.

The Land Rover tour took about an hour. Goro Watanabe’s Lake Yanagawa home was on a property nearly 70 acres in size. Bordering it on the west was the lake, on the north and east sides were property owned by the widow of the former President of Mitsubishi Motors, Takemune Nimura. Lastly there was the small side road that ran along the south side of the property.

“Are there patrols on the lake?” Hiromi Sato was asking these questions, not Tom Slater. The Army Captain was conscious of what was happening and asking herself what was the purpose of Hiromi’s questions.

“Yes, day and night.”

Hiromi was also interested in security at the main entrance to the property. There was a ten foot high wall, plus a gate and security cameras there. Pointing towards two men, Hiromi asked. “Are those the only guards protecting the main entrance?”

“No,” Radek said pointing to the Northeast. “They have backup located over there.”

“How many?”

“Three more or five in all?”

“What’s to stop someone from driving through the gate? Let’s say with a large truck full of explosives.”

Radek and Simon knew what kind of tactics Hiromi Sato was making reference to, a suicide bomber. Like ones sometimes seen in Iraq.

“The main gate is under surveillance. If someone were to drive through, alarms would go off. We should have the time to safely evacuate any occupants of the house.”

“How far is it from the main gate to the house?” Hiromi asked while Tom again began to wonder. ‘Why is she so concerned for Goro’s security or is Hiromi just concerned about her own safety?’

“Two and a half kilometers.” Radek answered.

“You really think that there would be enough time to evacuate everyone if someone crashed the gate? Hiromi asked in a voice dripping with contempt. “If you do, you’re both a pair of fools!”

“Sato-san with all due respect, an attack like what you’re thinking of is not likely. Not here in Japan.” Radek said to his boss.

Simon and Hiromi watched as Hiromi stood there thinking for a minute. “Very well, continue doing as you are. Take me back to the house now.”

Shortly after getting back to the house, Tom regained full control of her body. After undressing, she went straight to bed. Chuck McBride was sound asleep and snoring very loudly.

The security tour came off as very odd to Tom. What was the purpose behind it? Unfortunately Tom only shared a body with Hiromi, but not her thought processes. A few minutes later, Hiromi Sato was fast asleep.
 

~*~
 
Hiromi got back to the office on Monday afternoon. Three days spent at the lake had proved refreshing but it was time to go back to work.

Suki and Akiko had everything organized and waiting for their Taro’s return. The one surprise in Hiromi Sato’s office was a vase of roses. They had been delivered that morning. They weren’t from Chuck, but from Katsuaki Koike, the shareigashira who came to Hiromi’s office the previous Friday. The flowers were his way of thanking the Saiko-komon for her wise investing of Katsuaki’s savings.

This and a meeting with some shareigashiras the day before were causing an interesting picture of Hiromi’s standing in the Watanabe Yakuza to form in Tom’s mind. What it all meant was still unknown.

Goro Watanabe called late on Monday afternoon to inform Hiromi he’d be returning to Yokohama on Thursday. “The Baystars are playing Tokyo Thursday night. Maybe YOU can attend the game with me.”

Hiromi got the message. The Oyabun wanted to meet in order to discuss family business, which meant Chuck wasn’t invited. “Goro-san, I will be there.”

“I will see you at the game then.”
 

~*~
 
About a half hour after their return to Yokohama, Reina began looking for the CD. This being the first chance Reina had to look for the computer disc.

“Shit. Hiromi you can’t do this to me.” Reina said as she rifled through the compact discs in the compartment. Two were music CDs, the rest burned copies of other discs Hiromi owned. One of them was supposed to be the program but which one? Hiromi said she would place it second among the discs in the glove compartment. What Reina found there instead was a disc of classical music recordings.

Had Hiromi forgotten to place the CD in the glove compartment? Reina was beginning to ask herself just that when someone called her name.

“Reina.”

Reina was seated in the tight confines of the Fairlady, but this didn’t prevent the bodyguard from nearly jumping. She immediately closed the glove compartment and got out of the car. “Yes.”

The person calling for her was Kimo, the Polynesian. “Roger sent me out here to get you.”

“Do you know what for?”

“No, he just asked me to tell you to go inside and report to him. I’ll be taking over out here for you.”

Without saying a word, Reina walked over to a nearby staircase. Roger Hyde’s office was on the third floor. Reina, deciding to save time by not waiting for an elevator used the stairwell.

A law enforcement officer working a deep undercover assignment is always on edge. Reina was no different. As she walked upstairs, Reina couldn’t help but fear she was would be climbing the staircase steps to her own death. Tonichi Ogawa would never be seeing his wife or son again.

Reina soon breathed a sigh of relief. Roger had summoned her for something very routine.

“Reina, before I let you go to lunch I got to ask you something.”

“What’s that Roger-san?”

“How full is the Fairlady’s gas tank? Is it in need of petrol?”

“I just looked. The tank is about half full.”

“When you get back from lunch, take the car to the filling station and top off the tank. Also have them change the oil. You’ll do that, won’t you love?”

‘I’m not your love bastard.’ Reina thought to herself. She wasn’t in a particularly good mood that day, Hiromi’s screw-up with the compact disc being just one reason. Reina also had to suffer with her time of the month right then. Her menstrual cramps were awful.

Tonichi Ogawa would be especially nice to his wife when the Swan Song mission was over. The husband of Momoko Ogawa now knew how it felt to bleed once a month. “Yes Roger-san, not a problem. I’ll do as you ask.”

“Go grab a bite love. Just be back here in forty minutes.” Roger told Reina. For now Reina was safe, but how long would that last?
 

~*~
 
Hiromi didn’t realize her error about the CD till later in the day. She therefore re-arranged the compact discs in the glove compartment on the ride home. Hiromi hoping Reina would find the disc where it had promised.

The next morning Hiromi got a non-verbal message from Reina. They needed to chat again. Since Chuck needed a ride into the office that day, a meeting would need to take place sometime later in the day. Or would it?

It was while riding the elevator down to the parking garage that Hiromi came up with a little inspiration. The elevator doors opened and almost everyone had stepped out. That is except for Hiromi, who exclaimed.

“Oh shit!”

Everyone, Chuck included, looked back at Hiromi. All but Chuck not being accustomed to Hiromi using American curse words.

“Something wrong?” Chuck asked.

“Yes I got to use the little girl’s room.”

Roger began motioning for everyone to get back on the elevator. Hiromi stopped them.

“I’ll go back upstairs by myself.”

“Boss I prefer if you didn’t.”

Hiromi pretended to think for a few seconds. “Reina can come with me. The rest of you stay here. We’ll be back in five minutes.”

Reina and Hiromi didn’t talk again till they were in the apartment and the door was closed. “What happened with the Compact Disc?”

“Sorry Reina, I forgot.” Hiromi said as she pulled up her dress and underwear in order to sit on the commode. She really needed to go potty.

“Please be more careful in the future.”

“I will Reina.”

“You don’t understand. I want to see my wife and son again.”

“Reina you will.”

“Promise me you will be more careful. Please.”

“I promise Reina to be more careful. I promise you’ll make it out of this alive. You’ll see your wife and son again, I promise.” Hiromi said as she finished her business and began to redress herself. “The disc is already where I told you it would be.”

“Thanks.”

Before heading back downstairs, Hiromi decided to check her appearance in a bathroom mirror. After a few moments of looking at herself, Hiromi decided her hair needed to be touched up some.

As Hiromi began brushing her hair, Reina spoke up. “Shouldn’t we get moving?”

Hiromi turned backwards in order to face Reina. Chrysanthemum was instantly taken by surprise by the look on Hiromi’s face. It was an angry one.

“Who are you to tell me to hurry up?”

“Huh?”

Hiromi didn’t say another word but went back to brushing her hair. When she was done, Hiromi went back to acting like nothing happened.

“We'd better go; they’re waiting for us downstairs.”

Back in the elevator on the way down to the parking garage, Reina asked a question. “Are you all right?”

“Yes.”

Reina said nothing more but that moment in the bedroom had spooked the bodyguard. What was going on with Ripley?

Little did Reina know, but Tom Slater was also growing increasingly concerned. These Hiromi episodes were becoming more frequent by the day.

‘Fight her Tom and stay in control.’ Tom told herself as she stepped off the elevator. Roger and his crew, plus Chuck were all standing around waiting for her.

“I’m set. Let’s get going now.”
 

~*~
 
Reina retrieved the compact disc later on Tuesday morning. Now it was up to Chrysanthemum to get it to the Swan Song committee.

The way Reina accomplished this was through the use of a drop. Reina Shimizu, including the real one who unknown to everyone had died attempting to escape shortly after being captured, had a taste for Starbucks coffee. Only four blocks from the Neigishi Bay Tower apartments was one of those American based coffee shops. Reina usually went there two or three times a week before starting work.

On those days Reina went go to Starbucks, she’d buy herself both a cup of java and some form of danish. After taking a seat, Chrysanthemum would read a trashy Japanese tabloid or gossip magazine. When she was through, Reina would leave the Starbucks, dumping her trash and reading material in a receptacle by the door.

Little did anyone know but this was how the drop would Reina sent messages and other things back to Swan Song. For on the morning after getting the Compact Disc from Hiromi, Reina went to Starbucks. The disc safely placed in a Ziploc bag and concealed inside the magazine she had brought along with her.

The Swan Song committee got the Disc less than twenty-four hours after Reina made the drop. It was eventually given over to Scott Avery and another computer programmer working for Swan Song. It would be some days before it was known if the Disc would be of any use.
 

~*~
 
Around 9:30 on Tuesday morning, Suki Kobayashi came into Hiromi’s office. “Sato-san, Ryuku Kinjoh is here.”

“Send her in.” Hiromi said as she straightened out her desk. If Tom Slater and the real Hiromi shared anything in common (besides the body they both resided in), it was their dislike of a cluttered desk. The first thing both would do after hearing a visitor was there to see them was to neaten their desk.

Suki had one other bit of information to relay to Hiromi. “Sato-san you asked me to remind you of your appointment today with Dr. Fuschida at 3:30.”

‘Who’s Dr. Fuschida?’ Hiromi asked herself as she nervously twirled a small bit of her hair. “Cancel the appointment.”

“I will do that Sato-san. Do you wish me to reschedule for another time?”

“No Suki.”

Ryuku Kinjoh walked into the office moments after Suki exited. Without saying a word, the slim shareigashira plopped her butt down in a seat straight across from Hiromi. Tom Slater not failing to note the short dress Ryuku was wearing or the large amount of perfume the shareigashira had on...

This was a huge contrast from Hiromi’s first meeting with the shareigashira. Then Ryuku Kinjoh had tried to act and appear as un-feminine as possible. What was behind the change today?

“So how goes everything Hiromi-chan?

Hiromi was more than slightly surprised by the shareigashira’s informality. “What’s up yourself?”

“The usual - Busting people’s heads, busting men’s chops.”

“Do you want to see how your money is doing?”

“Yes of course. That’s why I’m here.”

Hiromi was already prepared. She had printed off the financial reports she needed to show to Ryuku. They discussed these for the next twenty-five minutes.

“You work extremely well with other people’s money Hiromi-chan.” Ryuku said while reading over her financial statement.

“I try.”

“It is a long time since we last went shopping together.”

“We should do that again some time.”

“Forget Chuck for a day. You and I can have fun together.”

Hiromi wondered for a moment what type of fun Ryuku was referring to. It soon occurred to Hiromi that she and Ryuku sometimes went to clubs together. Most of this happening before Chuck entered Hiromi Sato’s life.

Some Yakuza business was discussed. Ryuku answered directly to Dai Hashimoto, her territory being in the hotel district. There Ryuku oversaw the call girls and tourist industry the Watanabes had a finger dipped into.

Ryuku shared one bit of interesting information with Hiromi. It was an offhand remark, but it gave Tom Slater a clue in regards to the Judge Song murder. Hiromi would have to do a little discreet investigating before turning over that particular piece of intelligence to Swan Song.

“I think we covered everything, if you’ll excuse me Ryuku I have work to do.”

Ryuku stood up. “Call me when you time to go shopping. It will be like old times.

Hiromi showed a rare smile. “Yes I’ll do that... When Chuck isn’t around.”

“I like how you take care of my money. Don’t change anything Sato-san.”

“I won’t.” After bowing to Hiromi, Ryuku Kinjoh left the room.

With that particular business over and done with, Hiromi began to think of Reina and the Compact Disc. Had the bodyguard retrieved it? Would it be of any use to Swan Song?

No deadline had been ever mentioned to Hiromi so far as the completion of Swan Song went. Gabrielle had mentioned the operation should be over within a year. What would happen if the disc wasn’t any good?

Hiromi decided not to stress herself out too much over this and other unknown. She had more than comfortably taken the real Hiromi Sato’s place. No one suspected anything, with the possible exception of Chuck, and with every passing week Tom Slater was growing more confident in her ability to pass as Hiromi Sato.

Someone then began knocking at the door. “Come in.”

It was Aki. She was carrying a vase full of red roses. “Sato-san, these came for you while you were meeting with Kinjoh-san.”

“Thank you Aki. Please put them on the desk for me.” While Aki did this, Suki entered the office with tea for her boss.

“Sato-san,” Suki said to Hiromi while pouring a cup of tea. “Charles called while you were in the meeting. He asked for you to call back.”

“Thank you Suki.” Once Suki and Aki were out of the office, Hiromi decided to check out who the flowers were from.

My little sports car,

Please accept this as an apology for my presumptuousness last Saturday night.

Always yours with love,

Chuck

Even Tom Slater thought the flowers and note were a thoughtful gesture. Hiromi then picked up her desk phone and called Chuck.

“Kimi-chan it is good to hear your voice. Did you get what I sent you?”

“Yes and thank you.”

“You aren’t mad at me anymore?”

“Of course not.”

Chuck’s voice became decidedly more cheerful. “Will I be meeting you at Dr. Fuschida’s office at 3:30?”

“I was going to cancel.”

“Why? We talked about this before Aunt Emiko died. You would have seen the doctor by now if not for the funeral.”

Hiromi listened to Chuck as he reminded his girlfriend of the purpose for seeing Dr. Fuschida. ‘Oh my God!’

“Come on Hiromi, you know what I think of this. Please?”

“Can I put you on hold for a minute?”

“Sure.” Hiromi then put Chuck on hold. She had to do some fast thinking. ‘I should have known Fuschida had to be that kind of doctor.’

Dr. Fuschida was a plastic surgeon. Adult Japanese women of all ages hired these doctors in their quest to stay beautiful. Why should Hiromi Sato be any different?

The crazy thing was, Tom didn’t put her foot down and say no. Instead she buzzed Suki. “Did you cancel that appointment I have with Dr. Fuschida?”

“No Sato-san. Their computer was down and I was told to call back. I hadn’t done that yet.”

“Thank you. I will be going to the appointment after all.” After hanging up on Suki, Hiromi pressed the line two buttons for Chuck.

“I’ll be there.”

“Smashing! I really hope you go through with it.”

“We’ll see. Meet you then at 3:30.”
 

~*~
 
Hiromi’s appointment with the Dr. Fuschida was scheduled for 3:30, but Japanese physicians are like their counterparts in America, they are rarely on time. Dr. Fuschida didn’t see Hiromi till 5:15. Over two hours were spent by Hiromi in the plastic surgeon’s office, all so to spend about fifteen minutes with the doctor.

After finishing with the Dr. Fuschida, Hiromi and Chuck went to see the scheduling nurse. “The doctor has an opening six weeks from today at 1 p.m. if that is good.”

“That will be fine.” Chuck answered. He was again being pushy and this caused Hiromi to growl at her boyfriend for a moment. “It’s up to you Kimi-chan. You make the choice.”

“That appointment will be fine.” Before leaving the doctor’s office, Hiromi was given some fact sheets that provided preparation and general information about the surgery she was now scheduled to undergo. A week before the operation, Hiromi would also have to come in to a clinic for pre-op. A separate appointment was scheduled for this.

“Where to now?” Chuck asked.

“The apartment.”

Chuck mentioned something to Hiromi on the way out to the car. “Your surgery appointment is the day after your birthday.”

“I didn’t even think of that.”

Chuck laughed as he and Hiromi climbed in the Fairlady. “This will be like a birthday present from me to you.”

“I think it will be more like the other way around.” Hiromi replied back which caused Chuck to laugh. She had plenty of reservations about going through with this plastic surgery. Only some of which were medical related. On the way home, a thought crossed Tom Slater/s mind. What would Gabrielle and the Swan Song committee think when they saw her at mission’s end?

‘I guess I can always say this operation was scheduled before I became Hiromi.’ Tom thought as she pulled the Fairlady out of the parking garage and into Yokohama traffic. ‘Or that I needed to do this to maintain my cover.’

Making sure her cover wasn’t blown was Captain Slater’s number one priority. The Swan Song mission, not to mention her life, would be come to an end if it was discovered she wasn’t the real Hiromi Sato. To maintain her cover, Tom had agreed for now to have the plastic surgery. This decision was subject to change.

Hiromi and Chuck had a quiet evening at the apartment up till almost 9:30. Juanita served them dinner shortly after their arrival. After their meal was over, the Chuck and Hiromi watched some television together before going to the bedroom.

Once they went inside, Chuck and Hiromi stripped off the clothes they were wearing and got into bed. It was time for Chuck’s little sports car to take him for a ride once again. Tom still couldn’t get used to lovemaking as a woman, but would admit it if only to herself, that the female body she was in desired Chuck and enjoyed his lovemaking.

That made it a tad easier for Tom. Chuck was also a nice person and gentle with Hiromi in spite of his size. That kind of helped too so far as Tom was concerned...

The stress and sheer isolation the Swan Song mission caused for Tom was very different than serving in Iraq. There Captain Slater had the camaraderie of his fellow soldiers. There were also the friends Tom had made during his time in Army, not to mention his family back in the United States.

On the other hand, what did Tom now have while she lived the life of Hiromi Sato? The woman was too far up the Yakuza chain of command to be approachable by just anyone. So friends were few and far between. Her family? Hiromi didn’t seem all too close to any of the Watanabes because of her upbringing, and for obvious reasons Tom couldn’t get in touch with his real family.

Then there was the stress of trying to impersonate a person she wasn’t, knowing one slipup could end in a grisly death, Tom needed a release. Was Chuck’s lovemaking becoming that?

After their lovemaking was over, Chuck and Hiromi took a shower together. After that, Chuck went out to the living room.

“Will you be coming out soon?” Chuck asked Hiromi while she sat at the dressing table in the master bedroom.

“In a couple of minutes. Watch television or listen to music, whichever you prefer.”

“Don’t take too long.” Chuck said before kissing Hiromi one more time. Then Chuck left the bedroom.

Hiromi would be going to bed in another hour or so. Still she felt the need to have her hair and rest of her appearance just right. That was why Hiromi was at the dressing table then.

While Hiromi combed her hair, she began to daydream. Thinking of things like her overall appearance, what Chuck thought of it, and if he and Hiromi would be happy with the results of the surgery Dr. Fuschida was going to perform.

‘Stop thinking like that, Tom Slater! You’re becoming almost as vain as a real woman.’ Hiromi thought as she suddenly stopped brushing her hair. A nagging thought entered Tom’s mind right then. Was this mission making Tom think too much like a woman? If so, would the Captain ever act like the man he was pre-Swan Song ever again?

Hiromi joined Chuck in the living room a few minutes later. They’d spend almost an hour sitting on the couch watching television. This was Chuck and Hiromi’s usual evening routine. Most nights they would go to bed together around 9:30-9:45

Hiromi and Chuck were still awake when at 9:38 the sound of the apartment buzzer filled the room. Hiromi got up from the couch and went over to the front door. There she pressed the intercom button. “Yes.”

“Boss, we need to see you.” said the voice of Roger Hyde.

Hiromi wondered why the bodyguard needed her at this hour. Couldn’t it wait till morning? “I’ll be out in a few minutes.”

Chuck had gotten up off the couch already. “Business?”

“Who knows? I better put some clothes on and go find out.”

Hiromi put on a blouse, pants, sweater, plus underwear and shoes. She exited the apartment five minutes later to find Yuri and Roger waiting for her.

“What’s going on?”

“We need you to come downstairs boss,” Roger Hyde said to Hiromi as he and Yuri led her to the elevator. “There’s a problem there only you can fix.”

As they rode the elevator downstairs to the basement, Hiromi wondered what Chuck was up to right then. ‘He’s probably in bed waiting for your return.’

Once off the elevator, Hiromi was shown to a small undecorated room. There five employees of the Watanabe Yakuza were waiting for the acting Oyabun.

All but one of the Watanabe employees bowed to Hiromi as she entered the room, the fifth person being unable to do so. A man was bound and gagged on the floor. His name was Takanori Yokoyama. A quick glance by Hiromi told her the man had recently undergone a severe beating.

“We need a decision from you Oyabun-san.” said one of the men in the room.

"Tell me what has taken place, Mureta-san.”

Takahiro Mureta, a Watanabe shareigashiras, proceeded to do just that. The reason Hiromi had been summoned was because Takanori Yokoyama, a long-time and till recently trusted employee of Goro Watanabe, had been caught skimming money from one of the Oyabun’s many business enterprises.

To prove what he was saying, Takahiro had brought a laptop computer. He proceeded to show Hiromi a video of Takanori pocketing money that wasn’t his own.

The case was pretty darn strong. There were two separate instances on video of the man pocketing large sums of yen. As Hiromi watched the video, Takahiro did a monologue that filled in the some of the questions his boss already had popping into her head. Like how had Takanori Yokoyama come under suspicion, for how long a length of time was he suspected of stealing, and what was the estimate on how much the man had skimmed.

As Hiromi watched and listened to Takahiro, Takanori tried to plead with the acting Oyabun. The man telling her, he’d never do this again, return all the money he had stolen, do anything as long as they would not hurt him anymore. Because of the duct tape over his mouth, all of these pleas were muffled. Not that they would have done Takanori Yokoyama any good.

There was only one sentence for a Watanabe employee caught stealing. The only reason for Hiromi being summoned was because of Yokoyama’s long length of service with the Yakuza family. He had supposedly earned the trust and favor of both Goro and Keiji Watanabe at times in the past. No Watanabe employee, including the shareigashiras, would put such a man to death without prior backing from at least a Saiko-komon.

‘Oh god, they want you to ok this guy’s murder. I definitely didn’t sign up for this’ Tom thought to herself. When volunteering for the Swan Song mission, not once had the Army Captain expected to put in the place she was now. Hiromi Sato was only supposed to be an accountant, not a murderer.

This wasn’t combat in Iraq, where Tom Slater sent men into danger every day knowing some may not return alive. Rather this was cold-blooded murder.

Hiromi knew there was only one possible decision. That didn’t mean it didn’t affect her. Only a person without a conscience couldn’t feel dirtied by a murder they had taken part in.

“What’s the decision boss?” Roger Hyde asked Hiromi. All eyes in the room focused on their Oyabun.

Before handing down the sentence, Hiromi made note of something else. “You fools! Don’t any of you know what this is!?”

The men in the room were shocked by what Hiromi had just said. They had no idea why the acting Oyabun was so angry.

“This is a wireless card” Hiromi said as she yanked the device out of the laptop, holding it up in the air for everyone to see. “This computer was online, for what length of time I don’t know, but because of your stupidity we may all have exposed us all to the police!”

Only Roger had a clue as to how this could be happening. Every last man then bowed their heads in shame

“This PC has no firewall. That means a hacker employed by the police could gain access to it. Not anymore!” Then Hiromi flung the laptop against a nearby wall as hard as she could. If this was meant to destroy the machine, it did. For the electronic gizmo stopped working the second after it impacted the wall. The PC fell to the floor, and broke in several pieces.

Takahiro Mureta began to humbly apologize for his stupidity with the laptop. Telling Hiromi he would not make the same mistake twice.

As for Takanori Yokoyama, Hiromi rolled her eyes in the man’s direction. “You know what to do with him.”

Hiromi left the room with Yuri and Roger following her. As she exited, Takanori Yokoyama stared at the exiting Saiko-komon with wide open eyes full of terror.

A few minutes later, Hiromi Sato was back in her apartment. Tired but unable to go to sleep, Tom Slater was deeply troubled by what she had just allowed to happen... It was almost midnight when the Captain’s conscience finally allowed her to go to sleep.
 

~*~
 
Back in the United States, Midori and Stewart Slater were going into town. Tom’s father wanted to make some purchases at a Darrington Washington hardware store.

Midori had come into town with husband, but not in order to visit the hardware store. “Stewart, can you drop me at the church?”

“Of course sweetheart.” Stewart told his wife. The retired military man was as devoted to his wife today as he had been the day the couple married.

Stewart dropped Midori off at Darrington United Methodist Church. “I’ll pick you up after I’m through at the store.”

“Take your time.” Midori told her husband. Then she went inside the church.

It was a weekday, and the place of worship was completely empty. Midori went about halfway to the front of the church, knelt, and then sat herself in a pew. Midori then silently began to pray.

Midori Slater had gone to church that day to pray for her son Tom. That he would both be successful in his mission and come home in one piece.
 

~*~
 
To Be Continued in Part Five

As she approached the office, Hiromi saw something amiss. Her office door was ajar. Hiromi walked straight into the room only to find someone seated at her desk.

It was the computer programmer Omar Rafique also known as 'The Indian' within the Watanabe Yakuza. He was operating Hiromi’s computer.

“Get out of there!” Hiromi growled. “At once!”

Omar stood up from the chair and immediately became apologetic. Saying he was only doing a software upgrade.

“I don’t care, get out of my office now.”

Synopsis- Captain Slater continues her Swan Song mission while at the same time undergoing both physical and mental changes.

 

~*~
 
Hiromi went to the Yokohama Baystars game that she was invited to by Goro Watanabe. Her approval of the killing of Takanori Yokoyama still troubling Hiromi.

The game was on a Thursday night and against the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in the first of a four game series. Tokyo and Yokohama were arch rivals and at present the Swallows held a three game lead over the Bay Stars. Yokohama needed a series sweep or at least three out of four if they hoped to catch Tokyo before season’s end.

In order to attend the game, Hiromi was picked up at her Kanagawa Bank office at 5:30 p.m. sharp. A limousine taking her to Yokohama Stadium.(Chuck would drive the Fairlady home) That night’s game beginning at 7 p.m.

Hiromi, in her real life as Tom Slater, had been to Yokohama Stadium twice to see baseball games as a child. Thanks to his father a lifetime Detroit Tiger fan, and the Armed Forces Television, Tom was a fan of the sport in spite of rarely seeing the games in person.

As could be expected, the box was heavily guarded. Hiromi wasn’t subjected to a search before being allowed in.

Immaculately dressed as always, Goro Watanabe was inside the box waiting for his cousin’s arrival. Hiromi bowed to the Oyabun before taking a seat.

“It is good to see you again Oyabun-san.” Hiromi being formal with Goro because they weren’t alone.

Food and drink were brought for Hiromi and Goro. For Hiromi it was hoshi-ika, a type of squid jerky, plus a soft drink. The Baystars and Swallows had just finished practice and the start of the game was minutes away.

Hiromi noted her surroundings. The box had two guards stationed outside it, one on each side of the door, and at least three more a short distance away. Inside the box two more guards were present.

Was Goro paranoid or just being careful? Hiromi was asking herself for a moment if Goro trusted his own cousin. If not, what were the implications for Tom?

Maybe Goro’s security detail was just being careful. Hiromi got plenty of that type of treatment from Roger Hyde and company. They were so protective of their charge, Hiromi sometimes felt as if she would suffocate because of it.

No Yakuza business was discussed that evening, except for one indirect mention of what Hiromi had to do with Takanori Yokoyama. Goro making comment between the second and third innings of the ballgame.

“I hear one of my associates left our company during my absence.”

“Yes, Goro-san. It was over a matter of finances. I accepted his resignation.”

“If it was I there that night, I would have done the same.”

It seemed Goro wanted company that night. It was on the way back to the apartment house that Goro told Hiromi the purpose of his visit to Osaka.

“I have found a new business venture.”

“What type?”

“The internet. A online service provider.”

Right then ISPs were a dime a dozen in Japan. A huge glut of these companies existed. Hiromi knew this but Goro was quite enthralled at venturing into the internet business. The company known as Central Nippon Wireless had caught the Oyabun’s fancy. Even wise business counsel from the Saiko-komon may not be strong enough to dissuade Goro Watanabe from investing in this risky business venture.

“When you have time Hiromi-chan I would like you to visit Osaka and Central Nippon. Tell me what you think of the firm financially.”

“I will do whatever you ask of me Goro-san. The week after next I should have the free time needed.

“Good, I will tell them you will be coming. When done I want you to write a report on what you find out.”

Goro and Hiromi arrived at the Negishi Bay Towers minutes later. After exiting the limousine, Goro and Hiromi walked over to the nearby elevators.

“I hope you and Chuck can attend a game or two this weekend.”

“We will Goro-san. Maybe tomorrow night, I will ask Chuck.”

“Good. The Baystars need fans to cheer them. Three more wins and they will pass into first place.” Goro said to Hiromi just before the elevator doors began to open.

Hiromi was in her apartment a few minutes later. She was only a little surprised to see Chuck awake and watching television.

“Kimi-chan, I missed you.” Chuck said to Hiromi before giving his girlfriend a welcoming kiss. “How was the game? Good I hope.”

“Yes it was a good game.” Hiromi told her boyfriend. One game down, one more game to go before she could call it a night. “Let me shower and use the bathroom. After that you can take me for a ride.”
 

~*~
 
The Swan Song committee got a briefing in regards to the Compact Disc made by Hiromi Sato. It was the Monday after Chyrsanthemum’s most recent drop. The news wasn’t good.

“We can’t use the program stored on the disc to read the encrypted files.” Computer expert Scott Avery told the committee.

“The disc is of no fucking use?” Deputy Director Williamson asked. Again murmurs could be heard around the table in regards to Ripley’s continued failure to do as the committee had hoped for.

“Not quite sir. We can’t read the files yet, but that may change.”

“Explain.”

Scott Avery did just that. While the CD didn’t provide a working copy of the encryption program, it had given the computer programmer and his assistant Anthony Preval enough of a peek at it. Anthony and Scott feeling if given enough time and resources they could crack it.

“How long are we talking about?” Major Hollins asked

“Six months. A year maybe.” Scott Avery replied

“That isn’t acceptable.” Deputy Williamson answered back. Swan Song had no set deadline for its completion, but Grant had a preferred time in mind for its conclusion. There were political factors at work.

“We may break it in three months or not at all.” Scott told the FBI Deputy Director in a straight forward fashion. Fortunately for Scott, he didn’t work for the Bureau or his total candor may well have gotten him in Grant Williamson’s dog house.

That’s where Gabrielle Tanaka began to place herself that day. A discussion ensued of what other methods could be used to get the information Swan Song needed.

One proposal was to give Ripley several small computer devices. She would then use them to copy the hard drives of all the computers Hiromi Sato worked on. If successful, Swan Song would be back on track.

To make these copies, the device would need to be attached to each computer for at least thirty minutes, but perhaps as long as two hours. All depending on how many GB of computer programs and files there were that needed to be copied.

When the copying device was in place, Ripley would be at risk of being discovered. Gabrielle Tanaka pointed this out to the committee.

“The danger to Ripley’s safety could be extreme if we ask her to do this task.”

“We know that Agent Tanaka. If Swan Song is to be successfully completed, we may have no other choice.”

“If Ripley dies, the files we get could be of no use to us without someone to explain them.” Gabrielle said candidly via teleconference call. She still being in Japan at the time.

“Thank you for that observation Agent Tanaka.” Grant Williamson replied back icily. The Deputy Director planned to chew Gabrielle out the next time they met face to face. Better yet, Gabrielle Tanaka had an upcoming job performance evaluation due in a few months. ‘Bitch you will pay for telling me what to do and what not to do.’

Anthony Preval had another idea. “Scott and I have studied the program very thoroughly. I think I know who the programmer is.”

“Who is he?” Major Hollins asked.

“I am pretty certain his name is Omar Rafique. He graduated MIT one year before I did.”

“Did you two know one another?”

“A little,” Anthony explained. He like Omar was from India but in Anthony’s case he was a Catholic and from Calcutta where as Omar Rafique was a Muslim from the Bombay area. “We sometimes went to the same parties.”

‘Drinking buddies. Of what possible use is this connection?’ Grant Williamson mused to himself.

“Omar is brilliant. He is also compulsive, always updating his software. My guess is Omar will update the encryption program at some point. When he does, Ripley may be able to pilfer us a copy.”

Everyone at the meeting thought this was plausible. “Are we sure this Omar will do an upgrade?”

“Omar Rafique is a perfectionist. He’ll upgrade the program. If I had to make a guess, he’ll do it within a few months.”

Grant Williamson asked what was the basis for the prediction. Scott Avery was quick with an answer.

“The program Ripley copied was last updated May 29 2007.”

“If I know Omar, he won’t go more than six months without doing some tinkering. As we stand, it is almost four months since the last upgrade he did.” Anthony added.

A half hour later it was agreed to wait no longer than December 31st in order to see if Omar Rafique did a program update and if Ripley could pilfer a copy of it. This failing, Swan Song would have no other choice but to have Ripley make computer hard drive copies in spite of the risk it entailed.
 

~*~
 
Operation Swan Song went into a period of little activity for about a month. Not long after the most recent Swan Song meeting, Ripley was given her new orders via Chrysanthemum. Now all Ripley could do was wait for the Omar Rafique.

The pace of operations may have slowed down, but the danger was ever present for both Ripley and Chrysanthemum. Letting down their guard in even the slightest fashion, could prove fatal. Therefore neither woman was free of stress. Hiromi handled hers by keeping busy and letting Chuck have his way with her. Reina handled her stress by chain smoking.

Accepting Goro’s invite, Chuck and Hiromi attended the next two Baystars games. It proved of little help to Yokohama. After winning the series opener, Tokyo won three straight. That dashed any hopes the Baystars had for the 2007 Central League title.

The Yokohama-Tokyo baseball series wasn’t the only sporting event Hiromi attended over the next two months. In October the Tokyo marathon took place. An event Hiromi Sato had won in both 1999 and 2002.

On the same day the Swan Song committee heard Scott Avery’s report, Hiromi was approached by a Japanese sports network to be a commentator for the marathon. After talking it over with Chuck, Hiromi accepted.

Working the race proved to be a nice distraction for Tom Slater. It also allowed the Captain to further get inside the head of Hiromi Sato. During the run up to the race and then the marathon itself, the real Hiromi’s memories came bubbling upward. This allowing Tom a further understanding of the Yakuza woman she was impersonating.

Tom remembered Gabrielle telling him how Hiromi was once a talented marathon runner. The first alternate for Japan’s 2000 Olympic team. At the October 2007 race the reasons Hiromi Sato didn’t make the 2000 team became known to Tom.

After years of living on Hokkaido, Hiromi came to Yokohama for the first time in 1998. She going to Tokyo University in order to study Finance and Business Administration. It was during this time that Hiromi got to know her real family up close.

When growing up on Hokkaido, Hiromi had been a solitary person with very few friends. That was one of the reasons she took up long distance running. A marathon runner did their sport alone and long runs gave Hiromi time to think and meditate. In 1996, Hiromi nearly won the Sapporo marathon. Seeing how good she was, Hiromi then set her sights on the 2000 Olympics.

When Hiromi came to Yokohama, she told the Watanabes of her goal. Also asking if a trainer could be hired to help Hiromi prepare. For some reason, Keiji Watanabe told his granddaughter no. Already feeling shunned by her family for many years, this only stirred more ill feelings inside of Hiromi towards the Watanabes.

By early 2000, Hiromi and Naoko Takahashi were considered the odds on favorites to be Japan’s representative at the Olympics. In Hiromi’s mind at least, she was the far superior of the two runners. The three times she and Naoko competed against one another prior to 2000, saw Hiromi come out on top twice and only narrowly lose the one time Naoko did win.

Hiromi’s Olympic dreams were derailed when she suffered a hamstring injury a few months before Japan’s Olympic tryouts. After she missed making the team, Hiromi began to blame her family. If they had only hired the trainer she wanted, Hiromi believed she would have avoided the hamstring injury and won the gold in Sydney.

A torn Achilles tendon in 2003 ended Hiromi’s competitive running days. By then she was already at work for the Watanabe Yakuza. Proper training for the 2004 Olympics would have been next to impossible.

While commentating on the 2007 Tokyo Marathon, Tom learned this particular part of Hiromi Sato’s background. Along with it came the feelings of resentment or anger Hiromi felt towards her family. Tom Slater just didn’t know the strength of these emotions.

In addition to her Tokyo marathon work, Hiromi attended the Mizuno Classic golf tournament. Chuck playing in the tournament’s Wednesday pro-am with LPGA player Lorie Kane and Hiromi in the gallery. In the past Chuck had played with Lorie in two previous Mizuno pro-ams. Other than Karrie Webb, Lorie Kane was Chuck’s favorite lady professional golfer.

Chuck and Hiromi were present for the final day of play too. There they witnessed in person Momoko Ueda’s double eagle of the seventh hole. Momoko going on to win the Mizuno by two shots.

In other non-sports related matters, Kanagawa Banks’s purchase of China East Commerce Bank was proceeding if slowly. Hiromi having to visit Hong Kong for two days in early October. Details of the purchase, needing to be worked out in person by Hiromi.

Chuck didn’t accompany his girlfriend on the business trip, but proposed the possibility of them sneaking off to Hong Kong at another time. Hiromi liked that idea. Tom Slater always wanted to see that city.

Another reason to like the idea of a Hong Kong trip was it would allow Ripley to do a meet with a member of Swan Song. Chrysanthemum passed this bit of information along to the committee.

Reina and Hiromi usually had private talks every seven to ten days. The day after her return from Hong Kong, Hiromi was told about the failure of the computer program copy she had made.

“I never thought it would work. What are they proposing now?” Hiromi asked and Reina immediately supplied the answer. “That sounds feasibe. We just don’t know when Omar will do his next update. Do we?”

“No Ripley-san. It could be tomorrow, next week, next month or next year.”

“We’ll just have to wait then. How’s your plan going in regards to getting onto Goro’s computer?”

“I’m still working on it.”

“Take your time Reina. I don’t want anything to go wrong.”

“Trust me, I don’t want that happening either.”

The episodes of the Hiromi Sato persona acting out became less frequent for a while. Tom staying mostly in control of the body she now had. Why this change happened, Tom could only guess. The Army Captain was trying to focus hard on the Swan Song mission at the same time forgetting the more unpleasant aspects that came with it. Like the giving of life and death orders such as the case of Takanori Yokoyama, or knowing about the details of drug smuggling operations the Watanabes were involved in. Knowing Japanese men, women, and even children died as a result of these. Of course there was also Hiromi’s relationship with Chuck McBride.

Was the later that unpleasant? From the first time she bedded Chuck McBride, Tom Slater realized her body enjoyed the experience. With the passage of time Tom also learned her body craved the attentions and love supplied to it by her tall, muscular yet gentle Australian lover. Whether he liked it or not, Tom resided in a heterosexual female body.

Tom began to accept this. Telling herself being with a man wasn’t unnatural, because of the gender she now possessed. Hiromi Sato loved Chuck McBride, and Tom was very much Hiromi Sato for the present time.

The hesitation and reluctance slowly began to slip away. Sometimes Tom found herself daydreaming about Chuck when she was at work. Instead of having the Hiromi episodes, was Tom Slater beginning to act like Hiromi Sato? What was the cause? The Hiromi persona or Tom Slater undergoing mental changes because of the body she now had?

Yakuza business didn’t leave Tom much time to dwell on this. Hiromi paid a visit to Osaka the week after the Tokyo marathon. This in order to do a evaluation of Central Nippon Wireless. After spending five days at the company, Hiromi returned to Osaka.

On Wednesday of the following week, Hiromi handed Goro her report. Hiromi’s evaluation of the ISP was negative to say the least. The company’s revenues were flat, its market share and profits declining. That and talk of new regulations by the Japanese goverment on the internet were all the basis of Hiromi’s recommendation to the Oyabun not to buy Central Nippon Wireless.

Goro took the report and thanked Hiromi for her hard work. Less than two weeks later, Goro announced his plans to buy Central Nippon. The Oyabun making the announcement at a Yakuza meeting.

Hiromi wasn’t the only one surprised by Goro’s decision. The shareigashiras could barely avoid grumbling, and Dai Hashimoto’s displeasure was even more evident.

Was Goro Watanabe the wise businessman the Swan Song committee made him out to be or someone prone to taking risky gambles? Hiromi didn’t have the answer to this question or how this would affect her mission. If at all.
 

~*~
 
The last week in October saw Dr. Wagner began phase II of her latest DNA therapy trial. Like phase I, it took 3.5 weeks for Dr. Wagner’s three teams to complete the trial.

When all was done, the results were impressive. Of the 162 patients, all but 27 patients reverted back to their original bodies. This was an 83% success rate. Dr. Wagner was hoping for eighty percent, so phase II had gone better than hoped.

Even better news, no anomalies had occurred in any of the patients. That other than the 22 women and five men who hadn’t changed back to their original gender that is.

Of the 27, some were very unhappy with the therapy’s failure. The most outspoken one may have been the former Florida sheriff also known as patient 99.

“You have to change me back. This won’t fucking do!”

“We will try our best Fraulein.”

“I’m not a Fraulein.” The former sixty-year-old white male turned twenty--year-old South Asian female said in a very angry tone of voice.

Dr. Wagner knew from previous studies that a second attempt with a patient’s original DNA was futile. All patients were notified of this, and with the exception of the former sheriff and one other, took the news in stride. Most saying they would be all right accepting a new body as long as it was their original gender.

Two patients, one man and one woman opted out of another dose of DNA therapy. Both were happy with their new gender. As both were serving prison time for non-violent crimes, authorities decided to commute both the man and woman’s sentence. They were each given a new identity and sent on their happy way.

The other twenty-five patients were again kept at a secure facility in northern Virginia till they would be given their next DNA.therapy. One small change was made, the patients were allowed to have contact with those of the opposite gender while they waited.
 

~*~
 
The Monday after the Mizuno Classic was Hiromi’s last day of work before her surgery. She was working extra hard that day to get as much business, Yakuza related and otherwise, in order before leaving for the apartment that night. Hiromi wasn’t planning a return to work till the following Monday at least.

Unless Hiromi was meeting Chuck, she normally had lunch in her office most days. Monday was no different, and at 12:30 Hiromi stopped working to eat a sandwich she had brought with her to work that morning.

After she was through eating the sandwich, Hiromi still felt hungry. A solution quickly came to Hiromi’s mind. She would go to the employee break room and help herself to some of the food kept there.

Watanabe Trucking’s offices had two break rooms. One for male employees, and one for female. Most of the office staff were on break when Hiromi walked into the later.

Hiromi’s co-workers were talking when she entered the room. The presence of their boss caused the room to suddenly go silent.

“Never mind me,” Hiromi said as she went to a cabinet in the back of the room. “I just want to get something. Talk about whatever you wish.”

The room remained quiet. Except for Suki Kobayashi, who got up from her chair. “Can I help you find something Sato-san?”

“No Suki,” Hiromi said as she removed a package of O-sembe rice crackers. After she got these, Hiromi want to the refrigerator next. “I found what I was looking for. Can I ask whose crackers these are?”

One of the secretaries raised her hand. Her name was Ria. “They are mine Taro-san.”

As Hiromi helped herself to a soft drink, she thanked Ria for the crackers. “I find them very tasty.”

“I’m glad you enjoy them Taro-san. Eat as many as you like.”

“After break is over, come to my office. I’ll reimburse you for the crackers.”

“No need to Taro-san.”

“I want to,” Hiromi replied back. The room was still abnormally quiet. Watanabe Trucking’s female employees appeared hesitant to talk in front of their boss. “What was everyone talking about when I came in?”

It took a few seconds for someone to speak up. “Ria’s sister is getting married this coming weekend.”

“That’s wonderful. You must be happy for her.”

“Yes Taro-san. My sister and I are very close.”

Hiromi planned on going back to her office but she changed her mind. “Do any of you mind if I join you?”

“No Taro-san. We welcome you.”

“Thank you,” Hiromi said as she sat herself down in an empty chair. “Talk freely. I’m here not as your boss right now.”

It took a few minutes but the conversation began flowing again. The women of Watanabe Trucking talking about their lives outside the office. Friends, family, husbands, lovers. Also some gossiping about some of Japan’s bigger celebrities took place.

Hiromi let the others do most of the talking, but did speak up once or twice. Being a boss or Taro in Japan meant being isolated from those you supervise. Your employees rarely opening up to the person they called Taro.

One thing Hiromi missed was the camaraderie she had while serving in the Army as Tom Slater. Especially when in Iraq. As CO, Tom freely associated with the men in his command, he probably knowing some of these men’s lives as well as their closest family members. Soldiers serving in a war zone spoke freely, including when they were around their commanding officer.

The environment in Japan was different. If just for a day, Hiromi would like these employees of hers to treat their boss like the men in Tom Slater’s Army unit treated their CO. After some fifteen minutes, it appeared to be working.

Then one of the women noted the time. “Break time is over now.”

All the women around the table began to gather their things as they prepared to go back to work. Except for Hiromi, who then spoke up.

“Taro declares an extra twenty minutes of break.” Hiromi’s declaration was met with applause from at least two of the women in the room.

Conversation rambled on for a few more minutes before touching on a subject of interest to Hiromi. One office worker beginning to talk about plastic surgery.

Two of the women present had some form of plastic surgery in the past. The rest, not surprisingly, wanted to have procedures done also to maintain or improve their appearance. One of these was Suki Kobayashi.

“I’d like to get my nose done.”

“Why don’t you?” Hiromi asked.

“I don’t have money now Taro-san. Maybe I will have it saved by this time next year.” Right then one of the women in the room, whose name was Akemi, excused herself.

Tom Slater would have said there was nothing wrong with Suki’s nose. His first love being just as pretty as when Tom Slater kissed Suki for the last time back in 1991. The last sixteen years being very kind to Suki Kobayashi.

“Taro-san, you’re having an operation we hear.”

“Yes, it is scheduled tomorrow. I won’t be back before next Monday.”

“May we ask what you’re having done?”

If Hiromi Sato wanted her employees to share themselves with their Taro, she would have to reciprocate. “I’m having breast augmentation.”

A few giggles could be heard from around the table. This caused Hiromi to smile.

“How large will they become?”

Hiromi smiled again before answering. The facial gesture was hardly a forced one. “36DD.”

A few more giggles could be heard around the table. Hiromi thought these were of envy, rather than derision. It was then that Akemi returned to the room.

The hesitation Hiromi had over the surgery six weeks ago had melted away for the most part. Some how it had turned to eagerness. No one likes having even elective surgery done, but Hiromi or Tom was beginning to see its benefits. Chuck McBride was very eager to see is girlfriend’s breasts enlarged.

The night before, Tom Slater had spent time looking in the mirror at her present breasts. Imagining how they would look post-op. Rather than decry the feminization her body was about to undergo, Tom felt oddly happy about it. She would be prettier and more attractive.

Mental changes were happening to Tom Slater. Sometimes the male Army Captain deep inside of Hiromi noticed them, with increasing frequency she didn’t. Were they temporary or permanent in nature?

“I think Charles will like them.”

Hiromi smiled. “Yes I think he will like them too. My appointment with Dr. Fuschida is at one o’clock tomorrow.”

“Dr. Fuschida is very good. He operated on a close friend of mine.” Said one of Hiromi’s employees.

Right then a knocking sound could be heard at the door. Someone probably wondering where two thirds of the office staff was, Hiromi thought to herself.

“Come in.” Hiromi called out.

It was one of the male employees at Watanabe trucking that Hiromi could never keep the name straight of. He was carrying a white box.

Every woman in the room but Hiromi got up and began to sing. “Happy Birthday to you.......”
 

~*~
 
Hiromi emerged from the bedroom around 8:30 that evening. Seeing his girlfriend, Chuck got up and greeted her.

“Happy birthday.” Chuck told Hiromi after their kiss ended.

“Thank you. Want to watch some television till bed-time?”

“Whatever my little sports car wants is fine with me.”

Why hadn’t Chuck taken Hiromi out to celebrate her birthday that night? Because the couple had done it the night before. Hiromi wanting a quiet evening at home the night before surgery.

“Don’t forget your little sports car is going into the shop for service beginning tomorrow. You’ll have to be patient while the work is being completed.” Hiromi said as she sat down on the living room couch.

“I will be just that. Anything I can get you right now Kimi-chan?”

“A glass of tomato juice.”

“One glass of tomato juice is on its way.” Chuck said as he walked towards the kitchen area. “Do you want a snack now?”

“No maybe later.” Hiromi replied back. In preparation for her surgery, Hiromi would have to fast beginning at midnight.

Chuck was back a minute later with Hiromi’s juice. “Did you enjoy today?”

“Yes very much. It was so nice of them to give me a party at the office.”

Hiromi had been deeply touched by the birthday party. So much so, she planned to give all the women a year end bonus. Enough that Suki could get nose job of hers done, even if Tom Slater liked it as is.

Watanabe Ttrucking wasn’t Hiromi’s company, but she was office manager. The giving out of bonuses should be within her prerogative, if anyone objected, she would pay it out of Hiromi’s personal funds. In less than a year Tom Slater would be a man again, the real Hiromi presumably in jail, and the Watanabe Yakuza finished as a crime family.

The only troubling side effect Hiromi saw to any of this, was the ladies who had been so kind to her that very day, would be all out of work as a result of what Tom Slater was doing. They would be victims of the Watanabes like so many others.

Chuck wrapped an arm around Hiromi in order to draw her closer to him. “That was very nice. I should have arranged something similar at the bank. You aren’t angry because I didn’t?”

“No, of course not.”

“Tomorrow is the big day.”

“Yes, VERY BIG.” Hiromi giggled.

“The doctor did say he could do them even larger if you wanted.”

Hiromi shook her head. Dr. Fuschida had indeed said that, but he also said there were greater chance for complications if Hiromi had opted for DDD. Hiromi was a large B cup or small C cup already. After a physical exam of his patient, Dr. Fuschida laid out the size options for Hiromi.

Chuck had gently elbowed Hiromi throughout the doctor’s appointment to choose DDD, but she stood her ground and said DD was enough. “He did, but I want to look beautiful not like a freak.”

“You’d never be a freak to me Kimi-chan.” Chuck said before kissing Hiromi.

“They will be my birthday gift for you.”

Chuck laughed. “What a splendid gift they will be, for both of us. Are you nervous about tomorrow?”

“Just a little.”

“You’ll be fine and I promise to do anything you ask afterwards.”

“Maybe I’ll go back to work on Friday.”

“No, Kimi-chan you need to rest. The office will still be there next week. Goro knows you’re having surgery, am I right?”

“Yes I told him last week. He said for me to take any time I needed.”

“See, you take your time then.”

Hiromi and Chuck watched television till eleven p.m. that night before retiring to the bedroom. Before then, Chuck and Hiromi ate some strawberry ice cream together around 10:30.

After putting the bowls in the dishwasher, Chuck began to yawn. “Don’t know about you, but I’m tired.”

“Tired of me?”

“Never my little sports car.”

“Then let me take you for one last ride before I go into the shop.”
 

~*~
 
Hiromi’s surgery went smoothly the next day. Dr. Fuschida was running late, so Hiromi didn’t get operated on till a little past two. When she woke up in post-op, Chuck was by her girlfriend’s bedside already.

“Kimi-chan, how do you feel?” Chuck asked before bending down to kiss Hiromi.

“Hungry.”

Chuck laughed. “First thing we’ll do when they allow you out of here is get you something to eat. How are you feeling?”

“All right.” Hiromi replied. The anesthesia was still working, therefore she wasn’t feeling any pain yet. Chuck stayed with his girlfriend in the post-op area till Hiromi was released to go home. In the mean-time they made small talk.

“Are we going to Australia next month?”

“I guess so. We’ll leave the last week in December and be away ten days to maybe two weeks .”

“Splendid, Mum is so looking forward to it.” Chuck said as he held Hiromi’s hand.

‘This guy is so in love with me.’ Tom told herself. ‘What will be Chuck’s reaction when Swan Song is over and he finds out about me? I guess I won’t be around for that but I can’t help feeling sorry for him.’

“Mum may not appreciate me bringing the rifle squad along with us.”

Chuck laughed “Can we do something about that?”

“Bring Reina only I guess. We can say she’s my friend. Roger won’t like it but he’ll have to get over it.”

Hiromi arrived at her apartment a little before 7 p.m. Juanita, who had been forewarned of her employer’s return, had dinner on the table five minutes after Hiromi arrived. A fish dinner with rice and vegetable. Despite the sound of her stomach grumbling, Hiromi ended up eating only lightly.

“How do you like?” Chuck asked Hiromi as they ate dinner.

Chuck wasn’t referring to Hiromi’s breasts but the vases of flowers in the apartment. “They’re lovely. Thank you.”

Hiromi spent the next five days resting and healing. The first two days spent entirely in the apartment with Chuck fussing over her. Tom Slater was driven nuts by this, and her lack of activity. He had spent enough time recuperating from surgery in the months after being wounded in Iraq.

The surgery appeared to go well. Hiromi didn’t see the doctor till six days post op. She had pain in the incision areas and swelling, which was expected/ Chuck had arranged for a nurse to visit every day between the day after surgery and the Sunday before Hiromi went back for followup.

Hiromi’s recovery went smoother than she could hoped for. Her biggest problems being boredom and the bandages beginning to get undone two days after surgery. By Sunday night Hiromi was looking forward to going back to work.

Dr. Fushida saw Hiromi at 2 p.m. Monday afternoon. The first thing that was done, was the unwrapping of the bandages.

Hiromi was already wondering how her new breasts would look. Before that, Dr. Fuschida examined his patient. He first asking Hiromi to lay flat on her back on the examination table.

The doctor had to touch the areas around Hiromi’s incisions, plus her breasts. They were very sensitive and painful.

“How are you feeling Kimi-chan?” Chuck asked.

“Next time, I’ll have root canal instead.” Chuck laughed his head off at Hiromi’s joke.

Dr. Fuschida then gave his verdict. “Your surgery went well. I can see you again in four weeks.”

“Thank you doctor.”

“Any questions?”

There were a few, mostly about post-operative care. Also when Hiromi could go back to work, what exercise routines she was allowed to undertake.

While Hiromi was being examined by the Doctor, she got her first glimpse of the mountains she now possessed. Yes mountains, goodbye b cups, hello DDs. ‘Why again Tom Slater did you let this be done to you?’

Tom kept telling herself it was for Chuck. So the Australian didn’t get suspicious about his girlfriend. Those fears appeared gone now if the approving look on Chuck’s face meant anything.

The question and answer session with Dr. Fuschida soon ended. When it was over, Chuck gave Hiromi another kiss.

“How do you like them?”

“They’re marvelous.” Chuck replied back with the biggest smile Hiromi could ever remember.

When Hiromi stood up, she got to truly feel how it was to be big chested. Chuck then handed her a undergarment to put on. It was a hospital bra.

“You really like them?”

“Of course Kimi-chan. They are marvelous like I said.”

Hiromi got her bra on but allowed Chuck to fasten it. “I’m glad. This I did for you.”

“You don’t want to look at them?”

Hiromi gave Chuck a faint smile. “I’ve seen all I need to so far.”

Later that night at the apartment Hiromi let herself view what the doctor did. Dr. Fuschida had really done fine work.

It was Tom Slater telling this to herself. The big breasts she now had were temporary, not because implants need to be replaced about every 10 years, but rather because Tom’s Swan Song mission would be over within the year. The Captain temporarily forgetting the uncertainty of her being transformed back to her old body. If she did, Tom may have had reservations again.

The following day was Hiromi’s first day back at Watanabe Trucking. Big or small breasts, Hiromi still dressed in the same conservative fashion she always did for work. While getting dressed for the day, Hiromi ran into a problem.

“You know I really don’t have too many clothes that fit me anymore.” Hiromi said to Chuck as she came out for breakfast.

“Because of your new breasts?”

“Yes because of them. I’m a size six now. THANKS TO YOU”

Chuck laughed. “You’ll just have to go out and buy some new clothes. Is that really a bad thing?”

“No, not really.” Hiromi said as she began sipping her first cup of coffee for the day. The real Hiromi had some size six dresses in the back of her closet. Apparently she had lost weight sometime before Captain Slater took her place.

Hiromi would have to do some shopping, but when? A week away from her offices had almost certainly resulted in a large pile of work awaiting Hiromi’s return.

Roger and Reina came in a few minutes later. The British bodyguard who was in charge of Hiromi’s security asking what the travel arrangements were for the day.

“I’m driving.” Chuck replied.

Hiromi didn’t object in the apartment or on the way into the office. Since her operation, Chuck had done all the driving.

“Don’t work too hard today Kimi-chan. It has only been a week.”

“I’ll try. Don’t count on us having lunch together.”

“I won’t,” Chuck said as he took Hiromi’s hand for a moment. “I will call in the afternoon to check on you.”

Hiromi couldn’t help note how her co-workers looked at her when she arrived at the office that day. The women for the most part smiling at their boss, the men trying hard not to be obvious as they stared at Hiromi’s new chest.

As she approached the office, Hiromi saw something amiss. Her office door was ajar. Hiromi walked straight into the room only to find someone seated at her desk.

It was the computer programmer Omar Rafique also known as 'The Indian' within the Watanabe Yakuza. He was operating Hiromi’s computer.

“Get out of there!” Hiromi growled. “At once!”

Omar stood up from the chair and immediately became apologetic. Saying he was only doing a software upgrade.

“I don’t care, get out of my office now.”

Omar bowed. “My humble apologies. Can I just stay till the upgrade is done?”

“No, you can’t. Get out of here.”

The Indian hurried out of the office. Apologizing to Hiromi again on his way to the door.

Hiromi quickly got settled in behind her desk. A check of the computer showed the update was over sixty percent complete.

“I hope this is the program Swan Song is waiting for.” Hiromi whispered under her breath. The next thing Hiromi did was buzz one of her secretaries..

“Welcome back Sato-san,” Said the voice of Suki Kobayashi. “What can I do for you?”

“Please bring me my phone messages, correspondence and some tea. Also tell Roger I want to see him immediately.”

“I will do that Sato-san.”

Roger Hyde was in Hiromi’s office two minutes later. “What can I do for you boss?”

“I want to make this perfectly clear. No one is allowed in my office without my permission.”

“Does that include the cleaning people?”

Hiromi thought for a few moments. “No, but they have to be supervised when in here.”

Roger nodded his head. “We’ll do as you say from now on boss. Anything else?”

“Nothing for now.”

After watching Roger exit the office, Hiromi again checked her PC. The computer upgrade had been completed and a message screen had appeared saying the machine had to be re-booted. Hiromi clicked on the yes.

While Hiromi was waiting for her computer, Suki came in the room with the items her boss requested. Aki and some of the other workers came in behind Suki. They had a vase of flowers for their boss.

The kind gesture brought an immediate smile to Hiromi’s face. “You’re so kind. What do you think?”

“They look good Sato-san.”

“I think so too.”

Suki had given her boss a large pile of phone messages. There were many things needing to be done right then. “I think we need to get to work. Maybe later we can talk at break time. If not today, then tomorrow.”

“We look forward to hearing all about it Sato-san.” One of the women said before they all began filing out of the office.

Aki and Suki stayed behind. “Anything we can do Sato-san?”

“No, not now. Except tell Ryoji and Yuka I’d like to see them in fifteen minutes.”

Once she was alone, Hiromi ejected the program disc out of her computer. Hiromi would get the CD to Reina the first chance she got.
 

~*~
 
Hiromi was in for a bit of a surprise that day. So far as Watanabe Trucking and Yakuza financial matters went, they were almost all up to date.

“It looks like you don’t need me around here.” Hiromi said to Ryoji and Yuka.

“We will always need you Taro-san.” Yuka answered back.

Ryoji Ishii was Hiromi’s number #2 at the office, and fully Yakuza. Hiromi had Ryoji pegged as a very ambitious man. Hoping one day to be sitting in the chair Hiromi Sato was seated in. There was little chance of that ever happening.

There was still enough work around Watanabe to keep Hiromi busy the rest of the day. Her duties at Kanagawa Bank would wait for the following day. There Hiromi wasn’t expecting a light load when got to her office.

While meeting with Yuka and Ryoji, a vase full of Red roses arrived. A card was attached

My little Sports car,

I hope your day is going smoothly and that you are feeling well. Thank you again for the gifts. I truly marvel at how beautiful they have made you.

Always yours with love,

Chuck

Again the flowers caused Hiromi to smile. She had such a thoughtful boyfriend.

During the afternoon, Hiromi joined the ladies in the break room. Hiromi’s surgery was just about the only topic of conversation.

“Are you satisfied with them? One female employee asked Hiromi.

“Yes.” Hiromi replied back. The workers had already given their opinion on how they viewed their Taro’s surgery. “I’m happy with the doctor’s work. Chuck is very happy.”

“Oh.”

Then using her hands, Hiromi began moving her hands further from the other. “He is very happy.” All the women in the room, Hiromi included began to giggle.

“My clothes don’t fit me any more. I’m up to size six now.”

“You will need to go shopping then.” Akemi said.

“Yes, at Victoria’s Secret.” Yuka added with a giggle. Again the women, Hiromi included, laughed or giggled at the joke.

Later on in her office, Tom Slater inwardly shook her head. “You’re beginning to act like a real woman again.’

On the way home that day, Hiromi sent a non-verbal message to Reina. Ripley signaling she needed a meeting with Chrysanthemum.
 

~*~
 
Phase III of Dr. Wagner’s latest DNA trial was almost ready to take place, when another four patients opted out of it.

“Can we ask why? Dr. Wagner asked the two women that were seated before the German doctor and some of her team.

“We just want to stay this way.” Said the older of the two women, also known as patient 31. She was a Hispanic female in her mid-thirties. Patient 91 next to her was a white female in her late twenties.

Dr. Wagner’s team asked the women to elaborate. After some parrying or dancing around the issue, Patient 91 bluntly stated.

“We like to fuck each other. Now can we get a pardon or parole so we can get on with the rest of our new lives?”

Another man and woman wanted to stay in their new gender also. They weren’t seeing each other like patients 31 and 91, but rather said they were happier now.

Before any pardons could be issued and these people released, Dr. Wagner had to talk to her superiors. A panel of NCI doctors, HHS bureaucrats, and a official with the Federal bureau of Prisons.

“I think further time should be taken to understand these patients and why they choose to stay their present gender.” Dr. Wagner advised the panel.

There had been patients like these before. Every time Dr. Wagner proposed they be studied further before being released. Like the earlier instances, the panel said no.

“These women and man are all adults. We don’t need to know their reason.” After a review of their criminal and prison records, the three women and one man were all given their release.

In the meantime, Dr. Wagner began Phase III with the last of the original 21 patients. When done, All but 5 were now back to their original gender, but in new bodies. The last five hadn’t changed at all.

Now Dr. Wagner wanted to find out why. First by giving the five women, all the unchanged were female, an extensive panel of diagnostic tests. The next step for Dr. Wagner and her team was to study the medical histories of the women who donated the DNA. Maybe there was a common denominator.

Still Dr. Wagner was pleased. An over 90% success rate returning patients to their original gender was better than could be hoped for. The possibilities her DNA formula had, both for the good of society and Dr. Wagner’s pocket book, were enormous.
 

~*~
 
Reina and Hiromi had their meeting on Wednesday. Hiromi had to work late that day at Kanagawa, this necessitating Chuck to find other transportation in order to get home.

“I got a copy of the computer program. From Omar himself, he was in my office yesterday.”

Reina nodded. “I heard. Where did you put the disc?”

“Usual place, second from the top.”

Reina checked the glove compartment. “It’s here.”

“I told you it would be. Will you be taking it tonight?”

Reina shook her head. “No, I’ll do that tomorrow. The car is due to be washed. I’ll remove the disc while that’s getting done.”

Hiromi remained silent for a minute or two before speaking up again. “Maybe this will satisfy Swan Song and we can both get out of here.”

“I’d like that too. You’re not planning to stay?”

“Why do you ask that?”

“The surgery you just had done.”

“Oh. I just did it to keep Chuck pleased.”

If Chrysanthemum’s and Ripley’s roles had been reversed, the last thing Reina Shimizu aka Tonichi Ogawa would have done was to keep Charles McBride pleased. In fact if Reina had been Hiromi when first discovering the Saiko-komon had a live-in boyfriend, she would have found any excuse to dump the Australian as quickly as possible.

Reina sometimes asked herself why Captain Slater hadn’t done the same? Could it be that Ripley, unlike Chrysanthemum was not married? Or that the Army Captain had hidden gay tendencies? Was it some other reason? Bottom line it didn’t matter as long as the cause did not interfere with Swan Song. It was Ripley’s life, not Chrysanthemum’s.

“So what do you think?”

“About your breasts?” Reina asked as she again considered what was happening to Ripley’s mental state.

“What else do you think I’m talking about?”

“Nothing, sorry about that. They look good. How do they feel?”

“Heavy.”

“I can imagine.”

“They stick out too.” Hiromi said with a girlish giggle. Then for a moment, Ripley began acting like Tom Slater. “One good thing about this, I get a break from Chuck for a month.”

Reina hoped Swan Song would soon be at an end and she could get that DNA formula again and become Tonichi Ogawa. Tonichi was missing his wife and son more than ever.
 

~*~
 
The Swan Song committee was in receipt of the disc six days later. It was immediately given to Scott Avery and his team. Less than 24 hours later, the Swan Song committee had another meeting.

“The program worked. We can now read all the computer downloads.” Scott Avery said.

Grant Williamson turned to a forensic accountant who was advising Swan Song. Her name was Debra Dudley. “How long will it take to evaluate the documents we now have in our possession?”

“At this point we’re sifting through what is essential to building a criminal case, and what isn’t. At last count we had over 1,100 documents to do this evaluation of.”

“How long will that process take?”

“Seven to ten days. Then another month to do just a preliminary evaluation of the relevant financial documents. ”

“We’re talking about the first of the year then?” Grant Williamson asked.

“Yes sir, but a more thorough evaluation will take longer. How long, I can’t really say at this point”

Grant Williamson hid his impatience from most of those present at the meeting. The Deputy FBI Director wanted indictments by the end of Spring preferably. and no later than the end of July. Grant had reasons only known to himself for this.

“Thank you Ms. Dudley. I suggest your team get right to work on the documents.” Debra Dudley and Scott Avery soon exited the room.

Gabrielle was at the meeting by teleconference call. “Since we’re in possession of the computer program, will we be begin plans to extract Ripley and Chrysanthemum?”

Some debate took place. Gabrielle had a ally who supported the withdrawal of the undercover agents. It was Inspector Yoshida.

“The continued presence of Ripley and Chrysanthemum inside the Watanabe family can endanger both agents lives. May I remind everyone we have lost two agents already.”

“We know that Inspector. However our primary target isn’t this particular branch of Yakuza, but Goro Watanabe himself. We want evidence incriminating this person.”

“The downloads in our possession may already supply this.”

“We don’t know that at this time.” After a little more discussion it was agreed to leave Chrysanthemum and Ripley in place.

Major Hollins made a suggestion. “A debriefing could be of use.”

Before going undercover, possible meeting sites had been given to both Ripley and Chrysanthemum. If a face to face was required, the undercover agent would choose one of the locations for a meeting and suggest a time.

Most of the committee favored a debriefing. With one provisio- It wouldn’t take place till Debra Dudley’s preliminary report was received and evaluated. It was still possible agents Chrysanthemum and Ripley would soon have their undercover assignments concluded after a very short period of time had passed.
 

~*~
 
Hiromi and Reina got the latest Swan Song directive the last week in November. Reina was bitterly disappointed but did as ordered. Hiromi had more mixed feelings. She having faith in the Swan Song committee’s ability to best know when to retrieve their agents. Hiromi would continue to do Swan Song at her professional best.

Life in the Yakuza remained pretty consistent for Hiromi. No more life or death decisions were required for her. Partly due to the fact that Goro was making fewer out of town trips. Only once in either November and December was Hiromi left in charge of the Watanabe Yakuza,

The business deal to buy China East Commerce Bank was finally settled upon. The contracts would be signed on January 21st in Hong Kong. Hiromi would be present for this important matter.

Hiromi’s recovery from breast augmentation proceeded normally. Very little pain remained after two weeks and the same went for the swelling also.

While she still remained in the shop, Hiromi did begin allowing Chuck to touch her breasts. The Australian particularly enjoyed cupping them gently with his hands as he lay at Hiromi’s back in bed. Both of them totally naked.

“You like being my bra.”

“Of course I do my little sports car. Your breasts are magnificent. I can’t have enough of them.”

“No way am I getting bigger ones!”

Chuck laughed. “No Kimi-chan, these are quite spectacular, no need to upgrade. Just like the rest of you.”

“What’s this upgrade shit? You make me feel like a computer program.” Hiromi replied back. She was only teasing Chuck.

“Kimi-chan, my little sports car, I’ve never had a friend like you. I mean that.”

Tom Slater thought of Chuck as a friend. She needed a friend to come home to every day. One thing Tom kept telling herself was that when Swan Song was over, he’d have a better appreciation of women. .

“You’re my best friend too.”

“I love you,” Chuck said as he took his hands off Hiromi’s breasts. It was so such a short time since his girlfriend’s surgery, so Chuck wanted to be cautious. He would be able to fully enjoy them soon enough. Instead the tall Australian nibbled on Hiromi’s right ear. “Like no one I ever known. More than any woman I know.”

“More than even Mum?”

“Mum is different.”

“Yes she is. I love you too. Lets go to sleep, it has been a long day.”

Chuck planted one last kiss on Hiromi’s lips. “Yes it has. Good night Kimi-chan.”
 

~*~
 
Two days later, Hiromi had a meeting with some of the shareigashiras. When the meeting was over, Ryuku Kinjoh came over to talk to Hiromi.

“You’re in need of some new clothes.” Ryuku said after complimenting Hiromi on her new appearance.

“Yes I certainly am.”

“Hiromi-san, we discussed this before, but maybe we can go shopping me and you. This weekend perhaps?”

“Yes, I think we can do that. Let me check on a few things first.”

“I know exactly where to take you.” Ryuku said before winking an eye at Hiromi.

One of those Hiromi memories sprung into Captain Slater’s mind. “Yes it has been so long since the last time we went there.”

Ryuku and Hiromi talked about what they would do that day. As lunch time was nearing, the two Yakuza women decided to go out to eat together.

In order to make her planned shopping trip, Hiromi had to do some preparations. When Chuck was told of the shopping trip, he told Hiromi without reservation to go and have a good time.

Hiromi invited Aki, Suki, and Yuka from the office to join her. All of them said yes. They would have a lady’s day out with their boss.

Reina would be coming too, but in her bodyguard capacity. As would Yuri, who would drive a stretch limo to the parts of Tokyo and Kawasaki that his boss wanted to go shopping at.

One last thing Hiromi had to do was make contact with a high ranking person in the Inagawa-kaí . The places Hiromi would be visiting were within that Yakuza family’s territory.

After a very tiny bit of small talk, Tokuro Inagawa got down to business. “May I ask why you are calling Hiromi-kun?

Tokuro was Hiromi’s opposite number in the Inagawa-kaí but the Saiko-komon was very much old school. Women weren’t supposed to rise to the position Hiromi had in the Yakuza. That showed in Tokuro’s less than respectful form of address.“Yes, some friends and I are hoping to visit Kawasaki and Tokyo on Saturday.”

“How many of you will there be in all?”

“Seven, six ladies counting myself, and one man.”

Tokuro paused as if he was thinking. “Thank you for telling me. May you enjoy your time.”

“Thank you. Torkuro-san.” Hiromi then hung up the phone.
 

~*~
 
December 1st 2007 was both a cold and rainy day in Japan. That didn’t prevent Hiromi from having a good time with her female co-workers. It just required the constant use of umbrellas as they went from shop to shop.

The shopping at first consisted of Hiromi buying new underwear, mostly brassieres. These she modeled for her Aki, Suki, Yuka Ryuku, and even Reina,. Welcoming their approval and advice. The biggest trick for Hiromi was to find bras that fit while at the same time being comfortable. One drawback of having big breasts was that bra straps often felt like metal digging into a woman’s shoulders.

Hiromi was about to move on to another store, when Aki made a suggestion. “Taro-san, maybe you should get one or two of these.”

Aki was holding a very revealing night dress. When and if Hiromi wore it, Chuck would need very little imagination. Then again there was nothing about Hiromi Chuck hadn’t seen before.

Suki was giggling. “Chuck will like it I think.”

Hiromi took the night dress from Aki and examined it for half a minute. “I’ll go and try it on.” By day’s end Hiromi had three new night dresses.

Some shopping was done for clothes Hiromi would wear to work. These were as much needed as the new bras, for Hiromi was definitely a size six now.

Hiromi’s friends, that was how she looked upon the five women out with her that day, also did some shopping of their own. That included Reina, Agent Chrysanthemum. Sometimes Hiromi being asked for an opinion of an article of clothing her friends wanted to buy.

“You will look good in that.” Hiromi told Suki at one point in the day.

“Thank you Taro-san. I’m going to buy this. If it fits, it is size two.” Suki Kobayashi had always been petite. That stretching back to when she was the first crush for Thomas Slater and vice versa.

While the ladies shopped, Yuri either stayed out in the car or stood outside whatever store Hiromi was in at present. On the other hand, Reina went everywhere her boss went.

After the shopping extravagazna was over, Hiromi and her friends went to a women’s club in Tokyo. There they ate, drank, and did a lot of giggling as scantily clad men danced on a nearby stage.

After the club, Yuka, Suki, and Aki were taken home. The first stop was at the apartment Yuka Kawamura lived at. Once the limo stopped, Hiromi reached in a bag she had next to her.

“This is for you.” Hiromi said to Yuka as she handed the woman an envelope with her name on it. “This is a year-end bonus.”

Similar envelopes were given to Aki and Suki. Yuka was the first to open hers. A big smile formed on Yuka’s face the moment she discovered what was inside.

“Taro-san thank you. Thank you very much.”

“Thank you for spending time with me today.” Hiromi told Yuka.

Suki was the last to be dropped off. She thanking her boss as she readied to exit the limo.

“That will pay for your nose job.”

“Yes it will,” Suki said very happily. “Thank you Taro-san for this.”

“Enjoy it, I’m glad you are happy.”

Ryuku lived in the same apartment building as her boss. She getting off at the twenty-fourth floor. Before exiting, Hiromi tried to give the shareigashira a bonus also.

“No Taro-san, I must respectfully refuse.”

“I want to give you one.”

Ryuku shook her head. “I should be giving you a bonus Taro-san for managing my money. Thank you for allowing me to join you today.”

“Thank you for helping me today.” Hiromi said to Ryuku before the elevator doors closed. That left only Reina on the elevator with Hiromi. Yuri having gotten off at the sixteenth floor.

“Nothing for me Taro-san?” Reina asked. Hiromi didn’t supply an answer till they were in the apartment together.

Chuck was awake and watching television when Hiromi entered. The Australian immediately coming over to give Hiromi a welcoming kiss.

“Enjoy yourself today?”

“Lots.”

Chuck laughed. “I already saw how busy you were.”

The many bags of clothing Hiromi had bought had preceded her upstairs. They being delivered to the room by Kimo and another bodyguard. Roger Hyde was taking a rare day off.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to talk to Reina about a few things. It won’t take more than ten minutes, I promise.”

“No problem. I’ll be out here waiting for you.”

Reina followed Ripley into her office. Once the door was closed, Hiromi had a question to ask.

“What do you think Dai Hashimoto was up to today?”
 

~*~
 
A very troubling occurrence took place in Kawasaki that afternoon. It was at the fourth shop Hiromi visited with her friends. As she began to exit the store, Ryuku Kinjoh flung out an arm that stopped Hiromi in her tracks.

“Back inside.” Ryuku said.

Hiromi did as she was told. As she did, Tom Slater began to sense something dangerous was happening.

“Take a look carefully.” Ryuku invited both Hiromi and Reina. Both undercover agents peering out around the corner of the store window.

“What is Dai doing here?” Hiromi asked. About twenty yards down the street the Watanabe saiko-komon was carrying on a conversation with someone.

Which was very strange. For right then Dai, along with Hiromi, were in Kawasaki, the territory of the Inagawa-kai.

“You know who that is Dai-san is talking to?” Ryuku asked.

Hiromi nodded her head. Captain Tom Slater had been briefed on not just the Watanabe Yakuza, but prominent members of other Yakuza families before being put into the field by the Swan Song committee. While Hiromi had talked to Tokuro Inagawa on the phone on two occasions, December 1st was the first time she had ever seen the Inagawa-kai Saiko-komon in the flesh.

Dai Hashimoto who for months had been voicing his concerns over the Inagawa-kai muscling in on the Watanabes, was today meeting with one of that Yakuza’s highest ranking members. What did it mean?
 

~*~
 
“I don’t know Ripley. Do you have any theories?”

Hiromi had several, but no proof for any of them. She told this to Reina point blank. “I don’t think we can take what happened today as anything but a sign for us to be extra cautious.”

“Agreed Ripley-san.” Reina replied back. Like any organization, the Watanabe Yakuza had its own internal politics. Dai Hashimoto’s meeting with a rival Yakuza was a possible sign the Saiko-komon could be plotting within the Watanabes. It could have also just been a coincidence, a meeting in regards to business the Watanabes and Inagawas both had an interest in. The two Yakuza families business affairs did sometimes overlap.

Hiromi changed subjects. “Here I want you to write down an address for me.”

Reina took the pen and paper handed to her by Hiromi. “What’s this for?”

“The bonus you asked me about,” Hiromi said as she looked Reina in the eye. “I’m going to make out a check and send it to Momoko. I’ll say it is from Tonichi.”

Reina could barely avoid crying. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Nothing Reina. I know how much you miss them. This will let Momoko and Raizo have a Merry Christmas without you.”

Chrysanthemum did something very un-Japanese. She hugged her boss. “Thank you.”

As Reina wrote the address down, Hiromi said what she planned to do with it. “I’ll have a bank check made out to Momoko. Then I will mail it on Monday with a note stating it is from you and saying Merry Christmas. Is there anything else you want written?”

Reina had told Hiromi once one of the reasons Tonichi’s father-in-law hadn’t been very approving of his daughter’s husband. It was that Tonichi was Christian, a Roman Catholic. Thanks to the influence of her husband, Momoko Ogawa was converting to the same religion.

“No that will be fine. I miss Momoko and Raizo so much.”

“Reina, I promise you’ll see your wife and son next Christmas.”
 

~*~
 
To be continued in Part Six

After climbing two steps and being provided a gentle boost from Chuck, Hiromi was seated on the mare known as Dolly. Hiromi began to laugh hysterically almost from the moment her butt landed in the saddle.

“Having a good time?” Chuck asked.

“Yes,” Hiromi said as she continued to laugh uncontrollably.

Plot synopsis- Ripley visits Australia and Hong Kong with Chuck, Chrysanthemum is debriefed, A family prepares for a cross country move, and Dr. Wagner’s superiors face a crucial decision.

 

~*~
 
On December 5th, Dr. Wagner and her team found a common denominator among four of the five unchanged patients. If this was the cause of why the DNA therapy hadn’t worked, the five remaining patients would remain their present gender the rest of their natural lives.

There was still some debate over whether the preliminary conclusion was correct. Patient 99's DNA donor lacked the same medical history as the other four donors. Or did she?

Dr. Wagner had one of her associates, Dr. Greta Schneider, make a trip to Massachusetts. For another $100, patient 99's DNA donor was willing to be examined for two hours on a Saturday morning.

The examination began with Dr Schneider re-taking the patient’s medical history. Question number thirteen was particularly relevant.

“No, never.”

“Are you sure?” Dr. Schneider asked. Her patient was fidgety and Dr. Schneider suspected the woman wasn’t being truthful.

After a half minute pause, the patient changed her answer. “Actually I have. It was two years ago.”

Dr. Schneider asked her patient to elaborate. Even a yes answer would leave differences when compared with the other DNA donors. After about a minute, Dr. Schneider got confirmation. All five DNA donors had one thing in common.

This information pleased Dr. Wagner. Her therapy could almost be regarded as perfect in its use to transform people. One more trial would be done to confirm the theory Dr. Wagner had for the failure of the DNA therapy.

In the meantime, something had to be done in regards to the five remaining women. All five now knowing their new gender was permanent.

Patient 133 had a proposal for Dr. Wagner and her superiors. “I can live with this, but can you help me out?”

The twenty-one-year-old white male turned twenty-four old Hispanic female sat cross legged in front of Dr. Wagner and four other panel members. When not busy talking, patient 133 would loudly blow the bubble gum she was chewing from time to time.

“What are you asking exactly?”

“I’d like to go in the military. Maybe the Marine Corps.” Patient 133 replied in a voice that had a hint of a Brooklyn accent that hardly matched her current form. 133's donor being from Guatemala before immigrating to the United States. “Can you help me out?”

A review of the patient 133's personal history showed he had been convicted of DUI manslaughter and was serving a fifteen-year jail sentence in a New York State Prison before volunteering to be one of Dr Wagner’s guinea pigs. Two years earlier patient 133 had crashed a car he was driving. This resulting in the deaths of an elderly married couple. A blood test taken at the time, confirmed patient 133 had a blood alcohol level of .15.

“We’ll try Miss. No promises can be made. It will be up to that branch of the military to make the decision.” The HHS representative replied.

“I can deal with that.” Patient 133 said just seconds before she popped her bubble gum once again.

Patient 133 almost got her wish. The Marine Corps said no, but the Air Force was willing to take the new woman. Twelve days after making her offer, patient 133 was renamed Guadalupe Gutierrez and on her way to Air Force basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio Texas.

Patients 8, 41, and 145 had greater difficulty accepting their new gender but within a month of learning the bad news, decided they would try to move on. As patient 8 said. “If you're given lemons, make lemonade.”

Each was given a new identity, cash compensation, sufficient clothes that they could never wear the same article twice in ten days, and job training. Then former patients 8, 41, and 145 were let back out into society.

That only left Patient 99, the former Florida Sheriff. She was still refusing to accept her new gender.

“This is unacceptable. I’m not going to live like this the rest of my life. I refuse to!”

Patient 99 went on to make threats. She would contact an attorney, sue the people who did this to her. The Sheriff stating she had powerful and influential friends back in Florida.

“You can’t keep me here forever. I have rights.” Patient 99 said. She hardly acting like the passive South Asian woman Dr. Schneider had interviewed only a week earlier.

“We know that Fraulein.”

“How many times have I told you? Stop the Fraulein shit! So what are you going to do about me?” Patient 99 asked in a angry tone of voice.

Yes, what will Dr. Wagner and The Double Helix Project do with patient 99?
 

~*~
 
Hiromi returned to Dr. Fuschida on December 10th for followup. Four weeks had passed since Hiromi’s surgery.

After examining his patient, Dr. Fuschida announced. “You may return to all your normal routines now.”

“Thank you doctor.” Hiromi said as she began to get dressed again.

Chuck was at the appointment. “My girlfriend can start exercising again?”

Dr. Fuschida listened to a description of Hiromi’s exercise routines. “You may want to start off slowly in order to adjust to your implants.”

Later that evening Hiromi was surprised when Chuck informed her he wasn’t ready to engage in sexual intercourse quite yet. “I can wait a little longer if you can my little sports car.”

“No problem. I miss taking you for a ride.” Hiromi told Chuck, and she actually meant it.

“Lets wait another week or two. I rather not spoil those marvels you now have.”

Hiromi giggled. “You mean my big breasts.”

The appointment with Dr. Fuschida was at about the same time that Swan Song and Hiromi agreed on a place and date for a debriefing. Before beginning her mission, Tom Slater was made aware of the possibility she would need to meet with a member of Swan Song.

Six locations, From Singapore to London England, were designated as possible sites for a meeting. Each site was given a code name, based on a World War II naval battle. If Swan Song proposed to meet Hiromi in Switzerland, the code name used was Coral Sea. For Coral Sea and each of the other five locations, two rendezvous points were set up. The main, and a backup. For dates and months, bird names and mountains were used.

After the passing of two messages back and forth between Swan Song and their two field agents, a meeting at Philippine Sea on Blue Jay Matterhorn was agreed to. It all coinciding with a upcoming trip Hiromi had scheduled.

What did Philippine Sea/Blue Jay/Matterhorn mean? A meeting would take place on January 19th in Hong Kong. Two days before Hiromi Sato would close Kanagawa Bank’s purchase of the China East Commerce Bank.

Who would do the debriefing and what questions were to be asked had to be worked out by Swan Song. In the mean time, Debra Dudley had a preliminary report on the documents downloaded from Hiromi’s computer.

Using Powerpoint for her presentation, the forensic accountant briefed the other nine people on the financial intricacies of the Watanabe Yakuza. Their business interests, cash and stock holdings, plus companies and real estate they owned.

Debra’s briefing went on for some forty minutes. During that time, she had everyone’s undivided attention. In addition to the usual Swan Song committee members, prosecutors from the United States, Japan, and South Korea were present.

After her presentation was over, Debra Dudley answered questions for ten to fifteen minutes. Debra had come well prepared that day.

“Excellent work Ms. Dudley.” Grant Williamson told the accountant.

“Thank you Sir. We’re still sifting through documents as we speak. There are more arriving any where from two to five times a week. We’ll have a more complete picture in a few months.”

Grant Williamson checked his notes. “Unless anyone has something else to ask, you’re dismissed Ms. Dudley.”

Debra Dudley was out of the room a little over a minute later. “Do we have enough to prosecute?” Grant Williamson asked.

“Yes, we should have a very strong case.” Said the Japanese Justice official.

“I concur.” Said a US Justice Department official named Don Barton. “We have enough already to charge the Watanabes with bribery, money laundering, mail and wire fraud, and much more. An indictment would be over two hundred counts easily.”

‘But not murder.’ Grant Williamson thought, though he was hardly surprised. No well disciplined crime organization, and the Watanabe Yakuza certainly qualified as one, ever left an easily traceable trail when it came to murder. Who writes a check for a hit, at the same time saying that was the purpose of the transfer on the document itself?

Another important topic was discussed. One mentioned briefly during Debra Dudley’s presentation, but further elaborated on in a written report. The importance of getting Ripley out alive.

As good as the financial documents were, without someone to decipher them or give them context, they would be awfully difficult to use in a prosecution of the Watanabes. A good defense attorney could raise reasonable doubt about what some of the data said.

Inspector Yoshida spoke. “Beancounter is still refusing to talk. Any attempt at questioning her is met with a request from her to see an attorney.” Beancounter aka the real Hiromi Sato was being kept in solitary confinement at a prison facility in Northern Japan.

Grant Williamson wanted something meatier than mail and wire fraud to charge Goro Watanabe with. With what was gathered so far, prosecutors had enough to put the Oyabun away for life, but a murder conviction was a far sexier charge. If it involved a killing in Japan, Goro could face the death penalty.

After some discussion, it was decided to leave Ripley and Chrysanthemum in place. After the Hong Kong debriefing, the committee would re-evaluate the status of Swan Song.

“Major, I want you to work with Inspector Yoshida on drawing up a withdrawal plan for Ripley and Chrysanthemum. Make it flexible, we don’t know yet when we’ll need to implement it.”

“Yes sir.”

Not long afterwards the meeting broke up. Grant Williamson and Gabrielle Tanaka then spoke on the telephone.

“Agent Tanaka, I want you to do the Hong Kong debriefing. Can you handle it?”

“Yes sir.”

“Then begin preparing for it at once.” Grant Williamson ended the phone call seconds later.

‘There go my Christmas plans.’ Gabrielle thought as she hung up the phone. It was past midnight in Japan and it had been a long day for the FBI agent. A few minutes later Gabrielle was fast asleep and not long afterwards began dreaming of Captain Tom Slater.
 

~*~
 
Hiromi and Chuck left Japan for Australia on Christmas Day. They made the trip alone, not even Reina accompanying them. After an overnight stay in Sydney, Chuck and Hiromi caught a flight to Alice Springs.

Alice Springs, also known as‘Alice’ for short, is almost at the dead center of the Australian continent. A small city of a little over 26,000 people, it had been the birthplace of Chuck’s mother and her home since 2001. Rachel Stevens, Chuck’s older sister who lived in Darwin, was also present to greet Hiromi when she arrived in Alice.

Hiromi, who had been expecting a warm welcome, found the McBrides decidedly cooler than Chuck made them out to be. Mrs. McBride in particular. Hiromi wasn’t so sure the mother approved of her son’s choice in girlfriends.

Chuck and Hiromi spent parts of four days in Alice, before leaving for Melbourne on January 1st. After overnighting in the world’s southernmost major city, Chuck drove his girlfriend 3.5 hours to his Uncle Harry’s farm outside of Donald Victoria.

Harold McBride, his second wife Zeny, plus their five children lived on a cattle and sheep farm. On the way there, Chuck told Hiromi all about where his Aunt and Uncle lived.

“It’s a great big place. I always loved visiting there when Uncle Harry was married to Aunt Bea.”

Chuck had already explained to Hiromi that his Aunt Bea had died of cancer in 1991. “When was the last time you visited?”

“2002.” Chuck told Hiromi as he continued to describe the farm. Up till now Hiromi had Chuck pegged as a city dweller who would have been as totally out of place on a farm as Tom Slater would be. That judgment was now proven to be wrong.

Hiromi and Chuck got to the farm around 10 a.m. As soon as they parked the car, a man around sixty years of age came riding up on a horse. A boy around age eleven or twelve following close behind.

“Charlie,” The large framed man said as he got off his horse and immediately came over to Hiromi rather than his nephew. “Where ya been hiding this beautiful girl?”

“Uncle Harry this is my friend Hiromi Sato.”

“Nice meeting you Hiromi.” Harold McBride said before kissing Hiromi. “Any friend of my nephew is a friend of mine. Welcome to my farm.”

“Thank you, it’s a beautiful place.”

Hiromi and Chuck were then invited inside Uncle Harry’s home. There Aunt Zeny and the remaining McBride children were waiting for their guests. Within moments, Hiromi was made to feel like family. Chuck’s Aunt and Uncle showing Hiromi around their house, where she would be sleeping the next two nights, and telling her if there was anything she needed to just speak up.

“Thank you for letting us visit. I hope it’s not too much trouble.”

“No trouble at all. You and Chuck are always welcome to visit here. Are you hungry right now?”

Chuck and Hiromi had only eaten some fruit and drank coffee before leaving Melbourne that morning. “I’m starved actually.”

Uncle Harry laughed. “Good, Zeny is preparing breakfast right now. It should be ready in only a few minutes.”

Breakfast was on the table ten minutes later. Large heapings of eggs, bacon, hash browns and toast made available for Chuck and Hiromi to eat.

Hiromi tried offering her assistance to get the food out on the table, but was turned down. “You’re our guest.” Said Uncle Harry.

Over breakfast everyone got to know each other better. Trying to sound modest, Hiromi said she and Chuck worked at Kanagawa Bank together, rather than saying she owned the place. Harry spent much of the meal asking Hiromi how she liked Australia so far.

“Are you Filipino?” Hiromi asked Zeny. Tom Slater again testing her Asian identification skills.

“Yes I am.”

“Kumusta ka?”

“Mabuti. Marunong ka ba magsalita nga Tagalog?”

Hiromi laughed. “No, that was about all the Tagalog I know.”

In addition to Chuck, Hiromi, Harold, and Zeny, the five youngest McBride children were also seated at the table. They ranging in age from age twelve to less than a year old.

“How old is she? Hiromi inquired about the youngest of Zeny and Harold’s children.

“Zarah is ten months old.”

“She’s adorable.”

Zeny McBride smiled. “Thank you.”

“Has Zarah begun walking?”

“No, but she stands up now by holding onto things.”

Chuck spoke up. “How are Jack and Emma? What are they doing these days?”

Harold told Chuck and Hiromi about his oldest children and what they were doing. Then the farmer added. “When we’re done eating, I got to show you around the farm Hiromi.”

“I look forward to it” Hiromi did look forward to seeing more of the farm. She was just under the wrong impression as to how she would get around the McBride estate.

For after breakfast was over, Chuck and Hiromi were led around the back of the house. Harold and Zeny’s oldest boy Michael had gone ahead of them. There was a reason.

“Ever rode on one of these before?” Harold asked Hiromi. Three horses were standing out back of the McBride home.

“Not even a pony.” Hiromi said nervously. It was only half true, Tom Slater could remember being taken for a pony ride at least once by his father. Hiromi Sato on the other hand had no such memory.

Uncle Harry chuckled. “There’s a first time for everything.”

Michael McBride brought what looked like a old mare over to Hiromi. The boy giving the reins to his father before running off to retrieve something.

“I don’t even know how to get on.”

Now it was Chuck’s turn to laugh. “Don’t worry my little sports car, I’ll show you soon enough.”

Uncle Harry then spoke to Hiromi. “Do you always go by Hiromi, or do you have a nickname?”

“Just Hiromi. Your nephew has a pet name or two for me.”

“Yes I noticed that.” Uncle Harry said with a chuckle.

Michael McBride came running back over. He was carrying a wooden two step ladder. “Is that what I think it is?”

“Sure is.” Chuck said with a laugh. “Let me give you a hand Kimi-chan.”

“I’m scared.”

“Don’t be,” Uncle Harry told Hiromi. “Dolly here is real gentle mare. She wouldn’t hurt a fly. Well maybe a fly.” The Australian said with that deep throated chuckle that was unlike anything Hiromi heard in her life before.

After climbing two steps and being provided a gentle boost from Chuck, Hiromi was seated on the mare known as Dolly. Hiromi began to laugh hysterically almost from the moment her butt landed in the saddle.

“Having a good time?” Chuck asked.

“Yes,” Hiromi said as she continued to laugh uncontrollably. “I never thought I’d be riding a horse in my life.”

Chuck was on horseback and alongside Hiromi by now. “Don’t worry Kimi-chan, I’ll be right beside you. You’ll learn real fast, trust me.”

“I will.” Hiromi told Chuck just before they rode off with Uncle Harry.

Hiromi and Chuck spent parts of three days at Uncle Harry’s farm. After dinner on the second day, Chuck went out to the porch with his Uncle. There they talked and drank beer together. Inside the house, Hiromi helped Zeny clean up after dinner.

“Have you enjoyed your time here?” Zeny asked.

“Yes very much. I had never been to a farm before.”

“I was like you once. Before I married, I grew up in Manila.”

“This must have been a big change then.”

“Yes, but I love it.” Zeny told Hiromi as they continued to clean up. Three of the five McBride children were there to lend a hand to their mother. Either by drying dishes after they were washed, putting them away, or by helping to clear the table.

“How did you meet Uncle Harry?”

“Harry and I were penpals.”

“I never knew anyone who met like that.”

Zeny told Hiromi how Harold was lonely after his first wife’s death from cancer, and was persuaded by a friend to subscribe to a mailing list for Filipina penpals. That was how Uncle Harry got Zeny’s address in Manila and the two of them began writing letters to each other.

“You didn’t know Harry before you two married?”

Zeny shook her head. “No, he came to Manila for a week after we had been writing for eight months. We spent time together and then Harry went home. Two months after the first trip, Harry came back. We married then. How long have you known Chuck?”

“Since October 2002,” Hiromi told Zeny. She was enjoying the conversation and decided to open up to her boyfriend’s Aunt. “We met by accident. One day in Tokyo, Chuck and I were both riding in separate cars when Chuck’s car rear ended the one I was in.”

Zeny laughed. “You really did meet by accident.”

“Yes we did. Neither Chuck or I were the driver. While the drivers and police sorted things out, Chuck and I began talking. We went out for the first time that night.”

Harold and Chuck were also talking outside the McBride house. “Charles, you got some little cowgirl there.”

“Yes. Hiromi wanted me to say again how she likes it here.”

“She took right to Dolly. Reminded me of when Zeny first got here. Zeny was a lot like your Hiromi. What does Hiromi do back in Japan again?”

Hiromi had been telling everyone she was an office manager. Chuck, after taking another swig of beer, was a little more honest. “She is a financial adviser to her family. Helps run their businesses.”

Uncle Harry looked his nephew in the eye. “There’s more to it than that. Isn’t there?”

Chuck never talked about Hiromi’s work. Here in Australia, far away from the Yakuza, Chuck felt safe to discuss it with his uncle. “She works for her Grandfather and cousin.”

Harold McBride listened to his nephew for the next few minutes without saying a word. The Uncle could see the difficult situation his nephew was in at present.

“Hiromi invests their money?”

“Yes and she is their financial advisor. Hiromi doesn’t kill people, if that’s what you mean. At least I pray to God Hiromi doesn’t.”

Uncle Harold looked at his pipe he had been smoking. “I don’t think that’s Hiromi either, if that means anything to you. Someone like that wouldn’t be enjoying herself like Hiromi has these last two days.”

Hiromi and Zeny were almost done in the kitchen. “Did you enjoy today?”

“Yes, I’ve never had so much fun in a long time. It must be a great deal of work to maintain the farm.”

Zeny nodded her head. “Yes it is, but the rewards I have gotten since marrying Harry and moving here have been a gift from God.”

Hiromi knew what Zeny was referring to. “Your children are lovely. All five of them.”

“I’m pregnant now with my sixth.”

“You are?” Hiromi asked. When Zeny said yes, Hiromi hugged her boyfriend’s Aunt. Zeny McBride was only eight years older than Hiromi Sato. They were more like sisters or cousins “I’m very happy for you.”

“Thank you. Don’t say anything to Harry. I haven’t told him yet.”

“I won’t.”

Chuck and his Uncle sat on the front porch without either saying a word for a few minutes. The only sound that could be heard was the occasional crowing of a rooster on the McBride family farm.

“How are you and Hiromi set financially?”

“We have plenty of money Uncle, if that’s what you mean.”

Harold McBride nodded his head. “Want some advice?

“Absolutely.”

“You remember the Griffiths, Fred and Rhoda?” Harold McBride asked his nephew. Chuck knew the people his Uncle was referring to. “Fred told me a week ago he is looking to sell the farm they have. Their kids are grown and all moved away.”

Chuck immediately got the point his Uncle was making. “I don’t know if Hiromi would ever go for something like Aunt Zeny did.”

“You will never know if you don’t try. Chuck, this is the honest truth, I think Hiromi would love it down here. You saw how she enjoyed these last two days.”

Chuck laughed. “I never saw Hiromi laugh so hard as when she got on Dolly yesterday.”

“Zeny was like that too. A city girl who didn’t know anything about farming. Go and talk to your Aunt now. Zeny would tell you how much she loves it here.”

Zarah McBride was at that moment crying inside the McBride house. Hiromi went to check on the baby girl and discovered her diaper was wet. “Zarah’s diaper needs to be changed.”

“Could you handle that for me Hiromi?”

Tom Slater had never changed a diaper in his life. Hiromi Sato on the other had a few very faint memories of doing so. “I’ll try. It’s been a long time since I last did this.”

Zeny came out of the kitchen and showed Hiromi where the diapers were kept. “If you need help holler.”

“I will.”

Uncle Harry was making a proposal to his nephew “Buy the Griffith’s place, make Hiromi a deal. Say you try it out for say, six months or a year. If she can’t handle it, you’ll go back to like before. Here’s an even better idea. Come stay here for a month. Zeny would like to go back home to visit her folks. I know you still remember what needs to be done around here, and I trust you and Hiromi to take care of the place while we’re gone. What do you think?”

“It might be an idea at that.”

“Before you do that Chuck, there is something else that will being done first.”

Hiromi changed Zarah’s diaper. When Hiromi was finished, Zarah was smiling and content again.

“You did a great job. In a few years you’ll know just what to do when Chuck and you have your first child.”

“Thanks.” Hiromi replied back with a smile. Changing the diaper wasn’t as hard as she thought it would be. The diaper package did help a little. “I was glad to help out.”

Chuck and Hiromi left for Melbourne the next day around 2 p.m. After they were a few miles down the road, Chuck asked his girlfriend how she liked their visit.

“I had a great time. How about you?”

“The same. Uncle Harry said we can come back any time we want.”

“Yes I heard that.”

Chuck was mulling over the conversation he had with his Uncle the night before. While the Australian had spent much of his life in cities of Yokohama, Tokyo, and Hong Kong, he had always felt a little out of place in Asia. On the other hand, Chuck loved his native Australia. The people, the culture, the wide open spaces. Charles McBride could see himself living on a farm like Uncle Harold did and loving the experience.

That’s if Chuck had a wife and family to share his life with. If Hiromi would go along with all of what her boyfriend was proposing, which was a very big if. “Aunt Zeny and the kids love it there.”

“Yes they do. Zeny said it is a wonderful place to raise a family. I think so too.”

Chuck couldn’t help smile on hearing this. “Yes it must be. We’ll come back later on.”

“I’d luck that.” Hiromi replied back. On the way back to Melbourne, Tom Slater daydreamed about what life would be like with Chuck on a farm like the one Harold and Zeny lived on. Raising cattle, sheep, maybe even some pigs. And horses. Definitely some horses. Tom had enjoyed the time she spent riding Dolly out on the farm.

For a moment Tom daydreamed about Hiromi and Chuck having children too. This causing Tom to immediately shake her head.

“Everything all right Kimi-chan?”

“Yes. I just had a weird idea.”

“Want to talk about it?”

“No, not really. I’m going to try taking a nap. Is that all right?”

“Of course. Sleep well my little sports car.”

Hiromi closed her eyes. As she did, Tom Slater tried pushing that weird idea out of her head. The one where she married Chuck and settled down with the man to have a family. Calling it weird was the understatement of the century so far as Tom was concerned.

Yet the idea refused to go away.
 

~*~
 
Back in the United States, Stewart and Midori Slater celebrated Christmas by themselves. Their daughter Susan had gone to visit Disneyland in California along with her husband and son. Debbie Slater was back home in Oregon. She unable to come visit due to her having to work Christmas day.

Midori missed her children that holiday but accepted it. She and her husband went to church in the morning, then had lunch afterwards. After arriving back home, Midori spent much of the afternoon talking to their children on the phone. One call Midori made was to her daughter-in-law Ilsa in Germany.

That’s when the Slaters learned their late son Stuart’s wife had become engaged to marry again. “Congratulations, I am happy for you. When will the ceremony take place?” Midori Slater asked.

“We’re thinking about May.” Ilsa Slater replied back.

Midori and Stewart loved Ilsa, and were indeed happy for her. At the same time, the news of Ilsa’s remarrying would almost certainly sever the ties Stewart Slater Jr’s parents had with their daughter-in-law and grandchildren. It becoming less likely Midori and Stewart would ever see their grandchildren Paul and Nicole again.

This reality was just beginning to sink in for Midori Slater, when the phone rang around 5 p.m. Tom Slater’s mother was busy preparing Christmas dinner at the time.

“Hello.”

“Merry Christmas Mrs. Slater.”

“Gabrielle, thank you for calling. Merry Christmas to you and thank you for the card”

“You’re welcome Mrs. Slater.” A minute or two of small talk passed before Gabrielle got to the point. “I’m sure you have been wondering about Tom.”

“Gabrielle I think about Tom every day. Is he still on the mission?”

“Yes, but he is safe right now. I know if Tom could, he would call you.”

“I know. He is busy now, I understand.”

Gabrielle talked to Mrs. Slater some more, then spoke to Tom’s father, then again to Mrs. Slater. Earlier on Christmas day, Gabrielle had talked to her own family. Both her sisters and their families were at present visiting the Tanaka home in Fresno California. A Tanaka family Christmas reunion was taking place, except for Gabrielle not being there.

Maybe Gabrielle had her priorities wrong, and consequently the Tanakas had been right about her career choice. Just three days earlier the FBI agent had her most recent job evaluation done. To say it was less than complimentary would be a understatement. Gabrielle now knowing for a certainty that she was in FBI Deputy Director Grant Williamson’s dog house.

And what for? For being frank about the survival chances for the agents Swan Song had in the field at present? Someone had to be their advocate, and Gabrielle was doing that important job. She wasn’t trying to protect just Tom Slater, but Tonichi Ogawa as well.

“Mrs. Slater, I want to wish you Merry Christmas again.”

“Merry Christmas to you. Give Tom a big kiss the next time you see him.”

“I will. Bye.”
 

~*~
 
Reina Shimizu kept busy while her boss was in Australia. After taking Hiromi Sato to Tokyo airport, Roger sent Reina off on a brief vacation for ten days.

The following ten days were hardly uneventful for Reina. Using a circuitous route for her own safety, Reina traveled to Nagoya Japan. Nagoya was the home of Tonichi Ogawa, and where he had been employed as a policeman before becoming Reina Shimizu.

On arrival in Nagoya, Reina went straight to a police safe house. Inspector Yoshida was one of the people waiting for agent Chrysanthemum.

“We hope your trip went well Tonichi-san.”

Chrysanthemum nodded her head. “Yes it did. I wasn’t being followed.”

A debriefing of Chrysanthemum took place over the next two day. While her role in Swan Song wasn’t as vital as Ripley’s, Chrysanthemum still gathered whatever intelligence she could about the Watanabe Yakuza. Having been Reina Shimizu and inside the Yakuza for the best part of a year, Tonichi had a great deal to tell.

After the debriefing was over, Tonichi asked about her wife and son.

“They’re doing well. I go and visit them at least once a week to ask if Momoko needs anything.” Said Nagoya Deputy Inspector Shinjiro Umetsu. “I’m afraid you can’t pay them a visit till Swan Song is completed.”

“I understand.”

Reina spent the rest of her vacation trying to relax. On New Year’s Eve, she went to vigil mass at St. Michael’s Roman Catholic Church in Nagoya. New Year’s Day being the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. A Roman Catholic Holy day of obligation.

This marked the first time Reina had gone to mass since beginning Swan Song. Feeling guilty because of all the masses she was forced to miss, Reina went to confession in the afternoon. After that was finished, she stayed in the church. Praying the rosary till mass began.

Besides a case of Roman Catholic guilt and the need to go to confession, the other reason Reina went to St. Michael’s was in order to maybe gain a glimpse of her wife and son. Even if she couldn’t approach Momoko and Raizo Ogawa and say hello and how much she loved them, just seeing her family would give Tonichi Ogawa a needed psychological boost before Chrysanthemum went back to her Swan Song mission.

Tonichi sat in the church’s last pew. This enabled her to see everyone who came into the church before 4:30 mass began. It was about 4:20 when Momoko and Raizo Ogawa entered the church.

‘My son is already walking. Oh how much have I missed all these months.’ Tonichi thought as she watched her wife and son walk towards the front of the church. Raizo, with a pacifier in his mouth and while holding his mother’s hand, was making the wobbly steps of a child who was just learning to walk.

Tears filled Reina’s eyes. She wanted to reach out, but couldn’t. Taking some Kleenex from her purse, Reina wiped her face.

‘Be strong. You’ll be back with them soon. Maybe in only a couple of months.’ Reina kept telling herself. During her debriefing Reina had been told of Dr. Wagner’s success with the revamped DNA formula. Tonichi would be a man again one day, and re-united with his wife Momoko and son Raizo.

Momoko and Raizo took seats in a pew about half way to the alter. St. Michael’s wasn’t very crowded for vigil mass. Taking a deep breath, Reina decided to seat herself in the row directly behind her wife and son.

It proved more difficult than Reina could ever have imagined. Her wife and son were right in front of her, but they were untouchable. Tonichi could smell Momoko’s perfume like never before.

Momoko’s perfume wasn’t the only thing her husband was paying attention to. There was Momoko’s hair, how long it was and how she wore it. The earrings she had on, the Roman Catholic cross she had around her neck, the color dress she wore.

Tonichi now knew how he took his wife for granted. Momoko worked so hard not just in her duties as a mother, but as a wife too. She worked hard to look her best for Tonichi. Did Tonichi ever take more than a few seconds notice? No, and therefore he hadn’t been a good husband.

One thing was sure, Tonichi would pay much more attention to his wife once Swan Song was over. He’d apply himself to Momoko, their marriage, and Raizo with the love and dedication they deserved. Tonichi would never take them for granted again.

Raizo Ogawa grew more and more fidgety with every passing minute. He was a handsome boy, Raizo getting the best of his mother’s gene pool. During the priest’s sermon the boy stared at Tonichi for the longest time. The only thing the boy’s father could do was smile and wave.

There was so much Tonichi wanted to say, but couldn’t. Maybe she shouldn’t have come that day.

After the our father, comes the portion of the liturgy known as the rite of peace also known as The Holy Kiss. A term that comes from The New Testament where it is mentioned five times.

“May peace be with you.” The celebrating priest said.

“And also with you.” Tonichi and Momoko replied back.

“Let us offer each other a sign of peace.” Momoko Ogawa then kissed her son.

Then Momoko turned around to face Reina and said with her right hand outstretched. “Peace be with you.”

“Peace be with you.” Tonichi replied back.

The mass was over fifteen minutes later. Tonichi trying hard not to look where her son and wife were headed when they exited. It would have been too painful for Tonichi if she had done so. Instead she walked to the West where buildings blocked out the setting sun.

Reina had no regrets over what she had done that day. That didn’t prevent Tonichi Ogawa from crying herself to sleep later that evening.
 

~*~
 
Hiromi went back to work on January 7th. The business of the Yakuza doesn’t seldom slows, and never stops entirely, holiday or no holiday. As soon as Hiromi got in to the office, she had to hurriedly prepare for another Yakuza meeting.

The meeting took place on January 11th. Goro Watanabe was there, but not Hiromi’s grandfather. In attendance were all the shareigashiras, plus Dai Hashimoto. The meeting taking place in a windowless conference room at the same building Goro had his office at.

This particular meeting wasn’t to discuss Yakuza finances, though decisions made that day would certainly effect them, but strategy instead. Over four months working within the Watanabe Yakuza had given Tom Slater a thorough education on how much business legal and illegal this Yakuza family had its dirty little fingers dipped into.

Movies like The Godfather or television shows like The Sopranos romanticize organized crime. There is little if anything that’s romantic about protection rackets, gambling, human and drug smuggling or sokaiya a uniquely Japanese form of extortion. Common theft is rarely a Yakuza activity. Japanese organized crime unlike say the US based Italian mafia, does their dealings semi-openly.

Like the bringing in of girls, often from the Philippines, to work as prostitutes. They are lured to Japan with offers of good money and honest work, then on arrival forced to sell themselves. Few Yokohama based prostitutes didn’t work for the Watanabe Yakuza either directly, or indirectly through the payment of protection.

If that day’s meeting wasn’t about the sex trade, it still had Tom Slater feeling corrupted by it. Tom had a very strong sense of right and wrong, one taught to him by his father. He may be on a mission for his government, but Captain Slater couldn’t help feel himself dirtied by the Watanabe involvement in human smuggling and the sex trade. After all, Hiromi Sato helped to invest the proceeds from women being forced to degrade themselves.

One of the shareigashiras spoke a certain upcoming business enterprise “Twenty tons of cocaine arrive in Yokohama next week.”

Twenty tons or forty thousand pounds of a white addictive substance men and women around the world snort up their noses in order to get high. The twenty tons of cocaine, which come in shipping containers mixed with consumer goods and pharmaceuticals, would be processed after arrival. The end product cocaine used by addicts isn’t pure, if it was the overdose rate would sky rocket. Instead it was a watered down version. Mixed with sugar, baking soda, or some other ordinary substance.

After processing the twenty billion tons would be sold on the streets of Central Japan. Much, but not all, destined for dealers who paid the Watanabe Yakuza protection money. Some of the processed cocaine would go to other dealers, including ones in the territory of the Inagawa-kai. While the port serving Tokyo had expanded tremendously in recent years, Yokohama was still the biggest arrival point in Japan for container ships.

The street value of those twenty tons was thirty million dollars or almost three billion yen. So those Watanabe Yakuza were talking real money on January 11th, 2008.

Hiromi was at the meeting to give her customary financial advice. She had no direct part in the smuggling or the selling of drugs. That didn’t mean Hiromi didn’t feel tainted from these business endeavors.

After all what was done with these illegal drugs? They were sold to the men and women of Japan, and as Stuart Slater told his son before Swan Song began, even children. To buy drugs from a dealer, there was no age requirement, and the dealer sold cocaine to anyone as long as they had the requisite cash needed to make a purchase.

If a person wanted to ruin their health through drug abuse, why should it concern Hiromi? The person was just damaging themselves some people would say without thinking the drug use out properly. There isn’t just the addict to consider when someone uses illegal drugs.

The buyer must come up with the cash or yen to pay for his habit. This often requires breaking the law. So drug abuse has ripple effects so far as other crime goes. Then there is the effect the drug use has on the addict’s family. Money meant for household expenses is instead spent on drugs. This often causing hardship for the addict’s family.

Then there were the addicts who got so hooked, they just couldn’t get enough. Two days before leaving for Australia, Hiromi read of a twenty-year-old Yokohama college student who overdosed. Had the overdose been a result of drugs sold by dealers supplied by the Watanabes?

Tom Slater didn’t sell the drugs to the college student, but her involvement with the Watanabes made the Army Captain feel as if she had stuck the needle in the addict’s arm personally. Not for the first nor the last time, Tom regretted ever volunteering for Swan Song.

To do her assignment, Tom had to turn a blind eye to many ugly happenings. Would the Captain’s moral compass survive Swan Song and revert to its pre mission state?

On the way back to her apartment that night, Hiromi considered leaking news of the cocaine shipment to Yokohama police. It would be a violation of orders given to her by the Swan Song committee, and possibly endanger both Ripley and Chrysanthemum. At least Tom Slater could live with herself by informing on the Watanabes.

Hiromi rode home with Reina that night. Chuck had gone out with one of his co-workers that evening after work. “We’re set for the Hong Kong meeting?”

“Yes Ripley-san. Saturday January 19th at 11 a.m.”

“I made the travel arrangements today. Just me, you, and Chuck are going.”

Reina nodded her head. “Yes I heard that from Roger.”

Hiromi had dinner by herself at the apartment. After finishing her meal, Hiromi watched television for a half hour or so. A documentary about birds was on. Tom Slater missed American football. She was only barely keeping up with the sport. The International Herald Tribune’s gave sparse coverage to American football. If there had been a game on that night, Hiromi would have turned it on.

Feeling exhausted both mentally and physically, Hiromi decided to take a warm bath that night. She wasn’t in the tub two minutes when Chuck arrived home.

“Kimi-chan, I so missed you.” Chuck said as he bent down to kiss his girlfriend. “I hope all is well.”

“I’m just tired. My neck and back are hurting.”

“Ah let me see if I can do something about those.” Chuck told Hiromi. He then kneeled down beside the bath tub and began to massage Hiromi’s neck and shoulders.

“That feels so good.”

“I’m glad you like it. Miss me today?”

“Yes, very much. Love you”

“Love you too. Is everything all right Kimi-chan? You seem to be stressed today.” Chuck asked as he continued to massage Hiromi.

Hiromi couldn’t talk Yakuza matters with Chuck or anyone else outside the Watanabe family. “Some things from work are bothering me today.”

“When home Kimi-chan, you need to forget about work.”

“You’re right and I’ll try doing that.”

Chuck ended his massage. “Mind if I join you after I take my clothes off?”

“No, not at all.” Hiromi replied back.

Chuck, the tall well hung and now tanned Australian thanks to his recent trip home, climbed in the large marble tub. Seating himself directly across from Hiromi.

“I got an email from Uncle Harry today.”

“Oh what about?”

“Aunt Zeny is pregnant again. Isn’t that great news?”

“Yes it is,” Hiromi said as she washed her arms. “Zeny told me she was pregnant when we were still at the farm.”

Chuck’s eyes went big. “She did?”

“Yes, Aunt Zeny told me last week that she was pregnant.”

Now Chuck began to laugh. “Ah, women always keeping secrets from their men. I hope you won’t do that one day with me my little sports car.”

Hiromi smiled. “No, I’ll announce my being pregnant by hanging signs on Tokyo Tower and The Sydney Opera House instead.

Chuck laughed his head off. “Uncle Harry is inviting us to come visit again. Would you be interested?”

“When are we talking about going back there?”

“March or April.”

By March or April, Ripley hoped Operation Swan Song would be at completion. The meeting in Hong Kong perhaps giving a clue as to the mission’s end date.

Tom Slater kept ordering herself that Chuck McBride had no part in her future, but the commands were like seeds that couldn’t find soil to plant themselves in. They weren’t taking root. For some unknown reason whether it was the body of Hiromi Sato, the dormant persona of Hiromi, the effect of female hormones the environment around her or something else entirely, Tom was increasingly unsure of her own identity. Was Tom Slater becoming feminized or a mix of himself and Hiromi Sato?

“We’ll have to see. I may be too busy then. Maybe we can go later in the year.”

“Remember summertime in Japan is winter in Australia.”

“Yes I know that.” Tom said as she looked Chuck straight in the eye. Those sparkling blue eyes the Australian had. Just looking at them made Hiromi.....

‘Damn it Tom Slater! Start thinking about Gabrielle and forget the Australian!’ Tom tried commanding himself. He truly hoped Gabrielle would be the one to do the debriefing. A day, even a few hours with the beautiful FBI agent would put Tom Slater back in touch with who he really was.

“You do want to go back and make another visit?”

“Yes of course. I had a great time.”

Chuck smiled. He would be patient with Hiromi, just like Uncle Harry advised hime. As for the other advice he received from his Uncle, Chuck was still thinking it over.

So, what are our plans for this weekend?” Chuck asked Hiromi.

Hiromi had some more immediate plans than what to do over the coming weekend. “I’m done bathing now. Let me dry myself off, then I will take you for a ride.
 

~*~
 
While Hiromi was taking Chuck for a ride, a woman in Virginia was slowly but loudly climbing the walls of the facility she was kept at. Patient 99 was still demanding a return to her birth gender. If this didn’t happen, she planned on telling the world what had been done to her.

Over five weeks had passed since Dr. Wagner and her associates told patient 99 nothing further could be done. All attempts to modify the woman’s behavior and attitude had failed to date. With no other choice, Dr. Wagner’s superiors were about to release the patient. Just not in the way she would desire.

Members of The Double Helix, the name for the secret government project that administered and ran Dr. Wagner’s work, were not ready to go public about the DNA therapy yet. It would be some time before the public heard about Dr. Wagner or her work. Mainly because of the National Security potential the therapy presented.

Using the therapy, agents were already being slipped into terrorist organizations around the world. Therefore the DNA therapy had to be kept secret. Patient 99's continuing threats were a threat to this secrecy. After high government officials conferred with one another, a plan was settled on for patient 99.

Before the plan was implemented, a last ditch attempt was made to encourage the patient. to accept reality. The first attempt was made with the help of a newspaper article. One that reported the disgraced Florida sheriff along with some other federal inmates dying as the result of a bus accident while being transferred from one federal correctional facility to another.

Patient 99 crumbled up the paper after she finished reading it. “You can undead me. I’m very much alive. Don’t tell me no one will believe me either. I was involved in Florida politics for three decades. There’s shit only I could know. People in Florida will believe me!”

Another attempt at making patient 99 see reality was made. A gender therapist was brought in to see the former Florida sheriff. Dr. Kassenbaum, after taking a thorough patient history, tried to point out the benefits of the DNA therapy.

“You are now thirty years younger.”

“But female.”

“Yes but if you......”

“Stop wasting your time and mine. I won’t accept being a woman.”

Dr. Kassenbaum told patient 99 about the surgery option. At first 99 showed some mild interest, that changed when 99 learned what female to male SRS did and didn’t do.

“Screw that. Now what are you fucking people going to do with me?”

The Double Helix project didn’t have all that many options. Patient 99 wasn’t the first unhappy patient they had come across. There had been over three dozen others after earlier DNA therapy trials. Then there were also the anomalies. Releasing a person with a white man’s head, but black woman’s body from the neck down would probably have endangered the secrecy of the Double Helix project.

To take care of(or dispose of) these men and women, a colony was set up on Baker Island in the Pacific Ocean. Problems soon followed, first because the people exiled to the island weren’t a happy lot. Fighting broke out one time when a supply ship visited the island. Baker Island wasn’t self sufficient to care for those residing on the island.

Disease broke out on the island also. A visit three months ago to Baker Island showed fourteen people had passed away. The island was overcrowded. Sending patient 99 there wasn’t really an option.

It was at a Double Helix meeting on January 2nd that Patient 99's fate was decided. Steps were immediately taken to put the plan in motion.

The first changes for Ken(Patient 99) were minor, but still provoked a reaction. “I won’t eat this shit. As for the clothes, you can all go screw your mothers before I wear any of this crap.”

“Patient 99 this is all for your well being.”

“Fuck you. Since when did any of you care about my well being?

Another administrator spoke. “Miss, this will be the only food and clothes supplied to you from this point on. I suggest you eat and dress yourself.”

Patient 99 wasn’t dumb. Someone who graduated law school and held political office for almost 30 years, is rarely lacking in brain matter. Thinking it over, Ken complied. She wouldn’t let these people beat her. Or worse, let some control technician get his rocks off as he watched her waltz around stark naked in the cell. Ken knew she was under video surveillance.

Ken examined the clothes for about a minute. “I don’t know how to wear this.”

“Someone will be in shortly.”

An Indian woman around thirty years of age entered Ken’s cell about two minutes later. She was wearing a lab coat and had a name tag on that said her name was Juliet Addison. “You need help I hear.”

“Yes, how do I wear this thing?”

“This thing you refer to is a Sari. Putting it on and wearing it is quite simple....”

“Then why aren’t you wearing one?”

“I am at work now. When not working I often wear these clothing. Now let me show you.”

Juliet took her time as she showed Ken how to wear the very Indian garment. “You will be able to do this yourself with practice.”

“Yeah. Like I want to be a fucking female the rest of my life.”

“The project is very sorry that it can not reverse the therapy that was given you. If we could make you male again, I assure you it would be done.”

“That is what everyone keeps telling me.” Ken said as he looked in the mirror. The Sari was a perfect fit.

“How do you like?”

“It is all right I guess.”

“I suggest you practice taking the Sari off and then putting it back on again. It only looks difficult at first, you will learn quickly.”

“What is next, makeup and earrings?”

“Only if you want I will leave you now. Eat the food we left you, it is quite good.”

Juliet began to turn around. “You people are trying to make me a Indian woman, aren’t you?”

“No we aren’t,” Juliet said as she once again faced Ken. “The project just hopes you will accept what happened and make the best you can of it.”

Over the next few days, Juliet made efforts to befriend Patient 99. Going for a walk with her, playing several games of chess with Ken. Sometimes just visiting patient 99's cell to chat.

None of this changed Ken’s attitude in the slightest. “I’m not happy and you can’t keep me in this place forever. I have rights.”

Ken was right about Double Helix’s inability to keep her incarcerated forever. On the other hand, she didn’t know how little the project cared for patient 99's rights if it endangered Double Helix’s secrecy.

After two consecutive days in her cell without any visitors, food was passed through a slot in the wall, Ken began to loudly protest her situation again. Even beginning to bang on the walls.

That’s when Juliet came in. Behind her stood two heavyset men. “Ken, you are leaving here.”

“Finally! Where to?”

The two orderlies came up on each side of patient 99. Each taking a hold of her arms. Ken struggled with the orderlies, but they were too strong for her.

Juliet took a syringe out of her pocket. The sleeve of the sweater patient 99 was wearing had already been rolled up in preparation.

“This will help you sleep.” Juliet said as she injected patient 99 in her left arm. Almost at once Ken’s legs got wobbly. A few seconds later everything went black.

When Ken’s eyes opened again, she was in a new location. A modestly decorated room, with a wooden chair a few feet in front of her.

Ken tried to swivel her head. No movement occurred. She then tried to move her limbs, nothing happened again. The one thing Ken could do was blink her eyes.

Talk was impossible also. By now Ken could tell her head was on a pillow and her body probably resting on some bed. Everything else was a mystery, Ken felt nothing right then except for a bit of hunger and thirst.

Ken had no idea how long she lay there,. but by the time someone showed up, the former Florida sheriff was growing frightened. A man came by and checked her very up close before disappearing from sight.

A few minutes later Juliet was in the room. She immediately taking the seat directly across from Ken.

“Good afternoon. If you can hear me, blink your eyes.”

Ken blinked her eyes. That was all she could do, besides think. Where was she?

Answers were about to come. “Good. Welcome to New Delhi India. That is where you are at present. There is a lot for me to go over, so I won’t waste any time.... ”

Ken watched as Juliet read off a legal pad she had brought with her. Like she had made out notes before coming in the room.

“First the project regrets what we are about to do to you patient 99, but you left us no other choice. The project could not let you prematurely disclose the existence of the DNA therapy.”

“Don’t fear. The paralysis you are presently suffering from will go away in three to four hours. By the time you are 100% normal again, I will be far away. Do you understand so far? Blink your eyes if you do.”

Ken blinked her eyes. ‘What a bitch this woman is.”

“Good. As I said before, you are now in New Delhi India. This will be your new home. The apartment you are in, and the possessions inside it are all yours. The project sincerely hopes you use them wisely. It will be so much easier for you Virada if you do.”

‘Virada. They fucking gave me a name. They are going to leave me here. I’m a US citizen, goddamnit!’

“In an envelope on the table next to me are documents you will soon be in need of. A new identity and name has been created for you. It is Virada Aggarwal. You are now a citizen of India.”

Ken blinked her eyes. She had just been deported.

“As a citizen of India, you are subject to its laws. At first you may be need of assistance in order to get acclimated and learn the local customs. A number is supplied for someone who can help you with this.”

‘The moment this paralysis is gone, I’ll start screaming bloody murder to anyone who will listen.”

“I along with the project would advise you not to protest like you threatened to do so back in the United States. The US embassy won’t believe you, nor will they allow you to re-enter the country. Due to a unfortunate accident, your name was placed on a list of suspected terrorists. You will automatically be denied a visa.

‘My whole life is a unfortunate accident to these cretins.’

“We suppose Virada you could go to the police with your story. The local authorities will hardly be amused. A Indian jail is not the most pleasant place to visit.”

Ken just blinked her eyes. She would strangle the woman known as Juliet Addison if she only could.

“It took a great deal of time and money to prepare your new identity. Also much expense was incurred in order to clothe you, get this apartment, and for other necessities you will now have.”

‘Am I supposed to be grateful, you bitch?’ Ken thought, as feeling slowly began returning to her fingers and toes.

“A bank account has been established for you. There are modest funds in it. The rent for this apartment has also been paid for the next two months. The project has given you a fresh start and provided enough resources in order for you to live adequately. Do you understand so far?”

Ken blinked her eyes.

“Good. A single sheet of paper in your identity packet has a name and street address. We have found you an employer, in two days you will begin training to become a customer service representative. You are expected by Mr. Singh.”

Ken blinked her eyes. ‘What a nightmare my life has become.’

Juliet was checking her notes. “I believe that covers everything. Virada speaking for myself I hope you accept what has happened. No one wishes harm to come to you. Accept and make the most of what the project has done for you. If you do and set aside any bitterness we think you’ll discover new meaning and purpose in life. Has feeling returned to your fingers and hands yet?”

Ken blinked her eyes.

“Then I am done.” Juliet got up from her seat and walked over to where Ken lay. She then spent over a minute applying something to patient 99's forehead. If Ken had only been able to look in a mirror right then, she would have seen a red color dot or bindi slightly above and between her eyes.

“You are now a Hindu woman living in India. Good luck Virada and safe journey.” Juliet then left the room.

The moment Juliet exited the apartment, Project Double Helix washed its hands of patient 99. Now Virada would have to make due.

What happened to patient 99 aka Ken aka Virada Aggarwal from that point is unknown. Virada called the number given to her twenty-one times over the first few days. Patient 99 still argumentative and demanding every time she called to be returned to the United States. Virada was told nothing more would be done for her. After eight days, the phone calls stopped and no further word was heard from the former Double Helix patient.
 

~*~
 
Before moving off a military base, a military member and their family must clear housing. To successfully accomplish this, Simon and Susan Zebriskie spent their last two weeks at Mountain Home AFB cleaning their house so extensively it would have passed any white glove inspection.

Stuart and Midori Slater came to visit before Susan and Simon made their move to Oklahoma. Ostensibly to help their daughter and son-in-law pack, but also in order to see their grandson Shannon. The couple would miss having Shannon only a long day’s drive away. After the Zebriskies moved to Altus, the drive for the Slaters would go from a little over 600 miles to almost two thousand.

“Any word from Tom?” Susan asked her mother as the two women packed.

“Nothing since I spoke to Gabrielle on Christmas Eve. She called to say Tom was safe and doing well.”

“Yes you told me.”

“I will be happy when Tom is home.”

By the evening of January 17th all the Zebriskie’s belongings were packed and the couple was ready to go. The Air Force would move most of the couple’s belongings, but not all. Simon Zebriskie had rented a small U-haul trailer to take valuables and goods the family would need on arrival in Oklahoma.

“Drive safely.” Midori told her son and daughter in the early morning hours of January 18th.

“We will Mom.” Simon told his mother-in-law. He then allowed Midori to kiss and hug him. “We should get to Altus by the 21st or maybe the 20th even.

“Take your time son,” Stuart told Simon. “Getting there safely is the most important thing.”

After saying their last goodbyes to Stuart and Midori, Susan and Simon climbed into their Toyota Tundra. With Simon Zebriskie safely secured in his car seat, the couple began to drive off. Midori and Stewart Slater waving them goodbye.
 

~*~
 
It was 11:15 in the morning on January 19th and Gabrielle was beginning to wonder where Tom Slater was. Their rendezvous was for 11:00 sharp. Gabrielle knew the Army Captain to be punctual.

Gabrielle had arrived at Tung Choi street also known as Ladies Street Hong Kong's largest and best known outdoor fashion market at 10:30. For Swan Song’s rendezvous with Ripley, Gabrielle had the help of two assistants to the Swan Song committee. They were seated in parked cars at both ends of the shopping area bordered on one side by Bourdary Street on one end and Dundas Street on the other. Gabrielle was in the shopping area itself. Waiting to make her rendezvous with Ripley.

At 11:25, Gabrielle radioed one of the other two team members. “Still no sight of Ripley?”

“No Sniper, none.”

“Positive?”

“Positive Sniper. There was only that one Rolls Royce to make a drop off here. Neither of the women who disembarked from the car fit the description of Ripley.”

For her stay in Hong Kong, Hiromi Sato was most likely staying at her usual hotel, the famous Peninsula. The Peninsula maintains a fleet of green Rolls Royces to transport hotel guests around the former British Colony.

Gabrielle knew unexpected events could cause a meet to abort. In case the Tung Choi meet aborted, a second rendezvous was scheduled for Sunday afternoon. The possibility her meeting with Tom could be aborted troubled Gabrielle. Gabrielle worrying something terrible may have happened.

Then maybe again it was something else. “The two people dropped off by the Rolls Royce were both female?”

“Yes Sniper, they were. Neither fit the description of Ripley.”

“Describe them to me.” Gabrielle asked. The FBI agent listened quietly before replying. “What type of clothes was she wearing?”

“Jeans, they didn’t look fancy or anything.”

Gabrielle shook her head as she listened to the description. Men rarely had fashion sense. Wearing blue jeans wasn’t only for the middle class.

“Sniper, she wasn’t right anyway.”

“What do you mean?” Gabrielle asked and was immediately given an answer. “I’m going to check them out. Stay where you’re posted.”

It was a weekend and the fashion mart was extremely busy. Gabrielle spent almost ten minutes searching before sighting the woman described by her fellow agent.

The woman was standing with her back to Gabrielle. She was the right build for Hiromi Sato and the jeans the woman was wearing were designer made. Gabrielle got confirmation it was Ripley, when Chrysanthemum peeked around a corner wall.

“Taro-san, your friend is here.” Reina said to Hiromi. Ripley then turned around.

‘What have you done to yourself, Tom Slater?’ Gabrielle thought to herself as she joined Hiromi in looking through the same rack of clothing.

“Hi Gabrielle.” Tom said without looking her friend in the face. It was better if the two women acted like neither knew the other.

“Hello to you. What’s going on?”

“Quite a lot really. So where do we go now?”

Gabrielle gave directions to a safe house in the Sham Shui Po district. Reina repeated back the directions to Gabrielle while Tom just memorized them.

“Be there no later than 1:30"

“We will.” Tom replied back. Swan Song business would have to wait till later. “See anything interesting?”

“Lots.” Gabrielle said as she pretended to look through the clothing. ‘You for one thing Tom Slater.’
 

~*~
 
Before meeting Gabrielle at the safe house, Reina and Hiromi went back to The Peninsula. There they changed clothing, grabbed a snack to eat, and then exited the hotel a few minutes before 1 p.m. After a short walk, Reina and Hiromi grabbed a cab along Nathan Road.

To get to Sham Shui Po, Hiromi and Reina used two cabs. This was strictly as a precaution. The Sham Shui Po district is both the poorest and oldest part of Hong Kong. After paying off their second cab, Reina and Hiromi walked two blocks down a narrow alley way that was both strewn with garbage and had children playing in it.

Gabrielle answered the second floor apartment door only seconds after Hiromi knocked. “You found it all right.”

Hiromi and Reina both walked in. The apartment was not much better looking than the alley they just walked down. “Yes we did. Is Reina allowed to stay or should she wait outside?”

“Reina can stay,” Gabrielle said as she led Hiromi to a back room. “She can help herself to anything she wishes while we talk.”

The apartment had only two rooms. The front room was dingy and cluttered, befitting the Hong Kong neighborhood it was in.

Once they were in the back room, Gabrielle closed the door. As soon as that was done Hiromi and her shared a rather long and passionate kiss.

“Mom asked me to do that.” Gabrielle told Hiromi after their kiss ended but still in each other’s arms. Hiromi had to wonder what his Mom would say if she saw Tom and Gabrielle now.

“I hope there are no cameras in here.” Hiromi whispered in Gabrielle’s ear.

“None but the place is bugged.”

Hiromi and Gabrielle got down to business a few moments later, but first they had to straighten up the room. The apartment’s occupant was obviously male and not good at keeping things clean. Dirty clothes were strewn everywhere as were adult hardcore magazines. Not knowing what else to do with these, Hiromi and Gabrielle threw them on a bed which looked like it had been last made before the turn of millennium.

Later on Gabrielle would tell Hiromi that the apartment was loaned to Swan Song by the South Korean intelligence service, the NIS or National Intelligence Service. The NIS used the apartment for debriefings and as a safe house.

“When do you have to meet Chuck again?”

“He went to the races at Happy Valley. Chuck said they end around 1830 and he’ll go straight to the Peninsula afterwards.”

That gave Gabrielle four and a half hours to debrief Hiromi. Gabrielle had come prepared for the day. Four and a half hours should be more than sufficient.

Gabrielle quizzed Hiromi about Swan Song for the next three and a half hours. The computer downloads were a gold mine, but human intelligence or information on the Watanabe Yakuza was also essential to Swan Song. It would put everything learned so far into its proper perspective.

Hiromi told Gabrielle about what she learned on the Judge Song murder. “I’m still trying to trace the money trail.”

“That would sew it up nicely.”

“Yes, otherwise it would be hard to prove in a court of law. So far as I can tell the real Hiromi wasn’t involved in either ordering or paying for the job. It would be so much easier if she had.”

As the debriefing began to close, Gabrielle asked how Captain Slater was holding up. “How are you doing?”

“Ok I guess.”

“Are you sure about that?”

Tom Slater had always been taught to suck it up when bad things happen in life. He was rarely a complainer. “I’m fine Gabrielle, really.”

Gabrielle studied her friend before speaking. “Anything you want to ask?”

Tom asked about the downloads and if these were working out. They were and Gabrielle told the Captain that.

“That’s good. Will Swan Song be terminated soon?”

“By spring at the latest. We still hope to get downloads from Goro’s computers if possible.”

Tom nodded. “Reina is working on that. Did you talk to her already?”

“Last night. I debriefed her here till almost 2 a.m.”

Since Chrysanthemum was available, the Swan Song decided to debrief her again.“Reina did look tired this morning. She also knew where to go way too easily I might add.”

Gabrielle smiled. “Your powers of observation haven’t changed in the slightest Captain.”

“No I think they’re better. I think my gender change could have something to do with it.” That was the closest Tom had come to dropping the all-business facade she and Gabrielle were maintaining during the debriefing..

“Perhaps Captain. I have some good news to pass along.”

“What’s that?”

“Dr. Wagner has improved her formula. Over 80% success at returning a person to their original body now. No danger of abnormalities either now.”

“That’s good to hear.” Tom replied back with a slight smile.

“Is there anything else you wish to discuss?”

Right then Hiromi’s cell phone began to ring. It was Chuck. “Can you excuse me for one moment.”

“Of course.”

Hiromi answered. “Hi....Not much.....I’m with a friend right now.......Can I call you back in a little bit?......Talk to you shortly.....Love you too.....Bye.” Hiromi then turned off her cell phone. “Sorry for the interruption. Will we be meeting again?”

“I don’t really know. Anything else?”

“No that’s it.”

Five minutes later Hiromi and Reina were back out on the main street. What had earlier been a bright and sunny day, was now overcast with sunlight rapidly fading. After a few minutes of trying, Hiromi finally hailed a cab for the ride back to Tsim Tsa Tsui and The Peninsula Hotel.
 

~*~
 
Hiromi didn’t go back to the Peninsula. Instead she had the cabby drop her and Reina off at a McDonald’s about a mile from the hotel After getting herself a French fries and drink, Hiromi sat herself at a table towards the back of the fast food restaurant.

Gabrielle Tanaka. joined her friend about fifteen minutes after Hiromi arrived at the restaurant. “Hi Tom.”

“Why don’t you order some food yourself Gabrielle and then join me.”

“I will. Anything you need?”

“Another french fries if you can, please.” Tom told Gabrielle.

Gabrielle was back about five minutes later. She had gotten herself a fish sandwich and diet soft drink in addition to the french fries Tom requested.

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” Gabrielle said as she took a seat in the booth directly across from her friend. “Think it is safe for us to talk here?”

Tom nodded her head. “We should be. Other than Chuck, only Reina came with me on this trip.”

“You could have local backup.”

Tom shook her head. “ Very unlikely if you mean the triads. They would cut my tits off before ever assisting the Watanabes.”

Gabrielle asked for Tom to elaborate on the why behind what she just said. Tom and Gabrielle speaking in Japanese the whole time they were in McDonald’s.

“About ten years ago a triad tried to move into the Yokohama area. It didn’t work, because Dai Hashimoto chopped off the legs of two triad members and mailed them back to their boss.”

Gabrielle was about to take a bite out of her fish sandwich when Hiromi said this but stopped in mid-air. “You’re joking?”

“No I’m not. Dai Hashimoto is one scary and paranoid son of a bitch.”

“Has he caused you any problems?”

“No, not directly,” Tom then told Hiromi of the incident from the month before. “It may be nothing or just a coincidence.”

“What do you think?”

“It wasn’t a coincidence and I haven’t a clue what the purpose of the meeting could be either.”

Tom was halfway through her second serving of french fries while Gabrielle still had most of her meal left. There was a lot of things both wanted to say to the other, and would have except for time constraints.

“I crave these things for some reason.” Hiromi said to Gabrielle. While in Alice Springs, Hiromi twice got food to eat at McDonald’s. Ever since she had a taste for that fast food chain’s French fries.

“Don’t eat too many of them.”

“Yeah, I got to watch my figure.”

“Such a lovely figure.” Gabrielle said with a warm smile.

“I gained three pounds last month” Tom said as she pushed the french fries to the side.

“Yes I noticed.”

“Oh these things. I was wondering when you were going to notice or comment.”

“They are kind of hard not to notice. Why did you get breast augmentation?” Gabrielle asked and Tom proceeded to explain.

Gabrielle nodded her head when Tom was finished. “Under the circumstances, I would have done the same thing if I had been you.”

“Thanks. How do you like them?”

“They’re very nice, I like them.” Gabrielle replied. Was her friend becoming vain about her looks like almost females were, Gabrielle included?

Gabrielle began to wonder. Did the DNA therapy cause psychological changes if a person remained the other gender long enough? It would be a good question for the FBI agent to ask Dr. Wagner the next chance they got to talk.

“I’m glad they meet with your approval. They’re a real pain in the neck.”

“I can imagine.”

“Chuck hasn’t said anything of late. He only said a few times that I was acting a little oddly but not since........over three months ago.”

“That’s good.”

Tom spent the next minute or two finishing their food and drink. Reina coming by to dispose of what garbage was left on the table.

“Is everything all right?” Gabrielle asked.

“This mission is very nerve wracking.” Tom said after a short pause.

“I understand. Other than Chuck, is anyone suspicious or giving you any trouble?”

“No, not really. Don’t worry Gabrielle. I’ll make it through this.”

“I’m your friend Tom. We met here so you can talk freely. What is going on? You seem different to me.”

Tom then told Gabrielle about the Midori episodes she was having but not how she was being feminized. Gabrielle listened quietly as Tom explained how she had two personas, but only one of which was ever in control.

“It’s like I’m in here, but she’s acting out.”

“That’s very disturbing. Maybe you should have told it to me during the debriefing.”

“What could you or Swan Song do about it but abort the mission?”

Gabrielle studied her friend’s face. She was more fearful than ever for Tom Slater’s safety, physical and now mental.

“Do you want to call your part of Swan Song to an end? No one can order you to continue the mission if you feel threatened.”

“No, not yet Gabrielle. I’d like to nail down who killed Judge Song before ending this show.” Tom said before peeking at her watch. “Shit, I’m going to be late getting back to the hotel.”

Gabrielle smiled thinly. “Men get used to waiting around for us.”

“Chuck is an angel so far as that goes.”

“What are your plans for tonight?”

“Go back to the hotel. Then dinner out with Chuck, afterwards we plan to go to a club. After that back to the Peninsula where I’ll get laid AGAIN.”

“Sorry Tom. I didn’t know anything about Chuck till after you left for Kushiro.”

“It’s not your fault Gabrielle.” Then Tom laughed for a moment. “You wouldn’‘t want to find a cheap hotel and get nekkid with me?”

“Sorry Tom. I got to prepare a report on your debriefing tonight. I’ll be leaving on a 9 a.m. flight tomorrow.” Gabrielle replied. If the FBI agent read her friend’s body language right, Tom was disappointed at Gabrielle’s turn down.

“Where to?”

“Back to Japan.”

“Keeping tabs on me?

“Swan Song is my only work now.”

“You spoke to my parents?”

“Yes at Christmas. They are doing great and they say hello and send their love. Your sister Susan and her husband are moving to a new Air Force base right about now.”

Tom got up and Gabrielle did the same. They then walking over to the McDonalds’ main entrance. Reina a few steps behind them.

“You be careful Tom.”

“I will. Did Dr. Wagner really improve that formula?”

“Yes, over 80% success at reverting a person to their original body. A little over 90% were returned to their original gender. The few that didn’t had one thing in common.”

Tom laughed as a cab pulled up to the curb. “I need not worry that. That’s good that the new formula works. I got to get going. Bye Gabby.”

“Bye.” Gabrielle told Tom before she climbed in the cab with Reina Shimizu. After the undercover agents were gone, Gabrielle took her cell phone out and placed a phone call.

“You can come pick me up now.”
 

~*~
 
Charles McBride was waiting patiently when Hiromi arrived at their Peninsula Hotel suite. “Kimi-chan, did you have a good time today?”

Hiromi and Chuck shared a brief but passionate kiss. Reina was standing nearby. “Yes, I did lots of shopping.”

“I saw that already. You had to drop your stuff off and then go back out again.” Chuck told with a chuckle as he and Hiromi ended their embrace.

In fact Hiromi had done very little shopping that day. The purchases being done by Gabrielle on Friday before her friend’s arrival in town. This in order to make it look like Hiromi did what she said she had been doing all day.

Four bags were placed against a wall in the suite’s living area. “Are we still going out for dinner?”

“Yes, if you want.”

“Let me freshen up first. We’ll go out in a few minutes.”

“I’ll be waiting Kimi-chan.” Hiromi then went to the bedroom.

Chuck and Hiromi went out to dinner not long afterwards. After their meal was over, Chuck had a suggestion. Why don’t the two of them visit a karaoke bar?

Captain Tom Slater was one of those men who only sang in showers, and even that was a rare occurrence. As Hiromi now, she decided to find out what she was missing. Hiromi telling Chuck she liked his plan for the evening.

The karaoke bar Chuck and Hiromi visited was in the Aberdeen area, on the south side of Hong Kong Island. The name of the bar being The Punchline. Because of its close proximity to Jumbo the famous floating(Not to mention touristy and overrated) restaurant, The Punchline was a very busy place on Saturday nights. Chuck and Hiromi were already in the Aberdeen area in order to eat dinner and decided to take their chances.

As a result of how busy The Punchline was, there was a considerable wait before one got a chance to sing. That didn’t bother Hiromi, for she needed time to choose a song. In the interim, she and Chuck talked, consumed a couple of soft drinks, and listened to some of the worst singers west of the Philippine Islands.

After an hour Hiromi still wasn’t sure what song to select. Chuck then made a suggestion. “How about this one? Kimi-chan you sounded lovely the last time you sang it.”

The song Chuck was pointing to was one Tom Slater was familiar with. It being on a favorite soundtrack CD of his one-time fiancee, Karen Gibson. Tom still remembering the melody and some of the lyrics.

“Yes I’ll give that one a shot.”

“Splendid. You’ll knock them dead Kimi-chan. I know it.”

An hour later Hiromi was finishing her song to applause from many of those in the bar that night. The loudest people clapping were male patrons. Hiromi questioned if it was her singing or her implants that made these men cheer.

Chuck wasn’t the least bit shy in telling all those around him, what he thought of Hiromi’s singing. The moment the song ended, the Australian rose from his table. Clapping and saying. “Bravo! Bravo!” Hiromi could barely avoid blushing because of this.

It was while Hiromi sang the Lea Salonga version of the song ‘Reflection’ from the Disney movie Mulan, that Chuck came to what he would term the biggest decision of his life.

‘You got to marry this girl. Where will you ever find anyone like Hiromi Sato again?’ Chuck asked himself. From almost the moment they first met in 2002, Chuck had been in love with Hiromi. So why hadn’t Chuck popped the question yet?

The only flaw Hiromi had so far as becoming Chuck’s wife, was the work she did. That had held back Chuck for so long, but the resistance was now fading.

That night Chuck made a decision. It partly based on the advice given to him by Uncle Harry a few weeks earlier. Sometime in the next six months, or no worse than the end of the year, he’d ask Hiromi to marry him. Chuck would wait for just the perfect moment, when he knew Hiromi would have no other answer for him but yes.

Hiromi continued to bang out her song. Were the lyrics she sang somehow conveying the feelings and contradictions felt by Tom Slater as he dwelled inside the body of Hiromi Sato?

Who is that girl I see
Staring straight
Back at me?
Why is my reflection someone
I don't know?
Somehow I cannot hide
Who I am
Though I've tried
When will my reflection show
Who I am inside?
When will my reflection show
Who I am inside?
 

~*~
 
To be continued in Part Seven

Chuck was checking his watch when the stranger approached him. “Those were a couple of nice looking ladies you had.”

“Thanks.” Chuck said while not looking at the guy but in the direction of the ladies room door. ‘Come on Hiromi, we got to get going or we’ll miss the boat.’

“If you’re done with them, would you mind giving me their number?”

Chuck immediately turned around. “What did you just say?”

Synopsis- Hiromi sees a fortune teller and goes to a casino in Macau, Gabrielle has a chat with Dr. Wagner and meets a close friend, Midori and Stewart Slater get very bad news, plus Operation Swan Song takes an unexpected turn.

Author’s note- Thank you to Stacy for her help. I must also say thank you to the creators and writers of the television show, Get Smart.
 

~*~
 
Gabrielle Tanaka watched as Hong Kong faded away from view, the FBI agent looking out a window on the Cathay Pacific flight she was a passenger on. In four hours Gabrielle would be physically back in Tokyo again.

As for Gabrielle’s heart, it was somewhere else. It was with Tom Slater, wherever the brave Army Captain was right then. Gabrielle fought hard to stifle a tear right then. The feelings she had for Tom were so strong right then.

‘Why didn’t you say yes last night? You may well never see Tom again and if you don’t Gabrielle Tanaka you may regret it.’ Gabrielle thought as she closed the window.

Gabrielle was feeling regrets. Not just because of her turn down to Tom’s request to get nekkid together, but because Gabrielle had let her friend go back to work as Hiromi Sato. The information passed along to Gabrielle about her two personas was deeply troubling the FBI agent.

Was Swan Song more important than Tom Slater’s life and maybe her sanity? Gabrielle was beginning to worry for her friend’s mental state. Not just her physical well being.

Swan Song had enough information to crack the Watanabe Yakuza wide open. Everyone likes a perfect case, but the financial data mined from Hiromi’s computers was solid 24 karat gold. There was enough in it to implicate almost every higher up in the Watanabe organization, including the Oyabun himself.

So why were Tom Slater and Tonichi Ogawa still sticking their neck out? There was something else at play with Swan Song, but hell if Gabrielle knew what it was.

Gabrielle was angry at the Swan Song committee’s cavalier attitude towards the lives of Ripley and Chrysanthemum but even angrier with herself. Tom wanted to be with her the previous night, and Gabrielle told him no.

Why? So she could do some fucking paperwork! What an ass Gabrielle had been to her friend. Tom needed someone and she was instead more worried about her job. If something happened to Tom, Gabrielle could have a tough time living with herself.

‘Priorities. What’s more important to you? Tom Slater or your job?’ Gabrielle asked herself as the pilot came on the plane’s public address system. It was the usual early flight message. Flight time to destination, weather at destination. Etc., etc.

Gabrielle had the importance of prioritizing drummed into her at an early age by her parents. From the time she started the first grade, education or school work always came first, after that came certain activities, usually those of the music variety. Gabrielle played the flute and piano and had been active in her school chorus.

Sports came next for Gabrielle. She playing lacrosse, golf, in addition to being a member of her high school’s cross country team. Whatever time was left after all these activities were concluded, usually a very minuscule amount, was allocated to a social life.

This didn’t change all that much when Gabrielle went to Cal Berkeley where studied and was a member of the Lady Bears golf team. Gabrielle attending the University of California at Berkeley thanks to a golf scholarship. In addition, Gabrielle worked part-time as a waitress.

So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Gabrielle was career driven today. Her social life was almost non-existent, and as to her family.....Gabrielle found very little time for them either. That had been mostly a matter of choice. Gabrielle didn’t want to hear further reminders of her poor career choice by her Mom and Dad or her sister Roxanne’s caustic commentary on how pathetic her life was.

No one had ever gotten into Gabrielle Tanaka’s heart. That was till Tom Slater that is. The two had hit it off in a way Gabrielle had done with no other person before, male or female. There was a chemistry, a meshing of personalities, physical attraction, and honest to goodness feelings for one another if not love.

Gabrielle’s sexuality was always a toss up. Probably leaning to the lesbian side of the equation. To her surprise, she found Tom Slater physically attractive. Which was rare in Gabrielle’s case with men, but it was true. That Tom was in touch with his emotions, however how subdued he kept them, made the Army Captain even more desirable. He was masculine without being macho.

The desire and love Gabrielle felt for Tom was very strong. She had known the man barely eight months, only a little over three of which they had contact with one another. Nonetheless Gabrielle was deeply attached to Tom. That didn’t change with Tom in her current female form. Gabrielle could love Tom in either gender, though she longed for him more as a man.

For Gabrielle wanted to have the man’s child one day. Something only possible if Tom got out of Swan Song alive and back to his correct gender. The trip to Hong Kong had shown Gabrielle that she had her priorities wrong in life. Tracking down criminals was never going to touch her the way Tom Slater could.

And Gabrielle told Tom no back at the McDonald’s. A tear began to trickle down Gabrielle’s face as she recalled Tom’s reaction. She was disappointed, and rightfully so. Gabrielle had put her work before helping Tom in her time of need.

Tom Slater was in an unenviable situation. On a dangerous assignment, that even if successful and gotten out of safely, could change Tom Slater for life. Gabrielle had spent over three months with Tom as she trained for Swan Song. During all that time, Tom/Midori/ acted like a woman outwardly, but Gabrielle always saw and felt the man inside.

Not anymore, Tom Slater was being emasculated. What was causing it? The female body he now resided in and the female hormones present in it? Her environment? The stress of her mission? Maybe even the DNA therapy was at fault. Whichever it was, Tom was losing any grip she had on her masculinity.

Gabrielle saw it. The breast implants weren’t the tip off. Gabrielle understood the reasoning behind why Tom got them. It was Tom seeking Gabrielle’s approval of how she looked now. The real Captain Slater wouldn’t have ever done this.

There were other signs. Tom’s body language, attention to what Gabrielle was wearing that day, maybe most importantly the way she talked of Chuck. Gabrielle expected her friend to be angry or upset at what she was having to do to maintain cover. Instead Gabrielle sensed Tom may have grown to enjoy it.

Tom had undergone psychological changes, ones Gabrielle would only be guessing as to their chances of being reversed. What Tom needed was a reminder of whom he really was. Gabrielle had the opportunity and declined.

‘I’m a real asshole.’

Gabrielle didn’t know what the next step was. Write up her observations and submit them to Swan Song. A whole lot of good that was likely to due Gabrielle concluded. Director Williamson was unlikely to be sympathetic. Tom Slater was expendable so far as most of the Swan Song committee was concerned.

Other alternatives- Contacting Hiromi again, with or without Swan Song’s permission. This in order to try saving Tom Slater masculinity and make up for Gabrielle’s poor decision in Hong Kong. If Tom wanted to be nekkid with her, Gabrielle would be delighted and available.

Meeting Tom was risky. Gabrielle would have to make direct contact or indirect through Chrysanthemum. Both were risky and could blow Tom Slater’s cover.

Gabrielle came to an important decision. From here on, Tom Slater would be the #1 priority in her life. First to get him safely, mentally and physically through Swan Song, then let what could happen between Tom and her happen. No holding back any more. Right now Gabrielle wanted to love Tom Slater till the day she died.
 

~*~
 
It was night-time in Albuquerque New Mexico and Simon Zebriskie was fast asleep after a hard day spent behind the wheel and caring for his family. Next to him in bed was his wife Susan.

Unlike her husband Susan was awake. Partly because she felt wound up, partly due to her mulling over some personal matters. It had been an exhausting day for her also. Traveling cross country with a toddler was hard work. More so when the child was ill and cranky because of it.

Shannon Zebriskie was just that. That was why the couple was in New Mexico then rather than at Altus already. Shannon was starting to feel a little better and this gave the couple hope they would reach Oklahoma the next day.

Something entirely different was on Susan’s mind at present. It was her menstrual cycle or the lack of one. As she lay in bed, Susan was calculating the last time her period arrived. Mothers have a great many things on their minds, so it’s easy to forget dates sometimes.

It took a minute or two of thinking for Susan to remember when her period last came. It was December 10th. She remembered the date because of an appointment she had to have her nails done that day. Susan remembering she had to change sanitary pads at the nails salon.

Just before leaving Mountain Home, Susan had balanced the family check book and remembered the check she wrote for her nail appointment. Today was January 20th and if her last period happened on December 10th.......

Susan and Simon hoped to have another child or two. The plan had been to wait another a year or two. So much for the best laid plans of mice and men or husbands and wives. In addition to her menstrual cycle being late, Susan’s breasts felt slightly heavier than normal. This early symptom of pregnancy occurred when she got pregnant with Shannon also.

‘Should I wake Simon and tell him my news?’ Susan asked herself. She quickly decided not to say anything yet. It had been a long day for the couple. If Simon heard his wife could possibly be pregnant, the father would insist on rushing out to get a HPT.

There was a long road ahead for Susan if she was pregnant. Getting all worked up now about another baby seemed like a waste of energy. So she decided to tell Simon once they got settled in Altus. Susan could go to the base clinic there and get a pregnancy test done for free.

Susan still wasn’t sleepy, so she decided to share her news with another family member. After taking her cell phone into the bathroom, Susan called her mother in Washington.

After explaining how the trip was going, Susan got right to the point. “Mom, my period is over a week late, I think I’m pregnant.”

Susan could hear the delight in her mother’s voice. “That’s wonderful. I’m so happy.”

“I’m happy too Mom.”
 

~*~
 
The day after her meeting with Gabrielle, Hiromi was shown around parts of Hong Kong by Chuck. It was Tom Slater’s first time to see the former British colony as a tourist.

Most of the day was spent making a visit to Lantau Island. To get there, Chuck and Hiromi took a ferry from Hong Kong’s central pier. The first place they visited on Lantau was the giant Buddha statue, located in the center of the island.

“How do you like it?”

“Interesting.” Hiromi replied back as she and Chuck walked around holding each other’s hand. “When was the first time you came here?”

“Back when I was 14. I came here with.....” Chuck began to say but suddenly stopped.

“Why didn’t you finish?”

Chuck was a little embarrassed. “All right. I brought my first girlfriend here. Her name was Bao-Yu. Zhen Bao-Yu.”

“You’re tall and handsome so you must have had lots of girlfriends.” Hiromi gently kidded her boyfriend.

“No not really. Want to know the honest total of girls I dated before you?”

“Yes, tell me.”

“Two. That’s all. Are you jealous?”

“No of course not.”

Chuck wrapped his right arm around Hiromi. “Bao-Yu is ancient history and I sincerely mean it my little sports car, when I say I never loved anyone more than you.”

After seeing the Buddha statue, Hiromi and Chuck were planning to walk some of the trails in the middle of the island. It was a beautiful January day, too good a one to be spent indoors.

Before that, Hiromi saw one of the fortune tellers who had a booth near the statue. She did this at Chuck’s prompting. Some Chinese put great faith in these predictors of the future.

Sometime long ago, Tom Slater had read the story of actor Bruce Lee. Bruce was planning to buy a home or apartment in Kowloon Tong and before doing so consulted a fortune teller.

The fortune teller advised Bruce it would be bad joss if he bought the home. Saying Bruce’s Chinese name meant small dragon, and a small dragon living in a home of nine dragons(Kowloon Tong) could not come to a good end. Bruce bought the home and died a year later. That was definitely a instance of bad joss.

Tom Slater thought fortune telling was poppycock, but went along with Chuck’s suggestion. The woman who saw Hiromi took her hand and began to examine it very closely.

“You are a successful woman.....I see you making lots of money......there are good friends.....one at least who is very close to you.”

Hiromi just humored the lady and Chuck. So far no great revelations or predictions had been made by the fortune teller. The woman could just as easily read Hiromi Sato’s current biography.

“This is interesting.”

“What’s that?”

“I see danger...and pain also but see here it ends.”

Was the fortune teller saying Tom’s Swan Song mission end in personal disaster? Like so many other times, Tom fought hard to forget the fears she had about her assignment.

“Your family line is strong.” Hiromi couldn’t help notice the fortune teller occasionally looking in the direction of Chuck. ‘Yes she’s telling me what she thinks I want to hear.’

“One day you will be happily married with children.”

The session with the fortune teller ended soon afterwards. Chuck and Hiromi walking back to the bus area.

“Where to next?” Hiromi asked Chuck. The visit to Lantau was proving to be a nice change of pace. Nowhere to go and all day to get there.
 

~*~
 
The Zebriskies got on the road at 6:30 Monday morning. Susan and Simon only having coffee before setting out on the drive. They planned to go an hour or two east on I-40 before stopping for breakfast.

I-40 east of Albuquerque goes through a very mountainous part of New Mexico. Stretches of the road going sharply uphill before doing the opposite. A driver had to be particularly attentive on this part of I-40.

Up till the day before, New Mexico had been having a warm spell. Monday had seen a drop off in temperatures by some twenty degrees. This resulted in fog along the stretches of I-40 the Zebriskies would be traveling.

Simon Zebriskie took extra care driving through the foggy stretches of interstate highway. If the family needed two more days to reach Altus, so be it. Safety was the father’s main goal. In the car Susan and Shannon were both asleep. Each dozing off not long after leaving the hotel parking lot.

If Simon was being careful, other drivers weren’t practicing similar caution. In one of the valleys along I-40, a small pile up took place. Four cars and a tractor trailer were involved. The last jackknifing in a way that blocked most of the interstate.

This happened about a minute before the Zebriskies reached the same stretch of road. There weren’t many cars out yet that morning. Those that followed the wreck all having to come to a stop.

“What’s going on?” Susan Zebriskie asked her husband. The car was slowing down, and this caused the mother to wake up. “Are we stopping for breakfast?”

“No an accident happened up ahead,” Simon said as he slowed the car down to an almost dead stop on the road’s shoulder. A eighteen wheeler, not the one that jackknifed, was ten to twenty feet in front of the Zebriskies. “I don’t know if we can go further. We’ll just have to patient.”

Another truck driver named Don Shelby was coming up behind the Zebriskies. At present Don was accelerating down the hill in preparation for the hard uphill climb that would follow. Because Don didn’t have his CB radio on, he didn’t know of the wreck that lay ahead of him.

When Don realized the road was blocked, he jammed on the breaks and swerved to the right barreling into cars parked along the side of I-40. This resulting in a massive chain reaction.

The Zebriskie family Toyota Tundra became part of the chain reaction. The SUV being propelled in the direction of the stopped 18-wheeler that lie ahead of them.

“Simon.....” Was Susan Zebriskie’s last word before impact.
 

~*~
 
As soon as Gabrielle arrived in Tokyo, she went right to work on finalizing a report on Captain Slater’s debriefing. A transcript of the three-hour meeting would be attached to the report.

Gabrielle kept many of her personal observations to herself. When the committee next met, Gabrielle may raise some of her concerns but not all of them.

In the mean-time, Gabrielle placed a phone call to Charlottesville Virginia. “May I speak to Dr. Wagner?”

“She’s on vacation right now and won’t be back till January 28th. May I take a message?” A receptionist at the University of Virginia asked.

“No, I will call back another time.” Gabrielle said as she hung up the phone.
 

~*~
 
Midori Slater had sensed something was wrong for almost half a day. The mother, wondering if Susan had done a pregnancy test, had tried calling her daughter beginning around 3 p.m. Monday afternoon. All Midori got was Susan’s voice mail and no return phone calls. This was so unlike Susan Zebriskie.

When two Darrington Washington policemen showed up at the Slater house early on Tuesday morning, the mother’s heart sank. Midori knew she was about to get very bad news.

“Mrs. Slater, can we come in?”

“Yes of course.” Midori said to the officers. She then showed them to seats in the living room. “Let me get my husband. He is out in the back yard.”

Stewart Slater was in the house two minutes later. He and Midori now sitting on a couch across from the officers.

“Mr. and Mrs. Slater I’m sorry to inform you your daughter Susan died in a New Mexico auto accident yesterday morning.”

Midori didn’t show any immediate grief. Instead she had a question to ask. “How about her husband Simon and our grandson Shannon?”

Officer Jim Roland hated this part of police work. “Simon Zebriskie also died in the same accident. As to your grandson Shannon, he is in a New Mexico hospital right now.....”
 

~*~
 
Thousands of miles away Tom Slater was oblivious to the latest Slater family tragedy. At present she was in one of Macau’s many casinos. After a good day at one of the dice tables, Hiromi decided to try the slots with some of her winnings.

The bank purchase Hiromi Sato had come to Hong Kong for had gone through with no last second glitches or delays. Actually the sale was completed ahead of time. Seeing everything was ready, Hiromi asked if the contracts could be signed on Monday afternoon rather than Tuesday morning. After a short delay by both bank’s lawyers to check that all the documents were present for the closing, the deal was completed.

It was shortly before 7 p.m. local time Monday that Hiromi Sato became the largest shareholder of China East Commerce Bank. After the deal was done, Hiromi went back to the Peninsula Hotel.

With Tuesday totally free, Hiromi and Chuck decided to visit Macau. They did so by taking an early morning hovercraft over to the former Portuguese colony.

“Do you want to visit the casinos?” Hiromi asked Chuck late on Monday night just moments after the Australian proposed the trip to Macau.

“Yes Kimi-chan, I would like to do that if it was all right with you. We can do some sightseeing if you want.”

“We’ll go to Macau then. You can go to the casino while I sight see or do some shopping.” Hiromi replied back after a few moments thought. She knew of Chuck’s love to gamble. The Australian enjoyed going to casinos and horse races.

Before he left to see the races at Happy Valley on Saturday, Hiromi had given Chuck 50,000 yen or a little under $500 US to gamble with. Chuck liked to bet, but small sums. He placed about $150 US dollars worth of bets at the track that day. The results were a small gain. Chuck finishing the day with 15-20% more money than he started.

Before meeting up with Chuck at the casino around 3 p.m, Hiromi did some sightseeing. The day was still young, and the last hovercraft didn’t depart for Hong Kong till 8:15 p.m. Therefore Hiromi decided to have some fun gambling at the casino too.

By 7 p.m. Hiromi had her fill of the slots and dice tables. Tom Slater was even less of a gambler than Chuck McBride. The Army Captain always felt there were wiser ways to spend his money.

“How did you do?” Chuck asked Hiromi in the casino lobby.

Reina was the one to answer. Chrysanthemum had made the trip to Macau too. Hiromi hadn’t been keeping track, so she had looked to Reina for an answer. “A little ahead.”

“Same here. Have a good time?”

“Yes, but its time to go back to Hong Kong.” Hiromi replied.

“Anything you want my little sports car. Let’s go to the cashier then.”

There were two people ahead of Chuck and Midori in the cashier’s line. While they waited, Chuck saw a friend just walking into the casino. “Kimi-chan, I want to go say hello to a friend. I’ll be right back.”

“No problem.”

Chuck’s friend was Doug Ross. Like Chuck, Doug was from Australia and had spent most of his youth in Hong Kong.

Doug and Chuck talked in the casino lobby for about five minutes before Hiromi walked up. “Who’s your friend?”

“Hiromi, this is Doug Ross. A mate of mine from when I lived in Hong Kong.”

Doug gently took Hiromi’s hand. “Nice to meet you Hiromi. A friend of Chuck is a friend of mine.”

“It is nice to meet you.” Hiromi replied back. She then talked with Doug for about a minute before saying something to Chuck. “I have to go to the ladies room. After I’m done, we better get going. The boat back to Hong Kong is leaving soon.”

Chuck looked at his watch. “You’re right Kimi-chan. I’ll be waiting right here when you’re done.”

Hiromi and Reina walked off to the nearby ladies room. While they did this, Doug checked his watch. “I got to get going too.”

“Good seeing you mate.”

“Same here. Next time you’re in Hong Kong, give me a call. Still got my number?”

“Of course.” Chuck replied back. The Australian noticed a man in his mid-thirties lingering close by. He had been directly behind Chuck and Hiromi in the cashier’s line.

Doug shook Chuck’s hand. “Good seeing you again. Bring Hiromi next time you’re in town Lauren would love to meet her I’m sure.”

“I will.” Chuck replied back. After saying a last goodbye, Doug went on his way.

Chuck was checking his watch when the stranger approached him. “Those were a couple of nice looking ladies you had.”

“Thanks.” Chuck said while not looking at the guy but in the direction of the ladies room door. ‘Come on Hiromi, we got to get going or we’ll miss the boat.’

“If you’re done with them, would you mind giving me their number?”

Chuck immediately turned around. “What did you just say?”
 

~*~
 
Hiromi was quite startled by the sight she saw on exiting the ladies room. Chuck McBride was being forcibly taken off the top of a man lying on the floor of the casino lobby. The Australian looking very agitated.

“What happened?” Hiromi asked her boyfriend

A Chinese gentleman was speaking very rapidly. Hiromi didn’t understand a word, but Chuck did. “Yes, I’m going. Kimi-chan, lets get out of here.”

As they exited the lobby, Hiromi tried asking about what just happened. “What went on back there?”

Chuck was still agitated. “Let’s talk about it later. I love you my little sports car.”

“Love you too.”

It was during the hovercraft ride back to Hong Kong, that Chuck took the time to explain to Hiromi what had happened in the casino lobby.

“That idiot back there asked me for your number.”

“My number?”

“He thought you were a hooker.”

Hiromi recalled the story of Chuck’s father and how he died. She didn’t blame her boyfriend for being angry, for that reason or that Chuck felt insulted by someone saying that about her “Forget about it. Please?”

Chuck then took a moment to kiss Hiromi. “I love you Kimi-chan.”

“Love you too.”

Hiromi and Chuck weren’t back to the Peninsula till almost 9:30. Their flight to Tokyo the next day would be leaving at 11 a.m. but Hiromi was tired and preferred not to go out any more that day. Chuck said they would order room service.

On the elevator ride upstairs, Hiromi noted how Chuck looked to be thinking. Was he still angry about what happened at the casino?

When they got to the twenty-third floor, Chuck spoke to Reina. Something he didn’t do very often. “Can you give me and your boss some privacy?”

“Of course.”

Hiromi wanted to say something but Chuck gave her no opportunity. As soon as they were alone in their room, Chuck began to passionately kiss Hiromi.

“What’s gotten into you?” Hiromi asked the first chance she got.

“Hiromi.....I.......”

“Spit it out.”

“Hiromi......Oh forget it.”

“Are you all right?”

Chuck flashed Hiromi a big smile before kissing his girlfriend again. “Everything is quite all right.”

“Let’s order some room service then. I seem to remember you telling me ten times on the way over from Macau how hungry you were.”

“Yes let’s do that.” Chuck told Hiromi. If not for the lack of an engagement ring, Chuck would have asked Hiromi just moments ago to be his wife. As soon as the Australian got back to Japan and found some time, he’d buy that particular piece of jewelry.

What would be Tom Slater’s reaction be when Chuck popped the question?
 

~*~
 
Operation Swan Song went into a period of little activity after Ripley’s return to Tokyo. Hiromi still trying to gather as much intelligence as possible about the Watanabe Yakuza. Reina Shimizu at the same time perfecting her plan to gain access to Goro Watanabe’s work or personal computers.

Gabrielle Tanaka delivered her report on the debriefings of both Chrysanthemum and Ripley to the Swan Song committee Wednesday night Tokyo time. The report made no mention of Gabrielle’s mental evaluation of Captain Slater but it did however state both Ripley and Chrysanthemum were suffering from fatigue and increasing levels of stress from their mission.

“Thank you Agent Tanaka for your thorough report.” Deputy Director Williamson said after Gabrielle’s oral briefing. “We’ll give your opinions serious consideration.”

Later on and in private, Gabrielle’s concerns for Ripley and Chrysanthemum were dismissed. Swan Song was not yet deemed a success by the FBI and till it was, the two undercover agents would remain in place.

After the Swan Song meeting was over, Gabrielle had a private phone conversation with Grant Williamson. “Sir, I’d like to request some leave.”

“For how long?”

“Ten days. I need to see to some personal matters back home in the states.” Gabrielle told her boss. “My desk is almost clear right now, and I can have anything that remains done no later than Friday.”

Grant Williamson paused for a moment before replying. “Agent Tanaka you’re on leave for ten days effective this Saturday.”

“Thank you sir.” A few moments later Gabrielle hung up the phone.
 

~*~
 
Susan and Simon Zebriskie’s funeral took place exactly a week after the tragic accident that took the young married couple’s lives. The church service and burial both taking place in Washington State not far from where Stewart and Midori Slater lived.

Only some fifty or so people attended the funeral. One was Patricia Wetteland, Simon Zebriskie’s sister.

“As much as I’d like to, I can’t take Shannon.” Patricia told Midori and Stewart the night before the funeral. “I may be going through a divorce soon and I have my hands full with one child already.”

Simon and Susan Zebriskie had chosen Patricia to be guardian of their son if anything should happen to his parents. Patricia was thirty-three-years-old and worked in the United States Foreign Service. She was at present working at the US embassy in Yaounde Cameroon.

Patricia herself was a mother to a two-year-old boy named William. Her husband, also named William, worked for one of the many UN agencies with an office in Cameroon. For a long list of reasons, William and Patricia’s marriage was on the rocks. The couple was living in separate quarters at present.

“We understand.” Replied Midori Slater. The mother showing little outward appearance of the grief she felt over the loss of her oldest daughter. In private, when alone with her husband, Midori had let loose buckets of tears on multiple occasions.

“I think Simon and Susan if they were alive to tell us, would want you and Mr. Slater to care for Shannon.”

“Yes I think they would.” Stewart Slater said speaking up. Shannon Zebriskie had suffered only minor lacerations in the accident that killed his parents. The boy right then was asleep in the next door room. “We had better see this attorney in town on Tuesday. I think some documents will need to be drawn up.”

That night before going to bed, Midori Slater once again thought of her son Tom. Having lost two children already, the mother feared for her last remaining son more than ever. Midori prayed for Tom’s safety before crying herself to sleep that night.
 

~*~
 
On the same day as the Zebriskie funeral, Gabrielle Tanaka had an appointment to go to. She was meeting Dr. Wagner at the scientist’s office on the campus of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. The German scientist was tall, young, and as shapely as ever.

“Thank you Dr. Wagner for giving me some of your valuable time.”

“You’re welcome Fraulein. How may I help you?” Dr. Wagner asked as she leaned back in her chair at the same time crossing her legs.

Gabrielle spent ten minutes telling Dr. Wagner about the changes she noticed in Tom Slater. The German scientist for the most part listening quietly till the FBI agent was through talking. Dr. Wagner did however spend time fixing her makeup and lipstick and applied perfume while Gabrielle talked to her.

“What I’m trying to get at, is do patients who get the DNA therapy undergo mental changes?”

“Ya, some do. It depends on how long the person remains in their new body and the environment around them.”

“Are these changes permanent or can they be reversed?” Gabrielle asked. Dr. Wagner didn’t look a day over twenty-five years of age in Gabrielle’s opinion.

“My teams haven’t had the time to study this as much we had hoped. The men or women who have stayed in the opposite gender of that they were born for over two months I think with only a few exceptions have remained their new gender. I would have to check my records. Do you wish me to do that?”

Gabrielle didn’t say anything as she let this bit of information sink in. Was her friend too far gone to return to being a man? What did that mean for Gabrielle also? “No it isn’t necessary.”

“You are asking this because of the Captain?”

“Yes Dr. Wagner, I am.”

“He was a handsome man.” Dr. Wagner said with a broad smile.

“Yes I found Tom handsome also.”

Dr. Wagner’s phone rang right at that moment. The doctor excusing herself for a moment in order to answer it. When she was done, Dr. Wagner addressed Gabrielle again.

“I need to check on something,” Dr. Wagner said as she opened a desk drawer and took out a file. She then passed it to Gabrielle. “Feel free to read about one of my past patients. You may find it interesting.”

“No go ahead.” Gabrielle said before beginning to read the file. While she did this, Dr. Wagner left the office.

Dr. Wagner was back a little over ten minutes later. By that time Gabrielle was finished reading the file she was given.

“Did you find it interesting?”

“Yes, very much so.” Gabrielle replied as she closely eyed the German scientist.

“Hans Svenson was what is sometimes called a skirt chaser. You agree?”

“Yes.” Gabrielle replied back. The past patient of Dr. Wagner known as Hans Svenson had quite a history. Including five marriages, five divorces, all before the age of fifty-one. He had been accused of sexual harassment and other inappropriate sexual behavior on multiple occasions.

If not for the important work he did, Hans Svenson would have most certainly been fired by his employers. Now that was a thing of the past, Hans being an entirely different type of person.

“Now Hans likes to wear skirts and look pretty. He also liked to go out and meet men till she settled down.”

“Yes I saw that.”

“I’m sorry but that is likely to be Captain Slater when her mission is over. You love him?”

“Yes I do.”

“It is hard. If you want I can give you my DNA therapy too.”

“Make me a man you mean?”

“Ya, make you a man. Then you can be happy with the Captain.”

“I’ll think about it.” Gabrielle replied back. She had no desire to be a man.

Gabrielle and Dr. Wagner talked a few more minutes. Then the German scientist rose from her chair. “I really need to run. Feel free to call or email me if you have more questions.”

“Thank you doctor for your time,” Gabrielle said as she got up also. The FBI had an appointment that evening in Washington D.C. The drive from Charlottesville would take approximately two hours. “You’re going out tonight?”

“Ya, I’m meeting my fiancée Henry. His parents are coming to town, this is the first time I will meet them.”

“Good luck and have fun then.”

Gabrielle and Dr. Wagner walked to the office door together. Before exiting, Gabrielle had one last question. “That was you in the file I was given to read.”

Dr. Wagner smiled. “Yes I am Dr. Hans Svenson. Toodles.”
 

~*~
 
After her meeting with Dr. Wagner, Gabrielle returned to Washington D.C. What the scientist had told Gabrielle had shaken the FBI agent a bit. It was appearing certain now that Captain Tom Slater would never be himself again.

Did that matter? Gabrielle kept telling herself she loved Tom the person, not whether he was male or female. However the DNA therapy plus the Swan Song assignment had caused mental changes in the Army Captain. Did Gabrielle love the person Tom Slater was becoming?

There were a great many things for Gabrielle to mull over before Swan Song came to an end. In the meantime Gabrielle had a dinner date to go to with a college friend, Cassie Myers. They were to meet at the Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Washington at 7:30 that evening.

When Gabrielle got a mile from the hotel, traffic came to almost a grinding halt. Gabrielle had worked in DC for over two years and was well acquainted with the gridlock that city suffered from. Something however was different that night. There was a large police presence in the area.

Gabrielle made slow progress towards the hotel. Hopefully Cassie would forgive her friend for being late. Then again Cassie could well be stuck in traffic also Gabrielle thought to herself.

When she pulled alongside a police officer, Gabrielle asked a question but not before showing her FBI identification. “What is the problem?”

“Didn’t you know? Senator Obama is speaking at a banquet here tonight.”

The 2008 Presidential campaign was then in what some called its Potomac stage. A week from now, residents of Virginia, Maryland, and Washington DC would all be casting ballots for President.

Gabrielle had been so consumed by Swan Song, that she had forgotten this minor detail. While she was registered to vote, Gabrielle rarely cast a ballot. The last time she recalled doing it was at least three years in the past.

The Four Seasons parking lot was full of course. So Gabrielle had to find parking at a nearby garage. She then walked back to the hotel.

Cassie was late also, and Gabrielle waited in the hotel lobby for her friend. As she did, Gabrielle saw at least one interesting face in the crowd of people gathered to see Senator Obama that evening.

“Hi Gabby, long time no see.” Said the diminutive Cassie Myers. Born of a Filipino mother and a Jewish father, Cassie stood barely 5' tall. Cassie was one of Gabrielle’s two or three closest friends from Cal-Berkeley and the only person the FBI agent tolerated being called Gabby by. “I hope you weren’t waiting too long.”

“No, I’ve only been here a few minutes ago myself.”

“Good, I’m starved.”

Cassie had made reservations for dinner but that didn’t keep her and Gabrielle from waiting a half hour till a table was ready. When they were finally seated, the two Cal-Berkeley grads got caught up on old times.

“You just moved to Washington I hear?” Gabrielle asked.

“Yes I got a job working for the DNC.”

The DNC was the Democratic National Committee. Cassie Myers had been very politically active in college, dragging her friend Gabrielle to more than a few political rallies in now seemingly long ago days.

“So what have you been up to?”

“I’m still working for the Bureau.”

“Yes I heard that. Anything interesting of late?”

“Kind of but I can’t talk much about it. You?”

“The upcoming election but I guess you know that already.”

“That shit has been the last thing on my mind recently.”

Cassie laughed. “There must be someone in your life right now.”

“Sort of.”

“Want to talk?”

Gabrielle looked at the glass of wine in front of her. Would Tom Slater be part of her future? “Yes, I met this guy. His name is.....”

Cassie listened as Gabrielle told her about Captain Tom Slater. She was very surprised to hear her friend had fallen for an Army Officer of all things. Cassie, who had grown up in a very politically minded household with almost socialistic views to boot, had a very low opinion of members of the military. To her they were useful killers who had very little intelligence. If they were smart, they wouldn’t be serving in the military of a country that went to war for oil.

Of course Cassie would say none of this to Gabrielle. Gabrielle was smart, and this temporary infatuation of hers would pass. After all, how would Gabby mesh her career with someone who gets moved around the country or world every other year at most?

“Tom sounds nice.”

“Yes he is. Tom is half Japanese, Mrs. Slater was born in Japan.”

“Oh you met his parents already?” Cassie asked and Gabrielle said yes. “Things between you and Tom must be serious then.”

“I hope so.”

Cassie raised her glass of water in the air. With a impish grin, she said. “To you and Tom.”

“Thank you.” Gabrielle smiled back broadly. A few moments later a waiter stopped at the table to begin taking Gabrielle and Cassie’s orders for the evening.

‘Same old Cassie. You really are a jerk.’ Gabrielle thought as her friend kept the waiter impatiently waiting as she picked an appetizer out for the evening. All this politeness and feigned happiness over hearing Gabrielle had met a nice man was an act. Cassie still had those narrow minded simple opinions of hers, and the woman just never knew half the time how wrong they were.

Tom Slater was a man, an Army officer, but he was also most importantly a gentleman. Gabrielle knew Cassie would never understand. Men were considered dogs in her friend’s mind, and no amount of talk would change Cassie Myers’ opinion.

Back at Cal-Berkeley, Cassie and Gabrielle had been lovers for two years. It was Gabrielle who called an end to it. Her friend’s know it all, smart allecky, ‘I know what is best for you’ attitude had proven too much for the future law enforcement officer. As Cassie was heading to a graduate school in another part of California anyway, Gabrielle was able to end the relationship with few hard feelings.

In spite of all that, Gabrielle tried hard to have a pleasant evening out with Cassie. They talked about a lot of things, besides Tom Slater. It was a little after 10 p.m. when the two women finally left the hotel restaurant.

“It was good seeing you again Gabby.” Cassie said before giving Gabrielle a hug. “You take care.”

“I will.”

“When you get back to Washington again, look me up. Bring Tom along even.”

‘Yeah right.’ Gabrielle thought in reply to the Tom invitation. “Yes I’ll do that.”

Cassie gave Gabrielle one last hug before the two women broke up for the night. “I still owe you for that night in Chicago. If you ever need a favor, don’t hesitate. In the meantime, be safe my friend.”
 

~*~
 
Charles McBride had begun putting his own plans into motion. Two days after returning to Tokyo, Chuck went shopping for a engagement ring. It took visits to three different jewelers before the Australian found the one he was looking for. By putting down a small non-refundable deposit, Chuck was able to persuade the jeweler into holding the ring for him.

The next step Chuck had to take before proposing to Hiromi was trickier. Chuck needed to meet Keiji Watanabe without Hiromi finding out. It proved easier than Chuck could have ever hoped for.

Ever since she began ‘living’ with the retired Oyabun, Ai Toguchi liked to pay regular visits to Yokohama. This in order to engage in various types of shopping. Since the new year had begun, Keiji had begun making regular use of the suite across the way from his granddaughter’s.

Chuck wrote a letter to Keiji asking for a private meeting. A reply was quick in coming. The retired Oyabun would see Chuck the morning of February 9th.

It was a Saturday morning, and Hiromi had gone into Watanabe Trucking to catch up on some work. As soon as he was shown into the suite, Chuck shook Keiji’s hand and got right down to business.

“Thank you for seeing me Sir.”

“How may I help you Charles?”

“Sir, I’m in love with your granddaughter. I’m here to ask......”

Keiji raised his right hand as if to ask Charles to stop talking, which the Australian immediately did. “Charles, I am Hiromi’s grandfather and her closest living relative. You need not speak to me in this matter.”

“Sir, I was just trying to do the honorable thing. As a sign of respect.”

Keiji flashed a brief smile. “I know that. It is not necessary. You may ask Hiromi for her hand in marriage with my blessing.”

Chuck let loose a large sigh of relief. He never anticipated the meeting would go this smoothly. “Thank you sir.”

“I do have one wish Charles.”

“What is that sir?” Chuck asked and then listened quietly to what Keiji Watanabe had to say. “I’ll try my best.

“That is all I ask Charles.”

“If Hiromi says yes....”

“Knowing the two of you, my granddaughter will.” Keiji said at the same time permitting himself another rare smile. He loved Hiromi, doted on her, and regretted keeping his granddaughter distant for so long. However impossible it was, it would have brought pleasure for Keiji to have seen Hiromi more when she was a small child.

At the same time, Keiji felt he hadn’t been strict enough with Hiromi. In the aftermath of the 2001-02 Yakuza war with the Inagawa-kai, Keiji had given his granddaughter far too much Yakuza responsibility. She was brilliant so far as finance went and of sound judgment in Yakuza matters, she however was not fully Watanabe. The child of a shameful relationship Keiji’s son had nearly thirty years earlier.

More importantly so far as membership in the Yakuza goes was the fact that Hiromi was female. The Yakuza had limited use for women. Oyabuns going back generations strongly believed females should take care of the house and raise the family, in order to enable their husbands to do their work. A very small number of women, Ryuku Kinjoh for instance, were allowed membership in the Yakuza, but their roles were clearly defined.

Japan had become an industrial powerhouse since World War II. This had brought change to the country’s economy and way of life, but Japanese culture as well. Keiji believed strongly that Japanese culture was what made his country unique.

To maintain that culture Keiji believed every person had to stay in their assigned role. For chosen men, there was the chance to be members of the Yakuza. To join this society, entrants had to undergo certain rituals and pledge their loyalty to the family.

Keiji Watanabe had Hiromi do none of this before letting his granddaughter come to work for the Watanabe Yakuza. There was a reason and it was quite simple The retired Oyabun would never let his granddaughter become a full fledged member of the Yakuza.

This in order to protect his granddaughter but also because of Keiji’s own prejudices. A woman could never rule the Watanabe Yakuza because she would not be able to earn the respect needed to be Oyabun.

Hiromi Sato was no different than any other woman so far as her grandfather was concerned. Her relationship with this gaijin was another reason Keiji would never allow his granddaughter to rise no further in the Watanabe Yakuza. Her recent surgery was one of several others. How can a Oyabun command respect when they do such things to their body?

Keiji had allowed Hiromi too much influence within the Yakuza. Now Keiji would set things right again. With the help of this gaijin, so as to soften the blow for his granddaughter. Hiromi would be upset, and rightfully so, but would have to accept her grandfather’s decision.

Her marriage to Charles would allow Hiromi to step down in a face saving fashion. It would be said Hiromi wanted to focus on more important things in her life. As to the position of financial adviser to the Watanabes, Ryoji Ishii who was Hiromi’s chief assistant, was more than capable of doing the job.

To appease any shareigashiras who may grumble at the loss of their financial advisor, Keiji would still allow his granddaughter to manage their money through intermediaries. The shareigashiras would, like Hiromi, have to accept Keiji’s restructuring decisions.

“I hope you’re right sir. Your granddaughter is very head strong, which is something I love about her. Hiromi is also devoted to the work she does for you and Goro.”

“My granddaughter will do as I tell her when the time comes.” Keiji said in a tone of voice that left little doubt. He and Charles talked for a little while longer till Keiji signaled the meeting was over. He did this by getting up.

“When will you ask my granddaughter?”

“Shortly sir. I want to do it at just the right moment. A week from now maybe, but by month’s end for certain.”

“I wish you good luck.”

“Thank you.”

“A spring wedding would be nice.”

Chuck nodded. “I agree. Maybe in late May or the beginning of June. The weather is so pleasant then.”

“Yes it is.” Keiji replied back to Chuck McBride before showing him out of the apartment.
 

~*~
 
While Chuck was seeing her grandfather, Hiromi was enduring a very annoying day at Watanabe Trucking. Her office PC was operating slower than normal for some reason.

‘Damn Microsoft and their upgrades.’ Hiromi cursed under her breath as her computer froze up once again. The computer Hiromi used had Windows XP installed on it. If Hiromi had been paranoid, she may have reasoned Microsoft deliberately screwed up XP upgrades in order to coerce customers into upgrading to Microsoft Vista. Tom Slater, like many other people, considered Vista a downgrade rather than upgrade from XP.

When there were computer problems at Watanabe Trucking, the normal practice would be to call in ‘The Indian’. That was the last thing Tom Slater wanted to do. If Omar Rafique went to work on Hiromi’s computer, he may well end up finding the ghost program that had been installed on it for Operation Swan Song.

Hiromi’s frustration with the PC finally reached the breaking point. Getting up from her desk, she went into Watanabe Trucking’s outer offices. Because it was a weekend, the offices were almost entirely vacant.

“Is there something I can do for you Taro-san?” Asked Yuri, one of Hiromi’s bodyguards.

“No, I’m fine.” Hiromi said as she walked into the office of her assistant, Ryoji Ishii. As soon as she was in the room, Hiromi took a seat behind Ryoji’s desk.

It took a few minutes for the PC in the office to warm up. As soon as it did, a password screen appeared. As part of the working relationship they had with their boss, both Ryoji Ishii and Yuka Kawamura had given Hiromi their personal computer identifications and passwords.

Hiromi entered Ryoji’s password and was immediately given access to the accountant’s computer system. Hiromi would use this PC till her own computer got over the nervous breakdown it seemed to be having.

That’s how Hiromi thought of her computer at present. Hiromi herself was having her monthly visitor, Aunt Flo, and this was definitely affecting her mood. The use of contraceptives don’t make Flo’s visits disappear, but make them more erratic instead.

Ryoji’s computer had everything Hiromi needed in order to finish work that day. It was just a few minutes before Hiromi planned to call it quits, when she made an interesting discovery. A financial file even she didn’t know about.

Hiromi clicked on the computer icon. There was a file of the Office accounting program in the directory. That wasn’t the only thing to draw Hiromi’s attention. There was also a saved Microsoft Word document. Hiromi immediately opened it up and began to read.

Before Hiromi left the office that day, she paid a visit to the ladies room. There she went potty and changed her sanitary napkin.

The sanitary napkin change was a reminder Tom Slater now had a female biological clock. In the early days of Swan Song Tom longed for the day she would not have one. That day for the first time, Ripley worried if she was losing precious time biologically wise.

Hiromi asked herself if she should stop taking the birth control pills she was prescribed and let nature take its course. On the other hand, Hiromi and Chuck weren’t married, and having a baby before marriage didn’t seem right. Which some may consider illogical, because of Chuck and Hiromi having lived together for two years. They were married in a sense already. Being legally married wasn’t far off either. Hiromi not knowing how close Chuck was to popping her the question.

Tom Slater’s grasp on his masculinity had been a weakened a few more notches. In reality, Ripley was thinking of herself as a man in a woman’s body less and less with each passing day. The daydreams of a post Swan Song life with Chuck becoming stronger and the longing Tom Slater had for Gabrielle Tanaka fading in equal proportion.

When Chuck popped her the question, Hiromi was certain to say yes. Unless something was done to reverse the downward slide Tom Slater’s masculinity was on. Tom needing a reminder and soon of who he really was.

After finishing up in the bathroom, Hiromi left Watanabe Trucking for the day. One important Swan Song task had been accomplished that Saturday. Tom Slater could now tell the Swan Song committee the names of at least two of the people responsible for the murder of South Korean Judge Song.
 

~*~
 
Two days after arriving back in Tokyo, Gabrielle drew up a message for Ripley. This the FBI agent did without the knowledge of the Swan Song committee.

What Gabrielle was doing could endanger her career, but she felt she had no other choice Gabrielle had to meet Tom, and soon. At the meeting Gabrielle would lay out to Tom what could be happening to her and what the risks were.

Gabrielle didn’t want the Army Captain ending up like Dr. Hans Svenson. In Hiromi’s case, it would most likely result in her marrying the Australian Charles McBride. Or worse Tom starting to believe she was a real Yakuza, Hiromi Sato. From the talk they had together, Gabrielle saw both these scenarios as a definite possibility.

The message Gabrielle sent proposed a meeting in either Taipei or Singapore. The FBI agent also proposing actual dates and times, but leaving that choice to Ripley. Gabrielle then made the message drop

Now Gabrielle had to wait. Because of the security steps being taken to protect Chrysanthemum and Ripley, any message sent by Gabrielle was unlikely to be replied to in less than a week’s time.
 

~*~
 
Hiromi got Gabrielle’s message via Reina four days after the FBI agent sent it. It being so soon after her debriefing, the message puzzled Hiromi. Why was it necessary to have a meet again? Were Ripley and Chrysanthemum in some form of danger?

Whatever the reason for the meeting, Hiromi began to take the necessary steps to make it a reality. Singapore was the preferable location, Chuck had many friends there. Only a brief talk was needed for Hiromi and Chuck to agree on when to go to Singapore.

Reina would go on this trip like the one to Hong Kong in January. Roger Hyde did his usual grumbling about his boss going away without security but got over it.

Hiromi proposed the second Saturday in March for the meet. Reina then made her usual drop at Starbucks. In the meantime, Hiromi continued to concentrate on her Swan Song work.
 

~*~
 
While waiting for Hiromi’s reply, Gabrielle got an email from the Seattle FBI field office. The sender was Fred Collins, the agent who helped pick up Captain Slater at his parent’s home.
 
~*~
 
To [email protected]
From [email protected]
February 24, 2008 17:13:29

Subject: A news article you may want to read

I saw the following article in the Seattle Times. Thought it may be of interest.- SA Collins

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/20040834190_...
 

~*~
 
Gabrielle clicked on the link. A few seconds later she was reading the opening paragraph.

“Oh my God!”

It wasn’t till the next morning Japan time, that Gabrielle called the Slaters. Stewart Slater was the one to answer the phone.

“Hello.”

“Hello Mr. Slater, it is Gabrielle Tanaka.”

“Good afternoon Miss Tanaka. How may I help you?”

“Mr. Slater, I just heard about your daughter Susan and her husband. May I say how sorry I was to hear this news.”

“Thank you,” Stewart Slater said in an unemotional voice. “Would you like to talk to my wife?”

“Yes if I can.” Gabrielle had to wait a minute for Tom Slater’s mother to pick up the phone.

“Gabrielle it is good to hear from you. How are you?”

“I’m fine Mrs. Slater. How about you?”

“It has been difficult here.”

“Yes I heard about Susan and Simon just yesterday. I’m so sorry.”

“Thank you. How is Tom?”

“He is well. I met Tom just last month.”

“Is he still on mission?”

“Yes Mrs. Slater.”

“I have been praying for Tom.”

Gabrielle and Mrs. Slater talked about Tom some. The original purpose of Gabrielle’s call was just to express her condolences over the death of Tom Slater’s sister. That the phone conversation focused more on Tom came as no surprise to Gabrielle when thinking back about the phone conversation later in the day. Maybe her need to talk about the brave Army Captain was the reason for the call all along.

“If you see Tom again before mission is over, don’t tell him what happened to Susan. He has important job right now.”

“I will do as you wish Mrs. Slater.”

“Gabrielle, please call me Mom.”

“All right Mom.” Gabrielle said before pausing. “I love your son very much.”

“Gabrielle, my greatest hope is that you and Tom marry one day.”

“We’ll try Mom.” Gabrielle thought if she should tell the mother of the changes happening to her son. No, Gabrielle couldn’t do it. First because the FBI agent wasn’t 100% sure of her diagnosis, and secondly if it was dead on accurate, it was only likely to cause more grief for a family that had suffered so much already. “I got to go Mom.”

“I understand. You be well.”

“I will. Tell Mr...Dad hello and say again that I’m sorry about Susan.”

“Gabrielle I will do that.” A few moments later the phone conversation ended.

Later in the day, Gabrielle got Tom’s latest message. Yes she could do a meeting in Singapore. The Swan Song committee was soon asking why.

“I don’t really know,” Gabrielle told the committee via yet another teleconference call. “Maybe Ripley has a message or information she feels can only be passed in a face to face meeting.”

Grant Williamson didn’t answer immediately. When he did, the Deputy Director seemed to affirm Gabrielle’s opinion. “A meeting between Sniper and Ripley is then set for 1000 hours Saturday March 8th in Singapore. Is this time and date convenient, Agent Tanaka?”

“Yes sir, I have no problem with this.”

“I suggest the members of Swan Song prepare a list of any questions they may have for Ripley. Unless other business needs to be discussed, this committee will meet again March 4th at 0800 Eastern Standard Time. Are we in agreement?”

No objection was made. Grant Williamson then adjourned the meeting.
 

~*~
 
February 29th was a very busy day for Hiromi. Unexpected Watanabe Yakuza business plus a sudden meeting of the Kanagawa Bank’s board had Hiromi in the office till almost 8 p.m. that day.

Another reason Hiromi was so busy was Goro Watanabe being out of town. This time the Oyabun was traveling with his wife Keiko to Okinawa Japan. In Goro’s absence, Hiromi was again acting Oyabun.

Hiromi had gotten the message from Swan Song the night before. The meeting with Gabrielle was on for March 8th. Tom Slater was already looking forward to it. Maybe because of that vital information about Judge Song’s murder, Ripley and Chrysanthemum would be told their misions were concluded.

When work was finally done for the day, Hiromi grabbed her purse and exited her inner office. Hiromi was greatly surprised to see Chuck waiting for her outside.

“I thought you went home for the day?” Hiromi asked after a brief kiss.

“No Kimi-chan, I changed my mind. Want to go out for dinner tonight? It’s leap year.”

Hiromi laughed. “How romantic. Yes we can eat out. I’d love a good steak.”

“Steak sounds good to me.”

“Let me use the ladies room before we go. I’ll only be a few minutes.”

Chuck smiled. “I’ll be waiting right here my little sports car.”

Hiromi headed back to her office, and from there into her private bathroom. The first thing Hiromi did was use the toilet. After that was completed, and after washing her hands also, Hiromi began to prepare for her night out with Chuck.

Tom’s visit to the bathroom was in order to check on her appearance before going out with Chuck. She wanted to look her prettiest that night. Opening up her purse, Hiromi took out a lipstick, face powder, and a hair brush.

Hiromi’s first step was to re-apply her lipstick, after that she used the face powder. She used little makeup other than the excessive eye shadow habit carried over by the real Yakuza woman. The next thing Hiromi did was to brush her hair. By Tom Slater’s own admission, she was in need of a visit to the beauty parlor. She had one scheduled for the following morning.

After putting her hair brush down, Hiromi began to closely examine her appearance. Would it be pleasing to Chuck? Tom Slater would never say it out loud, but she was very insecure about her looks. She worried about Chuck. He was so handsome and charming and therefore able to pick of any eligible woman in Japan. This combined with her appearance, made Hiromi fear she could lose her boyfriend.

Turning sideways, Hiromi looked at her profile in the mirror. One thing she had was a very nice bust, thanks to the breast augmentation she had done three months earlier. Chuck repeatedly said her new breasts were magnificent, but Hiromi also remembered how her boyfriend once pushed her to go even larger. Had Hiromi made a mistake in not going for breasts bigger than DD three months ago? Would Chuck always be happy with the breasts his girlfriend had?

Hiromi left the bathroom after spending some ten minutes inside. Chuck had a big smile on his face for his girlfriend. “You look magnificent.”

Chuck’s affirmation of her appearance, made Hiromi feel more secure, if only for the short-term. “Thank you. Lets go to dinner now, I’m starving.”

Located about half way between Hiromi’s office and apartment was the Gardens restaurant. It was Yokohama’s finest steak and seafood restaurant. The place was packed, but Hiromi and Chuck were immediately shown to a table in the back of the establishment.

As soon as a waitress appeared, Chuck ordered a glass of wine for both himself and Hiromi. Till the wine arrived, Hiromi and Chuck made small talk. The waitress was back five minutes later with their drinks.

“To us.” Chuck said raising his wine glass.

“Yes to us.” Hiromi said as she clinked her glass against Chuck’s.

After sipping a small amount of wine, Chuck McBride got right down to business. “Hiromi, I love you very much.”

“I love you too.” Hiromi replied back.

“Hiromi, Kimi-chan, my little sports car. I want to.....” Chuck began saying.

Roger Hyde was approaching the table Hiromi and Chuck were seated at. A look of urgency or something being amiss was the impression Hiromi got from her bodyguard’s face. Before sitting down to dinner, Hiromi had told Roger she was not to be disturbed.

“Boss, we need you.”

Chuck stopped in mid-sentence. “Can’t this wait?”

“No I’m afraid not. Boss we got to go.”

Hiromi looked at Chuck and then at her bodyguard. She was hungry and hadn’t even ordered dinner yet. “Can’t this wait for an hour?”

“No boss, it can’t.”

“Give me five minutes.”

“Ok boss. We’ll be waiting outside for you.” Roger then gave his boss and Chuck their privacy back.

“I wonder what that was about.” Hiromi said as she noted the time on her watch.

Chuck could have cared less. He would be very glad when Hiromi’s gangster days were over with. “Kimi-chan, will you marry me?”
 

~*~
 
Ten minutes later Hiromi was in a SUV driven by Roger and on her way to some undisclosed Yokohama location. Looking out the car window, Tom Slater was thinking of what had just happened to her.

‘You’ve been proposed marriage to by a man and you actually said yes????’ One very small part of Tom Slater’s mind asked herself. The rest of her brain was incredibly happy and already picturing the wedding. Would it be western or Japanese? Where would it take place and when?

The thought had also occurred to Hiromi, what would happen after Swan Song was over. What would the reactions of The Committee, The Army, Gabrielle and Tom’s parents, e to Ripley’s engagement and wish to stay as she was. How would Chuck react when he found out his girlfriend was a undercover agent? All of this plus the future wedding that lay ahead for her, was causing Hiromi’s head to spin.

A large diamond ring now resided on Hiromi’s right ring finger. ‘It is incredible, it was beautiful, it is so fucking unreal.’

It was time to get back to business, Hiromi told herself. Something both unexpected and possibly troubling was going on. “Where are we headed?”

“You’ll see soon boss.” Roger Hyde answered back.

“Tell me!” Hiromi demanded but no reply came from Roger or the two other bodyguards in the car. Right then Hiromi began to get scared. Something was seriously wrong.

Hiromi soon discovered they were headed towards the warehouse district in the port area of Yokohama. Roger Hyde stopping the SUV in front of a warehouse with a badly faded sign.

‘Something is seriously wrong. I don’t like this.’ Tom thought to herself as Roger, Yuri, and Kimo ushered her into the building without a word being said. Hiromi following Roger with Kimo and Yuri trailing. Was Tom walking straight to her death?

Hiromi was shown into a large storage room. Roger Hyde holding the door open for his boss and following in after Hirom, Yuri, and Kimo had passed.

“What is going on here?” Hiromi asked moments after getting in the room. At least twenty people were present, that including Hiromi and her bodyguards.

Most of the people Hiromi recognized. Three were shareigashiras. Another half dozen were lower figures in the Watanabe Yakuza. Why were all these people present and for what reason had Hiromi been brought here?

Most of unnerving of all was the presence of Dai Hashimoto. The Saiko-komon had a grin on his face that scared the shit out of Tom Slater.

Two scantily clad and very scared looking women cowered in one corner of the room. Omar ‘The Indian’ Rafique was even there, which was odd. On the floor along the back wall were two large bundles. The setting had a surreal atmosphere to it.

No one had said a word yet. So Hiromi spoke again. “Will someone tell me what is going on here?”

One of the shareigashiras standing close to Dai began speaking. “There was an incident at one of the offices.”

Hiromi listened as the shareigashiras elaborated further. As she did, a pit fell to the bottom of Hiromi’s stomach. She knew where this story was headed.

The shareigashira pointed to the two women. “They were used to distract the bodyguard. While he was busy, the culprit broke into the office.”

Dai Hashimoto mumbled something about security needing to be tightened. It was the first words the Saiko-komon spoke since Hiromi entered the room.

“She may have gotten away with it except a cleaning person saw the door ajar. They immediately reported it to security. The guard supposed to be watching the office was found with the two prostitutes.”

Roger led Hiromi closer to one of the bundles. It was while she approached it, then Hiromi first saw blood seeping out from underneath it.

The covering was pulled back showing Hiromi a bloody and badly beaten man. He was groaning and looked to be trying to say something. However his mouth had been badly damaged by the beatings he had undergone and this rendered speech almost impossible.

Hiromi had never seen the man before that day. “What office was it that was broken into?”

“Goro Watanabe’s”

This gave Hiromi 100% confirmation of who the burglar was though she hadn’t seen them yet. Hiromi was trying very hard to keep her emotions in check.

“What were they doing in the office?”

Dai spoke up. “She was using Goro’s computer.”

“Do we know what for?”

It was Omar’s turn to speak. “No, not yet.”

“Then see to it you find out at once. Retrieve any data that is vital, ensure there are no computer infections, and then destroy the machine if you have to.” Omar bowed to Hiromi before exiting the room.

Dai then gestured to the two prostitutes. A couple of Watanabe Yakuza led these women from the room. Hiromi was only guessing, but she would be very surprised if the women were allowed to live. They would have to be disposed of, probably by being given a drug overdose and then dumped somewhere in Yokohama’s Red Light district. Two drug addicted hookers meeting a untimely end would hardly cause more than a routine investigation by the local police.

Now there were less than ten people present. If the room around her seemed emptier now, the world appeared even tinier to Hiromi. Not waiting for someone to do it for her, Hiromi uncovered the last ‘bundle’ in the room.

It came as no surprise to Hiromi to find her bodyguard Reina Shimizu, aka Agent Chrysanthemum, aka Tonichi Ogawa, underneath the sheet. She was beaten even worse than the security guard. Her face was a bloody pulp for the most part. Teeth knocked loose, her jaw broken, one eye totally swollen shut and the other just barely open.

Reina whimpered in pain. She was alive, but for how much longer? Tom Slater knew the answer and it was tearing her guts out.

Hiromi looked over at Dai Hashimoto. The Saiko-komon again wearing that grin of his. Like to say. ‘Your bodyguard failed you. Now what will YOU do with her?’

Three men entered the room. One carrying a suitcase, the second carrying a wooden stand, the third a folding table. These were all then set up with the suitcase’s contents placed on the table which was now set about two feet from the wooden stand.

Dai Hashimoto began to examine the objects on the table. He paid the most attention to a large sword like object After inspecting it, Dai gave one of those wicked smiles that always made Hiromi cringe.

The security guard was hauled up and brought over to the wooden stand. Being barely alive, he made no attempt at resistance

For some reason Hiromi asked a question. “What is his name?”

One of the sharegashiras gave Hiromi the answer. “Arihito Onishi.”

Arihito’s neck was laid on the wooden stand. As it was, Hiromi was made to move closer. As she did, fear struck deep in the heart of Tom Slater. Was she being shown the fate that awaited her?

Hiromi Sato was a Saiko-komon in Watanabe Yakuza, granddaughter of Keiji Watanabe and also acting Oyabun in Goro’s absence. That however did not keep her safe from death or execution. Did Reina talk when captured? So far little had been said. It was hard for Hiromi to keep herself from trembling right at that moment.

A bucket was placed on the floor underneath Arihito’s head. The man appeared not to be conscious any more. If he was, Hiromi could only imagine what the man would be thinking. Looking downward, someone in Arihito’s present position, would be gazing at the object soon to catch their head.

Once Arihito was in place and restrained, Dai wasted no further time. Swiftly swinging the blade in the air, Dai followed with a even quicker downward thrust. The result was an almost perfectly severed head in the basket. The rest of Arihito Onishi’s body quivered for maybe 10 seconds before coming lifeless.

Decapitating someone is a messy business. Blood from severed arteries sprayed the area around the stand. Some ending up on Hiromi’s dress.

Dai handed the blade to one of the men in the room. Then he said to Hiromi. “I take care of my people. Now you take care of yours.”

Hiromi could only breath a slight sigh of relief. She was safe, but Reina Shimizu was a goner. Hiromi would have no choice in the matter.

What she was being asked to do next, felt like a thousand pounds were being dropped on Hiromi. Hiromi recalling the conversation she had with Reina five months earlier.
 

~*~
 
“You don’t understand. I want to see my wife and son again.”

“Reina you will.”

“Promise me you will be more careful. Please.”

“I promise Reina to be more careful. I promise you’ll make it out of this alive. You’ll see your wife and son again, I promise.”
 

~*~
 
Now Hiromi was being faced with breaking that promise. Dai Hashimoto and all the other people in the room were expecting her to kill Reina Shimizu.

It was the Yakuza way. The punishment inflicted on those who broke the rules of Japanese organized crime. There was no judge, no jury, no jail time with possible parole and time off for good behavior. Instead there was one strict unbending policy.

Death.

Tom looked at the instruments of death on the table before him. A long needle, Dai’s blade, and a Glock handgun. Maybe the Glock 22, the same model Midori Sasaki had gotten a lesson in how to use it from the Marine Sergeant Major almost ten months ago. Hiromi picked up the gun.

Instead of killing Reina, maybe you should kill yourself. Tom tried telling himself. It wouldn’t save Reina, she was gone already. It would however save Tom Slater’s soul. It would be preferable to cold blooded murder.

By her last count there were seven people alive in the room, not counting Hiromi and Reina. Hiromi could turn her gun on them she told herself as she neared Reina. It wouldn’t work, someone would quickly gun down Hiromi. Instead of going to hell with one person’s life on her conscience there could be four or five.

Tom walked up to Reina. The bodyguard was conscious just barely. Hiromi cocked the gun and pointed it towards Reina’s head.

At the exact same moment Reina stared up at Hiromi. Somehow Chrysanthemum was able to make eye contact with her boss. This only making Tom’s next duty more difficult. Pushing her to the breaking point.

Again Tom remembered something Reina had once said to her.
 

~*~
 
“I miss Momoko and Raizo so much.”

“Reina, I promise you’ll see your wife and son next Christmas.”
 

~*~
 
Tom was now having to break her vow to Reina. By pulling the trigger, Tom Slater would also be breaking herself.

“Urigiri koto no kei desu ne, Reina-kun? Sayonara.” Hiromi Sato said before she pumping two bullets into the head of Reina Shimizu. In the process Hiromi was again splattered with blood.

Calmly and coldly Hiromi walked back over to the table. Dropping the gun there, not bothering to wipe her fingerprints off it.

“Moo manzoku desuka?”Hiromi asked Dai Hashimoto. The Saiko-komon just grunted in reply.

Hiromi exited the warehouse a few minutes later. Getting in the same SUV she arrived in. With Roger driving and Kimo seated in the front passenger seat.

“Where to boss?”

“The apartment.” Hiromi told Roger. She had left the Fairlady with Chuck at the Gardens restaurant. The Australian told to drive it home when finished there.

On the way back to the apartment, Hiromi gazed out the leftside passenger window. Yokohama at night passing her by.

The moment she pulled the trigger resulting in the death of Tonichi Ogawa, the Hiromi Sato persona had taken complete control of the body Tom Slater resided in. The Captain now buried deep underneath the scheming, psychopathic woman who had one goal in mind.

‘This will be all mine. I’m Hiromi Sato and one day I will be Oyabun of the Watanabe Yakuza. Anyone who tries to stop me, will die.’
 

~*~
 
To be continued in Part Eight

“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

Tomatsu Ichikawa stopped looking at the glass in front of him and studied Hiromi Sato instead. He was fifty years old give or take a few years, and had a pockmarked face. A lit cigarette dangled from the man’s lips.

“Sato-san, how do you like my club?”

“It’s a club.”

Tomatsu grinned. “You would fit in well here.”

“I’m here to talk business.”

“So am I, Sato-san. If my bosses knew you were here....”

Synopsis– Agent Chrysanthemum’s body is located and Gabrielle Tanaka makes contact with Hiromi Sato.

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

~*~
 
On the same weekend that the subtropical system pounded Japan, Hiromi reached the breaking point over the sluggish behavior of her work computer. Hiromi summoned Omar Rafique to the office of Watanabe Trucking on a Saturday afternoon.

“How may I help you, Sato-san?”

“My PC is very slow,” Hiromi replied. “This morning I had to re-boot the computer. When it re-started, all my Firefox bookmarks were gone.”

“Let me try to help you,” Omar said. A shuffling of office chairs then took place. When all was settled, Omar was seated behind the desk with Hiromi beside him.

While Omar ran a utility program to check her PC, Hiromi called Chuck. “Hi.”

“Kimi-chan, it’s good to hear from you. Are you home yet?”

“No, I’m at the office, but will be leaving shortly. You?”

“I just finished playing handball. Don’t forget we have that concert to go to tonight.”

“Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten.”

Chuck and Hiromi talked for about two more minutes. In the meantime, Omar finished the diagnostic tests he had run on Hiromi’s computer.

Omar didn’t speak until Hiromi hung up the phone. “I’d like to take your computer and run further tests.”

“Does it have a virus?”

The Indian computer programmer shrugged. “I don’t know, but to find out I’ll need at least a few hours with your PC.”

Hiromi thought for a few moments. “Yes, I want you to do that. I will need the computer back in the office on Monday.”

Before coming in to the offices of Watanabe Trucking, Omar had been spending a pleasant weekend with his latest Japanese girlfriend. Diagnosing and repairing Hiromi Sato’s computer was likely to be an all-weekend job. Omar would have to change his plans to accommodate his most important patron.

“I will do that, Sato-san. First we need to backup all your important files.”

Hiromi Sato was always cautious when it came to her important files. Every Friday she would make a backup disk before leaving work for the day. She mentioned this to Omar.

Omar so appreciated a computer novice who took precautions. He was far more accustomed to his clients having emotional meltdowns after Omar told them their computer has crashed and the data on it was now unretrievable. “That makes it so much simpler, Sato-san. If you can show me what you used today......”
 

~*~
 
Hiromi got her PC back on Monday morning as requested. While examining the machine, Omar found one worm and some malicious spyware on its hard drive. As a result, Omar decided it would be best to reformat the hard drive.

This work consumed almost all of Omar’s weekend. It was only in the wee hours of Sunday night/Monday morning that the computer programmer finished re-installing the last of the programs Hiromi Sato used. Omar then caught a few hours sleep, knowing he would need to be at Watanabe Trucking no later than 8 a.m.

Hiromi was very pleased when shown her refurbished computer on Monday morning. She even paid Omar a compliment, saying that the programmer did excellent work. After making sure Hiromi was no longer in need of his assistance, Omar left Watanabe Trucking. He was going straight home to get some badly needed sleep.

Five minutes after Omar left the office, Hiromi’s private line began to ring. “Hiromi Sato.”

“Granddaughter, how are you this beautiful day?”

“I am well, grandfather. Yourself?” Hiromi asked.

Keiji Watanabe didn’t answer his granddaughter’s question, but rather mentioned the horrible weather of the last few days.

After a minute of small talk, Keiji got down to business. “Granddaughter, have you read the article in today’s business newspaper?”

Hiromi hadn’t gotten around to that day’s Asian Wall Street Journal yet. “No, grandfather. May I ask what you are referring to?”

“It is on page 3A.”

Hiromi had the Asian Wall Street Journal next to her. She opened it to the page told her by Keiji Watanabe and began looking for the article in question. The article which was less than 200 words in length, was at the bottom left hand side of page 3A.

Its headline:

Central Nippon Wireless may re-state its 2006 and 2007 earnings.

“I see it, Grandfather,” Hiromi replied unemotionally. The purchase of Central Nippon had been an transaction made by Goro Watanabe, one Hiromi opposed from the outset. At the present time Goro Watanabe was out of Japan, since he and his wife Keiko had gone to Taiwan for a few days. Keiko Watanabe had a sister living in Taipei.

“Granddaughter, I would like to come to the office and have a discussion with you. If you’re not too busy.”

“No, Grandfather, come at once. I always have time for you.”
 

~*~
 
“Who is this Agent Concierge?” Deputy Director Grant Williamson asked at a Swan Song meeting two days later. Grant had only come back to Washington the previous evening. He and his wife had gone out of town for a few days, just like Goro Watanabe.

“She works for Keiji Watanabe,” Inspector Yoshida replied.

“What do we know about her?”

There wasn’t much for Inspector Yoshida to tell. Concierge had funneled gossip on the Watanabes to the police in the past but then suddenly stopped three years earlier.

“What would be her motive for coming forward now?” Gabrielle asked.

Inspector Yoshida probably gave the best answer. “We really don’t know.”

“No one ever asked her?” Grant Williamson asked.

“She was handled by a predecessor of mine. He is now retired but I spoke to Senior Inspector Yokura. Agent Concierge never disclosed her motive for informing. This is not unusual.”

“Can we arrange a meeting with Concierge?”

“Yes, we can,” Inspector Yoshida replied.

“Then start on it at once, Inspector.” Grant Williamson ordered Inspector Yoshida.

Agent Concierge wasn’t the only Swan Song business that needed to be discussed. In fact there were at least three more matters that needed attention.

The first was Operation Hornblower. An idea Gabrielle had pitched to Grant Williamson before he left on vacation. Surprisingly, the Deputy FBI Director saw some merit in Agent Tanaka’s idea and told her to run with it while he was away but not to implement it without his approval.

The other four members of the Swan Song committee had gotten both a summary, and a detailed report on Operation Hornblower. Only Grant Williamson had read the detailed report. He asked for Major Hollins and Inspector Yoshida to state their opinions.

“This could be risky for Agent Ripley,” Major Hollins said from an office at The Pentagon. Gabrielle found the Army Officer’s new found concern for Tom Slater appalling.

“The risk should be minimal. I see no reason not to try this,” Inspector Yoshida remarked.

Dr. Wagner then butted in. “If all of you have read my recent report, you may see the benefit of Agent Tanaka contacting Ripley. It may stir memories inside the Army Captain and result in a change of behavior.”

The report from Dr. Wagner had arrived in Gabrielle’s FBI emailbox the previous Saturday morning. It was thirty-one pages in length, but had a shorter two-page summary. After printing it off, Gabrielle spent most of her weekend reading Dr. Wagner’s report multiple times.

Dr. Wagner had put forth her theory, based on recent experiences with patients who had gotten the DNA therapy. That some develop multiple personas, their own and that of the DNA owner. It was Dr. Wagner and her team’s opinion that all recipients of the DNA therapy found themselves with a second persona inside their new body. Though for some unknown reason the persona was dormant in the body of some patients.

The report went on to describe how some patients maintained control of their new body, often using the memories and experiences of the other persona to their advantage. Swan Song was aware of this early on with Agent Ripley, but saw it as no threat to the Operation.

Most of Dr. Wagner’s report was hardly news to Gabrielle, particularly the parts where the German scientist and her team talked about the two personas inside a DNA patient’s body merging. Gabrielle knew this was happening with Tom Slater. What the report didn’t state was whether the mental changes could be reversed. The Double Helix project hadn’t taken the time or made the effort to study this.

It was pages 23 to 29 of Dr. Wagner’s report that were most relevant. It was there that the possibility of the DNA donor’s personality taking over a patient’s body was discussed, namely that Hiromi Sato could conceivably be in control of the body she shared with Tom Slater.

Neither Dr. Wagner nor her team had any experience with such an occurrence, but theorized it was possible. The cause? Some trauma that causes the patient’s persona to break down. Gabrielle wondered, even before she finished the report, whether Agent Chrysanthemum’s fate was somehow linked to what was happening with Tom Slater.

Grant Williamson appeared to be in agreement with Gabrielle. “Do you think a breakdown as you described is what happened here, Dr. Wagner?”

“I can’t say for certain, but yes, it is possible. Agent Ripley may have suffered a breakdown.”

“Agent Ripley is a trained member of the US military. He has seen action in Iraq. Do you....” Major Hollins began saying before Dr. Wagner cut him off.

“The strongest of people, even members of the military, can have a breakdown. It is what some call battle fatigue. Ja, it’s possible that is what happened with Ripley.”

“I agree,” Inspector Yoshida said from his Yokohama office. “Agent Chrysanthemum admitted at her debriefings that the Swan Song assignment was stressful. We have to assume it was the same for Agent Ripley also.”

All Swan Song members with the exception of Major Hollins seemed to be in agreement then. Deputy Director Williamson made his final decision. “Agent Tanaka you are to commence Operation Hornblower at once.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll be leaving Japan for Washington DC tomorrow then. Do you want me to personally report in while I’m in town, sir?”

“No, that’s not needed, just keep me informed. Is there any Swan Song matter that needs attention?”

Major Hollins brought up Operation Firecracker. He too had drawn up a operational plan plus a summary for all Swan Song members to read.

Gabrielle thought the plan to snatch Hiromi Sato was far too risky. She decided to withhold her counsel, especially after Inspector Yoshida first raised his own concerns.

“Firecracker is potentially hazardous to civilians who happen to be in the area when the Operation is being conducted.”

“I think we have to take that risk.” Major Hollins answered.

“Not on Japanese soil you won’t,” Inspector Yoshida replied angrily. “Not without approval first from my superiors or even possibly the Minister of the Interior.”

Grant Williamson then spoke up. “Inspector, I assure you Operation Firecracker won’t take place without prior approval from Japanese government. Major Hollins, I want you to appoint one of your men to do liaison work with the Japanese as to Operation Swan Song.”

“Yes, sir. Can we begin training for the Operation?”

“Yes, Major, provided that the Japanese authorities have no objections. I suggest you and Inspector Yoshida confer after this meeting is over.”

With no other business to discuss, the Swan Song meeting ended moments later. Gabrielle Tanaka stuck around the office a little while longer, taking time to read the thin file on Agent Concierge once again. Then as Gabrielle closed the file, two questions became foremost in her mind.

First, what was possibly motivating Ai Toguchi to betray Keiji Watanabe, the man she had married less than two months earlier? Second, could Ai Toguchi be of assistance in Gabrielle’s quest to save Tom Slater?
 

~*~
 
Goro Watanabe arrived back in Yokohama on Wednesday afternoon. It was not till the following morning that Keiji Watanabe got to confer with his nephew.

“I assure you, Uncle, Central Nippon is on sound financial footing.”

“Then what of these newspaper reports?”

“Malicious rumors, spread by the company’s competitors.”

“Hiromi-san advised you not to make this investment.”

Goro remained confident about Central Nippon’s future. “Yes, I recall that. I still see Central Nippon as a good investment. The internet is as they call it, the information super highway. People will need this service."

Keiji Watanabe accepted his nephew’s explanations for the time being. After all, what had been reported in the Asian Wall Street Journal were just rumors. A wise man doesn’t base his decisions on shadows.

If the rumors proved to be true, there would be serious consequences. Keiji Watanabe would have to re-assess the leadership of the Yakuza family he once led.
 

~*~
 
Later the same evening, Hiromi announced her plans for the next day to Chuck. Right at that moment, the engaged couple was listening to some classical music before going to bed. “I have business to conduct tomorrow in Osaka.”

“Oh,” Chuck replied back. He was a little bit surprised by Hiromi’s sudden announcement of a trip. “Is it Kanagawa bank business related?”

“Yes it is. Roger will be accompanying me.”

Chuck nodded his head. “When will you return to Yokohama?”

“Tomorrow night I think. If not the next day. Is that all right?”

The tall Australian gave Hiromi an extra strong hug with his right arm. “Of course it is. Have a safe trip, Kimi-chan.”

Hiromi’s day began at 5:00 am the next morning. She went through all her usual morning routines, except for any interplay with Chuck who was still fast asleep. When Hiromi was dressed, she emerged from the bedroom.

“Good morning, Miss Sato,” Said Juanita Perez, Hiromi’s cook/housekeeper. “I’ll have your coffee and breakfast shortly.”

Before Hiromi swallowed two forkfulls of the scrambled eggs served her, Roger Hyde entered the apartment. “Morning, boss.”

Hiromi didn’t speak till after she swallowed her breakfast and took time to wipe her mouth with a napkin. “Has everything been arranged for today?”

“Yes, boss, as you requested,” Roger said as he took a cup of tea offered to him by Juanita.

The trip to Osaka was made via All Nippon Airlines on a flight departing Tokyo-Haneda Airport. Roger and Hiromi both seated in first class, but across the aisle from one another. Hiromi used her time seated on All Nippon’s jet to read the news of the day as reported by the Asia Wall Street Journal and The International Herald-Tribune.

On arrival at Osaka’s Itami Airport, Hiromi and Roger went straight to the monorail station. The only baggage either had was of the carry-on variety. The monorail in combination with two railroad connections would take Hiromi and Roger to Osaka’s financial district. This travel method was complicated but less time consuming than making the trip by car.

A car awaited Hiromi and Roger outside Osaka’s Umeda Station. Before stepping in the vehicle, Roger and Hiromi were given a small package and a envelope respectively.

The staff of Kanagawa Bank’s Osaka office was expecting Hiromi Sato, but were still on edge when their employer arrived. Everyone Hiromi passed immediately jumped to their feet. As a Watanabe Saiko-komon, Hiromi was used to these signs of deference, knowing at the same time that they arose from fear.

Later on, Hiromi would use that fear to go somewhere without Roger Hyde knowing. First Hiromi had business to see to.

Hiromi had a small office at Osaka’s Kanagawa Bank branch despite her rare visits there. Not long after getting settled in, Hiromi had a steady stream of visitors. All but two summoned to discuss some banking matter with their visiting boss.

For the other two, Hiromi had unusual requests to make. “Sato-san, I don’t understand.” Said a clerical employee in her late twenties.

“Didn’t I make myself perfectly clear?

“Yes, Sato-san, but....”

“Just do it.” Hiromi commanded in a angry tone of voice. The female clerical worker said she would do as told. A meeting Hiromi had with another female office worker went similarly.

The first of Hiromi’s two unusual requests took place a few minutes before noon time. Roger Hyde was sitting outside his Taro’s office. Only five minutes earlier, lunch had been brought to Hiromi Sato.

Hearing a commotion from another part of the office. Roger Hyde went to check on it. A female office worker was laying on the floor. She had mysteriously collapsed moments earlier.

While Roger was out of position, Hiromi snuck out of her office. A door leading to a stairwell was ten feet from her office. By the time Roger was back in position, Hiromi was already one floor beneath him and still descending.

It was fourteen flights of stairs from Kanagawa’s office to the street below. Being a marathon runner and in excellent physical shape, Hiromi made the downward descent with ease. When she got to street level, Hiromi immediately began efforts to hail a cab. This took almost five minutes as it was lunch time and many cabs were already in use.

Hiromi had a rendezvous set for 12:30 that afternoon. Because of traffic, Hiromi only got out of her cab at 12:40. Hiromi was still two blocks away from her intended destination. A club called ‘The Mayflower.’

The Mayflower wasn’t open for business yet, but Hiromi was permitted to enter after a hulking brute of a man gave her a once over. Then Hiromi stepped into the smoke filled establishment, barely able to avoid gagging after just a few breaths of air.

Hiromi was late, but the person there to meet her was still patiently waiting. As she walked through the club, Hiromi got stared at by male and female employees alike who were preparing for another day of business.

There were reasons for this behavior. The Mayflower was first opened in the early days of the US occupation of Japan following World War II. In those days the club catered to military personnel. As the years went by and US forces withdrew and finally left the Osaka area entirely, The Mayflower became a different sort of business. One that offered adult entertainment and gambling.

With her surgically enhanced breasts, Hiromi fit in well with The Mayflower’s female workers, who entertained on stage and, if paid appropriately, also performed upstairs in a private suite. Hiromi’s expensive clothes meant nothing. Some of Mayflower’s female workers made well into six figure incomes in US dollars.

Hiromi ignored the stares she received. The person she had come to meet at The Mayflower was sitting at a back corner table. Hiromi took a seat directly opposite him.

Tomatsu Ichikawa stopped looking at the glass in front of him and studied Hiromi Sato instead. He was fifty years old give or take a few years, and had a pockmarked face. A lit cigarette dangled from the man’s lips.

“Sato-san, how do you like my club?”

“It’s a club.”

Tomatsu grinned. “You would fit in well here.”

“I’m here to talk business.”

“So am I, Sato-san. If my bosses knew you were here....”

Hiromi’s temper flared. “Tomatsu-kun, you know as I do that the Yamaguchis know I’m here today.”

The Yamaguchi-gumi Yakuza family was based out of Kobe but had its tentacles into Osaka. They owned The Mayflower, and employed Tomatsu Ichikawa to manage it. Like when she visited Kawasaki and Tokyo the previous December, Hiromi notified the local Yakuza of her visit. It helped avoid a misunderstanding from happening.

In the case of the Osaka trip, Hiromi asked the Yamaguchi-gumi’s permission to talk to Tomatsu. Hiromi’s request was granted.

“Very well, Sato-san. What brings you here today?”

Hiromi by this time was almost choking on the cigarette smoke in the Mayflower. It was so thick, Hiromi found it difficult to breathe.

Used to being in charge of people, Hiromi gave Tomatsu an order. “Put your cigarette out. The smoke is making me ill.”

Tomatsu removed the cigarette from his lips. As he prepared to put it in a ash tray, Tomatsu blew a cloud of smoke into Hiromi’s face. “Is that better?”

Hiromi was furious but controlled her anger. Shortly after Tomatsu’s cigarette was extinguished, Hiromi began talking about the business matter she had come to discuss that day.

Tomatsu listened quietly, his face remaining impassive throughout. “You are looking for a specialist.”

“Yes, a specialist. I been told that you may know of one who may be suited for the job I outlined.”

“Perhaps. What would be in it for me, Sato-san?”

“A generous finder’s fee,” Hiromi said. “One you would not find disappointing.”

Tomatsu smiled for the first time since Hiromi took her seat. “We have a business arrangement then.” Hiromi and Tomatsu went on to talk further about what the business arrangement entailed.

Forty-five minutes later, Hiromi was back at the building Kanagawa Bank had its offices in. Getting back to her office without Roger Hyde noticing could prove trickier than Hiromi’s earlier exit.

Taking an elevator upstairs, Hiromi got off at the 12th floor. Two floors below Kanagawa Bank. As she made her way to the stair well, Hiromi made a brief cell phone call.

“Yes.”

“I am back. Do as I told you earlier. In exactly two minutes.” Hiromi then ended the call.

Roger was still standing watch outside his Taro’s office door. The British bodyguard not sensing anything unusual going on, like his boss remaining in her office for such a long period of time. Hiromi often did the same at her Yokohama offices.

“Can you assist me for one minute?” A young, female, and very attractive office worker asked as she approached Roger. “A form slipped between my desk and the wall. I can’t reach it.”

Roger hesitated for a moment. He was about to knock on Hiromi’s door and check if she needed anything.

“It will only take a minute, please? My desk is just over there.” The office worker pointed out to Roger.

“All right.” Roger then walked away from Hiromi Sato’s office door.

Either Hiromi’s timing was off, or the office worker’s was. For Hiromi only barely got into the office before Roger began heading back towards it.

Hiromi was barely settled in, when Roger knocked at the door. The sound almost causing Hiromi to jump out of her chair. “Come in.”

“Boss, is there anything I can do for you?”

“No. I’m quite fine, thank you.”
 

~*~
 
On the same Friday Gabrielle Tanaka began seeing to the setup of Operation Hornblower, the Swan Song committee got an urgent report from forensic accountant Debra Dudley. The computer downloads from Hiromi Sato’s computer had suddenly come to an end.

Despite this latest dose of bad news out of Japan, Grant Williamson didn’t call a Swan Song meeting into session to discuss it. Gabrielle was traveling, in addition Dr. Wagner and Major Hollins were both taking extended weekends away from their work. In any event, a meeting could only discuss the reasons why the downloads stopped, not make them suddenly begin again.

When he was through reading Debra Dudley’s report, Grant Williamson let out a string of expletives. A successful Swan Song was supposed to supply the proof that Grant wasn’t just another Hoover building bureaucrat. That the FBI Deputy Director could bring to justice criminals as well as anyone at the bureau.

Without Swan Song’s successful completion, Grant Williamson’s hoped-for career track might be in jeopardy. There were other factors at play which affected whether Grant would become the next director of the FBI. Some he could control, some he couldn’t. The increasing lack of control Grant had over Operation Swan Song was causing the Deputy FBI Director’s frustration to turn into anger instead, most of it directed at Captain Tom Slater, but also towards other Swan Song committee members.

With no other way to vent his anger, Grant flung a printed copy of Debra Dudley’s report at the empty chair across from his desk. Once his temper had cooled off, Grant went to retrieve the report.

At almost the exact same moment Grant picked up the report, his secretary Miranda DeLaCruz came into the office. “Sir, I just received this news article from Inspector Yoshida in Japan. He says it is Swan Song related.”

“Thank you, Miranda,” Grant said to his secretary, who then left the office. Not wasting any time, Grant began reading the article given to him. Its headline said:

Bankruptcy fears rise as Central Nippon Wireless restates its earnings.
 

~*~
 
Gabrielle Tanaka was oblivious to the fate of Central Nippon Wireless or how it could affect the Watanabe Yakuza as she parked a rental car outside Cascade Valley Hospital in Arlington Washington. The sky was overcast and a light rain was beginning to fall. All the makings for a dreary Mother’s Day. A Mother’s Day that was about to get drearier for one family.

Stuart Slater looked genuinely surprised to see Gabrielle pay him a visit. “Hello, Miss Tanaka, how are you?”

“I’m fine, Dad. How are you feeling?”

“Much better,” Stuart Slater said. “My wife went downstairs to the cafeteria. She should be back shortly.”

While they waited for Midori Slater’s return, Stuart and Gabrielle talked. Five days previously Stuart had been admitted to Cascade Valley Hospital because of shortness of breath. Gabrielle had learned of this via an email sent to her by Midori.

“I should be going home tomorrow.”

“That’s good, Dad.” Gabrielle said, just moments before Midori returned to her husband’s hospital room.

After exchanging a hug and a kiss with Midori, Gabrielle said. “Happy Mother’s Day, Mom.”

“Thank you Gabrielle. It is good seeing you again. Have you spoken to your mother today?”

“No, not yet. How is Shannon doing?”

As Midori told Gabrielle about her youngest grandchild, a female nurse walked into Stuart’s room. Conversation lapsed for a brief time as Tom Slater’s father had his vitals taken.

After the nurse was gone, Stuart turned on the television set in his room. “Maybe there is a good movie on this afternoon.” Taking this as a hint, Midori and Gabrielle moved the conversation they were having to a nearby visitor’s waiting room.

“I’m glad Shannon is doing well. How is Dad?” Gabrielle asked after she and Midori Slater were seated in the otherwise empty waiting room

“The doctors say Stuart will need heart valve surgery,” Midori began explaining to Gabrielle about the recent medical tests Stuart Slater had been subjected to since being hospitalized. Other than his aorta, his heart appeared to be in good condition. A cardiac catherization showed no blockages in the retired Army Master Sergeant’s heart. “His doctor here recommends a surgeon in Oregon.”

“That’s good. At least you’ll have Donna nearby to help you and Dad out.”

“Yes, we will. Gabrielle, what has happened to Tom?”

Gabrielle looked Midori Slater in the eye before explaining the events of the last two months. What Gabrielle was about to say would cause incredible pain for Tom Slater’s mother, but it couldn’t be avoided. Gabrielle felt that she needed to tell Midori the truth.

“He has not talked to you in two months?”

“No, Mom, nor has Tom contacted the committee.”

“He’s alive?”

“Yes, Mom,” Gabrielle paused as Midori Slater tightened the grip she had on the FBI agent’s left hand. “but something has gone badly wrong. I just don’t know what.”

“Gabrielle, please tell me what has happened.”

The operational details of Operation Swan Song were supposed to be highly confidential, but Gabrielle shared them with Tom’s mother over the next fifteen minutes. It took that long to relate everything Gabrielle knew about Tom Slater’s life since the last time his mother had seen him.

“In March, Tom had a rendezvous scheduled with me in Singapore. He didn’t show up and I have no idea why.”

“Tom is alive now?”

“Yes, Mom. Tom was seen as recently as last week. The Swan Song committee has someone check on Tom’s whereabouts periodically.”

As hard as Midori tried to keep her emotions in check, tears began forming in the mother’s eyes. Like any good mother, Midori worried for the safety of her children. “He is still Hiromi Sato?”

Gabrielle then opened up her purse and took some photos out in order to give them to Tom Slater’s mother. Midori spent a few minutes examining the photos, while at the same time Gabrielle had to wonder how the mother felt in regards to her son being turned into a woman not just physically but mentally.

“Yes, Mom, that hasn’t changed. Tom is still inside that woman’s body,” Gabrielle said. Before coming to Washington, Gabrielle had sworn to herself she wouldn’t withhold any information from the Slaters and so far she had kept that vow. Midori deserved to know what was happening to her son right then. “What I think has happened is that the real Hiromi Sato has taken over.”

Midori looked again at the photos she had been given. “Gabrielle, I’m confused.”

“Let me explain, Mom.” Gabrielle told her about what Tom had told her in Hong Kong. About the two personas in the body Tom Slater now possessed.

When Gabrielle was finished, Midori nodded her head. “I think I understand.”

“Mom, I’m not sure that is what happened. It is just a theory.” Gabrielle then added, “But Dr. Wagner, the scientist who invented the DNA serum given to Tom, thinks so too.”

“Why did it happen?”

Gabrielle shrugged slightly. “Some kind of trauma must have happened to Tom. Either physical or mental. That’s what I think happened, and Dr. Wagner agrees with me.”

“Can what happened to Tom be reversed?”

Gabrielle gave Midori an honest answer. “Dr. Wagner thinks so, but she isn’t one hundred percent certain.”

Nothing was said for another minute or so. There was so much information for Midori Slater to absorb. Had she lost another child? The tears Midori had fought so hard to control, now slowly made their way down the mother’s face.

“Mom, I’m not going to stop trying to save Tom. I love him, and feel what has happened was my fault.”

“Why do you say that?”

Gabrielle again held nothing back even if what she said could be considered embarrassing or a little graphic when talking to any man’s mother. “Mom, when Tom and I met in Hong Kong, he asked me if I would go to a hotel with him so he could make love to me. I said no.”

Now it was Gabrielle’s turn to show her emotions. She was fighting hard to choke back her tears. As she did this, Midori reached out empathetically in order to hold the FBI agent’s right hand. The visitor’s waiting room was still empty except for Gabrielle and Midori.

“Tom was crying out to me for help, and I told her I needed to work on some damn report! What an idiot I was then, and now look what happened.”

“Gabrielle, it is not your fault.”

“Mom, it’s even worse. The other undercover agent working with Tom is missing and presumed dead. She was in Hong Kong too when I met Tom. I could have told them both to abort the mission then, but I didn’t.”

“What you did, Gabrielle, you thought was right. I know you love my son.”

“I love Tom very much.”

For the first time since entering the waiting room, a smile broke out on Midori Slater’s face. “Gabrielle, don’t blame yourself for what has happened. Tom is still alive, and you can help her.”

“Yes, Tom is alive, but he’s changed in other ways I haven’t told you yet.”

“Like what?”

Gabrielle told Midori about her observations about Tom Slater that the FBI agent had made at their rendezvous in Hong Kong. “Mom, Tom has changed mentally. He isn’t just physically a woman now, but acting like one too.”

Gabrielle went on to explain why she was saying this.

Midori looked a little shocked at first by what Gabrielle had to say. “Can this be changed too?”

“Honestly, Mom, Dr. Wagner doesn’t think so. Because of the way Tom has had to live these last these months, the changes to him are likely to be permanent.”

“Does Tom still remember me and his father?”

Gabrielle nodded her head emphatically in reply to this question. “Yes, Mom, he does. That part of Tom hasn’t changed. When in Hong Kong, Tom and I talked about you, Dad, and Susan. I could tell how much he still loved all of you.”

“That’s good, Gabrielle.”

“No matter what has happened to Tom and whether it can be reversed or not, after she is saved, I will love him or her. I really mean that Mom. ”

“Gabrielle, I believe you. We will both always love Tom.”

Then the two women shared a hug.

Midori and Gabrielle talked some ten to fifteen minutes more before returning to Stuart Slater’s hospital room. The time was mostly used by Gabrielle to explain about why she was in Washington right then, the upcoming Operation Hornblower and the FBI agent’s sincere hope to bring Tom Slater safely home.

As she rose from her chair, Midori thought of a question for Gabrielle. “Can I keep these photos?”

“Of course, Mom.”

“I can hardly believe that is my son.”

“Mom, I can hardly believe that’s Tom either.” Gabrielle replied. The photo Midori was looking at had been taken in Hong Kong.

“If Tom had been born a girl, I would have named her Rebecca.”

Gabrielle smiled. “That’s a pretty name.”

Pointing at the photo Gabrielle gave her, Midori said. “Science changed Tom, but she will always be my child.”

Even though she had never experienced motherhood herself, Gabrielle fathomed the special bond a mother has for her children, one the wonders of science could never destroy. “No matter what the outcome is, Mom, I will still love her.”

“Gabrielle, if that happens, I would like you and Rebecca to be together and raise Shannon.”

‘What an incredible mother Tom has.’ Gabrielle thought to herself. ‘Why isn’t my mother like this, or do we just not take the time to understand one another?’

“Mom, I think there is a good chance Tom can be saved. Between you, me, and Dad, we’ll be able to remind Tom who he really is,” Gabrielle said to Tom Slater’s mother. Midori saying she felt the same way too. “Dr. Wagner’s DNA therapy is nearly perfect now. She can almost guarantee us getting Tom back to his old body.”

“Thank you, Gabrielle, for coming to see me today,” Midori said as she noted the time. “I’d better go check on Stuart.”

“Mom, I will be in touch again real soon.” Gabrielle told her as they exited the waiting room together.

“I trust you, Gabrielle.”

“How’s Dad doing mentally, so far as his upcoming surgery goes?”

“Stuart doesn’t tell me, but I think he is a little scared.”

“I’ll be praying for him and Tom.”

“Thank you.”

“Where’s Shannon?”

“He’s back in Darrington. A very nice couple, the Marshalls, are taking care of Shannon.”

Gabrielle and Midori were back in Stuart Slater’s hospital room a moment later. Stuart was busy watching a Seattle Mariner baseball game.

“Bye, Dad,” Gabrielle said after giving Stuart Slater a hug. “Get well soon.”

“Thank you, Miss Tanaka.”

Gabrielle began saying goodbye to Midori, who took a moment to remind Gabrielle to call her parents.

“I will, Mom. After I get to Seattle.” It was just after 3 p.m. and the drive back to Seattle would take just over an hour. By Gabrielle’s calculations, she could call her mother by around 5 p.m. The only uncertainty was where the Tanakas would be that weekend. Were they home, or visiting one of their daughters?

Gabrielle was halfway out the door, when Stuart Slater called out one last thing, “Gabrielle, please do everything you can to bring my son Tom back home to us. If you need help, don’t be afraid to call or ask us.”

“I won’t, Dad. That’s a promise.”
 

~*~
 
As was her usual custom, Hiromi Sato had her television set on in her office. What was unusual on May 13th was that Hiromi was more interested in Asia news than was normal for her.

The reason? At a little after 2 p.m. in the afternoon on May 12th, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake had taken place in the Sichuan province of China. The damage and death tolls were still early but considering the region’s population, Hiromi was expecting them to be immense.

Hiromi had an interest in knowing just how immense because of her recent purchase and ownership of The East China Commerce Bank. A call to her Hong Kong branch manager the day before had people in the Hong Kong office already busy calculating just how exposed East China was in the wake of the quake. The bank had loans out on property spread through out the Middle Kingdom.

Not long after getting settled in behind her desk, and after getting her morning newspapers, tea, and messages from Suki and Aki, Hiromi began seeking out more news of what was going on in China. The business news channels she usually watched were proving to be of little help to her.

Hiromi was trying to change the station on her office television to a China based news station, when she accidentally hit the wrong number on the television remote control. Instead of getting a news broadcast, Hiromi found herself viewing an American reality show. One that featured dancing.

At first Hiromi wanted to find the Chinese news station. However the dance show for some reason looked interesting. Hiromi quickly decided to leave her television set as it was. She’d get news about the earthquake soon enough.

What the Hiromi Sato persona didn’t know, was the television known as ‘Dancing with the Stars’ was re-awakening Tom Slater. On the television right then was Mark Ballas and his dancing partner, former Olympic Gold Figure Skater Kristi Yamaguchi.

Kristi Yamaguchi was a cousin of Gabrielle Tanaka. Indeed, Tom Slater had commented on the similar appearance of the FBI agent to the figure skater when he and Gabrielle were having dinner together the previous May.

Seeing Kristi on the television screen, began to stir Tom Slater back to life. He pictured himself as the male dancer, thinking of Kristi as Gabrielle Tanaka. If allowed to watch the television show and Kristi long enough, maybe Tom Slater would once again regain control of the body he resided in.

Then the phone began to ring and this diverted Hiromi’s attention from the television set. The caller was the wedding planner, Shiho Iijima. After arriving home from Europe, one of the first things Hiromi did was call Shiho and tell her to change the style of the wedding from Japanese to Western.

As can be imagined, Shiho had been shocked by Hiromi’s about face in regards to her upcoming wedding. Ever since being told the changes required, Shiho Iijima had been growing increasingly indecisive, and therefore needed to call Hiromi Sato multiple times in any given day about some small detail or another.

Hiromi was growing increasingly annoyed by these calls. The latest call from Shiho seemed trivial to Hiromi, but needed attending to. As Kristi and Mark Ballas finished their dance number, Hiromi turned off the television set in her office.

As she did, Hiromi stopped any chance of Tom Slater had of regaining control of the body she shared with the psychopathic Yakuza accountant. The more forceful Hiromi Sato personality had won once again.
 

~*~
 
‘What ever made you take up the line of work you do?’ Frank Snyder frequently asked himself. At present he was in a two-man submarine along with his colleague Alicia Raagas. The two marine geologists, based out of the University of Hawaii, were surveying the ocean floor from the cozy but safe quarters of The Hina. Hina being the name of a Polynesian Goddess.

Less than a half hour earlierr, the Hina and the two geologists in it, were lowered into the waters off Izu Oshima, one of the smaller islands that make up Japan. Alicia and Frank were there that day to survey the ocean floor near Izu Oshima. This to determine if the island’s volcano, Mt. Mihara, was preparing to erupt. That could account for the recent tremblors felt in the Tokyo area. Mt. Mihara’s last eruption was in 1986.

Movies and television aside, predicting a volcanic eruption was hardly a perfect science. Mistakes had been made in the past. In this particular branch of science, an incorrect prediction could have deadly consequences for the people living near these volatile peaks.

The descent of The Hina to the ocean floor was a fairly quick process, but one requiring much precision. Frank, laying flat on his stomach, navigated the small two-man sub, while Alicia squatted or stood in the back of the craft as she checked the many scientific instruments used by the two marine geologists.

The Hina was at a depth of approximately one hundred feet, when Frank heard a sharp bang behind him. “What was that?”

“Nothing Frank. I just dropped something.”

For some unknown reason Frank was feeling unusually claustrophobic that day. It wasn’t like Frank hadn’t spent time submerged in a cramped submarine before. The marine geologist had spent thousands and thousands of hours working ‘The Hina’ and other subs like her.

Frank was just having a bad day, by his own admission, maybe because he had woken up that morning with a splitting headache. Alicia had dropped equipment before, as had Frank. In addition the two marine geologists often unintentionally kicked or stepped on each other. In the tight confines of a mini-sub it was impossible to do otherwise.

Alicia and Frank had a excellent working relationship, and got along well together, though they rarely associated with each other on anything but a professional basis. For one thing, Frank Snyder was almost twenty years older than Alicia, a twice-divorced, dumpy looking, middle-aged man was no match for Alicia, a former Miss Hilo beauty pageant winner who was still stunningly beautiful in her early thirties. Frank Snyder and Alicia Raagas were a definite odd couple in marine geology or any other field of science.

Non-natives of Hawaii who knew Frank, would sometimes kid him about the fact he worked with such a beautiful woman, and that he should take advantage of it. None of these people knew that Frank and Alicia shared a similar taste. They were both attracted to women.

Alicia Raagas was a very out lesbian. It was while Alicia was being interviewed for a Hawaii Tribune-Herald article two years previous, that the marine geologist admitted her sexual preference for the fairer sex. Alicia and her partner Sarah Oyama, the owner of a downtown Honolulu beauty salon, had been co-habitating together for almost five years.

So working with this particular beautiful woman wasn’t a distraction to Frank. The marine geologist could concentrate on his work. Right then it consisted of getting ‘The Hina’ to the ocean floor just off shore of Izu Oshima.

The Hina had been submerged a little over two hours, and was at a depth of 286 feet, when something drew Frank Snyder’s attention. “That’s interesting,” he said. It was a chain-wrapped black trunk with holes bored into the sides.

The discovery of Reina Shimizu’s body was strictly a fluke. Nobody in the Watanabe Yakuza could have foreseen the forces of nature that would keep the trunk containing Agent Chrysanthemum from remaining at the bottom of sea for all eternity.

If there was a moral to be learned, it was never attempt permanent disposal of incriminating evidence in an area prone to earthquake and volcanic activity. Both of these factors kept Agent Chrysanthemum’s remains from permanently settling on the ocean floor. If her body had been dumped as little as 1,000 meters farther off the shore of Izu Oshima, the makeshift coffin would have fallen into a deep sea trench and likely never seen again.

“What’s interesting?” Alicia asked. She was in the middle of taking some readings.

“This box, it’s five feet off our stern.”

Alicia didn’t share Frank Snyder’s interest in sea garbage as the marine geologist called the tons of human junk deposited on ocean floors around the world. That people found littering at sea acceptable compared to on dry land, was just disgusting to Alicia. “What about it?”

“Come take a look for yourself.”

Alicia sighed. Scientists were supposed to be curious by nature, but Alicia thought Frank took it to extremes at times. They both had work to do, at the same time Alicia knew she would only satisfy Frank by taking a peek. So she got down on her belly and joined Frank in looking out The Hina’s bow window.

“See it?”

“Yes, Frank.” Alicia replied. ‘So there’s a box at the bottom of the ocean. What’s the big deal?’

“Bet anyone one hundred dollars, something is inside it,” Frank told Alicia. “Look at the way it’s secured. As if someone was trying to bury something so it won’t ever be found again.”

“That’s nice, Frank, but what are you trying to say?” The differences between her and Frank’s backgrounds, kept Alicia from appreciating her partner’s discovery. Alicia Raagas, the daughter of a fisherman, just couldn’t understand Frank’s train of thought right then.

Frank Snyder was the son of a San Diego police detective. One of the reasons Frank Snyder went into marine geology, was to do something entirely different than his father’s line of work. While growing up, Frank often overheard grisly stories of the murder cases his father worked on.

Nevertheless some of Frank Snyder Sr’s experiences stuck with his son. Like the many ways murderers use to hide their dastardly deeds.

“I bet there is a body inside that box.”

“Whatever, Frank, I’d better get back to work.” Alicia said before she began maneuvering her body in order to get herself off the belly of the submarine.

Frank, said nothing to Alicia as she crawled back towards the center of The Hina. Before moving on to the work he and Alicia were there to do, Frank took out a chart and began making some calculations. When this was done, Frank snapped some quick photos of the box using a camera in The Hina’s bow.

Later that day, Frank would notify the Japanese Coast Guard of his discovery. Frank hoped that they would be more curious about the box he had found that day than Alicia Raagas was.
 

~*~
 
Oscar Antonio Tonaguchi had been born in Brazil, but was still tied to Japan by ancestry and culture. Right now he was excited about what the FBI had asked him to do. Gabrielle Tanaka was briefing him about the details of the mission to begin the next Saturday, but the phrase ‘The name is Bond, James Bond,’ suddenly ran through his mind and he almost shivered with glee as his mind kept imagining spy movies with himself in the leading role. He said it aloud, just to hear it.

If Oscar didn’t appreciate the seriousness of Operation Hornblower, Gabrielle Tanaka did. She wasn’t at a Seattle area safe house for fun and games, but to get this banker ready to assist Gabrielle in her efforts to save Tom Slater.

“Oscar, can we please be serious for a change?” Gabrielle asked.

“Of course. This whole thing is just so exciting to me, Gabby.”

That was another reason Oscar was getting on Gabrielle’s nerves. In spite of several requests to call her Gabrielle, the banker insisted on calling the FBI agent Gabby. If Gabrielle only had her Glock handy, the threat of shooting his balls off may have caused Oscar to adjust his attitude accordingly.

“That’s fine, Oscar, and I’m glad you like helping the bureau. Just don’t forget that this mission might be dangerous.” Gabrielle told the banker. Honestly, the risks that accompanied Operation Hornblower were very slight. If they weren’t, the FBI agent wouldn’t be working with this amateur.

“Don’t worry, Gabby, I will take this very seriously once we set foot in Japan.”

Gabrielle flashed Oscar a smile. “The bureau and I appreciate that. Now let me ask you some questions.....”

The fears Gabrielle had about Oscar not taking Operation Hornblower seriously, quickly began to fade, since Oscar could answer almost every question Gabrielle fired at him about their cover story. Oscar sounded as if he’d thoroughly read and memorized the five page briefing he had been given just days earlier.

Operation Hornblower was pretty simple, as was Oscar’s part in it. When working with amateurs, the FBI tried to keep a person as close to their real life as possible. Oscar would just be playing himself once he and Gabrielle went to Japan together. The only change for Oscar was Gabrielle playing the part of his girlfriend. Gabrielle would be traveling with a passport using her very own name.

Using this simple cover story, Gabrielle and Oscar would attend Michiko Yamamoto’s charity gala taking place in Tokyo eight days from now. Every year Michiko Yamamoto, the wife of one of Japan’s leading bankers, held a fundraiser for some of her favorite Japanese charities. The invitation list to the event included all of the most prominent people in Japan’s banking and financial services. Since 2004, Hiromi Sato had been among those invited.

Oscar Toniguchi was on the guest list as well. Oscar, who was thirty-one years of age, was heir to the Brazil-Japan bank of the Americas founded by his grandfather over a half century earlier. The bank was currently run by Oscar’s father, Roberto. Brazil-Japan’s main office was in Brasilia, but the bank also had branches scattered over South, Central, and North America, plus Japan.

One office was in Seattle Washington and Oscar was paying it a visit before leaving for Japan. This proved to be very convenient for Gabrielle, allowing her to pay a long overdue visit to the Slaters, while at the same time conducting bureau business.

As Brazil-Japan was a significant mover and shaker in the Japanese financial community, a member of the Tonaguchi family was invited to Michiko Yamamoto’s event. Oscar had been the family representative every year since he first attended in 2006.

A person invited to the gala was allowed to bring their spouse or another suitable companion. That’s where Gabrielle came in. Oscar Toniguchi was very single and when asked, jumped at the opportunity of being some small assistance to the FBI. Rumor was, Oscar jumped again on first seeing a picture of the FBI agent who would pose as his girlfriend.

For Gabrielle, playing the part of Oscar’s girlfriend would let her make contact with Tom Slater. Operation Hornblower was considered low risk, since there was no way that Hiromi Sato or the Watanabe Yakuza could know beforehand that Gabrielle was coming to the event, or that a FBI agent would be posing as the girlfriend of a banker.

While Oscar answered Gabrielle’s questions, something about the banker was bothering the FBI agent. It wasn’t till the session was nearly done, that Gabrielle zeroed in on a peculiarity about the banker.

“How did I do?”

“Very good, Oscar,” Gabrielle said as she looked down at some notes she had in front of her. Oscar Taniguchi was a pretty good looking man but he had little effect on Gabrielle because her heart had been firmly taken by Captain Tom Slater. “We should make a good team.”

“I think so too, Gabby,” Oscar said, at the same time making a very decided grin with his facial muscles, “Oh, by the way, where did you buy that dress you’re wearing today, JC Penney’s?”

Gabrielle instantly had a duh moment. Why hadn’t she seen this up to now? Gabrielle’s dormant gaydar came to life at once and conclusively told her that Oscar Toniguchi had to be gay. No wonder a man his age, with the looks he had, plus loads of money, was still single. It was well established, at least in Gabrielle’s mind, that only homosexual men pay attention to women’s clothes.

Would this affect Operation Hornblower? Gabrielle thought it shouldn’t, but it still made her a little more nervous about the days ahead. “No, I bought it at Petite Sophisticate.”

“Didn’t that chain file for bankruptcy a while back?”

‘Yes, Oscar is definitely gay. Why else would he care so much about women’s clothes or where they are bought?’ Gabrielle mused to herself. “Yes. I bought this outfit at a going out of business sale.”

“I hope you have better clothes for our upcoming trip together. Remember you’re supposed to be my girlfriend.”

“Don’t worry Oscar, I do.” Gabrielle replied back. Some of the designer clothing Gabrielle used the previous summer when posing as Tiffany Brown, would be put to use again for Operation Hornblower.

“I believe you, Gabby.”

Again Gabrielle Tanaka had to lean on that self control she had inside her. Gabrielle just knew she would need lots of it in the days ahead.
 

~*~
 
Ai Toguchi wished her husband Keiji a pleasant day, then shut the door to the Negishi Bay apartment tower suite they shared. Should Keiji get hit by a car, struck by lightning, or gunned down by a rival Yakuza that day, Ai would only shed tears of the alligator variety.

Ai didn’t love her husband. She hated the man to his very core. Hate is a strong word, but that was how Ai felt towards her husband. She had endured one too many beatings and sexual violations till finally Ai snapped and couldn’t take no more.

Then why did Ai marry Keiji? For stability and wealth, because she didn't want to be a servant anymore, because she thought the Oyabun had genuinely changed as a person, to get back at Keiji one day, or all of the above? Looking back, Ai knew she had been dumb to ever become the man’s wife. Now she had no other choice but to submit, or fight back.

Ai had chosen to fight back. The first step had been taken by Ai when she made contact with her police controllers. Today Ai would see if they had replied back.

Before that could happen, Ai had to get herself ready and fed for the day. She was about half way through breakfast, when Ana Ramirez came into Keiji Watanabe’s apartment.

“Good morning, Ma’am,” said the twenty-five year old head bodyguard for Ai Toguchi. Ana had grown up in Los Angeles California and once been a cadet at the US military academy. That was until Ana was expelled for cheating. “Whenever you are ready to go back.”

“Shortly, Ana,” Ai replied back. Her bodyguard always reminded Keiji Watanabe’s wife of some street hoodlum.

Before leaving the apartment, Ai made sure her pet daschund named Cherry had enough water and food. Once that was accomplished and after saying goodbye to her beloved pet, Ai left the apartment.

Ai had to see to her personal health before doing anything else that day. She had an ingrown toenail on a left foot that was always in need of care. Today Ai had an appointment with Dr. Shinichi Katayama, a podiatrist.

The appointment was at 10:30 that morning. Ai and Ana arrived at the podiatrist office about five minutes early. Dr. Katayama was still seeing a patient, so Ai was told to take a seat in the waiting room.

Ai really needed to see Dr. Katayama that day, despite her seeing the podiatrist only four weeks previously. The ingrown toenail had grown excruciatingly painful once again. After signing in, Ai went over to where Ana Ramirez was seated.

“If you will excuse me,” Ai said motioning with her head towards a patient bathroom.

Ana nodded her head. “No problem Ma’am. I’ll be waiting here when you’re finished.”

Once inside the bathroom, Ai immediately locked the door. She wasn’t there to relieve herself via the squat toilet, but to check for a message from the Yokohama police. On the wall next to the light switch was a towel dispenser. This was the object used for a drop by the Yokohama police.

It took only a few seconds for Ai to pry the towel dispenser open. Taped to the inside of its front cover was a small envelope. Ai took the envelope and ripped it open. The message for Agent Concierge was on tissue like paper. After reading the Operation Swan Song message multiple times and consigning it to memory, Ai disposed of the tissue paper in the bathroom toilet.

Dr. Katayama saw his patient some ten minutes after Ai left the rest room. The appointment didn’t last long, for the podiatrist was only tending to the one toe. After Dr Katayama was finished, Ai was left alone in the examing room to get dressed again.

Once the door was shut, Ai frantically took a pen and notepad out of her purse. Ai began to feel nervous for the first time that day. If Keiji Watanabe ever discovered what she was doing, Ai was a dead woman.

The return message for the Swan Song committee was brief. Ai then took something else out of her purse, by all appearances a used sanitary napkin. Ai put the note she wrote tightly inside the napkin and then back in her purse. She then put her shoes back on and exited the examination room.

The second bathroom Ai visited at Dr. Katayama’s office was meant to be used only by the physician and his nurse/receptionist. No one paid any particular attention as Ai entered this room.

Once inside and with the door closed behind her, Ai took the sanitary napkin out of her purse again, wrapped it in toilet paper, and disposed of it in a basket next to the toilet. Ai then exited the room.

The moment Ai stepped out into the Dr. Katayama’s waiting room, her bodyguard sprung to her feet. “Feeling better, Ma’am?”

“Yes, much better,” Ai answered back. She was pleased with what she had done that day. She hoped it would result in the eventual destruction, if not death, of her not so beloved husband.
 

~*~
 
Within minutes of the last Swan Song meeting breaking up, Major Ed Hollins appointed US Army 1st Lieutenant DW Connors to be the committee’s liaison person between the committee and Japanese officials as permission was sought for Operation Firecracker. Connors, who was stationed at Camp Zama, had completed Swan Song tasks in the past.

It was Connors, along with Inspector Yoshida, who submitted Operation Firecracker plans to Japanese law enforcement and Ministry of Interior officials for review. There were two alternative plans for Firecracker, both designed by Major Hollins for the snatching of Agent Ripley. The Swan Song committee was hoping for a quick response.

Major Hollins got a preliminary answer three days after Firecracker was submitted. The reply the Major got back from the Ministry of Interior was hardly pleasing.

“Sir, Operation Firecracker hasn’t been approved yet,” Major Hollins informed Grant Williamson by secure telephone link.

“Major, we couldn’t expect the Japanese to say yes overnight.”

“Sir, I understand, but we aren’t even being allowed to start training,” Major Hollins whined to the Deputy FBI Director. “The message I received told me to hold off on that till further notice.”

Grant Williamson listened to some more of Major Hollins’ complaints. The Japanese had deemed Operation Firecracker’s training phase to be potentially risky to civilians. While Grant thought training could be done safely, he did understand where the Interior Ministry was coming from. “Major we have no other choice but to be patient.”

“Sir, can I make a request?”

“Certainly.”

“I’d like to move Firecracker’s training phase to the mainland US.”

Grant wasn’t surprised by Major Hollins request, having himself thought of it already, so his reply was quick in coming. “Unfortunately, Major, Swan Song doesn’t have sufficient funds budgeted to honor your request.”

Major Hollins could barely prevent himself from cursing. Maybe it was time to terminate Operation Swan Song, and let Agent Ripley meet with whatever her fate may be.

“There is one other possibility, sir,” Major Hollins mentioned. Grant asked the Army Officer to further elaborate. “The owners are willing to allow us to use their property. That’s if the Committee will make certain guarantees. Can I look into this further?”

“Yes, Major. Get back to me as soon as possible.”
 

~*~
 
Only an unexpected accident allowed Frank Snyder to be present when Reina Shimizu’s body was brought to the surface. Two days earlier Frank’s partner Alicia Raagas had gotten an urgent phone call from Hawaii. Her significant other, Sarah Oyama, had been struck by a hit and run driver as she crossed a Honolulu street. Hearing this news, Alicia booked herself on the first flight back to Hawaii.

That left Frank without his marine geologic partner, and therefore temporarily unable to do the work he had come to Japan for. Two people were required to operate ‘The Hina’ and do the underwater experiments asked of it.

A graduate student from the University of Hawaii would soon be leaving for Japan in order to help Frank out. In the meantime Frank hitched a ride out on the salvage ship sent to recover the mysterious box off the ocean floor near Izu Oshima island.

Frank had notified Japanese authorities the same day he discovered the box. The Japanese Coast Guard was informed about mysterious sea garbage all the time by divers. The discoverers were usually thanked for the information they provided, but then no further action was taken.

In the case of Frank Snyder, the Coast Guard decided to take action. While just a Marine geologist, the scientist showed himself to be professional and well informed. Japanese authorities decided to further investigate, but a weekend passed before the first steps were taken.

The Sensei Maru, owned by Tokyo Marine and Salvage, sailed from Yokohama harbor the morning of May 20th. On board were over thirty highly trained personnel who had experience with recovering material from the ocean floor. Also on board were Frank Snyder and a Lt. Akira Watanabe(No relation to the Yakuza of the same name) representing the Japanese Coast Guard.

Once they were at the coordinates given to them by Frank Snyder, a two-man submersible was launched. Within the hour a message came back, the box wasn’t where Frank had said it was.

“It must have moved,” Frank told Lt. Watanabe and the Senshei Maru’s Captain. “I’m not making this thing up.”

“We will continue the search,” The ship’s Captain said in reply. “The currents are strong in this area. We had to expect the box to be in a different location.”

The renewed search didn’t take long. Reina Shimizu’s makeshift coffin was found less than 50 feet from its previous location. In waters some 260 feet deep. A few quick tests told the submersible’s operators that they would need the assistance of divers. As nightfall was fast approaching, the recovery was put off till the following day.

Recovery work began as soon as the next day’s sun showed itself on the horizon. The submersible and four deep sea divers going into the ocean. They were soon at the box, and began the work of bringing it to the surface.

Reina Shimizu’s coffin saw the light of day around 11:30 in the morning. As it was pulled from the ocean, water immediately began seeping out of the box. Lt. Watanabe and Frank Snyder watching as a winch prepared to put the box on the Senshei Maru’s aft deck.

Lt. Watanabe handed Frank a facial mask. There was something else seeping out from Reina Shimizu’s coffin. “We will need these.”

Once it was placed on the deck, the box was given little more than a cursory examination. No attempt was made at either breaking the chains that bound it, or opening the box in any means. As soon as the Senshei recovered both the submersible and their divers, the salvage ship set course for the Port of Yokohama.

While the Senshei Maru was on its way back to port, Frank got a call on his cell phone. It was from Alicia Raagas. She calling Frank to thank him for the flowers he sent Sarah, and to give the marine geologist an update on her significant other’s condition. Sarah Oyama had just a couple of broken bones and would be discharged soon from the hospital. Frank was glad to hear that.

Waiting for the Senshei Maru as it docked at Yokohama’s Pier 6J, were a flatbed truck plus a car driven by a Coast Guard Petty Officer. As soon as the Senshei Maru was docked, a winch moved the makeshift coffin containing Reina Shimizu from the salvage ship to the flatbed truck. Once this was done, and with Frank and Lt. Watanabe in the following car, the box was driven to a nearby warehouse.

At the warehouse, two members of the Yokohama police, a representative from the Kanagawa coroner’s office, and three coast guard personnel were waiting. The box was offloaded from the truck to the warehouse floor. That’s where the tedious process of opening Reina Shimizu’s coffin was done.

The process of breaking the rusted chains and locks proved to be the most time consuming part of the process. When these were removed, the chest began to crumble after receiving the slightest touch from one of the warehouse workers assigned to opening it.

Finally the box was open to the point where its contents could be seen by all. Of those present, only the coroner, Lt. Watanabe and Frank Snyder didn’t avert their eyes away from the rotting corpse of Reina Shimizu.

“I was right,” Frank Snyder said to Lt. Watanabe as the coroner quietly examined the human remains found that day. “Someone went to a great deal of trouble to dispose of that poor sucker. Care to make any wild guesses who?”

“No,” Was Lt. Watanabe’s one word reply. The Coast Guard Officer wasn’t in the habit of making wild guesses. An hour later Reina Shimizu’s remains were on the way to the coroner’s office for Kanagawa prefecture.
 

~*~
 
“Gabrielle, why don’t you go powder your nose?” Oscar said to Gabrielle the night of the Yamamoto charity event. So far Oscar Tonaguchi was playing his Operation Hornblower part to perfection. Gabrielle was grateful for that, since she needed no additional stress. She’d had plenty of that already.

“I’ll do that.” Gabrielle replied, as she left Oscar’s side. The exchange between her and Oscar was the signal for Gabrielle to commence Operation Hornblower. It’s stated purpose was to make contact with Agent Ripley in order to find out why she had ceased making communication with the Swan Song committee, but Gabrielle’s main purpose that night was to save her friend, Tom Slater.

Gabrielle was as ready as she would ever be. If Tom recognized her, Gabrielle was ready to drag her friend from the building, throw her in the first available cab, and head for the Swan Song safe house. While Grant Williamson hadn’t told her to do that specifically, Gabrielle would take it upon herself to end Agent Ripley’s mission. There would be no more missed opportunities to save Tom Slater like had occurred in Hong Kong the previous January.

Beginning with her flight from Seattle to Tokyo the previous Saturday, everything with Operation Hornblower had gone exceptionally well. Oscar was playing his part very well, and had even stopped calling his ‘girlfriend’ Gabby.

“Gabrielle it is. A pretty name for a pretty woman,” Oscar said about an hour after takeoff from Seattle-Tacoma airport. A private jet, owned by Brazil-Japan bank was carrying Gabrielle and Oscar across the Pacific. This fitted Hornblower’s cover story perfectly.

On arrival in Tokyo, Gabrielle and Oscar checked into the Mandarin Oriental. They sharing a three-room suite, but not the same bed. On Monday, Gabrielle began seeing the sights of Tokyo by day, while Oscar saw to bank business. At night time, Oscar and Gabrielle would go out together. A concert on Monday night, then a kabuki play on Tuesday.

On Monday morning, Gabrielle and Oscar left their hotel room and took the elevator to the lobby around eight in the morning. Before Gabrielle could step out of the elevator, Oscar took her hand.

“Remember, you’re my girlfriend.” Oscar said as they began walking through the lobby. Before they left the hotel, Oscar gave Gabrielle a short but pleasant kiss. Again for appearances sake.

The only bit of peculiarity from Oscar came on Thursday as Gabrielle was preparing for that night’s party. Oscar was again paying too much attention to the clothes Gabrielle was wearing.

“That jade dress looks just stunning on you,” Oscar said with a big grin on his face. Gabrielle’s dress was jade colored, short sleeved, and had a Chinese collar. On her feet were black high heeled sandals, and each of Gabrielle’s ears bore pearl stud earrings. “Truthfully, I couldn’t have picked out a better dress for you to wear.”

This clinched it for Gabrielle. One hundred percent certain, without the most minuscule bit of doubt, Oscar Tonaguchi was gay. Nevertheless, Oscar was playing the part asked of him so well that it made Gabrielle forget the banker’s peculiarities.

Gabrielle’s stress level began to increase the moment she left Oscar’s side in order to look for Hiromi Sato. The largest cause of stress was Gabrielle’s inability to predict what would happen when she found her friend. Would she be meeting and talking with Tom Slater or Hiromi Sato?

Finding Agent Ripley became easy after Gabrielle settled on a simple strategy. Finding a 5’4 Japanese woman in her late twenties among scores of similar looking women wouldn’t be easy. On the other hand, finding the same person’s 6’4 Caucasian boyfriend would be an easy task. Since the majority of the men there, were both Asian and much shorter than Charles McBride.

It took less than five minutes of searching, before Gabrielle found Chuck. He was standing by himself, not too far from where a forty piece orchestra entertained that evening’s guests.

As she walked up to Chuck, Gabrielle began to understand how Tom Slater could fall for the Australian. The Australian was a work of art so far as men went, and irresistible to any woman with a ounce of heterosexuality in her. Gabrielle felt that way and she was certain Tom Slater in the body of Hiromi Sato had also fallen under the spell of Charles McBride. From what Tom had told her in Hong Kong, Chuck was a complete gentleman also.

Chuck was sipping on a martini when Gabrielle Tanaka introduced herself. Women coming up to say hello were regular events in Chuck’s life.

“My name is Charles McBride. Nice to meet you, Gabrielle.”

“Nice to meet you too, Charles. Very nice party tonight.”

“Yes, it is,” Chuck said. “You’re American, aren’t you?”

Gabrielle smiled. “Yes, I am. Charles, earlier tonight I saw you with someone...”

“You must be talking about my Hiromi.”

Gabrielle noted the use of the word my. Was Chuck very possessive or did the Australian use that word because Hiromi was engaged to him? “Yes, Hiromi Sato. I think Hiromi and I have some mutual friends back in the United States.”

“Oh? Yes, Hiromi does get around a bit.”

“Me too, Charles.”

“Call me Chuck.”

“Ok, Chuck. You don’t know where Hiromi is right now, do you?”

“No, but the last time I saw her she was walking off in that direction.”

Gabrielle immediately noted where Chuck was pointing, to a staircase with one flight going up and one down.

“Hiromi went upstairs.”

“Thanks, Chuck. I really appreciate it. ”

“You’re welcome, Gabrielle.”

Gabrielle then left Chuck and went upstairs. The second floor of the ballroom wasn’t nearly as crowded as the ground floor. Still it took Gabrielle almost five minutes to find Hiromi Sato.

Needing some fresh air to breathe rather than the smoke-filled fog that seemed to fill the ballrooms, Hiromi Sato had walked out onto a second floor balcony. It was a beautiful, cool, Japanese evening.

As Gabrielle approached the body her friend Tom Slater now possessed, she couldn’t help but note the outfit Hiromi had on that night. A purple short sleeved low cut dress with train, that almost certainly was a Valentino. In addition diamond chandelier earrings adorned each of Hiromi Sato’s ears. Was this woman still Tom Slater, or had the male Army Captain crossed the abyss and become a woman not just in body but soul and mind?

Even knowing that the woman she saw was born male couldn’t shake the strong belief Gabrielle felt right then, that no man, even one trapped in a woman’s body, would dress in the fashion Hiromi Sato did. Had Tom Slater become irreversibly female?

Gabrielle once again told herself that it didn’t matter. “Nice evening isn’t it?”

Hiromi had seen Gabrielle approaching, but thought nothing of it. Just another guest that evening looking for fresh air, was her considered opinion of the unknown woman. “Yes it is.”

“My name is Gabrielle Tanaka, yours?”

Tom Slater’s persona slowly began to stir to life. ‘Gabrielle, you’re here.’

Hiromi Sato remained in control, for now. She already had Gabrielle Tanaka pegged as an American. Only women from that country would walk up in the fashion she had to a total stranger. “Hiromi Sato.”

“Nice to meet you, Hiromi.”

‘Save me, Gabrielle, save me.’ Tom was beginning to struggle with the Hiromi Sato persona. Who would come out on top?

Hiromi didn’t say a word in reply to Gabrielle’s greeting. Instead she stared off in the direction of downtown Tokyo. If was she the Oyabun of the Watanabe Yakuza one day, could this part of Japan be hers also?

“Have you ever been to the United States?”

“No, never,” Hiromi replied as she remained on top of Tom Slater.

“You remind me of some friends I have there.”

“I told you, I’ve never been to that country.” Gabrielle’s badgering bothered Hiromi. Would it be enough to get Tom Slater to emerge once again?

Gabrielle was already growing frustrated. She now knew that the Hiromi Sato persona had taken over the body she shared with Tom Slater. Whatever had caused this was unknown to Gabrielle. Could she still save Tom Slater?

One thing was for certain. Gabrielle wouldn’t give up without a fight. For the next minute or two she tried reminding Tom Slater in as many ways possible of who she really was.

“There’s this family in Washington State” Gabrielle began saying. Tom Slater tried coming to life, but each reminder thrown at the body he resided in, was swatted away by the stronger personality of Hiromi Sato.

“They’re Midori and Stuart Slater. Maybe you met them?”

“Never heard of them in my life.”

Gabrielle kept trying. “Midori is Japanese like you. Born in Hokkaido prefecture.”

Hiromi said nothing, refusing to look in the direction of Gabrielle Tanaka at all.

‘What can I do to bring you back to life, Tom? Please tell me.’ Gabrielle thought at the same time continuing her effort to kick start Tom Slater back to life.

Gabrielle talked more about the Slaters. Including Debra, Susan, and even Stuart Slater Jr. “They’re a nice family. Especially their brother Tom, did I say I know him?”

Tom Slater was continuing his struggle with Hiromi Sato. He was almost there, ready to come out again. If Gabrielle would just say the right words.

Gabrielle didn’t know what to say next. Hiromi Sato then spoke up. “I don’t know this person. Now excuse me.”

Hiromi Sato walked away from Gabrielle Tanaka. Tom Slater again lost the battle against the strong-willed woman he shared a body with.

Gabrielle was emotionally spent by this time. She just stood there speechless as Hiromi Sato walked into the ballroom, soon lost in the throngs of people.

“Oh Tom.”
 

~*~
 
To be continued in Part Ten