Sign of the Dragon (Tatsu Yamada Book 1) Niall Teasdale (novel24 .txt) 📖

she sees in a bad light. If anything, the public is going to think every refugee in Chiba is out for their blood by the time Yamauchi is finished.’

Lacking in experience of Chiba or not, you could tell that Yamashita more or less agreed with that assessment. ‘I have my orders, and now you have your orders. You’re to meet Yamauchi and her team at eleven this morning at Funabashi Station.’

Tatsu saluted as sarcastically as she could manage. ‘Yes, sir.’

‘And, Sergeant…’

‘Yes, sir?’

‘Make sure they remain in one piece.’

‘That, sir, is something I can only do with their cooperation, and I doubt I’m going to get it.’

Chiba.

Haruka Yamauchi was a tall, slim woman with blue hair. Her hair was her major distinguishing feature in a world where attractive was a given: a short cap or pixyish bob in a colour which was maybe something like teal, maybe a little too blue for that. It seemed like she had had it permanently recoloured because it was always the same shade and never showed her original colour at the roots. She could have done with having larger eyes, and she did not have the best profile; her face was rather flat aside from a sharp triangle of a nose which looked great from the front. Her lips were quite full and formed a sharp bow, her cheekbones were high, and she had a full, rounded chest. She was very attractive with enough flaws to make her just a little more human than some of the manufactured presenters the multicast channels tended to use.

She was standing beside an armoured van outside the Funabashi Transport Hub. Her outfit was perfect for the summer heat: a bluish-purple summer dress with a deep V neckline and a short, flouncy skirt, blue hose, and high-heeled slingback pumps.

Sitting in the rear door of the van beside Yamauchi was a man who looked like an underweight sumo wrestler: massive muscles, no belly. His nose had been broken, probably more than once, and his head was shaved to a fine stubble. His outfit was a better fit for Chiba: dark jeans, running shoes, a band T-shirt, and a leather jacket which, Tatsu suspected, had some in-built ballistic protection. The way his jacket hung suggested that it was concealing a weapon, probably just on the right side of legal. He looked like trouble, possibly like he was there as Yamauchi’s bodyguard.

Tatsu was coming out of the station to get to them, which meant she could also see the woman sitting in the van’s driver seat. That one was small, flat-chested, big-eyed, and unassuming. Pretty, certainly, but preferring to avoid attention. Her short hair was mid-brown, as were her eyes which, thanks to being a little larger than average, gave her a doe-in-the-headlights look. She did not seem the type to be driving a van for a reporter’s crew.

Yamauchi smiled as soon as she spotted Tatsu. Put the cop at her ease. Make pleasant knowing that this was not what Sergeant Yamada wanted to be doing with her time. ‘Sergeant Yamada, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I know you’re a busy woman, and I thank you for taking the time to make this special report possible.’ The speech was accompanied by a bow which was several degrees deeper than Tatsu felt she deserved.

‘Miss Yamauchi,’ Tatsu said, bowing a lot less deeply. ‘I have my orders.’

Yamauchi gave a small wince. ‘This is my cameraman, Gorō “Shisen” Suzuki. Best eyes in the business and also not too bad with his fists. He doubles as my bodyguard.’

Tatsu nodded to Suzuki. ‘What are you packing?’

Suzuki raised an eyebrow, but he pulled his jacket aside to reveal a revolver in a shoulder rig. Then he lifted the pistol out and handed it to Tatsu, butt first. ‘I suppose you’ll want to check the calibre.’

Taking the weapon, Tatsu nodded. ‘I’m not expecting it to be out of range, but that’s a big gun, Mister Suzuki.’

‘Eight-round cylinder,’ he explained. ‘Three-fifty-seven Magnum load. Packs a punch.’

It was also chrome-plated and flashy, but it was legal. ‘Takeda are a good manufacturer. Try not to use it. The paperwork will be mountainous. Are all of you carrying?’

‘I carry a Takeda too,’ Yamauchi said. ‘A P-twelve-forty with flechette rounds loaded.’

‘Okay…’

‘It’s for self-defence, obviously.’

‘Obviously. And your driver?’

‘Huh? Oh, Hanae’s not my driver. I mean, she drives the van, but she’s really my assistant. Hanae Watanabe. And she doesn’t carry a weapon.’

‘No matter how much we tell her to,’ Suzuki added.

‘I don’t like guns,’ Watanabe called out.

‘Good attitude,’ Tatsu called back. ‘So, exactly what are you trying to report on, Miss Yamauchi?’

‘My information suggests there’s a war brewing in Chiba,’ Yamauchi said. ‘The deaths of Anastas Zima and Evgeni Nikolaev of the Funabashi gang have caused a chain reaction which is spreading rapidly through the criminals in western Chiba, maybe the whole zone.’

‘I’m aware,’ Tatsu replied.

‘Normally, no one would care.’

‘Of this, I am also aware.’

Yamauchi flashed a tight grin. ‘Yeah, I guess you would be. The murder of Ariella Ray has pushed the murders into the public spotlight. Immigrant or not, she was well liked. She had influence. She had a strong fuser following. She was also out-of-pattern, not the killer’s usual kind of target. People are asking whether they could be the next in line, and that’s my in. We cover the murders and the gang violence. We cover the living conditions in Chiba and how that’s resulted in this kind of occurrence. And we see where that takes us.’

‘And where do you think that’ll take us?’

‘Down some dark alleys. I want to see the real underside of Chiba. I want to show people what life is really like here. And, obviously, I’d like to see some gang action. It’ll make for a good stream.’

Tatsu stared at her