Chapter 26

New Dependants

The next day I take AREA 51 back to Baltimore to call on my new dependants. I intend this to be a get to know you and get organised visit so I take along Tora, Emi, Koemi, and Makha to assist me. When we near the area I ring Tsukasa to ask him to meet us there to introduce us, and he agrees to. I ask about his family and I learn he has a teenage daughter.

When we arrive I take a copy of each current new release Lyn Evans book from the box of each I now carry in the back of the car. I hand them to Koemi to carry for me. We wait in the car until Tsukasa’s car arrives then we all get out. I approach him while saying, “Thank you for coming to introduce us. In appreciation for your time I’ve a small gift for you I hope your daughter will enjoy,” and I wave Koemi forward. She approaches with the books held out.

He smiles on seeing them. “My daughter likes this author and will appreciate them, even if they are duplicates. Thank you.”

I smile, “Those are copies of books not yet released for sale. They will be available later this month. The bigger one is an omnibus and she may have copies of the titles from their original release.” He smiles wider on knowing he’s getting advance copies. We shake hands then we go to the house.

I ring the doorbell. A mid-twenties Japanese woman opens the door. She shows us in. When Tsukasa asks for Nari she asks us to wait while she goes and gets another woman in her mid-thirties. She arrives and Tsukasa explains, in English, I’m Al Adams, their new master.

The younger woman tells this to Nari in Japanese and adds, “I cannot believe such a youth killed Saburo in a fight. I will kill this one to take full control of this house before the day is out.”

Nari replies to her in Japanese, “Sai, do not mistake age for power or skill. Look to the eyes. This one has the eyes of a killer. If he is half the snake Saburo was I will be very content to be his slave; so will my daughters.”

Tsukasa glances at me then he’s about to speak when I say, in Japanese, “Sai, Nari speaks with much wisdom, you would do well to listen to her. Tsukasa, how do you think you would go if war started between our two houses?”

He gulps, an action seen by the ladies, and he answers in Japanese, “I would not like that. I spoke with my clan leader since our meeting yesterday. He’s most anxious I don’t start any trouble between our clans. Neither he nor I wish to be like the Bento family as we wish our clan to continue. I am ordered to find ways to bring our clans closer together because he feels we can help each other in many ways.”

I smile, continuing in Japanese for the ladies, “I am sure he hopes a closer alliance with me will help smooth out the old troubles between your clan and that of Shoji Kybo-san with whom I already have an alliance. One that’s soon to be stronger because his daughter, Haruko, now carries my child. She will have another as my concubine and we will raise one each, making a strong blood tie between our families.”

All three listeners are surprised, and he says, “Interesting news for me to pass on to my clan leader.”

I watch Sai while we talk, “Please do, and tell him I am interested in meeting him when I travel to Japan next week. Maybe your clan leader will wish a similar tie with one of his daughters. Setsuko sounds like an interesting young lady and he may wish me to tame your wild sister.” He gives me a long look because that’s very restricted information which I should not have been able to find out so fast, if at all.

“That information is not well known, Mister Adams. You have a very good intelligence service to find that out so fast. My I ask how?”

“No, you may not. Just accept I have access to resources no Yakuza clan can reach, as well as sources inside a few clans. Like any good daimyo or samurai I work hard at developing sources of information and making sure they stay useful to me. I also have many ways to see people are punished as well. What happened to the Bento family is clear evidence of some of my power and reach.” He nods his understanding.

I stare straight at Sai, “So, Sai, do you still think you can kill me and take control?” A very subdued young woman shakes her head. “Good, what exactly is your position in this household and what did you do?”

She glances at Nari, “My instructions from Saburo were to help care for the children, take them to school and around town. I study some classes at college part-time. I was to be the interpreter for Nari while I see she does not do well at learning English, although she thinks my duty is the opposite. I was also his mistress.” She speaks in Japanese, so Nari understands her answer. We all do, except for my two male guards against the wall behind me.

I look at Nari and I can see she’s not happy, but not surprised. I wave at her, and she says, “I long suspected the last two items, but I worked hard not to know. I am glad that is all over with.”

“Sai, your contract with Saburo is now ended. In my eyes you are an adult woman who wasn’t a dependant of his, but an employee. You may either ask me to take you as a slave, or you may choose to leave this household completely, or you may ask me to employ you. You need to think on these things and to make a choice.”

“Thank you, Sir. I will think on these. My family are in Japan and did not want me taking this work with Saburo. My studies are in child care and I would like to finish them. But I have no way to support myself if I leave this house. I must weigh things carefully.”

Tsukasa asks, “If I find you work in another house where you can do your studies part-time while caring for children will you behave in the proper manner?” She nods. He turns to me, “My wife’s brother and his wife are in need of a part-time child carer. They wish a Japanese woman for the work and are having trouble filling the position. If you agree I will make the introductions to see if they can help each other.”

I nod approval while saying, “That sounds like a very good idea. It has my approval.” He smiles and steps aside to take out his cell phone to make the call. A few minutes later he’s leading Sai out the door to visit the family to see if they like each other enough to give it a try.

The House and Things

I nod at Nari and she takes us all on a tour of the house, except for Guido who I leave on guard at the front door. It’s a large house and it takes about fifteen minutes to see it all. We finish in Saburo’s office. While I go through the desk and papers, with Tora’s help to do the reading, Koemi takes Bert back to guard the door and give Guido the guided tour. He takes up guard at the back door when he’s finished his tour.

The house has five bedrooms, a large office, huge lounge room, big kitchen, a large dining room with entertainment area attached, and a big enclosed Japanese garden behind it. Two bathrooms, en-suite, communal bathroom, triple garage, and a large workshop complete the picture. A very beautiful place done in traditional Japanese style.

In the office we find two safes, but no codes. I ring John to ask for assistance in opening them and he promises to send some people over to open the safes and computer. We find very little of interest in the papers we can reach. No one has been near the office since Saburo left on Saturday. Tsukasa had told me Saburo kept no work papers at home so he sees no need to check it out. He’s checked the work office and located all of the documents he should have.

A large crew of John’s turns up and is soon at work. Several men check for bugs while two work on the computer, two more work on the safes, and two teams of three give every wall and item of furniture a check over with portable penetrating radar units. Nari is surprised with the number of extra hidey holes built into the building. They take time and care to find the way they open, documenting each one when they do. In the end they’ve twenty-two weapons - machine guns to knives and all in between, just over two hundred thousand dollars in cash, two ancient documents, an old ceramic bowl, and two more safes. Nothing in the safes is about the clan operations, but there’s a lot about shares and businesses he owns outside of the clan; which isn’t allowed at his level. Everything is there to do a change of ownership so I put the papers in cartons and I have them taken to the car. All of the weapons go with John’s people after I give them each a five thousand dollar bonus for working on a Sunday for me. I make sure their boss is listening in when I clear the bonus with John. He does insist they don’t mention the money in their tax returns because it could cause issues if they do.

One item is a recent valuation of the house and the furniture. With the bulk of the furniture it’s worth two and a half million dollars as is. The list of furniture includes everything except a cabinet of keepsake items, the fancy desk in the office, and two paintings. The evaluation was done ten days ago. I put the valuation aside to take with me to follow it up. Nari explains the desk is an ancient one that’s over six hundred year old, the cabinet of keepsakes are hers, and the two paintings are very old ones as well.

All of the ancient items causes me to think. I call John and ask him to organise for an expert on ancient Japanese items to come visit a.s.a.p. I also call the Japanese Embassy and ask for their cultural attaché as I know his brief is to find and return items of interest and he has staff with a great knowledge of ancient Japanese cultural items. Both groups arrive about thirty minutes later and are very happy to be examining the items.

I’m surprised to learn what I thought were two paintings are really silk scrolls secured in frames. They would have originally been hanging on the walls, but are now sealed in fancy frames to protect them. One is said to date from the late seventh century during the Asuka period. It depicts the events of the palace coup in 645 AD and indicates it as a recent event, also the style and materials support the assessment. I’m stunned such an ancient artefact can be in private hands. The other is a more recent item and it appears to be from the mid-sixteenth century, it’s a depiction of the Battle of Okehazama in 1560 AD. Until a scientific analysis can be done on the materials they can’t be certain, but all are very sure these are genuine artefacts.

One of the documents dates from the fourteenth century and is an assignment of lands to an ancestor of Saburo by Ashikaga Takuji after an uprising in 1333. The other is from the Heian period, a ninth century list of families belonging to, or loyal to, the Fujiwara clan who could be expected to help if called upon in a time of trouble. Both are interesting insights into the politics of their time. However, the bowl is believed to be a sixteenth century tea bowl of Shigaraki ware. Making it an old and rare item, but not seen as of great cultural value by itself and thus not of any real interest to the experts.

The desk isn’t what we’d call a desk now, but a medium sized chest of drawers with a top that folds out to a table while the sides slide out to support the top. The front has a lot of drawers, many with trick locks. It was in a hidden compartment within this, one of three, that we found the oldest document locked away. It would appear to have been hiding there for a long time. The chest is estimated at being from the eleventh or twelfth century; although one expert suggests it’s older due to the way the document had been concealed as if it was still an important piece of information to have handy, but keep hidden. The Embassy is interested in the documents and the silk paintings, but that’s all.

I tell them I’ll take them all back to Japan with me to donate the silk paintings and documents to the people by giving them to the Emperor on their behalf when I can organise a meeting. The others I’ll give to people in Japan since I feel they belong there not here. I ask the experts to see about having the items preserved and prepared for transport to Japan by plane on Tuesday. I’m told it can’t be done, but they can be readied for transport with the proper preservation being left until they’re in Japan. They take numerous measurements of everything and leave to make the transport containers for me.

Gardens

With the business side of affairs sorted out I ask Nari to call to have her daughters return home from where they’re hiding. She half grins when she does so with her cell phone. While we wait I leave everyone else in the house when Nari and I take a walk through the garden. It winds through an extensive area with several small ponds and many places to sit down to contemplate life in quiet peace.

After a few minutes I say, “I’m sorry you’ll have to give up your garden. But I’ll set aside as much land as you want to make a new one. I’m building a new house on a very large section of land, so you can have as big a garden as you want. I’ll even have it covered in so it won’t be too affected by the weather. When I sell this house I’ll include a clause to allow you to visit for cuttings etcetera, but I prefer for you to organise to take with you as many as you can. You won’t need to pack any furniture beyond your cabinet and what you want out of the kitchen, so packing should be swift.” She glances at me while I speak.

Nari asks, “Why do you say this is my garden?”

“It’s lovely, peaceful, and quiet; despite being in the city. Saburo was not the type to use such a garden as lovely as this, let alone plan or put in the love such a garden needs. This is your place, your soul. And I’m truly sorry you have to leave it behind you. But I’ll make sure who buys it appreciates it. How big an area must I organise to be set aside for your new garden?”

She grins, “This area is about fifty metres by thirty metres. Will you really set aside and cover an area one hundred by one hundred metres for me to build a real garden?”

“The land there has a gentle slope, so I’ll make it bigger.” Pulling out my cell phone I call Mr Small because he has weekend duty. “John, Al. The new residence. I’ve got a last minute addition. Put together some ideas on where to set up an enclosed dome near the main house, it’s to have a diameter of one hundred and fifty metres. It doesn’t have to be flat, but it will need utilities to it and from it, a sound base for the dome, a safe covered walk way to the house attaching anywhere, five layered glazing for both, and good ventilation with heating ability. It’s for a nice Japanese Garden to be built in it. So it’ll need one decent doorway for equipment during the garden’s construction, which will be after the dome is up. Only a couple of exterior doors will be needed. Work out a few good places to locate it and do some rough models. I’ll look at it when you’ve got it ready. Thanks.” He’s a bit stunned, but recovers well.

“Al, I’ve got a few places in mind. Once you select the best one I think the thing to do will be to dig it all up, put down the foundations, a very good drainage system, and then wait until the designer says what they want where in the way of ponds and slopes before putting the dirt back in the area. That’s the easiest and quickest way to get it done.” I give him the OK and hang up.

To Nari I say, “The area will be one hundred and fifty metres in diameter with the outer walls sloping up at sixty degrees. Inside will be sculptured to how you want. So you can start planning. Once you have your plan for where you want the slopes and ponds the landscapers will put the plumbing and the earth in.”

She smiles, “Thank you. Now I know we’ll be happy with you.”

We’re almost back at the house from our stroll. After we make the last curve back toward the rear door I can see three girls standing inside the back door with worried looks on their faces. On seeing their mother is smiling they smile as well. A minute or so later we join them.

Nari is about to introduce them when Koemi walks in to tell me Sai and Mr Tsukasa are back. I apologise to Nari and I leave her to talk with her daughters while I see to the visitors.

They’re both smiling and I soon learn Sai has been given the job at a few hundred dollars a week plus full board. They want her to move in today. I congratulate her and I instruct Koemi to see she’s given a hand to pack all of her things to get ready to shift. She’s to call for a taxi with suitable storage space. I thank Mr Tsukasa, and he thanks me for the help with this need of his extended family. We chat on other matters for a few minutes while we get to know each other better.

Sai is soon back with a few boxes, five bags, and a request to help carry her entertainment and computer gear out. My two guards and Mr Tsukasa’s guards go with her to carry the items to a place beside the door. Their timing is good because the taxi driver arrives at the front door when they arrive in the entry with the gear. Koemi had called for the taxi before they packed. While the men carry everything out to the mini-bus Sai says goodbye to the girls and Nari. When she’s about to leave I hand her ten thousand dollars as final payment against her contract with Saburo. Heck, it’s his money, so why not pay her. She’s very happy when she leaves. Mr Tsukasa says his goodbyes and he leaves too.

The Girls

When the door closes behind our departing guests I turn to Nari and her daughters. Smiling, I signal for them to follow me and for my girls to join us. I lead them to the communal bathroom and I have them form a line. Nari goes down the line while she introduces me to each of the girls: eleven year old Rui, nine year old Takara, and seven year old Tama. All three have a strong resemblance to their mother in looks and build.

Starting with Nari I undress them while the large bath fills with water; the bath looks like a bigger version of the spa at the hotel. After removing all of their clothes I examine them. Running my hands all over each body while I check for bruises and broken bones due to my concerns about how Saburo would’ve treated them. I start with the head then move down the arms to the hands before checking the ribs and stomach, turning them around to check the spine and back, the legs back and front, and the feet last. The only items of concern I find are a lump on Takara’s forearm and a tender spot on her thigh. I’ve Makha make a note to have Takara given a full cat scan and x-ray when they all go in for their complete medical checks during the next few days.

All four of them have very fine straight black hair with fine bone structures and are of petite builds without any fat. Nari’s head is just short of my chin, her breasts are the size of large oranges, and she’s clean shaven. Rui comes up to my chest, not quite a hand’s width short of Nari’s height while Takara is a few fingers shorter than Rui, and a few fingers taller than Tama. In regards to development the three girls are typical of girls of their age racial heritage.

The girls are embarrassed to be undressed and examined by a man, but they accept it because their mother does. They get more embarrassed when I undress. Emi and Makha undress. We all get into the water while Tora stands guard and Koemi moves about checking things.

Emi and Makha show the girls how to wash me then she has them take turns washing me while I wash them as well. About half way through washing Rui, the first I wash, I remember when I used to wash Alice and Gwen like this. The angst of those memories and knowing that’ll never happen again causes me to cry in silence. Emi notices first and she starts to speak. However, I give her a short shake of my head, so she keeps quiet and touches Makha’s arm when she goes to say something. The young girls have their backs to me when they sit on my thighs to be washed, so they don’t notice. I sit there, crying, while I wash them and think of the good times that are gone forever with the lives of my family. Nari also notices my tears, but she keeps silent. When I finish washing Rui I have her move behind me with her back to me while she moves around my other side to help wash me as I pick Takara up. This is so they can’t see the tears. I do the same with the switch to Tama.