Chapter 66

Day 4: 'Hero Warship'

"This will do just fine sir, let me out here." The young man offered politely, while gazing critically at the Misaki residence. It was certainly smaller than expected, given even the sketchy number of residence supposedly living there. With a laborious whine of carbon on metal, the old green flatbed slowed ponderously to a halt roadside of the split rail fence. Well-used hinges made an indifferent sound as the olive drab farm truck's door swung open. Dropping to the ground Hero Sheagame straitened, turned and thanked his driver.

"Arigatou!" He intoned, handing him a thousand-yen note.

(About six dollars.)

"And I hope your wife gets over her cold." With that, Hero made his way towards the distant house. Feeling mildly relived when finally hearing the old green Volvo start its trundle away and down the road. He hadn't wished to be rude, but the old fellow had just about talked his ear off! Now privy to more facts about the local pig population than he believed necessary or desirable, The twenty-minute trip from the rail station had seemed like an hour!

"The house looks larger in the photos." He mused aloud, putting pork production firmly into the past as he tugged at his collar, making a quick check of his appearance.

Dressed in formal business attire, as was only proper when calling on royalty. Minus the overcoat, he'd shed that somewhere back in town, having realized how unseasonably warm it was.

'The city is warm, the country is cold'. At least that's how he always thought it worked. Fortunately, it was still too cold for fungus and mole to sprout, 'thank god!' He so hated to be out in the open! A million smells and odors to assail his refined senses from every conceivable direction, damn this trip to hell! However, the minister of the interior had insisted.

"At three god-damn o'clock in the morning mind you!" Hero privately swore as he continued his progress. Still, he supposed it wasn't every day you are woken from a sound sleep to find yourself almost in the middle of world war three! He further ventured, that a situation so grave might require the presence of an experienced diplomat, only to be curtly reminded this was his division as the Jurian liaison and thusly his problem!

"I'd like to see him drag his wrinkled ass out here!" Hero fumed aloud. Remember the 'old man' yelling his head off. Well, he had to agree that this was an emergency! Unless the Japanese self-defense force, thinking a nuke went off late last night over lower Tokyo, could be termed 'business as usual'! That in turn had put the Russians on alert! Which meant China was most likely up in arms as well! For all Hero knew, The united states were on the phone with his superiors right now!

"YEEHAW!" He grumbled darkly. "That's all we need right now! Bunh'a them buckaroos over here tah hep us por Japenase!" He wished he could just let the answering machine take all calls, as it were. But an unfavorable report to the Jurian consulate would bring his office the kind of heat he just didn't need. That in turn triggered a bitter thought.