Part 47 (1/2)

'That was the situation up to the moment he fell into the hands of samurai-captain Naka-Jima. The device has been in my possession since then.”

The Shogun accepted this with a nod. 'Did you manage to find out what the ”mexican” had been sent here to do?”

'He was only too eager to tell me, sire. His orders were twofold: kidnap or kill the renegade long-dog directing the work at the Heron Pool and, if possible, destroy the entire setup.”

'Singlehanded? Extraordinary...”

'Sire, I hate to admit it, but he is an extraordinary individual. His martial skills earned him the grudging admiration of samurai-captain Naka-Jima, he is quick-witted, imprudently courageous, insufferably confident about the superiority of the system he represents and utterly unconcerned as to whether he lives or dies.”

'And there might be others like him?”

'It's a possibility we have to consider,' admitted Tos.h.i.+ro.

'Did he say why he'd been sent to do this?”

'Yes, sire. The Federation view the decision by us to build flying-horses as a threat to the status quo. By kidnapping or killing the renegade who is pa.s.sing their secrets to us they hoped to wreck the project. Were the mexican to fail, the Federation would be obliged to bring greater forces to bear, making a ma.s.sive pre-emptive strike which, in turn, could trigger a wider conflict.”

The prospect of war with an enemy armed with weapons whose power came from the Dark Light destroyed the inner calm which the Shogun had achieved during his precious hour of contemplation in the stone garden.

The veins under his temples became visible as his pulse rate soared.

'So... what action did you take?”

'I offered to a.s.sist him.”

The Shogun's eyes hardened. 'I trust you had a good reason for doing so.”

Tos.h.i.+ro bowed his head. He had thought long and hard before deciding to reveal Brickman's presence, and had carefully worked out each move.

'I believed it to be in your best interests, sire.”

The Herald went on to describe how he had arranged for the mexican to work as a roadrunner in order to have him a.s.signed to the Consul-General's residence, from where, at the appropriate moment, he could - if the Shogun so desired it - be transferred to the Heron Pool.

'By placing this individual within the system, we now have him under our control. And he cannot change his present ident.i.ty unless we allow him to do so.” Tos.h.i.+ro opened up the bag of pink leaves he had taken from Steve and explained their purpose to the Shogun.

'By agreeing to a.s.sist him, I have been able to learn his intentions, and can aid or hinder them depending on what suits us best. Knowing who he is and where he is means he can be kept under surveillance and his contacts investigated. And he can be eliminated the instant you so command.

'On the other hand, should you for any reason decide to take out one or more of your . . . ”opponents”, or halt work at the Heron Pool, you may find that this particular long-dog could be used to achieve the desired result - and then be set up as the fall-guy.”

Yoritomo placed an elbow on the lacquered armrest standing next to his left thigh and pulled throughtfully at his lower lip. 'Mmmmm.

Interesting idea.”

'it would be seen as intervention by a foreign power.

And if Yama-s.h.i.+ta wasn't the target, he couldn't miss being hurt by the fall-out. Let's face it, it is his family who've been importing all these outlanders. And if, for instance, there was some ”incident”

which resulted in the death of, let's say ... the Consul-General of Ro-diren and Masachusa...”

'It could be interpreted as an attack upon the Shogunate ' 'Which, at the very least, would require from those involved - however unwittingly - a major act of rest.i.tution.”