Sign of the Dragon (Tatsu Yamada Book 1) by Niall Teasdale (e reader TXT) 📕

fifth, a warehouse, that she encountered the men in suits. They were actually in suits and raincoats – transparent plastic ones with hoods – and one of them was carrying a shotgun. They were trying to look menacing, but the coats just made them look foolish. Then again, Tatsu was not sure she was giving the best of impressions with rain dripping off her hair.

‘Can I be of some assistance to you gentlemen?’ Tatsu asked, in Japanese, as they spread themselves out to block her path.

‘We do not like cops coming here and looking through the buildings,’ one of them said, in Russian.

Tatsu grimaced. ‘Do we have to do this?’ she asked, switching to Russian. ‘In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s raining. I’m wet and unhappy. I can’t imagine this is any fun for you either. I’m looking for a person, not whatever you’ve got hidden around here this week.’

‘Our orders are to throw you out. We don’t–’

‘You and which army?’

‘It’s five against one, bitch cop.’

Tatsu nodded. ‘Which means that you’re outnumbered. Look, I get it, Vasilev’s new in the job and he wants to show that he’s a strong leader. Thing is, he’s not standing in the rain trying to intimidate a combat cyborg. Just leave and say you never managed to find me.’

The man with the shotgun raised it to his shoulder and the leader grinned. ‘We say you leave.’

Tatsu pulled her pistol from where it sat under her left arm and fired three rounds into shotgun guy’s right shoulder. He reeled away, the shotgun flying, and collapsed onto the paving stones, unconscious. Tatsu shifted her aim to the one doing all the talking. ‘Next time, I aim for your head. Pick your friend up and leave. Now!’

‘This is not the last you’ll hear of us, bitch cop,’ the talker said, but he was backing off just like the others. Two of them picked up their colleague while a third retrieved the shotgun. Tatsu tracked them with her pistol the whole time.

‘If Vasilev is stupid enough to make a big thing out of this, I will crush him like a bug. Tell him that.’ Tatsu watched them until they retreated out of sight, and then she holstered her pistol and continued on to the warehouse for more fruitless searching.

25th July.

Despite the heavy rain, the temperature in the office building Tatsu found herself in was over twenty-five degrees and the humidity was high. Most of the rough sleepers were sleeping in whatever underwear they possessed, maybe under a blanket of some kind. They slept with one ear on the area around them, and several woke to stare at her as she moved between them. When they did, she showed them a picture of Kawaguchi and got the same answer every time.

‘Haven’t seen him,’ said a girl of no more than twenty. She was pretty, probably American originally, likely making top-up money on her back, and lying.

‘Okay,’ Tatsu said. ‘Thank you for your time.’ Getting up from a crouch, she turned in the direction the girl’s eyes had flicked when she had denied seeing Kawaguchi.

The building was laid out in a basic block pattern of offices on this floor. Downstairs was open plan, where the grunts had worked before everyone moved to working from home, but this floor had been for those of higher rank who at least rated a shared office. People were sleeping in the corridors. Having a room somewhere to yourself was something few could swing; generally, you had to have muscle, a talent you could trade, or money. Kawaguchi had the last one.

He was not asleep. He was sitting with his back against a wall, watching the door. His hair looked unwashed, his face was smudged, and his dark eyes were shadowed, weary. His MedStat data was coming back with two yellow indicators. He probably had not slept much in the last forty-eight hours and was under high stress with physical symptoms. At one time, he had probably been a fairly good-looking man, but the past month or so had taken a considerable toll and now he was a tired man in his middle years, worn out by the weight of what he knew, what he had done.

‘You’re with the police?’ he asked as Tatsu walked into his room, an ex-office from the furniture piled against one wall. ‘You don’t look like a local.’

Tatsu took in his worn suit, torn in places, and the overcoat, with one of the pockets ripped out, from a high-end clothing chain. ‘I look more like one than you do. Actually, I don’t live far from here. But, yes, I’m with the TYMPD.’

‘I won’t let you take me in.’ He reached into his coat, for something hidden under his arm.

Tatsu watched him do so, not moving for her own weapon. After a couple of seconds with Kawaguchi looking at her with one hand stuck in his armpit, she said, ‘If you’re going for suicide by cop, you should’ve picked a different cop. I don’t believe you have anything under that coat. And if you did, it’s highly unlikely you could hurt me with it.’ Stepping forward, she grabbed him by the collar of his expensive coat and hauled him to his feet. ‘You’re under arrest, Mister Kawaguchi, for the murder of a number of people. I can innumerate them, if you wish, but I’d rather save it for when I’ve got you to HQ.’

Kawaguchi’s face twisted into a scowl. ‘I’m being arrested for betraying company secrets.’

‘No, no you’re not. I don’t give a damn about your secrets. You had the information, you gave it to Burrell, he publicised it and gave it to me. You didn’t need to kill people to get attention, Mister Kawaguchi. So, why did you?’

‘They had to pay for the danger they’ve put people in. Fukui needed to pay.’

‘Still does. You