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

citizens now live in only three large urban areas, the population density in Tokyo is now a little lower than it was at the start of this century. I’m sure both of you live in fairly palatial apartments compared to your typical urban apartment from before the war. You must have seen the old apartment format, the one K or one DK style. You still see it in manga, anime, and period vids.’

‘Obviously,’ Yamauchi said.

‘Well, when they built Chiba, they took that to the extreme.’

The elevator doors opened and Tatsu led the way down the corridor with its grey-painted walls and metal apartment doors. ‘I’d imagine you’ll want to send Suzuki in to take the vid for this. There’s not much room to get three of us in and see the place.’

‘Uh, right.’ Tatsu opened the door by remote and Suzuki went in, scanning his camera around as he did so. Yamauchi stopped in the doorway, looking in at Tatsu’s somewhat grubby home. ‘Uh, where’s the bed?’

‘Folded into the wall on your right. Storage is a drop-down cabinet above your head. The desk there can be folded up too, though I don’t.’

‘Okay, and this must be the shower.’ Yamauchi tapped on the screen on her left which was, indeed, where the shower was located.

‘Shower and other bathroom facilities,’ Tatsu replied. ‘The toilet and sink slide into the wall when not in use. No cooking facilities. Most people use the communal kitchen down the hall if they don’t eat out. Like I said, they really took the old single-room apartment design and did their best to make it smaller.’

‘There are better apartments in Chiba though, right?’

‘Certainly, but they’re more expensive and most people can’t afford them on UBI alone.’

‘But you could.’

Tatsu smiled. ‘I’m a special case. I don’t really need much in the way of home comforts. I need somewhere to sit, somewhere to sleep, and somewhere to clean up. This does all I need and it’s cheap. And, yes, I could afford better, but most people in Chiba can’t. You wanted to see what life is like here. Well, this is what life is like here.’

27th August.

Grigory Vasilev was an obvious indication that crime did pay. He did not live in an ultramodern, multi-room apartment in Tokyo like Zima had, but he had two bedrooms, a separate kitchen, a massive bathroom, and a lounge. It was the lounge he was being interviewed in, and it looked like the kind of thing a bachelor with a bit of a playboy complex might possess. There was a lot of black leather and chrome metalwork. There was not a book in sight.

‘Mister Vasilev,’ Yamauchi began, ‘you’re the boss of the Funabashi gang, correct?’ She was sitting on a plush leather sofa and feeling uncomfortable. It was probably the leering smile Vasilev was wearing.

While Yamauchi’s question was in Japanese, Vasilev’s reply was in Russian. Yamauchi had downloaded a Russian-culture skill pack to do the interview; Tatsu had told her he would not speak Japanese. ‘Gang is… an emotive word. We are a Russian cultural society, conducting business together, and seeing to it that the Russian community thrives here in Chiba.’

‘It appears that someone disagrees with your position. Your old boss, Anastas Zima, was murdered in his apartment. Another of your colleagues, Evgeni Nikolaev, has also been murdered.’

‘And there have been several more heinous crimes committed against us which the TYMPD seems unable or unwilling to solve.’ Tatsu, standing by the door while the interview was conducted, rolled her eyes.

‘The police have assigned two senior detectives to the case. You don’t believe they’re doing enough?’

‘Clearly they are not. The murders continue and the police seem no further ahead with their investigation. Our own enquiries suggest an outside agent is involved, probably from the yakuza in Tokyo attempting to push their drugs and illegal prostitution into Chiba. However, it is not impossible that the criminals from the Shiroi region are attempting to move into our territory. Russian mafia. Very dangerous.’

‘And nothing like your own organisation, obviously.’

‘Nothing like.’

‘You say you believe the yakuza may be responsible? Do you have proof of that?’

Vasilev waved a hand dismissively. ‘Nothing we could take before the police, but we know the manner of death in each case. A sword was used. A Japanese sword. There are rumours to go with this evidence, but, as I said, nothing we could put before a detective.’

‘Do you believe that reprisals will be necessary, Mister Vasilev? Do you have plans to attack the yakuza in return for their attacks on you?’

‘We are businessmen, Miss Yamauchi. The only way we have of revenging ourselves against an assassin is to ban him from doing business with us.’ The smile Vasilev delivered with this statement was probably meant to be reasonable and business-like. Vasilev was not that good an actor.

‘And what about the fighting currently breaking out on the streets of Chiba? I’ve witnessed Yankees facing off against a Chinese gang. There are reports of fighting along your border with the Shiroi gang.’

‘These events are nothing to do with us. These are Yankee gangs, yes? When have Russians ever got on with Americans? We have no influence over these groups, though it may be that the Shiroi gang direct their pawns in this manner. Alongside Yong Pan, we wish to see peace in Chiba. Only peace.’

~~~

‘I doubt anyone’s going to believe him,’ Yamauchi said, ‘but you have to admit that you haven’t found the killer yet.’

‘True,’ Tatsu replied from across the van. ‘Whoever it is, they’re good. They leave basically no evidence and they plan meticulously.’

‘So, it’s not for lack of trying?’

‘No, it’s not for lack of trying. Vasilev is trying too, and he’s found nothing either.’

‘You don’t believe the yakuza are involved then?’

‘It’s possible. If there is yakuza involvement, it’s