The office was hot. The air-conditioning was blasting out, but it couldn't rid the air of that heavy humidity and with it the knowledge that the heat was there, waiting just beyond a pane of glass. There was a slight shimmer in the air as he looked down onto the city. Skyscrapers distorted and the thin sounds of traffic trying to suffuse through the thick window added to the unreal bend of the cityscape below. He yanked opened his office door.

Immediately beyond was a large spacious room fitted with refined, polished cedarwood furniture. A desk was over to the right. At it sat his brother, looking immaculate as usual despite the heat. His silvery hair was perfectly parted, and a pale grey, almost white suit hugged his form – jacket and all. The only thing that marred the picture was a slight flicker of trepidation moving over those fine features. His brother looked like he wanted to say something, but eventually opted just to chew his bottom lip and regard him carefully, perhaps waiting for something that might explain the violence with which the door had been opened.

Kazuya moved his arm over the desk, clearing himself a space, then sat there, arms folded, eyebrows black. Chaolan hurried to rescue all the things that had been knocked out of place, grabbing at paperwork and a toppling stand of ink pens. Once he'd set these things straight, he rubbed his chin, betraying more uncertainty.

"Anything I can do for you?"

Kazuya could hear him trying to put on his most placating tone. People were using that tone a lot around him these days. Treading carefully as thought he were an unexploded bomb. Perhaps with some justification.

"What's next?"

Chaolan had handed Kazuya a carefully drawn up itinerary for the day at 8:30AM this morning, as they both knew he did every day. Kazuya kept staring at him. Chaolan smiled a little mechanically.

"You have a telephone appointment scheduled for eighteen minutes time with Mr De Rochefort. He wants to review the terms of Rochefort Enterprises contract with the Zaibatsu."

"Rochefort? That annoying sentimental guy with glasses like a 50s American popstar?"

"The very same." Kazuya shifted his weight irritably. Chaolan hurried to move more things out of his reach. "Although it's not as if you'll have to see the glasses. He's putting in a long distance call from Monaco."

"Why isn't he here in person?"

"Well, it's a long way, Kaz." Kazuya glanced up sharply at the nickname. "No one else is here," Chaolan said just a little petulantly, "you said that when no one else is-"

"We're still in the office." Kazuya watched his brother exhale a bitter sigh. He sent Chaolan a black glare that made him swallow the end of his frustration.

"As you wish." He could hear Chaolan trying to keep the bite out of his words. "Anyway, as I was saying, it's a long flight to make, when the same process could be done over the teleph-"

"Cancel the appointment." Chaolan's mouth dropped open. Kazuya continued unphased, "tell Rochefort if he wants to change the terms of his contract he can start by coming to me in person. Next?"

"K-kaz, you can't just-" Kazuya whirled round, papers flying off the desk. "Sorry! Sorry, I won't call you that," Chaolan raised his hands in submission, "sorry – force of habit. But, what I mean is," he said carefully, keeping his eyes trained on his brother, "we can't just cancel the appointment and expect the poor man to f-"

"We aren't doing anything. I just cancelled it. Next."

"If you don't want to do the appointment, I could get someone else to do it who-"

"Chaolan, what did I just say to you?" There was an edge in Kazuya's voice, testy and measured, as if waiting for the opportunity to come down like a guillotine.

"Cancelled. Got it." Chaolan picked up the phone on his desk and dialled. He twirled the phone wire anxiously in his finger as he waited for the call to pick up. Kazuya watched him intently.

When the call was done, Chaolan looked uncomfortable and grim.

"He was a little upset," he murmured.

Kazuya stretched and cricked his neck.

"Good. First bit of good news I've heard all day. You still haven't answered me."

"I left the day's schedule on your-" Chaolan was again cut off by that intense glare and instead hurried to answer. "I originally penned the Rochefort call in for about forty-five minutes. There's a stack of weapon contracts that need your signatures that I left on your desk, and there's the head of Mishima Industries R&D who was due to come by at 3PM. I could move him up now that you've cleared your 2:15."

"Move the R&D meeting up. You can do the signatures."

"It needs your signature. I'm not the head of the Mishima Zaibatsu." There was resentment there, but these days it mostly served to amuse Kazuya when he heard it.

"You have a beautiful hand for forgeries."

"It will literally take you twenty minutes to go through the whole stack, and we do not need to add forgery to the list of things this company could be pulled up for. Our legal department is already flooded. And besides, I'm leaving shortly." Chaolan checked his watch.

"Somewhere you have to be?"

"I've got a PR thing at the powerplant."

"The powerplant? Nice place for it." Kazuya's voice was heavy with derision.

"That's the idea. I'm planning on boring them stiff with inane, perfectly legal, large-scale engineering. I'm showing round an interpol agent and some local police." Kazuya's eyebrows raised at that. Chaolan put his hands behind his head and leaned back in his comfortable office chair, "yeah it's as bad as it sounds. I mentioned last week that there's a new open case against us. This one's possibly one of the most clutching yet, but it's been taken up by the most belligerent, stubborn officers I've ever met. I think they're bottom of the barrel cops who no one wants around. They've put them on us to set them up to fail. They're hoping we'll do the dirty work of getting them fired or sent back to desk jobs."

"Showing cops round a nuclear power station. Sounds incredibly tedious."

"Which is why I'm doing it, and not you, Kaz. I do all the things you don't like doing." Chaolan stacked the paper work he'd had to move and set it to one side. "Also because the further you are from anything like public relations, the less likely we are to incriminate ourselves. Especially where law enforcement is involved."

Kazuya folded his arms, letting the familiarity slide this time,

"I can be not incriminating."

"Really."

"Yes, really."

"Alright," Chaolan put his elbows on his desk, folded his hands together and settled his chin on them, he set his brother with sullen brown eyes. "Let's say a journalist asks you who the Zaibatsu is supplying weapons to. What do you say?"

"The good guys," Kazuya answered immediately, "I say we supply to the good guys only."

"Incorrect. You say the Zaibatsu invests in education and the future. We want there to be a light in every home and warmth for every child."

"There a two many fucking lights in Tokyo. And more than enough warmth." Kazuya tugged at his shirt collar, reminded of the prickly heat he'd been trying to escape in the first place.

"There are many reasons why it's a bullshit answer, Kaz. But that doesn't stop it being the correct one. PR is about saying shit people don't want to hear, then making them think that answers their question." Chaolan stood and began selecting papers and sliding them into a smart, shiny, soft leather briefcase. The internal intercom on his desk buzzed. He held down a button on it. "Lee Chaolan."

"Mr Lee, an Agent Lei and Officer Kazama to see you."

"Send them up."

"Very well, sir."

Kazuya tilted his head,

"What are they investigating?"

"Bunch of things tenuously related to animal mistreatment." Kazuya pulled a face of bemusement. "Yeah. Told you it was clutching. That manslaughter we had a couple of months back-"

"Which one?"

"Not yours. Down at the animal testing wing of the Tokyo genetics lab (which by the way does not exist as far as they're concerned). It was whilst working in the large predator section. We had a meeting about it?"

"Don't remember it."

"Well you sent half a flower shop to the relatives. And I penned an obituary in your name. But anyway, that's on the cards, along with…" Choalan picked up a wad of paper stapled in the corner he ran his finger down the page. "Breach of work place safety laws, suspicion of animal testing on illegal species, suspicion of international smuggling."

"Guilty on all accounts."

"Yeah save it for the court case we'll hopefully never have to have because you've got an amazingly efficient brother."

"Modest much?"

"Not like I ever get a word of praise from you."

"Poor Chaolan hasn't had his ego stroked in a while."

"Fuck off, Kaz."

Kazuya's eyes went sharp-

-Chaolan froze.

The office went silent. It was broken only by the soft rattle of air pouring out the air conditioning unit. Chaolan stopped what he was doing and looked slowly to his brother. The banter had become so natural that his words had slipped out like nothing had changed – like they were still teenagers bickering under the roof of Heihachi. He knew his mistake though. He could see Kazuya looking at him in that oddly intense way, like he was a few seconds from breaking something, or someone. There was a dark pressure to his gaze – a heavy palpable wall of heat, simmering with violence. Chaolan glanced away, unable to meet the force of that stare, his insides churning uncomfortably. Dread was rising in his chest. He slowly returned to packing his briefcase. Kazuya kept staring at him. A slight tremble entered Chaolan's fingers and he tried to focus on making sure it wasn't visible. Kazuya stood abruptly. Chaolan flinched. He looked up again, this time with eyes full of apprehension and apologies. Kazuya's gaze flicked over him.

"Watch your tone," Kazuya said softly.

Chaolan nodded vigorously, and suddenly found the air was easier to breathe again. He drew in a shaky breath. Kazuya had been doing better recently at keeping violence in the office building to a minimum, but Chaolan didn't want to be the one to push that counter back over to 'zero-days-since-a-work-place-incident'.

He was infinitely glad for the knock that sounded on door.

"Come in!" he said with painted brightness, a quaver still in his voice.

Agent Lei was a collected, confident man in an easy, police issue bomber jacket, heavy cargo pants and steel capped boots. His hair was slicked back, and dog-tags hung about his neck. He drew the eye by merit of his presence, filling the room with determination and enthusiasm. Beside him was a slight young woman, a little shorter than her partner in a practical white gilet vest and shorts. A simple headband kept dark hair out of her face. Chaolan surveyed them both, eyeing them them up first by his personal aesthetic standards, and when he was sure neither were particularly to his taste, giving them a second look over to judge their character. This Agent Lei looked overconfident and easy to misdirect, while Officer Kazama looked young, impressionable and too timid to be much of a problem. His finely honed sixth sense for knowing Kazuya's moods kicked in though, and he glanced over at his brother. Kazuya was staring at the young woman. Chaolan gave an internal sigh. Really, his brother had no sense of subtlety.

"Agent Lei, Officer Kazama. So glad you could join me. May I introduce you to Mr Mishima?"

"Mishima Kazuya himself. Didn't think we'd get the honour," Lei Wulong said a little dryly. "You keep yourself very well insulated these days, Mr Mishima. Is that perhaps because you've got a lot to hide?"

Kazuya usually had a sharp comeback, bordering on a threat for such instances. Chaolan was surprised to see his brother completely ignore the agent however, eyes remaining on the young police officer behind him. Chaolan saw Wulong's face tick to irritated at being ignored. He jumped in to smooth over the moment.

"Mr Mishima is a very busy man."

"Will you be joining us today, Mr Mishima?" Officer Kazama asked. She spoke more boldly than Chaolan had expected, causing him to reassess his initial assumptions.

"Of course," Kazuya replied. That went like a lightening bolt through Chaolan and for a moment he was rooted to the spot.

"Good. We have a lot of questions we were hoping we could ask you personally."

"K-… Mr Mishima," Chaolan corrected himself at the last second, "could I possibly speak to you in private for a moment?"

Kazuya's eyes flicked to him, then he jerked his head towards his office door. Chaolan bowed to his guests, excusing himself. He stepped behind Kazuya into the office and shut the door behind them.

"Kaz, what the fuck? You've got a ton of appointments set for today."

"And now I have one more. Frees you up. Didn't you say you didn't have enough time earlier? Now you can sign those papers and speak to those morons down in research and development."

Chaolan covered his face with a hand.

"This isn't-… Please, this is a really delicate PR affair. You hate this stuff anyway. There's so much paperwork attached to this meeting – I've had to read up on these agents, their jurisdiction, precisely what they have on us, exactly what we have to agree to and what we can get away with not saying. And if we put one foot wrong, this could be a really serious thorn in our side."

Kazuya folded his arms. His eyes hardened.

"How many times are you going to contradict me in one fucking day, Chaolan?"

Chaolan immediately spread his hands in placation. His eyes became earnest and anxious.

"Trust me when I say I wouldn't do this unless it was really important. There is no world in which I want to get on your bad side, but just because a pretty face shows up, doesn't-" Kazuya took a step towards him. Chaolan took one back. "K… Kazuya," he cautioned, "let's… wait a moment." Chaolan backed up further as Kazuya continued to advance. His back hit a wall. "There's police next door," Chaolan whispered, "let's not do anything that would-" His chin was caught between a finger and thumb as Kazuya forced him to meet his eye.

Chaolan could feel his heartbeat in his mouth. The air had gone dry around him and a heavy sense of doom pressed itself into the recesses of his mind, compressing him into a small frightened thing. He dimly wondered when it was that he'd started feeling this soul-crushing dread around his brother. The fingers moved from his chin to circle his throat. The colour drained from his face, and suddenly powerplants by comparison really didn't seem that important.

"Okay," Chaolan said around the hand tightening on his neck, "v-very much getting that you don't want to change your mind on this." He tried not to let his fear show. Kazuya was too close to be stoppable and that hand was already too strong on his throat. One sudden movement if Kazuya so desired and- "I-I'll phone down and alert your private security. A-and I'll get you the documents you might need. P-perhaps you can look over them on the j-… journey over." He choked on his own words as Kazuya squeezed his windpipe. Chaolan held his brother's gaze, trying not to show any weakness as his lungs burned for air. Kazuya's eyes bored into him. They were dead and dark and empty of the familiar things Chaolan remembered belonging to his brother. The grip tightened further, and immediately the facade of calm fled Chaolan's face, replaced with naked fear. This might be it. This might be the day he finally went too far and didn't make it home.

Kazuya released him.

Air rushed back into his lungs. Chaolan stayed rigid against the wall, pulling in deep breaths, still frightened to move.

"Get those papers together in the next five minutes."

Chaolan nodded quickly, his neck burning as he did so. Only when Kazuya finally turned away from him did his shoulders slump and his posture lapse. He fiddled with the collar of his shirt, trying to tug it higher to hide the marks of Kazuya's displeasure.

When Chaolan re-entered the room, Kazama Jun immediately noticed a difference. He carried himself just as proudly, but there was something changed about him. Waves of fear and distress rolled off him. His smiles were a little too quick and a touch furtive. There was a haunted unhappiness behind his eyes. His hands moved swiftly through the papers on his desk as he searched for what he wanted. His eyes skated over the spread of files and his fingers sifted through them without success. Jun could feel his agitation growing, hovering in the air about him like a fine mist. When the CEO office door opened, Chaolan jumped and a wad of paper slid through his hands to scatter about the floor. Jun immediately stepped forward to help him and began collecting up the papers. His distress was so concentrated now that she could feel it tugging her own emotions down.

"It's fine," Chaolan muttered at her, not managing to summon up a facade of charm to cover the mess.

Jun saw Kazuya fold his arms and watch them. The weight of his gaze was like nothing she'd ever encountered before. She'd long learned to school the coming and going waves of feeling she sensed in those about her, but Mishima Kazuya was a black hole, sucking warmth out of everything nearby and leaving only dread in his wake. She looked up at him and found him staring at her again like he had when she first entered. She wondered if he somehow knew her gift. He made her feel embarrassed, as if she had stumbled upon some dark secret of his that was invisible to the eyes of others. Darkness swirled about him in a hurricane of hate and anger. She wondered how any one person could keep such a calm empty expression with that much turbulent rage coursing through them. No wonder his poor secretary was so distraught.

Chaolan thanked her and replaced the fallen paperwork on his desk, then had to continue his search. After another few fruitless, silent minutes, where the tension seemed to mount, he made a small noise of realisation. He pulled open his leather briefcase and pulled out a series of files.

"Apologies for making you wait," Jun heard him murmur as his handed Kazuya the files. Kazuya took them without looking, then gestured to the doorway.

"Shall we?" He ignored Chaolan as he led Jun and Lei Wulong out of the room.

Jun was beginning to wish she'd taken up the offer to borrow a squad car. One of the regular precinct officers had offered her one when they heard she'd been handed the Mishima case. After feeling the waves of pity and doubt coming off him, she'd politely refused. It never looked good turning up to a case in a car when representing any aspect of environmental protection enforcement. Wulong had flown in over a week ago, and as an outsider working with a force that had more international clout, almost everyone else in the precinct had given him the cold shoulder, and certainly not offered him any resources. They'd taken public transport to the Mishima Zaibatsu building, so were now left with no option but to ride awkwardly alongside Mishima Kazuya in a private limousine.

She watched Mishima Kazuya as he read through the files he'd brought with him. His brow kept twitching slightly, as if perhaps he was distracted by something. Wulong nudged her and pointed out the window.

"Hey look at that!" He craned his neck to see out of the darkened windows as Tokyo Tower entered the skyline. Jun gave him a brief smile. The agent's acute interest and observation knew no bounds. She was all too happy to collaborate on this case with him, but hadn't anticipated that extended to being a tour guide. Her eyes kept sliding back to Mishima Kazuya. She'd been so overwhelmed by his draining presence earlier, that she'd not really had a chance to see the man at the eye of the hurricane. His face was sharp, angular, and dominated by a large scar that crossed over both cheekbones. A brilliant purple shirt was rolled up to his elbows for the summer weather, with a smart, dark, trim waistcoat and matching suit trousers. Shining, elegant shoes tapped the air in annoyance. When her eyes returned to his face, she realised he was watching her. She blinked and blushed and looked away. Kazama Jun never blushed. She put the awkward fluttering feeling in her chest down to the jarring aura the man was filling the car with.

"So, you're not a real police officer." Kazuya broke the quiet. The purr of the limousine was almost silent, and the bulletproof glass kept out almost all the sounds of the outside world.

Wulong looked irritated at his tone, but before he could try and come to her defence, Jun spoke.

"That's correct. I work for an environmental protection group who have a contract with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. The law enforcement in the ministry has been contracted out to my organisation. So whilst I'm an officer of the law, I'm not with the police force."

"So you can't arrest me," Kazuya said mildly.

"She can't, but I can." Wulong gave him a thin smile.

"Can you?" Kazuya's voice was soft and just a little laced with threat. He set Wulong with an intense, bleak stare.

Wulong held his gaze for a moment, then quickly looked away. Jun had been with him for most of the week, and hadn't yet seen a situation or person that could stir self-doubt in Lei Wulong. Apparently Mishima Kazuya was an exception in that regard too.

The limousine pulled up and the doors clicked open. Jun hastily exited the car. It felt alien to be sitting in such an obvious display of wealth. That and the enclosed space with Mishima Kazuya was beginning to give her a thundering headache. Being close to him was like a continual hammer beating inside her skull. She blinked in the sudden sunlight and immediate heat after the air-conditioned car. A vast structure stood before them, with enormous concrete cooling towers that obscured her view. White clouds billowed up into the sky, piling stacks of steam into the air and stamping out the azure blue beyond. Her heart sunk just looking at it.

"Impressive!" Wulong said, clearly not seeing the same thing as her. He snapped a pair of sunglasses onto his face. A second black car pulled up beside them and three bodyguards got out, all non-descript in black suits save a tall, imposing man in their midst – sharply dressed, with dark brown skin, fierce eyes, a goatee beard, and a clipped mohawk. Jun's eyes went to the firearm holstered at his belt.

"Got a licence for that, buddy?" Wulong said brightly, he was peering intently at the man with one of his incisive, dismantling stares. The man spared him an empty cold glance then moved to Kazuya's side, whispering in an undertone to him. "Your countrymen really know how to make a guy feel welcome," Wulong said, raising his eyebrows at Jun.

"Let's keep our investigation focussed on finding facts about the case. The last thing we need is to give them reason to have us escorted from the grounds before we've got through the door."

"Or the cast iron security gate," Wulong added.

Jun followed his eyes with dismay. An ominous gate topped with barbed wire was manned by a checkpoint. Beyond that was a further electric perimeter fence that stood between them and the entrance to the nuclear powerplant.

Kazuya waved his security chief away and then indicated for the checkpoint guard to approach. The stumbling step of the guard was a testament to how rare such visits from the Zaibatsu CEO were. The man bowed repeatedly as he approached Kazuya and offered him two guest access cards, Kazuya jerked his head towards Jun and Wulong. The checkpoint guard hurried up to them and gave them each a card. GUEST was printed on the top and the Zaibatsu logo occupied the right corner. The rest of the card was taken up by a colourless strip with coloured bars set above it.

"What's this?" Jun asked.

"Just a precaution. Employee safety is a top priority at the Mishima Zaibatsu," the guard parroted, then fled back to the safety of his checkpoint hut.

"RAD sensor," Wulong whispered and winked at her, "changes colour with exposure to radiation."

"We're going to be exposed to radiation?!" she exclaimed. Kazuya glanced over at her. She pulled her shoulders straighter and quickly lowered her voice. "Have you been in a nuclear powerplant before?" she asked at Wulong.

"They're very safe," Wulong assured her.

"Up until they're not," she snapped. Kazama Jun never snapped. She blinked at her own temper. Being around this Mishima was throwing her control haywire. Wulong was giving her a slightly bemused look – the same look most of the local precinct officers gave her when she announced she needed to use the place as a base since her own organisation only owned one office room an hour's train from Osaka and a birdwatching hide on a mountain in Wakayama.

She turned away from Wulong and strode toward Kazuya. The tall chief of security made to intercept her, but Kazuya stilled him with a hand, allowing her to approach.

"Why do I need this?" She held up the card, a little closer to his face than was polite. She had no idea what had gotten into her manners today. Everything about her felt tested and fiery.

"A precaution in the very unlikely event of an undetected leak."

"Is your factory safe?!" Her eyes flashed at him.

The ghost of a smirk tugged at his lips,

"My powerplant is very safe. If it makes you feel safer, I can take that card off your hands." He reached for it. She snatched it away and held it to her chest. She looked down at the card uncertainly, then looked up at the imposing structure behind him, apprehension on her face.

"There is nothing to fear, Officer Kazama." His voice was quiet and oddly devoid of mockery this time. She looked up at him again. Some of the burning intensity had gone out of his eyes. She felt warmth rise in her cheeks. She nodded in response. He gestured to the limousine, "let's get out of this heat."

"Do we really need to drive?" she blurted, "the powerplant is just there." The bodyguards around her stiffened, telling a different tale about how outbursts might usually be handled by the Mishima CEO.

Kazuya gave a slight, amused smile. He clicked his fingers, making at least one grown man jump.

"Open the gates." He turned back to her, "a wildlife officer through and through. We shall walk if that is what you prefer, Officer Kazama."

Even the powerplant was air conditioned, Jun realised. She lost herself in an odd maze of thoughts, wondering about electricity generated to keep a building cool so machines inside could generate electricity. The tour was all conducted on high walkways above large nondescript machinery, with Zaibatsu armed bodyguards tailing their every step. Between Kazuya's omnipresent tugging aura and the waves of fear and apprehension that appeared each time a new worker saw their boss, Jun was feeling weary and distracted. Wulong had a notepad and pen in hand and seemed to be writing every now and then, but Jun couldn't think for the life of her what about. Nothing in her work experience thus far had involved anything like comprehending industrial processes or the engineering behind them. She felt her temper fraying slightly. She pushed passed Wulong and up to Kazuya, only just having time to register the surprise on Wulong's face as she again approached Mishima Kazuya fearlessly.

"Excuse me?" she interrupted. He'd been mid-sentence, apparently explaining something about nuclear reactors. He gave her a thin, slightly impatient smile. "When are we going to see the animal testing labs?"

Kazuya's thick eyebrows shot skyward.

"Ah, sorry," Wulong butted in, "I think it's the heat getting to her."

"The heat is not getting to me, Lei."

Wulong tugged her to one side, she snapped her arm away from him, but stayed to hear what he had to say.

"Even if the Zaibatsu does have animal testing labs, they're not going to be at a powerplant, Kazama. Just cool it, okay? You're acting kind of weird today."

Jun's face flashed anger and hurt.

"But I thought-… On the phone Mr Lee said-"

"He said he'd show us what he could. Which is already more than a lot of people who've tried to work this case get. Do you know how hard it is for people to get interviews with anyone in the Mishima Zaibatsu? And we're talking to Mishima fucking Kazuya. Come on, Kazama. We're here to dig around on the people; the corporation's not going to just let us into its most private labs. We need to get these people talking and spilling secrets, and I can't do that if you're flying off the handle-"

"I am not flying off the handle!" Jun knew he was right. She wasn't acting herself. This was a long case they were going to have to build, and as much as she wanted to find the truth behind the Zaibatsu's involvement in smuggling and testing on endangered species today, she'd always known it would be a long shot.

"Let's not do this in front of the potential perps, ok? We need to look like a united front. And like professionals."

Her face fell at that. She felt even more foolish. She sensed a presence looming behind her.

"Everything alright here?" Kazuya said in that quiet way of his that cut through everyone's thoughts like a knife. His eyes were firmly set on Wulong.

"Yes, all good." Wulong gave a stiff smile.

"No trouble, Officer Kazama?"

She turned to look at him, still feeling like she'd made a mess of today. She nodded but it was devoid of passion.

"Wrong memo at work. I was hoping f-…" she wasn't sure why she kept telling this hateful man her concerns. He was the one trying to cover up all the crime. Even if it somehow turned out the Mishima Zaibatsu was as spotlessly clean as the corporation wanted to make out, she'd already seen enough horror stories in the papers over the last decade to know there was blood on their hands.

"Yes?" he pressed.

She didn't meet his eyes.

"I just have questions that I don't think can be answered today."

"Then fix up a time with my secretary." He turned back around, "shall we finished this tour?"

Jun stared after him.

Half an hour later, they were sitting in the foreman's office with a standing fan blowing cool air on their faces. Kazuya had taken over the room and turned out the powerplant head for the purpose. Iced green tea was being served next to a light side of sushi. The tea was a welcome relief after the heat of the day, but Jun was frowning at the sushi, faintly wondering if the fish in it were from the seldom-heard-of Mishima labs, where they'd undergone unnatural tests. In her tired mind's eye they were radioactive and had sprouted legs. She glanced down the guest card hanging round her neck. The radiation sensor was was absent of any indicators. She felt foolish all over again for worrying over it. She gave a silent sigh and glanced at her partner. Wulong was asking all the questions.

"And, hypothetically speaking, how would you deal with a reactor leak, Mr Mishima?"

"Are law enforcement dealing in pre-crime these days, Mr Lei? Is there not enough real crime to go around? I would have thought Hong Kong would keep you busy."

Wulong's face heated up but he kept his temper in check.

"It's Agent Lei. Humour me, if you would, Mr Mishima. I'm interested in knowing what kind of processes your company has in place."

Cover up processes, Jun thought. That was what Wulong was really reaching for here, and she became attentive, watching Kazuya's expressions.

"If there were a leak here?"

"That's right."

Kazuya's mohawked head of security shifted at his sentinel place at the doorway. He folded his arms and tapped his fingers on his biceps.

"The matter would be dealt with by the professionals we hire to ensure just such a thing does not become a hazard to the public."

"So you'd deal with the matter internally?"

The head of security shifted again. Kazuya spared him an irritated glance.

"So long as it was prudent to do so. I really don't see what this has to do with anything, Mr Lei. If you have no more questions concerning the powerplant-"

"I do, actually, have one more question, if it's no trouble." Wulong ploughed on before Kazuya could reply. "This is one of the largest powerplants on Honshu, but only about eight percent of the power produced here is sold for public consumption. Can you tell us what the other ninety-two percent of the power is used for? I'm no expert, but I'm guessing that's enough to power a city, possibly several. What exactly is the Mishima Zaibatsu doing with all that energy?"

Kazuya set him with black eyes.

Jun felt a whirlpool of hatred and anger eddy and turn about him. She touched a finger to her temple as her head began to throb.

"I can hardly have figures like that to hand, Mr Lei," Kazuya said after a long moment. "My corporation has billions of yen invested across the globe. The statistics in one powerplant are hardly significant."

"I'm not asking about your investments across the globe, Mr Mishima. I'm just asking about your investments in Tokyo and the nearby regions. The regions supplied by this powerplant."

Kazuya's eyes momentarily met his chief of security's.

"Enough questions. Mr Mishima is a busy man. His attention is required elsewhere." The chief of security spoke his Japanese with an American twang.

"Too bad." Wulong gave a shark-like grin, "things were just getting interesting."

"Further questions can be addressed to my office," Kazuya stood. "Feel free to forget the number," he said as he passed Wulong, lip curling with barely concealed hate. He glanced once more at Jun then left the office, leaving Wulong and Jin to be escorted out by security.