Dopplegänger
V
Inspector McClane didn't like special assignments. He preferred to handle cases of his own choosing rather than being told what to investigate. The assignment at the Chase bank was demeaning to him because he saw it as a baby sitting job. The Manhattan district supervisor had met with his precinct head and then he had been called into his supervisor's office.
"Sit down McClane," the precinct commander told him, pointing to an empty chair. McClane saw that he wasn't the only investigator from the precinct that had been called in. John grumbled to himself, but he sat down and tried to put on a look of respect for authority, which for him was a bit of an acting job.
"Now that McClane has honored us with his presence we can begin," the commander said. "It seems that the feds are in the middle of a sizable transfer of gold bullion between the US and some unnamed power in the middle east. Normally this kind of thing takes place on paper and the physical bullion stays put in some third party location. Most of you probably think that the US gold reserve lies in Fort Knox, but these days the stuff is scattered about and kept in several smaller locations. You could say the Feds are no longer keeping all their golden eggs in one basket anymore. The transfer will take place sometime next week, the exact time is being kept secret until the last minute. The location has been revealed to only a few trusted officials, and since the NYCPD has been requested to assist with security a few members of the force, myself included, know the location. I'm putting Inspector McClane in charge of this operation, the rest of you will be taking orders from him. Congratulations John, your reputation for getting things done has earned you this assignment."
"Great!" McClane muttered aloud.
"Show some enthusiasm McClane," The command replied, "It will come in handy working with the Feds. OK, everyone but McClane are dismissed. John stick around for a few more minutes, someone from the bureau wants to meet with us."
The rest of the investigators left the room, leaving McClane and the commander alone. About thirty seconds after the group had departed the door opened again and a tall man in a dark suit entered. He flashed a badge as he introduced himself.
"I'm special agent Lewis Erskine," he announced, "and this must be the infamous John McClane."
"At your service." McClane grumbled offering a handshake.
"Why don't we get down to business?" The commander offered, "I'm sure McClane would rather be out on the street doing his job as soon as possible."
"Got that right." McClane smiled.
Agent Erskine opened the thin attache case he'd been carrying and withdrew a small folder from it. He set that on the desk and opened it, revealing a black and white 8x10 photograph. "Ever seen this character?" he asked handing McClane the picture.
John McClane starred at the photograph for a few seconds. It was short Asian man wearing glasses and a pith hat, with a cigarette holder clenched between his teeth.
"No, can't say that I've ever run into this guy," the inspector finally announced, handing the photo back to the FBI agent. "Who is he?"
"His name is Kin Sankaku. We've suspected for some time that he is involved in the Korean Mafia, but we've never proven that. We do know that he is an art dealer with a shady past, we've almost nailed him multiple times on dealing with stolen art, he has an Interpol file a mile long."
"So what does he have to do with this gold shipment this precinct has been volunteered to baby sit?" McClane questioned.
"Homeland Security has picked up some internet traffic out of Korea suggesting that a sleeper cell may be involved in trying to intercept the gold transfer," Erskine answered. "Sankaku's name was found in several of the messages."
"What, in the clear?"
"No, we've managed to partially crack their code."
"You got any more intel on this guy?" John asked.
Erskine opened his case and extracted a thin portfolio. "Here study this," He said. "This file contains all the background info we've got on Sankaku, and some photographs taken during recent surveillance stakeouts on him by HLS and the bureau."
McClane took the folder back to his office and opened up his laptop computer. He started a search of various national and international police databases for Sankaku, and while his inquires were running he flipped though the dossier portfolio that the FBI agent had given him. He didn't recognize anyone that appeared with Sankaku in first dozen photographs and was nearly to the bottom of the pile when his jaw dropped. In the last two photos Sankaku was caught talking to a petite Asian woman dressed in black. McClane opened up another window on the Macbook and recalled the search he'd done a few days ago on Dr. Tenma and his estranged wife Hoshie. He compared the slightly blurry face in the photograph with that of Hoshie's image in the Tokyo police database. There was no doubt in his mind, she was the woman in the photograph with Sankaku.
Professor Ochanomizu felt the cellphone in his pocket buzzing and he fished it out from beneath the contents of the pocket. Looking at the screen, he sighed, but pressed the icon to answer the phone.
"Yes Inspector, what can I do for you now?" Ochanomizu asked.
From across the hotel room, Astro noticed his guardian with the phone held against his ear and a sour look on his face. He increased the amplification on his ears so he could overhear both sides of the conversation, which didn't last very long.
"Come on Astro," the Professor said with a sorry voice. "It seems we are wanted down at the police station, that Inspector McClane has some more questions for us."
"I suspect he wants to talk to you more than me." Astro said reaching for his jacket.
"You overheard what he was saying."
Astro just nodded his head with a sly smile.
They took a cab in the downtown direction towards the police precinct. The professor walked slowly up the steps from the sidewalk to the entrance of the building with Astro following closely behind him. They walked up a desk in the front lobby of the building and a woman desk Sargent looked down at them.
"We're here to meet with an Inspector McClane." Ochanomizu told her.
She flipped though a pile of papers on the desk before responding. "He's waiting for you," She said pointing towards a hallway, "Third door on the left. Just knock and walk in."
They did as they were instructed. McClane was sitting at a desk, his face hidden behind the screen of a 17" Macbook. "Take a seat." he told them, pushing the laptop to the side.
"We caught a cab as soon as I got off the phone with you, inspector." Ochanomizu said. "What was so important."
"Since we last met I was doing some research on this Dr. Tenma and his wife." McClane said. "I didn't manage to turn up anything on her whereabouts, at least not until this morning."
He pulled the last two photographs from the FBI folder and handed them to the professor. "These two photos were taken a few days ago by a surveillance team from the HLS department," he said.
Ochanomizu looked at the two images quickly and handed them back. "Where were those taken?"
"In this city." McClane replied. "I assume that is Hoshie Tenma."
"Yes, that is her." Ochanomizu said, "So it appears that she isn't dead, and the rumors of her leaving Japan for America were true, she certainly has aged since I last saw her. Why would your HLS people be trailing her?"
"They weren't." McClane answered. "The man in the photo was their subject of interest. He is suspected of being tied in with the Korean Mafia, and for that reason HLS was keeping track of his whereabouts. The man is a known dealer in stolen artwork. It shouldn't take you very long to put two and two together and figure out what seems to be going on."
"You think that her son is alive and living here in NYC?" Ochanomizu asked.
"That would explain Astro's Dopplegänger wouldn't it?" McClane answered.
Astro's face took on a look of surprise. "What is he talking about Hakase?" he asked.
The professor got up from his chair and walked over to the door of the office. He closed it, and flipped the lock on the doorknob.
"Is this room bugged?" he asked.
Astro swiveled his head from side to side. "No Hakase, it isn't" he announced.
The inspector leaned closer to his two guests. "OK, what's going on?" he asked.
"This is for Astro's ears, and to confirm your suspicions." Ochanomizu said.
"Astro, you do know that doctor Tenma built you to replace his son Tobio after the boy suffered a fatal accident. I was Tobio's godfather, and I knew Umataro and Hoshie Tenma for a long time, I met them before they were married when he and I first started working at the science ministry."
Astro nodded his head and looked into the professors eyes.
"Umataro and Hoshie separated and were divorced when Tobio was maybe seven years old." Ochanomizu continued. "I never saw Hoshie after that, except when I was called in as a character witness during her divorce settlement hearing. I was told that Tobio's body had been donated to the ministry's science lab, but I never did find out what happened to him. In fact, I wasn't actually sure that the boy had ever been declared legally dead. Inspector Towashi once told me he'd uncovered some evidence that Hoshie might had left Japan with a child in her custody. I always wondered about that."
"You mean that Tobio is alive?" Astro asked.
"That seems to be what is going on here," McClane said. "This Tobio, who now seems to be going by the name Tojo, must be the juvenile thief I've been after that you were mistaken for. The only thing is, that museum heist was the work of a genius mind. The way that alarm system was countermanded, and the display case broken into, that was no amateur job."
"Dr. Tenma was a genius," the professor said. "and his son was a chip off the old block. The boy used to take robots apart and put them back together again, better than new. I hate to say this, but he would have been perfectly capable of masterminding that museum job. I just can't see him turning to crime though, he was such a sweet innocent boy."
"Maybe he changed as a result of that accident?" Astro asked.
"That is possible." the professor agreed, "He had been in a coma for quite some time, perhaps he suffered from some brain damage that changed his personality."