Chapter 30

When they came for him, he was kneeling in the center of the room, eyes closed, trying with only mild success to meditate. He had done his best to keep up a daily training regimen within the confines of the small space, and that had helped to keep his mind and body occupied. However, as these past several hours had crept past, it had become increasingly difficult, and now nearly impossible, for Leonardo to keep his anxiety in check.

Ten days had passed; Kan's ultimatum to Raphael expired at the end of the night. Leo felt as though he were watching a roulette wheel spin, the little ball going around and around, daring anyone to guess where it would land. His brothers might show up with Doshida. They might show up without him. They might not show up at all. At this moment, they might be dead, injured, fighting, or planning an attack or a rescue mission. Within hours, his own life would be forfeit and he might die without ever knowing.

It was enough to make him want to take the Raphael-like step of smashing through the fragile-looking screen door, dispatching the two guards and fighting his way up through the layers of the building and the hordes of Foot soldiers. Pesky logic, however, told him that it would be tragic irony of epic proportions for his family to arrive only to find him already dead.

So he waited. When he heard the screen door slide open, he opened his eyes to see four Foot ninja - the two current guards and two other, higher ranked soldiers - looking down at him coldly.

"Tachiagaru. Stand up. Kan-Jonin wishes to speak to you."

The guards formed a rectangle around him, two in front, two behind, as they escorted him out of the room and down the narrow corridor. At the end of the hall they climbed a set of steps, crossed a training hall, and ascended two more sets of steep stairs. He was wondering where they taking the trouble of bringing him, and why, when one of the forward guards rapped on a door and opened it, bowing in the entryway before stepping aside for Leonardo to enter.

They must be on the topmost floor of the main building, in a central room overlooking the entire courtyard, the main gate, and the gravel area beyond it. Kan Masataro stood with his hands clasped behind his back, looking out the window at the view. He turned, black silk kimono against streaked red evening sky. "Your brother appears to have failed to fulfill his side of our agreement," Kan said.

"There's still time."

"Yes, a few hours," Kan agreed. "Which is why I wish to discuss matters with you now. Have you decided how you will concede?"

Kan was referring, of course, to his choice of execution or seppuku. No doubt the latter would be more convenient and less costly for the Foot. Firmly, Leonardo said, "I have not been defeated disgracefully and have no dishonor to atone for."

"I thought you would say that," Kan replied. "Which leaves me with a dilemma." Hands still behind his back, he turned halfway, his profile against the window, so he could see outside as he continued to speak to his captive, slowly, thoughtfully. "No doubt your family, if they are at all able, will return here regardless, in an attempt to free you if you are alive, or to retrieve your body and exact vengeance if you are dead. And while they cannot possibly succeed on such a courageous but foolhardy mission, I will soon have a formidable battle on my hands, one that will no doubt result in losses, which I wish to avoid.

"So I can think of only one tactically sound solution." He pointed to a rise in the path just outside the gates of the Foot compound. "After you are executed tonight, your body will be displayed outside the gates, along that exposed rise, visible upon approach to the compound. Your brothers will see it, abandon any attempt to breach the walls, and instead concentrate on recovering your corpse. In that vulnerable position, the snipers positioned there, there, and there," he pointed along the wall and to the treed areas along the path, "should be able to dispatch them with minimal casualties."

The room seemed to be tilting. Leonardo felt ill. Kan's well-considered rationale and strategy, so calmly explained, was one that any ninja leader worth his salt could not help but appreciate, and he easily envisioned the whole thing playing out just as the man described. He felt a quaver in his voice and forced it as flat as paper. "Why are you telling me this?"

Kan turned to face him, without malice or sympathy. "I still have you to contend with. I do not doubt your ability to fight admirably until your last breath, and I've no desire to lose soldiers in a messy and drawn-out spectacle. Reconsider your position- seppuku, or unresisted execution, if you prefer. In exchange, I will reposition the snipers to defend the gate and walls, instructing them to show themselves but not to fire. Your brothers will be able to withdraw, to give you funeral rites, to live- if they so choose."

This was surely a bad dream. In a monotone, "I won't be alive to see you make good on that promise."

"Jonin to jonin - I will honor your wish to see your clan survive. If they attack from such an obviously compromised position, the compound can be defended without killing them." Kan paused. "I can see that you need time to consider your decision. I will give you two hours."