Chapter 16: Opportunities Taken

As he always did at the start of each workday, Kurosawa did his private morning devotional in his office.

Dear gracious Lord, I need help. Please help me fight my terrible sin, my pride. You are so faithful in reminding me of that, and for that I am thankful. I admit that I am pathetically weak. Your will be done, not my own. That is why you put me into this chair. Please, continue to lead and guide me so that I focus on your will, not mine, and show me your purpose for me on this earth. Amen.

He turned on his computer screen. It was still displaying the same pair of PNG images that it did when he left the office the day before. They were photographs of the USNS Mercy*, and her sister ship, the USNS Comfort.

They were the two largest floating hospitals in the world. Each with a displacement of over 69,000 tons, they were originally built as oil supertanker hulls. They were among the most massive ships in the United States Navy; only the great Nimitz class nuclear-powered aircraft carriers were larger.

The Mercy had a distinguished history. Originally commissioned in 1986, it first saw action during Operation Desert Storm in 1991. After the great 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake the ship provided medical care to over 100,000 patients across much of Southeast Asia.

The massive ship's home port was San Diego and the naval medical center located there. (Her sister ship was stationed in the Atlantic.) During standby operations the Mercy was manned by minimal crew of only 70, basically the bare minimum for ship navigation and the maintenance of its 12 operating rooms and 30 wards. But during an emergency the great ship could transform itself into a floating hospital with a medical staff of over 1,200 as it treated tens of thousands of injured and wounded patients that could be airlifted aboard by the military or civilian transport helicopters landing on its enormous flight deck.

The ship's primary mission was to provide humanitarian assistance wherever needed in the Pacific Rim. Starting in 2006, the USNS Mercy began to depart San Diego for regular deployments as part the Pacific Partnership, an ongoing civic mission. She had visited several ports in the Pacific to perform various humanitarian missions, including the training of many non-governmental organizational (NGO) relief workers, as well as doctors from the armed services of several countries and active-duty and reserve military providers from many branches of the US armed forces.

A few months ago the Mercy departed San Diego once again for this year's Pacific Partnership tour. This was its most recent deployment under the aegis of "Prepare in Calm to Respond in Crisis". It was no coincidence that this was basically Kurosawa's own mantra, as he believed that the best way to handle a disaster was to prepare for it ahead of time as much as possible. The PP deployments fit neatly into his paradigm of doing as much preparedness planning as possible before the next disaster occurred. As part of this year's Pacific Partnership mission, the Mercy's itinerary included visiting the countries of Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Japan.

Kurosawa would be heading up the civilian component for the Mercy's visit to Japan when it was scheduled to dock at the port of Yamaboshi. There it would partake in major Japan-US joint exercise in disaster preparedness planning and training.

During the visit Japan would send in a large number of personnel to spend several weeks aboard the Mercy. The highlight would be a training exercise for a simulated major regional disaster. The US contingent was actually rather modest; roughly 80% of those on board would be from Japan. Here they would practice all aspects of disaster operations including first aid, medical triage, medical trauma care, logistics, rescue operations, and other aspects of coping with a major natural disaster. It was part of a major joint exercise that simulated the aftermath of an L4 earthquake. Several other government ministries would also be involved. The JRCS would be taking point in the simulated civilian rescue and relief effort.

Kurosawa was intending to give his JRCS staff a real run for their money during the exercise. He was drawing up the map for a simulated earthquake with mass casualties in the Yamaboshi region. He wanted to make the simulation as realistic as possible. Some of the 'victims' would be actual survivors of previous earthquakes such as the 1995 Kobe quake. Others were hardened JSDF military types who had seen destruction and death firsthand. Their purpose was to shake his staff up: There would be the screaming of the wounded and dying, the panicky relatives storming into makeshift operating theaters looking for their loved ones, and general chaos everywhere.

It was all intentional. Kurosawa realized that some of the team members would probably be unable to handle such a realistic test, and some would choke or freeze in the clutch, or they would break down sobbing. They would have to be given post-action interviews and psychological tests, and if necessary culled and placed in desk jobs. It was unfortunate but necessary. It was far better to learn which ones couldn't cope now than during a real disaster.

Others would do the opposite. They would take reckless heroic risks that could endanger the lives of themselves and everyone around them. That needed monitoring too. Kurosawa made a note to watch Yaegashi especially in that regard. Fortunately, that kind of over-enthusiastic recklessness could be corrected with a proper post-action review and additional training. It was one of the reasons why Kurosawa assigned himself as Yaegashi's direct boss. The boy had great potential, but Kurosawa felt that he needed some tempering to learn to make better judgements and to think rationally before leaping into action during a crisis.

Kurosawa studied the logistical charts and maps carefully. He saw some possible bottlenecks. Medical transportation was going to be a problem. The assumption was that Yamaboshi would be more or less destroyed, with no power or port facilities, and so the great hospital ship would have to be parked offshore and use helicopters to transport the wounded. There he saw a possible problem with clearing away enough rubble to permit the landings of the large transport helicopters at the six tent triage centers.

He continued to study the screen and made notes.

At noon he heard the clock chime for lunch. He turned off the screen. His wheelchair hummed as it left the office for his lunch date with Yaegashi.

Iori and Aoki entered the front door of the apartment each carrying an armload of groceries. It was because Iori had told Taichi that she would volunteer to help stock-up the pantry now that four people would be living together in the cramped apartment. She used Taichi's debit card to buy the required staples, and Aoki went along to help carry everything. Afterwards Iori was planning to go see Kiriyama at the rehab center.

The pair were just finishing putting away the last grocery items when there was a knock on the front door.

Aoki answered it. He saw that it was Fujishima.

"Oh, hello." He bowed. "Fujishima-sama, this is unexpected. Please, come in." She did.

Fujishima glanced around a bit furtively, "Aoki, are we alone?"

Before Aoki could muster a response, Iori came ambling into the foyer while humming a pleasant tune. Iori stopped mid-hum when she spotted Fujishima.

Fujishima's eyes were wide with surprise. "Iori-chan.. what in the world are you doing here..?"

"Oh, hi."

"Wait, you two live together?"

Oooh.. opportunity! Iori walked right up and stood next to Aoki. But she did not touch him. Ugh, I can't break my promise. She very much did not want to hurt Aoki any further, and so she didn't try to glomp on to the big muscular man in front of Fujishima. But it was just so tempting.

She was dying to mess with Fujishima. It was a perfect chance to have some uproarious fun at her expense, and it was what Iori practically lived for. But she couldn't do it, not to Taichi. She could never let him down by breaking her promise to him no matter how strong the temptation.

Sigh. What a wasted opportunity.

Fujishima was still trying to process what she was seeing. She only knew that this was Aoki's new home address. He had written it down on the representation agreement in her law office. He had neglected to indicate who else was living with him.

"Iori-chan.. what is going on here?"

Iori took a chance. She knew she was forbidden from messing with Aoki, not directly anyway.

But Taichi never said anything about Aoki messing with anyone else.

And so Iori turned to face Aoki. As she did so she looked him right in the eye, and while speaking in a carefully neutral tone she said, "What were we doing this morning?" She hoped that Aoki catch on and decide to play along.

He did. Without missing a beat he turned and said matter-of-factly to Fujishima, "Iori and I were in bed together."

Fujishima was stunned. "W-what..?"

Aoki grinned at his morning's bed partner. Iori could see that he was enjoying spoofing Fujishima as much as she did. His smile grew as he put his arm around her. Meanwhile he kept the ball rolling. "Don't worry, it was only physical. I was just warming her up, that's all."

Fujishima was floored.

Iori.. wait.. you actually slept with that adorable hunk before Kiriyama could even walk..? That.. that was so shameless of you.. so wonderfully shocking.. so delightfully naughty..

Fujishima's eyes lit up. "Iori-sama.. you're amazing."

Iori did a small bow. "Thank you."

The attorney continued to stand at the threshhold while marveling in adoration. Iori finally cleared her throat. "Uh, you came here to see your client?"

Fujishima blinked her eyes. "Oh, yes. Right. May I come in? I have some important news for Aoki."

Aoki escorted the distracted attorney inside and took her coat. Then he asked, "Would you like some tea?"

Fujishima replied absently, "Yes, thank you." As she kneeled down at the low table, Aoki went into the kitchenette to fetch the tea. Iori herself then kneeled on a cushion across from the other woman.

After making sure that Aoki was out of earshot, Fujishima leaned forward and whispered, "Iori-sama.."

Iori simply smiled back and said nothing.

Fujishima continued to lean forward. "Please, would you like to come over for dinner tonight? I could make you a wonderful meal. I have some fresh Chilean sea bass. Then afterwards I could perform a recital for you on my harpsichord. I've been practising Brahms." She was practically begging. "Bring Aoki too if you like. I don't mind at all. I mean, the more the merrier, right?"

Iori yawned, then looked down absently at her fingernails. "Now now, I already told you that I don't have an opening on my schedule this week. I might have a few hours open to squeeze you into my calendar next week perhaps. Otherwise I'm simply too busy."

Fujishima again looked into the kitchenette and sighed, "Yes.. I see that." Then she turned back. "Does anyone else live here with you?"

"Of course. Taichi and Inaban do. We all live here together."

"What? You have to be kidding me."

Iori smiled pleasantly. "It's true. We all live here. All of us. Ask Aoki if you don't believe me."

"You.. you all sleep here together? Like in a commune or a kibbutz or something?"

"Pretty much."

"Wow.. I had no idea. I mean I knew your little group was always really tight and all, but.. wow, not like that. So, uh, have you and Taichi, uh, you know..?"

Iori said nothing.

Fujishima jumped to the conclusion that Iori expected. "Oooh.." Then Fujishima asked, "And Inaba..?"

Again Iori said nothing.

"W-Wait.. All of them?"

Before Iori had an opportunity to think of a suitably amusing response, Aoki returned carrying the tea tray. He served the two women and then sat next to Iori with a pleasant smile on his face. Meanwhile Fujishima's considerable imagination was running wild.

Iori allowed Fujishima's blissful daydream to continue for a few more moments, then she finally spoke up. "Fujishima, you said that you came here to give Aoki some news?"

That brought Fujishima back to reality. "Oh, uh, yes." She picked up her teacup and drank from it deeply. Then her demeanor changed. She looked down into her cup. "I just came from the courthouse records office."

Her face looked serious. "Aoki-san, I am afraid I have some good news and some bad news for you."

Aoki braced himself. "Tell me the bad news first."

"All right. A half hour ago I was dropping off the paperwork to submit your appeal to the courts. It turns out it wasn't necessary."

"It wasn't?"

"No. The Prosecutors Office had already pushed through the paperwork regarding your parole. Your parole has been terminated. It's over. You are a free man now. "

Aoki jumped up and whooped, "Hooray!" Iori got up too, "Yay!"

Then Aoki asked, "And the good news?"

"They dropped your restraining order against contacting Kiriyama. You can now visit and see Kiriyama as much as she and her family will allow."

Aoki yelled, "Yes! I can go see Yui now!"

Iori jumped in the air and yelled too, "Yahoo!" Then they joyfully hugged each other. At this point they were both ignoring the attorney's misinterpretation of whatever it was she thought she was seeing, and frankly neither one of them cared anymore.

Aoki's eyes were glowing like beacons. "She's waiting for me. Let's go!" He turned to run for the door.

But then Iori thought for a moment and frowned. She held Aoki back. "Wait. Something's wrong."

She turned to face Fujishima. "Why did you call the ending of Aoki's parole 'bad news'?"

Fujishima bowed her head. "I'm sorry.."

Aoki asked, "Wait, why are you apologizing?"

"Because I didn't expect this. Certainly not this quickly. You see, I went to the courthouse intending to submit the paperwork to the Court of Appeals to request a hearing to reverse Aoki's felony conviction. But the clerk said the parole was already dropped. They must have done it incredibly fast."

"So that's good, right? It means Aoki is a free man, correct? What's wrong with that?"

"No, this is the worst possible outcome."

Aoki asked, "I don't understand?"

"It is because it creates a huge problem. There is nothing to appeal now."

"You mean my conviction?"

"Yes. Don't you see? This case was a huge political liability that hung over the heads of a lot of important people. It threatened the Ministry of Justice, the police department, my father, practically everybody in law enforcement. They all wanted your case to just go away as quickly as possible. They wanted to make it disappear."

She looked down. "And so that is exactly what they did. The case is terminated. Your prison time has been served, the parole has ended, and therefore the case is closed. And once a case is closed like this, it is over. Don't you see? There is literally nothing left to re-litigate. Once all of the parts of your sentence including all post-sentencing obligations are completed a case cannot be re-litigated again under any circumstances. That's basic law in practically every country in the world. It's over."

Aoki was starting to understand the implications. "You mean my felony conviction is going to remain on my record.."

"Yes. I'm so sorry, Aoki. They did it to stop any embarrassing hearings in the Court of Appeals. I tried to submit the paperwork as fast as I could this morning, but it was already too late. Truly, I am sorry."

Then she gritted her teeth. "I can't believe they did this. It is highly irregular without an actual hearing. They must really be afraid of you, Aoki. Dang it, I should have anticipated this and been faster.."

Aoki tried to reassure his attorney. "It is not your fault. I'm just a walking liability to everyone around me."

Iori and Fujishima both yelled, "You are not!" Then they looked at each other a bit sheepishly.

Iori finally said to the attorney, "Look, isn't there anything else you can do? Anything at all?"

Fujishima shrugged her shoulders. "The only possible recourse at this point is to request a pardon."

Iori asked, "A pardon?"

Aoki nodded, "I've heard of that. I know that in the United States a governor can pardon someone who has been convicted of a crime. You see it sometimes in old movies, where the jailer comes running in at the last second to announce the governor's pardon just before they execute someone."

Fujishima replied dryly, "Real life is not like the movies, Aoki."

"Fine, so who can grant me a pardon in Japan? Is it the governor of the prefecture?"

"No. Higher."

"Ugh. You mean the Justice Minister?"

"No. Higher."

"The Prime Minister?"

"No."

"Wait, higher than even the Prime Minister?"

Iori was getting it. "You mean.."

Fujishima said quietly, "It would require a royal decree. A royal pardon. Aoki, the only person who can grant you your pardon is the Emperor of Japan."

The room was silent.

Finally Aoki said, "Not likely, then.."

Fujishima said flatly, "No. Look, do you know how many people have actually received a royal pardon during the past thousand years? Nine. That is about one per century. The last one happened in 1943. A royal pardon is a huge deal. It is very public, very political, and with tons of publicity. And for that reason alone I can guarantee you it will never happen with your case. I'm sorry. It's over."

Aoki looked down. "You mean my felony conviction will never go away now? How am I supposed to get a job?"

"Believe me, if there was anything I could do.."

"Oh well. I guess I'll just have to soldier on somehow. I'll do what I always do and take life as it comes, one day at a time. That has always been my philosophy, to never fret about the future."

Iori stood respectfully in front of him. "That's right, Aoki. You don't need to worry about your future. That's because your friends will support you. We know you, your character. You have an amazing sense of loyalty, dedication, and devotion that any employer would thank their lucky stars to get. We just need to let everyone know how selfless and reliable you are." She began to think. "Hmm.. we need to give you some good publicity. There is no reason to keep quiet anymore. Let me think.. yeah.."

Fujishima got up and said, "Okay, I see where this is going, and the less I know the better." She prepared to leave. "Whatever scheme you are cooking up, I don't want to know. Is that understood?"

Iori smiled. "Sure. The legal part is over. Your work is done, and you did your best. And I promise there will be nothing leading back to you."

"Good. And Iori-chan.." She was looking at Iori a bit sheepishly.

"Yes?"

"Will you let me play Brahms for you on my harpsichord one day?"

Iori smiled. "Of course. It is a shame my arm is in a sling because we could have played a duet."

Fujishima looked wistful. "Yes, that would have been wonderful."

Then she spoke softly, almost as if to herself, "Friends like yours are so special. I never had that. Truly, you live a blessed life."

Iori was surprised. "Wait, you think I'm blessed.. that someone like me is blessed?"

Fujishima looked up with a sad smile, "Yes. I really do."

Fujishima then spoke her final words: "Take care of them." She left and closed the door behind her.

Iori looked thoughtfully at the now closed door. The playfulness was gone.

She closed her eyes and sighed as her inner-self continued to upwell from her soul.

It was the inner-Iori that opened her eyes again as she wiped away a tear.

She spoke quietly to the closed door.

"I will."

Aoki was standing behind her. Iori turned and apologized to Aoki. "I appreciate you playing along. I had to create that persona so that I could keep Fujishima under my thumb and make her play the beta to my alpha to maintain control. It prevented things from getting out of hand. Thanks."

"No sweat. That was actually kind of fun. I enjoyed it. I can see why you like doing it so much."

"Yeah. But in the long run it's a bad habit." And it was a habit that she ruefully realized that she would need to eventually kick one day. And probably sooner rather than later.

"Hey, it's cool with me."

"Then please don't tell Taichi, okay? I did keep my promise not to mess with you. Well technically. It was you messing with Fujishima, not me messing with you. Still, he'll probably kick my ass anyway if he finds out, though."

"Eh, I won't get you in trouble. I know that he is just trying to protect me. Honestly, your flirty come-ons are not a problem for me anymore."

"Uh, they aren't? I'm sorry.."

"Forget it. You were just goofing around because you were bored. I know that you weren't trying to take me away from Yui or anything like that. And since I know you weren't serious it doesn't bother me. Besides, there is no way that you could get between me and Yui anyway, no matter what tricks you might use on me."

"Oh..?" Iori felt vaguely insulted.

Then Aoki did something that surprised her. His face changed and became stern. "And you will never be able to take me from Yui, no matter how hard you might try."

"Aoki, you know very well that I would never actually.."

He interrupted her, "Absolutely no one will ever stand between me and Yui. No one." He took a rather menacing step towards her. "Not even someone as clever and as sneaky as you."

Yow. She instinctively took a step back away from him. She raised her good arm in surrender. "Okay, okay! You win! I get the message loud and clear. And from Taichi too. So just lighten up, both of you. Yes, yes, I ship you and Yui forever. Sheesh."

"Good. I'm glad you understand that."

"Oh, I do, believe me."

She picked up her jacket. "In fact, just to show you how committed I am to shipping you two, I would be more than happy to escort you right now to the rehab center to see her."

Aoki's face instantly softened; his expression reverted back to its usual puppy-dog eagerness. "Ooh! Yeah! I can see her finally! Let's go! Right now!"

Iori was still trying to button up her coat with one arm as the large man ran out of the door.

"Hey Aoki, wait for me!"

Bakou showed the photographs to Inaba's father. "I like this photo especially, sir. Do you see the forced perspective? The foreshortening of the viewing angle? It makes the two subjects appear to be sleeping next to each other. We don't have to photoshop anything at all."

The large man was silent as he looked at the photo. Then he continued to flip through the other pictures as Bakou handed them to him. He frowned with obvious disapproval.

"Hmm." He continued flipping through the other photos. Finally he said, "Very well."

The former JSDF spec-ops sergeant asked his employer, "Your orders, sir?"

There was a pause. Finally the large man said, "Continue with the operation, but suspend level black for now." He owed his daughter that much.

"Yes sir. And when the vessel arrives?"

The large man stood up from his desk. Then he turned to look at the illegal operative.

"Make sure that you are on board."

"Yes sir. That won't be difficult."

"You already know your orders. Carry them out."

"Yes sir."

Bakou left the office.

The large man walked to the window and looked outside. His face was clearly unhappy. He then returned to his desk and read for a second time the e-mail message that he had received from his daughter. He nodded and came to a decision.

He pushed a button.

"Get me Miyabi Sakuraba on the phone."

Inaba texted to Taichi that she would be waiting for him at the park on a bench at 5:00 PM for their dinner date with her father later that evening.

T: The park bench near the street across from the apt?

I: Yes. I'll be waiting for you.

T: You will be coming home with me tonight after? I miss you.

I: Is Iori there at the apt?

T: Yes. She wants to be friends again. Wanted me to make sure you knew that.

I: I want that too. Tell her I'm really sorry for our big fight.

T: Already did. She says all is forgiven. Said she's sorry too.

I: Thx.

T: So you coming home then?

There was a delay before Inaba finally texted back.

I: Yes. Put me up with Iori in our bedroom. I might end up wearing earplugs tho.

T: LOL! Okay. See you this evening. Love you.

Inaba lowered her phone and smiled at it.

At noon, Inaba went to Tsubame Grill. There she hammered out the agreement with Steve Anderson to be his trading proxy. She would do the financial trades on her home computer using one of Steve's personal trading accounts. Basically Steve would provide her the bankroll and Inaba would do the trades for him.

After much haggling they agreed that Inaba would get 40% of the net. Originally she wanted 50% but backed down after Steve pointed out that he was assuming all of the risk with his bankroll and she was risking basically nothing. Plus he was paying the taxes. She had expected him to haggle down to 25% or so. Then they they would compromise around 30%.

The fact that he gave in so quickly at 40% was suspicious to her. She suspected it might be because he was gamely hoping to get some fringe benefits on the side. But she knew he was damned if he was going to get anything like that from her. She had a written agreement, after all. The term was for three months, and after that it required Steve to write a letter of recommendation. Then she could enter the employment market as an experienced trader with a proven track record and finally try to get a job with a major financial firm.

She went to the park and sat on the bench. She looked up into the air and sighed.

Okay, Iori. We're finally going to have our little get-together, just you and me. But remember that this works both ways. I'm going to figure out why you are so hell-bent on slowly killing yourself. Then I'm going to drag you kicking and screaming until you face reality and change your messed-up life.

And heaven knows what you are going to try to do to me. I know you are too clever to confront me directly, at least not at first. You're too sly for that. You'll try to get chummy with me first, to regain my trust, then burrow your way past my defenses and get inside my head.

I know how you operate, Iori. We both know each other too well. And frankly I don't need any more stress than I already have, but you cleverly forced this.

If this is what you really want, well okay then. Fine. So be it.

And if anything bad happens to you or between us it will be on your head, not mine.

It was now late afternoon. Iori and Aoki had long since returned from their visit to see Yui Kiriyama. Iori thought that the girl seemed to be doing really well with her rehab. She was already trying to walk on steel arm canes, far ahead of schedule. Iori suspected that Aoki was a big part of her motivation. She did not miss the fact that Kiriyama made a point of briefly touching her suitor on the arm. It had to have been deliberate, probably as a way of reassuring him.

From the bedroom window of the apartment Iori thought she could just barely make out Inaba sitting on a bench on the far side of the park. She stood up and began to put her coat on with the intention of 'accidentally' running into her while taking a walk.

Then she paused and thought for a moment. She decided against it. She realized that Inaba would not be fooled for a second. She leaned at the edge of the window and continued to look outside. She thought of another plan, then discarded it. Then a third. Then a fourth. She sat on the bed and frowned.

I give up. No gambit is going to work on you. You're just too smart. Inaban, I really am your friend, and I so desperately want to help you. To save you. But how?

What in the world is going on with you? What has Heartseed done? You know darn well that working together is the only way we have ever defeated him before. Don't you remember that? So please don't try to fight him alone. I know you want to, but it never works.

Inaban, please trust me. I want to help. How do I get you to trust me? Should I share my secrets with you? Would that help? No, that could backfire horribly. You could even jump the rails and end up on my lifetrack. I can't risk that.

Argh! What do I do?

Meanwhile I know that you'll try to 'save me' from myself, which I know is impossible...

Then a terrible thought struck her. Wait..

Was that what Heartseed's test actually was? Would he really go that far?

No.. he wouldn't. But, wait, if not him, perhaps one of the others? Maybe that awful Number Two or that even worse Number Three? Could they..?

Yes, they could. And Number Three certainly would.

She felt it, a gut instinct.

She was certain. She knew it.

Oh no.. No no no...

She knew it.

Before this is over..

She stood up.

.. someone is going to die.

She knew it.

The only question..

She bit her knuckle.

.. is who will die.

A/N:

* The USNS Mercy (T-AH-19) is a real ship, and the Pacific Partnership is a real program. You can find both on Wikipedia. You can see some cool pics of the ship if you search Google Images for 'USNS Mercy'.

Disclosure: My SO served in the US Navy (not on that ship).