Chapter 17: The Confrontation

Abe Store
Sakuragaoka
7:00 AM

Cathy Wilkens exited the Abe Store in Sakuragaoka just after 7:00 the next morning while John Kondo was interviewing Nozomi Harasaki and her grandmother, Toki Aida, at their house on the opposite end of the neighborhood. She munched on her newly purchased caramel candy bar as she turned to see Kondo approaching from that side of the street.

"It's a little early for candy," Kondo said, "Isn't it, partner?"

Cathy chuckled despite her partially full mouth. "True," she replied after swallowing, "But it's not like we've had time to stop for a regular breakfast this morning."

Kondo nodded. "Fair enough," he said.

"Were you able to talk to Nozomi?" Cathy asked.

"Yeah," Kondo replied, "She was reluctant to really talk about anything at first, but she eventually backed up what we heard from the MPs at the harbor earlier. Ryo showed up just before one a.m. and saved her from the people that took her from her house."

"Did she happen to overhear anything that could be of use to us?" Cathy questioned.

Kondo shook his head in response. "Nope," he said, "She said that she was pretty scared the whole time, which is entirely understandable. Her grandmother's going to be keeping quite the eye on her from now on, I imagine."

"Right on," Cathy replied, "Next stop, the Hazuki place."

Hazuki Residence
Yamanose
10 Minutes Later

The partners knocked on the front gate of The Hazuki family property and were soon greeted by Masayuki Fukuhara roughly a minute or two later.

"Good morning!" Fuku-san kindheartedly greeted.

"Good morning, Fuku-san" Cathy replied, "We apologize for visiting so early, but would it be possible for my partner and I to speak with Ryo-san for a few minutes? It's very important."

Fuku-san nodded politely in retort. "Yes," he replied, "I'll go get him. Please come in."

"Thank you," Kondo said.

The pair stepped inside the exterior front area of the property and followed Fuku-san inside the main house. The young martial arts student gestured toward the open kitchen area and the dining table.

"Please have a seat," he graciously said, "I'll go get Ryo-san for you."

Cathy and Kondo each sat down in a chair around the Hazukis' small dining table. They then heard voices as Fuku-san knocked and entered Ryo's room just across the hallway.

"Ryo-san!" Fuku-san said, "Those people from the American Navy are here to see you."

A responsive sigh was heard, presumably from Ryo. "I suppose they want to speak with me about what happened at the harbor," he said.

"I don't know," Fuku-san replied, "I think it's best that you talk to them."

Ryo emerged from his room a few minutes later and came into the kitchen, at which point he bowed a silent greeting to both Cathy and Kondo.

"Hello again, Ryo-san" Kondo greeted.

"Hello," Ryo replied before taking a seat at the head of the table.

"Look," Cathy said in a very no-nonsense tone, "I think I speak for both Agent Kondo and me when I say that it's time to cut to the chase with all this. We heard you tell Fuku-san that you thought we were here about what happened at the harbor early this morning."

"For the record," Kondo interjected, "You're correct about that. Normally we wouldn't dream of doing this, but if you're completely upfront and honest with what you tell us, we'll explain to you about how our investigative efforts connect with what you've been trying to accomplish since your father was killed."

Over the next half an hour that followed, Ryo laid out everything regarding his various attempts to avenge his father's death while the determined Navy investigators listened very intently.

"So, you're saying that these art thefts you've been investigating have to do with Lan Di and the Chi You Men?" Ryo queried for clarification.

"We believe so," Cathy said, "We also discovered that a phony coffee company called 'Kanagawa Java' may be laundering the money that the Mad Angels and the Chi You Men may be jointly collecting for their illegal endeavors."

"Which includes whatever money they could potentially get from trying to sell those stolen art pieces on the Black Market," Kondo added.

"And you think that Terry Ryan and the Mad Angels are fronting things from their side," Ryo inferred.

Cathy nodded. "That's right," she replied, "You said that you actually spoke with Terry when you went in to save Nozomi, right?"

"Yes," Ryo began explained, "He told me that the trading that's being done by Chen Imports has been impeding their attempts at trading illegal drugs."

Cathy and Kondo traded looks before looking back at Ryo. "Okay," Kondo said, "We'll get some extra security for Mister Chen and his son. What was his name again?"

"Gui Zhang," Ryo replied, "That's a nice gesture and everything, but you both should know that the two of them are more than capable of defending themselves. Master Chen is quite literally a kung fu master and Gui Zhang is his best student."

"Even so," Cathy said, "At the end of the day, they're just two people. What if twelve guys show up to hassle them?"

Ryo mustered a very rare smile in response. "Like I said," he replied, "They can take care of themselves."

The black rotary phone abruptly rang in the Hazuki foyer. Ine Hayata was then heard going to answer it. "Hazuki Residence," Ine-San's soft, comforting voice answered. "Yes," she continued, "One minute please."

The good-hearted housekeeper then entered the kitchen. "I beg your pardon, everyone" Ine-San said to them before turning her gaze to Cathy and Kondo, "There is a Chief Petty Officer Desmond on the phone for you, Kondo-San. He says she needs to speak with you about an important matter."

Though he was a bit thrown off by this for a second, Kondo nodded. "I see," he said as he got up from his chair and went out toward the foyer, "Thanks so much, Ine-San."

Ryo and Cathy then talked amongst themselves while Kondo conversed with Desmond. He reentered the kitchen a few minutes later. "Cathy," Kondo said.

"Yeah?" Cathy inquired.

"Chief Desmond says that one of the undercover MPs got some good intel about that Chinese ship we've been looking for," Kondo explained, "It's expected to come into the harbor tomorrow night at Ten-Thirty."