ericlustbader.the ninja-第16部分

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　assaulted　her　nostrils　and　she　gagged。　Her　eyes　began　to　blur。
　'What　…'　She　gagged　again；　swallowed　hard。　'What　is　that　thing？'
　'I'm　not　sure；'　he　said　slowly。　'It's　too　big　for　a　bat；　at　least　in　this　part　of　the　country；　and　it's　not　a　flying　squirrel。'
　The　phone　began　to　ring　and　Justine　jumped。　Her　hands　gripped　her　arms。　'I've　got　goose…flesh；'　she　said。　Nicholas　remained　where　he　was；　staring　down　at　the　black　thing　that　had　crashed　through　the　window。　'Blinded　by　the　light；'　he　said。
　Justine　went　to　the　far　wall　and　picked　up　the　phone　but　he　seemed　oblivious　as　she　spoke　for　several　moments。　She　had　to　e　back　and　touch　him　on　the　arm。　'Vincent　wants　to　speak　to　you；'　she　said。
　He　looked　at　her　then；　tearing　his　eyes　away。　'All　right。'　His　voice　seemed　thick；　his　droughts　far　away。　'Don't　go　near　it；'
　he　warned　as　he　went　to　the　phone。　'What　is　it？'　he　said　abruptly。
　'I　tried　you　at　your　place；'　Vincent　said。　'When　there　was　no　answer；　I　took　a　chance。'　Nicholas　said　nothing。　'Look；　I　know　what　time　it　is。'　His　voice　rattled　against　Nicholas's　ear；　an　odd　note　settled　in　it。　'It's　happened　again。　Florum　just　brought　in　another　body。　They're　photographing　it　now。'　The　wind　howling　in　through　the　broken　window　seemed　chill　to　Nicholas。　He　waited；　sweat　breaking　out　on　his　body。　He　looked　at　the　mess　on　the　floor：　the　black…furred　corpse；　the　red　blood；　seeping　still　as　if　seeking　something　or　someone。　'Nick；　the　body　has　been　cut　obliquely　from　shoulder…blade　to　hip　joint　as　neatly　as　…　It　was　one　cut。　Do　you　understand？'
　
　
　
　Tokyo　Suburbs
　Singapore；　Summer　1945
　Tokyo　Suburbs；　Winter　1951
　
　There　was　a　Shinto　temple　amid　the　lushest　forest　Nicholas　had　ever　seen；　a　mere　three　hundred　metres　from　the　extreme　eastern　edge　of　his　father's　land。　Then　it　was　another　hundred　and　fifty　or　so　to　the　house；　a　large；　delicate；　precisely　orchestrated　structure　of　traditional　Japanese　design。　The　front　was　L…shaped；　preceded；　as　one　came　upon　it；　by　an　exquisite　formal　garden　which；　needless　to　say；　required　tireless　attention　and　as　much　love　as　a　small　child。
　The　irony　of　the　location　would　e　later　when；　on　the　far　side　of　the　long　rolling　knoll　to　the　west；　they　would　construct　an　ultramodern　eight…lane　superhighway　to　aid　the　bustling　traffic　to　and　from　the　heart　of　Tokyo。
　The　last　traces　of　Japan's　military　might　had　been　ground　to　metal　powder；　its　imperial　daimyo　tried　and　serving　time　as　war　criminals。　The　Emperor　remained　but　everywhere　uniformed　Americans　basked　in　what　they　often　laughingly　referred　to　as　'the　atomic　sunshine*。
　Yet　Nicholas's　history　lessons　were　to　begin　in　another　country。

　On　February　15；　1942；　his　father　told　him　when　he　was　ten；　the　British　garrison　had　surrendered　Singapore　to　the　attacking　Japanese。　They　held　the　city　for　three　and　a　half　years　until　September　1945；　when　the　British　reoccupied　it。　There　his　father　had　met　his　mother；　a　kind　of　refugee　in　the　war…torn　city。　She　had　been　married　to　a　Japanese　garrison　mander　and　seeing　him　blown　to　bits　during　the　last　days　of　that　humid　trembling　summer　perhaps　unhinged　her　for　a　time。
　The　first　of　the　British　forces　were　already　infiltrating　the　outskirts　of　the　city　and　the　mander　had　moved　his　garrison　east　to　outflank　them　but；　overextending　his　position；　had　found　himself　outflanked。　Caught　in　a　murderous　crossfire；　he　had　cut　down　six　English　soldiers　with　his　katana　before　the　rest　had　sense　enough　to　step　back　and　loft　the　volley　of　grenades。　There　was　nothing　left　of　him；　not　even　bones。
　Years　later；　in　an　old　battered　shop　selling　ukiyo…e　prints　in　a　tiny　Tokyo　side　street；　Nicholas　had　e　across　a　certain　print　entitled　The　End　of　the　Samurai。　It　depicted　a　dismayed　warrior's　death；　his　great　katana　flung　from　his　hands　by　a　blast　of　gunpowder。　In　that　print　Nicholas　saw；　perhaps；　the　redemption　of　his　mother's　first　husband；　recognizing　the　historical　imperative　of　that　enemy。
　His　mother　had　always　been　a　totally　apolitical　woman。　She　had　married　out　of　love；　hardly　out　of　convenience。　But　with　the　eventual　defeat　of　the　Japanese　in　Singapore；　with　the　death　of　her　husband；　she　found　that　her　entire　world　had　exploded　into　a　wilderness　that　frightened　her。　This　she　found　utterly　consternating。　Life；　she　firmly　believed；　was　for　the　living。　One　mourned　one's　losses　and　moved　onwards。　Karma。　She　believed　in　that　above　all　else。　Not　a　predestiny　…　she　was　no　fatalist　as　many　Westerners　might　mistakenly　dub　her。　She　knew　rather；　merely　how　to　bow　before　the　inevitabilities　of　life。　As　the　death　of　her　husband。
　But　this　was　a　time　of　momentous　changes　and；　like　a　beautiful　flower　caught　up　in　an　inexplicable　maelstrom；　she　felt　adrift　in　the　riot　of　chattering　gunfire　and　mortar　explosions。
　She　met　Nicholas's　father；　ironically　enough；　in　the　very　office　where　her　dead　husband　had　carried　on　the　mand　of　his　defeated　garrison。　She　had　wandered　in　there　as　if　it　were　some　Buddhist　temple；　sacrosanct　from　the　flames　of　war　that　rose　all　about　her。　Perhaps　she　had　e　there　because　it　was　one　of　the　only　places　left　in　Singapore　now　that　was　at　all　familiar　to　her。　Oddly　enough；　the　thought　of　fleeing　the　city　never　entered　her　mind。　Rather；　she　wandered　the　lethal　city　with　little　regard　to　her　personal　safety。
　So　much　of　the　city　had　changed　that　she　was　confused；　no　longer　certain　where　the　business　district　was　or　where　her　old　apartment　had　once　stood。　Piles　of　rubble　were　everywhere　and　the　streets　were　flooded　with　a　tide　of　children；　surging　and　calling；　as　if　in　the　aftermath　of　war's　bleak　nightmare　they　had　been　released　from　some　hideous　bondage。　It　recalled　to　her　the　happiness　she　had　felt　at　New　Year's　festivals　when　she　had　been　a　girl　…　liberated　for　a　time　from　the　cares　and　restrictions　of　the　world。　And　this；　too；　confounded　her。
　Thus　for　many　days　she　had　walked　the　steaming　streets；　whirling　into　dark　doorways　instinctively　as　she　heard　the　heavy　tramping　of　the　approaching　soldiers　…　she　was　beyond　differentiating　one　side　from　another。　Miraculously；　she　avoided　serious　misadventure。
　Karma；　she　would　say　later。　She　survived　at　the　sufferance　and　the　pity　of　those　Chinese　folk　who　spied　her　and　fed　her　almost　as　if　she　were　a　baby；　spooning　the　thin　rice　soup　between　her　slack　lips；　wiping　her；　chin　every　so　often；　for　she　could　not　perform　even　this　simple　act　herself。　She　relieved　herself　in　the　gutters　and　forgot　what　it　was　like　to　take　a　bath。　Those　times　when　she　came　across　running　water；　as　in　the　fountains　still　intact　which　she　stumbled　across　by　chance；　she　thrust　her　fingers　into　the　spray；　staring　at　it　as　if　it　were　something　she　had　never　seen　before。　When　it　rained；　she　stood　still　and　stared　upwards　at　the　billowing　clouds；　seeking；　perhaps；　a　glimpse　of　God。
　The　morning　she　staggered　into　the　garrison　office；　Nicholas's　father　was　in　the　middle　of　an　administrative　crisis。　Not　only　were　his　troops　obliged　to　mop　up　the　last　outlying　pockets　of　Japanese　opposition　but　now　orders　had　e　down　urging　him　to　see　to　it　that　his　men　policed　the　metropolitan　area　in　an　attempt　to　quell　the　increasingly　violent　outbreaks　between　the　Chinese　and　the　Malays　who　lived　constantly　in　an　uneasy　half…peace。　That　left　perhaps　an　hour　and　a　half　each　day　for　his　men　to　sleep；　it　was　clearly　a　situation　he　could　not　tolerate　and　he　was　in　the　process　of　seeking　some　conciliatory　alternative　to　actively　disobeying　a　direct　order。　He　had；　in　fact；　been　sitting　in　this　same　wooden　slatted　chair　…　the　one　that　had；　for　the　last　three　years；　been　the　sole　property　of　the　dead　Japanese　garrison　mander　…　since　the　morning　of　the　previous　day。
　Except　for　several　hurried　trips　to　the　washroom　to　relieve　himself；　Colonel　Denis　Linnear　had　been　right　where　he　was　when　the　dazed　woman　wandered　into　his　sanctum　sanctorum。　How　she　had　managed　to　slip　past　the　three　sets　of　guards　he　was　never　able　to　ascertain　to　his　satisfaction。　Yet　that　particular　point　only　manifested　itself　to　him　much　later。　At　the　time；　he　was　concerned　only　with　her　appearance　and；　as　he　jumped　up　from　behind　his　littered　desk；　his　aides　seemed　more　startled　by　his　movements　than　by　the　fact