Gunner stopped at the top of a sit-up to stare at Chas. “Oh yeah? Like what?”
“You’ll have to take a shower before I show you.”
He jumped up, dumping Chas unceremoniously on his side. “Done. I’ll be out of the shower in five minutes.”
SPENCER LISTENED impatiently as the international call took its sweet time clicking through the satellite to Japan. The woman who answered his call in Japanese switched seamlessly into English as soon as he asked in English to speak with Mr. Tanaka.
“Mr. Tanaka is a very busy man, sir. I can connect you to one of his personal assistants who may be able to help you.”
“Fine. Transfer me to the one who’s handling the kidnapping of his daughter.”
“Are you a journalist, sir?” the woman demanded coldly.
“No. I’m an American security contractor, and I have some information about his daughter that he’ll want to hear. My name is Spencer Newman.”
“One moment, sir.”
No surprise, he heard the clicks of recording devices and additional listeners coming onto the line. Were they Japanese government types, or was Tanaka relying on his own private security team? Spencer would bet Tanaka had gone private. Men like him tended to want total control of what happened around them. Now to earn the guy’s trust.
“Mr. Newman, you said your name was?” a man said at the other end of the line.
“Yes. Spencer Newman. You’ll know you have the right person in your frantic internet search when you don’t find squat about me. I’m a retired US Navy SEAL and maintain an extremely low profile.”
“Uhh, thank you, Mr. Newman.” The guy sounded surprised.
“I have an associate who has recently come into possession of a young child. My partner and I were taken from Langley to the Japanese Embassy yesterday and informed there that the child might be the missing Tanaka baby. Rather than continue to deal with middlemen and government flunkies, I thought it would be faster to speak directly with Mr. Tanaka.”
“One moment, please.”
Hah. He was right. Tanaka himself hadn’t been put on the line immediately. One moment turned into more like three minutes, and Spencer could readily envision the frantic briefing Tanaka’s security men were giving him about how to handle this phone call.
A British-accented voice that spoke fluent English came on the line. “Hello, Mr. Newman. This is Kenji Tanaka.”
“Thank you for taking my call. I’m hoping to cut through all the layers of bureaucracy and move along this process as quickly as possible for the sake of the child involved.”
“Continue,” Tanaka said cautiously.
Spencer sighed. “Let’s cut the crap, shall we? I’m not one of the kidnappers and I don’t want a ransom. I’ll give your guys my social security number if they want to run a full background check on me, and I’m only concerned about getting a little girl back safely to her family. Assuming you are her family, of course.”
That caused a long silence, and undoubtedly another frantic conference.
“Who are you?” Tanaka finally demanded.
“As I told your previous guy, I’m a retired US Navy SEAL. I’m in the process of starting up a private security firm, and an associate of mine has come into possession of a little girl about eighteen months old and of Asian heritage under rather violent circumstances.”
“Is she all right? Is she hurt?” Tanaka blurted.
For the first time, Spencer relaxed. There was the frantic father he’d been waiting to catch a glimpse of.
“She’s fine. I’m hoping you can send me certain information that will help me verify her identity. Because of the circumstances in which my associate came into possession of her, I have reason to be cautious before I hand her over to anyone. It’s nothing personal. I’m merely committed to the child’s safety first and foremost.”
“Fair enough,” Tanaka said. “Kamiko’s safety is my first priority as well.”
“Ahh. Is that her name? We’ve been calling her Poppy.”
“What information do you need from me?” Tanaka asked.
“Photographs. And please forgive me for asking delicate questions, but is she biologically your child?”
“Yes. She is. Are you thinking of asking me for a DNA sample, perchance?” Tanaka responded.
“That would be positive proof and satisfy me.”
“How would you like to collect this sample so you know it’s from me?”
Drago waved, and Spencer muted his phone. Drago murmured, “I know a guy at the Tokyo CIA station. I’ll have him run over to Tanaka’s office and swab his cheek. He can courier the sample back to the US so there’s a positive chain of custody.”
Spencer unmuted his phone. “We can arrange for an associate of ours to come swab your cheek. Will you be at your office through the day today?” It was morning in Tokyo now.
“I will.”
“He will use my name and that of my partner, Drago Thorpe, to identify himself. And he’s likely to be fairly disgusted at being sent on such an errand.”
Tanaka made a brief sound of humor. “I’ll make myself available to him when he arrives.”
“Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Tanaka.”
“Is there anything else I can do to help you, Mr. Newman?”
Since it sounded like a fragile trust might have been established, Spencer risked asking, “Do you have any idea who kidnapped her and what they want from you?”
“Initially, we believed a local rival of my father’s might have taken her. Her nanny and bodyguard were assaulted and knocked unconscious, and when they woke up, Kamiko had been taken from her stroller. But then I received a ransom demand several days ago that originated in the New York City area.”
“Do you know if your family has any dealings with a group known as the Oshiro gang?” Spencer asked boldly.
Drago lurched beside him, looking startled that Spencer had shown that particular card.
“I have nothing to do with my father’s… business dealings. I’m merely an architect.”
“Indeed? Is it possible that a rival of your father’s… in business… might target your daughter as a way of getting at your father?”
Tanaka answered soberly, “It is.”
Spencer heard voices speaking in rapid Japanese behind Tanaka—no doubt his security team telling him to shut the hell up. “Did the person or persons demanding the ransom provide any proof of life and proof of custody?”
“They sent pictures of Kamiko sitting beside an American newspaper dated five days ago.”
“How much did they ask for?”
“Fifty million dollars US. I told them it would take me a week or more to get that much of my assets moved into liquid cash. I expect to hear from them the day after tomorrow.”
“It goes without saying, don’t hand over the money until we know if the child in my associate’s custody is Kamiko. If you need to stall them, demand fresh proof of possession and of the child’s health first.”
Tanaka made a noncommittal noise. Spencer got it. If his kid were being held hostage, he might go ahead and hand over the cash just in case the bad guys had her.