Akodo Minami
Shin poured his guest a cup of tea and smiled. “I am gratified to see you here, Lady Minami. After our last encounter, I did not expect we would speak again.”
“If I had any choice in the matter, we would not be,” she said, stiffly. Minami sounded tired, but she stood as stiff and as straight as the first time he’d seen her. “But your message implied that it would be inadvisable to ignore your invitation.”
The Lion representative had come with a handful of retainers. They were currently in the garden, under the watchful eye of Kasami. He hoped they would all still be alive when Minami and Shin had finished their conversation. “That is not the only reason, I believe,” he said. “You do not seem the sort to succumb to oblique blackmail.”
Minami sat. “I wish to know what you have discovered.”
“About?” He offered her the cup.
“The rice,” she growled. She did not take the tea. “It has been several days. Have you learned nothing in that time?”
“Nothing save that no one seems to have done it – or to have reason to do so.” Shin took a sip of his own tea and licked his lips. “Tell me Lady Minami, are you a fan of the theater?”
“What?”
“No, I don’t suppose you are, are you?” He gave her an insouciant smile, and was rewarded by a visible bristling. She wanted very badly to challenge him, but as yet he hadn’t given her sufficient reason. Nor did he intend to.
Minami stared at him for a moment and then looked away. “No.”
“Pity. Have you found the boat yet?”
Minami hesitated. “What boat?”
“The one that delivered the poisoned rice.” Her hesitation told him he was right – she was searching for it, and probably with more urgency than Shichiro.
“I told you already…” she began. Shin forestalled her with a twitch of his finger.
“I would guess that you have not. And that is because it was never at the Unicorn docks, was it?” It was a guess, and one he’d come to the night before as he pondered the problem. A boat could not simply vanish. It had to be somewhere.
Minami was silent for several moments. “I was mistaken,” she said, with obvious reluctance.
“Were you?”
Her eyes narrowed. “Are you accusing me of something?”
“I am merely asking a question. In your place, I might well have obscured the facts in order to buy time for my people to locate the vessel and conduct my own investigation. There is no shame in that.”
“Who are you to talk about shame, Crane?” She pointed an accusing finger at him. “I know all about you, Daidoji Shin. You wouldn’t know shame if it pierced your belly and pulled your intestines out.”
“What an unpleasant image,” Shin said. “But accurate for all that. Shame is something of a foreign country to me, I admit. That is my failing, and I am endeavoring to correct it.” He paused. “If you have found it, I would request to see it.”
“Why?”
“It may hold answers.”
Minami glared at him. “We have not found it. Nor are we looking.”
“Because you did not think to – or because it does not matter?”
Minami laughed softly. “I hear contempt in your voice, Crane, though you mask it well. Under all your pretty banter, you are just like all the rest of your clan. You think you are smarter than the rest of us. As if courtesy is any indicator of wisdom.”
“Some might say it is.”
“Not me.”
“No. I suppose not. You have always seen the Dragonfly as your main threat in this city. A fact you have been very open about.”
Minami looked at the water. “And so?”
“Why the sudden change of target?”
“The vessel belonged to the Unicorn.”
Shin shook his head. “Shichiro insists that it didn’t. More to the point, how would you have known?”
“Their papers…” she began, and then trailed off. She realized what she’d just given away. Shin nodded in satisfaction.
“If Shichiro is right, their papers would have shown them to be exactly what they were. Unaffiliated river trash, carrying a shipment of rice that they got – where, exactly?” He paused. “Was it stolen, by chance?”
“Stolen?”
He pressed forward. “Tell me, my lady – how much unlawfully obtained cargo does the Lion have squirreled away in their warehouses?”
“None!”
“You are lying.”
Minami’s gaze snapped around. “What proof do you have of any of this, Crane?”
“None, of course. It is a theory, nothing more. And if I have given insult, I can but ask for your forgiveness.” He wasn’t really worried about insulting her, for all that he’d clearly struck a nerve. He was on the right track, and she knew it. “Since neither yourself nor Shichiro seemed to know anything of the ship in question – well, there has to be a reason.”
“He claims to know nothing about it?”
“Indeed he does.”
“And you believe him.”
“As I believe you.” Shin looked at her. “Neither of you has reason to lie.”
Minami sat back. “You are wrong,” she said, after a moment.
“Am I?” He pointed at her. “That is why you prevaricate. You growl and show your fangs, but hesitate to strike. Am I correct?” It was a gamble. He was betting on her pragmatism, betting that she wasn’t the sort to simply cut the knot, rather than untangle it.
Minami was silent for several moments. Then, “If you are?”
“I require no admission of guilt, if that’s what concerns you. I ask only on behalf of my investigation – to rule you out as a suspect.”
Minami snorted. “I admit nothing.”
Shin nodded. “That is all the answer I require, thank you.”
She was silent for a moment. “I can trace my ancestry back to Akodo himself,” she said, finally. “When I first arrived in this city, I thought I had found my battlefield at last. A place to prove myself. I would make a bastion of the city…”
“And now?”
“Now I think I was sent here not to wage war, but to prevent it. My bushi demand action, but my advisors murmur caution. A disruption of trade – any disruption – would be regarded as a failure on my part. And I will not fail.”
“That is why you allowed the trade in illicit cargo to continue,” Shin said, in sudden understanding. He shook his head. “Your reputation.”
Minami nodded. “A little wound to delay a greater one. Though I hoped – hope – to eventually bring it to an end.”
“You do not have to explain that decision to me, my lady. I am a Daidoji. I know full well honor’s price and what it means to pay it.”
She looked at him, and made as if to retort. But instead of an insult, she said, “I think that you do, Crane. And that is why I tell you all of this now. I cannot attack until I know for certain who is to blame.”
“There are some who would say you have done due diligence.”
She looked at him, her eyes flashing. “I am not some. I will unsheathe my sword when my enemy is before me and not a moment sooner.”
“Then help me,” Shin said. “I will find your enemy for you, so that you might have justice.”
Minami looked away. After a moment she said, “I have discovered that the rice was purchased through a regular contact on the Unicorn docks. I was not aware of this arrangement, obviously.”
“Obviously.”
Minami stiffened at his tone, but continued. “The contact was a merchant named Saiga. It is he who provided the rice, hired the crew and arranged the entire deal.”
“Had you worked with him before?”
“We were not working with him. He was a merchant. He sold goods. We did not ask where those goods came from. Nor were we alone in that. The Unicorn and the Dragonfly both availed themselves of his services.”
“Buying stolen cargo, you mean.”
She frowned and nodded. “Yes. Ask Shichiro, if you do not believe me.”
“I will, the next time I speak with him.” Shin took another sip of tea and pondered this revelation. Another name, another link in the chain. He would have to speak to this Saiga as soon as possible. “You knew the rice had been stolen from the Unicorn docks. But why did you assume it was deliberate sabotage?”
“Saiga told us as much when we questioned him.”
“Did he now?” Shin leaned forward. “And what else did he say?”
“That the Unicorn had engineered the entire scheme to humiliate us. They intended that we would sell the rice and sicken our customers.”
“A mild form of humiliation.”
Minami’s eyes flashed. “It would have damaged our business for weeks, if not months. No one will buy rice that makes you sick.”
“Not intentionally, at least.” Shin sat back, his fingers steepled before him. “Why declare war over it, though?”
“This was not the only incident.”
Shin raised an eyebrow. “It is the first I have heard of. There have been others?”
“Some. Most of them were simply sabotage of the usual sort. But of late, the number and severity of those incidents have increased. We kept it quiet as we pursued our own investigations, but… there is a pattern.”
“Tell me about them.”
“We’ve lost cargo. Stolen or sunk.”
“And how do you know the Unicorn was involved… wait.” Shin held up a finger. “Saiga told you this as well, under duress.”
“Yes.”
“How do you know he was telling the truth?”
“What sort of heimin can lie with a blade against his throat?”
Shin nodded. There was a ring of truth to that. “Go on.”
“Saiga told us all. It was all the Unicorn. Or so he believed.”
“But you doubted him?”
Minami looked uncomfortable. “I was not sure. I believed that he thought it was so, but that does not make it so. I hoped finding the boat would shed more light on the matter.”
“But you haven’t.”
“No. It is not in the city. Or, if it is, it is being hidden where we cannot find it.” She sat back. “Now you know all that I know.”
“And it is quite helpful, thank you.”
She looked at him expectantly. “And what do you know?”
Shin hesitated, wondering how much he ought to share. “The rice was poisoned by a shinobi, though as to who might have employed them to do so, I cannot say. This Saiga, possibly, but there are inconsistencies…”
“Such as?”
“Someone attempted to do away with the shinobi in question. I am not yet certain whether they succeeded in this, or failed.” Shin took another swallow of tea. “I will question this Saiga myself tomorrow. You have him under observation, I assume?”
“No. Once we questioned him, I saw no further reason to keep an eye on him.”
Shin set his cup down. “That is unfortunate. He might well have left the city in the interim. Still, I have my own agents working to locate the ship. Once we have it, and its crew, I will find Saiga as well. With their testimonies, I should be able to more fully piece together this scheme – and locate its instigator.”
“And once you have done so, you will inform me, Crane.”
“Of course. We are allies, at least in regards to this matter.”
Minami snorted. “I would not go that far.”
“I am also obligated to inform Shichiro, you understand.”
“Yes. Of course.”
Shin looked at her. “What do you know about the Dragonfly shugenja, Tonbo Kuma? I am to meet them later today concerning this matter.”
“The Dragonfly have nothing to do with this,” she said, bluntly.
“That we know of,” he countered. “From where I sit, it is likely that an agitator intended to stir up hostilities between yourself and Shichiro. The Dragonfly would surely benefit from such a conflict…”
Minami shook her head. “That is unlikely. The Dragonfly garrison is minuscule in comparison to mine, or the Unicorn’s. They barely have enough men to patrol their own docks. And reinforcements are not within easy reach.” Her eyes narrowed. “Unless…”
“Unless they made an alliance with another faction,” Shin said. “Whoever they joined with might be able to take the city from the rest of you.”
She frowned thoughtfully. “As I said, unlikely.”
“But not impossible.”
“No.”
Shin nodded. “Your hostility to the Dragonfly is well documented. Perhaps this scheme was meant to provoke you into a trap of sorts. Something to consider, perhaps.”
“Yes.” She paused. “But regardless, you must find who is responsible, or I will not be able to stop what is coming. The Lion will have their due, in honor – or in blood.”
Shin met her eyes and gave a solemn nod. “Then let us make sure that it is in the former, and not the latter.” He bowed. “I thank you, my lady. I wish you good day.”
Minami did not reply. Instead, she rose to her feet. Shin made to rise as well, but she waved him back. “I can show myself out.”
Shin settled back, feeling satisfied with himself as he watched her depart. He was certain, now, that neither the Unicorn nor the Lion were behind the poisoned rice. There was a third party involved. But was Saiga the mastermind, or merely another catspaw?
He poured himself another cup of tea and savored it.