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Nobuyasu watched Selena as she studied charts on the laptop comparing the structure of early and late medieval Japanese. He was growing impatient.
"Well? What have you found?"
"As I suspected, this document is a combination of two medieval variations of your language."
"Can you read it?"
"Not yet. It's in code, but I think I can break it."
"You need to hurry, Doctor Connor."
Selena looked up at him.
"You can't rush something like this. I think it's a substitution code, but I'm not certain. It's going to take me a while to figure it out."
"You can't read anything?"
"A few words. I can make out a reference to a castle at Osaka. Does that make sense to you?"
"There was a castle in Osaka, built by Hideyoshi. It has been restored as a symbol of our feudal past, but the original castle is gone. What does the document say about it?"
"I can't tell you that yet."
"Doctor Connor, let me remind you that the lives of your children and your husband are at stake."
"It won't do you any good to pressure me, Atagi."
"If I suspect that you are stalling, our pleasant collaboration will become more difficult. Do you understand?"
"Perfectly."
Selena turned back to the screen.
In spite of herself, she found herself drawn into the puzzle of decrypting the writing on the ancient piece of paper. She substituted different characters and rearranged words, using a system she'd developed years before for unraveling the secrets of dead languages.
Twenty minutes later, she had the first breakthrough. She looked up at Nobuyasu, who was standing nearby and looking over her shoulder.
"Maizoukin," she said. "This is about buried treasure, isn't it?"
"Very good, Doctor Connor."
"All these deaths? Because you're looking for some mythical treasure?"
"There's nothing mythical about it," Nobuyasu said. "No one knows where it was hidden, but this paper you are deciphering will tell me where it is."
"Where did you get this document from?"
"There's no harm in telling you. It was hidden in the hilt of the sword."
"So that's why you wanted it." Selena looked at him. "No treasure is worth all these lives."
"Don't be naïve, Doctor Connor. Of course it is."
"How much are we talking about?"
"At least a hundred tons of gold, probably more. It was meant to pay the armies in Korea, in the days when we had vision and courage."
"Even if you find it, you'll never be able to move it without being discovered."
"I am an influential man," Nobuyasu said. "Bribing officials is an ancient tradition in my country. I have no doubt I will recover it with only minor problems."
He looked down at Selena, impatient.
"Where is it located, Doctor Connor?"
"I can't tell yet. Somewhere near the Castle."
As she spoke, Selena entered a command that sent everything she'd been working on to Freddie. Elizabeth now had a complete copy of the document text in its original form, plus Selena's notes.
"I think you are stalling. You are running out of time." He turned to one of his men standing nearby. "Hachiro, there's something I must do. Watch her. If she gives you any trouble, break her arm."
Hachiro weighed at least three hundred pounds. Selena had seen men like him before. The weight was mostly muscle, little was fat. He moved in a way that told her he had martial arts training. It would be difficult to surprise him, but not impossible. She contemplated how to attack him.
"I know what you are thinking," Nobuyasu said. "Don't imagine you can win against him. Hachiro is exceptionally talented and very fast. He doesn't like foreigners and he doesn't like you. He'll break your arm and possibly something else if you make any wrong moves."
Selena looked at Hachiro. He began smiling at her. It wasn't a pleasant smile.
"When I return, I want the translation," Nobuyasu said. "Don't disappoint me."
He left the room.