Linnear 02 - The Miko Read Online Free PDF

home.” He sat back with a sudden lurch, a smirk on his face. “Except, of course, that you and I’re the tallest creatures for a thousand miles, eh, Nick?”
    Nicholas gave his employer the semblance of a nod and in the -same motion said to Miss Yoshida in the front of the car, “Gaijin are often rude without meaning to be, eh?” He shrugged his shoulders. “What else can you expect from ill-bred children.”
    Miss Yoshida covered her bowlike lips with the palm of her hand, but her mirth was obvious in her sparkling eyes.
    “What the hell’re you two chattering about?” Tomkin growled, feeling left out.
    “Just informing the natives that it isn’t only height that’s out-sized on foreign devils,” Nicholas lied.
    But he’d struck the right chord. “Hah!” Tomkin guffawed. “You’re damn straight! Very good, Nicky.”
    Just over an hour later, the three of them stepped off the high speed elevator at the summit on the triangular Shinjuku Suiryu Building. All of Tokyo lay shimmering like a dusky multifaceted jewel beneath them. Suspended six hundred and sixty feetfifty-two storiesin the air, Nicholas was amazed at the profusion of ultra-modern skyscrapers that had sprung up in his absence. They shot from the bedrock pavement like a Mandarin’s glittering fingernails, lifting the Shinjuku District of downtown Tokyo into the dome of the heavens.
    Tomkin grimaced as he stopped them and, pulling Nicholas close beside him, whispered, “Coming here always reminds me of cod liver oil. When I was a kid my father insisted I take two spoonfuls every morning. He kept telling me it was for my own good, just like he did when he beat me if he found me dumping the stuff down the toilet. Then I’d have to gag on that vile stuff anyway.” He grunted heavily. “Huh, you can eat your raw fish with these barbarians, Nick. I’ve still got the taste of cod liver oil in my mouth.”
    Miss Yoshida led them through a set of wood-paneled doors, the oversized knobs carved into the Sato crest. Down a corridor softly lit by indirect lighting. Edo period ukiyo-e prints by Hiroshige, the master of rain, Hokusai, the master of the countryside, and Kuniyoshi, the master of Japanese myth, hung on the walls. A dove gray carpet was beneath their feet, acting as a damper for the bustle of work going on all around them, drifting out from a multitude of office doorways. Teletypes chattered softly, and in another section a battery of electronic typewriters were going full speed.
    Miss Yoshida stopped them before another set of doors. These were of thick slabs of ash burl fitted together with wide wooden pegs in the traditional Japanese manner. The handles were of roughly worked black wrought iron, reminding Nicholas of the riakonthe inns of the countrysidehe had stayed in.
    “Mr. Sato knew you would have a strenuous trip,” Miss Yoshida said. “Such a journey is fatiguing even to the strongest of constitutions. That is why Junior has gone on to the Okura with your luggage. He will see to your rooms.” Her arm raised, her hand held palm upward. It was a simple gesture, yet elegant for all that. “Here you may relax without concern or worry.” Now her cherry blossom lips pursed in a smile. “If you will be so kind as to follow me.”
    Tomkin’s angry voice checked her. “What the hell’s going on here?” His eyes were belligerent. “I didn’t come halfway round the world to scorch my flesh in some sitz bath while the big man goes about his business.” He tapped his black crocodile attaché case. “I’ve got a merger to consummate.” He snorted. “This other stuff can wait as far as I’m concerned.”
    Miss Yoshida’s face showed nothing of what she must be feeling. The smile was still on her face and to her credit it had not frozen there. “Mr. Tomkin.” she began, “let me assure you that”
    “Sato!” Tomkin’s strident voice overrode her quiet controlled tones. “I want to see Sato now. He can’t keep me cooling my