The Gate Read Online Free PDF Page B

denying Nishin’s racial makeup. He was pure Japanese. “You must escape or, at the very least, your body must not be found. You can make it to the ocean. Swim out and activate your beacon. Maybe you will be picked up. If not, you must make sure you puncture your life vest so that your body sinks.”
    Nagoya’s logic was cold and practical, something Nishin could appreciate. The other man was not suggesting he plant the charges alone out of some sense of misguided heroism. It was what would be best for the mission, and the mission always came first. Nishin did not consider the new course of action in terms of his own survival but in terms of mission accomplishment. It would be best.
    Nishin grunted his assent. He pulled his pack off and passed it to his partner.
    “You must go now,” Nagoya said. “You must be at the ocean by dawn.”
    Nishin stood and looked up.
    “For the Emperor and the Sun Goddess,” Nagoya said, his face pointed down at the explosives.
    “For the Emperor and the Sun Goddess,” Nishin repeated. He reached up and his hand curled around a knob of rock. He began the climb.
     
    *****
     
    Two hours later, Nishin’s fingers were torn and bleeding but he hardly felt the pain. He was at the crest of the mountain. It was downhill from here to the ocean.
    He swung his head to the side as he heard the faint crack of gunfire. Looking, he could see a line of green tracers far below. The firing lasted for almost a minute and then the side of the mountain erupted. The charges had worked even better than Nakanga had promised from the way the earth shook underneath Nishin’s feet.
    Nishin stuffed his climbing gear into his backpack and continued on.
     
    SEA OF JAPAN
    WEDNESDAY, 1 OCTOBER 1997 3:22 p.m. LOCAL
     
    Nishin’s eyes were swollen shut from exposure to saltwater and the sun. The life vest he had inflated on entering the ocean two and a half days ago kept him on the surface, but the way it was designed, it also kept his face turned up to the sky and there was no way to avoid either the harsh rays of the sun or the waves that broke over him every few seconds. He would suck in a mouthful of saltwater and spit it out the side, gasping in air before the next wave repeated the process.
    After swimming out for an hour, the current had taken hold, and his best guess was that he was somewhere to the north of Hungnam in the Sea of Japan. Just before his eyes had swollen shut completely yesterday morning, he had waited until he’d ridden to the top of a swell and then kicked vigorously, rising out of the water as far as possible and looking about. Nothing but sea.
    He remembered Nagoya’s words in the crevice. The vest would keep the body afloat, but the ocean and sun were draining the life out of him. If he was not careful, he would lapse into unconsciousness and then death would come while he was still afloat. That was not acceptable.
    His waterlogged hand slid down his side, feeling for the knife hung on his harness. With great difficulty, his fumbling fingers flipped open the clasp on the sheath and pulled the knife out. The cuts in his hands from climbing the mountain were invaded anew by the saltwater as scabs ripped open. Pain ripped into his brain, shocking him into consciousness as he grasped the knife tightly.
    Using his free hand to aim it, Nishin placed the tip of the knife against the flotation device. He knew there were two chambers. First the left then the right. It would be over in a little while. He just needed a second of rest before he pressed the blade home.
    Nishin came awake. He did not know how long he had slept. He panicked until he realized the knife was still in his hand. His training had worked when his mind wouldn’t. He had even been able to breathe and spit out water while unconscious so used to this he had become.
    Nishin shifted the point until it was pressed against his neck. Would it be better to end it quickly? His feverish mind thought. No. That was stupid. His body