a cut. That’s how Kizaki found out about you.”
“This guy, what does he do?”
“I don’t know. I thought he was a yakuza front man but somehow it doesn’t look like it. How can I put it? He’s weird, really weird. Talks a lot, laughs a lot, and there’s a rumor that sometimes he kills people.”
A young man in a suit entered the tunnel, muttering to himself. When he saw us he shut up, quickened his pace and disappeared out the other side. In his wake he left a strong smell of alcohol.
“Can’t you do a runner?”
“Not easily. They say a couple of people have run away from him and ended up dead. He’s relentless, I hear. He’s like the yakuza in that way at least.”
“You can’t trust him.”
A train passed over our heads, a freighter by the sound of it. I was nervous and I felt a throbbing warmth deep inside me. I knew that soon I would feel nothing but that heat. When the tower appeared in front of me, the dirtyblack plastic moved into clearer focus. I stared at the pathetic, flesh-like trash.
“But armed robbery means killing, doesn’t it? I don’t like—”
“No, it won’t.”
“Why not?”
“They want to avoid getting the cops involved. Even if he’s robbed, the old man can’t go to the police. The money comes from tax evasion and they’d be very interested in his papers as well. But if they kill him then it’ll have to become a police matter.”
“There’s still something fishy about it,” I said, but I decided to go along with it anyway.
I definitely had that pulsating heat in my gut. I was driven less by concern over what would happen to Ishikawa if I took off than by the presentiment that things were heading in a strange direction. In those days, whenever I was faced with a choice I favored action over inaction, the path which would lead me away from the world. As I walked behind Ishikawa, time hung densely around me. I felt as though I were being squeezed by something lukewarm and springy. Saeko’s face drifted into my mind and when we emerged from the underpass I saw an iron towerthat I’d never noticed before. It stood there in the dark, its tip exposed to the cold sky.
AT THE AGREED time Ishikawa brought Tachibana to the station. I didn’t know what their original relationship was but sometimes he’d go pickpocketing with us and he often watched us with a grin on his face. Without a word we went into the office where Ishikawa always worked on his own.
The desks and chairs were already gone and the room was bare. We sat on the floor and immediately three men entered. That made me even more nervous, because the timing suggested that they’d been following us. Ishikawa didn’t seem to know them. They were carrying three large cases, which they put carelessly in a corner as if they were furniture movers.
“So you’re the ones, are you?” said the tallest man in a gruff voice as he sat down.
He appeared to be in his mid-forties, but his face was covered in strange lines so it was hard to tell.
“Right, you guys look like you won’t screw up. You all look thoroughly dishonest.”
He tossed us some bottles of water. I hesitated to open mine but Tachibana started to drink, watching their faces. The other two guys were in their thirties, of medium build. Like the tall man, their faces were marked with lines. One had a buzzcut, the other a flattop, and both were wearing dirty windbreakers.
“We’re going to tell you the plan right now, and then we go through with it tonight. I know it’s short notice, but we can’t have anyone chickening out and mentioning it somewhere. Get yourselves ready. You get five million yen each. Any objections?”
The amount was inexplicably large. I glanced at Ishikawa but he showed no reaction, and neither did Tachibana. Looking at the man who was doing the talking, I decided to keep my mouth shut.
“Niimi’s probably told you most of it, but the most important thing is that during the job no one says a word except for
“This guy, what does he do?”
“I don’t know. I thought he was a yakuza front man but somehow it doesn’t look like it. How can I put it? He’s weird, really weird. Talks a lot, laughs a lot, and there’s a rumor that sometimes he kills people.”
A young man in a suit entered the tunnel, muttering to himself. When he saw us he shut up, quickened his pace and disappeared out the other side. In his wake he left a strong smell of alcohol.
“Can’t you do a runner?”
“Not easily. They say a couple of people have run away from him and ended up dead. He’s relentless, I hear. He’s like the yakuza in that way at least.”
“You can’t trust him.”
A train passed over our heads, a freighter by the sound of it. I was nervous and I felt a throbbing warmth deep inside me. I knew that soon I would feel nothing but that heat. When the tower appeared in front of me, the dirtyblack plastic moved into clearer focus. I stared at the pathetic, flesh-like trash.
“But armed robbery means killing, doesn’t it? I don’t like—”
“No, it won’t.”
“Why not?”
“They want to avoid getting the cops involved. Even if he’s robbed, the old man can’t go to the police. The money comes from tax evasion and they’d be very interested in his papers as well. But if they kill him then it’ll have to become a police matter.”
“There’s still something fishy about it,” I said, but I decided to go along with it anyway.
I definitely had that pulsating heat in my gut. I was driven less by concern over what would happen to Ishikawa if I took off than by the presentiment that things were heading in a strange direction. In those days, whenever I was faced with a choice I favored action over inaction, the path which would lead me away from the world. As I walked behind Ishikawa, time hung densely around me. I felt as though I were being squeezed by something lukewarm and springy. Saeko’s face drifted into my mind and when we emerged from the underpass I saw an iron towerthat I’d never noticed before. It stood there in the dark, its tip exposed to the cold sky.
AT THE AGREED time Ishikawa brought Tachibana to the station. I didn’t know what their original relationship was but sometimes he’d go pickpocketing with us and he often watched us with a grin on his face. Without a word we went into the office where Ishikawa always worked on his own.
The desks and chairs were already gone and the room was bare. We sat on the floor and immediately three men entered. That made me even more nervous, because the timing suggested that they’d been following us. Ishikawa didn’t seem to know them. They were carrying three large cases, which they put carelessly in a corner as if they were furniture movers.
“So you’re the ones, are you?” said the tallest man in a gruff voice as he sat down.
He appeared to be in his mid-forties, but his face was covered in strange lines so it was hard to tell.
“Right, you guys look like you won’t screw up. You all look thoroughly dishonest.”
He tossed us some bottles of water. I hesitated to open mine but Tachibana started to drink, watching their faces. The other two guys were in their thirties, of medium build. Like the tall man, their faces were marked with lines. One had a buzzcut, the other a flattop, and both were wearing dirty windbreakers.
“We’re going to tell you the plan right now, and then we go through with it tonight. I know it’s short notice, but we can’t have anyone chickening out and mentioning it somewhere. Get yourselves ready. You get five million yen each. Any objections?”
The amount was inexplicably large. I glanced at Ishikawa but he showed no reaction, and neither did Tachibana. Looking at the man who was doing the talking, I decided to keep my mouth shut.
“Niimi’s probably told you most of it, but the most important thing is that during the job no one says a word except for
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