Planning the Counterattack

The hospital doesn’t have any serious security to speak of, but that’s not to say it has no security. We nod to the guard as we walk past the entrance. He doesn’t acknowledge our presence, either because he’s too busy staring at his security monitors or because he’s perfected the art of sleeping with his eyelids half open.

Chiyo’s footsteps thud against the tile a little too loudly. She’s formed a projection around herself, one I recognize all too well but is alien to me at the same time. Was this really how she looked in her mid-twenties? Her cute cheekbones are skinnier than I remember, her smile less genuine, and her hair is tied up in a ponytail. She never did that before I joined the army. She never wore a business suit either, but it makes her look professional.

As much as it hurt me to destroy new tech, I smashed the implants Hosokawa gave me, just in case he could track me with them. Gotta say, I’m a lot more comfortable with my old implants, but I feel a bit slower, less powerful.

“Can I help you?” a receptionist asks as we step up to the counter.

“We’re here to see Mr. Ryuuzaki Hosokawa,” Saionji answers. “We know it’s late, but this is a matter of urgent importance.”

“I’m afraid we don’t have any patients by that name. Perhaps you have the wrong hospital.”

Saionji’s smile doesn’t falter. “We know he’s here, and we even know which room he’s in. We are here on confidential instructions from his mother. Trust me, you don’t want to get involved in disputes between rich families. We only stopped off here to inform you as a courtesy… and so that you won’t call his father.”

“I… see. But I’m afraid I can’t let you up without permission.”

“You can call his mother if you wish, but you might end up regretting it.”

The receptionist falters for a moment but ultimately searches through her notebook, picks up a phone, and dials. “Hello, Ms. Hosokawa. There are some… people here to see your son. I’ll need your permission to let them in.”

I can barely make out Ms. Hosokawa’s words on the other side of the phone. “Put me on with one of them.”

Saionji takes the phone from the receptionist and leans over the counter to put the receiver to her ear. “Hello, Ms. Hosokawa. As per your instructions, we arrived at the hospital without being followed. Your husband doesn’t know we’re here.”

There’s a short pause. “You’re sure he doesn’t have any idea?”

“Very well. Put the receptionist back on.”

Saionji leans further across the counter, and I can’t help but tilt to the side to get a better view. To my surprise, I bump into Chiyo, who’s doing the same thing.

“I told you she’s not good enough for you,” Chiyo whispers. “Her butt’s too small. I know you like ‘em bigger.”

“And what makes you think that?” I whisper back.

“Because all the women in your porno mags had large, peach-shaped—”

“You can go up,” the receptionist says. “Room 203.”

Saionji nods to the woman. “Thank you. And if anyone asks, you never saw us. It’s for your own good.” We follow her down the hallway to the elevator. “And for your information,” she says quietly, “small behinds are in fashion these days.”

“Hey, she said it, not me.”

“But you’re the one with the dirty magazines,” Saionji points out.

“Yeah, well, how’d you know Ms. Hosokawa would back us up?” I ask, desperate to change the subject.

“Simple. She hates her husband more than she loves her son. Mr. Hosokawa has been anything but faithful to her.”

“Isn’t that just par for the course?” I ask. Chiyo elbows me in the side, for what, I’m not sure.

Saionji shrugs. “Maybe she’s more jealous than most, but I can’t say I blame her.”

“Me neither,” Chiyo says. “He’s such a hottie.”

I nearly choke on my own saliva. “That old geezer? What’s so hot about him?”

“Money and power, duh. Don’t worry, Big Bro. He can’t hold a candle to you. If you had his wealth, I’d have to spend all day protecting you from gold diggers.”

We arrive at room 203 and enter without knocking. It’s a private room, dark enough to sleep, but bright enough so that doctors and nurses can see if they have to enter the room in an emergency. Hosokawa’s kid is asleep in the bed, the area around his temples covered in tape and gauze.

“Hey, kid.” I shake the bed to wake him up. “Guess who?”

“Mr. Tsuruta, is that you?” He rubs the sleep out of his eyes and sits up. “Why are you here? If you’re trying to rescue me before they put in the implants, you're a couple days too late.”

“Sorry, but if I were gonna do that, I wouldn’t have turned you over to your parents to begin with. How you feelin’?”

“Confused. If you’re not here to save me, what are you here for?”

“Well, I couldn’t stop thinking about what you said about hating your parents. At first, I thought it was just typical teenage edginess, but then I met your dad, and you don’t need me to tell you: He’s a real sorry son of a bitch. No offense.”

“None taken.”

“Long story short, he’s trying to kill me so I can’t testify against him in court, and I—”

“And you need something you can use to negotiate for your life with, so you came to kidnap me. You were right, Mr. Tsuruta. The implants make it easier to calculate other people’s motives.”

“Then you need more practice. Sure, I thought about doing that, but what guarantee do I have that he won’t hunt me for the rest of my life after I hand you over? So I started thinking, you hate your dad, and I hate your dad, so why don’t we team up to bring him down?”

“Huh.” He sits there for a moment, thinking it over. “Do you have a plan?”

“I got a rough idea, but I’m going to need your help to figure out the rest. Your old man’s been training you to take over the company after him, right?”

“Yeah, and?”

“What’s the first, most important lesson he taught you?” I’ve got no idea what Hosokawa told his kid, but no matter what, I’m confident I can turn it into a convincing argument. Fortunately for me, it was better than I could have ever expected.

“The company bylaws say it must always be run by a Hosokawa, but it doesn’t say which Hosokawa. Always be on guard against your relatives.”

“And do you think he’s on guard against you?”

“No. Why would he be? I’m too young to inherit the business, and I’m going to get it from him when I come of age anyway.”

I smile. “But I bet you got a lot of aunts and uncles who wouldn’t mind runnin’ the company in your name for a few years.”

“Sure, but they’re all divided against each other. There’s no way I could unite them to overthrow my father.”

“You’re underestimating yourself, kid. Besides, you won’t be empty-handed. I’m handing over the hottest innovation of the decade.” I hold my arm out to gesture at Chiyo.

“You’re giving me to him, Big Bro? I can’t believe you’d sell your own sister for wealth and power. What happened to the kind, caring Big Bro I once knew?”

“And what happened to the cute, innocent little sister I once cared for?” I shoot back. “But don’t worry. I’m not handing you over to anyone. We’re gonna play them all for fools.”

“With… your little sister?” the Hosokawa kid asks.

“Show him,” I say.

Chiyo salutes and drops her optical camouflage, revealing her robot body. “I’m Chiyo Tsuruta. Mr. Fujisaki turned my brain into Xyrite.” She points to the crystal in her head. “Nice to meet you!”

“Your brain… is Xyrite? Why would someone do that?”

“For immortality, duh,” Chiyo says. “I bet all your aunts and uncles would temporarily set aside their differences if they could achieve eternal life.”

The kid shakes his head. “This is crazy… So crazy that it just might work. I’m in.”

Saionji grabs the door and slides it open. “Good for you, but I don’t want anything to do with this.”

“You got a better idea?” I shoot back.

“Yeah. I’m gonna hide out at my safe house until this all blows over.”

“And if it never does?”

“Then I’ll be on the run forever. Better than messing with a zaibatsu. Nothing good can ever come from that.”