Cajun Justice(50)

“How did you enjoy the class tonight?” Umiko asked.

“You were amazing. Remind me to never get into a fight with you.”

Umiko blushed. “Are you joking with me? You know we Japanese have a difficult time recognizing American sarcasm.”

Cain laughed. “Not at all. You’re a real badass. If you ever wanna switch from executive assistant to being on my security detail, let me know. I’ll be happy to have you.”

She smiled. “Japan might be changing a little bit, but not enough for Sato-san to have a female on his security detail.”

“That’s too bad,” Cain said. “The Secret Service uses women to protect the president.”

“But probably not a lot, huh?”

“Women make up about 10 percent.”

“Why did you decide to leave the Secret Service and move to Japan?”

“Because I was interested in studying kendo.”

“Really?”

He laughed. “Nah, I’m just joking.”

“See? I told you we don’t get American sarcasm.”

“But I would be interested in taking kendo with you.”

“I can ask the sensei if that is okay. You would be the first gaijin in the class.”

“I’ve heard that word a lot since I’ve been here.”

Umiko smiled. “It would be fun to have you in the class.”

“Are gaijin allowed?”

“I don’t think the sensei would mind. He is also a Zen priest. He quotes Zen philosophy a lot. Like, ‘If you light a candle for somebody else, it also brightens your path.’ And my favorite: ‘A rising tide lifts all boats.’”

“I like that one. I’ll have to put that in the back pocket and meditate on it.”

“You meditate?”

“Not really. It’s just a saying. Speaking of sayings, what was it your sensei kept yelling in class?”

“Mushin.”

“Moo-shin,” Cain repeated. “What does it mean?”

“It means ‘no mind.’ Block out every distraction and focus only on the present.”

“That’s hard to do, especially in our rushed society,” Cain said. “The past has a way of haunting us.”

“I know,” Umiko said. “That’s why I love kendo. It has helped me out so much.”

Cain leaned in. “What do you mean?”

Umiko opened her mouth and paused. She seemed sad. It was the first time Cain had seen this fun and energetic lady look mournful.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked,” he said.

“No, it’s okay. When I was eighteen years old, in high school, I was in love with my first real boyfriend. He was so studious before we met. He wanted to be a Japan Airlines pilot. But I took him away from his studies a lot. I always wanted to go to the movies, or to the mall, or to the park. College exams are very important here in Japan. The family places so much pressure on passing these exams, and he didn’t pass his.”

“Did he retake them?”

“No.” Umiko looked down at the table. “He killed himself.”

“Oh, God. I’m so sorry. My God. That is just horrible.”

“I blamed myself for a long time.”

“But it wasn’t your fault.”

“I thought, had I not taken him away from his studies, he would have learned more and made a better grade.”

“You can’t blame yourself.”

“I did, though. For a long time. I lost ten kilograms and started hanging out with the wrong crowd. Kendo turned my life around. It taught me how to find inner peace by blending the mind and body with the spiritual.”

“That’s wonderful. You’ve sold me. Yes, please talk to the sensei and let him know I would consider it an honor to be accepted into his class.”

Umiko clapped her hands together. “I will be happy to.”

“But it’ll have to be next week because until then I’m spending all my time making sure my team is prepared to make this press conference go off without a hitch.”

“With you in charge, we have nothing to worry about.”





Chapter 42



Cain spent the next several days at work interviewing and hiring three additional guards. In the States, these guards would have been more tactically inclined, but in Japan, they seemed to be more service oriented. A little bit of something is better than a whole lot of nothing, he reminded himself. At least I have a few extra bodies that I can mold and eventually turn into executive protection specialists.

He conducted self-defense courses, oversaw the implementation of new security cameras, and, in the lot behind the building, watched some of the security team learn how to operate and fly the new drone they had purchased.

“This is a hell of a lot harder than flying an actual plane,” Cain said as he manipulated the drone’s control module. “I should have hired some teenagers. Give ’em a bag of Doritos and some Mountain Dew and they’d fly this thing for free!”

After crashing the drone a few times, he let Tanaka try. Tanaka flew it well.

“How are you flying this so well? I’m the licensed pilot with over a thousand hours under my belt!”