Legacies

1.

Yoshio shrank back and hurriedly swallowed the last of his sausage-and-egg Croissan'wich as he recognized Jack-san in the blue Taurus pulling into the curb across the street.

After following him and Alicia Clayton back to this elegant town house last night, Yoshio had assumed that this was where Jack-san lived. But then he had seen the ronin leave moments later. He had tried to follow but, hampered by the woman's clothing, he had been unable to keep up with him. He had lost him in the confusion of Fourteenth Street.

So he had quickly returned to his own car near Thomas Clayton's apartment building and moved it to a position across the street from the town house. He had changed back to his usual attire and had spent the night here.

And now Jack-san was quite obviously taking Alicia Clayton someplace. Yoshio was guessing that no romance existed between them, otherwise Jack-san would have stayed here last night. Therefore they were not meeting merely to share each other's company. They must have a purpose in mind, and that purpose most surely involved the Clayton technology.

And just as surely, that purpose was taking them out of the city. Else, why the car?

How could Yoshio follow them into the suburbs or the countryside without being seen? Jack-san knew him and would be looking for him. And yet he had to risk it. He sensed that after months of waiting and watching, his mission here finally was coming to a head.

He wished he had thought to call and arrange for backup, but he dared not get more people involved at this juncture. The situation was too delicate.

He watched Jack enter the house. Yoshio was desperate. And desperate situations sometimes called for desperate measures…