Free The Pure Land by Alan Spence Page B

grateful for his own squeamishness,’ said Walsh. ‘If he’d given chase, he’d have ended up in pieces too. Or in two pieces!’
    ‘Hunt was rather brutal with the natives,’ said Glover. ‘Maybe this was by way of reprisal.’
    One wit from another firm had said Hunt’s name was obviously rhyming slang. Glover would tell that to Walsh, but not now.
    ‘I guess he was in the wrong place at the wrong time,’ said Walsh. ‘Sounds like he should have been heading for the Russian rest house instead of Maruyama!’
    ‘It’s a vile business,’ said Mackenzie, serious, changing the tone. ‘It smacks of Takashi and his crew.’
    ‘That bugger!’ said Glover. ‘I’m sure I saw him a week ago, glaring at me out the shadows, down by the warehouse. Then I looked again and he was gone.’
    Mackenzie sounded even more serious, looked at Glover intently. ‘You want to be careful of that one, Tom, mind your back. He’s a fanatic, and if he’s got you in his sights, it’s a matter for concern.’
    ‘I don’t understand,’ said Glover. ‘What has he got against me personally?’
    ‘I’m sure just the sight of you was enough,’ said Mackenzie, ‘that first time he saw you, the day you arrived.’
    ‘Hate at first sight,’ said Walsh.
    ‘More or less,’ said Mackenzie. ‘He’s a member of a group called sonno-joi , hardline traditionalists, resolutely opposed to any interaction with the West.’
    ‘And pledged to rid Japan of all foreign scum,’ said Walsh.
    ‘Or die in the attempt,’ said Mackenzie. ‘They take a fearful blood-oath, promise to end their own lives if they go back on it.’
    ‘Sounds a bit like your Freemasons!’ said Walsh, laughing.
    ‘With one difference,’ said Mackenzie, tightlipped. ‘For these men it’s more than symbolic. They really will kill, and die, for their beliefs.’
    ‘And the Masons won’t?’ said Walsh. ‘You disappoint me.’
    Mackenzie ignored him, wouldn’t be deflected by his levity, spoke again directly to Glover.
    ‘It is serious, Tom. Don’t be in any doubt about it. They’ll often pursue an individual. It’s like what the Italians call a vendetta , and it’s a matter of honour.’
    ‘Isn’t it always?’ asked Walsh.
    ‘So it is personal?’ said Glover.
    ‘Randomly so,’ said Mackenzie. ‘As I said, the very sight of you that first day would be an affront to him, a threat to everything he believes in.’
    ‘You do loom large,’ said Walsh, ‘stand out in a crowd. Especially here.’
    ‘And for Takashi it would be a matter of pride to cut you down to size,’ said Mackenzie.
    ‘With two strokes of that sword,’ said Walsh.
    ‘Bloody hell!’ said Glover.
    ‘Well,’ said Mackenzie, ‘there’s folk would say, Hell mend you for leaving Bridge of Don! I’m not saying you should go around in fear and trepidation every minute of the day.’
    ‘Just keep your wits about you,’ said Walsh.
    ‘Did you ever learn to use a pistol?’ asked Mackenzie.
    ‘As a boy, aye. My father taught me. Just in case.’
    ‘Aye, well, we keep a few on the premises, for security. It might be no bad idea for you to have one.’
    ‘Just in case!’ said Walsh.
    *
    The rapidity of Glover’s rise to prominence was breathtaking. He seemed to hit his stride early on, grow in confidence with every step. In spite of his youthfulness, or perhaps because of it, he had a swagger about him, an assurance. That, allied to sheer physical presence, rendered him formidable, but it was tempered by an innate affability and graciousness, an easy charm.
    Mackenzie entrusted him with ever more responsibility until he was effectively running the Nagasaki operation, freeing Mackenzie himself to make trips to Shanghai for meetings at Jardine’s offices there, the hub of their empire.
    With Mackenzie’s help, and on his recommendation, Glover negotiated his first loan from the company, invested it immediately, on Harrison’s advice, in a warehouse property in Oura, right