Free American Terrorist (The Rayna Tan Action Thrillers Book 1) by Wesley Robert Lowe Page B

Japanese artisans.  
    “That was the best sushi I’ve ever eaten,” Rayna exclaimed as she leaned back in her chair, rubbing her stomach enthusiastically.
    “Hirito is probably in the world’s top ten sushi masters in the world,” announced Barry. “He’s here for the same reason all of us are. He wants to be. When I met him in Japan, it was through his sons. I had been negotiating a deal with the elder son, Hotaka, in their father’s restaurant. When we finished, Hirito and I sat down for some sake. Unknown to me, two Yakuza came in. Hirito had not paid his protection money to Ahi-san.”
    “Ahi-san?” asked Rayna.
    Barry nodded. “The gangsters were martial artists and they headed for Hotaka. For thirty seconds, they kicked him, chopped him, and finally launched a throwing star into the center of his forehead and used the sharp blade of another to sever his jugular. They were going to break Hirito’s arms and legs when I stepped in… I broke the neck of one and gouged the other one’s eyes out. I told them that if they ever came back again or tried to harm any of Hirito’s family, I would finish the job on them. Hirito insisted then that he would work for me and who was I turn that down?”
    Barry motioned for Hirito to come over.
    “Yes, Barry-san?”
    Barry took out his cell phone and played the video of what happened at the Fidelitas office.
    Hirito broke and down and cried when he saw Ahi-san’s death. “It is done. It is done. Thank you Barry-san.”   Hirito turned to Rayna. “Thank you…”
    “Rayna. Rayna Tan.”
    Hirito bowed deeply. “Thank you, Rayna Tan.”
    The bowing Hirito returned to his spot behind the sushi bar, tears still flowing.
    “What happened to the other son?”
    “He’s one of our ‘researchers’ in Japan. He’s the son who built up the relationship with Ahi-san.”
    “Oh.”
    “Eventually, all the dots connect, Rayna. It might take a while but, sooner or later, they connect.”  
    There was a tug on Rayna’s top. She looked down to see two of the kids pulling on her. “Nice to meet you, Auntie Rayna. We love you.”
    “I love you, too.”
    “Nap time.” Helena winked at Rayna.
    With one perched on his shoulders and another in his arms, Julio and Helena took the kids and marched off.
    Hirito opened a bottle of sake, bowed and left Rayna and Barry in peace.
    “I don’t get it, Barry. Fidelitas is a killing organization, yet you take care of kids. You’ve got this place in the middle of nowhere...”
    Barry savored a sip of his chilled sake. “Organic. Brewed twenty years ago.” He lifted the tiny cup. “Look at the color. Amber golden... soft... aromatic... made by an artisan... which is who we are. Fidelitas is not a big operation. We’re small. Efficient. We’re not trying to save the world. Don’t have the resources or the temerity or temperament.”
    “Yeah, I get that, but how does the Resort fit in?”
    “Very simply. The Resort is CenCom. Central command.”
    “There’s nothing to indicate that at all.”
    “Which is what we want. We don’t need hundreds of people in the field, our own satellites, our own research systems. Someone else is already doing that and we’ve just figured out how to invisibly piggyback off their intel and use their hardware for our own purposes. What we do is very simple.” He paused for a moment, watching her reaction, then continued. “There are a lot of bad guys out there. Some are easy to track, capture or kill. Those are the ones for the government agencies to catch. We’re different. We exist between the cracks and operate in the shadows, targeting the not-so-obvious or the too-well-hidden ones. Sometimes the fish are big; sometimes we’re going for minnows. Because we’re not answerable to anyone but ourselves, we get to pick and choose.”
    “How do you keep anyone from finding out you’re stealing their research?” Rayna asked.
    Barry laughed. “They’re not the enemy and neither are we. We