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oun
up the gun, I wedged the wood between the trigger and
trigger guard, pulling the trigger back just short of the
point where the gun would fire. Then I stood the
weapon carefully in the corner.
Next, I went back to the body and got out the
cigarette pack from the breast pocket of the dead man 's
180
NICK CARTER
shirt. I took one out and lit it. It tasted good, strong and
French, and I hadn't had a cigarette in a long time. I
drew another couple of puffs, then placed the cigarette
on the wood chip so it would eventually burn through.
Then I went back downstairs to wait.
It didn't take long. I'd just reached the bottom and
gotten myself into position when the gun discharged
and the recoil sent it clattering across the floor.
In a second the two guards charged the door, past me,
and on up the stairs, their guns at the ready. When they
were out of sight, I slipped out into the moonlit court-
yard.
The outside area was paved with the same crushed
whitestone as the courtyard I'd crossed when I first
entered the main part of the house. In the moonlight it
glowed like a light table. It was impossible to cross it
unseen, but I did my best to be inconspicous, running
alongside the courtyard wall, keqing to the shadow.
When I got to the first building on the other side, I
pulled myself up to the narrow window ledge and
peeked in. *Ihe first room was an anteroom of some
kind, with Lo Sin sitting in a corner of it, smoking. The
asymy by his arm was full to overflowing with
cigarette butts and ashes.
Across from him, through a wall of glass panels, a
group of what looked to be doctors were working in an
theater. Ihey had on gowns, gloves, and
masks for their faces -Then I noticed a thick rubber seal
over the door frame and I knew at once it wasm't an
operating theater at all, but a dust-free room. I'd seen
one before at NASA Research in Houston.
On the table in front of these men my replica lay
stretched out, although the front of his face had been
removed. Wires and different electronic components
hung out onto the table. In the wall on a TV screen
IQI





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ung out onto the table. In the wall on a TV screen
THE LAST SAMURAI
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numbers and schematic drawings flickered back and
forth. The technicians studied the monitor, worked,
then studied some more.
I let myself down. •mis wasn't the building. The
central computer was housed elsewhere.
The other low building had no windows and only one
door. The door was solid steel and had a heavy lock in
the doorknob. I tried it cautiously. It was secured.
I was about to slip a credit card between the door and
the jamb, when I heard someone coming. I ducked into
the narrow space between the low building and the main
part of the house just in time to see a door in the
courtyard wall open and a man in a white lab coat
emerge carrying a tray of coffee and sandwiches. He
walked past me to the door I'd just tried to open,
produced a key from a long chain in his pocket, selected
one and put it in the lock. Then he turned it and pulled
the door open, and began awkwardly trying to get the
key out.
I charged out from the shadows and grabbed him
from behind. "Don 't move," I told him in Japanese,
holding Wilhelmina 's cold but empty barrel to the back
of his head. "And don't be nervous. Your friends
inside wouldn't want you to spill dinner."
He gulped once audibly, then we shuffled in to-
er. I closed the door behind us with my gun hand.
The three technicians working inside were too preoc-
cupied to notice us at first. But eventually, one by one,
they all looked up from what they were doing and their
jaws dropped. I must have looked half crazy to them.
' 'Nobody moves and nobody gets hurt," I said.
They quickly nodded their understanding, then
cleared out of the way as I forced the one I was holding
into the chair behind the video display terminal.
"Get it so I can talk to it, " I said.
182
NICK CARTER
He looked up at me blankly,
"Type in your access code. "
He typed something rapidly, and a line of numbers
appeared on the screen atx)ve the keyboard. Then the
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They quickly nodded their understanding, then
cleared out of the way as I forced the one I was holding
into the chair behind the video display terminal.
"Get it so I can talk to it, " I said.
182
NICK CARTER
He looked up at me blankly,
"Type in your access code. "
He typed something rapidly, and a line of numbers
appeared on the screen atx)ve the keyboard. Then the
computei typed a line. Good morning, Mr. Yashika.
'Tell it you want to see the schematics for the dyna-
mite implacements in the building foundation. " I said.
He typed in the request. The computer figured for a
split second, then replied, "Do you have the code
word?"
Yashika and the others looked at me expectantly. I
was afraid of this. Minamoto had said it was a verbal
command. But I had the feeling it didn't have to be
given verbally, because Lo Sin had no doubt planned to
use the self:destruct mechanism to obliterate the evi-
dence of what he'd done here. And by the time he'd
gotten around to pushing the button, Minamoto would
have long been dead. So there had to be manual access
to the mechanism, that much I knew, but I 'd hoped the
information wouldn't be further blocked by another
code. Looked like I was wrong.
I had to think and think fast. could have Lo Sin
called over here, then jump him when he walked in the
door. But he knew that my gun was empty and I'd end
up having to fight my way out of here and maybe
losing.
I looked around the room. Tape disks spun back and
forth behind Plexiglass doors; the control module lights
blinked as the computer awaited my decision. lhe
technicians all stared, beginning to suspect a weakness.
I had to come up with a word, any word. Suddenly I
had it and I said. Kamai-kaze. " Somehow I knew this
was the right word, especially since Minamoto had
underlined the passage that referred to it in the Haiku-
Sinatori.
THE LAST SAMURAI
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ne luck was running my way. Thank you, the com-





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blinked as the computer awaited my decision. lhe
technicians all stared, beginning to suspect a weakness.
I had to come up with a word, any word. Suddenly I
had it and I said. Kamai-kaze. " Somehow I knew this
was the right word, especially since Minamoto had
underlined the passage that referred to it in the Haiku-
Sinatori.
THE LAST SAMURAI
183
ne luck was running my way. Thank you, the com-
puter typed up on the screen, and in a second a cut-away
view of the castle as it was situated on the rock cliff
flashed on with arrows showing where the charges had
been placed under and behind the building.
"Instruct it to detonate," I told Yashika.
His eyes widened with horror. "I can't do that.
Everything will be destroyed. "
'*Then get out of that chair. I'll do it. 's I gave him a
shove and he landed on the floor on his backside. One
of the other technicians helped him up, the two of them
looking at me as though I were foaming at the mouth.
I typed in: Detonate charges. Order not to be coun-
termanded.
Within a few seconds a temfic roar welled up from
the ground below us. ne little building, even though it
was made of cinder blocks, shook. One of the tape
drives smashed face first onto the floor, scattering
Plexiglass in all directions. The technicians held on to
the furniture and lcx)ked at the ceiling and each other
wide-eyed.
Outside, lumps of granite that had once been walls
and cornice pieces and roof thundered to the ground. I
gripped the sides of the console to keep my chair from
rolling with the floor as it pitched seaward.
A crack OFned in the wall just below the clock,
beginning at the ceiling and running downward. Just
before it made it all the way to the floor, the rumbling
suddenly stopped. Everything was still.
Plaster dust filled the air so thick I could hardly see.
The technicians and I all looked at one another wonder-
ing what was coming next. Then the door flew and
Ln Sin burst in, bringing with him a man in a white lab
coat and two of his guards with automatic rifles.
"What's going on here?" he demanded. When he




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coat and two of his guards with automatic rifles.
"What's going on here?" he demanded. When he
184
NICK CARTER
saw me, his face tEcame livid. "You! I thought you'd
be dead by now, trying to escape."
"I didn't try to get out," I smiled. "Minamoto
mentioned the dynamite before he died. I couldn 't resist
the opportunity to get rid of you and that bionic puppet
of yours at the same time. "
'Fool! Don't you realize what you almost
did? .
He was about to tell me when another of his soldiers
ran into the room. His face was ash-white and he was
out of breath. It was one of the men who had been
guarding the tower.
"Everyone out! " he shouted in French. ' 'No time to
lose! It 's falling into the sea, the whole rock face. We ill
all be killed!"
ne technicians didn't need a translation. Panic
swept the room like a brush fire. ney all made a run for
the door.
"Halt!" screamed Lo Sin. His two guards pointed
their guns and everybody stopped. "No one leaves
without my rkrmission. We have a pro#ct to finish.
Let's not forget that! "
Just then the ground shook again and I had to grab
hold of the table to keep from being thrown to the floor.
This tipped the scales against Lo Sin. If it was a choice
between a bullet in the head or drowning in the sea and
being dashed against the rocks, everyone in the room
was willing to risk the bullet for a chance to survive, Lo
Sin's armed guards were the first ones out the door.
Lo Sin stood watching them desert him with a horri-
ble look of dismay on his face. "Cowards!" he
screamed at them as they all but trampled him to get out
the door.
He grabbed one white-coated technician and tried to
keep him from going. The man threw him off with a
THE LAST SAMURAI
185
violent push. "Come back here," 1.0 Sin shouted after
him in Ginese.
Finally, the room was empty but for Lo Sin and





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ble look of dismay on his face. "Cowards!" he
screamed at them as they all but trampled him to get out
the door.
He grabbed one white-coated technician and tried to
keep him from going. The man threw him off with a
THE LAST SAMURAI
185
violent push. "Come back here," 1.0 Sin shouted after
him in Ginese.
Finally, the was empty but for Lo Sin and
myself. I came up behind him and took him by the arm.
He spun around and glared at me, his eyes narrowed
with malice.
"Come on, Old Man," I said. "You'll have to
answer charges when we get back, but it's better than
dying like this. "
"Leave me alone," he growled.
"But yma don't—"
Ihe ground heaved again and sent us both sprawling
on the floor. Memory banks toppled and sparks of
electricity from broken cables snapped in the air. I
smelled ozone, then the noxious cxior of burning vinyl
plastic.
"Get up!" I told him. "It's starting to bum!"
"Unhand me!" he shouted back and pulled his ann
free of mine. g 'I am staying," he said flatly.
We stared at each other for several seconds. Ihen the
fumes started to make it difficult to breathe. I knew it
would do no gocxi to try and force him to go. I had no
choice but to leave him there.
I bolted through the door out onto the white gravel.
On the landward side of the courtyard part of the wall
had caved in. Lab technicians and guards were scram-
bling over the rubble to safety. I was about to follow
them, when I heard a Taint call for help.











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Twenty

The cry came from the main part of the house. I ran
across the courtyard to the heavy iron door and threw
myself against it. It opened only a few inches. A roof
beam had fallen behind it, keeping it all but shut.
I rammed it again with my shoulder. It moved a
fraction of an inch. lhen I listened. lhe cry was insis-
tent. Somewhere inside a woman was trapped.
I hit the door again and again. Still it wouldn 't budge.
My shoulder felt like I'd been beating down brick
walls. Finally, I had one more go of it. I took a running
start and hurled myself, regardless of how it hurt.
'Ihe roof beam rolled back and the door swung open,
not far, but far enough.
Inside was havoc. ne remodeling done was obvi-
ously not very strong. lhe upper floors had collapsed.
Gaping holes in the entryway ceiling looked out on the
starry night, and everywhere thick wocxien beams lay
splintered and twisted as though they were toothpicks.
The air was thick with dust and the srnell of fir.
188
187
NICK CARTER
I ran down hall after hall, looking in one room after
another I could still hear the cry, only fainter now, as



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Gaping holes in the entryway ceiling looked out on the
starry night, and everywhere thick wocxien beams lay
splintered and twisted as though they were toothpicks.
The air was thick with dust and the srnell of fir.
188
187
NICK CARTER
I ran down hall after hall, looking in one room after
another I could still hear the cry, only fainter now, as
though whoever was screaming was on the verge of
giving up.
I came upon the tea garden room where Minamoto
and I had talked. One whole wall had caved in and half
the ceiling lay in the shrubbery. lhe tea house had tEen
demolished and the plumbing mechanism as well—the
reflecting pool was nothing but an empty hole. The air
was hazy as it was everywhere else, but the electrical
system still functioned. ne flourescents glowed
through the dust like a dotted line of light along the
floor.
In the next room where I'd fought Benkei, the
robot monk, the situation was similar. The artificial
stream had overflowed its banks and the room was
filling with water. On either side of the stream was a
pile of wreckage where the footbridge had fallen.
In the next room the dragon had fallen on its side and
the phony clouds had fallen off the wall. The cry had
now become a soft sobbing, but the sound was clearer
here. It was coming from the room with the moveable
wall sections in it.
I dashed to the opening where I'd been almost
squeezed to death a few hours earlier. -me wall section
that acted as a door was snapping and shut like a
giant pair of jaws. The computer had obviously gone
berserk.
I watched it zip back and forth a few times and
realized it was moving too fast for me to slip through. I
was going to need something to hold it I found a
piece of a beam fallen from the ceiling and carried it
over. When the door snapped back to the position,
I wedged it in and it held.
Inside it was like a nightmare. Walls moved forward


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IS moved f
THE LAST SAMURAI
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fell back, hallways telescoped out or ü•uncated them-
selves with amazing speed. And what was more, every-
thing moved at once. It was like being in the middle ofa
huge working engine, at the mercy of its pistons and all
its moving parts.
As I stood watching this activity, the wall in front of
me suddenly leaped out and knocked me down. Then it
retreated just as suddenly, only to make room for an
attack from the wall behind. I scrambled out of its way
on all fours and it collided with its brother with a crack
like two wooden blocks being smacked together.
I jumped to my feet and began doing some broken
field running. Every time I got penned in, I looked for a
hallway in some direction just opening up. Ihen I'd
dive for it, more than once just ahead of certain death
t*tween two on-coming walls.
This went on for two or three minutes, and I'd had
several close escapes, when a section of wall to my left
jerked itself back and I saw the figure of a young
woman huddled on the floor crying. She was Japanese,
wearing a white lab coat.
Obviously, she'd gotten caught in here and by some
miracle had managed to avoid being crushed to death.
But now she was exhausted and about to give up.
Unfortunately, seeing her and getting to her were two
different things. Just as I ran for her, a wall shot be-
tween us and cut us off. Then, while I was waiting for
the interval in this deranged machine which would
move aside the wall that separated us, the far end of the
hall I was standing in descended on me and pushed me
several yards away. It came on me so fast, I had to run
out in front of it. This one herded me into another, but
I stopped just short of crushing me flat. Then two halls
opened up on either side.
I could go either of two ways, but I 'd lost track of the
NICK CARTER
girl. "Where are you?" J shouted in Japanese.
"Is someone there?" she yelled back in Engiish.
Two walls slapped together, making a terrible clap of
noise,
"Hold on. I'll find you," I shouted.





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sev
out in front of it. This one herded me into another, but
I stopped just short of crushing me flat. Then two halls
opened up on either side.
I could go either of two ways, but I 'd lost track of the
NICK CARTER
girl. "Where are you?" J shouted in Japanese.
"Is someone there?" she yelled back in Engiish.
Two walls slapped together, making a terrible clap of
noise,
"Hold on. I'll find you," I shouted.
J ran down the hall that I thought was in the direction
of her voice. Behind me the wall section closed with a
slap. nen the hall, that had opened up so nicely,
closed, with the wall in front of me barreling down on
me like a locomotive, stopping just before it had run me
into wallpaper. Then another hall opened up unexpect-
edly to my right.
"Get me out of here! " she screamed. She was near
hysteria.
"Don't panic!" I shouted back.
I took this hall. It went for a short distance before it
was cut short. But I was closer to her now, I was sure of
it.
"Don't move," I yelled. "Stay where you are."
The wall in front of me fell away. She was standing
just behind it, drawn there by the sound of my voice,
her face as pale as her coat and her cheeks glistening
with tears. She ran over and buried her face in my neck.
As I held her, I looked down and saw what had saved
her from being ground to hamburger by these walls. A
large chunk of plaster had fallen off the ceiling and
stuck itself in the track in the floor along which the
walls moved. It had acted like a doorstop, creating an
island of safety in the midst of pandemonium.
"What Ss your name?" I asked.
"Riko." It was no more than a whisper in my ear.
' 'We're not out of here yet," I told her, pulling her
away.
She nodded grimly.
'*Can you run?" I asked.
THE LAST SAMURAI
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Before she could answer. the end of the hallway




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an o ety in the midst of pandemonium.
"What Ss your name?" I asked.
"Riko." It was no more than a whisper in my ear.
' 'We're not out of here yet," I told her, pulling her
away.
She nodded grimly.
'*Can you run?" I asked.
THE LAST SAMURAI
191
Before she could answer, the end of the hallway
plunged toward us and we were running, hand in hand,
me pulling her along, until we ran out of room. Then the
walls on either side suddenly split and we dived into the
new hallway on the left as the old one closed with a
powerful bang.
I helped her to her feet. •sniat was close," I said.
She just looked at me and smiled. She was too
grateful to speak.
' me door is this way, I think, " I told her, pointing
to the wall on our left.
"I think so," she said.
' 'The trick is to stay out in front of these walls," I
said. She nodded. "Don •t worry, I'll be right here," I
assured her.
*Ihe hall we were in started to close down and we had
to move. There was no panic this time. An escape route
opened up in front of us and we just stepped into it as the
hall snapped shut behind us. It looked like getting out of
here wasn't going to be all that difficult. That was. if I
was right about the location of the door.
Then a yawing sound, like something enormous
being wrenched apart, broke the air and the floor below
us tilted ten degrees or more. We fell into each other,
against the wall, and finally to the floor. The lights
failed and the wall sections suddenly stopped moving.
"What's going on?" she said, terrified. "Why is it
dark?"
• 'The house is falling into the ocean," I said.
"Into the ocean?" she said it as if she couldn't
believe it.
"Didn't you hear that explosion a while ago? That
was dynamite in the rcxtk face under the house. It's
undermined the integrity of the cliff. We're falling,
although not as fast as I thought."




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undermined the integrity of the cliff. We're falling,
ald')ough not as fast as I thought. "
192
NICK CARTER
"You did it?"
"Minamoto and I, yes. "
Outside, the house was breaking apart. More of the
superstructure was falling into the lower rooms. Beams
crashed, followed by a rain of plaster. Masonry hit the
floor and vibrated the joists below us.
"We've got to get out of here. " I grabbed her hand
and together we began feeling the surface cf the walls. I
counted thirty steps until we found an opening. The
opening was on the left, which was gcx)d, because left
was the direction I thought the door was in.
lhe next hall over was a little longer. I counted
forty-one steps, then we found a hall that went right,
and from the sound of our voices, it went for quite a
ways.
Riko wanted to take it. "Please, let's get out of
here," she begged. "I'm getting scared. I keep think-
ing the walls are closing in on us again."
enlis hall leads away from the door. We should only
take those that lead to the left, •
' I said, trying to sound
positive about where the door was.
She acquiesced without a struggle and we continued
on, me running my hand along the wall in the dark,
hoping for an empty space that would lead us in the
right direction.
Finally, I hit a long hall going left. When we turned
into it, she asked, ' 'Why is it so hot in here?"
' 'Fire. lhe house is on fir.'
She didn't say anything, but gripped my hand
tighter.
At the end of the hall I felt the crack of the door. The
beam I'd wedged in it was still there. but the wall that
moved back and forth against the door, the one that had
almost crushed me my first time through this maze, was
THE LAST SAMURAI
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partially blocking the entrance. ne that re-
mained for the door was alarmingly small.
Riko went first, squeezing her small body into the




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feltthecrac o e oor. The
beam I'd wedged in it was still there. but the wall that
moved back and forth against the door, the one that had
almost crushed me my first time through this maze, was
THE LAST SAMURAI
193
partially blocking the entrance. ne that re-
mained for the door was alarmingly small.
Riko went first, squeezing her small body into the
crevice between the two walls. It took her several
minutes of maneuvering, but she made it.
lhen it was my turn. I off Wilhelmina and her
holster and handed them through to Riko. Ihen I re-
moved the turtleneck sweater I Sd taken off the guard
and the belt from my pants. Then I started to squeeze
through.
I got my arm, leg, shoulder, and part of my hip
through, but I couldn 't see how I 'd make it any further.
Then I sucked in for all I was worth and jammed in my
shoulders and one buttock.
The yawing sound, like the creaking of a huge door,
erupted again, and the house tilted. The two walls that
held me in their grip suddenly closed the grip tighter. I
screamed in pain. I thought my body would burst.
' 'Are you all right?" Riko asked anxiously.
I couldn't respond. The pain was immense, and I
could hardly breathe. Every pulse brought on a new
wave of agony.
Riko, not as frail as she looked, began to pull on me
frantically, a-ying to wrest me free. It was hopeless. I
was about to tell her to run on without me, when the
house shifted again and the wall fell back. I slipped
through the opening, then through the door where I'd
wedged the beam, and none too soon. I 'd just cleared it
when the wall slammed shut, sealing the doorway for
good.
She helped me up. I had trouble getting my legs to
hold me. My body all over.
"I'm all right," I said, anticipating what she was
about to ask.
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wedged the beam, and none too soon. I 'd just cleared it
when the wall slammed shut, sealing the doorway for
good.
She helped me up. I had trouble getting my legs to
hold me. My body all over.
"I'm all right," I said, anticipating what she was
about to ask.
194
NICK CARTER
"You're sure?"
"We haven't got time. We've got to make a run for
it. "
I took a step and stumbled. She threw my arm
around her neck and together we started to run.
Plaster and bits of stone and wood showered down on
us from above. The house wrenched again in another
throe of its demise, almost knocking us down.
We ran through the room past the carcass of the
mechanical dragon to the door panel. She was about to
run in, when I stopped her. She couldn't see very well
through the darkness and the dust, but the water level in
the next room had risen to twice what it was. The whole
room was a vast swimming pool of floating debris.
We stepped in cautiously, keeping to what little dry
ground we could find , which consisted ofa raised patch
by the panel opening. Riko looked at me a little doubt-
fully, as if to ask, "Do we have a choice?" Then she
began to step into the water.
"Hold it," I said, grabbing her arm. There was a
cable not far away that was still hot. Every now and
then it lashed above the surface and spit out yellow
sparks that lit the room. "Wait here," I said.
I went back into the other room, up to the body of the
dragon. My sword with its insulated handle still pro-
truded from his mouth. I pulled it out and took it back to
where Riko was waiting, Then, inching along between
the water's edge and the wall and leaning out as far as I
could, I used the sword to guide the cable close enough
for me to grab it by its insulation.
' Tere's no telling if that's the only one," I said,
pulling the cable out and laying it on the bank.
"We'll have to take the chance, " she answered. She
went in first, wading until it got deep enough to swim. I
followed. In a few minutes we reached the other door-
way.




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p enough to swim. I
followed. In a few minutes we reached the other door-
way.
THE LAST SAMURAI
195
nen we ran, hand in hand, until we were clear of the
house and in the courtyard. We were halfway across the
open gravel when she stopped me.
' 'There's someone else, " she said, pointing to the
light in the window of the dust-free lab where they had
been working on the duplicate.
"No, " I said, S •that's just---" But she'd pulled away
from me and was running to the door of the lab.
It was getting too late, and there wasn't much time. A
fissure had already opened in the ground underneath the
courtyard. I hesitated for the briefest second, then ran
after ha.
We reached the door together.
"Don't it, " I said. S There's nothing in there of
any importance. "
She didn't listen. She pulled the door open. Through
the glass panels on the other side of the waiting area Lo
Sin was over the laboratory table, his back to us.
"It 's the Master, " she said. I pulled on her to
stop her, but she•shook her hand free.
She crossed the anteroom quickly almost to the big
man's broad backside, then something she saw made
her stop. I came up t*hind her and gently put my arms
on her shoulders. Lo Sin was bent over the still-open
face of his unfinished robot, vainly trying to stuff the
components back into it, mumbling to himself in a run
of unintelligible Qlinese. Tears ran down his soaked
cheeks and dripped off the edge of his jaw.
"He doesn't want our help. " I told her quietly.
She stared for several seconds, then she, too, began
to cry. Finally, I took her firmly by the arm and led her
away.
Outside, the fissure had grown in size. From the way
it was spreading, I could tell it was a matter of seconds
before the entire lip of the cliff crumbled away.
NICK CARTER
By the time we got to it, it was almost too wide t
jump. Riko stood on the edge of the giant crack,




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She stared for several seconds, then she, too, began
to cry. Finally, I took her firmly by the arm and led her
away.
Outside, the fissure had grown in size. From the way
it was spreading, I could tell it was a matter of seconds
before the entire lip of the cliff crumbled away.
NICK CARTER
By the time we got to it, it was almost too wide t
jump. Riko stood on the edge of the giant crack,
ing down, nen she Icx)ked at me with anguish.
"You have to jump," I said. S •nere's no othet
way. "
"I II never make it. "
"You have to. "
About fifteen feet of empty space separated the tw
banks of ground. ' 'Make a run for it, " I said, "and giv
it everything you've got. "
Her eyes went white like an animal's when it'
trapped. She looked around frantically, but there w
no other means of escape. Still, she didn 't move. It w
like her feet had grown roots.
"Jump!" I screamed in her ear. "You're not goin
to give up on me now. "
She looked at me again and seemed to come to h
senses. She stepped back a few paces, ran and procrll
herself into the air. She came down just short of th
goal, hanging to the rock ledge by her hands for de
life, her feet dangling in the blackness.
Then it was my turn. I took a run and made it, withou
much room to spare. Quickly I grabbed her and pull
her up. mien a crash of thunder rumbled like a mountai
being dropped.
I turned and saw an entire hundred yards of fi
ground suddenly break, as though it had been struck o
by a giant chisel , and slide into the dark sea. I pulled he
up by the wrists and the two of us stood watching.
took many seconds for it to finally go.
lhen we went up to the rocks on the other side of th
courtyard wall where the lab technicians, guards, an
other personnel were watching. lhe lot of us stare
down at the wreckage of the house for some time.
Then a nice looking Japanese man in a white lab co
THE LAST SAMURAI
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spotted Riko and came running over. He grabbed her
and swung her up in the air, jabbering excitedly, She
clung to him with all her might. She was obviously very
glad to see him. When he set her down, they kissed—a
long. long kiss that made me smile.
When they were done, she broke free of him, ran to
me, leaped up and kissed me, too. She looked at me as
though she wanted to say something, but there was
nothing to say. She just smiled and slipped out of my
I arms and ran to her young man. "Ihe two of them
walked off arm in arm, and she began telling him of the
time we had getting out.
I watched them go. The sun was beginning to rise and
the eastern sky had turned to pastels. As I walked up to
where I'd parked the Porsche, I remembered I was
going to have to tell Gigi about her brother.
THE END