1945

"I understand, Captain. Chess in the midst of a war for survival must seem like a trivial enterprise. Now then, what solutions do you propose to my dilemma?"

Nomura took a deep breath. This was the moment he'd been both anticipating and dreading. To divulge anything would be to brand himself as either a traitor or a spy. If he had misunderstood what Hirohito wanted, or if Hirohito had changed his mind, he would place himself in mortal danger simply by opening his mouth. All or nothing, he decided.

"Sir. Arrangements that I would not wish to comment on are being made to free you. When that time occurs, you will be able to make any announcement you wish regarding your opposition to the war. Hopefully, the result will be the honorable surrender of Japan."

"Colonel Sakei and his soldiers will not surrender me to the opposition without a struggle."

"I know."

Hirohito looked saddened. He fully understood that men would die in the effort to free him. The blame was Anami's, and not his own. Anami, the man he had once thought of as a friend, had caused his imprisonment and continued the war, causing the deaths of so many tens of thousands. So what if a few more died? In a macabre way, it would be an investment, and the profit reaped would be the continuation of Japan. He accepted that.

"Captain, when I am, ah, freed from here, it cannot be to another prison cell, not even a highly gilded one."

"I understand." Nomura hoped the people in Washington understood that as well.

"Do you? Wherever I wind up, it must be as the emperor of Japan, the spiritual and constitutional leader of a sovereign nation that wishes an honorable peace with the United States. Any attempt to use me or to show me off as a trophy will backfire and result in my removal from the throne by the warlords. This could even occur in absentia."

Nomura nodded his understanding. He was almost too surprised to speak. Was the emperor signaling that he understood that the Americans would take him, and that he would not be rescued by another group of Japanese? Nomura did not think he had given any hint ofthat.

"Captain, would you do me a favor?"

"Certainly, Majesty."

"Please remove your tunic and shirt."

Confused, Nomura stood and did as requested.

"It is as I thought," Hirohito said. "You are an American."

"What?"

"Don't deny it, Captain. Look at your vaccination. You were vaccinated on the arm. Japanese are vaccinated on the hip."

Nomura's mind whirled. Should he try to deny it and say he had received his shots while in the United States or something like that? After all, he had already told Hirohito that he'd traveled widely. But if the emperor believed he was an American and voiced his opinion to Sakei, then Nomura was doomed. Who would take his word against that of an emperor, even an imprisoned one?

"Well?" the emperor asked. "Do you admit it?"

Nomura bowed his head. "Yes."

"When did you plan to tell me?"

"I had no idea, Your Majesty. Maybe not until the last minute, sir, when it would be too late to do anything about it."

Hirohito looked pained. "I suspected that would be the case. I understand your logic and I accept it. I have no idea how you will accomplish this and do not wish to know. You are an incredibly brave and resourceful man, Captain. You have fooled Colonel Sakei, who, however, sees what he wishes to see. Put on your clothing before someone comes in, and we shall play another game. It is well that we do something while we talk."

Nomura again did as requested. "How did you suspect, sir?"

"A number of small things, nothing significant taken individually, but collectively they become relevant. Most of the people I deal with are members of the extended royal family or the military hierarchy, and I am used to the manner in which they defer to me. You, however, portrayed yourself as an ordinary officer without Imperial connections. You were properly subservient, except at those times when your wish to win at chess overpowered your discretion. No ordinary Japanese would have behaved like you did. At first I put it down to my own ignorance of ordinary Japanese, but then I more closely watched the behavior of the others in Sakei's detachment. Prisoner or no, they think of me as a god, and your eyes tell me that you think otherwise.

"Then, on realizing that the so-called spy was still on the loose, I began to put two and two together. I also thought it unlikely that a true kempei officer would be so easily suborned. Tell me, did you kill the man whose uniform you wear?"

"He was dead already. A traffic accident."

"Amazing. In the midst of a war we still have traffic accidents."

"Sir, you said Sakei sees what he wishes. Are you confident ofthat?"