1945

From all that had happened, it was simple to conclude that someone had betrayed Japan and that the bombing of the shrine where Hirohito was hidden was no random act.

The first thing they had to do was to find the traitor. Thus the kempei had arrested almost a score of men and women who were suspected of having pacifist tendencies. Sakei was relieved to note that most of them were Korean, and, therefore, neither Japanese nor trustworthy. He fervently hoped that the traitor would prove to be a Korean. He would be shamed if any true Japanese turned out to be the traitor.

The lieutenant in charge of the questioning came out of the small building they were using and walked up to Sakei. The lieutenant's arms were covered with blood, along with pieces of flesh and clumps of hair.

"What progress, Lieutenant? We must get on with this."

The lieutenant wiped his sticky hands with a rag. "Two more have confessed to being the traitor, but neither can tell me where the radio is. That means that they and the others were lying in their confessions to avoid the pain. We are continuing our efforts to extract the truth, but I am not confident that any of these people know anything at all. The traitor could have been one of those who already died under questioning, but I doubt that."

"Dammit." Sakei and the lieutenant returned to the building. This meant the traitor was still on the loose.

Sakei entered the building and was immediately assailed by the stench of blood and other body fluids. He looked about him and saw that half a dozen men and women had their hands tied behind them and were hung by their wrists from the roof beams with their feet just tantalizing inches off the floor. This dislocated their shoulders and made every part of their bodies vulnerable to assault.

They were naked and rivers of blood ran down their bodies from bruises, burns, and other open wounds. In a couple of cases Sakei could see where broken bones had split the surface of their skin. He could easily understand where people might confess to the most heinous of crimes if only to stop the agonies being inflicted on them, even if it brought on a swifter death.

Dead bodies were heaped in a corner. These looked at him through vacant eyes, at least the ones whose eyes hadn't been gouged out, and screamed soundlessly at him through gaping mouths where teeth had all been beaten out with hammers. One woman's breasts were bloody stumps, and severed fingers and toes were on the floor.

"You're right, Lieutenant, if they cannot give us the location of the radio, then they are nothing."

The kempei lieutenant bowed. "I will find more suspects, Colonel. We will find the traitor."

"Do that. Keep up the good work. In the meantime I will make other arrangements for the safety of our emperor."

The lieutenant beamed at the compliment. "Yes, Colonel. Do you have any special wishes for these people?" He gestured to the remaining prisoners.

"When you are done, kill them and dispose of the bodies where people can see what happens to those who are even suspected of treason."

The lieutenant grinned and saluted. Colonel Sakei left the building and walked the half mile down the dirt road to the compound where Hirohito was quartered.

He found the Son of Heaven well guarded in a cell. He was sitting quietly on the edge of his cot and reading a book. When he saw Sakei, Hirohito put down the book and stared at him.

"What now, Colonel, have you come to play chess with me?"

"No, Your Majesty."

"Why not? Are you afraid you will lose? You will lose, you know, just as you always have. You will lose everything, even Japan, through your foolishness."

Sakei held his temper in check. "Because of us, Majesty, Japan will live."

Hirohito smiled innocently. "Ah, yes. We will live, won't we? Just like when the bombs came and killed so many of your men. And you so foolishly believe a traitor has given away this location when you've got an entire battalion prancing around and making this little place look important to the American pilots. Yes, you are doing a marvelous job of keeping us alive. Very soon, you and all those with you will have succeeded so well that we will all be dead."

Sakei had to acknowledge that part of what Hirohito was saying was correct. It did not take five hundred men to guard the nearsighted and inoffensive Hirohito. It was one of several points that would immediately be corrected. "I will keep you alive, Majesty. We are moving you to a place of much greater safety. One that even the Americans will not dare to bomb."

Hirohito laughed tonelessly. "I doubt such a place exists on this planet, and certainly not in Japan."

Now it was Sakei's turn to smile. "It does, sir. Thanks to the Americans' strange sense of honor, we will find safety in a hospital that is closer to Nagasaki. The Americans will never bomb a hospital that boldly carries the sign of the Red Cross on its roof."

Sakei stood and called for a guard to assist the emperor in gathering his meager possessions.

CHAPTER 22

DETROIT