Page 43 of Smoke and Shadows

Sophie blew her bangs out when she ended the call. She was a terrible person.

“Lying to the husband?”

“Shut up, David. Order your dessert,” Sophie groused.

Outside the Japanese cultural center,Derek Lockwood stared disbelievingly at the woman who meant everything to him, who at the moment, was having dinner with another man. The scene wasn’t incriminating by itself, except she lied to him. Why would she lie to him? He once wondered what people meant when they said their world was ending. Now he knew. Devastated didn’t even begin to describe what he was feeling.

Sophie said she was having drinks with her best friend Beth, except he saw Beth at Rooster Bar. Sophie’s friend didn’t know he saw her. He felt bad that he immediately got suspicious. He wouldn’t have if Sophie hadn’t been acting strangely all of yesterday and this morning. She was jumpy and she’d been avoiding him, unable to look into his eyes. Now, he knew why.

So he used her phone to trace her location and here he was.

He wanted to charge in there and reclaim what was his. But some Karmic force was staying his rage. Was he to blame?Had he failed her somehow and driven her into the arms of another man? Was he being punished for his past hedonistic life of sex and women?

His hands were shaking when he started his car. He needed some perspective. He needed a drink.

“It’s been a while, Viktor,”Jiro Matsuda said in greeting as he motioned Viktor to take a seat, or rather to sit cross-legged at the low table.

Three tea rooms were situated amongst rocks and low lying shrubs in the Japanese garden, just beyond a bridge over a small stream. Viktor waited in the shadows, entering the tea house only when Matsuda did.

“Yes, it has, old friend.” They regarded each other with unspoken regret. The door to the tearoom slid open and a woman wearing a kimono with a face painted like a geisha stepped in with a tray of tea. Marissa. Viktor’s brow shot up, although, he had known she had planned to go incognito. He couldn’t help imagining taking those layers of silk off her body. He smiled wickedly at her. She smiled back coyly. Too bad she was not a hundred percent healed and ready for some rough sex, but he’d be sure to file this away: his own personal geisha.

Jiro cleared his throat. “I presume she’s your associate.”

Marissa lowered the tray and held out her hand. “My name is Cole.”

“Ms. Cole, how can I be of assistance?”

“Viktor?” Marissa gave him the go ahead as she poured the tea into the tiny cups.

“Stuart Kwon and the NKUF. Have you heard anything at all?”

Jiro pursed his lips and nodded a few times before replying, “I have. You have to understand, Viktor, that Stuart was once a good man. He had no plans of following his father’s footsteps to force a united Korea by means of violence.”

“What changed?” Marissa asked.

“The death of his sister,” Jiro said sadly, glancing at Viktor. “They were devoted to each other. Despite being half-siblings, Daliyah always took care of Stuart and shielded him from his father’s wrath. Even when Daliyah’s mother and Min separated, Daliyah stayed behind and took over responsibilities that should have been Stuart’s.”

“So I’ve created a monster,” Viktor said, exhaling deeply.

“No, Viktor. Circumstances happened.”

“Are Stuart Kwon and his nephew Rafiq Shadid working together?” Marissa asked.

“I have no doubt. They’re united in their hatred for you, Viktor, but that’s only the tip of the iceberg,” Jiro said.

“What do you mean?”

“Stuart wants revenge, but not as much as he wants money. He means to start a war in Syria so he can supply the Ba’ath Party with weapons.”

“Supply them with weapons? How? All we have on him is Petrech Labs that could be classified as a defense business.”

“That lab creates chemical weapons,” Jiro said.

“You know this for a fact?” Viktor asked.

The kendo master nodded. “He also has another company that manufactures weapons.” Matsuda mentioned the name and that Kwon was not listed on the board, but had a significant investment in the company.

“It’s a Russian defense company,” Marissa added. “It has been on the CIA’s radar for a while.”

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