Pitt rose from his chair and stretched, easily touching the ceiling of the bus. “How much of the total plunder actually reached Japan?”

“A small percentage made it into the Imperial War Treasury. The more easily transportable treasure hoard, the precious gems and platinum, Suma and Yoshishu safely smuggled into Tokyo on board submarines and hid them on a farm in the country. The great mass of the bullion stayed behind on the main island of Luzon. It was stored in hundreds of kilometers of tunnels dug by thousands of allied POWs used as slave labor, who were either worked to death or executed to secure the hidden locations for recovery after the war. I excavated one tunnel on Corregidor that contained the bones of three hundred prisoners who had been buried alive.”

“Why is it this was never brought to the public attention?” asked Pitt.

Mancuso shrugged. “I can’t say. Not until forty years later was there mention of the barbarism in a few books. But by then, the Bataan death march and the armies of American, British and Philippine soldiers who perished in POW camps were only dim memories.”

“The Germans are still haunted by the holocaust,” mused Pitt, “but the Japanese have remained mostly unstained by their atrocities.”

Giordino’s face was grim. “Did the Japs recover any of the treasure after the war?”

“Some was dug up by Japanese construction companies, who claimed to be helping the Philippines rise from the ravages of the conflict by developing various industrial building projects. Naturally, they worked on top of the burial sites. Some was dug up by Ferdinand Marcos, who shipped several hundred tons of gold out of the country and discreetly converted it to currency on the world bullion markets. And a fair share was retrieved by Suma and Yoshishu twenty years later. Maybe as much as seventy percent of it is still hidden and may never be recovered.”

Pitt looked at Mancuso questioningly. “What happened to Suma and Yoshishu after the war ended?”

“No fools, these guys. They read defeat in their tea leaves as early as nineteen forty-three and began laying plans to survive the end in grand style. Not about to die in battle during MacArthur’s return to Luzon, or commit ritual suicide in the humiliation of defeat, Suma ordered up a submarine. Then with a generous helping of the Emperor’s share, they sailed off to Valparaiso, Chile, where they lived for five years in lavish comfort. When MacArthur became occupied with the Korean war, the master thieves returned home and became master organizers. Suma devoted his genius to economic and political intrigue, while Yoshishu consolidated his hold over the underworld and the new generation of Asian wheeler-dealers. Within ten years they were the major power brokers of the Far East.”

“A real pair of sweethearts,” Giordino said caustically.

“Koda Suma died of cancer in nineteen seventy-three,” Mancuso continued. “Like a couple of prohibition Chicago gangsters, Suma’s son, Hideki, and Yoshishu agreed to divide up the massive organization into different areas of activity. Yoshishu directed the criminal end, while Hideki built a power base in government and industry. The old crook has pretty much retired, keeping his fingers in various pies, guiding the present crime leaders of the Gold Dragons, and occasionally cutting a joint venture with Suma.”

“According to Team Honda,” Kern informed them, “Suma and Yoshishu joined forces to underwrite the weapons plant and the Kaiten Project.”

“The Kaiten Project?” Pitt repeated.

“Their code name for the bomb-car operation. Literally translated into English it means ‘a change of sky.’ But to the Japanese it has a broader meaning: ‘a new day is coming, a great shift in events.’ “

“But Japan claims to ban the introduction of nuclear weapons,” Pitt ventured. “Seems damned odd that Suma and Yoshishu could build a nuclear weapons facility without some knowledge or backing from the government.”

“The politicians don’t run Japan. The back-room movers and shakers behind the bureaucracy pull the reins. It was no secret when Japan built a Liquid Metal Fast Breeder reactor. But it wasn’t general knowledge that besides functioning as a power source it also produced plutonium and converted lithium into tritium, essential ingredients for thermonuclear weapons. My guess is Prime Minister Junshiro gave his secret blessing to a nuclear arsenal, however reluctantly because of the risk of public outcry, but he was purposely cut out of the Kaiten Project.”

“They certainly don’t run a ‘government like we do,” said Sandecker.

“Has Team Honda located the weapons plant?” Pitt asked Kern.

“They’ve narrowed it to a sixty-square-kilometer grid around the subterranean city of Edo.”

“And they still can’t find it?”

“Jim Hanamura thinks the city has deep tunnels that connect to the facility. An ingenious cover. No aboveground buildings or roads as a giveaway. Supplies entering for the thousands of people who live and work in Edo, and their trash exiting. Most any nuclear equipment or material could be smuggled in and out.”

“Any leads to the detonation command?” asked Giordino.

“The Dragon Center?”

“Is that what they call it?”

“They have a name for everything.” Kern smiled. “Nothing solid. Hanamura’s last report said he was onto a lead that had something to do with a painting.”

“That makes a hell of a lot of sense,” Giordino carped.

The door opened to a cramped communications compartment in the rear of the bus, and a man stepped out and handed three sheets of paper to Kern.

As his eyes flicked over the wording, his face became stricken. Finally, after coming to the end of the third page, he rapped his knuckles against the arm of his chair in shock. “Oh, my God.”

Sandecker leaned toward him. “What is it?”

“A status report from Mel Penner on Palau. He says Marvin Showalter was abducted on his way to the embassy. An American tourist couple reported seeing two Japanese men enter Showalter’s car when he stopped for a stalled truck a block from the embassy. The husband and wife only happened to report it to embassy officials because of the U.S. license tags and the surprise shown by the driver as the intruders leaped into the car. They saw nothing more, as a tourist bus pulled alongside them and blocked their view. By the time they could see the street again, Showalter’s car had disappeared in traffic.”

“Go on.”

“Jim Hanamura is late reporting in. In his last report to Penner, Jim said he had confirmed the location of the weapons plant three hundred fifty meters underground. The main assembly area is connected to Edo City, four kilometers to the north, by an electric railway that also runs through a series of tunnels to arsenals, waste disposal caverns, and engineering offices.”

“Is there more?” Sandecker gently persisted.

“Hanamura went on to say he was following a strong lead to the Dragon Center. That’s all.”

“What word on Roy Orita?” Pitt asked.

“Only a brief mention.”

“He vanished too?”

“No, Penner doesn’t say that. He only says Orita insists on sitting tight until we can sort things out.”

“I’d say the visitors have outscored the home team by three to one,” said Pitt philosophically. “They’ve snatched two of our legislators, cut Teams Honda and Cadillac off at the knees, and last but easily the worst, they know what we’re after and where we’re coming from.”

“Suma is holding all the high cards,” Kern conceded. “I’d better inform Mr. Jordan at once so he can warn the President.”

Pitt leaned over the back of his chair and fixed Kern with a dry stare. “Why bother?”

“What do you mean?”

“I see no need to panic.”

“The President must be alerted. We’re not only looking at the threat of nuclear blackmail but political ransom for Diaz and Smith. Suma can drop the axe any moment.