(shorter and a little boring setup chapter)
Kansai International Airport - Private Terminal - Hangar 7 - Early Morning
The inspector was a man in his mid-fifties, and he had two guards with him, younger men who looked like they'd rather be anywhere else at this hour, and he was walking toward a mystery aircraft that had landed without advance filing and had decided this was his problem to resolve.
Standing outside the plane, alone, looking around the hangar with calm systematic attention, was a young woman whose face made him reconsider his stride. The skull-patterned skin, black and white, caused a moment of genuine confusion before his professional instincts reasserted themselves.
Silver completed her sweep of the hangar walls and ceiling, confirmed what she'd already suspected from the approach, no cameras in the private hanger, and turned her attention to the approaching official.
He asked his question in Japanese.
Was this her plane?
"My employer and the other passengers are inside," she told him, in Japanese that was formal but clear.
The official's eyes moved to the plane, as the main door opened.
Crane came down the steps first wearing civilian clothes, nothing that would draw immediate attention to himself, Roman following behind him, with four of his men who remained by the plane.
Crane walked to Silver."Security?" he said quietly.
She nodded once.
The official was already approaching, reaching for a handshake, switching to his limited English, "Welcome to Japan."Crane shook his hand, then he reached into his jacket and produced a small sealed package, which he placed in the man's hand.
Silver produced two identical packages from her bag and extended one to each guard.
The official looked at the package in his hand and opened it, not sure what he was expecting, and then went very still.
Fifty thousand American dollars, the guards opened theirs and exchanged a look and both understood that they should leave this man alone.
The official stood with the package and looked at Crane, at Silver, at Roman's men standing casually in the background, at the plane, at the package again.
Silver waited as the man remained quiet Crane then reached out and took the man's airport ID badge, the laminated card on the lanyard around his neck, and looked at it, reading the name and looked at the man.
The official understood, they knew who he was now and that this wasn't so much a bribe then than it was a warning.
He squared his shoulders, pocketed the package and smiled."Inspection complete," he said, in Japanese that Silver translated. "All passports have been verified and cargo passes our check, you're welcome to come and go as needed." He glanced at his guards. "Let's go."
A few minutes later
The hangar filled with the accumulated noise of people who'd been sitting in a plane for thirteen hours and were very glad that it was over.
Suguro stood near the plane's nose and waited until most of the stretching had settled.
"Overhaul has arranged a hotel," he said, "the owner owes the Yakuza and are giving us a private section' he looked around the group.
"Stay here for now, don't leave the hangar until the vehicles arrive." He looked at Silver, then at Basil, then indicated five of Roman's men. "You're with me."
They left through the hangar's side entrance into the pale morning light of Osaka.
Vehicle Rental - Osaka Suburbs - 7:43 AM
The dealership was a small family business with a modest lot and inventory, the grandfather was behind the counter when the taxis pulled up.
He watched through the window as several men stepped out of the first two vehicles and spread themselves across the front of the lot.
Basil walked through the door first.
He didn't say anything, he looked around the office and after seeing they were the only customers, opened the door again, and nodded to the lot outside.
The mans granddaughter, twenty-two and working the summer before her final year of university, looked up from her tablet and gave a small wave, the way she greeted all their customers.
"My employer requires vehicles."
The grandfather put on his professional expression and asked what kind.
"Five large vans, and one car."
The grandfather and granddaughter exchanged a look, then the granddaughter tapped her tablet and pulled up their inventory. They did have those available, she confirmed, though renting all of them at once to a single party wasn't something they'd done before.
The woman nodded to her employer.
The two of them followed the grandfather out to the lot while the granddaughter remained at the desk and began calculating, Basil and the other men stayed near the entrance.
The grandfather showed them the vans first, then brought them to his nicest car, and his only luxury vehicle available, assuming these people had big money.
The man looked at the car and said something brief.
"He says it will work," the woman translated.
They walked back inside, the granddaughter had her tablet ready, the total calculated in yen, and reached for a customer form to get the rental name and contact information.
The woman stopped her with a single word.
Then she placed a stack of currency on the counter that made both the grandfather and granddaughter go very still."This is five times what you're asking," the woman said. "My employer hopes this can remain an informal arrangement, and don't worry, we will bring them back."
The grandfather looked at the money and was quiet for a moment, then picked up the money, put it in the drawer under the counter, and got the keys.
The granddaughter started to hand them over one set at a time, watching the mysterious group filter out through the door watching the vans depart.
The man who was the leader and the translator woman were last. The woman got into the driver's seat of the car, but the young man stood on the lot for a moment, looking back at the dealership, at the grandfather and granddaughter visible through the large window.
Then he got in the car and they drove away.
"Who were they?"
Her grandfather looked at the drawer where he'd put the money. More than twice last quarter's revenue, it was enough to cover his granddaughter's final year of university fees with something left over for the roof repairs that had been waiting since spring.
"Some things," he said, "are better not to know."
He went to make tea, and his granddaughter looked at the empty lot for a while before returning to her tablet.
Kansai International - Private Hangar - 8:51 AM
The inspector had been thorough in his schedule adjustments. The two guards who'd been with him were now stationed at the private hangar access gate, which meant they were in the most useful possible position for ensuring their new travellers felt comfortable until they left.
The vehicles arrived, pulling through the gate with the guards waving them past without stopping or checking them.
In the hangar once everything was distributed and everyone accounted for the convoy moved out through the private gate, onto the roads that led into Osaka proper, and the city opened up around them.
The hotel was in a quieter section of the city. The owner met them in the private parking area with an expression that suggested he'd been told they were coming by Overhaul and knew he had no control in the matter. The only silver lining is that this would pay off his debt.
An hour later, they gathered again in the private parking area, enclosed and away from the street. Suguro stood in front of the assembled group.
"Stay here," he said,
"get food in if you need it, just don't go out as a large group and don't draw attention." He looked at Roman. "Your men stay near the hotel. I want no incidents."
"Understood," Roman said.
Suguro looked at Ivy, who fell into step beside him as they walked toward the parking area's street exit and so far from home didn't feel the need to disguise herself like in Gotham.
Suguro's phone then rang...