"What am I doing?" answered Jack O'Brien to the old man on the train to Kashmir,
"how could this be any of your business?"
"Business?" said Kenji. "Like what? Some investment? A transaction?"
"You know what I mean." said Jack O'Brien. "Some privacy... would be appreciated."
"How long have you been ... in transit?" Kenji said.
Jack shook his head. "You won't quit, will you?"
"I quit all the time," said Kenji. "And I quit now. A simple question is all."
Jack O'Brien took a half-deep breath ,
"what is today ... Friday? Left on Tuesday afternoon. Lost a day coming over."
"Over?" Kenji asked.
"Over the date line." Jack said.
"you've come a long way." said Kenji.
"Not long enough." Jack said.
"You have relatives in Kashmir?" Kenji said.
"My parents."
Kenji looked at him without response.
"My parents went missing in Kashmir."
"When?"
"Perhaps two weeks ago." said Jack.
"Lost?" Kenji said.
"Taken." said Jack.
"and you know this for a fact?" Kenji said.
"from a reliable source." Jack nodded.
"and this source sent you on your way here?" Kenji said.
"not really." Jack said. "That was my decision."
And both of them at once
looked up to a man standing in the isle looking at them.
"Will you come with me, young man." he said.
It was the man in the beige linen suit and still in sunglasses.
Soldiers from the Indian Army appeared at each end of the train car and stood alert with
rifles slung over their shoulders.
Jack looked around and his face pulled up tight with fear.
Kenji looked at Jack and looked at the man
who was holding out a badge.
"I am a security officer of the government of India.
And you will come with me." the man said,
and began pulling Jack out of his seat with a hand gripped
under Jack's arm.
"Where are you taking him?" Kenji asked.
The man did not respond.
"My young friend, listen to me." Kenji said.
Jack was being led quickly down the isle,
and he looked over his shoulder to Kenji.
"Keep your head. Keep your courage too."
Katie awoke on Saturday morning
and immediately sat up in her futon.
"That's weird... sleep went so fast... but I feel just fine..."
She looked over at Susan who awoke and sat up right away too.
"Yeah, what's up. We're not dragging our selves outta bed."
"Felt like I slept ten minutes
from the time I closed my eyes to just now." Katie said.
"Yeah. Did we really sleep?"
"I think so, I feel great."
"Me too. What happened? I didn't wake up
even once during the night
and had no dreams or anything." said Susan.
"Let's not tell anybody." Katie said.
"Don't worry. What's there to tell." said Susan.
"It's weird." said Katie.
"I'll take it." said Susan.
"Me too." Katie said.
"Good morning, everyone!" the girls walked into the living area.
The room was like a replay from yesterday morning,
except Kenji was already sitting at the breakfast table
and scooping rice and natto (fermented bean curd)
into his mouth and listening closely
to Taya-san and Kaneko-san from the Japan Foreign Ministry
who sat on either side of him.
Oba-chain was eating, as she often did,
standing up and cooking at the same time,
usually getting something started early for the evening meal
before she, herself, left for the office.
"They found your brother in India." said Oba-chan
to the girls right away.
"In India." Katie said. "That's good. Mom and Dad?"
Oba-chan simply shook her head.
"The Indian Government reported to our embassy
a few hours ago." said Kaneko-san.
"That's correct." Taya-san continued the story,
"they picked him up on a train heading for Kashmir
about twelve ours ago, India time,
and reported Jack was traveling with some old man."
"Jack can make a friend of anybody, anywhere." Oba-chan said.
"It's very strange, however." Taya-san continued.
"They said the old man could speak Japanese.
Naturally it aroused suspicion and they tried to detain him as well.
"And?" Oba-chan said.
"And...." Taya-san paused and displayed both surprise and guilt upon his face,
"somehow..." he paused again and shook his head,
"somehow, the old man got away."
"Strange indeed." Kenji said without pause and his mouth still full of food.
"From a train?" Oba-chan said almost laughing out loud.
The men just raised their eye-brows and shrugged their shoulders.
"That's wonderful, I suppose. One less thing to worry about."
"You really think so?" said Susan.
"Susan." Katie was shaking her head to stop her.
"They don't know Jack either." Susan mumbled away.
"They'll hold your grandson at the border
until agents from the Japanese Consulate arrive
probably six to eight hours from now
and then he'll shortly be on his way back to Tokyo." said Taya-san.
"With an escort from the Japan Foreign Ministry," added Kaneko-san.
"And how in the world did my grandson,
attending a private boarding high school
in Sedona Arizona - the other side of the world -
discover, before anyone in power,
what happened to his parents in Kashmir?" Oba-chan had her arms crossed now.
"According to U.S. investigators," Taya-san explained,
"Jack has friends at school whose fathers are situated
at rather elevated positions
in both the Indian Government and the Government of Pakistan."
"I can't imagine any father in that position
disclosing such information to their own teenage son.
What purpose could that possibly serve?" Oba-chan said.
"It appears the students ... of these men of high rank,
are their daughters, not their sons."
"Oh that explains everything." Susan said.
"And with the considerable aid of your grandson,
hacked into secure intelligence networks
of both governments."
"What would give them that idea?" Oba-chan said.
"They hacked these networks
at the beginning of the school year -
for what purpose we still don't know --
and by coincidence, just a few days ago, discovered this information.
And these girls are providing information to authorities? Oba-chan said.
"I wish I could tell you yes. said Taya-san.
But these girls have turned up missing as well..."
"huh?" said Oba-chan.
"...and are yet to be found." Taya-san finished.
Oba-chan stood staring and shaking her head.
"Who are these girls, what are their names?"
"Their names are being withheld by other authorities."
"Well. If they found Jack, I'm sure they'll find these girls soon."
"This is what's expected, yes."
"If Jack was helping them?" Susan shook her head, "Wouldn't be an expectation to bet on."
"Gentlemen?" This time Oba-chan jumped in quickly
to quell her granddaughter's comments.
"I can't thank you enough for your dedication to this crisis
and for disclosing this important information.
And girls?" she turned to Katie and Susan O'Brien,
"I believe you have just enough time
to get to the station and catch your train to school."
"Is Satchitananda-san walking with us to the station?" said Katie.
"I'm staying right here, today." Kenji said, his mouth still full.
"Then we're outta here." said Katie. "Thank you for breakfast, Oba-chan.
"Thank you for breakfast, Oba-chan, and we'll see you tonight."
Oba-chan followed Katie and Susan to the door. "Stay focused girls. I know you will."
"We will, Oba-chan." Katie said.
"We will, Oba-chan." said Susan.
And Oba-chan slowly closed the front door,
and the girls departed for Fuda Station,
and the three repressed with effort
the urging of their tears.
"This is too much." Katie said after the two walked
quietly for five minutes.
"Can you stay focused?" Susan asked.
"No way." Katie said.
"Me neither. What'll we do?" said Susan.
Katie was shaking her head and kept silent for a minute or two.
"I don't know." Katie finally said. "We attach the moon
to our head with a bungee cord?" she chuckled to herself.
"Hey a whole bunch of bungee cords," Susan chuckled back, "from
all the stars in the heavens."
"Sounds like a plan." Katie laughed louder.
"Yeah." Susan laughed back.
