Chapter 39
The first time Lincoln had met Tanaka, he’d been a teenager on one of his rare visits to see his father in Seoul. They’d crossed paths at the most expensive sushi bar in the city, a place that Tanaka was known to frequent when he was in Korea.
“I brought you here to show you that man,” his father had told him, gesturing across the room with his custom ebony chopsticks. “You stay very far away from him in the future. He will try to get close as a way to hurt me. Never make a deal with him. Commit his face to your memory.”
Since Lincoln had wanted above all else to impress his father, he’d followed those instructions to the letter.
Until now.
Tanaka hadn’t been onboard the cruising yacht that had brought the guards to their campout on the cliffs.
But that reprieve hadn’t lasted long. The cruiser had zoomed back around the northern tip of the island in record time.
Shortly after that, the guards had marched him into Tanaka’s third-floor suite at the Kona Queen.
At least he hadn’t gotten shot and dumped into the ocean. Yet.
Now he and Tanaka were seated at a round café table on the expansive balcony, with the scent of Kona coffee rising from a silver French press.
A brilliant array of tropical fruit—juicy fresh pineapple, glistening slices of papaya and mango, a banana boat filled with coconut cream and toasted macadamia nuts—was presented like a work of art on a glass platter.
Tanaka was in his seventies, and although he was still spry, he used a cane when he walked—and, quite possibly, to stab people, Lincoln imagined.
The damn thing was probably fitted with a blade or a hidden firearm.
He was pretty sure by now that Tanaka wasn’t out to murder him, but he still kept a wary eye on that cane. Things could change quickly.
Tanaka regarded him with shrewd dark eyes set in a deeply lined face. All his hair had gone silver, including his bushy eyebrows. “You see me as your enemy,” he said in lightly accented English.
“My father has warned me about you,” Lincoln agreed.
“KiYun and I have our own history from when we first began our careers. But we are not in Japan or Korea now. And you are neither. You are American, and Americans pay no attention to history. This is the land of new starts. New conquests.” He gestured at the palm trees outside the lanai, their fronds gently waving in the breeze.
“Conquest is the way of the world. Hawaii used to have no people, then came the Polynesians.”
“The menehune might have been here first,” Lincoln said, just to be contrary.
Tanaka ignored him. “Then Kamehameha came from this island to conquer all the others and make them one kingdom. Then came the Americans to conquer the Hawaiian Kingdom and make it part of the United States. In this world, you either conquer or you are conquered.”
Lincoln couldn’t argue with that world view, since he himself had held it not long ago. But did he now? No, he realized. That framework felt too rigid. It didn’t account for all the magic and quirks and mysteries and serendipities that he’d experienced since going down in that jungle.
“You haven’t conquered me. I agreed to negotiate with you so you would release Rory Baker.”
“And you wish me to leave the Morrissey family alone.”
Lincoln tilted his head. “Yes. That too.” When he’d gotten onto the boat, he’d relayed that demand as well. The fact that Tanaka had some kind of relationship with Lucky Lou Morrissey meant that the rest of the family was also vulnerable. He couldn’t allow that to stand.
“I have agreed to all those conditions. But you mistake this situation if you think we are enemies. In this matter, we are on the same side.”
Lincoln hid his surprise. He’d intended to offer a deal, but Tanaka was beating him to the punch.
Tanaka leaned forward. “Your CHUM, as you call it, is remarkable. Its full potential is unknown. I want to develop it. You also want to develop it.”
“Which puts us at odds,” Lincoln pointed out. “I know what you want. You want to weaponize and control it, don’t you?”
“You are partly correct,” Tanaka agreed.
“In my research to replicate your CHUM, my people created something unexpected. A weapon that could give me power beyond what I’ve dreamed of, beyond anything that exists.
This weapon would not cause collateral damage such as radiation.
It can be used surgically or expansively.
Everyone will come to me wanting to purchase it.
Nations, militias, arms dealers. I will become the world’s wealthiest man. ”
Lincoln inhaled a slow breath, a technique that always helped his facial muscles stay relaxed. Things were clicking into place now. “But you need the CHUM to amplify its power. That’s why you’ve been after it so hard. Without the CHUM, you’ll never be able to maximize your profits.”
“Yes.” Tanaka nodded. “This is why I brought you here.”
Lincoln showed no reaction. If Tanaka wanted him to hand over the CHUM, he’d be disappointed. His sample was still missing. Higher Ground hadn’t yet produced another. Did Tanaka not know any of that?
“So let’s hear it. What do you have in mind?” Lincoln asked.
“I’ve been watching you amass your fortune. I see myself in you. You’ve invested brilliantly. You think of the future, you find small gems that others overlook. You’re innovative and you’re unique. No AI could replicate what you do.”
“I’ve never invested in AI,” Lincoln pointed out. He wasn’t sure where Tanaka was going with this, but he had a bad feeling about it.
“I am aware. Instead, you’ve focused on energy.
When your board voted you out, you negotiated ownership of one company only.
Higher Ground. My spies tell me that you have made no further progress after the loss of your sample.
But I am certain it will happen. If you accept my offer, I will require access to all of Higher Ground’s research.
Files, blueprints, lab results, research notes. Everything.”
He might as well hand over his heart and soul. “And what do I gain from this?”
“What else? Wealth. Incredible wealth. We will share the profits, with terms to be negotiated. The CHUM and my weapon work together, and so will we. As I have said, we are on the same side. I cannot count on my own sons. They are…inadequate. What is that saying, if you can’t beat them, join them?
I can’t beat you. You can’t beat me. So we join. ”
Lincoln wanted to laugh at the irony. All his life, he’d ached for his father to bring him into the family fold. He never had because it would have alienated his “real” family, his wife and children. He’d always kept Lincoln far away from them, even during Lincoln’s few visits to Korea.
Now, here was his father’s biggest rival inviting Lincoln to join him. “Are you doing this to get back at my father?”
“I have many reasons. The number one reason is that it makes sense.” Tanaka leaned forward and delicately speared a piece of pineapple into his mouth.
When he was done chewing, he said, “The world works best when men like you and I maintain control. I will handle the weapon, you the energy. You will have free rein to do whatever you wish with it—as long as we keep it proprietary. We will consolidate control of this technology for both of our benefit. We will prevent it from degenerating into chaos, as is inevitable if it’s available to all. ”
Tanaka must have seen the Free Energy For All memes too.
Did he know about the Crystal Collective already?
Did he consider it a threat? If so, his actions made even more sense.
Maybe Tanaka had once considered Lincoln his adversary, but there was an even more threatening enemy out there—the rest of the world.
Billionaires would always naturally gravitate toward other billionaires.
How else would they stay billionaires except by keeping everyone else out?
And shouldn’t he be saying “we” instead of “they”? Wasn’t he just like Tanaka? Just like his father? They were rivals and enemies, but weren’t they, underneath their mutual hostility, the same?
Visions danced before him—developing the CHUM, the sensational profit margins he’d achieve, the glowing profiles that would be written…
…the devastation that might ensue if Tanaka got his weapon to work…
The answer was clear. Lincoln nodded and got to his feet. “I have some arrangements to make. I’ll be in touch.”
“Do we have a deal? I must hear your answer before I permit you to leave.”
“Yes. I will sign over Higher Ground to you. You will leave Rory Baker and the Morrissey family alone. Forever. We’ll hammer out the details of exactly how we’ll work together at a future point.”
Tanaka stood up, leaning on his cane, and extended his hand. He bowed as they shook. Lincoln returned the gesture. He’d spoken carefully, and intended to live up to every word. Even during a negotiation with a crime lord, it was important to keep your word.
The guards stepped aside so he could leave the balcony. One of them followed him across the spacious suite and out the door. He trotted down the stairs to the ground floor level, catching sight of Nathan Tanaka already drinking at the bar despite it not being even noon yet.
How ironic that Tanaka’s power and money could buy everything except a worthy blood heir. He was hoping to recruit Lincoln to fill that gap—and to stick it to his oldest enemy, perhaps. He probably had a few other agendas in there, too.
Lincoln managed to lose the guard Tanaka had assigned to follow him easily enough.
All it took was sunglasses, a swim cap, and a pair of swimming trunks purchased at the resort’s gift shop.
After wandering down to the beach, he blended into the crowds of sunbathers and families.
When the guard was turned away from him, hand shading his eyes to search the other end of the beach, Lincoln slipped a surfer a hundred dollar bill so he could borrow his surfboard.
He mimicked the other surfers’ movements and paddled out past the breaking waves. He sat astride the board, gripping it with his thighs, while he watched Tanaka’s guard search up and down the beach. Finally he gave in and headed back to the resort.
“Mahalo, Zara,” he murmured. He could feel her vibrant, laughing presence out here on the bobbing waves. Despite all the slings and arrows that had come her way, she still looked at the world and saw a place full of joy and adventure.
That was priceless.
When the coast was clear—so to speak—he paddled back to shore and returned the surfboard to its rightful owner. He dug up his phone from where he’d buried it in the sand, putting that impermeable case to the test.
And then—he called the only person he could think of with the resources and motivation to do what needed to be done to beat Tanaka at his own game.
“Dad, it’s Lincoln. You still have people embedded in my company, right? Don’t bother to deny it.”
A short silence. “Then I will not.”
“Good. Here’s what I want them to do. My only request is that it not be traceable to me.” And he told his father exactly what he wanted his spies to do. By the time Tanaka got into Higher Ground’s files…well, he’d like to see the man’s face.
It would hurt to know that the CHUM was gone for good. He could barely think about that loss. That shimmering, mysterious, magical crystal…never to be seen again.
But knowing that the world was a safer place…that would ease the pain. Knowing people weren’t getting hurt by his actions, that Zara and Rory and Mia and Eddie would be protected…priceless.
Now there was one more loose end he needed to take care of.