Authors: Ahmad Ardalan
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After working at the company for two weeks, John felt there was some good progress being made. They had begun to find information about companies and individuals they had never heard of before.
Yaturo was happy with the developments. He had met with John a few days prior at the hotel, and John had given him a number of names that Yaturo’s contacts could check on. Unfortunately, none of that data produced anything of value, but Yaturo and John felt they were on the right track and were making moves in the right direction at a decent pace.
John’s relationship with Tao became stronger. He really liked the guy, and they met either for a drink or dinner during the weekdays and played tennis on the weekends. Although they mostly talked about Tao’s marriage, John found the conversations to be a welcome relief from the stress of work.
As it turned out, Tao was having an affair; he had been seeing a university professor for three months, and he had fallen for her. As such, he felt trapped. He had to make a decision to leave his family or give up his lover. John tried to give some advice, but he himself wasn’t any better in that department.
Besides going out with Tao and working at the office, John’s life in Kyoto consisted of him spending endless hours at his suite, combing through every detail of the reports, trying to find anything that might be of help.
He called Mitsua Oel, as he needed some information about Yaturo’s new business within the CIS region. Mitsua met him more than once and suggested that John visit their factories there in order to get a real feel for the situation. On another matter, Mitsua was very worried about Yaturo’s health and felt that Hitari’s end was near. He also told John that Yaturo had been asking many questions about all his businesses, as if he was getting ready to pass on his responsibilities, as if he was reaching his end. That news saddened John and made him even more determined to work harder and faster.
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John spent three days in Kazakhstan and two in the Ukraine; Hitari had invested in the oil and gas, transportation, and chemical sectors there with some local partners. John was introduced to the people in charge of Hitari’s business, and the feedback he gained from those meetings indicated that they were doing well and that their economy was booming. Factories were being set up, backed by powerful millionaires. What interested John was that many people had recently been asking to purchase Hitari’s businesses. John was very satisfied with his visit, and he had a plan in his head.
It’s time to fish them out, to let them make contact
, John thought.
John called Tao as soon as he returned to Kyoto. They had a long chat, and John updated him on work, while Tao updated him on the sad state of his crumbling marriage. It was quite evident that Tao was having some serious personal problems, as his mood around the office was nothing like it had been when John had first met him. He’d become far less social and interactive, and there were times when John felt Tao’s body was in the room but his soul was somewhere else. From their latest conversation, John had a feeling Tao was going to leave his wife. Two days earlier, his wife had been cleaning out his coat and discovered a woman’s hair—hair that wasn’t hers. She’d confronted Tao again and again, and he finally confessed the whole story. Tao felt miserable, because he didn’t want her to find out that way.
“Why didn’t you deny it and wait for a better time, a better way to break the news to tell her?” John asked.
“If it wasn’t for that damn hair, there wouldn’t be a trace on me. Ed, you don’t know my wife. If I had denied it, she would have taken the hair in for a DNA test,” Tao replied.
DNA? Wait a minute!
It finally hit John. As soon as he left, he began to think of something, and he only hoped and prayed he was right.
Maybe there is a trace of Alexi left somewhere!
After lunch, John called Yaturo and reported that he needed to see him as soon as possible; they decided to meet at eight p.m. that very evening.
Yaturo arrived early, as usual, and John immediately realized Mitsua was right: Yaturo wasn’t doing well. Every time John saw him, it seemed the man had aged a whole year.
Yaturo told John that he had been very busy the past several days because he wanted to restructure all his businesses. “I will be liquidating some of my assets and companies,” he said. Without going into details, he said he wanted to focus on the health sector only. “My daughter will handle everything, John, with the help of Mitsua and his team. All I want to do now is what’s good for the people,” Hitari spoke in a low voice.
With a smile on his face John replied, “You know, Yaturo, my recent visit to Kazakhstan and the Ukraine proved to me that we should change our strategy to find Alexi. If you sell your factories there, it might be more beneficial to our cause than you might think.” John went on, “It’s as if they have a whole world operating in the dark, a complete underworld network. What you see on the outside is the tip, but the main players are those under the sea. They have power and money and are very greedy. Your factories there are in high demand, and as soon as we spread the word that you want to sell, those creatures in hiding will come knocking on our door. I believe there is a strong chance that someone connected to Alexi might have an interest. I know it’s a long shot, but we have to give them the bait. You’ve been looking for them all these years, Yaturo, but now it’s time for them to find you. If I had to meet half the world to find your Alexi I would, and if what I am about to ask you proves helpful, it will be easier than we thought.”
“What do you want, John?” asked Yaturo.
“The files given to you by Alexi, your files…have you touched them much?” inquired John.
“Yes of course—a million times maybe,” Yaturo responded with a confused smile.
“What about the blue file cover that contained them? I remember you told me that Alexi presented a blue file cover that contained all the papers when you two met.”
“Yes. What about it?” Yaturo curiously answered.
“The folder cover…where is it?” John asked again.
“In the room back home. I haven’t seen it in ages. Why are you asking?” Yaturo was getting a bit agitated.
“How many people have touched it since it was handed to you?” John asked.
“Only me, maybe once or twice. Who else would? It’s not important, John. There’s nothing left in it. It’s just a cover folder,” Yaturo replied.
“On the contrary, Yaturo, it might be very important. I think we should test it for DNA. There are advanced tests available now that weren’t available before. We might find something, some evidence of who Alexi is or was or will be. If any specimen remains in favorable condition, it might still be intact. The room is dry and cold, so we might have a chance. Get it tomorrow. Carefully put it in a plastic bag and give it to me. I will send it to the States, to a testing center I know. I worked on a rape story before, and they helped resolve the case. They can work wonders, Yaturo! Don’t forget wear gloves this time, as we don’t want any more of your DNA on the file,” John concluded with a laugh.
The next day, the cover file was sent. A cheek swab from Hitari was also collected and sent, as Hitari had touched the thing a few times. All they had to do now was wait and hope. In the meantime, they would prepare the necessary requirements for the sale of the companies in Kazakhstan and the Ukraine.
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While waiting for the results to come back, John, who was known as Ed to everyone there, had a quick meeting with Tao and the red team. He briefed them about his visit and told them he was needed urgently back in Zurich, as their main client wanted some update on what was going on the eastern front. “Leave China and Brazil out for now,” John said. “Let’s focus totally on the CIS region. The Hitari Group is on the verge of selling their assets there. I need you to be on top of all the prospective buyers. I need to know who is interested in the purchases, where they are from, what they own, who their families are. I need to know everything, people. Also, some names of interested parties may be passed on to me in Zurich, and I will gather updates on them as well.”
Over the course of the next several days, Hitari’s company received many inquires about the sale. As per Yaturo’s instructions, they ignored those coming from well-known companies. Unknown to his company, he was targeting the so called “underlying creatures.” Luckily, there were many waiting to get their hands on Hitari’s factories.
John asked Yaturo to delay meeting with the prospective buyers as much as he could; they were waiting on the DNA results, and once they had those, they could try to find a match when he met with them.
Tao worked hard with his team and had provided valuable names and information of who was interested in the sale of the Hitari Group, along with thorough reports on their backgrounds.
John was desperate to find that DNA. He had sent the samples to a forensic scientist named Dr. Michael, a PhD in forensic studies, though John couldn’t remember the exact name of his degree. Michael had been working in the field for over twenty years, and he had been very accommodating for police and John during the rape investigation. John admired the man and his work, and he could hardly wait to receive his call. Five days later, that call came.
“John, I have good and bad news. What do you want to hear first?” Dr. Michael asked.
“Start with the good news,” John replied.
“Well, we found some DNA for you,” Dr. Michael continued.
“Go on, doc,” John coaxed, growing impatient. “What about it?”
“Bad news now, Well, it doesn’t match the cheek swab you sent. The DNA we found is not from the same person.”
This isn’t bad news!
John was ecstatic, nearly jumping up and down. It was, in fact, good news. The doctor thought he was waiting for a match, but on the contrary, he needed to eliminate Yaturo’s DNA from the sample. John could hardly contain himself.
The doctor explained, “There were a few hairs on the files, but they were not adequate, as they didn’t contain the root, the most important component for DNA testing. Also, they were likely contaminated. The funny part is that there was some dental calculus on the file, and we managed to retrieve some uncontaminated DNA from it. Whoever this guy was, it seems he wasn’t too fond of brushing his teeth,” the doctor joked.
John thanked the doctor and told him that he should expect to get more DNA test requests from him in the following weeks.
As soon as John hung up the phone, he called Yaturo. “Yaturo, guess what. They found some DNA other than yours on the file cover! We are getting closer, my friend.”
“Send me the results, and I will check them with some people I know. If this guy has any DNA recorded anywhere in the world, my friends will find it,” Yaturo replied back.
Sitting alone in his library, Yaturo desperately wished he had more time.
Finally,
he thought,
all these years of searching are going to pay off, but will I still be here when they find Alexi again…or is it too late for me?
Not wanting to waste one more second, Yaturo made his calls and sent the DNA results. Unfortunately, as he expected after so many years of disappointing and fruitless leads, no match was found anywhere in the world.
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John and Tao’s team worked hard on narrowing the interested parties down. They left no stone unturned. Among all of them, there were three that seemed a bit similar. They were all low profile and had made their fortunes within a short period of time. Their owners were all self-starters and weren’t connected to any of Yaturo’s twenty-nine contacts in any way. Their backgrounds were interesting: a pharmacist turned millionaire, a physicist, and an oil specialist. They all had sons, but of course none of them were named Alexi. Nevertheless, it was worth a try.
John told Hitari about the people he suspected. Out of all the names they had searched, those three represented their last chance. Yaturo told John to prepare a full report on them and leave the rest to Mitsua and him; they would choose the right time and place to meet the men in Kyoto, and they would keep the whole place under surveillance and do the necessary DNA collection.
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It had been nearly three months since John had started working at the company. He had done all he could do, and it was time for him to leave. Tao arranged a farewell party at the office, and all the staff were sad to see John go, because they really enjoyed his presence.