“Do you blame me?” the commander said, settling back in his chair with a glower. “All right, I’ll bite. Where did you get the tattoos?”
“As a matter of fact, Lieutenant Rembrandt put them on for me,” Sushi said, holding up his arms to display the decorations. “Aren’t they great? I told her what I wanted in general, but the actual design is hers.”
“Are you saying you cleared this masquerade with Rembrandt?” Phule said, ignoring the display.
“To be honest with you, Captain, I don’t think she realized the significance of what I was asking.” Sushi smiled. “I’ll admit, I wanted it to be a surprise.”
“Oh, it was a surprise, all right,” the commander snorted. “But I’m still waiting for you to tell me why you’re doing this.”
“Isn’t it obvious? You said you wanted to know what was going on here, didn’t you? I simply figured that the best way to get reliable information was to go to the source-to try to infiltrate the opposition. Once I settled on that objective, it became clear to me that the best way to achieve it was to pose as a visiting dignitary from another criminal faction, of which the Yakusa was a natural choice.”
“Did it occur to you that it might be dangerous?” Phule said, his original anger giving way to the concern that spawned it.
“Of course.” Sushi smiled. “Remember what I said when you asked me to go under cover? About being addicted to high-risk games and not being sure I could control myself at the tables? Well, I’ve found the answer. The tables are pretty tame compared to the game I’m playing now. To be honest with you, I’m having more fun than I’ve had in years.”