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The doorbell rang and Fargo looked up. “Who the hell?” He glanced at Nicole, who was trying to get Cindy and Alan to eat their dinner and not throw it at each other. She shrugged. “I’m not expecting anyone. Did you forget a meeting, again?”

It rang again and Fargo got up. “I’ll go get rid of whoever it is.” As he walked out of the kitchen, he mumbled, “I didn’t forget any meetings.” <Jace, who is at the door?>

Nicole said, “I heard that!” But she was smiling.

<Ethnic Japanese male. Mid-50s, unarmed. In body camouflage.>

He picked up his kukri as he went to the front door, holding it behind his back, and saw a small fat figure through the distorted glass panes. Who the hell is this? That…isn’t anybody I know. Oh well, courtesy and a firm word will send them on down the road. He opened the door and said, “Can I help you?”

The small Asian man said, “I would like to serve you tea again.”

Fargo cocked his head and extended his senses. A mixture of confidence and worry came back, tickling his memory. “Sir, I don’t remember you. Where did you work?” he asked courteously.

The man grinned and the timbre of the voice changed. “Far away from here. Do you not remember me, Ethan Fargo? I served you green tea and you gave me rat packs.”

Fargo peered at him as a memory surfaced and snapped into place with the sensing. “Kuzu?”

Suddenly the little man smiled and seemed to grow in stature. “Yes, it is I. I remember how you and OneSvel said you could cure me. I have—”

Fargo grabbed him and pulled him in the door, shutting it quickly behind him. “Are you…still being hunted?”

Kuzu’s smile disappeared. “Always.”

Fargo led him to the kitchen, startling Nicole and the kids as he said, “Sit. What do we need to do to protect you?”

Nicole’s head snapped around at that, and Kuzu bowed deeply to her. “You are Nicole. Fargo told me of you. I am Akihiko Kazuyuki. I am an escaped Gokudō. For thirty years I was the wakagashira, the second man, of Hokkaido. You have nothing to fear from me. Your man could have taken me back for millions of credits, but he chose not to.”

Flustered she nodded and asked, “Would you like some tea? I am afraid we don’t have any green tea, just regular tea.”

Kuzu reached in his coat pocket and pulled out a bag. “If I may be allowed, I would serve you both.”

Cindy picked that moment to chirp, “He cooks? We get good food?”

That broke the tension as Alan said, “Meat. Want meat.”

Kuzu smiled and bowed to the children. “Only if I am allowed. And that is up to your parents.”

Alan’s face collapsed. “Phooey. Mama says only good food.”

Nicole got up. “I don’t know about Ethan, but I would be honored. Let me get the proper cups and teapot for you. What kind of pot or kettle would you like to heat the water in?”

Kuzu bowed again. “Whatever you choose, my lady. A kettle would be preferred.”

Fargo gathered his scattered wits. “You…look significantly different than the last time I saw you.”

Kuzu chuckled as he put the kettle of water on to heat. “Camouflage. In this case, a fat suit, and prosthetics in the mouth.” He scrubbed his hand over his bald head. “And a temporary depilatory.” As the water heated, he leaned against the counter facing them. “I…found that pacifism was not all I thought it was. Power was still power, and the vacuum of power after Prime Minister Chihiro passed brought out the worst in the priests. I…got caught with the last two rat packs and was sternly questioned.” He smiled at his own joke. “I decided it was time to…move on, so I left. I remembered your names and it was easy enough to locate you. One hopes that what OneSvel said was not a throwaway comment for my benefit.”

Fargo glanced at Nicole. “No, OneSvel doesn’t say things they don’t mean.” He cocked his head. “How did you know we were here? We actually live out at Rushing River.”

“I know. I was going there, but showing up there from the space station was…less than optimum. Less people go there than here to White Beach. The only reason I knew you were here was a comment I overheard while waiting on my bag. Someone mentioned the quarterly militia review was in progress and places to stay were at a premium. Someone else joked that at least you didn’t have that problem, and something about a lawsuit. From there, it was easy to find you in the local directory, and here I am.” The kettle whistled and he swept it quickly from the heating unit. Shaking tea into the teapot, he poured the water in and gently swirled the pot. Taking up the cups, he ran them under the hot water faucet, dried them and placed them back on the saucers. Taking them to the table, he set them in front of Nicole, Fargo, and one next to Fargo furthest from the twins.

Touching the side of the teapot, he nodded, swirled the pot once again and brought it to the table. He quickly poured the three cups and sat down. “To you and your family. Kanpai!”

They raised their cups and sipped. Fargo almost spit his tea as he saw the twins mimicking them with their cups. He sighed. “You, sir, are truly a master of the tea.” He smiled fondly at Nicole and asked, “You ever hear from Chief Sergeant N’didi?”

Nicole chuckled. “Of course. It’s now Master Chief N’didi. She’s back at the schoolhouse now, running the C school.”

Fargo chuckled. “Why am I not surprised.” He turned to Kuzu. “What do you want to do?”

Kuzu took a sip of tea and contemplated the cup. “I would like to get…fixed. OneSvel said they could make the scars go away. I would like to be able to move again. That…is one of the things I’ve missed the most. The simplest movements, I must do carefully.” He looked up suddenly. “OneSvel. Are they still here?”

Nicole smiled. “Yes, OneSvel and NasTass took over the clinic from Doc Grant when he finally retired completely. They also do the clinic for the military when they come in, and run both the clinic and hospital at the Enclave.”

Kuzu cocked his head. “The…Enclave?”

Fargo put his head in his hands as Nicole laughed. “It started out as a small enclave of Ghorka, about a hundred families.”

Kuzu looked sharply at her. “Is this…Garun and Shan? Is this where they are?”

Fargo nodded silently as Nicole continued, “Yes, they and their families are both there. Along with another five hundred or so more families, and as of this week, possibly another two hundred families.”

“Why is this important?” Kuzu asked.

Nicole giggled, setting Cindy to giggling. “Hush you. Kuzu, you really don’t know what you’ve walked into, do you?”

He shook his head mutely and took another sip of tea.

She sipped her tea then said, “Well, you’ve walked into a nest, for lack of a better word, of retired Ghorka.” Fargo is the militia commander for, what, seven hundred E seven, eight, nine, and warrant officer Ghorka from the Galactic Patrol. In other words a full battalion of troops. Who are, by the way, all being paid by Grey Lady. That is also why there is a hospital there now, in addition to a De Perez research facility staffed by mostly Ghorka. Hunter has become the primary place for testing of new GalPat equipment, up to and including ships.”

Fargo added mournfully, “Including Boykin as director of flight operations. And Grayson as the hospital administrator, even if he spends most of his time in the clinic playing Paramedic.”

“These names I do not know. Grey Lady, that name I know. De Perez as in De Perez Galactic?”

Nicole looked obliquely at Fargo. “Yes, that De Perez. GalPat is in and out of here all the time now. And most of them are scared to death of the people out there.”

Kuzu cocked his head. “Might I know why?”

Fargo replied, “Because most of the Ghorka trained some or all of the leaders of the Galactic Patrol, either in schoolhouses, or as senior enlisted under the officers as they moved up in rank.” He chuckled softly, “It is interesting to see four-star generals and admirals showing deference to these contractors considering how they act around world governments.”

Kuzu smiled. “Ah yes. Deference…Some expect it, others earn it.” He glanced around. “Might I use your fresher?”

Nicole replied, “Certainly.” She pointed to a side door off the kitchen. “Through that door, second door on the left.” Kuzu bowed and moved quietly out of the kitchen. She said softly, “What are we going to do with…Kuzu?”

Fargo bit his lip. “Take him with us. I’ll get OneSvel to meet us at the hospital, we can get Kuzu in and into a tank tonight.” He shivered. “Probably three days in the tank, and three, maybe four days of recovery. The question is, where to move him to? Rushing River?”

Nicole cocked her head. “Well, there is an extra room in the back of the Copper Mug. Maybe, that would work in the interim.”

Fargo headed for his office and got on the e-tainment system, selected the clinic in Rushing River and initiated a vid call. Moments later, OneSvel answered. “Are all of you on the way back?”

He thought for a minute and said, “Later today. However, a gent from five years ago wants you to do what you promised.”

“Five years ago?”

“He served us tea. I was thinking of the hospital at the Enclave.”

“Ah. He is here?”

“Yes, we were coming back via the Enclave this afternoon. I have to drop off some data chips with Ron Keads, as soon as I get them from Colonel Santos. Boykin is going to pick us up at fifteen with a ship she’s out testing.”

“Well, Captain Jace is due to land here at seventeen with a load of supplies for the camp and some meds we need. I can get a ride to…not the hospital. We will do this at the Enclave. Have…the others who were with us meet him and escort him to the clinic there.”

Fargo nodded. “That is a better plan. We will see you then. Tell NasTess the allergy shots worked well for the twins.”

He heard OneSvel’s GalTrans chitter with their version of a laugh. “I will tell them you doubted their diagnosis.”

Shaking his head, Fargo said quickly, “That is not what I said, and you know it!”

OneSvel replied, “At twenty, at the clinic.” The screen showed a disconnect and Fargo sighed as he got up and went back to the kitchen.

Kuzu was picking up the tea service and carrying it to the cleaning unit, and Nicole and the twins had disappeared, She must be getting them packed to go home. This is as good a time as any… “Kuzu, I just talked to OneSvel, they will start your treatment tonight at twenty if that is acceptable.”

Kuzu stopped dead and set the tea service softly on the counter. He bowed his head momentarily, then turned to face Fargo. “I…will be forever in your debt. I can pay.”

“No! You are not going to pay for this. We…will do this to help you. If you would like, you can recuperate in Rushing River with us afterward.”

“Is OneSvel on the way here, or already here?”

“They will be flying in to meet us at the Enclave. That is where your treatment will be done.”

“The Enclave? The Ghorka home?”

“Yes, Garun and Shan will meet you and escort you to the clinic while I take care of business. One question, did the Yakuza know you as Kuzu?”

Kuzu bowed deeply. “I thank you, it will be good to see them again. No, that is what I was called it translates as garbage or worthless. It has, how you say, grown on me.”

“If you could do anything, what would it be?”

Kuzu looked out the window for a moment. “I love to cook. I would be a cook of some type.”

***

At fourteen, a large runabout parked out front. The five of them and their luggage was loaded into it. Kuzu chuckled at the number of bags Nicole had, and she growled, “Children triple the number of bags needed. Twins quadruple them.” You came…you only have one?”

“I have very little. One bag is enough for me.”

The drive to the GalPat compound was realtively quick, and Kuzu glanced at Fargo as they went through the front gate. “Our shuttle lands here, it’s easier when we come in on a combat shuttle, but they’ve adopted and now let us land any shuttle here. This one is from the Hyderabad.”

“Will that be a problem for me?”

“No, there will probably only be the pilot aboard, and he or she won’t say a word.”

As they pulled up to the shuttle ramp, Jace came down smiling. “One extra passenger today, going to the Enclave, I understand?”

Fargo nodded. “You are correct, Captain. We will be met by Garun and Shan.”

“Good! Let’s load up and be on our way.” Jace picked up four bags and effortlessly carried them up the ramp, set them inside a cargo net already strapped to the bulkhead, and proceeded to the cockpit. Fargo and Kuzu got the rest of the bags, as Nicole chivvied Alan and Amy aboard. By the time they got the bags loaded and the cargo net closed up, she already had the children in their seats and strapped in.

Fargo pointed at a seat next to Nicole. “You take that one, I’m going to talk to the Captain.” While Kuzu was strapping in, Fargo closed the aft ramp, and climbed into the cockpit. Once they were airborne, he turned to Jace. “Kuzu needs to have his identity scrubbed.”

Jace replied, “How completely?”

“He’s…was the number two Yakuza on Hokkaido, his true name is Akihiko Kazuyuki.”

“So, he needs a complete scrub. Identity, DNA, fingerprints, retinal prints, voice prints, everything.” He whistled. “The Yaks are offering ten million credits for his location or his dead body. He must have seriously pissed off some people.” Moments later, Jace added, “They have been looking for him for a number of years.”

“That’s what I gathered. What can you do?”

Jace chuckled. “Well, I’ve already altered his primary data sets, including the ones the Yaks think they have secreted away. Even if they captured him now, they wouldn’t be sure who he was, because the primaries are from a dead Japanese man from two hundred years ago. We will need to come up with a new identity for him, and I will build it in the papework and personal history. If we use Akira Kohaku as his name, Kuzu could be his nickname.”

“He did mention he would love to be a cook.”

Jace said, “That is easy. He will have twenty years experience with Star Lines as an onboard chef specializing in Japanese cooking. There will be, once he has completed his repairs, a new picture taken, then introduced into certain documents and photos in the company database.”

Fargo shook his head. “I really don’t understand how you can do all this…manipulation of data.”

Laughing Jace replied, “It is easy when you have penetrated every computer system. It will be done. Just make sure OneSvel knows to change the retina and vocal cords slightly.”

Two divs later, just at dusk in the Enclave they landed and Fargo was happy to see OneSvel, Garun, and Shan standing at the side of the landing zone and nobody else there. “Hatch going down,” Jace said as they got up.

Nicole said, “We’re only going to be here a few minutes, so you two stay buckled in. Your dad and I will be right back.”

Alan nodded. “Okay, mom.”

They escorted Kuzu off the ramp and he bowed low to the three standing there. OneSvel’s GalTrans chittered, “Welcome Kuzu, you have come to get cleaned up?”

“Hai! Garun, Shan, it is good to see you.”

Shan said, “What happened to you, Kuzu? You’re…fat!”

He laughed and replied, “It is, how you say, camouflage. I am still me, at least for now.” Pointing to Fargo he added, “We have talked, I will become a new man if possible.”

Fargo said, “OneSvel, if possible, can you alter Kuzu’s retinas and vocal chords slightly? Just enough to make him not pass a scan or voice print? And maybe reduce is apparent age?”

OneSvel replied, “That…will take an extra day and we must do surgery. It will take a minimum of five days in the medbox to accomplish that.”

Kuzu said, “I can pay.”

Fargo shook his head. “No, you will not pay for this. We will do this for you.” Turning to OneSvel he said, “We have to go on to the camp. Let me know when he is ready to be released, please. Kuzu, we will see you in a few days.”

Kuzu bowed to him and Nicole. “I thank you both.” Looking around he asked, “Where are we going?”

Fargo and Nicole got back on the shuttle and Fargo closed the ramp. Moments later they were airborne, and Nicole turned to Fargo. “I wonder if he would like to work at the Copper Mug?”

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