Sign of the Dragon (Tatsu Yamada Book 1), Niall Teasdale [books for 20 year olds .txt] 📗

26th August.

‘We must not fight among ourselves. Fighting between our own people is counterproductive. Foolish.’ Yong Pan was speaking – in Mandarin – and people were listening. Probably not the right people, but his voice was being heard. ‘When I speak of “our people,” I refer to all refugees in this country which has given us the honour of taking us in in our time of need. I call for calm. I call for peace. Do not let the demons of violence spread like a cancer through our peaceful community.’

‘Who is he again?’ Yamauchi asked. For once, she was separated from Suzuki who was up at the front of the crowd, filming Pan. The little news conference had been set up in the lobby of one of the still-functional hotels in this region, in Chuo Ward as was. There were a number of cameras other than Suzuki’s, but the majority of attendees were from radio stations of one form or another.

‘Yong Pan,’ Tatsu replied. ‘He’s… He’s a sort of community figurehead in this area. He was in his sixties when he came to Japan. Had enough money to live in Tokyo or Yokohama, but he chose to live here, among the Chinese in Chiba.’

‘No criminal ties?’

‘Unless you count having something of an influence over the tong leaders, no. He runs hostels down near the old port, a rehab centre, and a number of campaigns to improve conditions in Chiba.’

‘So, an all-round nice guy.’

‘I won’t say he doesn’t enjoy the attention, but yes, he’s a responsible voice with limited influence in the National Diet. He’s managed to get some things done and he generally keeps the tongs from getting too excessive.’

‘And when he fails, you destroy the tong.’ Yamauchi was smirking.

‘And then he complains about me using excessive violence, even though he knew it was necessary. He’s a local politician in an area where no one has representation.’

‘Well, let’s see what he’s like one-on-one.’

~~~

‘Thank you for agreeing to this interview, Mister Pan,’ Yamauchi began.

‘Thank you for speaking with me, Miss Yamauchi,’ Pan replied. He was speaking Japanese now; the audience had changed.

‘You’ve called for calm here in Chiba. That implies that there is not calm at the moment. I witnessed a fight break out between two gangs on the streets south of here yesterday. Is gang violence more of a problem at the moment?’

Pan smiled. He looked around sixty or seventy, but a spry sixty or seventy. Medical technology had kept him going beyond what he might have expected. His heart and liver were both cybernetic and several of his joints had been replaced. PIN kept back much of the ravages of time. He was wrinkled, with thinning grey hair, but he was healthy, and his eyes were bright. His mind still operated well too. ‘Your question betrays the bias of your channel, Miss Yamauchi. Gang violence is not common in this area, but it is rising with the confusion caused by the recent murders of Russian mafia leaders. Chaos breeds chaos.’

‘I report what I see, Mister Pan,’ Yamauchi countered.

‘I shall await your report on our community with interest. Sadly, your fellow reporters report what their agenda requires them to. Your channel refers to refugees as immigrants, economic migrants here to better their lives. I was a successful businessman in Beijing when the Cyberwar broke out. Do you believe that I would abandon that to move to a country which begrudgingly accepted me and denies me basic human rights due to my circumstances?’

‘Do you believe the environment in Chiba contributes to the prevalence of gangs in the area? Everyone is guaranteed a basic income. Everyone has somewhere to live.’

‘Universal basic income for refugees is one hundred and sixty thousand yen per month. For Japanese citizens it is eight hundred thousand. Work is hard to come by. The Japanese economy is based around a model of services. When we came here, there were jobs in manufacturing which have vanished with the march of automation.’ Pan held up a hand. ‘I do not blame anyone for this. Technology marches on and Japanese citizens have also been inconvenienced by it to some degree. The fact that those citizens wish to be served by other Japanese people reduces our chances of finding alternate work, of course. Given our circumstances, the reduced level of income means that people must prioritise survival over comfort. When survival is at the forefront of your mind, it is common to band together for support.’

Yamauchi was silent for a second, which would likely be edited out of the final multicast. ‘Do you believe your words will reach the right ears, Mister Pan? Will there be calm on the streets of Chiba?’

‘We can but hope, Miss Yamauchi,’ Pan replied. ‘If there are more murders, who can say what may happen?’

~~~

‘Where are we going?’ Yamauchi asked as Tatsu got out of the van.

‘My place,’ Tatsu replied. ‘Briefly.’

‘Sorry? Your apartment? And you want me and Suzuki to come with you?’

‘It occurred to me that you probably have no idea what a typical apartment in Chiba looks like.’ Tatsu headed for the door of the building, reporter and cameraman in tow. ‘You’re wrong about everyone having somewhere to live, by the way, though I admit that everyone should have a roof over their heads. Maybe we’ll go see some of the squats in the zone tomorrow. Still, this is a pretty typical apartment building here in Chiba. They were put up to house the refugees, assuming that Chiba would be an industrial area requiring workers for the factories.’

The elevator was on the ground floor, so there was no waiting. It was a bit of a tight fit getting three people and a camera in, but soon they were on their way up to Tatsu’s floor. ‘Despite the fact that most Japanese