He arrived in this low-key neighborhood in Silver Spring, Maryland three days ago. A traveling mafia boss was a tricky endeavor, which was why they frequently ruled from the sanctuary of their stronghold. Enemies from both sides of the law would be after him, and with the power play going on inside the ACS, he didn’t know whom to trust. When he heard the explosion and the subsequent cry of Sylvie before the phone went dead, he knew time was of the essence. He couldn’t hand over his biochemist for reasons important to him, but more than anything, it boiled down to principle. If he gave in to the demands of The Jackal, that would be a sign of weakness. That sign of weakness would destabilize the ACS and the members of the organization would blame his daughter. They could vote to remediate the problem—have Sylvie Yoshida assassinated. He could not allow the situation to deteriorate to such measures. One solution was to have her marry Hiroshi. This would go a long way to appease the ruling council of ACS.
