There were rules against collateral damage. There were rules about specificity of the target. An assassination had to be announced a certain number of days in advance. And the target was limited to the individual named. There were rules about protection of children and uninvolved parties, like neighbors, or guests. There were rules forbidding aerial attack, explosive traps, and the use of wires where any other individual, including servants, might accidently run afoul of them. And there were rules forbidding damage to property. An action was not supposed to happen, say, where it might damage artworks, national treasures, livestock, or a person’s means of livelihood. Well, they’d done that, a bit, this morning. There was bound to be complaint. Bren Cameron closed the computer file. The last time he’d read Wilson’s paper on the topic, he’d been on a plane bound across the straits to serve a new aiji in Shejidan.
