"Their army is in terrible shape," Monck admitted, "but the bastards are still fighting. They may be sick, cold, and starving, but there's still an awful lot of them left. This is their home and they're gonna make us pay for it until someone like Hirohito tells them to stop. And one other thing. I don't just want trenches, I want forts. If they break through, I don't want our rear areas vulnerable to being overrun. Everyone is going to have a circle to defend, and that includes the lard-ass rear-echelon troops you all love so much."

Ruger understood. "So we dig trenches and set up observation posts outside them. Good. The boys will be thrilled to not have any more hills to climb. What about things like barbed wire and mines? Will we get enough of that to keep them at bay?"

"Probably not," Monck said sadly. "It's one of the many things no one thought we'd need in the quantity we'd like to have. You'll get enough wire for a couple of strands, but nothing like the thickets of wire that were used in World War I. As to mines, I don't even know if we have any."

A couple of strands of wire would be nothing more than an annoyance. Without wire and mines, any successful defense would depend on having at least some warning, as well as being able to focus overwhelming firepower on an oncoming enemy that wasn't afraid to die.

"Anything else we should know?" Ruger asked.

"Just one more thing. How are your men set for gas masks?"

Chapter 68

Col. Tadashi Sakei whirled as Joe Nomura entered his office, causing papers to fly from his desk onto the floor. "Captain Nomura," he snapped angrily, "just where the hell have you been the last couple of days? You should be here with me and your emperor! Don't you know that? Where is your sense of duty?"

Despite the difference in ranks and the fact that Sakei was an Imperial Guards officer, Joe did not let the other man bully him. After all, he wore the uniform of a kempei officer and, in theory at least, was answerable to no one, not even a guards colonel.

"I had other duties to attend to," he answered stiffly.

If Sakei was upset by the borderline insolence, he didn't show it. Instead, Joe felt he probably expected it and had simply been letting off steam. Sakei shoved a batch of papers at Joe. "Here, what do you make of these?"

Joe glanced at them. They were copies of the most recent transmissions that had been sent from his station in the hills. This time, the radio was different as was the code. The transmissions, he saw with satisfaction, had not yet been decoded, and the sheets were nothing more than pages of gibberish. He pretended to study them and then handed them back.

"The spy has changed codes. I knew that. We've been expecting it for some time."

"Is it significant, Captain? What do your superiors say?"

"I have been out of touch with my superiors," Joe answered with ironic truthfulness. He would never think of contacting anyone higher up in the kempei command structure. "American bombing has disrupted communications even worse than before, and we will not get much assistance from them for the foreseeable future."

Joe returned the papers. "My own opinion of the change, however, is that one of three things has happened. First, that the codes were changed simply because it was time to do so as they have been in continuous use for some time. Second, that the spy, doubtless an American as we've agreed, has been replaced. Perhaps he was replaced because he was killed? Third, it is possible that another spy has landed. Other spies have landed elsewhere, so why not here?"

"Good reasoning," Sakei mumbled, and Joe saw how the anxieties were wearing on him even more than in the past. Sakei looked on the verge of collapse. "The original American code was inferior in its architecture and easily broken. Our codes are not changed because they are unbreakable."

Privately, Joe wondered about that statement. It was typical Japanese arrogance to presume something's superiority simply because it was of Japanese origin.

"But what do you make of the planes and the dummy parachutists?" Sakei asked. "We have identified an American airborne division in Kyushu. Could they be planning a massive assault?"

The last couple of nights had been filled with the roar of hundreds of low-flying transports that flew over Kyushu and, in some cases, dropped dummy paratroops. It was all part of a massive distraction that covered the low-level drop of a platoon of airborne rangers that even now was reconnoitering Camp 7. As soon as possible, they and Ensign Swain's frogmen would move against it and pull Hirohito out of his cage.

"I think," Joe answered, "that the Americans are trying to distract and confuse us. By reacting and moving our troops to counter their phantom assaults, we expose our soldiers to further attacks from the air and at little cost to the Americans."

Sakei nodded. "Even so, I am tempted to move the emperor to a place of greater safety."

Joe was horrified. If that occurred, they would have to make an attempt to take him along a road and then fight their way back to an extraction point. All their plans were dependent on Hirohito's staying at Camp 7. If he was moved out of their reach, they would have to abort the attempt, and that would be tragic.

"Sir, with respect, I believe that it would be a mistake. To move the emperor now would subject the Imperial presence to the same aerial threats that would befall any column of soldiers or a convoy of trucks. Hirohito's presence is unknown here and the camp continues to be safe from bombing. In my opinion, Colonel, at this time this is the safest possible place for the emperor."

Sakei rubbed his eyes with his fists. He was almost groggy from worry and loss of sleep. "You are right, Captain. You are always right. I am glad I have you to depend on and help me think. You are a credit to your uniform. The emperor will remain here, although I will notify nearby police and militia units to be on the alert."

Joe bowed and walked toward the emperor's quarters. Sakei continued to be deluded and that was good. The colonel was a butcher, a sadist, and, to a large extent, personally responsible for the continuation of the war. Screw Sakei, Joe thought. Then he wondered just what effect Sakei's alerting police and militia units would have on the plans to extract Hirohito. Hopefully, Hirohito's taking would be done quickly and there would be no time for reinforcements to arrive.

Nomura knocked on a tent pole and received the invitation to enter. As he bowed before Hirohito, it occurred to him that he both respected and liked the little, bespectacled man who wanted peace. This was the embodiment of Japan, not fools like Sakei.

"How is the good colonel?" Hirohito asked.

"At the point of collapse, sir."

Hirohito smiled. "Confusion to our enemies, then. What news, Captain?"

"Soon, very soon. Perhaps even tonight. I will remain here and make sure I am with you when it happens."

Hirohito smiled grimly. "Soon cannot be soon enough, Captain Nomura. Every moment we wait is filled with death for the innocent. We must stop this killing."