Chapter 33
Tokugen Numataka stared out his window
and paced like a caged animal. He had not yet heard from his contact, North Dakota.
Damn
Americans! No sense of punctuality!
He would have called North Dakota
himself, but he didn’t have a phone number for him.
Numataka hated doing business this way–with someone else in
control.
The thought
had crossed Numataka’s mind from the beginning
that the calls from North Dakota could be a hoax–a Japanese competitor playing him for the fool. Now the old doubts were coming
back. Numataka decided
he needed more information.
He burst from his office
and took a left down Numatech’s main hallway. His employees bowed reverently as he stormed
past. Numataka knew better than to believe
they actually loved him–bowing was a courtesy Japanese
employees offered even
the most ruthless of bosses.
Numataka
went directly to the company’s
main switchboard. All calls were handled by a single
operator on a Corenco 2000, twelve-line switchboard terminal. The woman was busy but stood and
bowed as Numataka entered.
“Sit down,”
he snapped. She
obeyed.
“I received a call at four forty-five on my personal
line today. Can you tell me where it came from?” Numataka kicked himself for not having done this
earlier.
The operator
swallowed nervously. “We don’t have caller identification on this machine,
sir.
But I can contact
the phone company. I’m sure
they can help.”
Numataka
had no doubt the phone company
could help. In this digital age, privacy
had become a thing of the past; there was a record
of everything. Phone companies could tell you exactly
who had called you and
how long you’d spoken.
“Do it,”
he commanded. “Let
me know what you find out.”
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