Makiko Rogers is a fresh, young officer in the Japanese National Police. A shootout between rival Yakuza gangs during a routine patrol, draws her into a world of Ninjas, assassins, criminal gangs and a thousand-year battle for control of a mythical sword, known as the Kamikaze Blade. Things that were once thought of as legend and myth, become all too real for the young officer as she searches for the hidden conspirators, while trying to protect a sword that she does not have.
Avaialable Now in hardcover, paperback, and kindle
Read below for an exclusive excerpt
Fresh, young police officer, Makiko Rogers was making her rounds through the shops in the area. Her main job was to be seen, providing reassurance to the people that the police were there for them. Although she had only been with the national police for a short period, she was already bored with her current assignment. She longed for the real work, to be a detective, bringing in criminals who thought that they were smarter than law enforcement.
The sound of gunfire made her head whip around. Most of the citizenry simply thought it was fireworks of some kind because they never heard firearms in real life. Makiko knew different, her grandfather, an American who had been stationed here after the Second World War, had taught her about all kinds of firearms. Even from this distance, she recognized the distinctive sound of the Kalashnikov rifle. She reached for her radio mic as she ran towards the gunfire. There was a pause in the barrage for nearly a minute and Makiko called in what she knew so far.
“Stand by,” the dispatcher responded to her.
Not content with standing and waiting, Makiko continued her run toward the sound. When she turned another corner, she slammed directly into a man with an AK. Both of them hit the ground hard, the shooter dropped his rifle and lost a pistol from his waist.
“Sukapoli,” he hissed derisively at the “skirt police.”
Makiko had heard that many times, especially from the Yakuza she had met on her patrols. She rolled to her left, snatching up the unfamiliar pistol but the man was already climbing into the driver’s side of the car she had just passed. She jumped to her feet and ran to the front of the car, without knowing the pistol, she had no way of deciding if it had a safety engaged.
“I will have to bluff,” she thought as she turned in front of the car and faced the driver, gun pointed at his head.
“Get out of the car!” Makiko commanded.
Instead of doing as ordered, the shooter fired up the engine and mouthed the same insult, “Sukapoli.”
“Get out of the car!” Makiko yelled again as the killer dropped the car into drive and it lurched forward.
The young officer squeezed the trigger three times. Although the pistol kicked mightily in her hands, she waited for the sight to drop back down each time before firing again. All three rounds stayed in a five-inch group. All three hit the driver, though not in the face where she had aimed. The car lurched forward, hitting her and tossing her up onto the hood then over the passenger side as the dying driver attempted to flee.
…