Hard Rain Read Free

harder than the jakuza's
    cranium, the man did nothing but drop his mouth open, perhaps in
    surprise, perhaps in inchoate and certainly futile apology.
    Thejakuza blasted into him like a rhino, his shoulder driving into the
    man's stomach. I saw the man try to brace for the impact, but again he
    failed to move off the line of attack and his attempt was largely
    useless. The jakuza drove him backward into the wall, then unleashed a
    flurry of crude punches to his head and neck. The man, in shock now
    and running on autopilot, dropped the plate and managed to raise his
    arms to ward off a few of the blows, but thejakuza, still bellowing,
    slapped the attempted blocks out of the way and kept on punching. I
    saw one of his shots connect to the left side of the man's neck, to the
    real estate over the carotid sinus, and the man began to crumble as his
    nervous system overcompensated from the shock of the blow by reducing
    blood pressure to the brain. Thejakuza, feet planted widely as though
    he had an axe and was splitting logs, continued to hammer at the top of
    his victim's head and neck. The man fell to the floor, but retained
    enough consciousness to curl up and protect himself to some extent from
    the hail of kicks that followed.
    Huffing and swearing, the jakuza bent and caught the prostrate man's
    right ankle between an enormous biceps and forearm. For a moment, I
    thought he was going to apply a jujitsu leg lock and try to break
    something. Instead, he straightened and proceeded to drag the man's
    prone form to the club's entrance and out into the street.
    He returned a moment later, alone, and, after taking a moment to catch
    his breath, resumed his rightful place on the bench without looking at
    anyone else in the room. Everyone returned to what they were doing:
    his affiliates, because they didn't care; the civilians, because they
    were unnerved. It was as though nothing had happened, although the
    silence in the club indicated that indeed something had.
    A part of my mind that's always running in the background logged what I
    saw as the jakuzas assets: raw strength, experience with violence,
    familiarity with principles of continuous attack. Under weaknesses, I
    placed lack of self-control, shortness of breath after a brief and
    one-sided fight, relatively minimal damage caused despite ferocity of
    assault.
    Unless he was a borderline sociopath, which was statistically unlikely,
    I knew the jakuza would now be feeling slightly uneasy about what
    people must have made of his outburst. I took the opportunity to
    stroll over to the bench-press station and ask him if he needed a
    spot.
    "Warui na? he thanked me, grateful, I knew, for the comfort this
    simple interaction afforded him.
    'lya," I replied. It's nothing. I stood over him and helped him get
    the bar in the air. I noted that he was moving a hundred and
    fifty-five kilos. He managed two repetitions, with some assistance
    from me on the second. He would still be fully adrenalized from his
    recent altercation, and I made a mental note of the limits of his
    strength at this exercise.
    I helped him guide the bar back onto the uprights, then whistled
    quietly through my teeth in slightly theatrical deference to his power.
    I moved to the foot of the bench as he sat up and told him that if he
    needed another spot, he should just ask me. He nodded his head in
    gruff thanks and I began to turn away.
    I paused as though considering whether to add something, then turned
    back to him. "That guy should have checked to see if you were done
    with this station," I said in Japanese. "Some people have no manners.
    You taught him a lesson."
    He nodded again, pleased at my astute assessment of the important
    social service he had provided in pulverizing some harmless idiot, and
    I knew that he would be comfortable calling on me, his new friend, from
    time to time when he needed a spot.
    Like tonight, I hoped. I moved quickly down Gaienhigashi-dori, easing
    past pedestrians on the