Operator 47 made the call that he had been dreading all evening. Their ace in the hole, that surgeon of pain that had been so reliable in the past, failed them this evening. The receiver picked up on he second ring.

  “Is it done?” asked the receiver.

  “She failed us,” Operator 47 said, cringing from the sound of Malcolm’s voice.

  “That is unfortunate. Care to explain what happened?”

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  “Based on the camera footage I could download from the CCTV server in the backroom, two of our experiments helped the old samurai.”

  “I see. Any idea of their whereabouts?”

  “No, we have lost the tracker.”

  “Then we put pressure on Sumoto and his sister. We need to flush out Hiroto from hiding.”

  “I don’t think he’s going to help. He has his niece and they’re not coming back.”

  “I wouldn’t be so sure. Hiroto is a man of honor, there’s not too many of those left. Come back to the city, I will deal with Birney.”

  Operator 47 turned his black sedan south and headed toward the city.