فصل 11

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The eye of the storm

Ten minutes later the bus pulled into a huge modern square and stopped. Most of the passengers hurried off. Not wanting to be alone anywhere now, Hiro followed them. He felt safer where there were crowds of people, and this place was busy with shoppers. Even so, he couldn’t stop himself looking back every ten seconds or so. Had Meier seen him take the bus and guessed where it was going?

To one side of the square there was a wall where a number of people were sitting. There was a kebab-seller nearby and most of the people on the wall were eating snacks. They looked relaxed and cheerful, chatting and taking photographs of one another. Hiro went over and sat down in the middle of them. Being Japanese he knew he could be easily noticed, but with so many people around surely he wasn’t in danger?

Once he’d sat down, Hiro realised how terribly tired he was. His first thought was to return to his hotel and just fall on the bed. It would be so wonderful to sleep again untroubled. He felt as though he’d been living in fear of his life for weeks. Was it really only twenty-four hours since he met the Shark?

A cinema sign on the far side of the square caught Hire’s eye. All of a sudden the idea of sitting in the darkness, safe from the world for a couple of hours, seemed wonderful. It would be like the calm time in the middle of the storm. What did they call it - the eye? Without wasting another moment, he got up and hurried over to the cinema entrance. He couldn’t stop himself from looking behind as he went, but no one appeared to be following him.

When he arrived at the box office, he discovered he was in luck. A new thriller was about to start. He paid, bought a hotdog and went through to find a seat.

Some advertisements were showing when he went in, but it was beautifully dark. Still worried that someone may be following him, he chose a seat right at the back. In that way, he thought, he could see everyone who entered. He sat down and immediately began eating the hotdog. He hadn’t thought about food since breakfast and was surprised to find how hungry he was.

Very soon the film started. Thankfully, it was in English and not German. All the same, it made Hiro feel exhausted; everyone spoke very quickly and Hiro found it hard to follow. He started thinking about what had happened that day. He had to find the answers to some questions.

Hiro was absolutely certain now that the Shark was an assassin - a professional killer. The old man had come to Berlin to kill someone. The text message had said, ‘Berlin Assignment Hotel Adlon Room 319 Tuesday after 8pm’, so the murder was to take place that evening in Room 319 of the Hotel Adlon. He supposed the Shark had been at the Brandenburg Gate after all, probably with Meier. When they saw Hiro there, they’d decided Meier would follow him. They wanted to know if the police knew about the Hotel Adlon. If they did, then the Shark might have to cancel his plan. Yes, that must be it! So what about the murder? Would it still go ahead? And what should Hiro do?

Hiro felt so tired thinking about all these questions and worrying about what to do. It seemed to him that the trip had become some kind of test. He remembered something his grandfather had said to him, shortly before he died. The old man was very ill and had only a few days to live, so the whole family had come to say goodbye. Taking Hiro by the arm, the old man had pulled Hiro close to the bed. ‘Life is an examination, Hiro-chan,’ he said. ‘Make me proud.’ Those words rang in Hiro’s ears now. Is this what the old man meant? Hiro shook his head, exhausted, and closed his eyes. The film music washed over him like waves on the beach.

The next thing Hiro knew, a man in a white shirt and black tie had his arm on Hiro’s shoulder. The man was shaking him hard. The man said something in German, then tried in English: ‘Hey! No sleeping here!’

Hiro shook his head. ‘What?’ he said. He couldn’t understand where he was. Then he remembered.

‘No sleeping!’ The man in the white shirt was still shaking him. ‘Go to a hotel if you want to sleep!’

Hiro pulled himself up. ‘I’m sorry.’

The man gave an angry look, but moved away, collecting rubbish from the seats.

Hiro looked at his watch: 5.45! He couldn’t believe it. He must have slept through the rest of the film.

He got to his feet. Then the full memory of the last twenty-four hours hit him: the Shark… the Brandenburg Gate… Meier and the safe house…

Hiro fell back in the seat and put his hands to his head.