have something most of the world has lost. They have culture.

“Take a man like Kobayashi, for example, ” he continued. “An

American in his position would be very rich and would tend to

flaunt his wealth in a vulgar manner. He would tend to swagger

and throw his weight around to show what an important man he

was. He would, as they say, lack culture. Yet, despite never having

met Mr. Kobayashi, I can infer certain things about him merely by

knowing that he has attained the position that he has and is a

Japanese. He will be an understated man, one who dresses

tastefully, but not ostentatiously. He will not wear much in the way

of jewelry. A gold watch, perhaps a small diamond. But it will be a

very fine watch and a flawless diamond. He will be well groomed

and his manner will be subdued. He will have an appreciation for

fine wines and art. He will not own many works of art, but the ones

he does own will be among the most highly prized. He will have a

hobby that he will pursue with a studied devotion, and it will be the

sort of hobby that reflects favorably upon his standing and his

personality. Something in which he can take enormous pride. He

will be charming and soft-spoken, a gracious host, and you would

never suspect that he is a high-ranking don in one of the most

powerful crime organizations in the world. Rather, you would think

he was a chief executive officer of some important

corporation—which, in effect, he is. But as charming and gracious

and elegant as he might seem, he will also be cold, ruthless, and

utterly deadly.”

“Rather like someone we all know, ” said Merlin dryly.

Modred chose to ignore the comment. “He will get the

components for me because to refuse to do so would mean either

that he was unwilling, which would put him in a bad light after I’ve

so graciously agreed to come out of retirement out of respect for

him, or that he was unable to do it. Either way, he would lose face.

He will do it, if for no other reason than to show me that he can.”

“He’s still a gangster. You make him sound like Lancelot, for

God’s sake, ” Merlin said irritably.

“In some ways, he is, ” said Modred. “In his own way, Kobayashi

lives by a code not unlike that of chivalry. But there is one essential

difference. Lancelot was stupid. Kobayashi isn’t.”