Hiroto’s cell phone chirped as he started his big, black sedan. Once he saw the message, he turned off the ignition.

You must call me at once. It’s about Aiko!

As he dialed Sumoto, a thousand thoughts entered his mind. He wondered if she was doing okay in custody. He hadn’t been about to visit her. One of his unproductive calls from Ms. Carter told him he couldn’t visit his niece until she saw a judge. The entire process was a nightmare. He even left several messages with Paige, but she seemed to disappear shortly after Aiko was taken into custody.

“Hiroto, thank god. Where are you?”

“I just got in my car. You mentioned Aiko?”

“Yes, and there’s something else you must know. There’s no delicate way to put this, but I got a dark web alert about your activities.”

“What? I can’t see how that’s possible. I’m rarely on my computer as it is.”

“Someone must have tapped your penthouse, because there’s a conversation transcript between you and a Kaen. What can you tell me about him?” Sumoto asked.

Hiroto shuddered as if an icy tentacle touched his neck. No one knew about Kaen except for him and Robert, the scientist who helped create the AI.

“Kaen is an artificial intelligence project that I and a colleague have been working on. It’s supposed to be a deep research assistant of sorts.”

“Well, it appears to be compromised because everything that’s transpired in your apartment over the past week, including bits of our conversation, is online.”

Hiroto did not know how that could have happened. He sat in stunned silence as Hiroto rambled about trojan horses and vulnerabilities.

“I think we should meet in person and leave your cell phone in your apartment, but don’t let Kaen see.”

“See, how can an artificial intelligence see anything?”

Sumoto was silent for so long that he thought the connection was faulty.

“There are also photos of the apartment. The AI must have access to your security cameras.”

“I hate technology,” Hiroto said in disgust.

“Well, I suggest you drop off your phone somewhere before meeting me.”

“Don’t worry about it. I know where to stash it.”

Two hours later

Hiroto pulled to an address off Mott Street in Chinatown. We wedged the gigantic sedan between two tiny vehicles. It was a tight fit, but his parallel parking skills were excellent. Smells of chow mein and bok chop filled his nostrils as he entered the Silver Serpent Delight.

“I’m sorry, sir, no entry until we open at six o’clock,” the hostess said.

Hiroto looked at the woman. She was young, perhaps twenty-five, and wore a tight-fitting pencil dress that showed off her physical form in a way that aroused him. He pushed the feeling away.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

I must stay focused on Aiko; no time for distraction.

Her face complemented her petite frame. Her beauty took Hiroto’s breath away.

“I was told to come to this address.”

“Well, we are closed. Please come back—“

“Let me enter, sister,” Sumoto said, cutting the woman off.

She locked the door and lowered the blinds before urging Hiroto to follow Sumoto.

“You go with brother before someone sees you,” the hostess said in broken English.

Hiroto followed Sumoto to a room at the back of the restaurant. The only furniture in the cramped space was an aging desk and a battered filing cabinet. A gigantic tapestry of a dragon was tacked against the opposite wall.

“Is this where you work?”

“No, this is Father’s office.”

Sumoto reached under the desk, and the only wall without furniture slid aside, revealing a dark passage beyond.

“Whoa, I did not know you had a secret lair,” Hiroto said, trying to sound upbeat.

“Enter,” Sumoto said.

Hiroto’s eyes adjusted to the darkness as he entered the dark passage. He might have serious reservations if he hadn’t known Sumoto for most of his life. After about thirty paces, he found himself in another room with monitors. The space was about the size of an average apartment. A bed, couch, and a small kitchen area were visible from the entrance. A small bathroom was also available.

“Is this where you live?” Hiroto asked.

“Yes, this is my city residence. It’s adequate for my needs, and I have a dedicated fiber connection for my work. Only a few know of its existence. Yuxi, my sister, helps my parents with the restaurant.”

“I didn’t know you even had a sister.”

“Yes, my parents had her in their forties, and she grew up in China, where my father is from.”

Hiroto took a seat on the couch and rubbed his eyes. He was weary and had slept little.

“What news do you have of Aiko?” Hiroto said, still rubbing his eyes.

“Where did you leave your phone?”

“The dojo. I would not risk returning to the apartment after learning the place was bugged.”

“I think it will be easier to show you,” Sumoto said.

Hiroto stared dumbfounded at the rows of monitors showing surveillance footage images and computer code.

“What am I looking for?”

“Let me enhance,” Sumoto said as he typed a series of commands.

Every monitor filled with an image of Aiko being hauled into the Westchester PD.

“That’s when she got arrested?”

“Yes, but the interesting stuff is yet to come.”

Sumoto typed more commands than another image of Aiko leaving with a group of men in business suits. She was blindfolded and propped up by her shoulders by two burly men who put her in a nondescript vehicle.

“Who are these people?”

This footage was captured a few hours after her arrest. I could identify one man escorting her away from the precinct. He goes by Operator 47, but I couldn’t find his real identity. But he works for the Shadow Dealers.”

“Who in the hell are they?

“A nasty group well-known on the dark web for various nefarious activities. Including extortion, human trafficking, and political manipulation.”

“What reason would they want to, Aiko? She’s just a kid,” Hiroto said, rubbing his hands through his hair.

“Don’t freak out, but there is no record of an Aiko Takahashi anywhere in any public system. I could pull up some police reports before, but now there’s nothing. Every trace of her is missing from the system.”

“How is that possible?”

“Criminal records of minors aren’t supposed to be publicly available. But I could access them before, but now every trace of Aiko is missing.”

“What about the records of child protective services?” Hiroto asked.

“This morning, the state of New York suffered an attack, and the official line is that some agencies may have been affected. But no one is talking.”

“Did those shadow people do this?”

Sumoto gave Hiroto a pained look of anguish.

“All records point to their involvement.”

“There has to be some paper trail. I need to call Ms. Carter at once.”

Sumoto nodded, then removed an ancient-looking rotary phone from a drawer and plugged it into a circuit board attached to a wooden frame. It was as if someone gutted a server and tacked the contents to a wooden plank. After a few rings, Ms. Carter answered.

“I hate to trouble you again, but this is Hiroto Abiko. Do you know when Aiko’s hearing is?”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Abiko. Our computers crashed this morning, and I can’t access anything. But I will check for you once they are back online.”

Hiroto thanked her for the information and then hung up.

“What do we do now?” Hiroto asked in a shaky voice.

We stay here until I can figure out where she is. No matter how long it takes.