He flourished the coin like it was a poker chip – rolling it expertly in and out of his fingers. The bouncers took notice. They’d seen such prestidigitations many times, but not with a coin like this. One of them mumbled something into his lapel. The door was opened from the inside by someone Daniel recognized immediately.

The heavy set man gestured towards some stairs just inside the door. It was hard to miss that both of his thumbs were in splints.

“You shouldn’t rest your hands on the spokes of your steering wheel. You never know when someone will set off your airbag,” offered Daniel. The withering look he received in return showed his advice was not wanted.

He was led in to a plush office. Daniel was expecting a local boss. He made no attempt to conceal his shock at seeing Hideki Inagawa, the recently crowned leader of Inagawa kai.

This was a man who would brook no formalities so Daniel simply said, “Nobutoshi Tohru humbly offers his services. In return he asks only for a single reasonable favor.”