Was I joking? Only partially. Down home we have a saying about folks with a certain . . . je ne sais quoi. They'd do to ride the river with. In my book Tam was definitely one of the riders.
The fire snapped and startled Ben, who glanced up, checked out the sleet-covered garden, then grimly resumed his snooze. She reached over and gave him a pat. The first time. "You know, I can't believe MITI is behind all this. I know at least one MITI person myself."
"You know somebody in MITI?" I was a trifle taken aback. "Who?"
She stared at the fire. "His name is Kenji Asano. You wouldn't have heard of him."
I lay there for a moment listening to the quartet, my memory registers running a quick sort. Then it came to me. Kenji Asano was the MITI guy Henderson said had masterminded Japan's rape of the U.S. semiconductor industry.
"You actually know him?"
"Sure do." She smiled. "Very well."
Shit. I didn't really need to hear this. "That sounds like a little more than a professional acquaintance." I looked at her for confirmation.
"A little."
Okay, I thought. Guess we're getting down to the straight story here. Press on. "Well, I have some news you may not like. This Asano genius personally engineered the destruction of the U.S. industry in RAM chips. Probably the most devastating sneak attack on America since Pearl Harbor."