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Harry offers Paul use of his suite and car
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The Plot:
Contemplating what to do when he can't get a hotel room in Tokyo, Paul goes into a bar and runs into Harry Bevins, an old pal he hasn't seen since their days at Stanford Law School.
Harry is vice president of an electronics firm on business in Japan, and offers Paul use of the company hotel suite, and even puts a sports car at his disposal. He says that he has a meeting shortly, and will join Paul at the hotel later.
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Paul finds Harry's suite ransacked
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Paul starts out for the hotel, but is nearly hit by a truck on the way. When he makes it to Harry's suite, it has been ransacked. As Paul surveys the situation, the phone rings, and a menacing voice tells him that the party is very displeased that he missed an appointment, and they expect him to show up at the new one.
Though Paul identifies himself, and says that he's not Harry Bevins, the caller doesn't believe him, and adds that the incident in the street was just a reminder of what they might do if he doesn't complete their deal.
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Paul and Susan are suspicious of one another
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Though Paul keeps trying to tell the person on the line that he is not the man they are looking for, the threats continue to the end of the call with the clear implication that they are watching him.
Shortly after hanging up Paul hears a noise in the room, and it turns out to be a girl who introduces herself as Susan Church, Harry's fiancée. Both are suspicious of one another. Susan says she is here to marry Harry and honeymoon in Japan. After trying to sort the situation out with what little they know, Paul decides to go back to the place where he and Harry met.
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Paul and Susan survey the restaurant for a sign of Harry
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He is not there, but while they sit down at a table and while they ,are waiting to see if Harry shows up, they listen to a woman singing Sakura.
Then there Harry is called to the phone, and Paul goes to answer. There is no one at the end of the line, and when he returns to their table, Susan is gone.
When Paul goes out in the street to look for her, he is jumped by two assailants who knock him to the ground, but only stop beating him as a result of Susan's screams and the sound of a police siren.
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Thugs try to capture Paul outside the restaurant
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After they're gone, Susan tries to get away in a taxi, but Paul pulls her out. He draws her aside and rifles through her handbag to find out who she really is.
Though her documents match her story, he also finds a paper napkin from the restaurant with a Tokyo address scribbled on it.
When Paul challenges her about it, Susan says that someone handed the paper to her when Paul got up to answer the phone call, telling her that Harry had told it to give it to her.
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Paul looks through Susan's documents
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Susan admits that she knows that Harry is in some kind of deep trouble, but denies knowing anything about it. Paul is determined to confront Harry, since the people who are out to get his friend obviously believe that Paul is the man they are after. That is only one reason why Paul says that he has to get to the bottom of things, and maybe Harry might even need his help.
So they take a taxi to the address on the napkin, but are being watched as they drive away.
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Harry says he never expected Paul to have trouble
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When they arrive at the address, Harry has the door to his room blocked with a piece of furniture, but lets them in when he hears Susan's voice.
Paul tells Harry that he's been threatened, mugged and nearly had his car crushed as a result of being mistaken for his old college friend, but Harry says he never dreamed any of this would happen to Paul when he leant him the sports car. Harry insists that he only wanted a chance to get away from the thugs he'd seen watching his car. He assumed that Paul would give them the slip, and that would be the end of it.
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Harry shows Paul the device he is selling
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Paul is intensely angry, but when Harry claims that it's only a little misunderstanding. Paul threatens to bring in the police unless he gets a complete explanation.
Harry shows Paul an electronic device developed by his company, and says that he made a deal with Red China to give them the prototype for $200,000. But he tells Paul that he suddenly got an attack of conscience and decided that he couldn't go through with the sale. However, he didn't count on how badly the Chinese wanted the part, nor the grave nature of their threats when he phoned to call off the deal.
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Harry talks about college times together
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Harry admits that he only dealt with his contacts by phone, and tells Paul how much he regrets that they assumed Paul was the man they were after
Now, Harry says, the only thing he wants is to fly back to California, and get the prototype back in the company vault before anyone knows it was missing.
He begs Paul for a little time, so that he and Susan can slip away to the airport with the thugs assuming Harry to be in the building, since the only person they know by sight is Paul.
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Harry divulges his real plans to Susan
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Paul is not willing, but Harry's contrite words and appeal to their college friendship eventually wins him over. Harry tells Susan to go to a nearby restaurant while he slips out by a back entrance.
Susan has known all the while what Harry was up to, but she is clearly happy to be going home. But when he meets her at the restaurant, Harry reveals that the real reason that he pulled out of the deal with the Red Chinese is that he made a better one with some people in Hong Kong for half a million, and what he told Paul was just to enable them to make a getaway
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Susan finds Harry's new plan difficult to take
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He talks about the great future the money will buy them
Susan is distressed, especially by the fact that Paul might be in serious danger, but Harry tells her that she has to be tough.
He gives her an airline ticket, and says they should board separately, but will meet on the plane.
Meanwhile, the two thugs get into the room where Paul is waiting, and only with a bit of trickery does he manage to get away from them, and make his way to the airport.
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Paul puts the CIA onto Harry
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But Harry is already gone. Susan has remained behind, unable to follow her fiancé into the scheme.
Paul feels that the only alternative available to him is to get the CIA to intervene, and uses his connection to Mike Allen to put US agents in Hong Kong on to Harry.
He phones the security man at the American consulate there, and tells them to meet Harry at the plane, then turns to Susan to suggest that drink is the only solution to their disappointment in a man they had cared so much for.
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