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like he must be at least a hundred years old. He nodded smartly to the twins.
    “And finally, Mimasu-san is our technology expert.” Sachiko grinned widely. “In her civilian life, she is a master chef.”
    “She once killed twelve men with an electrified spatula,” Mr. Yamamoto whispered, leaning close to Josh’s ear.
    “Er... ha-hajimemashite ,” Josh stammered. Jessica bowed clumsily.
    “ Hajimemashite , kids,” said Sachiko, with a nod.
    “Granny – what is this?” Jessica asked.
    “I wish I did not have to show you any of this, but I had no choice once you found out who I was. This is Team Obaasan,” she told them. “Team O is an elite, undercover,
intelligence-gathering and crime-fighting unit of the National Police, operating under the Japanese Government.”
    Ninja spies! Josh could tell from Granny’s tone that this was very serious, and that he should try to treat it seriously and not as the most awesome thing he’d ever
seen . He caught Jessica’s eye and nearly cracked up – she was trying not to grin, too.
    “The Sakura Apartment complex is our cover,” Granny continued. “Nobody will ever suspect a group of elderly people of doing the work we do.”
    You can say that again, Josh thought.
    “What a secret!” Jessica said. “Just think, all those times we came to visit you...”
    “I never would have guessed,” Josh put in.
    “It has been difficult sometimes,” Granny replied. “But I must stay undercover at all costs. Team O has many enemies who would bring us down. While we may be older than your
average crime fighter, I have found the most skilled, most disciplined, most loyal crew imaginable.” Josh saw each member of the group give Granny a small, grateful nod. “Today, our job
is to find Chiba Mikiko,” Granny finished.
    Jessica stared. “You know about Kiki?” she asked. “And the kidnapping?”
    “Of course. I have all her albums,” said Granny. “During lunch, I received a call from HQ to say she had been kidnapped – that was why I asked you to go out. I thought I might be able to keep you out of trouble,” she added pointedly.
    “Um. Sorry, Granny,” said Jessica. “But we had to follow that security guard.”
    “Yeah, we knew that bodyguard was lying when he said Kiki was scared by her fan mail,” Josh put in.
    “How do you know this?” Granny asked. All of Team O was watching the twins.
    Jessica took a deep breath. “We talked to Kiki on the plane and she was really happy. The only one who was acting weird was the bodyguard.”
    Josh remembered him talking furiously on his mobile before the flight. “He must have been planning this for ages.”
    The old people exchanged glances and Granny grunted.
    “We think that Kiki has been taken by the Iron Fist wing of the Yakuza,” said Nana, punching a few buttons on her console. Photographs of the criminal gang flashed up on the screens
in front of them – several pictures of large men in dark suits, and blurry shots of fighters wielding swords. In the middle there was a photo of an elderly man with a gaunt face and long grey
hair tied up in a ponytail, grinning at the camera, a single gold tooth glinting. “That is Mr. Yoshida. The leader of the Iron Fist.”
    “But what would the Yakuza want with Kiki?” Josh asked.
    “Is it money?” Jessica suggested. “They haven’t asked for a ransom yet.”
    “Well-noticed, Jessica,” Nana said. “We don’t think it’s anything to do with Kiki’s millions. You might be surprised to hear that she is not the first pop
idol to be targeted.”
    “Really?” Josh asked. “But if other pop stars have gone missing, wouldn’t we have heard about it?”
    “Ah, but they haven’t been going missing,” said Mr. Yamamoto. “Nana, if you would?” Nana pressed more buttons. Around the central photo of Mr. Yoshida, the faces of
the Yakuza were replaced by a handful of Japanese pop stars who Josh vaguely recognized.
    Nana pointed to each one in turn.