Silence In Numbers: File One, page 13
Lianne had slipped out of her seat and was, at the moment, hugging her leg. “Thanks for helping Daddy!”
Reno’s eyes widened. My daughter just hugged Captain Sama. My daughter’s gonna die! He started to stand. Hang on, Daddy will save you, baby!
He froze as Katsumi smiled softly, laying a hand on the little girl’s head. “It was nothing. Your father has saved me plenty of times.”
Lianne looked up at her. “Is he really a hero?”
“Oh, yes. His whole job involves doing heroic things. You’re very lucky to be his daughter.”
Reno just stared at them in shock. He certainly hadn’t expected that reaction. At the very best he’d imagined an awkward “No problem” and a look demanding he remove his daughter from her leg. Instead Katsumi was picking his daughter up and setting her on her leg, telling her a story about him being a big hero. He looked at Lenora who just smiled and shrugged at him before looking back at the two.
Maybe, Reno thought, he’d overestimated the hardness of his boss just a little.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“No! No, no, no! Damn them, DAMN THEM!” Objects flew off the desk as a man swatted them aside in anger. He was 26, just getting started in his criminal career of terror, and already he could feel the net of the law slowly closing around him. He gripped his hair. “It’s not fair!”
The man on his computer screen sat calmly and watched, a slight smile that never left the only detail of his face that could be seen in the shadows.
Jerne Kintashi turned and pointed at the screen, still yelling. “Tell me what to do! Tell me how to get out of this!”
The man on the screen lifted his hands in a shrug. “What am I supposed to tell you? All criminals get caught eventually.”
“NO!” The younger man slammed his hands down on the desk, yelling into the screen. “Not me! I’m different! I’m BETTER! They won’t catch me… I’ll kill them before then!”
“You should think of something soon, then,” Sigma smiled. “Your mistakes are catching up with you quickly.”
“I DON’T MAKE MISTAKES!” Jerne stabbed his finger into the screen as if he could push the man back just with the force of his mind. “You’re the one getting me caught!”
“You aren’t caught yet. All you need is to show what you’re capable of and they’ll be too afraid to come after you.”
The man finally slowed down, panting heavily and speaking in a more normal tone. “What I’m capable of?”
“Something that will elevate you from an ordinary criminal to someone worthy of actual terror. If you can do something that strikes fear into and horrifies them, they’ll never try to catch you.”
“Right…”
“They’ll be too afraid of you.”
“Right, right… That makes sense…” Jerne straightened, turning around and thinking. “Something to show them the horror I’m capable of…”
Behind him, Sigma smiled.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The rest of the night had gone even better than the beginning. They’d finished dinner and moved to the living room where Katsumi and Reno had begun sharing stories, ones they could tell Lianne anyway. The little girl was enthralled by them all, but eventually it grew too late for her to remain awake. Reno picked her up, carrying her to her room. “C’mon, little girl, time for bed. I’ll read you a story.”
Lianne laid her head on her father’s shoulder, waving. “Night Mommy, night Katsumi.”
“Goodnight, honey,” Lenora smiled as Katsumi gave her own with a wave.
Lenora looked at Katsumi once her husband and daughter were out of the room. Now seemed like the perfect time to bring up what she’d been thinking all night, but now that it was time to talk she found it a little difficult. The night had been going well and she didn’t want to ruin it, but the longer she watched the older woman staring at the floor ignoring the drink in her hand, the more she felt the need. “Something’s wrong.”
After a moment, Katsumi registered her words and looked up. “Hmm?”
“With you,” Lenora continued softly. “Something’s wrong.”
“What makes you say that?”
Lenora smiled. “I can tell.”
Katsumi tilted her head, studying her. “You know, you don’t know me.”
“Maybe not, but I know what I see. You’ve been enjoying yourself, but only part of you. There’s a constant distraction like something’s eating away at you, and more than that… You look tired.”
Katsumi smirked. “Thanks. I thought I looked nice.”
Lenora smiled. “You do. But also tired.”
“I am tired. That’s probably why I look it. It is getting kind of late.”
“You looked just as tired when you arrived.”
Katsumi sighed. “I can’t bluff you, can I?”
Lenora smiled at her. “You could, but you’re too tired to do it successfully. If you don’t want to talk I’ll understand, but we are alone, I’m a good listener, and I’m not about to judge.”
Katsumi nodded, staring into her drink. She was quiet for another few minutes before she sighed. “This week hasn’t been easy.”
“Of course not. I don’t know all of what’s going on but I know enough to know that.”
“It’s wearing on me.”
“Well you need a break-“
“No,” Katsumi interrupted her, giving her a hard look. “Things are going slowly enough as it is. Everything’s grinding at a snail’s pace. Nothing’s getting done.”
“Haven’t you been learning things, gathering evidence?”
“So what?” Katsumi shook her head. “None of it’s enough to lead me to the killer. I’m not any closer to finding him.”
“You will find him.”
“When?” Katsumi looked up and Lenora leaned back a little at the sudden intensity in her voice. “After he’s killed another dozen people? I’m supposed to be protecting them, not cleaning up after they’re dead. I’m supposed to prevent these things from happening in the first place and yet, right now, all I can do is wait for another fucking attack and then look through the rubble hoping for another small clue to bring me a step closer to him.” Her voice lowered from angry to almost silent. “Right now I’m just… helpless. Reacting.”
“You saved those people on the subway,” Lenora pointed out quietly. “You saved my husband.”
“I shouldn’t have to. I should’ve caught the man on the subway before he even attacked. I should’ve known not to tell Reno to fly where he did, where we were attacked.”
“You couldn’t have known.”
“How do you know that? How do you know I didn’t miss something?”
“I don’t…”
“And neither do I.” Katsumi shook her head. “Those people on the subway should hate me for letting that happen. You should hate me for nearly getting your husband killed.”
Lenora remained quiet for a moment. Simple denial was useless at times like these; telling someone they shouldn’t feel like they did never helped, she found. “Do you hate you?”
Katsumi sighed, looking up at the ceiling. “Sometimes. Right now I do. I’m disappointed in myself for failing. All these people rely on me, I’ve been letting them all down this past week. Sometimes I wonder, why am I the leader? Why am I being followed, obeyed by people?” She shook her head. “They’re stupid thoughts, I know that. I’ve done well in the past. I’m a good choice for this position. It’s just times like this, when I fail, that I question if I’m slipping, or if I’m really the person to do this.”
“You are.” Both of them looked up as Reno entered the room. “I don’t regret following your orders, Captain. I’d fly straight into an explosion on purpose if you told me to.”
Katsumi studied him for a moment before asking the question she needed to ask. “Why?”
Reno shrugged. “Because I trust you enough to believe we’d be flying out the other side. Hasn’t let me down yet. I followed your orders this week and we crashed, but I didn’t die because you were determined not to break that trust. It doesn’t matter if you fail sometimes, Boss. What makes Lenora, what makes me, what makes the whole team trust and follow you isn’t some belief that you’ll never fail or that you’re perfect. It’s the fact that we know you won’t give up even if you do fail, and that you’ll always try to get us through.”
Katsumi looked away from him, staring at nothing as she thought in the silence that followed his statement. Reno sat down beside his wife, who gave him a smile before they both looked back to Katsumi. She finally looked back at him. “You remind me why I started doing this in the first place.”
“Why’s that, Captain?”
“I hated when protectors gave up and was determined to be one that didn’t.” She took a sip of her drink, letting out a sigh afterwards. “Thank you. Both of you.”
They both smiled and Reno saluted. “Anytime, Captain.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Katsumi arrived back in her building later than she’d expected. It was sometime past three in the morning; she’d stayed at the Hillford’s house until two. It had been a good day, one she’d needed. She checked her phone for any messages as the elevator opened onto her floor, but there were none. Apparently there hadn’t been any advances in the case yet, news she met with disappointment. She stepped around the corner, spotting Kurasano leaning against the door to her room.
Sano smiled, holding up a bottle and shaking it a bit, without even a word. Katsumi smiled at him and shook her head at his being here, a motion that made him chuckle silently. She opened the door and entered, with him following.
Inside, Katsumi tossed her things on a table and Sano dropped onto the couch. “How was your night in Pleasantville?” he asked.
Katsumi chuckled, taking a seat as Sano opened the bottle. “Good; very good. We talked a lot, had a great meal.”
“Sounds cool. Thanks for inviting me, by the way.”
Katsumi laughed. “It wasn’t my house or my invitation. Talk to Lenora.”
Sano passed her the bottle and she took a drink. Rarely did the two bother using glasses. “I’ll do that. Let her know she hurt my feelings.”
“Poor baby,” Katsumi grinned as she passed the bottle back.
“I know, right?” Sano winked and took a drink. “So c’mon, gimme details, don’t leave me in the dark here.”
“Why are you acting like a girl whose friend just went on a date?”
“You don’t have to tell me what base you got to.” Sano laughed as he ducked a thrown pillow.
She did end up telling him all that happened, receiving mostly jokes for her trouble, but that was something she appreciated. When everything in life was getting darker and more serious, it was nice having someone who could turn that around and show you how to laugh at it.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The next morning at about 9 AM Sano awoke, groaning as he was immediately subjected to a headache. He groggily lifted his head off the table, thankful that Katsumi’s apartment was kept dark and only a bit of dim light was streaming in. He rubbed his eyes a bit, standing up to look around the apartment and noticing he was alone. Apparently Katsumi had left a while ago, which didn’t surprise him, and he wondered if she’d even slept at all. While looking for her he did notice some woman’s clothes lying on her bed that were too small to fit her, but he decided it was probably best to ignore that.
After checking his phone and making sure he had no messages he left the apartment, making his way to his own to change before he went out for some breakfast. If Katsumi hadn’t gotten him up then there wasn’t any emergency, so there was no rush.
An hour later, washed, refreshed and fed, Sano arrived at Aegis Corp HQ. The place was busy and noisy, but thankfully he’d had enough time to get past the worst of his hangover so it wasn’t too bad. He found Katsumi in a preparation room with some others, and she smiled at him as he entered. “Sano, I’m glad you’re here, I was going to call soon.”
“No need, I’m up, just not as ungodly early as you. What’s up?” he asked as he took a drink of his coffee.
“We’re compiling a list of possible suspects. We’re going to visit them today.”
“No kidding? Look at that, one night of drinking with me and progress is made.”
Rufus passed by him, handing a paper to Katsumi. “I don’t think the two are related.”
“Pff, what do you know. You’re Russian; drinking to you just involves vodka and singing.”
“That’s a racist stereotype.”
“You’re a racist stereotype.” Sano returned Rufus’ grin before looking back to Katsumi. “So when are we going?”
“As soon as the list is complete.” Katsumi’s phone rang and she answered. “Katsumi Samakura.” Sano watched with concern as her face became stony and she stepped away from the group, heading quickly out of the office and gesturing to him to follow her, which he did immediately. “If you’re calling now, you must be desperate.” She slid into her office and shut the door after Sano, setting her phone to speaker so he could hear as well. A male voice was talking in a harsh manner.
“…esperate, Captain, you’re the one who’s desperate. I’m calling to warn you to stop coming after me, you’ll only regret it.”
Sano immediately assumed this was the bomber, their suspect, and he pulled out his own phone and tapped into hers, starting to trace the call as Katsumi answered. “Nothing is ever going to stop me from catching you.”
“I warned you, Captain. I’m going to take you down a few pegs. Find me in Risuji Square and we’ll see how long your arrogance lasts!”
The call cut off and Katsumi looked at Sano, who shook his head. “Too well protected to trace.”
“That’s strange, he was easy to trace on the computer. Let’s transfer the data to company servers and let them deal with it.”
“Are we going to Risuji Square like he said?”
“Of course we’re going.”
“You know it’s a trap.”
“Of course it’s a trap.”
“I’m guessing we don’t care at this point.”
Katsumi flung the door open. “I stopped caring the last time he tried to blow me up.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Katsumi, Sano and Rufus, the three team members who had been at HQ at the time of the call, arrived at Risuji Square, a large market-like area, only a few minutes later. Upon arrival they noticed a large gathering of people on one end and Katsumi immediately began sprinting towards it with the other two in tow; she was getting a very, very bad feeling.
The building the crowd was near had a giant screen and, on it, was the image of a man with one of those old theater masks on, the smiling one. Katsumi pushed her way through the crowd to the front and she froze as she came out the other side. Several people in the crowd were holding back a screaming woman who was struggling to get to a child that was tied up in the middle, a young boy.
The man on the giant screen spread his hands. “Welcome, Katsumi Samakura, so good of you to come!” Katsumi stepped out of the crowd and started towards the boy, but the man on the screen shook his finger. “Ah-ah-ah! I wouldn’t do that! You see, this boy wasn’t just kidnapped yesterday, he was taken by me, the magnificent Director! He’s got one of my special treats inside him and if you take another step towards him… Boom!” The man laughed. “I even invited his mother to the show. She wouldn’t want to miss her son’s big part!”
Katsumi’s blood was cold but her eyes were on fire, her entire body tense. She gritted her teeth, her jaw clenched as she practically seethed. She pointed at the screen. “What the fuck is wrong with you?! Why would you do something like this?!”
“Because you won’t let things lie like you should. I told you you shouldn’t mess with me!” He suddenly sounded a little whiny, stressed, not nearly as cool and collected as he was trying to be, but he tried to return to it. “Do you know what I’m going to do, Miss Samakura?”
Katsumi shook her head. “Don’t…”
“I’m going to give a little show.”
“Don’t… please…” Katsumi looked up at the screen. “I’ll let you kill me instead. I’m the danger to you. I’m the one you want to get rid of.”
“Tempting… Very tempting.” The man pretended to rub his chin. “But… No.”
Everything slowed down.
The boy suddenly fell over and convulsed. The crowd erupted in screams and began to run. Katsumi yelled at the man to put a stop to it but he just laughed. Behind her, Sano turned away, sick. Rufus shook his head, looking at the ground. And Katsumi watched as the boy’s mother, now free, ran to him and fell on him in a hug, trying to help him.
The explosion destroyed part of the front of the building. It created a crater before her and sent cement, dust and ash in all directions. It knocked most of the people off their feet and peppered a few with debris. It incinerated the two in the middle.
As the explosion faded and things returned to normal speed with falling dust and rising screams, Katsumi stood with her eyes hardening and her body trembling… no… shaking, violently. Sano felt like he would vomit, but he looked at Katsumi and grew scared.
The woman was literally, visibly shaking, her entire body tensing as her gaze bore a hole into the screen before her. Her fingers curled together and clenched in fists so tight blood began leaking through her fingers.
And in the background, what was this “Director’s” reaction? Could he not believe what he did?
Was he as horrified as she? Did he regret such an… inhuman action?
No… All he was doing, his only reaction to what he’d just done, was laughing. His laughter cut through her just as much as the sorrow, regret, hate, helplessness, and rage did.
Katsumi dropped to her knees, a scream of pure fury erupting from her throat as she smashed her fist into the ground.
And above it all, the man just… kept… laughing.
Chapter 8: Search
Date: March 28, 2068
