Silence In Numbers: File One, page 14
Time: 10:43 AM
Location: Risuji Square
Kurasano sighed for what felt like the thousandth time that morning, sending yet another witness away with no new information and looking across the square. Cleanup crews were halfway through cleaning the debris; medical crews were helping the few with small injuries. M was even there, surveying the scene, with Law examining the destruction to confirm it was the same type of explosion as before.
The only thing missing from the scene was Katsumi.
She’d disappeared soon after the explosion, and given the look on her face none of them had wanted to risk stopping her. Sano had no idea where she was at this point; no one did. She wasn’t answering any call, and Sano finally had to give up and deal with what was happening around him. Rufus stepped up beside him, handing him a picture someone had snapped of the man on the screen. “This ‘Director’… I’ve never heard of him.”
Sano rubbed his forehead, taking the picture and looking at the masked face. “I think he just made it up. He didn’t really seem like any sort of professional, he wasn’t at all in control of his emotions.”
“So he’s an amateur? How has he managed to do what he’s done so far, then?”
Sano shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe there’s more than one.”
“Someone’s helping him? This ‘Director’ could just be the front man, then.”
“Nah, he took it too personally.”
“So he’s just had help.”
“Probably.”
M strolled over with Law behind him, his familiar smile the only one in the group. “Law says it’s the same as the others. It seems we’ve found our culprit, but not his identity.”
Sano shrugged. “One step closer, anyway. We’ll see if we can trace anything from the hack into that screen.”
“Yes, that is the next logical step.” M seemed to glance around a bit. “Where is Captain Samakura?”
“I… uh…” Sano’s shoulders sagged. “I don’t know, sir.”
“You don’t know? I do hope someone knows.” He watched both Rufus and Law shake their heads. “It isn’t like her to abandon such a situation…”
Rufus adjusted his shades. “She seemed a bit more… affected… by this incident than usual, sir.”
“Indeed?”
“We’re thinking, sir, that she’s past the point of waiting and pursuing the criminal on her own,” Sano put forward.
Rufus nodded. “She has connections throughout the city that she’s most likely going for as we speak.”
M nodded. “That does make the most sense. With anyone else I would be angry with them for doing something this seemingly rash, but Miss Samakura does know what she’s doing.” He looked between the two. “I would ask that either of you let me know if you hear from her. Until then, both she and I are trusting you to keep this investigation running topside. Send the Captain any information you find and be ready to assist her at any moment should she call for it.”
Both men saluted and M turned away, intending to head back to the HQ. His familiar smile returned like it had never left. Never once had he regretted the team he’d help build, and days like this reminded him why. At a point when other teams may give up or fall into depression, his got angry and fought even harder. He was always amused when other board members in the company asked if SIN Unit Alpha was capable of taking on all they intended to take on.
Honestly, it wasn’t even a contest.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Reno shut his phone, reaching for his jacket without a thought. Lenora watched him worriedly, as she had been since soon after he’d answered the call. “What is it, what’s wrong?”
“There was another bombing; this time involving a child.” Reno couldn’t tell his wife the details of it; as it was he himself ground out the words between gritted teeth. His wife looked as sick as he felt, but at the moment those facts weren’t something anyone could do anything about. “Captain Sama went missing soon after.”
“Missing?” Lenora’s face grew darker. “You mean after the attack-“
“Yeah.” Reno laid a hand on his wife’s shoulder to calm her. “She wasn’t hurt, she just took off. No one knows for sure why or where she is, and she isn’t answering any calls. This isn’t like her at all, so everyone’s a little… confused.”
Lenora nodded, though she believed she understood the reasoning behind the woman’s actions.
“So you’re going out there.”
“I have to help, and the team could stand to be together at the moment, what with our leader missing and all.”
“Don’t blame her… This is harder on her than anyone else, it makes sense she might need some time alone.”
“Time alone?” Reno looked at his wife. “I don’t think she’s taking time alone. If that were true we wouldn’t be in a rush to find her, we’d leave her alone.”
Lenora blinked, not understanding. “Then why…?”
“We think she’s making it personal.”
“It was already pretty personal…”
“No, I mean… She’s probably going after the guy already. Alone. And angry.” He sighed.
“Really angry.”
“Oh…” Now she understood.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The door not only slammed open, it flew off its hinges, flipping through the dank room to collide with the opposite wall, sending up a cloud of dust. The force knocked over the man hiding behind it, and before he could bring his pistol to bear an iron-hard hand clamped down on his own, twisting and forcing him to drop it. Another hand caught his throat and whirled him around, lifting him into the air and slamming him into the wall hard enough to knock all breath out of him.
Katsumi leaned in, glaring into the criminal’s eyes from only inches away. “Are you done running yet? Ready to talk a bit?”
The man squirmed, fighting pointlessly against the forceful hold and choking out his words. “Ready… Jus’ let go…”
“Talk, then I’ll let go.”
“I d-don’ remember th’ ques-“
Katsumi slammed her fist into his face before throwing him to the floor and placing her foot on his neck. “I’m in no mood for games. The man I’m looking for uses the name of ‘the Director’. He’s responsible for the recent bombings. With your connections I’m sure you’ve heard something, and you better hope you’ve heard something, or you’ll be useless to me.” She pressed her heel into his throat and finished in a low voice, “You don’t want to be useless to me.”
“G-Gamlen…” He man coughed, scratching at her boot as he struggled to breathe. “Gamlen Ordo… got some guys fer ‘im…”
Katsumi released the man, stomping off down the hallway. “I’m sure you know better than to lie. Don’t tell anyone I’m coming.”
The man pushed himself up on his elbow, rubbing his neck as he glared after her. “No problem…”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Samuel knocked on the hospital room’s door and opened it to see Ayane smile weakly at him.
“Hi Big L.”
“How’s it goin’, blue-hair?” Law shut the door behind him and walked over. “Feelin’ alright?”
“More or less.” Ayane watched him sit down and then looked at her hands. “I think I can guess why you’re here.”
“Yep.” Law settled as much as he could in the small seat. “We’re tryin’ to figure out where she is, and if I know you two at all, you know where she is. She wouldn’t do this without telling you.”
“No, I know.” Ayane sighed. “I know where she is, where she’s going.”
“But you’re not gonna tell us.”
“No, I’m not. She doesn’t want you to know where she is or she’d have told you herself.”
“I figured that, but she could be in trouble.”
“My sister can take care of herself, Sam, you know that. She has to do this herself or it might be worse for her than physical injury.”
Law sighed, running a hand over his bald head. “You know her best. Just let her know we’re tryin’ to help, alright? She’s not talking to any of us.”
“That has nothing to do with you.” Ayane looked at him sadly. “Any of you. This is her thing.”
“Why is she doing it?”
Ayane sighed and lay back, looking at the ceiling. “Sumi is… angry. She’s past her limit of control right now. She can’t stand back and not do anything anymore, not after this morning. She can’t sit and wait for clues or reports. She doesn’t have a choice but to do this, for her own sanity.” Ayane looked at Samuel. “And she can’t bring anyone with her because if she doesn’t do this herself, she’s failed… again.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
Ayane smiled sadly. “It doesn’t need to make sense to anyone else. It makes sense to me and her and we’re the only people it needs to make sense to.”
Law shook his head. “I’ll never understand you two.”
Ayane smiled genuinely this time. “No one will, and believe it or not, that’s something of a comfort in a way.”
Law raised an eyebrow. “I guess no one but you two would understand why that’s a comfort, either.”
She laughed softly. “Now you’re getting it. I’ll be a little nicer and explain just a bit for you, Law. When you only have one person for most of your life, the more exclusive things you have with each other the better it is.”
“’Cause your relationship is more special?”
Ayane smiled. “Exactly!”
“Still seems twisted.”
Ayane shrugged with another small smile. “In lives like ours you take what you can get.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Date: March 29, 2068
Time: 9:37 PM
Location: Aegis Corp HQ, Kurasano Lionel’s Office
Sano ran a hand through his hair, staring at his computer screen as if it’d suddenly show new information. He was currently, temporarily, leading this investigation, plus he was trying to find Katsu- Captain Samakura – and he wasn’t having any luck with either of those endeavors. Reno had been flying patrols across the city, Law was asking around any of Katsumi’s contacts he knew, and Rufus was working his way through the criminal underground for any information on either pursuit.
Sano had no idea what he was doing. He was trying to coordinate things, but really he was just hoping; hoping for a resolution to either problem to present itself. So when his phone suddenly gave a tone signaling he’d received a message he immediately grabbed it, hoping it was from Katsumi. He frowned as he saw it was from an unknown number.
I can help you. Meet me in Room 3.5 in the tunnel beneath the Takagawa Building at 11.
So much about the message seemed odd. Who was this mysterious person who not only knew his problems, but could help with them? And why were they meeting in an underground tunnel? What kind of weird address was “Room 3.5”?
It could be a trap by the bomber or any number of other things but Sano was beyond caring by that point. He grabbed his gun and took off, informing the rest of his team of the message and where he was going. When going off alone, you never went without telling others – not unless you were Katsumi, anyway.
“Want me to come with you? Sounds suspicious.”
Sano smirked at Rufus’ tone. “Just a little suspicious. Keep doing what you’re doing; if whoever this is can help us, I don’t want to scare him away. And if not, I can put a bullet in his head myself.”
“Your call. I’ll stay within the area anyway; we’ll know if your phone goes offline.”
“Probably smart,” Sano replied before ending the call as he pulled up to the building in question, inspecting the entrance. It was apparently closed so he searched a bit and found what appeared to be a cellar door, completely unlocked. “Convenient.” He opened it to reveal a ladder descending into darkness.
At the bottom was a long maintenance tunnel with dim white lighting and doors lining the walls. He counted as he walked past, stopping at Room 4 and looking back at 3. “No 3.5… Obviously.” He took a few steps to a point between them, his eyes flickering and scanning the wall there, finding a slim line and a small spot of energy. Upon pressing his hand to the spot a section of the wall slid up revealing another, thinner hallway. He stepped in and the door shut behind him, but he continued forward.
He ended up in a small square room with a glass wall on one side, very similar to an interrogation room. “You came alone. I’m glad you’re sensible.” A light on the other side of the glass turned on, revealing an older man with graying hair in a short ponytail and a well-groomed short beard. He also wore glasses which, like M’s, hid his eyes. He had a harsh, experienced look to him and his build was strong. He stood at least six feet tall with a solid frame, clothed in a large brown trench coat over a black sweater and pants.
Sano turned towards the glass, studying him as he ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah, well, the sense behind coming to a mysterious meeting in a secret underground room alone is debatable.”
“It was a wise move this time. I’m sure you’re wondering who I am.”
“That’d be one of my questions, yeah.”
“One I can’t answer at this time. However, do know that I am going to help you.”
“Great. So what should I call you, Mysterious Messenger? The Night Man?”
“John Briggs is my name; one you won’t find in any database.”
“So it’s a fake name.”
“It’s as real as any name. You won’t need to know any more of that.”
“Fine. Let’s get to the part where you help me.”
“Very well.” The man pressed a button and a panel on the wall slid open to reveal a piece of paper. “On that is information that will aid you in discovering one of the paths your ‘bomber’ took through computer systems. It will take you one step closer to him.”
Sano picked it up. “Why didn’t you just send this in the message?”
“I prefer to do business face to face. Besides, there is something I need in return.”
“Of course there is. There’s always a catch.”
“It will be worth it for you, though. I will aid you more over the following days.”
“And in return?”
“In return, once your Captain Samakura has finished with this case, I want you to bring her here to meet me.”
“Ah…” Sano peered through the glass as if he hoped to see the man’s intentions just by looking hard enough. “So what you really want is to kill Katsumi.”
“Were that the case I would be aiding her target, not you. I only desire a face-to-face meeting with her.”
“Why?”
“I have information she will be interested in learning. About her condition.”
Sano frowned. “She doesn’t have any condition. Besides, why don’t you just give the information to me, and I’ll pass it to her?”
“I told you, I do business face to face.”
“Well, I’ll let her decide on that. We’ll see just how helpful you are before then. Thanks for the mysterious visit, Mr. Briggs.”
Sano headed for the exit, contacting Rufus. “It wasn’t a trap, but it was strange anyway. John Briggs - fake name - wants to help us in exchange for meeting the boss.”
“Hmm. Assassination?”
“Doesn’t sound like it. If nothing else this seems like a strange way to go about it.”
“Well, it’s not how I would do it, but maybe it’s personal. Captain Samakura has made a lot of enemies in her time. I should know, I was one of them. Briefly.”
“He did say he had information she’d want to know. I’m not sure if he even knows what he’s talking about.”
“I suppose that’s her decision. What about helping us, did he actually give you anything useful?”
Sano dropped the paper in the passenger seat of his car as he started it. “Maybe. I’ll have to check it out once I get back. Supposedly a lead on the target, a possible trace on one of his hacks.”
“Could be a false lead.”
“I considered that, but then, if he doesn’t lead us to the target, he won’t meet Kat – Captain Sama.”
“Good point. Well we’ll consider more based on whether or not this checks out, but I can’t imagine he’d set this up just to give us useless information.”
“It does seem pointless. I’ll let you know what I find; you keep working on your job. With luck we’ll have our boss back within the week.”
Sano worked on the data the moment he got back in his office and was unsurprised to find it actually helped. He managed to find the hacking method their target had used to hack the screen the day before. How the mysterious Briggs got a hold of such he had no idea, but he copied it and sent it to Katsumi’s phone right away with a short explanation of what it was.
He didn’t expect a reply and he didn’t get one. He hoped she’d received it, at least, as he turned in his chair to look out the window at the dark city beyond. “It’s gonna be a long week…”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Date: March 30, 2068
Time: 3:22 AM
Location: New Tokyo Slums, Apartment Block F
Katsumi ducked into a doorway and pressed her back against the wall as bullets flew in after her. She’d expected troubles of this sort. As a well-known officer there were certain dangers one could expect in the less reputable areas of a city, and running into criminals with personal problems against you was one of them. There were eight of them outside, spread in different rooms down the hallway. Katsumi was fairly certain she could take them down easily.
She leaned out the door and fired twice, catching another one in the head before ducking back into the room to avoid the return fire. Pick them off one by one, use a little skill and intelligence, and they’d either leave or die eventually. All she had to do was take her time.
Unfortunately for Katsumi, fate decided that time was not something she’d have today. It started with a headache; at first she ignored it, but soon dread filled her. She’d worried about this before but so far she’d been lucky. Apparently, today was the day her luck ran out. She clenched her jaw as the pain began to spread through her body, leaning out again and firing more rapidly, suddenly aware that if she didn’t take these guys down fast, her chances were zero.
