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“Nnng—gaaah?!”
Using the water as a conductor, the submerged stun gun emits beams of violet and white light. A purple flash of lightning jolts through Akutagawa’s wet body like a boa constrictor wrapping around its prey. The flash shines as bright as the sun before eventually disappearing along with the hiss of steam and the crack of the ground splitting under it. Rashomon’s grip around my neck loosens, and I land on the pavement below. As I cradle my injured neck and side, I glare at Akutagawa. He’s on his knees as steam and white smoke rise from his body.
“Heh-heh… Ah-ha-ha-ha!”
Akutagawa’s shoulders shake as he laughs. He can still move after taking a shock like that?
“Looks like I was wrong about the Armed Detective Agency. Heh. This is wonderful. Truly wonderful.”
“…Come at me if you want to keep going. I still have plenty more paper left.” I force myself to my feet, then get back into stance with the wire gun.
“By all means, I would love the opportunity to see whether you have what it takes to kill me, but it seems we have guests.”
I follow Akutagawa’s gaze and see the city police approach with their sirens blazing. Somebody must have reported the gunshots.
“A pathetic traitor won’t be able to hide for long before we hunt him down. I will withdraw for today. We’ll continue this soon.” He coughs and turns his back to me. He leaves just like that, with the same nonchalance as if he was going home after a walk. Honestly speaking, continuing to fight and withdrawing probably aren’t too different from his point of view.
“I’d rather you not come back…”
I fall to my knees while watching him walk away. Akutagawa from the Port Mafia is just as— No, he’s even fiercer than the rumors say. No thanks on the rematch. For now, I just want to go home and sleep like the dead.
Unfortunately, this is no time for a nap. After a short break, I return to the agency to report what happened. In the company’s infirmary, I have my stomach wound temporarily patched up, then head to the office. That’s where I find Dazai sipping on some tea as if he was relaxing after a hard day’s work.
“Dazai, you caught the taxi driver, right?”
“Of course. I tied him right up and handed him off to the police. He was actually thrilled that the Mafia wouldn’t be able to assassinate him anymore.”
I’m relieved. It appears Dazai isn’t as stupid as I originally thought. I was almost worried that he knew it was the Mafia attacking us and used chasing the kidnapper as an excuse to escape. Nevertheless, everything ended up working out, so I guess it was just a groundless fear.
“It looks like the taxi driver will be charged for the series of kidnappings. Case closed.”
I worked my fingers to the bone on this case, and in return, I get paid nothing. The military police will toss us a letter of thanks and a small gift as an expression of their gratitude, and that will be the end of it. Good grief.
“I don’t feel like working anymore. Let’s get today’s tasks over with and go out for a drink.”
“Your treat?” Dazai asks, beaming with joy.
“You’re a real piece of work. I’ll pay, but you better work your ass off tomorrow.”
I return to my desk and take care of my remaining duties. I skim through some documents that are being passed around, then make a few business calls. After that, I start recording the case’s details until inadvertently glancing at my work computer and noticing I got an e-mail. Paying little attention, I begin to follow the sentences with my eyes. After finishing the e-mail, I start over from the beginning.
“Dazai.”
The moment I call for him is the moment I realize I’ve been holding my breath.
“We’ll have to take a rain check on those drinks. We’ve got work to do.”
“Whaaat? But I was all ready to drink. There’s a hole in my stomach shaped exactly like a cup of sake.”
“We got a job offer…from the anonymous client who lured us into the abandoned hospital.”
My throat is dry, and my tongue is stuck in place. The next words don’t want to come out.
“It’s a request to defuse a bomb. If we don’t find and defuse it by sundown tomorrow, over one hundred people will die.”
INTERLUDE I
It’s the middle of the night. On the busy downtown street, a man gazes at the flickering lights in silence from the car window. He’s parked on the side of the quiet road, not another soul in sight. The diodes in the car faintly illuminate his face.
