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Dazai thrashes his arms and legs about as he continues to mouth off to the receptionist. Though this may be part of the mission, it’s painful to watch another adult act this way. I would rather drink poison and die than do that.
“Excuse me… What was it you needed again?” she asks, puzzled. Her handling of the situation is admirable, but she’s outclassed.
“I toldja, didn’t I?! I wanna seek refuge! R-E-F-U-G-E! I’m here for refuge in your honorable nation! But you’re making me wait foreeever! Does that mean you’re refusing my request? Is that it? Missy, you’ve got a lot of nerve making political decisions like this! You’ve got no right!”
“You there! What do you think you’re doing?! Causing a disturbance in the embassy is a serious offense, you know!”
Naturally, the guards at the entrance start rushing toward Dazai. Looks like I’m up.
“Stop right there. That man making a fuss over there is with me. Do you have the authority to arrest him?” I stand before the rushing guards. “Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, article thirty-one, paragraph two! ‘The authorities of the receiving State shall not enter that part of the consular premises that is used exclusively for the purpose of the work of the consular post except with the consent of the head of the consular post or of his designee or of the head of the diplomatic mission of the sending State.’ That man is a guest of the embassy until deemed a hindrance by the consular post. Stopping him without permission could turn this into an international issue!”
My loud rebuke puzzles the guards.
They obviously know the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations by heart, but it’s only natural to flinch when someone screams “international issue” at you.
“Hey, Boss! I need refuuuge! BOSSSSSS!!”
Dazai throws a temper tantrum on the floor in front of the information desk. While it’s a relief knowing the guards can’t stop him, there’s a part of me that wants to forget the mission and kill him.
Now, there’s a reason why the Armed Detective Agency is using a five-year-old’s tactics to attack the embassy, an important, high-toned diplomatic establishment.
“The bomber is from another country?” I ask. We’re back at that same street-side café.
“Yeah, and a pro, at that,” Dazai replies while sipping his coffee. He first pointed this out to me after Miss Sasaki got off the phone with a colleague from her university.
“My college major was criminal psychology. Perhaps I know something that could be of use,” she’d said.
I hear Miss Sasaki is well-known in her community as a criminal psychology researcher. It seems she’s a talented young associate professor whose work has been recognized by several famous academic conferences, which is why she’s been independently scrutinizing similar past crimes detailed in a fellow researcher’s work.
“I contacted a colleague in my field regarding similar cases, but their investigation concluded that there has not been a single bombing incident in Japan that has claimed over a hundred lives as mentioned in the e-mail… Of course, this is excluding those who died in the war.”
“Have there been incidents like this abroad, then?”
“Yes… There have been a few dozen terrorist attacks in other countries, revolving around ideology and political conflict. However, there is little data for these cases that would provide details such as the type of bomb used or the manufacturer… I’m sorry I couldn’t be of any help.”
“No, that’s really good information. This would mean the Azure Apostle knew the composition and structure of the explosive used in those bombings when they made the one to set in Yokohama. I feel like we’re now one step closer to finding our guy, don’t you think?”
“That said, we still haven’t figured out where they hid the bomb. Do you really think we’ll be able to find it in time at this rate?”
At the very least, we need to find out this person’s name and what they look like. There’s no other way to locate the bomb.
Dazai places a thumb on his chin as if deep in thought.
“The bomber is in hiding… There’s no way we’re going to find them,” he suddenly mutters. “…Guess I have to do it myself.”
“Do what?”
“Kunikida, in the e-mail, they said they’d ‘made’ the bomb, right? But can you really make a bomb that could kill hundreds that easily?”
“It wouldn’t be easy for the average person, but someone with extensive knowledge probably wouldn’t have much difficulty.”
Even I have a certain amount of knowledge of hazardous chemicals, since I’m currently pursuing a degree in science and mathematics. Besides, I also work on dangerous jobs at the agency. Chemical production for explosives requires utmost caution, especially in regard to temperature and impact. Even the smallest mistake could cause an unwanted catastrophe. The ingredients themselves, however, are simple and could even be found in an elementary school’s science room. Hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, nitrogen fertilizer, aluminum: All of these can be legally purchased for cheap. The combination ratio, order of procedure, transportation, and technique for detonating the bomb are where things get tricky.
“Some say that each pro has their own recipe, which acts as their brand when they sell their explosives, but…”
“Exactly. That’s why I don’t think it’d be easy to replicate a bomb that was used in some previous terrorist attack.”
“So what you’re saying is…the person who made this bomb is the same person who made the bomb in that incident that killed over a hundred people?”
