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Narumi Gen stepped out of the airport and took a taxi toward his destination.
During the ride, he looked out the vehicle window at the metropolitan city of Tokyo; it had been years since he last set foot in his home country. He closed his eyes for the rest of the trip.
As soon as the driver announced they had arrived, he paid and walked to the entrance, where two security guards were stationed at the door.
“I’m here to see the Prime Minister,” Narumi said as soon as they asked for his reason for being there.
“Do you have an appointment?”
“He’s expecting me.”
“Without an appointment I can’t let—”
“Don’t worry, Aoi, I’ve been waiting for him.”
A new voice spoke from behind the guard, who stepped aside, revealing an older man with a bald head and a scar running from his jaw to his left cheekbone, and another man with an eyepatch over his left eye standing slightly behind the first.
Both guards straightened up like rods and saluted. “Prime Minister Itami-san.”
Narumi only scoffed and whispered just loud enough for both to hear, “Told you.”
With calm steps, the Prime Minister, Itami Keiji, approached Narumi and offered his hand in greeting. Narumi took it and shook it.
“Welcome back to Japan, Narumi. Let’s go inside, I want to talk to you about a proposal.”
Hoshina Soushirou slammed his car door shut and stumbled into the huge house, brushing aside the police tape and using the key his boss had given him.
As he pulled on latex gloves, he couldn’t help but grumble at how annoyed he was. Damn his boss, damn the administrative staff, damn his coworkers… except you, Ashiro, you’re an angel in the middle of this hell.
It had only been 6 months since his transfer from Kansai to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, and only 2 months since his promotion to detective. But of course, his coworkers were adults who could handle their envy better than an 8-year-old who’d lost first place in a contest.
Since his arrival, no one could deny that most of the cases he handled were completely solved, earning him credits for the position he now held.
But that only meant his work was now sabotaged by nearly the entire department: from pranks (Are they five years old?) to removing him from cases at the last minute to assign him new ones and force him to start from scratch. And his damn boss did nothing about it!
Now he’d been assigned the homicide case of Shinomiya Isao.
The agents in charge had been moved to other “more urgent” cases, so this case belonged to him and his partner, Ashiro Mina.
They’d only been notified two days ago, and Hoshina had spent the whole night studying the case, reviewing photographs, evidence, fingerprints –EVERYTHING– only to realize his coworkers had done a poor job, so technically he had to start from zero with the information already provided and his own findings.
That same morning, his plan was for him and Ashiro to return to the Shinomiya residence to review the crime scene themselves, though it was likely they wouldn’t find anything since the scene had been registered since day one. But due to “lack of personnel,” Ashiro was sent to a case near Tachikawa.
So he was alone.
As he reviewed every corner of the house and the study where the crime took place, he once again went over the case in his mind.
Shinomiya Isao, a blond man, 54 years old, 1.90 m tall. Former head of the police department until he retired 5 years ago due to an injury.
Before joining the police department, he had been part of the Special Forces Group and was a candidate to become captain of his own squad until he requested discharge upon learning of his wife’s pregnancy. He settled in Akasaka in a nice house in a quiet area and joined the police.
According to several acquaintances, Shinomiya Isao had once been a man who, although he didn’t show it, was kind, helpful, and reliable, until his wife’s death 15 years earlier affected him to such a degree that it turned him into a cold, serious, and authoritarian man. He was hardworking, dedicating his life to seeking justice for his wife and protecting citizens, but distancing himself from his daughter in the process.
Speaking of his daughter, Hoshina still couldn’t forget the sadness he felt hearing Shinomiya Kikoru cry over the phone when he called to give her the news.
If the information was correct, she had arrived in the country to attend the funeral, which had taken place that same morning.
Shinomiya Kikoru, in an attempt to follow in her father’s footsteps, had gone to the United States to study and gain experience in order to join the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force.
But he suspected it wasn’t only her father’s footsteps she was following.
There was also him, the only witness to the crime against Shinomiya Isao.
Narumi Gen.
He wasn’t a blood relative, but Shinomiya Isao had taken him in when he was a teenager. Narumi had lost his parents very young and entered the foster system since he had no relatives to care for him. He went from orphanage to orphanage because of behavioral issues, being rejected by several families. He even had a minor record for disturbances and street fights. In one of those reports, Narumi and Shinomiya met. The boy was only 16 and already labeled as someone with no future; no one expected anything from him, but Shinomiya saw his potential and decided to obtain guardianship of him.
Many claimed that thanks to Shinomiya, Narumi Gen went from being the worst student in his school to graduating with honors and being accepted into the police academy with excellent scores, but Shinomiya insisted it was all Narumi. No one else.
He completed the academy but didn’t stay; being a police officer wasn’t for him, so he left the country and joined the SEALs, where he’d been active for the past 5 years as commander of his own squad.
And because of that, the police labeled the crime as revenge against Narumi Gen.
The information obtained from the investigation and from Narumi Gen’s statement was that the person responsible called himself “Ninth.”
There was a criminal group spread across several countries, involved in the shadiest businesses imaginable: human trafficking, drugs, weapons, etc. The leaders of each country were numbered, and “Ninth” was the leader in a European country, one Narumi Gen had tracked for months. But following a lead he ended up in South Korea, where instead of “Ninth,” they found the leader’s brother.
During the transfer, “Ninth” contacted Narumi Gen, seeking an exchange: his brother’s life for the life of the man who had taken him in. But when his men attempted to recover the brother, the situation ended with the brother’s death, all while Narumi and “Ninth” were on the phone.
Upon learning of his brother’s death, “Ninth” shot Shinomiya Isao at point-blank range while Narumi could only listen helplessly as the man who had supported him was killed.
Hoshina couldn’t imagine the pain and guilt Narumi Gen must be feeling. He hadn’t yet had a chance to interrogate the man in question.
So meanwhile, he would continue investigating as much as he could; that’s why he was reviewing the crime scene.
The events occurred in Shinomiya’s study; the desk chair had been moved to the center, where the man was tied up after being knocked unconscious.
There were no signs of struggle, which made him wonder: how dangerous was “Ninth” to surprise-attack a former JGSDF member who couldn’t even defend himself in time?
On the desk were blood splatters from when Shinomiya Isao took a bullet to the skull, killing him instantly. According to the autopsy, he also had a concussion caused by a strong blow to the head with a blunt object, which, according to the investigation, had been inflicted by a trophy that had been on one of the study’s shelves.
He was also beaten in various parts of the body, resulting in bruises, two broken ribs, and a fractured nasal septum. On the chair’s armrests, there was blood that dripped onto the floor—blood from Shinomiya’s hands after each of his fingernails had been torn off.
The man had been tortured, and Narumi Gen had probably heard it all.
He knew it was useless, but he still tried searching for fingerprints or anything his coworkers might have missed.
As he did, he heard noise upstairs and footsteps coming down the stairs. He drew his weapon and aimed at the study entrance. As soon as the owner of the footsteps appeared, he took position to fire if necessary. The other man, upon seeing him, did the same—he drew his own weapon and aimed it.
“Tokyo police!” Hoshina began. “Lower your weapon and state your identity!”
The man ignored the command. “What the hell?! Who are you?”
“I asked first. Who are you, and what are you doing here? This is a crime scene, are you blind or did you not see the police tape outside?”
“Oh wow, I thought it was Christmas decorations.” He replied with sarcasm.
“Lower your weapon or I’ll have to arrest you,” Hoshina warned. “Who are you?”
“You tell me who you are first. How do I know you’re a cop and not some lunatic with a gun?”
Hoshina realized they wouldn’t get anywhere unless one of them yielded, so he answered first. “Hoshina Soushirou, detective from the police department. Now, who are you?”
Hoshina noticed the man scanning him with his eyes; he struggled not to shiver at the depth of those magenta eyes, even if they were half-hidden by his long two-toned bangs.
Wait, he had seen that face before, in photographs. He was…
“Narumi Gen. This is my house. Now, officer, why don’t you show me your badge so I can verify you are who you say you are?”
“Better show me your ID so I can verify you really are Narumi Gen.”
Neither of them made any move to comply, weapons still raised.
“Listen, we won’t get anywhere like this. How about we show them at the same time?”
“Alright.”
They counted to three aloud and, without lowering their weapons, both produced their identification. Once each confirmed the other’s identity, they finally holstered their guns.
“Narumi Gen, you have my deepest condolences, but this is still an active scene, you can’t be here.”
Narumi ignored him and began wandering around the study. “How far has the police gotten with the case?”
“I can’t give you any information.”
“Is that so?” he asked incredulously. “Or is it that you simply haven’t made any progress? I already told you who did it!”
Hoshina counted to ten in his head. “Your statement isn’t enough. We need the real identity of this ‘Ninth’ and enough evidence to incriminate him.”
“While you’re doing that, he might already be leaving the country. Everything is on the call.”
“But we have nothing linking him here, no fingerprints, DNA, nothing. Not even a real name.”
Narumi snorted in irritation. “Ninth wasn’t the only one here. He doesn’t work alone. Japan isn’t his jurisdiction, so someone helped him enter the country.”
“Well, while the police investigate that, I kindly ask you to leave.”
“Fine.” Narumi turned around, and Hoshina saw him pick up a suitcase at the foot of the stairs.
“Could you please leave that suitcase?” Hoshina crossed his arms. “Any object inside this house is considered evidence.”
Narumi gave him his best innocent look. “This one?” He lifted the suitcase. “I brought it.”
“Right, a suitcase that looks like it went through a shredder and was thrown into the deepest corner of the closet.”
“Hey, I’m not criticizing your haircut, so don’t criticize my stuff.”
Hoshina lifted an eyebrow. “Leave it, please.”
“Or what?”
“Or I’ll request an ambulance after I’m done with you.”
“Sure.” Narumi dropped the suitcase at his feet and pulled out his phone, dialing a number and lifting it to his ear. “Hello, Prime Minister.”
“Seriously?” Hoshina lifted both hands, exasperated.
“I thought about your proposal, I accept.” Narumi gave Hoshina a once-over from head to toe. “Let’s just say someone made me change my mind.”
Hoshina watched Narumi grimace before turning away to murmur something. Shortly after, Narumi hung up the call, put away his phone, and turned back to him.
“Now it’s my crime scene.” Narumi picked up the suitcase and left the house.
Hoshina remained standing in the middle of the study with his jaw open. “What the hell?”
The knock at his door made Hoshina get up from the sofa to answer it, only to want to shut it again immediately upon seeing who it was.
Without waiting for an invitation, Narumi Gen entered the apartment.
Narumi looked around and whistled under his breath. “Nice place.”
“Yeah, sure, come in. How can I help you?” he asked, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
Hoshina hoped that whatever it was, Narumi Gen would leave soon. He closed the door behind him and returned to his living room. Narumi, inspecting his apartment, was there holding a folder, specifically his case file where he had compiled all the information on Shinomiya Isao’s case.
Barely two hours ago, after returning to the station from the Shinomiya house, his boss had called him into his office to inform him that he’d been removed from the case, which now belonged to Narumi Gen and his new special team, authorized by Prime Minister Itami Keiji. Saying he was angry was an understatement, so his boss took pity on him and gave him the rest of the day off.
And now he had the same man who’d taken away his job standing in his apartment… Wait, how did he know where he lived?
“So this morning you requested a warrant to search for a man named Shirase, or so your boss told me.”
Hoshina walked past him and sat back down on his sofa. Holding his coffee cup between his hands, he took a sip and answered, “In case you forgot, this is no longer my case, Commander. I’m sure you don’t need me.”
Narumi sighed. “It’s not too much to ask for an explanation.”
Hoshina had nothing to lose anymore, and the faster he gave Narumi what he wanted, the sooner he’d leave. So he gave him the information. “He’s said to be a weapons trafficker, originally from Yokohama, where he was arrested on suspicion of homicide and spent 3 years locked up, but was released on probation when they couldn’t link him to the crime because they never found the weapon.”
“And what does that have to do with Ninth?”
“The bullets found at the Shinomiya scene match those from Shirase’s case, so if your friend entered the country, he probably did so empty-handed,” Hoshina said. “Meaning if he needed a gun, Shirase most likely supplied it.”
“If that’s the case, let’s go.” Narumi gestured toward the door with his head.
Hoshina looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. “Did you forget the part where I said this isn’t my case?”
“You were transferred from Kansai to Tokyo, and your boss says you’re one of his best. And you made more progress in one day than your colleagues in three, so I want you on my team.”
Hoshina stared incredulously. “First you take me off the case and now you want me to work with you?”
“Basically.”
“You must be joking.”
Narumi hummed. “No, I’m not. Itami already gave me permission for you to be my partner, so let’s go.”
For the second time that day, Hoshina watched Narumi walk out the door, only this time, with resignation, he chose to follow him.
Narumi didn’t know whether he liked Hoshina or not, but something told him they could work well together.
They were in Hoshina’s car headed toward Shirase’s apartment in one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the city, because being a weapons trafficker didn’t earn enough money for him to afford a decent place.
When they parked outside what was probably the ugliest and most rundown complex in the area, Narumi went to get out of the car but was stopped by Hoshina.
“Whoa, what do you think you’re doing? We need to call for backup.”
Narumi got out anyway, leaning back in to look at Hoshina. “You’re the backup.” Then he shut the car door and headed into the building.
Hoshina wanted nothing more than to slam his face against the steering wheel before following Narumi inside.
As they walked down the dark corridors, they heard an argument coming from one of the rooms, which conveniently belonged to the man they were looking for.
Hoshina grabbed Narumi’s arm and pulled him behind a corner. He was about to say something when the door opened and a furious woman came out, cursing at the person inside.
“Screw you, you jerk!” she shouted as she stormed off.
“Well, Shirase sure is a promising partner.”
Hoshina let out a short, amused huff.
“Wait,” Hoshina grabbed Narumi’s arm, earning a look of annoyance. “Let’s wait a few minutes. He’ll think his girlfriend came back and open the door without hesitation.”
And so they waited. When Narumi knocked, Shirase opened immediately.
“I knew you’d come back bit—” He stopped mid-sentence upon seeing two strangers at his door, his gaze dropping to Narumi’s hip where the gun peeked out.
“Hello, Shirase, got a minute to talk?”
And just like that, Shirase bolted toward the window.
“I guess that’s a no.”
Narumi chased after him. Shirase climbed down the fire escape quickly, and once he hit the ground he took off running. Narumi wasn’t far behind.
Shirase ran into a small local market, bumping and pushing people aside to escape. At some point, Hoshina managed to catch up to Narumi, and both were on his tail.
Suddenly, Shirase turned and pulled a gun from his waistband and fired.
“Son of a…!”
“Damn it!” Hoshina stopped and grabbed his arm—the bullet had grazed him when he pushed a woman out of the line of fire.
Narumi didn’t stop; he kept chasing Shirase. When the criminal saw they weren’t giving up, he grabbed a civilian and held her at gunpoint.
“Whoa, you shouldn’t do that,” Narumi said, already aiming his own gun at him.
“Shut up! Let me go or I’ll put a bullet in this woman!”
“Yeah, that’s not happening. Let’s talk, friend.”
“Screw you! I need to get the hell out of—agh!”
Shirase dropped his gun, and his grip on the woman loosened enough for her to run away. Narumi quickly moved in to cuff him—he had noticed over Shirase’s shoulder that Hoshina had aimed and shot him in the arm, making him drop the weapon. Karma really could be a bitch.
“So…” Narumi leaned against the side of the ambulance, “how’s the arm?”
Hoshina shot him a death glare while the paramedic finished bandaging him. Luckily, it was only a superficial wound, nothing serious.
“Well, I talked to our friend, and it turns out you were right. A man matching Ninth’s description bought a gun from him the very morning Isao was killed.”
“Good, so we know where the gun came from.” Hoshina stood and adjusted his shirt once his wound was wrapped. “Now we need to know how he got into Japan.”
Narumi smiled widely. “Well, Shirase isn’t very organized, so his apartment is full of things that will put him behind bars for quite a few years.”
“What did you find?”
“Shirase doesn’t just use traffic weapons.” Narumi’s smile twisted into a grimace of disgust. “He traffics people too.”
That made Hoshina raise his eyebrows in surprise. “I suppose among his things there’s information about that.” Narumi nodded. “And I suppose we’ll also investigate that.” Another nod.
Hoshina sighed wearily. “Alright, let’s get moving… but a thank you wouldn’t hurt.”
Narumi looked confused. “Why?”
“What do you mean ‘why’? For preventing that idiot from shooting you?”
“That wasn’t going to happen.”
“Don’t be reckless.”
Narumi decided he didn’t like Hoshina.
“So this will be our headquarters.”
Hoshina looked around the large room. There were hundreds of boxes still unopened and several pieces of furniture not yet assembled. The space consisted of offices around the perimeter, leaving the center open, likely where they would meet to discuss cases and strategies.
The office blinds were open, so he noticed movement inside one of them and signaled Narumi.
Narumi stared until recognition crossed his face. With confident steps, he entered the room and snapped, “What the hell are you doing here?”
The person was seated in the main desk chair, a blonde woman with her hair in two ponytails and a stern expression.
Hoshina didn’t need to be a prophet to know it was Shinomiya Kikoru. Not only did he recognize her from the photos in her report, but she also bore a strong resemblance to her father.
“You took too long to get here, moron.”
Narumi felt an eye twitch forming. After the funeral, they hadn’t spoken. He simply drove her back to her hotel and went home; the last thing he wanted was for Kikoru to see the place where her father had been murdered. He also hadn’t told her about his conversation with the Prime Minister, so he couldn’t explain why she was here.
“You didn’t answer my question. What are you doing here? How did you find this place?”
“Hasegawa likes me more than he likes you.”
Hasegawa Eiji, a police officer who had been under Isao’s command before moving to SAT. He had also escorted Narumi to the station several times back when he got into street fights as a teen.
“Again you, Narumi…”
Before the funeral, they had reunited and talked. Narumi, though he wouldn’t admit it, trusted the man, he had never judged him and had supported him through the academy. So it wasn’t surprising that Narumi had sought him out for advice.
And if he knew Narumi, Kikoru did too.
“He told me it was likely I’d find you here, though he wasn’t sure.”
Shinomiya looked past Narumi and noticed Hoshina, prompting Narumi to step aside.
“Kikoru, this is my partner.”
Hoshina approached and bowed slightly. “Hoshina Soushirou. A pleasure to meet you, Miss Shinomiya.”
She recognized the name and his voice. “You’re…?”
Hoshina nodded. “Yes, I’m the one who called you. Again, you have my sincerest condolences.”
“Thank you.” She returned her gaze to Narumi. “I’m sure you’re working on my father’s case. I want to help.”
Narumi stared at her. He knew that once she found out about the group, she would be the first to step into danger seeking justice for her father’s murder.
And it's not that Gen hadn't considered her as an option quite the opposite. He had planned to offer her a position after capturing Ninth; if Kikoru chose to stay or return to the U.S., it should be her own decision, not one driven by revenge.
There was also the fact that he didn’t want her crossing paths with Ninth. He wasn’t stupid, if Ninth gathered information about Isao, he surely had information about Kikoru too. The only reason she wasn’t targeted was likely because she had just graduated abroad and was still at the training facilities.
But that didn’t eliminate the risk. Anyone Ninth knew Gen had been close to could be a target. And obviously, Kikoru, whom he considered his annoying little sister, was at the top of that list.
Narumi opened his mouth to reject her, but Kikoru spoke first.
“Don’t you dare leave me out, moron. I want to help, and I can help. You need people you can trust.”
“You’re still a rookie, you don’t have enough field experience.”
“But you can’t deny I’m damn good and can handle myself just fine.”
Narumi couldn’t argue with that. As strained as Kikoru’s relationship with her father had been, Isao had trained her well, almost as well as he had trained Narumi.
And he couldn’t deny that he needed people, people he could trust.
And his dumb little sister was one of them.
With a sigh of resignation, he gestured toward the table. “You win. Let’s get to work.”
And the three began reviewing all the information.
Night had fallen without them noticing until Hoshina suggested they rest and continue the next day. Reluctantly, the other two agreed. They escorted Kikoru to catch a taxi and arranged to meet early in the morning.
“See you tomorrow, Commander Narumi,” Hoshina said as he headed to his vehicle.
“Tomorrow.”
When Hoshina got home, he passed out the moment his head hit the pillow. He jolted awake when his alarm went off, groaned, and got ready to return to the case. When he arrived, he was surprised to find Narumi already at the central table with all the files at hand.
“Good morning.”
Narumi, so focused, didn’t hear him arrive and jumped at the sound of his voice.
“Oh, it’s you. Morning,” he replied, letting out a yawn.
Hoshina was fairly certain Narumi had slept there in the office or rather, hadn’t slept at all. The dark circles under his eyes were worse, and he kept rubbing them. So Hoshina decided to try out the new coffee maker in their small break area.
“I could kiss you,” Narumi said the moment a fresh cup of coffee was placed in front of him, drinking it like it was the elixir of eternal life, not caring that it was still hot.
“You should be the one buying me coffee if you want to take that step,” Hoshina joked.
Narumi, too sleep-deprived to tell if it was a joke, simply nodded. “When we solve the Ninth case, I will.”
Hoshina didn’t reply because Shinomiya Kikoru arrived and greeted them.
“According to the papers found in Shirase’s apartment, plus what was found in his phone, the one in charge of ‘transporting merchandise’ is someone named Miyamoto Hirotsu.”
“So this guy is the one who got Ninth into the country?” Shinomiya asked.
“Most likely.”
“How do we find him?”
Hoshina read the report. The man didn’t have a fixed location; several places where he had been seen were already checked with police help, but they were empty. It seemed he never worked twice in the same place.
“To bring undocumented people is almost impossible by air,” Hoshina said. “So the only way he could sneak in people unnoticed is…”
“By water,” Narumi finished, and Hoshina snapped his fingers and said, “Bingo.”
“We’re surrounded by the ocean, and the country has many ports. It’s likely Ninth arrived on a cargo ship.”
“But we don’t know which port he uses.”
Hoshina thought for a moment before speaking. “I think I know someone who can help us.”
“We’ll be close. If anything happens, give us the signal.”
After Kikoru confirmed, Narumi settled into the passenger seat of Hoshina’s car.
They were parked outside one of the most popular bars in the area so Kikoru could speak with one of Miyamoto’s connections, because although the boss never worked in the same place twice, that wasn’t true for his employees.
“Are you sure about this, Hoshina? I don’t want anything happening to Kikoru.”
Soushirou understood. “I trust him. Shinomiya will be fine.”
Narumi still wasn’t convinced.
After making a call, Hoshina informed Narumi and Shinomiya about someone who could help. Before Ashiro Mina had been Hoshina’s partner, she had trained with another partner, her childhood friend, the reason she joined the academy and became a cop. Unfortunately, due to misunderstandings, he had been discharged from the police.
Ashiro Mina had been devastated when her partner and friend, Hibino Kafka, left. She had even thought about resigning, but he refused, knowing it had always been her dream job since they were kids.
Hoshina had met him, and still couldn’t understand how someone like Hibino had been blamed for accepting bribes. His coworkers in the department seriously sucked.
After being discharged, Hibino got a job as a garbage collector, and thanks to his work across different areas, he saw and heard many things—some from his friends as well. In fact, the bartender at this bar had told Hibino they might find something here.
With Hibino entering undercover as a server, they managed to set up a meeting between one of Miyamoto’s employees and Kikoru, who, thanks to her appearance, could pass for a foreign woman needing help to bring her family into the country.
So while Hoshina and Narumi monitored the conversation, Hibino remained close to the room as backup.
“I was told you needed help bringing your family into the country.”
The stranger’s voice put them on alert.
“Remember, Kikoru, we just need him to say which port he uses.”
“Yes, they’ve been denied visas and passports for years.”
“Where did you say you were from?”
“The Philippines.”
“Your Japanese is too good.”
“I studied languages as a kid and have been here for a few years.”
“Why haven’t they been able to come?”
“My parents are in debt. They want to start over.”
“Well, I can help you, but it won’t be cheap.”
“I have money. I can pay. If I have to, I’ll work on anything.”
“Anything, huh?”
Narumi didn’t like the lascivious tone at all. That idiot better not lay a hand on Kikoru or he’d get a bullet in the head.
“Well, it’ll be a bit tedious, but we can make it work. At exactly 10 p.m., a Chinese cargo ship will depart from Yokohama, so we’ll make Manila Port one of its stops before reaching Batangas.”
Hoshina checked the time: 9:07 p.m. If the cargo was being used to transport people, he might be smuggling someone out of the country. They had 43 minutes. He was about to tell Narumi when he noticed the man loading his gun.
“Yokohama Port is our target, we need to get Kikoru out of there.” Pressing his earpiece, Narumi contacted Hibino. “Be ready; we’ll go in any minute to help Kikoru with those idiots.”
“Roger.”
Hoshina also began preparing. “We need to hurry, there’s no time to lose.”
“Now let’s talk payment.”
“I’ll pay whatever it takes. I’ve saved a lot of money.”
“I don’t doubt it, but a beauty like you could help me in other ways.”
As Narumi and Hoshina approached the back of the bar to reach the rooms upstairs, Narumi had to hold back a laugh imagining the disgusted face Kikoru was surely trying to hide.
“So, what do you say you and I—”
“Ugh, I can’t take this anymore. Can I shut him up, moron?”
Narumi burst out laughing. “Go ahead.”
And hell broke loose.
By the time Hoshina and Narumi entered the room, Kikoru was dusting off her hands while pinning the guy who’d tried to flirt with her. In the back, Hibino was handcuffing the bodyguards. Well, it seemed they had everything under control.
“You’re late.”
“Well, you handled it just fine.”
Narumi grabbed the man and hauled him up. Hoshina stood beside him, holding up a photo of Ninth in the man’s face.
“Tell us, will this man be on the ship tonight?”
The man spat at them. So Narumi dug his fingers into one of the wounds Kikoru had given him, making him scream.
“If I were you, I’d answer. He’ll get more creative,” Hoshina commented.
Seeing Narumi’s patience wearing thin, the man nodded.
“Kikoru, you and Hibino stay here. Make sure these guys get taken and that the police search this place.” Both nodded. Narumi headed for the exit. “Hoshina, come on.”
They left the place, and Hoshina followed Narumi to one of the police vehicles that had arrived on scene.
“We’re borrowing this for a bit.” Without waiting for approval, Narumi got behind the wheel. Hoshina jumped into the passenger seat. Another glance at the clock—9:33 p.m.
They wouldn’t make it in time, and he told Narumi so.
“We will.”
“Yokohama is nearly 40 minutes away.”
Narumi started the engine and floored it, the acceleration slamming Hoshina into his seat. “Make it twenty.”
Hoshina thought it could be even less if Narumi kept driving like a Formula 1 racer.
And true enough, twenty minutes later they were entering Yokohama, plus five more minutes reaching the port. They could see the cargo ship preparing to depart, surrounded by armed men.
Hoshina glanced around, the police reinforcements hadn’t arrived. Narumi had called the Prime Minister to inform the local police and request support.
“They’re not here yet.”
“We can’t wait. They’re about to leave.”
“What do we do?”
Narumi pondered the question before gripping the wheel tightly, his gaze fixed on the loading platform.
Hoshina could tell exactly what he was thinking and gripped his seat as Narumi said, “Hold on,” and slammed the accelerator.
“If we survive this, I swear I’m going to kill you.”
When the vehicle crashed onto the deck, they were immediately surrounded by armed men. Both jumped out of the car and the firefight began.
On top of one of the cargo containers, a figure looked down. Despite the distance and darkness, Hoshina could recognize Ninth, a middle-aged man with pale skin and graying hair. Narumi saw him too, and a determined look settled on his face.
“Cover me.”
Narumi shot down two men in his path and, with incredible speed and agility, climbed the cargo container. Ninth, seeing him approach, pulled out a gun and fired.
Narumi dodged, though a couple shots grazed him, but he didn’t stop. When he got close enough, he tackled Ninth, disarmed him, and threw him across the deck. But in the struggle, Narumi also lost his own weapon, so when both got up, they took combat stances.
“Well, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you in person, Commander Narumi,” Ninth said, his voice raspy and slow.
“You’ve been a real pain all these years, you know that?” Narumi threw the first punch, which Ninth blocked before countering.
They exchanged blows and blocks until Narumi spun and landed a kick to Ninth’s face. Stunned, Ninth didn’t notice they had moved closer to where Narumi’s gun had fallen. Narumi reached it and shot him in the chest.
He fired two more shots, watching the disbelief on Ninth’s face before the man stumbled backward and fell off the cargo container toward the sea. On hands and knees, Narumi crawled to the edge and saw ripples in the water as the body slowly sank.
He could hear police sirens approaching, so once he caught his breath, he climbed down and went to find Hoshina, who was sitting on the hood of the crashed vehicle and waved when he spotted him.
As Narumi approached, Hoshina stood and walked toward him, only to punch him in the face.
“What the hell was that for?!”
“For giving me a heart attack by launching a police car onto a ship and not waiting for backup!”
Narumi, still rubbing his cheek, muttered, “I told you, you’re the backup.”
That did not warm Hoshina’s heart nor make him blush. Not at all.
“Is that all?”
“I hope so.” Narumi began walking toward the platform with Hoshina at his side. “We still need to recover the body that fell into the water.”
“I don’t envy the team assigned to that.”
“Me neither.”
As police swarmed the area, Kikoru and Hibino arrived in a vehicle, so the two headed in their direction.
“I know I promise
d you a coffee when this was over, but how about something better beers?”
Hoshina looked surprised, but quickly smiled.
“I’d love that.”