The Second Triumvirate
By Zoram Selrof
Prologue: Deal in the fog
21:21 PM (Japan Time), Friday February the 3rd, 2007…
"… Huh. What a dense fog...!"
A person was glancing around while standing in a corner of a street, waiting for someone or something that fog-filled evening.
This person could be on his thirties and about a meter and seventy tall.
His eyes' irises were brown and his hair was black: he also had a slim black moustache on his face.
He wore a navy blue sailor's coat, a gray cap, jeans and black boots.
"… That man should be about to arrive…" He muttered.
A figure emerged from the fog across the street: it looked like a tall man about a meter and ninety tall.
He wore a greenish raincoat and a red military-like cap and he seemed to sport brown leather boots and gloves as well.
The raincoat's neck hid his face beneath the nose.
"Ah. There he is…" The sailor muttered.
He stepped over to the military man while lifting his hands as if to prove he wasn't armed: the military man stopped five steps from him as if trying to have a safety distance between the two of them.
"Takashimi. Did you bring what we talked about?" The newcomer military man questioned.
"Y-yes, sir… Here it is… I could only procure an empty one, though… The main hold's security was too much for me to crack… But here you have it, sir… As you wished, sir…" The sailor named Takashimi told the military man in a hushed tone.
He rummaged on his raincoat's right pocket and took out an empty crab meat tin with a yellow label and a red crab's silhouette seen from above drawn on its surface.
"Good. What's the name of the ship?" The military man questioned Takashimi.
Takashimi nervously looked around and quickly ripped off a segment of the label: he picked a pencil from his left pocket and quickly wrote something there.
"Aha…"
The newcomer looked at it before Takashimi tossed the can into a nearby litter and pocketed the label.
"Good. I won't contact you anymore: I now have the means to be able to search that ship." The military man sounded satisfied.
"There!" A gruff voice rang out.
Both men gasped and the military man took out a service revolver from his right pocket.
"Damn."
Three silhouettes showed up in the crossroads coming from left, north east and right.
"So! Takashimi. Ya were the one who bothered to search our litter for that empty defective can which wouldn't close no matter what. It'd been easier than trying to break into the main hold, eh?" The gruff voice sounded annoyed.
"Captain! The other guy is armed!" A second man warned.
"Damn. I didn't bring it." The "Captain" grumbled.
"What do we do?" A third man asked.
"Whoever takes a step forward gets an 18mm bullet on their knees and I never miss a target." The military man warned.
"Shit. This guy is no joke." The "Captain" muttered.
"Shouldn't we have talked it with Danna?" The second man asked "Captain" while sounding slightly nervous.
"What are ya grunts, five year old gnats? We're supposed to handle alone without having to be told everything by Danna! Do ya get it, ya useless grunt? You're the one who let him slip off the ship to begin with! Be glad I didn't lock ya in the holds and fed you dried bread!" The "Captain" growled and sounded annoyed.
"… I'm over…!" Takashimi sounded panicked.
"Stay cool! I'll get us out of this pinch." The military man commanded.
"They can't hope to run away!" The third man proclaimed.
"Watch your trap!" The "Captain" commanded.
The military man suddenly aimed towards "Captain" and shot his revolver while failing on purpose: he then tossed a stone towards there.
"Huh? Over there!" The "Captain" yelled.
The three of them ran in that direction while Takashimi and the man quickly ran out of the crossroads and down some streets before they reached a black Audi: the military man unlocked it and both climbed inside before it sped away.
"I'm over! I'm over!" Takashimi yelled.
"Snap out of it!" The military man commanded.
"But what can I do?"
"I'll drop you in a police station. Turn yourself in by admitting to the smuggling."
"… Yeah. Guess there's no other way around… But the Captain is to blame to begin with! I preferred the previous one, but the guy had to go and retire from the service…! Damn it! I'm sure there was foul play over there!" Takishimi muttered.
"Look. You're alive: that's all what matters. By the way… Will you tell me already what were you guys smuggling?" The military man questioned Takashimi.
"I'm sorry, but I don't know! All I knew is that we were smuggling something using the cans: but I never got my hands on a real one! The cargo was loaded in total secrecy and I'm sure there isn't even a manifest of it!" Takashimi admitted.
"They weren't taking any risks, then. Whatever. I'll soon get a permit to search it."
"If I was gonna get in this mess then I wouldn't have talked with you on that pub yesterday evening! I'd drunk too much beer and you took profit of it to press me into admitting that I was up to something! I'm such an idiot!" Takashimi growled.
"All's fair in war." The military man merely replied.
"Crap."
"Remember: admit to smuggling. And tell them the ship's name, too. Do you get it, Takashimi? It's your only chance to remain alive." The military man commanded.
"Y-yeah…" Takashimi hung his head down.
"Here. I'll stop in the entrance. And tell them I'm an undercover Net Police agent in the investigation. And those grunts can't have gotten here: they wouldn't act right in front of the police station and there's no fog to conceal them."
The car stopped next to a police station's front gate: Takashimi stepped out and the car quickly left.
"Man."
He climbed up the steps and entered it while someone seemingly looked on through a street CCTV camera because it zoomed towards him.
Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh…
21:33 PM (Japan Time)…
"… What? The guy's turned in? Damn."
"Captain. Your manners may need some polishing."
"Huh! I am sorry, Mr. T… Eh… So… What do we do?"
The man known as "Captain" was speaking with someone over a public phone booth: the other two accomplices were waiting outside in the fog-filled streets.
"Hmmm… I think I will draw someone into the affair. Listen: you will receive some express orders in the next 48 hours. You better get the ship ready for a departure when I give the signal. It doesn't matter what Mr. Takashimi does: he knew nothing of importance. And something tells me he will end up telling another ship's name out of fear. He's easily readable: fear and mistrust guide his person. Heh, heh, heh…" The person named Mr. T. told him with a chuckle.
"Huh… Guess so…" The "Captain" seemed to frown.
"Ah. One thing: no – one is to die in my watch. Is that simple enough to be understood, Captain? No – one shall die."
"Eh… Roger." The "Captain" seemed to gulp.
"Remember: it's thanks to me that you were able to get this post, so don't try to abuse of my patience." Mr. T. icily warned.
"Y-yes, sir…! By your orders…!"
"Good enough. Remember your orders."
"Yes, sir…! Roger…!"
The man replaced the receiver on its place and picked the change moneys before stepping out.
"We're supposed to wait for orders… Is the car nearby? I'm freezin' already." He told the other two.
"Yeah. We parked it close by, Captain."
"And you're right: it's just 9:39 PM and it's already this freezing… I was never fond of freezin' nights." Another sailor muttered while his teeth danced.
The three men headed towards a deep green Toyota and climbed inside before igniting the engines and heading elsewhere.
"Guess we'll have to do what Danna says, after all. He sounded about to cut us off. I don't wanna push 'im." The "Captain" told the other two sailors with a hint of defeat.
"Damn that Takashimi. The guy had to have a slip of the tongue on that bloody pub…" One of the sailors grumbled.
"We're gonna get into a mess. But is the smuggled stuff really that valuable, after all? I guess we're smuggling marijuana." The second sailor seemed to shrug.
"Marijuana, ya two say? Wrong." The "Captain" grumbled.
"Opium, then…?" The second guy tried to guess next.
"Wrong."
"Huh… Cannabis…?"
"Wrong."
"Eh… Viagra…?"
"Wrong! Shut up already!" The "Captain" snapped at him.
"Sorry, Catp'n, I was tryin' to guess!" The sailor switched to a pirate-like dialect.
"Well! Ya suck at it!" The first sailor grumbled.
"Joey! You're mean: did ya know it?" The second sailor told him.
"Hmpf! Then you're short-sighted, Iden!" Joey snapped at him.
"Joey! Iden! Shut yer useless traps up." The "Captain" commanded.
"Yes, sir…" Both grumbled.
"Really! Ya two look like gnats. Where's that macho attitude all sailors have, huh? Are ya two chickens which can only squeak and do nothing useful or WHAT?" The "Captain" questioned.
"No!" Both growled.
"That's more like it." The "Captain" sounded slightly satisfied.
"… I am making progress but the cargo itself is still unknown. Takashimi didn't know anything, but I convinced him to turn himself on. This will help matters: the police can use the information to procure a search order and try to find out what cargo they're trying to smuggle…"
"I see."
The military man was speaking with someone using a Bluetooth device and an open cell phone while driving: the person on the other end sound slightly satisfied.
"Are you coming to Japan again?" The driver asked.
"Yes, sir. The Commissioner has granted his permission. Maybe it'd be best if you approached the guy I told you about. He's a nice guy and reliable, too." The other person replied.
"Well… Taking into account how he helped us back when we had that pinch, then I wouldn't mind it. Have you run a search with the description Takashimi provided?"
"Yes, sir. Something about the description bugged me so I came up with a rough sketch. I then realized I'd heard about the man once: he has a Navi, too. We should be glad he didn't think of bringing it over." The interlocutor confirmed.
"Hum. We really should, true. Anyway… I'll go back to my apartment and rest for some hours. Maybe the search will take place in the meanwhile. I'll keep you informed… When are you arriving here?" The driver seemed to be shrugging.
"On Sunday, sir. I have already arranged for my accommodations, sir. I'll bring my Navi along."
"Hum."
"His skills may help us in case we need to force our way into the ship and break through the onboard security systems by decoding the passwords set there, sir." The interlocutor announced.
"Good. Good evening."
"Good evening, sir."
The driver switched off the cell phone while waiting for a traffic light to change to green: it did so and the driver kept on driving while always checking the rear view mirror.
"… The SS King of the Sea… That's the place. We'll find out who runs this business and what they are smuggling. Its last stop was at Vladivostok and they used that to smuggle weapons in… But it looks like the cargo will be wholly different this time around… Just what in the world is this cargo about?" The driver muttered aloud.
"… Drum, drum and DRUM…"
The old "WWW" HQ was filled with snow and dust along with some ice formations: the equipment kept on being destroyed and mostly useless: there was nothing strange inside of it but something happened.
"Heh, heh, heh, heh."
A red circle of flames formed out of nowhere and hovered in the air: the circle expanded and assumed the general shape of an eye: a black iris formed on the middle of it and more flames filled the rest of the spherical space.
"Heh, heh, heh. My show's begun. Ah… Yamikawa. You've been sitting idle and worried about your subtle deals and management for way too long: I've already made my homework in advance. I'm not going to intervene so much this time around: but I will show up there and there to remind you guys of whom you're dealing with. My two agents have completed the building of the hideout and they're already living there while awaiting my orders… Heh, heh, heh. I'm always ten steps ahead of you guys."
A male voice boomed out of nowhere and sounded rather amused: the "Eye" then began to look at the surroundings and spotted a frozen dragonfly set in what was left of the cave's ceiling.
"Heh, heh, heh. It'd seem you've run out of energies to hear to my crazy monologues! My, my… And here I thought ya had a lot of burnin' fire inside of ya… Guess I was mistakin' ya for Hinoken. He's still yearnin' for a secret weapon capable of destroyin' his old foe… My. This pirate dialect seems to fit me. Anyway… Let's get serious: the investigator won't think they have the upper hand for much longer." He muttered while using a pirate dialect: he then sighed and switched to a serious mood.
The "Eye" then set its gaze on a fog which was slowly creeping into the place through the destroyed front entrance and lingering around in a persistent manner.
"Heh, heh, heh… Will you be able to hide the One Ring for much longer, you guys? I know everything: I am the Nomad Emissary… Ops. No. My name is… Sauron!" The voice muttered.
A holographic then popped up displaying a rather unlit room: someone's silhouette stepped towards the camera.
"Hello there."
"Boss." Someone greeted.
"Is everything alright over there, boy?"
"Yes, sir. No-one has questioned anything, sir."
"Good. Is your partner behaving?"
"Well… How should I say it…? More or less…"
"They're pushing it again?"
"True, sir."
"I'll talk with them later on. They tend to forget that you're equals and that they aren't your drill sergeant. Really… I never understood these manias but anyway… That's their behavior."
"True, sir. But that form looks sinister, sir."
"Oho. Wait a min."
The "Eye" suddenly shrunk in size and created an explosion-life effect before someone appeared there.
This "someone" was a character wearing purple clothes, a cap and a cape while having pallid white skin plus red eye irises: he didn't appeal to being even a meter and fifty tall.
"Maybe my "Gufuu" avatar is cooler?" He grinned.
"That's better, sir. No offense, sir, but one gets a repulsion-like sensation when having to stare at a floating eye-ball, sir."
"I know, boy, I know… Anyway… Any news?"
"Well, sir… I don't know it if it concerns you, sir, but… They said the last Harry Potter book, The Deathly Hallows, has been finished. It will be released in the summer, sir… Hype is building up, sir."
"Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh… Intriguing, by Draco."
"Is that a pun on Draco Malfoy, sir?"
"Ya could say so, my chap. Let's go to Abbey Road."
"That's a Beatles reference, isn't it, sir?"
"I feel in a good mood tonight. Try telling some jokes to your partner: maybe they'll find them intriguing." "Gufuu" shrugged.
"Roger, sir."
"See you around. I'll contact you again soon enough, boy."
"Goodbye, Boss."
The screen shut down and "Gufuu" formed an evil grin as he glanced at the dragonfly again: he made a courteous bow.
"Well then, Yamikawa… Enjoy the show, my dear. Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh… Hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, ha~h!"