SAITOH
CONFIDENTIAL
DO NOT DISTRIBUTE
Phlebotomy Laboratory Results
Fujimori Umagoe MALE
Age: 25
Status – Deceased
Blood type: A+
Toxicology Results:
POSITIVE: META-AMPHETAMINE, KETONIC STASIS TYPE – E "METAL" Estimated Dosage (mg/) 325
POSITIVE: META-AMPHETAMINE, KETONIC STASIS TYPE – B "AMP" Estimated Dosage (mg/) 225
POSITIVE: ALCOHOL /BAC (% by vol.) 0.14
Miyura Ryoto MALE
Age: 31
Status – Deceased
Blood type: AB (-)
Toxicology Results:
POSITIVE: META-AMPHETAMINE, KETONIC STASIS TYPE – E "METAL" Estimated Dosage (mg/) 325
POSITIVE: ALCOHOL /BAC (% by vol.) 0.10
Tokuda Yoshi MALE
Age: 33
Status – Deceased
Blood type: B (-)
Toxicology Results:
POSITIVE: META-AMPHETAMINE, KETONIC STASIS TYPE – E "METAL" Estimated Dosage (mg/) 325
POSITIVE: ALCOHOL /BAC (% by vol.) 0.09
Sato Kouta MALE
Age: 27
Status – Deceased
Blood type: O (-)
Toxicology Results:
POSITIVE: META-AMPHETAMINE, KETONIC STASIS TYPE – E "METAL" Estimated Dosage (mg/) 325
POSITIVE: ALCOHOL /BAC (% by vol.) 0.15
Takani Megumi FEMALE
Age: 41
Status – PRESUMED DECEASED
Blood type: O (-)
Toxicology Results: NONE
UNKNOWN MALE **NO GOV. DNA REGISTRATION ON FILE**
Age: UNKNOWN
Status – UNKNOWN
Blood type: AB +
Toxicology Results:
UNKNOWN VARIANT OF PRECURSORY, META-AMPHETAMINE, KETONIC STASIS TYPE (UNKNOWN) Estimated Dosage (mg/) 4525
Saitoh frowned and looked at the computer readout again, then dialed the DOJ laboratory to confirm the blood results of the unknown male. Upon confirming that the dosage indicator was in fact, correct, and the suspect was somehow alive and well after ingesting or injecting what should be a fatal dose of an unknown meta-amphetamine, Saitoh decided that a visit to the morning's all too publicized crime scene was definitely in order.
So the Battousai (KEN was no longer an appropriate moniker for a man who'd decimated an intercept squad in under a minute) was a user. This was no surprise to Saitoh, who had seen the man move at the diner and knew that the shorter, red-haired man moved far too rapidly for a normal human being. The fact that the substance was of the same drug family as the higher grade meta-amphetamines, was troubling, but not nearly as bothersome as the realization that there was a new super drug out on the streets, one that the syndicates (if they weren't already aware of its existence and producing the drug, preparing it for release on the black market) would kill to obtain.
Saitoh printed out a copy of the lab results, added it to his hard copy of the case file (he had a soft copy backup on the secure DOJ server that he could access via his tablet) and then cleared what was left of his afternoon and checked his emails, hoping that the analysis on the explosive residue was finished.
He had two emails.
One from a "concerned citizen" that had been forwarded to him from a lower ranking officer who was tasked with monitoring the public email boxes and the other looked like a response from Tokio.
Saitoh clicked on the first email with a snort. Generally speaking, "concerned citizen" emails usually contained viruses, rumors, or gossip about a neighbor or co-worker, or were SPAM adds for penis enlarging medicine or a 419 SCAM, all of which Saitoh had no use of whatsoever.
The forwarding officer's note read:
Major Saitoh:
I received this email this morning and after reviewing the attached photographs, am of the opinion that this should be forwarded for your consideration. I'm not sure if this is anything viable to this morning's case, but the images seem legitimate, though I honestly don't know how this could be possible. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Officer Y. Takamatu
Saitoh clicked on the attachment. His frown deepened as the image downloaded, then stabilized on his screen.
"What the hell…" Saitoh leaned forward and looked very carefully at the image. He opened up the diagnostic image software on his computer and ran the image through it, then isolated a section of the image and magnified it.
It was a picture of a man and a woman on a stairwell. This was, of itself, nothing spectacular. However when the man in question was the most wanted suspect in New Meiji and the woman in question was supposed to be a corpse, the picture became nothing short of a scientific impossibility and the first real lead on the case he'd received all day.
Saitoh carefully compared the slightly grainy picture of the woman with screen shots from the morning's televised intercept. She was wearing the same clothing, though in the stairwell image, heavy bloodstains and a clearly defined exit hole on the back of the garment were clearly apparent.
The body of the woman who was, by all logical reasoning, dead, was in an active rather than a passive position. She was lying on her stomach, legs in a contorted position, her hands clinging, fingers curling into the steel stair well.
Wide eyed with disbelief, Saitoh magnified the second image, focusing on the woman's face. Her eyes were open, mouth open in what appeared to be a scream.
Saitoh swore and began the same painstaking research on the other figure in the second image. The man was short and slender, but with an athletic build, red haired, his face unseen. Saitoh could see that his clothing was covered in what appeared to be blood. A large duffel bag was beside him, one that was large enough to conceal a murder weapon. The faceless man was leaning over the woman, his posture protective and wary, one of his hands hovering over the woman's body, as it to keep her from falling off the precarious stairs.
Saitoh carefully weighted the possible scenarios, and found none that fit the evidence that had been presented to him. This of course meant more investigating was warranted.
He ran a database pull on Takani Megumi and found that she was a geneticist, specializing in pediatric genetic anomalies and had received her PhD from Tokyo University nearly twenty years ago. Saitoh glanced at the woman's face, then at her government records and ID. To say the woman was aging well would be like stating he was fond of baseball, a massive understatement.
The dead woman, who apparently wasn't, had no traffic tickets, no judgments, and no known whereabouts or employment. He did find a missing persons report associated with her person three years prior, by a man who had identified himself as the family accountant, but the case had been dropped for lack of evidence.
Saitoh ran a query to determine next of kin. She had an older brother, who based on government disability records suffered from a debilitating genetic disease. Saitoh made a note of this and the fact that the accountant's report also involved the elder brother. Saitoh requested a copy of the missing person's report.
The woman's mother had committed suicide 40 years previously when she'd hung herself in her daughter's nursery. Saitoh reviewed the suicide note that the police had taken a photo of and decided that no amount of therapy could cure the issues that plagued this family.
This left Dr. Takani Hiroshi. Saitoh gave a predatory smile as the query spit out all sorts of delightful information. The man was rich, heavily involved in medical research and held multiple patents on bio-technology. His current whereabouts were unknown. Like his daughter, the man was a geneticist, who up until 2044 had been employed by the military. Saitoh queried on more information about his military career and was promptly kicked out of the database. He swore and queried again, with the same result.
(His file has been sanitized…) Saitoh leaned back in his chair and thought for a moment, then sent a secure, encrypted email to Minato, asking if the name Takani Hiroshi rang any bells. Emails of a similar nature were sent to former military associates who were either on good terms or owed Saitoh a favor.
Saitoh de-magnified the stairwell image and carefully looked at the surrounding landscape. Based on the skyline and the position of the sun, the building in question was in the lower district of New Meiji, a section of town rife with violence, drug use and police corruption. It was the perfect place for a fugitive to hide.
The tip had originated from a neighbor who lived across the street from the building where the stairwell was located. At home, tending to a sick child, the individual had heard a woman screaming loudly, looked outside and upon seeing the couple on the stairwell, took a picture with a cell phone or other mid-range camera. Saitoh noted that the citizen had indicated that there had been problems with domestic violence in the building across the street and they were concerned that the violence was escalating.
Saitoh traced the email and then pulled up the email IP and server registration ID#. The IP was static (which was foolish) and gave Saitoh the exact address of the email's sender (which was decidedly useful). He then pulled all domestic violence calls for a one block radius for the address and looked for repeat offenders. There were seven. He then ran a query for offenders who were located directly across the street (with a deviation of two floors in either direction). There was only one individual, a felon named Horata who fit the bill and had a rap sheet a kilometer long.
Saitoh quickly wrote up and sent an expedited request for a search warrant, along with the required documentation. While he was waiting for the soft-copy of the warrant, he opened Tokio's email and began to read.
Tokio's email was much like her. To the point with a touch of sweetness.
She was right, Saitoh was not a fan of sweet things, but in this woman's case he was willing to make an exception. A strong memory, a long lost recollection of finding similarly crafted notes tucked away in a bento came to mind. Despite not being the most sentimental of men, he'd always enjoyed finding them. They were a link to his wife, a reminder of what he was protecting and fighting for.
Saitoh carefully read over the email, looking for clues about the woman writing him and for action items that he could work on.
Of course he would thank Watanabe on her behalf...in his way. On principle, and Saitoh was very big on principle, he shouldn't have to say anything to the newly promoted Captain. Karen was doing her duty, albeit amazingly well. That was expected from his officers. Her additional efforts however, of packing clothing and taking the time to set up an acceptable security system went above the regular call of duty. Saitoh made a mental note to take Watanabe to her favorite hibachi restaurant during their next lunch meeting and left it at that.
He was glad that Tokio had the sense not to congratulate him on his un-hoped for promotion. He was being used to weed out corruption within the force and that necessary action would put him in greater danger. There was an unknown saboteur to find, an AMP'd up murderer to apprehend and unit of officers who were in dire need to strong leadership in the wake of Umagoe's colossal blunder and resultant death. The next few weeks and months would be some of the most dangerous in his career and that was saying something.
Saitoh sighed. It also meant more paperwork.
It went without saying that he made note that Tokio was fond of sweets, chocolate in particular. Some things, apparently, did not change in the course of a couple of centuries. He'd have to investigate this craving further, as he was not well versed on what constituted good chocolate.
She was also being sensible about resting and making herself at home. This was good.
What was better was her apparent willingness to stay with him until her apartment was safe. He could protect her better that way and it gave him time to sort out how to introduce her to his children. Her offer of going grocery shopping was noted. Saitoh wondered what she'd think of the fact that he and his children usually ate out for dinner. While he was more than happy to exist on soba, his boys were not, for some strange reason. The idea of home prepared meals was an alien, if not appealing idea, one that had been missing from his home for several years.
He snorted at her attempts to gently nag him into resting. Yes, this was definitely his wife. She had a knack for asking him to take care of himself without overtly demanding it, a trait that he secretly appreciated. He was injured, sore and tired, not to the point that he couldn't perform his duty of course, but to the point that simply ignoring his discomfort was not going to work, which was seriously annoying.
Speaking of annoying…..
Saitoh frowned and looked at the LOL that she'd written in the email. He didn't know what it meant. Was this some sort of code?
He thought through all the legal terms and abbreviations that he was familiar with and cross referenced them with all the police abbreviations that he knew and came up with nothing.
His frown deepening, he began searching for the term on the web. When he realized that the strange code wasn't a code at all, but an archaic term which stood for "laugh out loud" he swore and shook his head. Well, it was no wonder that this was a foreign term to him. The last time he'd laughed out loud….
Saitoh rolled his eyes.
To see what happens next please see the Gumi Reloaded story, Adventures at Uwajimaya's and Afterwards
