Chapter 2

'Will it take much longer?'

'Not much, I swear. I know you're hating every minute of this…'

'You don't say...'

'… but could you please make a happier face? People will suspect.'

'Who will? This is an auction, Gin. It's not yet another trophy wife that people are supposed to pay attention to.'

Gin averted his eyes in a way which Sherry knew meant that he acknowledged his defeat. At the front of the crowded room, the white-haired auctioneer introduced the umpteenth piece of art of the day – a slender female figure made in stone.

'There's a good deal of them, actually,' Sherry marked in a whisper, her gaze flying through the other attendees.

Gin turned his head to her.

'Who?'

'Trophy wives. They're easy to tell apart. Pretty faces, latest fashion, pricy accessories. Look at the necklace that one's wearing,' she added at Gin's skpectical frown. He obeyed at once. 'Diamonds and white gold. And the one right behind her – exclusive Fusae purse.'

'How do you know they're diamonds?'

'The way they reflect the light.'

Gin nodded silently.

'And more importantly,' she continued, 'what really gives away trophy wives, what all those women share – their inactivity. They do not talk unless talked to, they do not bid in the auction. They only follow the man they've come with and smile. Like dolls. Human beings reduced to objects.'

'These men are that disgusting,' Gin agreed in a whisper, still glancing towards the crowd. He folded his arms. 'I hate this mission as much as you do, Sherry. I can't wait to get out of here. I suggested I meet the target somewhere else, but it was no use.'

'You're lucky I've come along, however – you would have looked suspicious otherwise. Do you see there are barely two or three men alone? One of which is our target.'

'We specifically ordered him to come alone,' Gin pointed out. He turned his head to the front of the room. Following the usual round of applause after the latest sale, the auctioneer had dropped his small wooden hammer and was giving a calm speech to the audience. 'The break,' Gin announced. 'Time to act.' The auctioneer fell silent and a crescendo of noise began – seats creaking as people stood up, hard soles hitting the floor, low voices chatting in a contant murmur, jewelry swinging against its wearers' skin. 'Now, as we said. We get up and exit the room, all…'

'…slowly, casually, without making waves,' she recited. 'I know.'

'Okay.' He peeped across the room. Sherry grabbed his arm and the two stood up. 'Our target's ready too, it seems. Let's go.'

Navigating the small crowd turned out to be easier that she had thought – maybe because most of it moved in their same direction. Over a dozen of people packed the narrow corridor when, following their plan, Gin and she stopped near the open doors of the room, waiting for their target to appear. It didn't take him longer than a few seconds.

Just as most males present at the auction, the man sported a suit, of a dark grey which contrasted with the deep black of Gin's. She judged he could be forty, forty-five at the most. Not that she cared. The man walked up to them and, to Sherry's surprise, pointed at her with a movement of his head.

'Who is she?'

Gin rested his free hand on Sherry's arm but didn't answer.

'I've come alone, as promised,' the target complained.

'I never said I'd do the same,' Gin replied. At the mere sound of his voice, Sherry could see their target shiver. 'You should have noticed already that we never work alone.'

'She's a member?' the man grunted with shock.

Gin arched an eyebrow.

'In our organization we value people's abilities, not their gender. But that's enough chitchat. Have you brought what we agreed on?'

The target nodded reluctantly.

'One million yen in one envelope and one hundred grams in the other,' he described as he pulled two identical white envelopes from a pocket on the inside of his jacket. Gin's black-gloved hands grabbed them discreetly and put them away into his own jacket.

'And no tricks, remember,' Gin warned. 'We'll notice, you know we will, and make you regret. Understood?' The target nodded again. 'You should, for your own good. We'll contact you again, and pray it is for the better. You don't want to make us angry…'

The man kept quiet, his shoulders tense and his entire body slightly hunched in fear, seemingly expecting him to go on. After a moment, however, Gin simply turned his back to him and left. Sherry followed, her arm tangled tight around Gin's. Out of the corner of the eye she could catch one last glimpse of their target's astonished face.

'Wasn't that too risky?' she asked once they had turned a few corners. 'Collecting the envelopes in a corridor full of people?'

'We were standing at the blind spot of the security camera,' Gin explained. 'The place is filled with them, actually.'

'I know, you told me. But what about the crowd?'

'The crowd is actually a plus for privacy – we're only two more attendees nobody would care to pay attention to. 'That person' knew the auction would be bursting through the seams.'

'Anyway, who on earth holds an auction in a hotel?' Sherry questioned as they reached the elevator. She called for it and, in a matter of seconds, the metallic doors opened to let she and Gin in. Luckily, it was empty. She pushed the button for the first floor.

'The place burnt a month ago. Not this hotel, of course, but wherever this whatever usually holds its auctions in.'

'You didn't do too deep of a research, it seems.'

'I didn't care much.'

Sherry grinned.

'Are you sure there will be no problem with the second envelope?' she asked in a more serious tone.

'The area is clear of cops.' Pointing at the pocket where she knew he kept his mobile phone, he added, 'Were any to approach the hotel, I would be informed. Anyway, I won't be carrying the envelope for much longer – it was arranged that I bring it to the laboratory in…'

Gin shut up. The doors of the elevator had opened and a group of people stopped at the threshold.

'Wait, it's going down?' a long-haired woman asked. The skirt of her dress twirled when she turned towards the rest of the group. 'We should take the stairs…'

'No way!' a second woman laughed. The half-full glass she held only served as further proof for Sherry's guessings on her current state, in addition to the blush of her cheeks and the child-like smile on her face. 'We're taking this elevator.'

'Where to?' a bearded man behind her questioned. 'The rooftop's on the highest floor, I remind you.'

'Ditch the rooftop!' the drunken woman replied, facing him. 'We'll smoke at the entrance.'

'But I'm not wearing my coat!' a younger man at her side complained. 'And it's freezing cold down there, Aki!'

'It's already cold in here, so who cares,' Aki argued. 'Smoking will help us warm up.' She emptied her glass in one long sip and took care to hide it behind a pot. The long-haired woman tried to stop her, only to receive a smack on the hand. 'Don't be such a party pooper, Kaori. It'll be fun – someone will find it and have no idea what it's d-doing there…'

'I'm going back,' the bearded man announced as Aki walked into the elevator. Sherry took a step closer to Gin to distance herself from the newcomer. 'I'm not putting up with that drunkard anymore.'

'What did you just call me?' Aki protested, turning clumsily to him.

'Don't leave, Tora' the long-haired woman begged. 'The more we are, the safer it is for her. Please.'

The bearded man sighed resignedly and followed her into the elevator. After an instant of apparent obliviousness, the younger man joined them. The metallic doors closed and the elevator resumed its slow descent.

'How long do you think they'll stay married?' the drunken woman spoke shortly afterwards in a drowsy voice. 'I bet they don't last one year.'

'Don't you say that!' the younger man whined. 'It's their wedding day!'

'And? You think I care?' she retorted. 'Not about those two, Jun. Not about those two…'

'Why did you come, then?' Tora inquired angrily. 'You hardly know two or three people apart from us and the bride! Why didn't you just stay at home if you did not care for a woman that considers you her friend?'

The long-haired woman held onto his jacket in an obvious attempt to catch the man's attention.

'Tora…'

'No, I won't let her behave in that way anymore!' he shouted. His loud voice resonated in the elevator. Sherry frowned, annoyed. Aki had moved a trembling hand to her forehead. 'You've done the same to every single person to ever show any affection or worry for you. Well, you can go to hell with your booze and stay there for eternity, you…'

A bell-like sound signaled they had reached the first floor and the doors of the elevator opened again. Aki took a step towards them, but stumbled and fell limp to the ground. Her head hit the polished floor of the hall with force enough for anyone else to have screamed, but the only sound heard was that of her chest meeting the doorsill.

Acting rather unconsciously, Sherry let go of Gin's arm and knelt down next to the drunken woman.

'Hey!' she shouted. 'Can you hear me? Can you hear me?'

The woman didn't respond. Sherry's fingers slid into her mouth, pressed against her neck and raised her eyelids.

'She's fainted!' the bearded man sneered. He crouched near her. 'What a novelty. If she didn't drink that much…'

'She hasn't simply fainted,' Sherry corrected him, rolling the woman to her side. 'She is comatose.'

'What?' the younger man shrieked.

'Low body temperature, decelerated pulse and breathing, loss of consciousness,' she enumerated, her eyes still on the body on the floor and under her hands. 'The symptoms show this is more than a blackout.' She looked up. The two men and the long-haired woman kept perfectly still, only staring at her in horror. 'What are you doing? Call an ambulance! And the police.'

'The police?' the bearded man repeated. Gin hadn't moved a single inch from where Sherry had left him at the back of the elevator. A serious frown darkened his features. 'Why the police?'

'A woman has just fallen comatose to the floor of this elevator – don't you think the police would like to find out exactly why?' The man didn't react. 'What on earth are you waiting for? Call the emergency services! Now!'

Startled, the bearded man hurried to draw a mobile phone from a pocket and dial. Sherry had one last look at the unconscious woman, stood up and approached Gin.

'The police are coming,' she muttered.

Gin exhaled and closed his eyes.

'We'll need to stay,' she continued. 'Leaving would do more harm than good.'

Gin nodded and opened his eyes. His gaze met hers.

'Stay calm,' she advised. 'I'll protect you, I swear on my life.'

'How?' he doubted with a sad grin. 'How are you going to prevent,' he lowered his voice, 'certain things from being found?'

Sherry rested her hands on his shoulders and felt the tension in his muscles. Her pulse speeded up.

'Nobody will even walk close to you. I will make sure that they leave as soon as possible.' Her voice became a whisper. 'I'm going to find out what's happened.'


A/N

Yes, the only auction item is intentionally symbolic.