So, they all had to wait. Ryu and Jinpei were all for getting some food. It was the middle of the night, but no one was ready to sleep –they were all too tense. Fortunately, there were scientists and technicians working round the clock at the Base, so the cafeteria was open.

They ended up sitting around a table, eating, and speculating about what Dr. Nambu's "idea or two" might be.

"I just hope it involves bird missiles," said Joe.

Ken had a feeling that "electro-resistant coating" wasn't intended for that, but said nothing. He was uncomfortable to realize how much more he knew about what was going on than any of his teammates.

Especially Jun.

She had to be tired –they all were- but she hid it well. Perhaps her face was slightly wan but her eyes were still lovely and expressive, her features –delicate, small nose and rosebud mouth- so perfectly in harmony with the smooth curves of her face. With one hand, she was twisting a lock of her green hair through her fingers…

Part of the magic that was Jun –she could look like a porcelain doll but then fight as a lethal ninja, convey that gentle serenity that made want to never leave her side even as she was using her expert skill to demolish a mecha with explosive charges. There was no one else like her in the world…

Dr. Nambu says you're beautiful, Jun, just like your mother was, he thought. But you don't know that, do you?

He also says Dr. Demon killed your father, but you don't know that either.

Dr. Nambu wanted him to protect her from Demon, but shouldn't she, rather, be the one to take Dr. Demon down? Didn't she have that right?

He set down his fork, feeling queasiness pass over him. This was wrong, what he and the Doctor were doing, keeping secrets from her about her parents. She deserved to be told everything. Though, Ken realized, he didn't know what everything might entail; the Doctor hadn't finished his story yet.

Ryu was saying something about Joe being the one likely to be identified first by Galactor, as he'd won some big races and had been in photographs in newspapers.

"Sooner or later, they'll figure us all out," said Jinpei mournfully, "None of us will be able to go anywhere or do anything without Galactor coming after us. Our lives are gonna suck."

"Jinpei," said Jun reproachfully, "If we have to live here at the Base, all the time, then that's what we'll do –whatever it takes to defeat Galactor."

"You'll miss the Snack J –don't say you won't!" retorted Jinpei.

"Yes, but here, we'll all be together and we'll see each other everyday."

Her eyes, briefly, found Ken's.

"That won't be so bad," she concluded, with a hint of a smile.

He smiled back, before he could stop himself. Always, she made him feel better, lightened the burden of being Gatchaman.

But his guilt lingered. He needed to have another private meeting with Dr. Nambu –and before they headed out to face Dr. Demon.

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Ken had ordered everyone to go to their quarters and at least try to get some sleep. He fully intended to do so himself, but first…

Dr. Nambu had said for no one to disturb him in his lab, but Ken decided he could still head for that section of the Base –there might be a tech around who could tell him what progress Dr. Nambu was making.

As it happened, the first person he encountered was Dr. Nambu himself, emerging from the lab and pulling off protective goggles.

"Ah, Ken," he said, catching sight of him, "Just the person I wanted to see –Director Anderson has just informed me that the second convoy of relief planes is ready to depart for Wale so there's no time to waste –we have to act!"

He explained quickly that the "electro-resistant coating" that he had devised was working successfully, but that he'd only applied it to Jinpei's helico buggy.

"His is the smallest vehicle that can fly. There isn't enough time to put a similar coating on the God Phoenix or your jet. Those relief supplies must get through to Wale this time –people are dying there- so you'll need to depart by dawn and make sure the way is clear and safe for the convoy this time."

"As long as the coating protects the buggy successfully," replied Ken, thinking of all the interesting gadgets that Jinpei's vehicle was equipped with, "Then that should be all we need to get past the smog fibers when we encounter them."

"Yes, but then you'll have to deal with Dr. Demon, inside the mecha," replied the Doctor, looking meaningfully at Ken.

Ken felt his jaw tightening. This had all started when Dr. Nambu had said he wanted his advice about what to tell Jun. So far, he hadn't given him any advice –he was waiting till he had all the facts. But time was running out!

"You have to tell me the rest of what you know -about Dr. Demon."

Dr. Nambu must have seen in his face just how determined he was.

"We can talk in the lab," said Dr. Nambu, turning to go back inside it and gesturing for Ken to follow him.

Inside, Dr. Nambu was gazing all around the lab, pacing even, but Ken stayed where he was, sitting on a lab stool but not taking his eyes off him. Many of the lights were off now, and the undersea windows showed only the dark water of night.

"I was in a lab very like this, at the University, the morning it happened," began Dr. Nambu finally, "It was in a sprawling building –the lab that I used wasn't very close to the one Dr. Hogan and Demon had been using for their research."

"What was their research?"

"Developing new fissile materials to use in nuclear reactions, and some other types of explosive material, but also how to limit and channel the resulting energy from the contained explosions in as controlled a manner as possible, to make it usable instead of destructive. Dr. Hogan was the expert in explosives, but Demon's area was energy conduction."

"Like smog fibers…" muttered Ken.

"Yes, I believe he could have been developing them even eighteen years ago though I didn't see a lot of him in those days –we'd grown somewhat apart after grad school -but here and there he'd tell me things about his research. The goal of their research was to develop powerful yet compact and cost-effective energy generators that could be easily transported to areas where there was a high but short term demand for energy –construction projects in remote areas, for example, or places recently afflicted by natural disasters."

"So… that morning -what happened?" asked Ken. If time was short, he wanted to cut to the chase.

"An explosion inside their lab. Even in my own lab, I heard the noise. The windows and glassware on the shelves all rattled. I went running to see what had happened…"

"This was the explosion that killed Jun's father?" asked Ken quietly. Dr. Nambu's face showed that he was reliving the trauma in his mind.

"Yes," said Dr. Nambu, ceasing to pace and closing his eyes, "As it happened, I was the first one inside their lab –I didn't bother to take precautions about possible radiation, I just ran in there…"

Dr. Nambu fell silent.

"Dr. Hogan was dead?" asked Ken softly, after a moment.

"Very," said Dr. Nambu, his jaw tight, "God spare me from ever seeing something like that again."

Ken quailed. Jun's father had been splattered all over a lab? It was his turn to close his eyes.

No wonder he's not sure she'd want to know about that, thought Ken. Would anyone?

"What caused the explosion? Where was Dr. Demon when it happened?"

Dr. Nambu collected himself and continued. "It so happened that Dr. Demon had been running late that particular morning. He wasn't anywhere around when the explosion occurred. Sifting through the damage, in the days that followed, it became clear that a sample of one of the experimental fissile materials that Dr. Hogan was working with that morning had been mislabeled –it had actually been in a concentration a hundred times higher than what the label indicated."

"Who'd done the labeling?" asked Ken, realizing where this was leading.

"Demon said it had been Dr. Hogan who'd prepared and labeled all the samples," said Dr. Nambu, "That he must have somehow –however improbable it was- made a mistake."

"Did you believe him?"

Dr. Nambu sighed, removing his glasses and rubbing his eyes.

"I wanted to… I tried at first, but no."

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(Eighteen years earlier)

"I swear, Kozaburo, on all that I hold sacred," cried Demon, his face a study in pure anguish, so very convincing. "Somehow Peter must have made a mistake with that sample, listed the wrong concentration!"

He wanted to believe him, but…

"The man had been working in labs for almost thirty years –there are no incidents on file of him ever making mistakes like that –he was beyond meticulous."

Demon had closed his eyes, looking away.

"But there's no other explanation…" he whispered.

"Why were you late to the lab that morning? First time you've ever been late, I'm told."

"You've been asking questions, checking up on me?" For a moment, Demon glanced at him, eyes flashing.

"I'm on the Laboratory Safety Committee –it's my duty to investigate all accidents."

"I'd overslept," said Dr. Demon, "I'd forgotten to set the alarm clock."

Demon's eyes met his own as he said this, and held his gaze steadily. But he knew Demon, had known him for years… Something, ever so faint, in his voice or posture, it felt… off. It felt like guilt.

He was lying.

But there was no possible way to prove that he was lying. The Laboratory Safety Committee's official report on the incident, with himself listed as the chief investigator, attributed the accident to a mislabeling by Dr. Hogan of a sample of fissile material. Nothing else, after all, could be proven. Dr. Demon's record would remain clean of any penalty or reprimand.

It troubled him. He felt a lingering feeling of unease in the days that followed, that justice had not been served. But then, he reminded himself, there was no proof that Dr. Hogan hadn't made the error. He hadn't known the man well at all, after all. It was possible…

There was a memorial service for Dr. Hogan at the University. Taeko Hogan was there, accepting condolences from hundreds of people, tears glinting in her eyes but showing only a hint of the strain, in the tightness of her mouth, that it must have been to maintain her elegant composure, her head held high on her swan-like neck.

Her husband had died, and so horribly. She had to be devastated…

For the first time, he approached her and spoke to her –a stammered "I'm so sorry for your loss." She touched his hand briefly, said "Thank you." Her large green eyes had briefly rested on his. He knew he would always remember her face as he saw her that day, a work of art in its exquisite perfection, for as long as he lived.

After the service was over and people were dispersing, he caught some bits of murmured conversation around him –mentions of "the ISO position," and "Dr. Demon."

He hadn't spotted Demon at the service, but then, it had been crowded. He could easily have missed seeing him, especially if he were trying to keep a low profile.

He wanted to put the whole matter of the accident behind him –nothing could be proved; he had to move forward- but now unease assailed him again.

He began walking aimlessly throughout the building's long corridors, lost in thought.

He knew how ambitious his friend was… But he wasn't ambitious enough to kill, was he? Surely never that!

But he remembered the way Demon had been looking at Taeko Hogan, barely a month earlier at that party. There'd been no doubt in his mind that Demon must be madly in love with Taeko Hogan…

He shook his head, trying to clear his mind of intuition and use only logic. Dozens of men, surely, must suffering in the throes of unrequited longing for Taeko Hogan. Hell, he was rather almost one himself.

His wanderings had brought him back to where the service had been held; everyone seemed to be gone now, but he peered into the room nevertheless.

He would, ultimately, have let the matter lie and have learned to deal with any lingering misgivings about justice for Dr. Hogan if only he hadn't seen Dr. Demon with Taeko Hogan.

They were the only ones left in the room. He was embracing her –nothing so untoward about that as he had been her husband's close colleague and research partner and one might comfort a bereaved widow so. But while Taeko was facing away from him, he could see Demon's face over her shoulder. His eyes were closed, but there was no mistaking the expression on his face…

The face of a man believing he now had the very thing he had long burned with desire to possess.

All of Dr. Nambu's misgivings slammed into him. His breath caught and he quickly backed away from the room, and practically fled the building.

Dr. Demon had killed Dr. Hogan. He'd wanted the ISO position, but far above all, he had wanted Taeko Hogan's husband to be gone so that he could get her for himself.

He felt sick.

Demon, my friend, he thought, you're a madman and a murderer…

He couldn't prove any of it. The rest of the Laboratory Safety Committee hadn't wanted to hear his unfounded speculations…

But there was no longer any doubt in his mind.

In that moment he saw one thing that he could do, after all, to try to bring some measure of justice to bear on Dr. Demon.

He recalled what Kentaro had told him at that party…

"You have brains, dedication and integrity, my friend. What Hogan's got, if you ask me, is just more ego."

He squared his shoulders and took a deep breath. He went to his office, and he promptly bought a plane ticket to Amegapolis.

He would find a way to introduce himself to Director Anderson. If he had to mix and mingle at cocktail parties, make speeches or give presentations, then he would do just that. No more hiding in corners. Somehow, he would dig down deep within himself and find the courage to talk confidently about his accomplishments, his love for knowledge and science and his unwavering sense of duty to the good of the world and the improvement of the quality of life for all its citizens in a future of peace.

He, Dr. Kozaburo Nambu, would get that position in the ISO, overseeing the management, coordination and funding of all global scientific research.

He would do his damnedest to ensure that Dr. Demon did not!

He would do it for Taeko Hogan.

As it turned out, fortune sometimes did favor the cause of justice. He succeeded in his mission –every last bit of it.

Within a couple weeks, it was announced that Dr. Kozaburo Nambu, based in Utoland, had been chosen to head the new International Science Organization's entire research division.

People later told him rumors that the day the announcement had been made, Dr. Demon had been heard, in his lab, smashing up glassware –apparently in a rage.

It was true that when Demon burst into his office the very next day, he had a bandage over one of his eyes.

He was irate, ranting.

"You never wanted that job! You did this just to spite me, didn't you? You think I killed Peter –you really believe that I killed him!"

He answered him firmly, and coldly, stating that he was not responsible –Director Anderson and the UN Committee on Scientific Research made their own decisions.

Demon's face was drawn and haggard, but he laughed maniacally.

"I've lost everything!" he cried, "Everything!" His voice was raw with anger and despair.

He called Security to have him removed.

With his research partner dead, and no position with the ISO, Dr. Demon left the university before the semester had even ended.

Taeko Hogan had left Utoland too. She must have gone home, he thought, and hoped that she would there find all the care and comfort that she might require, safe from the predations of Demon.

Dr. Demon was still free, but there was never any mention of his name again –and with the position he held in the ISO, he would certainly have heard if Dr. Demon had ever reared his head again in any scientific circles.

He could feel some pity for him, especially as time went on. Demon was a man of passion, not of calculated malice; if longing for Taeko Hogan had finally pushed him over the edge, caused him in one hasty and deranged moment to change a label on a sample, thinking that only an injury or a charge of negligence from the Lab Safety Committee would come of it, he could almost begin to understand it.

All he had to do was call up in his mind his memories of Taeko's grace and beauty to feel a pang of pity for Demon and his tragic, twisted obsession with her.

0000000000

So now he knew the whole story about Dr. Demon, Ken realized, studying Dr. Nambu's face. He couldn't imagine the ISO without Dr. Nambu –the two were practically one in the same to Ken. Surely the Science Ninja Team wouldn't even exist to battle Galactor if Dr. Nambu had not been chosen by Director Anderson and the UN, all those years ago.

As before, he could tell that Dr. Nambu, while reliving it all in his mind as he explained it, was giving him the facts but not all of his feelings. But it was enough.

He now fully understood why Dr. Nambu wanted to keep Jun as far away from this man as possible. He was clearly dangerous and unstable.

Jun's father had died in October, eighteen years ago. Jun's birthday was May 2…

"Jun's mother," Ken said, "She must have been nearly a few months pregnant when Jun's father died."

"Yes," said Dr. Nambu, "But they hadn't told anyone, so far as I know, and her condition… well, you wouldn't have known it to look at her –not then."

"So Jun never knew her father at all, then," Ken said, almost whispering, "Never even was held in his arms."

He thought of his ever-present rage at the death of his own father, by Galactor's hands.

He wanted revenge on Galactor, in the name of justice and for all the misery it had inflicted upon the world, but most intensely, in his heart, he wanted personal vengeance on Berg Katse.

He wanted all the time he could have spent with his father –knowing he was his father- that had been denied him and was now, because of Berg Katse, something that he would never have.

But time with her father was something that Jun had never had any of, he realized.

Because of Dr. Demon.

"You'll need to launch the God Phoenix, and to head for Wale, very soon," interjected Dr. Nambu into his thoughts.

Ken was remembering Jun, the very first time he had seen her. She'd been eleven, with a five-year old Jinpei in tow. Even then, he'd sensed something special about her though he'd had no way of knowing, then, that his life had just changed for the better…

But she had spent years, he realized, living at an orphanage.

"Doctor, there's still something I don't know," Ken said, "You said Jun knows her mother died when she was two."

"That's right."

"But you'd known her parents, hadn't you? But you didn't adopt her until she was eleven. Why did she have to spend nine years in an orphanage?"

Dr. Nambu closed his eyes.

"I will always feel regret about that."

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