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Chapter 3

Stakeout

Finder was still sleeping well into the afternoon the next day. The black screen drawn over the window kept out all invading light and left him in a cocoon of darkness. He had barely made it back to his apartment last night before collapsing, and was sleeping like a rock. So much so that he'd missed three calls.

But when his phone rang a fourth time, his eyelids cracked open and he fumbled to get it out of his jacket pocket. He lay back down, closed his eyes, and spoke.

"Hello?"

"Finder, its Ghost."

"Why are you calling me so early?" he muttered. "You know I had a late night."

"I have a job for you. Tonight," she replied.

Finder's eyes flickered open when she spoke. He couldn't put his finger on it, but her voice somehow sounded strained.

"Is everything okay?" he asked.

Ghost cleared her throat. "Everything is fine. Now onto business."

"All right, all right," he moaned. "What's the gig?"

"According to the Johnson, there's a rumor going around that the Renraku corporation is bringing in a shipment of live goods."

Finder's eyes widened at the mention of the biggest megacorp in Japan and the fact that live goods were typically human.

"Sex slaves," he said.

"Probably," Ghost continued. "We don't know where or when. But Mr. Johnson has suspicions that it will be disguised as a cattle transporter. I'm sending the data of every location in the city that deals with livestock to you. He wants you to check out the Shinjuku one first. He'll pay you 15k if you manage to find the shipment and more if you can get some good snooping in."

"Seems fair," Finder replied. "I'll get on it tonight. Now will you let me get back to my beauty sleep?"

"Sure," she said. A moment of silence followed for a second, almost as if Ghost had something she wanted to say.

"Finder," she finally spoke.

"Yes?"

"Be careful…don't do anything stupid."

Finder heard the call drop and he peered at the screen on his phone, wondering what the hell that was for. But too tired to care, he set his phone on the floor next to his futon and went back to slumberland.

"There, I've done as you asked," Ghost said tersely. "I can play back the call if you want."

"No need," a cold voice spoke.

The decker suddenly gasped and gripped the armrests of her chair as she felt a strong force invade her mind like a wave. She gritted her teeth stubbornly as she felt the mind probe, refusing to cry out again.

The wagemage's face remained completely stoic as he searched her memories of the phone call, and he nodded as he withdrew his power. "She's clean. Didn't tip him off at all."

"Good," Asami said from the other side of the room. "You're behaving very well, Miss Alice Blackwell. As you should for someone in your position."

"You got what you wanted," Ghost said, eyeing the two armed guards who stood on either side of her chair. "Get your goons out."

"We will depart soon enough," Asami said, puffing on a cigarette. "But there's one more matter that needs to be taken care of."

Ghost swallowed hard but remained calm. Although the man's words were daunting, if they were going to harm or kill her, she knew they would have done it already.

"What do you need?"

"Last night, this 'Finder' brought you a stuffed toy. What did you do with it?"

"The coke is gone, if that's what you're wondering. It sold like candy."

"No, the actual bear itself. Where is it?"

Ghost cocked her head curiously. "It's in my sister's room. She likes pandas."

One of the guards immediately went down the hall and soon came back with the bear, handing it to Asami. The Yakuza lord looked down into the bear's glassy eyes, and a brief smile flickered past his face. The plan was unfolding nicely, and it would only be a matter of time. Even still, his eyes gleamed with hunger as he thought of what lay ahead tonight, when the prey would finally be within his sights.

Finder grunted as he heaved himself up the side of the empty office building, his arms aching from the long climb. As he finally made it up to the roof, he scrambled over the side and lay down on the concrete, panting heavily. Although his levitation would have eased much of the exertion, he knew that he had to conserve his magical energy in case he needed a way out. Besides, it was only a five story building. Things could be worse.

Finder shrugged off his backpack and made himself comfortable against an air vent, taking out a pair of night vision goggles and pulling them on. He had acquired these from Ghost a while ago for a good price, and they were perfect for a stake out. Since the information was a little sketchy, he knew that he was going to be doing a lot of watching and waiting. Though he had to admit it was a pleasant change from being chased by SWAT teams.

He zoomed in with the goggles and took a look at the Shinjuku meat packing plant, observing all comings and goings with precise eyes. After a couple hours, he still watched, even though he had grown quite bored.

Finally, in the midst of pondering whether or not a quick nap was in order, his goggles picked up a large semi driving into the receiving end of the plant. Finder quickly snapped out of it and scurried to the edge of the building, zooming in with his goggles till he could see everything clearly. Two workers got out of the truck as a group of suits approached from inside the plant. They began talking and though Finder couldn't hear them, he still strained forward. At the head of the group was a man who seemed to stick out from the others. He was tall, with night black hair and a strong build. Finder could tell a head when he saw one.

He zoomed in even closer till all he could see was the man's face. He studied it carefully, knowing that he was looking at the brains of this operation. But his mouth dropped wide open when the man turned his head, looked straight at him, and smiled.

Finder stumbled back from the edge of the building, his mind reeling in panic. He had to be at least half a mile away. How did they know he was up here?

Finder quickly threw the goggles aside and closed his eyes, channeling his mana into his clairvoyant abilities. When he did, his heart seized. Hidden in the darkness were dozens of armored vehicles as well as SWAT teams, and one was fast approaching from inside the building, heading in his direction.

"Shit!" he barked as he heard loud thumping on the roof's entryway. His eyes snapped open and he darted to the edge of the building, using a steel drain pipe to climb down. He went as fast as he could, but he was only a few feet down when the soldiers burst through the door. It didn't take long for them to find him and Finder soon himself face to face with the barrel of a high powered shotgun.

"Climb back up," a cold voice demanded. "You will not be harmed."

Finder snorted. "I don't believe you."

With that, he released his hold on the pipe and plummeted towards the ground.