Chapter 3: Smugglers
12:12 PM (Japan Time), Sunday February the 5th…
"… O~w… What a pain! What the hell happened?"
Netto slowly opened his eyes while trying to ignore his aching skull: his vision was blurry.
"Huh… Let's stand up and… What? I can't move!" He muttered before gasping.
He opened his eyes wide in fear and looked around: he was sitting on a metallic ground inside of some sort of small hold.
He had ropes tying his wrists to a horizontal metal bar placed across the ground behind him, on the shoulders and chest.
He also had ropes tying his ankles which were also tied to another horizontal bar in front of him.
There was a locked door close by and some cargo crates along with a flotation ring and a fire extinguisher.
The light came from fluorescent lights on the ceiling.
"Shit. You're gonna tell me the whole thing was a trap the "Eye" staged for us." He growled.
He looked at his Link PET: it was obviously off.
"But I still have Miyabi's trick… Huh? Someone's coming…" He muttered before hearing the sound of footsteps: two pairs of them.
The door opened and Allan stepped in while having a smug smile on his face.
"Well? Gnat? Did that nap do well to yer curiosity?" He mocked.
"First mate Thompson… You guys work for the "Eye"!" Netto growled.
"The "Eye"… His name is Mr. T, you idiot!" A gruff voice rang out from the corridor.
"That voice…!" Netto gasped.
A second man stepped into the hold.
The man looked around a meter and seventy tall and over his 30s, maybe closer to his 40s.
He had a moustache plus two patches of beard on the SE and SW corners of his chin: his hair was brownish-colored and came out from beneath a sailor's cap in a messy manner while extending across half of his back.
The man wore blue shorts complimented with black leather boots and shoulder straps: he also sported a red and white stripped sleeveless shirt plus a sailor's cap.
His right shoulder had a tattoo depicting the shape of a dolphin drawn into it while his hands were covered by white gloves.
"Kurohige!" He yelled in surprise.
"That's Captain to ya!"
"Weren't you working in an aquarium with Chirol? Wily told me!" Netto told him.
"Yeah! True! But! I got approached by Mr. T back on December! Chirol got a job in a circus, too. Good fella." Kurohige grinned.
"Correct, de a~ru…"
"Ain't it, Dive Man?"
Dive Man, his Navi, projected out of one of those "Beyondard Model" PETs colored azure and having the drawing of a periscope emerging from the waters.
His head was shaped like a submarine's "sail", including a periscope and two diving planes plus the ear-pads: his face was set on the front of it and consisted in just the eyes and the mouth: he held a pipe on his mouth which emitted smoke like a real one.
His upper torso was shaped like a submarine and spanned until the waist
His forearms also had fins on them and his hands were covered in the typical white skin.
His legs ended up in circle-shaped metallic objects painted navy blue.
They also had two capsule-like objects covering them below the knees: each "capsule" had a fin facing outwards: the legs over the knees were colored black.
Overall, he looked like a combination between a submarine and a veteran sailor.
"So! The "Eye" goes by the name of Mr. T. And he ordered you guys to catch me." Netto calmly guessed.
"Yeah! But I didn't know it was ya 'till ya came onboard: I was watchin' it through binoculars." Kurohige admitted.
"So the Viruses and the calls were set up by the guy, too. And that Takashimi person was part of it, too."
"Wrong. Takashimi talked too much to a "Net Savior" and ran away: he surrounded to the cops but he's too afraid to tell it all so he came up with a different tale. But I don't care anymore by now, anyway." Kurohige shrugged.
"And those tins didn't have crab meat on it."
"Yeah. But I'm not gonna ruin the surprise."
"I'll make the fourth pass, de a~ru…" Dive Man muttered.
"Oi! Ya! We aren't playin' Trumps!" Kurohige snapped.
"De a~ru…"
"Anyway! Mr. T wants ya in one piece, so… Enjoy this trip 'till we reach Anchorage!" Kurohige grinned.
"Anchorage! That's in Alaska! The ship is moving, then?" Netto gasped and looked nervous.
"Yeah! Have at ya!" Kurohige laughed.
Both of them came out and slammed the door shut: Netto could hear Kurohige laughing in the corridor.
"Damn. Time to use Miyabi's trick: let's get outta this mess." Netto muttered.
He managed to make force with his right wrist: something got loose and a small knife slid out of the right sleeve.
"Heh."
Netto used his fingertips to hold it and move it to slice the ropes on his wrists: he then used the knife to cut the ones on his ankles.
"Good."
He aimed it upwards and used his freed feet to cut the ropes over his upper torso and below the shoulders.
"Phew." He sighed in relief.
He picked the PET and booted it up: Saito appeared onscreen while rubbing his eyes and letting out a yawn.
"Huh… Netto – kun… Ah! What happened? Why did you lose consciousness? Who attack you?" Saito muttered before gasping and looking wide awake.
"Huff! See! This whole stuff was a trap staged by the "Eye"! His newest show!"
"What!" Saito gasped.
"There's something hidden in those tins: there's no doubt about it anymore! Kurohige and Dive Man are in charge of this place." Netto told him.
"Kurohige and Dive Man! Crap. I just noticed… There's a jammer field all around the ship: no signals can come in or out!" Saito cursed.
"Materialize and let's try to find a way out." Netto suggested.
"Roger!"
Saito materialized and took out his helmet: both nodded in agreement and Saito kicked the corridor's door open: he aimed the Rock Buster left and front: there was no – one but there was a door immediately to the right and another at end of the corridor.
"Clear." Saito whispered.
"Roger."
Both crept towards the door at the right and looked through the window.
"Huh?"
There was a tall column on the middle of it: a man was chained to it and had a gag on.
He looked on his thirties and wore the Sharo Net Police uniform just like Laika.
He had brownish hair and eyes.
"Ah! That uniform… Sharo Net Police…! He must be the person Kurohige and co. abducted yesterday!" Netto gasped.
"Let's help him!" Saito rallied.
He kicked the door open and the man looked surprised: Netto ran next to him and took out the gag.
"Hikari Netto – kun?" The man asked.
"Yes, sir. Correct." He confirmed.
"Laika told me about you." The man admitted.
"Laika did?" Saito wondered.
"Ah. You must be Rock Man. I didn't know you could materialize… Oh. Excuse me. Dimitri Oroyof. Sharo Net Police 4th Unit." The man sounded surprised before introducing himself.
"I thought Laika was 4th Unit, too…" Netto frowned.
"Correct. I was his instructor." Oroyof admitted.
"Does Oroyof – san know about the cargo?" Saito asked.
"No. Takashimi only got to show me an empty can which he'd picked out of the litter. Did he talk about this affair?" Oroyof replied.
"Not exactly… He tried to camouflage it and make it look like he'd been fired for trying to smuggle stuff. The guy behind this, Mr. T., did get to add some extra info to lure us in. And I did get to find one of those tins but was knocked out before I could check it out." Netto admitted.
"Takashimi… I save his life and that's how he thanks me? What an unthankful man." Oroyof grumbled.
"Hmmm… Netto – kun. Give me a Gold Fist: I may be able to break these chains." Saito requested.
"Sure. Battle Chip, Gold Fist. Slot In."
Saito grabbed the padlock and crushed with his renewed strength: one of the locks came off and the chains slid into the ground: Oroyof rubbed his wrists and stepped two paces forward.
"Thank you. Let's see… I think one of the main holds is up ahead. We should check it out: there could be more of those tins there." He suggested a course of action.
"I'll take point." Saito announced.
They came out into the corridor and heard two pairs of footsteps.
"Capt'n says these tranquilizer guns are just to intimidate. We aren't supposed to use 'em." A sailor's voice was commenting.
"Whatever." The other shrugged.
One of them opened the first hold's door while the other kept on forward towards the other room: Netto and Oroyof were already running towards the door at the end of the corridor while Saito glued his back towards the wall and the sailor didn't spot him as he stepped into the other room without looking around.
"The gnat's gone!"
"The Sharo guy is gone!"
Saito was already running towards the open door when both sailors began to chase him.
"Shoot!" One yelled.
"Yeah!"
They shot two tranquilizer bullets which missed: Saito turned around and aimed his Rock Buster at the ceiling's bulb.
"Rock Buster!"
The sudden loss of a patch of light distracted them as he ran inside.
"Good job!" Oroyof complemented.
They began to pile the crates and formed a barricade as the two sailors tried to force the door open.
"Damn!"
"Shit!"
They stopped altogether and they heard them running off.
"Phew!" Netto sighed in relief.
"We drove them off." Saito smiled.
Oroyof was already inspecting the hold: there were several crates and an open porthole: he looked out and saw that they were at the lowest deck just above the surface.
"Let's check the crates." He suggested.
They opened one and found four champagne bottles neatly aligned over a bed of straw.
"Champagne… It'd seem it's become fashionable again." Oroyof muttered with a hint of sarcasm.
"Oroyof – san! There's a tin-filled crate over here!" Saito called out.
"Yeah! We can finally get to the bottom of this." Netto grinned.
They took the cover out and spotted the tons of aligned tins: Netto picked one and shook it up.
"No doubt: it's empty and something small is inside of it." Netto muttered as he heard to the sounds.
"Does it have an easy opening system?"
"Yeah. I pull the ring and the cover comes off…" Netto muttered.
"Finally…" Oroyof muttered.
"Huh? What's this?"
The tin's walls were cushioned with cotton and four small rectangular objects surrounded by a small black plastic cover were piled inside of it in a neat manner.
"Rare Chips…?" Netto wondered.
"Let's check it out." Saito rallied.
He picked one and examined the black covering: there was a small indentation which seemingly served to open it and take the object out.
"Netto – kun. I can't do it with my hands: it needs nails." He told him as he handed it to him.
"Let's see… I pull this up… The cover opens… I turn it upside down and the object slides out…" Netto muttered.
He placed his left hand beneath it as something did slide down of it and it landed on his left palm: they looked at it for some seconds before they all gasped.
"DARK CHIP!" They gasped.
This "Dark Chip" had the classical orange dome and the only difference he could find with those made by "Nebula" was the fact that it had a purple skull and crossbones painted beneath the dome: it kept on having the usual purple and creepy light to its dome.
"No way…!" Netto gasped.
He turned it around and found a drawing on the back of it: it looked like the Alphabet letter T with two round spiral circles on each extreme.
The central part of the letter was also drawn as curved.
"The purple skull and crossbones… This is the model Twilight came up with shortly before his "escape"! They can corrupt Navis!" Saito gasped.
"And that symbol based off a Greek column which is drawn behind it must be Mr. T.'s own crest. So this is why he imposed so much hush-hush… He was aiming for us to find it in person and get shocked." Oroyof grimly muttered.
Netto's Link PET suddenly beeped and Saito picked it up: a new email had arrived.
"This has to be from someone inside the ship: nothing can come in from outside it." Saito guessed.
He opened it and immediately looked annoyed.
"I knew it: the guy wants to laugh at us. Listen: "Good job, Meitantei Brothers! Feeling the fear and terror? I'm so gonna make you guys dance to my rhythmic all night long 'till dawn creeps into my Wiseman's Hall! Oh yeah! Shake it up and come up with a Vesper Cocktail. I'm a genius! Yours elegantly, T."… What a snobby guy." Saito grumbled.
"He copied that from Raoul… And that of the "Meitantei Brothers" is so stupid, really… He's gotta be lingering around and laughing under his breath upon seeing our shock." Netto grumbled.
"And he timed it so that I was captured when I was going to ask for your cooperation at Laika's suggestion… He's coming today." Oroyof grumbled as he sat down on one crate.
"Huh? Another mail… "X + ropes = escape way through Fatman's cabin. Think about it, Sai – chan." … "Sai – chan"… That sounds so girlish! That guy's nuts or his humor is totally out of place!" Saito read before grumbling.
Oroyof seemed to have noticed something: he picked two loose wood rectangle pieces and ropes: he then set the pieces to form the shape of the Alphabet letter X and then tied the ropes around it while leaving enough to pull.
"Hum."
He looked out through the porthole and glanced upwards: the light on the porthole above him was off.
"I see. We can stick this on the porthole and then use the rope to climb up into the cabin and escape through there!" Netto realized.
"… You idiots! I'll show you how it's done!" Kurohige's voice rang out in the corridor.
"Crap. Kurohige is coming." Saito muttered.
"Align the champagne bottles towards the door." Oroyof smiled.
Netto and Saito quickly did so while Oroyof threw the improvised X upwards: it entered through Kurohige's open porthole.
"Hah!"
He tugged at it and made it get stuck there: Oroyof quickly climbed up and the pushed the X forward to drop inside of the cabin.
"Climb up!" He called out.
"Roger!"
Netto quickly followed while Saito waited.
"Grrr… Plug In! Dive Man, Transmission!" Kurohige could be heard exclaiming.
"Dive Man: ready for action! De a~ru!" Dive Man exclaimed.
"Crap. He has a "Copy Roid"…" Saito muttered.
"Niisan! Come up!" Netto called out.
"Roger!"
Saito quickly climbed up and landed inside of the cabin: Oroyof then folded the wood pieces and tossed the rope out of the porthole and into the sea, where it hovered above the surface: there was the sound of an explosion and some silence.
"Dive Man must've blown the door open." Saito guessed.
BANG!
A shot rang out.
"Huh? Who shot?" Both of them wondered.
PLOP! PLOP! PLOP!
Kurohige apparently shot three shots inside of the hold.
BANG!
Another shot rang out.
"What! Champagne corks! The explosion has shaken 'em and they're coming out!" Kurohige gasped.
BANG!
One cork flew out.
"Uack! My right eye!" Kurohige yelled.
"De a~ru?"
The three of them rushed out of the cabin while smiling at the clever improvisation.
"The jammer's signal is close by! Take the first right door!" Saito instructed.
They entered a room which some radio equipment set on the center of it along with a large metal column which was integrated with the ceiling.
"I see. The column has the wires and ends in an antenna projecting the field. But this thing is now out of service. Charge Shot!" Saito smiled and drew the Rock Buster.
His attack blew up the machine and it frizzled: it began to emit smoke and terrific sounds but the group was already running off the room by now.
"Let's pick a boat: we'll head towards the coast. It can't have been even two hours since departure. We may be over 100 km from the coast but given how we can now establish contact, we could ask for the Net Police to send a boat to meet us." Oroyof instructed.
"Yeah. I've engaged my PET's GPS beacon, too." Netto admitted.
"Kurohige must be still trying to cool off his itching right eye." Saito joked with a grin.
"Oi! Who goes there?" A sailor asked.
"Sorry! No time." Saito smiled.
He aimed the Rock Buster and shot a shot at a pipe: high pressure cold water came out and sprayed the guy who was trying to plug the pipe somehow: the three of them reached the bow and spotted the lifeboats: Oroyof worked on checking it.
"Full gasoline tank, engine, emergency rations, water canteens, oars… It's well-equipped." He quickly listed.
They jumped onboard and Saito quickly shot the locks to allow it to lower into the water: Oroyof ignited the engine and the boat sped away while the mole of the ship kept on its course.
"Bye-bye, Kurohige! You'll find a reception committee in Anchorage!"
"Yeah. Mr. T.'s plan went ashtray." Saito grinned.
"Something tells me that rope and wood pieces weren't left there by pure chance. I suspect he foresaw this." Oroyof muttered.
"… Damn! They're escaping with one of the boats!"
Kurohige was looking out through the hold's porthole and cursing aloud while Dive Man popped his head out as well.
"De a~ru! Should I chase them, Captain?" He asked.
"Wait. I need to talk with Mr. T. before that." Kurohige replied.
"Heh, heh, heh. The episode is heating up." A familiar voice rang out through Kurohige's Link PET.
"Wha! Boss!" He gasped.
"Keep the course and don't deviate. And keep Mr. Dive Man over there if you may. I've got a nice B Plan about to take effect." Mr. T. instructed with a hint of amusement.
"R-roger!"
"De a~ru? This guy must like eating sandwiches." Dive Man commented.
"What silliness is that? Knock it off!" Kurohige growled.
"Roger, de a~ru!"
"… Netto – kun! Finally! Communications have been restored."
"Meijin – san!"
"San wa iranai."
Netto was speaking with Meijin while the boat headed westwards by following the trail left by the King of the Sea.
"We're alright: we could escape the ship along with the imprisoned mister, too! We're now in a boat and heading towards the coast. Could you send a boat to pick us up?" Netto told him.
"Sure. I'll tell the coast guard. What's going on, anyway?"
"To begin with: warn the Anchorage port authorities. Second: Kurohige is in charge of the ship. Third: they're smuggling Twilight's "Dark Chips"." He reported.
"What!" Meijin gasped.
"We secured four and we'll bring them for analysis: we must make sure that the "Vaccine Chip" can counter them." Saito added.
"Please let me speak." A familiar voice rang out.
"Sure." Meijin replied.
Laika came onscreen while looking concerned.
"Netto!"
"Laika!"
"Is the rescued "Net Savior"…?" Laika began.
"Correct. It's me, Laika." Oroyof confirmed.
"Captain Oroyof! Are you alright, sir?" Laika asked.
"I am, thanks to these two boys. You should be glad of being their friend, Laika." Oroyof told him.
"Ah… Thank you very much, sir… I owe you guys one, Netto, Saito." Laika smiled.
"We heard the earlier conversation: and we were suspecting it matched Kurohige's." Search Man admitted.
A loud engine sound filled the air all of a sudden and the three of them looked around: they spotted a hydroplane heading towards them from the coast: it was colored yellow.
"Whoa! That was fast! The guard coast hydroplane is already here!" Netto exclaimed.
"What? I'm just talking with them!" Meijin replied.
"Shit." Saito growled.
The hydroplane suddenly dived towards them and Saito tackled Netto into the ground as some bullets rained down around them: Saito took aim and shot a shot as the right side of it flew close to the water: the engine began to act erratically and it finally touched down about ten meters from their position.
"Nice, niisan!" Netto grinned.
"Can you swim?" Oroyof asked Saito.
"Eh… I haven't really tried."
"Don't worry! The Area Steal will do fine." Netto smiled.
"Good. Look: the pilots are coming out. One of them is fixing the damage while the other is looking on. Since we're lying on the ground, we can't be seen, so… Catch them by surprise, knock them out and bring them onboard the plane. We'll then head over there." Oroyof hushed.
"Roger. Battle Chip, Area Steal!"
Saito warped while the other two waited.
"Ugh!"
"Oof!"
"Clear!" Saito yelled.
They ignited the engine and headed over to the plane as Saito dragged both pilots into the cockpit: they then picked the boat's supplies and climbed into the cockpit as well.
"Mr. T. must be fond of spectacular scenes." Netto grumbled.
"Well. It could've been worse." Oroyof reminded them.
"Yeah. Thank goodness." Laika sighed in relief.
"We're gonna pilot this thing and head over there." Netto grinned.
"Roger. Land in the port: I've already got permission." Meijin instructed them.
"Thanks, Meijin – san!" Saito replied.
"San wa iranai."
The radio suddenly crackled to life.
"BG – 114! Did you capture them?" Kurohige asked.
"The tables have turned, Kurohige." Netto replied with a grin on his face.
"Captain!" He growled.
"Yeah. Make me say it." Netto's grin grew wider.
"GRA~H!" Kurohige growled in frustration.
"Captain! Why are you biting your own cap, de a~ru?" Dive Man asked him on the background.
"Sod off!" Kurohige snapped at him.
"De a~ru?"
"Shut the hell up!" Kurohige yelled.
"Let's go to Hell, de a~ru…"
The three of them laughed as Oroyof turned the radio off.
"Good. Let's head over to Densan City." Oroyof instructed.
"I'll keep those two at bay: I tossed their guns into the sea. We should tie them up… Let's use the Yo-yo Battle Chip." Saito suggested.
"Battle Chip, Yo-yo!"
Saito shot the yoyo rope and used it to tie them together by the back: he then cut the ends off and sat down on one of the chairs while having his Rock Buster drawn just in case: Netto sat down behind Oroyof, who was calmly piloting the plane.
"Huh…? Another mail… "The Dynamic Trio flies across the skies in their war chariot while heaving over to the wild lands of Densan. What adventures await them? Look it up on the next episode!" … Okay. This guy is nuts: he believes we're all part of a show." Netto read before grumbling.
"I guess interrogating these two won't wield anything: they look like mercenaries." Saito guessed.
"In any case… Kurohige must be about to shatter all bottles on his cabin out of frustration." Netto grinned.
"And Dive Man will believe the ship is headed to Hell."
"Let's go~! To Densan we go~! Heh, heh, heh! You lose, Kurohige~!"