This chapter was a lot harder to figure out. Lot of dialogue in this one, sorry. Inui just got away from me! Grabbed the mic and ran, I swear.
Hope you enjoy my lame acronyms and that this chapter clears up some things.
11:00 AM
Meeting of the Tokyo Espionage of Noninterventional National Information Sector.
"And today's primary report is from Inui and Kaidoh of the Tezuka team. Inui?"
Kaidoh shifted uneasily in his seat as Inui stood up to give his report. He had willingly joined the TENNIS commission when Cel, the MCRT supervisor, had approached them about it. After all, TENNIS would not interfere with his team duties. Being a strictly noninterventional sector, they specialized in information gathering and left the majority of the action to other federal agencies. But the information that Inui had to share as well as what data he had gathered from Sanada's team would definitely turn heads. He listened to Inui with one ear, focusing instead on the faces of the other commission members.
Inui shuffled his papers and pushed his glasses up before looking up. Clearing his throat, he began, "The Tezuka team, as you all know, is currently focused full time on the Prince case. This morning, we had a joint meeting with the Sanada team in order to exchange case notes. There are a few primary notes that are of interest to the TENNIS commission."
He gestured to Kaidoh, who began to set up a projector. His presentation was going to be complex. Several members of the commission groaned and pulled out notepads. When Inui had a big chunk of information to report, it was best to take notes or risk losing important tidbits in the midst of a cloud of monotone.
"Firstly: despite his reputation in the Tokyo region as a small time, if prolific, burglar, we have received information from the Kansai district regarding several large-scale gang related attacks that point to Prince as the primary instigator. Secondly, he follows a peculiar tradition of revealing himself once during each new investigation opened on him. Kansai has forwarded all of their notes on him. I have taken the liberty of compiling them with the information gathered by teams Sanada and Tezuka." At this, he passed out a dossier labeled 'Prince'.
While the people at the tables were flipping through the heavy folder of information, Inui turned to the projector and clicked to the first image. There was a faint, blurry photo of a young man alongside an artist's sketch of the same face.
"From what we have, the suspect is estimated to be around 160 centimeters. The original estimate in the Kansai dossier from several years ago puts him at around 151 centimeters. He has most often been spotted with black hair, although a few incidents reported a light brown color, perhaps due to hair dye. Particularly distinctive features are his eyes, which in all reports have been a light gold color. Kansai's notes specify that based on several local comb-through operations, it is likely that he either wears gold colored lenses on his missions, or brown colored lenses in everyday life, in order to avoid detection."
The next image was a map of Kansai, scattered with red dots. The commission members murmured and shuffled in their seats. The situation in Kansai was well known. In the past year, the structure of the established underground criminal network had been drastically altered. If Prince was related to the Kansai situation…
"The major incidents of interest to this commission are the gang attacks in Kansai. There are a reported 23 different events of gang warfare within the 3 years that Prince was noted to be active in that region. The media in Kansai called him the Fox, in reference to his difficulty to catch as well as his ability to cause the intrigue that apparently caused these events."
Inui paused to click past several slides, stopping at one diagram that looked like a web.
"The major criminal groups in the Kansai area were the Shadow group, the Maiden group, and two minor groups known as the Red and Yellow Stars respectively. The Kansai dossier implies that the Fox, or our Prince, is thought to be linked with the Shadow group. Though we do not have specifics of the events, it is clear that the alliance between the Star groups was sabotaged, causing their strength to decrease. After the weakening of the Stars, the Shadow group took advantage of the power vacuum and quickly stepped in, absorbing by force the remnants of both smaller groups."
The next slide elicited a sharp gasp from the people in the room. Several photos of a crime scene depicted a woman in a puddle of blood, the streaks of red around her telling the story of a violent struggle.
"About a year later, the Maiden group underwent major internal turnover. From what the Kansai notes say, it appeared that there was a high-level traitor discovered in the upper ranks of the Maiden group. When the traitor was discovered, a massive gunfight occurred at a casino protected by the Maiden. In the midst of the confusion, the Maiden's Left Hand was assassinated by an unknown shooter. It was a major blow to the group, because the Left Hand also served as the Kansai-district Vice of the group. Whether or not the shooter was connected to the traitor has not been determined."
One of the committee leaders said, "But if it was in a gunfight—"
Inui smoothly interrupted him, "The gunfight was later deemed to be a diversion. The shot that took out the Kansai Vice of the Maiden group was a professional hit. One bullet in the head, as you can see from the second photograph. An informer on the Kansai committee said that the sniper was very likely Prince, or the Fox. However, there are no definite links. Several other suspects are listed in the dossier. There is still no information on the sniper's relationship with the traitor in the Maiden group."
He shuffled his notes again and sat down abruptly. The noise level of the room shot up as people began discussing what they had learned. Different sub-committees began assigning further investigations to various agents. Despite their overall low status within the Tokyo Police Department, the TENNIS commission was one of the most efficient departments in the National Information Sector. Having a puzzle like this excited everyone.
Turning to look at Kaidoh, Inui motioned for him to speak. Kaidoh stood up with a grimace. Absently, he noted that some people shuddered and looked away. Clearly, his scowl was still something to be feared. He smiled at the thought. The amusement faded as he picked up his report notes. He was never very good at these reports, and the information he had to say was going to make it even more awkward. Looking at his papers, he quickly glossed over what team Sanada had shared with them. Inui had already gone over most of the information.
Having finished the team report, he flipped to his final page and took a deep breath. This was going to be difficult.
"Along with the dossier that we have on Prince, we also have an inside line on him," he paused, waiting for the sudden exclamations to die down before continuing, "My contract as a commission consultant has recently been amended in order for me to work with more visibility within TENNIS. The additional privacy contracts you all signed at the beginning of this meeting are relevant to this as well."
There were confused looks and murmurs throughout the room. Everyone on the commission knew that Kaidoh was a valuable member of the committee because of his experience with the criminal world. He was known to be a former soldier in the associate ranks of the Maiden group. But if his contract had previously prevented his "visibility" in TENNIS, what did that mean?
Kaidoh cleared his throat uncomfortably and said, "Currently, I am still on active status in the Maiden group. I work as the Tokyo-district Vice and as the Right Hand of the Maiden."
His words were greeted with absolute silence.
End.
Well, how did you like that? I've got a lot of plans for Kaidoh and things are going to get sticky soon. Sorry that this chapter was basically all Inui and Kaidoh talking. Their meeting reports are pretty important to the plot, though, so it was a necessary thing. I'm also toying with the idea of dropping hints in my author's notes about some big things coming up in the story. Are you guys interested in that, or would you like to be surprised by whatever comes next?
