Chapter 9: Chamber of horrors

18:18 PM (Japan Time), Sunday December the 19th…

"… Barrel? We got the search permit: the Prosecutor wasted no time and demanded an express procedure: the judge in charge of the affair agreed on it once seeing how this could become a big scandal affecting the reputations of those big companies and it'd be better to try to find out what's going on in a quiet manner… Let's say that we suspect the President to be involved in some Yakuza deals but we won't mention anything of those VPs meetings… Luckily enough… Only you and I, my buddy Haenta and the inspector know the truth…"

"Good idea. I'm heading over there."

"See ya there."

Barrel finished the phone call and came out of the Science Labs' command room: he spotted Meijin sipping his usual cappuccino coffee and working on something.

"I'm scanning for anything suspicious in the ZR Border…"

"Good. Call me ASAP if you find anything."

"Deal."

Barrel came out into the lobby and found Kanou Shade waiting there while having a folder with some documents inside: he'd taken off the sunglasses and looked grave, for once.

"Mr. Barrel. This is a warning of what you're going to find there: some calls and using the name of my former employer have turned out this information. That man could've been Satan's incarnation even."

"Satan's incarnation?" Barrel was obviously taken aback.

"I don't joke, sir. I'm sure this man was shown the very core of the "Secret Empire" and became obsessed with having all of that at his disposal… It was sickening enough to compose this report."

"Damn it."

Barrel read some lists and documents and he formed a grimace while Kanou Shade merely nodded as if to confirm it.

"No wonder you name the bastard Satan's incarnation. This is the sickest thing I'd ever heard here in Japan ever since the WWII war crimes: hell, this makes that water poisoning agony look pale in comparison. That was recklessness and idiocy. But this is purposeful and without regrets. I'm sure that even the benefactor of this bastard was starting to grow tired of him and used the fail bomb-rigged car incident as a perfect excuse to get rid of him." Barrel whispered.

"Indeed."

"We gotta keep this info away from the media."

"Don't worry: this is in the only copy. It's meant to be further evidence for the police report. You may destroy it once done. And I'm sure any questioning to the suppliers would make them say they were over the 18~20 years old range thus lessening the scale of the thing… I'm not an advocate of censorship or privation of freedom yet this is too much for the Japanese society to accept… Consequential analysis…"

"You're right, Kanou Shade. We'll go with this approach to soften the blow and we must make sure to keep this a secret even from the "Team of Colonel" members and the "Backup Team" members… This is what we will tell the media and they will buy it because we will use some slightly altered documents as evidence…" Barrel settled.

"Good. I will go to try to clear my head. I'm going at Marine Harbor to cool off."

"Alright. Thanks for the help."

"It's nothing: my goal is to expose such criminals and make sure they don't get away with it no matter what." Kanou Shade reminded him.

"I agree with that. Good luck."

"Thank you. We'll both need it, Mr. Barrel."

"Yeah… Sure thing…"

18:53 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Alright. We didn't find the keys on the corpse or anywhere in the home so we're going to make our way inside through the garage shutter by short-circuiting the control panel and making it rise up. Then put that temporary black curtain to make sure no – one can spy on what we do inside with a high-power-zoom-camera."

"Roger."

"Only the four of us are going inside. All others must speak with the staff and try to make an inventory of any luxurious items. Remember to wear the gloves at all times and take photos of everything before moving or inspecting it. Always check with your superiors. Alright?"

"Roger, sir!"

Barrel, Unoda, another officer and one inspector were standing in front of the garage shutter built on the east side of a large three-story manor surrounded by a park and enclosed within steel fences with spears aiming upwards: several patrol cars had been parked nearby and another two policemen were accompanying the group: one of them was interacting with the circuitry of the lock.

"There!"

The shutter rose and another two policemen quickly lifted some sets of black robe curtains to form a screen impeding anyone to see what was going on beyond them: the two policemen guarding it took out binoculars and began to scan the area.

"Patrols: check each nook and cranny. Climb trees if necessary. But no photography or video is allowed: this is a police operation." The inspector commanded over his walkie-talkie.

"Roger."

"It opened… Damn. It's pitch-black. Let's try to find the light switch before doing anything." Unoda muttered.

"Should be near the entrance by logic…"

The other officer stumbled upon it and the purple fluorescent lights turned on: the four men gasped upon seeing the room.

"Damn. A dungeon…!" Barrel cursed.

The room's walls didn't have any paint and showed the red bricks which made them up: some objects covered in black robes could be guessed around it and there were plenty of foldable chairs plus chains with cuffs hanging from the ceiling and having pulleys to regulate their height: a staircase led upwards and to the ground floor door: trolleys with several objects set on their platters had been parked in a corner of the room as well.

"So that's how he kept those VPs under his control… He invited them to join these "wild" parties and fueled their lust! They were glad to have these opportunities… We'll have to bring up different charges for each one or the whole thing will be exposed… The biggest corruption affair in the last 5 years…!" The inspector grimly muttered.

"And this is just the tip of the iceberg… A source of mine into which I trust just gave me this. Be wary, though. You gotta have stomach to get past the first page without throwing off or fainting."

"B-by all the…! T-this is…! Impossible! We'd heard of such numbers! But we've only gotten reports of two or three…"

"Maybe they are brought from other provinces too. Try to sum up all of the cases and you'll see how the numbers will eventually make sense: I warned you, Inspector Gureme."

"You sure did, Mr. Barrel… Kami – sama! Luckily my daughter is the type to stay home and study… I should warn her against going out."

"Come on. Don't go on robbing her freedom: just make sure the routes she takes are safe… And that she doesn't talk to strangers."

"Hum… That can be settled later! Duty is duty! Ahem, ahem! Take photos of all this and make an inventory… But that SD memory card will be kept by me and then shown in secret to the prosecutor and judge… They will be key evidence… Let's then call forensics and see if we find traces."

"There'll be. Hairs… Or semen." Barrel guessed as he scanned the ground and floors.

He headed for the chairs and examined them from different angles without touching them.

"There are some here which must be from the last party…"

"Good. And fingerprints! I'm sure there must be. They must have been very confident and thought there'd be no trouble with leaving them behind…!" Inspector Gureme muttered as he took out a handkerchief and wiped off the sweat.

"AC and sound insulation… Hi-fi music equipment… Fridge full of sake and other alcoholic drinks… Caviar, pâté, Iberia ham… They sure had enough stuff for an extra meal." Barrel reported.

"Imported meals, huh? This man must've had a lot of hidden money in tax haven countries and must have been fond of tax evasion… Surely he invited the tax inspectors to these as well to corrupt them. Maybe we should be grateful someone put a stop to it and all this got exposed although it'd been preferable to condemn him to the gallows."

"Sure thing… Let's wrap up with the photography and then send just two forensics officers… Under an oath of silence obviously… They'll understand the need for it." Unoda grumbled.

"Damn it. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. I hadn't tackled such a horrible case in my 23 years of being inspector. I'd gladly handle some break-in with murder instead!" Inspector Gureme fumed.

"Anyone would…" Barrel confirmed as he checked some drawers and took photos of some bundles of bank notes inside of them.

"The same batch McEdelson and he had… There's no doubt anymore that he's the one who organized the bomb-rigged car terrorist incident and select McEdelson to do the dirty job…" Inspector Gureme put two and two together as he glanced at them.

"Man. This whole affair is scary enough!"

19:02 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Heh… I knew it! There you are… Kanou Shade! I can see you but you can't see me… I'm just another figure amongst the crowds of curious sheep… The perfect camouflage… I did well on coming over: I suspected your bastard would have provided the cops with info… And over there I can see Zataki Tosho… The miserable traitor to IQ – sama!"

"Doctor T" dressed in a navy blue raincoat and a sailor's cap which hid most of his face due to its shade was standing amongst the curious crowd which had formed around the area of the manor: Kanou Shade could be seen standing and looking there about 50 meters NNE of his position and Zataki Tosho was doing the same from about 30 meters NNW thus making "Doctor T" be in the center of an invisible triangle which would be aiming southwards.

"… How does it look like, Shachou?" Someone asked Zataki over a wireless earphone he had on his right ear.

"They're searching the manor… It'd seem they're looking for the items he bought from the London auctions… Mr. Barrel went inside from the garage and a black curtain has been set in front of it to impede anyone from seeing what they do inside… They mustn't want anyone to peek into their investigation…" Zataki whispered back.

"I see."

"By the way… How's the Beta Front holding like?"

"Beta went to 5 to see Epsilon. Alpha remained in 1. Gamma is in 10. Delta is in 1 too." The person on the other end of the line dictated.

"Good. Make sure Beta comes back to 1 without trouble. I know Epsilon will accompany them to 3 but just to be on the safe side taking into account the presence of 12…" Zataki muttered.

"Don't worry about 12… There's a raid tonight. So they won't dare to come outside of the borders."

"Good enough."

"I'm seeing it through the TV news now… Inspector Gumere is going to speak to the media right now… I'll increase the volume so that you can hear it too, Shachou…"

"Good, O."

"… Regarding the reason for this search… There are two. One of them is to make a list of some items acquired with dubious money and methods in annual London auctions… And two is to check if he was, as we suspected, storing illegal materials… It's been confirmed: we found tons of drugs, unlabelled cigarettes and beer plus some fake bills… I'll show them to you and we'd like of you to distribute this image to make sure you're not fooled by them… See, unlike official bills, these ones are missing the government seal in the NNW corner… So this is the best way to tell them apart: we believe these bundles were pending further processing yet this man tried to rush it up and use it already…"

"We have heard rumors of parties involving important financial and corporate figures." One reporter brought up.

"True. The man was bribing them because he'd found out some skeletons in their closet yet instead of bribing them with money he'd given them some material gifts… And their consumption was a guarantee that they'd come for more and be silent about trying to discredit the offender."

"Was it really necessary to hide your search of the basement?" Another reporter asked.

"We wanted to do a list of the items calmly and without being interrupted the whole time. We've taken photos and film which will be released in a few days' time once the judge in charge of this investigation gives us the go-ahead."

"We understand… But were those financial and corporate persons really important or…?"

"I cannot confirm or deny that."

"Someone says they were very important persons and that there's a gigantic network of corruption in place…"

"I insist: I won't confirm or deny that."

"So there is such a network?"

"Do excuse me: but it'd seem you don't understand me. I said that I won't confirm or deny that. I didn't say it was true. You're speculating."

"True. Cool it down. You're just looking for a headline." Another reporter told him.

"Che. Always robbing us of the glory…!"

"That is all we have to say for the moment. I insist once again: any rumors you heard must be taken with skepticism. We will hold another press conference once we unearth further details." Inspector Gumere insisted to the audience.

"He's left and the reporters are turning back but the guy chasing the headline is now pestering one of the policemen…" The guy named "O" reported.

"… Come on! 5,000Z!"

"Are you trying to bribe a police officer, sir?"

"Not bribe. Reward!"

"No, sir. That's a bribe to try to make me disclose confidential information and break my vow. No, sir. Please go back, sir, or you will be charged with attempted bribery. You're being filmed by your very own cameraman in case you hadn't noticed, sir."

"Toroo! Turn that thing off!"

"You're not my Boss. The Boss decides when I turn it off."

"Merai! What do you think you're doing? Come back to the van NOW and you can kiss goodbye to your job! Bringing a scandal to the NTV by trying to bribe a policeman…! The big bosses will have your head in a silver platter! My word!" The "Boss" growled over a walkie-talkie.

"Man."

"Really… That guy was going for the cliché. But such things don't happen here in Japan: the officers are very responsible. He must've seen Dirty Harry." Zataki grumbled.

"Sure thing, Shachou…"

"… Mr. Barrel… Was it like I thought?" Kanou Shade was making a phone call in the meanwhile.

"Yeah. The lottery number was correct but the price is a misery." Barrel replied.

"Too bad… It'd seem we didn't have enough foresight." Kanou Shade played the resigned.

"Better luck next time I guess…" Barrel played it too.

"Alright. I'm going back. Good evening."

"Good evening."

Kanou Shade headed away while "Doctor T" made a smug smile and glanced on his direction.

"No… The time for the weed isn't due yet in the southern hemisphere… I must wait…" He muttered in a hushed tone.

"… Anyway… Have you really been sleeping enough, Shachou? Doctor L says you're not." "O" argued with Zataki.

"It ain't easy forgetting that I escaped by mere luck from certain death and all of my labors would crumble." Zataki icily replied.

"Oh… Eh… Well… True, true… My bad."

"No. You're not to blame. I guess Fate is being generous with me… On a more serious note the stubbornness of some guys to tune their clocks actually helped me out… I'm heading back to the house. I need some a hot green tea to vent off my nerves." Zataki muttered.

"Alright… We'll keep the surveillance up in the "10" front in case something is being brewed up… A witches' brew surely is forming there…"

"Hah… That wasn't a bad joke. You know… That reminds me of the novel 3001: The Final Odyssey in which they described the Kuiper Belt ice as having a witches' brew of weird chemicals… And there's the motto "comets have bad breaths"…" He muttered with a hint of amusement and forming a weak smile.

He turned away and headed southwards: "Doctor T" grinned and remained there while he brought out a cell phone from his right pocket and turned it on.

"… Confirm bet: 1500 Z on 5. Repeat: 1500 Z on 5. Tomorrow's Oosaka Horse Race… Correct… My source? Too bad, it's a secret. Just do your job and write that down. Yeah. Goodbye." He told someone.

Chuckling under his breath he set his gaze on Barrel as he headed for a patrol car and climbed inside to leave.

"Barrel… You might prove to be a bone on the throat… A hard one to swallow too… But whatever… My projects will come into fruition sooner or later…" He muttered.

He also left the scene and headed down the streets while keeping both hands inside of the raincoat's pockets: he then headed across some streets and carefully looked out into another one to see the closed down Battle Chip store.

"… Hmmm… No… Not worth it… There must be vigilance: Zataki is the type to get obsessed with not letting a single fly get through. Feel confident while you can, you traitor. Your punishment is about to fall upon you and there won't be any mistakes this time around…"

He slipped away and stopped to take out a cigarette and light it: he exhaled some smoke and held it between his right hand's index and middle fingers before sipping some of it again.

"Good brand, yeah… Anyway… Admin 5 will soon be exposed to have been an ego-filled bastard! And the other 7 Administrators won't doubt that it was good to get rid of the man… Heh, heh, heh… For victory!"

He laughed under his breath…