Chapter 12

"A cassette!" groaned Jinpei. "Why does Galactor always use such outdated technology?"

"Same reason Osama Bin Laden does, I guess." Ryu shrugged. "They don't want anything to be traced back to them?"

"Like they're not the only ones on the planet still using cassettes." Jinpei rolled his eyes as he dug through the closet.

"Wait...I think I've found it!" The Swallow pulled out a bright red and yellow plastic box emblazoned with the words 'My First Sony'.

"Is that it?" Ryu asked, surprised.

"It's the only cassette player we have, okay?" Jinpei snapped. He handed the garish piece of equipment to Dr. Nambu.

"I remember when you used to play with this, Jinpei." Nambu chuckled. "That was after Ken had handed it down to you."

"That was mine?" Ken appeared shocked.

"I guess you've always had that knack for enjoying sophisticated things." Joe smirked, his arm still around Jun.

"The important question is, will it play the tape?" Jun reminded them.

"Let's see." The Doctor placed the black cassette into the device and depressed the button to activate the playback.

Raindrops keep falling on my head

But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turning red

Crying's not for me...

The music was upbeat and happy, despite the words to the song.

"What could it mean?" Ken pulled at his hair in frustration.

"Damn Galactor tricks!" shouted Joe, slamming his hand on a nearby table.

"I think I know..." Jun mused, stopping the playback and pulling out the cassette, fiddling with it for a moment. She then replaced it back into the device and started the sound again.

"Brilliant idea, Jun!" Nambu complimented her. "It just might work!"

The sound coming out of the player now was strange and distorted, but there were clear words coming out that they hadn't heard before.

"Agent 639, this is Berg Katse. Your orders are to infiltrate the restaurant..."

"Jun, how did you do that?" Ken asked, amazed.

"I rigged the tape to run backwards." Jun shrugged. "It's a pretty common trick for secret messages."

"This is way worse than a secret devil worship message." Joe said grimly.

"Let's listen to the rest of the tape." Ryu suggested.