Chapter 21: Scheming
15:55 PM (Japan Time), Friday January the 25th…
"… There's no doubt anymore: it's him."
"Good. We must organize a move."
Chief Lezareno and "Ocelot" met inside of a small and largely unlit office-like room which only had a desk, two chairs and a few papers over the desk as well as a white phone: "Ocelot" was sitting on the chair behind the desk while Lezareno brought in some sheets of paper.
"… DNA test: check. Facial test: check. Voice test: check. There can't be any mistake." Lezareno announced as he looked up from the papers on his hands.
"I heard to the bug: "Marcus" is just a public name to hide and the coloring Mr. Obihiro described is part of it, too. It's our subject and it'd seem some aspects of the plan are not going like it'd like: he's been unable to suppress the "link" at subconscious level so "Yami" receives feed from Saito – kun's daily inputs. Mr. Sponsor did foresee it would eventually happen because the chip's capabilities were slightly downgraded in the schematics "Delta" stole from his residence: given Mr. Sponsor's slight untrusting behavior from time to time then it's no surprise he purposely "forgot" to include some details into the schematics and the coding." Mr. Denpa explained.
"Good. That individual will soon run out of ideas to shove off the suspicion once his "Yami" starts receiving new inputs which will make him question his "memories"… When should we hit them, though?"
"Hmmm… It'd seem they're planning to move to Nagoya, so… Let's let them move there and then we'll corner them there. It would be good to bring Saito – kun along: he has the key to shattering that "illusion" our villain came up with. We can end this in less than 48 hours."
"Agreed. It's time to end this."
"And for good."
16:48 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Crap. So those guys are actually closing in our trail and trying to go after them would be suicidal?"
"Yeah… That's why I prepared a new hideout in Nagoya."
"Good. And we're moving in the evening?"
"Correct. Those guys seem intended on trying to zero on us during the dawn, so… By the time they do they'll find this empty."
Yami was packing two sets of clothes into a brown suitcase while Delta stood nearby: he looked calm while Yami seemed to be nervous about the "news" he was being told about.
"Fine. I'll go have a pizza tonight. I wanna have something new. Since I'll be done before 20:00 PM, then it shouldn't be a problem, should it, Delta?" Yami asked.
"No. The "Dimensional Converter" is waiting on the basement and no-one can track it, so…" Delta shrugged.
"… Is it me or is something bothering you asides from those guys closing on us?" Yami suddenly asked.
Delta gulped and tried to keep a straight face although he was getting nervous.
Crap! He's starting to question things… Gotta find a way to convince him …
"And what would that be?"
"… Nothing. Paranoia, I think." Yami shrugged.
Phew.
"Whatever. Once we get to Nagoya, we're going to hit those guys hard enough to make them regret messing with me."
"True, true!" Delta made a smug smile.
Oh. Well. It can still be saved…
18:33 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Huff… I feel so… miserable."
Saito was walking down a busy street with many cars going up and down: he was looking at the ground the whole time and didn't seem to be in high spirits at all.
Netto – kun… Where are you? Can I help you? Please… Come back to me… I can't bear being without you… I can hardly live without you… Even though we're doing the best we can… It's already been 5 days… Don't let it get longer… I don't want to forget about our "love" for each other…! Please… Some hint… Some clue… Show up!
He sighed, lifted his sight, and spotted a pizzeria next to him: his stomach rumbled and he blushed for a second.
Oh. Well. Maybe having a pizza will fuel me up a little bit…
He entered and sat down next to a table.
"What would you wish?" A waiter asked.
"I would like a marguerite pizza, if I may." He decided after looking at the chart.
"Do you wish something to drink?" The waiter inquired.
"Some cold water will do fine, thank you very much."
The waiter headed towards the kitchen to relay the orders: Saito then spotted another person who was eating his meal in a corner: he could only see the hair since he was giving him the back.
Whoa. Silver hair, like Blues'… Looks cool.
"… Marguerite pizza and water." The waiter announced a few minutes later as he brought it.
"Thank you."
Saito made a weak smile and began to eat the pizza while being seemingly lost in thoughts.
… Weird. I've had a feeling like my signal is getting stronger… But why should it? Unless…
He finished his meal and called for the waiter, who brought him the bill: Saito took out some money and paid it.
Let's see… The signal seems to be less than 10m away from here. And it seems to get stronger if I face the NNW… Huh? Maybe that person… It could be, yet… Let's try speaking with him.
He stood up and walked over to his table: he gently tapped the back of his shoulder and he turned around.
"Yeah? What's up?"
… No. The hair color and eye color don't match. And his face is slightly different, so… Maybe something else is messing with the signal.
"Eh… Have you seen this boy? He vanished 5 days ago." Saito asked as he took out a photo of Netto's face.
"Hmmm… He rings a bell somewhere."
"Really?"
"Oh! I remember! I saw him running down a street when he suddenly entered a side alley. He looked afraid of something which seemed to be chasing him, since he was looking over his shoulder from time to time with a face of angst."
"Where?" Saito asked.
"I think it was Densan Avenue… It happened about two days ago… I looked into the side street since I was intrigued, but only saw a blue van speeding away. The street was called "Narashita Street"..."
"Thank you very much!"
Hmmm… That guy told me that the guy on the photo had been reported disappeared five days ago… I've been with Delta for five days ago… And why do I feel like something inside of me wants to come out but is unable to? This is so weird... Is something wrong with my head or what?
18:44 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Correct… Number 7… Here you have. Good. Thank you."
Lezareno came out of a gas station's shop and climbed into the black Honda: Ocelot was hearing to something using an earphone and looked nervous.
"Chief! Drive out to Narisha Street: it may be a matter of life or death, so please don't mind speed limits or traffic lights!"
"Really? Then let's hurry: that's about 15 minutes from here because of that one-way avenue which needs to be detoured… And let me guess: the one behind this possible "trap" is our subject."
"I'll explain along the path! Please hurry it up!"
"Roger!"
Lezareno turned the engine on and shot out of the gas station while Ocelot made a grimace as he punched a telephone number into his cell phone.
"Hello? Hello? Damn. The bothersome bastard! He's jammed the line so that we can't warn him. We gotta make in on time or we'll only find a corpse by the time we get there!" Mr. Denpa cursed.
"Damn. That's starting to make me remember that there was a notorious criminal still on the run who got employed at high-reward jobs. I'm sure the man is the trap!" Lezareno hissed.
The black Honda FRV model turned a corner at a mad speed with its tires screeching and ignoring a red traffic light: it then continued forward until it spotted two apartment blocks close to each other.
"Here! Stop, Chief! Let's split: I'll take the left, you take the right! We gotta hurry: we have about three minutes! Luckily, none of these is taller than 6 floors…" Mr. Denpa instructed as he ran out of the car.
"Roger. Let's go!"
Both drew guns and ran into each apartment block.
"The roof…!" Lezareno muttered as he examined the hall.
He called for the elevator and pressed the 'attic' button: the elevator began to climb and Lezareno took off his gun's safety.
"Beretta M92F modified to hold tranquilizer bullets… This could even knock an elephant out." He muttered.
He tapped the ground in an impatient manner as the elevator climbed up and stopped into the attic floor with a soft PING sound: Lezareno ran out even before the doors had fully opened and spotted the stairs leading to the rooftop: the door's lock had been broken.
"I thought as much." He cursed.
He slowly opened it and saw a man's silhouette standing with one foot over the handrail and aiming what obviously was a sniper's rifle at the alleyway between both buildings.
"Heh, heh, heh. Look up, gnat. I'll send you straight to Hell through the great me's toy." The man muttered.
"Freeze." Lezareno commanded.
"What the…! The KCK?" The man gasped.
"Whatever. Go to sleep."
"Shut up! Die!"
"Wrong."
Lezareno suddenly ran from side to side in a blur and soon appeared in front of the man: he grabbed the rifle out of his hands and used its butt to hit the man on the stomach: he groaned and clutched that area but Lezareno then hit the rear of his skull with it to knock him out: he dropped the rifle into the ground and panted.
"Good work, Chief!" Mr. Denpa called out from the right rooftop.
"Thank you… We made it on time, somehow…."
"Yeah… We really did…"
18:58 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Huh…? How in the…?"
Saito came out of the street with a confused look.
This is the street! Why isn't there a clue left behind? Have I overlooked something?
He looked around the main street and spotted a familiar black Honda FRV model parked with its engine on and all of the warning lights blinking: he then looked at the registration plate.
This is Denpa – san's car! What it's doing here?
"Mr. Saito. It's been a while."
Lezareno came out of the left building.
"Chief Lezareno! What's going on?"
"You were led into a death trap, sir."
"N-no way…! Why would a boy I just met…?"
"He isn't to blame: that "memory" was a fake input from Delta. He's the person we've been looking for."
"Really? Then… The reason the signal was so strong was…! I should've realized it earlier!" Saito gasped.
"Good evening…" "Ocelot" greeted as he came out.
"Denpa – san…! So, you gentlemen found him at last?" Saito asked with obvious expectation.
"Correct. This morning, truth to be told. Please come with us: we'll explain everything along the way."
"Roger."
Saito climbed into the front middle seat while Lezareno sat on the driver's seat and Ocelot into the passenger seat: they spotted a patrol car heading over there as they pulled away.
"They'll take care of the mercenary… We handcuffed him to prevent the subject from running."
"So, do you know where Netto – kun is at?"
"He's just moved to Nagoya. Going after him right now is not a good idea by any means: he's been led to believe he's being "chased" and will offer resistance: it would be good to settle it for tomorrow's morning. If you hadn't realized… You two are still connected at the subconscious level: not even "Delta" was able to block that off because the chip implant was not programmed to do that: but it does manage to be a one-way only feed from you to him which seems to work in the mornings, when his brain is still "waking up" per se…" Mr. Denpa explained.
"We were still connected…! And I didn't realize it…!"
"That's why I said it was "subconscious level"…"
"Ah. I am sorry."
"No need to, Saito – kun. Anyway… We'll drive you home and do try to rest: we need to be fresh for tomorrow's morning. We'll find an opportunity to come into the apartment when they go out and be waiting for them: he's starting to question some of his "memories" and the behavior of "Delta", so… Between the two of us, we could make some of his real memories emerge… And Mr. Sponsor told me he's worked on a remote device to switch part of the device: with those two trump cards in our hands we'll be able to end this sad tale." Mr. Denpa continued explaining while forming a smile.
"Good! I can't wait for it… We would've closed this up in less than six days, even!" Saito looked rejoiced.
"True. Sometimes, coincidences and suspicion are good tools to seize a powerful lead. That villain can't run away anymore: he's cornered between the sword and the wall: and he'll soon be secluded in the Net Prison, anyway. There's no breaking free from it. Such criminals deserve being isolated forever, really." Lezareno muttered.
"Netto – kun… Hang in there! I'm coming to take you back home…!
19:13 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Oho. Telling "Regret" that he's gonna "regret" having his ugly fleet blown up by the Corps?"
"Omega… That wasn't the original quote."
"Got some news…"
"Good?"
"Yeah. We found him. Nagoya."
"Really?"
Vadous had been distractedly playing Halo 2 when Omega popped his head into the room with a broad grin: Vadous firstly looked resigned but quickly switched moods: he hit the "START" button to pause the game and jumped off the chair.
"Yeah. Mr. Denpa just contacted me: he requests the remote to nullify some of the programming the "gizmo" has on it." Omega explained as he stepped in.
"Good. Send it to him ASAP: I'll be standing by in case something was to happen: DS Rock Man is desperate enough to go to any ends. He's starting to remind me of the "Ice Queen", even." Vadous fumed.
"Boss… That guy isn't even 13 years old. He was "born" as an "evil" guy per se, but the "Ice Queen" got there through lust and avarice. Well… The guy is also moved by lust but I guess avarice doesn't fit the guy." Omega sighed and rolled his eyes.
"I knew that… I was being ironic." Vadous muttered.
He took out a small remote from a drawer and tossed it to Omega, who caught it with the right hand: he nodded and turned around to head out of the room.
"I'm going to rest. Good evening."
"Good evening."
Omega closed the door while Vadous sat down on the chair and continued his play-through.
We did it! Lartes was right: trying to overwork myself from the start wasn't good: I've left it up to the "Committee" and they've done a splendid job finding it out… Yet… Something is still picking on me…
"… You make my mother-in-law look pretty!" Someone exclaimed off-screen within the game.
"Really… A Grunt does…?" Vadous looked amused.
He chuckled and continued playing as he seemingly was trying to concentrate on something else.
… Oh. Yeah. The signals I could interpret from Saito – kun's feed to Netto – kun's implant… There was a reception acknowledgment, yet… Something looked strange: the chip looked like it was using more memory and processing than it should… Or maybe that jerk didn't properly calibrate it when he reverse-engineered it. Anyway… The chip has one or two surprises which will make that jerk tremble in fear 'cause he won't be able to control them.
"… Oh, man! I love the beach!"
"I hope you packed a suit, mate!"
"Cut the chatter… We got trouble."
"Heh, heh. Yeah… Tons of enemies to beat up ahead… Thanks for the warning, Cortana. These guys can get jumpy from time to time and need to be straightened out." Vadous chuckled.
He continued playing as he whistled a tune and then put down the controller after another few minutes.
"O. K. Level cleared… Let's get ready to hit the sack: all will end tomorrow, with some fortune. And that jerk can already pack up to run to the end of the world: they messed with the wrong guy."
Vadous formed a grin and chuckled under his breath…