Sorry for the wait, After a long debate I did decide to add an extra case, I solved the plot problem so I needed to reedit this chapter a few times to keep the story congruent. Sadly I left a piece out, but it will flow better with the added chapter this way.
Please Enjoy and comment on how you think it is.
Mai dropped off tea to Naru and Lin and headed back to her desk. She had finished filing for the day and decided to translate more of Gene's records.
Her cell phone rang and she looked at it quizzically. It seldom rang, and during work hours it never did. She hesitated, instincts warning her mind. She reached out and checked the ID. A number she did not recognize. She flipped it open.
Lin heard Mai's phone ring from his office. Checking the time he wondered who it was. He had never heard the irregulars call her on it during work hours. They would use office phone, or much to Noll's annoyance stop by. he got up and opened the door ajar to see Mai's hesitation in answering.
"Moshi moshi?"
"Taniyama Mai?"
"Hai?" she answered hesitantly.
"This is officer Kawashi, we have apprehended a man in your case, would you be able to come down to the station for a line up?"
Mai held the phone to her ear. Had she heard him correctly they found the man? They wanted her to see him, her to point him out, to face him. She stood there frozen. a face flashed before her eyes, a man, his face accented by the lightning flashing against it.
"Taniyama-san?" the officer asked. "are you still there, Taniyama-san?"
Mai didn't notice Lin emerge from his room. he came over to her and gently took the phone from her hand. She jumped from his touch but recognized him and slid down into her chair. He knelt slightly to look in her eyes as he lifted the phone to his ear.
"Who is this?" he asked. His professionalism barely drowning out the acid in his tone.
"This is officer Kawashi, from the Shibuya district precinct, who is this?"
"Lin, Koujo, coworker of Taniyama-san, what is this pertaining to?"
"Lin-san your name was also on this file. We have apprehended a man in Taniyama-san's case. We need her to identify the man who was her attacker. Is she able to come in for a line up?"
Lin stared into Mai's eyes seeing the fear subside and clear thinking resume. "She will be down," he closed the phone and placed a hand under Mai's chin.
"Are you ready to close this case, so you can move on?" Lin asked her, His calm reassuring voice speaking confidence where she felt none. She nodded. "Go wash your face; we will put this to rest."
Mai stood and headed to the restroom, walking blindly past Bou-san who had just walked in and watched quietly while Lin had taken the phone from Mai. Lin noticed him standing there and looked at him expectantly.
"Lin-san, I have a case Naru might be interested in." the assistant nodded.
"I have some errands to run," Lin watched the monk's eyes quirk in question about Mai. "Taniyama-san is not feeling well I will drop her at her apartment on my way." He stated before disappearing into Naru's office.
"I am headed out for some errands. Mai is going home, she isn't feeling well." he stated. "the monk has a case to discuss with you." he waited momentarily but if Naru had any questions he kept them to himself and continued to read through what BPR had sent. Lin left the office just in time to see Mai reemerge from the restroom. As he watched Takigawa turn to approach mai slowly, Lin reached and grabbed Mai's coat from its hook and used his long legs to reach Mai before the monk.
He gently handed her the coat which she shrugged it on without noticing the rest of the world. Lin gave the monk a curt nod before opening the door for Mai and disappearing out the door. He left the monk wondering if he was preventing him from speaking to Mai, but he just shook his head. Naru might do something like that, prevent people from knowing something, but Lin would have never done that. He was silent but always let the chips fall where they would. The look on Mai's face clearly something had upset her. He was probably getting her away from the boss in a bad mood.
Takigawa knocked on Naru's door. Taking the silence following as an invitation he turned the knob and headed in. Naru looked up from his papers to glare at the monk. "Hey Naru-bou, what is wrong with Mai-chan?"
Naru looked at him in surprise for a moment before remembering Lin's words. "She is sick." he said simply and turned back to him papers. Takigawa looked at him for a second wondering at how insensitive Naru could be.
"You should be nicer to her, some day she just might quit because of your insensitivity." The monk stated.
Naru simply glared at him. Insensitive would have been demanding tea before she left. He had restrained himself only looking at the empty tea cup well past overdue for its refill. "Is there something you want or will you leave me in peace?" he asked patience draining away.
The monk shook his head then dove into the reason he had come. "I have a case you might be interested in."
Although Lin had never driven there himself he knew the location of the precinct. He knew the distance it was from the office and how long the response time would be if someone called. He knew this along with the closest hospital, which hospitals were known for their discretion and which accepted 'paranormal' as a cause of injuries, with minimal questions. All part of his initial reconnaissance for any case or investigation and all reasons he had rejected four other office locations. They needed a quick response, but with their type of work and Oliver's abilities he knew there might be a time he needed time to escape if Oliver lost control, or a case overwhelmed them. They weren't people who ran away, but sometimes strategic retreats were necessary.
He pulled up to the precinct and parked. He opened Mai's door and lead her silently into the precinct. She walked quietly head down, trying to disappear into her coat. At the desk he asked for officer Kawashi. It only took a moment before the man appeared and escorted them into an empty conference room. Mai continued to follow Lin without question barely noticing her surroundings. The officer looked at her concerned.
"Taniyama-san I am glad you able to come down so soon. We have enough evidence to link him to a couple rapes but an positive ID will seal this case." the officer stated looking at Mai.
She nodded understanding his words but fighting to remain composed.
"Officer if I could have a word," Lin lead the officer to the corner of the room.
"Lin-san, I appreciate you bringing her down, but will she be able to make an ID?"
"We shall see, but this has been quite hard on her. In the future can you contact me with information? She is dealing with the situation, but" he paused looking at the girl sitting near catatonically by the table. Further explanation was unneeded.
"Of course I will put your name down as contact info. I need to set up the line up, then I will bring the prosecutor in to speak with Taniyama-san before she sees anything. She can stay here with you until then. She will need to make the id without any influence, you can be in the room but once they bring in the lineup no one will speak with her except the prosecutor until she makes the id, will she be able to handle that?"
Lin gave a curt nod. "Give us a minute then can we meet the prosecutor before we enter the room, slight familiarity will be of comfort."
"Of course, I will send him in, in about 5 minutes; line up should be ready shortly after."
Lin nodded, the sooner the better. Mai sat in the chair at the desk he could see her fighting off tears, fighting the fear. He got a glass of water from the cooler and it on the table infront of her. Then he bent down and lifted her chin to meet his eyes once again.
"You faced Urado alone to save Hara-san, this monster can't hurt you, and I will be right behind you." Lin saw a slight relaxation in Mai's posture while her eyes still betrayed her fear. Lin backed away and Mai sipped her water. They a few minutes later officer Kawashi returned with two men and a woman in toe. He introduced them each in turn.
"Taniyama-san this is Officer Hakari Haruhi you may remember from that night." Mai showed no sign of recognition neither did Lin, although his shiki confirmed she had been one of the officers that night. The officer continued on. "this is prosecutor Semichi, they have been working together to bring this man in and this is Yuichi-san an independent witness to make sure that everything goes as it should." They each bowed slightly as they were introduced. He quietly waved to the chairs around the table motioning the to sit at their ease. Each took a seat across from Mai while Lin sat in a chair to the side of Mai.
"Taniyama-san, we appreciate your bravery in coming to identify your attacker." Prosecutor Semichi spoke gently. "I understand you have been through quite an ordeal and we hope to make this as easy as possible. In a minute we will ask you to come into another room with a window in it. The people in this room will be there with you. Your friend may be there also but we ask he remain in the back and not interfere."
Lin acknowledged with a nod but remained silent. "We will bring 5 men in the other room. You will be able to see them but they will not be able to see you. Each one will step forward and turn. When you are comfortable we only need to know if the man attacked you is there and what his number is. Once you are done you can comeback here. He will never know who you are."
Mai nodded her understanding.
"Do you have any questions before we proceed?" Mai shook her head. "Do you need a moment or are you ready?"
Mai looked to Lin and he nodded slightly. "Ready," she whispered.
She was escorted to the other room where she was asked to stand in the front by the window and then five men were lead into the other room. Mai watched them assemble. They all looked similar. Each ones height hitting similar mark on the wall behind them. she looked at each one in turn as the filed past none making much of an impression. Then as a group they turned and faced her. There she saw him. She could not pull her eyes away from him. His hair was spiked back, blond. He wore a black shirt with a camo vest overtop. Mai began to shake; he smiled innocently behind the glass. She remembered the lightning flash reveal his features infront of her.
"Taniyama-san," came a voice beside her. "Taniyama-san," it called again.
She bit her lip, "yes," she spoke slightly above a whimper.
"Do you recognize the man who attacked you?"
She nodded, "yes." She stated slightly above a whisper.
"Can you tell me which number?" the voice coaxed her.
Mai tore her eyes from his grin and looked at the number he held. "Four."
"Number four please step forward." the voice stated, she heard a slight metallic echo. The man stepped forward seeming slightly annoyed.
"Is this the man who attacked you?"
"Yes," Mai nodded. Backing away from the window.
"Thank you, we are done now."
Mai backed away further still unable to tear her eyes from the attacker. She felt a hand on her shoulder slightly startled for a moment before she recognized it. It pulled her attention away from the window, and steered her to the door. She allowed it to lead her and they ended up back in the room they had sat in earlier. Lin directed her into the room letting the door close behind him o sit then knelt infront of her. He lifted her eyes to meet his.
"He won't ever hurt you again." Lin stated, the tears on the verges of her eyes let loose, In another instant Mai was sobbing on his shoulder and Lin gently held her close protectively. After a few minutes her tears subsided and she pulled away. Lin gently released her. The officer stepped into the room and Lin turned and stood between the man and Mai.
"We appreciate you both coming down here." He stated. Half looking at Lin and half trying to see Mai. Lin said the only thing that came to mind.
"You had better get a confession," his voice coming out slightly gentler then a growl. He knew his shiki were on edge and he needed to get all of them out as soon as he could.
"We will, and I will contact you with any updates." He stated. "I just need Taniyama-san to sign this then you can leave when you are ready." He handed Lin the papers, he looked them over quickly then set them on the table before Mai giving her a pen. She signed them, Lin Handed them back to the officer who turned and left the room.
Lin ushered Mai out. The rest of the day was a fog; she could not remember how she got home. In the morning, she woke to a note on the kitchen table.
I will tell Noll you are sick today, You were brave yesturday, as you know Bravery is not the absence of fear, but the knowledge that there is something else more important.
If you need anything, call 465-652-2617. Koujo Lin.