Chapter Twenty-Five:
Justice be Given to the Wicked
President Markus's escort and limo drove up to Tokyo's checkpoint and was waved on. Twenty minutes later, after making their way through traffic, the limo pulled up to Tokyo Tower.
The sloped parking lot had been blocked off, which allowed it to be filled up with news reporters, protesters, and supporters. Certain groups held Markus signs that said, "Go Home! Fly back to the States! You look like an Ostrich! Uranus Stinks!" and "Commit Seppuku!"
The escort pulled up between the podium and tower before coming to a halt. The Secret Service walked up to the President's limo and opened the door to allow Markus and his wife exit it. They ascended onto the podium while waving at the crowd. Mrs. Markus took her seat as her husband stepped before the microphone to give his speech.
"People of Japan, I know some of you do not approve of me being here," addressed the President.
"THAT'S RIGHT, ROKUDENASHI!" shouted someone.
"Now, now. No need for swearing! I'm sure if we come together, we can all live as one! Our two countries are unique in their own ways. With our intelligence combined, not only can we win the war, but start bringing peace back to the world!"
The audience clapped in response while others booed.
"Your country is the one that started it!" shouted someone else.
Markus chuckled and responded with, "I know many think that, but the truth is that other countries feared we would rule the world if we also had Heaven's Gate. But I assure you, that's not our goal."
"Why does it matter, Mr. President!" came another voice. "BK201 has returned, and the Gate is gone once more!"
"Ah, yes. The infamous BK201. I assure you, we are close at apprehending and bringing him to justice!"
In the crowd, Kouno stood in the mist with a mike in his ear. He tapped it, and said, "Now, that's a lie. BK201 is not your ordinary Contractor either. I should know after chasing him for four years."
"Enough of the chit-chat Toriumi Kousuke!" said Goro. "Keep your eyes focused. Has Detective Shoji Kiski arrived yet?"
"No. Just Izumi Sakura."
"Do you think he's betrayed us?"
"If he did, he wouldn't have told me about your plan, sir," said Sakura.
"Perhaps he's trying to frame you."
"He wouldn't. He knows if he did, Megumi-san would hunt him down personally."
"Sounds like Saitou was with Misaki," Kouno chuckled.
"Kousuke! Do not say those names over this line! It might be monitored. You too Sakura with your colleague's name. We're already taking risks with yours and Shoji's names."
"Yes, sir," replied Sakura.
"Any word on her?"
"No, sir," said Kouno. "By the sounds of it, she was on her own. She might be dead for all we know."
"Just keep your fingers crossed."
Xxx
Megumi snuck her way towards b Akasaka Hotel. Between the cop cars rampaging through the streets and the roadblocks, she had to slip into dozens of alleys. Most of them were body width. She was grateful she wasn't claustrophobic.
Since the President was at Tokyo Tower, the sidewalks and streets were mostly cleared, allowing her to approach the hotel without any prying eyes. Once she reached it, a familiar face appeared.
"What kept you?" Shoji asked.
"What…? What are you doing here?" yelled Megumi, as quietly as she could. "You're supposed to be helping Kouno and the others."
"I figured you needed the help more."
Megumi clinched her right fist, thinking of giving him strike three. However, she didn't need the attention now and settled her nerves.
"What's done is done," she said. "You at least ask Sakura for help?"
"Yep, sure did, Chief!"
Megumi's jaw line tightened. He was testing her patience again and knew he was getting away with it. This was no joking matter, but typical Shoji had to make it one. He had no idea how badly he was playing with his life right now.
Megumi and Shoji began to walk over to the elevator.
"Oh, Shengshun-san!" chimed the lady at the counter.
Startled, Megumi looked over at her, dumbfounded she remembered her face, and smiled.
"Yes?" she questioned, as Shoji gave her a peculiar stare.
"It seems in our logs you and your mother didn't stay with us last night, and you missed your spa appointment."
"Oh, yes, well, we ran into some things last night and had to crash somewhere else."
"Oh! Is everything all right?"
"Yes. Everything is great. I'm just going up to my room with him for a bit."
"I'm the something that had happened," added Shoji, having Megumi kick his shin, as she guided him to the elevator.
The employee watched puzzled with Megumi throwing on a fake smile and quickly stepping onto the elevator to ascend it.
Once the doors had closed, the employee said, "Remind me never to date a Chinese guy! No matter how smooth his collar bone is."
In the elevator heading for the fourth floor, Megumi kicked Shoji in the shin again, and yelled, "Why the heck did you say that?"
"Just playing… the part," whined Shoji, rubbing his shin. "I hope those weren't strike threes!"
"More like foul balls! Although, I know a better place for that!"
"Oh, no you don't!" Shoji covered his family jewels. You already made that my first strike."
Megumi shook her head at him.
The door chimed to inform they had reached the seventh floor. Megumi cursed, figuring the hotel staff had locked access to the top floor, perhaps because of hers and her mom's visit yesterday, and she and Shoji had to work their way up. No doubt they'd be running into some obstacles.
The door opened, and as on queue, Jackal was waiting for her. He swung his sword, having Shoji push her forward out of the way and getting cut on his back instead. They slammed on the floor with Shoji on top of her.
"Shoji!" screamed Megumi.
"Told you… you needed… my help," he muttered in pain.
"Idiot! I didn't want you coming because of this!"
"Enough of this crap!" shouted Jackal, standing over them. "It's time to end this!"
Pointing downwards, he raised his sword over his head, frightening Megumi, not because she was about to die, but Shoji was going to as well. Jackal began to bring forth his weapon, having Megumi close her eyes, as Shoji began to cringe.
In a split second, Jackal was jump-kicked across the face and sent into the wall. Megumi looked up to see a masked Hizumi standing before them.
"Get your partner to safety and then get to the roof, Megumi," he said.
Megumi began to push Shoji off her, forcing him to try and stand with her help. Once they were on their feet, Megumi kicked open a guest room door and helped Shoji in it. She lied him on his stomach on the bed, checked the bathroom for a first aid kit, finding one, and began patching up a two foot long cut that came across his spine.
"You're such an idiot, Shoji!" lectured Megumi.
"So you keep… telling me… ouch! See your… boyfriend… arrived…"
"Not my boyfriend. You should know that."
"You two did date… so he at least… ouch… is your ex."
"The person I had dated died. I don't know who he is."
"Liar."
Megumi looked at him, wondering if he thought she was lying about Hizumi, or about her feelings towards him. It didn't matter since she had other things to worry about. When she was done patching him up, Megumi grabbed Shoji's phone, dialed 119, and placed it to her ear.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Trying to save your life."
"There won't be any need for that," said a voice.
Somebody appeared before her, snatching up the phone and turning it off.
"You!" babbled Megumi. "You're…!"
"Sylar, HE905," he said. "Madam O figured your partner would get himself mixed in your problem and sent me to help him escape."
"I'm… not going… anywhere…" demanded Shoji, as he stood.
Before he could stand Megumi hit him in the head to knock him out, and said, "The heck you are." She glared at Sylar. "Anything happens to him, I'll come after you and kill you."
"It would be irrational to do so."
"If it means saving your own life, so I'm making sure you see things to the end."
Sylar nodded, threw Shoji over his shoulder, and disappeared with him. Megumi gave them a few seconds before she stepped out to see the two combatants staring at each other. Not wasting anymore time, Megumi headed for the roof.
Xxx
Having enough of the staring contest, Jackal charged while wielding his katana. Hizumi blocked a horizontal attack, followed by a second and third strike. Something seemed a miss with his opponent, and found himself being kicked from lightning speed reflexes. Apparently Jackal gained more than his youth back.
Hizumi snorted, settled in a fighting stance, and began defending a high, low and middle assault. As he parried a fourth one, he swung his knife, believing he would slit Jackal's throat or sever a vein, but Jackal sidestepped it and kicked Hizumi across the face, shattering the mask.
The pieces fell to the ground, as Hizumi performed a sweep kick to avoid an upward slash, only to have Jackal back flip it and gain some distance to stare at Hizumi.
"I see you've also regained your youth," smiled Jackal. "What did you do? Search down HP355 and force him to use his powers on you?"
"Sure!" lied Hizumi.
"Looks like I'm the strongest and the fastest between us both, BK201," Jackal chuckled.
"I haven't even gotten started yet," mumbled Hizumi.
Hizumi stood in his fighting stance, sending sparks into his blade, and charged. Jackal shifted his head to the left and right repeatedly, avoiding the knife, punches and kicks, and then ducked to jab Hizumi's side while following up with a roundhouse kick.
Hizumi stumbled backwards, astounded at how Jackal was picking him apart, and wiped at the blood seeping from his lips. Holding his katana to his side, Jackal rushed towards Hizumi, who had a split second to block a sideward slash, but couldn't stop a reverse slash at his back, in which he somersaulted forward and was nicked by the tip of the blade. He rolled to his feet while glaring back at Jackal, as blood tripped from his back.
"Give up, BK201," said Jackal. "You can't win." Hizumi flipped his blade in his hand and held it before his opponent. Jackal frowned, but then his head twitched, as something seemed to light up in his brain. "You look different somehow? I don't know what it is, besides your age, but it is interesting."
"Just means you're not very bright," replied Hizumi.
Jackal smiled devilishly, wielded his sword before him, and said, "I'm going to enjoy slicing you open from head to toe."
He launched with quick speed and performed a downward strike, having Hizumi block it with ease. However, Jackal kicked the wannabe Kuro no Shinigami, tossing him back and leaving him open for a final blow.
"DIE, BK201!" screamed Jackal.
He brought forth the blade, but someone else interfered and jump kicked him, sending him across the hall while dropping his katana and twirling a few times before hitting the floor. Irritated and peeved off more than Scrooge on Christmas, Jackal rose to see who had barged into his fight. His eyes bulged to see someone else dressed as the Black Reaper from head to toe.
"Who are you?" Jackal asked.
The latest reaper removed his mask to reveal a similar BK201 with graying hair and wrinkles, but colder ice-blue eyes. Jackal grinded his teeth, as he answered his own question.
"You! You're the real BK210!" he snorted. "No matter! I'll kill you and then this fake one!"
"What are you doing, old man?" shouted Hizumi, as he stood next to Hei. "I got this!"
"Go help the detective woman," said Hei. "I'll deal with him."
"The hell you are! I started this fight, I'm going to finish it."
Hei grabbed his son and pulled him to stare into his eyes, and said, "This is my fight! It has been for twenty-seven years! You have your mess to clean up with that Megumi woman." Hei pushed him away. "Now go!"
Hizumi snorted and ran off.
Jackal glared at Hei for deceiving him for so long. He was going to make him pay for his crime. Hei kicked the Katana towards his opponent, surprising him. Hei said nothing, as Jackal picked up his sword and stared at him peculiarly.
"Very irrational for you to do that," he taunted, which didn't faze Hei, but it did to Jackal.
He ran and swung his sword downward at Hei, who sidestepped to his left, then to his right, and followed up with a knee to the gut. Jackal coughed up spit and ended up getting roundhouse kicked to the face. He lost his grip on the sword before he hit and slid on the floor, but quickly regained his composure and spun somersaulted to his feet. Charging at Hei, he picked up his weapon and swung it upwards, having Hei jump back, and then use his knife to block a downwards slash and slide the katana down the slit, locking their weapons together.
Jackal kicked, but Hei was able to block it, having Jackal perform a roundhouse kick in which Hei released his hold and ducked. The two stared at each other; Jackal infuriated that made him scream.
"No! It can't be true! Not even in my youth! I can't beat you? Why? Do I have to resort to such dishonor as that? NNNOOOO!"
Jackal glared at Hei, his skin burning red, but vanquished it as he glowed blue and his eyes ignited. Hei looked on flabbergasted, especially when his muscles doubled in size.
"Surprised?" Jackal asked, still angry. Hei stayed silent for uncertainty. "You're probably wondering why I never did this before. To me, it's a disgrace to use such power! What honor is there in that? Funny a Contractor would say that too, right? But that's my price. To dwell on my honor ten fold!"
"Some honor," mocked Hei. "You had someone else help you kill me, and then you go and gain your youth back. Hazuki had more honor than you, and she never acted on it."
"Those weren't my choices! I had nothing to do with it! It was all Chaplin's idea! Not mine! It's been killing me for years. With your resurrection, I could gain back my honor, but now I'm in a deeper hole!"
"And yet you haven't melted. What a shame."
Having enough of Hei, Jackal charged at him with nonhuman speed and punched to send him flying into and out of a wall. He stormed in, picked up Hei and threw to have him bust through the window and fall. Jackal looked over to see his dirty work, but found Hei's boot in his face and landed in the guest room. Before Jackal hit the ground, he disappeared and came up behind Hei to send him forward into another wall.
"I will see you dead for good!" yelled Jackal.
"And I'll be haunting you everywhere you go," mumbled Hei, as he stood with blood pouring down his forehead, "because you didn't kill me honorably."
Anger burning throughout Jackal's body, he charged at Hei and plowed him through the wall and slammed him to the ground. Seeing that Hei was spent of energy, Jackal returned to his normal size, picked up his katana, and forced Hei into a kneeling stance.
"I will have some honor in this fight," said Jackal.
He raised his sword over his head, and as he began to try and decapitate his long rival, Hei glowed blue, having the blade melt like butter once it struck his skin. Jackal looked at it dumbfound before Hei grabbed his head and electrocuted him.
Jackal yelled out in pain while quivering, dumbfounded at what had happened. Unfortunately, he would never know, and fell back dead.
"I wish I had thought of that twenty-seven years ago," breathed out Hei.
Xxx
Megumi made it up a flight of stairs before having to take cover from fire above. Blindly aiming, she let off two rounds and retook cover. Unfortunately, her unknown assailant had a partner, and had to move as the wall beside her glowed hot red, bursting inwards with shrapnel spraying her.
Cursing she had to deal with a Contractor as well, Megumi emptied her clip, surprisingly hearing whining words that weren't approved for PG movies. With any luck, it had been the Contractor, but the praise was short lived, as the floor beneath her turned red. On instinct, Megumi jump rolled as the ground exploded.
She peered upwards to see the Contractor, who was an elegant woman with short red hair that hung long on the front right side, and emerald eyes, which would drop a grown man to his knees. She wore a black vest over a red shirt and had on black pants with matching red boots.
Megumi reloaded her gun and pointed it at the Contractor, but before she could fire, the wall behind her exploded, knocking her to the ground while being buried.
"It's all over, cop," said the woman.
However, before Megumi could see her mother in the after-life, there were two rounds of gunfire. The Contractor screamed in pain and then fell over the railing to her death below. Megumi pushed her body from the rubble and looked up to see a black man with crooked teeth smiling down at her before disappearing.
Curious about this man, and wondering why he wasn't wielding a gun, she ran up to the next floor to find out who her savior was. However, when she arrived, all she found was a corps and two empty rounds.
Knowing she didn't have time to solve the mystery, Megumi burst onto the roof. Helicopters were hovering overhead, searching for threats. Seeing a clutter of grayish-like hay near the edge of the building, she pulled out her gun, and as she was about to fire, the hay highlighted in blue, as the sniper hidden in it fired.
Megumi cursed.
At Tokyo Tower, The President was waving at the crowd when the shot rang off, and then he was struck in the side of the head to fall in front of his wife dead. The First Lady and the audience screamed and ran in a panic. The Secret Service surrounded the First Lady while wielding their weapons, and guided her off the stage as the remaining Secret Service picked up the President's body to put him in the back of the limo.
Once the President and his wife were secured, they took off.
In the ruckus, Kouno fought against it to reach for Sakura. Once he located her, he shouted into his mike, "Megumi failed! The President was shot and killed!"
"You and Sakura get out before the Secret Service spots you!" yelled Goro.
"Understood!" He smiled at Sakura. "Care to get a cold one together?"
Sakura blushed, and said, "Eh, sure."
On b Akasaka Hotel's roof, Megumi aimed her gun at MC762, and as he stood, she fired. However, he highlighted in blue and averted the bullet leftwards. She cursed again, realizing he can control others, and ducked for cover behind a concrete wall, as he released a round from his gun. Due to him curving bullets, she was lucky it hit beside her.
Knowing she wasn't going to be lucky the second time around, Megumi stood and ran while firing. As expected, all her shots resembled water coming out of a spray nozzle. The Contractor, dressed in gray camouflage, raised his gun and fired, puncturing her stomach. She fell and stumbled on the ground in the mist of cringing pain.
MC762 approached her so he could get a better look at his prey. Pressing hard on her wound, Megumi glanced up at him to see he was built like a brick, had a sharp face and grayish-blue eyes that felt calm and cool.
"You're the detective broad who was at that Mexican's apartment," he said with a deep voice that seemed to fit for Satan himself. "Very persistent, aren't you?" He pointed his rifle at her forehead. "Look where that got you."
Just as he was about to pull the trigger, a sharp pain coursed through his heart and up his left arm. He grabbed at his heart while making a fist with his left hand and kneeling.
"Not now!" he muttered.
Megumi looked on puzzled, wondering what was going on, and pieced it together. He was performing his obeisance by having a heart attack. Not wasting another second, she aimed her gun at MC762's head and killed him.
Hizumi stormed on the roof at the moment MC762's body hit the ground while a star fell. Hizumi looked on lost for words at her heroism. Surprisingly, Megumi pointed the gun at him.
"Told you I didn't need your help," she said, and began to stand.
However, she felt light headed and passed out. Hizumi caught her in his arms and cradled her. He checked her pulse to feel it was weak, looked at her wound and knew she didn't have long.
Hizumi whipped out his wire to hook onto a pole and flew off towards the nearest hospital.
Xxx
Back at Section Three's headquarters, Kanami and Ootsuka surveyed the scenery with the Dolls they had gathered throughout the months. Gorou walked up to them displeased with how things turned out.
"Give me an update!" he ordered.
"We're following the President's limo," said Ootsuka. "Although, it doesn't look good."
She pulled up an image they had caught from a Doll. It showed the President getting struck in the head, disintegrating a majority of it. Gorou's top lip twitched to reveal he wasn't pleased.
"Keep me informed," he said, and walked off. Once he was out of sight, Gorou pulled out his phone and dialed a number. Within seconds, Madam Oreille's face appeared. "Everything is going to plan."
"Any word on my three favorite heroes?" Madam Oreille asked.
"No. Do you think it was wise to keep it from them?"
"If they knew, then they wouldn't have gone after MC762, flush out Jackal, and Kuro no Shinigami getting his revenge."
"You put a lot of lives at risk."
"They're lives were already at risk, Gorou-san. Ta-ta for now."
She hung up, having Gorou's top lip twitch. He needed to see if his occupation had a retirement plan.
Xxx
In the President's limo, the First Lady lay on her husband's dead body crying. Her hands and clothes were douse in Markus's blood, along with the leather seat. The Secret Service men sat across from them, acting like mindless creatures.
"Oh, Markus," she whimpered. "Don't leave me! What am I to do without you? Markus!" She glared at the Secret Service men with beat red eyes. "How far are we from the hospital." They didn't speak. "ANSWER ME!"
"Teddy bear," the Secret Service men on her right said.
In an instant, her eyes became dull and sat back with her blood stained hands on her lap. The window separating the front and back rolled down.
"'Bout time you shut her up," said the driver. He tapped his right ear. "On our way back."
On the outskirts of the city, a white limo began to descend into the hidden passage under the city. Inside occupying the back was Madam Oreille sitting across from the real Mr. and Mrs. Markus. Behind her was a hologram showing the chaos in Tokyo.
"Thank you, Mr. Joust," she said to the driver. "Make sure to dispose of both Dolls."
"Yes, Madam O."
"What carnage, don't you think, Mr. President," smiled Madam Oreille.
Richard Markus devilishly glared at Madam Oreille.
"What is carnage is you discarding Dolls like abused manikins!" he said. "Even still, why should I consider you are telling the truth? You could have set all this up yourself to make me conclude that the Vice President and Minister Chaplin are striving to assassinate me."
"Now that you're dead, what is the next step for your government?" Madam Oreille inquired.
"The following procedure will be the Vice President being sworn in as President and then Tokyo's boarders will be fortified to box in the assassin."
"What if I say that the Vice President calls for Marshall law and makes Chaplin the primary leader of Japan?"
"That's absurd! Not only that, you'd need the Senate and Congress approval, and that would take months!"
Madam Oreille pulled out a remote and changed the hologram. On it stood Prime Minister at a podium in his office. It looked as though he was trying to show sorrow in his expression
"Ladies and gentlemen," began Chaplin, whimpering, or so it seemed. "With great sadness, I am to report the President has been killed. Just moments ago, the Vice President has been sworn in, and with the support of the Senate and Congress, he has announced Marshall law for the United States and Japan."
Markus stared at the screen dumbfounded, glared at Madam Oreille, and yelled, "Preposterous! You, Madam Oreille, have somehow meddled with the hologram!"
"I assure, Mr. President, I have not. However, it would seem that with friends in high places, and Contractors mind you, human beings could do anything."
"Contractors? Are you indicating that the Vice President used Contractors?"
"Yes, Mr. President. The one he used on Congress and the Senate was a mind-controlling Contractor. MK992. His obeisance is a real treat. He has to write fan-fictions. He's written over three hundred. My favorite is Game Show."
Markus's eyes slanted at the nonsense chatter.
"Why not just have me impeached?" he said.
"That would take longer and he wouldn't have anybody to blame," said Madam Oreille, "like the people of Japan, which a majority already hate you."
His eyes twitched, revealing that her words made sense.
"And why would you of all people want to save me?" he asked, disposing of his political degree.
"With you dead, then Chaplin takes over Japan completely," she smirked. "And that'll put a damper on my business."
"Business?" questioned Mrs. Markus. "Is that what my husband is to you? Business?"
"Isn't that how the world works? Isn't everything a business? Like rounding up Contractors, creating Dolls, sending people into war to die, and having politicians killed!"
The First Lady opened her mouth to speak, but Markus placed his left hand on her lap, indicating he was handling things.
"Surely you want to be compensated for your efforts. How much do you want?"
"Just full pardons."
"For yourself, I take it."
"I don't want any pardons. I'm talking about Itashi Megumi, Yutaka Kouno, Mayu Ootsuka, Kiski Shoji, Izumi Sakura, Ishizaki Kanami, and the deceased Kirihara Misaki. Oh and Chaplin's secretary. I always liked her."
President Markus chuckled.
"Is that all?" he asked. "Any money, land, etcetera?"
"No. Pardons will do."
"Consider it a done deal."
He held out his hand to shake hers in which she looked at it for second before saying, "I would like that in writing, if you would please, Mr. President."
Xxx
Chaplin stood before his cabinet members, pleased that they have full control of Japan. He was surprised things went as smooth as it had. The only casualty he had was MC762 and Jackal, but they were mere pawns in his scheme.
"Quite the party we're having," said Andrews. "Time to bring out the champagne and condoms!"
"It is a celebration to remember," smiled Chaplin. "The Vice President is already making changes in the United States. Life in this world is going to take a major turn."
"We still have one problem," said the Mikhail Gorbachev look-a-like.
"Madam O," finished Peppermint.
"We still don't know where she is and what she plans to do to counter-attack our treachery," said the middle-aged man.
Chaplin began to open his mouth.
"You don't have to worry about her," came the President's voice. The cabinet members turned to see he was present with his Secret Service. "It's me you have to worry about."
"Mr. President? You're alive!" Chaplin began to play off. "I thought you were dead?"
"Save your untrustworthy words to the press. What you, the Vice President and Congress has done was unlawful and Unconstitutional! You will pay for your crimes!"
Chaplin smiled devilishly, as he glared at Markus, and said, "How do we know you're not one of Madam O's puppets?"
"Because I've gone through all the legal screening to prove who I am! Men, seize them!"
As the Secret Service men approached Chaplin, he hit a switch on his desk that made the room turn dark. He hurried over to the back wall, hit a hidden switch to reveal a secret hallway and entered it while closing the door.
"Where'd he go?" questioned a Secret Service man.
"Dunno!" yelled another. "It's like he pulled a Houdini!"
In the hallway, Chaplin smirked at his quick thinking, but his gut was turning inside out since now he was going to be declared a traitor. The Government he had run under ten seconds ago was going to pursue him to the ends of the Earth.
Chaplin reached a private elevator that had enough room for two, entered it, and hit the descend button. He leaned back, crossing his arms, and breathed out heavily. It was a good thing he had planned two steps ahead if things went south.
Once he reached the ground floor, the doors opened, allowing him to exit into a minuscule garage, but stepped before Madam Oreille standing beside her white limo, making him freeze in fear.
"Thought you could escape, Minister?" she said, her arms crossed.
"How'd you know about my escape route?"
"Is that important?" Twitching from her comment, he pulled out a nine-millimeter gun he had concealed in the back of his pants and fired, but it was empty. "Oh, sorry to disappoint you, but I had your secretary remove the bullets last night."
"My… my secretary? You got her to betray me! How?"
"A better benefit plan."
Chaplin chuckled while lowering his weapon, knowing Oreille had lied, and said, "So what now? You kill me?"
"I don't intend to do anything. I just came by to say good luck."
He glared at her, saying, "There's a catch. You want something."
"I got everything I want from President Markus, and it's all thanks to you." She opened her limo door, sat in it, and rolled down the window to peer up at Chaplin. "Goodbye, Dickey."
She rolled up the window, and seconds later, the limo pulled away. Chaplin watched as it disappeared, feeling there was more to the plot. He ran over to a dark-greenish car, and entered to sit in it. He took in a deep breath, as he hit the on button, and let it out when it came to life.
He took off the TCS, frowning at the warning system, and began heading off. He drew close to the ramp that departed his building, but before he could reach it, a being in black wearing a white mask dropped on the hood.
Cringing in fright while stopping the car, and hoping Oreille didn't think of it, Chaplin reached into his glove compartment to grab a revolver and fired all six rounds through the windshield to have them bounce off his coat.
Scared for his life, Chaplin hurried out of his car and began heading for the nearest exit. Unfortunately, after running ten meters, his ankles were wrapped up and then yanked backwards to have him land face first on the pavement. He then was dragged back towards BK201 and lifted to his feet to glare into two dark slits.
"I knew there was a catch," said Chaplin. "Kill me, Kuro no Shinigami. You know you want to after killing you almost three decades ago."
Surprisingly, The Black Reaper loosened his wire and pushed him away.
"I'm not going to kill you," said Kuro no Shinigami. "You're not even worth my time."
Chaplin's eyes narrowed, wondering what was going on? Had his enemies forgave him, or perhaps they wanted to see how long he could live before the law caught up to him. None of it made sense.
Chaplin flinched from a sudden pain in his back that seemed to pierce through his chest. He glanced down at blood pouring from a wound caused by a split knife, and then looked behind him to see another Kuro no Shinigami.
"T… two… Kuro… Shinigamis?"
The second Shinigami yanked out his blade and threw him to the ground. The two masked men stood next to each other, towering over Chaplin, and removed their masks.
Chaplin's eyes widened, and realized they were father and son. The father, BK201, was the one who sought and received retribution with his death.
He chuckled, coughing up blood as well, and died.
Xxx
Megumi woke up to see she was hooked to a monitor and Shoji sleeping in a seat beside her. She blinked at him baffled, and muttered, "Sh…oji…?"
His eyes blinked open and then peered at her disbelievingly.
"Megumi-kun!"
"Where… am… I?"
"The hospital. You've been out for weeks!"
"What… happened…? Did…?"
"No, Chaplin's plans were foiled. In fact, Chaplin was killed after trying to escape. Many think it was by BK201 due to the stabbing he had died from, but it's unclear. Afterwards, his cabinet members have been disbanded, along with the Vice President, and a majority of the Senate and Congressmen. It's been hell since you've been out."
"Section Four?"
"Was shut down so a thorough investigation could be done, but it's been up and running for the past week, as well as the police department. Since I was injured, I'm still off for another week. And we all have been pardoned, somehow.
"Oh, I almost forgot. Hachi has been arrested. Along with Himura and Allen Michaels."
"How'd… I get… here…?"
"The fake Kuro no Shinigami. From what I was told, he busted in here and demanded you get help. Obviously he cares for you."
Megumi's jaw line tightened, making Shoji smile to hide a frown.
Xxx
Madame Oreille stood on a rooftop looking out at the city with the Gate in the distance and the sun setting behind her.
Her work at taking down Chaplin had succeeded. Although, she was a little anxious that things wouldn't go according to plan.
That was a thing of the past now and what had been taken care of was only the cherry on top of a cake.
The door behind her opened.
"I was wondering when you were going to show," she said, keeping her eyes forward. "Come to say goodbye?"
"I want my son to be released from your hold," he said.
"That's not part of our agreement." She spun to face him. Hei was dressed in his white shirt that was unbuttoned at the top, blue jeans, and black shoes. "He stays with me. In return, I let you retire and leave Kirsi along."
"I can't accept that."
Hei pulled out his blade and began approaching Madam Oreille. She smiled. Suddenly, gravity became heavy, dropping Hei to the ground. He cursed when a Middle Eastern man stepped from the shadows glowing blue. He wore bell-bottom tan pants, red silk shirt, and brown shoes. The Contractor took out a medicine bottle form his pocket, opened it, and downed the pills like candy.
"I thought you would try that," said Madam Oreille while squatting before him. "And I know your Achilles heal. You seem to do poorly with Contractors that control gravity: like the guy before the Tokyo Explosion, and then the striptease woman who was trying to steal Yin from you.
"You're lucky I'm in a good mood today, Kuro no Shigami, or I would have taken your head. Also, I like having my enemies look over their shoulders wondering when you'd show up." Madam Oreille began to walk off. "Sayonara, BK201!"
The Contractor smiled while he followed Madam Oreille, keeping Hei pinned as long as he could. Once they were gone, Hei stood and glared devilishly.
His fight with Madam Oreille was far from over.
Xxx
Two Months Later:
Megumi stepped onto the Foreign Affairs floor around ten in the morning. Shoji and Sakura noticed her, wondering why she was present since she had another two weeks. Ignoring their stares, she headed for the Commander's office and entered it. She closed the door and stepped before the latest Foreign Affairs Commander.
He was Japanese, average height for an Asian man, stubby hair and was plump. The Commander wore a well-pressed white button up shirt, black pants with matching dress shoes and belt.
"You must be Detective Itashi Megumi," he said with a high groggily voice. "I wasn't expecting you so soon."
"I'm here to turn in my resignation, Commander Hokkaido," she said, handing over a piece of paper. "I'm moving back to Yokohama and taking back my old job."
Hokkaido scanned through the paper, laid it on his desk, and raised his right eyebrow while glaring up at her.
"You're quitting Section Four? Why?"
"It's too much for me to handle anymore. Between dealing with Contractors, foreigners, and even Section Three, it's driving me insane. I want a less stressful job, and plus, Section Four was my mother's forte, not mine."
"But you seemed to excel at it?"
"Hardly, sir. If you look at my attendance here, it's worse than Detective Kiski's."
"You do know if you go back to Yokohama, you'll only go as high as your mother did when you can succeed beyond that."
"I'm well aware of that, and I accept that, sir."
"Is there anything I can say that will change your mind?"
"No, sir. My mind is made up. I leave tomorrow."
"So soon!" Hokkaido shook his head, dumbfounded. "Well ah, have a safe trip then, Detective."
"Thank you, sir," bowed Megumi, and exited the office.
As she approached the elevator to leave, Shoji stepped before her, somehow knowing she was leaving.
"Where do you think you're going!" he stated instead of asking.
"Stand aside, Shoji," demanded Megumi.
"You're leaving not because of the job. Your leaving Sakura and me because of him!"
Megumi's jaw line tightened, knowing he meant Hizumi and he was right. Amber's warning played in her mind about her future. The best way to avoid it was saying goodbye to Tokyo.
"You're stretching," she bluffed.
"Am I? I've seen how you react when you hear his name. You're just like your mother!"
Anger burned through her veins and went to slap him, but he caught it, and then kissed her. Megumi's eyes widened for a second, but then found her body giving into it. However, her senses kicked in and kneed him.
"Strike three," she muttered, as she stepped onto the elevator.
Painfully, Shoji looked towards her before the doors closed.
In Hokkaido's office, he picked up his phone, dialed a number while putting it on speakerphone and placed it to his ear.
"It's me," he said, as someone picked up on the other line. "She's leaving the Foreign Affairs." He paused. "No, I don't think she's planning on joining Madam O." Hokkaido was silent again. "Understood. I'll get someone on her from here to Yokohama, sir."
Xxx
Megumi walked towards her car to head home. Her thoughts dwelled on the kiss she had had with Shoji. He was an idiot for doing such a thing, but it was intoxicating. Without thinking, she stopped and touched her lip. His taste was still there, mingling with her feelings.
Shaking the thought away, Megumi continued heading for her car. However, after taking two steps, she saw a familiar face in the distance, wearing a white shirt, black pants and shoes, and had messy black hair.
"Hizumi," she muttered.
He turned and began to leave. Feeling her heart race, Megumi chased after him. He turned a corner in which she did as well. Down the block, he went to his left near a smoke shop, having her do the same.
Megumi had closed the distance, as he headed to his right. Once she reached it, Megumi began to head down the street, but stopped, noticing he was gone.
Breathing heavily, her heart started sinking in despair. It was being torn between two men and didn't know how to deal with the pain. She had no choice, in order to keep them safe from her curse, Megumi had to leave the city.
Author's Note: One more chapter to go!