Things Lost in the Fire
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Word Count: 7,099
Rating/Warnings/ Summary: Same as chapter one
Author's Note: I won't even say how hard this was to write. Part migraine, part... me, I guess. It was just not cooperating. I even had the fun of needing to rewrite and reorganize a few times and yes... this is where it ended up.
I did consider doing the flashback as a full fledged side story, but it didn't seem to stand on its own enough. I did want the moment where Kent learned that little tidbit in the story somewhere, though.
Twenty-Nine
"What is this?" Shin asked, stopping in the doorway. The others were still in the hallway, which he wouldn't have expected, even if Ukyo was the only man left in the house. He was more than capable of lifting the woman and carrying her into another room. He could have moved her a long time ago, but everyone was still here.
"She didn't just pull her stitches," Ukyo said with a worried glance at Sawa. "She's been unconscious since not long after Toma left. I already called an ambulance—"
"The emergency crews will be here as quickly as they can," Waka said. Everyone would have scrambled to do what he asked, though it wouldn't change that much. They were still limited in what they could do. Fear of Waka didn't make them superhuman, just more motivated.
"She should be okay," Sawa said, though she sounded like she had her doubts. "She was cut again, but I think the bleeding's slowed down. She's probably just... worn out from all she's been through lately."
"It is a lot," Ukyo agreed. Shin sighed. That might be true, and he supposed Ikki probably thought he'd pushed her too much, too, not being careful of her injuries like he should have been. Even now, though, Shin was a little irritated they couldn't ask her about what she'd seen when Kent was taken.
"Speaking of a lot, we need to get through a bunch of surveillance video," Shin said, and Ukyo blinked. "We need to find the car he used to take Kent and track it."
"Oh. Yes, of course."
"Ikki will be working on the puzzle Kent left behind, and I'll be hunting down possible locations where Watanbe might have gone," Toma said, giving the girl another look. "You and Shin will have to work on the traffic cameras."
"Excuse me," Ikki said, pushing past Shin, with more force than was necessary. He was still angry. Shin knew that much. He wasn't a fool.
"Everyone has their tasks," Waka said. "Go. I already told you I want Kent found alive."
Shin nodded. It wasn't like he wanted to stand around doing nothing. He hadn't. He'd just stopped because he wasn't expecting everyone to be where they'd left him.
"Ikki, one more thing," Toma said, and Ikki looked back at him, clearly unhappy with him as well. "You said the drugs Kent took last night have pretty bad side effects... if they were mixed with another drug of any kind—"
"They were, weren't they?" Ikki asked, going pale. "I... there's no real way to know. The doctors told me that Ken's reaction to the ones he's on isn't typical, and that's half the reason he's on the ones he's on because the others don't work, and if they were combined... I don't—It could go either way. Maybe they'd cancel each other out or... Or, he could react badly to them and in that case..."
Ikki didn't have to finish that thought. Shin and almost everyone else knew what he meant. If Kent had reacted badly to the drugs mixing, he was probably already dead.
He walked over to Ukyo. "Let's go. We've got work to do."
Kent had noticed that the cafe was busier than usual today, but he had paid little attention to that at first. His mind was preoccupied by the steps he was taking to remote manage the lab now that the task force was demanding so much of his time, and he had little time or use for anything else right now. When Waka first decided to form the team, it had seemed unlikely to last or be this much of a drain on his time, but as things progressed, Kent found himself spending more time with the others and in the field than he ever had before, and he found it strange.
He had never really given much though to the work the others did before joining the team. His work was with the evidence itself, testing it and analyzing it, leaving assumptions to detectives. He did not want or need to be a part of any of the other processes.
He reached for his coffee cup and sighed to discover it was empty. He looked over to find the waitress, knowing she was around somewhere. She never went far when she was on shift, so he should be able to get her attention easily enough.
She seemed to have just finished showing a customer to his seat at the nearby table, handing him the menu and informing him of the specials, which never actually changed. Kent frowned as the man caught her by the arm.
"You didn't give me your name."
"I didn't?" She flushed, tugging her arm free. "Oh, that's... um... it's Kokoa."
"Well, then," the man said, smiling at her in a way that made Kent frown. "I think I'd like a bit of cocoa."
"Certainly," she said, giving him a slight bow. She caught Kent watching her and got even redder. "I'll bring you more coffee in a minute."
He nodded, turning back to his tablet and trying to optimize the program, needing to be sure that he could actually run the lab from here if he had to. He was in the field too much, and he might have to resign if Waka insisted on keeping him on this team. Admittedly, their work was important, but being out of the lab so much was a conflict Kent didn't need or want.
She set the cup down in front of him, and he looked up to acknowledge her with a nod.
"Thank you."
"Your sandwich should be ready soon," she said, and he frowned at her. Her eyes went wide. "Oh. You already ate it, didn't you? I'm sorry. I... It's so busy right now."
"I did not complain."
She nodded, turning to go back to the other table. She set a mug in front of the man, who looked at it and then at her. He leaned forward, trying to catch her hand again. "This isn't exactly the kind of cocoa I had in mind."
She swallowed, taking a moment to calm herself before responding in a cold but firm manner. "That kind isn't on the menu."
She walked away, leaving the man to glare at her back, muttering to himself all sorts of unfavorable things about her that went from typical idiocy to complete ridiculousness. He wasn't being the least bit quiet about it, either.
Kent shook his head and attempted to focus on his work again. He sipped from his coffee as he looked over the program, frowning. This was wrong. That result couldn't have come from that test, so something was off somewhere.
He continued to make adjustments, aware of the girl with the obnoxious voice coming over to the other table and taking over for the one non-idiotic waitress, asking for the other patron's food order. He did his best to ignore it as he tried to fix the error. It had to be a matter of the settings, but if he couldn't fix it, this would not be viable. He considered informing Waka now, but he had a feeling that Waka's response would be to have him transferred out of the lab instead of releasing him from the task force.
He heard another cup clink against the table and frowned to see her place it there. How long had he been so preoccupied with this, anyway?
"Is everything okay?" She grimaced. "It's just... you usually are in more of a hurry when you eat, but you've been sitting here for a while, and you keep looking at that tablet like it betrayed you."
He almost laughed. "That is hardly possible, though the program I'm testing is not cooperating at present. If this table is needed, I can finish this elsewhere."
"Oh, no, I wasn't trying to rush you off," she said. Her eyes darted toward the other man, suggesting she'd gladly run him out of the store. "I just... I don't even know why I asked, except that it's a little not like you."
He shrugged, reaching for his coffee again. "I suppose not. I'm trying to make running my lab remotely possible, so far without success."
"Oh," she said. "Wow. I didn't think you could do that, not be there for the research, but then... yours is math so maybe it's possible? Or am—I'm being stupid. No one can watch experiments constantly. I don't even know why I said that. I should get back to the dishes. I told Mine I'd do her share if she took that table for me. Why does this always have to happen when people hear my name?"
He shook his head. "I think that must be an exaggeration. Some people could not care what your name is nor would they see any point in making a joke or a pun out of it."
She sighed. "It's sad that you're actually comforting right now."
He had not meant to be, so he said nothing further, reaching for his coffee again. She walked back to the kitchen with his empty cup, and he heard the other customer heckle her as she passed, making her go red again.
"Guess you don't know the meaning of hot cocoa, huh? You're all bitter and cold, not warm and sweet."
Kent recognized signs of her fury, having provoked her in the past himself, but she just went into the kitchen. He supposed she didn't want to fight with this man, since she'd already made her position clear and nothing would change that or his lack of acceptance of her words. Kent knew that his willingness to return after their debates made him somewhat of an oddity as a customer, but he'd actually found himself enjoying them to some degree, even if her arguments were always flawed.
"Bitch. Flirt with that jerk but ignore me? I'll show you."
Kent looked over at him. "I am curious. Exactly what in that conversation was flirtatious? Because while I am told I am socially inept and incapable of flirting—this coming from a former actor who is nearly the opposite—can't keep from flirting, ever—your methods don't seem to have any appeal, and if I can do better, then you must be truly pathetic indeed."
"Excuse me?"
"I would also think that making jokes about someone's name would not be 'cute' or endearing. More likely, as they've been done to an excess, they'd be tiresome, but you weren't even close to those marks with yours as your assumption was rude and lascivious," Kent went on. "The waitstaff may be here to serve you, but that does not make them slaves or here for sexual favors. Your crude behavior almost demands worse, and knowing full well what she's capable of saying when provoked, you were treated more kindly than you deserve."
"I don't have to sit here and listen to this," the man said, rising. "And you should stay out of things that don't concern you."
"You are the one making it my concern and that of everyone in this restaurant due to your behavior and refusal to make the matter private and quiet, not that it should even have occurred in the first place," Kent said. "And if you persist in this sort of harassment, I will be forced to take action."
"You couldn't possibly—"
Kent stood, and the other man rushed from the restaurant in fear. He frowned, shaking his head again as he sat back down. He saw a text on his phone and grimaced. Who the hell had given Watanbe his number? He wasn't dealing with that fool now, not after this.
Still, he gathered his things and left enough money to cover both his order and the other man's, not wanting them to bear the burden of someone who didn't pay. He had too much to do to sit around here, and knowing Gatou's assistant as well as he did, Kent was sure he'd come find him.
He did not intend to be anywhere he could be found, even if it meant breaking his routine and avoiding this restaurant.
"Why haven't they said anything?" Orion asked, fidgeting in the chair. "They should have said something by now. It wasn't that bad, was it? They're not hiding and afraid to tell Waka she died, right?"
Sawa gave him her best smile, but he wasn't reassured by it. Waka had come with them to the hospital, which surprised him, but then he'd made everyone else do something. Toma, Shin, Ikki, and Ukyo were all working to find Kent, and they had to be with someone who could keep them safe, didn't they? Maybe Sawa and Mine never saw anything, but Neesan had. She'd seen the killer. He'd hurt her. A lot.
Orion wished he'd been able to help her, to protect her. He shouldn't have left her alone, even if he thought she wouldn't move, not with Kent sleeping on her.
"It's just going to take time," Sawa said. "They're going to be thorough and take good care of her."
Orio hoped so, but this was the second time he'd been stuck here like this, waiting and unable to do anything. He hated this. He needed to see Neesan.
He was even worried about Kent.
"They will give us word soon," Waka said, and Orion frowned at him. Was he just saying that? It was not like he thought that guy was someone who went around comforting people.
"Captain?"
Waka nodded to the doctor who had just come around the corner. "Yes. What is her condition?"
Wow, Waka was good. Had he heard that doctor coming? How, with all the noise around them and Sawa and Orion talking? That was just... insane. And kind of cool, actually. Waka was as amazing as he was scary. And that was probably why he was so scary—because he could do that kind of thing.
"She's been stabilized. The wound on her leg is showing signs of an infection, and she's running a low fever at the moment," the doctor said. "The cut on her side missed her vital organs, but she still lost a fair amount of blood."
"I see," Waka said. "You believe the blood loss responsible for her loss of consciousness or the fever?"
"Either is a possibility. It does seem she's been through quite a bit of trauma lately. Is there a particular reason she was brought here instead of the hospital that previously treated her?"
Waka nodded, but he didn't tell the doctor what it was.
Orion frowned. "Is this because of the way that other hospital treated Kent? Or are you trying to protect my sister by changing hospitals so that killer won't know where to look for her?"
The doctor's eyes widened, but Sawa and Mine's were wider.
"You are rather astute for a child," Waka told him, and Orion grimaced, wishing he hadn't said anything. Had he just been... insulted? "You may have potential as well, but that is a matter for later. Doctor, how soon can she be moved from the hospital?"
"She just got here," the doctor said. "You can't actually want to take her away already."
Waka stared him down. "Were there any other option, she would never have been brought here in the first place. She is only here now because we lack proper diagnostic tools and more than field training when it comes to medicine."
The doctor swallowed. "I... She should stay for observation."
"Will she be harmed if she is moved?" Waka asked, not changing his expression even for a moment."
"There is a chance she could develop more complications if she's moved, of course. The stitches in her leg have already been pulled once, and the ones in her side could end up just as infected as the others if she's not careful. Her fever could spike and there may be—"
"Yet nothing at present is life-threatening," Waka said, and the doctor frowned. "You noticed trauma, yet think nothing of the cause? I can see no improvement in the skills of the personnel at this hospital. We will be removing her to see to her safety."
The doctor opened his mouth to protest, but he caught Waka's look and stopped. "Very well."
"You don't give up, do you?"
Kent didn't feel like lifting his head. He must have fallen asleep again for a bit after breaking the tail lights. His body was heavy again, and he was so weary. He just wanted to keep his eyes closed as if that somehow would prevent his stomach from emptying itself again. He was tired of vomiting, though he knew part of it was being stuck in such an enclosed space with no way to avoid the smell.
"That is an erroneous statement as well," Kent said, though he knew Watanbe's words meant he was aware of what Kent had managed to do to the tail lights.
"You shouldn't even be awake," Watanbe grumbled, reaching for him. Kent forced himself to move back, though he knew he had nowhere to go. He'd tried to find the release into the backseat of the car, willing to risk that if it meant getting out of the trunk and away from all of this.
He accepted he was likely to die. He still found it difficult to allow that to happen without a fight, even if it was out of an irrational refusal to be dragged through vomit.
"You have nowhere to go."
Kent nodded. "I am aware of that, but I am also unwilling to allow you to manhandle me out of this trunk in a way that will be both undignified and also result in me being forced to smell like vomit up until you kill me."
Watanbe laughed. "That bothers you?"
"I suppose it seems irrational," Kent agreed. He knew it did. He also knew that if he was able to persuade Watanbe not to drag him from the car, he'd stand a better chance of escaping once he was out of the trunk. "Yet I have developed a strong dislike for that smell, and if I must die, I would rather not have to do so covered in such an odor."
"You amuse me," Watanbe said, taking out a gun this time. He gestured for Kent to move. "Come on out, then. If you do anything foolish, I will shoot you."
Kent couldn't remember all the details of the other cases, but he felt certain, somehow, that Watanbe had not used a gun in them. He was either uncomfortable with them or needed to be closer to his victims. Kent could not be sure, but he thought it was still something to consider, as it might well make Watanbe unable to use it now or that he would use it poorly.
It was a dangerous assumption to make, but Kent was at a distinct disadvantage. He would have to make some risky choices if he intended to survive. He crawled out of the trunk, making sure he took it slowly, careful not just to avoid the vomit but also to give himself a chance to observe their surroundings and gain a bit of distance from Watanbe. Any slowness on Kent's part should increase the sense that he was rather incapable of doing anything against Watanbe, which was what he wanted.
He stood, knowing his window for movement was short. This parking garage was not Watanbe's final destination, just a place to try and elude his pursuers for longer.
That proved true when Watanbe gestured to the car next to them. "Get in the trunk."
Already open, the trunk was waiting for him, and Kent was sure it had been altered as well, to prevent the release from opening. He didn't have much of a choice, then. Watanbe was sure to drug him again to ensure he did not break more tail lights. Kent knew he would likely not survive another dose of drugs.
Fine, then. He had little other choice. Or if he did, he didn't have the time to think about it.
He slammed his entire body into Watanbe, an inelegant move that still managed to knock the other man to the ground, sending the gun clattering across the concrete and under one of the other vehicles. Kent stumbled, not balanced enough for what he'd just done. Watanbe reached for him, yanking on his leg, and Kent fell, desperate to free himself before Watanbe could get to him.
He pulled his leg free and dragged himself forward, scrambling up to his feet again. He had already chosen to run. Direct confrontation with Watanbe was not going to end in Kent's favor. He had lost the last fight, and if he just needed to stall, running was better.
He had seen a bit of the garage, though it helped little, since even though this level was full of cars, he'd been forced in the opposite direction from the closer stairwell.
That left him with an obvious destination, and his height meant that running normally was out of the question. He'd have to crouch and make his way through the cars, trying to keep himself covered, which would take time and also make it more likely that his existing fatigue and injuries would get to him if Watanbe didn't.
Even as he had that thought, he felt himself weakening. He rounded a truck, taking himself out of sight as he slowed down, moving around the front of it to the car next to it, needing to reverse directions. He had to get to the stairwell if he could, and if not, he might even be able to ambush Watanbe, which was about the only way Kent saw himself having an advantage in their fight.
He eased himself around another vehicle, listening carefully as he did. He could not hear much from his own movements, which was as it should be, he'd worked with Waka enough to value that skill though he was far from Waka's level at such a thing. He didn't hear Watanbe, either, though, which was unfortunate.
He closed his eyes for a moment, needing a rest. This was not a good position to be in, and if this was one of Waka's team exercises, Shin or Toma would have found him and disqualified him by now. Kent did not have a high opinion of his own chances of success here. He was an intellectual, preferred being in his lab, and this sort of action was best left to Shin or Toma, who sought it out, or even Ikkyu, who could manage after all his years in television simulating the same events.
His arm throbbed, and he glanced at it. He'd thought the bleeding had stopped while he was still in the trunk, but if it hadn't, that would end up leaving a trail that Watanbe could follow.
Damn it.
"Wait," Shin said, almost grabbing the mouse from Ukyo, who grimaced and moved to the side, making the mistake of bringing the mouse with him. Shin gave him a look, and Ukyo sighed. Shin was supposed to be watching his own screen with the cameras, not Ukyo's. "Fine. Go back."
"I don't even know which screen you want me to move back," Ukyo said. "There are eight of them here, so you'll have to be more specific."
Shin held out a hand. Ukyo gave him the mouse and keyboard, letting him do what he wanted. He stepped back so Shin could lean in and do what he wanted. He pulled up one of the cameras to the center, nodding to himself as he paused the feed.
"That's it. That's what I thought."
Ukyo frowned. At first glance, it didn't look like much of anything, just a typical car driven by just about anyone who owned a car. Black, four door, nothing too unusual. Ukyo stared for a moment, afraid to get his hopes up after what he'd just seen.
"There isn't any other reason why both back tail lights would be broken, is there?"
Shin shrugged. "Could be vandalism, maybe, but if it happened on that street, we would have seen it. This neighborhood isn't that bad as far as crime goes."
Ukyo nodded. This could be a good sign. "Then maybe Kent is still alive and fighting back."
Shin started out of the room, leaving Ukyo little option other than to follow after him. He heard something shatter in the other room, and stopped, peering into the doorway. Ikki looked pretty ragged already, and Ukyo knew it wasn't fair to ask him to do this right now. He was worried about Kent, considered him like family, the only family he had, and Kent was missing, in danger, and Ukyo knew that if he was in Ikki's position, even knowing that the puzzle might save Kent's life, he wouldn't be able to concentrate on it.
"Ikki?"
"Don't even start with me, Shin. Same to you, Ukyo."
Shin grunted. "We may have a bit of good news. Found a car on the cameras—both tail lights damaged. Could be Kent. I wanted to see what Toma could dig up on it. Already added it to the alert."
Ikki took in a breath and let it out. "That's good. Better than what I've got."
Ukyo grimaced. "You don't have to force—"
"This sort of puzzle would have me throwing stuff even if Ken wasn't missing. He didn't make it easy. Ken never does, but this one..." Ikki ran a hand over his face. "His paranoia was at an all time high. That's the only thing I can think of because the damned thing is practically in code on top of being a puzzle written in our shorthand—hell, there's even inside jokes in it. He didn't mean for anyone else to solve this and I... I honestly don't know if I can."
Shin seemed to wince a little, but it could have been Ukyo's imagination. "I'll take this to Toma."
Shin shoved Ukyo forward after he said it, so no, not his imagination. He wanted Ukyo to fix this, but Ukyo didn't know how. He wasn't any good at math, either. That was all Ikki and Kent. Even their stories were something that tended to only be shared by Ikki and Kent, not the whole team.
Still, he had to try.
"Ikki, Kent wouldn't have given you something that you couldn't solve," Ukyo said. "The harder this puzzle is, the more it shows that Kent trusts you. He put all his faith into something you would unravel, and Kent doesn't do that lightly. It wouldn't be logical to create a puzzle you couldn't solve, right? So he knew you would do it."
Ikki nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure he did."
"Then..." Ukyo frowned, not sure what to think of that tone. "I know it's not much comfort, but he did think you could do this."
"I know he did."
"I... You don't sound like you do."
Ikki tried to force a smile. It was more of a grimace. "Don't you see it, Ukyo? He never expected me to be solving this while he was alive. He figured he'd be dead if this ever got to me. I wasn't supposed to be trying to find him and keep him alive."
Ukyo winced. "Ikki..."
"You should go back to the traffic cameras. We don't know for sure that was the car Ken was in—but if he was awake, he'd be looking for a way out or a way to let us know that was the car. It's very like him," Ikki said. "And we'll need to track it as far as we can. Maybe that's what Shin thought Toma would do, but you've got eyes."
Ukyo nodded. "I know, and I will. I just... I wish there was some way I could help you, too, Ikki."
Ikki laughed a little. "I'm not the one that needs help. Ken does. You just do your part. I'll get back to mine. I'm fine."
"No," Ukyo disagreed quietly. "You're not."
"I have to admit, you're giving me more trouble than I thought you would," Watanbe called out across the garage. "Last time, you were so easy to subdue."
Kent refused to snort or give into the temptation to reply. He'd been a ridiculously easy target because he'd been trapped in the rubble. His leg was crushed. He couldn't run then. He wasn't even sure why he could move now, not when he'd been drugged, but the best idea he had was that the combination of the two drugs had actually managed to counteract their effects to a degree.
He was still tired and nauseous and ready to collapse, so it wasn't a complete negation of anything, but it was enough to allow him this much. He just had to hold on a bit longer. If he could pinpoint where Watanbe was, he could move again, toward the stairwell.
Or, if he came near, Kent could attack, and that might end it all.
He just had to stay conscious. He was not sure he could, but he would try.
"No response to that? You had plenty to say before," Watanbe went on. "You kept on talking like you thought it could change things. Like it would save her."
Kent found himself thinking he'd rather like to kill Watanbe. He'd never thought himself capable of such an action, even after becoming a part of the task force, but what that man had done to his mother—Kent wanted him to pay for it, wanted to be the one to make that happen, even if he knew it was illogical. It wouldn't bring her back and it wouldn't change anything. She'd still be dead, and Watanbe would not feel anything. Kent's guilt wouldn't go away.
He took another breath. He was being baited. That was all. Watanbe wanted to provoke him out of hiding. If he spoke, he lost.
He would not lose, not this time.
That sentiment actually surprised him. He wasn't used to thinking that way. He wasn't emotional by nature, nor was he prone to think too much of himself. He knew he was not capable of winning this confrontation, so why was he so willing to do it, so sure he'd somehow prevail? That was illogical.
"Still nothing?" Watanbe's voice sounded closer than before. "I thought you were done hiding from me. Wasn't that why you finally left your house? Weren't you planning on baiting me? Or were you actually not planning and just made a stupid, stupid mistake? How unlike you, Kent. You went without a plan. No strategy. Not even logic. Why would you, of all people, do that?"
Kent grimaced. True, he hadn't done all that much to plan his actions, but he wasn't a fool, either. He knew that Watanbe wanted to capture him and kill him. Still, if his basic plan had worked, it would actually have trapped Watanbe in the house with all of them. He hadn't had a chance to adapt it before he was taken, couldn't fix what his distraction had broken.
He grimaced. She'd been trying to help. He never wanted her to think that it was her fault this happened. He'd made the decision to go out the door. He was to blame. He knew that.
He was to blame for all of it.
"I got us a possible," Shin said, and Toma looked back at him, eyes bleary from looking at the screen for too long. He should probably do something about that, but if he had his eyes examined and they were starting to get worse, the department might pull him from working with Shin. He didn't want that. He needed to be where he could watch over his little brother.
"Possible?"
"Yeah. Looked over at Ukyo's screens, caught a glimpse of a car that had two broken tail lights."
Toma couldn't help the smile. "That's it, Kent. Don't give up on us yet."
Shin sighed. "You know we don't have any proof that is his work. Don't go fixating on it now."
Toma shook his head. "I know it might not pay to be optimistic, but I want to be this time. I don't want this to all be a waste, and it's not like we don't already know what it's like to lose Kent. We've lived that nightmare once, and he wasn't even dead. I don't want that to happen. We're getting him back, and we're keeping him this time. No more of this hiding crap. He's coming back to the team like before."
Shin nodded, though Toma knew he was far from convinced. "I figured you could run down the numbers faster, see if there's any connection between this car and Watanbe or Eguchi."
Toma nodded. "I can. So far I haven't managed to drag up anywhere in particular that Watanbe might consider special, nowhere he might take Kent. What I've got from the bank records Ikki gave me and the GPS records I've been able to dig up isn't narrowing it down enough. He doesn't own any property here besides the car, and that's sitting at the station. Hasn't moved all day. Same with the vehicle Eguchi owns. What I do have is a couple neighborhoods—"
"If this car ended up anywhere near them, it might be enough," Shin said. "We just need a place to start, right?"
"Shin, he's not a fool. This guy's other crimes are carefully planned and hidden so no one even knows he did it," Toma said. "He's going to ditch that car for another before he takes Kent anywhere. Though... that does give me some hope, if we're right about Kent doing that to the tail lights."
Shin nodded. "There's a chance he could free himself, though if he only broke the tail lights, that means Watanbe disabled the interior trunk release. Kent's not stupid. He would have used it if he could have. The tail lights are a last resort."
Toma nodded. "Not that it would surprise me if Watanbe made sure to deal with the trunk release. He'd have to. He couldn't risk putting Kent in the back seat or having him sit with him up front, even if he had a gun on him."
"No, Kent would just let him shoot him instead of cooperating."
"That's true," Toma admitted, since Kent's survival instincts weren't the same as other people's, even less so if he was willing to sacrifice himself to save the rest of them. Kent would try and talk people down, but he'd see no logical point in giving someone who intended to kill him anyway what he wanted and cooperating just to buy time. The only reason Kent was alive now was probably the girl. He'd fought for Kokoa, not for himself.
"So this guy wants to torture Kent," Shin said. "That gives us some time, keeps him alive, but he will kill Kent when he's done."
"We're going to find him before that happens," Toma insisted. "If we're right about this car, we have a good start, and if Kent keeps fighting, we have a good chance."
"Ikki's not doing well with the puzzle."
Toma grimaced. "I was hoping when we found that again, if it existed, that Kent would be around to take one look at it and tell us the answer, but he's not, so we'll just have to do what we can without it and give Ikki time to finish it. Tell me you didn't set him off again."
"I let Ukyo go comfort him." Shin shook his head. "Don't look at me like that. Ikki wouldn't accept an apology from me right now. It would just make him think I've given up on Kent."
Toma looked at him. "Haven't you?"
Shin folded his arms over his chest. "If Kent broke those tail lights, he's decided to keep fighting. Maybe he's only doing it to stall for time, because he'd be dumb to think it ended with him, and he's not dumb. So he's giving us time. He'll try and escape if he can when Watanbe's switching cars, but that might not be enough."
"Maybe not. We have to trust Kent to do what he can and do our part to make anything he does do worth it. If he can stall long enough... We'll get him back. He'll do it. We just have to hold up our end."
"Was it the girl? If I had only known how special she was to you..." Watanbe continued to try and bait Kent from where he was. "I admit I saw her strength, how she actually mirrored you in the way she stood up to me even when I had her cornered, but you feeling something for her, that surprised me. I was not expecting that."
Kent frowned. The way he said that... Was Watanbe jealous? Of Kokoa? Why? Their relationship was contentious and far from mutual. Her admitting to caring for him—if she even did—was not the same as the feelings that Ikkyu thought Kent had for her.
"They do say we're all fools in love," Watanbe went on. "So that could explain you. Not sure why it should. Aren't you incapable of falling in love? Of feeling emotion?"
Kent shook his head. He needed to move, but if he did, he risked exposing his position. He didn't know that he could run right now. His legs felt weak, and his arm wasn't throbbing anymore—he couldn't even feel it. That did not seem to be a good sign. If there was a fight, he would not win in this state. His best option was staying put and continuing to stall for time. If they saw the car on the traffic cameras, they would find this place.
"I thought I was unable to feel anything. Maybe anger, a few times, but other than that?" Watanbe laughed. "I know they'd say I took pleasure in my kills, but that's not true."
Kent almost agreed with him. He thought the man took more pleasure in getting away with the killings, though he would not rule out Watanbe enjoying the act of killing itself. Still, that was not Kent's realm of expertise. He wasn't going to argue that, not even to stall.
"And yet... that emotion was nothing to finding out that you knew about me," Watanbe said. "I had no idea how knowing about you would affect me. It wasn't enough to stop you. I had to get close, had to know what you knew, had to see you, touch you. It wasn't enough to kill you at a distance. I don't even like having this conversation at a distance. I want to hear your voice. I want your answers. I don't like you hiding from me."
Kent could hear that the man was becoming more and more unhinged. He knew that could be used to his advantage, but he didn't know that he was up to that right now.
He was so tired. Every bit of him ached, and he could easily close his eyes now and not wake up, he was sure of that. He'd only meant to stall, but stalling wasn't enough. This would end here, one way or another.
"Did you pass out again? Is that why you're being quiet?"
Kent grimaced. Watanbe was definitely closer now. If he moved, he'd be seen, and even if he didn't move, that was a good possibility. Running was not a good option, not with how he felt or how close Watanbe was, but Kent was also unarmed and unlikely to be able to defend himself if Watanbe reached him. He could try and use surprise against the other man, but would it be enough?
Maybe. It had worked before, but that just made it more likely that Watanbe would be expecting it.
Still, Kent didn't know what else to do, so he waited, closing his eyes as the footsteps came nearer. He wasn't good at lying, or at acting, but he didn't think it would be difficult for anyone to believe he had passed out.
"Ah, there you are," Watanbe said as he reached Kent. "A pity you're not awake. I was looking forward to our time together, even if you did try and run from me. I can't help but admire that about you. You still fought against the inevitable, against what logic must tell you is coming. Would you say that is fight or flight? Or are you really afraid to die?"
Kent knew if Watanbe touched him, it would be over. He'd panic and lose everything.
"Actually, I'm just unwilling to die without stopping you first," Kent told him, opening his eyes in time to see shock pass over Watanbe's face before he grabbed hold of him and slammed his head into the car behind them as hard as he could. He didn't let go, doing it it again and then again before he couldn't hold on any longer.
He felt Watanbe slip from his grasp, and he let him fall, curling up against the car with a shudder. He hadn't thought he was capable of that, didn't want to be, and yet he knew that wasn't even enough. Not in comparison to the other suffering and quite possibly not enough to stop Watanbe now.
"You don't... want to die... without killing me? I don't... want to die... without killing you," Watanbe said, forcing himself back up again. He gave Kent a smile that could only be called deranged as he withdrew a knife. "Make it... even... both of us die. Here. Now."
"No fanfare? No fire?"
"Oh, that," Watanbe grinned, lifting up a key fob and pushing a button. The ground shook with an explosion, and Kent knew that the car Watanbe had been driving earlier was now a burning wreck. "There's the fire... It's all complete... this is where it ends, then. Not so special, but then... I've got you. That's all I need."
He lifted the knife, and Kent did his best to prepare himself. He had nowhere to run, and he doubted Watanbe was as injured as he was claiming, just disoriented from the head wound. This would never have ended in his favor. He knew that.
And he had to believe that he'd stalled as long as he could. There was nothing else left he could do.
