Part 10 – Breaktime
While Sasuke was filing through the crime reports from the previous night, he snapped to attention when he looked up to see Chief Hatake entering, "Attention," he exclaimed as he shot into attention.
The room shot up, and Kakashi simply waved at them, "As you were," Kakashi said, "Sergeant Uchiha. Follow me, please."
Sasuke walked to follow Kakashi, and they walked into Iruka's office to see him hanging up on probably another reporter.
"Chief, sir," Iruka said as she shot into attention.
"Keep your seat," Kakashi said before pointing at the right seat in front of Iruka's desk, "Sergeant, sit please."
As Sasuke took his seat in front of Iruka's desk, Kakashi stood behind Iruka.
"Is there a problem, sir," Sasuke asked.
"If there would, we'd be in my office, not Lieutenant Umino's," Kakashi said.
"We want to congratulate you on your success last night with the raid," Iruka said.
"And on finally bringing home your squadmates," Kakashi said, "I heard about the synthetic surgery. It must have been hard for you."
"Yes sir," Sasuke said.
"There is still one question I'm curious about," Kakashi said, "Did they identify where they've been?"
"Or who kidnapped them," Iruka asked.
"No, they didn't," Sasuke said, "Somehow they developed amnesia. They don't remember anything past us arriving back at our tent in Russia before they were kidnapped."
"Anything past then," Kakashi asked, "Nothing else?"
"No," Sasuke said, "Sakura looked at me like I was drunk when I told her."
"Any idea how that can be," Iruka asked.
"No sir," Sasuke said, "Tsunade couldn't explain it, yet. But I'm confident she'll find something out soon."
"And your investigation," Kakashi asked.
"Right now, it seems that their limbs were replaced anywhere from six months to a year after they were kidnapped," Sasuke said, "What's weird is that Sakura and Hinata were given similar surgeries, but Naruto only had one limb replaced."
"Any clue as to why," Kakashi asked.
"Not at the moment," Sasuke said, "The limbs themselves are listed as stolen property."
"You told the Hokage yet," Kakashi asked.
"No," Sasuke said, "I have no idea where the limbs came from."
"You don't know their make," Kakashi asked.
"What I mean, sir is that I don't know where they were stolen from," Sasuke said.
"And you think they'll be taken back, and derail the investigation," Iruka said.
"Yes," Sasuke said.
"What of the kidnapper," Kakashi said, "Was he there?"
"No," Sasuke said, "He contacted me half an hour before we found them."
"Any clue as to who he might be," Iruka asked.
"Only a few things, not much to go on," Sasuke said.
"Better than nothing," Kakashi said, "Lay it out for us."
"He said he was a former member of FALA," Sasuke said, "But all of them are considered dead so not much to go on there. He identified himself as 'Mr. White'. He has a lot of connections. And he has some type of special military training."
"How so," Kakashi asked.
"He slipped in and out of a military camp in the middle of a Russian winter," Sasuke said, "He managed to knock me out without causing lasting brain damage, and he's never been identified which means he knows his way around surveillance systems."
Kakashi let out a simple "Hmm" before speaking, "You're right, it's not much. But it's better than nothing. I'll contact the Hokage and see what we can do about the limbs," he checked his watch, "In the meantime, it looks like it's lunchtime so why don't you go ahead and head home for the day?"
"Just like that," Sasuke asked, "Head home for the day?"
"You've worked harder than anyone else in your position last night," Kakashi said, "And to be honest, if the press sees you leave, it might remove some of them from the building. Give them something."
"I get you," Sasuke said as he remembered something, "No problem."
"Ok then," Iruka said, "Dismissed."
Sasuke stood up, saluted his two superiors, and walked out of the room.
"You think he started his own investigation," Kakashi asked.
"I know he did," Iruka said, "His devotion to the issue is what makes him a great detective."
"Make sure he stays focused on his work," Kakashi said, "Keep sending him out."
"Yes sir," Iruka said.
As Sasuke was walking out into the office, he walked over to his desk, "Metal, come on, we got to take the heat off the station."
Metal Gear dropped down onto the floor and followed Sasuke out the door to walk downstairs.
The press was still there, and when they saw him coming down the stairs, the cameras went back up, and the reporters started calling his name.
"Sergeant Uchiha! Sergeant Uchiha," they exclaimed.
Sasuke simply ignored them as he and Metal Gear walked over to the elevator, and as he pulled out his phone, Metal spoke up, "Who are you calling?"
"You'll see," Sasuke said.
"Konoha General," the hospital's automated receptionist asked the line connected.
"Detective Uchiha, badge 681," Sasuke said as he walked toward his car, "Connect me to Tsunade Sannin."
"Connecting you now," the automated receptionist said.
"Go for Tsunade," she said as she answered the phone.
"Tsunade, it's me," Sasuke said, "Do you remember you found something in Sakura, Hinata, and Naruto's bloodstreams?"
"Yes," Tsunade said, "I think the tests are probably finished. Can you make it down?"
"I'll be there in a minute if I can get away from the press," Sasuke said as he and Metal Gear stepped into his Bobcat.
"The Hokage's message has you dodging them left and right, eh," Tsunade asked.
"You don't know the half of it, sister," Sasuke said as he started his car, "We have a place I can enter without being hounded by the press?"
"I'll be waiting around the back entrance for you," Tsunade said, "See you in a bit."
"See you," Sasuke said.
"So, we're going to a hospital then," Metal Gear said as Sasuke began driving.
"Yes," Sasuke said as he drove out of the parking lot onto the street, "Right about now, finding out what caused my squad to lose their memory is what's important right now."
"Does that take precedent over any cases we're assigned to," Metal Gear asked.
"No," Sasuke said, "Not unless the Hokage or Chief Hatake tell us."
"Then what does that make this," Metal Gear asked.
"You ever heard of moonlighting," Sasuke asked.
"It's a noun," Metal Gear said, "It means to work a second job."
"Right now, we're moonlighting for the Hokage," Sasuke said as he turned the car onto the expressway, "We're working to see if we can find the man that kidnapped his son."
"So, we're working as a private detective then," Metal Gear asked.
"Basically," Sasuke said, "We need to find out what happened to them, and if Mr. White is telling the truth with this 'second revolution'."
"We don't know how many other automatons were, or are infected," Metal Gear said, "If he's telling the truth, how many could we be looking at?"
"Worst-case or best case," Sasuke asked.
"Pick," Metal Gear said.
"Worst case," Sasuke said, "It could be possible almost every AH-model android in the world is infected, and there's only one scenario if that is the case."
"A global automaton revolution," Metal Gear said.
"Yep," Sasuke said as he turned off the expressway onto the way toward the hospital.
"You know we're being followed right," Metal Gear asked.
"Yea, I know," Sasuke said as he looked in the rear-view mirror, "Tsunade said we can use the back entrance. It's the only way we can enter and leave with a certain amount of privacy."
As he drove up to the back entrance to the hospital, he saw the gate open, and Tsunade was waiting for him.
After he drove into the back lot, Tsunade hit the button which closed the gate and smiled as Sasuke stepped out of the car.
"I didn't expect you to be waiting for me," Sasuke said.
"Why should I expect such a handsome face like yours to come find me," Tsunade asked.
"How kind of you," Sasuke said.
"Come on, I think I've found something for you," Tsunade said.
Sasuke followed Tsunade into the hospital, and to her office on one of the upper floors of the building.
"Please tell me you have something that I can use to identify the kidnapper," Sasuke said.
"Perhaps I do, but I'm not sure," Tsunade said as she walked over to her desk, picked up her tablet, and pulled out the report that was sent to her, "These results arrived not two hours ago. What would you like to hear first?"
"Can you tell me what they suffered over the past four years," Sasuke asked.
"For one thing, Sakura and Hinata were unspoiled," Tsunade said, "There was no evidence of semen anywhere on their bodies, no physical trauma, no penetration trauma, and no evidence of scarring."
"What about trauma from four years ago," Sasuke asked, "Any evidence of that?"
"Not possible," Tsunade said, "Even after sexual trauma, there'd be evidence, and nothing would get past me, as you know."
"Of course," Sasuke said, "I'm just trying to be thorough."
"I understand," Tsunade said, "I also discovered there was no evidence of illegal narcotics in their systems. I've run every test conceivable for every type of known narcotic, and they've all came back negative."
"Ok," Sasuke said, "What about their prosthetics, can you tell me anything about the surgical method that was used to replace their limbs?"
"What I can tell you is what you probably already know," Tsunade said, "The surgery honestly looked like it was performed with an acrylic glass cutter. Whoever did the surgery was beyond skilled, it's almost like I performed the surgery."
"Can you tell when the surgery was performed," Sasuke asked.
"You know of course the limbs were stolen," Tsunade asked.
"Yes," Sasuke said, "You didn't report it did you?"
"No," Tsunade said, "I figure if they receive new limbs, the company will send a reclaimer for them, and they'll have to start over again."
"I know how hard that'll be," Sasuke said.
"Indeed," Tsunade said, "I did a survey, and I'm pretty sure the limbs were replaced right after they were stolen. However, what was interesting was what was in the arms," she swiped left on the tablet screen to show an x-ray of Sakura, Hinata, and Naruto's arms, inside each of their right hands was a data spike which was situated between their middle and ring fingers, "It seems all three of them were given the same data spike. And when I say the same, I mean the same, all three of them have the same type of spike which seems to have been installed sometime afterward."
"Can you make out a type," Sasuke asked.
"I thought you'd ask for that," Tsunade said as she picked up a small 3D-printed model of the spikes, "I did some checking, and the spike is an Omni Corp IRVING-2."
"IRVING-2s," Sasuke asked.
"Yea, why," Tsunade asked.
"IRVING-2s are police and military models," Sasuke said, "A regular citizen can't own them unless they are granted express permission."
"You sure," Tsunade asked.
Sasuke grasped his wrist, and gave it a small ninety degree outwards rotation turn before clenching his fist, making sure to press down firmly with his middle finger causing a data spike of his own to spring from the area in-between his middle and ring finger knuckles, "This one isn't an IRVING-2, but it is the IRVING-2's Phantom-Limb counterpart, the JEHUTY-4," he said, "This one was purchased specifically for Special Investigations, hence the black-matte finish."
"Interesting," Tsunade said.
"Almost as interesting as the fact that Phantom-Limb and Omni Corp are rivals," Sasuke said as he retracted the spike back into his hand, and gave his wrist an inwards rotation, "The ports for the IRVING-2s are square, and the ports for the JEHUTY-4s are round. You'd need an engineer to design a special port for the IRVING-2 that would fit inside the housing for the Phantom-Limb prosthetics."
"There can't be more than a dozen people in the world that can do that," Tsunade said, "Should help you track down the kidnapper."
"I'll look for similarities," Sasuke said, "What about that chemical you found in their bloodstreams?"
"That's where you can probably narrow a few people off that list," Tsunade said as she swiped left on the tablet to show the outline of a drug molecule, "The chemical analysis confirms that they all have the exact amount of a drug called Vorfloxiren."
"Never heard of it," Sasuke said.
"That's because you've never been prescribed it," Tsunade said, "It's typically prescribed in small doses to veterans suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress. In larger doses, it can lead to memory loss."
"How much would they need to take to erase four years of memories," Sasuke asked.
"That's where it gets weird," Tsunade said, "Vorfloxiren in high doses is lethal, and before another dosage can be administered, it has to be completely absorbed into the bloodstream."
"At maximum dosage, how much could I forget up until this point," Sasuke asked.
"If I were to inject you with the maximum dose, right now," Tsunade said, "You'd forget everything up to about six months ago."
"Six months," Sasuke asked, "And how long would it take for this stuff to dissolve into the bloodstream?"
"Depending on the person, anywhere from one to two weeks," Tsunade said.
"So they were given multiple doses of this shit, intravenously for about sixteen weeks," Sasuke asked.
"Yes," Tsunade said, "But here's where it gets interesting. To get the full effect, you have to be very precise."
"How precise," Sasuke asked.
"If you're one so much as five ccs off, it can be fatal," Tsunade said, "Not only that, but for them to forget everything up to the point before they were kidnapped, those missing sixteen weeks have to be accounted for, and they have to be erased as well."
"Good shit," Sasuke said as he began counting, "So they were able to knock me out without giving me a serious concussion, sneak in and out of a military camp without being seen, steal a military helicopter and high-grade prosthetics without being caught, and avoid detection for four years while having Sakura, Hinata, and Naruto in tow. Plus they know a doctor that can do surgery with laser-like precision, can make a port for miss-matched electronics, and someone who can get a memory-wiping medicine cc perfect. Who is this guy?"
"Someone good," Tsunade said as she gently put her hand on Sasuke's shoulder, "Sasuke, promise me you'll be careful. If they can do all this, and remain undetected, then they've thought of every contingency. Someone like this is more dangerous than anyone you've ever faced."
How's that…