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From: "David A. Tatum" desaix@sysnet.net
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Subject: OtR2.txt
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Part 2:
"I didn't know you could sail a boat, Asuma," Noa said, working on
tightening down the construction labor shell that they had fashioned around
Alphonse to camouflage it. Somehow, between the two of them, they had been
able to scrounge up enough material and financial resources to recharge the
battery, rent a small fishing boat (that was just barely big enough for
Alphonse and the two of them), and grab the shell of an old construction
labor from a junk yard. Asuma had felt it was a bad idea for them to go
traipsing through town with a Patlabor, considering they were going
somewhere that there WERE no Patlabors. Noa was uncomfortable with the
idea (especially since it meant that Alphonse would be getting rather
dirty), but had agreed it was probably for the best.
The end result of those purchases, however, was that they couldn't afford
to hire a boat crew. Asuma, thankfully, had shown a surprising talent in
navigating the boat, and now they were sailing through a port just outside
of another small fishing village- this one on Hokkaido.
"Heh... one of my few somewhat HAPPY memories of life with my father. We
used to go boating as a family together- him, me, and my brother." He
sighed nostalgically.
Finishing up with the panel, she moved to sit next to him at the rudder.
"Just you guys, huh? What about your mom?"
"I never knew my mom. She died giving birth to me."
Noa decided not to stop asking him questions about his past. 'Sheesh,' she
thought to herself. 'He never had a mother, his brother killed himself,
and he was framed for the murder of his father. Talk about a hard life.'
Unconsciously, she reached over and rubbed his shoulder comfortingly.
He didn't seem to notice, his mind elsewhere. "Say, Noa..."
"Yeah?"
"Do you see that ship over there?" he said, pointing to a tanker that was
docked in the port.
Noa looked over where he was pointing. "Yeah... seems kinda out of place
at a little shipping port like this, doesn't it?"
Asuma nodded. "Yeah... not just that, but doesn't it look a little
familiar, maybe?"
Noa squinted, trying to see what it was he saw. "I dunno... maybe. All
those ships look the same to me, though, so I wouldn't be able to tell.
Why?"
"I think I remember seeing it at the Babylon Gates."
Noa went quiet. She had been certain she wasn't going to survive that
incident. She was facing the Black Labor- the Griffin. Not only had it
torn up Ohta's labor just days before, but it had also severely injured
Asuma and then... it just escaped, totally unharmed.
Noa fought her damnedest against the Griffin, but it still escaped again.
She'd had a genuine nervous breakdown because of that incident, and had
spent several more months trying to prove to herself that she was really
good enough to pilot Alphonse. Then the brass started to threaten to take
Alphonse away from her, and Noa was so panicked with fear that they would
that she went AWOL, going home- to remind herself what it was like to say
good-bye to past Alphonses. Asuma had actually tracked her down, and come
to meet her. For some reason, just his presence gave her what she needed
to return, and when the next battle between her and the Griffin came, she
was able to handle it confidently.
And she'd won. Which made his statement seem rather curious. "Could they
have rebuilt it?" she asked.
"Maybe," Asuma replied. "But we don't need to worry if they did. We've
got our own problems to deal with right now."
"So why did you worry ME about it!?" she cried, grabbing him in a choke
hold.
"Ack! Noa- I gotta steer the boat! Leggo!"
* * * * *
Takeo shook hands with Inspector Matsui before sitting down across from him
at the desk. "Captain Gotoh said you'd probably be... helpful... in this
case."
Matsui nodded. "Yeah, he phoned me before you got here. I assume he gave
you the files I requested."
She nodded, indicating the box she had with her. "Yes, sir. Lots of stuff
to go through- what are they?"
Matsui lifted the box she'd indicated, setting it down on his desk and
pulling the top off. Taking out one of the hundreds of folders she'd
indicated, he replied, "Records from the SV2's weapons locker. I'm trying
to track down where the gun which killed Mr. Shinohara might have come
from."
Takeo's eyes widened in surprise. "Of course! Asuma COULDN'T have gotten
the weapon out, so it had to have come from somewhere else!"
Matsui nodded. "If we can find the actual murder weapon, we might be able
to clear him."
Takeo gestured towards the box. "Need any help?"
Matsui shook his head. "Two people would just confuse things. You could,
however, get started on another track for me."
"What?"
He handed her a piece of paper. "There's a warrant to investigate the
phone records of the people involved in the initial investigation and
decision to arrest. Get the records from the phone company and see if you
can find anything... unusual... in them."
"Like phone calls from people who might have an interest in ruining
Shinohara Heavy Industries?"
"Right."
Takeo nodded. "Will do. Anything else?"
Matsui nodded. "One more thing, but keep this under your hat. I suspect
you'd advise Noa and Asuma to surrender to the police if you ever got in
touch with them, hoping that the system would bail them out." He looked up
at her meaningfully. "Don't. Gotoh's right- something weird is going on
around here, and they aren't safe with the police. If you DO make contact
with them... do anything you can to make certain no-one ELSE will,
understand? And give that piece of advice to anyone else from your unit
who you trust." He sighed. "Sad as it may sound, they're probably safer
being fugitives on the run from the law than they are co-operating with the
law."
* * * * *
Asuma piloted Alphonse through the snowy woods under Noa's careful
directions. They had been taking shifts piloting the labor so as to avoid
fatigue, and his shift was almost over. Suddenly, the screens all turned
red and a word in English started flashing on the main monitor. "Noa, the
battery's running down. We've got no more than ten minutes of power left."
Noa, wearing the headset radio while she watched the sun rise from her seat
on Alphonse's shoulder, nodded. "That's all right. We're almost there-
we'll make it without any problem."
"We will?" he asked, surprised. "It certainly doesn't LOOK like there's
anything around here- especially not with all the snow and trees and
things. Where are we going, anyway?"
"An old business venture of my late grandfather's that never got off the
ground," she answered. "He wanted to try and start a ski lodge. He
managed to get the lodge partially built, but ran out of money before he
could finish it- not to mention to pave the road they had built for the
construction equipment or the ski lift. The reason this place is so safe
for us is that the property is STILL in my grandfather's families name
instead of my- "
"Won't it get cold?" Asuma asked, starting to get a little concerned. If
it was unfinished, then chances were that there would still be drafts in
the place. One of the big reasons he didn't like skiing was because he
never liked getting cold.
Noa shook her head. "No... after my grandfather passed away, my father
repaired it and supplied it with a snowmobile. There's a finished ski
lodge about a half hours ride away on a snowmobile, and so when we go
skiing we usually stay here." She paused. "Take a right when you get to
the bike path- that's the only way we usually can get up here."
"Roger," he said. "Does the place have electricity or heat?"
"It has a few propane tanks for heat and cooking and a diesel generator for
power," Noa said as Alphonse turned to follow the bike path. "As well as
some canned foods, some bottled water, and some other necessities. We'll
have to conserve what we've got, though- we only store enough supplies for
a couple weeks vacation at most, and we don't have any money to buy any
more. We went to a different ski lodge this last vacation, and so no-one's
been in the place for a few years, but the place is set up for spontaneous
ski trips."
"Hey, I think I see the building!" he noted. "Looks like Alphonse'll make
it, after all."
Noa nodded. "I told you so. Stop him here for a moment- I'll go on in and
start the heater up, you take him around the right-hand corner of the
house- there's a garage where we keep the snowmobile, and Alphonse should
be able to park there if he knelt."
"Sure thing," he said, bending Alphonse down slightly and touching the
ground with his arm so that Noa could just slide to the ground. When she
disappeared inside the front door, he moved Alphonse to where she'd
directed, parking it in the garage- seconds before the power ran out.
Asuma whistled to himself. "Nice timing," he said to himself, popping the
hatch and departing the labor. What he saw made him rather curious- Noa
had only mentioned one snowmobile, but there were three parked there.
"Hmm," he commented, glancing around. As he'd feared, there were tracks
into the garage from two of the snowmobiles. "And Noa's inside," he
remarked. "Damn!"
Running as fast as he could, he burst in after her, intent on rescuing her
from whatever group had captured her.
There she was, sitting (somewhat uncomfortably) and drinking tea with
Richard Wong and Bud Reynard. "Ah, welcome, young Shinohara," Wong
greeted. "It's about time you joined us. Bud and I have been waiting here
for the two of you for quite some time."
* * * * *
Ohta burst into Captain Gotoh's office. "Captain, I strongly request
permission for some emergency target practice."
Gotoh raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What emergency is it this time?"
Ohta looked at Gotoh like he was totally missing the obvious. "Izumi's
treachery, sir! You know that we'll have to have a tangle with her at some
point, and I have to be prepared!"
Gotoh sighed. "We currently aren't even certain that Noa still HAS a
usable labor which would require our involvement," he noted, trying to
placate him. "After all, she abandoned the labor carrier and her spare
battery, so she had no way to replace her old battery and, without the
carrier, it would be very difficult to recharge the current one. Even if
she didn't abandon her labor, it's unlikely that she has one which she can
use."
"But they could charge them in a town!" Ohta complained. "All it would
take would be a power socket and an appropriate extension cord, which they
should have with them!"
Gotoh nodded. "True, but it's unlikely they would be able to do that very
often. My guess is that she's merely trying to keep Alphonse with her than
to keep him effective to fight with. You know Noa...."
"I thought I did," Ohta muttered.
"At any rate," Gotoh said, "Your request is denied. We aren't able to
requisition more bullets until the new year, and the way you use them we've
only got a two months supply left."
"But, Captain-"
"Dismissed," Gotoh said, turning his attention to his paperwork.
Ohta clenched his fists and snarled, but he'd had enough arguments like
this to know that any form of protest was useless. "Very well, Captain,
but I KNOW you're mistaken. Noa and I will have to fight- it's our
destiny."
* * * * *
"I've already eliminated the evidence which allowed me to find you here,
and my delivery people have already left after supplying you with an extra
months worth of food, propane, spare diesel gasoline, and two spare
batteries for your labor- plus a specially designed battery charger to make
recharging your battery more efficient," Wong was saying as Asuma sipped at
the tea provided for him. "I've made arrangements for one of my men to act
as a messenger- he'll be staying at the ski lodge a few miles from here- in
case we need to contact each other."
"Uh huh," Asuma said skeptically, frowning. "Why, exactly, did you decide
to help us?"
Wong turned his smile up a notch, almost as if competing with Asuma's
frown. "Would you believe that I'm doing it because I think of you two as
friends?"
Asuma didn't even flinch. "This from the man who shot Takeo Kumagami at
Harumi after being her lover in Hong Kong?"
Wong's smile completely disappeared, and a slightly menacing expression
replaced it. "I did NOT, nor would I EVER shoot Takeo. That was my
security man, and I had him transferred the next day. I also prevented
Shaft Enterprises from attacking her in the hospital- I would appreciate it
if you NOT bring that up," he growled. With some difficulty, he managed to
get the anger out of his face. However, he was unable to completely
replace his smile. "Yours is a case similar to that. Shaft Enterprises
has done something I totally disagree with- they murdered your father and
framed you, who I really DO consider a friend, for it. There was nothing I
could do to prevent that bullet from hitting Takeo, just as there was
nothing I could do to stop your father from being murdered. But I stopped
my associates from attacking her in the hospital then, and so I'll make up
for my associates crimes against you now."
Asuma couldn't help but believe him, though he was still cautious. "And I
should trust you about this because?"
Richard Wong laughed, his smile returning to what it had been. "My dear
Asuma, you have no choice BUT to trust me. But if you want to know my more
self-centered motivations, I should point out that my current job is spying
on and eliminating competition. They went over my head, and it appears
they may be trying to put me out of the job. You could always consider it
revenge."
That caused Asuma to become even more suspicious. "Are you sure you aren't
STILL trying to 'spy on and eliminate' competition?"
Wong laughed again. "Of course I am. It is always best to face a known
opponent than an unknown one. It is still uncertain who is in charge of
Shinohara Heavy Industries with your absence. Only if you're put in charge
will I be able to know what to expect from you."
Asuma opened his mouth to protest, but he couldn't form any words in
response. Noa, however, had her own questions.
"You aren't going to try and fight me again, are you?" she asked Bud,
shifting uncomfortably.
"Of course not, Sis!" he replied enthusiastically. "I don't hurt people
when they're down. Besides- you beat me fair and square last time. No,
now we're playing on the same team."
Wong finished sipping his cup of tea. "Well, time for Bud and me to go.
I'll begin an investigation to see if I can find who it is who framed you,
and then we'll see if we can find some other evidence together. You two
just hang out here and have fun together- Bud insisted I give you a care
package to entertain you."
"Um... okay," Noa said.
"Come on, Bud- time to go," he said, standing up. "We've got work to do."
"See you, sis!" the kid said, leaping to his feet and waving to Noa. "Hope
to see you again soon."
"Um, see you again soon," Noa echoed hesitantly.
Asuma stopped Wong before he left. "Suppose Noa and I want to conduct our
OWN investigation?" he demanded.
Wong just shook his head in amusement. "And how would you do that? I
mean, you can't do any investigating from here. If you really want, you
can leave here the way you came to conduct one- I'm certainly not holding
you prisoner here- but your best bet is probably to stay right here and let
me do all the work for you. Don't worry- we'll come and get you when it's
safe." He paused. "You're wise not to trust me completely, but you really
don't have much choice, now, do you? You two are safe here- take comfort
in that, and let me do the rest."
Asuma finally let him go, then turned to find Noa going through a couple of
boxes. "What are those?"
"I think it's the 'care package' Bud wanted us to have," she said, opening
up the first box. "Huh... this box is full of nothing but batteries.
Wonder what's in the other box."
Asuma knelt down next to her and opened the second package for her.
"Hmm... I think those batteries are for these things."
"Eh?" Noa asked, looking into the box he had opened.
"A portable TV set- powered by batteries. A lamp, powered by batteries. A
few manga. Oh, and a battery-powered Headgear (TM) MiniGame System with...
um, Patlabor: the Video Game." He unpacked the box a bit further. "And a
note addressed to you from Bud."
He gave her the note.
"Hi, sis," it said, "Here's something to keep you in practice. Maybe
you'll be able to reach level 10 by the time all of this is taken care of.
Don't worry, sis- we'll avenge you!"
* * * * *
There was a knock on the door. "Come in," Gotoh said, not looking up from
his paperwork.
Inspector Matsui entered the room, carrying two file folders with him.
"Hello, Captain Gotoh. I have a couple questions about those records you
sent down to me the other day."
Gotoh nodded, gesturing to Shinobu. "I'm sure that if either Captain
Nagumo or myself can help you, we will."
Matsui nodded. "Upon a thorough combing of these files, I found two
instances of labor revolvers being checked out and not checked back in. I
was wondering if you knew if these incidents were just neglect or if there
was a specific reason they weren't logged in as returned."
"Well, I'll take a look at the folders, and see if I can suggest anything,"
he said. Matsui handed Gotoh the files, and pointed out the two incidents
he was referring to. "Hmm... well, considering the date, I'm fairly
certain that both of these guns were involved in the incident between the
Griffin and the Peacemakers. I recall that the report said both revolvers
were believed to have both been tossed into the Tokyo Bay during the fight.
Only one was recovered, however- that one in unserviceable condition. The
other-"
"Wait," Shinobu interrupted. "Did you say BOTH were thought to have been
tossed into the bay?"
"Yeah, that's what the official report I read said. Both revolvers issued
to your Peacemakers were lost in the Tokyo Bay during the Griffin
Incident."
"But... only ONE was lost in the bay that time- the other one was dropped
on the sidewalk. I thought the maintenance squad recovered it!" Shinobu
said.
Gotoh frowned. "Hmm... curious. Inspector Matsui, perhaps we need to
investigate this little corruption angle a bit further back than I
suspected...."
* * * * *
"Um, Asuma," Noa said, returning to the main room. "I have some bad news."
Asuma, who was disposing of the trash produced from their dinner, looked up
at her. "Oh?"
"Uh huh. I just checked the rest of the house... um, apparently mom and
dad haven't been maintaining this place all that well lately. The only
room which we can actually afford to heat is the bathroom and this room-
their are holes in many of the windows, a partially collapsed ceiling in
another room, and the back door is letting in a very bad draft."
Asuma sighed, putting the last empty beer can in the trash bag. "Great,"
he said. "Okay, I'll take the bathroom."
Noa looked at him guiltily. "I can't make you do that- I'll take the
bathroom."
"Oh, just let me take the bathroom. This is your house, after all."
"And you're my guest!" Noa countered. "I'll take the bathroom."
"I already feel bad enough with you making yourself a felon for me," Asuma
argued. "I'll take the bathroom."
"Fine! We'll BOTH take the bathroom!" Noa shouted.
Asuma blinked. "Um... Noa, think about that for a minute."
"Uh... okay, maybe we won't both take the bathroom," she said, embarrassed.
She thought about it for a second, blushed, and bit her lip nervously.
"Still... it might be best if we shared a room for the night... I mean, who
knows when we'll be getting more propane for the heater... we should
conserve what fuel we've got."
Asuma nodded slowly. "Um... well, I guess that makes sense. We should see
if we can repair some of the other rooms, though." He paused. "If you
promise not to hit me, I guess it would be all right. Show me where the
futons are and I'll help you drag a couple here."
"Heh heh..." Noa laughed nervously. "Um, that's the other piece of bad
news I've got."
Asuma looked at her in disbelief. "Don't tell me there's only one futon!"
"No, there's plenty of futons!" she exclaimed. "Um... sort of."
"Sort of?"
"Well... see, remember I said there was a partially collapsed roof in one
room? Well, see, some snow leaked through that roof onto the pile of
futons, and so..."
"They're all wet?"
"No! They've dried off- well, most of them have. It's just that many of
them are slightly rotted... or smell bad... or..."
Asuma sighed. "Never mind. Lead the way- let's see how bad off these
futons are, anyway."
* * * * *
Takeo sighed, waiting for the taxi to stop. She'd almost gotten through
the phone records she'd already obtained, and then Inspector Matsui called.
He'd found more people to check up on, and pushed the date back for the
records collection. So, off she was to the judge's office to get the
warrant, and now she was headed back to the phone company to pick up the
new files.
As the taxi entered the parking lot, she noticed a HELICOPTER parked up on
the roof of the building, illuminated by the setting sun. At first, she
feared that it was part of Shaft Security Systems, but upon further
inspection she was able to determine that while it was the same make of
helicopter as those used by the 3-S, it was customized in a way that no 3-S
person would ever allow (not to mention there was no 3-S logo painted on
the side).
"We're here, ma'am," the taxi driver said. "That'll be forty-five hundred
yen."
Takeo pulled a wad of cash out of her purse and handed it to the taxi
driver. "Thank you. If you could return in a couple of hours to take me
back, I'd be grateful."
The driver counted the yen, noticing it was fifteen hundred yen larger than
he'd asked for. Not much, true, but enough of a bribe to make him take
notice of her request. "Of course, Ma'am."
The taxi drove off as she made her way inside. After a few brief words
with the receptionist (who had been expecting her), she went over to the
same room for phone records retrieval she'd been at before.
She stepped up to the counter at the records department, looking in to see
who was there. Most of the staff was apparently missing, but there was one
man in a suit bending over a computer terminal. Takeo couldn't make much
out about him, but from what she could see she had the vaguely disturbing
feeling she'd seen him before- and not at the phone company. Shaking her
head furiously to clear it, she called over to the man.
"Excuse me, can you help me?"
The figure stiffened. In a nasal and strongly accented voice, he replied,
"I sorry- only here from India researching phone systems. Can no help
you."
Takeo's eyes widened. She recognized that voice, even as (badly) disguised
as it was. Leaping over the counter, she ran up to the man and turned him
around by the shoulder. "Richard!" she cried.
Richard Wong faced her with some of his usual smile, but it looked a little
more nervous than usual. "Hello, Takeo. I should have known that little
trick wouldn't work on you," he said.
They just stared at each other for a few moments, neither one knowing what
to say. Finally, Takeo's eyes turned cold. "You're under arrest for
illegally infiltrating the private records kept by the phone company."
Wong held out his hands, still smiling. "If you insist- and I won't trick
you this time, either. But you'll be making a big mistake if you do."
Takeo snorted. "And why would that be? I can't believe you're helping
these people cover up who REALLY killed Asuma's father. I know you've done
some pretty despicable things, but that's low, even for you!"
That caused Wong's face- and hands- to drop. "I thought you knew me better
than that. I'm not covering up any of the murderers."
Takeo sighed. "I thought I knew you better than that, as well! But I
found out a few years ago I don't know you as well as I thought I did. If
that ISN'T what you're doing, then why ARE you here?"
Wong's smile returned. "Why, I'm trying to do the exact same thing you
are- get Asuma Shinohara off the hook." His smile grew. "After all, if
Shinohara Heavy Industries collapses because their owner is in prison, then
I'm out of the job."
Takeo's eyes widened. There was a ring of truth to what he was saying.
Still... "We can conduct our OWN investigation, thank you," she said,
pulling out a pair of handcuffs.
Wong nodded, holding out his hands again. "Oh, I believe you. I remember
just how much attention you pay to detail. You're a great detective- I
have no question that you'll eventually crack the case!" He paused.
"However, since Asuma and Noa are under my care, they might find themselves
in a little bit of trouble if I'm not there to help them."
That stopped Takeo before she could put the cuffs on him. "What do you
mean, 'under your care?'"
"The two of them found this nice little cozy hideaway they could stay at,"
he answered. "However, they have no money and only limited supplies. I
found them there, and offered to make certain they were well stocked during
their visit to that establishment. They did NOT want to trust me, but they
didn't have much other choice." He sighed, putting on an unhappy look.
"Sadly, it looks like their mistrust will be well founded, as I will be in
prison and unable to provide the help I promised them."
"Where are they?" she asked anxiously.
Wong laughed. "Now, Takeo, you know I'm not going to tell you that. You
can't arrest me while I have that information, and I'm certainly going to
do what I can to keep you from arresting me." He paused. "Besides, I'm
certainly not going to give their position away to the police!"
Takeo remembered what Matsui had told her. "I won't give their position
away, either." She paused, hesitating before she continued. "And I promise
not to arrest you if you do. Perhaps... perhaps we could work together on
this investigation, and I could help you work on getting Asuma and Noa
to... relax... around you."
Wong's face dropped- not in sadness, nor in anger, but in shock. That was
an offer he certainly had not been expecting. "Are you... serious? You
want to... work... with me, again?"
"Only for the duration of this investigation!" Takeo declared. "And JUST
working! Consider it a temporary pardon- but once this is finished, the
best you can expect from me is a running start."
He relaxed into his smile again. "Of course," he said. "Well, I'm very
willing to work with you on this. Let's get those phone records you came
for, and then we'll start looking through them, okay?"
* * * * *
Asuma struggled to get comfortable. He stared across at Noa, who was
relaxed comfortably on her futon- the ONLY futon in the house which hadn't
been ruined by the weather.
In order to make a bed for himself, he'd grabbed the two next-best looking
futons they could find and doubled them up. It was still very lumpy,
however, and smelly, and parts of both futons he was using had rotted. The
blankets were much the same way- enough undamaged covers for one, really,
so he had to make do with multiple ruined covers. It still left him cold-
sure, they'd warmed up the room before going to bed, but it was dangerous
to leave a propane tank burning overnight and they'd had to turn the heater
off before going to sleep. There were no holes in the walls, so it wasn't
cooling down too quickly, but the disrepair of the blankets he was forced
to use didn't offer the protection needed to keep him warm. It didn't help
that he was sleeping in his underwear- neither he nor Noa had a change of
clothes on them, and so they'd been forced to make do with their underwear
and some bathrobes as pajamas. None of the bathrobes fit Asuma, however,
so he wound up using them as an extra blanket.
As he studied Noa's apparently sleeping form, he sighed. It looked like
she was very comfortable. 'Tomorrow,' he thought to himself, 'I'm getting
on that snowmobile and heading over to the ski lodge to see if I can pick
up a futon and some blankets from that contact of Wong's. And maybe a
change of clothes or two, as well.' He paused. "And anything else that
might be of use in making this place livable," he accidentally muttered
aloud.
"I'm sorry, Asuma," Noa said from her futon.
"Noa? You're awake?"
"I can't sleep- I keep wondering what we're getting ourselves into," she
said. "I mean, we're working with the BLACK LABOR here- and we're working
AGAINST all of our friends."
"I know," Asuma agreed. "Do you regret helping me?"
Noa turned her head to smile at him. "No. I'd have had an even harder
time sleeping if I hadn't." She noticed him shivering slightly. "You
cold?"
"A little," he admitted. Unfortunately, his teeth chattered slightly when
he said it.
"Sounds like you're more than just 'a little' cold," Noa accused.
"Well... yeah, okay, I'm cold," he said. "Not much I can do about it."
Noa looked guilty. "I got the good futon... maybe I could give you the
good blankets in trade?"
"And have both of us uncomfortable?" he said. "No... keep the blanket."
"But I'm the host- it's my job to make the guest feel comfortable."
"And I'm the guest," he replied. "Do we have to go through this again?"
"Let's just skip to the end- why don't we share?" she joked.
Asuma, however, missed the humor in her voice. "You can't be serious!" he
exclaimed.
For some reason, Noa took offense at that. "Oh? If I was, what would you
do?"
He paused. "I... I don't know," he admitted. "I mean, I've had to share
rooms- and sometimes futons- with the others in our unit, but..."
"But?"
"But you aren't just one of the other guys," he said.
"Well, yeah- I'm a girl!"
Asuma propped himself up on an elbow, turning to face her. "It isn't just
that you're a girl, though."
That surprised Noa. "What do you mean? If it isn't just that I'm a girl,
what is it?"
"I... I'm not sure how to explain it," he answered. "It's just... well, I
wouldn't be really... comfortable... sleeping next to you."
"Well, gee, thanks," she growled, hurt.
"I didn't mean it like that!" he exclaimed.
Noa looked at him closely. "Then how DID you mean it?"
He lay back down, closing his eyes so that he wouldn't see her face when he
said what he was about to say. "I couldn't ALLOW myself to get comfortable
because I would be afraid of getting... too comfortable... with you."
The implications of that set in, and for the first time Noa wondered about
their relationship. She thought about the times they'd spent together, the
times they'd gone into battle together, and the emotional memories they'd
shared. "Asuma?" she said. Her voice was cracking slightly.
"Yeah, Noa?"
Noa paused. She wasn't sure she wanted to ask this, but once she'd made
her decision she figured she might as well not back out of it. "Do you
want to share the futon?"
Asuma sat up like he'd been shot out of a cannon. "Are you sure you want
to take the risk?" he asked.
"Asuma," she said sternly. "I don't care about the risk. You've told me
more about yourself than I've seen you tell anyone else- I'VE told you more
about MYSELF than I've ever told anyone else. When the Griffin hurt you
and I didn't know if you were alive or dead, I was more terrified than I'd
been at any other point in my life. When we had our first real fight-
about you making up with your father- I was afraid we'd never make up, and
didn't know how I'd handle that. Whenever my life was on the line, I cried
your name, desperately hoping I could see you just one more time. Asuma...
like you always say, backup and forward should have one heart and one mind.
I think we've got the one heart already. I let you be my mind sometimes.
If we DID... get too comfortable, all that would happen to us would be that
we'd add one more thing we share- one body."
Asuma couldn't move, or speak, or even think- was Noa offering what he
thought she was offering?
"Noa, do you know what you're saying?"
Noa nodded furiously. "Yes. Now get over here!"
"Yes, ma'am!" he said, jumping out of the futon. "Wait... don't I usually
boss YOU around?"
Noa chuckled. "Tell you what- you can boss me around in the morning.
Tonight, it's my turn."
* * * * *
"Ah, Inspector Matsui," Gotoh said. "Find any more... irregularities... in
our weapons log?"
"No," he said gruffly. "I'm done with that portion of this investigation.
I have a pretty good idea what weapon was used- we just need to find it and
perform a ballistics test on it. In the meantime, however, there are a
couple other angles to work on. Takeo's taking one- she phoned me to let
me know she's discovered a confidential inside source on the conspiracy,
and she'll be working with him independently for a while. In the meantime,
however, she gave me the results of another file search I'd engaged her on.
Um, would you and Captain Shinobu please help me with this phase of the
investigation? There's someone I need to question, and I'd like to have
you two along with me when I conduct this particular interrogation."
Gotoh looked over at Shinobu, who shrugged and nodded, before getting up to
walk over to him. "Certainly- though may I ask why?"
Matsui coughed. "Well, I'm going to be questioning another police
officer."
"Not one of MY men!" Shinobu cried, outraged.
"No, not one of your men," he said reassuringly. Glancing casually at
Gotoh, he added, "Not one of yours, either. Nor Sakaki's."
Shinobu and Gotoh looked at each other. "Well... if it's not our men,"
Gotoh asked, almost to himself. "Who does that leave?"
"Are you taking us off base? If so, I'm afraid I won't be able to go..."
Shinobu said.
"No, we should find the person who I'm intending to talk to in this
facility right now...."
* * * * *
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Part 2:
"I didn't know you could sail a boat, Asuma," Noa said, working on
tightening down the construction labor shell that they had fashioned around
Alphonse to camouflage it. Somehow, between the two of them, they had been
able to scrounge up enough material and financial resources to recharge the
battery, rent a small fishing boat (that was just barely big enough for
Alphonse and the two of them), and grab the shell of an old construction
labor from a junk yard. Asuma had felt it was a bad idea for them to go
traipsing through town with a Patlabor, considering they were going
somewhere that there WERE no Patlabors. Noa was uncomfortable with the
idea (especially since it meant that Alphonse would be getting rather
dirty), but had agreed it was probably for the best.
The end result of those purchases, however, was that they couldn't afford
to hire a boat crew. Asuma, thankfully, had shown a surprising talent in
navigating the boat, and now they were sailing through a port just outside
of another small fishing village- this one on Hokkaido.
"Heh... one of my few somewhat HAPPY memories of life with my father. We
used to go boating as a family together- him, me, and my brother." He
sighed nostalgically.
Finishing up with the panel, she moved to sit next to him at the rudder.
"Just you guys, huh? What about your mom?"
"I never knew my mom. She died giving birth to me."
Noa decided not to stop asking him questions about his past. 'Sheesh,' she
thought to herself. 'He never had a mother, his brother killed himself,
and he was framed for the murder of his father. Talk about a hard life.'
Unconsciously, she reached over and rubbed his shoulder comfortingly.
He didn't seem to notice, his mind elsewhere. "Say, Noa..."
"Yeah?"
"Do you see that ship over there?" he said, pointing to a tanker that was
docked in the port.
Noa looked over where he was pointing. "Yeah... seems kinda out of place
at a little shipping port like this, doesn't it?"
Asuma nodded. "Yeah... not just that, but doesn't it look a little
familiar, maybe?"
Noa squinted, trying to see what it was he saw. "I dunno... maybe. All
those ships look the same to me, though, so I wouldn't be able to tell.
Why?"
"I think I remember seeing it at the Babylon Gates."
Noa went quiet. She had been certain she wasn't going to survive that
incident. She was facing the Black Labor- the Griffin. Not only had it
torn up Ohta's labor just days before, but it had also severely injured
Asuma and then... it just escaped, totally unharmed.
Noa fought her damnedest against the Griffin, but it still escaped again.
She'd had a genuine nervous breakdown because of that incident, and had
spent several more months trying to prove to herself that she was really
good enough to pilot Alphonse. Then the brass started to threaten to take
Alphonse away from her, and Noa was so panicked with fear that they would
that she went AWOL, going home- to remind herself what it was like to say
good-bye to past Alphonses. Asuma had actually tracked her down, and come
to meet her. For some reason, just his presence gave her what she needed
to return, and when the next battle between her and the Griffin came, she
was able to handle it confidently.
And she'd won. Which made his statement seem rather curious. "Could they
have rebuilt it?" she asked.
"Maybe," Asuma replied. "But we don't need to worry if they did. We've
got our own problems to deal with right now."
"So why did you worry ME about it!?" she cried, grabbing him in a choke
hold.
"Ack! Noa- I gotta steer the boat! Leggo!"
* * * * *
Takeo shook hands with Inspector Matsui before sitting down across from him
at the desk. "Captain Gotoh said you'd probably be... helpful... in this
case."
Matsui nodded. "Yeah, he phoned me before you got here. I assume he gave
you the files I requested."
She nodded, indicating the box she had with her. "Yes, sir. Lots of stuff
to go through- what are they?"
Matsui lifted the box she'd indicated, setting it down on his desk and
pulling the top off. Taking out one of the hundreds of folders she'd
indicated, he replied, "Records from the SV2's weapons locker. I'm trying
to track down where the gun which killed Mr. Shinohara might have come
from."
Takeo's eyes widened in surprise. "Of course! Asuma COULDN'T have gotten
the weapon out, so it had to have come from somewhere else!"
Matsui nodded. "If we can find the actual murder weapon, we might be able
to clear him."
Takeo gestured towards the box. "Need any help?"
Matsui shook his head. "Two people would just confuse things. You could,
however, get started on another track for me."
"What?"
He handed her a piece of paper. "There's a warrant to investigate the
phone records of the people involved in the initial investigation and
decision to arrest. Get the records from the phone company and see if you
can find anything... unusual... in them."
"Like phone calls from people who might have an interest in ruining
Shinohara Heavy Industries?"
"Right."
Takeo nodded. "Will do. Anything else?"
Matsui nodded. "One more thing, but keep this under your hat. I suspect
you'd advise Noa and Asuma to surrender to the police if you ever got in
touch with them, hoping that the system would bail them out." He looked up
at her meaningfully. "Don't. Gotoh's right- something weird is going on
around here, and they aren't safe with the police. If you DO make contact
with them... do anything you can to make certain no-one ELSE will,
understand? And give that piece of advice to anyone else from your unit
who you trust." He sighed. "Sad as it may sound, they're probably safer
being fugitives on the run from the law than they are co-operating with the
law."
* * * * *
Asuma piloted Alphonse through the snowy woods under Noa's careful
directions. They had been taking shifts piloting the labor so as to avoid
fatigue, and his shift was almost over. Suddenly, the screens all turned
red and a word in English started flashing on the main monitor. "Noa, the
battery's running down. We've got no more than ten minutes of power left."
Noa, wearing the headset radio while she watched the sun rise from her seat
on Alphonse's shoulder, nodded. "That's all right. We're almost there-
we'll make it without any problem."
"We will?" he asked, surprised. "It certainly doesn't LOOK like there's
anything around here- especially not with all the snow and trees and
things. Where are we going, anyway?"
"An old business venture of my late grandfather's that never got off the
ground," she answered. "He wanted to try and start a ski lodge. He
managed to get the lodge partially built, but ran out of money before he
could finish it- not to mention to pave the road they had built for the
construction equipment or the ski lift. The reason this place is so safe
for us is that the property is STILL in my grandfather's families name
instead of my- "
"Won't it get cold?" Asuma asked, starting to get a little concerned. If
it was unfinished, then chances were that there would still be drafts in
the place. One of the big reasons he didn't like skiing was because he
never liked getting cold.
Noa shook her head. "No... after my grandfather passed away, my father
repaired it and supplied it with a snowmobile. There's a finished ski
lodge about a half hours ride away on a snowmobile, and so when we go
skiing we usually stay here." She paused. "Take a right when you get to
the bike path- that's the only way we usually can get up here."
"Roger," he said. "Does the place have electricity or heat?"
"It has a few propane tanks for heat and cooking and a diesel generator for
power," Noa said as Alphonse turned to follow the bike path. "As well as
some canned foods, some bottled water, and some other necessities. We'll
have to conserve what we've got, though- we only store enough supplies for
a couple weeks vacation at most, and we don't have any money to buy any
more. We went to a different ski lodge this last vacation, and so no-one's
been in the place for a few years, but the place is set up for spontaneous
ski trips."
"Hey, I think I see the building!" he noted. "Looks like Alphonse'll make
it, after all."
Noa nodded. "I told you so. Stop him here for a moment- I'll go on in and
start the heater up, you take him around the right-hand corner of the
house- there's a garage where we keep the snowmobile, and Alphonse should
be able to park there if he knelt."
"Sure thing," he said, bending Alphonse down slightly and touching the
ground with his arm so that Noa could just slide to the ground. When she
disappeared inside the front door, he moved Alphonse to where she'd
directed, parking it in the garage- seconds before the power ran out.
Asuma whistled to himself. "Nice timing," he said to himself, popping the
hatch and departing the labor. What he saw made him rather curious- Noa
had only mentioned one snowmobile, but there were three parked there.
"Hmm," he commented, glancing around. As he'd feared, there were tracks
into the garage from two of the snowmobiles. "And Noa's inside," he
remarked. "Damn!"
Running as fast as he could, he burst in after her, intent on rescuing her
from whatever group had captured her.
There she was, sitting (somewhat uncomfortably) and drinking tea with
Richard Wong and Bud Reynard. "Ah, welcome, young Shinohara," Wong
greeted. "It's about time you joined us. Bud and I have been waiting here
for the two of you for quite some time."
* * * * *
Ohta burst into Captain Gotoh's office. "Captain, I strongly request
permission for some emergency target practice."
Gotoh raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What emergency is it this time?"
Ohta looked at Gotoh like he was totally missing the obvious. "Izumi's
treachery, sir! You know that we'll have to have a tangle with her at some
point, and I have to be prepared!"
Gotoh sighed. "We currently aren't even certain that Noa still HAS a
usable labor which would require our involvement," he noted, trying to
placate him. "After all, she abandoned the labor carrier and her spare
battery, so she had no way to replace her old battery and, without the
carrier, it would be very difficult to recharge the current one. Even if
she didn't abandon her labor, it's unlikely that she has one which she can
use."
"But they could charge them in a town!" Ohta complained. "All it would
take would be a power socket and an appropriate extension cord, which they
should have with them!"
Gotoh nodded. "True, but it's unlikely they would be able to do that very
often. My guess is that she's merely trying to keep Alphonse with her than
to keep him effective to fight with. You know Noa...."
"I thought I did," Ohta muttered.
"At any rate," Gotoh said, "Your request is denied. We aren't able to
requisition more bullets until the new year, and the way you use them we've
only got a two months supply left."
"But, Captain-"
"Dismissed," Gotoh said, turning his attention to his paperwork.
Ohta clenched his fists and snarled, but he'd had enough arguments like
this to know that any form of protest was useless. "Very well, Captain,
but I KNOW you're mistaken. Noa and I will have to fight- it's our
destiny."
* * * * *
"I've already eliminated the evidence which allowed me to find you here,
and my delivery people have already left after supplying you with an extra
months worth of food, propane, spare diesel gasoline, and two spare
batteries for your labor- plus a specially designed battery charger to make
recharging your battery more efficient," Wong was saying as Asuma sipped at
the tea provided for him. "I've made arrangements for one of my men to act
as a messenger- he'll be staying at the ski lodge a few miles from here- in
case we need to contact each other."
"Uh huh," Asuma said skeptically, frowning. "Why, exactly, did you decide
to help us?"
Wong turned his smile up a notch, almost as if competing with Asuma's
frown. "Would you believe that I'm doing it because I think of you two as
friends?"
Asuma didn't even flinch. "This from the man who shot Takeo Kumagami at
Harumi after being her lover in Hong Kong?"
Wong's smile completely disappeared, and a slightly menacing expression
replaced it. "I did NOT, nor would I EVER shoot Takeo. That was my
security man, and I had him transferred the next day. I also prevented
Shaft Enterprises from attacking her in the hospital- I would appreciate it
if you NOT bring that up," he growled. With some difficulty, he managed to
get the anger out of his face. However, he was unable to completely
replace his smile. "Yours is a case similar to that. Shaft Enterprises
has done something I totally disagree with- they murdered your father and
framed you, who I really DO consider a friend, for it. There was nothing I
could do to prevent that bullet from hitting Takeo, just as there was
nothing I could do to stop your father from being murdered. But I stopped
my associates from attacking her in the hospital then, and so I'll make up
for my associates crimes against you now."
Asuma couldn't help but believe him, though he was still cautious. "And I
should trust you about this because?"
Richard Wong laughed, his smile returning to what it had been. "My dear
Asuma, you have no choice BUT to trust me. But if you want to know my more
self-centered motivations, I should point out that my current job is spying
on and eliminating competition. They went over my head, and it appears
they may be trying to put me out of the job. You could always consider it
revenge."
That caused Asuma to become even more suspicious. "Are you sure you aren't
STILL trying to 'spy on and eliminate' competition?"
Wong laughed again. "Of course I am. It is always best to face a known
opponent than an unknown one. It is still uncertain who is in charge of
Shinohara Heavy Industries with your absence. Only if you're put in charge
will I be able to know what to expect from you."
Asuma opened his mouth to protest, but he couldn't form any words in
response. Noa, however, had her own questions.
"You aren't going to try and fight me again, are you?" she asked Bud,
shifting uncomfortably.
"Of course not, Sis!" he replied enthusiastically. "I don't hurt people
when they're down. Besides- you beat me fair and square last time. No,
now we're playing on the same team."
Wong finished sipping his cup of tea. "Well, time for Bud and me to go.
I'll begin an investigation to see if I can find who it is who framed you,
and then we'll see if we can find some other evidence together. You two
just hang out here and have fun together- Bud insisted I give you a care
package to entertain you."
"Um... okay," Noa said.
"Come on, Bud- time to go," he said, standing up. "We've got work to do."
"See you, sis!" the kid said, leaping to his feet and waving to Noa. "Hope
to see you again soon."
"Um, see you again soon," Noa echoed hesitantly.
Asuma stopped Wong before he left. "Suppose Noa and I want to conduct our
OWN investigation?" he demanded.
Wong just shook his head in amusement. "And how would you do that? I
mean, you can't do any investigating from here. If you really want, you
can leave here the way you came to conduct one- I'm certainly not holding
you prisoner here- but your best bet is probably to stay right here and let
me do all the work for you. Don't worry- we'll come and get you when it's
safe." He paused. "You're wise not to trust me completely, but you really
don't have much choice, now, do you? You two are safe here- take comfort
in that, and let me do the rest."
Asuma finally let him go, then turned to find Noa going through a couple of
boxes. "What are those?"
"I think it's the 'care package' Bud wanted us to have," she said, opening
up the first box. "Huh... this box is full of nothing but batteries.
Wonder what's in the other box."
Asuma knelt down next to her and opened the second package for her.
"Hmm... I think those batteries are for these things."
"Eh?" Noa asked, looking into the box he had opened.
"A portable TV set- powered by batteries. A lamp, powered by batteries. A
few manga. Oh, and a battery-powered Headgear (TM) MiniGame System with...
um, Patlabor: the Video Game." He unpacked the box a bit further. "And a
note addressed to you from Bud."
He gave her the note.
"Hi, sis," it said, "Here's something to keep you in practice. Maybe
you'll be able to reach level 10 by the time all of this is taken care of.
Don't worry, sis- we'll avenge you!"
* * * * *
There was a knock on the door. "Come in," Gotoh said, not looking up from
his paperwork.
Inspector Matsui entered the room, carrying two file folders with him.
"Hello, Captain Gotoh. I have a couple questions about those records you
sent down to me the other day."
Gotoh nodded, gesturing to Shinobu. "I'm sure that if either Captain
Nagumo or myself can help you, we will."
Matsui nodded. "Upon a thorough combing of these files, I found two
instances of labor revolvers being checked out and not checked back in. I
was wondering if you knew if these incidents were just neglect or if there
was a specific reason they weren't logged in as returned."
"Well, I'll take a look at the folders, and see if I can suggest anything,"
he said. Matsui handed Gotoh the files, and pointed out the two incidents
he was referring to. "Hmm... well, considering the date, I'm fairly
certain that both of these guns were involved in the incident between the
Griffin and the Peacemakers. I recall that the report said both revolvers
were believed to have both been tossed into the Tokyo Bay during the fight.
Only one was recovered, however- that one in unserviceable condition. The
other-"
"Wait," Shinobu interrupted. "Did you say BOTH were thought to have been
tossed into the bay?"
"Yeah, that's what the official report I read said. Both revolvers issued
to your Peacemakers were lost in the Tokyo Bay during the Griffin
Incident."
"But... only ONE was lost in the bay that time- the other one was dropped
on the sidewalk. I thought the maintenance squad recovered it!" Shinobu
said.
Gotoh frowned. "Hmm... curious. Inspector Matsui, perhaps we need to
investigate this little corruption angle a bit further back than I
suspected...."
* * * * *
"Um, Asuma," Noa said, returning to the main room. "I have some bad news."
Asuma, who was disposing of the trash produced from their dinner, looked up
at her. "Oh?"
"Uh huh. I just checked the rest of the house... um, apparently mom and
dad haven't been maintaining this place all that well lately. The only
room which we can actually afford to heat is the bathroom and this room-
their are holes in many of the windows, a partially collapsed ceiling in
another room, and the back door is letting in a very bad draft."
Asuma sighed, putting the last empty beer can in the trash bag. "Great,"
he said. "Okay, I'll take the bathroom."
Noa looked at him guiltily. "I can't make you do that- I'll take the
bathroom."
"Oh, just let me take the bathroom. This is your house, after all."
"And you're my guest!" Noa countered. "I'll take the bathroom."
"I already feel bad enough with you making yourself a felon for me," Asuma
argued. "I'll take the bathroom."
"Fine! We'll BOTH take the bathroom!" Noa shouted.
Asuma blinked. "Um... Noa, think about that for a minute."
"Uh... okay, maybe we won't both take the bathroom," she said, embarrassed.
She thought about it for a second, blushed, and bit her lip nervously.
"Still... it might be best if we shared a room for the night... I mean, who
knows when we'll be getting more propane for the heater... we should
conserve what fuel we've got."
Asuma nodded slowly. "Um... well, I guess that makes sense. We should see
if we can repair some of the other rooms, though." He paused. "If you
promise not to hit me, I guess it would be all right. Show me where the
futons are and I'll help you drag a couple here."
"Heh heh..." Noa laughed nervously. "Um, that's the other piece of bad
news I've got."
Asuma looked at her in disbelief. "Don't tell me there's only one futon!"
"No, there's plenty of futons!" she exclaimed. "Um... sort of."
"Sort of?"
"Well... see, remember I said there was a partially collapsed roof in one
room? Well, see, some snow leaked through that roof onto the pile of
futons, and so..."
"They're all wet?"
"No! They've dried off- well, most of them have. It's just that many of
them are slightly rotted... or smell bad... or..."
Asuma sighed. "Never mind. Lead the way- let's see how bad off these
futons are, anyway."
* * * * *
Takeo sighed, waiting for the taxi to stop. She'd almost gotten through
the phone records she'd already obtained, and then Inspector Matsui called.
He'd found more people to check up on, and pushed the date back for the
records collection. So, off she was to the judge's office to get the
warrant, and now she was headed back to the phone company to pick up the
new files.
As the taxi entered the parking lot, she noticed a HELICOPTER parked up on
the roof of the building, illuminated by the setting sun. At first, she
feared that it was part of Shaft Security Systems, but upon further
inspection she was able to determine that while it was the same make of
helicopter as those used by the 3-S, it was customized in a way that no 3-S
person would ever allow (not to mention there was no 3-S logo painted on
the side).
"We're here, ma'am," the taxi driver said. "That'll be forty-five hundred
yen."
Takeo pulled a wad of cash out of her purse and handed it to the taxi
driver. "Thank you. If you could return in a couple of hours to take me
back, I'd be grateful."
The driver counted the yen, noticing it was fifteen hundred yen larger than
he'd asked for. Not much, true, but enough of a bribe to make him take
notice of her request. "Of course, Ma'am."
The taxi drove off as she made her way inside. After a few brief words
with the receptionist (who had been expecting her), she went over to the
same room for phone records retrieval she'd been at before.
She stepped up to the counter at the records department, looking in to see
who was there. Most of the staff was apparently missing, but there was one
man in a suit bending over a computer terminal. Takeo couldn't make much
out about him, but from what she could see she had the vaguely disturbing
feeling she'd seen him before- and not at the phone company. Shaking her
head furiously to clear it, she called over to the man.
"Excuse me, can you help me?"
The figure stiffened. In a nasal and strongly accented voice, he replied,
"I sorry- only here from India researching phone systems. Can no help
you."
Takeo's eyes widened. She recognized that voice, even as (badly) disguised
as it was. Leaping over the counter, she ran up to the man and turned him
around by the shoulder. "Richard!" she cried.
Richard Wong faced her with some of his usual smile, but it looked a little
more nervous than usual. "Hello, Takeo. I should have known that little
trick wouldn't work on you," he said.
They just stared at each other for a few moments, neither one knowing what
to say. Finally, Takeo's eyes turned cold. "You're under arrest for
illegally infiltrating the private records kept by the phone company."
Wong held out his hands, still smiling. "If you insist- and I won't trick
you this time, either. But you'll be making a big mistake if you do."
Takeo snorted. "And why would that be? I can't believe you're helping
these people cover up who REALLY killed Asuma's father. I know you've done
some pretty despicable things, but that's low, even for you!"
That caused Wong's face- and hands- to drop. "I thought you knew me better
than that. I'm not covering up any of the murderers."
Takeo sighed. "I thought I knew you better than that, as well! But I
found out a few years ago I don't know you as well as I thought I did. If
that ISN'T what you're doing, then why ARE you here?"
Wong's smile returned. "Why, I'm trying to do the exact same thing you
are- get Asuma Shinohara off the hook." His smile grew. "After all, if
Shinohara Heavy Industries collapses because their owner is in prison, then
I'm out of the job."
Takeo's eyes widened. There was a ring of truth to what he was saying.
Still... "We can conduct our OWN investigation, thank you," she said,
pulling out a pair of handcuffs.
Wong nodded, holding out his hands again. "Oh, I believe you. I remember
just how much attention you pay to detail. You're a great detective- I
have no question that you'll eventually crack the case!" He paused.
"However, since Asuma and Noa are under my care, they might find themselves
in a little bit of trouble if I'm not there to help them."
That stopped Takeo before she could put the cuffs on him. "What do you
mean, 'under your care?'"
"The two of them found this nice little cozy hideaway they could stay at,"
he answered. "However, they have no money and only limited supplies. I
found them there, and offered to make certain they were well stocked during
their visit to that establishment. They did NOT want to trust me, but they
didn't have much other choice." He sighed, putting on an unhappy look.
"Sadly, it looks like their mistrust will be well founded, as I will be in
prison and unable to provide the help I promised them."
"Where are they?" she asked anxiously.
Wong laughed. "Now, Takeo, you know I'm not going to tell you that. You
can't arrest me while I have that information, and I'm certainly going to
do what I can to keep you from arresting me." He paused. "Besides, I'm
certainly not going to give their position away to the police!"
Takeo remembered what Matsui had told her. "I won't give their position
away, either." She paused, hesitating before she continued. "And I promise
not to arrest you if you do. Perhaps... perhaps we could work together on
this investigation, and I could help you work on getting Asuma and Noa
to... relax... around you."
Wong's face dropped- not in sadness, nor in anger, but in shock. That was
an offer he certainly had not been expecting. "Are you... serious? You
want to... work... with me, again?"
"Only for the duration of this investigation!" Takeo declared. "And JUST
working! Consider it a temporary pardon- but once this is finished, the
best you can expect from me is a running start."
He relaxed into his smile again. "Of course," he said. "Well, I'm very
willing to work with you on this. Let's get those phone records you came
for, and then we'll start looking through them, okay?"
* * * * *
Asuma struggled to get comfortable. He stared across at Noa, who was
relaxed comfortably on her futon- the ONLY futon in the house which hadn't
been ruined by the weather.
In order to make a bed for himself, he'd grabbed the two next-best looking
futons they could find and doubled them up. It was still very lumpy,
however, and smelly, and parts of both futons he was using had rotted. The
blankets were much the same way- enough undamaged covers for one, really,
so he had to make do with multiple ruined covers. It still left him cold-
sure, they'd warmed up the room before going to bed, but it was dangerous
to leave a propane tank burning overnight and they'd had to turn the heater
off before going to sleep. There were no holes in the walls, so it wasn't
cooling down too quickly, but the disrepair of the blankets he was forced
to use didn't offer the protection needed to keep him warm. It didn't help
that he was sleeping in his underwear- neither he nor Noa had a change of
clothes on them, and so they'd been forced to make do with their underwear
and some bathrobes as pajamas. None of the bathrobes fit Asuma, however,
so he wound up using them as an extra blanket.
As he studied Noa's apparently sleeping form, he sighed. It looked like
she was very comfortable. 'Tomorrow,' he thought to himself, 'I'm getting
on that snowmobile and heading over to the ski lodge to see if I can pick
up a futon and some blankets from that contact of Wong's. And maybe a
change of clothes or two, as well.' He paused. "And anything else that
might be of use in making this place livable," he accidentally muttered
aloud.
"I'm sorry, Asuma," Noa said from her futon.
"Noa? You're awake?"
"I can't sleep- I keep wondering what we're getting ourselves into," she
said. "I mean, we're working with the BLACK LABOR here- and we're working
AGAINST all of our friends."
"I know," Asuma agreed. "Do you regret helping me?"
Noa turned her head to smile at him. "No. I'd have had an even harder
time sleeping if I hadn't." She noticed him shivering slightly. "You
cold?"
"A little," he admitted. Unfortunately, his teeth chattered slightly when
he said it.
"Sounds like you're more than just 'a little' cold," Noa accused.
"Well... yeah, okay, I'm cold," he said. "Not much I can do about it."
Noa looked guilty. "I got the good futon... maybe I could give you the
good blankets in trade?"
"And have both of us uncomfortable?" he said. "No... keep the blanket."
"But I'm the host- it's my job to make the guest feel comfortable."
"And I'm the guest," he replied. "Do we have to go through this again?"
"Let's just skip to the end- why don't we share?" she joked.
Asuma, however, missed the humor in her voice. "You can't be serious!" he
exclaimed.
For some reason, Noa took offense at that. "Oh? If I was, what would you
do?"
He paused. "I... I don't know," he admitted. "I mean, I've had to share
rooms- and sometimes futons- with the others in our unit, but..."
"But?"
"But you aren't just one of the other guys," he said.
"Well, yeah- I'm a girl!"
Asuma propped himself up on an elbow, turning to face her. "It isn't just
that you're a girl, though."
That surprised Noa. "What do you mean? If it isn't just that I'm a girl,
what is it?"
"I... I'm not sure how to explain it," he answered. "It's just... well, I
wouldn't be really... comfortable... sleeping next to you."
"Well, gee, thanks," she growled, hurt.
"I didn't mean it like that!" he exclaimed.
Noa looked at him closely. "Then how DID you mean it?"
He lay back down, closing his eyes so that he wouldn't see her face when he
said what he was about to say. "I couldn't ALLOW myself to get comfortable
because I would be afraid of getting... too comfortable... with you."
The implications of that set in, and for the first time Noa wondered about
their relationship. She thought about the times they'd spent together, the
times they'd gone into battle together, and the emotional memories they'd
shared. "Asuma?" she said. Her voice was cracking slightly.
"Yeah, Noa?"
Noa paused. She wasn't sure she wanted to ask this, but once she'd made
her decision she figured she might as well not back out of it. "Do you
want to share the futon?"
Asuma sat up like he'd been shot out of a cannon. "Are you sure you want
to take the risk?" he asked.
"Asuma," she said sternly. "I don't care about the risk. You've told me
more about yourself than I've seen you tell anyone else- I'VE told you more
about MYSELF than I've ever told anyone else. When the Griffin hurt you
and I didn't know if you were alive or dead, I was more terrified than I'd
been at any other point in my life. When we had our first real fight-
about you making up with your father- I was afraid we'd never make up, and
didn't know how I'd handle that. Whenever my life was on the line, I cried
your name, desperately hoping I could see you just one more time. Asuma...
like you always say, backup and forward should have one heart and one mind.
I think we've got the one heart already. I let you be my mind sometimes.
If we DID... get too comfortable, all that would happen to us would be that
we'd add one more thing we share- one body."
Asuma couldn't move, or speak, or even think- was Noa offering what he
thought she was offering?
"Noa, do you know what you're saying?"
Noa nodded furiously. "Yes. Now get over here!"
"Yes, ma'am!" he said, jumping out of the futon. "Wait... don't I usually
boss YOU around?"
Noa chuckled. "Tell you what- you can boss me around in the morning.
Tonight, it's my turn."
* * * * *
"Ah, Inspector Matsui," Gotoh said. "Find any more... irregularities... in
our weapons log?"
"No," he said gruffly. "I'm done with that portion of this investigation.
I have a pretty good idea what weapon was used- we just need to find it and
perform a ballistics test on it. In the meantime, however, there are a
couple other angles to work on. Takeo's taking one- she phoned me to let
me know she's discovered a confidential inside source on the conspiracy,
and she'll be working with him independently for a while. In the meantime,
however, she gave me the results of another file search I'd engaged her on.
Um, would you and Captain Shinobu please help me with this phase of the
investigation? There's someone I need to question, and I'd like to have
you two along with me when I conduct this particular interrogation."
Gotoh looked over at Shinobu, who shrugged and nodded, before getting up to
walk over to him. "Certainly- though may I ask why?"
Matsui coughed. "Well, I'm going to be questioning another police
officer."
"Not one of MY men!" Shinobu cried, outraged.
"No, not one of your men," he said reassuringly. Glancing casually at
Gotoh, he added, "Not one of yours, either. Nor Sakaki's."
Shinobu and Gotoh looked at each other. "Well... if it's not our men,"
Gotoh asked, almost to himself. "Who does that leave?"
"Are you taking us off base? If so, I'm afraid I won't be able to go..."
Shinobu said.
"No, we should find the person who I'm intending to talk to in this
facility right now...."
* * * * *
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