Guns, Crooks, Cops and Strangers
David Kawakami stubbed his cigarette out on the car door he leant against, then took another from the pack in his shirt pocket and lit it. The night air was warm and humid, almost oppressive. A distant rumble over the nocturnal sounds of Tokyo heralded a coming storm and he wondered idly whether they would be in for an early typhoon. He hadn't had the time to check the weather report lately. Tonight would be the culmination of several weeks of work and he'd hate to have it spoiled by a downpour.
A presence by his side stirred him out of the brooding he was in the habit of falling into when not otherwise occupied. "Not much longer." Detective Hiroko Yamada said as she handed him a cup of coffee. Her dark hair was tied in a long pony tail that hung down her back, partly obscuring the word 'POLICE' emblazoned on the back of her black jacket in large yellow letters.
David took the cup and looked at her a moment. "You've changed your hair." he said. His voice was rough and throaty, like something being dragged over gravel and gave the impression that he was perpetually growling, the result of over twenty years of heavy smoking.
She smiled. "You've finally noticed." she said and absently played with her pony tail. "I had it cut a few days ago and styled in the way Sailor Mars' has hers, though it's a bit shorter at the back than how she wears it."
David nodded and sipped the coffee, but withheld any comment. His gaze wondered back to their reason for being there tonight; the large bulk carrier El Pablo that was docked at Wharf 18. They were waiting in a car park just out of sight of the wide gate onto the wharf. With them were over three dozen uniformed police officers, along with a few forensics officers and other specialists and representatives from Customs. After two years of investigation, this raid was as close they had come to finding any real evidence against the Blue Circle gang.
David drained his cup and glanced at his watch. It was time. He nodded to a Sergeant who blew a whistle. Suddenly police were running from all directions, all headed for the gateway. Sirens started up and cars bearing more officers appeared from nearby streets, illuminating the area in a dancing pattern of red and blue lights. The first officers to reach the gate ordered the security guard away from his post and opened the barricade, allowing the squad cars onto the wharf. David and Hiroko got in their car and drove ahead of the officers that were forced to use their feet.
David parked the car directly in front of the first of a line of trucks that sat waiting to be loaded with containers from the El Pablo, preventing it from moving. As he and Hiroko got out, officers were rounding up all those they could find and herding them into a group in a relatively clear part of the wharf. At the front of the group was a red faced man in a white shirt and tie who was busy screaming at a senior constable, who was in turn threatening the man with arrest if he didn't calm down and co-operate. As David and Hiroko approached, the constable turned his attention towards them.
"Sir, this man here is the Night Manager. He wants to know why we've stopped him and his employees from working." the constable said.
"What is the meaning of this?" The Manager blustered. "This ship has already been cleared by customs. You have no right to-"
David reached into his pocket and presented the Manager with a piece of paper. "This is a warrant to search the ship and cargo you're unloading." he said. The manager was speechless for a moment, then he snatched the warrant out of David's hand and began reading it carefully.
David turned to the senior constable. "Start searching."
The constable nodded and ran off to issue orders. The Night Manager finished reading the warrant and was about to argue over it with David, but found David was already making his way towards a cluster of containers with Hiroko in tow.
"You know, that wasn't very polite." she pointed out to the senior detective.
"I don't care." David said.
They came to a container that had just been opened by some constables. Another constable appeared and handed David several papers. He rifled through them and saw they were manifests and other shipping papers that had found in the docks' office. A constable shone a torch inside the container and they saw it was full of crates and boxes. David directed one of the constable to open a crate and inside they found it full of car parts. David checked it against the manifests and saw it was all accounted for.
"Keep searching." He instructed the constables.
Then they heard a cry from the other side of the dock. "Hey, Detective! You'd better come see this!"
David and Hiroko hurried over to where a group of constables had prised open some crates from a shipping container that was sitting by itself on the dock. One of them shone a torch inside the crate, illuminating a jumble of darkly burnished metal. Hikari's jaw dropped, but David remained impassive. Inside were hundreds of assault rifles of various types, all packed neatly in layers and protected with plenty of packing material. Of the ones on the top that David could see, he counted several M-16's, MP5's, Kalishnikov's, Steyers and a few Uzi's.
"What is this?" Hiroko said. "This was supposed to be drugs."
David put on a pair of gloves, then reached into the crate and picked up an M-16. He worked the action to clear the breach of any rounds in the chamber, then tripped the catch to open weapon. He examined the firing mechanism inside and sighted down the inside of the barrel to check it was clear.
"They're real." he said, closing the weapon again. To the constables, he said "Keep searching. You're sure to find more weapons and the ammunition for them." He placed the M-16 back in the crate and indicated for Hiroko to follow him.
They walked a few steps away so they could speak without being overheard. "This is disturbing. That's too much firepower for normal gun running."
Hiroko nodded in agreement. "It's like they're equipping an army."
David thought for a moment. "It could be..." he began, then fell silent.
Although only just recently partnered with him, Hiroko knew him well enough to know that tone. "But?"
David dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "We don't have enough information. Let's keep searching." he said and turned back towards the crates full of guns. Hiroko sighed and followed after him.
***
Usagi huffed. She was hungry and this tour wouldn't be over for another twenty minutes. "Hey, Ami-chan! School is finally over for the year, I thought you said you wanted to do something fun this afternoon?" she said as she absently smoothed out imaginary wrinkles in her school skirt.
"This is fun." Ami stated, paying more attention to the tour guides lecture about the cutting edge experiments being conducted at this new high energy physics lab than she was to her friend. She and Usagi had met up with Rei after their last day of school for the year, and joined the public tour of the recently completed facility.
"But it's the holidays, and this is just like being back at school!" Usagi whined.
Rei turned to her in irritation. "Will you be quiet, baka, you might learn something."
"Oh like you can talk." Usagi shot back. "You're just here to check out the cute science students."
"I am not." Rei said haughtily. "I'm here because I'm interested in expanding my mind."
Usagi leaned close to her and whispered in her ear. "Then what are you going to do about that tall, dark and handsome that's been checking you out since the beginning of the tour."
"Where? Where?" Rei almost shouted, looking frantically for the man. Instead she found Usagi in peals of laughter. Rei's eye's narrowed. "Usagi, I am going to kill you." she said in as menacing a voice as she could muster. Usagi just started laughing harder, infuriating Rei even more.
Ami, hoping to defuse the situation before Rei got violent, tried to change the subject as the tour guide concluded this part of the tour and the group began moving to the next part. "Hey, where are Minako and Makoto?"
"Mako-chan had to go run some errands this afternoon and Mina-chan has a date tonight." Usagi said, instantly changing gears from mirth to gossip.
"Really? A date? With who?" Rei asked, getting caught up as well.
"Kenji Takeda. He's captain of our school's soccer team. Him and Mina met at that party Naru had a few weeks ago."
"You mean the one I couldn't go to because of that ceremony grandpa had at the temple?"
Usagi nodded. "They really hit it off. This may be the real thing!" she said with a dreamy look in her eye.
"Oh be sensible will you! One date's way too early to know that." Rei said crossly.
"Says you!" Usagi shot back.
"What do you mean by that?"
"How's Yuuichirou?"
Rei hesitated, the expression on her face slipping momentarily as she was stung by that remark. Then her facade returned and her face was flushed with anger. Or was it embarrassment. "Shut up, baka. There is nothing between me and Yuuichirou and even if there were, it would be none of your business."
"Oh really you two!" Ami scolded. "Can't you say more than two words without getting in a fight?"
Their tempo thrown off by Ami's outburst, Usagi and Rei looked at each other blushed bright crimson.
"Sorry Ami. Sorry Rei-chan." Usagi said.
"Yeah, sorry Ami." Rei said.
"That's better." Ami said. "Now will you two keep moving, the tours finished in here."
"Yeah, yeah, sure." Rei said dismissively and turned around to follow the group. Suddenly she was bumped from behind and felt her psychic senses flaring. Looking about, she spied a tall westerner move past her. Stopping in her tracks, all her awareness became focused on him till she was almost able to see the aura of his life force, an intangible pattern of energies that danced and shimmered just beyond what was visible. Yet there was something strange about it. The way it moved it, the way it appeared, the way it felt, seemed different and unusual, almost alien, to her. It was like putting on something made of wool, only to find it felt more like cotton. She ran her eyes over him from top to bottom, committing every detail of his appearance to memory. He was tall, but he was also broad of shoulder and appeared quite toned, as though he were no stranger to intense physical activity. And there was something about the way he moved and responded to others, like he was aware of all around him and used that to move in a deliberate and efficient manner, with no energy wasted on unnecessary actions. His hair was a light brown in colour and cut short and simple way. She guessed he was about twenty, and struck her as handsome enough with a straight face and strong jaw line, though his complexion was marred by an ugly scar that ran from his left cheek down his neck, as though the skin had been severely burnt some time ago and hadn't healed properly. He was dressed in jeans with a tan coloured short sleeve shirt over a plain T-shirt. She also noticed an odd shaped bulge in the small of his back, as if something lump with hard lines was tucked in the waistline of his pants.
"Don't stop now, Rei-chan." Rei was shocked back to reality as Usagi tried to push her from behind, "You're going to miss out."
Rei grabbed her and Ami's hands and pulled them off to the side, away from the group.
"Rei, what's wrong?" Ami asked, catching the look in Rei's eye.
"I sensed something about that man." she said, indicating the westerner with a nod of her head. Both Ami and Usagi watched the man as he took up a position at the rear of the tour group.
"What? Is he evil?" Usagi asked.
"I don't know. I've never felt this before. It's not evil, or at least not the sort we're used to dealing with. It's something else. There's something...different about him." Rei tried to explain as they watched the man.
Suddenly the man seemed to sense they were watching him, for he turned and looked directly at them. They all blushed and looked away. He watched them for a moment more, then, with a glance back to the tour guide, turned and headed for the nearest exit.
"He's leaving." said Ami.
"Let's follow him." Rei said and they started after him as he disappeared through the doorway.
They failed to notice another man in the tour group watch them leave, then slip out the door after them.
***
Usagi, Rei and Ami ran out onto the street, then stopped and looked about.
"Where did he go?" Usagi wondered aloud.
"There he his." Ami pointed. The other two looked and saw the man getting into a taxi. They broke into a run, but the man closed the door and the cab pulled into the traffic.
"Who do you suppose he was?" Ami asked.
"I don't know." Rei said. "But we'd better tell the others about this." She took out her communicator and was about to call them when Usagi stopped her.
"You don't have to tell them now, do you?" she said.
Rei and Ami looked at her quizzically. "Why shouldn't we?" Rei asked.
"Because you'll end up ruining Minako-chan's date."
Rei and Ami both rolled their eyes.
"Moron! There are more important things than dates!" Rei exploded, causing Usagi to cringe.
"I agree," began Ami, "but I don't think it's essential for Minako to be here for this."
"What?" Rei turned to Ami, agape.
"He hasn't done anything yet. All we really know about this man is that you felt there was something different about him, but that doesn't immediately make him evil. We should investigate this more before we go acting too rashly."
Rei fumed, but finally agreed. "All right, we can tell Minako later. Now, if somebody" she turned on Usagi "has no objections, I'll call Makoto."
"Umm, I actually told her we'd meet her in an hour for a chocolate sundae." Usagi said timidly.
Rei threw her hands into the air, grabbed Ami and stormed off, leaving Usagi to catch up.
As soon as their backs were turned, a figure emerged out of the shadows and watch the three Senshi's move quickly down the street, arguing loudly between themselves, then turned and looked in the direction the other man had gone. The figure, the man who had slipped out after the Senshi's had followed the first man out, smiled to himself. He was a westerner as well, though he was much shorter and a good deal older than the first, and sported a full beard that was as fiery red as his hair.
"You know, I may just pull this off after all." he said to himself quietly, then vanished as though he had never been there.
***
Eiji Hamada didn't walk down the street so much as strut down it, like some pompous king walking the hallways of his palace, for that was how Eiji saw himself, as a King of the Street. He owned it, he lived it, and it was how he made his money. No mugger, hustler or dealer worked the streets without his permission, and no prostitutes whored themselves without paying him his cut. He had grown fat off that money, which had also paid for his extravagant clothes and the copious amounts of gold that adorned his body.
In reality he wasn't so much a King of the Streets as he was a minor baron of Tokyo's criminal underworld. His 'turf' wasn't that spectacular either, a few streets in the commercial area of an unimportant suburb. On one of those streets was located Eiji's one and only brothel, which was his destination that afternoon.
The brothel was in an old two storey brick building two doors down from the corner. Heavy drapes covered the windows, and the front door was cracked and its once pink paint had faded and peeled with age and disrepair. Much of the masonry was crumbling and faded a dull grey-brown, and dirt and grime was permanently etched into every nook and cranny.
Directly across the street from the brothel was located a sweet store, it's windows filled with all manner of colourful childhood delights and shaded by a bright pink and white awning. The floor above the store used to be an apartment, but had long since been abandoned. It was from one of its windows that Eiji Hamada's entrance into his brothel was watched.
Jon Winters settled himself back to wait. If his observations of Hamada's routine were accurate, he would spend fifteen minutes in the brothel collecting money from the girls who worked it, then exit the front door and continue on his way. But not today. Jon unzipped the large sports bag by his side and withdrew the weapon that would end Hamada's life. A colt commando, a shortened version of the M-16 assault rifle, and more than enough firepower for this job.
He had spent a great deal of time selecting this site. The street was narrow, the distance from the apartment window to the brothels doorstep being only a fraction of the colt's range, and was quiet at this time of day. The steps up to the apartment were at the back and led down to an alley that ran parallel to the street, providing him with a nice, safe, getaway route. Plus, the thought of killing the pimp on the doorstep of his own brothel had an ironic satisfaction to it. Jon could only hope that some of the girls would use the opportunity his death presented to escape from the life they were trapped in.
He slapped the magazine into the well and cocked it, drawing the first bullet into the chamber and setting the firing pin. He then settled back to wait. Though he expected Hamada to spend fifteen minutes inside, that was no guarantee that he would. The shape and weight of the rifle felt odd in his hands, it was too large and awkward, a result of the designers placing the firing mechanism forward of the trigger. He preferred what was known as a bull-pup configuration, where the moving parts were located behind the trigger in the stock of the weapon, allowing as long a barrel as possible to be fitted, thereby increasing accuracy whilst keeping the design compact and easy to use. Despite not being overly familiar with this weapon, he had practised with it enough that it wouldn't be a problem. Baring anything unexpected, he wouldn't need more than one bullet anyway.
As he waited, he reviewed his preparations once more, in case he had missed any detail with his last hundred such reviews. He was in a concealed firing position with a clear line of sight to the target. It would be at a time least likely for a witness to be present. This would be the only time he would use this gun, then it would be disposed of with no way for it to be traced back to him. The balaclava and gloves he wore to were easily bought at any department store in Tokyo and would prevent him from leaving any fingerprints or loose hairs behind. His getaway route was planned to take him as far from the scene as possible without being seen. And most importantly, he had no known connection to the target for the police to trace.
He thought briefly of the man he was about to kill. A dumb street tough who had only risen to this minor place of importance by being slightly smarter and a great deal luckier than the other dumb street toughs who worked this area. He peddled drugs to anyone with the money to buy, including children, abused the women who worked for him and organized robbery's and muggings. It was had been a failed mugging that had sealed his fate.
Movement across the street caught Jon's eye. The door to the brothel opened and Hamada emerged. Jon brought the rifle up to his shoulder and took aim on Hamada's head as he stopped to light a cigarette on the doorstep. Jon took a final moment to ensure his aim was steady, then squeezed the trigger. The rifle kicked once and a fraction of a second later the back of Hamada's head exploded outwards, spraying blood, skull fragments and brain matter all over the door. He never even felt the bullet strike him.
Jon was moving before Hamada's body hit the ground. Uncocking the rifle, he stuffed it back into the bag as he sprinted for the door. Taking the steps three at a time, he was on the ground and running down the alley moments later. He turned right into another alley that intersected the first, pulling the balaclava off his head at the same time. That action caused him to miss the tall school girl with brown hair who had suddenly crossed the mouth of the first alley.
***
Makoto had started running the moment she heard the gunshot. Her transformation pen found its way into her hand seemingly of its own volition, though she held off on using it, at least until she actually knew what the situation was. But, she decided, it couldn't be good if a gun had gone off.
As she ran past an alley, her attention was caught by motion in her peripheral vision. By instinct she glanced that way and saw a man disappearing down another alley carrying a large sports bag and pulling a balaclava off his head. Though she got only a glimpse of his face, she did notice much of his left cheek and neck was heavily scarred. Then it struck her that he was running away from the scene. She stopped, then sprinted down the alley after him, but by then he was already out of sight.
She turned around and started back towards where she had heard the gunshot. Sirens could now be heard drawing closer, and she knew she had to find a policeman and tell him what she had seen. She didn't know exactly what had happened, but she knew from the way that man was running that he had to be involved somehow. This may not have required the Sailor Jupiter's intervention, but a crime had still been committed and justice was required.
She rounded the corner and found a small knot of people gathered around the doorway of an old brick building. Two policemen had already made it to the scene, one was stooped over somebody lying against the door, the other was keeping the other people at bay. Makoto run up and stopped beside a man, the logo on his apron signifying he was from the sweet shop across the road.
"What happened here?" she asked him.
"Somebody shot him." he said, a slight quiver in his voice. It was then Makoto became aware of all the blood. It ran down the door, was splattered all over the walls and was pooling on the ground. The bile rose in her throat and she felt herself gag. She had never thought it possible to smell blood before, but its stench permeated the air, a sickly sweet coppery smell that made her stomach turn. She took a deep breath and managed to keep her lunch down, then turned to the policeman who was keeping people from getting too close.
"Excuse me." she said.
"What?" the policeman asked gruffly, somewhat frazzled by the enormity of the situation and the many demands being placed on him.
"I think I saw the man who did this." she said.
"Stay here. The detectives will be along shortly, you can tell them what you saw."
"Okay." She said as she inadvertently glanced at the body again, and got the sudden urge to throw up. "I'll just be waiting over there." she said, waving to somewhere behind the crowd, but the policeman's attention was already drawn to someone else. Makoto staggered a few feet, then doubled over and vomited. Her knees went weak and she collapsed against the side of the building. This wasn't like the other times. She'd dealt with death as a Senshi, but not like this. This was too violent, too bloody, too messy. This was death inflicted on a human by another human. This wasn't part of the battle between good and evil. This was murder. A simple, callous murder. It was so senseless her mind had trouble accepting that fact. She had to call the others. Even if not to actually get them involved, she need someone to talk to right now. She had to talk to Usagi. She may be an idiot at times, but she was always there for her friends when needed.
David Kawakami stubbed his cigarette out on the car door he leant against, then took another from the pack in his shirt pocket and lit it. The night air was warm and humid, almost oppressive. A distant rumble over the nocturnal sounds of Tokyo heralded a coming storm and he wondered idly whether they would be in for an early typhoon. He hadn't had the time to check the weather report lately. Tonight would be the culmination of several weeks of work and he'd hate to have it spoiled by a downpour.
A presence by his side stirred him out of the brooding he was in the habit of falling into when not otherwise occupied. "Not much longer." Detective Hiroko Yamada said as she handed him a cup of coffee. Her dark hair was tied in a long pony tail that hung down her back, partly obscuring the word 'POLICE' emblazoned on the back of her black jacket in large yellow letters.
David took the cup and looked at her a moment. "You've changed your hair." he said. His voice was rough and throaty, like something being dragged over gravel and gave the impression that he was perpetually growling, the result of over twenty years of heavy smoking.
She smiled. "You've finally noticed." she said and absently played with her pony tail. "I had it cut a few days ago and styled in the way Sailor Mars' has hers, though it's a bit shorter at the back than how she wears it."
David nodded and sipped the coffee, but withheld any comment. His gaze wondered back to their reason for being there tonight; the large bulk carrier El Pablo that was docked at Wharf 18. They were waiting in a car park just out of sight of the wide gate onto the wharf. With them were over three dozen uniformed police officers, along with a few forensics officers and other specialists and representatives from Customs. After two years of investigation, this raid was as close they had come to finding any real evidence against the Blue Circle gang.
David drained his cup and glanced at his watch. It was time. He nodded to a Sergeant who blew a whistle. Suddenly police were running from all directions, all headed for the gateway. Sirens started up and cars bearing more officers appeared from nearby streets, illuminating the area in a dancing pattern of red and blue lights. The first officers to reach the gate ordered the security guard away from his post and opened the barricade, allowing the squad cars onto the wharf. David and Hiroko got in their car and drove ahead of the officers that were forced to use their feet.
David parked the car directly in front of the first of a line of trucks that sat waiting to be loaded with containers from the El Pablo, preventing it from moving. As he and Hiroko got out, officers were rounding up all those they could find and herding them into a group in a relatively clear part of the wharf. At the front of the group was a red faced man in a white shirt and tie who was busy screaming at a senior constable, who was in turn threatening the man with arrest if he didn't calm down and co-operate. As David and Hiroko approached, the constable turned his attention towards them.
"Sir, this man here is the Night Manager. He wants to know why we've stopped him and his employees from working." the constable said.
"What is the meaning of this?" The Manager blustered. "This ship has already been cleared by customs. You have no right to-"
David reached into his pocket and presented the Manager with a piece of paper. "This is a warrant to search the ship and cargo you're unloading." he said. The manager was speechless for a moment, then he snatched the warrant out of David's hand and began reading it carefully.
David turned to the senior constable. "Start searching."
The constable nodded and ran off to issue orders. The Night Manager finished reading the warrant and was about to argue over it with David, but found David was already making his way towards a cluster of containers with Hiroko in tow.
"You know, that wasn't very polite." she pointed out to the senior detective.
"I don't care." David said.
They came to a container that had just been opened by some constables. Another constable appeared and handed David several papers. He rifled through them and saw they were manifests and other shipping papers that had found in the docks' office. A constable shone a torch inside the container and they saw it was full of crates and boxes. David directed one of the constable to open a crate and inside they found it full of car parts. David checked it against the manifests and saw it was all accounted for.
"Keep searching." He instructed the constables.
Then they heard a cry from the other side of the dock. "Hey, Detective! You'd better come see this!"
David and Hiroko hurried over to where a group of constables had prised open some crates from a shipping container that was sitting by itself on the dock. One of them shone a torch inside the crate, illuminating a jumble of darkly burnished metal. Hikari's jaw dropped, but David remained impassive. Inside were hundreds of assault rifles of various types, all packed neatly in layers and protected with plenty of packing material. Of the ones on the top that David could see, he counted several M-16's, MP5's, Kalishnikov's, Steyers and a few Uzi's.
"What is this?" Hiroko said. "This was supposed to be drugs."
David put on a pair of gloves, then reached into the crate and picked up an M-16. He worked the action to clear the breach of any rounds in the chamber, then tripped the catch to open weapon. He examined the firing mechanism inside and sighted down the inside of the barrel to check it was clear.
"They're real." he said, closing the weapon again. To the constables, he said "Keep searching. You're sure to find more weapons and the ammunition for them." He placed the M-16 back in the crate and indicated for Hiroko to follow him.
They walked a few steps away so they could speak without being overheard. "This is disturbing. That's too much firepower for normal gun running."
Hiroko nodded in agreement. "It's like they're equipping an army."
David thought for a moment. "It could be..." he began, then fell silent.
Although only just recently partnered with him, Hiroko knew him well enough to know that tone. "But?"
David dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "We don't have enough information. Let's keep searching." he said and turned back towards the crates full of guns. Hiroko sighed and followed after him.
***
Usagi huffed. She was hungry and this tour wouldn't be over for another twenty minutes. "Hey, Ami-chan! School is finally over for the year, I thought you said you wanted to do something fun this afternoon?" she said as she absently smoothed out imaginary wrinkles in her school skirt.
"This is fun." Ami stated, paying more attention to the tour guides lecture about the cutting edge experiments being conducted at this new high energy physics lab than she was to her friend. She and Usagi had met up with Rei after their last day of school for the year, and joined the public tour of the recently completed facility.
"But it's the holidays, and this is just like being back at school!" Usagi whined.
Rei turned to her in irritation. "Will you be quiet, baka, you might learn something."
"Oh like you can talk." Usagi shot back. "You're just here to check out the cute science students."
"I am not." Rei said haughtily. "I'm here because I'm interested in expanding my mind."
Usagi leaned close to her and whispered in her ear. "Then what are you going to do about that tall, dark and handsome that's been checking you out since the beginning of the tour."
"Where? Where?" Rei almost shouted, looking frantically for the man. Instead she found Usagi in peals of laughter. Rei's eye's narrowed. "Usagi, I am going to kill you." she said in as menacing a voice as she could muster. Usagi just started laughing harder, infuriating Rei even more.
Ami, hoping to defuse the situation before Rei got violent, tried to change the subject as the tour guide concluded this part of the tour and the group began moving to the next part. "Hey, where are Minako and Makoto?"
"Mako-chan had to go run some errands this afternoon and Mina-chan has a date tonight." Usagi said, instantly changing gears from mirth to gossip.
"Really? A date? With who?" Rei asked, getting caught up as well.
"Kenji Takeda. He's captain of our school's soccer team. Him and Mina met at that party Naru had a few weeks ago."
"You mean the one I couldn't go to because of that ceremony grandpa had at the temple?"
Usagi nodded. "They really hit it off. This may be the real thing!" she said with a dreamy look in her eye.
"Oh be sensible will you! One date's way too early to know that." Rei said crossly.
"Says you!" Usagi shot back.
"What do you mean by that?"
"How's Yuuichirou?"
Rei hesitated, the expression on her face slipping momentarily as she was stung by that remark. Then her facade returned and her face was flushed with anger. Or was it embarrassment. "Shut up, baka. There is nothing between me and Yuuichirou and even if there were, it would be none of your business."
"Oh really you two!" Ami scolded. "Can't you say more than two words without getting in a fight?"
Their tempo thrown off by Ami's outburst, Usagi and Rei looked at each other blushed bright crimson.
"Sorry Ami. Sorry Rei-chan." Usagi said.
"Yeah, sorry Ami." Rei said.
"That's better." Ami said. "Now will you two keep moving, the tours finished in here."
"Yeah, yeah, sure." Rei said dismissively and turned around to follow the group. Suddenly she was bumped from behind and felt her psychic senses flaring. Looking about, she spied a tall westerner move past her. Stopping in her tracks, all her awareness became focused on him till she was almost able to see the aura of his life force, an intangible pattern of energies that danced and shimmered just beyond what was visible. Yet there was something strange about it. The way it moved it, the way it appeared, the way it felt, seemed different and unusual, almost alien, to her. It was like putting on something made of wool, only to find it felt more like cotton. She ran her eyes over him from top to bottom, committing every detail of his appearance to memory. He was tall, but he was also broad of shoulder and appeared quite toned, as though he were no stranger to intense physical activity. And there was something about the way he moved and responded to others, like he was aware of all around him and used that to move in a deliberate and efficient manner, with no energy wasted on unnecessary actions. His hair was a light brown in colour and cut short and simple way. She guessed he was about twenty, and struck her as handsome enough with a straight face and strong jaw line, though his complexion was marred by an ugly scar that ran from his left cheek down his neck, as though the skin had been severely burnt some time ago and hadn't healed properly. He was dressed in jeans with a tan coloured short sleeve shirt over a plain T-shirt. She also noticed an odd shaped bulge in the small of his back, as if something lump with hard lines was tucked in the waistline of his pants.
"Don't stop now, Rei-chan." Rei was shocked back to reality as Usagi tried to push her from behind, "You're going to miss out."
Rei grabbed her and Ami's hands and pulled them off to the side, away from the group.
"Rei, what's wrong?" Ami asked, catching the look in Rei's eye.
"I sensed something about that man." she said, indicating the westerner with a nod of her head. Both Ami and Usagi watched the man as he took up a position at the rear of the tour group.
"What? Is he evil?" Usagi asked.
"I don't know. I've never felt this before. It's not evil, or at least not the sort we're used to dealing with. It's something else. There's something...different about him." Rei tried to explain as they watched the man.
Suddenly the man seemed to sense they were watching him, for he turned and looked directly at them. They all blushed and looked away. He watched them for a moment more, then, with a glance back to the tour guide, turned and headed for the nearest exit.
"He's leaving." said Ami.
"Let's follow him." Rei said and they started after him as he disappeared through the doorway.
They failed to notice another man in the tour group watch them leave, then slip out the door after them.
***
Usagi, Rei and Ami ran out onto the street, then stopped and looked about.
"Where did he go?" Usagi wondered aloud.
"There he his." Ami pointed. The other two looked and saw the man getting into a taxi. They broke into a run, but the man closed the door and the cab pulled into the traffic.
"Who do you suppose he was?" Ami asked.
"I don't know." Rei said. "But we'd better tell the others about this." She took out her communicator and was about to call them when Usagi stopped her.
"You don't have to tell them now, do you?" she said.
Rei and Ami looked at her quizzically. "Why shouldn't we?" Rei asked.
"Because you'll end up ruining Minako-chan's date."
Rei and Ami both rolled their eyes.
"Moron! There are more important things than dates!" Rei exploded, causing Usagi to cringe.
"I agree," began Ami, "but I don't think it's essential for Minako to be here for this."
"What?" Rei turned to Ami, agape.
"He hasn't done anything yet. All we really know about this man is that you felt there was something different about him, but that doesn't immediately make him evil. We should investigate this more before we go acting too rashly."
Rei fumed, but finally agreed. "All right, we can tell Minako later. Now, if somebody" she turned on Usagi "has no objections, I'll call Makoto."
"Umm, I actually told her we'd meet her in an hour for a chocolate sundae." Usagi said timidly.
Rei threw her hands into the air, grabbed Ami and stormed off, leaving Usagi to catch up.
As soon as their backs were turned, a figure emerged out of the shadows and watch the three Senshi's move quickly down the street, arguing loudly between themselves, then turned and looked in the direction the other man had gone. The figure, the man who had slipped out after the Senshi's had followed the first man out, smiled to himself. He was a westerner as well, though he was much shorter and a good deal older than the first, and sported a full beard that was as fiery red as his hair.
"You know, I may just pull this off after all." he said to himself quietly, then vanished as though he had never been there.
***
Eiji Hamada didn't walk down the street so much as strut down it, like some pompous king walking the hallways of his palace, for that was how Eiji saw himself, as a King of the Street. He owned it, he lived it, and it was how he made his money. No mugger, hustler or dealer worked the streets without his permission, and no prostitutes whored themselves without paying him his cut. He had grown fat off that money, which had also paid for his extravagant clothes and the copious amounts of gold that adorned his body.
In reality he wasn't so much a King of the Streets as he was a minor baron of Tokyo's criminal underworld. His 'turf' wasn't that spectacular either, a few streets in the commercial area of an unimportant suburb. On one of those streets was located Eiji's one and only brothel, which was his destination that afternoon.
The brothel was in an old two storey brick building two doors down from the corner. Heavy drapes covered the windows, and the front door was cracked and its once pink paint had faded and peeled with age and disrepair. Much of the masonry was crumbling and faded a dull grey-brown, and dirt and grime was permanently etched into every nook and cranny.
Directly across the street from the brothel was located a sweet store, it's windows filled with all manner of colourful childhood delights and shaded by a bright pink and white awning. The floor above the store used to be an apartment, but had long since been abandoned. It was from one of its windows that Eiji Hamada's entrance into his brothel was watched.
Jon Winters settled himself back to wait. If his observations of Hamada's routine were accurate, he would spend fifteen minutes in the brothel collecting money from the girls who worked it, then exit the front door and continue on his way. But not today. Jon unzipped the large sports bag by his side and withdrew the weapon that would end Hamada's life. A colt commando, a shortened version of the M-16 assault rifle, and more than enough firepower for this job.
He had spent a great deal of time selecting this site. The street was narrow, the distance from the apartment window to the brothels doorstep being only a fraction of the colt's range, and was quiet at this time of day. The steps up to the apartment were at the back and led down to an alley that ran parallel to the street, providing him with a nice, safe, getaway route. Plus, the thought of killing the pimp on the doorstep of his own brothel had an ironic satisfaction to it. Jon could only hope that some of the girls would use the opportunity his death presented to escape from the life they were trapped in.
He slapped the magazine into the well and cocked it, drawing the first bullet into the chamber and setting the firing pin. He then settled back to wait. Though he expected Hamada to spend fifteen minutes inside, that was no guarantee that he would. The shape and weight of the rifle felt odd in his hands, it was too large and awkward, a result of the designers placing the firing mechanism forward of the trigger. He preferred what was known as a bull-pup configuration, where the moving parts were located behind the trigger in the stock of the weapon, allowing as long a barrel as possible to be fitted, thereby increasing accuracy whilst keeping the design compact and easy to use. Despite not being overly familiar with this weapon, he had practised with it enough that it wouldn't be a problem. Baring anything unexpected, he wouldn't need more than one bullet anyway.
As he waited, he reviewed his preparations once more, in case he had missed any detail with his last hundred such reviews. He was in a concealed firing position with a clear line of sight to the target. It would be at a time least likely for a witness to be present. This would be the only time he would use this gun, then it would be disposed of with no way for it to be traced back to him. The balaclava and gloves he wore to were easily bought at any department store in Tokyo and would prevent him from leaving any fingerprints or loose hairs behind. His getaway route was planned to take him as far from the scene as possible without being seen. And most importantly, he had no known connection to the target for the police to trace.
He thought briefly of the man he was about to kill. A dumb street tough who had only risen to this minor place of importance by being slightly smarter and a great deal luckier than the other dumb street toughs who worked this area. He peddled drugs to anyone with the money to buy, including children, abused the women who worked for him and organized robbery's and muggings. It was had been a failed mugging that had sealed his fate.
Movement across the street caught Jon's eye. The door to the brothel opened and Hamada emerged. Jon brought the rifle up to his shoulder and took aim on Hamada's head as he stopped to light a cigarette on the doorstep. Jon took a final moment to ensure his aim was steady, then squeezed the trigger. The rifle kicked once and a fraction of a second later the back of Hamada's head exploded outwards, spraying blood, skull fragments and brain matter all over the door. He never even felt the bullet strike him.
Jon was moving before Hamada's body hit the ground. Uncocking the rifle, he stuffed it back into the bag as he sprinted for the door. Taking the steps three at a time, he was on the ground and running down the alley moments later. He turned right into another alley that intersected the first, pulling the balaclava off his head at the same time. That action caused him to miss the tall school girl with brown hair who had suddenly crossed the mouth of the first alley.
***
Makoto had started running the moment she heard the gunshot. Her transformation pen found its way into her hand seemingly of its own volition, though she held off on using it, at least until she actually knew what the situation was. But, she decided, it couldn't be good if a gun had gone off.
As she ran past an alley, her attention was caught by motion in her peripheral vision. By instinct she glanced that way and saw a man disappearing down another alley carrying a large sports bag and pulling a balaclava off his head. Though she got only a glimpse of his face, she did notice much of his left cheek and neck was heavily scarred. Then it struck her that he was running away from the scene. She stopped, then sprinted down the alley after him, but by then he was already out of sight.
She turned around and started back towards where she had heard the gunshot. Sirens could now be heard drawing closer, and she knew she had to find a policeman and tell him what she had seen. She didn't know exactly what had happened, but she knew from the way that man was running that he had to be involved somehow. This may not have required the Sailor Jupiter's intervention, but a crime had still been committed and justice was required.
She rounded the corner and found a small knot of people gathered around the doorway of an old brick building. Two policemen had already made it to the scene, one was stooped over somebody lying against the door, the other was keeping the other people at bay. Makoto run up and stopped beside a man, the logo on his apron signifying he was from the sweet shop across the road.
"What happened here?" she asked him.
"Somebody shot him." he said, a slight quiver in his voice. It was then Makoto became aware of all the blood. It ran down the door, was splattered all over the walls and was pooling on the ground. The bile rose in her throat and she felt herself gag. She had never thought it possible to smell blood before, but its stench permeated the air, a sickly sweet coppery smell that made her stomach turn. She took a deep breath and managed to keep her lunch down, then turned to the policeman who was keeping people from getting too close.
"Excuse me." she said.
"What?" the policeman asked gruffly, somewhat frazzled by the enormity of the situation and the many demands being placed on him.
"I think I saw the man who did this." she said.
"Stay here. The detectives will be along shortly, you can tell them what you saw."
"Okay." She said as she inadvertently glanced at the body again, and got the sudden urge to throw up. "I'll just be waiting over there." she said, waving to somewhere behind the crowd, but the policeman's attention was already drawn to someone else. Makoto staggered a few feet, then doubled over and vomited. Her knees went weak and she collapsed against the side of the building. This wasn't like the other times. She'd dealt with death as a Senshi, but not like this. This was too violent, too bloody, too messy. This was death inflicted on a human by another human. This wasn't part of the battle between good and evil. This was murder. A simple, callous murder. It was so senseless her mind had trouble accepting that fact. She had to call the others. Even if not to actually get them involved, she need someone to talk to right now. She had to talk to Usagi. She may be an idiot at times, but she was always there for her friends when needed.