Preys
Chapter 15: Counterstrike
Stopping her car in front of her house, Tokio didn't get off immediately. She crossed her arms on the wheel, her head resting on it. What was happening to her? She was behaving like a fool. They only slept together. Nothing else. She did that dozens of times. Why couldn't she get over it? If she had to develop feelings for a fling, he was the last one..She froze at her own thoughts.
No, no, no.
She DIDN'T.
She didn't even like him..She hated him. He hated her, anyway. Oh, now she sounded like an angsty teenager. What an improvement.
She got off the car, slammed the door, and walked quickly to the gate, putting in her gestures the determination her will lacked of.
"You didn't have to stay."
Saitoh was glaring at Shinomori. The doctor had just finished his treatment. His shoulder would be sore for a while and he had needed a few stitches on top of his forehead.
"I'm your partner for now."
Saitoh smirked, sarcasm filling his voice. "I had no idea that you hid a caring nature behind this layer of ice, Shinomori.."
Saitoh's cell phone began to ring loudly. He had forgotten to cut the power, and shrugged at the disapproving shriek of the nurse. He frowned as he saw the blinking name on the screen.
"Saitoh here.."
Aoshi tensed as the cop's face took an intense, almost wild expression.
"Don't stay there," he ordered harshly, jumping off the examination table and grabbing his holster.
"No, you can't be sure, so just do what I told you..." he went on, hurrying out of the room, not paying attention to Aoshi, who sighed and followed. He had the car keys.
When they arrived, she was waiting in front of the gate, smoking. Several cigarette butts were tossed on the sidewalk around her.
"I called the precinct and the forensics," she announced. "They should be here soon."
Aoshi and Saitoh shared a meaningful glance. She was too composed, her voice lacking her usual energy.
"Where is she?"
"In the living." She had a little laugh. "You were right, Aoshi. They did take the press conference as a provocation. I'm showing you the way."
"I know it," objected Aoshi.
"I'm fine," she threw nonchalantly over her shoulder, already walking towards the house.
The men exchanged another glance before following her.
The living was facing the main entry, the glass doors were opened and the body facing them. It was on a white leather armchair, no blood was staining it. The face of the woman was completely white, with already faint shades of green. The smell reached their noses in the hall, nauseating odor of decomposition. It was Komagata Yumi. She had her throat cut, the wide, black-red line more obvious on the white of the furniture. Her head was half tossed back, her opened, empty eyes staring blankly at the ceiling.
"I didn't touch anything. I saw her and called."
Sirens. They had arrived.
"Get out of here," ordered sternly Saitoh.
"I said I was.."
"Tokio-chan? Oh, my God, are you OK?" Megumi rushed in.
"Yes, thank you."
Megumi widened her eyes at her unemotional tone. Aoshi shook his head warningly.
"I don't need you here to examine the body, wait outside," said finally the doctor, her tone soft but authoritative.
"OK.."
Saitoh frowned as she exited obediently.
One hour later, Aoshi and Saitoh spotted her near the gate. She was smoking again, indifferent to everything, watching the ballet of the precinct cops and forensics searching for clues in the garden and the house, and was nodding from time to time, distractedly, to the blond inspector who had already been on the Sanjo crime scene.
"Where are the others?" mumbled Saitoh. "They should know by now."
Aoshi nodded. He had personally called Kitaoka, but Makimachi wasn't answering. Was she too busy calming Yukishiro down? He might have been upset at Shishio's escaping.
"Oh, hi, Detective Saitoh. I was asking for some precisions.." The boy was staring eagerly at him.
He answered icily. " We take care of that. Your job is to help with the search. If you want to ask some questions, go to the neighbors."
Aoshi glanced at Tokio, expecting her to soothe the young man's disappointment. As she didn't, he stepped in.
"It would be a great help to us. I'm sure you understand that this event is an internal matter, Inspector.."
"Tsukayama," he provided, smiling again proudly. "I'll do my best."
These young cops were so easy to manipulate. "I'm sure of it."
Saitoh's scornful gaze followed him as he left them, running. "Takani is almost done. The blues will stay for about two hours afterwards."
"You can sleep at my place," proposed Aoshi.
She shook her head. "I can sleep here."
"Tokio, they're after you." Shinomori was talking to her as if she was a little child.
"Oh, please, don't start that again." At least he got a reaction from her. Contained anger was flashing through her eyes. "They took what I said as a provocation and retaliated. They want to scare me and I won't let them. I won't leave my house."
"You're a moron," hissed Saitoh.
"Shut up!" she yelled, not paying attention to the amazed face of the people around. Tokio could be stern, but she was rarely loosing her temper.
"Tokio..enough." Shinomori didn't raise his voice, still she got quiet immediately, her gaze dropping down. "You're in real danger. We prevented him to kill tonight, and we don't know how he'll react. Moreover, Komagata was not merely in your house. She was on YOUR armchair."
He heard Saitoh's swift intake of breath, felt the intense eyes fixed on his face, but kept on watching Tokio carefully. He didn't intend to attract her attention on it while she was in shock. Her stubbornness didn't leave him the choice, though.
"Coincidence," she mumbled finally. "It's just facing the main door."
Saitoh tightened his fists, trying to overcome the impulse to shake some sense into that foolish, stupid, dimwitted head of hers. He was about to snarl when Tsukayama came back, out of breath.
"There's another one..they just found a body behind the house..They didn't touch anything, as you said last time."
Tokio ran to the other side of the house, Saitoh and Aoshi on her heels. A group of blues was shushing, looking sadly at a limp form, half hidden by a pile of garbage. She ran faster. A cold hand crushed her heart as she saw who it was.
"Misao.."
Aoshi knelt to the body, looking nervously for a pulse..Next to her, Saitoh was glaring at the scene. She could feel his anger burning, she could feel Aoshi's concern..she was not feeling anything, how strange.
"There's no blood," she heard herself saying. Her voice sounded strange too. She could have been commenting on the weather.
Saitoh gave her a look. He must have thought so too; he looked puzzled, then disapproving.
"She's alive..her pulse is weak.."
The strange blur Tokio had been in opened like a veil. The sounds, the color became more acute in a second.
"Get the medics here!" barked Saitoh.
She clenched her hands, fighting the nervous breakdown..she had a job to do. Her mind cleared. Where the hell was Enishi?
Hospital again. It was almost midnight, and they were gathered in a smoking lounge. Takagi was back to her former self, as she was glaring at Sagara, Kitaoka and Yukishiro. She had been out of herself with rage when they had arrived, exploding after their first explanations; it had improved Saitoh's mood. She had some vocabulary. She had calmed down after her outburst, and her phone conversation with Kondo; yet although she was now ready to listen to them, she was no less virulent.
"I made a mistake trusting you," she began sternly, addressing Yukishiro. "You are out of this case from now on. How could you leave her alone?"
He didn't answer. He was guilt itself, his eyes cast to the ground, his head bowed.
"And you two, I'm getting really tired of people taking initiatives behind my back. Kitaoka, how come you didn't mention it to Aoshi when he called you?"
Shinomori had already reproached him with that as soon as Takagi had finished yelling at them.
"Yukishiro, at what time did you leave the car?" she went on, not waiting for an answer.
"When Shinomori said Saitoh was after him. We were near, and I thought that I could trap him. I told her to stay in the car.." His voice was low and filled with self-loathing.
"She followed you?"
"I didn't pay attention. I was..focused on catching the bastard. I phoned her to have the direction of the pursuit, but she didn't answer and I came back, only to find my car empty. I looked around everywhere, for some time, then Tsunan called me to say that the operation was over. I told him then, and he came along with Sano to look for her.
"What time was it?"
"After nine.."
Saitoh snorted with disdain, and Tokio lost her calm again.
"I had you on the phone too, Kitaoka. You said that the four of you were together. It didn't come to your tiny brains to ask for help? I can't believe it.."
A nurse showed up.
"Please, would you be quiet?"
"I'm quiet if I want to!" she snarled. However, the reaction of the woman, who had taken a step back carefully, seemed to appeal to her sense. "I'm sorry," she went on, calmly, with an apologetic gesture of the hand.
"I know that waiting can be upsetting. But please be careful."
Tokio shook her head as the woman left, turning to the three men again.
"Your attitudes have been completely irrational, particularly you, Yukishiro. I can't understand why you didn't call for back up. Going after the suspect was not a miss. Looking for her alone was. And if it had been for only a few minutes! The two of you have even less excuses. I can guess that Yukishiro was psychologically instable, according to the situation, but you should have reacted differently. Your desire to cover your friend shouldn't have been at the price to delay an official search for Misao, for God sake!"
"I convinced them.."uttered Enishi. "Sano was against."
"I followed you, man." He put a hand on his friend's shoulder.
"Isn't that touching?" Saitoh's voice was stinging with irony and scorn. "This is the most moronic behavior I've ever seen in my career. Quit," he finished, menacingly.
"Saitoh, I don't think you're entitled to give your opinion, and nobody asked for it. I agreed with Kondo to have a meeting tomorrow and decide the following of this matter, for them and for me."
"For you?" Enishi finally lifted his head.
She sighed, too exhausted now to lie. "Keeping you on the case was my idea, Enishi. Kondo was opposed even after I explained my view. So I made a deal with him: I decide, but he fires me if it has dire consequences." She shrugged. "It may not go that far, still, I'm the boss, I'm responsible for your acts. That's the rule."
Enishi stood up, and stepped towards her. "It's not fair..I disappointed you..I didn't want you to.."
The doctor arrived at that precise moment. It was the same that announced Okita's death to them, and Saitoh noticed Takagi going a little paler. Same time, same place..
"Dr Oguni?" she asked, her lips trembling ever so faintly.
"Her life isn't in danger, I just had the results of her scan. She has been knocked out at the base of the skull, this can be very bad, but she has been lucky. No broken bones, no internal damages. She has been tied up. She has marks on her wrists and ankles. Don't make this face, we found no traces of abuse," he ended gently.
"Did she regain consciousness?" Everybody turned to Aoshi. He seemed almost impatient.
"She's stirring."
"Can we see her?" Sano's voice was hopeful.
"She's going to be confused and shocked. I don't know.."
"She'll need friendly presence," objected Aoshi. "And everybody here has been worried about her."
Saitoh raised a brow. Everybody? Was Shinomori loosing it too?
The old man hesitated. "Of course, I know your reputation, Shinomori-san. I'm not a psychologist myself. I guess that you can be careful that she won't be upset."
"If you don't mind, maybe Aoshi could go now?" proposed Tokio. "So he can tell when she is ready to see us?"
Oguni nodded, and he led the tall man through the corridors.
Tokio left Misao's bedroom before the others, seizing the first pretext she could. She had barely been able to master her emotion at the poor, shaken face of the girl. Misao had taken part in too few field operations. She was less experienced than the others. Tokio felt so guilty to have teamed her with Enishi. Misao had every right to be mad at her, but she had clutched to her hand, seeking comfort, trying to smile as she noticed her worry..Tokio was so ashamed of herself. Maybe Saitoh was right. She wasn't a cop. She didn't understand fully what taking such a risk could imply. Being bold in court didn't have people being mugged. Did she take one good decision since this crisis had begun? No, no, and no.
She spotted Enishi, still sitting in the lounge, still looking miserable. To make things worse, she had released her fears, guilt and frustrations on him. He deserved to be scolded for what he did, but not to be yelled at and made responsible for the whole mess, which was the result of her own misjudging.
She sat next to him. He bowed his head more, waiting for new reproaches.
"She asked where you were.she is worried about you. You should go and see her," she murmured.
His eyes lit for a second, before tarnishing. "It's my fault if she's here."
"I shouldn't have been so harsh on you. You only made a mistake. I should have foreseen that. I made a wrong decision, and you and Misao had to pay the consequences."
"No. I betrayed your trust."
"I still trust you," she said simply. Her heart sank at the hopeful gaze he gave her. She didn't realize how much her opinion mattered to him until that moment. "I won't let you work on that case anymore, I can't, for your sake too. But I still trust you."
"I was sure I could find her.that she was pursuing him too.I lost track of time..I didn't really believe that..until Tsunan called."
She patted motherly his hand. "I know. I know you did your best. Listen, we'll talk about all that later. Misao is alive, she's safe now, and that's all that matters."
He stood up, his expression more confident. "I heard about your place. We will take you to a safe one.."
"I already took dispositions for that, but thank you," she lied, smiling, thanking God he was too upset to notice it.
He nodded, and she watched him go away. She closed her eyes. She needed to escape. The recent hours she had spent on roller coasters, some times managing to use her professional "automatic pilot" to keep her shocking emotions at bay; some times witnessing herself, estranged to her mind, unable to control the maelstrom..Talking with Misao and Enishi had her sense and her sensibility slowly adjusting, realizing everything that happened..driving her near the rupture point. She needed to rest alone..these few minutes wouldn't be enough.
Cigarette smell.
"I thought you were gone," she mumbled, not opening her lids.
"Wishful thinking."
"Saitoh, I'm not exactly in the mood to play games now. So have your fun, and leave me alone."
From the tone of his voice, she knew he had lifted a brow.
"Fun?"
"Yes. I'm going to be blamed for what happened, fired maybe, so go ahead, enjoy...Tell me all that I did wrong..I won't spoil your little triumph."
She was looking at him, now, sarcastic. He lost his ironic expression, glaring at her, his features severe, cold flames in his eyes.
Aoshi stepped in the lounge. "I sent the others home. Makimachi is still confused and in pain, but she's already trying to remember. I'm staying here. When she feels a little better, she'll tell me what happened. Yukishiro told me you took some dispositions, concerning your safety?"
"She lied."
Tokio shot an indignant glance at him. He had SPIED on her conversation?
Annoyance flared briefly in Aoshi's eyes. "I would have asked Sagara or Kitaoka to stay.."
"I'm taking her to a safe place, and I'll escort her to the office this morning, before Kondo assigns somebody to her protection."
"It's not necessary and I don't want.."she broke off just in time. "You of all people", she was ready to say. Too revealing.
The two men didn't pay attention, too caught in a silent, almost hostile exchange.
"You'd rather have ME nursing Makimachi?" smirked Saitoh. "Or maybe both of us should go and leave her alone here?"
Though his face revealed nothing, Aoshi's tension switched subtly. " I stay here. You go."
The decision was taken. Tokio knew she didn't have enough will left to oppose both of them. She had to keep her strength to stay even in front of Saitoh. She didn't want to collapse in front of him. So she just nodded, and followed him silently.
To be continued.
I'm sorry for the late update. I'm so busy, I won't be able to post regularly for a while..(T-T) Hopefully it'll change in a few weeks.
This chapter is one I'm, for once, satisfied with, and I hope that you liked it too.
I realized that I forgot to point the pairing problem; I thought I had corrected it already. So, the canon ones are S/T and A/M (in process), for the rest it will probably end up as alternate, but not very developed.
Thanks to Mara, for her corrections on this chapter, her suggestions and encouragements! Thanks also to Firuze, for her support and help! I'd be lost without you!
Next chapter: Let's see. Tokio is near a nervous breakdown. Saitoh isn't very happy with her. They're alone for rest the night. I'm soooo predictable (T-T). Not a PWP, though.
See you!
Kamorgana