Inside the conference room, Zaizen is standing there, looking like the
benevolent and omniscient father of this mostly youthful group. His baggy
eyes flicker over to the long-haired woman, and more wrinkles crease his
face as he smiles. "Congratulations, Kate, on a job well-done," he says,
and the others smile or give encouraging looks, having already
congratulated her earlier. Well, everyone except Amon, who's even stingier
with his praises than Zaizen. "Now, we have another assignment.
Michael?"
The red-haired hacker nods, his orange-tinted glasses absorbing the bluish- greens of the monitors. "Our next subject is Michio Kono, age 42, former home designer. His DNA has him linked to three witches using the Craft, specifically the Ring of Ogham. There've been a number of unusual deaths in his neighborhood, so you might want to talk to his family first."
Amon barely nods. "Karasuma and Sakaki, talk to his family. Doujima and Kate, check out the police records on those deaths. Michael, you will keep us apprised of anything new."
"And where will you be?" Kate asks, raising her eyebrows slightly.
"Checking out Kono's former employers," he says. The dark-haired man stands up and glances around the raised table. "Let's go." He doesn't wait for everyone to get up before he leaves the office.
"Is it me, or is Amon trying to save his words more than usual?" Doujima asks as they go back into the office.
"Maybe he overslept," Sakaki shrugs before grabbing his gun.
"Amon doesn't sleep," Michael says, "at least, he doesn't seem to. He calls me in the middle of the night sometimes, grabbing a new lead before I do occasionally."
"That explains it," Karasuma says, "lack of sleep sometimes leads to irritability."
Kate looks at them. "He's always acted like this, ever since I've been here," she says, "you mean he's never had a second of sleep?"
The others look mildly shocked, until Karasuma, usually the most polite of the bunch, starts to laugh, covering her mouth as she does so. Doujima's giggles and Sakaki's guffaws, along with Michael's chuckles fill the office. "Don't let him hear you say that," Karasuma says when she's calmed down somewhat, wiping tears from her eyes. "Oh, Kate, is it really that hard, being his partner?"
She shrugs. "He acts no different towards me than towards the rest of you," she lies smoothly, "I suppose he's more used to working over people than with them."
Karasuma nods, willing to accept that everybody's happy in their status quo. Kate still marvels at this girl, who's only a year younger than she is, yet acts older than Amon sometimes. Again, she thinks of the family analogy that seems to apply so well to this misfit group at STN-J: Zaizen as Father-Knows-Best, the chief as the irascible uncle, Amon's the Big Brother, Miho being the Big Sister, along with the bratty Yurika and impulsive Haruto as the kids, with Michael being the literal wise guy in the bunch. The perfect sitcom family, Kate thinks cynically. "Haruto, you ready?" the would-be big sister asks.
He nods. "Good luck, guys," he waves, and Kate waves back as she waits for Doujima to grab her usual silly stack of fashion magazines. Maybe she'll borrow them this time, since the cops are notorious for being stingy with their info once the STN-J is put on the case.
The red-haired hacker nods, his orange-tinted glasses absorbing the bluish- greens of the monitors. "Our next subject is Michio Kono, age 42, former home designer. His DNA has him linked to three witches using the Craft, specifically the Ring of Ogham. There've been a number of unusual deaths in his neighborhood, so you might want to talk to his family first."
Amon barely nods. "Karasuma and Sakaki, talk to his family. Doujima and Kate, check out the police records on those deaths. Michael, you will keep us apprised of anything new."
"And where will you be?" Kate asks, raising her eyebrows slightly.
"Checking out Kono's former employers," he says. The dark-haired man stands up and glances around the raised table. "Let's go." He doesn't wait for everyone to get up before he leaves the office.
"Is it me, or is Amon trying to save his words more than usual?" Doujima asks as they go back into the office.
"Maybe he overslept," Sakaki shrugs before grabbing his gun.
"Amon doesn't sleep," Michael says, "at least, he doesn't seem to. He calls me in the middle of the night sometimes, grabbing a new lead before I do occasionally."
"That explains it," Karasuma says, "lack of sleep sometimes leads to irritability."
Kate looks at them. "He's always acted like this, ever since I've been here," she says, "you mean he's never had a second of sleep?"
The others look mildly shocked, until Karasuma, usually the most polite of the bunch, starts to laugh, covering her mouth as she does so. Doujima's giggles and Sakaki's guffaws, along with Michael's chuckles fill the office. "Don't let him hear you say that," Karasuma says when she's calmed down somewhat, wiping tears from her eyes. "Oh, Kate, is it really that hard, being his partner?"
She shrugs. "He acts no different towards me than towards the rest of you," she lies smoothly, "I suppose he's more used to working over people than with them."
Karasuma nods, willing to accept that everybody's happy in their status quo. Kate still marvels at this girl, who's only a year younger than she is, yet acts older than Amon sometimes. Again, she thinks of the family analogy that seems to apply so well to this misfit group at STN-J: Zaizen as Father-Knows-Best, the chief as the irascible uncle, Amon's the Big Brother, Miho being the Big Sister, along with the bratty Yurika and impulsive Haruto as the kids, with Michael being the literal wise guy in the bunch. The perfect sitcom family, Kate thinks cynically. "Haruto, you ready?" the would-be big sister asks.
He nods. "Good luck, guys," he waves, and Kate waves back as she waits for Doujima to grab her usual silly stack of fashion magazines. Maybe she'll borrow them this time, since the cops are notorious for being stingy with their info once the STN-J is put on the case.