CHAPTER FOUR: ENCOUNTER WITH THE EXECUTIONER!
"It's all over the news, Jed," Morimura sighed. "We can't keep a lid on this case any longer. When someone murders Yakuza, there's no secret about it."
Jed nodded, watching as all the Japanese and even some of the International Networks covered the recent murder of the Tanaka Crime Family's Godfather, Orisuei. He and a half dozen of his bodyguards were brutally slain in one of their port-side Warehouses last night. About thirty thousand Kilograms of Cocaine and fifty thousand Kilos of Opium were found in flames in the very same Warehouse! Another day, another high profile killing of a bunch of criminals. And the Media was eating it alive. A lot of the networks were already casting their opinions and most of them seemed to agree that this new killer was a Senshi. It was the day after they'd discovered the killer's identity. But knowing who she was didn't lead them any closer to catching her. The Cops had been poised, ready to pounce on her next move, and still she eluded them.
"What's your opinion on this new Vigilante, sir?" asked one female reporter to a guy on the street.
"I think all those Senshi should be shot!" the guy barked at the Camera. "They're a menace! All of them! If they weren't here, everyone knows Dark Mercury would have left this town alone! And now they're killing criminals… Big deal! That's the Cops' job! They should just get outta town before we run them out!"
Another person was asked the same question. "Whoever this chick is… She's one ballsy lady. Maybe she's a little rough with the crooks. But you know what? Those guys deserve it. I think she's cleaning this town up and she's showing up the Senshi AND the Cops. I think this is a superhero we can count on. She's the real deal!"
Morimura switched the set off and tossed the remote on the desk. "It's been like that all morning. The whole town seems to be dividing along those two lines."
Either way it doesn't look at all good for Sailor Moon, Jed thought darkly. "We need a plan," he said aloud. "We need to stop chasing her and lead her to US."
There came a knock at the door of Morimura's Office. "Go away! We're busy!" Harry barked.
"It's me, Detective," said a lady's voice through the door. Jed opened it immediately. It was Michelle, and she had a certain familiar short-haired, boyish looking blonde Senshi behind her. Both of them attracted enormous attention by being in the Police Station unannounced. "I called Uranus back last night," Neptune explained. "When I told her the whole story she was here in a matter of hours."
"Good to have you on board, Sailor Uranus. Come inside before the younger Police Officers start asking for Autographs," said Jed, waving them in. "This is Detective Harold Morimura. He's officially leading the investigation right now. I had no choice but to take him along for the ride. Don't let him annoy you, he's new to this sort of thing."
Morimura smiled wryly. "That's normally my line, Tokiba," he said, standing up and shaking Uranus' hand. "I've actually been in this business a very long time. It's just my first time dealing with you Senshi."
"Well let me assure you, Inspector," Uranus shook back, "the actions of this Vigilante don't reflect our own. We don't kill lightly, nor do we kill normal people, whether they're good or bad."
"Rest assured, Sailor Uranus," said the Detective. "For now I don't care as long as this murderer is brought to justice. But sooner or later I think we'll have to deal with you girls as well."
Uranus gave him a hard look, but Jed intervened before the talk got personal. "Let's focus on the task at hand then, shall we. We need to get a reign in on this woman before she takes any more lives. She's making too much noise, and you Senshi stand to take the heat if she doesn't stop soon."
"Neptune tells me it's Saturn," said Uranus gravely. "You know for certain?"
Jed felt sick having to confirm her fears. He still couldn't believe it himself. "We used her Father's own machine to discover her energy pattern at the site of one of her killings. It's her alright."
"You were saying something about a plan, earlier, Jed?" Morimura interjected.
Jed looked at both Neptune and Uranus. "I wish Pluto were here to help out, but I want you two to go along with me on this," he began. "We're going to set a trap for Sailor Saturn. We're going to corner her, bring her in quietly and then hopefully we can shed some light as to why she's acting the way she's acting."
"How do you propose to trap a Senshi who's powerful enough to destroy the entire Planet as you so avidly put yesterday?" asked Morimura.
"Simple," explained Jed. "If you look at her pattern of attack so far, she's been after only criminals. She hasn't killed any innocent bystanders. She hasn't gone after the Police, the Senshi, or any of the municipal forces in this city. Crime appears to be her only target. She is, in every sense of the word, a Vigilante, who's taking out maximum punishment on all criminals."
"Granted," Neptune agreed. "So where does that leave us?"
"I was just getting to that," Jed sat down on Morimura's desk. "What we're going to do to lure her in… is commit a crime ourselves."
"This I gotta hear," Morimura rolled his eyes.
"We're going to stage a crime. Convincingly, mind you," Jed continued. "We're going use some Officers who are good at undercover work to convincingly portray criminals and lure her in. Once she takes the bait, we'll have Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune here to subdue her. Maybe they can even talk her down."
"That's the worst plan I ever heard!" Morimura griped.
"Okay, we'll just chase Saturn all over Tokyo, let her kill a few dozen more people, and let her make monkeys out of the Police Force at the same time alienating the people from those that defend them," said Jed simply. "Do you think this is the limit of all the discord we're going to find on the news? It's only going to get worse. So if you have a better plan, please tell me, but don't tell me we're going to continue bumbling around the way we are!"
Sailor Uranus stood up. "I heard enough. I'll play along. I want to talk to her again. I need to see her again with my own eyes before I believe all this."
"So that just leaves the question… What crime do you want us to commit?" asked Neptune.
Morimura was scowling. Once again Jed had sandbagged him. However once again he couldn't argue with the man. It was the best chance they had to nail Saturn for now. "I just hope you're right," he said.
"Trust me," Jed smirked.
They had gathered ten Officers in the Briefing Room an hour later. Jed wanted to move fast to set up this operation. There was no telling when Saturn would strike again. Neptune and Uranus had left the Police Station to prepare for their part. Jed already had a solid plan in mind, and Morimura for his part kept his grumbling to a minimum. Jed surmised he wasn't used to playing second fiddle. But the fact was he was out of his element. He had no choice but to rely on Jed's expertise.
"Okay. This is a quick brief, so I want everyone to keep their questions to a minimum," Jed began as soon as the door closed. "I want this operation to go off before sundown this afternoon.
"Our target is a Senshi named Sailor Saturn," he continued. "She is about five and a half feet tall, with black hair, dark eyes, a purple and white Sailor outfit, and carries a long staff with a fish hook shaped blade at its end. When last she was seen she was about sixteen years of age. We have reason to believe that this Senshi is now at large, executing criminals of all kinds, from Bank Robbers, to Gang members, even the Japanese Mafia. While some of you may be asking why we are trying to stop someone who's going after criminals, the fact is she is still committing murder and taking lives without a badge or a license. She is operating outside of the Law and is acting in defiance of our authority. This, gentlemen, is unacceptable.
"Now. While her behavior in no way reflects the behavior of her fellow Senshi, her pattern of killing is relatively biased. From what information we've gathered over the past three days she goes only after the criminal element and will not harm innocent civilians. This has given us, that is the Inspector here and I, an idea on how to bring her in quickly and expeditiously."
Jed touched a button and a slide picture of a portion of the city map of Tokyo appeared on the white screen behind him. "The building at the center of this map is the Ichinose Bank Building. It is one of the few operating Banks left in Tokyo at this time. In the wake of Dark Mercury, most of Tokyo's residents have placed most of their funds here for security. As a result, Ichinose Corporation is booming. Its vault is believed to contain anywhere from 100 to 200 billion Yen! It is here where we will set up our trap.
"Now while the size of the crime does not seem to make a difference to Sailor Saturn, we will stage this as hugely as possible in order to ensure she falls into our snare. This is a large target, very high profile, and we will be operating with the cooperation of at least three other Precincts to pull this off. The Media will unwittingly be involved as well. I will require the ten of you to help me in imitating very sophisticated Bank Robbers. We will break in, take hostages, bust the vault, the whole nine yards if necessary until Saturn shows up."
There was a murmur in the room. Jed ignored the mumbling. There was bound to be some anxiety about facing a Senshi. Everyone had clear memories of their power from last month's battle.
"Once Sailor Saturn appears, we will attempt to make an arrest. Should she resist we will be relying on two other Senshi: Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus, to provide the muscle we'll need to take her down. Once the fight begins, I want every one of you to stand back and clear the area so you won't get hurt. We've seen what happened last month. I'm not saying something on that scale will happen again, but it will be out of our control once fighting does break out."
"Has the Police Commissioner okayed this plan?" asked Sergeant Martin skeptically.
"The Commissioner is currently sunbathing with his wife and kids in Okinawa," said Jed. "Inspector Morimura and I have determined he doesn't need to know until such time as this situation gets too out of control. I have agreed to take full responsibility for this."
There was still going to be some doubts. "Any questions before we break?" he asked.
Everyone looked at one another. There was still a layer of reluctance among them. Jed didn't like that attitude. Hesitation got people killed. He'd seen it many times. He decided to try a different tack. It wasn't one he agreed with, but he needed motivation here.
"I can see some of you still don't think this is a good idea… but consider this," Jed said seriously. "The longer we wait… The longer we sit and wait for her to fall into our hands… The more lives she will take. She will continue to break the law. And this city will continue to descend into chaos. But most of all, if Sailor Saturn continues with her campaign, she will undermine all of us. Our authority and our respectability in this city will be sullied because she achieves arguably better results than we do. Most of you all have seen what's going on in the news. More and more people are speaking out in anger. A lot of them seem to even agree with her methods, as insane as that sounds. The people of Tokyo are tired of violence and poverty and crime, they have lived with it for nearly thirty days and they are tired! It is time for the Police of Tokyo to deliver salvation! If we let Saturn continue the way she is, people will lose faith in us. They will lose faith in our Firefighters… our Politicians… and yes, even the Senshi who do fight for justice! We need to take the offensive and take… her… down! Or else every inch of progress we've made since July 24th will be lost! Now you all have to ask yourselves… 'Do I want to be responsible for that'?!"
Jed didn't totally agree with what he was saying. Deep down he believed this was all just a huge mistake and that Saturn would be the same old Hotaru he remembered and his friends remembered. But one thing was for certain. The law WAS being broken here, and the Police had to step up! What he'd said was for the benefit of his peers. He knew from leading armies for more than a thousand years that motivational speech was a huge key to success.
More importantly, the speech clearly was working its way in. The Cops here were mostly good, seasoned Vets. They had a lot of pride as Policemen. Jed had hit them where it hurt the most and they had no choice now but to step up. Not if they still believed in the power of their badges. Many men in the room now looked at Jed with newfound respect.
"If there are no more questions… Let's get this show on the road," Jed concluded.
The planning was definitely detailed and complex. Jed wanted to make this as fool proof as possible. He and the ten other Officers from the briefing got dressed up in mismatched civvies. They toted guns of all different kinds of calibers and models. One Cop even dug out an old AK-47, a highly illegal weapon in Japan. They put on masks to cover their identities.
Then there was the coordination effort, which was much more involved. Three other city Precincts from around the Ichinose Bank were to be involved. They were told to stay on alert and keep several units inconspicuously around the building until the "robbery" occurred when they would move in and call for help. The Chiefs were instructed to keep the radios busy, dropping hints left and right that something was bound to go down at the Bank, but not making it seem like they knew what was going on.
The Media fell right into the game, hook, line and sinker. Several Police Correspondents were given carefully disguised pieces of information to be on the lookout. None of the Reporters knew about the plan Jed had cooked up. In fact, outside of the eleven actors, Detective Morimura, and the highest ranks of the other Precincts involved, nobody knew what was planned. It would be better for keeping the scenario as realistic as possible. It was dangerous, but everyone was willing to take the risk.
Finally, there was Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus. Jed was certain they would be key in this affair. He made certain they were already waiting at the Bank, disguised as ordinary civilians. No one at the Bank knew they were going to be used in this play either. Plausible Deniability was the order of the day.
The preparations were feverish and thorough. Jed wanted nothing to leak out. A good trap always had to be airtight so it would work the first time. If it didn't work, the enemy would be wary of future traps and it would only be more difficult to catch prey from then on. Despite the personal and deadly nature of this case, Jed had to admit that he was having a bit of fun setting up this trap. He was back in his military element. If only Trista could see him now.
At last all the preparations were complete. Everything had been set up, as Jed had planned, before the sun went down. It was seven o'clock in the evening when the eleven set out to the Ichinose Bank dressed as the burglars. They traveled in Rental Cars and Vans because traveling in Police vehicles would defeat the purpose of the setup if Saturn happened to be watching. The radios were already abuzz with well disguised warnings to stay sharp because some suspicious looking persons were seen entering the building.
They dribbled in one by one. There was a lone Security Guard inside. He was one of the few in the know. A 50th Precinct Officer named Kenny Takanaka. The eleven of them spread out until Jed arrived last. Some of them drifted near the ATM machines. A few sat down. One guy brought in a Newspaper and leaned against the wall. When Jed came in he almost couldn't distinguish the Officers and he smiled.
Perfect! he thought. And now let the games begin!
Jed cut straight from the door to the front counter. The counter was protected by a plexi-glass shield with a small hole in it for exchanging money and paperwork. The Teller communicated through a tiny microphone with a speaker in the glass. The Teller today looked young and relatively inexperienced. Jed almost felt sorry that he had to scare her a little.
Jed waited patiently behind four or five people, casting glances around the room, getting nods from the disguised Officers that they were ready. Finally he was up, and his heart was pounding despite himself.
"Cash, Withdrawal, or Deposit, sir?" asked the Teller sweetly.
Jed took a Pistol from his pocket and shoved it through the hole in the glass. "Don't move! This is a robbery!!" he shouted.
The other men made their moves. They took out their weapons and began firing bullets at the ceiling. The half dozen bystanders inside screamed and hit the floor instantly. Some of the Cops shot out the Security Cameras. Jed winced. That may have been overdoing it just a little bit, but he'd worry about that later. It was too late to call things off!
The Security Guard drew his pistol and fired in the direction of one of the robbers. The bullets were blanks. One "robber" yelled in mock pain and fell to the ground.
"Backup! I need Backup!" yelled Kenny into his radio.
Sirens immediately sprang to life outside. Jed wondered if perhaps they were too poised to respond to the act. Stay cool!
While the robbers and the guard had a short shootout behind him, Jed gave the lady his nastiest look. "I want you to give me the combination to the Vault. Then I want you to disable the alarm system and come out from behind that shield."
The lady looked like she wanted to faint. She managed to blubber out the combination and came out with her arms behind her head.
"Get down!" Jed barked. She complied without hesitation.
Finally Kenny took the cue and pretended to get shot by one of the blanks. He fell heavily to the floor.
"Get the vault!" Martin shouted at a few of them. Jed and about three others made for the Vault door.
The radio was active with reports of the robbery. Sirens were now screaming from outside. Some of the actors got near the door and sprayed some blanks out the door in a mock shootout. That was risky, because a lot of the Officers outside would be firing real bullets back. But appearances had to be maintained. They would drag this out for as long as possible until Jed determined Saturn wouldn't come.
Ten minutes went by. Jed had gotten into the Vault and had his men bag up the money. They took their time, but even so they were almost done. Jed started to worry his trap had somehow gotten found out.
All of a sudden, there came a sound like shattering glass! The skylight in the roof rained down in shards from the ceiling! "She's here!" someone shouted.
Jed ran like a bullet from a gun and got out to the lobby just in time to see their quarry drop to the floor on her feet. There she was! She held the Silence Glaive tightly in her fists! Her white and purple uniform was crisp and without blemish! But as she straightened up, Jed's heart sank.
This woman couldn't have been Hotaru! She looked about ten years older; her raven hair was long and flowing, almost all the way to her feet; there was nothing immature about her form at all. And there was none of the friendliness and kindness in her expression that Jed remembered so vividly.
This can't be Hotaru! he thought, looking for Amara and Michelle. They were in the corner, where they had been huddling like scared civilians until a second ago. Now they stood at full height and their faces were both pale. Something about this woman struck them, and Jed decided then: Maybe it is…
The Senshi took a look around the room at the damage and her eyes fell on the open Vault and the "dead" Security Guard. Her eyes filled with vengeance as she focused on the actors. "Criminals… those who have broken the law… You have been found guilty of murder and burglary! You all are hereby sentenced and condemned to DEATH! This sentence shall be carried out… IMMEDIATELY!!"
She brandished her Glaive menacingly. The blade began to glow hot like a small Sun.
"NOW!!" Jed shouted.
Everyone who had been dressed as robbers up until that moment took out their badges and held them open for her to see. A few of them had been carrying live ammunition and didn't fire their guns during the melee. They now had her covered from all four directions with them. Jed followed suit and stepped forward. He ripped his coat open and revealed the badge on his chest with his free hand. Comprehension crossed Saturn's face and her scowl deepened.
"Sailor Saturn, or whoever you may be," said Jed authoritatively, "you are under arrest for flagrant Vigilantism and the murder of fifty-seven people. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the Court of Law. You have the right to an Attorney--"
"SILENCE!!" Saturn pointed at him accusingly. She looked more than a little pissed off! "What is the meaning of this… DECEIT?!"
Jed took his safety off and advanced a step. "Drop… your… weapon!"
"You!" Michelle stepped forward.
Saturn looked over at Michelle. A brief recognition crossed her face and then vanished again. "Senshi! At last! Warn these Police Officers that if they do not lower their arms they will be Prosecuted."
"Prosecuted?!" Amara exclaimed. "What are you babbling about, Mistress Nine? Last time I checked you were no fighter for justice! What the Hell are you doing alive?! Why are you defiling Sailor Saturn's memory in this way?!!"
"Mistress Nine…?" Jed trailed off in confusion. "What are you talking about?!"
The woman they'd thought was Saturn threw back her head and laughed scornfully. When she moved, she moved faster than wind and sliced the barrel off of Jed's pistol with her Glaive, rendering it useless! Jed stumbled backward in shock!
"The woman you refer to is dead!" said she. "Sailor Saturn… is dead! Mistress Nine… is dead! I am EXECUTIONER! And I am now the Law in Tokyo! You will release me… or you will suffer the consequences!!"
TO BE CONTINUED.........
NEXT CHAPTER: THE DEFINITION OF JUSTICE!