From: "David A. Tatum"
To:
Subject: [MPPatlaborML] [fanfic] Patlabor: Personal Files, Episode 20
Date: Monday, April 01, 2002 5:39 PM
Well, lotsa foreshadowing for season 2 (episodes 23-44) here. Enjoy.
Patlabor: Personal Files
An Episodic Patlabor Fanfic by David A. Tatum
Disclaimer: Insert legal junk here...
Episode 20: Running Rampant
April 1, 2000
Shinshi walked into Kanuka's dorm room, watching her as she finished
packing. She looked over at him, surprised- he wasn't usually one to come
by unexpected.
"Can I help you?" she asked.
"There's no chance I can convince you to stay here and command Ohta, is
there?" he asked wearily.
Kanuka smirked. "You're on your own for that one from now on. Sorry."
Shinshi sighed. "I sometimes wonder if I'm really cut out for this job.
But if I quit, I'm sure Tamiko would be annoyed."
"You've dealt with Ohta before, you can do it again. But I get the feeling
you're not down here just to ask me to stay." Kanuka asked.
Shinshi nodded. "Yeah- actually, I'm acting as Gotoh's messenger boy. He
wanted me to let you know Unit 2 is going to accompany you down to the
Academy. He said something about wanting to give the new recruits a
demonstration of 'professional Patlabor skills,' but I got the feeling there
was more to it than that."
Kanuka raised an eyebrow. "Hmm. Well, I'll figure it out when I get down
there... is he offering a ride?"
Shinshi laughed. "Actually, they want you to help drive. They're taking
all three Ingrams with them, and were hoping you'd take the third command
car. Gotoh agreed to loan the Academy Labor 3 for the coming semester, with
the provision that Fuji use its budget to pay for it's restoration to
servicable condition and maintenence during that period. Anyway, that's all
I came down to say, except for Unit 3's farewell party is commencing in
about 20 minutes. I know you hate these things, but at least we didn't
break into your apartment to host it, this time."
Kanuka turned a dark look on him. "Yes, I still remember that time. And I
am still not very happy about it...."
Shinshi swallowed. "Uh, yeah. See ya soon, ma'am," he said quickly,
darting out of the room as fast as his feet allowed.
"Curiouser and curiouser," Kanuka said to herself in English. "Why does
Gotoh want me to have a patlabor at Fuji?"
* * * * *
"Hmm. This is a lot more comfortable than the last time I rode with you in
the command car," Noa commented, stretching her legs in the relatively roomy
seats of the car's cabin.
"There aren't any insane mechanics trying to kill me for percieved slights
to their idols, this time around," Asuma noted dryly. "Did you come up with
an official excuse for joining me here as opposed to Hiromi in the labor
transport?"
Noa nodded. "Yeah. Hiromi said he'd help us out by taking some spare seeds
from our vegetable gardens as a gift for one of the instructors in Fuji
which would take up my seat in the transport." She paused. "I dunno if
anyone will even ask, though. Hiromi and Takeo knew just from watching us
that we were going out, and you say that Gotoh's been giving us strange
looks now and then. Joudo suspects something, I think, and even Natsume
seems to understand about us. And, well, I wouldn't put anything past
Kanuka...."
"I suppose we really only need to worry about our 'public displays of
affection' when we're with the gang," Asuma agreed. "I still worry, though.
Even if our friends are willing to ignore it, if they accidentally let
something slip I'm pretty sure Internal Affairs would have our hides tied up
in an investigation faster than we could blink. And you'll never believe
who just got put on the Internal Affairs review board."
"Who?" Noa asked, curious.
"Captain Takada Toshinori."
Noa frowned. "Who's he?"
Asuma grimmaced. "I think you'd remember, since it was under his orders
that one of the members of the riot squad sent you to the hospital...."
"Him?" Noa said, shifting uncomfortably on her seat. "Well, that was just a
silly softball game, and it happened months ago. Surely he's forgotten
about it by now... and even if he hasn't, why would he hold a grudge against
us?"
Asuma shrugged. "I met him when he came by to deliver an 'official apology'
to you at the hospital- you were in surgery at the time, though. He never
returned, either... and I'm glad. I never met someone so... vindictively
cold in my entire career in the SV2. I'm afraid that he WOULD hold a grudge
against Captain Gotoh, at least, and the scandal that he could raise over
any investigation into our relationship would be a perfect weapon for him.
He wouldn't care what other damage he caused, as long as he got the
Captain."
"Oh," Noa replied quietly. She contemplated what that might mean to them,
and found herself vaguely disappointed. "I suppose we need to be especially
careful while we're at the Academy, huh?"
Asuma smiled bitterly. "Pretty much. We need to be more careful, period-
we don't want any rumors getting into the wrong hands. I guess we need to
cool things down for a while when we're on the job. Our next vacation time
doesn't come until May, unfortunately, so it looks like we may have to wait
a while before we can 'indulge' in each other, again."
Noa huffed. "I don't like it- things were just getting interesting!"
Asuma coughed, straining against his surprise at her bluntness to hold onto
control of the car. 'interesting' was a very unusual way of putting it.
Things had been getting a bit steamy between them- their make-out sessions
had started including a little more risque carressing- at first, some clumsy
gropes through their clothing, but the way things were moving they'd have
started removing a few pieces of those clothing pretty soon. Unfortunately,
this seemed to shove a monkey wrench into things.
"Uh, yeah, they were," he admitted, clearing his throat. "I hate it, too,
but what are our options? Are you willing to risk losing your job- and
Alphonse- just for more necking sessions?"
"No," Noa replied, defeated. "But in May, you and I are going somewhere
fun, just the two of us, alone. And we'll see if we can't make up for the
time we'll have lost, okay?"
"Deal," Asuma agreed.
* * * * *
Chief Sakuma, Commandant of Fuji's Special Vehicles Academy, stepped up to
the small convoy after the contingent of police officers had finished
parking. The incoming freshmen for the semester that was about to begin had
assembled in formation behind him, standing at attention. When Gotoh left
his car, he stepped up to him.
By the time Sakuma reached Gotoh, much of the rest of the second unit had
managed to park and swarm over to their Captain. Sakuma, however, ignored
them. Saluting Gotoh, he said, "Hello, Captain. Welcome back to Fuji."
Gotoh returned the salute lazily. "Chief Sakuma. Any promising students
trying out for Section 2 this year?"
"Yes, yes. Of course. There's one incoming freshman, though, who might be
a bit of a troublemaker. I think I'd better call your attention to her,
right away."
"Oh?" Gotoh said, not sounding the least bit surprised. "Is that so? Well,
let's see this troublemaker!"
"Of course," Sakuma said. "Cadet Mahoko! Front and center!"
A young girl, her long hair tied up in a bun, darted forward, a huge grin on
her face. "Cadet Mahoko GOTOH, reporting for duty, SIR!" she said,
saluting.
Gotoh, his face expressionless, saluted his niece back... this time with a
lot more conviction. He turned to the chief. "So, this is your
troublemaker?"
Sakuma stifled his laughter to reply. "Yes, that she is. Her uncle was a
pupil of mine, once, and she's bound to give me at least as many ulcers as
he did." He grinned at Mahoko. "At ease."
Laughing herself, Mahoko launched herself at her uncle, circling her arms
around his neck in a big hug. "Hi, Uncle Gotoh!"
Curling his lip up affectionately, Gotoh gave her a one-armed hug back.
"Hi, Mahoko. How's the first day coming?"
Around them, the entire unit he commanded gaped. "So, THIS is why he
insisted on coming along," Kanuka muttered.
"And here I was, afraid he was bringing us with him because he suspected
something dangerous was going on," Asuma added, grinning slightly at the
scene before him.
Noa, who was still upset at having lost three weeks of being able to make
out with Asuma (for, while they had just agreed to cool things off a bit,
they were still going to be able to kiss when they got back), frowned.
"Why'd he have to bring us with him, then?"
Asuma just placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed reassuringly- a
comforting gesture to let her know he regretted the lost time, too, but also
reminding her not to get upset over it.
"Heh," Joudo snorted to himself- out of Noa and Asuma's hearing- with a
half-smirk. "Well, I've seen drunken officers on duty in our unit, I've
seen procedural violation that would send the police commissioner into a
heart attack, I've seen our captain hitting on another captain, I've seen
two member of Labor 1's team participate in a forbidden relationship, and
I've seen mechanics sabatoging the crew's vehicles... I'm honestly surprised
it took this long for me to see my first case of nepotism."
Takeo, Natsume, and Hiromi remained quiet, although Natsume kept looking
between her captain and Mahoko in confusion.
"What's the matter," Joudo finally asked.
Natsume blinked up at him owlishly. "I don't recall ever seeing Captain
Gotoh look at anyone like that before."
Joudo shrugged. "Well, we've never seen him around family before, either,
have we?"
Natsume tapped her chin cutely, squinting her eyes as she thought hard.
"No, I guess we haven't."
Joudo looked to where Asuma was holding Noa's shoulder in such a familiar
matter, then back to Natsume's cute 'thinking' pose. 'Hmm,' he thought to
himself. 'If they don't mind ONE couple in this unit, why would they mind
two? And it's not like Captain Gotoh can complain, as much as he pursues
one of HIS fellow officers...."
That train of thought was abruptly ended when Gotoh snapped an order at
Kanuka. "Luitenant Clancy, front and center."
With the ever-present disciplined fierceness she always exuded, Kanuka
strode forced and faced the captain with hardly a glint of unusual emotions
in her eyes. "Yes, sir!"
"This is my niece, Mahoko. Though you will know her as Cadet Gotoh," he
noted, gesturing to the young girl who was smiling up at him.
Kanuka patiently kept herself from rolling her eyes or commenting on how she
had already heard that part- after all, she knew Gotoh was much brighter
then he often let on. "I see, sir."
"Now, I'm not going to ask you to show her any favoritism. Not only is it
against the rules, but I'm pretty sure I'd just get her angry if I did," he
explained. "However, she's like a daughter to me, and I hope you'll keep
track of her progress and let me know how she's doing from time to time."
Kanuka nodded. "Very well, sir, I think a limited degree of feedback would
be acceptable."
Gotoh smiled happily- a very strange expression on his face. "Good. We'll
be on hand until the Twentieth, however, to provide experienced guidance in
these first few weeks. Now, how about we unload those Ingrams and show
these cadets what REAL Patlabors handle like?"
* * * * *
April 11, 2000
Gotoh checked over the papers he had assigned to the cadets he had been
mentoring. Few of them took him seriously, it appeared... though he was
pleased to see his niece was not one of those people. Gotoh sighed- well,
that was to be expected. Most people desperately tried to avoid service in
Section 2 with the Patlabors- their reputation was... not the best. Most
people at Fuji were in training to join Special Vehicles Section 1- Fire and
Rescue. Section 3, the military, had a seperate training facility, but a
few reserve units also trained alongside the other Special Vehicles teams.
Patlabor candidates were few and far between, it seemed, despite the
increasing demand for new officers as new units were established.
Asuma, Noa in tow, had taken a few select cadets and was attempting to
provide them with additional instruction. Hiromi had apparently sequestered
himself in with the groundskeepers at Fuji, however, as he didn't really
have much to teach. Joudo and Natsume, both being recent graduates
themselves, were merely catching up with old friends who had been
underclassmen when they were still in the Academy.
As had happened once before, Takeo and Kanuka had been developing something
of a rivalry in their instruction. Takeo had volunteered to be a guest
lecturer on standard operating procedures for policework and similar
subjects, and was attempting to show more progress with HER students than
Kanuka's own assigned classes. All in all, Gotoh was viewing this whole
thing as a favorable venture.
"Captain Gotoh?" a voice belonging to one of the administrative staff of the
facility beckoned from the door.
"Yeah?" he replied, not looking up.
"Telephone for you, line 3. It's from a Captain Nagumo."
"Shinobu?" he replied, perking up. "Thank you! I'll take it here.
Dismissed."
"Yes, sir." The man nodded from the doorway before leaving.
He picked up the phone, pressing the button to connect him to the proper
line. "Hi, Shinobu! I've been trying to get in touch with you for days and
haven't been able to get through- what's going on?"
"Gotoh," her tired-sounding voice replied. "We've been up to our necks in
action since you've left. All sorts of problems are creeping up, both with
calls and with the third unit- we need you back here, now."
"What's going on?" Gotoh replied, concerned. Shinobu never sounded this
worn out, as far as he could remember.
"It's a long story... all I can say is we need you back here as soon as
possible. Any chance you could get back here a little early?"
Gotoh frowned. This could be any number of things, but if his suspicion was
correct... "All right, we'll pack up and head on back tomorrow. See you
soon."
"Thanks, Gotoh," she replied, the relief evident in her voice. Suddenly, in
the background, he could hear an alarm going off. "Oh, shit- Gotta go.
Hurry back soon." With that, the phone disconnected.
Gotoh blinked at the phone. That didn't sound like Shinobu at all...
whatever it was must REALLY be distressing her.
He pressed a button on the intercom. "Yes, sir?" came a new voice from the
other end.
"Please inform the commandant that my unit will unexpectedly have to leave
tomorrow, and then see to it that my niece comes to my office pronto. I
want to discuss a few things with her before I go."
* * * * *
April 12, 2000
Noa slipped opposite Asuma into the command car, puffing slightly as she
recovered from the rush to finish packing and loading that Gotoh's
surprisingly frenzied orders to return to their headquarters that morning
demanded.
"I think that's the fastest I've ever packed in my life," she sighed,
buckling her seatbelt.
Asuma chuckled, doing a last minute check of the instrumentation of the
vehicle. "I warned you that you shouldn't pack too much when we came down
here."
"I was expecting to be gone for three weeks!" Noa fussed. "And you could
have helped me, you know."
"I had my own packing to do," Asuma answered, starting the car and driving
it out slowly to follow Hiromi and their labor transport.. "And I had to
let our 'students' know we were leaving, and give them some last minute
pieces of advice."
Noa shook her head. "What was it this time? How to hide beer in a police
stations refridgerator?"
Asuma shook his head. "Nah, told them about that a couple days ago."
Noa laughed. "I still can't believe you started their 'lessons' with that
same lecture you gave me about how daily life is a 'struggle for survival'
when I first came to SV2. MOST of these people aren't going to be sent to
our station, you know- why do you think THEY would need to learn how to farm
their own food?"
Asuma sighed. "I know they might go to some other SV2 building, but...
well, I've seen the one at Kanazawa. That one is in an even WORSE position
than we are- they don't even have a restaurant that delivers lunch, OR
someone with as green a thumb as Hiromi. They're located so far away from
the city, in fact, they can't even make use of a nearby convenience store.
I have NO idea how they keep themselves fed... so I figure it couldn't hurt
if they knew to expect that kind of thing."
Noa frowned. "When did you ever go to Kanazawa?"
"My first assignment was at the Kanazawa station. They hadn't completed the
labor facility, and we didn't even HAVE a Patlabor at the time. That's
where I first met Ohta. Then, funding was cut and they decided, instead of
opening stations in Osaka, Kanazawa, and Tokyo, they'd instead just move us
all to the place we were most needed, and see if we worked out. Funding
came back for those other cities' stations, though, after that whole
incident with Kai. I remember hearing they were re-opening that old
Kanazawa station, and fearing what that would mean for our fellow labor
teams."
"Huh, I didn't know that," Noa said. "One of these days, you and I are
going to have to sit down and talk a bit about our pasts. I got you really
mad, once, because I didn't understand the past between you and your father,
I just knew you were estranged. And I... got SO scared that whatever we
might have had when I accidentally blurted that whole secret I've kept out
at you about, uh, losing my virginity." Asuma flinched slightly, but didn't
say anything, so she continued. "I just think it would be better if we let
each other know of anything like that might come up like that."
Asuma shrugged. "Maybe. I really don't know what else you might want to
hear about me, though- you already know pretty much everything."
"Oh, really? I haven't heard much about any past girlfriends of yours from
you, though I've heard from certain sources that you've been a bit of a
ladies man...." Noa teased.
"Well, before you, there was only one serious girl in my life. But she was
way back in high school, and I lost contact with her for so long I hadn't
known she'd... uh, passed away from heart failure... until over a year after
she'd died."
Noa frowned thoughtfully. "Was she named 'Kashima' by any chance?"
Asuma blinked. "Uh, yeah- how did you know?"
"I think I heard you say her name, once," Noa replied, offhandedly. "Still,
even if there weren't any other 'serious' girls in your life, surely there
are other 'less' serious ones?"
"Well-"
The radio crackled suddenly. "This is Gotoh. Be advised, we will be
exceeding speed limits on this trip. There will be no breaks. If you feel
it necessary, go ahead and sound the siren."
"Acknowledged," Asuma said into the radio. He shook his head. "Something's
gotta be bugging him- Gotoh's been acting funny all day. I wish he'd tell
us what's going on."
"Maybe he doesn't know," Noa suggested cautiously.
Asuma nodded. "Yeah, that makes a little sense. He usually at least gives
us a hint of what's going on if he knows. And he's telling us to go HOME on
sirens. Something must be upsetting him."
"It couldn't be something to do with Captain Shinobu, could it?" Noa asked,
concerned.
"Well, if it was just HER, I'm pretty sure he would have gone back himself
as fast as he could, and not worried about keeping us in a convoy. It has
to be something where he wants the whole unit together," Asuma supplied.
"Come to think of it, this whole trip seems wierd. When I found out that
his niece was attending the Academy, I thought I found the answer, but there
still seemed to be something fishy with his decision to loan out our third
labor for a whole semester."
"A labor at the Academy... heh. Remember when Ohta, Shinshi, and Kanuka
stole that 'original patlabor' to fight off the military during Kai's
incident?" Noa laughed, but then frowned. "Come to think of it, they
wrecked that labor! I forgot about that!"
However, Noa's memory triggered another thought process entirely in Asuma's
mind. "Hey, Noa... when Gotoh saw Kai's men watching our station, he made
sure Alphonse was somewhere the bad guys wouldn't think to look, right?"
Noa nodded. "Yeah... and I never DID thank him for that."
"What if he's doing the same thing again? Maybe he suspect something
serious is about to happen, and is trying to make sure we've got an
emergency labor available, if we need it?"
Noa thought for a moment. "I dunno... but why isn't he saving Alphonse, if
so?"
"Maybe he needs Alphonse somewhere else," Asuma answered. "Or maybe he just
doesn't know of a convincing reason to send him out somewhere, alone. But
if we're rushing home... what if he thinks the danger is INSIDE of SV2?"
Noa blinked. "Asuma, that's ridiculous. Why would he be afraid of US?"
Asuma shook his head. "Not us. At least, not you or me... but one of the
new recruits. And not someone in our unit, or he'd just have taken our team
up with him to the Academy since he wouldn't want whoever it is to know
where we 'hid' our 3rd labor. No... he thinks there's someone dangerous in
either Unit 1 or Unit 3. And I have no clue what, but he thinks that they
might be doing something involving our labors!"
Noa frowned. "I hope you're wrong, Asuma- I like everyone in the station!
But... I think to be on the safe side, I'm going to start sleeping with
Alphonse."
Asuma kept himself from wincing by mentally repeating the mantra, 'Alphonse
is JUST a labor- he is not a human being, and Noa sleeping with him is NOT
tantamount to her cheating on me,' a few times in his head. Finally, he
answered, "I'm not sure that's a good idea- it's more important that you're
unhurt than Alphonse, and if someone is determined to sabatoge our labors,
he'd probably be willing to do anything to the person guarding it. And... I
couldn't stand it if you hurt yourself like that...."
Noa nodded. "I'll be careful. But I AM a police officer, and I won't be in
any more danger than I would be trying to stop any other criminal out
there."
Asuma sighed. "Well... maybe I'll join you some nights. Just to make sure
you're safe, of course."
Noa smiled. Maybe they wouldn't be holding back their relationship TOO much
if he was talking about joining her when she was sleeping. "Maybe...."
* * * * *
Gotoh, seeing nothing that required his immediate attention upon returning
to their station, made his was at his usual leisurely pace up to his office.
He was rather surprised not to see Shinobu waiting for him as his car pulled
up, given how distressed she had appeared over the phone. When he got to
the office, however, he found out why. She was asleep at her desk.
'Asleep at your post, eh, Shinobu? What's been happening here, anyway?' he
thought. He shook her gently.
"Eh? What- did we get another call?" she asked, starled awake.
"No," Gotoh said, smiling at her wistfully. He always felt she looked cute
when she had that sleepy look on her face. "But I figured you might want to
use my bunk instead of your desk for your nap. And, oh yeah, we're back."
Shinobu, already exhausted, almost collapsed with relief. "Thank god...
things have be utterly insane around here. We've had a record number of
calls the past week, and while my unit is holding its own the third unit has
fouled up half of its assignments. Ohta and Gomioka are at each other's
throats, and I'm barely able to keep them apart. There've been an awful lot
of wierd 'malfunctions' in all the vehicles that seem similar to those
pranks the mechanics squad played on Asuma, and just this morning Gomioka
chewed out Shige about it all. Now, Shige's rattled, Ohta's upset, we've
got some kind of labor crime spree going on, and everyone's utterly
exhausted. Gomioka and Unit 3 are out on a call right now, and we're stuck
on standby."
The alarm went off just as she finished, and the phone started ringing on
her desk. Automatically, she picked it up. "Shinobu... yes... yes. We'll
go out right away. Yes, sir." She hung up and sighed. "Damn... another
call. We've missed several calls because we were down a team, too."
Gotoh put a hand on her shoulders, keeping her seated. "You don't have to
go on this one- we'll take it."
She shook her head. "No... relieve Unit 3 when they get back. They've had
it worse than we have, and... to be blunt, Gomioka's not handling it very
well. I managed to get a few hours of naptime- I'll be fine, except for the
crick in my neck."
Gotoh nodded. "Understood," he said formally. He didn't quite approve of
her decision, but she seemed to be more-or-less alright now that she was
more fully awake. "In the meantime, I think I'll look at your reports..."
Heading out the door, she nodded. "I knew you would. I've put copies of
the past week's reports in your chair."
Gotoh went over to his desk, and saw a pile of papers and manila folders
almost two feet high. Frowning, he took the stack and set in on his desk,
then picked up the first folder and started reading....
* * * * *
"Damn, Shige, you look like hell," Asuma said, eyeing the mechanic
critically. "What's been going on around here?"
Shige grinned weakly at his favorite couple- Asuma and Noa. "Quite a bit,
actually. More calls then in ages, Captain Gomioka's been on my case about
lots of wierd malfunctions, a few cars have been in accidents thanks to the
weather... lots of things."
Asuma frowned. "What's this about 'wierd malfunctions?'"
Shige sighed. "Remember all of those pranks our mechanics were playing on
you back in January?"
Asuma laughed bitterly. "Considering I almost got killed by them, it'd be
kinda hard for me to forget."
Shige nodded. "Yeah. Well, things like that are happening, only worse and
with more frequency. And there don't appear to be any specific targets...
although Mr. Seiroku seems to be getting the worst of it."
Asuma frowned. "Seiroku? Hmm... didn't he get into a fight at that
softball game?"
Shige nodded. "Yeah- with Ueki Mashimo from Unit 1. They've apparently had
a rivalry since their Academy days."
Asuma smirked. "Is that so...."
* * * * *
Gotoh frowned at the records he was reading. Well, skimming- he didn't have
time to make a detailed reading. However, what he saw was pretty
intriguing. The crime spree seemed technologically oriented, that was
certain. Specifically, labor oriented.
Amoung a very few warehouses holding things like computers, televisions, and
similar electronics, Hishii Industries, a few Shinohara plants, some import
labor repair shops, and a variety of similar locations had been attacked,
and robbed, and all of these crimes were protected by the presense of a
heavy combat labor- mostly security labors like Saturns, but occasionally
military grade labors like Brochens or even the heavily armored Doshka's.
Only one of these labors had been captured, and that one had been traced to
the warehouse raid towards the end of march that had Units 1, 3, and
Military Labor Team Raven fighting for their lives.
On the surface, it looked like someone was selling these military labors off
to criminal organizations so they could have heavier firepower during their
armed robberies. However, the merchandise stolen by these 'criminal
organizations' was quite unusual, taken as a whole...
Gotoh selected several of the reports, and made a few photocopies of them.
Finding a box, he tossed them in their, putting a newspaper over it and a
greasy labor replacement part (belonging to a type-97 labor) as a
paperwieght.
He heard a labor convoy pulling in. Hoping it was Shinobu, he left the
office area and stepped into the catwalk overseeing the vehicle bay.
Unfortunately (in Gotoh's opinion), it was just Gomioka returning from
whatever assignment he had been involved with.
Gomioka did NOT look happy when he got out. The first person he saw was
Shige, and he snapped at the man. Gotoh didn't hear what was said, but it
was obviously something the man was very passionate about. Meanwhile, Ohta
was glaring at Gomioka's back before storming off himself. Gotoh just
sighed and shook his head- tempers were obviously flaring. Perhaps with
some rest, though, things would calm down. Gomioka was obviously not good
at handling the stress command provided, it seemed, but he'd had a rough
time of it. With luck, something would come along to help him out. Then
again, the SV2 was notorious for having bad luck.
Shige looked downright crushed at Gomioka's words. The enraged captain of
unit three, apparently finished with his tirade, stormed off in the general
direction that Ohta had been moving. Shige had obviously had a difficult
time since Sakaki retired. Perhaps he needed some words of encouragement.
Or at least a break in the action. Well, he needed someone to run that box
over to Sakaki, anyway....
* * * * *
The rumble of more vehicles coming into the station attracted Ohta to the
window. He saw Shinobu's unit, as battle-weary as they had ever been,
driving into the lot. He also saw Hiromi, heading out to his garden, while
Asuma and Noa took grass cutters to trim the grounds. He knew that meant
Unit 2 was back... which meant they would be resuming normal rotations,
soon. In fact, there was probably already a notice posted.
Deciding to risk venturing into the break room to see when he could finally
take a real break, he left his hiding place (while Ohta was anything BUT a
coward, and while he usually respected his officers, he was not willing to
stand still and just LET an officer stand there and yell at him for no
reason. Gomioka was going crazy, and he was obviously taking everyone else
with him. Even the seemingly indomitable Seiroku, who had been a favorite
of the captain and who felt an apparently unquestioning loyalty to the man,
had felt his wrath. Though, usually, the mistakes he made were attributed
to technical malfunctions, which quickly caused Gomioka to turn his ire onto
the mechanics division.
The stress of the whole situation was getting to everyone, it seemed. Even
Shinobu's team was feeling the effect- he'd heard something about someone in
division one named Ueki Mashimo (who Ohta hadn't come into contact with very
often) had gotten into several fights with his teammates. True, Unit 2 had
been gone for a couple of weeks, but even if they hadn't been there would
still have been an insurmountable number of calls for several days straight.
Ohta was starting to think a fourth unit might be useful... even though his
unit was now understaffed, itself.
"YOU!" Ohta heard bellowed at him from behind. He spin around to see his
enraged captain, bearing down at him. "Officer Ohta, WHERE the HELL have
you been?! We need to talk about your recent performance!"
Ohta froze like a deer in the headlights. "Uh, well...."
"WHY are you CONSTANTLY disobeying my orders? Dammit, I thought you might
actually LISTEN to me if I took the command car in officer Clancy's absense,
but NO! You-"
"Now wait just one damn minute!" Ohta snapped back, finally too tired at the
constant abuse to stand it any more. "You may have been a decent labor
pilot, but you've done the worst job of being a command car officer of
anyone I've ever met. I'd RATHER I had Shinshi in command- he was starting
to catch on to what he was supposed to be doing before Takeo joined our
unit. YOU, on the other hand, are constantly giving me IMPOSSIBLE orders,
giving them either too fast or too slow, you either give me so little
instruction I have no idea what you're trying to tell me to do or you give
me so much instruction that I can't follow it all! I've been lucky to
SURVIVE with you as my command car officer, dammit!"
"Oh, like anyone ELSE has been able to do anything with you," Gomioka
sneered. "Shinohara was your command, and you wrecked your labor a record
number of times for a type 96. Kanuka and Takeo tried to deal with you, but
you've ruined a number of labors under their charge, too. Of all labor
pilots, you have the WORST record of success. So, maybe you just aren't a
good pilot no matter the commander, huh?"
Ohta stiffened. "Sir, I-"
"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT! You have been the worst influence on my unit
since your arrival. You may be a DECENT shot on a stationary target, but
you've got NOTHING else. I don't see why I keep you as a pilot... in fact,
I think I'll just relieve you! I've got an adequate substitute pilot
waiting in the wings for a shot, and I think I'll just give it to him.
You're not doing a good enough job to bother with, any more. Hell, you
aren't even a good cop- maybe I should-"
"Captain Gomioka, stand down," a calm, carefully controlled voice broke in
from behind him.
Gomioka stopped mid-rant, spinning around to see a frazzled-looking Captain
Shinobu, clenching her fists to control her own temper. "Uh, ma'am?" he
said cautiously.
"I've heard most of your little lecture, Captain, and I should warn you that
you don't have a leg to stand on for his removal. As I understand it, this
latest assignment was blown not by Officer Ohta, but by a mechanical defect
in a labor. If you were to relieve him for his performance, especially
after a lecture like THAT, he would have just cause to appeal and to file a
formal grievance against you, which would place a black mark on your record
which could never be removed." Kanuka puffed. "I'm sorry, but your whole
unit has been messing up lately, and it is NOT all Officer Ohta's fault."
Gomioka was surprisingly humbled. "Uh, yes, Ma'am."
"Now, we're all tired. Thankfully, Gotoh is here, and will be handling my
calls until further notice. I am on standby, and YOU, Captain Gomioka, are
hereby relieved. So, as senior captain of the SV2, I am ordering you to get
at least 8 hours sleep. You have been making everyone's life a living hell,
and whatever issues you have are affecting your job performance. You have
damn near crushed the maintenence squad's spirit, and that's hurting MY
unit. If you are NOT able to calm down by your next shift, let me know and
I will have YOU relieved."
Gomioka swallowed. He felt like he'd just been scolded by his mother. "Uh,
yes, ma'am."
Shinobu sighed. "Good. Now go. The sooner you get some sleep, the sooner
I get some sleep."
* * * * *
"Curious," Asuma said, going through some files that had just been faxed
over to him.
Noa, finishing up some back paperwork, looked over at him. "What?"
"I've been using my connections from all over to track down any information
I can on that Ueki Mashimo guy Shige was telling us about, and to see if
he's got anything of a record," he explained. "He's gotten into petty
fights and things, but outside of that... well, he's not GOT much of a
record. His father, however, was arrested once for streetfighting. His
brother's work, however, is what I thought was so interesting- his brother
has a mechanic's background."
"So?"
Asuma sighed. Sometimes, he wished Noa was a little less dependant on him
for the detective work. Still, she was good enough to help him out from
time to time, and that was all that mattered. She certainly had adequate
skills in enough other areas to make them equal partners in the
relationship.
"Well, if someone's sabatoging all of our equipment, it's either a mechanic,
or someone with mechanical skills. If his brother is a mechanic, isn't it
possible that Ueki might have picked up some of the training he would need
for this kind of thing?"
Noa nodded. "Oh, I see now. Still... what's the point? Do you think
Captains Gotoh or Shinobu don't already know that?"
Asuma frowned. "No... I'm pretty sure they do. Maybe, though, they just
haven't tried to look at that information... well, still, you're right.
There's not enough info here to do anything. We'll have to continue looking
into things. In the meantime...."
"Yes?"
Asuma grinned. "Well, from now until we've found the saboteur, we're going
to have just one meeting point for all of our 'encounters.' Ever wonder
what it would be like to make out in Alphonse's cabin?"
Noa laughed, a twinkle in her eye. "Why, Asuma... I've never even thought
about it. Interesting idea, though-" The siren sounded. "That we're not
going to have time to do right now. Let's get suited up."
Asuma ran out of the room, following her. After they left, someone else
came in and started glancing through the papers he had just been reading.
"Hmm," the person said. "This could be... useful."
-------------------------
Next Episode: An intruder is caught at SV2 Headquarters. Takeo meets up
with an old aquaintence- Mr. Richard Wong. And he's no longer with Schaft
enterprises... but is that a good thing?
-------------------------
David A. Tatum
desaix@sysnet.net
http://davecon.anifics.com
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To:
Subject: [MPPatlaborML] [fanfic] Patlabor: Personal Files, Episode 20
Date: Monday, April 01, 2002 5:39 PM
Well, lotsa foreshadowing for season 2 (episodes 23-44) here. Enjoy.
Patlabor: Personal Files
An Episodic Patlabor Fanfic by David A. Tatum
Disclaimer: Insert legal junk here...
Episode 20: Running Rampant
April 1, 2000
Shinshi walked into Kanuka's dorm room, watching her as she finished
packing. She looked over at him, surprised- he wasn't usually one to come
by unexpected.
"Can I help you?" she asked.
"There's no chance I can convince you to stay here and command Ohta, is
there?" he asked wearily.
Kanuka smirked. "You're on your own for that one from now on. Sorry."
Shinshi sighed. "I sometimes wonder if I'm really cut out for this job.
But if I quit, I'm sure Tamiko would be annoyed."
"You've dealt with Ohta before, you can do it again. But I get the feeling
you're not down here just to ask me to stay." Kanuka asked.
Shinshi nodded. "Yeah- actually, I'm acting as Gotoh's messenger boy. He
wanted me to let you know Unit 2 is going to accompany you down to the
Academy. He said something about wanting to give the new recruits a
demonstration of 'professional Patlabor skills,' but I got the feeling there
was more to it than that."
Kanuka raised an eyebrow. "Hmm. Well, I'll figure it out when I get down
there... is he offering a ride?"
Shinshi laughed. "Actually, they want you to help drive. They're taking
all three Ingrams with them, and were hoping you'd take the third command
car. Gotoh agreed to loan the Academy Labor 3 for the coming semester, with
the provision that Fuji use its budget to pay for it's restoration to
servicable condition and maintenence during that period. Anyway, that's all
I came down to say, except for Unit 3's farewell party is commencing in
about 20 minutes. I know you hate these things, but at least we didn't
break into your apartment to host it, this time."
Kanuka turned a dark look on him. "Yes, I still remember that time. And I
am still not very happy about it...."
Shinshi swallowed. "Uh, yeah. See ya soon, ma'am," he said quickly,
darting out of the room as fast as his feet allowed.
"Curiouser and curiouser," Kanuka said to herself in English. "Why does
Gotoh want me to have a patlabor at Fuji?"
* * * * *
"Hmm. This is a lot more comfortable than the last time I rode with you in
the command car," Noa commented, stretching her legs in the relatively roomy
seats of the car's cabin.
"There aren't any insane mechanics trying to kill me for percieved slights
to their idols, this time around," Asuma noted dryly. "Did you come up with
an official excuse for joining me here as opposed to Hiromi in the labor
transport?"
Noa nodded. "Yeah. Hiromi said he'd help us out by taking some spare seeds
from our vegetable gardens as a gift for one of the instructors in Fuji
which would take up my seat in the transport." She paused. "I dunno if
anyone will even ask, though. Hiromi and Takeo knew just from watching us
that we were going out, and you say that Gotoh's been giving us strange
looks now and then. Joudo suspects something, I think, and even Natsume
seems to understand about us. And, well, I wouldn't put anything past
Kanuka...."
"I suppose we really only need to worry about our 'public displays of
affection' when we're with the gang," Asuma agreed. "I still worry, though.
Even if our friends are willing to ignore it, if they accidentally let
something slip I'm pretty sure Internal Affairs would have our hides tied up
in an investigation faster than we could blink. And you'll never believe
who just got put on the Internal Affairs review board."
"Who?" Noa asked, curious.
"Captain Takada Toshinori."
Noa frowned. "Who's he?"
Asuma grimmaced. "I think you'd remember, since it was under his orders
that one of the members of the riot squad sent you to the hospital...."
"Him?" Noa said, shifting uncomfortably on her seat. "Well, that was just a
silly softball game, and it happened months ago. Surely he's forgotten
about it by now... and even if he hasn't, why would he hold a grudge against
us?"
Asuma shrugged. "I met him when he came by to deliver an 'official apology'
to you at the hospital- you were in surgery at the time, though. He never
returned, either... and I'm glad. I never met someone so... vindictively
cold in my entire career in the SV2. I'm afraid that he WOULD hold a grudge
against Captain Gotoh, at least, and the scandal that he could raise over
any investigation into our relationship would be a perfect weapon for him.
He wouldn't care what other damage he caused, as long as he got the
Captain."
"Oh," Noa replied quietly. She contemplated what that might mean to them,
and found herself vaguely disappointed. "I suppose we need to be especially
careful while we're at the Academy, huh?"
Asuma smiled bitterly. "Pretty much. We need to be more careful, period-
we don't want any rumors getting into the wrong hands. I guess we need to
cool things down for a while when we're on the job. Our next vacation time
doesn't come until May, unfortunately, so it looks like we may have to wait
a while before we can 'indulge' in each other, again."
Noa huffed. "I don't like it- things were just getting interesting!"
Asuma coughed, straining against his surprise at her bluntness to hold onto
control of the car. 'interesting' was a very unusual way of putting it.
Things had been getting a bit steamy between them- their make-out sessions
had started including a little more risque carressing- at first, some clumsy
gropes through their clothing, but the way things were moving they'd have
started removing a few pieces of those clothing pretty soon. Unfortunately,
this seemed to shove a monkey wrench into things.
"Uh, yeah, they were," he admitted, clearing his throat. "I hate it, too,
but what are our options? Are you willing to risk losing your job- and
Alphonse- just for more necking sessions?"
"No," Noa replied, defeated. "But in May, you and I are going somewhere
fun, just the two of us, alone. And we'll see if we can't make up for the
time we'll have lost, okay?"
"Deal," Asuma agreed.
* * * * *
Chief Sakuma, Commandant of Fuji's Special Vehicles Academy, stepped up to
the small convoy after the contingent of police officers had finished
parking. The incoming freshmen for the semester that was about to begin had
assembled in formation behind him, standing at attention. When Gotoh left
his car, he stepped up to him.
By the time Sakuma reached Gotoh, much of the rest of the second unit had
managed to park and swarm over to their Captain. Sakuma, however, ignored
them. Saluting Gotoh, he said, "Hello, Captain. Welcome back to Fuji."
Gotoh returned the salute lazily. "Chief Sakuma. Any promising students
trying out for Section 2 this year?"
"Yes, yes. Of course. There's one incoming freshman, though, who might be
a bit of a troublemaker. I think I'd better call your attention to her,
right away."
"Oh?" Gotoh said, not sounding the least bit surprised. "Is that so? Well,
let's see this troublemaker!"
"Of course," Sakuma said. "Cadet Mahoko! Front and center!"
A young girl, her long hair tied up in a bun, darted forward, a huge grin on
her face. "Cadet Mahoko GOTOH, reporting for duty, SIR!" she said,
saluting.
Gotoh, his face expressionless, saluted his niece back... this time with a
lot more conviction. He turned to the chief. "So, this is your
troublemaker?"
Sakuma stifled his laughter to reply. "Yes, that she is. Her uncle was a
pupil of mine, once, and she's bound to give me at least as many ulcers as
he did." He grinned at Mahoko. "At ease."
Laughing herself, Mahoko launched herself at her uncle, circling her arms
around his neck in a big hug. "Hi, Uncle Gotoh!"
Curling his lip up affectionately, Gotoh gave her a one-armed hug back.
"Hi, Mahoko. How's the first day coming?"
Around them, the entire unit he commanded gaped. "So, THIS is why he
insisted on coming along," Kanuka muttered.
"And here I was, afraid he was bringing us with him because he suspected
something dangerous was going on," Asuma added, grinning slightly at the
scene before him.
Noa, who was still upset at having lost three weeks of being able to make
out with Asuma (for, while they had just agreed to cool things off a bit,
they were still going to be able to kiss when they got back), frowned.
"Why'd he have to bring us with him, then?"
Asuma just placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed reassuringly- a
comforting gesture to let her know he regretted the lost time, too, but also
reminding her not to get upset over it.
"Heh," Joudo snorted to himself- out of Noa and Asuma's hearing- with a
half-smirk. "Well, I've seen drunken officers on duty in our unit, I've
seen procedural violation that would send the police commissioner into a
heart attack, I've seen our captain hitting on another captain, I've seen
two member of Labor 1's team participate in a forbidden relationship, and
I've seen mechanics sabatoging the crew's vehicles... I'm honestly surprised
it took this long for me to see my first case of nepotism."
Takeo, Natsume, and Hiromi remained quiet, although Natsume kept looking
between her captain and Mahoko in confusion.
"What's the matter," Joudo finally asked.
Natsume blinked up at him owlishly. "I don't recall ever seeing Captain
Gotoh look at anyone like that before."
Joudo shrugged. "Well, we've never seen him around family before, either,
have we?"
Natsume tapped her chin cutely, squinting her eyes as she thought hard.
"No, I guess we haven't."
Joudo looked to where Asuma was holding Noa's shoulder in such a familiar
matter, then back to Natsume's cute 'thinking' pose. 'Hmm,' he thought to
himself. 'If they don't mind ONE couple in this unit, why would they mind
two? And it's not like Captain Gotoh can complain, as much as he pursues
one of HIS fellow officers...."
That train of thought was abruptly ended when Gotoh snapped an order at
Kanuka. "Luitenant Clancy, front and center."
With the ever-present disciplined fierceness she always exuded, Kanuka
strode forced and faced the captain with hardly a glint of unusual emotions
in her eyes. "Yes, sir!"
"This is my niece, Mahoko. Though you will know her as Cadet Gotoh," he
noted, gesturing to the young girl who was smiling up at him.
Kanuka patiently kept herself from rolling her eyes or commenting on how she
had already heard that part- after all, she knew Gotoh was much brighter
then he often let on. "I see, sir."
"Now, I'm not going to ask you to show her any favoritism. Not only is it
against the rules, but I'm pretty sure I'd just get her angry if I did," he
explained. "However, she's like a daughter to me, and I hope you'll keep
track of her progress and let me know how she's doing from time to time."
Kanuka nodded. "Very well, sir, I think a limited degree of feedback would
be acceptable."
Gotoh smiled happily- a very strange expression on his face. "Good. We'll
be on hand until the Twentieth, however, to provide experienced guidance in
these first few weeks. Now, how about we unload those Ingrams and show
these cadets what REAL Patlabors handle like?"
* * * * *
April 11, 2000
Gotoh checked over the papers he had assigned to the cadets he had been
mentoring. Few of them took him seriously, it appeared... though he was
pleased to see his niece was not one of those people. Gotoh sighed- well,
that was to be expected. Most people desperately tried to avoid service in
Section 2 with the Patlabors- their reputation was... not the best. Most
people at Fuji were in training to join Special Vehicles Section 1- Fire and
Rescue. Section 3, the military, had a seperate training facility, but a
few reserve units also trained alongside the other Special Vehicles teams.
Patlabor candidates were few and far between, it seemed, despite the
increasing demand for new officers as new units were established.
Asuma, Noa in tow, had taken a few select cadets and was attempting to
provide them with additional instruction. Hiromi had apparently sequestered
himself in with the groundskeepers at Fuji, however, as he didn't really
have much to teach. Joudo and Natsume, both being recent graduates
themselves, were merely catching up with old friends who had been
underclassmen when they were still in the Academy.
As had happened once before, Takeo and Kanuka had been developing something
of a rivalry in their instruction. Takeo had volunteered to be a guest
lecturer on standard operating procedures for policework and similar
subjects, and was attempting to show more progress with HER students than
Kanuka's own assigned classes. All in all, Gotoh was viewing this whole
thing as a favorable venture.
"Captain Gotoh?" a voice belonging to one of the administrative staff of the
facility beckoned from the door.
"Yeah?" he replied, not looking up.
"Telephone for you, line 3. It's from a Captain Nagumo."
"Shinobu?" he replied, perking up. "Thank you! I'll take it here.
Dismissed."
"Yes, sir." The man nodded from the doorway before leaving.
He picked up the phone, pressing the button to connect him to the proper
line. "Hi, Shinobu! I've been trying to get in touch with you for days and
haven't been able to get through- what's going on?"
"Gotoh," her tired-sounding voice replied. "We've been up to our necks in
action since you've left. All sorts of problems are creeping up, both with
calls and with the third unit- we need you back here, now."
"What's going on?" Gotoh replied, concerned. Shinobu never sounded this
worn out, as far as he could remember.
"It's a long story... all I can say is we need you back here as soon as
possible. Any chance you could get back here a little early?"
Gotoh frowned. This could be any number of things, but if his suspicion was
correct... "All right, we'll pack up and head on back tomorrow. See you
soon."
"Thanks, Gotoh," she replied, the relief evident in her voice. Suddenly, in
the background, he could hear an alarm going off. "Oh, shit- Gotta go.
Hurry back soon." With that, the phone disconnected.
Gotoh blinked at the phone. That didn't sound like Shinobu at all...
whatever it was must REALLY be distressing her.
He pressed a button on the intercom. "Yes, sir?" came a new voice from the
other end.
"Please inform the commandant that my unit will unexpectedly have to leave
tomorrow, and then see to it that my niece comes to my office pronto. I
want to discuss a few things with her before I go."
* * * * *
April 12, 2000
Noa slipped opposite Asuma into the command car, puffing slightly as she
recovered from the rush to finish packing and loading that Gotoh's
surprisingly frenzied orders to return to their headquarters that morning
demanded.
"I think that's the fastest I've ever packed in my life," she sighed,
buckling her seatbelt.
Asuma chuckled, doing a last minute check of the instrumentation of the
vehicle. "I warned you that you shouldn't pack too much when we came down
here."
"I was expecting to be gone for three weeks!" Noa fussed. "And you could
have helped me, you know."
"I had my own packing to do," Asuma answered, starting the car and driving
it out slowly to follow Hiromi and their labor transport.. "And I had to
let our 'students' know we were leaving, and give them some last minute
pieces of advice."
Noa shook her head. "What was it this time? How to hide beer in a police
stations refridgerator?"
Asuma shook his head. "Nah, told them about that a couple days ago."
Noa laughed. "I still can't believe you started their 'lessons' with that
same lecture you gave me about how daily life is a 'struggle for survival'
when I first came to SV2. MOST of these people aren't going to be sent to
our station, you know- why do you think THEY would need to learn how to farm
their own food?"
Asuma sighed. "I know they might go to some other SV2 building, but...
well, I've seen the one at Kanazawa. That one is in an even WORSE position
than we are- they don't even have a restaurant that delivers lunch, OR
someone with as green a thumb as Hiromi. They're located so far away from
the city, in fact, they can't even make use of a nearby convenience store.
I have NO idea how they keep themselves fed... so I figure it couldn't hurt
if they knew to expect that kind of thing."
Noa frowned. "When did you ever go to Kanazawa?"
"My first assignment was at the Kanazawa station. They hadn't completed the
labor facility, and we didn't even HAVE a Patlabor at the time. That's
where I first met Ohta. Then, funding was cut and they decided, instead of
opening stations in Osaka, Kanazawa, and Tokyo, they'd instead just move us
all to the place we were most needed, and see if we worked out. Funding
came back for those other cities' stations, though, after that whole
incident with Kai. I remember hearing they were re-opening that old
Kanazawa station, and fearing what that would mean for our fellow labor
teams."
"Huh, I didn't know that," Noa said. "One of these days, you and I are
going to have to sit down and talk a bit about our pasts. I got you really
mad, once, because I didn't understand the past between you and your father,
I just knew you were estranged. And I... got SO scared that whatever we
might have had when I accidentally blurted that whole secret I've kept out
at you about, uh, losing my virginity." Asuma flinched slightly, but didn't
say anything, so she continued. "I just think it would be better if we let
each other know of anything like that might come up like that."
Asuma shrugged. "Maybe. I really don't know what else you might want to
hear about me, though- you already know pretty much everything."
"Oh, really? I haven't heard much about any past girlfriends of yours from
you, though I've heard from certain sources that you've been a bit of a
ladies man...." Noa teased.
"Well, before you, there was only one serious girl in my life. But she was
way back in high school, and I lost contact with her for so long I hadn't
known she'd... uh, passed away from heart failure... until over a year after
she'd died."
Noa frowned thoughtfully. "Was she named 'Kashima' by any chance?"
Asuma blinked. "Uh, yeah- how did you know?"
"I think I heard you say her name, once," Noa replied, offhandedly. "Still,
even if there weren't any other 'serious' girls in your life, surely there
are other 'less' serious ones?"
"Well-"
The radio crackled suddenly. "This is Gotoh. Be advised, we will be
exceeding speed limits on this trip. There will be no breaks. If you feel
it necessary, go ahead and sound the siren."
"Acknowledged," Asuma said into the radio. He shook his head. "Something's
gotta be bugging him- Gotoh's been acting funny all day. I wish he'd tell
us what's going on."
"Maybe he doesn't know," Noa suggested cautiously.
Asuma nodded. "Yeah, that makes a little sense. He usually at least gives
us a hint of what's going on if he knows. And he's telling us to go HOME on
sirens. Something must be upsetting him."
"It couldn't be something to do with Captain Shinobu, could it?" Noa asked,
concerned.
"Well, if it was just HER, I'm pretty sure he would have gone back himself
as fast as he could, and not worried about keeping us in a convoy. It has
to be something where he wants the whole unit together," Asuma supplied.
"Come to think of it, this whole trip seems wierd. When I found out that
his niece was attending the Academy, I thought I found the answer, but there
still seemed to be something fishy with his decision to loan out our third
labor for a whole semester."
"A labor at the Academy... heh. Remember when Ohta, Shinshi, and Kanuka
stole that 'original patlabor' to fight off the military during Kai's
incident?" Noa laughed, but then frowned. "Come to think of it, they
wrecked that labor! I forgot about that!"
However, Noa's memory triggered another thought process entirely in Asuma's
mind. "Hey, Noa... when Gotoh saw Kai's men watching our station, he made
sure Alphonse was somewhere the bad guys wouldn't think to look, right?"
Noa nodded. "Yeah... and I never DID thank him for that."
"What if he's doing the same thing again? Maybe he suspect something
serious is about to happen, and is trying to make sure we've got an
emergency labor available, if we need it?"
Noa thought for a moment. "I dunno... but why isn't he saving Alphonse, if
so?"
"Maybe he needs Alphonse somewhere else," Asuma answered. "Or maybe he just
doesn't know of a convincing reason to send him out somewhere, alone. But
if we're rushing home... what if he thinks the danger is INSIDE of SV2?"
Noa blinked. "Asuma, that's ridiculous. Why would he be afraid of US?"
Asuma shook his head. "Not us. At least, not you or me... but one of the
new recruits. And not someone in our unit, or he'd just have taken our team
up with him to the Academy since he wouldn't want whoever it is to know
where we 'hid' our 3rd labor. No... he thinks there's someone dangerous in
either Unit 1 or Unit 3. And I have no clue what, but he thinks that they
might be doing something involving our labors!"
Noa frowned. "I hope you're wrong, Asuma- I like everyone in the station!
But... I think to be on the safe side, I'm going to start sleeping with
Alphonse."
Asuma kept himself from wincing by mentally repeating the mantra, 'Alphonse
is JUST a labor- he is not a human being, and Noa sleeping with him is NOT
tantamount to her cheating on me,' a few times in his head. Finally, he
answered, "I'm not sure that's a good idea- it's more important that you're
unhurt than Alphonse, and if someone is determined to sabatoge our labors,
he'd probably be willing to do anything to the person guarding it. And... I
couldn't stand it if you hurt yourself like that...."
Noa nodded. "I'll be careful. But I AM a police officer, and I won't be in
any more danger than I would be trying to stop any other criminal out
there."
Asuma sighed. "Well... maybe I'll join you some nights. Just to make sure
you're safe, of course."
Noa smiled. Maybe they wouldn't be holding back their relationship TOO much
if he was talking about joining her when she was sleeping. "Maybe...."
* * * * *
Gotoh, seeing nothing that required his immediate attention upon returning
to their station, made his was at his usual leisurely pace up to his office.
He was rather surprised not to see Shinobu waiting for him as his car pulled
up, given how distressed she had appeared over the phone. When he got to
the office, however, he found out why. She was asleep at her desk.
'Asleep at your post, eh, Shinobu? What's been happening here, anyway?' he
thought. He shook her gently.
"Eh? What- did we get another call?" she asked, starled awake.
"No," Gotoh said, smiling at her wistfully. He always felt she looked cute
when she had that sleepy look on her face. "But I figured you might want to
use my bunk instead of your desk for your nap. And, oh yeah, we're back."
Shinobu, already exhausted, almost collapsed with relief. "Thank god...
things have be utterly insane around here. We've had a record number of
calls the past week, and while my unit is holding its own the third unit has
fouled up half of its assignments. Ohta and Gomioka are at each other's
throats, and I'm barely able to keep them apart. There've been an awful lot
of wierd 'malfunctions' in all the vehicles that seem similar to those
pranks the mechanics squad played on Asuma, and just this morning Gomioka
chewed out Shige about it all. Now, Shige's rattled, Ohta's upset, we've
got some kind of labor crime spree going on, and everyone's utterly
exhausted. Gomioka and Unit 3 are out on a call right now, and we're stuck
on standby."
The alarm went off just as she finished, and the phone started ringing on
her desk. Automatically, she picked it up. "Shinobu... yes... yes. We'll
go out right away. Yes, sir." She hung up and sighed. "Damn... another
call. We've missed several calls because we were down a team, too."
Gotoh put a hand on her shoulders, keeping her seated. "You don't have to
go on this one- we'll take it."
She shook her head. "No... relieve Unit 3 when they get back. They've had
it worse than we have, and... to be blunt, Gomioka's not handling it very
well. I managed to get a few hours of naptime- I'll be fine, except for the
crick in my neck."
Gotoh nodded. "Understood," he said formally. He didn't quite approve of
her decision, but she seemed to be more-or-less alright now that she was
more fully awake. "In the meantime, I think I'll look at your reports..."
Heading out the door, she nodded. "I knew you would. I've put copies of
the past week's reports in your chair."
Gotoh went over to his desk, and saw a pile of papers and manila folders
almost two feet high. Frowning, he took the stack and set in on his desk,
then picked up the first folder and started reading....
* * * * *
"Damn, Shige, you look like hell," Asuma said, eyeing the mechanic
critically. "What's been going on around here?"
Shige grinned weakly at his favorite couple- Asuma and Noa. "Quite a bit,
actually. More calls then in ages, Captain Gomioka's been on my case about
lots of wierd malfunctions, a few cars have been in accidents thanks to the
weather... lots of things."
Asuma frowned. "What's this about 'wierd malfunctions?'"
Shige sighed. "Remember all of those pranks our mechanics were playing on
you back in January?"
Asuma laughed bitterly. "Considering I almost got killed by them, it'd be
kinda hard for me to forget."
Shige nodded. "Yeah. Well, things like that are happening, only worse and
with more frequency. And there don't appear to be any specific targets...
although Mr. Seiroku seems to be getting the worst of it."
Asuma frowned. "Seiroku? Hmm... didn't he get into a fight at that
softball game?"
Shige nodded. "Yeah- with Ueki Mashimo from Unit 1. They've apparently had
a rivalry since their Academy days."
Asuma smirked. "Is that so...."
* * * * *
Gotoh frowned at the records he was reading. Well, skimming- he didn't have
time to make a detailed reading. However, what he saw was pretty
intriguing. The crime spree seemed technologically oriented, that was
certain. Specifically, labor oriented.
Amoung a very few warehouses holding things like computers, televisions, and
similar electronics, Hishii Industries, a few Shinohara plants, some import
labor repair shops, and a variety of similar locations had been attacked,
and robbed, and all of these crimes were protected by the presense of a
heavy combat labor- mostly security labors like Saturns, but occasionally
military grade labors like Brochens or even the heavily armored Doshka's.
Only one of these labors had been captured, and that one had been traced to
the warehouse raid towards the end of march that had Units 1, 3, and
Military Labor Team Raven fighting for their lives.
On the surface, it looked like someone was selling these military labors off
to criminal organizations so they could have heavier firepower during their
armed robberies. However, the merchandise stolen by these 'criminal
organizations' was quite unusual, taken as a whole...
Gotoh selected several of the reports, and made a few photocopies of them.
Finding a box, he tossed them in their, putting a newspaper over it and a
greasy labor replacement part (belonging to a type-97 labor) as a
paperwieght.
He heard a labor convoy pulling in. Hoping it was Shinobu, he left the
office area and stepped into the catwalk overseeing the vehicle bay.
Unfortunately (in Gotoh's opinion), it was just Gomioka returning from
whatever assignment he had been involved with.
Gomioka did NOT look happy when he got out. The first person he saw was
Shige, and he snapped at the man. Gotoh didn't hear what was said, but it
was obviously something the man was very passionate about. Meanwhile, Ohta
was glaring at Gomioka's back before storming off himself. Gotoh just
sighed and shook his head- tempers were obviously flaring. Perhaps with
some rest, though, things would calm down. Gomioka was obviously not good
at handling the stress command provided, it seemed, but he'd had a rough
time of it. With luck, something would come along to help him out. Then
again, the SV2 was notorious for having bad luck.
Shige looked downright crushed at Gomioka's words. The enraged captain of
unit three, apparently finished with his tirade, stormed off in the general
direction that Ohta had been moving. Shige had obviously had a difficult
time since Sakaki retired. Perhaps he needed some words of encouragement.
Or at least a break in the action. Well, he needed someone to run that box
over to Sakaki, anyway....
* * * * *
The rumble of more vehicles coming into the station attracted Ohta to the
window. He saw Shinobu's unit, as battle-weary as they had ever been,
driving into the lot. He also saw Hiromi, heading out to his garden, while
Asuma and Noa took grass cutters to trim the grounds. He knew that meant
Unit 2 was back... which meant they would be resuming normal rotations,
soon. In fact, there was probably already a notice posted.
Deciding to risk venturing into the break room to see when he could finally
take a real break, he left his hiding place (while Ohta was anything BUT a
coward, and while he usually respected his officers, he was not willing to
stand still and just LET an officer stand there and yell at him for no
reason. Gomioka was going crazy, and he was obviously taking everyone else
with him. Even the seemingly indomitable Seiroku, who had been a favorite
of the captain and who felt an apparently unquestioning loyalty to the man,
had felt his wrath. Though, usually, the mistakes he made were attributed
to technical malfunctions, which quickly caused Gomioka to turn his ire onto
the mechanics division.
The stress of the whole situation was getting to everyone, it seemed. Even
Shinobu's team was feeling the effect- he'd heard something about someone in
division one named Ueki Mashimo (who Ohta hadn't come into contact with very
often) had gotten into several fights with his teammates. True, Unit 2 had
been gone for a couple of weeks, but even if they hadn't been there would
still have been an insurmountable number of calls for several days straight.
Ohta was starting to think a fourth unit might be useful... even though his
unit was now understaffed, itself.
"YOU!" Ohta heard bellowed at him from behind. He spin around to see his
enraged captain, bearing down at him. "Officer Ohta, WHERE the HELL have
you been?! We need to talk about your recent performance!"
Ohta froze like a deer in the headlights. "Uh, well...."
"WHY are you CONSTANTLY disobeying my orders? Dammit, I thought you might
actually LISTEN to me if I took the command car in officer Clancy's absense,
but NO! You-"
"Now wait just one damn minute!" Ohta snapped back, finally too tired at the
constant abuse to stand it any more. "You may have been a decent labor
pilot, but you've done the worst job of being a command car officer of
anyone I've ever met. I'd RATHER I had Shinshi in command- he was starting
to catch on to what he was supposed to be doing before Takeo joined our
unit. YOU, on the other hand, are constantly giving me IMPOSSIBLE orders,
giving them either too fast or too slow, you either give me so little
instruction I have no idea what you're trying to tell me to do or you give
me so much instruction that I can't follow it all! I've been lucky to
SURVIVE with you as my command car officer, dammit!"
"Oh, like anyone ELSE has been able to do anything with you," Gomioka
sneered. "Shinohara was your command, and you wrecked your labor a record
number of times for a type 96. Kanuka and Takeo tried to deal with you, but
you've ruined a number of labors under their charge, too. Of all labor
pilots, you have the WORST record of success. So, maybe you just aren't a
good pilot no matter the commander, huh?"
Ohta stiffened. "Sir, I-"
"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT! You have been the worst influence on my unit
since your arrival. You may be a DECENT shot on a stationary target, but
you've got NOTHING else. I don't see why I keep you as a pilot... in fact,
I think I'll just relieve you! I've got an adequate substitute pilot
waiting in the wings for a shot, and I think I'll just give it to him.
You're not doing a good enough job to bother with, any more. Hell, you
aren't even a good cop- maybe I should-"
"Captain Gomioka, stand down," a calm, carefully controlled voice broke in
from behind him.
Gomioka stopped mid-rant, spinning around to see a frazzled-looking Captain
Shinobu, clenching her fists to control her own temper. "Uh, ma'am?" he
said cautiously.
"I've heard most of your little lecture, Captain, and I should warn you that
you don't have a leg to stand on for his removal. As I understand it, this
latest assignment was blown not by Officer Ohta, but by a mechanical defect
in a labor. If you were to relieve him for his performance, especially
after a lecture like THAT, he would have just cause to appeal and to file a
formal grievance against you, which would place a black mark on your record
which could never be removed." Kanuka puffed. "I'm sorry, but your whole
unit has been messing up lately, and it is NOT all Officer Ohta's fault."
Gomioka was surprisingly humbled. "Uh, yes, Ma'am."
"Now, we're all tired. Thankfully, Gotoh is here, and will be handling my
calls until further notice. I am on standby, and YOU, Captain Gomioka, are
hereby relieved. So, as senior captain of the SV2, I am ordering you to get
at least 8 hours sleep. You have been making everyone's life a living hell,
and whatever issues you have are affecting your job performance. You have
damn near crushed the maintenence squad's spirit, and that's hurting MY
unit. If you are NOT able to calm down by your next shift, let me know and
I will have YOU relieved."
Gomioka swallowed. He felt like he'd just been scolded by his mother. "Uh,
yes, ma'am."
Shinobu sighed. "Good. Now go. The sooner you get some sleep, the sooner
I get some sleep."
* * * * *
"Curious," Asuma said, going through some files that had just been faxed
over to him.
Noa, finishing up some back paperwork, looked over at him. "What?"
"I've been using my connections from all over to track down any information
I can on that Ueki Mashimo guy Shige was telling us about, and to see if
he's got anything of a record," he explained. "He's gotten into petty
fights and things, but outside of that... well, he's not GOT much of a
record. His father, however, was arrested once for streetfighting. His
brother's work, however, is what I thought was so interesting- his brother
has a mechanic's background."
"So?"
Asuma sighed. Sometimes, he wished Noa was a little less dependant on him
for the detective work. Still, she was good enough to help him out from
time to time, and that was all that mattered. She certainly had adequate
skills in enough other areas to make them equal partners in the
relationship.
"Well, if someone's sabatoging all of our equipment, it's either a mechanic,
or someone with mechanical skills. If his brother is a mechanic, isn't it
possible that Ueki might have picked up some of the training he would need
for this kind of thing?"
Noa nodded. "Oh, I see now. Still... what's the point? Do you think
Captains Gotoh or Shinobu don't already know that?"
Asuma frowned. "No... I'm pretty sure they do. Maybe, though, they just
haven't tried to look at that information... well, still, you're right.
There's not enough info here to do anything. We'll have to continue looking
into things. In the meantime...."
"Yes?"
Asuma grinned. "Well, from now until we've found the saboteur, we're going
to have just one meeting point for all of our 'encounters.' Ever wonder
what it would be like to make out in Alphonse's cabin?"
Noa laughed, a twinkle in her eye. "Why, Asuma... I've never even thought
about it. Interesting idea, though-" The siren sounded. "That we're not
going to have time to do right now. Let's get suited up."
Asuma ran out of the room, following her. After they left, someone else
came in and started glancing through the papers he had just been reading.
"Hmm," the person said. "This could be... useful."
-------------------------
Next Episode: An intruder is caught at SV2 Headquarters. Takeo meets up
with an old aquaintence- Mr. Richard Wong. And he's no longer with Schaft
enterprises... but is that a good thing?
-------------------------
David A. Tatum
desaix@sysnet.net
http://davecon.anifics.com
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