Yet more warnings. Scary stuff ahead.-
Time unknown.
" You don't think I'm a monster do you boy? " The man asked him his tone unreadable or perhaps it was just all his emotions sky rocketing that made it sound so.
" That's exactly what you are," His voice was nothing but a shaking whisper now. He had said he stopped taping, but being blind all Togusa could do was take the man at his word. Which didn't amount to much as far as he was concerned. Now all he was trying to do was recall those TV shows he'd seen about surviving attackers and such. His brain was in such a state of pain; he couldn't even remember to breathe half the time. There was a time when he thought nothing in his life could get any worse….he was wrong and if this freak had his way dead wrong. He knew the man's voice he could've sworn he did his mind was just too fried to place it and that damn cologne what air he did recall to take was choked out by it's over powering fumes! He could beg for death but with his current luck he doubted this fiend would grant him that much. He chocked back the urge to cry once more as the stranger took him yet gain. He wanted this to stop he wanted to die, get away, anything he didn't care. Was it true what he'd said about his family, about his friends? His head hurt he couldn't remember the accident well. Who hit them, were they alive then? When he thought back all he would get was blinding pain, his mind obviously wasn't so willing to return to that place as he was now. Struggling proved useless agenst the man now crushing him he was so heavy his bones felt like twigs his bindings made his attempts to gain freedom or at least ease his pangs impossible. He'd cried too much already for this man and for himself but the tears still fell. Why did this have to happen? Was he being punished? Was his family? What had they done to deserve this? Was his being in Section 9 the reason? It couldn't be purely because he was mostly natural there were a million other people in his area that were natural why his family? This bastard killed them he would pay even if he had to haunt him till his death he would. This man would never forget him he was one thing but dispatching his family was another. This man would pay one way or another. The man bit his shoulder once again he inhaled trying not to yell but he didn't have to try anymore his cologne filled his nose causing him to choke instead. Then he remembered the smell. It was lithium, he hated strong perfumes……..
8:20 pm Days seemed like weeks, minuets felt like hours. Everyone was drained both mentally and physically. It had been a month and a half and still no leads and no tapes. Despite his reservations he had visited Togusa's car. The blood by now was brown and dry. He walked around the steel frame looking inside for clues. There where rumors of organ stealers taking entire families but alive not dead or half way to it. Plus the possibility of it really happening was hard to imagine. First off, taking a whole family would undoubtfully raise alarms. The only way it could've been successfully pulled off was either immigrants or if the families went to sell their organs willingly, yet here it was a real life case of the improbable. The car was hit on the passenger side blood work confirmed it was Cathy's, her blood loss suggested she would've only lived a few hours at best. Little Jesse was in her car sea behind her father there was no real way to tell about her injuries but it was supposed she most likely died of a broken neck before the car hit the guardrail. Ishikawa had reconstructed the crash from all known data. Togusa was driving, Cathy was in the passenger seat, and Jesse was behind her father in her car seat. The car was hit by a 20th century relic of a Hum ve determined by skid marks on the road. The Togusa's car was knocked with such force it slid into the on coming lane colliding mainly on the drivers side with a second car a sedan killing the occupants, and then skidding in circles until it crashed back on the other side of the road agenst the guard rail. Judging by this mess and the force it would've taken it was assumed Jesse's neck would've broken under the stress. On the tape Togusa's body seemed to support where he was with his face cut bruising on the chest and left arm, right side cut possibly by glass. His legs sustained the most damage, being crushed with the pedals and scratched by incasing metal. The air bag saved him but not his wife. It seemed that both car's occupants were then loaded into the Humve and left where they crashed. Now back in his office Batou was wondering if his partner, like his family were indeed dead by now. The sinking feeling felt worse everyday. He couldn't sleep much less eat. Teetering on the verge of a collapse he sat at his desk staring at a blank piece of paper. He had tried yet again to reach Togusa via the neural COM but still no luck; just like the other 1000 times he'd tried.
" What are you doing Batou?" the Major asked walking up behind him. She too sounded drained and tired.
" Trying to contact him again…." He sighed heavily, " I think I'm going crazy Major. I keep doing this hoping to reach him."
" The only reason you can't is either the signal is being jammed or the alternative…." She trailed off not really wanting to finish anyhow, " I've talked to Ishikawa and he said that there have been similar incidents like Togusa's."
" Really?" he asked less then thrilled.
" At least 15 families have up and disappeared all of them natural and many with children."
" Sadistic freak!" he slammed his hand down on his desk, " where the hell does he get off with this!"
" Organs still run a hefty price tag these days. Not everyone is egger to become cyberized."
" That still doesn't mean you can just kill whole families and use them as spare parts!"
The sound of a chair being rolled across the floor sounded along with a sigh.
" You almost sound like you where the one married Batou…." She placed her arms on top of the chair and resting her chin on them.
" You remember that case we worked on with the medical students?"
" Yeah. Punk kids wanting to make a quick buck switching labels on removed organs."
" Yeah. They wanted to get into the organ business so badly but never really looked into its down falls."
" Yeah I know but those kids learned their lesson and they weren't any where near yakuza."
" I can't help but think a local yakuza is behind this. It would make sense."
" I thought of that too Major, but what doesn't make sense is how can even low lives like them keep something so big under wraps like this? Some one would leak the information especially sense one of our own is up."
" I know. It can't just be this man. Nor could an entire team of 4 – 15 people keep something so important this air tight."
" Their car yielded nothing but a lot of blood and twisted metal…..I just don't get how a car crash could occur and no one see or hear anything. Even if their eyes were hacked I doubt they would forget it."
" If their memories were wiped that would've explained the lack of recall, but no evidence of tampering had occurred. Togusa's neighborhood wasn't that populated so early in the day any how it's easy that no one could've been out and seen anything."
" Which puts us in square one and down to zero."
" I know."
"….Do you think that freak would send us another tape?"
The purple haired woman sat up straight and placed her folded arms on her knees.
" Where did THAT come from?….why the hell would you want to experience all that shit again?"
The large blonde turned around in his chair to look at her sitting backwards on her's.
" I didn't say I WANTED that. Shit I'm still having nightmares. But I don't know what the hell else there is! We have nothing it's been a damn month now and nothing! I just want to know if he's fucking alive or not! I don't know about you Major, but I can't handle the fact that my partner is being tortured and raped by some psycho who wants to sell his organs!" He screamed standing up. She looked towards the doorway.
" Believe me. I want to know his condition too but I'm afraid he may already be dead, " looking back at her subordinate she added, " I'm sorry."
" Is the old man thinking of stopping our efforts?" he asked crossing his arms.
" Not yet but it's been a month and a half and still no leads. I don't want to give up on Togusa but what else can we do? There are no leads not even a hint of where to go who to find."
" We've worked with less?"
" No we haven't."
' Batou, Major, report to Ishikawa's office…..we got another tape.' Aramaki's voice interrupted the pair via neural COM. The pair exchanged less then thrilled looks and slowly did as they were told hoping that they wouldn't be paralyzed a second time.
As the pair entered Ishikawa's office Aramaki was already speaking.
" Did you check the file for a virus? "
" I did but just like the last one I've found nothing and nothing unusual in the coding of the file either."
" Do you think it will only activate once all members are online?"
" That's my theory sir. I think some how it knows when we are on line I've run various test with other personal, you and myself and as you know does not paralyze those online. I think it some how knows our unique codes and activates it through that."
" Would Togusa have been privy to that kind of information?"
" No. Sense every one here in Section 9 has different parts from different manufactures and given some are more cyberized then others each person has their own unique signature when accessing the network. Like a tail or trace if you will. It can't be duplicated nor can it be changed."
" Like the registration number on your car."
" Yeah, like that Batou if illegally changed one can not enter the net anywhere so in a way just like that. You can track a user with it and can even pin point where the user is logging in from."
" So the only way to activate that paralyzes emotion thing is for all of us to be online?"
" Yes I'm afraid so. I can't play the tape on any other device then what it was originally sent to us in which requires us to link to it. In a way it's like the assailant has downloaded his images and Togusa's feelings into the device."
" I mean I didn't think such a thing was possible with out directly plugging a brain case to an individual." Batou spoke up taking a seat.
" Your referring to back in the Laughing man case when Togusa was shot and we had a brain case linked with his mind during the surgery?"
" Yeah. I mean then we saw what he did and felt it too."
" In a way this isn't to unsimular to that except the fact that we are all paralyzed and instead of seeing through his eyes we see his captor's vision. I've only seen this used during the skinning case, and that was only through the killer's eyes with no feeling."
" That bastard expected me to kill him."
" I know you took that one pretty hard and it looks like your doing the same here."
" And how can I not? You aren't?"
" We all are….I guess now we'll find out if he's alive or dead."
" I'm not sure I want to know."
" Why can't we just view it with out all being online?"
" We can't when I say I've viewed it I mean I've viewed the code when two or less try to actually view it the image does not appear and sound becomes nothing but a mess. It's really weird it's like it needs us all in order to view it properly. Either that or it hacks our eyes and ears so we can't properly view it at all. The only reason we knew the first tape was of Togusa was because it had a recording that played fairly clearly in the static that told us it was him and to see it we all had to see it."
" You didn't mention any of that last time," the Major commented.
" No one asked before."
" Then I guess it remains to be asked if everyone really wants to know," Batou brought up leaning forward in his seat.
" I suppose that is the question," the Major retorted tiredly.
" Those who wish to know pick up a headset, " Aramaki commanded after a moment of silence.
Despite their nerves and nausea already building no one hesitated to pick up a headset, looking to Aramaki to give the ok. He took a deep breath before nodding to the others….
Time Unknown. Dark, always dark. He wondered how long he had been in this place, how long he'd been his toy, how long ? How long would he live ? How long had he? His mind and body as far as the crash was concerned was healing as well as was permitted between ill treatment and his restraints. The fog incasing his mind had cleared some what allowing him to think more clearly now. It was the only thing left that man couldn't touch. He'd been alone for some time he could only guess how long this would last. No one touching him, no noise, no nothing. Some time ago he thought he herd a voice being blind had some advantages at least, he figured it was his captor but it was rather muffled all he herd was, " They will be there tomorrow." Tomorrow? Was he referring to him? Suddenly the door slammed open loud smashing into and no doubt through the wall considering how loud the bang was. His mind reeled in agony and each muscle tensed. He heard the now familiar footsteps walk a few paces then stop.
" Now it's ruined Tougsa, " The man said angrily.
He herd something hit the floor it sounded like cloth a bag maybe? The footsteps sounded once more but at a quicker pace. He was suddenly punched hard in the stomach he thought he might throw up from the sheer force, all his air evaporated within him.
" Aren't you going to even ask what?" The man said voice filled with rage now directed at his helpless form.
Trying to gain air and speak proved a feat, " What? " He gasped still attempting to breathe.
" It's your fault, Togusa! All yours, " He said getting on the bed on all fours stratling his prisoner and ripping off the blind fold for the first time.
" What is? " He inquired after a moments breathe. Squeezing his eyes closed. The light hurt immensely.
" You. Your friends are looking for you asking around. Scaring my customers! You know all I wanted was you? Now look what you've done! " He yelled.
Strong hands wrapped tightly around Togusa's neck, " Wait! " He chocked before being silenced by lack of air. All he could do was pull harder then he ever had on his restraints in a vein hope of freedom. Despite the new form of pain he opened his eyes wide to take in the stranger's face.
" YOU! You could've been something. You were mine until they came into the picture. Now I have to kill you, " His rage building he squeezed harder Togusa almost stopped tugging on his binds, " I could've kept you you know. At first I was fine with killing you now after all this time with you I don't want to. Your organs would be so much money to me I know that, I planned that! Every sense I met you, but there's something about you, something that draws people in. No wonder they like you, that she loved you, " He stopped pulling all together almost dead now, he could see it in the man's eyes but he continued choking the brunette under him, " You changed my mind. You did. But now obligations call and you can't be, not now. Your friends have stirred up some pretty high people looking for you. I thought they'd look but not this hard. And that's your fault. See what your friend's made me do? Now I have to kill you if you didn't have such power over them you could've lived Two months with you isn't enough but now you're out of time. I could've loved you like no one else Togusa but your friend's have ruined that for you, " His anger lessening he released his hold. The hands gone and pressure released he gasped for air, in taking large amounts of it as if it was water and he'd been in a dessert for weeks with out it. The man looked down at Togusa anger filling him once more as his out pour was not met he shock his head then back handed the gasping man across his face. His breathing increased and he said nothing as he undid his pants and invaded his captive once more all his rage being poured into his current actions taking delight in the screams that escaped his soon to be dead lover. As he burned and ravaged the man below him he had a moment of clear thought, away of preserving this man for time. He momentarily stopped in his ministrations, " Let's make a tape, " was all he said breathlessly before continuing on…….