Ch. 51: Escape
The doors to the ballroom swung open as both Kae and Lelouch bursted into the lit waiting room. The usher standing next to one of the doors was instantly knocked out due to the impact of the door hitting him. Passing the altar and the portrait of the late Prime Minister, both Kae and Lelouch headed to the door that lead to the main hall.
"So what's your plan now?" Kae frantically asked.
"Head for the main entrance! Hopefully the rest of the palace's security hasn't been notified." Lelouch answered.
Both of them ran out into the main hall of the palace. It was then they saw several guards stationed in front of central stairway that led to the palace's exit. Kae and Lelouch, realizing they didn't have the time to take out the guards, continued to run down the long hallway. The guards blocking the stairway spotted the two of them running down the hall and proceeded to pursue them. Pulling out their pistols, the guards fired several shots. Bullets could be seen ricocheting off the decorative walls and marble pillars as they barely missed the two.
"I thought you had this all figured out?" Kae frustratingly yelled.
"I did!" Lelouch yelled back. "However I never conceived they could muster a response of this magnitude in such short amount of time to be feasible!"
Another bullet whizzed passed them and impacted a marble pillar, causing bits of marble to fly off.
"Just come up with something that gets us out of here alive!"
Kae immediately hid behind one of the pillars and instructed Lelouch to do the same. She then quickly tossed Lelouch a spare pistol she kept hidden in a holster tied to her thigh. Both of them then shot back at their pursuers.
One of the guards was instantly killed as one of the bullets lodged itself into his head while two other guards were hit in the arm and stomach respectively. The two guards tightly clenched their wounds and fell to the ground. The remaining guard then shot several rounds at Kae and Lelouch. Both retreated behind the pillar supports. Though they weren't hit, one of the bullets managed to graze Kae's arm.
"You ok?" Lelouch asked.
"I'm perfectly fine! Nothing I can't handle!" she responded as he rubbed the spot the bullet slightly grazed her.
Half a dozen guards wielding katanas appeared in the hallway and joined up with the remaining guard shooting at Kae and Lelouch. The guard pointed to the spot where the both of them were hiding. The katana-wiedling guards then proceeded to charge down the hall.
Seeing that there were too many coming after them, Kae and Lelouch left their hiding spots and continued running down the hall.
"So what's your escape plan now? We obviously can't go back through the main exit!" Kae yelled as she ran.
"No kidding! Just give me a second!"
"This is extremely problematic. Because this escape plan was so risky, I was hoping this emergency escape wouldn't have to be used. Never expected such a fast response by the authorities." thought Lelouch as he ran."The main exit is currently not an option. We could break one of these windows and escape through them. No that wouldn't work. We're on the upper floor, meaning a jumping out of a window at such a height would at least break our legs. Another option would be to find another exit. However by the time we found those security would be fully mobilized and positioned."
It was then an idea popped into Lelouch's head.
"Service elevator!"
"What?" Kae asked.
"The service elevator! There should be one in the kitchen which has to be nearby. And if I'm correct, the elevator will take us to the loading dock, which hopefully won't have any guards blocking our escape."
"Seeing how we don't have any other options at the moment, that sounds like a good idea!" Kae replied.
The both of them turned right at the corner of the hallway. Kae then took the opportunity to look back and shoot at some of the soldiers pursuing them. While one guard was shot in the leg and lost his balance, the other guards, not phased by the gunshots aimed at them, continued their chase. She then tried shooting the remaining guards, but her gun was out of bullets.
"Damn it! Those guards aren't easily phased by death as previous enemies." said Kae.
"What did you expect from Imperial Guards, people trained to give up their lives to protect the Imperial Family!"
As Lelouch continued running down the hallway, he could see in the distance a waiter in a suit pushing what appeared to be a dish covered in a large silver dome on a serving cart. He then assumed that the man came from the kitchen.
In the distance on the other side of the hallway, another group of guards wielding katanas could be seen.
"THERE THEY ARE! DON'T LET THEM GET AWAY!" yelled one of the guards pointing at the pair.
Because Kae's gun was out of bullets, Lelouch shot at the guards in front of him. The loud gunshots immediately caught the attention of the waiter. Out of fear, the waiter let go of the serving cart and ran away from the area.
Like before, only two of the guards were hit. The unscathed guards raised their katanas and charged at them. Realizing that he did not have enough bullets to take down all the guards, Lelouch saw the abandoned serving cart and came up with an idea. He grabbed the cart and with all the force he could muster push towards the guards. Once it had enough momentum, he then let go and watched the cart speed down the hall.
Only realizing what was coming at them at the last second, the large metal serving cart crashed into the guards. The sound of metal slamming echoed throughout the room as the guards were knocked down onto the ground and were covered with raw fish that was going to be served.
"C'mon! This way!" Lelouch yelled.
Both him and Kae entered the room they saw the waiter exit before. Inside was a large kitchen full of food, bottles of wine, and a whole assortment of cooking ware. Several chefs could also be seen hard at work preparing various dishes.
"Excuse me sir, but you are not allowed to be in here and..." said one of the chefs.
Lelouch grabbed him aimed his gun at the chef's head.
"Listen to me carefully. If you value your life, then you will direct me to the service elevator without hesitation."
"Ok! Ok! Please don't kill me! Just follow me!" the scared chef said.
While he followed the chef to the service elevator, Lelouch instructed Kae to watch his back. She complied and focused on the kitchen door, knowing that the guards pursuing them were about to barge in.
Because her gun was out of bullets, she needed to find something she could defend herself with. It was then she noticed several paring knives sitting next to a bowl of oysters on a nearby counter.
The kitchen entrance then bursted open as two guards entered the kitchen. It was then Kae grabbed the paring knives and threw them at the guards. One of the guards immediately cried out in pain as his arm and chest were pierced by the sharp knives.
"WHY YOU LITTLE..." grunted the second guard as he pushed the first one away. He then charged at Kae and swung his katana at her. Fortunately she managed to duck at the last minute. He then attempted to slash at her again.
Kae kept stepping back as she repeatedly dodged the swinging katana. Seeing an opened bag of white flour nearby, she quickly grabbed the bag and threw it at the guard. Naturally the guard tried to deflect the bag by swinging his katana at it, but all it really did was cut the bag open and filled the air with flour. Noticing that the he was temporarily blinded, Kae took the opportunity to kick him in the chest, causing him to go flying into the wall.
A third guard out of nowhere appeared in the kitchen and charged at Kae once he spotted her. She immediately ran out of the way, narrowly missing being hit by the blade as it only managed to cut a piece of her dress off along with knocking some cooking ware onto the ground.
"DAMN IT! HOW PERSISTENT ARE THIS GUYS?" Kae asked herself.
Meanwhile Lelouch continued following the chef until he stopped in front of a large elevator door.
"Now this service elevator leads to the loading dock?" he asked the scared chef.
"Yes it does." the chef replied. "All you have to do is hit the green button here. That will bring the elevator to this floor. Inside you'll find a red button that will bring you down."
"Good. Now if you value your life, leave as fast as you can."
The chef immediately nodded and ran away.
"KAE! HOLD THEM BACK FOR A MINUTE OR TWO!" Lelouch yelled.
"EASIER SAID THAN DONE!" she yelled back as she dodged another swipe, causing the guard to accidentally knock over tons of sliced up meat and fish off the countertop.
It was then while she was running that Kae slipped on cooking oil that spilled from a nearby bottle, causing her to fall. As she her back hit the ground, she saw the guard standing above her ready to swipe his katana into her. Just as his blade was about to make contact with Kae's forehead, she grabbed a rolling pin next to her and used it to block the blow. While she managed to block the katana, the sharp blade instead dug itself into the wood of the rolling pin. As the guard applied more and more pressure, the rolling pin started to slowly crack.
"HEY...COULD...USE...SOME...HELP HERE!" Kae stuttered as she struggled to continue blocking the katana, that was now only a few inches above her forehead, with the rolling pin.
Lelouch immediately turned around and saw Kae struggling to block the guard's katana from slicing her. He slammed the green button to call up the service elevator before running over to assist Kae. As he ran towards Kae, Lelouch looked to his right and saw a pot of hot soup that was still being heated on a stove. Grabbing the pot with a rag lying nearby, he ran towards the guard who was focused on Kae and splashed the boiling hot soup onto the guard's face.
The guard yelled "AAARRRGGGHHH!" in pain as he covered his now reddened face. Seeing that he was incapacitated, Kae ran towards him and punched him several times in the chest before kneeing him in the groin. Unable to bear the pain of being burned with boiling soup and beaten up, the guard fell down and lost consciousness.
"Thanks. That was a close one." Kae replied.
A loud "DING!" sound could then be heard indicating the service elevator had reached the kitchen.
Turning around, Lelouch led Kae towards the service elevator. As he opened the door and prepared to enter, Kae spotted three more guards burst into the kitchen.
Needing to at least kept them away until they got into the elevator, Kae decided to throw whatever she could get her hand on at the guards, hoping it would hinder their advance. Seeing a box full of bottles of expensive wine, she approached it and threw one bottle after another. The guards immediately found themselves being splashed with wine and pelted with pieces of glass as the bottles shattered near them.
One wine bottle, however, shattered near a stove that was left lit. The flame ignited the alcohol in the wine, causing a large fire to spread throughout the kitchen. The spilled cooking oil and grease that covered the kitchen floor and counters exacerbated the situation and turned the kitchen into a burning inferno. Because the flames were growing at an alarming rate, the guards were unable to cross the kitchen.
"Kae c'mon!" Lelouch yelled as he waited in the service elevator.
She quickly ran into the service elevator in order to get away from the blazing heat. Lelouch then slammed the red button inside the elevator, causing the elevator car to lower.
"Well that was unexpected." Lelouch replied.
"Hey at least it bought us enough time to get in this elevator." said Kae as she was brushing some dust and debris off her now tattered and stained dress. "So, what do we do next?"
"Once we reach the loading dock we'll head to the nearest exit. From there we'll meet up with Park and get out of here."
A loud "DING!" could be could heard once more as the elevator arrived at the loading dock. Both Lelouch and Kae got out of the service elevator and looked for the exit. They carefully traversed through the maze of wooden boxes in order to not catch the attention of any potential guards. Lelouch peeked his out from behind one of the boxes and looked both ways before proceeding forward. He then signaled Kae that the coast was clear.
Both of them then saw a closed garage door in the distance leading to the outside. They quickly ran to it and saw that the large metal doors were locked on both sides. The two then went to the opposite sides of the garage door and pulled the latches that kept it locked. Once it was unlocked, Lelouch and Kae both grabbed onto the garage door handles.
"Alright on the count of three. One...two...three!" Lelouch said as both he and Kae simultaneously pulled upward with all the strength they had.
The metal door made a screeching sound as it was being slowly lifted off the ground. The two of them then exited the loading dock once there was enough space between the floor and the garage door to squeeze through. They then immediately ran in the direction of the rendezvous point. As they approached the area where all the guest's cars were parked, Lelouch and Kae scanned the area for Park and the car he drove them in. In the corner of her eye, Kae spotted their car and alerted Lelouch of its location.
Lelouch approached the driver side of the car and could see Park patiently sitting in the driver's seat. He then got closer and tapped the window in order to catch Park's attention. Surprised, Park quickly turned his head towards the window and rolled it down once he saw it was Lelouch.
"What's going on?" Park asked.
"No time to explain!" Lelouch quickly explained. "We need to get back to base as soon as we can!"
Park then nodded and started the car while both Lelouch and Kae entered the rear passenger seats. Once they were in, Park shifted gears and pressed the gas pedal, causing the car to bolt forward. Park then drove the car down the main pathway they took earlier and headed towards the Palace's gates. As they reached the gates, they could see the guard they encountered before. Park immediately floored it and had the car charge towards the gates.
The guards immediately took notice of the car speeding towards them. They then tried waving to arms in order to catch the attention of the driver. Once it became apparent that the car had no intention of slowing down, the guards quickly ran out of the way and raised their rifles.
Several gunshots could be heard going off as the guards shot at the car. The sound of bullets ricocheting soon followed as the bullets hit the car's metal surface. One bullet however hit one of the car's front windows, causing it to break.
Lelouch, Kae, and Park all ducked down when they started to hear gunfire. Nevertheless, Park kept his foot on the gas pedal and had the car continue speeding towards the gates.
"HOLD ON!" Park yelled as the car was about to hit the Palace Gates.
Eventually the car crashed through the gates, causing the gates to be ripped from their hinges while also heavily denting the front end of the car. The broken pieces of the gate fell down onto the paved surface. Park then turned the steering wheel and slowed the car slightly in order to make a sharp turn. Once the car was turned, Park slammed the gas pedal again and had the car speed away.
Back at the Palace, Hirohito, followed by Kojima and some Palace guards, walked into one of the Palace lounges in order to separate themselves from the guests.
"So everything so said is correct and accurate Kojima?"
"Yes your Highness. The decoded messages have been deciphered enough to clearly indicate Mr. Lamperouge is communicating with our enemies."
"The only thing we have to now is find him. That little blackout before had to be his doing." Hirohito replied. "Captain, what's the status on the situation now?"
"Not too well your Highness. I've been told that some of the Palace guards managed to spot and pursue Mr. Lamperouge and his female companion, but lost them when a fire in the kitchen broke out, thereby preventing them from continuing the pursuit." the Captain answered.
"I see. The only way they could've escaped through the kitchen would be through the service elevator. From there they could sneak out of the Palace." the young Crown Prince said to himself. "Captain, have the guards search the entire grounds!"
"Yes your Highness." the Captain said as he quickly bowed before leaving the lounge.
"Sir, obviously Mr. Lamperouge is more clever then we thought. Somehow he managed to even infiltrate the Palace's electrical wiring and cause a blackout. It's therefore a small possibility that he could successfully get away. What do we do then?" asked a worried Kojima.
"We proceed with our plan as scheduled. Mr. Lamperouge's stunt tonight doesn't harm our plans in the slightest. The main reason I want him captured is so we can extract more information on the Provisional Government the chons have set up along with the Black Army. Nevertheless, the focus should primarily be on getting the Regency declaration approved."
It was then a guard came running into the room and bowed to the Crown Prince quickly.
"Your Highness an urgent report from our guards stationed at the front gates! An automobile moving at ridiculous speeds was seen leaving the Palace! The guards at the gate tried to stop it, but it simply just knocked down the gates and sped away!"
"Did the guards manage to get a good look at the car?" Hirohito asked.
"From what they could tell, the car was black and it was luxurious."
"Alert the city police to look out for a car that matches the description of the one the guards at the gate saw. Tell them that the driver and the passengers of that car are to be arrested and detained immediately without question. Also have officers sent to Mr. Lamperouge's residence in the Kyōbashi District."
The guard, like the Captain before, quickly bowed and left.
Lelouch and Kae were looking out the window as Park drove the car through the busy streets of Tokyo. Park honked the horn of the car whenever they caught in traffic.
"C'mon move it!" he yelled when several cars in front of them were not moving fast enough.
"Glad we got out of there in one piece." Lelouch said.
"But where did Roh, Seo, and Jeong go?" Kae asked.
"Don't worry. I instructed them to return back to home base when they were done with their mission. They should be waiting for us there."
"Still, what the hell happened back there?"
"One of the guards who came to arrest me stated Konoe and Kojima managed to not only intercept our communications, but also managed to crack out codes. From there they were able to find a direct connection between me and the Black Army." explained Lelouch as he wiped some sweat from his face.
"Wait, so that means all our communications are vulnerable now? Other communication channels we've established use those same codes. If the Japanese authorities start decrypting those, then we're in deep trouble." a panicked Kae replied.
"I'm obviously aware of that! Fortunately I've created a backup code in case the first one was compromised. However I still need to contact Shanghai and alert them of the situation."
"Hey guys, sorry to interrupt, but we have bigger problems up ahead." said Park as he pointed forward.
Set up down the road was a police checkpoint. All drivers going down the road were stopped by the police and interrogated before being allowed to proceed.
"Damn it! The Palace must've alerted the police of our escape." Lelouch muttered. "And this is the road to the Kyōbashi District."
"Couldn't we just turn back and evade the checkpoint?" Park asked.
"We don't have time. Besides being hunted down by the Japanese government, a majority of our communications are at risk. We need to get back to the house as soon as possible and enact the emergency escape plan." explained Lelouch as he continued to sweat. "Park, like with the gate before, slam the gas pedal and speed past the checkpoint."
"Are you sure sir?"
"JUST DO IT!"
Park immediately slammed the gas pedal. The car whizzed down the street and swerved back and forth between traffic, resulting in nearby drivers honking their horns. Like the Palace guards at the gate, when the police saw the car approaching, they attempted to signal it to slow down. However the car maintained its speed and overran the checkpoint. Several police officers jumped out of the way and knocked down the wooden traffic barricade. Lelouch and Kae looked back through the car's rear window and saw the police officers aim their pistols at the car.
"DUCK!" Lelouch yelled.
The sound of gunshots could be as he grabbed Kae by the head and forced her to duck her head. Bullets could be heard ricocheting off the car or shattering the rear window glass, causing tiny bits of glass to shower over the both of them. He then poked his head up again and saw the police officers heading to their cars parked nearby.
"Kae, I think we're going be pursued again. Park, give her your gun!"
Park immediately reached into his pocket and pulled out his handgun. He then tossed it to Kae who grabbed and cocked it. She then rolled down the passenger window and leaned out. In the distance she could see the headlights of the police cars in the distance speeding towards them. Kae shot several rounds at the pursuing police cars, causing nearby pedestrians to scream. The bullets simply ricocheted off the cars or cracked the front windows.
As Park continued to speed down the street he looked at the side mirror and saw a police officer lean out with a gun in a hand.
"Hold on tight!" he yelled as he yanked the steering wheel to the left.
The car jerked to leftward as Kae, who was still leaning out of the window, held onto the frame of the car. Several gunshots suddenly could be heard. Because of Park's rapid maneuvering, the shots missed them and instead hit a parked car and a street lamp.
"Damn it Park, give me a heads up the next time you try a stunt like that!" Kae yelled as she pulled herself back into the car.
"Is that all I get for protecting you? A thank you would be nice!"
The sound of bullets pelting the car could be heard once more as the police shot several more rounds at them. Once she had another opening, Kae leaned out of the car once more and shot at the police cars once more. One shot managed to knock out a headlight while another managed to penetrate the front window glass and hit the driver in the shoulder. With the driver shot, the police car would be seen swerving off the road and crashing into an utility pole.
"At least one of them is off our tail." Lelouch said as he raised his head and looked through the shattered rear window.
"BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!"
"Get down!" yelled Kae as she pushed Lelouch's head back down.
Park quickly swerved the car in between other cars on the road in order to avoid being hit. One of the shots however managed to puncture the rear tire of a truck ahead of them. Once the truck's punctured rear tire blew out, the truck lost it's balance and skidded diagonally across the road. Park, seeing the truck ahead, quickly turned the car in order to avoid colliding with it.
Once they passed the truck, Kae looked back and could see the police cars evading the crashed truck and continuing their chase. Cocking her gun, she leaned out once more and aimed the gun at them. Like before, a police officer popped out of the car and aimed his gun. Seeing him, she pulled the trigger and shot several rounds. Because the driver of the police car move the car out of the way, all of the shots missed. Then out of nowhere the police car behind the first one started to speed up. Since Kae was still comprehending what she was seeing, she failed to see the armed police officer already leaning out and in position. He fired several shots at her. She then suddenly felt a burning pain in her shoulder that was so intense, it caused her hand to let go of the gun.
"OH GOD DAMNIT THAT HURTS!" she screamed as he grabbed her shoulder and withdrew herself back into the car.
Lelouch, not worrying about protecting himself, sat upright once more to see Kae's condition. "ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!"
"UHH THAT BURNS! I THINK I JUST GOT SHOT!" she replied.
Letting go of her shoulder, both she and Lelouch could see her hand was painted crimson red as her shoulder was drenched with blood that started to flow down her arm.
"WE HAVE TO STOP THE BLEEDING!" Lelouch said.
He quickly took off his tuxedo jacket and tied it around Kae's shoulder as a makeshift tourniquet.
"Park how much longer till we get back to home base?!"
"It's only a few blocks ahead!"
"We have to loose these guys for at least a minute."
More gunshots could be heard as several more bullets ricocheted off the car.
In the distance Lelouch and Park saw an electric streetcar about to cross in front of them.
"Lelouch, can I just assume you want me to do what I think you want me to do?" Park asked.
"YES!"
Park for a third time floored the gas pedal and had the car achieve maximum speed. As they sped across the tracks, everyone in the car for a moment could see the lights of the streetcar shine brightly as it was about to hit them. Fortunately they barely just missed hitting the streetcar and continued speeding down the street. The streetcar operator, seeing the car cross in front of him at the last minute, quickly applied the emergency brakes. This caused the streetcar to block the road, causing the pursuing police cars to come to an immediate stop in order to avoid a collision.
"Whew...that was too close." Lelouch said as he sighed with relief.
"You can say that again. Anyway how's Kae back there?"
"She's doing ok for now Park. However she needs medical attention as soon as possible."
The car continued speeding down the street until they reached the apartment building. Park slowly parked the heavily battered car next to the sidewalk. Both him and Lelouch then immediately got out. The both of them then assisted the semi-conscious Kae by lifting her out of the car. They then carried her blood-soaked body to the front door and rapidly knocked at it.
Jeong approached the door and looked through the peephole in order to see who it was. After seeing it was Lelouch, Park, and Kae, he immediately unlocked the many locks on the doors and proceeded to open. Lelouch and Park quickly carried Kae into the apartment lounge where Roh and Seo were sitting in and rested her on the sofa.
"What the hell happened to you guys?!" Jeong asked as he shut and locked the door behind him.
"We were being chased by the police. Apparently the authorities managed to crack one of our codes and were attempting to arrest me. Fortunately the emergency backup plan allowed me, Kae, and Park to escape. However during our escape, Kae was shot and is in critical condition right now."
"I'm okay Zero!" muttered Kae who was trying to pull herself up. "Don't worry so much about me. I'll be able to..."
Suddenly a jolt of pain surged through Kae's shoulder, causing her to squeeze it and clench her teeth in order to make it easier to swallow it.
"Jeong, fetch us some morphine. We should have some in the medical kit in the kitchen. Park, Roh, Seo, I'm initiating an emergency evacuation."
Everyone in the room nodded and proceeded with their duties. While Jeong retrieved the medical kit and injected some morphine into Kae's shoulder, the others proceeded to gather as many essential documents they could find.
Once that was done with, Seo lifted one of the rugs, revealing a manhole built into the floor. He then lifted the cover off and climbed down into the dark sewage tunnel. A large splashing sound could be heard as Seo's feet hit the running sewage below.
"Uh this is so disgusting. Oh and the stench is unbearable!" he yelled as he covered his nose.
Because there was no lighting in the tunnel except for light coming through the manhole, Seo took out a trench flashlight he kept in his pocket and turned it on. The flashlight illuminated the sewage tunnel enough that one could see where they were going.
"Seo, go ahead and meet us at the escape boat. Tell them to prepare for departure immediately!" Lelouch yelled.
Seo proceeded to run down the narrow sewer tunnel. Meanwhile Lelouch turned his attention back to Kae, who was more conscious and feeling less pain than before due to the morphine injection.
"Doing ok?" he asked.
"I'm feeling much better than before. However...ouch...I still might have to take it easy a bit." she replied as she slowly stood up. "Though my shoulder still hurts like a son of a bitch, I should have enough strength to climb down on my own."
"That's good to hear."
The sound of several cars coming to a screeching halt outside immediately caught everyone's attention.
"I want this building to be completely surrounded! Prepare to breach the premises! And remember, we want the fugitive alive!"
"We have to get out of here now!" Lelouch said. "Did you guys manage to get all the important documents that you could get your hands on?"
"A few folders and record books have been secured." Park reported as he presented a satchel he was carrying.
"I guess that will have to do. Alright everyone, get down into the tunnel and I'll rendezvous with you at the other end."
"Wait where will you be?" Roh asked.
"Don't worry about me. Concentrate on the objective."
Every then nodded their heads and saluted him before descending down into the sewer tunnel.
The sound of someone banging on the door suddenly echoed throughout the building. "OPEN UP MR. LAMPEROUGE! WE HAVE A WARRANT FOR YOUR ARREST AND HAVE SURROUNDED THE PREMISES!"
Lelouch ran to the utility closet across the hall from the lounge and opened it. He then grabbed a large, metal toolbox off the shelf and opened. Inside was a clock connected to a firing mechanism.
"Never thought I would need to use this. Got to do this quickly!" he thought to himself.
"OPEN THE DAMN DOOR MR. LAMPEROUGE AND GIVE YOURSELF UP!" yelled the police officer banging at the front door. "THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE! OPEN THE DOOR!"
Like before, there was no response. The officer, now extremely frustrated, signaled the other officers to follow him as he prepared to kick down the door.
Two more police cars suddenly arrived at the scene. Exiting one of the cars was the Chief Inspector, who was saluted by the Sergeant overseeing the area.
"Alright give me the status of the situation Sergeant!"
"We have reports that the fugitive Mr. Lelouch Lamperouge bypassed the checkpoints and beat us here to his residence. However we have managed to surround the whole building and are preparing to storm it by force."
"That's good. According to the higher ups, it is the utmost importance we capture him alive."
"I have already assured my men of that fact sir." the Sergeant replied.
Several stomping sounds could be heard as the police officer leading the raid repeatedly kicked at the door. After kicking and slamming into it several times, the locked door swung open. The police officers, with their pistols raised, quickly charged into the building. Upon entering they found the apartment complex completely empty.
"Alright. Thoroughly inspect every room. They couldn't have escaped." the lead police officer commanded.
The police officers spread out and inspected each individual room thoroughly in hope of finding Lelouch. One officer in particular decided to check the kitchen. As he searched it, he started to smell something foul in the air. He continued to sniff the air in hope of finding the source of the smell. He eventually traced the smell to the gas stove, which was giving off a faint hissing noise. Closely examining it, the officer realized the sound and smell was coming from the gas line, which was left on.
Meanwhile the clock connected to the firing pin began ticking away as it sat in the toolbox hidden in the utility closet.
Outside the Chief Inspector was observing the scene from the outside with the Sergeant.
"Seems like the raid on the building went smoothly sir." the Sergeant said.
"Indeed it did. Mr. Lamperouge will be within custody any second now. There's no way he could've escape." the Chief Inspector replied.
"It would be a miracle if he did. My men have the building completely surrounded. They have their eyes on every window and opening they can spot."
Suddenly a deafening "KAAABOOOM! blasted through the air as the inside of the apartment complex exploded. A large pillar of fire could suddenly be seen bursting through the roof of the building. The explosion was so big that the Chief Inspector, the Sergeant, and other nearby officers lost their balance. Debris such as shattered glass showered the area as large flames of fire bursted through every single window. Some officers were injured by the shattered glass that was shot through the air.
The Sergeant immediately got himself up and helped the Chief Inspector back up. Both of them, still recovering from the shock of the explosion, stared at the apartment complex that was now a blazing inferno.
Lelouch was running down the sewer tunnel when he heard an echo from the explosion.
"That must mean that the trap I set up worked." he thought to himself momentarily as he quickly looked behind.
He then proceeded to continue running down the tunnel, causing raw sewage to splash onto his pants. Eventually the tunnel became brighter and brighter as he got closer to the exit. Upon reaching the end of the tunnel, Lelouch found himself at the harbor overlooking Tokyo Bay. Below he could see the steam of raw sewage flow into the water below.
Looking to his left, he could see a metal ladder leading to the top of the concrete retaining wall. He quickly leapt towards it and climbed upwards. Once he reached the top, he ran down the harbor and scanned the area. It was then he spotted Park and the others, along with several Japanese dockworkers and sailors, on a steamship in the distance.
Once they spotted Lelouch in the distance, they silently waved at him.
"I see you guys had no problem finding the boat I managed to reserve for us." Lelouch said as he boarded the ship.
"Well the fact you ordered us to review the escape plans over and over made it impossible to not know where everything was." Park replied.
Lelouch then approached one of the Japanese sailors on the boat. "Captain, prepare to set course for Shanghai immediately."
The Captain saluted back before ordering his crew to untie the mooring lines and raise the anchor.
"So who exactly are these guys?" Seo quietly whispered.
"They're Japanese sailors and dockworkers who have decided to work for the Black Army as spies us due to their pro-union beliefs, which the Japanese government currently suppresses. Because I feared we might need to evacuate at short notice, I arranged for them to help us escape at the last minute."
"Well that explains where the boat came from."
A humming sound could be heard as the engine of the ship started to run. The steamship slowly propelled itself out of the harbor and into the bay. The Captain then turned the wheel so the ship headed southwards towards the ocean.
Lelouch stepped inside and asked Jeong where Kae was. Jeong immediately led him to one of the cabins. Lelouch then knocked on the door.
"Come in." Kae said.
Lelouch opened the door and saw Kae laying down on a bed.
"So how are you feeling now?"
"Pain has started to come back, but's it not too bad. At least the bullet didn't hit anything major."
"Still we got to do something about it as quick as possible. Fortunately some of the sailors have some medical background and the ship has a surgical kit on board. They should at least be able to extract the bullet out." Lelouch explained. "Anyway it's good to see you are ok."
"Thank you Zero." she replied. "By the way I found out something at the party earlier when I was with Daisuke. One of the people attending was a General Yu Jingyi. Daisuke explained to me that he is a powerful officer within the Fengtian Clique and close ally of Zhang Zuolin. I saw him talking with Prince Aritomo about something."
"Interesting. I thank you very much for that information Kae. I am sure it will be of great use in the near future."
Zero then left Kae's room as he went and go find the sailors who could help treat Kae's injuries.
Author's Note: Lelouch and Kae, along with the rest of the Zero Squad, successfully escape the Japanese authorities and are heading back to Shanghai. We now know Hirohito and his allies are focusing more on China and is planning something with the Fengtian Clique. The only question is how does this tie in with the plan to have Hirohito proclaimed Regent.
Anyway, I once again thank everyone who is following and enjoying this story. I also wish everyone Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays