Chapter 4

Momoki stared down at the holographic projection of the steel room. His crossed arms concealed the ever tightening fist. If he could reach into the well and cuff Fukuda upside the head he would have done it. The stubborn ass not only kept Narihisago's real identity from him, but he'd argued about the solution before repeatedly letting his hand slip on the key.

"Sir?" Togo watched the points in the well projection. "We're not getting anywhere, it's already been twenty minutes. Is it really worth this exercise in futility? I doubt those two will ever truly be able to work together."

Heaving a sigh, he rubbed his eyes. "Extract them both. We'll have to scrap the run and get Hondomachi here. She and Narihisago will make short work of this even with the amnesia. I can't believe this, it's not like we were even asking that much."

Wakashika snickered. "Are you overlooking the fact we're working with a serial killer?"

Habutae eyed him. "What does that make Narihisago?"

"Uhh, well … Sakaido is more focused and cooperative. But, yeah, you got a point."

A commotion outside the door snapped them to attention.

Momoki stiffened. "Was that a gunshot?" He tapped on the line to Kokufu. "Chief?"

Silence. The line was dead. He looked at his phone, no signal.

The emergency lights strobed accompanied by the deep thud of the security lock down mechanism. That system had never activated before.

"This isn't good." Someone was right outside the door. Breaching it. "Everyone, keep your mouths shut. Let me handle this."

The door opened to the muzzle of an assault rifle held by a man in combat gear flanked by more. He cracked a grin and flexed his finger by the trigger. "Look what we got here. Ok, nobody move unless I tell you."

Everyone held their hands up, even on the upper ring.

~ID~

"Oops. Heh, just call me butter fingers, this panel keeps shutting on me." Anaido laughed over his shoulder as he shrugged. He savored the frustrated expression on Sakaido's face as he turned from the other end of the room. Certainly he should have said something immediately. But it was far too entertaining watching the fool stew in amnesiatic ignorance.

Why did the Wellside team find Sakaido effective? He was nothing but a blindly obedient dog bumbling around the wells fixating on the tiniest of details. And man, was he stubborn as hell. That didn't mean it wasn't hilarious watching him try to work out the impossible. In fact, it was easy as pie to prod him into doing just that.

"Maybe your key is broken?" Sakaido wandered over and slid it out of the keyhole, examining it closely.

Fukuda's mind wandered. Four teeth, which meant four pins. Eight.

"Hrm, your key looks undamaged, that's not the problem. Let's try this. Take yours to the other end and see if that panel works. It doesn't look like they are different, but it might be. Could be a chip on the inside that has to match."

Anaido took it and waved it in the air three times. "Great idea, buddy!" As he moved off, he grinned to himself.

Sakaido searched the ground. "Hey, wait a minute … where did my key go?"

"Uh oh. Don't tell me you lost it." Or that someone pocketed it. Heh heh heh.

"I just had it."

Perceptive, isn't the brilliant detective. If only he knew how much fun it is to confuse the hell out him. Wonder if I can slip it into his pocket without him noticing.

Suddenly gravity shifted, pulling them upward toward the ceiling. Sakaido scrambled in the air, "What the hell!"

Damn, looks like someone got sick of my antics. Still, they humored me longer than I thought they would. Good timing, the dang numbers were beginning to build, and they were all boring.

~ID~

Opening his eyes in the cockpit, Narihisago sat forward with a gasp. Getting pulled wasn't half as bad as actually dying, but it still entailed a short moment of disorientation. They'd been pulled … why? Momoki's order came back to his memory. Look Fukuda, it might be helpful to reveal his real identity, just to speed things up.

That son of a … He turned to face the other cockpit prepared to give Fukuda one hell of a chewing out, when Momoki's voice came over the speaker.

"Was that a gunshot? … Chief?"

Silence. Narihisago stiffened. Something was wrong

"This isn't good."

Fukuda started to chuckle. Snapping his hand up in a gesture for silence, Narihisago held his breath and cocked his head listening to the loud banging. Something was very wrong.

"Everyone, keep your mouths shut. Let me handle this."

Now Fukuda averted his eyes to the ceiling, not a peep from him.

A new voice barked out, "Look what we got here. Ok, nobody move unless I tell you."

Momoki answered sternly. "This is a restricted area. Who are you and what do you want?"

"Your new commander and chief, suit. What are you looking at, skirt? Oh hey, there's people above me. Ok, all three of you, down the steps where I can see you. Nice and slow like. Good. Join those two. Alright, who's in charge of this op?"

"In this room, I am."

"Here's what I want, and we'll be making sure you do this right, suit. Call all of security in here. When they arrive they are to hand their arms over to my comrade here. Got it? All of them. Here, now. If anything funny happens you will all regret it."

Narihisago swallowed deeply. This didn't sound good at all. The rattle of firearms carried on straps crackled over the speaker.

"Everyone take it easy. Togo, do as he asked. Let him watch the key strokes. There's something else that has to happen. I have to open the staircase for access so they can come up and you are standing on it, just step aside from the partitioned area. Yes, you're good there."

"No games!"

"I promise you, we value the safety of our staff here. There, now everything is unlocked. Security personnel should be up in just a minute."

Sure enough Narihisago and Fukuda turned their heads toward their closed door as the cacophony of footsteps passed on by before the corridor outside fell into silence. Then the speaker took over broadcasting the clattering, the surrender of security's arms.

Fukuda stared at Narihisago. Neither so much as uttered a word turning their wide eyes back to the ceiling as though they could see what was happening.

"This everyone?"

Momoki answered firmly. "Yes. That is all of security."

"Good. Kura is now officially under my command. All of you follow him. Let's go. Move it! Move it! Sarge, looks like we still have a few active signals, time to kill that."

"Right away, Commander."

They cringed as the speaker squealed its death and then even the low level buzz died leaving behind total silence.

Narihisago stared up at the ceiling, the only sound his slow shuddered breaths as he sat paralyzed in the cockpit. No doubt there was serious trouble outside the door. He knew what he had heard. His eyes darted to the door in question. No guard stood there to give him permission to leave. A sensation not unlike mild electricity jolted him as he even considered the idea. His thoughts stirred themselves into a maelstrom.

They are in danger. I have to do something.

This isn't a dive. You aren't Sakaido.

I have to do something! That doesn't matter … it shouldn't matter.

But it does. Sakaido is a strong willed, single minded hero able to move freely about his environment while sporting grand, superhuman skills in the pursuit of the truth. Who are you? You are Narihisago. An incarcerated criminal. You haven't been permitted to make a choice of your own in years. In this room no one has given you permission to stand, and you know the price of breaking the rules … so you can't. That is who Narihisago is. A shattered wreak with questionable self control who has been utterly stripped of autonomy.

That's not true!

Ah heh, but it is. You're paralyzed, incapable of consciously making a decision after years of being controlled.

You're wrong … I have made choices. I chose to lock most of my emotions away. That was conscious. I chose to come here, to Kura. I chose to become a Mizuhanome pilot.

So, you will now choose to be wrestled into the unforgiving concrete, painfully restrained—because you know how the guards just love it when you show the faintest initiative, it means your control is slipping in their eyes. They can't take any chances that you'll be nice, because they know what you're capable of when you loose your shit. You'll choose to be thrown into solitary confinement for an undisclosed time, because they never tell you anything. They don't have to tell you anything. Because you are not a full human being anymore. Are you even half of one? That's questionable.

Enough! There isn't time for grappling with bullshit! Momoki is in danger, I heard the nerves in his voice. I heard him trying to hide them. Sakaido's nature to save others? No matter what you say, that comes from me!

Stay put, like a good little prisoner.

No! I can't do anything if I stay here!

It was probably the span of less than a minute, but to Narihisago that battle of wills was an eternity too long. He took several shuddering breaths before he overcame the instinctual muscle lock and climbed out of the cockpit still staring up at the ceiling. This didn't feel right, and with every step he fought himself not to turn back and sit down so he would be where he'd been left.

He had to do this. Had to at least see if there was some way to discover what was happening to Kura, no matter the cost. What was he scared of? If he died in the process, then …

"Hrm, no green lights. No power to this thing anymore." Fukuda edged out of his cockpit as well. "Eh, if I heard that right, this place just got infiltrated. And we got forgotten about. Which means we're pretty much locked in here."

"As much as I hate to agree with you, I think you're right about the break in. Any way about that, that wasn't a typical interruption."

"You've never heard anything like that before?"

Narihisago shook his head, hand on the door. "Not in the year I've been here. Only a handful of people have access to the Wellside."

"How do you know?"

"Momoki explained the number of safeguards in place to keep people from reaching it … normally." He tugged on the door and it easily inched opened. He backed up as if the door would bite him. Unlocked? Did not expect that. Slowly he creapt forward and stuck his head out into the deserted hallway, listening for a moment. A strange sight caught his eyes, curved steps that from his experiences were typically not there. "Well, we're not locked in, which is odd. Usually it is locked for dives." He eyed the door's key panel. Momoki had said he'd unlocked things. Did that mean this door? On purpose?

"Cool. Field trip time." Fukuda started across the chamber.

Pointing at him, Narihisago glared over his shoulder. "You stay here." He had enough going on in his own head, let alone having to worry about what Fukuda was doing. After all, this was the man responsible for injuring Hondomachi.

"Aww, come on! You're not just going to leave me in here."

"Yes. I am." Came his acidic reply. "To put it into four words," he counted them on his fingers for emphasis, "I. Don't. Trust. You."

"Four is such a blah number. But anyway, why not?"

He eyed him sideways. "You have to ask? You didn't even follow Momoki's directions in the id well."

"But … "

"You're not stupid, Fukuda, why do you insist on acting like a frustrating moron? Now stay!"

Fukuda's shoulders slouched forward as he put his hands in his pockets.

Edging out into the corridor Narihisago moved slowly, ghosting toward the silent staircase. This felt all wrong, the electrical crawl down his nerves threatened to drive him back to the safety of compliance. But if he did … something told him that despite the debate he didn't really have much of a choice here anyway. If the others were taken from the building and he simply waited in the chamber indefinitely for a command that would never come? I hope I read this situation right and Momoki meant for me to do this … or else I may find myself permanently in solitary confinement. Not exactly a comforting prospect.

Step by painstaking step, he climbed the winding staircase. No wonder why he had never glimpsed a door leading out of the cell block floors. The damn thing was in the ceiling. Only now that he was passing through without his gaze permanently glued to the floor, did he spot the sliding panels that raised and lowered the cascade of the steps. Clever. This would seal off the cell blocks entirely. No control panels on the walls here. He doubted there was a way to open the passage from below, preventing prisoners from escaping. He'd never been on this particular staircase though, so there had to be another passage to the cell block from the parking garage. Of course, if memory served him right, those stairs had also emerged from similar panels in the wall, he just hadn't been particularly observant the day he'd arrived. It really had been a very secure facility from this end of things.

Cautiously he poked his head up into the large circular chamber. It was vacant, but sure enough this had to be the Wellside room. A huge cylindrical chamber reached upward several stories toward narrow windows where what he assumed was daylight poured in. In the center a 3D holographic ring projector hung suspended from a wire cradle, the space currently empty. On the upper rim more stairs lead up to a series of darkened work stations. Scuff marks on the floor revealed where most of the activity happened. He could easily guess where Momoki stood.

He picked up a discarded tablet and hit the power button. It was dead. Hrm, I'm guessing some form of EMP. With all the sensitive equipment it must take to run this place, that's a bad sign. It was useless now. Discarding it, he turned to the door.

"Whoa! Would you look at this setup!"

Narihisago spun around to the staircase and snapped at Fukuda. "I know I told you to stay put!"

With his hands in his pockets he offered a lazy grin. "I can't say I hadn't thought about it. Then I decided I'm really not a dog."

"This isn't a game, Fukuda. Actual lives are potentially in danger, death doesn't have a reset button on this side. Go back down there and wait. Now!"

"Uhhh, nah. Besides," he slouched, "you can't really make me."

Narihisago flexed a fist for a moment before he released it with a grunt. He couldn't just hit him and knock him out. Nothing to tie him up with. Damn my ill luck. "Pain in the ass. You can't just go wandering around Kura."

He scratched his chin with his middle finger. "Why not? Looks like you intend to."

"I'm not going to wander aimlessly." Narihisago narrowed his eyes, fighting the urge to do something about that rude gesture. There were more important things than breaking his finger. "I'm going to find out what happened to the Wellside team."

Fukuda chuckled. "Hate to point the obvious out to you, pal, but you do realize you're helping the guys that are holding you captive. Seems a little dim-witted."

"Dim-witted would be taking life decision advice from a guy who drilled a hole in his own head."

Closing the distance in his casual slouch, Fukuda slapped a hand on Narihisago's shoulder. "You got a point there, friend."

He flinched, jaw clenching as his eyes shifted down to the hand before shrugging it off roughly. "First off, I am not your friend. Second, touch me again and I will personally put you back in a coma!"

"Jeez, tetchy are we? I was just trying to … "

"I don't have time for your asinine bullshit." He pointed to the door below the upper platform. "Since you won't stay put and I don't have time to drag your ass back to the cells, you're gonna be where I can keep an eye on you."

Fukuda scratched the scarred side of his face. "I really gotta ask, I'm reading some kind of strange loyalty to this Momoki guy. Not that mister frowny-face isn't … heh heh heh, my experiences with him don't stir a desire to go find him. But you, that's what you're worried about. Yet, Momoki is the one who sent you into solitary after … "

Narihisago grabbed his collar and shoved him out the door. "You really don't know when to shut it. Now move, drill bit!"

"Oooo, solid burn."