Smoke and Mirrors
.
.
.
Chapter 2: Drastic times, drastic measures
.
.
.
.
The taste of metal pulled Sakura off her reverie. With a sharp inhale, she sucked the tiny bead of blood that broke through the surface of her lips. The past thirty minutes seemed like climbing someone's dusty, forgotten attic and breaking open every abandoned box full of acrid memories–memories which were pushed back to the darkest depths one's faculty, not by desire nor choice, but by scorn and the feeling of powerlessness. With every word the dark-haired man spoke, Sakura could feel the controlled anger bubbling with every lilt and intonation of his words. His voice, distinct and baritone, was seemingly uninterested yet at the same time so charged with bridled fury. It echoed from the room and permeated the stifling silence like a drop of ink on clear water. Sakura wondered, as she wrapped her utility jacket around her body, how it would be like to be subjected under this man's gaze if the intensity of his voice is enough to turn the atmosphere between the two rooms chilling.
She heard the rustle of Ibiki's jacket as the man leaned back on his chair, the sheer amount of revelations from the past half an hour giving his massive shoulders a slight slump. Taking a sharp inhale, he bellowed through the microphone, "Alright, Uchiha. That's enough for today." before pressing a button that turned off the mic.
Everybody in the observation room released a sigh.
Kakashi threw a look at Ibiki. "That's new if I say so myself." The larger man remained quiet, but nodded, his brows furrowing deep in thought.
"What do you mean that's new? I thought he was interrogated when he was arrested?" Sakura asked. "Why are we discovering all these just now?"
"I wasn't part of the interrogation when he was captured," Ibiki began. "But my guess is he was already pegged as guilty even before he was questioned by whoever did it two years ago. It affects the questions asked and how they're asked. Today, he's interrogated not as a suspect but as a witness. And we don't have pre-existing opinions on him that could've clouded our questioning."
"That's not just." Sakura murmured.
It was Kakashi who chuckled. "Nothing is purely just, kiddo." Sakura threw him a look that cut at the mention of the nickname. "But it's the same loopholes we can use to take a stab at Juubi."
"That is If we get him to agree." Ibiki added, rising from his chair and wordlessly trudging to the door. The masked man and the blossom-haired woman followed, the warden bowing at their trail.
.
.
.
The very next day, Sakura received a transcription of the interrogation in her email. Scanning through the words, she mused at how so much information was revealed yesterday yet at the same time, felt like it was still just the tip of the iceberg with the entire Juubi case. After reading the transcript for the third time, she clenched her eyes and slammed her laptop shut before striding her way to Kakashi's office.
A muffled "come in" was heard from behind the wooden door after she rapped it three times. Shutting the door after she entered the room, she plopped down on his weathered brown couch and pretended to be interested in the books lining his bookshelf.
"If you ask me, I would've pegged you'd be coming here fifteen minutes ago." he said, not looking up from the reports he was immersed in when she entered.
"I read the transcript three times," she replied, matter-of-factly. "Just in case I missed anything." Kakashi gently shut the folder and looked at her. "I want to know how you plan to get him on board though."
"I'm not entirely sure, either." he sighed. "He's on clemency from the plea deal our mole did with us. But I spoke to the high court last night and they agreed to offer him a pardon if he's able to help us take down Juubi."
"You spoke to Tsunade?" Sakura interjected, mirth marring her voice. No wonder the man looked so tired. Tsunade was infamous for her verbal lashings, her impeccable record aside.
"Yep. So don't speak so loud, my ear is still ringing." he replied, pointing to his ear. Sakura guffawed. "He has a record, but we can warrant him a temporary release for the purpose of acting as a witness to the case. After all, the weight of his sentence is mostly due to his association with Juubi."
"What's on his record?" Sakura wanted to know. Especially if he is their main source of intel moving forward.
"Fraud, money laundering, assault–from his Juubi association."
"What about the rest?"
"Attempted murder" he flatly replied. "He managed to survive the raid two years ago because our mole purposely mislead him to go to another of their hideouts. His entire family was killed. He plotted to murder the Juubi leader as revenge, but we arrested him a few weeks after when the force was scouring for remnant gang members that may have escaped the raid." Kakashi thought back at the cold, firm gaze the man held from yesterday. "From what we saw yesterday, we got extremely lucky when we arrested him. He was too careless then–simply because he was livid."
Sakura nodded, letting the words sink in. Uchiha Sasuke was their best bet to reignite the trail against Juubi, which was exactly why he must be approached with extreme caution. A small misstep, even the wrong word can render him uncooperative and bring them back to square one. Yet at the same time, the knowledge that he once attempted to bring down Juubi and failed meant that they at least had something in common with him.
"The court sent the pardon offer to his attorney this morning. They should be discussing it by now."
"Alright then," she pulled herself up from the couch. "Let me know if anything happens." Kakashi nodded, as he waved her out of his office. Sakura was about to swing open the door when she paused, twisting her body enough so she can look at her boss before speaking. "And don't call me kiddo anymore, for God's sake. I make your investigation and intelligence division look good on the press."
A laugh escaped from Kakashi, "Sorry about that. Sometimes I forget that you're no longer that criminology intern who had a knack for fixing the computers." Sakura shook her head, rose tendrils escaping her bun. She took a bow and left the room. From behind the wooden door, the rustling of papers was heard.
.
.
.
Two weeks went by and Sakura found herself immersed in a number of minor cases. Checking her calendar on her phone, Sakura inwardly made a note that this Monday marked the start of the third week since the Uchiha was offered a pardon deal. She tucked her phone back in her pocket as she zipped through the beeline towards the briefing hall of the station. The smell of freshly brewed coffee hitting her nostrils as soon as she entered the hall.
The other police officers were already settled on their seats, halfway through a customary donut-and-coffee combo. Sakura found herself waiting her turn on the coffee machine, wishing in her head that there would be some left for her before having to brew another batch. She was able to pour herself half a cup's worth. She would just come back later.
The chit-chat died down when Kakashi entered the room and took his place to speak at the front. After the formalities, he provided his usual updates and task assignments for each squad, until he finally reached Sakura.
"As for Haruno," he began. "I'm taking you off all your current cases."
A sound of shifting chairs punctuated the silence the announcement brought as everyone looked back at her form, leaning at the wall next to the coffee machine at the back of the room. Sakura felt her face heat up from the sudden attention and the fact that she was being relieved of all her current cases.
"What?!" It was all she could muster.
Kakahi closed his folder with a finality. "The Uchiha said yes. I need you full-time on the Juubi case."
.
.
.
TBC