Chapter 16

Naozumi sat in his office,pouring over his files. He had been in there for hours,trying to keep himself busy. After what he saw the night before, Naozumi had gone home. Feeling angry and almost crazy,Naozumi had let out his frustration by smashing and throwing all of the furniture he could lift.

Sighing,Naozumi thought about how he was going to make the town's carpenter a very happy man. He needed new chairs,new tables, and a shelf.

So Naozumi went to his office. For the last six or more hours,he had been reading,re-reading and reading again the files mailed to him about the Silent Duo. Their was something there. He knew it. He just couldn't find it.

From what he could gather,the Silent Duo had been completely non-existent a few months ago. Then suddenly, in the southern part of Montana, a couple robberies began happening. From Montana,two people traveled south,robbing from big city banks,small town stores,and traveling strangers. All without saying a single word. To anybody. Not even each other.

To be able to know each other to the point of not needing words,the two members of the Silent Duo had to have been close friends for almost ever. And from the eyewitnesses,the boss seemed to have dirty blond hair,and a serious cold stare. The 'underling' had brown hair and wore glasses.

Also, they had been heading south,right toward Naozumi's jurisdiction. Right outside the town he lived in, the Duo robbed a citizen and rode toward town. And since no activities had been reported any farther south then there,the Duo must still be in town. And with it being such a small town,Naozumi should have seen them. Especially any strangers.

So the question was, was their a serious looking,dirty blond haired,young man,traveling with a brown haired,glasses wearing young man,who just recently arrived in town from Montana,in town right now? All the pieces fit. But Naozumi needed proof! So far,everything was just circumstantial.

"Damn it!" Naozumi yelled,throwing his files to the floor.

"Excuse me?" said a voice. Looking up,Naozumi saw a man standing in the doorway to his office. The man was tall,with skinny arms,but strong looking legs. His gray shirt and brown pants were covered in days worth of dirt. His hair was blond and filthy, his face just as dirty as the rest of him,and he was in need of a bath and a shave.

"C-can I help you?" Naozumi asked the man.

"Yes. Thank you." the man said. His voice was raspy,in need of refreshment.

"Would you like some water?" Naozumi asked.

"Yes!" the man said. Naozumi handed the man a glass and poured him some water. When the man was finished,he said "I'm sorry. I haven't had a drink in so very long."

"It's fine." Naozumi assured him. "Now, what is it you wanted?"

"Yes. My name is Samuel. Samuel Rogers. And I would like to report a robbery."

"A robbery?" Naozumi asked.

"Yes." answered Samuel. "I was robbed by the Silent Duo."

"What?" Naozumi stood up from his seat. "You were? By both of them?"

"Yes,sir." Samuel said. "I sure was."

'Dammit!' thought Naozumi. 'The one with the glasses hasn't left town for three days! If this is right,then it couldn't have been them! Damn,damn damn!'

"As I was sayin',sir" Samuel continued. "I was robbed by the Duo three days ago as I rode north into town with my brothers' carriage."

"What?" Naozumi said. "When?"

"Three days ago. They knocked out my driver and stopped the horses. But lucky for me,I was able to shoot one of 'em."

"You did what?" Naozumi said.

"I shot one,sir. The one with the glasses,like on them posters. Shot 'im twice right in the right arm. Tried to shoot the other one, but I missed and scared the horses. They took off runnin',east I think. Left me stranded out there in the dessert. Took everythin' I had to walk straight on,no stoppin',to this old town right here. Just to tell you,sir."

Naozumi sat in his office,stunned at what he just heard. He couldn't believe his luck. The one thing he needed had come walking right up to him. Proof. Proof of the Silent Duo's identities. There was no way around it. He knew who they were. 'And there is no escape for them.'

As he thought this,the sky flashed, boomed and opened up,making water fall down hard on the entire town.

/

Tsuyoshi sat in bed,feeling bored. He had finished his book,and Aya was still out. Knowing that he was going to be released to next day,Tsuyoshi began feeling jumpy and excited. Those feelings added to his boredom.

Sighing,Tsuyoshi turned to look out the window. The sky was a dark gray. Rain was on the way. As he stared,a man walked in front of Tsuyoshi's window. He looked dirty and lost. For some reason,Tsuyoshi felt like he knew that man. But from where?

The man moved on,and Tsuyoshi pondered where he could have known him from. He began to feel frustrated,not being able to remember. Then,he felt his shoulder pulsate. Putting a hand over it,Tsuyoshi suddenly remembered where the man was from. It was him. The man Akito and Tsuyoshi attempted to rob. The man who shot Tusyoshi.

Heart racing,Tsuyoshi climbed out of bed as fast as he could. His injured arm began to throb. Almost as if it was sensing it's attacker was nearby. Tsuyoshi got himself dressed,which took several minutes, and rushed to the door. As he opened the front door to leave the clinic, lightning flashed,thunder cracked, and rain poured down hard.

Tsuyoshi jogged down the street,running made his arm hurt worse. The falling rain landed on his glasses,ruining his vision. Tsuyoshi needed to find Akito. He had to tell him. As he searched,he ran into Aya.

"Tsuyoshi? What are you doing?"

"There's no time,Aya." Tsuyoshi said. "I need to find Akito. Do you know where he is?"

"No I don't. But I saw Sana heading out of town. Maybe he's with her."

"Thank you, Aya." He kissed her cheek and jogged off toward the edge of town.

/

Akito and Sana walked back toward town as they got soaked to the bone by the rain. Akito put his jacket over his and Sana's heads, so they had to walk incredibly close to each other. As they walked,Sana asked Akito "Why did you leave your home anyway?"

"It got too boring." Akito said simply. "I couldn't take it. I wanted some adventure. I asked if Tsuyoshi wanted to come with me,and he jumped at the chance."

"That's sounds nice. Being out in the open wild with your best friend. I can understand that."

"Thank you." Akito said.

"You're welcome." Sana replied,snuggling closer to him.

They walked some more,then Sana heard "I love you."

She looked up at him. "What did you say?" she asked.

"I said," Akito began,but then he saw something up ahead. "Is that Tsuyoshi?"
Looking ahead,Sana saw a figure jogging toward them in the rain. It was holding onto it's right arm with it's left. As it got closer,Sana was able to make out that it was,in fact, Tsuyoshi. Then she saw Aya running up behind him.

Akito and Sana ran toward him. The two groups reached each other just outside the town.

"Tsuyoshi," Sana said. "What are you doing here? Why aren't you in bed?"

"Akito!" Tsuyoshi said,ignoring Sana. "Akito, I think we have a problem."

"What do you mean?" Akito asked him.

"I saw him. I saw him,Akito, in town." Tsuyoshi went on.

"Who,Tsuyoshi?" Akito asked. "Who did you see?"

"That's what I'd like to know." Aya said. Sana walked up to Akito and said "What's going on Akito?"

"Who did you see?" Akito asked again.

"The man. The man who shot me." Tsuyoshi said.

"What?" Akito,Sana and Aya asked in unison.

"You saw him in town?" Aya asked,her voice sounding frightened.

"We have to tell Naozumi!" Sana said.

"NO!" Akito and Tsuyoshi said at once. "What do we do,Akito?" Tsuyoshi asked.

"I don't know." Akito replied. "Let me think."

"What's going on?" Aya asked. "I don't understand what's happening."

"Neither do I,Aya." Sana said. "Akito,if something is wrong,you need to tell us."

"The best thing for us is to leave." Akito said.

"Leave town?" Tsuyoshi asked.

"Yes. We stayed in one place too long. We need to leave as soon as possible."

"Leave?" Sana and Aya said. "Why?"

"It's for the best." Akito said.

"But all of our stuff is at the hotel. And the man's probably told Naozumi by now."

"We're in pretty deep." Akito said. "I guess we'll just have to-,"

"AKITO HAYAMA! I demand to know what's going on,RIGHT NOW!" Sana yelled,interrupting his train of thought.

"Sana." Akito said. Lighting flashed and thunder roared over their heads. The rain fell harder. "Alright. I'll tell you. But,please. Don't think any different of us."

/

Naozumi felt almost giddy as he gathered all his available officers. He never in his dreams,imagined that he'd be the one to catch the Silent Duo. Things were looking good. And then Sana will be his.

"Listen up,everyone." Naozumi addressed his officers. "Through careful studying of their movements,and the statement of their last victim, I have deduced that the Silent Duo is right here,in this town. We have them trapped. We have to move fast to capture and contain them. Their true names are Tsuyoshi Sasaki and Akito Hayama. Let's move."

Like ants, the group of eighteen rushed out of the sheriff's office two by two,into the downpour. Naozumi grinned as he led his men toward the hotel. Things were looking good.

/

"No." Aya said,shaking her head in disbelief. "No. That can't be true."

"It is." Tsuyoshi said after he and Akito had finished telling Sana and Aya the whole story.

"I don't believe you." Sana said. "I just can't."

"It doesn't matter if you believe us or not." Akito said. "But it's the truth." He turned to Tsuyoshi. "Let's head back to town and at the very least grab the horses. We can leave the rest."

"Right." Tsuyoshi agreed. The two of them jogged back toward town,staying close to the edges in case Naozumi was looking for them. Hiding in the shadows, Akito and Tsuyoshi made it to the hotel. Looking around,they saw no trace of any officers. Keeping their guards up,the two made it inside.

Walking past the unmanned desk,Akito and Tsuyoshi made their way to their rooms. Checking if the coast was clear,they hurriedly gathered all that they could. Then they made their way back downstairs and outside.

In the hard downpour, Aya and Sana were standing next to Akito and Tsuyoshi's horses. When the guys reached the girls,Aya said "I want to come with you."
"What?" Tsuyoshi asked. "No."

"Please. I want to be with you,Tsuyoshi. And I can't do that if you're not with me."

"Akito?" Tsuyoshi asked.

"We haven't got time. Let's just go. Bring her if we must." Akito said. He turned to face Sana "And what about you?"

"You're actually leaving." Sana said. "This isn't a joke."

"No joke." Akito said.

"Akito." Sana said. "I don't know what to do."

"Forget everything you know." Akito told her. "Forget everything,and listen only to your heart. Right here." And he pointed at her chest. Sana closed her eyes and tried her best to forget everything. But she couldn't. Not everything. There was still one thing she couldn't forget,no matter how hard she tried. And that was Akito.

"Akito." Sana said again,a peaceful smile on her beautiful face. "I love-."

"Sana!" Naozumi's voice ripped through the air like a bullet. The four of them turned to see a group of maybe twenty officers. And standing in front, was Naozumi,with his body wet from the rain,face twisted in anger, and his gun,pointed right at Akito.