Walking Towards Light: Ami Redux
Act 2: A Journey of 6000 Miles
Chapter 8: West End Girls - wherein Ami and Minako arrive in London and receive some help from an old friend.
Compared to the night before, the flight to London was completely uneventful.
Minako was apoplectic when she heard about the attack on the temple. She wanted to drop everything and run to Rei's side, but she couldn't. Ami was leaving to follow the Dark Kingdom lead in London, and Mainko couldn't let her go alone. Rei and the others would have to manage for themselves.
Somewhat reassuringly, Ami concluded that she was the only target of last night's attack. Hers somehow seemed to be only identity that was compromised by Queen Metaria's final plan. If everyone's identities were revealed, then logically Usagi would have been the first target. No one else was attacked, just Ami personally and Rei who was caught in the crossfire.
Ami scratched one concern off her long, long list of concerns. She had wondered how the Dark Kingdom was unable to determine all of their identities from her memories, and came to the entirely unsatisfying conclusion of "It Was Magic".
Magic. That still didn't make any sense to her and she had been Sailor Mercury for years. Ami gave up on thinking and settled in for the car ride instead. Minako's Interpol friend Agent Katrina something-or-other, picked them up from Heathrow airport when they arrived. Ami stared out the window quietly, trying her best not to interfere with Minako's bubbly reunion with her mentor. Apparently she kept a satellite office in London away from her head office in Manchester.
They were there now. The office was a rental suite a charming brick building in the West End near Oxford Circus station. Ami thought it looked 18th century-ish. Minako was very excited to learn that Jimi Hendrix used to live in this very neighbourhood (and less excited to learn about his next door neighbour minus 200 years George Handel). Either way, the area looked expensive. Katarina must be a highly regarded agent to command such a budget for just a personal satellite office.
The office itself was a hodgepodge of open case files and empty coffee cups. Mugshots and charts lined almost every available space on the walls. Ami was impressed by how she kept track of it all. Minako fit right in like this was her natural habitat.
Katarina's accented English lilted up from the old filing cabinet she had started rustling in the second she returned to her office.
"So...You are tracking the Blackstone Group right? They are the 'legitimate businessmen' cover for organized crime. I've been wanting to take them down for years. This is the file you were asking for."
Katarina pulled out a sheaf of papers and handed it to Minako. Minako flipped through the stack quickly, pulling out one profile before handing it off to Ami.
"I recognize this one. Aristotle Wyman. He's the one our associates encountered in Hong Kong. Had a youma at his disposal. Definitely Dark Kingdom. He's connected to organized crime syndicates here?"
"We're not sure. They've been squeaky clean since the old days. He's on my radar because we tracked all the investors in Ace Kaitou's production company. That money had to come from somewhere. Most of them seemed innocent or at least inconclusive, but Wyman and Blackstone Capital Investments stood out. Up until Ace Kaitou, they invested only in finance and technologies. A sudden large investment in what turns out to be a Dark Kingdom entertainment front seemed suspicious. I don't need to explain the implications"
Minako nodded darkly.
Ace Kaitou, her masked protector in London - the man she thought she loved once. Too bad he turned out to be Danbourite - the Dark Kingdom general that she Was forced to kill. He had been working to awaken Queen Metaria on Earth afterall. Minako didn't like to think about it. She focused on the task at hand instead.
"The money trail. That always leads somewhere interesting."
"So we seem to be dealing with a crooked finance corporation that's been active what...10, 11 years now?"
"Yes Minako. Since around the time you first came to London actually"
"Damn. That's a long time to be in play without slipping up"
"Don't be so sure on that. For a time, everything they did seemed above board. Legit. It wasn't until about 2 months ago that they have begun to look suspicious again. Blackstone money kept popping up in various enterprises. A drug trafficking, antiquities, human and now shady corporate deals. You name it, they've probably got their fingers in the pie. It's so frustrating that we haven't gathered enough evidence to open an official case yet. Their lawyers and accountants are on another level."
"Remind me to refer a lawyer to you sometime if you need. I guarantee you she's on another level on top of that...in the meantime. Wow! You've kept tabs on them this whole time?"
"Of course. The Dark Kingdom was a serious threat to public safety. We've tracked all their known associates since we were first made aware of them. The idea that that organized crime could draw on supernatural forces…that is an unpleasant thought"
Minako whistled. The idea was unsettling.
"Good thing we have Minako right?"
Minako's cheerful boast didn't entirely cover the fact that she hated to use her Senshi powers to deal with the human world. That crossed more boundaries than she was comfortable with.
"Yakuza involvement back home going to be an issue?"
Ami didn't look up from reading the files. It wasn't clear if she was actually asking, or just thinking out loud
"Nope. Someone scalped the Queen of Tokyo's underworld last Christmas. They've mostly just been infighting since. Consider them out of commission for now."
Officer Aino of Tokyo MPD filled in that blank. Ami nodded, filing the information away for later. She was just about done reviewing the case file now.
"I'm here for a man named Dr. Edward Smith. He was the chairman of the Blackstone board 6 years ago at least. Do you think that's him?."
Ami tapped on name on the list of Wyman's known associates. Dr. Edward Smith
"I'll run a search, see if we have anything in our database. Is there something specific about him?
"He's the one my mother met with shortly before she was murdered."
Katarina looked up in surprise.
"Minako, for your sake, I'm not asking questions, but I'm concerned about something. Ami, if this is personal, maybe you shouldn't be working the case"
"Katarina, all due respect, but I don't give a shit. This is not your business."
Minako stepped in belatedly to diffuse the situation. The concept that Ami would escalate things was still foreign to her.
"Ami, calm down. She's here to help us...and Katarina, I am afraid this is Sailor Senshi business."
Katarina learned long ago to defer to Minako's judgment in matters concerning the Dark Kingdom. This was technically not her jurisdiction.
"Blackstone owns a warehouse in North Woolwich. It's in a rough area, and completely unlike their other land holdings. I've always wondered, but we've never had enough evidence for a warrant to actually search the place. If you are looking for something, that's where I'd start."
"Good thing we aren't police then. Let's go Minako."
"Ami?"
"Yes agent?"
"I'm sorry to hear about your mother."
Ami interrupted before the attempted bonding moment went too far.
"Don't. Smith might have started it, but I'm the one who killed her."
Ami walked out the door without acknowledging Katarina further. Minako looked over apologetically. She'd have to explain the situation in more detail on the way to the warehouse. Katarina deserved some explanation after that bit of drama.
2 hours of horrible cross London traffic and 15 minutes of reconnaissance later, the senshi duo were preparing to enter the abandoned looking warehouse. Katarina stayed behind, waiting at the car for the purposes of plausible deniability. Minako picked the lock with practiced efficiency. She and Ami then slid into the warehouse to investigate.
They were not prepared to walk in on 6 men in black suits sitting around a large conference table.
"Mercury-sama!"
Oh shit. Ami didn't see this coming. What did she just get Minako into?
The men looked shocked to see her. They scrambled back from their chairs. Ami expected to see guns drawn at the intruders, but they stood up as one and bowed.
Ami barely managed to keep the shock off her face. She really did not see that coming.
A.N.
Welcome to London! Welcome to Act 2!
Thank you for coming along dear readers. I hope you enjoy the journey.
Continuity notes: Katarina is Minako's Interpol friend from ep 42 Sailor Venus' Past! Minako's Tragic Past. Not much to say about that episode, except that it is the episode that establishes that Minako spent some time fighting crime in London and has a sisterly relationship with Interpol officer Katarina something-or-another. Ami was kind of just being a dismissive hyper focused jerk when she doesn't catch Katarina's last name in story, but the meta reason is that the anime itself never reveals Katarina's last name either.
Flavour notes: A quick shout out to the Hendrix and Handel Museum in London's West End. Minako seems the type that would appreciate psychedelic rock, free loving, anti-establishment, kooky goddess of love that she is. The West End is also known for some crazy crazy expensive real estate. The East End...not so much.