Chapter 12: Bomber's Plot
12:55 PM (Japan Time), Monday June the 20th…
"… Wow. What a view! It's my first time visiting Tokyo… It sure is a large metropolis!"
"Yeah. It's my first time as well… What luck that your father was holding a show here today's afternoon and we were allowed some time to go sightseeing, eh?"
Arushi and Eboshi were standing in the view deck of Tokyo Tower and watching the landscape through those payment binoculars: Eboshi looked taken in while Arushi grinned.
Eboshi sported blue plastic boots, gray shorts, a yellow shirt, a small green tie and suspenders today.
Arushi wore a red open sleeveless vest, a white t-shirt with suns drawn on it and jeans along with white sneakers.
"I'm going to check the north side view next. Are you coming as well?"
"I'll go to the restroom for a moment and I'll catch up with you."
He headed to the restroom and took out his Link PET.
"Balrog. Are you in there?" He called out.
"Yeah… I thought there'd be some excitement around here… By the way, Past… Witch contacted me: there's more stuff at Itabashi City… We should take care of it." Balrog whispered.
"Fine. Just stay silent and remember to cover your trails around the area by using back routes." Arushi whispered back.
"Roger, Aibou!"
Arushi pocketed the PET and used the toilet before exiting the restroom and heading out into the hall; but, then, a small explosion suddenly rang out and everyone gasped: they looked around and murmurs began to fill the area.
Arushi headed over to the elevators and found one which was open and partly stuck between this floor and the superior one: only a narrow gap was left in this floor.
"Crap." He muttered.
"Help!" A voice called out inside of the elevator.
Arushi gasped and spotted a small girl about six years old crawling into a corner while hugging a teddy bear.
"Arushi – kun! What's going on?" Eboshi caught up.
"Eboshi – kun. Perfect. You're thinner than me, so… You might fill into that gap: try to get that girl out." Arushi told him.
"Eh… O. K."
Arushi lifted him and Eboshi crawled inside.
"Don't be afraid. We're going out." He told the girl.
"R-really…?"
"Really. Please come over here."
She slowly walked over and Arushi picked her to take her out of the elevator to then leave her on the ground.
"Come out, Eboshi – kun." Arushi told him.
There was a sudden explosion and the elevator box began to slide down the shaft: Arushi slid across the ground and managed to get it as the elevator fell: the emergency brakes kicked in and it got halted a few meters down.
"That was no accident! It was deliberate!" Arushi gasped as he stood up and looked around.
"But who could be doing this?" Eboshi wondered.
"Dunno…"
"What can we do?"
"Give me a lift: I wanna open the emergency ceiling trapdoor. I could call out to the floor above us and have they come rescue us by bringing ropes down from there." Arushi instructed.
Eboshi lifted Arushi: he opened the trapdoor and came out into the elevator's roof; he suddenly spotted a large bomb-like device placed on the south-east corner which was partly open.
"Eboshi – kun! Don't move from there." Arushi warned.
"What's going on, Arushi – kun?" Eboshi asked.
"A bomb."
"A bomb, you say!"
Arushi inspected a square LCD screen in which red digits were being displayed "01:15:44".
"One hour fifteen minutes… Huh? This vial with liquid… Ain't this mercury? It's inclined and some kind of ball is set on the center… Damn. I see. One slight shake and we're all gone along with the tower! This is the work of a pro." He cursed.
"So we can't move?" Eboshi gasped.
"O~i~! Boys! Are you alright?" A voice called out.
"Police…?" Arushi called back.
"Correct! What's going on over there?"
"There's a bomb, sir! And we can't move: it has a mercury lever. It has a listening device, too, so… If we come out the culprit will activate it nevertheless. If you could lower some tools to defuse the bomb then we may be able to sort this out, sir! It's the only remaining option to avoid manslaughter!" Arushi detailed.
"Damn. The mercury lever bomber again…! He's been giving headache after headache ever since 9 months ago! Anyway… We'll call out the specialists and lower the equipment! There should be enough time to handle this…" The police officer cursed.
Arushi slowly sat on his knees and waited; his Link PET beeped and he took it out.
"I got an e-mail… From: Bomber… Great. How did the guy know my email address, anyway? Oh. How silly of me. He's been listening the whole time. Let's see… "Gnat! If ya have guts, then try to disable the great me's masterpiece. Whatever ya do is useless. Ya will soon realize why. Bomber." … The "I'm a genius" type, huh…" He grumbled.
"Sheesh. Last thing we needed!"
"Oi! Boy! We're lowering the bag: catch it with your hands and slowly deposit it on the ground: it includes the bomb's schematics, too, plus a walkie-talkie. Follow all instructions." The officer called out.
A large duffel bag was lowered and Arushi calmly picked it up; he set it on the ground and took out the schematics while checking out the tools.
"Eboshi – kun! Have the schematics." He called out.
He threw them inside with the walkie-talkie: Eboshi unfolded them to study them while holding the walkie-talkie on the right hand.
"Listen: we're going to put out the lights in the shaft to disable the photosensitive trigger so put on the IR scope. Once they're out remove the cover at the right of the mercury lever while making sure not to brush against it." The officer instructed.
Arushi set it as the lights were put out: he slowly assumed a lying position.
"Go." He muttered.
He placed himself parallel to the bomb and unscrewed the cover to spot the photosensitive trigger: he cut its wire and then sighed as he removed his IR scope to use his PET's flashlight.
"Okay. One down." He called out.
"Phew." Eboshi muttered.
"Lift the LCD screen and check what's beneath it: you should short-circuit the middlemost wire of the set of three." The officer instructed.
Arushi did so and checked the volt-measuring device: the needle indicated a slight increase in electricity.
"Crap. This thing was still taking power… Close, too close…" He grimly muttered.
"Put a plastic stopper next." The officer instructed.
Arushi placed it but suddenly frowned.
Wait. The bomber claimed that whatever I did was in vain… I can't stop him, he means? I don't see the point of it: the police have been dismantling all these bombs and this isn't any different.
He shrugged and cut the next wire before stopping to think back.
This bomb can't be Plugged-In since it has no port to do that. And data can't travel over electrical lines… Huh?
A message appeared onscreen:
"Whoever has the guts to try to stop me, I'll tell you this: I set up a second bomb which is gonna go off today at 18:00 PM somewhere in this ridiculously large city. The hint will show up 3 seconds before the explosion. See you in Hell!"
So that's what he meant… And I'm sure anyone else would be doomed because there'd be no other way but to mail the hint… But…
He took out his Link PET and inputted some commands into the screen: Balrog nodded in understanding left the screen.
He's going to locate the origin of my email: the guy must be totally confident that we won't make it out alive so he mustn't have bothered to conceal his origin… We catch the guy while I finish disabling this machine and force him to confess the location of the second bomb…
"… Okay! Next is the yellow wire to cut off the power to the LCD display which has to be cut!" The officer instructed.
He'll think we'll rather save our skins instead of being martyrs and save his victims from the second bomb.
"Sir! We have located the bomber amongst the street crowd: we're giving chase!" One policeman reported.
"Oh! If we could disable his PET then he'd be rendered useless!"
Leave it to Balrog! He's an expert at sabotaging PETs from the inside by forcing them to undergo factory setting restoration and deleting their flash memories!
"The white cord from the mercury lever: next!"
"O. K.!"
Arushi cut it up and began to form a broad grin.
Balrog's gotta be playing Mitternacht on that guy's PET to signal his doom: they'll quickly think the one who did it is a German 'cause there'll be no evidence of his involvement left.
"Excellent! Last step: the black cord to the remote detonator and cell phone! With that the bomb will be completely defused!" The office concluded.
"Done!"
"We did it!" Eboshi sighed in relief.
"Sir! We have caught the culprit yet all data from his PET is gone… It'd seem it'll be hard to make him confess." Someone reported.
"Finally! Anyway… Lower some ropes to bring those two boys out and then send someone to recover the dismantled bomb." The officer sounded relieved.
"By the way… Regarding the 2nd bomb… I'm pretty sure I know where he's placed it at." Arushi called out.
"You do?" The officer asked.
"Minato City's Concert Hall… There's going to be a magic show at 17:30 PM and it'll surely be full of people by 18:00 PM…" Arushi announced.
"Dad's magic show…!" Eboshi gasped in horror.
"Calm down. The police can send a team to evacuate the building and disable the bomb." Arushi relieved him.
"Thank goodness…!" Eboshi sighed in relief.
"Come: I'll help you climb." Arushi called out.
He lowered himself on the floor and extended his arms into inside of the elevator: Eboshi gripped them and he then slowly lifted him until both were on the roof: they then picked the ends of two ropes which had been lowered and they were pulled up by some policemen waiting in the main observation deck.
"Good work!" They told them.
"Ah… But Arushi – kun deserves the credit, sir! I was only checking up each step…" Eboshi blushed.
"It was like in a movie." Arushi shrugged.
"Send a team to the Concert Hall on the double: the bomb is surely inactive as of yet. And we know that bomber works alone, anyway, so there's no risk of an accomplice triggering it, either!" The officer commanded.
Several policemen saluted and ran off while others escorted Arashi and Eboshi towards the emergency stairs.
"We're trying to shove the media away. Once a way out is secured, you may leave. There's no need for debriefing since we caught the culprit and there's more than enough evidence to signal he's behind all of these bombing streaks." The officer told them.
"Thank you, sir. I will contact my father so he can pick us up."
"But, really! Your cold blood is commendable, young man."
"Oh, no, sir. It's just that I tend to prioritize keeping the cool, sir."
"Well done, then! Thanks to you we managed to avoid a disgrace!"
"I am honored, sir. But please don't praise me too much, either!"
13: 48 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Really… You two saved Tokyo Tower!"
"Please, dad…! It was Arushi – kun…!"
"I'm being praised, sir."
"Is that so?"
Arushi and Eboshi were having a lunch in a cafeteria along with a man.
This man looked on his late thirties and forties and had brown hair, beard and a slight moustache.
He wore a purple sleeveless shirt which had the four Trump signs (club, diamond, heart and spade) drawn on each side: the diamond was set on the upper right corner and the heart was beneath it.
The spade was set opposite the diamond with the club set beneath it as well plus a second yellow shirt beneath the first one and a pair purple pants with two rows of diamond figures on the end of them.
He sported white gloves and brown shoes, and a purple hat had been left on the desk.
"Mr. Hat… I just did what I was told, sir. It's not like I came here to save the city, sir." Arushi chuckled.
"Come on, Arushi – kun. You're being too modest." Mr. Hat smiled.
"See, dad! I told you!" Eboshi insisted.
"Well! I'm glad you both worked together. Remember: you two have first-row seats, so… You know the drill."
"We drill 'till the tunnel is complete." Arushi joked.
"Whoa. It rhymes." Eboshi whistled in surprise.
Phew. We saved the day. Anyway… I'm sure the other guys will be heating the air up… Nelaus – kun… I'll be looking forward to our next rematch! Come at full power!
14:06 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Wow. Eboshi – kun and Arushi – kun managed to stop Tokyo Tower from being destroyed while figuring out the location of a second bomb elsewhere… According to this email by both of them!"
"Incredible!"
"The Super God is smilin' on 'em!"
"Very original, Sigma."
The twins were seeing a TV news report about what had happened: both were surprised while Sigma came with a joke met with total dryness from Blood Shadow.
"This is serious." Blood Shadow grumbled.
"Yeah. As serious as that recycled TIE orbiting around yer head, ya mean to say?" Sigma joked.
"It ain't the time for originalities, Sigma."
"Scary, scary… Blood – chan is getting another of his dry moods 'cause he didn't drink enough water." He made another lame joke.
"Hmpf. You know we don't need water to operate!"
"Hit a spot…" Sigma teased.
"Sigma… Please leave him alone." Netto sighed.
"Blood doesn't deserve this." Saito sighed as well.
"He deserves a date with Roll!" Sigma teased next.
"Jeez. You seriously need a battle to turn serious."
"Our little red-colored hunter will hunt a fox?"
"By all the… I give up. Don't blame me if Boss punishes you!"
"No wonder." The twins muttered.
Sigma laughed while the other three sighed in defeat…
15:15 PM (Melbourne Time)…
"… So some civlians disabled the bomb? Surprising, Master."
"Yeah, Philip. But I'm surprised they caught the bomber so fast… There's gotta be some trick involved."
"Maybe someone traced back the mail one of them got?"
"Could be, yeah… Too bad I didn't think of sending any of the guys there to check it out…"
Philip and Twilight were chatting while looking at a CNN broadcast in the laptop's screen regarding the earlier incident.
"OH YEAH! LET ZA BOMBER HIT ZA MAN!"
"Huff. How original, fight with Konami!" Philip sighed.
"CLOUD MAN!" Twilight hissed.
"Yikes! Lord Twilight, sir…!"
"Out. Before I tear your data to pieces!" He hissed.
"He ran." Zoan Gate Man drily reported.
"By the way: what'll happen with the business that "Past" guy stormed the other day? Did they know something important?"
"No. I wasn't involved with that. There's a lot of wannabes, after all!"
"Good. And don't worry, Master. Nobody suspects me because I keep on playing the meek guy. And so they ignore me!"
"Good, good. Keep it up: this way they won't figure out your ID so easily and as long as they don't find your name then there's no trouble."
"I knew that. And soon I'll go pay a visit to my rival."
"I approve. Remind them who they're dealing with. Tease them."
"Sure. My knives are eager to get a taste of that guy's blood, anyway."
"Heh, heh, heh… Nelaus… You better get ready… Heh, heh, heh…"