Chapter 23 Stand off
Sakura had been working at the embassy for a month now. She had grown accustomed to waking up in the morning and going to work like her brother and father. She was really enjoying the experience. It didn't feel like work. She still had practice though everyday at the same time and she had a full day practice every Saturday.
Every day and all day at Sunday, Sakura would meet up with Eriol and study dance under Koji Mikagami. Occasional dates every now and then with Ryu, hang out sessions with Tomoyo and the others every now and then, yeah, summer was proving to be a great time for Sakura.
That day, Sakura entered the French embassy on time as usual. "Bonjour, monsieur De Bois. (Good morning, Mr. De Bois.)" Sakura greeted the guard as she was passing through the check point and gave her ID.
The guard smiled at her and replied, "Bonjour, Sakura. Ce va être un autre jour intéressant. Il semble qu'un bon nombre de gens viennent aujourd'hui. (Ah, good morning, Sakura. It's going to be another interesting day. It seems a lot of people are coming today.)"
Sakura smiled and said, "Vraiment ? Espoir du puits I que ce ne sera pas que beaucoup d'ennui aujourd'hui. (Really? Well I hope that it won't be that much trouble today.)" The guard smiled and she went inside.
Sakura set her things down at her desk and bid Genevieve a good morning. It seemed that Miss Valenti still wasn't down there. Sakura and Genevieve started filing documents and preparing the day's schedule. The day soon began in full swing. There were a lot of phone calls. There were a lot of documents. There were a lot of interviews from people who wished to go to France, looking for jobs, consulting other matters. Then Sakura noticed this middle-aged man. He only had one leg and the other was a metal prosthetic leg. She noticed that he had been there everyday for the past two to three weeks already.
As Sakura set some papers down at her desk, she asked Genevieve, "Genevieve, cet homme est là-bas ici encore. Que veut-il ? (Genevieve, that man over there is here again. What does he want?)"
Genevieve was looking at whom Sakura was referring to. She then turned back to her work. She then started to explain to Sakura, "Il est tragique réellement. Cet homme a eu une fille en France. Elle travaillait en tant que journaliste dans un des journaux locaux. Elle a été affectée pour couvrir une opération très dangereuse. Elle a impliqué quelques bustes de drogue. Elle a été attrapée au milieu et elle et son associé sont morts. Que l'homme était venu même avant que vous êtes venu et avait demandé l'aide. Nous faisons le meilleur nous bidon pour trouver les tueurs mais il semble que là il est plus compliqué que ce ainsi Interpol s'est appelé depuis lui croise les internes internationaux. Que la fille de l'homme était la seule famille il était parti et quand sa mort a été confirmée et son cas n'a toujours pas progressé, il assortissent de commencé à le perdre. C'est vraiment une tragédie mais ce fait partie de la vie. La mauvaise substance arrive à quelques bonnes gens. (It's tragic actually. That man had a daughter in France. She was working as a reporter in one of the local papers. She was assigned to cover a very dangerous operation. It involved some drug busts. She was caught in the middle and she and her partner died. That man has been coming even before you came and has been asking for help. We are doing the best we can to find the killers but it seems that there it is more complicated than that so Interpol has been called since it crosses international boarders. That man's daughter was the only family he had left and when her death was confirmed and her case still hasn't progressed, he sort of started to lose it. It's really a tragedy but that is part of life. Bad stuff happens to some good people.)"
When Sakura understood, she couldn't help but empathize with the man. "Il est le meilleur si vous restez loin de lui, Sakura. Il n'y a pas vraiment quelque chose que nous pouvons faire jusqu'à ce que nous entendions d'Interpol. (It is best if you stay away from him, Sakura. There isn't really anything we can do until we hear from Interpol.)" Genevieve advised Sakura.
Sakura thought about it and just sat down. Genevieve was right. There wasn't much they could offer unless Interpol had already finished their investigation so that they could start persecuting the culprits.
The day progressed as normal. But then Miss Valenti asked Genevieve and Sakura to stay a little longer. They obliged. As Sakura and Genevieve started to fix up, the man earlier suddenly appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Genevieve.
"Don't move! Be quiet! I have a gun! I have a gun!" The man started to shout in Japanese.
Genevieve's mouth was covered by the man's hand. Sakura knew that she didn't quite understand what the man was saying as she wasn't that fluent with Japanese.
"Alright. Alright, Sir. Calm down. I will translate what you said to my friend ok? So she'd understand. Is that alright?" Sakura decided to say. She tried to stay as calm as she could. Basically she had Genevieve's life in her hands. The man nodded. Sakura knew that he was already agitated.
"Genevieve, ne se déplacent pas et veuillez sont tranquille. Ne paniquez pas, satisfaire. Il lui a fait une remarque pour que nous sachent qu'il a un pistolet. (Genevieve, please don't move and be quiet. Don't panic, please. He has made it a point for us to know that he has a gun.)" Sakura said. She could see that Genevieve grew rigid when she mentioned a gun but she tried to keep herself calm and follow what was said. Sakura smiled at her for encouragement.
"Um, Sir, what do you want? What can we do to help?" Sakura said to the man. She wanted to calm him down. The man looked at her. Sakura gave him a shaky smile. "I'm Sakura. May I ask your name, Sir?" She decided to say. She was really having a hard time comprehending the entire picture. She wished that Miss Valenti and her family wouldn't be coming into the room. She was also thinking how to tell the people outside the room that they were in trouble. Sakura's mind was racing.
"My…my name…I'm Matsurada Ito." The man replied. Sakura felt a tinge of relief knowing that she was getting somewhere.
"Ok…ok…Matsurada-san…" Sakura started to say but then the door opened and Miss Valenti entered with her small daughter, husband and father-in-law, the Ambassador.
The man then took out the gun from his jacket and aimed it at the Ambassador. Instantly they were filled with fear. "Shut the door! Shut the door!" The man started shouting.
The Ambassador and his family looked petrified in fear. They didn't move. The man then aimed the gun at Sakura and said, "Translate it to them or I'll kill her!"
He then aimed the gun at Genevieve's head. "Ok, ok. Please…calm down…" Sakura said and then quickly turned to them. She knew that the Ambassador understood. He wouldn't have been the Ambassador if he didn't.
"Monsieur l'ambassadeur, svp. (Mr. Ambassador, please.)" Sakura said in a rather shaky voice.
The Ambassador reluctantly closed the door. The man then turned to Sakura again and said, "Tell them to go to that corner over there."
"Veuillez svp font un saut à ce coin 2la-bas. (Please…please…go over to that corner over there.)" Sakura said. She almost choked with her words.
The man then let go of Genevieve and motioned her and Sakura to join them at the corner. "Why are you doing this?" The Ambassador then asked. The man looked at him. There was this air of desperation in his eyes. "I tried to be civil. I've tried to do it the proper way. But your people have done nothing to find her! Mira is alive! Your government is doing nothing about it! To you she is just another statistic!" The man started shouting and aiming the gun aimlessly.
A guard then entered because of the commotion. The man was determined to get his point down. He shot the guard and seemed to have killed him. He then aimed the gun at the Ambassador and said, "If you're men don't stop coming, the next bullet will be for one of you."
The Ambassador tried to keep his calm as his son and daughter-in-law tried to shield their child from all that was happening. Sakura and Genevieve weren't faring better. It was clear that they were shaken especially having seen a man killed. The Ambassador then said, "C'est l'ambassadeur français, Philip DeCuis. Dites chacun de ne pas entrer dans cette pièce ou il commencera à tirer. Nous sommes très bien. Séjour juste en arrière. (This is the French Ambassador, Philip DeCuis. Tell everyone to not enter this room or he will start shooting. We are fine. Just stay back.)" His men then started to back away and urged the other people who were still there to leave the building immediately.
From the room, they could hear the commotion outside. Sakura swallowed hard and closed her eyes. She was gathering every ounce of strength and courage she had. She wasn't really good at seeing people getting killed. Her mind then drifted back at the dark cave some time back.
At that time she had Shaoran to wrap his arms around her and tell her that it was going to be alright even if she tripped and saw a dead body. This time, she was alone. She was one of the only two people who could understand this estranged man who was fighting desperation very negatively.
"You know, you look like my daughter." The man said suddenly. Sakura opened her eyes and looked at the man. She felt a little sick when she realized that he was looking and talking at her. "Mira is just like you. Smart. Strong. Loves France. I told her not to go but it was her dream." The man said.
Sakura decided to talk to him. She thought that probably she might be able to calm him down and convince him to let the others go. "What's she like, Matsurada-san?" She asked.
He started relating his daughter's life and how she was when she was growing up. It seemed to be working. He was in this moment where he was just absorbed in his memories but still coherent of the present. Sakura wanted to make eye contact with the Ambassador and the others but she knew she couldn't let her guard down and take her attention away from Matsurada. She needed to get this opportunity so that they could get out of there alive.
But as he related, tears started coming from his eyes when he started to tell about the ordeals Mira went through during her final months. He then got up and aimed the gun at the Ambassador. He started yelling, "It's your fault! You did not protect Mira! She served France by reporting news, unbiased, untainted. And you repay her by letting her go into danger."
"Matsurada-san! Please! Please…don't...from what you've said…I doubt that Mira-san would have wanted you to do this…please…do you think that she would want you to hurt another person?" Sakura said as she got up and stood slightly near the man. She was afraid for the Ambassador's life. It seemed to have brought hesitation in the man. "Please…Matsurada-san…don't lose faith in the system. You believed in it for this long, don't lose your faith now…people are trying to piece it back together."
Just then they started to hear a helicopter. It seemed that there a lot of police cars had assembled outside. The phone started to ring. It brought this tension in the air as the ring continued. Sakura then looked at Genevieve then to Miss Valenti, her daughter, her husband and finally the Ambassador. Somehow she was searching for an answer on what to do with them. The Ambassador held her gaze. Sakura felt that somehow he was empowering her to continue. She could feel this gentle, reassuring strength that came from the man. Sakura wanted to cry but bit her lip to stop herself.
Matsurada ordered Sakura to take her seat again. Sakura didn't have to choice but to follow. She was allowed to sit next to the Ambassador. The Ambassador gave her a nod. He smiled at her. Sakura bowed slightly in return. It seemed that he wanted to tell her something but refrained because it might agitate Matsurada further. The phone continued to ring.
Then a loud speaker sounded from the outside, "Whoever is in charge, answer the phone." A man said. Matsurada seemed a little more agitated. Then the phone rang again. Finally, Matsurada finally answered the phone. Sakura could feel a lump for on her throat. She was hoping for the best. She was just in high school for crying out loud but she found herself in that situation, serving as a translator for those who couldn't understand the man.
While the man was on the phone, the Ambassador said, "You are doing well, my dear." Sakura looked up at him. The old man was smiling down at her. She gave him a shaky smile.
Sakura could sense this feeling of reassurance coming from the Ambassador. He spoke this rough Japanese, heavy on the French accent though very understandable. Sakura, looking at him, felt like she was looking at her own grandfather. At that point, Sakura checked her watch. She was shocked when she realized that it had been more than two hours already since the stand off started. It felt longer. She swallowed hard. She was fighting back her tears.
"It's alright, my dear. We will get out of here. I understand how frightening it is. I wish I could have stopped this from happening." The Ambassador suddenly said when he noticed Sakura's agitation. He knew that they were all frightened, especially his granddaughter. Matsurada was still on the phone.
Sakura looked at him and nodded. "I believe, Mr. Ambassador, that everything will be alright. If we lose hope then it's useless, Sir…that is what I believe…" Sakura replied.
The Ambassador smiled and replied, "Very well said, Sakura. Yes everything will turn out fine."
Matsurada then noticed that the Ambassador was talking with Sakura. A shot then came and rattled the silence. They screamed. Blood splattered all over Sakura and the others. The Ambassador was shot. He was still alive but bleeding. Sakura quickly started to apply pressure on the Ambassador's gunshot wound to his upper chest. He was lucky that the bullet missed a vital organ. Sakura was helped by his son. The Ambassador was in shock. He was going in and out of consciousness. Matsurada then came and started to drag Sakura away from them by the hair.
"Who told you, you can speak to the Ambassador?" He shouted at Sakura. He then pushed her up against the desk.
The phone started to ring again. "What?" Matsurada shouted. Sakura's breathing was becoming faster. She didn't know what to do. Nothing could ever have prepared her for that situation. Her gaze then met Genevieve and then Miss Valenti. Sakura then looked at Matsurada.
He was shouting over the phone, "What I want is my daughter! Bring my daughter to me within an hour or someone else dies!" He then slammed the phone down. Sakura just slid to the floor while the others were at the other corner of the room. She could tell that the Ambassador was alive but barely. His son was looking after him. Miss Valenti tried to cover her daughter's eyes, to shield her from all the chaos that was happening there.
Matsurada started pacing the room. They were all silent. It seemed that they were able to patch the Ambassador up. But he would still need medical assistance immediately. The Ambassador's son then started to ask what Matsurada wanted. Neither man could vaguely understand each other. They could only recognize a few of the words the other uttered. Matsurada then pointed the gun at Sakura and told her to tell them what he wanted.
Sakura gulped and started to say, "Il demande sa fille. Il veut que sa fille soit ici dans une heure ou il dit il va tirer quelqu'un d'autre. (He's asking for his daughter. He wants his daughter to be here in an hour or he says he's going to shoot someone else.)"
"Mais c'est impossible. Les dossiers indiquent que sa fille est morte en France il y a quelques mois. (But that's impossible. The files say that his daughter has died in France a few months ago.)" Miss Valenti said. Sakura nodded gravely.
"Nous allons mourir? (We're going to die?)" Genevieve asked.
"Genevieve." Miss Valenti said. Matsurada then motioned Sakura to tell him what it was they said.
Sakura then said, "It takes more than an hour for anyone to get on a plane in France and land in Japan. Genevieve asked if there was another way. Miss Valenti just motioned her to be silent and think." She lied. She didn't want to blow up any chance for them to live longer. She knew that the mental state of the man was running thin and telling him the truth might just make him snap.
Matsurada then slapped Sakura across the face really hard which made her fall to the floor. It seemed that he knew that she had lied. Sakura looked fearfully up at him. He was about to shout something when Miss Valenti suddenly shouted, "Marie!" Her daughter was starting to lose consciousness.
"Veuillez laisser nous partir ou au moins ma fille ! Elle est diabétique ! (Please let us go or at least my daughter! She is diabetic!)" Miss Valenti pleaded which Sakura quickly translated. The man seemed rattled but still didn't allow anyone to leave. Miss Valenti continued to plead for her daughter's life as tears started to roll down her face.
"Please Matsurada-san…please let her and the Ambassador go…if one of them dies, the government of France will not let you see your daughter ever again. They will not take you to where she is or continue searching for those who hurt her…please…" Sakura pleaded. Matsurada seemed to reconsider. He checked his watch. It was almost time for the police to call again.
He said nothing. They waited as Miss Valenti continued to cry and her husband trying to comfort her, although it was also clear that he was very shaken and worried for his daughter and father. Genevieve seemed to be in deep shock. Sakura could tell that she was petrified.
When the phone rang, Sakura remembered feeling that it was the most welcome sound in her life. She hoped that Matsurada finally agreed to at least let the Ambassador and the young child go. Matsurada said, "Prepare a medical kit and give some sweets. I will get it. No one leaves." Sakura was horrified when she heard. She felt like her stomach turned.
He pointed the gun at her and said, "Tell them that we are getting medical supplies for the Ambassador and something to eat for that little girl. No one moves or leaves this room or you all die." Sakura quickly translated as she was dragged up by Matsurada and started to drag outside.
The slowly exited the building. When they did, Sakura was in front, shielding Matsurada. They were blinded slightly with the lights. There were a lot of lights from the police. Sakura could hear multiple guns readied for fire. She also saw that there were news people around. She felt like it was going to be her final moments.
"We have what you asked! Let the girl go!" A man said, whom seemed to be the head of the operation there.
Sakura bit her lip. She wanted to run but she knew that she had to be strong for those inside. She was their only hope now. She was the only one who could make sure that they were safe and that they understood what was going on.
"Leave the bags there and stay back! Or I will kill this girl!" Matsurada said as he aimed the gun barrel at the side of Sakura's head. Sakura closed her eyes. She bit her lip again to stop her tears from falling. The medic placed the bags as near as possible and left. No one seemed to come near.
Matsurada urged Sakura to walk forward. They walked a few feet then he told her, "Go get it. But if you run I will kill you and I will kill everyone inside." He then pushed her forward. Sakura stumbled a little. She stood straight again and started to walk towards the bags slowly while the barrel of Matsurada's gun was aimed at her head.
"S…stay…back…" Sakura yelled out, almost chocking on her words. As she took each step, she felt like walking towards death. Tears started to fall down her eyes. It took every last bit of her strength to not run. It seemed that the police who had come to help were near and yet so far.
She looked at them almost pleading to end it. When she got to the bags, she slowly gathered them in her arms and closed her eyes as another tear rolled down her cheek. She closed her eyes before finally turning back and started walking again.
The gun was still pointed at her. She was walking towards it. Within a foot or two from Matsurada, he ordered her to stop. He told her to drop the bag on the ground and open it. Sakura was frozen in place for a moment but Matsurada threatened her with the gun. So she just followed. He ordered to take all the contents out. Sakura slowly and nervously did as she was told.
When Matsurada saw the syringe, his mind seemed to think it as a threat. He grew mad and hit Sakura with the butt of the gun hard which made her hit the ground. Sakura could feel blood coming from her mouth. She turned and her heart skipped a beat when she saw the gun was aimed at her and he was about to shoot. Then a gun shot was heard.
(to be continued…)
Again, thanks to Amli who graciously gave her time in helping with the editing of the French part of the chapter ^_^
I think I will have to reserve my comment for this chapter also. Hehe. Thanks for reading this far and extra thanks to those who sent their reviews. Please do continue to send in your reviews. Thanks.
Michiko