Chapter 55: The long evening, part 1.
Pravda Academy, 18:12
Mako was in a kind of waiting room, which contained some chairs pushed up against the wall, a coat hanger, a magazine rack which contained a pile of newspapers and magazines of various types. On the left wall were three propaganda posters: one depicted Katyusha, pointing in front of her, superimposed on it:
I WANT YOU
For the sensha-do team of our academy
Enlist now!
The second showed a Tiger with a white flag raised and a pair of T34s in front of it, with the inscription:
VICTORY
The girls of our team have achieved the impossible!
It was about a year earlier, when Pravda Academy beat Kuromorimine in the final of the 62nd tournament. The third represented Nonna, deputy commander of the sensha-do team, Katyusha's right-hand man and director of the KGB, the service in charge of espionage and counter-espionage. The writing on the poster read:
SHUT UP!
The enemy is listening to you!
Mako was leafing through a copy of the " Red Star" newspaper, the school newspaper, when suddenly the door flew open and the girls from the Moral Committee came out of the adjacent room. Sodoko was angry, while Gomoyo and Pazomi watched fearfully.
"It's a scandal, they treated us like criminals!" Sodoko exclaimed.
"Now calm down, President!" Gomoyo begged her.
Mako watched them walk away, then she turned to the doorway, where Alina was waiting.
"Enter!" She invited her.
The former Ooarai nodded, stood up and placed the newspaper on the chair.
Once inside, she found herself in an interrogation room. It was furnished with a massive wooden table with a red-covered file on it, two chairs on each side, a couple of others set against the right-hand wall, a framed photo of Katyusha on the back wall. Seated at the table, Nonna was waiting for her, who invited her to sit down with a nod. She complied. On her side Alina stood next to Mako, almost as if to watch her. For a few minutes none of the three girls spoke: Nonna appeared cold and impassive, Mako serious and composed, Alina observed the other two with curiosity.
"So, comrade Reizei... You must surely be wondering the reason for the summons." The director began.
Mako nodded.
"Da, Comrade Director."
"I'll explain: During the post-game banquet, our captain received Some… Information."
"What kind of information?"
"As you may have noticed, the Saunders evaded our trap during the match, putting us in serious trouble and defeating us. But it is no coincidence… They knew about our ambush."
Mako stared at her puzzled.
"How would they find out?"
"Simple, comrade… Someone informed them." Nonna replied.
"Who?"
Nonna's gaze hardened.
"Only 6 people knew about the plan: me, Katyusha, Nina, Alina, you and Sodoko."
The dark-haired girl enumerated her number with her fingers.
"Now I am above suspicion, same for Katyusha, Nina and Alina are trusted people… So there are only two people left, you and Sodoko. Sodoko declares herself innocence... What do you have to say instead?"
Mako raised an eyebrow.
"Do you suspect me?"
She glanced at the file, noting that her name was printed in gold letters on the cover. Grandma took it and started leafing through it, while she watched her carefully.
"As you can see from the amount of papers we've been keeping an eye on you for some time, comrade… since before you even moved here."
She looked at her and made a proud expression.
"Our network of informants is very efficient." She declared.
Mako clenched her fists.
"What do you know about me?"
"Mako Reizei, born in 2005. As a child you were orphaned of both parents, and you live with your grandmother Hisako, the only family member you have left. You were the driver of Anglerfish Team, which consisted of you as well as Hana Isuzu, Saori Takebe, Miho Nishizumi and last…"
She paused as Mako swallowed.
"… Yukari Akiyama: loader of your old team, student of Saunders University, currently fulfilling her old role in the sensha-do team of the aforementioned high school. And, which concerns us directly, she is a spy, who formerly infiltrated Saunders for Ooarai." She concluded.
She closed the file.
"Now, I think your friend infiltrated Pravda here before the match, and someone passed her information about our plan. And most likely that someone is you." She said, pointing at her.
"I'm not involved at all." The driver replied.
Nonna giggled.
"I expected you to deny it." She stated, sarcastically.
"I am loyal to Pravda! I guarantee you that I have not revealed anything to her!"
Mako replied, raising her voice.
If they think me guilty, I risk expulsion from the team, and I will become a pariah in the eyes of my current teammates.
She thought, worried.
"Why then did you not inform us of her presence aboard her?" Alina intervened.
"I wasn't aware of that! Otherwise I would have warned you!"
The two girls looked at her with skepticism. Grandma adjusted herself better in her chair, then she asked:
"Are you so convinced? You and that Yukari are best friends."
Mako nodded.
"I'd be a liar if I denied it. But I swear… I wouldn't do anything to harm our team. And then, sorry…"
She pointed to her interlocutors.
"…If you have a dossier on me, I imagine that you also had it on my now ex-teammates, including Yukari. How is it possible that she got on board and she wandered around undisturbed?"
That question greatly embarrassed Nonna and Alina.
"We usually open files on important sensha-do team members (like Kuromorimine or Saunders). And Ooarai, according to Katyusha, was not one of them. Conviction strengthened after first-round elimination against Saunders. The one about Yukari we opened after her failed infiltration of the aforementioned academy." The tall girl declared.
"You did not answer my question, Comrade Director."
Nonna put on an annoyed face.
"Katyusha was sure that since there were only 6 of us who knew the plan, there was no danger that your ex-partner would find out, even if she broke in. Unfortunately she was wrong. Now I want to know whether you told her or not."
Impatient, Mako leapt to her feet, banging her right fist on the table.
"I didn't say it, I tell you!"
Nonna stared into her eyes for a long time, expressionless, then she snorted, and said:
"Since there is no evidence we cannot take action against you. However, there will be investigations, and if anything emerges, I will kick your ass by sensha-do team and rest assured that you will never be part of it again. And you can only dream of credits. Now go."
Mako started to reply dismissively, but she held back. She turned on her heel and walked away.
Nonna stood up and let out a sigh.
"Do you think she was sincere?" Alina asked, glancing at the door.
The director turned to her.
"I can't answer right off the bat… She and the spy are best friends, they were on the same team, so he may have revealed our plan to her. After all, who else could it have been? You and I are excluded, Sodoko loudly proclaims her innocence..."
"And Kadotani, comrade director?" Alina reminded her.
Nonna looked thoughtful.
"Anzu? She has had no particular contact with the members of the Ooarai team, with the exception of Momo Kawashima, Yuzu Koyama and the late Miho Nishizumi. I doubt she's the spy."
Unless…
A doubt crept into her mind.
"Alina, bring Nina here. Immediately!" She ordered, sternly.
Her interlocutor rose to her feet, snapping to attention.
"Da, comrade director!"