A Fresh Goal
August 30, 2015
Interpol HQ 4th floor
Lyons
Usea
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Her computer monitor and the lamp on her cubicle desk the only things illuminating the dark room around her, Kei Nagase yawned as she closed a clear-cover file folder. She glanced at the monitor clock which read 3:12 AM, and leaned her forehead down onto the desk using her forearms as cushions. The detective had never felt so tired in a long time.
Until a couple of hours ago, the 26-year-old was kept in – as the Usean military called - 'protective' custody. But to her, it was more like hours after hours of interrogation, first by Usean investigators then Osean asking her details to the attack on Flight 413. The fact that both sets of investigators - instead of collaborating with one another - asked her similar questions showed the growing distrust between Usea and Osean. To prove this hypothesis, Nagase returned to ICPO HQ and found out the deceased SDF members - identified after the battle - were from varying nationalities: Osea, Yuktobania, Usea, Sapin, Emmeria, Ustio and many others. Even though the space center attack could be classified as a failure, it caused the previously friendly nations to begin suspecting one another. If the latter was SDF's intentions, then they were successful beyond their wildest expectations, especially when Emmeria's involvement in the Flight 413 massacre was revealed.
Despite such problems, Nagase prioritized only one issue: Wilhelm Schulz. When she used Amansal as bait, she had never expected her former flight lead to be the person she was aiming for, a person she thought was dead, a person she dumped all her hatred into to drive her forward. But now that his identity was revealed, she felt refreshed for she now had a new goal to attain. But at the same time, she felt confused for the new knowledge gave her more questions than answers.
Despite Blaze's claim that an AI had been supporting him, he can't have stayed hidden for as long as he did. Her attempts at further investigations were often times stonewalled. Even other law/ intelligence agencies following up on his trail came up with nothing. Someone – especially one with power – must be covering him. If so, who is this person? And for what purpose?
Furthermore, Blaze's modus operandi were usually low-profile. The deceased Gray Men collaborators – those who had escaped the law or were acquitted by court due to lack of evidence – were found in the most discreet manner of death as humanly possible and many days - and even months - after their deaths. One example was Tomas Ferrer, a Sapiniard drug lord, who was killed in an explosion-induced landslide on his way to a mountain bungalow. The landslide occurred during a rainy season, thus no one suspected foul play until Nagase obtained soil samples which tested positive for cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine, a major component in C4. Tomas and his entourage weren't found until after a month when dig teams tasked with clearing the hillside roads found them in the coffins of their vehicles. A more recent example was Geofrey Amansal. His death was quick, caused by a stab wound from behind straight to the heart. He was probably dead before he touched the ground. The murder weapon hasn't been found since either.
But if Schulz's kill methods were so discreet, why are some deaths – such as the one befallen Nagase's mother – so gruesome, so high-profile? Knowing Blaze's character, Nagase thought he can't have committed such things. But then again, time changes people. If so, was he acting out of emotions then? Or was there another party involved? To answer these questions, however, Nagase knew she had to spin the evidence against her former flight lead, to accuse him of being a Gray Men conspirator so she can gain the jurisdiction to pursue him.
"There's on other way..."
"Hey, wake up!" Yalen Ozer – Nagase's boss - loudly said, kicking his subordinate's seat.
The female detective woke and managed to catch herself from falling off. The save, however, caused the folders and papers around and under her arms to fly off the desk.
"What time is it?" Nagase asked, blinking her eyes into focus.
"Are you blind? Use your eyes!" he shouted, drawing the attention of others around Nagase's cubicle.
As Nagase glanced to her computer clock which read 8:05 am, she overheard one of her colleagues saying, "Again? Why is he shouting at her again?"
"Your tone is really unnecessary" Nagase softly asked, keeping her cool as she picked up the fallen documents.
"You disobeyed my orders by not returning yesterday, and now I found you sleeping on the job!" he continued his screams.
"Once more, could you keep your voice down?" she asked.
"I told you to stop working at this trash!" he still shouted, deliberately stepping on several papers.
The relationship between Nagase and Ozer had initially been warm. But as the years go by and with each successful case closure, he became increasingly pompous. Even though little of the work towards those cases was his, he took credit for them. Nagase had always tolerated his horrendous behavior as she prioritized in investigating cases than kissing her boss's ass, and because she spent the majority of her time outside in the field away from him. And more importantly, Ozer's claim over the work meant Nagase could maintain a low-profile in her investigations, which is essential to her safety. No detective wants a target painted on him or her.
But today was different. The pilot-turned-detective had experienced a chaotic 3 days and she was having a headache from lack of sleep. Ozer's shout worsened it, and his stepping on her evidence material pertaining to Schulz was the last straw.
"Get your feet off or I will break your legs" she coldly said, making sure only her boss could hear.
"You have no right to threaten me!" Ozer shouted, still stepping the papers.
Suppressing her urge to maim the man, Nagase stood up and placed whatever document she could recover back on her desk.
"You think you are a brilliant detective?" she asked calmly but loudly enough so that everyone within 10 meters from her could hear. "Shit like you can't even be a trash eating mongrel. All those cases were investigated by me and the reports were written by Kendra. All you did was submit the materials and claim credit for the whole thing even though you have no clue about the cases"
"Why you-" he said, raising his fist.
"Ozer!" boomed a voice from across the room. "My office now!"
Nagase - in response to Ozer's getting physical - would have clobbered the black-haired, thin jawed, thin eyed man to the ground if Gerald Young – the department head - hadn't stopped them.
"Yes, sir" Ozer said, his face relaxing as he turned around to face Young. "I'll be there right now, sir"
Almost everyone that had been watching the heated discussion between Nagase and her superior were shaking their heads in disbelief at Ozer. The former pilot simply sighed as she bent back down to pick up the documents bearing Ozer's shoeprints.
"Wow, that's the first time you raised your voice like that" Kendra Welmington – Nagase's closest colleague –said, helping the former pilot.
"Don't bother. I'll do it myself" the black-haired woman said.
"You – the workaholic – sleeping on piles of paper and dropping them when you wake up, and me helping you pick them up: this scene happens just about everyday, I'm used to it. I'm just sorry I arrived late today. That shit Ozer got to you first. You are alright, right?" the blonde Usean native asked, smiling.
"Don't worry about it" Nagase replied, returning the smile.
"I was glad to hear your voice when you called two days ago. That space center attack was unexpected. We and the guys on 5th floor were running around like headless chicken yesterday" she said, handing her a thin pile of paper. "When did you get back?"
Nagase –straightening up - remembered signing a non-disclosure agreement of her involvement in Flight 413. Even though she was told the agreement was for her own protection, she knew it was more due to Osea's and Usea's wish to keep the matter under wraps. As much as she trusted Welmington – her best friend for three years – she didn't want to complicate the already volatile incident by revealing what she knew.
"Last night, about 9 pm. I couldn't get an earlier flight back" she lied.
"And I'm glad you couldn't. You might have ended up on flight 413. So tragic. I can't believe anyone could do such a thing"
"I'm sure there are more atrocities out there. We just don't know them"
"You are right" Welmington said, switching her eyes from Nagase to Young's office. "Looks like he's trying to butter Young up again. We both know it wouldn't work against that smart old man"
"I'm going to talk to Young" Nagase said.
"About what you just said? Good, that should get that bastard Ozer fired"
"No, not about that"
"Then what- oh, so that's what these documents were for, you will finally present this obsession of yours to him. About time. And while you are at it, get Ozer kicked out too, will ya?"
"I'll try" Nagase said, smiling slightly.
"Well, good luck. Let's catch up some more later, girl. Young will bite my head off if I slack off"
Nagase's smiling face turned into a solemn one when she looked back to the documents on her desk and reminded herself what needed to be done.
Unlike other high-ranking officers' office, Gerald Young's was smaller and plainer. A solitary painting of a fruit basket hung on the otherwise white-painted south wall. Two glass panes served the north and west walls while a third, thicker pane separated the room from the building's exterior. A large wooden desk in the middle of the office, a metal cabinet at one corner, a high-back leather seat and two smaller task chairs flanking the desk, a computer on the desk and a touch-tone telephone completed inventory of the room's observable objects.
Nagase sat at one of the desk chairs, reading from an open folder of documents. Young – a 54 year-old man with white hair and moustache and sharp, penetrating blue eyes - was looking at a copy of the same folder of documents. The female detective then typed into her laptop, changing the contents of its monitor.
"Therefore, I deem it necessary for further investigations into this" Nagase concluded.
"By my understanding, you want me to exercise Provision 14, thereby giving you operational jurisdiction in every member nations in order to apprehend this man" he asked, pointing at the laptop's monitor showing a frozen footage of waiter picking up fallen glasses.
"Yes, sir"
"You claim he was complicit with the Gray Men in their attacks. But on the other side of the table," Young started, "could you also say he was getting rid of them? Seems to me Gray Men conspirators were dying left and right whenever he appears."
Expecting Young – a man known for his sharp observations – to offer that possibility, Nagase countered by saying, "that also crossed my mind. But considering the evidence I have presented which supported my earlier claim, and the lack thereof which supports yours, I considered it more prudent to pursue him as a conspirator rather than a vigilante. The latter is outside our line of investigations"
"I see that your investigation started over 2 years ago. Why did you report this only now?"
"I had no evidence then. Even now, in hindsight, you could say I still have no concrete proof. But time and again a man of his description was accounted for, either through eyewitness records or camera footage, in majors events involving Gray Men members" she said.
"I can't dispute the logic of your reasoning to pursue him as a criminal" Young said. "But I can't invoke Provision 14 as it places the law enforcement agencies of member nations under your jurisdiction. They won't accept speculation and circumstantial evidence as grounds to surrender their powers"
"But-" Nagase objected.
"But" Young continued, preempting her. "That doesn't mean I'm stopping you from continuing your investigations. I will have make Interpol resources available to you"
"T-thank you, sir" Nagase said, beaming.
"Continue your excellent work, detective. But remember, the jurisdiction of local police force still supersedes yours. They may decide to help if they wish, but I expect you to back down if they decide to handle matters on their own." Young reminded her of Interpol's limitation.
"I understand"
"Have you shared all this information with anyone else?" Young asked.
"With my superior Yalen Ozer"
"And what did he say?"
"He dismissed my findings due to lack of concrete evidence" Nagase said, smiling internally when she saw the frown on Young's face.
"Can your words during the earlier dispute between the two of you be proven?"
"Kendra Welmington and I can testify for that, yes. But a more effective method would be asking him details on past cases which our team had worked on"
"Why haven't you reported this?"
"We did not think it more important than our work"
"Hmm" Young simply grunted. "You may go now"
While he did not say it, Nagase had an inkling that Young planned to go beyond suspending Ozer for immature conduct, which he did a few hours ago. Her direct superior's rude, all-knowing behavior had always irritated her. Getting rid of him would improve her and Welmington's working environment. But such thing was trivial to her. Now with Young's support, chasing after her former flight lead was the only thing on her mind.
A/N: Drake, I played only AC4,5,Zero,6, never Skies of Deception. I don't have a PSP, XD. But when I wiki-ed SoD up, it seems to have a lot of Falken-caliber super planes.