Sayuri was surprised that she hadn't experienced a heart attack by the time the team arrived on the outskirts of downtown Okinawa. The vehicle that had picked them up from the airport had the same type of tinted windows as those the SUV had possessed, so that she couldn't see what was transpiring on the streets. The length of time it took to make the trip didn't give her a moment to relax, as they had to spend several minutes at a stand-still in traffic.
Hayashi gave her a sympathetic look as his eyes fell on her clenched fists. "The authorities said that the turnout downtown is impeding traffic, but we are going to get there, Detective. Remember, no one will be expecting us to arrive with Matsuo this early."
Sayuri couldn't bring herself to nod.
"Why did you insist on coming along on this venture?" he asked. "It does not appear to be doing you any good. We have the situation under control, Detective. There are very few sources even inside the Police department who have knowledge of our movement."
She looked at him squarely. "You don't understand Takashi's motivation," she said bluntly, but kept her voice low. "This is not about racism or unfair prison conditions. His people will come for him; mark my words, Sergeant."
"This will be over soon, and he will be secure."
"Believe what you like, but keep your gun in reach," she returned.
Sayuri glanced over her shoulder and saw Takashi in the second row of seats behind her. The Asian man caught her eye and started to give her another smile, before she could turn away.
I am not being paranoid. I'm not. There is no mistaking this; he is too smug. I cannot stand the ignorance surrounding this man's case! Anger pulsed in the back of her mind, but it couldn't compete with the fear that was still building as the van crawled along at a snail's pace.
Sayuri eventually began to pick up voices resounding from outside the vehicle. She wished that she could see out the windows to assure herself that they were only civilians, but there was no way to be certain from her position. She felt Hayashi shift on the seat next to her, and the man suddenly withdrew his phone to read something from the screen.
"The driver has to change directions," he told Sayuri. "The mess only becomes greater as we get closer to your Prefectural Police Headquarters."
"And this doesn't seem like a set-up to you?" she demanded softly.
"These are no friends of Takashi," he countered. "The picketers are growing increasingly agitated. They should not realize that we have him in our custody, but we don't need to get cornered by them either. A small change in route should get us there more quickly."
Sayuri wasn't known for sarcasm, but she was very tempted to tell the man how she really felt about his plan. The Sergeant was technically her superior and therefore worthy of respect, but she believed even less now that he was aware of the true risk involved in shuttling Takashi.
She was tempted to message Greg again to update him on their current location, but Sayuri decided to hold off until they'd reached the familiar U-shaped building. If we get there at all, she thought anxiously. This was not the right time for the civilians to come out in force. I know that there must be victims among them, as well as parents who never received their daughters back, but we don't need reasons to take a detour. It seems that if the Akiudo were watching, they would try to take full advantage of this situation.
Time was frozen as the van continued moving slowly. Sayuri wanted nothing more than to hurry up and finish this task, so she would be able to breathe again. The slow speed at which they were moving made it difficult to determine how close they might be to her Headquarters. She brushed the back of her hand against her forehead, and wasn't surprised to find that she was sweating. Sayuri felt Hayashi's gaze once more, and realized that he still had his phone in hand.
"They are congregating around the Station," he mentioned. "There is enough unrest being displayed that the Police have dispatched riot forces, Detective Kimura. Have no fear. Matsuo will not be liberated by his old cronies, or taken by an angry mob. We are moving into position to bring him in secretly, and security inside the building has multiplied. That must make you feel a little better."
I wish I could say that it did, she thought inwardly. "We shall see," she answered vaguely, never releasing the fists that were clenched at her sides.
Sayuri stiffened when the van came to a complete stop, half expecting an attack to occur at any moment. Someone tapped a pattern against the outside door, and she sat rigidly while Hayashi moved to unlock it.
"We arranged the signal in advance," he explained to Sayuri. "A random person would not know the correct combination. Relax, Detective, we are here, back at your own Police Headquarters. I told you I would get you here, did I not?"
His smile was a little too cocky for her liking, but Sayuri did exhale at the sight of the building. The unmarked van had pulled up behind the structure, the furthest point away from the demonstrating. She stayed in her seat until the Officers had already helped Takashi out of the van, and heard Hayashi speak to him.
"Hundreds of people turned out for your welcome home party, Matsuo, would you care to greet them?"
"Of what concern are those fools to me?" Takashi scoffed.
Hayashi shook his head. "I don't believe you would say that if we were to leave you alone with them, but we have a job to complete."
"Yes, carry on, Sergeant, by all means. You must finish your important mission," Takashi returned.
As Sayuri climbed out of the van, her legs felt stiff from being in the same locked position for so long. She immediately looked in every direction. The woman could hear demonstrators, though she couldn't see them from where she was. Black uniformed riot police had formed a semi-circle around the building, and were unmoved from their positions.
As she walked at the end of the team, Sayuri kept scanning their surroundings. She noticed a couple of the helmeted riot police coming toward them before the others did, and tensed until one of them removed his visor.
"We have received a number of threats of violence. They have locked down the building to restrict access without proper clearance," the officer told her.
Hayashi looked back at Sayuri as she was already nodding.
"I have the codes," she told them. "We will not require your assistance. Are you expecting a full scale riot?"
"Our orders were to let nothing cross the perimeter of the building. What may happen with the crowds is yet to be seen."
"Maybe bringing him here was not wise." Hayashi sounded uncertain for the first time.
But now that they had arrived, Sayuri was not about to concede to fighting their way through slow-moving traffic again. "You said yourself that the people don't know he's here yet," she pointed out. "Since we are already here, we are probably better off riding this out." Sayuri didn't tell Hayashi that her beleaguered mind couldn't handle the possibility of being waylaid inside a vehicle for much longer.
The woman walked to the head of the group to get the door open with her card, and led everyone else through the first hallway on the ground floor.
Hayashi came to her side. "Let's get him into a holding area, and then we can find out how long the transfer to the next prison is going to take."
"Are you staying onboard for that part?" she asked.
He grinned. "You are stuck with me until Matsuo is safely behind prison bars again, Detective."
Sayuri offered him her first smile of the day. "I apologize if I have seemed extraordinarily paranoid. If you knew what I have been through with this gang, you would not consider it an overreaction."
Hayashi shook his head. "That is not how I am thinking of you, Detective. But my understanding of the Akiudo is that many of them are locked up, or scattered to the wind. Do you have some reason to suspect differently?"
As a matter of fact, I do, not that I can explain it to you, she thought ruefully. "I have heard things about them, rumors of organization taking place in their ranks," she said after a couple of seconds. "But I know nothing for certain," she qualified.
Sayuri continued leading since they were within her own Headquarters, taking the group to an elevator to reach the appropriate floor they needed for a holding area. The Station appeared to be fully staffed, but business had temporarily ceased in the face of the conditions outside. She could sense the nerves in the air like electricity.
I would feel better if this was already over. I should really communicate with Greg-chan about our progress. Once we have Takashi stowed away, I will make a point to do that.
Sayuri sent a detailed text message to Greg as she was sitting with the rest of the transport team in uncomfortable plastic chairs, waiting for their next orders. There was food at least; a fact for which the woman was grateful. She hadn't eaten all day because of the stress involved in moving Takashi.
The atmosphere of the building had not improved in the span of time during which they'd been standing by. If anything, anxiety seemed to be running higher. How dangerous could these demonstrators be? Surely there cannot be as many of them as to pose a large threat to—
The sight of a figure running was enough to break Sayuri out of thought, and she got up to see where the man was going. He was wearing the same gear as the riot forces stationed outside, though he'd temporarily removed his helmet.
"We have had a breach on the lower level; they are breaking out windows!" the man exclaimed.
Sayuri didn't wait to hear the rest, whirling around to face Hayashi.
"Perhaps we should move to higher ground, to assure Matsuo's security," he suggested.
"You are beginning to sound like me," she replied. "There is another holding block three floors above us. We could take him there."
Hayashi nodded curtly, and the team sprang back into motion as if they'd worked together for years. Takashi actually laughed when they walked in to retrieve him.
"You cannot make up your mind where I belong, Sergeant, Kimura?"
"I know exactly where you belong, Takashi, but I am forbidden by law from sending you there!" Sayuri seethed.
Hayashi nudged her toward the door, away from the prisoner. "Lead the way, Detective, and pay this criminal no heed!"
Sayuri took the small processional back through the hallway, moving swiftly for the closest elevator. As they approached, two men in riot police attire came around the opposite corner, and jumped onto the elevator car behind them.
"Someone hit the button for the seventh floor!" Sayuri called.
One of the officers that had just joined them had his phone in one hand, and pressed a button with the other.
The car began moving after a pause, but to her consternation, it was traveling in the wrong direction.
"No, we need to get higher!" she called over the heads of her own team.
"We will remedy the situation momentarily," one of the men returned.
Sayuri watched as the elevator traveled down two more floors before it came to a stop. She couldn't see what was happening by the control panel, so she was shocked when the doors opened onto the second floor. She opened her mouth to speak, right before the lights were suddenly cut off.
Sayuri craned her neck in irritation to see around the men that were surrounding her. In the faint glow of overhead emergency lights, she suddenly noticed that there were dark figures waiting on the other side of the elevator doors. The next thing she realized was that they each had weapons already trained on her group.