It didn't take long for everyone to arrive. Lin had told everyone that it was an emergency, so they came as fast as they could. They were definitely a funny sight.
Ayako's hair was in a bun on the top of her head. Masako forgot her shoes. Yasu was shirtless and left without his glasses. Takigawa's shirt was not only inside out but backwards. And Father Brown, being the selfless person that he was, hadn't even bothered to change out of his pajamas. If only Mai could have seen this. She would've been rolling on the floor from laughing so hard.
Once everyone was seated they eagerly waited what I had to say.
"We have a case at eight in the morning." I didn't know how else to go about saying it.
"You couldn't have called us in the morning?" Tawkigawa said yawning while he stretched.
"I know where Mai is." As soon as the words left my mouth everyone was perfectly quiet and looked up at me shocked.
"So what does this have to do with the case in the morning?" This time Ayko spoke up.
"If everyone would stop interrupting me and let me speak maybe I could tell you." I couldn't help but to snap at them. "The man who hired us is the one who took Mai."
"If we know where she is why don't we just go get her or call the police!" Tawkigawa yelled at me. His face full of anger.
"This is a delicate situation. If we or anyone else goes barging in, he probably won't hesitate to kill her. He is sadistic and unstable, so he won't give her up without a fight. I still don't know why he took her, but he's been..." I could hardly bring myself to say it. "He's been torturing her." Everyone's faced turned downward to hide their emotions.
"How do you know all this?" Masako asked with her kimono sleeve in front of her mouth.
"Mai has been entering my dreams, the way Gene entered hers. I've seen and spoke to her. Also Gene has told me things. He visits her."
"He didn't move on after you found him?" Father Brown looked troubled by this, but I ignored it.
"No, but that isn't important right now." I was losing my patience.
"Why did he hire us? Obviously he doesn't know the connection between us and Mai, but why?" Yasu seemed to be the only one that was focused.
"Gene 'persuaded' him." I almost smiled but forced it away.
"Naru sent Gene to haunt him so he would have no choice but to hire us. This way we can find Mai safely without being suspected." Lin clarified.
"So no exorcisms. Am I clear?" I cringed at the thought of Gene being exorcised. "This is not a ghost hunting, this is a rescue operation. We have to be careful and act like it's just another case. If he suspects anything, the entire operation could be jeopardized. With that being said, no one goes anywhere alone. Yasu, Father Brown, and Tawkigawa will stay together and Ayako, Miss Hara, and Lin will stay together."
"Naru we have been through this before. I will stay with you. Send Tawkigawa with the girls, and Father Brown is capable of protecting Yasu." Lin was getting on my nerves.
"You forget that this is not a spirit we need to defend ourselves from. Spiritualist power is useless against a human. If there is a problem it will result in physical violence. The only three of us that would stand a chance in a fight is you, Tawkigawa, and myself. We all know I can defend myself better than anyone and I'll keep Gene with me to watch my back. Plus, one of us has to search for Mai. It would be too obvious if more than one of us were doing it. You all have to lead him into believing this is a normal investigation. Keep him distracted while I find her." Lin knew I was right and didn't disagree with me.
"Let's do this as quickly as possible. This will be extremely risky. If we mess up, it could get all of us killed. If you want out speak up now. If it wouldn't look suspicious I wouldn't allow most of you to come."
"Like hell you wouldn't!" Ayako blurted out furiously.
"She's right." Yasu chimed in. "Mai is what keeps us together. We all want to do whatever it takes to get her back."
"Well everyone gather whatever you need and be back here in an hour. Once you have returned some of you can sleep for an hour while the rest of us load the equipment." I could tell by looking at them Yasu, John, and Masako needed some more rest.
Everyone left to get their things and returned within forty-five minutes. Masako curled up on the couch and Yasu took the chair and fell asleep quickly.
"Hey John why don't you lay down for a while? We can get this stuff loaded. You look exhausted didn't you sleep at all last night?" Tawkigawa looked at John with concern.
"I was up all night talking to my sister. The time difference is a bit of an unconvinced." He answered sweetly. "But I'm not tired and I want to help."
No one argued with him. We quickly began loading the van and was done in no time. I insisted that everyone get some rest. Mostly everyone, including Lin, took me up on this offer. John and I were the only ones left awake. I sat in my office flipping Mai's key in my hand.
'My anchor.' I thought to myself. I gripped the key firmly and placed it against my lips. As I did they was a knock on the door as it slowly opened.
"Kazuya?" John peeked his head around the corner. I found it odd that he still addressed me by my fake name.
"Yes, what's wrong?" I could tell something was bothering him.
"I wanted to talk to you about gene." My body tensed at the request.
"What about him Father Brown?"
"The fact that he is still here is troubling to say the least. Why hasn't he moved on? Have you tried to convince him to go into the light?" John's face was serious. He placed his hands on mine as if to console me and I quickly retreated.
"He will move on whenever he wants. It is none of my business." My voice was cold. I wanted him to get the message that the conversation was over.
"Aren't you worried about him being fading into corruption like Kenji was? Sometimes we hold on because we aren't ready to let go, but..."
"I'm not keeping him here." I shot back quickly. I knew he meant well but now was not the time for this. "I don't care why he's here, but if he wasn't I would have never found Mai."
"Maybe that's why he's still here. He may be acting as your guardian angel. I've seen it plenty of times, but in the end we all must go where we are destined to be. I didn't mean to intrude. Just thought I would share my concern." With that he turned and left.
'He's not my guardian angel. He's her's.' I thought bitterly to myself.
Maybe he was being corrupted. Maybe the whole reason he came back was to take Mai with him. I rubbed my hands over my face.
"He wouldn't be helping you fight to keep her alive if that was the case." Lin came out of nowhere.
"You know I hate it when you read my mind." I spat angrily at him.
"Get some sleep. You'll need all your strength tomorrow." He placed his hand on my shoulder. "Just remember you are still my top priority."
I didn't respond I just laid my head on my desk and let exhaustion take over.
...
Morning came quickly and we headed out. I rode alone with Lin while everyone else rode with Tawkigawa. It was an hour drive to our destination. As we got closer a large house appeared in the distance. It's traditional architecture was amazing. It was hard to believe that a monster like Taichi lived behind such beautiful walls.
As we arrived everyone got out of the vehicles and you could feel the tension between everyone.
"Let's go." I said once I felt they had time to gather themselves.
"Right." Tawkigawa said quietly. "Into the dragon's Lair."