Chapter 9
Next day, I did a shift at Kenshi's restaurant and in the evening I went to the Le Rendard Noir and we discussed the next mission. Riki explained that they had discovered the real location of the Cherry Blossom, a politician called Ozawa had stolen it and was keeping it in his house. Just as before, he showed us the blue prints of the house and explained the plan in full detail.
The next night, we were all waiting in a van outside the mansion. The mansion was huge, how were we going to find the painting?
From Riki had told us, Ozawa had the real painting here and sold the museum a fake one. Thankfully after the bomb, Ozawa had put off selling the painting to a mafia by a few days.
"There are 3 security cameras around the exterior wall. Here." Takuto said.
Just as before, he was sat at his computer typing away. He must have been concentrating, he had a very serious look on his face. I wondered if I was going to stay here with him again. I couldn't stop thinking about that bomb, I hoped that it wouldn't happen again.
"Roger. Boss, cut the power lines nearby. So it should cause a temporary power outage to the area." Riki explained.
There was a bright flash and after a short time, all the nearby lights went out and the whole neighborhood was plunged into darkness.
"All right, Hiro you're on." Riki ordered.
"Ok." Hiro said.
We watched the video coming from the camera pinned onto Hiro.
"What's going on here? Looks like a power outage." A guard said.
"Hey, where are the candles?" another asked.
Hiro pressed the button on Ozawa's intercom.
"Yes, who is it?"
"I'm from the power company, some power lines are damaged and here's a blackout in the neighborhood. I need to climb your fence so I can repair the power lines." Hiro said.
"Ok, I'll ask the man of the house."
After a while, someone who appeared to be Ozawa came out into the yard.
"Hey! Why is there a power outage?" he demanded.
"We're searching for the cause right now, do you mind if I climb your fence here to take a look at the power line?" Hiro asked.
Ozawa looked skeptical.
"You have security cameras here, don't you? If I don't get the power up and running, your house will be insecure." Hiro said.
"Oh all right, all right. You can climb over, just hurry up and fix it."
"Thank you sir." Hiro said and bowed politely.
Soon after, a man who appeared to be a security guard came outside.
"That guy is guarding the back, so that means security inside the house is light." Takuto said.
The computer screen then switched to an image of the interior of Ozawa's mansion.
"I've accessed the security system's feed."
"Can you see video from all the cameras?" Riki asked.
"Yeah." Takuto said.
Riki stared at the computer screen.
"This is where the paintings are hanging." Riki said and pointed.
There were numerous famous paintings hanging on the walls.
"No one's on the east side of the yard, we'll sneak into mansion from there and make our way to that room." He said.
"All right, let's go." Kenshi said.
"You're coming with us Faye." Riki said.
"What? Really?" I asked.
It was nice they were trying to make me part of the team but wouldn't I just get in the way?
"You're really taking her?" Takuto said.
"Hey, didn't we already have this discussion? Faye is coming with us." Kenshi said.
"Takuto, don't worry I'll protect her." Riki said.
Riki then grabbed my arm.
"Listen to me, don't leave me side for a second." He said firmly.
"I won't." I said.
"Come on, I'll teach you everything you need to know." He said.
I nodded and we got out of the van.
"All right, no guards here." Kenshi said.
He easily scalped the wall, I just stared in amazement. He made it look so easy, he was like Spiderman.
"Freya, grab on." He said and held his out of me.
I started to climb and grabbed his hand, he pulled me up easily and I jumped over the wall and landed on my hands and knees in the garden.
"Let's pick the rear door and enter the mansion." Riki said.
"Got it." Kenshi said.
I followed them into the mansion.
I couldn't believe it; this was my first mission in where I actually broke into a place. It was kind of exciting. I knew I shouldn't feel excited about this but I did, I didn't know why. It was a strange feeling.
"Riki, come in." Takuto said over the radio. "There are no guards on the eastern hallway. Go straight and you'll find the center room."
"Roger." Riki said.
A few minutes later,
"We're in front of it Takuto. There's an electric lock on the door." Riki said.
"That lock runs power from a generator so it'll still be on even though there's a power outage. I'll tell you how to disarm it." Takuto said.
Riki obeyed Takuto's instructions, he pressed a few button and the lock bleeped opened.
"It's open, let's go in." He said.
We walked into the room, there were countless paintings all over the walls.
"Wow, all of these are famous paintings. Oh, the one on the right, that's 'Cherry Blossom'." I said and pointed.
"Wait!" Riki said loudly.
I went to step into the room but Riki grabbed my arm and stopped me.
"What's up?" Kenshi asked.
Riki didn't answer, he took out a small ball from his pocket and threw it into the room.
"Whoa!" I gasped.
Lasers shot out from the wall and hit the ball.
"Ooh. Damn it. I didn't know he had this." Kenshi said.
"I though the security was light compared to how many valuable paintings he has." Riki said.
If Riki hadn't stopped me from going in, I would have been burnt alive by those lasers. I stood there in stunned silence. Riki then gently placed his hand on my shoulder.
"Don't worry, I said I'd protect you, didn't I?" he said with a gentle smile.
I only nodded and took a deep breath to calm my nerves. I was thankful to have Riki and Kenshi with me, otherwise I'd probably die of fear.
"Takuto, the room's equipped with lasers. Can you disable them?" Riki said.
"Lasers huh? They didn't show up on the security profile. I'll try to hack into the system and disable the lasers."
"I'll leave it to you then." Riki said.
After a few minutes,
"Hey, you done? If you take that long, a guard will come." Kenshi said.
"I need more time, the firewalls strong. So I can't get into the system." Takuto said.
I twiddled my thumbs and fingers nervously, if we got caught we would be done for. Every second felt an eternity till..
"All right, it's disabled." Takuto said.
The lasers disappeared.
"Good job. All right, Kenshi hurry up and put the painting in the case." Riki said.
"Ok." Kenshi said.
They both started to take down the painting.
"Wait." I said and stopped them.
"What is it?" Kenshi asked.
"This is another fake." I said.
It looked almost identical to the first one we stole.
"What? Are you serious?!" Kenshi said.
"Yes." I said firmly.
"I can't believe, another counterfeit. But why?" Kenshi said looking annoyed.
"He must have the real one somewhere." Riki said.
"But how will we find them? We're running out of time." Kenshi said. "Damn it! We're so close!"
Kenshi then punched the wall and there was a loud thud.
"That sound.." Riki said.
"That's what I thought too." Kenshi said.
"Sound?" I questioned.
"There's something on the other side of this wall." Riki said.
He crouched down and examined the surface of the wall.
"There's a hidden button." He said.
"A hidden button?" Kenshi said.
Riki pressed it and the painting swung out, hiding an identical painting behind it.
Ozawa must be really desperate to keep his paintings safe to go to all this trouble.
"That's the real one." I said.
"After what happened at the museum, Ozawa must have set this trap with the counterfeits. Pretty smart." Kenshi said.
Riki smiled and ruffled my hair.
"That was amazing, the way you saw through it." He said.
"Thanks." I said and smiled back.
"Kenshi, put the originals in the case." He ordered.
"Roger." Kenshi said.
We ran back into the yard with the paintings stashed in the case.
"Let's hurry and get out here. Who knows what could happen next." Kenshi said.
We raced to the exit when suddenly a guard noticed us.
"I saw someone over there."
A bunch of men started running towards us.
"Shit they found us. We were too sloppy. Kenshi, take her and get out of here." Riki ordered.
"Riki!" Kenshi protested.
"I'll take care of these guys." Riki said.
"Take care of them? You're outnumbered and they might have weapons." I said.
"Just get out here."
"But-"
"Don't worry, I'll come back. I promise." He said confidently.
How could he be so confident in this kind of situation?
"Faye, let's go." Kenshi said.
He grabbed my army and pulled me along with him.
"Hurry up!"
"I'm coming." I said and started to run.
I looked back at Riki and silently hoped that he would come back safe.
Five minutes later,
"Riki's not back yet?" Hiro asked.
Boss was silent.
"What if he got caught by the guards?" Hiro said.
"It's been five minutes. If he doesn't come back in two more minutes, let's go." Boss said.
Were they serious? What would happen to him if he got caught?
Takuto silently put his arms around my shoulders.
"Don't worry, Riki's stronger than you might think." He said.
He was actually being nice, I was shocked. I turned and halfheartedly smiled at him.
"1 minute 30 seconds." Hiro whispered as he stared at his watch. "1 minute 40… 45… 50… 55…"
Just then, the door opened with a bang and Riki came flying in.
"Sorry I took so long, Kenshi, let's go."
"Riki!" I beamed and couldn't help but smile.
"Roger." Kenshi said and floored the accelerator and we sped away.
The van raced through the sleeping city.
"Your lip is cut, Riki." Takuto said.
"It's been a while since I got into it with guards like that. But this is just a scratch." He said and wiped blood from his lip.
"You're such a stud Riki. I bet you knocked 'em all out." Hiro said and laughed.
"I'm glad you came back safe." I said.
He smiled and ruffled my hair.
"Told you I'd come back, didn't I?" he said.
His arrogance made me laugh, he was amazing. I guess that's why he was the leader of the black foxes.
After we arrived back at Le Renard Noir, we had a party to celebrate the successful mission.
"Cheers!" Kenshi said.
"I'll arrange for the paintings we recovered to be sent back to their original owners. And those that can't be returned will be donated to national museums." Boss said.
"I'm glad." I said.
"This is all because Faye realized that they were fake. Surprisingly, she actually is a curator." Kenshi said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I demanded.
Kenshi just laughed.
"Hey, I dare you to a drink contest." I said to him and placed a shot in front of him.
"Challenge accepted."
He downed the shot without any hesitation, he then poured me a shot. I did the exact the same. As we got to our third shot, Hiro said;
"By the way. What is this? Some kind of code? On the back of the painting?"
There was a string of numbers and letters written on the back of the painting.
"It looks like some kind of code." I said.
"Gramps said if we got all three paintings, we'd solve the mystery of Lady of Camellias. Right?" Kenshi said. "So maybe if we line all three up, it'll make sense."
"Yeah probably. When we get all three, I'll put it in a program and try to break the code. Then we'll definitely find 'Lady of the camellias." Takuto said.
"Whoa, it's pretty rare to see you so enthusiastic." Kenshi said.
Takuto just stared at me.
"What?"
"Nothing." He said and looked away.
I shrugged and me and Kenshi continued out drinking contest.
An hour later, I was helping Kenshi up the stairs. We drank too much together, he could barely walk.
"Kenshi, you're really heavy. At least try to walk." I said.
He laughed "Sorry. You're a good drinking buddy, there aren't many people who can out drink me." He beamed speaking loudly.
We reached the top of the stairs, I walked to the nearest empty room and dumped in the bed. I headed back downstairs and walked past Riki's room, he was sat on the sofa staring at the 'Cherrry Blossom' painting. I hadn't even noticed that he wasn't downstairs with us.
"I was just appreciating the painting here by myself." He said.
I walked into the room and joined him on the sofa. He was holding a glass of wine in his hand, I took it from him and took a small sip. It was good wine.
"Enjoy the party? You and Kenshi seem to be getting on well."
I just shrugged and gave him back his glass "He makes a good drinking buddy but he needs more practice if he's going to beat me in a drinking game." I said.
I then looked at the painting, it had been a long time since I had actually seen my gramps work.
"You can feel such deep love in this painting. Can't you?" I said.
I reached out and gently touched it. I ran my fingers over every stroke, every details. I could easily imagine my gramps painting this. In the painting, there was a little girl stood alone in a street lined with cherry blossoms in full bloom. She was smiling.
"You can tell the artist was looking upon the model very kindly." I said.
"Yeah but I don't know … don't you think the little girl kind of looks like you?"
"Hm? I don't know. It's hard to say." I said.
"She has the same aura as you, the same smile." He said.
The girl in the painting was smiling, she looked as happy.
"Do you know what the cherry blossom means in the language of flowers? It means 'smiling at you'."
"Really?" I said and smiled at the painting.
It was so beautiful; it was almost like I was sitting in gramps studio watching him work.
I went home not long after, I snuck in and went straight to bed. I felt bad, I had hardly seen Ranko and Tatsuro since I moved in. I was either working in the restaurant or with the black foxes. The next morning, I was sat on the sofa drawing when Ranko invited me out to lunch.
"I'm so glad we're doing this." I said.
"Yeah, it's been a while since we've seen you." Tatsuro said.
"It's because we're so busy. Are you still chasing the black foxes?" Ranko asked.
"Yeah but I don't have any leads on them. Or the explosion from before." He said.
That was a relief.
"What explosion?" I asked.
"Didn't you hear? The black foxes tried to steal from a museum and they set off a bomb. The police say the black foxes did it but I don't believe them." Ranko said.
"Why?" I asked.
"It's not their usual MO. I think someone is trying to set them up."
"Don't talk about things you don't understand." Tatsuro said.
"What?" Ranko said and they both started arguing.
I couldn't help but laugh and they both stopped and looked at me.
"I'm sorry, I've missed this." I said.
"Yeah, it's like we're back in school again." Ranko laughed.
"How about tonight, I cook us a nice meal and we'll watch our favourite films?" I said.
They both smiled.
"That sounds nice." Tatsuro said.
He looked relieved, I bet he thought that I was still avoiding him after he confessed his feelings to me.
"All right, time for me to get back to work." He said.
He then sighed heavily.
"There must be clues somewhere…" he mumbled.
He was working so hard to try and catch the black foxes and here I was, lying to him. Deceiving him. I was a horrible person.
"If it was that easy to find clues, anyone could be a detective. Ha, I wonder if there's a good scoop somewhere?" Ranko said.
"You two really are brother and sister." I said and laughed again.
"That's rude." They both said at the same time.
Tatsuro left us, leaving just me and Ranko.
"Are you still working at that restaurant?" she asked.
"Yeah, but the museum should be opening either tomorrow or the day after. My boss text me this morning. I'm looking forward to going back."
"I bet, when are you next working?"
"Later on today. I'll be done by the time you and Tatsuro are back, I'll buy the food for our meal. You guys get the alcohol and choose the films." I said.
She laughed "I can't wait."
That evening, I made us all curry and handmade naan bread. Tatsuro bought alcohol and Ranko chose the films. We were snuggled up onto the sofa with a blanket over us, just like when we were kids. I was sat next to Tatsuro, it was getting late and I was tired. Tatsuro shoulder looked so comfy. I snuggled up next to him and rested my head on his shoulder.
Before I knew it, I was fast asleep. I awoke to the feeling of something touching my hair. I opened my eyes, I was lying on Tatsuro's lap and he was stroking my hair.
"Sorry, did I wake you?" he said.
I sat up and stretched, I then turned and saw that it was only 4am.
"No, it's alright. I should probably get to bed." I said.
"Ok." He said and looked away.
Things were awkward again.
"Tatsuro.." I said and took hold of his hand. "You know that I care about you right? You're my friend."
He smiled and squeezed my hand back "I know."
"Listen, I've been meaning to discuss a few things with you. Things have been really awkward lately and I think it's time I went back to my own apartment." I said.
"What?" he gasped and looked upset.
"It's just… too awkward being around you all the time. I think things would be better if we spent some time a part."
He looked away for a moment but then nodded and turned back.
"You're right."
"Good, I'll tell Ranko tomorrow." I said.
I hugged him good night before I went to bed.