Chapter 15: What Tory Feared

A search for Iceman was commenced in the days following his disappearance. Had he not been a netnavi employed for government works or not been under the ownership of Dr. Seiji Froid, the chief engineer of Waterworks facility, then surely no resources would have been allocated for such a trivial occurrence. It was one thing for a human to go missing, and another thing for a netnavi to go missing. In the case of the latter, the only question it evoked was a legal one, as a navi was simply a property and replaceable, no matter how special it might be constructed, if sufficient compensation is given. Iceman was not found, and in two days, the official search was over. Again, had Iceman belonged to an intelligence agency and had, in his possession, some classified information, the situation would have approached authorities as one of crisis and the search would have been never given up. In the end, Iceman was one of the civilian navis.

Mr. Yamitaro was questioned, needless to say, and quite forcibly by police officers and interrogators who found his faint-hearted nature enjoyable to persecute. He was cooperative in everything, but did not answer where the portal he set up, now closed, led to. At first, authorities pressed him believing he was playing with them or being loyal to his cartel, and with enough beatings, he would squeal. Later, even the most diabolical of them had to admit that Mr. Yamitaro was simply ignorant, and that he was used by WWW even more unfairly than they had first speculated. He was released within a week, having paid the fine, which was not heavy for his crime.

Not wanting to make a scandal out of a missing netnavi, and fearing its effect on the upcoming election, the local governor issued a press control, and the incident of Mr. Higure Yamitaro never made it to the newspapers. To Netto, this initially appeared to him as unjust, but later hearing from his father how that poor man was treated in the detention cell, he came to pity the man, who had been a victim of someone's manipulations and unkindness all his life.

Tory's friends continued to make sweeps throughout the internet, though limited to the areas they had safe access to. Given the involvement of WWW in the matter, they all knew that their efforts were misplaced and in vain; nevertheless, they did so out of genuine kindness or hope of consoling that introverted boy who continued to refuse to get another navi in replacement of Iceman.

A week later, Iceman was found, or rather, he came back by himself. Tory found him in his PET one morning, and he acted all normal as if nothing had happened to him on the other side. It was a very suspicious occurrence, for sure. Given WWW's involvement in the incident, it was unbelievable to accept that a civilian navi like him could have come out of the trouble unscathed and had nothing special to report about. Naturally, Dr. Seiji Froid and two officers from the Netpolice questioned the returned navi for details; all they received was a simple story: he found himself somewhere in the undernet, he wandered around, and the progress was slow as he had to frequently hide himself from the dangerous navis and bizarre programs there, but eventually found a way back to the Densan area. From there, he said, it was an easy way back to Tory's PET. The particulars of the story were so well designed that it felt rather artificial, yet unable to find any evidence against Iceman, and not finding any errors in him with a full scan, he was returned to Froids. In a way, Mr. Yamitaro was responsible for making the story of Iceman believable; his incompetence lent some credibility to the first premise of the story, which was finding himself adrift somewhere on the undernet instead of the elusive WWW server.

Tory Froid was quick to share his good fortune with his friends. "Look who is back!" was what he said as he entered Netto's classroom one morning, already having shown Iceman to his friends in the same class. Netto and company congratulated him on the good fortune and asked the same questions, out of curiosity, the netpolice asked before: how could he come back? What did he see? What was his story? Iceman retold his version of the events verbatim, not a single word, not a single expression different from what he told the officials. Tory and friends could not have known, for they were not in the observer's room during the interview. The officials could not have known, for they were not in the ACDC classroom, witnessing this bizarre regularity. Rockman, who had been caught in a mild case of self-loathing for not having noticed Iceman making wrong steps during his standoff with Numberman, was especially glad and happy that the little navi came back safely. He hugged Iceman, told him how worried he was, how Tory refused to get another navi in his absence, and assured him how much Tory loved him. Rockman did not notice, however, how Iceman indescribably fixed his gaze upon him, and how in his eyes were wonders and questions that he never spoke out.

It did not take one week for the good fortune to reverse.

Tory came to school more tired and disturbed than the previous day. It was obvious that he was losing sleep. Despite his friends' pleas to go home and get some rest, also reminding him that no exams or major assignments were due soon, he was adamant about not going home early. Every day, he desperately sought a way to spend time with his friends after school, trying to delay his return home as much as it was physically possible, and when they all parted at the end, he always hesitated as if he had a need to do something about the leaden weight pressing down on his entire being. When asked, he would not say anything. "It-It's nothing, nothing at all. I'll be fine. See you guys tomorrow" was his farewell and he would go home, vexed. Everyone knew that Tory was an introvert. What could have happened so as to trouble him so much as to coercively change his behavior? The children of ACDC Elementary were too polite and well-educated; they decided to not meddle in the personal matters of Tory Froid unless invited. After all, if it's something related to his family, the works of his father, Dr. Seiji Froid, or his future, then their interest would only come across as rude while they themselves would not be able to offer any aid.

One day, after school, Tory Froid approached Netto Hikari. He came into the class after cautiously checking from the door that everybody had left except Netto. He then came straight to our brunette boy, who was making last-minute plans for the remainder of the afternoon with his Rockman, and held him by the wrists. He did so while looking so distraught, so shaken, that Netto for a second could not believe that this individual with a ghoulish expression was his friend.

"Hikari, Netto Hikari! We need, we need, need to talk." pleaded Tory while stuttering profoundly. "Please, we need to, while he is not here, while he is not with me..."

"T-Tory? Alright, alright, we can talk. What's the matter?" Netto tried to pull his wrist away to no avail.

"Your father is a scientist in Scilab, right? Dr. Yuichiro Hikari, he works on netnavis, right?"

"Tory, you can let go of my wrist-ow!"

"Yes, you are. Yes, he is, I know, I know! Surely, then, you also know! You have to know, otherwise...otherwise..."

"I know what? And my wrist, for the last time-" Netto's right wrist was white from the limited blood flow, for with strength Tory held it.

"I won't be able to-, I cannot-...Netto, you must help me! You have to know!" There was despair in Tory's voice. "The dreams, how do I stop them?"

"Dreams? You are-" Netto used his left hand and began to pry open Tory's fingers from his right wrist. "not-making-any-sense- ow! There we go. Just speak in normal language, will you? What dreams?"

"The dreams! The dreams of navis! Or is it that I am dreaming? Is this conversation a dream too? But you are my last hope! If this is a dream then..." Tory's eyes drifted away from Netto. He was losing himself. Unable to bear talking with a madman, Netto slapped his friend on the cheek. With a loud noise that indicated Netto's aim was on point, Tory's head turned and the ranting stopped.

"Stop, Tory, stop! There, did that hurt? That means you are not dreaming! So just calm down and tell me from the beginning. What's the matter with you?"

Tory stared at Netto vacantly for a moment, holding his cheek that started to turn red in the shape of Netto's palm. Life slowly came back into his eyes. He then quietly took a chair next to him, brought it over, and sat on it, signaling Netto to do the same. He spoke while burying his forehead into his hands.

"I'm afraid, Netto."

Tory breathed in as much as he could, as if the next word was hidden in the corner of his lung. His next word came out like a sigh.

"of Iceman, who dreams."

Netto forgot to breathe when he heard the statement. Rockman also dreamed, and he was deteriorating. Netto suddenly showed great interest.

"And what about it? Iceman dreams, and then what?"

"I'll say it, I'll say it all. Netto, be quiet, give me some time...well...

"Every morning, Iceman looks at me. I know what you are going to say—what's so special about it? What's so wrong about it? If not looking at his operator, what is he supposed to do? Well, then you don't understand. It's only been...five? Five days since I became conscious of his stares. Why? Why should I be so? Well, it's because when he stares at me, when he looks at me...when he tracks me with those eyes while wearing that fabricated smile...it feels...filthy. Do you understand? It feels like someone's urinating all over me, and then some more.

"Had it been...the only trouble, then I would only consider myself crazy. I mean, who wouldn't? How was I supposed to explain to my father, that I suddenly came to hate Iceman, that I feel utmost disgust at him, and that I cannot bear him anymore, and then, if he asks me what is the reason, what should I say? But...there have been...things happening...things I saw...

"Netto, you know in front of my house is a garden? Well, you do too, so you must know what it's like. Frogs started coming out from hibernation. Did you notice? Don't give me that face, Netto, this is all related, I promise. Well, so you know, right? You've seen the frogs, too? Good. Then, tell me what was I supposed to think about when I started to find them dead all over the place, half-eaten and all dried up? I did, too, think about a case of it being a bad prank...but Netto, I looked up the price. Who spends 10,000 yen just to scatter some shriveled frogs in someone's garden over the course of several days? And what about the teeth marks? Yes, Netto, teeth marks. The half-eaten frogs had teeth marks. Otherwise, why would I tell you they were half-eaten, not broken into halves? I collected them and threw them into the trash bin, but I was scared, Netto. I was scared. I could not even say anything about it to my father.

"My brain took me to unkind imaginations. What if I have offended someone so much as to make this a worthwhile effort? You see, Netto, I could not dare to trouble my father over such an issue. He is already overworked and stressed, trying to raise me without...without...well, you already know. Why am I feeling shame? Without my mother. There, I said it! But what if they were warnings by someone in Waterworks? I did not want to be told by my father that we were ruined, that what awaits us was only downfall...or another possibility I imagined: that he had made many enemies and me telling him about this would make him faint, or do something reckless...

"What about afternoons? Oh, Netto, they gave me no rest either. I tried to find some comfort in the time spent with Iceman, like before...But after class, when I am at home with Iceman, he asks me the strangest questions. He asks me about soul. He says it's what defines a human. I tell him I don't know. Maybe it's emotion. Maybe it's manners. I once overheard Ms. Mari in her office talking about her dates, and calling men of bad manners as 'animals' and 'not human.' So, well, maybe it's manners that define a human. But he is sure that I must know, because, he says, that I have one. He tells me that he wants to have one himself. How? Just how? I ask him in response, and he hesitates. I press him, and he says he does not like the answer he has found, saying that it is for my own good.

"It gets worse. He asks me about religions, so we go to Vikipedia together. We make some searches, here and there. He wants to know the forms and purposes of worship and prayers. What am I supposed to tell? After finding out that there are many types, he is disappointed. I ask him why is he interested in all these—soul, religion, worship, prayers—and he answers it's to appease a god he had found. What? Where? He answers again that he found the 'god' in his dreams. In his dreams! He told me, while making me promise to not tell it to anyone, that in dreams he is shackled, ashamed, and then displayed. He says he must become as a man. What does it even mean? I indirectly ask my dad if Iceman behaved strangely with him in the Waterworks complex recently, and he says he had been completely fine, normal, and functioning even better than before. I was convinced that I was going crazy.

"Then there were nights. When I am not in the room, Iceman mutters. Sometimes he mutters as if he is talking to someone. Sometimes he mutters religiously, reciting something. Sometimes it's a broken monologue and ghastly giggles. But, oh, what he says...it's so...wrong...

"He says something about being thirsty. He says he needs blood. He often mumbles about killing and eating. Then, out of nowhere, he says Tory is beautiful. He says—and this is the reason why I decided to speak with you—that Rockman is beautiful. In fact, he is convinced that he has never seen anything more...'marvelous' than Rockman. He says Rockman is perfect, complete, that his breath is shining. Netto, please, don't look at me like that! I know I sound like a pervert, but I'm just telling you what he said! And yes, he says all this thinking that I am not listening to him, just outside my room, ear on the door.

"Twice, I caught Iceman staring at me with that creepy face—no emotion save a very small smile and widest eyes—when I woke up in the middle of the night trying to use the bathroom. How long had he been looking at me? Why was he not in the sleep mode? He said he did not want to dream. And then when I came back, he said that instead of talking with him, I should go to bed. The way he said it—emotionless yet imperceptively threatening, but I could feel it...

"Yesterday, curiosity got the better of me. I asked—and now I regret—if the frogs had been his doing. You know, he did speak about blood, killing, and eating. What a load of nonsense. My imagination got the better of me. I mean, he is a netnavi? To my surprise, he said yes! He said he was hungry and thristy, and that he needed their blood to quench his need. I told him that it was a very bad joke, and that it was not funny at all. He questioned what he had to do for me to believe. Offended, I told him in passing that if four frogs were arranged into a perfect square on the doorstep of the house, then I would believe. Well, would you believe what happened next? You already know what I am going to say next, but you must understand, back then, I did not believe...This morning I found precisely that! Four frogs! All half-eaten and dried up! Arranged-in-perfect-square!"

Tory was breathing heavily, but he continued with a bizarre resolve as if he was being chased.

"And I immediately ran back into the house and confronted him. You see, I checked the doorstep first thing in the morning, still in my pajamas, so he was not with me when I was outside. 'What's the meaning of this?' I said. He stared at me like I was an idiot and said 'I did exactly what you asked.' Exactly what I asked! It was exactly as I asked! I could not say anything back. He then added that he does not have much time, and that he must stop the dream, and failing that, he would be forced to carry on with the solution that will make him perfect. What solution? He said that it involved me. Involved me! I dared not ask further—look at what happened when I asked him about the frogs. You expect me to ask him something about me? After that?

"Netto, NETTO, please, you have to know! You have to help me! How do I make him stop dreaming? What does it mean for navis to dream anyway? How did he kill the frogs? Was it even him? And what happened to him on the other side? Why is this happening to me?"

Pleading, Tory tried to grab Netto by the hands or wrists again. Netto adroitly avoided it.

"Tory, what if we go to Scilab right now? We will ask my papa-"

"No!" Tory shouted very loudly, trembling, and then added, "I can't make my father know. He is working in Waterworks right now. If we, if we go to Scilab, surely he will find it out. What if-what if it's all a farce and I turn out to be the crazy one? He only has me. I can't let him know that...I can't...I can't..."

"Then tomorrow-"

"Tomorrow!" The word excited Tory. The tremor vanished and he continued with vigor. His eyes sparkled full of hope. It was clear that he was already mad, to some degree.

"Yes, that's it! Tomorrow! We will go to Scilab after school, tomorrow! Iceman won't suspect a thing! Father won't know! Yes! Yes! Netto Hikari, thank you! Thank you so much!"

And Tory ran out as if he had been freed from all burdens of life.

Except Tory did not come to school the next day, the water stopped flowing to ACDC town, and the class was dismissed early on account of water shortage. Netto and Rockman hoped to catch Tory in his house. Perhaps, they reasoned, Tory did not come because he knew something ahead from his father, and did not bother coming. Well, they had promised to go to Scilab together, and class ended early; why not go to him instead of waiting for him? Tory seemed alarmingly unstable yesterday. Settled on the next course of action, they lost no time in getting there.

"Tory, you in there? Dr. Froid?" asked Netto, knocking the door several times as well as activating the doorbell repeatedly in an ungentlemanly manner. After repeating the effort for full five minutes and not getting any response, Netto had to admit that the house was in all likelihood empty, and that it was not the case of Tory not answering due to his condition.

"Netto kun, I don't think anyone is here."

"Well, yeah. Thanks for pointing out the obvious." Netto retreated from the door and scanned the windows to see any sign of life inside.

"What do you make out of this?"

"Out of what?" The curtains and blinds were all closed, leaving no room for peeking. Maybe he could find something at the back of the house? Netto stepped on the grass of the front garden, determined to circle around the house.

"Tory's strange paranoia yesterday, his absence today, municipal waters not flowing right now..."

"Sure, they could be connected. The way they are happening one after the other..." There was no place to peek at the side of the house.

"But you would not be surprised if they turn out to be irrelevant from each other."

"Sure, that too. From my point of view, Rockman, whether they are related or not does not matter." Netto checked the back door, which was, as expected, locked.

"Then, what matters?"

"That we convince papa to analyze Iceman. Tory said Iceman was dreaming. I just want to take him to Scilab and see if we can find a clue to fixing you. If there is the slightest hope..." A full circle around the house of Tory was accomplished without yielding any information.

"Rockman, would it disappoint you if I told you the truth that I don't really care about what happens to Iceman as long as we learn what we need from him?"

"Netto kun..."

"It's okay if it makes me a terrible person in your eyes. But I will not lose you."

Netto pulled out his PET and made and eye to eye contact with Rockman. To those determined and honest eyes, Rockman could not reciprocate. He avoided the gaze and looked away or down, unable to decide how to do it properly. The guilt inside him—the guilt of hiding that he was, in fact, Saito Hikari, as unbelievable as it was—was like a crown of thorns on his head. The dishonesty inside him could not face the honesty before him.

"I am serious, Rockman." said Netto, "I will find a way. "

When the blue navi looked up again, there was nothing on the display screen; he was back in the holster.

"Alright, let's go to the Scilab and try to find Tory. There's nothing here."

The lobby was in disarray. There were armed policemen, heavy equipment, breaching tools, officers with many decorations on their chests, netpolice members, high-ranking government officials, scientists, and Dr. Yuichiro Hikari. The important-looking men, except their father, were all barking at each other.

"This is beyond, and I repeat, beyond your capability! You have failed miserably! The matter has left your hands the moment you proved to be completely ineffectual in gaining entrance, and look at how many hours you've already squandered! I hereby declare, by the authority of-" A high ranking police officer clad in his dark-navy colored uniform decorated with yellow aiguillettes was shouting at a netpolice officer in his meager green uniform.

"This is an unacceptable breach of authority! We have not failed! We simply need more time, and no, you do not have authority over me! You cannot do this!" The netpolice officer was protesting vehemently, arms swinging, face completely red from fury.

"AHEM! I hereby declare, by the authority of Senior Commissioner of prefecture-" The police officer puffed his chest and raised his chin.

"Stop! I say stop! I, too, am a Senior Commissioner, and YOU DO NOT HAVE AUTHORITY OVER ME! I will not endure this!" Netpolice officer swayed his hands in front as if that would disperse the sound of the declaration.

"Protest as much as you will! But in three hours, we shall begin drilling! This is an ultimatum!"

"Sirs, sirs, with all due respect, the drilling—you are going to prime it with explosives, and I must say you can't-" A civil servant of Waterworks, probably an engineer, tried desperately to interject with his concerns, even physically placing himself between them, but he was so completely ignored that Netto wondered if the two officers really saw through him.

"Ultimatum my ass!" The netpolice Senior Commissioner roared

"Then, your ass I will drill in three hours!"

"We shall see whose ass it is getting drilled in three hours! I am reporting you to the Superintendent General!"

"Do it! Do it! We shall see!"

"Good!"

The two officers growled at each other some more and then parted. It was unclear whether the netpolice Senior Commissioner was truly intending to carry on with his threats, as he was seen mulling over the matter with his subordinates at a corner; it was equally unclear if the police Senior Commissioner truly thought he had the authority to press on with his simian method, as he was seen with his subordinates, around whom were the heavy breaching equipment, not ordering anything. Wherever they were intended for, to use them probably required a preparation time well beyond three hours, and had he been serious, they should have started moving now. The armed police and some who looked like combat engineers simply loitered around, waiting for orders. It was no secret that the police did not have it nice with netpolice, which was a more recent organization with the same ranking system yet overlapping areas of jurisdictions. In many cases, it was ambiguous where one's responsibility ended and the other's began. Police maintained its position that netpolice should be its subordinate branch; the people of the land need not be confused with the presence of two organizations of law enforcement. Netpolice maintained that because of its requirement of employing highly specialized and educated personnel, it should remain independent from the rigid bureaucracy of traditional law enforcement, which proved to be too slow in dealing with network mediated attacks, always quicker than traditional crimes.

Netto approached his father, who remained oblivious to his presence until he nudged him on the arm.

"Netto! What auspicious timing!"

Dr. Yuichiro Hikari's troubled face brightened the moment he recognized who nudged him.

"That's my line to say!"

"Oh? What could be so urgent? You only messaged me yesterday that you wished to see me today afternoon, sometime between half past five and seven, and look, you are here so early! Am I wrong to assume that you are here because of the water outage?" Yuichiro said while leading Netto away from the disorder in the lobby to a more private corner where they could converse undisrupted.

"The original plan was to come and see you with Tory Froid, you know, one of my friends who happens to be the son of Dr. Froid-"

"Dr. Seiji Froid! Of course, I know him. Virtually everyone here knows him, now that he is the center of the problem. And here you say his son had a problem serious enough to require my consultation! Interesting! Most interesting! Go on; it seems what you are about to say might be uniquely associated with the question I face right now. Or could it be that you came here, already knowing everything?" Yuichiro was almost stooping over his son, his eyes gleaming.

"...I don't know what's going on here. Papa, but this you must know: Tory wanted to see you because his netnavi, Iceman, was dreaming."

"Dreams!" Yuichiro checked around him, making sure no one was hearing them. He continued in a suppressed voice, "You don't say! What else?"

"He was convinced that Iceman was killing frogs in his garden."

"Frogs! As in real life?" Yuichiro stooped even more, as if getting closer would allow him to verify the truthfulness of the report. Netto retreated a step trying to find himself some room; it was rare to see his father this much vexed.

"Yes"

"Unbelievable!" Finding the idea repulsive to the principles of physics he worked with all his life, Yuichiro straightened his back quickly; it was an instinct trying to distance himself from the contemptible concepts of magic and witchcraft. To hear Tory had been a person occupying himself with such ideas!

"He, too, did not believe, until he found four frogs arranged in a perfect square on his doorstep, or so he claimed. Here, I'll let you hear the entire recording yourself. Rockman, can you play it for me?"

Netto connected his earphones to the PET and handed them over to his father. Yuichiro stood there silent and motionless, even after the entire ramblings of Tory had been repeated twice by his request. The testimony of Tory put the scientist's mind into a painful spiral of conundrum. All was explicable if he assumed that Iceman had a way to influence the real world, but the assumption itself was disgracefully irrational. All was still explicable if he assumed that everything was Dr. Froid's doing, but then he had to surmise, equally disgracefully, that the chief engineer's plan was to commit suicide, potentially with his son, in such an agonizing way—through starvation and dehydration, behind nine blast doors. The planning, the motive, and the execution were not consistent with the highly diligent and practical character of Dr. Froid.

"Now I understand perfectly why you came to me so early. I had a plan, which involves Rockman, which invariably must involve you...now it seems..." Yuichiro handed back the PET and earphones to his son. "This much is clear: we must secure Iceman, and we cannot let netpolice waste this chance. I might be asking too much from you in planning this, but, this is all for-"

"-Rockman, I know." Netto said, getting impatient. He knew that the only way to make his father explain anything to him was by forcing him to come to the conclusion of his train of thoughts. He himself being motivated much, the boy failed to find his father's eagerness to save Rockman suspicious. If he was just a custom netnavi, why did Yuichiro make such a desperate expression? "So, what's going on here?"

"Naturally! Good question! However, there is no time to explain. For now, you must wait in my office. Feel free to use the restroom—we have a sub pump operating and water flows in this building, albeit not clean to the municipal standards. Now, hurry, go up. Oh, and tell your mother that the water won't be working for the whole of today. I make a prediction: they are not going to make any progress today." Yuichiro pointed at the direction of police and netpolice. "Both of them!"

Yuichiro entered his office at quarter past seven according to the clock hanging on the wall. Taking into account that the clock had been slowing down recently due to its batteries reaching the end of their lives, the true time was closer to half past seven. Following him closely behind was a boy of the following features: two-tone hair—white on top, black below, military cargo pants of summer woodland camouflage, a black long-sleeved shirt, and a sleeveless red jacket. The color contrast of his hair was so striking, that Netto could not help but observe that it was rather ridiculous, resembling a giant eggshell stuck on his head.

"Officer Enzan Ijuin, this is Netto Hikari, my son. Netto, meet Enzan Ijuin, netpolice."

Yuichiro did not lose any time introducing the two. Netto noticed, by the way Enzan walked up to him, the way he glared at him, the way the corner of his mouth struggled to roll upward, and in the path his arm took before positioning itself for a handshake, that this white-haired boy lived a life of oppressor, commander, taker, demander, and granter. The condescension that invariably develops in every man of power dripped out of his every gesture. Thus, the information that this boy was a netpolice at such a young age was in every way believable, for merciless arrogance was indeed a virtue of a hound. Netto, not wanting to be looked down upon, rose from his seat, put his left hand into his pocket, and accepted the offer of a handshake while glaring at the boy equally aggressively. Netto perceived that his behavior lightly offended Enzan, as the left eyebrow of the officer twitched briefly.

Yuichiro offered them seats around a round, white coffee table and took one for himself. Ijuin's displeasure at the current arrangement was evident. The scientist began,

"Officer Ijuin, I know you are already informed of the situation, but please allow me to describe it once more. I believe it will be beneficial for all of us to check where we are, and where we are headed to, so that we might move ahead with a shared consensus-"

"What is the meaning of this, Dr. Hikari? Why should your son be here? Please tell me that this is not what I think it is." Enzan interjected with his arms crossed. His voice was sharp, insinuating his opinion of Netto Hikari's credentials.

"Officer Ijuin." Yuichiro responded while simultaneously motioning to Netto to remain seated, who was almost standing up ready to say something in return. "For my son's inappropriate attitude in greeting you earlier, I apologize. Would you please kindly accept our apologies?"

"Doctor, you know that's not the trouble here. I came here only because you said you had the way to open the blast doors-" From the way Enzan did not hide his displeasure and fired away his demands, Netto could already learn much about the young officer's personality: direct and headstrong.

"Of course, you did...However, you also must understand...that no father endures his son being berated. In this objection, you also offend me by questioning my judgment in the matter. If you believed that you had a solution without my help, then you would've not come here. am I not right?"

Yuichiro paused to see if Enzan understood. Other than his words, not a single sign of displeasure was visible in the scientist. It was impossible to read anything from the man who was hardened by the great game of internal politics of Scilab on a daily basis.

"Good! I am glad we reached an agreement!" Yuichiro spoke with an elevated tone and brought his hands together, clapping once, signaling that the discussion would proceed in a new atmosphere. "Now that we have set our differences together, let us remind ourselves of the current situation. Officer Ijuin, Netto, please set your PETs on the table so that everything might be shared with our navis as well. Thank you, gentlemen."

Yuichiro stood up and turned on the large display that occupied half the facade of a wall. On it were briefing slides.

"22:07 last night, the Waterworks facility came to a halt. The water stopped flowing to the entire Den city and adjacent districts.

22:32, the guard on duty went down to the Waterworks pump control room and found a blast door activated, denying any outside access.

00:13 Today, two netpolice officers arrived and tried hacking the door to no avail. No remote contact with the inside could be established.

00:30, another blast door was activated while the two netpolice officers were back on the first floor for communications with the headquarters.

01:00, third blast door was activated, cordoning off more space. Not wanting to have his men trapped inside, Senior Commissioner prohibited his men from going downstairs.

02:13 An indirect approach using the access point of water distribution control room was attempted. No success reported.

03:00 All remaining blast doors were activated, placing a total of nine barriers between the pump control and the outside.

03:13-07:03, netpolice made continuous attempts to override the locks without success.

07:05 armed police and engineers arrived on the scene.

10:06 heavy equipment intended to physically breach blast doors arrived.

~19:30 No progress had been made by the netpolice.

"It should be noted that the netpolice's right to command the scene ends at 00:00 sharp, at which point the police will begin their preparations for physical breaching. Should the matters come to that, then it would become very ugly to everyone involved, to the netpolice which will appear useless, to politicians who were favorable to the establishment of the netpolice, to civilians who will have to endure longer disruption to water supplies...Which is why officer Ijuin came here unbeknownst to his direct superiors."

"How-" Enzan's composure was broken and he leaned forward, in disbelief.

"Oh, how I knew you are here on your own authority, and that it will spell trouble if you are found out? It is very simple. Given how desperate Senior Commissioner of netpolice must be at the moment, had he known that I had an idea, he would have come right to me like a dog chasing a stick, and then begged in the most slavish way you could imagine. What was that, officer Ijuin, you don't believe him to be such a person? Then you surely do not know what the need to preserve a career can do to all of us...I digress. I already know your motivation: a deal with me, become a hero of netpolice, and then you will no longer be sidelined in the organization. You have been marginalized your entire career, partly out of jealousy of your background by those around you, partly out of your age, partly out of far more heinous yet practical reasons...Yet you did not deign to utilize the resources of your family to save yourself, for you believed in honesty and hard work. You believed in the rule of law and meritocracy...And I believed in them too. Do not worry, officer, for what all you seek will be granted if you trust me.

"Now, back to the matter at hand. According to the shift schedule, at the moment of the water outage and the first blast door activation, Dr. Seiji Froid was the only one in the pump control room. Of his motive, we are not sure. To say that it is an act of terror, no demands were issued from inside. To say that it is an accident, it is difficult to imagine that Dr. Froid does not know override codes and failed to save himself when he was, presumably, in the pump control. Also, the water need not stop flowing with the blast door activation; so there must be an intention between the disruption of civic infrastructure and the isolation of Dr. Froid. Some speculate that Dr. Froid is trying to commit suicide, or something close to it, though I doubt it. The chief engineer, Dr. Froid, is a practical man. If he wanted to kill himself, then he is the kind of guy who would place his head on the anvil of a hydraulic press and let the process be over within ten seconds."

Yuichiro glanced at Netto to see if the grim description of Dr. Froid disturbed his son. To his surprise, it did not.

"A CCTV footage of the exterior of the complex reveals that Tory Froid, son of Dr. Froid, entered the building yesternight at 21:42. He was being accompanied by a boy smaller than him, wearing a parka, almost like an Eskimo. Watch"

Yuichiro activated footage on the screen. In low-resolution, low-framerate, and monochromatic video were indeed two persons as described.

"Of the identity of this person, I am not sure. As for the police, they do not even know the existence of this tape as their attention is solely focused on the use of the equipment they brought in, almost zealously determined to humiliate the netpolice in the most sensational way possible. If I remember correctly, Dr. Froid did not have another child, nor am I aware of a cousin of such stature existing. No video footages of the interior are available. The recordings that should be there showing Tory and his companion are simply nonexistent. The program logs indicate that relevant CCTVs were all mysteriously turned off and then reactivated, masking their presence inside.

"If his son entered the facility at such a late time, it might be reasonable to expect that Tory is inside as well, trapped with his father. Any questions on the situation?"

Could what Troy confessed in panic be true? Having heard the ramblings of the boy, Netto and Rockman's minds gravitated towards the impression that the unidentified person in the parka was, in fact, Iceman. Surely their father also knew and considered it; based on his omission of the possibility in the briefing, both concluded that he did not want to bring out this contemptible suggestion to Enzan, who was an outsider, and kept their mouths shut.

"No questions? Good! Now, let us discuss the plan. Officer Ijuin, meet my son's netnavi, Rockman. He is the one on which my plan hinges. Netto, take this and install it on Rockman right now." Yuichiro produced a chip from his lab coat and threw it to Netto, who snatched it from the air and plugged it into the PET.

"A civilian navi? I do not follow, doctor." Enzan looked at Rockman squint-eyed. The plan seemed too unsophisticated for a man of such caliber.

"A netnavi of which all components I created, personally. He will unlock all the blast doors and lead you straight to the pump control."

"...What? Doctor, I must suggest that if the chip you just gave your son is the master key to the Waterworks network, then it would be better to be installed to my navi, Blues, and-"

"The chip is no master key. It simply unlocks some functions. Rockman is the key."

In brief silence, Enzan sat and digested the information. He soon reached a frightening conclusion, and then, unable to hide his horror, stood up while slamming the table.

"Doctor, what have you done? Is that...Rockman...the master key to...no, you would not make a netnavi specifically to unlock all securities in Waterworks, and then hand it over to your son. You...you made him able to open everything, didn't you? Everything! Doctor, this borders on treachery! What are you trying to do, end the world?!"

Yuichiro came around to Enzan, pushed him gently downward, made him sit down, then took a sit on the opposite side.

"End of the world? No, officer, surely you jest...We will be fine as long as you keep your tongue bridled. Even if you fail to do so, and people come to investigate, I promise, nothing will be found. I only ask one thing from you: secure Iceman, Dr. Froid's netnavi, send that navi back to me with Netto, and then take all the glory for yourself. Netto and Rockman were never there. As for the witnesses-"

"I still insist; it might be dangerous down there. Why don't you send Rockman only?" There was exasperation in Enzan's voice. He came here expecting a negotiation, but the reality was that the doctor had him cornered from the beginning.

"A sensible suggestion. One problem. Observe." Yuichiro gestured at Enzan to look at the blue navi. "Rockman, would you be willing to be operated by anyone else?"

"Never!" The blue navi crossed his arms and frowned.

"Then who do you accept as an operator?"

"Netto kun only!" The blue navi turned his head away as if the suggestion was so odious that he could not even bear to look at the direction it came from.

Yuichiro shrugged his shoulders with a triumphant smirk. Enzan looked at him as if he was a devil incarnate. This man in a white coat came to him and promised him everything he needed, while seemingly asking very little. This was too good to be true; Enzan could not shake the feeling of being professionally manipulated. And lo, the doctor even flaunted by showing that his creation was a fully independent navi, capable of destroying the world, and perhaps more alarmingly, capable of denying the orders of his creator also! If he had to guess, Iceman held more secrets than anyone realized, and the answer to the current mystery. Otherwise, why would the doctor want him so badly? Enzan's instinct of an investigator screamed at him that it might be better to take and interrogate Iceman himself and enter the great yet sinister secret of the world, which the doctor was hiding...but the deal...oh how sweet it was! He was like Faust, and this doctor Mephistopheles.

"As for the witnesses, do not concern yourself. I have already convinced your Senior Commissioner to pull out all his men from the Waterworks underground, which is the place you are headed to. He was very desperate, really...so easy to persuade. I only had to tell him that I will deploy an experimental resource of such security in his aid that his men had no clearance to even lay their eyes on it. Hmm...I had one more thing to say..."

Yuichiro stroked his chin in thought.

"Aha! I remember. Please, excuse my memory...it gets worse the more I age. Officer Ijuin, it was very naive of you to think that you could solve the situation without the knowledge or permission of the Senior Commissioner on the scene and go about your way unscathed. He is a petty individual who cannot endure his subordinates being glorified over him. Just as King Saul tried to eliminate David after the slaying of Goliath, so he too will try to eliminate you. Do not worry, however, for I have already cleared the path for you. I informed him you are going; he really did not like the suggestion and tried to replace you with one of his lackeys...and I had to show him his place. Officer, you should be thankful to me, really, for becoming an ally in your career. Immensely."