Chapter 6: Cathy's Ground Rules (Part 1)

Okayama Heights Apartments
Dobuita
7:05 PM

The streetlights in all of Yokosuka always came on very prominently at exactly 7:00 PM every night. About 5 minutes after the streets of Dobuita were illuminated, Ryo Hazuki kept his word to Cathy Wilkens and showed up to Okayama Heights Apartments.

Cathy descended the stairs of the apartment building and rounded the corner to see the determined young man standing there waiting for her.

"You made it," Cathy said, "Thank you for coming."

Ryo gave the female Navy policewoman a very polite partial bow in response. "You said you could help me find information about sailors?" he asked.

"I can," Cathy replied, "But I'll need some context before I agree to help you. Why is it that you're looking for sailors in the first place?"

"My father was killed recently," Ryo began explaining, "I was there to witness it happen. He was killed by a man called Lan Di who's apparently part of a criminal organization based in China called the Chi You Men."

Cathy nodded as a bell was rung in her mind. "That sounds kind of familiar," she interjected, "We've been keeping a close eye on gang activity happening in and around New Yokosuka Harbor. Some of the shady elements that we do deal with come from other Asian countries. China and Hong Kong fit that bill."

"To be honest, Miss Wilkens" Ryo replied, "I'm looking for anybody around here who may be connected to the Chi You Men."

"First off," Cathy said, "Please call me 'Cathy'. I'm a sailor and a police officer, Ryo-san, not a schoolteacher. Secondly, I'm very sorry for your loss. I'm willing to help you, but I'd like to lay out some ground rules, alright?"

Ryo nodded in agreement. "Alright," he replied.

"I'm going to be very honest with you," Cathy sternly said, "Certain people around here have told me how determined you are to investigate your father's murder on your own terms. As much as I can obviously understand and even maybe slightly admire your resolve, I can't turn a blind eye to anything ill-advised that you may or may not do."

Ryo nodded. "I understand," he said, "Where should we start?"

"Well," Cathy began, "As I'm sure you know, the bar street really doesn't open for another hour or so. However, I happen to know where Takeshi-san from MJQ Jazz Bar likes to grab a bite to eat before he starts his shift. I think he'd be willing to have an informal conversation with us."

Bob's Pizzeria
7:15 PM

Sure enough, Cathy and Ryo found MJQ owner and manager Takeshi Harai sitting on a counter stool at Bob's Pizzeria, having a small pepperoni and bacon pizza placed in front of him.

"Takeshi-san?" Cathy inquired as she and Ryo went up to him.

Takeshi Harai turned to see the unlikely pair at his side. "Ah," Takeshi said as he finished his first bite of the pizza, "Cathy-san. And you are...?" He eyed Ryo uneasily.

"I'm Ryo," Ryo cordially replied, "Ryo Hazuki. Cathy-san here tells me that you get a lot of sailors in your bar."

Takeshi nodded. "I do," he said, "But, honestly, I don't think that a young man like you should be messing with a rough bunch like that."

"Why don't you let me worry about that, Takeshi-san?" Cathy sternly said, "Ryo's just looking for some information. We both know that you get a lot of sailors at the MJQ regularly, so I would suggest that you please tell him what, if anything, you know."

Takeshi swallowed his second bite of pizza before sighing. "Look," he finally said, "Yes, I do get a lot of sailors in my bar on a regular basis, but as Cathy-san will tell you that I keep a pretty close eye on them."

"What are you saying?" Ryo impatiently asked.

"A lot of the foreign sailors that come through here aren't too keen on going to a bar that keeps such an eye on them," Takeshi clarified, "My point being, you should be able to find a lot more of them at Heartbeats Bar next to the slot house."

Ryo then started to turn and go towards the door, only to have Cathy stiffly grab his arm. "Hold on a minute," she said in a tone that was equally adamant, "I know what you're thinking, Ryo-san. Heartbeats is an incredibly knock-down-and-drag-out type of place. My fellow MPs and I have dealt with several violent incidents there, and believe me, it's not a place you'll want to go into alone."

"I appreciate your concern," Ryo replied, "And I'm trying to respect your ground rules, but I must get the information I need. If the sailors in there are as tough as you and Takeshi-san say they are, I imagine that they'll just see you as my babysitter and shut down."

Cathy considered his point and thought for a moment before sighing deeply with partial resignation. "Alright," she finally replied, "You can go in by yourself, but I'm going to wait for you at the top of the steps near the entrance. If I hear things get too crazy, I'm barging in there and dealing with whatever's going on."

Heartbeats Bar
8:00 PM

To make things look a little less conspicuous, Cathy and Ryo nonchalantly spent the 45 minutes between their departure from the pizzeria to the time they arrived at Heartbeats Bar walking around the streets of Dobuita. They made a brief stop at the Hirata Tobacco Shop, during which time Cathy used the payphone to call Agent Kondo and had him meet them at the slot house that was right beside the set of concrete steps that led down to Heartbeats.

Kondo arrived within just a few minutes and met up with both his partner and the headstrong Ryo outside the slot house. "Okay," he said to Cathy after briefly eyeing Ryo, "What's going on?"

Cathy gestured to Ryo in retort. "Special Agent John Kondo," she replied, "This is Ryo Hazuki. He's looking for information on sailors in the area that he believes will help shed information on his father's murder."

Kondo gave a polite nod to Ryo. "Hello," he said, "Cathy's already filled me in on your plans, and I have to say that I'm just as uneasy about this as she is."

"I understand," Ryo said, "And like I said to Cathy-san, I'll be as careful as I can."

Ryo then descended the concrete steps down towards the bar, while Cathy and Kondo remained slightly around the corner to avoid being completely seen. The pair then witnessed a brief, heated exchange between Gilbert Flakes and Smith Bradley, 2 individuals that Cathy had previously dealt with.

When Gilbert tried to prevent Ryo from going in, the teenage martial artist promptly threw him into a small pile of plastic crates. Smith then countered with a pair of connecting punches to Ryo's face, but then Ryo ended the altercation with a pristine flying roundhouse kick to Smith's face which finally knocked him to the ground.

Cathy started to go down the steps to intervene, only to be stopped by Kondo's arm on her shoulder. "Hold on a minute," Kondo said, "I think he handled himself pretty well. Let's just see how this plays out." This statement was met by a frustrated grunt from the female MP, but she stayed put, nevertheless.

A few minutes later, sounds of furniture crashing, pained grunts, and glass breaking were heard inside the bar before American sailor Jones Henders and Yokosuka local Takeshi Sera came barreling out, just barely stumbling past the injured Gilbert and Smith as they scampered up the stairs.

"Hey!" Kondo called out as he appeared in front of the 2 fleeing patrons, "What the hell's going on in there?"

"The kid!" Jones stammered, "The kid that came in! We gave him some shit for being a schoolboy, but then he kicked our asses and tore up the place!"

Kondo traded a look with Cathy before returning his gaze to the 2 scared men. "Okay," he said, "You two take a hike! We'll take it from here."

He apparently didn't have to tell the two men twice, as they practically sprinted out of the bar street and into the night. Kondo and Cathy then hurried down the steps and checked on the injured Gilbert and Smith, at which point Cathy knelt beside the former of the pair.

"Gilbert!" she said, "It's me, Cathy."

The injured base worker groaned in pain. "Cathy," he said, "That damn schoolboy kicked the shit out of us."

"Yeah," she unsympathetically replied, "He did the same to two guys inside."

"I'll go talk to the bartender inside," Kondo said to Cathy, "You want to take care of these two clowns?"

Cathy nodded as she tried to help the two men up while Kondo went inside.