Bubblegum Crisis: Stage Three
Chapter 29
Detective Naoko Asami was digging into the Brian Mason murder investigation. His killing had been staged as a drug deal gone bad... worse, there had been pressure from Genom to close the case fast. So the first officer who caught the case rather half-assed it.
Now, she was filling in the gaps...
"Ms Stingray, a pleasure," she nodded.
"I'm rather confused by the request for a police interview," Sylia noted dryly.
"I'm following up on the Brian Mason case," Naoko explained calmly. "So," she asked, "did you murder Mason? Or did you order it?"
"No, and no," Sylia replied.
"Fair enough," Naoko said pleasantly. "Did Mason have enemies?"
Sylia burst out laughing.
"Dumb question?" Naoko asked.
"I'm assuming you read his file?" Sylia asked. "He not only did cyber security for Genom, but he was in black projects under Quincy for years."
"So a lot of enemies and a lot of motives," Naoko sighed. She tilted her head curiously, "What do you think of the theory that Quincy ordered it?"
Sylia gave her a thoughtful look. "It would certainly be convenient, now that he's dead," she noted, "but I expect it to be hard to prove."
Naoko nodded agreement. "Also, thank you for seeing me without the bodyguards," she added.
"Nene speaks highly of you," Sylia shrugged.
They covered various other details, then Naoko picked up her recorder. "Thank you for your time," she said formally.
"If I or Genom can be of further assistance, let me know," Sylia said politely, shaking her hand.
"I'll let you know," Naoko promised.
There were astonishingly few Boomers in Genom Tower, Naoko noted as she took the elevator down to the parking level. Understandable, considering the attacks on Ms Stingray. Still weird feeling though. You got used to seeing them everywhere.
Naoko's phone rand, "Asami, what is it?"
"Hendrick, over in cybercrime," the voice replied.
"Ah, you were working on decrypring Mason's files," Naoko nodded, "something come up? You made a breakthrough?"
"Not exactly. You know we were certain the system had been hacked?" Hendrick replied.
"Yes?" Naoko asked warily.
"We got an anonymous mail, I assume from the hacker. They sent a code key that decripts Mason's files," Hendrick said.
"WHAT," Naoko yelped.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"Are you SURE we should be giving the key to the cops?" Nene had asked earlier that day. They had gotten up, showered together, and were eating breakfast.
"We went through the files, Mason and Quincy's dirty deeds don't help us, especially. It's disappointing," Sylia added as she sipped her juice.
When they FINALLY managed to crack Brian Mason's files, they had found scores of criminal acts. He had done anything to help Genom get ahead, much of it totally illegal. Sadly not much of it connected to the ongoing mystery of who had a grudge against Sylia.
"Mind you, some of the information will be useful if/when I do housecleaning of Genom execs. Mason had huge stores of blackmail material," Sylia added, making a face.
"Yeah, some of that...," Nene made a face.
"Plus, giving that data to the cops means some of those scum will have the police after them," Sylia added dryly.
"There's that," Nene agreed.
"Speaking of police, Detective Asami wants to see me," Sylia noted.
"Oh, Naoko. She's a hard ass, but knows her stuff," Nene agreed.
"Any idea why they put her on the Mason case?" Sylia wondered.
"As it's a tough case that may never actually be solved," Nene noted, "she may have pissed someone off."
"Huh. I'll keep that in mind," Sylia sighed, finishing her food.
"Seconds? I'll try not to burn the eggs this time," Nene offered.
"One of us needs to learn to cook," Sylia noted, laughing.
"There's always takeout," Nene added.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"So, there have been multiple attacks on Sylia," Saeko Busujima noted. She asked, "Why hasn't it hit the news?"
"Genom's money and influence," Priss admitted.
It was a few days after the attack at the Stingray Memorial Center. Saeko had requested a meeting, and Priss was willing to see her. And she had gotten Sylia's permission to be truthful, since they had put the woman in jeopardy.
"And you don't know why? Beyond the obvious," Saeko mused.
"The obvious?" Priss asked.
"Someone hates/envies her having the power and position she has," Saeko shrugged.
"Huh," Priss grunted. "Yeah, if it's that reason, we'll never catch whomever is behind it."
"Hmm," Saeko agreed. "So, motive?" she asked.
"Our best theory is someone is hiding something big in Genom, and they think Sylia might find it," Priss admitted.
"Logical," Saeko nodded. "So you and Linna are her primary bodyguards?" she asked.
"Yup. She sleeps in a secure location," Priss added. "It's a secret."
"She's sharing a suite with Nene Romanova, over the Silky Doll shop," Saeko noted calmly.
"How..," Priss blinked.
"I have very good sources," Saeko explained.
Priss made a mental note to tell Nene about it. Maybe she could scrub the information from the internet? She sipped her drink, "So if you know Sylia is shacking up with Nene, why are you trying to seduce her?"
Saeko looked amused, "Who says I can't share?"
"Seriously?" Priss blinked.
Saeko just smirked.
:Okay," Priss decided she was done here as she said "I think we've covered everything. I should get going."
"One thing," Saeko added, "If there is another attack nearby me, call me."
"Huh?" Priss blinked.
Saeko smiled dangerously, "I haven't had that much fun in years."
'This woman is nuts...' Priss sighed.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Jeena Malso of the ADP made sure her gun was easily accessable as she left her office, dressed in her street clothes, rather than in uniform.
"Heading home, ma'am?" her assistant Ruri asked.
"Gotta run over to Tokyo PD. Then home, hopefully," Jeena said.
Ruri hesitated, "I notice you're going armed all the time now."
Jeena smiled wryly. "Two high ranking Genom executives are dead, along with a former director," she noted, "maybe the head of ADP might be next?"
Ruri paled visibly. "Oh," she squeaked.
"Here's hoping it's not," Jeena added gently.
To be continued
Notes: Sorry for shorter chapter. Wanted to continue a few bits.
