Chapter 18: The Devil
The unseen hands shoved Goro into the back of a car and slammed the door shut behind him.
"What the hell!" cried Goro angrily, the second the hand left his mouth.
"Settle down," said a deep voice with a familiar sternness.
It was Masayoshi Shido. The car, which had been idling, started moving. A partition slid up between the front and back seats.
"Shido-san," said Goro, trying to keep the nerves out of his voice. The last time they'd spoken, Shido had threatened to kill him. He wanted to jump out of the car, moving or not, but he suppressed the urge. Most likely, the doors were locked. Trying to run would be a bad plan.
"It's been a while," said Shido neutrally. "How've you been?"
Goro forced himself to collect his thoughts. Panicking would do him no good. Almost without thinking about it, he shifted to a new Persona: Kushi Mitama, a Strength Persona that he kept on deck for working at Crossroads. Lala's arcana lent him patience and calm, invaluable when dealing with difficult people.
"Fine," he answered, matching Shido's neutral tone. "I'm…back in school. Since I missed graduation."
"I know. Living with that Niijima woman. What's that about?"
"She gave me a place to stay so I wouldn't be out on the street after your organization fell apart," said Goro coolly.
Shido smirked. "Bratty as ever, I see. You must be doing all right, then. So listen up. As far as I'm concerned, you still work for me. I want you to stop freelancing."
Goro said cautiously, "I'm not freelancing."
"This isn't you?" Shido showed Goro a phone. On it, he had pulled up the Myojo app.
Goro shook his head. "I have nothing to do with that. Or any of the recent mental shutdowns."
Shido fixed him with a piercing gaze for an uncomfortable amount of time. Then, apparently satisfied with what he saw, he put his phone back in his pocket.
"But you know about it. Do you know who is responsible? Couldn't be…them…could it?"
"You mean the Phantom Thieves? No, it isn't them. My best guess is that Kaede Wada is behind the app. Seems up his alley, doesn't it?"
"It does," said Shido, letting the phrase linger as if there were something more he wanted to say. "Anyway, I'm glad to hear you're keeping your nose clean. I'm the one who protected you, you know. Niijima saw me testify. Did she tell you about that? Or that I've been trying to get in touch with you?"
"What do you mean, protected me?" Goro wrinkled his brow a little. In fact, Sae had told him, but he wanted to hear it from Shido himself.
"I exonerated you in court. Told them you had nothing to do with anything. Cleaned up the mess you made, leaving your laptop and phone lying around where the cops could find them."
"I suspected it was your doing when I heard my things had gone missing from evidence. But I thought —" Goro stopped himself, biting his tongue. He'd gotten too used to speaking his mind and forgotten that wasn't safe to do around Shido.
"Thought maybe I was preparing to have you taken out?" said Shido evenly. "Removing the evidence of my motive? No, that's not why I did it."
"Okay, fine. What do you want from me, then?"
Shido leaned forward, eyes glittering. "Remember when I asked you that same question back in November? What was the real answer? Cards on the table."
The real answer was that Goro wanted to expose Shido for what he really was - a psychopath criminal and deadbeat dad. Unfortunately for Goro's revenge plan, Shido had already confessed to most of his bad deeds and ruined himself, his die-hard fans notwithstanding. Even so, brutal honesty didn't seem like the right play.
"It's like I said. I believe in your ideology," said Goro.
Shido snorted. "Maybe. Or maybe there's another reason. Let me take a stab in the dark. Your mother's name is Kiyoko. A nightclub worker."
Goro sucked in a quick breath. He recovered quickly, but not so quickly that Shido didn't notice. "...Yes," he admitted, seeing no point in lying.
"Then I suppose you're my son, or you believe you are. You probably thought you'd reveal yourself to be the son of the Prime Minister, huh?" Shido chuckled. "If you came out with this now, you'd just be the son of a degenerate criminal."
"What do you want?" Goro asked again, quieter.
"As you said, my organization fell apart. My political ambitions are six feet under. The Public Prosecutor's Office froze my assets…."
Goro glanced around the car while Shido fixed himself a drink. Apparently not all his assets had been frozen.
"So you want to rebuild," said Goro. "Is that it?"
Shido sipped his drink and tilted his head back and forth as if he were rolling it around on his tongue. "Have you ever wondered what it's like, having the Phantom Thieves change your heart?"
"I've always thought it's essentially brainwashing."
"If a person were hallucinating, would you consider it brainwashing to give them medication so they could see reality rather than fiction? That is what it's like."
"Like the Christian story of Saul on the road to Damascus. Scales fell from his eyes and he regained his sight," said Goro, letting some skepticism color his tone.
"I can see you've got some trust issues," said Shido. "That's understandable. If you haven't experienced it, it's impossible to grasp how profound a change of heart really is."
"Trust issues. Sure." Goro could hardly hear the rest of what Shido said over the sound of blood rushing in his ears. Kushi Mitama earned its keep and smoothed out the surge of anger, but Goro felt sure that Shido had picked up on it. He seemed as perceptive as ever, maybe moreso.
Shido's expression was inscrutable as he took an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to Goro. Inside was a lot of cash and a slip of paper. "I have some work for you. Don't worry, it's all above-board. Nothing that will jeopardize your position."
For a strange, suspended moment in time, nothing happened. Then Goro saw a red flash, similar to the spots that appear when one looks at the sun too long. At the same moment, he felt the stirring of a bond. The Devil.
Tied to Shido again. He felt sick. But it was a familiar sickness.
His sneering inner voice, which had been mostly silent ever since he'd re-assimilated it with Jose's star, was back and it was pissed off. What did you expect? You're no better than he is, it told him. Goro realized with surprise that he had shifted back to Hereward. He tried to wrestle Kushi Mitama back into his psyche, but it was apparently not in the mood.
Unaware of the struggle going on in front of him, Shido was saying, "There's enough in there to get your own place. It's an easy job to start off with. Go talk to my contact at St. Luke's International Hospital. He's a Metaverse researcher. He'll give you a test to start. If you pass, then I want you to help with his research."
Goro already knew whose name would be on the slip of paper, but the mention of a Metaverse researcher called to mind someone else. "You mean like I 'helped' Wakaba Isshiki?" he asked acidly.
Shido's face crumpled in regret and he looked away from Goro, out the window onto the Tokyo streets. "No. Not like that. And if you are taking jobs like that, stop. Nobody knows I'm behind it, but the Mental Shutdown Ward is…well, part of my atonement for my crimes."
"Wow. I guess that change of heart really is pretty profound." It came out more cynical and bitter than Goro intended, thanks to Hereward.
Shido turned back to Goro, again seeming to evaluate him. "I'm looking forward, not back. All I ask is that you do your best to clean up the mess we made." He nodded at the envelope. "That should be enough incentive for now."
"Is finding my own place part of the deal?" asked Goro.
"No. It's not an order. But frankly, I think Niijima is going to dump you like yesterday's trash as soon as she sees you have no useful information. At least be prepared."
"Thanks for the concern," said Goro coldly.
Shido shrugged. "Do what you want. My freedom is obviously limited, but I'm going to carve out some time. We'll talk again. Oh, and don't worry about Wada. I'll take care of him."
The sensation of something crawling over his skin made Goro shiver a bit. "Take care of him" only meant one thing coming from Shido, no matter what he was claiming now. The car rolled to a stop. The door locks disengaged. Goro decided to risk a question of his own.
"As it happens, I already know about this contact of yours. I'm curious why you'd place a guard on him. Is his life in danger, or…?"
Shido frowned. "I didn't put a guard on him."
"Hmm," said Goro, raising his eyebrows. "Well, then, I suppose I'll see you later."
Goro was partway out the door when Shido added, "Don't forget what I said: no freelancing. We're reducing the body count now."
"Big goddamn heroes," muttered Goro, and closed the door behind him.
After leaving the car, Goro found himself outside his apartment building. He went inside automatically. It wasn't until he tried to push the elevator button that he realized his hands were trembling.
"I'm home," he said as he entered the apartment.
Sae came running so fast he wondered if she'd jumped over the couch.
"Are you okay? What happened?" she demanded.
"I'm fine," he said, although he didn't feel fine. He felt slightly dazed and his legs felt rubbery.
Sae's brow crinkled. She looked him up and down, then said, "I'll make some tea. Come and sit down at the table."
He was about to tell her not to bother, but she had already bustled off to the kitchen. He took off his shoes and made his way to the table. Sae brought over two steaming mugs and a handful of Umaibo.
"Umaibo…?" Goro took in the snacks, Sae's worried expression, her fingers tapping on the sides of her mug. "Were you…worried about me?" he asked.
"Of course I was! You were kidnapped off the street!" Sae threw her hands up in dismay.
"Oh." He knew he shouldn't be pleased that she was upset, so his smile ended up lopsided. Still, he couldn't help feeling happy that at last, someone noticed and cared when he was in trouble.
Sae sighed. "I'm sorry to raise my voice. It's not your fault. But it was Shido, wasn't it?"
"Yes. He didn't threaten me," Goro added, feeling like he should reassure her.
"Then…do you think the change of heart really took?"
"If an evil bastard becomes half as evil, how can you tell the difference? He told me I still work for him. He gave me a job."
Goro took the envelope out of his pocket and laid it on the table. Sae picked it up and looked inside, her eyebrows raising as she counted the money. She took out the notepaper next.
"Takuto Maruki. St. Luke's International Hospital," she read, and the color drained out of her face.
Goro realized his mistake. He said quickly, "No, no – it's not what you think. Shido said he's the anonymous donor behind the Mental Shutdown Ward. He wants me to help Maruki with his research."
Sae let out her breath in a rush. "That's a relief. Shido's behind the Mental Shutdown Ward, eh?" She considered that for a moment. "You still don't have to help him with it, though."
"I don't have any other choice."
"You do have a choice," she said. Her voice was soft, but it had a quiet ferocity to it. "There are steps I can take to ensure you never have to see him again."
Goro didn't answer immediately. He had already forged a bond with Shido; even if some other force was responsible, he didn't know if it was possible to break it. More troubling, he couldn't be certain that it was an outside force and not his own subconscious that made the decision.
He couldn't deny a certain morbid curiosity. Masayoshi Shido was the worst person Goro had ever met. Exactly how far did the change of heart go? Goro wondered if he could still have something like the revenge that he'd planned so long ago, even though Shido already knew his secret. I could get him to apologize to her, just like I wanted. It might even be genuine. But what difference does it make to a dead woman?
As Goro turned these thoughts over in his mind, Sae sipped her tea and watched him. Her brow was starting to wrinkle again. He took a drink, and to his surprise, it actually did make him feel a little better.
"You had a change of heart, Sae. Maybe you should be telling me whether you think it's genuine. The word he used was 'profound'."
"That might depend on the person," she said slowly. "I would describe it as a radical priority shift. If you asked me when I had a Palace, I would have said my family was the most important thing to me, with my career second…but I was acting just the opposite. I had lost sight of what I really valued."
"That's just what he said. He said it was like regaining his sight after being blind. I wonder…Sae, if you don't mind, I'd like to talk this over with Ren and Morgana. I think they might have some insights."
"Of course," said Sae. "Just one thing, though. I don't like it, but I won't stop you from seeing Shido if it's really what you want. However, if you intend to stay in touch with him, I think you should ask for a show of good faith."
"Good faith…? Like what?"
"Tell him he can't snatch you off the street. You'll go willingly or not at all. See what he says. His answer should tell you something about his state of mind."
"It's a good idea, but…." Goro hesitated.
"If you don't feel comfortable enough even asking, then you have your answer," said Sae pointedly.
There was no arguing with a lawyer, so Goro just nodded and headed to his room.
Opening up his chat app, he saw that he'd sent the last several messages to Ren and gotten no replies.
"What are you, busy now?" Goro groused at the phone. "Baling hay? Shucking corn? Trapping raccoons?"
He dialed Ren's number and let it ring. It rolled over to voicemail. Goro said, "Hey, it's me. Something happened today that you should know about. He contacted me. You know who I mean. Call me back."
He ended the call feeling disquieted. It felt like reality had turned upside-down — Shido was free and Ren was locked away. No, that's just a flight of fancy, Goro reminded himself. You don't know what Ren's up to. It could be anything. Still, a couple of hours by train suddenly seemed impossibly far away.
Goro wasn't surprised when he woke up in the ball pit again, though he didn't remember dozing off. He rustled the balls around with his hands, then flopped backward into them, letting them cover his face. He stared upward, peering between the balls to where a ceiling would be in a normal room. In the Velvet Room, it was more like staring into the sky at twilight.
"Hello?" said Jose, leaning over the edge of the ball pit. With the plastic balls obscuring Goro's field of vision, Jose looked even stranger than usual. Like pieces of him were missing. But that couldn't be…people didn't just lose parts and keep walking around, like automatons.
Goro sat up, the balls cascading down around him. But clearing his vision didn't fix Jose. He really was missing an eye, as well as his strange little puppet nose. But there were no holes where the parts used to be. Those spots were smooth, with just a bit of discoloration to indicate something had been there before. The overall effect was deeply unsettling.
"Jose, we need to talk," said Goro, pulling himself out of the ball pit. He'd been putting this off, but it couldn't wait any longer. "What's going on with you? You don't seem…" Okay? Normal? Human? "…like yourself."
Jose looked down at his arms, legs, and feet, then looked back up questioningly.
"You're missing an eye. And your nose," Goro pointed out. "And your hair is looking kind of…melted."
"Oh." Jose closed his remaining eye and seemed to concentrate. Without warning, the missing eye popped back into existence along with his nose. At the same time, his hair resolved itself back into the familiar Lego-helmet look. "Is that better?"
"Yes, much better. But how did you lose them?"
"Just part of my job." He muttered something that sounded like I think, but quickly covered it by opening up the compendium and announcing: "You have three new bonds: Hierophant, Hermit, and Tower. Take a look."
Goro flipped through the new arcana, but he couldn't shake the feeling that these were wrong somehow. Each one still had a darkened page, unlike the bonds he'd formed himself.
"What does this mean?" he asked, indicating one of the darkened pages.
"That's the ultimate Persona of the arcana. I think it just means there are extra conditions to release that one. Maybe…quests!"
"Like making my own friends?" Goro asked pointedly.
Jose shrugged and looked away. Then he turned back to the book and flipped to the Devil. "How about this one? Very powerful! You'll be able to do a lot with this one."
"About that. Did you cause that bond to form?"
"I can't force a bond against your will," said Jose evasively. "Some part of you had to want it."
"That just means part of me might not have wanted it," Goro said sharply. "My choices belong to no one but myself. Is that clear?"
Jose nodded, hanging his head like a scolded puppy.
Forcing himself to calm down, Goro switched to Horus, a Sun Persona. Jose's arcana bolstered his confidence and optimism, but it was the link to Jose himself that Goro hoped to use.
Kneeling next to Jose, Goro softened his tone. "You're extremely powerful, aren't you? I remember when I fought you alongside the Phantom Thieves."
"I'm not as powerful as the other attendants. And our master is more powerful than all of us."
"Perhaps. But I'll bet if you wanted to, you could control a human being just like playing with a doll. Isn't that right?"
"We're not supposed to get involved like that," said Jose, avoiding Goro's eyes.
"That seems like a good rule, don't you think? As humans, we already have so many limitations without losing control of our free will too."
Jose stared at him, uncomprehending. "Limitations? You?"
Goro stared back at him. This was a very strange gulf to try and bridge. "You can travel into the mortal world, can't you? But most humans can't see into different levels of reality, like the Metaverse, or this place."
"Of course they can," said Jose. "None of these places would even exist without human consciousness."
"Seeing something in your mind's eye and seeing it in real life are two different things."
"How so?" asked Jose.
"It's…the same thing for you?"
Jose nodded. Then, suddenly, he smacked his forehead. "Oh, I see now! You're bound by the constraints of spacetime! You're like…photons. Or hamburgers!"
"Um. Hamburgers and photons are subject to the same laws of physics as humans, yes," said Goro, not sure if this was progress or not.
"That's why spacetime exists in Mementos! Because that's how humans experience the universe!" said Jose excitedly. Goro realized it was the first time Jose had looked excited in a long time.
"If Mementos had been dreamed up by fish, it would all be underwater," Goro mused, recalling something Wakaba Isshiki had said once.
"Fish? No, no. Mementos is created by the collective cognition of all the humans who live nearby."
Nearby? Goro wondered, but he was getting off track. "OK. Listen, Jose. Whatever it is you're doing to help me form bonds…I appreciate the thought, but please stop. I don't think it's good for either one of us."
Jose nodded his understanding, and Goro headed wearily through the door that led back to a terrible night's sleep.
The door closed behind him and vanished, leaving Jose alone. As soon as the guest left, the Velvet Room reverted into a formless void, where Jose's consciousness floated, untethered to the human world.
Jose became aware of another presence, a familiar one.
"He doesn't want me to help anymore," Jose said to his other friend. "He said I was interfering too much in the human world."
"Humans are such self-centered little creatures, aren't they?" The other voice made a tsk-tsk sound.
"What do you mean?" asked Jose, always eager to learn. In the absence of his real master, this friend had taught him many things, and he was very grateful.
A silver thread appeared in Jose's mind's eye. "Quite simple, Jose. The thread has two ends, yes?"
"Yes."
"But only one end is attached to — what did you call him, again?"
"The guest?"
"Yes, the guest. He is only half of the bond. Therefore, he only has a say over half. Wouldn't you agree?"
"Oh…that does make sense," said Jose slowly.
"Well, then. You keep tying up these threads, and let the guest decide later if he wants the other end. Who knows? He may just thank you for thinking ahead."
Jose thought about that, and somewhere in the deep blue void, his essence began to glow.
As his consciousness returned from the Velvet Room, Goro was aware of a faint tinkling sound that got louder and louder. By the time he was fully back in his room, he recognized the tune as the ringtone he'd assigned Ren — an upbeat piano rendition of "It's Only a Paper Moon." As he answered the call, he smiled without even thinking about it.
"About time. What have you been up to?" he asked, failing to sound stern and instead sounding as anxious as he felt.
Ren sounded tired when he answered. "Nothing. I mean, nothing as interesting as what you've been up to, sounds like."
Letting out a huge sigh, Goro said, "You've got that right."
He launched into the story of his abduction by Masayoshi Shido, including Shido's uncharacteristic "job."
Ren was quiet for a moment when Goro finished. Then he said, "He doesn't want to kill you. He doesn't want to kill me, even. I guess I can't complain, but…"
"But?"
"I've seen firsthand how powerful a change of heart is, but I just…can't."
"Can't what?" asked Goro, perplexed.
"I can't trust him. Everything he's ever said, from accusing me of assault to his campaign promises — every word out of his mouth was a lie. He wants to help? I don't believe it. There has to be some angle we're not seeing."
"That occurred to me too, you know," said Goro, a little annoyed. "But he told me specifically to help your BFF Maruki. Do you not trust him either, now that he has Shido's endorsement?"
Ren sighed wearily. "Dr. Maruki is a good person at heart, but you know as well as I do that his judgment can be flawed."
"What exactly do you think the scheme is, then?"
"I don't know. What if — if Shido has some questions about the Metaverse that he wants Maruki to answer with his research? Some new method of controlling the population? Or maybe even changing reality?"
"And he's keeping it secret from Maruki? I could buy that, I guess. What is it you want me to do?"
"Nothing. I don't know. Stay away from him."
"This is a golden opportunity to find out what he's up to. You see that, don't you?"
"Of course, but don't you think it's awfully risky? What if he kept your laptop and phone so he has leverage against you?"
"If so, then he'll force me to help him. I'm stuck either way," Goro argued. Ironically, though he'd started the conversation leaning towards Ren's position, being forced to argue the opposite side was starting to convince him.
"You don't have to like it," Ren said.
"I don't like it!" Goro shot back.
A sullen silence descended between them.
The logical part of Goro's brain knew Ren was right about the danger. But at the same time, he bristled at being told what to do, even by someone he cared about, even though it made perfect sense. What is WRONG with you! shouted his logical brain, even as his mouth said the words, "You can't ask me to stay away from him."
"You're right. But I am."
"Let's talk about this when you're feeling better," suggested Goro. Ren really didn't seem well, so this seemed like a safe, conciliatory thing to say.
"I don't want to talk about it! I went to jail because of him! Why don't you believe me?"
"I don't have to believe you —"
"Look. Never mind. Forget about it. I'll see you around."
Goro swore into the phone, but the line was already dead. If Ren had let him finish, he would have said that he didn't need to believe something that was obviously true. But now Ren was left with the backwards idea that Goro was siding with Shido over him.
That's his own damn fault, Goro thought, flinging the phone into a pile of dirty laundry. This was exactly why he didn't trust people. You could never count on them, no matter how much they said otherwise.
Wada was standing outside his favorite club, smoking.
A dark town car pulled up on the curb next to him. He barely noticed; fancy cars dropped off VIPs here all the time. Well, sometimes. He still couldn't get into the best, most exclusive nightclubs in Tokyo; even as a rising star in the tech industry, he didn't have the kind of star-power of celebrities or the power-power of Tokyo's old money crowd. But where he was was still pretty damn good, he thought, nodding jauntily as a man exited from the front seat.
The driver was still in the car, as was the passenger in the back. The man from the front was well-dressed, but didn't look like a VIP. The bulges of well-developed biceps strained his suit's sleeves. He didn't bother trying to button his suit jacket over his broad chest. Suddenly wishing he hadn't looked at all, Wada hastily directed his eyes elsewhere.
So he was surprised when the gorilla ended up right in front of him.
"Kaede Wada?" he asked.
"Yes?" Wada's voice came out a little squeaky as he tried to remember what he might have done to piss off a guy like this.
"Mr. Shido wants a word," said the gorilla. He turned and went back to the car, opening the back door. The seat was empty on the curb side.
Ohshitohshitohshit, thought Wada, as he made his way to the car.
He gingerly sat down and the gorilla closed the door behind him.
"This is a surprise," he said to Masayoshi Shido.
Shido nodded, a sardonic expression on his face. The car started moving.
"What…what can I do for you, sir?"
"It has come to my attention that some person or persons, going by the name "Myojo," have been speaking for me," said Shido. "What can you tell me about that?"
"Yeah, I heard about that. Nobody knows who it is, right?" Wada hoped that question didn't tip his hand too much.
"Myojo claims to be someone close to me. Someone who was in my inner circle before I went to prison and perhaps is even communicating with me even now. Does that ring a bell?"
Shido's gaze was piercing. He often liked to say things in a slightly ambiguous way, as a way to draw out people's real thoughts through their interpretation of his words. Wada had seen him do it before; he'd have to be on guard to avoid letting anything slip.
"I've seen the claims, yeah. Lot of articles written about this guy, whoever he is. Lot of TV specials and such."
Wada and Maeda had been milking the Myojo phenomenon for all it was worth, Wada mostly through advertising on a number of websites he set up with high-value keywords, and Maeda through filling the airwaves with theories, investigations, opinions, and wild speculation — anything to keep the mystery alive and people tuned in, afraid to miss the next twist in the story. Eventually it would fizzle, as any mystery did when people got tired of having no resolution, but the gravy train was running full steam until then.
"And this," said Shido, holding up his phone. Wada found himself face to face with the Myojo app.
"That's where he does his drops, right?" Wada ventured.
"You seem well-informed," Shido observed.
Wada shrugged. "Sure. I have to keep up on metaverse trends."
"Metaverse?" Shido steepled his fingers and leaned forward. "What makes you say that?"
"Information superhighway. Internet. Web. Virtual reality. Whatever. Meta is the new buzzword out of America. Trends, see?" He turned his palms up, as if to prove there was nothing there.
Shido didn't respond, instead making a procedure out of tucking his phone back into his pocket. Finally, he said, "I'm going to make a public statement disavowing all of this. I want it to be crystal clear that this 'Myojo' character doesn't speak for me."
Wada stared at him. "Why?" he blurted out, unable to stop himself.
Shido gave him a look of such undisguised scorn that Wada suddenly had a vivid picture of himself sinking into the ocean with chains wrapped around his body.
"Because my contrition is real. I can't look on my past self with anything other than utter disgust. I'm mortified that this…shadow…of myself is still leading Japan down the road to destruction."
"I mean…he's just giving the people what they want, isn't he?" said Wada, drawing a sharp look from Shido.
"Don't make the mistake of thinking I'm powerless, Wada. I still have plenty of resources at my disposal."
Wada looked around the car, which seemed to prove the statement. He nodded weakly.
"The Mental Shutdown Ward at St. Luke's is my little project," Shido continued. "Get the guard off the door."
Wada's back tensed up. He hoped the panic wasn't showing on his face. "G-guard? I don't know anything —"
Shido held up a hand and Wada stopped talking instantly. "It doesn't matter to me how the guard got there. Just remove him."
Wada gulped and nodded. Shido let him marinate in his cold sweat for a moment before speaking again.
"How does Akechi fit into your scheme?" Shido asked.
"Huh? He's not involved," said Wada blankly.
"Good. Keep it that way. I have another plan for him."
"Whatever you say," Wada agreed, just relieved that the chains/ocean scenario seemed to be off the table.
"Wada-san, I'm going to tell you what I'm telling all of my former associates: You find yourself between the devil and the deep blue sea. Take stock of your life. Jettison the unethical and right your ship before it's too late."
The car stopped and the doors unlocked.
"Yessir," said Wada, and got out as fast as he could.