Chapter 13: The Thrill of The Hunt

[Author's Note: I'm not sure if my calculations of the Japanese Yen that Agent Kondo pays for his jacket are completely exact or applicable to the exchange rate from the 1980's. I was just using a currency converter that used today's exchange rate.]

30 minutes after a passing motorcyclist shot and wounded Pete O' Donelly in the middle of Dobuita, a veritable army of police officers and other emergency responders now had the scene covered. Pete, struck in the upper right back by a pair of .22-caliber bullets, had been stabilized by ambulance personnel and transported to Dobuita General Hospital.

As such, Cathy Wilkens and Detective Inspector Murakawa also responded to the now very disarrayed situation. John Kondo tried to listen intently while the detective was asking him the necessary questions, but his eyes were still locked on his now discarded suit jacket lying on the wet street. Pete's blood was still drying on it.

"Johnny?" Cathy said to her partner, "Johnny?"

The overwhelmed NSIC agent snapped back to reality. "Yeah?" Kondo replied.

"Did you see what kind of motorcycle the shooter was riding?" Murakawa asked, having to repeat the question a second time.

Kondo cleared his throat. "Yeah," he said, "It was a black Nineteen-Eighty Harley-Davidson Shovelhead. It was going too fast for me to see a license plate."

Murakawa nodded as he noted those details in his memo book. "Okay," he replied, "You have a very good memory, Kondo-san. How'd you know it was a Shovelhead?"

"A guy I knew in the Marines had one," Kondo explained, "I always admired it."

"And you said that Pete told you that this mysterious Chinese boat looked very old and had some numbers on it," Cathy chimed in, "What were they again?"

"Five-One-Three," Kondo replied, "He said they were the only things he was able to read on it, what with all the Chinese writing on it."

Cathy nodded. "I'll get Lieutenant Bellis on the phone and have her run all the Chinese vessels coming through New Yokosuka Harbor," she said, "Whoever these knuckleheads are, I can't imagine they weren't seen coming in and out by anybody."

"I couldn't agree more," Kondo said.

His partner momentarily put her hand on his shoulder. "You sure you're okay?" Cathy inquired.

"I'll be fine," Kondo replied with a sort of feigned confidence in his voice, "Let's catch up later. I'm going to stop by the Water Dragon Thrift Store and see if I can find a new jacket."

"Alright," Cathy said, "As soon as I'm done talking with the lieutenant, I'll meet you over there."

Water Dragon Thrift Store
10:30 AM

Cathy met up with Kondo just as he was putting a used 1960's-style men's blue shiny wool suit jacket on the front counter at the Water Dragon Thrift Store. This secondhand clothing store, situated on Dobuita's front street beside the Bunkado Antiques shop, was yet another staple of the busy district.

"That'll be Five-Thousand-Nine-Hundred-Seventy-Four Yen, please" store clerk Ryuji Tatsumi said to Kondo. Tatsumi-san was a very interesting-looking character.

The 26-year-old muscularly built Japanese man stood at 5'5 and sported a very vibrant purple mohawk and sunglasses, and he was also clad in a dark green jacket with a plain black tank top underneath, blue jeans, and black combat boots.

Kondo, meanwhile, sighed at the price but still reached inside his wallet and removed the requested amount, placing it on the metal money tray and sliding it over to Tatsumi.

Tatsumi nodded, taking the tray and placing the cash in the register. "Thanks so much," he said.

Kondo put his arms through the sleeves of his new jacket and put it on. "No," he replied, "Thank you, Tatsumi-san."

"Not a problem," Tatsumi said, "Keep your head up, okay?"

Kondo nodded before crossing over to where Cathy stood. "Hey," he said to her, "Did you find out anything?"

"Yeah," Cathy replied, "I spoke to Lieutenant Bellis. She and some of the other MPs were able to come up with some interesting leads on this cryptic Chinese ship that O' Donnelly told you about. It turns out that there's only one ship that originates from China that's been around more than thirty years with the numbers Five-One-Three next to its name. It's called 'the Pearl of Shanghai Five-One-Three', or as the Chinese call it..." The female petty officer then attempted to repeat the vessel's name using a rather jumbled form of Mandarin Chinese.

Though he wasn't intending to poke fun at his partner for making a considerably amateur go at a language she wasn't all that skilled in, Kondo still giggled. "I get the picture, Cathy" he said, "Does the route match up with our harbor thefts?"

"Yep," Cathy replied, "The harbor master told Bellis that it always starts its voyage at the Port of Shanghai, comes to New Yokosuka Harbor, then circles back to Shanghai before travelling to Laem Chabang, Thailand. It docks there for a week or so before coming back to our harbor for two more days and then finally heading back to Shanghai."

Kondo nodded. "Very interesting," he said, "What I'd like to know is if China and Thailand had reported any art thefts on their soil."

"I've got you covered there," Cathy explained, "Our MPs were able to get in touch with the necessary port authorities for the Chinese and Thai governments. They each reported two incidents of theft just before ours. All the stolen goods were pieces of high-priced pieces of art from the respective countries. They're trying to get the ship's crew manifest as we speak."

"Nice work," Kondo said, "I'm impressed. Are the police making any progress in their search for the shooter?"

"No word on finding the 'who' just yet," Cathy replied, "But two officers did find a 'what'."

Kondo looked at his partner quizzically. "Huh?" he inquired."

Cathy smiled in response. "They found the gun, Johnny" she said, "It's a silver Smith and Wesson Model Sixty-Three revolver with a wooden handle and a long barrel. They found it lying on the playground at Suzume Park. Murakawa-san thinks the shooter must've thrown it in that direction while making their getaway. Every officer from here to Kanagawa's keeping a lookout."

Kondo nodded. "That's good to know," he replied, "I can't imagine that a black Shovelhead motorcycle isn't going to stick out like a sore thumb."

"No kidding," Cathy said before eyeing her partner's new jacket, "Nice threads by the way."

Kondo smiled before tugging on his new jacket. "Thanks," he replied.

"Oh yeah," Cathy said, "Murakawa-san also said that our young friend Ryo Hazuki has been shaking things up around here again."

"How so?" Kondo asked.

"He heard from one of his informants that a young man fitting his description got into a bit of a scuffle with that Mad Angels biker Charlie Grant at that tattoo parlor that's at my apartment building," Cathy explained, "Obviously, the informant didn't know who Ryo was, but Murakawa-san recognized the description and passed it on to me."

"Heh," Kondo said, "You've got to give him points for determination." He then checked his wristwatch. "We probably aren't going to get an update until Pete O' Donnelly's out of surgery," he continued, "Why don't we head back to base and check in with how the search for the ship's going?"

Cathy nodded and the two headed back towards the parking lot by the You Arcade, where Kondo's Nissan Skyline waited.