by Shouji Gatou
“Japanese history?” Tessa questioned.
“Sergeant Weber will understand.”
26 June, 2031 Hours (Japan Standard Time)
Maison K, Tamagawa, Chofu
Kaname lay on the sofa, staring emptily at the ceiling. She’d wanted to cry at first, but that had passed, and now she just felt tired all over. What she’d seen had been a real shock to her system; she’d assumed he was so standoffish and inflexible that no girl would ever make time for him. “But he had a girlfriend like her this whole time...”
I’ve been so stupid, she thought. Just because we’ve been through a little life-or-death situation doesn’t mean he really cares about me... I got myself all puffed up, thinking I was the only one who saw any good in him... What was I thinking? Everyone must be laughing at how stupid I am...
She picked up a hand mirror next to her and looked at her own face. “I’m so ugly...” At least, that’s what that girl must have thought. Compared to her... Sparkling silver hair and big gray eyes; a dazzling smile, like a figure skater or a gymnast. “She was so pretty...” Kaname couldn’t compete.
And given the way she was acting, they were clearly in the afterglow of something. Is she the real reason Sousuke broke his promise yesterday? she wondered. Maybe he lied about it being for work; they were actually doing... things... all night long... and then Sousuke went to school in the morning, while she stayed in his apartment all day... The idea contradicted a lot of facts as she knew them, but in that moment, she lacked the objectivity to realize it.
“I wonder how they met each other...” she whispered to herself. The daughter of a dead comrade? Someone he saved once, the way he saved me? It must have been a dramatic encounter, either way... like something out of those new 007 movies. I bet they’ve been together since long before he met me... The idea was entirely without basis, but in that moment, she lacked the calm to reflect upon that.
“I wonder what they’re doing now...” Sharing a meal together, maybe? The two of them talking happily across the table, gazing at each other with puppy dog eyes... Whispering “I love you”... In fact, Sousuke was stoically disposing of terrorist corpses, but Kaname had no way of knowing that.
She turned on the TV, turned it off, stared into space for about ten minutes... and then, the doorbell rang. “Who’s coming by at this hour? Darn it...” Kaname rolled over sluggishly on the sofa, considered pretending she wasn’t home, then at last got up and went to the door. She didn’t check who it was first, so she was surprised when it was Sousuke, looking grim. He was with that girl, who was looking even more grim. They were accompanied by an unfamiliar boy who was... indeed, looking grim.
“Um?” she asked, completely baffled by their presence.
“We need help. Please hide us,” Sousuke said morosely.
Fuming all the while that, “This is a pretty big ask,” and “It’s none of my business, you know,” she nevertheless made them a pot of roasted green tea. It was hard to say if it was the result of good upbringing, or if she was just a pushover... but either way, it was one of her better traits. Even after they explained the rough outline of events, though, her dissatisfaction still wouldn’t abate.
“Okay, so...” Kaname placed the teacups onto the table. “There’s some weird terrorist group out there, and it’s after you because of this jerky-looking guy?” She was referring to Takuma; Sousuke had wanted to toss him in the bathroom, but Kaname didn’t like the idea, so they’d been forced to sit him down within arm’s reach. He was being docile for now, at least. “And you’re saying this girl is your superior officer,” Kaname continued, “and a colonel?”
“Correct,” Sousuke replied succinctly.
“Boy, I knew you were a lousy liar, but this is pushing it, you know?” Kaname’s skepticism was likely exacerbated by Takuma’s presence, which prevented him from sharing any details of Mithril’s situation or internal structure. “So... Testarossa-san, right? How old are you?”
“Sixteen. But I’ll be seventeen in six months,” Tessa answered, then took a sip of her tea. She was now wearing baggy cargo pants beneath her T-shirt, jury-rigged in place with a belt.
“A sixteen year old girl captaining a submarine?” Kaname questioned skeptically. “I’ve seen The Hunt for Red October, you know. Submarine captains are hard-edged old guys like Sean Connery. She looks more like ‘Underling A,’ the character who reads out communications.”
In spite of Kaname’s rudeness, Tessa nodded as if in agreement.
“But it’s the truth,” Sousuke protested.
“Look I don’t... I don’t care what happened between you guys,” Kaname continued. “But there’s such a thing as basic consideration, you know? If you’re going to ask me for help, you can’t also be lying to me.”
Sousuke was already regretting his choice to come here. The streets nearby were poorly lit, and he’d assumed the next apartment complex over would be the last place the enemy would think to look for them. But it was foolish of him to think that Kaname would accept the situation just because he’d explained it.
The whole time, Tessa just kept sipping her tea, offering no defense whatsoever. She apparently had no intention of backing Sousuke up. Was it just his imagination, or had she been strangely quiet since he told her they were going to Kaname’s place?
“Colonel... Colonel?” He addressed her, but she didn’t respond.
Then she looked up a few seconds later, as if only just realizing she was being addressed. “Oh, that’s me, right! What is it?” Her reaction just deepened Kaname’s suspicions.
“Colonel, will you please explain?” Sousuke asked, panicking.
“Explain what?” Tessa asked innocently.
“Your identity,” Sousuke clarified. “Your circumstances.”
“Oh, right... Well... I’m a battleship... no, was it a submarine captain? I’m a submarine captain, and a... a colonel, and I’m Sousuke’s commanding officer. Really, you have to believe me, Chidori Kaname-san.”
Sousuke could feel the sweat rising on his back. Why was she explaining things so haltingly? And she’d called him Sousuke, too... It didn’t feel like an expression of closeness; there was malice behind it. Had he offended her somehow? “C-Colonel...”
“Is something the matter, Sergeant Sagara?” This time she gave him a beaming smile—a smile pregnant with meaning.
“Not at all,” he said at last. “Anyway, Chidori... It’s all true, so...”
“I see. I get it. I totally get it,” Kaname said. She didn’t sound like she got it at all. “I’m a very patient person, so if you insist that that’s the story, I’ll leave it at that. Now, let’s move on to the next question...” Kaname glared at Takuma. “Mr. Smirky over here... what’s his deal? He really gets on my nerves, and I can’t explain why.”
“I’m so very sorry, Chidori Kaname-san,” Takuma responded quietly.
Kaname snorted. “You don’t look sorry to me. And you haven’t even tried the tea I made you.”
“I’m not thirsty.”
Kaname struck the table, and Tessa recoiled. Takuma showed a hint—just a hint—of surprise. Kaname leaned across the table to glare down into his face. “It’s a politeness thing.” Her voice was strangely intimidating. “Now drink. This ain’t the cheap stuff.”
“And if I refuse?”
“I’ve got some flat Dr. Pepper in the fridge,” Kaname replied. “I’ll pour it down your throat until you beg for mercy.”
Takuma said nothing.
“I mean it, okay?”
Takuma raised the teacup and took the tiniest of sips. “Satisfied?”
“You’re a real piece of work... I’d love to meet your parents. I bet they spoiled you rotten,” Kaname grumbled.
In a second, Takuma’s expression became dangerous. Sousuke tensed, expecting another outburst, but it seemed things hadn’t reached that point just yet. Still, the boy glared at Kaname with dark, inhuman eyes.
Kaname, though, was far from cowed—she looked l
ike a general who’d just spotted a weakness in the enemy ranks. “Ooh, did that make you mad? ‘Don’t make fun of my mommy,’ et cetera?”
“I don’t have a mother,” Takuma told her flatly.
His words gave Kaname a moment of pause. “What a coincidence; neither do I. Neither does Sousuke. Did you think you were the only person in the world like that?”
Takuma went silent again.
“Guess I hit the nail on the head. So typical,” Kaname gloated. “Look at that spoiled little expression of yours... I shudder to think what your family was like...”
Takuma started to moan, and his eyes lost their focus. Here it comes, Sousuke thought. He didn’t know the boy’s exact condition, but he’d assumed that certain emotional triggers were what drew out his aggression.
His voice rising to a cry, Takuma lost his cool and tried to jump at Kaname. Sousuke grabbed him and held him back. “Ahhhh! You... you...” Kicking and struggling, Takuma trailed off into more incoherent screams, as he was pulled away from the table.
Kaname was stunned for a moment by Takuma’s rage, but her dropped jaw turned quickly to a grin and a flash of a V-sign. “Made ya mad! I win.”
Sousuke, pinning the raging Takuma to the floor, felt renewed regret about his decision to come here. But as he grabbed Takuma’s left arm to hold it down—
He stopped and stared. There was a lump in the man’s upper arm. No, if it was just a lump, it wouldn’t have given him pause— It was hard and cylindrical; someone less acquainted with human anatomy than Sousuke might have assumed it was part of the bone. Something was buried in Takuma’s arm.
Sousuke knocked him unconscious with a chop to the back of the head; he could hardly examine him while he was struggling like this. “Colonel,” he said.
Tessa reacted immediately this time, standing up. “What is it?”
“Look at this...” he said, indicating the lump.
She pressed a fingertip against it. Her expression quickly turned serious. “I see. I’ve been careless...”
“Do you know what it is?”
“Yes. It’s a transmitter... It puts out a signal every few minutes to reveal his position,” Tessa clarified. “The model was created to monitor prisoners doing labor outdoors, and it’s primarily made of acrylic and silicon. Most screenings wouldn’t detect it.”
While Tessa explained, Sousuke had already picked up his submachine gun to prepare for combat. The enemy knew where they were already; an attack could come at any time. No one would have detected a transmitter implanted inside of him. There was no informant after all; they’d tracked him with a much simpler method.
“What’s going on?” Kaname asked suspiciously.
“Nothing good,” Sousuke said shortly. “Keep away from the windows and the front door.” He focused his attention outside the apartment. He didn’t sense an enemy presence; maybe they were being cautious after the first attack had ended so badly. Perhaps they were waiting for reinforcements...
“Um...”
“Yes, Chidori?”
“So, it sounds like there’s something in his arm?” Kaname hazarded a guess.
“Yes. It’s telling the enemy our position,” Sousuke answered in mild annoyance. He searched through his pocket. “Colonel, can you get it out? I have a knife on hand... morphine, too.”
“Right,” Tessa agreed. “I suppose we’ll have to... But I know nothing about surgery.”
“I’ll do it, then.” Disinfection, surgery, extraction, stitching... He doubted the enemy would give them time for all of it. But they had to disable the transmitter before they took him anywhere else.
“Hey...” As Sousuke produced a disposable syringe, Kaname tapped him on the shoulder.
“What is it?” he asked. “I’m busy.”
“You just need to destroy the transmitter, right?”
“Yes. Please give him room,” Tessa responded in Sousuke’s place.
“I was just thinking, we’ve got a big microwave... Want to try that?”
Sousuke and Tessa looked at each other.
He stuck a chopstick in the small hole behind the microwave door’s hinge. By tricking the simple safety switch, he could run the device even with the door open.
The arm of the still-unconscious Takuma was wrapped in rubber as an insulator, with a hole that left only the transmitter exposed. Once preparations were complete, Sousuke bent the boy’s arm and shoved it into the microwave oven.
“A few seconds should do it,” he said.
“Okay, here we go.” Kaname spun the timer dial and turned it on. Microwaves—fatal to electronic devices even with the briefest exposure—rained down on the transmitter in his arm. Five seconds later... “I’m turning it off.” The microwave let out a “ding” as Kaname turned the dial to zero. Nothing looked different, but he assumed the transmitter would now be disabled.
“What an absurdly reckless idea...” Tessa’s repugnance was understandable. One miscalculation and they could have boiled the blood in Takuma’s arm.
“But we’re safe now, right?” Kaname asked.
“Yes, but...” Tessa didn’t seem to know what to say. The attitude of subtle superiority—or disdain, to put it in less flattering terms—that she had initially shown toward Kaname seemed to be on the wane. It must be hard to maintain one’s pride after being shown up in knowledge of basic cooking appliances.
“We’re not out of the woods yet,” Sousuke said as he drew back to the kitchen door. “The moment they realize the transmitter’s disabled, they’ll be after us. We have to leave, ASAP.”
“But since they’ve known that we’re here,” Tessa said, “they’ll be watching the front door, won’t they?” If they wanted to avoid a fight, they’d have to slip out without being seen.
“Chidori,” Sousuke asked, “Does your veranda have a fire exit?”
“You mean a hole in the floor? Yeah...”
“We’ll escape that way,” he decided. Sousuke heaved Takuma onto his shoulders and headed to the veranda, with Tessa close behind. He peeked carefully through the curtains to check conditions on that side; there was no sign of surveillance from the building across from them, so it seemed safe to assume that the enemy wasn’t watching. Keeping low, he stepped out onto the veranda and located the sliding panel in the floor. Opening it would give them access to the next floor down.
“So you’re off, huh? Take care, I guess,” Kaname said. She apparently intended to remain.
“What are you talking about?” Sousuke demanded. “You’re coming with us.”
“Huh?” Kaname asked in confusion.
“You’ll be a target if you stay.” Indeed, they might torture her to find out where Sousuke had gone.
“Wait a minute. I’m a bystander here!”
“I know, but... I’m sorry,” he apologized. “You’re involved now.”
“You’ve gotta be kidding me! I’m not coming along on your little elopement! Don’t you realize how messed up that is?!” Kaname argued, loud enough that the whole neighborhood could probably hear.
“Chidori. As I explained before, we are not—”
“Yeah, yeah. Insert labored excuse here... I’ll be fine on my own, so just focus on your girlfriend, okay?” Kaname seemed absolutely intractable. Sousuke began to panic: how could he convince her?
“Chidori-san. This is all a misunderstanding,” Tessa interrupted, losing her patience. “Sagara-san is telling the truth. I’m sorry that we’ve dragged you into this, but you really do need to come with us. Your safety is important to Mithril.” She now spoke with precision, so unlike her laid-back demeanor before. Anyone—even Kaname—would be able to see that she wasn’t just messing around.
“But... earlier, you...”
“It was a joke that went too far,” Tessa admitted candidly. “I apologize. As unbelievable as it may seem, I am his superior officer, and I do have several hundred people under my command.”
Kaname said nothing.
“Mithril is a uniqu
e organization. Please trust me.”
Kaname glanced between Sousuke and Tessa, then stared hard at Takuma. Maybe she was realizing that the situation, that the grouping, didn’t fit whatever scenario she’d cooked up in her mind... that things couldn’t be as simple as she’d made them out to be. Reluctantly, she nodded. “Something about this still doesn’t add up... but, fine. I’ll come along if I have to.”
“Thank you,” Tessa replied. “Sagara-san, let’s proceed.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Sousuke sighed inwardly in relief. He opted not to tell her that the enemy might still break into her room and rummage through it.
“Wait a minute. I need to pack a travel bag—”
“No time,” he told her shortly.
“Can I at least take my PHS? I gotta ask Kyoko to record a drama for me later.” Kaname ran back to her bedroom and returned right away with her portable phone.
They opened the panel in the floor, and Sousuke climbed down first. Kaname and Tessa slid Takuma through the hole, Sousuke caught him, and then the girls followed after. Tessa seemed to have trouble with the descent, but she managed it with Sousuke and Kaname’s help.
The resident of the apartment below didn’t seem to notice them; whoever it was, they were watching baseball with the volume all the way up. Bottom of the 8th, two outs, bases loaded. It’s four to one and—
“Wow, Hanshin’s winning,” Kaname whispered as she lent an ear to the broadcast.
“Let’s go down one more floor,” Sousuke whispered back. They climbed to the next veranda down in the same manner as before. The lights in that room were out; nobody seemed to be home. Gratefully, Sousuke broke a window and entered the living room. Carrying Takuma through the darkness, he made it to the front door, unlocked it, cracked it open just five centimeters, and checked outside.
A black van was parked on the street in front of them. Tinted glass windows obscured his view of the back, but there was a man visible in the driver’s seat. Sousuke couldn’t be sure it was the enemy... but whoever it was, they didn’t seem to have noticed them.