The Hunter

by Asa Nonami

  This was the creature that killed three people. The dog that was on the hunt for Ogawa, remembering Kasahara and Emiko. Yet strangely, Takako felt no fear. Once again she felt an impulse to dismount and go up to him—but at that very moment, Gale, who had until then remained motionless, whirled and gaped. His motion was caught not in the beam from her motorcycle, but in the headlights of Takizawa's car behind her. Reflexively, she rotated the throttle.

  "MP 447 to MP 22."

  "MP 447, go ahead."

  "I'm with Gale. I'm following him. Over."

  By the time she finished speaking, Gale had rounded a curve fifty yards ahead. Takako shot forward, after him. When she made the turn, she could see Gale running, farther ahead than before. What incredible speed! He ran with a light, flowing motion, almost as if gliding on the surface of a cloud.

  "West Tachikawa 10 to MP 447."

  "MP 447, Otomichi here. What is it?"

  "I don't know where Gale is going to turn off. I want you to report where you are. Over."

  "Got it."

  "We're right behind you. Don't worry."

  With Takizawa's loud, hoarse voice sounding in her ear, Takako sped after Gale. In her rearview mirror she could see the lights of Takizawa's car. There was no siren, but she could see its flashing red light.

  Gale, this is the opposite direction from your house. Is that OK? Didn't you catch the scent of Emiko, the woman you love?

  But Gale ran on without a backward glance. His long tail streamed out behind him, waving slightly, drifting in the wind. His ears lay slightly back. His stride vastly larger than any dog's could be, his running fluid and smooth. Hitting Route 16, he headed south without hesitation. Takako wove between the scant cars, went through a red light, and turned right at a no-turn corner. Gale was running in the lane for oncoming traffic. Even if traffic was light, if he turned right again, it would be difficult for her to follow. She could hear Takizawa informing the command car of their position.

  "MP 22 to MPD."

  "MP 22, go ahead."

  "Request restricted roads in the direction wolf-dog is proceeding. Over."

  "Copy that, over and out. MPD to Traffic Control."

  The tension of a few moments earlier, so intense that her heart had felt twinges of pain, was gone. In its place was a tremulous happiness welling up from the center of her being. Now she was pursuing Gale. The 400 Four responded directly to her touch on the throttle, carrying her along faithfully and obediently. I'll follow you anywhere, she told the wolf-dog. I'll never let you out of my sight. She clenched her knees, drew in her chin, and fixed her eyes on Gale as he continued to run. He was doing around thirty miles per hour. She could easily match him in speed and power.

  "West Tachikawa 10 calling MP 22. Gale is running on the wrong side of the road. He's crossing Haijima Bridge."

  The Tama River that Gale had splashed his way across before, he was now crossing on a straight bridge. Then, just as oncoming cars had tapered off, he crossed diagonally over to Takako's side of the road. It was like he was making her pursuit easier, or issuing a challenge. His stride was so easy that it seemed impossible he was running so fast.

  "MP 447 calling West Tachikawa 10."

  "MP 447, what is it?"

  "Did you see that? He switched over to my lane."

  "This is West Tachikawa 10. Roger. We see him."

  A strong crosswind began to blow. The wind whistled, coming through the gaps around her helmet shield. She could almost hear the sound of Gale's footsteps. Soon they approached the bypass. Without a flicker, Gale went sailing by it. Scarcely looking at her rearview mirror, she left everything behind her to Takizawa and his partner, focusing only on Gale. If he should turn down an alleyway, it would mean trouble. If he turned too many corners, there was a good chance of losing him, even on her motorcycle. Just as she was thinking it might be a good idea to shorten the distance between them, the entrance to Chuo Expressway came into sight. Showing no hesitation, without slowing down in the least, the wolf-dog made a beeline for the slope of the Hachioji Interchange.

  "West Tachikawa 10 to MPD. Please close entrances to Chuo Expressway. animal may proceed to the Metropolitan Expressway. Please prepare to close all routes. Deploy units in the opposite lane as well!"

  "MPD here, copy. MPD to Traffic Control. Request closure of all ramp exits east of the Hachioji Interchange on the Chuo Expressway."

  "Traffic Control, copy that. Will have full compliance within eight minutes."

  Although she herself was involved, she listened to the radio exchanges as if a fictional drama. There seemed a strange disconnect between the tense voices on the radio and the figure of Gale before her eyes. The wolf-dog bore himself with a kind of dignity. Ever since he first looked levelly into Takako's yes, he never looked her way again, not even when crossing over to this side of the road; now he continued to run at a fixed speed along the expressway, Takako, who was in the cruising lane, now speeded up slightly, trimming the distance between her and Gale.

  "West Tachikawa 10 to MP 447! Otomichi, do not approach too closely. Danger!"

  The voice of Takizawa, who was more than eighty yards behind, made her eardrums ring. She answered, "Roger," but continued to gain steadily on Gale. She wanted to watch. To see him up close, this creature running his heart out. Under the pale, bluish highway lights, Gale's entire body was vibrant with life and energy; it was luminous. The fur from the midsection of his back to his tail was a dark gray, nearly black, and the closer it was to his belly, the more silver it seemed. With no regard for whoever might be pursuing him, the wolf-dog ran with his eyes fixed on an invisible point.

  He's not running away.

  Suddenly she sensed it: Gale was not fleeing from her. There was no terror in his heart. His running was brimming with confidence, free of all tentativeness. After a while, from below the trestle she heard the wail of a siren. So as not to lose Gale wherever he got off the expressway, a patrol car was following along on the arterial road below. But Gale seemed unperturbed. The speedometer on Takako's motorcycle registered 30 mph.

  "He passed the Kunitachi Fuchu Interchange. Still running at the same speed."

  "Could be heading for the Metropolitan Expressway."

  "This is MPD calling MP 22. All expressways in the metropolitan area have now been closed."

  "This is MPD calling MP 22. The riot police are ready to move in."

  In Takako's ears, exchanges between the different investigators flew by with the wind. But Takako herself could not say anything to either the command car or to Takizawa's car, following close behind. How could she ever tell them: "This is lovely; I'm having a marvelous time"?

  Inside her helmet, she called to Gale in a loud voice: "Go wherever you want!" And then she laughed aloud. Riding alone, she often talked to herself; comfortable in the knowledge that no one could hear her, she would call people names, sing songs, carry on monologues. Never had she found riding with someone this much fun. As long as the road went on, she wanted to keep running with Gale. To chase this shining, silvery creature.

  7

  Closed to all ordinary traffic, the Metropolitan Expressway in the middle of night was an uncanny space, seemingly part of a near-future world. With his left hand clutching the grip on the car door, Takizawa held the wireless transmitter in his right hand, eyes straight ahead. He could see a small gray ball. And like a laser mark, the red taillight of Otomichi's motorcycle gleamed just behind it in the dark.

  "West Tachikawa 10 to MP 22."

  "West Tachikawa 10, come in."

  "They passed the Shibaura Interchange. They're on the Haneda Route, heading toward the airport. Over."

  "Roger."

  "MP 22 to MP 447, do you read me?"

  "MP 22, loud and clear."

  "Everything OK?"

  "Everything's OK. Gale is not slowing down. It's like he decided where he was going right from the start. Over."

  The voice coming over the radio sounded so cheerful and energ
etic, it was not easy for Takizawa to connect it to the cold-looking figure on the motorcycle ahead. It sounded like riding made her happier than anything, like chasing the wolf-dog was fun, for god's sake. Usually when she was with him her expression was stiff and brooding. This voice was worlds away from that sullen young lady.

  "She's really going." His hands on the wheel, Imazeki muttered, "Amazing."

  Takizawa shot a sideways glance at this new partner of his, who was so devoid of idiosyncrasy that no matter what you said brought no satisfying response, who seemed as clean and flavorless as water. He grunted a noncommittal reply.

  "I mean, here she is in the fore of the entire investigation, leading the way. She was a patrol officer so I guess it's only natural, but she rides as solid as a rock."

  This was true. A young woman in the lead, grown men following after her with their sirens going full blast; when you thought about it, it was a pretty funny spectacle.

  Takizawa continued to file reports: "They've passing Haneda. We're now on the Yokohane Route, heading toward Hamagawasaki. . . . They're past Hamagawasaki. Heading toward Shioiri."

  The wolf-dog had gone from the Chuo Expressway to the Shinjuku Route on the Metropolitan Expressway, then taken the Inner Loop and bypassed the city center. Past Haneda Airport, heading for Yokohama. Otomichi was right: he was running with a specific destination in mind, running without hesitation or wasted effort. He tore along the complicated, intertwining web of metropolitan expressways, with its tunnels and radial routes, as if he owned it.

  "What a fantastic animal," Takizawa said.

  "You can say that again," said Imazeki. "He lives up to his reputation, all right."

  Nodding silently, Takizawa kept his eyes on Otomichi's back, her blouson blowing in the wind like a sail. For some reason, he was falling prey to a peculiar illusion. It seemed to him as if Otomichi and the wolf-dog were running in synch, their minds attuned to one another as if there was a special connection between them. It even seemed as if the wolf-dog and the motorcyclist, running neck and neck down an expressway from which all other traffic was barred, were in their own private world. They weren't hunter and hunted, they were two creatures with a shared destination, enjoying themselves. But surely they weren't fellow travelers?

  As these thoughts flitted through his mind, Otomichi's voice came over the radio:

  "MP 447 to West Tachikawa 10."

  "Come in, MP 447."

  "We're at Namamugi. He turned! He's heading toward Daikoku Pier."

  No sooner did the words register than he saw Otomichi's motorcycle, small in the distance, flash its turn signal. Imazeki speeded up to keep her in sight. Takizawa reported his position and the position of the wolf-dog to the commander. Where would the wolf-dog leave the expressway and take to the streets below?

  "He's not going to do something crazy like take a flying leap off the Bay Bridge, is he?"

  "No."

  As they considered this possibility, Gale turned in the opposite direction from Yokohama's famous Bay Bridge, and started down the Bayshore Route in the direction of Kawasaki. What a route—a complete tour of the local expressways. Come to think of it, Gale's first attack had been at Tennozu, which they just passed. Maybe Kasahara had brought him to this area before. Maybe Gale remembered every road he had ever traveled. Then maybe he was running the exact route that he had gone over with Kasahara before. This was a dog capable of attacking the next targeted victim without a direct order from Kasahara. A dog who—wherever he had been hiding—returned to the site of his home, exactly as Kasahara had predicted he would.

  "This is a new road, huh," Imazeki said, half to himself. The beautifully paved and well-outfitted road stretched out straight before them, gently dipping down before rising back up. After a while, it entered a long tunnel. Without glancing at the map, Imazeki said, "Must be under the sea." Takizawa felt an unpleasant, suffocating sensation, but he kept his eyes focused straight ahead. There in the distance was Otomichi's back, and still farther ahead he could make out the figure of the ceaselessly running wolf-dog, lit up by the orange lights of the tunnel.

  "It's the Bayshore Route, the Bayshore Route!"

  "It's possible they could swing back to the city center!"

  Over the radio, people were excitedly calling back and forth. Yet Takizawa and Imazeki, as well as the two shadows in front of them, were wrapped in a silence far removed from those exchanges.

  Surely a creature like Gale could ask for nothing more than to run like his, for all he was worth. After undergoing harsh training to attack and kill, the rest of the time he'd lain low, living in hiding; he must never have had a chance to run so freely before. So go ahead, run your heart out, she told the wolf-dog. And when you're tired, rest. We won't kill you right away.

  This newly completed road circled Tokyo Bay, connecting the Yokohama area with Chiba. The scenery before them was so different from the part of Tokyo that was Takizawa's usual beat, it might have been a different city altogether. If this was Tokyo, what would you call that place where he and Otomichi used to stomp around?

  "MP 22 calling West Tachikawa 10, tell us your position. Over."

  "MP 22, come in. We just crossed Ramp 13. Maintaining the same speed, leaded toward Ariake. Over."

  "OK. Everything all right with Otomichi?"

  "Yes. She's going at the same speed as the dog, sticking right behind him."

  After one interchange there would be several exits, then the next interchange. She must be nervous as hell whenever they came to one of these, wondering if Gale was going to change his course; and yet, from his vantage point anyway, neither Gale nor Otomichi showed the slightest sign of nervousness or hesitation. The pair passed Ariake and Kasai, coming at last to Urayasu. On the right was Tokyo Disneyland. Over the radio, the command car and MPD headquarters were discussing whether or not to bring in the Ihiba police. There was no reason yet to ask for cooperation. The question was, would this end up a mere transit point, or a new stage?

  "Passing Chidoricho Ramp and the Ichikawa Interchange."

  * * *

  It was now 4:00 a.m. The coldest time of night. This pursuit without hurdles, carried out at a steady speed, began to fill Takizawa with a peculiar tedium and a disagreeable impatience. That was no ordinary dog. Maybe it was planning something; maybe it intended to keep running straight until the cars ran out of gas. For the first time, his mind began to fill with thoughts like these.

  "This is West Tachikawa 10 calling MP 447."

  "This is MP 447. Go ahead."

  "Are you cold?"

  "Yes, I am. But now that we're on the Bayshore Route, it's a little better. Over."

  Otomichi's voice sounded cheerful and excited. She's actually enjoying this, thought Takizawa in amazement. It wasn't the rush of cornering a criminal that excited her, it was the pleasure of running side by side with the wolf-dog. I'll be damned, he thought. A new thought struck him: She's not urging the wolf-dog on? The name of the expressway had changed from the Metropolitan Expressway to the East Kanto Expressway.

  "What is the animal's condition? Over."

  "Unbelievable. His speed never wavers, and he doesn't seem tired in the least. It's like he just started running. Looks to me like he could go all the way to the end of the line. Over."

  The other cars could hear their conversation. The officers following behind Takizawa and Imazeki, and on the streets below, had to be wondering where in hell this would end up.

  "We're at the Narashino toll booths."

  "OK."

  Takizawa heaved a big sigh, and realized that he felt a slight pressure on his bladder. Not that, please. His kidneys and his liver were weakening, he'd been told. What if this went on all night? They couldn't shut down the whole highway system forever. And they couldn't call the whole thing off just because the sun came up.

  The sign for the Wangan Narashino Interchange came into sight. If they kept on like this, they'd come to Miyanogi Junction, where the expressway intersected wit
h the Keiyo Road, going on as far as Itako.

  "Let's hope they don't go into a golf course," mumbled Imazeki.

  "You're right, that area's full of 'em."

  "If he takes the Keiyo Road, it could be a possibility."

  Damn it, this was no joke. If Gale ran into a place like that, full of hills and trees, it would be too much to take. They meant to surround him, but there was only so much they could do. Just then Imazeki cried out sharply: "Ah!"

  And at the same time, Otomichi's voice came over the radio: "Gale is getting off! At the Wangan Narashino Interchange. Over."

  "MP 22 to West Tachikawa 410. Keep Otomichi and the animal in your sights."