by Kyoko M
“We were just with him,” Jack muttered, shaking his head. “Why?”
Kamala laid a hand on his shoulder. He closed his eyes for a moment. When he reopened them, they were harder than onyx. “We’ll start from the beginning.”
~*~
“You warned me.”
Faye glanced up at him. “What?”
“The other day,” Jack whispered, staring into the surgery room where the body of Detective Stubbs lay.
A white sheet had been draped over him only a moment ago. The surgeons were putting away their equipment and taking off their bloodstained gloves. Hospitals were always cold, but Jack swore that an unfathomable chill ran through his bones now, as if he’d never be warm again.
“You said that the world can turn nasty on a dime. That everything would change after we made those dragons. You were right.”
Faye touched his arm, then slid her hand down until it was holding his. He didn’t attempt to wrap his fingers around hers.
“You can’t blame yourself for this. You can’t. It’ll tear you apart, Jack.”
“I was naïve. I was arrogant. You’re goddamned right I can blame myself for this.”
She let go then, stepping in front of him. “And what is blaming yourself going to solve? Will it bring him back? Will it magically summon the sons of bitches responsible out of thin air? There is nothing you could have done to save him. You couldn’t have seen this coming. No one could have. And if you want to honor his memory, his sacrifice, then don’t you act like this is all your doing. He chose to get justice for this city. For you. For Kamala. Don’t take that away from him by feeling guilty.”
“Then what should I do, Faye? Say ‘that’s life’ and just move on?”
“No. You take that pain inside of you and you use it.” She pressed her finger to his sternum, stepping in close, lowering her voice. “Use what you know, what you’ve been taught, to help them find these bastards and bring them to justice. You owe it to Stubbs and yourself. You can’t afford to fall apart now. They need you.”
“Faye,” he said softly. “He had a wife. She’s here. Right down that hallway. I can’t…” He struggled to speak for a moment. “How can I go out there and face her?”
She touched his cheek. “You know how? Like this. You met him five hours ago and you’re this torn up about what happened. She’ll understand that you didn’t do this to him. We don’t get to choose how we feel, Jack. It just happens.” Faye lifted onto her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “I’ll be here if you need to talk, alright?”
“Yeah.”
She squeezed his shoulder and left the observation room. Jack pressed a large hand to the cold glass and leaned his forehead against it, his breath fogging up a circle on its surface.
“I’m so sorry.”
He found that Stubbs’ wife, Evelyn, wasn’t alone in the hallway. Kamala had her arms wrapped around the grieving widow and was murmuring something in her ear. Jack’s feet dragged like anchors along the bottom of the ocean, but he walked over to them after they separated.
Evelyn was olive-skinned, tall, and willowy, with thick black hair that fell to her waist in a loose braid. She had tissue clutched in her hand and mascara smudged down her cheeks. The second their gazes met, he knew he’d never forget the sorrow in those soft grey eyes.
“Mrs. Stubbs,” Jack said. “My name is Rhett. I am so sorry for your loss. He was a good man. If there is anything I can ever do to help you, please ask it of me. Anything at all.”
She didn’t say anything at first. Jack held his breath. She reached out a hand and touched his arm. A watery smile found her lips.
“Thank you.”
Several minutes later, they were sitting in two seats outside the room where they’d brought Stubbs’ body before it would be transferred to the morgue. Jack bought green tea from the cafeteria and they sat together sipping it.
“How old was he?” Jack asked gently.
“Forty-one.” Evelyn smiled. “He always said he never felt his age, though. Like he was still that cocky twenty-four year old he saw in the mirror every morning.”
“Are you both from here?”
She shook her head. “I grew up in Chicago. Moved here eight years ago when I became a sous-chef at the place where I work now. He was a regular customer, and one day we bumped into each other outside. After we got to know one another, it just sort of clicked.” She gestured towards Kamala, who stood at the end of the hall speaking with a doctor. “What about you? How long have you been together?”
“Just over a year,” Jack answered. Then he backtracked. “Professionally, that is. We’re not a couple. Just partners.”
“Oh. She’s very kind.”
“Yeah. A million times tougher than me too.”
Evelyn turned the to-go cup in her hands, staring at them. “They told me it happened because of the high profile case he was working on. The man who escaped had something to do with the dragon you created. Is that true?”
Jack swallowed hard. “Yes.”
“I’m not angry with you,” she said quietly. “Men make their own decisions. Colin loved his job. He was good at it. Smart. Determined. He loved a challenge. I knew it was always a possibility that I’d lose him because of that ambition of his. I’m proud that he became such a dynamic detective.” Tears slipped down her cheeks. “But you must promise me that you will do all you can to help them find the people responsible. Everything in your power. It’s not fair for me to ask that of you, but you offered. Find them. Stop them from taking someone else’s loved one.”
“I promise.”
She touched his wrist. “Thank you.”
Then she rose and walked into the room to say goodbye one last time.
~*~
“What did you talk to the doctor about?”
Kamala took a long sip of her tea. Her voice was almost normal when she answered. Almost. “Cause of death.”
Faye glanced at her carefully. “You knew the cause of death.”
Kamala shrugged, watching the EMTs exiting the ambulance, carrying an ER patient into the front of the hospital. “Needed to be sure they did all they could. No malpractice, no sloppy work in the surgery room. My father has significant influence in the medical world, being the head of the physician department at Columbia. If someone he taught didn’t do their job, they could be reprimanded.”
“I see.” Faye linked her fingers and leaned on the railing, also watching the hectic cul-de-sac entrance. Life and death did their ancient dance several feet away. “Did he suffer?”
“Some,” Kamala said softly. “He wasn’t conscious by the time they brought him here. Probably passed out from pain and blood loss on the sidewalk. He got to see the sun one last time.”
“How is his partner?”
“He’s resting now. One hit in the shoulder, one in the side, and one graze in the leg.”
Again, she sipped her tea and let out a long breath. They were silent for a long while.
“I forgot what it’s like,” Kamala said. “Seeing grief on a loved one’s face. It’s been over a year now, since I practiced medicine. Never gets any easier.”
“Why do you think I’m an engineer?” Faye replied. “I remember you told me they expect you to approach every patient like they’re a subject. That it can’t be personal. I never understood how doctors and nurses were able to separate themselves like that. How they can keep themselves from feeling loss or anger or regret when nature takes its course.”
“Sometimes you can, when your workload is heavy and you’re only with them for a short period. Trouble comes when you get to know them personally. It’s possible to have that disconnect when you’re doing an autopsy, but never when you have to break the news to the family. Everyone feels it at some point. How can they not? Life is a clock. You have to face the hands of that clock when you tell someone the person they cared for has gone.”
Ambulances came and went, their alarms whooping and screaming. Occasionally, doctors and nurses leaned against the wall and smoked. Patients in wheelchairs were loaded into cars to be driven home. Endings and beginnings crossed paths again and again.
“Are you sure?”
“What?” Kamala asked, looking over to see Faye’s face. It seemed carved out of marble.
“What you’re doing. Investigating this. Are you sure this is what you want to do?”
Kamala shook her head. “How can you possibly ask me that?”
“Kam, I don’t think you know what you’ve gotten yourself into. It’s one thing to want justice for the dragons, but this isn’t something you can just passively observe. There’s real danger here. Right here. In your life. They gunned down a detective in broad daylight, in a major city. Look me in the eyes and tell me you’re not in over your head.”
“What would you have me do, Faye?”
“Step back. Look at the big picture. You can still rebuild what you’ve lost. In real life, the bad guys win all the time. Are you sure that this is worth your life? Or Jack’s?”
“It’s not about that.”
“Then what is it about?” she snapped, her voice sharp and hard as glass. “Tell me what’s so goddamned important that you’re willing to take a bullet?”
“Jack made a call to an old friend of his. Fujioka. Lives in Tokyo. Works as a bodyguard for high profile individuals: bankers, celebrities, politicians, even some royalty when they pass through Tokyo. He put out feelers in the city to see if anyone matching Okegawa’s description has a reputation there. Okegawa isn’t just Yagami’s best friend. He’s a lieutenant of the yakuza in Tokyo.”
Faye’s eyes widened. Kamala pressed on. “Then he learned that Okegawa has connections to some of the premiere genetic labs in Tokyo. That’s why he stole the data instead of just the dragon. He’s not going to sell Pete to the highest bidder. He’s going to experiment on her, so that he can make even more of them.”
Faye bowed her head and gripped the railing between her fingers. “Shit. Then this isn’t just about saving your baby, is it?”
“Not anymore. You’ve seen genetic experimentation before. What they do to these animals when it’s legal is bad enough. A newborn dragon in the hands of a bunch of ruthless scientists being bankrolled by the yakuza is unspeakable. I will not stand for it. I will not let them torture an innocent animal for their own gain. You ask if I’m sure, and if this is worth my life. Maybe not. Life is precious. Life is fleeting. And I’m so scared I’m sick to my stomach.” Kamala clenched her jaw, fighting back tears. “But I brought that little dragon into this world to make it a better place. I will not let them take her out of it so they can make something even worse.”
Faye nodded slowly. “Okay. I understand.”
She stood tall then, taking a deep breath. “I’ll get back to work on the prototype. I’ll call you when I’ve got something.”
Kamala drew her into a hug. “Thank you, saheli. We couldn’t do this without you.”
Faye pretended that a couple strands of Kamala’s hair got in her eyes, and that was why they were blurry with tears.
“I know.”
~*~
The precinct felt hollow the second time Jack and Kamala entered it. It had only been a few hours since Detective Stubbs’ death. Its occupants moved with brisk, almost harsh energy as they continued piling up the evidence, and finished interviewing eyewitnesses to the murder.
Captain Burns no longer had his suit jacket on; instead, it was draped over his leather chair. His tie was loose and his steel-colored hair had an unkempt look, as if he’d been running a hand through it for the last hour.
Agent Dunham’s jacket was undone, exposing the Sig strapped to her hip, and her sleeves were pushed up as she flipped through the papers and photos spread across his desk. Once more, Detective Robbins brought the two scientists into his captain’s office and shut the door behind them.
Burns nodded to them in greeting and then gestured towards the seats across from him. “Have a seat.”
They did. Burns took a deep breath. “I’m afraid the news isn’t much better than the last time I saw you. Detective Stubbs’ murder gave us clearance to issue a warrant for Okegawa and his accomplices’ arrests, but it came too late.”
He pushed a surveillance screenshot forward. Jack picked it up and grimaced. Kamala did the same a second later. “Less than half an hour after they hit the car, Okegawa used a fake passport and boarded a plane back to Tokyo. His accomplices boarded with him. We’re attempting to contact the authorities at the Haneda Airport, but we’re getting a lot of pushback so far. If he’s got people working on the inside at Haneda, the chances of apprehending him are low.”
“What about Yagami?” Jack asked. “Were you finally able to locate him?”
Burns handed them a second photo. “Dr. Yagami touched down in Tokyo last night. I’m sure you know this is all but the smoking gun. The odds that he’s not involved, considering his association with this man, are impossible. Even if he didn’t organize this debacle, he is involved because he fled back to his homestead.”
“The guilty man fleeth when no man pursueth,” Agent Dunham said. “Unfortunately, it’ll be twice as hard to investigate with him on the other side of the planet, where he has a lot of clout as the son of Japan’s largest supplier of pharmaceuticals. I’m in contact with the authorities there already. My office is negotiating the terms as we speak. The good news is that we’ve identified at least one of his accomplices from the assault on Detective Stubbs’ car. Her name is Aisaka Tomoda. We showed her sketch to some of the staff at your lab and the veterinary hospital, and got a positive ID. She’s been seen here in the days prior to the dragon’s birth. That takes us one step closer to finding the other suspects.”
“What about Pete?” Kamala asked, then corrected herself. “The dragon. Was there any sign of her in the plane cargo?”
Agent Dunham shook her head. “No, they knew better. Even in a covered cage, someone would have noticed. We think they smuggled her aboard one of the shipments from the Boston packing facility. When we ran through the reports, we found an anomaly. One of the crew members was paid ten thousand dollars to put a crate on the plane without passing through customs. We have the plane’s number, but it’s possible it will make a stop on the way to Tokyo and the dragon will be moved again. They’ve been one step ahead of us this whole time, but that ends now.”
“So, where do we go from here?” Jack asked.
“We’ll continue gathering evidence stateside and building a case. Once we have that, we’re going to go after Yagami and Okegawa full-throttle. No one murders one of ours in cold blood, in broad daylight, no matter who they are.”
Dunham took a deep breath before continuing. “However, considering the fact that Japan is a non-extradition country, it will be a while before we’re able to get boots on the ground for the investigation. Your dragon is already headline news that has changed the world. This will incite an international nightmare if Japan’s brightest mind is being accused of conspiracy to commit murder, burglary, and robbery. We can’t send our agents into Tokyo without the approval of the home office and the cooperation of the Criminal Investigation Bureau of the Tokyo Metropolitan police department.”
“And how long is that going to take?”
“I can’t say. With the nature of this case, we can get some momentum, but we’re looking at days, possibly weeks. I’m sorry.”
“Weeks, huh?” Jack spat, tossing Yagami’s photo on the desk. “Plenty of time for them to do whatever the hell they want to our dragon and then make their own. Looks like our attorney was right. We’re fucked.”
“Dr. Jackson,” Burns said sternly. “We are using everything we have at our disposal. This situation is unprecedented.”
“Yeah,” Jack said, standing up, his brown eyes flat and hard. “I bet it is.”
He opened the door and stormed out without another word. Burns and Dunham shared a look and then glanced at Kamala as she rose as well.
“Dr. Anjali, I remind you that you are both representatives of this country, should you choose to take any action into your own hands. You won’t have any support from either of our offices if you pursue this matter yourselves.”
She nodded. “Understood. Keep us apprised.”
~*~
Kamala often had trouble keeping up with Jack’s long stride, but she could tell his mindset had changed by the way he stalked up the steps to the Fairfield Inn. His lantern jaw was set, his brow wrinkled in a frown, his shoulders perfectly straight, his hands curled as if he were thinking about making them into fists. He hadn’t said a word the entire ride there. Not that he needed to. The time for talking had long since passed.