Gold Stars

“I see,” said Ozaki Mana, nodding her head along with my story. “You managed to stay hidden until Kamiko came along.” She pressed a finger against her chin with lowered eyes.

“I guess it’s also my fault that you’ve been caught. For that, I’m sorry.” She gave a bow seated on the sofa.

I was shocked to see her reaction towards this. I had expected her to reel from horror about how the newly hired was actually a murderer the entire time. Even I was a monster in my eye.

“Aren’t you scared? I killed a lot of people.” I felt like my hands were sticky with blood as I spoke about my past.

She shrugged. “I guess, but it sounds like you’re trying to become a better person. You’re not bad in my book.” She raised from her seat, went to her bed, looked at me, and smiled. “Don’t think about leaving again Masaru. I need you with me.”

The lights turned off, and I climbed into my bed, reminiscing the past. Jo Takumi. I will never forget that name or the boy it was attached to for as long as I live. A single drop of tear escaped my eye and landed on the mattress. It multiplied until I could stop it no longer. I was only able to sleep after my face was sticky with tears, and exhaustion and fatigue took over me.

Mana’s contact was a detective on the Kanda’s family payroll by the name of Matsumoto Rika. I gave my phone to Mana, and she leaned against the railing on the balcony, looking at the cityscape while dialing the number. When they picked up, a short introduction of Mana’s name was enough to stir the person on the other side into a frenzy. Their voice was earsplitting, and even I could hear it without the phone being on speakers.

“Mana?! Do you know how long I’ve been looking for you?!” said Matsumoto. Mana closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, removing her phone from her ears.

“Rika, I need you to calm down and listen—” Mana’s voice was cut off from the woman’s shouts of concern.

“Where have you been?! Do you know how worried your parents are?! I might get fired at this rate! Also, whose number is this?!”

Mana hanged up, giving the suite the silence it needed in the early morning. The phone rang, breaking the peace.

“I’m so sorry! I’ll calm down now, I promise, so please don’t hang up!”

We both gave a sigh of relief. Mana explained our situation to Matsumoto, but she left out our current location.

“What?! You got tangled with that Kamiko?! It’ll be safer if you go home!”

“I’m hanging up.”

“I’m sorry. Please don’t.”

Mana rubbed her temple. “I need information. Do you know where we could find her?”

Matsumoto thought for a minute. “You could always try out the Rats, but they’re also hard to find, though it’s still easier than Kamiko.”

“The Rats?”

“Yes. They’re a faction that have its members infiltrate every police, political, and underground forces. Finding them won’t be easy since they’re good at hiding their cover.”

“How do you know they aren’t working for Kamiko?”

“Well, I heard a rumor that Kamiko wasted a lot of money trying to bring them to her side.”

“They don’t take bribes?”

“Apparently not.”

“It’s better than nothing. Know where I can start finding these Rats?

We heard thinking noises from the other side of the phone.

“I heard a rumor about a man who managed to contact one of them.”

Mana gave an irritated sigh. “Another rumor?”

“In this line of work, that’s the best you’re going to get. I’ll send you his address. I’ll go with you after I’ve finished up here.”

My phone pinged, and a notification from the messaging app popped up. “Thanks,” said Mana, hanging up.

The phone rang again from Matsumoto, but we put it on silent and took the elevator down to our car. Once again, she speeded through the streets, though I’ve gotten used to it by this point. The cityscape and buildings blurred outside the window as we drove through the early morning.

“You sure we can trust Matsumoto?” I said at a red light.

“Yeah. She’s part the Gold Stars, so we can trust her.”

“Gold Stars?”

“They’re a group of law enforcement that are personally hired and paid for by the Kanda family. They got their own office and everything, though they mostly just gather information.”

In a city where corruption and bribery were the norm amongst the police and political force, having a personal, private force was smart. I couldn’t imagine the Kanda’s family wealth if they could hire and maintain an entire private force and paid them enough for their loyalty.

“Sounds like you’re rich.”

“The Kanda family is rich. Not me.”

We made it to the address of the man’s, a shabby two-stories apartment complex. Mana parked across the street from it. There weren’t any vehicles in the parking lot except for a black van.

We got out of the car, climbed the stairs, and faced the door to the man’s apartment. We heard voices coming from inside. Mana knocked, and I stepped aside, away from the peephole. The voices inside reduced to a silence. The door creaked open and was stopped by the chain, revealing a man in white tank top and boxers.

“D, Did you need something?” said the man.

“We’re looking for the Rats. We heard a rumor that you might know something,” said Mana.

He glared at her as he removed the chain. “So you’re with them.”

He pulled open the door, and I peeked inside, seeing four suited men huddling inside. They saw me and shouted.

“There he is!”

The men raised their guns and fired at us, disregarding the white tank top man as bullets pierced his back, and he fell to the floor. Mana ran for cover on the other side of the doorway as I equipped the revolver. The shooting stopped, and I heard the magazine eject from their pistols and hit the floor. I aimed my revolver through the opening and shot a suited man. He yelled out in pain as he hit the floor. The enemy resumed their suppression with two men shooting at us. A window shattered, and only one enemy was firing at us now. When he stopped to reload, I peered into the room and only saw two men inside, one taking cover and the other leaning against the wall. A breeze blew inside the room, blowing the curtains away, revealing the broken window.

“They’re flanking us!” I said.

I heard the bullets hit the metal railing and whizz past me. We fell to a prone, and the man inside the room was approaching us. The screeching of tires sounded from below. The two men below were hit with a thud and fell onto the pavement, groaning with pain. The car door opened and closed, and two gunshots followed afterwards.

A foot stepped outside. I rose from the floor and slammed the butt of the revolver into his head, knocking him and his gun to the ground. I kicked it towards the railing where it fell off, and he raised his hands in surrender.

The metal steps were clanging under someone’s footsteps. We turned and looked at the suited woman, pistol in one hand. Her hair was green and neck-short. She raised her gun and aimed it at me. Mana stepped in her way and shielded me with her body.

“Step away from him, Mana,” said the woman.

“Rika, put the gun down. It’s safe. He’s an ally.”

Matsumoto sighed with exasperation, still holding us at gunpoint.

“Always the idealist. That’s why you won’t make it far in this line of work.”

I dropped the revolver and retreated with Mana as Matsumoto drew closer.

“Dropping your weapon doesn’t make you any less dangerous, assassin.”

“If it makes you feel any better, I was just a support,” I said.

She smirked. “It changes nothing.”

Matsumoto was soon at the doorway to the apartment we were just at, a surrendered enemy sitting at the door way, and the revolver near him. As she passed him, he dove for the gun, but she spun around and shot him two times in the back. Mana’s shoulders shook from the gunshots. She faced us and continued her aim.

“Mana, please step away from him. He’s more dangerous than you think.”

“I know who he is. You’ll have to shoot through me if you want to get him.”

Matsumoto stared at us, finger away from the trigger. We stood in silence and only the noise from the distant traffic remained. A groan came from inside the apartment which we shifted our gaze to. She dropped her aim and holstered the pistol.

“A runaway like you pose little threat.”

She entered the dead man’s apartment, and we followed after her. Inside was the man I shot, leaning against the bloodstained wall, and clutching his shoulder. A gun laid at his feet which Matsumoto kicked away. We gazed at him except for Mana who looked elsewhere. The Gold Stars detective kneeled down and looked at the injured man in the eyes.

“I’ll make it quick if you tell me where Kamiko is.”

The man chuckled. “How should I know? I just follow orders.”

“Then tell me where you were stationed.”

“What? I don’t what you’re talking about.”

With a sigh, Matsumoto took out a blue surgical glove from her pocket and put it over her right hand. She placed her hand on the man’s holding his wound and wrapped her thumb around, stabbing the hole my bullet had created. He groaned, writhing and seething as Matsumoto kept her thumb there.

“Ok, ok, I give!” he said, giving us the location of his base.

Matsumoto rolled off her gloves, took out the pistol holstered at her waist, and ended his misery. Mana flinched at the gunshot.

“You two, follow my car. We have a lot to talk about,” said the detective.

We left the house, and from the second story, I could see two men lying on the ground in a pool of blood, each with a bullet in their head.

We followed Matsumoto’s car, the road now busy from morning commute. I reviewed the revolver’s cylinder and replaced the empty shells with bullets. I glanced over to Mana, her face emotionless, either deep in thought or focused on her driving.

“You ok?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. The gunshots are just really loud.”

We arrived at a fancy, modern office building. It was rather large and had a window façade. Matsumoto led us inside where we were greeted by a spacious main area with two set of curling stairs. We followed her to the left of the building where the marble tiles transformed into carpet. There were rows of metal gray desks and glassed offices laid to the left. Footsteps and chatting flowed throughout the office space, but when I entered, they shifted their attention to me. My skin was pricked by their gazes as I followed the detective to a private glassed office with the name ‘Matsumoto Rika’ written on the door.

“You know, for law enforcement, you don’t seem to have a policy of taking prisoners,” I said, taking a seat.

“We Gold Stars operate differently. What matters to us is properly dismantling any and all criminal structures.”

“Even if that means killing those who have surrendered?”

“Of course. It’s the only way to cleanse the city.”

“You don’t sound all that different from assassins. Difference is, you just kill people in the name of justice.”

She glared at me. “Our motive is pure and benefits the people. Don’t compare us to you assassins.” She sighed and shook her head. “We have something more important we need to talk about.”

“I suggest you two back off on Kamiko. If you stay here, you’ll be safe,” said Matsumoto. “Especially you, assassin.”

Mana rose from the chair, slamming her hands against the table. “That’s not happening. We’re going to find Kamiko.”

“I get that you feel bad for the guy that got killed, but that’s no reason to risk your life.”

“I stole someone’s future away. That’s why I need to do this.”

“And out of concern for your future, I can just lock you here until the Gold Stars finish this.”

“Then let’s make a deal. You’ll attack Kamiko’s bases, and we’ll find the Rats.”

Matsumoto furrowed her brows. “The Rats are secondary. We don’t have any use for them if we hit one of Kamiko’s base.”

“The Rats are your competitors, right? From the sound of it, they have the upper hand.”

“Well, they certainly do have more reach in terms of information.”

“How about this? We’ll find the Rats and the faction they’re working with, and you can establish communication with them.”

Matsumoto put her hand to her chin then sighed. “Fine. It’s probably safer too. I’ve never heard of the Rats doing anything violent. But you could be in danger if Kamiko’s men gets their hand on another contact when you’re there like today. ”

“Rika, attacking Kamiko’s base will shift her attention and resources from finding the Rats to fighting against the Gold Stars. It’ll be safe. In return, we’ll have to share information.”

“One more condition. You’ll have to meet your parents after this is all over.”

Mana shifted her gaze to the table. “Fine. I’ll do that much.”

Matsumoto scratched the back of her head. “I can’t believe I’m letting my boss’s daughter get herself into danger.”

“I’ll be fine. I got a deadly assassin with me.”

I wore a wry smile.

“I still don’t trust you, you hear? But you’re the only one who can protect her now,” she continued, “Lucky for you, Kamiko is greedy, so she hasn’t told anyone else about your whereabouts.”

I nodded, and we began to discuss potential contacts, all were rumors. There wasn’t any concrete information we could work with. Eventually, we narrowed the list of contacts, those who had supposedly come in contact with the Rats and were still in town.

Matsumoto left the office and selected her men to assault one of Kamiko’s base. We listened in on the plan as well. It was to be executed at 12:00AM when the streets were dark and number of civilians small.

When everything was finished, we returned to our suite. At 12:00AM, we looked out at the city from the balcony, hearing only silence.

“Rika is right. I’m just an idealist, someone who isn’t fit for this line of work,” said Mana.

“I don’t think that’s true. So far, you’ve shown that you’re capable for the job. All you need is experience.”

Mana chuckled. “I’m sure Natsumi would agree as well.” She paused. “But I’m emotionally driven, and that got someone killed.”

“You’d rather be cold and calculating, thinking only about the logic and not the emotion?”

“It’s better for this line of work.”

“I can’t agree with that. I’ve seen many abandon their emotions, and it changed them for the worse.”

Mana remained silent for a while before she retreated from the balcony and went to her bed. I stayed for a bit before returning. There was a long day ahead of us tomorrow.