Chapter 15:

Dragonfall

The Assassistant & Idealist Detective


I stood beneath the multistory carpark, listening to the voices on the top level. The phone in my pocket rang, and I answered.

“Good of you to come alone. Get up here, and we’ll talk business.”

I approached the spiral staircases and made my way up. There were multiple cars on all of the floors. Instead of stepping off at the top, I entered the fourth floor beneath it. Cars were lined up in the dark at the center. I approached them and sat, waiting. A call came through, and I picked it up before the ringtone could echo throughout the carpark.

“It’s better if you didn’t hesitate. I am not a patient man,” said Ryuji.

“But I’m already here. I’ve been here since the beginning.”

“What are you playing at?”

“Search the many cars on this floor. I’m sure you’ll find me then.”

I left the phone on a car, and footsteps converged on a position right above me. I reentered the staircases and went up. The moonlight shining on the top floor, I looked for the computer revealing the location of the phone. Several pistol-armed men were searching the cars, finding nothing. Ryuji was gazing at a laptop screen along with one of his men. I took aim and fired, the bullet piercing through the glass, leaving a hole behind. They spun around, and he barked his orders, pointing at me. I ran down the stairs back to the fourth floor, and they gave chase.

Indistinct shouting sounded from the phone, and I grabbed it off a car’s roof.

“What do you think you’re doing, stomping all over my kindness? I offer you purpose, money, and whatever you desire. Simply stop your nonsense, and we’ll become the best of friends.”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Really? We’ve been friends from the start. I helped you take down Kamiko. What do you hope to accomplish with one man against thirty?”

“Then I have thirty targets to take out.”

As footsteps sounded through the fourth floor, I popped a smoke grenade at their feet as they came filing in. It sizzled and spewed smoke around where they stood, covering their line of sight. I hastened my steps to their flank and aimed at their heads. I switched targets from those nearest and farthest to me as I pulled the trigger. Their bodies collapsed onto the ground, and those who remained couldn’t tell my location over the sound of their falling comrades.

I reloaded, throwing the empty magazine in the opposite direction. The men fixed their guns on the sound and fired aimlessly, not knowing that they were just hitting the concrete and cars. I saw their muzzle flashes and fired a bit above that. The bullets pierced their heads, and their bodies fell.

In the smoke, a man spotted me, and he reached out his hand in an effort to wrestle me to the ground. I whacked his hand away with the butt of the pistol then shot him. He fell, clattering to the ground. I threw the phone in a different direction and knelt, firing.

When the last of them had fallen, I stood still in the smoke, waiting for it to dissipate. It cleared, and I counted the bodies to be half the number he had said. Their transceivers cackled, and Ryuji’s bark sounded from the devices.

I picked up the emptied smoke grenade and walked up the stairs, seeing the man grasp his transceiver, shouting with a pistol in his hand.

“Secure the perimeter! Make sure he doesn’t get up here!”

He spotted me from his peripherals, but before he could raise the gun, I shot his arm, and it came clattering to the ground. I shot his leg, and he dropped, back against the concrete parapet. The others spotted me, and I tossed the emptied smoke grenade at their feet. They fled from it, hitting the ground with their hands around their head. I was already running back down the stairs and heading for the ramp leading to the top.

“You idiots! It’s just a smoke!” said Ryuji, groaning in pain.

They looked around with bellies flat on the concrete, confused. I was already behind their position as their knees touched the ground, preparing to stand. I threw the second smoke grenade at their feet, and smoke blasted from it, covering the area in a thick, white smog, impenetrable by moonlight. I gripped the pistol, pulling the trigger in rapid succession, not missing a single shot.

When all had fallen, I inched closer to Ryuji leaning against the parapet; my gun fixed at his head. He used his uninjured leg to push the gun at his feet to him, and I kicked it away.

“I thought you were just a support to your old pal,” said Ryuji, clutching his arm and leg, blood oozing out the holes.

I wasted no time getting answers to something that had kept me curious since its introduction. “The suitcase—where is it?”

He laughed but stopped when the pain stung. “How should I know? I already sold it to the highest bidder.”

“To whom?”

“I wouldn’t tell you even if I knew.”

“What was in it?”

His eyes widened, and his face contorted into a foul smile “Why don’t you ask the Rats? They know more than they let on.”

He grinned, and it would be his last one before I pulled the trigger. With this, my freedom was finally assured in this life. The body before me was bloodied, lying in a pool of red. I had no remorse, and they deserved none, but when I looked at my handiwork in front of me and remembered the bodies littering the fourth and top floor, I wondered about the price of freedom. I had done all of this to return to my new life, but by doing this, I was still stuck in the past. If that was the case, I had no right to return to the new world.

Footsteps echoed from the stairs, and I aimed at it, waiting for a new adversary. Sweat formed on my palms, and I had to force control on the grip. The pain where I’d been shot was returning, and my head ached. A girl came into view, her blond hair illuminating in the moonlight. Mana stood there, clad in a white dress shirt and black pants like she did when we first met. Her arm was bandaged and in a sling. I lowered my pistol, speechless.

“I heard you on the helicopter,” said Mana. “You should’ve told me. We would’ve worked it out together.”

She looked around the carpark then at the bodies and sighed with relief.

“You did what you had to do. Let’s go home.”

I averted my gaze from hers, opting to look at the view the top floor had to offer. The water shone under the moonlight, and a few lights were still on across the bay. The black silhouette of the trees rustled with the gentle breeze, leaves fluttering across the landscape.

“Remember what I told you? If you still have worries, that means you haven’t become what they wanted.”

That’s right. I could use that to continue on with my daily life right now, even if it was just an excuse. If I am allowed to hold onto something that let me live, then let it be that.

My knees buckled and hit the concrete floor. I gripped my chest and remembered that the only thing standing between me and unconsciousness was a bunch of painkillers. Mana hurried to my side, but I didn’t hear her shouts of concern as I slipped into a deep sleep.

A bright light penetrated my eyelids, and they fluttered open. I averted my gaze from the window where sunlight was streaming in, looking at the other side of the bed where Mana was sitting.

“You’re finally awake. You’ve been out for six hours,” she said.

“Where am I?”

“This is a secured hospital. Natsumi made sure to fake your identification and everything. She’s preparing the office for our return right now.”

My eyesight was blurry, and I raised the bed, sitting up. Mana smiled, her arm in a cast.

“All that running around going after Kamiko had me a little confused. Mind telling me some things?”

“Don’t tell me you have amnesia.”

“No, I just need it cleared up.”

Mana put a finger on her chin.

“She arrived at the airport a month ago, and we still don’t know where she came from. After she built up a considerable force in a short amount of time, she still had some rivals she didn’t want to deal with which was why she came to us. Instead, it backfired, and Kamiko ended up fighting her rival, and the Gold Stars at the same time. Then, she retreated to the hideout we were at a couple hours ago.”

“The wharf and the airfield. You didn’t mention them.”

“That’s because they didn’t belong to her. I suspect she had outside help when she got in and out of the city.”

“You think Kamiko was being controlled by an outsider?”

Mana nodded. “It’s the only way to explain how fast she managed to get most of the city under her thumb.”

“Hope she didn’t tell her superiors about me.”

“Even if she did, you’re safe right now. The Rats are going to cover your tracks and identity as best as they can.”

I laid back onto the bed but remembered the suitcase and Ryuji’s final words. It was a sensitive topic, but I had to discuss it.

“Kido isn’t telling us something,” I said.

“I know, but I’m sure she will sooner or later. Give her time.”

I looked out the window, the view colored bright blue from the sky and sun. There was something that hadn’t been addressed. It would be hard, but it had to be discussed.

“Look, about Kamiko,” I started, “I should’ve done something.”

“I’m not dumb, Masa. It was the best outcome.”

Throughout this whole thing, I had viewed Kamiko as a target like during the old days. From what I saw, she was someone who had to end up dead at the end. Mana offered me another solution, and I just couldn’t see it.

“It wasn’t,” I continued without hesitation, “There’s always another way.” I gazed into her eyes. “Next time, they’ll be alive when we bring them in.”

Mana was left speechless and could only muster up a smile and nod. I let loose the tension in my body. The pain had subsided, and I would be discharged in a few hours.

We walked out of the hospital, the sun blazing its rays on me. Summer was going to be over soon, so I had to hold on. A taxi was waiting for us.

“Rika cleared our name, so we don’t have to worry about getting arrested.”

I thought about the woman that had helped us when we were being falsely accused and pursued. “Think Mariko’s ok?”

“I heard everyone in that neighborhood was compensated and no one was hurt, so I’m sure she’s alright.”

The taxi drove through the streets. The buildings and pedestrians blurred past as we made our way to the office. The driver stopped the car, and we stepped out, the office right in front of us. From the curb in front, the car that we had left behind in that neighborhood was parked there. Loud voices came from inside the building. We glanced at each other, and Mana shrugged.

I was assaulted by the blast of the air conditioner and two voices. Natsumi and Aimi were arguing near the entrance, and they hadn’t noticed our appearance. The younger sister was wearing a familiar school sailor uniform.

“If brother can stay in the city, why can’t I?” said Aimi.

“You were already going to a prestigious high school in the area around home,” said Natsumi. “There’s no need for you to be here.”

“Well, it’s too late anyways since father already signed me up and paid for the dorm.”

Natsumi facepalmed. “I swear that old man always coddle you.”

Aimi turned to face us. “With that said, I’ll be coming here more often!”

The younger sister was transferring to a high school near the office, and it was the same place where her brother was going. I guess this place is only going to get louder from now on. Not that I mind.

The office had been cleaned, and Mana’s father’s notebooks lined the bookshelves. She was about to approach the tiny office that had been hers, but I put a hand on her shoulder.

“Where do you think you’re going? Your office is over there,” I said, pointing at the large, windowed room that had once been her father’s.

Mana resisted a bit, but I pushed her to it, and we peered inside. The desk, chairs, filing cabinets, and windows had been wiped clean of dust thanks to Kido.

“I don’t know if I can.”

“You deserve it. From now on, introduce yourself as Ozaki Mana.”

She stepped inside, and we watched her from the window. She caressed the desk, and mouthed the words, “I’m back.” I thought I heard a voice saying, “welcome home.”

A car pulled up to our office outside, and we ran to the entrance, expecting a new client. Natsumi was about to open the door for them when it swung open, revealing Matsumoto Rika, her arm also in a sling.

“Mana, your parents are extremely worried about you. It’s time you finally had a talk with them like you promised.”

Natsumi scowled. “Give her some time. She’s just been through a lot.”

“That’s exactly why she needs to visit her parents now. A swift return to a safe environment is necessary for her wellbeing.”

Natsumi was about to argue further, but Mana stopped her.

“Fine, I’ll come with you on the condition that I get to bring Masa and Natsumi with me.”

Matsumoto grimaced. “Fine, but I can promise you that we won’t do that again.”

As we were about to go, Natsumi stopped us, lowering her eyes on the floor. “Forgive me, but I’m afraid I can’t go.”

Mana nodded and smiled. “I understand. I’m sure Masa will be enough to stop them.” I gave a wry chuckle, knowing full well I wasn’t in any condition for combat.

We stepped out into the blazing heat once more, the sun scorching our skin. A black car was waiting for us with a driver inside. We stepped in and made our way towards the Kanda resident.