Man In The Parking Lot

"Ken, Ken!"

Who is calling my name? Is it Akira?

I was in the middle of the dream.

What happened?

Why do I only see darkness?

Oh, that bastard shot me in the face.

My face will slowly regenerate. So it's okay I guess. But why is this man so angry?

Isn't he aware of the relationship between me and the president? And how dare he shoot me in the face?

Oh, my vision is coming back. I see. My friends are gathered around me. Look like they are worried.

Don't they know my "power"? Why are they worrying unnecessarily?

I can see much better now. Looks like the regeneration of my face is finished. Tadashi, that bastard just sitting there.

"Hey, Tadashi. I won't let anything like this happen again. Don't make a scene unnecessarily!"

"Then talk respectfully to the president."

"Don't you know that the president is my father?"

"Doesn't matter."

Oh, this bastard knows how to make me angry.

I need to calm down. Maybe I should have a little smile and a joke.

"Then use a shotgun, not a pistol, before you shoot me again!"

WOW. That was terrible.

"Hm." Tadashi chuckled.

Oh, did he like the joke?

I have to calm the atmosphere.

"Guys, I am okay. We are just chatting."

Is Akemi crying? No. Looks like she doesn't even care. Will she say something?

"Don't be disrespectful to the president unless you want to get shot in the face again."

What?

Is she serious?

Why is she looking at me like that?

Is she going to shoot me too?

"It was a joke, Ken." Akemi said while looking into my eyes.

She is looking at me with her big black eyes.

I said, "Guess I'm the one with no sense of humor."

But it was worse than my joke! I guess she's not a comedian either.

"Are you okay, Ken? What is today's date?" Akira asked worriedly.

"Today's date is February 6, 2025"

"Why did you call me here, Ken?" the president asked.

"Please leave me and the president alone."

It Looks like Akira and Akemi are leaving. But why Tadashi is not leaving?

"You too Tadashi."

"I don't take orders from you."

"Leave, Tadashi", the president said.

"Yes sir."

Now the room is empty. I have to tell him.

"I want you to increase Detective Organization's budget by $1 billion."

"And what are you going to do with all that money?"

Should I tell him? I have to.

"The bodies of 2 old women, 3 old men, 5 middle-aged women, 7 middle-aged men, 11 young
women-"

"13 young men, 17 girls and 19 boys. In different houses. They all died in their sleep. Right,
Ken?" the president said.

"Yes. You know what this is. Prime numbers. It happened 15 years ago too. And two of the
victims were my mother and my sister."

"Are there any suspects?"

"Of course not. This killer is someone like me, you know that! It could be someone from where
you found me!"

"There is no record of anyone living there. We can't find it even if we wanted to. And after that explosion, everyone there died, you know. Except for you of course. You survived through regeneration."

I look out the window as he tells me this. And why is there a homeless person in the middle of
the parking lot? Where is the security? And why can't I hear the president's voice? Why is this
homeless man looking me in the eyes?

Or is he not looking me in the eyes? When I look a little more carefully, he doesn't look like a
homeless person. Doesn't he look like any salesman? Want to sell something?

But that doesn't explain why I'm not hearing the president's voice right now? Maybe I should turn my head. But I feel like something will happen if I take my eyes off this guy. Anyway, I'll take a look at the president.

The room is empty. But why is it so clean? Didn't stupid Tadashi just shoot me? So why is it so clean? Where is the blood?

I wonder what the man outside is doing? I wonder if I look out the window again?

But where is the president?

And why are there two person's shadows on the ground? Is there someone behind me?

I immediately leaped forward and looked behind me. It was the man I saw in the parking lot.

I fired right away with the pistol. He fell to the ground. But why are there still two shadows? I
turned around and fired again. And I repeated this over and over.

I did this 7 times. There were 7 corpses on the floor and they were all wearing suits. Single
bullet mark. He's just died and he's definitely not a puppet.

But they all look different. Blonde, black hair, some even have glasses. Young and middle-aged.
Men.

They all have only two things in common. All men in suits.

"My name is Minoru." the man said.

"What the hell are you?!"

"The news is talking about me."

Is he? The one who killed my mother and sister?

"You piece of sh-"

"Just stop! Stop! You've already killed 7 people. Everyone who died here died to protect me."

"So they're dead. But now I can very well perceive that I am in a dream. So their death doesn't mean anythi-"

In just half a second I realized what I did. This man kills people while they sleep. And most likely the people I killed in the dream die in reality as well.

"Don't worry. These guys are all fucking criminals. And their crimes were not small. They deserved to die."

"I can easily tell from your accent that you are not from here. It's now 3 pm, so if you have a job and go to work in the suit you are wearing right now, you probably have a good chance of becoming an accountant. But I can't be sure about that because it looks like you left all your stuff. So you know who I am and you don't want your identity revealed. I understand you because I will kill you where I find you."

"I already want this from you. Please kill me."

"Stop bringing criminals here to protect you and I'll end this with one bullet to your head."

"You do not understand. Do you think I'm alone in this job? No. I am just a member. I'm a member of the damn thing. But I can't tell you any of this. Because my boss will know that I died on purpose."

"Then kill your boss first."

"I don't stand a chance against the boss."

"Then tell me where the "boss" is and I'll kill it. I'll kill you later."

"You are a really interesting fellow, Ken. You will hear from me soon."

He turned around and started walking towards the wall. And yes. He's going through the wall now.

Shall I shoot him with my pistol? But I can't risk someone else's death. I'll let him go for now.