Top of Seventh Inning
About thirty minutes earlier there was a call from Zhang to Ivanov"s cell phone. Zhang"s orders were, "right now a killer called Lin is coming to the office, so kill him." The opponent appeared to have been completely caught by Zhang"s trap. He thought for him to appear unconcerned in the enemy"s territory that he is a shallow guy. From the way he easily took the provocation, he is probably a hasty and quick-tempered person. It is not fitting for a killer.
When Ivanov arrived at the Kakyuu group"s office, inside the room was already a mess. As though he brandished a brush of red paint, blood stains were splattered on the walls and floors. The killer in question was talking with Zhang in the adjacent room. Stepping over the fallen bodies, Ivanov also entered the next room.
The killer Lin was still a child. He heard he was a man, but he was dressed as a woman. His figure was slim, and he seemed powerless. It was simple to wring his neck.
Trying to strangle him, he added more force in his fingers. His thumb on his trachea and his index fingers and his middle fingers on his carotid artery and jugular veins each applied pressure. Lin was moving his mouth like a goldfish, searching for air. His white face turned more pale and his eyes also became hollow.
Just a little more, it was when he thought that. Ivanov noticed it. That Lin"s mouth was repeating systematic movements.
It can"t be. Is he saying something? Under these circ.u.mstances? Ivanov observed the movement of Lin"s lips closely. He knew how to read lips well. At first his lips were round. It was "oh." The next his tongue stuck out a bit. Is it "reh?" Then his chin dropped a little. It was "wah." He closed his mouth, and he moved his lips for a pop. "Poo," huh. The curled tongue protruded out; it looked like a "roh." At last, it opened wide. It was "dah."
O-re wa pu-ro da. I am a pro. That was certainly what this man was saying. That was how his lips moved. Countless times, on repet.i.tion as though to appeal it.
Lin"s lips closed together. Just when he thought he finally died, Lin withstood the pain and showed his last ditch effort. He took out another knife from somewhere and pierced it into Ivanov"s forearm that was strangling him. It was a knife with an odd shape like that of round cylinder for a handle.
"I"m saying it"s useless."
Due to him building up his body, this much pain was nothing. He should have said that just previously. He was a killer that did not learn.
At that moment, the edges of Lin"s lips lifted up. Ivanov could not believe his eyes. This man was smiling. He was smiling just as he was on the verge of death. This guy was mad.
Lin did not stop his movements. When he removed the knife, he then brandished it, holding it out straight at Ivanov. The tip of the knife was facing his way. It was a strange stance having his arm extended out and pointing the knife at Ivanov. It was difficult understanding just what he was trying to do.
Yet Lin was still smiling. And then his lips moved again. This time it was different movements than before. Ivanov read his lips" movements once more. It all was made of ten characters. A-ta-ma wa, ki-ta-e-ru, ka – Is your head built up?
Is my head built up? Head? Built up? What does that mean?
Lin grasped the guard of the knife with his index finger. It was like the stance of brandishing a gun. It can"t be, he thought. When he realized it, it was already too late. Lin already pulled it.
The sound of a gun went off.
A gun sh.e.l.l flew out of nowhere and struck right in the middle of Ivanov"s forehead. Both his hands drop from Lin"s neck, and his body fell backwards. Ivanov"s ma.s.sive body sunk to the floor with a thunk.
Lin addressed him as he coughed violently. "……It seems you didn"t toughen up your head."
What just happened right now?
He saw a gun sh.e.l.l come out of the knife suddenly. And that was not an illusion. He heard Lin"s specialized weapon were knives. But it wasn"t a normal knife then?
He heard Lin"s voice in the midst of his hazy consciousness. "Ahh, this? You don"t know of it? It"s the Type 82-2 Chinese gun knife."
A gun knife? Does that mean it"s a gun in the shape of a knife?
As the world spun, Lin smiled triumphantly. "If you"re a professional killer, then you should know at least the characteristics of the weapons throughout the world."
Munakata was reading a newspaper in the car. It was a local paper of west j.a.pan, and in it he found an article of a certain case he recognized.
[This morning the body of a woman has been found in a hotel in f.u.kuoka City. The police are investigating the whereabouts of the man staying in the room. Research into if the act of this man are done by the same person as the two other cases in the past are proceeding.] That was the content.
If they caught the man then the past cases would all be resolved. Then there would be no concern for the ma.s.s media to look into the mayor"s son. He felt relieved having one problem cleaned up.
Munakata looked at his wrist watch. It was almost time to meet up with Reiko and Shinohara. Ivanov headed to kill a killer of the Kakyuu Group, but it had been more than thirty minutes already. He should be done with that one job by now. He decided to try and contact him.
He tried to give him a call, but Ivanov did not readily pick it up. The dialing tone continues. Just as he thought to give it up already, it finally went through.
Munakata gave a faint smile. "How"d it go? Is he dead?"
Bottom of Seventh Inning
That was close.
While settling his unstable breathing, Lin wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. That b.a.s.t.a.r.d crushing me with that stupid strength. He glared at the dead body of the large man. Still feeling the sensation of fingers pressing into his throat, Lin rubbed around his neck several times.
It was then. He head the ring of a cellphone go off. It was from the large man"s pocket. He went ahead and took it before looking at the screen. The caller was M. For it to just be an initial means they were thorough with their information management, he admired.
Lin picked up the call.
[How"d it go? Is he dead?] What he heard was the voice of a man.
By him he probably means me, Lin observed instantly. He decided to converse with him. He could get some information out of him.
"Yeah," I"m not dead, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d. "I killed him."
[It took you quite a bit, huh?]
"He was stronger than I expected."
At that the man fell silent. After a while he spoke. [Say, Suzuki.]
"What is it?"
[Who are you?]
"Who," his heart speed up. "What do you mean who?"
[The owner of this phone"s name is not Suzuki.]
So that"s it.
He probably noticed from the beginning. He was played with.
[Are you the killer employed by Zhang?]
"Yeah, that"s right." He confirmed honestly. There was no point in pretending further. "That b.a.s.t.a.r.d Zhang requested you guys to kill me, right?"
The man did not affirm it nor did he deny it. [What happened to the owner of this phone?]
"Who knows."
The man"s voice turned harsh. [Answer me.]
Could the man on the phone be this large man"s employer? From the way he cared for the large man"s state of being, he considered he could be someone close to him. Then perhaps they were friends.
[Where are you right now?]
"As if I would tell you something like that." Who in the world would say that?
[You know what, no, I don"t need it. I finished tracing the call. It seems you"re still in the Kakyuu group"s office.]
"d.a.m.n," Lin clicked his tongue. "So you just saved up on time by talking?"
[So then, you really are in the office.]
"Wha"
He tutted again. He got me. He lead me on.
[Your voice is rather hoa.r.s.e. Your breathing is hard. You"re wounded then? Then you can"t run very far.] He is a sharp man. His voice is also calm. [I"ll go see you now. Watch your back. I"m coming for you.]
"s.h.i.t"
The call was dropped. He had to get out of here quickly. So he thought, but the knife in his side was cut in deeply. When he tried to walk a sharp pain ran through his body, and he staggered. This isn"t good. If I have to get away from here quickly. That man is coming. I have to run away. However, he cannot walk well.
It was then. Suddenly the doors of the office opened.
Lin instantly took his stance. So a pursuer already came? He paled, but he was mistaken.
The one who appeared was someone unexpected.
"…….Ba-banba?"
It was that detective, Zenji Banba.
Banba looked around the area and smiled bitterly. "Whoaa, you really went all out here."
"You, why are you here-"
Banba did not answer. "Could you give me that there phone?"
"Eh?"
"The cell phone. They could be that GPS or somethin"."
He seized the large man"s cell phone from Lin"s hand and turned it off. He then put it in his own pockets.
"How did you know I was here? Did you follow me?"
"It was the redback spider."
"Ha?"
"It"s the bug with a dispatch feature," Banba touched Lin"s collar. He picked up a small listening device in the shape of a spider. He did not notice he set that there.
"Exactly when did you?"
"When you was blissfully snorin" away."
Banba then attached the listening device onto the large man"s collar.
Lin left Zhang"s office with Banba.
In the elevator, Banba addressed him. "You alright there?"
"Nothing too bad."
Honestly, it was difficult to even stand. When he was walking while staggering Banba turned around and asked. "You"re slow. If you can"t a-walkin", should I carry you?"
"Shut up. I don"t need it."
A car was parked in front of the building. It was a Mini with the j.a.panese white line on its red body. It appeared to be Banba"s car. Banba said as he opened the back seat door, "Now get in. We"re gettin" away."
Lin hesitated. What is this man thinking? Why is he helping him? Is there something hidden behind this act of courtesy? He read too deep into it. It disgusted him how overly kind he was being.
"Why are you helping me?"
When he asked with an apparent expression of wariness, Banba gave a broad smile. "People of Hakata ain"t meddlers."
Just what is he thinking? He is a man he cannot read at all.
In any case staying here like this will only end in being caught by the man M on the phone. He decided to get in the car in honesty. Lying down on his side in the seat, his rough breathing returns.
As he is rocked by the car, he thought about it over and over. What am I doing? My sister was killed, and I was tricked by the organization. In the end, Zhang was able to run away. In the end of it all I could not grasp the key in finding the culprit who killed my sister. It"s pathetic. Spontaneously tears well up.
While waiting for the light, he met his gaze with Banba in the rear view mirror. Banba narrowed his eyes. "Dontcha cry now."
"I"m not crying," he replied back with all he had.
Saitou recalled his memories fragmentary, but unsure of what he should do he wandered within the city. As he was taking refuge in an electronics store, he heard a voice saying, "the suspect is the officer worker Takuya Itou," from behind him. Being called by his fake name suddenly, Saitou turned around at once. His face was being displayed on several large TV screens lined up together. Feeling he was being pointed out by many people, Saitou sped out of the store in a hurry. Apparently the woman"s body was discovered at the hotel and he is being investigated as the suspect.
After buying a mask and gla.s.ses at the 100 yen store and hiding his face, he then escaped into a fast food joint. His heart was beating incessantly hard in his chest.
What should I do? Saitou was at a loss. It would only be a matter of time before I get caught. If I pleaded innocence to the police, would they believe me? If I get caught, that is the end for me. My life.
Someone, help me. He fished through his contacts on his cell phone, clinging onto that thought. Who should I try to contact? My parents? No, I can"t. I can"t have them worried. Friends? No, I can"t. There is no one I have I can consult to with something like this.
Suddenly one contact caught his eye. It was the phone number for Bar.Babylon. That"s right, You have to set a thief to catch a thief. If it"s them they may be able to do something. He took out several business cards from his back pockets. They were the ones from the facilities he visited the night before. After them was the one he received from the avenger Jiro. On the business card the shop"s address for Babylon is written. It is in the first block of Nakasu. It is close from here.
Let"s drop by. Though going there did not mean it would become anything. After all he is a wanted person. However, if it was them they are probably used to this sort of abnormal situation. They may be able to fine a good resolution to this.
The bar Jiro runs was at the end of the second floor of the Marugen building. The closed sign was hung, but the door was not locked. After he knocked, Saitou opened the door.
The inside was not very s.p.a.cious and had a snug atmosphere. There were five seats at the counter and two booths. It was a shop he would enjoy peacefully as a regular customer. On the counter a black cat was cleaning up its face. Jiro was next to it and was working on a calculator, probably doing sales calculations.
"I"m sorry. I"m still in the middle of something." Noticing a visitor, Jiro looked up. He was a bit surprised to see it was Saitou. "Oh my, isn"t it dear Saitou-chan?"
"Jiro-san, help me!" Saitou had a tearful voice.
"Oh dear, what"s wrong? Are you alright?"
"The truth is – "
Saitou explained his situation. Jiro poured two gla.s.ses of oolong tea and pointed to one of them for Saitou. "That is quite the mess."
"I couldn"t remember anything after that, and when I woke up I was in my hotel room."
"And so the woman was dead next to you, right?"
"That"s exactly it."
Jiro frowned. "You were set up. You poor thing."
"I was set up?"
"Someone committed rape and murder. And they set you up as the criminal in their stead. The person who committed the murder was another man, and that woman you met was probably covering for that man."
What should I do? Saitou grasped his head on the counter. Actually, how did it end up like this in the first place? I had to come to f.u.kuoka. Actually, no, it was wrong to sought employment from that kind of company. Wait no, even before that it was wrong for me to pa.s.s the company examine. The interview from that time. I should have answered "I don"t know," to that question "How would you kill someone?" I should have answered, "I can"t kill someone." It"s my fault I tried to give a different answer than the others. I shouldn"t have said, "I don"t have the courage or the skill for it, so in the case there is someone I want to kill no matter what I think I"d just pay others and have them kill them."
……No, wait a second.
Saitou had been holding his head when he suddenly looked up.
I don"t have the courage or the skill for it, so I think I"d just pay others and have them kill them.
Since I don"t have the courage or the skill for it, I pay others-
That"s it, he thought. It occurred to him. So there was that method. Saitou slammed his fists on the counter.
"……Jiro-san. I beg of you."
"Hm? What is it?"
"Please avenge this."
If he could not do something, he could ask others to do it. And pay money.
Jiro"s eyes widened. "What do you mean, Saitou-chan?"
"Jiro-san, you"re an avenger, right? Then, please avenge this. Please put the blame on the culprit who put the crime on me. It"s alright. If you need money, I have it. Since I just got my payment from the company."
Showing his balance statement,
"I see. So that is the case. Alright then. I will take your request." Jiro consented readily. In this industry money was everything.
"Since you don"t have any other place to stay for the time being, you can stay here for awhile."
"Really!?"
"Yes. The police won"t come by our store."
"The police don"t come?"
"There"s a detective I"m on good terms with. So don"t worry."
"Ahh, thank you very much, Jiro-san." The shady okama vowed to him. Jiro then tilted his head in wonder. "By the way, why is it now that such a normal person as yourself is working for Murder Inc again?"
When he explained how he talked about the pitch he made at the job interview, how he transferred to f.u.kuoka, and all the details since then Jiro gave a bitter smile, "that is quite the disaster." Just as he says, it is really a disaster.
"Even so, for you to have been an ace pitcher for that famous, veteran school." Jiro was awfully surprised. Is it really something to be shocked over? Though with how he was right now it must certainly be hard to imagine.
"Well then why are you doing this sort of work?" This time Saitou asked about it.
"At first I did a proper job. I was a beauty artist."
He could believe he was a beauty artist. He was certainly well refined and had that sort of air to him.
"Six years ago from now, my lover was killed." Jiro"s expression clouded over. So when he means lover, then is that person really a man then? He was a bit interested, but he did not inquire about that.
"That culprit was a killer. My lover was hacked to pieces with a knife. I thought, I want him dead. So I also hired a killer and had him kill that killer. Don"t they often say there is no meaning into revenge or that it would only sadden our lovers in heaven? I think that"s a lie. When that man died I felt happy. It was not for the sake of my lover; I had them avenged for my sake. I was satisfied."
It was not like he could not know his feelings. If he was in the same situation, he would probably hate the person enough to want to kill his lover"s foe.
"There are crimes in this world that have to be punished for, right? I thought there were surely people out there wondering the same thing."
And so I started this job, Jiro smiled.
"And how about that girl?" The elementary school girl that was with Jiro. Why is that girl helping with an avenger"s work?
"Ahh, you mean Misaki? Around the time I started being an avenger, I was told someone wanted a certain man beat down and killed. And I went to that man"s house and avenged him. And then from in the closet that girl was staring my way. She was probably abused by the man. She had bruises all over her body, and she was thin and in shabby condition. I was troubled on what to do. I was seen doing a crime, so I thought it"d be better to kill her, but then that girl said to me."
"Said what?"
"Thank you for taking down dad." Jiro shrugged his shoulders. "After cleaning up I brought her back, put her in the bath and made her eat."
"So that happened to her……."
Jiro smiled desolately. It was the expression of blaming himself. "That child is smart, so she understands everything. Once she saw this world, she could no longer return to the normal world again."
Once she saw this world, she could no longer return to the normal world again. Jiro"s words sunk into his heart like lead. Is he also like that? Would he no longer be able to return to a normal life once again? The more he thought about it, his future only turned more dark and gloomy.
"That girl is desperate to not be a disturbance to my work. If she became a hindrance, she thinks she"ll be thrown away and killed. And so, she tries to help me. And so it"s the worst to have such a small child like that help with this sort of work."
He could not nod at Jiro"s words.