Joker Game

[Word count: 1554]

Well well well it seems that the chapter will be drawing to a close soon…

(Gamou Jirou is just as bada.s.s as the rest of the spies don’t try to deny it.)

Thanks so much for waiting again and your support, it’s such a pleasure to be able to translate for this amazing fandom and ah…. -points at part 5- more training shenanigans from the D-Agency!!  o(>ω<>

Based on the situation, he was guilty.

Based on inner conviction, he was innocent.

Seeing that no judgment can be made with those two aspects, a way to obtain the third piece of proof—physical evidence, has to be found.

The possibility of Graham carrying out the large-scale conspiracy of using a bombing to a.s.sa.s.sinate prominent members of the government was low, and it was probable that another organization was involved. If Graham were really to be involved in this conspiracy, evidence that proves his a.s.sociation with any organizations can be found.

Such as instructions provided by the group or records of communication.

From Graham’s point of view, he does not hope for anyone to discover these pieces of evidence. But it is always things like these that are difficult to be dealt with. So, where would Graham hide these things that he wishes to be kept away from others?

There are too many questionable people going to and fro at the emba.s.sy he worked in during the day, and even if the items had been placed in the safe, it was not likely that only Graham himself would open it.

It was not possible for the safe to be in the emba.s.sy.

What about the estate which he treated as his own property.

A st.u.r.dy safe which only Graham was able to open had been placed in the study, as though he were showing it off. But cash went in and out of the safe, and it was hardly possible that there would be things that should not be seen by others placed inside.

There was also another possibility that there was a hidden safe.

But the blueprint of the Consul General’s estate was in Britain, a copy of it might not be available, or it would be treated as highly confidential information, and cannot be obtained easily.

Therefore Gamou had slipped in critical terms in his conversations with Graham during their chess games, and had confirmed his every reaction.

Secret. Kept away. Hide. Don’t want others to know. Confidential. Let slip. Highly confidential. Exposed. Information. Private. Leak out. Confidentiality…

Despite being concentrated on the chess board, Graham would show slight shifts in his eyes and react subconsciously while Gamou calmly observed. From Graham’s reactions, the existence of a “hidden safe” can be confirmed. Gamou gradually narrowed down the area, and eventually concluded that it was in the “study”, “behind” the “oil painting of horses”.

His fingers came into contact with a rotary combination lock just then, telling him that the hidden safe was in the wall.

—A common rotary combination lock, easier to handle unlike the Chubb safe.

Gamou had felt a slight pang of disappointment after his judgment, but had immediately started to unlock it.

From the moment he had entered the study, he had not turned on the light. Gamou had used the slight vibrations sensed by his fingertips to find the correct combination of numbers, so light would have instead, hindered him.

—Locks are just like women, if treated gently, they’ll open up for their lovers in the end.

A man that had been brought into the D-Agency as a speaker had once said this in front of the students with hints of a lewd smile on his face.

That short old man was Kis.h.i.tani, a thief brought in from a prison in Tokyo who specialized in lock-picking.

“Our average time from stealing to leaving is five minutes. One minute’s used for entering, three for finding the money, and one for escaping, that’s just about it,”

After saying this, he had produced a steel wire, and spent just thirty seconds to unlock a lock commonly installed on the entrances of houses.

The students of the D-Agency had picked up this skill after watching it only once, leaving Kis.h.i.tani stunned, blinking rapidly. He had then gotten serious, and picked at the locks of the safes provided by the D-Agency.

The British-made Chubb safe, the American Mosler safe, safes from France and Germany…

The self-proclaimed “j.a.pan’s Number One Safe-cracker” Kis.h.i.tani had opened those safes one after the other without the use of a key (though not without a great deal of effort).

He wiped at the sweat on his brow and explained the mechanisms of lock-picking with a face full of pride, but had then widened his eyes in shock. The skill he had spent all his life mastering had been achieved by the students of the D-Agency in a mere couple of days.

While the old man was being brought away handcuffed, he had suddenly turned his head to a certain student, calling him before himself, and spoke quietly.

“Kid, want to be partners after I get out of jail?”

The truth was, Gamou had already acquired the key to the study on the first day.

When the suit had been delivered to the estate, Gamou had used the excuse of wanting to confirm the length of the trousers and had Graham try them on. While Graham was not paying attention, Gamou had taken the chance to extract the key from his back pocket, making a cast from beeswax, then produced a copy of the key according to the cast.

Of course, Gamou had the skills even Kis.h.i.tani-san would admire, and was able to use a single steel wire to unlock the lock within a mere twenty seconds without a key. However, no matter how much care one took, using a steel wire to pick at a lock would always leave a trace.

Spies are different from thieves, never allowing the victim to know that their property has gone missing. If a copy of a key that leaves no trace had already been, it should be used whenever possible.

In the darkness, Gamou needed five minutes to unlock the lock to the safe.

He carefully checked for additional contraptions, then slowly opened the door of the safe.

Gamou reached into the safe with a penlight, surrounded the s.p.a.ce around the pen, allowing no light to escape before turning it on.

A few journals were placed within the small s.p.a.ce of the hidden safe.

Gamou took out the journals and quickly scanned its contents.

That was no code, simply words written in common English. The handwriting was of a person with a strong sense of individuality, yes, there was no doubt that it was Graham’s. The contents that had been written were…

Gamou could not help but let out a strained smile.

These were the diaries Graham had written during his time in India.

His meddlings with illicit business, disgraceful rumours, covering those rumours by investing a large amount of silver in bribery, unspeakable desires, debaucherous relationships, scathing words towards the n.o.ble cla.s.ses…

Graham had unabashedly written all of this, but in every journal Gamou had riffled through, none of them contained any records a.s.sociated with a terrorist bombing society.

The things Graham had kept conceal from others, fearing of being exposed were these journals.

Gamou particularly inspected the journals once again for precaution, and found no additional mechanisms.

The place that should contain physical evidence had none.

Seeing this, the possibility of Graham being a.s.sociated with the terrorist bombing incident was near zero.

Gamou placed the journals back into the hidden safe, restoring its original image.

He switched off the penlight, darkness consuming his surroundings once again.

“Near-zero” is not the equivalent of “zero”.

But if I were to prove that he has nothing to do with the incident, it’s impossible based on the current situation, and I can only report back with this.

Gamou lightly closed the door of the safe, at the same time, the words Lieutenant Colonel Yuuki had spoken while reporting back a few days ago suddenly resurfaced in his mind.

—No matter the investigation, it is impossible to see through everything.  Do not forget about this.

Perhaps the Lieutenant Colonel had long ago already foreseen the result?

Gamou sensed an eerie air, as though Lieutenant Colonel Yuuki was watching him in the darkness, but he had immediately waved this thought away, focusing on the memory of the feel on his fingers.

No matter whether it was a success or not, if Graham had discovered that he himself had broken into, it would be ill-fitting to the t.i.tle of a spy. Everything has to be returned to their original positions before the breaking-in, then leave the vicinity.  

Gamou picked up the oil painting that had been placed on the floor, hung it back onto the wall, covering the hidden safe.

The right side of the frame tilted slightly.

He adjusted the angle based on the feeling of his fingers. Just then, he discovered that something had not been quite right, and paused the movements on his hands.

—What was it?

Park…Lieutenant Colonel Yuuki…this was it, the Lieutenant Colonel had…

He remembered.

—No matter the investigation, it is impossible to see through everything.  Do not forget about this.

The Lieutenant Colonel had shifted his cane to his other hand as he spoke, an absolutely unnecessary gesture. Even if it was a blink, would Lieutenant Colonel Yuuki intentionally make an unimportant movement?

A possibility surfaced in Gamou’s mind.

Unless…

Gamou turned his head and looked behind him in the dark.

Promptly, he felt as though he had seen what cannot be seen.