Miki looked up from the laptop when the passenger van she rode in stopped. She could see a police car blocking the road in the distance up the street. “Is that a checkpoint?”
“Yeah. That’s unexpected,” Kojima flatly said, his hands still on the steering wheel.
“The police have cordoned off the area,” Rin said. “Hmm... Pass me the laptop, Miki.”
She passed him the computer she held from the back seat. Brad, the private detective that Rin hired, looked over Kojima’s shoulder at the police, sizing them up. Brad was Rin’s precaution, someone he worked with before. He was a large, beefy, and balding man who usually made his living in Yokohama protecting or investigating celebrities and was a former New York police officer. When Miki asked him how he would protect them, he flipped his jacket open a little so she could see the pistol in the shoulder holster. That reassured her, even though she knew the kuchisake-onna had attacked two policemen a few days ago.
Rin opened up the satellite map on the notebook and traced his finger along the streets. “Kojima, turn around. Go back one block, and down this alley, we passed by. There’s a small road there that bypasses the checkpoint, but it stops short of where we want to be. It looks like there might be a wall there that we have to climb, and then we can sneak into our building through this field to set up our camera.”
“That looks doable,” Brad said. “The police are focused on keeping people away, so once we’re past them, it’ll be a piece of cake.”
“Are you guys sure about this?” Miki fought to keep a calm face. It was a little late to admit the situation was more dangerous than it seemed earlier.
“You can always wait in the car,” Rin casually commented with a slightly goofy grin.
Miki considered punching that grin from his face. The man was baiting her, and she willed herself to continue instead. “I’ll go. I do have to see for myself.”
“That’s the spirit.” Rin grinned. “Let’s get to the bottom of this. This will be the biggest story I’ve ever covered.”
*****
“All teams are in position,” Kinichi said over the comms as he watched the indicators on the big map display in front of him. “My people report ready. Snipers report no activity. The drone has no activity. You are cleared to go.”
“Roger that,” Willam's voice came over the radio. “Delta team, cover the back. Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie are breaching the front.”
Yuriko watched the indicators for the teams enter through the front doors of the first building and then split up to cover the left, center, and right. Intermittent check-ins came over the radio as the special forces troops methodically cleared the building.
The radio link to the remote drone operator crackled to life. “Odewara Command, we count four unidentified personnel moving into the operations area. Highlighting on our telemetry.”
A small square outline appeared on the large display. It moved towards another building near the other four buildings they were supposed to search; whoever it was had snuck past the police checkpoints.
The military reconnaissance drone orbiting 1000 metres above the industrial park locked onto four people below. The drone’s powerful cameras on board zoomed in to get a closer look at the intruders. Everyone in the room watched the closeup. It showed three men and a woman, with one of the men carrying some bulky video equipment.
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“Is that a TV news crew?” Kinichi asked aloud.
“That looks like someone we know,” Travis and Yuriko said at the same time.
“They don’t know how much danger they’re in.” Yuriko grabbed a headset to talk to the remote drone operator. “Can you zoom in any closer?”
The people became larger so that faces could be made out, and Yuriko let out a gasp. “Miki!”
Travis was also stunned. “What’s your daughter doing there?”
“Why is your daughter there?” Kinichi demanded.
“I don’t know,” Yuriko replied. “She’s with that snoopy reporter Rin Takahashi. The guy must have sniffed out something was going down and is using her for information about me. He’s been in town and was even at the konbini a few days ago, asking us if we saw anything strange. We told him no, and I thought we had brushed him off.”
“This is a disaster. This is going to be on Rin Rin Mystery Time or, even worse, the national news.” Kinichi was aghast. “I’m sending in my tactical team to arrest them.”
“Wait!” Yuriko exclaimed. Her composure looked calm, but underneath, her heart raced. “Let Travis and I take care of this. Our cover is blown anyway if my daughter is with him. He’s figured out that the Confluence is real and that we’re agents. Let me handle him without police intimidation. The IMA has better ways to deal with him.”
“Are you sure this is an official matter and not a family affair?” Kinichi’s said condescendingly. “You could be emotionally compromised by your daughter. My people will go in.”
“I can deal with this objectively. Your tactical team is the backup for the JSOF team.” Yuriko’s voice was cold and stern. “If they need help, they had better be in position. Don’t forget that.”
Kinichi’s voice rose steeply. “You are overstepping your authority! I am in charge of this operation. You are just an observer.”
“This is a joint operation,” Yuriko loudly emphasized. Her daughter could be in danger, and she needed to act now, but she realized she needed to defuse the situation. Their raised voices had turned a few heads in the command centre. “The IMA brought in the special forces, and I’m the senior IMA representative in this area. I act on my judgment. Please do not interfere in this matter.”
The two locked eyes for a few seconds that passed like an eternity to them. Both thought about their next move. Travis stayed out of it to let Yuriko operate.
“You are in charge of coordinating this operation,” Yuriko said in a softer tone. “I am asking you to not involve any more of your people. Allow Travis and me to extract them from the operations area. We are very capable.”
Another moment of silence passed. “Very well,” Kinichi finally said. “We will do it your way. If anything goes wrong, it will be on you. I will file a formal protest with the IMA about this matter.”
“You are welcome to file away.” Yuriko didn’t flinch at all. “Tell Major Fredericks what is going on. He needs to stay on mission. Travis, let’s gear up and head out. We don’t have any time to waste.”
“Right behind you, boss.”
When they were out of the command trailer, Travis looked at Yuriko. “Senior IMA representative in the area? Technically, you are, but you’ve got nerves of steel, Yuri, to bluff like that. But I suppose I’d do the same for my kid if I had one.” Travis shook his head. “There’s going to be consequences from this, you know.”
“I know,” Yuriko admitted with a nod of her head. “I wasn’t there for her for much of her life, but to let her down now would be unforgivable.”
“I totally get it. Let’s get your daughter. She’s the most important thing in the world right now.”
Yuriko looked up at Travis’s face with a serious expression. “I know I said we would get her, but you don’t have to do this, Travis.” She was almost fifteen years older than him. He had been the youngest member of their JSOF detachment, and she had taken him under her wing. She knew he considered her his big sister and didn’t want to get him into any more trouble.
Travis looked down at the woman in front of him. “We’ve been through a lot together, Yuri. You know I think of you as family. If there’s hell, then we’ll go through it together.”
Yuriko looked up at her much taller friend. “Thanks, Travis. That means a lot. Remember to ask me for help when you need it.”
Travis gave her a reassuring pat on her shoulder. “I will. It’s never a dull moment with you.”
“Rin Takahashi has a lot to answer for getting my daughter involved,” Yuriko coldly replied. She then moderated her tone. “That’s for later. I’m just glad we brought our gear with us.”
“Boldness and honour.” The two bumped fists.
Travis added. “I hope Rin knows you never get between a mama bear and her cubs. I pity the man.”
*****
