The colonel sounded irritated—and with good reason. The research he spoke of was being conducted without permission from the party's central committee. If they detected his unauthorized activities were a failure, he most certainly would be sent to a labor camp.
"So Gauron, are you through investigating the enemy's objective?"
"More or less. Take a look," said the scarred man, handing the colonel a photograph. "I ran an image enhancer on this photo you gave me."
In the photo, there was the vague outline of an AS.
"It's using ECS—that's why the outlines are blurred as if they're melting into the surroundings. It appears to be carrying a backpack, maybe transporting VIPs up that mountain slope."
The AS looked slick, remarkably similar to a human. Impressed, the colonel raised an eyebrow. "What is this? I'm not familiar with this type."
"It's a Mithril AS," Gauron cheerfully responded, "much too advanced for you to worry about it."
"Mithril?"
"It's a secret organization of mercenaries. Their equipment is a good ten years ahead of the rest of the world: top guns, elite soldiers. You haven't heard of them?"
Mithril was an enigmatic force, perpetually present in the shadows of international conflicts. They attacked armed guerilla bases and destroyed drug-manufacturing plants. They allegedly annihilated terrorist camps and prevented nuclear-weapon smuggling.
Mithril's mission was to extinguish the flames of regional conflicts. Consequently, they weren't on any particular side.
"Why would they interfere with my project?" asked the colonel.
"Probably because it's dangerous. If you were to succeed, it would upset the world's balance of power."
"So, they're going to make it hard for us to capture a new Whispered candidate, I suspect."
Having one of the Whispered girls in their custody was absolutely essential to their project's success. Now that theirs was lost, they simply would have to find another.
"I can abduct one, but it'll take some time—it's more trouble than killing one," said Gauron.
"Does that mean an increase in your fee?" growled the colonel.
Smiling, Gauron said, "I'm a businessman, not a communist."
"Very funny, you yellow monkey!" shouted the captain. "You're completely replaceable! How about you show some thanks to the colonel who keeps hiring you, anyway?"
"I am thankful for your patronage," responded Gauron.
"You Chinamen are all empty promises!" roared the captain.
"What an insightful comment. I'm not Chinese, though," corrected Gauron.
"Either way, you're all the same! Wait until I send you to the Ural mountain coal mines and turn your grinning yellow face black! You puny pig!"
"You, sir, are very annoying."
With the skill and speed of a card shark, Gauron pulled a pistol from under his coat. It was such a smooth and simple action, it looked as if he were pulling out a cell phone.
The red point of a laser sight dotted the captain's forehead.
A gunshot shattered the nighttime quiet.
Blood, skull fragments, and pieces of brain littered the snow. The captain's body, with the surviving half of his head, clattered to the ground with a thud.
"Now, where were we? Oh, yes! Discussing the terms of the kidnapping," Gauron nonchalantly put away his pistol. He looked at the case file the colonel had given him earlier.
"Ah, here. This is it," said Gauron. "Is there a problem, Colonel?"
"That's one of my men…"
"But really, you just brought him here to intimidate me, da?" said Gauron, cruelly. "At least you don't have to babysit him anymore. Now, let's get down to business."
Speechless, the colonel let the madman take the wheel of the conversation.
Rifling through the documents, Gauron counted roughly fifteen separate files with the personal information of fifteen Whispered candidates. Judging by the photos alone, the boys and girls were different nationalities and races but all roughly the same age—mid– to late teens.
"Now, which one do you want me to get? I know, I know—it's already decided. You want," Gauron shuffled through the papers, "this one! Hey, she's pretty cute."
To the colonel, Gauron presented a photograph of Kaname Chidori.
Chomping on fries from the burger joint beneath the department store, Kaname and her friends gabbed merrily.
CHAPTER 2
Underwater Scene
Of course, Sousuke tailed her, keeping an eye on the situation from the opposite corner of the shop. Sousuke looked around nervously while pretending to read a three-day-old copy of Tokyo Sports.
Sousuke didn't like the look of the man sitting at the counter behind Kaname—mid-twenties, medium build, eyes hidden beneath a plain gray beret. The man had a black attache case at his feet, and he incessantly checked his wristwatch.
What's in the case? wondered Sousuke.
It reminded him of one he had seen in a catalog of anti-terrorist equipment. If his memory was correct, that particular model had a built-in submachine gun, which could be fired at the flip of a switch.
After polishing off his hamburger, the man stood up with his tray in hand.
Here we go… Sousuke readied himself for action.
But the man simply deposited his hamburger wrapper in the trash, placed his tray on top of the garbage can, and left.
So I was wrong. Unless…
Sousuke looked and saw the man's case sitting on the ground, where he'd left it. What if… Dammit!
It was not unheard of for terrorists to blow up a whole crowd of people to get at a particular target. But wasn't Kaname supposed to be a kidnapping target? Maybe the situation changed. At any rate, Sousuke didn't have time to think about it.
He dashed through the cramped eatery, upsetting tables and shoving diners. He grabbed the briefcase, which was certainly heavy enough to be a bomb.
However, this action didn't go unnoticed. "Sagara?" said Kaname in disbelief.
"Get down!" shoving away more customers, he charged out of the hamburger joint with the mysterious case.
Now, where can l get rid of this thing?
Sousuke surveyed the surrounding area—during the evening, the shopping district was positively crammed with people. He spotted a parking lot across the street—perhaps there would be fewer people there.
"Move!" yelled Sousuke as he bolted out into the street, angering drivers literally left and right.
Honk! Honk!
Sousuke turned just in time to see a truck squealing to a halt. It couldn't stop in time, and it sent Sousuke flying. He crashed into a bicycle stand on the side of the road.
Failure… not an option…
Standing up as quickly as his woozy head would permit, Sousuke was in the process of trying to relearn how to walk when the suspicious man from the burger place approached him.
"Hey man, are you okay?" inquired the man, relieving Sousuke of the attache case. He popped it open. "Oh, thanks. I don't know what I would have done if I had lost my manuscript."
The man slapped Sousuke on the back and left.
A small group of people, including the truck driver, Kaname, her friends, and some other passersby, stood staring at Sousuke. Some were worried, some confused, some amazed, but all seemed to be expecting some kind of explanation.
"What on Earth are you doing, Sagara?" wondered Kyouko.