HA1 9.4 - Body Trail

Two hundred meters from Red Light District, from the rooftop of a three-story empty building, Takeo watched five ambulances enter the east end of Lily Tunnel. At the same time, he heard someone open the door to the rooftop. As he held his breath, Takeo turned his gaze to the door.

"Thank God." After heaving a sigh of relief Takeo greeted Hide and Shizuka, "A car entered Lily Tunnel a few minutes ago. Not long after that Toruma Mafia launched a sweep up to eight blocks, starting from the outer ring."

Hide gave a small nod before saying, "Fortunately, we've arrived here so we don't need to throw away my weapon and the loot money. Though, we need to stay here for a few hours."

As she happily glanced at Takeo, Shizuka asked, "We've prepared some snacks and mineral water, but is it safe to stay here?"

"Don't worry, Toruma Mafia can only do door-to-door searches in their own area. For the other area, they will only sweep the street, looking for weapons and the money. They will also take a photo of ID card for every person they suspect," Hide replied firmly.

"Okay,'' Shizuka happily replied while Takeo nodded slightly.

The three then sat in a corner. After Shizuka put the loot in front of everyone, Hide immediately distributed the money, 150 thousand Ren to Shizuka and 100 thousand Ren to Takeo.

"Noice."

"Thank you."

"Me too, thank you for your hard work."  Hide then turned his gaze to Takeo before asking, "Is there a bill?"

Wasting no time Takeo handed over two receipts. "It’s from Tamiya and motorbike school where Shizuka took the course."

After making a quick calculation, Hide handed 30 thousand Ren to Takeo. "Is the motorbike school good?"

"Yup, they have five training circuits and various motorbikes, all are in prime condition."

"Then, I will take a motorbike course there."

"Hide, you also want to take a motorbike course?" Shizuka asked curiously.

Before Hide answering, Takeo said "Why not? Hide also takes driving course in the same place as me, and even though he only trains once a week, his skills can keep up with me who are practicing five days per week."

"I see." Shizuka gave a small nod before looking at Hide with a hopeful gaze, "Can I take a driving course too?"

"You can, but you have to finish your motorbike course first."

"Okay."

In an instant, an ear-to-ear smile bloomed on Shizuka's lips.

---

While Hide and Shizuka enjoyed snacks and mineral water, Takeo was processing the information from Maeda The Fox's smartphone. He organized the text messages into a folder, whiles the phone numbers in the phonebook he labeled with GPS tracking, and then were inserted into his Hunting Map.

In his second year of junior high, Takeo already knew how to label a smartphone number with GPS tracking. However, the procedure that was taught by Hide made him realize that his method was a child's play.

By uing Hide's method, it only took him 70 minutes to label dozens of numbers in the phonebook. Then, he cheerfully said, "Hide, we get 42 additional numbers."

"Okay." Hide downed a mouthful of mineral water before saying, "Now, I want you to focus on Maeda Hakei, Satori Kudo, Naoki Anya, Kurosawa Katsutadai, Nobutaka Haya, Shiori Sato. Mark the place where these people are gathered together."

"Who are they?" Takeo asked.

"Group leader of Toruma Mafia."

"Are we going to kill them when they gather?" Shizuka asked.

"Of course not, attacking these people when they are gathering in one place is suicide."

Takeo took a deep breath before giving Shizuka a questioning look. "I wonder if there is something wrong with your head."

"Sorry," Shizuka muttered weakly.

Hide then continued his explanation, "The group leaders only gathered when they met Toruma Elder and the location is always changing. After the meeting, I will kill him and send an ultimatum to stop Sakura Project."

With some hesitation Shizuka raised her hand. "May I ask another question?"

"You may."

"Why don't we go after the developers? I think it will be easier. We might only need to threaten them without any need to kill them?"

"An ultimatum without killing usually goes unheeded. Moreover, even if the developer resigns from the project, other developers will replace them.

However, if we succeed in killing Toruma's Elder, the other mafia families will think a thousand times before taking part in the project."

Shizuka slightly nodded before asking again, "But... Can we kidnap him and ask for ransom before we kill him?"

"For now we can't." Hide took a deep breath before explaining, "Kidnapping & ransom requires big resources and complex planning, to make sure we leave no trace behind."

"I see."

Casually but determinedly Takeo then said, "I will make an alarm program that will go active if group leaders of Toruma Mafia gathers in one place."

"Good, we will move as soon as they gather, so be prepared."

""Okay.""

After checking the situation using Google Earth and finding Toruma Mafia's members still doing the sweeping, Hide and Shizuka decided to sleep by leaning against the roof wall, while Takeo went back to his work using his laptop.

---

The sun was peeking out on eastern horizon, while Hide was making small notes. Not far next to him, Shizuka was sleeping peacefully in an X position.

'What a peaceful sleep,' Hide muttered while looking at Shizuka's face, at the same time Takeo approached him.

"Toruma Mafia’s men just finish the sweeping." Takeo handed a memory card to Hide as he continued, "And here's info about Shizuka's social circle."

Hide nodded and handed the small note in his hand to Takeo while saying, "This is a model of a long-range low light camera and trading site for second-hand military equipment. Can you monitor the site and buy the camera using a fake id if there is a ready-stock available?"

"I can place an order so they will look for the camera specifically."

"No, you have to make the purchase seem spontaneous rather than preordered."

"Okay."

"Well, let's go home then." Hide turned to Shizuka before continuing, "And you should take her home like how a couple does."

"Piece of a cake."

Wasting no time, Takeo rushed to wake Shizuka up.

---

With casual steps Takeo and Shizuka walked down the empty morning street.

"Twig, have you ever considered asking Hide to teach you how to use firearm?"

"I have and Hide refused."

Shizuka was silent for a moment before asking again, "If there is a girl who has lost her virginity, sells her body for something she really needs, and then she confesses her love to you, what answer you would give to her?"

Takeo furrowed his brow before replying annoyingly, "Why do you ask me such complicated question?"

"Dunno, just my curiosity… I think," Shizuka muttered casually.

"The heck..." Takeo took a deep breath before saying, "Honestly, I don't know the answer. But if I like someone, then it doesn't matter what she did before we were together."

"I see." Shizuka nodded slightly before asking again, "Hey Twig, let’s skip school today. I'm so sleepy."

"No, we can't. We need to act normally like any other day."

"Okay… Then, do you have someone you like in school?"

"No, and please stop asking stupid questions."

"Okay," Shizuka replied before cheerfully smiling.

---

Last night Aizawa slept at Kitaro and wouldn't be going home until the noon, so Hide was sitting alone in the kitchen. He enjoyed his breakfast while reading information about Shizuka's social circle.

As he had expected, someone in Shizuka's social circle was missing four months ago. The information Takeo gathered had included the information he knew, local TV interviews with investigator from Nichiko Metro Police, and articles from local newspapers.

In short, the information was:

// Kuroki Iwatani or Yankee Kuroki, a second-year medical student, son of a famous surgeon couple, Shizuka's karate training partner since junior high because no boy at her age can fight her.

Kuroki was last seen entering a dojo of Ryusen karate with Shizuka. Ever since Shizuka entered junior high, the two routinely practiced at that dojo every Saturday, from noon to dinner time.

Based on Shizuka's testimony, on that day Kuroki came home early. It was something that he did very often. However, even after one week he never arrived at his home.

The GPS on Kuroki's smartphone showed that its last position was around Hibino Lake before the signal was lost. Until now, metro police stated that Kuroki was missing, but the case file was handled by detectives from the homicide unit.

As the last person being seen with Kuroki, Shizuka had become a suspect. However, due to lack of evidence and motive, her name was removed from the list.

ps: While we were talking, Shizuka once said Kuroki's name hatefully. //

"Well, it seems I found your victim. Let's see how deep you buried his body."

After putting down the info he had just read, Hide then continued his breakfast.

*****