TRIGGER: CH 20

 Chapter 20

They had dutifully avoided going to the office the few days following the incident, opting instead to meet up at each other’s abode (mostly alternating between Rian's and Aguri's, for reasons).

Ryuga and Takeru had left the venue not long before the reinforcement came. And while they as a team are familiar (and dare they say, rather close) to Daigo's special force team, they have nothing to do with the current issues and thus shouldn't be mixed into their messes. They went straight back to the hotel within the mounting chaos while avoiding the masses.

All in all, it was a huge mess.

 

Back inside their makeshift operation room, both men slump down onto the floor, both fight and energy escaping their mortal body. The other two members are also similarly in an exhausted state.

"..-That was intense." Came the faint mumbling from Takeru who's lying face down on the floor. "What the hell was that even?"

"A terrorist attack, I guess." Rian replied from the bed, staring off towards the ceiling.

"Without any pretense whatsoever?" Ryuga can feel the incredulousness bubbling inside despite his tired state slumping against the door.

"I suppose evil doesn't need any reason to happen." The exchange completed by Aguri sitting in front of the monitor with his face in his hands, muffling his words somewhat.

Well, he guesses Aguri does have a point there. But something nags at him at the back of his head.

Jinga was there. And whoever that man was. Why?

(He said that he was there because he's an associate, but Ryuga begs to differ.)

They know something was going to happen. Or at least know something was going on in the background. And the so call terrorist attack did happen unprecedented. Can't help feeling like it was staged.

"You're strangely wearing a difficult expression today." He glanced up towards Aguri at his words. "Is there something on your mind?"

"Nothing, just..-don't you think it feels..staged?" The other's attentions snapped his way immediately; letting the idea awash them.

"Now that you say it, it did feel strange." The frown on Aguri's face deepen as he tries to pinpoint the thought. He couldn't catch the exact time when the group came in; it was all too fast, too smooth. Not to mention the Main Division security team was taken down much too easily. "You and Takeru were there; how strong were the hostiles?"

"I didn't really noticed but,- they wasn't that tough..? I think."

Takeru nods in agreement. "Yeah they weren't at all." A short pause follows before he seems to light up with a different story. "Ah, I just remembered! There was somebody else in the basement!"

"The basement? Aguri said that the surveillance was dead in the basement, wasn't it?" Rian rolled over to prop herself up on her elbows, her full attention on the matter.

"I don't really know who they were but they talked about how 'business are smooth here' because it's being 'backed up by that person'. I'm pretty sure one of them is a foreigner, and that the Interpol are after him."

"The Interpol? They're in this too?" The incredulousness in Aguri's voice was obvious.

"And, oh- Ryuga, did you remember the pair that we ran into on our way there?"

"Yeah?"

"They were there too. Or rather I met half of them there, the one with shades and red scarf."

Ryuga's eyes widen by a fraction. He was right.

"I thought so. I met his partner on the upper floor. He knew what was going to happen."

"-Wait, wait- what are you talking about? What pair?" Voiced Rian out having been lost in the discussion. Ryuga faced her way to clarify further.

"Earlier on our way out, we came across a suspicious pair. They occupy the next room." He paused to gesture towards the room next door with his head. "We don't know who they really are, but I can attest that they're definitely not normal. The one that I met on scene was almost a scarily efficient combatant."

"Same here too. Dude definitely know what he was going for. You heard from my comm right? That was him rampaging in the background. But we got separated half way so I don't know what happened to him."

"I think he caught someone..? Or achieved some objectives probably. I overheard their communication."

"Hey, could they be agents? From the Interpol." Both men look up towards her in contemplation. "From what you said, it sounds likely."

"I've been thinking of that too. Which mean that they do know what is actually going on and they're most likely after the foreigner. The question is, why didn't they contact the Main Division for cooperation?"

That sure is a point to ponder. Could they have suspected something from the Main Division as well? Since their base of operation is outside the country it's possible that things unknown here might be known to them. Too bad since they're practically outsiders in this case, they may not get any insights into it (despite it falling right into their range. Things do be like that sometimes).

Ryuga was going to voice it out when a different matter popped into mind.

"..Just wondering, won't they come checking through this place to later? Y'know, to see if the terrorists might be hiding around here somewhere?" Though it's with his question that the rest of them finally seem to notice the same issue.

"-Shit, we better get going fast!"

All of them scrambled around at record speed trying to disassemble and tidy up every piece of equipment as fast as they possibly can. Sure enough, the reinforcement team really did come around the place shortly after but luckily not before the four of them managed to escape.

 

 

---

 

 

A handful of days had passed since the incident and things had started to calm down though the shock of a sudden terrorist attack can still be felt. Even after the absolute mess that was, they still heard nothing from the Main Division. Either they're keeping quiet about it, or maybe they decided to keep them specifically in the dark; there's no knowing it. Whatever happened that night was not normal - that much they can say with certainty. It was made to look like a terrorist attack. But the fact that the security team was neutralised in such an easy way (on top of every other fishy decisions taken by the Main Division), makes one suspect otherwise.

So far, no one seem to caught their scent yet, but that's not an excuse to be careless.

The rest of the team goes back and forth between their respective root units and the Violent Crimes from time to time, mostly just to 'show face' and keep the higher ups from getting suspicious. Except for him.

(Well his root unit is the Main's Investigative Unit, and the last he went back there he almost got pronounced KIA. He'd say he has a valid reason to avoid it like the plague it is.)

Sigh. Some things just stress you up.

And he'd been taking frequent leave (technically skipping) too lately. Then again, they are supposed to be inactive, and he has no other missions or orders need to be fulfilled as of the moment. Likely won't be getting anything from them since they don't really like him putting his hands into their (likely illegal) business.

So here he is, currently on his way to the office, after the sun had set for the day.

By the time he got to the office it's already well into the night. The entire building is drowned in silence and shadows as the personnel are all back home after the work hours, safe for a few on night duties and overtimes. Tracing the familiar route, he makes way to the deeper part of the building where their unit's office is located. Unlocking the door, he walks into the office without bothering to switch on the lights. His table is close enough to the entrance and the street light from outside suffices. Also, he doesn't intend to take too long at this.

 

 

"Are you just going to ignore us here?"

"Yes." He replies without missing a beat.

"How about we drop it and go, this is a waste of time." Chimes a second voice, clearly annoyed.

"No, we can't do that. You know what 'confirmation on site' means." God help if they're starting an argument here.

Sigh.

"Just turn on the lights. I know you're standing over there."

On cue, the light flashes on. True enough one of them is standing just beside the switch panel and the other one is flanking him from the right.

"Hello!" The one on his right flash him a wide grin as bright as his..- white biker jacket. How did he not see that?

A grunt from his left had him looking that way. Suitably his partner is dressed in a black coat (and a red scarf. With shades. In the dark. Let's not go too deep into that). This man strangely reminds him of Akizuki. Must've been the expression.

It's those two from that day.

Eyeing both men warily, Ryuga silently assess the situation.

"Who're you and what's your business?" Better to ask them straight rather than simply acting based on suspicion alone.

The man in white momentarily glances towards his partner. "I know you're surprised but we mean no harm. We're both undercover agents from the Interpol." Interpol?

Seeing Ryuga's openly questioning (and slightly suspicious) expression, the man chose to continue.

"It's a bit long to explain, but roughly speaking - we're likely chasing after the same thing."

"During the opening night, our target snuck into the event and presumably came into contact with yours in the background. We suspect that they're working together." The man's partner picked up after him.

So it is true. And by 'the same thing', they're probably talking about the weapons ring. "Earlier this month we received a strange e-mail foretelling this event. Do you happen to know anything about this?"

"Yeah, we do." While the man remains his easygoing self, the firm note of his voice certainly gives no space for doubt. Okay, so they're most likely legit then. His brain helpfully supplements with images from that night - they're certainly not common.

"We were supposed to contact your party officially but unfortunately was met with some unexpected difficulties. Hence, the e-mail." Unexpected difficulties, eh?

"Well any outside contact has to go through the Main Division first, and we're currently not in a really good relationship with each other."

"Then I suppose contacting your team directly was a good move."

"Downside, we can't act openly. Our abilities are greatly limited this way." He just couldn't hide his frustrations with that matter. While they are a separate unit, they still have to depend on the Main Division for prior contact. And without the official card, they basically couldn't do anything.

"We are fully aware of that. Regardless, you did what you thought was right, and your actions was well within our predictions." The low, almost rumbling notes of the man's partner cut him out of his thoughts, bringing to mind another related matter.

"Do you happen to have contacted other people too regarding this case?"

The man's responding smile seem to say that he had seen that question coming. "Yes, we have contacted several. But of course, we can't say who. Rest assured, they are trustworthy parties." Falling into a stop, he shifted his attention towards the softly ticking wall clock.

"I suppose we'll end it here tonight. Hopefully we could meet again later officially." Back, facing him. "For now, please keep a low profile while chasing after this case. It'll be a great disadvantage if you end up getting caught."

"..Because of the people involved?" He asked, gauging their reactions." The man nodded with a grim expression. "Okay, I'll keep that in mind."

 

Well, things escalated quite a bit since then. Now, how is going to break this to the rest of them?