TRIGGER: CH 21

 Chapter 21

"So, you're telling me that our office got broken in yesterday?"

"Yeah."

"By the two lads that you ran into at the convention centre?"

"Yeah."

"And that they are from the Interpol?"

"Yes to all of that."

 

After spending the whole night mulling over the matter, he decided to break it to the rest of them the first thing in the morning. His brain still couldn't quite wrap itself around their absurd actual first contact the day before but then again, nothing really surprises him anymore. And hey, he's working with a criminal overlord, nothing can top that.

"Question is, how?" Aguri's eyes narrows behind his glasses. "The door was locked when you came in?"

"Yeah. And the windows are all shut tight too. No signs of violence whatsoever."

"But doesn't mean that they can't pick the lock open." And he agreed with Rian; he'd thought of the same thing too. With their level of abilities, it's not impossible.

"But they sure do like appearing from the dark like ghosts. Last time I almost got a heart attack." A grimace crossed Takeru's face as he recounts the little event.

A ghost and a ninja, eh? What next? Aliens?

"Oh yeah, the e-mail was sent by them on behalf of the Interpol. Also, they told me that they did try to contact us via official route, but was somehow unsuccessful."

"Now it's getting more and more suspicious. How could an official request fail? One coming from an established international organisation no less."

"No idea. But that concludes that the Main Division probably suspected something and actively rejects any kind of possible intervention." It's not always you get contacted by the Interpol, and whatever the reason they had to do it, it's definitely not anything small or insignificant.

They collectively sigh in frustration.

"Damn, shit just got real serious. That means whoever the person they mentioned that time must've been someone related to the police. And they gotta be someone big."

"Either that, or someone that can easily bend the law to their advantage."

Like a politician, for example. Always a loophole, always a grey area.

Rian leans forward to rest her chin in her hands. "It is getting real sticky now. The problem is, how are we supposed to work on this? We can't move around too much or else they would notice."

"Working separately does avoids that but makes active discussion difficult." Her trail of thought picked up by Aguri whose frown is deepening by the minutes. They purposely avoid using virtual conference out of caution of possible data leakage and outsiders tapping into their line.

How else can they approach this matter?

 

As of now it's crystal clear that the Main Division is no longer reliable. Worst case scenario, they might even have to go rogue, and that would mean having to deal with both the actual bad guys and the police hounding them.

Might as well starts expecting them come knocking on their doorstep soon. From what he managed to get out of Burai that one time, his father got close around here too before..-

Shaking his head to clear it away. He won't fail. He can't fail. For the one who is living, and for those who have lost their lives.

 

His eyes flicks toward the calendar; maybe he could use a visit.

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

Not sure for how long did he fell asleep; he woke up to a mildly annoyed voice. Cracking an eye open he looks towards the door.

"You really got comfortable." Judgmental look directed towards him from the figure casually leaning on the doorframe.

"You didn't say I can't, though I wouldn't really care any way."

Jinga made a concomitant sound of acknowledgement and pushes away from the doorframe.

"What? Were you expecting me to say I dropped by because I missed you?"

A shrug. "Maybe. A little."

Momentary silence fell in between them, filled in with rustling of clothes and items cluttering on the side table.

"Next time, try to explain things more, bastard." The jab came out in a sleepy drawl, his brain still stuck in half asleep mode. To which was only replied with a faint snicker from the other man. Fucker.

"Did you know that that was going to happen? Back during the opening night?" Twisting around slightly to look towards the other man.

His question had the other glancing back at him. "Technically, no. But we did have expectations. Despite how it seems, we did try to get things working as smooth as possible."  

Ryuga shifts into lying on his back. "There were internationally wanted criminals mixed in that night. No doubt they're a part of that network as well."

"Well, they are powerful enough to control the government from the shadows. That much is expected of them." Of course it's exactly as he thought, after all he'd seen the recordings himself.

Idly watching the other man sits down beside him, mattress dipping in under the weight. There are more that he wanted to ask; questions rolling in his mind, debating whether to voice it out or to keep it in. Should he or should he not? He wouldn't know if he didn't ask, right?

"That night, beside you and me, there was another team working in the background. Do you happen to know them?" He silently glances towards the other man. Though facing away, he should still be able to read his body language.

"What'd you do with knowing that?"

"Depending on your response."

The pause that follows griped him with anticipation. He already knows who the other party are, he just needs to know if they're connected.

"Yes, I'm aware of them. But I don't know them personally." And the relaxed posture of the other's body did not betray his answer. Ryuga supposes the answer is adequate enough for now.

"And considering the nature of their job, they would've contacted you as well-" He broke his sentence to turn around, eyeing Ryuga. "-Or rather, they have, haven't they?"

He lets out a faint huff - there's really no hiding things from this man. He's too perceptive. Oh well.

"Yeah, they have. They were the ones to notify us about the case in the first place. I just wanted to know if you're working with them too."

A hum reaches him. "Technically, I guess. They did contact me as well. Which is decidedly strange to say since I am also technically a criminal. Suppose it came to that."

"'Guess they concludes that you're a lot more trustworthy than the cops."

"You say that like you're not one." Surprisingly the response elicited a snicker from him. He did get into the Force because he wanted to protect the people, alas the real situation is drastically different than one would've thought. Though he wasn't completely in the dark about the whole corruption going on (rather blatantly, he might say) in the Force, so he wasn't unprepared at all. Hence why he's currently striving to correct that in whatever way he can.

Hey, desperate times call for desperate measures. And it is working.

"And, are you really here just to talk work?" The low lighting emphasized the suggestive look in the other's eyes. He can't believe himself sometimes. Rolling to the side, half propping himself up on his elbow.

"No. And you know it, yet you still make me say it." The other replied with a shrug.

"Verbal consent is crucial."

He narrowed his eyes in response. "But you didn't ask on the first time."

"You did accept my invitation. It shouldn't be that hard to interpret."

"Why me, specifically?" Unexpectedly, the question seems to caught the other man off guard, judging by the split-second stiffening of his body line. Some part of that question was already answered last time, but Ryuga somehow felt that it wasn’t the whole (or perhaps, the real) reason why. The other man simply dodged the question, opting to push him back down onto the mattress while hovering over him.

"And I suppose the answer to that is pretty obvious too."

He never did clarify any further, and Ryuga is left to mull over it until the next morning.

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

(Sometimes earlier; after the morning meeting)

 

 

The group dispersed soon after their brief meeting, off to whenever they felt like going at the moment with the exception of Aguri and Rian who stayed back.

He had almost forgotten that thing from last time; Ryuga’s request from before their last impromptu mission. The case had been chaotic enough the little request had slipped from his mind. Since then, he had kept the recording going on in the background. Just last night he went back to it to go through the recordings. Just in case, he had kept the folder locked.

 

To say what he found out is surprising would be an understatement. And now he’s in a dilemma over it.

 

No wonder Ryuga was so--

 

 

"Hey, Aguri-,"

"-Hm?"

"Don't you think Ryuga is acting a little weird lately?"

The question made him halt his current activity; entirely did not expect for it to come so early, right when he was considering breaking it to her himself. But then again, Rian had always been the closest to Ryuga. Of course she would notice.

"You think so too?" He turned sideways to face her, catching her worried expression.

"I wonder why - he'd never say anything outright."

"No, he wouldn't." Never. Even when it's plain obvious that he's hurting. "It's been since a while back that I noticed it. I think it was sometime after the serial murder case."

"I noticed around then too.." She lapsed into a temporary silence, expression changing. "-Wait, maybe even earlier than that."

"Earlier?"

A small nod. "Mm. Probably around...a while after he got missing. It was really subtle, but it definitely started from way back then."

That's quite a long time ago. And now that she mentioned it, he thinks so too. It was certainly subtle enough to be overlooked.

"There are times when he'd sit at his table in silence while staring off into the distance, and other time where he appears to be in stress. Last time he even got unnaturally triggered over something that the suspect implied."

 

"-But no one's gonna be able to save you from them. Not even your partner."

 

Ah, that. Yes, he knows that one. He had heard the transmission too, and it had similarly struck him as strange as well. What did the suspect mean then? And why did it affect Ryuga the way it did? Could it be..-

"..Is he doing a secret job?"

At Rian's words, something clicked inside his mind.

"Rian, do you know anything about the raids done by the Main Division?" The question itself come out a little odd, but Rian is under the Intelligence unit; it's far stranger if she doesn't know anything.

"I've..heard stuffs. And I'm still pissed over what happened last time. Why?" Following her reply, Aguri suddenly looks around, cautious. She raised an eyebrow at his strange behaviour.

"Just recently Ryuga approached me for something.-" Booting his laptop, he clicked into the locked folder. Quickly typing in the password, the folder opens to several video files saved onto the hard drive. Sensing the change in mood, Rian straightens in her seat. "He told me to keep an eye on one of the raid sites. At first I thought I don't want to bother too much, but something feels suspicious. The site does exist in the Main Division's records and it was marked as clear,-"

"-..But?"

Another series of clicking and the video paused at a particular moment. "But when I checked the surveillance camera, I see this."

"..It's still active." Not just active, but bustling one might say. Large wooden crates being carried from one truck to another. It's clearly in business. "So, the Main Division lied?"

"Not just that -" Aguri selects a point on the screen, enlarging it, and gradually the image becomes sharper.

Rian can feel her blood freezing in her veins.

 

"-Kaneshiro Tousei..?"