Tokyo Noir: The Complete First Season

by J. Scott Matthews

  Kameko looked at the firefighter. “You speak English?” she asked him in English.

  He gave her a confused look.

  “Good.” She turned to the others. “When we hit the ground, disappear into the crowd.”

  “We can’t leave Vasili,” Jun said.

  Kameko was dialing her phone. She began scanning the crowd below as they got close. “Kimura? Are you by Hyperion? … Good, coming out now. We gotta go. Stay with the big man and tell us which hospital they take him to.”

  When the doors opened, the three of them scattered into the crowd before the fireman could stop them. Kameko made eye contact with Mei on the way out and nodded, then slipped away in the throng of people with a last look at Vasili on the stretcher.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Kyoko stumbled on through the dark, frantic and desperate. The only light came from the weak illumination of her pocket flashlight. And even that was beginning to dim and fade. Soon they would be left in total darkness, clawing their way forward with nothing to light their way. Their frantic escape attempt would be over almost before it began.

  Kyoko shifted the weight of her daughter, Manami, who was holding on for dear life with her hands around her neck.

  “Mommy! I’m scared!”

  “Quiet, baby! I won’t let them get you.”

  They had left when most people were asleep. There was never a time when everyone was asleep. With no daylight to mark time by, days lasted as long as people wanted them to down here. She had done a quick scan to see that nobody was watching them from the platforms. Then they slipped away down the train tracks, passing through the boarded-up sections just as Ryo had told her.

  Ryo.

  He was supposed to come with them, but he had disappeared recently. She had no doubt that that was Masato’s doing. She shuddered to think what had become of him. In fact, it was fear of her son finding out that led her to speed up her escape plans. It was a gamble, but so too was staying longer at this point.

  They made steady progress at first. But soon they had to slow to pick their way through the caved-in sections of the track. Kyoko moved as fast as she dared. She needed to put distance between them and the camp—the others would be after them as soon as their absence was noticed.

  She had to stop several times. Not because she was tired, but because the visions were closing in. She had tried to limit her intake of trancespore in the days leading up to their escape attempt, but it was impossible to avoid entirely. Now, as she ran, she found herself overcome from time to time with visions and hallucinations brought on by the potent drug. Dread thudded through her with each beat of her pounding heart.

  Every time the sense of hopelessness coursed through her, she had to stop and close her eyes. Tell herself it wasn’t real, that what she was seeing couldn’t really hurt them.

  Her perspective shifted and changed as the drug washed through her mind. Sometimes the walls were closing in around her, and she could barely move through them. Then everything would shift, and suddenly Manami’s face would seem miles away, even though she knew she was still propped on her shoulder.

  Throughout it all, the walls and ceilings pulsed with their own life, as if the passageway around her were breathing. As if she were trapped in the belly of some enormous beast, and no matter how fast she ran, she would never be able to escape its jaws as they slowly closed over them …

  No! Stop it! Kyoko told herself. You can do this. You have to do this. For Manami. You have to save your daughter.

  What about your son? came another voice. What about Masato?

  She closed her eyes as she forged ahead. The tears came in the dark.

  I can’t save Masato. Not now. He’s too far gone.

  Tsk, tsk, came the reply from the oily voice that had taken residence inside her head. Leaving your only son. Your own flesh and blood.

  He’s not mine anymore. He’s theirs. He belongs to the Invited. They changed him too much.

  She sobbed aloud as she stumbled through the dark.

  “It’s alright, Mommy. It’s alright.”

  “Hush, baby. We’re almost away from them.”

  She didn’t know if that was true or not. She had no idea how long this tunnel stretched on for. She wasn’t even sure if she was lying for her daughter’s sake, or her own. Because she thought she could hear voices behind her for these last few minutes. It was hard to tell because of the way sound carried down here, and ceaseless murmur of the trancespore-induced voices inside her head. But if they were after them …

  She pushed on, forcing her aching legs to move faster along the abandoned metal train track. The track led downward, deeper into the earth. Soon they were wading through cold, dark water that came up to her waist. The sense of heading down into the inky black water brought back the notion that she was heading into the bowels of some great beast. Ryo had told her it was passable, but she wasn’t so sure at times.

  “Mommy, I hear them.”

  The voices were unmistakable now. They echoed off the concrete walls and reverberated to Kyoko up ahead. But she slogged on through the water, holding her daughter and the flashlight aloft because without either of them, she’d be lost.

  Soon the track banked up again, and they came out of the water onto drier land. It was small comfort; the splashing noises behind her told her they were gaining on them.

  She began looking for places to take refuge to either side of the track, but saw none. She had no idea how far they were from the next underground station, where they could surface. There was no light ahead, and her own lamp was dying.

  “There they are!” came a voice from behind them. A child’s voice. Masato?

  “Halt!”

  This time the command came from an adult.

  Kyoko considered pressing on but knew it was no use. Her aching muscles were screaming, and the dancing beams of light behind her told her there were at least several people after them. She fell to the ground sobbing. Her son Masato came into view. He looked at her coldly, then at the others surrounding them.

  “I told you they were leaving.”

  “Good job, son,” one of the others said.

  “Please, we just want out! He said we could leave at any time! Please, please just let us go!”

  They were surrounded now by men and women with dirty faces that wore indifferent expressions. Even Masato.

  “That’s not up to me,” one of them said. “It’s up to Jin. You can ask him yourself when we get back.”

  “Please, you know what he’ll do to us! Just let us go!”

  Masato shook his head. “No, Mom. We have to go back. They’ve been good to us. They’re our family now that Dad’s gone.”

  She almost broke down sobbing. She wanted to shake him, to make him see. But it was too late for that. “And who do you think took him from us?”

  Masato didn’t answer.

  “Let’s go.”

  With that, the men took her daughter from her and dragged her to her feet. They began marching her back to the Invited. Back to that monster.

  They were taken back to Jin’s private quarters, where he was at work writing something with a pen and paper. His personal giant was lounging on a moldy sofa off to the side, a book opened in front of him.

  “Thank you, gentlemen. Wait outside, please.”

  Masato started walking with them.

  “Stay here, boy.”

  He did an about-face and joined his mother. If he felt any emotion at all, his face didn’t betray it. Kyoko looked at him now, but the boy she had known was long gone.

  Jin looked up at them and smiled.

  “So … you want out, do you?”

  “No,” Masato said.

  Jin nodded. “Let me speak with your mother, boy.”

  “Please, I just want to take my children and leave.”

  “But you didn’t take your children, just your daughter. Why?”

  “My son, he … he’s one of you now.”

  Jin nodded. “Yes,
he is. All three of you, in fact.”

  “Please.”

  “I will let you go. But you must prove yourself. Shigeo!”

  The giant roused himself and came over to his master.

  “Test them. All three. And if they pass … let them go.” Jin smiled. There was no warmth, nor kindness, to it.

  “Of course. And if they don’t?”

  Jin’s smile disappeared. “Then put them with the others.”

  Shigeo nodded. Before he could approach the three on the ground, Jin placed a hand on the giant’s arm and leaned in. He whispered something that Kyoko couldn’t make out, but she could hear the malice in his voice as he hissed into the giant’s ear. When he was done, he put the smile back on his face.

  “Of course.”

  With that, Shigeo bent down and picked Kyoko up like she was a rag doll. Then he scooped both of her children up in his other arm. He made for the door.

  “Mommy!” her daughter cried shrilly.

  “Don’t be afraid, child,” Jin said. “We all have our part to play.”

  His words echoed after them as they were dragged to their fates.

  Chapter Twenty

  Kameko stood with one hand on the glass window, looking into the operating room. As much as it pained her, she needed to watch this. Needed to see that the doctors were doing everything they could to save him. She stood there completely silent, tears streaking down her face. She couldn’t see much beyond the doctors and nurses frantically working to save Vasili. But she could imagine what they were doing.

  In her mind, she could see them clamping off some blood vessels, suturing others. The frantic triage being performed in an effort to save the dying body before them. Or least, as much of it as was salvageable.

  Several nurses had tried by now to get her to leave this restricted area. One even made the mistake of putting a hand on Kameko’s shoulder. But now they just left her alone.

  Kameko needed to see this. This was her penance for failing him. Because he was only here now because of her carelessness. He might die. And it would be all her fault.

  Just then, someone came up beside her and put a hand on her shoulder. She was about to violently push it away when Jun leaned in close. He spoke quietly, yet insistently.

  “It’s not your fault.”

  She shook her head. A brief sob escaped before she could stifle it.

  “Bullshit. He’s only here because I—”

  “It’s not your fault.”

  “—got caught. If I hadn’t—”

  “It’s not your fault.”

  “—he wouldn’t be here. I’m—”

  “It’s not your fault.”

  She dissolved into tears.

  Jun hugged her, and she hugged him back.

  “I need you to say it.”

  “It’s not true.”

  “It’s not your fault. You can’t beat yourself up over this. Because right now I need you here, with me, looking after him. You won’t save him by falling apart.”

  Kameko regarded Jun. He looked at her with a fierce intensity that surprised her, that gave her hope. Because if someone like Jun—who fretted and worried over Vasili constantly—could be so confident, then she had no excuse for going to pieces herself.

  “It’s not your fault,” Jun said, shaking his head. “It isn’t.”

  “Alright.”

  “I need you to say it.”

  Kameko swallowed. “It’s not my fault.”

  “Good. Now I need you to believe it.”

  Mei sat in the waiting room outside the trauma center where Vasili was being operated on. She felt numb from lack of sleep, and the events of the day. Part of her knew she should be back at the station, but she couldn’t bring herself to get up and leave.

  She looked around at the worried faces of the other people milling about the waiting area. All of them waiting to hear if their loved ones would pull through or not. Waiting to hear if their world would come crashing down, or be irrevocably changed. She closed her eyes so she wouldn’t have to see their concerned looks.

  She awoke with a start when her phone began ringing. She didn’t realize she had fallen asleep until then.

  “Hello?” she said groggily.

  “How is he?” Endo asked.

  “He’s in surgery now. Doctor said he’s in bad shape.”

  “Shit. I saw it on the news. Looks like a complete clusterfuck.”

  “Yeah. We didn’t make it inside, firemen kept us out. Do you need me to come back for the press conference or anything?”

  “That’s what I was calling about. You don’t need to come in, Ueda’s about to hold the conference now. In case you wanted to watch it.”

  “Need me back there for anything?”

  “No, Kimura. I’ll sort things out here as best I can. Just get some rest. You’ve earned it.”

  “Thanks.”

  When she hung up, she went over to the television hanging in the corner. She switched it to one of the news channels and turned the volume up. It showed an empty podium in front of a curtain with the NPA’s logo behind it. In a hushed whisper, an announcer said they were awaiting a comment any moment now. Then Ueda took the stage.

  “Ladies and gentlemen. At eleven thirty-nine a.m. today, members of the Shibuya Police Department apprehended a suspect in the Shibuya slayings that have rocked this city. He is the only remaining survivor of a team that was performing the killings, after having apparently turned on his former accomplices.”

  Ueda ran down a number of details of the case that Mei didn’t need to hear repeated, seeing as how she had lived them. Ina was singled out for commendation for laying down his life in the line of duty, his sacrifice labelled heroic. Mei shrugged at that. It was probably better that he go out a hero, rather than people knowing what an idiot he was.

  “I want to commend the detectives working this case under my guidance for their dedication and courage in tackling this dangerous assignment. They performed admirably, and their diligence no doubt prevented more tragic deaths at the hands of these ruthless killers.

  “In particular, I would like to thank Detective Kitamura, as the lead investigator. Unfortunately, she could not be here now, as she is hard at work following up on the case. Which just goes to show the outstanding effort and drive that I and my people bring to keeping this city safe. Thank you very much.”

  The image switched back to two reporters sitting behind a news desk.

  “A fortunate end to these senseless slayings,” said the female reporter. “In other news, the jury has rendered a verdict in the trial of banking officials from the Tokyo Branch of investment bank GCBC.”

  “That’s right,” agreed the male reporter. “The jury found the defendants not guilty of all seven felony counts, including price-fixing, collusion, and perjury. This amounts to a full exoneration for the bank’s executive team. Three midlevel managers were found guilty of corruption for their part in the matter. Two were handed suspended sentences and fined for their involvement, while the third will face minor jail time.”

  “In other news …”

  Mei turned the television off and slumped back into her seat. She glanced over to see Satoshi rifling through a notebook of some sort. Then she closed her eyes again as she waited to hear news on Vasili’s condition.

  She was awakened again by a call from her father. She winced, as it reminded her that she had failed to call after the arrest.

  “Hey, Dad, sorry for not calling earlier.”

  “You okay?”

  “I’m fine, Dad, fine. Everything went as planned. Well, almost. We lost one guy.”

  “I heard. Things go wrong?”

  “It’s … it’s a long story. I’ll tell you the next time I see you.”

  “Where are you now? Do you want to come over for dinner? I’ll get a bottle of that sake you like.”

  “Thanks, Dad, but I can’t tonight.”

  “Oh? Celebrating with your gentleman caller, are we?”

&nb
sp; “No, Dad, it’s not like that. More like a … trusted source. One that was key in cracking the case.”

  “I see,” her father said. Maybe it was just her imagination, but she felt like his tone had changed somewhat. “Well, we’ll celebrate when you’re free.”

  “Thanks, Dad. I’ll see you soon.”

  “Take care.”

  Satoshi sat there, uncertain whether he was going to lose another loved one today. Beyond his grief for Hisoka and the sickening worry over Vasili lay something else. Something niggling at the back of his head. A thought he couldn’t quite get rid of.

  I’m going to head north to handle some unfinished business. After that, I’ll make it my personal mission to kill everyone you love.

  Masa’s words from back at Club Hyperion. At the time, he’d figured it was just tough talk meant to intimidate him. But something about it kept gnawing at him. On the ride over to the hospital, he’d checked the tracker he had put on Masa’s bike and seen that it was still outside the abandoned building in Katsushika. Part of him wanted to go right away, but he was conflicted. He found it hard to pull himself away from Vasili’s side.

  Up north? What was up north? Satoshi took out the notebook he’d found in Masa’s room and began flipping through it. There were a number of addresses scrawled throughout the book for locations in Fukushima. Satoshi found that these had been collected into the back of the book on a single page. What business could Masa possibly have in Fukushima? The entire region had been mostly deserted when the Fukushima nuclear plant caught fire.

  The place wasn’t just abandoned, it was radioactive. The only people even close to the site were the camps of cleanup crews in and around Iwaki and several other former cities. Not to mention the guards meant to keep people from wandering into the contaminated zone stationed in a perimeter around the site.

  Satoshi started from the beginning again, flipping through. This time, something caught his eye. Another address. One that made his heart catch in his throat. In Masa’s chicken scratch he saw: