Kato’s stomach did flips. “Do you have a Zara Sasake-Robbins in custody?” Oh God, please say yes.
“One minute and I will check. Please hold, sir.” Kato supposed the check would happen at the speed of thought. Sure enough, within five seconds the man was back on the line. “We do not have her, sir. Can you tell me what this in connection with?”
“She's missing! Last seen in Tokyo, with Akio Nishimura, in a grid...”
“Urgent call from Akio Nishimura...” Buzz said. Kato ignored Akio's call. “There's some kind of grid over the city?” Kato asked.
“There is, sir. Entry is forbidden to non-authorized personnel. Are you telling me she was inside it?”
“I think so. Akio may still be there,” Kato said.
“And you are…?”
“Kato Sasake-Robbins. Her father.”
Silence. Dawning comprehension. “Oh, you’re...” the police sergeant said, uncertainly.
“Yes, we're the Sleepers,” Kato said, irritably. “Zara's gone. Abducted. Please find her! She is the most important thing in the world to me. I will come to Tokyo right away.”
“Okay, sir. We will get someone on it now.”
“Buzz, end call.”
Kato took a deep breath. Calm. You're no use to anyone in a flap... Oh God, here comes the panic again... Kato ran out of his room. The perpetually-on hallway light enabled him to see. He rapped loudly on the bedroom door next to his own, which was at the back of the house. “MARTIN! MARTIN! HELP! ZARA'S BEEN ABDUCTED! PLEASE, MARTIN! OPEN THE DOOR!”
“Urgent call from Akio Nishimura...” Kato heard. “Buzz: send to voicemail. MARTIN!” he yelled again.
There were sounds of movement from within the room. A bump. Cursing. A sleepy Kyle opened the door of the dark room in his pajamas. “What's goin' on, Kato? You said Zara's been abducted or somethin’?”
Kato was irritated. Kyle didn't seem to fully appreciate the gravity of the situation. “YES! WHERE'S MARTIN?”
Kyle suddenly came to. “Follow me,” he said. The short man led Kato up the stairs and around a corner on the second floor landing. He knocked hard on the first door on the left. “Martin!” Kyle said loudly. “Martin! There's an emergency!” Stirring could be heard in the room. Twenty seconds later, Martin opened the door and stared, bleary-eyed, at the two men. He squinted as his eyes struggled to adjust to the light.
“What's going on?” Martin said.
“Kato says Zara's been abducted,” Kyle said.
Martin looked at Kato. “Oh no. Where? Wasn't she in Japan or something?”
“Yes,” Kato said.
Martin rubbed his forehead, while looking at the floor.
“Oh, my God.”
Martin looked up at Kato. “What are you going to do?”
“I already have the police investigating it,” Kato said. “Now I'm going to Tokyo as soon as I possibly can.”
Martin nodded. “We're with you all the way, buddy. I'd go with you, but I'm headed back to Mars in two days.” Kato sighed. Martin, please don’t make me go thought this alone, he thought. Kato still had no idea how the world worked. He looked downcast. There was a long pause. Nobody quite knew what to say next. Then, Martin looked up at Kato. “You don't have anybody else in the world, do you? I mean, friends-wise?”
“No.”
Martin nodded. His jaw clenched some. “Then, screw Mars. I'm coming with you.”
Kato broke out into a huge grin and spontaneously threw his arms around Martin. “You don't know what this means...” he said.
“We'll find her,” Martin said. “Now, gimme a few minutes to get ready, and then we're out of here.”
Kyle had not lost his look of shock. “If there's anything I can do, Kato...” he said. Kato nodded. He then looked back at Martin. “Let's go.”
High above Eastern Europe, night began to turn to day. Kato clenched his eyes shut as he fought to keep his stomach contents down. “You know, Martin,” he said, fighting the bile, “Every time a family member's life has been on the line, I was weightless.” A few seconds later, Kato opened his eyes and turned to Martin, who was sitting on his right in the spaceplane. “Susan, Zara after the hijacking, and now this...” Martin opened his mouth, but no words came out.
Martin reached into the lower pocket of his cargo pants. Taking out a small dispenser, he said: “Here, take one of these. You'll feel better.” After a few seconds he added: “Her life's not on the line. Don't you go thinking that. There'll be an explanation...”
“But... she was drugged!” Kato snapped.
“So was the kid she was with,” Martin said. “His memory's probably hazy. What if they were taking illegal drugs? He passes out, she leaves...” Kato sighed, but took some comfort in this possibility, even if it did mean Zara had been involved in substance abuse. He remained quiet for a while, as the anti-nausea medicine took effect.
Chapter 21
The landing in Tokyo and the train ride into the city were all a fuzzy blur for Kato. He was sleep-deprived and out of his mind with fear. He remembered a vague sense of awe at the sheer scale of the city. It was day time, so the buildings were not lit up yet. Tomimuro was not yet visible either. Once at the city's Central Police Station, he inquired about what was going on. No signs yet of Zara, but Akio had been arrested for trespassing. He was being held at the Itabashi District Police Station.
“Now what?” Kato asked, exasperated and worn out, as he and Martin stood on the street outside the police station. Vehicles passed by, silent apart from a slight swoosh of air.
“I suppose we should go to the other police station and see if we can talk to Akio,” Martin said. He silently ordered a cab. They slowly wound their way several kilometers north, on congested streets. Kato looked up at the amazing sight of the buildings, the tubular railways suspended hundreds of meters above the ground, and the vee-tols flying around even higher than that. The cab crossed a river. Soon after that, Kato saw what appeared to a giant bowl-like amphitheater on the right. They kept heading north. Ten agonizing minutes later, they arrived at Itabashi Police Station. Kato barged in and spoke breathlessly to the desk sergeant: “Any news on Zara Sasake-Robbins’ whereabouts?”
“The investigation is ongoing sir. Might I ask who you are?”
“Her father. Buzz: neutralize disguise.”
The sergeant looked as though he had seen a ghost. “Oh…” Kato nodded, silently confirming who he was. The sergeant shook himself back to reality. “We do have one suspect in custody, Kato-san. At this very station.”
“Yes, the Central station sent us here,” Kato said, heavily irritated.
“Ah. So you know about the boy who claims that he was with her?”
“Yes.”
“What do you know about his relationship with Zara?
“He was a traveling companion,” Kato said. “She was staying with him here.”
The sergeant nodded, slowly. “What are you doing to find her?” Kato demanded.
“We have all the city’s entry and exit ports being watched. We’ve got all the surveillance systems watching with facial recognition. Communications networks are on alert to tell us if she turns her Buzz system on again. “The Tomimuro grid, where she was last seen, is being combed for clues. So far, no DNA has turned up apart from hers, Akio’s, and that of the people that work in there.”
Kato sighed. He felt sick. After a short pause, he asked: “Are you going to enlist the public’s help in finding her?”
“Negative. We’ve decided not to go to the media yet. However, we might consider it, if we don’t get somewhere soon.”
Martin touched Kato’s elbow. “How about we finding somewhere to stay?” he asked gently.
Kato’s shoulders slumped. “I suppose so,” he said, looking down. Then, he looked back up at the sergeant. “I w
ant to see Akio.”
The officer looked uncertain. “I’ll check with my superiors.” Kato nodded. The man disappeared for a minute. “Right this way,” he said when he returned. The sergeant walked out of view from behind the desk, and unlocked a door to Kato’s right.
Martin looked inquiringly at Kato. “Shall I come?”
“Umm… no. It’s okay. Stay here.”
“Right.”
The sergeant beckoned Kato in. The two men walked twenty meters along a barren corridor, and then turned righthrough two more locked doors. Then, after traversing a third corridor and a fortified door, they entered a prisoner visiting area. Visitors were separated from prisoners by thick glass. The area was deserted. Two minutes later, a frightened looking Akio appeared from the left, in prison garb, escorted by a black-uniformed officer. He looked like a child. He sat down opposite Kato.
“Oh, Kato-san…” he began.
“Did you do anything to her?” Kato yelled.
“No! No! I swear…”
“But you were trespassing?” Kato pressed.
“Yes. Everybody does it…”
“No, they don’t,” Kato said accusingly. “They said there was no DNA up there besides yours and hers.”
Akio exhaled, and looked down. Then, he looked back up at Kato. “I swear on my life, Kato-san. I love her! I would never do anything to her!” Akio had a tear in the corner of his right eye.
Kato looked skeptical. His eyes narrowed. “Do you remember anything about the men who supposedly took her?” he said, in a firm, somewhat menacing voice.
“No, sir! It was dark… I couldn’t make them out.”
Akio began to undo his jumpsuit. “See! Here, in my leg. This is where they hit me with a dart. They knocked me out!”
“No need to do that,” said the officer beside him firmly, placing a hand on Akio’s shoulder to restrain him. “That much is true. Akio tested positive for tranquilizers and our doctors confirmed it was from a dart.”
Kato looked at the officer and nodded slowly. “Okay.” He turned back to Akio, and glared at the frightened boy. “You’d better hope they can find her,” he said angrily, jabbing a finger in Akio’s direction.
“I do, sir,” Akio said.
Kato turned to the officer who had escorted them in. “I’m ready to go,” he said. The officer nodded, turned, and opened the heavy steel door. He beckoned Kato to exit first and then followed him out, securing the door behind them. Back in the lobby, Kato sighed. “Akio doesn’t know anything,” he said to Martin, gloomily.
“Oh my God, buddy.” Martin placed a hand on Kato’s shoulder. Martin shook his head slowly. “It’ll be okay. You’ll see.” Kato nodded, hoping against hope that Martin was right. “I booked us a hotel. Two blocks from here,” Martin continued. “Let’s go. I don’t think there’s anything else we can for do now.”
“Okay.” As they walked the short distance west, through the urban canyon, Kato said: “I don’t think the boy’s lying, actually. I think, or at least thought, when I first knew him, that he’s a good kid. And when we were in there, he didn’t have the manner of a criminal at all.” Kato shrugged. “It’s a hunch,” he continued, “but I don’t think he was involved.”
Two hours later, Kato lay on his bed on the 131st floor of the hotel. The window gave a view to the south, towards downtown. The shape of the city skyline resembled a sand dune with a sharp crest. The buildings seemed to be competing with each other for air and light, like trees, with the spoils going to the one that could grow the tallest. Kato stared out at the view for a few minutes. Then, he closed his eyes. His stomach was queasy. The last thing he had eaten was at Manchester Air and Space Port, on the short layover before the flight to Tokyo, and that was only at Martin’s insistence. Kato could now neither eat nor sleep. His mind whirled. He should have insisted that she stayed with him until they were acclimated to 24th century society. He should have quizzed that Akio kid and found out more about his intentions and where they were going. He should have…
Once he was done beating himself up with guilt, Kato began to force himself to think. Who would go all the way up there to abduct her? Why was no DNA left that was unaccounted for? Was it a professional of some sort, who took elaborate precautions so as not to leave DNA? Maybe it was a robot? Maybe Seung Yi’s clan, or dynasty, or whatever was involved? Couldn’t be. They all lived hundreds of millions of kilometers away. Besides, any axe they had to grind was over 250 years old…
Oh God, Zara, please be okay. I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to you.
At around 7 PM there was a knock on the door. “Kato?”
“Yes?”
“Can I come in?”
“Sure.”
Martin entered and sat down in one of the armchairs to the left of the bed on which Kato still brooded. “Let's get some dinner,” he said.
“Not hungry.”
“Come on Kato. You're not going to be of any use to anybody if you don't look after yourself. Do it for Zara.”
Kato turned to Martin. “Underhanded manipulation tactics. Some friend you are!” Kato smiled for the first time since the whole thing had begun.
“That's more like it. What do you feel like eating?”
“Oh God, I don't know. Nothing sounds good,” Kato said.
“Right. Pizza it is then. You like any weird toppings?”
Kato's face brightened. “Anchovies!”
Martin laughed. “Well, that's pretty disgusting, I'll grant. But, if that's what the man wants, that's what he gets!” Martin spaced out for a few seconds as he ordered room service.
The sky was beginning to darken outside. Kato looked out the window again. His mouth dropped open and he pointed. “Look! There it is!” Both men jumped up and went straight to the window. Their eyes traced the narrow filaments of light, which interlaced in a fine, mesh in the sky. It peaked above the city center. “That's it! The grid!”
“By God, you're right,” Martin said, with wonder in his voice. “That's amazing! I didn't even know about it, else I'd have to come to Tokyo just to see it!” Both men just stared for a few minutes. Kato tried to picture Zara inside it.
Kato turned to Martin. “That's just the sort of thing she'd have done,” he said morosely. “Climbing up in there when she wasn't supposed to. She always had a knack for getting herself into trouble.” Martin nodded sympathetically.
Kato's eyes narrowed. “I wonder how long Akio was tranquilized up there?”
Martin looked back at Kato. “We never found out, did we? She could have been taken anywhere in the time from when he was knocked out to the time he woke up. We don't know exactly how long she's been missing...”
Midway through the consumption of the pizza, at the table beside Kato’s hotel room window, their faces were suddenly illuminated by a blaze of color coming in from outside. Kato blinked a couple of times. “Holy cow!” he said, as goose bumps broke out on his arms.
“I’ll second that!” Martin said. The exteriors of the buildings were suddenly ablaze with their stream of animated advertising. The two men watched in utter fascination. The edifices partially obscured each other, and due to the distance, the individual images could not be made out. It just looked like a shimmering sea of color.
“Unreal,” Kato said, after a minute. “Would have been impossible back in my day. I can't imagine the amount of power, or display technology, that must use.” Martin nodded. Kato quickly turned back to Martin, his jaw set, and a new purpose in his eyes. “You know what? I'm going to see if I can use it to our advantage.”
Chapter 22
The cold shocked Zara rudely awake. She shivered, like she was outside without a coat. Not quite winter, thankfully. Zara was already curled up in a ball, trying to preserve precious body heat. Her sweatpants and t-shirt did nothing to insulate
her. Zara’s brain was scrambled. She couldn’t remember how on earth she had gotten there. As she opened her eyes, everything seemed white. Where was she? It was too cold to be hell, and it sure wasn’t heaven. Why did she weigh so little? Zara’s surroundings gradually came into focus. She was curled up at the bottom of a white tube. It seemed to be as tall as the length of two buses, and about twice as wide as a truck. The inside was harshly lit by four halogen lamps, spaced equally up one side, flush with the surface. One side of the tube was flat. There were four other sides, but it was an irregular pentagon as these were not as long as the first one. Their intersections were curves, rather than geometric angles. The walls were laden with dust, and longish scrapes and dents. These looked like they could have been made by rocks.
Looking around further, Zara saw two medium-sized cardboard boxes nearby. Their labels were in a strange language that used strokes and curves rather than regular letters. A pallet of water was also present. The bottles were labeled in the same strange language. Zara also found, to her relief, that she was lying on a blanket. This separated her from the cold metal. It wasn’t much bigger than she was, but she pulled it around herself as best she could. Her teeth chattered. Zara propped herself up on her right elbow, and stayed that way for several minutes. There was only the faintest hum. It came from the top of the tube. She squinted up there and saw a small ventilation fan.
This was really, really not good. Zara was sick with fear. Oh God... Her stomach contents exploded up through her mouth before she could do anything about it. The vomit sprayed across the floor to her right. Particles of it flew in a slight arc, almost unencumbered by gravity, and hit the wall. Feeling dreadful, Zara laid down again and pulled the blanket around her. Her long hair stretched out, straight up from the top of her head, having settled there after the violent retching motion of her body. The end of it dipped in some of the closest particles of vomit. Zara closed her eyes. She willed her brain to start working and tell her where on earth she was. If this was even Earth.
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