PREYS
by Kamorgana
Preys
Chapter
18: Mayor problems
It was lunchtime. Tokio was eating a sandwich alone in her office.
Sanosuke, Tsunan and Aoshi had gone to the hospital to visit Misao and
Enishi, who had been there since after the morning briefing. Saitoh had
left, too, probably to do some errands on his own. She had preferred to
stay, reading the different reports they had written and preparing a
strategy to face Kondo, who was still "in a meeting", according to his
secretary. The short press conference she had had to give just before
had
been tiring, and the fact that she said very little had decupled the
aggressiveness of the journalists. She needed to rest her nerves. She
lifted her face from Tsunan's report as she felt a familiar presence
near
the door.
"Seijuro! What are you doing here?"
He gave her his trademark smile. "I had a meeting with your boss, and
as I
was here, I decided to pay you a little visit on my way back."
He sat in front of her, looking around her office. "It's the first time
I
come here," he added. "You could do with an interior designer to take
care
of that place."
"You came to discuss the decoration of my office?" she mocked.
"I came to talk about what happened yesterday. And to ask if you're
fine."
"I'm fine," she answered, gratefully. "And as for yesterday..I can't
discuss the whole case with you, you know."
"Your team prevented him to kill. That's a progress."
"It's a "could do better" mention on the school report, isn't it? It's
MY
office, Seijuro," she then warned, as he grimaced at her lighting a
cigarette. "Smoking area, sorry."
"You're killing yourself, you know."
She lifted a brow, warningly.
"Ok, Ok, I give up on this. And no, I'm not here to be picky. The
important
thing is that there's no other victim. I'm just sorry for your
subordinate.
How is she doing?"
"She's been lucky, considering the circumstances."
"I suppose that you won't tell me more? My meeting was about some
boring
administrative decisions, but there is obviously something going on
about
the Slayer. Kondo refused to answer me."
Tokio couldn't help to frown. "Something's going on upstairs?"
"I think so. Hijikata and another detective interrupted us, and they
were
all trying to hide their eagerness at wishing my swift departure. Don't
you
know?"
"Who was the other one?"
"I never saw him before. Not very tall, but thin, long hair, small
glasses
and a moustache."
"Takeda..oh, shit," she muttered.
She was so evidently pissed off that he didn't object when, after
stubbing
her half-smoked cigarette nervously, she lit another one.
"I think that I know what's going on, but I can't tell you, sorry. And
thank you for the tip," she added with a smile. "It's nice to know that
I
can count on you."
"Oh, you know that? So why didn't you call me last night?"
She stared at him, rattled. "Why didn't I?"
"You could have come to my place. You can, still. You'll be safe there."
She shook her head. "Seijuro, I don't want my friends to get involved.
And
do you imagine the media? It's really not the moment to have them
intrude
my privacy. Or yours, with the elections coming soon."
"I can make them shut up, if necessary."
"Listen, I'm very grateful for your concern. But I can get all the
protection I need from the police forces."
"And will you?"
"Like they'll give me the choice," she sighed.
"My offer is still available, if you change your mind at some point. Or
will it create complications in your privacy to stay at your ex's
place?"
he added, teasing her again. "Really not the moment? That is
intriguing.."
"I recollect telling you that it was none of your business," she
scolded,
falsely serious. This was the price to pay for refusing to follow his
advice, but also showed that he respected her decision, and wouldn't
try to
convince her further, unlike a certain someone. "Will you ever stop?"
Her phone started to ring.
"I'm going," he announced, standing up. "I may have an advice to ask
you on
another matter, but it's too early to tell."
"Call me then, and don't worry about the Slayer. Next time we get him."
***
Going out of Tokio's office, Hiko noticed simultaneously that he didn't
close the door completely when he entered, and that there was somebody
in
the main room.
"Detective Saitoh," he began, putting on his politician jolly face.
The man turned to him, and Hiko could have sworn that in spite of his
cold
appearance, he was hostile. Saitoh just nodded to him, before taking a
drag
of his cigarette.
That was bad. Tokio had paid particular attention to hide their past
relationship, as she would have been suspected of earning her promotion
because of it. He agreed with her on that, he knew too well how the
system
worked. And for what Hiko himself had witnessed when they had
interrogated
him after Tsubame's death, she had sure been elliptical when she told
him
that she didn't get along with Saitoh. If he had heard part of their
conversation, she might have problems.
"What earned us the honor of your visit?" finally asked the cop.
There was a definite irony in his tone, and Hiko realized with surprise
that not only Saitoh was hostile, but that his hostility was also
directed
at him, personally, not only at his public persona. He had noticed his
uneasiness, and wanted to exploit it. Hiko smiled inwardly. If he
thought
he was going to impress him, the Wolf was in for a surprise. The guy
had an
unnerving quality, in that superior, self-satisfied attitude. He
deserved a
little lesson.
"I came about the Slayer case. But I guess you heard that," he
retorted,
cynically.
"No, not that," answered Saitoh with a knowing, dirty smirk.
"Spying on one's superior isn't part of a cop's attributions, is it?"
"Intervening into police matters isn't a prerogative of civilians,
either."
Saitoh's tone had been as suave as Hiko's, yet there was a warning in
his
cold amber gaze. The mayor frowned. If Saitoh didn't hear him
questioning
Tokio about the case, his last remark and hostility made no sense,
unless..
To Saitoh's surprise, the other man suddenly gave him a meaningful
smile.
His deep black eyes were still deadly serious, though.
"As you surely heard, too, Takagi-san is a good friend of mine and I'm
concerned whenever she could be hurt. But well, I'll leave her..safety
to
you, unless she is."
Saitoh glared at him, scornfully. "Her safety isn't your business."
Hiko shrugged, his smile turning ironic. "It was a pleasure to talk to
you,
Detective. I'm sure that the Slayer won't escape you next time," he
added
graciously, before leaving.
Closing the door behind him, Hiko didn't bother to hide a satisfied
expression. Really not the moment, indeed, Tokio.
***
Saitoh crushed his cigarette in the ashtray. His first judgment had
been
right. The man was a pompous buffoon. A nosy, pompous buffoon. Who the
hell
he thought he was, to intervene in his business. Saitoh was infuriated,
yet
he didn't know if it was because he had let the guy play on his nerves,
or
because he had kept enough self-control not to punch his surgically
enhanced moronic face.
She came out of her office, her teacup in hands, and raised her brows
in
surprise as she spotted him.
"Already back?"
"So it seems," he answered coldly.
"A new problem?"
She was pouring herself some tea, and gave him a cautious look over her
shoulder.
"No." Just an old, pompous problem, he wanted to add, and miraculously
managed not to.
"I hope so," she went on dubiously, "because I have other bad news.
I've
had a hint on who might be in charge of the investigation on Enishi."
"It seems that our Mayor is twisting his policy of not intervening into
the
investigation."
"How do you..? You saw him." Was that connected to his obvious bad
mood,
she wondered. She hoped that Hiko didn't tease him about Shishio's
escape.
"I came back just as he left," he shrugged.
She turned to him, and after drinking a sip of the hot beverage, got
her
lighter and pack from her jacket pocket.
"He dropped by after seeing Kondo. And no, he didn't change his
attitude.
He agreed to stay out of the case, and to be consulted only before we
go
public with something. He just noticed that something was going on
there,
and wanted to warn me. I guess he found it weird that I wasn't
upstairs,
too."
"And?"
"Hijikata and Takeda were there."
They shared a knowing look, which Saitoh broke off immediately,
reporting
his attention to the burning tip of his cigarette.
"And you deduced that he's in charge."
"That makes sense. With what Hiko-san saw, I mean, not with the
situation.
I can't believe that Kondo lets Takeda investigate on somebody from the
section."
"The chief of police doesn't have anything to say when it comes to
internal
affairs," objected Saitoh.
She didn't answer, blowing the smoke of her cigarette away, looking
thoughtfully over the window.
"It smells bad," she finally said.
"If you say so."
She turned to him again, puzzled. He glanced away disdainfully. Why was
he
so cold, all of a sudden?
"What?" he asked, in a bored tone, which didn't hide an aggressive
stance.
"Nothing. I'm going back to my office, but I'm sure that your bad mood
will
keep you in good company," she spat haughtily.
She slammed the door behind her. Saitoh cursed between his teeth.
***
Tokio stepped out of her office only when she heard all the others
coming
back for the briefing.
She noticed that Saitoh was still in the same mood, and she knew Aoshi
enough to realize that he was also in a bad one. Wonderful. Thankfully,
Sagara was in great shape, and Kitaoka less gloomy than in the morning.
Makimachi was recovering, and they were relieved that Enishi stayed
with
her. It had its effect on their condition.
Megumi arrived last, and Tokio asked her to present the results of the
autopsy to start the briefing.
"For those who were at Takagi-san's place yesterday," she started, with
a
scolding look at Sagara and Kitaoka, "You already know that this body
presents differences with the others."
Oh, Meg, thought Tokio, you aren't helping here. Kitaoka stiffened and
Sagara's enthusiasm immediately dampened. Great, now the whole team, or
what was left of it, was grim. Just perfect.
"The victims were usually found at the place they were killed, yet it's
obvious that this one has been transported. There was no blood around."
"Not even dripping from the wound?"
"If you have to interrupt me, stupid, make it for a reason. If you had
been
there, you would have *smelled*, at least, that she was killed sometime
ago."
Sano shut up, pouting.
"Takani-sensei, would you please go on," asked Tokio rather dryly, her
eyes
conveying a warning.
"Of course. So, while we're there, we think she has been killed three
weeks
ago. It's too early to date precisely, but we can extrapolate that
relying
on the Slayers' schedule and the weather conditions, as she was not
refrigerated. We will have a more precise date after further analysis. "
Megumi pinned different pictures on the wall. "From the way the wound
has
been inflicted, and comparing to the other victims', it's the same
weapon
and this is the work of Shishio. Yet, unlike the previous ones, who
have
been sliced up more or less slowly, this cut on the throat is the only
wound inflected to her. Lethal, she died on the spot and the pain must
have
been minimal. At least for that kind of death, of course. The other
elements we have: she had prints on her arms and body, Shishio's, and
another one, which seems barely human. She showed no sign of starvation
nor
of abuses, there was half digested food in her stomach. We can also
conclude that she had sexual relations shortly before her death,
obviously
consensual, no bruises, no trace of excessive violence."
She paused, closing her folder, fidgeting nervously with the elastic.
"We
didn't examine her clothes yet, but there were stains on it and we hope
to
find something else than blood, that could indicate the location of her
murder or the place she had been kept in. That's all we have for now."
They stayed silent several minutes. Tokio turned then to the profiler.
"Aoshi, do you have any ideas?"
"Shishio enjoys the pain he inflicts to his victims, as all sadists do.
The
unique wound leads me to think that he couldn't bring himself to make
her
suffer. He obviously had to kill her, for some reason, but I doubt he
enjoyed it. Do you think it's possible to find enough residues to know
whom
she had an intercourse with?"
"After 20 days, it seems difficult. We are trying, though."
"You don't think that she slept with HIM, do you?"
"Calm down, Sagara, it's a likely option. She was hostile to us even
after
he tried to kill her, keep that in mind. So it's possible that she had
a
relationship with him and he killed her afterwards. The other option is
that she had another partner and he killed her out of jealousy. Anyway,
the
execution method shows a certain care for her."
"Yes, he cared, that's why she's dead."
"Sagara, these people don't think like you and I," intervened Tokio.
"In
his sick brain, a somewhat painless death is probably a sign of her
special
status to him, Aoshi is right."
"I also think that he kept the body with him, during these three weeks."
"The partner put the body at her place," said Saitoh, nodding towards
Tokio. "You concluded that it was improbable for Shishio to be there.."
"Now more than ever. Unless there are some other cadavers we don't know
about, which I doubt strongly, he must be more than frustrated now.
Killing
Komagata obviously didn't give him the usual satisfaction he gets, and
yesterday he failed. I repeat, Makimachi wouldn't have made it alive if
he
had been there."
"Two questions, then: why did he ask the partner to get rid of the
body,
and can this lead him to change his schedule?"
"Good questions, to which I have no sure answers. The schedule change
seems
unlikely; it would be the recognition that we influenced him. The
blatant
sign of his failure, and after last night his ego can't afford it. He's
wounded, too?"
"I'm sure I hit the shoulder. With the way the alley was lit, I had no
visibility to shoot his legs," muttered Saitoh, annoyed. "I'm not sure
that
it's enough to keep him paralyzed for long."
"This is another factor, though. Of course, his desire for revenge can
overwhelm him, but Shishio seems to be the calculating type of
criminal, so
again I'll tend to say that he will stick to the original plan. When it
comes to why he got rid of the body, maybe it had been his intention
all
along. It wasn't frozen, which is the usual way killers wanting to keep
their victims' bodies choose. And the location fits our theory on their
modus operandi, too."
"Couldn't it be a move from the partner only?"
"Not if he's similar to Seta and devoted to Shishio. Otherwise, yes, it
could, but I really lack references to profile the other.." Aoshi sank
into
a deep silence.
"Are the other prints the associate's? That could be a start," voiced
Sanosuke.
"Honjo told us that half of Shishio's face was burnt. Is it possible
for
his hand to have been burnt, too, deforming his fingerprints?"
Megumi answered Tsunan's question with an approving nod. "I was going
to
point that out. It's the most likely option. I think that the other was
wearing gloves, or we would have found some prints at your place,
Tokio."
"Shishio knows that we're after him, and willing to act in the light.
They
must be protecting the identity of the partner, who is in this case not
on
the run like him, but socially integrated. The shadow, like Seta was
when
he killed that prostitute to bury our suspicions during the first wave
of
crimes. Except that now they're more aggressive towards us, it's the
same.
While we're running after Shishio, he can discreetly make other moves,
like
yesterday with Komagata and Makimachi," proposed Saitoh.
"Err, I'm going to be called an idiot again, but isn't that strange
that he
chose Honjo? I mean, she is a he, and Shishio always kills women. Or
isn't
she technically a he anymore?"
"It isn't stupid, Sagara. And no, Honjo isn't technically a he anymore,
as
you put it." Tokio smiled to him, thankful for his intervention. He
knew
how to relax the atmosphere, even with distasteful, heavy sense of
humor.
They needed it now.
"You made the mistake yourself, moron..like everybody did," added
Saitoh
after a second of hesitation. "Nothing strange in the fact that Shishio
was
tricked into believing that she's a woman."
"She is, though, except for what his on her ID," said calmly Tokio.
"Maybe
her former gender wouldn't have an importance to him, even if he knew.
I
know that Aoshi has another interpretation, but Shishio lived with, and
obviously cared, for an ex-prostitute. He surely isn't a narrow-minded
bigot."
"I never profiled Shishio as a stalker," intervened Aoshi. "At least
not in
the full meaning of the term. Seta was. He was killing his victims in a
place where they were particularly vulnerable. Like Yukishiro Tomoe,
who
wasn't attacked at her place near the police station, or during duty,
but
after her weekly training at the swimming pool she was going to,
located in
another precinct. Shishio seems more to act on the moment's impulse.
Something attracts him in a woman, a prostitute like Komagata was, and
it's
enough for him."
"About stalkers, we just went to Kamiya's and the other places you've
been
on Monday. Jo-chan didn't find your key holder, and no one there
remembers
a person with a suspicious attitude. We could check the security camera
of
the bar, and saw nothing there. But the restaurant had destroyed theirs
this morning. They don't keep it more than three days. They said that
they
had watched it and found nothing suspect, but we couldn't see it by
ourselves, so.."
"We're stuck, unless your analysis gives us some knew clues, Doc,"
finished
Tsunan.
Tokio stood up. "We know that Shinomori and Saitoh's theory was right.
We
can set another trap next week, and until then we can work on what we
have.
With more digging we may find a new lead."
"If he keeps the same schedule," objected Saitoh again, with deliberate
scorn.
Tokio contained a sharp response. He was exasperated at something yet
she
saw no reason that she should pay for it. She wasn't going to let him
unnerve her, and thus ignored his remark.
"I'll try to join Kondo again about Yukishiro and his investigation,"
she
announced, nodding to Meg before leaving the room.
***
She had been in her office for half an hour when somebody knocked on
the
door.
"Come in!"
Sagara showed up.
"Yes?" she encouraged him, as he had sat down and seemed rather
embarrassed.
"In fact, well, I was wondering if Tsunan and I would be in charge of
your
protection. It would be better, you see.."
"What should I see?"
"Well, don't get mad if I say something personal, but it's no secret
that
you and Saitoh are, you know..."
She paled. Oh, no, no. Did he talk about it? Had she been that wrong,
assuming he wouldn't? Was that why he was cold now, playing with her
mind
again?
"..I don't say hating each other, but not getting along. And he was in
a
bad mood this afternoon. You also must be still in shock after
yesterday.
Not that you don't have any nerves!" he added quickly, "but I thought
you
would be more able to relax if you weren't with somebody who criticizes
you
all the time, like he does. I know that Shinomori is your friend and
would
be there, but he didn't sleep last night, while he was looking after
Misao.
So.."
She contained a nervous laughter, rubbing her hands on her forehead.
Oh,
Gods. She raised her eyes to Sanosuke, and smiled. He was awkward, and
had
it all wrong..or didn't he? Anyway, he was thoughtful and she
appreciated
that.
"Does Kitaoka know about this? You know, I'm tired and I'm not in the
mood
to go out and drink," she explained. She was still reluctant to ask her
team members to take on their free time to protect her, as if she was a
weak little thing.
"We talked about it while going to the hospital." He had more
confidence
now that it wasn't about a private matter anymore. "And with Enishi,
too.
He's concerned for your safety, and as he has to keep an eye on Misao,
he
wants to be sure that you are taken care of."
"I didn't intend to ask Saitoh, or Shinomori, anyway," she admitted.
"Tsunan thought so. And as he said, if we don't let stupid amateurs
around
our Misao, it's not to let them around our boss. I know we screwed up,
yesterday, but we won't again, and we'll do better than the precinct
cops.
So.."
She nodded. "Thank you."
He had this naughty, funny smile and added: "Don't thank me. I can at
last
spend a night with you, boss!"
"Sagara!" she warned sternly.
He winked to her and left swiftly, knowing that he was in for a
scolding
otherwise.
She sighed, lit a cigarette, and tried to relax. The idea that her
relation
with Saitoh could be discovered had scared the hell out of her. If
Saitoh's
attitude showed that he changed his mind about them, maybe it was for
the
better. She had too much to loose.
To be continued.
Author's notes:
Thanks to Mara and Firuze, as always, and to L.Sith, for the grammar
check,
their encouragement and comments!
Sano is more intuitive about people's love life in the manga, but
there,
it's about his close friends, whereas we're talking about *Saitoh*
here. I
thought that the truth would never come to his mind (^-^) I see him as
a
very nice guy, a bit awkward when he shows it, as he plays the tough
guy
usually.
I hope that the scene between Tokio and Sano was OK. She is used to be
in
control of everything, and the invasion of her private life at work
plus
her need for bodyguards is making her feel very uncomfortable, hence
her
reaction here (^-^).
Thanks to the reviewers:
Firuze: Thank you! I'm glad it's you (^-^). *resisting to the WAFF
side*
You're my master Yoda! (^-^) I will go on being my evil self, then
*dark
side taking over* I am SO torturing Saitoh, Tokio and Aoshi in the next
chapter! And our boy turn is to come soon.Don't blush! I love your
fics.
Your portrayals of the characters are so great (^-^)
Mary-Ann: Merci! The problem with Aoshi being that he can't react too
much
*The phantom of OOCness menace* I'm glad that it was OK with you (^-^)
For
Shishio's partner, I hope I can keep you guessing..
Oryo: I'm happy that you still enjoy the fic! *Falling into the WAFF
side I
must not*(^-^) Thanks for the comments on Kamatari, I just made the
note to
be sure that the reactions of Aoshi and Saitoh wouldn't be
misunderstood (^-
^). Thanks for attracting my attention on Tokio's reaction! To me,
(except
for Saitoh, you're right) the reaction of the team was to support their
boss, after she had proven that she was on their side (with Enishi),
and
she didn't pay attention because she was lost in her thoughts. I didn't
realize that it could give another impression! The growing solidarity
in
the section is going to blur the limits a bit, so don't hesitate to
tell me
if I make this kind of mistake again (^-^).Thanks a lot!
Bonessasan: Your observation was right, that's exactly what I meant in
that
chapter (^-^) I just warned about the WAFF, because my first fics were,
and
I never know if people expect it or not (^-^). I hope that the
progression
of their relation will be believable to you. I unfortunately speak
*international* English, hence not the real one, for anybody (^-^).
Thank
you for your nice comments, I really try to make the least mistakes I
can.
Jadegoddess: Hiko at his best..I hope (^-^)
SilverNimbus: I'm glad that you liked it that much! Thank you! More of
"affected" Aoshi in the next chapter, and then, more A/M scenes (^-^)
L.Sith: Kamatari will reappear in a few chapters..quite unexpectedly
(^-^)
Thanks again!
KillerNight: *blushing* Thanks a lot! I will really try not to
disappoint
you, and make this story the best I can (^-^)
Next chapter: Tokio gets her backbone back concerning Saitoh..more or
less,
while he "bonds" with Aoshi over some common problems. Dense people,
sake,
green tea and cigarettes.
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