11:50 AM — Beika Shopping Center Ferris Wheel
Even though it was a workday, plenty of people had gathered nearby for lunch.
A couple who had just stepped off the Ferris wheel stood close together. The boy affectionately brushed cookie crumbs from the corner of his girlfriend's lips, about to whisper something sweet.
When a loud explosion erupted from the control room behind them.
Boom!
Thick smoke billowed out instantly.
A staff member who had just gone to buy a bottle of oolong tea from a nearby vending machine froze in shock. If he hadn't stepped away just now, he would've been blown to pieces.
Screams spread throughout the shopping complex.
The passengers still inside the Ferris wheel descended into chaos, while young children burst into frightened tears.
Police sirens wailed in the distance.
Arriving as quickly as possible, Inspector Megure frowned at the black smoke rising beneath the Ferris wheel. He had heard the explosion himself. Clenching his fist, he said angrily:
"Damn it… were we too late?"
"But it's still ten minutes before noon," Shiratori replied, glancing at his watch.
After slamming the car door shut, Miwako ran toward the scene, pulling out her badge. "I'm with the police. What happened?"
The staff member, still clutching his oolong tea, was drenched in cold sweat.
"I—I don't know! The control panel suddenly exploded, and now the Ferris wheel won't stop! We're tryi—trying to get the passengers down!"
"Calm down! Where's cabin number 72 right now?!"
"Th-that cabin should be stopping at the platform right now!"
Miwako immediately dashed up the stairs, only to see Jinpei, already standing there, pulling open the metal door of cabin 72.
"Matsuda—"
"Don't come any closer!" Crouching at the cabin entrance, Jinpei turned back with a calm smile, cutting her off.
"The Knights of the Round Table aren't here, but I did find something suspicious under the seat."
"Don't tell me… it's a bomb?" Shiratori asked.
Miwako froze for a moment, then watched in disbelief as Jinpei climbed into the cabin.
"Matsuda?! Don't go in there!"
Leaning casually against the doorframe, Jinpei still managed to strike a cool pose even at a time like this. Removing his sunglasses, he revealed a confident smile.
"It's fine. Leave this kind of thing to the expert."
"Wait, Matsuda!" Miwako tried to follow, only to find he had already locked the door from the inside.
Watching cabin 72 slowly rise, she exclaimed in frustration:
"What is he doing?! He's not even an expert!"
'No, he was.'
Standing at the bottom of the stairway, wearing a bucket hat, Ritsu frowned.
In this field, Jinpei was a true expert.
"Until last year, he was part of the bomb disposal unit in the Security Bureau's Mobile Squad."
"You mean… he was involved in the bombing incident four years ago?"
"Yeah. His close friend, Hagiwara-san, was an elite bomb technician at the second site and lost his ability to continue in that role because of that incident."
Four years ago, the accident had cost Hagiwara his right eye.
Severe burns to both hands made it impossible for him to perform the delicate work required for bomb disposal. He had no choice but to leave the unit, transferring to forensic identification and later to a special investigative data team in the First Division.
Listening to their conversation, Ritsu's mind was elsewhere.
He kept replaying the fax sent to the police. There was no way the code was this simple. The culprit had mentioned two bombs, spaced two hours apart.
He was provoking them. Seeking revenge.
So why go through all the trouble of planting two bombs and spacing them so far apart? Was he worried the police might succeed in defusing them?
'Knights of the Round Table… cunning police… using the heads of comrades as the spark for celebration…'
'Cunning police?'
Four years ago, the criminal's accomplice had exposed himself because of a reporter's misinformation, revealing the bomb disposal method and getting himself pursued by police.
Was the culprit trying to replicate that scenario to avenge his partner?
Ritsu suddenly looked up at cabin 72, now rising farther from the ground.
If his theory was correct, Jinpei was in serious danger. The bomb set to explode at noon on the Ferris wheel …was nothing more than bait.
His nails dug into his palm as he forced himself to calm down. He needed to think.
Where was the second bomb?
The Knights of the Round Table originated in medieval Europe. Knights often bore cross symbols on their helmets, earning the name "Crusaders."
On a map, a cross symbol represented a hospital. He had already considered that. But there were more than twenty hospitals in Tokyo alone, it wasn't practical.
No matter how he analyzed it, he couldn't find a clear lead. Had he been thinking in the wrong direction?
Maybe he shouldn't focus solely on the fax. If he approached it from the criminal's personality and psychology instead, where would he most likely place the bomb?
----
Inside cabin 72 of the Ferris wheel.
Jinpei took out his tools and carefully unscrewed four screws with a screwdriver, removing the outer metal casing.
The bomb's structure was relatively simple. Easier than what he had trained with. He could defuse it in under five minutes.
'Kenji… just wait.'
'I'll personally catch the bastard who did this to you and beat him to a pulp.'
----
In the shadows of the shopping center,
The culprit, holding an old-fashioned mobile phone, curled his lips into a sinister smile. He pressed the call button.
The second bomb planted in the control room detonated instantly.
BOOM!!!
Staff members trying to extinguish the fire were knocked to the ground by the blast wave.
The Ferris wheel, which had been moving slowly suddenly came to a complete stop.
Watching the Ferris wheel halt, Ritsu narrowed his eyes. A secondary explosion.
So that was it.
The culprit's goal was to kill a police officer. There was likely a mercury switch installed inside the bomb.
A device meant to trap the bomb disposal officer, preventing escape from the confined space of the cabin.
Turning around, Ritsu scanned the crowd below with a cold, calculating gaze.
'You're hiding somewhere in the shadows, enjoying this, aren't you?'
'But don't worry. I'll stop you. Because I already know where your second bomb is.'
There would be no grand fireworks for him to enjoy. He'd better keep hiding.
Because once Ritsu found him,
he was dead.