The Ferris wheel resumed normal operation, and gondola No. 72 slowly descended to the ground.
Pushing open the cabin door, Jinpei stepped out, holding the bomb he had already disarmed along with his tool bag. He stomped hard on the ground a couple of times. If not for him, he might never have been able to stand on solid ground like this again.
'Damn… now I want a cigarette again.'
Miwako hurried over to him. After exchanging a glance, the two continued acting out the scene the culprit most wanted to see.
"Matsuda!"
"Sorry about that," Jinpei said, sounding a bit embarrassed as he put his sunglasses back on. Annoyed with himself, he added, "At the last moment, I got scared of dying… so I cut the detonation wires."
"It's okay. We still have two hours, we'll definitely find the location of the second bomb."
Hearing their conversation through the bug, the culprit, already driving toward what he believed to be the best spot to watch the fireworks, let out a mocking laugh.
'Foolish officers… there's no way you'll find the second bomb. Just wait to pay for your sins with your lives!'
Ring, ring.
The quiet interior of the car was suddenly filled with the sound of a phone ringing. The culprit froze for a second and looked at the phone linked to the second bomb.
'What? No one should be calling this number.'
Confused, he answered and heard a cold, low voice.
"Looking forward to the fireworks?"
"W-Who are you?!"
Hearing the wariness and panic in his voice, Ritsu spoke through the phone he had recovered from the disarmed bomb. Unfortunately, there was no way to trace the culprit's location through these two devices.
He hadn't mastered Vermouth's voice-changing skills yet, so he had to rely on external means. Like now, gripping his own throat to distort his voice into something eerie.
"I'm the same as you. I am you."
"W-What do you mean?! What kind of nonsense are you spouting?!"
"The police are your target for revenge. And you… are mine. That makes us the same, doesn't it?"
The culprit's mind wavered. If not for the honking behind him, he wouldn't have noticed the light had turned green. He stepped on the gas and abruptly changed direction.
He couldn't go there anymore. He'd get caught.
"Why so quiet?"
Standing nearby, Hiro felt as if the temperature around them had dropped sharply. Every word Ritsu spoke, clenched through his teeth, was like the biting wind of midwinter, stabbing straight into the culprit's heart.
"Just don't let me catch you."
His cerulean eyes were calm but a calm sea didn't mean there was no danger. At any moment, it could erupt into raging waves.
"Because if I do, I don't know what I'll do to you."
He was no longer the fragile flower at the center, he now had the strength to protect them. Anyone who dared touch his reverse scale had better be ready to face his wrath.
The call ended. Ritsu almost threw the phone to the ground to smash it, but remembering it was evidence, he handed it back to Hiro instead.
"Ritsu… are you okay?"
Hiro was deeply worried about his state of mind. The image of Ritsu standing on that abandoned rooftop in Harrisonburg last year, covered in blood, detached, still haunted him.
He feared that one day, Ritsu might sink too deep into the darkness to find his way back.
And if that happened… what would he do?
"I was just joking. I don't actually plan to take revenge on him."
"I know what kind of person you are. We owe you for today. Head back now, before anyone notices."
"Yeah. I'll leave the rest to you."
Lowering the brim of his bucket hat, Ritsu walked out. Even though he had saved Matsuda, he couldn't feel happy at all.
He had lied to Hiro.
He really had felt the urge for revenge. The only reason he hid it… was because he didn't want to tarnish the image Hiro had of him.
Returning to the parking lot, he opened the driver's door and sat down. Pulling off his disguise hat, he tossed it aside and leaned back into the seat.
'Am I really becoming more and more strange?'
'One day, will I drift along with the current and become a rotting flower at the core?'
Ding.
The sound of an incoming email interrupted his thoughts. Swiping open his phone, he saw the sender name, Kir.
Come to think of it, his little team felt somewhat… scattered. Ever since bringing Rena into his group, he had basically left her to operate independently.
Rei, on the other hand, was the opposite. Every time Ritsu tried to call him for a mission, he found that Rei had already been "borrowed" by someone else.
No matter where he went, that harmless, youthful smile made him seem approachable so Rei was extremely popular within the intelligence division and often got pulled into other assignments.
[Kir: Aren't you home, Macallan? Gin wants you at Moonlight Bar.]
[Macallan: Out eating. Heading there now.]
Glancing at the time on his phone, Ritsu couldn't help but think, middle of the day and Gin's already hanging out in a bar? That workaholic actually had time to lounge around? Guess he dumped the mission on some poor sap.
It only took about half an hour to drive to Moonlight Bar. Locking his car, he pushed open the door and walked in, heading straight for his usual corner, only to find a face he didn't recognize.
The man had light blond hair similar to Rei's, but those exaggerated, horn-like eyebrows and sharp, intimidating eyes made him look like a dangerous figure… he even seemed to have eyeliner on.
"And this is?"
Despite his fierce appearance, the man turned out to be quite gentlemanly. Dressed in a fitted black outfit that highlighted his physique, he extended his hand politely.
"Nice to meet you. My codename is Irish. Like you, I'm Whiskey."
'Irish whiskey, huh… there really are a lot of Whiskeys in this organization.'
"Nice to meet you. I'm Macallan. Pleasure to work with you." After taking a seat, Ritsu took the initiative to steer the conversation.
"Gin, where's Vodka? In the bathroom?"
"On a mission."
'So the poor sap sent out on a job was Vodka. Rough.'
"So you called me here today just to introduce Irish?"
"Partly. He doesn't operate in Japan, mostly Europe. This time, I've got a mission for you. You'll be working with Irish."
Getting picked by Gin was never a good thing. The last thing Ritsu wanted to see when opening his inbox was a message from him. He'd practically been forced into becoming the second workhorse of the operations division, taking on even more missions than Gin himself.
At this rate… was he going to become the top operative?
Not wanting that at all, Ritsu the unwilling workhorse, kept his usual blank expression. If he could, he'd throw away his pride, grab onto Gin's leg, and wail.
'Boss, please stop picking me for jobs!'
But that was never going to happen. He didn't have the nerve for something like that.
"So, what's the mission?"