𝐁𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐬

file 064 | the clash of red and black: bang

Present time...

"I see. So that's why you deliberately handed Mizunashi Rena over to them?" James questioned, understanding flooding his tone. "You're having her act as a spy in their midst just as you did before."

"Yeah," Shuichi said. "Not as a lap dog for us...but as a CIA operative."

"Then, the sound of her knocking you out before she got away... That was also camouflage?"

Camel put a hand over his bandages. "Yeah. Akai-san had me pretend to be knocked out, lose consciousness, and then stop the car. But, I didn't expect to actually get hit."

"And I asked her to do that as well," Shuichi told him. "If by chance you had been killed then, and there was no sign of a wound to your head...Mizunashi Rena would be in danger."

"R-Right..."

"But, wait," Jodie interrupted. "Even so, you could have at least told us about it!"

James nodded. "Yeah, I agree. When she escaped, we were all really shocked and depressed."

"That was kind of the point," Suzume admitted sheepishly. "They were definitely keeping an eye on you guys, so we needed your reactions to be genuine in order to prevent them from being suspicious of our plans."

"Even so, she's just gone back to them for her CIA job," Jodie pointed out.

"We didn't just send her back," Shuichi said. "She agreed to pass along information on those guys to us after reporting to the CIA."

"A condition like that... Why would she agree to it?" James wondered.

"She had a condition of her own," Suzume said.

"The witness protection program? You want it for your brother?

"Yeah. I'll write a letter to Ei-chan telling him to cooperate. You'll do that much, won't you? You have me going back to them as a spy when they're already suspicious, after all."

"Yeah. I'll make sure your brother is protected."

"Also... No matter the circumstances...my father's mission for the CIA takes priority. Even if I become inconvenient for the FBI, don't think badly of me."

"I was about to say just that. Right, Suzume?"

"Yeah."

"The witness protection program?" James repeated. "I guess that could apply, since the boy knows their boss' email address..."

"I'm worried about the people in the hospital, too," Jodie added with a frown. "They probably think they were conspiring with the FBI to hide Mizunashi Rena all along. We have to..."

"Don't worry about it," Suzume advised her. "Mizunashi Rena is probably already..."

~ — — — ~

"Eh? We should just leave the hospital alone?" Vodka repeated incredulously, staring at Kir in the rearview mirror. "You think we should leave all those people who helped the FBI alone?

"No. They weren't helping them, it seems," she told him. "The FBI claimed I was Akai Shuichi's sister to have me admitted."

"But, aren't you a famous announcer?"

"They had to say I resembled her a number of times. They also said that if I were really her, the media would have been all over the incident. Of course, the FBI asked many others to help cover up my being unaccounted for."