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Chapter 2 part 5

I arrive at a small firm by the bay.

This was once where Ango worked when he was unsuccessful, before he became an intelligence agent handling classified information. Everyone has gone through such times.

I enter the firm, declaring my purpose. The guard and person in charge bring me in with smiles on their faces. The mafia isn't entirely made up of steel, guns, and explosives, it also needs talents like these.

This accounting firm takes the money obtained by the mafia through illicit means and launders it. Before he was recruited by the mafia three years ago, Ango worked as a helper here.

I am brought into a secret room with no windows. The dark room concealed behind a wall is filled with bookshelves protecting the mafia's secret assets, money laundering books and other records. A desk is placed in the middle. There is nothing else other than the single light-bulb swaying lightly from the ceiling.

After bringing me to the stack room, the person in-charge says in a hoarse voice, "Now then, I'll get back to work."

Because he mentioned 'work', I shoot him a glance as confirmation, but the table in his office next door only has a shogi book and a small bonsai on it.

"Thank you," I say to the person in-charge. "Smoke from the war has already reached headquarters. Be extra careful, no matter what you do."

"There is only old data and bonds that can't be exchanged for cash left here. The enemy's attack will only be in vain."

The person in-charge smiles. He is an elder treasurer guarding the mafia's accounts. With his gut feeling, he can determine where the flames of the war will head towards.

"Nice workplace," I say to the person in-charge's back after surveying the room, "I should request to be transferred here."

The person in-charge smiles bitterly, "Young people who say such things can't handle it and leave after three days because it's too boring."

I thank the person in-charge and part ways with him, turning to the bookshelves once again.

This place has Ango's records. Accountants are a group of people who normally wear their attention to detail like clothes and walk around. Moreover, since they are handling the mafia's secret records, they have been requested to memorise everything that happens on the job in detail. In the event that something happens and they are killed, the job can still be handed over to the next person without disruption.

I pull out the business diary of the accountant in-charge back then. Among them, this accountant paid great attention to detail. Just one month's worth of records is as long as a short novel, like a love poem to the mafia.

According to the records, Ango was once an information broker and computer hacker.

The Ango back then was full of confidence, assembling a gang and planning to steal an enterprise's funds. He disguised himself as a related party and opened the bank's safe, planning to steal all their stocks and exchange them for cash. Had they succeeded, Ango and his partners would have earned a huge sum of money. However, that is money stained with blood.

That safe and those bonds belonged to one of the mafia's puppet companies. Ango and the rest have essentially stolen out of the mafia's wallet from its pocket. It doesn't need to be said that Ango and company suffered at the hands of hunting dogs - they do not bark, much less make a sound. They are the black hunting dogs who wield guns and chase their targets at night to the ends of the earth.

The gang members, spirits all but crushed, opened fire on one another out of paranoia that someone would come forth and tell on them. They had long since exited the stage. But Ango continued to flee on his own. By getting a hold of the movements of the mafia's tracking forces beforehand, he planned and continued to flee on Yokohama's streets. That was a full six months.

To continue fleeing from Yokohama's mafia's tracking force for six months is something that would stun even the government's intelligence agents. He probably managed to get a hold of and exploit the mafia's information networks, occasionally sending out false reports and causing chaos on the opponent's end.

However, destiny must end one day. No one is able to escape the darkness forever. Ango, caught in the sewers of the slums, had already prepared for his death. However, Ango was brought before the leader, who had absolutely no intention of harming Ango and his superb intelligence operations skills. After which, Ango started his second life.

-The first act of the play is a man who has climbed up the ranks in this world of darkness. Looking at the information, one cannot perceive Mimic's shadow behind his back.

If that is the case, does that mean that Ango and Mimic's encounter was after this?

As I continue to flip the pages and read the information, I notice a startling entry.

Two years ago, one year after Ango joined the mafia, Ango had earned the trust of the organisation and travelled to Europe. His aim was to negotiate business with a local car theft agency. However, for the next two months, there was no word from Ango for reasons unknown. The Ango that returned two months later was no different. The reason he gave was he had a misunderstanding with the local organisation and was on the run as a criminal. Upon investigation, Europe's car smuggling organisation had been reported on around the same time. The Port Mafia came to the conclusion that Ango had been dragged into this and hence did not continue to pursue the matter.

However, thinking about it now, it seems strange. It's hard to believe that Ango would have been unable to get himself out of this small misunderstanding and spent two months on the run.

No one is able to confirm what Ango's movements were during those two months in Europe.

Putting this together with the information on hand, one can confirm that he met with Mimic during this time and established a contract.

That is to say - established a contract to become a double agent.

From that moment on, does that mean Mimic had already planned to head down the path of attacking the Port Mafia?

I close the files, letting myself calm down while in deep thought. The room is very silent, with only the sound of cars outside driving past, separated by a layer of film, entering my ears.

I have this strange feeling that something isn't quite right.

Ango joined the mafia, then colluded with Mimic. When the time was ripe, conflict broke out between the two organisations. Everything has come together too perfectly, like two computers playing chess. There are absolutely no surprising actions or any elements contrary to our expectations. This makes me feel far from relieved.

I survey the room Ango once worked in. I remember that event.

Back then, Ango sat at this very seat. Sitting in this chair, elbows leaning against the table, silently looking at me with a look of displeasure.

This is the place Ango and I met for the first time.

The Ango back then was arrogant and carried an unamused expression, exuding a displeased aura from his entire body that screamed "I'm not someone meant to sit around here".

I remember that sight. At that time, what was the first thing that Ango said?

Ango indeed-