No. 6

CHAPTER 2 - Who Did See Him Die

Who did kill cock Robbin?
I, said the sparrow,
With my bow and arrow,
And I did kill cock Robbin.
Who did see him die?
I, said the fly,
With my little eye,
And I did see him die.
-Mother Goose

***   

The man was gazing at the gold coin Inukashi had given him with fascination.

"It's real," Inukashi whispered to the man's profile, with its thin and jutting chin. He dropped his voice into a hush to make himself sound as intimidating as possible.

"It's real gold... is it?" The man's Adam's apple bobbed up and down.

"Look at it for as long as ya need to. It's the real thing, no matter which way ya look at it."

"Y-Yeah... you're right, it's real..."

"It's yours." This time, Inukashi spoke a little quicker, like he was thrusting the words onto him. The man's chin trembled.

"Mine?"

"Yeah. Yours. I'll give it to ya."

"What? But―ah―a whole gold coin, it's so much money―"

"Of course, I'm not saying it's for free. I'm not a do-gooder with money to spare. I'll give this to you as payment for a job. How about it?"

"Job?"

The man's eyes shifted from the gold coin to Inukashi. His eyes were round, like some frightened pet animal. A shade of suspicion flitted across them.

Here it comes.

Inukashi clenched his fist.

This is the crucial moment. I won't give this guy any room to think. I won't let any suspicion sneak into his thoughts. I'll wave the gold in front of him, and tantalize him. It's gold, man, gold. Not something he'd be able to lay his eyes on often. Not to mention, this guy wants money, needs money... but then, I don't know who wouldn't want money, unless they were dying.

You just had to dangle the other's most desired object in front of his nose. You had to ensnare him with crafty words. You would chase him into a corner so he wouldn't be able to escape. You would do it thoroughly, and with skill. All he had to do was trace Nezumi's way of doing it. He's done it to me enough times for me to get sick of it.

Heh.

He felt like he could hear Nezumi chuckle. He could even see Nezumi's unique ironic smile.

See, you can do it just as I taught you. Good boy. I'll give you a treat later.

Shut up, Nezumi. Just to let you know, I'm not undertaking this to help you. It's for the gold bullion. I'm crossing the perilous bridge so I can lay my hands on that gold bullion.

He shook his head to dispel the illusion.

Stop popping into my head like that, asshole.

"Job... what do you mean?"

"A job is a job. I'm asking you to do a job. For a gold coin."

Inukashi snapped his fingers smartly. The man blinked. The shade of suspicion in his eyes grew more pronounced.

The man was called Getsuyaku. His job was managing the cleaning duties at the Correctional Facility. He was Inukashi's acquaintance. A while had passed since Inukashi had first started receiving his stock of Facility waste and leftover food from Getsuyaku. Of course, it was an under-the-table transaction; it was smuggling. About once every three days, Inukashi received a portion of leftover food and waste, and handed Getsuyaku an amount that was appropriate for the load. It was usually a few copper coins. If there was a considerable find, a silver coin.