The Dark Era

Ch.23 Betrayal Of Comrades?

After getting the mess cleaned up, everyone went back to H.Q. Dazai and I stayed however. The sun is currently setting, bathing everything in an orange glow. We sat there together in silence. Suddenly, Dazai's phone rings.

"Well, this is surpring. You never call... I guess that means your exits are blocked... Oh, come on..."

Dazai stands to his feet, acting serious.

"We'll be there soon... Don't do anything heroic."

And with that, Dazai hangs up.

"It's time to go. Odasaku needs us."

"Did something happen?"

"Odasaku was sniped at. And now he's having trouble trying to catch the sniper."

"I understand."

I stand up and we leave.

~~~~Time Skip~~~~

We're currently making our way to one of the back alleys that Oda and the sniper should be in. Dazai had brought other operatives with us for backup. In no time, we find him. He's being ambushed from both sides.

"Odasaku! Get down!" Dazai orders.

With Dazai's voice came an explosion of light and deafening sound. When the flash of light subsided, the operatives that stood at the ready, side Dazai and I, open fire with their sub-machineguns. The snipers let out muffled screams as they get cut down by the tempest of bullets.

Once the bullets stop, Dazai and I walk up to Oda. He was currently laying on the ground. Dazai smiles as he holds his hand towards his friend.

"What are we going to do with you, Odasaku? You could kill the likes of them in the space of a single breath, if only you felt so inclined."

Oda takes Dazai's hand and pulls himself to his feet. He surveys the aftermath, and asks but one question.

"Did you kill them?"

"Even if we take them prisoner, we can't get any information out of them. They've got a thing for the taste of those cyanide pills they keep in the back of their mouths."

"..."

"I get it. That's not why you asked, right? However, we're dealing with professional soldiers. Not killing them just isn't an option, even for you."

"True, if you hadn't shown up, I'd be dead right now."

"Oda Sakunosuke. A member of the Port Mafia with a curious principle of not killing, no matter what. And because of that annoying principle of his, he ends up being the errand boy within the organization... Despite the obvious level of skill that he has."

"I've heard that kind of thing a million times. More importantly, who are we dealing with here?"

"Look at their belts. They're carrying an old model of pistol, right? Apparently, it's a Walther p38. It's an old European pistol. Poor accuracy and high rate of fire make it more or less useless for anything but warning shots in narrow streets like these. It's possible that this gun is an emblem to them..."

"...Something that marks who they are." I think out loud.

"That's right, Ori-chan."

"So who are they?" Oda asks.

"...Mimic."

"Mimic?"

"We're still investigating the particulars. But, the fact that they had snipers on Ango's room might tell us something."

"They were trying to get this locked box back."

"Locked box?"

Oda shows us a white metal box.

"I found it in Ango's room. I can't open it without a key."

"Oh, well if that's the case..."

Saying this, Dazai produces a wire from his pocket. He hands it to me.

"Let my copy have a look at it."

Oda hands me the box. I unlock it in one second. Dazai smiles.

"It's open. Well done, Ori-chan. You broke your old record of two seconds."

A small click emits from the locked box as it pops open. Inside it lay...

"Hey. Why is this is here?" Oda asks.

It was the same gun that mimic used. I hand the box to Dazai.

"You said this gun was like an emblem to them. That marks who they are... If Ango has one of these, then that means..." Oda thinks out loud.

"It doesn't mean anything on it's own. Ango might have taken this from one of them." Dazai replies.

"It's possible they planted it with the intention of bringing him down..." I add.

"You two are right."

"However, Odasaku... I'll tell you one thing Shiori and I learned. When we were drinking at the bar last night, Ango said he was on the way home from a deal, right? He was probably lying about that."

"What?"

"You saw Ango's bag, didn't you? Shiori, you sat right next to Ango, so you explain."

"Yes, Dazai-san. From the top it contained cigarettes, a foldable umbrella, his camera, and the antique watch that he acquired The umbrella had a towel around it since it had been used. It was raining in Tokyo, which is where he went that day."

"His umbrella was wet because it rained. What doesn't add up about that?" Oda asks me.

"...Ango said that he went by car to negotiate the deal." I answered.

"So then when did he use his umbrella? It wasn't before the deal. The umbrella was on top of the watch. It wasn't after, either." Dazai explains.

"How do you two know?"

"The amount of water on the umbrella wasn't from a couple of minutes of use. It had to have been used for a good 30 minutes. All that time in the rain, but Ango's shoes and suit were dry. The deal took place at eight, and we met up at ten. The two hours after the deal took place aren't enough for clothes to dry completely."

"He might have had a change of clothes."

"Ango gave Shiori and I a ride home from the bar. I had Shiori secretly check his back seats. We didn't find any clothes or an extra pair of shoes in his car. My guess is that Ango didn't go to any deal, but instead met with someone out in the rain. He spoke with them for about 30 minutes, and then passed the remaining hour or so before returning. Intelligence operatives, like Ango, often choose to have their secret meetings outside on a rainy day. It can be more private then talking behind closed doors."

"Ango is an intelligence operative for the Port Mafia. It's only natural he has a secret or two that he can't tell anyone." Oda replies.

"But that's all he has to say. That he can't tell us. The three of us wouldn't press the issue. Right?" Dazai asks.

"...You got a point. The question is why did he go as far as coming up with an alibi to hide this meeting of his."

Movement.

I quickly push Oda out of the way to only be shot in his stead. I was shot in the left side of my chest.

"Shiori!"