E Is For Enemy

Chapter Twenty Eight

Asano's P.O.V.

The doors to the police station opened and I stormed in, shoving a lady out of my way when she was being too slow to move on her own.

Her cry and other patrons shouts of annoyance were ignored as I approached the front desk and cut off the woman behind the computer before she could even greet me.

"Asano to see police chief Hirabayashi." I stated, crossing my arms and drumming my fingers impatiently on my sleeve.

"Do you have an appoi-"

"Asano!" A cheery voice boomed out.

I looked up to see a friendly looking man in a uniform step out of a room. He was slightly pudgy, but had a comforting dad vibe to him, which made it easy for kids to approach him.

I hurried over and gave him a quick bow. "Hirabayashi-san, it's nice to see you again."

"What is that?" He fake scoffed at my bow and yanked me in for a bone crushing hug. "I haven't seen you since you were a foot tall! How's the old man? Still uptight? I bet he is."

I winced as the man cracked my spine. "He's fine, erm, sir, I came here to talk to you about something serious-"

He finally released me and I gasped in air.

"Of course! Unfortunately, no one ever stops in just to say hi to me and drop off cookies. It's always "my boyfriend has been shot!", or, "There's a robbery in progress."" He led the way to his office in the back, still grumbling about this and that.

I took a seat on the chair in front of his large desk. "Sorry about that, sir. But I came to talk to you about-"

"I'm so sorry about Sakura," he interrupted, frowning sincerely as he poured a cup of coffee.

My heart froze.

He shook his head. "So young too...that must have been a terrible experience for your whole family. I'm sorry I couldn't make the funeral, duty calls, as they say."

"It's fine," I took the cup with shaking hands.

"And to think we never caught the bastards." He took his own seat and blew on his coffee.

I shut out the images and cries that were trying to overtake my brain. I had to focus, my family wasn't the one in danger right now, Karma was.

I slammed my cup on the table, splashing the brown liquid onto his desk. "Hirabayashi! I need to speak to Markus K Emri!"

The chief choked on his drink and coughed ungracefully. He grabbed some nearby tissues and took a few long moments to compose himself.

When he was finally done, he faced me and frowned seriously. "Now, why would you go and give an old man a heart attack like that for? How do you even know who he is? He was erased from history!"

"It's a matter of life and death!" I said urgently. "I have reason to believe Creation Enterprises is up and running again, and they've already abducted two, technically three, students! We have to hurry, I need the key from Markus before they hurt Karma!"

He blinked.

And blinked again.

Impatient, I stood up and slammed my hands on his desk. "You're the only person allowed to talk to Markus, I need to see him now or a lot more people are going to get hurt!"

The chief took a deep breath. "Look, kid, you know you mean a lot to me. Your father and I were best friends growing up, and you're like my nephew. But I can't just give you access to the most hated man in all of Japan. Besides, he's been locked up here for thirty years, how can he even know his company is operating again?"

"I believe he has a spy working for him." I said, sitting back down. I wasn't going to mention it was my father, or that the vile company was operating right on school grounds. Everything in due time.

"Look, Asano, you're a smart kid, and I respect your family immensely, but I simply can't let you speak to a man who technically doesn't exist." Hirabayashi said, leaning forward and placing his hands together on the desk. "Now, if you believe this Karma friend of yours is in danger, I have a report here that you can fill out-"

"I'm not filling out a damn report." I snapped. "And I'm not leaving here until you agree to take me to Markus, you fat fucking waste of space degenerate of a man."

Now he was getting angry.

Good.

"Now, listen here young man," The chief said, his face growing red. "I am still your superior and I refuse to be talked to like that! If your father was here-"

"If my father was here he would take you up the ass and shut you up for good," I smiled, crossing my arms.

The chief of police seemed at a loss for words, until he suddenly found his voice and started spewing them at me like an erupting volcano.

I laughed. "You've always been a loser. Second to my father. Always in his shadow. Trust me, I know how that feels. But if you let me talk to Markus, I can change all that. I can put my father on the bottom and then it can finally be your turn to be on the top."

Hirabayashi stopped. Considered it. Tilted his head.

"How do you mean?" He finally asked.

"There may be evidence that my father hasn't been the shining citizen that everyone believes him to be," I said, not quite encrypting my father but definitely not proclaiming his innocence either. "Imagine arresting him for it, and saving the public from such a monster. Then he'll be in jail and you'll be the one above him, finally, after all these years."

He squinted at me. "What has he done?"

I shrugged. "I can't confirm anything until I've spoken to Markus K Emri."

He studied me. "You know claiming anything bad about your father, a man with arguably the most prestige in this entire region, could have you locked away and shunned forever. Even if you're his own blood, he won't give you any lesser of a sentence."

"Then it should go without saying that I'm serious about this." I said, meeting his gaze with cool eyes.

A few tense moments passed, before he broke out into a loud laugh, throwing his head back.

"Asano- you sly son of a bitch! Just like your father! Cunning as a fox and as evil as a snake!"

I remained emotionless, waiting for his words of confirmation.

"You got yourself a deal- I'll take you to Markus. But you only get five minutes with him."

"Twenty minutes." I argued.

"Fifteen and I won't slap you for your harsh words earlier." He growled and stuck out his hand.

Fine.

I could make do with fifteen minutes.

I grabbed his hand and we shook.

"Let's leave at once." I said.

"Let's."