HA1 6.1 - Stalking

In downtown of Nichiko, two blocks from Sakura Hotel to be precise, stood a minimart which was said to be owned Aizen Mafia. This rumors circulated because apart from having ‘Aizen’ as its name, a Nizan S14 belonging to Chief of Aizen Mafia had always been parked in the minimart’s backyard.

A group of young people who hang out in front of the minimart every night was also said to be junior members of Aizen Mafia.

At exactly 12:30 am, Takeo entered Aizen Minimart and immediately grabbed a shopping basket. Wasting no time he put in snack bars, chewing gum, salad oil, matches, isotonic drinks, and a few other items.

After paying for his purchase, Takeo then rushed to the bus stop in front of Sakura Hotel, the location where he would link-up with Hide. In the bus stop, Takeo found Hide was sitting with a medium-sized backpack on his shoulders.

Takeo casually said, "I've bought the things you asked for."

Hide made sure Takeo was wearing a pair of sneakers, jeans, t-shirt, and a dark jacket he had asked, before happily answering, "Then we'd better hurry."

Without a word Takeo followed Hide into an alley next to Sakura Hotel. After walking for twenty minutes, they stopped in front of a dark blue S14.

"Hide, whose S14 is this?"

"Chief of Aizen Mafia."

Hide then threw S14's key at Takeo, who stared at him with wide eyes and a hanging mouth.

"Hide, don't you know that Aizen Mafia’s Chief is a psychopath?"

"Tonight we're going to kill some people. Stealing a psychopath's car is trivial. Of course, if you aren't ready, it's still not too late to cancel it."

Takeo swallowed hard before replying, "No, let’s do it. It's just that I still can't do the 360 degree drift you're asking for. So, are you sure you're going to ask me to drive? Not to mention, I've never drive a car on the highway."

Hide answered firmly, "I won’t ask you if I’m not sure."

If Hide had time to practice even for just ten days, he would definitely become ten times more proficient than Takeo. However, he had a lot of other things he had to do, so his best option right now was Takeo.

"This is also a good opportunity to test your skills."

"Understood."

A moment later, the dark blue S14 exited the alley and went straight into highway that led to West Nichiko.

---

Twenty days of intensive training would not give Takeo a god-level driving skill, but at least currently his driving skill was above average. With ease he controlled S14, smoothly cutting through a night street that was neither crowded nor empty.

Takeo was also not nervous when Hide asked him to change lanes or overtake car in front of them. The S14 gracefully moved according to Takeo's will, as if it was part of his own body.

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Initially, Takeo was only traveling at speeds of 40-60 km/h. However, as soon as he got used to the road and his feeling blended with S14, he immediately stepped on the gas and maintained a speed of 60-80 km/h.

Before long, Hide and Takeo had entered Highway 11, a hilly route that connecting Nichiko City with Aida City.

Hide then asked Takeo to park S14 near the km.45 sign, just among the cluster of giant fir trees. The S14 was parked facing the road with a distance around 15 meters away.

As soon as Takeo turned the engine off Hide said, "We will wait for our prey here."

"Who is our prey?"

"Aizen Mafia's couriers, every week they will transfer the cash they got from Aizen Mafia’s business in Aida to Nichiko."

Hide then took out two balaclavas from one of pocket in his jacket. He handed over one of balaclavas to Takeo, and put the other one on his head.

Without many words Takeo put on the balaclava like Hide, until covering his forehead. Then, he asked, "Are you sure we can ambush the convoy?"

"Our target is not a convoy. It’s a Black Civic with a driver and a bodyguard. Neither of them are good drivers, but they are Aizen Mafia's executioners who are notorious for their brutality."

"Are you sure there is only one car and two people?"

"While you are practicing your driving skill, I’m not only busy preparing Knosses job. I also search for a prey to test your readiness."

"Understood." Takeo nodded and then ate a piece of gum.

Hide actually wants to explain that when transporting high-value packages, confidentiality was far more important than a large open escort. As no matter how strong or how big an escort was, if the opponent could study it and find its weaknesses, the escort would be rendered useless.

However, because Takeo did not ask further questions, Hide chose to explain it and ate a snack bar without making sound.

---

Time flew before finally, Takeo nervously looked at the situation around the S14. As far as he could see he only saw darkness, accompanied by the sound of crickets and night insects.

According to some experts, the sound of crickets and night insects could help calm your soul. But for Takeo, the current sound of crickets and night insects somehow made the hairs on his nape stood straight to the end.

In addition, every time he stole a glanced at Hide, Takeo got a strong impression that Hide seemed to merge with the eerie air around them. Slowly but surely, doubts arose in Takeo's heart. He even started to suspect that Hide who sat next to him was not a human.

To confirm his doubts, Takeo opened a conversation. "Hide, how did you steal this S14?"

"Entering Aizen Minimart's backyard by jumping over the fence, opening S14’s door with a long steel ruler, starting the engine with the standard trick, and then taking it into alley next to Sakura Hotel."

"The junior member of Aizen Mafia in front of the minimart, did they just let you drive away their boss's S14?"

Hide shook his head. "They are not junior members of Aizen Mafia. The only one who has connection with Aizen Mafia is the minimart owner. She is Chief of Aizen Mafia's illegitimate daughter, but the two have not spoken for the last two years.

To steal this car I did not use magic tricks, but exploitation of information, by exploiting the gap between believed information and actual information."

Takeo nodded slightly while Hide checked his watch.

"Five minutes before our target appears."

"How do you know?"

"Our targets are following a protocol with great precision."

Without a word, Takeo lowered his balaclava down to his chin, while Hide took out AEK-74SU and Sieg Sauer P365 from his backpack, complete with magazine pouches filled with extra magazines.

Hide deftly attached AEK-74SU to three-point sling and then placed it in front of his chest, and then placed Sieg Sauer P365 on his right calf. For the extra magazine, he placed them around his waist along with a combat knife.

Seeing Takeo staring at him with wide eyes Hide immediately said, "Well, we're going to kill some people tonight."

"Yeah."

Takeo weakly replied before swallowing hard. Previously, Hide had said that he had killed some people. At that time Takeo doubted Hide's words. But now, after he had a close look at the glint in Hide's eyes, Takeo got the feeling that Hide seemed to have not only killed, but had killed very often.

'Hide, who are you?'

Right now, Takeo firmly believed that Hide who sat next to him was not Hide in his memory.

*****