HA1 8.1 - Second Hunt

During the lunch break Hide received a message from Takeo to meet at the usual place. Therefore, as soon as class ended he immediately rushed to the main building’s rooftop.

At the door to the rooftop Hide waited for a few minutes before Takeo appeared.

"What do you want to talk about?"

Takeo smiled before replying, "I've got some info for you to study."

"So fast." Even if it was just a glimpse, an admiration was visible in Hide's face.

"I pretend to be sick during the gym class and use the resting time to log into network at District Attorney and Nichiko Construction and Developer Association."

After a small nod, Hide opened the door to the rooftop using two small iron sticks, and then went to a corner with Takeo.

While handing over a memory card Takeo said, "I got the names of Toruma Mafia’s members along with their cell phone numbers. By using GPS log, I mapped out their location. Turns out, more than 200 Toruma Mafia members are stand-by in Sakura Shopping District.

I also found that NCDA is not only targeting Sakura Shopping District, but also the eight blocks around it. Including the block where you live. They intend to build a super mall, high-class apartment, and an international theme park. The project is called Sakura Project."

Wasting no time Hide inserted the memory card into a tablet without connection and studied it right away. A moment later he turned his gaze to Takeo.

"We need more cell phone numbers and I have a good trick to tag GPS features on a smartphone."

"Teach me the trick."

"I will, but more importantly, can you go out tonight?"

"At midnight my parents are home, so I can go out at any day past midnight."

"Meet me in front of Kenzo Bowling, past midnight."

A question mark instantly filled Takeo's forehead, "Isn't Kenzo Bowling located in Red Light District?"

"To be precise, the Red Light District block that Toruma Mafia controls. They're busy with Sakura Shopping District, so we're going to visit their home ground."

"Okay. Do I need some preparations?"

"No, but from today onwards Aizawa will sleep at Kitaro every Monday, Thursday, and Friday. So, we'll be going out a lot at night."

"Understood."

A moment later, Hide and Takeo left the rooftop with a gap of ten minutes.

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In front of a closed shop across of Kenzo Bowling, a truck cafe stood by every night. On one of the chairs, Takeo sat casually while enjoying ginger tea and a small plate of sweet potato chips.

However, if you looked closely, he was actually observing Kenzo Bowling through the glass window of the closed shop. A wireless earpiece was also lodged in his ear, connected to a Motorella digital mini walkie-talkie in his left pocket of his jacket.

More or less, similar to the ambush on Aizen Mafia's money delivery, Takeo had the impression that the current hunt wasn't the first time for Hide. However, he chose not to ask any questions and focused his mind on his task.

As three men exited Kenzo Bowling's lobby and walked into the dark alley next to it, Takeo reached his walkie-talkie and sent short static three times in a row. Then, he only had to wait for Hide’s instruction. Should he go to RV point or continue his role as a spotter?

'What a cold night.'

Takeo rubbed his hands together before taking a sip of his ginger tea. Then, two people who were passing Kenzo Bowling caught his attention.

The first person was a middle-aged man who was walking with a stagger. It seemed he was drunk. Meanwhile, the second person was a girl who casually supported the man. Takeo didn't recognize the middle-aged man, but he knew the girl.

Shizuka Oda, a national karate champion for open weight class since 2nd grade of junior high school. She was currently a sophomore at East Nichiko High and happened to be in the same class as Takeo.

Takeo clearly remembered Shizuka wasn't a smart girl. Her grades at school were slightly below average. But in physical appearance, hardly anyone can match her. Her secret worship club even crowned her as the prettiest student since East Nichiko High was founded.

A big question mark appeared in Takeo's mind as he muttered, 'Does she work as a part-time call girl?'

Although curiosity filled his mind, Takeo did not forget his job. He carefully watched Shizuka and the unknown man. He was ready to press PTT button on the walkie-talkie, but the two passed through the alley next to Kenzo Bowling and entered the next one.

---

Tamie Alley, located next to Kenzo Bowling, wide enough for a car to pass, extended 200 meters long and connected two main roads, but it's only illuminated by two dim post lamps.

With steady steps, three men walked down Tamie Alley. The three had fierce faces and wore flamboyant clothes. The man in the middle had a small bag in his left armpit, while his right hand had a cigarette. The other two men proudly displayed the daggers tucked into their waist.

Just as the three fierce men passed the second post lamp, three steel nails as big as chopsticks shot out from a dark corner.

Stab! Stab! Stab!!

Almost simultaneously, the three nails hit the three fierce men on the chest. Then, their bodies instantly froze, before falling to their knees and collapsed to the ground. A moment later, thick foam flowed from their mouths.

No matter how deep, a stab wound from a steel nail the size of a chopstick would not result in an instant kill. However, the highly-potent neurotoxin that coated the tip of the steel nails was capable of killing an 800 kg bull in five seconds. In addition, Hide hand-made neurotoxin also had a shock effect that would completely paralyze the victim in 0.2 - 0.5 seconds.

Wasting no time Hide came out from his hiding spot and claimed his prize. First, he checked the small bag lying silently on the paved road.

'Three bundles of 100 thousand Ren.'

After putting the money into inner pocket of his jacket, Hide pulled out the steel nails on his victims' chests. After wrapping them in duct tape into one and put them in a ziplock bag, he then saved it in his backpack.

That way, the police and members of Toruma Mafia wouldn't know for sure the type of the nails he used, and they wouldn't have the initiative to track the record of the steel nail buyers.

'Last touch.'

Swiftly, Hide took the cell phone from the pocket of the man who carried the money and copied the data inside it into a memory card. Then, when the copying process had only reached 50%, he heard heavy footsteps from behind the wall in front of him.

On reflex, Hide's left hand pulled the silenced Sieg P365 from holster under his right armpit, and aimed it at the incoming silhouette that was jumping over the wall.

*****