“You know you are a person of interest, having owned a Tanaka R1.”

“Yeah but I delivered it,” YF countered.

Uraga lifted his vape box to his mouth. “You delivered it after your ferry was scheduled to leave. Either you had a change of heart and stayed, as instructed…” he inhaled from the mouthpiece and blew out a scattering of smoke. “Or you went to the homeland and had somebody else deliver your bike. Furthermore I did some sniffing around. Hayashi Reina’s whereabouts were always a mystery after she disappeared from the public eye years ago. But I have some reliable information that she was living somewhere near your apartment complex.”

“There must be at least five hundred people on our square block alone,” said YF. “How would I know where Hayashi Reina lives?”

“Five hundred people over a few years. Seems like you would’ve come across her at some point.”

“Does it matter?” asked YF.

“Certainly,” said Uraga. “Couldn’t hurt to ask you a few questions.”

“On whose orders?”

“Hayashi Tohei is no priest of The Way. But he’s as close to one as you’ll get among the old families. He’s been wanting to talk to his daughter for a while now.”

“It would appear a bunch of sectarians saved her from abduction,” said YF.

“Re-abducting an abductee would hardly make Mr. Hayashi sleep easier at night.”

“Why doesn’t he try to contact her then?”

“Mr. Sakai,” Uraga started with a hint of annoyance. “Someone covered your ass, and you know it. I just wanted to make sure you knew I knew, and that I’m watching you. So get to why you came here. And make it count because it will be your last time. I can’t have you come to my desk and talk all the time. From now on, any correspondence we do will be with a middleman. Understood?”

YF looked around the room.

“I’m three to zero on bugging attempts,” said Uraga. “I wouldn’t worry. Continue.” Uraga puffed out a long cloud of smoke.

"Honda told me you weren't too keen on the mods," YF began carefully.

Uraga scoffed. “What are some car mods going to do against powerful congressmen, the second richest old family, and the sectarians bankrolled by them?”

“I am working with an organization that is actively trying to bring down Hiroyuki.”

“Oh ho...Mr. Anti-sectarians has become one himself.”

“I didn’t say anything about them being a sect,” YF protested.

“With as much backing as Hiroyuki has, there would be no other groups willing to take him down.”

“And Nishida Ward?”

“My men are loyal to me, sure,” said Uraga. “But I have no doubt there are moles in my midst.”

“But you can hold back those elements.”

“I don’t think you need to worry about me,” said Uraga.

“We are coming up with detailed plans to stop him.” YF could only hope that Reina really did have a detailed plan to stop him. “We believe he’s using some very select equipment for his experiments. Take the equipment, disrupt the work.”

“What if he just procures the equipment again?”

“That won’t be possible in the near-long term.”

Uraga closed his eyes. “What are the terms of this agreement?”

YF hadn’t thought to ask Kigali exactly what he had in for the deal, causing him a small bit of panic. “The options are extensive,” YF finally said. “It would be better to document them and come to a conclusion then.”

“Fair enough,” said Uraga, much to YF’s relief. “Honda is still maintaining residence in Itsugo until further notice. Give her the terms as soon as you can.”

“Yes sir.”

***

YF sat on the park bench staring out at the trees. It was another worknight, another night where most of the people had gone off to Nishida Ward. Back then, he remembered thinking that Itsugo was empty and soulless. But this time the shadows cast by the streetlamps made him wonder if something malicious was hiding in every corner. YF recalled dealing with a mentally ill man shouting about conspiracy theories while barricading himself in his estranged, elderly mother’s home. Ever since that incident, YF did his best to make sure that he did not himself fall into a cycle of paranoia. But these days he found himself staring into every dark corner he could spot, wondering if there was a camera streaming a feed of his activities back to Hiroyuki.

“It’s been a while,” said Kigali, taking a seat.

YF jumped up, causing Kigali to raise an eyebrow. The man did not flinch. YF apologized and reached into a brown paper bag, handing Kigali a beer. “Came ready this time.”

“No work again?” asked Kigali.

“Last time I took a few days off. This time I was told to take a few days off.”

“I thought the job security for those things was supposed to be high.”

“It is,” said YF. “Pay’s no good, job security’s high. Maybe that’s the problem.”

“How do you mean?” asked Kigali with a grin.

YF held up his hands. "I haven't taken anything I'm not supposed to."

"Uh huh."

"But I am trying to cut a deal between a certain shipment company and my parent company."

"That's what I like to hear," said Kigali.

"The leader of said parent company needs option packages," said YF. "We need to transport out some sensitive equipment."

"Delicate?"

"Not delicate," YF replied.

"Heavy?"

"Prepare for that. Just in case," said YF.

Kigali pondered over it a moment, taking a sip of the beer. “There is one thing that concerns me."

"What's that?"

"What I had in mind when I was talking about procuring some modifications was more like reactor tuners, plated armor, that sort of thing."

"Are you expecting the Magistrate to want something else?"

"I don't mean to pry," Kigali started carefully. "But my gut tells me you will be needing a much more extensive package. One I can procure but the Ward Office probably can't pay for. The original goal, if you recall, was to start small and move up. The package I had intended for the higher levels might be in order."

YF knew that Kigali was right, but doubted Uraga was the type to be sitting on piles of clandestine DTKs. There was really only one way to get that type of money. "If I can find the DTKs, can you deliver the equipment?" asked YF.

"That depends on where the money’s coming from," said Kigali. "I will deal with anyone but Viper Sect. Those guys have somebody with deep connections already pulling all sorts of mods from my homeland. When I tried to follow the trail I found my men laying at the bottom of a tall building. No note, no explanation, but I got the message."

YF thought back to Erika’s talk about the “extreme path”, and the suggestions that she had been involved in many less than savory operations. He imagined her standing on the roof of a building, ordering her juniors to push Kigali’s colleagues off the side. YF wanted to believe she wasn’t involved in what Kigali was talking about, but he might never find out if she was or wasn’t. "The money will still be sectarian in nature," YF admitted.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"Understandably. Like I said, as long as it’s not Viper Sect. But on top of that, I would still like to make a deal with the Ward. Truth be told, I would rather not procure the higher level parts. But those are in exchange for your work. What I really need is just the favor of a large agency as a foot in the door.”

“I appreciate it,” said YF. “Give me the option packages for both tiers. I’ll present them where they need to be presented.”

Kigali chugged the rest of the beer and tossed it in the nearby garbage can. “I look forward to hearing the good news.”

***

“You must be the last person I wanted to see.”

YF looked up at Honda standing in the entrance of the cafe near her apartment, who was scowling even more than usual. YF had left her a message and waited until she returned from The Antelope. He was sure that she would be upset, but he was also sure she would do whatever Uraga asked.

Honda raised a finger to YF. “You knew...you knew where this would lead and you didn’t stop her.”

“You’re right,” said YF, standing up. “I should have stopped her the moment I knew Aritomo was involved.”

“Not Aritomo, your brother.”

“Yes,” said YF. “My brother.”

Honda seemed caught off guard by his admission. Her expression shifted from anger to fatigue; the full month YF had been away from them must have given her enough time to let out her steam. Either that, or she really really respected Uraga’s wishes. She stepped inside and walked over to the table, standing next to one of the chairs.

She sighed. “So it seems like you have something to contribute for a change. What is it?”

YF pulled his receiver from his pocket and swiped the option packages over to Honda’s receiver. Honda’s eyes grew wide. “Who does this guy think we are?”

“You’re not paying for these,” said YF.

Honda looked confused. Her eyebrows then furrowed. “Get to the point!”

“I need you or Uraga or whomever to procure the vehicles that will fit the options we need. I made a compatibility spreadsheet so you can just match the make models you know with the mods. Your team patrols Nishida, you know what sort of assets Aritomo has.”

“In a manner of speaking…” said Honda, raising the receiver to her face and swiping through it.

“We need to outpace whatever they have,” said YF.

“And how exactly are we supposed to procure these vehicles?” asked Honda.

“The impound lot should have some relatively more modern cars. With the laws against sectarians as they are, they don’t exactly have the most up to date assets. That’s where the Ward comes in.”

Honda looked incredulous. “You want me to take high-end brand spanking new vehicles, and put them in the hands of sectarians? There is absolutely no way.”

“If you have a better plan to stop Aritomo, please let us know.”

Honda grunted. “These vehicles, they’re being used for reconnaissance?”

“Yes. And to take a few things.”

“And that may delay whatever operation the older Sakai is up to,” Honda conceded. “But it won’t stop him permanently.”

“That’s likely the case.”

“It seems like a lot to risk.”

“The modifications are not like potato chips, Ms. Honda. They aren’t a one use type of thing.”

“I don’t see the point of this discussion then. If we aren’t paying for it, pick the highest option.”

“Can you get vehicles that will take mods at the highest option?”

Honda looked at her receiver again, scrolling through what YF assumed was the compatibility spreadsheet. She pressed her thumb down longer than usual at some point, sliding it upward a few times quickly before pocketing her receiver. “I’ll get the vehicles.”

“How?” YF ventured to ask.

“That’s none of your business.” Honda walked toward the cafe exit having never sat down at the table, her stride indicating she was eager to get away from him. She suddenly stopped at the door panel, looking over her shoulder. “Uraga told me to set you up with range training. Said your shot is shit,” she said.

YF didn’t reply, continuing to stare at the middle aged woman’s back as she left.

***

YF watched Eiji wolf down his udon. “So you said someone came to the Ward Office and hushed up the incident.”

Eiji slurped a chunk of noodles. “I saw the terrorist with my own eyes,” he said after swallowing. “Mine was the only confirmed sighting. Apparently all footage of the incident was wiped out.”

YF tried to look surprised, suppressing the memory of staring out through the glass at Eiji standing next to the latter’s patrol vehicle. “National security huh...seems like a weird reason for silencing the press,” YF commented.

“Man you should’ve seen how hard the reporters tried to get information from Uraga on it after the Nats left. Those guys are just vultures for stories, they wouldn’t keep silent on shit if we gave it to them.”

“And Uraga held his own? Just didn’t tell them what was going on?” asked YF.

Eiji nodded. “Old man has his flaws but he doesn’t do that sort of thing. Solid as any of us from back then.”

Was YF’s old group of friends “solid”, though? He thought about the group including Eiji from the Itsugo days. He wondered how many of them could actually be considered good, reliable people — reliable maybe, but not good. YF wondered if there were more “extreme paths” than the one sectarians espouse. He was sure that among their friends, at least, Eiji came close if not had already crossed into such an “extreme path”.

Thoughts of Eiji and their old group of friends reminded YF about his duties as the best man. He looked at the top of Eiji’s head as the latter continued to eat. He wasn’t sure if Eiji had made a comment about their old group of friends to remind him about the bachelor party. YF ultimately decided that that wasn’t Eiji’s style.

“Everyone seems to respect Uraga a lot,” said YF. “Even you. What’s his story?”

Eiji’s look grew serious. He placed his chopsticks across the bowl, lowering his voice. “You’ve heard people talk about how good a shot he is.”

“Yes,” said YF, thinking about what he had seen the Magistrate do in the Aritomo building.

“He got that from the counter insurgency days,” said Eiji. “Truth is, I wouldn’t be sitting here if it weren’t for him.”

YF waited for Eiji to continue.

“Not everyone took well to the ceasefire. My commander was a big asshole, as I’ve told you a few times. He led a raid into enemy territory during obon, when he assumed their guard would be down. Felt he needed to take revenge.”

YF could feel his skin grow cold. “No one disobeyed?”

“Everyone thinks they’ll be the hero,” said Eiji. “I protested, so did a few other guys. But captain somehow got most of them to shut up and go along with it. He had that aura about him. It’s hard to describe, but it’s hard to say no.”

“So you went with him in the end.”

“I did it for my brothers,” said Eiji, his voice quivering. “If they were going to go in, I didn’t want to be seen sitting out. Besides, it’s complicated. It’s not like I didn’t have anything against the guerillas. I couldn’t give two shits what they thought about politically, but the fact is they shot and killed a lot of my comrades. The point is I’m not entirely innocent, even if I didn’t want to do it in the beginning.”

“Then?”

“I don’t know what the captain was expecting, but we got ambushed from all sides. Uraga somehow caught wind of what was going on and he pulled our asses out of the fire. My buddies said they saw him down multiple enemies and retrieve at least two wounded men himself. When we got back to camp, he took Captain Terada to the back of the command tent and threatened him at gunpoint to pull back. Whatever negotiations the higher ups did, we ended up with much worse terms of peace than before Terada’s actions. Bunch of our guys taken prisoner from previous ops who were supposed to be freed are either still up there or dead. The radicals are more autonomous than originally agreed, and we lost a bit of territory.”

“And where is Terada now?” asked YF.

“Police Chief of one of the other wards, Hitachi Ward I think. Going to get promoted to the Central Office soon.”

“I’m sure that doesn’t make Uraga too happy.”

“Oddly enough he might be okay with it,” said Eiji.

“Oh?”

“It’s no secret Uraga pisses off a lot of people. But Terada and a few of the men in his company eventually reached influential positions. I’ve heard Terada and those guys will vouch for Uraga sometimes. Terada’s a real dick but somehow not ungrateful. I have no doubt Uraga gets away with almost everything he does because of that one incident.”

YF thought about mentioning Uraga’s failed transfer to the capital, but figured Eiji might not know about it. People like Terada must have been what Uraga meant when he said he was in “good standing”. The good standing that was not enough to prevent him from losing his dream job. Like everything else these days, Eiji’s story ultimately only accentuated what Hiroyuki was capable of — even a reputation like Uraga’s could not save him from Hiroyuki’s will.

YF then thought over Eiji’s story. He wasn’t sure that learning all this about Uraga made him dislike the Ward Magistrate any less, but it made a lot more sense why so many people were loyal to him. He wondered how much of the Nishida force was made up of men from either company in the incident Eiji mentioned. It was probably not small in number.

“You never told me this before,” said YF.

“Don’t believe me if you don’t wait,” said Eiji. “But I don’t ever want to discuss it again, you hear? I only did it to give you an idea of who Uraga is, at least what is fair about him. You should also never talk about it at the Ward Office. Nobody wants to talk about it.”

Eiji put on his coat and packed his receiver. YF looked down at Eiji’s bowl, where a chunk of noodles were still swimming in the broth. Eiji must have completely forgotten, something YF had never seen him do before.

YF looked up, nodding. “I get the idea.”