Chapter 125
Matsuda Jinpei also wanted to smoke. For the same reason—he couldn't smoke in the same room as a bomb—so he came out for some fresh air.
He walked out of the room, head down, lighting a cigarette while leaving the hall, walking to the door before putting away his lighter and looking up.
Then he saw the person he was waiting for, mutually pointing guns at each other with Hawaii police officers.
Matsuda Jinpei nearly dropped his freshly lit cigarette: "...?!?!?! Samukawa Shinryu!!!"
What was going on?! This was America!
American police weren't like Japanese police—those little lambs. They really dared to shoot!!!
Rather, the fact that he hadn't heard gunshots in this situation was what was abnormal!
Matsuda Jinpei wasn't sure what the situation was over there, and didn't dare gamble that rushing over recklessly might break the balance. He could only stand and shout from a distance.
Usuha Izuki glanced over: "The person picking me up is here, but I'm very worried you'll shoot me in the back. Come in with me, or put down your gun."
The Hawaii police officer was silent for a moment, then released his grip.
After all, Usuha Izuki's hand was still controlling the safety on the other's gun—he couldn't pull the trigger at all right now. Conversely, Usuha Izuki's gun already had its safety off and could hurt someone at any time, so this officer wisely gave up his weapon.
Moreover, the Hawaii police also recognized that the person who came out was the bomb expert just called by Kudo Yusaku. Although they still couldn't understand why the bomb designer wasn't a criminal—especially since this person clearly didn't look like a good guy, and it seemed like they should arrest him for questioning first—in the current situation, they really didn't have much need to risk their lives stopping him.
There was an FBI inside anyway. If there really was a problem, let the FBI people handle it!
American police sense of justice was always flexible.
Usuha Izuki, holding two guns taken from the Hawaii police officers, walked toward Matsuda Jinpei.
Matsuda Jinpei hadn't moved until Usuha Izuki got close, then with lightning speed bonked him on the head: "What's going on?! Explain it clearly! If I'd come out a moment later, would you two have started shooting?!"
He was scared to death! It was almost as terrifying as when Hagiwara Kenji had called him and suddenly said the bomb countdown had started again—his hands were even shaking slightly.
Seeing that scene, his mind immediately flashed to what American police were like in the news—kids who called police saying their mom was being beaten by dad could be killed by police. He felt his heart wasn't doing well.
Usuha Izuki stuffed one gun into Matsuda Jinpei's hands to occupy them: "I controlled the safety—he couldn't fire."
Besides, he had deliberately said things to cause misunderstanding, though he might have overestimated the average quality of American police. Maybe he didn't need to use techniques so carefully—the other party would contribute suspicion values anyway.
It had been a long time since he'd seen such idiots. Worthy of America—truly high tolerance.
Hearing that the other couldn't release the safety, Matsuda Jinpei didn't feel much better and still had lingering fear: "That's still not okay—too dangerous!"
At that distance, if the other had been slightly faster and able to fire, the bullet definitely wouldn't have missed...
In that case, they would have left Japan less than 24 hours ago, encountered three consecutive cases, with Samukawa Shinryu severely injured. This vacation would be over, and they might even have psychological trauma about going abroad in the future!
Sigh, but he couldn't blame Samukawa. With his aura, in Japan he might just be stopped for questioning, but in America, if people suspected you they'd just shoot—that was quite normal.
Matsuda Jinpei mentally made excuses for Usuha Izuki while leading the way, but still had some questions.
But why draw guns at such close distance? This didn't fit American police habits, right?
The two Hawaii police officers who had lost their service weapons discussed it briefly. Watching the two of them swagger inside nonchalantly, they began to lean toward thinking Usuha Izuki really wasn't much related to this case—the blueprints had probably leaked out. So they followed from a distance and returned to the room.
Because Matsuda Jinpei had just been startled, his mind was a bit muddled. When he entered the room and several FBI agents looked at them suspiciously, some even pointing guns at them, he realized and looked down at his hands.
...When had he been handed a gun?!
He quickly threw the gun on the ground, then grabbed the gun from Usuha Izuki's hand and threw it down too.
Kudo Yusaku was shocked, looking at the two empty-handed Hawaii police officers behind them: "What happened? How did these guns end up in your hands?"
He asked in English, mainly wanting to explain the situation to the FBI.
Usuha Izuki also answered in English: "I heard those two had some misunderstandings about you, so I went to explain. It seems I scared them, and they didn't believe my explanation. I was just protecting myself."
Hmm...
The FBI agents were skeptical.
Indeed, this person looked like that Cult Leader they'd caught some days ago—full of dangerous charisma. Their first instinct upon seeing him was to arrest him, even wanting to supplement evidence afterward, feeling sure there would be traces... It was normal for those two officers to be scared.
However, for one person to face two armed police officers and emerge unscathed, even taking their guns...
Was it through eloquence? Could he really be someone skilled at brainwashing? He looked the part.
The FBI were all on guard. They'd seen many high-IQ criminals and felt this person overlapped considerably with their past cases.
Kudo Yusaku, hearing the explanation, breathed a sigh of relief and said in English everyone could understand: "Since it's a misunderstanding, it's fine. This is the bomb expert I invited..."
He really hadn't known Samukawa Shinryu was also skilled in this area. He'd specifically asked if Samukawa Shinryu was also from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit, but was told he'd previously been with the Mobile Investigation Unit and was about to transfer to Criminal Investigation Division One—he'd learned from Hagiwara Kenji.
Kudo Yusaku was amazed, praising Hagiwara Kenji for taking on such a good student with talent who learned everything quickly.
Hagiwara Kenji could only nod awkwardly under Matsuda Jinpei's cold smile.
Now Kudo Yusaku meant to return the guns and let this matter pass.
But those two Hawaii police officers, hearing Usuha Izuki's words, felt wronged—how did it sound like they were idiots who would scream and flee when watching horror movies?
So one spoke up indignantly: "That's because he said he was the designer of this bomb!!! Wasn't it normal for me to try to arrest him?!"
The FBI agents who had just relaxed their guard were startled again.
But this showed the difference between elite police and low-education police. Several FBI agents didn't rashly raise their lowered weapons again, but quickly exchanged glances, their brains visibly working at high speed.
No criminal would reveal their identity at a time like this, so this person really was just the bomb designer, not the perpetrator.
How the perpetrator got the blueprints remained to be discussed. If it was an acquaintance, that would be easy—they could quickly investigate and the case might make huge progress.
"Hello, I'm Agent Judy Starling." A short-haired female FBI agent was assigned to negotiate with them. "Could you tell us about this bomb? Who have you shown the blueprints to? What was your purpose in designing it?"
While asking, Judy closely observed Usuha Izuki.
Her first impression was correct—this was a very dangerous young man. Standing beside him, she felt an inexplicable tremor. She'd only felt this kind of fear when arresting a madman who had killed over a dozen people and made them into human art sculptures—was it because of his gaze?
His eyes, like that madman's, had an arrogant indifference that didn't regard others as the same species.
This made Judy very uncomfortable, and she really wanted to investigate whether this person had committed crimes... Sigh, but he was a foreigner—she couldn't manage that much.
Usuha Izuki was indifferent to Judy's scrutiny, actually quite grateful in his heart for the suspicion values this group of American police was contributing: "Many people have seen the blueprints. When I designed it, I had no particular purpose—just drew one randomly. I've only drawn this one blueprint."
Everyone else: "...???"
Hagiwara Kenji filled in for him: "After all, he's a police officer with a high possibility of encountering emergencies, so I taught him bomb disposal. To understand his learning progress, I had him design a bomb in reverse... He only designed this one. Because it was interesting, we gave it to the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit to make a training model."
Matsuda Jinpei nodded with a frown: "Right, so quite a few people knew about it, but we also want to know how it leaked out."
Everyone else: "............"
That wasn't the point—the point was that this blueprint was something he designed on his first try?!
Although the bomb expert wasn't on scene and most people here only half-understood bombs, the ransom note explained things very clearly to strengthen persuasion—pressure mechanisms, balance mechanisms, mechanisms to prevent liquid or gas injection... Even illiterate people could see how meticulous this bomb's design thinking was and how dangerous the designer's mindset was.
To design such a bomb on the first try suggested he hadn't hidden his true nature much, exposing quite a few frightening things through his design approach.
Even knowing this was a foreign police officer, Judy's vigilance rose another notch.
Police criminals were more troublesome because they deeply understood crime-solving techniques. Once they operated in reverse, it was hard to grasp evidence. Even if this person was police, who could guarantee he wouldn't commit crimes in the future... or rather, had already committed crimes but hadn't been discovered?
From the moment she saw this guy, her hair had been standing on end without settling down!
Was this the feeling a proper police officer should give her?!
Absolutely not!!!
"Anyway." Usuha Izuki regretfully harvested a wave of suspicion values—he really wanted to come vacation simply, but with so many suspicion values, it would be a waste not to collect them. "Let me go see the bomb first, along with the ransom note and X-ray photos."
Although everyone felt he didn't seem like a good person, the FBI were unexpectedly cooperative at this time, providing whatever was requested.
The Hawaii police couldn't stand it anymore and quietly approached the only female FBI agent present, who seemed more approachable, asking: "Is he really okay?"
"Any problems are for Japan to consider." Judy said very rationally. "We need to solve the immediate difficulty... Besides..."
She hesitated, not finishing her sentence.
Besides, at a time like this, if this guy wasn't a good person, it might actually be more beneficial for solving the case.
—Samukawa Shinryu looked like a Cult Leader skilled at brainwashing. Such people understood human psychology well, and if he really wasn't a good person, he might understand criminals' thinking even better. Maybe he could figure out who the criminal was from the ransom note!