Chapter 126
Usuha Izuki was examining the X-ray films, with Kudo Yusaku, Hagiwara Kenji, and Matsuda Jinpei forming a small circle around him, exchanging information.
The two bomb disposal experts naturally discussed the bomb, with hints that they didn't particularly care whether the bomb could be defused or not, but they absolutely had to catch the mastermind and ask where the blueprints came from.
Kudo Yusaku was primarily responsible for solving the case, so his focus wasn't on the bomb itself, but on the circumstances when the bomb was discovered and the client's situation.
"...From the traces, it seems they entered through the employee passage, and one person couldn't have carried all this alone, so someone must have helped them... The ransom demand is too high—enough to buy a stake in the hotel—but the reconstruction costs and losses from being unable to operate during reconstruction would also be substantial, so the client is still hesitating."
Usuha Izuki casually asked: "Do you already have a theory?"
Kudo Yusaku raised an eyebrow, impressed by Usuha Izuki's perceptiveness: "I asked the client if he'd offended anyone, and he said business is like a battlefield—he's offended plenty of people... But I do have some theories. Perhaps you should look at the ransom note first."
Usuha Izuki actually just had favorable bias toward Kudo Yusaku, believing that cases he handled couldn't possibly leave him without any ideas.
Since Kudo Yusaku suggested it, he picked up the ransom note and quickly scanned it.
The ransom note was printed, so nothing could be gleaned from handwriting, but other aspects could still reveal some clues.
Hagiwara Kenji and Matsuda Jinpei's English and deductive skills were decent, but they certainly couldn't compare to Kudo Yusaku, who worked with text professionally and often read English originals.
The two could understand the ransom note's meaning, but asking them to deduce the writer's emotional state from word choice, or why they chose one word over another with similar meaning—that would stump them.
Kudo Yusaku could analyze subtle psychological states from word choice and sentence structure, and even enjoyed studying this—it helped his mystery novel writing. Usuha Izuki had the system's translation cheat, plus various other miscellaneous skills, making textual analysis a piece of cake.
From the ransom note, it was clear the perpetrator knew the client personally, harbored a grudge, and the resentment ran deep.
"Does the client really have no leads at all?"
Kudo Yusaku smiled: "Maybe he does."
But not saying anything was the same as having nothing.
Usuha Izuki thought for a moment and decided to examine the bomb first.
Like his blueprints, aside from those 28 switches, there seemed to be no way to approach it. According to the ransom note, once the money was received, they would reveal which switch was real.
However, Usuha Izuki said: "If it's really based on my blueprints, the switch they provide can probably only shut off the balance mechanism, making it easier for you to transport elsewhere for detonation."
Judy asked: "So you have no solution either?"
"There's one risky method." Usuha Izuki gestured. "Below is the bomb box, above is the control box. As long as we use a small bomb to destroy the control box before the detonation device activates, without affecting the bomb box below, we can resolve the crisis."
The FBI side all frowned: "But this small bomb's reaction time must be very fast, and if the blast radius calculation is off, it would be equivalent to detonating directly in the hotel."
"Correct." Usuha Izuki wasn't concerned about losses for capitalists anyway, his expression completely indifferent. "You can ask the client what he thinks."
After entrusting the case to Kudo Yusaku, the client had disappeared to who knows where. Kudo Yusaku speculated he was screening his enemies one by one. Now they sent someone to ask the client's opinion while the group moved to a safe room to continue discussions—after all, if this bomb exploded, it would at least blow through three floors in the vicinity.
The hotel owner arrived quickly. Despite the air conditioning in the room, he kept wiping sweat with his handkerchief.
He'd heard that this incredibly troublesome bomb was designed by this very person.
Originally, on his way here, he'd felt some resentment toward this individual, thinking this guy had nothing better to do than design bombs with hellish difficulty. If this blueprint didn't exist, maybe the bomb the criminal obtained could have been easily defused by experts, instead of being this troublesome.
But once he reached his destination and saw the designer in person, he had nothing to say—his heart even felt a bit intimidated.
Kudo Yusaku had only introduced him as a bomb expert, without mentioning his nationality or occupation, leading the hotel owner to some misunderstandings.
This big shot seemed somewhat unsavory, but if he wasn't a good person, why would he be here helping solve the case?
His brain had never been as active as it was now, generating numerous possibilities that he quickly rejected one by one, until he figured out what seemed like the most likely scenario.
—Could this big shot be the type who secretly causes trouble, but whose skills are so advanced that just locking him in prison would waste his talents, so the FBI recruited him, bringing him in to help with difficult problems to reduce his sentence?
It seemed plausible!
He honestly restrained his attitude and obediently asked: "Even you can't defuse it? Isn't this your design?"
"I can't be certain he followed my blueprints exactly, and when I designed it, I didn't consider actually building it, so I never thought about how to defuse it."
Usuha Izuki said flatly: "You now have only two choices: pay them, or try my suggestion."
Judy added from the side: "His method of blowing up the control box is very risky, with low success rates. If it fails, it's equivalent to detonating on the spot."
The hotel owner quickly analyzed the situation.
Well, compared to letting the bomb explode or paying money, choosing between possibly having the bomb explode and paying money sounded slightly better.
Moreover, this big shot seemed very capable. Although the FBI said success rates were low, the hotel owner felt the other party must be confident to make such a suggestion.
What did the FBI know about bombs?!
The hotel owner indeed chose: "Let's try using a bomb to blow up the control box."
The FBI didn't dissuade him. This "fight fire with fire" approach was very American—they thought it worth trying too. After all, if it failed, they wouldn't have to pay compensation.
However, manufacturing that kind of fast-reacting bomb still required Usuha Izuki to personally handle the mixing and creation, since he frankly stated he couldn't guarantee the effectiveness of others' work—everyone had different formulas after all.
Getting materials on the spot was impossible, but the Honolulu Police Department had confiscated raw materials and some bomb-making tools—enough to work with.
The two Hawaiian police officers who'd had their guns taken looked utterly bewildered as they drove everyone to the Honolulu Police Department.
What a ridiculous day this had been.
The two Hawaiian officers kept glancing in the rearview mirror, extremely uncomfortable with Usuha Izuki sitting in the back seat, constantly worried that bullets would pierce through their chests the next second... Even though the FBI had agreed to cooperate with this foreigner, sharing such a confined space still made them very uneasy.
Hagiwara Kenji had also come along. Matsuda Jinpei originally wanted to tour the bombs confiscated by the Honolulu Police Department, but Hagiwara Kenji stopped him, saying there wasn't enough room and that he'd accompany Little Shinryu.
"..." Matsuda Jinpei looked suspiciously at the back seat, then at their three not-particularly-fat bodies. "Do you think I believe that?"
Hagiwara Kenji replied without changing expression: "I saw your hands shaking earlier. You should go back and rest."
At this mention, Matsuda Jinpei became both angry and embarrassed: "I was angry at Samukawa!"
But he could also tell that Hagiwara Kenji didn't really want him to come along, and he could even guess why. Matsuda Jinpei, with things on his mind, went with Kudo Yusaku to continue investigating the hotel owner's enemies.
So only Hagiwara Kenji and Usuha Izuki went to the Honolulu Police Department.
Hagiwara Kenji quietly sighed in relief.
Sigh, Little Shinryu's suggestion was one thing, but why did he agree so readily to having him personally manufacture that small plastic explosive?
Even Kudo Yusaku's look toward him had become strange—this really wasn't his teaching!
At most he'd taught some improvised bomb ratios, but those were things found in textbooks anyway. Whether improvised bombs or plastic explosives, by the time they reached him, he only needed to handle the detonation structure. What would be the point of teaching someone hands-on explosive manufacturing for no reason?
This was definitely that illegal organization's reckless teaching. Hagiwara Kenji felt troubled thinking about it. Thank goodness Matsuda Jinpei didn't ask for details, or he really wouldn't know how to help cover for this.
Little Shinryu still refused to discuss that organization's situation in detail. However, during the Police Academy, it seemed Little Shinryu had only snuck out that once and behaved afterward. The internship period was hard to say, but once he joined Criminal Investigation Division One, with fixed work hours and frequent overtime, that illegal organization wouldn't have much time available. An ordinary detective in Division One didn't have much power either—wanting to abuse a position would depend on having the status for it. Maybe there wasn't much to worry about...
Lost in Hagiwara Kenji's thoughts, the group reached the police station where the two Hawaiian officers worked. Usuha Izuki rummaged through the warehouse for necessary materials, commandeered the workspace of a local bomb expert who was on vacation, directed the bewildered officers with expressions of "Has our station been occupied?" to clean the room and desk surfaces, then got to work.
The bomb expert whose workspace had been commandeered happened to return just then. Upon arriving and hearing someone was using his office, he immediately became furious: "Is my office something people can just mess around in?!"
But he didn't dare barge in rashly, fearing he might startle the person inside and cause an explosion. He could only knock gently, then slowly press down the handle and quietly slip in.
The bomb expert crept inside, immediately looking toward the work table.
Hmm, he'd heard they were making plastic explosives. That solution in the beaker should be the binder solution—was this the granulation process?
The bomb expert didn't even notice the operator's appearance. As soon as he entered, he became completely absorbed in the other's mixing procedure. Even the "Black Screen Aura" couldn't affect him because his mind contained only bombs.
Now he's adding water... Hm? Achieved the required amount in one go? Proceeding directly to the next step?
The bomb expert was puzzled, but immediately after, he was shocked to see the other casually pour contents from several bottles and jars—including powder of octogen, a powerful explosive—onto paper. Without weighing anything, he directly dumped the mixed powder into the water and stirred...
Ahhhhhhh—!!!
The bomb expert couldn't help but scream in anguish: "Stop! Stop it!!!"
—Explosives were substances where even 1 gram difference could cause major problems. Why wasn't he measuring? Why wasn't he measuring?!