Chapter 131
Because Matsuda Jinpei's father had been wrongfully accused, he used to be somewhat radically anti-police, even dreaming of punching the Police Commissioner.
He never thought that someday he'd worry about someone else radically hating other police because of bad apples among the police.
It had only been a few years, and the boomerang had already come back around.
Matsuda Jinpei tried to ask about the part he hadn't heard clearly, but Usuha Izuki had already gone into the sea to play on his own, completely uncooperative.
Hagiwara Kenji slowly walked to Matsuda Jinpei's side and said gloomily: "Sometimes I really want to punch him."
Between men, sometimes using fists could solve many problems.
Matsuda Jinpei deeply agreed: "Then punch him!"
"I tried." Hagiwara Kenji sighed. "It didn't work, so forget it."
He had tried during Little Shinryu's truancy incident, but Little Shinryu didn't resist at all, making him feel guilty instead—the effect was poor.
Hitting wasn't the goal; if the goal couldn't be achieved, there was no point.
Hagiwara Kenji: "Anyway, he's still willing to be a police officer, right?"
Matsuda Jinpei: "He said if he changes his mind, he'll tell us."
"...Fine." Hagiwara Kenji rubbed his forehead with a headache. "At least he won't do anything irreversible as a police officer. Let's leave it at that for now..."
No evidence, still friends—they couldn't report him just because of worries about things that hadn't happened yet. Little Shinryu was already lacking trust; if he did that, their friendship would definitely be over.
He could only observe more. If there were signs of anything disappointing Little Shinryu about police work, he'd intervene urgently... This also meant he couldn't stay mad at him for long periods.
—What kind of vacation was this, with increasing pressure?
However, the Hawaii trip wasn't completely without gains. Two days later, Kudo Yusaku contacted them again, saying he had results about how the blueprints reached the other side of the Pacific.
Because Kudo Yusaku knew they cared about this issue, he specifically asked FBI acquaintances about it—otherwise, people wouldn't bother telling him about it.
"Apparently it was obtained through a dark web transaction." Kudo Yusaku said. "He said he needed a bomb that was 'impossible to defuse, for intimidation,' and someone approached him for a trade... The FBI wants to investigate further, but the website address has been abandoned. It probably changes domains periodically."
This description immediately reminded Hagiwara Kenji of the domestic bomb criminal's confession about a "bomb enthusiast exchange website." Japanese police investigation had also revealed domain changes... then nothing more, no way around it—Japanese police efficiency was just like that.
Matsuda Jinpei, as someone from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit and the source of the leaked blueprints, frowned deeply, very much wanting to know who had leaked them first. He asked Kudo Yusaku to see if the FBI could provide more information.
Kudo Yusaku agreed to pay more attention to related matters and contact them again if there were developments.
After hanging up, Matsuda Jinpei turned to see Usuha Izuki with a completely uninvolved expression, making his hands itch: "This is related to you too—show some concern! This time it was Hawaii, but what if it happens domestically next time?"
Usuha Izuki remained very calm: "Just say the bomb criminal was influenced by America—didn't you also claim at the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit that the blueprints came from America? Now there's evidence. Unless the criminal insists the blueprints were designed by me, it has nothing to do with me."
Matsuda Jinpei: "............"
Hagiwara Kenji: "Let's go back to Japan... I feel like there are more and more things to deal with."
Two murders before even reaching Hawaii, then a bombing case in Hawaii, and the bombing case implicated possible moles in the domestic Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit—who could continue vacationing under these circumstances?! He had no mood for it anyway! And felt increasingly tired!
Now he just wanted to hurry back and investigate!
Thus, what was supposed to be a week-long Hawaii vacation ended up being less than three days of actual fun before returning to Japan's cold weather—quite a waste of effort.
Matsuda Jinpei returned to Japan and immediately went back to the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit to end his leave, preparing to secretly investigate who the mole was—someone actually selling confidential materials that were repeatedly warned not to be leaked!
Usuha Izuki and Hagiwara Kenji, however, were given leave by their superiors, so they could still rest a few more days until their superiors felt the timing was right to have them report back, making them much more relaxed than Matsuda Jinpei.
So Hagiwara Kenji, leveraging his former Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit connections, brazenly followed Matsuda Jinpei to the unit.
"Haha, don't call me captain anymore, I've been gone so long... Hm? No, not coming back, I'm on vacation, just feeling nostalgic, coming to look around."
Matsuda Jinpei, standing beside him, said with narrowed eyes: "I could handle it alone."
"Nothing else to do anyway, isn't helping you good?" Hagiwara Kenji looked innocent. "Catching that mole early means everyone can relax sooner."
Matsuda Jinpei pursed his lips but didn't actually drive Hagiwara Kenji away.
Sigh, though he still had some psychological trauma, it had been a while since he and Hagi worked in the same office—he missed it a bit.
Limited-time return felt pretty good, though Matsuda Jinpei still complained.
"How can you Criminal Investigation Division One police be so idle? How long are you taking vacation anyway?"
"Probably at least until next Monday." Hagiwara Kenji smiled. "Nothing to do anyway, so I'll come here these next few days."
Matsuda Jinpei asked: "What about Samukawa?"
"He said he's going shopping."
"..." Matsuda Jinpei was speechless for a moment. "He did earn quite a bit this time, enough for several years' salary. He should buy some good stuff for that apartment of his—every time I visit it feels like no one lives there... By the way, at least replace that blood-stained tatami! Doesn't he find it weird at all?"
Of course he didn't find it weird—Usuha Izuki didn't really live there much anyway.
When he had good stuff, he preferred moving it to the house his main body had bought.
When Usuha Izuki returned to his house stuffed with random lucky bag contents, Miyano Akemi happened to be inside cleaning.
He casually asked: "Has anyone come by recently?"
Miyano Akemi shook her head: "Don't know, but the things are the same as when I last cleaned—no one's touched them."
Then probably no one had come.
Usuha Izuki couldn't help taking out his phone to check—no one had contacted him either.
From when he drugged Vodka and ran away, to going abroad and vacationing in Hawaii and returning, during this period there were only a few scattered New Year's greetings. Other than that, organization people hadn't sent him anything else—even Hattori Heiji was more active than them!
...Though he did want some peace and quiet, he hadn't expected it to be this thorough!
The more Usuha Izuki thought about it, the more annoyed he became, so he immediately called Vodka.
Vodka directly hung up the call, but soon sent him an email: [Not convenient to take calls, say whatever in email.]
Usuha Izuki didn't suspect anything and composed an email: [Do you have anything you want to tell me?]
Seeing this fishing enforcement question, Vodka shivered all over.
What? Had he recently said something bad about that Usuha kid that reached the other's ears?
No way! With the busy New Year period, he couldn't even think of Usuha Izuki. The last time he spoke ill of Usuha Izuki was last year—it had been so long, surely they wouldn't dig up old grudges from last year?
Besides, he had complained to Scotland, who was currently on a mission in a place with bad signal. Scotland wouldn't bother telling Usuha Izuki...
Right, Usuha Izuki must be bluffing him!
So Vodka replied: [No.]
He satisfyingly hit send—this trick he thought of was really useful. He didn't want to take Usuha Izuki's calls but didn't want to be reported either, so he'd hang up and immediately send an email saying it wasn't convenient to take calls and to communicate via email instead. This way he had ample time to think about traps, avoiding being led around by Usuha Izuki's logic.
If this were a phone call, him staying silent for so long thinking about whether his bad-mouthing of Usuha Izuki had leaked would have been noticed by Usuha Izuki on the other end!
Email was good—he really hoped future communications would all be via email. Too bad this trick couldn't be used consecutively, or Usuha Izuki would definitely realize he was deliberately not answering calls. He could only use it occasionally.
Then after a while, Usuha Izuki's reply came.
[Think again, really nothing you want to tell me?]
Vodka: "...?"
He began to suspect—was there really something important related to Usuha Izuki that he had forgotten?
Ah, he remembered! That Usuha kid had drugged him with sleeping pills before! He hadn't settled that score yet! It was from last year too—he almost forgot with all the busyness!
Vodka thought for a moment and replied: [If you mean the sleeping pill incident, I understand you meant well, seeing me stay up late without rest, wanting me as a friend to rest properly. I don't blame you—if you were really an undercover agent, you would have just used poison.]
Strike first—he was tired of seeing things like "aren't you suspicious I'm an undercover agent?" If Usuha Izuki had the guts to say he used the wrong medicine, then he could righteously call Usuha Izuki an idiot.
Thinking about it made him a little excited!
After a while, Usuha Izuki's email came back: [What about that person who was tailing and investigating me—don't you have anything to say?]
Vodka was speechless: [Wasn't that you insisting someone tail and investigate you? Regretting it now?]
[No, I'm asking whether you reported that traitor who was tailing and investigating me to the boss.]
Vodka stared in confusion—how did the guy become a traitor? These two had never formally met. Usuha Izuki had just shaken him off, and this was enough for remote identification?
Was he really planning to identify everyone he'd ever met as traitors one by one, using exhaustive method to clear himself when traitors appeared?!
He felt indignant for Tequila: [How is Tequila like a traitor? Just because he couldn't keep up with you? Aren't you good at running away?]
[Good at it or not, I was dressed so conspicuously that day, carrying such a large suitcase—if he could lose me under those conditions, it's either poor ability or intentional. Pick one.]
Vodka paused, recalling what Usuha Izuki wore that day... Uh, it was indeed quite conspicuous, plus the large suitcase—losing him under those conditions...
Usuha Izuki sent another follow-up email: [Being able to get a codename means his ability shouldn't be too poor, so it was intentional—passive resistance, not taking organization tasks seriously... Even if such a person isn't an undercover agent, there's a high probability they'll become a liability. I suggest cleaning house and eliminating people who don't work properly...]
Vodka: ".................."
—While typing this, didn't you feel that this description seems to fit you better?!