Chapter 204
In the end, this mission failure was reported to the organization's boss personally by Gin.
Although Gin wasn't very willing to mention Usuha Izuki, especially since the situation seemed like it would also cast suspicion on himself, his loyalty to the organization was unwavering. No matter how unwilling he was, he still honestly reflected Usuha Izuki's role in the report—
He had warned them that Eddie Cassano might have a bloody disaster, causing Vodka to withdraw one step early and avoid being swept up in the FBI's subsequent dragnet.
Organization Boss: "..........."
To be honest, Gin had at least witnessed scenes where Usuha Izuki's judgment of people performed normally, so even with prejudices, when encountering this kind of situation, he had some psychological preparation.
But the organization boss didn't.
In the organization boss's mind, Usuha Izuki was just a guy with mental problems who spouted nonsense and occasionally went crazy with delirious ramblings.
His talent recommendation success rate was extremely low. Only Kiel and Chianti had truly joined the organization through his hands. Although they currently had no suspicion, this couldn't prove that Usuha Izuki's judgment was very good.
His undercover agent reporting rate was quite high and his attitude very proactive, but there was no evidence—all just "I could tell at a glance that blah blah blah." When asked about the cause and effect, it turned out most situations were blatant personal revenge... He did bad things very honestly, but it equally wore down people's trust.
Now the boss suddenly heard that an undercover agent predicted by Usuha Izuki was actually accurate—what was the boss supposed to think?
—It must be a coincidence, right?
The boss thought, with Usuha Izuki's exhaustive method, hitting the jackpot was possible.
Besides, if you really took Usuha Izuki's words seriously and believed his nonsense, then the organization would have no one left—everyone would be undercover agents! Especially Gin, who had been reported an especially large number of times. Was that possible?!
Absolutely impossible!
This time that Usuha Izuki kid just had a blind cat catch a dead mouse!
So the boss even comforted Gin: "Don't worry. Just because Botanist was right this once doesn't mean he's always right. I don't believe any of the bad things he said about you. And this mission failure can't be blamed on you. That fraud ring was obviously experienced—it's normal that you couldn't see through them."
But Usuha Izuki had seen through them.
Compared to the boss who didn't take it seriously, Gin really had some doubts about how credible Usuha Izuki's words were.
It was just that because he himself really wasn't an undercover agent, he still leaned toward thinking Usuha Izuki was usually talking nonsense.
Vodka also agreed completely and had even sorted out the logic:
"That's right, big brother! That Usuha Izuki kid, this time was definitely intentional! He knew he was usually talking nonsense, so this time when he gave serious advice, we wouldn't believe it either! He wanted to use this to slap us in the face! Next time we meet, he'll definitely show off about this to us!"
The regret was real—if they had believed Usuha Izuki earlier, they might have been able to get back some of the deposit. But he and big brother wouldn't be defeated by such a small trick! If Usuha Izuki wanted to use this to step on him and big brother's heads and make them obediently listen to him in the future, that was impossible!
Gin breathed a sigh of relief.
Good, all his brainwashing these days hadn't been in vain. He was really afraid Vodka would believe Usuha Izuki's nonsense from now on—then this job really couldn't continue.
Vermouth had already left early because she couldn't stand listening to these two people's malicious speculation about Usuha Izuki, and she thought their face-saving efforts were too forceful and excessive.
The organization wasn't some university student project group—people had no obligation to help! After helping them, they actually weren't grateful. Who would be willing to help in the future?
She wouldn't anyway. She hoped Usuha Izuki wouldn't be so kind-hearted in the future either. Some people weren't worth his help!
Fortunately, Usuha Izuki had already left Los Angeles and didn't stay to see Gin and Vodka's black-and-white-reversing faces. Otherwise, how upset he would be!
Usuha Izuki, who had already returned to Seattle, wasn't upset at all. He was pondering that Gin and Vodka definitely wouldn't want to publicize this matter widely. He'd still have to wait until he returned to Japan to properly spread the word among the undercover agent community.
Wouldn't this suspicion value be in for another big wave?
Thinking of this, Usuha Izuki couldn't wait to return to Japan.
But to return to Japan, he first had to meet up with Hagiwara Kenji and Matsuda Jinpei. Having come together, they naturally had to return together.
Compared to Usuha Izuki, who had flown to Los Angeles and enjoyed Universal Studios, Disneyland, and Hollywood, Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji hadn't left Seattle.
When Usuha Izuki met Hagiwara Kenji, he discovered they hadn't even changed hotels. He was very confused: "So what have you guys been doing these past few days?"
"Didn't we tell you we hit it off with someone from that bomb conference?" Hagiwara Kenji said. "Recently we've been acting together with that Mr. Lermontov."
Since they were all people met at the bomb conference, the topics they discussed were definitely about bombs. He was fine with it, but little Jinpei was too absorbed—there were always endless topics to discuss. Hagiwara Kenji didn't originally have any particular place he had to go, and the topics weren't impossible for him to join, so he accompanied them.
"Lermontov?"
"Right, that Russian who gave a presentation on the second day."
Usuha Izuki remembered: "Oh—him. I remember he seemed to be asking around for..."
"Plamia's bombs." Hagiwara Kenji continued. "His relative was killed by Plamia—just collateral damage from simply passing by... So he's been obsessed with catching Plamia, but until now no one knows the structure of Plamia's bombs... He originally approached little Jinpei to ask if Japan, which discovered Plamia's true identity, had any new leads."
After all, they were bombs. When they exploded, the container would definitely be the first thing destroyed, so it was quite normal that no one knew what Plamia's proud bombs looked like until now.
Usuha Izuki wasn't very interested in Plamia, this tool person. Seeing Hagiwara Kenji's sad expression when discussing this, he changed the topic: "Where's Matsuda?"
"Drinking with Mr. Lermontov." Hagiwara Kenji continued sighing. "But I'm a bit worried, so I was planning to go check now. What about you?"
Usuha Izuki: "...???"
He wanted to ask what was there to worry about with drinking, but then thinking that Lermontov was Russian... if he got drunk and violent...
"I'll go have a look too."
But just as the two reached the hotel entrance, they saw Matsuda Jinpei supporting Lermontov as they got out of a taxi.
Hagiwara Kenji quickly went to support the other side. The two of them dragged and carried Lermontov all the way back to his room, while Usuha Izuki was responsible for small tasks like pressing elevator buttons and finding the room card to open the door.
After helping the person onto the bed, Lermontov, who had been wobbling with his eyes closed the whole way, actually woke up a bit, opening his eyes to stare blankly at the ceiling.
Matsuda Jinpei wiped his sweat: "Mr. Lermontov, since you're awake now..."
Lermontov's wailing instantly interrupted Matsuda Jinpei's words.
"Wah wah... wah ahhhhh...! Natasha...! Natasha...!!!"
A tough man's tears—too heart-wrenching. If not for the hotel's good soundproofing, people who didn't know might think someone had died here.
Matsuda Jinpei sighed and, noticing that Usuha Izuki seemed a bit confused, casually explained: "He's like this when he gets drunk. His daughter died when she was on her way to bring him something and got caught in an explosion caused by Plamia. She couldn't be saved. As a bomb expert, his daughter was killed by a bomber—he probably can't get over this hurdle... He already cried for a long time at the bar."
Usuha Izuki couldn't help frowning: "Plamia..."
"Such a pity. By the time we got the information, Plamia had already hidden again... If only we had discovered it earlier."
Matsuda Jinpei had probably gotten along too well with Lermontov these past days and already considered him a friend. Plus, he was the one who had discovered and reported the intelligence about Plamia on the dark web, so he felt somewhat guilty at this moment: "If I had..."
Hagiwara Kenji comforted him: "By the time Plamia's intelligence could be passed to Надоуничтожить and posted online, it was already too late when you saw it. Even if you had seen that post immediately, it wouldn't have helped."
Matsuda Jinpei pinched his nose bridge: "I know. I just feel a bit sad."
The atmosphere was too depressing. Usuha Izuki's originally good mood was getting somewhat depressed too.
But Usuha Izuki was never one to wrong himself. If he was unhappy, others shouldn't expect to feel good either.
He had originally planned to wait until returning to Japan to say anything, but now it didn't matter—it was just a few days difference.
Usuha Izuki took out his phone and directly picked a lucky recipient at random to send an email.
[I caught an undercover agent on the American side. Aren't you going to congratulate me?]
Akai Shuichi, receiving the email across the Pacific: "...?!?!?!"