Vol 1 Chapter 3.2 (2/2)
”Really?”
”You're naturally dense, you wouldn't know. It doesn't get any more dangerous when something's gone too well. That's why we're going to dump this thing. When I tell you to, wrap up in that cloth and jump out of the car. I'm gonna crash it.”
”How about you?”
”I'm used to this kind of thing. No need for the dense boy to worry about me.”
”I can't just leave you!”
The wall was looming closer.
”Get out, open the door!” Nezumi yelled. Almost simultaneously, the tires screamed as the car screeched to a halt. s.h.i.+on's body floated up. The next minute, he was being slammed back against the seat. If it weren't for its shock-absorbing material, he probably would have broken a few bones.
”d.a.m.nit!” Nezumi kicked the door hard. It didn't move.
”Is it the automatic brake system?” s.h.i.+on winced at his bruised shoulder as he asked.
”I disabled that a long time ago. I disabled the alarm system, the collision sensor system, everything. This car's being controlled remotely,” Nezumi said angrily.
A chuckle resounded throughout the interior of the car. It was Ras.h.i.+'s voice.
”I won't have you underestimate the Security Bureau. The car that you boys are riding is actually an escort cruiser, though you might not have noticed. It's not something you can control so easily.”
Nezumi swore.
”I didn't know you had an accomplice. That was something I didn't expect. It was quite the spectacle, very impressive. Why don't we have a nice talk, and I can hear all about it.”
The car changed directions, and began to move on its own.
”Rather quiet, hmm? Can your friend not talk? Or does talking pose some kind of problem? Ah, your voice sample must be in the system, which means you have a criminal record.”
”I think you're talking a bit too much.” Nezumi's hands moved swiftly. ”I'm sorry, but I don't have time for pointless conversations with old men.” Nezumi moved to the back seat and pushed s.h.i.+on down. ”Duck and get under the cloth. Hold on tight.”
”Hey! What are you doing?” There was a note of panic in Ras.h.i.+'s voice.
”See ya, old man. Say goodbye to your high-tech escort cruiser too.”
”What―”
There was a blast. A wave of impact slammed into them.
”Get out!” The short command burst at s.h.i.+on's ear. The door opened. A gust of hot air swept over them. Outside. I have to get outside. s.h.i.+on screwed his eyes shut, and leapt into the outside world. He hit the ground, and rolled. Behind him, he heard an enormous explosion. The car was on its side, its wheels in the air spinning helplessly.
”Good job,” Nezumi whistled. ”You rolled pretty well for someone with such a big head. Not hurt, are you?”
”I sc.r.a.ped my arm pretty badly. You?”
”I told you, I'm used to this.”
”What did you do?”
”I destroyed the steering system.”
”How?”
”Escort cruisers might be durable on the outside, but they're delicate on the inside. As long as you set it in the right place, any small bomb will put it right to sleep.”
”You seem to know a lot about it.”
”Like I said, I'm used to this. Right, now to get out of here. Can you run?”
”Of course.”
They emerged from the wood to see several Security Bureau cars approaching in the distance. The area had probably been put under emergency alert.
”Throw your ID card away,” Nezumi ordered quietly. ”Hurry up, there's no time to waste. That thing is only going to be a danger to us.”
s.h.i.+on knew. His ID card carried all his personal information, and it was connected to and stored in the city's administrative computer system. The computer could instantly pull up his latest information, or pinpoint his location from the weak radio waves that his card emitted. Carrying his ID card was like waving a large flag and telling everyone where he was. It was a dangerous device for anyone who was on the run, in hiding, or aiming to go underground. Nezumi was telling him to throw it away. But― once let go, he would never be able to get it back again. He would be throwing his whole life in No. 6 away. A card was needed for everything from shopping, bill payments, and communication to entering and exiting the workplace or school, and using public transportation. Those who couldn't prove their citizens.h.i.+p in the city were not allowed to live there.
”Throw it away,” Nezumi repeated, in the same low voice.
If he didn't toss it, there was no chance for them to escape. But if he did, he would never be able to return. The pair of grey eyes were fixed on him. They were neither clouded in panic, nor glinting in challenge. They were calm, and unreadable. s.h.i.+on let go of his ID card. A grey mouse appeared, picked up the card in its mouth and disappeared again into the undergrowth.
”He'll get rid of it for us. That should keep the Bureau busy for a while trying to find our location. Not much of a distraction, but it should buy us some time. Let's go.”
A Security Bureau car turned right and disappeared into the forest. It had picked up the radio waves emitted by the ID card. They ran in the opposite direction.
”Hurry. Once the Bureau switches to their satellite surveillance system, they'll be able to see everything on land. We have to get away while they're still on the tail of that ID card.”
”Where? How―?”
”Well for starters, we'll use that.” A small truck was parked up against a beech tree. It was a Park Administration truck. A cleaning robot was loaded on the back.
”Sampo― no, that's Ippo.”
”Yeah. They said they wanted to help you and wouldn't listen, so I brought them along. They ended up being pretty useful.”
The truck began to move.
”Nezumi, this area's probably under high alert now. If we keep hanging around here without a card, they'll find us out.”
”We have a card.”
”Where?”
”He has it,” Nezumi jerked his chin at Ippo.
”Ippo? Oh, right.” Robots were also required to be registered with the city. Robots like Ippo and Sampo, which were used by city organizations, were registered in detail according to their various uses, and implanted with a chip.
”His chip should get us through the inspection system.”
”But Ippo's chip only shows that he's a cleaning robot. If he's found roaming an area that has nothing to do with it, they'll get suspicious.”
”We're roaming an area that has everything to do with it.”
”Huh?”
They were approaching a pair of silver gates. The moment they pa.s.sed through, they would be automatically scanned, and if the contents of the chip deemed them unfit to pa.s.s, the gates would close, and the truck would be forced to a halt.
The truck sped through the gates without slowing down. The hazard lamps at the gate remained unlit. s.h.i.+on let out a breath. Nezumi chuckled.
”Don't get worked up just yet. This is only the beginning.”
”Sorry, I'm not used to this kind of thing.”
”You'll get used to it in no time. Then you can sit back and enjoy the ride.”
”This isn't really my idea of 'enjoyable',” s.h.i.+on muttered.
”Oh, really? The look on your face says you're enjoying this quite a bit.”
s.h.i.+on sighed deeply again, and gazed at Nezumi's profile.
”Admiring my good looks?”
”No, I just noticed you've gotten taller.”
”So have you. It's been four years. Our four years is a long time. Gotta expect some changes. It would be unnatural not to have changed at all.”
Four years was a long time. For s.h.i.+on, it was long and turbulent. But compared to the dizzying events of these past few hours, he felt like they were the most peaceful days of his life. A weariness overcame his body. Nezumi smirked.
”So have you noticed?”
”What?”
”I'm taller than you.”
”Lies,” s.h.i.+on objected.
”It's the truth. What have you been eating? You're like a twig. I don't know how you would be able to get naked in front of your lover with a body like that.”
”That's none of your business,” s.h.i.+on replied irritably. ”Have you even seen me naked? Don't go making things up.”
”What if I said I have?” The cloth wrapped around Nezumi's shoulders shook as he continued to laugh. s.h.i.+on had treated a wound on that same shoulder four years before. Those shoulders were now broader and more muscled. His once-long hair was shorter, just covering his ears, and his jawline and neck were still slender, but not pitifully thin. He carried no remnant of the weakness that stirred s.h.i.+on's protective instinct four years ago.
”Nezumi, have you been keeping watch on me?”
”What're you talking about?” said Nezumi innocently.
”Don't play dumb. You appeared right there as if you knew this was going to happen to me. What's going on? Were you keeping me under surveillance?”
”Now, don't think too highly of yourself. I don't have that kind of time on my hands.”
”Then explain why.”
”You're always like that, aren't you,” Nezumi said. ”You can't take any action unless you understand everything in your head. You need an explanation and interpretation for everything.”
”What do you know?” s.h.i.+on replied angrily. ”Don't act like you know everything about me. I need to find out why this happened― what's going to happen. I can't move in this confused state.”
The truck came to a halt. s.h.i.+on was grabbed by the collar and shaken violently.
”You're going to move,” Nezumi hissed. ”Don't ever let me hear you whining about not being able to move again. Those guys don't see us as human beings. They can get rid of us as easily as crus.h.i.+ng an ant under their feet. You remember that.”
s.h.i.+on caught his breath, and stared into Nezumi's face. His words clicked into place like puzzle pieces.
Rights? You really think you have any of those? The Security Bureau's Investigations Officer Ras.h.i.+ had said those words, not moving a muscle on his face. What he had said in meaning was that he could dispose of s.h.i.+on as easily as stepping on an ant. Wipe him off the face of the earth.
”Get out.” Nezumi opened the door. ”We're walking from here.”
The vacated truck made a U-turn and slowly coasted along the way that they had come. It had switched to auto-pilot and was returning to the Park Administration Office. On its loading deck sat Ippo, and for a moment, it looked like its head was bowed in dejection.
They were standing inside what doubled as a waste disposal plant and Refuse-derived Fuel (RDF) factory. Here, all the garbage gathered from the city were sorted into those to be turned into RDF, those to be forwarded to other recycling facilities, and those to be discarded as waste. 80% of No. 6's energy supply came from solar power. In Chronos, every house was equipped with solar panels and its own thermal storage system. In Lost Town, however, it was more common to use the cheaper RDFs. RDFs were blocks of solid fuel, about the size of an adult thumb. Once burned, they emitted a faint odour, which blanketed the town.
”I see. It would be no problem getting into a waste disposal plant with a cleaning robot's chip.” If it had been a nursing robot or pet robot, they would not have been able to pa.s.s.
”Nezumi, was this all part of your plan when you brought Ippo and them along?”
”More questions?” Nezumi's shoulders hunched slightly in exasperation, his back to s.h.i.+on, who trailed behind. s.h.i.+on noticed that there was now a grey mouse sitting on Nezumi's shoulder.
”If I had them with me, I wouldn't look suspicious driving around the city. The inspection system wouldn't catch me as long as I was heading west in the direction of the waste disposal plant. They were pretty useful, I'll say. The transport truck was kind of slow, which p.i.s.sed me off. But those old guys took a detour to your house, right? That bought me a little time. But...”
”But?”
”But I would have wanted to get away on the Security Bureau car,” Nezumi sighed. ”Well, that just shows you can't get everything you want. Watch it, things are gonna get a little rough from here.”
”Huh?”
There was an explosion. s.h.i.+on turned to see a cloud of white smoke. Nezumi furrowed his brow.
”The truck got destroyed at the gate.”
”Which means Ippo's chip was read and―”
”Yeah. They must have sent out a destruction order to all the gates. It's because we left that other robot behind. They figured us out.”
―So Ippo and Sampo are both gone.
s.h.i.+on was suddenly grabbed by the wrist.
”They'll find out soon that we're in here. We're gonna make a run for it. Hurry.”
His grip was so strong that s.h.i.+on's fingers began to go numb.
”Nezumi, it hurts.”
”Shut up. Keep close to me.”
”I get it, let go. You're gonna break my wrist.”
He heard Nezumi tsk in frustration.
”That's the problem with delicate little boys like you.”
”I'm not a delicate little boy,” s.h.i.+on said indignantly. ”I'm different from four years ago.”
”Are you? You know, you can be really irritating sometimes. You might get killed at any time, you understand that right?”
”Yeah.”
”Lies.”
”I'm not lying.”
Nezumi's tone grew harsh.
”Then what was that face back there, huh? Is this the time to be feeling sorry for those robots? You don't understand anything. You're just an oblivious little boy.” Nezumi's fingers dug in harder. The grip on his wrist tightened painfully. s.h.i.+on gritted his teeth and bore it silently. He couldn't stand to let himself whimper pitifully after all that Nezumi had said.
Nezumi's fingers withdrew from his wrist.
”Keep up with me if you don't wanna die. Stay close, no matter what.” Nezumi broke into a run. The waste disposal plant was deserted. There were surveillance cameras scattered throughout, but most were older models and didn't seem to be doing their job very well. s.h.i.+on guessed that they probably didn't need them because no one would think of sneaking into the waste disposal plant in the first place. Nevertheless, Nezumi combed the path cautiously as he searched for a route that kept them out of view of the cameras.
An enormous funnel-shaped disposal machine was giving off a steady hum. Waste that could neither be recycled nor used as fuel were turned into dry chips here to be sent to the incinerator. Wastewater dripped from the spout of the machine into the pool below. The water flowed slowly toward the filtration facilities outside. It was murky, like a river after a bout of heavy rain. But in this river there were no living things. As they descended the stairs and drew closer to the water, an acrid smell a.s.saulted s.h.i.+on's nostrils. The floor beneath their feet was coated with slime, and threatened to trip him up any time. Nezumi stopped, and tossed something at s.h.i.+on.
”Goggles?”
”Yup. They have infrared sensors, so you should be able to see even in this water.”
”In here?”
Nezumi pointed at the sewage. ”Happen to like scuba-diving?”
”So we're diving in here, huh....”
”That we are.”
s.h.i.+on took a deep breath. The odour filled his lungs. Without another word, he put on the goggles.
”Wow, you're picking up quickly,” Nezumi remarked in mild amus.e.m.e.nt. ”I thought you'd whine and stamp your feet.”
”I don't wanna die,” said s.h.i.+on firmly. ”I'm not going to be stepped on like some ant. I'll do anything if it'll save me, and that includes diving into wastewater too.”
Nezumi turned to s.h.i.+on and gave a slight smile.
”Then follow me.”
”Of course.”
The low hum of the machine stopped. The ceiling lights lit up at once. The sound of footsteps could be heard above them.
”They're coming.” Nezumi extended a hand to the river of sewage. A mouse scurried down it and leapt into the water.
”He'll be our navigator. Try not to splash. Get into the water slowly.”
s.h.i.+on did as he was told. He sucked in a deep breath before going in. Just before he hit the water, an image of his mother's face crossed his mind.
-- END OF CHAPTER 3 --
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