Vol 7 Chapter 5.2 (1/2)
This is a continuation of PART A.
”E-Escorting me... where?”
There was no answer. The two muscular Bureau officials, alike in height and shoulder width, remained silent with their guns pointed at Getsuyaku.
Nothing spoke louder than their lack of words.
Destruction was approaching. Getsuyaku understood that he was in no position to escape. But he couldn't relent.
No. No.
”Wh―why am I... what are you saying I've done...?”
This time, there was a response.
”You exhibited suspicious behaviour. At the Mannequin.”
”S-Suspicious behaviour? That must be some kind of mistake,” Getsuyaku stammered. ”I... I was just cleaning―it was the robot's fault. I was summoned because the floor was dirty, and―and so to clean it up, I―”
”You were responsible for the maintenance of the robot, were you not?”
The muzzle of the gun moved up and down as if to cut off Getsuyaku's desperate words.
”And you performed it a whole week earlier than was planned.”
”That was because―um, they didn't seem to be in very great shape, and... it happens often, actually, and...”
The officials said nothing more. Their lips were sealed, and no emotion could be read from their eyes. The two looked like robots themselves.
Only destruction awaited Getsuyaku if he let himself be escorted by these robots. An inescapable destruction.
No. No. No.
I'm going to go home. I'm going to return to Lili and Renka.
He threw down the gla.s.s in his hand, and dashed outside.
I have to run. I have to run. I have to get away.
If I run straight down this road, and get through the gate, I'll be in Lost Town. Once I get on the bus, I'll arrive at the usual bus stop in ten minutes. Lili would probably be there to pick me up.
”Welcome home, Daddy.”
”Feels good to be back, Lili.”
”Mommy's waiting. Today, we're having your favourite ― stew. We have bread that Auntie Karan baked, too.”
”That sounds terrific. I'm starting to get hungry already. Oh yeah, Lili, Daddy's going to buy you some brand new clothes soon.”
”Really?”
”Really. Let's go shopping on my next break, okay?”
”Yay! Thanks, Daddy.”
”Ha ha ha. Alright, let's go home. Mommy's waiting, right?”
A white-hot impact hit him in the chest.
Blood and bits of flesh splattered before his eyes.
What is it?
The world teetered off-balance. Darkness closed in on his vision.
No, no, no. I'm supposed to go home. I'm gonna go home. I'm gonna...
”Daddy, welcome home.”
”It feels great to be back, Lili.”
Getsuyaku crumpled as he was shot through the chest.
Inukas.h.i.+ averted his eyes, and clenched his hand into a fist.
What the h.e.l.l.
”Hey, that guy just got taken down,” growled Rikiga.
They were crouched behind some shrubs that dotted the surrounding area of the Correctional Facility. The Cleaning Management Room right before their eyes was the only department that connected the Correctional Facility directly with the West Block without a set of gates to pa.s.s through. The door that led into the Facility could only be accessed from the inside, however, so it was not possible to access the Facility from the side of the Cleaning Management Room. The doors were said to be made of a special alloy that even a small missile wouldn't be able to damage. Infiltration was impossible as long as these doors were closed. In that sense, Getsuyaku's workplace was more similar to the West Block, insofar as it was completely cut off from No. 6.
For Inukas.h.i.+, it was no problem if they were cut off. The Facility was one place he didn't want to step into if he could help it. He had no interest in it whatsoever, and he would have liked it to stay that way for the rest of his life.
He was more drawn to the grade and quant.i.ty of leftover food and clothing that Getsuyaku picked out from the waste collection depot adjacent to the Cleaning Management Room. These were more important to him than the Facility itself.
He and Getsuyaku had known each other for a while now. It had probably been at least three years. They were not particularly close or friendly with each other. They had just used each other as business partners.
Getsuyaku was straight-laced and cowardly, with a decent smattering of both good morals and greed. A typical man you'd find anywhere. He was just one of countless many that one could find.
But he did care about his family. Inukas.h.i.+ remembered him saying many times that he valued them more than anything else in the world. He had looked truly happy as he smiled and talked about his little daughter, who was on her way. Inukas.h.i.+ had once asked him, 'Isn't it a pain in the a.s.s to take care of another human? You can't take care of 'em like dogs.' Getsuyaku had lapsed into silence, his mouth half-open. He had looked astonished. Inukas.h.i.+ remembered the look of pity that then crossed Getsuyaku's face as he closed his mouth.
At that time, he had not understood the reason behind Getsuyaku's expression. Now, Inukas.h.i.+ felt like he had a better idea. It was thanks to s.h.i.+onn―no, it was all his fault.
Inukas.h.i.+ felt like he could understand a little―just a tiny little―of the kind of love Getsuyaku felt for another tiny soul. And for the family that awaited its father, its husband, Getsuyaku was definitely not one of countless many. He was the one and only irreplaceable existence. Inukas.h.i.+ understood that too.
”I see. So they won't stop at West Block residents. They'll even kill their own people, too, huh,” Rikiga said, wiping the sweat from his brow. His body was tense despite his airy tone.
”He lived in Lost Town,” Inukas.h.i.+ said. ”He was probably practically―trash for those people.” Inukas.h.i.+ put up a front of unruffled calm, but he was also nervous and tense. The nape of his neck was so taut, it was painful.
To think they'd actually kill him.
He hadn't even dreamed that they would kill Getsuyaku. He had, however, expected the man to blow his cover. There were plenty of possible instances when Getsuyaku might slip up and give something away. In a worst-case scenario, he would have been taken into custody and imprisoned.
But if the Correctional Facility itself would eventually collapse, as Nezumi said, then it was only a matter of time before Getsuyaku could get free. They would take advantage of the confusion and rescue him from his cell.
”G.o.d, the amount of trouble I had to go through because I fell for your smooth talk. That teaches you not to take a dogkeeper's word seriously. d.a.m.nit, I fell right into your trap.”
Inukas.h.i.+ wouldn't mind bearing with a complaint or two from the man. In fact, he wouldn't even mind bowing his head and apologizing. Then, he would humbly and graciously hand over the promised gold. Three coins, plus another, ”for your trouble,” he would say. That was sure to restore Getsuyaku's spirits.
The demolition of the Correctional Facility meant the end of his business with Getsuyaku.
Thanks for all the years of business.
No problem. And I think I've had enough risky jobs to last me a lifetime.
They'd shake hands, perhaps, and then part ways. In Inukas.h.i.+'s mind, that had been his ideal way to say good-bye. But Getsuyaku lay face down on the arid ground without a single twitch. Only the wind blew over his body.
To think he'd get killed.
To think he'd get killed so easily, so unceremoniously. Gestuyaku is a citizen. He's someone who lived inside the walls. He may have been in the dregs of No. 6, but he was still registered as a proper citizen. He's different from us. They wouldn't murder him pitilessly. They wouldn't dare.
He had believed so wrongly all this time.
I was hopelessly naive. I knew in my head how cold, how brutal No. 6 could be towards people who betrayed it, refused to obey it, struggled against it... I thought I knew, but I didn't know anything. I was naive. I should have told him to get his a.s.s out of there as soon as he pressed the b.u.t.ton. Tell him to get out, and...
He felt like someone had grabbed his hair and yanked it up. His scalp hurt from how taut it was. A scream threatened to come up through his throat.
I remember now. It said so in Nezumi's letter.
Order any collaborators to escape immediately.
He remembered clearly that single line. Nezumi had predicted this ruthlessness, this brutality. But I overlooked it. I was too caught up in trying to lure Getsuyaku in to devote any thought to the safety of the people I'd be getting help from. It hadn't even crossed my mind until now. Until now, when it was too late.
I was careless. A careless, f.u.c.king naive moron.
He chewed his lip.
But regretting it now wouldn't undo what he had done.
”Terrible.” Rikiga wiped the sweat off his brow again.
Two men who looked like Security Bureau officials were stepping on Getsuyaku's body with the tips of their boots. They were looking at each other and nodding. They each took ahold of one of Getsuyaku's legs and began to drag the body along. The blood flowing from the corpse left red streaks on the dry ground.
”Are they really human?” Rikiga's voice turned raspy.
The dogs growled lowly beside Inukas.h.i.+.
You're sure right about that. These dogs are a hundred times more decent. They've got hearts worth a hundred of those men.
Inukas.h.i.+ gave a quick snap of his fingers. The dogs all sprang to their feet at once. Rikiga blinked.
”Hey, wait. What're you planning to do?”
”Make them tear those guys' throats apart, obviously. I'm gonna avenge Getsuyaku.”
”Are you stupid?” Rikiga said in disbelief. ”Even your dogs couldn't stand a chance against armed Security Bureau guys. If they find out where we're hiding, we'll be shot to death, too. Do you think people who can shoot up their own citizens are going to cut us any slack?”
”But if I don't―”
”If he was alive, you could still flail around and do your thing. But he's dead. He's gone completely. He's not going to feel anything. He doesn't feel any anger or suffering now. He's as good as that piece of dirt. Tell me, should we throw our lives away for a piece of dirt? I don't know about you, but I'm definitely excusing myself from this one.”
Rikiga's bloodshot eyes hardened.
”We can't die yet. We still have an important job to do: save s.h.i.+on. We can't do it if we end up as ghosts. That's the most important thing, and don't you forget that, Inukas.h.i.+.”
”―Fine.”
What Rikiga was saying was true. They still had a job to do. And it was a job that couldn't be done if they weren't alive.
He snapped his fingers again, this time more slowly. The dogs lay back down on the ground. Rikiga exhaled a long breath.
”Really, I wish you wouldn't act on every emotional whim. This is why you can't trust young people.”
”Old man.”
”What?”
”So you do say some decent things, once every ten years or so, anyway. You weren't just a dead weight after all. I see you in a new light now.”
”Say what you will.”
”And while I'm saying what I will, lemme remind you that we're splitting the gold even. Don't you forget that.”
”I know, I know. Even half of the treasure is enough for me to live a freewheeling life. But if that guy's gotten himself killed, how are we going to get into the Cleaning Management Room?”
”I have the key.” Inukas.h.i.+ held a magnetic card key between his fingers and thrust it under Rikiga's nose.
”You had a key?”
”Yeah, a spare. In all of the Correctional Facility, the Cleaning Management Room is the only one that still uses a simple magnetic card key. There aren't any signsof-life sensors, security systems, object sensors, or surveillance cameras in there. It's a paradise if you wanna hide out.”
”Well, I guess they wouldn't have a reason to spend money to watch a place that only collects garbage. So you nicked that key from the poor guy's pockets, huh?”
”Not his pockets. I took it out of Getsuyaku's small desk, where he eats his lunch. I borrowed it from his drawer.”
It was an old, worn desk that looked like it'd been picked out of the garbage. Getsuyaku used to eat his lunch there by himself. Once, I remember him giving me this small, sweet pastry called a m.u.f.fin. It was delicious. I thought my tongue was gonna melt, it was so happy. He said he'd bought it from a local bakery.
”I guess you don't have to return it to him now,” Rikiga muttered, with an unusually heavy tone.
”You're right. I don't have to give it back. So instead, I'm gonna make as much use of it as I can.”
When I see the Correctional Facility crumble, I'll dedicate the scene to you, Getsuyaku. I'll make sure to dedicate something that's worth the blood you spilled. I know it probably won't be enough to make up for my carelessness, but it'll be the best sending-off to heaven that I'll be able to give you.
Inukas.h.i.+ pressed a hand to his chest. Nezumi's letter was there under his clothes.
This time, I won't mess up. I won't overlook anything. I won't let my guard down.
Their lives are depending on it―s.h.i.+on and Nezumi's lives. I can't fail them again.