Chapter 544 - SELFISH (1/2)
Akira did not want to waste time responding to Director Yojima's questions. She understood his anxiety, but she also knew that the mission they had was quite sensitive. If she chose to answer his questions, she would probably end up using valuable time.
However, the head of the department was not going to commission the work without a clear goal on their search for Bonnie and Clyde. Therefore, she needed to cooperate with him. She looked at the man with a calm expression.
”Director Yojima, please organise for several teams to check up on the identified locations.” She spoke up. ”The search algorithm I used is intended to find the places where Bonnie and Clyde are more likely to strike. However, I do not have a way to confirm their actions.”
”Ms Yamazaki, is it possible to identify the one location that the terrorists plan to hit?” Director Yojima asked.
Akira felt like rolling her eyes. It was already difficult to even narrow down the locations in Tokyo to the three that her algorithm identified.
She could try refining the search, but it would not be necessarily helpful.
After all, she would need to judge the behaviour of Bonnie and Clyde. Ultimately, even though the algorithm found the places they frequented before and after the meeting, their emotions regarding the places were unclear to Akira.
She needed to make an independent judgement if she decided to choose a single location. She was not willing to take a risk and make a decision. It was better to check on all three places to avoid mishaps.
”I am not a magician, Director Yojima.” She said. ”I am also sure that the ministry of defence does not lack officers and soldiers to act. Send people to examine the three buildings for traces of an explosive. A search should provide clear answers.”
Director Yojima hesitated for a moment before calling Deguchi. Despite his earlier rash behaviour, Director Deguchi was a reliable person in a crisis. Moreover, he had led multiple strike teams to handle searches and arrests.
Akira walked to the workstation and her fingers flew over the keyboard as she looked at the information about the three locations. She wanted to make sure that there was no oversight in the indicated results. After a short period, she stopped and stood up.
She was not sure about her judgement but based on the examination of the data, she had a hunch about the location that Bonnie and Clyde planned to bomb. Her assessment looked at the frequency of the two people visiting the joint as well as the activities that the two people took place in.
She had identified several shops and a karaoke bar where Bonnie was registered as a customer using her moniker. Furthermore, Clyde had placed several bets on teams in the bar and sports house within the locale.
That building was known as Crystal Plaza.
Akira was interested in going to check on the place in person. Even though she was not a member of the CAB, she still had the right to participate in the missions undertaken by the ministry of defence. As she walked out of the intelligence department, she called Minister Shimada.
The older woman picked the call immediately. She was coming from the president's office after a long meeting. Therefore, she was glad to see Akira's call. She wanted to hear some good news about the terrorism case.
”Hello.” Minister Shimada said.
Akira had a subtle smile on her face. ”Minister Shimada, I cannot say much about the hospitality of the Central Antiterrorism Bureau. I believe I was invited to solve a case, but I ended up in detention for questioning.”
Akira did not care too much about this matter, but she would not let go of it easily.
If she forgave the offence without mentioning it, it was likely that the Minister would not see her bottom line. Consequently, she would end up missing out on benefits in the future. She intended to use the case to make her work situation with the ministry of defence better.
”I am sorry.” Mister Shimada apologised. ”Interpol had the paperwork, and they believed that you were a key person in resolving the case. I could not do anything about it. I did everything I could, including putting Suzuki Taira away.”
Akira retained her small smile. ”Are you saying that I should accept the ill-treatment I received?”
The statement was quiet, but there was a hidden danger.
”No, I will make sure that the CAB answers for their actions.” Minister Shimada said quickly.
Akira was satisfied. She only wanted an additional bargaining chip because it was clear that Minister Shimada wanted to have her return to the Immortal Sword Brigade. As long as she had a few things to support her case, she was sure that she could force Minister Shimada to see her side.
”We will see.” Her voice was ambivalent. ”Right now, I would like clearance to go to the field with an enforcement team.”
Minister Shimada felt nervous after hearing Akira's request. ”No, that is out of the question. I cannot clear you to go to the field.”
To her, Akira's situation was extremely delicate. She was a pregnant lady, so doing anything that strained her would increase the risk of getting into an accident. It would be difficult to defend herself if Akira was injured due to a mission.