The NGO member then left, saying she needed to deliver the supplies to the school. Echika waited outside the school grounds. As she watched two operatives leave while carrying box pallets, she looked at the phytotrons again. Cook had called the TFC a terrorist organization, but so far, the area hadn’t seemed any different from other impoverished areas. That male teacher was supposed to be a TFC member, but the sight of these children playing was one she couldn’t link to terrorists. This was just her impression, of course.
“No developments yet.” Totoki sighed as she ended her conversation. “I’d hoped that if the Alliance has something to do with this place, we would have found something by now.”
Absolutely true. “Maybe we should approach the locals and see what we can learn from them?”
“It’s too risky.” Totoki shot down the idea right away. “Even if the locals don’t realize who we are, the TFC fighters might notice, and that’ll just encourage them to push away the NGO’s support.”
Totoki was right. Civilian support groups like the International FLM Foundation, which was cooperating with the TFC, were supposed to be neutral groups. Echika didn’t know how Director Schlosser had talked them into doing it, but if their cooperation with the bureau was discovered, the TFC would grow suspicious and cut ties with them, and the only ones who’d end up hurt would be the civilians receiving aid.
“And the director sent us here with all that in mind?”
“Maybe he thought this was a small risk to take, compared to the possibility of the thought manipulation system spreading worldwide.” Totoki gazed at the phytotrons, as though she had just noticed they were there. “I don’t appreciate that line of thinking myself, but we can’t prioritize personal feelings here.”
Making those kinds of distinctions is just part of being in this organization.
Hearing her whisper this, Echika mused, perhaps belatedly, that while Totoki’s calm, collected decision-making may have come across as cold and cruel, she was actually quite emotional. Looking back on things, Echika had taken matters into her own hands during investigations many times in the past, and Totoki always backed her up out of respect for her Brain Diving abilities.
“Chief,” Echika said, remembering something. “Did my suspension only last a month because…?”
She trailed off there. The sound of the children cheering could be heard from inside a phytotron. The teacher had just opened a jar, releasing butterflies that were trapped inside. The insects fluttered away, evading the small hands reaching for them, and flew out of the open door. One butterfly flew right past Echika’s eyes, and her Your Forma automatically analyzed it and opened a window presenting information on it.
<A swallowtail butterfly robot for environmental performances. Traces of modification detected>
Indeed, the proboscises of the fluttering butterflies were modified to be straight, like straws. The butterflies changed course and flew back into the greenhouse, apparently directed by a control device held by the teacher.
“I wonder if they use pollen as an intermediary,” Totoki whispered. “Normally, they use agricultural pollinator hollow units.”
“Ultra-small drones modeled after insects, right?” Echika had some basic knowledge about agricultural machinery from her school years. “Maybe they just spent all their funding on the phytotrons. They’re supposed to be expensive.”
“What are you doing here?”
A voice suddenly spoke out behind them. Echika and Totoki turned around, and the moment they did, Echika felt all the air in her lungs freeze over. Three TFC fighters were approaching them. Their faces were covered, but they were clearly young men, and they each carried a black gleaming rifle in their muscular hands. Echika spotted an old, battered van parked far behind them.
There weren’t supposed to be any TFC fighters patrolling this area.
“Hieda. Calm down,” Totoki whispered.
This made Echika come to. Right, she couldn’t let them notice her panicking. Totoki remained composed beside her, fixing the position of the ID hanging from her neck, so as to make it more visible for the fighters.
“We’re from the International FLM Foundation,” she said. “We’re here to deliver supplies to the schoo—”
“Are you Echika Hieda?” one of the fighters asked.
Huh?
Echika remained silent, her eyes widening in surprise. It was so sudden, she had to wonder if she’d misheard them. Totoki looked shocked, too. What was going on? Why did they know her name?
“I think you have the wrong person,” Totoki said, quickly reacting and stepping in front of Echika. “We’re from—”
But Totoki’s words were silenced at the sound of a merciless gunshot. The sound of the children laughing in the phytotron abruptly stopped.
What?
Echika could only stare, dumbfounded, as Totoki staggered in place. Her denim pants were ruptured at the thigh, and crimson droplets dripped down to the dry soil. The fighters had all raised their weapons, and smoke was rising from the muzzle of one of their rifles.
The moment Echika realized what had happened, her blood ran cold. But she didn’t have the time to support Totoki.
“Echika Hieda from the Electrocrime Investigations Bureau, raise your hands and turn around,” a man sharply ordered, thrusting his gun toward her. “Walk back toward us, slowly. If you don’t comply, we’ll shoot this woman in the head.”
Echika’s vision trembled. So they did know who she was. She didn’t know how they’d figured out her identity, but either way, this was the worst possible scenario.
“This is bad. How did they find out?”
“Miss Hieda, Chief Totoki, are you all right?!”
She could hear Gardener and Bigga call out from the audio call.
“Communications center, what’s going on?” Fokine said. “Come in!”
“Hieda.” Totoki exhaled through gritted teeth. “Do as they say…”
Her judgment was sound—if she didn’t want to provoke them, she had to obey.
“I’ll walk over. Don’t shoot her, please,” Echika said, doing as the fighters instructed.
She turned around, raised her hands, and walked backward toward them. As she did, panic filled her thoughts. She had no idea how she’d been exposed. Was there a security camera somewhere in the town? Did someone discover her identity and report it to them? Or maybe—?
The men behind her grabbed her by the shoulders, cutting off her thoughts.
“Any weapons?” One of the men asked concisely.
“…Under my arm,” Echika replied in resignation.
One of the other men tore off her jacket and took the automatic pistol from her shoulder holster. Then she felt someone grab the back of her neck hard, bending her head forward painfully. The men were checking how many connection ports she had.
What are they after?
The most natural conclusion would be that they wanted to take her hostage to force the bureau out of their turf.
“It’s her, all right,” the man said. “Take her to the boss.”
As her pulse quickened, Echika gritted her teeth, preparing for the worst.