An entire day passed until Echika could have her wounds treated at a civilian hospital in Lyon.
The Electrocrime Investigations Bureau’s headquarters on the fourth floor of the Interpol building were mostly deserted, as most of the staff were already clocking out. The sole exception was a meeting room that had been temporarily allocated to the Special Investigations Unit to serve as their headquarters—the only place in the building where the lights were still on.
When Echika peered inside, her eyes met with Investigator Lin, who was working at a desk.
“Welcome back, Miss Hieda. The analysis team is looking into Kai’s USB right now.”
“Who’s watching over them?”
“Investigator Fokine. Chief Totoki is napping in her office, so he’s filling in for her.” A white fur ball stirred on Lin’s lap. “What’s wrong, Ganache? Wait with me a little longer until your mommy wakes up, okay?”
She grinned and hugged Totoki’s pet cat, Ganache. The robot Scottish fold rubbed its nose against Lin affectionately. Echika had to wonder if this department somehow drew in cat lovers.
Feeling a bit confused, Echika left the room and walked over to the analysis team next. Two days had passed since she’d found the USB in Al Bahah, though she’d spent one of them traveling to Lyon, so the investigation was only beginning.
She wanted to be involved in the investigation personally, but the medical care she got in Saudi Arabia only amounted to first aid, which led to her spending the day in the civilian hospital in Lyon. The fact that Totoki was also injured but had toughed it out and stayed on the scene made Echika feel a bit pathetic.
“Oh, Hieda, you’re back. How was the hospital?”
As Echika walked down the hall, Investigator Fokine approached from the opposite side. He was rubbing the bridge of his nose in fatigue, and there were bags under his eyes.
“They removed all the shards from my skin. They said I’m fine now.” Apart from the fact that she was covered in bandages under her clothes. “Forget that. Weren’t you with the analysis team?”
“They kicked me out, said I was being a bother.” Fokine shrugged. “If what you found really is a backup of the thought manipulation system, this is huge progress.”
“I hope it’s the real thing…”
The USB she’d discovered on Kai’s desk contained what seemed to be a backup of the thought manipulation system. They’d needed to bring it back to the headquarters in Lyon to confirm its authenticity. If it was actually a backup of the real thing, the investigation would take a dramatic turn. Director Schlosser and the other top brass would have to drop their skepticism and start proactively involving themselves in this case.
But what baffled Echika the most was the question of why Kai had left something that important behind.
“I know you didn’t find Kai in the end, but…do we know where he went afterward?”
“He’s still in Al Bahah. We know that for sure. The International FLM Foundation said the regional boss contacted them about ending their contract.”
Echika felt bitterness fill her heart. What Totoki suspected had turned out to be true. The thought of all the children who would be hurt from the support being cut weighed on her.
“Oh, and about Kai’s cigarettes,” Fokine carried on. “We looked up the DNA samples we extracted from them with the personal database and found matching biometric data.”
“Kai is definitely involved with the Alliance. If we can just take him into custody…”
“I feel the same way, but it won’t be that simple.” Fokine ruffled his hair. “He’s one of the TFC’s regional bosses… He’s like a leading member in a terrorist organization. Things are a bit too tricky for us to just walk in and arrest the guy.”
As an investigation organization, the Electrocrime Investigations Bureau had to remain politically neutral, and Al Bahah wasn’t in its jurisdiction. Like Cook from the NSA had said, if they arrested Kai, it would impact the TFC and the countries the TFC was using to produce weapons, along with the Saudi Arabian government, which was in a state of cold war with them. Acting recklessly could produce a ripple effect that would have lasting consequences on the international order.
All these obligations were holding them back.
Still frustrated, Echika thought back to Kai’s proposal.
“Hand over the software Chikasato Hieda made.”
“Can’t we use the deal in our favor?” Kai had asked her to keep quiet, but Echika told the bureau everything, of course. “If we use my father’s programs as bait, we could easily arrest him and get useful information out of him.”
“I understand what you’re saying, but we should keep that as our trump card in case things go south.” Fokine looked serious. “It’d be all sorts of bad if handing over your old man’s software actually helped them complete the thought manipulation system.”
That was a valid opinion—maybe Echika still wasn’t as composed as she thought she was. As she exhaled through her nose, she saw Fokine look up into thin air. He must have gotten a new message on his Your Forma. He shook his head with exhaustion.
“What’s wrong?” Echika asked.
“It’s Bigga. Her fever isn’t going down.”
Echika thought back to the last time she saw Bigga, when they’d parted ways in Lyon’s airport. About halfway through the flight, she’d started to complain about feeling unwell. She’d looked ill when they left Al Bahah, so Echika assumed all the pressure was getting to her, but maybe the climate just didn’t suit her. Either way, Bigga was staying at a hotel near the headquarters for the day, at Totoki’s discretion. Bigga had insisted she would be able to sleep it off.
“Maybe I should go visit her.”
“No, I’ll go. I need to go back to the hotel for a change of clothes, and the analysis team kicked me out anyway.” Fokine glanced up at the ceiling in a joking manner. “You stay here on standby, Hieda. Stay in touch if anything happens.”
“Understood. Tell Bigga I said to take it easy, would you?”
Echika watched Fokine walk off with quick steps. The only reason she’d gotten back from Al Bahah safe and sound was because he and the investigators he led had put their lives on the line to save her. She knew that she’d made Bigga worry a lot, too. She needed to thank the two of them properly when she got the chance, but…
Echika gently placed a hand to her chest. Her nitro-case necklace was still missing. She knew she’d lost it in Al Bahah, probably when the TFC fighters attacked her. She was aware that carrying it on her person meant she risked losing it, and yet. She’d been reckless.
If someone found out it contained a Mnemosyne-tweaking HSB… No, she’d be lucky if that was the only thing found out. If someone figured out what it did and that it belonged to her, it would be the end of her, but going back to Saudi Arabia to look for it in this situation would just draw needless suspicion.