“Hello. Who is it?” Kazutaka answered.
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“Terribly sorry to bother you, sir. It’s room service.”
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It sounded like hotel personnel.
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“I’m coming.”
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Kazutaka went to the door. He bent down to set the attaché case onto the floor and turned the knob with his right hand.
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There were three men outside the room. They were wearing casual jackets, tight leather pants, and sunglasses. Not hotel uniforms.
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“Oh? Didn’t you say you were room service?”
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Kazutaka screamed as one of the men abruptly yanked on the attaché case. Kazutaka was pulled along, pitched violently forward onto the floor.
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“Whoa! What are you doing? Ouch! Stop it!”
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One man pinned Kazutaka’s arm under his foot, while another grabbed Kazutaka’s hair and yanked.
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“Where’s the key?”
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“The key is...on the table.”
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The third man ran inside and came back out with the sensor key.
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“How do you open this?”
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“You touch the screen and press ‘Enter.’”
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The man quickly touched the key.
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“That will unlock this but you need the right fingerprint.”
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The man threw away the key.
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“Let’s take him.”
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One of them grasped the back of Kazutaka’s neck and forcefully pulled him up. Kazutaka’s feet barely touched the floor.
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“Don’t scream if you want to live.”
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Another man flashed a knife at him before putting it back into his pocket. He then pressed the pocket against Kazutaka as they started walking.
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“Can you let go of my arm? I promise to come along with you.”
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“Shut up.”
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“The contents of the attaché case are a forgery.”
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“We’ll determine that after we examine them.”
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“We’ve already checked it out. It’s made of a type of artificial diamond called zirconia. It’s only worth about two hundred thousand yen.”
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“Shut up and walk.”
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“Can we go back to get the sensor key? It may work at an unexpected moment if we keep trying it. You never know.”
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“Shut up. Do you wanna get hurt?”
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“No, thank you.”
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Kazutaka quieted down. Surrounded by the three men, he allowed himself to be herded towards the elevator.
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This was Kazutaka's second abduction. Only, these men didn’t look as intelligent or gentle as Fuwa’s team. If Kazutaka got kidnapped now, he wouldn’t be there to have Bud visit his classroom, or wear the clothes Ren was bringing for him. More importantly, Kazutaka’s life seemed to be at stake!
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Kazutaka got into the elevator, shoved in by the three men. Two women, who appeared to be tourists, were already inside the elevator. The two women frowned at the three suspicious-looking men and the nervous-acting Kazutaka.
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Ladies, I’m not dodgy, Kazutaka wanted to assure them. But if he said anything, these women might also end up in danger. He resigned himself to his fate and looked down at the floor.
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The elevator reached the lobby. The three men got out first, without even the courtesy of yielding to the ladies.
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“Just walk naturally, don’t attract any unwanted attention. If you resist, you know what’s coming.”
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The man puffed up the pocket of his leather jacket as he spoke. Kazutaka nodded in silence and started walking with the attaché case held tightly against his chest.
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Ren stopped short in front of their room.
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The sensor key was lying on the floor. Ren picked it up and cocked his head, wondering why it was on the floor outside of their room. The key had been on top of the table when Ren was with Fuwa and Kazutaka in the room.
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The next moment, Ren rushed into the room.
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“Kazutaka!” Ren called out, but there was no answer. He ran to the window and looked outside. There he saw a man surrounded by three other men making their way across the circular drive in front of the hotel.
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“Kazutaka!”
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The four were moving toward a dark colored van parked on the outer edge of the drive. Ren watched as Kazutaka was shoved roughly into the van, the three men climbing in after.
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Ren opened the window without hesitation. He grabbed one of the chairs from in front of the table, leaned out and threw it at the car below from their third floor window. The chair arced down and hit the ground in front of the van. The van ran over the chair, sending shattered pieces of chair pieces flying. The driver became alarmed. He stopped the van and backed up a bit. Upon seeing this, Ren grabbed another chair.
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“Aiyee!”
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Ren threw it with everything he had. This time, the chair hit the windshield hard. The glass cracked and the windshield turned a milky white. The driver tried to remove the shattered glass with his fist while still sitting in the driver seat.
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Ren dashed out of the room. Yuri also came running out of his.
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“Ren, it’s Kazutaka-san!”
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“I’ll get him!”
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Ren ran through the hallway as fast as he could. He didn’t have time to wait for the elevator. Ren sprinted down the stairs, three steps at a time. He rushed through the lobby and ran outside.
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Pieces of glass were piled on the other side of the drive. Beyond the pile, Ren saw a black van moving awkwardly away. Fuwa caught up with Ren.
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“Ren, the car?”
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Ren didn’t have time to answer; he was already running after the van. He got within 30 feet from the car at the first intersection, but the car turned right on a heading towards the downtown area.
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Ren could think of only one thing. He had to get Kazutaka back. A car passed Ren, honking at him. Ren had run another 300 feet when the van had to stop for a traffic light. Ren ran by the car that had passed him earlier and rushed toward the black van. Ren was closing in on his target. The traffic light started blinking as an elderly woman started walking slowly across the crosswalk. Ren mentally thanked the old lady in the intersection as he ran around to the front of the van. It was a boxy vehicle and its front end was relatively high. Ren climbed onto the hood anyway.
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“Argh!” the driver exclaimed.
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“Drive, idiot. You can’t let him get in!” one of the other men shouted.
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“Ren, Watch out!”
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“Go, go, go!”
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Everyone was shrieking simultaneously. Ren was now halfway through the windshield. Just then, the van suddenly accelerated with a loud screech.
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“Oh, no!” The van hadn’t moved three feet before the driver jammed on the brakes. The vehicle drifted and the right rear crossed the center line. Another car coming from behind collided with the van. Wham! The impact knocked the van sideways. The van started again from that position. Ren impulsively looked back, holding onto the hood with both hands. He saw trees, a power pole, and shrubs. With a muffled thud, the van ran into the shrubs at the edge of the sidewalk. Ren’s left hand came loose from the momentum, threatening to throw him into the bushes. He barely managed to cling on with his right hand.
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“Ren, be careful! Ren!”
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Ren heard Kazutaka shout, which steeled his resolve. Ren used his right arm to try and pull himself all the way into the front seat. The van began to slowly back up. The car started moving through traffic again while Ren’s feet were still sticking out onto the hood. Cars honked all around them.
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One of the men yelled, “Get him out of the way!”
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Immediately, another man grabbed Ren by his arm and shirt front, yanking him in. Ren sailed past the driver and front passenger seats, pulled all the way into the second row of the van.
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“Oh, no! Ren!”
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Ren heard Kazutaka’s voice coming from above. Ren noticed that his head was now on Kazutaka’s lap, which he thought was nice. Just then, Ren’s legs were yanked hard. The sliding door opened noisily. Ren realized they were going to throw him out while the van was still moving. Ren heard a series of thuds and smacks as pain blossomed in his left shoulder and lower side. He saw soles belonging to black shoes. They were now kicking him. His assailants had to be panicked because they weren’t connecting with full force.
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“Stop it! Please! STOP!”
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Kazutaka covered Ren with his own body.
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“You stay right here!”
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Kazutaka’s body was pulled away from Ren. Kazutaka clung desperately to Ren’s clothes. Ren felt the collar of his shirt tighten around his neck.
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“What are you waiting for? Throw him out already!”
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Ren couldn’t tell how many arms were grabbing him or what those arms were holding. Ren’s head inched closer to the sliding door. Ren felt a violent shove. The next thing he knew, his upper body was hanging out of the van. Ren instinctively grabbed a seat belt, which sensed an impact and locked into position.
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“Stop it! Ren’s going to fall! Hey, don’t do that! No!”
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“You stop! Ugh! Stay still!”
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Kazutaka’s screams and the attackers’ thundering voices were all mixed up together. Ren was pushed by his assailants and pulled back in by Kazutaka. Ren’s upper body was still outside the van, his face only a foot above the pavement. Someone relentlessly kicked at Ren’s hand holding the seat belt.