“That’s right. The first lock will align patterned indentations. The second one will send the bolt through. Then separate gears will fasten the bolt. Or something like that. It’s a multi-step lock.”
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You’re a thief among thieves. You know everything I wanted to tell you. Kazutaka was impressed. But Shīno has the remote control and he is probably at the police station by now. It’s very unlikely that he will show up here with the remote control in order to rescue me. If that’s the case, the team of thieves can’t simply take the jewelry and let me go. The chances of my release are looking very slim.
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“Can we remove the handcuffs, Todo-san?”
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“The handcuffs are also secured by a remote lock. There are circular parts edged on the round side outside of the cuffs. These are one of the latest models, recently developed in America.”
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Yeah. These handcuffs are also a high tech item. Kazutaka found himself mentally chiming in.
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"The handcuffs cannot be removed by human force,” Shīno had told Kazutaka when he put these on his wrist.
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“Now we have a problem. What should we do?” The gentle voice, whom the other guys called chief, tapped on the attaché case gently with a sigh. Although he couldn’t see because of the blindfold, Kazutaka sensed a lot of pondering going on.
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Kazutaka had wondered where they were taking him and what was going to happen to him when they got there. Those first worries were now gone, but another worry was sinking in.
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Another man’s voice from far off rang out. It sounded mechanical, as if coming through a speaker. “Chief, a call from Ken. Kōhei Shīno has just gone inside police headquarters.”
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“Now? He’s late. What has he been doing?”
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“Beats me.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Hmm, there’s something fishy about him… Oh well. As planned, we’ll keep the transporter moving and release the driver outside the prefecture in an hour.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Roger that.”
✦ ✦ ✦
After kidnapping Kazutaka with the attaché case, they must have carjacked the security company’s transporter with the driver still inside.
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“Chief, we’ll be entering Tōmei Expressway in about five minutes.”
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“Hold it. Todo-san, what’s the sensor response on the attaché case? If it’s got a tracking device built in, they’ll know our location.”
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“Negative. No electric waves or signals are coming out of the case.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“It’s such a high tech gadget, yet it doesn’t even have GPS? That’s odd. Well, let’s get onto the expressway.”
✦ ✦ ✦
The engine revved and Kazutaka felt the car speeding up. The man they called chief as well as the other guys fell quiet. Kazutaka heard a beeping intermittently from some unknown source. Blindfolded, his sense of hearing seemed sharper, even the small sound of rustling clothes sounded incredibly clear.
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“Chief, take a break until we get onto the Metropolitan Expressway. I’ll wake you up when we’re getting off Tōmei.”
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“Thanks, but I’ll be okay. We never know when the boss will call. So I’ll stay awake just in case.” The chief’s laughter moved away.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Do you really think this is going to be the boss’s last job?”
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“This is the last one. We made him promise. Whatever the outcome of this one is, we’ll go our separate ways next Sunday. I’ll be in line at the employment agency looking for a job.”
✦ ✦ ✦
They laughed cheerfully.
✦ ✦ ✦
What? Why would they need to go to an employment agency and look for a job after stealing twenty billion yen worth of jewelry? Kazutaka had always thought that thieves like these guys would normally take the money, go abroad, and live like kings, just like in the movies.
✦ ✦ ✦
These people are different, Kazutaka thought. They're far too kind for a team of thieves. Their conversation seemed somewhat intellectual, too. The swift kidnapping and heist, they were not doing this impulsively and going with the flow. It must have been perfectly planned and flawlessly executed.
✦ ✦ ✦
Silence prevailed inside the car until a soft beeping eventually broke it. “Hi, Ren. Sorry to bug you so late. Yeah, it’s me. I hate to trouble you but we need your help. We have a problem with opening an attaché case. Yeah, with handcuffs attached to it. Both were locked by a remote control. We haven’t been able to unlock either of them yet. Can you come take a look?”
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A gentle voice spoke, which meant chief must be on the phone. Kazutaka listened to the chief’s voice for a while. It sounded tender, as though he were whispering to a lover or something. Surely a thief’s a thief no matter how gentle they may sound. A soft, kind voice doesn’t excuse stealing.
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“Yeah. Can you come? We're about to get on the expressway. No, we won’t use a hotel room. We’ll head for the pier and spend the night somewhere around there. I’ll call you again once we’re in Tokyo. On your cell? Okay. Talk to you later then.”
✦ ✦ ✦
Kazutaka heard a small beep and a voice saying, "Okay." Someone tapped Kazutaka on his chest lightly.
✦ ✦ ✦
“We have an expert coming. So bear with us for just a few more hours.”
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Yes, I will, Kazutaka nodded to himself.
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“Shall I loosen your suit and tie?” His shirt was unbuttoned a little, which gave him relief around his neck. The heat trapped inside the shirt evaporated and Kazutaka felt a little cooler. Kazutaka wanted him to loosen his arms and legs as well. He also thought the cloth inside his mouth felt kind of gross. Oh, and it would be nice to get the blindfold off, too. Kazutaka knew he was being hopeful, but it didn’t happen.
✦ ✦ ✦
His bound legs and arms were beginning to ache. Kazutaka felt the weight of the attaché case, which was half resting on his left elbow, getting heavier and heavier over time. He never knew lying down without moving could be such torture.
✦ ✦ ✦
He wondered what was going to happen to him. They were after the jewelry inside the attaché case. If they succeeded in opening the case and obtaining the contents, Kazutaka might go free. Or if they succeeded in unlocking the handcuffs to separate him from the case, that’d be good, too.