“I’m not angry.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Really?” Fuwa gave a broad smile. Strangely, that smile reminded Kazutaka of an angel. Kazutaka wondered why he was comparing Yuri to an angel when he was obviously a downright thief. Then someone cleared their throat deliberately and Kazutaka came back to reality. He looked to his left to find Ren glaring at him with a frown. Why was he glaring at Kazutaka? They were the ones who had created this situation. Kazutaka felt frustrated. He didn’t think a thief had any right to glare at him and if Fuwa was a gentleman, then why was Ren so hostile?
✦ ✦ ✦
While Kazutaka was looking back at Ren, however, he realized something else. Ren’s eyes were clear with a purity of soul. Because of his occupation, Kazutaka got to meet all kinds of people. Children, their parents or guardians, co-workers, you name it, he’d met a lot of people in the last five years. There had been some rough people among them. The moment Kazutaka laid eyes on some of the parents or guardians he'd met, he knew they could be dangerous. Some of them simply had tough lives; others appeared to have personality disorders. Facial expressions at times revealed more than words ever could.
✦ ✦ ✦
Ren’s look didn’t show any stain of evil. His facial expression only looked tough because he was glaring at Kazutaka. It wasn't the look of someone involved in criminal activity. Ren seemed to be too pure for that. Not only did Ren’s eyes look pure, but his set mouth showed an extremely strong will, and his cheeks and chin indicated diligence. Overall, Ren’s face was that of an honest laborer. For a few moments, Ren and Kazutaka stared at each other before Ren spoke at last. “Can I get started while you are talking, Yuri? I don’t want to waste time.”
✦ ✦ ✦
Ren broke the eye contact.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Yeah, good idea, Ren. Should we get you some food, too? Toshi-kun can make another run for it.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“No thanks, I’ve already eaten.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Just a Cup-o-Noodles again, right?”
✦ ✦ ✦
Ren pressed his lips into a thin line. He looked like a child being chastised. It made Ren look rather cute and Kazutaka couldn’t help smiling. Ren shot him another sharp look.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Don’t grin for no reason.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Um, sorry.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“These may not be your possessions. But you shouldn’t smile when someone's property is being stolen.”
✦ ✦ ✦
Fuwa was elegant and gracious. Ren, on the other hand, was somewhat argumentative, though Kazutaka didn’t feel offended in the slightest. It was obvious that Ren didn't feel any remorse over Kazutaka's situation. Ren's lock-picking skills must be of a very high level seeing as how the group had called him in. And although Ren did have an attitude problem, Kazutaka had a personal rule about not becoming confrontational when dealing with others. Since Kazutaka always had to guess what adolescents were really trying to say, it helped to have made it his habit to think before getting angry.
✦ ✦ ✦
The chief tapped on Kazutaka’s arm. “Excuse me. Can I ask you something? A remote control was used to lock this attaché case, right? Can you tell me what it was like?”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Oh, that. It had numbers on it. Looked sort of like a calculator, or a TV remote. Some of the numbers were pushed to send a signal or something.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Just as I thought.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“And the key to the handcuffs is inside the attaché case. It’s a sensor key that reads fingerprints so it can’t be opened unless Shīno is here.”
✦ ✦ ✦
As he'd put the key to the handcuffs into the attaché case and closed the lid, Shīno had been reading the instructions for operating the remote control. With those instructions and the remote control, the attaché case could be opened in a few seconds, but the thieves didn’t have either of them.
✦ ✦ ✦
Kneeling down on the floor, Ren examined the attaché case. He'd said that it’d take him several hours to unlock one. That meant it would take Ren twenty hours to open all four of them. Kazutaka wondered if he would work on it all night long without sleeping since Kazutaka wanted to be released as soon as possible. Ren looked up as if reading his mind.
✦ ✦ ✦
“It takes about five hours to open one lock, Yuri. Once I get started, I don’t want him or the attaché case to move much. No bathroom breaks, either. If he needs to go, we should let him go now.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“What? Do you mean to say that I’ll have to be completely still for the whole five hours?” Kazutaka asked and Ren nodded briskly in reply.
✦ ✦ ✦
“I’ll read the accrual pulse and frequency of the infrared while sending 300 waves per second of electric signals from this generator. If there’s a hit, we’ll get a visual on the CCD screen. If we pause in the middle, we have to start all over again. So go to the bathroom now if you want.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Got it. But how can I go to the bathroom like this?”
✦ ✦ ✦
Kazutaka’s left arm was chained to the attaché case with handcuffs and the chain was really short. He would not be able to carry the attaché case with his handcuffed left hand. He could hold the case along its bottom with his free right hand while supporting the top of case with his left hand. But if Kazutaka was using both hands to hold the case, how would he manage to unzip his pants?
✦ ✦ ✦
“I’ll stand next to you and hold the case while you conduct your business.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“I don’t like that idea.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Beggars can’t be choosers, you know. It’s the only way.”
✦ ✦ ✦
Ren’s commanding tone irritated Kazutaka.
✦ ✦ ✦
“You can’t order me around. You are just a thief.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Weren’t you listening to what Yuri told you? I’m not a thief. I’m the manager of a small factory. Also, Yuri isn’t a low life thief like you might think. You sound like you despise thieves. But there are all kinds of thieves. Remember that.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“You may be right. But no matter what the motives may be, stealing is not something to be admired. You may respect Fuwa-san, but I don’t have to feel the same way. I have no reason to.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Everything is black or white to you, huh? Suit yourself then.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Yeah, I will. I don’t need your permission.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“What about the bathroom? Do you wanna go or not?”
✦ ✦ ✦
“I’m still eating.”
✦ ✦ ✦
Kazutaka was frustrated. He thought about eating slowly to irritate Ren and the others. Unfortunately, that would only delay his own release. Kazutaka decided to finish up his meal quickly.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Thank you for the great meal.”
✦ ✦ ✦
This time, Kazutaka offered his thanks politely with his head down. The fussy lock-picker remained silent. Ren didn’t scold Kazutaka this time.
✦ ✦ ✦
Once outside the R.V., the public restroom was about 20 yards away. Ren and Todo-san accompanied Kazutaka. Odo-san stood watch outside the restroom. Ren came along into the restroom with Kazutaka and stood right next to him. It made Kazutaka feel extremely uncomfortable.
✦ ✦ ✦
Ren held the attaché case while Kazutaka struggled to open the zipper with only his right hand.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Do you need help with that?” Ren asked with a serious expression.
✦ ✦ ✦
“No thank you,” Kazutaka answered soberly. Shīno had asked Kazutaka to wear a suit for the job tonight. Kazutaka wasn’t used to wearing this sort of attire. While taking his time in trying to find and carefully undo his fastenings, he glanced to the side to discover Ren looking straight at his groin.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Can you not look?”
✦ ✦ ✦
“We're both guys. Don’t worry about it.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“That’s not the point.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“If you're ashamed of it, I’ll try not to look. What am I saying? It’s not that I want to see it, I just want you to hurry up.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“You’re rushing me.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Stop messing around and get on it, middle schooler.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“I’m not a middle schooler. I’m a middle school teacher.”
✦ ✦ ✦
Ren suddenly stretched his arm toward Kazutaka’s groin. The fly opened as Ren pulled down the zip. Ren’s hand quickly slipped through the opening.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Yikes!” Kazutaka doubled over and squatted down.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Shh. What are you screaming about? People will get the wrong idea!” Ren shouted back. His hand was trapped, tucked between Kazutaka’s thigh and stomach.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Stop it. Don’t touch me. Get your hand off of me. Hey!”
✦ ✦ ✦
“I’m not trying to touch you there. We just don’t have much time. We need to hurry!”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Get your hand away!”
✦ ✦ ✦
“If you want me to take my hand away, stand up! Get up and be done with it!”
✦ ✦ ✦
The commotion in the restroom must have worried the others outside. Todo-san came in to check on them.
✦ ✦ ✦
“What’s going on in there?”
✦ ✦ ✦
Kazutaka was in a semi-crouching position and Ren’s hand was still at Kazutaka’s groin. Todo-san looked at the pair, unsure of what to make of the scene before him. Todo-san simply shook his head and looked away. He sighed and left without saying another word.
✦ ✦ ✦
Ren started work on the task of opening the attaché case.
✦ ✦ ✦
Ren gave the on screen readouts his undivided attention while Kazutaka lay on a cot inside the car. The attaché case sat on a table beside Kazutaka. Electric currents were sent towards a sensor at the aperture area. When the frequency of both the sensor and scanner matched, a light would appear on the screen. A blink could mean missing this indication, so the device would also beep with a hit so that they didn’t have to rely only on visual judgment.