As Fuki expected, HQ ordered them to kill the sniper. They had seen Lycoris at work, were armed, and had fired at people—there was no excuse not to put them in the “dangerous individual” category for liquidation by the Lycoris.
Of course, they wouldn’t have the benefit of initiative in this battle. Normally, the DA would recall their agents and use drones to observe and track the target before redeploying their forces. This time, command concluded that there was no need for that since they already had a First Lycoris—Fuki—on the scene… Or, as Fuki surmised, they didn’t follow their usual strategy because the enemy was a complete mystery, and the DA didn’t want to risk losing track of them, never to find them again. The Tokyo branch had various means of tracking their targets, but this incident was taking place in a remote area where surveillance options were limited. The higher-ups didn’t want to take any chances.
“It’s fortunate that you’re on the scene, Fuki,” said Commander Kusunoki.
“…Thank you, Commander.”
Fuki thought that the commander was indirectly trying to encourage her, conveying her belief that Fuki was up to the task. Kusunoki wasn’t someone who’d say something just to make conversation during a mission—there was meaning behind her every word. And if she saw the need to give her subordinate encouragement, the situation must have looked pretty bad to her.
Or was Fuki reading too deeply into it? Was the commander simply hinting that she was expecting Fuki to do her best because letting the target get away was not an option?
It could be both.
“What’s the plan, Fuki?” asked Sakura.
Fuki thought about the enemy. The DA had used their drones to check out the area before the operation to neutralize the hunter with his modded gun, and they hadn’t spotted any other cars or people. Yet there was a sniper in the building…
“Were they in the building from way before we started the operation?”
A vagrant? Maybe. But a vagrant with a gun? Shooting at someone who might not have wanted to bother them at all? It would have made more sense for a vagrant to lie low and wait for them to leave.
Fuki just couldn’t figure this out. The use of firearms was heavily restricted in Japan, yet a man with a hunting gun drove out here, acting very suspiciously, and there was someone else with a gun also hiding out in this derelict place. What in the world was going on?
If the hunter had come here to buy or sell a gun, the person hiding out in the building still had no reason to suddenly open fire at the Lycoris.
Whatever was afoot, it was something bizarre. Fuki didn’t think that the hunter and the other person were unrelated. The Lycoris had stumbled onto something they had no idea about… They’d have to be extra careful.
“Sakura, cover me. I’m going in!”
“Aye!”
Not a standard reply, but Fuki assumed it meant “roger.” If Sakura had been next to her, she’d have whacked her.
“Start shooting after countdown. Three, two…”
When Sakura opened fire, Fuki jumped out from behind the tree and sprinted to the building. She jumped in through a broken window. Sharp shards of glass were sticking out of the window frame, but Fuki’s uniform protected her, and she shielded her face with her arms. The shrill noise of shattering glass accompanied Fuki’s arrival inside the building. She fell on the floor, rolled forward, and kept moving until she reached the opposite wall. She pressed her back to it and quickly looked around, aiming her gun in front of her as she turned, checking for enemies. It was very dark inside the building, but she could make out shapes around her thanks to the moonlight pouring in through the window.
She was in a corridor. There didn’t seem to be anyone else there.
Fuki heard the commander’s voice in her ear.
“Reinforcements are on the way. Don’t do anything rash.”
“We don’t need reinforcements,” Fuki responded.
“It’s unclear what we’re dealing with. Better safe than sorry.”
Fuki kept her mouth shut this time, conceding that Commander Kusunoki was right. Her smartphone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out, wary and watchful. After unlocking it, she quickly turned down the brightness to the lowest level and checked the message she got. It was from Sakura. LET’S HURRY UP AND GET ’EM!
Sakura also wanted just the two of them to complete the mission, but if she’d said that over the comms, it could be constituted as countermanding HQ’s orders, so she texted Fuki instead.
Sakura gave off the impression of someone sloppy, but she did in fact pay attention to little details. Too bad their phones were also supervised by HQ, so they’d still read her message. They might just have a little laugh and let it slide, though. Sakura’s childish naïveté and go-getter attitude were no cause for concern.
Fuki put her phone away and lowered the headset’s volume to its minimum. In the darkness, she’d have to rely on her hearing, and she couldn’t predict when someone from her team might say something over the comms.
“Sakura, I’m on the move.”
“Oh, I’m coming, too!”
“Don’t approach in a straight line. You’ll get shot. Loop around and enter from the back.”
“Okay, I’ll meet you inside. Don’t shoot me by mistake!”
“As if.”
Leaving it at that, Fuki got a flashlight out of her satchel. She started walking but didn’t switch the light on. Being able to see clearly wasn’t worth giving away your position to the enemy and having them attack her first.
She was trying to find a staircase to get to the floor above. The signs on the walls and what was left of old posters told Fuki that the building used to be a local cultural center. It was made of concrete but seemed fairly old. Fuki saw massive cracks in the walls here and there, which made her wonder if the place hadn’t been abandoned when new earthquake safety regulations came into force.
She heard the commander’s voice in her headset.
“We have the floor plan. Refer to it as needed.”
Fuki crouched behind a knocked-over desk and took out her smartphone to check the picture of the floor plan. It looked very old, probably used for the planning permission application.