“Lieutenant Colonel, perhaps you could determine whether this person truly is in custody, and whether they are truly guilty of any criminal behavior,” I said.
“Very well,” the man said. “I would normally refuse, but I can’t deny a request from Mr. Arakawa himself. I’ll investigate as quickly as I can, but this may take some time. Perhaps you’d join us for dinner in the meantime?”
“I’d love to,” I said readily. “I’m ashamed to admit that I haven’t eaten lunch because I was busy with work. I’d be happy to join you.”
Although something about his words seemed odd. What did he mean by, “I can’t deny a request from Mr. Arakawa himself”? His attitude changed the moment I mentioned compensation. I’ll bet they knew all about Anton’s commanding officer all along, but were just playing dumb! I wish I could call them out on it, but the negotiation is going well, so it’s too big of a risk.
I sighed.
Now I know why Mom always looks so fierce after she’s finished negotiating. I thought all the complicated talk was making her tired, but now I see that’s not it. This sort of stuff is irritating. I remember Macho Man saying that after Clare finishes a negotiation, she likes to shut herself up inside a training facility and give her subordinates hell. Yeah, I can see why now. This stuff is pretty stressful.
The lieutenant colonel spoke as the car headed toward the place we were going to eat dinner. “I’m sure you saw the state-of-the-art jets that our country used to ensure your safety. As a specialist, what did you think? Impressive, are they not?”
Those were state of the art...? I thought skeptically. The fighter jets we have for flight training on Noa Island have way better maneuverability and offensive capabilities. Our jets remind me of UFOs from science fiction. Those Russian jets didn’t even compare.
“I don’t consider myself a specialist, but they... they looked like manned craft,” I said carefully. “Weren’t you able to make them unmanned? If you can control them from the ground, it will be a lot less stressful for the pilot in a dangerous mission. And if the target justifies the cost, the jet itself could be flown into the target once its ammunition has been used up. Unlike powered suits, jets don’t need such precise control. I think that’s the real advantage of aircraft.”
“Th-The jet itself?” he stuttered.
Don’t act so surprised, I thought, exasperated. Obviously, don’t do it while there’s a pilot on board. Just think of an unmanned craft as an expensive missile. Aircraft never fight against each other in this day and age. You have to use them to deliver missiles to get the most out of them.
Almost all of Noa’s fighter jets were already unmanned. And I expected that all powered suits would be unmanned within the next four or five years, except for a few high spec models used by commanding officers.
I once told Mom half-jokingly about the specs of a unit used by the protagonist in a robot anime from my past life, I reflected. Now she seems serious about making it a reality. But building a unit like that isn’t possible. Or at least, I hope it isn’t possible. I can’t imagine how we’d use an antimatter-powered unit capable of operating both in space and on the ground.
I started to break into a sweat thinking about how my mom’s efforts to develop new weapons were beginning to make her look like a mad scientist.
“We’ve reached our destination,” the lieutenant colonel said.
It was hard to tell through the tinted windows, but it looked like we were in an underground parking area. A number of civilian vehicles were parked nearby.
There were several middle-aged men standing around who had probably ridden in an escort vehicle. One of them opened the door to our car and guided us to the elevator.
All of the middle-aged men started to board the elevator with us.
The lieutenant colonel stopped them. “You needn’t accompany us further.”
Looks like they’ve decided to be less threatening in hopes of working out a better deal. It’s not a bad idea, but it’s a little late. I’m the type to hold a grudge. I secretly pondered how I’d get back at them.
I watched the lieutenant colonel press the button for floor 30. He explained, “We’re actually headed for a room on floor 83, but for security reasons, we can’t reach level 80 or above without passing through a security room on floor 30.”
I get it. It’s not just a safety precaution. It also makes it harder for me to leave.
The Hakone base used a similar system. You couldn’t reach the level where my mom worked without switching to a different elevator. It must have been inspired by the same thinking.
Sure enough, we changed elevators on floor 30 and then went up to floor 83. There we found a wide corridor with furnishings that reminded me of a fancy hotel.
“This is the place,” he told me. “A high-class suite has been prepared. I hope it will be to your liking.”
“I’m impressed that you’ve prepared all this for me after I arrived unannounced.” I could feel the softness of the carpet through my shoes, and it made the walk along the corridor quite enjoyable.
As we moved down the corridor, a beautiful female employee emerged from a room up ahead, pushing a trolley in front of her. The woman bowed politely and tried to pass by us, but as she moved the trolley toward the wall, it became unbalanced and toppled over. The contents spilled across the floor, and Anton immediately ran over to help her pick them up.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“I’m so sorry!” the woman said frantically, urging him to rise to his feet. “Please, leave me to clean this up. I’d hate for you to get your suit dirty on my account.”
Once Anton stood up, she brushed his jacket clean with her hand, but I realized what she was doing.