While the lieutenant colonel and Yuri were glaring at the clumsy employee, she turned her back to the two of them and slipped a small handgun into the pocket of Anton’s jacket, keeping her hands hidden from their view.
“I’m terribly sorry,” she told us.
Well, if she gave us a weapon when we’re unarmed, she must be on our side.
She finished clearing everything off the floor, then bowed once more and left. The woman had passed the weapon to Anton without either of them acting in any way unnatural or betraying anything through their facial expressions.
It feels like I’m in a spy movie. So this is what highly trained agents are capable of. I just hope my reaction didn’t give the game away.
We continued to the very end of the corridor. Then the lieutenant colonel stopped and opened the door to a room in front of us. “Please make yourself at home. If you’d like to take a seat, the food will be with you shortly.”
I went ahead and entered the room. We sat at the large table prepared for us. The lieutenant colonel sat down in front of me, and Yuri sat down in front of Anton.
I don’t want to sit here in silence until the food arrives, I thought. Maybe I should start a conversation myself.
I tried to think of something to talk about, but then the lieutenant colonel unexpectedly spoke while looking at his personal terminal. “Mr. Arakawa. I’m still investigating the matter, but it seems that the person you spoke of was arrested for their role in a mutiny. There appears to be no conclusive proof of their guilt, so there is a possibility that they’ll be released.”
Yeah, yeah, I thought snidely. We both know what’s going on here. If I make the right offer, you’ll let her off the hook.
“I’m relieved to hear that,” I said smoothly. “Personally, I don’t think that the person I’m here to recruit is the sort to commit a crime.”
Time to tell them what I’m offering, I decided. I can either offer him Noa broadcasting rights or the information that we got from Anton’s old friend. But which one? I suppose the broadcasting rights is the safest choice.
I spoke up. “Supposing this person is indeed innocent and they accept my invitation...”
There was a knock at the door to inform us that our food had arrived. It was terrible timing.
The lieutenant colonel responded and rose to his feet. He unlocked the door and an employee entered.
A man dressed as a waiter carried food and cutlery to our table. He placed a knife in front of me that had some sort of dirt stuck to it.
No, not dirt. When I looked more closely, I saw writing on the knife so faint that only I would be able to read it: “18 SEEK ASYLUM.”
This waiter isn’t a real employee, either?! Something weird is going on here. Anton said he didn’t have strong connections to his former colleague, and I don’t think he lied. If an agent is captured by a foreign nation, it’s all over for them, so having no strong ties is best for controlling information. And yet, that woman and the waiter in front of us are here to help us rescue his superior. Something unusual must have happened. Think. What could have happened to this country? Was there a coup? Is there some sort of power struggle?
My brain wasn’t as powerful as my mom’s, but I used every bit of brainpower I had to try to think of an explanation.
The lieutenant colonel smiled at Anton and me and urged us to eat. “Please, go ahead and start eating, Mr. Arakawa. You too, Probationary Second Lieutenant Anton. It must have been a long time since you last enjoyed the cuisine of your homeland.”
So Anton was a probationary second lieutenant? I thought. I don’t understand Russian military ranks. They sound needlessly complicated.
I thanked the lieutenant colonel and then cut into the trout on my plate so that the writing on my knife would be erased.
“Kouki!” Anton moved to stop me. “Let me eat first...”
No need to worry about that! I thought triumphantly. The terminal I’m wearing on my arm might be a basic model, but it’s good enough to detect contaminants in the air, and it hasn’t detected anything. I never thought this feature would be useful for anything other than those days when I’m shut up inside the lab!
“Anton, don’t be so rude,” I scolded. “They’ve gone to a lot of trouble to prepare dinner for us. The lieutenant colonel has no reason to wish me harm.”
“But, Kouki...”
“I’m serious. It’s fine. Look how good this food is.” As bad-mannered as it might be, I scooped up a large amount of the food and slowly placed it in my mouth before chewing and swallowing.
I just realized something! I thought gleefully. This is a great chance to get back at those men! I can’t wait to see how the lieutenant colonel and Yuri react to this. I’m sure they’ll be surprised.
“If there were an everyday poison mixed in with our food, we’d detect it quite easily,” I said calmly. “I expect they’d use polonium, but being a researcher, I’m likely to have prepared some countermeasure against that, so they’re unlikely to try such a thing.”
“P-Polo...?” Anton didn’t seem to understand what I was saying, but the lieutenant colonel was glaring daggers at him.
Even Yuri was looking concerned as he tapped his mouth with a napkin. It was the first time I’d gotten a reaction out of him.
I knew it. I grinned. A plot like the one I mentioned to Mom must have happened in this world, too.
I was relieved because it meant that I hadn’t lied to her, and I was also glad to see I’d made both men uncomfortable.