After I finished talking to my mom, I spent about two hours thinking about the situation. At last, I realized that all I could do was wait to see how Russia reacted to my offer.
So I decided to sit quietly and watch their video about raising the Russian desman. I wasn’t particularly interested in Russian desmans, but it was a good way to kill time.
It’s not far off midnight, I noticed. “Anton, I’m getting tired. Do you think Yuri and the lieutenant colonel will be back today?”
“Don’t know. But I think they’d have told us if they weren’t coming back...”
Anton is as clueless as I am, I thought with regret. I just want to sleep, but I don’t want to be in bed when the lieutenant colonel returns.
Unsure what to do, I made myself a makeshift lemon soda by going to the room’s minibar and helping myself to lemon juice and carbonated water for cocktails.
Then there was a knock on the door.
Anton thrust a hand into his pocket and was understandably wary as the door opened.
“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting,” a familiar voice said.
The lieutenant colonel and Yuri entered. They looked different from before. The lieutenant colonel’s uniform was creased and Yuri was looking tired with his tie loosened.
I didn’t think my offer would cause them this much trouble. It looks like a good deal for Russia to me... An alarming thought crossed my mind. Don’t tell me that they’ve realized that all the money is in merchandising rights?
I was secretly starting to worry as I looked at the lieutenant colonel. Then he cleared his throat and spoke in a hoarse voice.
“I’ll get straight to the point. Exactly how much were you already aware of when you made your proposal, Mr. Arakawa?”
Damn. They’ve got me. A political or financial adviser must have told them that broadcasting doesn’t bring in half as much money as selling merchandise. Not even my mom figured that out. I wonder how the Russians knew. There must be someone else in this world who understands how subculture works. Now what? I can’t risk playing dumb when there’s so much at stake. I’d better be honest with them, and then we can agree to split the profits between us.
“I had a good idea right from the start,” I said. “But a lot of it was speculation. I think this is worth discussing between us.”
“Thank God. I’ll explain everything from the start. Please allow me to finish before you form any conclusions. The truth is, I don’t work for an intelligence agency; I’m actually assigned to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Yuri Pamfilova isn’t from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; he’s the chief of the Foreign Intelligence Service.”
The Ministry of Internal Affairs? Why would the Ministry of Internal Affairs be involved? All we’re doing is deciding who gets the merchandising rights. A lieutenant colonel tasked with maintaining order within the country shouldn’t need to be here.
Anton looked as surprised as I was, so it didn’t seem as though some new department had been established within the Ministry of Internal Affairs without me knowing. I wasn’t sure what was going on.
“Let me begin by talking about the Alice Project,” the lieutenant colonel said. “That’s how it all began.”
There were several photographs of Alice in the paper document he handed to me. I turned the page and saw the words “Genetic Improvement Project” written in Russian.
This is the same document that Joseph gave me before I left for Russia. That must mean the document originated from the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs. It looks like the members of Chernobog are heavily involved in all of this.
I wanted to praise them for their courage. As I was looking through the document, there was a sound from my terminal informing me that someone was calling.
I apologized to the lieutenant colonel and then put in my earpiece. “Hello?”
“Kou, it’s looks as though they’re about to tell you about the Alice Project. Tell them you know everything already. That should throw them off guard. Then you can ask them about what New World and Dr. Sandra are planning.”
That makes sense. Throw the other party off guard and then get new information out of them. It seems they haven’t figured out that the related merchandise that goes with broadcasting rights is more important because it sells better... If they just want to talk about the Alice Project, this could be a good chance.
“Okay. Is there anything else?” I asked Mom.
“No, that’s all,” she replied. “But you’re not safe there. You should leave as soon as possible.”
“I understand, but this is something I have to do myself. I don’t need help.”
I didn’t mean to sound so full of myself... but whatever.
Mom began to say something else, but I ended the call before she could.
With the call from my mom over, the room was silent except for the clinking sound of the ice melting in my lemon soda on the table.
We can’t just sit here in silence. I cleared my throat and asked the lieutenant colonel to continue speaking.
“I’m sorry, please go on.”
“Are you sure? Did Arakawa— Mrs. Arakawa have anything to say?”
“Don’t worry about that. I’m dealing with this; my mom isn’t involved.”
I’m not one of those kids who hides behind his mom his whole life. At the very least, I have to finish what I start. Whatever it takes, I’ll save Anton’s former superior, provide asylum to the members of Chernobog, and get some information about New World and Dr. Sandra. And while I’m at it, I’ll create a new market for Noa here in Russia.
Time to get serious. I’ll act like my mom when she’s in a conference with military-mode Clare. And then we’ll see who’s best at negotiating!
With that mental image in my head, I adjusted my sitting posture, and smiled just like Mom did sometimes... the smile that Macho Man referred to as her “witch smile.”