~Tokyo, Japan; 9:26 PM GMT+9
Tokyo Metropolitan Police department, Shibuya Branch.
"From the escaped convict case to the explosion at the Matobasu office, we can't seem to get a break or get any closer to solving these cases," Murakami Aikawa said with a deep, heavy sigh, as he leaned back on his chair.
"But," Ito Itsuki started, chewing on the stick that held the lollipop he had long finished. "Don't all these cases seem strange to you?"
"Yeah," Watanabe Kenji agreed, looking over one of the open case files on the tablet screen before him. "Just like with the blue fire in that escaped convict case, forensics couldn't come up with a cause for the explosions in the Matobasu office case either."
"And both cases have those H.I.R.E bastards sniffing around," Aikawa added, sitting up then resting his head on his palm.
"What do you think Hide?" Daisuke Mizumi, who had been silently listening to their points asked.
"Both do seem peculiar," Hideoshi Morrow said stiffly, as he typed up something on his computer. "Though I'm more interested in the firm called H.I.R.E and what it is exactly that they do."
"Hm? H.I.R.E?" Aikawa repeated. "Aren't they a private security firm?"
"Mm, yes," Hideoshi started, finally drifting his gaze from the laptop screen to the people he was conversing with. "That's what they imply, however they're actually a research lab."
"Huh?!"
"A research lab?" Aikawa asked, gasping in confusion along with the other two involved in the conversation.
"Yes," Hideoshi answered, turning his gaze back to the laptop screen. "Which makes you wonder why a research lab is running a private security firm as well."
"That is strange," Mizumi commented in agreement.
"Captain!" The voice of Watanabe Kenji exclaimed, as he rushed into the room.
"Hm? What is it?" Takagi Haruto groaned, fixing his leaned back posture on his chair. He had been resting in his seat with an open book covering his face, and his arms crossed together.
"A silent alarm just went off!" Kenji stated, arousing everyone from their listless positions scattered around the office room.
"Address?" Haruto asked calmly, putting the book that covered his face down on the desk.
"It's the mansion of Shoda Eiji!"
"Shoda Eiji?" Aikawa asked in an exclamatory tone.
"Eh? Isn't he that millionaire guy who runs Oxglar or something?" Itsuki stated, not completely sure of his statement.
"He's the current President of Oxglar conglomerates," Hideoshi said, closing his laptop and turning his full attention to the situation.
"Yeah I thought to," Itsuki mused with a slight shrug.
"Okay," Haruto sighed. "What about it?"
"There's been a break in," Kenji continued. "The chief put us on it."
"What?!" Haruto exclaimed, standing up from his seat in shock. "He put our team on it? Are you serious? We're already neck deep in things to do. Forget it! Let's go!"
After he finished his long winded rant, he grabbed his jacket and beckoned the other men in the room to come with him. He thought it unnecessary that all six of them needed to go, but since it was an order from their chief, he brought them as a precaution.
*
"What's the situation like?" Haruto asked from behind the computerized wheel of the speeding police car, with the siren blaring loudly.
"It looks like only a single intruder was spotted," Itsuki responded, looking at the tablet screen with constantly updated information.
"Only one intruder?" He exclaimed, wondering if the severity of the situation was grossly exaggerated.
"Sir!" Itsuki suddenly exclaimed, garnering the attention of the men in the car and the men over the linked communication network in the car following behind them. "Blue flames were sighted in the mansion compound as well!"
"Blue flames?!"
"The same blue flames?" Hideoshi inquired, seemingly now interested in the situation.
"It seems so," Itsuki said, glancing strenuously at the tablet screen, waiting for more information to come up.
"Hold on!" Haruto exclaimed, stepping tapping on the driver's screen and issuing commands to increase the speed of the already flying car.
In a few minutes, they had reached their destination with the mansion of Shoda Eiji coming up to view.
Pow!
"What was that?!" The men inside exclaimed, as the car came to a screeching stop, causing the car with the rest of the team to come to a halt as well.
"Smoke!" Aikawa mentioned, pointing at the smoke that was drifting upwards from the lawn by the side of the house.
"It's a smoke screen!" Haruto remarked, unbuckling his seatbelt, the other men doing the same. "Form a defensive line by the cars!"
With their guns out and their bodies behind the doors of the police car, they waited patiently for any sudden action that may arise. It took only a few seconds more before a masked man coated in black robes appeared, leaping over the wall, and stumbling onto the road blindly while carrying what seemed to be a dagger hooked on long chain.
"This is the Tokyo PD! Please drop your weapon and put your hands up immediately!" Haruto yelled at the masked man, urging him to surrender and come with them quietly.
The other sirens that had been blaring in the distance had soon caught up, and halted behind them, then joined in pointing their guns towards the masked man. Haruto thought it was much too excessive for this single masked man who seemed to be in his twenties from his stature alone, but still it would persuade him not to do anything stupid, or hold any thoughts of escaping.
At least, that's what he thought until the dagger attached to the long chain in the man's hand came flying towards them, and then bursting into flames, causing the front line of police officers to be thrown backwards from the sudden explosion of blue flames. For a second, most of the members of Takagi Haruto's team would share a common idea that in that moment, the masked man's chained dagger looked like a flaming dragon that had shot fire at them.
While the line of detectives and police officers in the front groaned on the floor, and the rest behind slumped in disorientation, the masked man took his opportunity to leave.
Click!
The sound of a hand gun whose slide had just been racked came from behind him. A lone detective who had anticipated the result of his attack and took the initiative to take a timely dock stood still, pointing his gun towards the man in the skull mask.
"Freeze," Hideoshi said coldly, placing his index finger on the trigger slowly. He had many questions, but understood this was not the time to ask them. He would find out later when this man was in an interrogation room. "Slowly drop your weapon and place your hands behind your head, knees on the ground."
The masked man stood silently, not responding to the cold glare and loaded gun pointed at him. Hideoshi gripped the gun even tighter, and pressed his index finger on the trigger just a bit, and not enough to fire. Before he knew it, a ring of flames had surrounded him in a circle.
Bang!
"What in-" He exclaimed, glancing around him in shock and confusion. By the time he had turned his attention back at the masked man, he had vanished, and the flames around him had died out.
He had shot his gun in the direction of the masked man. He was sure of it, but there was no blood indicating injury on the spot he stood or the area around. He had missed his mark- at least that's what he thought, until he say a lone item on the ground beneath where the masked man had stood. It was a single milk scented candy.
"Samizume..." Hideoshi read aloud in a whisper, still in a daze of the events that had just happened.