~Tokyo, Japan; 10:46 AM GMT+9
Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, Shinjuku Branch.
"Your hunch was right Detective Hideoshi," Tachibana Aiko started, sending him the documents he had asked the forensic team to look into. "The cause of the fire is unknown, just like the case of the blue flames."
Hideoshi Morrow remained silent, calmly looking over the data she had sent, as if to imply there was no other suitable answer than he was right. If there was anything he'd trusted more than evidence, it was his intellect and his instinct.
"And not only that," Ito Itsuki added, putting his arm around Hideoshi as he peeked over his shoulder to glance at the data. "But it's almost identical to the blue flames as well."
"That's right," Aiko continued. "If we hadn't seen the flames with our own eyes, I'd think they were started by the same person."
"But how do they start the fires without leaving even a hint of any trace?" Hideoshi mumbled silently to himself, his mind racing with several possibilities and scenarios at once.
"What was that?" Itsuki asked, calling his attention as he wondered what he was busy mumbling to himself about.
"Nothing." He cleared his throat, turning to face Aiko. "What about the CCTV? Did they pick up anything?"
"Not even a hair of anyone close to being a suspect," Watanabe Kenji sighed, as he walked into the conversation. Sending Hideoshi the data he had procured from the men at the fire station, he continued. "The CCTV's were down minutes before the fire broke out. Before then, no one left or entered the building. Guys at the fire station say the fire started on the fourth flour, but they have no idea how it started. The Building's BD alarm didn't pick up anything either, so it definitely wasn't a bomb. "
"And what did Dr. Higashi have to say about it?" Hideoshi continued to ask. "Did they ID the bodies?"
"Too burnt up to identify but they're looking into dental records right now," Itsuki answered, sending him the piece of information he had gathered from the coroner's office.
"There's been a string of arson incidents lately," Aiko commented. "Maybe there's a chance they're connected?"
"Not maybe," Hideoshi started, without a hint of doubt. "They are connected."
"Huh?"
With the conclusion of his sentence, he tapped the screen of his watch, sending information to the central system to display the data he had collected on the holographic monitor.
"Ever since the second incident in the 13th district, I've been collecting data about it,"
"But... why?" Itsuki queried. "With just two incidents, there's no way you could have been sure they'd be related."
"The first incident didn't really strike me as odd, especially since it occurred before my transfer here," Hideoshi stated. "But after the second incident, the case with the blue flames, I started researching every case of arson from as far back as six months prior to my arrival, and as I expected, two incidents before, one in Chiba and one in Osaka, and then the first and second incident in district 10 and 13. All having no apparent cause, and the case being handled by H.I.R.E Labs."
"What?!"
"H.I.R.E Labs?" Kenji inquired. "Why? What does a case of arson have to do with them?"
"In almost every incident, an employee of H.I.R.E Labs is identified," Hideoshi said, glancing over the data he had collected. "In both the cases in Chiba and Osaka, H.I.R.E Lab scientists were among the victims killed when the fire broke out. However, in the first incident in district 10, even though H.I.R.E took the lead in the investigation five months ago, the sole victim remained unidentified even after the dental records were examined."
"Which begs the question..." Aiko started.
"Why did H.I.R.E get involved in the first place." Itsuki finished.
"As is the case with the second incident taking place on a street in district 13," Hideoshi continued. "H.I.R.E employees were killed when the criminal they were transporting escaped, and then their bodies were burnt to a crisp. But why did headquarters hand over the transportation detail to a private security firm owned by H.I.R.E Labs?"
"Wow," Kenji exclaimed. "Less than a month here and you already have more information on this case than we do."
"So what now?" Itsuki queried.
"For now, I'm waiting for the bodies to be identified, then I might be able to come to a presumption from there," Hideoshi answered. "But I definitely know, that H.I.R.E Labs knows more about the cause of these fires than we do."
The doors to the team room open, revealing a very exhausted Takagi Haruto, the team leader.
"Good news Morrow," Takagi sighed, pushing his bangs back with his fingers as he handed Hideoshi a tablet with the information he wanted. "I somehow managed to get the information you asked for."
"Honestly Haruto," Daisuke Mizumi chortled, following behind him. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think Hideoshi was the actual leader of this team with the amount of work he actually does."
"It's a partnership Mizumi. Give and take. He's the brain, I'm the charisma," Takagi mused, playing along as he flopped down onto his chair.
"What did you ask for anyway?" Itsuki asked, curious about the information Hideoshi was callously skimming through.
"The name of the criminal that escaped when he was being transported by that H.I.R.E firm," Daisuke answered.
"Huh? You mean the one from the blue flames case?"
"Yup. That's the one," Takagi exhaled, leaning back in his chair.
"Wasn't headquarters super hush hush and tight lipped about the whole thing?" Itsuki acclaimed. "They didn't even bother answering us no matter how many times we asked for the details."
"Yup," Takagi responded. "I had to pull some major strings just to get his name, and some more back breaking string pulling to get his whole information. And you don't even want to know what kind of things I had to do to get CCTV footage. You're welcome."
"Nice going captain!" Aikawa and Itsuki mused.
"The cameras on the street were damaged before the incident, but luckily we were able to recover some footage from a privately owned CCTV across the construction building." Daisuke added.
"So, who is he?" Aiko inquires, glancing over the information Hideoshi flipped through in silence as he continuously pondered.
"You won't even believe it," Takagi bemused, massaging his temples with the tip of his fingers.
"Huh? Who is it?" They asked with curiosity.
"A first year student at Minomi academy, Class 1-B, Motoyasu Satoma, age 15." Hideoshi stated.
"A high school student?!"