After dropping Gin off at the training base, Ritsu drove back to his apartment.
It was rare that the two "Buddhas" at home didn't have missions today. But judging from how they sat on the same sofa with a wide gap between them, the fact that they hadn't torn the place apart during the ten days he'd been gone was already the best possible outcome.
Rei had been in a terrible mood these past few days, basically a walking powder keg. If it weren't for the fact that he was definitely male, Akai might've suspected he was acting like this because of PMS.
Carrying the drinks he'd picked up on the way home, Ritsu changed into his slippers and looked at Rei, who sat on the sofa puffed up like an angry pufferfish. He shook the plastic bag in his hand and asked, "Want something to drink?"
Rei looked away, grabbed the remote on the coffee table, and deliberately turned the TV volume way up. He had no intention of responding to someone who had gone missing for days without replying to messages… after all, he'd spent these days unable to eat or sleep properly, worried something had happened to him. He had almost gone to the National Police Agency to request help in locating Ritsu.
Sensing that a war might break out, Akai picked up his cigarette pack and said, "I'll go smoke on the balcony."
"Want a beer?"
"Yeah, thanks."
After putting the remaining drinks in the fridge, Ritsu walked toward the sofa and sat right next to Rei. Before he could even speak, the sulking man stood up and moved to the single-seat sofa.
"What will it take for Mr. Bourbon to forgive me?"
"So you do know how to come back, huh?"
"Sorry for making you worry." Ritsu immediately apologized, then discreetly glanced at the tightly shut balcony door. With the TV volume covering them, he explained, "Something happened during the mission. I ended up under 'surveillance,' so I couldn't contact you."
Rei's expression turned serious. He stopped sulking and frowned. "What happened?"
"You remember Glenfiddich, right? The boy who's only about 140 cm tall."
"Of course. The youngest and shortest code-named member in the organization."
Even Rei, a member of the intelligence division, didn't know Glenfiddich's real age. Ritsu couldn't help sounding a bit smug as he anticipated Rei's reaction. "You're wrong. He's actually the same age as Vodka."
"???"
Rei's droopy eyes widened in shock. He never would've imagined that a baby-faced shorty could be the same age as the tall, burly Vodka… this world was insane.
"I was surprised too when I first found out. It's basically an operations unit secret, so it's normal you didn't know." Ritsu paused, then got back on topic. "For certain reasons, I executed Glenfiddich on the spot. To gain Gin's trust, I had to injure myself as well, so—"
"Where are you hurt?"
In Rei's eyes, none of the background mattered. He only cared where Ritsu had been injured and whether it was serious.
"I'm fine, it's already healed. What I'm about to tell you next is that I met a very famous movie star in the U.S."
Rei narrowed his eyes suspiciously and leaned back on the sofa, raising a brow. "Macallan, didn't expect you to start caring about a woman's age too."
"…That's not what you think. I'm not Vodka."
"Then what is it?"
Ritsu pulled out his phone and brought up the information he'd searched on Yahoo. "Chris Vineyard, that's the actress I met. She's a code-named member of the organization, Vermouth."
Vermouth?
Rei hadn't expected such a famous star to be part of the organization. It only reinforced how complex this massive group was. Since joining the intelligence division, he'd learned that not only major business figures but even political players were involved in deals and collaborations with the organization.
In short, uprooting it completely would be extremely difficult. Unless they could obtain detailed information on the second-in-command, Rum, and the organization's founder to devise a proper arrest plan, it would be nearly impossible.
"That's not all you wanted to say, right?"
"Right."
After seeing Shiho's reaction, Ritsu had grown suspicious and began to speculate about the connection between her and Vermouth. Shiho, who hadn't yet made any notable achievements within the organization, shouldn't have any direct ties to someone like Vermouth.
After thinking it over, he arrived at a possibility.
That possibility was APTX4869, the drug Shiho had yet to complete. Vermouth's message had also been related to the research, which suggested she might have some connection to Shiho's deceased parents.
Recalling the blonde, blue-eyed beauty he'd seen on TV seven years ago, he remembered thinking that 17-year-old Chris Vineyard looked unusually mature. Now that he thought about it, her appearance hadn't changed at all over those seven years.
Combined with the effects of APTX4869, he could boldly speculate that Vermouth might have taken a similar drug. If so, it would likely be the prototype APTX4869 developed by the Miyano couple and two other researchers.
"I want you to investigate Chris Vineyard's personal connections. She might become a breakthrough point. Instead of fixating on Rum, it'd be better to change the angle of approach."
Rei nodded in agreement. With his current standing in the organization, there was no way he could come into contact with Rum. But someone as famous as Chris Vineyard, there might actually be a chance to uncover hidden information.
"Alright, let's stop here. He should be coming back soon."
"Yeah." Hearing the balcony door slide open, Ritsu added, "Since you're no longer mad, Mr. Bourbon, how about making me a late-night snack? Rye, perfect timing, help convince him too."
'Bourbon still wasn't done sulking?' Akai paused, not daring to get too close. After all, he still smelled of tobacco, if Rei's anger hadn't subsided, approaching him might just make things worse.
"Bourbon, I'm a bit hungry too."
'Is that how you ask for a favor?' Ritsu grumbled internally.
Rolling his eyes so hard it seemed they might fall out, Rei slowly stood up from the sofa. His slippers stomped loudly against the floor, as if he were stepping on an unflattened Akai beneath his feet.
"What do you want to eat?"
As Ritsu stepped closer to watch, he instinctively took a defensive stance then quickly switched to raising both hands in surrender, forcing a bitter smile. After all, Rei was pointing a kitchen knife at him.
"Something simple, like ochazuke is fine. Right… Rye?"
"Ochazuke doesn't go well with alcohol."
"…"
Akai bent down, took out a frozen sphere of ice from the fridge, then walked over to the cabinet without a hint of awareness and pulled out a half-finished bottle of Macallan. Calmly, he said, "Grilled oysters? Or we could prepare them for sashimi."
Even the summer insects fell silent for me; silence is Cambridge tonight.
Thunk.
The sound of the kitchen knife stabbing into the cutting board.
"Why don't you just die?"
Handling oysters in the middle of the night, who did he think he was tormenting?
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Bonus chapter @20 PS