The moment they deciphered the cipher letter, Wataru got behind the wheel and drove Jinpei straight toward Tokyo Tower.
Neither of them had expected what happened next.
They had barely parked in a temporary parking area nearby when a tremendous explosion erupted.
Boom!
Jinpei frowned as he removed his sunglasses and looked toward the thick black smoke billowing from Tokyo Tower.
The scene instantly brought back memories from three years ago.
Back then, it had been the Beika Shopping Plaza. The police had just arrived when the bomber detonated the bomb in the control room.
'It's him. That bastard's handiwork.'
Wataru noticed the change in Jinpei's expression and patted him on the shoulder.
"Jinpei, when we go in, be careful. I don't think this case is going to be that simple."
Jinpei gave a faint snort.
"I'm not the reckless brat I was back at the Police Academy. After everything that's happened, I've grown up, Class Rep."
Wataru chuckled.
"Yeah. You're the ace of the Bomb Disposal Squad now."
There was no more time for idle conversation.
After showing their police identification, they hurried into the elevator and rode up to the Main Observatory.
They were about to transfer to another elevator when they noticed several employees in blue uniforms gathered together, anxiously discussing something.
Wataru immediately sensed that something was wrong. Walking over, he asked,
"Excuse me, we're police officers. Is there anything we can help with?"
"The police?"
The employee's face lit up.
"You came at the perfect time! One of the elevators has stopped working."
"There's a little girl trapped inside, but she's so frightened that she refuses to come out!"
"Please take us there."
As they approached, they saw the girl's mother standing on a chair, desperately trying to coax her daughter out of the stalled elevator.
The moment Jinpei saw the scene, he grabbed Wataru's arm. His expression was deadly serious.
"Class Rep, I think this is a trap. Just like three years ago, the bomber deliberately waited for me to enter the Ferris wheel gondola."
"I'm afraid the moment we go inside, there'll be a second explosion."
Wataru nodded.
"I know it's a trap. But we can't just leave that little girl in there."
"... Yeah."
Jinpei let out a quiet laugh.
"You're right."
...
Meanwhile,
Hiro had already arrived at the location traced from Rei's phone.
It was an abandoned factory on the outskirts of Tokyo.
Apparently, the construction company responsible for the project had gone bankrupt midway through the build, leaving the entire site abandoned before it was completed.
Unsure whether the kidnapper might still be hiding nearby, Hiro carefully adjusted the handgun at his waist before getting out of the car.
As he cautiously approached the abandoned factory, he put on his earpiece and dialed Rei's number.
"I'm outside the factory now. So far, I haven't noticed anyone watching the area."
"You'd better stay careful."
Rei replied.
"There's a huge stone door between us."
After pushing open the half-open iron gate, Hiro found a staircase leading underground. He carefully descended the steps.
Sure enough, around the corner stood the enormous stone door.
Fortunately, he had brought several small blocks of plastic explosive with him. Otherwise, there was no way he'd be able to rescue the two of them through brute force alone.
"Tell Onizawa to move away from the door. I'm setting the charges."
"Got it."
Rei walked back into the room and stuck his head inside.
"Officer Onizawa, the person coming to rescue me is here. Come farther back, he's going to blow open the stone door."
"Blow it open?"
Ritsu raised an eyebrow.
"So your friend can actually get his hands on explosives?"
The suspicious look in his eyes made Rei distinctly uncomfortable. Unfortunately, there was no good way to explain it.
So he simply chose to remain silent.
After a five-second countdown—
Boom!
The plastic explosive shattered the stone door. As the dust settled, Hiro stepped through the opening.
Ritsu widened his eyes slightly.
"Hm? Aren't you Officer Morofushi?"
Smiling politely, Hiro walked forward.
"Officer Onizawa. I never expected we'd meet under circumstances like these. This is my friend, ...Shinichi Wada."
"Oh."
Ritsu nodded.
"Your friend's got quite an interesting name. I still have something I need to take care of, so I'll be leaving now."
"Thanks."
Neither of them tried to stop him. Only after watching Ritsu hurry away did Rei's expression become serious.
"Hiro. I think Public Security should put him under surveillance. His identity is far too suspicious."
Hiro nodded.
"Agreed... Oh, right, there's something I haven't told you yet."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a photograph of Akemi.
"She's Onizawa's wife now. Her original name is Miyano Akemi."
Rei's eyes widened in surprise.
Lately, he and Hiro hadn't exchanged much information. Aside from his assignment on Moon Shadow Island, Rum had repeatedly sent him overseas on missions.
As a result, he had no idea about the relationship between Onizawa and Akemi.
"So the wedding attacked in the terrorist incident on February 1st was theirs?"
"That's right."
Hiro smiled bitterly.
"That man is completely shrouded in mystery. I still can't tell whether he's friend or foe."
"But one thing is certain. He's definitely someone with a significant background."
Recalling Onizawa's flawless résumé, Hiro laughed softly.
"Otherwise, I can't imagine someone like him willingly returning to Tokyo just to become a police inspector who works overtime every day for mediocre pay. He had an excellent career overseas."
Rei's emotions became complicated.
Akemi belonged to the Organization. So why had Onizawa married someone connected to the Organization?
'Could it be... Onizawa himself was also a member? If that were true...'
Then the Organization's mole inside the MPD would be him.
That explanation fit.
Yet... it almost felt too straightforward. Was that really how the Organization operated?
"Hiro."
Rei looked thoughtful.
"Do you think it's possible the Organization used Miyano? They intentionally had her approach Onizawa to obtain information from the MPD."
Hiro nodded.
"That's certainly possible. In fact... I think it's the more reasonable explanation."
"Knowing the Organization, they would never allow a carefully planned infiltration operation to unravel so easily. So I believe Onizawa is the one being used."
Rei continued the analysis.
"If that's the case, then the Organization's actual mole inside the MPD probably doesn't hold a high enough position to access important information."
"So they're trying to gather intelligence from another direction as well."
"Exactly."
Hiro nodded.
"I'll have Kazami assign people to keep an eye on both Onizawa and Miyano. But for now, our priority is solving the case in front of us."
His gaze drifted toward the oversized metal collar around Rei's neck.
Unable to resist, he poked it with a finger.
"I've been meaning to ask, what exactly are you cosplaying? I never imagined you had hobbies like this, Zero."
Rei stared at him with half-lidded eyes.
"Hiro... that joke wasn't funny."
"This isn't cosplay. The kidnapper put these bomb collars on both me and Onizawa. We still haven't figured out how to remove them."
"Though... we've got about thirteen hours before they explode."
"Thirteen hours..."
Hiro slowly clenched his fist.
"Then Kenji and I were probably right. Today is Ritsu's death anniversary. The culprit is targeting us."
A cold anger flashed across his eyes.
To choose Ritsu's death anniversary to carry out something like this, that alone was unforgivable.
"Let's talk while we move."
Rei adjusted the collar around his neck.
"But I can't let anyone from the Organization see me looking like this."
"I figured."
Hiro reached into a bag and handed him a face mask and a baseball cap.
"I brought these for you."
Smiling, Rei put them on, concealing his appearance.
"As expected of you. You really think of everything."
His smile slowly faded.
"It's our turn to go on the offensive. If we're the target, then this just got a whole lot easier."
Hiro nodded.
"Yeah. We'll make him regret it."