Huh, something’s off, did Fujimura-kun take leave?
In such an urgent situation, why didn’t he report in?
Minamoto Tamako took out her pink flip phone and called Fujimura-kun: "Moshi moshi? Why aren’t you at the station?"
"Didn’t I say I was cleaning at home?" Fushimi Roku answered, casually brushing her off.
"Eh, didn’t you call a cleaning service?" Minamoto Tamako asked.
"I did, but they haven’t come yet, so I’m spraying water to prevent the dog poop from drying and sticking," Fushimi Roku lied casually.
"Did you ask Chief Kikuchi for leave?" Minamoto Tamako asked, "Why don’t you come over anyway? It seems really urgent; the entire station is out on a mission. You can stay at my place for a couple of days if needed..."
Fushimi Roku sat up straight, surprised at the Metropolitan Police Department’s quick response: "Everyone’s out? Looking for bombs?"
"Yeah, what else could it be? This feels really serious! More serious than the Heavenly Punishment Group! Half of Tokyo’s police force has been mobilized!" Minamoto Tamako said as she returned to the station.
Fushimi Roku found it odd; given his understanding of the Police Department, they shouldn’t have reacted so strongly... At most, Ikebukuro Police Station might conduct an investigation, or the traffic cops might be more vigilant, but why deploy forces across districts?
He vaguely sensed something, and with his S-level intelligence, he quickly connected the dots and asked, "Why haven’t you gone?"
"The logistics said there’s an issue with my issued gun; a mouse got into the gun cabinet and pooped in my barrel," Minamoto Tamako sighed, sitting back at her desk, propping her face with one hand, looking worried.
A mouse in the gun cabinet?
Fushimi Roku immediately thought it was nonsense but didn’t expose her lie, casually comforting her, "That’s unfortunate, Sugamo lost such a strong officer... Alright, no more chit-chat, I’m off to deal with the dog poop."
"Hey, wait, you’re really not coming—"
Before Minamoto Tamako finished speaking, Fushimi Roku hung up the phone.
He dialed Kinosaki Shoujin next, asking directly, "It’s me; who’s in charge of the bomb disposal operation?"
"Of course, the director," Kinosaki Shoujin recalled the special instructions from above, "Almost forgot to tell you, hurry back to the team; you need to participate in the search operation!"
Fushimi Roku selectively ignored Chief Kikuchi’s second sentence, filtering it out, and asked again, "No, I mean who’s the overall person in charge?"
"Chief Kujo," Kinosaki Shoujin paused, then frankly laid it out, "Officer Minamoto can rest, but you can’t; Chief Kujo specifically named you to join the search operation."
Fushimi Roku realized what was going on right away.
He had suspected earlier that Kujo Yua installed surveillance at home but never had the chance to verify it.
Now Fushimi Roku was certain that there was definitely surveillance at home; otherwise, Kujo Yua couldn’t have called at such a coincidental time when he and Minamoto Tamako were about to— Moreover, the reason Minamoto Tamako wasn’t kidnapped was also found.
Kujo Yua, through surveillance, saw what Uesugi Shion was up to.
She sent someone—or went herself—to Sugamo Apartment to bring Minamoto Tamako safely back home.
In the process, Kujo Yua neither cared about Fushimi Roku’s fate nor arrested Uesugi Shion, instead choosing to "turn a blind eye."
The kidnapping, threats, and bomb installation acts by Uesugi Shion were likely because Kujo Yua acquiesced, allowing them to happen. Check latest chapters at 𝗇𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗅•𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾•𝗇𝖾𝗍
If not, when Uesugi Shion betrayed, Kujo Yua would have already sent someone to sink her into Tokyo Bay.
Fushimi Roku even suspected they had met, maybe even colluded on something, although with Kujo Yua’s level of cunning, she probably said nothing and just brought her daughter back.
By those standards, Kujo Yua might know about his body disposal incident.
Fushimi Roku ignored Chief Kikuchi’s "moshi moshi" on the phone and said, "Feeling unwell, taking a short leave," casually hanging up and continuing to meditate on the sofa.
As a deputy director of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, why let a terrorist run amok?
Fushimi Roku shifted his position slightly, roughly guessing the motivation—Kujo Yua has been stuck as ’deputy’ director for so many years; he’d be damned if she didn’t want to become the full director.
Coincidentally, Director Fujiwara is nearing retirement age, with only one son, Fujiwara Homare, whom happens to be a waste and involved in a homicide; this lifetime he couldn’t have a career in the Police Department.
Once Director Fujiwara steps down, who will be the next director?
Fushimi Roku wasn’t very clear on the Police Department’s internal faction fight, but he felt Kujo Yua must want to rise, and only with this speculation could it be explained.
To rise requires achievements.
Normal achievements probably couldn’t satisfy Kujo Yua; otherwise, she wouldn’t have been stuck at the deputy director level for so many years.
It must be achievements that are indisputable, must be feats considered heroic by the people, to stand out among competitors.
Terrorists randomly planting bomb attacks became both a crisis and an opportunity for the Police Department.
If bombs explode, someone must take responsibility;
If bombs don’t explode, someone gets promoted.
With half of Tokyo’s police department searching, including mobile teams and specialists, the chance of finding the bombs should be high; perhaps Jun can keep his dog’s life.
Finally, Fushimi Roku figured out the cause and effect, leaning back on the sofa, feeling a wave of emotion.
Unexpectedly, his half-day coma led to so much trouble.
Thinking carefully, it’s all the mess he created himself; no one else to blame. If he had built a good relationship with his mother-in-law sooner, there wouldn’t have been so much trouble.
"Setup complete," a communication officer said, "Tracking and locating will take about ten minutes, the farther the distance, the longer the time. Officer Fushimi, when talking to the kidnapper, try to delay the time."
"I know the procedure," Fushimi Roku nodded.
Next, they had nothing to do and looked at each other for a while.
Fushimi Roku proposed playing a strategy board game; the communication officer had no objections, as the kidnapped person wasn’t his family, so naturally, he wasn’t anxious.
The two took out a chessboard from Taira Sakurako’s room to play and pass the time. This board was brought by Mai; three elementary school kids often gathered to play.
Meanwhile, in the Sunshine City commercial district.
Mobile team members shouted for the merchants to close and evacuate. Officers in bomb disposal gear held detectors, searching back and forth, while police dogs scattered around, sniffing everywhere.
Pedestrians looked puzzled; news had just announced the attack warning, and many residents out weren’t aware, hurriedly escaping.
The scene was chaotic; the team members were too busy to calm the people’s emotions; the Sunshine City had high floors, searching layer by layer, time was feared not enough.
Terrorists declared a midnight explosion at twelve, it’s now eight in the evening, leaving only four hours for the search.
Time was extremely tight.
But tonight, their luck was good, heaven seemed to favor the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, as soon, one of the police dogs reacted, turning around and leading two mobile team members downward, heading to the underground parking, finally stopping in front of a thick wall, barking continuously.
The mobile team members turned on the electromagnetic detector, scanning up and down the wall, finally getting a response at the wall’s middle.
The detector emitted rapid buzzing, indicating that there’s an explosive inside the wall.
The mobile team member took out the walkie-talkie, immediately contacting the command center: "Explosive detected inside the wall in B2 underground parking of Sunshine! Repeat, explosive detected inside the wall in B2 underground parking of Sunshine!"
The communication officer was about to relay the message when Kujo Yui, who had been at the command center, grabbed the walkie-talkie, mobilized nearby officers for urgent evacuation, and notified the bomb disposal experts to proceed to the scene.
Fifteen minutes later, the mall was emptied, including staff and the customer flow, all completely evacuated, transforming the bustling mall instantly into a ghost city.
There’s still over three hours; their time was plenty.
However, when the bomb disposal experts arrived at the scene, preparing to dismantle the bomb, they ran into trouble.
——The wall contains a load-bearing column, it can’t be dismantled.