Chapter 61, Chapter 60: Swatches of Black and Red: Undefined...
Digging and digging in the little garden of memories.
Curaçao put down the swatch, closed her eyes to process the information in her mind, and began to recount the intelligence she had received from Rum, one by one.
Elle casually swept away the almost non-existent dust on the ground, then lay down on the spot to find a more convenient way to write. She spread her notebook out in front of her, propped her face up, and scribbled down some keywords.
The black-haired girl's bangs fell casually across her forehead, and her dark eyes appeared even more somber in the shadow cast by the overhead light. She scribbled arrows and lines on the paper, occasionally interrupting Curaçao's narration to ask about a few details.
Unfortunately, Rum had thoroughly cleaned up Rag's traces, and Curaçao could only recount some fragmented information, lacking a complete understanding of the task of eliminating the defectors.
“…I don’t know who participated in the cleanup operation.” Curaçao’s fingertips traced the smooth surface of the coloring card. “Unlike previous organization-wide wanted notices, this cleanup was very covert.”
She received her codename much later than Lag and El, and it could even be said that she was only rediscovered by Rum after the two of them defected. Therefore, by the time she was given a more important role, the traces of her former confidants had been almost completely covered up.
However, because they were codenamed members from the same training camp, she paid special attention to the progress of the purge when it happened. So, although Rum remained tight-lipped about it, she managed to gather some firsthand information.
“I remember, some members who were abroad suddenly came back all at once.” Curaçao recalled the tense atmosphere within the organization at the time, where everyone was on edge. “Some say that the Boss summoned them back, since no one has the authority to command the leaders of several groups at once.”
"Hmm." Al pressed the pen twice, drawing a triangle over the names of Gin, Vermouth, Rum, and the head of the finance department, and asked, "Of these people, who left the latest?"
“How could I possibly know the whereabouts of those adults?” Curaçao slammed the seven-colored card together like a fan onto the table and said irritably, “Besides, you and Rag defected one after the other, they probably didn’t even have time to leave.”
“That makes sense.” Elle seemed to have no hope of getting any answers from Curaçao. She rolled over, held the notebook high, lay down on the ground, and looked at the interwoven lines on it, muttering, “But Gin didn’t seem to be here the day he was chasing me.”
This doesn't fit Gin's habit of catching mice at all.
What is our model worker from the winery doing? Is he on another mission, or is there some other reason why he can't come?
She moved the notebook aside and stared at the stark white ceiling, lost in thought.
My phone vibrated twice in my pocket, and Noah's Ark in my earphones spoke in unison: 'They've discovered the problem and are on their way. Scotland is expected to arrive in about fifteen minutes.'
"That's definitely speeding! These police officers are really breaking the law!" The culprit criticized them righteously, then sat up, glanced at the two small red dots moving rapidly on his phone screen, and began to pack up his homework and pens.
Don't forget the color chart.
"Received." El picked up the seven-colored card that had been pushed up from the hidden compartment on the ground and put it back on his satchel. "Disconnect the base's communications. Don't let Bourbon alert the guards."
The girl, having quickly packed her things and successfully completed all her goals for the night, stretched her neck and legs under Curaçao's watchful gaze, turned to look at her sideways, and said, "I'm leaving."
"Cherish Japan's death penalty, which is now merely a formality." Alju, whose appearance had changed to that of a child but whose demeanor was serene, spoke calmly, admonishing him with a superior air that was completely at odds with his appearance. "I think it won't be long before, after the organization is eradicated, you will be able to obtain a new identity that is not entirely free."
"At that time, Ayumi and the others definitely hadn't graduated from elementary school yet."
She was absolutely certain of this, and after saying that, she didn't intend to stay any longer. She casually waved to the silver-haired woman standing behind the glass wall, turned around, and walked outside. "I'm there. Don't worry about the police taking action against them."
"Once everything is over, you can go to the amusement park with them again."
Upon hearing this, Curaçao's hands, which were hanging by her sides, suddenly clenched into fists. She looked up at Elju's departing figure and, just before the girl walked out the door, suddenly said, "The previous training camp was blown up."
“So Rum is starting to build new ones now.” Elle stopped in her tracks. Just now, Curaçao had mentioned a few new training camp locations that Rum liked, and she had written them all down in her notebook.
The girl turned to Curaçao and casually promised, "Don't worry, I'll blow that up too."
“No, you didn’t bomb the training camp.” Curaçao took two steps forward, pressed one hand against the glass and looked at the girl who had turned around. The white vapor from her breath clung to the glass as she spoke, blurring the expression on her face. “Although the time when the training camp was bombed coincided with the time when you defected, you should have just finished a mission and disembarked from a cruise ship that day.”
"You defected after you learned that the training camp had been bombed."
"..."
"After the training camp that was bombed was reported by an unknown media outlet, it went viral. The local police conducted a thorough search, and the previously established supply and medicine delivery lines were all rendered useless." Curaçao's voice came through the microphone. "I checked the timeline. The time between Xuanbulag's defection and the bombing of the training camp was only three days apart."
"Oh, so you investigated behind Rum's back?" Elju glanced at the two small red dots rapidly approaching the base on his phone screen. He wasn't in a hurry. Seeing the increasingly frightening expression on Curaçao's face, he calmly said, "It seems so."
“After getting the codename, Rag took over the management of the training camp, while you were in charge of the intelligence team’s operations.” The silver-haired woman pondered this division of labor, which was known to everyone under Rum, when she suddenly changed the subject and said, “The experimental drugs in the training camp were switched; it was you who tampered with them.”
"Hmm?" Elju was taken aback upon hearing this, and only then did she have the mind to properly examine Curaçao's face. After a moment, she suddenly realized and said, "You are Tenkai?"
The grown-up girl looked completely different from the one she saw at the training camp when she was a child. The black-haired girl pressed her forehead, struggling to reconcile the blonde little girl with the woman in front of her. She couldn't understand why the hair color had turned white along with the iris color.
Zhuge Tongzhi had initially thought that Curaçao was one of the children who went out with her and Rag, but it turned out she was one of the later batches? Zhuge Tongzhi was genuinely surprised, as Rag had just taken over the training camp at that time.
If we calculate it that way, Curaçao's speed in obtaining a codename is among the fastest of the organization's codename members. Even if she and Rag hadn't defected, they would probably have been discovered by the action team soon.
Seeing that she did not deny it, Curaçao slowly clenched her fist against the glass wall, her five fingers digging tightly into her palm. "These things were found out by Rum, no, or rather, someone reported them, which is why Rag was purged, right?"
“I don’t know, you…” Eldritch frowned as he looked at the blood trickling down the glass wall. He took a step forward, about to say something, when he was interrupted by Curaçao’s roar that came through the microphone.
"So, you and Rag really want to lead everyone away from the organization, right!"
The woman, who had lost control of her emotions, slowly slumped to the ground against the glass wall. Curaçao pressed her hand, which was covered in blood, and looked up. The height was just right so that she and Zhuge Tongzhi outside the wall could make eye contact.
“Answer me, Al.” His almost transparent pupils stared at the silent girl before him, trembling as if he were reading classified documents. “She always joked about wanting to act out a Shawshank Redemption, without getting involved with any faction.”
"You've always said this idea is stupid, but now that Lag is dead, you've gotten involved with the Japanese Public Security Bureau, you..."
“Lag isn’t dead.” Elju, who had been silent all along, interrupted. She walked to the glass wall and, standing a step away, looked down at Curaçao, whose sleeves and trouser legs were stained with blood. She said, “She made preparations in advance in the training camp. Even if she couldn’t escape, she could still save her life.”
“Besides, with the training camp bombed, there won’t be any other test subjects left.” Elju looked at Curaçao’s almost transparent eye and saw his own reflection in it. “Rum wouldn’t be willing to kill Rag; she’s just been hidden away.”
What was the price of being hidden...? Curaçao touched her unusual eye, her silver hair sweeping across her cheeks as her head drooped, stained with the blood left on the side of her palm.
'Scotland, seven minutes away.'
Noah's Ark reminded him, and Elju glanced at Curaçao, who seemed unwilling to say anything more. Urged on by the voice in his earpiece, he turned and walked out, leaving behind the words, "I will find her."
“If that’s the case, I’d rather Rag were dead,” Curaçao’s murmured voice came from behind.
The black-haired girl paused in her steps, stood with her back to Curaçao for a moment, and then suddenly jumped to a completely unrelated topic: "On the way back today, they grabbed five passersby and asked each other if they were secret agents."
The silver-haired assassin, who had casually adapted the excuse of "The Emperor's New Clothes," was taken aback.
“Just tell me what the police are asking. Their interrogations won’t be much more humane than the organization’s.” Zhuge Tongzhi turned his head slightly and said, “In the organization’s eyes, you are already dead. You will no longer have the identity of ‘Curaçao’.”
"Tianhai, you may be the first among us to sever ties with the organization while still alive."
“Lager said that we, who are not in control of our own lives, do not need to force ourselves to define ourselves as either black or red.” The black-haired girl turned her head in the darkness of the room with the lights off, and stepped over the sliding rail in front of her feet. “You can be any color.”
The gate slammed shut.
…
Seven minutes later, outside the base
The white Mazda came to a stop at the base entrance. Morofushi Kagemitsu pressed the pistol to his side, cautiously opened the door and got out of the car. Using the car as cover, he looked at the seemingly normal base entrance.
As the two had expected, Zero was unable to contact the guards at the base, and this action had most likely alerted them that they were on their way.
So that person has most likely already left. Morofushi Kagemitsu glanced at the empty base entrance, beginning to consider whether he should go inside to check on Curaçao's situation.
Entering the independent base is a bit troublesome. His current identity cannot be re-filed until the mole within the Metropolitan Police Department is caught. He has actually been using Zero's permissions throughout the operation with Zero.
As he calmly considered the plan, an idea almost subconsciously popped into his mind. Morofushi Kagemitsu took two steps to the side, raising his gun with one hand and turning the muzzle to point at the side of the base illuminated by the moonlight.
A girl sitting on a stone bench not far away came into view, holding a set of color swatches in her hand to block her eyes, looking up at the moon in the night sky. Her black clothes and pants almost blended into the night.
But the seven-colored light shining on the girl's face, along with the colorful handbag at her waist, illuminated the scene, making the atmosphere less somber while also prompting criticism of her careless nighttime outfit.
Upon recognizing who it was, Morofushi Kagemitsu lowered his gun, feeling a sense of relief mixed with an indescribable feeling.
It really was her.
When he saw her, the girl whose hair was being tossed by the wind also turned to look at him, her eyes, which were usually sparkling with stars, now as still as a deep pool.
Seeing that the person he was waiting for had arrived on time, Elju put away the color card in his hand, lightly jumped off the stone block, and walked towards Morofushi Kagemitsu.
But before she could get close, another white Mazda roared up and cut in between her and Morofushi Kagemitsu, the driver slamming on the brakes with a sharp screeching sound.
Rei Furuya, in the driver's seat, pushed open the door, drew his pistol, and aimed it at the black-haired girl who had stopped in front of him. His gray eyes beneath the blonde hair were fixed on the girl who had covered her ears without changing her expression.
Kazami Yuya, who was casually taken along by his boss while working overtime at his desk, climbed out of the passenger seat. His steps faltered slightly upon landing, but he quickly followed his boss and pulled out a pistol.
Because it was a temporary, forced field mission, Kazami Yuya was clearly taken aback when he saw the target was an elementary school student. However, after noticing Furuya Rei's serious demeanor, he immediately straightened his attitude and his expression became serious again.
And the child did indeed give a reaction that was beyond his apparent age.
Ignoring the two guns and the menacing-looking Bourbon, Al slowly walked around Furuya Rei's car, his hands in his pockets, and stood in front of Morofushi Kagemitsu. He looked up and said, "Guardian, I'm hungry."
Morofushi Kagemitsu was taken aback when he was called his guardian. Elle had never addressed him that way before; she usually called him by his name or code name.
But he also noticed that although the girl seemed to be facing him, she was actually keeping an eye on Furuya Rei behind her, clearly having ulterior motives.
Come to think of it, this should be their first meeting. Morofushi Hiromitsu stroked his prickly stubble. Zero and Elju… had they crossed paths before?
"Hey, is this the time to chat about late-night snacks?!" Meanwhile, Kazami Yuya, standing to the side, felt a chill run down his spine and cautiously glanced at Furuya Rei's increasingly dark expression.
Although he was also hungry after working overtime late into the night, he had originally planned to go get something to eat.
"Ale, what are you doing here?" Furuya Rei asked bluntly, "This is a police station."
"Nobody stopped me. I thought it was a themed escape room." Zhuge Tongzhi chuckled with his back to Furuya Rei. "Babeng, the Public Security Bureau you manage is nothing special."
“Er…” Furuya Rei’s forehead veins throbbed, making Kazami Yuya’s palms break out in a cold sweat. Morofushi Kagemitsu blinked, his gaze shifting between his childhood friend and the girl in front of him with her arms crossed.
"What's wrong, Babeng?" The black-haired girl slowly tidied her hair, calling out Furuya Rei's codename with a slightly explosive tone, "Is there something wrong with what I said?"
"Well, alright, alright," Morofushi Kagemitsu quickly intervened, reaching out to press down the muzzle of Furuya Rei's gun, nodding to Kazami Yuya to signal him to put down the gun, and then looking down at the child to ask, "Have you finished your business?"
"Oh?" Ale raised an eyebrow, glanced at the overly amiable Scotland, and said cautiously, "I'm only looking for Curaçao, I haven't touched your people."
"Let's get in the car first." Morofushi Hiromitsu opened the door of Hagiwara Kenji's car, and a light and pleasant car air freshener wafted into his nostrils. "You were waiting for us, weren't you?"
"Hmm." Alju observed Morofushi Hiromitsu's expression, and walked uncertainly to the back door, holding the door handle without applying much force.
This attitude is a bit too nice, isn't it? Elle, who had been wary of the other party all the way to Tokyo, narrowed her eyes, a strange, uneasy feeling welling up inside her.
"What, you dare to come to the police station for a prison visit?" Furuya Rei holstered his pistol, looking at the girl's hesitant movements with a sneer. "Don't you have the guts to ride in a police car?"
Al immediately put his awkwardness behind him and retorted, "This is Officer Hagiwara's car. What does it have to do with your police force?"
"As for your colleagues, I think you should really pay attention to them." She pulled her hand back from the car door, pointed at Furuya Rei's sour face, and retorted, "At least you're safe here in Curaçao."
What?
Furuya Rei, preoccupied with making sarcastic remarks, didn't quite catch on, but Morofushi Hiromitsu quickly grasped the subtext in the girl's words. The guardian, who frequently visited the Metropolitan Police Department, quickly used the process of elimination to rule out possibilities for his colleagues, and asked with a frown, "Will something happen to the squad leader?"
“Yes.” Speaking of this, Al was no longer in a hurry to get into the car. Looking at the two undercover agents who were still full of energy in the middle of the night, he said, “Ida Aircraft will have a traffic accident in Tokyo on February 7th.”
To be precise, Ida Wataru should have died unexpectedly a year ago, but there is still a lot of room to maneuver in delaying the transfer of a police officer, so the squad leader, who should have arrived in Tokyo a year ago, was transferred a year later.
Based on her experience, the lunchbox should be postponed to the next February 7th.
Of course, the timing may shift after the butterfly's wings flap.
For example, something that should have happened four years later was brought forward due to Ida's pursuit and interception, and the bomber she couldn't kill died unexpectedly because of Curaçao. This completely unexpected development gave her some inspiration.
—Perhaps, it is those who are involved in the main storyline who can truly influence the originally planned deaths.
Matsuda Jinpei's handyman didn't actually get involved much, and Date Wataru's accident was purely accidental, so it only required a little more attention. Zhuge Tongzhi's current identity, on the other hand, didn't give him any reason to follow a police officer all day.
Coincidentally, she wanted to take advantage of the fact that she still remembered everything and leave Tokyo to conduct an investigation.
The current state is really inconvenient, and I need someone to help me... Zhuge Tongzhi turned his gaze to Kazami Yuya, who looked completely bewildered.
Well, speaking of which, this is the police chief's ace assistant.
"It's him." Elle quickly made up her mind and continued to the two men, Furuya Rei and Morofushi Hiromitsu, whose faces were grim: "Natalie will commit suicide with him, and her parents will die in a car accident on their way to collect her body."
"That's the situation. The exact date is uncertain, but it's around February 7th."
I've told you directly about the bento boxes for the Date family; the five of you should discuss how to save yourselves.
Unlike Zhuge Tongzhi, who was worried about not finding an excuse, Elju had no intention of giving any reason or explanation. After speaking, he pointed at Kazami Yuya and said to Furuya Rei, "I need to go to Tokyo. Lend me someone, Babeng."
Kazami Yuuya, who hadn't understood 80% of what was said but was suddenly being asked to borrow the room, thought: "Huh?"
"Mr. Furuya?" he asked his superior beside him for help.
Suddenly receiving a series of death warnings from the same family, Morofushi Hiromitsu and Furuya Rei simultaneously rubbed their furrowed brows and exchanged a glance.
However, judging from El's previous prophetic actions, this is probably not just a rumor.
"Kazami, return this car." Furuya Rei made a quick decision, directing Kazami Yuya to return Hagiwara Kenji's car to its original location, "and have the traffic department colleagues clear tonight's violation record."
“Yes, Mr. Furuya.” Without a word, the capable assistant took the car keys from Morofushi Kagemitsu, got into the white Mazda, and quickly drove away from the troublesome place.
“Come back with us first.” Furuya Rei turned to Zhuge Tongzhi, his tone softening from its previous harshness, and opened the back door of the car. “We need to know more specific details.”
“There are ingredients in Zero’s safe house.” Morofushi Hiromitsu opened the passenger door and said, “We also need to discuss leaving Tokyo further; this is not the right place to talk about it.”
“Okay.” Knowing that things couldn’t be resolved in a few words, Aljuh nimbly climbed into Furuya Rei’s car.
"I want fried rice with egg, bap."
"..."
"No celery."
-----------------------
Author's Note: Curaçao's real name is a reference to a voice actor.
Behind that cool character is also a cool older sister!
(Shy)
…
El: Eight blasts (explosive sound)
Falling Valley Zero: Well
Zhu Fujingguang: Hmm
The reason for targeting Bourbon is that Lager actually went on a mission with Bourbon once, and was briefly tricked by the blond Honey Trap, who was then trying to get a codename (Bourbon didn't know it was Lager).
From then on, Bourbon became a blond-haired figure in El's eyes.
…
Mwah
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