Chapter 82 Blood Splattered on the Spot
Late at night, a man wearing a knitted hat walked into the Laiyeshan Rehabilitation Center.
"Show? Didn't you go to buy coffee? Why are you back so soon?" Judy asked curiously.
"I suddenly had a feeling of unease and wanted to come back and take a look."
"Are you alright? Your voice sounds a little hoarse. Could you have caught a cold? Everything here is normal, nothing seems amiss."
"That's good. I'll go check on Kiel."
"Shall I go with you?"
"No need."
Ten minutes later, Akai reappeared in front of Judy, leaving the FBI agent speechless with shock.
"What's wrong, Judy?" Akai asked, carrying a can of coffee.
"I...I just saw you walk by...Could it be Vermouth?"
Akai frowned, losing all interest in his coffee. He was about to rush to the second floor to check on the situation when he ran into Camel at the elevator entrance.
Akai could tell from the other person's expression that he had already encountered the imposter, and hurriedly asked, "Where did he go just now?"
"What?" Carmel was still in a daze and couldn't tell who was the real one for a moment.
Where did the person who impersonated me go?
"Uh... he went to the third floor."
"The third floor?" Akai was surprised by the answer, because Kir and Carlo's wards were both on the second floor. But he immediately realized: the third floor had a power distribution room!
"Could it be that they plan to cut off the power first, and then take advantage of the chaos to fish in troubled waters?"
Akai's heart sank, and he immediately led Camel and several of his men to arrest the person.
As expected, the fake Akai was indeed causing trouble in the power distribution room. When he saw the real Akai, he was not flustered at all, and even smiled.
"Hey! Look who's here!" Akai knew it was Bourbon the moment he opened his mouth.
"I advise you to surrender. There are many police officers here. If a conflict breaks out, you will bear the consequences." Akai raised his gun.
Bourbon shrugged: "Don't be nervous, I didn't bring any weapons."
So, is this a surrender?
“No, I came to tell you something important,” Bourbon said mysteriously, casually taking off his knitted hat. Akai pulled the trigger.
"The FBI is really rude. Can't you just listen to me?" Bourbon looked up, but his hands weren't idle. He deftly untied the seams of his hat with his ten fingers.
“I’ve been listening very carefully, you can start now.” Akai was confused, but remained wary.
Do you know why I hate you so much?
Is this matter important?
Bourbon pondered for a moment and replied, "It might not have been that important in the past, but times have changed! I'm afraid I won't have the chance to tell you again in the future."
Akai had no time for small talk and asked impatiently, "What exactly do you want to say?"
Bourbon grinned slyly. "You know what? The first time I saw you, I wanted to crumple your silly hat into a ball of yarn and give it to the kitten to play with. Look, like this."
A black ball of yarn lay peacefully in Bourbon's palm. Akai frowned even more: "Bourbon, aren't you talking a lot of nonsense today? You flew all the way from Japan just to show me your needlework?"
"No, I'm here to take your life!" The words had barely left his mouth when the power was suddenly cut off.
Losing his target for a moment, Akai felt a fist coming at him from the darkness. He dodged it, but Bourbon snatched the gun away.
However, when Bourbon ran outside, he was stunned: a group of police officers had completely surrounded the substation. But he calmly dealt with the situation, using the fake skin and the dim light to evade their sight.
But before he could even descend the stairs, the power was restored, and Akai, having turned the switch back on, emerged and said imposingly, "Bourbon, give up. You can't escape this time."
Only then did the police turn their attention to the counterfeit goods.
Bourbon sneered: "You think you can trap me with this?"
"I order you to lay down your weapons immediately!" shouted Kamal, who was leading the charge.
"You think this is a weapon?" Bourbon asked, pointing to the ball of yarn in his hand.
"Put it down, no matter what it is!"
Bourbon shrugged, feigning nonchalance. He cleared his throat and said in a deliberately profound low voice, "Shh—quiet! Watch closely, I'll only do this once!"
Everyone was intimidated by this display and dared not take a step forward. Akai couldn't help but wonder if Bourbon was about to unleash a powerful attack.
With a "whoosh," the small black ball of fur was thrown out of the window, followed by a black figure.
Bourbon leaped from the third floor, and before reaching the ground, he hooked the ball of yarn into his palm with his finger, like a police dog catching a frisbee in mid-air.
Amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, Bourbon landed lightly and fled as if flying.
The plot was so thrilling that even Akai didn't have time to react.
"Carmel, why are there so many people here?" Akai asked. "Didn't you only bring three people with you?"
"Oh, I don't know either?"
Akai sensed something was wrong and rushed to the second floor. He found out that someone had given false orders and summoned all the police to the third floor!
Then a nurse rushed over in a panic and said: The two patients under police supervision have disappeared!
"We've fallen for their trap! Chase them!"
Bourbon climbed into the taxi and ripped off the fake skin. He said to the woman in the passenger seat, "Oh dear, I almost mistook you for Kiel."
"This isn't the time to chat. Are you sure Akai will catch up?" Vermouth asked.
“Of course, the ball of yarn is in my hands!” Bourbon said confidently.
There were two suspicious vehicles: a taxi driven by Bourbon and a sports car driven by Cohen.
The former carried Vermouth, who was impersonating Gil, while the latter carried Chianti and the real Gil.
Kiel had been feigning unconsciousness after being injured. As soon as her companions came to her aid, she immediately set off to escape.
As for Carlo? He was hidden under the bed because of his mobility issues. The police will find him soon.
As expected, Akai believed that Cohen was just a smokescreen, and the real target was the one in Bourbon's car. Akai immediately chased after the taxi and, while doing so, notified Scotland.
FBI and CIA police cars sped by, racing to catch up with the enemy on narrow, rugged mountain roads, which ironically gave Bourbon a great advantage.
After a few turns, he easily left all the vehicles behind, except for Shuichi Akai.
“Even in this situation, you don’t need to drive this fast, do you?” Vermouth, sitting next to me, said with lingering fear.
"Because I'm starving!" Bourbon, speeding down the road, floored the accelerator. "How am I supposed to eat if I don't take care of this bastard?!"
Vermouth then realized that Bourbon's words about being hungry a few hours earlier were truly heartfelt.
"Drive carefully, I'll treat you to a late-night snack."
Thank you!
Akai, who was relentlessly chasing after the taxi, was not in a good mood. He realized that he might have fallen into a trap.
Reality quickly confirmed his suspicions: after the other police cars were outmaneuvered, Gin's car suddenly rushed out, one in front of the other, and Akai became the filling in the sandwich.
What kind of death does Gin want Akai to have?
Last night's prison break scene already provided the correct answer: a shot to the head. This was also the expected first choice.
The problem is that there are many ways to achieve a headshot. This undoubtedly increases the difficulty of the performance, requiring more precise prediction.
"After being fooled by a long-range sniper shot, will Gin stubbornly try a second time?"
The young detective thought it was unlikely.
—Who will do it?
It must be Gin himself.
Where would be a suitable location?
This is the hardest question to answer. Trying to fathom Gin's mind is too difficult, so they changed their approach: influencing Gin's decision.
"Gin and Rye both consider each other arch-enemies, facing a significant enemy. Generally speaking, the mentality of opposing sides is somewhat subtle, isn't it? It's not just about defeating, but also about wanting to maintain dignity. If you kill your opponent casually, it's not only disrespectful to them, but it also demeans yourself. Therefore, Gin will choose a way of dying that is worthy of Rye: so what could be more appropriate than this death chosen by the FBI?"
The appointed method of death, naturally, was Kusuda Rikumichi last night. However, there are no rivers near the rehabilitation center, but there are better burial grounds: the Gulf of Mexico.
Therefore, Gin's plan was to lure the body to the shore, shoot it in the head at close range, and then dump it into the sea. That way, he wouldn't have to worry about the body anymore.
The father cat thought this reasoning was a bit far-fetched. But the kitten argued confidently, "People often lack imagination; imitation and repetition are human instincts. We are especially influenced by the actions of important people around us."
As it turned out, the young detective's reasoning was entirely correct, and even with the unexpected factor of Gee, their plan at this stage was not substantially affected.
At that moment, Bourbon, following Gin's orders, drove Akai to the breakwater. As they approached their destination, they made a sharp turn, and the golden retriever parked beside them to act as a guard: Gin could handle it alone, without needing anyone else's help.
Akai knew in his heart that he would have to fight Gin tonight. There was no point in hiding in the armored car, so he might as well put a real end to the inconclusive battle in Nagano!
“You’ve chosen a good spot.” Akai stood on the breakwater, which was about ten meters high, and looked at the surging tide with great interest: it was dark all around, another moonless night, with only a few fishing lights in the distance.
"Actually, I'm quite surprised that your ideal way to die is to be thrown into the water to feed the fish."
"It might not be me, right?"
Gin pulled out his gun: "Sorry, it can only be you today."
Akai was somewhat surprised: "You have so little confidence in beating me?"
“It’s not that I lack confidence, it’s that I lack time.” Gin glanced at the taxis on the shore. “Bourbon is very hungry.”
Akai adopted a resigned attitude, saying, "I never imagined it would come to this!"
Gin, unusually, showed a hint of sympathy: "Do you have any last words?"
"I don't want to die in the dark!" Akai said, suddenly turning on the miniature flashlight he carried with him, instantly illuminating the two of them.
Gin was startled and, almost instinctively, dodged to the side and lay down to avoid the gunshot.
And so, the bullet that was supposed to hit Gin grazed his hat and struck Akai instead, killing him instantly: both the flashlight and Shuichi Akai fell from the three-story concrete building and were swept away by the tide.
The incident happened so suddenly that Gin couldn't see Akai's death at the moment the bullet hit him.
Judging from the angle of the bullet's entry and the amount of bleeding, it should have been a headshot.
Gin, lying on the embankment, stared at the blood splattered on his silver hair, and for a moment his mind went blank: Shuichi Akai had died before his eyes, killed by a ghost lurking on a fishing boat 2,000 meters away.
The ghost's original target was itself.
There are countless instances in history of teammates mistakenly killing each other, but experiencing it firsthand has a unique flavor.
Gin chuckled, thinking to himself: I've said it before, today it can only be you.
Gin had never considered the possibility that the bullet was originally intended for Akai. Based on his understanding of Akai, such an action was far too reckless: how could anyone predict that he could dodge a bullet? Even if they could, who would dare to gamble on it?
"Bourbon, you can go eat now," Gin said.
He took one last look at the surging waves in the darkness, the words "Shuichi Akai" washed away by the tide.
He never remembers the names of the dead.
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