Chapter 18 My Deskmate (or Roommate)
Vermouth kept her word. As he looked at the donuts provided for them at the police station and prepared to eat their lunch, the skinny young officer told them they could leave.
This is great news.
Of course, it wasn't because he didn't want to eat donuts; he wasn't that picky about food. It was mainly because he felt it was a great pity that someone as capable as Moroboshi-kun was a prospective codename member whom the organization took good care of, just like him.
Why would a perfectly normal person be so foolish as to join an organization? Even becoming an American police officer who meddles in the internal affairs of every country would be better than engaging in terrorist attacks everywhere.
Moroboshi Dai was unaware of Moroboshi Kagemitsu's regret. He was always a man of few words, and he would simply cooperate with whatever arrangements the organization made. Naturally, he would not do anything suspicious in broad daylight.
And so, the two of them got into the taxi arranged by the organization and arrived at the hotel that had been booked in advance.
Along the way, we passed what was supposedly an organization's branch in the United States, brazenly located near the Internal Revenue Service. Yes, this Revenue Service is none other than the infamous and feared IRS, the Internal Revenue Service, the notorious and terrifying agency in the world!
After the driver told them this, Morofushi Kagemitsu was somewhat impressed by the organization's audacity.
After all, that's the IRS!
“There’s nothing surprising about that. The organization’s business is enough to make them a major taxpayer here.” Moroboshi Dai, who had lived in the United States for quite some time, had a lot to say about this. His voice was lazy, and at first glance, it sounded like he was somewhat resigned to his fate. “When dealing with VIP clients, there are always some preferential treatments. What’s more, they have close ties with the military-industrial complex. Ordinary police don’t dare to touch them, and even the FBI has reservations about taking action.”
“That’s right, exactly.” The driver sounded very proud, after all, this kind of arrogant and domineering style of the organization was very popular among Americans, especially teenagers.
Morofushi Kagemitsu wanted to say something, but ultimately remained silent.
Forget it, he's just here in the US on a mission. I'm not even a codenamed member yet, so what's the point of thinking about it so much? I should clean up the annoying situation in front of my own house first.
The journey didn't take long, and the two quickly arrived at the hotel. For this mission, the organization generously booked an entire floor for these prospective codename members.
Looking at this arrangement, Morofushi Kagemitsu suddenly felt an itch to get his hands on it. He thought, wouldn't it be even better if this were in Japan, by simply having his colleagues buy the entire floor?
Of course, this is just speculation; the organization is certainly wary of these people. They're arranged to share rooms in pairs, or even with a partition between the two rooms. With such an ingenious design, it's no wonder they've hidden ten or eight traps within them.
Therefore, he wouldn't act rashly at this time. Once he got his hands on the codename, he would have access to more information and secrets; there was no need to take risks now.
He exchanged a perfunctory greeting with Moroboshi Dai, then casually chose a bed and checked in.
As for checking if anything that shouldn't be in the house was installed, they could do that after Moroboshi Dai finished his work of searching around. He went to check the bathroom first. After a while, when the two of them had tacitly checked the entire room, they finally stopped.
Just as he was pondering how to solve the lunch problem, his and Moroboshi Dai's phones rang at the same time.
Without even realizing who sent it, it must be another notification from the organization. But why send it right during mealtimes?
He silently complained to himself before opening the email to check it.
Ah, it's a notification that they'll have a combat meeting at 8 PM in the suite on this floor. Along with that, there's a document detailing the quantity of firearms, ammunition, and medicine to be provided for this operation, as well as the location of the warehouse storing these supplies.
Morofushi Kagemitsu looked up at Moroboshi Dai, who had glanced at his phone and then put it back in his pocket, and realized that he was probably the only one who had received the document. At least, he was the only one in this room.
He was originally under the finance department, so giving him these things seemed like no big problem. But he also knew that such a seemingly trusting gesture from the organization must have corresponding monitoring and countermeasures behind it.
On the surface, he had a better chance of gaining the upper hand by seeing the logistical reserves of the United States before others, but if this intelligence were to leak out from him, the consequences would certainly not be good.
He quickly glanced through the documents, getting a rough idea of the number of personnel deployed, and was secretly alarmed by the scale of the organization's operations in the United States. After battling the FBI for eight hundred rounds, the fact that they could still muster so many local resources for combat demonstrated the sheer size and depth of effort the organization had invested in this area.
He sighed inwardly, watching the composed Moroboshi go to the balcony for a smoke. He himself prepared to seriously consider how to handle the operational meeting that evening. If nothing unexpected happened, he probably wouldn't be assigned to the front lines. Even though the organization knew he had combat capabilities, they only planned to have him oversee supply routes for support purposes.
So, in order to gain the organization's trust and let them see my abilities, I should take a good look at the road conditions along the way.
Just as he pulled up the map to get started, the anti-fraud officer made his presence known to him:
"Buzz—"
Is there a new trailer yet?
I don't know if it's about the situation in the United States or in Japan.
He clicked on the news and saw a headline with unusually serious wording:
A joint U.S.-Japan coordination meeting to combat the armed threat of transnational terrorist organizations officially convened at the White House this morning.
Um?
Wait a minute, this report, this timing... He remembered that after he came to the United States, it was during his time at the police station that he uploaded Moroboshi Dai's information to the anti-fraud team.
Could it be such a coincidence that it's about them?
He was startled and quickly checked the contents. After cutting out a lot of meaningless official jargon, he roughly understood what was going on.
The organization's members weren't arrested; it was just a publicity stunt orchestrated by Commissioner Smith to solicit budgets from other departments. At least, he didn't see any reports of any organization members being brought down.
Based on his understanding of the FBI, if they had truly taken down an international terrorist organization the size of Distillery, or rather, the Black Organization, they would have certainly publicized their achievement extensively. Their current low-key approach suggests that their next operation has been successful, or at least that they have achieved a draw.
This isn't exactly good news, but it's not bad either. At least until that mess in Japan is cleaned up, I, as an undercover agent, shouldn't have to spend time in jail in other countries.
He turned on his computer, intending to print out the report first. He habitually checked his surroundings, and his eyes immediately spotted Moroboshi Dai smoking on the balcony.
He also recalled that it seemed this news preview had popped up precisely because he had uploaded this person's information. So the question was, if no one had been arrested, why was he seeing such an official-sounding report? If it was merely related to an organization, the title shouldn't be like this. Could it be…?
This suspicion was fleeting. He realized that he wasn't really familiar with the reporting patterns and language norms of the anti-fraud team, so he had to bury his doubts and investigate later when he had a codename.
Having sorted out his thoughts, Morofushi Kagemitsu quickly transferred the report content to a document on his computer and began organizing the scattered information he would need that evening. Thanks to this, he was now much more adept at handling logistical matters.
After he had almost finished drafting, he placed a glass of water behind his computer.
He looked up and saw that it was Moroboshi Dai.
"It seems you are indeed in charge of logistics," Moroboshi Dai initiated a conversation with him.
Morofushi Kagemitsu simply continued to look at him without giving a reply, and began to guess the man's purpose in his mind.
Moroboshi Dai didn't seem to need his answer, and said to himself, "I saw you in Hokkaido a few months ago. I killed the person who was in the same car as you."
He knew about this, and he even unexpectedly obtained Moroboshi Dai's biological information. Although no corresponding record was found in the country's biological database, at least they could obtain some information about the future codenamed member.
Seeing that he had no reaction, Moroboshi nodded and said, "It seems you already know, but that's for the best. I'll be frank, I believe this operation is a test of whether we can obtain a codename, and I hope we can cooperate."
Morofushi Kagemitsu was initially surprised, thinking he would be testing him. However, after weighing the pros and cons, he suddenly realized it was a very good suggestion. For ambitious and capable members, forming a temporary alliance for a higher position was quite normal. As someone who had only been in the organization for a few months and had already turned against his superior, it would be suspicious for him not to agree.
He gave a gentle smile, extended his hand, and said, "It's a pleasure to cooperate with you."
They are all intelligent people, and they are well aware of their respective obligations, so there is no need to elaborate further.
"It's a pleasure to work with you."
Having reached a peaceful coexistence and non-aggression pact with his temporary roommate, Morofushi Kagemitsu, who should have felt relieved, discovered that things were not as simple as he had imagined.
"Well, Asakawa, there's something I've wanted to ask you for a long time." After lunch, Moroboshi Dai finally looked up from his phone, which he had been staring at for ages, and asked, "Leave the other rumors aside, but... do you really believe in the Cyber Cult?"
When he asked this question, his gaze vaguely drifted to the peace charm hanging on Zhufu's phone.
Zhu Fujingguang: ...
I thought of the Buddhist altar in my home and the huge cross in my office.
If you simply say it's ordinary superstition, will the person believe you?
A note from the author:
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At this moment, Akai (heartbroken): How could such a good person be so foolish as to join the organization? And even believe in the Shoe Cult!
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