Akira drank from a plastic water bottle while sitting in the break room. She was alone since the CAB was on high alert, looking for leads on Bonnie and Clyde. Furthermore, the break room was usually only busy during lunchtime.
She tapped on her phone for a short moment and dialled Kaito's number. Kaito picked the call almost immediately. Akira was silent and did not know how to begin the conversation. She did not tell Kaito she was leaving Mountain Ridge.
Now, she wanted to warn him about the things going on. The situation had changed a little too dramatically to explain quickly since they last spoke.
The guilt for her actions weighed on her.
If she had known the things that would happen when she came to Tokyo, she would have updated him throughout the day.. But she did not want him to worry about her travelling alone. Now, the small matter of coming to Tokyo had become a national terrorism incident.
"Where are you?" Kaito asked from the other end. "Are you alright?"
Akira knew immediately that Uncle Taiki told Kaito that she left Mountain Ridge. She felt the guilt become even heavier.
"I am fine." She paused. "I should have told you when I left home."
"Then, why didn't you tell me?" Kaito asked.
The usual indulgent and teasing tone was absent from Kaito's voice. He never got angry, at least with Akira. He always treated her like a little treasure, afraid that she would suffer even the smallest injustice. However, this time, he was angry.
Akira could not bear the cool tone from Kaito, but she did not know how to make things better. She could not deny that she made a lot of questionable decisions when leaving home. But she never intended for the trip to get complicated.
She originally planned to meet with Minister Shimada and then, call Kaito out for a Christmas date. She thought that they could stay in the Blue Mountain Park house for one or two days.
"I… I did not want for you to worry." Akira finally said.
Kaito laughed, but there was no humour in his voice. "How could I not worry? You came to the city without a bodyguard and without telling me. Not to mention, there might be some crazy people planning to blow up a building. Should I rest easy?"
Akira felt a sting in her heart when Kaito expressed himself, but her focus was quickly drawn to the latter words.
"Are you talking about Bonnie and Clyde?" She asked in a low voice.
She was sure that there were no listening devices in the breakroom. She checked for any signal receivers and transmitters after coming into the room. However, she could not help but be cautious because it was a public room in a government building.
Of course, if the matter was discovered, she was sure that she could sort it.
"How do you know about them?" Kaito asked incredulously, temporarily putting aside his anger at Akira's recklessness.
"I am helping look for them. Everyone is on high alert because of them. It is likely that someone else will make the connection soon." Akira was a little glad that the topic changed. "How would you like to handle the situation."
The anger and disappointment on Kaito's face on the other end melted away. He realised that Akira had probably discovered that Bonnie and Clyde were affiliated with the Shadow Brotherhood, and she was worried that it would affect him.
How could he remain mad at her when she did something like that for him?
Of course, he did not plan on letting her know that he was happy. If he did not deal with her this time for doing reckless things, she would continue to be naughty. He would compromise everything, but not her safety.
"You should handle things as normal," Kaito said calmly. "You should report your discovery as you would in any other case."
He did not want to do anything that would affect Akira's career. Even though she claimed that she was not planning on doing anything exciting after having Little Precious, he did not want to cut off her path. If she wanted to return to her work for the Immortal Sword Brigade, he did not want to be a stain on her integrity.
"Are you sure? There are a lot of eyes on this case. Chances are the response to the information will be quite considerable." Akira said.
"I am sure. Do not worry too much. My people are looking for Bonnie and Clyde. If they are somewhere in the city, we will find them." Kaito reassured her.
Akira knew that Kaito would not condone the actions of the two terrorists. But she did not know that he would actively look for them. She smiled a little as she realised that Kaito was never going to be the villainous villain everyone thought he was from files.
"Alright. Be careful." Akira said.
"We are not done discussing your behaviour, young lady." Kaito suppressed the warmth in his heart. This time, he was not going to let Akira act carelessly and leave without punishment. He would teach her how to watch out for her safety.
Akira smiled when she heard the threatening voice. Already, she could tell that Kaito's heart had softened. He was no longer as angry and disappointed. As long as she coaxed him a little, he would forget about her carelessness.
"Are you going to punish me, Uncle Kaito?" She asked with a pout.
Kaito growled on the other side of the phone. "Do you think that you can escape by playing cute? You should have at least taken a bodyguard. And I will have to teach you very well to remember how to communicate properly."
"Ok. I will listen to you." Akira said with a hidden smile.
After a few more minutes of talking, the two ended their call. Akira was happy as she headed back to the office. She no longer had that stone weight in her heart, reminding her of her mistakes. It felt good to clear up things.
When she returned to the office, she compiled her findings and sent them while sending a copy to Minister Shimada. There was no burden in her heart, even though she thought that it was a little hilarious to expose her fiance.
In truth, she could continue working without sharing details about the Shadow Brotherhood, but she agreed with Kaito's decision. Ultimately, someone would find the connection between Bonnie and Clyde and the Shadow Brotherhood, even though it might take days or weeks.
It was better to get ahead of the situation and report it personally. This choice gave her more control over how the information would be received. She could manage the outlook and interpretation of the findings.
Additionally, she thought it would be better if the connection with the Shadow Brotherhood was exposed. It might be difficult for the CAB to find the two people. But with the help of their former affiliates, they could increase the success rates.
As she continued working, she saw the nervous technician lady rushing off to the head of the department with a file on hand. Akira's lips stretched to a smile even though her fingers did not pause.
Things were about to get very interesting!
Director Yojima had an ugly expression as he talked with the other heads of departments in the CAB. His section was not the most prominent, and the other departments made fun of them on normal days. They would call them nerds, NEETs, dorks and bean sprouts.
However, during a crisis, everyone at the top would look towards them for instant results.
They thought that the IT department could do what everyone saw on TV. They did not understand that there was no magic buŧŧon that could reveal all information about all criminals. Most of the time, finding usable information was difficult, especially for unsophisticated criminals.
As he listened to the head of the enforcement department speaking, he saw the female staff member in charge of reports waiting at the door. He muted his microphone and beckoned her in. However, his face remained as ugly as ever.
"I said that you do not have to send me half-hour reports. Let me know when they find something usable." Director Yojima said.
"Ms Yamazaki has found something that we can use to find Bonnie and Clyde." She quickly presented the rushed compiled file, practically shoving it at Director Yojima's face.
"Did you finally find something useful, Director Yojima?" The head of the enforcement department asked from the virtual meeting.
"We have, in fact, found something good." Director Yojima said with pride.
"Don't keep us in suspense!" Someone rebuked.
"Bonnie and Clyde are or were members of the Shadow Brotherhood." Director Yojima delivered the information with confidence. No one would know that he was mocking Akira earlier for joining his department using connections.
There was shock all around.
The head of the enforcement laughed coldly. "Finally, I can bring in that dreadful Kaito for questioning. He will never see the light of day again."