CH 32

[Good grief. I hope they’ll at least pay for the repairs of the Lexus.]

Hiroki pushed the two large foreigners into the back seat of the car, before stepping on the gas pedal again to return to his office.

It was the middle of the night and there was hardly anyone at the office except for the security guards, so Hiroki was able to get to the company parking lot without being seen.

[Hmmm…… I wonder what I should do with these guys…… I don’t wanna leave them here in the car, but I also don’t want the employees to ask many questions.]

Hiroki folded his arms for a few moments, then realized that he had something suitable in his company.

[Speaking of which, if I stuff them in those, that could work.]

The thing Hiroki had in mind was also just the right size.

Thereupon, Hiroki carried two open-topped oil drums from the warehouse on his shoulders, dragged the men out of the car one by one, before shoving them into a drum.

He already knows the blind spots on the parking lot surveillance cameras.

It was a bit of a struggle for Hiroki because these guys are rather large, but fortunately, they didn’t utter a complaint, probably because they were passed out.

[Ah, they’re probably gonna suffocate if I just leave it as is.]

As he was about to put the lid on the drum, Hiroki realized this.

The drums he used to stuff these men in were designed to seal liquid waste, so they were airtight.

[But it would be troubling if the lid comes off…… In that case…… There, a hole for them to breathe in……]

Since he doesn’t have any tools at hand, Hiroki had no choice but to use his fingernails, which have been growing longer and longer lately, to poke a hole in the lid of the drum can.

The same thing was repeated twice on the lid of the other drum.

[Then, putting the lid back on and giving it a squeeze……]

When Hiroki squeezed and deformed the drum and its lid, the drum let out a metallic scream.

Upon doing this, the lid should no longer come off.

[And with this…… There, that should do it.]

Hiroki carried the drums containing the two kidnappers on both shoulders again, heading for his private place in the company where he could quietly talk with them.

★　★　★　★　★

Clang!

The sound of metal crashing against concrete resounded, and the simultaneous impact on his body woke the man up.

However, it was dark.

He tried staring into the faint light, but all he could see, with his body bent, was his own abdomen.

He finds it hard to breathe.

Within that situation, his first thought was wondering if he was buried alive.

He had once been buried by an avalanche in the snowy mountains during unit training.

He couldn’t move his body at all, and had to wait to be rescued in the same tough position as he is now.

It was a hellish time.

Fortunately, he was still able to move his hands at the moment.

Slowly and carefully, he touched the wall around him and felt a smooth, cold touch, like plastic or metal.

What in the world is happening?

Should he call out for help?

Such thoughts pop into his mind, but his keen senses are telling him that some terrifying presence is nearby.

If he shouted, he might attract the attention of “whatever that is”.

As he has been trained to do in his unit, he breathes quietly and slowly.

Calm down…… Calm down..…. Breathe in…… Breathe out…… Slowly…… Slowly……

However, even as he finally calms his mind like this, his tentative stability is broken by a sudden cry that rises nearby.

[Uwaaahhh! Let me out! Let me outta here! What the f*ck is this place!!!? Let me out!!!]

[John!!!]

That was his partner’s shout.

Bang, bang!

A hand striking hard metal resounded.

[D*mn it!!! I’ll be right there! Ggghhh!!! What the hell is this!!!?]

Adam also smacked the metal around him with his hands and kicked at it with his feet in an attempt to rescue his partner, but he was unable to exert any force due to his tough posture.

[Zeeehh…… Haahhh…… Tsk…… Haahhh……]

After 30 seconds of struggling, he felt suffocated and had to give up the idea of escaping on his own.

John also seemed to be in the same situation, as he had eventually quieted down.

There, Adam finally realized that he and his partner had been caught by their target.

★　★　★　★　★

Hiroki carried the drum containing the two men into his nap room set up beside the hole.

In this room, he could leave them there without being disturbed.

To begin with, Ishida and Hiroki were the only ones who could enter the room where the hole is, as it’s surrounded by concrete walls and had triple authentications needed to gain access, and since the nap room was Hiroki’s private space, there was no need for him to worry about anyone else coming in.

It wouldn’t be unnatural to enter a waste disposal facility carrying drums, and no one would question the contents of those drums he was carrying on his shoulders.

[Now then, what should I do with these?]

The contents of the two drums were merely worth the repair cost of the car he had rented, but Hiroki wanted to have a little chat with the person who had tried to kidnap him.

Though he says that, Hiroki isn’t good with languages.

The radio operator guy he talked to could speak Japanese, but the shouts he heard from the drums sounded like English.

He couldn’t call an employee to translate either……

[……Would a translation app do the trick?]

He started up a translation app on his phone.

[Travel…… Business…… This isn’t it…… Education, I guess?]

There isn’t any “To have conversation with someone who kidnapped you” option in the menu, so he just gave up and asked a question among the general sample sentences.

“Who are you?”

The app’s synthesized voice echoed unexpectedly loudly off the hard floor and ceiling of the nap room.

After 30 seconds or so, he heard a reply in English.

「Just get the fuck out of here and let us go!

I’ll fucking kill you!

Get us out of here! You sadistic bastard! 

Our people will be here soon. 

And then you’ll be minced meat! You hear me?」

It seemed like English could get through them.

[……I don’t understand.]

However, Hiroki couldn’t understand what he was saying because he was talking too fast and his tone was disorderly.

He could barely make out the words “kill” and “fuck”.

“I’m sorry. Please speak more slowly.”

This time, only slow but loud cursing came back.

However, Hiroki only thought of their words as amazing. He found it amusing how people actually say words like “fuck” and “son of a bitch”.

Hiroki is a little impressed upon hearing cussing phrases that he had only heard in Hollywood movies.

Even then, he can’t talk with them if they’re that temperamental.

It seems like he may need to change the direction of the question a bit.

“Please answer the question.”

“You seem a little shaky. Are you alright?”

As the synthesized voice said this, Hiroki lifted one of the drums and shook it for about 30 seconds.

As an additional service, he also gave it an awesome aerial twirl.

[Up we go, and another one we go. How about that?]

As he continued on to shake the other drum, he heard no more cursing.

“Are you feeling alright?”

“Please tell me your name.”

After a while, a low voice telling “My friends call me J” and “Ace” came back.

“I understand. Let’s be friends.”

Hiroki felt a small sense of satisfaction that he had successfully established communication with them.

He wondered what they could talk about next. They seem to know a lot about guns, so Hiroki thinks of asking them what the name of the gun he took away is.

As such thoughts popped into his mind, Hiroki felt like he heard a small sobbing sound from inside the drum.