Tokyo Demons Book 2: Chapter 3

Nakajima didn’t waste any time. She swiped the key card, shoved open the door, and dragged Ayase into the hotel room. She released Ayase the moment the door clacked shut behind them.

“Get on the bed,” Nakajima ordered. She shed her thin trench coat. “And don’t say a word.”

Ayase flinched, but obeyed. As she lowered herself to sit on the single bed, Nakajima shut off the lights.

The hairs rose on the back of Ayase’s neck. As she listened to the shuffling of Nakajima’s clothing, she remembered the concierge in the lobby, asking Ayase if she needed anything brought to their room. The razor of Nakajima’s voice had cut off Ayase’s polite decline.

“I don’t pay her to talk.”

Ayase had never set foot in a love hotel, and the adrenaline warped her exhaustion–leaving her wired and paranoid. When Nakajima suddenly advanced in the dark, Ayase recoiled in a panic.

Nakajima threw her trench coat at the spot beside Ayase on the bed. “Sit still,” she hissed as something snapped in her hand.

A tiny light blazed on the end of a flashlight. Nakajima turned on her heel and leveled the light on the door.

Slowly, purposefully, Nakajima ran the light along the edge of the door. Then she dragged it over the walls of the room, along the shuttered windows and furniture, letting it linger and twitch at the corners of objects. After painstaking exploration of the entire room, she finally clicked the flashlight off.

“Good.” Ayase heard the shuffle of clothing again. “Sometimes employees plant cameras in these rooms for personal gratification or blackmail.”

The words personal gratification sent a shudder through Ayase. She didn’t entirely understand the use of the flashlight…would a hidden camera lens reflect or something?

Nakajima sat on the bed, shifting the mattress under Ayase. Ayase scooted slightly to put more room between them.

“Check your bugs.” A green light glowed from Nakajima’s wrist as she pinched her wristwatch. “It’s almost time.”

Ayase closed her eyes. The insect in Emi’s collar was still buried comfortably, peeking out to get a view of the lobby. Emi passed the front desk, nodding nervously at the manager as she headed for the elevator. Ayase shifted her perception to a lamppost outside the hotel to confirm that Emi wasn’t being followed, then shifted up eight floors. Nothing was happening on their floor, including outside room 815. She opened her eyes.

It was barely worth it, considering the pitch black of their room. “Emi-san’s near the elevator,” Ayase reported. “Nothing’s happening anywhere else.” She pulled her recorder out of her pocket in preparation.

Nakajima didn’t reply. She pulled the fake eyeglasses from her face and folded them with a quiet click. She tucked them into her clothes somewhere.

A long, dark silence stretched between them. Ayase heard a faint sound from somewhere, but it was different from the elevator chime near Emi. It was almost rhythmic, like something creaking…

A woman gave a high-pitched whine, muffled through the wall. Ayase suddenly realized it was from the room beside theirs.

Blood rushed to Ayase’s face. Panic pushed words, any words, up her throat to block out that sound.

“D-detective,” she blurted.

Nakajima turned to her. “Don’t use my name here,” she warned quietly. “And keep your voice down, in case I missed an audio recorder.”

Ayase tried to organize her thoughts and strip away identifiers. The thumping and whining grew louder from the other room, muddying her attempts with a wave of nausea.

“Your…partner,” Ayase managed at last, careful not to say Detective Ochi. “He picked us up from the safe house and brought us to…”

“Right.”

“But we’d seen him before. On the second day of school, when we went to the station…and later, at the school itself, when he came with you.”

“Yes,” Nakajima whispered, irritation behind the word. “What’s your point?”

Ayase hesitated. She’d initially planned to ask Daniel about this, but Sachi had pushed for her to ask Nakajima. Maybe it was better to go to the source–especially when Nakajima wouldn’t compromise their mission now. And Emi’s elevator was slowing to a stop, which meant there were only seconds left for talk.

Ayase clenched her fists against her lap.

“We know,” she said quickly. “That your partner has an ability.”

Nakajima’s head swung to Ayase. In the dark, Ayase barely made out the deepening lines around Nakajima’s mouth.

“I assumed you did,” she said coldly. “Because the bleeding heart on your team can sniff that out.”

She didn’t elaborate. Emi walked quickly down the hallway.

“What can he do?” Ayase pressed. “Emi-san’s almost at the door.”

Nakajima let out a thin, almost inaudible breath through her nose. She grabbed Ayase’s free hand and sketched out a few kanji on her palm.

Ayase’s brain scrambled to visualize the words. The kanji pieced together in her mind.

Psychic.

Emi knocked at room 815.

Ayase shut her eyes. “We’re starting,” she whispered as she brought the recorder to her mouth.

…

Emi squirmed in front of the door, her eyes darting down the hallway. When she raised her fist to knock again, the door swung open.

Touya, his hair and dress shirt impeccably neat, smiled down at her. From Ayase’s perception under Emi’s collar, he loomed like an impending storm.

“Hello, miss,” he drawled. “Do you have something for me?”

Emi held out his letter. He accepted and unfolded it with gloved hands.

After a quick glance, he pulled back into the room. He gestured for Emi to enter.

“You’re prettier than your picture,” he hummed.

Ayase swallowed down a wave of disgust. Emi nodded and stepped into the room; Touya closed it with a final chak.

The room was almost identical to Ayase’s. Touya retrieved a long, black wand from a leather book bag on the bed.

“May I check you for metal? I can’t allow weapons or recorders in here.” He flipped the bag upside-down and shook it over the bed. “This is the only thing I brought.”

Emi paused, then raised her arms off her sides. Touya slowly ran the wand over her body, pausing as the wand beeped on her shoes and the zipper on her skirt. Ayase couldn’t see what he was doing, but she felt Emi shift like she was being touched.

The wand beeped under her breasts. Emi let out a breath.

“My…bra has an underwire,” she said quietly. “And metal fasteners.”

Touya straightened. “Would you remove it for me?”

Ayase’s stomach twisted in discomfort. But Emi only paused briefly before fiddling at the back of her shirt. She unsnapped the bra through the fabric and shrugged it out of her sleeves. She handed it to Touya.

Touya ran his fingers carefully over the bra, those gloved digits spreading over the soft fabric. After he finally returned it to Emi, she folded it into a pocket on her skirt, clearly uninterested in putting it back on.

The last item that beeped was a necklace around her throat. Ayase tucked her bug further into Emi’s collar as Touya’s fingers loomed in.

“A Star of David,” he commented. “Are you Jewish?”

“Yes.”

“Is your family?”

“No,” Emi mumbled. “I converted a few years ago, in Europe.”

Touya hummed. “And now you’re working for a church,” he said. “I don’t know much about foreign religions, but I thought Jewish people had their own place of worship.”

Emi didn’t reply. Touya stared at her for a moment, letting the silence stretch, before releasing the pendant.

“It’s beautiful,” he said breezily. “And thank you for not trying to smuggle anything in here.”

Ayase swallowed. She recounted the scene quietly to Nakajima and the recorder.

“Why did you call me here, Touya-kun?”

Touya slid his hands into his pockets. “I needed somewhere private,” he explained. “My father started renting me this room every Saturday night after my sixteenth birthday. It’s the only place I’m never asked about.”

“Why here?”

“Why do you think?” Touya murmured. “He considers it a gift to keep his growing boy happy. He used to also send prostitutes.”

Emi flinched and looked to the door.

“Don’t worry–they don’t come anymore. I put a stop to that immediately.” Touya smiled coldly. “I never pay for sex.”

A chill ran down Ayase’s spine. Emi took a slow breath.

“That’s a morally questionable gift for a son,” she muttered.

Touya laughed. “Clearly you haven’t met my father.”

“He’s…he’s the leader of Core, isn’t he?”

Touya paused. He narrowed his eyes.

“So you’ve done some detective work,” he said. “But I’m not surprised you figured that one out. Nick Marshall was privy to some sensitive material a few years ago.”

Emi clenched her fists. “Touya-kun,” she said, and her voice was more even than Ayase expected. “Why did you call me here?”

Touya turned and walked to a nearby chair. “To help you,” he said as he lowered himself into the seat. “You want to dismantle Core, and I’m going to help you.”

Here we go. Ayase whispered the line to Nakajima as her focus narrowed in. She wanted to read Touya, but it was difficult through her fuzzy bug vision.

Emi, for her part, clasped her hands in front of her stomach. “But Core is run by your father,” she pointed out.

“He’s my adopted father. And I’ll be 18 soon.” Touya crossed his long legs. “I don’t need a father anymore.”

Emi looked away. When she didn’t say anything, Touya clicked his tongue.

“He’s a criminal and a murderer who should be in prison. You’re not the only one who wants to stop him.” He shrugged. “I’m just trying to help interested parties fulfill their plans.”

Emi straightened. “Who else?” she asked. “Who else are you helping?”

Touya’s mouth pulled into a thin, dark smile. “You know I can’t answer that.”

Emi twisted her hands. “The church doesn’t trust you,” she said quietly. “Even though you let Kiyoshi go. He was already given enough Pitch to…”

“Emi-san.” Touya leaned back in the chair. “I know Kiyoshi-kun is alive.”

Emi stiffened. When Ayase repeated the line to Nakajima, Nakajima whispered a curse.

“How does he know that?!” she hissed.

In Touya’s room, Emi asked the same question. Touya ran a gloved finger along the chair’s armrest.

“Didn’t Nick Marshall tell you? I’m very…gifted. It’s the reason my father took me off the streets and gave me a home. It’s the reason he trusts me with the most sensitive information in Core.” His dark eyes burned. “I know everything. So it’s in the church’s best interest to accept my friendship, because you don’t want me as an enemy.”

“But why are you reaching out to us, Touya-kun? And why would you risk everything to bite the hand that feeds you?”

Touya drummed his fingers on the armrest. “Luckily for you,” he said evenly, “my rewards are coming from somewhere else. And they’re not your business.” He drummed again, slower this time. “But the reason I’m helping you specifically isn’t complicated. You’re protecting Nick Marshall. And Core is desperate to kill him precisely because he’s the biggest threat to the organization.”

Emi paused. “Because he knows personal information about your father,” she offered.

Touya’s eyes narrowed. “And because he escaped,” he repeated, his mouth slowly forming the word. “No one escapes Core. Until Kiyoshi-kun, of course.” His mouth slanted. “So you should keep an eye on him.”

Emi’s jaw tightened. “We know that you warned Motoi about the incoming attack,” she replied shakily. “So I’m not sure how dedicated you are to ending Core.”

The smile dropped from Touya’s face. He stood from the chair.

“Excuse me?”

Even through her insect’s perception, Ayase could feel the change in the room. She relayed it to Nakajima.

He didn’t expect us to know that.

Emi stood her ground. “Some of the men in that building were interrogated,” she lied. “They said a warning call came from Junior.”

Something subtle flitted across Touya’s face. Ayase strained her insect eyes to see.

“Those ridiculous codenames.” Touya snorted. “They think they’re supervillains.”

“Why did you warn them?”

“I told you–my father trusts me. After Kiyoshi-kun escaped under my watch, he was upset. I couldn’t let another catastrophe happen directly under me.”

“Then you were in charge of Motoi,” Emi offered.

“I’m his right hand. I’m in charge of most things.”

Emi furrowed her eyebrows. “You’re seventeen years old.”

“So was Ranmaru Mori. What’s your point?”

Nakajima shifted beside Ayase. “He’s getting defensive,” she whispered. “Be on your guard.”

Ayase held her breath. But Touya, thankfully, just slid his hands back into his pockets. He looked away.

“There’s a very thin line I have to walk here,” he murmured. “So don’t expect me to scatter flower petals along the path to my father. That’s not what I can give you.”

Emi waited. Touya swung his eyes back to her.

“I spared Detective Nakajima because you need the law on your side. Just arresting Core operatives isn’t enough–there are already plenty of loyalists in jail for guns or drugs or money laundering. She needs to build a case around them as a group, or Core will rebuild itself in prison even if she wipes them off the streets. As long as their broader plans go under the legal radar, the only way to stop them is to kill them all.” He brushed a hand. “And somehow I doubt a church group is up to that.”

Ayase felt Nakajima shift again at the mention of her name.

Emi frowned. “The police are already involved,” she argued. “They are building a case.”

“They won’t get far–Core is much too good at covering its tracks.” Touya took a few steps toward Emi, closing the distance between them. Ayase retreated as far into Emi’s collar as she could.

“Listen to me very carefully.” Touya stared down at Emi. “There’s a jewelry store in Ginza called Shinjutori. On the floor above it is the unmarked office of an accountant who oversees all the business operations of my father. His files–his physical files, since they don’t want an electronic record–will have the names of all the companies, dummy corporations, and investments that fund Core. A prosecutor could use those to build a conspiracy case and prove Core’s ties to the Yakuza–not to mention the fact that it will help you track down Core strongholds throughout the city.” He flipped his fingers in the air. “Motoi wasn’t the only armed building they run.”

Emi stared back up at him. “Speaking of Motoi,” she said abruptly. “What’s a Code Omega?”

Touya stopped. His brow lowered.

“Did you hear what I just said?”

“Yes. The files in the office above Shinjutori in Ginza.” Emi bobbed her head. “But what’s a Code Omega?”

Ayase’s muscles clenched, her nerves tingling in anticipation. Touya straightened his shoulders.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve,” he drawled. “I offer you steak, and you demand champagne.”

“What’s a Code Omega?”

Touya let a breath out through his nose. He deliberated for a few seconds.

“It’s a call to retreat,” he said at last. “Every officer is supposed to abandon his post and rendezvous at a designated location.”

“And where is that?”

Touya shrugged. “They’re gone by now, and they never use the same back-up location twice. Although…” Something tugged at the corners of Touya’s eyes. “I suppose you could search it for clues or something.”

Emi waited.

“There’s a huge restaurant in northern Yokohama–Nijiiro Sakana. It’s run by the mob allied with Core.” Touya pursed his lips. “Since it’s a multi-story building, you could hide…sixty, maybe seventy men there, as either workers or diners. The place is designed to absorb large groups.”

Emi let her eyes drop to the floor. A long silence passed.

“Touya-kun,” she said evenly, “I want to ask you something about the day Kiyoshi escaped.”

Touya sneered slightly. “I’ve given you plenty already.”

“Yes, but…please. I just have one question.”

The politeness in her voice sounded strange to Ayase. But the crease between Touya’s eyebrows, for whatever reason, loosened a bit at her tone.

“Go ahead.”

Emi took a breath. “Core simultaneously launched attacks against anyone who could be a threat,” she said. “Enemy Yakuza, the police, a large street gang…we know that. And we know that the church wasn’t attacked because…well, we assume you had something to do with that.”

Touya hummed his response.

“But there was one other attack that day. One that just…seemed like an overreach, no matter how many angles I approach it from.”

What?

Ayase felt something dangerous rear up in her memory–a confusion she’d almost forgotten about. And the moment she realized what Emi was asking, she felt Nakajima’s hand clamp over her human wrist.

“What is she getting at?” Nakajima asked lowly. “We didn’t discuss this in the car.”

But Emi still looked up at Touya, even though she knew Nakajima was watching. Maybe because Nakajima was watching.

“It was the elementary school boy who died. It was made to look like the work of a pedophile, but…” Emi shook her head. “I know there was a connection to Kiri. Is Kiri the other group you’re helping, Touya-kun?”

The hand on Ayase’s wrist twitched. Ayase’s heart started to pound.

Ayase watched, bewildered, as Emi and Touya stared at each other. Touya’s face was guarded, but there was a quiet focus in Emi’s eyes.

Finally, Touya sighed. He shook his head.

“Never heard of them.”

The morbid tension in Ayase popped like a balloon. She felt Nakajima’s grip on her wrist loosen.

“She’s pressing her luck,” she muttered. “If she tries that again, signal her to pull back.”

Ayase knew as well as Nakajima that signals were too dangerous in such close quarters with Touya. And a small lick of spite reared up in Ayase, fueled by the memory of Nakajima throwing Kadoyuki into a wall.

Of course you want her to stop, she thought sourly. But we can’t stop her. Sorry.

Touya leaned in toward Emi. “Now I have a question for you,” he said. “This friendship has to be a two-way street, Emi-san.”

Emi shifted on her feet. She nodded, her hands twisting.

Something dark danced through Touya’s eyes. “How did you keep Kiyoshi-kun alive?”

Ayase felt a pang of relief in her chest. They’d discussed this question in the car.

Emi deliberated for a moment; to Ayase’s eyes, it was believable. She swallowed and twisted her hands.

“Kiyoshi was a special case,” she explained. “We got to him before he went back to Core. We…loaded him with drugs to try and block the effects of Pitch. In essence, we blocked enough of his three injections that he could detox and survive. But barely.” She bit her lip. “We were lucky. I’m not sure we could replicate it.”

Touya leaned in closer, his lips near Emi’s temple. She flinched slightly, but stood her ground.

“Have you tried?” he breathed, something delicate in the words. “On the hacker you pulled from Motoi?”

Ayase’s stomach sank. He even knew about Shouri.

Emi nodded. “But it’s not working,” she mumbled. “She’s dying.”

Touya paused for a long moment, his hard gaze focused on Emi’s averted face. He pulled his hands from his pockets.

But then, finally, he pulled back. He rubbed his gloved fingers together.

“Keep me posted on that,” he said calmly. “If you can keep Core escapees from dying, that will change the game considerably.”

By Ayase’s side, Nakajima grunted. “Which is why we won’t tell you,” she muttered. “

Touya tilted his head. “Emi-san…I’d like your phone number.”

Emi furrowed her eyebrows. “I can’t give you that.”

“We may need to stay in contact more than once a week, so simply meeting here every Saturday isn’t enough. I need a way to call you.”

Emi hesitated. “The…church has a public landline,” she said. “You can call that.”

“You know I can’t be caught calling that number.”

“Do it from a pay phone.”

Touya raised an eyebrow. “Do you want my help or not?”

Emi’s eyes flicked away. She nodded.

“I do, but…please call the church landline from a pay phone. I can’t give you my personal number.”

Touya’s expression darkened slightly, but he nodded. He waved a hand in the air.

“That’s all for tonight,” he said, something flat under the silk of his voice. “Thank you for coming.”

Emi hesitated. She squirmed.

“Touya-kun?” she asked quietly.

“Yes?”

A long moment passed. When Touya’s mouth hardened, Emi closed her eyes.

She folded abruptly at the waist and dropped her head in a deep bow.

“Th…thank you for sparing my baby brother.”

Touya stopped. He stared at her lowered head, his eyes wide.

And then, slowly, his lips curved into a dark smile. He gripped her chin with gloved fingers and delicately tilted her face up.

“My pleasure,” he drawled.

Ayase shivered. There was some thread of disturbing, honest gratification in the way he stared down at the bowing woman.

Nakajima shifted on the bed. “I told her not to show weakness,” she murmured. “Double-agents are trained to exploit vulnerabilities wherever they find them.”

Ayase watched Emi straighten and nod her head at Touya. He followed her to the door and held it open for her.

“H-he might not be trained,” Ayase stuttered as she tried to stay focused.

Nakajima grunted. “He’s trained. Someone is definitely pulling that boy’s strings.”

Emi stepped into the hallway, so Ayase switched her perspective to the insect out there. Touya calmly watched Emi walk to the elevator. He stared until the elevator door closed behind her.

Then he closed his door with a quiet chak.

Ayase relayed it to Nakajima. “Good,” she said. “Use your hallway insect to crawl under his door. We need to know if he calls anyone.”

Ayase obeyed, careful to move her bug slowly. Touya, alone in the room, lowered himself back into his chair. He didn’t seem to notice her as he dragged two fingers along the arm of the chair.

His expression settled. He stared at the door in silence for a full fifteen minutes. When he finally got up, it was to straighten his shirt with a tug. He retrieved his metal detector wand, slipped it into the bag, and then carried it with him out of the room. He snapped off the lights behind him.

Ayase followed him out. When he hailed a cab, Nakajima stood from the bed.

“It’s too dangerous to leave a bug with him any longer. But see if you can hear where he’s going next.”

Ayase flew near the cab as Touya opened the door. When the driver asked where he was going, Touya didn’t reply until after he’d slammed the door shut in Ayase’s face.

Ayase let out a breath. “I didn’t catch it,” she said as she opened her eyes. “I’m…sorry.”

Nakajima retrieved her trench coat. “I doubt he’s going anywhere useful,” she murmured. “No one would drive to headquarters after meeting with the enemy. At least Honda-san got her own taxi without any trouble.”

Ayase nodded. She lurched from the bed and rubbed her aching neck. She felt frazzled from all the shifting focus. She wanted to retrieve her bugs and collect her thoughts in one place.

My pleasure.

Touya’s last line lingered in Ayase’s fractured mind. She shook her head to clear it, her stomach acids swirling.

 ***************

Jo’s tight, uncomfortable anger had finally released its stranglehold. He leaned his temple against the window in Zayd’s car. He closed his eyes against the cool, gently vibrating glass.

“Jo,” Zayd had said, his voice peacefully distant. “We still need to go shopping.”

Jo saw clouds tumble behind his eyelids. “Nngh,” he grunted.

They went to a convenience store. Jo lazily dragged the basket as Zayd filled it with necessities. Jo followed along, his eyelids drooping, and occasionally tossed in something he needed. Zayd flashed him a look once or twice, but Jo didn’t mind. And Zayd paid for it all, anyway, so Jo wasn’t about to pick a fight.

They drove back to the church in silence. Jo curled up in the new car upholstery and let his alcohol-dulled mind wander back to Mitsuko. By the time they arrived and Jo dragged himself up the stone steps, he was ready to release his earthly fears. He just wanted a shower, a bed, and the inviting darkness of sleep.

So of course they walked into a shitstorm.

Everyone was yelling. Jo cringed in the doorway of the sleeping room, the sudden havoc confusing him. Daniel was arguing with a speakerphone that sounded like Nick, Sachi was grilling Ayase as he gripped her hands, a fat police officer stared down at Emi as she squeezed a sniffing Kiyoshi’s hand, and Kado was pushed against the back wall, his hands clapped over his ears.

What the…hell?

Zayd pushed past Jo and yelled for order. As the room settled down, the voice on the speakerphone grew louder.

“Then what the fuck good are the police?!” Nick shouted. “If Nakajima didn’t go back with Ayase, put Ochi on the phone! Chasing down Core vapors in Yokohama can wait–”

Daniel clapped the phone shut. Silence filled the room.

Zayd rested his bags on a nearby table. “What happened?” he asked quickly. “Is everyone all right?”

Daniel threw his hands up in the air. “Touya contacted us!” he cried. “He asked to meet Emi in a love hotel, so we sent Ayase-kun and Detective Nakajima to follow her. He gave us the location of Core’s incriminating accounting files!”

Jo dropped his bag on the floor.

Sachi released Ayase to run up to Jo. “Don’t worry,” he assured him. “We didn’t mention you, Jo–and he didn’t ask about you. So he might not even know that you’re–”

Jo was so busy trying to process that he didn’t avoid Sachi’s hand. The second those fingers closed on his shoulders, Sachi cut himself off.

He stared at Jo. Jo stared back. A flush of color ran up to bloom in Sachi’s face.

Jo blinked his heavy eyelids. The handjob, he thought dazedly. Sachi was a boy scout, but even he had to recognize a post-orgasm stupor.

Jo rubbed his eyes to clear them. “Hang on,” he blurted. “You met with Touya?”

“He contacted us. He said he wants to help us bring down Core.” Sachi cleared his throat, then leaned in. “Jo,” he added quietly, “are you drunk?”

“I…I’m shaking off a buzz.” Jo awkwardly pushed Sachi’s hand off. “You guys don’t seriously trust him, do you?”

Daniel’s phone started to chime again. He pushed a button to cut it off.

“Nick thinks we need to investigate this hidden accounting office. But not directly, of course–since it could be a trap.” His blue eyes rolled to the police officer. “He asked the police to send a few men…”

The police officer–Detective Ochi, Jo remembered–shook his head. “No,” he said in a low grumble. “Core already tried to kill Detective Nakajima, and I’ve been seen here. We can’t go anywhere near a suspected Core zone.”

Emi whispered something to Kiyoshi; he ran a fist across his eyes and shakily nodded. She clasped his hand in both of hers as she looked up at the detective.

“But you’re willing to go to the restaurant in Yokohama?” she asked. “That could be just as dangerous.”

Ochi grunted. “We’ll go undercover. We won’t be as readily recognized outside of Tokyo.”

“Then you trust Touya’s information, detective?”

“Enough to investigate…carefully.”

Jo’s vision started to swim. He swallowed and gripped his head, his eyes dropping to the floor.

Touya had contacted the church. He’d offered them help. But hadn’t he told Jo that he wouldn’t reach out to them?

“This isn’t an offer for your friends, Jo-kun.”

Touya had either changed his mind, or he was offering the church something different. He’d been trying to recruit Jo, right? Because he was Malum? And he’d called Emi, but Emi definitely wasn’t Malum. So this had to be something different. Did that mean this was more or less likely a trap?

“Carefully,” Daniel agreed from across the room. “Of course.”

“If these are paper files, you’ll probably have to break into the office when it’s closed. That’s a huge risk for you to take.”

“Yes, but–”

“We should do it.”

Jo looked up. Kado, in the back of the room, carefully stood from the wall. “We should do it,” he repeated. “I think we’ll…find something important there.”

Jo sucked his teeth in disbelief; the sound came out louder than he intended. Kado’s dark eyes flicked to Jo.

No, Jo thought, his heart picking up speed. This didn’t feel right. Touya working with the church didn’t feel right.

We shouldn’t do this.

Emi frowned. “Can you be more specific, Kadoyuki-kun?”

“Um…” Kado’s eyebrows tightened. “We have to be careful. But I think Touya’s trying to…help us, in this case.”

Sachi turned to Ochi. “Kado knows Touya better than any of us,” he pointed out. “He told us Touya doesn’t sleep–which is probably Touya’s Malum trait, according to Shouri-san.”

Ochi narrowed his eyes.

“I-I have a sense about this mission,” Kado offered. “I…um…”

Jo stumbled across the room, the cobwebs clearing from his mind. The fear in his chest pumped new strength into his limbs. He advanced on Kado; the boy cringed back.

“We shouldn’t do this,” Jo said, loud enough for the room to hear. “Especially not just because Kado’s got a vague sixth sense about it.”

“Well…he led us to Wipe, Jo.”

“And didn’t Wipe go nuts on you guys? What was the point of grabbing him, anyway?” Jo tightened his jaw. “I don’t what the hell your power is, Kado, but you might just be pinging off danger. Maybe you’re not ‘sensing’ that this place will have a pay-off–you could just be sensing that it’ll get us all killed.”

Kado swallowed. “My power doesn’t work like that,” he answered weakly.

“Then how the hell does it work? How many times do we have to go through this?!”

Zayd hissed from behind him. “Be calm, Jo,” he said firmly. “You are not well. We will discuss this together.”

Jo grunted, glad to leave the argument to the others. He shakily ran his hands through his mussed hair.

“If we do wanna do this, and we need to break into this place…” Sachi looked to Daniel. “Maybe we should talk to Byakko. Even if it’s just to see how good a shot we have.”

“No,” Detective Ochi said thinly. “If you’re stealing files, Core can’t know they’ve been taken or copied–they’ll just shed the dummy corps and open new ones. You need someone who can break in and get out without Core knowing they’ve been penetrated.”

“So…too subtle for Byakko,” Daniel offered.

“What if we sent someone in undercover? Like as an auditor or something?”

“They could still consider themselves compromised. They can’t know anyone unauthorized walked through the door. This mission may be too dangerous and too difficult, period.”

Right, Jo thought. It’s not worth the risk. Like anything with Touya. As he watched Daniel grip his chin and Ochi rattle off more concerns, a tiny thread of relief snaked around Jo’s heart.

But Kado was staring at him. Jo turned to those dark, beady eyes.

“…?”

Something twitched at the corner of Kado’s lips. Unnerved, Jo scowled at the boy.

“What?”

Kado took a slow breath. “You could do it,” he whispered, quiet enough for Jo alone.

Jo’s scowl deepened. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Kado suddenly took a few steps toward him. Jo straightened as Kado lowered his head and whispered again.

“You’re subtle, Oda-san. You…you rob people and they have no idea.”

What?!

Jo’s heart leapt up his throat as he jerked back. Kado just stared at him, those dark eyes unwavering.

“Sh-shut up!” Jo hissed under his breath. “That’s bullshit!”

Kado flinched slightly at Jo’s words. “Please don’t get mad,” he begged. “I’ve never told anyone.”

Acid burbled in Jo’s twisting stomach. Hazy and alarmed, he loomed in at Kado.

“You’d better not be spreading shit about me, you little psycho!”

“Jo?” Sachi called from the other side of the room. “Did you and Kado think of something?”

“No!” Jo snapped, immediately regretting the tone. “He’s just…I…”

Sachi frowned at them, confusion written across his face. Ayase followed his eyes. Then Zayd, then Ochi…before Jo knew it, the entire room was staring at him.

The world tilted around Jo. He tried to think of a misdirect, scrambling with a dulled brain.

“D-Daniel-san is right,” he managed at last. “Byakko couldn’t handle it, so neither could I. I wasn’t with Byakko long enough to learn how to break in places, anyway.”

Daniel relaxed. “Of course,” he said with a wave of his hand. “We wouldn’t expect you to, Jo.”

The conversation slowly started up again. As the attention moved from him, Jo licked his dry lips.

How the fuck did he know that?! he thought, shooting furious eyes at Kado. When Kado paled, Jo stumbled through memories. He’d pickpocketed kids in their homeroom, sure, but had Kado seen that? He’d barely looked up from his desk those first few days of school. Unless Kado could smell crime–

“I’m sure they appreciate having someone with quick fingers.”

Jo suddenly flashed to Mitsuko. With the flippant way she approached gang warfare, could she have mentioned Jo’s skills in passing to someone? She and Kado had met at Motoi, right?

And Mitsuko’s been talking me up constantly, Jo thought. But fuck, would she tell my classmates I could rob people?! When I robbed Ruka and she was standing right there?!

Jo clenched his fists. Kado’s terrified eyes lit up.

“I-I just noticed in school,” Kado whispered. “She didn’t tell me, I swear!”

Jo froze. As Kado hiccupped and turned his eyes away, a cold realization crawled through Jo.

I…I didn’t say that part.

Kado went rigid. His head snapped to Jo.

And then he bolted.

But Jo, fueled by panicked realization, leapt forward and grabbed Kado’s shirt. The smaller boy squealed as Jo dragged him back.

The room erupted into cries. As Jo hauled Kado away from the advancing people in the room, he yelled over them all.

“Shut up!” Jo cried. “I figured it out, goddammit!” Jo pulled the spluttering boy closer as he hissed through his teeth.

“This little fucker reads minds!”