Tokyo Demons: Book 3, Chapter 7, Part 1

Kiyoshi was walking too fast. When Sachi started to speed up, Jo grabbed his arm and tugged him back.

Wait, he thought, hoping the sentiment was clear through his fingers.

Sachi slowed, hanging back with Jo until Kiyoshi reached the room ahead of them. Kiyoshi glanced around, his eyes hard over his medical mask, before turning the knob and slipping into the room in one fluid movement.

The soft chunk of the closing door reverberated through Jo. He slid up beside the doorway, his heart pounding, and gestured for Sachi to flank the other side.

shff chk

thud

“…!”

The sounds and vocalization were cut short, soft enough that no one in the hall seemed to notice. Jo gave it another five seconds before slipping into the room with Sachi.

In the darkness, Jo saw Kiyoshi under the lit television that softly relayed the news–he’d crammed the woman up against the wall, one hand closed over her mouth and the other gripping one of her flailing arms. She struggled violently, making muffled grunts, and Kiyoshi barely shifted his hips out of the way as she attempted to knee him in the groin.

He rammed the back of her head into the wall, causing a thud that made Jo’s heart leap to his throat. The woman sagged for a moment; Kiyoshi twisted her away from the wall, pulling her back against his chest and releasing his grip on her wrist to instead close around her throat.

“Scream and I’ll choke you,” he hissed from behind her ear.

Jo’s blood went cold at the murderous edge to Kiyoshi’s voice. Swallowing, he ran over and pulled Kiyoshi’s mask down his face.

Recognition flitted across Fujito’s eyes as she paled in the dark. When Kiyoshi slowly removed his hand from her mouth, she panted, her mouth curving into a grimace.

“Well, well,” she murmured. “Honda. Looks like someone won the survival lottery.”

Jo grabbed one of her arms and lifted it into the light of the TV. “No veins,” he realized aloud. “No wonder they put you in charge of the Pitch.”

“Who the hell are you?”

“It doesn’t matter who we are,” Sachi said flatly as he took her arm from Jo. He pinned her wrists together in front of her, his fingers clamped around her bare skin. “We know what you’re doing here.”

“Do you?” she sneered. “Then you know I’m under Core’s protection. This room is monitored and you’ll never leave this hospital alive.”

“Bullshit,” Jo snapped, not even waiting for Sachi to confirm that one. “You’re hiding from Core. Because you didn’t step up and now your men are detoxing to death all over the city.”

The woman snorted, but Sachi’s jaw tightened. He exchanged glances with Jo and nodded.

I’m right.

“Where’s the Pitch?” Jo demanded.

“I don’t have it.”

“Where’s the Pitch?” Kiyoshi snarled, his hand tightening over the throat.

“I-it doesn’t matter how badly you want it,” she coughed, trying to free her neck from Kiyoshi’s grip. “I don’t have it.”

Sachi grunted angrily and threw Jo a nod. Jo clenched his fists.

“Junior betrayed you,” he said, remembering Touya’s code name. “But he’s still alive, and he’s right behind us. He tore up your apartment today looking for you.

“The only reason we got to you first is he’s detoxing–badly. So the second he gets here, do you know what he’s gonna do to you?” Jo scowled. “Have you ever seen a cornered, dying animal with fucking precognition?”

Fujito stopped for a second, then bared her teeth. “He’s dead.”

“He’s not.”

“There’s no way he survived.”

“Really?” Kiyoshi hissed, jerking her head back to look into her eyes. “There’s no way people can survive what you did to them?!”

Fujito coughed, straining against Kiyoshi’s grip. “I…I don’t have the Pitch!” she choked.

Jo sucked his teeth. “I think you’re waiting all this out,” he muttered. “That’s why you’re lying low. Bide your time, let the current batch of junkies die, then start Core up again once all suspicion is off.” He waved a hand. “This batch was loyal to your boss, right? And if you’re gonna be the new leader, you need new people loyal to you.”

The woman fought to breathe as sweat beaded on her brow.

“That’s exactly what’s happening,” Sachi said, his fingers flexing around her wrists. “But we found you, so now Core will. Touya will. We’re your last chance to get out of this alive.”

“Who the hell are you?!” she demanded again.

“We can get you protection from Detective Nakajima.”

Fujito stiffened. Slowly, she curled her lip to reveal a flash of gritted teeth.

“I’d rather die,” she spat.

When Kiyoshi’s eyes blazed, Jo snapped at him to calm down. “Don’t do her any favors,” Jo ordered, not sure if Kiyoshi was putting on an act or not.

Jo’s mind raced. “You don’t have the Pitch,” he confirmed, “because it’s too much of a liability to keep it on you. That’s why you got Doctor Kagome involved.”

The woman twitched. Based on the look on Sachi’s face, Jo had hit the nail on the head.

Lots of people named “Doctor Kagome” in Tokyo, Jo thought, remembering the information Shouri had passed on. Time to play the elimination game.

“Good thing Doctor Kagome’s close by,” Jo tried, since his first guess was somewhere in S. Hospital.

The woman scowled. Sachi subtly shook his head.

Dammit.

“But not too close,” Jo amended. “Since you needed some distance between you and the Pitch. But the best place to hide a mountain of drugs…is another hospital, since no one would question unlabeled drugs there.”

It was a long shot, but the woman tensed. “We’re right,” Sachi snapped. “We know we’re right.”

Jo breathed a short sigh of relief.

“And of all the other hospitals in Tokyo…you wanted one where Core could never get to it. Somewhere where even if they figured out it was holding Pitch, they couldn’t just waltz in and take it without…” As Jo thought out loud, his brain suddenly leaped ahead of his mouth. He trailed off, his stomach sinking to his feet.

Oh, shit.

Shit, shit, shit.

Sachi furrowed his brow expectantly.

In the few seconds of silence, under the blood rushing in his ears, Jo heard the faint voice of the newscaster on the TV above them.

“…authorities are baffled that the increased police presence seems to be increasing gunman in the area, many of whom are taking hostages and demanding things from the police. In light of the escalating violence, people are warned to avoid the facilities in the 4-block district, including T. Hospital…”

Fuck!

Jo shoved one shaking hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone. “You thought you were so goddamn smart,” he snarled as he flipped it open. “Hiding the Pitch in a hospital crawling with cops and all the people who were fighting Core. You knew your men would never set foot in T. Hospital with all our people protecting the place.

“But I’ve got news for you–now Core ops are dying to rush the police, since the cops have the cure!”

Sachi’s eyes widened at the same moment that Kiyoshi’s head snapped down to Jo.

“What?!”

While Fujito struggled against Kiyoshi’s grip, Jo’s phone buzzed in his hand before he could press the speed dial. The tag [unlisted] lit up on the small screen as the mobile continued to buzz.

Not a text. A call.

“Hold her!” Jo ordered as he rushed out of the room. Once in the hallway, no longer caring if he made a scene, he pressed his phone to receive the call.

“…hospital…get here,” Kado demanded.

His garbled words barely made it through the line. “What?” Jo blurted into the phone, one hand trying to block the buzzing insects in his collar. “You’re breaking up!”

“Touya…following…”

“I can’t understand you! Look…!” He covered his mouth over the phone and hissed, “The Pitch is in T. Hospital! The Pitch is in T. Hospital!”

There was a pause on the other end of the line. When Kado spoke again, Jo couldn’t make out a single word through the breaking connection.

Jo cried out in frustration. He ended the call and texted, You’re breaking up–just text me!

After an agonizing minute, the phone buzzed and a long text message appeared on the screen.

By a window now, bad reception in T. Hospital. Touya is here. I think I understand now–he doubled back at some point to watch the new timeline *we* started. He went to S. Hospital, waited outside, and then turned around and came here. I think he saw *your* future if you were discussing your findings outside.

Jo’s blood turned to ice.

He must know the Pitch is here, the line of text read, ominous black kanji against the green screen. We thought we were a step ahead of him, but he was a step ahead of you.

To be continued in Chapter 7, Part 2.