Legendary Detective at the World's End (Volume 1) (17 page)

   “What do you mean?”

   “I mean, you have to understand what the Captain meant by bringing you to headquarters, right?”

   “Deportation?”

   “No, no, no. That would happen if you were detained at the border, but you penetrated through their famous guard, they can’t simply deport you now, no, they have to make an example out of you. They have to make sure everyone that breaks through the border and makes it into the city know the consequences of their actions. When they catch you, they won’t simply deport you, they will string you up along with your brothers on the top of Crater’s view, hanging you from the branches of the Duke tree for all those approaching the city to see what happens to those that trespass. That’s the future they have for you once captured.”

     Yumi grimaced at the picture Kirin painted for her and her brothers. She then looked back at Kirin with determined eyes. “That’s even a better reason for me not to trust you.”

   “Not really.” Kirin shook his head. “Because I’m the only one in this city that can get you and your brother’s out of here alive.”

   “What are you talking about? So you’ll help us?”

   “Maybe…” Kirin grinned. “If you can help me dig up some information.”

   “Information?”

   “Information only your brother’s can tell me.”

   “Why them and not me?”

   “Something in my conversation with the Captain you could not possibly understand, but I’m counting that your brother could.”

   “Are you sexist or something?” she shook her head. “What can he tell you about the Captain I don’t know about?”

   “Listen,” Kirin said walking up to her with a sincere expression on his face. “I promise you I can get you out of here unscathed. But I can’t do that without the information your brother has.”

     Yumi smiled at his words as a cunning thought came to mind.

     Kirin smiled back. “And I know what’re thinking, you’ll just find him yourself and ask what that information is, but he doesn’t know it, I don’t even know it, I just know he has something the Captain needs.

   “How do you know?”

   “I read it in his eyes. This wasn’t a simple raid, more like a small piece of a larger plan I can’t see clearly yet. I have to see your brother to find out what this mystery is… Besides, as long as the Captain needs you for something, he will not stop to find you. You’ll be lucky even to reach him with the heightened security of the Union summit. Your best bet for escape is with me.”

     Yumi smiled waned as she heard her thoughts spoken aloud by Kirin with a convincing argument along with it. Crossing her arms, she began to think over Kirin’s words. As she did, she looked around the room, letting her eyes roam the mess the City Patrol had created. Her line of sight finally ended on Lee joking around by the doorway, playing slap hand with Jade’s deceptively slow appearance contrasting with the quickness she caught Lee’s hands with a slap as he pulled away. Turning her attention back onto Kirin, Yumi nodded her head.

   “Fine. I’ll bring you to my brother.” She said getting up. “We’re going to need all the help we can get to leave this nightmare fantasyland anyways.”

   “Good. Then let’s get going.” Kirin nodded as he headed for the door, waving Jake to come as well. Jake, shaken out of his attentive tracking of Kirin’s train of logic, snapped forward and ran up beside Kirin as they walked towards the door with Yumi following closely behind. Leaning into Kirin, he whispered.

   “Where are we going?” Jake asked.

   “Haven’t you been listening?”

   “Yeah… And I’m pretty sure you didn’t map out a destination.”

   “Because she hasn’t told us yet.”

   “Oh…” Jake said turning to Yumi as they reached the broken down door. “You mind telling us where we’re going?”

     Yumi took off her hat as she sighed heavily while combing her fingers through the curls of her dirty brown hair. “We’re going to the EMD Sub-Sector.”

   “EMD Sub-Sector?” Jake said. “I’ve never heard of that Sector.”

   “You shouldn’t have…” Yumi chuckled looking at Jake’s slacks and unbuttoned plaid shirt over a clean tank top. “It’s a place for the cool, so to speak.”

   “The cool.” Kirin smiled. “How cool are we talking about here? Subzero temperatures or summer breeze cool?”

   “Haha… You think you’re funny.” Yumi looked towards Kirin. “But we’re talking about spring time after a light sun shower followed by a breezy night type of cool. You know, for anyone into
Electronic Music Digitalized,
that is.”

   “Wow…” Kirin nodded. “I’m sort of looking forward to this mysterious Sector.”

   “Alright then.” Jake said as he approached Lee who waited outside. “Hey Lee, you think you can do me a favor with this door?”

   “Don’t worry about it, I owe you one anyways.” Lee said. Jake smacked him on the chest. “Thanks.” He said as he walked by him towards a moped parked at the street corner.

     Following Jake, Yumi and Kirin walked outside into the afternoon sunburn. Kirin looked over to Yumi. “Nightmare fantasyland, Huh? That’s a creative description of Teigen.”

   “It’s the best description.” Yumi smiled as she looked over the towering architecture of the Downtown Sector. “This is a fantasy land compared to where I’m from… It’s so unreal being here that it feels like it’s a torture someone would show me a place like this and throw me back to the wilds of the Outskirts.” She said with a sort of warmth in her eyes that captured Kirin’s attention for a moment.

   “Hey…” Jake said standing by his moped. “How do we plan on getting there? You don’t really think we can all fit on one moped, right?”

   “You have a moped?” Kirin said in disbelief. “You never told me that. We could have been riding about the town to all the candy spots these past few weeks. I heard there’s a new candy vendor opening in the High-End Sector.”

     Jake smiled. “That’s why I didn’t tell you.”

   “Ah, c’mon. We’re partners now, we should share these things with each other.”

   “Partners for a day according to the Captain.”

   “Don’t worry about that. There are other means to Union acceptance.”

   “Hmm…” Jake said rubbing his chin. As he did, he saw Yumi slipping by into a nearby alley. “Hey, she’s getting away!”

Kirin turned and rushed to the alleyway only to find Yumi climbing onto an old moped, turning on its electric engine.

   “Follow me, I’ll show you the way.” Yumi said to Kirin and Jake standing at the mouth of the alleyway. Kirin smiled then turned to Jake. “Bring the moped around here.”

     Jake nodded his head and ran back to the moped, hopping onto its seat as he slipped the key in the ignition and turned it, sparking the engine, starting its silent electric hum. He quickly twisted the accelerator and turned into a free space within the traffic to go against it, passing jeeps and other motorcycles until he glided to the entrance of the alleyway where Yumi waited for them.

   “Rin, hop on.” Jake said.

     Kirin smiled at Yumi. “Do what you think is best.” He said turning around sliding into the backside of Kirin’s moped.

     Yumi, watching as they waited at the mouth of the alleyway for her, turned and looked behind her to see an exit to another street with light traffic passing by. Looking back at Kirin and Jake in front of her, she took a deep breath and accelerated forward, passing them as she took a right into the street and drove slowly, waving them over before speeding off as they accelerated, tailing her.

     Following from a distance, Jake gripped on tightly to the handles of his moped as he sped between the folds of traffic that Yumi so nimbly navigated through. Chasing her tail, Jake could not help himself from looking at the mirror, stealing glances at Kirin as his thick brown hair bounced in the wind while he wore a warm expression on his face.

   “Whooh!” Kirin shouted out with a grin on his face, wrapping his arms around the waist of Jake.

   “Hey,” Jake said uncomfortably. “Do you have to hold on to me?!”

   “What? I don’t want to fall off with these tight turns. Besides, keep your eyes on the road.”

     Jake, heeding his words, looked back onto the road to see Yumi taking a quick left turn into the Electronic Sub Sector of the Downtown area. Gripping the handles of his moped, Jake attempted to cut left, but as he did, an oncoming jeep crossed the intersection, causing him to pull the brakes as he turned the moped to its side and braced for a collision. However, the jeep raced by them as the moped came to an abrupt stop.

   “Told you.” Kirin said with an excited expression on his face.

   “Alright, alright.” Jake shook his head as he let go of his grip on the brake and pressed down on the accelerator. As he slowly turned left into the street, Jake was greeted with Yumi sitting casually on her still running moped, waiting for them.

   “Can’t you keep up with the girl?” She said with a cocky smile on her face.

     Jake narrowed his eyes, both annoyed and attracted to her abrasive nature as he drove up beside her. “Maybe we could if you took it easy on some of those turns.”

   “What? Those baby cuts are too sharp for you? Next time I’ll slow down, maybe turn the handle for you, you know, to make sure you cut the turn right. Is that alright with you, baby?”

   “Whatever…” Jake grimaced.

   “Are we there yet?” Kirin said shaking his head, ruffling the waves the wind made in his hair. Yumi, staring at him under the sun, tilted her head.

   “What are you?” she asked confused. “I mean, you have a bossy air about you, but you look and act a little bit too
sweet
sometimes. It’s creepy.”

     Kirin grinned. “Same could be said for you though. With a passing glance, I would think that you were an actual citizen of Teigen. I mean, you’re dressed in lock step with the young culture here. But with a closer glance, you can tell you’re inauthentic, with borrowed speech, clothes, and I’d wager, thoughts.”

   “Oh, you love talking your way around things, don’t you?” Yumi shook her head.

   “Now that’s where you’re wrong.” Jake laughed. “The longer you get to know him—you realize he loves to talk himself into things.”

     Yumi smiled. “I can see that already.”

   “Are we there yet?” Kirin asked again, changing the subject. “My hair is getting frizzy hanging out in the wind like this.”

   “Just a little bit more.” Yumi said pulling out a small piece of paper with a hand drawn map of the city.”

   “Did you draw that up?” Kirin asked.

   “No,” she said. “I bought it at a Grey Market in the Wasteland. Had it for six years. I’ve studied it since I was a child,” she said looking at the tall buildings up ahead, the clean streets below, and bustling market place all around her. “I dreamed of this place.” She continued. “Imagined it as I traced my hands over the fading lines of this map.”

     Jake, captivated by her words, spoke. “Was it all you hoped for?”

     Yumi, still marveling at the robust and frenetic environment around her, slowly pulled her eyes away and looked back at the map in her hands. “Yeah…” she said with a disappointed look on her face before she folded the map and placed it back in her pocket. “Let’s go. It should by a few blocks ahead.”

   “Then let’s walk it.” Jake said pulling over ahead of her moped, kicking its kickstand down as he turned off its engine. “We’re better off walking in this traffic than driving through.” He said getting off the moped, along with Kirin.

   “Yeah,” Kirin nodded. “This isn’t the Outskirts—traffic is dense in the afternoon in the most popular areas—the Electronic Sub-Sector being one of them.”

   “Ah, Yeah.” Yumi said taken off guard by their actions and a bit embarrassed that she could not foresee such a hindrance of traffic in a populated market square. She turned off the engine of her moped and got down while taking her fitted cap in her hand along with her.

   “Do you really need that?” Jake asked as she approached.

   “Yeah.” Yumi said. “I know I shouldn’t wear it. The guards have already seen me in it.”

    “Might I say,” Kirin interrupted. “A smart play on your part.”

   “Why is that?” Jake asked.

   “It’s simple, the more armor you wear to commit a crime, the easier it is to shed and become invisible to your victim. Like a mask, she becomes a different person without the hat, don’t you think?”

     Jake looked at Yumi. “Yeah, sort of, she kind of looks cute without it.”

     Yumi smiled at his words. “Don’t try too hard now, you might break something chasing after a girl like me.” She said strutting by Jake as she headed into the crowds of the Electric Market Square of the sub Sector.

     Kirin smiled at Jake. “After you—young hearts must run wild after all.”

     Jake smiled back and nodded his head before quickly walking ahead, trying to catch up with Yumi. As he moved through the crowds, chasing after the curls of Yumi’s hair, he wondered what he was doing these past few weeks. Feeling inspired by another man’s talent, he had ventured to capitalize on it, chasing his dream of riches, placing them on the line with a man of uncertain origins and unclear goals. This was a gamble, he said thinking it over in his mind. A gamble he ran into too quickly. Sure, Kirin was able to make small miracles happen from time to time, but depending on such a flaky person for success, was highly risky, just as risky as trusting a no name girl of unknown origins with their fate as an agency. As he thought about the missteps and miscalculation of these past few weeks, he heard his name called out.