Silence In Numbers: File One (4 page)

Kurasano grabbed a handful of popcorn, shaking his head. “No one can outrun that thing. You think it’s really the camera or the cameraman?”

Katsumi shook her head. “No, it’s the camera; did you see when it was, like, slithering on the ground? A guy can’t do that.”

“So how’s it killing them without hands then? It just keeps zooming in and fades out.”

“I dunno, maybe it beats them with the lens like in that one zombie movie.”

The camera spun upside-down for the fifth time in what the director must have thought was artistic and Sano sighed in exasperation. “The hell man, you can’t even see when it does that! Fine,” he spun around, putting his legs over the back of the couch and leaning his head back to watch the TV upside-down, “I’ll just watch it like this from now on.”

Sama nodded. “Tell me what I’m missing from this viewpoint.”

“Uhh… Okay, those two people you see are just talking.”

“Ah. I can see why that needed to be upside-down.”

“Yeah, it really adds a new angle to the conversation.”

“That was just a bad joke.”

“Don’t blame me; this movie’s flipped its lid.”

Katsumi groaned.

“Seriously, I can’t make heads or tails of it.”

“That one didn’t even make sense.”

“Bite me. It’s hard to think with blood rushing to your head.”

“Then maybe you should sit right.” Katsumi grabbed his foot, flipping him forward off the couch to the floor.

“…Ow….”

“Baby.” Katsumi smirked, looking back to the TV. That lasted about five seconds before the bowl of popcorn was dumped on her head from behind.

Sano laughed as Samakura turned to look at him, but stopped at the glint in her eye. “Uh-oh…” He took off running and dived behind the bed as the bowl spun through the air and slammed into the wall where he’d just been, leaving a clear dent. “Truce, truce!”

Like he was getting off that easily.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ayane lay in her hospital bed, her room dark and silent aside from the low background noise of the air conditioner. She was on her side, curled up a bit with her eyes closed and her head
pressed into the pillow, her arm around the stuffed plushy – a “moogle” from the Final Fantasy video game series - that Katsumi had gotten her a long time ago. She was smiling, unable to prevent the expression from widening as she listened to the humming in her head. It was a soft song – even a sad song – but one that she had heard thousands of times before, one that she just couldn’t feel sad during.

Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hm hm hmhmm… Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hm hm hmhmm-mmm… Ahh, ahh, ahh, ah, ah, ah ah-ah-ahhhh…

Ayane sighed softly, continuing to smile as she hugged her stuffed moogle tighter.
Your voice is prettier now…

Mmm. So it wasn’t pretty when we were younger?
Katsumi responded in an amused tone.

It was… It’s just prettier now. I bet if you actually sang it’d be beautiful.

I can try, next time I see you. But I only do it for you – you know that.

Ayane smiled.
I know. My lullaby is enough.

Do you know you’re thirty-one?
Katsumi’s chuckle reached Ayane.
Are you ever going to grow out of wanting me to sing you to sleep?

Never,
Ayane answered with conviction.
It’s your job.

I’m not complaining. I love anything I get to do for my baby sister
, Katsumi responded in an overly-adoring tone that made Ayane’s face nearly split in a grin.

Sumi…

Yes?

I wish you were here.

There was a pause for a few moments.

…So do I. Nights apart still haven’t gotten any easier.

Ayane could hear the regret in Katsumi’s voice, and she saddened.
Sorry… I didn’t mean to make you sad, I just… I wish I was with you right now. It doesn’t feel right.

Good.

Huh?

It shouldn’t feel right. It’s not right. And it’s not normal, either – or permanent. Once you’re better we’ll go back to normal, and right. Before too long I’ll be back to singing you to sleep in person.

Ayane opened her eyes.
Promise?

I promise. I hate… You know I hate this. I only get to see you twice a week usually, that’s not…
Katsumi’s frustration was evident, and it helped Ayane as she listened.
That’s not good, or… Twice! Once every three days, it should be every day! In a perfect world I’d never even leave…

Ayane smiled – only her sister would say things like that and mean every word.
Then I hope we get a perfect world. But… Until then… I’ll take as much time with you as I can get.

Right now I’m lying in my bed staring at the ceiling, listening to Sano snoring on my couch
, Katsumi said in a tone that made Ayane giggle.
How much do you think I’d rather be over there?

I know how much. But like you said, it will happen.
She smiled, closing her eyes again and getting comfortable.
Until then… Sing me to sleep.

As you wish
, Katsumi responded with the soft chuckle that Ayane recognized as the one her older sister often did when she found her cute. Katsumi always managed to make her feel special… valued… even needed. It was something that made lonely nights in the hospital a thousand times easier, because she knew that, while she was lonely, her sister was lonely without her as well. She was lonely, but she never felt alone, and that was the difference; that was the thing that made her smile at night.

Well… That and other things.

Mmm, mmm, hmm, hmm, hm hm hmhmm…

A man stumbled slowly down the street, paying no attention to passers-by. His hair was brown, dirty and unkempt, and he wore a tattered brown coat which was only slightly less ragged than the rest of his clothing. His face was unshaven but not old, somewhere in the thirties or forties.  The man’s eyes were unnaturally wide as if he was in shock or something similar, but he muttered to himself as he stumbled down the sidewalk. Others avoided him, casting glances and whispering, but the man appeared to notice none of it.

He finally stopped in front of the Headquarters building for Guuren International, a large banking firm. The building was incredibly nice as the company was well-off. All the men and women visible inside were in nice suits, even the ones at the doors or desks. The man’s dirty hand rested on one of the windows as he pushed in through the door, walking forward but tripping and falling to the floor of the lobby.

Several people looked over, concerned, and one of the doormen headed over towards him to help him up. “Excuse me, sir, but this is a private business-“

The dirty man stood with his help, waving a hand to push him back so he wouldn’t be forced out. The doorman sighed, waving over someone else to help him, but his attention was drawn to the strange look on the man’s face. His eyes were still wide and his gaze seemed to be boring into him. As the doorman watched, a vein stood out on the man’s forehead, and then another slowly swelled into view. “Whoa…” the doorman stepped back, calling a coworker to come help.

The dirty man started shaking as more veins stood out, his eyes bulging as his forehead seemed to swell. More and more veins began appearing as his face was contorted into something more like a mockery of a human to the horror of everyone watching.

Then he exploded.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Katsumi Samakura was awakened by a loud buzz in her ears. She’d only gone to sleep about an hour earlier (due to spending a bit more time than she should have talking to Ayane), so this was a rather unpleasant experience. Sitting up and letting her eyes adjust to the darkness of her apartment, she put a hand to her head, as the buzzing wouldn’t stop. After another few seconds she suddenly realized it was an emergency call and opened the channel in her mind, speaking out loud in answer. “Captain Katsumi Samakura.”

“Rise and shine, Samakura,” M’s voice greeted her in her ears. “There’s been a rather large incident several blocks from your current location and I need you to meet me there.”

Katsumi slid out of bed, moving to her closet and pulling her shirt off on the way. “Care to fill me in, Director?”

As she listened she pulled on a black military outfit that was more formal than her normal attire and made for street duty. “The specifics are unknown at the moment, but there was a large explosion at the Guuren International Headquarters building. The bottom three floors are on fire with dire structural damage on floors one and two and lesser damage on floor three.”

Katsumi straightened her uniform, moving back to her bed. “No cause identified?”

“Not until you get here and tell me, Captain. Fire control teams are already here so your main worries are civilians and investigation.”

“I’ll be there in ten minutes.” Katsumi drew the pistol from under her pillow and tucked it into the holster at her side, walking towards the door and kicking the couch on the way, stirring Kurasano. “Get up, Sano; we’ve got work to do.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sano sat in the car with his head in his hands, groaning. “Why did we have to do something now? I only went to sleep like three hours ago, you know.” He glanced at Katsumi, who sat beside him with her arms folded and one leg crossed over the other, looking fully professional. He had no idea how she did it seeing as she should be as messed up as he was.

“Must be the cyber thing…”

“What cyber thing?”

“You know, the fact that your Cyber Percentage is 83%.”

“I fail to see what relevance that has to anything currently going on.”

“C’mon, you’re only like 17% human. The vast majority of people, even military, aren’t even 17%
cyber
.”

Katsumi looked out the window. “That isn’t important now, nor do I wish to discuss it.”

“Right,” Sano sighed, running a hand through his crimson hair.
Stupid idiot, you aren’t supposed to talk about that, especially not so lightly. Why’d you call her seventeen percent human? You’re an asshole. What next, you wanna ask about her bad childhood? See if there are any dead pets you can bring up? Talk about her parents?
He sat back, looking out the window at the smoke on the street ahead. He looked over at Samakura, but she said nothing to him as he got out of the car.

Katsumi saw M standing in front of the building and moved to join him. Smoke still poured from the building, though the fire had been put out already. Civilians were huddled all around, some with blankets or medical personnel tending to them. Some were on phones talking to loved ones. Many were injured and dirty, bloody or burned. The dead had yet to be recovered as the living were top priority.

But the living weren’t Katsumi’s job this morning. M looked at her as she walked over, wearing his dark circular glasses even though it was four in the morning. “You’re always prompt, Captain Samakura; very good. As you can see, the scene is chaos right now, but I was fortunately able to keep them from messing with evidence.”

Katsumi nodded, looking over the scene as Sano stood behind her with his hands in his pockets, surveying the damage. Katsumi looked back to M. “This looks like high-grade damage. Where does it start?”

M nodded towards the building and she followed him in, stepping over rubble and around a couple charred or torn corpses. “It’s a messy scene; not only is there the damage to the lobby, but it’s littered with everything – and everyone – that fell from the two floors above.”

Katsumi looked up, noticing the gaping hole above them that went up to the bottom of the fourth floor.

M stopped her at a point in the lobby where there was a large, dark scorch mark in the middle of a small crater. “This is where the blast originated, as you can tell by the rings and the dome shape of the destruction extending from here.”

She nodded, kneeling to inspect the crater. Sano whistled behind them, turning in a circle. “Jesus, look at this stuff… Not your normal bombing.”

Captain Sama nodded her agreement as she looked around. “Too small to be an attack from a competitor, too large to be a disgruntled individual. Any witnesses or security footage left?”

M nodded. “Fortunately some civilians from the street were able to give a description of the bomber. Mid-to-late thirties, dirty, basically a bum with ratty clothing. No business here and no one recognized him; they said he just walked in and a few seconds later there was an explosion.”

“No visible weapons on him?”

“None, but he had a heavy coat so anything could’ve been hidden under it.”

Katsumi nodded. “It wouldn’t be hard to get something strong enough to do this damage in here without it being seen, but my problem is with how a broke street urchin managed to get his hands on such a thing in the first place. And besides that, there’s no clear motive.”

Sano shrugged. “Maybe he was a former employee who was fired and wanted revenge?”

“Maybe…” Katsumi looked over the destruction. “Let’s hope it’s more than that, or this was even more of a waste than it is now.”

“People like that don’t usually think that rationally, Captain.”

Katsumi looked down, running a finger over the scorched ground. Something didn’t quite feel right about this. Somehow, she knew this wasn’t that simple. She stood up as she rubbed human dust between her fingers, looking around. “Point me to one of the witnesses.” M led her to the closest, a young man still in his early twenties. She knelt before the shaken witness. “You saw the bomber?”

The man looked at her, taking in her black-and-silver military uniform before looking into her lavender eyes. “Yes. I mean I think so. I didn’t see him… do this, just go into the building.”

“Tell me what you can about him.”

“There’s nothing to tell except what I told the others. Dirty, looked like a street rat, ragged old clothing with a big brown coat.”

“You left out his hair.”

The man frowned, having no idea why that was important. “It was just hair, brown and messy. Why does that matter?”

Katsumi grabbed his shirt to get his attention, her eyes narrowing slightly in a dangerous manner – she had never worked on her ability to deal with civilians. “You let me worry about what matters. If you miss one detail you might miss another. Is there anything else you remember?”

He shook his head. “N-nothing.”

“Are you sure? You better think. I won’t be happy if you leave something out.”

He shut his eyes, scavenging his memory for any other detail. “Um… His eyes…”

“What about his eyes?”

“They were wide… like he’d seen something horrible or shocking, or maybe he was on drugs. I don’t know, but they were creepy.”

Katsumi let him go, looking at the floor in thought. “Could he have seen something…?”

The man shrugged. “All I know is it was weird. He was stumbling and muttering like he was drunk or drugged though, so maybe he was on something that caused hallucinations?”

“It could be.” Katsumi looked back at the man, patting his shoulder as she stood up. “Thanks for your help. I’m sorry I was rough. You’re free to go.”

He thanked her, leaving the area. Sano stepped up beside Katsumi, who looked to be deep in thought. “What are you thinking?”

“It’s an unusual case…” She looked over her shoulder at the wreckage. “I have more questions than answers. Why was this man who ‘seemed mindless’ coming to attack this building? If he was just an insane bomber, why did he pick here instead of running into the nearest crowded area? If he was a sane bomber looking for a real attack, why pick four AM, when no one’s working and far fewer people are here?” Kasumi folded her arms, looking back at the ground. “Every fact contradicts another fact. It makes no sense. And that’s just motive.”

“What else is there?”

“How, where and why did he get the explosive? What was the explosive? Why didn’t he throw it in here and save himself instead of dying with it? Why blow it up in the lobby? If it wasn’t this man’s idea to do it but that of someone more powerful, why blow it up in the lobby? Is it because his chosen tool couldn’t get past security to get to more vital areas? But then, if he knew that, why not use another tool, someone with business here who could get further? Did he just have no other options? None of the people killed had much to do with this company besides making this building run, so what was the point? Is he just trying to scare them or was it a personal attack against one of the workers in here? And if it was personal, why such a large explosive when assassinating him would be so simple?”

Sano shook his head. “Okay, geez, I get it, lots of questions and no answers.”

“Even the possible answers add more questions. I’m at a loss here, but something tells me I have a short time limit to find the answers in.”

“You think this will happen again,” M clarified.

Katsumi nodded.

Sano looked between them. “What? Why? How do you know that?”

“I don’t know it, I just…”

“Feel it,” M smiled.

Sano raised an eyebrow. “You’re basing your expectations of further bombings on a random feeling?”

“The feelings of an experienced officer are more than simple emotions, Mr. Lionel, and Captain Samakura has a great deal of experience in violent matters such as this. The main reason we have her on investigation in addition to her other duties is her ability to get into the head of criminals and terrorists, as well as her rather unnatural ‘sixth sense’.”

“But she hasn’t even seen this guy. And we don’t even know if there is a guy!”

“It’s a hunch, Sano, that’s all,” Katsumi looked at him. “But if I’m right, we’d better learn what we can as fast as we can.” Katsumi moved away from the group, sighing and opening the main cyber link in her mind.
Ayane? I’m sorry to wake you so early again, but I don’t think I’ll be coming today. We had something big happen.

Something big…?
It was obvious Ayane had been awakened by Katsumi’s voice, but she still had her full attention.
What is it? Are you okay?

I’m fine, it had nothing to do with me,
Katsumi reassured her younger sister.
Someone bombed GI’s HQ. Lobby and a couple floors above it.

Lobby? That doesn’t make a lot of sense.

That’s the problem. We’re looking at a mystery terrorist attack here. I don’t know how long it will take to figure this out, but I can’t leave right now, not while more people could be hurt.