Chapter 215: A Rather Unconvincing Performance
So why was Wanderer deliberately sabotaging his own side?
Kir was utterly bewildered.
But with the situation so critical, there was no time to ponder the meaning behind his actions.
Just as her mind raced to find a solution, the distant wail of approaching police sirens cut through the night, allowing her frayed nerves to finally slacken. She spoke into the communicator, her voice steady. "The police are coming. We should finish the cleanup quickly. There's no way Shuichi Akai could have survived this."
But Wanderer, on the other end of the line, completely ignored her assessment. "It'll take them a while to reach your position," he urged, his tone laced with an unnerving insistence. "Hurry up and open the terminal to take a look. It'll be fast."
Unable to find a plausible reason to refuse, Kir could only comply. She raised her left hand with painstaking slowness, her gaze falling to the watch-like device strapped to her wrist. As she prepared to activate it, she suddenly froze.
At that moment, Gin's patience was wearing thin, and suspicion began to curdle in his gut. He leaned closer to the communicator, his voice a low, sharp growl. "Kir, what's going on? Why haven't you acted?"
"I don't know how," Kir replied, her voice faint.
"What do you mean?" Gin's confusion was evident.
"I mean, I don't know how to turn on the infrared detection function on this terminal," she explained, her tone laced with a hint of helpless frustration. "You only gave me this device yesterday. No one taught me how to use the functions, so I don't know how..."
Gin choked on a retort, his eyes flicking to Vodka, signaling him to instruct her.
"Oh, it's simple, you just..." Receiving his big brother's signal, Vodka quickly took over the conversation.
However, before he could get more than a few words out, the sirens, now blaring and unmistakably close, drowned him out.
Gin's brow furrowed. Time had run out. To avoid any further complications, he abandoned the plan to use the terminal. "Forget it. Finish the cleanup before the police arrive. Now."
After delivering the final order, Gin disconnected the communication with Kir and had Vodka drive away from the area.
"Understood," Kir replied into the dead air.
She pulled out a pre-prepared timed bomb, activated the countdown, and placed it beside the body. Without a backward glance, she slipped into her car and sped away.
Not long after, the percussive thump of a car exploding echoed from behind her.
Only then did the stone that had been weighing on Kir's heart finally drop, and she let out a long, shuddering sigh of relief. The plan had succeeded.
On the road, Gin pulled out a cigarette. As he was about to light it, his eyes met Wanderer's in the rearview mirror, and he couldn't help but scowl.
What was with that brat's contemptuous gaze?
Seeing that Gin had finally noticed him, Wanderer let out a cold, sharp laugh. "Heh. Giving such a useful tool to a member without arranging for someone to teach them how to use it, letting the final moment for confirmation slip away... Tsk. I knew it. This organization has no future."
Gin's patience snapped. He instantly drew his Beretta, the muzzle aimed squarely at Wanderer's head. "Are you saying you intend to betray the organization?"
"Relax. I have no such plans for now." Facing the barrel of the gun, Wanderer showed no fear at all. If anything, he seemed amused. "After all, my original organization was even more troublesome."
He leaned forward slightly, his voice dropping into a provocative, questioning tone. "Besides, am I wrong? I truly don't understand why there was so much dawdling and pointless chatter throughout the entire process."
Even as someone who knew perfectly well that Kir and Shuichi Akai had colluded to stage this entire act, he found their performance almost laughably verbose.
'Especially that line from Shuichi Akai at the end, when Kir had the gun to his forehead,'Wanderer thought.'What did he mean by, I didn't think it would really come to this? With such cryptic words, were they really not afraid that Gin would notice something was wrong?'
"And that Shuichi Akai isn't as formidable as you all made him out to be," Wanderer continued aloud, his tone dripping with disappointment. "He took a shot to the lungs, yet he could still talk. Why didn't he try to take Kir down with him? He just lay there and waited for death."
He knew for a fact that some people could fight on even after taking multiple bullets, only falling when their bodies truly gave out. This whole act was just a bit too clean, a bit too fake. As the FBI's ace, it seemed impossible for Shuichi Akai to be killed so easily by a single person with one—no, two—shots, without putting up any resistance in between.
If it weren't for the fact that Gin had been monitoring Kir's actions in real-time and had seen no overt flaws in the recording, he would never have let her leave that pass alive.
'Still,'Wanderer mused,'the organization will find out sooner or later that Shuichi Akai isn't dead. When they do, they'll certainly come looking for trouble for everyone who participated in this mission.'
By voicing his suspicions now, he ensured that when the truth eventually came to light, no blame would fall on him.
Gin gave Wanderer a final, warning glare but said nothing more, withdrawing his gun. It was obvious he had taken the boy's words to heart.
Back at the organization's base, after they had parted ways with Wanderer, Vodka finally asked Gin the question that had been burning in his mind the entire drive back. "Big brother, do you think Wanderer really plans to betray us?"
When Vodka had heard Wanderer declare that the organization had no future, his heart had hammered in his chest. To dare say something so blunt right in front of his big brother...
"Don't worry," Gin said, his voice calm and measured. "Based on his personality, what he said should be the truth. also, given his identity and the complex relationships within his original organization, he probably has nowhere else to go. Our organization is the only one with a cooperative relationship with his people."
Hearing his big brother's analysis, Vodka felt a wave of relief wash over him.
He then looked at Gin carefully and asked, "Then... the suspicious points Wanderer mentioned in the car..."
Although Vodka felt that the kid had a foul temper, he had to admit that despite his youth, his abilities were obvious. At least, before Wanderer had spoken up, he hadn't felt anything was particularly strange about the situation at the pass. But that didn't prove anything. He wanted to know what his big brother thought.
Gin pondered for a moment, then turned to instruct Vodka. "Don't withdraw the personnel monitoring Kir just yet. Send someone to investigate the body found at Raiha Pass. At the same time, arrange for people to monitor the FBI's reaction—especially that woman named Jodie."
From these orders, Vodka knew that his big brother also harbored doubts about the day's events. He readily accepted the commands.
At that same time, Jodie Starling and Andre Camel had returned to Beika Central Hospital. They had just learned the news that Rena Mizunashi had requested to meet with Shuichi Akai alone.
While Jodie's mind was a dazed mess, consumed with worry for Shu, she heard a news report playing on a nearby television. It spoke of an unidentified male body found at Raiha Pass that very night.
Jodie stared blankly at the images flickering on the screen. A wave of heartbreak and dread washed over her at the possibility that the body could be Shuichi's. But she was an agent. She quickly forced the emotions down, her mind already racing, trying to find a way to confirm the body's identity without exposing the FBI to the organization.
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