A Kusari Story

[Cat]

I watch as the numbers on the panel change, indicating the number of floor I’m on. Finally, my elevator reaches the hangar deck. It’s simple really: before the police have time to react the attackers can leave the city or even the planet. There are at least two freighters capable of interplanetary flight in the hangar.

I am proven right as the elevator doors open and I see a Drone-class freighter flying out of the hangar. I run after it, shooting the freighter with my laser pistol a few times, although I know it won’t make any difference, except for a couple of marks.

I just stay in the middle of the hangar for a while, left to my thoughts, when a beeping noise alerts me of another elevator coming to the hangar floor. I keep my laser pistol ready, even though I know that all the intruders are either dead or gone by this time. As the doors open I see Aiko rushing to me.

- Norman, what happened? Where are the intruders?
- I... lost them. They took a freighter and flew off with one of the containers from the research section. They may be leaving the planet's atmosphere as we speak.

Aiko obviously wants to say something, but Arata, the last member of my security detail, shows up. He points his pistol at me. I reciprocated.

- Aiko, stay back! That filthy gaijin is with them!
- What?! - Aiko and I exclaim almost simultaneously, the only difference being that Aiko reaches for her gun.
- Hikaru is dead, the intruders have escaped, and they left him alive. He showed up right after the explosion, he didn't get shot at and he let the attakers go!

Arata clearly believes in what he says. Or maybe he is surprisingly good at hiding his true beliefs. The fact is, he almost manages to convince Aiko, who now holds the gun in her hand and hesitates to aim it at me. Even if she does, I probably won't try any kind of response: there is no chance that I'd be able to shoot at Arata and dodge Aiko's shot at the same time. Not in my current condition at least.

- Hikaru is dead! Because of him! - That kind of talk isn't what I would expect from a normally disciplined young man like Arata. Is he trying to keep Aiko nervous for some reason? Or have today's events really affected him that much? - Aiko, don't you see?! He is responsible for all what happened today! Don't let him get away with it! Shoot him!

Aiko hesitates. That moment of hesitation would be all I needed to neutralize both her and Arata. Then I could take the shuttle and leave the planet, pretending to be in pursuit of the attackers. But I don't. Have I grown attached to my new life in Kusari after all?

Anyway, before Aiko can make her choice I heard many feet scampering nearby. I make myself forget about Arata pointing a gun at me, then I lower and drop my own pistol and throw up my hands. The Kusari State Police officers live up to my expectations: they rush into the hangar en masse, pointing their rifles at everyone inside and shouting "Freeze!"