"...Are you sure?!
Did you really confirm that the queen carrier was at home yesterday?"
"What do you mean by 'confirm'?
I just went by because I heard she caught a cold.
......So how could they have found her corpse?
Hahahaha, that's just impossible."
"That's right, that's impossible...
B... But,
unless it's confirmed,
some people might misunderstand..."
"Who would misunderstand what?"
"...I, I mean,
the whole village would go into a panic if they found out Rika Furude is dead..."
Now I'm certain that she's lying.
...I don't even need to wait to hear from Tomitake-san.
Takano-san's objective is the execution of the emergency manual.
...Its premise is about to be destroyed, and that's why she is panicking.
...She finally found someone who showed an interest in her research... which made her feel better about herself.
...Yet that someone is about to cut her off... and that's why she's panicking.
She's as pitiful as can be.
...If it were possible, if there was a way to reach out to her, I would reach out to save her from drowning.
But my hand will never reach.
It won't reach her unless she reaches out.
...She's drowning, but as long as she refuses to seek help, I'll never reach her.
Until she realizes it herself, no matter how much I reach out, she'll refuse my helping hand.
...However, my selfish imagination will have to stop there for now.
Is Rika-chan home or not?
If she goes into the details, she'll become suspicious of me, since I told her I saw Rika-chan at home.
...That will put me in a very dangerous position.
A man who had been on the phone for some time put down the receiver.
"...Major.
There's no answer.
There's nobody home."
"What is the observation unit saying?"
"Since the 17th, the day they started their observation, there hasn't even been one phone call."
"Hey, Director Irie......
That means Rika-chan is still at home, right?"
"Eh, ah... yeah.
I guess so... I'm not sure.
She has gotten so much better.
Maybe she snuck out or something.
...Today is the day of the festival, remember?
I think there are some vendors set up near Rika-chan's house.
There are a lot of people around, so maybe your observers missed her."
"...Well?
Can that be possible?"
"Every time Director Irie leaves, we place a seal on the house afterwards.
I don't think she could have gotten out through a window."
"So the Mountain Dogs are certain that R has not left the house, right?"
"Yes.
We're certain.
R is inside of the R residence.
And she hasn't left the house since the 17th.
We're sure about that."
"...The only person who checked inside was Director Irie, and nobody from the Mountain Dogs did...
but you're sure about that, right?"
"...Well, um......... hm."
One of the Mountain Dogs looked at me.
...I swallowed, and then nodded to him.
"Then how do you explain R's corpse at the police station?"
"Like I said, it's possible they made some kind of mistake.
The autopsy isn't done yet, and the body hasn't been confirmed to be Rika Furude. It could be just a rumor..."
"You already said that!!!
How many hours do you think have passed since that rumor has gotten to Tokyo?
Unless we do something about this, Tokyo will......
hnn..."
Takano-san realized that I was standing next to her and shut her mouth.
I could already tell what she wanted to say, though.
"Major, there's a phone call for you from Nomura-sama in Tokyo."
".........Dammit...
I told her to give me a little more time...!"
Takano-san usually has a lot of self-control, but she's not doing so well right now.
Even her body language makes it clear how irritated she is.
...Does she have a habit of scratching herself?
As she folded her arms, I could see marks where her nails touched her skin. She's clearly not doing well.
"Takano-san is rather occupied right now.
I'll take it.
Nomura-san, right?
I've never talked to her, have I?"
"Sorry, this phone call is for the Major..."
The Mountain Dog looked alternately between Takano-san's and my faces.
"......Director Irie.
I have to take care of a few things.
Could you please excuse yourself?"
"...Oh, sure.
...I understand.
You're in charge of the Institute.
I shouldn't say anything, huh?"
"Somebody take him to the Director's office.
Hurry!"
She's basically telling me to get out.
...I left the security room quietly.
"Hello, this is Takano.
Sorry to make you wait."
"I'm sorry to call you repeatedly.
So did you find out anything else?"
"I'm sorry.
I've ordered my men to get to the bottom of this immediately.
Some of them are headed to the police station and I'm just waiting to hear from them."
"I see, so you should be hearing from them soon, right?
What time do you think you can call us?"
"Um!
I'll call you as soon as I find out something.
But it's hard to say what time, though... as soon as possible, of course..."
"...Hee hee hee.
Major,
have you ever been on an airplane before?"
"Eh?
Ah, yes, of course..."
"When an airplane takes off, an enormous amount of power is needed.
That's why sometimes there's engine trouble during takeoff.
If the plane hasn't sped up yet, all it has to do is to slow down and abandon the takeoff, but if it has already sped up, it's more dangerous to stop, so they go ahead and take to the air.
A jet plane has four engines, so even if one engine breaks down, it can still fly without problems.
It's the same with our operation.
There is more than one engine, so if we have enough speed, we'll go ahead with our plan.
We'll figure out what to do later.
...But we are still only preparing to take off.
Do you understand what I mean?"
The first step of the operation was Tomitake's assassination.
That hasn't even happened yet, so what Nomura was saying was correct.
"If you already knew the plane you were on had a broken engine before it took off, what would you do?
You'd get off, right?
It's the same thing for us.
Our clients want to get off the plane because they found out there was engine trouble before takeoff."
If they were already at the point of no return, then a little mistake wouldn't matter that much.
But since they're still before that point, they're overly cautious about even a tiny mistake.
"W-We are checking to see if it is, in fact, engine trouble as we speak."
"I know.
You're like a traffic controller at a control tower.
I'm like a flight attendant calming the passengers down.
I'm doing my best to talk them into staying on board, even though there's a chance the plane will never take off.
If it takes too long to fix the problem, this flight may be cancelled completely.
Major Takano, that means your grandfather's work will be forever known as a madman's nonsense.
Do you understand that?"
"........."
"When one girl dies, all the villagers will go mad.
...Heeheehahaha, that's just too silly.
Where did you get such an idea?
It sounds like some fantasy,
what the hell, heeheeheeahahaha,
it's so stupid...
Who in the world do Hifumi and Miyo Takano think they are?
It's just too funny, heeheeheeheeheehahahahahahahahahahahahaha..."
Takano ground her teeth.
She squeezed the receiver so tightly her knuckles went white.
".........Anyway.
Now, do you understand what will happen?
Do you get it?
Your grandfather's honor depends on this, as does yours."
"Ye... Yes...
Thank you for thinking about us..."
"Don't worry.
I'm your only ally.
I'll help you achieve the ending that makes you happy. I'll be with you until the very end.
So, please find out if the information coming from the Okinomiya police department is true or false.
I'll do my best, but it's not easy to deal with unhappy clients."
"...I'm sorry to make you go through that.
Please give me a little more time.
Yes...
...Yes, goodbye."
Takano made sure that Nomura hung up first, and then hung up herself.
"Hasn't Okonogi called yet?
Call him!!"
"Major, we just called ten minutes ago...
He's supposed to call as soon as he learns something.
Why don't you take a little break...?
Your coffee is..."
The unit member tried to serve a cup of coffee to Takano, but she knocked it aside. The cup fell on the floor, making a black puddle.
Everybody in the security room went silent.
"......Damn it...
Somebody bring a mop to clean up this mess!
I don't care if we called ten minutes ago, call him again!!
Tell him to find proof that Rika Furude isn't dead,
and also capture Tomitake!!"
Takano was starting to realize something.
...By now she could sense that there was something behind Tomitake's disappearance.
...Tomitake must know something about what's happening at the Okinomiya police station.
He might look dumb, but he somehow found out about the plan, and he was trying to mess with Takano.
...So, Tomitake was clearly behind all of it!!
Takano had been intending to let him enjoy the festival that night, if he behaved.
...The quickest way for Takano to be certain of what was happening would be to see Rika Furude's face at her house.
But she couldn't leave and she couldn't trust Irie.
And because there were too many people around for the festival, the Mountain Dogs had their hands full.
If she would answer the phone, that'd do, but she wouldn't answer...!!
That meant the house was empty...
and that Rika Furude's death was real.
What went wrong?
Who deceived Takano?
...There was only one person.
...The only person who claimed that he saw her at the house.
...Irie was the most suspicious person around.
Tomitake had left the hotel and was nowhere to be found,
so maybe Rika had left her house and was hiding somewhere else.
In other words... Irie betrayed her
and was in contact with Tomitake...?
"......Start observing Director Irie."
"What? Are you saying
that he's lying?
Why would he do that, though?"
"Tomitake must have noticed our plan.
He left the hotel and told Rika to go somewhere safe.
He's deceived us, and we've been observing an empty house!!"
"That house can't be empty.
There's definitely somebody in there!"
"Do you have proof that it's R?!
It's not her.
That person is there simply to deceive the Mountain Dogs, only to make it look like Rika is home. That's it!!
Tell Okonogi to break into the R residence!
I don't know who's in there, but whoever it is, they're connected to Tomitake and Rika.
Put the heat on them!!"
"...B-But... we can't break into the R residence, not today!
There are just too many festival-goers around there.
We can't break in until the festival is over, which is around midnight...!!"
"That's why all of you are here, right?
Just do something!!!
...Why? Why can't you do what I tell you to do?
Can't you follow my orders?
...Why? Can you only follow my patron's orders?
Ooooh...!"
The unit members could only watch in silence.
They knew that nothing could comfort her.
...The noise of the phone suddenly broke the silence.
Takano practically jumped.
"...Yes.
.........What?
Major, good news!
Crow successfully got the number the research division in Tokyo is calling for their scheduled reports!!
The phone number is in Shishibone City!
The Mountain Dogs are trying to pinpoint the address!!"
"It's Tomitake! It has to be!!!
Skylark, gather your most capable men.
He's being cautious, so don't make any mistakes!!
Heron, give them backup!!"
"Understood!!
Skylark 1 to all units.
As soon as we get the address, we'll move in!
Everyone, get on board!!"
"Shit, hasn't our man from the phone company called yet?"
"I'll look into it!!
Give me five minutes!"
It was 8:45 AM.
They didn't know where in Shishibone he was staying, but depending on where it was, it might be too far to get there before nine AM.
They would have to depend on luck!!
"Damn it! Do it in 50 seconds, not 5 minutes!!
What the hell is taking so long? He's just punching the numbers into the computer!!"
"We've got it!!
The address is Hirasaka Block 1-XX, Hotel Moderato!
It's routing through a switch, so his room number's unknown!!"
"Did you hear that, Skylark?"
"We've got it, we're heading out!!"
Luckily, Hirasaka Block 1 was close enough!!
Okonogi had been right.
Tomitake was hiding nearby!
The garage doors of Okonogi Gardeners opened one after another, and the white vans sped off in a hurry.
"That piece of shit...
It's our turn now.
He didn't even think there could be someone working against him in the research division.
...Now it's our turn for a surprise attack!!"
Hotel Moderato...
...Despite its name, it had a cheap, stained sign out front.
A dilapidated business hotel on the outskirts of town, the perfect place for someone to lay low in.
They might draw in some guests if they renovated the building into a more modern love-hotel, but it was clear they didn't have the capital for renovations and could go under any minute.
...That's the kind of hotel it was.
Tomitake was staying in one of the rooms on the second floor.
The interior of the room was worse than his previous hotel. It only had a bed and a phone.
But that phone was what he needed the most at the moment.
If he didn't have to receive regular reports, he would keep changing hotels, which was safer.
But he needed up-to-date information from the research division, and his course of action would change according to that information. Moving about unnecessarily might cause miscommunication in case of an emergency.
Tomitake never suspected that there was a spy in the research division.
The ticking sound from the clock echoed throughout the room.
It was almost nine AM.
...But the phone might not ring at nine on the dot.
Tomitake waited in front of the phone patiently.
He tried to organize the information in his head so he could answer questions more calmly.
At the same time, he kept in mind the possibility of an attack.
At that time, he heard a woman scream in the distance.
...It happened again. He heard another scream.
Tomitake got the sense that something was happening inside the hotel.
His intuition told him that
someone was checking every single room with a master key!
Tomitake opened the curtain a little.
...He saw several Mountain Dogs, who were blocking all the ways out of the hotel.
...How long had they been there?!
...Finally.
They had finally found where he was.
Tomitake could hear their loud footsteps.
He heard voices too.
"This one's empty. Next!!"
This cheap hotel wouldn't have chains on the door.
They had no means to fend off the master key.
Tomitake could tell there were around twenty of them.
No, maybe there were more.
It would be no use trying to fight with them.
All he could do was hide!!
Under the bed?
Or in the bathroom?
At the very least, the ceiling wouldn't open up like in the movies.
Should he jump out the window?
...It was the second floor, after all.
It was perfectly possible to survive a jump.
They would be expecting that, however.
Yet this was right on city grounds.
If he was confident in his legs, it wouldn't be impossible to outrun them!!
Tomitake soon heard footsteps outside his door.
...This was it!!
He jumped from the window!
Of course, there were Mountain Dogs on the ground waiting for him.
They pointed, and about six of them started running after him!
Tomitake shot off right from the position he landed in!!
This took the Mountain Dogs by surprise.
He had started to dash right after he jumped out the second-floor window!
Tomitake was prepared to do something like that.
He had been training in case of an emergency, just like this one.
"Skylark 10 to Skylark 1!!
We've located the target!
He's running!!
We need assistance!!"
"Skylark 1 to Heron!
The target is heading west, using the back alleys!!
Stop him!!"
"Roger that!!
Heron 2, 3, and 4!!
Head on over there!!!"
"...Here he comes...!!
That's him!!!"
Three members of the Mountain Dogs jumped out from behind the streetlight and stood in Tomitake's way!
They prepared to stop him, but Tomitake kept running at full speed.
They quickly realized he wasn't running towards them to knock them down.
He was trying to run past them.
There was no point in them taking a fighting position.
They lowered themselves and tried to tackle him simultaneously.
"Now!!
Whooooaarryyaaaaahh!!!"
Tomitake jumped over them!
He jumped over them like an Olympic athlete leaping over a hurdle.
But he wasn't an Olympic athlete, and they weren't hurdles.
Tomitake's heel struck one of the Dogs!!
The two flanking Tomitake thought they'd seized hold of him.
However, as he flew over them easily, he grabbed onto the two of their heads, and smashed them against each other.
Tomitake knew that this wouldn't stop them, but at least he'd gain a little time to run.
"The target broke through the west intercept team!
He's still running!!"
"Damn it, what are you doing?!
Heron 10!!
Go around in the car. Take the second left and we'll get him at 9 o'clock!!"
"Are you okay?
Shit!!
Don't let him get away!!"
"What... strength...
Shit, my nose is bleeding!!"
Tomitake saw a van with its door wide open ahead of him!
It couldn't stop in time, and it hit the wall. As soon as it stopped, several Mountain Dogs jumped out of the van.
"Stop him, no matter what!!
Stop him!!!"
"Come on, there are five of us!!!"
Tomitake saw five men ahead of him!
But he didn't think even those five could stop him.
...Why do trains sound their horn at people on the rails?
It's not because the train will get damaged--it's because the people will get hurt!!
"Geeeeeet awaaaaaaaay!!!"
He yelled at them like the horn on a train! He wasn't warning them because they were in his way.
He was warning them to move so that they didn't get hurt!!
"L-Look how many we are!!
We outnumber him five to one!!
Don't tell me we can't stop him!
No way!!
There's no way he can get past us!!!
Let's gooooooooo!!!!"
Tomitake didn't grin.
After all... trains don't grin!!!
"Ooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"
"We captured Tomitake."
"Really?!
Hee hee, it didn't take that long.
I want to ask him some questions.
Don't kill him, okay? Bring him over here!
We'll kill him afterwards, but I've already got a great way for him to go.
...Hee hee hee hee."
The phone continued to ring inside of Tomitake's empty hotel room.
Within thirty minutes, Tomitake was dragged through the back door of the Irie Institute, wearing a gag and handcuffs.
Tomitake didn't even move, as though he was sedated.
The Mountain Dog members had carried him out of the van.
...Irie saw Tomitake from his window and came out of his office in a hurry.
Takano was already there.
"...Wh... What's going on here, Takano-san?"
The Mountain Dogs silently glared at Irie.
...He realized that he shouldn't have left his room.
"I didn't see Jirou-san for a while, so I became worried and had the Mountain Dogs look for him.
It was a good thing I did, because look, he's gone terminal."
"H-He's developed terminal symptoms?
Are you sure...?!"
Of course, Tomitake didn't reply.
Irie decided not to say any more.
"I see...
That's very unfortunate.
Let's give him some medication as soon as we can."
"Of course.
I hope it's not too late.
...Hee hee."
Irie already knew.
The Mountain Dogs had tracked him down.
Irie wasn't sure if Tomitake was able to arrange something with Tokyo.
He wasn't even sure if the Bloodhounds had been called in.
He could guess that Tomitake didn't have time.
If the Bloodhounds were called in, the Mountain Dogs would catch that information.
And if that was the case...
they would likely drop everything and run.
But Tomitake was captured, and they brought him back to the Institute. That meant it hadn't gotten that far, and they were still trying to fix the damage.
...In other words, Tomitake wasn't able to do what they had hoped for...
What were they going to do to Tomitake?
Since they brought him back alive, were they planning to torture a confession out of him?
That would be very dangerous for him.
He'd likely end up dead.
Irie realized that he had to do something in Tomitake's place!
The main reason why Irie had to rescue Tomitake was because he had no way of contacting Tokyo on his own.
Takano wanted Irie to be useless,
so she never told him about how to get in touch with Tokyo.
Irie could receive phone calls from Tokyo, but he could only call them through Takano.
Therefore, Tomitake was the key. ...Unless Irie rescued him, they couldn't possibly win...
But Irie wasn't like the Mountain Dogs.
He was simply a researcher.
There was no way Irie could rescue Tomitake from such a high-security area...
There were eight Mountain Dogs in the building.
...There were usually only two, but Takano had called in more.
Of course, the basement was a highly secured area, and one needed an access card to get in.
That card was only given to people in Irie's position.
In addition to the access card, one would need a fingerprint match as well.
The access card alone wouldn't do it.
Therefore, the only person who could rescue Tomitake from that high-security basement was Irie.
And so... even if it was impossible...
Irie had to do it.
Irie bunched up his hands into fists and held them tight to encourage himself, but he only noticed that his fists were shaking.
.........Irie.
Did you forget...?
Irie remembered what Akasaka had told him.
"But it's very hard to anticipate your own danger.
You can't underestimate it. You may not even get a chance to make the phone call.
If you sense something odd, that's an emergency.
Knowing the seriousness of the conspiracy, they won't hesitate to kill us.
Please be very careful."
Irie felt the cold sweat pooling on his back...
Was this the emergency Akasaka was talking about?
He shouldn't think that it was still okay. He might lose the chance to run...
He realized that trying to do something by himself was foolish.
He had his security access card, true.
...But that didn't mean he had to rescue Tomitake by himself.
Just like how everyone else was trying to combine their efforts, he should also ask for help.
Also, Tomitake was in their hands, which meant that the Mountain Dogs had realized they were under attack, and were preparing to counter.
It was very possible that they were suspicious of Irie too.
Once they broke into Rika's house, Irie's lies would be exposed.
...Indeed.
This was the emergency Akasaka was talking about.
Irie had realized that.
He was already in danger.
He needed to leave immediately.
The Sonozaki residence was their gathering spot in case of an emergency.
His allies were congregating at the Sonozaki residence.
He should explain the situation to them and think about how to rescue Tomitake.
Takano probably wouldn't kill Tomitake immediately.
She was intending to kill him that night, as the fifth year's curse.
So there was still a little time left.
He had allies, and with his security access card, there was still a chance to rescue him.
Irie had to let Akasaka know that he was escaping...
If they became suspicious of Irie, they would check the house, and Akasaka would be in danger too.
...In other words, it could cause a chain reaction...!
".................."
Irie didn't miss his last chance to escape.
But he still had to do his final job.
Irie picked up the phone at his desk, called Rika's home number, and left.
...It would continue to ring like that, sounding the emergency signal.
Irie thought back to when he wondered how long he was going to stay in this director's room.
He never knew this day would come so suddenly...
He noticed the framed picture of his parents on his desk.
......Irie had become a doctor so he could clear up the misunderstanding between his parents, and regain his family ties.
But... how did he get involved in something like this?
No... he would return.
He would return and continue the fight against Hinamizawa Syndrome.
He vowed to himself that he would never abandon that responsibility.
"...I'll be back.
...Mom and Dad."
Irie said his final goodbye and left the director's office.
"...Major.
There's a call from the director's office to an outside number.
The phone number is...
the R residence!"
"Eh?
...What does that mean?
Can you listen in?"
"Of course.
I'll put it up over the speaker...!"
One of the members flipped a switch. There was the sound of a ring tone.
"...Why is Director Irie calling that house now?"
"...Maybe R really is at home and he's trying to let her know that Tomitake has been captured."
".........That might be it.
...Hee hee, he has no idea we're listening in."
What was Irie going to talk about?
Takano waited patiently to eavesdrop on a conversation.
...And there was nothing but a ring tone.
It had been over thirty seconds.
...There was no answer.
Nobody was home.
"......The Director sure is patient.
...I guess he's sure that she's home."
"M-Major!!
We have the Director on the security camera at the back door!!"
The black and white quad-display monitor showed Irie running out the back door.
"...What's going on?
Who's calling from the director's room?"
Takano became utterly confused, but the ring tone continued...
......It couldn't be......!
Takano finally realized what was going on.
"It's a trap!!!
He knew we were listening in, so he made a fake call!!
Irie is a traitor!!
Catch him!!!"
"S-Security room on the first floor!!
Stop Director Irie!!
The target is heading to the staff parking lot from the back door!!"
The two Mountain Dogs who were playing cards in the security room on the first floor jumped into action!!
The security room was located next to the back door, so Irie was still within reach.
...Irie had made a serious mistake.
He could have left the clinic during the thirty seconds Takano and her men were listening to the ring tone.
But when he got to the parking lot, he realized he forgot his car key on his desk in the director's office, so he had to go back and get it.
It was only at this point that he realized he shouldn't have gone back.
He should have escaped on foot.
But Irie wasn't used to emergencies, unlike Akasaka.
It was a typical mistake any normal person who had never gone through anything dangerous would make.
Although he made mistakes, he didn't forget to call Akasaka.
People usually become extremely clumsy when they're in a rush.
All he has to do was to turn the key, but he couldn't even do that smoothly...!
He kept turning the key...
And finally, the engine started!
Irie still thought that he was alright.
Even if one of them questioned him, all he would have to do would be to say that he was going out to get something.
When he released the hand brake with his sweaty left hand,
he saw two of the Mountain Dogs dashing out the back door.
As the two of them looked around, Irie's eyes met with one of theirs in the rearview mirror.
He pointed at Irie's car, and the two of them started running towards it.
The two of them looked extremely serious, and certainly not like they were chasing after him to return a dropped pen.
"...Oooh.... ooooooooooohh...!!"
Irie's body was soaked with sweat!
Before the two of them could jump on the car, Irie stomped on the gas pedal and the car took off after spinning its wheels.
Of course the Dogs didn't give up.
They got into their own car and started to chase after Irie.
"...Security to base!
The Director is on the run in his car.
Do you want us to force him to stop?"
"Major...!"
"...This is Takano.
He's probably headed to the Furude Shrine.
There are too many people there, so it'll be impossible to catch him.
Fine, don't worry about injuries.
Don't let him go!!
Stop him by any means necessary!"
"Roger that.
We'll force him to stop.
Send backup just in case, over."
"Roger that.
We'll send Nightingale as backup!
But don't wait for them!
Stop him right now!!"
The Mountain Dogs had Irie's car in their view as it ran away at full speed.
They have to find a perfect spot and timing to stop him.
It's not easy to drive a car when you're in a rush.
Of course, the more you step on a gas pedal, the more speed you gain.
But when you're in a hurry, you can't control the steering wheel well enough to escape quickly.
Irie could see his pursuers in his rearview mirror, and was completely distracted by that. He was driving carelessly.
His driving was so reckless that he could easily get into an accident on his own.
As the fear was driving him into confusion, he made a wrong turn.
...And that mistake made him even more confused and panicked!
"Heh heh, come on, Director.
You're going to lose your license for driving like that."
Although the two guys were ordered to stop him, they were starting to think Irie is going to get into an accident without them doing anything.
...They'd rather not drag this into a car chase if they didn't have to.
"Zzt... zzzt... This is Phoenix 1,
security vehicle, come in."
"The Commander!
...Security vehicle here.
We're still chasing him.
We're on the path through the forest near the fifth district, not sure of the exact location."
"We are heading your way as your backup, as per HQ's orders.
Estimated time of arrival is in fifteen minutes.
Don't wait for us.
I don't think we'll be there in time."
Okonogi grumbled. He had to leave Okinomiya in a hurry to respond to Major Princess.
But because of the distance, there was no way he could get there in time.
Even so, he was still ordered to provide backup.
...He could have explained, but the princess wouldn't have listened to him anyway.
The Mountain Dogs who were with Okonogi smiled bitterly.
"In which direction are you heading?"
"In the worst case scenario, we'll end up leaving town."
"Don't let him.
We'll comb the hills for him, so break his legs.
Is there anybody else?
Any weapons?"
"It's in the middle of the forest.
There's nobody around.
We have one submachine gun in the security vehicle."
The guy in the passenger seat reclined it and climbed into to the back. He lifted one of the seats and took out a black machine gun.
The paint on one corner was coming off, and the shiny silver metal was exposed.
It was a machine gun, but it didn't look as powerful as an ordinary one.
However, once the Dog extended a shoulder stock and set it in place, the weapon looked far more vicious.
"It's an MP5, correct?
Is it A5
or SD3?"
The man in the back seat looked at the uniquely-shaped gun barrel. It was thick and long.
"It's SD3.
It has a silencer as well."
"You're allowed to fire.
Shred his tires with a full burst."
"Roger that.
We're attacking."
The guy in the back seat opened up the driver's side back window and leaned out of the car.
His sharp eyes aimed at one of the tires on Irie's vehicle.
It was a straight road.
Irie's car was weaving, but not enough to avoid a shot.
The pursuers had his car in their sights.
They were trying to get as close to Irie's car as possible, but they were afraid they might get caught up if it overturned.
They soon decided that this was as close as they were going to get.
"I'm going to fire on the count of three.
Three,
two,
one."
Fire!!!
The sound the machine gun made was a lot quieter than what people would imagine.
But its power was unimaginable.
One of the tires on Irie's car was cut to shreds and collapsed in a puff of white smoke...!
Because one tire collapsed all of a sudden, Irie lost control of his car.
He tried to steer away, but that made things even worse...!
As it spun, Irie's car drove off the shoulder of the road and slid down the slope into the forest...!
"Whaaaaaa, ahhhhh!!!"
The sound of trees breaking and the car being battered from every direction disappeared down the slope.
The pursuers stopped their car and looked down after it, but the plants were growing so high it was impossible to check from there.
"The attack was a success.
The target vehicle went down the slope. It's possible that the driver is dead.
We'll search on foot."
"Phoenix 1, roger.
Nightingale is in the area.
If you're lucky, you'll run into them.
We aren't even close.
I'm counting on you.
Good luck!"
"Roger, ending transmission.
Let's go!!"
The Mountain Dogs left their car and headed into the woods without hesitation.