"The police still haven't pinpointed the suspect's location?"
"That's right. We just received the report and rushed over. The TV station already fulfilled the demand for fifty million yen."
"Fifty million? That's too little. For someone bold enough to issue a threat with a gun, fifty million is far too low."
A gunman going through all this trouble and only asking for fifty million yen? Ren didn't believe that was their true intention. It was likely just the "minimum bait."
"The gunman made direct contact with the organizers, told them to call the police, and caused this whole commotion. He obviously wants more than fifty million. That demand was just bait to draw the police in. Once the suspect confirmed police involvement, he would use that to make a much steeper demand."
"Something like, 'I wasn't planning to hurt anyone, I just wanted money, but you broke our agreement. Now I want a billion,' right?"
It was clear the suspect's goal was money, but the way he operated showed he had no shame.
Calling the organizers directly was just a ploy to get them to involve the police.
The initial demand for fifty million was bait, plain and simple.
"There are two of them? Maybe even three?"
"…There are two."
"Oh? So you walked right into it."
"Yeah. But honestly, this tactic wouldn't have mattered. Even if we didn't set up an ambush, that guy wouldn't have backed off so easily."
"True."
The suspect was never going to settle for just fifty million. Anyone already armed wasn't going to just walk away quietly. Whether or not the police set up an ambush was irrelevant, the culprit would have found another excuse anyway.
"You're keeping the person transporting the fifty million under constant surveillance, right?"
"Of course. The organizers aren't about to let that kind of money just disappear, and if we can't recover it, we'll be the ones in trouble."
"The issue now is the second suspect. He's hiding somewhere in the stadium, and we have no clue where."
Ren could hear Miwako's frustration and helplessness, but he understood it too.
There was an armed criminal somewhere in the stadium, posing a threat to thousands of civilians. And the police couldn't just openly search for him.
The threat of a panic was real. The suspect would know that, and would use it to his advantage.
More than that, it was likely the suspect already knew the police were inside the stadium.
No, Ren thought, this was probably intentional.
That initial fifty-million demand was likely just a backup plan. If so, the second demand was designed to be something the organizers couldn't possibly fulfill in time.
"What's the second demand?"
"One billion yen."
"Heh, no way that kind of money can be gathered in time, right?"
"No chance. There's no bank that keeps that much cash on-site. Moving that amount requires over a week of preparations."
"Which means the culprit knows this too. So why ask for one billion yen, knowing it's impossible before the game ends?"
"…!"
On the other end of the call, Miwako suddenly fell silent.
"From the beginning, the suspect never intended to take that money! His real goal was a mass shooting inside the stadium?"
That realization made Miwako fully snap back to attention. This was no joke.
And now that she thought about it, the pieces fit all too well.
"So the real target was never the audience, but the organizer of the match?"
"No, to be precise, the real target is the organizing company. If there's a mass shooting in the stadium, the one who suffers the most is the event organizer. And by setting an impossible ransom, the suspects shift all the blame onto the organizers for 'failing to comply.'"
Now that Ren had gathered all the clues, the culprit's motive was crystal clear.
Honestly, if the suspects had a personal grudge against the organizers, Ren would've preferred they just shot the executives directly.
Instead, they had to go through this whole roundabout and disgusting method.
"By the way, Miwako, in a situation like this, where there's an armed suspect threatening indiscriminate violence, the police are authorized to shoot, right?"
"Of course. The suspect is armed, and the threat isn't just to us but to over 50,000 spectators inside the stadium. If there's no other option, we can use lethal force."
"But we still need to confirm the suspect's identity first."
Hearing this, Ren's lips curved slightly.
"Miwako, you're becoming pretty smooth, huh?"
"I've always been smooth."
On the other end, Miwako clearly picked up on what Ren was implying.
It was that obvious, even someone dull would get it.
And frankly, she shared the same sentiment as Ren. A suspect willing to threaten tens of thousands of lives with a gun didn't deserve leniency. A clean shot to neutralize them was perfectly justified.
Especially if it meant protecting the civilians.
"I'll tell you directly. It's Camera 13."
"Got it."
With that answer, Miwako knew exactly what needed to be done.
This wasn't something she could act on alone. She needed to report it to Inspector Megure.
She quickly made her way to the surveillance control room. Right now, the police and event staff were all gathered there, trying to locate the second suspect hiding in the stadium.
Miwako walked up to one of the staff.
"Excuse me, where is Camera 13 located?"
"Eh?"
The staff member was stunned for a moment, but seeing that she was from the police, he responded quickly.
"Camera 13 is at the left-side entrance, near the central seating area."
"Thanks."
After thanking him, Miwako immediately walked over to Inspector Megure and whispered,
"Inspector Megure, I know who it is."
(To be continued.)