"What's going on?" "Why are all those FBI guys running out of the hospital?" As he watched the cluster of green dots scramble out of the inp
"What's going on?"
"Why are all those FBI guys running out of the hospital?"
As he watched the cluster of green dots scramble out of the inpatient building on the monitor, Vodka was stunned, and Gin furrowed his brows.
"Could it be that Kir wasn't in the hospital to begin with?" Vodka speculated.
Gin didn't respond—he merely frowned coldly.
If the FBI had taken the opportunity to transfer Rena Mizunashi during the night, Gin could understand that. But stationing this many agents inside the hospital just to bluff? That seemed like an outrageous waste.
Or… did Hayashi Yoshiki expose his plan and disrupt the operation?
Everyone was fleeing the hospital. That likely included Rena Mizunashi. They might be trying to take her away amidst the chaos.
Which was it?
That bastard Cointreau!
Gin had always despised enigmatic types, and now that his opponent was Hayashi Yoshiki, someone who could deduce his entire plan from just a vague hint… Gin was even more irritated.
"All the FBI agents have gotten into cars!"
"Several vehicles are speeding out! What do we do—do we chase them?" came the voices of Chianti and Korn through the earpieces.
Vodka also heard it.
He looked at the cars that were pulling out of the hospital one after another, all heading in the same direction, and couldn't hold back his tension: "They're all going the same way! Kir definitely isn't in the hospital, big bro!"
"Shut up," Gin growled, radiating an overwhelming murderous aura.
"Chianti, Korn, Tequila—chase those cars!"
"Got it."
"OK!"
"On it!"
Chianti and Korn each mounted motorcycles and roared off in pursuit, while Tequila drove a heavy-duty motorbike.
As the three split up to tail the vehicles…
Gin's eyes remained fixed coldly on the monitor, still keeping an eye on the hospital's interior.
Noticing that his big brother seemed to be in a particularly foul mood, Vodka cautiously asked:
"Big bro, is something wrong?"
"Cointreau is inside the hospital."
Gin's voice came out like ice. "Our opponent right now isn't the FBI—it's Cointreau."
"What!?"
"What the hell!?"
"You've got to be kidding!"
It wasn't just Vodka. Chianti and the others over the comms all shouted in disbelief, and one even seemed to slam the brakes hard, judging by the screech in the background.
Vodka was trembling.
"Coin... Cointreau!? Why would he do this!? Did he betray the organization!?"
Even though he was safely in the car next to his seemingly invincible boss, Vodka felt a chill creeping all over him.
He instinctively looked around.
Good—no big trucks, no billboards hanging above...
But what about other dangers?
Vodka, for the first time in a while, felt genuinely anxious. His gaze darted around in paranoid restlessness.
Chaos erupted in the earpiece.
"Our enemy is Cointreau!? What the hell is going on!?" Chianti shouted, voice rising.
"Gin, did you piss off Cointreau?" Korn asked.
"What the hell did you do, Gin!?"
Gin frowned, ignoring their noise.
He couldn't be bothered to explain. "Just keep following."
Vermouth still hadn't reported in.
That woman had vanished on her own the moment the operation started this morning. Who knew if she was working with Cointreau now?
Speak of the devil.
Gin suddenly received a text message on his phone.
Vermouth: "Still wondering whether Kir is in the hospital? I can tell you responsibly—she's not."
Hmph.
Gin sneered.
Vermouth wouldn't lie about something like this. But judging from the way she phrased it, she was definitely working with Cointreau.
Mysticism… it all came down to that woman!
"Drive! Vodka!"
"D-Drive!?" Vodka echoed instinctively, but his hands were already shifting gears and slamming the gas.
The black sedan quickly sped away from the hospital.
Meanwhile, Chianti and the others, using the mobility of their motorcycles, quickly caught up to the vehicles leaving Beika Hospital.
All the FBI cars had tinted windows—completely opaque. No way to see who was inside.
"Where are they going...? No, wait—they're splitting up!"
Chianti soon noticed the cars diverging at the next intersection.
Gin wasn't surprised.
"Of course they are."
"Even if Kir had been stationed outside the hospital from the start, five minutes would've been enough for the FBI to confirm she wasn't taken."
"But more likely… Kir is in one of those vehicles. They're using this chance to move her."
"Follow them!"
Even if Cointreau was acting from the inside, Gin was confident they'd eventually find Kir. That didn't mean he intended to be toyed with like a fool.
Chianti and the others momentarily put aside Cointreau's "betrayal", each sticking with their assigned vehicles while using infrared scanners prepared for this mission.
The van Chianti was tailing had nine people: two in the front seats, six sitting in the back, and one lying down—all with tracker-implanted bombs recently distributed.
Korn's second van was similar—except none of them had trackers.
Tequila's third van had only two passengers up front, both tagged with bombs.
"It's gotta be either the one I'm tracking or Korn's!" Chianti shouted immediately, eliminating the third van with only two seated people. After all, Kir should still be lying down.
Gin didn't reply.
Just then, he heard a siren.
Looking in the rearview mirror, he saw an ambulance speeding up from behind with its lights flashing.
Even though Vodka was anxious to get moving, he pulled over to let it pass—not out of kindness, but out of fear.
Had Cointreau really betrayed them?
Was this an ambush on the road to kill him and Gin!?
What had big bro done to make Cointreau turn against him!?
Due to Gin's terrifying presence, Vodka didn't dare ask. He simply stayed hyper-alert, driving with clenched focus—scanning every intersection for large vehicles, especially tankers or cargo trucks.
Gin kept his eyes on the ambulance passing them, speeding ahead.
But he felt suspicion creeping in.
And then... on the digital map, the third van—the one Tequila was tailing—suddenly made a turn.
It was looping back… heading straight toward Beika Hospital again.