"Move! Gather every able-bodied officer in the station and get out there to catch those criminals! No matter what, we have to apprehend the ones who attacked Sakurada and Kasamatsu and recover that gun!"
With his retirement on the line, Chief Ono's youthful vigor surged back. "And tell all the police boxes in Mihama to set up roadblocks. Those gun-stealing thugs cannot escape Mihama!"
"Yes, sir!" The female officer saluted and hurried out of the office.
Ono's face darkened as he slammed his coffee cup on the desk. Is it really so hard to retire in peace?
On the rain-slicked streets, Shuichi Hayashi, behind the wheel of the police car, had caught up to the ambulance.
The stormy weather made the roads treacherous, and continuing this high-speed chase was bound to end in a crash. Shuichi gripped the steering wheel, aiming to force the ambulance to stop with a controlled collision.
Yoshikawa, driving the ambulance, saw the police car coming. Instead of swerving, he turned his wheel, deliberately meeting the impact head-on.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The vehicles collided repeatedly. The drivers were unscathed, but the doctor and two orderlies in the ambulance's back weren't so lucky. Tossed around like ragdolls, they emerged bruised and battered in moments.
Realizing collisions alone wouldn't stop the ambulance, Shuichi was at a loss until he spotted a T-shaped intersection ahead. The ambulance and police car were racing up the vertical stem of the T, and at the top, directly facing them, was the Mihama Police Station, its cherry blossom badge gleaming in the rain.
An idea sparked. Shuichi eased off the gas, letting the police car fall behind.
"Haha, he's scared!" Yoshikawa, catching the police car's slowdown in the rearview mirror, assumed he'd intimidated the pursuer and laughed smugly.
The ambulance and police car neared the T-intersection. Yoshikawa slowed to make a right turn.
But at that moment, Shuichi floored the accelerator. As the ambulance turned, exposing its side, he slammed the police car into it with a thunderous crash!
The ambulance flipped, tumbling across the ground before crashing into the Mihama Police Station and coming to a stop.
The police car wasn't spared either. Its hood crumpled, the engine cover twisted, and the engine itself was flung out. Without airbags—standard in this era—Shuichi, prepared for the impact, shielded his face and escaped with only minor injuries.
The police car skidded along the curb for another ten meters before halting. Shuichi shoved the door open and limped through the storm toward the station.
A minute earlier, per Chief Ono's orders, every able-bodied officer in the Mihama Police Station was assembling on the first floor to hunt down the criminals. The office was chaos.
Ono himself donned a bulletproof vest and grabbed his service pistol, untouched in thirty years. He was going to save his pension personally.
As the officers gathered, Ono launched into a fervent speech. "You've all heard what happened. Sakurada and Kasamatsu were attacked, and Sakurada's gun was stolen! This is a disgrace to Mihama Police Station, a disgrace to every one of us! Only by catching these criminals and recovering the gun can we wash away this shame! Sitting in this office won't—"
A deafening bang cut him off.
The station's front doors burst open as an ambulance skidded sideways into the office.
"Uh…" Every officer, including Ono, stared, dumbfounded.
The female officer who'd reported earlier stammered, "C-Chief, didn't the call say the criminals were escaping in an ambulance? Could this… be it?"
What kind of nonsense is this? Criminals driving themselves straight into a police station? Ono's cheek twitched as he opened his mouth to respond.
The ambulance's mangled driver-side door was kicked open. Yoshikawa, blood streaming down his face, crawled out.
"This is…" His eyes widened as he saw twenty or thirty armed officers staring back. Instinctively, he raised his stolen gun.
But the police were faster. One officer tackled him to the ground, another kicked the gun away, and a third piled on. Within seconds, a dozen officers had pinned Yoshikawa beneath them.
An older officer picked up the discarded gun and inspected it. "Chief, it's got a serial number—it's Sakurada's!"
The stolen gun, recovered just like that? My pension's safe?
Ono's face lit up, but he suppressed a grin, aware it wasn't the time. "Can someone explain why the criminal drove into the station?" he asked, his expression odd.
The officers exchanged bewildered looks, grappling with the same question.
A voice came from the entrance. "Robbers aren't stupid enough to turn themselves in!"
Everyone turned to see a teenage boy leaning against the doorway, looking exasperated.
"The ambulance crashed because I rammed it during the chase," Shuichi said. "There are three more impostor paramedics in the back. Check if they're still alive."
"You…" Ono squinted. "You look familiar."
"Chief, he's that high school detective from this morning's news!" the young female officer said excitedly. "You were saying how the Tokyo Metropolitan Police's First Division are useless, outdone by a kid—"
"Cough, cough!" Ono choked, glaring at her for spilling his words. He turned to Shuichi. "You're saying you crashed them into the station?"
"Yup," Shuichi nodded, recounting the events at the apartment. "That's the gist. Your two officers are probably still lying in the apartment parking lot. I brought their car back—it's outside. Uh, it might need some repairs, but it should still work… maybe?"
(End of Chapter)