In the blink of an eye, another year had passed. When Ritsu first joined the Organization, he had still been a spirited nineteen-year-old youth. Now, he had already stepped onto the road toward thirty.
"Time really flies. I'm already twenty-four."
"If we don't talk about age, we can still be friends. I'm already twenty-seven, okay?"
Normally, they were already at the age where people settled down and built families. But for the two of them, something like love was far too extravagant.
At this stage, what they desired most was to uncover more useful information about the Organization, successfully relay that intelligence to the upper ranks of the National Police Agency, and eliminate the Organization as quickly as possible so they could return to normal lives.
Rei sat inside the car with one hand holding his earpiece and asked,
"You still not done over there?"
"This guy was pretty crafty. After I killed him, it triggered a special alarm system. I'm handling it now."
"Alarm system?"
"A bomb."
Ritsu calmly pulled out a pair of multifunction scissors. At the moment, this was all he had available to use as a bomb disposal tool. After cutting the yellow wire, he examined the bomb's internal structure and said calmly,
"It's not especially complicated, but the amount of explosives is pretty impressive. Enough to flatten this entire street."
"Don't lose focus. Concentrate on disarming that thing."
"Understood."
Eight minutes was enough time for Ritsu to completely dismantle the bomb. Looking at the time displayed on his wristwatch, he slowly reported,
"February 6th, 11:21 PM. Target Hayama Kenta has been dealt with."
After thoroughly cleaning the scene, Ritsu climbed out through the window and followed the route he had used to arrive, eventually reaching the nearby parking lot. Rei was still sitting in the car with one arm hanging lazily outside the window. The moment he saw him, he waved him over to get in.
"That was fast. At this point, your bomb disposal skills are probably comparable to that guy's, huh?"
"Probably not quite. If he were here, he'd likely finish about five seconds faster than me."
When it came to bomb disposal, every second counted. A difference of five seconds was already worlds apart.
Rei started the car. Since they were still quite far from their apartment building, he suddenly asked, "Want to stay up all night? Let's go watch the sunrise from Rainbow Bridge in Odaiba."
'Watch the sunrise?'
That wasn't a bad idea. It was about a four-hour drive back toward Tokyo anyway, and dawn would be breaking soon enough.
"Sure. There's a convenience store nearby too. Want to grab a breakfast that technically counts as a late-night snack?"
"No problem."
The four-hour drive didn't leave Rei doing all the driving alone. After stopping at a service area midway to take a break, they switched drivers and let Ritsu take over. By the time they reached the parking lot near Rainbow Bridge, Rei volunteered to go buy food and beer.
February 7th, 4:19 AM.
Tokyo in February was still bitterly cold. No sane person would stand on a bridge before sunrise just to be blasted by freezing wind. Ritsu tightened his black trench coat around himself. Underneath it was only a thin white dress shirt. Over time, he had apparently learned to tolerate heat but not cold.
He laughed self-deprecatingly and muttered softly,
"Coming out to watch the sunrise at this hour in this weather… we've seriously lost our minds."
The snowfall, which had stopped earlier, quietly began drifting down again. Ritsu frowned slightly as he looked up. A sharp pain pulsed at his temples, making him uncomfortable. He reached up to ease the ache when the phone in his pocket suddenly rang.
Who would call at this hour?
Could it be Vermouth?
A string of numbers appeared on the screen. The moment he recognized it, his already furrowed brows tightened further.
He had heard Vermouth mention this number before. It belonged to Curacao, a close subordinate of the Organization's second-in-command, Rum.
Why would Rum's confidant suddenly be calling him? An uneasy feeling quietly rose in his chest.
"Hello, this is Macallan."
The voice on the other end was clearly electronically modified. The deep mechanical tone made it impossible to tell whether the speaker was male or female.
"Macallan, this is Curacao. I have a mission for you."
"A mission? Go ahead."
"Put on your earpiece and standby on Channel Seven. I've already authorized your access."
Normally, the earpieces used by the Operative Division only had authorization for Channels One through Six. Ritsu had once heard Vodka mention that Channel Seven was exclusively for Rum's use.
Filled with caution, he had a bad feeling about this assignment. "Can I ask what the mission involves?"
"I can't tell you yet. Wait patiently. Also, do not tell anyone about this. Goodbye."
Beep beep beep.
Ritsu couldn't help wondering if everyone in the Organization enjoyed hanging up first. Just as he was about to put his phone away, a hand suddenly slapped down onto his shoulder.
"Shit!"
Splash—
"…"
Speechless, Ritsu stared at the phone that had fallen into Tokyo Bay. Turning around irritably, he snapped, "Bourbon, you idiot! My phone fell in, you're paying for that, right?"
Rei clearly hadn't expected a simple pat to send the phone flying. With an awkward laugh, he said, "Considering my salary's lower than yours, can't you be magnanimous and let it slide?"
Rolling his eyes, Ritsu felt fortunate he had already finished the call before the phone fell into the water. He took the earpiece from his waist pouch, switched it to Channel Seven, and put it on without turning on the microphone.
"Why're you putting your earpiece on?" Rei asked curiously.
"I just got a call from Curacao. Apparently there's a mission they want my help with."
Ritsu instantly treated Curacao's warning like background noise. There wasn't anyone else around anyway, so mentioning it briefly didn't matter.
"Huh?" Rei blinked a few times before opening a can of beer and handing it to him.
"Why would Curacao be assigning you a mission? Isn't Curacao Rum's confidant?"
"Curacao should be part of the Intelligence Division too, right? Even the voice on the call was disguised. Do you know if Curacao's a man or a woman?"
"No idea. I've never had direct contact with Curacao before. But from what I've heard, both Rum and Curacao are usually active in South America and Europe. Logically speaking, they shouldn't suddenly return to Japan. Sounds like a pretty troublesome mission. Be careful when you go."
Hearing Rei's concern made Ritsu smile faintly. Taking a large swig of beer, he leaned against the railing and replied,
"When have I ever not been careful? Besides, if this mission lets me finally meet Curacao, then it'll be a pretty worthwhile deal."
"I trust your abilities." Rei looked at the white snowflakes gathering on the black trench coat before softly asking,
"Does your head still hurt?"
"It's fine."
Ritsu turned away, remembering the heavy snowfall from the end of last year. A faint melancholy lingered in his azure eyes.
He had finally remembered who the person in his memories was.
He had also remembered why he cried back then, and even who had made him cry.
"Bourbon, there's actually something I've never told you."
"What is it?"
"I'm certain now that Rye is my older brother."