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If he finds out that Sakigake doesn’t yet know the connection between Aomame and
Tengo
, Ushikawa thought,
I might be whacked right here and now. If I’m no longer in
the picture, then nobody will be any the wiser about their connection
.
“I’m not very fond of incorrect answers,” the man said in a chilly tone. “I think
you of all people are well aware of that. I wouldn’t mind giving your kidney another
punch, but if I hit you hard my hand will hurt, and permanently damaging your kidney
isn’t what I came here to do. I have no personal animosity toward you. I have just one
goal, to get the right answer. So I’m going to try a different approach. I’m sending
you to the bottom of the sea.”
The bottom of the sea?
Ushikawa thought.
What is this guy talking about?
The man pulled something out of his pocket. There was a rustling sound like
plastic rubbing together, and then something covered Ushikawa’s head. A plastic bag,
the thick freezer bag kind. Then a thick, large rubber band was wrapped around his
neck.
This guy is trying to suffocate me
, Ushikawa realized. He tried breathing in but
got a mouthful of plastic instead. His nostrils were blocked as well. His lungs were
screaming for air, but there wasn’t any. The plastic molded tight to his whole face like
a death mask. Soon all his muscles started to convulse violently. He tried to reach out
to rip away the bag, but his hands wouldn’t move. They were tied tight behind his
back. His brain blew up like a balloon and felt ready to explode. He tried to scream.
He
had
to get air. But no sound came out. His tongue filled his mouth as his
consciousness drained away.
Finally the rubber band was taken from his neck, the plastic bag peeled away from
his head. Ushikawa desperately gulped down the air in front of him. For a few
minutes he bent forward, breathing mightily, like an animal lunging at something just
out of reach.
“How was the bottom of the sea?” the man asked after Ushikawa’s breathing had
settled down. His voice was, as before, expressionless. “You went quite deep down. I
imagine you saw all sorts of things you’ve never seen before. A valuable experience.”
Ushikawa couldn’t respond. His voice wouldn’t come.
“Ushikawa, as I have said a number of times, I am looking for the correct answer.
So I’ll ask you once again: Were you instructed by Sakigake to track Tengo Kawana’s
movements and search for his connection with Aomame? This is a critical point. A
753
person’s life is on the line. Think carefully before you answer. I’ll know if you’re
lying.”
“Sakigake doesn’t know about this,” Ushikawa managed to stammer.
“Good, that’s the correct answer. Sakigake doesn’t know yet about the connection
between Aomame and Tengo Kawana. You haven’t told them yet. Is that correct?”
Ushikawa nodded.
“If you had answered correctly from the start, you wouldn’t have had to visit the
bottom of the sea. Pretty awful, wasn’t it?”
Ushikawa nodded.
“I know. I went through the same thing once,” the man said, as easily as if he were
chatting about some trivial gossip. “Only people who have experienced it know how
horrible it really is. You can’t easily generalize about pain. Each kind of pain has its
own characteristics. To rephrase Tolstoy’s famous line, all happiness is alike, but each
pain is painful in its own way. I wouldn’t go so far, though, as to say you
savor
it.
Don’t you agree?”
Ushikawa nodded. He was still panting a little.
The man went on. “So let’s be frank with each other, and totally honest. Does that
sound like a good idea, Ushikawa?”
Ushikawa nodded.
“Any more incorrect answers and I’ll have you take another walk on the bottom of
the sea. A longer, more leisurely stroll this time. We’ll push the envelope a bit more.
If we botch it, you might not come back. I don’t think you want to go there. What do
you say, Ushikawa?”
Ushikawa shook his head.
“It seems like we have one thing in common,” the man said. “We’re both lone
wolves. Or maybe dogs who got separated from the pack? Rogue operators who don’t
fit in with society. People who have an instinctive dislike of organizations, or aren’t
accepted by any organization. We take care of business alone—decide things on our
own, take action on our own, take responsibility on our own. We take orders from
above, but have no colleagues or subordinates. All we depend on is our brain and our
abilities. Do I have it right?”
Ushikawa nodded.
The man continued. “That’s our strength, but also at times our weak point. For
example, in this case I think you were a little too eager to be successful. You wanted
to sort it out by yourself, without informing Sakigake. You wanted to wrap things up
neatly and take all the credit. That’s why you let your guard down, isn’t it?”
Ushikawa nodded once more.
“Why did you have to take things that far?”
“Because it was my fault Leader died.”
“How so?”
“I’m the one who ran the background check on Aomame. I did a thorough check
on her before letting her see Leader. And I couldn’t find anything suspicious at all.”
“But she got close to Leader hoping to kill him, and actually did deliver a fatal
blow. You messed up your assignment, and you knew that someday you would have
to answer for it. You’re just a disposable outsider, after all. And you know too much
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for your own good. To survive this, you knew you had to deliver Aomame’s head to
them. Am I correct?”
Ushikawa nodded.
“Sorry about that,” the man said.
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