3. UNDERWORLD

A good old fashion crime thriller/ murder mystery with a Neo-Japanese twist! Meet a supporting character, Detective Koga as he finds himself trapped in the web of his own emotions and past dealings.

 

Tokyo nightlife is riotous. Violent and erotic-- continually stimulated by narcotics.

  Detective Koga walks down the slick street, his umbrella in hand.

Smokey haze filters from nightclub entrances. Music-- the base pounds against his chest.

It is nearly dawn and the neon of this underworld slowly dies, the aftermath exposed by the rising sun.

  Broken bottles and cigarette butts clog the storm drains. Cars have smashed widows and fresh graffiti adorns the bar fronts. And those responsible, the creatures of the night--they slink back into the alley shadows. Some however, have lost themselves in the narcotic ecstasy. Their pierced and tattooed bodies lay wasted on the sidewalks along with any hopes of a future.

  His expression is hard.

  Disgusting…

He wants to pity them, but cannot.

  Carried by his swift stride, Koga focuses ahead, But he keeps his limbs close under the umbrella’s eve. Look, how he meticulously skirts the puddles of acid rain-- being careful not to wet his dress shoes.

  His red face glistens from the humidity.

  A few tactless jeers are thrown at him.

  Koga ignores them.

Thoughtless words from guilt ridden people. Their time will come, he reminds himself. Maybe in two or three weeks. They all turn out the same.

   At least forty-percent of teens from low-income families become drug addicts and turn criminal overnight.

  His adrenalin rises--thinking of a major gang bust he headed last week. The excitement and sense of accomplishment still pulses through his veins.

He spent several days undercover, investigating the ruthless Tsume gang, suspected of kidnapping a large corporate heiress. They were soon convicted of not only that, but also rape and illegal drug possession.

  The news media has yet to fully acknowledge his success.

Until recently, he was somewhat of an enigma, always passing the credit to some other assisting faction. Only his closest partners understood this method, that the detective’s only satisfaction derives from the knowledge that the illicit are duly punished.

  But for now, he must be patient and ignore the threats.

Thoughtfully, he shoves his hands in his pockets and stops to look at his reflection in a puddle. The familiar man peers back, a frown, stern black eyes and a receding hairline.   

  He is the perfect specimen of middle class life style. Dark circles under his eyes from the long work nights, a thin frame--- enough for his frugal budget to sustain---and the unvarying gray suit.

  “Sir!” A voice echoes.

His young partner motions him toward a glossy black wall at the streets end. It is a tinted containment unit proficiently veiling the crime scene from otherwise prying eyes.

Koga acknowledges with a wave.

                ***

 

It smells like smoke, but with an awful, more acrid edge to it.

    Plastic.

   Upholstery, perhaps?

His expert nose assesses the air inside the unit shell. He hears the gentle pat of rain on the roof top.

  Beside Koga stands his partner, brushing up against his sleeve. The detective glances sideways at the rookie, whose brilliant green eyes eagerly absorb the situation.

   They are in a small room partitioned into two sections by a white screen, what is behind it, Koga can only guess: the victim. Three sweaty police officers make busy with digitized charts and patch-in links.

   “Well?” Koga questions, inviting him forward.

   “Car accident.”

   “My thoughts exactly,” Koga snuffles, adjusting his tie.

   The rookie smiles.

   “Sure,” he quips.

Before they can examine further, a man approaches from behind the screen.

  “Ah, Detective!” he greets in a rasping tone.

Koga accepts his weak handshake, observing a sallow face and sunken eyes.

  “Yagi, Chief of Police. It is a great honor to meet you Koga--Sama. Your decisiveness in the Koniwaka case was most impressive.”

   Koga is surprised by the use of a honorific. To be called ‘sama’ is a respectable title, given to those higher in rank than the speaker.

Japan has become so westernized that the once ritualistic use of honorifics is nearly abolished. A feeling of rekindled warmth burns in Koga‘s chest-- he is proud of his Japanese heritage.

   “Thank you--Chief,” he responds, a little shaken. “And this is my partner, Kaoru Onozuka.” The rookie, Kaoru, smiles and inclines his carrot top head--eyes dancing with childish delight. “What’s the situation here?”

   Yagi’s smile vanishes. The atmosphere is once again tainted with stale sincerity.

   “Come--I’ll patch you in,” He turns and vanishes behind the screen.

   Both men follow close behind.

What meets their eyes is not unexpected.

  The blackened remains of a mutilated car are smashed against the pavement. It’ reeks of oil and petroleum---a car accident indeed.

But even worse, four covered bodies lie cold on the ground. A forensic teem is hard at work on their partially charred remains.

   “Poor car,” Kaoru moans standing before it, hands on hips.

   Koga shoots him a disapproving glare.

   “Patch me in, Chief. "

The Chief pulls a USB cord from the rotary built inside his neck and passes it to him.

Koga connects it to his port, located at the base of his neck. His eyes close.

Instantly, a visual is displayed --- a silver vehicle streaming through traffic. There is nothing unusual for several minutes. Then suddenly, the vehicle surges out of lane and a strip of the cab top rips back of it’s own accord. However, this does not shock the detective.

  But when a katana materializes on the cab’s top, his heart leaps. Next, the vehicle lurches to the left and within seconds---crashes at high speed into an oncoming transit bus. Koga watches painfully as the car spirals radically downwards to hit the street bellow, engulfed in flames.

   The video ends. He disconnects and opens his eyes.

   “The bus--were there any fatalities?”

   “No, but five of the passengers are in ICU,” the Chief informs. “Did you notice anything…odd, Detective?”

  The chief peers at him expectantly, twiddling his thumbs.

  “Yes--and I expect it’s the reason why you called,” Koga’s jaw tightens.

A familiar frustration twists in his gut.

  The Chief glances at the forensics teem---they seem too preoccupied.

  “I won’t play innocent Koga--san,” He lowers his rasping voice. “I am aware of the emotional impact that particular case has had on you, I sincerely apologize for dragging it back to your door step, but the fact is…”

  The Chief stops himself.

He steels a glance at the fourth body--his pallid features contorting with controlled anguish.

   Koga understands. He puts a hand on the Chief‘s arm.

  “It doesn’t matter, I will continue with that investigation. There is a ninety--seven percent chance that the 'Invisible Assassin’ in responsible.”

  He respectfully turns from the Chief---giving him a moment to collect himself. “Kaoru, what do you think?”

  Kaoru is carefully examining one of the uncovered bodies.

It’s isn’t one of the prettiest sights to turn to. The man’s entire body is marred with third degree burns. Blood is the least of the horrors masking the dead man’s face.

  “Typical I’d say, bold and blatant.” A boyish lisp decorates his uncanny response. “It’s the work of our invisible friend alright!” The young man twirls the examination scalpel over and over in his fingers.

   Koga smiles.

He has yet to meet a more gifted body examiner. Kaoru’s disabilities balance in exchange for his truly brilliant gift of observation and listening skills.

  “Well, tell me what you’ve got.”

Koga crouches down beside his blabbing partner.

  But he really isn’t listening. Everything spins out of focus, into utter silence. He already knows it’s method of killing---the 'Invisible Assassin’. He spent eighty percent of the past two years of his life pouring over this one spellbinding case.

He knows everything there is to know about it, and yet not enough to crack it--- to stop the onslaught of assassinations.

  But that was a long time ago. He has tired to forget about his only unsolved case.

And now the detective is rigid---- suffocating---the weight of his past is crushing his soul…

Author's Note

Ugh, this chapter took me so long to write! This is my first attempt at a crime scene drama, so please be totally honest in your comments--constructive criticism is how I become a better writer. Any comments welcome!
God bless : )

Reviews

[-K]

Omg! Omg! Scary robot world in my head!....Must...Keep...Reading (says while hiding from all other eletronics in the house) lol.

I do agree with some others"more detail on the crime scene...blah blah blah" but very good work. I'll be reading on to see where your world takes me :)

[Alex P.]

I agree with T. Hawkins. You could have described the accident and crime scene a little better, especially since the last chapter left off with the car still being intact. This world is used to gory descriptions, we enjoy them thoroughly, so don't be scared to throw in some gore. I enjoyed your introduction of Koga-san, I want to learn more about his past, specifically his cold case, which I'm sure you'll get to. Overall a beautiful read once again, I am thoroughly looking forward to further updates. Blessings.

[Mary Evans]

It really shows you put a lot of work into your writing. The sentence flow is really good and descriptions are vivid. Nice introduction of the new characters. The only thing that might improve it more is a bit more details on the description of the incident. So overall really nice. Keep up the good work.

[Amelia Harris]

Wow! This was great, Pare! I could totally visualize the whole thing! It was awesome!! The only thing I have to say is there were a couple of grammatical and spelling errors. Message me if you want me to tell you where. Great job!!

[Kandy]

For your first crime scene, it was pretty good. It's very realistic (even though it's set in another time). Once again, you made good use of details. I didn't find anything wrong, so good job.

[John Stussy]

Ah, now you have revealed the character opposite the assassin, very nice. He seems like a capable enough cop to go for that killer, though what will transpire only you know. Great chapter is what I say, I found no flaws.