Capítulo 16: Chapter 19: games
Now that the three of them were seated and introduced, it was time to begin. Almost immediately Mado moved in. He figured that if they were pretending to be students of this school then chances were that they had no connection to it. Unfortunately he didn't have time to officially confirm that these students did not actually exist. But, he was sure that whatever knowledge of this school they had would be cursorily in level. So he began with the question, "So Ryouhei-kun, I must say it's nice to see a student from your school. It really is a great facility after all. Tell me, how is Mr. Aizawa doing now a days?" Of course no teacher named that worked there. But this filthy creature wouldn't know that. The CCG would hold assemblies at schools in order to inform the students on the dangers of ghouls and the proper steps that should be taken as well trying to recruit new applicants to the local bureau. Hopefully this fact would lead the ghoul to believe Mado; falling right into his little trap.
Ken smirked slightly in response. 'So that's his game is it?' Ken thought. He knew that the crazy looking one named Mado was aware of his identity. But without evidence the man could do nothing to him. So he was trying to make Ken incriminate himself with these questions. And he was already at it with the first one. Luckily for Ken, while they were waiting up front, he had been researching the school to kill time. This had included a few lists of students and employees as well as online chats about the school among students. Ken, trying to look innocent, scratched back of his head and grinned goofily. "Hmmm. Sorry inspector but I don't think I've heard of that name. Maybe he's retired or in a different section. Ah, but if you want to talk about teachers, what about Kyouko chan. Her tits are outrageous."
Mado held out his hand to stop the conversation there. "That's fine. Just wanted to inquire about an old friend." He had to commend the ghoul for this move. It had apparently done a little research in preparation for this farce. Mado would need to be a little more strategic with his next attack. For the first few minutes after that, the questioning continued as normally expected of a CCG interview. Asking about why they were in the area, their route, and such. As it got to the actual encounter, the questions started to get a little more detailed. Asking about exactly how weak it had looked or if the ghoul used the shadows to hide. Ken had a little difficulty making up his answers without sounding too exact for a passing student who just stumbled on something that could literally eat him alive.
It was here that Mado enacted his second big trap. "So tell me," he began. "Was there anyone else you saw with her? Like say a woman with pink hair?" He had given the creature the perfect chance to throw them off their search for rabbit. It could hope to use this to make them search for a girl with actual pink hair. But Mado had made certain to collect some samples from where Kusaba had been killed that had proven that the hair was a synthetic wig. If Eyepatch affirmed this proven false piece of information then it would both prove it was lying and had insider knowledge of the case. He tried to make sure that his sneer wouldn't alert his prey.
Ken thought about this for a bit. It was enticing. If he did answer yes, it was possible to draw some of the heat off of Touka. Even if they had to have very little on her, it could still help draw them even just a bit farther off her tail. However Ken didn't know if he felt entirely good about ad-libbing on the agreed to cover story; despite how little they had put in it. Plus, he didn't like how this tempting question had come from the dove currently waiting to cut him down. It was just too perfect. So instead he decided to play it safe. After "thinking" about it he answered, "Sorry sir. All we saw was the girl. No one was with her. At least when we spotted her. Probably lucky about that. I don't think we would have gotten out of there alive if another one of those monsters was there right?"
Mado grimaced. He had failed twice and his time was now running out. He started to rack his brain for something to pin Eyepatch down. Meanwhile the questioning continued. Amon had been leading it at first as Mado had little interest in false drivel meant to deceive them. But now upset at the slippery fiend avoiding his two assaults, Mado had started to take the reins. The question became much harder and specific. Even an honest witness would find themselves hard-pressed by this barrage of questions. Ken found himself stressed as he was forced to create the perfect answers now; not to correct but not to wrong either. Either way would lead to his doom. He did notice that as this happened, the younger investigator began to look something up on his phone.
Amon had noticed that there was something more going on here. His mentor was trying to hard prove the witness wrong. But for what reason? As far as he could tell he was just some stupid kid. Even if he was lying it was probably a prank. Which would be annoying but not too difficult to deal with. Not worth being harsh enough to possibly lead to complaints by the boy or his parents later and a likelihood of an official reprimand or lawsuit. So what was wrong?
Amon, despite his lack of understanding decided to trust Mado. He double checked something on his smart phone before asking, "Excuse me, but the date on this transcript is correct right?" After the boy answered in the affirmative, mentioning that they had been heading towards a local sports event, he asked, "Then could you explain to me how you saw her in this tunnel? After all, at this time it was flooded due to some public works projects in the area. They needed to divert several water pipes and underground drainage systems in the area. There should be no way she could be in it at that time. Not with that much water running through it."
For a few moments afterwards, it seemed that the world froze around the table. Mado did remember a bit about a report on construction work happening in the ward. The CCG was informed as said work could possibly affect their hunts as the local ghouls could be chased out of their hiding spots, find places to settle in or meet each other in at the construction zones while the workers where away for the night, or use these places to dispose of or hide evidence of their dirty deeds. As for the public, most likely the surrounding residences and businesses had been informed door to door or a flyer had been passed around but not much else. After all it wouldn't interfere too much in the public's daily lives. But said factual information now blew a major hole in their quarry's story. Mado was suitably impressed with his partner and how he had cornered Eyepatch. Now all that was left was to watch the ghoul crash and burn.
At the same time, Ken was thrown for a loop by this. It was possible the doves were making this up. But the fact that it came from the younger one who seemed to not suspect him and had previously been checking up on something in his phone, led credence to it being true. But if so then how should Ken answer. If he believes them, then he'd has to admit he had been lying about the date which would throw his whole testimony into doubt and cause him to fall right into the lap of the doves. He'd need a really good reason to explain why he lied about that while still being somewhat believable. However if they were making this up then it was ok if he stuck to the cover story rather than falling for their bluff. He fretted over it as he started to panic a little. He glanced at Mado again. 'I want to smack that damn grin off his face' he thought as he looked at the now smiling older investigator. However this infuriating man would also prove to be his salvation. Mado goaded him with, "What's wrong Mr. Delinquent? You weren't lying to us. Were you?" Being called a delinquent gave Ken the inspiration to try one last gamble.
Ken sighed heavily and relaxed his posture into a more disrespectful form. He took a more challenging look as well; now locking eyes with the two other men as if challenging them. He mockingly raised his hands as he answered, "Okay. You guys caught me. I lied about the date. But I assure you the rest is true." Amon responded, "And how can we trust you now? You lying about the date puts your entire story into question. I hope you understand that filing a false report is a very serious issue." "Look I'm sorry ok. You're lucky that we even came to report the ghoul at all. At first we were just going to ignore it but in the end, decided that something that dangerous needed to be dealt with properly; before someone dies. See, the reason we were actually there a few days ago, was to smoke and drink some beers. School and home have both really stressed us out so we just went to let off a little steam. We saw her as she was coming out of the tunnel for some reason. We were hiding behind some junk so we weren't spotted. If my dad finds out what I was doing down there, he'll kick my ass. So I thought that we could just tell the truth but just change the date. That way the ghoul could be taken care of and we wouldn't get in trouble. Please don't call my parents. Hell if it'll help, you don't even need to give me the reward money for the tip."
Ken waited for the verdict with baited breath. He hoped they bought the story of a stupid teenager doing stupid stuff. And that they didn't decide to press charges on him anyway. Meanwhile, Mado clenched his fist. 'This fucker' he mentally raged. Somehow Eyepatch had once again found a way to answer the question without outright revealing himself. Quickly he tried to figure out some way to retake the advantage. He could have the school records in five days after getting through all the legal dealings and red tape. And that was only if the school was cooperative. He figured that he could sadly only hold onto eyepatch for another couple days, maybe three, before the CCG legal and public relations offices would force him to release a troubled kid who just made a small mistake. Accounting could join too. It was expensive to jail someone after all. The little amount of time added with the fact that it would be in police and not CCG custody would mean it would be almost impossible for him to reveal this ghoul. Perhaps an RC levels test. Unfortunately his lack of evidence would most likely prevent that too. Stupid human rights issues were getting in his way. Mado sighed in resignation; still trying to figure out something to salvage from this. "The CCG is not in the business of punishing kids for doing idiotic things like this. But next time don't lie. It's only by my good graces that we are not having you arrested right now." 'Good graces my ass,' Ken replied in his mind. Just then his phone went off; the ringtone belonging to Touka. "Sorry sirs, that's my friend from earlier. Looks like she's getting impatient. Gotta go." He ran off without waiting for a dismissal.
As the boy left, Amon turned to his partner and asked, "What was wrong Mado? You seemed almost vindictive at points in that interview. Like your goal was to catch that kid in a lie." Mado just watched the retreating figure disappear through the door before answering by simply stating, "That was Eyepatch." Amon froze for a split second before jumping up; not even questioning how he had slipped through the gate. However his mentor held up his hand in front of the man. "Calm down Amon." "But we can't just let him leave!" Amon nearly screamed at him. Mado lowered his hand as he continued. "We must. We have no real evidence and that lie we caught him in at the end was too small to give us enough to take him down. Don't worry too much Amon. While infuriating, the fact that he was willing to risk himself here must mean that we are close. Hmmm perhaps."
A stray thought had come to Mado as he spoke. From that thought a devious plan began to form. 'Perhaps Eyepatch gave us the perfect chance to take not only it, but the daughter ghoul and rabbit as well. Perhaps the sisters if we are lucky' that sickening grin slowly formed on his face again. He began to head into the back to do some research. As he left he told Amon, "I won't be attending the funeral today. I want to work even a minute more. You feel the same too right?" He didn't wait for an answer.
The funeral was as somber as expected. Most everyone in the twentieth ward CCG office attended. The head of the offices gave a speech and called for a moment of silence. As the crowds dispersed back to their jobs, Amon found himself forced to comfort Nakajima over the loss of his partner. At the diner he had visited with the two before, he was able to both comfort the depressed man some and strengthen his resolve.
Back at his house, he began to exercise in a bid to prepare his body for the coming conflicts. As he exercised, his thoughts drifted to how messed up the world was due to the ghouls. 'I will uphold justice. I promise all of you. The children who lost their precious people, the people who fought to protect others, and those that lost their lives in this broken world. I will change it. I will change this incorrect world.'
Meanwhile, Mado was putting the finishing touches on his master plan. After looking over the site to get an idea of what he was dealing with, he would be ready. He would use the last chance that Eyepatch and Rabbit gave him to catch all of them in one move. Perhaps he'd keep Eyepatch alive for a bit afterwards though. Mado wouldn't feel satisfied if he didn't get back at the beast for the frustrations it had given him today.
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