Chapter Twenty-Three: Gin's Smile

“Mr. Nara, is the name ‘Swallow Hawk’ you mentioned to that phantom thief Kid also one of your aliases?”

“Swallow Hawk, huh...? Sounds like some falcon circling over the desert.”

As he stepped off the speeding motorcycle, Narumi Asai, now sporting a different look, carried a briefcase in his hand.

He tried to analyze the name but found himself tangled in some strange thoughts.

Curious, he glanced at the urban legend still clad in a black coat and wearing black sunglasses, hoping for an answer.

“Does it matter?” Nara Hikaru didn’t intend to dwell on the topic.

He spoke calmly, “Swallow Hawk, Song San, Li Daxi, or Nara Hikaru... in the end, they’re just names, titles, codenames. No need to scrutinize their meanings.”

“Find a place to hide for now. I’ll come to you when I’ve finished what I need to do.”

With that, he turned around, hesitated for a moment, then pulled a pistol from his chest pocket and tossed it backward.

Unerringly, it landed squarely in Asai’s outstretched hand.

The doctor, determined but inexperienced with weapons stronger than a knife, was momentarily at a loss as he caught the pistol.

“Mr. Nara, you’re giving me this...?”

“For self-defense. Remember to protect yourself and don’t be stingy with your bullets.”

With those words, Nara Hikaru prepared to mount his motorcycle and leave.

He had already spent too much time here.

Though he always allowed some buffer in his plans to guard against unexpected events that might prevent him from achieving his goals—

Plans, however, can never keep pace with change, can they?

Just as Nara Hikaru swung up onto the motorcycle, ready to ignite the engine—

A sudden, urgent wailing of police sirens rushed closer and closer!

He immediately turned his head toward the source of the sirens and witnessed a spectacular scene—

Seven or eight Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department patrol cars were in hot pursuit of an outdated but prestigious muscle car.

Both parties were pushing their speeds to the limit, streaking down the street like bolts of lightning, racing toward the horizon.

Yet, thanks to Nara Hikaru’s extraordinary dynamic vision, he clearly recognized the pursued vehicle—

Without a doubt, it was a Porsche 356A.

The ace vehicle of the Black Organization’s operative, Gin!

“Here, of all places? Interesting...”

Gin floored the accelerator in the Porsche 356A.

Beside him, the organization’s communicator rapidly relayed points of interest.

An insider planted within the Metropolitan Police Department was helping him plot a route to ensure a successful escape.

Yet, Gin’s attention wasn’t fully on the coordinates being reported.

His focus was captivated by a fleeting glimpse of a man in a black coat and sunglasses.

Though he hadn’t clearly seen the man’s face before he melted away into the cityscape like a shadow, as a top Black Organization operative, his instincts told him—

Yes, the man who just appeared on the street was the very target he was meant to kill: that urban legend!

“This place is near the Ekoda district, meaning Vodka’s plan, even if it failed, did indeed catch the legend’s attention.”

Gin’s mind raced with calculations and strategies.

As soon as he saw the man in black, a cold, chilling smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

Since Vodka attracted the urban legend’s attention—

Then that critical task that Vermouth deliberately concealed from him, even risking using both him and Vodka as bait, must succeed.

“Come, urban legend... let me see if you, too, can be hurt, if you, too, can feel pain.”

Watching the rapidly disappearing chase in the street, Nara Hikaru’s eyes instantly sharpened, brimming with lethal intent.

He clearly saw that fleeting moment when the car sped by—Gin’s face bore a smile.

An enemy smiling? Why?

That could only mean that upon seeing him, the enemy had confirmed something advantageous was unfolding.

Vroom—

The motorcycle swung its front wheel around, engine roaring, as it sped off.

In the blink of an eye, it blasted through several traffic lights, tearing through the relatively empty Mihana Town streets before rush hour, racing unhindered.

By the roadside, two female traffic officers who had just set up a speed detection device activated it to monitor traffic.

But suddenly, a black streak flashed through their sight.

The device was knocked to the ground by a strong gust, instantly destroyed!

“Is this... the Metropolitan Police Traffic Division?”

“This is the Metropolitan Police Traffic Enforcement Section, Deputy Inspector Yumi Miyamoto.”

The first officer to recover quickly grabbed her radio and contacted headquarters.

“When I and Patrol Chief Naeko Miike were testing the speed detector by the roadside, a black motorcycle passed by and blew the device over!”

“Huh? License plate number...? How could I possibly see that? But the bike seemed headed toward the Teitan school district!”

The officer at the traffic headquarters who took the call was skeptical.

In this day and age, there were still reckless youngsters speeding so fast they could blow over speed detectors?

That was pure modified machinery, typically only driven at noon because it was bound to cause an accident sooner or later.

They might soon see a news report titled “Tragic News from the Motorcycle Scene.”

“Heading to the Teitan school district?”

Someone nearby asked.

The traffic headquarters operator nodded reflexively, then turned to look at the man in plainclothes beside him.

Surprised, he asked, “Sir, may I ask who you are? Traffic officers aren’t allowed to wear plainclothes during work hours...”

“Public Security,” the man replied, pulling out his ID and showing it briefly.

Then he straightened up, touching his forehead in puzzlement.

“How strange... Teitan school district? Is it Teitan Elementary, Teitan High School, or Teitan University?”

Though he couldn’t be certain who it was—

Rei Furuya’s intuition told him that whoever would do such a thing at this time must be that urban legend.

He just couldn’t guess which part of the Teitan school district the figure was heading to.

According to the intelligence Rei had gathered, there were no known organization members active in that area...

“Very strange... Maybe I should go check it out too? It’s not far anyway...”

Rei Furuya stroked his chin and quickly made up his mind.

As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure.

Although that urban legend and the Metropolitan Police Public Security Bureau were never on the best terms—

When it came to dealing with the Organization, they were still on the same side, for the time being. It wasn’t as if they’d start fighting on sight.