in the line of service. There is no greater honor.”
“It’s still tough having someone die in your place.”
“People die and are reborn into a new life. It’s the skewed circle that drives our existence. She took my place. I’ll take someone else’s someday.”
“You believe in reincarnation?”
“Why do you seem surprised?”
“Tokko usually aren’t religious.”
“Everything gets recycled. Star dust, cow shit, even our ashes. Why not the electrical impulses of our brain? You don’t believe it?”
Ben shook his head. “No.”
“That’s why you fear killing,” she stated.
“I fear birth more than murder.”
“Birth?”
“Bringing children into our world without any regard for their desires is a crime. Even if they are ‘reborn souls.’”
“Only a man who’d turn in his own parents would say something like that,” Akiko remarked.
Ben seemed about to defend himself when a nurse came in. She removed the regenerative gels that were treating his burns. “Please stay this way for the next two hours,” she said, put the gels back on, and left.
“Any idea who set the bombs?” Ben asked Akiko.
“The main suspect is your girlfriend, Tiffany Kaneko,” she answered.
“That’s impossible,” Ben said.
“Why? She was the last person you were with. There’s a lot of unusual activity in her itinerary for the past month that can’t be accounted for on standard records.”
“You mean she travels a lot. She’s a journalist.”
“You feel an attachment to her?”
“Of course,” Ben replied.
“Even if she may have been the one who tried to kill you?”
“I highly doubt it.”
“Doubt is my area of expertise, Captain Ishimura. It’s never wise to ignore doubt of any nature.”
“If it was only me, it’d make sense. But this is way bigger than that.”
“I’ve considered that,” Akiko said. “I have officers investigating your home and they’ll get back to me if they find anything in the debris. I’m curious how long those explosives were there and why they picked tonight to set them off.” She stood up.
“Where are you going?” Ben asked.
“To speak with Tiffany.”
“Let me come with you.”
“You still need the gels to work on your back.”
“I’m fine.”
The bioscans behind him measuring various statistics indicated nominal health conditions. “You could compromise the case with your bias,” she said.
“What’s that mean?”
“If your girlfriend turns out to be the one who implemented the bomb, she will be executed.”
“And if she’s innocent?”
“Everyone’s guilty. It’s only a matter of figuring out what for.”
“What about Tokko?”
“If we weren’t guilty of something, we wouldn’t be good at our jobs.”
Ben tried to stand, but Akiko stopped him. “There’s an incident I need to investigate,” she said.
“What kind of incident?”
“The Gogo Arcade is having unusual problems.”
“I like the Gogo Arcade,” Ben said. “Let me come along.”
She was about to refuse him, but something in his eagerness reminded her of her brother. “Give the gels another two hours to work and then meet me.”
Ben lay back down.
“I’m sending you the directions for the Go–”
“I know where the Gogo Arcade is.”
She went down into the underground parking lot and saw the shadow of a massive winged creature flapping on the wall. It took a moment for her to realize it was a tiny moth brushing right against the light, projecting a black silhouette as its bigger alter ego. She hopped into her car and took out a piece of gum from the glove department. “Any updates?” she asked the centralized communicator hooked into the car’s portical, as she drove to her destination.
“Nothing new since your last check,” the operator from Tokko command answered. “Forensics is still investigating the site.”
“Any mission parameters at the Gogo?”
“You are to question Tiffany Kaneko and determine if she’s a viable
“It’s still tough having someone die in your place.”
“People die and are reborn into a new life. It’s the skewed circle that drives our existence. She took my place. I’ll take someone else’s someday.”
“You believe in reincarnation?”
“Why do you seem surprised?”
“Tokko usually aren’t religious.”
“Everything gets recycled. Star dust, cow shit, even our ashes. Why not the electrical impulses of our brain? You don’t believe it?”
Ben shook his head. “No.”
“That’s why you fear killing,” she stated.
“I fear birth more than murder.”
“Birth?”
“Bringing children into our world without any regard for their desires is a crime. Even if they are ‘reborn souls.’”
“Only a man who’d turn in his own parents would say something like that,” Akiko remarked.
Ben seemed about to defend himself when a nurse came in. She removed the regenerative gels that were treating his burns. “Please stay this way for the next two hours,” she said, put the gels back on, and left.
“Any idea who set the bombs?” Ben asked Akiko.
“The main suspect is your girlfriend, Tiffany Kaneko,” she answered.
“That’s impossible,” Ben said.
“Why? She was the last person you were with. There’s a lot of unusual activity in her itinerary for the past month that can’t be accounted for on standard records.”
“You mean she travels a lot. She’s a journalist.”
“You feel an attachment to her?”
“Of course,” Ben replied.
“Even if she may have been the one who tried to kill you?”
“I highly doubt it.”
“Doubt is my area of expertise, Captain Ishimura. It’s never wise to ignore doubt of any nature.”
“If it was only me, it’d make sense. But this is way bigger than that.”
“I’ve considered that,” Akiko said. “I have officers investigating your home and they’ll get back to me if they find anything in the debris. I’m curious how long those explosives were there and why they picked tonight to set them off.” She stood up.
“Where are you going?” Ben asked.
“To speak with Tiffany.”
“Let me come with you.”
“You still need the gels to work on your back.”
“I’m fine.”
The bioscans behind him measuring various statistics indicated nominal health conditions. “You could compromise the case with your bias,” she said.
“What’s that mean?”
“If your girlfriend turns out to be the one who implemented the bomb, she will be executed.”
“And if she’s innocent?”
“Everyone’s guilty. It’s only a matter of figuring out what for.”
“What about Tokko?”
“If we weren’t guilty of something, we wouldn’t be good at our jobs.”
Ben tried to stand, but Akiko stopped him. “There’s an incident I need to investigate,” she said.
“What kind of incident?”
“The Gogo Arcade is having unusual problems.”
“I like the Gogo Arcade,” Ben said. “Let me come along.”
She was about to refuse him, but something in his eagerness reminded her of her brother. “Give the gels another two hours to work and then meet me.”
Ben lay back down.
“I’m sending you the directions for the Go–”
“I know where the Gogo Arcade is.”
She went down into the underground parking lot and saw the shadow of a massive winged creature flapping on the wall. It took a moment for her to realize it was a tiny moth brushing right against the light, projecting a black silhouette as its bigger alter ego. She hopped into her car and took out a piece of gum from the glove department. “Any updates?” she asked the centralized communicator hooked into the car’s portical, as she drove to her destination.
“Nothing new since your last check,” the operator from Tokko command answered. “Forensics is still investigating the site.”
“Any mission parameters at the Gogo?”
“You are to question Tiffany Kaneko and determine if she’s a viable
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