Chapter 10 Chapter nine

Asakura couldn't wait to get to his residence, so he parked the "TR4" on the side of the road, and impatiently opened the morning magazine he brought along. There is no report about Sakurai and the killer.Maybe it's because I didn't catch up with the time to print the North Korea Magazine?Maybe nothing happened to them at all.Asakura thought. He was so disappointed that he wanted to throw it away.suddenly.A piece of news posted on the right corner of the social page attracted his attention: "The stolen banknotes of the Kyoritsu Bank appeared in Yokosuka." The subtitle says so.Asakura took a light breath and quickly read the news. "Regarding the murder of Yoshio Hara, a porter at the Otetin branch of Kyoritsu Bank, and the theft of 18 million yen in cash on November 9, despite the police's efforts to understand the case, there was no result in solving the case. But at around 4 p.m. yesterday, the bank informed the Yokosuka Police The agency reported that a 10,000-yen note identified by its serial number as one of the stolen notes was deposited at the Yokosuka branch of the Kyoritsu Bank in Sadomatsu, Yokosuka."

"The Yokosuka Police Department, with the assistance of the Metropolitan Police Department's Special Search Headquarters, listened to the report on the situation of a nightclub called 'Bessie' in Bending, Yokosuka, where the receiving unit was. payment." "But Bessie's is a bar open to the U.S. military. Since a certain cruiser fleet docked the day before yesterday, the nightclub was very crowded, and the store couldn't figure out who received the banknote." "Furthermore, since the cruiser fleet sailed towards the islands in the South Pacific yesterday, the investigation could not continue."

"According to inference, criminals are generally unwilling to easily reveal the stolen banknotes printed with bank serial numbers, and they were indeed well hidden before the incident. It is reported that before this, they had docked in Southeast Asia. This fact can be further inferred. It is very likely that the criminals first put these banknotes overseas and exchanged them into US dollars on the black market in Hong Kong, Bangkok and other places. Then they exchanged the black-priced US dollars into Japanese yen, which is a common trick used by criminals. " After reading the news, Asakura smiled smugly.In fact, when Isokawa bought anesthetics from the sailors who landed, he paid the sailors the banknotes printed with the bank serial number taken from Asakura, which caused the riot.Later, Isokawa must have known that he had been cheated, and he just prayed that the money would not appear in the country.

After folding the magazine, Asakura activated "TR4" again, and quickly returned to his residence.Park the car in the yard.He took the newspaper from the mailbox and went into the house. Light the oil stove in the dining room.Made a thick sandwich, which also added some cheese, onion, pickles and so on.Then, he lay on his back on the bed and read the newspaper. The news that Yokosuka found stolen banknotes was also published in the newspapers, and the content of the news was similar to that just now.There are still a few minutes before work time.Asakura turned on the TV. It was 7:20 when the news program was on, and the screen showed the patrol cars going left and right and the Dongyun artificial island.Then a picture of Sakurai with her eyes closed and Kyoko in matching clothes appears.

"At 6:30 this morning, when a manager of Darong Building Materials took his dog for a walk, he found two dead bodies, a man and a woman, in the prefabricated material storage of Dongyun No. 7 artificial island." "The two were shot with three pistol bullets each. Judging from the blood stains and the situation at the scene, the two moved there after being killed. The man is Yuki Sakurai, an unemployed vagrant from Zoshigaya 3-cho, Toshima-ku Husband, 38 years old, woman is Sakurai's lover, 30 years old." "Bloodstains different from those of the two were also found near the scene. The Fukagawa Special Investigation Headquarters concluded from this: This is a murder case, and the arrest of the culprit has already begun."

The announcer spoke lightly, and then broadcast the next news. Asakura, lying on the blanket, jumped up.He said bitterly: "Beast!" He slammed his tightly clenched right fist on the palm of his left hand, the blood vessels on his forehead bulged, his lower forehead protruded, and his lips were pale. I didn't expect Sakurai to be dead.This death does not matter.Asakura's plan was completely disrupted. In order to prevent Sakurai from being easily beaten to death, didn't he still leave the pistol to him? But Sakurai is indeed dead.It's the gas that has been shot off several times in the body.Asakura recalled Sakurai's youthful face and closed his eyes.

after awhile.Asakura changed into a supplementary suit, put the hearing aid in the inner pocket, and walked out of the residence.After walking for about 15 minutes, we arrived at Jingtang Station. The station was full of people rushing to work, and the tram was so crowded that it was impossible to turn around.After Asakura arrived in Shinjuku, he changed to the subway and arrived at the company in Kyobashi. When I walked into the financial office at 9:10, the person in charge Kasuya and four or five colleagues were already sitting at their respective tables. "How is it?" the person in charge asked Asakura.

"What?" Asakura couldn't figure it out for a while, and suddenly remembered the phone call from the newspaper delivery man yesterday, so he quickly nodded gratefully and said, "I made you worry. Thank you! Only one foot is broken. Life is still alive." Keep it." "Is that so? It's a stroke of luck!" "I was hit by a dump truck when I was crossing the road. I rushed to negotiate and the medical expenses will be paid by the dump truck company. Now I feel a little more at ease." Asakura smiled sheepishly. After a while, other colleagues also came, and they chatted like this until working hours, but no one mentioned a word about Sakurai's death.

At 9 o'clock, the deputy director, Jin Jin, took his seat.His haggard face had regained its former alertness.After chatting with other employees for a while, he pretended to flip through the documents. As usual, after 11 o'clock, Director Koizumi came in.He nodded carelessly to Jin Jin, and then he was busy stamping the documents brought by his subordinates. It's lunch break.Asakura ordered a bowl of ramen as usual.Then ran down the stairs.The elevator is very crowded now. Walk out of the building and enter the Eastern European Aviation Building diagonally across the road, in the canteen in the lobby on the first floor.He asked a uniformed entrepreneur: "Is there the smallest transistor radio? Sound quality doesn't matter."

The salesperson took out a radio the size of a "Peace" brand cigarette case from the counter window, and pulled out a thread slightly thicker than a sweater needle.Turned on the switch. Although the sound is a bit rusty, it can still be heard clearly.The salesperson dialed the tuning button and said, "I don't have headphones, but the price is very cheap..." "I want it. Please turn the tuning button to TBS, and then three small tapes." Asakura said. He put the things he bought into his pocket and went back to the financial office, the ramen had already been delivered.

"Where have you been? You're almost dry." The team leader, Hasiyadou, whose lips are yellowish from eating curry rice.Because those clever colleagues all went to the western restaurant, not to mention the director and deputy director, so there were only five or six people left in the room. "I bought a pack of cigarettes." Asakura looked at his watch, it was already 12:20.Soon a bowl of noodles went into my stomach.After lunch, Kasuya began to chatter again, saying that even though he saved only 50 yuan in pocket money every day, he still couldn't keep up with the soaring land and commodity prices, and couldn't afford to build a house.That's right, it's impossible for Kasuya to be the turn of the money embezzled by the director and deputy directors. Although he has been promoted to director after years of hard work, Kasuya seems to be still in the dark about what happened to Sakurai this time. inside.Asakura couldn't help feeling sorry for Kasuya, and at the same time looked down on his incompetence. Afterwards, Asakura left his seat, went to the toilet alone, opened the antenna of the semiconductor radio, turned the volume down to the lowest level, and turned on the radio. Immediately there was a burst of popular songs on the radio, followed by some boring commercials.After the commercial, it was time for the news program at 12:30.Asakura tilted his ear to listen.After broadcasting Diet news and road construction news, the broadcaster began to report on Sakurai's situation.The autopsies of Sakurai and his lover Kyoko proved that both were shot with 3mm bullets.After inspection, there were traces of nitric acid reaction on Sakurai's hands and the cuffs of his jacket. It is very likely that Sakurai also fired a gun, but the police failed to find the weapon. In the empty lot of the company's scrap yard. Asakura turned off the radio, put away the antenna, put the radio in his pocket, and walked out from the toilet. After finishing his lunch break in the rooftop lounge, he returned to the finance department to start his afternoon work. At about two o'clock in the afternoon, the phone on the director's desk that was in direct communication with the director of finance rang, and Asakura observed Director Koizumi's expression from the mirror of the lighter. Picking up the receiver, without saying a few words, Koizumi's cheeks turned pale, and Deputy Director Kaneko stood up when he saw the situation. "Okay, I'll come now." Koizumi put down the phone like it was burning hot, and whispered a few words into Kaneko's ear, Asakura immediately saw Kaneko's convulsion. "I'll leave that to you. I have a meeting to attend." Koizumi greeted Kasuya and strode out of the room.Jin Jin trotted behind.Asakura wanted to know what was going on, his back was hot, "Got to find an excuse to get out," he thought. At this time, the phone on Chao Cang's desk rang quickly, and he knew that it must be from the company's business unit.An idea immediately came to Asakura's mind.Asakura picked up the receiver and pressed the beginning with one finger.He pretended to say, "It's the Finance Department of Donghe Oil Company. Yes, it's me. What? Really? I understand. I'll go right away." He frowned and put down the receiver. "What's wrong?" Director Kasuya asked worriedly. immediately.The phone rang again, and Asakura picked up the receiver, this time without cutting it off with his fingers. "Is it finance? Why was the phone disconnected all of a sudden?" the other party asked angrily. "It's finance, who are you?" "Ouji's Sato gunpowder factory is about the 1.2 million yen promissory note we delivered to pay for the gunpowder in August. It will expire tomorrow because most of the customers have not paid the money according to the regulations. Us. So I would like to ask you to postpone the issuance of promissory notes to the bank for a day. You may not be sympathetic to this matter. Call your director for me, please?" "Please wait a moment, I'll call our office director." Asakura stood up, handed the receiver to Kasuya and said, "It is said that the issuance of the promissory note will be postponed." Kasutani picked up Listening Jane, nodded and bowed to Jane and said, "I really can't help it. The director and the deputy director have both gone to a meeting, and they said they have something to discuss. Please call back later?" After speaking, he put down the phone, turned around and asked Chao Cang, "That phone call just now..." "Ah, Uncle Saitama's condition suddenly got worse again. It seems that the injury on his foot caused tetanus. He said that he has a high temperature." Asakura replied with lowered eyes. "Oh, that's not good, let's go and have a look right away." "I've been there yesterday and I'm going again today, I'm really sorry." "It's important for the patient, let's go." "Then, thank you for your kindness." Asakura Nobuo bowed his head deeply, then cleared the table, Kasutani was using the intercom to find the director of the cadre meeting room. "So farewell." Asakura said and walked out of the room.The faces of the colleagues all looked a little strange, and Asakura's attendance rate during this period was simply... Asakura exited the corridor.Take the elevator to the seventh floor.Because it was daytime, going to the roof was definitely not an option, so he wanted to eavesdrop in the library next to the meeting room. The elevator stopped, and as soon as Asakura opened the door, he immediately noticed four or five pickets standing in the corridor, watching the elevator coming up vigilantly.Asakura couldn't care less, he let go of the hand on the door and walked out of the elevator. "Hello. Where are you going?" The pickets stood in front of Asakura and said loudly. "I want to go to the library, what's the matter?" Asakura smiled. "The general manager instructed that no one is allowed to approach the conference room. I'm sorry, please go back." The picket explained rubbing his hands. "Then... can I go to the rooftop to kill the rest of my time?" Asakura asked. "Please, please!" The man bent down and saluted Asakura.Asakura, under the watchful eye of the pickets, walked to the end of the corridor and up the stairs to the roof. But as soon as Asakura reached the roof, he cursed in a low voice.On the rooftop golf course, I saw a person from the sales department of Shintoyo Industrial Co., Ltd. chatting with an agent from a foreign company. Two picket officers sat on a bench in a corner, deliberately pretending to be dozing off. The appearance pays attention to Asakura. Reluctantly, Asakura had no choice but to stretch out his hands, and while taking deep breaths, he did health exercises.Then he sat down next to the picket, smoked a cigarette, and went down to the roof.After walking out of the building, he hurried towards the subway entrance again.He couldn't help feeling a little discouraged.what to do?Why did Koizumi and the others turn pale with fright?We must try to figure it out. He took the Kyoto Fifth Line from Shinjuku and got off at Shimotakaido Station.I bought a bottle of vitamin medicine and some glutinous rice paper at a nearby pharmacy, and asked the salesperson if he had any sleeping pills, and explained that I had to accompany the company leader to the golf course at 9 o'clock tomorrow morning, so I wanted to go to sleep early tonight .Bought sleeping pills.Asakura stopped by the lumber store on Koshu Street and ordered wall rabbit boards and square lumber for the dark hole in the basement.It was already 5:30 p.m. when Asakura returned to Kamikitazawa and took the three-wheeled truck from the lumber shop to unload all the goods and send the three-wheeled truck away. After frying 5 eggs and eating them, Asakura poured out 10 sleeping pills in total. He crushed the pills into powder with a wooden leg, roughly divided them into three parts and wrapped them in glutinous rice paper.According to the quantity, adults can only take up to 3 pills at a time.Putting on a leather jacket and skinny trousers, I filled the 22mm Lugo magazine with bullets, stuffed them into the pocket on the trousers' calf, and zipped them up. Then cover your face with a hard hat and glasses, put your hearing aid and blank tape in your inner pocket, and sandwich sleeping pills wrapped in Rumi paper between your fake driver's license.After everything was ready, Asakura walked out of the yard and stepped on the motorcycle, the thin leather gloves stuck to his hands like his own skin. After 8 o'clock in the evening, the streets of Tamagawa and other high-end residential areas are almost deserted. Occasionally people pass by this long and high wall, they are either couples who are dreaming about the appearance of people who will live here one day in the future, or some nannies and servants rushing to the shopping street, but Buses still pass every 15 minutes. Asakura Tetsuya was squatting in the woods on the lawn of Siyiwu Naao Church, watching the main entrance of the Grand Mansion across the road through the leaves. The gate made by Qingjiandong reminds people of the mountain gate of a Zen temple. The gate is built on stone steps, and the car can drive in directly, because the owner of the hall always comes in and out by car. Under the faint constant light, you can see a doorplate hanging on the door, with the words "Made in Xiuyuan City" written on it.Xiuyuan is the supervisor of Donghe Oil and the cousin of the general manager.On the cold night at the end of the year, the stars seemed to be frozen hard, and the cold wind made Asakura shiver from time to time, but Asakura was used to the cold, and he still squatted there motionless.Asakura parked his motorcycle outside the metal mesh fence where there was a fee-paying parking lot at the end of the commercial street, and went to the parking lot to steal an unobtrusive domestic car and parked it next to Xiuyuan's right neighbor's house.He first cut off the doorbell wire of Xiuyuan Mansion, and then inserted a small piece of wood into the keyhole, making it impossible to enter with a key from the outside.Koizumi won't be going to Kyoko's room tonight, so he has to make use of Xiuyuan. It's 9 o'clock.At this time, a strong car light came from the left corner, illuminating the asphalt road brightly. It was obvious at a glance that it was a high-end "New York" car, and he immediately realized that it was the special car of Chief Inspector Hidehara. The "New York" car stopped quietly in front of the main gate.The driver in uniform pressed the button to open the rear door, quickly got out of the car, and bowed deeply to Xiuyuan.The tall and burly Xiuyuan nodded slightly to the driver, indicating that he could go, then walked up the stairs and pressed the doorbell button on the doorpost. The driver started the car, turned a corner and disappeared. Seeing that no one came to answer the door for a long time, Xiuyuan seemed a little annoyed.Put your hand on the door lock. But at this time Asakura had copied Xiuyuan's back.His entire face has been covered with a hard hat and goggles. "Who?!" Xiu Yuan who turned around asked angrily. Asakura didn't even talk.Kicked at Xiuyuan's leg, and at the same time punched Xiuyuan's head and neck so painfully that he couldn't make a sound. Xiuyuan's collarbone was broken.Asakura caught Xiuyuan who was about to roll down the stone steps due to a concussion, carried his bulky body on his back, and went to the stolen "Bluebird" parked on the right side of the mansion wall. After putting Xiuyuan in the car, I sat in Asakura and started the engine, put the gear on and drove for about 100 meters.Asakura stopped the car at the corner and opened the rear luggage compartment lid.It turned out that the key had already been picked. He moved Xiuyuan, who hadn't woken up, into the storage bin, closed the lid forcefully with a "bang", and locked it. Then, Asakura took off his hard hat and goggles, and started the Bluebird again.Over the hills near Nomad House Street, through dry land and a factory corner.The car came to the embankment of the Tama River. Although there were still cars passing by on the embankment, their lights could not reach the river.Asakura drove the car upstream to the river near the "Giant" military training ground. The stones brought up by the wheels splashed everywhere, and the dry grass rolled by the car body fell down, but the wheels did not get stuck in the mud and sand and couldn't move.Asakura drove the car to the river and stopped.Turn off the lights and turn off the engine.Immediately, the sound of rushing water was heard, and occasionally the sound of fish jumping out of the water could be heard. Asakura lit a cigarette and took a deep drag.After quietly smoking one, he threw the cigarette butt into the river. He took out his hard hat and put it on, covering his eyes with glasses.Asakura got out of the car and opened the lock of the luggage compartment with a steel wire, and Xiuyuan was already awake.The piss from being incontinent due to terror wet the trousers and the luggage compartment, the mouth was drooling, and the eyes seemed to pop out of their sockets.The usual arrogance was gone. Asakura felt that this was the expression of the prime minister who was stabbed in the thigh by the security guard on TV.Don't look at those people who are usually sanctimonious and arrogant, once they are frightened by the slightest, they will be ugly and completely human. "Help, spare me, spare me!" Xiuyuan folded her hands together and panted. Asakura thought, if he didn't use the sleeping pills he had prepared to put him into a sleepwalking state, he would tell everything.But he thought again, it would be troublesome if his voice was recognized by him.I still have to use that kind of thing for fear of the old. However, Asakura really didn't want the sleeping pills to cover up Xiuyuan's ugly appearance.Let's try it without medicine for now, he thought.He dragged Xiuyuan's bulky body and walked towards the river beach. "It hurts...forgive...forgive..." Xiuyuan cried out in pain. Chao Cang changed his voice and shouted in a low voice: "Stop yelling! No matter how loud you yell, the people on the embankment won't be able to hear you. But when I hear your cry, I get chills in my heart." "You... who are you? Let me get away with it, please spare your life!" Xiuyuan still yelled loudly, trying to stand up unsteadily. "Why, don't you understand what I say? If you still don't understand, then let me teach you a lesson." Asakura picked up Xiuyuan's collar, touched his dyed black hair, and He dragged to the water's edge and pressed into the water. Xiuyuan frantically struggled and slapped the water surface with both hands indiscriminately, and then tried to break free by holding the bottom of the water with both hands.But one of his wrists has been injured.Can't make it work. Asakura rode on Xiuyuan's back again, pressing him down hard, Xiuyuan was immersed in water from his chest to the top of his head, and began to convulse. Asakura dragged Xiuyuan out of the water.Xiuyuan coughed desperately and rolled on the ground in pain, spitting out a mouthful of muddy water every time he coughed. Five minutes later, Xiuyuan's breathing returned to normal. Xiuyuan lay on the ground clutching the dead grass and weeping. "If you don't listen to my warning, you know what will happen to you." Asakura shouted in a low voice.With the help of a dry mask, Asakura easily changed his voice. "Who are you? Don't torture the old man." Xiuyuan begged with a trembling voice. "I'm Sakurai's friend, I have something to ask you, so I brought you here." "Sakurai's accomplice? The money given to Sakurai is for you..." Xiuyuan moaned weakly. "What do you mean?" Asakura knew very well that Xiuyuan said that he hid Sakurai's money, but he knew why. "You made a mistake. I don't even know that person named Sakurai." Xiuyuan trembled like sifting sugar. "Old guy, my patience is not that good. If you don't cooperate with me like this, then you are doomed." Asakura deliberately cursed in rude language. "Ming, I understand. If I say anything, just save my life?" "Okay, speaking in order, I've been monitoring your company all day today, and I saw that you guys are running around and going to meetings with blue faces. What's going on?" Asakura put his gloved hand into his pocket and pressed the switch of the small tape recorder in his pocket. "The matter of hiring a killer has nothing to do with me, it's Cai... The finance director is not good." "I didn't ask you about that." "The two killers took Sakurai off guard and took Sakurai and the woman to a corner of Qinghai, where no one would hear even if they fired. Where did the money go?" "However, I didn't expect that Sakurai was also carrying a pistol. He shot a killer named Kunitomo in the stomach, and another killer named Fukuda also shot in panic, killing Sakurai and the woman." "And then moved the bodies of the two to Dongyun? Why is that?" Chao Cang said in an impatient tone. "The killer couldn't find out where the money was hidden, and our company couldn't get the money back. That's all right. I'm relieved for the time being. But then the killer sold us out." Xiuyuan couldn't help crying. "what……?" "After this afternoon, Futian called the general manager. He said that if he didn't give me 10 million yuan in benefits, I would go to the police station to surrender, saying that he was hired by Donghe Zhiyou to kill Sakurai." "So you're panicking again, aren't you?" Asakura heard.The eyes under the goggles lit up. "Guoyou's injuries are serious, and it would cost a lot of money just to hire a private doctor. Fukuda also said that since Sakurai gave him tens of millions, the 10 million he has is absolutely indispensable. That's what Fukuda said. But if If we pay him 10 million, those guys will ask for 20 million next time, and if they ask for 20 million, they will ask for another 30 million, just like Sakurai!" Xiuyuan said helplessly. "Slow! How did the killer know that Sakurai was going to threaten your company? Could it be that you told him?" Asakura cocked his mouth under the mask. "No, no, no, we just told the killer that Sakurai belonged to a scam group, and that we hired them only after he threatened us." "Then...could it be Ishii from the private detective agency?" Asakura asked. "The killer Fukuda said he heard it from Sakurai himself, and we don't believe that either." "We asked Ishii again, and he insisted that he hadn't told it. But it was still a bit suspicious. It is likely that Ishii told them these things himself, and they were their accomplices." Xiuyuan felt a convulsion in her back as she spoke. "Where is the killer?" "I have already left the hotel. Ishii went to look for them, but he couldn't find them. I think Ishii knew about it. He also pretended not to know." "How did he contact you?" "Just call now. And wait for them to call." "Do you want to meet with you in a few days?" Asakura asked. "Tomorrow, at Mitsui Hotel." "Where's the time?" Asakura tried his best to recall the big hotel on Aoi Street in Akasaka, and asked. "At 8 p.m., Futian said he didn't want to walk around in broad daylight." "room number?" "No. 315, that's for overseas buyers. Our company rents it out for many years." Xiuyuan said softly. "Please, I have nothing more to say, please forgive me, if I don't go to the doctor right away, I will die." Xiu Yuan begged. "Remember, when I saw the doctor, I said that I slipped and fell in the bath, and I put my shoulders on the edge of the bathtub." "Okay, okay,...you can say anything... please forgive me, thank you, thank you!" Xiuyuan kept knocking her forehead on the gravel on the river beach, shedding tears. "You wouldn't tell the police what happened tonight, would you? Otherwise, you'd be meddling in your own business and looking for trouble!" Asakura warned. "I know, I know, as long as I can save my old life, I will never do that kind of stupid thing." "That's right." Asakura said, pulling out an American-made Lugo automatic pistol from the calf pocket of his skinny trousers. "What are you going to do?" Xiuyuan frothed and wanted to escape in a panic. "Nothing, I just want to let you know that there is always this gun pointed at you behind your back! Well, if you can not tell the general manager and other people in the company this time, I would be very grateful." Asakura pointed the gun at Xiuyuan's forehead and shook it twice. "I promise you I won't tell it to my wife, or anyone else." "Okay, then you can stay here for a while and ask for a taxi to go home!" Asakura put the pistol back in his calf pocket and turned off the tape recorder in his leather jacket pocket. "Thank you, thank you so much!" As soon as Xiuyuan knew that she could be saved, her body trembled uncontrollably. Asakura got into the "Blue Bird", put on his gloves, started the engine, and the car drove out as the door slammed shut.Xiuyuan hurriedly crawled away from the haystack. As soon as he reached the embankment, Asakura took off his helmet and goggles and drove downhill. When he was approaching Zhidoli Street, he threw away the "Blue Bird". Asakura's motorcycle was parked in a toll parking lot near the Waitori Station.Asakura put on his helmet.Get on the motorcycle and drive away. At 11 o'clock in the evening, Asakura returned to Kamikitazawa's residence. He took a bath with hot water to warm his frozen body.Immediately got into bed, sat on the bed and opened the evening paper. Regarding the discovery of the stolen banknotes of the Kyoritsu Bank in Yokosuka where I lived in Isokawa, the recent search does not seem to have made much progress, but these banknotes have been found one after another. So far, 20 banknotes have been found. Meanwhile, news of the discovery of the dead bodies of Sakurai and her lover made headlines in the evening papers.The content of the news was roughly the same as that broadcast on TV and radio, but the police deduced that the murder was probably caused by hatred.Asakura thought nothing of it and closed his eyes. At 7 a.m. the next morning, Asakura, who had recovered from his sleep, had a Morning Magazine spread out on his desk, chewing on a sandwich with canned sardines in his mouth, and watching the news on TV with relish. The Ikebukuro branch of M Trust Bank appears on the screen.The announcer explained that the key to the safe lent by the Ikebukuro branch of M Bank was found in the sink of the toilet in the Sakurai apartment. The search department personnel and inspectors opened the safe in front of the branch manager, and a zoomed-in shot of the safe was shown on the TV. But the safe is empty.According to the testimony of the bank, the safe was indeed borrowed by a person who looked similar to Sakura and whose pseudonym was Yoshida. According to the police's analysis based on the frequent opening and closing of the safe, the contents of the safe had already been moved to another place.The camera was changed, and the East Asian Economic Research Institute located in Wufu Bridge came out. The broadcaster said that because Sakurai often visited the institute as a salesman of the East Asian Economic Research Institute, the police wanted to start from the director. Listen to the situation among the staff. The morning magazine also published the same news as the TV news in detail, except that neither the morning magazine nor the TV had interrupted the report on the bank note that Yesuga found. Asakura, who had finished his breakfast, walked into the room of Towa Oil Finance Department 5 minutes before the working time as usual. He told his colleagues and superiors who came to work that Uncle Saitama's condition had improved. When it was time to work, the deputy director, Jin Jin, hadn't shown up yet.An hour later, Kaneko, who came to the office, walked to Asakura's desk as soon as he showed up, and Asakura's heartbeat accelerated suddenly. "Mr. Chao Cang, Manager Chen has something to ask for you." Kaneko, the deputy director of finance, put his hand on Asakura's shoulder and said in a strange voice.The staff of the financial department all turned to look at Asakura with a sense of gloating. "What's the matter?" Asakura's voice was a little hoarse. "Not sure. But I don't think it's ok, please. Come with me!" Jin Jin smiled, and the expressions of his colleagues changed from gloating to jealous. "Accompany me." Asakura stood up with concentration, and if what happened last night was revealed, I would turn my face on and threaten them on the spot. The two walked out of the corridor side by side, Kaneko raised his hand and patted Asakura on the back.After admiring his strong physique and solid muscles, Lai Asakura couldn't figure out Kaneko's intentions, so he smiled wryly. The general manager's office is located on the seventh floor. To enter the general manager's office, one must first pass through the secretarial section and two reception rooms.There are more than a dozen desks in the office of the secretarial department, and there are only five or six people in it.In the first reception room, there are sofas, swivel chairs, etc. that are uncomfortable at first glance, reminiscent of the waiting room in the hospital. The one inside is like a gorgeous drawing room in the French dynasty era.The peach-colored flames of birch that burned in the stove shone like a chandelier.There was a velvety panther fur in front of the fire. "Please wait here." Jin Jin pointed to the sofa in the corner of the room, stepped on the soft carpet, and knocked on the door of the general manager's room at the end on the left. Asakura sat down on the sofa, the soft and soft sofa almost covered his whole body. The warm air blowing from the air conditioner coupled with the heat from the fire made people sweat a little.But Asakura doesn't seem to be sweating just for that. In order to stabilize his mood, he reached into the cigarette box on the table made of ebony and pearls, took out a cigarette, lit it, and the strong smell of cigars made Asakura's heartbeat calm down quickly. When Kaneko came out of the general manager's office, it happened that Asakura was lighting his second cigarette.Jin Jin followed Koizumi, Director of Finance.And following Koizumi is Mr. Shimizu, the general manager.I saw him put his thumbs in the pockets of his suit vest.Asakura stubbed out his cigarette, stood up slowly, and bowed deeply to them. The general manager Shimizu is a five, seven or eight-year-old thin man with dry skin and drooping eyelids. "Please sit down, please be casual." The general manager made a gesture of pressing down, and he was already sitting heavily on the armchair opposite Asakura. "excuse me!" Asakura sat on the sofa.Koizumi and Kaneko stood with their hands on the backrest next to the manager. "You are Mr. Asakura, right? Yes, you are a good boy!" The general manager smiled unnaturally, but it was not so much a smile.It would be better to say that the wrinkles around his eyes and cheeks have increased. "I feel very honored." Asakura also smiled back, with a very calm expression on his face. "Ah, I was too careless. I didn't know that there were outstanding talents like you in our company. Originally, I should know every employee in the company as clearly as I know my son. But we have too many employees. said the manager, as if he were confessing. "..." Asakura remained silent. "It is said that your parents have passed away?" "Hmm..." Asakura lowered his head, thinking to himself, could it be that the fake uncle's traffic accident was exposed by the company?If that's the case, the general manager personally reprimands me for leaving early, that would be too much. "No, no, no, don't worry, our company will never discriminate against you because of this, please work with peace of mind. Yes, you have suffered a lot. I admire your hard-working spirit. You worked hard alone. This step." "I am grateful for your kind words." Asakura bowed his head again and saluted him. "Besides, I heard from your director and deputy director that you are also very serious and responsible in your work. I can understand this just by looking at it. I am very happy to have an employee like you. This is also the pride of our company." "We think so too," Koizumi interjected.Chao Cang felt that Zhanger King Kong was puzzled, so he could only agree with him: "I haven't done anything worthy of praise, I've just been working hard to be a worthy employee of Donghe Grease." "very good." The general manager repeatedly said yes.While taking out a long, thin cigar with a corked mouthpiece from his breast pocket.Koizumi and Kaneko also took out the lighter from the bag at the same time.When Jin Zi saw that Koizumi had also taken out the lighter, he hurriedly put away his own.Koizumi passed the fire to the general manager's cigar. The general manager squinted his eyes, exhaled a puff of smoke comfortably, and said with an expression like coaxing a child: "You do have hope, and I am very satisfied. Most of the current employees are of poor quality, but you are different from them. How about it?" , are you tired of doing the work of an ordinary clerk?" "No, no, where." Asakura frowned. "No, no, I can understand your feelings. I can understand it! I think it is too wronged for you to be an ordinary employee all the time, and it is also a great loss for our company. You dare to swear that you will spare your life for the company. ?" "certainly." "Okay, well said! Now, how about I promote you to be the deputy director of the supply and marketing department?" General Manager Shimizu said quite proudly. "What? Ask me to be the deputy director?" Asakura's voice rose involuntarily.The general manager looked serious and didn't mean to be joking. “我是个讲信用的人。你明白当了二、三年副处长后，等着你的将是处长的宝座，再过几年就是董事了。”总经理拖长了声音进而说道。 “我不是在做梦吧？”朝仓几乎是喊叫了起来。有一半确实发自内心的。 “不。这是真的，这是任命。请相信我。” “总经理的话是一言既出。驯马难追的呀！”金子插嘴道，他的口吻近乎在责备朝仓。 “谢谢啦。我都感激得快要哭啦！”朝仓故意装做感激涕零的样子。心中已开始明白他们的意图。 “好好，年轻人，沉着点吧，只要你听公司的话，提升的机会有的是。但是，这里我也不得不提醒你一句，马上就提拔你为副处长，似乎不太，……”总经理故意拖长声音道。 “知道的，知道的。”朝仓忙接口道，气已泄掉了一半。 “别灰心，马上升你为副处长不太合适，但近几天就会有结果的，只是要有个条件。”总经理显出一副狡猾的表情。 “什么条件？”你说过，为了公司将不惜生命。 “是的说过。” “那么，要叫你去干件事，不是叫你去握钢笔或拿计算器，而是要用拳头的，事成之后我马上就任命你为供销处副处长。” “用拳头？”朝仓假装吃惊地问道。 “你别隐瞒啦，我们知道你曾经搞过拳击运动。”金子媚声媚气地说道。 “昨天你早退后。不知道为什么从营业部来了个外线电话，我一接原来是你公寓的管理人打来的。” “说是拳击练习场的人好几次给你寄来明信片和打电话到了公寓的管理人那里，叫你赶紧去付学费。说你最近出差多，好像不太回公寓。你找到喜欢的女孩了吧？”金子笑道。 “嘿嘿。”朝仓不好意思似地笑了笑。 “不，请别误会。我没有意思调查你的私生活。” "..." “是这样，出于好奇，我到下目黑的拳击练习场看了一下，听那里的教练说，你是个拳击素养很好的人，教练员说你要去参加比赛的话，说不定能夺取冠军呢。遗憾的是你有'血友'病，连一般练习比赛都不大好参加的。可我觉得你不会有'血友'病的，瞧，大概是前年吧？在那个忘年会上，不知是哪个醉鬼差点从窗子里滚下去，你一把抓住了他，那时你的手指不是被玻璃片割得很深吗？可是，你的血很快就止住了。” “所以，我马上就知道了你的想法。你之所以不去参加比赛，那是为了我们公司。你大概觉得像我们这种名流公司的职员去做个业余拳击手，会有损于我们公司的权威吧？况且我们公司的原则规定，一般是不准去别处打零工的。像你这么尽职的职员是不可能不考虑到这点的。” 金子得意地说了这么一大串正中朝仓的下怀。他故意搔着头说：“对不起，正是这样，所以我没有把工作地点告诉拳击运动场的人。” “不，不必道歉。学费我已替你付了，再好好练习练习吧。”金子显出少有的热忱。 “对对，希望你的拳击练得更好。”小泉搓着手说。 “明白了，我遵命就是。那请问我要干的事到底是什么？”朝仓问。 “回答这问题前我还要再确认一遍，为了公司的利益你将服从任何命令的吧？”总经理绷着脸说道。 “只要我能做到的。”朝仓也用认真的表情回答道。 “既使是不被社会所允许的事？”总经理的眼神近乎求援了。 朝仓稍稍伺隔了会儿，低声说道：“干！” “好！现在让我来告诉你吧，我们要你去处置一个人。”总经理的声音有点颤抖。 也在这一刹那间，朝仓的脸上掠过一丝惊愕，尽管他早已料到事情的结果，但这话从总经理口中说出还是令人不寒而栗。 “就是说，去杀人吗？” “我是叫你去处置，这样就该明白了吧？至于怎祥处置那就看你罗！” 总经理那句关键的话一说出，此时，反而显得沉着了，嘴唇的颤抖也停止了。定是那两个杀害樱井的凶手又来威曲公司了。所以他们又想叫我去收拾他们了。朝仓沉默了好一会儿，吸完了一支烟才使自己完全镇定了下来。 “要我去收拾谁？”朝仓窥视着总经理的眼神。 “你下决心了吗？”总经理提高声音有点激动地问道。 “我已下了决合了！” “没错，咱们公司真是找对人了！”金子和小泉也随声附和道。 “是谁？”朝仓又问了一遍。同时暗自后悔没有带小录音机来。 “呆会儿告诉你。”总经理回答道。 “为什么非要杀不可呢？”朝仓故意问。 “请不要问为什么。总之，他的存在对我们来说是一个很大威胁。” "..." “你总不会改变你的决定吧？不过，假如你故意跑到警察局去汇报，这对我们来说毫无关系，我们会向警方说是不是你在做梦了，警方就会把你的话作为疯语一笑了之的。” “相反，要是你把他们收拾掉了，你的将来将会是前途无量啊！提升就在你干成了这事后第二天执行。”总经理说。 “请放心，我不会做背叛你们的事的，只是想要个保证……”朝仓说。 “明白，这样该满足了吧？”总经理从内口袋里取出信封交给朝仓。 打开信封，只见里面装着一张保证文书上面写道：“东和油脂财务处职员朝仓哲也近日内升为供销处副处长，年内晋升为该处的处长。五年内再晋升为处长兼常务董事。” 文书上盖有总经理及其他董事的印章。 “太谢谢啦！”朝仓把文书装进信封里。故进了内口袋。 “我们不希望这文书被另外人看见，还不如现在就用一个别名把它存放到某个银行的出租保险拒里去为好。” “是这就去。” “那么，不用说，我们之间发生的一切都是需要保密的了。否则，你的性命就很难保住了。”总经理的口气硬了起来。 “知道了。”请在5点钟下班前回来。因为还有些事要向你详细交待，总经理站了起来。 “一切拜托了。”总经理伸出了手和他的表面刚好相反，朝仓觉得清水总经理的手掌又温热又潮湿。 总经理和小泉处长转眼便消失在总经理室，留下金子陪着朝仓一起穿过秘书课办公室，走向电梯。 “你一定非常需要些钱吧？这里是一点点小意思。拿去你零花，不够的话请尽管说。”金子突然对朝仓说道，一面把一叠钞票塞到朝仓的口袋里。朝仓估摸总有50万。 金子在五楼出了电梯。朝仓一直下到了一楼，走出大楼。怕万一有人跟踪，途中换了好几次电车和出租车。回到了世谷上北泽的住处。 正在院子的柿子树上噪鸣着的长尾鸟倏然惊起。朝仓一进屋就来到地下室，把装着文书的信封扔进了做好的地洞里。 然后，他又取出了美国造“路戈”自动手枪、把它绑在左腿内侧，把薄橡皮手套和耳机藏在内裤后袋里，又把小录音机装进了内袋里走出了家门。 一辆出租车把他送到了赤坂葵街的三井饭店。 饭店的休息厅布置得富丽堂皇，上面悬挂着一只镶有数万颗珍珠的枝形吊灯。穿过一楼休息厅，朝仓来到接待处柜台前，向那个银发服务员预定了115号房间。因为东和油脂的首脑们将要在115号室与那个杀手会晤。 “很遗憾，已经有人预约了。”服务员殷勤地笑道。 “116号呢？” “对不起，那也已有人预约了。”服务员低了低头行了一个礼。 很显然。租用之115号隔壁房间已经成了泡影。朝仓不敢怠慢，赶紧在三井饭店的餐厅内要了全道西菜，饱餐了一顿。 然后，又在一楼休息厅的扶手椅里睡了个不长但很沉的午觉。 醒来后的朝仓乘出租车回到了京桥的公司。此时已临近下午5点了。 财务处的屋子里没看见小泉的影子，副处长金子殷勤地对朝仓打招呼说：“啊。辛苦了。我已经从对方公司听来了些情况。” “我来迟了！”朝仓用外人觉察不到的眼神向金子扫了一眼。坐到自己的位置上。 然后一直忙到5点下班时间。时间过得好慢。当柔和的下班铃声从墙上的喇叭里传来时，朝仓似乎并不觉得严峻的考验已经迫在眉睫，反倒有一种终于从杂务中解脱了的轻松感。自己的手与其说摸惯了钢笔和算盘，还不如说更适合方向盘和手枪。 朝仓正在整理桌子。金子不动声色地走近朝仓，悄悄道：“先从公司出去一下，约30分钟后再到七楼会议室去。” 说罢，回到了自己的桌边。朝仓轻轻点了点头。 朝仓和同事们起出了大楼，向地铁京桥站走去。与往常一样，朝仓旁边还有同事石田和汤泽。 “刚才你被总经理叫去了吧？是什么事啊？”在等电车的月台上，石田忍不住问道。 “对，说给我们听听。”汤泽伸了一下舌头。 “没什么大不了的。”朝仓苦笑了一下。 “别卖关子了。”石田固执地说。 “没什么，只是最近偶然间得知，总经理在军队时上司就是我死了的父亲。家父对当时是新兵的总经理很是关照，所以总经理到现在还很感恩。总经理说，现在家父已经死了，但至少他要报恩于我。我实在为总经理那出色的为人所折眼，但我好像反而有种很难堪的感觉。” 朝仓顺口编了个童话般的故事。以前他曾在公司报上读到过总经理曾经当过兵的故事。要是能让石田他们信以为真，在公司里传扬此事，那么，朝仓以后的飞黄腾达也就很容易为一般人理解了。 石田和汤泽听后长叹了口气。嫉妒得脸都歪了，说：“怪不得我们那个很会拍马屁的副处长这回拍上你啦！” “他妈的，我怎么就没这个好父亲呢，我父亲一到部队就得了心脏病。被迫退出行伍了。”汤泽说罢，又慌忙对朝仓说：“请千万别把这话跟副处长说。拜托了。” “我们保证为你将来的高升摇旗呐喊，我们的事情请在总经理面前多多美言哪。”石田说罢向朝仓低下头鞠了一躬。 “这真折杀我不，快别这样。”朝仓故意傲慢地拖着声音道。 地铁电车发着轰隆声开进了月台。他们赶紧上了车。里面已经很挤了。车子到达下一站银座四丁目时，朝仓对两位同事道“我要去看个老朋友，失陪了。” 说着用坚实的肩膀挤开乘客，下了月台。走上地面，他便沿着正在翻修的马路，向京桥走去。 新东洋工业大楼的内外已经很静了。偶尔从一两个还在加班的房间里漏出些灯光，但挂着窗帘的七楼东和油脂的干部会议室的百叶窗现在还是一片漆黑。 朝仓乘电梯到了七楼。 跟昨天一样，七楼的走廊里，站着四五个纠察队员，此时他们仿佛像供欣赏的蜡像似的一动不动地站着。所不同的是除了他们外还站着金子。朝仓一出电梯。那些人便一言不发地走了过来。 “等一下！”金子叫住了纠察队员。 “你可来了。请，请进！”金子满脸堆笑地迎了过来。 "I kept you waiting for a long time." 朝仓微微点了点头。纠察队员们一个又一个都毫无表情地回到刚才站的地方去了。会议室的内侧放着一排屏风，宽大的房间用帘幕隔成了两半。一进房间，朝仓就装做从里面的衣袋里取香烟的样子，打开了放在西装内口里的小录音机。 那帘幕很薄，外间放有两张桌子，靠近帘幕的那张桌子上放着一台聚光灯。 帘幕内间肯定有好几个在守着，朝仓暗想，那里肯定躲着一些公司的头目。 “请坐。”金子把手绕到朝仓背上，按着他的肩膀要他坐在面对聚光灯的那张桌子旁，而后钻过帘幕消失了。 过了一会儿，听到帘幕里边有咳嗽声。于是像是暗号似的，会议室的电灯全熄了，整个房子唯有聚光灯放着很强烈的光线射在朝仓的脸上。 朝仓本能地抬起双手护住了眼睛，他的视网膜像是要燃烧似地刺痛。 “别护住脸！” 从帘幕后面传来了处长小泉公鸡般的尖叫音。朝仓慢慢地放开了两手，但眼睛还是不能睁开。他听到帘幕打开的声音，但他知道即使睁开眼，也会被如此强的灯光射花眼睛。什么也看不见的。 “朝仓君，你能发誓不惜生命为东和油脂竭尽忠诚吗？” 总经理请求的声音又响了起来。朝仓暗想，那些人假如想用这种花招制造恐怖来刺激我的神经，那简直是太可笑了。这么想着他歪了歪嘴，用认真的口吻回答道： “我发誓，为了公司万死不辞。” “你能发誓坚守秘密吗？”总经理又问。 “我发誓。”朝仓马上回答。 “你明白吗？背叛我们你就性命难保！” “我已经下了决心！” “好。”总经理很高兴地说。 炫目的聚光灯关上了，房间里打开了光线柔和的电灯。朝仓慢慢揉着紧闭的眼睛，等眼帘上那五光十色的光斑和打若旋涡的光环消失后，他睁开眼睛，只见长桌子旁坐满了东和油脂的大小头目，只是没看见秀原。 “我们已经确证了你的忠诚，现在就让我们转人正题吧。”坐在桌子最里端的总经理说道，两手交叉抱在胸前。 “在此之前，我也有一事要确证……在吃午饭前，我拿到一份要提拔我的协议书，上面盖了在座各位的印章，我想你们也不会失信吧？”朝仓问。 "Will not." “你不相信我们？”头目们七嘴八舌地说道。 “明白了，请原谅我的无礼。” 朝仓低头行了礼。内口袋里的超小型录音机正在静静地转动着。 “那么就进入正题。” 小泉用舌头敌了甜嘴唇，继续道：“今晚上8点，我们在赤板葵街的三井饭店要与一个人会晤，这个入对我们的公司是一大祸害。” “谁？”朝仓问。 “其余的事你不必知道。你要干的就是去跟踪此入，搞清他的隐匿处。” "Understood!" “那里肯定还有他的同伙，他现在大概由于重伤还在呻吟着。”小泉歪着嘴又道。 “需要一辆跟踪用的车子。” “别多嘴，先听完我说，那些人很可能藏着对我们公司不利的磁带和文件之类，上次那人尽管说没能从某个人身上拿到手，但我敢肯定。这绝对是胡说。” "..." “你可以用任何暴力和手段让他们说出磁带和文件的下落，等拿到这些东西后，就把他们收拾掉。”小泉命令道。 “要是在他们吐出实情之前，天就亮了呢？”朝仓问。 “那也就管不了那么多了。总之，这俩人活着就是对找们公司的一大威胁，他们不时会找股东们麻烦的。” "understood." “你对开车有把握吗？我翻了一下你进公司时的履历表，写着你在学生时代曾去出租汽车公司打过零工。”小泉道。 “不过此后一直就纸上谈兵了。没有开过车。”朝仓装作没有自信似地说。 “行了，行了，反正准备给你跟踪用的车是一辆与公司没关系的杂牌车，我想你要是练习一个小时的话，又会恢复的吧” "I hope so." “还有一事，当然我相信只要有你的强劲的拳头就足够了，但是要是对方带着枪械，你也防备着带一把总不会有坏处。” 小泉咧了咧嘴。自以为很是聪明一边向金子副处长点头示意，金子便站起身来走向会议室最里端的一个大柜子从里面取出一个用手绢包着的东西端到朝仓前而。朝仓打开三绢，原来是一把为新东洋工业公司刑事案件而特制的38毫米口径左轮于枪。那外形像是与“怡·W·辈夫斯特”式手枪一个模子出来似的。为保险准确，在约8英寸长的枪身上还带有半椭圆形的准星机关部标尺上面有一道细微的丫形缺口。 “据说里面装有5发子弹。这是双功能枪，只要用力扣一下板机就能发射。据说不用瞄准，只要将它像匕首或长矛那样顶住敌人一扣板机就行。” 金子说罢回到了座位上。朝仓把手枪放在手上看了看，只见手枪的制造号已被削掉了。 “一拿起这玩艺儿你是不是觉得勇气出来了？”总经理道。 “是，总经理。” “好。那么我们就暂时替你保管一下公司的徽章和身份证吧，请把它们拿下来放到桌上罢。”总经理命令道。 "what?" “要是被人知道你是东和油脂的职员，可就不好办锣。” "Understood." 朝仓从西装领子上取下徽章，并从放驾驶执照的钱包里取出了公司的工作证。 “那么，为了尽快习惯开车，现在你赶紧去练习一个小时，下面停车场里停着的那辆灰色的英国造'海鲁鳗'，我们已经将它改装成赛车了，但从外面看与一般的车没有两样，你只要对车场负责人说你是黑川，他就会把钥匙交给你的。这次行动中，你的名宇就叫'黑川'，练习好了。你就把车开到赤场三井饭店的停车场去，然后听到广播叫'黑川，朋友传话叫你赶紧回去'时。你就到饭店本馆十一楼的115号房间来，当然你要跟眼务员说你是黑川。” "Understood." “那么，再见！”总经理闭起了眼。朝仓用手绢包好枪，放进内口袋，行了个礼，走出了会议室。走廊七的纠察队员只动了动眼珠子，目送着朝仓出去。 朝仓乘电梯下到地下停车场。像条宽广的隧道似的地下停车场里，整齐地停放着一排超豪华型东和油脂的专用车，而夹在中间的那灰色的“海鲁鳗”倒也显得娇小可爱。 朝仓向管理员办公室走去。脚步声在混凝土的地面和天花板之间回荡。 执勤办公室旁边，有个开着很大的玻璃窗的驾驶员休息室。一些脱了制眼的驾驶员们，有的用手臂当枕头，半躺着看着电视漫画，有的正下着围棋。那个管理员混在人群中正摆出一副下流的姿势，眉飞色舞地谈着什么色情话题。他一见朝仓便赶紧正了姿势，一本正经地走了过来。 “我是黑川。”朝仓道。 “我听说了。”管理人员从口袋里摸出一个钥匙串。 朝仓一接过钥匙就转身向“海鲁鳗”走去。粗看起来这辆车与一般的同型号车并设有两样，然而它的车头灯前去掉了金属网，上下分开的铲斗形座位、移到转动装置上面来的排档以及装在仪表板右侧的“索尼”发动机转速表等等，都给人以一种轻便灵巧的感觉。 朝仓带上薄手套坐进车内，先启动发动机，然后又打开机盖，上上下下地检查了一番。盖上盖子，朝仓又回到车内查着了下放在口袋里的验车证，不过他