‘If you want to go to bed, go and talk to the director. Get on your hands and knees and beg him to take your place.’
On the stage, Suwa and Kuramae were running over to where Ochiai sat. Mikumo was trailing behind with a kettle and a towel. They pulled his limp form upright. He’d snapped. Expended every last reserve of energy. A line of spit dribbled from the side of his mouth.
‘Pull yourself together. You’re already at the bottom of the ladder. Won’t be much hope for you if you collapse under something like this.’
‘That’s enough,’ Mikami said. The word seemed to come from deep inside.
Goatee turned around. His expression said he hadn’t heard properly.
‘You’ve done enough!’ This time Mikami raised his voice. ‘You’re a lynch mob, nothing more. We’re finished here.’
‘I’m sorry?’ Goatee was clambering towards him; he stretched out his arm and held his microphone in front of Mikami. ‘Could you repeat that, please?’
‘I’m not bringing anyone else in, knowing they’re going to be hung out to dry. As of now, all announcements are suspended.’
Hands hit desks in their hundreds; everyone in the room got to their feet. The floor started to rumble. The air erupted in a storm of shouts. Mikami’s team were staring open-eyed from the stage. Even Ochiai’s half-open eyes were swimming in his direction. Goatee had the microphone in the air, waving it from side to side. Leave this to me.
The background roar finally subsided. Even then, there was a quiet muttering. The reporters were waiting to see what Mikami said next, still ready to launch into battle.
‘A lynch mob, you say?’ Goatee gave Mikami a testing look. ‘You’re press director here. Perhaps you’re misreading what this is. We’ve been given this man, your chief of Second Division, who doesn’t even know the kidnapped girl’s name. Whoever’s in charge has chosen to sacrifice a lackey while they run and hide. You tell me – isn’t that the real lynch?’
Mikami shouted towards the stage, ‘Get him to First-aid.’
Mikumo flinched in response.
‘Hey, you, gargoyle. So-called press director. Are you even listening to me?’
Gargoyle. Mikami already knew the two men had taken to calling him that.
‘Announcements are suspended, you say? Are you announcing your intention to forgo the coverage agreement?’
‘We will convene another session from 8 a.m. If anything happens in the meantime, we’ll send you paper bulletins.’
‘Uh-huh, right, like your face isn’t enough of a joke. How do you propose to do that when you don’t even know what’s happening yourself?’
Right! A wave of sound swelled towards him. Enough of the bullshit. Bring us your director of Criminal Investigations.
‘You know, you police are pretty bad wherever we go. But I’ve never seen an office as messed up as this,’ Goatee continued. His eyes locked with Mikami’s. They were striking, handsome-looking. Mikami wondered if the glass-like clarity he saw there was what came from years of fighting for what you believed was right.
Mikami shouted towards the stage. ‘Get him out of here!’
Suwa and Kuramae were lending their shoulders, helping Ochiai to his feet.
‘Yes? And what do you propose to do next?’
‘About what?’
‘Who’s going to take over here, if the doctor gives him a no-go?’
‘I’ll find a suitable replacement.’
‘The director. Give us your word. Right here, right now.’
He’s right! He’s right! The agreement echoed around the room, as if it were coming through speakers. The director! We want your word!
Mikami ground his back teeth, saying nothing.
‘Don’t think you can stand there in silence. We’re only asking for a normal press conference. Why can’t you bring us the director? What is it that you’re trying to hide?’
Ochiai came down from the stage, supported by the two men. They began to cross the packed floor. Mikami called Mikumo over, deciding it was dangerous to let her go through. The others were threading through the crowd, trying to find places to walk. Ochiai’s shoes were hardly on the floor. Alone, he wouldn’t have made a single step. It looked like Suwa and Kuramae were helping a wounded soldier navigate a minefield.
Stop them! A sharp voice rang out from somewhere towards the middle of the room. We can’t just let them go. We need to get his word on the director.
Mikami cursed. One of the mines – it triggered another wave of explosions.
Don’t let him out!
A group of excited reporters got to their feet. They blocked Ochiai’s path. More pressed in from either side.
Get the promise first. We exchange him for the director.
The circle began to close around Ochiai. Suwa and Kuramae’s faces were drawn tight. Mikami heard Mikumo shriek from behind.
‘Lay a finger on him and I’m taking you in for obstruction.’
Mikami listened to his voice reverberate through the space. He’d shouted into the microphone, having wrenched it from Goatee. The room fell still. All 269 pairs of eyes were focused on him. He closed his eyes. Eeee, eeee, eeee. A powerful ringing vibrated in his eardrums, too loud to tell if it was a voice or empty noise. Someone had grabbed the microphone. Not Goatee. It was Slick – he’d pulled it right out of Mikami’s hands.
‘That’s enough showing off, Gargoyle. Shock tactics like that only work on the local kids.’
Goatee was still staring. He took back the microphone. Fighting the good fight. His glass-clear eyes were burning with angry conviction.
‘We’ve been patient with you so far. We took you at your word when you said the kidnapping could be a teenager’s hoax. We’ve been understanding about the circumstances, and we’ve permitted this nonsense around the identity of her family. But we’ve had enough.’ His anger boiled suddenly over. ‘You will not continue making fools of us. This conference is a sham. You are clearly abusing the provisions of our agreement. You are concealing the truth, even as you carry on the investigation with impunity. It’s too much for us to overlook. We decide this now.’
He turned to face the rest of the room.
‘First we report this nonsensical state of affairs to Tokyo. Then we get them to appoint someone more appropriate, someone from the Criminal Investigations Bureau, to lead the Investigative HQ. They take over all proceedings, including all matters pertaining to us, the press. Are there any objections?’
‘Wait!’ Mikami shouted. ‘I guarantee you’ll get proper announcements from this point forwards. We will give you everything we know. It’s what you want.’
‘Aren’t we past that stage? Things are only like this now because you failed to do exactly that.’
‘I understand. We have failed in our obligation to you. Give me some time so I can help correct that. I won’t need long.’
‘You’ll get the director?’
‘I’ll get you the chief of First Division.’
It worked. The flames that had been raging through the room were gone in an instant. His words had reflected the intensity of the blaze. He’d used the final reserves of extinguisher foam, reserves he should never have touched.