Previous Post Case 30 - An Old Leaf Part 5     Keiko sat in a soft chair with her legs crossed, reading a newspaper someone left behind in the GCPD Mobile Command Unit.  She was there because Sean’s stomach hadn’t yet settled after seeing a butchered and partially decomposed body.  The unused water tank it was in was currently being cleaned out, the contents tagged, by the Coroner.     Sean was leaning against the doorway of the small bathroom in the Mobile Command Unit.  He was almost stable enough for the drive home, but wanted to wait a few more minutes to be sure.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“If you already knew about Amsterdam, why did you tease me with silly questions?”  Keiko suddenly piped up.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Huh?”  Sean asked.     She lowered the newspaper, staring at him with her dark, serene eyes.  Using the kind of look which warned him not to insult her intelligence.  She knew it worked when his shoulders drooped, and he looked away.     Finally, he relented with a sigh.  “I’ve never heard of a private investigator, or a teacher, traveling all over the world at someone else’s expense.”  he said.  “I have heard of another occupation.”     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Are you expecting a tearful confession of some kind?”  Keiko asked sarcastically with a teasing yet vaguely uneasy grin.     That made Sean smile briefly, but he stubbornly stuck to the topic.  “Tearful, no.”  he said.     She sat up and placed both hands on the table, eyeing him carefully.  Her smile was gone.  “Look at you, Sean,”  she said.  “You saw the mutilated body of someone you don’t know, murdered by someone you don’t care about.  Look at the condition you’re in.”     Ã¢â‚¬Å“It doesn’t mean I’m weak, if that’s what you’re implying,”  he said.  “It just means...my conscience--”     Ã¢â‚¬Å“--won’t let you get used to it, I know.”  Keiko watched him sympathetically as it started to dawn on him what she meant.  That if he knew the truth, it would tear him apart from the inside, and she couldn’t do that to her closest friend.     He lowered his head, and said nothing.  He indeed was starting to understand.     Keiko felt a little ashamed just then.  She was protecting him and abusing him at the same time, and it broke her heart.  She gave him what little she could to reassure him, or so she hoped.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Look, let’s just say someone I formed a friendship with is in serious trouble, because of me.  And I have to make things right.”  This time, Keiko lowered her head sadly.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“I trust you.”  Sean said, raising his head again.  “Just remember your weakness, Keiko.  You never seek help even when it’s right in front of you.”     She didn’t reply.  Instead, she watched Sean head back to the bathroom, and then she resumed reading the newspaper.  It was a distraction this time, though, to try and slow her mind swimming with thoughts.  She knew Sean couldn’t handle the truth; he would range from anger to fear to hurt.  Eventually he would accept it, but he wouldn’t really be happy about it.  He only said he trusted her to make her feel guilty.     Unfortunately it worked.  She may have been cold to the feelings of her targets, but far from that to her friends.  She looked up when he came out of the bathroom again.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Is your stomach empty yet?”  she joked.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“It has to be,”  he moaned.     Keiko looked up at him with sad eyes, making the worry she felt apparent.  “Sean, what I do...my side job...it really can’t be helped right now.  A friend of mine is in trouble, and I have to do this until I can find the threat and eliminate it.”     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Oh,”  Sean exclaimed in positive surprise.  “So it’s just a cover until you find out who’s making you do this.”     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Yes, exactly.”  she confirmed with a nod, still looking a little sad.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“That, I can help you with.”  he told her.     She took his hands gently.  “Sean, I don’t want you involved.  I can’t protect two friends from these people.”     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Okay, then drop me little clues.  Ones I can use, with the Department.  I can make the investigation official, and they won’t know it’s me specifically.  It’ll look like a coincidence.”     Keiko thought for a moment - that wasn’t a bad idea.  She nodded slowly, and replied, “As soon as I get some usable clues, Sean.”     Ã¢â‚¬Å“It’s been that difficult to find them?”  he asked.     She nodded again.  “They’re as good as I am at keeping secrets.”  she said.  “I keep waiting for them to screw up and reveal something, but they haven’t yet.”     He nodded, and finally got up the courage to move to a wooden chair at a table close to the soft chair where Keiko was sitting.  He wasn’t quite ready to sit in the slightly reclined pose the chair next to her required.  The prospect of this new ‘investigation’ was distracting him enough to forget about the sights and smells that made him ill.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Tell me about a typical scenario, how they tell you what to do.”     Keiko sat up and set aside the newspaper.  She knew the information was mostly useless, but she felt she had to play along.  “Ron Clancy gets these phone calls from an untraceable number, presumably a pre-paid cell phone or a re-routed internet phone.  They contain very detailed instructions, and there’s no discussion.  When the job is completed, I get a wire transfer to my hidden account from an offshore account.”     Ã¢â‚¬Å“You never hear from them?  They don’t supervise you or watch you?”     She shrugged.  “If they do, even I haven’t been able to detect it.”     Ã¢â‚¬Å“What if Ron says no?”  Sean asked, thinking he was on to a clue.     Keiko was catching on.  “That might be...dangerous, but a possible link.  Only if they hire someone local to off Ron, and then possibly me, and I catch them before it’s accomplished, obviously.  If I were them, though, I’d bring in someone from outside the country who can’t be traced.  Same way I’m hired by them.”     Sean thought for a moment again.  “Is there a chance I could shadow you next time you’re hired?”     Ã¢â‚¬Å“No need.”  she said with a smile.  “You could simply come with me.”     Ã¢â‚¬Å“And they won’t know?”     Keiko shrugged.  “They may watch me, I’m not sure.  They didn’t specifically tell me not to bring a friend, though, so I assume they don’t care as long as the job gets done.  They don’t seem to particularly care if I get myself in trouble, or get caught.”     Sean smirked and sat back down again.  “So when do we leave?”     Keiko laughed out loud.  She could tell that Sean enjoyed making her laugh.  “I haven’t been called yet,”  she explained.  “Give it some time.”     He shrugged.  “Sorry if I seem so eager, it’s just exciting, thinking about traveling with you and playing spy.”     The door of the Mobile Unit opened, interrupting their conversation.  The both looked to see who it was - and it was Sean’s boss.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“We’re cleaning up the scene now,”  he said.  “If you or your friend have somewhere to go--”     Ã¢â‚¬Å“I have a martial arts class to teach in about an hour.”  Keiko noted.     Sean watched her speak, and then he added, “I’m feeling less queasy now, I think I can go.”     Ã¢â‚¬Å“I’ll be expecting your report in the morning,”  the boss said.  He then turned and left the Mobile Unit, closing the door behind him.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Did he mean you or me?”  Keiko asked.  Sean wasn’t the only one who could make someone laugh. TO BE CONTINUED      -- Story written and copyrighted (C) 2008 by Jason Froikin, and may not be  --    reprinted without permission.   -- World Class and all characters therein are property of  --    Strike Two and Jason Froikin.

...bringing a police detective with you the next time you leave to assassinate someone, I mean. Still, here's hoping it works out for them.