CH 5.1

Continued from Volume 3 Chapter 4(b).

It took a while for Yuto to calm himself. Dick’s words had inflicted so much pain on him that he was left reeling and unable to recover immediately.

However, once he regained his calmness, he wasn’t about to keep wallowing in his emotions. No doubt Dick had said those things to motivate himself to act. He had cut himself off from his sentimental side in front of Yuto on purpose. All to accomplish his goal.

Dick’s true feelings were clear: he had not rejected Yuto. He had brutally rejected his own weak heart that yearned to be loved. Instead of love, he had chosen to carry a hatred so large he could barely contain it. Dick’s whole demeanour seemed to scream that sentiment.

A pitiful, wounded, lonely soul wandered this world in search of just one thing: Corvus. In that sense, Dick reminded him of a dead man on earth unable to go to Heaven; however, Dick was no ghost. His vengeful obsession itself was the phantom. Dick was perfectly able to live his future freely, if only he allowed himself to.

Yuto was overcome with a sense of urgency to capture Corvus as soon as possible. He was not about to let Dick kill the man. The moment Corvus took his last breath would be the moment that Dick lost his purpose in life. Although Yuto didn’t have the power to erase the hatred that resided in Dick, he knew that the man was headed straight toward his own destruction. Given that knowledge, he couldn’t help but try to block his path, even if it meant becoming the target of Dick’s hatred.

As he tried to return to the party, Yuto caught sight of a group of people. He stopped in his tracks, unable to believe what he was witnessing.

Manning, Waddell, and Egan were together, surrounded by a few bodyguards. They were chatting amicably as they were leaving the ballroom. The party was scheduled to go on for a while, so there was no way all three of them were leaving early. It was obvious to anyone who saw them that they were only stepping out for a moment.

Yuto’s instinct told him that they were headed to Waddell’s room to have a discussion.

Once the three men disappeared into the elevator, Yuto stepped straight onto the next one without hesitation. As the elevator swept him up, he called Rob’s cell phone, but there was no answer. Left with no choice, Yuto switched his cell phone to vibrate. He didn’t want his phone to ring while eavesdropping in the room next door.

Once he arrived at the top floor. Yuto walked leisurely down the deserted hallway. He fiddled with the key card, pretending to be a hotel guest as he found the room he was looking for. Waddell’s room was a corner suite at the end of the hallway, and two uniformed guards in black were standing in front of the door.

Yuto nonchalantly walked into the room next door. The moment he closed the door, he dashed agilely to the closet. He opened the door to see the contact mic nestled in a corner.

He scanned the white wall, wondering where to place the mic, when he spotted the letter “R” written lightly in pen. It was Rob. Yuto smiled and put on the earphones before pressing the brass mic against the mark on the wall. It took only an instant for the high-performance mic to start catching the conversation of the three men going on next door.

“Are you sure he can be trusted? He won’t give himself away, will he?”

“Not to worry. He has information that only the perpetrator should know. The FBI won’t be able to poke around and cause unnecessary trouble.”

The first voice was probably Waddell, and the man who answered him was probably Manning.

“Speaking about causing unnecessary trouble,” said a third voice. This was Egan, and he sounded thoroughly irritated. “Why did you send men to attack Rob Connors, using my name of all things? Do you know how much headache you caused? The FBI came to question me.”

So they were right – Manning had indeed been the one who arranged the attack on Yuto and Rob. The man that Waddell had referred to in the beginning was probably John Baker, the man who had turned himself in claiming to be the perpetrator.

“That professor, Connors, is assisting the FBI with their investigation into the serial bombings,” Manning said. ”You saw his Oriental assistant, right? He’s probably an FBI agent.”

“What?” Egan exclaimed.

“The FBI had you marked. If I hadn’t arranged a decoy, you would still be under surveillance. Would you try to be a bit more cautious?” Manning said, his tone still calm and business-like.

“Bill, I’m sorry, but I can’t keep taking care of this guy. His existence itself is dangerous, even without the FBI after him. Take him off my hands soon, will you,” Egan spat. It was clear that ‘this guy’ referred to Corvus. Egan was sheltering Corvus, just as Yuto and Rob had deduced.

“Jack, please. Be reasonable,” said Manning. “Your company profited off of him, too. Following the riot, all of the maximum-security prisons underwent a security upgrade. Prison operations businesses and security-related businesses saw record profits. You saw how share prices rocketed for the security sector.”

Manning’s tone was mild, but carried a hint of condescension.

“He’s still got some use left in him. I want you to keep him for a while longer.”

“Bill, Jack is right. He’s too dangerous,” Waddell said heavily. “I think we should think about getting rid of him soon. The man is insane, but he’s not stupid. I suspect he knows that you pulled the strings behind the military attack at the mountain cabin in South Carolina two years ago. He’s been acting out ever since that incident, after all.”

“No need to worry,” Manning said. “Whatever happens, he won’t be able to betray me. That’s how I raised him.”

“Then tell him to stop the serial bombings. We’ve enjoyed enough of the benefits of fanning the fears of terrorism in the population. Not to mention you’re at an important stage in your life. Let him do any more, and you’ll be left with an out-of-control mess.”

“I know. In the event that I lose control of him, I’ll take responsibility and finish him off,” Manning said simply. Yuto felt a surge of disgust at Manning’s casual tone. To him, even Corvus was just a pawn. Behind his gentlemanly demeanour was another cruel and ruthless face.

“What about the CIA? Are they still looking for him?”

“Looks so. They’re certainly tenacious,” Manning said wryly.

“This is nothing to joke about,” Waddell said bitterly. “The CIA has always had a grudge on you.”

“The CIA is taking its last breaths. With the series of reforms, they’re now completely under the control of the Pentagon. Even the Director of the CIA no longer has direct access to the President. The CIA is nothing to fear.”

“They’ve replaced the Director of the CIA with a military member, which means now all of our country’s major intelligence organizations are dominated by the military. The CIA growing weaker is part of our plan, but they’re also desperate to survive. They’ll take any chance they can get to retaliate against you,” Waddell warned.

“I appreciate the warning,” Manning said, appearing unfazed. He was arrogant even towards his own father-in-law.

“Say, Bill, I’ve heard that Ganax is about to deploy a new aerial chemical spray over drug plantations in Colombia. What’s the situation with that?”

“It looks like preparations are underway.”

Ganax was a major military contracting agency. They were contracted by the American military to carry out peacekeeping activities in area of internal conflict, but unsavoury rumours abounded about the company, with some saying that it had been created to use up surplus weapons, or that it was an employer of retired military service members.

“In that case, make them purchase about ten of our latest military helicopters. Performance-wise, they’re about the same as a Black Hawk, but with a more reasonable price. They’ll be perfect escorts for the sprayer helicopters.”

“I’ll arrange for that,” Manning said. “I’m sure they won’t turn it down, since my brother’s company is also in the midst of planning a new pipeline into Colombia, and they plan to contract the security to Ganax.”

“I’ll trust you to take care of it. Things aren’t looking very good for us, since we haven’t seen much movement in the Middle East these days. We need a new war or something to clean out our inventory. Let the President know about my grievances, would you?”

Yuto was more disgusted than shocked at their conversation. Here they were, scheming things that would sway public policy as if they were having small talk.

But he had obtained more information than he could have imagined. It was a confirmed fact that Bill Manning was the one controlling Corvus behind the scenes, and Corvus himself was under the custody of Egan. All their suspicions had been confirmed as truths. It had been worth every bit to go against the FBI’s wishes to come to New York.

“Uncle Peter, we should head back to the party. I don’t think the guests would appreciate the star of the party going missing for too long.”

“You’re right,” Waddell replied, just as someone’s cell phone rang.

“Hello? Ah, it’s you.”

Manning began conversing with someone on the other end. He spoke minimally, giving only brief responses, but after hanging up, he had an unexpected request.

“Peter, would you let me use this room for a bit? Someone is coming to meet with me.”

“I don’t mind. Who is it?”

Manning said that it was an old friend. Waddell and Egan left the room to return to the party, leaving Manning alone.

Yuto continued to eavesdrop, wondering who Manning was meeting with. A few minutes later, he heard knocking on the door. Yuto could hear Manning get the door and return to the living room with another person, but strangely enough, he could not hear any voices.

“I’m speechless, you know that?” said Manning, sounding exasperated. “What’s with the outfit? Did you mistake this for a costume party?” It was clear from his casual tone that he was talking to someone he was familiar with.

“I look good though, wouldn’t you agree?” said the visitor. “I love parties. Enough to show up uninvited.” Yuto tensed up the moment he spoke.

This voice. It sounded like him.

“I also wanted to see you in person, since it’s been a while. I see you a lot on TV nowadays, but TV just doesn’t cut it. —Oh, but you didn’t want to see me, did you?” the man chuckled. Yuto was now completely certain. This was Corvus’ voice – no mistake about it.

“Nonsense. I was worried about you, too. I’m glad to see you again.”

Manning’s voice sounded so kind and sincere that it was hard to imagine that the very same man had said moments before that he would finish off Corvus if he proved too troublesome. Someone give this man an Oscar, too, Yuto thought inwardly.

“I’ll be going back for a while. My first time back in a long time. I want to know what my subordinates are up to.”

“Is that so? That sounds like a good idea. Think of it as a vacation and take some time to relax.”

“I will. But I’m coming back to New York, you know. I still have to set off a grand fireworks show,” Corvus said excitedly. Manning’s demeanour instantly changed.

“Are you still going on about that?” Manning said angrily. “I thought I told you it was called off.”

Corvus’ tone was lighthearted.

“Well, I didn’t agree to it. So I’m going ahead with the plan.”

“We’re in the middle of election season right now. It’s a critical period. I can’t have you causing trouble.”

“If you’re so worried about winning the election, why don’t I kill off your opponent presidential and vice-presidential candidates?”

“Corvus…!”

“I was just kidding. Anyway, I’ll be excusing myself. My ride is here.”

Yuto sensed Corvus standing up. Manning was silent.

“See you, then, Mr. Future President,” Corvus said tauntingly as he left the room. Yuto hastily stashed the contact mic back into the closet. Needless to say, he was going after Corvus.

After a moment’s pause, Yuto went out into the hallway. There was no one to be seen – Corvus had already turned the corner. Yuto hurried in the direction of the elevators.

However, Corvus was nowhere to be found in the long hallway leading to the elevator lobby. Instead, a small, elderly man was walking ahead of him. It was the same snowy-haired man from the party.

Yuto reeled at losing sight of Corvus. Had he already boarded the elevator? Or had he taken the emergency stairs?

Yuto decided to take the elevator to the first floor. Corvus had mentioned a ride coming to get him, so perhaps he could catch a glimpse of the man if he staked out the entrance.

Just then, something strange occurred. The elderly man suddenly turned to face Yuto. He held Yuto’s gaze as he threw his cane aside.

“…?”

Yuto couldn’t believe his eyes at the scene unfolding before him. The man’s bent back suddenly straightened up as he stood effortlessly tall. Next, he placed his hand under his nose before raising his arms in mock surprise.

His beard and mustache disappeared – they had been fake pieces. The old man then pinched both his cheeks with his fingers and pulled at his skin as if peeling off a facial mask. His wrinkled skin gave way to a smooth, young face. He was no old man. He was a young man disguised as one.

Yuto’s heart jumped as if he had been struck by lightning.

It couldn’t be. This man… this man was—

The man abruptly turned his back and began running down the hall. Yuto came to his senses and tore after the man. However, once he turned the corner, he found that the man had vanished. For a moment, he wondered if he had gone into one of the rooms, but he noticed a door with a placard that read “Staff Only” hanging ajar. Yuto burst into the staff room without hesitation.

On one side, there was a line of cleaning carts. Yuto advanced cautiously until he found a staff elevator at the back. The letter “P” was lit up. The man had run to the roof. Yuto immediately called the elevator and headed to the top of the building.

The doors opened to reveal a mechanical penthouse. The man was nowhere to be found, and the door leading outside was hanging wide open. Yuto went outside and looked around. Although there was barely any lighting, the lights from surrounding buildings helped him see his surroundings decently enough.

There were a few other mechanical rooms nearby, but only a wide open space in front of him. There was a large “H” painted on the concrete, which meant the area probably functioned as an emergency heliport.

Yuto kept a careful eye on his surroundings as he cautiously peered behind each structure. He found something on the ground beside a structure nearest to the heliport. Upon closer inspection, it was a white wig.

“Pretty great disguise, don’t you think? Even Manning didn’t notice.”

The man appeared from behind one of the buildings. He took off his sunglasses and smiled at Yuto.

“Long time no see, Yuto. I’m glad to see you again.”

The man wore a friendly smile, but was holding a handgun.

“Corvus. So it was you.”

The man standing before him was unmistakably Corvus. One could at least be sympathetic if he was cowering in the shadows, afraid of those coming after him; however, on the contrary, here he was brazenly showing himself in public with an absurd disguise. Could he be any more insensitive?

“You think you’re safe now, now that you’ve had Manning frame someone on your behalf?”

“I told you it wasn’t me. Manning went and did it himself. I was actually against it. If the FBI withdrew, I wouldn’t be able to keep playing the game with you. I gave you so many hints to lead you to me, and it ended up all going to waste. But we were still able to reunite again.”

He had the same gentle smile as he did in prison. Looking at the man’s eyes, narrowed fondly in nostalgia, made Yuto remember gentle Nathan Clark, even if he knew the man’s true identity.

“You were eavesdropping on Manning and them, weren’t you? So? Did you get any new information?”

“As a matter of fact, yeah. As I thought, Manning was the one pulling your strings. But Manning also said that he wouldn’t hesitate to finish you off if you became a nuisance. You’re being used by him.”

“I know,” Corvus said, appearing unfazed. “Manning is that kind of man.”

“If you know he’s using you, why do you keep helping him?”

“Because I’m using his position of power as well. We scratch each other’s backs. Anyway, enough about that, Yuto. It looks like there’s another guest at our party tonight. —You’re there, aren’t you?” Corvus raised his voice at someone behind Yuto. “Why don’t you show yourself?”

Yuto turned to follow Corvus’ gaze to see a man in a tuxedo appear from the shadow of a building.

“Dick…” Yuto murmured under his breath. He stared intently at Dick as the man slowly approached. He, like Corvus, also held a gun in his hand. His finger was on the trigger so he could shoot at any moment.

“Wow, you certainly look different. You look smarter now, but I think I liked you better before.”

Despite being on the receiving end of Dick’s burning hatred, Corvus commented in a cheerful voice as if he were reuniting with a long-lost friend.

“I knew you were investigating the connections around me. I was looking forward to the day we’d meet. I didn’t think the three of us could reunite like this. Tonight is a wonderful night, indeed.”

Dick was silent. The two men’s gazes were locked on each other, with Yuto between them. Yuto imagined how Dick must be feeling right now. It was their first reunion since leaving Schelger Prison. Dick, who had spent all this time chasing after Corvus, had probably yearned for this day to come. How long and weary his wait must have been.

Perhaps Dick knew that Corvus was coming to the party, and that was why he had concealed a gun under his tuxedo. He had known that everything would be settled tonight.

“I feel like we’ve gone back in time,” murmured Corvus in a sing-song voice. “We’re in the exact same situation as before.” He was talking about the riot in prison. That day, the two men had also faced off with Yuto in between.

“You’re right,” Dick spoke for the first time. “But this time, I won’t miss.”

Corvus narrowed his eyes mirthfully.

“Oh, I don’t think that’s possible. Because Yuto’s here. In battle, it’s common knowledge that having something to protect puts you at a disadvantage.”

Suddenly, there was a gunshot. It was so abrupt, at first Yuto had no idea who had pulled the trigger first.