***

Things were pretty quiet after the group had left. Kunikida seemed like he was sure of his hunch so the others decided to follow his lead. Some questions were asked, mostly by Hiromi and Atsushi about where they were going, but they didn't get much information. All that was said to them was, "You'll see." Hiromi wondered what had tipped him off about who could have done the crimes involved in this case. Who was kidnapping people? Who tried to drown Sasaki? Who killed those people with poison gas? And the most important question, why were they doing this?

The four of them ended up right back at the port. Kunikida called the cab from earlier back and it didn't take long for the driver to show up. They all filed into the car, sitting in the same places they had sat in originally with Kunikida in the passenger seat and Dazai, Atsushi, and Hiromi in the back. Hiromi wasn't sure why, but things seemed a little tense whenever they sat inside the cab

"Sorry for the short notice." Kunikida told the driver.

For some reason, Kunikida had yet to tell the driver where exactly they were going. He just sat there in his seat with his arms crossed. The driver turned to him, looking a little concerned, "So you mentioned that you'd figured out who's behind the serial murder case. I imagine that you're on your way to arrest the killer?"

"That's right." Kunikida confirmed.

The driver faced the front of the car, "Then we should probably hurry," Well, that much was obvious. Who knows if the killer had already taken another victim? They needed to get to the killer as quickly as possible so the number of murders doesn't go up anymore. "So what's our destination, sir?"

What came out of Kunikida's mouth was, "Right here," The driver made a noise of question, clearly confused. Hiromi even shot the man a puzzled stare. What did he mean the killer was here? The only people inside the car were him, her, Dazai, Atsushi, and the... Driver. Hiromi leaned back in her seat and stared at the driver, now understanding what Kunikida was implying. Kunikida continued, "The abductions happened here. You're the kidnapper. You subdued passengers with sleeping gas, and abducted them after they fell unconscious. You wore a gas mask to escape the effects."

It made sense. He was the one who took them to the abandoned hospital and he waited out there the whole time for them to come back. He could have easily snuck inside and set off the gas that killed the people inside. One thing that Hiromi found a little tricky was Sasaki. He wouldn't have had time to get inside and start filling up the tank. The tank wouldn't have been as full as it was. Maybe he did all of that before coming to get them the first time.

"Why would he go through all that trouble?" Atsushi inquired.

"I can think of one reason," Dazai stated. Atsushi turned to him in interest. "Merchandise."

A look of realization graced Hiromi's features, "Looks like I was wrong then." She remembered how earlier during this case she said that the crime probably wasn't money motivated. Now that this new information had come up, her theory had been completely wrong.

Still, Atsushi was confused, "What do you mean?"

Removing his hands from behind his head, Dazai stared intently at the driver in front of him, "He'd sell the bodies for their parts," The question Hiromi found herself wondering was if the driver had cut into the bodies himself and got the parts he wanted to sell or if he handed the bodies over to someone else and they did it? Dazai glanced at Atsushi, "There's quite a large black market for organs if you know where to look," The dark-haired male leaned toward the driver's seat. Hiromi could see that he had a smirk on his face, "The cut may not be ideal because of the various economic factors involved, but if you're flying solo, the pay's not bad."

"He would get to keep all of that money to himself," Hiromi added. "The more merchandise he brings, the more he gets paid. With his job, he wouldn't get paid very much. He probably jumped at the chance to get more money." Hiromi wasn't exactly sure how much cab drivers got paid, but she had a hunch it wasn't much. If people don't make enough money then they usually try to find another job so they're getting paid more to live on.

It looked like the driver was starting to get nervous. Sweat started to drip down his face. Hiromi couldn't stop the smirk that took over her features. That was all the answer they needed to support Kunikida's theory. The only problem was the fact that they needed evidence. Without evidence, they had nothing to prove that he was actually the one at fault for the kidnappings and the deaths back at the abandoned hospitals.

"That's horrible," Atsushi commented.

"Hang on... That's impossible," The driver immediately jumped to defend himself. He turned back to them, glancing from Kunikida then to the other three, "If I'd kidnapped people in this taxi, I would've been found out when the police traced their last known whereabouts."

And that's where he was wrong. Hiromi spoke about this, "Not necessarily," The driver's head snapped toward her. It looked like he was fearing the words that were about to come out of her mouth. "The thing about cabs is that they're easy to overlook. If you're riding in one, you don't even spare the driver a single thought. It's the reason why you always see people in TV shows or movies having personal conversations in a cab without even worrying about the driver overhearing. It's like the driver and cab are invisible unless you really need them. The police looked over it because of that very reason." She had found this out from a British TV show that she watched at one point. Hiromi tried to teach herself English by watching shows where they spoke the language. One of them had been a British TV show about a consulting detective.

"Hiromi's right," Kunikida agreed. Hiromi grinned at this. "But there's something else too. The police didn't even give this taxi a second look," He furrowed his brow, "Why would they? All the victims had vanished, and subsequently, each one became untraceable the following day. After the targets dot in your taxi and were sedated, you proceeded to strip them of their clothes and belongings. That's why most of the victims at the hospital were only in their underwear. You would then don their clothes in order to disguise yourself as them, and followed up by checking into hotels where they had previously made reservations. You made sure you would show up on security cameras for that reason. The victims being the same size as you was no accident either. You chose people who wore hats and glasses because they were easier to impersonate. If the security feed showed someone looking close enough to the victim, the police were inclined to believe it. By the time the last known sighting of the 'victim' was recorded, the real victim had already been abducted."

After hearing Kunikida's explanation, Hiromi looked at the driver with wide eyes. She honestly didn't think of him as that smart. A lot of people who did crimes like this wouldn't go as far as disguising themselves as their victims and having them check in where they needed to. All they would do is take the victims and that's it. This guy had actually planned out things pretty well. He didn't seem like the kind of guy to do that. He honestly didn't even seem like the type of guy to sell body parts on the black market, but more surprising things have happened.

"Ms. Sasaki's abduction was even easier, wasn't it?" Dazai asked. The driver made a noise that sounded like a gasp. He was giving himself away at this point. "After she collapsed at the train station, a good samaritan passing by paid for her cab ride to the hospital. It's faster than calling an ambulance at the train station, isn't it?"

Not missing a single beat, the driver snapped, "That's all circumstantial evidence."

Hiromi crossed her arms, "And that's what any guilty person would say."

If you looked close enough, you would see that the driver was gripping the steering wheel tightly. Dazai hummed in question at the driver's comment. He blinked in thought for a moment before saying, "I suppose you're right," Dazai leaned back in his seat and put his arms back behind his head. "Guess we got nothing," He glanced over at Kunikida, "What's your move now, Kunikida?"

Turning to the driver, Kunikida gave him an annoyed look, "Come on, are you being serious right now?"

"How about we all make a deal?" The driver questioned.

"What do you mean?" Kunikida asked.

A scoff escaped Hiromi. She leaned forward and looked over at Kunikida, "He clearly can't defend his case anymore," Kunikida turned his eyes over to the girl. Hiromi moved her gaze to the driver, staring at him in an almost taunting way, "He's going to be grasping at any opportunity he can get his hands on." It was only natural for someone to do. If they feel like they've been backed into a corner, they'll do anything to get out of it, especially trying to barter their way out of it.

Ignoring Hiromi, the driver continued to say to Kunikida, "If you agree to my conditions, I'll turn myself in," His expression had turned desperate, "I need the assurance of the Armed Detective Agency! You have to keep me safe till the prosecution concludes their questioning and arranges witness protection for me."

This was getting a little weird. Why was he so worried? Hiromi clearly wasn't the only one with this question in mind. Kunikida had expressed his confusion, "What's this about?"

Gaze turned to the floor, the driver explained, "It wasn't my idea to do this job," Now that was a little surprising. "I was approached by a new organ smuggling ring who told me this was a great opportunity and I'd never get caught. Those liars!"

Okay... Hiromi took back everything she said before. This guy wasn't smart. Did he seriously think that they would keep their word? Hiromi voiced her thoughts, "Are you really surprised that they lied?" Her voice held not an ounce of sympathy for the man. These people literally worked in the black market and he was shocked that they lied. It's literally what they do to keep their business going. "Why do you think they don't do the job themselves? They know that it's impossible to get away with it so they need a fall guy," Hiromi pointed at him, "You're the fall guy."

Judging by the look on his face, the driver agreed with her words. He opened his eyes and faced the front of the car once more. What he said had made Kunikida jump to attention, "So there's a group behind all this? Do you know where they are?"

"Sadly, no," The driver replied. "I was always instructed to meet them in the Harbor Central Building."

"That must be it." Kunikida said.

"One question," Dazai cut in. "Why do you need our protection?"

That was a good question. He could have gone to the police instead of them. What was the point in coming to them when the police could help him out a whole lot more? "Well..." The driver trailed off in thought. Hiromi wasn't expecting what came out of his mouth. "It appears that one of the people I abducted was actually with the Port Mafia."

A smirk grew on Dazai's face, "How unfortunate..."

To be completely honest, Hiromi had to keep herself from laughing. Smiling in disbelief, Hiromi stared at the driver with wide eyes, "Wow... You really messed up, dude." Like, he had actually seriously messed up. No one could mess up as badly as he did... Well, maybe someone could. But the way he messed up was absolutely terrible.

It became even worse when bullets started to fire at them from outside the car. Hiromi ducked down to try and avoid the incoming bullets. Glancing at the others, they had done the exact same. The windows of the car shattered and Hiromi just hoped that she wouldn't be scratched by the falling glass. Small cuts aren't bad, but they can hurt like a bitch. The driver yelled at the sudden event, not expecting to be suddenly attacked like that.

When looking outside, Hiromi could see men dressed in black suits. They stood outside the car and they held big guns in their hands. Kunikida had practically shoved the driver's head down. If he applied any more pressure then the driver would have been completely folded in half. Kunikida glanced outside of the car at the men, "They didn't take long in finding us..."

"Help me!" The driver exclaimed.

Like an idiot, he ran out of the car. Kunikida reached out to him, "Hey!"

"We can't exactly help you if you're running away!" Hiromi called out.

The driver didn't seem to care. He was just trying to crawl away as quickly as he could, "I don't wanna die!" Were the words that came out of his mouth. Hiromi was a little surprised that the men in suits hadn't noticed that he had run away yet.

The first one to climb out of the car was Kunikida. He took cover behind the open door and called out to the driver to wait. The driver didn't. It didn't look like he was going to come back at all. He turned his gaze over to the men that were firing at them. Atsushi, Dazai, and Hiromi also made their way out of the car and hid behind the same door as Kunikida. Hiromi was glad that she was shorter than the others, their tall bodies hid her small one from the enemies' sight.

Hearing shuffling behind her, Hiromi glanced to see Atsushi grabbing something. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed a number. He was most likely trying to call someone to help them. With the look on his face, it obviously didn't work. "Mr. Kunikida!" Atsushi shouted. Kunikida looked back at him. "I'm not getting any signal."

Hiromi, who had also gotten out her phone, sighed in frustration, "I'm not either."

"They must be jamming it," Dazai stated.

"If we lose the driver, the truth may never come to light," Kunikida looked at Dazai, "Dazai, pursue the driver," He then moved his gaze to Atsushi and Hiromi, "Kid, Hiromi, go to the police and get backup," Kunikida held up his notebook, "I will draw their fire here."

Simultaneously, Dazai, Hiromi, and Atsushi all yelled, "Roger!"

Kunikida started to write something down in his notebook. When he was done, he exclaimed, "Let's go! Special ability: Doppo Poet!" He ripped out the piece of paper that he had just written on, "Flash Bang!" A green light enveloped his hand and then turned into the object that he needed. He threw the flash bang toward the guys shooting at them. It exploded, blinding them. "Now!" With that final command, the three took off to do their respective jobs.

***

After the whole commotion with the Port Mafia had happened, the group of four had met back up. They all seemed to be okay which Hiromi was happy for. No one looked to be injured and they didn't have to suffer a trip to Yosano's office. Sure, Yosano was a really good healer with her ability... But Hiromi pitied anyone that needed her treatment. She had gone through it herself when she got shot on a job one time and it was not fun. It's the reason why she always felt this huge sense of relief when she wasn't injured.

An abandoned building stood in front of them when they met back up. It didn't seem like there was anyone around, it was just them. The building was dark and the setting sun made it look even darker. It gave off an intimidating vibe because of how tall it stood. Atsushi and Hiromi had gotten a text from Kunikida saying to meet back up at this address. They had gotten there just about the same time that Dazai had. The first one to speak up was Dazai, "I turned the driver over to the police."

It's good to know they didn't have to worry about tracking him down. That would have been too much of a hassle to deal with. "So..." Atsushi trailed off. He studied the building in front of them with curious eyes. "This is the same building the organ traffickers used for their hideout."

It made sense. There weren't many people around the building so they didn't have to worry about getting reported to the police for suspicious activity. It was also a huge building so if the police did show up, it would take them a while to even find them. The group made their way inside the building to start looking around for anyone, or anything, suspicious. It was a little surprising that there wasn't any graffiti on the walls. There usually were in abandoned places like this.

"They've already left," A voice stated.

Looking over, Hiromi saw that it was Kunikida who had said this. With his hands in his pockets, he had stopped in an area where some stuff had been laying around. Hiromi sighed, "They probably caught wind that the driver had been taken to the police." It made her wonder how they found out so quickly. Maybe they had been secretly watching the driver just in case he had blabbed about anything.

"The walls are completely scorched," Atsushi observed.

Like he had said, the walls had burn marks on them. It was obvious that some kind of fire or explosion had occurred here. As Hiromi glanced around, she got a feeling of familiarity. She more specifically felt this feeling when she thought about the outside of the building. What about it made her feel like she had seen it before? It looked like every other abandoned building. "This is where the Azure King blew himself up, isn't it?" Dazai inquired.

Confirmation was given to him by Kunikida. Hiromi nodded to herself, crossing her arms over her chest, "So that's why this place looked familiar." It was a little ironic that Dazai had answered the question that she hadn't even asked anyone out loud.

This information surprised Atsushi, "What? Are you talking about the infamous Azure Flag terrorist? That Azure King?"

"Yes," Dazai responded. That case had been all over the news. It was all they could talk about for what felt like forever. Hiromi remembered being interested in the case because of who he targeted. Like Dazai had been reading her thoughts, he explained, "A fanatic who destroyed many national and corporate facilities. When I first heard the handle 'Azure Messenger,' I wondered if perhaps they had some sort of connection to the Azure King."

Oh... Sad to say that Hiromi didn't even think about that. It was probably because her mind had been a little all over the place with this case that they had been working. "I remember seeing all the news coverage about that explosion," Atsushi took a look around the building they stood in as he recalled the news articles and broadcasts. "So this is where it happened... It was out of desperation after the police had cornered him, isn't that right?"

"Exactly," Kunikida responded to his question. "I had determined this to be his hideout and reported the location to the local authorities."

The white-haired boy turned to him, "I'd heard it was a big operation; what happened next?"

"The public safety bureau, army, police, pro heroes, everybody was working in tandem, which created mass confusion," Hiromi remembered the event that Kunikida had been talking about. When everything had been going on and it was revealed that even the pros were helping, Hiromi knew that something big had to have been happening. The pro heroes don't get involved with just any case. They only get involved in the big ones or whatever problem they happened to be a witness to. "Upon receiving the report, only five detectives arrived at the scene in a timely manner. To exacerbate matters, the Azure King received word of the authority's actions and proceeded to hole up inside the building with an explosive device. After a set of conflicting orders, a decision was made to raid the building. However, without special training, quirks, or abilities, they didn't stand a chance. Cornered, the Azure King blew himself up and died, along with the five detectives."

That sounded about right, "Some people would rather die than get caught." It seemed a little overdramatic. But it was also used as a way to taunt authorities. What would be more annoying than finally catching up to your culprit only for them to take the easy way out?

Something seemed to catch Kunikida's eyes. He walked over to a small area with Hiromi following behind him, curious to see what had caught his attention. As they got closer, Hiromi could see that there was a small hideout set up. That just proves that they were here at least. Dazai added on to what Kunikida had said, "I remember that well. Of the five detectives that were deployed that day, one of them was Rokuzou's father, wasn't he?"

This caught Hiromi's attention. She didn't know about that. She only knew that Rokuzo's father died, but that was it. "He was a good man with strong morals," Kunikida said. Hiromi got a good look at his face and was able to see his expression. It was one of guilt and self-blame, "If I hadn't tipped off the authorities, none of this would've happened. I may as well have pushed the button myself."

"That's not true!" Atsushi ran over to him. "It's the terrorist's fault for choosing to blow himself up."

"It might seem like you pushed the button yourself, but you didn't," Hiromi spoke her thoughts as well. "Your hand was nowhere near the button which means that you're not at fault." She knew that he wasn't going to believe it. No matter how much people try to tell you that it wasn't your fault, you can't help but feel like they're lying to you. Hiromi knew that feeling all too well. It was one that haunted you and stayed in the back of your mind, eating you up.

"You're both absolutely right," Dazai said. Hiromi turned to look over her shoulder. When she turned, she saw Dazai leaning with his back against the doorframe of the small hideout they were in. "Even so, Kunikida can't help but take Rokuzou under his wing as a surrogate father. He feels it's the least he can do."

So that's why Kunikida seemed to care so much about Rokuzo. He felt like he was to blame for the murder of his father. Kunikida felt like the only way he could make it up to him was by watching out for him. A sudden beep sounded near them. Hiromi looked in the direction it had come from to see that it was from a laptop on a nearby desk. Kunikida hummed in question, walking over to it to check it out. Hiromi raised an eyebrow in confusion at the device, "I wonder why they didn't take the laptop with them."

"What is it?" Atsushi asked.

Grabbing the laptop, Kunikida brought the device toward him. Hiromi walked over to get a look at what he was doing. Kunikida clicked on the notification that had popped up. When he did so, a message popped up as well. "Another job for the Agency," Kunikida said. "The client is..." He scrolled to the side to see who had sent the message. "The Azure Messenger."

The sound of the name made Hiromi take a look around the building. Were they being watched right now? It couldn't be a coincidence that the message for them popped up right when they had got here. "How interesting," Dazai commented. They're starting to reveal their true colors," He turned to Kunikida, "So... What's the job?"

"It's to go disarm a bomb."

"A bomb?!" Atsushi exclaimed.

"Clearly, there's a pattern with the name beginning with 'Azure' and using bombs." Hiromi pointed out. Maybe this was some kind of copycat or fan. This wouldn't be the first time that someone had done something like this. Fans of killers committing crimes similar to the person or group they obsess over aren't exactly uncommon.

"If we fail to disarm it, by sunset tomorrow..." Kunikida trailed off. Suspense filled the air as they waited for what he had to say. "Hundreds will die."

A shiver went down Hiromi's spine, "Oh, so no pressure then." She sarcastically remarked.

"So what exactly are we looking at here?" Atsushi questioned.

"With these schematics, the explosive would be quite advanced," Kunikida told him. "It's not going to be any easy task to find and dismantle it."

It didn't seem like it either. The Agency had dealt with bomb threats before but it was never to this degree. The bomb threats they had dealt with were threatening to blow up a train or a mall. All of the other bomb threats weren't this extreme. "No way..." Atsushi's voice shook. It was clear that he was unsettled by this information.

"Don't worry. Nobody is going to be hurt," Atsushi made a noise of confusion at Kunikida's statement. Hiromi also shot the man a look of confusion. Kunikida continued, "I promise... I won't let that happen again!"