Soul Drive: Ignition

Kimiko scanned over the security files, trying to figure out if any cameras captured the final moments of everyone in the lab. Dust danced in the air around her, illuminated by the flickering light from a monitor. She wondered why the files were arranged out of order, thinking it may have been a security measure. Then she heard the soft footsteps approaching behind her.

Spinning around, the hair on the back of her neck stood up, and Kimiko locked eyes with a mystery woman framed in the doorway. "Who are you?" Kimiko demanded, instinctively reaching for her Mach.

"Naomi," came the reply, the woman advancing with deliberate steps, her green eyes unflinching in their focus. "And you are trespassing."

Kimiko's hand slipped lower into her pocket, gripping the Mach with her thumb over the screen. Naomi held up a hand as if she were surrendering. "There will be no need for that, I actually wanted to thank you."

"Thank me?" Kimiko's stance remained guarded, she made sure Naomi never left her sight as the woman paced in front of her.

"That's right, without you I wouldn't have been able to come down here," Naomi stated, she flashed the holo screen of her slab, which showed an alert of an intruder in the facility. "You see if I was just snooping down here it would have raised questions, but if I came down here to investigate a possible intruder, well then I am just doing my job,"

"So you want to know what really happened here too," Kimiko's grip on her weapon relaxed but did not release. "Most of what was here has been completely erased. You wouldn't happen to know how to recover it?"

Naomi shook her head, "A virus totally wiped the system, nothing from the original Mach project survived,"

"So this place is a dead end then?" Kimiko gestured to the decrepit hardware around them, frustration lacing her words. "All I can confirm is that Hiro's father died here."

"We have those security files," Naomi motioned to the large monitor, a small glass tablet shimmering to life in her hands. "It seems like the system switched the days with the years to encrypt the files."

Kimiko's eyes darted to the device, a flare of hope igniting within her. "You have a way to decode this?"

"The file we are looking for, the last day should be easy to find," She plugged the glass slab into the old hardware. "Of course, the download is password protected,"

"It will be something related to Hiro," Kimiko said, "Let me try his birthday."

With a few deft swipes, Kimiko unlocked the system. The feed flickered on the screen allowing all the files to download.

"Let me work on this," Naomi offered as she pulled the slap from its input.

"How do I know you won't erase what little we have?"

"Because," Naomi said, her voice lowering to a whisper, "I knew someone who died in this lab. His death deserves meaning."

"Fine," Kimiko conceded as she tried to read Naomi's expression, "but we stay in touch. Hiro deserves the truth."

"I don't have a problem with that." Naomi nodded, sealing their uneasy truce with a nod. "For now, we work together on this."

Kimiko backed away, still uncertain about Naomi's true intentions but having no other options. She made her way back through the facility, thinking about what she had discovered, Hiro's father was dead, and she was going to find out who killed him.

---

Hiro paced outside of Trisha's office building, waiting for Ai to emerge. Ai finally burst through the doors, her gaze looking back up toward Trisha's office. Hiro followed her gaze, wondering what she had learned during their meeting.

"Osamu is alive, at least that is what she said. She seemed certain of it" Ai's voice was hopeful, but Hiro could see her eyes were puffy.

"You were in there for a while, is that all she told you?" Hiro asked, as Ai finally turned to face him. He could feel that something was off, his gut began to twist as the silence filled the space. "She contacted someone, didn't she? I mean there is no way she wasted your time like that unless she was buying time for herself."

Ai shot him a confused look, her brown eyes wide. "She did call anyone while I was in there, she just seemed really caught off guard you know. I think she wasn't expecting a teenager to show up who knows about her husband"

"I don't know," Hiro said, rubbing his temples. "I mean she lives in the same world as her husband, she knows what it is like to have people looking for you, hence the new identity here. No, she would have some safety yet for if she thought her life was threatened."

Before Ai could reply, the shrill cry of sirens pierced the afternoon calm. They exchanged a look, turning on their heels, and raced toward the closest open alleyway—only to be met by the stern faces of local law enforcement.

"Hands where we can see them!" one officer commanded as they were herded like cattle towards the squad car.

"Hiro, what do we do now?" Ai whispered urgently, her voice barely audible over the officers radioing into the station.

"Listen to me," Hiro said, his mind racing through all the possibilities of what was about to happen to them. "When we get there, you don't know me. You were just... paid to give Trisha the message from me." His voice was low and urgent.

"What? What the hell are you talking about!"

"Please, Ai," Hiro implored, locking eyes with her. "It's the only way you get out of this, when you get back to the school find Yutaka."

Reluctantly, she nodded, swallowing hard against the fear. "What will happen to you?" Her tone was laced with concern.

"Don't worry about me," Hiro reassured her, though his own heart thundered with uncertainty. "Yutaka will know what to do, he will figure out a way to get me out,"

Ai's bottom lip began to tremble, she looked at Hiro and knew that he was holding back something. She watched as Hiro's gaze shifted to the officers, his eyes scanning over them, locked on their every move. At that moment, she knew he was planning something to get them out of this.

Hiro plunged his hand into his pocket the moment the officer's eyes left them. He felt the cold metal of his Mach, disguised convincingly as a cell phone. He glanced at the officers flanking them, ensuring they were busy and not watching them, and then he pulled the device free.

"Take it," Hiro murmured, the device sliding across the smooth plush seat of the police cruiser. "They can't find this on me."

Ai's hand trembled as she pocketed the Mach, giving Hiro a small nod. "You'll be defenceless," she whispered back, trying to make sure she wasn't overheard.

"I won't need it where I'm going," he said with a fake smile, he couldn't let Ai know the truth. The car lifted off the curb and they were off to their possible final destination.

The police station loomed ahead, a twisted pillar rising from the Earth. They were ushered through the metal scanners out front and down a slick black hallway. Ai was guided into a sterile waiting area, an officer with only a few small uncomfortable chairs inside of it. Hiro watched her sit down, her eyes darting from one end of the room to the other before he was tugged sharply in the opposite direction.

"Interrogation Room B," the officer leading him grunted, pushing open a door with a jangle of keys. The sight that greeted Hiro inside caused his breath to hitch. Osamu stood there, in the local police uniform, He looked good for a man who was on the run.

"Leave us," Osamu commanded, his voice carrying an edge of authority that had the other officer nodding and stepping out without question. The door clicked shut, leaving the two men alone.

"Osamu?" Hiro began, but the man held up a hand to silence him.

"Listen closely. We don't have much time," Osamu said, his gaze sharp and calculating. "The moment they booked you, every government agency looking for you found you. They'll be coming to collect you."

"I'm sorry, I just needed to know you were ok," Hiro's mind raced, wondering just how much time they had.

"I understand, the game of war was never meant to be played by children," Osamu shook his head, leaning forward on the table between them. "What I need to know right now is how you found my wife, Hiro. This is important, I know you didn't do it on your own, I'm glad it was you who did it though."

"Right, a genius at school," Hiro explained, he tried to focus as best as he could. "He developed this program, it can basically get around any form of cyber security,"

"Well, that's inconvenient. How much does he know about all of this?" Osamu replied, a bitter edge creeping into his tone. "Please tell me I don't have to go make sure this kid keeps quiet. You have to be more careful with what you bring into this."

Hiro's pulse quickened, the implication of Osamu's words dawning on him. "He doesn't know anything about this... he just thinks I was researching for a school project,"

"Good," Osamu confirmed. "Now it's time to figure out where we can from here, Hiro. Obviously, I can't just let you go, I mean look what happened when I let you go last time, you brought trouble right to my doorstep."

"Are you going to kill me?" Hiro asked, his voice barely more than a whisper.

"Don't be stupid, I've sacrificed way too much to do that." Osamu's expression changed to a thoughtful one. "You are going to have to come with me so I can keep an eye on you. I can't have any more setbacks, I'm trying to save us all."

Hiro leaned back in his chair, as he tried to process what Osamu was suggesting. He couldn't just leave, Yutaka would never stop searching for him and neither would the government. He reasoned it didn't matter who he was with, as long as they were with him it wouldn't be safe. His failures gave them his identity, he turned himself into an easy target.

"I can't go with you," Hiro said after a beat, his tone sombre. "I'm too recognizable, you won't make it far with me there."

"Don't play the hero here," Osamu stated, standing abruptly as footsteps approached. "We don't have time for this."

"I am not, I am just doing what gets both of us out of here alive," Hiro replied, as the footsteps came to a halt at the door. As the door swung open to admit the returning officer, Hiro stiffened in his chair —the officer approached Osamu and whispered something over to him.

---

The Japanese Mach facility was buzzing as Hiro's arrest flashed across their screens. Mao approached Nori, her heels clicking assertively against the immaculate floor. "Nori," she said, coming to a full stop in front of the boy, "Our sources confirm he is being held at the Hiroshima station."

Nori looked up at the woman, almost seeming annoyed by this information. "And you needed to hint me down for that?"

"It's your opportunity," Mao stated, with a sickening smile. "Complete your mission, but do it without theatrics."

"Of course, wouldn't dream of it," Nori replied, keeping his voice even and giving Mao a small bow.

"Don't play games," Mao rolled her eyes. "You know what your reward is if you succeed." She turned on her heel and walked away, leaving Nori in her wake.

Nori was tired of playing nice with her, his steps took him past the weapons cache. A glint of metal caught his eye, the grenades pressed neatly in place. A sly grin spread across Nori's face. "They won't miss just one," he murmured to himself, "After all is a small explosion to showy."

---

Nori reached the Hiroshima police station within minutes, as Ai sat rigid in her chair, her fingers tracing the outline of Hiro's Mach hidden in her pocket. The waiting area was empty until the door swung open, admitting a figure that seemed so familiar to her. A delivery boy, with a tuff of red hair peeking out from under his hat, made his way into the room.

Their eyes locked, and he pressed a finger to his lips. Ai nodded, understanding the silent command. He ambled through the room, not seeming out of place for a moment. Then, with a quick glance, he dropped something into the trash bin and continued toward the door at the far end of the room.

"Get out," he mouthed, just before the door closed behind him.

Ai didn't hesitate. She dove into the nearest office, landing hard on the carpet as the explosion tore through the silence. The reverberations shook the foundations of the building, and the air filled with the stench of smoke and melting carpet. Fire alarms wailed, as officers staggered through the building calling for anyone who was injured—others yelling about the fire suppression system failing.

Outside, amidst a gathering crowd, Nori shrugged off the delivery uniform, eyes fixed on the inferno he had unleashed. The corners of his mouth lifted in satisfaction as he took in his handy work. "Now don't be stupid Hiro," he whispered to the flames. "Get out of there."