Chapter 7
As soon as Enokida started researching the group up he confirmed the access point of the post was from within Ikebukuro . The address was Ikebukuro 2 Choume 60 Banchi, the first floor of a three story building . The computer terminal set up in there was where the post pretending to be the NPB was .
He attached the address and a map in an e-mail and sent it to Lin .
Soon after he received a reply from him . [Do you know a place that lends weapons around this area?] It said . Banba was probably unarmed, so they thought he would need a weapon when they infiltrate the enemy's hideout .
" – Hey, Wyatt . "
Enokida spoke to Wyatt as he was working in front of the wall . He was just about to put up a bounty for the Wild Bunch Company .
"An acquaintance of mine is searching for a shop that can supply them with weapons around Ikebukuro . Do you know any places?" Thinking a local would know more about the area Enokida decided to ask him . "They don't seem to have money, so it'd be more ideal if they could borrow them for free . Or pay later . "
Hm, Wyatt nodded and then provided an answer . "Then I think they should go to Hugo's place . "
"Hugo?"
"He is a Mexican weapon sales guy . He has a shop in Ikebukuro . If you have them give my name he'll help them out . "
He wrote down the address of the store Wyatt had told him and sent it to Lin . Soon after he received a call . He hit the button to accept the call . "Hello?"
He thought it was Lin but it was not .
[ – Enokida, it's me . ]
The caller was his teammate José Martinez .
[I need your help . ]
"What's wrong?"
[Please hack into my cell phone . ]
"What?" Enokida tilted his head to the side . "Did you lose it or something?"
[No,] Martinez laughed bitterly . [Although I should be old enough to know better, I got myself lost . ]
"……Ha?"
[I don't know where I am . And I can't get a taxi . ]
"What were you doing?"
[Just please find my current location with your hacking skills and lead me to the nearest train station . Like tell me 'now turn left in another 30 meters' or something . ]
"I'm not a car navigation system . "
Despite telling him this, Enokida reluctantly agreed to it .
"I'll look it up now, so don't move . "
Enokida got onto his laptop and started to trace the call . Not even a few minutes later and the results came in . Martinez's current location was displayed on a map on his screen . And somehow he was also not in Fukuoka but Tokyo . So he came ahead of time .
The address of where he was at was Ikebukuro 2 Chome 60 Banchi – Enokida came to a realization as he read silently .
"This place is -"
He muttered unconsciously .
There was no mistake . It was the exact same address as the IP address of that post . This was far past a mere coincidence .
"……Ah, head to the right . And turn left at the second corner ahead . "
[Ohh, alright . ]
Martinez seemed to have started walking as the mark on the map began to move as well .
" – By the way . " Enokida asked him while providing navigation . "Maru-san, why are you in Ikebukuro?"
[Ahh, it was for work . I was asked to torture someone . ]
"By whom?"
[A company called the Wild Bunch . ]
"!"
– The Wild Bunch .
He recalled that name .
Quickly looking up Enokida spotted the bulletin post . He saw the wanted poster Wyatt just put up: WANTED The Wild Bunch Group . Rabito and Tora were bickering over something as he looked at the poster . These two would likely dispute over which team to go for .
The bounty price for the leader of the group and the head of the Wild Bunch Company, John Wayne's, is 1,000,000 yen . For his right-hand man Wilson and the eight subordinates it is 200,000 yen . The other team underlings are 40,000 yen each . The total bounty for them is 3,000,000 .
"……M-hm . " Enokida grins . This looks like it will be a good source of revenue . "Tell me the whole thing . "
Once he heard what Martinez had to say in regards to his job, he had a general idea of what was going on from Banba and Lin's actions . Coincidentally the person Martinez tortured was the same man Banba and Lin had captured .
Lin and Banba encountered the novice bounty hunters from Dodge City in the middle of capturing the man . And the nefarious people who did not pay up to Lin and Banba were also the ones who hired Martinez, the Wild Bunch Group . And they should be trying to infiltrate their base soon .
At the same time, Tora and Rabito seemed to be looking at the Wild Bunch Company as well . At this rate if they go they would end up battling with Lin and Banba again .
"……Now then, what to do . "
In contrast to his conflicted statement Enokida had a smile on his face .
" – Say, Maru-san . "
[What is it?]
"In exchange for me telling you the way back I have a favor for you to do . "
[Oh, that's alright . Tell me . ]
He glanced around the facility briefly, "I can't say it here . I'll send you an e-mail later . "
After he told Martinez the last of the directions Enokida dropped the call .
He had Enokida locate the cowards that tricked them and had them work for free . All that was left was to infiltrate their hideout, catch the culprits and have them pay up, but they had one problem . Banba did not have a weapon .
They came to Tokyo for baseball in the first place . They did not consider they would end up facing against an underground organization . Unlike Lin who had already been walking around with his specialty knife pistol for self-defense, Banba's weapon, a Japanese sword, was at their home in Fukuoka . The only object that could be used as a weapon is his beloved baseball bat, but he despised hurting anyone with his sacred baseball equipment . And so they had to be provided with a weapon from somewhere .
He asked Enokida to look into it and he mentioned a weapons shop in Ikebukuro . Really he's a guy who knows everything .
According to the message there is an acquaintance of Enokida's called Wyatt, and it was that friend of Wyatt's who ran the smuggled goods store .
Lin and Banba decided to head over and check the place out . When they opened the heavy doors on the third floor of the tenant building in Ikebukuro, they heard joyous, Latin music was playing . The store was not particularly spacious, and the space was cluttered . There were various furnishings and miscellaneous goods set up in disarray .
"¡Hola!"
A suspicious looking foreign man greeted them .
He was likely the owner of this store . After he examined Lin and Banba's faces he told them, "You're new faces . Nice meeting you . Mucho gusto," and held out his hand to them .
Hesitantly they shook his hand .
"My name is Hugo . Spelled H . U . G . O . You don't pronounce the H . " The man introduced himself .
This was the second time hearing broken Japanese . Lin thought to himself . He recalled the black man they encountered at the sushi restaurant .
The owner of this store was also an unusual foreigner . He was in a sombrero hat and poncho and had strong facial features . And then he had a Spanish name – in all probability he was likely Mexican .
"We came under Wyatt's referral . "
When Lin told him this Hugo clasped his hands together .
"Ohh, the sheriff? Sí, sí . "
He did not know anything about a sheriff, but he seemed to have understood . "I give you a service, amigo . Which do you want?" Hugo asked Lin .
Banba answered him in his place . "We're lookin' for a Japanese sword . "
"Japanese sword?"
At that moment Hugo's expression lighted up .
"Hugo has got a nice katana . "
After he told them that he headed further inside the store . After a while Hugo returned holding a black case .
"How is this?"
In the case was a magnificent Japanese sword . It looks like a high priced item from one glance at it, so Lin quickly added . "Actually, we don't have money . "
Banba next to him desperately tried to tell him in English, "no money, no money . " Though Hugo only nodded multiple times, "sí, sí . "
"It's fine . " Hugo told them with a smile . "If you're amigo of Wyatt, I give for free . Take it . This katana is amazing . Was made by skilled blacksmith . "
"Really?"
"It is an article he poured his heart into and forged when he held himself up in a mountain for three years and washed his mind and body against the waves each day . "
"……That seems shady . "
Half pressed to take it, Banba accepted the case .
Hugo gave them a thumbs up with his right hand and said to them as the two left in Spanish, "¡Hasta la vista, amigos!"
Banba had received a shady Japanese sword from a shady weapons dealer, but his expression was not cheerful . He appeared to be puzzled over something . He tilted his head in wonder with the case in hand . "……I wonder if it's really alright to get to for free . "
"Isn't it fine? You got something for free . " Lin spurted out a laugh . "Especially since we don't have any money . "
"Well, that's true . " He whispered and dropped his gaze down to the case in his hand . "But to hand out a magnificent sword such as this……Dontcha reckon' it's a bit fishy?"
Lin agreed with Banba's statement . That's true . Maybe there is more to it than it appears, he could not help but suspect . But they had no other means . They had to accept it .
"More than that, let's get going . "
They finished their preparations . All that was left is to infiltrate the enemy base . Lin took out his smartphone and brought up the map .
"So it's 'bout ten minutes from here . " Banba whispered while peeking over to look at the screen .
"Don't know who the hell they are, but we're getting our 300,000 yen . " Lin gave a smirk, recalling the man's face . "We're coming for you . "
In the western bar Dodge City, Wyatt was devoting himself to his work . He was bringing out alcohol and food for guests and managing the wanted posters they received from the NPB . He did not have time to rest .
Enokida also appeared to be working where he was at the end of the table, typing swiftly on his keyboard while gulping down his glass .
Tora and Rabito were sitting down facing each other on the other side of the table and were continuing their bickering .
" – And for some reason you are the only one with no talent for shooting . " Tora told him while he was stitching up the hole in his hat with a needle and thread . "Even though you call yourself a bounty hunter . "
"But in place of that God has bestowed onto me these beautiful looks . Amen . " Rabito made the sign of the cross across his chest while still reclined back in his seat .
"What amen?" Tora snorted . He bit off the thread with his teeth and fixed his temporarily repaired hat on his head . "You fake priest . "
"And you're not a native of Osaka . Even though you're a Hanshin fan . "
"I especially despise guys who judge someone's patronage team based on their birth place . "
"Don't you copy me . "
After Rabito and Tora glared at each other, they turned away with a snort . They then both got up and headed towards the bulletin board .
"Now then, who should I go for next?"
He looked at the wanted posters on the wall, standing in front of Rabito .
"Hey, I can't see . Move . And while you're at it shrink down a bit . " His massive size at 193 centimeters easily pushed aside Tora . "It's because you're so massive that you're in the way, you giant . You Giants fan . "
"That has nothing to do with me being a Giants fan . "
While the two fired insults at each other they carefully looked through the wanted posters on there .
Rabito's gaze landed on one paper among them .
"……The Wild Bunch Group?"
It was still new . It was just put up by Wyatt a few moments ago .
"Ahh, that . " Wyatt spoke up . "That just came in . Seems the Awakusu Group put that bounty out for them . "
"I see . " Tora groaned . "That's the Awakusu Group for you . They pay the big bucks . "
"All together they're 3,000,000? That's not bad . "
Tora glared at the grinning Rabito . "……Hey . "
"What are you getting at? These guys are my prey . "
"Haa? I spotted them first . "
"You can't do it . You'll be rained down with bullets . "
"And you'll be beaten to a pulp . "
"I'll mention it for good measure," Wyatt frowned at Tora and Rabito beginning to fight again . "Wouldn't it be better if you two teamed up?"
He would be thankful if they did that .
Rabito was Wyatt's nephew, but he was also like his own son to him . And it was the same for Tora . Wyatt had been looking after him since he was a minor .
Wyatt was worried . He did not want them to head into the outlaw's den individually no matter the amount of the bounty .
Tora was skilled at shooting . Rabito was physically strong . If these two teamed up and helped each other out it would be reassuring on his part . They would have to split the pay, but then the number of enemies could be divided in half for them . Then he could send them to the battlefield with a little bit more relief .
Though they would not comprehend his parental love . Once they heard the words "team up" the two visibly made a disgusted look and raised their voices, "blegh . "
"Don't joke around, uncle . "
"No kidding . Give us a break, Wyatt . "
"But . " Wyatt drived into them . "No matter the amount it'll be too much for one of you to capture twenty men . "
They had to bring all of them back alive . Naturally they would need help .
Rabito grimaced at Wyatt's words . "That's true . " Tora also admitted hesitantly, "what you say is right . "
One more push . " – Then how about this . " Wyatt suggested . "How about you compete instead of working together . "
"……Compete?"
"That's right . There are roughly twenty enemies . You'll compete in numbers for how many you defeat . "
"That sounds great . " Rabito exclaimed excitingly . His smile was beaming . "Let's have a match, wild tiger-chan . "
Tora was also a man who hated to lose . There was no way he would say no here .
"Fine with me . "
The two looked each other in the eye . Their gazes clashed and sparks flew .
"Now that has been decided, let's go infiltrate their hideout . "
Rabito turned around and addressed Enokida relaxing at the table . "Hey, you over there . "
Enokida lifted his face up from his laptop and tilted his head . "What is it?"
"You're an informant, right?"
"Yeah, and?"
"You can look anything up?"
"Pretty much . "
"Alright then . " Rabito pointed to the group's wanted poster with his thumb . "Look up these guys' location . "
"Why do you ask me? There's an excellent informant in Shinjuku . And he helps you two out, right?"
Why do you know that? Tora had that sort of shocked expression . And then he inclined his head in questioning . "Hm? ……Wait, you two? So I'm not the only one using that man -"
"Hey, hey . What's the meaning of this?" Rabito scowled . "I receive information from him too . "
Tora and Rabito look at each other and raised their voices and the same time . "Haa?"
"You too?! Stop copying me, you gorilla!"
"That's my line! Don't you copy me!"
It seemed the two did not know they both have used the same informant .
"……So that informant stayed quiet on purpose . "
"No kidding . What the hell . "
Tora and Rabito frowned in resentment . These two hardly get along to the point one would wonder if there was some connection to a previous life . These two realizing they used the same informant did not sit well with them at all . "I won't use that guy anymore," the two decided .
Rabito turned back to Enokida and said, "well that's it, so please look into it . "
He clasped his hands in front of his place in pleading, please . At that the mushroom haired informant readily consented . "Well, I don't really care . I already know the hideout of the Wild Bunch anyway . "
Rabito's eyes widened at Enokida's words . "You serious?"
"Hey, is that true?" Tora bent forward as well .
"A friend of mine said he has been to their office before . "
"Tell us the place of that office . I'll cover the alcohol expenses from here free for you . "
Wyatt frowned at Tora's statement . "Hey now, don't decide that on your own . " He whispered to himself in his mind he would deduct it from his wages .
Enokida took out a note and wrote down the address to the hideout . "Alright, here you go," he sad and handed it over to Tora .
Peeking over at the paper Rabito muttered, "Ikebukuro 2-Chome, huh . "
"Let's get going . " Tora urges on while fixing the hat on top of his head . "Hurry up and get ready . "
"Will you follow directions?"
Rabito took out a gun from somewhere and counts the remaining bullets . Seeing that Tora warned him sharply . "Hey, leave the gun . "
"Haa?" Rabito frowned . "Are you saying I should go in unarmed?"
"You got your stupid strength your so proud of, right? Bambino . "
Rabito grinned at that, "Ahh, I guess that's right . "
"You feel like you're going to lose to me, so you're saying that . "
"No . " Tora turned down with a harsh tone and pointed to the stitched up hole in his hat . "I'm saying I don't want to be shot . "
"Well, whatever . I'll give you this much of a handicap, Trinity . "
"What handicap . You're overconfident as usual . "
Tora made an exasperated face and sighed .
"I'll break that nose you hold up so high today . "
"Don't be jealous because you have a flat face, You pure Japanese . "
"Shut it, you half-Japanese gorilla . "
Seeing the two leave the bar while bickering, Enokida said sarcastically, "they sure are getting along well . "
It only increased Wyatt's anxiety . "……Will those two be alright?"
Illustration provided by Soutenkyuu on Tumblr .
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