Chapter 59: Madam, Please Don’t Shoot—We Are Innocent Citizens

According to the report from Yamakawa Ichiro, Fujiwara the Blond was currently gambling in a casino operated by the Yamaguchi-gumi. Aoyama Hidenobu and Asai Aya dealt with matters briefly, then drove to stake out the casino from outside.

“So many people are addicted to gambling. Is it really that entertaining?” Asai Aya watched the people coming and going at the hotel entrance, knowing full well they were all headed for the casino hidden inside.

Aoyama Hidenobu replied casually, “These people are hooked in their hearts. Gambling has become a habit for them. Whether they have something to do or not, they just want to play a few rounds.”

Asai Aya glanced at him and pursed her lips. You, too, always like me to play a few rounds whenever you have nothing to do.

Neither of them knew that, at that very moment, Noda was also watching from a nearby taxi, with three of his men stationed in a white van not far away. This must have been the highlight of Fujiwara the Blond’s life—so many people’s attention centered on him.

Inside the casino, Fujiwara the Blond was oblivious to the fact that both law and underworld figures were waiting for him outside. He stood at a gaming table, flushed and excited as he placed his bets, cheering when he won and cursing loudly when he lost, like a patient in the throes of madness.

Looking around, it was clear that everyone in the casino, men and women alike, shared the same feverish emotion, completely caught up in the game. Unless their money ran out and they could no longer place bets, they would never wake from this trance.

Tonight, Fujiwara’s luck started off poor; he lost several big bets. But soon, he began to win, watching his pile of chips grow larger and larger. His smile widened accordingly. Originally, he’d thought to stop as soon as he broke even for the day, but when he actually did, he found he couldn’t bear to leave. With his luck running so well, how could he walk away now? After all, fortune didn’t smile on him every day. He decided to play a little longer—perhaps he could even win back what he’d lost over the previous days.

After all, at this point, he was merely breaking even. If he left now, wouldn’t tonight be wasted?

Then, he began to lose again. And not just once, but several times in a row.

The chips that had been piled high before him dwindled rapidly. The money he’d just won disappeared like water through his fingers. His mood soured, but he had no intention of stopping. Staring at the remaining stack—less than a million yen—he gritted his teeth and decided to go all in.

If he won, he’d recover everything he’d just lost.

But there was no “then.” At half past nine, after less than an hour in the casino, Fujiwara the Blond walked out, the wind clearing his befuddled mind a little.

He began to regret it all over again. If only he’d left when he broke even—how much better that would have been! He silently promised himself: next time, he wouldn’t be greedy.

Yes, that’s what he told himself last time, too.

Fujiwara made a rough calculation and realized he’d taken millions from the stolen money over several days, and broke out in cold sweat.

How could it be so much?

He felt both fear and guilt. Fear, because with that much money missing, even his boss would notice the bag had shrunk. Guilt, because he’d stolen from the group and lost their money alone—something he absolutely shouldn’t have done.

No, he couldn’t let them discover this.

With his mind racing, Fujiwara decided to take out a few more million and return to the casino for one last big gamble. As long as he won back what he’d lost and put it back in the bag, he’d really quit for good!

Thinking this, he flagged down a taxi.

A taxi pulled up beside him. Without looking, Fujiwara climbed into the back seat and gave a destination, but soon realized something was wrong—the taxi wasn’t heading in the direction he’d specified.

“Hey! Where are you going? Stop the car!”

The driver was Noda himself, and, annoyed by Fujiwara’s shouting from the back, he replied impatiently, “I’m taking you on a shortcut.”

“No need! Pull over immediately!” Having done something shady, Fujiwara didn’t trust him at all.

“Alright, alright! I’ll stop up ahead.” Noda, wary of Fujiwara grabbing the wheel, checked the rearview mirror for the white van behind them, then stopped on a quieter roadside. “Pay the fare.”

Meanwhile, Aoyama Hidenobu and Asai Aya, who had been tailing Fujiwara, also noticed something was off.

“That van has been following Fujiwara.”

“Call for backup from nearby officers.”

“Right!”

As soon as the taxi stopped, Fujiwara the Blond tossed a few bills and hurried out, but the van screeched to a halt beside him and two men jumped out, rushing him without hesitation.

“Damn it! Who are you people?”

“Let me go! Are you looking for trouble?”

Caught off guard, Fujiwara was pinned to the ground, struggling and shouting furiously.

“Hurry up! Get him in the van!”

Noda, seeing a silver-gray Corolla approaching, quickly urged his men.

“What are you doing? Stop! Police!”

The Corolla stopped, and Aoyama Hidenobu and Asai Aya jumped out, guns drawn, shouting at the group.

Noda and his men froze in shock.

Damn, the police were tailing this guy tonight, too.

At that moment, Noda felt a strange urge to cry. Why was making money so difficult?

“Everyone, hands up and crouch down!”

Asai Aya barked coldly.

“Boss, what do we do?” One of the men looked at Noda, sweating. “Fight?”

“Fight what? With what?” Noda snapped. Because of the bank robbery, patrols were everywhere, checking vehicles on the streets. Since their identities hadn’t been exposed, they didn’t carry weapons for safety. Even if they wanted to fight, they couldn’t.

But Noda was quick-witted and raised his hands cooperatively, crouching down and suppressing his heartache. “Don’t shoot! Officers, we’re good people! Law-abiding citizens! We saw this guy and thought he might be one of the bank robbery suspects you’re looking for, so we were going to bring him to the station!”

Damn it! The person they’d worked so hard to catch was now being handed over to the police. Goodbye to the stolen money.

Asai Aya glanced at Aoyama Hidenobu.

So they’re model citizens, acting heroically! She’d thought they were criminals.

Just then, accompanied by the wail of sirens, two police cars flashed red and blue lights as they sped over. The backup they’d called had arrived.

Aoyama Hidenobu finally felt secure, holstered his gun, and handcuffed Fujiwara the Blond. The original plan was not to arrest him, but now they had no choice.

Indeed, plans never keep up with change.

He handed Fujiwara over to Asai Aya and turned to Noda’s group, praising them, “You did well, but next time, just call the police. Don’t try to apprehend suspects yourselves—they might be armed.”

“Yes, yes!” Noda nodded repeatedly, then pretended to check his watch. “Officer, since the suspect’s in your hands, if there’s nothing else, we’ll be on our way.”

“Wait, leave your contact information. I’ll apply for a reward for you.” Aoyama Hidenobu stopped him.

Noda dared not accept a reward; he just wanted to leave quickly. “No, no. Upholding the rule of law is the duty of every Japanese citizen. We can’t accept a reward—we didn’t catch him for money. Absolutely not!”

Damn, such civic-mindedness among these guys—rare indeed.

“This taxi isn’t yours, is it?” Just then, a police inspector came over and asked Noda.

Noda didn’t know how the police had figured that out, but tried to remain calm. “No, it’s a friend’s. We borrowed it to catch this guy and will return it shortly.”

They had rented the taxi from a driver, so it was genuinely a taxi.

“We need all four of you to come with us for investigation.” Aoyama Hidenobu sensed something was off and requested their cooperation.

Though Noda was utterly unwilling, he dared not refuse and followed them to the station.

He swore that next time, before any venture, he’d pray to the gods first. Everything had gone wrong, and luck had deserted him.

Back at the police station, Noda’s identity was checked and his lies exposed.

“Noda,” Aoyama Hidenobu said, flipping through the file, “you served ten years for robbery and only got out a year ago. Your three friends have quite the records, too.”

Noda forced a laugh. “Officer, it’s precisely because we’ve been educated by the law that we’ve repented and reformed. We willingly helped you catch criminals. The law doesn’t forbid ex-convicts from acting heroically, does it?”

His only consolation was having worn a mask during the bank robbery; otherwise, he’d be sitting in the interrogation room facing charges, which would be humiliating—no money gained, and yet prosecuted for bank robbery.

“What’s with the taxi? The driver says he doesn’t know you, and you paid him a hefty sum to rent it.” Aoyama Hidenobu put down the file, lit a cigarette, and said, “If I’m not mistaken, you caught Fujiwara to steal the money he and his gang robbed, right? Heroic? You reacted quickly—I almost believed you.”

“Detective, you need evidence for such claims. We’re clearly acting heroically—good citizens!” Noda stubbornly insisted.

Asai Aya walked over, face dark, and shook her head at Aoyama Hidenobu. “Fujiwara won’t say anything.”

Now that they’d caught him, the urgent task was to get Fujiwara the Blond to talk before his accomplices reacted, to find out where the money was hidden.

Then they could lay a trap, waiting to catch his accomplices when they came for the money.

“Don’t you want to know where they hid the money?” Aoyama Hidenobu raised his chin at Noda with a gentle smile. “I’ll give you a chance to ask Fujiwara yourself.”

He signaled to a police officer, instructing, “Put these four in with Fujiwara.”

“If I tell you where the money’s hidden, will you let us go?” Noda asked Aoyama Hidenobu.

Aoyama Hidenobu nodded, “Of course. You haven’t committed a crime—I can detain you for no more than twenty-four hours.”

Though he suspected the four were planning to rob Fujiwara, he had no proof.

“Alright! I’ll help.” Noda agreed eagerly, almost impatiently.

He hated Fujiwara’s gang with a passion—they’d stolen his money and caused endless trouble.

Now, with no hope of retrieving the money, he relished the chance to vent his anger.

He was genuinely willing to help the police find the money and catch Fujiwara’s accomplices.

If I can’t have it, neither can you!