Ch.40Request Log #006 – Hunting the Hunter (5)

Today there was no alcohol, but fortunately there was the smell of gunpowder and fatigue. With the unpleasant scent tickling my nose and my dry eyes, I would probably be able to sleep.

It didn’t take much preparation to catch the fugitive detective, but falling asleep required determination. I tossed and turned a couple of times, but thankfully managed to sleep without dreams.

In fact, my body was tense until I confirmed I was awake, which left me twice as stiff after getting up. Still, one cannot survive without sleep. That was what felt unpleasant.

After bathing in cold water and preparing to go out to pound the pavement again, someone knocked on the door. After knocking twice with no answer, they rang the doorbell. I was already working, so who could it be?

I looked through the lens on the door from a distance. Outside was… an elf in an expensive suit. He was knocking on the door with a very confident expression. His face seemed familiar…

Before opening the door, I quickly retrieved a file to check. He was one of the businessmen The Idealists’ Hive Mind had asked me to bring in. He came to find me on his own?

I didn’t know if by coincidence upon coincidence he had chosen me to protect him from The Idealists’ Hive Mind, but he was like a fish already caught. I grabbed my gun before opening the door.

Hiding the gun-holding hand behind the door, I leaned halfway out and checked both sides. He hadn’t brought anyone with him. So he really came here alone.

The elf businessman shook his head without saying anything. His expression suggested he already knew what I was being cautious about.

“No need to worry. I didn’t bring anyone with me. You’re the one hired by The Idealists’ Hive Mind, correct?”

He seemed to already know. Curious about what proposal he might make, I looked him up and down before nodding.

His suit was undoubtedly top-of-the-line. There must be a reason he came to this cheap apartment dressed as if attending a social party. I let him in for now. If he had found a way to survive, I needed to figure it out.

I give a short nod. He sighs with relief and sits in the office chair. As I sit across from him, he nods nervously.

“Please call the Hive Mind. I’m ready.”

That was completely unexpected. Call the Hive Mind? His willingness to face death was quite amusing, but his expression made it clear he wasn’t joking.

There was determination in his eyes. He conveyed a dignity suggesting he had come here by his own choice and was speaking these words by his own decision.

Instead of asking why, I pick up the phone and call the Hive Mind. Once again the call connects to the National Idealists Federation, but this time the Hive Mind answers immediately.

“I hope you’re not telling me you’ve already caught a second fugitive, detective.”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. I’ve got another one right in front of me. Came to my office voluntarily, without any fear. Send a terminal.”

Once again, the business-like conversation ends and I hang up. The Idealist terminal will arrive soon. Now, he looks at me, breathing heavily.

“Do you happen to have any alcohol? If you do, just one glass… No, never mind. I should stay sober. Instead, could you listen to my story? I don’t suppose resistance would do any good, but if you’ll listen, I’ll quietly surrender my consciousness to the Hive Mind. Truly.”

His nervousness suggested he had really come here in his right mind. And he knew how to persuade a detective. He made listening to his story part of the job.

Actually… I had been suppressing my personal curiosity for a while, telling myself a detective’s job isn’t to listen to stories. But since he proposed it first, this was fortunate for me.

“Alright, tell me. I’m listening.”

“Thank you, thank you. Well, I run a small canning factory. But one machine malfunctioned, causing cans to be improperly sealed, which led to a lawsuit that I lost, and I went through a very difficult time. So I borrowed from the Idealists. My soul could be given later, and I wanted to rise again.”

It was a common story. Customers who received spoiled canned goods would have happily called lawyers and filed lawsuits against the company. If the food was truly spoiled, compensation would have been necessary without question.

But that wasn’t the part I wanted to hear. I was curious about why he had walked here on his own. I resist the urge to ask first.

“And the Idealists definitely helped me. Though our company isn’t very large, you could say we own the elf canning market. Haha…”

For a moment, satisfaction and ecstasy crossed his face. It was the expression only someone who had rebuilt a collapsed house could make, and one only such a person deserved to make.

“But when I saw success again, the time came to give up my soul. I didn’t want to end it there. I wanted to live even one more day, so I ran. Fortunately, the detective chasing me quit, which barely stopped the pursuit… but looking at my condition was terrible. I was hungry like an animal, and filthy like an animal. Isn’t that funny?”

“It is funny. The president of a canning company struggling to survive like that.”

I could somewhat guess why he came here. If my guess was correct, I might even pay more respect to him than to the fugitive detective who had nearly succeeded in ambushing me.

“Yes. So I came back. I saw my family after a long time. I bathed, got a haircut, and put on a new suit. I wanted to live like a human being even if just for one more day. Since the Hive Mind would likely hire a new tracker soon anyway, I had people observe the terminals while I spent a few days with my family.”

He began pouring out words with a happy expression. He spoke about how much he regretted not spending time with his family while rebuilding his business with the Idealists’ help, and even about finally embracing his wife whom he had neglected while focusing only on work. He poured everything out as if wanting someone to remember all he had done.

This too was ultimately a volatile story. I would forget it, and he surely knew that. But he was pouring everything out anyway.

Instead of dismissing him saying I had no intention of listening, I quietly nodded and listened. This was exactly what I had told the fugitive detective. Instead of running like an animal, spend your final moments as a human being.

“In the end, rather than being dragged out of my home like an animal, I decided to come here on my own. This is my most expensive suit… It’s funny that I’m wearing this when I’m about to become something other than human.”

This time, let me cross the detective’s line a little. He was just a target to be handed over to the client, but he deserved some respect. I shake my head.

“That’s not true. You’re still human.”

At my words, he nodded with an expression that seemed rewarded for his courage. The elf who had been running his business so hard scratched the side of his hair, which had grayed without him noticing, and smiled foolishly.

“Ah, haha… Whew, that’s good. That’s good. You’ll end up forgetting my story too, right?”

“I’ll remember it for at least a few days. Since you’ll die soon, I’ll remember every detail until you die.”

All stories are volatile. However, sometimes the fact that they’re volatile doesn’t erase their meaning. Many people aren’t worth leaving stories behind, but sometimes there are those who are.

Soon several Idealist terminals arrive. This time, I didn’t look away as they reached for the elf businessman’s head.

Mana gathers in their palms. When they place their mana-filled hands on his head, his body begins to convulse as if connected to the Hive Mind. There was no horrific scream like yesterday.

Like osmosis, the Hive Mind sucked in the elf businessman’s consciousness, and soon his body became a terminal, sitting quietly before standing up. The terminal that brought the Hive Mind here nods with satisfaction.

“He was a brave elf, wasn’t he?”

“At least much better than that bastard yesterday. Have you found the others?”

The terminal connected to the Hive Mind nods. It takes out an envelope from its pocket and hands it to me.

“A terminal working at the postal service found a letter. It’s from the writer. We’re still trying to find which mailbox it was collected from, but we might find something, so I’m giving it to you. Anything else to say?”

It made no comment about the elf businessman’s death. It was a death chosen and faced as a free person. We had no right to comment.

Let’s move on to the next task. Even the address on the letter was written in careful block letters to avoid any confusion.

It didn’t seem like it would be a desperate plea for help. Most likely it was bait. I take a letter opener and tear open the envelope in front of the Hive Mind, dumping its contents onto the desk.

As expected, but the Hive Mind must have fallen for it. Inside was just a piece of paper folded several times with only one sentence written on it: “Mail is not safe.” The rest was blank.

Why would someone send a letter when they could use the telephone? If it were a life-or-death matter, it would have been more natural to use long-distance calling, even if it cost more.

“You fell for it. She must have sent several more letters besides this one. She probably sent telegrams too. She was trying to figure out which method of contact was safe, and what to use if one became unavailable. You fell for it nicely. Still, if there’s one thing we can learn…”

I pick up the envelope again and show the destination. It was a letter going to West Virginia. Is that where she’s trying to escape to? It’s a backwoods area with lots of forests, good for hiding.

“The destination is the key. The destination must be correct. To check if a communication method is safe, you need to send it to the right destination. That way, when you contact the recipient, you can check how many arrived properly. But you triggered one of the writer’s spider webs… and now we’ve lost track of the rest.”

We had no way of identifying telegrams or letters sent under different names. Not unless we knew what aliases she used. The Idealists had ruined our only clue.

“But the fact that the letter was just being sent means she’s still in New York. Send out terminals to check on foot. And if you’re going to touch anything, do it carefully. Understand?”

Although the Hive Mind was made up of multiple human consciousnesses, it wasn’t that skilled. Most of the minds that composed it were those of ordinary workers.

To overcome this limitation, it lent money and abilities to various people in exchange for their souls. Ironic that a communist bastard was helping capitalist businessmen to improve itself.

“Understood. Can we catch them all? I mean, no matter how long it takes…”

“I won’t stick with the same job for more than a month. I could finish the first two quickly, but the other two seem to have decided to hide properly, so it’ll just drag on.”

This might be what they’re counting on. A detective won’t stick with one job forever, and who would be crazy enough to search the entire country for one fugitive?

I had no intention of putting that much effort into a job that paid $20 per day plus a $30 bonus for success. I could bill for it, but it would be painful to miss calls from regular clients because I was stuck on one job for too long.

“Then what should we do? Would it be better to hire more?”

If I let this inexperienced entity hire more detectives, it would only create more gaps. Once we found them, catching them wouldn’t be difficult. We just needed to find them.

I should use the clues we have first. I hold up the envelope and show it to the terminal containing the Hive Mind. I point to the destination with my finger.

“Send a terminal to the post office that handles mail delivery to this area. Terminals don’t need to eat or rest, so they can monitor constantly. If anyone comes asking if a letter has arrived, secure that person first. Understand? And once you’ve confirmed who it is, use multiple terminals to follow them. Don’t tail them directly—set up terminals on each street to monitor. Got it?”

There was no way the Hive Mind could properly tail someone. But if I didn’t tell it how to follow someone, it might just kidnap them and bring them straight to New York. I had to give it the right method.

“Understood. What do we do next?”

Should I go down to West Virginia myself? No, using the Hive Mind, which can simultaneously utilize terminals across the country, would be much faster. If I went myself, it would take days just to get there.

“After you find the house, hide terminals nearby and monitor. Observe carefully for at least a week to learn when they leave the house, then enter when it’s empty and look for what I mentioned today. Things like telegrams sent or letters under aliases. Find out which telegraph office they used or what aliases they use. If they’ve replied by letter, it would be even better if you could find out which address they sent it to.”

If one spider web was triggered, they would move to another method, but they would also be anxious. We need to cut the webs one by one to isolate this methodical writer.

If only we had a way to tap the phone, it would be perfect, but that would be impossible without finding the address first. I bite my lip and tell the Hive Mind:

“And don’t be hasty. Hunt them like you would an animal. As their methods get blocked one by one, instead of escaping from New York, they might try to go down to West Virginia, so keep terminals stationed at the train stations. You’ve been doing that much, right?”

“Yes, we have terminals working as station attendants, so there’s no need to worry about that. Is that enough to catch them?”

“It will take an enormous amount of time, but we can catch them. As for the last businessman… are there no clues at all? Then I’ll focus on that for now. I’ll need to visit the company he ran and his home address… Can I trust you to handle what I’ve assigned? You inexperienced, naive Hive Mind.”

The Hive Mind sputters indignantly but swears it can be trusted. The Hive Mind is ultimately a collection of human consciousnesses and can be handled like a human.