Chapter 87
We leave the safety of Hiro's house shortly after noon and drive towards the closest large city. It's dark by the time we arrive. I’m nervous, but I try to keep my cool as Hiro leads us toward a small, run-down district at the edge of the city.
It’s far from the picturesque Japanese coast we walked through yesterday, the streets here narrower, the buildings older, more worn down, with laundry hanging from windows and the hum of old motorcycles as they sputter by. The kind of place where people don’t ask questions.
Hiro glances back at us, his tone light despite the tension I feel rising. “Relax. My contacts aren’t exactly the suits and ties you’re used to at Enigma, but they’re good people.”
“Define ‘good,’” I mutter, sticking close to Wake, who is scanning the area like a hawk. His posture is stiff, his eyes constantly moving. I can tell he’s still wary after what happened yesterday.
Hiro chuckles, “Good enough to get you new identities, new lives, and no questions asked. That’s the kind of ‘good’ we need right now.”
Wake grunts, unimpressed. “If these people work with criminals, how do you know they won’t sell us out?”
Hiro shrugs. “That’s the beauty of working with people on the other side of the law. They hate Enigma just as much as we do. It’s bad for business when big corporations come snooping around their turf. Besides,” he adds, smirking, “I’ve worked with them for years. They’re not going to screw us over.”
Wake doesn’t respond, but I can feel the skepticism radiating off him. I reach out, brushing my fingers against his arm, hoping to ease some of his tension. “We’ll be fine,” I say softly, though I’m not sure if I’m trying to reassure him or myself.
We walk for a few more minutes in silence, the weight of what we’re about to do settling in my chest. Fake IDs, fake passports—an entirely new existence. I’ve spent most of my life wondering who I am, and now I’m about to trade it all for a new identity. A clean slate. I don’t know if it’s liberating or terrifying.
As we turn down a narrow alley, Hiro stops in front of a rusted metal door that looks like it’s barely held together by the hinges. He knocks twice, and I hear the shuffling of footsteps from inside. A voice calls out in Japanese.
Hiro responds, his voice calm and casual, though I don’t understand a word. A moment later, the door creaks open, and we’re met by a middle-aged woman wearing a floral apron, her hair pulled back in a loose bun. She looks like she could be someone’s mother, but the sharp glint in her eyes tells me she’s anything but.
“Hiro,” she greets him in English, her voice surprisingly warm. “You always bring the strangest friends. Come in, come in.”
Hiro laughs, leading us inside. “Nice to see you too, Noriko.”
The inside of the building is a stark contrast to the exterior. It’s clean, organized, with rows of computers and a table cluttered with papers and documents. A younger man sits at one of the desks, tapping away at a laptop. He glances up at us, then returns to his work without a word.
Noriko ushers us toward the back of the room, where she pulls out a chair for me. “Sit,” she says, her tone leaving no room for argument. “Let me look at you.”
I sit, feeling oddly like a kid in the principal’s office as she circles around me, studying my face with a critical eye. “You’re the one Hiro mentioned. The one who needs to disappear.”
I nod, unsure of how much Hiro’s told her, and hoping it’s not too much.
She hums thoughtfully, then turns to Wake, her expression turning coy, teasing. “And are you her bodyguard?”
Wake narrows his eyes but doesn’t respond. I give Noriko a small smile, trying to ease the tension. “He’s not much of a talker.”
Noriko laughs, a surprisingly light sound. “Good. I don’t need him to talk. I just need him to trust me.” She glances at Hiro. “And I take it we’re doing the full package?”
Hiro nods. “Passports, IDs, and cash. Everything they'll need to keep Enigma off their backs for a while.”
Noriko nods, already pulling out a stack of papers from a drawer. “Got it. You two got a preference for your new identities?”
I blink, thrown by the question. I hadn’t even considered that. “Uh… no, not really.”
“Something foreign, then,” Noriko muses, flipping through the documents. “Easier that way. You don’t want to be too close to your original identities.” She glances at Wake.
I stifle a laugh at the thought of Wake trying to pass as a student. “Sure,” I say. “Whatever you think works.”
Noriko gets to work, her fingers flying over the keyboard as she types in our new identities. I glance over at Wake, who looks more tense than ever, his arms crossed tightly over his chest.
“You okay?” I ask softly, leaning toward him.
He grunts, his eyes flicking around the room. “This is not how we solve problems where I come from—the subterfuge, the hiding. I find it distasteful.”
I smirk. “Yeah, well, welcome to the human world. Sometimes we need more than brute force to get by.”
He gives me a sidelong glance, but there’s a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “You seem to think highly of your world, despite the fact it's brought us nothing but trouble.”
I shrug. “It’s the only one I know.”
Before he can respond, Noriko slides two brand-new passports across the table, each accompanied by a wad of cash. “There you go. Passports and ten thousand in cash. Don’t spend it all in one place.”
I stare at the stack of money, feeling a little overwhelmed. “I… I can’t accept all of this.”
Hiro nudges me, grinning. “You can and you will. Consider it an investment. I’ve got my own reasons for wanting to see Enigma fall, and if you two are the key to that… well, then it’s money well spent.”
I swallow hard, my mind spinning. “Thank you. Really, I don’t know how to repay you.”
Hiro laughs, slapping Wake on the back. “You can start by not getting yourselves killed. Deal?”
Wake glares at him, but Hiro just keeps grinning.
“We’ll do our best,” I say, grabbing the passports and stuffing the cash into my bag.
Noriko leans back in her chair, studying us. “Good luck out there. You’ll need it.”
Wake and I exchange a glance before nodding our thanks. As we leave the building and step back into the crowded streets, the weight of what just happened settles on me. We have new names, new lives, and no idea what comes next.
But for the first time in a long time, I feel like we’re not running blindly. We have a plan.
Find Lio Becker.
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