Neon District: Redux

Part 2 Chapter 6

       Eiji could only stare at the TV in disbelief.

He doesn't know if he felt surprised, shocked, or upset. 

He could only lean up against his office desk and stare at the TV that was turned to the news channel.

The letters spelling out 'Manzo Ogawa' pinned like needles against his pupils as he read the tape reader on the TV over and over again. How was this possible? Did Manzo have enough of a following to do this? No, only a handful knew that he still existed while the majority of the population still thought of him to have disappeared.

Eiji's brain tried to think up every possible excuse of how this was possible, but the quick beating of his heart filled up the space in his mind faster than he could think. Sweat trickled down his forehead and fell down his neck leaving his face feeling sticky.

He continued to stare down the TV to make sure what he was seeing was true and not just his mind playing tricks on him. But he eventually had to look away as his vision began to fog over and his head feeling light. 

Taking off his glasses, Eiji attempted to place them on his desk but he missed and they dropped to the floor with a soft clank against the carpet. When he went to kneel down retrieve them his body shook so violently that he fell to his knees, slamming his forehead against the carpet floor. His heart thumped so fast that he thought it was about to explode.

Eiji tried taking slow breaths to calm down his heart, but everywhere he looked even when he closed his eyes all he saw was Manzo and his arrogant expression he made the last time he nearly got beat. His mind was all jumbled up, his heart racing, and his body shaking as he rested his head on the ground like he was asking someone for forgiveness. Maybe he was trying to desperately trying to ask God for His forgiveness. Maybe if he did then he wouldn't be hyperventilating on the ground right now. Maybe if he did then he wouldn't have had to have troubles worrying what came next.

But, Manzo Ogawa won the election.

And Eiji Okamoto, himself, has lost.

Eiji began screaming frantically, but he is unsure why he did that. It wasn't screams of frustration, or anger, or even sadness.

He was scared.

He was scared of what came next. What Manzo would do to the District he spent years trying to fix only to fail and drop the entire District in his enemy's hands. He was scared what he would do to the people he worked for him, what he would do to Sayuri--

Sayuri.

He broke out of his fits of screaming and scrambled up from the floor nearly shoving everything off his desk in the process as he used it to drag himself off the floor. He swiped his Zen phone off the desk next to his keyboard and frantically tried calling Miss Taniguchi's number with shaking fingers.

A knock appeared on the door.

Eiji slowly twisted his head around towards the door to see it slide open with two Watch officers entering, their stun batons at the ready positioned at their waists. They wore their full, darkly coloured ballistic uniforms with their helmet visors covering their faces. In the reflection of their visors, Eiji saw the horrid expression he was making on his face of him gritting his teeth tightly with terrified eyes. 

His grey suit was wrinkled in some places with his dark hair being matted near the front where he slammed it on the floor. The gel in his hair became undone and his bangs drooped down covering up his thick eyebrows.

"Mr. Okamoto we have been requested by Mr. Ogawa to apprehend you for the crimes you committed against the District." One of the Watch officers explained, taking a few steps towards Eiji.