Dangerous Souls

Hoax

Chapter 4- The Deal

March Day 4, 4:12 P.M.

"Sayaka, can you move?" Mai asked as she hovered over the intern. She and John had just walked into the building and found the intern as she fell down the steps. Sayaka just blinked as she lay across the stairs. "Sayaka, I need you to answer me."

"I...I..." The poor terrified girl could only stutter. "I was just coming down to grab coffee from the café next door. A hand..." She had managed to sit up as her tears came out and Mai placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Did you see anyone? Is it possible someone snuck up behind you and pushed you?" John asked. But Sayaka shook her head.

"I was completely alone." Her shoulders shook as she spoke. "S-something shoved me and then..."

"And then you were down here with us," Mai finished, giving John a look. "I'll take care of her. You should let Naru know what happened."

John shot her a look back, but he nodded nevertheless. "Okay, I'll be in Base."

As he walked up the stairs, Mai held a hand out for the intern. "C'mon, you probably need some air and we should probably grab that coffee you were going to get. You were getting it for the employees upstairs, right?" The girl nodded. "Let's go before anything else happens."

Sayaka took her hand and together they headed for the small café next door. She ordered eight drinks and both she and Mai carried a tray of four back to the office. "This is all my fault," Sayaka whispered with a shake of her head.

"What was that?" Mai asked, snapping her head over. The intern was caught off guard and immediately blushed.

"N-nothing!" She kept her head down as they were almost back in the office building.

"Hey, do you know anything about a Akio Kawaguchi? I've been in charge of research and his name came up," Mai interjected smoothly as they walked through the lobby and into the stairwell.

Sayaka shook her head. "Kawaguchi is the head of the company, but his first name is Katashi." She tilted her head to the side in thought. "Was he his father? Do you think he's haunting the office?"

"That's what I'm trying to find out," Mai replied and then shrugged as they entered the room of cubicles. "So who gets what coffee?"

Together, the two of them handed out the coffee cups. Mai had the last one on her tray and noticed that the smell coming from it was not like the strong espresso that had filled her nostrils from before. Tea?

"Oh!" Sayaka said, taking the cup away from the investigator. "That one's for me. Thank you again..."

"Mai. Mai Taniyama." Mai smiled as the girl ran off with her cup of tea. A strange feeling filled the pit of her stomach. It sat heavily in her, but the oddest thing was how familiar the sensation was. Snap out of it, Mai. You're just tired is all.

And tired she was. It was amazing that she was still standing after so many days of so little sleep. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to convince the demon to give her back her memories from her blackouts. She just hoped that John would be able to help her as painlessly as possible.

Speak of the devil, John was walking toward her with Masako in tow. "How's Sayaka?" he asked. Mai just shrugged.

"She's okay now," Mai replied with a sigh. "What did Naru say when you told him about her? I saw there's a camera in that section of the stairwell now."

"Not much we can do until we exorcise the spirit," John admitted reluctantly. "Once that's done we can alert Mr. Kawaguchi and let him know about the hoax. Then I think we're done."