Hidden Secrets

Chapter 87

Rubeus had positioned himself skillfully on the other side of the street, his eyes fixed firmly on the disaster site. The rescue teams had just begun the firefighting efforts, and the area around the destroyed building had been cordoned off. Yet Rubeus knew how to maintain his prime spot; nothing would escape his attention.

The force of the explosion had devastating effects; even neighboring buildings had been severely damaged by flying debris. However, the small boutique behind him seemed relatively unscathed, with only a shattered window indicating the impact of the shockwave. But that was inconsequential to Rubeus at this moment; his focus was on the rescue teams. The redhead watched attentively as every move of the rescue teams unfolded, and as the first individuals were rescued, his tension grew, making the situation more interesting.

As some lightly injured individuals managed to make their way out, Rubeus held his breath. To his dismay, among them was Hiroshi Chiba. The older man limped slightly, his outrageously expensive suit completely torn and covered in dirt, dust, and ash. Nevertheless, he seemed outwardly unharmed. A team of medics promptly took him in, examined him hastily, and attached a green triage card to his jacket before taking him into one of the hastily erected tents.

The green on the card meant nothing good to Rubeus. Green cards were issued for those only lightly injured. Kenji would certainly not be pleased that his rival had gotten off so lightly. And now that Hiroshi was in the care of the medics, there was no way for Rubeus to get to him. A cigarette found its way between the lips of the redhead, and he continued to scrutinize the events closely, while tension continued to mount in the air.

Slowly, the entrance area was cleared, and the first firefighters began to extract more injured individuals from the debris. From lightly injured to deceased, many bodies were retrieved from the remains of the building. All were initially brought to the triage, and it lay directly within his field of vision, so that nothing escaped his notice.

So far, he had already spotted four troublemakers from the upper class to whom a black card had been attached. Black was the symbol for deceased in the triage, and each additional black card distributed made Rubeus grin inwardly with satisfaction. However, suddenly, his expression turned serious.

Two firefighters laid out a stretcher, and then Kakashi Kous' body became visible. The assessment began, and Rubeus' tension grew even greater. He hoped for one of the black markings on Kakashi; that would at least be a clear success. The patriarch seemed to have taken quite a beating and, as far as Rubeus could see from a distance, was unconscious. That was at least a good sign to him, but his hope was dashed. The experienced doctor in charge of the triage confidently reached for one of the red signs, attached it to Kakashi's wrist, and sent him to the emergency care tent.

It wasn't quite what Rubeus had hoped for, but red at least indicated a vital threat and still ranked above the severely injured in terms of urgency. Perhaps luck was still on his side, and Kakashi would succumb to his injuries soon, he thought.

The hustle and bustle on the cordoned-off premises reminded him of an anthill. Injured individuals were steadily being retrieved from the building, and they were being brought to the triage one after another. On the other side, he saw the helpers who ran back into the building with empty stretchers. On the sidelines, more firefighters were still battling the flames, and the police were trying to coordinate everything.

Rubeus continued to count mentally how many enemies they had already eliminated through this maneuver, and the number steadily increased with every passing minute. But there was still no information about the ones he was most interested in. He had not yet caught sight of Usagi or any of the Kou brothers, and there was still no trace of Mamoru Chiba and his sister either.

He knew that it could take days to recover everyone, but with every hour that passed, the chances of fewer survivors leaving the ruins grew. If they were injured and the cold, chilly January night descended upon them, it would play perfectly into his hands. But he also sensed that his boss would soon demand an interim report, as the old man was inherently impatient.

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Kenji was now sitting in his living room, in his large armchair, a glass of whiskey in his hand, and the news flashing across his large TV screen. He relished the sight of the destroyed building and almost reveled in the suffering he had caused with the explosion. With that, he had clearly demonstrated his power, and after the demise of the Chibas and the Kous, no one would ever dare to oppose him again. He turned up the volume on the TV and took a sip of the old, smoky Longmorn Twins from 1961. He had treated himself to one of the finest drops for this occasion.

"This afternoon, a dramatic accident occurred in Tokyo. During the opening of Tokyo's first large homeless shelter center, there was likely a gas leak, which during the celebrations led to a devastating explosion. According to reports, an estimated 100 people were in the building at the time. We now switch live to my colleague on-site, Yoshida Kato. Hello, Yoshida, what is the situation there?" the news anchor reported. A man was now shown next to her, with the extent of the disaster visible in the background.

"Hello, Tokyo. As you can easily see behind me, the disaster has occurred. Serena Kou, wife of the wealthy businessman Taiki Kou and daughter of Kenji Tsukino, would certainly have preferred the opening of her homeless shelter center with more joyful headlines. According to speculation, a gas leak below the building led to this devastating explosion. The rescue teams have been at work for hours now, retrieving the injured and partly severely wounded individuals. As mentioned earlier, there were about 100 people in the building at the time of the detonation. At this point, we can say that there are at least 32 confirmed deaths, and many severely injured individuals are in critical condition. Of course, not all the injured have been recovered yet, and it will take hours or days until this is the case. A state of emergency has been declared for this part of Tokyo. All medical personnel are urged to go to the hospitals to care for the wounded. At the current moment, there is still no sign of the organizer and her husband, as well as his two brothers. Furthermore, it is rumored that the financial magnate Mamoru Chiba was among the guests, along with his heavily pregnant wife and his sister, Rei Chiba. However, there is still no information about these three." He interrupted his report and now looked attentively into the camera.

Kenji grinned; that was already another good sign for him. Then he looked at his phone. Still no message from Rubeus. His gaze attentively scanned the screen. There, on the side in front of the tents, he recognized his best man standing. That meant he would have to wait a little longer, even though patience was not his strong suit. Slowly, he raised the glass with the brown liquid to his lips, savoring every flavor before deciding it was time for the next step.

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His back ached, as did his leg and his arm. Every breath was a struggle, and blood blurred his vision. He tried to fight his way up, but it was harder than he thought. Breathing heavily, he managed to roll onto his back, trying to understand what had happened. Debris surrounded him; he felt it beneath him and had briefly perceived it during his maneuver. Muffled screams reached him, mixing with the dull pounding in his head, but try as he might, he couldn't grasp the situation. He had been at the opening ceremony just moments ago, and then... what had happened?

His head throbbed, and although he knew he should avoid falling asleep, he found no strength to fight it, as his eyes grew heavy. His battered body demanded rest. He closed his eyes, thinking only of the radiant eyes of his beloved and how she might be feeling right now. Had she noticed what had happened? Was she alright? Yet he couldn't bring himself to worry about her seriously, as he felt the impending loss of consciousness. If this were to be his death, then at least he wanted to be with her in thought. For a brief moment, he conjured up her face again, recalling her lovely scent, before sinking back into the welcoming unconsciousness that relieved him of the pain.