The Ransom Unpaid

Chapter 3: Sandwich

3:21 P.M.
Tokyo, Japan
Rei Cafe

Makoto Nanase was enjoying his 5 dollar ham sandwich at his favourite seat at the Rei cafe when his phone started to ring, playing Carly Rae Jepson's "Call Me Maybe" on full blast for the entire cafe to hear. He quickly wiped the dripping mayonnaise from his fingers and picked up the call coming from Riko.

"Hello?" Makoto greeted.

"Makoto-san? I need your help." Riko replied, sounding worried.

"Sure, what is it?"

"Do you know about what happened to Miss Harui?"

Makoto sipped on his banana milk, "Of course, why?"

"Sir Akito asked me not to worry but I can't stay still! You'd be surprised at how nonchalant he was!"

"Nonchalant?" Makoto took another sip, "That's nothing out of the ordinary, and he's right. You shouldn't be too worried. Harui can handle the situation herself."

"Makoto, even you? She's only 16!"

Makoto sighed, dealing with new employees when these situations happened was the worst headache from the job. "Just trust me. She'll be fine. She went to training camp last year specifically for in case she gets kidnapped. And plus, you saw the files I sent over, right? The so-called Yakuza group is down on their last few bucks. They're not worth busting her out of. If we do bust her out, it'll be too messy." He took a bite out of his sandwich. "In about"- he looked at his watch, -"Three hours, the family gathering for Akemi Hiroshi will start. There is no way in hell Harui would miss that chance."

"But I partially feel like it's my fault. I should've seen this coming"- she sniffled but continued. Her voice cracked, "I'm sorry. It's just too overwhelming. All this happening and like, Harui trusted me so much and told me that she'd never had- she'd never had a sister before so she trusted me a lot and then I- I screwed up. I screwed up big time."

Makoto cursed himself internally, "If you feel that anxious, do you want me to"- he shut his eyes and clenched his fist, "-keep some reinforcements in case something happens?"

"Makoto-san, can you really do that?" Riko asked hopefully.

"S-sure. Why not? I mean the part"- He stuttered, "-the party is a few hours away and what harm can being a little more careful bring?"

"You're right. Then, Makoto, can you meet me in front of the office in 5 minutes? I'll be out after I freshen up a little."

Makoto began massaging his temples, "Yeah, yeah. I'll be there. I'll bring along 3, 4 guys with me."

"Thanks, Makoto-san. Really, thank you." Riko said in a grateful voice.

After she hung up, Makoto buried his forehead in his palms. He groaned for a few seconds before finishing up his banana milk in an aggressive sip. He left the money on the counter and left the cafe, calling Edano Maresuke, an intern.

3:27 P.M.
Tokyo, Japan
Outside Of Hiroshi Corporate HQ

Riko ran out of the main entrance of the building, panting. She seemed to have washed her face and her hair was put up in a slick high ponytail, ready for action. She hurriedly got into the black Mercedes-Maybach Pullman which had been modified to have two more seats facing each other in the back and saw Makoto along with a boy who looked like a teenager in the backseat. Two more security guards were in the front seat, the one sitting in the shot-gun seat looked annoyed.

"Makoto-san, thank you so much for doing this, really," Riko thanked him again.

"It's really not a big deal, Riko. It's the least I could do," Makoto replied.

"So?" The man sitting at the driver's seat asked, "What's the plan?"

"Let's just patrol around the city," Makoto suggested.

The annoyed-looking one rolled his eyes, "Makoto, if I wanted to patrol the city, I would've become a cop. Not a part of a company's private security force."

Riko flinched at his harsh language. "Don't mind Yoshida-senpai. He's just angry because his girlfriend dumped him." The teenager reassured Riko in a whisper.

"I heard that, Edano." Yoshida responded in a monotone voice. "And she didn't dump me, I dumped her."

"Of course, senpai," Edano said with a sarcastic smile. "Drive away, Natsuo-senpai!" The man in the driver's seat started the engine.

3:51 P.M.
Tokyo, Japan
Outside Of Tameyoshi Supermarket

It was getting ridiculous. They had been driving around for more than fifteen minutes and there was still no sign of Harui or the Kindaichi. It was like they had disappeared.

After those fifteen minutes, Riko started to get... unhinged. She started coming up with ridiculous scenarios as to what happened to Harui. What if they had killed her and dumped her body in the ocean? What if even after they paid the ransom, they weren't planning on returning her? What if she was going to be sold as a sex slave in Thailand? Or what if she was forced to work at Starbucks? The thought of the heiress in a green apron serving white basic Americans made Riko audibly gasp.

"Jackpot!" Edano exclaimed when he got a ding on his phone. He tucked the device back in his pocket. "Harui just turned on her tracker. She's currently at Sawamura Park, a few blocks away."

"Off to Sawamura Park we go!" Natsuo began the engine of the car and started driving.

4:02 P.M
Tokyo, Japan
Sawamura Park

As soon as Natsuo pushed the brakes of the car, Riko spotted Harui walking up to the black vehicle. Riko quickly got out and embraced Harui in a tight hug. Riko started crying into Harui's shoulder muttering a whole bunch of stuff that Harui couldn't comprehend.

Harui had no idea what to do. She gestured towards Riko and mouthed the words, "What is up with her?" earning a shrug from Edano. "There, there," she managed to comfort Riko as she patted her back.

"If you're done, can we go now?" Yoshida called from the front seat, sounding like he wanted to quit his job and spend the rest of his life in the Maldives (totally not what he wanted to do).