Canary of the gods

Rewind the time to an hour ago.

The Armed Detective Agency received a special commission from the military and police.

"Looking for a mini postcard with a peacock postmark?" Osamu Dazai, who was lying on the table, looked up at him after listening to his partner Kunikida Doppo, "Is there anything special?"

"The key to a secret document is recorded on the postcard, which is related to a large financial case that happened last month."

"The financial case last month seemed to have ended, but in the follow-up investigation, the military and police found that there was a shadow of an illegal organization in Yokohama behind the case. News came from the undercover agent they placed in this illegal organization. Not only is the illegal organization involved in the case, but it is very likely..." At this point, Kunikida Doppo suddenly fell silent.

Osamu Dazai straightened up, guessing what he hadn't finished saying: "It's very likely that people from the government, and high-level officials are involved?"

Kunikida Doppo nodded heavily.

"In this way, it is not a purely financial case."

Different from Kunikida Doppo's seriousness, Dazai Osamu's expression and tone are extraordinarily relaxed, as if they are talking about trivial matters.

He stretched his waist, moved his neck twice, and said lightly: "It has risen to the level of a political scandal."

"But, by the way, shouldn't this kind of matter be handled by the public security police?" Osamu Dazai had just raised this question, and before Kunikida Doppo could say anything, he had already come up with the answer with his brain running fast, "So that's it. , because there is still the problem of faction disputes. Of course, such a big story must be investigated in private, if the wind is leaked, the other party will not stop doing two things, and directly destroy the evidence, which is not good."

Kunikida Doppo's frown deepened.

Osamu Dazai went on to say: "The armed detective agency is not a government agency. The other party may never have imagined that political enemies would entrust this kind of matter to us for investigation. And we do have the ability to carry out preliminary preparations—of course, simply referring to taking back that postcard." .As for whether the military and police will target politicians who colluded with illegal organizations based on this secret document, or even destroy that faction...that is not a question we need to consider."

"After all, we can't be cannon fodder for others. The Armed Detective Agency has always maintained independence and neutrality."

"That's right." Kunikida Doppo pushed down his glasses, and said forcefully, "It's not up to us to worry about the political factions for the time being, we just need to complete the commission."

Osamu Dazai glanced at the journal in Kunikida Doppo's hand that said "ideal" on the cover, and smiled helplessly, "Yes—"

"But then again... other than the peacock postmark on the postcard, is there no other clue? It's impossible for us to turn Yokohama upside down like a needle in a haystack, right?"

"Yes, the target person who took the postcard was photographed."

Kunikida Doppo took out a photo from the folder and handed it to Osamu Dazai.

The photo shows a middle-aged man wearing a brown leather jacket and a black peaked cap.Looking at the direction of his toes, he should have turned his back to the camera, but at the moment when he was photographed, he turned sideways to check the situation as if he had discovered something, and he happened to be photographed squarely.

Judging from the blurring of the picture and the shooting angle, this should be a candid photo taken in a hurry.

What Osamu Dazai cared about was not what the target person looked like, but what he was holding in his hand.

It can be seen that this guy was very flustered at the time, he hurriedly stuffed a few colorful cards, together with a postcard with only half of the peacock postmark exposed, into his gray wallet indiscriminately.

Kunikida Doppo leaned against his table and said, "Ryohei Sandao is a member of the illegal organization involved in the case. According to the news from the undercover agent, this person has made a lot of small moves recently, and he seems to be secretly planning to leave the organization. "

Osamu Dazai never took his eyes off the photo, "That is to say, we have to get the postcard back before the illegal organization responds and eliminates the defectors?"

"That's right." Kunikida Doppo rubbed his temple with a headache, "The problem is that this person disappeared on the day he came back from the undercover agent, and I don't know if he was silenced..."

Before Kunikida Doppo finished muttering, Osamu Dazai asked without raising his head, "Disappearing time?"

"Two days ago... To be precise, it was two days and eight hours, that is..."

Osamu Dazai smiled slightly, flicked the photo in his hand and said, "I know where he is."

"...Wait, what did you say?"

Kunikida Doppo's neck was as stiff as a machine that had been in disrepair for a long time, and the sound of "click, click" seemed to be heard when it turned.

Osamu Dazai held the photo and shook it in front of Kunikida Doppo, stood up leisurely, and patted him on the shoulder, "Let's go, let's go, talk while walking, hurry up, if you go late... the consequences will be very serious Seriously."

Kunikida Doppo: "...Huh???"

It happened to be a red light when we arrived at the intersection, Kunikida Doppo slowly stopped the car, and glanced at his partner who was holding the traffic route map while waiting.

"You mean... what he's holding are gallery tickets?"

"I've been to that gallery before, that's why I remembered it immediately~"

Kunikida Doppo wondered, "I can't see that you still like to go to galleries."

"Hmph, don't you know?" Osamu Dazai said proudly, "Because a beautiful lady I met before works there..."

...I should have known.

Kunikida Doppo's mouth twitched a few times, and quickly interrupted him: "No one wants to hear how you harass women!"

"It's too sad to say it's harassment, isn't it?"

"It's work now! Be serious!"

"Okay, okay..." Osamu Dazai shrugged, folded the traffic route map and put it aside.

"It's just a ticket, how can you guarantee that guy will show up in the gallery?"

"Didn't Kunikida-kun say that before?"

"Ok?"

"It is said that he has made a lot of small moves in private, and it seems that he may break away from the organization."

"That's right..."

"But doesn't he know that illegal organizations are not public places, where he can enter and exit whenever he wants?"

Kunikida Doppo came to a sudden, "So... he took that postcard to find a way out for himself? But the other party is not a good guy, right?"

"What choice does the person caught in the whirlpool have? Maybe that is the only straw he can grasp?" Osamu Dazai said with a half-smile.

Kunikida Doppo thought about it, and it was indeed true, but they shouldn't be entangled in this issue now.

The green light turned on, and the car carrying the two armed detective agencies started to set off again.

"As for why I'm sure he's going to the gallery...well...let's put it this way."

"If I hold a video of Kunikida-kun singing loudly to the ideal Long live after drunk, will you try everything to get it back from me?"

Kunikida Doppo couldn't help complaining: "...What a bad metaphor."

But he still answered Dazai Osamu's question: "I definitely want to get it back."

Osamu Dazai: "Then if I proposed an exchange of interests, regardless of the content of the transaction, what kind of place would you choose as the transaction location?"

"Of course no one else was there..."

"Huh? This way, the privacy is guaranteed, but how can I be sure that you won't lead someone to ambush me, kill me and snatch the video directly? Or if the deal fails, you will get angry and kill me?"

Kunikida Doppo frowned, obviously aware of this problem.

Following Osamu Dazai's train of thought, he began to analyze deeply, "I see, a completely closed place is not acceptable, so 'I' chose the gallery. Although it is a public place, because of ticket purchases, non-events and rest days, There must not be many guests received by the gallery, as long as there is a heart, 'I' can even grasp the information of every guest who enters and exits the gallery."

"Bingo~"

Kunikida Doppo didn't relax after getting this answer, on the contrary, his brows frowned even tighter.

"However, the person who makes a deal with Ryohei Sandao may not necessarily abide by their agreement. He may do it directly on Ryohei Sandao's way to the gallery!"

"That's not right."

Dazai Osamu held the opposite idea, "If it were me, in order to ensure personal safety before the official transaction, I would threaten the other party 'When Dazai dies, your secret will be made public'. If that guy is a little smarter, think of It's not that difficult."

Kunikida Doppo: "That is to say, 'I' will at least make sure that the other party has no backup left after the transaction is over, and then I will feel at ease."

Osamu Dazai: "That's right."

"Besides, since Sandao Ryohei wants to use the crowd to cover himself, he would not choose to drive or take a taxi to and from the gallery. There is a bus stop near this gallery, but the subway entrance is far away."

Kunikida Doppo seemed relieved, "Then we just need to wait at the bus stop near the gallery."

Osamu Dazai rested his elbows on the car door, rested his chin and looked out the window, and said calmly: "The premise is... if there is no accident on the way. But this possibility should not exist."

Kunikida Doppo had an ominous premonition, "What does this mean?"

"Huh? Kunikida-kun, did you forget? Sandao Ryohei is the guy who is going to defect to the illegal organization. How can you forget the illegal organization that cleans up the traitors?"

Kunikida felt as if he had been hit hard.

His partner, who is extremely smart and deeply aware of the ugliness of human nature, said in that harmless and soft tone as always: "If I guess right, the secret document contains information specially collected by that illegal organization. It is the evidence of that politician that can prevent the opponent from backlash while controlling the other party."

"Unlike politicians who are caught, they will not have any scruples, so they will definitely do it when Sandao Ryohei has just arrived at the gallery station, and the momentum will never be small. Because this is not just a punishment for traitors, it is also a Deterrence, of course, also includes a warning to politicians."

Kunikida Doppo said in a difficult voice: "So you said 'If you go late, the consequences will be serious' you mean..."

"There's a good chance that those guys would hit an entire bus."