Sign of the Dragon (Tatsu Yamada Book 1), Niall Teasdale [books for 20 year olds .txt] 📗

not from the local group. I don’t think the Shiroi gang are involved either.’

‘An independent then? Someone not affiliated with any group but working on their own to destabilise the Funabashi gang.’

Tatsu nodded. ‘That seems likely. Well reasoned.’

‘I am an investigative reporter. Where are we going?’

‘I’m going to show you how low things can get in Chiba. We’re going to the port.’

~~~

‘They get UBI,’ Yamauchi said as they walked through the corridors of an old office building. ‘How did they end up like this?’

‘They spend what they get on drugs,’ Tatsu replied.

‘Then they have only themselves to blame, surely.’

‘Get hooked on rapture and there’s very little chance you’ll get off it on your own. The lucky ones find their way to someone who can help. Most don’t. They could never hope to afford one of the rehab clinics in Tokyo, assuming they’d be accepted into one. That’s where the Japanese addicts go if they suddenly decide they’re paying too much for their habit.’

‘Government statistics indicate that rapture isn’t a major problem in the cities.’

‘Well, it’s not as far as the government is concerned. Most of the addicts are hikikomori. They don’t go out to bother anyone else. They barely even touch social media. They have extreme social anxiety, so they keep to themselves, avoiding social contact which might reveal their habit. They get hooked through fuser trips, usually, and move on to the real thing and, so long as they don’t bother anyone, the only thing they harm is their bank balance. And they get the higher rate of UBI, so they can afford to keep living in beautiful isolation. They’re not a problem, as such. But there are a lot of hikikomori in the cities. It’s not such a popular lifestyle in the refugee zones because most people live in tiny apartments they want to leave as much as possible.’

Yamauchi looked down at a couple, probably Americans, curled together under a single, opened-out sleeping bag. It was not cold, but they were huddled together in an office in a building which had seen better days, sleeping as much as possible to stave off the time when they needed another hit.

‘It’s not a great way to live,’ the reporter said. ‘This or cutting yourself off from human contact.’ She indicated the couple. ‘At least they have each other.’

‘Yeah,’ Tatsu agreed. ‘Until one of them starves to death because they spent the food money on rapture, or they catch something fatal because they can’t afford PIN subscriptions. Until then, they have each other.’

28th August.

‘I’m not really sure what you’re going to get out of another day here,’ Tatsu said. ‘You’ve seen both sides of Chiba. Unless you’re just hoping to get more vid of gangs fighting.’

‘I don’t know what we’ll get,’ Yamauchi replied. ‘We’re heading out to the area the Hispanic gangs control. Maybe we’ll see something different out there.’

‘Like gangs fighting?’

Yamauchi frowned. ‘You really don’t have much of a good opinion of me, do you?’

‘I don’t have a good opinion of TNM. You just happen to be caught in their bad reputation.’

‘We have a good reputation. Our viewers–’

‘Your Japanese viewers. And that’s only among the general populace. TNM isn’t exactly popular with cops and it’s even less popular with refugees. You have charisma, I’ll grant you that, but your employer is dragging you down in this particular environment. Anyway, the Hispanic gangs don’t really control the area we’re going to, it’s just that no one else has bothered to. There was originally a lot of factories in this area, interspersed with housing for the workers. Of course, the factories are empty now. The housing is still there, but there are relatively few commercial premises to extract protection from. The gangs peddle drugs they get from the tongs. They’re small-time, all of them. Back in America and Mexico, they were something to be feared, but those days are gone.’

‘I did some research last night,’ Yamauchi said, probably happy to avoid further discussion of her reputation. ‘The old American street gangs were largely run by prison gangs and they had a big following. The Eighteenth Street gang and Mara Salvatrucha were famous. You’re saying they didn’t survive the transition to Japan?’

‘They lost their roots and that command structure. They ended up forming new groups, largely based around the districts they ended up in. They’re stronger down in Akashi. Up here, they got pushed out to the east. They’re weak, vassals of the tongs who don’t really give a damn about them.’

‘Well, let’s see what we can see.’

‘Fine, but I wouldn’t hold out much hope of good vid.’

~~~

‘Well… It gives colour,’ Yamauchi said.

The view from Suzuki’s camera was showing the residents of Chiba out on the streets, enjoying the sunshine. Or, just as frequently, looking like they could do without the sunshine. They were out because the alternative was sitting in their rooms with barely adequate air conditioning.

‘What temperature is it out there?’ Yamauchi asked.

‘Thirty-five,’ Watanabe replied. ‘Sixty-five percent humidity.’

‘I’m almost glad there doesn’t really seem much point in interviewing them.’ She was dressed for the weather: another blueish summer dress and hose which, according to Yamauchi, filtered UV light, reducing the amount of sunblock she had to put on. ‘Are any of them in gangs?’

‘Probably,’ Tatsu replied. ‘Actually, I can see a few gang colours out there, but it’s not always an absolute indicator. You need to spot the tattoos to be sure and that’s–’ She stopped as a message popped up in her sensorium.

Sergeant Yamada, attend a crime scene at the attached location. Multiple fatalities reported. Sergeant Nakano has been informed. Connection to previous cases (attached) likely.

Tatsu pushed the location to Watanabe. ‘Watanabe, get us there as fast as you can, please.’

‘Sure, but that’s way back in Funabashi.’

‘Yeah. I’m