In the VIP room of a private hospital in Tokyo, Rena lay in bed, her limbs wrapped in bandages. She could barely move, her face still pale.
After the bullets were removed, her wounds treated, and a blood transfusion administered, her condition had finally stabilized.
She looked to the side. Amuro sat quietly by her bedside, hesitant to leave, his expression anxious.
"Bourbon, there's no need for you to stay here with me. Go take care of your own matters."
Rena spoke calmly.
Amuro had followed Gin's orders and brought the injured Rena to the hospital for emergency treatment.
He first cautiously checked their surroundings, then lowered his voice.
"There are no cameras here, no bugs. I'll be blunt."
"You're a mole from an official agency, aren't you?"
Rena gave him a glance. "Aren't you?"
Back when they were captured, they had already figured out each other's identities, though they didn't know which agency the other was from.
"I'm from the Public Security Bureau. What about you?"
Rena hesitated slightly, then replied, "CIA."
Only then did Amuro understand. So she was with the CIA.
The reason he brought it up now was to avoid the kind of tragedy that had happened before.
Back then, his friend didn't know Akai Shuichi's true identity and committed suicide to protect him, to keep his undercover status hidden.
Who would've thought Akai Shuichi was actually an FBI mole? That farce had cost a life.
Since that day, Amuro swore that if something could be made clear, it should be. Better to speak than to regret it later.
"This whole incident is strange. The intel we were using was probably leaked from within the Organization, by Curacao. Gin's capture of us proves that."
"But then, at the critical moment, Gin received intel claiming we weren't moles. That's too convenient. I don't think that intel came from Curacao herself. Gin doesn't think so either."
"I need to investigate immediately. If things go south and our covers are blown, I'll make sure to tip you off in time so you can run."
With Rena's current condition, she wouldn't stand a chance if they were exposed.
"Alright. You go. Let's keep in touch."
Amuro nodded. Just as he turned to leave, a familiar voice came from the hospital room door.
"I was the one who sent Gin the false intel."
"Boss?!"
"Boss?!"
They both exclaimed at the same time when they saw who had walked in.
Rena looked strangely at Amuro. He'd just claimed to be from Public Security, so why was he calling this person 'Boss' too? Was he lying? Was he actually with the CIA?
In reality, Amuro had simply gotten used to calling him that.
Back at the café, he had always referred to Toru as 'Boss.'
Amuro realized the slip, but he wasn't flustered. He just asked cautiously, "Why are you here?"
"Toru Amuro, or should I call you by your real name, Rei Furuya. If it weren't for me, you'd be dead right now, killed by Gin. Is this how you treat your savior?"
At the mention of his real name, Rei Furuya's pupils contracted sharply.
His thoughts raced. He said awkwardly, "You... you already knew?"
"Of course. When you applied for the job at my café, I already knew everything—your real identity, that you were Bourbon, and that your mission was to investigate me on orders from above."
"And you clearly knew who I was too. That's why you've been playing along, pretending to follow Rum's lead inside the Organization."
Rei Furuya's face flushed, though his naturally tanned skin helped hide it.
"So, all those things—cutting my pay, sending me to Okubo Park to track down streetwalkers..."
"Just messing with you. I didn't think you'd be so obedient. Doing everything I asked, not even reacting when your salary got slashed. Anyone could tell something was up."
Right now, Rei Furuya just wanted to dig a hole and disappear into it.
It was too humiliating. He must've looked like a clown in Toru's eyes this whole time.
Just as he was at a loss for words, Toru continued, "I don't have time to joke with you now. I got Curacao's phone and used it to confirm your identities temporarily."
"But I can't guarantee the Organization won't pick up on something. You've both been undercover this long without getting exposed. I don't want you to be revealed now."
"You might be the highest-ranking moles still left inside the Organization."
Toru's voice was calm.
The anime's plot was just that—anime. He couldn't trust it as absolute.
Whether Curacao would defect or not wasn't guaranteed. At best, there was an eighty percent chance.
But the other twenty percent? That she'd remain loyal to the Organization and expose both Rena and Rei Furuya once her memory returned.
If Toru's only goal was Renya Karasuma, then it didn't really matter if Rena and Rei Furuya were caught.
He already knew who the Organization's boss was.
But after coming to this real world, Toru realized something was off about the Organization.
In anime, logic could be thrown out the window. But in reality, there had to be a system.
Renya Karasuma alone didn't have the qualifications or ability to build such a terrifying Organization. He might be the final boss, but there was a good chance he wasn't the only founder.
What Toru needed was the identity of every player behind the scenes. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to sleep soundly.
Rei Furuya had no idea Toru was thinking that far ahead. He simply asked, "Where is Curacao now?"
"With Public Security and the Tokyo Metropolitan Police. But Gin and the others won't let her stay there. They'll come to take her back."
"Head to the new aquarium. You'll run into Gin and the others there. I'll show up to help you when the time comes."
Once he got the address, Rei Furuya apologized and rushed out of the room.
After he left, Toru put one hand in his pocket and looked down at Rena, still lying in the hospital bed.
"Spencer gave up on you. His order was to ignore whether you lived or died."
Rena's face was pale, but she smiled bitterly. "I figured. People in our line of work get discarded all the time. I was already prepared for that outcome..."
"But I didn't follow his order. I saved you."
"Boss, I don't even know how to thank you. You must've paid a high price to save me. What can I do to repay that?"
A high price? Not really. In truth, it hadn't cost Toru anything.
He said, "Work for me. And I mean me, not the head of CIA Japan."
Rena immediately understood what he meant. She didn't agree right away, instead replying softly, "I want to, I really do. But... I'm afraid I can't."
"Because your younger brother is being used as leverage by the CIA?"
"You... you know?!"
Rena looked shocked.
"There's a lot I don't know, but there are plenty of things I do. I can help you. I'll make sure your brother lives a normal life and never has to be threatened again. I don't need to use fear to earn loyalty."
"What kind of loyalty is real if it's gained through threats?"
"If you can give my brother his freedom, and after saving my life... then this life of mine belongs to you."
Her voice trembled, but her words were resolute.
Rena had never truly trusted the CIA, or Spencer. As Toru said, loyalty gained through threats is the worst kind.
True loyalty comes from offering something the other person can't refuse, or through sheer personal charisma.
Toru smiled. "Good. Remember what you said. From now on, every piece of intel you send to Spencer must be reviewed by me first."
"For now, focus on recovering. If your identity does get exposed, I'll help you vanish and create a new identity for you."
It wasn't easy to cultivate an elite CIA agent like Rena. Toru knew not to waste such valuable talent.
If Rena had only joined because of her father or for revenge, he might not have trusted her so readily.
But the fact that she was groomed by the CIA from childhood made her reliability solid.
"Boss, Bourbon... I mean, Rei Furuya. Do you plan to recruit him too?"
"No. He's tricky. Too many personal convictions. He won't follow my every command."
Toru said casually, "But making Rei Furuya obey just requires a different method. It's not hard."
Rei Furuya's sense of justice was too strong, unlike Rena.
If Toru gave him orders involving morally gray areas, he'd likely refuse.
But that didn't matter. His father was the Chairman of the Security Committee. With that authority, Toru could still make Rei Furuya work for him indirectly.
Then there was Akai Shuichi. Maybe he could be brought in through Akai Mary.
Didn't Akai Shuichi want to join the CIA? Then he'd give him that chance.
Toru needed a team. Only with one could he eventually take full control of the CIA.
...
At a private airstrip in Tokyo, Gin, Vodka, and the others arrived and boarded an Osprey helicopter.
"Be ready to lift off at any time. We're going to give Tokyo one hell of a fireworks show."
Gin said coldly.
(To be continued.)