and might not for quite some time, but she knew what she was going to have to do once Umi knew where Per Broden would be long enough for Tatsu to connect with him. She really wanted to be back by Umiâs side for the coming event, and she might still make it, but that would have to wait for now.
Umi had rescued Tatsu when she was young and lost, and she would do anything for the matriarch. And she had already proved it, time and time again.
Tatsu pulled up Per Brodenâs picture again on her phoneâs screen and examined it, memorizing every detail.
He was a funny little man on the surface, but his files told a different story. According to the reports, he was intelligent, perceptive, tenacious and, as of late, dangerous. Heâd spent most of his life in law enforcement in Stockholm; first for the police, then for the Swedish Security SerÂvice. He excelled at puzzles and had an incredibly high success rate, almost as high as his IQ. Though apparently as the years went on, the violence associated with his cases had increased. Heâd finally retired five years ago and now worked as a kind of international private investigator, still picking and choosing the most enigmatic cases he could find. And apparently Tatsuâs recent work had caught his interest. She smiled slightly when she imagined the little man trying to figure out what âDead Lightsâ meant.
Tatsu closed her eyes, turned on her side, and tried to calm her mind. But as had happened for the past few weeks, when she closed her eyes, she saw the face of the man sheâd killed in the Houston bombing. She didnât feel remorse, exactly, but she continued to wonder why she hadnât delayed the attack. The bombs that had leveled the building were on timers, and sheâd had a kill-Âswitch app in her phone. All she would have had to do was tap her screen, and the timers would have stopped. When the man was done whatever he was doing in there that late at night, dressed the way he was, she could have restarted the timers and still have completed her mission. But she hadnât. It hadnât even occurred to her at the time.
She knew there were a lot of good reasons for not stopping the timers, of course. If the man had noticed the stopped timers and fiddled with them or reported them, the mission would have been in jeopardy. And for all she knew, heâd been sent there to stop her. But that last part was a stretch and doubtful.
Of course, he wasnât the first person Tatsu had killed and wasnât even the first person sheâd killed for Umi, but he was the first person sheâd killed because he happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. She was aware that he might actually not be the only one. She hadnât done a full search of the other facilities sheâd bombed in the past few weeks, but sheâd always been assured that the premises were vacant. Of live Âpeople, anyway. But there was a difference when you actually knew, when youâd looked a person in the eyeâÂalbeit through binocularsâÂwatching as his life stopped.
Tatsuâs thoughts were dragged away by voices nearby. While she was only pretending to be waiting for a delayed flight, there were large groups of Âpeople scattered around benches and tables throughout the airport who were doing it for real. At a bench across from her, a Âcouple of girls in their teens sat with backpacks in their laps looking down at the busy concourse several meters below, their demeanor plainly showing that traveling was something new for them. Behind them, three young men in their early twenties laughed to themselves. Every now and then one of them would step forward and harass the girls for a bit before stepping back to shoulder punches and nods of approval from his compatriots. And each time they did it, they got more brazen.
Throngs of Âpeople still streamed by, but they either didnât notice the scene or were
Umi had rescued Tatsu when she was young and lost, and she would do anything for the matriarch. And she had already proved it, time and time again.
Tatsu pulled up Per Brodenâs picture again on her phoneâs screen and examined it, memorizing every detail.
He was a funny little man on the surface, but his files told a different story. According to the reports, he was intelligent, perceptive, tenacious and, as of late, dangerous. Heâd spent most of his life in law enforcement in Stockholm; first for the police, then for the Swedish Security SerÂvice. He excelled at puzzles and had an incredibly high success rate, almost as high as his IQ. Though apparently as the years went on, the violence associated with his cases had increased. Heâd finally retired five years ago and now worked as a kind of international private investigator, still picking and choosing the most enigmatic cases he could find. And apparently Tatsuâs recent work had caught his interest. She smiled slightly when she imagined the little man trying to figure out what âDead Lightsâ meant.
Tatsu closed her eyes, turned on her side, and tried to calm her mind. But as had happened for the past few weeks, when she closed her eyes, she saw the face of the man sheâd killed in the Houston bombing. She didnât feel remorse, exactly, but she continued to wonder why she hadnât delayed the attack. The bombs that had leveled the building were on timers, and sheâd had a kill-Âswitch app in her phone. All she would have had to do was tap her screen, and the timers would have stopped. When the man was done whatever he was doing in there that late at night, dressed the way he was, she could have restarted the timers and still have completed her mission. But she hadnât. It hadnât even occurred to her at the time.
She knew there were a lot of good reasons for not stopping the timers, of course. If the man had noticed the stopped timers and fiddled with them or reported them, the mission would have been in jeopardy. And for all she knew, heâd been sent there to stop her. But that last part was a stretch and doubtful.
Of course, he wasnât the first person Tatsu had killed and wasnât even the first person sheâd killed for Umi, but he was the first person sheâd killed because he happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. She was aware that he might actually not be the only one. She hadnât done a full search of the other facilities sheâd bombed in the past few weeks, but sheâd always been assured that the premises were vacant. Of live Âpeople, anyway. But there was a difference when you actually knew, when youâd looked a person in the eyeâÂalbeit through binocularsâÂwatching as his life stopped.
Tatsuâs thoughts were dragged away by voices nearby. While she was only pretending to be waiting for a delayed flight, there were large groups of Âpeople scattered around benches and tables throughout the airport who were doing it for real. At a bench across from her, a Âcouple of girls in their teens sat with backpacks in their laps looking down at the busy concourse several meters below, their demeanor plainly showing that traveling was something new for them. Behind them, three young men in their early twenties laughed to themselves. Every now and then one of them would step forward and harass the girls for a bit before stepping back to shoulder punches and nods of approval from his compatriots. And each time they did it, they got more brazen.
Throngs of Âpeople still streamed by, but they either didnât notice the scene or were
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