Bungo Stray Dogs - Volume 4 Chapter 4 Part 1

Chapter 4 Part 1

Right as Atsushi was about to rush into the clock tower, he was stopped by a man standing in front of the entrance.
“Wait, Atsushi.”
It was Dazai. His eyes were extremely calm, unlike how they usually were.
“Dazai,” said Atsushi as he tried to catch his breath. “If we don’t hurry, the weapon—”
“Nothing good ever happens if you act before thinking during times like this,” claimed Dazai with a faint smirk. “What did you see?”
“The thieves…were killed,” groaned Atsushi. “All of them.”
“I see… This is what I found.” Dazai held up something black. “Do you know what this is?”
Dazai tossed it, and the rectangular mechanical object snapped in two when it hit the ground.
“I found it in one of the hotel rooms. It’s a microcomputer, or what’s left of one at least, after they doused it with oil and lit it on fire to completely destroy the evidence. I also found a bugging device, telescope, and pocket radio as well. All of which were burned, of course.”
A microcomputer? Destroying evidence?
“The fire alarm was smashed as well. They were dangerously close to starting a massive fire… The guest staying in the room apparently told the staff not to come inside under any circumstances. Don’t you find that a little strange?”
“Does that mean…?”
“How about this hypothesis? There were people who were sent to retrieve the weapon just like us. They underwent specialized training that taught them how to efficiently use cutting-edge technology and destroy evidence. However, their objective was not to prevent the weapon from activating and killing millions—it was to keep that powerful weapon for themselves.”
“What…?” Atsushi’s face turned pale. “What country’s organization sent them…?”
“I can’t say for sure.” Dazai shrugged.

“But…why did they kill the thieves?”
“This is just speculation on my part, but…perhaps the engineer in their group uncovered some information online that he wasn’t supposed to know
—information that would be dangerous for them to have.”
So Virgo was killed to silence him, and the boss and Gab were disposed of as well after they tried to get away…
The story made sense.
“We can’t let such a dangerous group of people get away with the weapon,” said Atsushi.
“Well, we first need to find out who they are. I mean, the Special Division for Unusual Powers gave us direct orders to do so as well.”
What should our next move be, then?
As if he could read Atsushi’s mind, Dazai raised his index finger and said:
“They already retrieved the weapon, which meant they had no reason to stay on the island any longer. They’re going to try to escape as quickly as they can, and if they are actually part of an organization, then someone’s probably going to come for them by boat or aircraft. I have a feeling it’s going to be by aircraft—something like an armed helicopter. While we may be the Armed Detective Agency, we wouldn’t be able to stand a chance against one of those barehanded. But if we can predict the direction they come in, we should be able to figure out who they are.”
Dazai pointed at the clock tower hanging overhead.
“As you know, this clock tower also serves as a flying bridge. If you use the radar detection equipment in the observation room on the top floor, you should be able to find incoming ships and aircrafts relatively quickly. However, the workers on the island are so busy with what happened with the colonel that they don’t have time to worry about incoming aircraft.”
Which means we have to be the ones to do it…
“By the way,” Atsushi added, having suddenly remembered, “I found Wells in the top floor’s observation room.”
“Now…what could the fabled skill user be doing in such an important place?” Dazai suggestively smirked. “How about we go ask them ourselves?”
Just like last time, Atsushi got off the elevator one floor before the top floor and took the staircase to his destination. He quietly ascended the stairs, but he was still inwardly confused. Wells—she was a spy sent by an intelligence agency in some country? It was hard to believe. She said she created the weapon, so she came here herself to stop it. Atsushi didn’t believe she was lying.
But thinking wasn’t going to get him anywhere. Wells’s time manipulation skill was incredible, but it wasn’t meant for battle. In terms of strength alone, Atsushi’s tiger skill had the advantage. He had no choice but to have Wells explain herself…even if that meant using force.
After climbing the stairs, Atsushi arrived at the top floor. He poked out his head and carefully surveyed the area. The observation room was no different from the last time he saw it. The walls were completely made of glass, giving a clear view of the great blue sea and vast blue sky.
He instantly found Wells. She was sitting in a round chair by the window she was looking out. Atsushi turned to Dazai and nodded. After that, they quietly began to approach her. Fortunately, she had her back turned to them. Atsushi had gotten rather used to moving without making a sound since he’d come to the island. He transformed his right arm into that of a tiger’s, then pointed his claw at Wells’s neck.
“Please don’t move,” pleaded Atsushi a hushed tone. “A tiger’s claws can cut through steel. No gun or sword will work against this arm.”
Wells didn’t answer.
“Wells, please tell me—were you the one who killed Gab? Did you kill Virgo and the boss and steal the weapon? Why?! Answer me!”
“Wait, Atsushi,” said Dazai quietly as he entered the room. “Something’s not right.”
Wells slowly tilted to the side before collapsing to the ground with a thud. There was a dagger in her chest. Her clothes were stained with blood. She was dead.
“No…” Atsushi took a step back. “Why is she…? So she wasn’t behind all of this…?”
“Atsushi, did that knife belong to her?”

Atsushi looked at the dagger’s hilt. It was a military-grade knife—the same one she used when she tried to break the chain.
“Yes, it’s hers.”
“Strange…,” admitted Dazai as he narrowed his eyes. “There’s some oil on the hilt. It was probably the oil used to burn the computer. But…that doesn’t make sense.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m talking about this facility. Nothing appears to be broken. The radar detection device, the telescope—everything is still in one piece,” Dazai commented while checking the table and its nearby electrical equipment. “If I were the enemy, I wouldn’t just stab Wells and leave. As long as the equipment here is intact, every path of escape would be detectable: the sky, the surface of the ocean, and even in its waters. Did the enemy have no intention of escaping? More importantly, there is something fundamentally wrong… But that means…”
Dazai placed a hand on his chin and continued to mutter to himself in rumination. His eyes swiftly moved from left to right as if he were looking at something only he could see. Then, all of a sudden, he froze.
“Dazai?” said Atsushi.
Dazai slowly lifted his head, then vacantly said, “They got me.” “Huh?”
“There was never any third power after the weapon.”
Atsushi saw something on Dazai’s face that he had never seen before: surprise.
“The burned computer was a fake as well. I’m impressed. They really thought this through. That means the culprit must still be—”
Dazai froze as if the rest of his sentence had been plucked clean off. And the tip of a blade was now sticking out of his chest.

* * *
“Gw…ah…?”
Dazai tried to turn around, but whoever was behind him pushed the knife deeper inside him and twisted it. There was a crackling as if his bones were being pulled apart. Fresh blood spewed out of his mouth. Dazai tried to reach behind and grab the assailant but to no avail. With his arm stuck out, he turned slightly to the side before folding and crumpling to the ground.
Atsushi saw the entire thing happen. He saw every detailed movement, unable to blink. However, his brain was still incapable of processing what it all meant. The only one who understood what was happening wore a faint smirk as Dazai lay on the ground. He then pulled the knife out of Dazai’s back as it dripped with blood. After cleaning the blade off on his thigh, he looked at Atsushi and chuckled lightly.
“Phew. I was sweatin’ bullets for a second there. He was the biggest obstacle in our way, after all… Seemed like a good mentor just like you said. Eh, Matasaburo?”
Atsushi was trembling. He couldn’t stop sweating. “…Gab?”