Title: A Policeman's Tale (Day 14)
Author:
ytakWord count: 1005
Rating: K+ (PG)
Comments: Good, bad, ugly? Or just the next day in the sequence?
Day 1 |
Day 2 |
Day 3 |
Day 4 |
Day 5 |
Day 6 |
Day 7 |
Day 8 |
Day 9 |
Day 10 |
Day 11 |
Day 12 |
Day 13 Day 14
With a groan, Takagi pushed up from his desk. It felt like every joint in his body popped and all his muscles needed to be stretched. Today had been a desk work day for him. Takagi did not want to think about how little he had moved from his desk.
Still, the pain and soreness were worth it. For the first time, he was completely caught up on all his paper work. Not just the Ogura case but all of the other, less pressing cases which had been pushed aside.
He was surprised to see that he had about an hour left for the work day. Taking a moment to stretch, Takagi collected the files to be filed.
If I get these all filed away today, I will be able to go straight back to work when I get back and only have the usual paperwork waiting for me! He planned to make the most of his day off tomorrow.
There were some questions he had to answer, like, what was Miwako-san's address? And would her mother be home?
Takagi recalled hearing a few stories from Yumi about (in)famous battles of Sato and her mother, ranging from what she did on her days off to finding a man to marry who would advance far in the world. That brought his mind back to the marriage match-up thing. He still shuddered at how close he had come to losing her to Shiratori.
Would it be possible for him to get her the gifts without her mother asking awkward questions? That was the real trick he decided.
The drive to his apartment seemed to fly by. He mental berated himself for driving on autopilot. From experience, he knew that his trips always seemed faster when his mind wandered.
He froze as he stepped out of his car. There were a lot of children running around. More importantly, they were running into the apartment next to his.
Dammit! he thought. I forgot that that there was a sleepover next door tonight.
Sighing, Takagi picked some trash out of his car and weaved his way through the children to his apartment. It looks like I'll have to sleep in another room tonight. He knew the parents would try to keep the children quiet. But he knew that it would a futile effort.
Entering his apartment, he could hear some noise coming through the walls. It would be worse in his bedroom being that it was flush against the other apartment. He did have to give them credit, they did warn him and they were usually quiet. But tonight he would have preferred it to be quiet. Shaking that thought off, he decided that he was glad they had been quiet during the last week or so. Noise would have mixed poorly with that case.
He sighed again and dropped threw the trash away. As he changed, he could hear laughter crescendo through the thin walls. He fervently hoped that they would settle down at a decent hour. It would better to get started early in the morning.
A ring came from the kitchen. Sprinting to answer his cell phone, he nearly tripped over his own feet. Breathlessly he answered the phone, “Hello?”
“Hey, Takagi! Any plans for tonight?” said the voice on the other end. After a moment, Takagi identified the voice as Chiba's voice.
“I did,” he muttered. “Sort of. But I might be able to make some time.” Anything to get some quiet or relax!
“Well, I just picked up the latest concert recording of II Mix Delta. I thought you might like to come over and watch it. You can stay the night if you want to have a couple of drinks. I have work in the morning, so, it can't be a late night.”
Takagi considered to proposal for a moment before agreeing to come over for the night. “I like the idea. And thanks for the save,” Takagi said. “The neighbors next door, well, their son is having a sleepover. And the walls are a bit thin.”
“Oo, that's rough,” Chiba said absentmindedly. “See you in a bit?”
“Yeah. I'll be over in about half an hour,” Takagi said, gathering a few things for his own little sleepover. “You want me to pick up something to eat?”
“If you want.” Takagi could hear Chiba moving around, “Actually, that would be a good idea. Er. There isn't a whole lot here.” Takagi laughed at him.
“I might be a little later, then.”
“I'll see you later,” Chiba said. “Bye.”
“Bye.”
This time, Takagi breathed a sigh of relief. At least, he could relax in the company of a friend. Maybe Chiba might have some good ideas on what I can do for Sato? Takagi laughed at that thought. Chiba had not had a steady girlfriend in ages. Probably not the best person to ask. Still, he might have an idea.
Takagi trotted back down to his car, some overnight stuff tucked under his arm. He was not complaining about the rescue from his neighbors' sleepover.
An hour later, Chiba munched his way through a sandwich, while listening to Takagi's idea. "Good idea. You're right about trying to avoid her mother. If she were around when Sato-san received the gifts, then that might get you in hot water. Too bad your shifts weren't switched."
"Why?" Takagi asked.
Chiba grinned, "Then you could've hid the gifts in her desk and her mother wouldn't find them!" His grin grew positively devilish, "Maybe for her birthday, instead?"
Takagi sighed. He was no closer to solving the problem than before. He had two ideas. One he wanted to avoid badly. At the very least, it would lead to extreme embarrassment and gossip. The other would possibly lead to the wrath of his fellow officers if he were caught. It was one thing to be doing an interrogation and another thing entirely to be on the receiving end.
Still, Takagi felt some things were worth the risk.
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II Mix Delta is the new incarnation of Two-Mix. Now composed of Minami Takayama, Shiina Nagano, and Joe Rinoie.