GetBackers Fan Fiction ❯ Water and Electricity ❯ Two ( Chapter 2 )

Water and Electricity

Chapter 2

They dressed themselves, and Ginji started to climb up the cliff. Ban was about to follow when he felt something again. Like someone was watching them from behind. He quickly turned. Nothing moved. He couldn't see anyone. The bay wasn't big and except for those bushes where he and Ginji had hidden, there was nowhere to hide. Except under the water, but the surface was still and quiet. Ban shrugged. Paranoid, that's what he was. He followed Ginji up the cliff.

It took about half an hour to walk back to their hotel, and most of the walk was through the woods with no paths to follow. Ban could see their own trails. They hadn't tried to hide them, didn't think they would need to. He looked for signs of other people's trails, but couldn't find any. Good, at least they weren't followed to the bay.

At the edge of the wood was a road that ran along a stream deep down. They followed the road to a power station with a bridge across the stream, right before a small waterfall, from where the power station got it's power. Ban supposed the hotel got its electricity from here.

They still hadn't seen anyone, even though Ban had watched out thoroughly. But as they crossed the bridge they were coming closer to the hotel and where other people used to walk. Ban held out his arm to stop Ginji.

"Let's go around to the backside. I'll wait in the garden while you get in."

They took a roundabout way and managed to enter the garden without being seen. Ban sat down on some rocks.

"If no one asked about us, come and get me. Else, you get our stuff from the room and check out and we're out of here."

"Got it, Ban-chan."

"Ginji."

"Eh?"

"Be careful."

Ginji smiled, did thumb up and disappeared in to the hotel.

There was no one in the hall except the man behind the desk. Ginji went to talk to him. It was a small man with an oily smile and a hunted look in his eyes. Ginji hadn't liked the man when he first saw him, and he hadn't improved since. He smiled friendly at the hall-porter anyway.

"I'm Amano Ginji. Has anyone asked for me or my partner? Someone might want us to do a job for them."

He pointed at the GetBackers-poster Ban had put on the notice board.

"No, Amano-san. No one has asked for you yet."

"Yet? What do you mean?"

"Well, I read your poster and saw that you are retrieval specialists, so when this thing happened this morning, I told them about you."

"Anything happened this morning? What was that? Who did you tell about us and why?"

"Sadamoto-sama had a burglary in his mansion early this morning. Some thieves took a valuable script from his library. You didn't happen to see them? You were out quite early too, weren't you?"

The man gave Ginji one of his oily smiles and Ginji shuddered some. That man gave him the creeps.

"No, we didn't see anyone, and we didn't do the burglary either." Ginji said, irritated. "So you told this Samamoto guy about us. What did you say?"

"Oh, don't misunderstand me. I've never meant that you had something to do with the burglary. I just called up to the mansion and told one of the staff that we had retrieval specialists staying here at the hotel. I thought you might consider this as a favor for you, getting a job and earn some money, I mean."

Again that oily smile, and a greedy glance in his eyes were seen. Obviously he hoped for a big tip, for getting them this job. Ginji looked disgusted at him. It took quite a lot to make Ginji dislike other persons, but this guy was just so…slimy.

"Okay. Let me know if they ask for us." Ginji turned from the man.

He'd better go tell Ban-chan about what had happened. It didn't look like Batsu had been to the hotel, so maybe they could stay. If they got that request, Ban-chan would probably accept it.

Ban sat on the rock, smoking, when Ginji came back.

"Well?"

Ginji told Ban about what the hall-porter had said. Ban blew out some smoke and considered. That could be an easy job. It was probably the script that had been hidden in the cave under the bay. Batsu didn't seem to have found out he was here, and if they got that job it would be really easy money, and maybe a lot if it, too. That Samamoto sounded like a rich guy. Ban couldn't resist.

"Okay. Let's stay for a while longer and see if we'll get that job."

Together they went inside. Ban went first to the notice board and took the poster down. At the desk the hall-porter was talking on a telephone. He put the phone down, gave them another oily smile and handed them their key when they stepped forward to the desk. Ginji quickly snapped the key before Ban could get it. Ban glared at him but didn't say anything. Instead he made a short nod at the hall-porter.

"You'll let us know if you hear anything about that job, won't you?"

"Of course, Midou-san."

They went upstairs to their room. Ginji opened the door and rushed in to the shower. This time he beat Ban to it. He undressed and let the water rinse his body from the salt. Ban entered the room more slowly. He still wasn't sure Batsu didn't know he was here. They had to be very cautious from now on. That fool, Ginji. What if someone had been sitting there waiting for them? Well, no one did, so it didn't matter this time.

Ban could hear his partner sing in the shower. Normally he didn't mind that-Ginji had a surprisingly nice singing voice-but Ban wasn't in a singing mood right now.

"Shut up, fool, and hurry up. I need a shower, too."

Ginji turned off the shower, dried himself and came, still naked, out to the room. Ban looked at his body, where the muscles moved under his skin as he walked over to the dresser to get clean underwear. Ginji sure had an athletic body.

"Ban-chan, weren't you in a hurry to get a shower?" Ginji smiled at him.

"Yeah, right." Ban went to the bathroom to get that shower. A cold one.

When he stood under the running water he could hear the phone ring. Ginji answered but Ban couldn't make out any words. He hurried to finish the shower, and went back to the room.

"We had a phone call, Ban-chan."

"Yeah. I heard. What was it?"

"It was that Samamoto guy. He wants to meet with us in the hotel's restaurant in an hour."

"Heh. I guess we're on a roll, Ginji. First we could afford this vacation, and now an easy job here."

"Are you going to tell him we think we know where the script is, Ban-chan?"

"You really are a moron! Of course not! We say it will be a hard job, charge him high and accept the request if he is willing to pay it. If he's not, I'll talk him in to it."

Ginji looked annoyingly doubtful, Ban thought. "Sure, Ban-chan."

Ban dressed himself, found a comb and started to get his hair in some kind of order. When his hair became wet, it hung like it used to do before he met Ginji, but when it dried, it started to stand up in spikes again. His hair had started to act like that after he and Ginji had been partners for some time. He really didn't know why, but he supposed it had something to do with Ginji's electricity that always flowed around him, even when he didn't use it and it wasn't visible. He guessed this electric power had to influence anyone who lived this close to Ginji.

Ginji had gone out to the balcony, looking out over the sea to his right. He was really happy to have this vacation with Ban, but now he could see his best friend was worried. Not afraid, Ban-chan was never afraid, but worried. That made Ginji worried, too. Maybe he could convince Ban-chan not to take this job and they could go back to Tokyo instead. Ginji didn't like the thought of being close to a gang who wanted Ban dead. He'd always have to live with that, of course, Ban had many enemies, but it wasn't necessary to stay around them if you didn't have to.

Ban entered the balcony. He leant his back against the rail and lit a cigarette.

"Ban-chan. Are you sure about this job? I mean, it's alright if we go back to Tokyo now. It really is."

"Ginji… are you scared?"

"No, of course not." Ginji looked a little hurt. "It's just that it's one thing to meet all the guys who want to kill you when we're on a job. A man's got to do what a man's got to do." Ginji smiled a little. "But this is not a job, we don't need to be sitting here, waiting for those guys to find you."

"We've got another job, coming up."

"We don't need that job, Ban-chan."

"Fool. What do you mean, don't need? If we get enough pay for this job, maybe we can get ourselves an apartment."

So that's what's on Ban-chan's mind, Ginji thought. The apartment. Ban-chan talked quite a lot about an apartment. Ginji, knowing Ban so well, knew that he wanted that apartment mostly to make him, Ginji, happy. Ginji would like an apartment, too, but he wasn't used to live very comfortable the way Ban lived when he was younger, so he was happy as long as he was together with his friend.

"You're more important to me than an apartment." Ginji said, very seriously.

"Come on. I told you. It's easy money. We can hire diving equipment tomorrow and dive into the cave, get the box, deliver it, receive the payment and be heading back to Tokyo by tomorrow evening."

"What if it's the wrong box?" Ginji's big, brown eyes looked into Ban's narrow, blue ones. That, Ban always had a hard time to resist. He sighed.

"Alright. Then we pretend to have got an emergency call from Tokyo and leave. Satisfied?"

Ginji didn't feel very satisfied, but still, Ban had made an offer to compromise and give up a job if it wasn't as easy as he had imagined. That must be the first time ever he had done such a thing, and Ginji knew that too was to make him happy. He smiled at Ban.

"Yeah, Ban-chan. I'm satisfied."

---

After an hour they left for the restaurant. When they entered they saw immediately who was their client. An important looking man with expensive clothes sat at a table where he had full control of what happened around him. Two men, who obviously were bodyguards, sat beside him. Ban put on his most polite face and approached the table, followed by Ginji.

"Samamoto-sama?" He bowed. Ginji stared at him but followed his example. "We are the retrieval specialists, the GetBackers. My name is Midou Ban, and this is my partner, Amano Ginji."

"Please sit down." Samamoto gestured at the two empty seats opposite him, and Ban and Ginji sat down.

"So you are retrieval specialists? You look rather young. How long have you been in this business?"

"Close to two years. And our success rate is 100%." Ban gave Ginji a look to stop him from saying the little word 'almost' that he else was bound to say.

"Two years. And so successful." Samamoto smiled dryly. "Did this hotel's hall-porter tell you what happened at my house this morning?"

"Some. There was a burglary and the burglars took a valuable script from your library. That is about all we know."

"The correct word is invaluable. The script is a two thousand-year-old writing from China. It is written by one of my ancestors, and it has been in my family for all this time. To the thieves it is worth money, to me… as you understand it has other values than just money to me. If you can get it back I'm willing to pay you two million yen…each."

Ban had difficulties not to show his satisfied surprise. Four million yen! And he hadn't even needed to negotiate. But… what would happen if he did some negotiating? He opened his mouth to try to squeeze some more money from this rich guy.

"Ban-chan! That's more money than even you thought we could get, isn't it! We can rent that apartment now! You do accept, don't you?"

Under the table Ban punched Ginji. Hard. Of all the times for Ginji to be excited over money it had to be now? With a huge exertion he calmed himself and managed a smile.

"Eh… Can you tell us something else about the theft? Do you have any suspicion of who it might have been, or where it has been taken?"

"Ban-chan," Ginji whispered. Why couldn't that damned guy shut up, right now? Ban hoped he at least didn't start blabbering about them probably already knowing where that damned goods were. But at Ban's angry glare, Ginji did shut up.

"One thing I can say is that I suspect that the script is not yet taken very far. I can say that because I do have some control over who is coming and leaving this place. My men keep a constant watch over every coming and going in this area, and they have told me no one has crossed our borders since the day before yesterday. Another thing is that the script was rolled to a scroll tied with a ribbon." He looked at them appraisingly. "I realize this is a difficult request. That's why I offered such a large payment. If you don't think it's enough or you don't think you can handle it, then just say so and I'll send for someone else from Tokyo."

The Monkey Trainer! No way he would give away this job with even a remote chance that the Monkey Trainer could get it instead! Ban smiled confidently at Samamoto.

"No problems. Of course we can handle it. We'll start searching right away."

"Good. If you need an advance payment you can talk to my secretary over there." He pointed at a skinny woman sitting at another table in a corner. "Tell her to give you two percent of what I offered you."

Samamoto and his bodyguards left the hotel and Ban went to see the woman about their advance payment. He got it and returned to Ginji who still sat at the table.

"Ban-chan! So much money! You were right to put up that poster. I'm sorry I didn't want you to."

Ginji seemed to have forgotten all about Batsu or anything dangerous at all.

"You're such a damned fool, Ginji! If you just had shut up maybe I could have got him to give us even more money."

"Ban-chan… I'm sorry. I never thought about that… But we don't have to be greedy, do we? I mean, it's enough to get us an apartment, isn't it?"

Ban slowly calmed down when he looked at his partner. The money in his pocket also helped to make his mood rise.

"It's alright, Ginji." Ban smiled at his friend. "Do you still think we should give up if the box in the cave is the wrong one?"

"Oh, I forgot about that, Ban-chan." Ginji looked thoughtful. "I still think it's best to give up the job if the box doesn't contain the script. As I told you, you mean more to me than an apartment. And you promised, didn't you?"

"Yeah, yeah… I did. But four million yen, Ginji! That changes the conditions, doesn't it?"

"Maybe we can talk about it when we've seen what's in that box, Ban-chan?" Ginji suggested.

"Yeah, we'll do that. Let's order some supper now, I'm starving. And…" Ban took up some of the bills and waved with them. "We can eat as much as we want of anything we want."

They looked at each other and laughed.

---

After supper they went back to their room to discuss. It would have been nice with a walk, but Ginji insisted it would be best to stay in the room, just to be on the safe side. Ban didn't really agree. All that food, and the thought of all the money, made him feel very content. He felt pretty sure Batsu didn't know he was here. They sure as hell would have made some move now, if they had known. He sat down at the coach and took out a cigarette. Ginji threw himself beside Ban at the coach, put his feet up on the table and laid his arms behind his neck.

"Ban-chan?"

"Uh?"

"Where can we hire diving equipment?"

"Here at the hotel. It was in their ad, you must've seen it."

"Guess so. But I didn't think about it." Ginji gave Ban a happy smile. "Now, you must teach me how to use the equipment anyway."

Ban shook his head. "No, it'll take too much time. I'll go get that box alone."

"Ban-chan! I want to dive into that cave, too!" Ginji was really upset. He had been looking forward to be able to dive and see caves under the water's surface.

"Idiot. I'm not gonna risk that. It takes some time to learn how to handle these things. If you must dive too, we're not gonna finish this job tomorrow."

Ginji was disappointed but he supposed Ban was right.

"Alright then, you dive alone. But promise to teach me to dive some other time."

"I promise."

TBC