Konoha Vice - Chapter 11

    “So your cousin is all right?”  Sakura wound her fingers around the chord of her office phone.  Hinata had been on the phone nearly the entire day, sending messages back and forth from one office to the next, and she chose to spend her break making a phone call to her friend.

    “Yes.  It was a big operation, the helicopter was damaged but no officers were hurt.”

    “That’s good.  Let me see if I got this right.  They caught the guy in the car, but he’s been giving the cops the silent treatment.”

    “Mr. A isn’t worried about him.  It’s going to be an open and shut case.  Kiba and Shino were worried about jurisdiction for the arrest, but in the end criminals get prosecuted by the same court, and they’re happy I’m helping run that.  The guns violate any number of federal laws, so we’ll get him in the District Court.”

    “Any news on the partner, the one who got away on the boat?”

    “We got news in just a little while ago that the smuggler ran into Konoha Harbor patrol. Apparently Zabuza was killed in the chase and the boat confiscated.”

    “So that’s it then?”  Sakura was glad to hear Hinata’s sigh of relief.

    “Just another day on the job for the Assistant DA.”

    “See you later tonight then.  I’ve got to help clean up before I get home.”

    “I’m going to make a stop by the store on my way home.  Need me to pick up anything?”

    “Yeah, get some of those peaches.  I think I’ll make a cobbler later tonight.”

    “Oh that sounds perfect.  Gotta run.  See you later.”  With a quick hang-up, Sakura was alone in her office again.

    Truth be told it had been a quiet day.  Nothing too busy had happened, Dr. Sasori had come in late, saying he’d work the evening shift to make up time.  For head mortician, he kept very odd hours.  But it was nice to have a boss who volunteered to work swing shifts and weekends.

    Finishing her work was easy enough.  A few forms to write, a few files to store, a few bodies to put in cold storage.  As much as she liked her job, she couldn’t fight her medical school training.  Preserving life was just more fulfilling than studying death.  
Still, she knew she could make a difference anywhere she was.

    Closing up her examination room, she got ready to leave when she saw a light come on in the back rooms.  Apparently Dr. Sasori was in the rear receiving bay.  She was about to walk down in that direction when she heard a deep voice yell out, “Get that door closed!”

    Ducking into her office, she turned out the light and steadied her breathing.  It was an odd reaction, but the yelling had surprised her.  The sounds of doors quickly opening and shutting were followed by the squeaky wheels of an examination table moving across the hall.

    “What did I tell you about leaving the door open?”  The deep voice asked again.

    “The lights are all off,” Dr. Sasori answered, “my assistant is always the last to leave and her office light is off.  We’re the only ones here.”

    Curiosity got the best of her and Sakura made her way to the end of the hall.  Sure enough the double doors were still open by a crack, a bad habit of Dr. Sasori’s.  He was always too busy thinking about something else to close the doors behind him.

    There was a body bag on the examination table but it was the other man who caught Sakura’s attention.  He was wearing a police uniform, but the tattoos on his face gave him a rather menacing look.

    Opening the bag, Sasori got out a syringe and began filling it with a vial he had in his coat pocket.  “Are you sure we’re in the clear?”

    “Yeah, I was on the boat with the Hozuki kid.  He’s still a little wet behind the ears, but he knows how to keep his mouth shut.”

    “I remember him; his older brother was your old partner.  Shame what happened to him.”

    “It’s thanks to Mangetsu we’re doing what we’re doing in the first place.”

    “Hold this one down.”  Dr. Sasori motioned to the stiff on the table.  The body looked a little wet and cold, like it was taken out of the harbor.  That’s when Sakura recognized the officer, Captain Hoshigake of the Harbor Patrol.  That meant the corpse was Zabuza.

    With a careful arm, Sasori finished the injection and pulled out his stethoscope.  He waited a moment before taking it off and nodding.  “The stimulant is working.  Now we just wait for him to wake up.”

    Covering her mouth, Sakura stayed silent as the body on the table stirred and sat up.  Baring his sharp teeth, Zabuza cracked his neck and looked around at Kisame.  “That hurt you bastard.”

    “It’s not my fault you fell wrong after I hit you with that sedative.  We had to make your death look convincing.”

    “What about Haku?”  Zabuza asked.

    “Arrested and in the system, just as planned.” Sasori added.

    Carefully backing away, Sakura walked as silently as she could to the exit of the building.  Getting in her car she checked in her rear view mirror several time to make sure she wasn’t followed on her way home.  It wasn’t until she locked the door and sat down on the couch that she was finally able to calm herself down.

    Conspiracy was not the first word to come to her mind, but when it did things still weren’t making sense.  The entire scene had been surreal, like something out of a David Lynch film.

    Hinata came home, obviously distracted and in a bit of a temper.  The peaches spilled onto the counter as she dropped the bag down.

    “Everything was fine up to our phone call,” Hinata steadied herself on the bar counter that separated the kitchen from the living room, “After that, things just got way too weird.”

    “You don’t say?” Was all Sakura could think to say.

    “Get this.  We got a call from Mayor Danzo, who had the governor and Mr. A in his office.  They apparently are going to rush this whole case through court so fast and so quiet that nobody in our office is going to even see the brief of it.  Worst part about it was Mr. A told me he wanted me off the case.  He literally said, ‘Not this time Hinata, pick your fights.’.”

    Getting up from the couch, Sakura began washing the peaches for the cobbler.  As casually as she could manage she said, “Dr. Sasori helped fake the death of the gun runner from earlier today.  I was too afraid to confront them so I snuck out of the office as quietly and as quickly as I could.”

    “You're sure he didn't see you.”  Hinata came close and gave Sakura a hug.  There was an unspoken protective instinct to Hinata.

    “I think so, but I can't say for certain.  Thankfully it's Friday and I'm not working swing this weekend.  But I'm not sure if that makes me feel more uncomfortable or not.”

    Pacing back and forth, Hinata finally nodded and went to the phone.  “I'm going to make a phone call.  We'll get Internal Affairs on this one, meanwhile I can use the break Mr. A gave me to look into Officer Sasori's record... think I'll put in another phone call, we'll have Sasori followed just in case.”

    “Thanks Hinata.”  With a sigh, Sakura let herself sit down on one of their bar stools.  “I've been telling myself it's time to start working at a hospital instead of the morgue for a while now.”

    “I wouldn't make that move so fast if I were you.”  Hinata smiled as she spun the dials on the phone.  “By the time we're done with Sasori you'll be in charge of the Konoha Medical Investigation Unit.”

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    The Chinese food place was a little more upscale than Kiba was used to, but Neji had insisted on paying so he decided not to refuse.  Initially the waiter tried to get him to wear a tie, but Lee had come by to wave him through.

    Seems like the initial tension Kiba had sensed between these three was just the way they were.  Just like how Kiba and Shino constantly teased each other.  It was a pleasant surprise to find that the Feds weren't as uptight as they seemed to be.

    “You aren't seriously saying that you had no injuries from that helicopter crash?”  Shino asked Lee.

    “If I'm at all sore, it's from sitting in that tiny seat.  They're fine machines but the manufacturers don't bother spending their money on things like comfort.”  Lee joked before chomping down on his wonton soup.

    “That was some fancy driving Kiba.”  Officer Tenten leaned to her left and poked him in the side with her elbow.  “You take classes on that in the force?”

    “You'd be surprised to know that my mother actually teaches advanced driving courses, in addition to breeding our crime dogs.”  Kiba took a bite out of the grilled pork, and reminded himself to bring some extra home for Akamaru.  Hana had called to say she was going to leave him at the house downtown tonight.

    “It's good to know we have some solid officers backing us up.”  Neji tapped his chopsticks on his bowl before starting on his second serving of fried rice.

    “I wish you guys could meet our trainer.  Officer Gai helps coordinate interdepartmental activities, he's worked with us for five years now.  Seriously impressive.”  Lee said while beaming.

    “Gai is an old school G-man, Lee takes a little strongly after him in style.”  Tenten teased.

    “How long are you going to be in town?”  Shino asked.

    “We don't have to report back until Tuesday.  Did you have any plans?”  Neji took a drink of water and pulled out a schedule book from his pocket.

    “I've got a friend down at the Orange Bowl.  I can get tickets to the Genesis concert on Sunday.”

    “No way!”  Tenten and Lee both scooted their chairs closer to Shino.

    In an aside to Neji, Kiba asked, “Are they always this excitable?”

    “Only when they're off duty.”

    “Okay, I have to ask.”  Kiba lowered his voice and spoke plain.  “What's the deal with you and Hinata?”  Same last name, looks are way similar.  She's never mentioned you before, but everyone in Florida knows about the Hyuuga family.  Your dad was killed when you were what, three, four?”

    Patting the sides of his mouth with his napkin, Neji nodded.  “Four, yes.”

    “So what's the story?”

    “Where I've been the past 20 years, or why I'm working for the CIA?”

    “Do I only get one story?”  Kiba raised an eyebrow.

    “Only one per night... and only if you cover dinner.”  Neji's face went from expressionless to having a sinister smile in an instant.

    Raising his hands in defeat, Kiba laughed.  “All right, keeps your secrets.  I'll just ask Hinata about it some other time.”

    “That's fine.”  Neji looked down, getting lost in the past for a moment.

    “Great, what about you Kiba?”  Tenten's question seemed to come out of nowhere.

    “Huh?”  Kiba and Neji both looked up at once.

    “Of course Kiba's coming along.”  Shino gave him a death glare as if to say 'Don't leave me alone with these two for an entire night.'

    “The Genesis concert.  Weren't you two listening?”  Tenten's face was a little red, looking slightly angry.”
   
    “Why of course we're going.  Who'd miss out on Phil Collins?”  Neji gave Kiba a wink before turning to the waiter as the check came.

    Leaning back in his chair, Kiba rolled his eyes and folded his arms.  Something told him he was going to be stuck with this crew for a little while longer, and he was okay with that.