Chapter Fifty-One - Asako Kato
THE MICROWAVE PINGED, Asako reached in grabbing the plastic plate, a once-frozen breakfast burrito slouched lifelessly at the center. She grabbed a diet cola from her mini fridge and made her way to the small desk on the other side of her crowded studio apartment.
Her head buzzed with the happenings from last night. The gold lights atop the bell tower, the two figures that stood before her seemingly vanishing into the night, and Bellamy’s lifeless body all flashed in her head when she closed her eyes. After the confrontation at the bell tower, Farmer had taken her statement and allowed her to return home after she agreed to a follow-up interview in the coming days. Once she arrived, she collapsed into bed for a few hours, never achieving any restful sleep.
Now, she tore pieces from the breakfast burrito as she uploaded the images of Bellamy’s journal from her phone to her laptop. She scrolled through the photos hoping she was able to capture the video of Mr. Archie standing next to the fedora-wearing man.
What were they? Angels? Ghosts?
She racked her brain all morning, unable to construct a reasonable answer. As she clicked on the video it sputtered and fizzed out.The footage was toast.
She clicked past the video and examined Bellamy’s journal entries — she zoomed in reading the tidy penmanship. The entries were dense, cryptic, and peppered with diagrams — maps of the campus with hand drawn lines. The lines each labeled, “ley line.”
She zoomed in on a small entry reading, Summit State University: Confluence of energies. Nexus amplification of attunement. Draws ENPs close. Convergence imminent. Cosmic beings parading as mortals?
The entries made no sense, its disjointed notes and inscrutable phrases created more questions than answers. Asako scrolled the diary, her heart pounded as her anger rose. Her eyes moved rapidly over the words, nearly faster than her brain could process them. She was desperate for clarity, when her eyes stopped on an entry dated just a few weeks ago.
Her breath hitched in her throat as she read the name: Naomi Halston.
“That son of a bitch,” Asako muttered, her voice barely hid the fury rising. “It was him this whole time.”
Her hands shook as she continued reading.
Subject demonstrated precognitive flashes. Reliable predictions? Erratic. Connection to external ENP activity? Unsure. Subject suggests presence of precognitive ENP nearby.
The words blurred as Asako blinked back tears, but she forced herself to keep reading.
Subject uncooperative. Heightened stress during session affecting attunement. Sedative medication causing attunement degradation?
Asako’s chest tightened, and her bottom lip trembled, “He drugged her?” she hissed.
She could see Naomi’s face in her mind — the student ID photo of her with a soft smile that hung above Asako’s desk at the Ledger offices. Then, the face of the lifeless body she’d seen only days ago. She clenched her fists, her nails dug into her palms.
Asako read on.
Subject terminated via…
The words ended abruptly, their brutal simplicity cruel and impersonal. Tears stung her eyes as she filled in the blanks. Bellamy had effectively killed Naomi — or at least, her death served his twisted, sick agenda. Thoughts of Naomi’s lifeless body, cold, and still beneath the bell tower, came rushing back full force.
She slumped back in her chair, the glow of the computer monitor reflected her tear-streaked face. Her stomach churned, and a storm of grief threatened to unmoor her. Naomi’s fate was not just some random act of violence, she was a casualty of Bellamy’s obsession. In his grotesque hunger for control, he had drained her of everything.
Her thoughts turned to her sister, Izumi, a gnawing ache of uncertainty rising in her. How many more had suffered like this? Like Naomi? Like Izumi? Her mind raced with the possibilities. Images of her sister, disappearing for days, always on the edge, nearly unreachable passed in edge of her mind.
“What did they put you through Izzie?” she whispered.
The same system that had failed Naomi had failed her sister too and Asako’s gut reeled with the realization. She gritted her teeth her fingers trembling, hesitation rose in her to read further into this madman’s diary. But she knew she had to learn more, Asako needed to know how deep his obsession went.
She clicked the mouse, wiping a way the tears in her eyes. The familiar meticulous handwriting filled the screen, but this time the subject shifted. Jason. The words leaped out at her, stark and irrefutable.
Concealment? Rare. One of a kind? Connection to attuned? Powerful attunement useful to Durant? Potential high-value asset?
A flicker of recognition ignited in Asako, the name “Durant” chimed alarm bells. In her conversation with Sil Clearwater, the caseworker had mentioned Colonel Marcus Durant — a former military scientist overseeing the controversial ENP research. Sil had described him as a man willing to push ethical boundaries in the name of “national security.” He was someone who had used children like Izumi as living experiments to strengthen the military force.
Her stomach churned at the idea. What would Durant want with Jason?
She scrolled on, her eyes scanned the page. The entries were disjointed, fragments of ideas, and plans— much of it difficult to connect. But one thing was true, Jason’s concealment attunement wasn’t just rare — it was unprecedented. Bellamy saw him not as a person, but as a potential return to his funding.
Then the realization hit her like a brick through a window — Was Bellamy going to sell Jason out to Durant?
She sat back, her mind reeling.
It made complete sense, Bellamy’s funding had been cut. Frozen by the university. If there was another precognitive ENP nearby, Bellamy was going to need resources to conduct his research. If Marcus Durant was still researching ENPs, even with private funding, then Bellamy could use Jason as a payday. He’d be back in business and wouldn’t need the university, while Durant was free to experiment on Jason.
Sil Clearwater had mentioned Izumi’s attunement was concealment and Bellamy’s notes made reference to Jason having something similar. If this attunement was as rare as Sil suggested then that meant that Jason was not just valuable, he was in danger.
Asako’s vision blurred as the realization hit her like a tidal wave. Her thoughts raced.
Bellamy had already proven that he was willing to kidnap and drug an ENP, selling Jason to the highest bidder was not out of the question for him.
But Bellamy was dead.Did he have time to set up a meeting with Durant before he died?
Something churned in Asako’s stomach, and her intuition screamed.
If Jason’s concealment had kept him cloaked from people like Durant and Bellamy they wouldn’t know where to look to find him. Bellamy had proven he could track Ethan and if Bellamy had communicated with Durant, he’d have everything he need to find both of them.
It all clicked into place with a terrifying clarity.
They were coming for Jason because they knew were Ethan was.
Asako let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. The realization pressed down on her. But then her body moved as her mind struggled to catch up.
“Shit,” Asako hissed, jumping from her seat.
She grabbed her coat from the back of the chair and shoved her arms in the sleeves. Her fingers fumbled for the zipper. Her boots clunked awkwardly onto her feet as she half-hopped, half-staggered toward the door, her heart pounded like a war drum.
Yanking the door open, the cold air slapped her in the face as she bolted outside.Asako grabbed her keys from her crossbody, and ran toward the car, “I hope I’m not too late.”