Science Ninja Team Gatchaman
Written by Toriumi Jinzō
Illustrated by Ōtori Workshop
Part 2: Alien Invasion
Chapter 4
Dr. Nanbu drove his beloved car down Tokyo Bay Road. He had anticipated the results of his remarks at the meeting. Who would believe in an alien invasion theory without any evidence? One of Dr. Nanbu’s aims was to sound the alarm to the representatives of each country, but he also had another objective.
Light flashed in Dr. Nanbu’s rear view mirror. His eyes moved in the direction of the light. He was being followed very closely. There was little traffic at this time of night. Aside from Dr. Nanbu, his follower was the only one on the road.
Dr. Nanbu pressed down on the accelerator. The distance between his car and the tailgater widened rapidly.
The car behind him sped up in pursuit.
Dr. Nanbu grinned wryly and then braked, suddenly reducing his speed. The following car nearly crashed into him and skidded to a halt.
It was confirmed, then: Dr. Nanbu was being followed.
Thanks to the street lamps, Dr. Nanbu could identify the other car as a Toyota Land Cruiser. There was a man in the driver’s seat. He wore his hat pulled down low, so Dr. Nanbu couldn’t make out his face.
The headlights of oncoming cars vanished behind him. Street lamps provided dim illumination. Up ahead, he could see the highway ramp. One way led towards the city center. The other continued on toward Dr. Nanbu’s destination: Tokyo Teleport City. Tokyo Teleport City was a high-tech information and communications metropolis. Not only did it have optical communication systems, but it could also use communication satellites. It was one of the few global cities that could instantly access information from around the world.
Dr. Nanbu took a small automatic pistol from his glove box and slipped it into his belt. He tapped a button on his dashboard three times. A signal light ahead of him began to blink red, going temporarily out of service.
Dr. Nanbu entered the highway system and proceeded toward Tokyo Teleport City. The Land Cruiser resumed its pursuit.
Dr. Nanbu turned onto a wide street lined with office buildings. In the 1990s, this area had been a jumble of houses, but now it was a business district lined with skyscrapers. The street was deserted at this hour.
After confirming in the rear view mirror that the Land Cruiser was still tailing him, Dr. Nanbu turned onto a tree-lined side road. Here, there were few streetlights and no sound of other cars.
Dr. Nanbu had planned this route. He glanced at the Land Cruiser in his rear view mirror and smiled. “Let’s see what you can do.”
Dr. Nanbu slowed down. The Land Cruiser suddenly accelerated, then went off-road. The car cut off Dr. Nanbu, forcing him to stop.
There was a stand of trees along the side of the road. Dr. Nanbu parked near them. Two men jumped out of the back of the Land Cruiser, both holding sub machine guns. They pointed their guns at Dr. Nanbu through the car windows.
Dr. Nanbu stared at the two men. They had large, wrestler-like builds, and their faces were hidden by ski masks. The two men nodded to each other. They seemed to have confirmed Nanbu’s identity. They calmly readjusted their aim.
This was quite the situation. Dr. Nanbu had his pistol in its hip holster, but he didn’t even try to draw it. He knew that if he went for his weapon, the men would shoot him dead. He had at least three opponents—these two men and the driver of the Land Cruiser. The odds weren’t in his favor, but Dr. Nanbu didn’t panic.
The two men’s guns moved toward Dr. Nanbu’s face.
There was a rushing sound that made the air shiver. The two men flinched in surprise. One of them collapsed, spraying blood from an open wound in his throat. He died instantly.
The remaining man with the sub machine gun pointed his weapon into the darkness, searching for an enemy.
A spherical object flew down from the treetops and crushed the man’s forehead flat to the pavement. The man groaned, and then he was still.
It was all over in moments, like a stealth attack by ninjas.
Dr. Nanbu got out of the car, pistol in hand. The man in the driver’s seat pointed his pistol at Dr. Nanbu through his window, but Dr. Nanbu moved faster than he could. He shot the man in the face through his windshield. The pistol’s silencer depressed the sound of the gunshot somewhat, but it was still loud.
As Nanbu returned his pistol to his holster, he called out into the darkness, “Thanks for coming to get me.”
A petite woman jumped down from the treetops.
“Doctor, did I overdo it?”
Dr. Nanbu gave her a slight smile. Then he checked the bodies of the three men.
The woman who had come to Dr. Nanbu’s aid was unmistakably Jun, the same woman who had saved Joe in Sicily.
A young man dropped down from the stone wall of a nearby building. He was the pilot of the Cessna who had attacked the hovercraft piloted by Ryū. He was also the young man who had dropped the SF-22 grenade at the Fuji Speedway race to save Joe.
Dr. Nanbu sighed. “I was planning to make them drop their guns…”
The young man scoffed. “You know that wouldn’t have worked, doc. You can’t kill these guys, not really, and you can’t reason with ‘em either. They were never really alive.” His eyes gleamed with lively intelligence. He had a slender build and quick movements. His fast reflexes were the key to his success as a pilot.
Dr. Nanbu nodded. “If you and Jun hadn’t put them down, Ken, I would probably be dead. These things are not human.”
Ken and Jun silently nodded.
“It seems they’re tracking us,” Dr. Nanbu said.
Ken gave him an anxious look. “Do they know about Project Phoenix?”
“I don’t believe so,” Dr. Nanbu said. “But they know that I’m an obstacle to their plans.
“Please be careful, doctor,” Jun said. She picked up the spherical weapon that had crushed one attacker’s head. At first glance, it looked harmless, like a metal yo-yo, but it was crafted with great precision. Ken and Jun wore matching bracelets that served as secure communication devices. Dr. Nanbu could receive messages from both of them using his car’s computer interface.
Dr. Nanbu smiled, and then he got back into his car. “I feel much safer knowing you two are with me,” he said.
In the distance, the headlights of a car appeared.
“Let’s pull back. The rest is Fujimoto's job,” Ken said.
Police Agency commissioner Fujimoto Soutaro had been among the most baffled people at the meeting that evening. Dr. Nanbu certainly hoped the man was ready for what was coming next.
Translator's Note
Tokyo Teleport City is a nickname for Odaiba, a large artificial island in Tokyo Bay, developed as a futuristic urban center. It was initially conceived in the 1990s as Tokyo Teleport Town, a showcase for innovative living and technology. The area is now a popular entertainment and shopping district, featuring attractions like the Fuji TV Building, DiverCity Tokyo Plaza with its life-sized Gundam statue, and Miraikan (National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation).
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