Requiem: Chapter 37
Norino Vastai, Shi Udesama and Goro Fukamizu had agreed to have a nice dinner after working hours in a restaurant in the turn of their headquarters. It was not expensive, of course you could not expect crystal and silver, but the food was good and you usually got a space portion. Norino Vastai, just like his deputies, had chosen the fish dish. It was easily digestible and they served a very good affordable white house wine at. Norino had invited them and said it was his treat. Just blow out a few hours away from the stress of the desk and the whiteboard that was filled with more pictures of victims.. They had found texts from several victims that referred to Mozart's Requiem. It was the thread that connected the unfortunate dead in their fate. The composer certainly did not mean it that way and would turn around in his grave if he knew this.
All three of them were quite tense. Goro struggled at first because he promised his wife to watch a certain broadcast on TV together, but Norino could have convinced him at long last.. Shi also seemed happy that his boss once invited him to dinner. He apologized five times for arriving a little late for the appointment.. Shi thought this was unforgivable of himself, because an invitation had to be treated as an act of respect. A superior fraternified with his subordinates was not an everyday fact. Certainly not with the New World Security Service. As part of their profession, they were rather suspicious of social contact with colleagues and they were soon asked questions from the internal control department if one went out too much with someone after hours.. Norino Vastai was of the old stamp and wiped out all those prejudices on his pants. He thought it appropriate to fraternize with his men who threw their asses in the shell every day to track down criminals. That's why he didn't make any point that Shi was a little later. He had filled the time with some tasty sake and felt a little loosened from all the worries of lately. Maybe another glass and it could be a good night.
'Did you know that this is probably the only restaurant out of the turn where there is no puffer fish on the menu, 'Norino said. “By the way, with my hunger wage, I can only afford that dish a few times a year. But I promise if we bring this case to a successful conclusion, this delicacy will definitely be on the menu..’
Puffer fish is considered a real delicacy in Japan. The fish contain a poison, which paralyzes man to death. Tetrodotoxin, the poison mentioned here, is known as a paralyzing neurotoxin. Japanese cooks need to take special lessons and take exams. Everyone realizes, of course, that the removal of the intestines containing the poison is of paramount importance, especially if one wants to keep the gastronome in question alive. The poison of one puffer fish can kill at least 30 people and is more deadly than the arrowhead poison curare used by the Indians at the time. Yet occasionally an accident happens and a tourist or himself a Japanese person falls down who can no longer tell how delicious puffer fish is. It is also a sign of great courage for a Japanese to eat puffer fish. You never know! And cheap it is not. Well, yes, you can face both expensive paid to your end! Norino Vastai smiled at his inner joke. Yes, the evening started to get some color and his cheeks even more while he sipped his glass of sake.
