Patlabor Fan Fiction ❯ Personal Files ❯ Episode 18 ( Chapter 5 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Patlabor: Personal Files

An Episodic Patlabor Fanfic by David A. Tatum

Disclaimer: Insert legal junk here...



Episode 18: The Candidate

March 26, 2000

(Note: You may notice a little time overlap with the last chapter.
This is intentional)



Much to everyone's surprise, Chief Fukushima had actually shown up at
SV2 Headquarters in the morning. He immediately retreated into his
office, and hadn't been seen since.



Fukushima's entrance into the Captain's officer later in the day was
even more surprising.



"Sir!" Gomioka cried, jumping to his feet and saluting as the division
chief entered the room. Shinobu also rose to attention, but didn't
bother saluting. Gotoh was present as well, but he was off duty thanks
to a shift change with Gomioka and so was napping in his desk chair.
Shinobu woke him by clearing her throat, and he slowly stood as well.



"At ease," Fukushima said. "I'm glad you're all here. I need to talk
to all three of you."



Gotoh yawned. "I wondered why you came in, today."



Not even acknowledging Gotoh's presence, Fukushima opened the folder he
was carrying and pulled out a piece of paper. "I've recieved a
communique from the Special Vehicles division in Osaka. They're
searching for a new labor pilot, and don't feel as though any of their
own boys are qualified. We wouldn't happen to have anyone willing and
able to fll the position, would we?"



Gotoh shook his head. "I can't afford to separate Noa and Asuma, and
Takeo doesn't want to be a pilot. Hiromi might be able to, if he can
physically handle the labor- what type does Osaka have, nowadays?"



"SR-70s," Fukushima said, shooting a look Shinobu's way.



"Cockpit's too small. Hiromi needs something designed for larger men."



"I don't have anyone capable of piloting a labor," Shinobu noted. "My
veterans are physically incapable of it, and my rookies aren't skilled
enough."



Fukushima nodded. "Very well. How about you, Captain Gomioka?"



He hesitated. "Give me a day to look into it. I've got a few people
who might be capable- Yamane Seiroku was a hair's breath away from being
a labor pilot during the tournament, and our American Exchange pilot,
Kanuka Clancy, is more than capable... though she would only be able to
act as an interim pilot. I may even have someone else, but I'm not sure
yet...."



Fukushima nodded. "Very well- I'll be working here for the next month,
so you should be able to get me any time. But you're a bit
inexperienced in these situations, so get the approval of either Gotoh
or Nagumo before you send him to me."



"Yes, sir." Gomioka had to concur with the inexperienced part, but if
he had to get approval he'd seek out Shinobu's before anyone else's.



Once Fukushima had departed, Gotoh turned to Gomioka, scratching the
stubble on his chin in thought. "Kanuka won't want to go to Osaka. The
whole reason she's here with us is because her Grandmother is nearby."



Gomioka shrugged. "Won't hurt to ask- maybe she can get some extra help
in Osaka that she can't get here. But Seiroku is the one who I think is
most likely to want the job. He's been begging for a spot as a labor
pilot since he got here, and he's really too good a pilot to be stuck in
the command car."



Gotoh sighed. "I'd try to hang onto him, if he's really that good.
However, if you really want to ask him..."



"I do."



"I won't hesitate to second your choice of Kanuka, if she wants it, but
if you expect either of us to approve of this Seiroku guy then I'm going
to want to investigate him. I suspect Shinobu will, too. Would you get
us each a copy of his personnel file, as well as all of the incident
reports he's been involved with since he's been assigned here?"



Gomioka grimmaced at the paperwork, but once more had to admit that
there was the need for such an investigation. "I'll go copy them, and
get back here in half an hour."



Gotoh nodded. "Thanks."



"So, Gotoh," Shinobu said, apparently trying to make small talk, as
Gomioka left the room. "Anything new happening in your squad?"



"Well, Noa and Asuma will be out tomorrow for personal reasons- a
birthday party, I think. And the plans for Sakaki's retirement party
are underway..."



The door closed behind him. Gomioka shook his head. "Isn't that the
same conversation they've been having since the end of January? I seems
like ever since THAT night they've been completely unable to relate to
each other...."



"Eh? What are you muttering about?"



Gomioka blinked. "Eh? Chief Sakaki! I thought you were giving your
last-minute lessons to Shige."



Sakaki shook his head in frustration. "He fell asleep. After only
thirty-six hours, too- the boy's got no endurance."



"Uh, right."



"So, what was it you were mumbling about? Gotoh and Shinobu, right?" he
asked.



Gomioka sighed. No point in denying the obvious. "Well, yeah. Ever
since that night when... well, ever since late January, they seem to be
struggling to make conversation whenever they can. It makes things...
unpleasant... to sit around the office with them. Shinobu, especially-
she seems uncertain how to respond every time Gotoh talks to her."



Sakaki shrugged. "It's understandable. Gotoh helped her through a very
difficult situation- one where she drank herself into a stupor. And she
's likely still embarrassed with how she revealed so many personal
details in one sitting with him. And I happen to know a bit more
happened that she'd be uncomfortable about, too." He smirked slightly.
"Gotoh's a good man for having restrained himself with her, that night."



"Huh?"



Sakaki shook his head. "Never you mind- I don't want to get too into
their private business with you. But they'll be fine, don't worry. You
only have to put up with them for a short time."



Gomioka looked at Sakaki oddly. "Why are you even telling me this much?
I'm hardly one of your usual confidants...."



"No, but I'm not going to be here much longer," Sakaki said. "I don't
really like you, Gomioka. You treat your labors and your pilots wrong.
I don't particularly like Ohta- he's wrecked his labor so many times I'
ve only been able to go home a half dozen times in more than a year- but
he's good at what he does. You act as though he doesn't deserve his
post, sometimes."



"I don't-" Seiroku protested.



"However, you are a responsible man," Sakaki noted. "I need someone who
can take care of certain things involving your fellow captains when I'm
gone. And I think I can trust you to handle that."



Gomioka hesitated. "Uh... what kinds of things?"



"It's no secret that Gotoh has a crush on Shinobu," Sakaki explained.
"However, not as many people know that Shinobu loves it when Gotoh acts
on that crush. Are you aware of the events which sent her into command
of the SV2? A 'promotion' that was meant more as a punishment than as a
reward?"



Sakaki shifted uncomfortably. "Vaguely. Something about her having an
affair with a married man."



Sakaki nodded. "Well, what you probably don't know is that it wasn't
until 'that night,' as you call it, that Shinobu realized the affair was
over. She got drunk, and tried to seduce him. Gotoh refused her,
because he didn't want to take advantage of her like that."



Gomioka's assessment of Gotoh's character rose a notch at that. "Wow."



"Since then, I'm the only person either of them have talked to about
that incident," Sakaki continued. "Because they both know I won't use
this information against them. In fact, I'm the only person who knows
exactly what each of them feels for the other, because I'm the only one
who they'll talk to about their relationship." He paused. "I know you
like Shinobu, Gomioka."



Gomioka stumbled slightly, bewildered by Sakaki's perceptiveness. "I,
uh-"



"Don't worry. Neither of them know about it. But you have to remember
you're married, and you can't pursue a relationship with Shinobu. She's
been hurt once by a married man, and won't let herself be hurt again."



"Now, wait a minute. I never said I was going to-"



"You never said you weren't, either," Sakaki replied.



'Damn right," Gomioka thought. 'Perhaps her first affair failed, but...
I can make things work between us, if she'll just look at me.'



"I need you to set those feelings and desires aside," Sakaki said.
"Neither of them will ever trouble their junior officers with such
trivial matters, and while Shige will actually be promoted over them in
the grand scheme of things, I don't think they'll see him as having the
necessary maturity to handle their complaints. You, however, they will
be able to talk to." He paused. "I don't want you dishing out bad
advice just because you want their relationship to fail. I don't know
whether you would or wouldn't, but you have to realize... after this
creep broke up with Shinobu without anything more than a postcard- he
didn't even phone her, or send her a decent letter- Gotoh became her
crutch. And there's an incident in Gotoh's past which forged her into
his crutch... they've been leaning heavily on each other for some time
now, so heavily it's less like a crutch and more like a new limb. Don't
mess it up."



Gomioka gave Sakaki a hard stare. "I would NEVER do anything which
would hurt Shinobu."



"I know," Sakaki nodded. "But I needed to let you know a way you could
have hurt her without intending to. And I felt you needed the warning
that this was coming- you're going to have to prepare to be their
support when I'm gone."



Gomioka slowly bowed his head in acknowledgement. "Thank you for your
help, sir."



Sakaki shook his head. "No, son. Thank you for helping them."



* * * * *



Gotoh read through the files on Seiroku that Gomioka had given to him.
Frowning, he said, "Is this it?"



"I think so," Gomioka said. "Why? What more are you looking for?"



Gotoh glanced up at him. "Well, anything more on what he was doing
before coming to the SV2. So far, all I see are the incident reports
from since he joined us. There's nothing at all about the incident with
Ueki Mashimo, which surely would have had something written on it. Even
if it's just a cover story, I was hoping to see that."



Gomioka shook his head. "Sorry, all records before the first of this
year are sealed up in the Academy files. Apparently, he wanted to be in
labors from the moment he joined, because he was doubling his academy
studies for both policework and labor operation simultaneously."



Gotoh picked up the phone. "I think I'd better call Fuji and see if I
can make an appointment to come and see those sealed records." He
pulled out the interdepartmental phone book and started glancing through
it.



Gomioka looked around. "Where's Shinobu? I've got her copies with me,
too."



Gotoh started dialing. "Just leave them on her desk. She had to
distribute some assignments to her unit. Kitchen detail, that kind of
thing."



Gomioka nodded. "Ah. You know, Sakaki and I just had a very
interesting conversation."



"Is that so?"



"It was about you and Shinobu," he noted.



Gotoh looked up at the other captain. "If so, I shouldn't know about
it. Just remember to listen to him when he has something to say. He
knows more than you and I ever will." There was a pause, before he
started speaking into the phone, trying to arrange a meeting with the
Academy officials in Fuji.



Shinobu finally returned to the room. "Have you got the report copied,
yet?" she asked.



Gomioka nodded. "On your desk."



Shinobu picked it up. "Good. I'm going to be out of the office for a
while- I've got to take our labors out for a bit of a milkrun, Fukushima
's orders. He cornered me and said he wants to 'test' certain things
which we already know what the results will be. He just wants to see
them for himself."



All three captains rolled their eyes. The idiocy of the police
bureaucracy with regards to the SV2 was well known to all of them.
"Good luck," Gotoh mouthed to her, still with his ear to the phone.



She grabbed the reports. "I'll read these while I'm out. See you."



"Bye," Gomioka said while Gotoh waved.



They worked on by themselves for a few more minutes, Gotoh finally
making his appointment for much later that afternoon. He stood and
yawned. "Well, I'm going to go catch fourty winks in my private room.
Keep an eye on things. Oh, and be sure you let Shinobu know I want to
talk to her about my findings at the Academy before she makes a
decision."



Gomioka nodded silently, busy with some paperwork. A few minutes later,
the phone rang and he picked it up. "Gomioka here. Yes, but she's out
on another assignment. Yes, sir- I'll assemble my team and head out
there right away."



* * * * *



About an hour later, Shinobu returned from her milk run. Glancing
around the office, she noticed neither of the other captains were
present. She double-checked Gotoh's private room, and noticed him
sprawled out on top of the covers. Shaking her head in amused disgust,
she fixed the covers before returning to the office and investigating
Gomioka's absense.



"Hmm... his keys and vest are missing... he must have gone out on a
call," she noted.



She sat down, and opened the files on Yamane Seiroku that she'd been
carrying with her since that morning, and started reading. His
background was a little sparse, but she wasn't really interested in
that. Instead, she was much more concerned with how effective he had
been as a labor officer. She noticed the side note in the folder about
one of his opponent's labors being defective in the placement
tournament. She went back to the video archives and pulled out the
tapes relating to that tournament and started watching them.



"He's pretty good," Shinobu appraised. "He probably had prior
experience as a pilot."



The phone rang, and she quickly snatched it up. "Hello?"



"Shinobu, thank god!" a frenzied Gomioka replied over the phone. "We're
pinned down in a firefight, and- OHTA! GET BACK HERE! Shit! Look, I
gotta go- contact headquarters, they can tell you how to get to us.
Send backup- hurry!"



There was a click, and Shinobu stared at the phone in shock. A
firefight? With labors? That could wreck several city blocks if the
fighting was severe enough.



She had to get down there fast- the gods only knew what was going on.



* * * * *



An explosion shook the building Gomioka was leaning against, and he
barely was able to dodge several large concrete chunks of debris that
nearly landed on his head. "Hell! Can anyone see what's going on?" he
cried. He'd long since been unable to follow the action in the rising
dust clouds.



"We were able to destroy the entrance. The other smuggled labors are
now sealed up inside of the warehouse," Kanuka reported. "Officer
Seiroku did it by stealing one of the Brochen's and using its weapons to
collapse the entrance- it would take several hours to dig out the
labors. However, the four Doshka's and two Brochen's which had escaped
earlier are still on the rampage. Seiroku is moving to join our two
Ingrams and face them, but we're severely outmatched."



"Shinobu, where are you," Gomioka muttered. He hadn't known when he'd
taken the call that the smuggling operation he'd been sent to bust was
smuggling military labors. Why would anyone NEED a military labor,
anyway? Unless they were trying to fight a war, that is... and it wasn'
t like there were very many wars going on in his region of the world at
the moment.



Another labor stepped by and covered him with an arm as another load of
debris was about to fall on him. It wasn't one of Shinobu's labors, but
it was still some help- from the second call he'd made on that
assignment.



"Team Raven here," the female labor pilot noted. "We got your call.
What's the situation?"



Taking a moment to collect himself, Gotoh figured out the most succinct
way of explaining things. "We arrived on a report of someone illegally
smuggling labors into the country. When we got here, we discovered ten
each of four different nation's military labors- Doshka's from Russia,
Brochen's from Germany, Juggernauts from America, and Dragon's from
China. Upon noticing us, the criminals quickly rushed to board these
smuggled labors. Six escaped in their control- four Doshka's and two
Brochen's. One of my officers took control of a Brochen sealed the
remaining military labors inside, but the six escapees are currently
engaged in combat with my two patlabors. Our captured Brochen is moving
in to join them."



"Acknowledged," the Raven pilot said. "Usually, we prefer to work in
secret, but since you invited us here, we can actually work publically.
Still, we'd like to restrict our activities as much as possible. Please
co-ordinate with your labors- you handle the Brochen's. We will move to
take out the Doshka's."



"Roger," Gomioka replied. "Ohta! Kenji! Yamane! Back off the Doshka'
s- we've got some back-up here which will handle them. Concentrate on
the Brochen's."



"Yes, sir!" Kenji Iguchi's voice replied.



"Will comply," Seiroku's voice noted.



Gomioka waited patiently, then sighed. "Ohta, acknowledge!"



"I hear you," Ohta growled. "Request permission to continue operating
against the Doshka's until the back-up arrives."



"Negative- the back-up is here already. Three military labors from
Raven team."



"You don't think I can handle these things, do you? Look, Captain, I'm
already-"



"I DON'T GIVE A FUCK IF YOU CAN HANDLE THEM OR NOT!" Gomioka shouted.
"OBEY YOUR ORDERS!"



"I can't, sir!" Ohta snapped back. "I'm already-"



"You'd better!"



"But-"



A loud explosion shuddered throughout the street, almost knocking
Gomioka off his feet. "What was that? Hello- does anyone here me?"
Not hearing any reply, he checked his radio. The shell was torn off of
it and some of the interior circuitry was exposed. "Damnit, why does
this stuff happen to me?" he shouted, tossing the ruined radio to the
ground and stepping on it, smashing it even further.



* * * * *



Shinobu was the first one to return to headquarters. She and her team
had arrived shortly after Raven team had isolated three of the Doshka's
from the rest of the fight. Ohta was trying to face off one-on-one
against the last Doshka, and Kenji Iguchi and Yamane Seiroku were just
barely able to match up against the two Brochens. Shinobu had brought
her third labor, and with Kanuka's help three type Zero patlabors were
able to move in and overwhelm the criminals. Raven Team had demolished
the three Doshkas they had challenged, and all that was left was mop-up
duties. Shinobu had left Gomioka to handle that, and returned home to
be on call.



When she went back to her office, she noticed that Gotoh wasn't in,
despite it being his standby shift. At first, she thought he was still
asleep, but then she noticed a note on his desk. "Gone to Fuji on
business- Takeo's in charge until I return."



"Why's he in Fuji?" she muttered to herself, returning to her desk. She
returned to the files on Seiroku, and frowned. He had certainly done a
very good job earlier today. He had made a mistake, however- he hadn't
accounted for the fact that 30+ military labors, working together, could
easily break down a wall of a warehouse and escape. Somewhere out
there, Thirty-three military labors of various types were in hiding,
possibly awaiting sale to some element of organized crime here in Japan,
or maybe being sent overseas to some mercenary outfit or drug cartel.



Regardless, his quick action had apparently saved Unit 3 from being
wiped out. Had all of the military labors been brought into action, not
even the arrival of her and Raven team's labors would have been enough.
In an action like that, survival was the priority, and he helped his
team survive. That, combined with his previous record, finally made her
decision for her. Nodding to herself, she darted down the stairs to
wait for Gomioka's unit to return. She had to have a talk with this
young man.



* * * * *



Gotoh frowned. "These records don't make any sense."



"Eh? What do you mean?" the Academy's records officer said.



"How did he ever pass his background checks?" Gotoh asked. "These
records are obvious fakes- his listed high school burned down two years
before he should have started their- I was at that site when it
happened. And too many of the others things he reports here just sound
too faked. The listed names for his relatives are identical to various
historical personages, for example."



The record keeper shrugged. "I dunno about the high school, but the
relatives thing could just be a coincidence."



Gotoh frowned. "Did you guys actually conduct a background check on
this guy?"



"I'm not sure. Thanks to budget constraints, we only conduct real
background checks on one out of every ten people. We usually just call
the phone numbers they give to make sure the references the candidate
gives really exist."



Gotoh nodded. "I see. Tell me, do you still fingerprint everyone, or
has that been lost due to 'budget constraints' too?"



* * * * *



Unit Three pulled into the building and its members slowly started
leaving their vehicles. They looked worn out- as if they were about to
collapse on their feet. In fact, last time Shinobu had seen people
looking this tired, she later caught Noa Izumi sleeping in a closet
after a battle with the Griffin.



Gomioka looked decidedly upset, but upon seeing Shinobu he seemed to
restrain himself. "Captain," he said formally, bowing his head.



She thought about trying to see if she could soothe him- obviously, he
was upset about something which happened on the assignment, but she
decided it would be inappropriate for her to do anything. He had to
learn to deal with things on his own.



"I'd like to speak with Mr. Seiroku, if I may."



He nodded. "Of course. SIEROKU!"



The young man tiredly jogged over to the two captains. "Yes, sir?"



"Captain Shinobu wants to have a word with you."



Shinobu nodded. "Yes, please... can you come up with me to the office?
I want to talk with you in private."



He looked uncomfortable, but nodded. "Yes, ma'am."



She lead the man up into the office, and sat at her desk. "Please, sit
down."



Nervously, he did. "Um, yes, ma'am." He paused. "Am I in trouble, ma'
am?"



Shinobu's eyes widened in surprise. "No, of course not! Why do you
think you are?"



Seiroku hesitated. "Well, we didn't succeed in stopping the smuggling
ring..."



Shinobu shook her head. "In that situation, there was no way to
succeed. Survival was the important thing, and you enabled your team to
survive."



He looked relieved. "Thank you for your support, ma'am."



"Actually, I called you up here to offer you a new position," she noted.



Seiroku looked confused. "Ma'am?"



"There's a vacancy in the SV2 at Osaka for a labor pilot. Gomioka
submitted your name for that position, saying that you had expressed to
him a desire to pilot labors. The nomination requires that either I or
Captain Gotoh second him. I've been checking out your record, and I
believe you are MORE than capable of handling the assignment..."



Seiroku smiled hesitantly. "Thank you, ma'am, but... please don't. If
it means leaving Captain Gomioka, I'd rather not."



Shinobu was surprised. She, personally, thought rather well of her
former labor pilot and second in command. However, she didn't think he'
d been doing a very good job at being a captain so far- yet it seems he
was able to inspire loyalty in some of his men, after all. Maybe he was
actually learning something about the job, after all.



"Are you sure? I mean, I don't think it's likely you'll wind up with a
pilot's position here."



Seiroku hesitated, but nodded. "Yes, I'm sure. I know he's not the
best, but Captain Gomioka has really treated me well. And he needs
competant people working for him- I may not be the best, but I can see
that he needs more people like myself and officer Clancy if he wants to
succeed. I want him to succeed, and I'm afraid he won't be able to grow
into being a good commander if I abandon him right now. Maybe after he'
s had some time to grow into his position a bit, but he's already lost
one officer in the past four months, he shouldn't need to deal with the
loss of another so soon."



Shinobu sighed. "Very well, Mr. Seiroku. I'll let Chief Fukushima
know. I want Gomioka to succeed, myself, you know- I certainly won't
force you to abandon him so fast."



Seiroku nodded. "Thank you, ma'am."



Shinobu looked down at his folder as he left the office. 'Nice kid,'
she thought to herself. 'I wish I had a few more like him, myself.'



* * * * *



Gotoh returned to the warehouse portion of SV2 Headquarters from his
trip to Fuji to find Gomioka more angry than he'd ever seen him before.
The target of his wrath was a more or less obvious one- Ohta, who
constantly did things to get his fellow officers mad at him- but the
vehemence with which the captain was chewing out the labor pilot was
shocking.



"You're ALWAYS saying things like 'you don't know what it was like at
the scene, sir!' or 'A cop is supposed to expect the unexpected!' If I
hear you say that bullshit ONE MORE TIME, I'm fining you one month's
salary reduction! AND IF YOU EVER DISOBEY ONE OF MY ORDERS AGAIN, I'M
FIRING YOUR ASS! You won't EVER pilot a labor again!"



"But-" Ohta started.



"NO BUTS! I've HAD it with your constant excuses. Policemen do NOT
fire first. Policemen do NOT casually destroy private property. And,
most especially, policemen do NOT DISOBEY ORDERS!"



Gotoh casually stolled up. "I don't suppose there's anything I can do
to help?"



Gomioka didn't even look at Gotoh before turning away with a snort of
disgust. "If he's unwilling to see reason, I've had it with him. He's
dismissed." With that, he marched stiffly into the building's office
space, his fists clenched angrilly. His stomache burned painfully, but
he had no choice but to ignore it.



Gotoh sighed. "So, what happened?"



Ohta shook his head. "I've got no idea. I was in action against some
Doshkas and Brochens. He ordered me to discontinue action with the
Doshkas and allow a team of our military labors to deal with them. I
asked if I could continue with the Doshka until the military team
arrived, and my request was denied. However, before I got a response it
was too late- I was already engaged with one. I tried to tell him this,
but he refused to listen to me."



Gotoh shrugged. "Well, considering how often you've opened fire in
disregard of posted orders, some of that is justified. But he seemed a
lot more upset than he should have been, considering things worked out
all right."



Ohta frowned. "I think he's having some medical problems. I saw him
fingering a pill bottle while he was lecturing me."



"Ah, ulcers," Gotoh said knowingly. "Well, he's been under a lot of
stress lately. That's to be expected. Try not to upset him- he'll
likely blow up a bit more than usual."



Ohta nodded. "Captain... can he really fire me?"



Gotoh shook his head. "Not really- that's not in his power. But he can
assign you to drive a transport or to run the command car if he wants,
provided he has someone he can replace you with in your labor."



"I don't want to be anything but a labor pilot, sir," Ohta said.
"Unless I could get a promotion, that is."



Gotoh shrugged. "I don't think you're in much danger of that, yet. But
try and stay on Gomioka's good side, or you'll be in a lot of trouble
very soon."



* * * * *



Gotoh stepped into the office quietly, glancing around. Spying Shinobu
alone, he asked, "Is Gomioka here?"



She shook her head. "No, why?"



"No reason," he said, moving further into the office comfortably. "Just
curious."



Shinobu smirked up at him. "Well, I offered Seiroku the job, and he
turned me down. Seems he feels some sense of loyalty to Mr. Gomioka!"



Gotoh frowned. "Is that so?"



"Don't believe me?"



Gotoh shook his head. "You, I believe. But I found out a few things
about Mr. Seiroku which make me not trust him entirely. Here, take a
look at this...."



Shinobu took the file he handed her and opened it. Spying the name on
the front, her eyes widened. "Isn't this the man who killed-"



"No. But he's the younger brother of that man. And it seems Mr.
Seiroku USED to be this man... until he changed his name- legally, as it
turns out. Just to cover his tracks further, he put a few white lies on
his application form to the police so that he could get in without that
stigma attached to him."



Shinobu looked up at Gotoh. There was a darkness to his features that
she hadn't seen since... since the first time she met him, back when
they were just starting to coin the term 'labor crime' and were
investigating what to do about it. Back when he had been a victim of
one of the first labor crimes. "What are you going to do?" she asked.



Gotoh sighed. "Give him the benefit of the doubt. I've got enough to
drum him out of the police with his application fraud, but he's too good
a cop to just kick him out just for that. And beyond that, well, we no
longer make people criminals for what their families do." He paused.
"I'm not sure whether or not I like his refusal to go to Osaka. That
could mean one of any number of things... but then again, I'm going to
be able to keep an eye on him while he's here."



Shinobu nodded, and laid a hand on his shoulder. "If something happens,
though... remember there are people here for you this time."



-------------------------

Author's Notes: Some of the details mentioned in here about Gotoh's
past will be portrayed in a future Patlabor: Personal Files, OAV, but
which is actually mostly irrelevant to the main storyline. I intend to
write\post at least the first three OAVs following the completion of
season 1 (after episode 22). At the moment, 10 OAVs are planned,
several of which have spoilers for upcoming season 2 and 3 episodes. I
intend to write several of the OAVs which do not have such spoilers
between the seasons.



Next Episode:

Asuma and Noa go over to visit Asuma's father for a birthday party. Noa
tries to keep the peace.