text14802;"""During the night, I had torn a small piece of paper from a sheet and put it on the door handle.""" text14803;"""In the morning, it was on the floor…""" text14804;"""Of course even the slightest breeze would have been enough to move it, but the idea that Michael might have watched us sleep made me shudder.""" text14805;"""Sure, he couldn't not have heard us having sex, but that's still not the same.""" text14806;"""Although, however I looked at it, the situation was strange and even stupid.""" text14807;"""Catherine was sleeping peacefully, and I carefully slipped out from between her arms and left the room.""" text14808;"""Michael was nowhere to be found.""" text14809;"""There was a note, placed where it would be easy to find — he wrote that he had some things to take care of and that he'd only come back in the evening.""" text14810;"""He asked us not to worry and stay put.""" text14811;"""Mrs Winters was one thing — after all, she was from the CIA.""" text14812;"""But Michael…""" text14813;"""Suddenly, I felt trapped and like I was suffocating.""" text14814;"""Yes, Katya and I were together again, but the whole world was against us!""" text14815;"""…""" text14816;"""I was watching Catherine sleep and couldn't bring myself to look away.""" text14817;"""When she finally opened her eyes, it was already noon.""" text14818;"""What time is it?""" text14819;"""Twelve o'clock.""" text14820;"""And what year is it?""" text14821;"""I smiled and caressed her hair.""" text14822;"""Are you hungry? Michael isn't here, but his kitchen is way better stocked than mine!""" text14823;"""And where is he?""" text14824;"""She asked, now fully awake.""" text14825;"""He wrote that he needed to take care of something.""" text14826;"""I gave her the note.""" text14827;"""Catherine quickly ran her eyes over the text and threw it away.""" text14828;"""I don't like this.""" text14829;"""It's not like he has to sit around and guard us, right?""" text14830;"""I don't know who I was trying to reassure more — Catherine or myself.""" text14831;"""Nick, he's scaring me.""" text14832;"""Catherine got up and put her clothes on.""" text14833;"""I wanted to say something, object, but couldn't find the right words.""" text14834;"""Michael himself didn't scare me — but he couldn't have been acting alone, there was clearly someone behind him.""" text14835;"""And that fact was making me understandably concerned.""" text14836;"""Do you really think we should stay here?""" text14837;"""Where else can we go? I have…""" text14838;"""I took a few crumpled banknotes out of my pocket and showed them to Catherine.""" text14839;"""That's all I have. Unless you brought your wallet with you.""" text14840;"""She looked at me admonishingly.""" text14841;"""Sorry…""" text14842;"""I've already told you — my mom will always help!""" text14843;"""Wait!""" text14844;"""She raised her finger formidably, and all the objections I had failed to leave my mouth.""" text14845;"""I realize you have your reasons not to trust her, but what choice do we have now?""" text14846;"""A wonderful one — between Scylla and Charybdis!""" text14847;"""Nick, I don't like that you're demonizing my mom like this.""" text14848;"""Demonizing!""" text14849;"""I smirked.""" text14850;"""After what Himitsu showed me…""" text14851;"""I immediately scolded myself for my inability to keep my mouth shut.""" text14852;"""Although that was to be expected.""" text14853;"""What Himitsu showed you?""" text14854;"""Catherine instantly livened up.""" text14855;"""Katya, it's not about her… The documents I was talking about yesterday… Himitsu couldn't have just faked them!""" text14856;"""You run around her wagging your tail like a lapdog no matter what she says.""" text14857;"""Sorry for wasting your time, I've got to get back to that warehouse.""" text14858;"""Her words sounded like a joke, but Catherine's tone was serious.""" text14859;"""She tried to walk out of the room, but I stood in the doorway.""" text14860;"""Let me through!""" text14861;"""You don't want to hear anything against your mom but get angry every time I mention Himitsu — is that fair?""" text14862;"""Nobody said life has to always be fair!""" text14863;"""She tried to push her way to the door, and when that didn't work out, started beating her fists against my chest.""" text14864;"""Not strongly, but very persistently.""" text14865;"""Small strokes fell great oaks — and eventually, I had to grab Catherine's wrists.""" text14866;"""Katya, stop it, please! The last thing we need right now is a fight!""" text14867;"""Suddenly, she stopped and just hung impotently in my arms.""" text14868;"""Nick, I'm just afraid… I'm so afraid of the unknown it's driving me crazy. What will happen to us next?""" text14869;"""We're together, and that's what matters most!""" text14870;"""The phrase sounded so cliché it only made me feel worse, but Catherine hugged me tighter.""" text14871;"""Sometimes it feels like this is all a dream. And that at any second I could wake up and find myself alone again.""" text14872;"""I just don't know how to be happy, sorry…""" text14873;"""And then I realized: it was as if our relationship had begun anew.""" text14874;"""Both of us had gone through a lot the past two years — each in their own way.""" text14875;"""In the past, I hadn't really been trying to get to know Catherine as a person, to understand what she thought, felt, wished for, loved, and hated.""" text14876;"""I was simply reveling in my reflection in her, took her love for granted, for an inviolable truth and an unalterable fact.""" text14877;"""I had never thought what our separation meant to her — I had been only drowning in self-pity, as if I was the only one suffering!""" text14878;"""You know, I think we've both made our own messes!""" text14879;"""But I still trust my mom…""" text14880;"""And I still believe that for her the ends justify the means.""" text14881;"""Catherine suddenly laughed and buried her head in my shoulder.""" text14882;"""We can just leave and start a new life, right? We should have enough money for two tickets.""" text14883;"""After all, we can find jobs. Simple ones, where they don't ask for experience or education.""" text14884;"""We can save some money and then leave this country, where only bad things happen to us!""" text14885;"""Well, I've lived here most of my life — and Japan is much more a home to me than the USSR.""" text14886;"""But it doesn't matter! Home is where your heart is, and my heart is with you!""" text14887;"""This time the cliché didn't sound fake.""" text14888;"""It's possible, right? We just need to really want it?""" text14889;"""To be honest, I wasn't even sure that the couple of crumpled bills I had would be enough to buy tickets — traveling by train wasn't cheap in Japan.""" text14890;"""But the desire to dive into sweet dreams with Catherine was too great, and I gave in:""" text14891;"""Of course! We wouldn't even need to save up too much. We could go to China by boat and then figure something out about passports.""" text14892;"""What's most important is to go to a place where no one, not the CIA, not the KGB, and not the Japanese would get to us.""" text14893;"""If there was such a place on this planet.""" text14894;"""And in just a year we'll be laughing at all this together!""" text14895;"""Drinking cocktails in sunbeds?""" text14896;"""Drinking cocktails in sunbeds!""" text14897;"""Suddenly, the phone in the living room rang.""" text14898;"""I froze, my heart missed a beat, the unusual electronic sound echoing in the apartment, checking every corner, like a chekist looking for the kulak's family that hides in the cellar.""" text14899;"""It's obviously not for us.""" text14900;"""I finally forced out.""" text14901;"""The phone went silent but immediately rang again.""" text14902;"""The sound resembled the synth out of a popular clip from a music show.""" text14903;"""Nick?""" text14904;"""Catherine's voice was dripping with anxiety.""" text14905;"""…""" text14906;"""What if something happened and it's Michael?""" text14907;"""I was about to answer, but the phone stopped ringing again.""" text14908;"""Only to turn on its piercing siren once more after a couple of seconds!""" text14909;"""Fine, I guess…""" text14910;"""I grabbed the receiver and returned to Michael's room.""" text14911;"""Hello.""" text14912;"""I couldn't recognize my own voice.""" text14913;"""Is that you, school boor?""" text14914;"""I looked at Catherine, dumbfounded.""" text14915;"""Hello?""" text14916;"""Yes, it's me.""" text14917;"""It didn't matter how Kobayashi Ellie had Michael's number or even why she was calling him — much more importantly, why had she been expecting me to pick up?!""" text14918;"""Who is that?""" text14919;"""Catherine whispered.""" text14920;"""I covered the receiver with my hand and quietly replied:""" text14921;"""Kobayashi Ellie.""" text14922;"""Good, then listen to me, we don't have much time.""" text14923;"""Just don't think that I'm calling you because… Nevermind! Your friend came over and talked to my grandfather.""" text14924;"""I didn't like him the second I saw him! Not that I liked you, but I think there's at least some good left in you.""" text14925;"""Besides, you're not alone, and I know that too.""" text14926;"""But that \""friend\""… He asked my grandfather…""" text14927;"""Ellie stopped mid-sentence, and I couldn't even hear the static in the new fashioned wireless receiver.""" text14928;"""Finally she exhaled, clearly pulling herself together, and continued:""" text14929;"""He asked my grandfather to deal with you. And he wanted Caitlin — or was it Catherine? — to see everything.""" text14930;"""And grandfather said they'd already gotten rid of one girl…""" text14931;"""I don't know whose idea the whole blackmail thing was, but I won't be able to sleep proper knowing I didn't do anything and just kept my mouth shut.""" text14932;"""So your girlfriend and you need to get out of there, quick!""" text14933;"""How come you have this number?""" text14934;"""I asked automatically.""" text14935;"""Why the hell does it matter?! Welp, I've done my part — the rest is up to you. Ciao!""" text14936;"""The short beeps in the receiver sounded like the soundtrack to a science fiction movie.""" text14937;"""That whole time, Catherine had been carefully listening, having pushed me slightly away from the receiver.""" text14938;"""We have to run!""" text14939;"""She proclaimed immediately and resolutely.""" text14940;"""Wait a second! Why would Kobayashi Ellie care about our safety?""" text14941;"""I briefly told Katya the story about the blackmail.""" text14942;"""So, you trust Michael more? Don't you think his behavior is weird?""" text14943;"""Besides, we're not prisoners here!""" text14944;"""She was right about that — Michael could ask us to stay at his place but he couldn't give us orders.""" text14945;"""Besides, such persistence was indeed suspicious.""" text14946;"""If it turns out that I'm wrong, I'll be the first one to apologize to him.""" text14947;"""She could see I was hesitating.""" text14948;"""Nick, please! Let's think about it somewhere else!""" text14949;"""Okay, fine.""" text14950;"""Luckily, the front door could be opened from the inside.""" text14951;"""Was it an accident or oversight on Michael's end?""" text14952;"""When we left, Catherine grabbed my hand and dragged me down the street.""" text14953;"""Where are you going?""" text14954;"""For starters — as far as possible from this place!""" text14955;"""Why are you so afraid of Michael?""" text14956;"""You can call it feminine intuition.""" text14957;"""She smiled.""" text14958;"""…""" text14959;"""About half an hour of fast walking exhausted Catherine.""" text14960;"""We sat down on a bench in a garden square in the city centre.""" text14961;"""I looked around.""" text14962;"""You know, I don't want to scare you, but this is Kobayashi Corporation's office…""" text14963;"""Lucky us.""" text14964;"""Why is that?""" text14965;"""If you want to hide something — hide in plain sight.""" text14966;"""Provided that they haven't been following us. These days I seem to see secret agents behind every corner.""" text14967;"""Nick, we have no choice…""" text14968;"""Catherine stared in front of herself unblinkingly.""" text14969;"""We need to go to my mom.""" text14970;"""\""You go to her if you want!\"" — I nearly said.""" text14971;"""I'm not sure it's the best idea for me…""" text14972;"""Think about it, even if she really wanted to do something to you, she's already had every chance to!""" text14973;"""I don't know… And life keeps reminding me that many things just happen, whether I understand them or not.""" text14974;"""So all these what fors and whys…""" text14975;"""Why did my parents die? Maybe your mother has the answer.""" text14976;"""Catherine slowly turned her head to me.""" text14977;"""It looked like Katya was having a serious internal struggle between her love for me and trust in her mother.""" text14978;"""How can you even… I mean, she's done so many bad things to us… to you…""" text14979;"""What would you do in my place? She is my mother.""" text14980;"""I don't know, but… You're afraid of Michael and you call it intuition. I feel the same about Sheryl Winters.""" text14981;"""It's not even about the documents Himitsu had, but how your mother reacted to them.""" text14982;"""You know, like a criminal cornered by a skilled prosecutor!""" text14983;"""He sees it's useless to keep denying everything but pride or something else won't let him admit his guilt.""" text14984;"""Catherine replied after a pause.""" text14985;"""Yeah, that sounds like mom.""" text14986;"""I gathered myself.""" text14987;"""This decision had long been ripening somewhere deep inside, but I'd been diligently driving every thought about it away.""" text14988;"""But you really should go to her.""" text14989;"""I felt like I was struck by lightning from inside.""" text14990;"""I don't know what plans she has for me, but she won't hurt you — I'm sure about it!""" text14991;"""In truth, I wasn't 100% sure, but it seemed a better option than any other.""" text14992;"""What about you, Nick?""" text14993;"""Katya looked scared.""" text14994;"""Well, I…""" text14995;"""No, that won't work!""" text14996;"""She tightly gripped my hand in hers.""" text14997;"""Remember what we talked about? Let's leave together! Go somewhere far away from Tokyo where they won't find us.""" text14998;"""I gently released her hand and reached into my pocket.""" text14999;"""This wouldn't be enough for even one ticket.""" text15000;"""Could you borrow some from your friends?""" text15001;"""Maybe.""" text15002;"""Naturally, I'd already thought about this.""" text15003;"""Kyosuke would definitely help, but what next?""" text15004;"""I couldn't even imagine how we'd get out of the country, buy fake passports in China, and fly to the other end of the world.""" text15005;"""It all looked very vague even in theory.""" text15006;"""Call them then!""" text15007;"""Catherine stood up and stomped her feet.""" text15008;"""As you say, m'lady…""" text15009;"""…""" text15010;"""But Kyosuke wasn't at home.""" text15011;"""We waited till evening, but his mother only gave vague explanations about him attending some course.""" text15012;"""Did they get him too?""" text15013;"""You had other friends, didn't you?!""" text15014;"""Catherine claimed, determined.""" text15015;"""Not friends, more like acquaintances…""" text15016;"""It doesn't matter! Call them then.""" text15017;"""For one, I haven't talked to them for a long time…""" text15018;"""So what!""" text15019;"""For two, I don't remember their phone numbers. And we can't go back to my place…""" text15020;"""Catherine first got angry, but then lowered her head and shivered.""" text15021;"""Nick, I feel cold…""" text15022;"""I quickly counted my money and figured it would just be enough for one night in the cheapest hotel.""" text15023;"""The hotel room wasn't exactly luxurious, but it was way better than I had expected.""" text15024;"""Not only was there a big double bed, but also a TV set.""" text15025;"""Maybe we just got lucky.""" text15026;"""The money was exactly enough to pay for it.""" text15027;"""Catherine found a couple hundred yen in her pocket — we could buy a few onigiri from a vending machine.""" text15028;"""It got quite cold in the evening, and I began to regret I hadn't taken a warmer jacket when I left home.""" text15029;"""I didn't really give a damn about the cold, but Catherine was chilled through, and the blazer I'd draped over her shoulders wasn't helping much.""" text15030;"""As soon as we entered the room, Katya plopped onto the bed.""" text15031;"""Oh, they have a phone here, that's convenient!""" text15032;"""Do you think that's a good idea?""" text15033;"""It was only when we got to a warm place that I realized I was dead tired, too.""" text15034;"""It felt as if I was carrying a poor in weight.""" text15035;"""Why?""" text15036;"""Kyosuke's phone might be tapped. I would tap it, if I were…""" text15037;"""\""Your mother\"" — is what I wanted to say.""" text15038;"""…someone who would want to find us.""" text15039;"""True. Pity that your only friends are a maniac who can't take \""no\"" for an answer, and a fat loser.""" text15040;"""And this fat loser is our only hope right now. You think he'd like the title?""" text15041;"""Fine…""" text15042;"""Catherine agreed begrudgingly, stood up, and looked out the window.""" text15043;"""What are we going to do, then?""" text15044;"""I'll call from the telephone box on the next block.""" text15045;"""Are you going to leave me alone?""" text15046;"""Just for fifteen minutes, no longer, I promise!""" text15047;"""Nick, don't leave.""" text15048;"""She was visibly anxious.""" text15049;"""Let's do it tomorrow — what can change over night?""" text15050;"""Tomorrow is Friday, and Kyosuke's usually at school on Fridays. I don't think I need to explain why we'd better not show up there right now?""" text15051;"""Then I'll go with you.""" text15052;"""It'll be faster if I go alone.""" text15053;"""Why?""" text15054;"""I don't know, to be honest. Movie heroes usually say that.""" text15055;"""I tried to make a joke, but even smiling was difficult.""" text15056;"""You and your stupid movies!""" text15057;"""…""" text15058;"""We went together, but couldn't reach Kyosuke — nobody was taking the call.""" text15059;"""I was genuinely worried about my friend's fate, but there was a good hundred simpler explanations.""" text15060;"""For example, they'd all gone out to a movie.""" text15061;"""We couldn't wait for them until late in the night, so we returned to the hotel.""" text15062;"""Maybe the room was so cheap because it was a love hotel, not a normal one.""" text15063;"""Do you know what place this is?""" text15064;"""I wanted to distract myself from my dark thoughts about tomorrow.""" text15065;"""Catherine just shrugged her shoulders.""" text15066;"""It's a so-called love hotel. It's where married Japanese men bring their mistresses.""" text15067;"""I won't tell Himitsu.""" text15068;"""She quipped grimly.""" text15069;"""…""" text15070;"""And here I was, surprised they didn't ask for our IDs at the reception. Thanks for not introducing us as Mr and Mrs Smith, though!""" text15071;"""Why, that's an idea! We'll probably need to register at hotels more than once…""" text15072;"""Oh screw you!""" text15073;"""Catherine threw a pillow at me, but I dodged it and it hit a thin wall that was just about ready to crack from such insolence.""" text15074;"""Please note that we can't afford to break any dishes!""" text15075;"""I lightly threw the pillow back.""" text15076;"""Do you want to eat?""" text15077;"""The bag with the onigiri was lying on the table.""" text15078;"""No, I'm too tired…""" text15079;"""It wasn't that late, but I also could feel my eyes starting to close.""" text15080;"""Let's sleep on it?""" text15081;"""Nick, when you were telling me to go back to my mom, you weren't serious, right?""" text15082;"""I hadn't expected the question — I thought we were done with the topic.""" text15083;"""Why are you asking?""" text15084;"""You just made a grand gesture to show how noble you are, right?""" text15085;"""…""" text15086;"""What if I agreed?""" text15087;"""I said it because I felt that way.""" text15088;"""I replied slowly.""" text15089;"""Do you feel the same way now?""" text15090;"""Do you want to go back?""" text15091;"""Don't answer with a question.""" text15092;"""Katya, why are you asking this? Why now? And what answer are you expecting?""" text15093;"""Do you want to hear that I was happy when you decided to stay with me? Yes, I was! I was over the damn moon!""" text15094;"""So, do I have to go through this several times a day? Lose you, then find you, then let you go, not let you go, then lose you again…""" text15095;"""If you're asking what I want, I would like to get under this damn blanket, hug you, and hope that we won't be eaten by bed bugs tonight!""" text15096;"""I didn't want this life, I never asked for it… But, for a moment, I believed I wasn't alone. Am I, Katya?""" text15097;"""Of course. Sorry…""" text15098;"""Her voice sounded sincere, but she stubbornly avoided looking at me.""" text15099;"""I didn't want to be so harsh on Catherine, but if we were going to make it through this together, we had to stop with the endless sarcasm and start being honest with each other.""" text15100;"""I'll go to take a shower. I hope these love hotels of yours have one.""" text15101;"""…""" text15102;"""When Catherine returned, I was long snoring in front of the TV.""" text15103;"""She woke me up and turned it off.""" text15104;"""Do you know you snore like a whole battalion of soldiers?""" text15105;"""No, how would I…?""" text15106;"""Didn't Himitsu tell you?""" text15107;"""She never had a chance.""" text15108;"""I replied with irritation.""" text15109;"""Catherine seemed to freshen up, and the playful light returned to her eyes.""" text15110;"""Did you see the receptionist? That fat woman… I didn't know people like… that… existed in Japan.""" text15111;"""She illustrated the size of the lady's thighs with her hands and laughed.""" text15112;"""Suddenly, I had the thought that we could rob the hotel and it wouldn't even take much effort.""" text15113;"""I doubt she runs fast.""" text15114;"""I'm not even sure it's safe for her to walk!""" text15115;"""I mean that we're no worse than Bonnie and Clyde.""" text15116;"""You want to rob this flophouse?""" text15117;"""Catherine asked, still laughing.""" text15118;"""If there's no other choice…""" text15119;"""No other choice…""" text15120;"""Catherine repeated and frowned.""" text15121;"""Once you cross that line, Nick…""" text15122;"""What line, Katya?! A guy was killed in front my eyes a couple days ago! Killed because of me!""" text15123;"""But you didn't pull the trigger.""" text15124;"""What the hell does it matter?! Your mother didn't personally cut the breaks in our car!""" text15125;"""Oh, so you want to continue that conversation? Go on, I'm listening!""" text15126;"""She sat on the edge of the bed and gave me a look that made me want to turn myself in immediately.""" text15127;"""Katya, I didn't mean that… Why does it matter what I meant? This topic isn't going to just disappear if we don't talk about it!""" text15128;"""And it seems strange to me that you're protecting this woman so zealously. I'm not about to take her to the court!""" text15129;"""Well, thanks for that.""" text15130;"""I don't want to fight her, take revenge, or try and make her repent, but I also can't just forgive her.""" text15131;"""You done?""" text15132;"""Catherine asked calmly.""" text15133;"""I think so.""" text15134;"""I was taken aback by her reaction.""" text15135;"""Then let's get to sleep so we can not go to my murderer-mother tomorrow morning.""" text15136;"""Katya, stop it, please! Would it be better if I kept it inside?""" text15137;"""I don't know, it's not like I'm a psychologist.""" text15138;"""She said flatly, got into bed, turned off the light, and turned away from me.""" text15139;"""Good night."""