Work Text:
Page 1: Akihito is taking pictures of (presumably) Asami talking with a well-groomed man, presumably the private secretary of Congress (see note on p. 4). Akihito is outside at a railing (so on a bridge? Or roof/balcony?). It looks like the picture is through the window of a building - probably Sion (see p. 4). And there's a wide staircase behind Asami and the man. At first I thought the man was handing a package to Asami, but now I think it might be wrinkles in his suit? Like it's a double-breasted suit that's a little tight on his gut, and his hand is just reaching out.
Below, it says that the photos managed to capture Asami's business transactions on camera, and while they suppressed publication, the police are now sniffing around Sion.
Page 2: Asami says he'll bribe the cops to stop investigating, and he should punish Aki.
Page 3: Akihito has been captured by Sion security. (I always assumed this happened at Sion, because Suoh(?) somehow knows that when Aki runs, only the roof is in that direction, and Asami's men aren't being subtle as they go through the building and confront Akihito, but I can't actually confirm with outside shots of buildings we know are Sion. Also, how did Aki safely get down from the sign? I guess someone below on the street called for help, and he hung there until a ladder was brought? That'd be a long time to hang around... But it would explain why he ended up at the police station.)
Page 4: Asami says Akihito caught the scoop about the private secretary of Congress at Sion. Akihito claims the photos didn't come out well and he threw them out (and yet the newspaper was going to publish them until Sion stopped them? Aki, you naughty little liar!).
Page 7: Akihito calls Asami and his men "a bunch of old yakuza" and jumps off the roof. (There's no indication that Asami is actually yakuza; in the character book, he's described as a "fixer.")
Page 9: Enter Yama-san. He and Akihito are inside the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Dept. Headquarters (confirmed by Google street view). Yama-san says the club Aki has been scoping out belongs to Asami, and for Aki to stop getting involved in the drug scandals; so Aki concludes that Asami must be the one "in charge of that drug scandal" and that's what's exciting the "guys in the department of security"/"public safety division of police headquarters, which runs criminal investigations on illegal selling of drugs. (Note: based on what I can gather from Wikipedia, it's the Drugs and Firearms Division of the Organized Crime Department of the Criminal Affairs Bureau of the National Police Agency, which is separate from Tokyo Metropolitan Police. I could find no description of most of the bureaus in the Metro. Police, but the public security bureau is specifically charged with national security, not ordinary criminal activity. So it's not clear whether Yama-san and the cops Aki refers to are both Metro. Police, but I don't think that distinction ultimately matters for the story.)
Page 10: Anyway, back to Yama-san. He calls Aki a punk who can't do anything and warns him away from Asami, explaining that he's the manager of a number of high class clubs publicly, but that there's a rumor that he's an underground drug dealer/smuggler, and that the investigation has been stopped from above, probably because of bribery. Yama warns Aki away from the case again, then complains it's the fifth time he's been stuck "babysitting the problem child."
Page 11: Asami is listening to a phone report in the penthouse. Kirishima(?) discovered that "actions" (what kind? by whom?) have been taken concerning the drug deals targeted at Ichiba Island (not a real place, as far as I can tell - at least not near Tokyo - or maybe the name was translated incorrectly), with "a strong possibility that 'some organizations' are involved." Involved in the drug deals? Or the actions that were taken? Aki is described as a friend of Detective Yamazaki, but he hasn't leaked any info to the police (except Aki told Yama everything? lol - not that Aki seemed to know much; it was more like Yama explaining what Aki had seen).
Page 12: There's a picture of a bridge. I struggled to find one that looked exactly like this one, but maybe the Yokohama Bay Bridge? And Aki is looking at a parking lot near the water, presumably from the bridge (which fits with the Yokohama Bay Bridge).
Page 13: Turns out Yama-san gave Aki a phone tip saying there would be a major drug deal at the harbor warehouse. Asami shows up alone, and Aki is kidnapped. (Did Yama-san know Aki would be kidnapped? Did Asami pay Yama-san? Yama was just warning Aki to stay away from the major drug deals... and it doesn't seem likely that Yama would want Aki in the way of the cops - which obviously didn't actually come. Aki, you should have started suspecting Yama-san here!)
Page 29: Aki is eavesdropping outside a warehouse near the water (is this the same one Asami was outside on p. 13?). The gang leader(?) is telling Yama(?) to get rid of the police because they're being a bother. Yama(?) says "but," and the gang leader(?) explains that "the information transactions at this harbor were ruined by the trap Asami set." (I thought they were drug transactions? But now it was info? So it's the same harbor as p. 13, I guess... And Asami chose it in part to ruin it for this gang?) They know about Asami's trap - so I guess Yama did know it was a trap? And they're worried Aki has been kidnapped by Asami and sold off to someone else.
Page 30: Yama says they don't have to worry about Aki because he knows nothing, and he'll be the one to take the fall if anything goes wrong. (Note: we finally see the gang leader here. He's got a similar build to the guy meeting Asami on p. 1, but this one's wearing some kind of scarf and has a different hairstyle and suit style.) The gang's worried they might have to relocate if Asami is involved, so it's good they used Aki. Then all of a sudden Yama flips on them. He says the case of the break-in at Ichiba went well, so once they pass on the goods, they should get out of town. They don't like that, but Yama reminds them he was the one who let them do business in the first place. (How dirty, Yama!)
Page 30, cont.: Yama changes locations to wherever Aki's lookout was, finding his hat and camera bag.
Page 31: Aki comes out of hiding and says he's glad his things are still there. Yama asks what Aki is doing there, then says he was worried because Aki was gone for three days. (Three days! Asami, that's a long time to spend away from work playing with Akihito... And the manga showed us what looked to be only a couple of hours, at most, of that time! Hmm... Anyone want to fill in the time gap?) Yama asks if Aki was kidnapped by Asami, then admits he overheard Yama talking to "that crowd." (No, Aki! How naive!)
Page 32: Aki says he won't tell because Yama has "looked after me since I was a kid." Yama prepares to shoot Aki, but Asami to the rescue!
Page 33: Apparently the gang is still nearby, because Asami tells them that even if they clean up the body, the police will start pointing fingers, so he just "bought out your little gang. It's over."
Page 34: Police are there, Aki is sitting looking at the water reflecting. Asami explained that cops often team up with gangsters, and they were bribing Yama for using his position to support "the gang involved in the Ichiba break-in." And that Yama was using Aki. (It seems like they're having this discussion right after it happens, with the police there? But why would Asami stick around when he's the one who shot Yama? He wouldn't want Aki being interviewed either... So maybe this conversation happened before the cops showed up? It ultimately doesn't really matter, I suppose...)
So, here are the crimes Aki was investigating:
1) Illegal transaction between private secretary of Congress and Asami at Club Sion (not sure what kind of transaction, exactly, but it caused the police to sniff around). Asami bribed the police to stop investigating, as confirmed by Asami and Yama. Yama suggests Asami is a drug dealer, and Aki concludes he must be in charge of the drug scandal the police were investigating, but Yama doesn't actually confirm this, and we know he was playing both sides and using Aki.
2) Drug dealings at Ichiba Island. Are these Asami's drug dealings from above? But that was at Sion. What "actions" have been taken? They were taken by "some organizations." So it's some kind of turf war, maybe?
3) The trap at the harbor warehouse. Aki was given a false tip by Yama that there was a drug deal going on at the harbor warehouse; Yama knew the tip was actually a trap set by Asami, based on his interaction with Akihito once Aki shows up again. Was Yama paid by Asami to give Aki the false info?
4) Information transactions at the harbor (same harbor as Asami's trap). Apparently these were ruined by the trap somehow, so these predated the trap.
5) The break-in at Ichiba. Yama mentions this went well but it's time for the gang to move on once they pass along the goods (Asami also mentions it saying Yama was collaborating with the gang involved in it).
Was the break-in the "action" mentioned by "some organizations" by Kirishima? So maybe it was a turf war, and this gang stole drugs from someone else? And what about the harbor warehouse? Is that at Ichiba? And what information was being exchanged there? Why did that have to stop with Takaba's disappearance, when the only person who seemed to notice it was Yama, who was in cahoots with the gang? What's the relationship between Asami's transaction with the private secretary and everything else going on? For that matter, what's Asami's role in the drug dealings and break-in at Ichiba, as well as the information transactions?
I think I start to make sense of it, and then I get confused again. If you understand what the heck they're talking about, please help!