Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:Railgun Cold Game (section)

===Part 10===

'''(wheel_of_fortune)

The temporary storage room was used to protect all the evidence for the day’s trials, so its security was of course strict. Mikoto or Uiharu could handle electronic security like cameras or sensors, but they could not do anything about the two guards standing in front of the locked door.

“Can’t you pop right inside with your Teleportation, Shirai-san?”

“It’s probably a cramped room full of shelves. I would rather not find myself embedded in a shelf as I appear.”

But a hint had already shown itself.

“Kuroko, and Uiharu-san too. Can you two head up to the second floor hallway directly above here?”

“Sure, but what for?”

“I want to get rid of the two protecting the door. And without violence. It won’t be hard to find something that will make them panic.”

Yes.

Why was the temporary storage room not equipped with sprinklers?

One only had to think back to that question.

“It can be a water pipe, a toilet, a drink vending machine, or whatever else. Just flood the second floor so the water leaks down to the first floor.”



It only took a single drop to frighten those men who were both more than 2 meters tall.

Confused by the water dripping on their noses, they looked up and then bristled.

“Hey, what’s that? There’s water leaking down!!”

“Are you kidding? Where from? We’re storing evidence in here!”

They shouted into their radios, but that was not going to immediately stop the water from the ceiling. They must have been extremely panicked because they ran toward the stairs to see what was going on up above.

“…”

Mikoto poked her head around the corner and approached the vacated door. The electronic lock with a palm reader meant nothing to her. She tried unlocking it with her powers, but then she frowned.

There was no response.

And she sensed the unpleasant smell of burning plastic.

(Don’t tell me…did the heat damage it…?)

She frantically opened the door.

That must have sent more oxygen inside because a cardboard box that had been smoldering and giving off black smoke grew as red as heated metal.

“Not good…”

It burst into flames.

She had no idea what evidence was connected to what case and she did not have time to check the labels on the cardboard boxes. She instead grabbed the fire extinguisher in the hallway. The fire was spreading the entire time she removed the pin, aimed the hose, and prepared it for use.

A somewhat pink-colored foam sprayed out.

With the sound of compressed gas being released, the fire extinguishing substance reached the base of the fire. The flames showed signs of reigniting a few times, but she ultimately managed to put it out. Everything was covered with black soot, but a surprisingly few number of the boxes themselves were burned and scorched. It may have meant a lot that she extinguished the fire early on.

(The Cold Sleep Murder Case. Good, the boxes with that label don’t look harmed. This shouldn’t affect the trial.)

“Oh, dear.”

Just then, she heard an affected voice behind her.

She turned around to see that attorney. And there was a smile on Tsujinaka Kyouka’s lips.

“It would seem there was a problem with the evidence storage. I have no choice but to report this to the presiding judge and raise an objection against the evidence gathered for this case.”

“…?”

“Simply put, the evidence in here cannot be trusted.”

“What are you-…? But the boxes for the Cold Sleep Murder Case weren’t touched! There might be a bit of soot on them, but the evidence is sealed in plastic bags. That won’t even get them dirty!!”

“But you clearly wish for a certain outcome to this case, so the impartiality of the evidence must be brought into question now that you have infiltrated the temporary storage room. You could have destroyed information that disadvantages the defendant, or you could have planted some false evidence.”

“You have no proof of that…!!”

“Exactly. There is no proof one way or the other. And since there isn’t, we will have to investigate the matter. But while each piece of evidence is being investigated, the victim will almost certainly run out of time.”

Of course, Innai Chigiri and Tsujinaka Kyouka would have preferred if the evidence had simply burned away.

But they had a backup plan in case the fire did not spread and it ended as a dud.

“The amateur lay judges cannot bear the weight of a human death, public opinion is tilting toward the charges being false, and the prosecution’s evidence must be questioned. Surely it would be easier to just call off this trial. Easier for everyone involved.”

“…”

Mikoto had to think. She had no choice but to think.

A method of cheating was unbeatable as long as its effects lasted. But it was all over once the trick was discovered. It was a deal with the devil that would tear down everything you had accomplished when that happened.

Which meant…

“This was only a backup plan for you. It wasn’t what you really wanted.”

“What are you talking about…?”

“You’re pretending everything is going flawlessly, but this is just your recovery from a mistake. That’s why the biggest problem for you still exists here.”

The answer was simple.

Misaka Mikoto pointed at one partially-burned cardboard box.

Below the pink fire-extinguishing foam, it contained the evidence for the phone scam case: a bunch of cellphones with lithium ion batteries.

Meaning…

“The ignition devices are still there.”

“!?”

“There is no textbook for toys like this. Everyone has to teach themselves, so they always develop some kind of idiosyncrasy. Investigating those might just turn up something interesting. …And if we can track down the ignition devices’ manufacturer, we might just learn who hired them.”

The winds were changing.

“You can’t. You can’t. That just can’t be possible.”

It was now Mikoto’s time to make a challenge.

She slowly spoke to the female glasses attorney who could not seem to move.

“If you were involved, then you won’t be able to defend Innai Chigiri any longer. Because then it will be your turn in the defendant’s seat.”