Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:Item6 Chapter1 (section)

===Part 3===

The blackmailers abused their victim’s Bank ID to threaten them and force them to steal valuables. With the victim’s home and family used a shield, a negotiator had to be nearby.

For Kinuhata and Takitsubo, locating that negotiator would give them a chance to fight back.

Track suit girl Takitsubo glanced over at Kinuhata.

“This residential area doesn’t have much in the way of entertainment, but there are still some people coming and going. We have to identify the suspicious person among them, so what do you say we should do, Kinuhata?”

“The security drum robots are effectively small communication servers.”

“And?”

Takitsubo Rikou’s expression was always blank.

But what was this? There was a hint of a grin in her eyes.

Was she shifting into some kind of drill sergeant mode?

“By borrowing one of them and messing with the wiring a bit, we can monitor the nearby communication situation. For example, the number and location of phones.”

The bikini and tight skirt robber girl nervously spoke up.

“Wh-what good is knowing where any phones are? Everyone has one. You’d be hard pressed finding someone who isn’t carrying one.”

Ignoring her as a distraction would probably get her trembling and suicidal again.

So Kinuhata sighed and answered.

“It’s true carrying a phone is super common.”

“Then what good is it?”

“But people using phones for crimes generally use a few different phones for different purposes. That will work against them here. What if we find someone in the neighborhood who’s carrying five or even ten phones? Wouldn’t that be super sus?”

Being caught on camera while capturing the mobile security cameras that were the security robots would be suicidal for a dark side member. So Kinuhata crept up on one from behind and immobilized it with an (Offense Armor boosted) attack from its blind spot.

Then she only had to tear off the exterior panel and attach her phone with the appropriate cable.

When you knew how to do it, it didn’t take long.

Cautioning the robber girl not to look in that direction was a lot harder.

“I super found them. Ten meters northeast of your home.”

“Eh? You mean that white truck? Wh-why would an old newspaper collection service do that?”

Appearances could be deceiving. It could have been a sweet potato seller or a (somewhat sketchy looking) used electronics collection service. Residential areas were the residents’ territory. The idea was to create the appearance of an outsider who could stick around for a while without arousing suspicion. A pizza delivery driver or newspaper deliverer couldn’t slowly circle around the same area for very long.

Takitsubo nodded.

“Now we physically tail them. That should lead us to their base.”

“Wait. If you already knew where they were, you should have super told me.”

“This helps me too. There are no textbooks in the field of criminal searches, so other people’s ideas can be a valuable learning opportunity. Knowing how other people think can also help you obstruct them.”

Their target was in a light truck, so they couldn’t pursue on foot. The target appeared to be circling along the same course. While strolling past the slowly circling truck, Kinuhata flicked a small wireless earphone into the back of the truck.

Then they just had to open a map app and use the lost item search function.

Kinuhata Saiai spoke up right away.

“I’ve super got the signal.”