After carefully running the numbers in her head, Kureha shook her head. "No. It's a little too risky."
She looked up at Arudo, who was blinking at her, and smiled. "Hey, big guy. How about you find out where they are for me?"
"Find out where they are?"
"Right. As long as I know their exact positions, I can take them all out in an instant!" A throwing knife had appeared in Kureha's hand. She flipped it back and forth between her fingers.
"It's just a wall. Do they really think they're safe behind it?!"
"It's not one wall. It's a lot of walls," Arudo corrected her, but he nodded anyway. "All right. I'll try."
Of everyone there, he had the strongest defenses. Anyone could see why Pickle wanted them to come out. If someone had to draw their fire, no one was better suited than Arudo.
"Either tell me where they all are or get them to speak. Either works," Kureha said behind him. More throwing knives slid from her sleeve into her palm. They lay in a neat row, each spaced from the next with the precision of a measuring instrument.
"Got it!"
If he was going to tell her everyone's position before they spoke, he would have to spot them first.
Thud!
His massive foot came down on the paving stones, cracking one in a spiderweb pattern. Arudo stood in the middle of the road and shouted toward Pickle and the others. "Come on, you rats! I'm standing right here! If you've got the guts, shoot!"
"Bastard!"
The sight of Arudo's swagger made Pickle's blood boil. He had been worried that killing a Marine officer would bring trouble, but he no longer cared. He aimed his pistol at the center of Arudo's forehead and pulled the trigger.