Football Frenzy by Alex Ko

Author:Alex Ko [Alex Ko]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781409538332
Publisher: Usborne Publishing Ltd

Josh had been a bit sceptical when he first saw the old off-white van with the grimy ladder fixed on top. But behind the blacked-out windows there was a small surveillance console, a flat screen, racks of headphones, ear-buds and microphones, and enough comfy chairs for Josh, Jessica and all of Team O.

As they drove through Shinjuku, Josh blinked out of the tinted windows at the sheer number of neon signs and flashing lights. Apparently this was a hotspot for bars and nightclubs, as well as dodgy gambling dens.

The Omajinai was a Chinese gambling house on a quieter backstreet. The van parked around the corner in an alleyway and Granny climbed out, moving as if she was a frail old lady.

Nana pulled her chair up to the console, a pair of enormous headphones totally covering the sides of her small head. Her fingers danced across the buttons and slides, while her eyes stayed fixed on the screen showing the CCTV feed from outside. The camera whirred around at her command and focused on the dingy entrance to the Omajinai gambling den.

It was pretty low-key, by Shinjuku standards. It had a plain grey front door, and no windows Josh could see. The door was flanked by two decorative bushes and two large Chinese men with their hair slicked back in ponytails. They opened the door for Granny, and one of them patted her up and down, searching her for weapons. Jessica gasped and shot Mr. Nakamura a shocked look.

“It’s all right,” Mr. Nakamura said. “They will find nothing – she is wearing only her ear-bud and microphone, and they are too small to be detected.”

“No camera?” Josh asked. “No weapons? Nothing?”

Mr. Nakamura shook his head. “Mimi-san will arm herself, if the need arises, but the plan is simply to stay incognito and gather information. For visuals, we will have to rely on the place’s own security cameras.”

Mimasu raised a hand, as if to say I’m on it. She was beside Nana, tapping furiously into a laptop while endless strings of text scrolled by. About twenty minutes passed in near-silence, with only the occasional word from Granny coming over their headphones.

“If only the passwords for the Omajinai surveillance feeds were as easy to hack as the ones for the civic CCTV cameras...” Mimasu sighed, stretching her fingers out with a chorus of little arthritic clicks. “I’ll have it in a second.”

“Chow,” said Granny’s voice in Josh’s ear. It was accompanied by the clacking of tile counters being moved around on a wooden table. Josh supposed that after the gambling revelation, he shouldn’t be surprised by anything Granny did. Not even speaking perfect Mandarin and playing mah-jong like a pro. He knew the game involved picking up little painted tiles from an elaborate layout, and putting them down again. Beyond that, it was a mystery.

“Ah!” Mimasu exclaimed. “There it is. Nana-san, I’m passing you the codes now.”

The screen flickered and changed to a black and white view of a cavernous, smoke-filled room inside the Omajinai.

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