Crisis: Special Investigation Squad Episode 4 (Recap)

The episode where I learn there is a spray that can detect explosives.
This was quite a sad episode.

Episode 4

We open at headquarters with Inami and Oyama surrounding Kashii who shoots off a model rocket. It’s a success, but Tamaru (at his desk with a book) wonders why they don’t shoot it off outside. Oyama invites him over to watch, but he doesn’t want to; this makes me curious, but maybe it means nothing. )
There was a half smile!!!! He had a half smile at the rocket moving, so cute.

Yoshinaga comes in, and they gather to hear about their next mission. They have been assigned to protect a professor of Aerospace Engineering from the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Arima Takehiro. Yoshinaga hasn’t been told any information, but they all speculate that if they’ve been asked to protect him and are allowed to carry guns than the professor is in danger himself and that it must be a really bad situation.
Yup. Especially knowing how stringent they are with gun control in Japan unlike certain places I don't want to think about. I mean, it drives it home even further when you consider the fact that these guys are sorta law enforcement, and yet they don't carry guns except in extreme circumstances.

We next switch to what looks like a fairly ordinary office. At one of the desks, a man takes a call from an anonymous caller on his cell phone answering and accepting the caller's information that they need something within a week.

Next we see this ordinary salary man enter a small book store. He goes to look at some books on a shelf, but this is obviously a ruse to talk to the man that has been sitting in that aisle looking at a book. He tells them they have a job that needs to be completed in a week.
I have a sneaking suspicion these are not simply "ordinary salary men".
I think the others might be and that this is his regular job, but he's got this side gig.

The guy in turn goes into a large, warehouse type garage. He opens a locked steel cabinet, and we see a tray of an assortment of guns. The opening credits go here, but all I can think is that every one of these guns is bigger than the guns that our team carries.
Indeed, that was quite the arsenal. These guys are not messing around.

The team shows up at the university and arrive in front of two black suited guards in front of the professor’s office. (Panda, do you think they are BG? LOOOL) The two guards ask for identification, but Yoshinaga basically ignores them and knocks on door. When the professor recognizes who they are, he sends the other guards away. The team troops into the room. They want to discuss the safety plan with Takehiro, but he is busy drinking and has no time for them either.
Takehiro seems very unlikable.

He tells them all to get out. They all troop out with Oyama understanding why people might want to kill him. Yoshinaga assigns Tamuru and Inami to guard the door while he goes with Kashii and Oyama to secure the perimeter.  He warns them not to lose focus since the whole reason they have been assigned probably means something is going to happen.
Actually, Takehiro is very unlikable, and oh boy, if this is his normal behavior, I fully understand why he is being targeted. However, scared people lash out the most. I feel he is very frightened.

While standing guard, Inami speculates about why the professor has to leave the country and asks Tamaru where he would go if he had to leave the country. Tamuru doesn’t know, but Inami fantasizes about Hawaii, going somewhere beautiful and warm and forgetting about the past.

Tamuru says that won’t happen no matter where you go unless you erase/lose your memory, and ultimately, you will just go back to same habits as before. Inami wonders then about how he can forget the past, but Tamuru states that he doesn’t know and doesn’t think that’s more important than who is by your side.
This was a very interesting conversation for two main reasons for me. First, it made me realize or brought home the fact that Tamaru definitely knows all about Inami's past. For some reason, I don't know why I felt it was a semi-secret or something. Secondly, I don't know if it was the body language or what, but I suddenly got a feeling of how young Inami seemed beside Tamaru. This was the first scene that I got that mentor-mentee feeling in. So intriguing. Anyway, Hawaii? Please come take me too Inami.
I always got the mentor feeling with them because of the way Inami looks at Tamaru and how he follows his lead when it's clear how experienced he is. I'm not sure if Tamaru knows his history or if he just suspects because they all seem to be misfits on this team and have a past. Remember how Tamaru flushed out Oyama?

And when he says this thousands raise their hands to volunteer to go with him

They hear a glass crash in the room and rush in, thinking something has happened to the professor. They merely find him asleep at his desk. The sound was from the glass of alcohol that slipped from his hands as he fell asleep. The entire team surrounds him when it’s time to take him home. 

As they leave the campus, the camera focuses on a man in a suit looking at a laptop. It’s our office worker from earlier. No surprise there. I’m going to call him Office from now on.We later see him talking to bookstore guy (from now on to be known as Bookstore) who is working with a bunch of wires, telling him that the professor has new bodyguards, and it looks like they are better, so the job will be tricky. 

Bookstore has all the cool guns and seems most manic, but Office scares me the most.

When the team arrive at Takehiro’s house, they notice the mess. He clearly isn’t really taking care of himself or his home. There are food containers and trash all over. He falls asleep again while they look around. Kashii notices a photo of Takehiro with a woman and a small boy and wonders out loud if he is leaving the country alone.

Yoshinaga says that he’s been divorced for three years and then assigns Tamaru and Oyama to keep watch but reminds everyone that they are on call. He pointedly looks at Inami, asking him if he knows what that means. Inami nods resignedly before he leaves.
Poor Baby. No alcohol, loool.

He still goes to his favorite bar, but instead of a beer, he asks for ginger ale. There is a pretty woman sitting at the end of the bar staring at her phone. The bartender/wingman tells  Inami that she has been sitting there awhile staring at her phone. He predicts that her boyfriend is about to break up with her. She seems to get a message and the result is that she drops her head to the bar while the two stare.
Wingman was like "This is just too easy"😃😃

Inami goes to her and says what he heard from Tamaru that day: when you want to start a new life it is important who you have by your side. She looks up at him and starts crying. He tells her that she should just cry her heart out, and he will just sit there by her side.
Such a smooooth pick-up line. I like that he stated he just heard it too and didn't act like he coined it on his own.

The next day, it’s Inami and Kashii’s turn to watch over the professor. They take him to the office, but Kashii grabs his hand before he opens his office door because he smells explosives. Takehiro thinks he’s being ridiculous and turns knob to open the door, but Inami hears the dropping of a pin (like the pin in a grenade) and immediately pushes Takehiro and Kashii out of the way. Just in time, too.

Imagine how frustrating it must be to guard someone so belligerent. He almost harmed Nose Kashii! The thing to do is to always listen to the people guarding your life, but as we have seen here and in BG, seems that is the hardest thing to do. Pfft.

Through the smoke, we see Office coming up the stairs with gun. I’m hoping that our team isn’t trying to escape this way because clearly shooting them through the smoke as they come down stairs is the back up plan to the bomb. Fortunately, when Office shows up at office, he sees that the hose connected to the fire extinguisher has been deployed. Our team has climbed out window using the hose. Hurray.
Smart fellas.

As soon as he notices this, Office calls Bookstore to tell him that they are heading towards him. Bookstore takes out his gun and kneels behind a car ready to attack but is halted by Inami’s gun to his head. A fight ensues.

I was so scared when Bookstore crouched to shoot at them that I actually shouted when he was outsmarted. YES!

Inami subdues him just in time for Kashii to roll up in a car with the professor inside, and they speed off with Office running behind. When they are out of range, he stops. But what makes this really disturbing is that he doesn’t even seem that mad. He actually smiles as Bookstore stumbles up to him. He seems to take this as an amusing challenge.
I told you, Office is the scary one :(

We next see Yoshinaga in Kaji’s office. He’s remarkably humble asking for more information about the case, but there is tension in his stance. It’s very clear that he really doesn’t care about the case per se one way or the other; he just wants information to help better protect his team and feels that he deserves to get more now that two of his team members almost died on this mission.

Yoshinaga is another great boss that must be wrapped in cotton wool and protected. Can't have BG all over again 😢😢😢😢
Did you have to bring up that memory?!?!? Now I need a moment.

He even asks why Takehiro can’t just leave the country right away (something I’ve been wondering all along; it seems fishy to say “you’re in danger, but you can’t leave yet,” especially since it’s not like he’s working on something). Anouma doesn’t want to nor does he think they need to tell him anything, but Kaji starts talking, saying that the North (North Korea) wants information and are after Takehiro to kidnap him, but Yoshinaga isn’t dumb. People don’t place bombs like that if they want to kidnap someone only if they want to kill someone. Kaji says they don’t know what the other side is thinking, which is why they are holding on to Takehiro for a bit. It’s clear that Yoshinaga isn’t going to get much more than that.
All that sounds like a pack of lies.

He arrives back at their headquarters resigned as the others are watching a news report about the bombing which states that it was just an accident in a chemistry lab. Pfft. Oyama doesn't find any matches for their faces in any database she knows, but Inami isn't surprised. He doesn't think they will have any records anywhere.

The professor has been pacing in their interrogation room since the shock has worn off and wants to talk to someone in charge, but really, he is only worried about the safety of his family. Interesting.
Indeed. 

Later that night, Inami is asleep at his desk and Kashii is doing some drafting when Takehiro bursts out of his room. He’s full of nervous energy, apologizing for not being able to sleep after the shock of the day. He notices Kashii’s drawing and asks about it. Kashii replies that he’s trying to replicate the design of the trap from today’s bombing for future reference.

Takehiro smiles at that, picking up the rocket from Kashii’s desk and talks about how he designed rockets and did cutting edge research and how much he loved drawing the plans. He apologizes for interrupting but also for misunderstanding them; he thought they were sent to watch him not really protect him. He also sincerely thanks them for saving him that morning, but what Kashii and Inami notice is that everything he says about himself is in past tense.
I have done a 365 on this guy. My heart broke for him here while apologizing, and I don't even know why. When they said he had referred to himself in the past made me even more heartbroken. He has completely given up on himself; it's so obvious.

When Yoshinaga meets with Takehiro, he doesn’t have good news. The boss people have decided not to send guards to protect the family because they believe this will put them in more danger since he hasn’t been in contact with them for three years. Takehiro asks Yoshinaga if he believes this as well, but Yoshinaga has his unreadable face on (probably excellent at poker), and the professor acquiesces. This makes Tamaru suspicious.
Spider senses tingling

Takehiro isn’t done, though. He agrees that guards would attract unwarranted attention, but this doesn’t keep him from demanding to see his family before he leaves the country, especially since Yoshinaga tells him the plan is to have him leave within a week. Takehiro asserts that this last request isn’t negotiable.
This so isn't fair! Why wouldn't they even let him see his family? How is that in any way right? They are just setting him up for failure.

The next thing we see is a school. Small children are playing outside when a woman walks through the gate to talk to a couple of women. A little boy runs up to her and hugs her before they set off home. They are the two from the family picture we saw earlier (and that little boy is SOO cute, Panda. I love those yellow hats).
Trot, the hat is soooooooo cute! I need one. Oh no, I hope they are safe though, why are they showing them now?

As they walk, we see Oyama pop up behind them radioing in that they have left the kindergarten. She follows for a bit, and as they pass another intersection, we see Tamaru pop out to follow them. Kashii is sitting in the driver’s seat in their van and alerts Takehiro when they get close. He watches them as they pass with painful longing.
Phew, I am glad nothing happened to them. The look in Takehiro's eyes though, so heart-wrenching.

That night, Takehiro comes out of his room asking for food. Since all they have on site is some of Oyama’s candy (really guys? You don’t think he’s going to ever get hungry? None of you ever get hungry being there hours on end?), Tamaru volunteers to out and get some. Takehiro comes out of room a moment later complaining to Oyama that the toilet is blocked up.  She finishes what she is doing on computer and goes to check. The second she walks past him, Takehiro, knocks her down and makes a run for it.
I could smell the knockout from a mile away. How come they didn't see it?

He finds a pay phone and makes a phone call. He tells whoever picks up that he wants to renegotiate and that he has new information so they must meet in person.

The next morning, Yoshinaga is on the phone, and he doesn’t look happy. When he hangs up, he tells the team that they have been pulled from the case. Oyama jumps up, feeling guilty that it’s all her fault, but Yoshinaga assures her that he just found out that they were going to be relieved today anyway. 

Takehiro is about to be charged with high treason. The government had been stalling these days gathering more evidence against him and that those attempts at his life were a part of it all, so the story they had been told was never true. Tamaru deduces that the government now is just going to wait for the other side to kill him so they can be done with it all. As soon as he says this, Inami and Kashii look at each other and simultaneous head to the door.
Why so cavalier with people though? Just throw him to the wolves abi. I mean, it's obvious that something is shady about the entire thing and that's why the team is so determined to still guard him.

When Yoshinaga asks them where they are going, Inami says that they’ve already risked their lives once for the professor, so he can’t expect them to just accept what’s happening. Yoshinaga lets them go, Oyama immediately starts looking for leads on her computer, and Tamaru says that when they find him, he’ll be able to sneak him out of the country. Wow. Connections.
I stan your hubby Trot!

Panda, do you think he hasn't gone just because I'm not in story to go with him?

We see Takehiro sitting by a river, clearly waiting for someone. Unfortunately, the people we see are the two guys, Office and Bookstore, who were trying to kill him before. The look disappointed that he is making it easy, but they discuss how they still want this to be a masterpiece. I’m not liking this talk at all, Panda.
Not liked the masterpiece talk these guys have been spouting since beginning, Trot. I have a bad feeling in pit of my tum.

Inami and  Kashii go to where Takehiro’s ex-wife lives to ask her if she has heard from him. She tells them that he hasn’t contacted them in two years, but surprisingly she isn’t angry at all. She just seems worried. When they are about to leave, she gets a phone call. They stop and wait. Good thing, too, because it was a call from a stranger telling her that if she is worried about Takehiro, she needs to go to the house. Inami tells her that they will go assuring her again that everything is okay. She asks them to tell her ex to come back and see his son’s face every once in awhile.
This is so sad. She looks sad that she isn't with him, he looked devastated stealing that look at them, what the hell happened to their marriage?!

She seems like a kind woman. Gulp. He's going to regret telling her this, isn't he?

When Inami and Kashii get to the house, they notice that the front door has been propped open. Inami calls inside and hears Takehiro hoarsely call out for help. He asks if he is alone, and he responds in the affirmative. Kashii steps up and sprays around the door, checking for explosives.

He detects no traps there, so they go in, but what they find is even worse than a trap.
FOCKING HELL

Kashii takes a look at the bomb set up, and it is a masterpiece. There is a landmine with a transmitter  under the toes of one of Takehiro’s feet that’s connected to a detonator above. The switch contains mercury, so it can’t be frozen to slow down or stop. If they try to disconnect the one at his feet, the other will blow up bomb. And the wires. There are so many.   
I am so scared, can Kashii even defuse this?

Kashii speaks calmly to Takehiro, but when he talks to Inami in the other room, you can tell that he is worried. He doesn’t think that he will be able to defuse the bomb in the 90 minutes that is left, so he tells Inami to get people to evacuate within 50 meters of the house. He calmly walks back into the room and smiles at Takehiro who smiles weakly back, glad not to be alone anymore.
I hate every single part of this cos I have a bad, bad feeling.

Outside, police start blockading streets and evacuating. We see Office and Bookstore on a rooftop in the distance watching this all eagerly, wondering what the police tell the neighbors in times like this. Bookstore actually giggles when Office tells him that they are probably telling people there is a gas leak somewhere. Bastards.
Smug Bastards.

Kashii just cuts and cuts wires while Takehiro sweats (and I sweat watching). Inami comes back in to tell him that the evacuation is going smoothly and that the others are on standby outside so as not to bother him. Kashii tells him to wait outside, too, but Inami takes a seat as if he’s in it for the long haul, telling him that he’ll wait with him until the end. Kashii asks him if this isn’t how he picks up women, which makes Inami smirk and even Takehiro laugh (as much as a man wired to a bomb can).

When Inami looks at him after the laugh, it triggers him to a full confession about the real story.

Takehiro says that he fell into a “honey trap.” He met a woman while attending a conference and was caught on film. The demand was one of his jet plans, or they would expose him. He didn’t know what to do, so he contacted someone he knew in the government. Public Security came and wanted him to do fake blueprints of a missile to sell to the spy, so he dropped all his other work to do that, but he became worried that the other side would see through the plan. Thus, he asked to back out. Kashii guesses that Public Security wouldn’t let him and threatened him, too. Takehiro affirms this and says that this is when he started spiraling out of control with women and alcohol and why he lost his family. He had no money, so he did sell the fake blueprints to the spy. He told Public Security and asked to get help leaving the country. He says that is when he met them.
The government screwed this man over! He was in way over his head, and they used him, chewed him up and spat him out! So unfair. I am shaking with anger.

This entire time Kashii has been working on cutting wires, but he looks worried and glances at the clock on Takehiro’s chest that shows they have only 43 minute left. Takehiro notes this and tells them that they can leave and that he’s grateful for the time they’ve already put in. He doesn’t believe that he deserves their help because not only did he escape from them, but he was also planning to tell the other side about them in exchange for their help. Kashii and Inami respond in different ways.

Kashii's response

Inami's response

And when Inami tells him what his ex-wife said, Takehiro bursts into tears.
I lost it here.

When there is only 7 minutes left, the trio looks resigned although Kashii is still clipping wires. Aonuma shows up and demands that they leave immediately, but neither Inami nor Kashii move. When he tells them he can have them removed, Kashii uncharacteristically yells at him to shut up. Aonuma tells them that their new mission is to catch the people who set the bomb and that it’s a direct order from the director.
So they are just going to leave????

This stops him. He looks at Takehiro who nods at him slightly, and broken Kashii starts walking out with Inami behind him. Before they get to door, Takehiro asks them to give him the picture of his family. As he holds the picture close, he tells them never to trust their country. Oof.
No, do something Kashii. Cut that one wire that will stop this. Please.

We then get a slo-mo walk of Inami and Kashii walking out of the house. We can see the other three team members at top of the hill as they walk up. As they get closer, Kashii stops, looking like he wants to turn around, but Inami puts his hand on his shoulder to stop him CRIES and they keep going up hill as the bomb goes off behind them and multiple explosions occur. 

They walk slowly up the street and each team member looks stricken, which is in complete contrast to Office and Bookstore who are celebrating with their beers.

The episode ends with Inami nursing a beer at his favorite seat in his favorite bar. His mood is dark, and he doesn’t even notice when the woman he met there earlier comes in. He lets his head go down to the bar in the same way hers had earlier in episode. She sees this and moves down to sit beside him quietly.

Comments

Oof. I have no comments, Panda? Kakashi?
Takehiro's breakdown in the end left me in tears. I am all out of words.