The flashback is interrupted by the sound of a gunshot, and the narrator realizes that it is Hirohito's machine gun. He realizes that the machine gun was the one that killed Tetahashi, and he realizes that he is not the only one who has been shot. He also realizes that his back is throbbing with pain. He wonders if there are babies inside the tanks, and wonders if the white bear has been hunting them. The narrator wonders if this is the Siberia line, and then he wonders if they are getting off the mountain. He then wonders if he has lost his best lead on his watch, and asks if he should hand it over to someone else. He tells the narrator that he has heard that they have lost their best lead, and that he will still let him ride shotgun. He asks if they have any new developments to report, and they tell him that a special forces team has been outfitted with high-output professional killers. They have sustained no life threatening injuries. They talk about a "come back," and he wonders what she means by that. It seems that she had a run-in with the major, and she blew a fuse. She then vanished. He decides to find out if she meant a "figure of speech" or a "literal coffin" . He finds out that they are in the employ of a company called Kohnan Security Services, which is the biggest campaign donor to Mikomoto, the mayor of Okayinawa.