Bitesize 5.3

Slightly belated. Here we go.

Bitesize 5.3

And so, four hours and one complicated landing at Hakodate airport saw them draw ever closer to their destination. The Concorde caused quite a stir although the Japanese terminal staff knew it was coming there many civilians that didn't but given the choice between conspicuousness and speed it had to be the latter. Alf had even managed to furnish them with the documents rendering Ed's rucksack as a diplomatic bag, allowing them to bypass airport security with their weaponry. With any luck they would be back in England before the snowball from that one started rolling. The final piece to fall into place was their ride to the foot of Mount Hakodate itself. The mountain was heavily wooded and a prime tourist attraction due to the amazing views and many observation platforms. An aerial ropeway took people to the summit in cable-cars but the summit wasn't Ed's destination. Once out of the car, and safely away from prying eyes, he pulled out the tracking device. The device was sophisticated enough to take into account the difference in elevation as well as distance from their target. Max was awake now, but still slightly groggy and Ed made sure to have Grace walk behind him. The trip would be tough going for the little girl but once they were some distance up the mountain she would be fine in wolf form. Looking at the tough trail ahead Ed wished he had that same luxury. He pointed out the direction to the others and they started their ascent.

As they climbed Ed couldn't help but wonder what Crowley was up to. It seemed there were two distinct possibilities with a mountain as relatively small as Hakodateyama was. Either they were still searching for the mirror. Or they had found it and were waiting for something. Ed hoped he wasn't that something. The terrain made the walk tiring although Katia seemed to be coping with it fine. Grace too, now in wolf form, was having little difficulty. Which left just Ed and Max slightly out of breath and feeling under representative of their gender. Despite this the tracker showed them gaining on Raddick's position. Wherever their targets were, they were moving slowly, or not at all.

The group said little as they walked. They all understood the gravitas of the situation and lighthearted banter would have seemed out of place. The only words spoken were Ed's occasional commands to switch direction. When they finally did stop walking it was because Ed wasn't moving, just staring at the tracking device with a confused expression.
"What is it?" Katia asked, coming over to take a look.
"I dunno." Ed shook the tracker futilely. "Maybe we missed them."
"Let me see?"
Katia took the tracker and fiddled with it.
"It says they're lower than we are."
"They must have found the mirror." said Ed, "They're already going back down."
Katia pushed a few more buttons.
"I don't think so. The device is showing that they've barely moved vertically either way since we started climbing the mountain."
"So they're stationary?"
"Didn't Alf show you how to work this?" Katia pushed another series of buttons.
"No, they've definitely moved. And they're not just skirting the mountain. If we plot their movements over the last ten minutes or so..."
Ed waited.
"Well?"
"Ok that doesn't make any sense."
Katia handed him the device back and Ed looked at it.
"INTO the mountain? Into the goddamn mountain?!" Ed kicked a shrub loose from the ground and it rolled off down the incline. "That damn Raddick. I shoulda known. I'll bet we're here chasing his stupid arse while Crowley is off nabbing the next onigawa. Or... ODOLF!"
"Woah, calm down Mr Paranoid." said Katia. "I have my cell phone right here look. If anything was going on, they would have called us. Maybe there's a more mundane explanation. Caves or somesuch? If the onigawa from the legends lived in the mountains then maybe there are cave networks? We should look around first before you go jumping to delusions."
"Conclusions." said Ed.
"If you say so."
She passed the tracker back to Ed.
Ed thought carefully over the options.
"Well if they haven't moved up or down much then the entrance should be somewhere around this elevation. I guess we just circle the mountain until we find it."