Kogami tried to mask his reaction, but was caught off guard and failed.  He took a cautious step back in shock.  "Roninn?"

    "Friend of yours, Mr. Kogami?" Okamato whispered discretely.  Her hand was poised to execute a defense order to the security detail.

    "More like a distant acquaintance.  One I'd prefer to keep distant.  Her brother was an MWPSB Inspector."

    "Was?  I take it you had a hand in the reason why he is no longer with the MWPSB?"

    "You might say that.  This can't be a coincidence."  Kogami feared that the accident on the interchange was part of a more elaborate plan.  He glared over the shoulders of the security men standing between them.  "What can I do for you, Miss Roninn?"

    "It's not what you can do for me, Mr. Kogami, but what I must do for you."  She reached into her purse, prompting the security guards to assume a more offensive posture.  Smiling innocently, she produced a certified check from the small purse at her wrist.  "Allow me to make amends.  I understand the only injury sustained in the accident on the interchange was the pony in the van.  Will $300,000 suffice?"

    Kogami's eyes narrowed in suspicious contempt.  The narcissistic perception that he could be bought off or that money would erase Mi-Yeon's trauma that morning infuriated him.  "Secret's not our pony.  She belongs to the Royale Hippotherapy Centre's program."

    Chimari handed the check to Grigori, who placed it in his lapel pocket.  "I'll make certain they are fully compensated.  But as for you and the trouble I've caused your family, I feel personally responsible."  She pulled another check from her purse.  Grigori handed her a pen.  "I trust this will be enough for the purchase of Mi-Yeon's very own pony and proper training."  She flashed the amount at him:  $500,000.  "Every little girl deserves a pony of her own.  It's just like having a big brother, wouldn't you agree, Mr. Kogami?" 

    "Is that a threat?" Kogami spat.  He shoved the startled security guards out of his way.

    "Kogami!" Akane yelled.  She intercepted him, grabbing on to his balled fists, and used her slight weight to temporarily counter his.  "Miss Okamoto!"

    "Not to worry, Inspector Tsunemori.  Gentlemen," Okamato said, "please escort Miss Roninn and her man from the premises.  Immediately."

    Enraged by Chimari's insinuated threat, Kogami resisted Akane and Okamoto as they bodily moved him through the canopy door of a nearby tent with the Kurosawa logo printed in Japanese.

    "Kogami!"  Akane threw her arms about his shoulders, weighing him down.  She was little more than a mild hinderance to his muscular frame.

    "You got this?" Okamato asked, a hint of amusement in her voice.

    "For now."

    "You certain?  I need him settled.  If he misses his ride time, he's disqualified."

    Akane leaned against Kogami with all her weight, pressing her forehead and hands against his chest.  "Just need a few minutes," she grunted.

    "Good luck with that."  Okamato stepped outside, only a few feet away, stalling for time on her comlink.  "Double the security team on Mr. Kurosawa, and I want an extra detail on the Kogami family.  I don't care, Byron, provide them each with a foxhound and orders to bite first and ask questions later."

    The show of force did little to quiet Kogami's slighted sense of honor.  He no longer cared about the national test, the championship, or anything else in that moment.  All he could think about was his family's safety, which he considered to be compromised by Roninn's presence.

    "Kogami, calm down!" Akane pleaded, taking his arm.

    "Roninn's sister?  Not a coincidence, Inspector.  I need to be with my family."

    "Kogami, please stop and listen to me!"

    He snatched his arm away from her and glared down into her face.  "This is why you don't get close to people.  Why you never expose your vulnerabilities because inevitably they can be exploited by your enemies."

    "I saw and overheard everything, Mr. Kogami."  Akane grasped his jacket sleeve and held it tightly.   Her fingers could barely make the circumference of his forearm.  "Kagari has Mi-Yeon, who is with your mother, and Masaoka is there, too.  Shion is monitoring the security feeds of every camera in the area, including satellite feeds."  She smiled to reassure him and straightened the lapel of his shadbelly.  "Ginoza is repositioning security drones across the entire venue to detect any suspicious activity.  And," she said, squeezing his arm.  "I'm with you.  Your family is safe."

    Regretting his behavior, Kogami bowed his head and sighed with mixed feelings of dread and relief.  His family could not have been in safer hands.  "What?  Are you supposed to be my good luck charm or something?"

    "Something like that."  She chuckled, tilting her head to one side.  "Could you find a better one right now."

    "No." His fury could no longer be maintained and fell from volcanic to a low simmer.  "Thank you, Akane."

    "Thankful enough to do that interview we were talking about earlier?"  She clasped her hands together in a personal plea.

    "You strike a hard bargain, Inspector.  I'll think about it."

    "Mr. Kogami," Okamoto said from the entrance, "You're on deck.  We need to go."

    Ever the detective, Kogami could not shift his focus from the unsettling visit with Roninn's younger sister to actually riding the national championship test. Despite the weeks of training leading up to the competition and excellent warm up with the stallion that morning, the harried Enforcer failed to concentrate as required.  The distraction left Lancelot to perform much of the test at the stallion's discretion. Fortunately for Kogami, Touch the Sky was a showman that excelled when it came to performing and keeping children and absentminded riders safe from harm.

    While the resulting score was an exceptional one, it was only enough to clinch second place. Kogami stared at the scoreboard, understanding the implications of his restlessness, and sighed.  Lancelot snorted beneath him, swishing his tail across Kogami's leg.  When Kogami did not reward him, the stallion flexed his neck, bobbed his head up and down, and nibbled on the tip of his boot.

    "Well, at least one of us was on the case."  Kogami reached down and gave him a slap on the neck for a job well done.  Retrieving a peppermint from his pocket, he stretched forward toward the stallion's head and offered the treat, which was gratefully accepted.

    "An excellent test, Mr. Kogami," Kurosawa said.  He stroked the stallion's neck and shoulder.  "I suspect the helicopter incident might have stressed Lancelot more than I anticipated."

     "This wasn't Lancelot's fault. It was mine."

    "Understandable, given the events that have unfolded." Kurosawa sighed, disappointment weighing heavily in his words.  He looked up to meet Kogami's eyes.  "Men of decisive action are often haunted by dangerous specters, Mr. Kogami. I suspect your role as an Enforcer has bought a lion's share of formidable enemies to your door. My role in business is no different. CEO or Enforcer, we are always on the hunt and, at times, we even become the hunted."

    "You know of the Roninn family?"

    Kurosawa grunted distastefully and looked away, putting his hands behind his back.  "Intimately.  Well enough to know that they have no enemies that have not felt their acrimony or escaped the scars of their retribution, even for the smallest slight."  Kurosawa swept his gaze from side to side, surveying the area.  "But let's not discuss such things here in the open." 

    "Understood, sir," Kogami replied.  He sensed a genuine unease in Kurosawa and wondered how the businessman had crossed paths with Roninn's family and survived to tell the tale so confidently.

    Kurosawa met his questioning eyes with a grin.  "Settle your mind, Mr. Kogami.  The entirety of my security force has been called in to police the showgrounds.  My personal team has been designated to watch over your family.  I realize the MWPSB is here, but I've learned that decisive men can never be too careful." 

    "I can't thank you enough."

    "Yes, you can actually.  We're not out of this competition yet.  There's one final test—the musical freestyle.  My daughter watched your practice ride yesterday for the first time and wept at the beauty of it." Kurosawa chuckled softly under his breath.  "As a child she always loved fairy tales.  Brave knights and their war horses, questing for lost treasure.  Driven by love or honor and armed with a bit of good luck, they always seem to persevere."

    Kogami laughed out loud.

    "Something funny in that, Mr. Kogami?"

    "I was thinking of my good luck charm."  He glanced at Akane, who stood by the fence waiting for him to leave the paddock.

    "No better charm to have than the heart of a good woman, Mr. Kogami."  Kurosawa slapped his thigh and smiled.  "The quest is afoot, young man.  The treasure is out there for the man who can stay the course.  Victory awaits.  Can you persevere?"

    Kogami nodded with confidence.  "I'll certainly try."

    "Your mother and little sister are resting in my tent.  May I suggest you join them for lunch."  He held the stallion as Kogami dismounted.  "I'll see to Lancelot for now.  Go settle your mind so that your heart can do what it was meant to do."  He pet the stallion's face and led him to the paddock exit. 

    Taking the riding helmet from his head, Kogami ran a hand through his hair, giving it back its tousled look.  Okamoto met him at the paddock entrance and offered him a bottle of cold water and a towel. 

    "Nice job, Ko.  Nice family.  You needn't be worried about them.  Get your head back in the game.  A lot's riding on you today.  Quite literally." Okamoto grinned mischievously as she handed off the items to him.   She straightened her dress, which lowered the plunging neckline and proceeded down the path after her boss.  A much smaller security detail followed her.

    "She certainly isn't shy," Akane said, joining him at the gate.

    "And neither is Kagari," Kogami replied, nodding toward the Kurosawa Industries tent.

    Kagari was standing near the tent entrance, talking with a trio of young women, who were dressed in riding coats and boots.  Mi-Yeon was in his arms, on his hip, excitedly signing for the women.  As a group, they laughed and gasped in surprise at the precocious little girl.  Her championship ribbon hung from the pocket of her show coat.  It was evident to Kogami what Kagari was doing, and he was simultaneously annoyed and amused.

    "Kagari?" Kogami growled under his breath.

    "Kogami-kun!"  Mi-Yeon squirmed free of the younger Enforcer and ran to him, jumping up into his arms.

    Kagari was making his reluctant goodbyes to the young women, who paused only long enough to wave at Mi-Yeon before departing.  "Ko, you've been holding out on me!  This whole hippotherapy thing?  Cute girls in tight pants?  I can't get enough of it."  He closed his eyes and propped his hands behind head.  "The boots, the spurs, the whips—"

    Akane rolled her eyes in disgust, crossing her arms over her chest.  "Hippotherapy is supposed to be a calming therapy, but clearly not for the likes of you."

    Kagari scratched his head and grinned.  "I can own that."

    Kogami sidestepped Kagari with a glare.  "Can you own using a little kid for picking up girls?"

    "Kagari, you are simply incorrigible!"

    "What?  Ko's little sister is the ultimate babe magnet.  What woman can resist a sweet little girl in pigtails and ribbons?  Mi-Yeon was totally into it."

    Shaking his head in bemusement at his brazen collegiate, Kogami ducked through the tent's canopy door and was met by a crowd of familiar faces.  His mother was sitting in a far corner, relaxed and laughing with Masaoka.  Ginoza stood near a saddle rack, intently staring at a holographic diagram of the equestrian center on his wristcom.  Kogami felt an instant pang of fear and worry.  "What's wrong?"

    "Nothing for you to worry about," Ginoza replied.  "Just redeploying security drones in a more effective manner around the showgrounds."

    "Any reason to be nervous?"

    "None whatsoever."

    "Security ejected Miss Roninn, as well her bodyguard and pilots from the property without incident.  The helicopter is impounded temporarily until the showgrounds clear out for the night," Akane said.  "Do you think Inspector Roninn put his sister up to this?"

    "Former Inspector," Ginoza corrected her, "and there's no evident connection."

    "Isn't it obvious?" Kogami argued. 

    "Shion is reviewing footage from the accident on the interchange today and can't find any evidence of foul play."

    "Distracted driving seems a bit too convenient, if you ask me," Kagari said.  "If it were anybody else but Roninn's sister, okay, I'd buy it."

    "The question is why?" Masaoka asked from across the room.  He helped Mrs. Kogami up to her feet, and the two joined their younger company.  "Surely there has to be something amiss with the girl's pscyho pass, especially if she planned this whole thing."

    "Her crime coefficient was elevated, but not outside of the norm," Ginoza said.

    "Was she sincere in offering to buy Mi-Yeon a pony?" Mrs. Kogami asked.

    "Yes," Ginoza answered.  "Shion confirmed that a donation of $300,000 was deposited to the Royale Hippotherapy Centre, shortly after she left the showgrounds.  I suspect there will be a similar payment waiting for Kogami when we return to MWPSB headquarters."

    "I don't want anything to do with that woman or her family," Kogami hissed.  "I had more than enough of her brother to last me a life time."

    "I would agree," Ginoza said with a nod.  "Any parcels delivered to the CID that are addressed to Kogami will be diverted and scanned for suspicious activity.  Chief Kasei has authorized a draft of restriction orders that will cover Kogami and each member of his family.  That should send a very clear message."

    "Problem is," Masaoka said, "people like former Inspector Roninn believe they are above the law.  He proved that by leaving a long trail of dead Enforcers in his wake as evidence."  He frowned, noticing that Mi-Yeon was intently listening to the conversation.  "Little lady, this is the adults' table.  Why don't we go get ourselves some cotton candy?"

    Mi-Yeon smiled at the offer of sweets.  She hopped down from Kogami's arms and took the older man's hand and her mother's.  "Kagari-chan?"

    "How do you resist an invitation like that?" Kagari said.  "Of course I'll go for cotton candy, especially if Masaoka is paying!"

    When the three had left the tent and were well out of earshot, Akane leaned back against a wall of bridles.  "What I don't understand is why hold a grudge?"

    "Isn't that evident?" Ginoza scowled.  "Her brother was sentenced to life in an isolation facility."

    "Yes, but why blame Kogami for her brother's mental state.  He worked himself into a clouded psycho pass all by himself, utilizing the law as his own personal weapon."

    "Confronted with the impossibility of remaining faithful to one's beliefs, and the equal impossibility of becoming free of them, one can be driven to the most inhuman excess."  Kogami opened his bottled water and had a drink.

    "And what's that supposed to mean?" Ginoza asked.

    "James Baldwin, 20th century civil rights activist," Kogami replied.  "It's not complicated really.  Roninn had a choice to exercise his sociopathic beliefs by becoming an angel of justice, or he could abandon those beliefs...the undertaking of either drove him insane and caused him to commit acts of atrocities.  But in the end," Kogami surmised, "who gets to define an inhumane act?  Men like Roninn?  The Sibyl System? Or the people these two were supposed to protect?"

    "Don't be naive, Kogami," Ginoza warned.  He stared over the rims of his glasses, which had fallen from the bridge of his nose.  "Roninn violated the most sacred auspices of the Sibyl System and everything it, and we, stand for through his actions, and he did it with no remorse for the blood on his hands, Enforcers and citizens."

    "You forgot to say innocent citizens, Inspector Ginoza."

    "I have no way of knowing if they were innocent or latent criminals, who deserved what they got!"

    "Exactly.  How do you think the powerful stay powerful?  It's by victimizing the helpless."  Kogami tossed the empty water bottle into a recycling bin.  "Roninn and his sister have made one careless mistake."

    "Oh, yeah?  What's that?"

    "I'm anything but helpless."

    "Mr. Kogami," Okamato called from the tent entrance.  "It's time."

    According to rumors, Kurosawa purchased Touch the Sky from a backyard breeder in the United States for a mere pittance.  A bit of simple detective work had proven the rumors to be true.  The business tycoon was well invested in the stallion's rise to prominence long before that fateful day when Kogami rode the horse to an unexpected win at the regional championships. That was the day the stallion and the Enforcer had proven themselves to be worth their weight in gold. 

    On this fateful day, with the national championship on the line, Kurosawa was even more invested.  Unlike many successful leaders, he did not often delegate trivial tasks to his subordinates.  He gifted them with opportunities to show innovation and motivation, giving rise to sterling integrity and superb performances.  He did no less with Kogami, allowing the Enforcer to chose his own music for the crucial freestyle portion of the test.

    A hopeless romantic, though he would never admit it, Kogami chose a song from a vintage holovid.  The song, Fable, began to play from the speakers around the arena.  "Tell me a fable..." the vocalist beckoned, "...tell me a fable." 

     The song came from a redrafted folktale, Ever After, and lent itself well to the rewrite of Kogami's own dark fairy tale.  Upon hearing the music, the stallion moved into the ring with unexpected vigor, prompting Kogami to hold him back slightly without impeding the horse's excitement and natural gaits. 

    The choreography was a cruel allegory for Kogami's life. The stalwart knight, fallen from grace, and his faithful warhorse risking everything for a chance to prove their valor. The quest was anything but simple:  the restoration of honor and the family name.  The cast comprised the usual characters:  a wealthy mentor, a distrusting former ally, a sidekick, and rivals to bring the quest through to a difficult fruition.

    More importantly, the tale had a maiden, who despite harsh treatment by the hero, kept the faith and her trust, regardless of a society determined to keep them apart.  With every forward transition, the stallion helped pen that fairy tale from the lullaby prologue until its climatic finale.  After a final series of canter pirouettes executed on the centerline, the music ceased, and so did his feet into a perfectly square halt.

    Kogami felt his cheeks flush, not from the effort of the test, but with pride.  The audience in the stadium erupted into a standing ovation, applauding their appreciation and chanting the stallion's name from one side of the arena to the other.  There was no need to await the posting of the scores.  As he walked the winded horse back to the in-gate, the results were written all over Kurosawa's face.

    "Pure perfection, Mr. Kogami!"  He earnestly shook Kogami's hand until it was numb.  "I can ask no more!  If we get no farther than this, I will be wholly satisfied."  He pulled the handkerchief from his lapel pocket and dabbed at his glistening forehead, covering his mouth with it when the score flashed across the arena screens:  81.2.  "He's done it," Kurosawa said in disbelief.  "He's done it!"

    A short distance from the ring, Akane gave Kogami a thumbs up and a winsome smile.  There were prouder moments in his life, Kogami had to admit:  graduation with honors, making the grade to be a top choice for the MWPSB, becoming an Inspector, and solving his first case shortly after joining the bureau.  Those moments were made all the more bittersweet by the loss of Sasayama, his Enforcer and friend, and his own subsequent demotion.  He had truly fallen from grace, but not so far that he could not be redeemed, despite the stigma of being labeled a latent criminal.

    No sooner had Kogami kicked free of the stirrups than a reporter from one of the major networks was at his side with her camera crew.  Initially, he ignored her goading questions, and busied himself with loosening the stallion's girth.  Glancing at Kurosawa for a hint of what to do, the businessman shrugged his shoulders and offered little in the way of advice.

    Before Kogami could decide to respectfully decline the interview, he saw Akane, hands clasped at heart level, imploring him to cooperate.  Swallowing what remained of his pride, he unsnapped the chin strap and removed his helmet, tucking it under his arm.  Reluctantly, he turned to the eager brunette and her intrusive microphone.

    "Mr. Kogami, you, yourself, have been labeled as a latent criminal by the Sibyl System," the reporter began.  "Once a promising Inspector with the MWSPB, you're now what is known as a glorified hunting dog, an Enforcer.  Yet, here you are competing among the nation's best equestrians on equal terms.  What do you have to say about that?"

    Kogami hesitated, uncertain what to say or what was appropriate for the moment.  "I just want to thank Mr. Kurosawa, Kurosawa Industries, and the Ministry of Welfare's Public Safety Bureau for this opportunity."  He wanted to cringe at the stiff, robotic sound of his own voice, but kept his composure.

    "Now that you've won both the regional and national qualifiers and stand poised to compete on the world stage, how do you feel about your situation and your classification as a latent criminal?"

    Poised for the cameras, Kogami considered her question, contemplating an appropriate answer that he could live with when the cameras were gone and he was returned to MWPSB headquarters, not as a celebrated equestrian but a prisoner of the Sibyl System.  "What is civility?  When people are treated a certain way, they will react a certain way.  The reason there has been more emphasis on latent criminals is because the public thinks it's important not to be a latent criminal."  He cleared his throat of any doubt in his heart.  "What people should be thinking about are the best possible ways to just be human, and thereby redefine what it means to be a member of this thing we call humanity.  Environment creates the conditions in which we live.  Society dictates the environment.  In my own humble opinion, we are all latent criminals."

    There was silence across the showgrounds as his words rang out across the venue through the Jumbotron screens and their speakers.  As the message sunk into the psyche of the surrounding crowd, in a distant section of the stadium, someone started clapping.  They were joined by a few others, and within seconds, more and more people applauded until the stadium was filled with thunder. 

    "Now if you'll excuse me," Kogami said, putting the helmet back on his head.  "I'm due for a family picture."

    "Ginoza!" Akane hissed between clenched teeth.  She was pulling at the senior Inspector's jacket as he marched toward Kogami with purpose.  His face was a stern, self righteous mask of disgust and fury.

    "Just what do you think you're doing?" Ginoza demanded.  His voice was low so as not to attract undue attention, but grating enough to convey his displeasure.  "Feel better now that you've made a spectacle of yourself?"

    Kogami patted him on the back with an impish, defiant grin.  "As a matter of fact, I do feel better."  He pushed him away, masking the insubordinate act in a playful gesture.  Ignoring Ginoza's menacing eyes, Kogami took Akane by the arm and led her to the winner's circle.  "Let's go." 

    "Kogami," she protested, "the photographer called for family."

    "That's right.  He did, didn't he?"

    Leaving Ginoza gawking behind a line of Kurosawa security guards, Kogami put a foot in the stirrup and once more climbed to Lancelot's back.  The stallion was wearing the hard fought for championship cooler emblazoned with the Gotemba Equestrian Center logo and the word: Champion.  Mr. Kurosawa stood at the stallion's head while his daughter, a slight girl in her early twenties, held the reins.  Mi-Yeon stood proudly at Mrs. Kogami's side, holding the national championship ribbon.  The photographer handed the silver trophy to Akane, who stood between the two families, connecting them.  At the photographer's order, they smiled in unison as he quickly snapped the picture.  

    "Mrs. Kogami," Kurosawa said bowing, "allow me to personally invite you back to my estate for the victory celebration.  Your family is always welcomed in my home."  He turned to the members of Division 1.  "The invitation stands for all of you as well.  I implore you to be my guests for a regal evening of food and entertainment."

    "Don't have to ask me twice," Kagari said.

    "But before the victory can be celebrated, the victor must return to the ring to collect his accolades from the crowd."  Kurosawa bowed to Kogami respectfully.  "Mr. Kogami, your adoring crowd awaits."  He raised his hand in the direction of the arena, where the crowd eagerly anticipated a final look at the championship winners.

    "Right."  Kogami reached down from the saddle and with both hands lifted Akane off her feet.

    "Kogami!" Panicking, she threw her arms around his neck as he sat her across the pommel of the saddle in front of him.  "What are doing?" 

    "Can't go back in the ring without my good luck charm.  Hold tight."  He grinned mischievously and adjusted the reins in his hands as the ring steward beckoned him to return to the show ring for a victory gallop.