The Hard ザ・ハード Volume 3, Hunt 15: "Deka" (Detective) Original story & art Copyright (C) 1992 Saruwatari Tetsuya/Shuueisha This English translation Copyright (C) 1993 Translation by Iain Sinclair and Henry Chung =========================================================================== ------------- p.142 Narration: Los Angeles, California. Radio: Robbery in progress at the Golden Bank. Radio: The suspect has been identified as Deeb Spexer, a member of the "Bombers", a Hispanic gang... He's demanding to speak to an LA cop called Harold Sakata. ------------- p.144 Deeb: Where the fuck is Sakata! Call Harold Sakata! If that Jap fucker don't show up soon... Deeb: I'll blow this bitch's head off. Cop: Take it easy, Deeb, w.. we can talk... What's the problem with you and Sakata? Deeb: That Sakata... He raped my sis and killed her! (Deeb shoots the woman in the head.) ------------- p.145 Cop: Holy shit.. Cop2: He's telling the truth.. Deeb's sister was found floating in the harbour a few days ago. Cop: What?! (A black & white comes tearing through the police barricade) Cop: What the hell's going on! ------------- p.145 Deeb: Uaargh! ------------- p.146 (The car crashes into the bank. A pony-tailed guy wearing a jacket and sunglasses steps out, and shoves his pistol into Deeb's mouth.) Sakata: You asked for me to come, fatso, so here I am. ------------- p.147 Deeb: I was just jokin'... L.. let me go, man... Sakata: I can't be hearing this. Now you're beggin' for your life! You got some kind of self-esteem problem? Wellll!? Deeb: A.. aagh.. Cop: Sakata, don't!! ------------- p.148 (Sakata blows Deeb away. Blood everywhere.) ------------- p.149 Bank staff: Ayeeeee!! Cop: Jesus christ! Sakata: Ah, shit! There goes my brand new Hawaiian shirt. Better charge it to the Department. Cop: You crazy fucking Jap! Haven't you heard of civil rights?! ------------- p.150 Sakata: I dunno what you're talking about. I ain't no Japanese... (Sakata delivers a violent headbutt to the cop.) ... I'm a naturalised American, and I love my country ten times more than you local jerkoffs. Cop2: Sakata! Cop2: You're always doing this crazy shit! Internal Affairs is gonna hear about it this time. Sakata: You might want to take a look at this, first. ------------- p.151 Sakata: A C-3 bomb, with a priming switch in his right hand. If I hadn't taken him out, you guys would be dead meat. Cop2: So.. so what's this about you raping and killing Deeb's sister? (Sakata pulls a gun on the other cop.) Sakata: That's some bullshit story spread by the gangs, because I'm their No.1 enemy. Unlike you, I don't give those fuckers a single chance. Cop2: Urgh! ------------- p.152 Sakata: Those gangs live on anger and hatred... But me, I got principles. I'll do anything for the ones I truly love. (At a suburban house.) Radio: Kenji Hado, aka. "The Hard", who escaped from prison a month ago, still remains at large. ------------- p.153 Radio: It's believed that there's only a slim chance of him being alive. Emily: ........ Momoko: Mum, I'm going now! Sakata: Momoko, you going to school now? Have you gotten used to things here on the West Coast? Momoko: Uncle, you still coming back from work in the morning? Sakata: Hahaha, it's because I'm so dedicated. Momoko: But you should take care of yourself. Sakata: Geez, she's the only person who's ever said that to me... ------------- p.154 Emily: Morning, Sakata! Sakata: G.. good morning, Emily! Momoko: Uncle, I have to go now. Sakata: Momoko, Sakata: If anyone gives you a hard time, just let me know, and I'll kick his ass! ------------- p.155 (Breakfast with Emily.) Sakata: In America these days, we have a break and enter every 65 seconds, an armed robbery every 65 seconds, a murder every 24 minutes. There are 250 rapes ever day. And it's getting worse all the time. Sakata: There's all this crime because kids who grow up poor, without an education, can't find a good job. Sure, they can get a job flipping burgers, but they get ten times more selling drugs. Emily: ..... Sakata: The worst thing is that the criminals are getting younger every year. In LA, all the robbers and murderers are under 16; adults can go to prison, but the kids can't. (Sakata smashes his fist on the table.) Sakata: We can't do a fucking thing about it, and then there are the cops who get payoffs from the gang leaders! Emily: Sakata, don't talk about these things while we're eating, OK? ------------- p.156 Sakata: Hah, sorry, I... Emily: I know you're very dedicated to your work. Sakata: Tehahaha! Sakata: E.. Emily, have you thought about the things we talked about last time? Emily: Hmm? Emily: I'm very flattered that you proposed to me, but I haven't made up my mind yet. Sakata: Why the hell not? I mean, I practically brought up Momoko on my own... Emily: I'm sorry. Sakata: Is it because of your ex-husband... ------------- p.157 Emily: .......... Sakata: Maybe I don't know what kind of guy your ex was... Sakata: But I'm not gonna be any worse, that's for sure. We can be happy together! Emily: That's just what he said. Emily: You remind me of him a lot. Sakata: I'm not gonna let this go, no way! ------------- p.158 (Sakata is drowning his sorrows) Sakata: What the hell's wrong with me? EMILY! Sakata: Goddamn it, you still haven't forgotten your ex-husband... Barman: Come on, Sakata, you're well and truly drunk now... ------------- p.159 Sakata: Whee! Urgh... (Sakata is staggering around a back alley. Some thugs come up to him.) Sakata: What the fuck... you guys want me to be on tomorrow's newspaper? Thug: You don't look like no ordinary cop, asshole. And you sure don't act like no ordinary cop. Sakata: Don't wanna be on the newspaper... (Thug lunges at him) Thug: You're fuckin' history! ------------- p.160 Sakata: Just what I was gonna say! (Sakata smashes his bottle over one of the thug's heads, and chops the neck of the other one.) Sakata: Hurgh! Sakata: Agh! (He has a knife in him.) ------------- p.161 Sakata: That don't hurt one bit! (Uppercuts a thug, breaking lots of teeth) Thug: Sakata! (Pulls a gun) Thug: Fuahaha, die, Sakata! Sakata: Eh? ------------- p.162 (Someone twists the thug's neck...) Thug: Agya!! Sakata: What? Sakata: You... (A man wearing boots and a trenchcoat, with a scar across the right side of his face, stands before Sakata.) ------------- p.163 Hard: Another casualty of the streets. A Japanese cannot ignore these things! ------------- p.164 Sakata: Japanese? You... You called me a Japanese? (Sakata pulls out the knife) Sakata: Where'd you get that idea, I ain't no Japanese... I'm a Japanese-American..! ------------- p.166 (One of the thugs staggers to his feet. Sakata kicks him in the head) Sakata: Stay in the gutter where you belong, you fuckin' shithead! Sakata: Listen! I don't care whether you're one of the 'Bombers' or the 'Crazies'... If you don't tell me who's behind this, you'll be doin' tricks from 'The Exorcist'! * [* Of course, Sakata is referring to the scene where Linda Blair's head turns 180 degrees.] Thug: Ahh.. Urgh.. ------------- p.167 (A car pulls up, a gun sticks out the window...) Thug: Hyabababa- * [* Typical sound that Saruwatari bad guys make as they get hit by machine gun fire.] Sakata: Asshole! Hard: Get down! ------------- p.168 Sakata: S-shit, they got away. Hard: Are you alright? Hard: Whoa! You're hurt pretty bad... Hard: Please, hang in there! Hard: (He's a cop?) Hard: (There's a lot of blood, the wound must be deep...) ------------- p.169 Hard: Wait here, I'll get an ambulance! Sakata: Stupid, don't... I don't want to go to hospital! Sakata: I'm a detective... it's not good for people to know that a couple of punks got to a detective. Sakata: I.. I'm Harold Sakata, with the LA Homicide Squad... A.. and you? Hard: Eh..? My.. My name is.. er... Yes, Nanashino Gonbee, that's it. ------------- p.170 (Back at Sakata's place) Hard: Are you.. sure you want me to stich you up? It's going to be very painful. Sakata: It doesn't matter! Quit talking and be done with it! Sakata: Gah! ------------- p.171 (Sakata writhes in agony. Blood everywhere [again!].) Hard: Relax and stop moving, or your wound will burst! See, your guts are coming out! Sakata: N... Sakata: No, that didn't hurt one bit, you fucking shithead! ------------- p.172 Sakata: Thanks anyway, Gonbee. Hard: So who actually did this? Even the biggest gangs wouldn't target a cop like that. Sakata: The gangs are offering $50000 for my head. If they knew my situation now, they'd attack again. Sakata: And it's not just those guys I have to cope with... I got enemies inside the force, too. Hard: Is it because you're a Japanese? Sakata: I.. I'm not Japanese, OK! Sakata: S-shit! (The wound is hurting.) ------------- p.173 Sakata: It's because I don't take bribes. In this city, most cops couldn't give a shit about doing their duty. Money is all that matters. Sakata: Ten years ago, my father was killed by some psycho down in Little Tokyo... the cops took away his body for an autopsy. Sakata: My father's body was scooped out.. all the entrails were thrown away... but after ten years, they still haven't found the killer. Hard: So you became a cop because you want to find the killer? Sakata: You got it. But the cops are so corrupt, it's hopeless. ------------- p.174 Sakata: If I don't find the killer, my father can't be reincarnated! Hard: Sakata, you know what that kind of spirit is called? Sakata: Spirit? ------------- p.175 (Hard turns around to show Sakata the Japanese flag on his trenchcoat.) Hard: It's called "The Spirit of Yamato". * [* Can't think of a real good translation for this. Yamato is the ancient name of Japan, you probably know that if you read this far. :-) In the Chinese bootleg, it was simply called "Union Spirit" (ie. something totally wrong and arbitrary, which is normal for bootlegs).] Sakata: "The Spirit of Yamato?" ============================================================================= END: The Hard, Hunt 15