Angely i demony kruzhili nado mnoj, Angels and demons circle above me,
rassykhali ternii i vechnye puti. through the thorns to the stars.
Ne znaet shast'je tol'ko tot, Only those unable to perceive its call...
kto jevo zova ponjat' ne smog. ...do not know happiness.
Naljubuites', naljubuites'. Watch in awe, watch in awe.
Aeria gloris, aeria gloris.
Naljubuites', naljubuites'. Watch in awe, watch in awe.
Aeria gloris, aeria gloris.
I am calling, calling now,
spirits rise and falling.
Soboj ostat'sja dol'she. To remain myself longer.
Calling, calling, in the depths of longing.
Soboj ostat'sja dol'she. To remain myself longer.
Naljubuites', Watch in awe,
aeria gloris.
What do you have in mind?
Terror, that's what I'll give them...
What's one less life on this planet to accomplish that?
Judging from the scene, we're guessing that this is his sixth.
Number of victims is unknown. Once number is determined...
Excuse us. We're with Section 9. They should've told you we were coming.
What do you think, Batou?
Decomp's pretty bad.
Not even a veteran coroner would be able to get anything off a spot inspection.
That's not what I meant. I'm asking what you thought.
It's him. I think.
That's nasty...
That's why I recommended watching it on the monitor.
Okay, Batou. That's enough.
Togusa, continue.
In the past two months, there have been five sets of murders in the city.
The four killed today makes it six cases, with a total of twelve victims.
What the victims have in common...
...is that the skin of the upper half of their bodies was stripped off like a T-shirt.
And according to the autopsies, there's a high probability...
...that they were skinned while still alive, and then left there.
That's twisted...
What do the profilers at the prefectural PD have to say?
Nothing yet.
Any possibility it's a terrorist act by anarchists,
or some kind of ritual by some cult?
No.
There's no chance of this being a systematic political or religious crime.
Hm?
In that case, let's start with a list of sex offenders, and...
It's not a matter of the killer's proclivities, either.
He doesn't get any sort of pleasure from these crimes.
How can you be so sure?
If there even is a motive, I'd say it's out of a sense of duty.
Who ever heard of a serial killer like that?
There must be something, considering that we've been called in.
Chief?
Marco Amoretti, former petty officer with the American lmperial Navy.
According to information provided by the American Empire,
there is an extremely high probability that this man is our killer.
According to Defense Department records, he bounced from one front to another in WWlll...
...and amassed quite a record,
but then he was discharged in March of 2028 at his own request.
After that, his whereabouts have been unknown.
What makes them think that he's our man?
They say he was involved in a case that bears a striking resemblance to this one.
A striking resemblance?
Yes.
Chief?
If they know that much about him, they're already looking for him, right?
Not yet.
A request just came in today from the CIA via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs...
...to quietly apprehend the murderer and hand him over unconditionally.
Wait a minute!
That's a clear-cut case of interfering with our domestic affairs!
And how come we have to clean up the CIA's mess, anyway?
I do hope you'll be able to help us in that regard.
These two men are from the American Empire.
Agent Suzuki Sato, CIA.
Agent Tanaka Watanabe.
Pleased to meet you. Pleased to meet you.
Distribute these in enemy territory.
This latest batch is really nasty...
They say the body had been pecked at by birds until it was found.
The ground showed signs of a struggle.
Just to be safe, the prefectural cops took back some soil samples,
but they didn't find any clues that would give them a lead on the killer.
I see...
I hear they're starting construction here next month.
So much for our crime scene...
I'm not gonna let him run loose for that long.
"Tsurumi-dai"? Are there really cranes around here?
There aren't any cranes here anymore.
Just crows.
Big Man, mind if I ask you something?
Is there something about this case that you're not telling us?
Oh, I'd love to hear that, as well.
Listen, the instant I find that guy, he's kissing this world goodbye permanently.
Got it?
You should become an actor!
Batou.
Batou? Are you all right?
Yeah, it's nothing.
Hey! Don't go around peeking in people's heads!
You haven't been yourself today. You sick or something?
Well, I guess that's out of the question for you.
Togusa. This is an encrypted transmission. Just sit and listen.
If Batou gets out of control while we're working this case, I want you to stop him.
Gross!
Man, nothing wakes you up like canned coffee that's gone cold.
Do you suppose there's something between Batou and the killer?
I don't know, but it doesn't look like he's in his usual state of mind.
That's for sure.
All right. I'll do what I can.
Geez, this stuff could kill caffeine lovers...
If you don't like the taste, just shut up and prepare for the day's lesson.
I'll leave you to it.
Roger.
All right, you have my approval. We'll stay clear of the investigation.
I'd like you to work directly with the prosecutors.
Of course.
But if the CIA gets custody of the killer, these cases will stay open forever.
All that's left now is to come up with something to tell my people.
I'm sorry, but that's part of your job description.
We appreciate your cooperation.
Of course, thank you.
- Major, I want you and Ishikawa... - My card.
- ... to tap on the wall behind these people. - I'm sorry, I don't have a card to give you.
Roger.
Mr. Tanaka... Watanabe?
What is it?
Chief! Come to investigation headquarters immediately!
I'm in a meeting!
A video recorded firsthand at the murder scenes has been found.
What?! Where?!
Um, it was being sold at a video shop located on Radio Street at Newport Akiba.
Paz, Borma! Get down to the electronics district immediately!
Question the store owner!
Dive into the IR-System and look for records.
Roger.
Chief...
I know. You noticed it, too, huh?
Watanabe was expecting this.
This place looks like fun!
I bet our experience points will go up if we hang around here...
We don't have time for detours.
Yes, ma'am...
Paz, you hit the stores on the periphery. Borma, question the store owner.
Find out where he got that video.
Roger.
Get me visuals of every customer who's been in there since yesterday.
Yes, ma'am.
Major, can't we do anything about this guy?
I can't knock on any back doors with him standing there.
He's probably here to keep an eye on us.
Gee, they don't seem to trust us, do they?
Which is why I want you to knock on those back doors.
I bet you'll find something interesting.
Mr. Watanabe, it looks like the video the authorities confiscated has arrived.
Would you like to see it?
Yes, let's do that.
Why don't we use that booth over there?
Oh, that one over there?
It's all yours.
Here we go...
Son of a bitch!
Why the hell is he passing around a file like that?!
Because that's his objective, as far as he's concerned.
Isn't that right, Mr. Sato?
Why, whatever do you mean?
Before I came to Section 9, I was in the Rangers.
I even spent some time in the jungles of South America.
You don't say?
So, what connection does that have to this file?
Don't play dumb with me!
It kept on happening, even after you American Empire guys pulled out!
And now that nightmare has reared its ugly head again.
Nightmare?
What's he doing?
The killer is probably piping his visual sensory data into the victim.
You're saying he made them watch themselves being skinned alive?
So it would seem.
Talk about inhuman...
All six cases seem to be here.
Ishikawa, you turn up anything?
Yeah, I gotta hand it to the CIA.
Their walls were tough, but there were a few records left in their Photo Plug.
There sure are a lot of psychoanalyst reports on Marco in the CIA's files...
Isn't there anything a bit more out of the ordinary?
Hang on, hang on...
What's this file?
Project Sunset?
Project Sunset...
If you say you've never heard of it, I'll fill you in.
It's an operation that the CIA came up with in World War III...
...to make enemy countries lose the will to fight.
It's the codename for a guerilla op where they'd...
...send operatives deep into enemy territory,
and then after making friends with the locals, they'd kill the women and children...
...in the most horrific ways they could.
That's their idea of a military operation?! You gotta be kidding me!
No such operation exists. That's my country's official stance.
Rumor has it that there were lots of cases...
...where participants in the operation became mentally unstable.
What's a guy like that doing here in this city?
No one knows.
Why not look at that horoscope of a report by the psychoanalysts?
I know why.
His war isn't over yet.
And neither is mine.
I'd heard stories, but I can't believe it actually happened...
But if his objective is to break our will to fight,
as long as he's in a country like ours, where people are indifferent to the deaths of others,
Marco's never going to stop killing.
Major!
Looks like Marco circulated the murder videos using vagrants as messengers...
... who live in a park near Radio Street.
I'm sending you a data file of a seventh murder that I just obtained.
Seventh?!
There's been another victim?
Send it to our terminals, too! Now!
Please... Don't!
NO!
Shit! He used the victim's visual data this time!
Borma, does that file have a time stamp?
It's dated last night!
Use the victim's voice print to locate her address!
There's a chance she's still alive!
It almost makes you wish she hadn't survived.
Skin regeneration technology is advanced these days.
She won't be as good as new, but she'll manage.
Son of a!
Are you satisfied?!
That monster you created is carrying out his mission just fine!
Which is exactly why we're here to retrieve him.
Retrieve him?! You bastard!
Stop it!
Strangling him now won't help anything!
Shit!
He won't get away this time. I'm gonna make sure I kill him!
- This time? - Oh, I see.
If you'd done your job, we wouldn't have had to come all this way to get him.
What are you two talking about?
Hey!
Where is he? Where's he hiding out?
Aren't you going to ask me for advice?
That is why I'm out in the field with you, after all...
What could you possibly tell us?!
Hold it. What do you mean?
Sewers run under here, don't they?
Sewers? More like culverts.
Culverts?
Yeah. Rivers that have been covered over.
Come to think of it, there was a culvert running under the park...
...where he passed the files to those vagrants.
It follows the course of the rivers...
So, he's been going upriver to commit his crimes,
and then going to the city downriver to spread the word, huh?
Which means he's...
Right under our feet.
You wait right there! I'm gonna bring him back in a body bag!
If Marco's moving along the sewers,
there's a strong chance that he's using them as his lair.
Send Borma's group down into the sewers under the city.
We'll catch him in a pincer attack and arrest him.
Batou, I can take you at your word on that, right?
Batou?
Wow, it sure is damp.
Our optical camouflage's visibility index is sure gonna shoot up.
Our gaskets won't corrode, will they?
Quit your whining. Just be thankful you can't smell it.
We can analyze it with our sensors. Is it unpleasant?
Borma's discomfort index is at 68%.
Oh, shut up...
Hm? What's this?
He probably hid it there just in case he was ever hit with a sneak attack.
We were right.
We found a gun that he had hidden.
This damp... This stench of stagnant water...
Yeah... This is the jungle we fought in, all right.
Talking to yourself?
Hey, Batou. Wait!
Togusa, what's Batou doing? His cyber-comm is off.
The big man has really lost it.
He seriously wants Marco dead.
I'm not sure what... I... do...
What happened?
The fiber optic cables laid inside the water pipes seem to be acting as a barrier.
Try to bypass it using the Water and Power Bureau's relay station!
Roger.
Major, I just found something you're not gonna like...
...in the comm log between these guys and CIA headquarters.
They never had any intention of retrieving Marco.
Their orders are to eliminate the suspect, making it look like an accident.
Isn't that right?!
You knew all about Batou's past.
The CIA had records on Batou, too.
When he was a Ranger, he stumbled onto an area...
...where Project Sunset had been carried out.
This was a setup?
You bastards... You used us.
Your plan all along was to have Batou eliminate Marco.
I haven't the slightest idea what you're getting at.
Your illegal access into the CIA, however,
that is a serious subversive act.
Ishikawa, cuff this bastard.
I'll have him spell things out for us after this is over.
I'm heading over to find Batou!
Hurry!
We haven't really done anything.
This is their war, a jungle cruise they still can't forget...
...that's out of time and out of place.
Crap!
Got him?
Sorry, he got away.
I wasn't counting on you, anyway!
Wait, you can't go after him alone!
Batou, where are you?
Marco!
Let's put an end to this already...
It's over.
Kill me. Please, kill me...
What?
That's right, skin me with that knife...
Please, kill me.
You bastard...
And you think that'll release you from your duties?
You're not getting off that easy!
Don't shoot!
Sorry, pal, but my war ended a long time ago.
This is unit 5.
204 in progress on Newport-bound lane of Beltway 6.
All available units, proceed to scene immediately.
Suspect in serial murder cases is currently being taken into custody.
Will proceed to scene once suspect is secured for transport.
Roger.
Um, we only have two return tickets...
That does it!
I'm so sorry we didn't give him to you in a body bag!
You thought I was gonna shoot him?
I'll admit, the thought of expunging that stain on my honor...
...out of some antiquated sense of justice did cross my mind.
If the past is unchangeable, I'm gonna take it with me to the grave.
I didn't because this isn't his jungle. This is our town.
And because I'm a cop.
You saved one this time.
She's so cold and human
It's something humans do
She stays so golden solo
She's so number nine
She's incredible math
Just incredible math
And is she really human?
She's just so something new
A waking lithium flower
Just about to bloom
I smell lithium now
Smelling lithium now
How is she when she doesn't surf?
I wonder what she does when she wakes up?
When she wakes up?