VOTOMS Ep. 5: Trap

Chirico refuses to talk despite being whipped by a police officer. Iskui wonders how it is that Chirico can keep quiet. Iskui meets with Borough and Oriya about the matter. Oriya says they should kill Chirico, but Borough says he can’t die until they find out what he’s up to and what connections he has. Outside the police headquarters, Vanilla takes pictures of the tower and the gun emplacements. Coconna asks him what he’s doing, and he says it’s just his hobby. Vanilla then goes to a bar and sits down for a drink. A cop walks in and knocks the drink out of Vanilla’s hand, dragging him into the bathroom. Vanilla punches the walls and screams to make it sound as though the cop is beating him. Vanilla gives the cop money and receives a map of the police tower with Chirico’s location. Vanilla returns to his table and pours another drink when Coconna enters the bar. He’s surprised that Coconna has enough money to buy a drink, and she tells him it’s because she sold info about him to Gotho. Gotho enters the bar and takes Vanilla into a private room. He tells Vanilla that he knows he wants to rescue Chirico and asks why. Vanilla says he just likes making friends and wants Chirico to be one of his. Gotho doesn’t buy it, but he says that he can help because he has a heavy laser. They open the door and find Coconna eavesdropping. She asks them to let her help too because she wants to save Chirico. Vanilla figures that she must have fallen for him. Gotho, Vanilla and Coconna use the heavy laser to drill into the sewers running beneath the city. They use Vanilla’s map to find the police tower. Iskui is informed that Chirico doesn’t seem to have any connections in the city, and Oriya says they should kill him. Iskui believes they can’t allow anything to threaten what they’re doing, so he orders his men to kill Chirico. As the police are about to transfer Chirico out of his cell, Vanilla drills a hole in the floor and causes one of the officers to fall in it. He jumps out and attacks the other officers to free Chirico. After taking Chirico through the tunnel, Vanilla sets off some explosives to prevent the police from following.

Iskui initiates a city-wide search for Chirico, and Borough tells Iskui that he was wrong about Chirico not having any backing in the city. Iskui receives a phone call and says it’s a tip about Chirico’s location. Elsewhere, Gotho and Vanilla argue about who gets to keep Chirico while Coconna tends to Chirico’s wounds. She says that between the cops and the Boone Family, she doesn’t know which one is worse. Gotho receives a phone call from a matchmaker who wants to set up a real battle with Chirico. Despite offering 50 million gildans, Gotho refuses the offer until Chirico takes the phone. He asks when and where the battle will be and accepts the offer. At the appointed place, Oriya lies in wait with three other Scopedogs. Iskui asks him how he feels to be back on the battlefield and tells him to show that he still has his old skills. Vanilla drives up to the area in a truck hauling a Scopedog. Oriya fires missiles at the truck, but Vanilla jumps out just before they hit and explode. Two Scopedogs investigate the wreck and find that the Scopedog on the truck was empty. Chirico then attacks the two Scopedogs and destroys them both. The Phantom Lady pulls up in her limo and watches the battle. Iskui sees that Chirico planned things out and knew it was a trap. Oriya hides behind a wall while the other Scopedog tries to draw Chirico’s attention. Chirico dodges the attacks and hides behind a wall. He wonders where he has seen these tactics and remembers Oriya instructing him on urban combat with Scopedogs. Chirico calls out to Oriya and asks him why everyone is trying to kill him. Oriya answers by firing missiles at Chirico. Chirico destroys Oriya’s partner, and Oriya tells Chirico it must feel strange for him to be hunting his former commander. Chirico locates Oriya and blasts his Scopedog’s head. He then sticks his machine gun in Oriya’s cockpit and demands to know about the Lido mission. Just as Oriya is about to speak, the police attack and kill him. Chirico is suddenly surrounded and outnumbered, and he watches the Phantom Lady drive off.