Summary

Chapter 21 opens with the next day when Mikami has learned that the gag order was real. Mikami had been told that Criminal Investigations had decided “to keep Administrative Affairs out of the loop.” Mikami thought of this gag order as the “Iron Curtain” and imagined Arakida was the one responsible (142).

Mikami went outside to collect the eight papers to which he subscribed and noticed that the headlines of both of Toyo and the Times concerned the information Mikami had given firstly to Azusa and then secondly to Yamashina. Mikami felt ashamed. Mikami got dressed to go to work, worried about the feasibility of procuring information needed to convince Amamiya to accept the commissioner’s visit. He decided he would need to find out why Criminal Investigations imposed their gag order.

Assistant Chief Itokawa called Mikami at home, asking if he was responsible for...