Outside Taitō Ward Memorial Park, City of New Tokyo-3
A few nights prior

Misato leapt back into the car. "Go!" she barked. "Go!"

Kaji obediently hit the gas. His car surged down the deserted city street.

"You kept your eyes on it, right?!" she demanded as she pulled a small bag off of her shoulder. "You didn't blink?!"

"Uh... yeah?" Kaji couldn't say he understood her sudden interest in sculpture. The one she'd made him examine via the rear-view mirror, at least in his opinion, hadn't been anything to write home about -- just a fairly average bronze of a man in a lab coat. "So are you planning on telling me what all this is about?"

"Trust me," Misato said grimly. "You're better off not knowing." She pulled something out of the bag.

Kaji glanced over at the object in her hand. "Wait... is that a detonator --"

She pressed the trigger.