LES MUSICIENS
2007
A CROSSOVER STORY
A small note about this story, after showing multiple points of where this saga might go in 2005, and concentrating it in a hyper-focused manner while handling distance in 2006; for 2007, I want to explore the theme of multiple distant reference points coming together. In other words, 2005 was showing the outline, 2006 was carving out the characters into three-dimensional entities, and 2007 is setting up the chessboard.
I also want to make a small point on the peculiar style of this story. One, its considerably shorter than the previous two stories, only five chapters. Second, the majority of the locations are in and around Europe with only one location as the orchestra's designated temporary home base, New York City. Third, and perhaps is the most important, this isn't a full story, not really. More like one third of an overall story that stretches into my completed side story "Six Degrees of Separation", and the first three chapters in the upcoming Arc Two.
In addition, there will be a constant, the mentioning of an unnamed orchestra. Keep that in mind, that will be further explained later and I had the help of a friend on that part. Thank you A.W. LeMonte Plus, I also want to thank HolyDragoon for being my constant help and supporter of this saga.
Influences for this story are the films, "The International", "The Ghost Writer", "The Bourne Supremacy", and "The American".
The piece of music that inspired this chapter was "Nocturne in C-Sharp Minor" composed by Frédéric Chopin. But the majority of this chapter was inspired by the track "Funeral Pyre" from the soundtrack to The Bourne Supremacy.
CHAPTER ONE
APRIL 2007, WEEK ONE
Arriving at Cadogan Hall, the orchestra during their Spring Break arrived and got out of their white Ford vans, numbering in about 24 musicians. Half were already approaching their senior years of high school while the rest were freshmen, sophomores, and juniors. They grabbed their instruments and the freshmen looked on the older, more establish musicians also taking out suitcases and bags with camera and recording equipment. For them, it was an unusual arrangement, even after getting used to it when they joined Moradi's orchestra.
As they headed inside, Asuka caught the glimpse of a strange man, tall and shrouded in a raincoat, black pants and black leather shoes. His eyes were piercing and slightly shrouded by his light brown hair. She was called to attention from Zane about their first expose in London's working class area and she nodded, but when she turned to her left again, the man was gone. She checked across the street, but the man was nowhere to be seen, 'Ich mag es nicht das Gefühl, dass der Mensch. (I don't like the feeling of that man.),' she thought to herself and she headed inside with the rest of the orchestra.
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
CHELSEA/BELGRAVIA, CADOGAN HALL
TUESDAY, 10:45AM
The orchestra started to set up on stage, the first of their official rehearsals outside of their online ones a few weeks prior. Zane directed some of the few freshmen students to install various cameras at adjacent points of the interior in order to capture their performance. His friends on the other hand were on stage talking amongst themselves and tuning their instruments.
It's been four months since their performance in Hamburg, Germany. It was a spectacular performance for all of them. During the performance, Eda Kraemer and Bernhard Gottlieb were officially part of the orchestra. And Lionel Hernandez, Dante's friend from Buenos Aires was also invited to perform with the orchestra and he too was officially admitted to the orchestra. Shinji, Fatma, Cecilia and Ahmed have mentioned at that performance that they are still looking for musicians to add to their orchestra. Mohammad had stated that this is a good development, for the moment, he will limit the maximum number of musicians to about 50. And that didn't include the choir, which is still non-existent. Their current international performance is the result of what succeeded in Hamburg.
Mohammad, along with his wife Dania conversed with 64 year old, Peter Wright, the director of the Royal Opera House. He personally invited Mohammad's orchestra during spring break. He was one of the most talented pianists and conductors of his generation, Cambridge educated and an old mentor to Mohammad when he taught at the Paris Conservatory back in the 1980s. He was a conductor for the London Philharmonic and holds his professorship of Music History and Musicology at Cambridge. His wife, Catherine Watson is also a professor of Musicology, but her area of expertise is in keyboard performance. All four adults wore warm clothing due to the rainy weather. The same for the musicians themselves, a mixture of sweaters, jackets, jeans, sneakers, and scarves.
"Looks like you came through for us Peter," Mohammad said with some relief and awe at the hall they will be performing in, "Of course my old friend. Why wouldn't we and considering how your orchestra is getting good press and respect from the universities you have performed in," Peter said proudly of his former student.
Dania also looked at Wright and spoke up, "And I've been hearing about an elite orchestra from Paris, coming to perform after our performance on Friday. Is this true," she wanted to know what this orchestra is.
Catherine looked at her and smiled, "Oh yes! Well I can assure you it's not a rumor. There is indeed an elite Parisian orchestra coming to perform a day after your orchestral performance," she revealed and before she could mention the name Zane approached them, "Pardon me, but Dania, your daughter Yasmin is on my phone," he held it up, "She wants to talk to you."
Dania looked at the others, "Excuse me Catherine," she excused herself and took Zane's phone. She walked to the corner of the stage while Zane headed back up the stage to see how the camera set up is coming along.
Meanwhile, Asuka was still wondering who that covered up man was. As she tuned her violin and thought about it, Shinji was observing her, "Asuka," he called her and she turned her head to her left to face him, "Ja? (Yes?)," she asked, "けがはないか？あなたは、何か夢中になっているようだ。 (Are you all right? You seem preoccupied about something.)," he pointed out her slightly changed demeanor.
She blinked and sets her violin down on her lap, "Es ist nichts, nur Denken, das ist alles. (It's nothing, just thinking that's all.)," she told him, "本当に？ (Are you sure?)," he asked and she nodded, assuring him that everything is fine. He relented and continued to tune his cello, leaving Asuka to her thoughts.
"How's the pre-set up," Zane asked Gilberto who installed the poles for the five cameras along side the freshmen, "Pretty good and Alberto said that one of the microphones is busted. So we need to buy a new one," he explained their situation and Zane sighed.
"Well, we can't really worry about that right now. If this happened on Friday, we would be screwed," he said and Gilberto laughed a bit as Zane thought up a solution, or more like the likely setup, "We'll try to fix it during today's rehearsals. However, if it still doesn't work, we can always buy a new one like you said," he explained and Gilberto nodded.
Dante was reading the scoring while Fatma was sitting next to him on her chair with her violin already tuned, "I think Mohammad is out of his mind for what he's planning for the upcoming school year," Fatma said as she sighed and read Dante's sheet music, "And the arrangements he's planning for all of us," he added, knowing the upcoming academic will be their most ambitious year.
Fatma smiled, "Can you believe it? Myself, Cecilia, Ahmed, you and some of our friends will be joining us in living in the US for one entire year. That is just amazing," she said and he grinned in return, "I know. But then after a few months, we are sure to kill each other," he replied with humor and she laughed.
She then looked at him, "Well if that's the end result, it would be a shame to kill a hot guy like you," she said with a coy look and he returned it, "The feeling's mutual," and gave her a light smirk.
They then heard Mohammad walking onstage and signaling them to take their positions. Fatma moved her seat to the violin section and Dante sat at his seat, waiting for Professor Moradi to speak, as did the other musicians.
Mohammad looked at his musicians and smiled, "Now then, give your thanks to Peter and his wife Catherine for arranging our recital this time. And what better place to perform than London," he rhetorically asked but the musicians gave their choices and he laughed it off, "Anyway, this is the first of our rehearsals this week and hope all of you prepared."
Their music for this recital consisted of one piece by Georg Philipp Telemann, one piece by Antonio Vivaldi and one by Giuseppe Valentini. Many of them have never heard of the latter, but Dante along with his friends were excited to play a piece by yet another obscure composer. Moradi tapped his baton on his music stand and the musicians were prepared to rehearse. For this session, Telemann's Sinfonia Spirituosa in D Major TWV 44:1 for 2 Violins, Viola and Basso Continuo. For the actual performance, it would be that piece, as well as, Concerto for Violin and Cello in B flat major, RV 547and finally the piece by Valentini, Concerto in A Minor op. 7 no. 11.
CENTRAL LONDON
THE STRAND PALACE
4:34PM
Zane and Alberto walked out of the hotel lobby with some microphones in tow, "That's it! I'm getting us some new shit! Otherwise I'm going to go postal on someone really soon," Zane said as he rushed out and Alberto was with him, equally frustrated.
"Same here. The audio was slightly distorted and this isn't going to cut it on Friday," Alberto said as the two walked down the street to their right, "And good thing there's a Radio Shack just three blocks down," Zane said with some relief, but then added some concern as he felt his cash in his pants pocket, "But since the pound is worth more than the dollar, I don't know if I have enough."
Alberto brushed off his concerns; "I've got some money with me. And Gilberto, along with Dante lent me some cash so we can buy some good microphones," and Zane felt more relieved as the two continued their way to the electronics store one block away. Due to the weather, Zane wore a leather jacket with a cotton hood, blue jeans, sneakers with a white shirt underneath. Alberto sported a black water resistant jacket, a pair of khaki cargo pants with black shoes and a gray polo shirt underneath.
MEANWHILE…
Dante's in his modest suite, he was running a diagnostic check on the Evangelion Units that were still in high Earth orbit. Since he wasn't going out tonight, he was dressed in a dark green wool sweater, blue skinny jeans and no socks. As he drank some water from his water bottle, an alert window came up: WARNING! UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS FROM AN UNKNOWN PARTY!
Dante read it and was dumbfounded, "Whoa. Da dove vieni? (Where did you come from?)," he muttered. He opened a second window and used a hacking program to trace the origin of the hack, but he was denied any further information, other than that it was from a European server with some links in New York, "Che cosa è questo? (What is this?)," he continued to type, "Questo è insolito. Non se la sente di personale militare sta cercando di incidere in ... ma in qualche modo ci si sente come NERV tutto da capo. (This is unusual. It doesn't feel like military personnel is trying to hack in…but somehow it feels like NERV all over again.)," he muttered.
Then his door was knocked, "Dante! Ich bin es! (Dante! It's me!)," it was Asuka. He got up, answered the door and made occasional glances at his Lenovo ThinkPad T60p, "Che cosa è? (What is it?)," he asked Asuka, who was only wearing a red sweater, blue jeans and warm slippers, "Etwas komisch kam, als ich auf meinem EVA Einheit überprüft. Er sagte, dass ... (Something weird came up when I checked on my EVA Unit. It said that…)" but before she could finish, she too looked at his laptop and noticed he has already looked it up in his diagnostic checkup, "Scheiße. (Shit.)"
Dante closed the door behind them and the two headed for his laptop, "Wer denkst du wird dies zu tun? (Who do you think is doing this?)," she asked in a calm but serious tone, "Non lo so. Ma quello che posso dire fino ad ora, non è il militare. Sembra più come un istituto privato. (I don't know. But what I can tell so far, it isn't the military. Looks more like a private institution.)," he revealed and he sat in his chair with Asuka looked down on his monitor, looking at what he found.
Then something caught her eye, "Was ist das? (What's this?)," she pointed to a few characters with four capital letters: GBCC, "Non lo so. Ma è qualcosa di esaminare. (I don't know. But it's something to look into.)," he muttered and the two worked on solving this problem. Well, if not solve it completely, but to at least stop the hack.
After a few minutes, Asuka and Dante managed to stop the hack and updated the triple-six firewall so that instead of preventing hackers of getting any vital information in a 72-hour period, it would automatically sever connections to the Evangelion database within a 4-day period. Depending on the severity of the hack, as both concluded.
After they were done, Asuka texted Shinji to come to Dante's room. Within a few moments, Shinji arrived, "私はあなたのテキスト飛鳥を得た。どうなってるの？ (I got your text Asuka. What's going on?)," he asked and the two spared no detail on what had just occurred. Shinji was shocked and immediately turned his focus away from the monitor to his two former comrades, "我々は何をするつもりですか？ (What are we going to do?)"
"これが再び起きない限り、我々は何もしませんしません。 (We won't do nothing unless this happens again.)," Dante said and Asuka immediately disagreed, "Was? Was meinst du nichts? Ich würde sagen, dass wir sie finden und ein Ende zu setzen this! Sicher, wir haben einen Geschmack von Normalität geworden, aber das ist nur die Vorteile unserer Situation und ... (What? What do you mean do nothing? I'd say we find them and put a stop to this! Sure we have gotten a taste of normalcy, but this is just taking advantage of our situation and…)" but Dante interrupted her.
"Basta! (Enough!)," he said loudly so she could stop, but surprisingly, Shinji stepped up to her defense, "いいえダンテ！これが最後の一撃です！誰がこれをやっていると、この現実のネルフであると我々はすべきことができました... (No Dante! This is the final straw! Whoever is doing this could be this reality's NERV and we should…)," but he too was interrupted, "Basta! (Enough!)"
Dante looked at the two who were silent, so he took the chance to voice his reasons for not continuing any further, "Ascoltami, la ragione per cui ho detto che non continuerà il perché non sappiamo chi l'ha fatto. Non è Nerv, né qualcosa di simile a una organizzazione paramilitare. (Listen to me, the reason why I said we won't continue on is because we don't know who has done it. It is not NERV, nor anything resembling a paramilitary organization.)," Asuka was about to voice her opinion but Dante didn't let her, "今のところ、私はそれが何を意味するかどうかを確認するために、これらの4つの手紙に私の調査を続けていきます。と何かが出れば、私は私たちを助けるためにフィラデルフィアでタッカー連絡させていただきます。彼はこれを効果的かつ理由を行っている人を見つけるために、コンピュータのスキルを持っている私たちが知っている唯一の一つだ。 (For now, I'll continue my investigation on those four letters, to see if that means anything. And if anything comes up, I'll contact Tucker in Philadelphia to help us. He's the only one we know that has the computer skills to effectively find out who has done this and why.)"
Asuka didn't like this at all. She was used to fighting an enemy when someone has initiated an attack against them. Now, after a while of experiencing normalcy and a life she felt she was starved off, her side of being an EVA pilot was emerging again. However, as she looked at Dante and then at Shinji, she knew she could not be that girl, that arrogant girl again. It won't help their situation and it won't help their new friendships in the orchestra…and whether or not to reveal their pasts to those they haven't revealed to yet.
Asuka sighed and looked at them, "Okay, das ist ein guter Plan. Aber wir müssen dieses Problem zu lösen, wenn und falls dies entwickelt sich etwas Wesentliches. (Okay, that's a good plan. But we will have to resolve this if and IF this develops into something substantial.)," she said and Shinji looked at her, somewhat surprised at her change in demeanor, but knew she was right and so did Dante.
He nodded, "合意された。 (Agreed.)"
CENTRAL LONDON
9:04PM
Asuka was walking on the street, three blocks from the hotel while taking some pictures of the traffic coming towards her and moving away, to find some aesthetics that might work. A new direction Zane wanted to experiment with for their website, something he asked Tucker to help out with.
Asuka took some photos, totaling 26, but felt that this new direction might not bear the fruit Zane wanted. After turning off her camera, she walked back to the hotel, adjusting her white coat that accompanied her blue jeans, brown boots, and her blue turtle neck sweater underneath her coat. As she passed the people walking by, she felt somebody was following her. She turned her head briefly and noticed a man she briefly saw when she and the others arrived at Cadogan Hall earlier in the day. She returned to focus on what's in front of her, hoping that the people passing her will provide some cover.
However, with only two blocks to go, waiting for the light to change so she could cross the street, she turned her head again and that mysterious man was standing there. Doing nothing and letting the people calmly pass him without a second glance, "Who is that fucker," she wondered quietly and as the light changed, she made her move.
She crossed and turned right, she turned her head and sees the man following her, "Perfect," she muttered and focused on what she was planning.
The man behind her rummaged through his coat and took out a small photo of her that was taken back in 2005 at the Turkish Embassy prior to leaving for the US. He also had photos of Shinji and Dante in his other coat pockets. He puts it away and resumed to following Asuka down the street.
Asuka noticed she was the only one on the sidewalk now, but she kept her pace normal for the most part. Not giving off signs of distress or paranoia, but a calm and steady pace. Then a chance was presented to her, a small side street that split the city block in half as opposed to a dirty alley often presented in situations like this. She made a left turn and the man behind her saw that, "She won't get away. I need some questions answered immediately," he muttered to himself in an urgent tone.
PHILADELPHIA, PA, US
AMITY DISTRICT, TUCKER'S HOME
4:12PM
Tucker was chatting with some friends across the Atlantic in Europe. Namely, some hacker friends in France, the UK, Russia, and Germany while trying to see if who was the better hacker in a benign competition: to get in and out of a secure database. In the middle of the chat, he noticed a new email came to him from all of the people: Dante Tripodo Lascano.
"Shit! Dante contacted me! It's been forever," he exclaimed to himself. So he clicked on the message on his Yahoo account. The message was cryptic to say the least:
Got hacked. I'm looking into it, but I don't know how much I can do on my own. If you can, help me out. I'll send you what I've found already shortly after this message
Tucker read the message and reread it, not sure how to make of it. He closed the message and went back to his chat with his European friends, but then after a few minutes, a link was sent and with it a password. Tucker was stunned, Dante was allowing him access to the Evangelion Units, albeit limited access. He clicked on the link, typed in the password, but what he saw also shocked him.
"What the hell is this," he said to himself and then proceeded to find out who hacked into the EVA.
CENTRAL LONDON
9:17PM
Asuka looked around and picked up a half filled bottle of beer, she took off her coat and waited in the shadows as she sees the man slowly walking around the corner. The man was tall, broad shouldered and his expression was stoic. He quietly walked and looked around to find her. As the man walked closer, Asuka quietly dropped her coat and held the bottle firmly in her hand, while keeping her breathing and pulse steady. Until…
The man approached her spot, Asuka got out of hiding and before the man knew it, she 'stabbed' him in the abdomen with the bottle. As the man knelt down, she grabbed him and banged his head on the lamppost. The man tried to defend himself, but Asuka puts her arms around his neck and kneed him in the gut five times, knocking the wind out of him. She lets go and swung the bottle directly towards his head, knocking him out completely. He fell down on the sidewalk facing down and she began to rummage through his pants and coat. She found the photos the man carried, all three of them, "Jesus! What the hell is going on," she asked herself, becoming a little more paranoid.
But then as she checked his pants pocket, she pulled out a circular device. It was metallic and on the front, a green hourglass pattern. She was curious, wondered if this man was involved with the hack in some way. Her paranoia now made her imagine the unbelievable and the ridiculous. After some mental deliberation, she sets down the strange device and sets out to walk back to the hotel, taking the pictures with her.
PHILADELPHIA, PA, US
AMITY DISTRICT, TUCKER'S HOME
4:26PM
Tucker typed and tried to keep up with the data presented to him, he was starting to feel a bit overwhelmed with the Evangelion. There was so much and he didn't know where to begin. But the one thing that really caught his eye was a third party trying to get access to Units 2 and to some extent, Unit 3. Dante, via video chatting was instructing him how to do the diagnostic checks on the two units. Since Tucker was already a computer expert, he followed the former Fourth Child's instructions to the letter.
Tucker had then confirmed the origin of the hack, thanks to his tracing program. What was found was disturbing and extremely confusing, "GBCC…where have I heard that before," he muttered and then got a call on his cell.
He flipped open his phone, "Hello," he answered, "Hi Sam," he greeted in a serious tone, "Hi Tucker. Is everything all right? You sound like you're busy with something," she said over the phone," she wondered.
Tucker chuckled, "You have no idea Sam," he looked at his computer monitor, "Listen. Get down here. And don't tell Danny, just come over," he said and Sam was a bit confused, "Why? What's going on," she asked, not liking where this was going.
He sighed, "Dante emailed me what's going on in London and…just get down here and don't tell Danny," he added, "…Okay, I'll be there in a few," she said and both hung up.
Tucker returned his focus to the computer monitor, "Well…I'm going to use Google to find out what GBCC stands for," he muttered to himself.
CENTRAL LONDON
THE STRAND PALACE
9:22PM
Asuka entered the lobby with her hands in her pockets. She headed for the elevator got inside once it reached the lobby floor and pressed the button for the fifth floor, where Dante's room is. After a few moments, the doors opened and she headed for his room.
She knocked and the door opened, "Hi Asuka," he then got a good look at her, "What's wrong," he asked, "Let me in. Something strange happened to me," he looked at her and allowed her to come in.
He closes the door, "Should I call Shinji," he motioned for his cell phone, but she stopped him, "Not yet. I'll tell him myself," she said and he quietly understood so he puts down his phone.
Both of them then sat on his full sized bed, "Okay, what happened," he asked and she began to explain. She mentioned everything, even finding their old photos from Istanbul prior to staying in Philadelphia for six months.
She handed him the photos and for the next minute, he was silent and brooding over the fact that even now…people are still bothering them. He then took his photo and handed back the remaining two, "So what now? Do you think that man is linked to the hack," he asked.
She puts the other two photos back in her coat pocket, "I don't know…if this is only a one time thing, we could just leave it alone but…" she then looked at Dante who had a questionable look on his face, one of deep thought.
He got up, "Tell Shinji this," he looked at her and she stood up. At this moment, they were back in 2015 Japan, dealing with something that involved politics and finance at its most corrupt form that also involved para-military forces.
But now, they were older and knew better, but old habits die hard, especially with Asuka who had to deal with weeks of counseling about her superiority complex with her Turkish guardians and their German counterparts in Hamburg. Today, a bit of her old self re-emerged from her memory, and she didn't want that.
After a few seconds of silence she nodded, "Alright," and the two headed for the door and as Dante opened it, the two looked at each other and Asuka spoke, "If this gets any deeper, we're going have to do something and…we may have to ask the others to help us," she pointed out the serious potential this situation will have for the coming months.
Dante sighed and rubbed the back of his head, "One day at a time, okay," he said and she gave a light, almost melancholic smile, "Okay…" the two were silent and Asuka headed down the hall to Dante's left for Shinji's room.
As Dante was about to close the door, he caught Fatma looking at him from across the hall at her doorway, "Hi," Dante greeted and Fatma replied, "What's going on? I've overheard you and Asuka talking briefly. Something about a situation that might get complicated over time. Is…everything alright," she asked concerned towards her friend.
He sighed, "Well…it's a bit more complicated than I can explain," he stated simply and she looked at him, "Well…good night," he said and closed the door, "Good night," Fatma quietly said.
She looked down the hall and saw Asuka entering Shinji's room. And then, back at Dante's closed door. She knew she liked him even going as far as admitting to herself that she has a crush on him. What she didn't like was the pangs of jealousy, or a sense of uncertainty whenever Asuka and Dante would talk together in a way that she felt slightly uncomfortable. She reasoned they're life long friends, but she always had a feeling that both of them were hiding something and always turn serious when a certain topic came up. Like if the two were having a secret relationship and Shinji doesn't know about it. She sighed and closed her door, going back to checking her email from home and trying to shake away those thoughts.
MEANWHILE…
Shinji and Asuka were on his bed, and he just sat there as she explained to him what happened to her and showed him the photos. He took his photo and looked at it, "To think…to think we were once like this," he muttered and she tilted her upward to look at him, "To think we suffered hell and survived death…and now have men after us," Shinji added.
Asuka looked at him and then on the floor. After a moment, she leaned back and lied down on his bed, "…I'm just glad I handled that bastard," she quietly said as she stared up at the ceiling.
Shinji stood up angrily, "And that's what I'm worried about," he spoke loudly and she sat up on her side, "What do you mean," she asked and he turned around to face her, "I mean that if you retaliate first, that means you'll go back to…" but he didn't finish.
But it didn't mean that Asuka couldn't figure out what he was about to say next, "That I would go back to how I was before? Being a total bitch towards you," he said, and got up, but Shinji remained silent.
She stood in front of him and smacked him across the face hard, "Don't you think you should give me more credit than that," she was upset and Shinji was shocked.
He touched his left cheek and looked at her, not knowing what she'll do next, "Look…I'm sorry for doing that, but you have to realize this, I HAVE CHANGED," she yelled and he slightly winced from it, "You may or may not realize it, but I have worked hard every day so I wouldn't be that girl again! There are days where I just want to kick someone's ass for the fun of it! For the fun of it, can you believe that? God! And only he knows how much I miss being around you," she continued and ended her rant.
Shinji just looked at her and felt guilty for what he said about her. He breathed in and out to calm himself, "I'm sorry…I guess…I guess I was afraid we'll go back to the people we once were," he said quietly and lowered his hand from his cheek.
"I know you're sorry. But what you just said is really an excuse. I hope you know that," she crossed her arms and for a second she looked down on the floor and then back at him before she headed for the door.
Shinji followed her and stopped her as she opened the door by gently grabbing her left hand, "Asuka," she turned around to look at him, "Um…can we talk more tomorrow morning? Before breakfast," he asked. Wanting to make it up to her in some way.
Asuka thought for a moment and gave him a soft smile, "Meet in the gym down the street at 7:50. Don't be late okay," she said and he nodded, "I won't be late. I promise," he replied and she grinned and so did he. She left and he watched her go down the hall for about three doors and entered her room. He breathed out through his nose and closed the door.
PHILADELPHIA, PA, US
TUCKER'S HOUSE
4:35PM
Sam and Tucker read the article again and again. Not believing this was the result Tucker came up with. It was an article he found on Google that linked with The Guardian newspaper website. They read and the more they read, and looked at the slowdown of the hack, the more confused they got.
"This is weird and creepy. Why would they want to hack the EVA Units," Sam asked, sitting in a chair next to Tucker's, "God knows. And the fact that Dante gave me access to his Evangelion Unit, it means that something big is going to go down," Tucker said as he looked at his monitor.
Sam looked at him and then her cellphone vibrated. She flipped it open and saw it was Danny…again, "He's wondering where I am," she said and he looked at her, "Did you turn off your phone," Tucker asked, "No, just put it on silent mode. I just pressed the button to make it vibrate now," she replied.
Tucker looked at her, "Let's wait a while before telling him," he said and Sam nodded, "Yeah. At this point, those three are calling the shots," she said and got up, "I'll be back," and left the room while sending Danny a reply.
As Tucker watched her leave his room, he returned his attention to the monitor. His used Nmap in order to map out the network of computers hacking into the EVA. The growing trend at this moment was the disturbing fact that a private company instigated the hack, but has now have its connections severed by the firewall. However, now with his access to the EVA Units, he was not only going to help out an old friend, but he's also going to relish this new opportunity to learn more about the former pilots.
Sam meanwhile texted Danny that she was at Tucker's:
[I got a text that Tucker advanced the ghost detection system that could also include sensing spirits like the Campa dude]
She sent it and waited for a few moments for a response, and soon enough she got it:
[Sounds cool. Be right there]
Sam looked at the text and sent her last reply: [Ok]
She closed her phone and felt slightly guilty about lying to him. Of course, Tucker did have an upgraded system of detecting ghosts that included memorial spirits like Campa. But she was beginning to feel that hiding the newly discovered information that can help the former EVA pilots sort out their problem might put strain on her relationship with Danny.
She breathed out her mouth and went back inside Tucker's room.
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
CENTRAL LONDON, THE STRAND PALACE
WEDNESDAY, 7:04AM
Dante got out of the shower, wrapped in his blue towel and turns on the television. Since this was the UK, the first thing to come up on screen was the BBC, in this case, BBC World News.
{This morning, we are continuing our coverage of the current financial market. And the first story we will cover this morning, is the Global Bank of Commerce and Credit have announced a branch to aid third world nations…}
As the Indian/British anchorwoman reported on the current news, Dante just stood in front of the television as he puts on his blue boxer briefs and just played the bank's name…
"Global Bank of Commerce and Credit…GBCC," he muttered and for a brief moment, his mind sparked, "No way! It can't be that coincidental. Can it," he added picked up his towel to dry his hair and started to get ready for the day.
MEANWHILE…
Asuka and Shinji arrived at the lobby, ready to start the morning…by Asuka's standards. In this case, beat the shit out of the heavy boxing bag at a gym near the hotel. Both dressed in their work out clothes, black sweatpants and sneakers, but since it was cold outside, Shinji had on his navy blue hoody while Asuka had on her red and grey hoody.
At a newsstand, Asuka noticed the man selling various newspapers: Le Monde, Die Spiegel, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, The Irish Times and a few others. She bought the paper from The Guardian for a few pounds and both resumed their walk to the gym.
After a few minutes, Asuka took off her hoody and revealed a white shirt and began to stretch out her arms. Shinji picked up her newspaper and skimmed through it, and when he approached the financial section, a section of the newspaper he never reads…those four letters came up again, "GBCC."
Asuka heard him, "What did you say," she asked and he showed her the financial section, "Is it too much of a coincidence," he said softly, but with a tone that suggests restraint.
She stopped her warm up and took the newspaper in order to read it, and as she read it, the four letters came up again, "GBCC," she said in a questioning tone, "If they passed this on the news, that means Dante has already blown his head with crazy ideas," she said and puts her hair in a messy bun for the workout.
Shinji folded the newspaper and places it on Asuka's douffle bag, "I hope he's not going to go overboard in his private investigation," he said to her and stretched his back and torso, "This is Dante we're talking about. He's bound to have moments like these when things go out of order," she said as she puts on her exercise gloves.
Shinji puts on his gloves, "Well…looks like we have no choice now," he said and she approached him and places her hands on his shoulders and brought him in a kiss, "Let's finish this and decided officially afterwards. When we have a good talk with him, okay," she said and he agreed.
Shinji nodded and kissed her back. They then headed for the heavy bag and started their workout.
THE STRAND PALACE
DANTE'S SUITE
7:13AM
With the news still on, Dante was working on his laptop too see how the hack originated and what network could have been responsible. But his thoughts again turned to the GBCC, "I don't know if I'm right, but with new addition to Nmap, I can see if my suspicions are correct," he initiated the program and as he waited he got a text from Asuka…
[Got the newspaper and it talked about the GBCC. Is the bank and the hack connected]
Dante read the text and replied back:
[Running something right now. When I know, you'll know]
He sent the text and closed his phone. He then got back his results and according to the data, the private network of the Global Bank of Commerce and Credit was 95% similar to the network that hacked into the EVA yesterday. It was within the margin of error, but his suspicions were correct.
He flipped open his cellphone and texted her: [When you're done, come to my room and if Shinji's with you, bring him in too]
He sent it and closed his phone. And went about to work on his laptop, and knowing he and his comrades have to head for rehearsal in two hours…they decided.
MEANWHILE…
Asuka punched the bag with Shinji holding it, and she kicked it repeatedly in fierce manner. She lets out her frustration and anger onto the bag and sees Shinji holding the bag, encouraging her to keep going. She smiled inwardly and kept up the pace.
With Shinji, it was his turn after Asuka was done and she held the bag as Shinji did his set of punches and kicks. And like Asuka, used his elbows and knees, '彼らは私たちの後に来る...または楽しみのEVAのうちに侵入するつもりなら...彼らは支払うつもりです。 (If they're going to come after us…or hacked into the EVA out of fun…they are going to pay.),' he thought angrily and his blows became fiercer.
BARCELONA, SPAIN
8:21AM
Jordi got off of the bus that brought him to the city from the countryside. All he had with him was a douffle bag that contained his clothes and materials to construct a rifle. He also carried his backpack, with the documents he discovered on his treks with the old man's dog. A month after that day, the man died and Jordi mourned while trying to maintain the property. After a month or so, he gave away the horse to someone who can take care of it, but he kept the dog.
Jordi and his dog crossed the street and headed up to the apartment Jordi planned to own. When the man died, he left everything to him, his property, animals and money. Jordi wanted to continue to live in the country, but for the moment, he had to move to Barcelona in order to carry out the preparations for his final step towards recovery.
Jordi and his dog entered the apartment building and headed up to the fifth floor. Once there, he found his new apartment and lets his dog in first and sets down his belongings. He closes the door behind him and walks around his new 'home' while his dog sniffed around.
No furniture inside, so he made a mental note to purchase a sofa, a table and chairs for the dining room as well as some plates. A refrigerator was already installed, so was the stove, but he needed a bed and a mahogany wardrobe. The apartment overall was well lit, but bare, however for now it was enough.
Jordi went to his bag, took out a rolled up mat and laid it out in the living room. His dog came over and rested on his designated bed. He then took his douffle bag to the only bedroom and shuts the door. He takes out the rifle and begins to assemble it, but his main focus revolves around the documents he's discovered last year. He now knew his name, his family and based on those who are still alive in the countryside, he now knew how much they loved him. However, he didn't know much about the man who was after him and why he was chasing him. But since he found those papers, he was sensing him around lately and he had to be prepared for anything.
He picked up his rifle, held it and pulled the trigger, but since it wasn't loaded all it did was click. He felt he was ready and willing to start the final leg of his journey, while trying to start a new life. Moments later, he opened the bedroom door and left the rifle inside. He walked towards his dog, knelt down and began petting him, "Soon…soon this will be over and we can live again."
The dog whimpered affectionately. After a few moments of petting, Jordi got up and took out his cellphone and began dialing. After a few moments of waiting, Jordi heard the click, "Hi Wilfredo. I have something to tell you."
This concludes the first chapter for 2007. The obvious change here from the previous two stories is the pacing, a quicker pace as a matter of fact. And another thing, unlike in 2006, Jordi will appear in every chapter in this story. In addition on how his life is compared and contrasted with the orchestra and the former Children.
As for the pieces, Sinfonia Spirituosa in D Major TWV 44:1 for 2 Violins, Viola and Basso Continuo, I recommend the version done by Musicia Antiqua Koln, directed by Reinhard Goebel. Concerto for Violin and Cello in B flat major, RV 547 by Antonio Vivaldi however, I recommend the version done by Europa Galante conducted by Fabio Biondi. And finally, the last piece, Concerto in A Minor op. 7 no. 11 by Giuseppe Valentini, I also recommend the version done by Musica Antiqua Koln.
Read, review, critique and I'll see you in the second chapter. Edited December 15, 2012 (when I first described Peter Wright)