"Moon Shadow"
Somali sat on the roof of the Koneko and thought about the events of the day. /It all started out so well,/ she thought sarcastically. /Well, they wanted a report..../
From her jacket pocket, she pulled out a white cell phone marked with a black cross. Somali stared at it for a minute, marveling at the irony. She pressed a single button on the phone, and the beep seemed to loud compared to the silence around her. The assassins downstairs had been asleep for a while now. Time to check in.
Somali put the phone to her ear and waited. The other side of the line picked up but didn't say anything. "Three kittens and a bird have settle down to sleep. It seems peaceful here."
"Good," the voice on the line said. There was a pause. "It seems a kitten ran away with a few horses?"
Nodding, Somali answered, "I've already found them safe and sound. No worries."
"And the others?"
"One accounted for." Somali paused in thought. "Two are around. One officially missing," she grumbled.
The person on the line sighed. "What of the mission?"
Somali scanned the area for anyone who might overhear. "Abyssinian accepted the mission. Bombay and Mastermind agreed to follow his lead."
"Mastermind?"
Somali nodded. "Balinese and Siberian showed up on their own and agreed to follow Abyssinian as well. Mirage was reluctant to help Weiss, but agreed by making a deal to get Scion back."
"I take it that Mastermind was also hesitant to the cause."
"That's one way to put it. He's not happy taking orders from Kritiker but it appears he will follow Abyssinian. As long as he leads, Mastermind will not be a problem."
The voice sighed in relief.
Somali narrowed her eyes. "Birman... I'm still not sure that we're hoping to accomplish by this. There is a lot of hostility and other tension between the four teams." She could hear Birman drum her nails on the desk. "I'm not questioning orders. I'm just wondering if this is really necessary. We'll as likely lose them to each other as to the main adversary..... They don't trust me enough that I can play peacemaker."
Manx's voice cut in on the line. "I'm sure you're doing the best you can, Somali. The trust will come, and if not, suggestions can easily be made orders that Abyssinian will follow."
Somali sighed heavily. "I don't want it to come to that. I don't want to order Abyssinian into anything."
"Neither does anyone, Somali, But he'll listen to you." Manx sounded regretful.
Wrapping her free arm around herself, Somali confided, "His father would hate me for what I've done."
On the other side of the phone, Manx and Birman looked at each other. Birman leaned in. "You did that had to be done. When his eldest child started to come into those powers, Fujimiya-san knew what would end up happening. You did all you could."
"We shouldn't have repressed the dreams... the memories. It's made him cold, confining his emotions."
Manx leaned in. "Sounds like you're mourning a personal loss, Somali. You have to let it go. That's why we had you pulled back to Kritiker, why you were then retired...."
Somali felt a smile growing, despite herself. "Why you got my job?"
Birman stifled a laugh while Manx glared at the phone. "You're not stable enough for my job, Somali," Manx remarked coyly.
Somali laughed out loud, Birman hid a smile, and Manx sighed softly. Wiping imaginary tears away, Somali said, "Perhaps you're right, Manx. Persia would never let me get away with half of what I do if I had your job." She sobered quickly. "But I still worry a lot."
"You're doing a good job, Somali," Birman commented. "After this is over, you can go back to your cabin. Worry about Abyssinian and Fujimiya-san if you must. When this ends, you'll see you don't need to worry so over them."
"I can still hear him, Birman," Somali's voice dropped to a whisper. "I can still hear him from that night."
Manx interrupted. "We have a new visitor coming into town, associated with Licht. Meet with this person as Kritiker's representative. I trust you two will be able to find each other."
Somali nodded. "Of course."
"Keep in touch, Somali. Let us know when we get more of them."
"Will do, Manx," and Somali hung up. She stood and looked at the city around her. Twenty years ago, if someone had told her she'd be on the roof of a flower shop in Tokyo watching over a handful of assassins and mourning the loss of a former partner....
She looked to the east as the sun rose. She absently rubber the back of her neck, the tattoo of a black crescent moon that her master gave her before Kritiker found her. A constant reminder of where she came from and where she was destined to go. A shot ran through her mind. Somali felt Schuldig's mind break, and her heart as well.
Somali sat on the roof of the Koneko and thought about the events of the day. /It all started out so well,/ she thought sarcastically. /Well, they wanted a report..../
From her jacket pocket, she pulled out a white cell phone marked with a black cross. Somali stared at it for a minute, marveling at the irony. She pressed a single button on the phone, and the beep seemed to loud compared to the silence around her. The assassins downstairs had been asleep for a while now. Time to check in.
Somali put the phone to her ear and waited. The other side of the line picked up but didn't say anything. "Three kittens and a bird have settle down to sleep. It seems peaceful here."
"Good," the voice on the line said. There was a pause. "It seems a kitten ran away with a few horses?"
Nodding, Somali answered, "I've already found them safe and sound. No worries."
"And the others?"
"One accounted for." Somali paused in thought. "Two are around. One officially missing," she grumbled.
The person on the line sighed. "What of the mission?"
Somali scanned the area for anyone who might overhear. "Abyssinian accepted the mission. Bombay and Mastermind agreed to follow his lead."
"Mastermind?"
Somali nodded. "Balinese and Siberian showed up on their own and agreed to follow Abyssinian as well. Mirage was reluctant to help Weiss, but agreed by making a deal to get Scion back."
"I take it that Mastermind was also hesitant to the cause."
"That's one way to put it. He's not happy taking orders from Kritiker but it appears he will follow Abyssinian. As long as he leads, Mastermind will not be a problem."
The voice sighed in relief.
Somali narrowed her eyes. "Birman... I'm still not sure that we're hoping to accomplish by this. There is a lot of hostility and other tension between the four teams." She could hear Birman drum her nails on the desk. "I'm not questioning orders. I'm just wondering if this is really necessary. We'll as likely lose them to each other as to the main adversary..... They don't trust me enough that I can play peacemaker."
Manx's voice cut in on the line. "I'm sure you're doing the best you can, Somali. The trust will come, and if not, suggestions can easily be made orders that Abyssinian will follow."
Somali sighed heavily. "I don't want it to come to that. I don't want to order Abyssinian into anything."
"Neither does anyone, Somali, But he'll listen to you." Manx sounded regretful.
Wrapping her free arm around herself, Somali confided, "His father would hate me for what I've done."
On the other side of the phone, Manx and Birman looked at each other. Birman leaned in. "You did that had to be done. When his eldest child started to come into those powers, Fujimiya-san knew what would end up happening. You did all you could."
"We shouldn't have repressed the dreams... the memories. It's made him cold, confining his emotions."
Manx leaned in. "Sounds like you're mourning a personal loss, Somali. You have to let it go. That's why we had you pulled back to Kritiker, why you were then retired...."
Somali felt a smile growing, despite herself. "Why you got my job?"
Birman stifled a laugh while Manx glared at the phone. "You're not stable enough for my job, Somali," Manx remarked coyly.
Somali laughed out loud, Birman hid a smile, and Manx sighed softly. Wiping imaginary tears away, Somali said, "Perhaps you're right, Manx. Persia would never let me get away with half of what I do if I had your job." She sobered quickly. "But I still worry a lot."
"You're doing a good job, Somali," Birman commented. "After this is over, you can go back to your cabin. Worry about Abyssinian and Fujimiya-san if you must. When this ends, you'll see you don't need to worry so over them."
"I can still hear him, Birman," Somali's voice dropped to a whisper. "I can still hear him from that night."
Manx interrupted. "We have a new visitor coming into town, associated with Licht. Meet with this person as Kritiker's representative. I trust you two will be able to find each other."
Somali nodded. "Of course."
"Keep in touch, Somali. Let us know when we get more of them."
"Will do, Manx," and Somali hung up. She stood and looked at the city around her. Twenty years ago, if someone had told her she'd be on the roof of a flower shop in Tokyo watching over a handful of assassins and mourning the loss of a former partner....
She looked to the east as the sun rose. She absently rubber the back of her neck, the tattoo of a black crescent moon that her master gave her before Kritiker found her. A constant reminder of where she came from and where she was destined to go. A shot ran through her mind. Somali felt Schuldig's mind break, and her heart as well.