Noir: The Second Chapter
By: Rukaii
1.
Departure from familiar surroundings
Dense fog surrounded the small ship as it lurched slowly above the deep, dark and treacherous waters of the Pacific. The ship had departed discreetly from the port of Hong Kong. It's passengers was a man, a woman, and a teenage girl. The woman was Mireille Bouquet, a Corsican assassin. The teenage girl was Kirika Yuumura, a Japanese assassin. Collectively they were known as NOIR. It was a little under a month ago that they had been responsible for the death of Lady Altena, a priestess of the Soldats. Lady Altena had sought the Great Return, better known as "Le Grand Retour". Lady Altena had believed that the Maidens whom would take up the mantle of "Noir" would be Chloe, whom had been under her watchful eyes for many years. And Kirika, whom according to Altena's wishes, many years ago, had murdered Mireille's Father, Mother, and Brother... Though their pasts were indeed connected by threads of fate of the darkest black, Mireille and Kirika joined together once again after that ill-fated evening. The Soldats had offered them an ultimatum: Join us or die. It was that simple, either submit their wills entirely to them or to accept death for refusal. Their answer however, wasn't part of the Soldats ultimatum. They agreed, they would not be used like tools by the Soldats. Their answer was refusal, but they wouldn't go down quietly. Mireille and Kirika decided that Europe was currently too dangerous to maintain living residence, due to the Soldats supreme and deep influence in Europe and Asia. Their only recourse was to flee to America. This brings us to the third person on the boat, the man. His name was Georg Cross, an English assassin with ties to America. He and Mireille were no strangers to each other. They have met on occasion, in the past...
Inside the small ship, Kirika lay unconscious. Mireille was sitting beside her with a concerned look fixated on her face. When they were sneaking into the harbor under the cover of night, they were ambushed by Soldat knights. Unlike the knights of Paris, this group of knights were much more deadly. They had managed to injure Kirika...that in and of itself was a feat. Mireille felt lucky to even be alive.
"Hey, how's the girl doing?" Georg asked.
"Georg? Aren't you supposed to be steering this ship?" Mireille asked. She didn't look up at him and was still focused on Kirika, who was bandaged all around her mid-section where the bullet had entered. Unlucky for Kirika, the bullet did not exit, and therefore had to be removed. Georg removed the bullet with his bare hands, it was a very painful process to witness. It was one of the few times Mireille saw nothing but pain stricken on the young face of Kirika.
Georg walked over and sat down in a chair next to Mireille, "Don't worry about that, Mir. It's on auto-pilot," he replied with a smirk. Then, he took out a pack of cigarette's from his coat pocket and lit one up. After taking a puff, he asked, "So, where do you want to go? San Francisco? Los Angeles? How about Hollywood, I think you'd make a fine actress. In fact, how about we make a little 'movie' of our own?"
"Shut up, Georg. I'm not in a joking mood."
Georg sighed, "Heh... I wasn't joking..." he thought. Then he stood up and leaned over Kirika. He placed his hand on her forehead to check her temperature, "She's warming up."
"That's a good sign, she was so cold when we finally were able to leave port," Mireille recollected.
"Now, correct me if I'm wrong, Mir – but didn't this girl kill your family? Why are you still working with her?" Georg asked with a serious demeanor, his easy going carefree nature has all but quickly vanished, leaving a discerning, hardened stare.
"...I can't change the past. What's done is done. And... it's not like we'd be able to survive without one another..."
"You thought Kirika might be able too...but after seeing those guys... I guess that hypothesis is to be chucked out the window eh?" Georg replies, he takes another puff of his cigarette. Some time passes before they say any words and silence fills the cabin in the little ship as it sails across the Pacific. Then, it is Mireille who breaks the silence, "So... Where are we headed, Georg?"
"I asked you earlier, where do you want to go?"
"Stop playing dumb, Georg, you didn't just agree to help me out because we know each other... I'm not that naive, you know," Mireille stood up and leaned against the far cabin wall, facing Georg.
"Heh... You see right through me, don't you, Mir. Alright, I confess, I had planned to take you to Los Angeles from the beginning," Georg answered, leaning back in his chair.
"Why L.A.?" Mireille questioned.
"Because, there's someone there that would like to meet you – meet NOIR."
"...Who is this person?"
"An old friend, much like you, Mir – we've worked together before. Her name is Claudia McCunnen and she's part of the fastest rising Underworld Organization in the States, Inferno," Georg informed.
"Why does she want to meet me – meet us, I mean..."
"I do not know that much... all I know is that she wanted to meet you-to meet NOIR."
Mireille was quiet, she was taking what Georg had told her inside. Why? Why Inferno wanted to meet NOIR was the biggest question that swirled around in her mind. Were they no different than the Soldats? Would they give them an ultimatum just like the Soldats did? Various such questions plagued the mind of Mireille Bouquet and Georg could see it on her face that she was confused.
"Do not worry, Mir. I have no intention of bringing you to them with Kirika in that condition. I secured a flat, in Downtown Angeles, for you and Kirika to stay at. It's not the best of places...but trust me, it'll do fine."
"Georg... Can you tell me... more about Inferno?"
Georg smirked upon hearing Mireille's inquiry about Inferno, "I could..." was his reply. Of course it was his insinuative nature that Mireille oh so hated about him. He would always do this to her, whenever she needed or wanted his help.
"Georg..."
"Heh. Hey relax, Mir. I'm just kidding, I know you iced off your heart – you don't have tell me. I completely understand what that's like. We as assassin's do not form relationships or attachments that could potentially cause risk to us and us alone! That's how we operate. We discard our human feelings so to become the best we can be in our profession," Georg replied seriously, he followed up with, "Sure, I can tell you about Inferno... but it's not a short story, so you better sit back down and relax."
Following Georg's advice, Mireille retook her seat in the chair beside him. Georg started to tell the story of Inferno...
It's a well known fact that in America, organized crime runs rampant. There are many cases where people who get involved with these entities simply vanish because of... reasons. Such as owing money or just simply getting involved over hearing things they shouldn't have heard. Well, when a mass of organized crime syndicates plague the nation...sometimes the big heads of these syndicates desire more power. Power to control various facets of even government jurisdictions was quite and still is commonplace. However, Inferno was established... in words... as a United Nations... for the Underworld. Those who get too powerful or do not conform to the standards befit of Inferno... their heads are targeted. By Phantom. Phantom is the name of the top assassin in Inferno. Phantom of Inferno...that name is feared in the underworld across the States. In Inferno, there are top ranking people of note: Claudia McCunnen, Raymond McGuire, Isaac Wisemel, and... Scythe. Those four make up the main panel of Inferno's control. Raymond McGuire is the top of Inferno. Think of him as the boss. He holds the most power within the organization. Then you have Isaac Wisemel, he's on par with Claudia McCunnen in terms of power. Isaac is the leader of Los Angeles' most powerful gang, the Bloodies. Claudia McCunnen, however, possesses no real power outside of Inferno. She only has one bodyguard: Lizzie Garland. She acts as a mediator and acts in according to the best wishes of Inferno as an organization. Some say it's the fact that she has no outside power is the real reason why she is so well trusted in Inferno, because she has no avenue for personal gain outside of Inferno. And, then you have Scythe, he is a...scientist of sorts one could say. Although to think he's just a weakling who cannot handle a gun, is a thought that could kill most normal people... but his skill with a firearm is not the talk of Inferno. All members of Inferno albeit some have firearm knowledge and training... the talk of Inferno is The Phantom. The current Phantom is under the supervision of Scythe, thus giving him a little extra stroke within the organization. Of course that's purely speculation on my part...
Mireille sat patiently and took Georg's entire story in. She had many questions, however, she had a feeling that Georg could not answer half of them. She stood up and relocated back to the far wall and leaned up against it, making eye contact with Georg, "So... If you were to gage Phantom's abilities against mine... what would you say then?"
Georg didn't hesitate, his reply was emotionless and absolute, "Phantom would have the edge," he replied, standing up.
"You're serious... Aren't you, Georg?"
"Absolutely."
"Thanks for the support, Georg," Mireille replied sarcastically.
"Don't think I'm being arrogant, because if I went up against Phantom, I'd share the same fate as you would: Death."
"What about Kirika? How would she fare against this... Phantom?"
"I have no idea... But... if there was anyone who might be able to match Phantom, it very well could be Kirika. It's too bad you guys had to go and kill that other one... I was kind of fond of her abilities."
"Chloe huh... That brings back some memories. Memories of a moonlight tea party," Mireille smiled softly.
"What?"
"Oh nothing... it doesn't matter."
"Anyway, Mir, why don't you try to get some rest. We still have quite a ways distance to go before we reach Los Angeles in the States," Georg replied, putting his hand on Mireille's right shoulder, "And don't worry about Kirika, she'll be fine."
"..." Mireille didn't reply and remained silent until Georg left the ship's cabin. Mireille continued to lean against the wall, in her silence, she contemplated everything that Georg had told her. She knew that Georg wasn't going to force her into any organization against her will – he wasn't like that. A smirk appeared on the side of Mireille's face when she thought about Georg's mannerisms and behavior. He, like Mireille, is a top-notch assassin in Europe... but, what exactly is Georg in America? She wondered if she would find the answer to that question if and when she decided to meet with this Inferno organization.
"I wonder if he is part of Inferno? ...After all he did say that he worked with Claudia McCunnen, one of it's top heads, before..." Mireille started to ponder, however, she decided that thinking about it now wouldn't do her any good. So she decided to lay down and get some rest... While she did that, Georg was navigating the ship through the Pacific. While he did that, his cell phone started to ring, he answered, "Yes?"
"Georg, it's been a while," a calm, yet sexy voice was heard on the other end.
"Indeed it has, Claudia."
"I trust you've left Hong Kong already?"
"Yeah, we're on our way to the States as we speak."
"Where there any...problems?"
"Just a small one, nothing major – one of NOIR was shot."
"Oh... that's surprising..."
"Yeah, it seems the Soldats have stronger knights than the ones NOIR had to deal with in Paris."
"I see, well that can't be helped, as long as she recovers, I don't foresee any further problems..."
"I'm not bringing them to you right away, Claudia... I promised I'd let them take it easy for a little while, enjoy the States a little, ya know."
"I see... I don't see a problem with that. I'll be looking forward to meeting them, and you again, Georg."
"Heh. Me too." Georg hung up after Claudia. He puts his cell phone back into his coat pocket and glanced at the Oceanic Map Coordinate System, or OMCS for short, to check their current position.
"A few more days at sea... I hope we don't get caught up in a storm..."
Next Chapter: Chapter 2: Unfamiliar Surroundings
Preview: The Sea is known for being a very unforgiving monster to many small ships who've made passage through Her waters... Never the less, to Mireille and Kirika, the United States could be an equally unforgiving and unfamiliar surrounding...
Authors Comment: 1st chapter of Noir: The Second Chapter and I'm already feeling really great about this fic. I just hope everyone reading feels the same as I do. Anyhow, don't miss Chapter 2, it should be up in a few days – a week at longest. I try to get 1 or 2 up a week, as to keep a constant pace going. But work is the only thing that throws kinks in my plans lol. Anyway, I hope all who read this enjoy it, because writing is after all a two way street – it's fun to write stuff, but it's even more fun to have people enjoy your writing. Peace.
- Rukaii