Chapter 3 – Mistrust runs deep
The corridors inside the church were bare and cold, the rain pouring outside, not helping the glum atmosphere inside any. After they had left the Ark, Link had taken it upon himself to inform his superior with the help of a small winged golem. The man in question was a man called Malcom C. Lvellie as Allen explained to her.
He tried hard at making her feel more comfortable while she was surrounded by people giving her hostile glares and whose fingers were eager to reach for their weapons. She appreciated his gesture but knew it was futile.
She was surprised when his lips curled into a pained smile as they passed another man in a white lab coat. As his eyes fell upon her, his face drained of all color and the packages he had been holding came tumbling out of his arms, spilling knick-knacks on the floor. There was definite clash of broken glass followed by a loud swear but they had already passed the man by making it impossible for her to see what had happened without stumbling from being pushed forward by Link.
"It really was not necessary for you to go as far as this.", Allen commented quietly. His voice was laced with something Louisanne recognized as pity.
Ignoring his try at being sympathetic she retorted off-handedly: "It is nothing I can't live with. I am used to it and as far as I can see, so are you."
That observation came so unexpected that the boy faltered in his step for a moment, his wide grey eyes staring at her as though she had just proclaimed she was a Noah they had personally granted access to the heart of the Order. His comrades noticed, going rigid immediately.
"Is everything alright, Allen?"
It was the green-haired girl and as Louisanne turned around she could see accusing violet eyes trying to bore holes into her skull. She probably had not heard what they had been saying but seeing her friend distressed was proof enough for her that he had been offended.
. A fighter. And a mother-hen to top it off. Louisanne smiled discreetly to herself. That girl was going to be in trouble if she looked for a fight as soon as someone said the wrong things to her beloved ones. An admirable trait but one that could get her killed in such a cruel war where hot-headedness came at a heavy price.
"I apologize", she said clearly, trying to sound apologetic, hoping to quench the anger of a person she might very well be fighting side by side with soon, "I did not want to make any of you uncomfortable."
Allen nodded distractedly but looked away, as though fearing she might reveal even more knowledge to him about something he seemingly thought was well hidden from view. Louisanne felt bad for him. He couldn't know that to her, most of them were like an open book. Human's intentions and goals, woes and worries all seemed to repeat like the cycle of the seasons.
Lenalee though stepped up to him to be at his side, throwing a menacing glare her way. Louisanne showed her she knew but did not send it back. There was no reason to make enemies when there was no (intentional) harm done.
What caught her interest was how the silent blond shadow was eyeing her and the boy. He was trying to make a connection, she knew, it was written across what others would have merely seen as a stoic face. But she could perceive that tiny frown from the line above his brow, the way his eyes darted between them hastily, how his lower lip just protruded slightly while his mind was running wild with scenarios and explanations.
The rest of the way, up and down staircases and along large corridors passed in silence until they turned around one corner. A huge wooden door was towering over them and in front of it stood two men. Both were tall one more so than the other. It was obvious who they were waiting for as their stares glued to her as soon as they came into their field of vision. The taller one of them was a man looking like he was in his forties with neatly trimmed and combed hair and a neat striped brown suit. A moustache quivered above his upper lip and his beady black eyes gave him the appearance of some predator that was waiting in a high branch of a tree, waiting for the right moment to strike.
Louisanne sent a pointed look his way before her attention went to the other man to his left. He was Asian if his slanted eyes and his flat nose were anything to go by. Very dark straight hair was visible from just under a white beret and his eyes held a distinct violet hue in them. He for his part sported a long white lab-coat and a pair of (Louisanne barely managed to hold in her laughter) what looked like blue slippers. He gave her a look of surprise but refrained from trying to be overly sympathetic or hostile for which Louisanne was incredibly grateful.
Link came to a sudden halt next to her, saluting his superiors. His shoes gave a loud clacking noise since he had brought his heels together with much more force than Louisanne thought was absolutely necessary.
"Inspector, as I reported we have come to bring the individual who gained access to the Ark."
The superior as it turned out, was none other than the man who was giving her the most unfriendly of looks she had ever received and that said something, she had to know after all. He nodded wordlessly, his expression the tiniest bit appreciative. Louisanne glanced at the small group around her, unsure if she was the only one seeing it but instead she was greeted with an array of emotions on her escort.
The girl was openly displaying her dislike and if Louisanne looked close enough a deep-rooted fear sparked in those violet pools. Allen though just seemed about ready to turn on his heels but she could tell something held him there. Whether it was obedience or something else entirely she could not say.
The tall blind man, who had been following them discreetly also tensed. She guessed he could feel that something was different about the air around him even with his disability.
She did not have time to assess the other's reactions as the man named Levellie addressed her directly in a clipped authoritative voice: "You will come with us."
Just as he had turned around and disappeared behind the slightly opened door, Louisanne felt Link's hand on her shoulder shoving her towards the entrance. She spun her head around just in time to see the Asian tell the little group to disperse and for them to go back to their respective duties, doting over the girl especially. Louisanne's brain suddenly registered something it had ignored before, yet she kept quiet. There would be enough time later to confirm her suspicions about them being related in some way.
The room she was led into was spacious, grand and… messy beyond belief. She blinked in astonishment about how anyone could ever work with papers strewn out on the floor and piling up on the desk in huge stacks. Empty mugs were standing on the bookshelves, dangerously close to the edge. The center was taken up by a coffee-table, a dark leather canapé and two armchairs facing it, one of which was already occupied by the inspector.
The other adult, who had rushed in after them while she had been staring, was now bent over the small table, retrieving a steaming cup of coffee, another plain white one next to it, most probably intended for her. Close to Levellie stood a cup and saucer she would have expected an elderly lady to have in her possession.
The door fell closed quietly behind Allen, who had followed her and Link. He could feel that this was not going to end well by the way the inspector kept staring at Louisanne, his unforgiving eyes hard and calculating. He wished he could swallow normally since his throat was parched but he resisted the urge. He was going to be part of another interrogation for a second time this day; he could see it coming and prepared himself mentally.
He felt a stab of sympathy for the girl who had stumbled in on the Order at the worst of times. She seemed oblivious to what was awaiting her. How much he wanted to tell her to be watchful and on her guard with whatever she said around that man. He knew from experience by now that Levellie had his very own, not all too charming way of dealing with people who could not give him what he wanted.
He was more than positive that she held no connection to the 14th. He himself had never even met her and even if she was Cross' pupil before him, she barely seemed older than him. He just hoped Cross still had had enough decency not drag an innocent girl into their mess.
Levellie took a long sip on his beverage before he gave a signal towards Howard. The Crow nodded curtly and instantly the bindings came off Louisanne's writs, red and itchy from being retrained. Doing nothing more than scratching them a little she thanked Link in a small voice but the blond barely acknowledged her effort, earning him a dirty look from his albino charge. The dark haired Asian handed the plain mug she had seen upon entering and she thanked him with a tiny smile, which he reciprocated.
"So, would you like to take a seat?", asked Levellie in a gentleman's voice, yet his eyes showed nothing put apathy. Louisanne simply nodded and sat onto the comfortable sofa, facing the supervisor and the chief inspector. As soon as she'd made herself comfortable she felt the strong urge to leave. The looks that the man with moustache gave her were far from pleasant, although she had long since learned to handle this kind of gaze lingering on her. The supervisor on the other hand seemed to examine her but his expression softened a little and for that she felt somewhat grateful.
"Inspector Link, Mr. Walker you may now leave.", said Levellie in a businesslike voice. While Link just bowed and was about to go out of the room, Allen seemed surprised, as though he had expected to also have to look for a place to sit. He was having a silent struggle going on inside of him. He shot a helpless glance first to Louisanne and then to the Chinese, who faintly shook his head. For a moment the boy stared, hard, at his superior. There seemed to be a mute conversation between the two of them and the more she tried to grasp its meaning, the more she was convinced it had something to do with her and the Inspector's interrogation that was to follow. But soon enough the blonde German interrupted the whole procedure: " Walker, we were asked to leave." Allen turned around disapprovingly but complied.
As the door closed with a soft click Louisanne couldn't help but wish that it was all already over. She hated being questioned. The inspector shifted and suddenly presented her a silver plate with different very sweet looking cakes and pies on it. "Do you want to try one of these? A new creation of mine." If he was trying to smile or make it seem like an inviting gesture, then she had to admit that he was failing miserably. If it wasn't for the seriousness of this whole conversation that would follow, she probably would have sneered. This guy had some guts to put such an obvious act. "No, thank you.", she replied politely, attempting to smile a little.
This seemingly was the answer he had expected and he put the tablet away as quickly as he had made it appear. "So, Miss…", he paused looking at her, fingers of his two gloved hands put together in an expecting manner. "Just Louisanne.", she replied, taking a sip of the still warm coffee that had been provided for her, seeing as no other mugs were standing on the small table. It tasted good.
"Miss Louisanne,…", repeated the Inspector stretching her name a little and leaning further into the cushions of the armchair. If he was now trying to intimidate her or show that he had power over her than she had yet again to admit that he was failing. Cross and other circumstances had made her impervious against such psychological tactics.
"I heard you managed to find our old basement. Would you mind telling me and Chief Komui how you were able to find it without guidance?", his eyes flashed dangerously as he concluded while the Chinese, Komui, beside him was becoming even more tense than before, his fingers clenched tightly. Louisanne stayed calm and took another long sip from her coffee before answering. She wasn't giving that man the satisfaction of jumping after his every command straightaway like a trained dog. "It was my master Cross who told me about the Black Order's location, although I must admit that he had been very vague about it. That is why it was even more difficult to find it in the first place."
As she finished she looked back up to see the Inspector's neutral expression but she could tell from his eyes that he was analyzing and calculating every single word, just like the figure that was hiding in the shadows near the double-winged door. She had noticed him ever since she had entered the room and did not hide that fact by casually throwing a glance in the small man's direction. Her two interrogators seemed to realize it with somewhat stunned looks.
"I didn't know that General Cross had taken in another student beside Allen Walker.", voiced the chief, looking at her in sincere interest, ignoring for now the issue about her noticing someone she surely hadn't been supposed to notice. "Neither did I.", replied Louisanne casually, "I was actually very surprised when I realized that Master Cross had made another person his victim. A very unusual person, that is."
"Are you saying that until today you had never encountered Mr. Walker?", asked Levellie, stone faced and something akin to anger and maybe…disappointment in his voice, which Louisanne had yet to understand where it came from.
"Yes.", answered Louisanne gulping down the last bit of the warm liquid, placing the white mug down on the table once again afterwards. Too bad she thought, she would have liked to drink some more.
"How come?", insisted the man, not trying to hide his discontentment.
"Master Cross found me around seven years ago in a town called Sofia. He trained me for two years and one morning did not return from «his night out». The only thing he left were debts.", she explained the last part coming out as a harsh whisper. She would make Cross pay for every single day. The scientist blinked in surprise, straightening himself a little more in his chair: "I am sorry to ask so directly but-how exactly did he find you? Your family must have been objecting to the idea to let their child go to war."
There was a long pause and Louisanne had a hard time stifling her laughter which seemingly was misinterpreted as crying because of her trembling from the effort. "I am sorry to confront you with most probably painful memories.", he tried to apologize but Louisanne just waved her hand dismissively.
"You needn't to apologize. Actually it is my fault that you mistook my reaction.", she said in reply, finally succeeding in hiding her amusement. As if someone like her was ever supposed to have a family, she thought sarcastically. "When I said that he found me, I actually meant that he had discovered me, an orphan, in an alleyway because of my Innocence."
"And what about your family?", asked the Chinese, a shocked expression on his face. Other than his younger colleague, the Inspector did nothing else but narrow his eyes into tiny slits. "I don't know.", she sighed in a matter-of-fact- voice. She was not the type of person to whine over something, "To be absolutely honest: I suffer from memory loss. My own guess is that I received a hit on the head and suffered an injury that made me lose my memories of my early childhood."
"And how can you be so sure of that?", countered the Inspector with malice, earning him a scolding glare from the chief. Louisanne just barely surpressed a mocking smile. "There is a spot on the back of my skull that's a bit delicate to touch. I have no recollection ever receiving such a wound. So my guess is that has something to do with my lack of identity."
The shadow in the corner shifted unnoticeably as Louisanne concluded. He had put the pieces together and Louisanne did not like it in the very least. Had she not been observed she would have shot him a warning glance. Yet as the situation was she had no possibility to do so.
Levellie squinted until his eyes were nothing more than mere slits in his serious face. After a few moments of a silent stare-down with the girl he nodded even if it was barely distinguishable.
"If that is all, I shall take my leave. I have matters of higher priority to attend to.", he said, throwing Louisanne one last calculating glance before leaving together with Bookman at his heels.
As soon as the door clicked softly, Komui relaxed in his chair, relief visible on his face. Louisanne smiled amicably at him, although she probably should have been the one to sigh like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
"I am very sorry for the distrust you have to face from all around. We just had a few rough times lately. Most are still recuperating from the trauma.", his tone was apologetic as he took of his glasses and wiped at his eyes with his other hand.
Louisanne shook her head and started turning the mug on the table delicately.
"You needn't apologize, really. It's fine and it's good to be on your guard."
As he regained his upright position Komui studied the strange girl in front of him. It was out of the question that she held an astounding resemblance to the Noahs but she lacked that distinct aura of death and lunacy most of them seemed to display, if he believed in the reports the Exorcist had given him.
Clapping his hands together he stood up and made his way towards his desk not even bothering to watch out for the papers strewn on the floor. Louisanne found it amusing how someone could be Chief of such a well organized group, if their housekeeping was this catastrophic.
"Now, let's make it official.", he said tearing at a few papers jammed between hundreds of others.
An extra long chapter just for you guys! It might take some time till the next one comes out, since I'll be working on Secrets of the Worlds soon. I just had an inspiration that struck and I simply had to write this down (or better said, complete it).