Noir: The Second Chapter
By: Rukaii
4.
Decisions
The ride back to the flat was particularly quiet. The air was thick with tension and uncertainty. Mireille wasn't sure what to make of Inferno... She wondered, "Are they simply just like the Soldats, just using a different approach?" That thought alone was giving her serious doubts as to if she and Kirika should accept their proposal. When they made it back to the flat, Georg said a casual goodbye and said he would be in touch if they needed anything. With that said, Georg left, while he was driving down the main street, he flipped open his cell phone and called...
"Hello?" The voice on the other end answered.
"Lizzie, it's Georg."
"Oh Georg, I figured you'd be calling sooner or later," Lizzie replied, "I take it you're going to ask how the meeting went?"
"Indeed, Mir was quite quiet when I escorted her and Kirika back to their flat... Just what went on in there?"
"...I should wait for Claudia's permission to divulge such things... however, you've been good to us in the past and I owe you one of sorts... so I'll make an exception this time around..." Lizzie answered. Lizzie decided to tell Georg the details of the meeting that had just taken place a little while ago with the top brass of Inferno and NOIR. He listened patiently as he drove down the main street...
Meanwhile, Mireille was taking a shower. It was a peaceable enough way to relax some. As the water jetted downward, wetting her entire body... there was a serenity to it that she enjoyed. It was as if showering was one of the only things that she did in her life that was... normal. Everything else she did wasn't befitting a normal woman. She killed. She was a professional killer for hire. She was one half of NOIR. Together with her and Kirika, there wasn't a mission that ended in total failure. They always walked away from whatever trouble it was... unscathed. Mireille placed her hand above her left breast, she could feel her heart beating through her chest. That heart beat was a signifying reality that she was still alive... after everything she has done and committed. Her sins were wider and deeper than the Pacific Ocean... She thought, "Will they ever be forgiven?" and then she simply would chuckle and laugh to herself, "Of course not." She knew the kind of life she led and had a pretty good handling on where she would end up... The only place that has a vacancy for someone like her... was Hell...
Outside the bathroom door, and up the hall in the living room, Kirika was laying down on her stomach reading through a magazine. Georg had given them a stack of reading supplies to keep them busy, but that was merely a pretense to keep them from continuously wandering the downtown streets of Los Angeles. Kirika and Mireille both knew that and while Mireille was slightly annoyed by Georg's carefree demeanor he showed around the two of them from time to time, Kirika was at ease by it, "Georg is kind, I like Georg," she thought to herself as she flipped through the pages of the magazine. It took all but an instant when Kirika realized it... she was... 'happy'. An emotion she wasn't familiar with since she regained all her memories. Happiness... "Just what exactly is happiness?" She thought. As she began to think more deeply, Mireille emerged from the bathroom. She had a towel wrapped around her body, covering the essentials, and a smaller towel wrapped around her head to soak up the water from her hair. When she walked into the living room, Kirika turned around and looked at her.
"Mireille... I was thinking... Are we going to accept Inferno's proposition?" Kirika had asked suddenly. Mireille did not expect Kirika to come right out and ask so soon.
"W-well... I'm not so sure actually," Mireille replied softly, taking a seat on the couch. She crossed her legs and reached for the nearest magazine on the small table beside her. It was a women's magazine with all sort of beauty tips and relationship tips... somehow looking at it made Mireille feel a little sad. She tried to hide the frown that had found its way on her face, but Kirika had already noticed.
"Mireille? Are you sad?" she asked, sitting up, she turned and faced her.
"I'm not...sad, I'm just... a little jealous."
"Jealous?"
"Of everyone... They lead normal lives. They talk and gossip about the latest fashions, the most popular actor or actress... Who's dating who... Just normal things... That I've never really experienced. To lead a normal, carefree life. That's something I've always longed for... but at the same time, I always knew that it was out of my reach."
"You never mentioned this to me before, Mireille," Kirika replied. She stood up and walked over to Mireille and sat next to her, she tilted her head to the side and asked, "Why now?"
"It's probably this place – America. They say that anyone can find success and happiness here... it's the envy of the World, or so they say. You can come here a poor, broken person and if you play your cards right, work hard and honestly... you can become successful and happy – living the life you've always wanted... I'm not regretting anything I've ever done in my life. And I don't plan to start. I'm not brooding, I'm just... feeling a little empty. We've killed so much... and now undoubtedly, Inferno will want us to do the same. Kill per contract... is that all we're good for? Killing? ...It's thoughts like that...that make me a little disheartened... If we lived normal lives—"
"If we lived normal lives, Mireille... you and I would've never met. I'd be a normal high school student in Japan and you would have grown up in Corsica. So... I don't think it's so bad," Kirika smiled, "I'm happy here, Mireille. Let's stay here. I don't mind working for them, as long I can continue to feel like this – I'm happy."
"You're...happy?"
"Yes. I feel a sense of happiness in this house and in this place. I'm calm and happy. Sure we'll probably have to continue to kill to remain here... but I don't mind. Besides, Georg is looking out for us – he's a kind person. I like him."
"Yeah... I guess you're right, Kirika. At least we don't have to worry about the Soldats for a while... And I heard that Inferno isn't always into assassinations – sometimes they do bodyguard assignments too. This could be a good change of pace for us, no?"
"Yeah," Kirika giggled, "I think it's what we should do. Let's do it, Mireille. Let's work for them. For Inferno. Besides, the work is contractually based. We accept the assignments we like and dismiss the ones we don't, right?"
Mireille felt a sudden sense of relief of worry and found herself laughing softly in response to Kirika, "Haha... you're absolutely right. They said the work was contractually based. Therefore, we can look into each job as we see fit – just like before. Before the Soldats started to intervene..."
"Yes," Kirika smiled. Her smile, though rare, was a beautiful elegant one. It was cute and innocent. Mireille couldn't help thinking about Kirika and how she was glad to see her smiling. Then, Kirika leaned over, resting her head on Mireille's shoulder, "Mireille... Do you like Georg too?"
Mireille's face flushed mildly, as she averted her eyes from Kirika's, "H-he's just an old friend of my Uncle's... nothing more."
"I see... I know what you told me before – about not getting close to others. But... I think it wouldn't be so bad here in America. Especially if we're working for Inferno, right?"
"What are you saying?"
Kirika giggled to herself. If one had seen Kirika kill and lived to tell the tale had seen her this very afternoon, they wouldn't believe it was the same girl. Kirika said innocently, "I'm saying: You don't have to hold back anymore. I know you like Georg too, Mireille."
"S-stop it!" Mireille's calm demeanor was gone. She returned an icy stare to Kirika's eyes, "It doesn't matter where we are... we cannot get attached to others. It doesn't matter if they're inside or outside the organization we work for... It's just not a good idea..." Mireille stood up and headed towards her room, "I'm going to lay down for a while..." she said before she closed the door.
Kirika frowned, "Why do you keep lying to yourself, Mireille?" Kirika continued to read the magazine she was reading in silence for the remainder of daylight.
Later that evening... In the darkness of night, light came pouring into the living room of the flat. The light was the headlights of Georg's Lincoln Continental. There was a soft knock on the front door of the flat. Kirika approached the door and opened it, knowing it was Georg who was on the other side, "Good evening, Georg," Kirika said with a soft smile. She let him inside and closed the door behind him.
"Good evening to you as well, Kirika," Georg replied, tipping his hat. Georg was wearing one of those cloth hats that reminded you of the kind Philip Marlowe would've worn. He had a dark gray trench coat and black leather gloves. He was wearing an expensive looking suit underneath, noticeable when he hung up his coat and hat.
"So, Georg," Kirika smiled, "have you come to visit Mireille?"
Georg put his hand on top of Kirika's head and patted it softly, "Why I didn't just come here to visit, Mir, Kirika. I came to see how the both of you were doing."
"We're doing just fine," Mireille replied, entering the room. She was wearing a baby blue colored lingerie robe that cut off at the thighs. Needless to say it was very sexy.
Georg, then walked over to the phonograph that was in the corner of the living room. The phonograph was nestled in the corner against the wall. And next to it was a bookshelf, however this shelf contained no books but polyvinyl records. Georg pulled out a particular record which contained music from Ben E. King. The particular song that Georg played from that record was "Stand By Me".
Georg looked over at Mireille and smiled softly, "Care to dance?"
"D-dance? Are you completely insane? Why on Earth for?" Mireille stammered.
"Because, you seem tensed and stressed. You should loosen up a little, Mir." Georg replied, extending his hand.
"...I-it's just a dance, don't get any funny ideas now," Mireille retorted.
"Why of course not, milady," Georg replied in gentlemanly fashion.
As they danced slowly to the music, they didn't speak a word to each other. The only sound was that of the song that was being played. Kirika watched them as they slowly danced in sync to the music of an old era. "It may be an old song... but I think it fits Georg and Mireille perfectly," Kirika thought to herself.
Despite her 'front' Mireille was enjoying this dance. It made her think to herself, "Georg... you've been in the field of professional killing much longer than I...and yet... you can still be so kind... It's as if the killing hasn't ever phased you... You remain unchanged... You're... so much like Uncle Claude... I think I understand why you two were such good friends..."
When the song had finished and the sound of the airy noise that the phonograph was the only sound to be heard, Mireille and Georg had stopped dancing. But they were still standing together in the middle of the living room. Georg looked down at Mireille, into her icy blue eyes, "Well, that sure was fun for a change wasn't it, Mir?"
"Y-yes, it was..." Mireille mustered to regain her composure, then she smiled coolly, "It was fun, Georg. Thanks, I feel much better now."
"I'm glad to hear it, Mir," Georg replied. He walked over to the phonograph and proceeded to put away the record back on the shelf, "So... I knew earlier you didn't want to talk about it – what did you think of the meeting?"
"Well, Kirika and I talked about that earlier," Mireille replied.
"Oh?"
"Yes, and we've decided... We're going to take our chances with Inferno," Mireille answered.
Georg didn't have a look of surprise, but more of relief, he sighed and smiled, "I'm glad to see you've come to a decision so quickly – I hadn't thought that you would've."
"To be honest, I wasn't so sure myself," Mireille said, "But Kirika made it clear to me, that if we want to have a chance at happiness, we can't keep continuing to 'go it alone' like we always have. We need support somewhere... and Inferno seems like an organization that could help... All our work is contractually based – that means we can decided which jobs to work – like we used to do before the Soldats intervened in our life... So, that's what made us decide. We're going to work for Inferno."
After visiting for a short while, Georg left NOIR's flat after saying 'good night' to Kirika and Mireille. As he drove down the main street that he has drove down so often, it was like his backyard. The street lights illuminated the road as he drove, the moonlight added to the brightness at night. After driving a little ways, Georg's cell phone began to ring.
"Hello?"
The voice on the other end spoke seriously and calmly.
"...I see," Georg replied, "...No, thankfully it didn't have to come to that..."
The voice chuckled on the other end and told him one more piece of information
"...I understand... Goodbye..." Georg replied before hanging up the phone. After letting loose a deep sigh, Georg drove into the night down that familiar road...
Next Chapter: Chapter 5: Inferno Debut
Preview: Noir receives their first job offer. After their brief sabbatical, NOIR is back in action! But what will their assignment entail?
Author's Comments: Well finally got this one out, it has been slow lately with the World Series pressing... my Tigers are losing 3 games to 1 :( ... Well I have hope they'll pull it out like they did in 68, but who knows. Anyhow, I hope you enjoy this chapter. And for anyone that has been wondering 'where's all the action?!' Look no further than Chapter 5, because the gun blazing action of NOIR returns in my next chapter! Watch for it!
-Rukaii