Chapter 4: Communication

July 12, 3:09 A.M.

Lieutenant Dennison collapsed on his bed in his apartment of the eighteenth floor of the complex. It was a simple affair; the walls were tan with few pictures hung. The kitchen, however, was quite grand. The Coffee Room, as Dennison occasionally called it, had brick walls, granite countertops, black appliances, stained oak cabinets with soft yellow lighting installed beneath them, and a hardwood floor. Dennison loved his kitchen.

He remembered the note his girlfriend had left him on the door. He pulled himself out of bed to read the brief bit of immaculate handwriting. Dinner w/ my fam. on 17th? Call me if ok. –Becca. :3

Yes. She had written "colon three".

Dennison's exhausted mind considered the invitation. More likely than not, he would be able to make it. Surely he could postpone his work on a Sunday evening. He wasn't technically supposed to work on Sundays. However, when he didn't, people died. That was simply out of the question.

He returned to his bed, mentally reviewing the case that had been dumped on him less than twelve hours ago. After he had dropped off Riku and Kairi, he had returned to Precinct Four to get copies of the news footage showing the shot. He spent the next hour and a half replaying the few seconds that mattered, eventually becoming numb to the pain shown onscreen.

Finally, when he couldn't focus his own eyes, he retired to his bed. He didn't know why he had suddenly remembered the note his girlfriend had left him. Maybe Sora and Kairi reminded him of his own relationship. They really were a cute couple. The pain they must feel, forcefully separated with no end in sight…

The lieutenant returned his thoughts to the case. He fell asleep mentally replaying the news footage, looking for any clue hidden away in its terrible frames.

6:30 A.M.

The buzzer sounded, indicating that the outer door had opened. Its harsh sound awoke Sora. There was a sharp metal squeal and the inner door opened. Two mercenaries appeared. One held a stun gun; the other had Sora's standard-issue breakfast. The armed mercenary closed the door and barred it with another metallic shriek.

Sora tried to shake the sleep from his eyes as the mercenary set the tray down on Sora's miniature table. He looked at the clock on his wall; it read 12:28. Oh. Right. It was still out of batteries. He yawned and stretched his arms. He winced as his shoulder twinged with pain. The mercenary stood by the table and looked Sora over.

"You look like hell. Metro Police keep you out late last night?"

Sora looked at the mercenary and squinted, momentarily blinded by the morning sunlight, indirect though it was. His close-cropped black hair was a stark contrast to the silvery clouds of dawn. "Yeah, till like, past midnight. But I got to see my friends, so it was worth it."

"Well, that's good." The mercenary looked away sheepishly. "I don't suppose I could ask you for your autograph?"

Sora raised an eyebrow at the mercenary, his eyes still half shut with sleep. "What?"

"I have a daughter about your age, and she's a really big fan," he explained quickly. "When I told her it was my job to bring you breakfast every day, she was so jealous that she wouldn't speak to me for hours. I told her I could get her your autograph if she came down for dinner yesterday. Not only did she fly down to the table, she practically kissed me." He let a small smile play across his face. "Apparently her boyfriend wasn't so thrilled."

Sora chuckled at the mercenary's tale. "Sure, I can do that. Got anything to write with?"

"Yeah, hold on." The hired soldier pulled out a small notepad and black pen. Sora accepted them and turned to an empty sheet. "What's her name?" he asked.

"Kaylee."

Sora shook the last remnants of sleep from his head. He uncapped the pen and began to write.

Kaylee,

Stay true to your heart!

Sora

He drew a quick Kingdom Key next to his name. He tore the sheet out from the notepad and handed it back to the mercenary, who thanked him and put the precious sheet in a pocket underneath his body armor. As the mercenary walked to the door, Sora called after him.

"Hey, what's your name?"

The mercenary looked over his left shoulder. "Anton."

"Nice to meet someone around here with a bit of decency."

Anton chuckled at the compliment. "Yeah, I get that a lot. Most people here say I'm too nice for a mercenary. That's why I end up taking breakfast to people in protective custody."

Sora sat up against the headboard of his bed. "Well, I'm glad it's you and not the jerk that brings me dinner. By the way, my clock is out of batteries. Can you have some more sent up?"

"I'll see what I can do. Most likely."

"Thanks. See you tomorrow."

The mercenary tapped twice on the door, waited two seconds, then tapped three more times. "Hopefully not before then." Sora shielded his ears from the screeching metal sound of the bar being lifted. Anton walked through the door, which was shut and barred with yet another metal scream.

Sora got out of his bed and sat down to breakfast, which was surprisingly hearty. Two poached eggs, two bacon strips, salted hash browns, and two buttered pieces of toast. He bit into a bacon strip and his eyes nearly popped out of his skull. It was good. It may have been the best bacon he had ever tasted. The rest of the breakfast didn't disappoint.

The odd duality of the room made Sora's head spin. It looked and functioned like a prison cell, yet the food was incredible and the bed was better than at most hotels in the city, with the notable exception of the Hotel Regal. The guy who brought him dinner was an ass, yet Anton seemed like a perfectly likeable human being.

Strange. Very strange.

9:34 A.M.

Corporal Mendez had been serving with the Comberth Harbor SWAT teams for almost six years now, but he had never seen anything like he was seeing now. The most prestigious hotel in the entire city had been completely locked down and teams were conducting a floor-by-floor search for the weapon in question.

He felt a sense of pride concerning the quality of the lockdown. There were armed guards at every exit, marksmen on adjacent buildings, and police cars completely surrounding the building. Streets leading up to the T-intersection in front of the hotel were tuned into makeshift cul-de-sacs. The lockdown was absolutely airtight.

His search had reached the eighth floor. On his way up, he had discovered enough dirty little secrets about the rich and famous to fill an entire issue of the local gossip magazines. Unfortunately, he had signed a Non-Disclosure Agreement, so his tales of bulimics, pill freaks, and sex addicts would go with him to the grave.

He and his partner, Private Jenkins, stood in front of the seventh door on their list. Other two-man teams prowled the halls and rooms, searching for the .308 caliber sniper rifle that had somehow been smuggled past security.

Jenkins knocked on the door. A young man wrapped in a towel opened the door. He was momentarily stunned by the two imposing figures standing in the door. A feminine voice came from the room.

"Who is it, Steve?"

"The police. They need to search the room." He had heard the rumors and announcements.

"They're here already?"

"Yes. Just hold on." The man turned to the two SWAT officers. "Can you give my wife and me a moment to get dressed?" Jenkins looked into the room to see a young woman in the bed, pulling the sheets up to her neck. He looked to Mendez for the answer.

Mendez looked at his watch. "You have ninety seconds. We will break the door down at one hundred twenty," he said in his nasal Hispanic accent.

The man closed the door. There were sounds of frantic activity on the other side of the door. At exactly ninety seconds, Steve opened the door, wearing a white T-shirt and sweatpants. He stood next to his wife, who had donned similar apparel.

Mendez indicated the rear of the room to Jenkins, who proceeded to sweep the area, opening drawers and a suitcase that was sitting out. The contents were methodically searched and replaced.

Mendez immediately gravitated to the closet. He pulled out each suitcase in turn, placing them in orderly stacks in the center of the room when they contained nothing more dangerous than a can of pepper spray.

Finally, he pulled out a black suitcase from the back of the pile. The man and his wife exchanged puzzled looks. Mendez carefully set the suitcase on the bed. He carefully unzipped it.

Steve's wife timidly addressed Mendez. "Um, I've never seen that suitcase before…"

Mendez felt his heart skip a beat as he opened the suitcase. Santa Maria…

He raised his assault rifle at the young couple. "Freeze! Hands on your head! Get on the ground! Now!"

Jenkins quickly leveled his own weapon as he heard his superior beginning the arrest. He stood between the two scared guests and the window, lest they decide to jump and take their secrets with them. The couple lay on their stomachs, heads facing each other. Mendez shouted out the door. "We're gonna need some backup in here!"

Four SWAT officers entered the room, rifles sweeping every angle. As two officers bent to handcuff the young twosome, Mendez began to recite their rights.

"You have the right to refuse questioning until such time as you have an attorney present. If you cannot afford an attorney, the city will provide you with one. You have the right to reasonable bail. You have the right to a trial by a judge and jury of peers. You have the right to a quick appeal should you request one."

Mendez put his face right in front of the young man, his visor touching the man's forehead.

"You have the right to kiss your ass goodbye, 'cause it's gonna burn."

9:55 A.M.

Kairi awoke to the mellow song of a bird perched outside her window. She turned to see a mourning dove on the brick windowsill. She got up out of bed and walked to the window, her pajamas crackling with static from the bed sheets.

She opened the window, yet the bird did not fly. Kairi hoped it could sense that she meant it no harm. She stroked its head with her index finger as it quietly cooed sad notes.

The rumble of an approaching diesel engine scared the mourning dove away. Kairi's momentary regret was cut short when she saw that the tuck was labeled CH SWAT. For a moment, she thought it might be responding to a new development in Sora's case. She was about to turn on the local news when she remembered Riku's description of the city.

"Comberth Harbor is a beautiful city. It's on a great world. Low pollution, right next to a mountain range, and has beaches to rival the ones back home."

"Wow!" Kairi had responded, intrigued by the prospect of an urban area in such a picturesque environment. "I can't wait to go!"

Riku's excitement lessened somewhat. "The only problem is the crime rate. Drugs and weapons flow like blood through that city. The police have their hands full."

Kairi let Riku's bleak assessment bounce off her eardrums, ready for next week's trip to Tarzan's treehouse, after which she would meet Sora and Riku in Comberth Harbor.

She dismissed the otherwise odd event with a quick wave of her hand.

As she set the TV remote down, she saw Riku twitch in his bed. A devious idea entered her mind and wouldn't leave. She crept up next to Riku's sleeping face, but she hesitated. If I want to back out, now's the time. Her mischievous streak won out. She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted at the top of her lungs.

"Heartless!"

She knew Riku's reflexes were good, but the blazing speed with which he reacted left her in shock. He snapped his arm up and around the back of Kairi's neck. He pulled her down into the pillow next to him hard. His hand pinning her arm, he flipped her over as he lifted himself to his knees to face his attacker.

He pinned her other arm and her legs with his shins. Only after Kairi was completely trapped did Riku realize who he had captured. He exhaled with relief. "Oh, it's just you, Kairi. I was afraid it was somebody dangerous!"

Kairi pretended to look insulted. "Oh, and I don't qualify?" She hit him in the chest. "Riku, that's just mean!"

They shared a laugh until they realized the awkward position they were in: Kairi was on her back with Riku directly on top of her.

He quickly got off of the bed, clearing his throat and turning away in an attempt to hide his embarrassment. Kairi's face turned a deep shade of pink as she picked her clothes for the day.

She quickly brushed past Riku and entered the bathroom to change, hardly able to contain her embarrassment. For the first time since he had been taken to the hospital four days ago, she was glad Sora wasn't around. If he had seen them like that, it would have destroyed him.

And yet, as ashamed as she was, Kairi felt a deep, visceral, almost animal satisfaction as she recalled the incident. She recoiled from the emotion with fear. What am I thinking? Four days of forced separation and I'm already replacing him with Riku? What's the matter with me? We've been apart longer that this before. We'd been able to keep in contact, but still!

She walked out of the bathroom in her day clothes. Riku was already dressed. He was stuffing his wallet with Munny. He met Kairi's gaze and quickly looked back at his wallet as he began to speak.

"We should go get breakfast now, 'cause we're not going to eat again until, uh, you know…"

"Lunch?" Kairi said quietly.

"Yeah. That."

The two teens walked from their room to the elevator, the door lock clicking into place after them.

10:10 A.M.

The phone rang next to Dennison's bed. He searched for it with his hand, not bothering to remove his face from the pillow. He found the handset and put it to his ear.

"This had better be important."

His assistant answered excitedly. "We've found it, sir!"

The lieutenant groaned at the officer's vagueness. "The winning lottery ticket?"

"The rifle, sir."

Dennison sat up, immediately awake. "What? Where?"

"Eighth floor, room 8059. Everything checks out, sir. The angles are right, the caliber is correct, and best of all, sir…" He paused for effect. "There are two bullets missing. The remaining two are the same make as the fragments recovered from Sora's shoulder."

The lieutenant jumped out of bed and began to assemble his suit. He'd more than likely have to make a statement to the news vultures today, explaining that he had found aweapon that matched the collected data, but it might not be the weapon.

It was a load of crap and he knew it. The odds of there being a second .308 rifle snuck past security on the eighth floor with a clean line of sight down 37th missing two bullets of the precise kind used against Sora were so low they weren't even worth mentioning. But in his experience, it was always better to understate the situation rather than give false pretenses of progress.

He hung up the phone and began to put his suit on.

10:34 A.M.

Harris watched the police cars take the innocent couple away with a smug satisfaction. His evil plot had worked; the police were taking John and Jane away without a second thought. If they had searched the solid waste in the basement, they would have found the shells in the depository for the upper half of the hotel, which would have expanded their search.

The hotel was still locked down, but Harris could almost taste freedom. He reveled in his own ingenuity.

Harris, you're an evil genius! Planting the evidence in that room while they were out getting drunk on their honeymoon? That's brilliant! I'm not getting paid enough for this. I deserve a medal, or maybe an honorary college degree. What subject? Sociology? Psychology? Law? He laughed at his own jokes.

He turned the television to the Blitzball final. He would enjoy this game infinitely more than the semifinals.

12:00 P.M.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it is now precisely midday. At this time I would like to give the floor to our brilliant young investigator, Lieutenant Robert Dennison. He has prepared a statement concerning the progress of his investigation."

"Thank you, Commissioner. At approximately oh-nine-thirty-four this morning, SWAT teams discovered a contraband rifle matching the description of the weapon used against Sora four days ago. It was found on the eighth floor of the Hotel Regal. The names of the suspects have not been released as of yet."

"No tests have been conducted with the weapon yet. Our Forensics department is currently preparing the weapon for a battery of tests to identify the owner and point of origin. We cannot speculate on either of these questions at this time."

"Two bullets were missing from the foam carrying case found with the rifle. The remaining bullets are of the same kind as the fragments found during Sora's recent surgery. Again, no tests have been conducted, but our resident firearms experts are of one opinion on this matter."

"The suspects are currently in custody under heavy guard at an undisclosed location. Their names will be released at the time of their trial."

"I cannot answer your questions at this moment, as I must return to my investigation. The officers up here with me can field those questions."

12:14 P.M.

Riku and Kairi sat at a table outside of an Italian restaurant in downtown Comberth Harbor. The striped awning fluttered in the cool sea breeze. It was the only measure of shade for the denizens of the city at midday, and the pair had capitalized on it. They had ordered glasses of water, received them, placed their orders to a young waitress, and hadn't said a word to each other.

Riku wished she would just say something, dammit. It had been an accident; an accident she caused, to be precise. Yet he caught her staring at him with a fire in her eyes that he had never seen before. That was the one thing he disliked about females: they let you stew in their resentment until you thought that everything was your own fault. That was probably the reason he never had any long-term girlfriends at school.

Still, Kairi was very attractive. When the sun glinted off of her shiny red hair just right, he understood how Sora felt whenever she was around. His normally calculating logic melted into a hapless puddle of emotion. Sora's romantic heart didn't stand a chance against her.

When the food arrived, they both politely thanked the waitress and silently began to eat. Kairi occasionally glanced at Riku while he was eating. She couldn't fully disguise her newfound feelings for him, and he occasionally caught her staring at him with a mixture of resentment and desire.

However, he just sat there. That was the one thing she disliked about guys: they always felt they had to mask their feelings, so you never knew what to say to them. She experienced the same thing with Sora, but to a lesser degree.

As much as she tried to concentrate on Sora, she couldn't stop her thoughts from gravitating to Riku. He was older, stronger, and likely smarter than Sora. His silver hair and muscular body had an odd magnetic attraction to them, as if they would ensnare her heart if she let them get too close.

Neither teen could enjoy their food as they sat in their own self-incriminations. As they finished, Riku tipped the waitress a generous 25%. He and Kairi left the restaurant quickly and proceeded back to the hotel.

When they got back to the room, they turned on the TV to the local news channel. They were both instantly drawn in when the anchor described the press conference that had occurred no more than a half an hour ago.

Kairi spoke to Riku for the first time in hours. "They found the gun? That means…"

He picked up her train of thought. "It means we could get Sora back soon."

She felt her heart leap at the prospect of getting her beloved back quickly. For the next few hours, her step had its old spring in it. To her utmost delight, she looked at Riku and saw nothing more than a good friend again. Relieved that her brain was back in working order, she went to a hardware store with Riku to pick up a flashlight and batteries.

They would be talking to Sora tonight.

1:17 P.M.

Dennison walked onto the isolated viewing platform for the Forensics clean room. His assistant was there with a coffee ready. Dennison accepted it and sipped the hot drink as he watched technicians in white lab coats swarm around the recovered weapon.

"What are they doing now?" he asked his assistant.

"They're lifting fingerprints."

Dennison looked at his wristwatch. "Still? It should only take a half an hour to dust fingerprints."

His assistant took a big gulp of an energy drink. "They're not dusting; they're lifting. The metal is the right shade of black to have our dust blend in perfectly. We can't dust it and get a pressing of the print, either. The metal has a dimpled surface that would distort the print. So they have to do it the high-tech way."

Dennison listened to the in-depth explanation of the technique used to literally "lift" the oil prints off of the metal and on to a specially treated plate, which would then be used for identification. There was still one unanswered question, though.

"When will they be done?"

"I'm sorry?"

Dennison took another sip of coffee. "When will they have the results?"

His assistant tossed his energy drink can into the trash. "Not for at least twelve hours. It's a painstaking process. Weren't you listening?"

"Enough to get the general idea of things, but not the details."

His assistant sighed. Typical.

Dennison finished his coffee and threw out the foam cup. "Call me when the results are in. There isn't much we can do until then."

His assistant put forth an idea. "Should we lift the lockdown now?"

Dennison looked over his shoulder as he walked to the parking lot. "What if those prints don't belong to who we think they do?"

"Oh. They'd be able to get away."

"Wouldn't you?"

8:51 P.M.

Sora needed to con the mercenaries into giving him a flashlight. He had been thinking all day, but no bright ideas came to him. The power to his room light was controlled externally, so he couldn't use that. He had considered shattering the light bulb with the Keyblade, but the mercenaries would know that he had intentionally destroyed it. They'd just let him sit in the dark.

No, physical violence wouldn't help here. He needed to outthink the Donner Security Consultants. He stared at the dim bulb. The arc of electricity burned with an orange glow that illuminated the whole room.

Arc.

Of course! It was precisely what would leave no evidence of tampering, yet would force them to provide him with light. He summoned the Keyblade. Placing the tip near the glowing glass orb, he whispered one word.

"Thunder."

A yellow tendril of electricity crawled over the surface of the glass before the filament sputtered and died, showering the bottom of the bulb with droplets of molten metal.

Within minutes, a mercenary was sent with a replacement bulb and a flashlight. When the replacement bulb didn't work either, he gruffly handed Sora the flashlight. "When it runs out of batteries, make sure to tell someone else." He growled.

His triumph fresh in his mind, he waited for nightfall to signal Riku and Kairi. He scanned the hotels outside his barred window. One room on the fifth floor of one of the hotels was alternating between light and dark every two seconds. Sora could just barely make out a figure standing in the window. He couldn't tell if it was Riku or Kairi.

Sora started the same pattern as the hotel room. Soon the light stopped alternating and began a coherent sequence. Sora pulled out his Morse code sheet and read the message.

It was a simple greeting. How r u?

He looked at the code sheet to determine his response. Bored. U?

OK. Riku sez hi.

Hi Riku.

Anything cool happen 2day?

The light from the other room paused. Sora was beginning to worry if they had stopped signaling when he got a simple response. No. U?

U hav 2 ask?

He could tell without a doubt who sent the next message. Gess wat? LD found da gun 2day. Means I can C U soon. Happy.

Sora hadn't heard this tidbit. He mentally reminded himself to keep the TV on more often. Wen dat happen?

Morning. SWAT found it in Regal.

No who did it yet?

No. Soon.

Sora stifled disappointment at that response. I miss U.

The other light responded too quickly for Sora to read. He held the light on for three seconds, then turned it off. Repeat.

I miss U so much. Riku duz 2.

The muffled sound of the outer door opening caught Sora's attention. He quickly signaled g2g and turned on the TV before the inner door swung open after the metallic squeal of the bar opening. A mercenary accompanied an electrician into Sora's room. The electrician spent fifteen minutes probing the wiring before deciding that the whole bulb wiring system would need to be replaced. The mercenary grumbled, then they both walked out of the room.

Sora began to signal again, hoping that Riku or Kairi was still watching. They catch me doin dis, I cant do it no more. B careful.

Don't worry.

Their Morse code conversation continued into the wee hours of the morning. Random things were discussed with excruciating slowness and lack of detail.

They were blissfully unaware that their conversation was being monitored by uninvited eyes…