January

Ken's body language shifted from somewhat relaxed to tense as he mouthed Ava's words to himself. Ava's expression only grew more amused as the young man before her suddenly drew back.

"Oh my God," Ken breathed, his eyes becoming large. "You're a sharpshooter - a sniper!"

"The best in Mexico," Ava tipped her head graciously to Ken, a sly smile spread across her lips. "Although, my line of work is very different these days."

Ken took a serious pause.

"Is this a bad time to ask if you're single?"

Akihiko groaned miserably into the duct tape over his mouth.

"Cute," Ava chortled good naturedly, tussling Ken's hair. "Too young for me, though."

"You must have been hitting up someone dangerous if a sniper was involved. Who was the target?" Ken asked urgently.

"The cartel, of course."

"Seems like a risky target," he said slowly. "They must have been carrying something important."

Ava smiled, but did not take the bait.

"What was the plan? How did you stop them?"

"It all depended on the riders. They had to reach a speed over a hundred to pin the target down at the road's midpoint," Ava explained, moving the salt and pepper shakers to surround the bottle of tequila.

"Once La Campana unloaded from the safety net, our truck, she had to build a tremendous amount of power to reach the payload. On the opposite side, Los Lobos had to start at precisely the same time as she."

"Why did they have to be moving so fast?" Ken inquired, confused. "Wouldn't it be better to intercept the truck, I don't know. . . Casually?"

"Casually," Ava repeated blankly, her eyebrows raised. "Ay mi, you really are young."

Ava dropped a shot glass on the countertop with a thud before frankly looking at Ken.

"You don't just walk up to the cartel and start a friendly chat. More importantly, we only had three miles of road to work with, which isn't a lot a space for a casual transaction."

"Transaction?"

"La Campana and Los Lobos had to get in, attach a set of detonators, and get out before the truck cleared the hill and re-entered cellular range."

"A surprise attack," Ken said, enthralled.

"But surprise attacks do not stay surprises for long," Ava waved her finger. "El Fuego had hit this route before, and even though he'd only picked off a few cartel backbenchers transporting drugs and guns, we had to assume the drivers of this shipment would be ready for an ambush."

"Were they?"

"Oh yes. La Campana came under fire right away."


November

She was hounding the truck's path.

The needle on the speedometer was steadily climbing when Mitsuru heard a distinct popping noise from in front of her. She snapped to attention as the gleam of a gun in the scorching hot sun caught her eye. Panic momentarily took control of her a passenger emerged low the side window and fired his weapon at her.

"Incoming shots," she said through clenched teeth as she hunkered down low in the seat. Another pop in her direction, and it was all Mitsuru could do to remain in control of her faculties.

"Passenger," Ava confirmed. "I don't have a clean shot."

"Allow me," Alejandro's voice thrummed.

Mitsuru chanced a look behind her before glancing down at her watch. Either Alejandro had hit the turnaround point faster than expected or Mitsuru had been too slow in her approach. She needed to make up for lost speed. If she could just-

"Take the backseat, La Campana."

Mitsuru bit her lip in frustration, but said nothing as she tapped the brakes and fell back behind Alejandro's truck. Alejandro leaned out of the driver's side window and fired a few shots from his handgun into the driver's side mirror.

The effect was instantaneous.

A shooter climbed out from the passenger side window and perched himself on the frame, armed with a semi-automatic-

"Here comes your clean shot," Alejandro cautioned.


January

"Whack-a-mole," Ava said, pointing her fingers into the shape of gun and blowing a puff of air past her finger. "The real problem was when La Campana resumed her position on the frontline."

"What happened?"

"Pissed off the driver," Ava shrugged. "He started shooting."

Akihiko felt himself shiver.

"Was she hit?" Ken gasped.

"La Reina would not allow such a thing to happen," Ava replied, sounding slightly annoyed at the implication.

"What did you do?"

Ava blew a puff of air past her lips as a stray lock hair fell across her eyes. She poured another shot of tequila and slid it across the bar top to Ken.


November

"Shots fired from the driver," Ava said coolly, but Mitsuru could hear the frustration bubbling in her voice.

Mitsuru hunched down low as she heard a bullet whir past her helmet. She was gaining on the truck, but still needed a little cover to close the gap-

"Take him out," Alejandro snapped.

Mitsuru opened her mouth to interject but bit down hard as she swerved to avoid a bullet aimed for her front tire. She was running out of road. Mitsuru would need to do double time to intersect with the brothers at midpoint.

"If I take out the driver, I'll compromise the payload," Ava explained patiently.

"Do not engage the target, La Reina," Mitsuru commanded. "I repeat-"

"Figure it out-"

"Everybody shut up," Ava replied serenely. "And let me work."


January

"These situations are bad, but never so bad as they seem," Ava said, smiling wearily.

"Sounds pretty hairy to me," Ken replied with a snort. "How did you force the driver to stop shooting without putting the cargo in jeopardy?"

"I took out his arm," Ava shrugged easily, tipping back another shot of tequila against Ken's lips.

"His arm?" he spluttered.

"You need to force your target into making the choice most advantageous to you," she explained. "I wanted him to drive, not shoot. So I made him choose."

"How'd you know he'd stop shooting?"

"However threatening La Campana was child's play compared to this guy's boss, I can promise you that," Ava said easily. "If he willingly stopped the shipment for any reason, the cartel would make him pay. He stopped shooting long enough to give her the time she needed to plant the first charge."

"About those charges. . ." Ken muttered. "If cargo was really that precious, why would you attach explosives to the truck?"

"The charges were nothing but high pressure devices with an intake valve. They contained only small amounts of combustible material," Ava explained, pouring a shot of tequila and placing it in front of Akihiko with a mocking smile.

"It was a tool to knock the truck off balance and bring it to a stop, rather than destroy it entirely. Since the back of the truck was the heaviest and contained fragile cargo, we needed a lighter touch."

"So that means," Ken said, the realization dawning on him "The heavier charges needed to be placed on the lighter side."

"Two in the front, one in the back," Ava winked.

"Like tapping a spinning top," Ken said.


November

Mitsuru stretched out her arm and leaned down low in the seat as she attached the charge to the edge of the truck's undercarriage. A resounding click told her the device was secured. She pulled back the throttle and began to overtake the enemy vehicle.

"Match 1, locked in."

Instead of shooting, the driver made a last ditch attempt to run Mitsuru off the road. As the driver swerved to the left to cut her off, Mitsuru braked hard and shot to the right. She overtook the truck quickly and focused on putting a sufficient buffer space between her and the enemy.

Ahead, she could see Los Lobos cruising toward her.

"I need a diversion," Mitsuru said tightly, pushing on ahead of the truck as the driver revved the engine. He was trying to catch up to her.

Mitsuru guessed the brothers' speed to be well over a hundred as they rushed toward her in perfect harmony, spaced a precarious four feet apart. Both parties began to reduce their speed just enough to complete the pass-

"With pleasure," Ava responded. A slight ping bounced off of the truck just before Mitsuru and the brothers crossed paths.

The men widened the gap between their bikes to make room for Mitsuru while the truck swerved behind them. Mitsuru caught a whiff of hot brakes as she leaned over to the right and held the small device low to the ground. As Estaban approached, he leaned down and easily plucked it from Mitsuru's hand.

Practice perfect, Mitsuru smiled grimly.


January

"Wait, hang-on - Why not have them carry their own charges?" Ken asked, squinting peculiarly at Ava.

"Contingency," Ava responded dryly. "If Los Lobos came under fire, one would need to shoot so the other had cover to plant their device. La Campana would plant the remaining charge."

Ava locked eyes with Akihiko as she sipped from the tequila shot in front of him.

Always a back up plan, he thought sourly as he unflinchingly returned her gaze.


November

Mitsuru didn't look back, but knew the brothers had peeled off and flanked either side of the truck.

"Match 2, locked in."

"Match 3, locked in."

Mitsuru set her jaw as she approached the hill at the end of target track. They were delayed by a few seconds, but could still secure the payload before the enemy cleared the hill.

"Light the matches, El Fuego. La Reina, give him a flat."

"Nobody block my shot," Ava's strict voice reminded them all.

A moment of radio silence plugged her ears before Mitsuru heard three simultaneous bursts. She brought the bike down to speed before spinning it around to face the enemy's truck, just as the high pressure devices shook its frame. A loud snap signaled Ava had waited until after the devices were detonated to punctured the front tire. The vehicle began to sway and tremor, and for a terrifying moment, Mitsuru thought it might topple over. She breathed a sigh of relief as it came to a shaky stop, just before the road rose up out of the valley.

Behind the enemy's vehicle, Alejandro blocked off the road with the carbon copy of the enemy's truck.

He rolled out of the cab with a pump shotgun and easily tossed a handgun to Marco as he and Esteban emerged behind him. Esteban removed his own handgun and together, the brothers proceeded to shoot out the remaining tires.

Alejandro aimed for the driver's feet as he jumped out from the cab of the truck in an attempt to flee. He pumped the shotgun and fired off a warning shot, causing the driver to fall to the ground with a frightened scream.

Mitsuru dismounted her bike approached the driver head-on, with Alejandro closing in from the rear.


January

"What happened after they immobilized the truck?"

"I covered Los Lobos as they transferred the cargo to our transport. La Campana and El Fuego took the driver out of my line of sight."

"What did they say to him?"

"Don't know," Ava said airily as she pretended to cut her own throat. "They went dark."


November

"I've got sixteen back here," Esteban's strained voice brushed against Mitsuru's ears as she stared the driver down through the visor of her helmet.

"Start transferring the payload to the safety net. Stay sharp."

Behind the disabled truck, Mitsuru motioned to Alejandro to cut his signal before switching her communicator off. She removed her helmet grasped the driver's chin, forcing him to look at her.

"Where is the seventeenth?"

Dazed, the driver shook his head before puffing out his cheeks. Alejandro, sensing he was about to spit on Mitsuru, grabbed the man by the head and slammed him against the frame of the truck.

"Nothing pisses me off more," Alejandro said, his fist full with the driver's hair. "Than thug with bad manners."

Patience fraying, Mitsuru repeated her question.

"Shut up and kill me already," the driver shouted, his nose and mouth smeared with blood.

"If you refuse to give up the location of the last child," Mitsuru said calmly. "That privilege will belong to your masters."

"And if I tell you?" he shrieked.

"Your seller won't receive payment unless the shipment reaches the warehouse, correct?" Mitsuru asked.

The driver simply stared back at Mitsuru, heaving with rage. A firm shake from Alejandro elicited a reluctant shake of his head. Mitsuru raised her chin, feeling more than irritated.

"Then your seller stands to lose much more than your affiliate, the buyer. We'll happily leave you at their mercy where you can prove your worth with a physical description of your attacker. If your information is good, the seller will likely keep you alive."

"You bitch," the driver fumed, earning himself a suckerpunch from Alejandro.

"The choice is yours," Mitsuru replied evenly.


"La Reina," Mitsuru spoke into her helmet as she returned from behind the truck. Behind her, Alejandro marched the freshly blindfolded and bound driver out in front of him.

"Once the safety net is cleared for passage, dismantle your station and await transport."

"Understood," Ava said shortly.

"Lobos," Mitsuru called out, returning to her bike as she watched Alejandro secure the captive driver on the back of Marco's motorcycle. He nodded his head to her as he donned Marco's helmet and climbed behind the handlebars.

"Payload's secure and ready for transport," Marco reported, and Mitsuru heard him shut the driver's side door to the truck. Her eyes moved to Esteban as he rolled the back door to the truck closed, just barely catching a glimpse of a group of small, huddled shapes. He lifted his chin to her as he mounted his motorcycle.

"Collect La Reina and return to home base."

"Roger that, boss," Esteban and Marco's synchronized response was followed by the roar of the truck engine.

With their captive firmly in place, Mitsuru and Alejandro took off in the direction Hermasillo, while the others departed for Agua Prieta.


The driver led them into the heart of a barren stretch of desert, where Mitsuru instantly spotted the dilapidated shack he had described, standing alone among the shrubs.

After handing her a bottle of water from his satchel, Alejandro posted himself beside the immobilized driver while Mitsuru approached the frail wooden structure. Once she broke the flimsy lock with a nearby rock, the door swung open with a creak.

What she saw filled her with anger and disgust.

The boy was blindfolded, gagged, and bound to a rusted pipe.

Mitsuru took a moment to collect herself before she knelt down beside him and gently cut the bindings from his hands. Judging by the way he flinched when she removed the blindfold, Mitsuru deduced that the boy had not seen light in some time. She removed the gag from his mouth and offered him the water.

He took it instantly, looking fearfully up at Mitsuru as he drank the entire bottle in a few gulps. Still, his eyes did not seem to actually perceive her.

"What is your name?" She asked, her eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness.

The child merely blinked.

Realizing her appearance was probably the source of the boy's fear, Mitsuru removed her helmet and offered him a kind smile.

"I'm-"

"Artemesia," he said and Mitsuru felt her muscles tense up. "That's the name of yours."

"That's right," she answered, an involuntary chuckle escaping her lips as she recovered from her surprise. Mitsuru rested her helmet down on the ground as the boy seemed relax slightly.

"She's afraid of fire," he frowned.

"Very much so," Mitsuru shook her head before she elaborated. "But even when she's afraid, she stands by me, no matter what. Artemesia protects me."

"You're strong," the boy nodded, his eyes unfocused on the other wall. "Stronger than any of us."

Mitsuru rested her chin on her knee as she took a measured inhale.

"Why are you here by yourself?" she asked gently.

"Mixcoatl can't fight," he answered, his eyes looking past her. "Mixcoatl can see things, though," the boy said. "He never lies."

Another persona like Yamagishi's. Certainly, this boy was a valuable asset to the cartel, but not for fighting shadows. Perpetuating greed and human misery was their task. A strange feeling took a hold of Mitsuru as she waved her hand in front of the boy's eyes.

"I see your heart," he noted, not batting an eyelash. "It's pure, but heavy. I cannot see your face, SeƱorita."

Mitsuru swallowed.

"Has it . . . always been like this?"

"No," the boy answered, and Mitsuru did not need to hear anything else. She felt the painful slow pull of knife in her heart as the boy tilted his head at her. "He says you rescued the others."

She forced the tears back as the boy continued, his voice suddenly swelling with hope.

"He says you have come to take me home."


Mitsuru emerged from the shack, hand in hand with the small boy.

Alejandro watched her lazily beside his borrowed motorcycle, his hand effortlessly hooked to the bound and gagged driver on the back of the bike.

Mitsuru squinted at Alejandro before quickly looking away, knowing her eyes were still moist. Alejandro's eyes momentarily flickered down to the boy wearing Mitsuru's motorcycle helmet before he remounted his bike, not saying a word.

Mitsuru helped the boy onto her bike, whispering for him to hold on to her tightly.

The boy nodded and Mitsuru flipped the ignition.

Just outside of Hermasillo in the small town of Guadaloupe, Mitsuru and Alejandro pulled their motorcycles up to a plain colored dwelling. Mitsuru dismounted her bike and watched as Alejandro hauled the driver up by his shirt and unceremoniously dropped him to the ground.

Mitsuru leaned over the petty thug and rolled him onto his back with her heel.

"Tell your seller: Takeharu Kirijo sends his regards."


When they arrived in Agua Prieta outside a cluster of homes, Mitsuru killed the engine and gently guided the boy's hand into Alejandro's. She kept the motorcycle steady as he clambered down and watched as Alejandro slowly removed her helmet from the boy's head. The boy ruffled his own hair, a wide grin on his mouth as Alejandro returned the helmet to Mitsuru.

The boy's family lived just around the corner. A part of Mitsuru yearned to see their reunion, but she instantly killed the urge. Her oversight was the reason a reunion was necessary. It would be abhorrent if she received any enjoyment or satisfaction from simply doing the right thing.

Alejandro looked at her, a strange gleam in his eyes.

"His mother and father will want to meet the woman who saved their son's life," Alejandro paused. "Boss."

"They will," Mitsuru said clearly, replacing her helmet over her head. "As we speak, Agua Prieta is making the acquaintance of La Reina."

Alejandro let out a deep sigh in response, his large hand swallowing the rescued boy's tiny fingers in a gentle hold.

"Meet me at the school when you've finished here," Mitsuru added, twisting the throttle gently. "Our work isn't quite finished."


Mitsuru glanced at her watch, peering up into the sky as the sun began its descent toward the desert horizon.

A cursory glance over the building informed her that the school had been uninhabited for quite some time. She surmised that after the seventeen children had been kidnapped, the laboratory staff and "teachers" had abandoned the facilities.

Common sense told her to wait for Alejandro before she went in, but the feeling was trampled by her burning impulse to investigate. The doors were locked, so Mitsuru took up a nearby rock and shattered a window for a makeshift entrance. After clearing the window edges of broken glass, Mitsuru hoisted herself up through the window.

Forged passports, stalking, ambushing, purchasing weapons under questionable circumstances, and of course attacking a member of the cartel and dropping him in the middle of the desert. Now, breaking and entering - The freshest addition to a laundry list of dubious activities and not exactly the usual affairs of Mitsuru Kirijo. What would Lieutenant Sanada say if he could see her now?

Mitsuru crossed her arms as she leisurely toured the school.

Her life had always been carefully planned out, the painstaking details of her interactions always handled with care. Being here had not changed anything, she reminded herself. She was still the composed CEO she had always been. Her activities were simply of a different nature now. They required honing a different management style, a different approach, a certain. . . edge.

Choices were always at the root of change, she told herself, slowly making her way through the hallways of the school turned laboratory. Mitsuru had chosen to handle the perpetrators of these crimes and had thus chosen to become this person, however out of place it felt.

Lieutenant Sanada had chosen to pursue a life of order, a life dedicated to the pursuit of perfection. Mitsuru had once chosen a similar life, but now her circumstances demanded that she pursue justice, by whatever means.

Mitsuru paused, peering into a storage room. She flipped on the lights and noted a few dead bulbs. The property was still well maintained, but the signs of abandonment were beginning to show. She wondered how her flat in Port Island was doing. What of her office? Were the others-

Those thoughts would not help at a time like this, she told herself sternly as she began to open filing cabinets. All of them were empty. Of course, she thought as she went through each of the cabinets and slammed them shut.

She was too late: The files had already been purged.

"Long day, boss?"

Alarmed, Mitsuru jumped back and inadvertently bumped into the filing cabinet behind her. The sound of paper fluttering to the ground caught her attention, even as her heart hammered in her ears.

"Alejandro," she breathed, closing her eyes. Mitsuru shook her head as she turned around and opened the filing cabinet.

"Should have waited for me," he remarked, shuffling into the room. Mitsuru retrieved the file from the bottom, her eyes feasting on the contents.

"What is it?"

"Email correspondence," she answered, astonished. Mitsuru shook her head as she continued flipping through the file. "Between Maeda and Akabe."

Behind her, Alejandro towered over her shoulder and squinted down at the file. He shook his head at the characters on the page.

"They're discussing how to misconstrue a wire transfer, so as not to draw attention," Mitsuru murmured.

"Seems careless."

"Arrogant," Mitsuru corrected distractedly, flipping a page. "They didn't think anyone would find this information if it wasn't on the Kirijo Group's official record. These emails were sent from unofficial addresses."

The file didn't just contain email threads. There was correspondence detailing exchange of the product, pricing, a treasure trove of evidence linking Treasurer Akabe to the crimes in Agua Prieta.

"Boss," Alejandro murmured. "If you take this back, that means. . ."

"It's time to let go of the idea that things can return to business as usual," Mitsuru stated, shutting the filing cabinet firmly. She turned around to face Alejandro, chin lifted.

"I may not be able to lead my company, but I can at least put the next leader on the correct course."

Alejandro looked down at her, crestfallen. Mitsuru gave him a comforting smile.

"Find me gasoline, Alejandro."


Her gargantuan helper took a deep breath as he tossed the empty gasoline pitcher through the broken window.

"You sure about this?" Alejandro seemed nervous.

"Do the honors, if you please," Mitsuru nodded, crossing her arms on her chest as a cold shiver shot down her spine.

The sun had set and the desert heat had almost instantly evaporated, leaving an empty cold in its place. After splitting up to sweep the school for any additional evidence, Mitsuru and Alejandro had doused the floors, walls, and remaining equipment with a modest amount of fuel found in the cellar.

"No way," Alejandro said, lighting the match and passing it to her. "This moment belongs to you, boss."

A tiny flame danced in the dark.

As she meditated on the flame, Mitsuru felt Artemesia blanch. Still, her persona did not draw back. Instead, she stood fast and remained the true presence that Mitsuru had described to the young boy she rescued earlier.

Mitsuru tossed the match onto the slick trail of gasoline and took a tiny retreat as the tiny flame flowered into a towering wall of fire.

She was only as strong as her greatest weakness.

Mitsuru closed her eyes as she felt the heat began to swell around her. Even with her eyes shut, she could see the world around her painted with an ethereal orange glow. The sound of shattering glass, groaning pillars, and crumbling ceilings filled her ears. At once, she almost felt a tendril of fire curl toward her skin-

You're standing too close, something told her.

"Boss!"

Mitsuru's eyes flew open as she felt a hand abruptly jerk her back by the collar of her jacket. A shower of flames came spitting out from the building, and Mitsuru suddenly found herself engulfed by Alejandro's arms as a torrent of flames soared over them. Alejandro pulled her down to the ground and the flames died down almost as fast as they had been born.

Mitsuru let out a shaky breath as involuntary tears streamed down her face, her eyes glassy on the burgeoning wreckage.

Alejandro apprehended her shoulders and gaped at her as though she had gone stark-raving mad.

"Didn't you hear me?" he said sternly, giving her shoulders a slight shake. "I said you were standing too close."


January

"What do you think?" Ava pondered, leaning over the bar top and evaluating Akihiko as she strummed her fingers against the bar top. "Can you speak with a civilized tone?"

Akihiko shut his eyes. After taking a deep breath, he looked at her and nodded. Ava smiled as her fingers found the edge of the tape and ripped it off.

"That's gotta hurt," Ken winced.

Akihiko licked his lips, contemplating his next words carefully.

"Why are we the enemy here?"

Ava eyed him curiously before leaning back.

"We once had Japanese men working in Agua Prieta. They said they were good men, charitable men," she explained. "Agua Prieta hasn't forgotten those men. You'll have to forgive the community's distrust. It isn't entirely unjustified."

"What did they do?" Ken asked.

"I don't know, but she came here for them," Akihiko answered immediately. "And not to tell them what a great job they were doing."

"Do you really need me to tell you what was in the truck?" Ava said, fiddling with her dress as she settled back against the liquor cabinets.

Akihiko chewed the inside of his mouth.

A traffic jam of thoughts began to clog his mind. A million things could have caught the eye of Mitsuru Kirijo, but only one could cause her to pursue such a high stakes target in such a small amount of time. Before he realized it, Akihiko was speaking.

"Our first date was a total disaster," he said wryly, turning to Ken. Ken responded with a comforting smile, but his expression seemed befuddled. Akihiko chortled humorlessly at Ava.

"We went to this restaurant and the food gave me such bad heartburn. The server clearly didn't think we were there on a date and kept hitting on her, not that she noticed. To top things off, she got this call that there was a fire at the company office."

Akihiko took a deep breath.

"We left right away and when we got there, they had cornered off the building. While she was trying to find out what was going on, I tried talking to some of my buddies on the fire brigade. They told me it was just a coffee pot that got left on. Small fire. I went to tell her, but I couldn't find her. Turns out, when she discovered that some of her employees were inside, she got in through a back entrance. Like I said, it was a small fire, nothing serious. But she. . . "

He trailed off, eyes stony.

"She's got this thing with fire, I'll say that. By the time she got upstairs, her people had already made it down. You should have seen the look on her face when the firefighters escorted her back down," Akihiko chuckled mirthlessly.

"But that was nothing compared to what I was feeling. I was furious."

"Because she went in without you," Ava murmured.

She was right, but Akihiko wasn't going to admit that yet.

"When I asked her why she didn't wait for me to go in with her, she said she didn't want me to do anything that might jeopardize my career."

Which, Akihiko realized, should have been a good indicator of their ill-fated dance with trust and communication.

"She's a methodical person," Akihiko explained. "She wouldn't just run off to Mexico to take on the cartel. . . Unless someone was in imminent danger."

Akihiko directed his last sentence to Ken, who seemed to be putting the pieces together.

"So no," he said, glancing back at Ava. "You don't need to tell me what was in that truck. Your description of your operation tells me there were human lives involved. Kids most likely if she was looking into the school."

He released a sigh he did not realize he had been holding.

"What I do need to know is . . . if she's still here or if I'm too late."

"You're not too late," a small voice said. Their heads turned in unison to a boy who had suddenly appeared at Akihiko's side. "But she's not here."

"Gabriel," Ava said breathlessly, rushing to the boy's side. "I told you to wait upstairs. Go back-"

"Caesar and Kala-Nemi called me," the boy said blinking over at Ken curiously. "I can hear Athena, too, but she's further away. You're all strong - like her."

Ava turned to Akihiko with new eyes.

"You're like them?" she whispered to him, faltering. "You have the power of persona?"

Gabriel nodded on behalf of Ava's two prisoners.

"Hers was Artemesia," he continued, approaching Akihiko fearlessly. "Everyone says La Reina saved me that day, but they're wrong. I wasn't with the others. It was her."

"Her?" Ken swallowed, obviously not sure how to ask a blind child for a physical description.

"There was a cold, bright light around her. She gave me water and took me home to my parents on her motorcycle. I stay here with La Reina in Hermasillo when they work."

Gabriel paused before returning his unseeing eyes to Akihiko.

"He will put a bullet through her heart, if you don't go now," the boy related succinctly. "And she'll die alone."


Ava was talking too fast, and Akihiko had to ask her to slow down so his throbbing head could keep up.

The children were persona users, but not through inherent potential. Their personas were artificial, forced upon them by scientists hungry for power and money. To Akihiko, these men were clearly rogue members of the Kirijo Group, and Mitsuru had taken it upon herself to stop them. According to Ava, the lucky children survived the experiments. Other children, before the seventeen had gone missing, had not made it through the process.

Akihiko's stomach shuddered with revulsion.

They hadn't harnessed the power of their other selves, however, and were susceptible to bouts of volatility. Ava's job was to make sure the children had an emotional safe place and protection from predators until they could grow into their abilities.

Ava herself did not have the potential, but she could empathize with the children's situation.

"We can choose to rise," she murmured slowly. She brought her dark eyes to meet Akihiko. "That's what she told me. I had my doubts, of course, but looking back, she was right. Now I know: I was born to help these kids."

"Don't get me wrong," Ken started tepidly. "It's amazing that you rescued these kids, but. . . um. . ."

Silence plugged the air as Ken's words fell off.

"You're asking what was in it for us?" Ava asked quietly.

"I guess so," Ken said cautiously.

Ava paused for a moment before emitting a contemplative sigh.

"Fair enough."

Then, fixing Ken with a dangerously soft expression, Ava slowly unwound the scarf around her neck. Akihiko felt his body grow rigid and had to stop himself from physically recoiling.

The broken line of a white scar ran diagonally across her throat.

"If you're still wondering," Ava said lowly. "We weren't there for money."

Ava paused before turning around to wipe down the bar and put away a set of clean glasses. Meanwhile, Ken, with his bloodied lips in deep contrast with his pale skin, looked to Akihiko for guidance on what to say next. Even though he was completely free to speak now, Akihiko knew better and kept quiet.

Once she regained her no-nonsense tongue, Ava explained that Mitsuru had left just a week or so after their operation. Akihiko pressed her to give them the estimated date of Mitsuru's departure.

"About a month ago. She stayed long enough to make sure we could handle any blowback from the cartel and to ensure the payload was well-protected."

"Was there any?" Ken cleared his throat. "Blowback, I mean?"

"None yet," Ava said, her voice metered. "I think the fire handled that for us."

"Fire. . ." Akihiko muttered. "The fire at the school."

Ava nodded, looking at Akihiko as though he weren't quite right in the head.

It was her. Mitsuru had set the school ablaze. Of all the things Akihiko had heard today, the idea of Mitsuru Kirijo as an arsonist was probably the most difficult to swallow. Considering her aversion to fire as well as the fact that her father had built that school, Akihiko couldn't quite believe she was capable of such extremes. The only reason she would do such a thing would be to-

"A message," Ava clarified. "To the cartel and the suppliers."

"No," Akihiko said sharply. "Bait."


Akihiko, being the realist he was, had to ask what would happen to Ava once the news spread that she had released the shifty group of foreigners unharmed.

"It will be easy once I explain that you are like the children," she sighed. "Just don't expect to be greeted like heroes on your way out of town."

"What did you do with Aigis?" Ken asked suddenly.

"Relax," Ava laughed as she picked up a phone behind the bar and began to dial a number. In a matter of minutes, two young men entered the bar with Aigis sandwiched between them.

"Akihiko-san! Ken-san!"

Aigis' cheerful greeting died abruptly when she saw the condition of her friends. Immediately, she reproached the two brothers for their indelicate handling of her friends.

"It was not necessary to use such force," Aigis chided them. To Akihiko's astonishment, the brothers looked down in shame.

"Man," Ken muttered, watching with amazement as Aigis continued her chastisement. "She doesn't have a scratch on her. You really got the short end the stick, Akihiko-san."

"Me?!" Akihiko spluttered, turning stiffly in his seat. "You got knocked around just as much as I did."

"Yup," Ken chirped. "But I also got fed tequila shots by a beautiful woman."

Ava grinned at him.


"What did they do to you?" Akihiko growled, looking distrustfully at the two young men as Aigis tipped Akihiko's chin back to inspect his injuries. "Did they hurt you?"

"Not at all," Aigis said reassuringly. "They simply found my emergency shutdown switch. In that state, I am unable to fight but am still aware of my surroundings. They explained why I was being held and that you were with someone else before they reactivated me. Our time together was very peaceful and productive."

"I really did get the short end of the stick," Akihiko muttered as the brothers cut Akihiko and Ken away from their bindings.

"Alejo mentioned an Iranian flower market in Beirut," Ava called over to them as they left the bar, her hands protectively laying over Gabriel's shoulders. "If you find her, tell her there is still a lot of work to be done here."

Ava quietly pulled the door close, giving Ken one last wink before she disappeared back into the bar. Ken's eyes seemed to linger on the place where Ava stood as he trailed behind Aigis. They managed to find Ken's car closeby. After immobilizing the three persona users in Agua Prieta, Los Lobos had used Ken's car to transport them to Hermasillo for interrogation. Thankfully, the brothers had been courteous enough to lock the doors.

"Should we drive back to Agua Prieta?" Ken asked, blinded by the midday sun. He turned around to face Akihiko and didn't seem altogether surprised when he was met with a hostile gaze. Realization seemed to dawn on him and Ken squared his shoulders back.

"Okay," Ken nodded bravely, seeing what was about to happen. "I get it. Time to pay the piper," he took in another gulp of air and lifted his chin. Ken spread his arms and screwed his eyes shut.

"Just not in the face, okay? My looks are the only thing I have going for me at this point."

Drained, Akihiko merely squinted at him.

"How did you know?" In his own voice, Akihiko at once heard all of the confusion, hurt, and helplessness that had been accumulating all of these years.

Perplexed, Ken dropped his arms and opened his eyes while Aigis looked on bemusedly.

"If I tell you, are you still going to punch me?"

Akihiko licked his lips wearily, his face still feeling heavy from the black eye.

"I might."