IX.ESCAPISM
First stage. Escape. Blunt denial.
After such a long time of enjoyable and explorative travel, the three had finally met their client again.
Looking at him, nothing seems to have changed at all. After that one encounter with the man, Ban has completely realized that whereas Takatori is concerned, nothing much will be wavering. Except for his eyes.
If not for those eyes that seem to take on a more serious, almost deadly note.
That prompted him to think about seriously eating those bananas.
My powers don't seem to wear people out in here, he jokingly commented.
They were still for a few moments. Neither moved nor attempted to start a conversation. It seemed that thunder and lightning had managed to enter the room and brought forth a silent cataclysm of fire and remained entrapped there, in the room. Finally tired of it all, both Hevn and Kagami made their own moves.
"The agents."
"Mister Takatori."
First stage. Escape. Blunt denial.
They simply nodded and smiled.
The room fitted their client perfectly well. Lots of shelves. No books, except for one paperback novel he seemed to have just taken to his reading liking. Only those flat steel-wired discs. A laptop computer with a cursor blinking maddeningly, itching to be moved out of its location. Polished steel table with the length of three-point-five Kagami-s and a width of two-point-five Kagami-s. Silent hum of the stainless steel air conditioner, encased in a porous glass box. Plush steel swivel chairs, with soft cushion seats. An oval-shaped mahogany table, covered with thin sheets of crystal fiberglass, situated in the middle of the room, enough to accommodate ten people. There were no phones. No pens. No boards. No doors. No windows.
The place was none but glass and steel.
Knowing SAKURA, there is no more need for anything more.
The man simply smiled. And regarded the book for a full moment.
"Silent Treatment. Used to be one of my dear friend's favorites. Even went as far as recommending it to me." Then he looked directly at them. And smiled.
That was his way of a greeting.
"Yesterday I fleetingly thought that I could have lent it to you before your mission for it could somehow help you in your trip, especially when dealing with complicated matters. But seeing you right now entailed that it was nevertheless useless. Either way, I am glad you have returned."
And with that, he stood up, and moved towards the mahogany table. "A seat, ladies and gentlemen?"
Lady and gentlemen.
He smiled callously.
Neither of them moved.
He was tired of his smile. Smile never reaching the eyes. Of his small talk.
He is, too.
He got back to his desk.
"Have you got what we requested?"
He could be direct if he wanted to, after all.
"Yes."
But then, so is she.
"Where is it?"
Hevn motioned for Ginji's vest, and he let out that prism that had haunted them for a lot of things for just a short time.
There was no denying Takatori's relief that seemed to wash his face afresh.
"Ah. Your reputation at success is really exceptional, get backers. I am grateful. Indeed, I am very grateful."
"Receiving five million yen was motivation enough, thank you," Ban smugly cut in, finally entering the picture.
"For that I am glad. Be assured you won't be cheated by your efforts. As what I have said, you already have the money. You can very well use it now as of this very moment."
"Yes."
A pause. A long pause.
"But I do need the box. In my hands."
With that, Hevn, somewhat smitten, looked at Ginji again, silently warning him. He still looked at the box. Quite in agonizingly confused trouble. Which puts Ban, as always, to the rescue.
"Oh, but with all due respect, Sir, we believed in giving full value for your money. And since we feel so ashamed of just delivering you the box alone for such big a pay, we decided to provide you with other services."
For a moment, Takatori stilled. Then his eyes shot up to Hevn. "Is this always the usual matter, Miss Mediator?" he decided to refer to her.
"No, Sir." Then she glared at them.
Why are they making this so goddamn hard?
"Then I shall ask nothing more from you, retrievers, but the box alone. If this is any guarantee, we paid that high for your life, which is in all due respect, quite more valuable than five million yen."
"Ginji. Ban. Please hand over the box to our client. Now." The woman had finally brought back her sass. She was really ready to get out of this place with the shortest the time as possible, and them prolonging her agony is really not helping her temper at all.
"Sir Takatori, if it really is—"
"It is perfectly fine, thank you. Delivering the box to my desk is ALL we need from you."
"But five million yen—"
"—is as valuable as the content of that box. Retrieving it from the doctor is more than enough, thank you."
With the discussion over for their client, Ginji looked at Ban for the last time, who just bowed in approval. When he had finally set the box in his table though, that was when Ban returned the attack.
"Oh, yes, talking about the doctor, Mister Takatori. We still insist to give you something else. Our guilt can't allow not disclosing this." It came out like an afterthought.
With that slight sigh, it was obvious that Ban had really hit the nerve. He was testing his client as much as his client was testing him. Yet after all this, the client still remained calm and composed.
He is the client. The customer. And he does have the right.
"The doctor, as you very well put it, will be of no more concern to you. We appreciate the gesture, but an added service is too much of an abuse from your hired skills."
"But you did hire us for our skills, Mister Takatori. And we also wanted to settle the balance."
Obnoxious Ban. Obnoxious Ban. Obnoxious Ban. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.
"It is already settled. We really don't want to impose too much, since our agreement only entitles us for your service in retrieving the box. And I am a contractual person, gentlemen."
"Then as a form of our gratitude we would like to lighten a little of your concerns by telling you that the doctor has been killed."
How nicely had it sounded, it just being dropped.
A form of gratitude? Who are they kidding?
Or a form of vengeance?
That finally did it. Everything went dead. Nobody moved. The fire turned a malevolent unit higher. Everything got burned their bodies can't twitch. Except that slow drumming of Takatori's fingers on his desk a little more later. Deliberating. Thinking. Weighing. Calculating.
And finally, the drumming stopped. And he replied, with a lopsided, cold grin.
"Is that all?"
Ban could not believe the man. He definitely expected something more than just that. He was really testing his patience. And he is no patient man.
With that anger in him leading to an opening, Takatori finally relinquished it. "Thank you for the sad news. To ease you up a bit, we will assure you that the doctor's issues will be thoroughly covered." And without further waiting for giving the other side an opportunity to fire back, he finally stood when Ban didn't seem to move, signaling the end of the meeting.
"Forgive me, but another concern has urgently needed my attention. So if there is nothing more, thank you retrievers. Kagami shall lead you to your exit."
First stage. Escape. Blunt denial.
And with that, he sat down again, apparently not anymore thinking about their encounter, finishing it all off, as he focused on his computer, and continued his work.
Kagami, who took his role as the observer a while ago, finally moved at his employer's beck and call. He turned on his heel. "Retrievers. Miss Hevn. This way please."
But Ban is just starting to heat up. He will not be the one who will leave scathed. He remained still in his position, his stance stubborn. No one can make him step out of his location, that's for sure.
"Midou Ban," Hevn finally sighed, attempting crudely to be calm. "We must not bother our client anymore."
"Hevn-san, please don't worry—" Ginji attempted, but her glare only put him back in place again.
Hevn tried coaxing Ban again. When he didn't seem to relent nor acknowledge her presence, Hevn had enough and purposely gripped his arm.
"Ban—"
"He was killed by Shuukra, Mister Takatori. In fact, if you need proof, you can look at the box. But I suppose you already know that?"
"Ban can you just for once stop all your opportunistic scheming ways! Let's leave our client. Now."
He didn't flinch a muscle. Hevn was way out of her little sane mind.
"Now, Ban, if you please, just don't give each one of us a hard time, okay? I'm sure what you've said is quite obvious—"
"Ah, so you're sure, Hevn, that it's obvious? Then you do know about this, don't you? Because it wasn't for us!" Ban admonished, instantly trapping Hevn to his cage.
And that was all that was needed. Takatori and Kagami finally took a care on the situation at hand. The cursor was abandoned once again as client and retriever meet face to face.
Ban felt satisfied. He can't stop leering. Now he was able to lure his victims out of his bait.
"Now please don't be confused with my standing. It is true that I am an apathetic creature. I seriously don't want to get involved into anything at all. But I also am one who really hated being played the fool, and I'm afraid the latter is my stronger trait. I guess you know what I mean?"
"Ban, stop it. What I've said was just a rhetorical expression!"
"What makes you think that this has got something to do with what you've said?"
Hevn stopped. And stilled. And pleaded back in her eyes. "Ban, stop this now! You're jeopardizing everything! This is completely unethical for our client—!"
Please. Please. Don't.
"I really suggest that you look at the proof, Mister Takatori. Shuukra killed your doctor."
Amidst all the commotion, he still had the gall to look under control.
"Is that so? Then I believe that has become the inevitable, Midou Ban. So we'll take care about that after this shortly."
"Has it also become the inevitable that Doctor Sendoh has become so skillful with Morse Code?"
Please. Please.
"Our company trains our employees with a number of skills, but I don't see the relevance of that in your employment. Or in our current situation." He could also be bitingly insulting if he wanted to.
Such skills are trained, indeed.
"But it does, Mister Takatori. It does."
Stop it!
"In what way do you mean?"
"The box." His voice held no excuses. It was the commanding tone of someone who refused to be disobeyed.
Completely piqued, the man finally gave in and took the box.
"Really, this is completely—"
"Ridiculous? Useless?" Ban all too helpfully supplied.
Takatori didn't move. The seething confusion, then rage in his eyes was all he needed to know.
Right before him was a complete replica of the box. With replica it would mean replica. He opened the box. The prism was made of wood. It was metallically painted.
And inside was a patch of marked skin.
SAKURA.
"It really came out as a surprise to realize that you mark your employees that way. So as you can see, the situation has even sharpened my other skills. I even plan to use a little of my Jagan to have it pass you with no difficulty. But I was surprised that such a man of details as you are would not require me for that. But I guess that will all also explain how much the box's return affects you, how valuable it must have been. And believe me, all of this won't really have to go this far without that skill your doctor has so skillfully entrenched us."
He once again motioned for Ginji who sheepishly produced another box. This time the genuine one.
"Ban, give that box to our client! This is blackmailing! How dare you!"
"Don't be too excited, Hevn. Of course we will give this box. In due time. After we get what we want. After all, we were paid to give this."
He moved closer to her. "And you don't fool me into saying that it was nothing but a rhetorical statement."
He then looked back at Takatori, his smile looking as if he already had won the battle.
"Please don't confuse my quest for truth as blackmailing. It's quite obvious there's a thicker line between the two."
He further teasingly waved the box in front of all of them, under their noses, taunting them. And he looked back at Hevn. And feigned a smiling face. Though it's as close as a simper.
No. Don't do it. Just don't.
"And you. I'd have a mind of curing you for being secretive and far too liberal with your agenda-setting decisions, even if it is your own choice and we are just your agents," Ban chewed over aloud with a regretful shake of his head.
Then he looked back to the rest who are involved. Who are barely in control.
"We really are sorry that this has to happen, but we needed to know," Ginji finally talked, especially looking at Hevn-san. Then at Ban.
Obnoxious Ban. Obnoxious Ban. Obnoxious Ban. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.
"Nowadays, I can assure you all that we are in the mood to be completely sympathetic with your reasons but I draw the line at your dangerously deceitful ways! So, are you going to tell us the truth! I think it's time you really did!"
First stage. Escape. Blunt denial.
Failed.
A/N: Oh, yes! Another chapter finished! I hope to really update more hence schooling is still out and college life is still not nagging at my creative mind! Thank you for reviewing! I really appreciated the gesture! Oh, gosh! Never thought I could be this ecstatic! Soooooo happy! Lalalala! öö