R3574UR4N75

"Okay, so now we are in one of the high security cells. It's about time they realized what a threat we are. Geez…" Aelita muttered as she sat in a different cell with Yumi this time. It had the same glass door except it was thicker and it had blue laser bars running horizontally all along the glass.

Yumi sighed and didn't even glare at the next guard that walked by. That was twice in one day now that Ulrike had stopped her, had made her fail. And she had thought that once was already too many. And what had made her hesitate back there? He was still the same Ulrike. It's not like him knowing who she actually was would change the way things were between them: tense, edgy, and untrustworthy. So why had that happened back there? She didn't say anything and brought her legs up to her chin, thinking.

Then, suddenly, Odd and Ulrike were back at the door. Odd still had the ice pack pressed against the back of his head, but they looked as if nothing had just happened, that they hadn't just made a desperate and unprofessional attempt at an escape. Odd had the nearest guard disarm the lasers and open the door. This time, however, Odd had no such luck in trying to persuade the guard to leave the four in peace. On the contrary, two more guards joined the one that opened the cell and watched the prisoners warily as they were walked out of the cell.

However, as Yumi walked by Ulrike, he still leaned in and whispered to her, "And don't even think of escaping, because it'll just make it harder on you." Yumi stiffened as he walked ahead of her and took the lead again, like last time.

This time, though, she heeded his word. She and her partner followed Ulrich and Odd to a little room nearby which Yumi accurately guessed as an interrogation room, of sorts. They were ushered inside and Odd was able to make the guards wait outside. Then Ulrich and Odd walked in, closed the door behind them, and made the two girls sit on the other side of a lone desk in the room.

"This room is soundproof," Odd said, almost like it was a random fact. "Nobody knows what we are doing and you had better not tell anyone if you even want a remote chance of getting out."

Yumi and Aelita stared at him blankly.

Ulrich took over. "Obviously we now know who you are." As he said this, he looked especially hard at Yumi. "And even though our first goal was to catch you two, now that we have, we realize that we can't keep you captive."

Yumi and Aelita still chose to remain silent.

Odd continued. "We are afraid that this AAA threat that we have been investigating is too powerful. Although we hate to admit it, we will most definitely need your help on that mission. So therefore, we need to find a way to get you out of this place to continue with that mission. We have got a lead in Japan."

Yumi's heart jumped at "Japan" but she remained calm on the outside. When she spoke, she looked directly at Ulrich. "Then why don't you two just bust us out? Or pretend that you have a release for us or something like that? I'm sure you two, of all people, could pull it off."

"The problem with that, Yumi, is that this is our organization. How suspicious would it look if we did that, or worse, tried to bust you guys out and get caught?" Ulrich's words were low and fast as he tried to keep his patience. "Trust me, Odd and I have thought it all through and we know we personally can't get you out."

"But, there maybe someone who can. It all depends on who you know," Odd said, a bit mysteriously, as he smiled at the two girls before him.

"What do you mean?" Aelita asked warily.

"Does anyone else know your true identity? And if there is, narrow it down from those people to the ones that you know can fight well and could be capable of getting you guys out. Then, give me a way to contact them and I'll get them to come and bust you guys out as soon as we can."

"Why am I suspicious?" Yumi asked Odd with an eyebrow raised.

"Do you want to get out or not?" Ulrich said through gritted teeth, giving the two girls a hard glance. Yumi and Aelita gave each other sideways glances and then sat in silence for a moment, each thinking whether they should do it or not.

Finally, at the same time, both of them said, "Sam."

Odd looked puzzled. "Who?"

4ND

"Hmm…" Sam frowned at the doors of the gym. The people she had most hoped to see had not come in yet and it was almost late afternoon. This wasn't like them. Usually they came in bright and early under a situation like this. Unless they got caught again. Unless they got caught for reals. Out of a nervous habit, she pulled out her ponytail and did it again, brushing stray strands of hair back into her hands. Then she redid the elastics and placed her hands on her hips, frowning.

"Sam!" Theo said from across the gym as he came towards her. "Wanna spar?"

"Not really," she said, eyeing him with distaste. She really didn't want to talk to people right now.

"Do you know where Yumi is?"

"No idea."

"Yeah, I've missed her the past couple of days here. I wonder where she could have got to. I hope she isn't bypassing this place because I got her mad."

"Yeah, well, that's a Yumi thing to do," Sam said flatly, trying to give Theo the hint to go away.

"Well, if you want to spar," Theo said, giving her a little wave goodbye. Then he went off to join the loud banter of some other guys in the far corner. Sam rolled her eyes and went into the girls' locker room, for lack of anything better to do.

Where are they? That was what had been going through her head the past half a day. No answer on the cell, no show of face in the gym; it was liked they had disappeared off the face of the earth completely. The next thing she would do have to do was show up at their apartment and barge right in. Sighing, she wound through the rows to her usual locker.

When she got there, unlocked it, and opened it, she found a white envelope that she hadn't put there before. Curious, it distracted her a little from her worried thoughts as she turned it around to see her name written neatly on it in black ink. Curious even more, she ripped open the envelope (trying not to completely ruin it) and took out a piece of folded white paper. She unfolded it and read:

Dear Samantha,

If you would like to meet the guy of your dreams (that's me), go to the restaurant The Purple Asparagus at 8:00 p.m. today. I will be there, waiting for you, with a fresh red rose. Please, don't leave me waiting.

Love,

You'll see

"This is funny," she said with a grin out loud. Something told her that it was a blaringly obvious practical joke and she shouldn't fall for it and it was no doubt some stupid blind date one of her various friends had found for her or it was just her friends playing a trick on her but…for some reason, she wanted to go. She wanted to see what was up with this "guy of your dreams".

And above all, although she didn't let herself think too much about it, she wanted to see if this was or wasn't a weird and wacky way for Yumi and Aelita to get in contact with her.

R0535

Odd waited, just like he said he would, by the entrance to the elegant restaurant The Purple Asparagus with a fresh red rose clutched in his hand. The restaurant was new and "all the rage" at the moment, with couples and groups constantly keeping the doors swinging. Tapping his foot, he checked his watch. Well, she wasn't late yet. She still had three minutes.

And then, he almost choked on his own spit.

Stepping out of one of the newly arrived taxis, was a girl—no, a vision. Her hair was somewhere in between black and brown, leaning toward the darker side, with two red streaks in it on either side of her part. It hung down, perfectly spruced up and pin straight. Her skirt that went modestly to her knees looked like light purple flowing metal, glimmering in the light the restaurant's interior was giving off. The darker color sleeveless purple top was just there. Was just perfect. Was just that Odd hoped beyond hope that she was the one called Sam.

She seemed to be looking for someone as her purple heels clicked onto the sidewalk. Her eyes scanned the perimeter and then they lighted on Odd, making his hopes rise and heart pound. He gave her what he hoped to be a warm smile and then turned to look at his feet. His heart threatened to burst when the sound of clicking heels grew louder and louder.

"So you're the guy of my dreams, eh?" Sam said with a laugh, taking the rose out of Odd's hand with a seductive smile and sniffing it.

Odd laughed nervously. "Yes, yes I am. Do you think I'm at least a tiny bit close?"

"Oh, I think you're more than a tiny bit close," she said, slinking away in front of the glowing doors of the restaurant and turning to look behind her shoulder at her date. "Are we going to eat or what?"

At the mention of eating, Odd became immensely more relaxed. "You bet we are."