Disclaimer: I make no claim to the series, ideas, or characters of Full Metal Panic.
Author's Notes: Yeah, I know, it's been a while. But like always, things keep coming up and leaving me with very little free time. Also, I'm having to make sure and take my time with these final chapters in order to fill in all the holes and spaces in the story.
A thousand words of thanks go out to MJP for his awesome betawork on this chapter. I don't know what I'd do without you, pal.
As always, reviews are greatly appreciated, and constructive criticism is nearly worshipped. Hope you enjoy.
Defining Normalcy
Chapter 21: Refinement of Purpose
By Adam Lakewood
The echoes of cries and screams traveled swiftly and consistently through the dark streets of Mexico City like a siren in the night.
The first blast had carved a wide, three-mile long line through the southern sector of the city, knocking out all of the power and backup power in the city as well as completely demolishing buildings, vehicles, streets, houses, landscape, and everything else in its way. Trees crunched up like tinfoil until nothing remained, buildings turned to dust, homes collapsed, and vehicles lifted violently into the air only to never come back down. No one had seen the blast. There was no explosion and no fire, almost as if everything had been annihilated by the very will of gravity itself.
This caused more confusion than terror and panic. The terror came with the second spectral blast, and panic came with the third once everyone realized they were being attacked by an enemy they could not see.
Squadrons of tanks and third-rate Arm Slaves positioned themselves randomly in the broken streets, pretending to have strategic set-mends against a foe they knew absolutely nothing about, soldiers and police officers directed masses of panicked people to safe sectors that no one could exactly claim to be safe from the random attacks, and helicopters flew around the city without purpose, looking for an enemy they had no way of identifying.
Confusion and fear spread over citizens and armed forces alike. Normally, the armed forces were quick to the defense against any threat, but faced with something they could not locate through visual or electronic senses, they were nearly in just as much panic as the citizens; a world full of weaponry would be of no use if one did not know what he was fighting against.
"Seccion: Veintidos, todos unidades tiran!"
The uncertain command for all units to fire on the positioning of Section 22 was passed through one section of powerless city to the next via crackling megaphones. When the command was passed and confirmed, a single shot from a tank marked and initiated an array of blasts to a randomized section of the city in hopes of destroying their target by the means of educated guessing, then deduction, then the process of elimination if it should come to that.
From the sky, a small part of the city seemed to light up like a solar flare. If the original objective had truly been to destroy the city, then they would have truly been making it easier for the pilot.
Certainly, they were probably seeking to destroy at least an entire regiment. Not even their greatest military minds would have been able to comprehend they were up against a one-man force.
Of course, numbers didn't matter to the pilot, only the mission. The inside of the cockpit was deathly quiet, and no light emanated from the pilot's dark haven save for a single, small, green light blinking on the otherwise unlit console.
A black leather glove reached out to the button, and the light went off under the light touch, opening secure communication lines back to home-station.
"Phase one of SC operation complete. Sectors 24, 20, and 23 of test field have been applied as test fields and have been rendered useless as such for later commencement; calculating best areas of commencement for phase two of testing. Sector 22 has become an unstable field due to… local military… survival… tactics," informed the voice of the pilot, unsure on exactly how to word what had just been seen. "Commencing with phase two field testing against sectors…" started the pilot before being interrupted by loud shouts and rumbling heard through the external communications line.
"TIRAN!" The command echoed and repeated from one sector to the next in systematic fashion. A thundering rumble of artillery fire resonated all through the city and above.
"Sector… Sector 21 has just now been permanently removed as a field test area for phase two due to local military survival… instincts. Commencing with phase two field test against sectors 41 through 48 before further damage is done to the area."
A flap of literal wings sent the black AS diving toward the city at a phenomenal speed of instant, maximum acceleration. In just a few seconds, the AS impacted in the heart of the city, causing a large cloud of dust and fire to sweep the streets as a few underground tankers were punctured from the impact. Nearby armaments moved in around the cloud of fire and smoke, certain they would see the fallen enemy. But when the cloud finally cleared out of the area and drifted on, their enemy was nowhere to be seen.
"Sir?" One of the nearby soldiers turned his confused attention to his commanding officer. "You were certain it was the enemy which had landed here?"
The commander did not respond as he surveyed the area with a questionable look on his face. He turned his attention toward the large crater left by whatever had hit. He looked at the surrounding buildings about to crumble. His attention was then drawn to crevices in the ground that almost seemed to be in a pattern of distance along the road. Holding his hand up, he felt the wind, trying to get a somewhat accurate read of the windspeed. He nodded his head slightly, turning around to look at the dust-cloud drifting nearly out of sight in the distance. He immediately realized that it seemed to be traveling much faster than the wind should have been blowing it around, even with the propulsion of the initial impact-force behind it.
Not daring to hesitate a second longer, he quickly snatched the megaphone from his subordinate. Unlike some of the other commanders around the place that would destroy their own city in order to destroy an enemy, he was proud to say that his estimations were usually far more accurate.
"Sections 42, 43, 45, and 47, the enemy is quickly coming your way. It is somehow controlling that large dust-cloud and using it for cover. Fire at 45 degrees right and 70 degrees left into the cloud so as not to destroy anymore buildings."
The commander watched for no more than a few seconds before the roar and light of artillery fire lit up the night. Within a few more seconds, the assaults from each section of the city ended one right after the other, one at a time. A black figure that looked like an AS with wings took to the sky and came back down at terminal velocity no more than three seconds later. The shaking, crumbling, and collapsing buildings marked its path leading to sectors 44 and 46. The commander watched and listened with astonished horror as all commotion from sector 44 then 46 instantly came to an end within a few seconds. The sounds of terrified screams rose from behind him.
The commander turned around just in time to see several people, citizens and soldiers alike running scared away from his sector. Panicked cries of "Esta el Diablo!" quickly made their way to the old soldier's ears. As he looked ahead at the area everyone was running away from, he saw movement behind the sector's blazing residential mansion. The veteran soldier wanted to scream in terror but could not find his voice.
A dragon, dark as the night itself, rose above the smoke and flames. Leather-like wings moved naturally in the air, ensuring that it would stay airborne.
He could make out the glossy leathery exterior of the humanoid dragon, but he knew the thing was still a machine. Legends can be only that—legends.
However, in the few moments before his death, he found himself doubting that philosophy. The gloss black figure, outlined by the darkness of night, contrasted against it only with two glowing red eyes that pierced through the mass of black like laser beams and crimson red claws seemingly made of the same essence as the legend's eyes. The thing moved with fluid motions that no machine of this world could ever hope to attain. It moved like a man, had the visage of a dragon, the heart of a machine, and the essence of a demon.
Resignation registered to him, and the old soldier's megaphone hit the ground with a hollow, metallic clunk. There was no way he or his company could make it out alive, and he somehow knew this just by simply gazing upon the being hovering above him. He had not seen any of the destruction of the third companies caused by the creature, but he knew there was no point in fighting it, for he would soon find out exactly what had happened to his company.
He let out a shaky sigh as his hand found its way to the locket around his neck. The gold locket, bronzed by time, clicked open in the palm of his hand. He momentarily gazed upon the picture of his youngest granddaughter with a look of deep regret in his eyes. Closing his eyes, he held the locket to his heart and began to quietly chant the Mandique prayer, wishing safety upon his family, as the earth began to rumble and rise around him.
The abomination of the sky lifted its red, clawed hand one final time.
An unknown force circled through the area, causing everything around, including the very earth itself, take to the area and start circling around the dragon. In the blink of an eye, all vehicles, buildings, landscape, and soldiers in sector 41 of the city were completely gone with absolutely no evidence of their previous existence left behind.
No visual display was available inside the cockpit, but the pilot still analyzed the area and gave a thorough, mental diagnostics.
"OROC 3, report."
The communication line received no response from the pilot.
"OROC 3?"
There was still no response.
"OROC 3, this is OROC pilot commander, report immediately."
"I refuse," called the steely voice of the pilot.
The communication line clicked off from the other end with a slight sound burst
of static. Within a few seconds the line picked back up and another voice made itself known.
"OROC 3, for the benefit and convenience of future commencement of commander Chan Do Huang's ideals, we request you give us a status report."
The response came immediately.
"Stability of prototype AS is at maximum reliability. Lambda Driver internal and external connections is functioning perfectly. Latex composite extract of outer shell could be enhanced further by adding a .183 composite-mixture ratio without affecting flexibility and maximum maneuverability. Doing so would also increase the maximum right and left angle dive and lift rate by more than four percent. Lambda output percentage at 89 percent. Hydrogen—"
"That will be all, OROC 3."
"Inner composite steel. Copper lining for maximum coolant affect within—" the pilot began muttering at an increasingly hastened pace before being interrupted again.
"OROC 3."
"Lever hydraulic stabilization pitch. Lambda driver effect field: two mile radius. Three plus miles: unreliable. Seven plus: unstable. 12 plus—"
"OROC 3!"
A long silence filled the air until the pilot let out a shaky breath.
"Return to base, OROC 3."
"Thank you."
With the final response, the gloved hand reached out and turned off the comm. device. As soon as it shut off, the black dragon arced its head upwards, stretched its arms toward the ground at its side, flapped its massive wings, and broke through the dark clouds above, leaving a burning city in its wake.
The red, digital numbers of the alarm clock changed from 3:59 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. The changing of the numbers brought with it a loud buzzing, charged with the sole purpose of waking any who may have been sleeping peacefully. However, the sound was not able to scream out more than half a buzz before a hand rose from the floor and quickly slapped it into obedient silence.
Shin let out a quiet groan as his hand gripped the windowsill and the other gripped to the side of the bed. He groaned again as he stiffly pulled himself to his feet, his aching back not being in any sort of agreement with his sleeping on the lightly carpeted floor in neglect of his cushioned bed. With a lingering stiff limp, he made his way to the window.
Pulling open the curtains, he found himself enveloped in pale moonlight. He focused first on the surface of the window and could see the translucent reflection of himself staring back. Looking further through himself and the silver illumination, he could see the early morning traces of fog scratching at the window, trying to get inside out of the cold. He placed his hand against the window as if touching the fingertips of his other self in the window and could feel the cold licking at his hand. He closed his eyes for a long moment while keeping his hand against the window, trying to feel the fog on the other side of the window through his other self.
After a while of simple, passing meditation, he opened his eyes again and stared into the brown eyes of a young, beautiful Chinese woman wearing a white labcoat with her hand touching his. Shin immediately recoiled his hand like he had been burned, took a few quick steps back, and continued to stare at her.
He closed his eyes again and willed his now-hastened breathing to steady. After he composed himself once more, he opened his eyes only to stare into his reflection once again. He hesitantly made his way back over to the window and quickly closed the curtains before anymore specters of the past could present themselves to him.
He sighed slightly and turned back around to face his bed, not even wanting to look in the direction of the window. Instead, his attention was caught by something else he saw, and he unintentionally found himself smiling.
Stefanie and Kaname lay on the bed before him. Stefanie was lying up against Kaname as close as she could, and Kaname was draping her arm around the young girl as if she had every intention of keeping her there.
More and more each day, he found himself in a tough predicament. These two were under his 'custody' to make sure they didn't escape. However, the youngest and smallest of the two had effectively snatched his heart away from him over the past few months and made him feel more fatherly toward her than wardenly. Also, he found himself becoming inexplicably attracted to the blue-haired woman despite the few scratches, bruised shins, and black eye he had received from her at first.
Shin looked away from the two by reaction. He could not let this interfere with his mission. Master Huang was counting on him more than anyone else, and he would not fail him… no matter the cost. Besides, it wouldn't be long before he would be allowed to return the Whispered back to their respective homes. Then… it would all be over, and he could go back to being a normal soldier of the Old Republic of China once more. He wouldn't have to ever bother with those bothersome hindrances called 'emotions' again. Things would finally be simple once more.
After picking his clothes up from the floor, dressing completely, and making sure all of his equipment was in check, he reached a hand into his pocket and lightly jingled his keys to make sure they were still where he left them. Pulling on his leather jacket, he made for the door. His hand reached out for the door knob but stopped. He slowly lowered his hand and turned back toward the two lying on the bed.
In the next moment, he found himself hovering above the bed, lost in a moment of contradicting thoughtful thoughtlessness. For a moment, he found himself staring on contently as the two slept. He knew that there was absolutely nothing interesting about the act of sleeping, but for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to look away. He didn't know what he felt watching the two of them sleeping peacefully, but it was a nice feeling and he just knew he would be better off without it. He felt like the best thing would have been if he were to literally knock himself out of the dreamstate, but he instead decided on leaning slightly over the bed.
He reached over Stefanie and Kaname to grab the quilts that were partially covering them after a night of sleep-warring. He pulled the quilts up to their shoulders in order to keep away the chill of the artificial room. He leaned up once more but hesitated slightly when his eyes went to the sleeping Stefanie. The little girl's hair completely covered her face after tossing and turning all night. Shin reached out a hand to brush some of the hair away from her face and placed a very light kiss on her forehead. He looked over at Kaname to see that a few long strands had likewise made their way over her face. He reached out a hand to do the same for her but stopped right before his hand made contact. He recalled Sagara's name and once again saw his dead form splayed out against the sidewalk.
Shin withdrew his hand slightly and clenched it into a fist. He quickly drew it back by his side, stepped away from the bed, and left the room without looking back.
He would not dishonor Illian's memory further.
Everyone stared at the ghost as it walked down the hallway beside Captain Testarossa and Lieutenant Kalinin. Though she walked beside the specter like she would have anyone else, her eyes still showed the disbelief toward who the unknown pilot claimed he was and who he looked like. It was obvious by the look in his eyes that Kalinin was pleased, but his face held a bit of guilt to it as well before he went off to take care of "other business".
After everyone had lowered their weapons at the captain's command, the unknown pilot with the unclassified AS removed his helmet. Long, brown hair cascaded from under the helmet like water and nearly fell to his mid-back in uneven strands that had obviously been cut by something more rugged than scissors. Grizzled hair of matching color covered his face due to weeks of going without shaving. The hair grew all over his face with untended mustache and beard connecting and sticking at least two inches out from his face except for a single spot on his cheek where his trademark, cross-shaped scar would not allow it to grow. A calloused hand came up in a half-hearted salute where familiar yet eerily stern and determined eyes felt as if they were going to stare to her soul.
"I apologize for the unannounced and perhaps hazardous entry, ma'am." The definite, well-known voice had brought a smile to her face and nearly brought tears of joy to her eyes if she had left them unchecked. He brought his hand up in a hurried salute. "Lieutenant Sagara Sousuke of Mithril, present."
Now, Sousuke walked beside her, and she still didn't know whether she could trust what her eyes showed her or not.
"So, Lieutenant Sagara," she asked hesitantly and cautiously. "Where have-"
"Sudan," he said without missing a beat.
"Is that where you got the…"
"Yes." His eyes remained facing forward as he continued his walk down the hallway. "I didn't mean to make such an… entrance, but it was unavoidable at the time."
Tessa looked up at him, unsure of exactly what to say. But the way he said those last few words made her worry somewhat.
"You weren't… being followed… were you?" Her words again came hesitantly.
He finally looked over at her, his eyes making it seem as if he was offended by her lack of faith in his tactical-logic.
"No. Of course not," he said stiffly, turning his gaze back down the hallway. "I had originally intended to land just outside the parameters of the base, but I… overshot the landing."
Tessa looked at him skeptically. "Were you airdropped?"
"No. I jumped."
Tessa couldn't contain her surprise, being one that knew the workings of an AS very well. "Jumped? From how far out?"
"Around twelve kilometers."
Tessa looked in the direction he was looking, unsure of whether she should believe him or not. It sounded too outrageous, but she had never known of Sagara to lie.
"Weren't you able to radio in?"
"No. That is actually why I came by here; I needed to see if I would be able to request a standard 3 PT comms device be installed into the AS."
"Oh. I… suppose that could be done. When would you need it?"
"Today. As quickly as it can be done."
Tessa spared a glance to the floor as they walked along. She had been so caught up in trying to mask her utter joy that she had forgotten about other things. She slowed her pace slightly only so she could take a look at Kalinin behind Sousuke's back. The older man saw her out the corner of his eye, causing him to turn his head her way. Immediately, he saw a questioning look in her eyes and was not able to sustain eye contact with her as he quickly averted his gaze.
Everyone was silent until they came to a fork at the end of the hallway. Kalinin addressed his captain.
"I have other matters that I must attend to, Captain. So, if you'll excuse me…"
"Yes, of course, Mr. Kalinin."
Kalinin turned slowly to look at Sousuke who only stared at him coldly. "I'm glad to see that you're alright, Mr. Sagara," he said with a hint of relief in his voice as he reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I want to-"
Sousuke's arm felt like a metal pole when it harshly, almost violently knocked his arm away from his shoulder. Kalinin, against his will, had to grab his wrist to stop the throbbing from the surprisingly forceful blow. Tessa could only stare in dismay from something she would have never expected to see happen. Sousuke took a step toward Kalinin and only bothered to address him for what seemed like the longest with a cold glare.
"I have no words for you, and I do not want to receive any from you. I fear that the only thing I have to say to you cannot be expressed through words." His words dripped with a venom that nearly sent a shiver up Kalinin's spine.
Kalinin opened his mouth to say something, but he found himself without words to say. Instead, he remained in a locked stare with the younger man for a few seconds before turning around and walking away.
Where Kalinin had shown a deficit in words, Tessa knew exactly what to say but decided it best to walk along with Sagara for a few silent minutes before speaking them. It would help her find her nerve.
"Lieutenant Kalinin did not act alone. He was under Mithril's order… my order. I gave him the order to initiate Intelligence's plan." She was proud of herself, for her voice spoke more clearly than it had since Sagara's return. She knew that she was at fault for ever agreeing to a plan so full of holes; she was ready and willing to accept any consequences. She couldn't let Kalinin bear the brunt alone.
Only silence followed them as they rounded the corner.
Tessa hesitantly shifted her gaze to Sousuke, who kept his line of vision fixed to his front as if vexed by something only visible to him. "Please, do something. Hit me or whatever, but don't let all of the blame fall on Mr. Kalinin. He only did what he thought was right, " she continued.
"What one thinks is right is not always so, Captain," he commented as he walked on. "But I do not blame you or Mithril for what has happened. 'Sacrifice one to save a thousand'," he quoted. "To you and Mithril, my loved ones and I are nothing more than tools, so I can't expect to be treated as anything else. However, I cannot honestly say that I would have ever expected Kalinin's betrayal."
Those words hit Tessa a lot harder than she let show. So that's how he thought of himself to Mithril, to her… a tool.
"But you knew we were planning something from the beginning."
"Yes. I'm not ignorant; believe it or not, I actually know a few things about combat and operations."
"Wouldn't you have done the same thing in his shoes?" she questioned, ignoring or perhaps understanding his spiteful tone.
"Yes… but it wouldn't have been my family then."
Tessa pulled at her ponytail. "It was a chance. We had to take it. I'm dearly sorry; I really am! But how can you be angry at Kalinin for taking a chance that could have ended up saving thousands?"
Sousuke didn't miss a beat in giving his reply. "Perhaps I'm selfish, Captain. For the first time in my life I would have preferred to have sacrificed the possible thousands for these few. These few are my family; I had even started to see Kalinin as a part of that family… but I was wrong."
Silence followed them once again as they rounded another corner into a faintly lit hallway, and Tessa knew they were alone. She stopped.
Sousuke realized within a few steps that the sound of the lighter steps with his had stopped, so he stopped as well but didn't turn around. His gaze met instead with the luminescent green floor in front of him, reflecting the hallway's flickering light.
"We… I thought… I had lost you. I tried to keep hope that you were still alive, but I couldn't. I thought you were dead. I…" The whispering voice was unable to complete the thought.
Sousuke sighed and closed his eyes. "There were times when I thought I was."
The silence was dominant in the hallway for most of the time.
"You're going to rescue Kaname?"
"Yes."
"Whether you live or die… we… I'm never going to see you again, am I?"
The silence proved its existence once more until the sound of the young captain's footsteps pierced through it. Sousuke listened; her footsteps grew louder as she got closer.
"I'm sorry, Captain…" Sousuke paused when he felt two small arms wrap around his abdomen and a light head rest against his back. He let out what could have sounded like a mildly sorrowful sigh and started again. "I'm sorry… Tessa… that is what I intend."
"I'm glad you're alright, Sousuke," she said with a slightly more audible tone.
Sousuke didn't know what to say, so he patted one of the arms that were wrapped around him. "I didn't mean to worry you. … Thank you."
"I'm glad… I got to see you… one final time."
He could tell she was trying to be strong. He could tell she was trying not to cry, but the occasional sob was a heavy tell-all.
The silence was the only presence that accompanied them for several minutes.
Kaname startled awake to a violent hand shaking her shoulder. Quickly, as if on instinct, she quickly sat up with a gasp, waking Stefanie in the process. At first, she didn't recognize the face and was ready to strike. However, as early morning confusion started to dissipate, she realized that she knew the face quite well and immediately recognized the blonde-bleached hair.
"Miru?"
Miru took his hand off her shoulder as soon as he realized she was awake. He only turned his gaze briefly to note that the little girl who was lying beside her was awake as well.
"I wish I did, but I don't have any time to explain. We have to get out of here, Miss Chidori."
Kaname stopped for a moment to try to gather what was going on. She recalled Miru being in the car on the day she was taken away and when Sousuke…
He was with the Old Republic of China. She had seen him around but hadn't talked to him simply out of spite. Originally, she had only thought of him as a failed specimen of a human being which she had made the mistake of briefly dating sometime back. Now, she saw him as something much worse since she now knew that he had only shown interest in her as a part of some sort of operation to get her here. However, she had never heard Miru speak with such a professional tone.
"What's going on?"
Kaname looked beside her to meet sleepy eyes. "What's going on, Kaname?"
Miru leaned against a wall and briefly peered through a crack in one of the curtains. "I have instructions to get both of you out of here."
In her moment of partial morning confusion and dreariness, Kaname didn't quite know what to say, so she went about questioning on what she knew.
"Who's instructions? Shin? Quon? Reiran?"
"Mithril."
"Oh, I se…" Kaname did a double-take at him. "Mithril!"
Miru responded with a tired sigh. "Here's the down and dirty. I've worked undercover for Mithril for the past five years. You've seen a lot of me for the past few years since I was assigned as Sagara's replacement to watch over you when he was called back. But, about a year ago, I was needed for something entirely different. Mithril set me up as the eligible candidate for the Old Republic of China. I joined with the Old Republic as an undercover operative spying on you while ironically enough working as an undercover operative for Mithril, spying on them." Miru's explanation came quickly and without much thought.
Kaname lifted a suspicious eyebrow at the last man she would have ever thought to be working for such an organization as Mithril… or the Old Republic of China now that she thought about it. That's when the thought occurred to her.
How would these people know about Mithril? Had they just found out about them? Probably. She tried her best to recall what Sousuke had taught her about deception. They had found out she had connections to Mithril. Yes. They needed to make her feel like she could trust someone there. Why? Because they want to try to get her to spill vital information. But they know about Sousuke. They already know a lot; the information seems to fit in so well.
"Uh-huh. So… who or what is Myth… real? And who is this Sagara you supposedly replaced?" Please forgive me, Sousuke. "How can you expect me to trust you? You've already deceived me once, Miru."
Miru sighed once more and threw up his hands in surrender. He put on a smug smile and shook his head slightly. "Yep. You got me! I'm making all of this stuff up in hopes that some of the random names I pick out are ones you recognize. With any luck, I'll be able to fool you into believing me to the point that you'll follow me outside in a back-ally to a dark, tinted window van where I will do things of unspeakable nat- Oh, come on!" the sarcastic voice spoke out as if it was speaking to the most uneducated person in the world. "Think about it for a minute and stop being stupid. You're smart; you can piece it together."
"Good morning, Shin!" called Stefanie's excited voice.
Kaname and Miru both cast each other a gaze of terror as they felt their hearts completely miss a beat. Considering the small room, there were very few hiding places, so privacy was assumed. But neither of them had found it odd at first that the room's window had been open as opposed to being bolted shut like it normally was.
"Morning, Stef," responded the fourth voice which confirmed their fears.
Kaname and Miru both turned their gazes around quickly when they heard the voice coming from the flowing curtain near the open window. A slight gust of wind shifted and ruffled the curtain to the side to reveal Shin perched in the window like a leather jacket-clad raven. One boot moved from the window and planted itself on the carpet followed by the next, and suddenly the air grew heavy. Kaname took a step back and adopted a slight look of fear to her instinctively widened eyes. Miru stepped away from Kaname and spared a quick glance to the door, mentally estimating the distance.
Stefanie smiled and quickly scrambled out of bed as Miru and Kaname remained frozen, not knowing what to do in reaction to the sudden, unexpected surprise. She slid off the foot of the bed and took hold of Shin's fully gloved hand.
"You looked really silly sitting in the window, you know? So, are we going to the park today like you-"
Shin gently pulled his hand away from hers and walked forward without as so much as looking on her. His eyes remained fixed on Miru. "Maybe later, alright?"
Stefanie gave a questioning look to his gloved hand. "Is something wrong, Shin?"
"No, nothing's wrong, but I want you to go back to your room for now. Miru and I need to talk about some adult stuff. We'll go to the park later."
Stefanie adapted a confused look to her face as she looked back and forth between Shin, Miru, and Kaname. Making her way across the room and for the door, she cast her confused look Kaname's way. Her young mind tried its hardest to find out why Kaname didn't answer her unasked question like she always did; she looked really scared for some reason. But Kaname didn't have anything to worry about; she didn't know Miru very well, but she knew Shin could be trusted.
She smiled at every one as she made her way to the door but was somewhat disheartened, for no one returned her smile. She shrugged it off to the "adult stuff" and walked out the door. As soon as she turned around to close the door, it flung open violently.
She looked inside the room to see Miru sling the door open, grab a surprised Kaname by the wrist, and start running for the open door. However, by the time he was just out side the door, she saw Shin's gloved hand reach outside and violently pull him back inside. A crash followed, and then the door slammed shut.
Stefanie listened in surprise as several other muffled crashes came from the room, as well as some pained noises from Miru, a few angered curses from Shin, and some pleads and shouts from Kaname. But after a while, she grew tired of all the noise and turned back down the hall to make her way outside, humming all the way.
Sometimes adults do the weirdest things.
It didn't take much for Shin Wu Chang to learn once more that wood-bolt doors don't stand up against combat boots supported by chiseled leg muscle very well at all.
The two lab technicians in the room as well as the younger looking man in the business suit jumped in surprise when the crashing door rudely made them aware of Shin's presence.
The man in the suit adjusted his eye-glasses and smirked. "Door handles are made for a purpose, Mr. Chang. I suppose knocking is also below one such as yourself? Regardless, am I correct in assuming that I was right about your subord-"
The clean-kept Chinese man literally choked on his own words with a little bit of assistance from Shin's clenching hand.
"You fucking, TRASH!" Shin screamed as he slammed the other against the table, causing the unstable computer monitor to teeter and crash to the floor, sending small glass shards across the tiled floor. The man squinted his eyes together and let out a throat-hitched hack as he struggled against Shin's grip. "I know you didn't just find this information out today like you claim. How long have you known about Miru? Why didn't you mention it sooner? Answer me, and I may reconsider crushing your windpipe," he finished with forceful whisper.
Shin released the man right as his impeccably colored face was about to shift to an even deeper shade of red. Upon release, the man collapsed to the floor, holding his throat as if to more quickly open up his oxygen pathways. As the public relations minister of Hong Kong struggled to regain his stability, one of the lab technicians spoke up and addressed Shin.
"Sir, please reconsider any further hostile actions toward the minister. I am forced to remind you that as long as Lord Huang is absent, he is the highest authority when-"
Shin's glare struck the man harshly. "I take orders only from my Lord, and I am completely aware that the minister's hiding vital information from me would not have been condoned. I answer to no one but my only Lord, Chan Do Huang."
"As you can see…" the minister motioned around him after regaining his stable footing. "Huang is not here, little pawn. And yes, I have known of your subordinate's defection… or should I say infiltration… for going on to several months now. I just wanted to see how things played out and decided it to be the best move to not inform you until now. We have gained valuable data on this 'Mithril' organization due to it. "
Shin narrowed his eyes in response to the provocation. "I would catch little more than a lecture from my Lord if I were to drop you where you stand."
"And this should make me tremble, little pawn?"
"Where is my lord? When will he return?"
"I cannot say."
"Have you tried contacting him? I need orders as to whether or not the Whispered can be released."
"Yes, we have, but no one can contact him. As for the Whispered, since the decision is mine, we have no further use for them."
Shin stopped for a moment to think about that previous comment. He felt a cold chill creep through his stomach. "Where is Jin Lain? The Whispered Chidori, as well as myself would like to know."
"Oh, I'm right here, Shin."
Shin turned around in complete surprise at the feminine voice coming from the broken doorway. There before him stood Jin Lain, seemingly perfectly content with a beaming smile on her face. She wiped what looked like a type of motor grease off on a towel and wiped some sweat away from her brow. "Hey, Shin. Long time no see, eh?"
Shin was left stunned. The scene was normal enough, but that was the problem. Jin seemed happy, though she was a prisoner. She was wandering around freely, even though she should have no access to the upper floors. He turned his attention back to the minister who merely smiled.
"Ah, there she is now. Come here, Ms. Lain."
Jin put down the towel and aptly did as she was told. Her smile seemed to brighten as she made her way to stand beside the minister. He threw his arm around her shoulder and smiled brightly as well.
"Mr. Chang, I would like you to meet the newest addition to the Old Republic of China," he said, patting Jin on the shoulder. Jin grinned and waved childishly.
Shin half-heartedly raised his hand in a half wave. His face was expressionless, like everything that could have possibly taken him by surprise already had. "Hi, Jin."
Jin spared a quick glimpse to the clock on the wall and suddenly took on an air of urgency. She nodded to the minister before turning around to head out of the room. She slapped Shin on the shoulder on her way out.
"We'll have to catch up on things later, alright? You people keep me on such a busy schedule and all, you know!"
Shin turned slowly toward her, still stunned from his initial reaction. "Yeah, later."
"Oh!" Jin poked her head back around the edge of the doorway, addressing Shin. "Make sure you let me know when Mr. Huang gets back. I really want to see him before he comes and goes."
"Yeah… sure thing," he half-muttered.
His almost solemn response made Jin skeptical. She turned a concerned look his way. "Hey, you alright, Shin?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," he responded, using everything he had to force an optimistic tone and smile.
"You sure?" The skeptical look was still there.
"Definitely, I was just really happy to see you!"
Jin smiled in response and headed back down the hallway. Shin waited until she was out of earshot before addressing the minister again.
"When did she meet Lord Huang?" Shin cast an intense glare toward the minister who responded first with a mild chuckle.
"She insists on having seen him late last night, though he hasn't been back yet to the best of my knowledge," he said, ending with another chuckle.
"Then, how did-"
"Surely you can figure this one out. I expect that you-"
"You brainwashed her."
"Precisely. She's a tough one; though; took nearly three weeks."
Shin's knuckles cracked when he pulled them into a tight fist. "Under whose orders? Lord Huang would have informed me of these orders first, and I haven't received any orders at all for nearly a month."
"She's a hard worker, and she seems to support this order without question… unlike someone. I think Huang would definitely approve or our-"
"He would not approve!" Shin yelled. "He would never condone something such as this!"
"Then do something about it, little pawn," the minister suggested. His suggestion came out in such a relaxed yet controlling tone that it could have only been described as sounding sinister. After a moment of silence, he gave Shin a skeptical look. "Or are you afraid of Huang's 'lecture' that much?"
Shin's fists began to shake at his sides as he turned his head away from the man in front of him.
"You… you mentioned earlier that you had no further use for the other two Whispered. Since you seem to authorizing much out of your jurisdiction, then… could you authorize the release of the other two Whispered?" Shin bit back his pride as he made his request.
The minister took a look of great surprise to his face before settling it into a twisted smile. "Why, did I just hear you ask me to issue a command that could go against Huang's orders, little pawn?"
Shin remained silent with his head turned away.
"I see. You've grown attached to them during their captivity," he stated unnecessarily, sounding thoroughly amused.
Shin remained silent for a moment. He swallowed hard, as if swallowing and lodging away the last of his pride before turning to the minister and giving a firm salute. "Sir, I answer in affirmative to both of the minister's previous statements. My previous request remains, sir." Shin dropped his salute in resignation when he saw the minister smile. "Please, sir," he whispered, lowering his head.
The minister grasped his chin in contemplation for a moment before letting out a sigh.
"Permission denied. You are fully aware of how much they already know, and because of your admitted attraction toward the two, I cannot possibly assess how much or how little information you have given to them."
Shin's eyes pleaded as he took a step forward. "Sir, I-"
"No. I can't simply take your word on this matter."
Shin went silent for a moment as he averted his gaze to the floor. "I see," he murmured. "If you have no further use for them, then what do you wish to-"
"I have sent Quon to find and retrieve them wherever they are in the building. I don't think I need to tell you his orders, do I?"
Shin remained eerily silent and motionless. Thousands upon thousands of thoughts, responses, scenarios, and actions played through his head in rapid succession.
"Mr. Chang?"
"No, sir," he said, throwing out what was decidedly the best response at the moment.
"If you understand, then you should go lend your assistance to him. At least they will have a friendly face to look upon when-"
"I'm through," Shin whispered, still looking at the ground and unmoving.
"Through?"
"Lord Huang isn't returning… is he?"
Silence filled the room as everyone stopped what they were doing and turned all attention toward Shin and the minister. It took a few shaken moments before the minister responded.
"No. I'm sorry. The plane he was on was sabotaged by an outside party who-"
"Lies!" Shin practically growled. "Outside party my ass!" he replied with a snarl.
The minister dropped the sympathetic face and replaced it with his characteristic twisted smirk. "I see why Huang liked you so much. You're much sharper than I had originally given you credit for, little pawn."
"I'm through. I refuse to work for anyone other than Lord Huang. I support him; not this order."
"You understand that this order is his legacy, don't you?" Shin adapted a contemplative silence in response to the minister's presented logic. "Go for a drive, Mr. Chang. Think things over; don't make such hasty decisions on a whim," he said, voice softening slightly and sarcastic tone completely dropping.
Again, Shin was left with much to think about, far too much to make any sort of decision at the moment. Turning around and exiting toward the front entrance, he didn't look back, intending never to set eyes upon the base again.
Kaname jumped in surprise when the door to the room suddenly swung open. She turned a surprised look toward the doorway to see a stone-faced Quon standing at the doorway with an excited Stephanie practically bouncing at his side. Quon opened his mouth to say something, but was beat to the punch by Stephanie when she ran to the bedside and wrapped her arms around Kaname.
"Kaname! We get to go home! They're letting us go!"
Kaname's eyes went wide with a momentary excitement before remembering the morning's events. It seemed very awkward to her that they were releasing them just shortly after finding out that one of Mithril's moles had been hiding in their ranks. Her second tip-off was that she would have imagined it would be Shin coming to deliver the good news, for Quon was never anything but the harbinger of bad news.
Her fears were confirmed when she saw Quon's sadistic smile from behind the little girl's back.
TO BE CONTINUED