Callie walked out of her bedroom feeling light as air. Floating in the clouds of her happiness, she would swear her feet did not touch the floor. A strong hand clamping down on her shoulder knocked her off of Cloud Nine and brought her hurtling back down to Earth with a scream. She whirled around to see Izumi standing behind her hiding a smile behind her hand while faking a cough.
"Goddammit, Izumi!" she shrieked, tears welling in her eyes from the fright. "You're like a fucking stalker! Don't scare me like that!"
"I didn't mean to scare you, but you didn't hear me calling your name. I'm sorry," Izumi apologized, wiping away the big, fat tear rolling down Callie's cheek. "Let me make it up to you by taking you out to breakfast."
"Sure. But what about Tosaki?" Callie swiped irritably at the next tear that slid from her eye.
"What he doesn't know won't hurt us," she mumbled, noticing the ring on Callie's finger. She startled her companion again by seizing her hand and jerking her forward to examine the crude wire ring.
"Whoa!"
"What is this? Are you engaged?"
"I am. He asked last night." Callie bounced on her tiptoes with excitement, grinning happily from ear to ear.
"Congratulations. I'm so happy for you both," Izumi said despite not sounding happy at all. She hugged Callie tightly. "Oh, we definitely need to go to breakfast. We have something to celebrate."
~\..'../~
Callie and Izumi had barely entered the small gate of the compound when they heard Kō yelling for them. He ran toward them at full speed, his eyes wild and his facial muscles drawn in sheer panic. What tragedy had come knocking on their door this time?
"Where have you been? Tosaki is having a shit fit! He called a meeting and you two were no where to be found!" he hollered, sliding to a stop in front of them.
"What's going on?" Izumi asked, concern creasing her forehead into multiple wrinkles.
"I don't know, but he's really pissed you two weren't here," he added, belaboring the point they understood loud and clear the first time. He grabbed Callie's hand to pull her along to the building. "We need to hurry. Everybody's waiting in the cafeteria."
The people of Tosaki's core group occupied the cafeteria. This included Kei, Hirasawa and three of his highest ranking and most trusted men; and of course, an extremely annoyed Yū Tosaki who impatiently tapped his fingers on his thigh while he paced a line across the front of the room.
When Kō entered with the women who had been AWOL (absent without leave) all eyes were on them. They felt like rebellious teenagers who had snuck out of the house without permission. Hostile glares stabbed them with invisible daggers of anger from every person, but Tosaki's were particularly sharp. Perhaps sometimes it was better to ask permission rather than forgiveness since Tosaki was not a forgiving man.
"Shimomura, Owen!" Tosaki exclaimed with exaggerated cheerfulness to further express his annoyance. "I'm so glad you could join us today."
Izumi and Callie quickly sat down at the table closest to the television but furthest away from where Tosaki presently stood. Kō sat down between them, keeping a tight grip on his fiancee's hand.
Tosaki pressed enter on the keyboard of his laptop to play the queued video. The video opened to show Satō sitting on a bed, possibly in a hotel room, holding a pistol in his hand that casually lay against his knee. He exuded an eerie sense of calm while openly displaying his murderous intentions.
"Ah, so we meet once again, it's Satō," he says as if he needs an introduction. "As far as I can see the government has not as of yet, responded to my demands. so I decided to get started."
The camera panned to the right to show a man wearing a white dress shirt, navy blue tie, and black dress pants tied to a chair. His mouth is gagged but he is grunting while he struggles uselessly against his bonds. Tears pour like tiny rivers from his eyes that are stretched open so wide with terror they are in danger of popping out of his head. Pleas for his life are muffled into pathetic whimpers by the thick cloth in his mouth.
Callie visibly cringed, hugging her arms around her body. This monster, her own flesh and blood, evoked such a profound sense of revulsion inside of her she gagged. She glanced at Kei, meeting his eyes that were fixed on her. He gave her a barely perceptible shake of his head, reminding her that she was not like her grandfather. When Kō squeezed her hand, she turned her head to look at him.
"Are you all right?" he whispered from two tables away.
"I'm fine," she lied. Despite the queasy, slippery sensation in her gut, she forced her eyes back to the television screen to watch the impending murder unfold.
Satō virtually strutted the few feet across the room to reach the fearful, trembling man in the chair. He lay his hand on his captive's shoulder in a deceptively friendly gesture. "That's right. At the top of the batting order, Dr. Wakai."
He grabs the thrashing Dr. Wakia's chin, holding his head still while leaning down, almost coming nose to nose with the man nearly driven mad with fright. "All right."
Callie started to shiver, anticipating her grandfather's inevitable and violent next move.
Satō let go of the man's face, standing up straight and bringing the gun up to Dr. Wakai's temple. She wanted to look away. She knew she should look away. Unfortunately, human nature seemed to be mesmerized by the horror of outrageously offensive acts committed in plain sight. Like a metaphorical train wreck, she could not tear her eyes away from the grisly scene about to occur.
"Batter up."
And he pulled the trigger. Bone shattered with a gut-wrenching crack when the bullet entered his left temple. Hair and skin exploded from the right side of Dr. Wakai's head upon exit of the bullet. A spray of blood mixed with pulsing globs of brain matter splattered across the bare cream colored wall of the hotel room. Dr. Wakai's eyes remained wide open, but his body stilled and his cries fell silent.
"And this is the beginning of the countdown."
Callie clamped her hand over mouth to hold back her breakfast that rushed back up her throat in an acidic tidal wave and filled her mouth. Unable to speak, for fear of losing what she was so desperately holding back, she stood up to run out of the room to the nearest bathroom. Once on her feet her, heat and dizziness enveloped her while darkness filled her vision sending her crashing to the floor. Although unconscious, her body heaved ejecting the contents of her stomach.
"Oh, god," Izumi gasped, kneeling beside Callie. She swiftly pulled Callie's face out of the puddle of vomit before she could aspirate it causing serious long range complications.
"Callie!" Kō cried out, jumping to his feet.
"Kō, go get a doctor," she commanded him.
Kō appeared torn, wanting to stay with Callie but knowing he should go for help. He looked at Kei with a pleading expression.
"You stay with her. I'll go," Kei grumbled irritably. He glowered openly at Kō. "This is why it's easier not to feel anything for anybody. Emotional ties make you weak and indecisive. Acting like this will make you a liability to us." He glimpsed at the unconscious Callie. "And to her."
Kei angrily stomped out of the room to find a doctor.
"Here," Hirasawa said, handing Kō a damp washcloth and a dry towel. "Clean that mess off of her. She would be embarrassed to be seen like this."
"Y-yes," he stammered, lowering his body to the floor. He gently wiped at the putrid vomit on her cheek.
"What's wrong with you?" Izumi questioned him under her breath so no one else would hear. "Why are you freaking out?"
"She's so pale," he mumbled, tenderly cleaning Callie's chin. "I've never seen her so helpless. She's usually the one in control, taking care of those who need help. She was an emergency room nurse for god's sake." He continued wiping her face with the towel. "I can't lose her. Nothing can happen to her. She's an Ajin, right? So she won't die."
"Right, of course," she assured him.
Minutes later, Kei returned with two of the doctors along with a janitor carrying a bucket and mop. The doctors gave her a cursory exam, checking her pulse, her heartbeat with a stethoscope, and her pupils reaction to a tiny flashlight. One called her name, gently tapping her cheeks with his fingertips. When she did not respond, the other man clad in green scrubs lifted her up into his arms to carry her to a proper examination room.
Then the janitor set to work cleaning the mess inadvertently left behind by Callie. Once he vacated the room, everyone settled into a chair and Tosaki took his place in front of the room to address everyone. He replayed the video in its entirety. Satō ended the video by threatening a third and final wave of events if his demands were not met, reiterating his goal of taking over the country.
"Around ten minutes ago, This video was uploaded to ajin dot net," Tosaki began. "A storm's coming."
Kei rolled his eyes, barely resisting the temptation to issue an extremely sarcastic 'duh.' Tosaki sometimes had a real talent for stating the obvious.
"Mr. Tosaki," Kei said, raising his hand as if he were at school.
"What, Nagai?" Tosaki snapped, gnashing his teeth to maintain his temper.
"I have a suggestion for our next move."
"And what would that be?"
"Why don't we implant a tracking device in Callie and allow Satō to take her? Maybe she can take a phone with her as well to enable communication...to give us more specific information than just his location," Kei suggested.
"Are you crazy?!" Kō bellowed, jumping out of his chair. The scrape of the metal legs on the tile set everyone's teeth on edge before the chair flipped backwards banging the tile floor so loudly the everyone jumped. "No! I won't let you do it! You can't!"
"I believe Callie can answer for herself. Besides, you're not married to her yet. You don't own her. Not that she would ever allow you to tell her what to do anyway."
Kō lunged toward Kei, but Izumi grabbed his wrist to stop him. He kept his fiery gaze on Kei while freeing his wrist by twisting it and snatching it out of Izumi's grasp. "Wasn't it enough that you wanted her to be taken by Tosaki? Why would you give her to that monster Satō? I won't allow it. I won't let you do it!"
"Sit down, Nakano! Miss Owen will be allowed to make her own decision," Tosaki interjected. This matter was one of the few on which he and Kei agreed. The final decision would be up to Callie. If she said no, Kei would be forced to come up with a different plan.
"But - " Kō searched every face in the room in hopes of finding an ally or someone with a different plan. Impassive faces stared back at him, offering him nothing, not even a sympathetic frown. His eyes rested on Izumi who avoided looking at him entirely. "Izumi, please? Can't you - "
"Mr. Tosaki's right. Callie should be asked if she's willing to do it."
"She will say yes," he muttered, his voice barely above a whisper. He bore the bewildered and dejected expression of a man forced to accept a dismal fate beyond his control. After righting the chair, he plopped down heavily onto the unpadded seat, hanging his head in defeat.
"For god's sake, Nakano, it's not like she can be killed," one of Hirasawa's men said in a misguided endeavor to help.
"It's true she can't die, but there are worse things than death," Kei interrupted. He knew personally about those things that could be worse than death. He had been ruthlessly tortured in the name of science. He would not dare to imagine the atrocities Satō would allow to happen to Callie despite her being his own granddaughter. He loved a good game and Callie would be a most impressive opponent. "Satō would do things to her that would make death a merciful dream she'll never be able to obtain."
Tosaki waited until an uncomfortable silence to lingered over the group like a menacing black cloud.
"Nagai, when she wakes up, you talk to her. Until then, we will work out the details of the plan and what to do afterward." Tosaki gave Kei a piercing look. "I'm trusting this mission to you. Whether we succeed or fail sits squarely on your shoulders."
Kei nodded, pressing his lips together until they became a single thin white line of determination. No pressure.
~\..'../~
Kei stood in the corner of the room observing the doctors and nurses with genuine interest since he desired to be a doctor one day himself. In a matter of minutes, they had drawn blood, checked her vitals, and injected a pale yellow fluid into her IV line before exciting the room in the stately, hurried manner of medical professionals. He approached the bed, studying her face that had been scrubbed so thoroughly her pale cheeks had turned a rosy pink. The light brown freckles dotting her face stood out in stark contrast to her white skin giving her an innocent, childlike appearance. However, she was neither innocent, nor a child. But she was not a heartless, killer like her grandfather. Yet he had seen she could be capable of his degree of cruelty.
His eyes skirted over the mass of tubes taped to her arm down to her hand. His thumb rubbed over the braided silver wire ring on her left ring finger. So she had accepted Kō's proposal. Good for her. Being with Kō would keep her sane. Loving him would keep her from being more like her grandfather. She would eventually make Kō strong and fearless. They were good for each other.
Kei held her hand. It felt so small and cold in his. He squeezed her hand between his in an effort to warm her frigid fingers.
One day, she and Kō would get married, leave him, and go on their merry way to live a happy life with hopefully half a dozen little snot nosed brats of their own. For some reason, knowing this made him feel a little bit sad in addition to being relieved.
"Kō?" Callie croaked, writhing slightly as if to wake herself from a nightmare.
"No, it's me," Kei returned, taking his hands away from hers, hoping she had not noticed he had been holding it.
"Oh," she muttered, her face twisting in agony.
"Are you in pain?"
"No. I feel sick."
Kei's eyes searched the room for a suitable container for her to throw up in. He grabbed the small plastic trash can to hand it to her mere seconds before she once again tossed her metaphorical cookies. He turned his back to her, feeling a bit green around the gills himself while he ignored her retching as best as he could. It would be necessary to get used to this sooner or later because this kind of thing would be part of being a doctor.
"I'm sorry," she sniffled. "I suppose I might have gotten food poisoning."
"Probably," he returned, taking the trash can from her to sit it by the sink. "I need to talk to you about something."
"You're ready to put your plan into motion to have Satō kidnap me. Right?"
"Perceptive as always." He sat down on the edge of the bed facing her. "Do you really want to do this?"
"Of course I don't. But it needs to be done," she sighed in resignation. "How soon - "
"Miss Owen?" Mrs. Fujiwara, the head nurse, stood at the door. She clutched the clipboard she always carried to her chest. "I have the result of one of your tests that I need to discuss with you." A consummate professional, tidy in appearance, polite but neutral in manner and attitude, she wore a cleaned and pressed white uniform complete with an old fashioned nurse's cap and kept her face and voice free of personal emotions. She switched her attention to Kei.
"Alone."
"We can talk about this later," Kei murmured, sliding off the bed to leave. "I should go."
"Wait a minute," she told him. Speaking to Mrs. Fujiwara, she informed her, "You can tell me whatever it is with him in here."
"Are you sure?" The light creases at the edges of her lips and eyes, put there from years of smiling and laughing, deepened into wrinkles of worry.
"I'm sure. He's like a brother, family, to me."
Kei experienced a strange, tingling warmth in the middle of his chest. The desire to smile caused the corners of his mouth to twitch. He rubbed his chest to rid himself of the unpleasant sensation while pushing his lips downward into a deep frown. Feelings. This is why it's easier not to feel anything for anybody. Emotional ties make you weak. His own words came back to accuse him of hypocrisy, echoing through his brain, a mental recording in his voice. She had referred to him as family. His 'real' family held little meaning to him. So why did her saying that make him...happy?
The nurse shifted uncomfortably, casting a furtive side long look at Kei to silently convey her wish that he would leave anyway.
"It's food poisoning right? Or maybe it was the latte. I thought the cream tasted a little off," Callie rambled anxiously.
"It's not food poisoning," Mrs. Fujiwara responded, her voice rising. She cleared her throat as if preparing for a big announcement. Her face remained a blank slate when she delivered the life changing news that could not have come a worst time. "We ran a pregnancy test considering we all know you are sexually active with Nakano."
Heat rushed across Callie's face as if she had opened the door to a blast furnace. She knew they had been a little loud last night but had no idea everyone could hear.
"And?" Kei pressed, stepping forward. He had a vested interest in the conversation now. The results could change everything and blow his carefully laid plan to hell.
The nurse expelled a loud sigh. "I don't know whether to say congratulations or I'm sorry, Callie." She laid a gentle hand on top of one of Callie's hands that clutched the blanket to keep them from shaking. "You're pregnant."
