Chapter 43…
"So, you said that you had something to show me?"
"That's right…"
"Can you give me an indication as to what?" Anatoly continued, the slightest hint of edge creeping into his voice. The man's eyes scanned the path before peering up and off into the distance "Given that we are on this path-"
"You'll see when we get there," Ashley called over her shoulder. "I'd prefer to keep this quiet for the time being."
The dark haired woman continued to lead her superior up the narrow and overgrown path. Every step reminded Ashley of just how tired and sleep-deprived she was. The quick shot of liquor she had consumed just an hour ago had lessened the worst of her headache; but the booze had left an incredibly foul taste in her mouth.
"Come on…" Ashley huffed. Although, she wasn't sure if she was talking to herself or her companion. Perhaps twenty feet ahead of them, the massive shed was visible amongst the trees.
"I have a… hint… of what this might be about…" Anatoly audibly swallowed.
"Just…" Ashley squeezed her eyes shut as she walked. "Keep an open mind…"
"What?"
"Nothing…" Ashley breathed as she reached the shed's massive swing-out doors. The woman curled her fingers in the seam between the doors - feeling the texture of the knotted, bug-bitten wood.
Wordlessly, the woman tugged the doors open wide enough so that she and her companion could enter.
The dank, musty interior of the shed was now illuminated by the morning light filtering through the doors. The cracks in the dilapidated wooden walls allowed for more light to stream in - giving the inside of the shed a warm appearance.
As had come to be expected, Big Ivan's chassis still dominated the space. The titan's scratched yellow chassis was still curled up in the center of the room; the light of the sun gleaming off of his metal body.
It was hard to spot in the bright conditions, but the titan's dark optic was active and shining.
"Close the door…" Ashley called over her shoulder. "Would you?"
She received no response; but the sound of feet moving and the wooden door closing was all Ashley needed to hear.
"Thanks."
"Of course…" Anatoly muttered in response. The man stepped forwards so that he was next to Ashley. He was gazing at the titan curiously, having already deduced Ashley's reason for bringing him here.
Ashley sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. She took a few quick moments to steady her breathing before opening her eyes again. The dark haired woman crossed her arms across her chest before pacing to the side - navigating in a circle around Big Ivan's chassis.
"Titan…" Ashley called out in the still-air of the shed. "State your designation!"
This time, the titan's response was almost instantaneous. A deep, distinctly male, heavily modulated voice rumbled from the titan's chassis mounted speakers.
"Designation five-nine-five-six-six," Big Ivan rumbled. The titan's voice dominated the interior of the shed.
"Good…" Ashley nodded, still pacing around the titan. "Titan… please state the name-designation of your active pilot."
There was a rumbling noise as the speakers warmed up.
"The name-designation of my active pilot is…" Big Ivan's modulated voice wavered from a moment. Such was the case with older titans; there was no free thought in the programming, rather a "fill-in-the-blanks" style that made modification fairly easy.
"Ashley Ishikara," Big Ivan finally answered after a few seconds.
"Excellent," Ashley completed her pacing motion so that she was now facing Big Ivan head-on. "Titan, please open your cockpit hatch."
The titan wordlessly complied with Ashley's request. There was a thunking noise as the hatch released and popped open - revealing the interior seat and control apparatus.
Ashley, her arms still crossed on her chest, turned around to face her superior.
Anatoly was standing where she had last seen him; the man was eerily still, a look of shock etched on his whiskery face.
"You-" Anatoly's voice cracked and stuttered for a moment. "You re-booted him?"
"Yes."
"And you changed his language to yours!"
"Yes."
"And he listens to you!" Anatoly breathed. "You set yourself as his active pilot?"
"Yes?" Ashley frowned and pushed up an eyebrow.
"He has not done that for a long time - listen to us, I mean..." Anatoly released a shaky breath. He focused his eyes on Ashley, his gaze shining with curiosity. But, this curiosity was not to be mistaken for wonderment; Ashley could see the gears turning in the man's head. "How did you do this? You said that you had no experience with titans!"
"That's right…" Ashley replied with a long sigh. The woman pulled her arms tighter against her chest and took some comfort in the pressure. "I did say that, didn't I?"
"You said that you couldn't help…" Anatoly turned his head to the side in thought.
"I did say something like that…"
Despite being tired to the bone, Ashley had not sacrificed her situational awareness. She spotted Anatoly shifting uncomfortably where he stood; she also spotted his left foot sliding back a little, as if he was preparing to gain distance.
"Why would you lie?" Anatoly continued. His voice was more even now, and a little more accusatory. "This is a good thing for the town…"
"I'll chalk it up to personal reasons," Ashley's dark eyed gaze burrowed into her superior. "And I would prefer to leave it at that…"
Anatoly's upper lip stiffened. "Personal reasons?"
"Don't push it…" Ashley warned. She loosened her arms so that she was not gripping herself as tightly. "Just… leave well enough alone…"
"I'm afraid that I cannot…" Anatoly whispered.
A smothering blanket of silence fell over the two. Anatoly took a cautious step backwards and shoved his hands into his pockets - a nervous motion.
"You… are not who you say you are," Anatoly muttered in a low tone and gently shook his head. He was now matching Ashley's glare with equal intensity.
"Who am I?"
"A good question," Anatoly wormed one hand out of his pocket and wagged his finger. "You are not stupid, but neither am I or anyone else in this town. Surely you are not blind and deaf to the rumors about you?"
"What rumors? I don't speak the same language as everyone else here..." Ashley tilted her head to the side. "Care to enlighten me?"
"Come now…" Anatoly huffed. "A wild woman dressed in tattered clothes is found curled up in a stump near our town. She claims to be fleeing from the attack on New Vladivostok - but her story and history are vague. She decides to stay in our dying little town, despite there being much opportunity elsewhere? She does not talk to others, she drinks and lives alone…"
"It sounds like this 'wild woman' just values her privacy…" Ashley clicked her tongue.
"Or she is hiding something dangerous…" Anatoly sniffed. "Tell me. Are you?"
Ashley closed her eyes.
"I knew it…"
"What?" Anatoly breathed.
"I knew that you wouldn't just leave well enough alone. Thankfully, I prepared for something like this…" Ashley opened her bloodshot eyes. In a deft motion, she reached into the open collar of her jumpsuit and withdrew the concealed handgun she had stolen. It was an old Hammond model, but the weapon was still serviceable.
Anatoly's eyes bulged in shock as Ashley leveled the handgun on him. The woman kept the barrel low, however, so that it was angled towards his legs.
"You-"
"Sit…" Ashley spat, her tone filled with ice. She jerked the gun in the direction of the nearby workbenches - where a stool had already been pulled out in preparation.
Anatoly wordlessly complied. The man cautiously stepped in the direction of the stool and took a seat. Ashley noted how his hands went down to squeeze the fabric of his jumpsuit legs - a nervous motion.
"You're right, you know…" Ashley shrugged, still keeping the gun trained on her superior. "I'm not who I say I am… but me pulling a gun probably already told you that…"
"Where did you get that?" Anatoly breathed out in shock.
"I have my ways," Ashley frowned. "And I'd prefer to get this over with before it's rightful owner realizes that it's missing."
Another blanket of silence fell over the two.
"Who are you?" Anatoly near-whispered.
"Ashley Ishikara - that part is true…" Ashley raised her left hand and settled it on the grip of her weapons. "Me drinking from a river and stumbling around for a week? Ending up in this little town? That part is also completely true…"
"And the rest…?"
"Hastily made up lies…" Ashley frowned. "I'll admit that I wasn't the most airtight with my excuses…"
Ashley took her left hand off of her gun and pointed it in Big Ivan's direction.
"Yes, I know how to pilot one of these," Ashley continued. "Because I was part of the IMC force that attacked New Vladivostok…"
Anatoly's eyes widened. The man had gone from clutching his clothes to squeezing the lower rungs of the stool he was seated on.
"I'd prefer not to go into detail…" Ashley frowned. "But I'm not with the IMC anymore. I escaped… I drank from a stream without knowing… and I ended up here."
"Why?"
"Why, what?" Ashley frowned.
"Why run? Why defect?"
"It-" Ashley's voice wavered for a moment. "It was a heat of the moment thing… once again, I would prefer not to talk about it…"
To Anatoly's visible surprise, Ashley suddenly lowered her handgun.
"Listen… I'm telling you this because I'm trying to make you an offer. Even this…" Ashley gestured to her gun. "I'm only using it because I know that it will make you listen."
"And what is this offer?" Anatoly gulped.
"I have a debt to pay and a mouth to feed…" Ashley tapped her lips. "You need a trained titan pilot so that production can get going again. The way I see it… this could be a mutually beneficial arrangement. But this won't work out if you go telling stories…"
"I see…" Anatoly stuttered. "So… you-"
"And if you do tell everyone else the truth… I'll shoot you," Ashley warned. "And then I'll shoot my way out of this town, if necessary. I don't want to do those things… but I keep my word..."
"I understand-"
"Good," Ashley released a long sigh. "So what do you say? You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours?"
"I-"
"And before you say yes…" Ashley warned. "I expect extra pay… a lot of extra pay. I assume that you can make that happen?"
Anatoly's face was frozen in shock and surprise. After a few tense moments, the man visibly swallowed and steadied himself.
"I… suppose, I could agree to your terms…"
"You suppose?" Ashley raised an eyebrow.
"I agree…" Anatoly said weakly. "No one will know the truth but me…"
"I want your word…" Ashley spoke in a low tone. "I want you to mean that… because there are consequences if you lie to me…"
Anatoly sucked in a large breath of air.
"I swear…" Anatoly gulped. "To keep this quiet…"
Ashley carefully studied the man in front of her. He was still quivering where he sat.
"Good…" Ashley offered her superior a sly smile. "Catch!"
Without warning, Ashley tossed her handgun in Anatoly's direction. The man yelped in surprise and flung out his hands. He caught the weapon close to his chest and fumbled around with it.
While this was happening, Ashley crossed her arms again and leaned against Big Ivan's leg. She watched as her superior fumbled around with the weapon she had tossed him.
Anatoly gave Ashley a quizzical look as he turned the handgun around in his hands. The man shook the weapon to get a feel for its weight and pulled the slide - only to find that the gun was completely empty.
"It's empty…?" Anatoly blinked in surprise.
Ashley smirked and wordlessly reached into the collar of her jumpsuit again. She pulled out the gun's full magazine, which she had removed.
"You passed…" Ashley stated.
"I passed?"
"Tossing the gun to you was just a test…" Ashley explained. "If you had pointed it at me… we would be having a very different conversation right now…"
"I see…" Anatoly muttered. "Clever…"
The man reared back his arm and tossed the handgun back in Ashley's direction. The woman quickly reached out one hand and snatched it out of the air. Now possessing both the weapon and the ammunition, Ashley reloaded the gun and tucked it back under the folds of her jumpsuit.
"So we're good then?" Ashley placed her hands on her hips. "I was being serious about the extra pay…"
"Yeah…" Anatoly quietly nodded. The man slowly stood up from his stool and cautiously approached Ashley.
As the man approached, Ashley held out one arm. She kept the palm of her hand open and split her fingers apart. Slowly, cautiously, Anatoly reached out his own arm and accepted the handshake.
"Good…" Ashley nodded and withdrew her hand. "I think I've got the basics down… but there are some questions I still have about this titan. Do you think that you can answer them?"