Chapter 43: Keeping Secrets Dark
Since the conference of the "Info Gave" project and the small meeting at the police station, Ryu, Nami, and Rayne hardily did any surveillance or recon work on the male pilot. The whole ordeal didn't sit well with the police chief as he had a personal dislike toward the Commander of NERV. Whenever the secretary asked him about what should she say to the NERV phone call about updated information, he would tell her that they were busy with local calls and cases. It was half true and she never changed the message.
Nami became curious on how did the teen boy learn his mannerisms. Everything about him was a mystery until his father showed them the history documents of the boy staying with his uncle. She remembered scanning through them as quickly as possible and saw nothing out of the ordinary. Despite the hard evidence those documents provided, she didn't feel entirely convinced that they were true. The male pilot showed too many signs of abnormality of what a person his age should be showing despite his mental disorder.
She also found herself to be more of Ryu's second resource of thinking which was a change. Sometimes the chief would ask her for a perspective of an outsider opinion about their top cases. Normally, she would be the one to fish information out of him about those. It seemed since the conference meeting, he was a little less stubborn for some reason. For her, it was a nice change and made her feel more involved. Despite the positive development, there was one officer that was notably affected by the "Info Gave" gathering.
Rayne seemed to have a hollow aura about her from her usual confident and enthused self. Though other officers around her noticed a change, she still performed duties and shifts to the same standard as before. A number of officers offered her support and any comfort they could provide. The young orange-eyed woman weakly smiled at them and shook her head side to side softly. Even when she was off, policemen and women would see her leave and walk in deep thought.
During the evening, there was a message sent on the police line from one of their many informants to Ryu. After the "Info-Gave" meeting, he had sent a wire to all the chiefs at branch police stations around the city. It was about passing on any information regarding NERV to him. To his surprise, all of them were willing to comply. Each stated there was one officer they had that was either enthused or antagonistic toward the secretive organization.
Each chief told their officer to do telecommunicating with Chief Yogosami regarding being an NERV informant. Each officer that the chief talked to, they were ready and willing to have the second role to their regular duties. Telling each of them the police wire address to his secretary, they all saluted firmly. After the last one, Ryu felt rather pleased to have a team of officers sole for gathering information about NERV.
Nami was at her office desk when a fax was coming in. Looking at the number, it was from one of Chief's informants. Once it printed, she looked through the windows towards Ryu's office. He looked very preoccupied at his desk and annoyed. Getting up, she headed over while scanning over the information on the faxed printout. In his office, Ryu was sitting at his desk going through reports. A knock occurred at his door but he didn't look up.
"Come in," he said hearing the door open and close. Based on the distinct heel clicks, he had a rough idea who it was but didn't look up.
"You seem to be proactive at working," Nami said in front of his desk.
"Just trying to get this non-ending supply of paperwork off my desk so I can put my head down for maybe five minutes," he said looking up. Up close, she could tell he was a bit tired and frustrated.
"I can tell just by looking at you. Here," she said handing him another paper.
"Great, another…wait, this is from one of my informants."
"Yep."
"…I see NERV in here," he said seeing the single piece of paper. "Will I be happy or sad?"
"Hmm…ambivalent?" the secretary said with a shoulder shrug.
"Sounds like wonderful news," the chief said with a half-hearted tone.
The informant stated that NERV found out there was an Angel in one of the active volcanoes relatively close by. The secretive organization was able to do the operation of eliminating the massive size organism without altering the public. After reading it, he let out a snort. Folding the paper, he placed it on his desk to the side. Sitting back in his chair, thoughts of irritation and anger at NERV came to him quickly. But, he didn't give a reaction. Calming down, he just released a heavy tired sigh.
"I see that it has distracted you," Nami stated. Sitting down in a chair, she put one leg over the other. She heard him grunt and stroke his mustache a little.
"Speaking of distracted, how has Rayne been?"
"Last time I saw her, she was still down," the secretary stated reading over the informant paper again.
"Moping?"
"Yes and no."
"From your background as a nurse, what do you think is occupying her thoughts?" he said standing up. Turning around, he walked to the windows behind him and looked out. The city was winding down daytime operations while nighttime activity was coming up. From how things have been, there hasn't been a quiet night for police in the past two weeks. There was always something happening.
"Well, the "Info Gave" meeting seemed to have taken a toll on her. Seeing the footage again of where she was wouldn't set anyone in a well frame of mind. Maybe the aspect that behind the boy's stoic demeanor, he is really a monster?" she stated. Despite wanting to believe otherwise, the footage was good evidence to state that the boy was really insane. A non-verbal sound came from the police chief as he continued to stare out the window.
"I am sure she'll come around chief."
"I am sure too…in due time," Ryu said the last part to himself.
"I've been meaning to ask…have you thought about interviewing the uncle that Ikari stayed with?" Nami asked.
"The kid's uncle? For what?" he said not turning around which she thought was odd for him.
"Well…to validate if those documents the Commander had were true or not."
"It doesn't matter," he said turning around and sitting down at his desk. He picked up some reports and began reading them.
"…?" Nami said blinking in surprise.
"Anything else you have?" he asked not looking at her.
"Chief…with all due respect, I think the boy's uncle would be a valid source of information."
"Yes it would," the Chief said signing on the bottom with one paper and placed it in the out box. "However, it doesn't matter."
"…are you alright?" the secretary asked a little alarmed at his behavior.
"Yes…why?"
"You have a vein…popping out a little on your temple," she said carefully.
"…" Ryu said looking up with a scowl on his face. He blinked and saw Nami lean back a little. Immediately standing up and placing the document on his desk, he went back to the window. Putting his hands in his pockets, he continued glaring.
"After the conference meeting at NERV, I got in touch with the boy's uncle. I went to his house for a sit down chat and hopefully a show around of where and how the kid grew up," he began to say; however, irritation was already in his voice.
"The uncle was open to talk and stated that the Commander's son was a bit cold, quiet, and distant while growing up as a child. When he was old enough, he gave the boy a furbished shack home in the backyard. From there, the interactions between the uncle and the kid were varied. Sometimes they talked every day. Other times…" he said turning around looking at Nami.
"…" she said seeing his scowl still on his face.
"They wouldn't talk to each other for weeks. I asked him that it seemed rather concerning to have that much of a gap in talking with one another. Again, the uncle stated that it became more and more like that as he grew older. Asking if he informed his father about the odd behavior, he stated that he gave the Commander detailed reports only. His father never visited or talked to his son once since he left him for his uncle…for 11 years."
"…that's…harsh," Nami said quietly understanding some of Ryu's anger. "What of his mother?"
"Reports show that she died shortly before the Commander left his son with the uncle."
"...how horrible..."
"Mmm-hmm. Asking about when the boy contracted his mental disorder, the uncle stated that he didn't know about it until over two years ago. I asked if yearly checkups were done to monitor the kid's development of it at an early age. He said that they did just yearly check ups; however, they became more frequent when there were irregularities a year before the hospital diagnosed the kid with schizophrenia. Asking if he was placed in a hospital stay, the uncle stated that drugs were administered instead. His doctor stated if there were any changes, he would bring him back to the hospital. He even showed me the hospital documentation."
"…" the secretary said still seeing the nasty scowl on his face. "Okay…did he say anything about the boy's butler and creepy behavior?"
"…" he said slowly going back to his seat and sitting down. He clasped his hands together and placed them on his desk. Instead of glaring at her, he was glaring at his hands.
"I did ask about that. The uncle stated that he noticed the kid take interest in doing butler things after being diagnosed. From there, the kid morphed into being and acting like how he is today. In an odd way, the doctor they went to stated that it seemed to be therapeutic to the kid. Taking that with stride, the boy acted like the uncle's butler. There were a few times that it seemed like the kid had an episode, but he recovered by himself. Asking the uncle if being stoic was part of playing the butler role, he said yes. This kept going until his father sent for him months ago."
"…I…I see," Nami stated looking at how his hands were clenched tightly together. "If what he says validates the documents that the Commander had, then the possibility of him being kidnapped wouldn't be true. Right?"
"About that," Ryu said blinking. Another vein started surfacing on the other temple on his head. His face was a little red as well. Nami held onto her seat feeling he was going to burst.
"From the entire interview…and to what I saw there…do you have any idea…A…N…Y…idea what was there?" he asked gravely.
"…" she said blinking and slowly shaking her head. He stood up and slammed fists on his desk.
"NOTHING!" he stated loudly with anger making her flinch a little.
"Nothing was there!" he said. Turning to the wall to his left, he paced toward it and back to his desk repeatedly. A couple of officers heard the bang and only looked over to see the chief pacing. They knew not to venture in his office when he was like that.
"No pictures!"
"No journals!"
"No personal belongings!"
"No acquaintances! No friends! No contact with other family members!" he said turning toward her. "There was nothing that showed a kid had lived there at all!"
"That shit piece of an uncle looked the same as the Commander throughout the entire interview! Not one shred of emotion. Every response was cold, collected, calculated, and indifferent. Any child memories of the kid's activities were all a fog to him."
"…" Nami said just blinking and listening. She knew he would have outbursts but this one was a bit intense than the others. She watched him calm down a bit taking in deep breathes and rubbing his face. He slowly walked back to his seat and sat down. Prompting his elbows on the desk, he held his head with his hands and groaned.
"As much as I wanted to call his bullshit…I couldn't. There is no proof stating otherwise other than my own prejudice and intuition," he said slamming a fist hard down on his desk making a loud thud.
"…okay…" she said startled by how out of sorts he became. "You were really pushing and hoping that Ikari was a lead to figure out the kidnappings…weren't you?"
"…yes…" he said calmly. Placing his other arm down, he looked down at his desk frowning. "He had the signs…he had the signs!…and I just went off of it without a devil's advocate or a shred of doubt."
"You know…we could interview Ikari and see if anything happens. The worst thing that would happen is that he doesn't know any of the children," Nami offered trying to ease the tension in the room.
"…I thought about that…however…after the interview with his uncle…I have zero confidence that it would lead to anything," he said feeling defeated.
"If you'd like, I could interview him and find out. It would be something to provide for the annoying status calls from NERV."
"…" Ryu said looking up at her. Blinking, he retracted his arms and scratched the back of his head.
"If you have time, I'd appreciate it," he said in a low tone.
"Sure. Now that our therapy session ends on a good note," Nami said. She retrieved a jar that was on his desk and placed it in front of him.
"…" Ryu said and groaned a little. He got out his wallet and placed 2,500 yen in it that had a sign stating "Emergency Therapy Sessions".
Rayne was in her apartment staring out of her window. She knew that her vibe after the "Info-Gave" meeting has been off and low. A part of her mind seemed to be fuzzy. It was as if memories were triggered yet it was blocked from her viewing them clearly. Knowing it was the mental and emotional stress from the night raid with the male Eva pilot, she couldn't get the footage out of her mind.
"…" she said. Putting her head on her bed, she looked out her window at the city around her.
'So…that is what he is underneath that controlled aura,' she thought impressed and scared at the same time.
'For someone that is diagnosed schizo, a lot of mental training and tolerance had to be developed. To be able to withstand seeing things, hearing things, feeling things, smelling things, and touching things that aren't real sounds maddening. A world that is always on the brink of distortion and chaos,' she thought as her mind went on.
'Like yours?' an unrecognizable voice echoed in her mind. It didn't sound male or female…almost like it was something in between.
'Like mine?' she asked replying and continuing to stare out the window without blinking.
'Yes.'
'…what?…my mind isn't in turmoil or in distortion,' she thought blinking.
'Is that so…I do wonder sometimes,' the voice said fading away.
'H-Hey! Who are you?' she thought realizing that someone was responding to her thoughts.
'…'
"Hey…who are you!?" Rayne said softly in a small panic holding her head. Waiting for a minute or two and repeating the question, there was no response. Sighing and lying down in bed, she stared at the ceiling.
'Here I am…again,' she thought putting her hands behind her head. 'Staring at a blank ceiling and wondering if I am normal or not.'
'As much as I don't want to accept it, Shinji is not only insane but a capable killer. Given that he knows how to sneak unnoticed, fight, shoot, remain stoic and calm throughout stressful situations, and pilot those mammoth size war machines, he is a high threat to practically everyone,' she thought.
'Yet…I kind of feel similar to him,' Rayne pondered rolling over and staring out her window again.
'Both of us have an uncanny nature. Our eye color is unnatural and both of us can shine them eerily. Both of us have unique skill sets at eliminating people…but unlike him, I don't know where I was born, who my parents are, or why I can't seem to recall my childhood very well.'
Blinking, she continued to stare out the window. No matter how many times looking through it, the glass never gave her answers or a sign to what she was suppose to do or think. Thinking back to the pilot, a part of her wanted to meet and talk with him again. Despite the deadly risk factors he had, a strange sense of comfort came with him in her thoughts. Rolling back to her spot and viewing the ceiling again, sleep eventually took over. A repeated night terror of hers came again.
A couple of days later in the afternoon, Nami was preparing documents in her office. Looking at the time, the scheduled interview was close to begin. Deciding to check everything she needed, everything was set to go. Opening her top right drawer at her desk, she looked at the snubbed nose revolver. Taking hold of it and checking the drum magazine, six bullets were in place. Putting it back in the drawer, she closed it. Sitting down at her desk, she waited anxiously.
The police sliding doors opened and the desk receptionist looked up. Seeing and recognizing the person, the officer stated that he could come through. Nodding, he walked into the main space of the police station. An officer escorted him to an open hallway then turned left. Pointing to the office at the end, the person nodded. Reaching in front of it, he lifted his hand and knocked separately three times.
'He's here,' Nami said. Not moving from her chair, she stared at her door. Feeling butterflies in her stomach, she pushed them down.
"Come in," she said hearing the door opening. The individual stepped in and closed the door quietly behind him. Turning to her, he bowed.
"Greetings Miss Blaze. How are you today?" Shinji stated with an impassive face.
"Hello Ikari. I am doing well. How are you?"
"I am doing well as well. Is arriving a little early alright?"
"I was just about to go to the front and wait for you so your timing is good. Please have a seat."
"Very well," the teen stated. Going to one of the two visitors chairs in front of her desk, he sat down.
"I hope I am not taking too much of your time with this interview. Am I?"
"No Miss Blaze. I am free today from not having to go to NERV HQ after school," he said. Hearing the office door open, multiple footsteps entered. Based on the secretary's expression, she didn't see them walk in. Knowing it was his voices, he didn't turn around.
"Nice. How has school been?"
"It has been well."
"That is good."
"How has your work been?" the Third Child asked. Blinking, he ignored his voices looking around and opening various things in the room.
"It has been keeping me busy so I can't complain of having nothing to do," she stated smiling.
'…' the voices stated. Looking over at the secretary, they suddenly surrounded the desk. Even Shinzin was standing among them with mild interest on his face. Rana sat in the visitor seat next to Shinji with her arms across her chest.
"Indeed," Shinji said blinking.
'Whoa…she is a little younger than Misato,' Shino stated blinking and looking at her face.
"Alright, let's get this started," Nami said with a small smile and saw him nod.
'But has just about the same figure and dimensions,' Shoji stated nodding in agreement.
"How comfortable are you talking about your past?" she asked.
'Definitely the right dimensions,' the brown eye voice stated. Nodding in approval, he smirked at the two teenage voices that were staring.
'Like what you see boys?'
"There are some parts I do not want to recall if that is alright Miss Blaze," he stated with a stoic face.
'She's pretty,' Shonj stated blinking.
'…' Sno said gulping. 'Yeah…she is pretty hot.'
"Yes that is fine. I heard that you stayed with your uncle for some time."
'Hooo?,' Shinzin stated with a grin. 'Thinking about betraying your women now?'
"Yes," Shinji stated impassively.
'...no...it is just...you have to admire someone for their beauty in all shapes and sizes,' Shino stated. It caused the other male voices to nod in agreement. Rana just rolled her eyes.
"You must hold him in high regard for taking care of you."
'I agree…what about you Ikari?' Shinzin said grinning at him.
"…" Shinji said without showing an emotion and slowly blinked. All of the voices standing at the desk were grinning at him and nodding.
"...yes..."
'…a little strange way to respond,' the secretary thought then shook her mind quickly. 'No, I can't hyper analyze him…given he has the mental disorder, anything could set him off.'
"Was life with your uncle difficult?"
"It was fine despite awkwardness between him and me."
"Awkwardness?"
"Apparently my butler mentality and mannerisms was awkward."
"Ah, I see. You must really like being a butler," Nami stated. Hoping with the topic change, his stoic demeanor would change with something he liked.
"It gives me a purpose," the male pilot stated impassively and blinked.
"…?" she said feeling that the interview was going to be a bit difficult. Deciding to forgo any more questions about his stay with his uncle, she went with the main topic of the interview.
"I see. Let's get to the actual meat and potatoes of our talk," the secretary said and got out a thick binder. The adult voices whistled.
'That is a serious stack of papers,' Shino said.
'It is a photo album of some kind,' Shoji stated adjusting his glasses and narrowing his eyes.
'…' Sno and Shonj said looking equally interested at the binder.
'…' Shinzin said. Smiling to himself, he started to snicker softly to himself.
"I would like you to take a look at all the pictures that are in here. Study each one for a little bit before moving to the next one. If one of them looks familiar to you or makes you wonder, take that out and place it on the desk."
"Very well," Shinji said and stood up. Retrieving the binder from the desk, he went back to his seat. All the voices hovered around him to view the pictures. All of them didn't notice the blonde woman shiver from feeling something very cold go through her.
'…?' Nami thought rubbing her arms. 'Did the AC kick on? It isn't that warm or humid today like the past couple of days. Still…felt weird to have a cold chill all the sudden.'
'Anyways, I have to focus on him. If there is any facial reaction to any picture, I'll just tally how many. After that, I'll ask him to look back to those photos and pull them out to talk about them. Even if there is one, it will put some clout in staying with his uncle a little.'
Opening up the binder, there were four pictures on a page. Each one was a child being either male or female from the ages five to ten. Looking at the first one, nothing came to his mind. Listening to his voices, none of them said anything. Rana looked up and saw that all of them were smiling evilly. Blinking in confusion, she looked back at the photos.
"…" Shinji said without changing his expression and turned the page.
Four thuds hit the floor behind him. Ignoring them, he looked at the second page of photos behind the first. In his peripheral vision, the female clone flinched and look behind her. Her view was blocked by the standing male voices. They slowly started changing their shape into dark silhouettes which obscured the view even more. Behind her and Shinji was a pitch black wall towering over them. Even if she tried standing up or moving around she wouldn't be able to see anything behind them.
'Do you recognize any of them?' Rana asked turning back forward and looked at the next photo page.
'…no…I do not,' he thought. Suddenly, the teen was hearing the male voices began whispering to each other and giggling a little. Turning to the third page, the photos of each child was still unfamiliar.
'Do you gentlemen know who any of them are?' the male pilot thought to them. All of them started mumbling and interchanging with one another creating a continuous drone of voices.
'What…what are they doing?' Rana asked a little startled. 'I can't hear anything but their babbling.'
'…' Shinji said looking at the last photo on the third page.
Turning to the fourth page, four more thuds were heard. Keeping his face the same, he continued looking at the pictures. Each page turn resulted in the same number of thuds. Reaching a certain page, something occurred. Nami was staring hard at his face. Her hands were on her lap with a small notebook and pen to make tally marks and page numbers. Mentally noting that he was on the back of the sixth page, she saw his left eye move up independently.
"…?!" she said. Her eyes widen a little to see his left eye looking at her while the other eye was looking at the folder. His eyes blinked separately while it continued to stare at her. Feeling the hairs on the back of her neck flare up, she blinked.
'…what the…' she thought. Both of his eyes were on the binder as he slowly turned the page. Blinking again, nothing happened yet she felt uneasy.
'Should I ask?' the secretary pondered. Still staring hard at the male pilot, he looked at the page before looking at the other one.
'…no…just keep going.'
Noting which page he was on, she felt herself calm down a little. Refocusing on studying his face, a few minutes went by when nothing occurred. Thinking she saw a movement on his face, she quickly glanced at the page and wrote down the page number. Looking back at his face, her eyes widen again and felt goosebumps. His right eye was now independently looking at her while the left was staring at the folder.
'Why is he doing that?' Nami thought.
Feeling herself tense up again, he was blinking his eyes separately again. Biting the inside of her lip, the room felt a little colder than she remembered 15 minutes ago. Suddenly, the eye went all the way to the right for a moment. It then slowly went all the way to the left. Blinking by itself, it started looking at things behind her before slowly looking back at her with a slow blink.
'That's…that's not normal,' she stated in her mind feeling crept out. It was almost like another person was looking at her. Thinking that it might be him having an episode or a seizure, she carefully did not make sudden movements. So focused on the eye, she didn't see the other one move.
"Miss Blaze?"
"…!?" she said flinching and blinking.
Horror splashed across her face from seeing what was in front of her. Behind the male pilot, were bodies upon bodies of children…hundreds and hundreds of them. All were burnt and chard with blood, pus, and clear liquid oozing out of all of them. Surrounding the room behind him looked like hellfire. Every inch of the room's furniture, carpeting, walls, ceiling, floor, and objects were lit up with a dancing blaze.
"Is something wrong?" the male pilot asked turning to the next page bringing his eyes down.
'…oh my god…' Nami thought.
Terrified, she started to see the children's bodies move toward him. They were calling his name and grabbing every part of him within their arms reach. Everything oozing out of the near dead kids was coating the teenager. Seeing him not deterred, he turned his head to the next page with a stoic face still. Some of the children turned to her and began to reach out to her. Hearing them calling her name for help, they were at the front of her desk. Feeling her nerves about to snap, she blinked in fright.
"…?!" she said. Nothing out of the ordinary was in front of her. Everything was back in order. There was no gore, no fire, no dead children, or coldness in the room.
'She looks petrified for some reason,' Rana said looking at the secretary. Looking behind the male pilot, the male voices were still there as dark silhouettes. They were still mumbling amongst one another and adding demented chuckles here and there. Feeling goosebumps on her arms from their creepiness, she scooted her chair over and sat closer to the Third Child.
'…' Shinji thought. Finishing his examination, he closed the binder softly. Looking up, he saw Nami's face register fear and confusion.
"Miss Blaze," he said causing her to flinch visibly. "I am sorry. I do not know any of them or recall any of the children."
"…oh…I-I see," she said hesitantly. Seeing him stand up, he got in front of her desk and placed the binder on her desk.
"Are you feeling well?" he asked with a stoic expression. Looking at his eyes, they were shining a little bit. It was as if something eerie was emitted from them.
"…um…I…I think I probably caught someone's cold or something," the secretary said quickly wanting to end the interview. Him being closer to her made her feel more than uncomfortable.
"I can make some tea if you would like Miss Blaze."
"T-That's okay…I'll pick some medicine up at the store."
"…" he said staring and blinking. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"
"No. We are finished," she stated. Grabbing the folder, she stood up. Turning toward one of her large filing cabinets in the corner, she walked toward it.
"Very well," Shinji said bowing. "Good day Miss Blaze."
Looking out of the corner of her eye, she watched him go to the door. Opening and closing the door silently, he left the office. Seeing him move through the windows, she felt herself release air that she was holding in. Opening on of the file cabinet drawers, she moved the binder to place it inside. Suddenly, something felt off. Oozing out of the sheets was red, white, and clear viscous liquids.
"…!?" she said.
Dropping it into the file cabinet, she slammed it shut. Immediately stepping backwards to her desk, she watched the file cabinet if anything was going to happen. Deciding that she didn't want to wait and see, she gathered her belongings and purse. About to leave the office, she glanced at the file cabinet. The drawer that the binder was in had opened a little. Two small red dots were seen inside. They quickly moved and looked at her.
'HELL NO!' she thought in fear and paranoia. Opening and closing the office door quickly, she locked it. Not even glancing back, she hurriedly walked away. Nami informed an officer that she was heading home in which he nodded and told her to have a nice day. Back in the office, the file drawer was closed.
'…hee…hEe…HeE…heeeeeeeeeeeeee…'