"Damn it. Of all the — and that guy just said to keep him in line!" Huang nearly tossed his cigarette out the window.
"That guy? What guy?" Mao asked.
"The guy with the baseball hat. My handler, remember?"
"Ah."
Huang had made Mao meet That Guy to help him report about the missing cipher for the usb that involved the MSS. The case that had led Hei to cozying up with another woman.
That other college woman. Huang had relayed news to the team about the job, having asked for some info since it was unclear if they were going to have further orders. Turns out, the student had contacted the lady cop before getting kidnapped and probably would have gotten killed if the Black Reaper hadn't come in to kill his war buddy. College woman had called the lady cop in the confusion, and lady cop charged in and solved the case.
An airtight explanation that, combined with the damning knowledge last night, now reeked of convenience.
"You think Hei's trying pull one over the Syndicate?" the cat eventually asked in the smoke-filled silence.
"You think he's trying to leave?" Huang furrowed his eyebrows. "If he is, he's being stupid. More than usual anyways." Huang rubbed his head. "But there's no other rational explanation."
"Except that Hei doesn't always act rationally," Mao pointed out.
"He's disobedient," Huang added.
"Yeah. Outright impulsive."
"A pain in the ass."
"Eats too much for no good reason."
That was random, but is it really? Outside of anime, no one does that kind of bizarre behavior that's unrelated to a price. Huang didn't know if it's related to Hei's inconsistencies, but it felt wrong to disregard it. Huang added, "Screws up our jobs for no good reason."
"Ah, that reminds me," Mao piped in, "he also helped a doll escape. You know, that job with the yakuza? The yakuza kid there asked Hei for help, and he obliged," the cat smirked at Huang's surprise. "Bet he's also responsible for the botched doll trafficking watch we did months ago. Section Four got the dolls, remember?"
"That was also the time Hei suddenly had asked why the Syndicate was interested in doll trafficking," Huang grimaced. "So he gave a tip to Section Four's chief, who he apparently has a secret affair with. And it ain't the first time."
How many women had Hei charmed ever since arriving in Tokyo, inadvertently or not? There was also that other woman from Section Four, who had ended up stalking him. It was ironic that Hei was prepared to kill her, the big police guy, and the lady cop that night, only for Hei to jump into an affair with the lady cop. Or maybe that was when the sparks first flew? Did the lady cop really lose her memory in that night? That was in spring, so Hei has been seeing her since March?
Then again, there was also that time in June, during the rainy season. When he found the cop skulking around his jeep. Huang had left Hei to take care of her, which he probably did, but not in the way the team expected.
"You know," Mao thoughtfully said after another round of mutual silence, "I told Hei that morning, when I caught the student at his place, that women and men who usually spend the night together have less clothes in the morning, partly as a joke. But turns out the joke's on me, huh?"
Unable to stop himself, Huang made a face. Of all things... "What are you getting at?"
"Hei's an atypical contractor. And I think it's time to accept that and act accordingly."
Huang slowly exhaled, rusty detective's intuition pinging again. It had been more or less dormant since he joined the Syndicate since his jobs were usually straightforward with a notable lack of puzzle-solving involved. Trust to have his pain-in-the-ass asset zap it back to life... alongside uncomfortable thoughts.
"If Hei didn't have his freaky powers," Huang asked slowly, "but acted as normally as he does, what would that make him, Mao?"
"Hei's not a normal contractor, so…" Mao blinked, "a ... human?"
It was a simple answer, but it was also very, very stupid. And frighteningly dangerous. Because it made so much sense. If Hei was a contractor who have human emotions—
Huang wanted to deny that. Deny and not get caught up in Hei's crap, because if Hei, atypical but still a contractor, is genuine about this—
"What are you holding in there?" Mao asked.
Huang looked down and saw his hand gripping something in his jacket. It felt like crinkled glossy paper; a copy of the picture of the mole, he realized. He didn't even know his hand drifted there. "Nothing. Just our next mission."
Mao looked skeptical.
"If he's trying to leave, he'll need to run," Huang plowed through, forestalling Mao's questions. Jumping back to facts. Anything to be away from how the situation was beginning to be eerily familiar. "Run forever until he gets killed or the Syndicate tires of him. But why now?"
Mao shot him a suspicious look but let it go — for now, Huang knew. The damn cat's curiosity did last for months. Instead, he said, "Could be that it's rational for him to stay with the Syndicate at the time."
"How so? The Syndicate's been around for a decade. Remember his file? He's been with them practically since the beginning." Huang shoved the uncomfortable thought that twenty-something Hei has been a Syndicate agent since he was a kid.
"He was a kid back then, right?" Mao unknowingly trampled his avoidance. "Could be that, as a kid, he's more vulnerable and he knew it. Eventually, it became practicality; after a decade of service, the Syndicate knew him inside and out, after all."
"But they didn't see this coming," Huang pointed out. "There are also other contractors who had been with the Syndicate since the beginning. His war buddies, remember? So why now? What's the difference?"
"Proximity to the Gates? From the files I've read, he's the only contractor I know who'd been close to the centers of the Gates."
"Might be," Huang allowed, "but Hei's already kooky even before he got missions to get close to Hell's Gate."
Mao's tail flicked as he wondered, "The women?"
"But he's most likely been in seduction jobs. He charmed that scientist pretty fast in our first outing, remember?" In hindsight, an uncomfortable notion that Hei was also genuinely attracted to the woman came up. Why else didn't he kill the damn puppet immediately?
"That was acting, although maybe..." Mao trailed off, before sitting up straight. "How many seduction jobs has he done?"
"I don't know and I don't care," Huang firmly stated.
"Yeah, but just humor me. I didn't love nor hate tuna when I first came into this body, but now I can't get enough of it. Contractors are apathetic to most things, but here am I, saying that my favorite food is tuna."
"Are you saying you also got Hei's crazy?"
"No, Huang," Mao said exasperatedly. "I meant to say that maybe, things compounded. My other handlers kept giving me tuna because it's what the cat body wants, but along the way, I grew to like it. So maybe, Hei's that way. Hei's issue just... stacked, because he kept... doing them?"
Huang looked away; he saw his green reflection on the mirror. "What the hell are you saying?"
"I'm saying that maybe his apathy is getting eroded by a..." Mao audibly cringed, "...budding sexuality?"
Huang choked on his cigarette.
"Hey, I know it's stupid and irrational," Mao grumpily said while Huang hacked from his smoke, "but it's Hei. I don't know what to think of him."
Clearing his throat, Huang got himself in control. "You're right." Then he tried another angle; somewhat related to Mao's statement, but safer. "The women — the student and the cop. What do we know about them?"
"Nothing much. The student is a normal, college student. Chinese?" Mao cocked his head. "Hei is Chinese too, right?"
"Maybe. BHG did tell me they use Chinese aliases with him." Some indirect way to show who's the main guy in their freak show. Huang added, "You think that has got to do with something?"
"You think he has a type?"
Huang shrugged. Seems unlikely, but what the heck.
Mao thoughtfully rubbed his seat with a paw; at least he didn't extend his claws. "Don't know if they got together more than once though. The lady cop though, now that's something. Really something."
"You said she's aware of who he is? And he told her about the job last night?"
"Yes and yes, but he didn't tell her about the change to the job."
Gritting his cigarette harshly that he can taste the raw tobacco, Huang couldn't keep the bitterness out of his voice. "Could be that he's playing her."
"I thought so too. But last night... you didn't see his face last night, Huang," Mao said, sounding... awed. "It was like Hei, but, but more? I can't explain it well. But I know Hei's face when he's undercover. I know how he is when he's not — when he's talking to us. But last night he wasn't undercover, and he showed something else that he didn't show to anyone else — except for her."
"A new act, then."
"I don't know, Huang. I mean, the lady cop was dying. Why hurry after the female target if not to save the cop?"
"Tied a loose end."
"Thought so as well, but the kill was messy, done sloppily. The Black Reaper could've spent more seconds to do it cleanly, but instead Hei just yanked the target and slashed wildly at the throat," Mao nodded to himself. "Every second was precious. Hei killed the secondary target for her."
"The target was running away, Mao. No time to go clean and dandy."
"Hei had gone after running targets in worse conditions than rain in the past," Mao reminded him. "Compared to those, I say that last night was desperation."
"Well, worse conditions or not, the rain was pretty bothersome. Maybe he wanted out of it. He had a cover to go back to, and he couldn't do that without looking like a drenched cat."
Mao narrowed his eyes at the jab, but he also looked like he got something else out of it. "They spent more than ten minutes kissing and hugging there. In the rain. Way overdue for his break. Then he took his time to escort the cop back to the building."
"He has to keep her interested and alive. Whatever he's planning, he can't afford to get the Kirihara brat dead. Trying to find another policewoman to help him run from the Syndicate can be time-consuming. He'll have to make sure she's clean from the Syndicate and in a position high enough to do anything — and there's only one woman in the city who qualifies those criteria."
"Hei can befriend men as well, did you forget? Hell, he can befriend the lady cop and drop info from the Syndicate, while not getting into a relationship with her. Classic informant situation. Try again, Huang."
Huang narrowed his eyes. "The hell that's supposed to mean?"
"You're grasping at straws, and you know it," Mao said bluntly. "Humans can be rational too; you certainly are when we're doing our jobs, even when you complain. But right now, you're trying your best to be obtuse in denying these facts when it's staring you at the face."
"You're thinking too much of this. How long have you been obsessed with Hei?" Huang countered.
"Call it curiosity, and I know what you're going to say about cats and curiosity," Mao said at the incoming snark, "but I think I prefer knowing than being left in the dark. You never know when things will go wrong, after all."
Huang glared, jabbing his cigarette out the window like a dart.
Mao pressed in. "You and I know Hei's not our typical contractor. Maybe... this means that somewhat, he also has some emotions. Been acting on them. Maybe... he hadn't lost them at all." The cat sounded intrigued and confused.
"That's crazy."
"But what else could explain it, Huang? We know about contracts and prices, but these things came from the Gates, and the Gates are crazy."
"Contractors don't have emotions."
"I'm a contractor. I may be more rationally-inclined, but I do feel annoyed and frustrated at times. Like now, because my teammates aren't making sense. Hei's having an affair, Yin knows but isn't reporting, and you're taking this way too personally." Mao glared. "You're defensive. Why Huang?"
"Not your concern," Huang immediately said before he thought of it.
"Is it related to that thing in your jacket?"
Huang opened a new smoke.
"Oh, the silent treatment? This one's new. You're always vocal about your complaints. What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" Mao gloated at his stupid joke.
Huang glared at the streets.
"People always underestimate me, you know," Mao continued; Huang can feel the creepy stare. "But I'm pretty observant. I can tell that Hei's issue is bothering you, and it relates to something personal, to that thing in your pocket."
The cat paused, obviously waiting for Huang to speak.
Annoyingly, the cat didn't get the hint. "Do you think Hei loves that woman? It's something I wouldn't think to relate to the Black Reaper, but last night was an eye-opener."
"He's a contractor. Of course he doesn't," Huang answered tersely, just to shut the yapping.
"You still think he's playing her? They were alone last night, not counting Yin, of course. He kept his arm around her when he escorted her back to the door. His entire attention was on her. I didn't think that he would notice me if I had walked up to them and started singing. Hell, he didn't even remember to take his knife. He's usually meticulous in crime scenes."
"He's lying. He's an incredible actor. And that poor woman fell for it. Hook, line, and sinker," Huang tightly clenched his pack of smokes.
"That woman almost died, and Hei looked like he almost died. I usually can't read him well, but last night, even I can tell that he was relieved that she didn't die," Mao sighed. "Huang, we covered all angles, and I know it's unbelievable and irrational, but what other explanation might be there? Why can't you accept that Hei might genuinely care for that woman?"
"Because it doesn't make sense!" Huang roared.
Mao fell from the seat.
Minutes passed as Huang stewed, pointedly glaring at the street outside. He didn't acknowledge the cat, groaning at the car carpet.
A man carrying groceries appeared from one side of the street, crossing to the other. Suddenly he perked up, looking back over his shoulder. With a big smile, he welcomed a woman running up to him. With a stupid kiss right out in the open, the two distributed the bags of groceries and continued the journey.
Huang looked down to get a new smoke from the crumpled box. At his periphery, the cat was already back on the seat.
Quietly, Mao said, "This is affecting you personally. Why?"
Still not facing the cat, Huang popped his lighter open and lit his smoke. He took a moment to inhale, something to fortify him. Then, "The main issue here is Hei. We don't know why he's doing this, just that he's doing this. Whatever this is. He can jeopardize our missions; hell, he probably already has."
For a long moment, Huang again felt the creepy stare on the side of his face.
Eventually, Mao asked, "Then what about the cop?"
"She's being stupid."
"Do you think she knows about the rest of the team?"
"The hell if I know." But it was logical to assume that she does.
Mao was on the same path. "So we're exposed. And Yin knows but hasn't said anything."
"Maybe Hei gave her an order."
"You don't see her specter so you don't know about this, but she usually checks up on all of us even when no one tells her to. And yes, I asked her if you or Hei gave her an order for that. She said no."
Finally, Huang looked back at the cat. "You think Yin's doing stuff on her own?" This was the first time he heard of it.
"Yeah. It was strange, but it didn't jump to me as something really special, until the issue with Hei. Then I started noticing how often she checks up on me even when we're not on a job."
Great. Two potentially compromised assets. Three, if the cat's stubbornness could be counted. Huang rubbed his head tiredly.
Absurdly, he suddenly remembered Yin standing, arms outstretched. Silver tears were falling on her cheeks, face gazing sightlessly at the night sky. And Hei was behind her.
Any other contractor would've done the logical thing — kill the compromised doll and the man tied to the doll's past. After all, she was just a doll, a soulless puppet.
"Don't call her that," Hei had said over the corpse of the doll who impersonated Chiaki Shinoda, "she wasn't a puppet."
"...We'll sit this one out," Huang decided. "We'll observe Hei and Yin before doing any moves."
"Why not just let the Syndicate handle this?"
Huang scrunched his forehead. "When I was briefed on this team, BHG gave me a warning," he admitted. "He said that our missions are vital to the Syndicate's future, ten years in the making, and he specifically warned me not to screw up."
And for some reason, he didn't actually want to report Hei for this. Huang decided not to look too closely at that thought.
"And this is screwing up," Huang continued as he tapped his cigarette out the car window. "So for now, this is just between you and me. Keep an eye on the two of them, but your priority is Yin; I can't track her specter. I'll handle Hei."
"Affairs with women aside, he's the Black Reaper, Huang. How are you going to walk alive from a confrontation with him?" Mao reminded him.
"The cop can be a good motivation, if he really cares for that cop," Huang said, hiding his distaste at the idea of being involved with the police.
"What about the job? When is it supposed to be taken care of? When are you confronting him?"
"This week. The job takes priority. We'll confront him after."
"After, huh?" Mao sighed. "And the Baseball Hat Guy?"
"He might have suspicions, but nothing concrete. Still, it's better not to give him more ammo."
"Right. I don't like it, but there's no choice," Mao paused. "What if Hei compromises again during the mission?"
"He's been professional even with this thing he's doing. But if he's going too off-script, then I'll shoot him myself," Huang decided, face hard as stone.
Another contractor asset compromised. To his distaste, Huang knew how to deal with those.
