Author's Note: Here's Chapter Six! I would like to thank S.C and Susie for
reviewing my story. So glad you liked it! In this chapter the characters
have arrived in Japan. Since I live in Japan, some of these places might
actually exist. Only one thing though, Landmark Tower was not built back in
the 60's, it was built in the early 90's. When I had written this story a
while back, I had forgotten this little fact. So sorry! Hope you like the
story!
Part Six: "Renewed Friendship."
We arrived at our destination at 11:00 p.m. and it was very crowded. Everywhere I looked there were people and more people. Mostly Japanese people but people from other countries too. My friends and I were all tired after the long flight and though it was all smooth sailing, I don't think any of us slept a wink. Hopefully we would be able to sleep tonight.
We went through customs smoothly and since we all were having carry-on luggage, immediately got out of the airport and got a taxi toward the center of Tokyo. Since we all couldn't speak any Japanese, we just gave the driver the address to a certain building, where he promptly took us to.
We got out of the cab right in front of a small bookstore. It was empty except for the lone owner of the store. Seeing us he said, his face placid, something in Japanese. "Irrashaimase."
Mark answered in English, "We would like to see our uncle."
The Japanese man didn't even blink an eye. "You should see our book 'War and Peace'," he said in perfect English. I was a little bit surprised. I didn't think he could speak English. He continued, "It recently arrived, hardcover copy. It's in the very back to your right, middle shelf."
We all murmured 'thank you' and then went to where he indicated. As he had said, there was a hard cover book, the bind reading 'War and Peace.'
"OK," I said rather impatiently. "What do we do now?" I wanted to talk to Illya and clear up matters between us as soon as possible.
"He did say to read it. I guess we'd better." April went forward and started to take it out. It wouldn't come out any farther than half way but what surprised me the most was that the whole book cupboard moved back and slid to the side revealing a door.
April looked at me and saw my curious look. "I've been here before," she stated and opened the door, inside what looked like an elevator. She stepped inside and faced us. "Is anybody else coming in?" Patrick and I followed her into the elevator along with Mark.
The door shut and I could feel us descending. "Tokyo headquarters are underground mostly, except for a few entrances, like the bookstore above," April started to explain. "It's basically the same layout as New York except for some changes here and there." The elevator jerked to a stop and the door opened. She was right; the entrance was exactly like our reception area. There was a desk on the right with a computer and a rack with UNCLE badges and behind it all was a receptionist. She was a small Japanese woman with very black hair pulled back behind her to make a bun. She stood up to greet us and said in a slightly accented English, "Welcome to Tokyo. Here are your badges." She handed out April's 22 badge, Mark's 31, Patrick's 26, and my 25. The woman continued to speak. "Your companions are already here, talking in the conference room. I'm sure that Ms. Dancer knows where it is?"
"I think I can find it." We all followed April out of the room, down a couple passages, and turned some corners. By the time we got to the conference room, I didn't think I could get back. I still had trouble remembering the whole layout of our headquarters back home.
Everyone else who were on the team were already inside, along with a young Japanese man, all looking tired from their flights. All the team members were seated in chairs placed around the room. They all looked up when we entered the room.
"Ah, the rest of the team arrives," said the Japanese man. He was obviously from section two, an enforcement agent, because of his youth. He was around maybe 25 or 26, maybe not a full Japanese because of his dark brown hair instead of the usual black hair. Maybe about 5 foot 7 or 8 and average weight. He also spoke very good English. "I am your contact here in Japan and I'll be here to help you in anyway. I am Masahiro Kumasaki. Please take a seat."
We all complied and sat down in some empty chairs. I tried to catch Illya's eye but he was concentrating on Masahiro who had begun talking. "Tomorrow we will begin on our mission, after a good night's rest, it being around midnight right now. Mr. Kuryakin, Miss Dancer, and Miss Leona will be going on to Yokohama, about a couple hours drive away to meet an informer. When do you leave Mr. Kuryakin?"
"Early tomorrow morning," Illya answered. "If that's all right with Miss Dancer and Miss Leona." He looked at us, waiting for an answer. We both nodded yes.
"Good. And while you are away, the remainder of us will be working on finding out who the double agent is. Good luck everyone."
**********
*Good luck*, I thought ruefully, *Yeah, that's what we'll need*. The next morning I had almost forgotten to wake up in time and had to get ready and eat breakfast in ten minutes. When I arrived at a parking lot not far away where we were to meet, Illya and April were waiting for me. Embarrassed for making the other wait, I mumbled a good morning and an apology. They were nice though and didn't say anything about it, April giving me a cheerful hello.
Illya led April and me to a black nondescript car and got into the driver's seat. I put my carry-on back in the trunk along with their luggage and then when I started to reach for the back seat door handle, April stopped me. She shook her head and said, "You get in the front seat. I didn't sleep a wink last night and I'll probably doze off." She gave me a wink.
*Aha!* April was being nice and wanted me to talk with Illya, knowing there wouldn't be any time later on. I gave her a grateful nod and got into the front seat and put my seatbelt on.
The car started moving and I felt myself relaxing. The car was driven smoothly into streets and we got on a highway to Yokohama. My first time to come to Japan and I realized a great many things different from in America. The streets were narrower here and not much open area; everywhere you looked were buildings, people, and cars. Another thing was that we were driving on the wrong side of the road. There was a lot of getting used to.
By the time we got on the highway, April, who had been chatting from the beginning of the drive, as she had said, dozed off and it was silent in the car.
*Now or never. Better just spill it all out. I do want to be friends with him.* But before I could speak one word, Illya had already begun talking. "Danielle, I hope we can make up our differences. And I do apologize for anything I've done to offend."
Before he could go on, I interrupted. "No, I'm the one having to have to apologize. It's all my doing and I really do assure you that the fault is all mine. I do want to be friends, too." I didn't know if I should tell him about Areht. Might as well. We were on talking terms. "The reason I was so. rude, that night at the café, it was because you were right." Illya glanced at me for a second, just waiting. I continued. "I was waiting for someone, a dear friend, but. he never showed up." I waited for him to say something.
"There is nothing I have to forgive you for," he finally asked. "Let's just leave it at that." There was silence for a while. I was so happy and a great load was taken off my shoulders. *Now I can finally sleep well.* I leaned back against the chair to enjoy the ride when Illya suddenly spoke.
"Who is this person you were going to meet." His eyes twinkled. "Not Napoleon I hope."
I laughed at that. "No, it's not. Not anyone in UNCLE. Actually," *Oh, I hope he doesn't laugh at me*, "I've. never really. met him." He did not react at all the way I thought. When I had first told Pat, he had looked at me bug-eyed and thought I was joking.
Illya just raised his eyebrows. "Really?"
"Yeah, really. On the INTERNET. A couple months ago. We met in a chat room and we started writing each other. We were supposed to meet at the café but, you know the rest."
"What's his name."
"I don't even know that! We're not allowed to exchange anything specific with each other. All I know is that he lives in New York, he's around thirty, and his sign name is Areht."
The corners of his mouth seemed to be twitching. "What did I say?" I asked him, wondering if I said something amusing.
Immediately he returned back to normal. "Nothing. Nothing you said. I don't want to change the subject but could you wake up April? I think we're near a rest stop and I think we should get a bite to eat." I immensely glad he said that, because to tell the truth I was starving since I didn't get to really eat breakfast that morning.
"Okey, dokey," I said.
Illya's face was puzzled. "Okey, dokey?"
"It's just a way of saying OK."
He sighed, disgusted. "Americans."
"Napoleon is an American. Aren't you used with him by now?"
"Danielle," his said in mock seriousness. "I'll never get used with Napoleon. That's the one thing as a special agent I can't do."
**********
"So this is where our informant's supposed to live, huh," April said disbelievingly.
The three of us were standing in front of an open lot. There may have been a small house standing there before but now it was just an open space, overgrown with small tufts of grass and weeds. Illya was concentrating hard, looking over the piece of land.
April and I waited for Illya to say something. Finally, after a while, Illya shook out of his reverie and went back to the car which was parked close by. We followed him and we got into the car. I was just about to ask him what we were going to do now when we all heard a beeping noise. Illya took out his pen communicator, which was making the noise. I still couldn't get used to the noise. Whenever I here my pen beeping, I forget what it is and takes me a few minutes to remember and open the channel.
"Illya, is that you?" Napoleon's voice came through.
"Yes it is and you're just in time for me to ask you something."
"All right, what's your situation."
The Russian sighed. "The building's gone, Napoleon."
There was a pause, then an, "I see."
"I need to know the whereabouts of Jane Moriyama."
"I'm sorry, I don't know her though I would love to meet her." I could almost see Napoleon smiling on the other end.
His partner scoffed. "Well I know who she is and I want to find her. Just find out for me where she is." Illya muttered something about not being able to depend on people.
There was a very long pause and I almost thought that Napoleon had cut off the communications when we heard his voice again. "Ah, yes. Jane Moriyama. Half American and Japanese, age twenty, is about 5 foot 5, dark brown hair."
"I know what she looks like Napoleon."
"Don't worry, I'm getting there, let me see. Where was I before someone interrupted me. here. She now lives in Yokohama city. that's funny. She works at a shopping complex but the only home address she's given is, if my information correct, vacant."
Illya bit his lip, thinking. "Where exactly does she work."
I could here the sound of shuffling papers and some murmurs through the pen communicators. "Found it. A bookstore in a shopping complex, called Landmark Tower. I'm sure you can find it."
"I know where it is. Thank you."
"Hold on there. We think we know where the deal is going to be made with the double agent. We still don't know if the agent will be there in person or just going to communicate in another way but we do know that there has been some THRUSH activity in an abandoned warehouse in the suburbs of Yokohama. It's not their base of operations but still, it's a lead."
"What are we going to do then," I said to Napoleon.
"You go see the informant and us over here will go to Yokohama soon. As chance will have it, we'll be staying at the Nikko Hotel in Landmark Tower."
"All right. See you tonight. We'll register there, too."
**********
We were in front of the bookstore by around 10:30. Since we had gotten a bite to eat earlier on I wasn't that hungry. "Why are we here anyway? And what is it about bookstores?" I commented.
April smiled and Illya pretended to act serious. "I've often wondered that myself. Since we can't find him I decided to look up his daughter, Jane Moriyama. Hopefully she's here and that she'll remember me. Most of all if she would trust us with the whereabouts of her father." We all entered the bookstore.
It was a fair sized store, not big like an American-sized bookstore but I guess big for Japan. There people milling around, looking at all the books. To the left was where the registers and the workers were. We walked over there.
"I don't know what she looks like now, it was pretty long time ago. there she is." Illya indicated a young girl and went to her. She was concentrating on her customer who, though I couldn't understand Japanese, I knew was giving her a hard time. We waited for the customer to leave and after he was gone, I saw the girl sigh then put her focus on us.
She was a pretty young woman with very black hair. What surprised me were her steel gray eyes, uncommon for a person of Japanese nationality. When she saw Illya her eyes widened and her mouth opened slightly in shock.
"Hello Jane. Hisashiburi desu ne." Illya smiled.
Her expression changed from shock to pure happiness, her mouth curving up to a big smile. "Illya, why, it's been so long! I haven't seen you in about. ten years!"
"I was worried you wouldn't remember or recognize me."
"No one could forget your blonde hair," she teased. She then sobered. "Or the kindness you showed to my father and me back when we needed help."
Illya also got on a serious look. "Well, the reason we are here is because we now need you and your father's help."
April and I exchanged a look. April spoke before Illya or Jane could say anything more. "Illya, you've forgotten your manners again. Define the 'we' part again."
"I was getting to you. This is April Dancer and Danielle Leona. They are with me and we're working together right now."
"Pleased to meet you." Jane was looking over our shoulders worriedly. "Look, I'd really to talk but I think my boss is getting a little upset about me not working right now. My morning shift ends at 1:00. Could we meet somewhere?"
"All right, 1:00. Downstairs entrance."
"Fine. Till then."
We gave her a final wave good-bye and we left. "I think I've asked this before but what do we do now?" I said.
"Might as well get our bags to the hotel," Illya said, which we did. We got our bags and checked into the Nikko hotel. It was a pretty grand hotel, and I wasn't used to such luxury, though Illya and April seemed to take it all in stride. Illya reserved two rooms for us, one for him and another for April and me to share. We went to ours rooms and decided that after we settled in we'll meet in the lobby.
**********
When April and I went to the lobby, Illya was already waiting. He was sitting in one of the chairs, reading a magazine. Though he was still wearing his black suit, he had taken his tie off, giving him a more comfortable look. April and I were also looking a little big more comfortable. She was wearing a knee length blue skirt and a matching jacket on a beige shirt. I was wearing long black pants with a dark olive green turtleneck shirt and a light windbreaker.
Since our meeting with Jane would not take place for at about two hours, we decided to stroll around Landmark Tower.
April and I were walking ahead and doing most of the talking, Illya right behind, alert for danger yet deep in his own thoughts.
It was around 12:30 when Illya's pen communicator beeped. The three of us looked around for a quiet spot. We were on the first floor where there were lots of tables and chairs spread out. We sat in one of the tables and then Illya turned on his communicator. "Kuryakin here."
"That's a fine welcome for you. You're weren't even waiting in the lobby for us." Napoleon's tone was sarcastic and teasing.
"How did you get here so fast?" I asked.
"Since you had taken the car," Napoleon said, scolding, "the rest of us left behind had to take a low class form of traveling. By subway."
April started chuckled. "Napoleon, on a train? Unbelievable."
"Did you get rooms at the hotel?" Illya said, getting right to the point.
"We each have our own rooms, all pretty close by. We're waiting in your room right now. Be there in 10 minutes."
"Napoleon, I hope you didn't break the lock. You know, you don't have much practice about those kinds of things because I'm the one who always have to do things for you. Pick locks, break down doors, steal the key to it..."
"Don't worry, I had Mark open it for me. Better hurry, you got 9 minutes left." The communication ended.
Illya assembled the communicator back into a pen.
I asked a question. "What did he mean by we won't be in our rooms much?"
April explained for me. "Because we'll be stalking, doing surveillance work, breaking into places, stealing things, you know the usual spy stuff."
Illya stood up. "Should we go now?"
April and I also got up and we followed him on a fast pace to our hotel rooms.
Author's Note: Please review and tell me what you think! Criticism will be accepted.
Part Six: "Renewed Friendship."
We arrived at our destination at 11:00 p.m. and it was very crowded. Everywhere I looked there were people and more people. Mostly Japanese people but people from other countries too. My friends and I were all tired after the long flight and though it was all smooth sailing, I don't think any of us slept a wink. Hopefully we would be able to sleep tonight.
We went through customs smoothly and since we all were having carry-on luggage, immediately got out of the airport and got a taxi toward the center of Tokyo. Since we all couldn't speak any Japanese, we just gave the driver the address to a certain building, where he promptly took us to.
We got out of the cab right in front of a small bookstore. It was empty except for the lone owner of the store. Seeing us he said, his face placid, something in Japanese. "Irrashaimase."
Mark answered in English, "We would like to see our uncle."
The Japanese man didn't even blink an eye. "You should see our book 'War and Peace'," he said in perfect English. I was a little bit surprised. I didn't think he could speak English. He continued, "It recently arrived, hardcover copy. It's in the very back to your right, middle shelf."
We all murmured 'thank you' and then went to where he indicated. As he had said, there was a hard cover book, the bind reading 'War and Peace.'
"OK," I said rather impatiently. "What do we do now?" I wanted to talk to Illya and clear up matters between us as soon as possible.
"He did say to read it. I guess we'd better." April went forward and started to take it out. It wouldn't come out any farther than half way but what surprised me the most was that the whole book cupboard moved back and slid to the side revealing a door.
April looked at me and saw my curious look. "I've been here before," she stated and opened the door, inside what looked like an elevator. She stepped inside and faced us. "Is anybody else coming in?" Patrick and I followed her into the elevator along with Mark.
The door shut and I could feel us descending. "Tokyo headquarters are underground mostly, except for a few entrances, like the bookstore above," April started to explain. "It's basically the same layout as New York except for some changes here and there." The elevator jerked to a stop and the door opened. She was right; the entrance was exactly like our reception area. There was a desk on the right with a computer and a rack with UNCLE badges and behind it all was a receptionist. She was a small Japanese woman with very black hair pulled back behind her to make a bun. She stood up to greet us and said in a slightly accented English, "Welcome to Tokyo. Here are your badges." She handed out April's 22 badge, Mark's 31, Patrick's 26, and my 25. The woman continued to speak. "Your companions are already here, talking in the conference room. I'm sure that Ms. Dancer knows where it is?"
"I think I can find it." We all followed April out of the room, down a couple passages, and turned some corners. By the time we got to the conference room, I didn't think I could get back. I still had trouble remembering the whole layout of our headquarters back home.
Everyone else who were on the team were already inside, along with a young Japanese man, all looking tired from their flights. All the team members were seated in chairs placed around the room. They all looked up when we entered the room.
"Ah, the rest of the team arrives," said the Japanese man. He was obviously from section two, an enforcement agent, because of his youth. He was around maybe 25 or 26, maybe not a full Japanese because of his dark brown hair instead of the usual black hair. Maybe about 5 foot 7 or 8 and average weight. He also spoke very good English. "I am your contact here in Japan and I'll be here to help you in anyway. I am Masahiro Kumasaki. Please take a seat."
We all complied and sat down in some empty chairs. I tried to catch Illya's eye but he was concentrating on Masahiro who had begun talking. "Tomorrow we will begin on our mission, after a good night's rest, it being around midnight right now. Mr. Kuryakin, Miss Dancer, and Miss Leona will be going on to Yokohama, about a couple hours drive away to meet an informer. When do you leave Mr. Kuryakin?"
"Early tomorrow morning," Illya answered. "If that's all right with Miss Dancer and Miss Leona." He looked at us, waiting for an answer. We both nodded yes.
"Good. And while you are away, the remainder of us will be working on finding out who the double agent is. Good luck everyone."
**********
*Good luck*, I thought ruefully, *Yeah, that's what we'll need*. The next morning I had almost forgotten to wake up in time and had to get ready and eat breakfast in ten minutes. When I arrived at a parking lot not far away where we were to meet, Illya and April were waiting for me. Embarrassed for making the other wait, I mumbled a good morning and an apology. They were nice though and didn't say anything about it, April giving me a cheerful hello.
Illya led April and me to a black nondescript car and got into the driver's seat. I put my carry-on back in the trunk along with their luggage and then when I started to reach for the back seat door handle, April stopped me. She shook her head and said, "You get in the front seat. I didn't sleep a wink last night and I'll probably doze off." She gave me a wink.
*Aha!* April was being nice and wanted me to talk with Illya, knowing there wouldn't be any time later on. I gave her a grateful nod and got into the front seat and put my seatbelt on.
The car started moving and I felt myself relaxing. The car was driven smoothly into streets and we got on a highway to Yokohama. My first time to come to Japan and I realized a great many things different from in America. The streets were narrower here and not much open area; everywhere you looked were buildings, people, and cars. Another thing was that we were driving on the wrong side of the road. There was a lot of getting used to.
By the time we got on the highway, April, who had been chatting from the beginning of the drive, as she had said, dozed off and it was silent in the car.
*Now or never. Better just spill it all out. I do want to be friends with him.* But before I could speak one word, Illya had already begun talking. "Danielle, I hope we can make up our differences. And I do apologize for anything I've done to offend."
Before he could go on, I interrupted. "No, I'm the one having to have to apologize. It's all my doing and I really do assure you that the fault is all mine. I do want to be friends, too." I didn't know if I should tell him about Areht. Might as well. We were on talking terms. "The reason I was so. rude, that night at the café, it was because you were right." Illya glanced at me for a second, just waiting. I continued. "I was waiting for someone, a dear friend, but. he never showed up." I waited for him to say something.
"There is nothing I have to forgive you for," he finally asked. "Let's just leave it at that." There was silence for a while. I was so happy and a great load was taken off my shoulders. *Now I can finally sleep well.* I leaned back against the chair to enjoy the ride when Illya suddenly spoke.
"Who is this person you were going to meet." His eyes twinkled. "Not Napoleon I hope."
I laughed at that. "No, it's not. Not anyone in UNCLE. Actually," *Oh, I hope he doesn't laugh at me*, "I've. never really. met him." He did not react at all the way I thought. When I had first told Pat, he had looked at me bug-eyed and thought I was joking.
Illya just raised his eyebrows. "Really?"
"Yeah, really. On the INTERNET. A couple months ago. We met in a chat room and we started writing each other. We were supposed to meet at the café but, you know the rest."
"What's his name."
"I don't even know that! We're not allowed to exchange anything specific with each other. All I know is that he lives in New York, he's around thirty, and his sign name is Areht."
The corners of his mouth seemed to be twitching. "What did I say?" I asked him, wondering if I said something amusing.
Immediately he returned back to normal. "Nothing. Nothing you said. I don't want to change the subject but could you wake up April? I think we're near a rest stop and I think we should get a bite to eat." I immensely glad he said that, because to tell the truth I was starving since I didn't get to really eat breakfast that morning.
"Okey, dokey," I said.
Illya's face was puzzled. "Okey, dokey?"
"It's just a way of saying OK."
He sighed, disgusted. "Americans."
"Napoleon is an American. Aren't you used with him by now?"
"Danielle," his said in mock seriousness. "I'll never get used with Napoleon. That's the one thing as a special agent I can't do."
**********
"So this is where our informant's supposed to live, huh," April said disbelievingly.
The three of us were standing in front of an open lot. There may have been a small house standing there before but now it was just an open space, overgrown with small tufts of grass and weeds. Illya was concentrating hard, looking over the piece of land.
April and I waited for Illya to say something. Finally, after a while, Illya shook out of his reverie and went back to the car which was parked close by. We followed him and we got into the car. I was just about to ask him what we were going to do now when we all heard a beeping noise. Illya took out his pen communicator, which was making the noise. I still couldn't get used to the noise. Whenever I here my pen beeping, I forget what it is and takes me a few minutes to remember and open the channel.
"Illya, is that you?" Napoleon's voice came through.
"Yes it is and you're just in time for me to ask you something."
"All right, what's your situation."
The Russian sighed. "The building's gone, Napoleon."
There was a pause, then an, "I see."
"I need to know the whereabouts of Jane Moriyama."
"I'm sorry, I don't know her though I would love to meet her." I could almost see Napoleon smiling on the other end.
His partner scoffed. "Well I know who she is and I want to find her. Just find out for me where she is." Illya muttered something about not being able to depend on people.
There was a very long pause and I almost thought that Napoleon had cut off the communications when we heard his voice again. "Ah, yes. Jane Moriyama. Half American and Japanese, age twenty, is about 5 foot 5, dark brown hair."
"I know what she looks like Napoleon."
"Don't worry, I'm getting there, let me see. Where was I before someone interrupted me. here. She now lives in Yokohama city. that's funny. She works at a shopping complex but the only home address she's given is, if my information correct, vacant."
Illya bit his lip, thinking. "Where exactly does she work."
I could here the sound of shuffling papers and some murmurs through the pen communicators. "Found it. A bookstore in a shopping complex, called Landmark Tower. I'm sure you can find it."
"I know where it is. Thank you."
"Hold on there. We think we know where the deal is going to be made with the double agent. We still don't know if the agent will be there in person or just going to communicate in another way but we do know that there has been some THRUSH activity in an abandoned warehouse in the suburbs of Yokohama. It's not their base of operations but still, it's a lead."
"What are we going to do then," I said to Napoleon.
"You go see the informant and us over here will go to Yokohama soon. As chance will have it, we'll be staying at the Nikko Hotel in Landmark Tower."
"All right. See you tonight. We'll register there, too."
**********
We were in front of the bookstore by around 10:30. Since we had gotten a bite to eat earlier on I wasn't that hungry. "Why are we here anyway? And what is it about bookstores?" I commented.
April smiled and Illya pretended to act serious. "I've often wondered that myself. Since we can't find him I decided to look up his daughter, Jane Moriyama. Hopefully she's here and that she'll remember me. Most of all if she would trust us with the whereabouts of her father." We all entered the bookstore.
It was a fair sized store, not big like an American-sized bookstore but I guess big for Japan. There people milling around, looking at all the books. To the left was where the registers and the workers were. We walked over there.
"I don't know what she looks like now, it was pretty long time ago. there she is." Illya indicated a young girl and went to her. She was concentrating on her customer who, though I couldn't understand Japanese, I knew was giving her a hard time. We waited for the customer to leave and after he was gone, I saw the girl sigh then put her focus on us.
She was a pretty young woman with very black hair. What surprised me were her steel gray eyes, uncommon for a person of Japanese nationality. When she saw Illya her eyes widened and her mouth opened slightly in shock.
"Hello Jane. Hisashiburi desu ne." Illya smiled.
Her expression changed from shock to pure happiness, her mouth curving up to a big smile. "Illya, why, it's been so long! I haven't seen you in about. ten years!"
"I was worried you wouldn't remember or recognize me."
"No one could forget your blonde hair," she teased. She then sobered. "Or the kindness you showed to my father and me back when we needed help."
Illya also got on a serious look. "Well, the reason we are here is because we now need you and your father's help."
April and I exchanged a look. April spoke before Illya or Jane could say anything more. "Illya, you've forgotten your manners again. Define the 'we' part again."
"I was getting to you. This is April Dancer and Danielle Leona. They are with me and we're working together right now."
"Pleased to meet you." Jane was looking over our shoulders worriedly. "Look, I'd really to talk but I think my boss is getting a little upset about me not working right now. My morning shift ends at 1:00. Could we meet somewhere?"
"All right, 1:00. Downstairs entrance."
"Fine. Till then."
We gave her a final wave good-bye and we left. "I think I've asked this before but what do we do now?" I said.
"Might as well get our bags to the hotel," Illya said, which we did. We got our bags and checked into the Nikko hotel. It was a pretty grand hotel, and I wasn't used to such luxury, though Illya and April seemed to take it all in stride. Illya reserved two rooms for us, one for him and another for April and me to share. We went to ours rooms and decided that after we settled in we'll meet in the lobby.
**********
When April and I went to the lobby, Illya was already waiting. He was sitting in one of the chairs, reading a magazine. Though he was still wearing his black suit, he had taken his tie off, giving him a more comfortable look. April and I were also looking a little big more comfortable. She was wearing a knee length blue skirt and a matching jacket on a beige shirt. I was wearing long black pants with a dark olive green turtleneck shirt and a light windbreaker.
Since our meeting with Jane would not take place for at about two hours, we decided to stroll around Landmark Tower.
April and I were walking ahead and doing most of the talking, Illya right behind, alert for danger yet deep in his own thoughts.
It was around 12:30 when Illya's pen communicator beeped. The three of us looked around for a quiet spot. We were on the first floor where there were lots of tables and chairs spread out. We sat in one of the tables and then Illya turned on his communicator. "Kuryakin here."
"That's a fine welcome for you. You're weren't even waiting in the lobby for us." Napoleon's tone was sarcastic and teasing.
"How did you get here so fast?" I asked.
"Since you had taken the car," Napoleon said, scolding, "the rest of us left behind had to take a low class form of traveling. By subway."
April started chuckled. "Napoleon, on a train? Unbelievable."
"Did you get rooms at the hotel?" Illya said, getting right to the point.
"We each have our own rooms, all pretty close by. We're waiting in your room right now. Be there in 10 minutes."
"Napoleon, I hope you didn't break the lock. You know, you don't have much practice about those kinds of things because I'm the one who always have to do things for you. Pick locks, break down doors, steal the key to it..."
"Don't worry, I had Mark open it for me. Better hurry, you got 9 minutes left." The communication ended.
Illya assembled the communicator back into a pen.
I asked a question. "What did he mean by we won't be in our rooms much?"
April explained for me. "Because we'll be stalking, doing surveillance work, breaking into places, stealing things, you know the usual spy stuff."
Illya stood up. "Should we go now?"
April and I also got up and we followed him on a fast pace to our hotel rooms.
Author's Note: Please review and tell me what you think! Criticism will be accepted.