Disclaimer - If I owned Gluhen I would decrease the damn angst by 80%. As it is, I do not and therefore cannot.

This story takes place after Gluhen ends. I have not seen the episodes, but I have read synopses. Any mistakes I trust you will be kind about. A murderer out of jail in two years? I know it just wouldn't happen, but please try to accept it… I didn't want to make this any longer than it already is going to be…

Afterglow

By Felflowne aka Espion

Chapter 5

Predator

In the darkness of the alley, a slight figure glanced at a piece of paper.

'This is the one.'

They reached up using a plank with a nail in it and pulled down one of the two fire escapes. Leaping gracefully from rung to rung with the minimum of noise, they soon arrived at a window, where they crouched, and waited.

*

Inside the main office at the party headquarters, two figures were sitting.

'I'm nearly done,' said Mamoru to Nagi, 'just this one.'

He skim-read the document in front of him.

Nagi laced his fingers in his lap. He heard a door rattle in a draught.

*

The figure swore and stilled the door, which had been set rattling on its hinges by a draught from the window they'd just come in through.

Then, opening the door silently and slipping into the corridor, the figure pulled a black balaclava over their face, obscuring it totally.

Padding softly down the corridor and listening intently for any noises, the figure settled behind a large filing cabinet and awaited their prey.

*

'Okay, done.'

Mamoru threw the paper disdainfully in his 'out' tray and stood up, but as he made for the door Nagi stopped him and put a finger to his lips.

Mamoru nodded and walked the other way, opened the window and exited the building via the emergency exit.

*

The figure in the corridor had no idea they had been sussed. They continued to wait, and then they heard the door handle turn. In the obscurity of the corridor, recognition was difficult, but it didn't matter. All who were subservient even would pay.

There was a soft kind of squelching noise as Nagi stepped into the corridor. Then he saw it! A huge dark shape, which seemed to be growing!

'Who's there?' he called, and to his amazement, was answered.

'Do you serve Persia?'

Nagi hissed. The shape appeared to have stopped growing, but when it spoke, the voice seemed thicker than it should have.

'Answer my question, do you serve Persia?'

'I'm his bodyguard.'

There was a blood-chilling snarl.

'Then you will die.'

Then everything seemed to happen very fast. Nagi cocked his gun and fired, but missed, as a massive shape pounced. Screwing up his mind like a fist he forced it back a few paces.

A lion? Some kind of big cat!

The creature fought against his protective shield, managing to gain a few steps. Nagi scrambled back and fired again. This time he heard the bullet hit flesh, and the animal snarled furiously and backed away.

A tiger… it's a tiger

Nagi was confused. He was sure he hadn't let the animal close enough to wound him, yet his shoulder throbbed uncomfortably. He dismissed it.

The animal seemed to have realised that it was not going to win this time. It began to back away slowly. Nagi followed it, pointing his gun the whole time at the creature's head. The corridor was too narrow for it to turn around, but…

The squelching noise rang in his ears again as the tiger seemed to melt, only to be replaced by a short figure dressed head to toe in black, and wearing a black balaclava.

They stared at each other. Nagi realised the hand holding his gun was shaking slightly, and stilled it.

Then the figure dived for the open window! Nagi fired, ran to the window, leaned out and fired again. He was pretty sure he hit the would-be assassin creature at least twice more as they reverted back to their feline form and ran like hell out of the alley and away.

The pain in his shoulder intensified.

**

'Next month?'

'Yes.'

The warden handed the important looking letter to Ken, who took it and attempted to read it, but the legal jargon was a mystery to him.

Omi would've had to decipher this for me… he thought with a slight smile.

He knew what it was about though, parole. He was eligible for parole next month.

He knew it was unusual. Normally murderers did the full sentence. There must be something strange about him.

'You've made the news, Ken,' said the warden. Unlike his guards, who more than likely called prisoners by their surnames only, the warden made a point of only using first names.

'We'll release you two hours before normal, then we won't get a riot on our doorstep.'

Ken nodded. This was a big favour. His head was filled with thoughts. Where would he go? What would he do?

He just didn't know, but anything was better than here.

**

Nagi was stationed in his normal spot just outside the main office. This was the same door he'd stepped out of just a few days ago, only to be confronted with some kind of demon that'd attempted to kill him because he served Persia. The strange unexplained pain he'd felt had ceased to worry him, as it had faded almost to nothing now.

Mamoru-sama, he reflected, had not seemed to care much one way or another about this. After checking that Nagi was alright (although even this, Nagi could tell, was more out of tradition than any real concern) and resecuring all windows and fire escapes, he'd simply moved on, and didn't refer to the incident.

Nagi sighed silently and retrieved an object from under his chair.

Nagi read his paper. He was surprised to find he actually enjoyed doing this. The papers were not always full of doom and gloom, and it did well to distract him from what seemed to be the inescapable cycle of life and death he rode through every day.

But then again…

He cursed quietly and folded the paper, before knocking on Takatori-san's office door.

As soon as the call to come in was heard, he stepped quickly into the room and shut the door behind him.

'They're going to release Hidaka.'

Mamoru looked up and his brow furrowed.

'Is that a problem?'

'Security,' said Nagi shortly, 'anything he may have said inside will not make it to outside…the other inmates would've thought he was insane, but outside… He may have a greater influence.'

'You think he'd try to do something? To undermine Kritiker?'

'Revenge is his style,' said Nagi simply.

Mamoru thought.

'Yes,' he said finally, 'have him watched. He may have to be detained if it looks like there's danger.'

Nagi nodded, whilst being internally surprised. He'd expected to have to fight against Mamoru to have Siberian watched. He'd expected Mamoru to stand up for him in some way… But then again, he remembered his boss' behaviour inside the prison and realised something he should have a long time ago.

Omi Tsukiyono was dead.

*********************************************************************************************

Ohh my attempts at slyness make even me cringe. Can you tell I don't like Mamoru Takatori? Just everything about his personality drives me crazy! Don't deny it! You're still Omi!!

*pants*

Ahem.