Standard Disclaimer Applies

A/N:

Again, thanks to those who reviewed.

Chapter 4:

The Runners

            "Well done, Miyagi-san,"

          Miyagi Ken looked at the large screen before him, though he knew it didn't matter. It always shows the same scene, a scene he had seen countless of times before.

          On the screen was a big desk in front of a fireplace. Behind the wooden desk was a chair of some sort, where a large tub of a man sat. However, he could only see the silhouette of the man. He had no face, no distinguishing characteristics. And even his voice was digitally altered. The only varying thing on the screen was that sometimes the fireplace was lighted, sometimes not, depending on the weather.

          The faceless and nameless man on the screen brought out a file. "You've read this?"

          Miyagi nodded. "It's the file my girls took out of Yuko Manor," he said. "It's about an organization so secret that nobody knows whether or not it truly exists."

          "Oh, it exists, alright," the man said with a laugh. "If the amount of blood and carnage that happened in Yuko Manor after your girls happened are any indication, the Black Organization is as real as you and me." The man paused. "Or you, at least. For all you know, I might not even be a real person at all." He said wryly.

          Miyagi grinned at that. He had entertained thoughts that the man before him, the big shot of the organization he worked for, his boss, is nothing but a computer program. That behind him is a group of people, a company, who only does things for profit. It's for security, his co-workers had told him. That way if one of the many spies in the organization screws up, the blame won't be traced to the real brains in the operation.

          "Step 2 in this operation would be quite dangerous, Miyagi-san." His boss said.

          "I know," Miyagi replied.

          "I would suggest you pull out your girls and assign this case with someone with much more experience,"

          Miyagi sighed. "But others have tried before, and failed. I think it's time for new blood."

          "But they're merely runners, Miyagi-san. The only things they've done so far are picking up equipments, passwords, and files from other runners. Do you think that they're ready for a case such as this?"

          Miyagi nodded. He anticipated for this to happen. He liked his new team. And he would fight tooth and nail for the case assigned to them. He knew that they were ready. After all, they have a good teacher—him. "I've been personally training them." He then took out a diskette and fed it to his computer. "Here are their files."

          The man downloaded it in his computer. "Mouri Ran," he read.

          Miyagi nodded. "The martial arts expert."

          "But being a karate champion in high school is a lot different in real life."

          "She's better now. The greatest masters the organization could afford trained her. Her level's no longer in the high school level. She's a natural fighter. Plus, her mother was one of us in another lifetime. That's how I tapped into her. I read about Kisaki Eri's file. And I thought that if the daughter is half as good as her mother, then she's got it made."

          "And?"

          "I think that the daughter would far surpass that of the mother." Miyagi replied honestly. Imagine his surprise one day when he was cyber loafing in the organization's data banks, looking for the right crew for his next assignment when he stumbled upon a familiar name. Kisaki Eri. His childhood crush's mother. He wasted no time in contacting Mouri Ran and asking her if she's interested in training in martial arts. Of course she was. Of course he had more than martial arts in mind when he watched her train. He, and her senseis, all came to the same conclusion. The girl would go far in the martial arts arena. She could become an asset in the organization with her fighting skills, if nothing else. So she was recruited. Of course, the information about her mom was withheld. As far as she knows, her only connection with the organization was through Miyagi Ken, childhood sweetheart. Miyagi grinned wryly. Kudo would beat him up if he (Kudo) learns that he (Miyagi) refers to himself as Ran's childhood sweetheart, but that's for another assignment.

          The man on the screen nodded. "I'm familiar with Kisaki-san's works. Next, Suzuki Sonoko,"

          "Master of Disguise," he said. "Daughter of one of the richest man in Tokyo. That would provide us access in different functions with no hardships, no questions asked,"

          He remembered the day he rediscovered Sonoko. At first, he remembered her as Ran's loud and giggly girl best friend (while Kudo was her boy best friend, and himself as her childhood sweetheart =P). He wasn't interested in her at first. But he followed Ran and Sonoko to a mall. At that time, he was still measuring Ran if she would be worthy of the organization. Imagine his surprise when the two girls started trying on clothes. Ran had sat down on a couch near the changing rooms. Sonoko would enter the room with an armful of clothes. After a minute or two, she would emerge in costume, striking different poses and imitating voices. She and Ran would burst out laughing. And then, Sonoko tried on men's clothing and started acting like a man, hitting on Ran. She was good, very good. With a little training Miyagi knew that she could rival even The Kid. At that time, Miyagi knew he found his crew number 2.

          "And I assume you have already made use of her family's affluence in one of her assignments,"

          "Of course," Miyagi grinned smugly.

          "Next, Toyama Kazuha,"

          "The electronic expert." Miyagi said. "She's also the daughter of the Head of the Osaka City Police Department. Another connection that could prove useful for us."

          "And you think that she'd actually betray her father for the organization?"

          "Well, not exactly betray, sir." Miyagi grinned. "It's more of taking advantage,"

          Kazuha was the last person on board. Actually, he would prefer someone on a closer proximity, but he was stumped. He couldn't just invite anyone in the organization. But he also wanted someone that Ran and Sonoko could trust. After all, they would make a team, and he just didn't have time to build up rapport in his new crew.

          And then, the Great Detective of the West decided to drop by and check up on the Sleeping Detective with Toyama Kazuha in tow.

          At that time, Ran had just received her new toy, a palm top. However, something went wrong in its delivery and she simply cannot get it to work. Enter Kazuha-chan. Ran tried to hide the thing from her, but the Osaka girl had insisted. Shrugging and knowing that it was broken anyway, Ran allowed her friend to toy around with it. Imagine Ran's surprise when Kazuha was able to make it work. Now imagine her horror when Kazuha admitted that she accidentally opened the supposedly secret files in the palmtop (actually, it's still being debated upon whether or not it is accidental since the files are password-protected). She now knows that Ran and Sonoko are runners for an international spy organization. The matter was immediately reported to Miyagi.

          Miyagi was impressed that Kazuha was able to fix the malfunctioning equipment. He was pleased to learn that she was also able to override the complex passwords. Kazuha-chan was recruited on the spot.

          "Very well, Miyagi." The man said. "It seems that you would stand behind your crew one hundred percent."

          "I am."

          "Then, since this matter was assigned to you, and you've proven yourself to be more than capable, I'm leaving it all in your hands."

          "Thank you, sir."

          "And one more thing," the man said. "Try not to kill the girls, alright?"

          Miyagi grinned. "Yes, sir," with that, his boss signed off. Miyagi then typed something on his laptop. Three numbers were dialed simultaneously. His calls were picked up at almost exactly the same time. His screen was divided into three. "Good morning, angels," he greeted them.

          Three beautiful faces grinned up at him. "Good morning, Charlie!" They chorused.

TBC…

PS.

Now you know who Charlie is.

And I think you also know who really is Mito Hajime.

Sorry this is so short. But I want to post it ASAP to get reactions. My next log on isn't until the weekend. And I want to read some reviews before I continue.

Is it too juvenile? Is it too cliché? Please review. Thanks.