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"Sever the line to the guilty past,
to the ones who brought us nothing
Spoke of futures brave and proud
and brought only hate and war.
Lined the roads with hollow praise.
Marked the land with paper statues.
Shadows fell upon their ways
And then there was nothing more."
-- VNV Nation, "Solitude"
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--GLOBAL POLICE FORCE HEADQUARTERS: CENTRAL PARIS STATION--
Paris, like most other major European cities, had been ravaged by Gear attacks during the Crusades - though admittedly not as bad as it had places like Berlin. Some of the old buildings still stood more or less intact, such as the Notre Dame cathedral. A rare example to be sure, as the oldest structures dated back merely to the nineteenth century, nowadays.
The building that housed the GPF headquarters for the Central Paris district was one of those; a Georgian-style red brick affair. It was three stories high, and the western end made up the front facade although several and obviously more recent complexes had been added as the force had grown in size and the city had grown in need of a stable force of law and order.
To Sol Badguy's cynical eye it was just another building. Nothing really changed, despite the appearance of current events. It was just... always the same thing with people the world over. History repeated itself, just in different and often random combinations.
Surprisingly enough there wasn't too much activity, though the guard at the door was formidable-looking. Anji raised a brow at that.
"Security's a little tight, isn't it?"
"It usually is in the evenings. After dark's when all the loonies come out."
The three men strode up to the door. Testament hadn't bothered to cloak himself this time, as few people were out on the streets and his attire made it difficult to see him anyway. The policeman at the door narrowed his eyes at Sol, but let him pass without incident.
"They know you?" Anji asked.
"I'm in here often enough. I'm a freelance hunter - if I worked for these people Kiske would never stop stalking me."
"Oh." In other words, Sol's loyalties went to the highest bidder. Not exactly a mercenary per se, but...
"Stop right there."
The imperious command brought the trio to a halt, as did the rather large sword barring the corridor. A young man with short brown hair and a hard face scowled at Sol, his green eyes dark with hostility. "Who the hell do you think you are, showing your face around here?"
This time it was Testament's turn to raise a brow, while Anji's furrowed in confusion. Sol merely smirked. "Heh. Jean Passereau. You're still kissing Kiske's ass, I see."
"You haven't answered my question."
"I didn't know that Kiske was in the habit of leaving his brown-nosers around to bully civilians. I've got business with him, boy, and it doesn't concern you. Now get out of my way. Your investigation department's expecting me."
"No one sees Captain Kiske without getting through me first."
"Excuse me, officer," Testament cut in coolly, "but is your captain also in the habit of confiding in his gatekeeper?"
Passereau's face flushed at the scornful insult as he turned his attention on the pallid-faced man in his odd attire, flanking Sol's right. "How dare trash like you come in here and say such things?! I am nothing of the sort--"
"Better watch what you say to him, Passereau," Sol smirked. "He's a Gear, and we all know from the Crusades that Gears can get pretty excessive when they're irritated."
"You really believe I'll fall for a bluff, Badguy?"
The hunter growled, the first stirrings of annoyance darkening his face like a thundercloud. Sanctimonious little prick. "Save the pissing contest for another time, all right? I need to see your captain. Yesterday. So get out of my goddamn way already, or one of us will move you."
"Impossible," came the snapped reply. "Justice himself could not move me from--"
His words were cut off as if by a knife. Testament, who had taken the opportunity to approach the man while he was in the middle of his tirade, had suddenly hoisted the policeman about three feet into the air. His face was impassive as he held the Frenchman by his collar, tightening the material so that the man was uncannily close to facing suffocation.
Passereau gagged and coughed, grasping weakly at the hand that held him, but the Gear's grip remained firm. Anji could see the tendons outlined in Testament's forearm with the effort of lifting all that dead weight. He looked so delicate that it was easy to forget how strong he truly was. And despite the grim, remote expression on the Gear's face, his voice remained mild.
"Is something the matter, human? You look as though the wind's been taken out of your sails."
Passereau shook his head wildly. His face was turning red.
"I'm certain that as soon as I release you, you will proceed to tell me about your various law-enforcement connections in lurid detail, and you will likely threaten to have me arrested forthwith. Let me assure you, and cut past all the trouble you will go to in informing me as such, that I couldn't care less."
Anji glanced at them both, then cleared his throat and spoke rather amiably to the suspended man. "In light of the present circumstances, officer, I'd advise that you allow us to pass. If you agree, feel free to nod."
The response was an almost comically frantic nodding of the head. With that Testament pivoted on one heel and set the policeman down on his feet. Passareau glared at the three men sullenly as he placed a hand to his neck. He attempted to open his mouth in protest despite the warning, but quickly closed it under the force of Sol Badguy's impassive stare. Instead he retrieved his sword and stepped aside - apparently deciding that discretion was the better part of valor.
Sol snapped:
"Let's go."
"That wasn't really what I'd call diplomatic, Testament." Anji's stride as he continued down the hallway on Sol's left was as serene as though absolutely nothing had happened. "Still, well done. You have no idea how many times I've wanted to do that."
"Bureaucrats," came the disdainful reply. "Mere bullies hiding behind protocol."
"Hear, hear," Anji said dryly. "Still, I think Ky'll find that change of pace refreshing, as soon as he recovers from the stroke he's going to have when that guy tells him there's a Gear loose in the police station."
"Passereau can eat me." Sol gave a casual shrug, looking completely unperturbed by the entire business. Anji supposed he was probably more interested in the Gear/serial killer. "He always was a little ass-kisser. Plenty of those left over from the Crusades, too. Besides, most of those bastards would probably like to rip my head off and shit in my neck. You get used to it."
No introductions were needed; nor were there any more confrontations. The tawny-headed detective was waiting at his desk when Sol flung the door open on its aged hinges. A hard, hostile expression was etched on Ky's youthful face. Most likely he'd heard the commotion out in the hallway.
"Sol," he growled. Apparently Ky Kiske wasn't any happier to see the bounty hunter than Passereau had been.
"Stow it, Kiske. I don't have the time and neither do you." Sol untucked the bundle of copied reports from the police station and the city coroner's office, positioned his burden directly above the Frenchman's desk, and released it. It hit the surface with a headache-inducing thud that made the teacup on the edge rattle and teeter dangerously close to the edge, and Ky had to make a hasty motion to catch it. Fortunately Sol had thought to bind the reports in a rubber band for easier transport; otherwise they'd have scattered everywhere.
Ky shot his rival an ominous glare. "Do you mind, vulgarian?"
"Not at all." Ignoring all the NO SMOKING signs they'd seen since entering the station, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette.
"You are not going to smoke that in here."
"Try and stop me, boy." His face remained blank as he said it, but something about the note in his voice insinuated that should the Frenchman indeed call his bluff, Sol would gladly rearrange all his vertebrae. Ky glared a moment longer, but Sol didn't even look back before lighting up. With a sigh, he glanced at the other two men.
"Anji Mito. And Testament?" Ky raised a brow, bewildered gaze lingering upon the one person who possibly had more reason to hate Sol than he did. "Why are you here?"
"A temporary arrangement, Officer," Anji cut in, glancing at the other Gear, who remained silent. "It concerns that pile of paper Mr Badguy just dumped on your desk."
"What is all this?" Ky pulled the binding off the bundle of files and picked up the picture of the woman.
"Run a search on a woman with this description through all the UN files dating before 2175," Sol answered. "First name 'Kira', last unknown."
"Why should I?"
"Testament knows your killer personally." Sol's tone was deliberately insulting.
"If you don't shut your mouth, Sol, I'll be glad to shut it for you. Permanently."
"You're all empty promises."
"Enough," Ky snapped testily. "Who is this woman? A former government official?"
"A Gear."
"Files on the Gears are highly classified, Sol. I don't have that much clearance."
"Don't bullshit me, Kiske, you led the Seikishidan. I know you'd have clearance on World Court intelligence."
"I didn't say that I didn't have clearance." Ky's voice was icy. He was struggling to remain civil as it was. "I meant that I only have permission to access certain files. All the information sent to the government on Gears is seen only by the UN's surveillance companies, then it's compiled and sent to Geneva. Everything we found out during the wars was locked away after Justice was sealed. Most of it is kept out of view unless I request the information for a specific purpose."
"That's a damn stupid way to work."
"They felt it was best after the Crusades ended that the information not be accessible to the public."
"In case people panicked?" Anji asked.
"Yes. The need was obvious after Dizzy's emergence."
Testament grunted from his corner, but still remained silent.
"So can you get the clearance or not?"
"I just told you, Sol. Not automatically. They put a restriction on the information after the tournament a year ago, said it was too volatile and that they didn't want a repeat of that incident." Ky's sapphire gaze intensified as it zeroed in on his rival. "Why are you so interested?"
"She's a Gear," Sol said patiently, as if Kiske were unbelieveably stupid. "She's also worth three hundred thousand bucks. And since we're playing twenty questions right now, why does it matter? It's in your best interest to catch the bitch if she's murdering humans, isn't it?"
A long-suffering sigh. "I'll make some telephone calls. But I can't guarantee that I can get the information right away. Or even tonight."
The bounty hunter folded his arms. "Then we'll have to keep trying, won't we?"
"You don't understand... yes... no... listen, I have been on hold for the past hour waiting for... I told you, this is Ky Kiske of the Global Police Force and I am filing a formal request for the release of information on Gears risk-rated Class A... no... If I had automatic clearance, I wouldn't have called..."
"This is ridiculous," Anji muttered, shifting uncomfortably in the seat he'd taken.
"You're telling me." Sol directed a glare towards the phone in Ky's hand that could have melted steel. "If I were there myself, there wouldn't be any of this 'I'll put you on hold' shit, that's for damn sure."
Ky put a hand over the receiver. "Please keep your voices down."
"What's the problem, Boy Wonder?" Sol dropped the third spent cigarette onto the floor, crushing it with his heel and ignoring the miniscule twitch that came to the corner of Ky's left eye as he saw it. "Best laid plans going to hell?"
"I don't know." The Frenchman shook his head, looking extremely confused and frustrated. "I've never had this much problem requesting information. I have all the clearance codes I need and I keep getting passed about from hand to hand."
"It would seem someone in Geneva wants to play a power game." Testament's voice was its usual soft murmur, but the statement itself carried enough weight such that volume was hardly necessary. The implication was clear.
Sol grunted. "Plenty of people in the World Court like to play power games. No surprise there."
"Uh... Sol?"
The bounty hunter glanced up. Anji Mito was shifting in his seat even more urgently. The look on his face was rather pained. "Yeah? What?"
"I... er, need to.. ah, relieve myself. Would you mind if I stepped out of the room for a few moments?"
"I don't give a damn. Just don't try to escape or I'll hunt you down and kick your sorry endangered ass. We have a deal, Mito."
"I couldn't go anywhere if I wanted to. You locked my weapons in the hotel room, remember? I'll be right back."
"Ten minutes. That's it. If you aren't back, I'm coming after you."
"All right, all right." The Japanese man stepped out of the room and shut the door discreetly behind him, taking a few deep breaths. He desperately needed to find the restroom - but he also needed tobacco-free air. He'd been trying to keep from coughing for the last hour. At least Sol'd let him out of his sight for a few moments; he'd been close to going stir-crazy for the last few hours. Anji hated restriction of his freedom more than anything in the world.
Briefly he entertained the notion of walking out and going back to the hotel, and maybe charming the receptionist into giving him the key so he could get his zessen back. After a moment, though, he let it drop. He wouldn't get that far before Sol decided to go after him, and the young politician had no doubt that Sol would give him the ass-kicking he'd promised.
The station's interior, he noted a few moments after walking out of the men's lavatory, was actually rather quiet. There were a few people in the lobby area, but not many; most of them were officers on duty, although a few civilians could be seen.
Anji was about to turn away and walk back down the corridor to join the others when a flash of hunter green caught his eye. It was a woman who looked about his age, surely not older. That green he'd caught was the color of her daringly short sheath dress. Her long hair was very dark - it shone with violet highlights and was looped into an intricate series of braids within a matching silk kerchief, wrapped about her head. She was standing by the exit, looking somewhat bored.
Something about her was vaguely familiar, but Anji couldn't really say what it was. She was attractive, but that wasn't it.
So go over and talk to her.
The thought seemed almost to be a sly, insinuated suggestion. Anji was fairly certain he didn't know her, but that thought nagged him nonetheless... Still, he couldn't see why it would be so unreasonable to go talk to her. If Sol wanted to come out and look for him, he'd just find him talking. Anji was very friendly. He liked talking to new people more than anything, and he especially liked talking if those new people happened to be pretty girls.
Before he could resolve his mind either way, the woman glanced up, caught his eye, and lifted her hand in a tiny little wave. Her smile was definitely coy. Anji smiled back politely, nodding, and she motioned him over to the door. With a shrug he found himself sauntering towards her, grinning like a fool.
"Hi," she said, smiling. Her eyes were a strange, exotic shade of amber. Probably contact lenses.
"Evening, miss," he replied - a quick glance at her left hand revealed that it was devoid of rings. "I'm... ah, sorry if I was staring."
"Oh, that's all right!" A tiny chuckle escaped her as she shook her head a bit. Some sort of unnameable perfume wafted unhurriedly in his direction. "I get that a lot, actually. But I was staring myself. You're not bad-looking."
"Oh. Um..." Anji flushed a little, and briefly thought of Baiken. She probably would be none too happy to see this scene. Or maybe she wouldn't care. Four months of having known her, in any sense, and he still couldn't figure her out--
The thought seemed to trail off. In fact, it seemed downright unimportant in the face of that look this woman was giving him. Artless, but... seductive, somehow. Baiken went back to a corner of his mind, like dust swept under a rug and immediately forgotten.
"So... what brings you here?"
"This and that," she said, and giggled again. "I'm a... government representative. We're trying to compile information on that man who created the Gears, and so far we're getting a healthy file on him..."
If Anji were a dog, his ears would have perked up.
"--but there's still a few people we need to talk to. We think the Gear general Testament might know something, maybe... and the girl Dizzy. Many others." She laughed. "It's a tangled web. I figured that the police station would be the best source of information to start, and then I could go from there..."
"I can imagine." He glanced back in the direction of the corridor leading to Kiske's office. Sol didn't appear, and so he turned his attention back to the woman and leaned towards her in a conspiratorial fashion. What the hell, why not. He was bored, and sick of being treated like a child because he'd had the bad luck to get caught.
"I'm... acquainted with Testament, so if you want to talk to him, I might be able to arrange it..." Anji caught himself and coughed. "Uh, I'm not sure I should have told you that, but--"
"Oh, you know Testament?" She interrupted him, but her voice remained mild, as if his revelation didn't surprise her in the least. "What a coincidence... I hadn't realized he was in Paris."
"Do you know him too?" He was surprised. Testament didn't exactly seem like a social butterfly...
"Oh, yes, quite well. Perhaps you could... tell me more, if we stepped outside for a little while?" She placed a hand on his elbow. "Even in places like this the walls have ears."
"Outside?" he echoed, frowning a bit. "Um... well, they're both here in the station... and I promised them I wouldn't go wandering off--"
"I'll only take a few moments of your time. What's the harm?"
He had to admit that she had a point. What would be the harm? It wouldn't take ten minutes, surely.. and if in the meantime he could get information from her in return, it'd be a fair exchange. She might even know something about this Gear woman who Sol was trying to find...
A front was beginning to pass through the city; the wind had picked up considerably and there was the slightest biting chill on its edge. Still, it was nothing unbearable, and Anji nodded to the security as he and the young woman opened the doors and made their way down the marble steps. He blinked as he realized that they were steadily walking away from the station, and although he supposed it was to ensure that no one would eavesdrop, he couldn't help but feel the slightest bit uneasy nevertheless.
When he looked up and saw that they were by now almost a block away from the station and rounding the corner, he stopped, shaking his head. He'd already broken his promise not to leave the station, and if Sol found him out here... "I think we've gone far enough for no one to hear us, don't you?"
The only reply he received was the rather unpleasant sensation of a blunt object slamming into the back of his head.
Anji Mito crumpled to the ground as silently as an unfolding sheet; the blow had instantly knocked him senseless. No alarm was raised from the direction of the police station, and they were far enough out of the light and line of vision to ensure that things would stay that way. For the time being, at least.
Kira's smile hadn't faded as her feral gaze traveled from the unconscious human to the heavy rock she'd tucked in her purse before she arrived at the station. She'd had to pull her attack short at the last second. Humans were absurdly fragile, and after all, she didn't want to kill him.
Not right now, anyway.
She knelt down and slipped her arms beneath his torso and his knees, lifting him off the pavement. Not only fragile, but ridiculously sensitive to mental suggestion. All she'd had to do was slip that little nudge into his head when he saw her, and he'd done the rest on his own. Kira had thought it might be more difficult, but apparently that worry had been over nothing.
Hurry. Testament and that bounty hunter will come looking for him soon, and a woman who can carry a man this size is going to look suspicious. Get off the streets.
The last thing she needed was to be foiled by stupid mistakes.
Without pause she slipped into the back streets and faded from sight... carrying the unconscious Anji as though she were a bridegroom about to cross a hotel room threshold.
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AUTHOR'S NOTES: Wow, it's been a month since the last update. o_o;; Hopefully things'll be slowing down a little bit; I'm involved in an opera, I have a lead role, so I haven't been able to update this like I had hoped I would. I should also mention that Guilty Gear X2 is the nectar of the gods. Sweet, sweet story mode, how do I love thee. *.* I've been more or less keeping up with the stories in this section, although I haven't reviewed many of them...
So the plot thickens, no? :D Hopefully the next one won't take me a month to put up here. I would update more often, except I have this ambition to get out of college in the year and a half I promised my folks. Instead of being stuck here till I'm like, y'know, fifty or something.
Oh, and Kaiser: Nicely written new chapter. You've got yourself quite the following now! I do hope you aren't planning to steal my Justice-thunder though - otherwise I shall have to feed you to Kira, and you don't want that ^_~ Also, get May and Dizzy back together already, the suspense is killing me!
