Chapter 4 – And the Shell Cracked
Weeks passed and I thought that Mrs Toudou had completely forgotten about her plans (whatever they were), when we suddenly received an invitation from her for tea. My stepmother was extremely pleased about the invite because Mrs Toudou had promised to show her some prize bonsai, and she was a fanatic about gardening.
"Look, she invited all of us to tea and Rui too!" She waved the invitation at my father who was buried behind his newspapers.
"When is it?"
"This Wednesday."
"I can't make it – I have a meeting with an extremely important client. I doubt that Toudou will be available too. Just bring Rui with you, he could play with Shizuka."
So I found myself in front of the familiar gates with my stepmother, wondering what awaited me. We did not have to wait long. Mrs Toudou came to the gate herself to welcome us and led us into the house. Shizuka greeted me cheerfully looking as beautiful as ever in a delicate pale blue kimono similar to the one her mother was wearing. I have often wondered why parents love to dress their children up in clothes that resemble their own.
"Shizuka, bring Rui to your rooms." I saw the look that they exchanged before Shizuka bowed obediently and bade me to follow her. It fueled my curiosity and I willingly went with Shizuka. We stopped at the second floor in a long corridor with two rows of identical doors.
"Rui, my playroom is here." Shizuka opened the nearest door on the left. Her playroom was pretty big, well-lit and airy, and I could see huge cupboards that I assumed were filled with her toys, games and books – same as ours. There was also a large computer in one corner of the room and I wondered what type of games or programs she had … …
Just then, there was a polite knock on the door.
"Come in."
A servant bowed, "Miss Toudou, your mother's guest has arrived in the library."
"Okay." Did I hear her sigh?
"Rui, I need to go and say hi to my mother's guest. Could you please come along with me?" I was quite affronted. Why should I accompany her to meet a stranger when I hardly communicate with my friends and family? However, I have never been able to get the better of Shizuka when she puts on this beseeching look, her large brown eyes going all helpless and yet hopeful at the same time. The next thing, I found myself in the library that was coincidentally situated opposite her room. I, for one, never believe in coincidences.
"This is Rui." I turned in surprise to see Mrs Toudou sitting beside an extremely vertically challenged (to be politically correct) but well-groomed gentleman. His hair was all white and he was smiling benignly at me from behind a pair of steel-rimed spectacles. I realized that Mrs Toudou had not introduced him to me. There was this air of authority around him, and it was evident that he was accustomed to having his orders obeyed.
"How old are you, Rui?" I kept quiet out of habit as I looked at him. He chuckled and then continued, "Rui, I have heard all about you from Mrs Toudou. Please discontinue your act for an hour and talk to us."
"Why?"
"Because I may have an interesting proposition for you."
"Not interested," I started to walk away.
"Don't you enjoy solving intellectual challenges?" I stopped at his words. This entire fiasco was starting to be a bit too unreal for me. I bit hard on my lip to assure myself that I was not dreaming.
"Besides," he continued smoothly. "You may not be up to scratch." Oh yeah? I raised an eyebrow quizzically, rather offended by his crafty way of trying to get a raise out of me. Well, you know when someone is trying to get you to do something by using reverse psychology? I saw through his motives immediately, but hey I was still young. Even though I knew what he was attempting to do, I could not resist accepting his challenge because he hinted that I was not good enough. Of course things are different now. I can ignore any taunts or jeers without turning a hair, but I was only seven then. He knew he got me when I turned back and looked straight at him. He was good – not a hint of satisfaction was revealed in those dark orbs.
"Shizuka, you can wait for Rui in your room," Mrs Toudou stood up.
"Wait," I said, "are you leaving me here alone with him?"
"Your mother will get suspicious if I don't go back, Rui," she smiled at me gently. "Please take my word, this gentleman stands on the right side of the law and he will not hurt you in anyway. He is simply conducting that tests that I have mentioned to you about previously. No harm will come to you under my roof." The last few words were spoken with authority and I felt reassured. Nodding silently, I let them leave.
"Okay, now let's start … …" I was asked to sit at a table where a laptop had been set up. There I spent the most interesting but tiring two hours of my short life, solving extremely complete puzzles. I was so mentally exhausted by the end of the session that I actually closed my eyes and took a short nap on the table. The quiet buzz of voices woke me up although out of habit I kept my eyes closed.
"… … his IQ is above 200? … … That's stratospheric … … " That was Mrs Toudou's voice.
"Yes, we will try to recruit him."
"He is a minor … …"
"Toudou, don't act all high and mighty now." The voice cutting her off was indignant. "You knew the possible outcome when you informed us about his potential."
"But … … I didn't expect it to be so soon … …"
"Well, we just have to ask him then … … Rui, I know you're awake." My eyes snapped opened and I looked up at them. Mrs Toudou was looking rather upset, but the gentleman was smiling rather smugly.
"Rui, I have a proposition for you." I did not have the slightest inkling then of how this sentence would change my life. If I had, would I have escaped as quickly as I could on my short legs? I do not know the answer till this very day … …
"I belong to a government agency that little is known about."
"Espionage?" The word simply slipped out of my mouth. However, he only looked thoughtful, not irritated at my interruption.
"In a way. There are many types of espionage – I am in charge of this branch that can be probably classified as mental espionage. Firstly, we don't do any James Bond stuff, so I certainly would not want to get your hopes up thinking you can be playing superhero and killing other spies. We crack codes. Meaning that any messages intercepted or captured from the enemy will be sent to our department. We would first crack the code, and then analyse the message in light of recent events to determine its authenticity. It is also our responsibility to create codes and code messages once a while to prevent the "enemy" from catching on." He had my full attention – that sounded like fun!
"I would like to recruit you for our department, Rui. We would first train you to be familiar with all existing types of codes. Your training period will depend on yourself. On average people take about 2 years. However, I have confidence that your training time will be much shorter – possibly even half that time. We will pay you although the earnings will probably seem meager relative to your own income. However, you will performing a service for the society and be part of an elite group that is privy to the most recent and confidential information on a global basis."
"Tell him about the risks … …" That was Mrs Toudou. A warm feeling swept through me at her intervention. It was quite obvious that she was looking out for my interests.
He shot an annoyed look at her, "I am just about to do that." Then he bent down so that he was at my face level. "Rui, the identities of the members of our department are kept strictly confidential and everyone is given a code name when they start. I am not going to sugarcoat facts – we are the ones at highest risk and most targeted by any of our country's political rivals or even by countries who want to "acquire" code breakers." Naturally, did he think I was dumb? What better way to help win or end a war by intercepting all the messages, knowing in advance the plans of your enemies, or setting traps for them?
" … … five of our agents have died. Two of them were brutally tortured to death, the other three were lucky and managed to kill themselves before the interrogation … …" I flinched. "Because of that, we started to keep the identity of our agents secret – in fact we have improved upon the methods used by the FBI and CIA. Hence, you will be living a dual life, rich playboy on one hand and expert code analyst on the other. Your entire existence will change drastically once you decide to make this commitment. I know you're a minor, but I trust that your intellect surpasses grownups and your ability to analyse and comprehend is definitely beyond that of an 18 year old kid that is considered in our world as an "official" adult. You will have many more questions once you think this over. I will seek you again in a couple of weeks. If you consent, we will send you to a psychiatrist to certify that you fully capable of making your own decisions, and that you understand completely what the work encompasses and the impact on your life. Also, I must ask you keep everything that has happened in this room strictly confidential. See you soon." With that he left.
"Rui … …" Mrs Toudou had remained behind.
"Yes?"
"If you need someone to talk to about this, you can come and see me anytime. I would not be able to give you any advice because the choice is really yours and yours alone. However, I would be quite happy to listen when you work things out."
"How are you involved in all this, Auntie Toudou?" I thought she was not going to answer when she remained quiet for a while. Then she sighed quietly.
"I was once recruited by them." I looked at her with a new respect. "No," she shook her head. "Nothing as special as what they are trying to recruit you for. I spy for them because no one will suspect the beautiful and affluent wife of Toudou to be a spy." There was a bitterness in her tone that I caught but could not understand. She smiled at the confusion on my face, "let's get you back to your mother, Rui. And remember to continue to keep your mask on in public." In a blink of an eye, my face had smoothed into my habitual expressionless look and she nodded in approval before we both went back to the living room. On the way back, my stepmother was happily raving about the new techniques she learnt for cultivating bonsai whilst my thoughts were far far away … …
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Dear All,
Did you have problems logging into this website? I have been trying for almost 4 days! :) Thanks so much for reading and leaving me a comment!
Nana-chan: I'm so glad you like this story :) Hopefully this next chapter will be up to your expectations.
Lian: Hi! How're things going? Urm … … Actually Tsukushi hasn't appeared in my story yet … … Did you get confused with Shizuka? They are currently still 5 at the moment ;)
just a reader : Thanks so much for your encouragement !!!! :) I'm glad that you like the way Rui is portrayed in this story. I was a bit worried that people will not like the way that I have changed Rui's character in the sense that I've made him out to be so much more than the emotionless machine that he sometimes appear to be. Sorry for the wait!
Chi: Brisbane is in Australia – it's not that cold I guess compared to certain other states. Ah! I hope this chapter answers your question about what the test is about and what Mrs Toudou is expecting. Tsukushi – hmm … … I'm not very sure yet exactly when she will be appearing but not in the next 2 chapters at least I would think!
Fresh8: Hi! This chapter has more of Rui coming out of his shell! See the title ;) Thanks so much for your encouragement – I'll try harder !!! :)
Moonlighter: Hey thanks for reading and leaving me a comment! I'm glad you like this story … … I'm still thinking of the plot for the latter part of this story.
Kensingtonkid: Thanks so much for reading. I think I'll simply continue to post my story here instead of winglin because like what Lian says it's much more organized! I thought it would be fun if Shizuka didn't really "drag" him out of his façade actual, but that he simply had a soft spot for her and things happened such that it appeared that she did ;) I'm so glad you think it's convincing.
Drina: Thanks, it was quite relaxing in Brisbane. I was wondering too if I made him seem too mature for his age. I guess intellect does not always equate maturity, but at the same time I was thinking that if he's so intelligent, he would be able to analyse and comprehend much more than other kids his age. I hope I did not overdo it. Thanks for commenting !!
Angel: Hi !! Thanks so much for your comment – I'm glad that I managed to convey exactly what Rui is thinking :) !!!
Piglet: Hello!!! Actually in spite of my self-denial state, I think I'm must be quite a Rui fan too! I've always told myself I'm not but it's just that it's so interesting to write about him because he can have a lot more depth to his character compared to the rest but I guess that's simply an excuse ne ;) Sorry for this long wait – there was something wrong with the website for the past few days so I only managed to get it up now … …