Hacker of Solomon
Chapter 3: Planes, Rains, and Automobiles
Disclaimer: Like always, the WHR team is not under my rule (accursed copyright laws . . . ). And I did take the title for this chapter from the movie "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles," so I will say that I don't own that either. However, I was the one who thought up the plot, Kari Baker, and Liz Johnson, so yeah . . . No touchie!
Author's Note: Well well! So many reviews! Well . . . for me at least . . . And I guess the most shocking thing is all the positive messages people have been putting! The only thing I've been negatively criticized about was my malfunctioning html tags (WHICH ARE DEAD NOW! *dances*) and the fact that I almost killed off Michael in the first scene. Believe me, I didn't WANT to do it! Well, okay, maybe I did. But it was out of love! You can tell I like a character when I put them through hell. ~_~ I know. I'm sick . . . Augh! Rambling! Well, chapter 3! Here you go! Carry on, and critique as much as possible, without lying or making me cry.
Enjoy the new hacker, and remember, never trust monkeys in fez hats!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The plane ride was agonizingly long. The people on flight 712 were beginning to grow restless. Two passengers in first class were no different, but their dark, formal looking trench coats set them apart from the other passengers: the tourists heading to Japan for weeks of cultural discovery, and even the businessmen, with their uncomfortable suits and ties. After six hour, the latter seemed to have ignored all rules of their respectful businesses, and had gone to the lavatories to trade their stiff collared shirts and ties for T-shirts they had tucked away in their briefcases. Half an hour before the plane was to begin its descent to land, they would go and change again, so their partners or clients meeting them at the airport would be none the wiser.
"How much longer do you think the flight is?" one of the two trench-coated passengers asked with a heavy British accent. The speaker was a woman, maybe twenty years old or so, and was staring out her window down at the land below. She wasn't even sure where they were. Maybe they were over Russia or India. She couldn't tell; everything looked the same after six hours.
"We're probably halfway through the flight," said a young Americanized voice from beside her. The other woman sighed and scratched her head through her short blonde hair.
"Figures they would send me on a flight like this, and then expect me to fly all the way back to Europe immediately afterwards. I wish they would just let me hang around Japan, but no. All I get to see is the airport. It's just work, work, work!"
The other didn't speak. On the tray before her stood an expensive-looking laptop, which she typed on at a pace that caused some of the other passengers to stare in wonder.
The woman turned away from the window and looked at her neighbor, "Why are they even sending you over to Japan in the first place?"
"The branch over there needs a new hacker," the other replied softly, her gray eyes flickering over the screen as words passed it at an amazing rate. The blonde sighed in exasperation.
"Well, I know that, but why send you? Why not send Sloane or Creamer or someone a little more experienced?"
The hacker simply smiled, her finger's rapid typing never faltering for a moment.
"I see. Miss Perfect must be too good to stay at Headquarters. I suppose the bosses are getting sick of always having you around. You're just a pest."
"Am I really, Liz?" the hacker asked, her eyes flickering over to the young woman for a moment, and then back to the computer.
"Well, sure! You're just a kid! You sit around, listening to your music and eating candy like other kids. Why don't you just quit and go home and play with Barbies or something?"
The other chuckled. "Barbies are no fun. I'd rather work."
A sigh escaped Liz's lips "I would never have said the same at your age."
"Yeah, well. I guess I'm just special."
"Yeah, special enough to need an escort. Like Solomon is really afraid you'll go around telling random people about the existence of witches."
The hacker stopped typing a moment and grinned at Liz.
"Why would I when I have you to do it for me?"
"Oh, be quiet."
The hacker's grin widened, her gray eyes sparkling childishly at the older woman before she turned back to the computer and began typing again.
"What are you doing anyway?"
"Making a really cool web game where you act like a witch hunter and go around and using a variety of household items, hunt out witches. Complete with blood, gore, and the like."
Liz's eyes widened. "Really? Lemme see!"
The young hacker stopped again and gave Liz a look that said "I'm kidding, and you know it." Liz sighed and leaned against her pillow, staring out the window.
"Are we there yet?" the blonde whined impatiently. The girl next to her chuckled.
"You know, for someone who seems to have a strong dislike for kids, you sure do act one."
"Shut up and work, since you love it so much."
The girl chuckled, but not at Liz. Instead, it was something that popped up on her computer, through her wireless Internet connection.
The STN-J was trying to hack into Solomon's high-security files.
I can tell they already don't trust me, she thought to herself. She chuckled again. Their reactions are going to be interesting. I'm going to have to buy a camera.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sakaki awoke the next day with his alarm clock, but one look out the window made him wish he had slept through it again. Rain fell in heavy sheets, and the cars driving by left little puffs of smoke behind them. With much reluctance, he left his apartment fifteen after seven and drove to Raven's Flat. By the time he got there, he was soaked completely throughout. The windbreaker he wore did nothing to keep out the water dumped on him by passing cars. Shivering slightly from the cold, he made his way to the elevator and to the top floor of the building. He walked into the office, and was surprised to see that Karasuma was the only hunter there. She sat at her computer, a big cup of coffee steaming next to her keyboard, but she merely stared at the blank screen, in a sort of daze.
"Good morning," he greeted her.
"Mornin'," she mumbled, rubbing her eyes with one hand. She turned to look at him. "How did you sleep?"
"I slept okay," Sakaki said, sitting next to her. "But I take it you had a rough night."
"Yeah. I offered to watch over Michael part of last night, to let Robin have some sleep."
"How is Michael doing?"
Karasuma sighed and stared at her keyboard.
"They aren't sure what's wrong with him. The doctors, that is. They say that he's in a coma, but that it's a peculiar one. That is to say, his brain waves . . . " her voice trailed off, and she turned to look at him. "There's just something unique about them. How they, and his heart rate, keep fluctuating, and then at other times, it seems like he's completely brain dead. It's just . . . it's just nerve-wracking. And he keeps having those screaming fits . . . "
A shudder crossed the redhead's face, and she dropped her gaze. "They are starting to think that there may be something chemically wrong with his brain, but any symptoms that should have shown up before this were completely nonexistent."
"So, are we still thinking that it was a witch?"
Karasuma shook her head slightly. "We don't know. We have no clues, whether it was a witch, or else something medical."
A silence passed between them. Sakaki spent the silence picking a piece of thread out of the arm of his chair.
"So, who's with Michael now?" he asked after several minutes.
"Dojima. She took over for me about an hour ago. I suppose anything to keep her away from the office . . . "
"And where's Amon and Robin?"
"Amon . . . " Her voice trailed off a moment, and then she blinked and looked at Sakaki. "That's right. I came right when he was leaving. Apparently . . . " she paused, her eyes narrowing dangerously, "Apparently, Headquarters is sending over a new hacker."
Sakaki's mouth fell open in disbelief.
"What?! Why would we ask for a new hacker?!"
"Beats me. I suppose Zaizen wants to keep Amon free to hunt all of these witches that keep showing up."
"That doesn't make sense," Sakaki said softly, but the moment he said it, he questioned it. Well, sure. They needed a hacker. But Solomon . . . everything seemed a bit sketchy when it came to Solomon.
"Well, whatever the reason, the hacker is arriving this afternoon. Amon went to go wait at the airport, in case he arrives early, like Robin had."
"I see," Sakaki said. "I wonder who this hacker is."
"Amon didn't tell me anything. I get the feeling that he himself doesn't know."
Sakaki furrowed his eyebrows, then turned to face his computer.
"So what should we do right now?"
"I don't know. We don't have any hunts planned. Not even any suspicious activities just yet."
"What about that witch Michael was trying to get info on?"
"Apparently, the STN-J branch in Sapporo got him yesterday. Don't ask me how he ended up there so suddenly."
"Oh. I see."
He pulled up a game of space pinball on his computer and noisily began to play it.
I hope something happens, he thought to himself. Something to get rid of this boredom.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Well, they actually gave us accurate information for once," Amon said softly into his headset microphone. He was propped up against a wall opposite the gate where flight 712 from London was going to arrive at, his communicator clutched tightly in his hand. The stretch of airport between himself and the boarding door was crammed with people, all of whom were talking noisily to one another, but no one seemed to notice the ominous-looking hunter standing there, his eyes fixated on the gate.
"Yes, they did," Zaizen's voice managed to carry over the din of the crowd.
"So, what else did they send us, along with the information on the flight?"
"Here. Take a look yourself."
Amon flipped his communicator over, and was able to look at the database. His eyebrows furrowed.
"Are you kidding me?"
"No. Kari Baker: a native of Boston, Massachusetts who moved to London when she was eight. Solomon got a hold of her about a year ago, apparently after a car wreck caused by a witch with peculiar powers, and she was the only survivor. It seems they saw use of her and made her a hacker."
"But so young . . . "
"I know. But apparently she's one of their best hackers. Class A."
Amon blinked his eyes and looked up back at the gate.
"Class A? After only a year?"
"Yes. And the sole fact that they are sending us a Class A hacker is pretty suspicious. Why would Solomon send one of their best hackers halfway around the world? That is the big question."
Amon nodded in agreement, and looked up to see one of the airport personnel open the boarding door.
"There is another with her," said Zaizen. "A sort of escort, by the name of Elizabeth Johnson. A twenty-year-old hunter who used to work for the STN-E in London, but then was transferred over to Headquarters to work in their Witch Database Department. Looks like she's just accompanying Baker here and then will return to Europe tonight."
"I see. Well, it looks like they're about to arrive. Everything is prepared back at the office?"
"Yes. Everything is in order."
"Alright. I'll bring her in soon."
He pressed a button on his headset and pulled it off, pocketing it in his long black trenchcoat. He took another look back down at the communicator, his forehead wrinkling as he read over the information Zaizen had provided about this girl, this hacker.
How could it be that he was unable to find any information about her last night? He had looked through all of Solomon's records concerning hackers, but he had never seen her face before. Someone like her would have caught his attention immediately.
Perhaps his answer was in those high-security files he hadn't been able to get into.
He looked up to see people beginning to stream out of the terminal. He pocketed his communicator as well and pushed himself off the wall. People darted out of his way as he crossed the wide pathway to the waiting area. He watched the crowd like a hawk. According to the records, they had ridden in first class. So where were they?
"So, this is the infamous Amon?"
Amon jumped inwardly, the voice taking him completely by surprise. He spun his head in the direction it had come from. At first, he saw no one, but then he let his gaze fall.
Kari Baker was standing right there, only three feet away from him, staring up at him with sparkling gray eyes. She had a small knowledgeable smile about her pudgy childish face, which didn't even reach high enough for her to stare directly at Amon's elbow. Her eyes left his face and seemed to scan him in full.
"You know," she continued, with that soft, high-pitched voice that only a child could possess. She ran a hand through her chin-length caramel-colored hair and chuckled slightly. "Those pictures of you on your hunter profile just don't do you justice."
A surge of annoyance passed through him, and he narrowed his eyes angrily down at the young girl, and prepared himself to tell her off for her boldness.
"Kari!"
Amon tore his glare off of the young hacker and saw a young woman with short blonde hair pushing through the crowd toward them, her arms laden down by a bag and a small suitcase. She looked a little disheveled, her hair messy and her familiar-looking trenchcoat ruffled and buttoned incorrectly. "Kari! I told you to wait for me! You aren't allowed to just bolt off like that!"
"I know, Liz," Kari said, an apologetic smile replacing the sneer she had been giving Amon the moment before.
But suddenly, Amon realized something. At the moment, the two of them were speaking English, but before . . .
Hadn't the young girl just spoken to him in fluent Japanese?
"Don't give me that look, Kari! I know you better than that! You don't do anything without a reason. What were you-?"
"We should get going," Amon interrupted, not bothering to hide his irritation. He turned on his heel and began walking, knowing without having to check that they were following him.
They didn't have to go through any sort of customs or immigration process. Amon simply flashed the people his card stating that he was a government official, mutter that the other two were with him, and they just let them pass. They made their way out of the airport and into the parking garage and toward Amon's black car. Once there, he opened one of the back doors and gestured for Kari to get in. Kari carefully put her laptop on the floor and took her suitcase from the blonde hunter and set it down beside it. Liz began to walk to the other side, but a tug on her arm stopped her.
"I think I can handle things from here," Amon said in a cold voice. "You probably should head back and wait for your flight home."
"But, I was given orders directly from Solomon to-."
"I will handle things from here," he said, emphasizing the finality in his voice as he opened his driver's side door and got in. The woman stared at the door as it closed, her face actively trying to hide her intense dislike of the situation. Despite her inability to complete her duties, she crossed her arms and stepped back to allow the car to back up without running her over. Kari watched her through the dark windows, her confusion showing on her face. She waved, and Liz gave a small wave back, before Amon put the car into gear and drove off. Kari stared through the back window until they turned, and Liz was gone from sight.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N again
Boy, what was up with that, eh? So many questions to be answered . . . so many bleeping questions . . . *taps chin with the fluffy end of her pencil* Well, I'm afraid the answers aren't gonna be here quite yet! But despite that people will ask them anyway. *shrugs* Oh well. What's a writer to do?
And just to let you people know that, like you, my prayers are fully with Michael in this story, because I haven't quite decided if I will let him live or not! MWAHAHAHAAAAAA!! *runs as a countless number of weapons and other lethal objects are aimed her way*