A bit thanks to my reviewer Fantasia3. CCD fics tend to get missed, its always nice to hear someone is reading.
Author's Note: This has shonnen ai so if you have problems with that... what the hell are you doing reading Clamp anyway? giggles
Theives
Nokoru woke to the sterile light of a hospital room. He blinked, reassuring himself that his eyes were both working, though his face had many bandages on it and his hands were mittens. The entire episode came back in frightening clarity and he shot up in bed. "Idomu!"
"Kaichou, you're awake!" Akira leapt up from his seat.
Fearful for his missing friend, Nokoru began to untangle himself from the blankets. "Idomu, we have to find him! He's-"
"Kaichou, please," Akira pleaded, easily over powering him to hold him in the bed. "Takamura san will be very cross with me if I don't take care of you. You don't have to worry about Yuudaiji san, I promise. The hospital is secure and Takamura san has been hunting him down since the attack. Please, be still. The doctors say it's a miracle you weren't blind-"
He was cut off as Nokoru (slowed by the painkillers the nurses had no doubt given him) finally understood what he was saying. "No, no! Akira call Suoh back now! They can't know we're looking for him; Idomu isn't the one that did this to me."
Akira looked at him as if he was one of those poor people that made excuses for their abusive lovers: 'He didn't mean to throw me down the stairs.' "Kaichou, please calm down. You're going to injure yourself more."
"Listen to me, I'm not ranting," he said as calmly as he could. "Idomu didn't do this... Someone else intercepted our communications..." He shuddered at the memories of the coldness, but regained his composure. "It wasn't Idomu, they were connected with the project he's working on. Akira, he's in danger and if they find out that Suoh is looking for him, I don't know what they'll do to him. Call him back immediately!" he ordered.
Suoh returned promptly within an hour of Akira's call and he assured Nokoru that he had been subtle in his search. After relaying the events that had led up to the attack, they eventually believed him that Idomu was innocent. "Kaichou it was terrifying," Akira began, after giving him a glass of water. "All of a sudden you were shouting then the explosion. We still don't know how the monitor was made to explode; we've found no traces of a bomb." Akira sat down and looked over at the very silent Suoh. "It threw glass everywhere and when we ran up you were unconscious and so bloody... It was horrible." He barely whispered the last part.
Suoh had said precious little since his return, extremely shaken by it all. Nokoru wanted to reassure him that he was fine, save a few deep cuts, but trapped in the hospital bed as he was, that wasn't very easy. Reassuring the ninja was never easy to begin with. "I'm sorry you both were so frightened. Unfortunately cuts on the head bleed badly, but I'll be fine." His doctors assured him that all measures would be taken to see that he had no lasting scars, though he wasn't extremely concerned with that. "Suoh," He looked over to him from the window. "I need you to resume your search but do so with the utmost care. I fear what is being done to him but I fear even more that could be done if it's discovered that we're seeking him."
Suoh nodded but seemed uneasy with leaving him. "Don't worry about me, Suoh. I'm well guarded here and besides, I don't think whoever they were will come after me again. I got the feeling that I wasn't so much a target as a convenient thrill." Suoh's eyes narrowed. "The harm and pain were the ends in and of themselves, not a means." Akira was openly distressed by that, but Suoh could see the logic. If all it wanted to do harm and was uninterested in whoever the victim happened to be, then it probably wouldn't pursue Nokoru but rather look for someone easier.
"I'm afraid as for your search, I have precious little information to give you. I assume it has something to do with computers, as they have Idomu san working on it and a few odd things that the person who attacked me said. First, he or she didn't know Idomu's name at all. They called him 642 and referred to him as an 'it'." 'Its keepers will be very displeased...' "They also said that they'd cut his cables to the outside and though he tried not to say anything, I gathered from what Idomu san himself said, he wasn't able to go outside and the rooms he was in were very dark."
"You think it's something photo-sensitive he's working on?" Suoh asked.
"I'm not sure..." He thought a moment. "Before exploding the monitor, the other filled the screen with sixes with two holes left to look like eyes. I think the numbers will be a good place to start." Suoh nodded while Nokoru suppressed a shiver at the memory.
As he headed out the door, Nokoru could only sit with Akira and try not to imagine the worst. Idomu... What have you gotten trapped in...? Nokoru was furious at himself for not pushing to know what was going on. He had heard the oddness in his "voice", the depression. It had been evident that something was wrong from the very first day, but he'd stayed quiet, believed what he was told no matter what his instincts told him. He'd been so happy to hear from him he'd ignored everything. He'd waved cheerfully at the cameras while Idomu was stuck in the dark with a number for a name... 'They'll cut his cables to the outside for this. Leave him in the empty dark for a bit.' He could see those cruel words like the sun had burned the image on his eyes, and found himself biting back tears. Idomu...
"According to this flight manifest he arrived in Kyoto Airport September third, 1995," Suoh said handing him the printouts. "The precise time you said his letters stopped. I searched but found no exiting flight. I looked at the major research facilities of the Yuudaiji group and of course turned up nothing, no employment records for Yuudaiji san, not so much as his name on a visitor's list, but I did some more looking, as this is obviously a clandestine operation." Suoh picked up the remote and turned on the tv to show a grainy surveillance video. "I found a building they owned that, though it looks like an office building, items and people leaving it suggest otherwise. The Imonoyama group and other organizations have agreed that this is mostly likely a hidden R&D lab. While I wasn't able to gain their records, it so happens the owner of a private bank across the street saves his security data obsessively (for legal reasons he says)."
The screen suddenly showed a young man in youthful, western styled clothes, long hair pulled back in a pony tail. Nokoru's heart jumped as he recognized his long distance friend for so long. The last photo he had of him predated even this video by a few years, but Nokoru recognized him immediately. "Upon examining the files from that time I found this, on the very same day of the flight, only an hour after it landed." He restarted the video and Idomu was ushered in to the building by two men that didn't seem interested in Idomu's views on the matter. Once he was in, Suoh continued. "I had the rest of the images examined for his face map and came up with nothing. Either he's still within this building or he teleported out."
Nokoru nodded and inwardly wanted to rewind the video to show Idomu again. He hadn't heard he'd started wearing the many earrings he'd seen and his clothes were more casual than they'd been in the photo, but his worry over rid it (or worsened it). Idomu was in that building. "Akira?" he asked and the quiet man looked up.
"Yes?"
Nokoru's eyes narrowed in worry. "I would never ask this of you, Akira. I know how you dislike it, but... I have to ask you to go into that building." He watched the younger man look down to his feet. "The security there will certainly be beyond top notch, and there is no one that I trust more with this; the safety of Idomu san is at stake here and I know you'll..." His voice was beginning to crack as the memory of that coldness returned. 'They'll cut his cables to the outside for this.... Leave him in the empty dark for a bit...'
The memory was broken as he felt a sudden warmth as Akira laid his hand over Nokoru's lightly. "Don't worry, Rijichou; I know you wouldn't ask me on a whim. I'm honored that you believe in me that much."
Nokoru smiled up at him. "Nonsense. There's no one I trust more with this task. For now, I only need you to do recognizance. See what you can find about what's going on and where he is."
Akira nodded quickly and stood. "I'll begin preparing at once," He said as he began to turn but for a moment his eyes went to Suoh. The ninja was quite rigidly looking out the window. A pained expression touched his eyes, but he headed out quickly.
"Thank you," Nokoru said as the door closed behind him. Nokoru had discovered Akira's "night job" many years ago, but Suoh had only learned a couple years ago. It had caused a great deal of tension. In Suoh's odd mind, stealing, cheating, even killing were completely excusable, even honorable and grand if done in service, but to do it for trinkets and possessions was filthy and petty. When Suoh had discovered it, it had erupted in the only screaming match that he had ever seen Suoh take part in, though "match" was a bad term. Suoh had ranted, utterly furious and feeling deeply betrayed, saying some truly vicious things to the young treasurer, while the sensitive Akira had simply broken down in tears. It had all gone bad so quickly that Nokoru hadn't stopped Suoh till the damage had been done and by the time he had ordered Suoh silent, the ninja had already stopped, stunned at the sight.
It had taken some time, but gradually Suoh had been able to mostly cope with it. Akira's openness and sweetness made it hard to hate him, and perhaps, (Nokoru thought in retrospect) it was that very sweetness that had enraged Suoh so badly. That someone so trusted, so good and kind could commit such dishonorable acts on a regular basis had been impossible to reconcile for him. Even now, Suoh had trouble with it, though Akira had quit utterly after the debacle. "Suoh..." He simply hadn't been wired to be forgiving and adaptable, though Nokoru liked to think he had done well to install some new circuit paths. "It hurts him when you behave like that."
Suoh nodded and stepped closer. "My apologies."
Nokoru rolled his blue eyes. "Don't apologize to me, and don't be nice to him because I want you to be. He loves you dearly, you're one of his closest friends."
Again he nodded as he took the chair that Akira had just been in. "I know."
With a laugh at Suoh's stubbornness, Nokoru reached up and patted his head. "You're such a strange, little man." A confused look was all he got in response.
The ducts were dusty and Akira had to fight not to sneeze as he moved along. He couldn't help but think how much easier this would be if he was a small child, but this sadly wasn't a fairy tale where he could transform. In a fairy tale everything would be fine in the end, and the prisoner locked in the dark tower would be easy to free. Though, he realized, in a fairy tale it would be the princess trapped in here, and as much as he worried for Yuudaiji san, Akira was glad that Utako san wasn't the one in here.
The security gave him the impression that breaking into the Louve would be easier, but he thought he'd be fine. Delicate movements and graceful jumps carried him through down to the lowest sub-basements. At least he hoped he was in the lowest ones; it was becoming ridiculous really. Every time he went down he found yet another floor below him. So far he was in the seventh sub-basement, though the thirty or so feet between sub-b three and four plus the insane jump in security made it seem that he had found what he was looking for. Lab after lab was filled with odd experiments: from the expected electronic tests, to disturbing animal testing involving hundreds of wires coming from under their skin. He had to quietly wipe away tears at the sight of it and was fairly certain he'd have nightmares for some time.
Moving from the sad sight, he eventually slid down to level eight. A lifetime of thieving announced that this was his goal. Cameras, motion, and heat detectors made moving an inch an hour job, but slowly he explored the final level. Not filled with labs, it instead had a large room with couches and tables, while other areas were small apartments. A few people were casually talking in the community room while occasionally he found someone tucked away in their own rooms. The elevator to the higher levels was guarded by two armed guards, making it clear that the workers of this level were "encouraged" to remain. Carefully, Akira moved from apartment to apartment, searching for some sign of Yuudaiji or even the number 642. Every so often he would find a folder or computer file mentioning 642 (even two of the people in the common room had been speaking of it) but as best as Akira could tell 642 was the name of a project, not an employee. Files spoke about circuitry compatibility issues, and the workers had been discussing system settings and a new type of cables. Perhaps Yuudaiji was called 642 because he headed that project.
Akira had also found mention of a project 666 (and tons of files on projects 001 through the rest, but he gathered that only those two were active as of now. (What files he did examine listed hardware or core failure, or ghost incompatibility as the reason for project termination.) Finding nothing in the personal areas, Akira moved onto the labs. He found only six, though each were massive. The first two he went over were long empty, covered in dust and the numbers 591 on one door and 617 on another. In 617 a large mass was covered with tarps while unattached wires hung from the ceilings with blank monitors watching blindly. Akira left them for the others.
The next room he moved over was definitely occupied. Not only could he see the flicker of monitors and the movement of people (although silent) but also the air coming up from the vent was decidedly cold. Logically the air vent he traveled in should be delivering the cold air to the room but here it felt like he was passing over a tomb... or a lair. Though he knew he was letting his nerves get to him, he suddenly felt very frightened as the cold seemed to reach out and wrap around his hands, arms and legs. Even more disturbing, he could almost swear he could hear some great monster breathing, not asleep but waiting patiently, like a trapdoor spider quietly listening for some poor creature to wander by. Having trouble controling his breathing as terror set in, Akira quickly moved on.
The next room was normal again and as Akira let out a careful sigh of relief, he saw that the reversed numbers on the glass of this door read 642. Letting out a mental cheer, he quickly looked about for Yuudaiji. Carefully positioning himself over the vents he was disappointed to find so sign of Yuudiaji. This room utterly missing the terrifying cold, so Akira was able to examine the room well and found that the wide-open space that had sat in the empty room was filled with a massive machine of some sort (no doubt what had been under the tarp). Sleet and curved, encased in slick black plastic, the device had many thick cables leaving it to trail across the floor or up to the ceiling, looking like the tentacles of some futuristic octopus. The workers moved about, discussing this and that, though the tone was decidedly unhappy. "This isn't fair. We were directed to open it up to the building network, and now the managers are angry because it got out to the web. We warned them it would!"
"Yes but prolonged standum has been shown to lead to ghost failure without fail. Its an inherent risk of the technology," an older woman replied, but the first man looked less than convinced.
"Well," interjected another worker before the first could reply. "I've got another fine example why execs shouldn't be reading code like they understand it." This third man had a heavy American accent. "The program it was working on that they were flipping out over, was just an advanced voice synthesizer set up, not exactly capable of bringing down our network."
They mumbled something about how ridiculous that was and made a few disparaging remarks about their superiors before the older woman spoke up again. "This ordered standum couldn't have come at a worse time, what with the new cables we're in the process of adding. We need to access 642 to test them."
"Cables? I'm more worried about taking a hammer because this stupid thing can't stay in its play pen," commented the second speaker.
"I've been on this project since the beginning; ghost disruptions are taken as a given. Though the breach of it reaching outside is serious, the worst that will occur is that 642 will be terminated and we'll be placed on a new number. I hear team 681 is ready to begin casing construction for the new core, so we'd have some down time."
"I would say a bit more than some, Project Manager," another speaker said quietly. "With both 591 and 617 going down within months of each other, a new core won't be ready for us for at least a year or more."
The angry man sighed loudly, but the manager replied calmly. "We will be busy enough laying out the new casing, with the data we've gained from all of the projects that followed us. As well as this core has functioned and lasted, the technology of the case is extremely outdated compared to the new casings. We had been seeking clearance for a core transfer into a new case but with this problem I doubt they'll approve it."
"I'm done with the block, manager," said a quiet person that Akira had yet to hear speak. He removed a small box from a station he had been working on.
The manager stepped over and took it, looking it over. "Kita? Are you ready to add this to its main output?"
She said she was and took it over to the black machine. Kneeling down, she began to open the panel. "Do you have the warnings set to alert us if it gets past the fire wall?"
"Of course I do," the angry man said quickly.
"Okay, just checking." Her voice strained a minute as he yanked the panel free and reached in to one of the cables. Leading into the cable were hundreds of small wires, looking like a web of strands draped across the core of the great machine. It was the core that made Akira nearly cry out and reveal himself. Holding back tears by a force of will he didn't know he had, Akira looked over the room again, committing it to memory before he scrambled to the outside and the waiting rijichou.
To say that Akira was distressed was a bit of an understatement. He was extremely shaken and they tried their best to calm him. After a cup of tea and a warm blanket (as he kept saying he was cold) he eventually was able to speak. This was good because Nokoru was near a heart attack out of fear for Idomu. "The project is called Avatar. The numbers were in reference to the individual versions of these massive super computers they were building, not employee numbers. I found the room for 642 and I was looking for Yuudaiji san," his voice hitched a bit. "but I didn't see him. The workers there were talking about how they were all in trouble because the ghost was being disruptive and the case was outdated and they were gonna have to terminate the project and start over, but it would take a year to get a new core because two other sub-projects had just went down," he was rambling, talking so quickly it was hard for them to keep up, but there was no quieting him now that he'd started. "I had looked through the apartments for him down there but I couldn't find him and they were so angry about it getting out into the web and that thing was in the room next door and it was so cold and dark, I could feel it reaching out for me, a-and they were talking about cables and a firewall and leaving the core in standum and this one lady opened the big, black case and there were all these wires and tubes and... and..." Nokoru climbed from his bed and grasped the thief's' hands in his, terrified by what was coming next. "...and he was inside it." He had started crying but kept talking as if he hadn't noticed. "Yuudaiji san, he was inside it, he was 642, the thing they were all so angry at. They're making computers with people in them and they don't care! They had all these wires in him, in his skin and... and..." Suoh had taken over comforting Akira as Nokoru drifted back to his bed, staring numbly into space as every conversation they'd had over the computer drifted past his eyes. "They were talking about ghost failure being a given and they had to test some new kind of wires they'd put into him and they were going over everything he'd been doing and some program he'd been working on because they thought it was a virus but they said it was just a voice synthesis program and-" but past that Nokoru heard nothing.
His will power snapped like a tightly pulled violin string and he broke down. "But we could hear each other over a phone, though certainly you could allow us to speak over this to each other."
"I've been working on that actually. It still needs a lot of work, so I'm not saying it'll happen tomorow, but with hope I'll have it in maybe a month."
...he was trying to talk to me. In that hell... he was just trying make a voice that I could hear...