"Sum of the Parts"
Disclaimer : If I said I actually owned the Get Backers you wouldn't believe me anyway. :D
A.N. : Finally, a chapter that has something to do with the title of the fic, hee-hee. This is Chapter 12 of what will probably be a fourteen chapter story. So, I'm almost done with this. I really must end Ban and Ginji's suffering soon (and just in time for my holiday in Australia /yahoo/).
Based on your unanimous opinion that the last chapter was evil, I'm now convinced that I must get help. Thanks:D But the evil doesn't end there. Not by a long shot.
ENJOY!
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Chapter 12 : Some of the Parts
Ginji lurked in the shadows of the stair landing between the ground and the second floors. He drew his tongue against his teeth and called. "Pssst..."
The guard at the foot of the staircase jerked his head to both sides trying to locate the sound.
"Pssst... Up here."
The man in black turned and glanced up at the blond boy in the blue dress holding a stuffed animal. Definitely retarded, he thought. He wondered what his boss was thinking, dealing with the likes of Kojio who had the weirdest taste in whores and boytoys. Must be an L.A. thing.
The goon climbed up the stairs. "What's the matter, retard? Is he done already?"
Ginji pouted and backed up a step. He clutched the toy against his chest. "Um... We s-sort of have a problem," he stuttered. "Mido- The girl... well, er... she's handcuffed to the bed and Kojio-san can't seem to find the key, so... we kinda need your help to get her out of them."
"Really?" A lewd grin wormed its way across the henchman's pock-marked face. He drawled. "Suuure... I'll be glad to help."
As the Get Backer ran up first, the guard eagerly rushed behind, luridly anticipating the kinky scene ahead. He followed Ginji past the first corridor after the stairs only to have a 200kg grip suddenly slip around the side of his neck.
Ban exerted just enough pressure around the man's windpipe to knock him unconscious, wiping the stupid smile off his face in the process.
"Men," the sea-urchin head snorted as he and Ginji dragged the body into a nearby supply room. "Count on them never to resist a free glimpse of a naked handcuffed chick."
Not that Ban wouldn't have had the same exact bawdy reaction – provided he wasn't the naked chick in question.
As they gagged and tied the bodyguard up with torn strips of sheets, Ginji tweaked the guy's ear.
"What did you do that for?" His partner raised an eyebrow.
"That's for calling me a retard," he said. "Who's he calling retarded when he actually believed your story? I mean, why would anyone willingly want to be handcuffed to a bed, anyway? It doesn't make sense."
Ban turned his back to his friend and hid a snicker. So far – incredibly – Ginji's innocence was escaping relatively unscathed in this Sodom and Gomorrah hotel.
"Yeah, what a dummy," he agreed with a knowing smile. He then made one last knot in the goon's binds and tip-toed out the room. He scanned the hallway.
"We're clear." The Get Backers quietly crept down the stairs and stopped just before getting off. Ban's eyes swept the area below and beyond trying to locate an ideal, inconspicuous place for him to look at the electronic room board. Spotting a good vantage point just behind a couch down in the lobby, he motioned for Ginji to stay where he was.
The spiky-haired man used his gift of speed to instantly transport himself from stairs, to the opposite wall, to the couch. He noticed that the door guard was standing near the lounge, with one eye on the entrance and the other on the TV.
Ban cautiously peeked his head over the sofa back. But out of the corner of his eye he saw Ginji waving his hands wildly.
"What?" he mouthed back irritably.
His partner pointed at his own head and smoothed down his hair. Apparently, not even a bad case of wig hair had been able to tame the stiff brown needles poking out of Ban's head – which were highly visible above the couch.
"Geez!" he grumbled and hid his noggin low. Trying again, this time while clamping his hair down with his hands, Ban peered at the brightly lit panel.
He remembered that the light went off the board of Room 204 when Kojio selected it, meaning it was occupied. And since there were no other guests in the hotel, it should be suspicious if room boards other than 204 were unlit. To his utmost delight, Ban counted three other panels that were darkened. That signified someone – something – was inside these rooms, and he was betting his moolah it was the parts.
The Get Backer was now glad he took the time to observe the lighted display earlier, for though he couldn't read the room numbers, he knew the panels were arranged horizontally in numerical order, in rows representing floors, from bottom to top. From this, Ban deduced the target areas were Rooms 309, 405 and 501.
Ban gave Ginji the thumbs up and stealthily retraced his steps back to the stairs.
"So you know what rooms to go for?" Ginji whispered as they ascended the stairs, keeping their backs to the wall.
"Mm. I've narrowed our search down to three rooms. We'll start with the one on the third floor."
"Only three? That's great, Ban-chan! You're so clever!" the blond gushed.
"Naturally," Ban mentioned off-handedly. The boys checked the hall for signs of guards. With none present, they dashed up the next flight.
On the nearly identical third floor, they found Room 309 near the fire escape. The retrievers positioned themselves on each side of the door before they barged in.
"Look, I don't know if there are any guards inside or how many," the snake man cautioned. "How's your electricity?"
"Dunno. I think I'm nearly drained out," his friend admitted. If it was any indication of the understatement, Ginji's stomach loudly agreed as well.
"Tch. Okay, just cover me then. If someone attacks you, er, bop him with the 'Hello Kitty' or something." Ban sighed, gripped the handle and broke it loose from the jamb. Swinging the door, his eyes met white light, white walls, white everywhere, with shiny glints of stainless steel here and there.
Wow. This just keeps getting better and better, a totally floored Ban thought.
"A doctor's clinic?" A nonplussed Ginji scratched his head. "With a full-size bed?"
Actually, it was a so-called, duh, 'white room' where couples who were into that sort of fantasy could play doctor-nurse, doctor-patient, nurse-patient, doctor-whatever. Except for the pristine bed, which no one probably used anyway, the room had all the 'appropriate' hospital equipment; trays with medical instruments, rolls and rolls of bandages, an exam table, and the piece de resistance – an OB-GYN chair, which was now occupied by a black suit watching TV.
"Who the hell are you?" the guard yelled, not appreciating the Get Backers interrupting his soap opera. He tried to get off the seat, but this being the chair that it was - tilted at a compromising angle, with his feet in the stirrups... well, he sort of knew he was doomed.
"Your anaesthesiologist, you twit!" Ban replied, knocking the gangster out cold with a punch to the face. "Go Ginji, while I tie this guy up!"
As spiky practically mummified the man to the chair with the white cotton bandages, Ginji searched the room, trying hard not to be distracted by the shiny tools and implements that aroused his curiousity. He looked behind a hospital dressing screen and found two metal cases, one much longer than the other.
"Got something!" he whooped and took the load to his partner.
"All right!" Ban exclaimed, eyes glittering like stars. He stuffed a leftover bandage roll into the guard's mouth. "Scan it."
Ginji took out his I.D. scanner from his apron pocket and passed it over the ridged cases. One after the other, he got a confirmed beep and an I.D. number on the digital screen.
"Two targets acquired. On to the next," Ban announced victoriously as he and Ginji carried one package each and exited the bright, sterile room.
Out in the corridor, the Jagan master snuck his head out into the hallway and eyed the fire exit door. He then turned to his pal. "Why don't you check out the fire escape, see if there are any guards at the bottom. If not, bring the parts out into the landing and leave them there. We'll come back for them on the way down the escape, got it?"
"Mm. You can count on me," the blond smiled.
"Good. Meet me at Room 405 after you're done."
The Get Backers went in opposite directions, Ginji lugging the parts to the exit, and Ban, prowling up to the fourth floor.
---
The brunette stood before the door of Room 405 and cracked his knuckles. He'd probably have to deal with just one guard most likely. Piece of cake. Though he wondered what kind of assault on his sanity this room would be. Ban let his imagination run wild. Maybe this one would be designed like the inside of a spaceship where someone could pretend to be an abductee to another's probing alien. Or maybe a mock morgue complete with autopsy table...
Ecchh... he shuddered. With his adrenaline still in a rush from their first successful find, Ban felt like kicking something, so instead of using his Snake Bite, he kicked down the door.
The scream that followed almost busted his eardrums.
Ban stared stupidly as he caught a couple in flagrante delicto. The Yakuza bodyguard quickly rolled off his moll and they frantically pulled up the bed sheets to cover themselves. Obviously, the guy was mixing the Boss's business with his own pleasure.
The room itself was tame in comparison to the 'Sanrio' dungeon and the 'white room'. Bathed in blue light, it was some sort of aquarium-themed unit with one of those funky rotating lamps that projected moving images onto the wall so that it looked like fish were swimming around underwater.
Ban was expecting some whacked-out room – but not this.
"What the fu – "the goon started to curse angrily while his crimson-haired punk girlfriend glowered. But he stopped when he noticed the slinky, black-clad silhouette, the pale skin, and the narrow, cold flashing eyes against the blue, inky darkness of the room. He began to cower and hold the sheet tighter to himself.
"D-d-d-Doctor Jackal? Oh my God!" he cried and used the girl as a shield.
The hell? And I'm not even wearing the wig anymore! Ban thought with an aggravated roll of his eyes. Suddenly, he heard the unmistakably heavy footfalls of Ginji's step.
Dammit! The boy didn't need to see any of this. He slammed the door forcibly behind him.
Ginji was just inches from the door when it swung. He called happily, "Ban-ch –"
BAM!
The Akabane doppelganger tucked a chair under the doorknob, locking the hapless Ginji out. Fine, I'll play along. Better everyone thought Jackal was the intruder rather than the Get Backers.
"That's right," he tried to approximate the psychopath's satin-smooth voice as he skulked like the shadow of death towards the terrified couple. Ban almost wished he had some glow-in-the-dark thingies between his fingers to complete the charade. Because he was nothing if not a stickler for authenticity.
"I think you have something that belongs to my client?"
"It's over there! Take it! Take it!" With a trembling finger the henchman pointed meekly at the bathroom. He whimpered squeakily. "Just... just... don't carve a 'J' into me, please? I beg you..."
The Romeo then shoved his girlfriend in his direction. "Here, if you want, you can take her, too."
Now he was insulted. Even Akabane was some sort of babe magnet. Ban wondered why no one ever threw girls his way.
"You shit-for-brains sonofabitch!" the moll shrieked. She let go of her cover, and not caring whether Ban / Dr. Jackal was watching or not, began a nude full-blown attack on her classy boyfriend.
Stunned and amused at the same time, Ban backed away slowly towards the bathroom door and collided with a large steel case. While the couple continued to go at it like a pair of Tasmanian Devils, the Get Backer scanned the trunk and got a positive reading.
He took the case by the handle and stood up with a self-satisfied smile. He regarded the nincompoops on the bed in front of him and decided he just couldn't leave without some Akabane-esque adieu.
"Ahem..." Ban cleared his throat loudly through the profanity-filled bickering.
The bed-mates abruptly stopped. "Um... You're not going to kill us now, are you? Please, Akabane-san. I've got a wife and kids – " the guard sniveled. His last revelation was answered by a hard slap to the face by the girl.
The impostor chuckled softly and put a finger to his lips. "As long as you keep quiet I'm not going to stick scalpels into you. Actually, you guys are doing a pretty good job of it yourselves."
"Besides, I measure job satisfaction by how much fun I have. And I certainly had fun watching you two. Thanks." With an icy laugh, Ban waved and left with his loot out the door.
In the fishbowl darkness, the clueless couple exchanged puzzled looks. "What the hell did he mean by that?" the gangster moll asked.
"Beats me. Maybe he likes watching people do it." The Yakuza footman twisted his face in disgust. "Not only is Dr. Jackal a homicidal maniac he's a sicko voyeur as well? Damn! Wait till the guys hear about this..."
---
Ban closed the door to that piranha tank behind him while Ginji tried to catch a glimpse inside. He was holding his nose.
"Geez, Ban-chan... Why'd you slam the door in my face?" he whined nasally. "You almost broke my nose."
"Er... An almost-broken nose is better than a bleeding one. Which probably would've happened if you were in that room." Ban mumbled.
"Why would my nose bleed?"
"Ah, Ginji. You'll find out soon enough."
"When?"
The partners rolled the trunk to the fire escape. A blast of outside air blew their hair gently as they parked it on the landing. Ban tried to change the subject, albeit just slightly. "Hey, did you know that more than a quarter of all Tokyo-ites below age twenty-five were conceived in a 'love hotel'? Who knows? Maybe you started life in this exact same place right here."
Ginji briefly looked up at the clear, star-filled sky with its smiling waxing moon. "Yeah. Who knows?" They softly tread up the steel steps to the fifth level. "And you? Where do you think you were conceived?"
Ban slowed his climb, his eyes downcast. "Heh. I'm an accident that never should have happened."
"Ban-chan, don't say that," Ginji gripped the railings and turned to his partner with those infinitely deep brown eyes. "Maybe we're both unwanted freaks who shouldn't have been born. And I think that's why we're still alive – why we're Get Backers."
The corners of the cursed man's mouth lifted. And they say I'm the smart one. Ban shook his head, caught up with Ginji at the fifth floor exit and slapped him on the back. "Okay, last one. I'm sure these will be the heads. So let's not screw this up."
"Gotcha." The blond nodded enthusiastically.
The Hotel Serenade's top floor was devoted to large penthouse suites. There were no corridors to maneuver, only one hallway of which at its end stood the double doors of Room 501.
Ban and Ginji each positioned themselves in front of the two doors.
"On my mark," Ban whispered. "One... Two... Three... Now!" They kicked the doors in unison, opening with an unbridled flourish. As the two boys rushed in, Ban's first thought was that this could've been the most normal room he'd seen so far in this hotel if not for –
"Holy cow!" Ginji stopped and marveled with awe at the elegant Roman baths-inspired interior. "There's an actual swimming pool in this room!"
Suddenly, from behind a wall dividing the pool area from the sleeping quarters, a surly-looking bodyguard appeared carrying a large black duffel bag. Unlike the others, this one seemed a tad more gung-ho and serious about his role in this caper. And apparently, quicker to the draw.
"Hey!" the gangster yelled. Sparing no more words, his gun-toting arm swung up with a metallic 'click'.
"Ban-chan! Watch out!"
Ginji launched his whole body at the attacker, grabbed his shooting hand and tackled him – and the bag - straight into the swimming pool with a tremendous splash.
The guard did manage to get off one shot, though, which hit a glass-framed portrait just inches from Ban's spiky head.
"Ack!" Ban gasped. He was absolutely mortified. Not because he almost got half his brains blown off, but because the bag, which likely contained the heads – sensitive, electronic, computerized A.I. robot heads – was in the water. With the electric eel man.
Meanwhile, the combatants in the pool emerged from under. For a moment, they glared at each other. Then the grunting boor lunged ferociously at Ginji with a giant fist. He avoided the blow by arching back and dropping again into the water as paper bills filed out of his apron and began to rise and unfold on the surface like blooming lotus flowers.
But Ginji quickly jumped out, extended his arms and held his palms just above the pool. "Eeeee-yaaaaghhh!" His voice thundered.
Orbs of energy effused from the Get Backer's fingertips and electrified the water, briefly colouring it a brilliant turquoise. The pugnacious guard finally belly-flopped into its depths.
All this time that was happening Ban stared petrified, down-turned lip trembling, eyes unblinking; seeing nothing but images of frying circuits, water pouring out of metal orifices and money flapping out of the water and flying up and away like a gaggle of geese frightened by a gunshot.
"G-g-g-g-gaah..." he gurgled unintelligibly while watching the bag bob in and out, wildly riding the wave of this money-strewn, static electricity crackling sea.
Ginji dragged the goon out of the water before he drowned and then retrieved the half-submerged duffel which he handed over to his visibly shaken partner. Ban anxiously ran his I.D. scanner over the dripping package and heard two confirmation beeps. But he could distinctly feel three box-like shapes inside the bag and feared that maybe one of the heads was damaged. Again, he could hear the resonant ka-ching ringing in his ears.
The blond placed his hands on the edge of the pool and began to haul himself out when a foot lightly crunched on his fingers. Ginji's eyes volleyed upwards with confusion.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" With arms akimbo, Ban haughtily tapped his shoe on his friend's hand.
"Ban-chan..." Ginji groaned, knowing exactly what he meant.
"No one leaves 80,000 yen floating in the water. No one," the snake man admonished. "Now go collect it while I look for other packages."
Ban walked into the bedroom and found a stainless steel briefcase in the middle of a humungous, Roman orgy-worthy bed. The scanner went bonkers as it picked up reading after reading, at which he realized the case contained software and chips. The Get Backers really hit the mother lode. Kojio's horde was enough to assemble a complete, fully functional android.
The job done, Ban strode out with a swagger.
"You missed one over there in the deep end," he said while passing Ginji as he continued to muck through the cold water with his skirt billowing around his waist like a powder blue lily pad.
"Well, I'd appreciate it if you'd help me, partner," Ginji answered sardonically as he swam to the opposite end of the pool.
"And get this dress wet? I don't think so," the echidna head sniggered, following Ginj to the last go-sen (1). Ban held out his hand and pulled the soaking wet Get Backer out, who thanked his friend by shaking briskly like a dog and spattering drops all over him.
"Very cute, moron," he wiped his face, not knowing that doing so made his makeup run slightly. The duo looked at each other with a vainglorious shimmer in their eyes.
"We are freakin' geniuses, if I may say so myself," Ban boasted.
"The Get Backers' success rate –"Ginji exclaimed joyfully.
"– still at one-hundred percent!" he completed for him. "Come on! We're so outta here."
And with that, they left the bizarre Hotel Serenade – way station to hell – far, far behind.
---
Dogenzaka was a considerably different place during the witching hour. The flock was just as swarming but lost was most of its prettiness and verve. Now, its children were merely dazed shells of their former selves; overdosed on sensory panaceas and their own self-abuse. Even the smells were funkier, its sounds more monotonous.
As they walked back down this street of escapist fantasy, Ban and Ginji certainly looked like victims of Dogenzaka's nightly curse. Without their wigs, hair in disarray, makeup smeared, and clothes wet and rumpled, the Get Backers looked like a pair of tranny club kids who'd just had a really rough time – in more ways than one.
Even people used to seeing the underground ribaldries of Shibuya, Shinjuku and Roppongi did double takes at the strange sight of two cross-dressers towing big-ass metal trunks and a 'Hello Kitty' doll.
But none of that could erase the silly smiles off the partners' weary faces. In fact, this was the first time that night they felt pretty good.
Although an expected payoff of over five million yen will usually do that.
Out of Dogenzaka finally and in an alley on a hill in a quieter part of town, Ban surveyed the lights in the horizon and mentally added the street, together with Mugenjou, on his list of places he'd try to avoid like the plague from now on. He turned and opened the rear door of the Ladybug.
"What I'd do to carpet bomb that whole area," the brunette snorted as he and Ginji loaded the cases into the trunk and the backseat.
"Eh, I kind of like Dogenzaka myself," Ginji shrugged shyly. "I think it's an interesting place."
"Don't like it too much 'cause we're not coming back," Ban swore gruffly as he slipped off the black skirt and top ensemble, stuffed his junk into his jeans pockets and unhooked the brassiere from his chest.
"Be gone, infernal bra!" he commanded, swinging the underwear a few times and carelessly flinging it – and the wads of tissue paper – into the backseat. "Whoo... It's so great to be me again at last!" Ore-sama (2) began searching the car for his trademark tailed polo shirt.
"Oi, Ginji. Where are our clothes?" he frowned. "Didn't I tell you to bring them to the car after we dressed?"
"I thought you were," the blond replied while putting his gloves back on.
"Nah-uh, not when that damn bird was stalking me," Ban sighed. "Sheesh... Remind me never to ask you a favor while you're flirting with Natsumi, 'cause you sure as hell aren't going to listen."
"I wasn't flirting," he denied unconvincingly.
"Yeah, whatever." He then put the black jacket back on and combed out his stiff spikes with his fingers. In the leather and blue jeans getup, the dakkanya now assumed the appearance of a glammed out J-rocker.
Ginji giggled. "That's cool, Ban-chan. You look just like a member of Glay (3)."
"You think so?" He puffed up like a peacock and smirked. "Though I'm probably ten times better looking than any of those old timers. You, however – "Ban viewed his friend doubtfully "– still look like a girl. And holding that doll isn't helping any."
Ginji pursed his lips and eyed his best friend sulkily from under his brows. By doing that he wasn't helping himself either.
Ban, the rock star, got into the driver's seat and put on his much-missed purple glasses. He keyed the ignition. "Who cares, anyway? We're home free, right?"
Someone really needed to hammer into his spiky head that he shouldn't speak too soon.
-
Next chapter : lt's smooth sailing for the boys, right? Duh. These are the Get Backers we're talking about.
(1) go-sen : 5000 yen bill
(2) ore-sama : literally, "Lord Me"
(3) Glay : hugely popular Japanese rock band. But then again, you probably knew that :p . As for comparisons to our Ban-chan, just take a look at Hisashi and you'll know what I'm talking about. :D