Disclaimer: Question: Who owns the Get Backers? Answer: not Mayumi-san
Ban and Ginji stared at Iarra. Finally, Ginji asked, "What do you mean, Iarra-chan?"
"Two hours is enough time to get it back", Iarra said in reply.
Iarra stood up and started walking to the left wall of the room.
"Wait a minute", Ban said. "Are you saying you're gonna help us get it back?"
"Yes", she replied, reaching the left wall. She pushed at a one of the wood panels on the wall with her palm.
"You stole it from us, and now you're helping us get it back. Somehow that doesn't sound right to me."
She sighed. "We won't be able to deliver the sword to our client, Mido." The wall then swung forward, revealing a narrow hallway behind it. She looked at the display on the communicator in her hand. The time said 10:03. That means we have to be out of here by 12:03. "Better for it to end up in your hands than to be blown up with the rest of this place."
She stepped inside and motioned for the retrieval agents to follow her. Ginji walked into the hidden hallway, followed by a reluctant Ban. Once they were all inside, she pressed a button on the wall next to her. The swinging wall then closed behind them.
Iarra started walking forward, and the two retrievers followed. The hallway was about two feet wide, with bare walls on both sides, and lit by dim circular light fixtures on the ceiling.
"Won't you get into trouble when your boss finds out what you're doing?", Ban asked, smirking.
"I'm sure he'll understand, given our circumstances right now", she answered.
"Yeah, but don't you see this as a failure on your part? I mean, you stole the sword, only to give it back." He was chuckling now.
Iarra stoppped and turned to look at him. "My job was to take the sword, which I did, while capturing the Invincible Retrieval Duo in the process. My orders do not cover what happens to the sword after that. My orders right now are to keep you two alive, which I'm successful at, so far. So no, I don't think this is a failure."
Ban grinned. "Well, I guess we see things differently, then. Because I see this as a failure."
She glared at him. "Mido, if you don't go around pissing people off, will you shrivel up and die?"
Ginji, caught between the crossfire, held his hands up. "Hey, stop fighting", he pleaded. "We only have two hours, remember?"
She smiled at Ginji. "You know, at first I thought the Get Backers were a couple of pigheaded assholes. I guess I was wrong. Turns out there's just one."
Ban glared at her. "Are you calling me a pigheaded asshole?"
She turned to him, and smiled slyly. "I didn't say it was you."
He lightly pushed Ginji to the side, and looked her straight in the eye as he stepped up to her. "Well, it certainly looked like you were referring to me."
She took a step towards him, meeting his gaze. "Ahh, so you know that you're a pigheaded asshole?"
He closed the distance between them, holding his chin straight up so he could look down on her. "Better to be a pigheaded asshole than a depraved lunatic."
"I agree", she said. "But it's much worse if you're both."
Ginji had turned to chibi mode now. "Hey, guys. Stop it. Please?"
The two continued to glare at each other. Suddenly, Iarra chuckled.
"What's so damn funny?", Ban asked irritatedly.
She stopped, then looked up at him. "I can see your nose hairs from here." She grinned, then turned around, chuckling as she started to move forward.
Ginji started snickering, but stopped immediately when he saw the murderous look his partner was giving him.
They had been walking along the hallway for some time now when Iarra spotted a ladder about seven feet high on the left side of the wall. At the top of the ladder was a small opening. She started climbing when Ginji asked, "Ne, Iarra-chan. I've been wondering... Why did you capture us?"
"Yeah, Iarra. Why?", Ban repeated.
She stopped climbing, glared at Ban, who was raising an eyebrow, then looked at Ginji's earnest expression. She sighed, then replied as she continued to climb. "An enemy of yours is a client of ours, and he wants to get his hands on the two of you. They don't want to spend a big deal of their money to actively pursue you, so we had a deal. If we ever come across the Get Backers, we're gonna hand them over."
She reached the hole at the top of the ladder, and slid inside.
Ginji climbed up after her, frowning. When he reached the hole, he looked inside and found a very wide attic-like enclosure, with several dim light bulbs illuminating the wooden floor and walls. He could see the concrete beams supporting the building as they extended from the floor to the roof. Iarra was sitting a few feet away, leaning on one of the beams, her head touching the roof.
He slid through the hole and crawled towards her. Pretty soon, Ban poked his head through the hole and looked around.
"We're above the ceiling right now", she said. "So try not to make too much noise."
As Ban climbed inside, Ginji turned to Iarra and asked, "Who's after us, Iarra-chan?"
She snickered. "You mean you've made so many enemies, you have no idea who's after you?"
Ginji just blinked at her.
"Well, I'm sorry", she said, smiling lopsidedly. "But we don't reveal our clients' identities." She turned around and started crawling. "You know, I could've easily gotten the sword a long time before you guys even set foot in the Karekawa mansion."
Ginji and Ban followed her as she continued, "But when I heard that the Get Backers are coming to get it.... Well.." She turned her head at them and smiled slyly. "I couldn't pass up the chance."
"Hey, how come you answered his questions?", Ban protested. "I asked the same things, but you never told me anything."
She grinned at Ban. "Well, he asked nicely." She chuckled as she continued to crawl.
"Damn girl", Ban muttered. "I swear, Ginji, once we get that sword, I'm gonna strangle her. And don't you dare stop me."
"But, Ban-chan", Ginji said. "She's not that bad. She IS helping us, right? Besides, she's so cute."
"She's so cute??", Ban asked, snorting. "We could've gotten KILLED because of her, and you think she's so... CUTE??? I know you have a soft spot for girls, Ginji, but this is ridiculous."
"Will you guys PLEASE stop arguing about whether I'm cute or not, and get your asses moving?", Iarra interrupted. "You're wasting time."
As Ginji started crawling, he could hear Ban mutter behind him, "Still think she's cute?"
Iarra stopped crawling, pulled out one of her daggers, and lied down, her chin resting on the floor. Ginji watched in curiosity as she stuck the tip of the dagger on the floor then held it up. A small circular hole, about an inch in diameter, appeared on the floor, its cork cover being held by the dagger like a piece of meat on a fork. Iarra lowered her left eye to the hole, and looked through.
She then moved to the side so the retrievers could take a look. Ban lied chest down on the floor and looked through the hole, while Iarra rested her chin on her hands as she thought of a plan. Ginji also lied chest down on floor as he waited for his turn to take a look.
Ban looked through the hole, and saw a small room with three sets of bookshelves lined up on the wall. In front of the middle bookshelf was a large rectangular oak desk, with leather-covered seats around it.
"We're right above Havoc's library", she said. "The desk has a switch right under it which will make one of the shelves slide open, revealing a vault."
As Ban lifted his head to let Ginji have a look through the hole, she continued, "Inside the vault is a kikou (1). The sword is hidden right behind it."
Ginji looked up at Iarra. "So how can we get to the library?"
She placed the cork back to cover the hole. "There's no direct way to go from here to down there. We're gonna have to go through the Grand Hall." With her dagger in her hand, she started crawling to the right.
As Ban followed with Ginji behind him, he asked, "The Grand Hall?"
"It's just a fancy name for a wide and empty room", she said smiling.
She stopped and lied down again, pulling another cork with her dagger. She looked through the hole and saw several Dragons below, most of them kneeling before the columns surrounding the wide space just under them.
She placed her index finger on her lips, gesturing for them to be quiet. "We're right above the Grand Hall now", she said softly, almost whispering so that the people below couldn't hear.
"What exactly is this place?", Ban asked, keeping his voice low as he sat down next to her. "Some kind of attic with peepholes?"
She looked closely at what the Dragons were busy with, and cursed softly. The bastards were installing bombs. She mentally counted the Dragons, then let the retrievers take a look.
"Sort of", she answered Ban's question. "It's a way to move around the building and monitor what's going on without being detected."
"You mean spy on people", Ban muttered as he looked through the hole.
Iarra just smiled. "That, too."
While Ginji took his turn in looking through the hole, she rested her chin on her hands thoughtfully.
Finally, she said, "Here's the plan. There are currently nineteen armed Dragons below us. You two can distract them, while I enter the library and get the sword."
Ginji looked up from the hole to Iarra, and Iarra covered the hole again with the cork.
Ban snickered. "I think that's a terrible plan."
She glared at him. "And why is that, if I may ask?"
"You expect us to deal with the armed Dragons while you saunter into the library and do the easy part?"
"Well, you don't know the code to open the vault, do you?"
"Well, you could just tell us right now, can't you?"
"It's too complicated", she answered, then sighed. "Fine. Me and Ginji can distract the Dragons, while you enter the library and pry the vault open." She gave him a lopsided smile. "I'm sure your magnificent strength can handle it."
"I can do without the sarcasm, sweetheart", Ban said.
"Really?", she asked, her eyes wide in mock surprise. "I thought sarcasm flows through your veins." Before Ban could come up with a comeback, she continued, "So, is that plan alright?"
"No", Ban answered.
She sighed exasperatedly. "What do you suggest?", she asked with gritted teeth.
"How about if YOU distract the Dragons, while me and Ginji get the sword?"
She glared at him. "We don't need two people to open the damn vault, Mido."
"'We'?", Ban asked, his eyebrows raised. "Who told you that there's a 'We'?"
"Ban-chan", Ginji interrupted. "It's okay. I can help her distract the Dragons while you get the sword." He looked at Iarra and smiled. "I don't mind."
Iarra smiled smugly at Ban. "Two against one", she said. "I guess it's settled, then."
She turned again to her right and started crawling towards the trapdoor that would lead them down to the Grand Hall.
Ban glared at his partner and muttered, "Traitor."
Iarra reached towards the handle to the trapdoor. She was about to pull it open when Ginji stopped her by placing his hand over hers.
"Iarra-chan", he said.
She looked up at him questioningly.
"You're not gonna kill them, are you?", he asked.
Iarra looked at Ginji who was looking back at her, concern evident in his big brown eyes. She blinked. Yes, that was definitely concern in his eyes. This guy was actually concerned for his enemies.
"No", she replied. "I don't kill unless I have to."
He sighed in relief. "Good", he said, smiling as he took his hand off from hers.
She looked down at the trapdoor, then back at Ginji as she smiled. "Now I know why the Volts were so well-loved." Then she looked back down at the trapdoor, and slowly pulled it open.
Right below them was a man as big as Hishiki, standing over another Dragon who was kneeling down by one of the columns. She slowly pulled out two of her daggers, and pressed the hilt. Clear liquid oozed out from the handle to the tip of the blade.
"I'll jump first and take these two out", she whispered to Ginji. "Once I move out of the way, you jump out and help me take care of the rest of them, okay?"
Ginji nodded.
"And you", she continued, turning to Ban. "jump out and head to the library as soon as you see that they're very busy with us." She looked at the two of them. "Any questions?"
"Yeah, I have a question", Ban said.
Iarra turned to him and raised her eyebrows questioningly.
"Who made you in charge?", Ban asked.
She gritted her teeth as she glared at him. "Mido, can you please not think about your ego right now?"
The Hishiki-sized Dragon heard the sound of people muttering right above him. He looked up and stared, straight into Iarra's eyes.
"Oh, great", Iarra groaned. She hurled one of her daggers down at his shoulder, then gave Ban one more glare as she jumped through the trapdoor.
Ban caught Ginji shaking his head at him. He looked at his partner innocently and asked, "What'd I do?"
Iarra stomped on the big man's face as she dropped from the ceiling, sending him flat on his back. Still standing on his face, she threw the other dagger at the kneeling man nearby, also hitting him on the shoulder. She reached out, and her two daggers came flying back into her hands.
The other Dragons turned to stare at the intruder. Iarra grinned at them as she balanced herself on the big Dragon's face.
"You're pretty brave to take all of us on by yourself, Dark Fleet scum", one of the Dragons, who appeared to be the leader, said in Japanese. He made a gesture with his hand, and all Dragons snapped to attention and pointed their rifles at her.
Her grin became wider. "And you're all a bunch of wimps if it takes ALL of you just to get me", she answered in Chinese so that she could be sure that all the Dragons understood her.
The leader narrowed his eyes at her. "Looks like we're gonna have to teach this stupid girl some manners", he said, this time in Chinese. He flicked his fingers, and the Dragons started firing.
Iarra leaped into the air and did a series of spins, flips and somersaults, while throwing her daggers at them whenever she had the chance, making sure not to hit any vital organs. She had managed to down five more of them now. She landed on one knee and tried to catch her breath as something else seemed to have caught the Dragons' attention.
Ginji was now at the center of the hall, a protective field surrounding him as he fired streaks of electricity at their opponents. She aimed at one of the fighters shooting at Ginji, and hurled her dagger. Instead of hitting the fighter's leg as she had intended, the dagger curved updwards and hit the ceiling.
What the..?, she thought. She frowned, and reached out to summon her dagger back. The dagger shook, then started to fly towards her, but suddenly veered off and hit the arm of the farthest fighter.
Magnetism, she finally realized. She smiled. So that's why Jackal had those ceramic scalpels made.
She then stood up and ran to the nearest Dragon, jumped up and kicked him hard on the head. The Dragon fell to the floor. Then she turned to attack two more Dragons at her right.
Meanwhile, Ban had already emerged from their hiding place and was now running towards the door to the library, when another Dragon spotted him and fired. He somersaulted to avoid the bullets flying at him. With his superhuman speed, he ran towards his attacker.
"Snakebite!", he yelled, grabbing the unfortunate Dragon's face and throwing him to the wall.
Ginji deactivated his magnetic field and focused on electrocuting two of the fighters nearest him. As soon as Iarra saw that the magnetic field was down, she summoned her daggers back, and started hurling them at the other fighters. Ban on the other hand, found himself fighting the rest of the Dragons instead of getting to the library as planned.
Pretty soon, all the Dragons were down. Iarra summoned the last of her daggers and stood up straight, panting. Ban was on her right, adjusting his glasses, then putting his hands on his pockets.
Ginji was on the far side of the room. As he walked towards them, Ban surveyed the so-called Grand Hall. It was about fifty feet long and twenty feet wide, with large columns covered in black marble rising up from the black marble floors all the way to the ceiling. The hall had several doors on all sides. Some of the doors were open, revealing nothing but darkness on the other side.
She turned her head to Ban and glared. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be back there." She pointed at the door to the library.
"Well, I would've been there if you did a better job of distracting them like you said you would", Ban retorted.
"Maybe you wouldn't be complaining right now if you had just followed the first plan and distracted them yourself with your partner."
Ban snorted. "You can't blame me for your incomepetence, Dagger Babe." He started walking towards the door to the library. "Ginji, let's go get that sword."
Before Ban could take another step, Iarra suddenly said, "Wait."
He stopped and looked at her. She seemed to be staring at one of the open doors to her right, her brows furrowed. "What is it?", he asked.
"There's somebody there", she whispered.
Ban followed her gaze and stared at the door, but saw nothing. He frowned at her, then stared back at the door.
Ginji, who had now reached Ban's side, noticed Iarra and his partner gazing intently at one of the open doors and decided to do the same. "What are we looking at?", he muttered to Ban.
"I'm not sure", Ban muttered back.
"You can come out now", Iarra called out. "We know you're there."
The only reply they got was silence. She then flipped one of her daggers and hurled it at the door. It disappeared into the darkness. After a few seconds, it came flying back at her face. She swifly stepped to the side and caught it with her hand.
A low chuckle could then be heard, and a tall man with long black hair tied to a low ponytail stepped into the hall. He wore a black jumpsuit similar to Iarra's. But unlike Iarra, he kept his daggers in plain view, their handles visible from the holsters on his waist. And unlike Iarra, this guy seemed to have the word 'smuggler' written all over him.
He grinned at his colleague and said, "You're still pretty sharp, Iarra."
"Gitsu", she said, her voice not hiding the fact that she was not very fond of the man.
Ban remembered Iarra mentioning that name. Gitsu. Reportedly Dark Fleet's best fighter. From the way he walked, Ban could tell that it was probably not far from the truth.
"What are you doing here?", Iarra said, placing her dagger back into her boot.
"I was about to ask you the same thing", Gitsu answered. Then his gaze settled on Ginji. "I didn't know you were working with the Raitei."
"Umm...", Ginji started to say. "I'm not the Raitei anymore."
"Oh, right", Gitsu said, giving Ginji a smile that made the blond feel queasy. "You're Amano Ginji of the Get Backers now." He turned to give the same smile to Ban. "And you must be Mido Ban."
Ban just met his gaze and didn't reply. There was something unsettling about this guy. And it wasn't just the smugness in his eyes.
Iarra turned to the two retrievers behind her. "Why don't you two go on ahead?."
Ban tried to keep his expression neutral as he finally realized what it was about Gitsu that disturbed him.
"Iarra", Ban whispered. "He smells like..."
"Yeah, I know", she whispered back, interrupting him. Loudly, she said, "I'll catch up with you later. I'll just have a little chat with Gitsu here." She gave Ban a look that urged them to move ahead.
"Okay", Ban said.
He gave Gitsu a piercing look, then turned and walked towards the library. Ginji glanced at Gitsu, then looked back at Iarra, who mouthed the word 'Go'. Ginji reluctantly followed Ban.
As soon as Ginji closed the door behind him, he said, "I don't like that guy."
"Yeah, me neither", Ban replied as he started to make his way to the large oak desk in the middle of the room.
"Do you think it's okay to leave Iarra-chan with him?"
"Iarra can take care of herself."
Ban reached the desk and was about to look under it when he noticed Ginji's silence. He stopped and looked at his partner's worried brown eyes. "She knows how to deal with him." He smiled. "She'll be alright."
Ginji returned his smile. "I guess so."
"Now let's go find that switch."
Iarra waited for the Get Backers to close the door to the library before turning back to Gitsu. "Tell me, Gitsu. What were you doing back there?"
"I was observing our enemies", he replied. "Imagine my surprise when you literally dropped by with the Get Backers." He narrowed his eyes suspiciously at her. "What about you? What are you doing here? And what are those two twerps doing in Havoc's library?"
She gave him a sweet smile. "What those two twerps are doing is none of your business." She walked over to one of the bombs and knelt down. "You should get going. The Dragons are gonna blow the whole place apart in two hours."
"How did you know that?", Gitsu asked.
"I overheard them", she replied, as she studied the bomb. "Can you check the others and find out if they're activated?"
"It's no use", he said. "They've already set up bombs all over the place. Deactivating the ones here will not change anything."
She sighed. "I guess you're right." She looked up at him. "I even came across one in the tunnels."
Gitsu looked surprised. "Really?"
Iarra wasn't sure whether he was surprised because there was a bomb in the tunnels, or because she survived. "Yeah. It made me think they had help with this whole invasion."
Gitsu looked at her for a long time before asking, "Are you saying that we have a traitor?"
"I don't know, Gitsu", she answered, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "But how do you think did they know about the tunnels? Some of our own people don't even know about them."
Gitsu shrugged. "Maybe they accidentally found the exits."
"Maybe", she said, then looked back up at him. "And they also just accidentally found out about our markers", she added sarcastically.
"What do you mean?"
"They carved our markers on the walls. Most of our own people don't even know how to read our markers, much less write using them. There's no way they would know about our codes, unless they had help from somebody who does. And there's only a few of us who fit the bill."
"Are you saying we're being betrayed by an Elite?", Gitsu asked, looking skeptical.
She looked back down at the bomb in front of her. "How else do you explain it?"
"But.. we've never been betrayed by an Elite."
"I know. But that doesn't mean we never will."
Gitsu looked at her, his brows furrowed in thought. "I don't know, Iarra. The Dragons DO have a very good information network. Maybe we shouldn't underestimate them." He smiled ruefully. "They know a lot more than what you give them credit for. It's quite possible that they've known about the markers a long time ago. I wouldn't be surprised if they carved the countdown themselves."
Iarra stopped and stared at the bomb, narrowing her eyes. Slowly, she turned her head to Gitsu.
"What?", Gitsu asked, confused.
"I never told you it was a countdown."
Gitsu blinked at her. "You mentioned it a while ago", he said.
"No, I didn't."
Gitsu stared at Iarra. Iarra stared back.
"Didn't she say the switch is under the desk?", Ban asked irritatedly.
"Yeah, she did", Ginji answered.
"Then where the hell is it???"
The Invincible Retrieval Duo were currently under the desk crawling on all fours, and twisting their necks to look up at the underside. Carvings and designs were usually placed at the top surface of desks, where people could see. This desk was different. Ban couldn't even guess WHY the hell somebody would bother carving the underside. Well, aside from making it really difficult for people to find the damn switch. The carvings contained various shapes, and any one of those shapes could be the switch. Ban and Ginji had been scanning the underside with their eyes while feeling the carvings with their palms, but to no avail.
Okay, time to be more scientific about this, Ban thought. Aloud, he said, "Ginji."
Ginji turned his head at him.
"Why don't you start scanning from that side, while I start from this side?"
"Okay", his partner answered.
Ginji moved to the other end of the desk, and started feeling for the switch.
"I guess that explains why you reek of gunpowder", Iarra said in a low voice.
Gitsu smiled. "Well, you had me there, Iarra", he said, snickering. "I was right. You're still pretty sharp."
Iarra said nothing and just glared.
"You know, we really could use someone like you", he continued. "So I would like to make you an offer."
She raised her eyebrows.
"What do you say about becoming a Dragon?", he said, grinning. "We could always have room for one more Elite."
She laughed. "You're kidding, right?"
Gitsu's grin disappeared.
"You're not?", Iarra asked in mock surprise. "Oh. Well, thanks, but I think I'll pass. Betraying the Fleet's not my thing, you see."
Gitsu smiled lopsidedly. "Well, that's too bad. I'd hate to hurt you, Iarra." He pulled out two of his daggers from his waist. "But I can't just let you go, you know."
"Yeah, I kinda figured that out", she replied. She likewise pulled out two of her daggers from her boots, and slowly stood up.
Ban was startled to hear the sound of the bookshelf sliding open.
"Found it!", Ginji chirped cheerfully.
Ban moved over to Ginji's side and asked, "Where?"
Ginji pointed at a small diamond-shaped carving by the corner.
"That's a switch?", Ban asked doubtfully.
"Yep", Ginji said. To convince his partner, he pressed it. Sure enough, the bookshelf started to slide close.
Ban pressed the switch again, and once again, the bookshelf slid open. He looked at his partner in amazement. "How the hell did you find it?"
"Simple", Ginji answered. "I felt a small current coming from it."
Ban grinned. It was definitely good to have an electric eel around.
Iarra and Gitsu stood facing each other, daggers at their hands.
"You do realize that the penalty for betrayal is death, right?", Iarra said.
Gitsu laughed. "You mean the Silver Claw will come and get me?"
Iarra didn't answer.
He stopped laughing and smiled at her. "Well, it ain't gonna happen, sweetheart. You know why?"
"Gee, I'm just dying to know."
"Oh, you'll be dying in a few minutes. Don't you worry."
He chuckled, then turned to Iarra with a deadly look in his eyes. The next sentence that he said was something Iarra had not expected.
"I am the Silver Claw."
Notes: Mayumi-san is a very slow writer. I've been writing this every night, and it STILL took me one week.I would've posted this last Friday, but wouldn't let me. The delay is not my fault. Especially since I just had a birthdayhehe :-) I'm aiming to finish this before the year ends, since I'm gonna be busy next year. So I HOPE I could post the next chapter next week.
AmethystRainGrl123: No, I'm not annoyed. I need people to bug me about updating. Makes me want to write faster :-)
Atropos' Knife: If Ban could swallow his pride, he probably would. But that's a big IF. :D Plus, I'd probably suck at writing fluff :-) Don't know if I should go there. At least not yet. Probably in the faaaar future hehe :-)
Rabid Lola: I know you're not rushing me :-) I'm with you on cheering them on :D Hey, guys! Listen to what the old woman said and hurry up!
EffyDurach: Heartbroken? Don't be. This isn't my last fanfic ;-) But you quitting on writing GB fanfics is really heart-breaking. You're a good writer, Effy, and I hope I could read more fics from you :-)
limelie: Yeah, poor Ban. I've tortured him a lot, haven't I? (evil snicker)
(1) Kikou is the Samurai battle armour.