Chapter Twenty-Two

The airport was crowded. Anna bumped into people constantly as she dragged her luggage behind her, politely apologizing with every step she took. She was exhausted from her last flight, almost to the point of being angry. However, she suppressed her irritation as she made her way out towards one of the exits.

She was sure she looked horrible; she had thrown on a pair of red plaid hip huggers and a tight, cut-off white t-shirt with a Sex Pistols logo on it before changing planes in Paris. The chain-link belt she wore was one of the few belongings she still had from before she woke up; it amused her that something like that had come back in fashion, as did the steel-toed boots she was wearing. When she was outside, she pulled her luggage to the side and sat down on the curb, unsure of where to go next.

There were taxis lined up along the airport entrance like a broken train, and briefly she thought of flagging one down and just driving through Brisbane. But, she waited, remembering that her sister was supposed to meet her eventually. Anna sighed to herself; Nina was late. Nina was always late.

The last time Anna had waited for her older sister, she never came.

Anna had sat in her red gown, barefoot in the brisk autumn evening outside the back entrance to the Mishima Corporation's back entrance in the shadows. Her only companion was the knife their father always carried. Now, she always carried it, finally learning what it was that he feared constantly. Learning what it was like not trusting the person that lie next to her every night.

Her Kazuya was gone entirely now. He left one day and never came back. She didn't know the man that she slept next to every night. All she knew he wanted her gone; he never spoke of it aloud, but she felt it. Yes, she was willing to leave, but first she had to take care of something.

She hated how much she loved Kazuya.

Her eyes shifted back and forth as she watched the security cameras, most of which were almost hidden, but she knew the property well enough to know where to look. The back-lot had the fewest cameras and few employees parked there in the evenings. For the most part, the exits were kept sealed through electronic locks, however there was one door that she knew wasn't secured. She looked up towards the second floor; it was a heavy metal door to a fire escape, hard to access from outside but always unlocked. There were no ladders to reach the platform there, and the several other floors above it, the door could be only reached from the inside through the emergency escape routes. She knew there were no cameras or other security devices installed in the emergency areas, aside from the silent alarms that would be tripped from entering them through the main building. From there, however, she could easily bypass those measures, taking a back elevator that the custodians and researchers used at night after most of the workers had left the building.

When she and Kazuya moved to Chicago, he had made Anna promise that she would finish school. Reluctantly, she agreed and took up a bio-chemistry major, since it would ensure her a legit job at Mishima. That resulted in many tours alone with Kazuya and midnight visits with Lee where she watched him work and snort cocaine diligently as she made herself acquainted with what she and many others figured would be her future. Part of her, however, knew that Kazuya also was making sure that his reputation would remain spotless. Most of the people that believed to know him intimately considered Anna to be nothing more than a trophy for Kazuya, or worse still, they thought her to be a gold-digger.

The whispers behind her back didn't bother Anna, but she knew it disturbed Kazuya despite how little he spoke of it. Sometimes, she pondered if that was why he left her behind with him.

It didn't matter now as she crept over to the building and stood directly below the metal door, her father's knife in its sheath and tucked safely in the back of her dress. All that mattered was that she did what she promised Kazuya.

"Protection," he had said.

And that was exactly what she intended to do.

Tried of waiting for her sister, Anna rubbed her hands and jumped up, grabbing hold of the metal grate floor beneath the door. Quickly, she pulled herself up to the metal platform. After she stood up, she straightened out her satin dress, took a deep breath, then pulled on the door handle; the door inched opened as she used more force, and quietly she slipped inside.

As she expected, there were few people around that night; mostly custodians, whom she managed to avoid pretty easily as she went from floor to floor. She was tempted to go check on Lee, to let him know she was fine, but she went past the medical labs quickly, only hesitating when she was near an area with several cameras and alarm sensors. However, she detoured and found the back elevator for that floor.

His office was on the fifty-seventh floor, which was only a few floors away from being on the top. It actually surprised her how easily she managed to get up there. Part of her was suspicious; it was too easy. However, she reminded herself of the months it took to plan everything and learn, trying to curve the fear she had as she walked carefully down the hall of unlit offices down towards the double doors at the end of the long hallway; underneath it and from its frosted windows, the fluorescent lights seeped out, giving the doors a ghostly halo.

A lump formed in Anna's throat as she gingerly pressed her hands on one of the double doors. She hadn't really thought about what she was going to do and say once she opened the doors. But, everything rested on tonight.

". . .Hold on just a sec, Tracy," he said into his phone as he looked up from the binder he was marking in. He smiled at Anna, "I'll call you back later on tonight." With that, he hung up. The man before her certainly looked and sounded like Kazuya, his jet black hair slicked back and the handsome, lopsided grin on his face. He had the jacket of his black three piece suit off and slung over the back of the leather swivel chair he was sitting in. The sleeves of his white oxford shirt were rolled up to just below his elbows, and his deep red tie loosened, and the neat stacks of papers set on his desk, compulsively organized yet still hastily gone through. It all felt like Kazuya.

However, he said, "I won't ask how you got up here." His grin grew knowingly at her. Coyly, he tented his fingers and leaned back in his chair.

"You've been expecting me?" she asked carefully as she approached the man behind the desk, never taking her eyes off him.

His grin grew slowly, "Of course." He stood up, "You're amazing, you know that?" Anna stopped about a foot short of the desk. She chuckled a bit condescendingly, placed her hands on her hips, and waited. For what, she wasn't sure.

"I really mean that, dove," he continued quietly. "If everything had worked out differently, I would have been quite pleased with Kazuya's interest in you. But I'm afraid you're just not...what we need at the moment."

"So...you're not him?"

"I think you knew that already." The man's smile softened. "...Heh, the one thing I hate about these human hosts...emotions get in the way of thinking clearly. He's furious at me for having to do this."

Taken back, Anna blinked, "What?"

He came out from behind his desk and sat down on top of the desk in front of Anna. Sadly, he smiled a bit, reaching out and gently placing a hand on her cheek.

"I like you. You're different," he started in a low voice. "Think what you will of me, dove, but I do like you." She pulled away; however, he leaned in closer, brushing his lips against hers.

Anna was petrified at the moment he kissed her. He felt so much like Kazuya, smelled like him, that she began to wonder just how long Kazuya had been gone. What if all those times she and he made love, it wasn't him but this stranger before her? The very concept made her blood turn cold. Shakily, her right hand reached behind her back.

Then she closed her eyes, letting him do whatever he pleased, her hand fiddling quietly with the clasp of the sheath of her knife. His lips moved to her nape, and she let out a shaky sigh, almost losing concentration on what she was doing. However, her fingers finally managed flip open the clasp, and her hand curled around the handle of the knife tucked inside. Her free hand went to his cheek, and she forced him to look up at her before finally returning his kisses passionately. He only pulled away to smile, a combination of genuine relief and slyness then closed his eyes and nipped her lips softly.

"Get AWAY from me!"

It all happened too fast for Anna. Normally, any situation like this, she would had gladly taken her time, like she had when taken care of that Emil, the bastard that was going to take Nina away from her in every sense of the word. Yet at that moment, she was so disgusted with this man and with herself that she wasn't thinking clearly. She jumped back and looked forward at him as he hunched over, covering his face with his hand, blood trickling over his fingers. Part of her was frightened; it looked and sounded like her Kazuya heaving angrily in front her. However, she dropped into a defensive stance, knife out to protect herself.

He looked up, his eyes glowing red like embers. Anna gasped, stumbling back; she knew then that she had gotten in too deep.

"I see," he said quietly, straightening up; his fingers still rested lightly on his bloodied cheek. Slowly, he dropped his hands to his sides, his eyes burning. His forehead cracked opened, revealing a third eye that glared menacingly at the woman before him. Anna's eyes widened, and she dropped her knife to cover her mouth.

As he stepped towards her, two wings sprouted from his back, magnificent, dark leathery wings that expanded the entire length of the large office. They knocked over the desk with the sheer force from shooting out of the man's back. Anna inched back until her back was pressed up against the double doors. Without taking her eyes off the demon in front of her, she tried the knob; it didn't budge.

"Frightened, dove?" he asked; his voice sounded like a chorus of wailing children. It hurt to listen to. He then extended a clawed hand, gingerly running a nail across her cheek. She wanted to scream, but when she opened her mouth, nothing came out.

The only thought that came to her mind was, "Nina, where are you?"

"Anya?" Anna shook her head violently and looked up. There was her sister, Nina, dressed in black dress suit with the bodice of her blazer partially opened and revealing her violet lace corset and cleavage. She had a black scarf wrapped around her hair and neck, and there were stylish dark glasses on her face. She smiled down at her sister, a cross between amusement and cockiness. "Daydreaming again?"

"Oh, sorry," the younger girl said as she stood up quickly; Anna then stooped over to grab her bags. "You're late."

"My apologies," the blonde replied as she turned her back to lead her sister to their ride. "I'm delighted you came down."

Anna frowned as she dragged her luggage behind her, "I'm sure you are. What exactly am I doing here?" They stopped in front of a black SUV limousine; the chauffer hopped out and opened the doors then took Anna's bag to place them in the trunk.

Nina smiled to herself, "We're looking for someone." She then turned and gestured for the younger woman to get into the limo. Anna did what she was told and quickly got in; Nina followed and sat across from the redhead.

"Dare I ask who?"

As the chauffer closed the door on them, Nina asked, "Champagne?" Anna shook her head in response. The older woman shrugged and leaned over, helping herself to the chilled bottle and glasses that had been set out for them. The driver then got in the car, and Nina promptly rolled up the sound-proof glass partition between the back and front seats.

"Nina--"

"--I'm sure you've heard of him," the blonde began before taking a sip of her drink. "This is pretty high profile."

"I would think so, for thirty million dollars."

Nina's grin grew and she cleared her throat, "Yes, his name. Steven Fox. He's a professional boxer."

Anna blinked, "...Didn't he just win the world championship?"

"Yes, and he wasn't supposed to. Our job is to find him and bring him to Tracy Freedman. Mr. Freedman made it quite clear that he doesn't care if Mr. Fox is in one piece."

"He's a child!"

The blonde nodded, "Well, yes. That bothers me. And the part that bothers me more is that we're essentially trying to fix a grave mistake Mr. Freedman made with Heihachi Mishima's finances."

Anna rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath, "What else is new? He obviously hasn't changed in twenty years." That comment made Nina chuckled, and she reached over and plucked up the other glass to pour her sister a drink.

"This will calm your nerves," she said brightly. She then handed her younger sister the glass. "Anyway, our time frame is rather short; we have two weeks before Heihachi flies back from wherever he is. The other men that Mr. Freedmen hired blotched my hit, and I can't find Fox anywhere. I'm almost afraid he fled the country. But, I think with the two of us working together--" Nina leaned back and took another sip of champagne, "--We should be able to find him."

She continued, "By the way, love, do you still talk to that Lee Chaolan?"

"Sometimes," Anna replied softly. "Why do you ask?"

"I think I remember him being quite the computer whiz. We might need his help."

"I doubt he'll help you drain his father's resources, Nina."

Nina chuckled, "He won't help me, but he'll help you. He was always fawning over you, and you chose his bastard brother. And you have the nerve to call me cold. Cheers." With that she toasted Anna, who was too shocked at her sister's comment to respond.


. . . . .

Lee spent most that afternoon going through file cabinets and checking old data cds. He had already gone through half a pot of coffee, refraining from smoking at all so far; though the withdrawal headache was telling him that was a huge mistake. He was hitting that point where he wasn't even looking anymore, just going through the motions.

He hadn't been able to get a hold of Anna at all, and then he hated leaving his brother behind. Lee hadn't told Kazuya exactly why he had to go in today. Part of him was infuriated with Kazuya, knowing that he had something to do with Anna's predicament. However, he was hardly thinking of that as he flipped through folders half out of it.

"Mr. Lee?" a receptionist asked, poking her head through the door. "There's a call for you on line one." Lee glanced up and nodded to acknowledge her. He then placed the folder he had been skimming through back into its drawer and shut the file cabinet close. Sluggishly, he went over to the nearest desk and picked up the phone, pressing down on the flashing line button.

"Chaolan?" Heihachi asked into the phone.

"Hi, Dad," Lee replied, yawning.

"You haven't found anything yet, have you?"

"Not a thing."

"I was going say...you're probably going to have to go through the archives from the Chicago branch to find most of Kazuya's projects. I'll have to call Tracy and let him know that you've been granted access to our intranet databases."

Lee frowned, "I still can't believe you're letting him head Chicago."

"Well," the elderly man chuckled, "had you decided to stay with the company, I could've retired and let you head everything. Besides, I need you to do a favor for me, since you're there."

"Which is?"

"I believe Tracy has been extorting money from us. He's pretty good about covering his tracks, so I've never trusted him. Not since that bullshit with Emil Ricter."

The younger Mishima sighed heavily, "I told you, you should've fired him from the start--"

"--You know I couldn't do that. He knows too much." Lee was silent at that response, and he scratched his cheek while twisting his mouth to the side.

Finally, Lee asked, "Dad...are you sure you had Kaz cremated?"

There was a bit of uneasy silence before Heihachi replied, "Yes, you know that. And where is this coming from all of the sudden?"

Lee hesitated, "It's nothing."

"Are you sure? You sound like you don't believe me."

"No, Dad, I believe you."

"Okay, then. I need to go. Take care."

Lee sighed heavily, "Bye," and he hung up. For a few moments, he stood staring down at the phone, his hands on his hips. He then clicked the roof of his mouth with his tongue and turned around. He couldn't go without any more nicotine, and it was going to be a long day.


. . . . .

They were still scavenging through rubble that afternoon; the remains of the institution were blackened, still dripping wet from the firefight that had taken place the night before. Heihachi Mishima flipped closed his cellphone as he was approached then tucked it within his blazer pocket.

"Well?" he said to the young soldier.

The young man shook his head, "We managed to get out all of the patients and had them transferred to other wards, places where they could really get help. But..."

"The girl's still missing."

"Right," the soldier said hanging his head. "And she killed one of the orderlies on her way out. No one else was hurt, thank god." Heihachi nodded solemnly in agreement at the younger man. There was low crash, and both men looked over at the burnt out building. The inside structure was starting to collapse in on itself, and several soldiers and firefighters jogged away to let the building fall in.

The young man frowned, "And there's something else, sir."
"What?"

"One of the head researchers from G-Tech has flown in. She says she has information that you'll want about both of the missing wards."

Heihachi's frowned deepened, "Alright. Did she leave a way for me to contact her?"

"All she said that she'd get in touch with you."

After that, the soldier turned his head as he heard orders being shouted from one of his superiors. Quickly, he saluted Heihachi then scurried off towards his unit. Heihachi watched as the soldiers lined up and stood at attention, listening to the barking from their leader. He then looked toward the slowly crumbling building and blinked. Carefully, he approached the building, stumbling over burnt wood and medical equipment. He then squatted down, sifting carefully through the soot until he frowned and plucked up what had caught his eye.

It was his photo of Jin, completely undamaged.