:: V :: Open to Suspicion
Two days passed and then on the afternoon of the second day, Jun was roused from a mid-day nap by a desperate set of knockings at her door. Sitting up with a jolt and wiping the sleep from her eyes, she groaned at the grating sounds emanating from beyond the door.
"Okay, okay, I'm coming!" she muttered fiercely and stomped all the way to the door, throwing it open with a bang once she'd got there. To her amazement, Lei was standing there, a wild expression on his face.
"Lei!" she began in surprise. "What the hell are you doing here…?!"
"Shh!" he cut in, putting a finger to her lips. "Just let me in, quickly!"
"But what?!"
She'd hardly got the words out, however, when Lei pushed himself in instead, and slammed the door shut after a frantic glance down both ends of the corridor. When he was safely inside, he leant back against the door and heaved a sigh of relief.
"Whoa, that was close."
Jun passed him a look that tried to convey both her amazement and her annoyance at the same time.
"Lei, what have you been up?"
"Not now, Jun," he returned, breathing heavily. "I just got chased all the way from the twenty-ninth floor to this one. It was not a pretty sight."
"Lei, you're up to something, and when I find out what it is, I'm going to…"
"Hey, calm it!" he interrupted, looking irritated. "God, you sound just like my mother!"
She was just about to give him a piece of her mind when another round of harsh knockings sounded at her door.
"It's them!" Lei hissed, diving into a nearby closet. "If they ask you where I am, tell them in the bar drinking pinacoladas or something."
So saying he disappeared into the cupboard, and Jun was left to answer the door after an incredulous shake of the head.
A hotel attendant was standing in the doorway, a slip of paper in his hand. Jun smiled up at him sweetly, hoping he wasn't going to complain about Lei's behaviour.
"Hello? Can I help you?"
The man's expression was deadpan.
"I have a letter for you, from Mr. Mishima." He held out a note in his hand, which Jun received warily.
"What is it?"
The man offered no reply, so, after a confused silence, Jun unfolded the paper and read it carefully. What it said astonished her more than she had been expecting.
'I would be grateful if you could join me for dinner at eight O'clock on Friday.'
It was signed underneath in the neat, definite calligraphy of Kazuya. Jun stared at it for a few moments, speechless. Despite the shortness of the note, she found it hard for the words to sink in. She'd hardly even spoken to Kazuya, so why was he suddenly asking her to dinner?
"There must be some mistake," she insisted, after a bewildered moment.
"No, no mistake," the man replied. "Mr. Mishima gave it to me himself to give to you personally."
That confused her even more. Nevertheless she thanked the man, and once he had left she slumped down onto the sofa and read over the message another couple of times. It still made no sense to her.
"He's asking you to dinner?!" Lei had let himself out of the closet and was reading the note over her shoulder. "Is this some sort of sick joke?"
"Apparently not," she replied quietly. "You heard what the man said, didn't you?"
"Hmph. So how come he's asking you to dinner?" Lei probed. "Did you work some of your 'feminine charms' on him or something?"
"Don't be ridiculous," Jun scoffed, though inwardly she felt less cynical. Secretly she was puzzled and suspicious of this invitation. Was it a trap? Or was Kazuya truly interested in her? No – that couldn't be right. Hadn't he threatened her that night last week after all?
"There's something you're not telling me," Lei stated, after seeing her expression. "What's happened, Jun?"
Jun considered telling him. It seemed to her that if she didn't confide in him, their partnership was done for. So, in as brief a manner as possible, she explained to him all that had occurred the night she had unwittingly fought Lee Chaolan. When she'd finished, Lei looked thoughtful.
"You know, you could play this to your advantage," he said reflectively. "Though of course, that doesn't mean I approve of what you did that night. It was a very stupid thing to go and do."
"Yeah, tell me about it." Jun frowned, then sighed. "So what do I do now?"
"Okay, listen," Lei quickly took charge. "If Kazuya's truly interested in you, you can wheedle information out of him. If he's up to something – which seems the most likely explanation considering – take the opportunity to do a little investigating."
"You mean snooping?" Jun asked quizzically.
"That's such an unprofessional term, Jun," he grinned.
"Whatever you say." She rolled her eyes. "Okay, Lei; I'll try and see what I can do." She glanced up at him slyly. "So, Lei. What exactly have you been up to these past couple of weeks?"
"Up to?" he winced. "Nothing, Jun."
"Okay, so let me put it another way. Why the hell were you being chased all the way from the twenty-ninth floor?"
"Okay, okay!" he cried defensively. "It's not like it's a crime anyhow. You see, I met this girl…"
"You 'met' this girl?" Jun echoed, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah… well, kind of…" He shook his head. "Look, it doesn't matter! I just met this girl, okay, and she needed my help!"
"Oh? And who exactly is this damsel in distress?"
He glowered at her. "Her name's Michelle Chang."
"Oh, her. So what did she want?"
"Well, apparently her mother's been kidnapped by the Mishima for some ulterior motive that's unknown to both Michelle and myself. Until the other day, things were pretty straightforward, and then that sumo guy, Ganryu… he started threatening Michelle. So today I was trying to get to the upper floors, to get some info, I don't know. Unfortunately, I tripped the alarm system, so I had to make a break for it."
"And ended up here," Jun finished. "So what about Bruce?"
"Bruce?" Lei's face clouded. "I'll deal with him when I'm good and ready."
"It doesn't sound like you're all that bothered with investigating him," she remarked pointedly. "Sounds more like you're bent on some sort of revenge. You want to tell me about that?"
"Maybe some other time," he replied stiffly. "Right now, I've got other things to do."
"Like helping your dear Miss. Chang?" Jun said sweetly as he stood up and moved to the door.
"Hey." He looked at her comically. "Don't push it."
"I'll try," she replied wryly. Just as he was about to leave, she suddenly thought of something. "Uh…Lei?"
He turned expectantly. "Hm?"
"Truce? We really need to work on this together."
He beamed and winked at her.
"I suppose that can be arranged. Well, see you later, Jun."
The next thing Jun had to worry about was the dinner that Kazuya had invited her to. She had little time to worry about why Kazuya had invited her and what exactly his intentions were. What she had to focus on was how to manipulate the situation to her own advantage, while being careful not to fall into any traps. After placing some thought on the matter, she decided to look for Nina. She needed to find something that could take her up to the highest floors.
Nina was on her way back to her room, looking bored. Jun took the opportunity to stop her.
"Nina! I have a favour to ask of you! Can you help me?"
"What do you want?" Nina asked, looking surprised at the fact Jun should want her help.
"How did you get to the top floors?" Jun asked in a hushed voice. Nina looked at her doubtfully.
"Why do you need to know?"
"It's to do with my investigation," she explained evasively. She didn't want to give away too much about her VIP treatment. "It's very important. I think I'm onto something."
Nina thought about it for a moment.
"Sure, I'll let you the gadget. But I don't want you to lose it, okay? And don't get caught."
"I promise, I won't," Jun swore with a virtuous look.
"What you turn up doesn't really concern me," Nina replied airily. "My job is simply to get rid of Kazuya." She delved into her pocket and handed her a tiny device. "Here it is. Take care of it."
"I will. Thanks, Nina."
"No problem," Nina shrugged and disappeared into her room.
Later that night Kazuya held another meeting. Not that he had much to discuss, but the others liked to wrangle over their own personal problems, so he let them do it over the conference table instead of in private. That way he could regulate their behaviour, if it offended him. And he would also keep an eye on them. The only people who had little to offer were Wang and Lee. That annoyed Kazuya. He didn't like to share his contempt with others. And when Kunimitsu and Armour King joined their ranks, things became even more unbearable.
That night, however, Kazuya said nothing at all. The recent discussions over the tightening of security were of little interest to him and he hardly heard a word. His mind was elsewhere: on his father, on his ancient friend, on the girl, Jun. The thoughts flittered through his mind like snow, tumbling chaotic and confused.
It was a relief when the meeting broke up.
"Lee," he stopped his brother peremptorily before he went out.
Lee stopped and turned, his face expectant.
"You might as well know," Kazuya began in a low, level voice, "that I invited Miss. Kazama for dinner on Friday night."
"You did?" Lee's face didn't give away any surprise, if indeed he was surprised at all.
"Yes. But I don't trust the girl. You understand her more than I do. So I want you to be there too."
Lee's expression was inscrutable. "All right," he said at last.
"Lee," Kazuya continued softly. "I don't want you to try anything funny either. Do you understand me?"
"Perfectly," Lee replied.
Kazuya nodded.
"That will be all."
He remained there, long after Lee had gone. Not for the first time, he was afraid to return to the uppermost floor. Yet – inevitably – he would return.
He always did.
Next: - Things come to head between Jun, Kazuya and Lee, and the mysterious advisor finally reveals himself...