:: VIII :: Out in the Open

Jun woke up the next morning, and was dismayed to find that things still felt no different. She had been convinced that maybe the events of the last night had been a dream, or perhaps even had a rational explanation, but now everything felt as mad and implausible as before. She felt sick with the knowledge that what had happened was real. She simply didn't know what to do about it.

She had to talk to Wang. It didn't matter about her investigation anymore. It was no longer the animals that she was interested in. It was the mystery behind the enigmatic Kazuya Mishima that she must unravel now, the man that she felt inexplicably drawn to.

Lei had meant to question Jun on last night's happenings, but somehow he found himself obeying Michelle and trying to work his head around her mother's disappearance instead. He knew it probably had something to do with this strange artefact Mrs. Chang had had in her possession, but he had difficulty in understanding why Kazuya would need it. What was one old antique worth to a prestigious billionaire?

Lei had to admit that most of his interest in Michelle's case sprang from the girl herself. As she was half-Chinese and the daughter of a Hong Kong cop, there was much she and Lei shared in common. But then there was the other half of her, the fiery native American half that gave Michelle that passionate edge…

Lei sat up. It suddenly occurred to him that Michelle's heritage might have something to do with the strange artefact. He couldn't see how he'd been so blind before. Lei decided that it was high time he paid a visit to the library.

Wang seemed to be as elusive as ever, and so Jun was left to sit out in the garden after a general search, and brood over her troubles. Somebody in the Conglomerate must know something about Kazuya's secret, and at the moment the only person she could trust was Wang. The only problem was, he seemed to be avoiding her, but she had no idea why.

As she was thinking things over, she noticed Lee Chaolan advancing towards her. For the first time she remembered what had happened between them the night before. She almost blushed at the thought of it. He still unnerved her, the way he looked at her.

"Good morning, Miss. Kazama," he greeted her from across the garden.

"Good morning," she replied, a little uneasily. She was still not sure of Lee's intentions, and as he came to sit down next to her, she realised that she would have to keep as cool towards him as possible, despite last night's events.

"Did you enjoy last night?" he asked her, quite pleasantly. Jun hesitated. She couldn't say she'd enjoyed her dinner at all – in fact it had been one of her most unpleasant and gruelling experiences ever. She also suspected that the question had been something of a double entendre.

"Er…yes, thank you," she replied, trying to sound as polite as she could.

Lee half smiled, then spoke again.

"I was wondering, Miss. Kazama," he began, "whether you would like to join me for dinner tomorrow."

Jun was a little startled at his offer, especially after Kazuya's obvious displeasure at their show last night. Could this constant pursuing of her mean that Lee was truly interested in her after all? Jun weighed up the odds. She was attracted to Lee; but on the other hand he could come in useful to her investigation into Kazuya. In which case she might as well accept his invitation.

"I'd love to," she finally answered, smiling tentatively at him.

Lee's face was unsmiling as he replied.

"Then I'll meet you at eight O'clock tomorrow night," he said, and got up and left.

Jun had chosen the last evening gown in her suitcase to wear, and had decided that she looked as silly as she had those two nights before. She had not been surprised to find that a bodyguard had called at her door and escorted her to a limousine outside, where she had been chauffeur-driven to the Le Jardin, an expensive restaurant not far from the Mishima Building itself. Finding her pre-booked table was easy and then all she had to do was wait for Lee to arrive. Glancing at her watch, she saw it was eight O'clock, and yet there was still no sign of him at all.

He arrived five minutes later. He entered the restaurant with the air of a prestigious regular, as indeed Jun guessed he was – but more than that, Lee was the brother and right-hand-man of the restaurant's owner.

Jun stood up hastily, feeling a little self-conscious. She hadn't allowed herself to forget what had happened the other night, but her feelings had moved away from her general 'romantic' involvement theory. There was something suspicious about Lee's interest in her, though she found herself – albeit rather unwillingly – enjoying his attentions.

As Lee fended off the fawning staff with a his coat few dry wordst, he was led towards the table by a rather solemn-looking and resolutely quiet waiter. Jun's mind began to function wildly. She firmly tried to convince herself that she was doing this for the good of her work and nothing else. Still, she could not help but blush faintly as she saw Lee's violet eyes take in every line and curve in the black dress. She found herself feeling decidedly vulnerable all of sudden – and she didn't like that at all.

"Good evening, Miss. Kazama."

"Good evening," she replied, giving a slight bow in his direction. He smiled gently at her.

"Forgive me for being late, but I had some rather tiresome business to attend to." He paused, and gazed at her intently. "I can't help but notice how beautiful you're looking tonight."

"Thank you," she answered in a small voice, artfully blushing to reinforce her little disguise. He was still looking at her as she did so, although his eyes had narrowed just the tiniest bit.

"Shall we sit?" he suggested, and Jun let the silently watching waiter help her back into her seat. Once she had got herself comfortable in the polished, high-backed chair, her next task was to get herself comfortable with the situation. She hardly dared to look up into the face of her dining partner for fear of finding that his eyes had been on her all along. It came as a relief when their wine had been poured and the menus had finally arrived and she had something to do. The list of dishes was mostly in French, but since Jun was reasonably well acquainted with the language, she didn't find much difficulty in placing her order. Lee seemed a bit surprised.

"You know French?" he inquired.

"I had a little work there not long ago," she replied evasively, sipping the wine. "I picked up some of the language while I was on business."

"Ah. Business, of course," he returned, a little absently. "I take it from our profiles that you are an investigator into violations of animal rights? And that some of your work has taken you to Beijing and Shanghai, no?" She nodded and he smiled. "Then we shall have to have a little tête-à-tête in my native language soon."

She replied politely, though a little stiffly. Just how much he knew about her unsettled her. She had soon busied herself toying with her wineglass, making sure that her gaze was averted from his, feigning coyness. The silence that followed was awkward, and not a little embarrassing.

"You don't have to pretend to me, Jun."

She almost jumped at the unexpected statement.

"Pardon?"

He smiled at her, this time more genuinely.

"Are you afraid of me? Really, there's no need. I'm no different from the next person, and neither are you."

"Well, you are a little different from most other people," she ventured slowly. He looked at her in surprise.

"Am I?"

"Well, you do happen to be the brother of the head of the Mishima Conglomerate, and his right hand man. I guess that makes you pretty different to us ordinary folk."

"Could you forget that fact then?" he asked, perfectly seriously.

Jun said nothing for a moment. Her memory had temporarily taken her back to what had happened between them two nights ago. She was still suspicious about Lee's attitude towards her, but she didn't quite know what to make of it.

"I suppose so," she answered falteringly.

"I hope so," he added, without the slightest trace of self-consciousness, and went back to his wine.

It was while Jun was puzzling out his less formal and more familiar manner that their dinner arrived. For the next three-quarters of an hour or so they indulged in idle chatter until it was eventually time to go. He paid the bill, of course, and tipped generously.

"Is the car waiting outside?" Jun asked pleasantly, for she'd actually enjoyed the evening considerably. He gave her an off-hand glance.

"I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of sending the car away. It's such a warm night, and I thought it would be nice if we walk back to the Mishima Building. It would give us the chance to talk."

The way he said the last word sent warning bells ringing in Jun's head, but she decided it wiser not to turn down his proposal.

"All right. I just hope my high-heels don't give way."

He grinned at her, not even attempting to conceal it.

---

It was, as Lee had said, very warm outside that night. As they walked back to their destination, which was close, but not quite so close, Jun began to feel more at ease with the dubious setting. It was far from what she had even begun to imagine their night would have ended up like.

"Did you enjoy it?"

She half looked up at him, her dreamy frame of mind interrupted.

"What?"

"The dinner."

"Oh." She smiled mildly. "Yes. Of course I did."

"Good. I've planning it for quite a while."

The sentence allowed the mists in her mind to clear somewhat. She did not understand what he meant. She decided to voice her confusion.

"I don't understand you," she told him finally.

He looked down at her, his expression faintly amused.

"Is it so very important to you?"

She thought a moment, then nodded. He smiled slightly again.

"I thought so. You're that type of woman. The analytical type, the kind that must always have a logical reason for everything." She stared at him, hardly able to contain her astonishment at the accuracy of his statement. He saw the look and recognised it. "It was an educated guess," he explained, somewhat morosely.

Feeling puzzled at his sudden mood swing, Jun decided to say nothing more on the matter. She had been fairly used to the attentions of men during her career as an undercover agent, but Lee's attentions were more ambiguous and worrying. There was something he was not telling her, and all this talk about 'educated guesses' only fuelled her curiosity.

There were only a few blocks left to walk before they reached the Mishima Building, and Jun had managed to get used to the lull of the silence when suddenly Lee spoke again.

"Who sent you, Jun?"

Jun froze momentarily, but her legs kept walking. The soft resoluteness of his voice told her that he knew what he was talking about, and so she didn't have time to pretend. Her only option was to be calm and collected about it. She realised now that all this time she and Lee had been fencing with each other.

"You know who sent me," she replied after a moment, her voice low. "A successful Conglomerate like the Mishima must have access to every database in the world. I'm sure you could find out every mundane detail about me, if you wanted to."

His smile was wry.

"You're a smart girl, Jun."

She said nothing. She did not particularly appreciate the compliment in the present situation. In fact, she felt irritated. It was painfully obvious to her now what the whole wining and dining business had been about. Now all she wanted to do was kick herself for falling for it.

"But not as smart as you thought," she continued dismally. "Otherwise I would never have accepted your invitation tonight." She paused, then stared at him. "You're spying on me too, aren't you, Lee."

"Of course," he retorted calmly. "From the beginning it was clear to both me and my brother that you were an undercover agent."

"But then why haven't you dealt with me yet?" she asked him cautiously, although they both knew what she really meant to say.

"For some reason, my brother's interested in you," Lee frowned, as though he disliked that fact. "We've had people like you before, Jun, and they have all conveniently…disappeared, shall we say."

Jun took in the information with a mixture of anxiety and curiosity. She hardly understood why Lee should be talking to her so freely about all these things.

"Kazuya's interested in me?" she repeated.

"Yes." He nodded.

"But what happens when he's discovered or used whatever he's interested in?" she queried.

Lee stopped, turning to face her.

"I don't know. You're lucky you're not dead yet as it is, Jun."

"I don't understand," she breathed. "I don't understand any of this." She cast her mind back over the night she'd trespassed onto the uppermost floor, of the strange words she'd uttered to Kazuya and the odd strength that had coursed through her. Whatever part she had to play in Kazuya's game, one thing was certain – the game had already begun.

"The Conglomerate is not a thing that is easy to understand," Lee told her. "And its nucleus, the Mishima family itself, is the hardest of all to comprehend."

There was a catch in his voice, something she could not quite read.

"You sound as if you hate your family," she ventured, hoping he wouldn't take offence. He did not look surprised as he gazed at her.

"No, Jun. I owe the Mishima everything. I'd do anything for the Conglomerate."

"Anything?" she questioned, taken aback at the calm determination in his voice.

He did not answer for a moment, but looked pensive.

"It was a promise I made to Heihachi…He adopted me as his heir, you see. But somehow, it's different with Kazuya. I can't keep my promises to him."

"I know," she couldn't help herself from saying. "You hate each other."

He tried to hide his surprise at her words, but she could still see it in his eyes.

"I promised him I would not touch you," he said, and the smile on his face was self-deprecating. "But I broke that promise, didn't I."

She blushed. She couldn't help it, it managed to come anyway. He saw her embarrassment, smiled again, then turned to walk back towards the building. Jun followed, her legs weak. There was too much coded information to sift through in one go. She knew now that Lee had admitted in some fashion that what had happened between them two nights before had not entirely been an act on his part. In fact, Kazuya had forbidden him to do anything of the sort, so he'd had nothing to gain from the event. But Kazuya's face when he'd walked in on them, that look in his eyes, the rage, the fire… and something else. Disappointment? That was what bothered Jun more.

She remained quiet until they reached the Mishima Building. Once outside the entrance he stopped and turned to her.

"We shall have to meet again some time," he told her evenly, suavely.

"Yes," she replied, confused, yet gratified. "Thank you, Lee."

His eyes seemed to catch something behind her, but then he smiled again at her, and this time it was the same old, sardonic smile.

"It was my pleasure," he answered casually, then he bent forwards and kissed her, long and hard. When he pulled away there was a small grin on his face.

"Goodnight, Jun."

It was as he turned to leave that she noticed Kazuya in the hallway.

He'd been watching them both from behind the glass rotating doors.

Next: Lei uncovers the bizarre truth behind the kidnapping of Michelle's mother...