The Whisperer
Disclaimer:"…"
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-Chapter 38-
"The beacon is working properly. When we send the information we should get some desired results." The grey haired man sat with his chair turned from the desk. Another man sat before him on the other end.
"You mean the one sent to the southern end of Japan. Sousuke was so busy fighting he didn't notice anything after he left. The stupid thing was put in without anyone noticing. The next day on the news was just the locals talking about arm-slaves."
The man with the goggles on his head had been the one to inform Sousuke of the occurrence.
"Well if this works we'll be able to progress faster. On another note how are you doing Travis?" Schneider finally turned the chair to face him. He had given the old man a break for a few days. In that time he returned to America and the birthplace of the children in North Carolina and gave them at least markers right next to the grave of their parents. His son was the father while the wife was his daughter in law but he loved them both equally. He took care of the children when they passed away. He left flowers on all four graves. He had a scar on his heart so deep he could never remove it. He had stayed in the house a few days by himself before returning to the Origin base.
"I'm fine. Stayed at home for a couple of days you know. Buried them right next to their parents. I'm going to miss the little devils."
"Well actually we have footage from the tunnels. We have exactly what happened on camera. He was able to stay stealthy inside the facility but gave little care to that once he engaged in combat. Perhaps you would like to watch them."
Travis nodded. Schneider pulled out a remote. Pressing a button the wall opened up revealing a large TV screen. He didn't wait as he pressed play. They sat through the whole battle. The audio was not very well because of the location and the cameras were high up making it hard to determine everything perfectly but they at least saw everything. Travis squeezed the grips of the chair near the end. He watched wide-eyed as Chris was so coldly torn apart by the bullet. His granddaughter as well left there to die. He couldn't take his eyes off the source of his pain. The blood covered young man stood and acted as if what he'd done was nothing but a simple task. His allies seemed angry but he continued as if nothing had mattered. When the arm-slaves escaped he turned off the video.
"Once again I'm sorry. I did not suspect Sagara of such cold actions."
Travis stood up. "Forget it. I didn't think the kid would do that either. I'll see you later Schneider." With that he turned and left the room closing the door with considerably more force than usual.
"Now I wonder what he'll be up to."
A beep sounded from a small device on his desk.
"Master Schneider." A female voice spoke over a small intercom.
"Yes."
"You have some business in the research room. It has to do with the final pieces of collected information from the destroyed base."
"Excellent. I'll be there shortly." Schneider rose from his chair. He closed the TV screen off and walked out the door. Perhaps something good would be happening today.
--
-Tuatha De Danaan-
Four people sat in a single room aboard the submarine. The room was the best on it though. Mao, Kurz, and Tessa sat together each with a preferred beverage in hand, and of course Mao with a cigarette. Sousuke sat across from them asking for nothing.
"Well we can't lawfully accuse you and toss you in the holding cell or anything. You didn't do anything wrong, technically." Kurz said as he took another drink of his beer. He received a hit on the head spilling some of it.
"What do you mean he didn't do anything wrong? He killed two innocent kids. I almost strangled him the way he was acting." Mao made sure to glare at the young man across from her.
"Calm down. Sagara has not done anything here to receive such treatment but if necessary because he is no longer a member of Mithril we can place him in a holding cell while waiting aboard the sub. Also we are trying to keep this as low profile as possible. We do not need a large amount of people on this sub knowing what happened. They were his enemies and from the story they attacked him first." Tessa said as she took a sip of her tea.
"What in the hell is wrong with you two. The battle was over." Mao said crushing one can of beer and opening another.
"Negative the child attacked me ag…" Sousuke stopped when the crushed empty can collided with his head.
"The battle was over." Mao said before taking a large drink.
Kurz looked seriously at Sousuke. A look of disappointment on his features.
"She's right Sousuke you didn't have to kill the kids."
"As said before they were my enemies and we had engaged in combat. I gave them a chance earlier."
Tessa, Mao, and Kurz were now getting increasingly angry. They had tried staying calm most of the time Mao doing the worst.
"Can you at least show some remorse?" Mao said stomping over to him.
"Nega-"Mao slapped him before he finished. Sousuke turned back to her his expression a bit colder than before.
"They were my enemies. Would you have preferred me killed? I gave them a chance. If you remember Kurz, and I fought in Lebanon years ago just before joining Mithril. Though we were unaware of it would you blame us if one of us had injured the other because we are now all allies? Many unfortunate circumstances are involved in battle. People cannot be blamed for every action. I did what I felt was necessary."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Mao gripped his collar.
"You know I was right about that argument." Kurz added. They had been arguing it before when Mao explained to them they had fought in Lebanon.
Tessa glared at Kurz a moment before turning her attention to Sousuke. She took a moment. She had trouble she may not have cried but she did spill tears watching the footage retrieved from the arm-slaves. Only she, Kurz, Mao, and Lieutenant Commander Mardukas saw it.
"Sousuke what you did was wrong. We are not planning on putting you under arrest or punishing you. As said we do not want to punish you lawfully, but morally and emotionally we want something from you. You need to understand." Tessa looked at him firmly hoping to get something.
Sousuke matched her gaze. "It is unfortunate but necessary. If I have remorse or regret then that may cause my failure in the future."
"Woo, and I thought being around Kaname would make you a nicer guy. Unless you're really just angry you're not getting laid." Kurz remark did not go unpunished as a rubber bullet knocked him out of the chair he was in. He got back up rubbing his head.
"Sagara! You are not to shoot anybody aboard this vessel. Whether you are a part of Mithril or not, which in this case you are not you can be put in holding for attacking another." Tessa was angrier about it than Kurz.
Mao got an idea from what Kurz had said.
"What if Kaname knew you'd done that? How do you think she would react?"
Sousuke's flinch did not go unnoticed.
"It's not a problem. I have been in a similar situation with Chidori before. Though she asks me not to be used to such horrified looks or attitudes I am used to it, and that I cannot change."
Mao sighed and went back to her chair. The three began whispering amongst themselves.
Sousuke suddenly realized he had wanted to ask a question.
"Excuse me. But how did you know to come to the island base?" He asked curious to the answer.
"Your friends called us. They said it may be serious and you would need back up so they called and we came." Kurz said doing a thumbs up. Sousuke nodded. He wondered what the crew of the Mahrae could be doing now.
"Speaking of which, they needed our help so we helped out underwater as well. Their ship is really good but it was no match for so many enemy vessels. I'm surprised and curious at its interesting design." Tessa said.
"If I am a burden you can always drop me off. I'm afraid Mardukas's wish to launch me out of torpedo tube has been taken from him."
The three in front of him started laughing. He only raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"Is something amusing?"
"You just made a joke Sousuke!" Mao said holding her side.
"I had no intention to. I was completely serious. It was necessary for the-"
"We know, we know." Mao and the others continued laughing a few more seconds then finally stopped to catch their breath. Sousuke started to sweat when their faces instantly turned hard and locked on him.
"We cannot forget the subject. What you did was serious, and the way you are reacting to it is bad." Tessa pointed her finger at him like she was scolding a child.
"But I am rational and fit for action. I believe I am reacting quite well. You are all trained for this. If anything you are reacting poorly." He replied in all seriousness.
Kurz and Mao sighed not being able to figure out what to do with their young soldier.
The three regrouped again. While he had a point he was not completely right. Though trying to convince him was becoming fruitless and most of their anger was becoming exhaustion.
Sousuke rose from his seat and headed for the door.
"Where are you going?" Mao called stopping him.
"I should not stay on this sub long. Though it may inconvenience you I need to go as soon as possible. I have more business."
"Shouldn't you rest you just almost died." Kurz said.
"Negative I have a mission I have to complete. I cannot stop for long." He said before going out the door.
The three looked at each other before each rising and heading for the same door.
Sousuke sighed as he walked down the hallway. The submarine had not changed at all. The shower earlier to wash off the blood had done him good. But it also gave him time to think. He was missing something. He hadn't felt this feeling in a long time. Or about a month or so actually. He had a feeling of longing like something was missing. He did not understand why or how he had this feeling but knew what caused it. It was one of the difficult things he had to deal with since becoming more human as some of the people he worked with and went to school put it. Though she would have preferred a few more changes, she was satisfied with him as is. In fact she was amused at how he wouldn't change. He walked down the halls nodding to any new or old member that acknowledged him. He sighed as he walked down the halls. The island he had infiltrated had been a decoy. He should have guessed considering it was once a base he used. They had expected him and set up a trap but because of his enemies lack of skill they failed. Now he would need to figure out another way to find another base. He would need to get a look at the information he collected. Letting Mithril see it was not a bad idea but if they became involved it may complicate things unless they were willing to listen. He would need to be careful with a lot of moves he would be making. He heard of Mithril's new alliance. The mostly gave Mithril technology which was being used on Merida island and Mithril is helping S.O.W. in their own way. Being a non-whispered base organization had disadvantages but this alliance could help fix that and he suspected that was the real reason. He walked aimlessly through the sub. Since he had nothing to do he once again went back to Kaname. She was perhaps the one person he had ever really missed. He tried to push the thoughts out of his head. Now was not the time to be worrying about that. She was obviously entertained since she hadn't called. Of course that could also mean something happened. Kaname tended to call him even if he was on a mission.
Sousuke pulled out his cell phone and dialed her number. It rang all the way to the message. He waited for her recorded message to finish. Beep!
"Chidori if you are ok please call me… Sagara Sousuke."
He called again after this time not waiting for the recorded message to finish he dialed one more time before giving up. He decided to call another number. After three rings someone answered.
"Hello." A teenage female answered.
"Tokiwa this is Sagara have you seen Chidori?" Sousuke voice was a bit more frantic then he would have liked.
"No… I haven't seen her since school ended and the party. I thought you two may have gone on a trip." Tokiwa said starting to sound worried.
"This is not good. I have called her three times just now and she hasn't answered. Would you please head over to her apartment and check it out. Please be careful a trap may be set up." Sousuke had gained a little more control over himself. He would feel responsible if something happened to Kaname…again.
"Ok I'll call when I get there." Kyoko hung up.
Sousuke pocketed his phone. He stood a moment trying to calm himself. He should have learned from leaving the first time. He wouldn't tell anybody not until he was sure something happened but if Kyoko didn't know about her whereabouts he was sure something had to have happened. He would need to get back to Tokyo as soon as possible and even in the Tuatha de Danaan he was about one or two days away.
His equipment was stored in a secure lockbox. He would need to get those before he left. Tessa was most likely on the bridge by now, and Kurz and Mao could be anywhere.
'If they were angry then...' Sousuke started walking towards the bar.
--
-Prison Rooms-
Leonard sat in the room patiently. Kaname was in the bathroom taking a warm shower. He had actually stayed in the room without leaving for the past two days. Kaname also was not removed at any time. They had spent the past two days trying to get at each other. Seeing who could pry more information from the other or annoy them more. Leonard had also been trying a bit more to get on Kaname's good side. Though she hadn't forgiven him for what he did when it was mentioned she did not get so angry. Leonard still hadn't learned the secret of the Bonta-kun, and Kaname was still unsure of exactly why Leonard would leave so much.
A camera watched Leonard as he sat watching the news. Another man sat in front of a screen showing Leonard. Other members female and male sat around and beside him.
"How long do you think we must do this?" one of the male members spoke.
"Well he has to stay there he is a prisoner but he may work for us. There are just complications involved with getting his cooperation. We have considered certain things but only certain steps can be taken." A female spoke.
"He was once a leader if not the leader of the organization Amalgam. He has to be resourceful to be so successful. His only problem was the problem we are having now."
Another female spoke.
"Well yes but with Sagara we have serious complications. We have been progressing excellently though." Another man spoke this time.
"Our spy has also given us information on Mithril and that other organization S.O.W. It seems they are making a joint effort. This will make achieving our goal harder. They were also involved with the island incident. It seems they sent two arm-slaves to the island. They destroyed a number of our arm-slaves then escaped the island with Sagara. As well as that information we gained some experiment information which master Schneider is looking over now."
"Yes well we cannot keep playing games for very long. We are fast approaching a critical point in production, and we our enemies are becoming more of a problem everyday. Mithril is a military anti-terrorist organization. They have mercenaries working for them making them easy to betray for a good enough price. Before they had minimal amounts of whispered technology but they have recently been getting a large amount of it from S.O.W. They have also been making breakthroughs without the use of whispered technology. We still can't get some of our technology to work. There are theories as to why and how but we haven't been getting very far in getting it to work. We have been unlocking extensive amount of black technology that isn't easily attainable. The Raziel project was a success allowing us to progress in other areas." The first woman spoke again.
"Yes the Raziel project went well except for the destruction of two of them. The enemy had hold of powerful weapons. We have no knowledge on the arm-slaves except the name ARX-9 from our spy, and that they have a good amount of these arm-slaves. How many we are not sure but they will need further study. Where ever they came from we will need to find out. He can't get any further information and is lacking in using it and the lambda driver. A message said the machine had unlimited potential. Perhaps we should stage an event that will catch their attention and when he is sent out we bring him back with the machine so we can examine it. Of course previous encounters with the ARX-7 the machine was defeated by Leonard as the pilot of Belial which was destroyed about two months ago. He had an extra machine called Verial to test accepting him into the Mithril Urzu team but that did not go well. They limited his use in action. Also the SRT of Mithril has been restocked. They have a full team from Urzu 1 to Urzu 10. Only Urzu 1, 2, 6, are all confirmed former members. Other members quit or died. Spake or Urzu 8 was assumed dead in an Amalgam assault against Merida island base. He returned recently apparently having been saved at sea and was lucky in his rejoining Mithril. At least that is what they believe. Urzu 9 is the first enlisted new member. You will all be given papers telling you a little about each." A man stood up and began passing out papers. "These are not completely important you can look at them or throw them away it doesn't matter."
The group each quickly scanned over the papers in silence except for a few comments on appearances and information.
Conversations continued between the small group most of it touching deeper into some earlier subjects. About ten minutes later many eyes turned back to the screen. Many of the men watched as the attractive young female Leonard was so lucky to be captive with came out of the bathroom. Her hair was still somewhat damp explaining the towel on her head and so were the clothes making them somewhat clingy. The females in the room noticed the gawking of most of the men while others were more respectful or really had no interest. It still came down to a lot of screaming in that small room.
"Feeling better?" Leonard asked as Kaname approached.
"Yes much better. It's your turn now." She said while looking at him one eye covered by the towel.
"I will wait. One should not shower immediately after the other." Leonard smiled and turned his attention back to the TV screen.
"What's on?" Kaname asked in a bored tone.
"Today is nothing but reruns. You will have to wait until tomorrow for new episodes." He said starting to flip through channels.
"Oh." She said sitting next to him.
"So how bad is it being in here?" He asked looking at her from the corner of his eye.
"Terrible. I even…never mind." She said as she let her head lean back,
"You even what? I'm curious."
"It's not important."
"Please."
Kaname took a deep breath. "Fine. Except for the fact that I hated being there and I was more worried about Sousuke and my friends, your place was better than this. But don't let it go to your head or anything."
"Don't worry it won't." Leonard smirked but Kaname did not notice. "What do you think Sagara is doing now?" He asked turning to face her.
"He is probably off blowing something up, or shooting somebody."
Leonard noticed her expression change to one of disappointment and worry.
"He knows you don't like it but he does it anyway?"
Kaname only nodded. No matter how much she cared for him that was not something she approved of.
"But it's ok. He has to do it." Kaname tried to force a smile but failed.
"He does not have to do that. While yes people do get hurt he does not need to be so barbaric about. He does not have to hurt you." Leonard's expression was serious and somewhat angry.
"You did kind of the same thing too. You were worse about it than him. At least he acknowledged it. You had others do it then acted like it was nothing."
"I'm sorry." He answered quickly.
"What?" Kaname turned to him surprised.
"You are right and I apologize for what I have done." Leonard looked at her seriously. Kaname swallowed. She blushed then looked away. She closed her eyes then turned back to him opening her eyes again.
"That doesn't make it better. Don't think I haven't figured out that you're trying to suck up to me in here. Yes you can be kind and courteous but your taking it a little far in here."
Leonard chuckled lightly.
"You really are interesting. Most girls would love having a man be kind and courteous all the time but it annoys you apparently."
"When I know the guy. Hmmphf!" Kaname crossed her arms over he chest.
"You are a very intelligent girl."
"And don't you forget it!"
--
-Tuatha de Danaan-
He was right. When he reached the bar area Kurz and Melissa were sharing drinks. Clouzot was with them his usual glass of water in his hand. He noticed the bar was line up with a group of people. This was unusual. Sousuke walked up the Kurz, and Melissa.
"Sousuke…" Kurz greeted him with a pat on the back. "Here to apologize."
"Negative."
Suddenly a glass was slammed down in front of him. "Drink!" Melissa ordered Sousuke who was confused at this point.
"But Mao I do not drink."
"DRINK DAMMIT! That's an order!" Sousuke quickly took up the glass and drank. While not pleasing the flavor was not so bad that he would spit it out. He guessed people didn't drink beer for the flavor.
"Now you're forgiven. Sit down. I wanna introduce you to the rest of the Urzu team. This is the first time we all drink together and probably the last time."
The group at the counter all turned to him. Sousuke was greeted by young and old alike but they were all older then him. A black haired Cantonese woman had taken up Urzu 7.
He really had no interest in meeting them his mind still on possible trouble. After a brief chat with the group his phone finally rang. He answered it but could hardly hear so he exited the room.
"Sagara speaking."
"Sousuke…" Kyoko was on the other end.
"Yes."
"Something bad happened. Kaname's apartment was unlocked and her place is trashed. I think something happened."
Sousuke took a moment to swallow instantly thinking the worst.
"Can you tell me anything else?"
"The glass to her balcony is shattered and there's…blood."
Sousuke's throat caught negating his ability to swallow. He lost sight of reality for a moment as fear took over him. 'Be rational!'
"How much blood?"
"Not a lot." Kyoko said as she stepped around and over glass.
"I will need to return to investigate it myself. Please make sure no one enters it not even police."
"But why not the cops?" Kyoko's voice was a little high.
"This may be too serious for them." Sousuke started walking.
"I hope she's okay."
"Me too Tokiwa. Right now I have to call someone else. I will speak to you shortly."
"Ok. I'll lock up the apartment. Bye."
"Excellent. Goodbye." Sousuke hung up then began dialing another number.
"Nicholas."
"Yeah."
"I assume your condition is well."
"Yeah we got out alright. We need to fix some things but we're good. Those enemy subs weren't too hard but your buddies were helpful."
"Good. I am heading to the bridge now. I will inform you what we do next."
"You got it."
Sousuke hung up the phone and hurried to the bridge.
--