I don't own anything.

Detective Ikari

Chapter Twelve: Tricked

"In here." Spades toed the sliding door open and managed to stumble in without removing his hands from Amber's waist.

"Where are we?" Amber panted as her lips went to Spades' throat.

"My old homeroom," Spades answered as he kicked the door shut and pushed Amber up onto the vacant teacher's desk.

"Kinky," Amber commented as she wrapped a leg around his hips and drew him closer.

"Mm," Spades hummed as he nipped at her throat.

"Oh! We're doing this more often," Amber managed. "Maybe we should try a romantic relationship again."

"The last time nearly ended any kind of relationship," Spades pointed out as his hands went to the straps of her evening gown and tugged them down her arms. "We'll talk about this later."

"Right. Oh my God!"

"I was wondering where you were keeping that," Spades commented dryly as he tugged Amber's Black Window from the holster strapped to her inner thigh.

"A girl's got to have a little protection," Amber panted.

"Yeah."

"Hold still." Spades frowned as he felt his boss's hands run through his hair.

"What are you doing?"

"I hate your God damn hair style," Amber stated as she managed to comb most of the gel out. Spades frowned as he bangs flopped into his face. "Much better," Amber stated as she wiped her hands on the desk to get rid of the gel.

"You're an odd girl," Spades commented.

"And you're strait," Amber stated.

"Have we ever done this sober?" Amber pouted as he shot a hole in her logic yet again.

"Why can't you ever let me win?" she demanded.

"Because then you'd stop trying," Spades stated.

"Well, at most you're bi." A soft rattling sound filled the room and Spades whipped around as the door slid open. The man on the other side stared at them. Spades stared at the pistol in his hand.

"Uh. . ." the man managed brilliantly.

"Close the fucking door!" Amber snapped. "We're busy you pervert." That snapped him out of it.

"Shinji Ikari. You are to come with me."

"Give me a couple of minutes," Spades replied.

"Now," the man growled, leveling his gun. Spades scowled. He was in a rather awkward position, mainly because he was worried about what would happen if he tried to fire Amber's revolver. He could kill the man easily, but the risk to Amber wasn't acceptable.

"Well that's not very nice." The man's eyes widened and Spades saw his body stiffen. "Get in the room." The man stepped inside and Spades saw Yuuske standing behind him with a pistol pressed against the back of the man's skull. In a single fluid motion Yuuske raised his weapon and brought it down on the back of the man's skull.

"Where's Hikari?" Shinji asked.

"She's back at your table," Yuuske replied as he tucked his pistol into his suit coat. "I saw this guy following you, so I followed him." Yuuske turned to look at them and then a blush spread across his cheeks. He turned quickly and stared at the wall. "Make yourself decent!"

"Huh?"

"Chief," Spades began. It was then that Amber realized what was wrong and clamped her arms over her bare breasts.

"We can explain everything."

"I'm sure you can," Yuuske replied dryly. "You clothed yet?"

(:ii:)

"What's the plan?" Yuuske asked. Spades peered into the crowded auditorium and frowned.

"We have to get through all that to get to the exit," Spades replied. "You go find Hikari and make sure she gets to her hotel safe and sound."

"What about you?" Yuuske asked.

"I'll be fine," Spades replied as he tightened the bands holding his sleeves in position, namely out of his way. "They won't go for their weapons in such a crowded environment, would they?"

"They may, but I doubt they'll fire," Yuuske said. "Maybe mace. What about you?"

"I'm staying with Spades," Amber replied, adjusting Spades' coat around her thin frame. "He'll need some backup."

"Alright," Yuuske replied. "I'm not sure if they're going to go for a public apprehension or not, so stay on your toes."

"Right." Spades pushed the door open and stepped into the massive, crowded room. He pulled the brim of his fedora down over his eyes and started across the room. "You should go with Yuuske."

"I'm staying with you," Amber stated. "We'll get back to the hotel, pack our shit, and get the hell out of this country."

"Shinji Ikari!" Spades turned and saw a black-suited man moving towards him with something clenched in his outstretched hand. "You are under arrest!"

"Things are never that easy," Spades replied. He quickly realized what was in the man's hand, a can of mace. Spades struck fast, his foot connecting with the man's hand and sending the black canister flying. The man reached under his coat to grab something and Spades slammed the flat sole of his foot into the man's kneecap.

He went down screaming and Spades made sure he wouldn't get back up with a kick to the head. "Let's go!" Amber grabbed his hand and began dragging him through the suddenly motionless crowd. It was due to this unexpected movement that he never saw the second agent coming.

"Freeze!"

"Fuck." Spades managed as a pretty damn decent right hook connected with his face and he was knocked to the floor. He cradled his cheek and tried to get to his feet. He never got a chance as the man slammed his foot into Spades' ribs. He felt something give and the coppery taste of blood fill his mouth. He managed to grab the man's shin and shove his foot into the man's crotch. Not fair, but then again, life wasn't fair. The man crumpled to his knees and Spades shot to his feet. He landed another kick dead under his chin and knocked the man flat on his back.

"Cheap shot," Amber commented.

"It worked," Spades growled. His ribs were killing him. "Come on." He grabbed Amber by the arm and led her through the silent crowd towards the doors leading to the rest of the school. Unfortunately they were locked, fortunately they weren't very sturdy. Spades raised one foot and quickly opened both doors with a solid kick. "How the hell are we getting back to the hotel?"

"You can hotwire cars, right?" Amber demanded.

"Yeah." He looked around the empty entry hall and moved to the front door. It was locked. "Damn it." Spades raised a foot and slammed it into the glass door's frame. It burst open with the screech of wrenching steel just like the first.

"A little more stealth wouldn't kill you," Amber stated.

"It might," Spades growled. He edged his way out of the building and looked around. "Clear." He stepped outside and began to walk around the building. There would be plenty of cars to hotwire in the parking lot.

(:ii:)

Yuuske frowned and glanced down at the man crumpled at his feet. This was turning out to be such a bother. He kneeled and tugged the man's black mask off. "Hinkins!" His eyes fluttered open, but seemed unable to focus. 'Maybe I hit him too hard,' Yuuske wondered. "What are you doing here Hinkins?"

"We're here to capture Shinji Ikari," Hinkins answered dazedly. "What hit me?"

"I don't know," Yuuske stated. "Are you aware of the fact that you do not have the authority to arrest anyone?"

"I'm under direct orders from the top," Hinkins stated. Yuuske sighed and straightened up. So, Ikari was willing to risk everything with a direct order.

"How foolish." Yuuske pushed the sliding door open and stepped out into the hallway. With a paper trail there would be no escape for Ikari this time. NERV was going down.

(:ii:)

Spades peered around the corner and stared at the two men standing a few feet away. Neither was looking in his direction. He moved quickly and quietly. Neither knew he was there until he bashed their heads together and they slumped into sweet unconsciousness. "Clear." Amber stepped around the corner.

"Are they alive?"

"For the moment," Spades replied. "Commander Ikari has always struck me as the kind of man who shoots those who fail."

"Charming." Amber stepped over the two men and stared at the school parking lot. "Anything we should be looking for in general?"

"A hardtop with a V8," Spades stated. "Definitely a big trunk if we kill anyone."

"Do the Japanese have a lot of V8s?" Amber asked.

"No." Spades replied flatly. "Damn Jap traps."

"This again?"

"Yeah, this again." Spades peeked around the corner of the building to make sure there were no guards to sound the alarm when they made a break for the cars. There was one and he was armored from head to toe. "Shit." Spades leaned back into hiding and tugged off his tie.

"What's wrong?" Amber asked.

"Goon in armor," Spades stated flatly as he unbuttoned his collar and tugged the switchblade out of his pocket.

"That the only way?" Amber asked.

"Yeah," Spades replied as he thumbed the button on the side and peeked around the building again. The man's back was turned and Spades stepped out from behind the building.

'From behind, go for the kidneys,' Spades' inner killer instructed. It reconsidered as Spades inspected the man's body armor. 'Grab the brim of the helmet, pull back, slit,' it decided finally. That sounded fine to Spades. He closed the distance quickly and reached out, over the man's shoulder to grab the brim of his helmet. "Freeze Ikari!"

"What?" Spades' arm wrapped around the man's neck and he hauled him around to use as a human shield. What he saw stopped him in his tracks. Five NERV agents, one had a pistol pressed against Amber's head.

"Drop the knife." Spades stared at them and felt something hot and dark boiling up in him.

"Fucking cowards," Spades hissed.

"Drop the knife or I'll blow her fucking head off!" the man spat. Spades held his right hand out and let the knife drop, still holding his shield tightly. He dropped his hand back to his side and used the shield to hide his movements as he went for his snubbie.

"Five."

"What?" the man demanded.

"Five of you," Spades stated louder. "I'll have one left for this guy." Then he tugged his snubbie out and fired.

(:ii:)

Amber's legs gave out from under her as her captor let go and she fell on her ass. . .hard. "You okay?"

"Fucking perfect," she managed. She was about to piss herself. Let Spades be the one to break arms when someone had a gun to his head, she'd much rather just sit down and think about all the things she always wanted to do and had never gotten around to doing. Another gunshot went off, followed by the sound of a body hitting the ground. Seconds later a strong hand wrapped around her arm and tugged her to her feet.

"We have to go now," Spades stated.

"Yeah," Amber replied as she hugged his coat tighter around herself and leaned against him. "Nice shooting."

"Thank you." Spades began leading them towards the vehicles.

"Ikari." Spades whipped around and nearly sent Amber tumbling to the ground. She managed to find her center of balance and turned to stare at the blue-haired woman who had called Spades' name.

"Ayanami," Spades replied coldly. "Forgive us for being brief. We're in a hurry."

"Why won't you talk to the Commander?" the blue-haired woman asked.

"Because I don't give a shit about what he has to say," Spades replied. "As soon as a few friends of mine hear about this attack you can be sure that your precious commander will be quite jobless." Suddenly Amber felt Spades' entire body stiffen and he tumbled to the ground.

"Spades!" She kneeled and stared down at the dazed man. "Spades?" She felt a hand creep between her legs and nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Quiet," Spades hissed. "Fucking tazer." She felt his fingers wrap around her revolver's handle and tug it loose. The silence of the parking lot was again broken by the loud crack of gunshots. Amber glanced over her shoulder and stared at the black suited man as he fell to the pavement. Then she turned back to Spades. "Don't look at me," the man grunted as he sat up and thrust her weapon into her hand, "that was the first time for me too."

"Oh." She stood as well as watched as Spades scooped up his snubby. He turned to look at the blue-haired woman.

"Nice diversion Ayanami. I never saw it coming." He raised his snubby and smiled pleasantly. "Goodbye." Then there was another gunshot and Amber watched as blood blossomed on Spades' white shirt.

(:ii:)

Spades was very close to seeing red, metaphorically speaking of course. That fucker had shot him. He watched as his precious snubby fell from his numb fingers and smacked into the ground again. Okay, now Spades was seeing red. He turned to face this new threat. "Alright asshole!" the new NERV agent spat. He sounded mad. Spades glanced at the other NERV agents and wondered why.

"Anything intelligent to say for your last words?" Spades demanded.

"What?" the man snapped.

"Good enough." Spades moved. Way back in college he had been quite fast as a boxer. That speed had only gotten better when he had started entering IPSC shooting competitions. As far as he knew, no one had his quick draw beat.

Spades drew the tiny 9mm semi from the small of his back and whipped it up with blurring speed. 'Draw fast, bare fare, aim slow, shoot slow,' Spades mind chanted. By the time his mantra was over his finger was already squeezing the trigger. It was so quick that the man's eyes hadn't even had a chance to widen before the one hundred and ten-grain jacketed soft point bullet impacted directly with his sternum. Spades' follow up shot, a habit he had with 9mm pistols, impacted mere centimeters from the first. The NERV man crashed to the ground and didn't move. "Nice shooting."

"Thanks," Spades grunted. He was feeling a little light headed. He glanced at his right arm and frowned. 'Damn that's a lot of blood.' Then he was staring at the barely visible stars overhead. When had he fallen?

(:ii:)

"Hang on Spades." Amber sighed in relief as she heard sirens growing steadily louder. "Help's on the way."

"I'm fine." Spades voice was a spaced out whisper.

"You might die from blood loss," Amber commented gently. 'Ugh, men and machismo. They'd all be dead if women weren't there to help.' The ambulance streaked into the parking lot and Amber waved them over. It screeched to a halt and two paramedic and driver bounded out quickly. They grabbed a gurney and rushed towards them. With professional ease they lifted Spades' large prone form onto the gurney. The blond-haired woman turned to look at Amber.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Amber replied.

"Does he have an allergies to medications or anything else we should know about?" the woman asked.

"No." Amber was fairly up-to-date on the health of her employees. Spades was a picture of perfect health. Well, perfect health with deteriorating lungs and kidneys. "I want to go with him."

"I think you should wait for the police ma'am," the woman stated. "They're going to want answers."

"Right. Where are you taking him?"

"Tokyo-3 hospital," the woman stated. She turned helped her partner wheel the gurney back to the ambulance. They slid Spades in and she climbed in after him. The door slammed and the large white vehicle peeled out, sirens wailing and lights flashing. It was only after they were gone that Amber heard another steadily increasing wail. Another ambulance pulled into the parking lot. It screeched to a halt and the paramedics climbed out.

"We were told there was a shooting around here ma'am," one of them stated.

"Another ambulance already came and picked up the only survivor," Amber explained. The lead paramedic frowned and turned to his partner. The other man shrugged.

"We were the closest ambulance ma'am," he stated.

"But they were just here," Amber replied. The paramedic jogged back to the ambulance and spoke to the driver for a minute. He came back with an even more worried face.

"No ambulance picked up a wounded man at this location," he stated.

"Then where's my friend?" Amber demanded.

"I don't know."

(:ii:)

Ritsuko Akagi stared down at the dark-haired man strapped to the gurney and frowned. "How's he doing Doctor Akagi?" the driver asked.

"Those Section-2 assholes did a number of him," Ritsuko stated, inspecting his bruised face.

"Well he did a number on them."

"Yeah," Ritsuko agreed. 'Never would have expected that from Shinji of all people.'

-End

(:ii:)

-Author's notes. And thus Spades is captured. NERV will come to rue this day. Note: for the time this story is the only one I'll be updating till the arch ends. Then I'll update others.