Author's Note:
Much apologizings for the delay in updating! Authoress has been very busy with
family reunioning and other such time-consuming activities. But I'm back now
with another chapter! I've written it rather quickly and without much revision,
so I hope it's not too rough. I may have to repost it if I reread it tomorrow
and find a ton of mistakes . . . but I hate making people wait any longer for
new stuff since I hate waiting!
We get a lot of different points of view in this chapter, including someone's
perspective we haven't had the pleasure of seeing from yet. :) Also, those of
you who've been reading my author's notes might recall my mention of La Femme
Nikita in an earlier chapter. Let's just say, I felt inspired to put a little
bit of my thoughts on that subject into this chapter. No, it's not a new
crossover. Just another fit of quirkiness brought on by watching a few random
first season Nikita episodes this week.
Also, in case anyone's interested, I've found my ideas about magic influenced
by C.J. Cherryh, her series of books that starts with Fortress in the Eye of
Time in particular. She has an interesting take on magic. She makes
a distinction between magic which relies on the powers of nature and must work
within the ebb and flow of the natural world, and magic which comes naturally
or inherently within a person and works through one's desires and wishes. If
you haven't read any of her books, I would highly recommend them. I have used
the idea of the first kind of magic in my story.
Anyway, moving on . . .
Chapter 15
Consequences
Karasuma sighed in frustration as she leaned against the partition between the Chief's workspace and the rest of the office, lazily stirring her coffee. She had come in early this morning after waking from a fitful night of sleep, deciding she would rather survive on less sleep than continue to suffer through nightmares which left her feeling more exhausted than if she hadn't gotten any sleep at all. Unfortunately, the lack of sleep did little for her mood, and she had already snapped at Michael more times than he deserved; Michael, being the only other unfortunate soul in the office at this early hour had been forced to suffer the brunt of her irritability. Distracting herself, she'd wandered off to make some coffee, but no sooner had she headed back toward her desk than the elevator opened and Amon appeared, marching swiftly across the office with a dark, brooding expression. Amon's forecast for the day: dark and brooding--what a surprise.
"You're here early than I expected, Amon," she commented casually, knowing her words would tempt his ire because of her complicity in Robin's actions the night before, yet finding she didn't really care if he lost his temper with her. In fact, she found her restless night had put her in the mood for an argument. "Are you feeling better today?" she asked pleasantly. She thought she caught Michael glance between the two of them and roll his eyes as he continued his perpetual tapping on the keyboard of his computer.
Amon tossed an expressionless glance at her before removing his coat and placing it over the back of his chair, the lack of expression on his face clearly artificially constructed. "I'm fine. I thought I would take the time to catch up on any case developments I've missed." He pursed his lips. "That is, of course, assuming the investigation has continued to progress during my absence."
Pushing herself away from the wall, she laughed softly. "A little full of ourself, aren't we? I hate to upset your vision of the world, but we don't stop working when you're not here." She crossed the room to her desk, feeling his eyes following her. She couldn't hold back a smirk at her own audacity as she added pointedly, "All the attention you've been getting lately must be going to your head."
"Little of it's been wanted, "he retorted coldly.
"Is that so?" She turned to face him, sitting down on the edge of her desk and crossing her arms over her chest. "So, some of it was wanted, then? Which part, I wonder?" Though Michael had his back to them, Karasuma could almost see him pricking his ears as they argued, curiosity getting the better of him. She decided to use his prying ears against Amon, knowing how little Amon liked for anyone to know his personal business. Carefully, knowing she was pushing her luck, she commented, "I noticed you didn't turn her away, after all. I waited for longer than was necessary, but she never came back down. So, I can't help but wonder just how long--"
Glancing at Michael, and then back at her with narrowed eyes, Amon interrupted her before she could say more. "She spent the night in her own bed, if that's what you're implying. Alone." The sarcasm in his voice was deadly and the disgust in his eyes made her almost regret pushing him. "Or perhaps you were afraid she spent the night at the Factory with an orbo bullet in her back." Karasuma's mouth opened in outrage, though she had to admit some small part of her had considered both the possibilities he suggested. He continued before she could formulate a response. "She didn't need any encouragement, Karasuma, and the decision whether to continue ignoring her infatuation or to acknowledge it was mine to make, not yours. You forced my decision in a less than ideal situation."
He was correct. She had realized beforehand that Robin's visit would probably force Amon to deal with the dilemma of her crush, but, in her opinion, he had delayed the inevitable long enough. Ignoring the problem wouldn't make it go away. Still, pushing him into making such a decision when he was exhausted both physically and emotionally may not have been the wisest decision. Angry with her foolishness in provoking him as much as she was annoyed with him, Karasuma looked away from his penetrating gaze, noting Michael was no longer bothering to hide his interest, looking over his shoulder at Amon inquisitively. "I'm sorry, Amon," she said finally. "But you, of all people, should know how she can be. She's damn hard to say no to when she's determined."
"Yes, she is," he replied in a harsh whisper. "But I said no."
Karasuma felt relief at hearing the result of his decision mixed with pity for the pain it had undoubtedly caused Robin. She suspected he felt much the same way judging by the remorse she could see hiding behind the anger in his eyes. Nodding, she said softly, "It's for the best, Amon. She'll understand eventually." Amon seemed surprised by her response; he had clearly misunderstood her to be a champion of Robin's cause.
"Why?" Michael demanded suddenly, anger coloring his cheeks a shade of red beneath the purple of his bruise. "Why did you say no to Robin?" He followed the conversation rather well considering its ambiguity, Karasuma mused, though she was, in fact, surprised by Michael's reaction. She would have expected the hacker to be relieved by Amon's decision since it left Robin available to pursue other interests--interest he surely hoped he was among.
Amon glanced at Michael before replying brusquely, "I already explained the situation to you last night, Michael. I'm not going to repeat myself." Without another word, he turned to face his computer and slid down into his chair.
Before Karasuma could even fully register the oddity of the fact Amon had obviously confided in Michael previously, she heard the elevator open and turned to see the subject of their conversation walk into the room. Surprisingly, Robin looked fairly well rested and in better spirits than Karasuma had expected.
"Good morning," Robin intoned in her gentle half-whisper with a quiet smile, shifting her grip on the leather jacket she was carrying draped over one arm. Karasuma looked more closely at the odd burden. Robin was already wearing her usual burgundy coat. What was the jacket for?
"Morning," Michael managed in response, his voice slightly raw.
Karasuma smiled sympathetically at the craft user when she noticed Robin's eyes avoid Michael's and glance furtively at Amon. "Would you like some coffee, Robin?"
"Yes. Thank you, Karasuma-san."
Karasuma started heading for the kitchen, but stopped when she noticed Robin had taken a detour in the direction of Amon's desk. Oh no. Pausing awkwardly beside Amon, Robin placed the folded jacket on the desk beside him hesitantly. Amon glanced up at her out of the corner of his eye, his expression carefully impassive. "I wanted to return this," she murmured. Their gazes locked for a few moments and Karasuma was compelled to look away, feeling as if she were intruding somehow simply by watching the two of them exchange such an emotionally charged look. Before she followed the impulse though, Amon turned away suddenly with only a slight nod to acknowledge Robin's statement. Hmm . . . I wonder how quickly and how completely he said no. He tries to maintain his cold exterior, but it's easy to see how much the effort's costing him by that look in his eyes.
Smiling bravely, Robin straightened, turning to Michael and asking politely, "Would you like some coffee, Michael?"
Looking up at her in surprise, Michael smiled. "Sure! Thanks. You're so thoughtful, Robin. Karasuma-san never offered me any."
"That's because you turned your nose up at my coffee-making skills. I seem to recall something to the effect of, 'You always make your coffee so weak,' and 'Robin always makes the best coffee.'"
Blushing furiously, Michael stammered, "That's not what I said--"
"Don't worry, Michael. I'll make sure Robin makes your cup for you." She smiled at Robin and noticed Amon glaring covertly at the girl's back. Suspecting the reason, she inquired, "Amon, did you want any coffee?" Robin's mouth dropped open slightly and her posture stiffened; she must not have noticed her failure to include him after all, though Karasuma had assumed his exclusion was intentional.
"No. Thank you." He had already returned his attention to his computer screen by the time Robin glanced back at him.
"Come on, Robin. Refill girl duty." When they were out of earshot, Karasuma confided, "I'm glad to see you survived last night's mischief. I was worried about you, and Amon is less than generous in sharing information."
"He certainly is," Robin agreed. "But I must admit I'm not so eager to talk about it myself." Then, smiling up at Karasuma quickly, she added, "But there's nothing to worry about. Everything's fine."
"I'm glad to hear that." She's being exceptionally strong--though I don't know why I'm surprised by her strength. She's proven in the past that she's stronger than she looks. Karasuma's gaze wandered back to the other side of the office when she heard Sakaki's voice greeting Michael and Amon. She frowned when she noticed the young hunter looked as if he had barely slept at all. Her grip tightened on her coffee cup. She was going to have to find a way to confiscate those video games of his.
Robin's voice caught her attention again. "I hope Amon wasn't angry with you for helping me."
Looking down at her with a reassuring smile, she answered, "I can certainly handle his anger. He's not nearly as frightening as he thinks he is."
"Everyone into the briefing room now," Zaizen's voice boomed suddenly from across the room, startling them both. "We have important business to discuss."
"Now Zaizen's anger, on the other hand, is a little frightening . . ." Karasuma muttered as she watched Zaizen stalk into the briefing room, his anger hanging over them like an ominously dark cloud as he went. Glancing back at Robin, she added, "We'd better get going."
------
Yawning, Doujima wandered into the STN-J office, only to find it unoccupied. Looking around curiously as she slipped off her green-tinted plastic sunglasses, she noted various signs of her coworkers' recent presence, including coats and half-empty coffee cups. Putting a hand on one hip, she turned around slowly in a circle, disappointed no one was here to witness her stylish entrance or her brand new outfit. She glanced down at her short army green cargo skirt and matching camouflage shirt with a swooped neckline and cap sleeves, deciding she would simply have to admire herself if no one else was around to do so. Smiling, she pulled off her white pleather jacket with a flourish and tossed it on her chair. She was feeling very "la femme Nikita" today. Sakaki may have been the only STN-J member with a fanatical video game obsession, but he certainly was not the only one with a fanatical obsession. Doujima had a few of her own; fashion was one of them; American TV shows from the nineties was another.
Just as she was about to whip out her orbo gun dramatically and pose with it pointed at the window as if she had just caught sight of someone spying on her, she perceived voices coming from the briefing room. Then a familiar voice bellowed from directly behind her, "Doujima-kun!"
Grimacing, Doujima turned to face Chief Kosaka's irate expression. "How's your mother doing, Chief?" she asked sweetly with a pasted on smile.
"Better than you'll be doing if you continue with your irresponsible behavior! Do you even know the meaning of arriving at work on time?!" A vein throbbed on his forehead and Doujima began backing away slowly.
"I should probably be getting in there for the meeting," she said quickly as she turned and all but ran for the briefing room; not a very Nikita-like exit, but she was willing to sacrifice coolness in order to avoid one of the chief's rants.
"We'll be having a little chat afterwards" Kosaka shouted after her.
Slipping into the darkened meeting room, Doujima ignored the glare she got from Zaizen as she sat down quietly in the vacant spot beside Robin. If she was Nikita today, Zaizen was definitely Operations, and she didn't want to piss him off too much. "As I was saying, "Zaizen continued, his voice sharp with an edge of disapproval, "this witch needs to be found and stopped as soon as possible. From headquarters' projections, her power will be at its peak in two days; she will attempt to break the seal then, at that moment when all the elements of nature are aligned in her favor. Beyond that moment, the potential of her power will wane and it will be impossible for her to obtain the necessary strength to open the door until the cycles have turned again." As Zaizen began pacing around the room slowly, Doujima propped her arm up on the table and dropped her chin in her palm with a sigh, only half-listening to his lecture.
Gazing around the room, she assessed her companions' expressions silently and attempted to stave off boredom by casting them as characters in her Nikita charade. Michael--who would obviously play Birkof with those glasses and his computer skills--looked exhausted, and the left side of his face was shadowed by what looked like a bruise. Strange. I didn't notice that last night. Her gaze shifted to Sakaki who looked like he was, as usual, only on the verge of consciousness. Frowning, she attempted to find a Nikita character to compare him with, but only came up with bit parts. That was okay, he'd probably rather play a video game character anyway. Doujima decided Karasuma would fit best as Madeline, though she wasn't quite as manipulative or cunning. Karasuma may not have been necessarily devious, but she had moodiness down to an art when her time of month rolled around; Karasuma's visiting aunt went by the name of Aunt Bitch instead of Aunt Flo.
Shifting her gaze again, Doujima's eyes came to Amon. She didn't even have to consider the casting options for him. With that long dark hair and constantly cold expression, he was obviously Michael--the Section One operative, not STN-J's resident hacker. It occurred to her that her own casting as Nikita no longer fit if Amon was Michael since the tension between him and Robin made the craft user a far more appropriate choice. Doujima continued gazing at Amon a few more moments longer, thinking of her favorite real life tragic love story in the context of her favorite fictional tragic love story. She noted that Amon's expression was chiseled in stone and his gaze was focused on the panel in front of him with almost conscious effort--as if he was avoiding someone's gaze. What's that about? She scrunched her face up in a pout as it occurred to her that she must have missed some kind of fireworks between him and his partner.
Turning her attention to said partner, she saw Robin was likewise keeping her attention focused straight ahead, affirming Doujima's conclusion. On a lighter note though, Doujima was relieved to see Robin was wearing one of her new outfits, even if it was a little on the school teacher end of the fashion scale. In that respect, Robin was hardly a likely candidate to play Nikita--especially with her hair put up in those ridiculous . . .handlebars. Doujima felt one of her eyebrows twitch in annoyance. That girl really needed to learn some hair-styling techniques on the double. It was quickly becoming a fashion emergency.
"We have no idea how many witches Beatrice is using to magnify her power," Zaizen was saying when Doujima finally started listening again, "but she is certainly still looking for more." He was almost finished with his slow circuit of the room when he paused behind Amon and dropped a hand on the hunter's shoulder firmly; Doujima thought Amon might have actually recoiled ever so slightly in reaction to the contact. Glancing at Robin with a strange expression, Zaizen continued, "We should keep a close eye out for any powerful witches we know of whom Beatrice might choose to use. She's already proven her rather formidable ability to manipulate others. Let's not give her the chance to manipulate anyone else." His words sounded like a threat, and Doujima would have bet money it was directed at Amon from the way Zaizen was hovering over him.
"Also," Zaizen went on, releasing his grip on Amon's shoulder abruptly, "I shouldn't have to remind all of you of the rules against bringing outsiders into the STN-J building without proper authorization, or of the rules against sharing confidential information with those who don't have the authority to know it." Crossing his arms over his chest, he glared at each of them in turn. "This office has been seriously lacking in professionalism lately. That's going to change right now. It's time we remembered that we are here to do a job--not to play games and make new friends."
Hmm. Amon will be happy with that, Doujima thought wryly. He didn't like Dante in the first place and this order simply gives him an easy excuse to kick the demon hunter to the curb, so to speak.
Finally, after one last searing glare, Zaizen stated, "So, now that Michael's given you all the information we have on the possible whereabouts of our witch, I expect to see some progress made on this case. Don't give me a reason to call another meeting like this." The sense of finality in his voice made it clear the meeting was over.
Slowly, the hunters began to stir from their seats, reluctant to move under the weight of the Director's gaze. Sakaki was the first out of the room, followed quickly by Michael though he had been farthest from the door. Doujima rose to leave as well, but paused when she heard Zaizen snap, "Robin." Looking back curiously, Doujima saw the craft user frozen in place as she looked up at the Director with dread in her verdant eyes. "I need to see you in my office."
An intense frown shadowing his features, Zaizen started heading for the door with Robin following reluctantly in his wake. Amon, Doujima noticed, was trailing behind them as well with an uneasy expression clouding his features. Exchanging a worried glance with Karasuma, Doujima peeked out of the briefing room quickly and watched the strange procession make its way toward Zaizen's office with a frown. She knew all too well how meetings with Michael and Operations went for Nikita. This meeting with Amon and Zaizen wasn't likely to go much differently for poor Robin.
Zaizen paused at the steps, ushering Robin ahead of him and turning back to face Amon. Doujima strained her ears to hear the words he hissed to Amon. "I have no use for you here. You already have your orders. I expect you to follow them." He really does sound like Operations . . .
Amon watched Zaizen disappear up the stairs, his expression unreadable. Then, spinning around, he strode across the room toward Michael's desk purposefully and leaned close to the hacker before exchanging quiet words with him. "What's going on?" Doujima asked Karasuma as she failed to make out what the two were saying.
Shaking her head, Karasuma answered, "I honestly don't know."
Stepping back inside the briefing room, Doujima frowned when she saw that all the blinds in Zaizen's office were shut tight. "Damn. Well, I hope he's not being too hard on Robin for bringing Dante in."
"Doujima-kun!" Kosaka's voice bellowed from directly behind her, making her jump nearly a foot in the air. Well, there goes my daydreaming for the rest of the day.
------
Zaizen had about reached the limit of his patience within competence. He had never had much patience for ineptitude in the first place, but he had even less patience with a total disregard for orders and authority. He was the one in charge here and it was about damn time everyone started remembering that fact.
Shutting the office door behind him vigorously, he almost smirked at the small jump of surprise the sound evoked in Robin. He regarded the deceptively dangerous girl silently as he crossed the room to his desk and sat down slowly, taking the time to light a cigar before looking up at her again and leaning back in his chair leisurely. Continuing to watch her silently, he enjoyed the hint of fear and uncertainty in her unguarded green gaze as she waited for him to speak.
In truth, he had spent very little time around the young craft user, despite her role in so many of his thoughts and concerns on a daily basis. He had trusted Amon to do the observation for him, expecting the man to keep her at a distance as he always kept companion sat a distance, but Zaizen was beginning to realize Amon was not, in fact, the perfect hunter he though the had created. Even Amon had a fatal weakness it seemed. Seeing that weakness standing directly in front of him, Zaizen felt an urge to chuckle at the absurdity of it all. Then he remembered his daughter, safe now in a room within the orbo-defended walls of the Factory where no witch could touch her. He was almost certain Touko had been used only in order to get to this fragile girl standing before him. Robin was young and inexperienced. She was vulnerable. Why was the use of his daughter necessary to get to her? Just what defenses did Robin have to stop a witch of Beatrice's power?
Of course, he knew one of Robin's strongest defenses all too well; it had been sitting in the briefing room this morning--had followed after her when Zaizen ordered her into his office, as if to protect her from Zaizen himself. He had trained that defense himself, though not for the purpose of her protection. Somewhere in the middle of this, Amon had become Robin's chief defender despite Zaizen's direct orders to the contrary. Amon was, in essence, defecting to the enemy's side. Zaizen repressed an inappropriate smile at that ironic thought. Amon was making a critical mistake if he thought Zaizen would fail to see his duplicity, or fail to put a stop to it. He had made Amon into what he was--he could destroy him just as easily. This situation simply gave Zaizen a new chink in Amon's armor, another weak point to use against him. Because, whether Amon realized it or not, he was already committed to Zaizen's cause. Zaizen had given Amon confidential information over the years--knowledge of many of his plans for a better, purer world free from witches and their corruption--and that compromising information made him a liability if he changed sides. The only way Amon could leave Zaizen's confidence now would be in a coffin, and Zaizen would be the one to personally nail down the lid if Amon chose to betray him.
Finally tearing himself away from such thoughts, he decided Robin had waited long enough for him to speak. "I'm not sure how you did things back in Italy," he began tersely, "but there are some breaches of security which simply will not be tolerated here, Robin. This is he second time you have unwisely chosen to use STN resources for personal reasons. When you used them the first time to find out more information about an acquaintance who had died in a car wreck, I let it slide because of the possibility you hadn't known the consequences of such an action. In that particular case, your mistake ended up leading to the discovery of a witch who hadn't even been in our database. But such a windfall was merely luck . . . and luck is a fickle thing.
"As for your decision to bring someone into the office who has neither the authority nor the approval to be here--I can't imagine your training at headquarters could have been so inept as to deserve the blame. You should have known better. In fact, I think you did know better." He paused, narrowing his eyes at her and rising from his chair. Walking around the desk, he stopped in front of it, barely a pace away from her and sat down on the edge. "The question then becomes, if you knew you were breaking Solomon's rules, why would you choose to do so? Did you think you could escape punishment for your actions?"
Robin looked like she was at a loss for words; he had successfully backed her into a corner. Trying desperately to come up with a response to his questions, she opened and closed her mouth several times, but no sound came out. "I'm sorry," she said finally in a near whisper. "I just wasn't thinking . . ."
"Well, we can't have hunters who don't think, now can we?" Zaizen snapped coldly.
"I'm sorry," she gasped again and her eyes were becoming glassy with repressed tears.
"Apologizing hardly rectifies the problem though, does it?" He forced her to suffer the wrath in his glare for several long moments before relenting. "Nevertheless, the mistake has been made and cannot be unmade. But if it were to be made again, I might have to reconsider your status at the STN-J as a hunter. I'm sure Hattori could use some help organizing old files or cleaning up the office." He watched her fearful gaze turn into an angry frown, and he had to admit that she did have spirit despite her gentle, reserved demeanor. Yet that same spirit was one of the things about her which worried him.
"But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it," he said finally. "Until then, I expect you to do a better job following orders, and to spend a little more time thinking about your actions before you make them. Also, there is to be no more contact with this 'Dante.' Ever. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir," she replied dejectedly, her gaze dropping to her feet.
"One last thing," he added, pushing away from the desk and raising her gaze to meet his own with a forceful grip on her chin. Her eyes were wide again with surprise and fear. "I am allowing whatever it is that's going on between you and Amon to continue for the moment, but I do not want unpredictable emotions like 'lust' or 'love' to start interfering with our ability to work as a team. If, at any time, I see personal feelings interfering with your work, I will terminate your association immediately. Understand that I have already briefed Amon on this subject, and he will follow my orders even if you fail to." Not entirely true. Amon had already failed to follow orders and to keep his emotions separate from his work when it came to her, but she needn't know that information. It was true that Amon had been briefed, but on a different set of orders--not the ones Zaizen was giving Robin. It was dangerous game, playing the two of them against each other, but the goal was to keep them both off balance; they would be easier to control as long as they were unstable.
Releasing her chin, he turned away and picked up his cigar again, puffing bluish grey smoke into the thick air of the hushed room. "You can go now. We have a lot of work to do yet to find this witch." He watched her out of the corner of his eye as she turned to the door before hesitating and looking back at him.
"I was wondering, Director . . . how is Touko?"
Now how did she find out about that? Zaizen wondered as he looked back at her hastily, unable to hide his reaction. Amon? Would he have told her? If the answer is yes, then I may have more to worry about than I thought. It could have been Michael, though. The hacker had seen him leave the office with Touko in his arms after all. "She is fine," he replied curtly, deciding it would be of no use to lie about his connection to Touko now. "She is somewhere safe. I'm afraid she won't be returning to the apartment you share until this witch has been captured."
"I see . . ." Robin replied quietly. "I'm glad to hear she's okay."
I'm sure you are. Zaizen watched the young hunter leave his office with a wondering expression. She never ceased to surprise him. Perhaps that's why she bothered him so much. He hated surprises with a passion.
-----
"You want me to what?!" Michael cried in disbelief, staring at the visage of the man in front of him as if he had never met him before. "Amon, are you sure you're feeling better? Maybe you still have a fever or something . . ."
Amon's cloudy grey eyes darted around the room, probably to note how much attention Michael's outburst had drawn. He leaned closer to Michael and said in a soft voice, "I am both fully recovered and in my right mind, Michael. You can't tell me you weren't already tempted to do exactly what I'm suggesting before I said a word."
"Yes," Michael admitted, lowering his voice, "but I can't believe you are the one asking me to do it. The Boss gave us direct orders."
"And I have chosen not to follow them," Amon replied in a whisper. "The responsibility for disobeying orders now belongs to me since I am ordering you to break them."
"Somehow I don't think the Boss will see it quite like that . . ."
"Whether or not we continue working with Dante, we are all going to continue hunting Beatrice. And, because we are working on the same case, we will have contact with him again in the future, no matter how you look at the situation. It is redundant for us to continue the search separately." Amon's attention had strayed to the computer screen in front of Michael.
"Why do you suddenly want to work with Dante?" Michael asked suspiciously. "You were against it in the beginning."
Amon's dark eyes darted back to him and his frown deepened. "I was against using our database to help outsiders. At the time, I was also unaware of any connection between the witch he was hunting and our own case. The risks of sharing information with him no longer matter at this point since the harm, whatever it may be, has already been done. It is pointless to back out of the situation at this point. Regardless, I would rather be apprised of what Dante's planning than be worried about the possibility of his plans sabotaging our own simply because we are unaware of them."
"And Robin . . . ?"
Amon's eyes narrowed. "What about her?"
"Nothing." Michael sighed softly.
"So, I need those extra headsets," Amon prompted finally, "and the location where Dante's staying. Do you think you'll be able to put that switch I asked about in the system to shut off the recorders during a mission?"
"I think so," Michael replied, still reluctant to disobey such strict orders with the bruises from Zaizen's last punishment still fresh on his body. "But it will only stop the recorders. What if the Director walks in during the middle of a hunt, or stands over my shoulder and watches?"
"I think he will soon be a little distracted," Amon answered enigmatically, rising to his full stature and taking the slip of paper Michael had used to write down Dante's contact information. He met the curious gazes of his coworkers impassively. "I need to take care of a few things. I suggest the rest of you get busy searching for Beatrice's hideout. We will regroup at Harry's around lunchtime and decide on our next plan of action."
"What about Robin?" Doujima inquired. Fresh from a haranguing from the Chief, she had wandered into the room somewhere in the middle of Amon's statement.
"She can stay behind and help Michael organize the information he's been gathering. We can't afford any more mistakes."
"I don't really need any help--" Michael began, but Amon didn't let him finish.
"Tell her to meet us at Harry's at noon." Without waiting for a response, Amon turned and headed for the elevator, his trench coat swirling around him.
"Geez, what crawled up his butt?" Sakaki asked of no one in particular when Amon was gone.
"'We can't afford any more mistakes.'" Doujima quoted with a sigh. "He really is Michael."
"What?" Michael cried, glancing at Doujima in annoyance.
Rolling her eyes, Doujima replied," Not you, dimwit. You're Birkof . . ."Pulling on her white jacket, she wandered off in the direction of the door." Are you guys coming?"
"I swear. She's crazy," Michael muttered as he watched her leave.
-------
So, what didya think? Huh, huh, huh? Did you panic when Zaizen called Robin into his office? I know we didn't get a whole lot of AmonxRobin tension, but don't worry, next chapter I promise to include more. Part of the reason for the delay in posting this chapter is that I've been inspired to write on a chapter beyond this one and I didn't want to end up writing myself into a corner here. It took me awhile to make sure everything jived--hopefully it does. Luckily for you though, this means that the story isn't going to just stall out and stop without an end since I am already looking ahead. I just have to write the in between stuff. And would somebody please tell me why every story I write has to turn into a frickin' novel?
Oh, one last little random comment, incase anyone's interested. When Karasuma said, "Refill girl duty," I was thinking of a real event that happened to me when I was working as a front desk receptionist at an eye doctor's office (which is a LOT more work than you would think and involves much more than answering phones). The office provided coffee out in the waiting room for patients, and one patient had the gall--on a really busy day, no less--to inform us the coffee pot was empty by shouting at me, "Refill girl! Where's the coffee?" And she expected me to drop everything and get it right that second. In the end, it turned into a little inside joke at the office. Then there was that joke about Tootsie chews, but that's for another time . . .
Anyway, on to reviews!
To Chibi Tenshi: I'm glad you could appreciate the X-ness. X imagery can be very inspirational, if you know what I mean . . .that's okay if you don't really get Dante's dream. So long that you got the Beatrice is a bitch and has evil plans, then you're fine. Yeah, I couldn't help myself with the pink tutu. I agree that there are so many possibilities left by the series, maybe that's why all us fanfic writers are obsessed with exploring them!
To GoWaitInTheCar: Where are you drawing your info about Virgil
from? I know it's been awhile since I played the first game, but I don't
recall getting a lot of detailed info about Virgil. And, though I never
finished the second one (due to various distractions), I didn't think he
showed up in that game. If your knowledge of Virgil is coming fromDMC3--I haven't
been reading too much about it because I don't want to spoil myself. So,
because I realize DMC3 will likely conflict with how I've portrayed things
here, I decided to pretend it doesn't exist for the purposes of this
story. If, on the other hand, I completely forgot something about Virgil in the
first game and have read too many fanfics to keep it all straight, I do
apologize. But hey, I said this was going to be kind of AU anyway! That's
my excuse, and I'm sticking to it. Though I am still curious . . .
Sorry to hear you hate Trish. I don't mind her too much myself, and I'm
not sure if Lucia's going to show up simply because I don't know
all that much about her. But we will get to see Dante in his devil form. Oh
yes.
To Tsukinoko1: I hope you enjoyed Doujima's Nikita obsession. Somehow I could just see her liking the show . . . Wish I could have worked in the guy in the garage as Walter. Maybe later.
To Pyrosa: Ah, Oedipal Complex . . . can't help but think of a severely disturbed Farscape episode. But, yes, I think I agree with you on the Trish issue. Though they say we often look for our parents' characteristics in potential mates, I don't think they meant physically. Yeah, can't you just see Sakaki secretly watching Utena? The idea really cracks me up. And now I feel I need to draw a picture of Amon in a tutu.
To Amon's Angel of the Darkness: Hmm, interesting idea. I may take part of it though there's a reason Amon can't beat Zaizen up--you'll find out why . . . That is of course, unless I change my mind on that point. Still a possibility. Like I said, there will be more sexual tension soon. Very soon. Some of it's already written.
To Dark Mistress Meli: I think I would have a heart attack riding with Amon in a car. And I can just imagine him with road rage. Scary thought.
To Tiger of the Wind1: Thank ya! You're too nice to me. :) I hope you enjoyed the new chapter--sorry it took me so long to update!
To Kyra Invictus Black: I've tried very hard to keep the feel of the series (though my story has a bit more humor) and I'm glad to hear you think I've succeeded. I have been buying the DVD's but I want new episodes! Sigh. Yeah, Robin talks a good game, but we'll see how much she's "given up" soon enough. And poor Touko . . . she never even had a chance. :) And believe me, there will be a cheery ending.
To Yukari Youkai: Mmm . . . chocolate. Would someone actually pay me to write dream sequences? That would be cool. Hadn't decided exactly what Robin dreamed about, but that's a good idea . . .
To Sakura Rain: I made you cry? Oh dear, I feel guilty now. But it's also quite a compliment that it affected you so deeply. Thank you.
To ShiroKitsune: Yes, Utena is so fun to parody. I still wish I could have worked in the car wash from the movie though. It's classic.
To Aliora: Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the dreams. Like I said, dreams are one of my favorite things to write since they reveal things about the characters which the characters themselves might be reluctant to admit. Auron's awesome. And I just had to give him the opportunity to shut Tidus up. If you like FFX parodies, you might check out a fic called the Case of the Missing Jug. It's extremely amusing.
To Ann: I apologize to your household for my responsibility in the laughter that caused you to wake up everyone at five in the morning, but I still find the situation pretty damn funny! Yeah, I really need to draw a picture of Amon in a tutu now. Thank you for your other comments too. I enjoy the juxtaposition of dark and scary against really quirky and silly. It strengthens both aspects simply by contrast.
To devoid69: Yeah, Sakaki was having dirty thoughts. Bad boy! But it's so much fun. I plan on hinting more at their relationship in the future. And anime people need to wear different clothes sometimes! That's always driven me crazy.
