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(The Upper Hand)
Anna looked undeniably magnificent. Her blue, silk gown drew eyes in envy and admiration, and all the attention made her feel like royalty. She was the picture of poise, grace, and confidence despite the zipper that was digging painfully into her back. There had been no time to have a proper tailor examine the dress before the banquet, and when she began to feel uncomfortable, she had worried that the zipper was coming undone. She then took Ganryu aside to ask for his help. The sumo stammered and blushed and apologized profusely when his finger accidentally made contact with her skin. Anna knew that she could have asked any of the female hotel staff for help, but watching Ganryu turn beet-red and sweaty was funny as hell. She knew it was mean-spirited on her part, but she was probably doing him a favor because it was more action than he was going to get that night. As one of Kazuya's most trusted men, and making as much money as he did, Ganryu should have been able to choose a different woman every night if he wanted, but he was too awkward, weird, and sometimes downright creepy. She did feel a slight twinge of guilt for embarrassing him, and truth be told, she was taking her frustrations with other men out on him.
Kazuya had been the first man to offend her by trying to whore her out to Lee in exchange for information. Then, when she made a discovery that no one could have foreseen, the fact that Heihachi's men had infiltrated the Zaibatsu, Kazuya undermined her victory by telling her that he wanted her to focus on finding the men who had made an attempt on his life. When she suggested that Heihachi was the most likely culprit, he wouldn't hear of it and put Bruce in charge of finding and dealing with the spies. The job should have gone to her.
The second man to cross her had been Lee. She didn't know how he could even entertain the idea that she was involved with Kazuya in anything other than a professional manner. She expected it from others, from people who didn't know her and who didn't know Kazuya, but coming from him it was not only infuriating, it was hurtful.
Now, she had her eye on the third man who was trying to ruin her night. The long-haired cop whose idea of formal wear was a darker shade of khaki. Lei Wulong had been trying to get close to Bruce the entire night, so far though, Bruce had proven sufficiently elusive. But now the party was winding down, the responsible fighters were going to their rooms to get an appropriate amount of rest while Paul Phoenix and his ilk had left the hotel to look for a better party. Kazuya was gone, the crowd was thinning, and soon Bruce would have no choice but to leave the banquet hall, Wulong would no doubt follow after him.
"Miss Williams?"
Anna fixed her eyes on a young woman in a hotel uniform. "Do you have my key, dear?"
She extended her hand and offered Anna a small envelope. "Yes."
Anna kept her eyes on Wulong as she took it, he had his back to her and was looking at Bruce, who was standing near the exit. "Do you see that handsome man with the long hair?" The hotel employee nodded. "I need you to tell him that his drink is ready at the bar."
"Now?"
"Yes."
The young woman walked toward Lei, and Anna moved swiftly toward Bruce. She took his arm and pulled him toward the door.
"What are you doing?" He resisted at first but walked with her after glancing at Wulong.
"I just need someone to walk me to the elevator, you're a gentleman, aren't you?" He eyed her warily but followed her lead.
When they stepped into the hallway, she slipped the key into the pocket of his jacket.
"What was that?"
"A key to a room one floor up. Don't get the wrong idea, I'm just saving your ass."
"From what?" He glanced over his shoulder as they neared the elevator.
Anna pushed the button on the panel next to the elevator door. "From that nosy son of a bitch. Don't worry, I'll get rid of him."
Bruce shook his head. "Then I'll owe you. I don't wanna owe you."
The doors opened, and she pushed him in. "Just go."
He stepped into the elevator with apparent reluctance, his arms crossed as the door closed.
Anna turned and walked quickly back to the banquet hall. She shifted her shoulder blades before entering to ease the discomfort of the dress. She opened the door and spotted Lei with his back against the bar lazily sipping a drink.
She sighed as she joined him at the bar. "We gotta stop meeting like this, Detective."
"It's Agent." Lei corrected with a smile. "So they sent you to get rid of me again?"
She shrugged and gave a short, little laugh. "Someone's gotta do it, and somehow I keep drawing the short straw."
Wulong laughed in return. "Imagine my surprise when I arrived at the bar, and there was no drink for me, I had to order my own. But don't worry, no need to apologize, this is so good I have no excuse to be upset." He took a small sip of his drink. "You guys really spare no expense."
Anna eyed the half-empty glass in his hand and shook her head. "A Mai Tai?" She scoffed. "Reminds me of Hawaii. I wish you were there."
"The only thing that's missing is the little umbrella-"
"I'm sure you're headed out, so don't let me keep you."
He took another sip. "I was hoping to stay a little longer, mingle a little more, I didn't have the opportunity to meet all the fighters."
"You'll get it tomorrow, you and I are the only participants left."
"I could have sworn there was one more…"
Anna straightened her posture as she felt the zipper digging into her skin again. "If you're talking about Bruce Irvin, he's left for the night."
"Doesn't like to party?"
"Maybe he's going to a party, maybe you should too, I'm sure a handsome man like you won't have any trouble getting lucky."
Lei blushed and continued to sip his drink. He looked like a dork, but he wasn't Ganryu, she wasn't going to be able to embarrass him out of the room. His nonchalance, coupled with the discomfort she was feeling nearly exhausted her patience.
"You know," Anna crossed her arms and looked him in the eye. "you should feel guilty."
"Why?"
"Because if I hadn't been busy dealing with you at the stadium today, I would have been able to do my job. I would have noticed that something was out of place, I would have put a stop to it, and an innocent man would be alive right now." She clenched her jaw and pursed her lips, angry at herself for the outburst of emotion.
"I was sorry to hear about that."
"So was his family."
Wulong's face took on a solemn expression. "It was a tragedy, but I'm glad there weren't more casualties, and I'm glad that the culprits have been apprehended."
"Yes, we all are."
He sipped his drink. "Very swift action on behalf of the local police force. Very efficient…"
"Of course, the eyes of the world are on Japan and Japan doesn't like to look bad; therefore, they act quickly and-"
"Make hasty and impulsive arrests." He sipped again.
Anna sighed. "Look, if you're going to try to interrogate me…"
"It's not an interrogation, I just want an honest opinion from an insider."
"On what?"
"As a tournament participant, I want to feel safe, as someone affiliated with a law enforcement agency, I want to know that the public is safe."
"They are, we all are."
"You truly believe that Earth Ethics, the environmentalist group concerned with protecting human and animal rights was responsible for the explosion?"
"Yes."
"Miss Williams, I have looked into their organization, into its members, there is no history of violence. They have their causes, their ideals, but they protect those by doing volunteer work, writing petitions, organizing peaceful protests-"
"If you know so much about everything and everyone, including me, then you must know where I grew up. Ever since I was a little girl, I have seen how far people will go to protect and uphold an ideal. I have watched as innocents suffer when a group decides to defend said ideal or prove a point or-"
"Fulfill a murder contract?"
She felt her blood run cold. "...What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Was he there for her? To bring her to justice for some wrong she'd committed in the past.
He shrugged. "Your father did have a...reputation. You said you've seen how far people can go, I just thought-"
She clenched her fists to keep her hands from shaking. "We are done. Leave immediately."
"But I'm a participant."
"But you're not a hotel guest, you're staying at Sun Route Hotel, room 233."
"You do your homework."
"I'm very diligent."
"Well then, forgive me for imposing." He bowed. "Good luck tomorrow, Miss Williams."
"Break a leg, Officer. Please."
He gave her a bemused look as he turned toward the exit.
She was seething as she watched him leave. What did he know? Why was he really there? He was supposed to be investigating the death of Desmond Mullen, now he was interested in Bruce and possibly trying to find evidence on something Anna had done. Or was he trying to get her to talk? If so, about what?
She scanned the room. The guests were gone, the only ones left were the staff beginning the cleanup. As she walked toward the exit, the chaos of the day began to weigh her down, her steps felt heavy, and she wanted nothing more than to take off that dress.
Why would he specifically say murder contract? Was it really because Richard Williams had a reputation, as Wulong put it? Her finger hovered above the button to call the elevator as a thought sent her heart racing. Was he implying that there was a contract on Kazuya's life? She cursed as she pushed the button. Surely Wulong would warn him, even if he only suspected and didn't have any substantial evidence. That was his job. Wasn't it?
She took the elevator to the 31st floor then knocked on the door to Bruce's room. "It's me."
Bruce opened the door and gave her a cautious glance. "Is he gone?"
"Of course, are you going to let me in?" He stepped aside with some hesitance. "I guess."
"I really love the rooms in this hotel."She hid her anger and anxiety behind her best simile and opened the mini fridge taking out a bottle of water.
Bruce scoffed. "Yeah, this one has a lovely view of a construction site."
Anna shrugged. "I had to get this on very short notice, they can't all be winners. Do you want a drink?"
He pointed to her bottle of water. "I thought you'd go for something stronger."
She playfully put her hand on her hip. "Oh, I see, because I'm Irish."
Bruce sighed. "Are we really going there?"
"Jesus, learn to take a joke."
"I'm not in the mood for jokes, what did the agent want?"
She took a drink before answering. "He asked where you disappeared to, but that's it." She took another sip of water and watched Bruce as he furrowed his brow. "Are you going to tell me what that's all about?"
He scoffed. "I might one day. What else did he say?"
"He's suggesting that Earth Ethics was not responsible for the bomb, what do you think?"
He shrugged. "It's possible, it was all a little too tidy."
She nodded slowly. "...Some of the things he said made me think that he might suspect or maybe even has a reason to believe that there's a contract on Kazuya's life, and if that's the case…"
"That changes things."
Anna squeezed the bottle in her hand as her heart began to drum in her chest. What if Nina was there for Kazuya? She shifted her shoulders and stood up straighter as the zipper of her dress poked into her back again. She sipped her water and tried to look casual. "If that were the case, do you think it could be one of the participants, his old man maybe?"
Bruce shook his head. "Don't think so, not that I know much about him, but it seems like it's a job he'd want to do himself, face to face."
"Other than Heihachi, Michelle Chang is the only one with a motive."
"That we know of."
"True." Why is Nina here? "Ganryu's taking Kazuya home right now, why don't we call him and have him spend the night there, it's not like he was going to spend it with anyone anyway."
Bruce laughed. "That's kinda harsh."
"You know it's true." She shifted her shoulders again. "Could you call him right now, this dress is killing me."
"Yeah."
Bruce undid the button on his suit jacket and and sat on the chair in front of the desk. He took a small, black notebook from his inside pocket before picking up the receiver.
Anna took off her shoes then opened the wardrobe and pulled out a fluffy, white robe, seeing that Bruce was already talking on the phone she made her way to the bathroom.
What if it's Nina?
She closed the door and began to undo the bow on her dress before reaching for the accursed zipper. She had seen Nina talking to Kazuya's secretary in the bathroom, it was unusual, but did it mean anything? She slowly shook her head as she let the dress fall in a heap around her. As much as she hated to admit it, if someone had hired Nina to kill Kazuya, and Anna wasn't aware of it; he'd be dead. There would have been no warnings, no failures, and she certainly wouldn't be trying to get information from one of Kazuya's employees where they could be seen so easily.
She smiled as she slipped into the robe. There's no way in hell, it can't be Nina. She felt her muscles relax at the thought.
When she went back into the room, Bruce was jotting something down in his notebook. "Done?"
He nodded without looking up at her and continued writing. "The big guy will stay at the Mishima Estate for the night and drive back with him tomorrow morning."
"I feel a little guilty now, it's not how I'd want to spend my night."
"Nah, it makes him feel important." He closed the notebook and turned in his chair to look at Anna, he furrowed his brow and crossed his arms when he took in her appearance. "I didn't know this was your room."
She laughed. "It's not, I'm staying in one of the honeymoon suites at the Imperial Hotel."
"Then why…"
"Am I wearing a robe? My dress was hurting me, I have a big, red mark on my back."
Bruce chuckled. "I'll never understand why you ladies put up with all that."
"Well, of course, you wouldn't, all you have to do is put on a suit, and you're good to go. It's not fair."
"Oh, come on, you don't have to go through all that trouble, you'd look good in anything."
Anna smiled when she saw the way he looked at her. It had been a roller coaster of a day and now, she had the perfect opportunity to control Bruce. Or to get him on her side at the very least. She walked toward him and stood directly in front of him, then sat on his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"What are you doing?"
She slowly ran her fingers over his arms and shoulders. "I have all this energy to burn...and you know we both deserve a little fun after the day we've had." She spoke softly as she slid her hands down his chest and his abdomen. "I was almost blown up, remember?" She rested her hands on his belt and ran her thumb over the buckle then looked at him with a devious grin.
"Is this some kind of game?" Bruce gave her a stern look. "Because I don't do games."
She rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on. What did I say about being all work and no play?"
"You didn't say anything." He looked into her eyes for a moment. "...If we do this, it's not going to change our working relationship or the dynamics around here."
She laughed lightly, "Of course not." They always said that, but it always changed things. If she had not been involved with Lee, who knew how many times he would have tried to sabotage her as Kazuya's right hand. "So...am I going to get a yes?" She felt butterflies in her stomach when his fingers caressed her exposed lower thighs.
"You're different from other women." He sounded amused as he looked at her with a smile that matched her own.
"I'm really not. I'm just not afraid to go after the things I want."
What she wanted was a victory. And it was close, it was finally within her grasp. In a few hours, she would redeem herself in the eyes of the world, would humiliate her sister in the arena the same way Nina had humiliated her in the previous tournament. But for now it was a private victory, one that would remain unnoticed until Bruce found himself out of the Zaibatsu and Anna took her rightful place next to Kazuya as his most trusted employee.
A/N: It's been a long time, and I'm sorry. Some people write to distract themselves when things get tough, but I can't write unless my life is in order. Thanks for reading!
