Disclaimer: Still don't own Eva.
The ship moved slowly into the port of New San Francisco. After 2nd Impact, the original city of San Francisco had been destroyed by a massive tidal wave which had engulfed most of the city without warning and killed over three-quarters of the population. When the water had receded, the city was rebuilt and became the largest port on the West Coast of North America. In the devastation wrought after the waters had receded and people returned to the lost city, a sight of hope and joy was brought to the first who looked out over the bay. The old sight of the orange steel of the Bay Bridge brought hope to the people as they rebuilt and carried on with their lives, persevering in the wake of this tremendous tragedy. Long would it be before the city fully recovered to become once more; a center of trade and immigration to the Pacific.
As Shinji and Asuka walked down the plank and onto the wooden boards of the dock, they looked around for the immigration building. Both teens had a backpack on and carried a duffle bag. Shinji had an attaché case in the other hand. Both wore blank expressions and ignored the other people ob the dock. After spotting the building in which they were searching for, the teens began to head towards it.
The building lay past the docks at the end of the port. It was plain white and had black roof top. As Shinji and Asuka got closer to the building, the pair noticed a small squad of United States Marines standing guard. They were wearing battle armor and held assault rifles. As the teens passed the soldiers, they were paid no heed and were allowed to continue into the building. Shinji let out a small sigh in relief as he opened the door and held it open for Asuka. However, Shinji's relief turned to anguish at the sight of the long line in which Asuka and he had to stand in.
As Shinji and Asuka stood in the slow moving line, Shinji looked about the building and spotted the television on the far wall. The sound was turned off, but the channel appeared to be on a news network of some sorts. As the images flashed on screen, the appearance of conflict was shown. One image showed a clash between French soldiers and what Asuka recognized as German troops. By the time the broadcast had ended, the teens were at the front of the line.
"Can I help you?" asked and Caucasian man with dark glasses. He wore a white dress shirt and had a friendly expression on his face.
"We are here to be processed for Citizenship" answered Shinji as he opened up the attaché case he was carrying. He took out several documents and laid them onto the counter. The clerk picked up the documents and inspected them. His eyes slightly widened as he read.
"I see, well everything is in order here. Give me a minute to get your identification cards" said the man as he turned and disappeared into the back.
"Well that went smooth" said Asuka, slightly surprised.
"Ritsuko said that she would take care of everything" said Shinji.
"Yeah, but I at least thought there would be some hassle" said Asuka.
Shinji smiled in agreement as the man appeared from the back with two cards in his hands.
"Well here you go, Mr. and Mrs. Langley. Welcome to the United States" said the clerk.
Asuka inspected the photo and whipped her head up in surprise. Catching it from the corner of his eye, his voice tinged with concern as he belted out, "Something wrong?"
"I'll tell you later" answered the girl.
"Okay. I have a question" said Shinji, turning his eyes to the clerk.
"Yes?" asked the man.
"Can you let me know where I can find the New San Francisco Branch of the Abarr International Bank?" asked the boy.
"Not too far from here, actually; it's around the corner past the warehouse on the left of the entrance of this building" answered the clerk.
"Thank you" said Shinji. Both children turned and walked to the exit. Opening the door for Asuka once again, they walked out of the building and followed the directions given to them. Soon they found themselves in front of a simple black colored building. To the teens it did not seem like a bank on the outside. Shinji lead the way and walked up to the front door. Opening it, both Asuka and he stepped inside to find themselves in a very fancy and decorated establishment. The walls were pure white and the counters seemed to be made out of brass. Security cameras were numerous and guards armed with heavy machine guns could be seen at each corner of the room. There were very few people inside the bank though, which made waiting in line non-existent.
Walking up to the counter, Shinji took a deep breath and rang the small bell that sat on the counter. A few seconds later, an African American woman appeared.
"Can I help you?" asked the Woman, keeping her tone civil but serious.
"I am here to access my account" answered Shinji, matching her tone.
"I see. Come with me" said the woman. Stepping out from behind the counter, she led both Shinji and Asuka to a brown door which was located on the far wall. Before she opened the door, the women looked at them and said "Your belongings will have to stay here."
Asuka looked at the woman and Shinji in alarm but before Shinji could speak, the woman said "Do not worry. Your luggage will be safe."
Nodding, Shinji turned and gave Asuka a look. She nodded as well and both teens dropped their duffle bags as well as their backpacks. Once they were done, the trio proceeded through the door.
Inside was a small room with a medium sized desk, three wooden chairs, and laptop computer which sat on top of the desk. There were two men also in the room, armed with high caliber machine guns. The women took her seat behind the desk while Shinji and Asuka took their seats opposite from her. The women leaned back in her chair and folded her hands together. She then began to speak.
"Are you aware of our procedures?" asked the women.
"It was explained to me" said Shinji.
"And the consequences of giving me a wrong answer" asked the women, an eyebrow rising.
"That our bodies would never be found" said Shinji, a slight trace of fear in his voice.
The women nodded and the two men took their positions directly behind both Shinji and Asuka, their hands gripping their weapons.
"The name of the Account?" asked the women, a finger on the keyboard of the laptop.
"S. Langley" said Shinji. The women looked at the screen and typed a few buttons. After a minute went by, the women stopped typing and looked up at Shinji.
"There is a seventeen word password attached to this account. You will be asked a number and you will be required to give a word which corresponds to that particular number. Are you ready to begin?" asked the women.
Taking a deep breath and letting it out, Shinji replied "Yes."
"Very well, let us begin; One?"
"Adam"
"Two?"
"Lilith"
"Three?"
"Satchiel"
"Four?"
"Samshael"
"Five?"
"Ramiel"
"Six?"
"Gagiel"
"Seven?"
"Israfel"
"Eight?"
"Sandalphon"
"Nine?"
"Matriel"
"Ten?"
"Sahaquiel"
"Eleven?"
"Ireul"
"Twelve?"
"Leliel"
"Thirteen?"
"Bardiel"
"Fourteen?"
"Zuriel"
"Fifteen?"
"Arael" Asuka slightly cringed.
"Sixteen?"
"Armisael"
"Seventeen?"
"Tabris" said Shinji with sadness quite evident in his voice.
The women smiled and said "Thank you. I am Ms. Howe and I apologize for the extreme measures, but we take the protection of our client's funds very seriously. What can I do for you?" The men behind the two children moved away and took up their previous positions
"I need to make a small withdrawal for our travels as well as a transfer of some of our assets to any banks at our destination" answered Shinji.
"That shouldn't be a problem. Your present funds stand at 47 million American dollars, 52 million Euros, and 63 million yen. I assume the withdrawal will be American currency?" asked Ms Howe.
"Yes please" answered Shinji.
"How much?" asked the women.
"Just enough to get us to our destination" said Shinji, keeping his tone serious.
"About ten thousand should suffice. I will have the money brought here immediately. Where is your destination?" asked Ms. Howe, still smiling. One of the men left the room.
Shinji reached into his pocket and took out a piece of paper with a name of a town on it. He showed it to the women who then typed a few keys on her computer.
"There are four banks in that town. Do you wish to have funds placed in all of them?" she asked.
"Yes" answered Shinji.
"I shall have 250,000K placed in each of the banks. If you need more funds, we have a branch in the next town over." With that said, the man who left earlier came back with a satchel in hand. The trio stood from their chairs and Shinji took the satchel from the man; opening it up, Shinji and Asuka's eyes widened at the sight of all the money.
"Do you have a place to stay while you are in town?" asked Ms. Howe.
"No, we were planning to find a hotel" answered Shinji.
"We offer a stay at our hotel free of charge. It is one of benefits for banking with our bank. Shall I have a car take you there?"
"Yes, that would be wonderful" answered Asuka before Shinji could speak up. Ms. Howe smiled and motioned the children to follow man who had brought the satchel. Before the teens left the room, they shook hands with the woman and said their goodbyes. Shinji and Asuka followed the man as he led them out the back exit of the building where a car waited for them. Both children got inside and the car sped off to the hotel. As they traveled, the radio was playing the news.
"This is Kurt Davis at GHWS, your reliable news broadcaster. In continuing with our top story; US, French, and Chinese troops have completed their take over of all NERV facilities around the world as well as facilities controlled by an organization that has now been identified as SEELE. We do not yet know the reason behind this multi-national cooperative takeover, but we have heard from Pentagon sources that it has something to do with a planned "Third Impact". We have confirmed that Great Britain has joined the coalition of France, China, and the United States. We have also confirmed that the leaders of the four nations are now meeting in a secret location. There has been massive protest around the world over the recent military actions and arrests of UN officials as well as the Secretary General of the United Nations himself. The UN Headquarters in Geneva has been occupied by French Troops with reinforcements of Britain and the US due to arrive soon. We will bring you more facts on this crisis as it becomes available to us. This is Kurt Davis sighing off."
The two teens stole glances at each other as the music returned to the radio. Both kept their faces devoid of emotion as the news settled in.
Author's Note: I know I said that I would reveal what's going on, but I hope this at least answers some questions and quell your appetites somewhat. I PROMISE that the next chapter will reveal what the current status on NERV, SEELE, and the rest of the world as well as Misato, Ritsuko, and Rei. Also Shinji and Asuka's destination will be revealed as well as some more flashbacks about their escape from Tokyo 03. The scene with the bank was taken from an episode of the current season of Alias. Hopefully Alias fans picked up on that. I hope you enjoyed the update. Please R&R.
A huge thanks to Sideris for the Pre-Read.