Another meeting of the JSDF. And it had been made clear, this one was important. Important enough that even if not all the members could attend, the various squad leaders certainly needed to. The niggling paranoia that this was all some elaborate trap to ensnare them all remained and Ohgi wasn't sure when that would go away. Over the brief time they had been considered one group under Zero's banner, they had all become so much better equipped and organised. With various safe routes planned for travel, disposable phones to keep in contact, dead drop locations in case of desperate circumstances. A multitude of redundancies and contingencies for if, when, something would go wrong. Insurance so that if one of them became compromised, it would be more than difficult to ruin the entire organisation.
Gathering everyone together like this, it wasn't usually necessary. But for this meeting, it was. And even if no one else knew why, Ohgi did.
He had come with Tamaki, who always insisted on being part of these meetings. Always said he brought an important perspective that made sure everyone kept a level head. Tamaki said a lot of things. Most of them only true in his own mind.
They all waited, Ohgi chatted with the leader– Former leader of the Third Dans. Keeping a wary eye on the screen at the front of the room, waiting for it to come alive. Many of the other members did the same.
And so it came as a surprise that it never did. And that instead... A man in a plain, dark suit, wearing an unadorned black mask and with the pale skin of a Britannian entered the room, moved to the front and stood before them. "Good evening," he said in Japanese.
"Zero?"
"He's here?"
"What's going on?"
"I understand your confusion," the masked man spoke again, still in fluent Japanese. "But the reason for my appearance here in person is quite simple. Over the last few weeks, you all have shown great trust in me by following my instructions, by cooperating with me." He raised his arms and spread them wide. "You all risked yourselves, put faith in me that I would honour my word and my intent. That my appeals for a united effort were genuine. I do not begrudge you your doubts. In fact I'm honoured by them. That you doubted, and yet were still willing to trust." His arms closed once again as he pointed to his own chest with the fingertips of open hands. "And so... In response to that trust, I can do nothing less than meet it with my own. You have trusted me, and I trust you."
"Big talk for someone hiding behind a mask!"
Ohgi glared at Tamaki, who blinked, confused at the look that suggested he had done something wrong.
Zero let out a low chuckle. "Brazen but honest! You are entirely correct, Shinchiro Tamaki. As I say, you all have trusted me. And so I know the faces and names of every single member of our JSDF. And so," he reached to the bottom edge of the mask, gripped it with his fingertips. "I can do nothing less than reveal my own!"
There was a collective intake of breath as Zero pulled upward in a flourish, tearing the mask off his head and throwing it away in a single flamboyant movement. The JSDF getting a look at their leader for the first time.
"He's... He's so young."
"Just a kid."
"A kid that put all this together."
"Still though..."
Ohgi couldn't argue that. Zero was young. Late teens at most. But at the same time, Kallen was young too and she was putting her head in the lion's mouth for them. If he was okay with her doing it... He couldn't say anything about this kid he didn't even know. Especially with him being this effective.
He doubted many of the others were thinking along the same lines as him. Ohgi was maybe a little more sympathetic to Britannians than most Japanese resistance for knowing Kallen and Naoto. While the others were feeling doubt at their leader being young, Ohgi's worry was a little more for the kid's own sake. He shouldn't have been doing all this. He had his whole life ahead of him.
Maybe that was the teacher in him talking, too.
"Allow me to introduce myself!" the boy declared with a sharp smile. "My name is Lelouch vi Britannia. Eleventh prince of the Britannian Empire. But I came to this land not as the pampered royal you might imagine. I came here against my will as a political hostage, showing the emperor's 'peaceful intentions' by putting his own children in the line of fire were he to invade." There was a pause, to let that statement sit, before he went on to state the obvious conclusion they had all come to. "He invaded anyway. I was here when knightmare frames stormed the coasts and were dropped in the cities! I fled through fields of corpses, trying to find safety!" His rhetoric, given with grand gestures and righteous and vigorous oration, faded to barely above speaking volume. "I disappeared, knowing full well what would happen were I to reveal I survived. At worst, a loose end removed. At best, returned to the empire that had come to sicken me! Britannia must be purged of its evil dogma that has shaped them into an empire of locusts, swarming across the world, devouring everything they come across!"
I came to you all with a promise. A vision of the future wherein all the people who call this land home can live freely and proudly. Native Japanese if they would prefer to declare themselves such, but citizens of the Britannian Empire all the same, with all of the freedoms and rights that status should deliver. Not only that, I want this to be the case for all corners of the Empire. Every inhabitant a citizen of an empire worthy of respect, by the respect it gives its people!"
His eyes sought out the eyes of every man and woman in the room, staring at each and every one of them. "And now, I'm here. Declaring myself to you now before anyone else. Declaring my intent to make the Britannian Empire a place worth living in, from the homeland to its farthest corners! So, knowing you have a Britannian prince in front of you, one the viceroy has been searching for for a decade, and one who has come to you seeking to build a better world, what will you do?" The staring became a challenge. Putting the query to each of them. "If your hate sings louder than your desire for a brighter future, my life is in your hands. A prince of the empire that did your people such harm. End my life right here, or hand me to Britannia for the same outcome. We live in an age when imperial children drop like flies. I would merely be another on the list of casualties. My life, the future that I dream of, the future that cannot be realised without you. It all rests in your hands."
The group of gathered Japanese stand in silence as they take in the declaration. As they parsed his speech. As they came to understand the unshakeable truth of his words. He had quite literally put himself at their mercy. He was alone. His build didn't suggest he was a fighter, and against their numbers it wouldn't matter if he was. A Britannian prince stood in front of them all, and left what happened next entirely in their hands.
Murmurs began. Quiet. Enough that it would have been difficult at best to determine what they were saying. And still, despite whatever uncertainty Ohgi was sure the prince must have been feeling, he didn't move. He didn't flinch. A Britannian prince waited for them to render their judgement upon him.
And... Even Ohgi had to admit... He was tempted. A human representation of everything that had happened over the past eight years. A face of the empire that destroyed their way of life, that raped their nation, that took everything from them. It would be so easy...
Tamaki moved close, said quietly (for once). "Ohgi, we'll never get a chance like this again."
The man looked at his long-time friend. In surprise. In uncertainty. For the first instant, Ohgi didn't know what Tamaki meant. But in his eyes, in his expression, he understood. Not only what the words meant, but why. He saw the hatred the prince spoke of. The need for someone to pay. And... He understood. Because he felt it too.
But he looked at the prince. At Lelouch. Kallen's age. No wonder she knew him. Must've been a student at Ashford. "You're right," Ohgi told his friend, before he stepped forward, toward Lelouch.
It was like a spell had been broken. The indecision that had suffused the air suddenly cast aside for anticipation. One of them had decided. And so he would lead the rest toward whichever conclusion. He stood opposite Lelouch.
Not a single twitch or flinch. Just a placid expression, waiting for the outcome.
Ohgi turned. "We'll never have a chance like this again," he repeated his friend's words for the audience. "Not for revenge. If that's on the table I don't want it. I never wanted it. Before the occupation I was a teacher. I didn't want to fight a war. I didn't want to be a soldier. I just wanted to live my life, do the job I loved, find a nice woman and have kids of my own. Then the Britannians came. They took everything from us. They gave us no choice but to be what they made us! Beaten dogs lashing out at them for hurting us. I hate it." He looked at Tamaki specifically as he said those words. Not in accusation. But to convey his meaning, his conviction. "I was never that kind of person and I don't want to be. Lashing out just because I can?! I never wanted to save Japan, I never wanted to live for revenge! All I ever wanted, was to have my life back! To have my dignity back! That's what we have a chance for here. To take back our lives. Not as numbers, but as men and women! People worthy of respect as human beings!"
He swallowed thickly. "And if anyone wants to take that chance away from me... You'll go through me first."
It wasn't a small thing he was doing. He was quite literally a Japanese man standing up for a Britannian against the Japanese. Not out of obligation, but because he genuinely believed it was the right thing to do for their future. If this went against him, he was a traitor to his people no matter the outcome.
He couldn't help the feeling of relief and gratitude when the first person to speak up afterward, was also the person who inspired him to speak up in the first place. "Hell yeah, Ohgi! I'm with ya, buddy!" Tamaki declared as he stepped up toward the front.
And... A strange thing happened.
"I'm... I'm an electrician!" one voice declared.
"I'm a construction worker!"
"I owned a bar!"
"A janitor!"
"Ha! That sucks!"
"It's still better than this!"
It was like a fog had been lifted by Ohgi's speech. Just as he had said, what Britannia had done had stripped away everything they were. Left them with only hatred. If they hadn't become that way, they might have ended up as junkies, high on refrain. Taking their minds back to better days when they had the lives they were declaring.
But now, they were remembering. Not for what the lives they lost. But for the lives they had the chance to reclaim. What they could fight for.
And a chant began to brew up.
"Ohgi! Ohgi! Ohgi! Ohgi!"
"It seems you've found your way into being second in command," Lelouch said. Ohgi turning to see the smile on his face. "Thank you."
Order slowly returned to the room with a new and infectious camaraderie carrying through it. The group, the organisation, the JSDF now an organisation of mutual trust working toward a common goal. Ohgi continued to stand alongside Lelouch, Tamaki standing alongside Ohgi. Not for any real reason beyond neither man either being willing or caring enough to tell him to get back into the audience.
"I didn't come here or call for this meeting simply for the purpose of revealing my identity," Lelouch revealed. "The purpose of this meeting is to outline our next mission. And quite possibly the most daring we will undertake while still keeping our existence quiet." He gestured to his side at Ohgi. "The details of what exactly we will be undertaking were provided by Kaname Ohgi and his group. Something they had acquired before this organisation was formed."
"Our leader, Naoto Kozuki collected the intel," Ohgi admitted, not being one to take credit he hadn't earned. "He died while preparing for it."
"And his death won't be in vain," Lelouch promised, pushing a button. The screen at the front of the room lit up. On it, the details of something called Code R. Or perhaps 'details' was a little strong for a heavily redacted document. There were so many black marks on the page it was a wonder there was any information to be gained from it at all. "This is a memorandum referring to one of the viceroy Prince Clovis' secret projects. Headed by his closest military aide, General Asprius Bartley. And to be entirely truthful with you all... That's largely all we know about the project itself."
"We don't even know what it is? Then why do we care?"
"Because Clovis is being secretive enough about it that our knowing about it is a small miracle, but we still don't know what it is," Lelouch explained. "The Britannian military is rife with 'secret' projects, looking for the next big advancement in military technology. The next evolution of knightmare frame, or for the even more ambitious, something they hope will replace knightmare frames. Those projects are known, but the details are kept quiet. Code R, however... Even knowing it exists appears to be a death sentence. Whatever it is, it's big. Whether it's for the sake of getting it out of Clovis' hands, or getting it into ours, getting involved is in our best interests."
"We've known of an intention to move Code R thanks to Naoto Kozuki. The intention had always been to intercept and appropriate it, but the death of the emperor made such things difficult to predict. The Britannian military forces stationed here had to be shuffled in preparation for an attack and so the transport of Code R was moved. Thanks to the efforts of one of our informants," Lelouch nodded at Ohgi, confirming for him that yes, Kallen had come through, "we know an undeclared transport is being given a military escort from the settlement to an also undeclared location."
"Wait, if it's undeclared, how do we–?" Tamaki asked.
"Because they assigned the escort but didn't say what they were escorting or where," Ohgi answered. It was a little bare bones but it was the kind of information Kallen would have been able to glean, were she motivated. And being a noble and rising star, she had a little more access than most. "So what's the plan?"
"Attack the escort? Steal the transport?" Tamaki asked eagerly.
"Nothing quite so overt." The screen changed, changing from the little information they had on Code R, to what information they had on the facility it was leaving. Not a military installation, at least not from the outside. "We know where it's leaving from. We know when. And so the simplest method of acquiring it is to be the one transporting it in the first place. For our shipment of knightmares, we replaced the crew in the middle of transit. For this... We can be in control right from the very start, right under the Britannians' noses."
"Wait, but how?" Ohgi asked. "Taking the train we could just knock out all their guys and pretend everything was normal. But to take it from the beginning... They'd never let any Japanese get control of it. Wait, you don't mean for," he glanced at the crowd, "our informant to get involved in this, do you?"
"No," Lelouch quickly reassured him, whether reassuring him was the intention or not. "Their position is far too valuable to waste on something like this. Not to mention their presence would be conspicuous. No. We need a Britannian who is far less notable, far less recognisable to anyone who might get suspicious." He smiled. Hands clasped behind his back as he waited for the penny to drop.
"You?" Tamaki asked, incredulous.
Another change to the screen. This time showing the identification of a surly looking Britannian with sharp features and blond hair. "I wouldn't call myself a master of disguise, but I could easily pass for him with a little work. Hair dye, colour contacts, and a little make-up to draw attention away from my sharper chin."
"How do you even know it's gonna be him? Isn't this all secret?" one of the audience asked.
"Yes, however, once you have enough information. More can be extrapolated from the known data points," Lelouch explained. "We know where they're operating from currently, we know they're keeping the true nature of their operation a secret. Deliveries to and from the facility are handled by a few of their on the books employees and only one is expected to work on the day for transport of Code R. This man," he gestured at the screen. "We will acquire him. We will interrogate him for information on the transport protocols to keep up our ruse. And on the day, I will take his place as driver. Depending on what he has to say, it may be possible to also replace the knightmare escort, which would make this operation a walk in the park. Failing that, our forces will attack the escort, keeping them at bay for long enough that I can 'escape' and disappear with our objective."
"That..." Ohgi grimaced. It sounded mostly reasonable. It even sounded a little like what Naoto might have suggested if he were still running things. However, "Two things. First, isn't this going to make things worse between us and the Britannians? Once it's over, that driver will point the finger at the Japanese."
"So we kill him," Tamaki shrugged.
"Not at all," Lelouch answered with a smirk. "After all, for the purpose of this mission, you won't be Japanese. You'll be playing the part of a Britannian special ops squad. Clovis has many enemies right now. I see no harm in appearing to be another one. Full body coverings and balaclavas though, of course. Oh, and, no," he added as an afterthought, "We won't be killing the driver. Better he lives to sell the image of outsiders being a greater threat than the native Japanese."
"Okay... Second problem," Ohgi continued. "It's absurdly risky for you to even be part of this operation. Let alone right in the middle of it. There's gotta be a better way."
"Strategically, this plan allows us to be at minimal risk. Replacing the escort would mean we could be in complete control of the situation. Attacking the escort allows us to catch the enemy in a moment of distraction. A short-lived attack that has the minimal opportunity for casualties on either side. As for the risk to me.. What risk to me?" Lelouch asked with a smug self-assurance. "In either circumstance, I will be the one person utterly above reproach. In control of the vehicle both sides will be protecting."
"Besides, I've always believed in the doctrine of leading from the front."
-(-)-
Blond hair.
It was a strange thing to focus on for Lelouch, but he was focusing on quite a few things at once. The sound of the attendants doing final checks of the truck trailer, making sure everything was secure. The forbidden territory of inside. He wasn't allowed to look, the attendants weren't allowed to look, no one was allowed to look.
Then there was his partner in this little job, who wouldn't stop staring at him. "Stop that."
Inoue froze, taking the reprimand for what it was. "Sorry," she said as she looked away.
Out of all of the resistance, she was the closest to passing for Britannian. They would pay attention to him as the driver, not so much her. So long as she looked the part, and ideally didn't speak, it was fine. "Stay quiet, English only if you have to speak."
"Right."
He nodded. Returning to his earlier thoughts, inane as they might have been. Blond. It was an interesting thing to see in the mirror. So many of his siblings were blond, it being Charles' natural hair colour. Maybe that was why he didn't like it. Well, he could wash it out when this was over. At least Milly had found it amusing when she did it for him, alongside the make-up to adjust the look of his face.
"Everything looks in order," one of the attendants confirmed, Lelouch leaning on the open window to look down at him without really looking at him. "You know the route?"
"Of course I know the route," Lelouch answered acerbically, copying the mannerisms of the real driver as best he could. "Can we get this thing going already?"
"Escort vehicles are running their own checks, they'll give you the go signal over the radio. Make way for them to surround this vehicle. In case of an emergency, follow their orders at all times."
"You're trying to make me paranoid."
"Things have been hectic lately," the attendant defended. "Just keep your head and do your job."
"Right, right." The disguised prince retreated back into the cab, breathing an audible but not visible sigh of relief.
The radio crackled to life and they were on the move, soon joined by more trucks to make it a small convoy. Aside from the size, no one would suspect those trucks ahead and behind were filled with knightmares, pilots at the ready.
"Ohgi told me about how you revealed your real face," Inoue said, now that the drive had commenced and there was no one to pay them attention. "From what he said, you weren't fazed at all in a room full of people thinking about killing you."
"Either it worked out or it didn't," he answered absently, splitting his attention between the conversation, the road and the vehicles escorting them. "It was a step on the path to what I want to achieve. Either it worked out or it didn't. If it didn't... I suppose my ambition would have been a lost cause from the start."
"Hm." He could tell by the grunt she wasn't buying it. "You waited until the ones that wouldn't think twice were out of the picture," she accused, though without hostility. "But it still could've easily gone bad. Ohgi said you didn't flinch... I think I feel better about it, knowing you were actually nervous."
"What makes you think that?"
"Because you were nervous just now," she pointed out with a small smile. "And the stakes are much lower."
"... It would've been a shame if my hopes were snuffed out so casually for a misdirected grudge," he admitted. "Besides, it depends on your definition of 'lower'. Beaten to death, or locked in a black site prison to be tortured."
"Now you're trying to make me nervous."
"Those are the stakes," he shrugged, signalling a left turn alongside the other vehicles. "No need to be more nervous than I am. I wouldn't be here if I weren't confident in the plan, and the most difficult stage is over. For us, at least."
Three trucks. One could assume three knightmares a piece based on the dimensions of the trailers. With potentially more in reserve following at a greater distance. Hell, not even potentially. Any commander with just a little sense would take that precaution for something this sensitive in times this fraught. "We're coming up on the mountains. Call it in. We'll use the third ambush point. It'll take the longest for reinforcements to arrive."
"Right!"
The tension of anticipation only rose higher as they continued to drive. Inoue's radio making chatter of the preparations underway. Another forty minutes of driving. "Vehicles approaching the target location," Inoue spoke into her radio.
"Ready and waiting."
Deep breaths. Five. Four. Three. Two.
The driver's radio crackled. "CONTACT!"
Rising from the dirt of the mountain road, two knightmares emerged. Sutherlands. Each one firing a slash harken at the back end of the trailer of the target vehicles. On the left, the one blocking Lelouch's vehicle from the side. On the right, the one trailing them. The impact, the extra weight, the drag of pulling the frames fully out of the earth they were buried in, all of it sending the trailer skidding, unbalanced by the grapple-line weapons. The Sutherland frames dragged behind even as the trucks began to lose control.
"Damn!" Lelouch cursed, weaving slightly to keep the vehicle away from the dangerously careening escort. Always a minor detail that has to be overlooked for the sake of a good plan. His lack of combat driving was one of them. A small flaw unless it tanked the whole mission. "Orders!" he called over the radio.
"Slow down to make room, knightmares deploying!" came the response. Something Lelouch was understandably slow to do. After all, enemy knightmares on the field would be a bad thing for his forces. Or, he corrected, more enemy knightmares now that the back of the left truck had burst open, the sudden loss of its load putting an end to the vehicle's time on its wheels. The one behind had toppled completely before it could open. Something that would slow down enemy deployment. "I said slow!"
"I can't! Escort 2 is–!" he began to say, but...
There was the second stage of the ambush. His personal favourite stage. It was just so wonderfully simple.
"Shit! More enemy frames ahead! Reroute! Break left!"
Oh? Break left? To avoid the three knightmare frames just standing on the road and up the hill menacingly? That seemed like a good response to him. But oh no! It seemed the driver had failed to heed that instruction in time! The lead vehicle making the left turn to head downhill while the payload vehicle kept on ahead. "You idiot! You're heading right for them!"
"Shit, I can't tur-ksshshshhhh..." Lelouch happily tossed the radio onto the dashboard, smiling to himself. Hearing the sound of his knightmares blocking the road clashing with the escort knightmares. "And that is what we call successful execution of a plan."
"We're not out of the woods yet," Inoue corrected him. "Won't they have a tracker on this thing?"
"Alright, give your last orders," he told her, nodding at her radio as he pulled an object from his pocket and kicked at a large case at his feet. "Broad purpose ECM device." Thank you, Reuben. "When I hit this button we're gonna be out of contact for the next while. They fight only as long as they have to, then they're to retreat and disappear, got it?"
"Got it." She quickly relayed the instructions, waiting for confirmation, all the while Lelouch listened to the chatter on his own radio, getting an idea of how the skirmish was going. The reserves were about to arrive. Inoue relayed that too before nodding at him. With a click of the button, there was a sudden quiet whine in the air that maintained over the passing seconds. Unless the tracker on the truck was something truly special, the enemy forces were in the dark as to their location. "Now what?"
"Now," Lelouch answered, turning to take the truck off-road, "Things get a little tense while we open the truck, find the tracking device, put on fake license plates and take it back to a hideout. They'll get past the jamming at some point and even if they don't, there's only so far we can have gotten in the duration of the skirmish." Back onto the road, turning in an entirely different direction, another turn, then stopping at a small building barely even big enough to hold the truck. What had once been an old rest stop. Abandoned and refitted for their purposes. "At a very conservative guess, we have about ten minutes."
A quick sigh from the young woman and a nod. "Okay."
First things first, they checked underneath the trailer for obvious locations. On the underside of the trailer first, then they broke the lock on the door with some tools to get inside.
"At the very least, even if we can't take it," Lelouch mused as he inspected the inside of the truck, "We'll know what exactly my half-brother is so stringent about keeping hidden."
"What even is that?" Inoue asked aloud, walking up to the enormous metal capsule, the only thing the truck contained. "It looks like a container for something... Wait, you don't think it could be something like chemical weapons, do you?!"
It was a possibility worth considering. For a handful of seconds. "No," the prince answered finally. "This is far too much effort for something so mundane. Clovis wasn't just hiding this from the world, he was hiding it from Britannia, and honestly, they wouldn't care too much about the use of chemical weapons. The worst reaction would be from knights, who might consider it efficient but boorish."
The Japanese woman gave him a sour look. "This is what you want to turn into something less horrible?"
"You need to know the problem before you can solve it."
"Hm." She looked up at it, pursing her lips. "Maybe it's a knightmare prototype?"
"It's a little small, but I suppose." Though that would pose another problem. If it was, it would take more to disable the tracker. They were built into knightmares. They would need to get in the cockpit and disable it in the system.
They took sides of the trailer to search, but as they did, Lelouch's eyes continued to stray to the capsule. A thought occurred to him. The truck cab was less important. The trailer was less important. The only thing Clovis and the staff of Code R would care about...
Thoroughness be damned, he skipped ahead a couple of steps, moving straight for the great container. "It has to be this. There's no other place they'd put a tracking device. It's the only thing they care about." He began checking the underside, then clambered up to check the top. Realising he wouldn't stop until he was satisfied, Inoue joined him, double checking the surface of the thing. "I don't see anything. Do you?"
"No. You really think–?"
"Why would they put a tracker on a truck they don't care about?" He chewed the inside of his cheek, staring at the control panel. If it wasn't on the surface...
He was being impulsive. He was being impulsive. He was– "Inoue, get the spare vehicle started."
"You're going to open it?!" she asked, aghast. "But, what if it really is a poison gas?!"
"It isn't. And even if it is, we're in the middle of nowhere." It would be a shame for the wildlife but it was what it was. "If it is, I'll be right behind you." He donned his mask, for the little protection it would provide.
"... Tch! Fine! But if you get us both killed I'm haunting your entire family!"
He watched her vanish out the back of the truck. Heard the turning of an engine from the beat-up old sedan they'd left here. "There's a couple of my sisters I'd rather you leave alone but the rest of them probably deserve it," he muttered to himself as he approached the control panel. Took a deep breath in, then out, then in again and held it as he opened the container.
He was extraordinarily confident that it wasn't poison gas, but excessive caution never hurt anything. If only he had the excessive caution not to open the damn thing in the first place. The metal sphere hissed as it split open, expelling gas or steam or something. Enough for Lelouch to second-guess his impulsive decision and take a few steps back, prepared to run for the car...
But then, something entirely unexpected dropped out of the container. Not gas. Not poison. Not chemical weapons. Not even a knightmare.
A girl. A girl with long, lime green hair wearing what looked very much like an unfastened straitjacket.
"What the hell...?" the prince uttered, lifting his mask and staring at the unconscious woman laying on the floor of the truck. A step forward. Two. Was she alive? Was she some sort of test subject–?
Her eyes snapped open and she sat up. It was such an eerie movement, like she went from being completely out to wide awake in an instant. Fully alert, yet also entirely bored of her circumstances as she saw the open container that held her. The insides of the truck. And him. "Hohhhh?" she uttered, sounding mildly amused yet bored at the same time. "You look funny like that."
"Excuse me?" Funny? What did that mean? If he looked bewildered surely that was entirely understandable. "Who are you?"
She ignored his question, getting to her feet and inspecting the container. "You let me out. Why? How?"
"Poor manners to answer a question with a question."
"Poor manners to berate the woman you're rescuing."
"Rescuing," Lelouch echoed. "So you were abducted?" What in the world was Clovis up to?
"And aren't you just my knight in shining armour," she confirmed in a way that still sounded very much like she was mocking him. "And hair dye."
Yes. Very much mocking him.
"Look, we don't have a lot of time. Just answer my question and we can get you out of here."
"Oho, so this is a rescue still in progress then," she realised, swaying her arms in a way that set the long sleeves of her clothing swaying below her as she walked toward him. Even knowing they were still in danger she seemed to not have a care in the world. "Then let me answer your question, Lelouch."
He took a half-step back. She knew his name. She recognised him even through the disguise. He opened his mouth to question how, only to close it again. She wasn't a novice at banter, seeming to be adept in ferreting out truth from almost nothing just as he was.
Her amber eyes stared up at him, that amused smile still on her face as she reached up to cup his cheek.
A moment later, Lelouch emerged from the back of the truck, the mysterious green-haired girl in tow as he approached the car.
"Lelouch, what, who the heck is she?!"
"I don't know, she was in the ball," he answered shortly. Keeping a careful eye on the mysterious girl as he opened the truck and pulled out the ECM device. "We're leaving." Quickly he opened the door for the girl who gave a sarcastic-sounding comment about him being a gentleman, before he rounded the vehicle to get in on the other side. "Drive."
"Uh, okay?"
Three minutes into their drive, Lelouch cut off the signal jamming, allowing the radio to come alive. Inoue checking in with their forces. They had lost a knightmare and two others were severely damaged, but no casualties. A mild loss, but well within projections.
But as he glanced at the girl who had decided to use his lap as a pillow, staring up at him, equipment losses were the last thing on his mind.
