On a clandestine mission, Kaji is beaten to the punch by an enemy agent. In order to get the info he needs, he must help his opponent out of the depths of NERV. But thats not his real challenge.
Ryoji Kaji had long been accustomed to being the only one snooping in the corners of NERV where he shouldn't have been. He might have expected other NERV personnel, maybe, but certainly not a complete stranger.
So he stood stunned at the opened doorway to see someone else standing in the room he had intended to get into, stooping over the computer connections he had intended to intrude upon.
"Hey," Kaji said, "who said you could cut in?"
The figure moved and Kaji knew by reflex the figure was going for a gun. Kaji's muscles by reflex pulled for his own, in that instant he wondered who would be faster.
The other fired first but missed, the bullet ricochet off the wall somewhere behind him. Kaji brought his gun up and tacked the figures torso before firing. The figure went down.
Kaji, taking breaths, advanced on the probe figure. "Sorry man," he said, "can't have any witnesses to my extracurricular activities."
The figure had fallen under a light and when he beheld the attacker he paused, then his gun drooped. "What the hell is this?"
The attacker was an older teenager, either 17 or 18, with steel blue eyes and grey hair. He wore all black, proper espionage attire. A submachine gun was across his back. The boy held a pistol as he lay on his side, but he had frozen, staring at Kaji, knowing he wasn't going to get his weapon aimed in time. His leg was bleeding from a hit to the calf.
Kaji stared, sighed and said, "How did you get down here? You're just a kid."
The boy said nothing, just stared at Kaji. The triple agent could see the boy was tense like a coiled spring. Given that he made it down here on his own without alerting anyone, Kaji wouldn't assume tgis was just any kid.
"All right," Kaji said and waved his gun, "throw it. Over here. The rifle too."
The boy wordlessly complied. Kaji noted as the submachine gun flattered his way that the gun was some manner of kalashnikov. Though it didn't confirm anything, the kid looked like a westerner. Possibly Russian.
With the weapons on his side of the room Kaji finally lowered his gun. "All right kid, you just hang tight right there while i do my thing. Then we'll figure out where we go from there."
Kaji stooped over the data terminal he had intended on hacking. He stopped when he saw the screen blanked, with only a blinking DOS input hyphen blinking.
He hesitated, then started typing in the access paths to the data blocks he sought. Once there though, he found nothing. The data had been erased.
Not only had the kid read the files, but he must have deleted them. NERVA would be in for a rather rude surprise.
Kaji leaned up slowly and approached the kid. He had rolled on his back and pushed himself against one of the walls. He was trying to treat the bullet wound to his calf by himself.
"All right, kid." Kaji said, hand on hip while the other held the gun, "What did you do? Sabotage, or data theft?"
The boy didn't respond as he worked to staunch the bleeding, ignoring Kaji.
"You know," Kaji said, "I could turn you into NERV and get what I want to know that way."
"You will not do that." The boy replied, "You want the data as much as I. There is no reason for anyone to be here unless they seek covert access. If you turn me in, I will implicate you. Even if you have the trust of NERV, it will make your position suspect. I am willing to gamble you do not want this."
Kaji smirked. "Some bold assumptions there kiddo. What makes you think NERV will have me arrested?"
"Based on the data file we are both fighting over." The boy replied. "That you are accessing this clandestinely means you do not have the clearance for such information. But it is information you want to take such risks, and also keep me alive in order to get it."
"You really think I'd shoot a kid?" Kaji said.
"A good spy would." The boy replied, looking at him. "I am not your problem."
Kaji stared at the boy, sighed, and put away his gun. "You're right, I do need that info, and you're not getting anywhere easily with that injury. Are you willing to barter for what I need? I get you out of here, and you share what you have?"
"What guarantee do I have that you will do this?" The boy replied.
"Well, obviously, you have the info I need. I can't get that unless you're willing to give it, and you're not going to do that if you're safe."
The boy smirked. "Indeed. Very well, If you can assure me on the surface, I will tell you what I know."
"Deal." Kaji said.
—--
Truth or Dare
Kaji birthday fic
Norsehound
—--
Kaji tore the medical tape and then applied it to help fix the bandage on the boy's leg. The kid watched him carefully, and Kaji felt the pressure of the boy's stare.
They were still within the labyrinthine infrastructure of the Geofront. It was eerie to remember that men walked here once some time ago, but likely,not,since then. The,first,aid kit Kaji found dated to the time of the bases construction. Though a lot of the perishables had expired, it still had what was needed to treat the kid.
"Not much of a talker, are ya?" Kaji said as he finished tending to the boy's leg. As the boy rolled down his black leg sleeve, Kaji said, "You know, we're in some of the furthest areas from the inhabited parts of the base. You can talk aloud, you know."
"What is there to say?" The boy replied. He came off the bench he had been laying upon and tried to put weight on it.
Kaji saw the boy wince in pain, and stepped forward to catch him. "That doesn't seem like a good idea to me."
The boy grunted with a grin. "It seems I will not be able to slip away unnoticed after all. Fortunate for you."
Kaji frowned a little while he helped the boy through more of the labyrinth. "Well," Kaji said, "We have some problems. The fastest way I know to get topside are in populated areas. I take it that's not what you want to do, so you're going to have to guide me to the way out you want."
The boy nodded and closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them. "That corridor." He said, "we are looking for a service elevator."
"All right." Kaji said as he helped the boy walk, "off we go."
a/n: intended as Kaji's birtbday fic, failing here kinda broke my resolve to do Bday fics. Shinji was the last exception because hes the main character until doing Asukas at the end of the year.
this story would be pressing Kaji on all the ways hes a terrible spy and leave him with a choice; continue or abandon his journey to help his loved ones- Misato, Asuka etc. The enemy agent here, if nobody can figure it out, is my frequent OC Arkadey from Wreckage.