Chapter 7

Kito was so distracted by what he had seen, that he barely acknowledged putting on the clothes that Pantillo had 'found' for him. He helped dress Steungart, who was still unable to do anything for himself, although he had awoken enough to begin moaning softly. Kito took that as a good sign.

Once they had gotten rid of their green uniforms, the three men made their way through the rubble, to the Red Cross shelter. Kito and Pantillo supported Steungart between them, carrying him around the debris that only hours before had been a thriving ISO research complex, full of workers.

The shelter had been hastily set up inside a school. As the three men approached, they saw a long line of people waiting to be admitted, and they joined the end of the queue. The Red Cross was reasonably efficient, and it didn't take long before they were at the front. Steungart had regained enough consciousness to understand what they were doing, and Kito felt confident that he wouldn't accidentally mutter something he shouldn't.

"What are your names?" asked a worn-looking woman. She appeared to have been through a great deal in the last few hours. Despite her ragged face, her voice was kindly, and she offered them a comforting smile.

"Kito Abbott."

"Emilio Pantillo."

"Friedrich Steungart."

The woman looked at Steungart.

"Do you need to see a doctor?" she asked.

"No…" Steungart shook his head, protesting weakly. "I just need to rest…"

The woman appeared doubtful, but the doctors obviously had their hands full, so she refrained from any further comment.

"There are cots in the back of the gymnasium, and food is being served in the cafeteria." the woman informed them, as she handed them nametags to wear.

"Thank you, Ma'am." Kito said respectfully, as they moved away from the table.

"Should we have done that?" Pantillo asked.

"Wait a minute: you were the one who suggested that we come here!" Kito protested.

"I mean, should we have given her our real names?" Pantillo replied, obviously having second thoughts.

Kito sighed.

"I don't think it's an issue. It's not like our employer publishes records of everyone who works for their organization."

"I guess you're right." Pantillo acknowledged. "It just makes me a bit nervous…"

"As you mentioned earlier, we are UN citizens." Kito pointed out. "Our data is on file. Suppose they checked out our DNA? Our names had better match up, or we would really have some explaining to do."

"Yeah… okay." Pantillo sounded a little less nervous.

Kito just wanted to drop it. They couldn't change their actions now, and while they were here, they might as well have something to eat. He was starving. He guessed that crashing to the ground from a mangled mecha increased one's appetite exponentially, with the distance of the fall.

Sighing, Kito shook his head. Here he was, hiding in a Red Cross shelter, surrounded by the 'enemy', and he was making bad engineering jokes. At least he hadn't said anything out loud.

Despite his earlier protest, Steungart wasn't in the best condition. Kito and Pantillo got him to a cot and laid him down, leaving a packet of crackers and a bottle of water next to him, in case he woke up, then headed to the cafeteria for a warm meal.

The beef stew being served was hot, and surprisingly tasty, for having been put together at the last minute. They ate at a long table, surrounded by other people who had been affected by Kang's attack. Kito tried hard not to look at anyone else. He didn't want to see the pain and misery on the faces of those who had just lost their homes, or their loved ones, because of something he had helped to construct.

He raised his head, glancing across the room, to avoid having to look at the people seated across the table from him.

A group of Red Cross volunteers were leading a group of children through the cafeteria. Some of them were obviously being reunited with their parents, while others held on forlornly to the remaining volunteers, desperately scanning the crowd for signs of anyone familiar to them.

But, tragic as the scene was, it was not the focus of Kito's attention. One of the volunteers was a girl with long, ebony hair. She smiled gently at the children, comforting those who had not yet found their families. Her head turned, and Kito saw a pair of sorrowful green eyes, taking in the pain of the little ones around her.

It was Jun.

She looked just as she had the last day he had seen her, only much more beautiful: heartbreakingly so. Even more familiar, was the way she was taking care of the youngest refugees, just as she had taken care of Jinpei, all of those years ago.

She stood, and Kito saw that she was wearing a shirt with the number 3 on it.

"Panti… uh… Emilio…" he nudged his companion, "The Science Ninja Team… they have numbers, right?"

"Yeah." mumbled Pantillo, who was more interested in his plate, than in any form of conversation. "Gatchaman is G1, the Condor is G2, the Swan is G3, and the Swallow and the Owl are G4 and G5." He began sopping up the leftover stew on his dish with the biscuit he had been given, not bothering to ask why Kito had wanted to know such mundane details.

The Swan was G3… the Condor had called her Jun… and here was a woman who bore an amazing resemblance to Jun, in a shirt with the number 3 on it…

No! What was he thinking? Would the Science Ninja Team really be that obvious? This woman likely had nothing to do with them. But perhaps… just perhaps… she might be the Jun he had known, all of those years ago.

His heart began pounding in his chest. This woman looked so much like Jun, and she was around the right age.

Kito nearly choked on his stew, when an older child approached her. He had a mop of scraggly brown hair, and a prominent overbite.

And…. he wore a shirt with the number 4 on it.

The Swallow was G4… wasn't that what Pantillo had said? Kito looked over at his comrade, who was now digging into a slice of apple pie, oblivious to his neighbor's train of thought.

No… it wasn't possible. Yes, those two members of the Science Ninja Team had been named Jun and Jinpei, and these two people looked so much like the children he had known, over a decade ago. But… was it truly they? Were Jun and Jinpei really across the room from him? Even more, were they actually members of the Science Ninja Team?

Deep inside his heart, Kito knew that the answer, to all of these questions, was 'yes'. He stared at them, fascinated, but too flustered to approach them himself. The more he observed them, the more convinced he became in his belief.

A handsome young man approached them. He had bright blue eyes, and a shaggy head of light brown hair.

Most significantly, his shirt bore a number 1.

Kito's mind reeled. Was this Gatchaman? No… would they really be that obvious; wearing shirts that advertised their rank on the Science Ninja Team? This had to be a joke. Lord Katse would immediately see through something that transparent.

Or… or would he?

Kito thought about what he knew of Lord Katse. The man was insane, speaking with a Leader who didn't exist, wearing bizarre costumes, and that mask… he had an incredibly short fuse, and thought himself more brilliant than anyone else who had ever lived.

Lord Katse would never suspect something this direct; something that practically slapped an observer in the face. If he even noticed these people at all, he would assume that it was some kind of trick, or a coincidence. Katse considered himself to be too 'sophisticated', to be duped by something this obvious.

It was the perfect cover.

Now Kito was fully convinced. He longed to speak with Jun and Jinpei: to re-connect with them, after all of these years.

But he remained in his seat, too frightened to move. The young man with the number 1 shirt spoke with them, and they nodded. The boy with the number 4 turned and left, the young woman doing so shortly thereafter.

The man with the number 1 shirt watched them for a moment, then turned with a soft smile, preparing to depart in the other direction.

As he moved close to the table where Kito was seated, the soldier jumped up, impulsively approaching him.

Intense blue eyes regarded Kito with a mild curiosity, inviting him to speak.

"Uh…" Now that he was here, Kito wasn't sure what to say. He decided to simply ask what was on his mind.

"That woman… the one you were speaking with… is her name Jun?"

The man raised his eyebrows in mild surprise, but did not appear to be upset by Kito's question.

"Why do you want to know?" he asked quietly.

"She… she looked like someone I used to know." Kito mumbled, his momentary courage fading fast.

"I don't think so." the man replied calmly, beginning to move away.

Kito panicked slightly. He couldn't lose Jun now, after all of this time.

"Are you sure?" he pleaded, placing his hand on the man's arm.

An icy gaze turned to meet his. With a cold certainty, Kito knew that this was, indeed, Gatchaman, who was speaking to him.

"I'm sorry." the man said, his tone dismissive. "She's no one you would know."

Kito let his arm fall to his side, staring at the man, as he left the shelter. He returned to his table, sinking back down into his seat, beside Pantillo. His comrade looked at him curiously.

"So, what was that all about?"

"Nothing important." muttered Kito.