Sorry it took so long to update. I picked a bad time to start writing this. School keeps getting in the way and recently, I've been just too tired to write. With that aside, I present a new chapter of Hunting Shadows.
Disclaimer: If I owned the Gundam SEED franchise, I'd be rich. If I were rich, I wouldn't be worrying about my grades. Since I'm worried about my grades... You do the math.
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Hunting Shadows - On a Path to Collision
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Kira drove through the Athha Mansion gates in his silver coupe. Just over a month had passed since the signing of the Treaty of Junius Seven in March. Tensions between factions had relaxed somewhat and the Freedom was hidden away with its fission reactor placed on standby. Life with Lacus at Reverend Malchio's orphanage was eventful, to say the least. With all the children running around, there was no shortage of excitement. Whenever he had time, Kira would usually make a trip to the main islands to visit Cagalli and Athrun, or rather Alex, and see how they were doing. This time, she had called him to ask for an unspecified favour. After being waved through security, he proceeded to Cagalli's office. She often worked long hours without breaks, much to Athrun's and the house staff's annoyance.
"Morning, you two," Kira greeted upon entering.
"Hey," responded Athrun from where he was lounging on the white leather sofa, facing windows that looked out onto the Pacific. Cagalli paused in her phone conversation and gave a small wave before continuing with her work. Her face showed obvious signs of exhaustion. A few minutes minute later, she hung up and turned to Kira.
She grinned. "Sorry, you know the Emirs like to keep talking and talking. How's everyone at the orphanage?"
"We're doing well. Lacus and the Reverend have their hands full with the kids."
"Sorry I had to drag you away, but I wanted to ask for your help with something. You've heard of the serial killer investigation, right?"
"Yeah," he affirmed. "Still no luck finding him? Whoever it is has been untraceable for months now."
"Nope, they haven't made much progress. Every time the public polls sink, the Emirs question my competence and blame my age. If possible, I'd like you to assist the investigative team. They need someone with your public recognition and skills to boost the people's confidence. I've spoken to Josef Wegner, the head of the team and he's looking for someone to serve as liaison with Morgenroete. Of course, you'll be paid as a senior contractor working on a high priority project."
"I don't know... We've got our hands full at the orphanage. It would be nice to work with Ms. Simmons again," Kira mused. "I need to talk to Lacus about this. Can I have a little time to think?"
Cagalli agreed. "All right, but please consider it seriously. I really need your help with this. I'm getting a bit hungry, so why don't we go and get some lunch?"
--
Two men sat at a table at an outdoor cafe while pedestrians and other customers flowed around them during the lunch time rush. The older wore a sharp black suit and a black briefcase stood on the floor next to his white chair. From his thinning grey hair to his shined shoes, every inch of him appeared to be a high level bureaucrat or businessman. However, his opposite number was a completely different story. The young Asian appeared to be one of the many lowly bicycle couriers that roamed the urban areas of Orb's major cities, wearing khaki shorts and a thin blue Reebok shirt over his lithe frame.
"Here is your new assignment." The elder slid a yellow folder across the white table. A light breeze caught the cover and flipped it open to reveal a several sheets of paper filled with information typed in a small font. "Funds will be deposited in your account tonight. Do not interrogate this subject."
Taking a pause from skimming the cover page, the younger man gave an incredulous glance. "I disagree. The subject holds a high security clearance. Any information obtained would be useful."
He was met with a scathing glare. "Mr. Chang, you are not being paid to question my orders. You are paid to follow orders issued by your country."
"Fine. I may have to requisition more equipment for this job. Make sure The Farm is open." With that, Chang slid the folder into his messenger bag and rose from his seat. He disappeared into the crowd moments after passing through a gate in low fence enclosing the patio. Moments later, all signs of his passage faded away; it was as if he'd never existed in the first place.
The other man exited several minutes later and entered a nondescript black sedan parked in a side street. A middle aged man sat behind the wheel with his coat unbuttoned. An opened newspaper lay in the passenger seat.
"Welcome back, sir. Back to the office?"
He fastened the seatbelt and gave a nod. The car slowly pulled out of the alley and entered the main traffic flow. In seconds, it was just another car in a mass of vehicles moving through the port city of Izanagi.
--
Much as Kira wanted to help Cagalli and assist in the investigation, he also didn't want to leave Lacus and the Reverend without help. Even when he was there, the children sometimes became too much to handle. Who knew what sorts of trouble they would get into if he were gone for months. When Cagalli outlined her proposal, the brunet silently decided to talk to Lacus before making a decision. After lunch, he'd left the car near a small suburban park that he was now strolling through. Kira decided it would be a good time to call Lacus and pulled out his cell phone to call the orphanage.
It rang until the answering machine picked up and Lacus' message began playback. "Kira, the children wanted to have a picnic at the beach so I won't be back until the evening. I know what you want to ask me and my answer is no, I don't mind if you take the job. You don't see your family and friends very often and I'm sure I can handle the children with Reverend Malchio for a few months. I'll miss you so be sure to call often."
Kira was at a loss for words. How did she know what he was going to ask? Cagalli only presented the idea that morning and it was still early afternoon. Shaking his head, he dialled Cagalli's office phone but only received a busy signal. No doubt she was in the middle of another conference with someone important. Frustrated, he called Athrun's cell.
The blue haired bodyguard picked up immediately. "Kira?"
"Athrun, I've spoken with Lacus and I'm going to take the job."
"That's great! Cagalli's in another meeting but it should be done soon. Can you meet us back at the house later? We need to go over some details before you meet the team tomorrow"
"Sure," Kira agreed. "It's not problem." He was going hang up when a thought struck him. "Athrun, has Cagalli talked to Lacus recently?"
Athrun quickly responded, "No, she hasn't. Why?"
"It's just that Lacus knew what I was going to ask before I said anything." Once again, he was about to disconnect when he had an idea. Before lunch, Cagalli had asked Athrun to run an errand and Lacus took the kids to the beach for a lunch picnic. "Have you talked with Lacus?"
Silence was the only answer.
"Athrun?"
"Sorry Kira, I have to go. Cagalli wants me to pick up something." He hung up.
Kira smirked and shook his head at Athrun's hasty attempt to deny having called Lacus. They knew each other too well for such a pause to go unnoticed.
--
It was late afternoon by the time he arrived back at the apartment complex. The train ride from Izanagi back to the capital was long and NetHack could only alleviate a small bit of boredom.
"Welcome back, Mr. Chang," the building's duty guard called out when he entered. James was a young MP recently discharged from the Orb Army and had yet to lose some of the ingrained stiffness.
He nodded. "Hey Jimmy. Much activity?"
"No, sir. Not much today."
He continued down the corridor to the bank of elevators. It took several seconds for the lift to ascend to the appropriate floor where it arrived with a quiet ding. Exiting, he made a left and approached his unit.
The Asian unlocked the door and called out, "Shinji! You home?"
A head poked out of a bedroom doorway. "Yeah, Akira?"
"We've got a new assignment." He withdrew the folder and dropped it on a desk on top of a stack of others. "Special instructions this time: no interrogation."
"What?!" Shinji approached, stumbling over a pillow on the ground. "Ouch. What do you mean 'no interrogation?' How else are we supposed to supply intel?"
"I don't know why and I'm not about to ask. I'm going to take a nap." He wasn't really sleepy but they were going to begin operations that night. The jobs were never easy and this one was the riskiest yet. "Go ahead and start analysing the data."
Shinji took a seat at one of the computer workstations and switched the bank of monitors on. After authenticating, he accessed the assignment database.
'What do we have here... Violet eyes and brown hair, huh? Interesting combo...'
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Yeah, I had a burst of productivity and just kept on writing and writing. The new document system completely screwed up the .odt file I uploaded so I reverted to the good old .txt file.
School's winding up and finals are approaching, so I might not be able to update until mid-May.
Please review?
redshirt
