Hey everyone! It's been a while since I update, but I managed to move home from college (or uni depending on where you're from), find a job and play lots and lots of games. Actually, I wrote about half of this at work. XD
DISCLAIMER: I don't own this. Seriously.
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Hunting Shadows - Who Watches the Watchers?
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"All right, who's been eating the doughnuts?" demanded the grizzled veteran as he took a seat at the long wooden table and glared at the four others already seated. Aside from the large moustache on his upper lip, his dark brown hair was still trimmed according to old regulations that no longer applied. Years of service in the Eurasian Federation Marines before immigrating to Orb had hardened his face and body and left him with a semi-permanent cigar protruding from under the afore mentioned moustache. Anthony 'Tony' Zimmer was someone not to cross on a bad day, much less in the middle of a drug crackdown.
After hastily wiping her hands on a nearby napkin and tossing it over her shoulder into the trash, one person responded, "Don't look at me. Sophie was eating before they even got through the door." Elena Murray was not the most accomplished liar, but she was a leader in forensic science. She pointed at her blonde neighbour who was searching for napkins to wipe her sticky fingers on.
Such was the scene that took place as Kira entered the conference room for the weekly team meeting. He'd been here for only a week, but was welcomed with open arms and friendly smiles. Over the past few days, he'd learned much about the task group in charge of the investigation. The team, Majestic 12 or MJ12 as some referred to it, was not formed in response to the serial murders, but had existed for years in the shadows and was headed by a group of five elite members. Officially, MJ12 was titled "Ministry of Justice, Section Twelve" and was composed of some of the best and brightest the Federal Security Service could offer. Under Josef Wegner's leadership, they were tasked with only the toughest, most controversial cases that confronted the FSB. It was divided into four divisions: Intelligence, Communications, Operations, and Science and Technology, whose division heads were Avery Clark, Sophie Ryan, Tony, and Elena, respectively. Kira worked with Morgenroete as part of the Communications, but also attended senior meetings so he could report progress to Cagalli and the Emirs.
A voice boomed from the doorway after Kira picked a comfortable chair close to the door, "As long as there's still coffee, we'll be fine." Wegner strode to the front of the room and took a seat at the table's head. "Let's start with you, Avery."
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The two killers occupied a room in unleased office space in one of many of the capital's newly constructed office buildings. One peered out the plate glass window through a pair of binoculars and made notations on a pad of paper while the other munched on a bag of dried apple chips. The area was barren, save for two thick foam pads and small hoard of drinks and food. Neither the drywall for individual offices nor the industrial quality carpet had been installed yet.
Shinji turned away from the window and set down the binoculars. "There's something going on here. Something big. And we don't know what it is."
"What, about the mission?" Akira asked before eating another chip. "Don't worry about it. It'll work out just fine. If we follow procedure there's no reason why anything should go wrong."
The braided assassin made a final notation on the notebook and tossed it over to Akira. "Well, it's your turn." He rolled off the his pad and set about sifting through the supplies for something tasty and didn't read "Meal, Ready-to-Eat" on the packaging. He'd lived off of MREs in the past and wasn't going to eat any more unless it was absolutely necessary.
Akira inched his foam mattress over to the window and dug a pencil out from a pocket. In truth, he also had a nagging feeling that something was incredibly amiss, but he wasn't about to admit it. The typed objectives in the mission packet were clear and concise as usual and the operation was nearing completion, but the additional unwritten instructions were in direct conflict with standard procedure. Something was definitely going on and it was almost certainly related to what the target knew.
Meanwhile, Shinji continued to search fruitlessly through the box of food. Every single package so far had been a clearly labelled MRE and the prospects weren't looking good. 'That's the last time I'm letting him buy food for the missions,' he fumed silently. Of course, that was what he'd told himself last time.
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An hour and half later, Kira rose from the uncomfortable seat at the table and stiffly made his way back to his cubicle to get his bag. Despite a generous budget, MJ12 still relied on standard rolling office chairs used in government agencies everywhere. Apparently, extra funds at the end of every fiscal year were placed in a secret account for other purposes. Either staff members had become accustomed to the thinly cushioned contraptions or they weren't willing to use the deposited funds to buy new chairs, preferring to spend it on an underground complex that featured entertainment systems, a gym, and a full size kitchen.
The morning's meeting was one half of the two major meetings scheduled for the day. Now, he was about to catch the bus over to Morgenroete's capital division to meet with Erica. It had taken some poking around to find an opening in her schedule where he could drag her away from the Murasame development project for a moment.
As he gripped the overhead rail for safety, Kira marvelled at the plan put together to catch him. Last week, Cagalli and Athrun had revealed that a furnished apartment waited near the capital's outskirts and his cubicle was already assigned and system accounts already set up at MJ12 upon arrival. Cagalli had evidently pulled enough strings somewhere in the government to get this done in only a few days. A Top Secret security clearance usually meant that a battery of psychological tests and exams before even being considered and all he had to do was just walk in and sign his name on some forms.
Eventually the bus reached the Morgenroete facility and Kira got off at the front security gate. The main complex was still a ways off, but he could ride a shuttle after clearing the checkpoint. The guards at the gate carefully examined his identity card before permitting access. Luckily, a utility vehicle waited on the other side, saving him from having to walk across the installation to Erica's office.
He nodded at the secretary before toggling the door switch for the inner door. It slid open to reveal the engineering head behind a desk, organising a large stack of folders.
"Hello, Kira. Would you mind if we took a walk?" Erica smiled sheepishly. "I've been in meetings all morning and the chair was stiff as a board."
He laughed. "Sure, I know what you mean. I was in a meeting earlier, too." He waited by the door as the older woman locked the computer and dimmed the lights, then followed her out.
The brunette paused by her secretary and said, "Natalie, go ahead and take a lunch break. I'm going to show Kira Hanger 12 and then head to lunch after."
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Akira adjusted the magnification on the binoculars and focused it on the three people in the distant office. He braced his elbows on the floor and took slow controlled breaths as he tried to read lips nearly three quarters of a kilometre away. With the slight movement in his arms cause by his heartbeat magnified over the distance and the gestures of the speakers, it was impossible to determine with absolute certainty what was being said. When they were finished, he rolled over on his back and pondered the possible variations of what he read.
'It must be a lunch break. Everyone left the office after that and it's about noon, too.' His felt a sharp pain in his stomach. "Where are you, Shinji?" he grumbled.
"I'm back!" Shinji called from the stairway access.
Akira leapt up and grabbed his bag. "Next time don't starve me, man. It's lunch time." He paused at the garbage can filled with several days' worth of trash and asked over his shoulder, "Anything around here other than Cafe de Coral?"
Shinji, who liked eating there, had to think for a moment before replying, "Well, if you count 7-11 food as real food, then yes. Other than that, there's not much else."
"Well, I guess I'll be gone for a while." He didn't really enjoy eating at Cafe de Coral and convience store food didn't constitute a meal. Hopefully, he could find the Yoshinoya they passed by earlier before starting surveillance.
He was a block from the station when his cell phone went off. Akira pulled it out of his pocket and checked the screen. It read "No ID". He thumbed the talk button and held it up to his ear.
"Chang. Secure." He didn't have to say anything else; the call could only be from one source.
An angry female voice issued from the earpiece. "When are you two going to give me a list of equipment? And can't you answer the phone like a normal person?"
Akira smiled a bit at the frustrated tone on the other end. He walked a few steps into a narrow alley before answering. "Julia, I'll have it for you tonight. As for my phone answering skills, I always answer like that when it's work. I thought you'd know by now."
"Yes, but that doesn't mean I have to like it."
"Right. It'll be in your Inbox before you leave." Akira terminated the connection and slipped the phone back in his pocket before rejoining the main flow of people on the sidewalk. Now, where was that shop?
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Erica and Kira were on an enclosed catwalk overlooking the noisy insides of the Murasame development hanger. They observed the activity below for a few moments before Kira began.
"We found something yesterday."
She knew that MJ12 was having trouble finding leads from the crime evidence. "Oh? And what would that be?"
"The murdered were all working on the Murasame. Specifically, they were people who also helped develop the original Astray operating system."
Erica leaned back against the wall for a moment, thinking of the possible implications. All of them were holdovers from the Astray project?
"Industrial sabotage?" she asked. Maybe the EA found out about the Murasame somehow and were trying to steal information. They'd certainly hadn't developed the Strike Dagger Natural OS by themselves. In fact, until the Arkhangel had made port in Onogoro, Orb hadn't had a Natural OS either. Sometime after that, it must have been leaked to the EA.
Kira shook his head. "No, we don't think so. The FIS hasn't noticed anything." Industrial espionage was one of the methods the Foreign Intelligence Service used to gather information. They hadn't reported a single piece of intel related to the Murasame project in either the EAF or ZAFT.
They stood for another few minutes before Kira's stomach rumbled over the distant sounds of machinery. He turned slightly red and gave an embarrassed smile.
Erica laughed. "C'mon, I'll buy you some lunch."
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"Where were you?" Shinji demanded when Akira got back. "It's been two hours!"
"Lunch hour, remember? Let's get out of here. I just sent Julia the requisition form, so we'll be able to pick up the stuff tomorrow."
Shinji grabbed his backpack and led the way down to the street by way of stair rails. Soon, MSS looked like just another pair of college students roaming the city.
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EDIT: Crazy/weird footnote removed...
Please review... Oh, and I'd like some feedback about my writing style, if possible. Sometimes my writing feels a bit weird, like I'm not giving enough details. Thanks!
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