A/N: A big thanks to Eclipz and sayalovesdiva for reviewing the previous chapter!
Plotlines, subplots and a bigger picture, oh my. This chapter has almost everything! And a month or so between chapters? Wow, what am I thinking? ((laugh)) Either way, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and stay tuned for the next - Distorted Connections.
Chapter Nine: A Link Reforged
"The weak who are consumed by the demons inside themselves."
-Jo, Wash This Garden With Blood!
The room was dark, lit only by the pale glow of the security terminal at which a black-haired woman sat. She rubbed her eyes, wishing the straining sensation in them would leave her alone. It was late at night – too late for those she worked for to be doing tests. Or, at least, so it had been before their unceremonious move from the B-23 base in the old subway.
She rubbed her eyes again, turning them reluctantly back to the terminal screen. She had an important task to do, she reminded herself forcefully. Just because even she was starting to feel the effects of her obsessive search didn't mean she needed a break.
It was a weapons test, she noted as she watched the live feedings from the camera, her chin rested in the palm of her hand. Or, rather, it was a physical challenge for the newest of their 'enhanced' specimens. Oh, the scientists had such high hopes for this one, she remembered, her lip curling slightly.
She could hear a woman's serpentine voice barking orders to the guards in the training room, allowing them to release whatever monstrosity they'd cooked up this time, into their 'Gauntlet'. Whether or not it was a success was wholly dependant on whether it survived five hours of continual fighting and gunfire.
Needless to say, there had been few enough success stories since Maria had introduced the Gauntlet to the program.
The woman winced as she shifted in her seat, the destroyed joint of her left knee aching abominably. She'd been sitting for hours, much longer than she normally allowed herself to remain stationary. Of course, she never usually accepted a double shift, but there had been wind of a new set of specimens.
Her mouth tightened as she rubbed the swollen joint. She'd waited too long for healing, after that incident. In her haste to start on her goals, she'd neglected her body, and now the joint would never come good without an expensive cybernetic implant.
She hardly had access to funds like that. So her knee had never been the same, her old career in ruins.
The remains of the latest subject were being cleared away, she realized, as her headset crackled.
"Hey! Eye in the sky! Is it safe to dump the body?" One of the guards asked her, and with a jolt, she quickly checked the other feeds. There was not a soul in sight, she noted. This late in the night, they'd only encounter people with even shadier reasons for being deep under the docks.
"The road is clear," she told the guards dismissively, her eyes drawn back to that one feed of the weapons room, back to Maria, hoping fervently that tonight would be the night. Maybe tonight she would discover what she needed to bring RAPT and their sick ideals down – this time for good.
She hoped that Meg would get her act together and track RAPT down already. God only knew she'd given her enough hints by now… As another of the subjects was marched into the Gauntlet room, she frowned. Another subject, another death. The Project had certainly picked up, she noted grimly. So near to completion, it would only be a matter of time before RAPT would no longer need their most disagreeable test subject, nor the rejects they spawned from her genetic code.
When that happened, when Jo was useless, they'd feed her to that monstrosity pacing about the Gauntlet room.
Oh yes, that Maria took quite a joy in the extermination of the new subjects. Such loathing for their genetic donor was incredible – she supposed she could relate a small amount, a very long time ago.
Her eyes narrowed. With every day that passed, it became more and more apparent. That cruel RAPT creature was losing it. She got more volatile and more violent, lashing out at subjects and scientists alike at every failure. The sprawling, purple tattoo over her cheek and arm activated and deactivated sporadically, warping in and out of existence on her skin, seeming unable to manifest properly.
The deterioration was clear – was that why experimentation had leapt up a few notches?
"Beth! Earth to Beth! You hearing me? Are we right to dump this one, too?"
'Beth' glanced at the feeds, feeling her task weigh even more heavily on her as the night dragged onwards.
"Affirmative."
Sei collapsed to her study's chair, allowing herself one moment of weakness where she let her forehead touch the cold metallic desktop and a fumbled for a cigarette. Her search stopped as she remembered that Amy had done away with the packet a few weeks back, citing Sei's constant migraines as the reason to stop with the 'cancer sticks'. Sei didn't know the truth of the matter, but it seemed that her headaches had only gotten worse. Of course, things had certainly gone downhill rather quickly, since then.
She skated from one problem to another, no chance to breathe, no second chances. A few weeks ago, paperwork and Meg's simmering rage had been the most of her worries. Now, she faced the council's leash, just as she had five years ago, and the shadow of RAPT was taunting her from the edge of her vision. She clenched her left hand, feeling the burn scars stretch and ache.
Things had gone downhill quickly, indeed.
Sei lifted her head, reaching into her desk's drawers and pulling the metal flask from the bottom drawer. She needed to think.
She unscrewed the cap, taking a quick swallow of the liquid and nearly gagged. Leo truly had an awful taste in alcohol, Sei thought dryly as she wiped her mouth. When he'd gifted the flask to her on his last maintenance check on Jango R, he'd said it might help soothe a few ragged nerves. She took a shaky breath, forcing her mind back to the task at hand.
The council's blatant dismissal of her concerns over RAPT was troubling. Up until a few weeks ago, she'd had quiet support from the funding council. While they certainly did not agree with all of her decisions, she'd been confident that in the matter of RAPT, Bai-Lan's council would be behind her. Opposition to RAPT was the best course of action, or so it had been since the assault.
Which means that something's changed, Sei mused as she took another sip of the flask's contents. Perhaps Leo had been right. She was calming, thinking more rationally. But to go from opposing RAPT's remains to openly declaring their existence as paranoia and conspiracy theories is very strange.
Things had started going wrong following the Ormicon job. An incredible loss for Bai-Lan, both in manpower and business relationships. At the current point in time, her agents were still unable to perform at full capacity, and if the council had their way, that might remain so for a long time.
But had it really started with the Ormicon job? Or was it merely a coincidence? Those video stills had been given to Meg, the night before the Ormicon job. Was that the true fire, and the Kruegar incident just the smoke screen?
Tapping her fingers on the metal flask absently, she stared at the tabletop. It all came back to that job. The loss of her men, the damage to the Elizabeth. All because of Ormicon. Sei rested her chin in her hand, thinking. Then maybe there was a connection, between Ormicon and the remnants of RAPT. She just had to find it and prove it to the world.
Easier said than done.
What was Bai-Lan's closest link to Ormicon? President Morholt was hardly the kind of man to hold Bai-Lan in favour, not after how close Kruegar had come to eliminating him. Sei recalled how grudgingly Ormicon had paid off Bai-Lan. No, Morholt would not be suitable. Shin and Zuru were also out of the question. A bizarre cross between bodyguards and CEOs of Ormicon, she hadn't exactly hit it off with the pair during their limited interactions.
There was someone else, though. A woman with light blue hair – Sei could vaguely recall her. The President's secretary, who was a girl who attended the Saint Luciana Academy during Bai-Lan's operation there. From what Sei could remember, Meg had hit it off with the girl initially.
Though the friendship had cooled, partially due to Meg's own flaky behaviour and an immense amount of confusion over her feelings for Jo, it was still possible to make something of this.
Yoko Ketsu, Sei thought firmly, as she took another mouthful of Leo's nasty brew. That was her name.
Meg vaulted up the boarding ramps of the Elizabeth, skidding on the metal grating in her haste as she dodged a departing jeep of Bai-Lan agents. Her bike was parked haphazardly next to the organization's airship – she hoped that it would be safe there. She just needed to get to Sei, as fast as possible.
As she pounded down the narrow airship corridors, past the repaired hold, the first place she checked was Sei's office. The study was empty, save for a flask that stood open over the Bai-Lan insignia etched into the desk's surface. Meg mumbled a curse – where else was Sei found during the night? Racking her brain, Meg raced to the command room. Sei was a hopeless workaholic, Meg thought as she panted, pushing herself faster. Of course she'd be overseeing some kind of obscure operation.
Meg swore again, her eyes taking in only the familiar robots bent at the control panels. No Amy, and certainly no Sei. Just Nana and Hachi, taking care of the night's tasks. Slightly winded, Meg jogged over to Hachi, grabbing the cat-woman's shoulder and shaking it.
"Hachi! Can you do a quick scan of Elizabeth? I need to find Sei," she told Hachi, still breathless. The cat-woman inclined her head, her eyes glowing as she took stock of the airship's occupants and their locations. The cat nodded, the light fading from her eyes as she turned back to Meg.
"Don Laoban seems to be in the first aid room," she said, her voice flat, but polite.
"Thanks," Meg muttered as she jogged back out of the command room. As hot and sweaty as she was, she put on an extra burst of speed and was breathing hard by the time she made it across the airship.
Doctor Irukon would have left for his home at that hour, Meg thought as she entered in the code to unlock the first aid room's door. Unless an injury to an agent had held him up, of course. That was always a possibility. She shoved the doors aside roughly, storming into the room, her eyes searching for her Sei.
Her aforementioned boss was leaned against the cupboards heavily, rifling loudly through them as she searched for something. She seemed to sway on her feet as she hiccoughed, the sound seeming strange coming from the normally refined Bai-Lan leader. Meg's eyes narrowed.
"Sei, you're sloshed!" she said in dismay. Just when she was hoping for a bit of advice and help, Sei had to go and – well – do something very un-Sei.
Sei raised her head, a wan smile on her lips as she leaned against cupboards more heavily.
"You don't suppose the doctor has something for that, do you?" Meg's slightly drunken boss asked slowly, then shook her head. That turned out to be not such a great idea as Sei stumbled. Meg moved quickly to catch her, rolling her eyes as Sei pushed her away.
"Why'd you have to go and do this, for?" the mercenary complained, as Sei staggered over to the bed and sat down on it gratefully.
"I kind of need to be inebriated, just to ask you to do what I need to you do," the Bai-Lan leader said, resting her head in her hands. "I just didn't expect Leo's flask to be as potent as it was. I feel like hell."
"You look like it," Meg snorted. "Anyhow, I was helping out the Initiative and Takane tonight. They had this drug bust going down, so I gave them a hand apprehending the guys. But it turns out that the stuff the Red Dragons were selling were RAPT-developed drugs! They stole them from the subway base, not a week before we were there! One of them heard the new location they were moving to, A-12 or something like that – but Sei! Do you know what this means?"
"That you should probably be telling Amy this, rather than your drunken boss," Sei said, through her hands. "I have some news you aren't going to like hearing, Meg."
Meg's stomach lurched – she ignored it. She was just being ridiculous, there was no way Sei would call off the RAPT search now, not when they were so close-
"Today, I met with the financial council. That meeting has made me more certain than ever before that there is a link between RAPT and Ormicon."
Relief flooded Meg, and she let out the breath she hadn't been aware she was holding. So Sei wasn't going to call it off. It was all good, then. There was no need for panic just yet. Though Sei did call it 'something she wasn't going to like hearing'…
"Ormicon might be a partner, in whatever has become of RAPT's remains. I want you to take a look around, do a bit of recon work." Sei lifted her dark eyes to meet Meg's, her eyes unflinching. "I need you to resume your friendship with Yoko Ketsu."
Meg's heart stopped.
"You're kidding, right?" she asked Sei, her voice sounding sick in her own ears. "After she knows I've avoided her for five years?! In the middle of the RAPT investigations?!" Her voice squeaked towards the end. Sei had no idea of what she was asking, none at all-
"It is precisely because of the RAPT investigations that we need you to do this." Sei buried her head in her hands again. "I need you to find that connection, Meg, and Yoko's our only link to Ormicon."
"Damnit, Sei! Do I seriously have a choice?" Meg cursed, storming out of the first aid room. "Whatever. I'll just go barge back into the life of someone who I left behind five years ago. Great."
Amy was flopped out on her bed, flat on her stomach, her ears filled with the main theme of Dragon Bomber Brothers VII set at a deafening volume as she flipped the pages of her manga. She enjoyed the odd manga, yes. Might have been the giant robots, the hot chicks or the smoking guys. Certainly, it wasn't for some guy's crackpot ideas of 'wtf science'. Sometimes she just wanted to smack the authors – didn't anybody ever tell them that physics and biology didn't actually work that way?
She heaved a giant sigh as she turned the next page, casting her eye quickly over to her personal computer. Sprawled in a corner of her room that took up nearly half the space, all leads and backup drives and connections to every inch of the Elizabeth, Amy's computer was her pride and joy. Hell, that thing could take out the entire RAPT security system, had she had it back in the day.
Maybe Sei wouldn't have had to launch such a suicidal assault on the RAPT headquarters.
Still, the torrent she was downloading was stalling. The internet needed more seeders, less leechers. Amy rolled her eyes – maybe there'd be less demand for the program tomorrow. She flicked another page of her manga, snorting loudly at the cheesy dialogue.
El. Oh. El. Still, she's hot, so it's not so bad.
The door to Amy's room slid open, admitting an annoyed-looking Meg. The hacker raised an eyebrow at her teammate's stormy expression.
Geez, after all I did for you, you still managed to screw it up? Gawd, you are so hopeless.
"Things go badly with Takane?" Amy questioned, turning back to her manga and sipping from the can of soda she'd cracked open. While a Jo-wannabe, Meg certainly didn't have Jo's stoic nature down pat just yet. Give her the right pressure, and she'd spill her guts like an underworld snitch.
I should stop reading this cheesy manga. The bad dialogue is getting to me, Amy decided vaguely. She turned the next page.
"How'd you know about that?" Meg asked warily, leaning against the doorframe. There was the smell of cigarettes and gunpowder on her, plus the usual Tokyo scent. Amy forced her mind back to the present. Oh hormones, when you hit, you hit hard.
Amy feigned a casual shrug. "I called Takane, told her to get your moody ass out of my airship. You glad I did?"
"Huh." Meg had an odd look on her face. Amy couldn't be sure what it was, but it seemed grateful. "I'm just surprised, that you'd do something like that for me."
"Yeah, well, a happy and violent Meg is better than a sulking and moody Meg. You get what I'm saying? When you angst, you put the whole airship on a downer." She tried not to let Meg's appreciation get to her head. "So why do you look like a storm cloud that just rolled into my room?"
Meg blew out sharply, giving Amy a rueful grin. "When did you start being my psychologist? Sei just gave me a mission I didn't much like."
"Which is?" Amy prodded.
"I have to resume my friendship with Yoko Ketsu, the Ormicon president's secretary." Meg's eyes narrowed as she spoke, and she crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't exactly have fond memories of Yoko, or the Saint Luciana Academy."
"So Takane didn't open her big yap this time? Well, that's a nice change. Thought it'd be the redneck cop for sure." Amy tapped her cheek as she turned the page of her manga again. "Well, Sei's pretty caught up at the moment. You might not like this mission, but she probably didn't like giving it."
"She was pissed," Meg admitted, looking to the side. "I've never seen her that drunk."
Bingo. She's still on that RAPT-Ormicon connection theory, and the council's response was less than she hoped for. Sei, why do you invest so much of yourself in your pet theories?
"I guess the meeting with the council went worse than she expected. Especially if she's doing something drastic like making you find your way into Yoko's panti-"
"Oh, shut the hell up, Amy. I came here to give you some RAPT info I uncovered tonight. A-12, as in a location. Can you do something with that?"
"So long as you stop denying that Yoko was totally into you. Still is."
If Amy's doors had been able to slam shut, the hacker was positive Meg would have slammed them on her way out. She cackled evilly, taking another sip of soda as she watched her torrent edge towards one hundred percent.
The morning dawned, bright and sunny and optimistic. Meg loathed the very sight of it, staring dully out the window of the smaller hover vehicle Sei had piled her, and a few other select agents, into. Cramped, hot and irritable from lack of sleep, Meg studied the chambers of her guns, her mind working sluggishly but angrily. The muzzles of her guns glinted in the rising sun, and she sighed heavily.
It was too much to hope that putting a bullet through her head would save her, now. As determined as Sei was about this, she'd drag Meg back from hell just for this stupid recon mission. Meg's mouth tightened as she looked out the window.
There were three other agents forced into the cramped, two-person hovercraft. Natsuki and Rei, Meg had worked with before. It had been a rather gruelling showdown with one of the Yakuza bigwigs – Rei had lost an arm, Nat an eye. The carnage that they wrought, however, was enough to convince the other gang members that retaliation would be useless. Then again, Meg didn't know how many assassination attempts Bai-Lan forces might have intercepted. She supposed she didn't want to know.
The last agent was a major cause of Meg's current ire. He was a pale-haired kid, wearing full riot-gear and a pair of goggles. He sat in the passenger seat, his helmet dangling from his fingers as he watched the buildings whiz by. Sure, Meg wanted a seat, instead of being cramped up the back as she was, but that was hardly the problem.
At the start of the mission, he'd made his name known as Hirao, cutting Natsuki and Rei smooth bows in deference. Meg, he ignored. At first, it had confused her. Why the hell was she saddled with a rude brat? It was only when she started listening to his voice that she'd picked where she knew him.
He's that stuck up little brat, from when I started to chase Kruegar! she realized, her annoyance rising. So he was holding a grudge for a shot he missed, she noted. Screw him, then. There were more important things to be concerned with.
Of course, that hadn't stopped her from stewing in rage as the trip wore on, though.
The mission itself was as straightforward, as Sei had told Meg the night before. A prestigious English family had been hit by an intense burglary in Tokyo's higher class areas; the Longinues had hired Bai-Lan to track down the culprits and return their missing heirlooms. Bai-Lan could do what they chose with the perpetrators – Meg's mouth twisted into a slightly feral grin. Just how she liked it. No law, no leash.
Just the thrill of the mission and the feeling of being alive. Amy and her robotic companions had tracked down the thieves to a small flat on the outskirts of Tokyo, and earlier that morning, Bai-Lan's eyes and ears had confirmed the targets. Meg jumped as the comm. link on her wrist beeped loudly. She stifled a groan as she guessed who was on the other line. Of all the-
"Mitarai here. What's up?"
"How are things going?" Sei asked. "By my calculations, you should be ten or so minutes off destination."
Meg snorted. She really wasn't in the mood for Sei's small talk – she just wished her boss would get to the point already. "Things are fine, I guess. What do you want?"
"So blunt, Meg. A little apprehensive, are we?" Amy's lighter voice teased. Meg rolled her eyes, and then shot a quick glance at Nat and Rei. They appeared to be hiding grins, damn them! Hirao just looked bored. Meg gritted her teeth and ground out,
"Can it, Amy."
"I had Amy hack Yoko's schedule from her handheld planner. While we couldn't find anything regarding your mission, we did ascertain that Yoko is free during a lunch hour, commencing at one o'clock. If you wrap this up quickly, that should leave you plenty of time. I'll have Amy upload her private number to your link."
Meg blinked as she realized that harsh, grinding noise was coming from her clenched teeth.
"Whoopdedoo. What the hell do you want me to say?" she growled. Oh, those two were definitely grinning. Damn Sei. Why couldn't she have waited? No, she wanted to embarrass the hell out of her best gunner. Who said Sei didn't have a sense of humour? Too bad it sucked ass, Meg added in her mind, a tad viciously.
"Always nice to see you're in a good mood," Sei told her. "I'll leave you to your pre-mission prep, then. Recover the goods and contact me immediately. I'll be sending another crew to return the heirlooms to the Longinues."
"Whatever," Meg said and disconnected the link. Damn Sei and her damn missions and her damn cool exterior.
She groaned as her comm. link received Amy's uploaded data. Yoko's number. Sei was really pushing this mission, she noted with ever-growing despair. How the hell could she avoid it? She didn't want to see Yoko. She wanted to stay the hell away from the President's secretary and the memories she stirred. Meg's mind began working furiously for a way out. Maybe she could drag this mission out…?
In spite of enacting every delay tactic Meg could think of, the mission was wrapped up well before lunch. She triple-checked her weaponry, argued semantics over their orders, delayed as long as possible as they waited for the raid to begin. She insisted on the complete apprehension of every one of the twenty goons they found, knocking them out cold for good measure. She checked every square foot of the warehouse for hidden rooms and trapdoors, and catalogued the recovered goods with a focus her normal jobs would never have seen.
"Anyone would think you're trying to better yourself," Rei told her with a snigger as they took stock of the Longinue family heirlooms. "Should we be expecting such… attentive work in the future?"
"Wouldn't that be a pain?" Natsuki laughed, heaving a large crate to the concrete floor and taking a crowbar to the top of it. "Interesting mission, though. I'd kill to have an easy mission like that. Easy."
Sure, if you don't recall being attacked, bound and drugged in a bizarre ritual by that girl and her classmates, Meg snapped silently. Everything stripped away. My pride, my dignity, my secrets.
Instead of voicing that dark thought, Meg grimaced and said,
"Easy's not exactly my style."
"RAPT mutants and cyborgs are, right?" Rei grunted as she heaved another crate to the ground. Meg noted that Hirao scowled at that comment. The sullen boy was guarding the crooks they'd apprehended, drawing the short straw in the jobs Nat had handed out. There wasn't that much sport in watching unconscious thugs, and from Hirao's bored expression, he thought so too.
"Right…" Meg muttered. She still wasn't sure how she'd landed the dubious honour of having killed Kruegar that first time, but she wasn't complaining. She could have been sure that it had been the snipers that had taken him out. Either way, her showdown with Kruegar on the outskirts of Tokyo was one of Bai-Lan's worst kept secrets right now. Meg blamed Amy for that – the girl had no idea of 'top secret' meant.
She'd probably blogged about it even before Sei's orders, Meg thought with an internal sigh as she checked the time on her comm. link. Barely even twenty to eleven… I am so screwed.
The next group of agents would be arriving with the trucks at any moment, she realized with despair as she took careful note of the items in the crate Rei had just opened. A few candleholders, vases – those Longinues had some real funny ideas about what counted as 'priceless family heirlooms', Meg noted with disgust as she closed the crate up again.
Still, so long as Bai-Lan was getting paid. Like Sei said, they needed whatever jobs they could get so they could get back on their feet, and if the Longinues thought giant pairs of wooden earrings, a pen on a chain, a gold-painted wooden necklace and a painting of some islands was worth hiring Bai-Lan, more power to them. No matter if it was almost an ultimate insult to an organization that took care of crooks and drug runners on a daily basis.
"Yo Mitarai! Hey – watch how you store that stuff!" A voice called out from the entrance of the warehouse, the sound of booted feet pounding over cracked cement. Meg whirled around, touching her fingers to the butt of one of her guns in spite of herself. But you could never be too careful, not on the job.
It took her a moment to recognize the man sprinting towards her – she didn't really work with Chion Arakito often. Goods recovery wasn't really one of Meg's functions in Bai-Lan, and this man was a self-proclaimed expert at it. He was a near-civilian storage monkey, she was a mercenary that fought 'RAPT mutants and cyborgs', as Rei put it. Their paths didn't exactly cross all that often.
He was panting by the time he made it across the warehouse floor, and he paused for a moment to catch his breath and to shake his long black hair from his face. He was a skinny, unfit man, Meg noted with distaste. Someone who gave orders, rather than took them. She had to wonder how he made it so far in Bai-Lan…
"Is there something wrong, Arakito?" she asked, forcing herself to sound as pleasant as she could.
Arakito gave her a level look. "Aside from how you and your fellow agents are contaminating the goods, we'd really rather keep this stuff sealed until we get to the Longinues manor. We'll catalogue everything when we reach it."
Meg felt a stirring of irritation as she leaned against the open crate. Rei and Natsuki had stopped what they were doing, one of them tapping their crowbar on the concrete ground – Meg didn't know who.
"Just trying to help," she told him tightly, watching as more of the relief agents began to move into the warehouse. "We weren't given any orders to not do this."
Arakito sighed, brushing his hair back from his face again. "Your help is very much appreciated, but we'll take it from here. You guys are free to head back to the Elizabeth for new jobs."
Meg nodded shortly, leaving her crowbar atop the box. She wouldn't be returning to the Elizabeth for the extra missions, for reasons Sei kept making crystal clear. She'd be biking over to the district Ormicon's offices resided in… There was a twist of panic in her stomach as she considered the mission before her, and she had to take a few deep breaths before it would pass.
Easy, Meg. You can do this. You've faced down cyborgs, cybots, drug runners, murders and rapists. You can make one measly phone call, right? Yoko will probably say no, anyhow. She wasn't exactly dying for my company the last time I saw her.
Breathing out slowly, Meg made her way out of the warehouse, sidling past the unconscious and prone forms of her targets and into the cool air. Arakito had brought a large truck with him to help with the delivery, Meg noted as her fingers fished about her pockets for her pack of cigarettes.
Damn. Empty. She swallowed as the feeling of unease tripled in her stomach. For the fiftieth time that day, she glanced at the information flashing on her comm. link. There it was, all panic-inducing numbers and distasteful memories of a mission she'd rather forget. Sei had been true to her word, though – Amy had almost immediately uploaded Yoko's number, after Sei had ceased contact. Too bad the promptness was for something so… ugh.
She stretched her arms out, rolling her shoulders, stretching out her legs. It would do no good if she busted a ligament-
Oh god, who am I kidding? Am I really so chicken that I'm putting the mission off by stretches?! She just had to bite the bullet. She was employed by Bai-Lan, she had to take whatever mission Sei assigned her. With rising apprehension, she entered Yoko's data into her comm. link, her fingers feeling numbed all of a sudden. The dial-tone sounded oddly threatening as she waited, her breath baited.
She swallowed thickly, realizing her mouth was very dry – she could really do with that cigarette right now. Meg fought the urge to cringe.
"Yoko Ketsu here, how may I assist you today?"
Meg opened her mouth, willing herself to speak. She let out a croak – what the hell could she say? Maybe she should have planned this out more in her head beforehand.
There was a moment of silence, only the sound of Yoko's breath and the rustle of papers. She must be sorting them out while she answered the phone, Meg realized vaguely, her tongue still frozen to the roof of her mouth.
All for Bai-Lan, all for Bai-Lan, damn Sei, all for Bai-Lan…
"Hello? Is anybody there? Listen, I'm going to hang up if-"
"Hey! Yoko! It's me!" Meg blurted, running a shaking hand through her bangs roughly. She internally cursed then – how the hell would Yoko know who 'me' was? It wasn't like she really gave Yoko any hints or anything, neither was Yoko expecting her to call, they weren't exactly the greatest of friends at the moment and-
"Oh!" Yoko's light voice sounded surprised now. "Meg! How are you? Are you back on your feet after all those injuries?"
Huh, maybe she does know my voice. Whaddaya know?
To Yoko, Meg stammered instead, "Uh, y-yeah. You know how it goes. Cyborgs and cybots and explosions and everything. Par the course, you know?" For good measure, she tacked on an unsteady laugh.
"I see. Well, I am glad to hear it."
"Uh, thanks." Meg scrubbed her hand through her bangs again. "Hey, listen-"
"President Morholt has fully recovered. I trust you can convey that to Don Laoban? In spite of the issue with Kruegar's remains, President Morholt and I continue to hope to conduct further business with Bai-Lan. Your organization has made… quite the impression on my superiors. "
God, she was so formal it was almost painful to listen to. Just like back at the Saint Luciana Academy… Meg sighed. "Yeah, sure. But Yoko, I had something I wanted to ask you."
"I see." There was that surprised tone, again. "By all means, Meg. Please."
Okay. Here it goes. I hope you're damn happy, Sei.
"Listen, I had some free time on my hands between jobs, and I remembered that I have a few lunches to make up with you." Surprisingly, it was getting easier to talk to Yoko now. Perhaps she was just getting into the lie, or the mercenary mindset. Either way, the knot in her stomach started to ease. "Maybe, if you want, we can catch up during your lunch hour or something. You know. Hang out."
There was a moment of silence as Yoko digested this request. Meg waited, her breath baited. Was she going to explode in a self-righteous fury, and demand what Meg was up to? She hadn't exactly been subtle about this.
"Of course, Meg. I would love to join you."
Meg's breath caught, and she faked a grin, even if Yoko couldn't see it. "Great! I'll pick you up over at the Ormicon building, right?"
"Very well, Meg. I'll be out the front at one o'clock."
She fought down the urge to start gibbering in panic, forcing herself to declare, "Awesome! Uh, well, I'll see you then."
"At one o'clock, then." There was a hint of a smile in Yoko's voice – Meg's stomach twisted painfully. God, the lie stung. It was really no easier to lie to her now, than it had been five years ago. The fact that Yoko was being so nice about it, being so genuinely happy…
Meg clicked her comm. link off, feeling more miserable than she had been before. She stared up at the sky as she heard Hirao, Natsuki and Rei move past her and towards the small hover vehicle, reminded so completely of that visit to the hospital. She remembered telling Jo about her inner turmoil, and Jo had responded in her usual fashion.
The weak are consumed by the demons inside themselves, Jo's voice whispered in her ear, so soft Meg could barely hear it.
"Yeah," Meg muttered to the cloudless and harsh blue sky, as she moved off to board the hover vehicle. "We are."
As promised, Yoko was waiting outside of the Ormicon offices, sitting on a bench in the shade of the bus stop. On a second look, Meg noted sourly as she guided her bike over to Yoko, the Ormicon building looked even uglier than before. Maybe it was just her mindset. An ugly mind saw only ugliness.
Yoko looked up as Meg neared, peering up from her personal organizer through wire-rimmed glasses. She was wearing a grey suit and skirt today, her blue hair caught back in a large clip at the back of her head. Meg ran an eye up and down her slender form as Yoko climbed gracefully to her feet. It wasn't like Yoko wasn't attractive, or anything. Huh. Maybe her mind wasn't in such an ugly mood, after all.
What had Amy said, last night?
Yoko's into me, huh? Meg lowered her goggles down around her neck. The grin she forced onto her face was almost genuine.
"Hey," she said, leaning on the handlebars of her bike and offering Yoko the only helmet she carried. Yoko looked her up and down, eyeing the bike warily. Was she afraid of biking it? Or didn't she trust Meg's driving skills? Honestly, if Amy didn't stop blogging about how she was such a 'terrible driver', she'd bloody throttle her-
"Hey," Yoko smiled then, taking the helmet in both her hands. "I had no idea you used one of these."
Meg couldn't help but puff up a little inside. "The Kanbaku's old leader taught me, not long after the RAPT HQ fell," she told the other woman as she removed her hair clip and strapped the helmet on. "I wish I had a less insane instructor."
Yoko gave another one of those half smiles, the ones that Meg couldn't figure out if they were real or not.
"You have some… interesting friends, Meg," she said over the growling motor of the bike as she climbed on. Her arms slid around Meg's waist as the mercenary kicked the motorcycle off.
Meg grinned back at her. "You don't even know the half of it."
"So where are we going?" Yoko questioned as Meg pulled out onto the road properly, her arms tightening around Meg's waist as the engine growled. The mercenary smirked as she decided on where she'd be taking Yoko. Somewhere they could get good food, fast.
"Just a place I know! Hold onto your hat!" Meg shouted over the roar of the bike as she sped off towards the city. Even if she was using Yoko to spy on Ormicon, she felt like she owed it the girl – and the demons in her head – to put the past behind her and at least make this mission enjoyable.