I don't own anything.
Intelligence
-Chapter Four: Princess
Shinji flipped his phone shut and shoved it into his pocket. "Who was it, sir?"
"Someone I asked to do me a favor," Shinji stated as he picked up his sunglasses and helmet.
"Oh." Takeo's eyes widened suddenly as he understood. "Oh!" The search on Asuka had turned up quite a few interesting tidbits. Maybe Takeo had the right idea with the thumb screws. Shinji was more partial to a car battery and a couple of wires though.
"I'll be back in a couple of minutes," he called as he started for the door.
"Picking up the food?" Asuka asked.
"Yep."
"Feel like some company?" Shinji glanced back at the redhead over his shoulder. Did she know he drove a motorcycle? Better yet, did she know how he drove a motorcycle?
"Sure. Catch." Asuka looked surprised by the black object sailing through the air at her, but caught it none the less.
"What's this?"
"It's a helmet," Shinji stated. "You'll need it."
"And why would I need it?" Asuka demanded. Shinji grinned and checked his pocket for his sunglasses.
"You'll see."
"It'll mess up my hair," Asuka stated as she set the helmet down.
"Suit yourself."
(:ii:)
Misato looked around the apartment and frowned. "Where'd Asuka go?"
"I think she went to go pick up the food with Shinji," Takeo stated.
"Oh." Misato considered this for a moment. 'I should have warned her.'
(:ii:)
"Slow down!" Asuka shrieked as the motorcycle darted sideways, sliding between two trucks so close Asuka could see her reflection in one of their glossy paintjobs. She clutched Shinji's waist tightly and buried her face in his back. The motorcycle slowed and finally came to a stop.
"Having fun?" Asuka leaned back and stared at the man. She could practically feel her heart trying to jump out of her chest.
"Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" she shrieked. All she had wanted was a nice quiet drive and a chance to talk about Shinji's job, not a thrill ride through Tokyo-3's streets that exceeded Misato on her wildest day.
"Loosen up," Shinji commented as he leaned back and pushed his sunglasses up on his head. He smiled at her. "Your hair's all messed up." Asuka frowned as her body suddenly realized how close she was to an attractive male and reminded her of how long it had been since she had any real male company, of her own preference at least.
"You're different," she stated, awkwardly resting her chin on his shoulder. It had been quite some time since close proximity with anyone had made Asuka feel awkward. The analyzing part of her brain took in the old military style tattoos, a military crest of some kind and two bullets with Kanji inscribed on their casings, on his inner forearms.
"What do you mean?" Shinji asked, unaware of her scrutiny.
"You're different from how you used to be," Asuka clarified. Shinji laughed and Asuka tried to remember any occasion when he had laughed back when they were living together. She couldn't think of a single instance. "You've changed."
"Well, people tend to do that," Shinji stated. He pushed his sunglasses down and looked up. "Green light!" Asuka shrieked as the motorcycle lurched forward under her. "Hold on!"
(:ii:)
Misato glanced up and smiled as a bedraggled redhead stepped into the apartment. Being verbally tag teamed was definitely worth the look on the other woman's face. "Did I mention Shinji drives a motorcycle?" she asked innocently.
"No," Asuka stated flatly.
"He doesn't drive it very well either," Misato added as the redhead disappeared into the living room.
"We're home!" Misato smiled at those words and watched as Shinji walked into the kitchen. He unslung his backpack and pulled out a plastic bag. "Chow!"
"Food!" Misato cheered.
"Nice to see you too," Shinji replied dryly as he opened the bag.
"Don't be silly," Misato stated as she pushed herself up against the younger man. "I'm always happy to see you." She took advantage of his split second hesitation and grabbed the bag out of his hand. "Got it!" Misato retreated quickly, cursing her treacherous, overly sensitive body for its reaction.
"Funny," Shinji grumbled as he made his way to the fridge and grabbed a pair of beers. "What do you to want to drink?"
"Beer?" Asuka called.
"What do you have?" Takeo asked.
"Beer and water," Shinji answered.
"Beer!"
"Catch!"
"Huh?" Misato cursed and managed to juggle the beer that had been tossed at her without dropping the bag containing their dinner. "Now, what would you have done if I had dropped that?"
"Punished you," Shinji replied as he set the beers on the table. He leaned forward and pecked her on the lips.
"Mine."
"Huh?" Misato cursed as she noticed that the bag had disappeared from her hands. "You little bastard." She was about to jump on him and wrestle him into submission when his phone went off. Shinji froze and glanced up at her apologetically. "Go ahead."
"Thanks." The younger man pulled out his phone and stepped out of the room. Misato grabbed her cup of beer ramen and popped the cap off. If there was one thing that always got that man's attention, it was his cell phone. He stormed into the kitchen moments later trying to pull on his boots as he walked.
"Heading out?"
"Duty calls," Shinji replied. "Takeo!"
"Sir?"
"Grab the bag," Shinji ordered. "We gotta go." Shinji paused to grab his ramen from the bag. "Tomorrow."
"What?" Misato asked.
"We'll go out tomorrow," Shinji stated. "The phone will be off, I swear."
"Don't make promises you can't keep," Misato stated. Shinji hesitated for a moment and nodded before rushing out the door. Asuka appeared a moment later.
"What the hell was that?"
"You get used to it," Misato replied. "Here's your food." Asuka took the cup and picked up a pair of disposable chopsticks.
"Do you really think he's a government accountant?" she asked as she opened her ramen and broke her chopsticks, scowling as one broke in half instead of splitting neatly from its twin.
"It doesn't matter," Misato stated. "That's what he tells me and that's all the matters." That was true enough, but she wasn't stupid. Shinji Ikari was definitely not a government accountant.
(:ii:)
"What's the rush sir?"
"Someone's checking out the computer store," Shinji stated as they climbed into the car. Takeo tossed the bag containing the Mk. 23s to him and slid behind the wheel.
"Germans?"
"We still don't know the exact nationality of the computer stores guys," Shinji stated. "They might not even be working for a government. Might be free lance looking to sell what they find later at auction."
"Free lancers don't have back up teams," Takeo stated as he started the car and pulled out of the parking spot.
"Not usually," Shinji replied as he opened the bag and pulled out his weapon. He pushed a magazine into the massive weapon's grip and pulled the slide back. "All we know is that somebody tripped one of the sensors the guys in Cleanup and Recovery left."
"A Direct Action team wouldn't be that clumsy," Takeo stated. "Maybe they're just civilians with free lancers."
"The guys from C&R are some of the best," Shinji stated as he loaded Takeo's weapon too. "I was used to test their techniques, they nailed me every time."
"You?"
"They're good," Shinji stated.
"Are we going to have backup?" Takeo asked. Shinji shot the young man a grin and climbed into the backseat.
"We're the only combatants close enough to respond," he stated as he folded down one of the backseats so he could reach into the trunk. He pulled out a black belt and quickly buckled it around his waist, pausing to buckle the thigh holster platform dangling from it to his right leg. "Too bad this didn't happen tomorrow."
"Why?" Takeo asked.
"They heavy weapons were supposed to arrive tomorrow," Shinji stated as he pulled on a black vest over his polo shirt. "We don't even have SAPI plates for the vests. Don't you love not being able to take assault rifles and bullet-proof plates on public transportation?"
"They should make an exception for us," Takeo stated.
"They let us carry pistols," Shinji pointed out as he pulled on a pair of black gloves.
"Well, we should be allowed to carry grenades and assault rifles," Takeo stated.
"Don't worry about it."
"Why the hell not?" Shinji opened one of the pouches on his vest and pulled out a single MK3A2 offensive concussion grenade. "You brought that on the monorail, didn't you?"
"Of course," Shinji replied. "How the hell else would I get it?"
"I feel obligated to remind you that you are overstepping your boundaries," Takeo stated.
"Duly noted," Shinji replied as he took his Mk. 23 in its holster and clipped it to the platform on his thigh.
(:ii:)
Reinhard looked around the small space and frowned. This didn't look promising. "Is anything recoverable?"
"I don't know," Reinhard stated, glancing back at his escort. The large ex-GSG-9 agent frowned.
"I don't think we have a lot of time, sir." Reminhard nodded and kneeled in front of one of the desks. The Japanese had already removed all the computers, cleverly avoiding the powerful magnetic strips on the door frames. They were good. 'I just hope they aren't amazing,' Reinhard decided. He found the Ethernet jack and pulled the cover off. Beside it was a small USB port. Reinhard pulled his Blackberry from his pocket and connected it to the port.
"Please." The screen lit up and he accessed the hidden hard drive. "Got it."
"It's there?" the soldier asked.
"Everything," Reinhard stated. "We're in luck. I'm starting the download."
(:ii:)
Shinji cursed mentally as he crouched outside the shop. He was squatting below one of the large main windows. By his best guess there were at least eight people inside. His hand slid down to his Mk. 23 and he pulled the exposed hammer back. He glanced at Takeo who was crouching on the other side of the door below the other set of windows. He held up eight fingers and Takeo nodded.
Shinji glanced up and considered the window over him. He couldn't just throw the grenade through it. He didn't have the leverage. After a moment of consideration he drew his Mk. 23 and the grenade. He pulled the pin and in one smooth movement had shattered the window with the base plate of his pistol and lobbed the grenade inside.
The sudden pressure change made Shinji's ears pop painfully in spite of the earplugs he was wearing. He shot to his feet and the powerful white light mounted on his pistol slashed angrily through the darkness.
What followed was the one sided slaughter of a soldier catching his enemy off guard.
(:ii:)
"Fuck." Reinhard glanced at his escort.
"What's wrong?" he demanded quietly.
"They're dead," the soldier stated. He reached under his suit jacket and pulled out a compact sub-machinegun.
"The other soldiers?" Reinhard asked. "How can they be that good?"
"Must be some kind of assault team," the soldier replied. "We weren't expecting them to use explosives. How's the progress?" Reinhard looked at his Blackberry.
"Almost." He glared at it, almost trying to will the downloading symbol to finish its traverse across the screen. "Done." He pulled the USB cord out and reached into the pocket of his jacket. He pulled out a short flat device with a USB cable hanging out one end.
"What the hell are you doing?" the soldier hissed as he ejected the sub-machinegun's magazine and pushed an extended, double-capacity clip into the handle. He pulled the stock back and flipped down the forward grip.
"Remote access," Reinhard stated as he plugged the device in a slipped it into the hollow space before putting the cover back on. He crawled out from under his desk.
"The back door. Go." Reinhard didn't stop to argue. He knew the soldier's type. He was going to stay and provide cover. Reinhard pushed the door open and slammed it shut in time to hear the soldier fire a burst, the high fast pops of the suppressed weapon sounding much louder them they should have.
(:ii:)
"Shit!"
"Takeo!" Shinji shoved his wounded subordinate hard. The young man practically flew out of harm's way as Shinji kicked the door shut. He rolled to his feat, lowering himself like a linebacker, and charged. The doors hinges cracked loudly as they were torn from the wall. Shinji and the door flew into the other room and hit the other soldier hard.
Shinji hit gracefully and rolled to his feet in a flash. He brought his foot down on the man's wrist and raised his Mk. 23. There was a final pop and a hole appeared in the center of the man's head. "Takeo!"
"It was just a graze," the young man called. Shinji looked down at the soldier, half trapped beneath the door and gasped as his shoulder suddenly seemed to catch fire. Had he been hit? When?
"Damn it."
"Sir?" Shinji ignored his partner and swept the backroom with his pistol. It was empty. "Sir," Takeo repeated. "Are you injured?"
"It's nothing," Shinji stated flatly. He kneeled and picked up the man's weapon, a suppressed H&K MP7. "Where are you hit?"
"I said it was just a grazing, sir," Takeo stated as he stepped into the room. Shinji didn't bother with a retort as he immediately checked the man's side. The armor piercing 4.6mm round had cut right through the vest, but it was only a graze. The bleeding was already slowing.
"You're fine."
"I know, sir. What about you?" Shinji glanced down in the light from Takeo's gun. His vest was obscuring the wound, but it was bleeding fairly good.
"Quick hospital trip," he stated. "Call C&R, I want them to sweep this place from top to bottom. These guys were after something and call Assistant Director Kita. Give him a body count and tell him that we're going to cordon off the area. The cops and newsies are on their way."
"Yes, sir."
(:ii:)
Asuka glanced up as the door to Misato's apartment opened and Shinji and Takeo staggered in. "Well, look what the cat dragged in."
"That's about how I feel," Shinji replied as he tugged off his boots. Asuka frowned as she noticed that he was favoring one arm. She turned a careful eye on Takeo and saw him favoring his left side.
"Are you two alright?" she asked.
"Motorcycle accident," Shinji stated. "Some fucker almost sideswiped us and I lost control."
"Why'd you take the bike?" Asuka asked.
"I know Tokyo-3 better," Shinji replied.
"Then why didn't you drive the car?" Asuka pressed.
"Another day," Shinji stated. The finality of that statement stopped any further questions dead. She saw his eyes move to the woman sitting on the couch next to her.
"She fell asleep a couple of hours ago." Shinji sighed and hoisted Misato into his arms with only the slightest bit of trouble. If this was a motorcycle accident than he was either excellent at hiding pain or it wasn't very serious. Judging from how Takeo was holding himself it had been a serious accident.
"Be right back." Shinji disappeared into Misato's room and Takeo collapsed on the couch.
"What's this?"
"Don't know," Asuka replied. "The police raided a store downtown. The rumor going around is that it's drugs."
"Fuckers," Takeo spat. "Sorry. I just have a problem with people trying to undermine my country." Shinji reappeared and shut the door.
"I. . ." The shrill ring of his cell phone cut him off. He seemed to slump a little, but fished it out of his pocket. He flipped it open and pressed it to his ear. "Hello?" In an instant he brightened. "Hey Princess!" He disappeared into the kitchen leaving a stunned Asuka in his wake. She turned to Takeo.
"Princess?"
"It's probably his daughter," Takeo replied. "I don't think he's dating anyone at the moment and besides, that'd be a weird nickname for a girlfriend."
"Ah," Asuka replied, "right. Just his daughter."
-End
(:ii:)
-Author's notes. Surprise! This comes a little early because I'm going to Minneapolis to visit my grandma.