I don't own anything.

Intelligence

-Chapter Six: Luck

"Oh, Asuka?" Asuka glanced up and frowned.

"What's wrong, Shinji?" She heard the door to his room slam open and a bolt of fear flew down her spine as Shinji appeared with his suppressed .45 in hand. He strode forward soundlessly and slammed the weapon down on the table in front of Asuka. The sharp crack nearly made her jump out of her skin.

"Why the fuck did you go through my bags?"

"I didn't. . ." Asuka trailed off as Shinji turned the weapon so that the muzzle was pointing at her.

"I am highly defensive of my property!" Shinji snapped. "You will answer my question and you will answer them truthfully. Do not think for one second that I wouldn't shoot an unarmed woman."

"I'm sorry!" Asuka shrieked. Her eyes nearly popped out of her skull as Shinji pulled back the pistol's hammer.

"Apology accepted." Shinji's cheerful voice dripped with sarcasm. "That's not what I fucking asked. That's strike two. You don't want another one."

"I was curious!" Asuka's eyes darted between Shinji's sharp face and the pistol on the table. In a way, it was the truth. Shinji stared at her for a moment and finally lowered the hammer on the pistol with his thumb.

"Explain," he stated flatly.

"I haven't seen you in so long," Asuka began, "I was just curious."

"You could have asked," Shinji commented finally as he sat across from her.

"That might have been awkward," Asuka stated, her mind racing with the mixture of truth and a cover story. "Look at what happened when I asked about your wife. Confronting people about things can lead to bad situations. I thought it might be easier that way."

"I see."

"Look," Asuka began, "it wasn't right and it wasn't smart. It just seemed like a descent idea at the time. I'm not very good at communicating with people on a personal level."

"It wasn't right," Shinji stated. His anger was almost completely gone now and he seemed lesser for it until she saw his eyes. While his body slumped slightly his eyes were still sharp and analytical. It was a dangerous combination for Asuka's kind.

"I know," Asuka replied.

"Any questions you still want to ask?" Shinji asked.

"Well, looking around your room really brought up a lot more than it answered," Asuka commented, looking pointedly at the pistol. Shinji nodded and stood, moving to the fridge. Asuka suddenly had the oddest sensation that she would die if she touched the weapon. Shinji returned with two beers and handed one to her before sitting back down. She took it gratefully, finding her throat suddenly parched.

"Shoot."

"You were in the military," Asuka stated. "Why?"

"I. . .I don't have a lot of skills," Shinji stated. "I'm not the brightest person in the world and I sure as hell am not the most charismatic. After I got married I enlisted to help support my family. I requested the First Airborne Brigade because it was close to the apartment I had with Kairi." That would explain the large array of locales in the pictures. Paratroopers definitely got around in times of war.

"Aren't they some kind of elite?" Asuka asked. She remembered the military crest on his arm. It must have been their insignia. "No offense, but you weren't in the best shape that last time I saw you."

"Kairi was a fitness nut," Shinji stated. "She used to drag me to the gym all the time. In the end I enjoyed it, maybe a little too much. There was an exchange between the First and the American Eighty-Second. There were limited slots and only the most physically fit were allowed to go."

"You were one of them?" Asuka asked.

"I was the one," Shinji stated. "Me, the most physically fit man in the entire brigade, as you can imagine, it was a bit of an upset."

"So, you trained with the Eighty-Second Airborne?" Asuka asked, awed by the mention of the world famous airborne unit.

"Yeah," Shinji replied. "I thought it was fun. We worked closely with the Americans. They'd been doing it a lot longer than us, so they were a wealth of practical knowledge. After the program was over I returned home. There was a lot of interest in getting me in the front lines, but I didn't want to go."

"You had a choice?" Asuka asked.

"I was a base medic," Shinji stated. "No purpose in sending a base medic out into the field when we were only mobilizing platoons and an occasion company for combat. It stayed that way until the accident." Asuka immediately knew what he was referring to. "I could have supported Kimi by myself, but I couldn't pay for the corrective surgeries for her face. Those fuckers at the insurance company said that they weren't life threatening, so they weren't covered by my plan. I moved to a combat position a year after the accident and left Kimi with her god mother."

"So, it was for the money?" Asuka ventured.

"Yeah," Shinji replied. "I'm not proud of that fact, but it was for my daughter's future. On my first mission I got reputation as the go to guy for bad situation. The top kicks caught on and started sending me to special schools. After that I was attached to a sniper team with Sergeant Third Class Takahashi and Sergeant Second Class Kamakura." He seemed distance all of the sudden. "I've done things my country isn't proud of, but they had to be done."

"And you turned a successful military career into a government job," Asuka stated.

"About a year ago," Shinji replied. "Unfortunately, a lot of the effects haven't fully worn off." He patted the pistol and sipped his beer. "Some things never leave you, even when you pray they would." Asuka nodded her understanding. As he drank Asuka thought about his story carefully.

"The tattoo on your right arm."

"Hm?" Shinji unbuttoned his shirt's cuff and rolled the sleeve up to show the two bullets. Asuka stared at it carefully this time. The Kanji read Takahashi and Kamakura. "Yeah. They died."

"I see," Asuka replied quietly.

"So, what about you?"

"After that?" Asuka asked, trying to lighten the mood a little. "When I turned eighteen I enrolled in an OCS program. I shot up the ranks pretty quick to Major. I hated the military life, so I resigned after six years. My government knew that I was familiar with Japanese culture and asked me to work as an aide in the German embassy here."

"Nice," Shinji stated. "Sounds like a good life."

"Yeah," Asuka replied. 'Good and empty,' she added silently. "So, what rank were you, a Captain?" Shinji laughed at her.

"I was a staff NCO," he stated in amusement. "The kinds of missions I did are the kinds that officers deny instead of going on. You know what NCO means, right?"

"I think so," Asuka stated, "but not in this context."

"No Civilian Opportunity," Shinji stated. "I had no opportunities for college and what not, so I never had a chance at a commission. Oh and congratulations."

"For what?" Asuka asked.

"You managed to keep me from killing you long enough for my training to override my instincts," Shinji stated. "I know a few people who can't make that claim. Don't ever do it again."

(:ii:)

"So, what is so important?" Reinhard asked.

"I've got new information on Shinji Ikari," Asuka stated. Reinhard frowned and glanced around the park they were sitting in.

"We looked into him and his partner the first time you told us," he stated. "He's a watchdog of some kind for the ISDF. We couldn't find exactly what his job is."

"Right now he's checking NERV for embezzling funds," Asuka stated. Reinhard nodded. "Did you do any digging in his past?"

"Yeah," Reinhard stated quietly. "He's one scary son of a bitch."

"What do you mean?" Asuka asked.

"The things he's done are terrifying," Reinhard stated. "He was kicked out of the army for destroying an entire town in Somalia."

"What?" Asuka demanded.

"Not here," Reinhard replied. "Here's an interesting tidbit. When the ISDF began its crack down, they caught wind of a French case officer. They tried to apprehend him, but he managed to flee in a car. The chase ended when the Frenchman slammed his car into Ikari's."

"That's when his wife died." Reinhard nodded.

"Be careful around him," he added. "The man is ex-Spec Ops and has a history of clinical Xenophobia. They say he's better, but I wouldn't be so sure."

"I've handled Spec Ops guys before," Asuka commented.

"Once and he barely counted. You've never handled anything like Ikari," Reinhard stated. "I don't think he was just Spec Ops, any way."

"What do you mean, just Spec Ops?" Asuka demanded.

"Not here," Reinhard stated. "Probably not anywhere. I'd like to reiterate, don't mess with him. He's an expert killer."

"I know," Asuka stated. She saw one of Reinhard's eyebrows cock upwards. "I searched his room and he found out somehow."

"Did you move anything?" Reinhard asked.

"Yes, but I put them back the way I found them," Asuka stated defiantly. "I'm not an amateur."

"Neither is Ikari," Reinhard stated. "He probably would have noticed if you had even opened the door. As it stands, you're lucky to be alive. I'm serious. He was a clinical case of xenophobia. The only think that kept him from being a raving serial killer was an extremely high level of training and discipline and the ability to kill people without prosecution. I still would have thought he would kill you though."

"I think he was about to," Asuka replied. "It's a good thing I'm an excellent liar. Oh, and he has a bug out bag in his room."

"Wouldn't surprise me," Reinhard stated. "Intel people aren't the only people to use them. A lot of soldiers who are deep into black operations use them too. That's mainly because their level of paranoia boarders on the psychotic. Of course the ones who aren't paranoid tend to die pretty quick."

"He ran black ops?" Asuka asked incredulously.

"His specialty while he was in the army," Reinhard explained. "I told you he was dangerous. Right now we're investigating his partner. How's everything going for you?"

"Not bad," Asuka stated. "I've mostly just been meeting with old friends and trying to reestablish a link. You were a case officer, you know this stuff takes time."

"That's not something we have a lot of," Reinhard commented quietly. "Anything else you'd like to bring up?"

"He has a gun," Asuka stated.

"I'd be shocked if he didn't," Reinhard replied. "What make?"

"It's. . ." Asuka paused. She had never been good with weapons. "It's some kind of 1911." She frowned as Reinhard jerked around sharply.

"A .45-caliber?" he demanded. "Which manufacturer did it come from? Did you see what kind of bullets it was using?"

"It was a Colt .45," Asuka stated. "It had a green frame with a black slide and grip panels. It also had threads for a suppressor and a light mounted to the frame."

"Are you sure it was a .45?" Reinhard demanded. Asuka opened her mouth to reply, but her cut her off. "Did you see caliber markings?"

"No, why?"

"That style comes in all sorts of calibers," Reinhard stated. "We bribed a coroner at the morgue where Direct Action team was sent. They were killed by .45-caliber pistols firing really fancy frangible rounds. If the man hadn't been an expert on ballistics, he wouldn't have figured it out. Right now the video captured on the store's cameras is being analyzed, so we aren't sure of the make."

"I can find out," Asuka offered.

"You can also come back with a .45 caliber slug between your eyes," Reinhard shot back. "Keep your nose out of it. We'll find out for ourselves."

(:ii:)

"She searched your stuff?"

"Yep," Shinji replied as he drank his beer.

"We should turn her in this instant!" Takeo raged. "Our position might be compromised."

"Relax," Shinji stated. "Nothing has been compromised. All she found was my bug out bag. It's sterile. You don't have anything incriminating in yours, do you?"

"Of course not," Takeo replied. "Why are you taking this so calmly?"

"I am a patient man," Shinji stated. "You don't come from a sniper background. I do. Patience is everything."

"She's a threat."

"It changes nothing," Shinji replied. "We'll have her put under surveillance once we get a few bodies running around here. Until them we have to check out as many leads as possible. We stay with the filing until we get some analysts." He saw the look on Takeo's face. "Concerns?"

"I just hope there isn't anything going on between you two that could affect your judgment," Takeo stated.

"There isn't," Shinji stated simply.

"Good," Takeo replied. "So, what was her reason?"

"Curiosity."

"Ironic choice," Takeo commented. "That killed the cat. You're still going out with Misato tonight, right?"

"That's right," Shinji stated. "We'll be out late. Play nice with the kraut."

"No promises."

-End

(:ii:)

-Author's notes. Sorry for the slurs. They just kind of fit.