Sword and Shield
Chapter 3: A Clear and Present Danger
Presidential Finding 1. n. An executive directive issued by the head of the executive branch of a government, similar to the more well-known executive order. The term is mostly used by the United States Government, and in other countries may be identified by different terms. Such findings and other executive decrees are usually protocols which have evolved through the course of government and not typically established by law.
24 March 2000, 18:53 hrs.
Chofu, Suburbs of Tokyo, Japan
Roof, Tiger Mansion Apartments
Wraith leaned against the side of the air conditioning unit and lifted her SVD Dragunov to her shoulder. Through the sights she watched the bustle of teenagers inside apartment 404 and pursed her lips slowly.
Angel and Sergeant Sabotage aren't there. It looks like a surprise party or welcome home party being setup. She paused as she recognized Kyoko Tokiwa through the sight. Good to see she's alright, those Amalgam bastards have a sick sense of humor or whatever you call it when you turn a teenage girl into a bomb.
A slick smile slid over her face as she shifted her gaze toward the entrance of the apartments and watched a pair of figures approaching.
Ah, there's Angel. Oh dear, they look a bit beaten up. What did Sergeant Stupid get them into now?
She smirked as she watched them slowly head through the steps hand in hand. Grinning to herself she lowered the rifle and pulled out her phone, dialing a familiar number.
24 March 2000, 18:55 hrs.
Chofu, Suburbs of Tokyo, Japan
Room 404, Mansion K Apartments
Kyoko scowled as the telephone in the apartment rang. She scrambled to it and picked it up as the others looked around a bit confused.
"Hello Miss Tokiwa, it's been awhile. I thought you might want to know that Sergeant Scruffy and Miss Chidori are on the way."
Kyoko's eyes widened and she grinned at the familiar voice, she remembered from her rescue from Amalgam. "Thank you. Nice to hear you're alive too."
"I'm like the Sergeant, too tough to kill. Hurry, they're coming."
"Bye." Tokiwa dropped the receiver and grinned. "Kazama, lights!"
Shinji flipped the switch and the lights went out. "I hope Sagara-kun remembers this party was planned."
24 March 2000, 19:01 hrs.
Chofu, Suburbs of Tokyo, Japan
Outside Room 404, Mansion K Apartments
Sousuke sighed as they came to the familiar blue door to her apartment. He glanced at Kaname for a moment then shrugged.
"Here we are." Kaname sighed and pulled her keys from her pocket. "You want to come in, I don't know how much I've got for food since I only got back yesterday night."
"Certainly." Sousuke said as he leaned against the door.
Sousuke tensed as he heard a thump from within the apartment. Years of training and worrying for Kaname augmented by the ordeal the two of them had just gone through propelled him into action. He pushed past Kaname, and smashed open the door rolling into the dark room. His gun came up as he caught the glint of light reflecting off a pair of glasses. Then he flinched as the lights flicked on.
"Surprise!" A chorus of familiar voices echoed from around the dining room table. As he blinked away tears from the sudden change in light he felt a lump rise in his throat.
Sousuke blinked as he recognized the young man's face that stared down his Glock's sights. Shit, it's Shinji! Glancing around the table he recognized the other faces. There was Mizuki, Kyoko, Ono-D, and a number of Kaname's other friends.
"Sousuke." Shinji said nervously as a flash from Kyoko's camera captured the moment for posterity. Letting out a long sigh Sousuke slowly lowered his pistol and straightened. He glanced back at Kaname expecting a scolding or a strike from her fan. Instead tears filled her eyes and she ran into the room.
They set up a welcome back party for me! Kaname felt her heart swell as she saw her friends. Grinning she bit back tears as she glanced at the rest of them. A camera flash drew her attention to her grinning friend.
"Kyoko!"
Kaname wrapped Kyoko in a hug and smiled. Kyoko cocked her head and glanced at Sousuke as he stood there watching. "Kana-chan?"
"It's so good to be back." Kaname said as she released Kyoko and leaned back, a wide smile plastered on her face. She glanced around the room, her eyes wide as she saw most everything as it had once been. Glancing back at Sousuke she bit her lip and shrugged. "Sorry about Sousuke, we've been through a lot."
Kyoko and Mizuki showed Kaname the cake and she felt tears begin to well up once again. "Thank you."
"You're welcome Kana-chan!" Kyoko said and grinned back at her, camera in hand. "We all missed you and Sagara." Smirking she leaned closer conspiratorially. "So, did anything happen over the year, with Sousuke I mean?"
You have no… Kyoko! Her cheeks turned bright red before an angry thought leapt through her brain. Seriously this is the first thing you ask me?
Mizuki grinned like a cat with a canary. "Sousuke goes chasing her for a year and kissed her in front of everybody, I hope something happened!" She swooned toward the end melodramatically.
Kaname felt her throat tighten and blush deepen. Her voice was but a conspiratorial whisper. "You… you could say something did." She glanced nervously at Sousuke then to Kyoko.
"So are you together or what?" Mizuki asked not bothering to keep her voice down. Ren put her hand to her mouth and slowly shook her head.
Oh now you've done it Mizuki! Kaname felt a flash of anger as her embarrassment reached new heights. Her heart thundered in her chest and tried to leap free completely. "Well… umm…" She licked her lips nervously. You can do this Kaname. It's not like it's some world ending super-weapon or a disembodied chick trying to take over your body! She swallowed past a lump in her throat. "We… we're together." Her head dropped and she stared at the floor feeling exhausted.
"About time!" Kyoko declared before laughing. The rest of the class nodded in agreement. "After we saw you two earlier it better be official."
Kaname flushed bright red and laughed nervously. "Come on Kyoko, he saved me from terrorists again. That has to count for something right? It wasn't easy." She wilted somewhat and shook her head. "Actually… I thought he was dead till he showed up today."
"Kana-chan!" Kyoko gasped.
"I was held by the United States military in Okinawa until this morning. I was listed killed in action more than a week prior, I think." Sousuke shook his head slowly. "But I'm here now, so it's not a problem."
"That's right!" Kaname said squeezing her fist and grinning at the others. "So if this is a welcome home party, let's have some fun and try and forget about the last year or so."
Ono-D clapped Sagara on the shoulder. "So you and Kaname huh? It sure is about time."
Shinji nodded his agreement and glanced back at the girls for a moment as they began cutting the cake. Ono-D smirked. "So… how'd it finally happen?"
"That is a long story." Sousuke said flatly as he stepped toward the couch and dropped his rucksack. Glancing around the apartment he forced himself to relax.
Ono-D laughed. "Probably involving a dramatic rescue and lots of explosions."
You have no idea. Sousuke did his best to relax, slipping his Glock into the concealed holster and sat down. He let out a long sigh and ran a hand over his face. After a year of fighting and chasing Amalgam he knew that what little understanding of normal life had taken a large step backward. Kaname is going to beat me to a pulp when school starts again.
School… the thought that he'd been gone for a full year lingered on his mind. The rest of the class had graduated and were now either enrolled in college or were in search of employment. Everyone except Kaname and himself, they had a full year to repeat. It'll be a different class, different teacher, different everything. He glanced at Kaname chatting away with her friends and sighed. I wonder what it'll be like, how much the class will have heard of us.
"Hey Sagara." Ono-D said as he dropped into a seat beside him on the couch. "You still with us?"
Still with us? I just got back. Sousuke ran a hand down his face and let out another long sigh. "Sorry, it's been a long year."
"You want to talk about it?" Ono-D asked.
Sousuke shook his head. To bring up those events to his friends seemed wrong. He didn't want to bother their tranquil existence with tales of Leonard Tesstarossa, Mithril, and Amalgam. Plus, there were legal hurdles. "NDA."
Ono-D looked confused until Shinji spoke up. "Non-disclosure agreement, he can't legally talk about it I guess."
"It's better not to talk about it anyway. This is supposed to be a celebration, is it not?" Sousuke said slowly shaking his head.
"Hey Sousuke, did you lose your lease on the apartment?" Shinji asked, jerking a thumb to the window. "I noticed someone else had moved in."
"Shit!" Sousuke said as he stood and walked to the window. Glancing out across the way he saw that apartment 505 was indeed occupied, and clearly not by any Mithril personnel. A clothes line ran across the balcony that included a collection of women's underwear and dresses. The communications gear was nowhere in sight and his grip tightened on the rails. "Damn it, where am I supposed to live?"
"Sousuke?" Kaname arched an eyebrow and grabbed his shoulder. "What is it?"
He just pointed and sighed. "It seems I lost my apartment."
"You can stay here with me for a few days then, it's not a problem for you is it?" Kaname asked as she laid a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it.
"So bold!" Mizuki whispered to Kyoko.
"As if he'd take advantage, this is Sousuke we're talking about." Kyoko answered. "He wouldn't do anything to hurt her."
"No, it's not a problem." He smiled at Kaname as she blushed brightly.
Kaname relaxed and leaned against him. "Maybe it'll be better than the old days this way."
"It must be better than the last year." Sousuke said and sighed. "Thank you Chidori."
Kaname blinked and stabbed her finger against his chest. "It's Kaname, okay Sousuke. I'm not an officer, a teacher, or a stranger. I'm…" Her cheeks brightened and she glanced down for a moment. "I'm your girlfriend. You should call me by my first name."
"Sorry." Sousuke smiled and glanced at her. "I will and I'm sure you'll remind me if I screw up."
"You bet."
24 March 2000, 08:29 hrs.
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Oval Office of the White House
President Bill Clinton glanced down through his reading glasses at the satellite imagery and slowly shook his head. Normally the morning briefing was a boring affair that was more ritual then actual importance. The last year had changed that, and it appeared that even with Amalgam gone, it would continue to be of greater importance than before.
Shaking his head again at the images of the base he sighed. "General, how is it that a base of this scale was constructed without our knowledge?"
"We don't know Mister President, suffice to say we've alerted the FBI of the occurrence and have begun a number of investigations, but as you know the CIA is not allowed by law to investigate within the United States. We're fortunate that the NRO is not restricted in the same sense."
"You say this location was found because of a whispered then?" The president continued to study the images carefully.
"Yes Mister President, the office in charge of investigating the whispered gave us the coordinates along with the dossier as to the identity of the possible whispered candidate. Considering her presence at a Mithril base, it's almost certain that her abilities have been awakened and employed by that organization."
"That's plain to see." The President tapped a button on his phone. "I need a meeting with the joint chiefs and the documents for an executive order, highest classification."
"Code-word level?" The secretary asked.
"Yes." The President answered as he shut the connection and turned back to his National Security Advisor. "Sorry Sandy but it seems this one came a bit out of left field."
Samuel R. Berger, the National Security Advisor just nodded. "Amalgam in general did as well. I can see that we'll definitely need to step up efforts in the area of the whispered."
"Unregulated use of their abilities has nearly caused a nuclear exchange with the Soviet Union, and you saw the reports. The Arm Slaves utilized by Amalgam all came from the mind of one single individual whispered and our estimates put the total number globally at between four hundred and a thousand individuals." General John Alexander Gordon rubbed his glasses idly. "We have only around ten working directly for the government, and probably a roughly equal number working for the Soviets. There could be as many as forty in China alone, split between north and south, fortunately the number of governments aware of their existence is quite limited."
"Not as limited as we'd like, the JAL hijacking to obtain one individual by North Korea proves that much." Sandy Berger said.
Bill Clinton leaned across his desk and ran a hand through his greying hair. "Two things are readily apparent. We can no longer allow the situation with the whispered to continue as it has. Their existence outside of government control represents a clear and present danger to the security of the United States and our allies. Second, is that the organization of Mithril has extremely powerful connections within out government. Both must be dealt with."
Sandy Berger froze and the General arched an eyebrow at the president. The elections were coming up fast and he was talking of a major policy change.
A needed policy change, both realized.
"I am issuing a finding to that effect. The whispered must be brought under our control or we may face another incident such as that we dealt with just a month ago. The Amalgam crisis rose in under a year, how long before Mithril or another rogue organization seizes their chance with one or more of these individuals."
"I'll begin compiling a list of know individuals so we can act on it." General Gordon stated. "Off the top of my head I can think of one in Japan and one that's American born that we should make a top priority."
"Unfortunately acting against the one in Japan could have serious diplomatic repercussions. She is the daughter of a major player at the United Nations." Sandy stated.
"Then we'll have to do it quietly, how soon can you get a team to Japan, Delta Force or CIA operatives preferably." The President asked.
"We can have a C-5 loaded with Little Birds and Delta Force Operators to Japan by this time tomorrow. Moving CIA assets tends to take a little longer." Sandy glanced at the notepad on his knee and quickly scribbled a note. "We'll also need to move quickly against Mithril, part of their stated objectives is the protection of whispered individuals."
"I can send a list to the Department of Justice of known members of the organization." General Gordon stated as he flipped through a binder. "It's quite a substantial list with some big names unfortunately."
"Yes, we'll probably want to prepare the public for the confrontation and any blowback." The National Security Advisor stated blandly.
The President nodded. "We'll make selective releases of information to give the public a taste of what is going on. Once the joint chiefs arrive we'll move to how we'll handle this rather large base."
General Gordon nodded slowly. "Mister President, if we're taking this general course of action there really is only one way to handle it."
The white headed man nodded slowly as the National Security Advisor scribbled a note. "The most forces we have easily accessible would be United States Army Alaska, with airborne and mechanized elements of the 25th division plus the 16th combat aviation brigade. Elmendorf Air Base would have sufficient aircraft of the sort to support the operation but… we're talking about a Mithril base, they're among the best in the world and while I'm sure they're strained we're probably going to take casualties."
The President nodded slowly. "We have no real alternative though, if we can get them to surrender without a fight it would be nice but I doubt it'd happen."
"Also mister president, such a major operation will require we alert Moscow to avoid further escalation with the Soviet Union. They're understandably jumpy after the nuclear detonation on Merida Island." The National Security Advisor stated finally.
"We'll jump through that hoop when we come to it."
"What are you going to have the code word for this new directive be?" The National Security Advisor asked. Usually code word material was created by the CIA, and thus they named the code word for the material. Since this was a presidential finding and executive order, it was the president's prerogative as to what the code word would be.
"I can only think of one thing that's truly fitting for the whispered situation." He rubbed his chin for a moment. "Oracle."
24 March 2000, 22:40 hrs.
Naha Airport, Naha, Okinawa
General Aviation Terminal
Sarah Miller woke with a jolt as she heard the engines shut down. Glancing down she sighed at the case in her hands, she'd finished on the way.
"Miss Miller, Lieutenant Mao is waiting for you." The pilot said as he opened the hatch of the Gulfstream G. IV jet and the flight of stairs unfolded. "Damn, sure is warm out there."
Sarah smiled slightly as she picked up the case and headed for the hatch. Clambering out she gasped as the warm tropical air hit her. In the distance the roar of jet engines echoed across the dark runway.
A single rental car sat beside the jet with an Asian looking woman leaning against the hood in a black tank top and a pair of khaki cargo pants. She smiled slightly as she saw Sarah. "Sarah Miller?"
"That's right." She said as she reached out to meet the proffered hand.
"Lieutenant Melissa Mao, the blond haired idiot behind the wheel is Sergeant Major Kurz Weber." Melissa smirked slightly as Kurz waved from behind the seat.
"Hey sis, why are all whispered pretty girls? It's not fair!" The blond yelled from behind the wheel.
Sarah blushed and nodded slowly. "I'm supposed to transport Al and Clouseau to the Alaska base. I take it you're my ride around here then?" She glanced around for a moment as the pilot popped his head out of the jet to watch her.
Melissa laughed. "Something like that I guess. We should also thank you for taking care of our squad mate." She snickered.
"I'm sorry, I don't understand."
"We're buddies of Sagara's!" Kurz yelled from behind the wheel.
"Oh, in that case you're very welcome." She said with a smile.
24 March 2000, 23:04 hrs.
Chofu, Suburbs of Tokyo, Japan
Room 404, Mansion K Apartments
After four hours Kaname had managed to shoo her friends out of the apartment, promising Kyoko to tell her all about it later.
As the door closed behind the group and locked, Kaname breathed out a sigh of relief. It was good to see them all, but... A smile slipped across her face as she glanced around the apartment once more and padded over to the window blinds opening them with a flourish. Outside the twinkling lights of the city at night greeted her. "That was nice."
Sousuke sat on the couch polishing off the last of a slice of cake as Kaname sat down beside her and looked out the window. "Yes it was. I did not know Kyoko and Mizuki were such good cooks." Sousuke said as he set the empty plate on the table beside the couch.
She nodded her agreement and sat down beside him. "Better than me?"
"No." Sousuke said and glanced over at her as she slowly leaned against him and put her head on his shoulder. "Kaname?"
"Just tired." She yawned and snuggled up against him, a smirk slipping across her face. Sousuke tensed slightly as she leaned heavily against him, closing her eyes. Tensing up still when I touch him? A snort slipped out and she opened her eyes again. "Something wrong?"
"No, nothing." He let out a long breath and looked down at her before slipping his arm around her back and holding her.
Kaname grinned and looked up into his steely eyes. "It's okay Sousuke." She shifted her weight to be more comfortable in his arms. It's nice when he's like this… I wish it would happen more often.
Sousuke nodded slowly and glanced down at her. "Kaname, there's so much I need to tell you…"
She blinked and felt her good mood falter. Of course there is, but couldn't it wait… She slumped against him and sighed. "I know."
"How are you feeling? Have the whispers returned?" Sousuke asked as he slowly ran a hand through her hair.
"A bit tired, and so far they've stayed away." She smiled softly up at him. "Since Merida I haven't heard a peep from them. Normally I felt more lethargic when I woke up then I have since then."
"I think you've lost weight."
Kaname blushed furiously as she glanced down at her slim form and scowled. "Sousuke! There are two things you never ask a woman. How old they are, and how much they weigh."
"I… I apologize. I was concerned about your health." Sousuke ran a thumb along her cheek and looked at her. "I would not be me if I did not worry."
She let out a puff of air and felt her embarrassment fade. It is the way he is, no changing it. Truthfully it's nice to know he worries about me.
"I know." She glanced up into his steely eyes and sighed. "It's not going to be like the old days will it? Kyoko and the others are going to college and we've got a year to repeat. This means we'll be in a different class with a different home room teacher for you to terrify." She blew at her bangs and sighed. "I don't know why but I'm scared."
Sousuke ran his hand along her face and looked at her. "But why? Amalgam is defeated."
"But Mithril is in tatters. What's to stop other organizations! What about other countries, the KGB or the Chinese, or the North Koreans again! If they pulled another hijacking there'd be no rescue." She wilted somewhat in his arms and felt tears run down her face. "I'm scared Sousuke."
Sousuke glanced down at the floor and let out a sigh. "You are right. I had not considered all that. I focused on the enemy in front of me. Target fixation is a fatal habit that I should remember to avoid."
"You'll stick with me, right Sousuke? I don't want to make you save me again but…"
"I'd do it all over again, maybe a bit different but I would do it over again." Sousuke looked back at her and wiped away a pair of tears. "You're more than worth it. You're worth any price to me."
"Oh, Sousuke!" She hugged him tighter. "Thank you!" Sousuke smiled and pulled her into his lap, caressing the small of her back as he did so. She relaxed in his arms and closed her eyes. "Thank you…"
"It's not a problem."
24 March 2000, 09:30 hrs.
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Oval Office of the White House
Admiral Jay L. Johnson stepped inside the oval office, his bright green eyes taking in the appearance of the President leaning over his desk and a set of folders laid out upon his desk marked as classified. Sandy stood beside the president as General Gordon flipped through a large binder and pointed to a number of names inside. The President looked grim. It was an expression no one outside the white house was really allowed to see.
Something is in the works, and it's big. The threat board is damn clear though, the Russians have calmed down after the nuclear explosion on Merida Island quite a bit and the CIA says they're cleaning house of Amalgam agents and sympathizers inside their own borders.
Behind him the rest of the Chiefs of Staff stepped inside and an aid shut the door behind them. A beam swept the room after a moment and the Admiral felt the cell phone in his pocket rumbled once then shut off.
"Admiral, Generals." The President nodded to his National Security Advisor who began handing out classified folders. "This information and finding is Code-word 'Oracle' material."
Johnson flipped open the folder and immediately froze as a digital image of an airbase appeared on the front page. The equipment looked American at first glance, and after a moment he felt his stomach knot as he recognized the insignia and an M9 Gernsback from the images. Mithril.
"These images were taken this morning of a section of Alaska that according to official maps is nothing but a forest with a single dead end road to its center." Sandy said. "As you can tell from the equipment and insignias in the imagery, this is a Mithril base."
Johnson felt the knot in his gut grow cold. They wouldn't be planning to do that, would they? He cleared his throat once then glanced at the National Security Advisor.
"Mister Berger, Mithril has been historic allies of this administration. While their possession of a large base in American territory is disturbing…"
"Admiral, Mithril was an ally of convenience. We've seen that their security is shoddy and that their reliance on Mercenaries makes them inherently unpredictable. Their creed of not belonging to any one nation makes them just as much a threat as any foreign government and the technology could lead to terrifying events if it falls into the wrong hands." Sandy answered quickly, it was a practiced line.
The President leaned back in his desk. "Jay, we all know friends that have joined Mithril's cause over the years and they were valuable allies against Amalgam, but the root cause of that crisis lies in something they've sworn to protect from national interference. We cannot allow children with brains full of black technology to run around the globe unsupervised. It's worse than a baby with a gun. It's like giving moody teenagers a nuclear arsenal."
The cold unrelenting logic of the head of state beat down on Admiral Johnson and he swallowed slowly. "The American public would be horrified if they knew we were turning upon an ally."
A heavy silence fell in the room as the group glared at their newest member, the man that had replaced Jerome Borda after he resigned seven years earlier.
The president stood and looked toward the window. "The decision has already been made Admiral."
Jay L. Johnson glanced down at the briefing then closed the folder with a slap and set it on the desk. "I cannot be a party to this discussion. My resignation will be on your desk by noon."
"I understand Admiral."
Jay L. Johnson swallowed and headed out the door, his hands shaking somewhat as he wrenched it open and stepped through. He sighed as he shut it behind him. Then he handed down the hall and pulled his cell phone from his pocket. Swallowing once flicked through the contacts and stopped on the name of a friend.
"Hell, Leavenworth wouldn't be that bad."
He hit dial.
24 March 2000, 09:41 hrs.
Portsmouth, State of Virginia, United States
Home of Admiral Jerome Borda
Tessa sipped at a cup of morning tea in the study and sighed. Her uniform was packed away, possibly forever and instead she wore a skirt and blouse. The time she had spent in uniform made it so the more formal clothes felt… normal, more comfortable then the loose clothes someone her age would more often choose.
The phone rang and the battered Admiral picked it up automatically. Tessa glanced at the caller ID as he tapped the speakerphone function.
"Jerry, it's Jay. Leave the country, the president just decided that controlling the whispered is in the nation's best interest. Just leave, take Tessa and get out."
"Thanks Jay." Admiral Jerome Borda said as he glanced at Tessa. "Understood, hopefully you won't get in much trouble for this."
"I couldn't live with myself if I didn't. Good luck, if not I'll meet you in Leavenworth prison."
Tessa ran for the door, "I'll get packed. Where will we go Uncle Jerry?"
"Australia, we still have contacts there and some parts of headquarters will be useable I hope." He shook his head as he picked up his cane. "I'll start destroying records."
"We won't be able to contact General Amit very easily now."
Jerome Borda snickered. "I'm uncertain if that is a good or bad Tessa."
25 March 2000, 00:09 hrs.
Chofu, Suburbs of Tokyo, Japan
Room 404, Mansion K Apartments
"Come on Sousuke." Kaname said as she slipped off the couch and yawned. "Time for bed." When he didn't respond she grabbed his hand and pulled him upright.
"Kaname?" He looked surprised as she dragged him toward the door. "Where are you…" The door opened and he stopped, sweat beginning to bead on his forehead. "But, but…"
Kaname sighed as Sousuke glanced around the room nervously. Scared of being in my bedroom? She saw his near panicked expression and sighed again. "I can't believe this."
Sousuke nodded glumly. He hadn't considered the possibility that the 'safe house' would have been gone on his return. Apparently Mithril had been hurting worse than even he'd known over the last year. "I will talk to the office tomorrow and see if I can rent an apartment. I have no wish to intrude upon your living quarters." As he spoke he backed toward the door.
"Sousuke, it's alright." Kaname said as she walked over to the bed and sat down on it, crossing her legs.
"I will also need to procure clothing and equipment." Sousuke scratched at the back of his head and glanced at the floor. "I own nothing but what is in my rucksack now."
Kaname blinked at that statement and slipped off the bed. Everything he owned is gone? That's… that's awful. She sighed. "We can go shopping tomorrow, alright? I need to get a new phone anyway, and I'm not sure how well my old clothes fit now…" A little smirk leapt up on her face as she thought about his situation. Maybe I can get him to wear some decent clothes if I supervise. A teasing smile slipped across her face. "Now… there's the issue of sleeping arrangements."
"Do you have a sleeping bag or mat, I can easily—" His speech was cut off by the thwack of her harisen atop his head. He blinked at her, looking surprised. There wasn't any sign of pain.
Probably because I didn't hit him that hard. "Sousuke." She folded her arms over her chest and tapped the harisen against her shoulder. "Do not worry about it. The bed is big enough for us to share." She almost choked on the words, stunned for having them fall out of her mouth. Her face flushed crimson and she saw Sousuke's eyes widen and sweat begin to pour down his face.
"Kaname… I…" Sousuke swallowed down a lump in his throat and looked at the bed, clearly a bit stunned. "You would do that?"
"Yes." Especially if it's only for a day or two, I can handle that I think. Kaname put her hands on his shoulders and rubbed them softly as if giving him a massage. She could feel the tension in his muscles slowly begin to melt away.
He bowed his head and nodded somewhat nervously. "Thank you Kaname."
"Baka." Kaname smirked as she spoke. "You chased me down and saved me, took a year out of your life to find me. Went through hell to get me… even when I turned on you! And you think I wouldn't offer up my apartment to you for a few days or my bed?" Slowly she pulled him into a hug and kissed his nose. "I'm not that mean am I?"
"No, you're not. I always cause you trouble though." Sousuke smiled, one of the rare genuine smiles that she'd seen.
Kaname relaxed as his arms encircled her and held her close. She buried her head in his chest and smiled, breathing in his scent she wondered how long it'd been since he'd showered. "And making you chase me across the globe wasn't causing you trouble?"
"I'd do it again." Sousuke said before planting a kiss on her forehead. "It's not a problem."
A low chuckle slipped out of Kaname's mouth before she could stop it. Slowly she leaned back and looked up into his steel eyes then stood on her toes and captured his lips with her own.
Sousuke stood in shock. Surprise attack... enemy victory… opposition meaningless… His arms wrapped around her back as he kissed her back, loosing himself in her lips. After a few moments he leaned back and kissed her forehead. "Kaname… I love you." I surrender.
"I love you too." He looked at the impish smile that played across her lips and felt blood rush to his cheeks. "That is why I'm willing to do this." She pressed up against him and kissed his cheek. "Now, I'm going to change into some night clothes."
As she slipped away to the dresser Sousuke pursed his lips in thought. He felt loss at her moving to the dresser, which by itself was a surprise. Feelings… I'm a specialist, a soldier, I need to control my emotions or else I'll get killed. He swallowed as a second set of thoughts came to him. Or so I thought. Remembering the fights with the Arbalest and Laevatein he sighed. Those damn unpredictable systems. They needed me to feel my emotions, to panic, to anger, and… He glanced over at Kaname as she pulled a set of pajamas from a drawer and examined them. …and to love. Maybe emotions isn't nearly as useless as I thought, it just has its own proper place.
"Sousuke, don't you need some nightclothes?"
"Right, I have some in the rucksack." Sousuke muttered before standing and slipping out the door he headed for the couch and opened the rucksack looking for a set of pajamas.
25 March 2000, 00:47 hrs.
Yokatsu, Uruma, Okinawa
Yokatsu Dockside Warehouse
Sarah Miller smiled as she sat the case beside the massive AI core in the truck. She looked at the cubic meter of equipment that housed the AI and shook her head. "Thank god for Moore's law."
"What is Moore's Law?" Kurz asked from the end of the truck watching her work.
Al's robotic voice echoed from the speakers. "It is a theoretical law of computing which states that processing power doubles every eighteen months. As a consequence the amount of space required to hold the same amount of processing power halves every eighteen months, since it has been roughly three years since my creation I can only posit that the amount of space needed to operate my processes has decreased to roughly one quarter of what it once was."
"You are correct Al, and since weight increases by the cube this new unit will weigh significantly less, I'll be able to carry you by hand easily back on base." Sarah smiled as she pulled a pair of plugs from the AI core and into the briefcase unit. "Prep for transfer."
"Understood. I will overload the core's systems once the transfer is complete, they will not have even a hint of my base code." The AI stated. "Ready."
"Begin transfer." Sarah glanced at the simple digital display watching its progress. "This will take a couple hours unfortunately."
"Hey Kurz, go find me some beer!" Mao yelled.
The blond chuckled. "Yes Ma'am. You want anything while I'm out?"
"Yes, a coke if you could, or a pepsi. I'm starting to get a bit tired." Sarah said as she watched the display. "Sadly Al can't talk during a transfer, I've been hoping to get a chance to catch up."
"I'll get some food too. The Lieutenant will probably kick my ass if I don't get moving. See you." Kurz waved and was gone.