Adriaan- Netherlands

Kumar- Aryavart

…

Yes, I know, long time no see, huh? I've been a bit busy catching up on my drawing, and this chapter's pretty long. A lot of fic chapters are currently WIPs so hopefully I'll be updating some other stuff soon.

Now Aryavart is another micronation oc, this time in India, though it claims land in a bunch of countries. The character's paired with Bjornsocialist in another au, so I decided to add him here too, though he's only mentioned, and it's mainly for plot reasons and part of Björn's backstory… his Bjackstory.

Sorry.

Beware more lame jokes in this chapter.

...

"Was it really necessary to make me come in?" Peter growled as he leaned back in the chair; "I don't really want to leave my family right now."

"I understand," Andrei nodded; "you can go as soon as we're finished."

They were sat in his office once more, Monday afternoon sunshine blocked by the blinds covering the windows, Andrei now paranoid that someone could be spying on them from a building outside. Peter was convinced the man was going loopy. He needed a holiday or something! The Agent even considered slipping a brochure for Butlins onto his boss' desk as a hint.

Tsvetan was sat next to Andrei typing away on his laptop about things Peter couldn't see. He could be watching porn on mute for all Peter knew. He doubted it though; porn didn't really go well with a mourning outfit.

Peter nodded. Agent België was currently guarding the Oxenstjärna-Väinämöinen household, whilst Agent Monte Carlo was guarding the hotel room where Lars and the Edelsteins were staying, and in a few days' time, Agent Victoria would be accompanying Roderich, Érzsebét and Elise to the airport. Everyone was tense; Commonwealth could attack them at any time. They'd hardly let Lars get away with his life, not after killing their assassin too.

"Is it about Angie?" asked Peter.

"No, though I can say your brother will walk free."

Peter sighed in relief before frowning. "So did she kill the others?"

Andrei exchanged a glance with Tsvetan. "Katya's DNA tests confirmed it was Angie who killed Alin and the children. The CSIs found an eyelash on Alin's shirt that belonged to her. We just need to match the bullet used to kill her with the ones found…" he looked down.

"In Skender and Dragomir?" Peter offered.

"Yes, thank you," snapped Tsvetan, bringing his fingers down on the keyboard and wincing in pain; "can we get back to the matter at hand?"

Andrei glanced over at his brother-in-law and rested his hand on Tsvetan's, squeezing it reassuringly.

"What is the matter at hand?" asked Peter.

Andrei looked at him, corners of his mouth curling upwards. "We have the identity of the man Agent Phoenix photographed."

Peter sat up whilst Tsvetan deflated, staring miserably at his laptop screen. They'd informed him of his cousin's disappearance yesterday. Andrei didn't have a choice in the matter.

"We think he might be someone named Kuzey Karpusi-Adnan," Andrei explained, "who is supposedly living in Cyprus."

"North or South?"

"South, though his name suggests he's Turkish. He lives with his mother and three siblings in Nicosia."

"Well what's he doing here then?" Peter frowned.

"Cyprus is in the EU; he can come here if he likes," replied Tsvetan, a little stung. "Got a problem with immigrants then, Oxenstjärna-Väinämöinen?"

Peter rolled his eyes; "well no, since I am one too."

"You make an interesting point though," Andrei added quickly, "and we'd like to know that why he's in Germany too. Tsvet found out his father lives in Berlin though, but we're not sure whereabouts."

"So he's visiting his dad?" Peter raised an eyebrow.

"Possibly. That's what we think anyway, at least as a cover story." Andrei paused. "We know he's unemployed back home, so it'd be easy for him to slip off the radar and show up here for a bit."

"You think he might have found a new job working for a certain organisation then?" Peter leaned back in his chair, rubbing his chin.

"Most likely."

"Do we know anything about the rest of the family? Are they in Berlin too?"

"Very little, and we don't know where they are;" Andrei took his hat off and ran a hand through his hair. "We found some divorce records for Sadik and Hestia Adnan and birth certificates for their four children in an index, so we know his siblings are named Stelios, Cora and Temel. The certificates also mention Sadik was born in Izmir and Hestia in Thessaloniki."

"Well that's a fair bit of information," Peter commented, "but will it be useful?"

"That's for you to decide."

"Why me?"

"Well," Andrei smiled, "we want you to engage in some espionage. Hardly a challenge for an experienced spy like you, huh?"

"Well I'd hardly call myself experienced," Peter sniffed, "apart from Agent Fondue, I'm the newest member."

"Regardless, you're a people person," Tsvetan piped up; "I was passing through a Turkish market yesterday and ran into the guy. Didn't talk to him, but I saw him buying some sweets and took a picture."

"That's rather creepy," Peter commented.

"This man works for an organisation trying to take over the world, one that thought it acceptable to take a shot at your brother; we really can't be developing morals at a time like this."

Peter nodded and Tsvetan handed him a sheet of paper containing more blurry photographs of the same man Agent Phoenix had seen.

"This is your mission, Agent Seagull. This will be your part in bringing down Commonwealth."

Peter looked up, tearing his eyes away from the handsome, peaceful man in the photographs. "You want me to take him out?"

Andrei shook his head, "oh no, not at all. We want you to befriend him."

"I'm not following."

"We want you to get close to this man and find out what he knows about Commonwealth."

Peter glanced back down at the photographs and raised his eyebrows. "And how close is 'close'?"

"Do whatever it takes to get information out of him, but he's key to finding out who these bastards are."

Peter nodded.

"And you'll be doing this in disguise," Andrei added.

"Of course," Peter grinned, "Willie Cook alright?"

Andrei nodded whilst Tsvetan tried to hide a snort, then busied himself with wiping a loose hair from his black mourning clothes under his brother-in-law's withering glare.

It was then that Luca entered with a cup of coffee for Andrei, setting it down on the desk and nodding to Peter and Tsvetan.

"Agent Monte Carlo phoned," he said, turning back to his boss, "she wants you to know she gave her statement and was questioned by the police. She told them what she could and they've released her. She doesn't think they'll be charging her with anything."

"That's good to know," Andrei smiled briefly before it fell; "so her sister betrayed her then."

"It's a terrible world we live in," Luca leaned against the wall.

"Well this is what our job means, to track down the worst humanity has to offer and bring them in," Tsvetan closed his laptop with a sigh.

Luca nodded. "So would you two like a drink then?"

"Herbal tea please," Tsvetan replied, "tea bags are in that flowery box in the kitchen cupboard."

"Right!"

"Earl Grey for me, please." Peter smiled at Luca; he'd grown quite fond of the man.

"Milk?"

"Yes please!"

"Sugar?"

"No thanks," Peter beamed, "I'm sweet enough."

"Yet you'll have it with milk?" Tsvetan asked, causing Andrei to burst out laughing and Peter to try not to.

"Hilarious," he muttered.

"Okay one herbal and one milk tea," Luca counted on his fingers with a smile. Andrei looked at him closely, wondering just how deep those kind eyes went. Luca was still his top suspect, though there were others he had doubts about. It was all too convenient, him showing up just as they were put on the Commonwealth case completely and having access to all this information about them.

A theory was forming in his head, one that any of the others would call absurd, that Luca wasn't the mourning, emotionally delicate, younger brother he presented himself as. The idea that Commonwealth's members weren't opposed to turning on their own relatives would certainly clear up one mystery: how Luca could work for the people that murdered his brother. What if he just didn't care? What if, when Commonwealth decided Adriaan Morgens needed to die, Luca simply turned a blind eye. In fact, if it was possible that Angelique had shot her own brother, then who's to say Luca hadn't poisoned his too? Maybe he and Adriaan had been working together, possibly with Anri, or maybe like Monique she knew nothing. Adriaan could've tried to back out or even betray Commonwealth, and the result was more than a simple sibling spat.

Andrei stared at Luca closely. Was it possible that the young man they now worked with was a murderer? He didn't look like one, but then again, neither did Angie.

His staring didn't go unnoticed.

"Is there a problem?" Luca asked, somewhat irritated. Was there something wrong with his appearance? There usually was where that little prick was concerned, and Luca didn't like that; he took pride in his looks, and how others perceived him.

Andrei scowled at being caught out. "I was just wondering why you always dressed like a waiter," he blurted out hurriedly.

"Excuse me?"

Andrei was panicking now. "What I mean it, why bother? This isn't the Riot Club. No need to go to all the effort here."

Luca smiled, though everyone could tell he was embarrassed. "Well, if you insist on doing this in front of everyone, then the reason I dress like this is simply because I can afford to, and like wearing fine clothes." He paused for a moment, then walked forward, taking out his wallet and delicately placing a rolled up collection of notes into Andrei's blazer pocket. "There's a hundred Euro, now go and buy something that doesn't make me want to wretch."

Andrei stared at him, speechless as Luca moved back towards the office door and their co-workers burst into aghast laughter.

"You just received a Luxem-burn, boss!" wheezed Peter. Luca himself was shaking; yes it had been fun in the moment, but now? He could get in serious trouble for talking to his boss like that.

"Geddit? Cause he's from Luxem-"

"Oh shut up, Seagull," Andrei spat.

"Nice to see you settling in enough to joke with us, kid," Tsvetan tried, hoping to defuse the situation. Maybe if he played the whole thing off as just a laugh, it wouldn't end in an argument, and he could see Luca's distress clearly.

"Yes, I guess it is," Luca blushed as he smiled, "it seems, with half my face covered and all, you could even call me Bantom of the Opera."

"I'm honestly surprised a variant of the word banter left your mouth," Andrei commented.

"Oy," Peter growled, turning around to face him, "I make the jokes around here."

"O-oh," Luca looked around before looking at Peter, genuinely uncomfortable. Peter didn't look like he was joking this time. "I'm sorry. I was just… I'll get the tea." And with that, he left.

"Why did you go and say that!" Tsvetan hissed, leaning over and slapping Peter's arm, "you've made him upset now!"

"Me? Andrei was the one to cheese him off about his clothes!"

"Not my fault he dresses like a twat."

"Well you're one to talk!"

"Ditto, son."

"You bloody children," Tsvetan exhaled sharply, "both of you are to apologise to him before tomorrow!"

Andrei nodded. "Of course."

"Why don't you like him, boss?" asked Peter.

"Is it that obvious?" Andrei grimaced.

"Are you seriously asking that?" Tsvetan exclaimed. "Of course we know you hate him!"

"Well, hate's a bit strong. I simply cannot trust him."

"Oh not all that traitor crap again! You're falling apart, kid," Tsvetan sighed, "you're seeing enemies where you should be seeing allies. It's not healthy."

"Agent Yogurt, you know as well as I do that the only possible explanation for our families being attacked and murdered this way is that there's a mole in the DSA."

"It's an explanation, but not the only one," Tsvetan nodded, "they could have us bugged."

"We've checked. And we have no idea how they'd get into the building to bug it. And you're right, maybe there's another explanation, but we cannot become complacent."

"But I doubt Luca's the one you're after," began Tsvetan, rubbing his chin. "He's only just showed up last week. How can he know all about our families and pass on the info?"

"Well, I've actually met him before," Peter piped up, "only a handful of times though, at parties and stuff. Anri usually brings him. Didn't talk to him much but Isi did."

"And he would've had contact with Angie through Monique, which might explain her innocence in the whole thing," Andrei added, "poor girl."

"I wouldn't rule out Monique just yet either," Tsvetan murmured, "maybe we should just cut all ties with Daniél's group," he added jokingly.

Andrei chuckled. "Possibly."

…

Luca blinked back tears as he walked down the corridor, pulling a photograph from his wallet and staring at his brother's flushed, glaring face. He and Anri were also in the photo, either side of him, kissing his cheeks and smiling.

He didn't want Adriaan's death to be in vain; he had to stick with this to the very end and complete his mission, but could he spend a whole year with these people? It was clear he didn't fit in here, though he hoped it was just because he was new. They'd get used to him soon enough. And he might not even have to wait a year for all this to reach a conclusion.

Luca smiled to himself.

Soon his mission would be all over, and he'd get what he wanted.

…

"Okay, what else is it?"

Once Peter had left the room, Tsvetan rested a hand on Andrei's, gently stopping him from filling out his report.

"I don't know what you mean," the man replied.

"Oh I think you do. Something is bothering you, isn't there?"

The agent didn't reply immediately.

"They weren't there. My mum and dad."

"Oh..." Tsvetan pulled away, not taking his eyes off his brother-in-law.

"They didn't come to Alin and the children's funeral."

"I know. I was there."

"Did they even reply to your email?" Andrei asked, and Tsvetan nodded.

"Not even to say they weren't coming."

Andrei rested his head in his hands, letting out a dry, quiet sob. "It was their son's funeral. Their grandsons' funerals! They couldn't put their bigotry aside for one day to say goodbye to them? They really hate you, Alin and me that much?"

"Maybe they couldn't get a flight in time," Tsvetan shrugged, "it was short notice. Maybe their internet was down and they couldn't reply!"

"For over a week?"

"It happens," another shrug.

"Are you seriously trying to defend them?" Andrei looked at Tsvetan incredulously. "They think you're the scum of the earth! The last time Alin and I saw them, they said they had no sons…"

Tsvetan nodded. "Not at all! I couldn't care less that they didn't make the effort to come; made the whole day slightly less dreadful, in my opinion. But I can see it's upsetting you, so I'm trying to help."

Andrei looked up, thinking for a long moment before allowing himself to smile. "Thank you though."

"It's fine. But they haven't been in your life for years and years now," he reminded him, "maybe just accept they won't ever be again."

"Easier said than done," Andrei commented, and Tsvetan shook his head in agreement.

...

Much later that day, Luca found himself alone in the mess room, sweeping the floor absent-mindedly, thoughts filled with childhood memories of himself and his siblings playing together, fighting, throwing tantrums and making up again soon enough. They were an odd bunch, he realised upon reflection, with their strange quirks and hobbies, but at least they had each other.

Not any more though.

He'd been the one to find Adriaan, over a year ago when he was still ignorant to the true evils of the world. He'd come home from work to find Adriaan slumped on the settee like a grotesque cushion, cherry-red face buried in the upholstery. An almond cake lay spilled on the floor, a bite of the dessert still speared on the fork lying next to it, along with a single lotus.

It had been stupid, spontaneous and may well have jeopardized the entire investigation, but Luca had moved the body into its back, performing CPR and trying to breathe life back into his brother, though he knew it was futile. Then, when he finally accepted Adriaan was dead, he'd pulled him close, sobbing into his shirt and contaminating more evidence, but he didn't care. He remembered the faint smell of almonds, tears spilling down his cheeks and soaking his brother's jumper as he checked for a pulse one more time, somehow pulling himself together long enough to phone for an ambulance.

That was when he realised the world was a horrifying place to be.

Yes, he'd grown up in relative poverty, but at least murder and death were never a part of his life, just second hand clothing and hungry nights, not that those weren't grim experiences in themselves.

Even when he decided to follow a career in forensic science, it had been with a detached, sheltered curiosity. It didn't seem truly real, and as he didn't end up getting a job in forensics, he soon put all the gruesome case studies he'd read behind him. They'd been shocking to learn about, but they hadn't happened to him.

But now?

Luca paused, coming to a stop in the middle of the room.

Adriaan's death affected him badly, he knew that well enough, though he only allowed himself to acknowledge it once Anri had intervened and made him see a counsellor. Luca wasn't one for suppressing his emotions, but he struggled to talk about anything that truly bothered him, refused to, even. He couldn't help it; there were just certain things he didn't open up about. Even if his expressive face gave him away, he'd still deny that he was troubled. It was in his nature!

If he was completely honest with himself, Luca had to admit he was pushing himself too hard, but revenge was the only thing keeping him going at this point. The only reason he got out of bed in the morning was the hope of new leads on his brother's murder. The thought of finally getting the bastards who killed Adriaan behind bars had carried him through the DSA's training, and that same thought made his new job more bearable. It was getting obsessive, he knew that too, but at this point he was too wrapped up to care.

He heard the door open behind him and he busied himself with his sweeping, glancing around to find Andrei staring at him with an unreadable expression. He snapped his head back to the front and tried to ignore him, focusing on his broom with a new fervour. What did he want now?

"Careful, Agent Fondue," Andrei commented as he made his way towards an armchair, "you'll pull the bloody carpet off if you sweep it any harder."

Luca paused, gritting his teeth. "Is there something you want me to help you with, sir?"

Andrei leaned forward; "yes, actually."

"Two sugars no milk, I know." Luca nodded and set the broom down.

"No, look, just sit down." Andrei was firm, but there was a gentleness there too, which surprised Luca. Why was he being all nice now? Unless…

"Something hasn't happened to Anri, has it?" His legs felt weak as he lowered himself onto the sofa.

"No, she's fine," Andrei looked away, "look, I have a job for you."

"I'm not doing your ironing too," Luca snapped.

"I'm perfectly capable of doing my own chores," Andrei snapped back. "Look, everyone's out," he faltered, looking away, "and I need someone to look up Mr Wang's family, see if there's anything we can find on them. It could be important."

Luca blinked. "You want me to do some actual research related to the case?"

Andrei shrugged. "Or- you know- check out their facebooks and hope they've not set their profiles to private. Their twitter accounts too, and maybe anything else you can find. There are laptops you can borrow in the cupboard."

"I'll see what I can find," Luca smiled and stood up.

"He has three children," Andrei informed him, "Cheng, Mei and Xiang. Oh, and you'll have another task tomorrow. I want you and Agent Seagull in my office at nine o'clock on the dot."

"What for?" asked Luca, beaming.

"We'll be seeing if you really are a master of disguise."

...

Eemeli had just gotten comfortable and had began to drift off when his bed jiggled as someone climbed in next to him. He frowned in irritation.

"Björn? That you?" Well, who else could it be?

"No, it's the bjögeyman."

Eemeli chuckled and lifted his head up to see his older brother snuggled under the duvet up to his nose.

"I can't sleep," he mumbled.

"Well I can, and was just about to," Eemeli grumbled.

"Sorry." The irritation that had bubbled up inside Eemeli subsided slightly at the sight of his brother's face. Björn snuggled closer to Eemeli, watery eyes glaring at the band name on Eemeli's t-shirt. He sighed tiredly.

"What's wrong?"

He glanced over his brother's head to find Björn's bed empty, sheets crumpled. The boys' shared room was a mess, text books, papers, CDs, clothes, empty packets and sports equipment nearly covering the floor; Tino kept nagging at them to tidy it, but they'd never got round to it. The pair thought they were being helpful if they put an empty bottle in the recycling bin and the hoover hadn't entered the room in nearly a year. It was safe to say the room was avoided by most family members.

"I'm scared." Björn was crying silently now, and Eemeli- despite himself- wrapped his arms around him.

"About what?" Eemeli frowned. "You're not still pissing yourself over that assassin? The bastard's not gonna come after Lars again. Or any of us! They got shot in the head."

"But what if those bad guys Peter's fighting have more assassins?" Eemeli couldn't find an answer to that.

"I don't want to lose anyone else," Björn mumbled.

"What do you mean 'anyone else'?" Eemeli wrinkled his nose.

"What are you talking about?" Björn sat up, "you can't have forgotten Yrjan and Hemming already!"

"I didn't…"

"I still miss them!"

"Me too…"

"I want to see them again," Björn's face crumpled, "I want them back. They were my older siblings..."

"It's not just that, is it?" Eemeli couldn't really say he was in tune with people's emotions, but he understood Björn, arguably better than he understood himself. He knew what each little gesture and expression meant, every miniscule movement. He could read Björn like a book, and his brother was his one link with humanity and emotion.

"No," Björn looked away. "I've been thinking about Kumar too."

"What about Kumar?" Eemeli growled. He'd never been fond of Björn's first- and only- boyfriend, a young boxer he met at the sport's centre, another haemophiliac who threw himself into the sport to stay fit. He was an arrogant young man, and too brash for Eemeli's liking, and Björn pointing out his and Kumar's similarities didn't help matters either. But Kumar seemed to genuinely care for Björn, so the younger brother kept his grievances to himself and a close eye on the pair.

Their relationship was slow, innocent, and lasted three years before… well…

"I miss him."

Eemeli nodded; "I know. I know what he meant to you."

"I'm scared that everyone I love will die, like they did. What if I die too? My scare..."

"Don't talk about that! Ever!" Eemeli placed his hands on Björn's cheeks. He couldn't hear about the scare again! He wanted to forget it completely.

"But Kumar-"

"Did not die because of his illness! He got food poisoning."

"No he didn't. He ate a cake that had cyanide in it!"

"Exactly! He ate poisoned food, and got food poisoning!"

Björn groaned. "They're two different things! You don't usually die of food poisoning."

"He did-"

"Someone killed him! Someone murdered him, most likely!" Silence. It was another topic Eemeli wanted to avoid, but Björn was aminant. He was still relatively innocent for his age, but he knew murder when he saw it.

Björn remembered his Papa telling him the news, only seven months ago, that Kumar had collapsed during his lunch break and died in the ambulance. His classmates had described him as looking like he was suffocating, and thought he was choking on his cake. Cyanide poisoning, it turned out.

Just like Hemming's death.

Björn remembered falling to his knees, not hearing his relatives as he screamed into his hands. He became lost in his grief, like a part of his soul had been ripped away. It couldn't be true! How was Kumar dead just like that?

His world fell apart that day.

"I loved him," Björn whispered, eyes damp with tears, "I still do. It was so soon after Yrjan and Hemming! Only a few years... It's too much pain to take. And then someone hurt Lars! Not just anyone too, one of Peter's friends. Do you think it's all because of his job?"

"Of course not," Eemeli rolled his eyes, "Lars? Well yeah. But Yrjan and Hemming died before he got his new job, and the bad guys certainly wouldn't have targeted your boyfriend to get back at him. We all know Kumar's dad did it. Why would he go on the run if he hadn't?"

Björn didn't reply.

"Look, the polizei will find the bastard in whatever corner of the world he's hiding in, along with whoever killed Yrjan and Hemming, and they'll rot in prison!"

"That won't bring the others back though," Björn mumbled. "And I'm still scared."

Eemeli sighed. "You don't have to worry, bro. I'll protect you! Look, would you be less scared if you slept in my bed tonight?"

Björn smiled, hugging his brother. "Maybe."

...

Actually, given that it's set in Germany, Luca delivered a Luxem-brennen. Probably too many jokes in this chapter but I don't give a toss. Oh come on! I managed to write a sentence in this involving the words 'carpet' and 'harder' without making a joke that's gotta count for something!

Tut tut Peter, you cannot hog all the jokes! It's pun for all and all for pun!

And yes, Kumar's dad is India. And yes, he will turn up… eventually.