Lancer jumped up with a suddenness that sent her chair clattering to the floor behind her. Rin dove away as well, trying to put one of the pillars between her and Lancer. She cursed herself for her stupidity. She had assumed that here, in broad daylight and a crowded place she would be safe. She should have know that Magnus would take any chance he could get to wipe out a rival Master, bystanders be damned.
There was a sudden burst of magical energy and Rin poked her head out from behind the pillar. Lancer had transformed, the conservative business suit falling away to be replaced by a burnished bronze breastplate. An iconic Corinthian style helmet sat atop her head, its crest adorned with a vibrant red plume that cascaded down the back to mingle with her golden hair. Beneath her bronze armor was a tunic of deepest red, flaring down to mid thigh and exposing muscular legs and sandal wrapped feet.
Her weapon was an ornate spear. The haft was the length of a short javelin but the blade extended to far longer than a typical spear of that size, more a sword blade than a spear point. It was shaped like an odd leaf, flaring wide at the bottom and coming to a wicked point several feet beyond where it met the shaft. It was bifurcated by a narrow blood channel and one side was serrated into wicked backward facing barbs. The bottom of the spear was attached to a stout chain that wound around Lancer's arm, presumably to allow her to use it as a harpoon to ensnare opponents.
Rin acted quickly, digging into her pocket for the cell phone and jamming on the speed dial. Berserker knew to come right away if he got the call, she only hoped she could survive Lancer's assault until he arrived. Even as her survival instincts kicked into overdrive her mind began to work at the puzzle of Lancer's identity. Her armor was that of a hoplite warrior of ancient Greece. Could she be some ancient queen? Some Greek heroine? Or someone else? The details of the fourth grail war were almost impossible to find but Rin had heard rumors that one of the Servants was a woman mis-remembered by history as a man, so even the sex of the servant wasn't definitive when guessing their identity. As intriguing as the problem was it was far less important than surviving the next few seconds.
As if in response to Rin's thoughts Lancer charged. She didn't bother stepping around the pillar that Rin was hiding behind, she simply shattered it with a single massive blow. Rin rolled forwards as a huge chunk of stone crashed into where she had been kneeling moments before. She threw up a shield to deflect the chunks of plaster and rubble that rained down on her. The diners and well to do patrons of the restaurant had been staring but now a single woman's shriek issued a general panic. The crowd surged towards the door and Rin quickly drew herself to her feet and sprinted after them hoping to lose herself in the press of bodies.
Rin's plans were thwarted before she had taken three steps. She felt a rush of air and suddenly lancer was there in front of her. Some kind of teleportation? Or could Lancer really move faster than Rin's eyes could perceive? She was tempted to pull up her magical Grail vision but she knew any distraction could get her killed.
Lancer raised her weapon and Rin readied herself to cast a spell, desperately grasping for something, anything, that would save her life. They were both interrupted by a gunshot from the crowd.
Lancer whirled to face the new threat and Rin's eyes snapped to the stranger that had fired. A man stood apart from the surging crowd, a massive silver revolver leveled at Lancer. He was tall and muscular with wings of white stroked through his hair and an almost tangible aura of danger about him. Rin knew that she had seen him before but where…of course! He had passed her on the pathway to the small church where she had officially registered herself for the Grail War.
Magnus, standing apart from the small melee, snorted.
"What are you doing here?" He demanded. "The dogs of the Church have no business interrupting our battle. This is Grail sanctioned warfare. The Burial Agency has no jurisdiction here."
The tall man's face remained stony and business like.
"We'll tolerate heretics like you for as long as you want to kill each other off. But you should know better than to involve civilians."
"Oh," Magnus sneered. "And how are you going to stop me? Guns won't do you any good against a Servant. I'm surprised you even bothered to come."
"Maybe not, but I think you'll find that commanding a Servant won't do you much good if your head's been blown off." The Burial Agent said, shifting the gun to train it on Magnus. "Or do you think she can catch a bullet?"
"Don't test me, little man." Lancer broke in. "Master, I can do it."
Magnus didn't look so confident. He blanched as the gun was leveled at him, once again glancing around for an avenue of escape. Rin's opinion of him soured with contempt. He was a bully, perfectly willing to kill her if he thought he could get away with it but cowed by a mere show of force. He had no confidence in his Servant and no confidence in himself. By now everyone but the four of them had fled the restaurant leaving the wide open space empty.
Rin had seen Lancer's speed. Maybe she really could catch a bullet. But before Magnus could make his move there was a crashing from behind Rin. The Burial Agent didn't turn but his hand moved like a flash, quickdrawing a second revolver from a shoulder holster and leveling it at the new sound. Berserker had finally arrived, a panting Shane in tow.
"Woah, take it easy Dirty Harry." Shane said, putting his hands up.
The Burial Agent backed up so that he could keep everyone in his line of sight. He glanced at Shane and Berserker but kept his attention on Magnus.
"Here's what's going to happen," He said slowly and carefully.
"Barthomeloi, tell your Servant to stand down. You two are going to leave quietly out the back. Tohsaka, you are going to do the same. Take your pet and go. You get a reprieve this time but if either of you try any bullshit like this again I'll put a bullet in your skull, and I won't give you the courtesy of a warning next time."
Rin nodded and shot Magnus a venomous look, walking quickly towards the door past Berserker who turned to follow her. Shane fell in line behind her too but the Burial Agent trained his second gun on his back.
"Not you, Samuel. You and I need to have a little chat." He said.
Rin paused, confused. Who was Samuel? Shane stopped walking and slumped his shoulders dejectedly. Rin looked at him in surprise. Shane turned back and Rin glanced at him in alarm. He looked like a child who had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
"Go on ahead. This is gonna be a while." He said, tossing her the car keys.
Rin caught them deftly, still trying to puzzle out what was going on. The Burial Agent knew Shane, that much was clear. But why had he called him Samuel? An alias? A code name? Suddenly Rin's suspicions about Shane resurfaced and she backed away, her face icy. Shane shot her one last guilty look before she stepped through the door.
The bright sunlight of the street seemed like a different planet after the subdued colors and gentle music of the restaurant. The entire exchange couldn't have taken more than thirty minutes and yet Rin felt as if it had been hours. The rising wail of sirens in the distance quickened her footsteps and she moved swiftly towards the car. It had been parked halfway on the sidewalk, one wheel nearly mounting the steps to the restaurant, obviously abandoned when Shane and Berserker had leaped out to come to her rescue.
"What happened?" Berserker asked when they were on the road, lost in traffic as a pair of police cars passed them, sirens blaring.
Rin's grip tightened on the steering wheel.
"It was a trap. It was my fault, I underestimated Magnus, the lengths he'll go to. He attacked me in broad daylight. I would have been killed but a Burial Agent saved me."
Berserker quirked an eyebrow.
"Burial Agent?"
"An enforcer for the Church. Somewhere between a demon hunter and an exorcist. Very dangerous."
"So there are more forces arrayed against us than just the other six Masters." Berserker noted.
"Yes and no. The Burial Agency is supposed to be neutral. The Agent only stepped in because Magnus's actions were endangering civilians."
Berserker looked thoughtful as he filed the information away.
"So what's our next move?"
"We need more information. We're going back to the Church. I have some questions about our friend the Burial Agent."
…
They arrived at the small church a short while later. Rin made Berserker wait in the car despite his insistence that the afternoon's attack was proof that he shouldn't leave her side. Rin countered that Servants were forbidden in the church and that to enter really would put them in the Church's crosshairs. He remained silent but was clearly unhappy about the arrangement, contenting himself with leaning back against the car and scanning the street for attackers.
In the dim interior of the church it took Rin's eyes a moment to adjust before she saw the friendly old priest who had taken her registration shuffling towards her.
"Back so soon, my child? I'm glad to..."
"I'm sorry father, but I've no time for pleasantries. I need to talk to you about the Burial Agent that was dispatched to the Resturante de Lujo." Rin interrupted.
The priest showed some slight signs of alarm and he glanced toward the dark choir alcove as if seeking direction. Rin remembered the dark observer who had watched her sign the ancient registry and she turned to face the choir.
"Who's there?" She demanded loudly.
For a moment nothing happened and Rin feared that she had made a fool of herself. Then there was a deep rustling of cloth and a tall man stepped from the shadows. He was middle aged, perhaps forty or fifty, altho his hair showed no signs of grey. He was clad in a priest's robes but had a lithe, active physique beneath them. Altho he did not appear muscular something about his movements spoke of strength and grace, obviously a man accustomed to physical labor.
The old priest bowed with deference and...was that fear? But the middle aged priest waved him a way with a friendly smile.
"Thank you Peter, you may retire." He said, and the old priest bowed once again, shooting an unreadable glance at Rin before quickly shuffling out of the church by a back way.
"I take it you are in charge." Rin said. "Why the ruse? Why have the father take my registration? I know you were watching. Why reveal yourself now?"
"I had to be sure that you were, ah, the genuine article. You see, my existence is not know to many, and many that know of it would wish to end it."
"Who are you?"
"Oh, how rude of me. I am the true overseer of the War. Kirei. My name is father Kotomine Kirei."
He searched Rin's face for any flicker of recognition and smiled when he saw none.
"Please, have a seat." He said politely, gesturing to one of the pews.
Altho all of his mannerisms were friendly and amiable somehow he made Rin uneasy. His earlier deception was enough to prove him untrustworthy. But if the awe the old priest had displayed towards him was anything to go by he was a very powerful individual. Probably someone with answers.
"I'll stand." Rin said icily.
Kirei shrugged in a 'suit yourself' gesture and sat behind the lectern.
"You were following me. Why?" Rin asked.
"Following you, whatever do you mean?" Kirei replied, his face the picture of surprise.
"Come now. Of all the restaurants in the city you just happen to have a Burial Agent stationed where I was supposed to meet with Magnus?"
"Perhaps he was just having lunch." Kirei said.
Rin gave him a flat look. Kirei laughed.
"Clever, very clever, but not quite correct. You see, Carlos was following Magnus, not you."
Rin quirked an eyebrow.
"The Agent, his name is Carlos. I assume that's what you were going to ask me next? Ah yes, Carlos Monsevais. Often called El Lobo or The Wolf. Our top man here in Spain. Very competent."
Rin snorted.
"He came to fight a Servant armed with nothing but pistols. That doesn't seem too competent to me."
"And what would be better? A sword? Some ancient holy relic blessed to banish evil beasties and keep good christians safe in their beds?"
"Well...yes." Rin said. "A gun doesn't seem like a very useful weapon against something like a Servant."
Kirei chuckled again.
"What mystical enchantment do you suppose a sword could carry that a gun could not carry equally? We're living in the modern world, my child. I'm afraid you Mages have some terribly out dated ideas."
He was baiting her, trying to side track her from her purpose.
"Why were you having him follow Magnus then?" She said, steering the conversation back towards her questions.
"I made him a somewhat unorthodox offer and I was rather afraid that he would do something stupid. It turns out my fears were well justified."
"What did you offer him?"
"The same thing I'm about to offer you." Kirei said.
There was a pause in the conversation as Rin's mind worked. Kirei had made Magnus an offer, an offer that he was afraid would prompt rash action. He had him followed as a precaution. And what had Magnus done with the offer? He had come to ask Rin about...
"The Omega Weapon." She said.
Kirei smiled.
"Very clever indeed. Yes, the Omega weapon."
"What is it?"
"What is any weapon? The power to destroy. To hurt. To kill. It was stolen from the Church and now we know it's somewhere here in Valencia. My offer is this: The weapon is powerful enough to give your Servant a distinct edge. It won't guarantee your victory in the war, but it will help. Find it and it's yours until the conclusion of the Grail War; on the condition that you return it to the church upon your victory."
Rin's hopes shot up. With the Omega Weapon she could offset Berserker's inherent weaknesses and have a real chance of winning the War. Still, anything that sounds too good to be true probably is.
"You must be pretty desperate if you're recruiting Mages to find your lost project. What's your angle?"
"No angle. No catch." Kirei shrugged. "To be honest the Omega Weapon isn't terribly important. Just a sideline project underwritten by the Church. We simply want our weapon back and we know mages are good at ferreting out secrets. On the off chance you find it you win the war and return it to us. If you don't happen to find it you lose the war and we haven't lost anything."
"So why make the offer to Magnus first? As you said he isn't terribly bright."
Kirei shrugged.
"I plan on making the same offer to all the Masters. Magnus simply happened to be first. Barthomeloi comes terribly early in the alphabet, you know."
"So I can expect the others to be looking for this weapon as well."
"Naturally."
"So where do I start looking?"
Kirei laughed.
"Child, if I knew that I would simply find it myself and leave the mages out of this."
Rin turned away from the laughing priest without a farewell. He said nothing as she left. Her mind was in turmoil, plans and calculations spilling over themselves. The Omega Weapon presented an alternative to winning the war even with Berserker's weakened state. If she could find it she would have a very real chance of coming out on top. There was also the matter of the Weapon itself. Kirei was obviously lying about its importance. If it was something that could be used against the Mages Association Rin could destroy it after the war instead of returning it to the church. Of course, Kirei would know that. He would also know that she knew that, which meant...
The circular logic was giving her a headache as she got back into the car. Berserker got in stonily beside her as she drove slowly towards the Von Einzbern mansion.