Shinji packed the last of his manga into a cardboard box. The thrill of his graduation ceremony had worn off. As of one hour ago, he was now officially a Special Agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Which meant he was now burdened with the insurmountable task of cleaning out his dorm room.

He refused to let the fact that his father had not attended the ceremony get to him. He had imagined this day for years, but never once expected his father to be a part of it, even after he became the director. He could only imagine that seeing his father would add to the melancholy he was currently feeling.

He was pretty close to being finished when his phone buzzed. He had an incoming call and a new text message. Shinji decided to answer the call first.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Congratulations!" said Kaworu, his voice as airy and cheerful as ever. He was one of the few people that Shinji could not imagine saying anything mean.

"Congratulations for what?"

Kaworu laughed. "For completing your training, of course! That was today, right?"

"Yeah, but I didn't think you, uh, knew about it." Shinji stammered. "I didn't tell you about it."

Kaworu said, "I can see the Academy's schedule on their website. I wanted to keep track of it after I met you, so I could congratulate you when you triumphed. Which you have. So congratulations!"

"That's.. a bit odd, Kaworu. We still don't know each other very well."

"Well, how are we supposed to get to know each other better if we don't try to learn anything about each other?"

"Maybe I don't want you to learn more about me!" Shinji blurted. "Maybe you won't like what you find."

Oh, Shinji," sighed Kaworu. "Don't say things like that. You are a beautiful person."

"Don't mock me."

"I'm being sincere! I would never mock you. You're important to me."

"You're a strange person, Kaworu."

Kaworu laughed again. When he did, it felt like he was actually in the room with Shinji. "Maybe that's why we need to stick together."

Shinji hung up. Kaworu was... confusing. He was always so friendly with Shinji, which felt like a double edged sword. On one hand, Shinji liked having one person in his life who he wasn't afraid would be cruel. On the other hand, he always had a feeling that he should be afraid for some other reason.

Shinji checked the text message. It was from Misato, telling him to meet in the BAU building. He put the last of his boxes in his car and walked over to his new workplace.

Gendo dialed a number he had not dialed in a long time. He had hoped he would not need to dial it ever again. Unfortunately, it was his job to make sure he used the resources available to him to the best of his ability. He possessed few resources as powerful as Rei Ayanami.

He was not greeted with a "Hello" when Rei picked up, and he did not offer one to her. Instead, he said, "We have need for your assistance again. The Angels have returned. More people are dying."

He hung up and resumed his paperwork.

"We have confirmed that the next Angel is active," said Misato. "Over the past few weeks, three women have been strangled and dumped in the Baltimore Harbor. The fourth was found this morning. The killer has pinned a note to each victim signed 'Gaghiel,' and strangled each victim with fishing line."

Shinji raised his hand. "Where was the latest victim found?"

"Not far from the Baltimore Aquarium, where she worked." answered Misato. "The Angels sure like to pick to a theme."

Another agent raised her hand. Shinji thought her name was Maya, but he couldn't remember for sure. He subtly craned his neck around to get a look at her ID card. Maya said, "It might be a reference to the Apostles, who were called 'fishers of men.'"

"How cute," said Misato. "Everyone get ready to head to the crime scene."

Asuka sighed deeply. As she exhaled, she blew a strand of auburn hair out of her line of had naively assumed that graduating would mean she instantly got to start working on the hardest cases. Instead, she and Shinji were sent to get coffee while the more experienced agents got to examine the body. They were currently waiting in what she could only imagine was the slowest line any Starbucks had ever experienced, ever.

"This isn't fair," she groaned.

"Complaining never solved anything." answered Shinji in that monotone voice he adopted when he was bored. It was a tone Asuka had become quite familiar with over the months they had known each other.

"You've been pissy all day, Shinji," she said. "What's eating you?"

"Besides the fact that a woman's life has been tragically cut short by the deranged actions of a cultist psychopath?"

"Yeah, besides that."

"The usual, I guess."

Asuka could tell she wasn't going to get anything interesting out of him. She decided to take a different approach. "So who's Mr. Tall-Pale-and-Handsome?"

Shinji raised an eyebrow. "I literally have no idea what the fuck you're talking about sometimes, Asuka."

"I mean the cute albino guy who speaks German. I met him at the hospital, and he said he knew you."

"I probably shouldn't say. It's sensitive to the case."

"Which, I'm now working on, Asshole. Spill."

"He's the son of Lorenz Kihl. I interviewed him during the Sachiel investigation."

"He seems to have taken a liking to you, if you know what I mean."

Shinji groaned in irritation. "Not really."

"Oh come on, you haven't noticed? He's gay! Like, really gay."

Shinji froze up. "Are you sure?"

"It's literally the only reason I haven't fucked his brains out."

Shinji was lost in thought for a few moments. Finally he said, "I don't think that's right. You must be jumping to conclusions."

"You have a real talent for denial, you know that Shinji?"

The body had been placed on dry land on the edge of the dock. Misato didn't like to move bodies, but in this case they needed to do a preliminary examination before taking it to the morgue. It was the first body they had found since the killer had been confirmed as the next Angel.

She was sure that the fact that the body was blocking critical boat traffic didn't help.

She opened the watertight envelope that had been pinned to the body. Like most messages found at Angel crime scenes, it contained a signature and a slew of religious symbols, including several crucifixes.

"I never really got the crucifixes," said Maya. "Seele was always based more in Jewish lore, right? Why the Christian imagery?"

Misato said, "In one interview, Kihl explained that for centuries before the start of Christianity, the cross was a symbol of a slow, torturous death. He wanted to bring the old meaning back."

Misato examined the victim's throat. The killer had left the fishing line tangled around it, outlined by red marks on the skin. "Yet another Angel has chosen to kill by robbing the victims of air. After Shamsel and Sachiel, this is the third Angel to use this method. And the second to specifically strangle the victim after Shamshel."

"I'm guessing you don't count the Sandalphon victims who died of smoke inhalation?" asked Maya.

"No, arsonists don't plan which way their victims die." Misato pulled out her pocket notebook and began jotting down her thoughts. "Given that all victims were found this close together, the UnSub probably lives in Baltimore. He probably owns a boat, which he used to dispose of the bodies."

Maya pointed behind Misato and asked, "What the hell does that guy think he's doing?"

Misato turned and saw a small speedboat resting right next to the edge of the crime scene. Badge in hand, she ran up to him and said, "Excuse me, but this is a closed crime scene."

The man driving the boat was dressed in fishing gear. He shouted, "No shit!"

He then pulled out a submachine gun and began opening fire. Misato and the other agents ducked for cover, which was sparse. Misato ducked behind a wooden bench. She tried to get a good look to return fire, but the bullets danced inches away from her head. She couldn't help but notice that the bench was being torn into splinters by the continuous gunfire.

When they heard the gunfire, Asuka sprung into action first. She grabbed Shinji by the arm and said, "Grab your gun, this is our big chance!"

Running alongside her, Shinji said, "I didn't bring a gun!"

Asuka groaned. "What kind of idiot doesn't bring a gun to a crime scene?"

She unsheathed her pistol, a Luger P08. It was a family, of sorts. Asuka's mother had given it to her, who had received it from her own mother. Asuka's Grandmother had used it to personally shoot a high-ranking officer of the SS back in the forties.

Asuka and Shinji reached the dock and quickly analyzed the situation. At least three agents had already been shot. They couldn't tell how many were still shooter was not aware that they were there.

"Cover me," Asuka whispered.

"With what? Rocks?" Shinji shot back.

Asuka groaned and made a run for it. She ducked and weaved behind whatever cover she could find until she reached the edge of the dock. She jumped of the end and fired one shot at the man driving the boat before splashing into the water.

Although she would never know for sure, Asuka would always tell people that she shot the Angel right between the eyes. She had actually hit him in the left cheek. The Angel writhed in pain and grabbed his face, dropping the gun. More importantly, he also kicked the accelerator. In too much pain to control the boat, he could do nothing as it crashed into the shore . The boat was shattered on impact, pushing the driver and the motor behind him onto the shore. It crushed the entire upper half of his body into a red paste. Misato ran up next to Asuka. She panted, "I think it's safe to say he was probably our Angel. Good job."

Asuka beamed while Shinji coughed and muttered something under his breath.

Shinji was neither underwhelmed or overwhelmed by his new apartment. It was a little larger than his dorm at the Academy, but it wasn't as clean. He could fix that. He had always been a bit of a neat freak, and shouldered most of the cleaning responsibilities at his dorm.

He decided to take a short walk to get the lay of the land. The building was located a convenient distance from Quantico and the rent wasn't too bad. As he passed by the entrance, he saw a familiar flash of bright red hair in the elevator.

The door opened seconds after they had closed and Asuka stepped right back out. With a shocked expression on her face, she said, "Please tell me you won't be living here too."

Shinji awkwardly looked at his feet. He didn't know what to tell her.

A familiar voice said, "It's a small, and often strange world, isn't it?"

They both turned around to see Misato. She was wearing casual clothes, something they hadn't seen before.

"This apartment has been home to a lot of FBI agents over the years. You really shouldn't be surprised. "

Asuka tore at her hair in frustration. "How could this get any worse?"

Misato smiled. "We'll be joined on this case by an expert consultant. You'll meet her in the morning. Until then, sweet dreams."

To be Continued.