Shinji Steel 73
Disclaimer; I do not own Neon Genesis Evangelion or Max Steel. Wish I did, though.
(Puget Sound OR; UN Medical Center; same time)
"Calvin." At the sound of Tuttle's voice, Myers looks up at his old friend and sees a concerned expression on his face. "Don't tell me you stayed up all night long."
"Okay, I won't." Myers can't help but snicker at Tuttle's eye-roll of exasperation before going serious. "How is he, Adam?"
"He'll live, Calvin. But I am concerned. Has he been under a large amount of stress lately?"
"Let's see. He and his assistant are in hiding for their protection while his granddaughter and the woman that raised her as her own are out in the open. Yeah. I'd say he's been under a lot of stress." Tuttle can't help but roll his eyes at Myers' sarcasm again, well used to it even after years of not seeing him.
"I could've done without the sarcasm, but then it wouldn't be you if you didn't use sarcasm." Myers chuckles at that, with Tuttle not far behind. "You haven't changed one bit, Calvin."
"Neither have you, Adam. Hey. Remember our time at Astoria Elementary School?"
"Oh yeah and how we looked after Mr Kimball's Kindergarten class. You the protector if Mr Kimball wasn't nearby to shield them from the bullies and me as the soother if any of them got hurt. We made quite a team."
"Yeah and look at us now. Our roles hadn't really changed at all. Just on a larger scale." Tuttle and Myers both share another chuckle at that before Myers adds, "I still can't believe Mr Kimball used to be a LAPD Detective undercover as a Kindergarten teacher."
"You ain't the only one. I still remember the wedding between him and Ms Palmieri. Dominic being the ring bearer, with the ceremony and reception being in the school playground. I'm still trying to figure out how Ms Schlowski managed to get everyone seated without removing any of the playground equipment." Myers chuckles at that as Tuttle snickers before going serious. "But I'm afraid we'll have to go down Memory Lane together another day."
"Yeah." As he follows Tuttle, his phone rings. "You mind if…"
"Go ahead." Myers nods his thanks before bringing out his phone.
"Myers. Uh-huh. Got it. I'll let him know, sir. Out." Ending the call, Myers grins and asks, "When can I see the Doc? Got some news for him."
"We're on our way to see him now, actually." Myers nods as they continue walking, not having stopped once during the call. Out of curiosity, Tuttle asks, "What was the call about, anyway?"
"His granddaughter's having a baby and she doesn't want him to miss out on fussing over a baby again." At Tuttle's perplexed blink, he adds, "He thought she'd died with her folks in 2nd Impact."
"Ah. That makes sense." When they get to the room, Myers can see Tokisona's awake and smiling.
"Hey, Doc. How're you feeling?"
"Much better, Calvin." Letting off a light snort, he says, "Never thought I'd wind up in one of these while I can still move. Thought I'd be too weak to move on my own before I confine myself to a bed." Myers and Tuttle both chuckle at that before Tuttle goes serious.
"In any case, Kyusuke, you got lucky last night when Calvin and Aaron Gillespie brought you here."
"I know. So, what's the verdict, Doc?"
"You need to stop stressing so much lest you stress yourself into a grave. At the rate you're going, 6 months. Tops."
"And if I don't stress so much?"
"Three more years. Tops. Your ticker's been weakened from the episode. Combine that with your advanced age…"
"I guess you'll be reading about me in 6 months then. In my obituary." Myers then smirks softly before going to Tokisona's side. "Calvin?"
"Your granddaughter was notified and she had a reply. You're to be a Great-Grandfather and she doesn't want you to miss out on fussing over a baby again as that chance was taken from you when her parents died at sea." Before Tokisona can reply, Myers' cell phone rings again. Bringing it up, he smiles when he sees who it is that's calling. "Hey, Scott. Where've you and Suzi been, man?"
"Rural WA State, staying with an old friend of mine and her folks from my time at UNLETC. How're things on your end?"
"Considering the Doc had a heart attack last night and is recovering, just peachy."
"What?! Where is he being treated at?!"
"The UN Medical Center in Puget Sound, OR."
"We'll be on our way there in fifteen minutes. ETA, 1 hour."
"Copy that. Oh, did Suzi get her answer?"
"She's going to be a Mommy." Myers can't help but smile widely at that before turning to Tokisona.
"I hope the Doc can take the news as well as he did the news about his granddaughter becoming a Mommy herself." Tokisona's eyes go wide before he plops his head back onto his pillow and chuckles darkly.
"I'm not going to make it past six months."
(Kamenev Cessna; same time)
Stopping when Cochrane's face is shedding blood from his nose, Brian steps back. Pleased that he'd avoided doing any permanent damage to the former Chief Inspector. Cochrane, however…
"You saw that! You're all witnesses!"
"Witnesses to what, Cochrane?" Nikita's query has befuddlement within as she adds, "I didn't see anything. Danny? Lisa?"
"Nope."
"Me neither. In fact, Danny and I were discussing baby names with our eyes. Ms Brantley?"
"I'm sorry, dearie, but my thoughts were elsewhere."
"Understandable. Jenk?"
"Too busy trying to keep my composure from the pain in my thigh. So that kinda takes my concentration from everything else." Lisa turns toward him, irritation on her face.
"You mean you haven't taken your painkillers yet?"
"More like avoiding them altogether, Kinsey. You know what those things do to me." Nikita looks toward him before looking toward Lisa.
"Why doesn't he want to take his painkillers?"
"They make me nuts." Jenk's reply gets an exasperated eye-roll from Lisa.
"They don't make you nuts, Jenk. They make you amusing."
"Oh sure. Remember the time when I started dancing the 'Macarena' at the Empire State Building when there was a woman looking to jump? And I was on crowd control at the time, with a splitting headache to boot. And what did you do? You gave me fast-acting painkillers and the show began."
"It worked, didn't it? The woman was so perplexed at the sight of you dancing, with the crowd filming you and enjoying themselves, she didn't see Danny grab her until after she was back inside."
"Yeah and you even got a commendation for that, man."
"I don't think 'Most Entertaining Officer' even counts as a commendation, Mal." Lisa gives Jenk a soft smirk at that.
"When she presented it to you three days later, Percy looked like she was about to have a stroke. So it was a commendation, Jenk." Gertrude smiles at the interplay before blinking and looking at Jenk.
"You're 'Macarena Cop', Officer Jenkins?" Seeing him looking toward her before blinking, she adds, "That's what the 'New York Times' called you." Lisa nods at that before smiling warmly at him.
"Matter of fact, there were quite a few comments. From eligible young women wanting you to marry them." When Jenk groans, she blinks herself.
"Don't remind me. I don't know how, but five of them got my name and sent me letters with risqué pictures. And one gained entry into the locker room while I showered and nearly had her way with me. Percy threw a fit at the last one." Nikita takes that one.
"How did you respond?"
"I was flattered that they thought me suitable enough for them, but told them I was having a reaction to painkillers at the time. After that, no more word." Shrugging as he smiles, he adds, "Probably better that nothing came out of any of them. There's probably only so much drug-induced lunacy a woman can take before she gets fed up."
"You listen to me, Jenk. You're a nice, sweet funny guy. Even without painkillers. If those women can't handle your situation, then they weren't worth your time." Bringing out a bottle of painkillers, Lisa then taps out the dosage. "Now come on. I need some in-flight entertainment that's suitable for everyone." Jenk blinks at that before groaning.
"It's the fast-acting type, isn't it?" At her grin and nod, he asks, "You just had to think ahead, didn't you?"
"I kinda figured you'd not have your meds with you, so I prepped accordingly." Getting up and stepping to in front of him, she adds, "Down the hatch." At his headshake of 'negative', Lisa rolls her eyes again. "I mean it, Jenk. You need your meds or you'll be miserable for the rest of the flight."
"That suits…" His voice trailing off as Lisa grabs the sides of his mouth with one hand, he feels the tablets hitting his tongue and Lisa pressing his mouth closed.
"Swallow, Jenk. Swallow. You're gonna have to sometime so swallow already." Defeated, Jenk does so, getting a smile from Lisa in the process. "Good boy." Going back to her seat beside Danny, Lisa starts counting down. Nikita and Brian catching it.
"What're you doing, Lisa?"
"You'll find out when the painkillers take effect, Brian."
"How long until they do?"
Nikita's question is soon answered when Jenk gets up from the seat and, as if he hadn't been recently hurt by gunfire, goes toward Cochrane's seat. His eyes spinning rapidly in circles before his lips break into a sadistic grin. Cochrane can only gulp before Jenk chortles sinisterly.
"What's he doing, Kinsey?! He's grinning and chortling evilly toward me!"
"Well, when he gets to be like that, you have my permission, and utmost recommendation, to do one thing."
"What?!"
"Be afraid. Be very afraid."
"But… I didn't do anything to him." Seeing him look back toward Nikita, he adds, "Go get the mafiya slut, boy! She deserves it! Not me!"
"Nikita, may I borrow your make-up kit?"
"Sure." Jenk nods thankfully as she brings it out to him before looking back at Cochrane. With the deftness of a skilled hand, Jenk opens the make-up kit and his smile goes wider at the contents.
"Let's see." Carefully picking out the items, he hums while looking back and forth between Cochrane and the kit repeatedly before nodding. "Now, time to begin making art out of a piece of shit."
"Why isn't he doing the 'Macarena'?! It'd be preferable to what he's got on his mind right now!"
"Hmm. Intriguing concept, Cochrane. Applying make-up while doing the 'Macarena'. Worth a try." Supplies in hand, he says one more thing to Cochrane. "This'll only hurt a little bit."
"Shouldn't that be 'This won't hurt one little bit', Officer Jenkins?" Much to his distress, Jenk's sadistic grin and sinister chortle return.
"Not in your case." With that, Jenk descends on Cochrane.
Synchronizing his movements for the 'Macarena' dance while applying the make-up as best he can, Jenk starts singing the 'Macarena' song. Nikita and Brian both hum along while Lisa and Gertrude giggle. Danny, however, had brought out a small camcorder while Jenk walked toward Cochrane and started recording right from the start.
'I smell another big hit. "Make-up Macarena". Starring the one and only Roland Jenkins, guest starring Frederick Cochrane.'
With each application of pressure from Jenk's hands, a pained yelp is heard from Cochrane until the dance ends. When Jenk's moved aside, Danny gets a close-up of Cochrane's face and begins laughing raucously.
"That's a good look for you, Cochrane! Now the world will know what you really are!" Next thing he knows, Jenk groggily groans and starts swaying. "Uh-oh. Brian, you're closest to him than I am."
"Got it." Not having retaken his seat, Brian goes to Jenk's side and grabs hold of him as he falls over. "I got you, bud." Hefting Jenk to the seat, he turns to his sister and asks, "Is this another side effect painkillers have on him?"
"Oh yes. One of three. All three of which you just saw. Moving like he's not in pain, acting like a loon and falling asleep. The latter usually happens in fifteen minutes after dosage, even with fast-acting. But it's only been about seven, eight minutes. So he must not have slept well overnight." Turning toward the file Brian had been looking at earlier, she asks, "So the contents of that file are why Dad's dead?"
"It appears so." Ensuring Jenk's sleeping comfortably, Brian returns to his seat and picks the file folder back up. Aware that Nikita's eying the file as well, he begins reading it.
NCIS Case File 44789
Name; Sychola, Peter
Branch; United States Marine Corps
Unit; Force Recon
Rank; Gunnery Sergeant
Status; Possible abduction by unknown party disguised as death
Location of Incident; Seattle, WA
Day of Incident; 19 April 1997
Investigating Agents; Thompson, Brad: NCIS and Dyson, Tom: FBI
Unit CO; Santiago, Evan: Lieutenant Colonel
Skipping the remainder of the formal details, Brian eyes what prompted the investigation to begin with.
Even though the body had been identified as GS Sychola, through dental records, the Base ME for Camp Pendleton did his own examination and noted that the teeth had been cut recently to match dental records for GS Sychola.
To verify suspicion, DNA file for GS Sychola was accessed and compared with body in NCIS' custody. No match was found between samples. Yet the sample matched DNA for a reported assault on a missing homeless man three days prior.
NCIS Agent Thompson brought up the possibility that GS Sychola had faked his death to deceive the Corps and desert. LC Santiago disagreed as at the time, GS Sychola was intending to retire the next month to Seattle WA.
I agreed with LC Santiago as GS Sychola and I had discussed our plans for our futures past Operation Desert Storm. I was going into the FBI and GS Sychola was intending to run a camp for at-risk youths in Seattle.
"Something I don't get, Brian. Why would your Father be called in to begin with? I'm sure NCIS would've been able to find out what'd happened." Brian can only shrug at Nikita's very good question as he turns a page and his eyes bolt open. A snapshot of his Dad and GS Sychola, standing together in a desert setting. Below their feet the phrase, 'Force Recon forever! Oo-rah!'is written in marker.
"They served together. Dad must've been brought in to provide perspective on the case." Looking further into the file, he grimaces. "Looks like someone wanted Dad to back off of the case."
"What makes you say that, sweetie?"
"I dunno. The phrase 'You will cease your investigation if you know what is good for you' being spoken over the phone sounds kinda ominous."
"Try more like a threat. When your Dad didn't back down…"
"The caller decided to make it happen." Looking at Cochrane again, he adds, "And he used a middleman to ensure it was done. A middleman that had something to hide himself." Noticing where Cochrane's looking, he looks down and sees his Baby Eagle in a shoulder holster. Grinning in amusement, he looks up toward Cochrane.
"What was that?"Cochrane blinks innocently at Brian and shakes his head. But Brian's not having any of it. "You eyeballin' my piece, 5 Cent? Wanna make something happen? Come on, do it." Leaning forward, he adds, "Because I promise you, I will bust you up far worse than what I just did." An audible gulp is Cochrane's reply before the man looks away. "I thought you'd see the wisdom of not trying something."
"Can you at least, please, get this off of my face?"
"Nope. It's staying on until we can stomach it no more." Brian looks the names over before adding, "I'll have to wait until we get back to Tokyo-3 for me to make some calls."
"As in to the NCIS Agent assigned to the case and the Unit CO?" At Brian's nod, Nikita holds out her cell phone. A sweet smile on her face. "Here sweetie. Make your calls."
"I wouldn't want to hold up anyone that might want to call you, Nikita."
"It's fine." Brian mulls it over before nodding.
"I'll try not to take too long."
"Take as much time as you need, Brian."
"I'll make it up to you."
"Oh I know you will." A sultry smirk replaces her sweet smile as she adds, "I'm looking forward to it." Brian's cheeks go red as he punches in the number before putting it to his ear. Nikita listening intently to his side of the call when it's answered.
"I'd like to speak with NCIS Agent Brad Thompson please." His eyebrows shoot upward as he asks, "What? When?" His eyes closing, he says, "I thank you. Yeah, it's regarding a case he was assigned to. 44789, the Sychola investigation. I found him. He's my superior Officer with Section-2 now. He has no idea he's being searched for as an abducted person. That's right. His memory's spotty in some places, but it's coming back to him. Brian Dyson, Section-2 for UN Agency NERV. Yes, my Father. I understand." Ending the call, he brings out his pen and puts a line through Thompson's name. Nikita catching it.
"Brian? What happened?"
"Agent Thompson died a week before 2nd Impact. A murder disguised as a car accident. His car seemingly went out of control before flying off a cliff in Marin County. An examination of the car was done and the brake lines were found to have been cut." Punching in another number, he listens again before speaking.
"Lieutenant Colonel Santiago, please. Oh my. When? I see. Yeah, it's regarding a case of one of his men. Peter Sychola, Gunnery Sergeant. He's been found, alive, with a spotty memory and he's my Superior Officer. Section-2, for UN Agency NERV. Brian Dyson. Yes, sir, my Father. I understand." Ending the call as well, Brian marks through Santiago's name.
"Another dead end, huh?" At his silent nod, Nikita asks, "What happened?"
"Lt Colonel Santiago's chute failed to open during qualifications. The impact caused a rupture of his aorta and a crater 3 feet deep into the ground. It happened two days after Agent Thompson died." Shuddering, he adds, "When NCIS investigated, they found that the ripcords for both the primary and reserve chute had been sabotaged. Someone had somehow snaked a thin blade into both ripcords and sliced into them just enough where a single tug would sever both of the ripcords." Before Nikita can say anything, the phone rings. "You're not expecting a call by any chance, are you?"
"Uh-uh." Frowning, Brian answers the phone, putting it on 'speaker' in the process.
"Nikita Kamenev's phone. Section-2 Agent Brian Dyson speaking."
"So, you are the son of the foolish FBI Agent Tom Dyson." Brian notices Cochrane's visage relaxing and smirks.
"You've got to be 'Mr Cyclops' as Cochrane calls you. Or perhaps I should use your current alias, Lorenz Kiel or would you prefer John Dread?"
"Pick any you prefer. It makes no difference to me. But one thing I do not like is anyone kicking over stones I had strategically planted."
"Yeah, well, I don't like douchebags that abduct people from something they like or intend to do."
"I didn't abduct anyone. I merely gave the good Gunnery Sergeant a more profitable purpose. To let him squander his talent in retirement while trying to help 'at-risk youths' that are too far gone would be a crime."
"Yeah. By arranging to fake his death. I bet you paid the thugs that beat him quite a chunk of green."
"Indeed. Fifteen grand, each." Dread chuckles as he asks, "Seeing as I have you on the phone, I couldn't interest you in a bribe, could I? I've got plenty to go around."
"Pass. Your money's only good for one thing in my book. Toilet paper." Nikita bursting out into giggles, with Lisa joining in and Danny recording it on his camcorder, gets him to grin. "Yeah sure, it'll clog up the drain and not get all the crap out of my crack, but it'll do as toilet paper."
"So clean cut. Much like your foolish Father was. He more or less said the same thing the first time I offered him a bribe on the phone. Of course, it was the only time I offered him the bribe."
"Just goes to show Dad had far more honor in his pinky than you do in your whole soul."
"Honor. Pfft. Such a useless concept. But I digress. Is Cochrane with you right now? I imagine he is. Say hello to me, Frederick."
"Save me, Mr Radenos! Please!"
"Not quite what I had in mind. No matter. You'd already outlived your usefulness. Especially since UNNIC Agents recovered the other prototype N-2 and both Inspector Stalk and Mr Watts have departed the Land of the Living. Which means there's one more link to sever and that, my dear former Chief Inspector, is you."
"So you knew the money you sent him was counterfeit, then." Nikita's voice gets a chuckle from Dread before he gives his reply.
"Oh yes indeed, Miss Kamenev. I figured why send real money to a fool that's about to outlive his usefulness when counterfeit currency will be more than appropriate just before his doom happens."
"YOU BASTARD! YOU MISERABLE, GUT-EATING BASTARD!" Cochrane thrashes about in his restraints as he snarls out, "WHEN I GET OUT OF THE MESS I'M IN, I'M GOING TO FIND YOU AND WRING YOUR NECK!"
"Ho-hum. Agent Dyson, far be it from me to aspire to tell you what to do, but please do put a bullet into Cochrane's head. After all, he's the one that arranged for your Father's death."
"Maybe so, but you're the cheese log that put him up to it. So I'm gonna have to pass, jerk-off." Brian's retort gets Lisa to giggle.
"That's my little brother!" Lisa's remark gets a snide snort from Dread, prompting her to ask, "Aww, did my little brother hurt the cheese log's feelings?"
"You don't know who I am or what I'm capable of."
"Nor do my husband or I want to, cheese log." Leaning forward intently, she adds, "I'm looking forward to testifying against him and you when you're found."
"I'm not going to tell you your chances when you already know them. But I do wish you the best of luck in your search." Dread then chuckles as he adds, "You never know. You might just find me. In about fifteen years."
"I guess time will tell, cheese log." The call ends and Lisa snorts. "Not even so much as a 'bye'. The guy is a douchebag." Brian nods in agreement as he looks further into the file before grinning. "Brian?"
"Dad wasn't the only FBI Agent on the case. He'd confided in two other Agents, off the official channels of course, about the case."
"That's great, Brian. Who?"
"Aunts Ellie and Janice, Nikita." Turning in time to see her blink, he adds, "They doted on me like I was their nephew. When Dad died, I'd stayed with them in their apartment for four days until after his funeral. That was when Aunt Cassandra came and picked me up. She thanked them both for looking after me so well and agreed to let them stay in touch with me."
"Have you talked to them lately?"
"No. I've been meaning to, though."
"No better time than the present." Brian nods at that before punching in a number he'd memorized long ago. A ring later, he hears a female voice answer.
"UNBI, Agent Zuckerman speaking."
"Hi, Aunt Janice."
"Brian! Ellie, pick up on line 3! Brian's calling!" A split second later, another voice comes up.
"Brian, sweetie, how've you been?"
"I've been fine, Aunt Ellie." Sighing fondly, he goes on. "You know that case Dad confided with you two on?"
"We remember it, Brian. Sorry to say, however, we've hit dead ends since after your Dad's funeral." Ellie sighs dismally as she recovers herself and adds, "But we're still looking. No need to worry about that."
"I know, Aunt Ellie. I've got a lead, though."
"What kind of lead?" Janice's voice has eagerness within as she adds, "We can use one right about now."
"How soon can you two get to Tokyo-3?" A clacking of keys is heard before Ellie gives her reply.
"We can get the next flight out of LAX to Tokyo-2. The UNBI office there can sign us out a car and we can drive there. We should be there by tomorrow."
"Great. I'll see you then." When he sees Nikita grinning mischievously, he then asks, "How about we give you guys a lift? We're on our way by there anyway."
"We? Who's we, Brian?"
"It's a long story, Aunt Janice. Look for a Cessna Citation with Cyrillic characters on it at LAX. ETA two hours. We'll probably have to top off the fuel there before we go on."
"You're on, bucko. Janice and I expect to be briefed in full during the flight. Clear?"
"Crystal clear, Aunt Ellie. Oh, and Aunt Janice? Be sure you're both armed. Got a prisoner on board that needs to be watched like a hawk."
"Got it. Oh, incidentally, have you talked to your Aunt Cassandra lately? You know how she worries."
"She's to be my next and last call actually, Aunt Janice."
"Okay, sweetie. Ellie and I'll be waiting." With that, the call ends and Brian sighs. Nikita then giggles.
"Your 'Aunts' sound interesting, Brian."
"Yeah, they are. Now for the hardest call yet." Steeling himself, Brian punches in the number. Two rings later, he hears a soft female voice.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Aunt Cassandra."
"Brian, hi! It's been so long!"
"I know. Aunt Cassandra, are you sitting down?"
"I am. Why?" At that question, Brian looks right at Cochrane before replying.
"I found the guy responsible for Dad's death. And there's more."
(WA State; Wheeler cabin; Same time)
"We'll try to visit when we can, Alex." Alex gives Scott a nod before hugging him and turning to Shizuka. When he sees Jamie come out of the cabin with a picnic basket, he blinks. "Jamie?"
"Just a little something for you two to eat on the way back there. If you're careful enough with it, you should have enough for six more people." Wrapping Scott in a hug, she adds, "Don't you and Shizuka be a stranger, Scott."
"We won't." Mark then walks up to him, a piece of paper in hand. "Mark?"
"This is a list of executives on the board of directors for the Rand Davis Corporation. All but two are dead. One that's still alive is in prison while the other one vanished. I figured someone you know in the Marshal's Office can look into it." Scott nods at that before Mark clutches him in a hug, murmuring, "I know you're not what you pose to be. But you're doing it for good reason. Next time you visit, we'll want the whole story."
"You'll have it. With all of us on the detail here." Mark ends the hug and nods at Scott before the latter looks toward Shizuka and sees her smiling at Jamie putting her hands to her belly. Alex right behind. "How did you feel, becoming a parent?"
"I felt nervous and eager. Nervous because I worried about fucking it up. Eager because I took part in creating a new life and was about to help mold the new life."
"Ah. So that explains why Alex body-slammed Tracy Waller in hand-to-hand combat at UNLETC. You had a hand in that." Mark can only shrug before chuckling. "We better go. It was good seeing you again."
"Likewise, Scott." Watching as Scott and Shizuka get into the Stingray, Mark adds, "Watch out for dirt piles!"
(Tokyo-3; Treadwell Industries; Executive Floor; Sam's Office; same time)
"Man, what a day it's been." Sam finishes up his paperwork and looks out the window. Seeing the window crew approaching with the new window, he nods and adds, "Might as well get Emily and Kensuke on up here. Slim's probably going out of his mind right now watching over them."
"Not really, kid." Looking toward his office doorway, Sam grins at seeing a smirking Slim. Kensuke and Emily right behind in the mostly-cleared office space. "The kid's actually a good match for her."
"I'm glad." Next thing Slim and Sam know, the elevator dings. "Guess Edith and Deidre are finished clearing the upper floors."
"I wouldn't count on that, City Slicker." The smarmy male voice behind Slim gets Sam to look up and see a man with unkempt long hair and a large beard. "It's been a long time."
"Not long enough for my taste, Stacey." Looking around behind his unexpected and unwelcome guest, Sam frowns and asks, "Where's Earl?"
"Earl was dead weight. So I cut him loose." Stacey then shoves Slim forward before stepping into the space, looking around as he does so. "Gotta admit, City Slicker, you've got a good eye for decoration. Bare minimum, but just enough to put in a personal touch." His gaze soon falls onto the blow-up picture of Adernos' face, causing him to grin. "Well now, this is a small world. When did you meet John Onderas?"
"It was some time ago." Stacey nods at that before turning back to Sam. A frown on his face.
"Why does he have little holes all over his face as if people have been launching darts at him?"
"Because we have been shooting darts at his face, Stacey." Edith's voice at the doorway gets Stacey to start before smirking.
"E Johnson, the most experienced Tracker Glory Hole had ever seen. I thought you'd have died by now."
"Funny. I was going to say the same about you." Kinking her head outward, she reveals a Colt 1911 .45 ACP in her hand as she adds, "Step on out of the office so we can catch up." Nodding, Stacey does so, catching sight of Deidre standing with Kensuke while Edith chides him.
"Apparently you forgot the first rule of hostage taking. 'Always watch your hostages'." As he steps out, Stacey can see Ginger being untied by Emily while the other woman is still. "What I wanna know is how you got your hands on Cherry there."
"He came out to Sky Ranch a year after it was rebuilt." Ginger exercises her jaw as she goes on. "Cherry was there, waiting for Sam to come back. I didn't have the heart to tell her he wasn't coming back, so I stuck with the basic truth. Sam had to go to work far away." Turning to look at Stacey, she then scowls, "When he got there, he asked where Lester was and I told him flat out he'd died."
"Oh yes. In fact, he and John established quite a rapport when John came out to Zone 7. John was the one that told Lester that anyone snooping around Zone 7 was to die. Of course, Earl and I were to be the interceptors working out of Glory Hole should anyone come out there looking to go into Zone 7."
"So if I hadn't escaped from Sky Ranch, and still refused to see his 'line of thought', I'd have been a dead man." Ginger pauses before nodding, sadness on her face.
"That's right, Sam. In fact, I'm glad you escaped. Lester was a basket-case when you left. Of course, he was already one to begin with. Especially since…" Her voice trails off at seeing the innocent face of the rust-haired girl in front of her before she shakes her head. "Never mind."
"Especially since what, Elaine?" When she doesn't answer, Sam asks, "Since what, Elaine?"
"Dammit, Sam! My name's Ginger now! Elaine was the name you knew me as before! You knew that when you were at Sky Ranch!"
"Maybe so, but you'll always be Elaine to me. So what were you about to say, Elaine?"
"Keep your mouth shut, Ginger. That's none of their damned business."
"Oh shut your pie-hole, Stacey. Lester's dead now, so what can it hurt?" Looking toward Edith, Ginger goes on. Unaware that Deidre's reaching up toward her ear. Intent on keying up her comm. unit and, upon making contact with it, she then activates it.
(N-Tek Behemoth; Same time)
"Shinji, we've got traffic on Freq. 117." Chuck's voice from the cockpit quickly gets Shinji's attention.
"117? That's Deidre's comm." Going to the console, Asuka right behind him, Shinji keys in the freq and listens in. As he listens, he feels the Behemoth pick up speed. "How long until we get there, Chuck?"
"Another five minutes at current speed, Shinji."
"Good to know. Asuka, time for UNSWAT to go to work." Asuka can't help but give him a playful smirk at that.
"Now you're talking my language."
(Treadwell Industries; Same time)
"Years ago, when I first fell under the sway of Lester, he told everyone the story of a friend of his that killed a couple just outside of Glory Hole. He had gone with a group of Outriders because the head of the family refused his 'offer' of employment with him. With the employment being smuggling contraband into the US from South of the Border."
"Shut your mouth, Ginger. Shut your mouth right now." Defiantly, Ginger goes on.
"He spoke with pride that John Onderas killed both the head and co-head of the family. He was about to make an additional example of the little girl and the old man that were there. Only he didn't expect the little girl to fight back, hard. The old man cheering her on while nursing his wounds." Edith's face takes on a feral look as she remembers the incident.
"So that was the bastard's name at the time, then."
(Rooftop of Treadwell Industries; Same time)
Having jumped down from the Behemoth as it hovers above TI, its' engines muffled, Shinji switches over to Max while Asuka gets her rappelling harness onto her frame before priming her MP7.
"Don't you think we're going a little overboard here, Max?" Max puts on his harness while smirking during his reply as he arms his MTAR before going to the rooftop's ledge and securing their rappelling lines.
"Nah." Asuka smirks herself before agreeing with him.
"Nah." Positioning herself at Max's side and hooking her line to her harness, she goes on. "According to the SIGTRA from Deidre's comm., they're on the 30th floor. There's a broken window there we can use to gain entry at." Max nods at that after finishing his line.
"Let's do this!" With that, they both kick off of the rooftop.
(30th Floor Office space; Same time)
"He wasn't a bastard! He was a brilliant man! A visionary that inspired another brilliant man! A man that you two had killed while leaving Zone 7!"
Stacey starts frothing at the mouth before turning away from Ginger and toward Emily. Bringing out a large knife in the process.
"Much like you denied one of them a future, I will deny your child her future!" But before anything can happen, two figures swing into the office via the broken window. Upon touching down onto the floor on foot, they bring their weapons to bear on Stacey.
"UNSWAT! DROP THE WEAPON!" Numbly, as if in shock, Stacey lets the knife in his right hand fall to the floor as one of them, a pretty redhead, steps toward him. With the other one, a dark-haired man, issuing commands to him. "Get onto your knees. Cross your legs. Put your hands on your head. Interlace your fingers." Stacey then feels his wrists being tightly bound once they're brought down to waist-level to the point where he hisses in pain.
"Ouch!"
"Hurts, huh? Good. That lets you know you're under arrest." The owner of the German-accented feminine voice then asks, "What's next, Officer Steel?"
"Next we debrief the people onsite, Officer Langley." Getting sight of the unmoving woman, however, he adds, "We're gonna need a coroner as well."
"Oh, that won't be necessary." A woman that was in the office when they made their entrance reaches into her purse and brings out a small module. Opening the module, she smiles at seeing a circular disk before bringing it out of the module and stepping to beside the woman. "Time to wake up, Cherry." She then puts the disk behind the still woman's ear and steps back. As she does so, a chiming can be heard before the woman blinks and smiles.
"Hi honey." Looking around the office, she frowns, shakes her head and says, "This place needs a makeover."
"Mother of God. She's a robot, Max." Max nods in agreement with Asuka before expanding in German himself.
"A gynoid, to be exact." Looking toward the Treadwells, he sees the two adults are smiling softly while Emily's bewildered. "One that's programmed to be so human-like, it's likely to think itself human. Fascinating." Asuka can only nod in agreement before noticing Kensuke out the corner of her eye.
"Uh-oh. Got a problem, Max. The 'computer stooge' is here."
"Play it cool. If he says he recognizes you, shrug it off, saying it's probably just a coincidence."
"Okay." Shaking it off, she then asks, "Is everyone here okay?"
"We will be once 'he' is far away from us." Sam's reply gets them both to nod as Kensuke eyes the pretty redheaded UNSWAT Officer.
'No way! "Red Devil" is here?! But, it can't be! She's not even wearing her neural clips! She always wears them as a sign of her pride as an EVA Pilot! Maybe it's just someone that looks like her!' Seeing her lips move, he then curtails his debate until later.
"Okay, so why did this schmuck come around here, Mr Treadwell?"
"Mainly because he was friends with a long dead lunatic and wanted some payback. Of course, that friendship extended to veritable psychopath." Going back into his office, he comes right back out with a photo frame while 'Cherry' keeps looking around the office. "Front row, second from the right." Max accepts the photo frame before looking and his eyes narrow. "I take it you know him too?"
"I know of him. He's an international criminal mastermind. Favors using terrorist tactics to further his goals." Blinking, he then turns to Officer Langley. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Yeah." Turning to Sam, she then asks, "What was the name he used when you knew him, Mr Treadwell?"
"John Adernos. I have reason to believe he had a hand in wiping out half my flight company in the Border Wars." Officer Langley's eyes can't help but go wide at that.
"You mean the 'Massacre of the 1258th Air-Cav'? The flight company that lost half of it's' men?"
"The very same, Officer Langley." Hiking his thumb toward Edith, he adds, "He used the name John Onderas when he killed my wife's parents when she was little. And Deidre here used to work for him until she started hating his guts." Curiously, he asks, "Why?"
"If our suspicions are right, he had a hand in developing an exceedingly cruel method of behavior control under the anagram Sondare. Even more, he may have had a hand in the attack of a Dr Roilson and his aircraft." Deidre's eyes go wide at that.
"Roilson? As in Doctor Greg Roilson?" Officer Langley nods before Deidre asks, "Is he okay? Is his staff/crew okay?"
"Dr Roilson's okay, Ms Takamiya. His crew and plane, however…" Deidre shakes her head 'no' at Max's words in horrified disbelief.
"All of them, except for Greg?" Tears start dripping from her eyes before she feels Edith's arms around her in support.
"Yes, Ms Takamiya. I'm afraid so. We've gotten hold of a forensics unit that specializes in maritime incidents. They'll be looking into it on their end of the investigation." Turning toward their prisoner as Deidre nods, Max then asks, "So is this schmuck connected with our anagram-aliased foe as well?"
"It would seem so, Officer Steel. But I can't help but wonder why the guy would've wanted Lester to kill anyone that went snooping around in Zone 7. I mean, that area's been a wasteland since before 2nd Impact." Edith's reply gets Officer Langley to grin.
"What better place to hide something you don't want found? Let alone a place no one sane would go."
"That fits him to a textbook 'T' right there." Max's reply gets a grin from Officer Langley.
"Do I sense a 'field trip' in the near future?" Max can't help but grin at her eagerness before replying to her in German once again.
"After some research on the area's done. I don't want to go in blind. Especially into a place like Zone 7. Especially if it's as bad as Ms Treadwell seems to feel about it."
"Agreed." Looking toward Stacey, she then asks, "What's in Zone 7 that can make a person want to kill anyone going there?"
"I'll never talk." Looking toward 'Cherry' as she examines Emily intently, along with catching her say "Pretty" in the background, he scowls and asks, "You had the chip all this time and you never told me, Ginger?"
"Only because I know how you'll treat her, Stacey. You'd have worn her out in a week."
"'Her'?!" Stacey roars in laughter is he sneers derisively, "It's a fucking robot! Emphasis on fucking!"
When 'Cherry' gets to Kensuke, she smiles softly until she hears what Stacey said about her. Her face twitching slightly, she turns toward him, a pained expression on her face.
"That's right, you stupid fuck-bot! You're only good for one thing and that's fucking! But you can't even bear children! Why do you think you were left behind to begin with?! How do you explain that, City Slicker?!"
"I cannot. Much as I wanted to take Cherry along, and our plane-load was weight limited, I had to make an impossible choice. There's not a day that goes by where I don't regret having to make that choice, but I don't regret what came of it. Plus she was in good hands with Ginger."
"Even if I cannot give him children, I still love him." Looking toward Emily again, 'Cherry' adds, "Even if I'm a robot, all I want is for Sam to be happy. Are you happy, Sam?"
"I am, Cherry." Nodding, 'Cherry' looks toward Edith and smiles. Remembering the woman from the building she was in.
"I see you've been taking good care of him."
"I have. Much like he's taken good care of me and our daughter."
"Then I entrust all my care for him to you." At that, Stacey snorts.
"What utter nonsense! Love?! Care?! What does a damned robot know about that?!"
"Far as I'm concerned, Cherry's more human than you'll ever be, Stacey! I'm sure Earl would've agreed if you hadn't killed him!"
"Maybe, City Slicker, but your brat won't be anymore!"
Lunging to his feet, he charges toward Emily. Only for 'Cherry' to bodily intercept him so forcefully, they both fly out the broken window. Sam and the others go to the window in time to see Stacey and 'Cherry' both land on the desk embedded in the SUV being loaded onto the wrecker. Desk still embedded in the SUV's roof. Stacey on the bottom, 'Cherry' on top. Both impaled on the legs of the desk.
"My God… Cherry!" Ginger's anguished cry gets them racing to the elevator. Meanwhile…
Her body twitching as electrical impulses surge throughout her system, 'Cherry' looks down at Stacey. Blood coming out of the corner of his mouth as his body twitches in its final death throes. She then smirks in satisfaction before brokenly speaking.
"Next… time… sweetie,… you… get… to… be… on… top." From there, she's silent.
(Outside TI; street level; five minutes later)
Racing toward the tow truck that had just been the site of two bodies plummeting onto it, Sam, Edith and 'Slim' are the first to reach the vehicle. Their company right behind them as 'Slim' and Sam both clamber onto the truck.
"Take her legs, kid, and I'll get her upper torso! Gotta see how bad her damage, if any, is!" Sam nods as they both lift up the still female form. "E, can you and the Officers spot them?"
"We got it, 'Slim'." Taking hold of Cherry's form, and turning it around, Edith can't help but wince at the two holes in the gynoid's torso. One in the abdominal region and the other in the thoracic region. "This can't be good."
"I'd say not." Hopping down to beside 'Cherry', the robotics expert goes on. "Looks like her power conduit was nicked. Easy enough to repair. But what worries me is the motor control unit. It's housed in her thoracic region. If it's smashed, it can't be repaired. Has to be replaced and, well, compatible components for this model aren't even made anymore." Max and Officer Langley look to each other and nod in agreement.
"With your permission, we'd like to see if we can help." Everyone's attention is grabbed by Max's words. Incredulous, 'Slim' snorts.
"You guys got a 'Cherry 2000' in storage somewhere we don't know about?"
"No, but we know of a robotics shop that can fabricate the needed components to, if not exceed, the standards of the time." Officer Langley nods confidently as she adds, "The shop's so good, it can probably even reprogram a chip that's not meant to be reprogrammed." Looking at Sam, she adds, "It's up to you and your party, Mr Treadwell." Sam mulls it over before Ginger speaks up.
"It's worth a try." Her voice is shaken as she goes on. "She deserves better than what'd happened."
"No argument here." Yet 'Slim' can't help but be skeptical. "But I don't think the design's even in the system anymore."
"If it was mass-produced at one time, the designs for it can be found." Emily looks at 'Slim' as she asks, "Isn't that what you taught me?" She can't help but duck a head-cuff from a smirking 'Slim'.
"Smart-ass." Looking toward Kensuke, he sees a nod before looking toward Deidre, Sam and Edith. "What do you three say?"
"She got a raw deal. Like Ginger here said, she deserves better." Deidre nods as she adds, "Believe me, I know what getting a raw deal's like."
"If she's salvageable, and if it can be done, reprogram her to be my younger sister." Edith nods in support of Sam's thought before adding one of her own.
"Plus with a more meaningful purpose. Like a teacher, perhaps."
"Okay then." Bringing out his comm. unit, Max calls in. "This is 73-Adam. Request immediate transport to the 'Shop' for a 'Cherry 2000' robot. Pick-up site is the Treadwell Industries office building in Tokyo-3. Possible damage to internal components. Also need to see about reprogramming chip."
"Roger that, 73-Adam. Transport en-route. Is there someone present that's repaired or worked on a robot of that type? We're going to need a pair of skilled hands as we're short-handed here."
"Affirmative."
"Roger that. Transport ETA is 3 minutes. Any other issues, 73-Adam?"
"Yeah. Got a dead man at the same location. Possible 187 suspect from the US."
"Copy that, 73-Adam. Transport en-route."
"Roger. 73-Adam out." Ending the contact, Max then turns toward the unfortunate SUV before asking, "So, why's there a desk in the SUV on the tow truck here?" Deidre can't help but sheepishly chuckle.
"It's a long story, Officer Steel." Hearing an approaching aircraft, she adds, "One that'll have to wait until later." Max nods at that as the aircraft touches down onto the ground, its canopy opening.
"Okay. Let's get the patient and the Doctor into the bird." Hefting 'Cherry' into their arms, Max and 'Slim' carry the gynoid toward the aircraft and put her into the backseat. Only for 'Slim' to notice the lack of a pilot.
"Where's the pilot at?"
"It's remote-flight-controlled. The one flying it's very good, though. So don't worry." Mulling it over, 'Slim' nods before getting into the front seat. As the canopy closes, he calls out, "Okay, bro, take 'em up!"
"You got it, hermano." Once Max's clear, the aircraft lifts off of the ground before rapidly bolting away. At the same time, a Tokyo-3 Coroner's wagon arrives at the scene. Exiting the vehicle, two men in Coroner jumpsuits walk toward the site.
"I hear we got a stiff here, Officer Steel."
"Yeah, Don. The guy impaled on the desk here." Don nods his understanding as he and his partner get to work. "Let's step inside so these guys can do their work." Getting nods from everyone else, he and Officer Langley both follow them into the building. Only to be accosted by a man in a business suit.
"Why is my vehicle always the one to suffer?! Hasn't it suffered enough?! The desk is one thing, but now it's a suicide site?! Why?! Why?!" Sam shrugs at that before replying.
"Maybe now you'll learn not to park where you're not supposed to as you never know what's going to happen." With that, they go inside, with Officer Langley leaning toward Max to whisper in his ear.
"Max, when was the last time you had a normal day?"
"Last year. It was a Tuesday." Officer Langley can't help but snort in amusement.
(Old Osaka; N-Tek office; same time)
As the building comes into view, 'Slim' can't help but blink.
"This is where the 'Shop' is?"
"That's right." The male voice coming from in front of him startles him as it goes on. "What you're seeing right now is 'Level-A Classified' under authority of the UN. Meaning you cannot discuss the location of the 'Shop' with anyone." A snort from 'Slim' is accompanied by a smirk before the man issues his retort.
"Yeah, well, it's not like anyone will believe me anyway. But since when did N-Tek deal with robotics?"
"We've dabbled here and there in the past few months. By the way, I managed to get hold of the designs on the 'Cherry 2000' model. I'm bringing you into the entryway for the robotics department where damage assessment will happen and I will be with you momentarily for needed fabrication and reprogramming."
"Great. I can hardly wait." Looking behind his seat, he thinks, 'If all goes well, "Cherry", you'll be back on your feet in no time. And with a far better purpose than what you were created for.'
(LAX; two hours later)
Searching the sky with her blue eyes, the statuesque blonde squints before grinning.
"I see a personal jet with Cyrillic characters, Janice!"
"Great, Ellie. Sooner we see Brian, the sooner we can find out his tip." Ellie grins at her brunette partner and confidant before getting a grin from her in return. "We can even find out why he's in a plane with Cyrillic characters on it." Her grin suddenly fades as she asks, "But didn't he go work with Section-2 because he missed the cut-off for entry in UNLETC?"
"You know they can only take so many per class. Quite frankly, it's a good thing Section-2 made the offer to him. It's just until the next cycle for UNLETC which should be in three more months. Least if anything, he's had some kind of training before and during his time there. So he should have a leg up next time." Janice nods at that as the Cessna lands. "Let's go greet our 'nephew' and his company."
"Yeah." Once the aircraft's stopped on the tarmac, Ellie and Janice both walk out to it. As the cabin door opens, they both smile widely at the sight of Brian in the doorway.
"Hey, Aunt Ellie. Aunt Janice." Next thing he knows, he's grabbed in a hug from two women that immediately start fussing over him. 'At least they haven't changed much!' Smiling fondly at his surrogate Aunts, Brian nods at them. "Come on in and I'll introduce you guys."
"Sure."
Entering the Cessna behind Brian, Ellie sees a buxom Caucasian woman with long blonde hair, an African-American woman seated by a Caucasian man, another Caucasian man that's deep asleep, a Caucasian woman with long brown hair and, finally, a shackled Caucasian man in a wheelchair, his face covered completely in makeup.
"Oh my, Brian. Now I see by what you meant by 'we' when you called us."
Brian nods as Janice enters the cabin and gasps at the sight within.
"UNBI Agents Ellie DeWitt and Janice Zuckerman, my girlfriend Nikita Kamenev." Ellie's about to ask, but decides to wait until after introductions are done.
"My adopted sister, Lisa Kinsey and her husband, Danny O'Malley, UNP-NY. The guy asleep in the seat is their friend and coworker, Roland Jenkins. The nice lady is Gertrude Brantley." Sighing, he turns toward Cochrane before finishing.
"The sack of crap in human form in the wheelchair is the one responsible for Dad's death. Former Chief Inspector for Interpol Frederick Earl Cochrane. AKA, the 'Candyman Slayer'. Everyone that's awake, you too, Cochrane, My 'Aunts' Ellie and Janice. Jenk'll have to meet them when he's awake again." Giving everyone a nod, and Cochrane a vicious glare, Ellie and Janice give Brian a playful glare before launching into him.
"Why didn't you tell us you have a beautiful girlfriend and a pretty sister?"
"When are you going to make us 'Great Aunts', Brian?"
"Haven't you been eating at all, Brian?" Nikita can't help but be amused at that while Lisa giggles.
"How did you and Nikita get together?"
"When did Lisa and Danny get married?"
"Why is Roland asleep?"
"Why is Cochrane wearing makeup and looking like a deranged clown?"
"Other than being a 'deranged clown', I can't really answer that, Aunt Janice. Jenk did the work while dancing 'Macarena' on painkillers."
"Dancing the 'Macarena' while on painkillers?" At Brian's nod, Ellie asks, "What happened?"
"He was shot in the thigh by one of Cochrane's, now deceased, accomplices." Ellie winces at that before nodding.
"Okay. Why's Cochrane in a wheelchair instead of 6 feet under?"
"Had to take him alive to prove we were better than him. Of course, he made the mistake of reaching for a piece when I blew away his kneecaps and damaged his right shoulder." Janice gives an amused smirk at that.
"Some criminals never learn, it seems. Don't want to get shot? Don't reach or even move like you're reaching." Shaking her head, she then asks, "But aren't we getting off topic, Brian?"
"Not really, Aunt Janice. It seems that Dad was killed at the behest of someone that didn't want GS Sychola found. Under any circumstances." Sighing, he adds, "I found GS Sychola before I even knew about his case."
"Where is he?"
"Tokyo-3, Aunt Ellie. He's my Captain at Section-2."
"How much does he remember of his time as a captive?"
"Not very much, Aunt Janice. Of course, most of that time was spent as not a very nice person to be around. Courtesy of a very cruel means of behavior control devised by someone that can only be described as a 'total whacko'. And that's putting it mildly, I think."
"We'll need to speak with him before reporting this new information to UNCIS and the UNMC so they can decide how best to proceed." Brian nods at Ellie's reply before sighing.
"What's he looking at? Best and worst case scenarios."
"Best case scenario, with the extenuating circumstances, a General Discharge with no loss of benefits. Worst case scenario, prison time at Leavenworth with a dishonorable discharge for 'desertion'. Granted, he was under duress, but you know how well that defense will go."
"Yeah." Scowling, he adds, "All because some 'whacko' thought he'd be better as a terrorist's thug." Grunting, he sighs. "If only we can find more evidence, proving he did not 'desert' voluntarily."
"What kind of evidence, Brian?"
"The place he'd been operated on for starters, Nikita. The punks that'd been paid to attack him by the 'whacko', and the victim of the reported mugging in Seattle." Looking at the file folder again, he cracks a yawn. Ellie catching it.
"Why don't you get some sleep, Brian? You sound like you haven't slept well." Brian reluctantly nods as Nikita nestles him into her torso. Within seconds, he's out like a light. "Why don't you guys get some sleep as well? Janice and I'll watch over Cochrane. If not give him our opinion of those that betray the oath they took to uphold the Law." Getting nods all around, Ellie notices Gertrude's still awake. "So, what's your story, Ms Brantley?"
"I'm heading to Japan to bring my ex-husband's body back home to be properly buried, Agent DeWitt."
(Tokyo-3; Treadwell Industries; Sam's office; same time)
"Uunnhh." Blinking as she opens her eyes, a feminine form suddenly bolts upward before holding its head. "Sam?! Sam?!" Seeing him rush to her side gets her to smile. "Hey, brother."
"Hey, Cheryl. How's your head feeling?"
"Like I've got a jackhammer going on in my skull." At hearing Cheryl groan, Sam smiles softly.
"Maybe next time you won't go out a window in such a foolhardy stunt to save someone. You know Emily can take care of herself." Cheryl smirks at that before frowning.
"What happened after I went out the window, though? My memory's a little foggy."
"That's bound to happen when you bang your head against a side of a building you leap out of. You're just lucky that scaffolding's safety line caught you by your ankle." Cheryl nods at that before hearing Sam's stomach growl and smirking at it.
"Sounds like you need to eat, brother dear."
"Yeah. So c'mon. Deidre got us invited to dine with her son-in-law, his wife and their friends tonight." Cheryl's face lights up with glee at that.
"Even Ginger?"
"I don't know about that. Ginger's supposed to have been evacuated by this evening." Cheryl nods at that, yet she can't help but feel downtrodden. "But she did say she hopes you feel better soon."
"Yeah. If it's alright with you, Sam, I think I'll just go back to sleep here. I'm not feeling hungry right now. Why, I don't know."
"Well, the Doc did say you'd not have much of an appetite when he came out of surgery with you." Shrugging, he adds, "Give it a couple days. I'm sure by then, you'll be hungry enough to eat a horse." Cheryl can't help but smirk in amusement at that.
"With whipped cream on it?"
"I don't see why not." Giving her a soft peck on top of her head, he murmurs, "At least you and Emily are both safe, Cheryl. That's the most important thing."
"Yes, it is." With that, Cheryl gently lies back down before closing her eyes again. Quietly exiting the office, Sam closes the door and sighs before looking at everyone there.
"It worked." Keeping his voice down, he goes on. "I don't know how, 'Slim', but that 'Shop' sure knew its stuff. She has absolutely no recollection of Stacey, the incident or her previous programming. Nothing. A clean slate except for some 'cosmetic' details on her background."
"I'm surprised too, kid. It just makes me wonder just how far advanced their technology is. What I saw there, I can't even begin to describe. They've got control chips like I'd never even seen before. Stuff that's far beyond prototype stage, that much I can tell just by looking at it. I even asked about a parts catalogue and they said soon as they get one established, I'll be on the mailing list." Everyone softly chuckles at that, with Ginger sighing softly. With Sam catching it.
"You okay?"
"Yeah. It's just that it's gonna be quiet around Sky Ranch without her." Feeling Sam clasp her right shoulder with his left hand, she smiles softly up at him. "But I'm sure I can visit her from time to time if I can get away from there."
"I'm sure she'd like that, Elaine." Ginger can't help but roll her eyes at him before giggling.
"Never change, Sam Treadwell."
"I won't, Elaine." Giving him a soft hug, she then pecks him on the cheek before looking at Edith.
"Take good care of him, Tracker. Guys like him are very rare."
"Oh believe me, Elaine, I know that all too well." Ginger gives Edith a playful scowl before looking at Emily and Kensuke both, smirking softly at them.
"Don't grow up too fast, you two. You've got plenty of time to do so." Soft blushes are her reply as she reaches Deidre. "When you guys find the bastard that hurt you, Sam and Edith, nail his ass to the wall."
"It'll be my pleasure." Seeing 'Slim' out the corner of her eye, she then smirks. "Take good care of her until you part ways, 'Slim'. If you do, that is." The man can't help but snort in amusement before nodding.
"I will. I just wish I could've seen those two UNSWAT Officers one more time before leaving."
"You might. Only time will tell, though."
(Ikari apartment; thirty minutes later)
"I'm home." Entering the apartment through the door, a tired Shinji sees a softly smiling Rits in the living room wearing the most tantalizing lingerie. Her modest bust not covered, with the lower portion not covering her crotch either. "Rits…"
"Shh." Stepping toward him, she wraps her arms around him and feels his arms loosely wrap around her as well. Kissing his neck softly as she reaches down to his crotch with her right hand, she asks, "Is my sweet husband feeling too tired to play?" She then giggles when she feels his left hand move from her back before his fingers toy slightly with her lower lips.
"I can spare a little time to play."
Softly kissing her, he hefts her up into his arms, with Rits wrapping her legs around him. Moving carefully so as not to hurt their unborn baby, Shinji carries her into their bedroom before turning around and sitting down on the futon. Keeping her legs wrapped around him, Rits enjoys the passionate kissing before feeling Shinji lie backwards. Unwrapping her legs, she lets him lie all the way down and smiles at his face. Peacefully asleep.
"When you said a little, you meant a little." Snuggling into his torso, she murmurs, "There's always tomorrow for us to play, my love." Softly kissing his lips, she adds, "Sleep tight, my sweet Shinji."