The Decision:
It's the smell of coffee that lets Elizaveta know she did fall asleep that night. Her arms search the bed for the body that was there the night before and when she feels nothing, she stretches instead and turns on her back. It takes everything in her but Elizaveta crawls out of bed and goes in the living room where Ludwig sits at the kitchen table, fully dressed.
"How did you sleep?" He asks first and she nods, going to the coffee machine.
"I actually slept." Elizaveta replies and they sit in silence while she drinks her coffee and he finishes his.
Ludwig speaks first, "Alfred isn't out there this morning." He announces and looks at her. Elizaveta looks at the window but doesn't get up.
"I hope it's because he passed out drunk on the sidewalk and not because he went home with Lili. God," she shakes her head and looks at him, "I still can't believe it, him and Lili."
Ludwig grunts his acknowledgement but says nothing. He stands and reaches for her cup that Elizaveta hands over for him to bring to the sink. She follows him and leans against the counter as he cleans her cups. "Roderich came by earlier, looking for you." Ludwig glances at her and back down, "he seemed really concerned about you."
She sighs and tries not to roll her eyes. "He's always worried that I'm going to break." Elizaveta goes to the fridge to find food, "I'll call him later. Are you staying for some breakfast?"
"It's afternoon."
"Did you sleep that long?"
"You did," Ludwig stresses, "I've had breakfast and that was my second cup of coffee today."
Elizaveta stands straight, looking guiltily at the bacon in her hands. "Right," she chides herself, and looks back to him, "lunch then?"
He shakes his head, drying his hands on the nearest towel. "I can't. I called into work and told them I would be in after the lunch schedule. I can come by after," he adds quickly, "we can have dinner."
Ludwig did come back that evening and stayed the whole of the next day, keeping Elizaveta company for the two days it took for Antonio to contact her. It comes in the form of a letter in a manila envelope that Ludwig picks up with the rest of the mail. The only thing written on it is her pet name: Liz. There's no return address or Gilbert's address, just Liz. He asks her about it and whether she really wants to open such an ambiguous package but she assures him she knows what it is and whom it's from. It's the truth to a point. It's from Antonio. As for what it is; Elizaveta opens the package in her bedroom.
It's one slip of paper with an address and instructions. Antonio wants her to meet him at a bar. She knows where it is, near the edge of town. He instructs her not to tell anyone where she's going and to come alone, no cell phone, no ID and no purse. The last instruct is to bring both envelope and letter with her.
"Liz," Startled, Elizaveta quickly looks up at Ludwig standing in her doorway. His face is always stern but this is different, when his lips thin and crease like that she knows he's serious. "Who is that from?"
Elizaveta looks down at the paper then up to Ludwig. A part of her wants to tell him and she actually considers. He's supported her throughout her hunt so far. Everything she's told him he's kept to himself. Ludwig is the only stable thing she has right now; if anyone would understand, it will be him. Yet she folds the letter carefully and places it back in the envelope then stands. She can't bring him into this, not after what Antonio told her. There's no telling what will happen when she goes to that bar but she will not do that to him. She will not drag him into this fight.
"Ludwig," Elizaveta stands straighter, "I need you to do something for me and I don't want you to ask any questions." She chooses her words carefully. If Antonio is right, if she does this and she gives up her life, than there is nothing to worry about. People will notice eventually that she's gone, "I'm going to meet someone and I'll be gone for three days. If you don't hear from me in three days, call Vash. Just, please, don't tell anyone anything for these three days."
His expression didn't waiver if anything, Ludwig looks even more put out and comes into the room. "Elizaveta, this has gone too far. What are you doing? Where are you going? You expect me to not say thing to any for three days while anything can happen to you so you can go look for my brother?"
She sighs, "Please, you have to understand. Ludwig, I know this sounds crazy but I have to do this. It'll prove that—"
"What?" He cut in, fist clenched, "that my bruder is innocent? I want to believe Gilbert is innocent too. I don't want to think that my bruder could be a murderer but he isn't helping himself. Where is he? Why is he hiding from the law if he didn't do anything?" Ludwig huffs, "now this, now you acting suspicious just to find him. It doesn't sound like an innocent man to me."
She looks at him, stunned. "It doesn't look like it because he's being framed. Gilbert didn't do this, he couldn't have. I just…I just need to do this to prove it and I need you to cooperate with me on this."
"No!" The declaration makes Elizaveta flinch and bump into the bed, "I won't do this. I won't lie for you and risk losing you too, Liz. Gilbert is gone and I can't have you disappearing too. Did it ever occur to you that he might be guilty?"
Elizaveta stiffens and purses her lips. Has she thought about Gilbert being guilty? Her resolve faults briefly. She is too close to finding him, to finding the truth. If she starts doubting now, everything she's done up until this point would have been for nothing. There is no room for doubt. Doubt is dangerous.
She shakes her head at him. "I can't afford to think like that, Ludwig. If I start believing that he's guilty, everything falls apart then."
Ludwig comes in the room fully. He eyes the envelope and Elizaveta quickly slips it further behind her back and looks at him, forcing his gaze to her face and not at her note. "And what if you don't like what you find?" Ludwig challenges.
"Then I'll deal with the consequences when they come." She answers confidently. "You don't have to watch over me, Ludwig. I don't need your permission or approval for this. And I'm going to find what I need whether you help me or not."
She signs and tries to ease the tension. "I know what I'm doing, Ludwig."
He doesn't look the slightest bit convinced but Elizaveta cannot afford to try convincing him when she still needs to convince herself. She shakes her head and goes to her dresser, indicating the end of their conversation. Or so she thinks until she's roughly turned around by her shoulders, coming face to face with pleading blue eyes that makes her heart clench.
Ludwig's eyes bore into hers and she sees flickers of his innocent youthfulness. At times, she forgets that he's almost five years younger than her. "Please," he pleads in whispers, "whatever it is, let Vash handle it. Let them find him. Don't do…this."
It's enough to make her feel guilty for leaving him. He's like a brother to her, just like Daniel. Her and Ludwig have been close ever since she met Gilbert. They have a relationship all their own and she hates to see him hurting like this.
Impulsively, she pulls him into a hug, burying her face in his stronger shoulders and squeezing as tight as she could. Ludwig reciprocates after a moment of hesitation. They stay like that for a few more seconds before she pulls back and kisses his cheek. "If I'm not back in three days, call Vash." Elizaveta says resolutely and backs away, taking the envelope with her into the bathroom and closing the door behind her.
I'm sorry, Ludwig but I have to do this. I have to find him.
Elizaveta didn't know what to expect when she got to the bar that Antonio named, but she certainly didn't expect it to be so normal. Or so crowded. It's her some maneuvering to get to the bar top and she squeezes through bodies of men and women until she's out of the suffocating haze.
She did just as he instructed and brought only herself, the envelope and some money for herself. She didn't want to leave herself at his mercy financially. It's a significant sum that she keeps in several spots on her person since he isn't allowed to bring a purse.
With Ludwig's words still fresh in her mind, she has to remind herself that Gilbert is worth it. She takes a seat at the bar since she can't immediately spot Antonio and orders a drink to settle her nerves. Her eyes dart around, scanning for the man who summoned her here. When she doesn't readily see him, she sighs and finishes her drink.
Relax, girl. She tells herself and orders another. But her heart is still beating wildly and there's a sudden feeling of vulnerability that makes her back stiffen. She's in here alone, with no real contact for help, essentially at Antonio's mercy.
Her drink cannot go down fast enough before Elizaveta orders one more. By the time her third drink is consumed and she's punched a guy for getting a little too grabby, Elizaveta feels a bit better.
It's a full half hour before she spots the familiar brunette and he doesn't look to pleased as he squeezes through the crowd making his way toward her.
Elizaveta sits up a bit straighter, brows furrowed in challenging confusion.
"Where were you?" Antonio asks once he's close enough.
She bristles, feeling suddenly on the defensive at the way he looks down at her. "I was here," she defends, "waiting for you."
He looks as if he wants to say something but changes his mind, shakes his head and turns. "Come on, we don't have a lot of time."
Elizaveta quickly pays for her drinks and follows closely behind him. "Time for what?"
"For me to explain. Do you have the envelope?"
"Yes," Elizaveta passes the envelope over his shoulder and Antonio nods and continues to lead her to what she presumes is the back of the bar.
He opens a door that sits in a corner. It's dark but he reaches for something and dim light shows her stairs. Antonio starts walking up the wooden stairs and she follows silently until they're upstairs. Then he opens the door to a small room.
It smells heavily of musk and wet wood, there's little light in it and two small murky looking windows. The confidence she's built up at the bar washes into a sudden feeling of panic. Maybe Ludwig was right. Maybe she shouldn't have done this after all. How much did she really know about Antonio?
Her eyes flicker over the room. Antonio removes the contents of the envelope and suddenly the room is filled with the sound of shredding paper. "You can sit down."
Antonio's voice makes her head snap up and Elizaveta looks around for real and it dawns on her that she's in something like an office. There are a few chairs that look worse for wear but useful. There's a small desk where Antonio stands and shreds the envelope. She takes the seat across from him.
When he's done, he looks up and, to her surprise, flashes her a smile. "You can relax, Liz," Antonio tells her and she's tempted to snort at his request. "I know I probably came off a little…harsh earlier. I was a little on edge. I didn't think you would show."
"And yelling at me was your way of showing excitement?'" she levels and he shrugs at her, crossing his arms and leaning against the desk.
"I didn't know what to expect. You were late and, for all I knew, it could have been because you had people following you. You could have been setting me up."
"You were late," she grumbles to herself even if he does have a point. She sighs and relaxes as instructed. They're on the same side. It won't do for her to be upset with her only lead.
"So what is this about?" Elizaveta changes the subject, "how is this going to help me find Gilbert? You said you needed to explain."
Antonio nods again and his smile falter's a little. "Are you sure what to do this, Liz? After I tell you, there's no going back. You can't change your mind."
"I'm here, right?" she challenges, "It's too late for me to change my mind anyway. I doubt you'll just let me leave after I've come even this close."
That smile of his comes back, almost innocent looking and Antonio scratches the back of his head sheepishly. "Si, I guess you're right. I can't change my mind now and neither can you. This place is one of my secret places after all. I pay a lot to keep the owner quiet and I don't indent to add you to my hush money list."
Elizaveta seizes on the knowledge. "Because you're in this 'syndicate', right?"
He nods.
It occurs her, really occurs to her the risk he's putting himself in at this moment. "Will you get in trouble for helping me?"
"That depends on how well you can keep secrets." Antonio counters with ease.
She nods in understanding, then, wasting no time, she asks the most important question. "What is it? The syndicate, I mean."
Antonio shifts his weight and crosses one leg over the other as he leans a bit more on the desk. "It's a lot of things but the short version is that it's something of a mercenary corp. It's an independent branch of the Yakuza called Batsu. There are only three functioning cells of Batsu, one here, one in China and another in Japan all ran by the same person."
Elizaveta swallows hard. This is already sounding bad and she hasn't even asked what they want with Gilbert yet. A part of her is, admittedly, afraid to get the answer to that question just yet so she goes for something less…frightening. "Who runs it? Do you know?"
"Kiku Honda," Antonio answers dismissively as if it's unimportant information. Can he tell her trepidation? "I only met him once in the entire time I've been apart of Batsu. He doesn't stick around much."
"How does Batsu work? I mean, how does one man who barely sticks around run his organization?"
His lip twitches slight and he sighs briefly "I told you, we're mercenaries, well, mercenaries for hire to be exact. There are a lot of gangs around here and police aren't that easy to payoff anymore. They've become greedy. So Kiku created Batsu as a sort of mercenary shopping mall, if you will. We have loyalty to no one particular gang. We do all the dirty work so nothing is traced back to them or us."
"How did you become part of it?"
His smile returns and stretches almost into a wolfish grin, "Your boyfriend recruited me."
"What?" Elizaveta exclaims and nearly jumps from her chair only to fall back against it with a thud. "Gilbert's a part of the Batsu?"
Antonio shakes his head. "Not anymore and that's the problem. Because we're mercenaries for hire, with no loyalty, that makes us very dangerous. These people hire us in confidence that we won't defect or give away secrets and they pay big money to do that."
"Gilbert…defected?" she asks cautiously but the way Antonio's eyes sprinkle with slight mischief makes her want to squirm but she holds still.
"Oh he did more than that," it's a bit disturbing the way he almost says it with pride. "We have no identity for a reason. We don't leave trails, marks, fingerprints or anything that can connect us or our employer to the scene. And, Gil? He was the best at what he did. They didn't called him Ghost for a reason."
Feeling a bit queasy, Elizaveta closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. So much stuff, so many things she didn't know. And if Antonio is telling the truth, then he's implying that Gilbert did kill people. And if he was 'the best', then he probably killed a lot of people.
Forcing her breathing to even out, she asks, "What happened?"
"He got careless." Antonio says plain and simple. "He had a job to take out some Russian competition in an area not too far from here."
Elizaveta gasps and snaps her eyes open. "Ivan Braginsiky."
Antonio's smile widens and he nods. "So you know the story."
She nods just the same, "Yeah, Lovino Vargas was recently acquitted in that investigation. There was a lot of evidence against him."
"There shouldn't have been any," Antonio cuts in and she stills at the sudden harshness in his tone. "I don't know what the hell Gil did or what he was thinking but that should have been a clean job and he fucked it up somehow. You can imagine how pissed off Kiku was to have one of his best clients almost thrown in jail and have the effectiveness of his business question."
"That's why he defected. He knew Kiku would come for him."
Antonio nods curtly and looks away. " More than just Kiku, that shit affected all of us and a lot of our colleagues want him dead too." Elizaveta shutters but Antonio doesn't seem to notice or he just doesn't care. "But he was careless with 'running' too. He should have left, not got involved with anyone and stayed low for a while longer. Never make a name for yourself. As far as the world knows, Batsu doesn't exist nor the people who work for it. Gil should have known better."
Elizaveta nods but doesn't say anything. A dense silence settles between them as she processes this information. Then, she looks up at him, a thought occurring to her.
"You knew Lovino personally?"
Antonio cuts her look but doesn't answer immediately. Then he looks away, out of the tiny, foggy window and nods once. "Yeah, I knew him. We never spoke about work though. I never asked what he did and he never asked what I did and we left it at that." His green eyes swing back to her, "but that doesn't matter now. Now we focus on getting Gil before they get to him first. Trust me when I say a lot of highly skilled assholes would resort to anything to get him."
Elizaveta has more questions but she agrees that it doesn't matter now. It doesn't make her less curious as to why he used the Vargas name. Just how close were they?
She can ask later, but right now, she looks at him unflinchingly. "What do we need to do?"
The way Antonio grins back sends a cold shiver down her spine.
-END PART I-
A/N: Thank you everyone who's hung in here so far! We're finally getting to the juicy bits of this story. What do you think of my Toni, hm? Too OOC for you? I didn't want to make him too silly or too dark (I actually hate when people making seem like an oblivious idiot). I think he has this odd balance of both in him.
In any case, that's the end of Part I folks! I hope you stick around for Part II! Questions, comments, concerns? Let me know what you think, please!
-CeCe ^^
