A/N: Doctor Kaminari is from the first part of the manga volume 4.

Young Offender, Part 16:

Albert walked into the kitchen and sat at the table. Francoise didn't pause from chopping carrots to greet him. He took a deep breath, figuring he was in trouble for something. Hilda was like that, too. Silent, with her lips clenched so tight they were blanched. Her shoulders were drawn up, as well.

"Are you okay, Francoise?" Albert figured he'd get this out of the way. Better he deal with an angry woman than have Jet bumble in and really set her off.

"Should I be? After I just found out that Ivan wants part of his brain removed?"

Albert let out a deep breath, not expecting this. It did feel as if a weight came off his shoulders. "I'm glad he told you."

"Why didn't you tell me?" She turned to face him, after tossing the carrots in a boiling pot.

"Because he made me promise. He wouldn't have told me otherwise, and I figured someone should know."

"You should have told me anyway! You demand to know everything about us, yet you keep important information from us."

Albert met her eyes and said, "I never claimed to be perfect. I'm doing the best I can."

She looked deflated, suddenly, almost abashed. Albert was able to drop his defensiveness when he saw her expression. She sat with him at the kitchen table. "Albert, I need to ask you something very personal. Ivan..." Francoise's face flushed. "He told me he is in love with me. Is it possible?"

"Of course. Boys get crushes all the time. He's still a person, granted a very powerful person. He could fall in love, but it would be very inconvenient the way he is."

"But..." Francoise's skin turned bright red. "It must be terrible. To not be able to have a full relationship. You, Jet, and Ivan are..."

"Oh, wait a minute. I think you misunderstood what I said a long time ago. Just because we're sterile, doesn't mean that we aren't able to have physical relationships. They didn't remove the important things. Just a vasectomy."

Francoise gasped and looked shocked. "Oh, I didn't need to know that." He let out gusty laughter. "Why are you telling me this?" she hissed as she went to check the pot. "You know I don't like to talk about such things."

"Yes, I know. I think it's the reason I mentioned it." Albert teased, but paused at the sound of the front door and Jet's appearance at the kitchen's doorway. He was carrying a huge book. Jet had a very self-satisfied expression; this peaked Albert's curiosity. "You did insist on being fully informed about everybody, Francoise."

"Man, I missed something good. Frannie, you look so red."

"You never mind, you busybody!" Francoise shouted, tossing a dish towel at Jet. The New Yorker just snickered and sat at the table. "And, Albert, you act like a child from time to time, too. Even though you did make your point, sometimes we have to maintain some privacy."

"Albert?" The three of them turned to Ivan. He walked through the doorway and sat across the table from Jet. The three other cyborgs gave Ivan their attention. "I want to ask you something. If you knew, now, that you would lose your wife, would you still have had a relationship with her?"

Albert felt a small shock-wave as all eyes turned to him. It was silent except for the boiling water on the stove. He took a deep breath and absently touched the gold band hanging around his neck. He still wore his on his left hand.

"Without a doubt, yes. I loved Hilda very much. She brought me a lot of joy, and we did have a good life together until the Berlin Wall went up. She was with her dying mother when the wall went up. I was at our home in West Berlin."

"Was that her name? Hilda?" Francoise asked.

"I guess I haven't talked about her much. We met when we were at the university, studying music. She was able to teach children music lessons, but the economy was so poor I had to find part-time work as a delivery driver and spend my evenings composing. It's hard to find work as a musician when a city is rebuilding from war. Ironically, that's when a city needs it most."

"You mean you went to college for music?" Jet asked, looking dumbfounded. Albert nodded, and then there was some expression on Jet's face he couldn't read. Disappointment? Embarrassment? Albert turned back towards Francoise.

"Yes, that was her name. Hilda Jude Heinrich. We moved to West Berlin in hopes of making a better living. We did for a while, and I was able to teach music for a while, as well. It wasn't long after we moved that her mother became ill. Hilda went to go take care of her. That's when the government got stricter on letting people go across the border. She was trapped when The Wall went up. It felt like it was overnight.

"Several months of trying to get her out legally didn't work. It was one battle after the next. Finally, I was left no choice. After her mother passed away, she wanted to come back to our home in West Berlin. We were able to meet briefly, and I came up with the idea to smuggle her across the border. It seemed like a good plan, since I still had friends in East Berlin from when I worked as a part-time delivery driver. It all went horribly wrong. I lost control of the truck, and she died in that accident. That's when the Black Ghost agents took me away."

"How long had you been married?" Francoise asked, getting up and putting the hot food into bowls.

"Almost seven years. Mid October was when we married." He took a deep breath and started when he realized Francoise had set food in front of him. "It seems so long ago."

"You never had children?" Francoise asked timidly.

Albert gave her a reassuring tilt of the head to let her know he wasn't offended. "No, we were trying. We finally had enough money and a nice home in the West." Albert clasped his hands together and looked over at Ivan. "The point is, that I wouldn't have had seven wonderful years with Hilda without risk. For me to say, 'Because I'm grieving now means I would have been better off without her' would show the greatest disrespect for our life together. I regret nothing in the married life I had, but I do regret what happened that night. If only..." Albert felt his chest constrict and his throat dry up. "...I wasn't so damn careless."

Ivan nodded. "I understand. There is a lot to ponder."

Albert felt a genuine smile come to his lips; he hadn't realized what relief he could feel talking about Hilda. He did admit his heart still was a heavy. He pondered what he could have done differently to get Hilda out of East Berlin. Something caught his eye to the left, and he forced his attention to Jet. "So, you were looking too happy when you came in, Jet. What's that book?"

Jet snapped out of the daze he was in and flashed Albert a grin. "I got a job."

Albert smiled back. "That's great news! Only after two days?"

"Yeah well, I don't take 'no' for an answer when there's something I want. But..." Jet looked a little chagrined, "...there are some conditions. You see, I'm working at the airstrip over east of here, where I picked up Kozumi. I met the owner and asked about becoming a pilot. He blew me off, but I kept it up and showed him I knew some of the basics. Thank you, Mister Jean-Paul."

Francoise reached over, patted his arm, and smiled, too. "So then what happened?"

"He was impressed enough, but he still couldn't afford to pay me, and I certainly can't pay for all the lessons I need, so we struck a deal. I sweep up, answer phones, run errands, and do a lot of grunt work for a few months. Then I can take the test, and he can hire me to fly deliveries around. He wants to expand his business. Here is the bad part. In exchange, he'll pay me a little, but mostly, I'll be working off training to become an official pilot. So..."

"It means you won't be bringing in much money for a while," Albert finished. Jet looked nervous, but there was hope in those brandy-colored eyes. It was the first time Albert had ever seen this kind of vulnerability in Jet's jaded attitude. Albert smirked, "We'll make do."

Jet let out a relieved breath. "I'll show you three I'm not some loser."

"Wait a minute," Albert frowned, now getting offended at words being put in his mouth. "Not once did I ever call you a loser. I didn't like some of the things you did, even thought they were necessary, but not once did I ever doubt your worth as a person. You're the only one among us who thinks of Jet Link as a loser."

"Albert is right. We know you're clever enough to come up with something and pull yourself up. I certainly didn't doubt it, either. It's just frustrating, sometimes. I watched Jean-Paul give you lessons and the enjoyment you received from them. The next thing I know, you're bending the law rather than trying to find an honest solution," Francoise said, before taking a sip of water. "Now that's all changing."

Jet flopped the book down on the corner of the table, crossed his arms, and leaned back in his chair. "So there would be no circumstance you would ever find yourself willing to steal? Even after all this time? Say you had the Black Ghost breathing down your pretty, little neck again. You wouldn't steal if you had to?"

"No, the Black Ghost can't force me to do anything against my morals. I have free will," Francoise insisted.

Albert waved his hand and said, "Jet, stop provoking Francoise." Albert leaned on the table and gave Francoise a scrutinizing look. "However, never accept absolutes as truth, Francoise. I thought that way once. The disillusionment is difficult to deal with."

"I think you're being naive," Jet taunted. Francoise shot them both dirty looks, and shook her head, dismissing their judgments.

"Why did you have to bring up the Black Ghost, anyway, when we should just concentrate on being happy for you?" Francoise asked. She stood and looked around the table. "Besides, you really have inspired me, Jet, to pursue my dreams." There was a far away expression on Francoise's face; it was something that caused apprehension in Albert. "You boys are going to get the dishes clean, and then Jet is taking us out for ice-cream."

She whirled around and walked out of the kitchen. Jet shook his head and muttered, "Dames."

"I heard that," she called out from her bedroom.

Yana watched the twins walk along the Vietnamese shoreline. They both tossed random rocks, scowling at the ocean. The oaf sat under a tree, carving on a piece of driftwood. Ember came up to her and shook his head.

"Nothing. No trace," Ember reported.

"Of course not. We need to regroup at Ghost Island. I just received word that Mrs. Gamo has awakened."

"This is news," Ember agreed.

"She's still dazed, but she wants her son back. I have a feeling she can help us."

"I hope so."

"Once she tells us where 001 is, we'll leave. Our plans are the same. Kill 003 and 004. Keep 001 and 002 incapacitated," she reaffirmed.

"It's a good plan. We need to get word to our families to be ready to move at a moment's notice."

"Yes. I also plan on taking the twins with me," she said.

"Really?" He was wearing a smug expression.

"Yes, they are all for leaving the Black Ghost, because there is a threat of them being split up. They're too effective together, but Scar needs to divide his resources to keep things going. I can use them for protection."

"Well, if that's the case, the oaf comes with me."

"I knew you had a soft spot for him," Yana sneered. "But he is effective, too."

"He makes a good nanny for my daughter," Ember explained. A hard glint came to his eyes. "And protection for her, too. They'll want to start training Ann to use her abilities soon. Her mother and I think she's too young for that. We saw what they put 001 through; I don't want the same for her."

"Then our plans are coming together. Timing will be everything. Scar is getting desperate. We can gain the advantage. We'll make sure we also get plenty of money in exchange for the Double Zero Cyborgs. After all, we'll need to make a fresh start with our spouses."

"Exactly. You know, we may, if you have enough moxie, push to have him voted out by the Merchants of Death. I bet you..."

"No!" She turned towards him and gave him a frosty glare. "I'm not your tool. It's enough for me to provide a beautiful house for my husband to come home to. I want nothing more. To rule the Black Ghost is not my dream."

Ember shook his head. "It could be taken in a new direction to benefit humanity, but it needs someone like you in charge."

"You're welcome attack Scar, if you're that foolish. Just make sure he knows I wasn't a part of it."

"I just want a better world for my wife and my daughter. Everywhere we've been traveling over the last several months is nothing but misery."

Her expression softened and she nodded. She turned back to gaze at the ocean. "I was never able to have children. You are very lucky, Ember. I envy you. Having a child."

"Don't envy the mess I've made for her and my wife by joining the Black Ghost."

"The decision to join was made by my husband. I went along with his desires. I serve the Black Ghost, but it's an act of devotion towards my husband. I see now that I should have persuaded him otherwise. It's time for me to act. Why did you obligate your family to this?"

"The money was so good. I needed to provide for them. I didn't think about the consequences. Your husband probably did the same."

"No, he's an ambitious man. He wanted to push his experiments to the extreme, and the modern science academies rejected his ideas, because they involved merging humans bodies with computers. He believes humans should abandon their flesh in favor of immortality. Only the Black Ghost was willing to give him a chance to develop his science."

They were silent for several long minutes. Ember finally said, "The key for us to get everything we want is subduing the Double Zero Cyborgs. Once we get them, everything else will fall into place."

"Yes, let's leave. Castor, Pollux! You too, oaf. Come along," she shouted, turning towards the dock.

To be continued.