The next day everything had been arranged.
Shiho was still surprised how easy it had been. After she had spent so much time worrying how to approach her request, it had felt somewhat anticlimactic. Gin had remained silent for a few moments, examining her, before giving his permission. "One hour. We will arrange it," he had barked before leaving the laboratory. The surprise had been visible on everyone's face. She had expected Gin to deny her request, to have to argue with him and had even been prepared to threaten him to be allowed to meet her sister.
The rest had been just as easy. For some reason the boy had decided to stay a while longer and watch them work. It had given her the perfect opportunity to strike up a conversation with him. He had remained tight-lipped about anything too personal, but when she had asked him about the books, his demeanour had changed. He had been delighted and had practically shoved the book in her arms when she had mentioned that she had never read a Sherlock Holmes novel and was interested in checking it out. She would have felt guilty if it had been his own copy because she never intended to return it.
And now she was sitting in the café someone else had selected and waited for her sister. A listening device was taped to the inside of her cardigan and two guards were sitting close-by. The organisation has always been wary of the two sisters and their close bond and ever since Akemi had unknowingly helped that FBI agent to infiltrate them, they were only allowed to meet under strict supervision. Sherry was too valuable for them. This time, Gin had personally checked her belongings. He had paid special attention to the book in her handbag, thoroughly checking the pages for scribbled-in words or hidden pieces of paper. Shiho had yawned and tried her best to seem unfazed by his inspection.
The melodic sound of a bell announced the arrival of her sister. She looked as happy as ever, a warm smile on her lips and her eyes filled with love. But Sherry felt her concern in the way she clung to her during their brief hug and how she whispered her name. They never met up on such short notice.
"It's good to finally see you again. How have you been?", Akemi said while she sat down and placed her handbag and coat next to her on the bench.
Both of them knew that this wasn't the question she was burning to ask, but they had to choose their words carefully
"Quite well, actually. I can't give you any details, of course, but I had a breakthrough in my research. It's revolutionary." Her smile didn't reach her eyes. "I know that our parents would be proud of me for finally completing their work."
For a split second Shiho could see the suspicion in Akemi's face, but she quickly relaxed her features and and and reached for Shihos hands, smiling broadly.
"Of course they would be proud! So am I." Akemi squeezed her hands twice. "Does this mean you'll get more freetime now? We have to celebrate this accomplishment properly."
"Not yet, I have already been assigned with my next project, one that is even more important than the previous. Hopefully I'll have more time after it is finished.. Until then this meal must suffice as celebration."
They scanned the menu, discussed the food and drink choices and placed their orders. For any bystander it seemed like a normal conversation, but Akemi's gesture had shown Shiho that she had understood the hidden meaning.
Their parents had died shortly after Shiho had been born. As she grew up, other members of the organisation had always told her how brilliant her parents had been, that they had lived for their research, putting all their time and effort into it, and that it was her legacy to finish their work, to make them proud.
Shiho had believed it, until her sister had taken advantage of one of the rare moments in which they were truly alone to tell her the truth. A week before their death, Akemi had overheard hushed conversation between their parents. How much they regretted their choice to work for the organisation. How scared they were of whatever they were creating. And how they wished that their daughters could lead a better life, far away from the organisation's influence. They had wanted to flee; everything had already been prepared when that accident took their lives.
Now that Shiho had seen what the APTX4869 was capable of, she could understand her parents' fear better. Could it be that this was the true purpose of the apoptoxin and not just an unexpected side-effect? How much had they known? Years ago, when Akemi had told her the truth about their parents, she had briefly wondered if their parents had set their laboratory on fire themselves to destroy all traces of their work. With her newly acquired information this particular theory didn't seem too far-fetched anymore. No one should have the power to shrink people and especially not the organisation.
What had her mentor once said? Humans can't reverse the flow of time. If you try to twist it against its will… You'll be punished. Back then she had wondered why he had said that, but now it made sense. He had tried to warn her. Apparently he had known more about her parents' work than she had expected.
Shiho got startled when the waitress placed their drinks on the table.
"You need to sleep more, otherwise the circles under your eyes will soon cover your whole face." Akemi teased her, but the worry in her voice was still noticeable.
"Easier said than done. This new project is very time-consuming and any spare time I have is spent reading this new book. Wait a second." She reached into her bag and put the book in question on the table.
Shiho saw how Akemi raised her eyebrows in surprise. Most people knew that Shiho was a bookworm. But they never really paid attention to the kind of books she was reading. For Shiho, it had always been specialised literature. Chemistry, biology, medicine, neuroscience – anything that could be relevant for her research. The only other thing she occasionally read were fashion magazines.
But her sister was well aware that this is not the kind of book she would read voluntarily.
"I can lend it to you. It's really interesting and I would love to hear your opinion on it." Shiho pushed the book closer to Akemi.
"I'm not sure. I don't usually read detective stories."
"I know, you've always preferred romance novels. Trust me, you'll love it. Just try it out." Now it was Shiho's turn to reach for her sister's hand and squeeze it. Akemi pressed her lips together and nodded.
"Fine, I'll read it. But if I don't like it, you'll have to pay for dinner next time."
Shiho smiled. "Deal."
The waitress brought their food and they started eating. Shiho hesitated a moment before continuing their conversation.
"Speaking of love and romance, have you had any interesting dates lately?" She tried her best to sound casual.
"Shiho ..." Akemi was clearly hurt by her question. Shiho had dreaded that reaction. But as much as it pained her to cause Akemi sorrow, it would be worth it if she could save her life. She knew better than anyone else that her sister had no interest in dating anyone, not since he had left her. She hoped that Akemi would understand the hidden meaning.
"What a pity!", Shiho said with fake outrage. "I was hoping that you would meet a cute guy and that he might have an equally cute brother or best friend." Her voice had a playful tone, but her serious expression betrayed her. She was tense. "I never go out, my only hope for a happy future is a double date."
Akemi remained silent for a few seconds, watching Shiho with narrowed eyes and then she nodded. "I'll try my best to arrange something."
A relieved sigh escaped Shiho's lips. "You have no idea how happy that would make me."
"You can repay me some day with cute nieces and nephews."
"Don't count on that. But on another note, do you remember that one time we went ice-skating?"
On her way home, Akemi was acutely aware of the additional weight in her handbag. Something was going on and she was sure that her sister had hidden a clue in this book. All she wanted to do was run home and search for it, but that would arouse suspicion and it was the last thing they needed now.
So she took her time. She strolled down the streets without hurry, stopped at a supermarket, looked at a few shop displays and got a coffee-to-go. From the outside she hopefully appeared relaxed, but in her mind she was constantly repeating her sister's words to not forget anything. An hour later she finally arrived at her apartment.
She did not bother to put her things away properly. Instead she immediately grabbed the book, a pencil and a notebook and sat down at her table. During the time it took her to get home, she had enough time to think about Shiho's words. She had said several things that weren't strange in itself, but unusual for her. Shiho had never shown much interest in fictional novels. She had no time or interest in dating. And she did not like to dwell on the past, always claiming that it would be a waste of time. That's why it had been odd that Shiho had mentioned two specific dates.
February 12th, September 6th
Akemi wrote them down and stared at the otherwise blank page. The events Shiho had recalled had happened on different dates. If it had been anyone else, she would have assumed that it was an honest mistake. It wouldn't be too strange. But since the sisters were rarely allowed to spent time with each other, the dates of their meeting were important to both of them. She was sure that this was some kind of code. Whatever message Shiho had for her, she couldn't simply write it down since their belongings were checked before every get-together.
But what was that supposed to mean? Akemi aimlessly thumbed through the book. The numbers alone were not sufficient enough if she didn't know on which page she had to look for the hidden message.
The next hour was filled with many failed attempts and Akemi grew increasingly frustrated. She felt like she was on the right track, but was missing a crucial piece of information. She began to worry that she wouldn't be able to solve the code. The mental effort and her fear strained her.
To relieve her throbbing head and burning eyes, she got up to make herself a cup of tea. While waiting for the kettle to boil, she replayed the conversation in her head one more time.
She had been so focused on the dates that she had almost forgotten her other unusual remarks. Why had Shiho talked about their dating lives? Not only was she well aware that Akemi was not yet ready to date anyone, but she herself had also never expressed interest in meeting someone. Sure, people could change, but Shiho had looked far too serious for an otherwise lighthearted topic. She must have meant something else.
Akemi looked around the apartment, wondering about the meaning, when her eyes got caught on the calendar. Of course!
Her heart was beating so fast that she could feel it in her ears as she hurried back to the table. She grabbed the book, her hands shaking. With the word 'date' Shiho had not meant a rendezvous, but today's literal date. January 15th. If she used the american date format and wrote it down as digits she had 115. But Shiho had spoken about a double date, that would mean 230.
She quickly opened the book on this page and froze. The words 'immediate danger' were the first she noticed. Before she could dismiss this as a coincidence, she remembered the two dates Shiho had mentioned.
'Immediate danger' were the first two words in the second line. Line 2, words 1 and 2. 212, 2/12, February 12th.
Akemi almost dropped the book. She didn't know whether to be glad that she had solved her sister's secret message or to be scared of its content.
She glanced at her notes, checking the second date, and ran her finger over the page, counting down 9 lines. The sixth word was 'leave'.
The message was clear. Akemi gulped and sank into the chair. She wasn't sure how, but her sister must have obtained some kind of information that made her fear for her life. It wasn't too difficult to guess the reason. Just two days ago Akemi had received a call, informing her that the 1 Billion Yen mission had been cancelled for now. She had been outraged. Months of planning had gone into the mission and with Shiho's research coming to a successful end, she had finally gotten permission to buy her sister out of the organisation.
Apparently that had been a lie. Not only did Shiho already have a new task, but they also wanted to kill her. Otherwise Shiho wouldn't tell her to leave as they both knew what consequences awaited the other if one sister were to disappear.
Honestly, she wasn't too surprised. Akemi had always known that she had limited value for the organisation. She wasn't as brilliant as her parents or her sister and generally the they let her live a relatively normal life. However, her wish to leave the organisation once and for all, with Shiho by her side, put an end to it.
Akemi swallowed hard, fighting against her tears. What was she supposed to do? She didn't want to die, but if she fled she would never see Shiho again and - even worse - they would punish her. She couldn't let that happen. But this exceeded her capabilities. She had neither the resources nor skills to act against the organisation on her own - she needed help.
She jumped up, ran into her bathroom and reached for the emergency phone hidden in the toilet tank. She barely remembered to turn on the shower to conceal any suspicious sounds in case the organisation had planted new listening devices in her apartment. With shaky hands she dialed the phone number that was burned into her memory, a number she had never expected to ever call. He had given her this number the last time they had seen each other, when he had promised her that he would always be there for her if she needed anything, no matter when or what.
Beep… Beep...Beep…
With every passing second her hope decreased. She didn't even know where he was at the moment. Was he even in Japan? Would she be able to reach him if he was overseas? Maybe he was asleep or he had changed his number or forgotten her or died …
She was about to hang up when a quiet click interrupted her anxious thoughts.
"Dai?", she whispered. "It's me, Akemi. I need your help."
She waited with bated breath. The person on the other end stayed quiet for a few seconds and then she finally heard the voice she had been longing for.
"What do you need?"
