Author's note: There's the next chapter. A little bit more fun in this one, although I just realized it's a very long chapter. Very very delighted to hear from other reviewers. Long time no see, Seiba! Yup, thank you to one and all for the support! Hope you enjoy this one too.
Chapter 23:
"Your bagel."
Athrun accepted the brown paper bag that Meyrin handed him across the desk and unrolled the top, taking a good whiff of the inside, "Smells nice."
"And your daily dose of caffeine."
"Now this," Athrun grinned as he received the Styrofoam cup from his secretary, "smells absolutely divine."Meyrin wrinkled her nose at his comment. "Lacus is going to kill me when she finds out."
"Well, I'll convince the management to increase your pay if you don't say anything," Athrun proposed, taking a sip of his steaming hot coffee and peering at her over the lip of his Styrofoam cup.
"I'll think about that," Meyrin cocked her head thoughtfully, "although I'll rather not risk Lacus' wrath. Anything else, Chief?"
Athrun set his cup carefully to one side and rummaged through the stack of files lying scattered all over the surface of his desk. He pulled out a manila file from the mess, opened it, scanned through the document and handed it over to Meyrin. "I need you to read through Lacus' statement again. She mentioned a guy called Kira Hibiki," he said, "run that name through the invitation list for me."
"Why?" Meyrin frowned, glancing through the statement. "How's he involved?"
"I don't know," he shrugged his shoulders, "but I intend to find out."
The sky was still gray when Kira slipped out of the house. He stood on the stone steps outside his door and blew on his hands to keep warm. The morning sun hadn't risen yet and the air was cold and still. Hands shoved deep into the pockets of his jeans, he descended the steps and stepped out onto the pavement. As usual, the neighbourhood remained silent and empty.
He turned right and strolled down the street, his pace measured and even, his breath fogging in the frigid air. He passed four other houses and at the corner of the first, paused to gaze at the diner. The lights were already ablaze inside and his sharp eyes detected movement through the well-polished windows. Every morning, he would continue on, walking straight across the vacant carpark that separated the first house from the diner. But today, he turned around and headed back the way he had come. He passed his own apartment and continued walking for half an hour, until he reached the main road which intersected his little street.
Life at the main road began to pick up a little. There were more cars on the road and more people on the pavements - morning joggers, old ladies with their dogs, shopkeepers opening up shop, deliverymen on their rounds.
Kira needed breakfast, so he hailed a cab. The driver was a plump old man who grinned at him cheerfully when he slid into the back seat. "Where to, young fella?"
"Just drop me somewhere in the city," Kira replied, gazing out of the window.
"Gotcha." The driver stepped on the accelerator and the cab began to move. There was silence for a minute before the jolly cab driver began to strike conversation. "Why the sullen face, man? What happened?" He glanced at Kira through the rearview mirror. "You got kicked out by your girlfriend?"
Kira ignored him.
"Ah," he sighed, exhaling a deep breath, "don't worry about it. Your girl will get over it soon. What are you going to do in the city so early this morning? You don't look like you've got any business in the city. You know, people like us, all these people in our neighbourhood-" he waved a hand at the streets whizzing by, "-we've got no business with the city and all those rich people that live and work there. They own big houses, man. Mansions. You've seen those giants? And they've got these large offices and sleek cars, and hire people like us to do their laundry and clean their mansions. Man, people like us, people in our neighbourhood, we own these tiny apartments and ride our bicycles to work. If we're a little luckier-" He gave a hoot of laughter, "-we'll own a taxi. Like me, man. God, sometimes I wish I could drive one of those sleek cars. Be even better if I could sit in one of those – what do they call it again? Limousines? A pretty babe on each side and a truckload of money. Now that's the life we all want, ain't that right?"
Kira didn't bother to reply. The cab driver shrugged when he got no response and gave up all attempts at conversation.
The silence gave Kira enough peace to continue gazing out of the cab window, watching the neighbourhood flash past. The streets were peppered with grocery shops, diners and cafes. Most of them were owned by people living in the neighbourhood. Like Flay and Sai. They didn't earn much, but at least they had regular customers and a steady income. Aside from shops, the rest of the street was choked up with small, cramped little apartments, set close to each other. They were all that the people here could afford, plus maybe a dog or a cat. The people in his neighbourhood were poor and they liked to complain about it. He heard it all the time when he had breakfast at Flay's. It was typical morning conversation. They enjoyed comparing the meager things that they had.
Kira never joined in any of those conversations. Flay attributed it to his anti-social personality but that was only half the truth. The other half was that he had nothing to compare.
Athrun had just returned from an extremely late lunch, when the phone on his desk began to ring incessantly. He banged his fist on the bottom of the receiver without looking up from his report and caught the phone receiver as it bounced upwards. "Zala," he responded curtly.
"You owe me a coffee and a salad."
Athrun sighed, pressing his thumb and index finger to his nose bridge in an attempt to stifle the approaching headache. "Not now, Miriallia." He waved his pen exasperatedly.
"Okay. Then I suppose you don't want the results of the chemical trace now either."
Athrun froze for a second, then covered the receiver with a hand and yelled in the direction of Meyrin's desk, "Meyrin, I need a coffee and a salad right now!" He turned his attention back to the phone and heard Miriallia Haw chuckle. "Be down in five minutes, Detective."
To be more exact, Miriallia Haw took only a minute and a half to descend from her crime scene lab and sweep into the conference room. Meyrin hadn't even returned from the cafeteria with the coffee and salad she had requested.
The brown-haired forensic scientist brandished a manila file in Athrun's face exuberantly, "You owe me big time, Detective Zala."
"Yes, I know," Athrun directed her towards the chair at the head of the conference table and pushed her into it unceremoniously. "How could I forget when you remind me every single time we meet?" He sank into the chair on her right, "Okay, Miriallia. Let's have it."
Miriallia opened the file and laid it out in front of her. "I know I took a long time figuring out the chemical trace, but I have a valid reason." She glanced pointedly at Athrun who pretended he didn't see the look she shot him. "Turns out that the chemical trace is a combination of various substances. So I had to run it through multiple tests to decipher the chemical codes."
"Let's see what we have here. There is a chemical substance resembling erythropoietin, otherwise known as EPO. This sample is highly glycosylated as compared to the common EPO, hence resulting in a higher half-life-"
Athrun interrupted her with a frustrated wave of the hand. "English, Miriallia, you've got to speak to us in English."
Miriallia Haw rolled her eyes, but she dutifully set about explaining the chemical jargon she had been using. "EPO is a type of hormone which speeds up our wound-healing process. The sample of EPO we have is one that has been altered to contain more carbohydrates, which gives it a longer half-life-" Seeing the perplexed looks on the faces of her audience, she quickly changed tactics, "half-life refers to how long the EPO is able to survive in our bloodstream. The longer the half-life, the longer it remains in our blood, which means that this new form of EPO is much more efficient when it comes to wound-healing simply because it exists in our bloodstream for a longer time. It's able to cut down the time it takes for our wounds to heal by about half. Plus, EPO is also a performance-enhancing drug because it improves oxygen delivery, which in turn increases the user's endurance. Think of the drugs that athletes take."
Lunamaria quirked an eyebrow at her. "So what you're saying is that this guy heals faster than normal people?"
"Bingo," Miriallia grinned, "and that's just the tip of the iceberg. There is also trace of a modified form of epinephrine, more commonly known as adrenalin. This sample has a different structure containing more binding sites-" She paused as the eyes staring at her clouded over with puzzlement. "Okay, never mind. What I'm saying is that this new form of adrenalin works better and faster."
"So, this guy doesn't just heal faster. He reacts quicker too?" Nicol asked doubtfully.
"Exactly. Faster reflexes, quicker responses, greater stamina," Miriallia winked as she counted them off her fingers. "I've also got the chemical makeup of a steroid that-"
"Stop, Miriallia, please," Athrun raised a hand, shaking his head in an attempt to still the chemical symbols and jargon swimming in his head, "just sum up what you've gathered from the blood sample and tell us what we are dealing with."
The brunette shrugged her shoulders. "Basically, this guy's got all sorts of stuff messing around with his body systems. His nervous system, his circulatory system, his endocrine system, his immune system-" She pointed a finger as her head, "-even his brain. You name it, he's got it."
"Man," Shinn shook his head, "What kind of trauma has this poor guy undergone? Why all the drugs?"
"I don't think our guy is on drugs," Miriallia said, shaking her head, "the effects I'm describing aren't temporary effects. They aren't drug-induced. I'm guessing that genetic manipulation is involved."
"Genetic manipulation?" Dearka made a face, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Like in sci-fi movies? What are we dealing with here, man?"
"A superhuman, that's what," Miriallia summed up.
"That one." Sting pointed a finger across the bar. They followed his gaze and saw a man in T-shirt and jeans at the other end of the bar counter, sipping from a shot glass filled with bourbon.
"Okay." Stellar pushed herself off her bar stool and turned to flash them a grin. "Place your bets, gentlemen."
"Five minutes. Five bucks." Auel pulled a five from his wallet and waved it in her face. Stellar's full lips, shiny from her lip gloss, formed a beautiful pout, "You're underestimating me."
Sting extracted a ten. "Okay, angel. Three minutes. Ten bucks."
Stellar's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"One minute," Kira smiled as he removed a twenty from his own wallet.
Stellar's eyes lit up. "See?" she whirled on her other teammates and made a face. "Now that's what I call 'trust'! If I can make it back in one minute, you guys-" she pointed a finger at Auel and Sting, "-are going to have to pay up!"
She turned with a flick of her hair and took a deep breath, then surged into the crowd. The bar was teeming with people. Electro music was playing so loudly that the walls were pulsating with each thumping beat. Lights flashed and spun wildly. They watched as Stellar wove her way lithely through the crowd of gyrating bodies. She even paused to dance with a young man, grinding her hips against his and turning her head to flash them a challenging grin. "One minute," Auel scoffed. He tossed an absurd glance in Kira's direction, "You're going to lose that twenty."
Kira merely leaned back against the counter and smiled.
She slid out of the crowd, eyes fixed on her target. They watched her sidle up to the bar and bump against the counter, falling conveniently into the lap of the surprised man. The expression on her face was full of embarrassment but it quickly changed into a coy look. It was a flawless performance. The guy seemed particularly interested in what lay beneath her skirt and blouse and soon his hands were all over, squeezing and stroking.
Out of the corner of his eye, Kira saw Auel move. His pale blue-haired companion rose from his seat, eyes glinting dangerously. Kira recognized the signs – the same murderous look that came over his teammate whenever they were on the hunt. Before Auel could take another step, Kira had a firm grip on his wrist. "Sit down," he hissed. Auel stared at him in disbelief.
"That asshole touched her," He snarled.
"Sit down," Kira repeated.
"I said, that asshole touched her!" Auel's voice had escalated into a screech and they were attracting odd glances from the other bar patrons despite the booming music.
Kira glared hard at him and saw Auel hesitate a beat but he didn't back down. Kira nodded at Sting who took his cue and rested a restraining hand on Auel's shoulder. "I said sit down," Kira muttered, his voice low and dangerous. He felt a slight give in Auel's stance and yanked him down hard onto the bar stool. Sting had a firm grasp on his shoulders. Auel was livid.
"Have a little more faith," he released his hold on Auel's wrist and replied coolly, "Stellar can hold her ground."
He swiveled around in his bar stool just in time to see Stellar sauntering back towards them. She was grinning but she frowned a little when she came closer, sensing the tension in the air. "Now what are you boys fighting about?" She sidled up against Kira who moved over a little so that she could perch on half of his bar stool.
"Nothing," Kira smiled, even as Auel turned away and glared at the table, draining his own glass in one furious gulp.
Stellar rolled her eyes and gave Auel an affectionate nudge with her shoulder. "Cheer up, honey," she reached into her knee-length boots and drew out a leather wallet. "Look what I got," she winked at him, then glanced at her watch, "and in only fifty-four seconds too. Now, normally, I would be obliged to make you pay up. But today, let us thank-" She paused and flipped open the wallet, glancing at the ID in the transparent pocket. "- a very generous Mr. Ian Brown for buying us our drinks tonight."
She drew out a fifty from the wallet and slapped it down onto the counter. "Brandon!" She yelled at the bartender, "another round of drinks and keep the tip!"
"I don't want any drinks paid by that asshole's money!" Auel snapped, banging his glass down on the table. It shattered from the force and earned them a few glares from neighbouring customers. The bartender looked impressed though. He collected up the fifty Stellar had left on the counter. "At least your tip is big enough to cover the cost of the glass," he winked at Stellar, who generously drew out another fifty from the stolen wallet. "Keep the rest," she grinned, stuffing it into the bartender's hand.
Then she turned to Auel and raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Did you miss your anger management class?" she teased, only to earn a glare from Auel.
"You didn't have to let him touch you."
"Well."
"Well?" Auel repeated incredulously.
"Let's just say he's not getting off that easy," Stellar winked. She nodded towards the man. "Just wait and see."
They turned just as the man in T-shirt and jeans got up from his bar stool and made an obscene gesture in Stellar's direction. Stellar responded with a seductive smile and wave and the man began tottering towards them. One step. Two steps. And then he was down.
The man just crumpled and fell into a heap on the ground. Several people around him yelped. Others shrieked. Two burly bouncers in black shouldered their way through the crowd and dragged the fallen man away. The whole incident didn't take more than a minute and soon the crowd was bursting with energy again. As if the man had never been there.
"Beat that," Stellar challenged, her eyes twinkling with amusement. Auel burst into laughter. "Shit," he chortled, "what did you put in his drink?"
Their female teammate shrugged and grinned slyly, "Just a sleeping pill."
Sting tousled her blonde hair and Kira swung an arm around her waist protectively. "That's our girl," he nodded, then raised his eyebrows smugly at Auel, "told you our angel could hold her own."
"Bah," Auel jeered, grinning mischievously, "That was just luck. The guy was a dumb target. A sitting duck. I bet she couldn't do it again."
"Jerk. Bet you I can."
"Prove it."
"I just did. If you're so good, why don't you do it?"
Kira shook his head as he watched them banter to and fro. He exchanged an exasperated look with Sting, who merely laughed at their antics. "Okay, okay," Sting raised a hand and pointed in the direction of a man in a business suit, sitting alone at the far end of the bar. "That's the next target. Work your magic on that guy, Stellar."
She squinted at the man, then rolled her eyes and sagged back against Kira. "No point. That guy won't fall for it."
"How would you know?"
"He's a regular here. Never once laid an eye on me. He's always ogling at the male strippers here." She paused, then a mischievous glint lit up her amber eyes. She glanced at Auel and raked her eyes over him. "But I bet he'll be taken in by you, Auel. Since you're so good, why don't you do it?"
"I could get his money in five seconds."
"Bullshit. That's impossible."
"Not if I punch the daylights out of him and just take it from his back pocket."
"Don't draw attention to yourself," Kira admonished, smiling. Auel pouted in response and Stellar clapped her hands eagerly. "That's it," she crowed with excitement, "use that look on him."
"I will not-"
"Unless of course you're too chicken?"
Kira had never seen Auel back down from a challenge and he wasn't about to start. He narrowed his eyes at Stellar and they glared at each other challengingly, a silent battle passing between them. Then he snatched up Sting's glass, downed the liquor in one gulp and pushed himself off his bar stool.
"If that asshole fondles my butt, I'm going to smash his face in," Auel breathed, before stalking away through the crowd.
The bartender returned with a second round of drinks. He slipped a plain white coaster towards each of them and plunked down a glass on each coaster, glass cubes tinkling merrily. "Thanks to Mr. Ian Brown," Stellar raised her glass and tapped it against Sting's. "Drink to your fill, and let's sit back and watch some entertainment."
Kira smiled to himself as he lifted his own glass. He was about to take a sip from it when he caught sight of the tiny scribble on the edge of his coaster.
HQ. Now.
He knew what it meant. He had seen it numerous times – on receipts handed to him by cashiers, on napkins in diners, on notes pinned to his door. He left his drink untouched on the counter and stood. Immediately, his teammates sensed the change in him and they turned towards him curiously.
"He wants to see us," Kira explained simply, "Now."
Following his lead, both his teammates left their stools and they entered the crowd on the dance floor, gliding through it stealthily towards Auel and his target. Auel was talking to the man in the business suit, a charming grin on his face. The man had a hand resting seductively on his thigh.
"Get Auel." Kira glanced over his shoulder at Sting who approached the unlikely couple and swung a possessive arm around Auel's shoulders. "There you are," he exclaimed dramatically, then smiled at the surprised businessman. "Sorry, man. This guy's taken." Without a backward glance, he turned Auel away and steered him towards Kira and Stellar who were waiting near the exit.
He shot them a questioning look but a simple nod from Kira cleared things up. "Well," he brandished a brown leather wallet as they stepped out of the warmth of the bar and into the cold night. "We can share the spoils on the way to HQ."
Athrun shrugged on his jacket and grabbed his briefcase. Heading around the table, he crossed his office, put a hand on the knob of his door and glanced behind him. He was tempted to stay the night. There were loads to do – more brainstorming, more analysis, more reports to read. More pieces of the jigsaw puzzle to fit together.
But the inky black sky outside his window was a steady reminder that it was late. Besides, he knew what Lacus would say if she found out he had stayed the night in the office and no doubt, she would find out. He turned the knob and had just opened his door when a flustered Lunamaria collided into him.
"Whoa there, Luna," he steadied her with a hand, which tightened around her shoulder when he saw the tensed, anxious look on her face.
"I've got seriously bad news, Chief."
Author's note: I think the transition between each section is a little rough. Hmm… may work on it again in my free time. Anyways, review, review, review! I think there'll be a little more action in the next chapter. Working on it!