Author's note: Okay, I know there are lots of people who really want to strangle me right now because of how long I took to upload this chappie! And I'm sorry! I simply couldn't find time to write! I've been leading a hectic life these few weeks. How I long to have a break, just so that I can work on this fanfic! Argh! Anyway, lots to come in this chappie: Lacus gets rescued, the mystery of Flay is solved, and finally, Lacus catches sight of Kira's face and recognises him! Woohoo!
hitomi65: Thank you as always for the support! Glad you enjoyed the previous chappie!
japanje: Hello fellow Singaporean! It's always wonderful to meet another fellow Singaporean on the fanfic site! Not many of my friends watch or enjoy GS and GSD, and it's awesome to find that someone else loves it on this little red dot, as you say! My favourite characters are actually Athrun and Kira! I never could decide which one I liked more, so I guess I'll stick to loving them both! So how was the trip to Tokyo? Oh my, oh my! I've never ever been to a GS and GSD fair! I must be losing out a lot! Someone ought to drag me there!
hardcoreGSfan: Thank you very much for pointing that out! I didn't even notice it! So thank you loads for drawing my attention to it! And I'm glad you enjoyed the comparisons and the fight scene. I'm really not very good at writing fight scenes because there's too much action to capture into words. Just like the one you'll see in this chappie! I got myself all confused as I wrote it! But hope you'll still understand where I'm going with it. And yup, the reunion's coming up really really soon!
moi: Well, the whole mystery of Flay is going to be clarified in this chappie, so read on and I hope you enjoy the character I've set her up to be! Again, there's gonna be lots of action in this chappie so hope you like it!
Seiba Artoria: Glad that you liked the tension! There'll be lots more of it in this chappie! So read on and hope you enjoy! And of course, will Kira be on time? I hope so!
nitameicya: I'm glad you liked the part about Cagalli. I realise I've never been very good at showing Cagalli's emotional and vulnerable side, because she's such a… tough one in GS and GSD, but she's still a woman after all… It's a pity that I didn't write much of Cagalli in this chappie. Most of this chapter is devoted to Lacus and Kira, but I think I'll have more Cagalli and Athrun coming up in the next chapter or so. So do keep a look out!
Guest: Why, thank you for the support and the compliments! I'm glad you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! So hope you'll love this one too!
AAA: I'm sorry, I know, I know, I'm cruel for always using cliffhangers. But I try my best to keep your curiosity piqued! You'll probably ask me the same question again when you're done with this chappie, but I promise, I'll do my best this time to update faster!
Animedoshia: I hear you about Flay. I'm not really a Flay fan either, but I have to admit, there was something redeeming about her when she died at the end in GS and showed that she wasn't all cruel to Kira. In any case, the mystery of Flay will be clarified at the end of this chapter and do drop a review and let me know what you think about it!
Chapter 64:
"Are you going to tell me why we're heading to the diner at this time of the night?" Cagalli winced as the car swerved right and the seatbelt dug into her neck. She grasped the belt and held it a little ways from her body so that it didn't strangle her. But as Athrun spun the wheel again and she leaned dangerously left, she decided that a little strangling didn't hurt, if it kept her alive.
They were in the car they had stolen. At first, Siegel had disapproved of their driving a stolen car, but none of the expensive vehicles in the Clyne Mansion garage would have been suitable for where they were heading. So they had stuck with it.
Leaving the highway, they entered the city, where the night was still roaring young. The pubs and theatres were open and the streets were teeming with people. Couples strolled along avenues lit up by overhead lamps. Their sedan slid into smooth traffic and coursed down the avenue alongside other vehicles doggedly heading for other forms of night entertainment.
Athrun leaned back into his seat, keeping a relaxed grip on the steering wheel. His mind was racing, but he hadn't quite worked out the various ideas and notions in his head. Nonetheless, he opened his mouth and spoke the first thing on his mind. "Remember Flay Allster?"
"Flay Allster?" Cagalli frowned thoughtfully, "the woman we met at the diner?"
"Yes," he nodded, "Mu called up with some findings. The call that the Commissioner received came from the diner."
"Someone in the diner told on us?" Cagalli blurted out in astonishment. "But only Flay Allster and Sai Argyle know we are looking for Kira and Lacus. You mean they're the ones who reported to the Commissioner?"
"That's it," said Athrun, "they're the most likely suspects."
"But Flay Allster's concerned about Kira. She wouldn't."
"We don't know that for certain," Athrun responded, steering the car into a narrow lane that would lead them out of the city and into the outskirts. "But we're going to find out soon."
The woman stood and stepped around the couch so that Lacus could see her in plain view. She was medium in size, athletic, dressed in black, long hair pulled back into a tight knot over the top of her head.
"Do I know you?" Lacus said softly, "What are you doing here?" She glanced towards the door of the apartment as she spoke. It was closed, but she couldn't see if it was locked. "How did you get in?"
The stranger bent and swiped something off the low coffee table. As she held it up, the object caught the lights overhead and glistened. It was a key, and Lacus recognised it as the one that unlocked the apartment. How the hell had the woman gotten a hold of it? What was this? Some kind of burglary? Astounded,Lacus swept her eyes quickly over the woman again, and spun around hastily, so that she could see the rest of the room. It seemed as if they were alone. Her eyes settled back onto the intruder again and she was surprised to see a smile on the woman's face.
"Don't worry. We're alone," she said, the smile still gracing her lips.
Lacus took a faltering step back. There was something strange about the woman. That benign smile. Her curious ability to guess what Lacus was thinking. Who the hell was she and what in the world was happening? "How did you get the key?" Lacus blurted out, eyeing the stranger warily.
The smile on the woman's face widened. "Courtesy of Miss Flay Allster. She handed it to me readily enough." She dropped the key back onto the coffee table again, the metal clanging loudly against the wood. As she shifted her hand to her side, Lacus noticed what she had been too distracted to see - the woman was wearing black gloves.
The thought unfolded in her mind like a bolt of lightning, crackling through her body and paralyzing her from head to toe. For a second, she forgot to breathe. The last time she had seen someone wearing black gloves, she had been knocked unconscious in the back of the theatre, only to find herself kidnapped, trapped in a warehouse, until he had been kind enough to release her. For what reason, she hadn't a clue. Yet.
In that instance, she recalled his words. "I'm not the only one out there. Someone else will come for you if they find out you're still alive."
Lacus stared at the intruder. This was it then. They had found her, hadn't they? She took a step back, and felt the wall flushed against her back. No escape. "I don't know who you are. Or what you're here for," Lacus said. She steeled her voice, forcing mock bravado into it. Pretended that she was dealing with some obsessed fan that had barged into her changing room. "But you need to get out of here, right this minute. Or I'm calling the police." Her cerulean eyes darted for the phone, which was hanging on the wall a distance away from the guest room, by the entrance of the kitchen.
The woman just smiled and glanced at her watch. "11:54 p.m.," she turned her gaze onto Lacus with a sly glint in her eyes. "Six more minutes. Then I'll let you call the cops." She paused and the edges of her mouth lifted so that her smile widened grotesquely. "That is, if you can pick up the phone later." The words were uttered with cruelty. As if the woman was laughing at her. Like a cat playing with a mouse, watching nonchalantly as her prey weaselled between her claws, then snapping her paw down and crushing the little creature to its death. Lacus felt her blood run cold. There was no mistaking it. This woman was going to kill her.
She lunged for the phone. And something zipped past her ear and thumped into the machine. Before she could get to it, the phone receiver clattered noisily to the ground, and slid underneath the kitchen counter. Out of sight and out of reach. Lacus froze in her steps and spun around, horrified, as she found herself staring into the dark hole of a gun muzzle that seemed to have materialised out of nowhere. The shot had been nearly silent, only the sound of whistling air had notified her of the bullet's presence. So close, it had nearly grazed her cheek.
"Patience, Miss Clyne," the woman tsked, her lips forming a lopsided grin, "It's not midnight yet. We have another five minutes to enjoy each other's company. But if you take one more step, you'll be forcing me to pull the trigger early." Then, to emphasize how little of a threat Lacus was, she lowered her gun and held it limply by her side. "Sit down, Miss Clyne. Make yourself comfortable," she gestured idly at the couch, "It's not time yet."
Lacus didn't move.
"Suit yourself," the woman smiled again, sinking down into the loveseat. She swung both arms over the backrest and leaned back, eyes steady on her prey.
A frightful silence fell over the apartment like a thick shroud, and the tick-tocking of the clock hanging on the living room wall resonated like a death toll. Lacus snuck a glance at it. 11.56 p.m. Four minutes to midnight. What was going to happen at midnight? Lacus had a pretty good idea. Why midnight? She had no clue. And she had so many other questions. What did the woman mean when she said she had obtained the key from Flay? Had she stolen it? Or had Flay passed it to her? Why? Who's side was Flay on?
"I don't know why you're here," Lacus repeated again, trying to muster up her courage. It was an unsuccessful attempt though, because her nerves had been shot thin and her voice quivered when she spoke. "I don't know who you are, or what you want from me. I don't have money with me right now, and if you're looking for that… that serum, I don't have it either. I don't know how you came about getting the key, or what role Flay has in this. But you're not going to get anything out of killing me."
The woman gave a snort of laughter. "I know," she grinned. "Trust me, I have someplace else I'll rather be. But first, I've got you to deal with." She glanced at her watch, and smiled. "11.58 p.m. Almost over."
And indeed, she was right. Lacus stared at the minute hand of the clock, inching on persistently, counting down to midnight. She had to find a way to escape, and she had to find it fast. Lacus eyed her surroundings, running her eyes over the layout of the apartment. To her left was the guestroom. She could make a run for it and shut the door, but she highly doubted that the door would keep the intruder out. To her right was the kitchen. She knew where the kitchen knives were kept, but there was no way she could get to them before the bullet struck her. And even if she could, she had no idea how to toss a blade at a target. What else could she do? What? There was nowhere to hide… except, behind the kitchen counter, which was a mahogany bench with a marble surface. Perhaps it could deflect the shots.
She was startled when she saw movement out of the corner of her eyes.
The intruder rose from her seat. She adjusted the grip she had on her gun and polished its barrel with the edge of her sleeve. Then, she lifted the weapon and turned it in the light to study the results of her cleaning. Seemingly satisfied, she flicked her finger against its butt. Lacus knew nothing about guns, but the ominous click that sounded was a sure indication that things were bad.
Light flashed as the black metal caught the glare, the gun barrel lowering towards her.
Lacus watched it with a curious, dreadful sense of detachment. Watching as the delicate fingers tightened around the grip, the glove stretching taut as the index finger curved gracefully around the trigger. And Lacus found herself frozen, unable to move. Her bare feet cold against the wooden flooring, so cold it felt as if a thin film of frost had settled, sealing her to the ground. No, no, no… the voice in her head repeated itself incessantly, but nothing could stop the gun from lowering, until its muzzle was pointed straight in her direction. No escape. No way the bullet would miss its mark. No, no, no…
There was a loud bang as the door of the apartment flew inwards.
The bullet that came her way whistled past, sending a slight disturbance in the air that rustled a lock of her hair. Lacus flinched. It could have been the fear, it could have been survival instincts, but in that split second that the bullet flew past her, her knees caved in under her and she fell helplessly to the ground, landing on her knees with a painful thud. It had missed her. The bullet had missed her. Lacus stared up from her lowered position and realised that tears in her eyes were blurring up her vision so that what she saw ahead of her was a blur of wavering images.
And amidst the haze, she saw a dark shadow pass before her and a rough hand grasped her elbow and shoved her hard. She toppled sideways and was dragged across the floor. Panicked, she wrestled against the grip but an arm swung around her waist and hauled her behind the kitchen counter. Thrust against the hard wood, she was crushed underneath the weight of a heavy body.
"Let go!" She cried, jamming both arms between them with the hopes of levering her attacker off her. "Let me go!"
"Be quiet!"
The voice sliced through her hysterics and she froze. The panic ebbed from her mind like a receding tide; her vision cleared and she found herself staring up at a man with a mess of brown hair and… Were her eyes deceiving her? Could it be?... Purple eyes. Deep purple eyes, the shade of amethyst. He was turned away from her, peering cautiously over the marble top of the counter. Now and then, he swung his arm over the edge and fired a shot or two, then ducked as bullets came their way, sending chips of marble flying in all directions.
Lacus stared up at him in profile, eyes tracing the handsome jaw line, up the edge of the fine nose until she found herself sinking into the dark, intense eyes. Could it be? Could it be?
"Kira," she whispered.
The man glanced down at her, and in that instance, Lacus saw the resemblance to the Kira she knew. The unruly hair. The deep, reflective eyes of a child that now registered shocked surprise. It passed quickly enough as he threw up an arm to shield himself from a spray of marble chips. Gone in a second and replaced by the cold, calculating glare of a murderer.
He lifted his head over the counter and loosened a volley of shots into the living room. Somewhere, Lacus heard the sound of a woman's cry. She had had barely enough time to register it when the man seized her shoulders in a vice-like grip and shook her hard, so that her attention was fixed on him. His face was pressed up close to hers, his breath warm against her neck. "When I say 'run', you get up and head for the door, understand? Don't look back, just run! Understand me?" He gave her a rough shake to emphasize his point, and it was only when Lacus bobbed her head in understanding that he released her.
She seemed dazed and confused, and Kira noticed that she was hanging on to his sleeve like a frightened child. She was sprawled on the ground, long pink hair dishevelled, streaming over her shoulders and pooling on the floor. He had his gun in his right hand, and with his left, he tried to ease her grip on his clothes but she wouldn't let him go. He pried her fingers away though, so that she wouldn't unconsciously haul him after her when she made a dash for the door. She whimpered when they lost physical contact, and he manhandled her into a sitting position so that she could get to her feet easily at a moment's notice.
All the while, bullets cracked the marble countertop above their heads. He knew the female assassin was injured. He was certain of it. He had caught her in the right thigh with a bullet. Too bad it wasn't her arm, or shoulder; that would stop her from firing, or give her a little trouble aiming at least. He hunkered down and ran the plan he had through his mind again.
In the few seconds he had barged through the front door, Kira had already had a quick glimpse of the apartment. He knew the door was to the right of the kitchen, and that was where Lacus Clyne had to be headed. He would feint left instead, to draw the woman's attention away. Would she fall for it? She was after all, one of Rau's assassins, and Orga's team had always been known for being cautious. This woman was part of Orga's team; she might have some instinct, some sixth sense, that would see through his plot.
Then again, he reasoned that the basic rule of every combat was to take down the biggest threat, and he did pose a larger risk than Lacus Clyne. The woman might choose to take him out first, before turning her attention to Lacus, and Kira could only pray that he had either killed her by then, or that he had given Lacus Clyne enough time to escape.
He sucked in a deep breath to still his beating heart. Once, twice, thrice. "Run!" He snapped out at Lacus Clyne, with a rough shove that sent her barrelling out from behind the kitchen counter. The push seemed to shock her out of her reverie, and she scrambled to her feet. Kira didn't wait to see if she was heading in the right direction. He launched himself the other way and ran headlong into the living room, straight into the battlefield where any bullet could sink itself into his flesh.
He caught sight of Orga's female teammate some distance away, hidden behind a couch riddled with bullet holes. The moment he had cleared the kitchen counter, the female assassin rolled from behind her cover and began firing in his direction. His ploy had worked – the woman's attention was on him now. A line of bullets kicked up the dirt around Kira's feet but he was quick to avoid it. A moving target was always harder to hit. He threw himself behind a wall, just in time to avoid a slug that scarred the pillar and sent flaks of plaster drifting to the ground. He swung his arm around to fire two shots at her. Neither of them hit as she ducked behind a shelf. But it didn't matter, his goal was to distract her long enough to give Lacus Clyne time to escape. He glanced around the wall and caught sight of Lacus Clyne's fleeting figure heading towards the door. He didn't know what happened or what it was that attracted her attention, but as if she could sense him looking at her, Lacus Clyne stopped short in her tracks and turned. Her cerulean eyes met his and a complicated mixture of fear and relief crossed her face.
Then Kira saw the female assassin move.
She had noticed Lacus' escape, and was now shifting her position so that she had access to a clear line of fire.
Kira moved without thinking. Sprinting from his cover, he tore across the living room and vaulted over a tipped couch. Too late, too late. He tried to centre a target on the woman but she was moving fast. Too late, he was going to be too late. Lacus Clyne was frozen to the spot, head turned in the direction of the female assassin, her cerulean eyes widening with horror. For a second they shifted and focused on Kira, and Kira felt his blood congeal at the thought of her body folding grotesquely into a heap. Too late.
As if every sound and every image had enlarged itself, Kira heard the squeeze of the trigger, saw the despair set in into those beautiful blue-grey eyes. He was still too far from her, but he leapt as hard as he could, and ended up colliding into Lacus Clyne, knocking her to the ground.
He knew he had been shot the moment he felt the impact in the back of his right shoulder.
The pain came a second later. Pain that ripped through tendons and muscles as the bullet burnt its way through his flesh. Adrenalin singed through his body and in seconds, Kira was aware of the scorching fury that surged through him. He forgot the agony, his mind focused instead on that familiar rage licking at his insides. The need to kill, the need to feel blood between his fingers. Kira rolled sideways and spun around. It might have been the murderous expression on his face that made the female assassin pause in her approach. Realising that he was directing his gun at her, she faltered and tried to seek cover behind the kitchen wall. But she was too late.
Kira's bullet struck her in the chest. A spray of blood arced through the air as she fell to the floor, dead. There was no doubt about it. He knew the slug had passed clean through her heart, and she had died before even hitting the ground.
He let his gun fall to his side, and turned to see Lacus Clyne's pale and drawn face staring back at him with what seemed like a combination of horror, amazement and curiosity. It was then that he realised he had forgotten to don his mask, or something to cover his facial features. Shit. He had exposed his face to her. But Kira hadn't time to think about the consequences. He didn't know what was happening back at the hotel. For all he knew, Orga and the rest of the team could very well be on their way, and with he wasn't in any condition to deal with them.
Struggling to his feet, he winced and staggered as the bullet wound made itself known. From the amount of blood he was dripping onto the floor, Kira guessed that there wasn't serious damage, since the bullet had narrowly missed his axillery artery. At least he could be sure that he wasn't going to bleed to death any moment now. Furthermore, the bullet had passed clean through his shoulder, so that what had was a clean exit wound no bigger than the tip of his finger, and he could save himself a lot of pain and time without having to burrow through the mess of blood and muscle for the damn bullet.
But still, he was a right-hander, and though he could shoot with his left hand too, the injury would only be a burden if he found himself in another fight. He couldn't afford a confrontation with Orga and his team. They had to move. Had to get out. Gritting his teeth, he pushed himself to his feet and tried to ignore the wave of dizzying pain. "We need to go," he ground out, gesturing towards the door, "Hurry. She doesn't work alone. There might be others."
Lacus stared at him, her eyes riveted on his shoulder, which was spilling blood all down the front of his sweater. Thank god he was in black. Or the sight would draw more attention than he was willing to have, Kira thought to himself, watching as Lacus swallowed and tried to find her voice. "Y-You're bleeding," Lacus croaked.
"It's not life-threatening," he replied dismissively, "but we need to get out of here before the rest of them show up."
"We need to get you to the hospital."
"No," he snapped, turning to glare at her with intense amethyst eyes. It came out harsher than he had intended, but it would be better if Lacus Clyne understood his stand from the beginning. "No hospitals," he breathed.
"But-"
"No. Hospital." He bit out in staccato tones through gritted teeth. The throbbing pain was clamouring for his attention and he pressed the heel of his left hand into the wound to slow down the bleeding. "We need to go," he repeated, heading towards the door with an unsteady gait.
"You need help," Lacus persisted. She scrambled to her feet and hastened after him. As she approached, she stretched out an arm and circled his waist in an attempt to balance him. But when he flinched, she drew back hesitantly. He was looking at her in a curious manner, eyes narrowed, slightly dangerous, almost as if he saw her as a threat. Lacus felt a pinch of fear stir inside her as she faced the man who had no qualms about killing in cold blood, but she shoved it aside firmly. He had saved her again and again. There was no reason he was going to hurt her now. "You need help," she said again, keeping her voice gentle. "Let me help you."
He stared at her for a long while, and Lacus met that gaze steadily, hoping he would find reassurance in her stance. After a moment, he turned and began heading for the door again. Lacus took his silence as consent. When she wrapped her arm around his waist again, he didn't protest.
They staggered out of the apartment and took the stairs. Fortunately, they met no one on the landings and when they pushed through the heavy iron door at the bottom of the stairs, and stepped out into the street, there was no one in sight.
Kira nodded towards a back alley, and they made their slow and painful way towards it. It was a freezing night and their breaths misted up in the cold air. The flimsy nightgown and the robe loosely tied around her waist was hardly any protection from the cold, and the chill seeped quickly into her bones. Lacus tried to ignore it as they moved silently and as quickly as they could across the street. She wasn't going to complain, not when he was all shot up and dripping blood. She could feel it, the blood that was trickling down his back from the entry wound and slicking her forearm. They had to get help. Fast.
In the back alley, they came up to a van that had been parked haphazardly in the shadows. Pulling away from Lacus for a minute, Kira dug through his trouser pocket and withdrew the key, trying his best not to jar his right shoulder. He unlocked the vehicle with a push of the button. Just as he began to head for the driver's seat, he felt resistance in Lacus. "Are you sure you can drive?" she said, "You should keep that arm still and away from further injury."
"I'll be fine," said Kira.
"No." She stretched out a hand plucked the key from his fingers. "I'll drive."
Despite a nagging feeling that told him he shouldn't, Kira allowed her to steer him towards the passenger seat. He hadn't the energy to argue with her, and there was some truth in what she was saying. He could hardly manage the steering wheel, much less control the gearshift.
He sat in the passenger seat, the gun cradled in his lap, his left hand still pressed tight against his shoulder wound, watching as Lacus rounded the hood and slid gracefully into the driver's seat.
"We need to get you somewhere clean and safe, and have a look at your wound," Lacus said firmly. She had decided that she was going to take charge. She could feel the growing exhaustion weighing down on the man beside her. She wanted to ask him a tonne of questions, one of which was whether he truly was Kira, but this wasn't the right time. Already, the fatigue and pain were messing with his judgement and thoughts, for he was just sitting and staring out of the windshield with a lost and forlorn expression.
She had to get him patched up. But where? Where could they go? He was adamant about the hospital, so that was out of question. Where else could they go? There was only one person she could think of and that was Athrun, but then, she would be sending him straight to the lion's den; sending him to the police was sure to get him arrested, that is, if he didn't resist and got himself killed. She couldn't do it, even though she wanted so badly to call Athrun.
Someplace else… someplace else…
Flay's.
She felt confusion set in when she thought about Flay Allster. She recalled what that female killer had said about the key. "Courtesy of Miss Flay Allster. She handed it to me readily enough."
There could be so many meanings to what she had said. Had Flay cooperated with her? Was she actually on the enemy's side? But why? And if she really was, then they couldn't go to her. But, perhaps Flay wasn't a traitor. Maybe, maybe she was hurt, or worst still, killed, and the killer had taken the key from her.
God, if she was indeed hurt and still in the diner, no one would know about it until morning. She had to go and see. She glanced over at the injured man sitting beside her. His eyes were closed and he was breathing hard. Slick blood oozed from between his fingers with every breath that he was taking. There was a thin film of sweat on his brow. She had to get him someplace safe, and fast. The diner wasn't too far.
Determined, she stuck the key into the ignition, and shoved the gearshift into drive. It had been a while since she had last driven, but she got the hang of it fast, and the van rumbled onto the street and turned left.
Kira opened his eyes and stared out onto the dark road. Traffic was light, and Lacus Clyne seemed to be doing a fair enough job driving. He knew where she was headed, judging from the direction she was steering the van towards, and there was an influx of warring emotions in him. Flay Allster. Just who in the world was she? Was Orga right? Had she really betrayed him? Or was Orga doing one of his little mind games again, playing with Kira, tearing down his defences? He wanted to know the truth, but sometimes the truth was never easy to stomach. If Flay was indeed one of Rau's people, then they were taking a big risk going to her. But… he wanted to know. He needed to know.
He winced as the van jolted and a shockwave ran up his right arm.
"Sorry," Lacus murmured as she slowed the van, "We're almost there."
The diner loomed into view several minutes later. The vast carpark surrounding it was dark and empty, and the diner stood silent and solitary in the middle. The neon signboard was switched off, and the shades in the windows were drawn down tight. Only the third window was glowing, which indicated a light switched on inside the diner. Lacus pulled up hastily and shut off the engine. She wrenched the key from the ignition, swung the door and stepped out in one smooth motion.
The cold air hit her as she skirted the hood. Kira had already had the door open and he was trying to ease himself down from the seat, all the while keeping his grip on his gun, and his left hand against his wound. She steadied him as best as she could, and they strolled across the vacant lots towards the diner.
They rounded the diner and got to the back entrance, and Kira took out the lock with a shot from his gun. The silencer muffled the sound, and all they heard was the whistle of the air and the dull clunk of the lock hitting the dirt. The door swung inwards into darkness. They were in the kitchen, where Lacus had first met Flay and Sai. It was empty. Quietly, they moved towards the entrance, a wooden door with a tinted glass window, through which they could see light.
They paused by the door, and Lacus felt a sudden sense of dread and fear. What was on the other side of the door? She was terrified that they would find two bodies strewn in blood, lying on the tiled floor.
Kira raised a blood-soaked hand and gestured her aside. "I'll go through first," he whispered. He didn't wait for her response, and moved instead between her and the door, so that he shielded her from any gunfire that might come exploding through when he opened the door. Pain stabbed down his arm when he tested his grip on the gun. His right arm was close to useless now. With a feeling of frustration, he hefted his gun with his left hand, and flicked the safety lever off.
Then cautiously balancing the gun, he turned the door knob and shoved the door open, raising his gun at the same time.
What he saw was a lone figure sitting inside one of the booths, nursing a mug of hot chocolate.
Flay Allster's head snapped up and shock froze her features as she stared at the newcomers. "K-Kira?" She stuttered, rising to her feet. Her right hand caught the lip of the mug and its contents spilled across the table. Flay didn't seem to notice. "What are you doing here? And Lacus too."
Kira stepped into the diner and glanced around. It appeared that Flay was alone. "Where's Sai?" He said.
"What's happening, Kira? What's going on?"
"Where is Sai?" Kira rapped out. He kept his index finger out of the trigger guard to reduce chances of misfiring, but left his gun trained on Flay.
"Sai? He went off to a friend's house to watch the game and stay the night. Why? What's happening?"
She took a step forward, but Kira stopped her with a nudge of his gun. "Stay where you are," he instructed. She froze in her steps. "What's happened, Kira? Lacus?" She turned her eyes to the pink-haired woman standing behind Kira, who looked absolutely bewildered by the turn of events.
"Someone entered the apartment and tried to kill me," Lacus explained. "He saved me," a quick glance at Kira, then back at Flay. "Thank god you're alright. The killer had the key to the apartment and I thought she had killed you. Thank god you're okay." She stepped towards Flay, but her advance was blocked by Kira. "Wh-What's wrong?" she asked, peering curiously at him, "It's Flay."
He gestured with his gun at the booth and nodded at Flay. "Sit down. Hands on the table."
Flay hesitated for a second, but she obeyed and eased herself back into her seat. She displayed her spread fingers on the table. "What's going on, Kira? Why're you doing this?" She looked on the verge of crying.
But Kira felt nothing. No pity, no sympathy, only a heavy ennui that set in and weighed down on his shoulders. He knew the answer; he had known it the moment he saw Flay's reaction. She was shocked by his presence, but she hardly seemed surprised that he was hurt. So Orga had been right… Flay had a part in this. But how much? And why? He was tired. Tired of everything. Tired of being betrayed. Tired of being made use of. He could feel the blood seeping from his wound, and along with it, his whole life.
He licked his dry lips and tried to get his voice to work. "Did you plan this whole thing?" He croaked bitterly, "From the moment you turned up on my doorstep. Was this whole thing part of the scheme? Were you already working for Rau then?"
"Rau? I don't know what you're talking about. Who's-"
"Tell me!" Kira snapped. The fury in him uncoiled and lashed out like a snake. He wanted to know, he needed to know.
Flay flinched at his sudden outburst. "I don't kn-"
"Stop lying to me!" Kira interrupted. The pain was getting to his head. Every movement ached, every word he got out of his mouth felt like he was throwing up an eel that was struggling to back down his throat. "This whole thing was a lie from beginning to end, but I want to know how involved you were. I want to know how much of my trust was put in the wrong place. Are you in this alone? What about Sai? Does he know anything? Does he know anything at all?"
Flay just stared at him. But the fear that had been clouding her face had begun to lift. Here it was, Kira thought to himself, here was the true Flay Allster. She glanced down at the table, and her spread fingers began to smooth themselves over the table top repeatedly. "I didn't know things would come to this," she shook her head. "I really didn't intend for you to be harmed." She glanced up and Kira saw tears well in her eyes. The horror reflected in her eyes had died to be replaced by what seemed like regret. "You need to trust me. I never meant for it to turn out this way."
"Then why?"
"My father was a senior manager of a pharmaceutical company. He discovered that some of his colleagues were corrupted and accepting bribes, but he was assassinated before he could expose them," her voice was bitter, and her eyes were hard diamonds of contempt. "I wanted all those people in the pharmaceutical company to pay for what they did. As well as all those police officers whom my father had engaged to protect him but had failed to. As for the rest of the police, they dismissed the case as an accident. I hated them. I wanted a way to get back at all of them. But by then, whatever wealth we had, had already been swallowed up the lawyers and the company management. I ended up with just enough to buy this diner. Every day, I came in here and cooked and served and waited on tables. There was nothing I could do to get back at his murderers. Not until Rau sent someone looking for me. He wanted me to… how did he put it?... watch over his assassins, especially those who had just been released from the Facility. The new-born babes, that's what Rau called them. They didn't know how to blend into society, and it was our job to guide them. In exchange, he offered to get rid of the pharmaceutical company that had gotten my father killed, as well as the police officers and the lawyers that were all involved in it. So I agreed, and he kept his promise. That company doesn't exist anymore, and everyone who had a role in killing my father simply vanished. No traces of their whereabouts. As if they had never existed. I had gotten what I had always dreamed of, and then you came along. My first assignment. So yes, I knew who you were from the very first day I appeared on your doorstep. As for Sai, he's in the dark. He doesn't know what I'm doing."
She glanced at him and smiled a wan smile.
Kira didn't reciprocate. "And now you've been asked to terminate me."
"No," she whispered. The tears fell and streamed down her cheeks. "I didn't know what was happening. I saw your description on the news and I thought something bad had happened to you, so I went down to the police station to find out what had happened. There was an officer who tricked me, told me that you were part of a witness protection program and he wanted more information about you. I didn't reveal too much about you, except the obvious, so that he wouldn't get suspicious about me, but then I found out that he had been snooping around your apartment, and I-"
"It's you, then?" Kira interrupted smoothly, clenching his fingers tight around the grip of the gun to prevent his hand from trembling. "You're my housekeeper, aren't you? The one who enters my apartment and cleans up after me so that if anything happened to me, the police would never get any hints of my existence. You're the one monitoring me all this while."
Flay paused and stared, eyes wide. "Yes, I went to your apartment once a day to clean up after you," she replied, "when you went off on your mission to kidnap Lacus Clyne, I did one last cleaning. And right after that, that police officer broke into your apartment. It was then that I knew I had fallen for his trick, so I contacted Rau and he confirmed that you were not in a witness protection program but on a mission. He told me to call the Commissioner and report the police officer that had trespassed, so I did. Seems like the Commissioner knows Rau quite well. He took my word for it. Based on what I know, the police officer is on the run now. And then, when you showed up at the diner with Lacus Clyne in tow, I was shocked. I didn't know what happened. I thought there had been a change in plans. That's why I agreed to house her. But then Rau's people contacted me and they asked if I had seen you. I didn't know it would get you into trouble, I swear! If I had known, I wouldn't have let slip that Lacus Clyne was with me. After that, the female assassin came to look for me. She told me Rau's plan was to get rid of Lacus Clyne, but they promised no harm would come to you. So I gave her the key. I didn't know this whole thing would come down to this. I didn't know, Kira, I didn't mean to. Please…" She bent her head and began to cry.
Kira just watched numbly, feeling as if the world was caving in on itself. Everything was a lie. Everything… All this while, he had been Rau's pawn, Rau's little chess piece, and he was fine with it – it was what he was born for, what he had been created for. This he had learnt well in the Facility. He was okay with being used, he had no other purpose, but to realise that the entire chessboard he was walking on was a fake, an illusion. To realise that the many other chess pieces around him were of a different colour, and that he was the only white piece in an ocean of black.
"I know what you're here for," Flay nodded, "You're here to kill me. So do it, Kira. I'm not going to stop you."
Kira didn't move. He couldn't move. All around him, the chess pieces were falling away, the chess board was folding in on itself. Until he was trapped in a dark abyss. Just floating, floating, drifting in an endless black night, fading into nothing. He was tired. He was so tired, he had an urge to turn his gun on himself. Maybe he would, but not now. He had other things he needed to do, he had to find out if the rest of his team were alright, he had to make sure Lacus Clyne was safe.
With a flick of his thumb, he activated the safety lever and lowered his gun. Flay glanced at him, her eyes reflecting pure astonishment.
"Get out," he whispered.
"Kira, you-"
"I can't do it. So get out. Find a place to hide for the time being. Tell Sai to stay away from the diner. Once Rau knows you've told me everything, he'll be after you next." He sucked in a breath and felt a throbbing pain wash over him. "Get out. Now."
And suddenly, feeling all the energy sapped from him, his knees caved in under his weight and he fell.
Author's note: There! I'm a terrible person for torturing Kira like that! I'll like to turn the gun on myself now! On the bright side, Lacus has finally seen Kira's face! Now, that's a cause for celebration. And finally, the mystery about Flay has been cleared up, or so I hope. Tell me what do you think about this chappieeeee? Review, review, review! And for all waiting for the exciting reunion, that should be happening really really really soon! So look out!