Author's note: Apologies for the delay! I've been suffering from severe writer's block these past few days! It's such a pain! But nonetheless, I managed to pull this chappie together. Hope it's worth the read!
Kurie-tibiti: Hello, great to hear from you. So sorry for the delay! I know I took really long this time. I hope I'll be able to produce the next one faster.
Hitomi65: Thank you! I hope you like this one as much!
XienRue: Well, I'm glad the cliffie from the previous chapter isn't as torturous! Still, apologies for the long delay! I hope I can churn out the next chappie faster, but we'll see. As for the withdrawal, you know, I actually haven't thought very much about that. Now you've put the thought into my mind, I'll be thinking carefully about it. If it helps to advance the story, who knows?
October Lynx: Thank you! I'm glad you liked the previous chappie! It was a little different compared to the rest because there were more disjunctions and interjections by different characters, but it was nice to write! I enjoyed it. This chappie too, though the writer's block was seriously messing with my brain. Hope this one is really as good as the previous!
Moi: I'm glad you liked it. The style was a little different from the other chapters because of the transitions, but it was enjoyable to write! Yes, well, I had to brainwash Stellar, Auel and Sting, but maybe that would make Kira more anxious to save them…? Hmm…
FTS-Peace: To be honest, it really is difficult to balance this story. I'm very much aware of how easily the characters can slip into making false and unreliable assumptions about Kira's identity. Don't think I'm doing a perfect job, but at least I hope there aren't major loopholes in the story plot!
AAA: Thank you! I'm glad you liked the previous chappie! Hope you'll this one as much!
Hiyono25518: Hello, nice to hear from you! I'm glad you enjoyed the story! I would say I try my best to write each chappie as fast as I can, but more often than not, it takes me about two weeks? Sometimes longer if I have to deal with real world stuff and if I have the dreaded writer's block (like I did this time ). Otherwise, I would say I can produce chapters in a week or so, which I'm hoping to do for the next chappie! So hope you'll bear with me!
Seiba Artoria: Yeah, I know, I was thinking about how the reunion seemed so passive between Kira and Athrun. To be honest, I first envisioned Kira and Athrun in a standoff somewhere abandoned and dilapidated, and Kira holds Athrun at gun-point while he returns Lacus back to Athrun (yes, very much like the scene in GS). Then Athrun tries to convince Kira to surrender and go along with them, but Kira refuses because he wants to go back and make sure Stellar and the rest of the team are alright. But somehow, with Kira's injury, I couldn't quite make that scene work out, so I ended up with Kira reuniting with Athrun, Cagalli and Lacus because he needed medical attention. But hopefully, the action comes in later on when Athrun and Kira start working together… Hmm…
Chapter 67
Athrun felt like shit.
His abused body protested with twinges of pain as he staggered into the bathroom, where he showered under a stream of searing hot water, allowing the heat to bathe his sore and aching muscles. He was bruised and he hurt like he had been run over by a train. He realised that in the span of a day, he had flung himself out of a motel window, crawled under a sixteen-foot hedge with a steel fence, and confronted three guns pointed at his face – the first belonging to the enemy who had ambushed them in the motel, the second Dearka's, and the third was the stranger lying unconscious in the guest room.
Stepping out from under the shower, he towelled himself dry and pulled on a T-shirt and slacks with a grunt of pain as his aching muscles stretched. Then stumbling into his room, he fell onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling. Thinking. The puzzle pieces were falling into place, coming together to form what was quickly turning out to be a completely crazy story.
Now alone, lying in the still darkness, the adrenalin winding down, it finally came to him that they had recovered Lacus safe and sound. A little shaken, he could tell, from the dangers she had experienced, but otherwise unharmed, and he was thankful for that. He couldn't bear to think about the consequences of losing her. So there was cause to celebrate. But Athrun realised that he wasn't all that thrilled: the gravity of the problems looming over them was becoming obvious now that the immediate crisis of Lacus' disappearance had come to pass. The first of which, was the stranger lying unconscious in the guest room. The man whom all the clues seemed to be suggesting was none other than Kira.
Athrun ran his hands over his face tiredly. His mind was a whirl just thinking about the possibility that the manmight be Kira.
Did he want it to be true?
He considered the question carefully. He knew Lacus and Cagalli had their hopes up. Heck, they were probably already convinced that he was Kira Yamato. As for Athrun, he wasn't so sure about his own stance. There were clues, of course. The blood stains in the warehouse; the brown hair and the amethyst eyes; the successful blood transfusion. Everything seemed to be suggesting that the man lying in that guest room was Kira.
He remembered standing by the stranger's bedside, studying his face, trying to see if there was any semblance to the Kira he had known. There was a possibility - a very big possibility - but he told himself that with the advances in technology and plastic surgery, people could choose who they wanted to look like.
And then he wondered: why was he so adamant that the man wasn't Kira?
Athrun chewed on his lower lip thoughtfully and crossed his arms behind his head. He didn't want to think about the possibility. All along, he had always had his line drawn clear. Criminals were criminals, police officers were police officers. The food chain could tilt sometimes when criminals targeted police officers, but the hierarchy was always clear – the police force was meant to squash the criminals.
And that was why he worked so hard. That was why he was always hunting down the perpetrators like a hound after rabbits. He wanted to right the balance; he needed to right the balance, because his own father had turned the food chain and hierarchy upside down. His own father, the Head Commissioner, had turned on his own brothers in arms. Had blown them and the many other innocents into pieces. It was Athrun who had to live with the shame of being the son of a murderer and traitor, even though no one said it. So he drew the line clear: the criminal would always be the enemy. The moment his father had crossed the line, he had ceased to be family.
But now the same situation had presented itself.
Athrun realised that maybe he was hoping that the stranger wouldn't be Kira because then the line could, and would, remain clear. But if the stranger was indeed Kira, then everything was different. How could Kira turn out to be a cold-blooded murderer? How could he be the mastermind behind the infiltration of the Clyne Corporation? The Clyne Mansion? How could he be the one who had shot his officers point-blank? Gunned down his men as they lay trapped in a valley? And even if he had saved Lacus, it was undeniable that he was the one who had snatched her in the first place. Athrun knew if the stranger was anyone but Kira, he would have snapped the handcuffs onto the man's wrists and arrested him on the spot, whether injured or not, whether spilling blood all over the floor or not. He wasn't supposed to agree to Lacus' plea. Wasn't supposed to take him back to the Clyne Mansion. Wasn't supposed to call a doctor tend to him. But he had done all that. Who knew if he was doing the right thing, or if he had simply invited the cunning fox into his own home?
The thought made Athrun reach under his pillow and feel for the gun he kept there. It was the Glock he had snatched from the assassins who had ambushed him and Cagalli in the motel. The touch of the cool metal reassured him.
If the man was indeed Kira, then what had he endured? Where had he been all those years he had disappeared off the surface of the Earth? What had made him become the killer he was? Was he the subject of illegal experiments? Could he really heal better? Respond quicker? Kill faster? Were there more like him? Was that what Flay was talking about when she mentioned that they were everywhere? The questions swarmed over him till his mind was reeling and he had to press the heel of his hand against his forehead to steady his thoughts. Flay Allster had hinted that his superiors were not who they appeared to be. Was she referring to the Police Commissioner?
Athrun winced to himself as he thought about the Police Commissioner. Boy, was he in so much trouble with the Commissioner. For starters, the serum was gone and the repercussions of that were serious. Things would quickly spiral out of control. If a corrupted pharmaceutical company had the drug in its possession, it could alter the serum's chemical makeup and release it as an infectious disease. The mad scientists and their equally mad bosses would bide their time, watching as the pharmaceutical industry dissolved into a panicked scramble for a cure, waiting until the death toll rose to frightening proportions before they released the cure they had created alongside the virus. Sacrifices for the sake of a businessman's pleasure, Athrun thought bitterly to himself, and of course, if the serum had fallen into the hands of terrorists…
Yuna Roma Seiran was dead. And the Police Commissioner was pinning the blame on him for that too.
How had he turned from the chief of the elite Special Unit, the potential successor to Murrue Ramius' position as Assistant Commissioner, to a fugitive hunted down not only by the police force, but also by adversaries he didn't know and couldn't see? How had he ended up being slapped with a charge for breaking-and-entering, and now for neglecting his duties?
He had failed his mission to protect the serum. He had nearly lost Lacus. He had put Cagalli in harm's way. He was on the run from the police. He was being hunted down by people he had no idea about. What else could ruin his life? Lying on his bed in the still darkness, Athrun felt more alone than ever. He could feel the exhaustion eating away at his body - the aches, the pains, the sore muscles – and the thoughts of impending trouble kept him awake.
Which was perhaps why he heard the soft urgent footsteps hastening towards his bedroom door.
He sat up, hand groping instinctively for the gun under his pillow. Something didn't feel right. The footsteps were light but anxious, and they pattered down the corridor, pausing in front of his door. Then he heard the soft knock and recognised immediately the voice that called out to him. "Athrun! Athrun, wake up!"
In seconds, he had swung his feet off the bed and was standing by the door, one hand around the doorknob and the other around the grip of the stolen Glock. He slid the door open, and a panic-stricken Lacus stumbled into his room. Her pale visage and her cerulean eyes reflected a fear that was so vivid he could see it despite the dimness of the light. "Athrun, there're intruders in the house," she gasped in a harsh whisper, her hands tugging anxiously against his forearms. "Kira's gone downstairs to intercept them. He's still injured. What should we do, Athrun?" Her eyes glinted in the darkness as tears welled in her eyes.
No sooner had she finished her words, when an explosion of wood sent them both falling to the ground. A bullet had ricocheted upwards and bore its way through the polished oak banister, showering them with splinters. Athrun threw himself flat, crushing Lacus underneath him. In that second, the thoughts baffling his mind vanished as the adrenalin pulsated through his blood. The intoxicating smell of danger had aroused his senses, and he could pick out the faint sounds of physical combat. Two bodies colliding in a scuffle, the sound distant but unmistakeable.
Glancing down both sides of the corridor, he realised that the doors remained closed and the passageway dark and empty. The commotion had yet to attract the attention of the others.
He hefted the gun in one hand and hauled Lacus to her feet with the other. "Wake Cagalli," he instructed, gesturing hastily at the adjoining room. "Yzak and Dearka are in Siegel's bedroom. I want you and Cagalli to hole up there; they'll know what to do. Stay away from the banisters. Listen to me," he grabbed Lacus' shoulders. The panic in her eyes faded a little as their gazes met, his cool emerald eyes arresting her attention. "No matter what happens, don't come downstairs. Call the police the moment you and Cagalli get into Siegel's bedroom. Understand?"
He waited until Lacus nodded her understanding before he turned her away and flitted back to his bed, where he wrenched open the chest of drawers by his bed and groped blindly in the back. His fingers closed around the grip of the spare pistol he kept there and he drew it out, stuffing it into the waistband of his pants.
Slipping unseen from his room, he hastened over to the stairs and began to slink down the steps, pressing himself against the wall, taking care to give the banisters a wide berth, just in case another slug strayed in his direction. The crystal chandelier hanging overhead was dark; the only illumination snuck up the stairs from the first floor. Athrun cast his head over the banisters and pulled back quickly, hoping he could catch a glimpse of the intruders but he saw no one at the foot of the stairs.
He made it to the second floor unharassed. There, the sounds of the fight grew louder and made him round the bend faster, trotting down the steps stealthily, his bare feet silent on the parquet flooring.
At the bottom, the stairs opened up into a vestibule, which was empty and dark. Three passageways, the right one leading to the dining room, the left to the main foyer, and straight ahead, the hall Siegel used to entertain guests. It was through that passageway that light was visible.
Athrun paused just long enough to flick the safety off his gun and moved on steadily until he had was against the edge of the wall. An inch more and he would be stepping into the hall, into the line of fire of anyone looking and pointing a gun in his direction.
Taking a deep breath, trying to slow his breathing, he took the risk and whipped his head around. The move didn't last more than several seconds, but Athrun's quick emerald eyes had already seen enough: three enemy figures, all clad in black. Kira stood out from within the crowd, dressed in pale blue pyjamas. He was engaged in a physical spar with one of the enemies. The other two stood by but Athrun could tell that their stances were tensed. Probably holding guns then, he thought to himself. But unable to draw a target on Kira since he was locked in combat with their teammate. They couldn't shoot without the risk of hitting their comrade.
Athrun knew the hall's layout well enough. A large rectangular area, its perimeters were lined with a row of marble columns set two meters apart from each other, and one side of the hall was flanked entirely by the grand stairway. At the farthest corner away from him, across the hall, was the bar, complete with a polished maplewood counter, stools and a cabinet bearing the bottles of liquor and wine. The middle of the hall was completely empty. Nowhere to hide. He peeked from behind his refuge and made up his mind - he would use the colonnade as his cover and the bar was to be his destination. The counter would act as a sufficient shield and he knew Kira wasn't too far from the bar either. If he could just draw the enemies' fire for a minute or so, Kira could dive behind the counter for cover.
He gazed at the marble column closest to him and tried to estimate the distance he had to travel. He could make it there unseen. A fast sprint, crouched low. No problem.
The problem came thereafter, when he had drawn the attention of the enemy. He would have a half meter-wide refuge of marble, then he had to sprint through a two-meter gap completely exposed to gunfire before he could get to the next column. This manoeuvre would have to be repeated five times before he would get to the end of the hall, where the grand staircase posed a greater problem since there were no marble columns there to shield him. No hiding place whatsoever. If he could bypass it, then he could get to the bar counter.
Heck.
He ground his teeth together and closed his eyes for a second. Tried to remember exactly where each enemy figure was located. Decided to take out the two standing by first and prayed that Kira wouldn't stand in his line of fire.
A deep breath. Then two. And he started running.
He darted towards the first marble column, his gaze falling onto the foe who stood farthest away from the ensuing combat. Automatically, his gun lifted and followed his line of vision. The enemy was standing exactly where he remembered. Athrun squeezed off a single shot and kept running for two seconds more, just long enough for him to see that the enemy he had taken a shot at had feinted left and avoided the bullet entirely. The intruder turned and Athrun saw it was a man with pale blue hair and eyes that hardened the moment they caught sight of him.
Athrun changed the angle of his course slightly, though he kept moving for the marble column. And he was just in time, because a bullet cracked the floor where his feet had been. The enemy had reacted much faster than he had expected despite the fact that he had taken them by surprise.
Faster reflexes, quicker responses, greater stamina.
He shoved the memory of Miriallia's words out of his mind and dove behind the pillar, shielding his face as several slugs dug their way into the limestone. He didn't want to stop for too long, didn't want to give the enemy more time to overcome their surprise. The gunfire was still concentrating on the marble column when Athrun emerged from his hiding place. Rather than sprinting straight for the second column, which he knew was what the assassins thought he would do, he made his escape towards the first, heading back the way he had come, knowing that that would throw the shooters off guard. And it was a lucky move, because the moment Athrun appeared, though not on the right side of the pillar, the assassin had begun pulling the trigger and emptied his bullets into the empty space Athrun would have been if he had not played his trick.
By the time the enemy had realised where Athrun was heading, and the gun was swinging in his direction, the blue-haired detective had changed course again. He darted backwards, this time sticking to his original plan and racing for the third column. He ended up running around the front of the column, crouched so low to the ground he was literally smelling it, while the bullets smacked into the marble just inches above his head. He spun around once and fired a shot, not stopping to see if it had hit its mark, before he dropped behind the third pillar unharmed.
Another barrage of bullets littered the marble façade.
He held the gun close to his chest. Panted heavily. Two bullets down. The gun he had snatched from the assassins at the motel was a Glock 22. Fifteen bullets, but one had already been used to shoot out the window back at the motel. Twelve more to go and he didn't have a spare magazine for it. He would have to shoot sparingly, which was just plain unfair, considering how the enemy was firing excessively at him.
He gritted his teeth and lurched forward, this time heading straight for the neighbouring pillar. He darted towards his destination in all angles. Left twenty degrees, then right fifteen degrees. Left, right, right, left, right, left, left. Each time just a few degrees, he told himself. A moving target is always more difficult to shoot. A moving target scurrying in all directions was even harder.
Two feet away from it, he turned at the waist and fired a single shot over his shoulder. In that split instance, his heart skipped a beat and lurched up his throat as he realised with horror that the wild shot had been aimed at Kira and his adversary, the bullet spinning its way right into the tangle of limbs.
He had barely shouted a warning when Kira and his opponent sprang apart to avoid the bullet.
A quick glimpse of Kira's fleeting body heading for the counter, and Athrun sank down against the cold marble of the third column. Swiping at the sweat pouring off his face, trying to get his breathing under control. His mind was racing. Well, he had his wish. He had drawn the attention of the enemy. But what now? They would have guessed that he was heading for the fourth pillar. He glanced sideways at the marble column two meters away from it. It might have been on the other side of the Earth. He would never make it there.
He changed his mind in that instant. Scrambling to his feet, he ducked round the pillar and raced straight for the bar counter.
The action had surprised the enemy and there was a second or two of wild shots, all of them missing Athrun by a mile, but soon they had caught on, and bullets began to riddle Athrun's path, chasing quickly up to him. He put on speed and vaulted neatly over the counter, landing smoothly on the ground.
Overhead, a dozen shots shattered the glass of the wine cabinet and the liquor bottles, and sharp beads rained down over him. Athrun only had time to throw up an arm to protect his face.
He was still stunned by the noise and the explosion of glass that he barely noticed the strong hand hauling him away from the glass-covered floor. It was only when he was thrust up roughly against the counter that he noticed the hard breathing of the man beside him.
He glanced up at Kira.
"Do you have another gun?" Kira rasped.
Athrun reached back into the waistband of his pants and drew out the spare pistol, some part of his mind wondering if he was crazy for handing a gun to the assassin who had killed his officers and kidnapped Lacus. But he quashed the thought as bullets perforated the wooden surface of the bar counter, spraying them with splinters of wood. He shoved the gun into Kira's outstretched hand and concentrated his attention on firing at the enemy over the top of the counter and not getting hit.
It was true that the bar counter was a perfect shield, but it wouldn't last. With every shot that Athrun took, all of them carefully aimed but somehow none of them hitting their targets, he was keenly aware of the bullet shells littering the floor. The decreasing number of bullets in his gun. They wouldn't be able to keep this up, Athrun thought to himself, feeling a note of despair starting to rise as he aimed his shot at a blonde woman, who dodged it easily, and fired in return, a shot that narrowly missed Athrun's face as he ducked behind the counter. He twisted around and fired another shot. Realised dimly that he only had two more bullets left and cursed silently.
What to do?
Another shot over the counter, and he was down to one.
"Fuck," he breathed, sinking to the ground, trying to breathe. Beside him, Kira shot twice, then rolled back behind the counter as a barrage of bullets came his way.
"You got spares?"
"No," Athrun panted.
Both men stared at each other, the same despair reflected in each other's eyes.
"I've got one left," Athrun said.
"I've got two," replied Kira.
Despite the circumstances, Athrun felt a thrill surge through him when he saw the amethyst eyes watching him steadily. As if they both knew what each other was thinking: three bullets, three enemies. They only had one chance. The excitement felt familiar to Athrun; it was the kind of adrenalin rush he got whenever his team was on the move. Whenever they were closing in on a criminal, and the presence of the danger and the enemy made them more keenly aware of each other's position. As if they could read each other's minds, knew where each other was going, where each other was going to attack from. Such - how would he call it? – telepathy, had saved their lives more often than not.
Athrun nodded, felt the thrill pulse through his blood.
"No fatal shots," Kira breathed.
"What?"
"No fatal shots. Don't kill them."
"They're not the ones running out of ammunitions and hiding behind a bar counter."
"I said, no fatal shots," the brown-haired man snapped. Amethyst eyes narrowed dangerously.
Athrun exhaled roughly, "Fine."
Both men exploded from behind the counter, rolling into open space, exposing themselves to gunfire. Athrun righted himself and shifted his gun, sighting the blonde woman immediately in his line of fire. He tried to draw a target on her right shoulder, just to cripple her shooting hand. Tried to remember all the training he had had at the Police Academy's shooting range. What it was like when he had taken the shot that had won him the first place in the annual marksmanship competition.
Perfect aim.
His index finger curled around the trigger.
And then shots rang out and seven men burst through the passageway and fanned out into the hall, yelling "Freeze! Freeze!"
The racket was disorienting. There were shouts and gun barrels were brandished all around. "Weapons down! Weapons down!" A flurry of faces. Then a loud shattering, and the glass in one of the huge windows of the hall fell in a curtain of glass shards. The three assassins leapt through the gaping black hole. By the time Athrun had reached the broken window and leaned out into the cold night, they were gone, fading into the darkness. He slammed his fist into the concrete wall, and felt the pain spider up from his knuckles to his forearm.
"Weapons down! Now! Put your gun down now!"
Athrun spun around and saw the seven figures closing in on Kira, who was still clutching the gun Athrun had handed him.
"Wait. Hold on," Athrun scrambled across the glass-covered floor and pushed through the crowd. "Hold on, he's not the enemy." He insinuated himself between the raised guns and Kira, and raised both arms to placate them. "He's with us."
Bewildered faces gazed back at him, then gun barrels began to lower, albeit reluctantly.
Still breathing hard, Athrun glanced round at the newcomers. Dearka and Yzak, he wasn't so surprised to see. Then there was Shinn, Luna and Nicol. And to his utmost astonishment, Murrue Ramius and Mu La Flaga.
"You guys-?" His words lapsed into puzzled silence.
"Luna and I were keeping watch for the Commissioner's men at the driveway," Shinn said, "We came running the moment we got the call from Dearka and Yzak."
"And Murrue, Nicol, Miriallia and I happened to be in the right place at the right time," Mu explained, "We were on our way here to talk to you when we saw Shinn and Luna running towards the Clyne Mansion, so we followed.
Athrun nodded in understanding and engaged the safety lever of his gun. Saw Kira do the same, although the man's amethyst eyes were still narrowed with suspicion as he scanned the crowd. Glancing round the wrecked ballroom, Athrun noted the damaged bar and the floor littered with glass. "Siegel, Lacus and Cagalli," he said, turning to Dearka and Yzak, "are they safe?"
Dearka responded by nodding once and glancing over his shoulder at the passageway leading to the hall. He let out a low whistle. "It's safe now. Situation's under control."
Lacus and Cagalli emerged tentatively from the shadows, followed by Siegel Clyne, Meyrin and Miriallia Haw.
"Everyone alright?"
Nods all around.
Athrun heaved a sigh of relief. His head was buzzing from the gradual ebb of the adrenalin rush and he pressed the heel of his hand against his brow to dull the thumping.
"You're hurt," Cagalli muttered, reaching out gentle fingers to touch his forearm. The sting upon contact made him glance down and he realised that there were little cuts all over his skin, made from the shattered glass.
"I'm alright," he waved her away dismissively, then remembering the man who was still standing by his side, he glanced over, "You okay? Your shoulder?"
The brown-haired man with the amethyst eyes merely nodded to indicate that he was alright.
Siegel Clyne had suggested that they migrate from the damaged hall, and they were now crowded into the lounge.
Lacus had suggested some food and drinks, and though the rest had declined politely, Athrun had accepted the Scotch Siegel Clyne poured for him. The liquid burned trail down his throat and warmed his stomach. Calmed his shaken nerves a little, and dulled the racing thoughts in his mind. He leaned back in his armchair and watched as Cagalli wrapped a gauze bandage around his forearm.
The rest of the group had drawn up as many chairs as they could and while they were supposed to huddle around the heater, Athrun couldn't help but notice that they had sub-consciously lined up their chairs so that they were all facing Kira. As if he were a criminal in an interrogation room.
And Kira was enduring the scrutiny in silence, allowing Lacus to check his wound to make sure that he had not jeopardized his injury.
Then, when all cuts and scrapes had been taken care of, Athrun broke the tensed silence with a question that had been resting on everyone's mind. "Who exactly are you? You know those assassins, don't you?"
The man glanced up at him, then leaned back into the couch and interlaced his fingers. "Answer my question first and then I'll answer yours. As well as any other questions you, or your friends, have." He paused, amethyst eyes focused on Athrun's emerald ones.
"Deal."
"Where's Flay?" Kira asked, "Have you arrested her?"
"No, we couldn't charge her with anything," admitted Athrun. "There's no concrete evidence that she's been murdering innocent victims, or kidnapping others. Even if she might be involved in the planning. Doesn't mean she'll always be out of trouble though. You, on the other hand…" He left the sentence to hang.
"So where is she now?"
"We sent her back to the diner."
The sudden change in Kira startled not just Athrun, but everyone else in the room, when he sat bolt upright in his chair. Out of the corner of his eye, Athrun saw hands reaching instinctively for weapons as the rest of his team reacted to the sudden movement. Kira seemed to take no notice of the offensive gestures though. He glared at Athrun, "You did what?"
It was Dearka who repeated Athrun's words. "We sent her back to the diner. In a cab. She requested it."
Athrun watched closely as the expression on Kira's face changed. What was previously an obvious disdain and contempt for the police officers had made way for despair. His eyes were wide and alarmed, as if the news that Flay couldn't be charged seemed unbelievable to him. Why was he so keen on Flay's arrest? He remembered Lacus' recount of the confrontation between Kira and Flay in the diner. Lacus had mentioned that for some reason, Kira had refrained from killing Flay, and had warned her to go underground instead. So why would he want her arrested? That could only make sense if there was something far worse than being arrested.
Like being hunted down and killed.
The thought struck Athrun and he glanced at Mu La Flaga in disbelief. Wondered why the hell would the blonde-haired detective turn up at the Clyne Mansion at close to four a.m. in the morning. Wondered what was so important that he and AC Ramius would make the trip personally, rather than give a call.
He swallowed, and realised his throat was dry. "Mu?" he said to the blonde-haired man, who was sitting on the armrest of a couch, his arms crossed over his chest. Athrun noted immediately the tensed and defensive stance of the older detective. It made the unease in Athrun transform into alarm. No… it couldn't be… "Mu?" His voice caught in his throat and he cleared it before speaking again, "You said you wanted to talk. What is it?"
A pause as Mu exchanged a look of discomfort with Murrue, and then he said, "There's been a major traffic accident down at the city. All the officers were called to the scene. Apparently, a cab drove into a hotel and exploded. Caused a major fire. Dozens of people in the lobby injured. The bodies of the driver and passenger are… well…" Mu took a deep breath, and grimaced. "The officers are still trying to recover the full bodies."
Athrun collapsed back into the armchair and pressed his palm against his forehead, feeling as if the world was spinning out of control.
…trying to recover the full bodies…
Dimly, he was aware of Kira standing. He brushed Lacus out of the way and demanded, "Who's the victim?"
There was only silence.
"Who's the victim?" Raising his voice, Kira stepped towards Mu, his fingers clenched by his side.
But Athrun already knew who the victim was, and he couldn't believe it. Couldn't believe that he had actually agreed to let her go. He had asked Dearka to flag down a cab for her, when he should have kept her in the Clyne Mansion, maybe cuff her to the armchair or something. Made sure that she didn't leave his sight for a second.
He should have guessed. He should have known.
"I asked you," Kira's voice thundered in the otherwise silent room, "Who the fuck's the victim?"
Lacus placed a hand on his shoulder to restrain him, but he flinched away.
Athrun turned to Miriallia, whose glum face was already an answer to his question. "It's her, isn't it? It's Flay Allster," he whispered, feeling as if his voice was draining out of his throat.
Miriallia took a deep breath before she spoke. "The officers sent… part of the body to the lab. I'm sorry, the DNA matches the clinical records sent from the hospital. It is her."
All the strength seemed to have drained out of Kira. He paled and his knees buckled under his weight. He would have collapsed to the ground if Athrun and Mu hadn't been in time to catch him. They lowered him back into the armchair, and watched him close his eyes and lean his head back, as if by doing that, he could shut out everything.
"There's more," Mu said, "A witness saw the whole collision. She was at the entrance of the hotel lobby, just about to step in when the taxi crashed through the glass doors. Missed her by mere inches. And here's the strange thing. She said she saw the passenger, a red-haired woman-" He paused and cast a glance at Kira, afraid that the mention of Flay would upset him further. Kira looked so distraught that it seemed as if no other news could make it worst.
"-the witness said she saw the female passenger toss a cell phone out of the cab's window just seconds before the cab exploded. Miriallia and her forensics team managed to retrieve it. There was a password lock on it though and they were going to send it down to the IT department, but we figured that that would take too long. We had Nicol take a quick look to see if he could find anything." He nodded towards the green-haired detective. "Tell them what you found, Nicol."
"The password was pretty easy to crack with the right software. I found a message in it. Looks like she was composing it when the accident happened. I think she meant to send it to you, Athrun," Nicol glanced pointedly at the detective. "Half of your cell phone number was already keyed in but I think she realised that she wouldn't make it, so she tossed it out of the cab. Left it to luck. And we really are lucky, because if there wasn't a witness, we would never have thought of searching for that phone and we'll never see the message."
"What does the message say?"
"It was meant to be sent to you, Athrun, but it's not addressed to you. It's addressed to him." He glanced at Kira, who opened his eyes and stared bewildered at Nicol. The amethyst eyes were dark and haunted, and when Kira spoke, his voice was cracked and hoarse, "What does it say?"
Nicol reached into his jacket and pulled out a sealed bag containing a cell phone. He pressed the buttons through the clear plastic and pulled up the text message. Turned it over to Kira, who cradled it in both hands like it was fragile glassware.
Athrun peered over his shoulder at the message.
Hi kira, been a while since u came to the diner. Got a new menu. Hope to see u soon. Do visit 25th Street when u r free. The bookstore 3km away will close on 19th at 9:31. The ISBN for the bk u want is 415-3-34-113344-3. Hope u enjoy it.
"It's a secret code," Kira whispered.
Author's note: Oh no, I killed off Flay! Not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing… I feel sad for her, but her death has always been the main trigger for Kira, I think. I just had to kill her off in this fanfic too! Anyways, some new mystery coming up real soon. This time, it's not Athrun against Kira; they'll be working together to solve it! Finally! So what do you guys think? How's this chappie? Don't forget to review, review, review and tell me all about it!