Author's note: Okay, I'm glad I managed to churn this chappie out in a week. It's not my fastest writing speed, but it's not my slowest either, so please don't hate me! I'm actually quite excited about this chapter and the next few to come because of the action (and I've pretty much exhausted all of my brainpower too, trying to come up with this chapter). By the way, I figured I might have made Flay a little too smart in this fanfic. Hm… I guess I really just wanted to show how scheming she was, since she was always manipulating others in GS, but I might have overdone it a little. She's turned out to be as intellectual and as smart as Kira and Athrun… Hmm…Oh, and I know there hasn't been much romance going on lately because the action is taking up sooooo much of the chapter. I am hoping to develop the KxL and AxC relationship farther, so bear with me, guys. I'm still on the lookout for where I can slot in little snippets of it. But of course, for everyone looking forward to the 'bromance' between Kira and Athrun ie. their working-together, I'll say there'll be much coming up. As for whether Stellar, Sting and Auel (and Orga's team and Rau) will turn up, I believe they will soon! Okay, now that's a really long Author's Note. Let me stop here, so I don't hold you up! But first, a big thanks (as usual!) to all my reviewers and readers!
ChildOfSea: To be honest, I haven't quite decided if I wanted Kira to remember them. But nonetheless, I do realise that even if he did, he would only have a few years' worth of memories about Athrun, Cagalli and Lacus, since he's only known them for so long. Then he's spent the rest of his time in the Facility, which only he will know how it feels like. So I think even if Kira does remember them some day, there'll always be this 'gap' or distance between them simply because they were separated and they led so different lives!
FTS-Peace: Haha! That's telepathy! We think alike! :D Anyways, yup, I get you. The 415 clue might be confusing. I actually got real messed up as I was writing it. Unfortunately, it happens again in this chappie. I really don't do very well with numbers… But, okay, a little spoiler: at the end of this chappie, the 415 clue doesn't become so important anymore, so hopefully the confusion fades a little… And about kiracaga, I know, all this relationship stuff, whether it's AxC or KxL or siblings moments or 'brothers' moments (between Athrun and Kira) have been overshadowed these few chapters. I'm still waiting for the right time to put these moments in, so hope you'll bear with me!
Hitomi65: Thank you! I'm glad you liked it! (Hope it wasn't too confusing!) Hope you'll like this chappie too!
Kurie-tibiti: Ahh, well, the thrill of every detective story is the fact that the detective arrives later than the bad guy! Hehe! But, spoiler alert, you'll realise at the end of this chappie, that they're not really too late after all! Oops, revealed a little too much! Hope this chappie enthrals you as much as the previous!
Delicate-Shadow: Thanks! I know cliffhangers are a pain! It's like a double-edged sword? Everyone likes it because it's thrilling, but everyone hates it too because it just kills you! Know you're busy, so looking forward to your review in upcoming chapters! Until then, good luck for everything you've got on your hands! Keep pushing forward!
AAA: I love your exclamation! So short, but so impactful! It's a cliffhanger by itself!
Japanje: Thank you! I'm glad I've made the new year a little happier! You've made mine happier too with your review! Hope you find this chappie as satisfying as the previous!
PinkSugarDust: I'm glad the suspense is keeping up! To be honest, I was a little worried that once Kira got to meet Athrun, Cagalli and Lacus, things would die down a little, but I'm glad the rest of the fanfic is still thrilling and exciting. After all, the bad guy's still on the loose! As for Kira regaining his memories, I shall just say I've got something planned for that already, especially after re-watching GS a while ago, which gave me quite a good idea!
Magus-15IchiGo: Thank you! I'm glad I've made your day! And you've made mine too, by reviewing! Mmm… I'll say the previous chapter wasn't as long as its previous. Chapter 67 had 6000+ words while Chapter 68 had only 5000+, maybe that's why it seemed shorter? But it's not the shortest chapter in this fanfic. I think the first few chapters are the shortest because at the start, I hadn't gotten the momentum of writing yet. This chappie's 6000+, so hope it'll be a little more enjoyable than the previous. I'm glad you liked the cliffhanger. There's one at the end of this chappie too; hope it will keep you curious until the next chappie!
XienRue: Now, that's a really really good point. A bridge between arcs! Very nicely put! I didn't even think of that. But you're right; now that Kira has shifted sides, it's like the beginning of another adventure. Very very nicely put! Thank you for that! It gave me a different perspective to look at this fanfic!
Chapter 69
There was no wind. Only a stale coldness that bit through their clothes the moment they stepped out of the car, Athrun on the driver's side, Kira on the other.
Behind them, Cagalli and Lacus reached for their door handles but Athrun stilled them with a raised hand. "Stay in the car," he muttered. His keen emerald eyes searched out the bookstore, which stood sandwiched between a café with darkened windows and a Landromat with its shutters drawn. The door of the bookstore was ajar, as if inviting them - tempting them - to step through and enter the dark void beyond it.
Were there people inside? Were they hostile?
Slowly and carefully, Athrun unsnapped the thumb break of the gun holster at his hip. Touched the grip of his gun to assure himself that it was there. It wasn't his gun actually. His own service Glock was, unfortunately, still in the possession of AC Ramius. He knew the Assistant Commissioner had been put in a tough spot: she represented the discipline in the police force; having taken a desk job, she was bound by the chains of bureaucracy; and as second-in-command, she was answerable to the Commissioner. Yet, here she was, condoning their somewhat illegal and completely unauthorised operation.
Though she had agreed to close an eye to the fact that Athrun was not only running around the city refusing arrest, but also that he had somehow roped in the entire Special Unit, one of the most prized departments in the police force, to help him escape detection and carry out some 'grand plan', she had still pointedly refused to return Athrun his badge or weapon. He was, after all, still suspended, and now a wanted man. The decision to reverse his suspension remained in the hands of the Police Commissioner.
Which, for Athrun, meant that he would never return to duty.
Not unless they figured out what Flay Allster was trying to tell them. Which would hopefully lead them to the son of a bitch who had masterminded this entire scheme.
To do that, Athrun needed the firepower, and since Murrue Ramius wouldn't provide support for that, they had had no choice but to scramble together whatever weapons and ammunitions they could get their hands on. The blue-haired detective had ended up with Nicol's Glock since he was headed back to HQ to act as a distraction and had no urgent need for his weapon.
Borrowing another officer's issued weapon was strictly against the law though. The first rule they had all learnt at the police academy was never to lend your issued weapon to another officer, or to let the criminal get a hold of your weapon. The consequences of being caught would be swift and dire, and Athrun had a feeling that jail time would be in his near future if he didn't get things sorted out anytime soon.
He checked the safety of the gun, made sure it was activated. As far as possible, he wasn't going to shoot - not unless he or any of the others were facing a life threat - so that he wouldn't risk leaving a trail back to Nicol. It was bad enough that the Special Unit was disobeying orders to report sightings of him; bad enough that his subordinates were secretly helping him. Would be worst if they were arrested for lending him their issued weapons.
He patted his left jacket pocket to make sure that the spare clip Nicol had given him was safely tucked away. In his right, he had a Swiss knife. They would just have to make do with what they had.
Athrun glanced past the rear window and met Cagalli's gaze. For a long moment, he regretted having agreed to Lacus and Cagalli's request to tag along. He should have left them behind in the Clyne Mansion. But then he quashed that idea, remembering how absolutely limited their manpower was. If he was still a detective with authority over the case, he would have assigned an entire team of armed officers to guard Lacus, Cagalli and Siegel.
But he wasn't. And he didn't have the authority.
All he had was his Special Unit, a forensic scientist, a senior detective, a very reluctant Assistant-Commissioner, the CEO of a pharmaceutical company, an actress, a theatre director, and a professional killer.
Make do with what you have.
H turned away, shifted his gaze so that he was looking over the top of the vehicle at the brown-haired, purple-eyed assassin. He debated between sending Kira into the bookstore and leaving him behind to guard the women. There were advantages and disadvantages to both. Athrun realised that he didn't entirely trust the man. Never mind that he and the assassin were working together back at the Clyne Mansion: they were both under threat then, the assassin would have been stupid to refuse the detective's help. Even if he was indeed Kira, there was no way he was the same Kira Yamato Athrun had known when he was a kid. He was looking at a murderer now, a professional killer, a trained assassin, not a shy kid who got bullied in school.
Who knew if this man was just taking them all for a ride? Just playing with them? And right when they didn't expect it, he might just stab a knife into their backs before they even knew he was standing behind them. If he sent Kira into the bookstore to check if the intruders were still hanging around, who knew if Kira would take the opportunity to search for the book Flay was referring to? What if he decided to run off with it? What if he was tagging along, pretending to switch sides, just so that he could learn what they were learning and sabotage their clandestine operation?
But if he didn't send Kira, the only other option he had was to scout the bookstore himself, and leave Kira to stand guard outside.
No, a voice snapped in Athrun's mind. There was no way he was going to leave Lacus and Cagalli alone with him. No fucking way. He wasn't going to run around the city searching for them, just because he had been stupid enough to leave them with a man who had just kidnapped one of them. No way.
He bent down, hitched up his trouser leg and drew a small, compact pistol strapped to his ankle. A spare weapon he used when he was on duty, and kept in the glove compartment of his black convertible when he was off. He had learnt from Miriallia that the remains of his convertible, riddled with nearly a hundred bullet holes both from friendly and hostile fire, had been towed to the garage in HQ according to protocol. The forensics team had stripped the car for clues. About what, Miriallia didn't say, but Athrun guessed that the Commissioner wanted leads that would suggest his and Cagalli's whereabouts. It bothered Athrun that the Commissioner seemed obsessed with finding and arresting him. It was as if he was a bigger threat than the asshole who had gotten his hands on a serum with an unstable formula and the potential to become the trigger for a large-scale epidemic. He didn't understand why the Commissioner was targeting him and the only explanation he could find, though it was one that he didn't like at all, was that the Commissioner might really be the enemy.
He was grateful when Miriallia produced the spare pistol from her purse. She had smuggled it - unharmed and still functioning – out of the lab, so that she could hand it to Athrun when she had a chance. It was a small gun, a Ruger designed more for concealment. Didn't pack a big punch – targeting was a tricky because of its short barrel and it couldn't carry many rounds - but it would have to do.
He loped the Ruger over the top of the car and Kira caught it easily in one hand. The assassin turned the gun under the dim orange light cast by the street lamps, examining it carefully before returning his gaze to Athrun. His amethysts eyes sparkled as they caught the light from the overhead street lamps. Athrun couldn't read the expression behind those eyes, didn't know if the man could be trusted or not.
Lose the book, or lose Lacus and Cagalli.
The choice wasn't much of a choice.
"You take a look," Athrun mouthed, nodding towards the bookstore, "I'll watch them."
Without a word, the assassin started towards the bookstore, stepping round the hood of the car, his thumb knocking back the safety lever of the Ruger. On the sidewalk, he paused and glanced over his shoulder momentarily at the detective, who had remained by the side of the sedan, a hand resting on the butt of his own gun. The faces of Lacus and Cagalli were faintly visible through the rear windows.
The expression on Kira's face was clear. He knows, Athrun thought to himself, he knows I don't trust him.
Which, for some reason he couldn't fathom, made Athrun feel uncomfortable. Maybe even guilty. He found the whole idea of Kira knowing he wasn't trusted hard to stomach. Not that there was an accusatory look on Kira's face, or hatred, or anything at all. In fact, the look on Kira's face was one of disinterest, like he didn't care if he was trusted or not, if he was treated like a criminal or not. No hard feelings whatsoever. But somehow, Athrun felt like he was betraying Kira. Like it was wrong to even consider doubt towards his - what was their relationship now? - his new teammate.
He forced himself to meet the brunet's gaze. Gave a firm and reassuring nod, as if to confirm that he would be standing right there on guard, but it was partially meant to hide his own discomfort and unease.
Kira turned away, and began moving slowly and stealthily towards the dark building, gun out and ready, leading the way. He paused on the threshold of the open door a second or two, then disappeared into the dark, empty void.
For the next five minutes, Athrun fidgeted in the bitter coldness. Winter was fast approaching. A little later than usual, and unusually cold. Not the kind of coldness that came about because of a gushing wind that left you shivering in its wake. But the kind that set in gradually, still and silent, seeping through your jacket, numbing your skin, and eating away at your bones. The kind of freeze that hurt.
Athrun pulled his leather jacket around himself tighter, wishing he was in his warm bed. Not in the middle of a street, his breath misting up in the cold air. He thumbed the butt of his gun again. Glanced down the empty street, right then left. Glanced up at the sky and saw no stars and no moon. A sky as dark as the void that stood beyond the open door of the bookstore. An eerie silence all about. Everyone holed up in their apartments, escaping from the cold. It felt as if they were in a dead town.
Then movement caught his eye. There, beyond the door. Someone coming. Instinctively, he drew the gun from its holster and raised it, snapping off the safety lever in one move.
A shadow slid out from behind the door and stepped forward into the light cast by the streetlamps.
Brown hair, amethyst eyes.
"It's me."
Athrun exhaled roughly and dropped the gun to his side. His heart was pounding hard against his chest.
"It's all clear," Kira said. He had raised both hands in a placating gesture in response to the drawing of Athrun's gun, and now he lowered them. "There's no one inside. Whoever they were, they're gone."
"And the book?"
"I don't know. It's a mess in there. I wouldn't keep my hopes up high."
Athrun returned the gun to his hip holster. Then glanced up, a little surprised, when Kira reached out and handed the Ruger back to him butt-first. "You keep it," Athrun said, "I don't think we're out of the danger zone yet."
A pause as Kira's amethyst eyes studied him closely. Like he didn't quite understand why Athrun would let him be armed when he didn't even trust him entirely. Athrun had no answer to that; he wasn't sure if it was the guilt, or the surprise at finding Kira walking out through the door. Maybe some part of him had expected Kira to walk in, take whatever they were looking for and disappear forever. Either way, he was giving the professional killer a gun, and he prayed he wouldn't regret his decision.
Turning away from Kira's searching gaze, he gestured at the women through the rear window of the sedan. The passenger doors on each side opened outwards and Lacus and Cagalli clambered out of the car.
"Hang on," Athrun murmured as he leaned in and turned the ignition key. Pocketed it just in case someone came along and decided to take their car for a ride, then went round to the back, unclasped the boot and found the flashlight. He flicked the switch to see if it was functioning, and a bright yellow circle appeared on the asphalt ground. He turned it off again and trudged back to the trio standing by the entrance of the bookstore. "Alright, let's go."
Athrun led the way, since he had the flashlight, and Kira brought up the rear, both women sandwiched between them in a single file. Inside, he snapped on the flashlight and ran the beam all around. The single column of light bounced off the walls and ceiling and illuminated the space. A plain rectangular area, flanked on one side by a cashier and a door leading out to the back of the building. The rest of the room was partitioned by towering bookcases, crammed full of books in disarray - some stacked in vertical columns, others lined along the shelves – in an evident attempt to conserve space. There were glass panels over each bookcase, protecting the books from settling dust. On each side, a plain white label in steel brackets was stuck to the wood, each bearing three digits scrawled in a neat hand.
"They're all numbers," Cagalli broke out of single file to examine the labels closely. "730, 720, 710. This is the Dewey Decimal System. These three digits represent the class of the books, don't they?" She bent to examine the numbers on the lower shelves.
Athrun removed a square of paper from his jeans pocket and unfolded it. It was a sheet of printout listing the various classes that constituted the Dewey Decimal System. Under the flashlight, he read out loud, "730: Sculpture, ceramics and metalwork; 720: architecture; 710: landscape and area planning."
"Seems we're on the right track then," confirmed Lacus, who selected a book randomly and tipped it out of its place so that they could catch a glimpse of the cover. The title was 'An Introduction to Japanese Gardens'.
"Okay," Athrun nodded, folding the paper again and pocketing it. "We're looking for 415: Grammar of Standard Forms of Languages." He scanned the shelves, squinting in the darkness. They were arranged in descending order, with the 900 classes closer to the entrance and the 100s at the back of the store. "That way?" he pointed the flashlight beam down the valley between the two rows of towering racks.
The path of light was intercepted by Kira's figure. He was already near the back of the store.
Glancing round at the glare, he nodded towards the bookcase by his side and said quietly, "Over here." There was a grim expression on his face, as if the shelves contained something perverse, and it was a look that Athrun recognised. He had seen it on the faces of other police officers whenever they found important clues, or grotesque bodies lying around undiscovered. There was always something ominous and dreaded in that expression. He felt his heart sink, They were too late, weren't they?
Crossing the aisle quickly, Athrun came up to Kira's side and turned the flashlight on the white label in its brackets.
415.
A shift of the beam and the light illuminated what lay at the foot of the bookcase. Damn. The floor was littered with little shards of sparkling glass crystals. The glass panel protecting Bookcase 415 had been broken, and the shelves had been emptied. A heap of books lay on the ground, each one tossed casually onto the pile, as if the person, or persons, had been searching frantically for something. No doubt it was the book Flay was referring to.
Lacus and Cagalli drew up alongside them and both women stared dumbfounded at the mess of books and papers lying all over the floor. "They got here first," muttered Lacus, "do you think they've found it?"
Athrun stepped close and scanned the books with the flashlight, the little beads of glass crunching under his sneakers. They were all reference books on grammar. Turning to the bookcase, he realised that the books had literally been hauled from the shelves so that all was left behind on each wooden platform was just a book or two lying askew. A small white piece of paper reflected the light of his torch. He stood and stepped closer to the bookcase to take a look. It was stuck at the edge of the second shelf and had the alphabets 'CE – EF' printed on it. Taking a step back, Athrun glanced over the entire rack and noticed that each shelf had a similar label stuck to it but each bearing a different set of alphabets.
"The author's last name," Cagalli explained, peering over his shoulder to see what he was looking at. "After categorizing the books into the various Dewey Decimal classes, the books must further be arranged based on their authors."
"Look here."
Both of them turned to see Kira inspecting the fallen books carefully. Lacus was bending over him curiously, watching as he picked apart the heap, using the tip of the Ruger's barrel to shift each book aside so that he didn't leave fingerprints behind. He got to the bottom of the pile, and tapped at the cover of a book with the gun barrel. "Shine the light here," he instructed.
Athrun turned the torch onto the book, and saw what Kira was pointing at. The title was 'English Grammar 101' and the writer's name was printed underneath: Carol Ellis.
"It'll be filed under EL then," Lacus said.
They turned to the bookcase. Saw that the third shelf had the alphabets 'EG-FI'. Another sweep of the torch over the pile of books confirmed that those at the bottom had all belonged to the third shelf.
"That means they had the same idea you had," Athrun said, glancing at Kira. "They searched the third shelf first."
"It's in the code. The digit 3 came after 415."
Cagalli frowned. "Does that mean they've found it?"
Athrun hesitated, unsure, but Kira shook his head definitively. "No, they didn't find what they were looking for. That's why they emptied all the other shelves too. And look." He bent down again and shifted away the books that had belonged in the third shelf. What came on top was a mixture of books from the various shelves.
"There's no order," observed Lacus. "This one's AN, from the first shelf, and this is CH, second shelf; GE, third shelf; HO, fourth shelf… It's like they were just pulling books randomly off the shelves. "
"Or not," Kira shook his head. "Maybe they decided to use a different kind of pattern. Maybe they were checking the third book on each shelf."
"Huh?" Cagalli took a step back and stared at the bookcase. Squinted. Closed one eye, then the other. As if she might get an idea if she observed the place from a different angle. "How would they know if they've found the right book?"
Only a bemused silence replied her, since none of them had answers to her question.
Then all of a sudden, Kira stood and turned. He stared across the bookstore, the look in his eyes so intense that Athrun instinctively reached for the gun at his hip holster, pricking his ears up, wondering if he had been so distracted that he hadn't heard the footsteps of the intruders. "What is it?" He whispered sharply.
"I want to turn the lights on."
"What?" Athrun dropped his hand from his weapon, utterly surprised. The adrenalin was still surging through him, making his ears ring, when Kira glanced over his shoulder and repeated his absurd request, "I want to turn the lights on."
"Are you crazy?" Cagalli blurted out, her voice dropping to a harsh whisper. "We're trying not to get arrested. A bookstore with its lights all turned on and its door open in the middle of the night has burglary written all over it."
"Two minutes. That's all I need," Kia said firmly.
"To do what?"
"To confirm a conjecture."
"I don't think it's a wise idea, Kira," Lacus winced.
Kira opened his mouth to protest, but he was cut off by Athrun, who, to Kira's utmost surprise, nodded and said, "Okay."
"What?" Both women turned to stare at the blue-haired detective.
Athrun cast them a dismissing glance, then turned back to Kira. "I don't know what you're trying to confirm, but we'll do it your way. Two minutes. I don't want to have police cars converging on the bookstore when we get out of this place."
"Two minutes," agreed Kira. "The switch is by the door."
Using the flashlight to guide his way, Athrun returned to the entrance of the bookstore, and found nestled between two shelves the light switch, a small plastic toggle, which he flipped easily with the heel of his hand.
The light blazed on in the bookstore.
By the time he returned to Bookcase 415, he found Kira examining the empty shelves closely, as if there were invisible clues hidden in the wood. "I need a mirror, or a piece of glass," the assassin said.
They couldn't find one in the bookstore so Athrun hurried out into the cold again, flung open the door of the sedan and wrenched the rear-view mirror out its socket.
He returned with it and watched as Kira held up the mirror to the bookcase. What was reflected in it, was a clock.
Athrun spun around and stared. There it was. A wall clock, stuck on the wall directly across the store. Now he knew what Kira had been staring at when he had requested the lights to be switched on. And as Athrun watched it closely, he realized that the clock was not working. Its hour hand was frozen permanently between nine and ten, and its minute hand on the digit six. No. Not exactly on six, but half an inch to the left. 9:31.
The clock was frozen at 9:31.
Athrun reached back and fished the cellphone out of his jeans pocket. It was still sealed in the cellophane evidence bag. His fingers danced across the buttons as he pulled up the message Flay had been composing just before she died.
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 u enjoy it.
9:31.
That was why Flay had written such an odd sentence. The clock in the bookstore had stopped working. It probably had stopped long ago, but the owner was too lazy to change its batteries, or had forgotten.
He turned back to Kira. The brown-haired assassin was balancing the mirror on the edge of the second shelf, where it best reflected the clock in its entirety, and he was drawing an imaginary line downwards from the frozen minute hand. He ended up on the fourth shelf, exactly where the third book would have been if the shelf had not been emptied.
"That's where the book was," Kira announced.
And it was now gone.
Athrun swallowed the urge to kick out at the pile of books on the floor, to send them flying in all directions to vent his anger. Too late. They were always too late. Always one step behind. First Flay, then now this.
Kira must have noticed his frustration, but said nothing about it, though Athrun noticed his amethyst eyes flickering to the cellphone he held in his hands. He must be disappointed and angry too, Athrun thought to himself, but Kira's face remained all placid and emotionless. Just like a machine. A heartless killing machine.
"What do we do now?" Cagalli whispered, chewing on her bottom lip.
"Nothing," Athrun bit out, "We go back and regroup with the rest of the team. We ought to speak to the owner. See if we can find out exactly what book was taken. You need someone with a badge to do that. I don't have mine. We need to update the rest of the team and send someone to talk to the owner. Come on, let's go."
They left the bookstore as they had found it - switching off the lights; making sure they left no fingerprints and that the door stood at the forty-five degrees angle they had first seen it in.
While Kira tossed the flashlight into the boot, Athrun tried to fix the rear-view mirror but to no avail. He gave up after a few minutes, slamming it roughly into the glove compartment. No one made a sound at the violent outburst. Tension and disappointments were running high all around.
They climbed into the sedan, Athrun and Kira in front, Lacus and Cagalli in the back, and the detective floored the accelerator. The car lurched forward and screamed down the street.
They drove in silence, no one in the mood to talk. It was as if any sound would shatter the fragile peace and quiet in the vehicle. Athrun's eyes remained steadfast on the road ahead; Kira stared out of the side window and both women took to examining their fingers with exaggerated curiosity.
It was in this tensed and awkward atmosphere, that Kira suddenly hooked a hand through his seat belt and stretched it so that he could scoot forward in his seat. He pointed into the distance. "Take this turn. Go to the diner," he said.
"What?"
"Now," Kira snapped. "This turn."
Athrun spun the wheel and the sedan took a left turn. They left the main road behind and ended up in a labyrinth of small streets and neighbourhoods. After ten minutes of meandering through empty roads and dark brick buildings, they passed Kira's old apartment and headed down two blocks to where the diner stood, surrounded by its vast carpark like a moat.
Kira didn't even wait for the sedan to come to a complete stop, before he wrenched the door handle and pushed out of the car, darting across the empty lots and the bitter coldness. Athrun turned the ignition key and got out. He exchanged a bewildered glance with Lacus and Cagalli, then they hastened after him. They caught up to him at the back of the diner. The backdoor was still open, its lock mechanism lying stone-cold on the dusty ground after Kira had shot through it hours before.
Kira lifted the Ruger and Athrun did the same with his Glock. Slipping the Ruger's barrel through the gap left between the door and its frame, Kira eased it farther open, then took a step into the kitchen. It was dark, but his amethyst eyes did a quick sweep of the area. Saw no one. He held the gun out in front of him with a hand, then beckoned Lacus and Cagalli to enter after him.
Across the kitchen, Athrun had already made it to the passageway that led out to the front of the diner, the serving area. The detective peered through the glass panel in the kitchen door, his gun poised and ready. But there was no one in the diner at all. Not in the kitchen, not in the front. Athrun relaxed his stance and let the gun fall to his side. He glanced at Kira. "What are we doing here?"
Kira said nothing. Only strolled briskly across the kitchen, pushed through the door that led to the serving area and headed straight for the Formica counter. He pulled a menu from its rack and scanned the items on it, then tossed it aside. The menu, laminated in clear plastic, slid across the smooth surface of the counter. Baffled, the remaining trio watched as he did the same for the other menus, then with a frustrated growl, slammed a fist into the Formica and turned his attention to hauling the drawers open.
"What are you looking for?" whispered Lacus.
"A new menu," Kira replied tersely. "Flay and Sai came up with a new menu several weeks ago. She invited me for a tasting session but I didn't turn up. It's got to be here somewhere." He snapped open another drawer, rummaged through it, and shoved it shut when he did not find what he was looking for.
For the next half an hour, the four of them turned the diner inside out. They took apart every drawer and every cupboard. Gave up on trying to hide their fingerprints. They searched the cashier, the bar, the stoves, the oven… everything they could see.
Outside, dawn began to break, and orange fingers of light began to creep from under the window blinds and the front door. They were pressed for time – the early morning customers would find it suspicious that the diner was not open for business and if they walked to the back and found the broken lock, someone might call the police. In fact, they had no idea if the police was already on its way. Athrun forced that thought aside as he ran his fingers anxiously along the underside of the giant freezer. Came up with nothing but a thick layer of dust.
"Over here. I think I found something."
He turned and found Cagalli in one of the booths, crawling under the aluminium table. He hastened over, joined by Kira and Lacus, who abandoned what they were searching.
"There's something stuck underneath," Cagalli grunted as she pressed her face against the linoleum tiles and reached blindly under the plastic seat.
This was it, Kira thought. This was it. He knew whatever Cagalli was digging for was what Flay wanted him to see, what Flay wanted him to have. They were in the booth farthest away from the entrance. This was where he sat, whenever he came to the diner. Where he felt the safest, with his back against the wall so no one could sneak up on him, where he could see anyone approaching through the large glass windows. Flay knew it was his preferred seat. So whatever was hidden underneath wasn't a coincidence. This was it.
"Let me," he said.
Cagalli stared up at him from the floor, then retracted her arm which was covered in dust, and unfolded her body from the tight space under the table.
Kira took her place.
The underside of the plastic chair was filthy, and for a second or two, Kira felt nothing but grime and dirt, then he touched the edge of something smooth. Something made of paper. He dug his nails into the gap between whatever it was and the seat's undersurface, and with a ripping sound, tore it from its hiding place. Anxious to see what it was, he backpedalled out from under the table and flipped what he was holding. It was an envelope.
Athrun, Lacus and Cagalli crowded close and all waited with bated breath as Kira slit the edge with a nail and upturned the envelope.
A hard laminated card slid from it, and written on it, was a menu.
"This is it," Kira said aloud, "This is what we need to decipher Flay's message."
"This menu?"
"Give me the cellphone," Kira gestured hastily at Athrun, who dug it from his pocket and surrendered it. "Look," Kira said, barely able to hide the thrill from his voice, "Hi kira, been a while since u came to the diner. Got a new menu. Hope to see u soon. This was what she wanted us to see."
A frown creased Lacus' brow, her blue-grey eyes narrowed. "But what about those other numbers? The bookstore, the grammar reference book?"
"All decoys," said Kira. "Just like the way she wanted to mislead readers with the ISBN number. The human's mind jumps immediately at numbers, especially when we think it's a secret code. We concentrated all our attention on the long stretch of digits in the message, and once we figured out that there was no such ISBN number, we concluded that there had to be something larger, something more important hidden underneath. So we started thinking about the Dewey Decimal System. They were doing the same thing. That's why they ended up at the bookstore too. Flay knew we would all be fooled by it. She set the whole thing up. She made the code so credible that all our attention would be fixed on the bookstore, on Bookcase 415, on the clock stuck at 9:31, on whatever grammar book was in that position. And now they've got that book, and it's the right book Flay was referring to, but it doesn't contain the message she wants to tell us. She's sent us all on a wild goose chase, when in fact, this-" he brandished the menu in their faces, "- this menu contains the message. It's hidden here all along. Forget the bookstore 3km away, forget the clock that reads 9:31, forget the 415 bookcase, the grammar book. Those are decoys - just clues pointing us, and them, in the wrong direction. This is it. This is what she wants us to find."
And this is what she wanted me to see when she invited me for the tasting session, thought Kira to himself. He felt the sorrow again as he remembered her earnest eyes watching him, the corners of her pink lips curled upwards in an encouraging smile, her delicate fingers clasped and the tips of her blood-red hair brushing against the aluminium surface as she leaned across the table.
"Sai and I were thinking of having a tasting session. Sai's got a couple of new ideas for the menu. Why don't you join us?"
"I'll try to be there. No promises, Flay. But I'll try."
But he hadn't. He hadn't tried at all. The truth was, he had forgotten all about it. He had been out murdering an innocent woman on Rau's orders. The tasting session had slipped his mind completely.
But it wasn't just a tasting session, was it, Flay? Kira had a feeling Flay had been planning it all along. Waiting for this moment. It was as if she knew she would die, as if she knew Rau would get rid of her one day, and she had already planned a way to get her message out. But why me? What can I do for you when I can't even save you?
"These numbers," Athrun scanned the message on the cellphone. "What do they mean? If she meant for you to find this menu, then you must know how they can fit in."
Kira glanced at the screen. Read the message again. He had a hunch, but he wasn't sure it would work. Scrambling to his feet, he got to the counter, where he pulled a paper napkin from its holder, snatched a pen lying by the cashier and began to write.
Author's note: Ta da! What do you think the message is going to be? Ooooooh, I'm excited. I'm gonna start work on the next chapter right away! Do leave me a review and let me know just what you think about this chapter! Review, review, review!