Chapter 14: Go!
"-Go," Lloyd smiled as he looked over at Franky Franklin. The last boxes of the shop had been packed up, and had been loaded on a truck, to be sent to the new store in a district not too far from his new apartment in Central. Franky would be leaving on the over night train hopefully so no one might see them together while unloading in Central. Having the same information broker, one who had proven his skill already quite clearly by the file on the Tuckers, would be quite useful. That he would have an established relationship with someone this skilled would make the possibility of STRIX being a success far more likely.
Though at the moment, he was rather sure that Franky was unhappy with him. He honestly couldn't figure out why, but the shorter man had refused to even look him directly in the eye as he had finished packing up.
"So, let me get this straight," Franky was packing the last carton of "Cigarettes" into one of the moving boxes, making sure to secure both so no one would look in and see recent military communications inside them. If nothing else, the short, curly haired man was a thorough information broker, "You managed to get a woman to marry you after only knowing you for maybe, two days?"
"Correct."
"She just so happens to be not only willing to marry you," Franky continued, a look of irritation as he began to fasten the top of the moving crate, and locked the whole thing into place, "but to move over hundred miles into a new city, where she will likely have to stay at home because her job is here, and due to leaving that position, she won't be able to transfer easily?"
"She says she has a secondary occupation she uses to earn a side income, and she can continue to do that while based in Central," Twilight answered. Yor had said that she would at times be required to head out of the house to meet with her secondary employer, but that was fine. He had checked the file, and she was an assistant for a wealthy man at an estate outside of East City, so it didn't seem to be too hard. She would perhaps have to leave central every week or so, and with how much he would be gone, he could not begrudge her that.
"And not is she willing to move to a new city without a job," Franky was rubbing his temples with his hands, "This woman will actually spend most of her time looking after your "daughter"?"
"It will be very useful to be able to have more time for information gathering on my own," Twilight had gotten a lot as his position as a psychiatrist, but it be good to try and use some of his other skills. Stakeouts, tailings, break-ins. He was good at those things. Much better at them then being a father for what it was worth.
'Curse you Detective Bond,' Twilight thought of the hokey radio show that Anya continued to listen to whenever he didn't have her specifically focused on her studies, 'Curse you.'
"And not only will she be looking after your daughter while you seem to be gallivanting off to who knows what-"
"It will be spying, not gallavan-"
"Shut up," Franky lifted the crate onto a hand cart, and after a few seconds of intense effort on his part, made sure it was secure, so he could move it without much issue. He puffed slightly from the lifting, something he clearly wasn't used to, "She will then be willing to dress up, and attend whatever fancy social function you might need her for?"
"The plan is for us to meet with the Fuhrer and his family," King Bradley was known as a military man, but his wife was known to throw some dinner functions. Any time he could be close to the Fuhrer's family would be a chance to get more information, so of course he and Yor would have to go to that sort of function.
"And alongside all of that, she looks like this?" Franky threw down a picture of Yor. It was of her in her uniform, though it was not as formally military, rather with a lighter blue. She was looking away from the camera, likely in conversation with someone else. Honestly, it would have been kind of creepy in any other context, but having been of her at work in a public space, it seemed rather normal.
"That's the long and short of it," Twilight nodded.
Franky took off his glasses, and began to rub the bridge of his nose while shaking his head, "All I can say is that some guys have all the luck."
Twilight blinked for a moment.
"So," Franky finally said, having placed his glasses back on, "Has your wife let her employers know she is moving."
"She informed East City command of her resignation earlier today," he rubbed the back of his head, "They were sorry to see her go, but she was given honorable discharge. She'd been working there for a nearly a decade, and almost everyone was perfectly happy to hear she had some new goal to get to take on a new opportunity," it had honestly been shocking on some level to hear how willing they had been to let someone leave the military. He supposed Yor had really only been a civil servant, and with the military dictatorship in place the military was the only place she could go. So the ease of the discharge was likely because of her real lack of rank.
"And what about that second employer, the one she'll still have to come out and help every so often?"
"She said she will be meeting with him now."
"Shopkeeper, you must talk her out of this at once."
Yor flinched at the words of Matthew McMahon, an older gentleman whose day job was as the owner of a taxi company in East City. His real job was to be the coordinator for the Garden in the Eastern Province, and to provide transportation and communication across the sector to allow the assassins of the Garden to "harvest their crop". She had actually met with him far more than she had met with the Shopkeeper, and to hear his harsh words for her plan was...distressing. She had only revealed to him an hour ago her plan, after she had revealed why she wanted to come meet the Shopkeeper, and had spent the next hour drive hearing him complain about her foolishness.
And yet, despite the older man's complaints, the Shopkeeper was busy tilling a small patch of dirt. He opened a hole into the fresh black soil, and pulled out a bulb from a small cart next to him. He then placed the bulb down inside the hole, and then covered it with the spread out dark dirt. He compressed the topsoil down, and then picked up the watering can, and sprinkled the newly planted bulb with some fresh water. All the while, he remained silent, a serene look never leaving his face.
"Shopkeeper?"
"I have been listening," he said, his voice completely even. He forced himself to his feet, and wiped the dirt from his pants. He then turned around, and looked at Yor, before rubbing his chin.
"Do you love him?"
"I...I don't believe I do," Yor said, looking down a bit of shame in her voice. She always hated to disappoint her mentor, and starting a relationship like this on some level seemed the wrong way, "No, not at the moment."
"Could you love him?" he continued, while removing the garden glove from his right hand.
"I...," Yor thought for a second, and saw the handsome man grabbing her and saving her life, putting himself in danger to help those around him, and the kind caring way he looked after his daughter, "I think if I spent enough time, I might love. I'm not sure, I haven't spent enough time, but I think it could work."
"Then I have no problem at all."
"Really?" Yor felt her heart jump for a moment.
"REALLY!?" Matthew screamed, his hands up in the air.
"Matthew," the Shopkeeper chided. He rubbed the side of his neck with his now glove free hand, the bent position having clearly caused him some issues, "I think Yor has a smart head about this in all honesty."
"She's marrying a man she just met?" Yor felt her shoulders slink a bit at that observation.
"And she clearly recognizes it is strange," the shopkeeper walked over, and grabbed a jug sitting on a nearby table, the condensation causing the outer surface to appear quite slick. He then began to pour the drink into a set of three different clear glasses. The yellow liquid sloshed into the cups, and Yor could smell the distinct waft of light alcohol inside them. He then picked the three glasses up, and brought them over to them, "She isn't acting like some school girl with their first teenage crush. Had she come in blushing and declaring eternal love, I would have agreed with you Matthew. But she is being a professional, who is taking an unusual but perhaps fruitful opportunity to expand her horizons."
"But sir..."
"I've always had a bit of a low opinion of true love," the Shopkeeper continued, sipping his drink, and almost certainly consciously ignoring every little thing Matthew said, "But a successful relationship is build on time and positive feelings. You have a chance to build a good one, and if not, you and your partner have already agreed to an out if that makes you both comfortable," he then raised his free hand and pointed at Yor, "and as you said, this Doctor saved your life, so this relationship will start with some starting base. Yor clearly likes him in some manner, and the most beautiful flowers always start off as the most humble seeds," he then nodded at Yor, the smile clear upon his face, "It is fast, and I would have preferred you to start slower, but I don't see why this arrangement can work out."
"...I'm not going to be able to convince you otherwise, am I?" Matthew sighed, taking a sip to try and reduce the headache he was likely experiencing at the moment.
"Not in the least," he raised his glass, and then declared loudly, "Now join me in a toast to Yor," he smiled at her, "May her life continue to be a path to love the world."
"Huh," Matthew finally slumped one final time, having accepted that he had been defeated utterly, "To Yor."
"To...me?" Yor raised her glass, and they all clinked together. The three of them all sipped from their glasses, and then just stood there for a moment. The tension had seemed to disappear from Matthew's shoulders, and the Shopkeeper continued to just smile. The sun was finally setting, but the lights from the chateau were beginning to illuminate the main courtyard of the estate.
"Besides," the Shopkeeper spoke up once more, "If this Lloyd Forger does hurt you-"
"I'll break every bone in his body."
"Excellent," he then coughed, and placed his glass down. His soft eyes disappeared, and for a second, Yor could only see her master's silhouette illuminated by the lights from the house behind him. That, and the crimson of his irises, "So now...you ran into another Ishvalan yesterday. I'd like for you to describe him to me. Don't leave out a detail."
"So train cars can have seats?"
"...yes Anya, they have seats," Papa answered, looking down at her strangely. They had just past the ticketing office, and were walking onto a big platform, with lots of people wandering around, all thinking about different numbers or different places they were going. And Anya had been shocked when she looked inside her father's mind, and suddenly saw that he was thinking about taking a seat for a while and reading the paper.
Her only experience on a train had been a little over two weeks ago, when she had been escaping the bad place to here to East City. And then, she had been stuck in an industrial cart. She hadn't ever thought about there might be something like a passenger car. Though, now that she thought about it, it the cart she had been on hadn't been comfy at all.
'Honestly,' he shook his head, 'I don't know what I am going to do with this girl.'
It was early morning, and they were meeting her new Mama here at the station, so they could all load their things together as a group, and then take the train to their new home. Anya, for everything, was just glad that Papa was taking her far enough away from the orphanage that he probably couldn't return her there. He was her Papa now. And there was nothing that would separate them.
'Now, we are on engine 007,' Papa was remembering the exact number on his ticket, and looking out for the sight that would lead to that train, 'On platform 16," he looked over, and then pointed at the big number 16 almost the total way down the station. He then looked down at his watch, 'Fifteen minutes until boarding,' he thought and began to look around, with Mama's face suddenly popping into his head, 'I hope she arrives soon, with as much as she is probably carrying...'
"Dr. Forger!" Anya turned back, and saw Yor running up behind her, with a small cart holding her things like she and Papa had a cart holding their things, "I hope I didn't arrive too late," she didn't seem tired at all, and she was wearing those tall shoes that ladies often complained about wearing when she read their minds.
'I spent so much time last night preparing for my next mission,' Yor thought, and Anya listened closely, 'I only got home at three in the morning. Good thing the train ride will be so long, so I can get some sleep there,' Anya nodded at that, thinking that seemed like a good idea, 'Though, would that be a good idea, sleeping in public leaves you vulnerable and someone might try and kill us.'
'Kill us!?' Anya felt her eyes widen and her jaw drop.
"No problem at all Yor, though please, call me Lloyd," Papa laughed as he smiled at her. Yor blush deepened in color as she stared at him.
"Of course...Lloyd."
Papa's smile widened, before looking over at the large clock across the wall, "You made it with over ten minutes before boarding. We will have time to spare, even with all our luggage," he looked down and inspected the cart. There were less than half the total things that were on their cart, "Did you ask for a staff member to help you with the rest of your things, or are they in the taxi outside?"
"Other things?" Yor's head tilted to the side, "These are all my things. I don't have anything else."
"Really?" Twilight's eyes began to scan Yor and her boxes, 'For a grown woman with a relatively stable job, this seems like a very small amount of possessions. I would expect at least twice as much, at least so there is enough room for how many dresses and shoes I'd expect from a woman of her status and age.'
"Yes?" Yor answered with a hint of fear in her voice, 'Did I do something wrong. Am I too poor to be his husband. If that's the case,' Her mind suddenly flashed with the image of her slamming her fist into his face, 'I'm going to have to break all his bones.'
'What! ALL HIS BONES!' Anya was stunned into silence as the image of her Papa crumbling to dust crossed her mind's eye.
"That's very economical," Twilight finally spoke up. At the sudden hint of praise, some of the sadness that had begun to invade Yor disappeared, and then Lloyd continued, "You clearly don't waste money on frivolous things, and have packed only the essentials. That make moving into our new apartment far easier and cheaper."
"Yes," Yor said, before looking down, slightly in shame, "I'm...I'm sorry if I'm not as sophisticated as you might have bee-"
"Yor, that's nonsense," Papa seemed to swoop in at that moment, all to comfort his wife, "You are doing me a favor with this relationship. You should feel no shame in who you are, or how your feelings develop during this entire process," he then reached down, and grabbed her hand, "We are partners in this relationship, a half and half split. Don't ever worry about voicing your concerns or needs."
"...," Yor was just staring at Lloyd for a moment. Her blush was almost covering the entirety of her face, 'Oh no...keep control...keep control...'
"Mama and Papa are flirting," Anya finally said. The two jumped at that, and then looked down at Anya.
"No we're not!"
"Where did you learn that word?"
"You shouldn't think about your parents that way."
'We need to start boarding,' Anya thought, as her parents seemed to be sputtering a bit as they dealt with her accusation, 'I hope they have peanuts on the train...'
"Peanuts!" Anya laughed, grabbing up the small bowl of nuts her Papa had ordered when they had finished getting settled on board.
It had only taken a few minutes to put their bags away inside the caboose of the train. The loading had been helped by a few workers, and after a few moments of waiting before boarding, they had gotten on board, and taken their seat in one of the front cars. The three were seated around a small table in one of the nicest carts in the train, Papa on one side, Mama and her on the other. They had waited there for the engine to take off, and after a half hour of waiting for the other passengers to board, they had left the station, on their way to their new home. Anya had spent a few minutes staring out the window, seeing the outskirts of East City disappear, and then seeing them enter some big mountains.
"Waku waku," she grinned as she shoved some of the nuts into her mouth. Papa looked down from his newspaper, and gave her a small glare.
"Be careful. We don't want to leave a mess for the crew to clean up," this caused Anya to stop, and look up at him.
"Ms. Anya, could you show me your face please?" Yor said aloud, looking down at Anya, and pulling her away from the train as it took off, and instead towards her new Mama. Yor bent down, and rubbed Anya's face with a handkerchief, gathering up a few crumbs around her lips, and then twirling it deposit the nut shavings in the small wastebin at her side. She smiled down at her, "There we go. Just please eat a bit more slowly."
Papa nodded at Yor, his nicest smile on his face, and then he then pulled up his paper, and then went back to reading, 'Cipher R, twelth to the right...Agent Twilight. Good work on securing your family. Your first meeting with your Handler will be later tonight, after you drop your things off. Go up North East Boulevard. You will see a car with a dent midway along the rim of the back right tire. Get in the back of the car, and the driver will take you to-'
'Cleaning up Ms. Anya's face was really easy," Yor thought looking down at the young girl who was to be her daughter.
Anya was glad to have as nice a lady as Yor as her new Mama. Papa was great, but Mama already seemed to be more willing to let her get away with things. She was just so much less scary-
'Though, I guess peanuts are far easier to clean then blood. No need for extra chemicals, or to pay attention to splatter along your clothes from a sliced vein. Like that case out in Lisen a decade ago. I cut that politician's jugular so poorly that it sprayed my face in a complete rain of blood. I was soaked down to my underwear. I was so lucky when Yuri was willing to believe that i-'
'EXPLODING BLOOD!' Anya had truly been blessed by her previous experience in the lab, as without having already learned such self control, she probably would have shouted this out, and caused something of a scene. She felt herself shake a bit, and then Mama placed her hand on Anya's shoulder, and bent down to look her in the eyes.
"Are you alright Ms. Anya?" she asked.
"Ju-," Anya stopped, trying to find a way to keep from saying something stupid, "just a bit scared."
"That does make sense," Twilight said from behind his newspaper, pushing it down slightly to look at Anya, trying his best to give a comforting smile, "This is a big move for us. Going all the way to Central is new experience. You've never been outside of the the Eastern Province, and Central makes East City seem small," Yor nodded at that, and then placed a hand on Anya's shoulder.
"Don't worry, I haven't ever been outside the Eastern Provinces either," she said, rubbing the young girl to try and soothe her, "It's going to be a new experience being in Central," she then clapped her hands, "But I do know someone in Central. My brother Yuri lives there," she smiled at Lloyd, "I'm sure he'll be glad to meet you."
'Yuri Forger, twenty-four,' Twilight considered as he continued to read updates on goings on on the Crestan front, 'Lieutenant in Central. Member of the Intelligence division. Been part of the military for six years, moved up ranks quickly.'
"I'm sure it will be great to meet him as well...though maybe we should keep our arrangement about this a bit of a secret," Twilight rubbed his face a bit in embarrassment, "Just to keep up appearances as a loving couple?"
"Yes, that works," Yor nodded back, before laughing, "I actually forgot to call him yesterday, so it will be a surprise when we get there I'm sure," she nodded.
'Good thing too,' Twilight nodded to himself, 'That might give me time to prepare for when this intelligence officer arrives at our home. I can't let someone that high up into the system have any kind of inkling I'm a spy.'
"Why don't we invite him for dinner this weekend," he pulled out his wallet, and flipped to the calendar inside, "What do you think about Saturday?"
"...I might actually have to come back to East City on Saturday," Yor blushed, rubbing the back of her head, "My old work might need me then."
'Saturday is when the Shopkeeper said they should have information on when I can go after Scar,' she thought, and Anya then saw the image of the dark scary man who had nearly killed her Mama and Papa again, 'I'm going to need to keep that free.'
"What about Friday then?" Lloyd offered.
"Yes, Friday sounds good," Yor nodded, and Lloyd marked it in his calendar, and then considered, 'Might be easier to make it seem like we are both tired from the trip, any kind of incongruities might be better excused that way.'
'Incon-what?'
Anya just shook her head. Just another long word that probably meant something much easier to say, but was used because it's a grown up word. She then turned her head, and began to look out the side of the train, through the window into the outdoors. They came down from one of the sets of mountains, and suddenly Anya saw a river in the background, with nothing but green fields all around it. As the slowly descended the mountain, the twisted a bit, and yet throughout it all, they continued to see the river as it flowed towards them. As they made a turn, she suddenly saw the river come right beneath them, and also that there was a green bowl through which the river traveled.
'...Bowl?'
She looked again, and harder. And it was then, and only then, that she realized that she was passing through the same place she had traveled on her last train trip. Only...they were going in the opposite direction.
The train was going in the opposite direction...
Through the same place she had come from...
That meant...
'I'M GOING BACK TO THE DARK PLACE!?' she inwardly screamed, feeling her heart begin to pitter patter as she considered it. But she shook her head, trying to regain her composure, 'No, Papa is against the people in the Dark place. We're going to another part of town...'
"Anya, are you feeling sick?" Yor placed her hand on Anya's forehead, "You feel a bit warm," she shook her head, "Maybe it would be best if you lied down for a minute."
"I guess the excitement could get you a bit ill. And I understand that it is possible to get sick from the constant motion of a train or vehicle if you focus your vision outside it too much," Twilight added. Yor readjusted Anya for a second, so she was laying her head against her Mama's lap, and her legs out and towards the center of the cabin. She could only see now what was on the opposite side of the cabin from her, and couldn't stand up to look back, or move her head much to look forward.
'It'll be okay,' she repeated in her head, 'It'll be okay.'
And then the door to the cabin opened, and Anya felt a presence she hadn't felt in a long time.
'Itllbeokayitllbeokay,' she began to scream inside her head, as alot of voices seemed to come from the entrance. But they weren't from many people, but just from one, with one particular voice on top of the others. And the others were screaming, all in pain. Anya could even feel some blood begin to drip from her nose.
'Just a half a day more and I can deal with those notes,' the main voice thought, not paying attention to the rest of the world, 'I need to get to the 1st branch library if I'm to keep our sacrifices in the dark about the Philosopher's stone,' Anya didn't know what she was on about, but she recognized the thoughts. The thoughts that had promised to kill everything inside the Dark Place, and had only just missed her.
"Anya," Mama was panicking, looking down at her face, pulling out her handkerchief, and placing it along her nose, "Lloyd, Anya seems to be having an attack of some kind?"
"Let me see it," she felt her Papa's hand on her head, "She does seem warm," she then heard the sound of liquid on cloth, and then felt a cool rag on her head, "This should relieve some of the stress. Why don't you go to sleep Anya? You'll probably feel better."
'What is this?' The voice seemed to turn, and then was focused on her, and memories of the dark place flooded that mind too, 'Well what do we have here?' it was a bit of a laugh, as Anya finally saw Lust's face, a small smirk on it, 'I was wondering where you got off to...subject 007.'
And then, everything went dark.