[The following text is in the "ISO-8859-1" character set]
[Your display is set for the "US-ASCII" character set]
[Some characters may be displayed incorrectly]
Well, I've finally given up the struggle. I split part 6 of this in two,
and decided to post the part which is more-or-less finished, sans revision,
and will just give up (for now) on writing the big finale, moving on to
another fic and working on that. I've been writing, deleting, rewriting,
and redeleting the part following this section of the story several times,
now, and I finally just got too frustrated- and wanted to work on some of
my other fics too much- to continue. I'd ask for help, but I have certain
ideas for some important things that I want to happen in the next section
that I don't want someone else touching.
By the way, if anyone has a copy of J. Austin Wilde's essay on battle
choreography (which I believe was sent way back in '97 or '98- it was
pretty darn close to when I first joined the list, anyway, so I don't think
it's on the FFML archives any more), can you e-mail it to me? I asked him
for a replacement copy of my own a while back, but he said he couldn't find
it on his own system.
Anyway, here's what I've got so far...
* * * * *
Gomioka sighed, taking care of some paperwork as he manned the phone at
Shinobu's desk. She and Gotoh had just called, letting him know that the
two captains were returning to base and should be back in about four hours.
Thankfully, no calls had yet come in while they were out, but he still had
to keep waiting for any possible incoming calls.
A snore from the desk across the room disturbed his reverie. In order to
keep him from annoying his teamates with rants against Asuma's escape,
Gomioka had drafted him into answering Gotoh's phone. Thankfully, the day
had been so light that Ohta drifted off to sleep with the inactivity. The
only problem was that Ohta snored. Loudly. VERY loudly.
"Gah! What a buzzsaw," Gomioka muttered, turning back to his paperwork.
Thanks to discussions of the possible formation of a third unit, his
workload had been tripled. Thanks to his being given interim command of
the SV2, he was having a difficult time keeping up, and was VERY glad of
the peace and quiet. Ohta's snoring, however, was not something he'd
factored into the equation, and he was constantly being distracted by the
annoying sound.
The phone on Gotoh's desk rang, startling Ohta awake. He quickly answered
it, and Gomioka was very glad for the reprieve from the constant
disturbance that was Ohta.
That reprieve didn't last long. "They're going to be WHERE?!" Ohta
exploded, quickly scribbling something down. "Yes, sir! Thank you, sir!"
Slamming the phone down, he grabbed the piece of paper and jumped out of
the desk chair. "Luitenant Gomioka, sir!"
Gomioka sighed. "Yes, Ohta?"
"A call from headquarters, sir! Noa and Asuma are expected to be at this
address by 1600 hours, and we are to scramble to apprehend them!"
Raising an eyebrow, the other police officer stood up and walked over to
get the paper Ohta was waving. When he saw the address, he frowned.
"Hmm... how do we know they'll be there?"
"Apparently, there was an anonymous tip, sir!"
The frown grew. "Really? And how do we know this isn't just an attempt to
distract us so that someone can commit a more serious crime?"
Ohta blinked. "I... don't know, sir. But we've been ordered to scramble
both units, sir!"
Gomioka sighed. "Oh, very well. Go tell Sakaki to prep the labors for
immediate action."
Ohta saluted. "Yes, sir!" he cried, and started out the door. Gomioka
considered things for a moment.
"Wait! Belay that!" he ordered. "You get everyone up and ready to go. I
want to talk to Sakaki about something else, as well."
"Yes, sir!" Ohta acknowledged, then bolted from the office.
Gomioka frowned. "Hmm... now, who would know where Noa and Asuma are going
to be OTHER than Noa and Asuma?"
* * * * *
Noa smiled as she leaned into Asuma. His arm was around her, and the young
couple was standing on the ships deck watching the scenery pass by as they
sailed to their destination. One short mission, and they'd be able to come
out of hiding. And then... maybe she could 'introduce' her father to her
boyfriend (it might be cute to see her father's reaction when he discovered
that the boy who had come to take her home from the grave of Alphonse the
First had won her heart). That might make vacations at home bearable- and
might finally be enough for her father to stop bugging her about quitting
the SV2 and finding a husband. Briefly, Noa wondered if Asuma was going to
ask her to marry her at some point. She wasn't sure he would- he didn't
seem to be the sort of person who would think of that kind of thing. And
to her, it didn't matter any more- she and Asuma were together, in a way
she never thought possible, and she loved it. They hadn't actually said
those three special little words to each other, yet, but that was only a
matter of time. And maybe a matter of resolving this situation they were
in- something which Noa was very glad to finally be doing.
Asuma had been rather quiet since they'd left the cabin- almost as if he
was brooding. He seemed to want to talk to her about something, but was
reluctant to say anything. She could sense it wasn't because he was
nervous about whatever he was going to say (which, she was certain, meant
that he wasn't thinking about popping the question to her just yet), but
felt that he just didn't want this moment to end. She didn't, either, but
it was obvious there was more reason for him bringing her up here then just
a nice cuddle.
"Asuma," she began.
"Hmm?"
"What is it you want to talk about?" she asked. "I know you brought me up
here for some reason, and I don't think you're enough of a romantic for
THIS to be it," she said, giving him a slight squeeze.
"I'm afraid you're right- I don't think I've got a romantic bone in my
body," Asuma replied. "I just wanted to talk to you about this 'mission'
we're going on."
Noa smiled at him. "Well, I certainly don't mind being held by you while
we talk about it."
Asuma half-smiled at her. "I don't mind it, either." His face got serious
and he continued. "Noa... I'm a little worried. I don't really trust
Wong- I don't know what it is he's trying to get out of helping us, and I
don't trust his promises. I'm not even sure we can trust his information."
Noa looked at him in surprise. "I don't trust him, either, but he's right
when he says we don't have any choice. Besides, what do you think we can
do about it?"
Asuma sighed and shook his head. "There's nothing I CAN think of to do
about it. But I... I just want you to be careful, okay? Don't trust the
Griffin. In fact, if we find the murder weapon like we're hoping to, don't
touch it OR let the Griffin touch it, okay? You don't want to ruin the
ballistics, or else this will all be pointless." He swallowed nervously.
"And... look, don't sacrifice your life for this, okay? It's not worth it,
whatever the situation. I'll be happy enough living in hiding with you,
okay?"
Tears almost came to Noa's eyes at that statement. "And you say you don't
have a romantic bone in your body. Asuma, I-"
A door just three feet away from them clanked open, startling the couple.
Takeo walked out, noticed how they were holding each other, and giggled
slightly in embarrassment. "Oops- didn't mean to interrupt. Asuma,
Richard wants to talk you you about something."
Asuma sighed, looked an apology at Noa, and disengaged himself. "I'd
better go see what he wants. I'll be back in a few minutes."
Noa looked at him expectantly, but frowned when he just ran through the
door.
Takeo noticed Noa's expression and chuckled. "You were expecting a goodbye
kiss, weren't you?"
Noa flushed. "Well... I should have known better. He just TOLD me he
'doesn't have a romantic bone in his body.'"
Takeo smiled. "Well, that's to be expected. I imagine he has his upside,
though."
Noa smiled. "Yeah... he's just wonderful."
Takeo's eye twinkled. "So... how good is he in bed?"
Noa coughed, startled. "Er, what do you mean?"
Takeo's smile widened, taking on that characteristic smirk which reminded
Noa and Asuma of Richard Wong. "Well, while we were packing your room up I
discovered that a couple of condoms were missing from that package I sent
you. What else did you use them for, an art project?"
Noa blushed deeply. "Er... well, okay. Yeah, we... eventually went that
far." She giggled in embarrassment. "Just a few hours after I told him I
wasn't ready for it, too. He promised he'd let me set the pace, and I did.
I moved a bit faster than I thought I would... and, quite frankly, I'm
glad I did." She paused, not looking at Takeo. "I don't really have
anything to compare it to, but I think we were good together. We seemed to
fit each other perfectly, and... well, I don't want to give too many
details, but I think we both enjoyed it very much."
Takeo nodded. "I'm glad for you."
"Takeo," Noa hesitated. "Asuma's... very worried about Utsumi's
motivations in helping us, and thinks I'm in serious danger from not just
this strike we're making on the Shaft warehouse, but also from the Griffin.
You know Utsumi pretty well- as well as I know Asuma, I think... um, just
how much do I really need to worry?"
Takeo raised an eyebrow. "I don't think you can say I really know Richard
that well. I don't think he'll intentionally hurt the two of you, but he
doesn't usually think about that sort of thing when he makes his plans.
But if you think I know him as well as you know Asuma, well... you're sadly
mistaken."
Noa looked out at the sea, leaning against a piece of railing. "Didn't
you, er, sleep with him, too?"
Takeo sighed, joining Noa at the railing. "A long time ago, yes. I didn't
really know him well enough, then, and he's changed some since I last saw
him."
"Do you think I know Asuma well enough? Do you think I got into this
relationship with him too quickly?" Noa said, almost frightened.
Takeo laughed. "Hardly. You two are so attached to each other around the
SV2, everyone assumed you've been lovers for some time. If anything, you
two know each other too well- now there's nothing new for you to learn
about each other!"
Noa blinked. "You really think so?"
Takeo's smirk returned. "Remember when you had that toothache?"
"Don't remind me," Noa grimaced. "That was VERY painful, and Asuma wasn't
much help at all with all his teasing."
"Hmm," Takeo mused. "You might be surprised to know that, until we found
out from Asuma that it was a toothache, everyone assumed that he'd gotten
you pregnant and you were upset about it."
"WHAT!?"
"Why do you think everyone was trying to force him to make up with you?"
Takeo laughed. "Even after he told us it was just a toothache, some of us
thought he was just covering up until you overdosed on Shinshi's pain pills
and fell asleep in the staff meeting. Well, we finally believed him when
Gotoh asked him directly what was going on with you- after Gotoh drew a
watch on your wrist. Oh, that was funny..."
Noa blinked. "You mean Asuma really DIDN'T do that to me?"
Takeo just laughed harder. "Oh, my.... Gotoh does have some sense of
humor, doesn't he?"
"Well, I didn't think it was funny!" Noa huffed. She paused, reminiscing
to that incident. "He always teased me a lot, but he helped me when he
thought I needed it."
"Eh?"
"Asuma. He teased me the whole time I had that toothache- and rode me so
hard I puked when we had to go into action- but he helped me out a lot,
too. When I was ordered to wax Alphonse- which was shocking in and of
itself, since I never had to be ordered to do that- I fell asleep on his
shoulder. It was those stupid pain pills that did it to me, but I wasn't
able to stop myself. I heard him gasp right before I passed out, and saw
him stretching out to catch me in case I fell." She paused. "Good thing I
didn't."
Takeo smirked. "You know, we always thought your relationship with him was
kind of twisted, since it seemed so linked with your labor. Did you know
once, when he was trying to wake you up, you called him 'Alphonse?' You
told him to shut up, so you obviously heard him talking to you and realized
it was his voice."
"Hey!" Noa snapped. "My love for Asuma has NOTHING to do with my love for
Alphonse! I think of Alphonse as a pet, nothing more! Asuma's...
different." She paused. "And if you think my relationship with Asuma's
twisted, what about your fling with Utsumi, the master of labor crime?"
Takeo gaped at her. A thousand replies went through her mind, but Noa's
honest anger eliminated half of them. In fact, only one burned its way
through her mind.
"It wasn't just a fling," she muttered softly.
"What?"
"I said it wasn't just a fling," Takeo repeated. "My relationship with
Richard was SO much more than a fling... that I just don't think I'll ever
get over it enough to find someone else."
Noa blinked, her anger gone. Shifting to face the older woman, she asked,
"Do you still love him, then?"
Takeo smiled, once again taking on the Wong-esque expression. "Tell me
this, Noa. If Asuma HAD killed his father, and you KNEW he had killed his
father, would you stop loving him?"
Noa blinked. "Well... when I broke him out, I knew that he hadn't. I just
knew it. Still, he asked me why I was so sure he didn't. I asked him, to
his face, if he had. At that point, I knew that even if he said 'yes,' I'd
stick with him. I didn't know WHY I was planning to stick with him, but I
knew that doing so was something I was looking forward to." She paused.
"I guess the answer to your question is yes, I would still love him. Even
if I didn't realize it."
Takeo nodded. "Richard Wong has done everything you could possibly think
of that I would disapprove of- except maybe sleep with someone else- and
despite all of that... despite all of that, I still sometimes think I want
to spend the rest of my life with him."
Noa coughed. "You might want to let Hiromi know that."
"Huh?"
"He's got a crush on you, I think. Just like you say everyone thought
Asuma and I were together, everyone seems to know Hiromi likes you but
you."
Takeo smiled sadly. "Hiromi's a nice guy. Very gentle, I guess somewhat
handsome. But... he isn't Richard. I'm sorry about that, and I hate to
disappoint him, but it just won't work."
"And your relationship with Utsumi will?"
Takeo paused. Trying to change the subject, she said, "Say, why don't we
go see what the boys are talking about? For some reason, they always seem
to want to leave us girls out of everything."
Noa knew what Takeo was trying to do, but decided to let her do it. After
all, she didn't want to be apart from Asuma any longer than she had to
right now. Something about this upcoming mission was starting to worry
her, even if she had been looking forward to it just a while ago.
Something about Asuma's warning... about the chance of having to fight the
Griffin... about the fact that Asuma was worried, himself. Perhaps it was
just nerves, but she felt the need to reassure him, and to be reassured
herself.
Besides, Takeo seemed to need a chance to talk to Utsumi herself.
* * * * *
"Ah! Mr. Shinohara, welcome!" Wong greeted.
Asuma grimaced. For some reason, Wong's constant cheerfulness was starting
to get on his nerves. "Utsumi," he acknowledged.
"I hope I didn't catch you at a bad time?" the elder man said, noticing the
sour tone in Asuma's voice.
"Not really, no," Asuma admitted. "Noa and I were just on deck, admiring
the scenery."
"Oh! Terribly sorry," Wong said apologetically. "I know how precious
moments like that are. I just thought that, as a courtesy to you and to
help you make plans for the encounter, I should give you a few of the
performance specifications for the Griffin."
Asuma took a proffered folder, but his eyes didn't leave Wong's. "Oh? And
how, exactly, do you know how important a moment like that is? For some
reason, I have a hard time seeing YOU as being able to know something like
that."
"You wound me, my dear Mr. Shinohara," Wong complained theatrically. "Do
you really think of me so poorly as to assume I don't know anything about
matters of the heart?"
"No," Asuma said evenly. "However, while I may not be a romantic or
anything like that, I can appreciate a few moments of peace right before
you know you're about to risk your life for something. I can't see you
caring about anything enough to knowingly risk your life for it, so I don't
see you ever HAVING a moment like that to appreciate it."
Wong paused, his smile fading. "I have, though. There was something I
cared for like that, once. Someone."
Asuma snorted. "You expect me to believe that? Look, everything I know
about you tells me that you let other people take your risks for you. When
have you ever had to worry about never having a chance to see someone
again?"
Wong turned the most serious expression Asuma had ever seen at him. "When
I tried to resign from Shaft for Takeo." He paused. "I failed to resign
from Shaft, and I didn't see Takeo again for several years. So not only do
I know what it's like to be in your situation with Ms. Izumi, I also know
what it's like to have a moment like that, and then actually lose what it
is you're fighting for."
Asuma was having a hard time keeping his skeptical attitude, but still
couldn't quite take Wong on his word. "How do you 'fail' to resign from a
company, and how in the world would that keep you from Takeo?"
Wong's smile returned. "The last day I saw her- that is, the last time I
saw her before my security agent shot her- I swore to her that I would
return to her after resigning from the company. She'd been begging me to
quit for some time, and finally I was able to say 'yes,' I would quit. So
I went in to work, walked into my bosses office, and handed him a letter of
resignation."
Asuma snorted. "What happened, did he make an offer of a promotion?"
Wong nodded. "At first. My own division, a vice-presidency, a huge raise,
stock options, the works." Wong laughed. "I said no."
That surprised Asuma. "Then, what-"
"Apparently, they'd been keeping me under surveillence for some time. They
knew my weakness," Wong answered before the question could be asked. "They
knew Takeo was a cop on loan to Interpol, and they knew that she'd made
contact with me in order to spy on Shaft. She was a security risk, they
told me. If I quit, they warned me, her life would be forfeit. But if I
stayed with the company, accepted the promotions, and promised not to go
back to her... well, then they'd spare her life." He broke eye contact
with Asuma, and started staring at his feet. "You've been asking me since
I met you in that lodge what I was getting out of this. I'll let you know,
now... if I can free you by showing that Shaft assassinated your father,
then Shaft will be destroyed and I will be free of its yoke. If I am free
of Shaft, then... then I can return to Takeo, and tell her I've kept my
promise. I am sure there will have to be a period in which I will need to
earn her forgiveness, but once I've done that I can ask her to marry me,
like I was planning to however long ago it was I handed in my resignation."
He paused. "Never trust me, my friend, but know I am telling the truth
this once. What I'm getting out of helping you... is Takeo."
Niether of them said a word for quite some time. Finally, though, Noa and
Takeo arrived and broke the silence.
"There you are!" Noa cried. "What have you two been talking about?"
Asuma coughed. "Not much. Just going over the specs for the Black Labor,
so I can help come up with a strategy better."
Wong nodded. "Indeed, but we seem to have drifted off into idle chatter.
I suggest you two go and have some fun. We've got a long day... say, have
you been to your cabin yet? I suggest you go- I ordered the chef to
prepare a special meal for the two of you." He gave Asuma a wink.
Asuma got the hidden message in the wink. "Um, good idea... I think."
Noa nodded. She wanted to give Takeo and Wong some time alone, herself.
"I think so, too. Come on, Asuma- I'm hungry!" Grabbing Asuma by the arm,
she dragged him off in a run.
Takeo giggled. "Were we ever like that?"
Wong looked at her, eyebrows raised. "'We?' I don't think 'we' had much
of an opportunity to act like that. We were too busy doing other things...
more, er, mature things."
Takeo gave a very unladylike snort. "Maybe we would have been better off
if we'd had more fun like they're having. What IS this 'special' meal
you've had prepared?"
Wong's eyes twinkled. "Oh, only the best. The best sake money can buy,
premium Kyoto beef, the freshest shrimp around, and, because I figure Asuma
will be needing the boost before they leave that cabin, a plate of raw
oysters."
Takeo looked confused. "Raw oysters?"
Wong nodded. "The Viagra of seafoods. They've only got a few hours before
they're going into action- I figure they'll need that one last 'time'
together."
Takeo laughed a little at first, then hesitated. In a rather more serious
tone then she'd been speaking with him before, she began, "You know, I was
chatting with Noa, and realized something. I think we need to talk."
Wong tensed, but nodded. "Yes, I think we need to talk, too. There are a
couple things I think you'd better know I'm planning."
* * * * *
"Shinobu?" Gotoh said softly, shaking the other captain slightly. "Time to
get up. We're back."
Shinobu blinked her eyes awake. "Eh, what?" she said sleepily. She tried
to stretch out the crick in her neck- she always got one when sleeping in a
car.
"We're back. Time to go in and see if Gomioka has any messages from Takeo
for us."
She yawned. "Maybe she's been able to wrap up the case without us. This
whole investigation disturbs me."
"Doubtful," Matsui said pessimistically from behind Gotoh. "I imagine it
will take either a very high placed source in Shaft or a stroke of the
greatest luck in the world for her to have found the weapon already."
"Inspector Matsui," Shinobu intoned. "Has anyone ever told you that you
have no sense of subtlety?"
Matsui grinned. "Nope."
"Consider yourself notified," she ordered.
"Yes, ma'am!"
Gotoh led the trio into the SV2 headquarters building, but before they
could even reach their office they were intercepted by Sakaki.
"Captain Nagumo," he said, approaching Shinobu. "Luitenant Gomioka left
this note for you. My mechanics and I have followed his instructions to
the letter."
Shinobu scanned the letter Sakaki handed to her, a frown growing on her
face. "Inspector Matsui," she said absently.
"Yes, ma'am?"
She pulled a key out of her pocket and tossed it to him. "Go up to my
office and use that key to open the top right drawer at my desk. In it,
you'll find a labor movement disk. Bring it to me."
"Er, why?" Matsui said, somewhat surprised.
Shinobu stared at him hard. "It appears as if I'm going to be needed as a
labor pilot."
* * * * *
A few hours after their first sojourn to the deck, Noa and Asuma left their
cabin to make a second. On their way out the door, though, they bumped
into Takeo and Wong.
Takeo blushed upon meeting the others, and withdrew a hand which had been
held inside Wong's. That only drew attention to the fact that they had
been holding hands, however, and so she blushed even further.
Wong coughed politely. "Oh, my. Well, we were going to be getting the two
of you ourselves in a few minutes. We've arrived- in about fifteen
minutes, we'll be docking at our destination, and... well, we'll see what
happens after that. I suspect there'll be a fight of some sort, but we may
be able to avoid that."
Asuma's eyes widened slightly. "Prep time, then?"
"That is correct," Wong acknowledged, nodding.
Asuma cursed slightly under his breath. "Come on, Noa- back to our room.
We need to get our equipment ready," he ordered, giving her an apologetic
glance. It seemed they wouldn't have that last moment on deck, after all.
Noa nodded, and the two of them started back down the corridor to their
stateroom. "Was I seeing things," she said, the moment she was out of the
other couple's earshot, "Or was Takeo... 'acting different' towards
Utsumi?"
Asuma half-smiled. "Yeah... I think they made up or something. But do you
really want to spend our last few moments before a potential fight talking
about them?"
Noa's face lit up like a candle. "You mean you want to talk about us?" she
said, opening the door to their cabin.
Asuma blinked. "Um... that wasn't what I was thinking of-"
Noa's face fell. "Oh."
"But if you'd rather do that than figure out ways of surviving what's up
ahead, I don't have a problem with that," he finished, pulling out the
suitcase which held their headset radios and Noa's helmet.
Noa flushed. "Um, sorry. I guess that IS more important."
Asuma paused as he was adjusting his headset. Not meeting her eyes, he
sighed. "Maybe it isn't." At Noa's surprised look, he explained, "Look,
we have a few things we might be able to go over, but they'd just be
reminders of things I'm pretty sure you won't forget. But we might not
succeed in this, and if we don't we need to decide what we're going to do."
Noa slowly moved over to the suitcase, pulling out her own radio and
helmet. "We-ell," she said, drawing the word out as she thought. "If this
doesn't work, then I'll do whatever you need me to do."
Asuma sighed. "If this doesn't work, then there's probably no chance of
ever clearing my name, you know. We'd have three real options. The first
is for us to remain refugees in Japan forever- and as many fond memories as
I have of your family's would-be ski resort, I don't think we can keep
hiding out there for the rest of our lives. The second would be for us to
leave the country- forever. Go somewhere that Japan doesn't have an
extradition treaty with, and see if we can't forge a new life their. It
would mean learning a new language and getting new careers, but it's
probably preferable to the first option."
Noa adjusted her helmet, waiting for him to continue. When he didn't, she
prompted him, "And the final option?"
"I can surrender to the police. I'd be arrested, and probably jailed for
life, but at least you'd most likely be able to get out of being sent to
jail, which would allow you to live the rest of your life without being on
the run. You could see your family and friends, and probably yo-"
"Stop!" Noa screeched, startling Asuma. "Asuma Shinohara, if you even
THINK that I'm going to abandon you after I've gone this far, you've got
another thing coming. If we DON'T succeed in this, then I wouldn't mind
living in another country for the rest of our lives, as long as it was you
I was living with. But I WON'T accept any plan which takes you away from
me, got it?"
Asuma continued to look somewhat amazed at Noa's outburst, but soon
regained his composure. "It was just an option, and not one I particularly
cared for, either. But I figured you deserved a chance to think about it."
He smiled at her. "But don't worry about it- all we need to do is prove
that the murder weapon belongs to Shaft, and you won't need to make that
decision."
Noa nodded. "Right. I won't let those bastards who framed you get away
with it!"
'Good,' Asuma thought. 'She's mad- whoever tries to stop her doesn't stand
a chance. But she'd better relax for the moment- she doesn't need that
anger interfering with her until she's in combat.' He paused. 'Well,
there's one thing I can think of to tell her that might help... too bad we
don't have more time, or there's something else we could do, but that'll
have to wait.'
"Noa?"
Noa met his eyes with a fiery gaze. "Yes, Asuma?" she stated fiercely.
"I don't know how all this will turn out, but there's something I think we
need to say to each other before it happens. Something I'm pretty sure we
know already, but we still should say the words first." He took a deep
breath. This was hard for him, but he had to say it. It might be his last
chance. One thing that Wong's story of his and Takeo's failed courtship
told him was not to wait for things like this, as the opportunity might
never come again. "Noa, I know we haven't said it yet, but I know it, and
I hope you know it, that I... that I love you."
Noa's face softened considerably. "Asuma...."
Not able to come up with an adequate verbal response, she grabbed him up
into her arms and started kissing him. Hard. As if it might be the last
time she ever could.
The kiss was still going on when Bud Reynard, the young pilot of the
Griffin, burst into the room. He pulled to a stop, blinked at the pair,
and whistled. "Go for it, you two!" he cheered. "I'd ask to see more of
this kind of action, but you need to get into your Ingram, big sis, for
another kind! Seems we have a few other labors to play with before we can
find that gun."
Noa and Asuma broke apart in surprise, blushing badly. "Um, I'll be right
there," the female half of the team said, pulling on her helmet. Asuma
sighed, taking a moment to relax before he had to get into position,
himself.
Richard Wong, accompanied by Takeo, entered the room as Asuma was glancing
around for one last check, trying to make certain he hadn't missed
anything.
"Are you ready to go?" Wong asked him. "We probably should be heading to
the observation deck, so we can get good seats for the upcoming round of
entertainment."
Asuma snorted, leaving the room and following the other man. "I'd hardly
call 'desperately trying to regain my innocence' to be 'entertainment,' but
yeah, I'm ready to go."
Wong pouted jokingly, leading the trio down the corridor and up a set of
stairs. "Oh? Well, perhaps you ARE under a lot of stress over this
incident, but I suspect the upcoming battle will be quite interesting to
watch from an impartial standpoint. I can already tell you there are going
to be more contestants in this little game than we were initially
expecting."
"There are?" Asuma said in surprise as they neared the door to the
observation deck. "Who?"
Wong opened the door and continued on to the edge of the open-air platform.
"Ah, smell that sea air."
They hadn't quite moored at the pier, yet, which gave them plenty of time
to survey the scene before any action had to be taken. Handing Asuma a
pair of binoculars before donning one of his own, he pointed.
"Check over there, by the loading dock, behind all those crates. You
wouldn't be able to see it from shore."
Asuma squinted. "Hmm... a labor carrier of some kind. I don't recognize
it- certainly isn't one of the standard Shaft carriers."
Wong nodded. "Nope- it just happens to be an Interpol labor carrier. And
check out the labor standing next to it."
"That's odd... I can't identify that one at all. It looks fairly advanced,
but doesn't really look like an experimental..."
"It's not. And I'm surprised at you- your the son of the founder of the
largest labor corporation in Japan, and you don't even recognize one of
your foriegn competitors' labors?"
Shinohara shrugged. "Not all of them. I know every model in the companies
which have ever tried peddling their wares in Japan, but if they haven't,
well, I really haven't paid much attention."
"Ah, that explains it," Wong nodded. "It's an American model. After you
successfully proved your own company's defect with the Hyper Operating
System some months back, the New York City police opened bids for high-end
labors, excluding Shinohara Heavy Industries and all other competitors who
had adopted the HOS, and turned down the contract your company had to
supply them with the Zero's."
Asuma nodded, still looking at the unusual labor. "I'm familiar with that
much of the situation. I'd hardly call it MY company, however- I would
never have marketed a labor if I knew that it was defective, hoping to fix
the problem later with 'upgrades' which didn't take place until after
hundreds of billions of yen's worth of damage was done."
"Chrysler, an American-based car company, developed the eventual victor of
the New York City Police contract- the CPJ-7 'Rumbler' model. Unless I
miss my guess, the pilot of that Interpol labor may very well be a friend
of yours. Then again, you aren't exactly in a situation where you can
trust your friends, are you?"
Asuma grimmaced. "I can trust Noa. And when it comes to most of the
others, I think I can trust them to be fair- and to act the way I think
they'll act in a given situation."
Wong glanced at Takeo, who was idly picking at her nails, obviously bored
with the whole conversation. "Well... yes. I suppose you can sometimes
predict how people will act," he replied wistfully, remembering a certain
conversation in a laundry room some months back. "In addition to the
American labor, there's our two labors, plus I can make out a team of four
Shaft Security Systems' Abraham labors, and at least two Brochen's.
There's obviously more here that my company is trying to protect than I
knew." He smiled. "It should be an excellent test of our two labor's
fighting skills."
"This isn't a test," Asuma growled.
"Sure it is!" Wong exclaimed. "Yes, maybe there's more to it than a simple
test, or demonstration, but it is nonetheless a great opportunity to see
how my new, improved Griffin handles itself. I could also point out that
it should be a good test of your little girlfriend's piloting skills, but I
assume you don't really care about that."
"Noa's the best labor pilot out there," Asuma sounded out through clenched
teeth. "I don't need a test to tell me that. If she wasn't, your old
Griffin would have crushed her."
"Perhaps," Wong admitted, his smile unwavering. "I suspect you and your
friends had something to do with that, as well, though. Especially you,
from what I've seen. But right now, that's unimportant- we have a 'game'
to prepare for. Hmm... do you want me to give you the specs of each of
those labors, so you can do your job as Noa's 'backup' better?"
"Just the Rumbler's. I know the others by heart."
"Ah. That's easy- physical strength roughly the equivalent of the Saturn,
speed roughly equal to the Brochen, and a very primative nueral net system
for the software. She may carry a firearm of a smaller caliber than the
Ingram's, but Americans usually have better cared for guns with higher
quality ammunition and more accurate marksmen in their Patlabors. Japan,
for some reason, doesn't see the need of training its labor pilots to use
the tools it gives them."
Asuma shrugged. "I dunno about other units in Japan, but we deal with
urban combat more than anything. Despite the protests of one Ohta Isao,
using our labors' guns in city limits usually gets more complaints than
letting the criminals get away." He paused. "Noa's a terrible marksmen in
practice, but when you let the adreneline start pumping in her, she can be
one of the best. Once, she ended a hostage situation by firing a bullet
inches away from both the hostage and the hostage-taker. The concussion of
the blast knocked the supposed gun- which was actually an umbrella, right
out of the guy's hands. As I recall, that was Takeo's first assignment
with us."
Silent up until that point, Takeo moved over to join the talk. "I remember
that. Considering the reputation Section Two had before I joined up, I was
astonished to see someone of Noa's skills as part of it. I quickly learned
the reputation wasn't because of a failure to produce, but because the
person I was put in charge of was usually a bit too much of a hothead.
Ohta can be really sweet sometimes, and when he's calm enough he can
actually work pretty well, but... well, he doesn't seem to have control of
himself all that often, it seems."
There was a slight lurch indicating that the ship was properly moored. A
member of the freighter's crew joined them a moment later. "Chief Utsumi,
sir!" he saluted. Wong frowned slightly at the formality but motioned for
the man to continue. "Docking is complete, sir. We can be ready to raise
and activate the two labors in exactly three minutes, sir."
Wong looked at Asuma. "Well, this is your party. Are you ready?"
Asuma switched on his radio headset. "Noa, can you read me?"
"Loud and clear."
"There are seven labors visible from the dockyard. Two Brochens, four
Abrahams, and an American labor which may or may not get involved. Can you
handle it?"
There was a pause. "I don't know," she said. "The Griffin can probably
handle the Abrahams easily, and I've been able to handle multiple Brochens
before- but it will be dangerous, especially if the American labor gets
involved. I don't think it would hurt to try, though. Alphonse hasn't
ever let me down, yet."
Asuma smiled slightly, Noa's voice dropping some of the tension his
conversation with Richard Wong had created. "Okay. Get ready- we're going
to deck up you and Bud."
"Roger."
Flipping off his mouthpiece, he turned to Wong. "Raise 'em."
* * * * *
Kanuka Clancy was surveying the harbor's facilities with a keen attention
to the goings-on around her. As of yet, no-one of importance- either here
or at home- knew that she was even in Japan, and she hoped to keep it that
way for a while. Hopefully, when everything was done, she'd be able to
return to America without anyone knowing she was gone.
She wasn't AWOL, exactly- after all, one of her purpetually ongoing
assignments was to track the movements of Shaft Security Services, evaluate
their performance, and investigate them for illegal activities at home or
abroad. Three-S had suddenly positioned a full detachment of it's forces
in this harbor, and officially (if she had to give an official reason), she
was here to look them over. And if it turned out that she was on hand to
help out an old friend who was in a bit of legal trouble- unofficially- so
much the better.
She'd seen the ship as it was coming in, and knew she'd recognized it from
somewhere. It wasn't until the two labors rose out of it that she
remembered where, though.
"The Griffon!" she gasped in surprise. And not just the Griffon, either,
she realized, but Alphonse as well. "What are THEY doing here- TOGETHER?"
she asked herself aloud. Had Asuma gone over to Shaft in the hopes that
they'd find a way to keep him safe? If so, why was Noa involved- surely
she wouldn't agree to something like that willingly. Well, she might if
they promised to keep Alphonse intact for her... but still, that didn't
seem in character for either of them. Niether did murder, for that matter.
Well, Kanuka knew better than to intervene before she knew what was going
on. She settled into her hiding place to watch the proceedings just as
Alphonse and the Griffon leapt down off of the tanker and onto the dock.
The Abrahams approached Alphonse and the Ingram tentatively, and then the
labors met...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
desaix@sysnet.net
Sir Desaix, member # 116 of the Knights of the True Fiancee
fanfics available at
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/7872/fanfics.htm
David A. Tatum's Used Anime Trading Post
http://www2.sysnet.net/~desaix/shop.htm