Full Metal Panic Fan Fiction ❯ Blood From Metal ❯ Chapter 8

Blood From Metal

 

By: Alpha Zulu Mark II

 

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, I don't claim to own any of them, and this fic is meant only to explore an idea; so, bite me!

 

Chapter 8

 

“Sousuke,” came a soft voice from the darkness. The young man's eyes opened, his hand tightening on the grip of his pistol. Feeling a small hand touch his bare chest, he sat up, rubbing against warm, slick skin as he did so. Yu Fan, he determined, the girl shifting beside him noiselessly from where she had been snuggled to his side to sitting as well. With Yu Fan beside him, that meant that the one speaking was Mao.

 

“Situation?” he whispered, glancing at his luminescent watch face. It isn't time to change the watch, he noted. His teammate clicked on a small penlight.

 

“The Russians just called,” said Mao. “Dutch said to tell you that Kana was sighted at the facility more than a week ago, but left after less than three hours,” she said. “Dutch also said to tell you that the facility is - and I quote - `under new management', whatever that means,” she added.

 

“It means that AMALGAM has taken control of the facility from the Russian Mafia,” Sousuke murmured softly. “Either Hotel Moscow will try to take it back, or I will request that an air strike be laid on it,” he made mental notes out loud. “On second thought, I will request the air strike no matter who controls it,” he amended the earlier thought.

 

“Do you think Tessa will do that?” asked Mao, her eyes sliding over Yu Fan. The assassin girl had the habit of sleeping tight to Sousuke's side, and if the room was warm or humid enough, she showed no signs of hesitancy to strip down to her panties - or less. Not that I haven't been in similar situations with him, but this is something else, she thought. Mao felt that Yu Fan was taking field necessity to a degree that was frankly scary.

 

“I believe she will,” said Sousuke. “A cruise missile with an imploding plasma warhead is a sensible option to deal with facilities such as that one,” he explained. Perhaps she would have balked two years ago, but not now; not with these stakes on the table, he thought grimly. Tessa has become a veteran commanding officer in the last two years, he thought, feeling a surge of affection and respect for the girl.

 

“Any word from the Triads or from the Church?” asked Yu Fan quietly. She was lying on the spread-out poncho next to Sousuke, naked save for a pair of Kaname's borrowed panties. Her left hand rested next to her pistol, and her knife was under the edge of the poncho, close to her right hand when she was lying down. Sousuke held his Beretta in his right hand, and just above where his head would be when lying down was his own combat knife and a grenade. Within arm reach were the harnesses and main arms of the pair, locked and loaded, their shirts, pants and boots at the foot of the poncho. It would take, Mao knew, scant seconds for them to evacuate the position, and even less time to engage and eliminate an intruder.

 

“No, not yet,” said Mao.

 

“How are our `hosts'?” asked Sousuke.

 

“Benny is working on his computer, Rock is sleeping, Dutch is resting, and Revy is passed out,” said the older woman, grinning slightly.

 

“I see,” said Sousuke. After a moment, he spoke again. “How are you doing, Melissa,” he said quietly, “suddenly meeting your cousin like this, I mean,” he wondered. Mao smiled.

 

“Surprisingly good, actually,” said Mao. “For years, I thought that she was dead, but now,” Mao paused, thinking of her cousin, “at least she's alive,” said the woman. Sousuke didn't say anything, but she saw him looking at her. “Don't worry,” she assured him, “I'm not going to flake off on you,” she said.

 

“That is good to hear,” agreed Sousuke. Yu Fan glanced at her own watch.

 

“Do you need me to relieve you on watch?” she asked Mao. “My watch starts in fifty minutes,” she noted. Mao shook her head.

 

“I'll finish my watch, Yu Fan,” she said. The assassin nodded, laying back. Sousuke glanced at the younger girl, then back to Mao.

 

“Let us know if anything new comes up,” said the young man, laying back down beside Yu Fan, who immediately shifted to rest tightly against his side. Mao clicked off the penlight and moved out the door to their rented room.

 

“Worried about something?” came Dutch's voice. The large black man was sprawled out on the couch in the office, a freshly-lit cigarette in his lips. Melissa Mao shook her head.

 

“No, not really,” said the Sergeant Major, shaking out a smoke for herself.

 

“Funny, I could have sworn that you were worried about the assassin and your unit leader,” he chucked deeply. Melissa dropped into a chair, facing backward so she could rest her arms on the back of the simple wood chair. Exhaling through her nose, she glanced at Benny, who was at the desk, his attention focused on the monitor hooked up to the pile of circuit boards and hardware that he called his computer. Her eyes flickered over to see Rock and Revy sprawled out on the floor. Not unlike Sousuke and Yu Fan, but with more clothes on; or rather, more clothes on Rock - Revy could give Yu Fan a run for her money, she thought.

 

“Why would you think that?” she asked the shaved-head leader of the Black Lagoon Company. Dutch swiveled his head to look at her through his sunglasses.

 

“You check on them constantly - more than necessary, anyway - and you spend as much time keeping an eye on her as you do looking out for your enemies,” he said. “You got your eye on him, or something?” he guessed.

 

“Not really,” she said. “It's just a habit,” she dismissed it. Dutch grunted.

 

“You are used to being in charge of him, is that it?” he suggested. Mao blinked.

 

“Maybe,” shrugged Mao. “What does it matter?” she asked in return.

 

“To me? Not at all,” he answered her. “But I have gotten a little curious about your group,” he admitted. “It's not every day that I find myself harboring renegade mercs from two of the biggest and baddest of the underground mercenary outfits on the planet,” he pointed out. Mao could see his point.

 

“Yu Fan is new to us, that's all,” said Mao. “And before that, she was on the other side,” added the woman. I still don't trust her, and her cryptic remarks about Gauron's last order makes me nervous, she thought.

 

“Huh,” Dutch grunted. “I image that there is a story about how she ended up in your little pack with a price on her head,” he mused. Mao shrugged.

 

“I'm sure there is, but I don't know that story,” said the Sergeant Major. Dutch looked at her oddly.

 

“You don't know how she went from enemy to teammate?” he wondered. Mao shook her head.

 

“A year ago, she damn near killed me - and did wipe out my AS unit. Back then, I thought she got her ticket stamped, but here she is, teamed up with me and Sousuke,” she explained.

 

Dutch didn't say anything. If that is true, then there is no way that they are acting on their own, he realized. Or, it could be that they are renegades, and she is covering up a double-cross or worse, he reconsidered. Which is it, I wonder? he asked himself. Mao was watching him, wondering if she had said too much.

 

“So, are you and Sousuke an item?” asked Benny, still typing on the keyboard in front of him. Mao shook her head.

 

“Sorry to disappoint you, Benny, but we're strictly teammates,” chuckled Mao. I'm not going to try and get between Sousuke and those two; I may be brave, but I'm not suicidal, she left unsaid.

 

“Then why bother keeping tabs on the assassin?” asked Benny. “Unless, of course, you are worried that she might kill him?”

 

“She won't,” said Mao. At least, not right now; I think, she told herself.

 

“Then why are you so keen on keeping an eye on her?” pressed Benny. Mao was saved answering by the chirping of a cell phone. Fishing around in his worn vest's pocket, Dutch pulled the phone out and flipped it open. After a moment, he closed the phone and tucked it away.

 

“That was the Church,” he said. “Nothing matching your target went through the location in Italy in the last two months,” he said. “Yolanda said to tell you that she looks forward to doing business with you again,” he said. Mao grunted.

 

“Now, if the Triads would just check in,” she muttered, “we could be back in the chase,” she sighed. “I hate down time,” she complained her herself. Looking at Dutch, she decided to dig into his past some. “What about you and your group?” she asked. “I know about my cousin, but what about you?”

 

Dutch chuckled. “Me? Oh, nothing special to tell,” he said. “I was an orphan street punk back in the day. Got jammed up good once too many times, and ended up looking at jail or the military,” he said. “I chose the military. Because of the court order, I was in the Navy the day after my sixteenth birthday. After boot, I was posted to fleet, and managed to make it all the way around the world,” he paused, stubbing out his smoke.

 

“During a TAD stateside, I caught the attention of a commander in the Teams, and before I knew it, I was breaking my back in BUD/S. Finished fifth of my class, and got shuffled to a team for two years. Ended up running black ops all over the place, until about ten years ago,” he said, snorting slightly.

 

“What happened?” asked Mao. Navy SEAL, hmm? Figures; he has that dangerously skilled feel to him, she thought.

 

“Had a cherry skipper come on board for a sensitive mission; last-minute political call somewhere above my pay rate,” he explained. “Anyway, he was fresh from BUD/S and his Academy ring hadn't even lost its shine yet, and when things began to unravel on mission, he unraveled with it,” said the man. “Got two men wasted, another three severely injured - myself included - before we got him settled down so we could withdraw in good order.”

 

“Sounds like you should have gotten a medal,” Mao observed. Dutch chuckled darkly.

 

“Motherfucker blamed it all on me, since I was the senior-most Chief in the team, and by the time that the rings stopped knocking, I was on my way to the brig at Hawaii, where they said I would be cooling my heels while they found a hole deep enough to throw me in so they could forget about me. Like that was going to happen. I slipped free from the hospital at Pearl, tucked my tags on a corpse, switched paperwork and jumped the first ship out of Hawaii,” he said. “Wouldn't you know it? It dropped me Thailand. The rest, you can probably guess,” he said.

 

“Navy still after you?” Wondered Mao. Dutch shook his head.

 

“Nah,” he said casually. “I checked a few months later, and they show me as killed in a training accident off Virginia. I'm in business for myself now, anyway,” he dismissed the rest of the story.

 

“We got that in common, then, swabbie,” grinned Mao, giving him the bird.

 

“Watch it, jarhead,” smiled the big man, “One SEAL is worth ten leathernecks, you know; twenty if it involves thinking,” he shot back. Mao laughed softly. Nice to know that the services are still so tight with each other, she thought to herself. Silence fell until Yu Fan slipped out of the room they called their own, dressed and in her harness. Mao nodded, walking into the room to catch some rest, leaving Yu Fan on watch. Settling her gear, she lay down next to Sousuke. When next she woke, she found that she had shifted so she was resting her head on his shoulder, her arm over his belly. Kana and Tessa are lucky, she thought groggily, closing her eyes again as she nestled her head back on Sousuke's shoulder.

 

-

 

Kaname looked over at Kari, then across at Gretchen, and finally over to Sari before glancing back at her cards. The four of them were on a large blanket, under the shade of the palms, near where the vegetation and sand met. As had been her daily routine of late, she had woken up, showered, dressed - if one could call bikini bottoms `dress' - had breakfast, followed by a morning swim and some sun bathing. Lunch followed that, and right after lunch was a break period, where Kaname usually played cards with the other girls, dodged Leonard, or pretended to rest in her room. Later, as the sun began to fall, she would try and manage to walk around the island some more, followed by a dip in the cove before supper. After supper, it was usually time to stargaze, work on her plans, and try to stay a step ahead of Leonard.

 

Lunch had been a half hour ago, and now, the four of them were deep into their poker game. Kaname had always been indifferent to the card games that she played with Kyoko and her other friends, but now, she was glad that she had learned as many variations as she had, since it kept the other three off balance to some degree, as well as keeping the game from getting boring. Currently, they were playing a variation that Mizuki had come up with. The four of them each had a suite, and the winner was determined by the one with the highest complete run in their suite.

 

Right now, Kana was looking for the last two royals in her suite - she was diamonds this time - and was trying to determine if the other players had already discarded the cards or not. Each hand was seven cards. The remaining deck was put face down, and each player could draw from deck; provided that they discarded a card from their hand before drawing a fresh one. The discards were put face-down next to the draw pile. When a player felt that they had the best hand that they could get, they challenged the others.

 

Kaname was pretty certain that she had Gretchen beat, since she had a pair of the older woman's cards in her hand, locking her run lower than her own. Kari was easy to read; the young American girl was still looking for a string this time around. Sari was harder to read, but she didn't seem to be in any rush to call the others. With only three cards left in the draw pile, Kaname decided to call the others. “Let's see `em,” she said, laying her hand out flat in front of her.

 

“Damn,” complained Kari, dropping her own cards. Sari silently laid her own down as well. Kaname looked at Gretchen, who stared at her for a moment before laying her own cards out.

 

“You won,” came a voice from behind Kaname. “Congratulations, Kaname,” said Leonard. Kaname sighed.

 

“Yeah, yeah,” she said dismissively. “Shouldn't you be somewhere?” she asked him. Like maybe playing crash test dummy in a land mine experiment? Leonard just shrugged as he knelt between her and Kari.

 

“I finished up the office work early, and decided to come see how you ladies were getting along,” he said. Kaname made a face.

 

“Lucky us,” she muttered sourly, tossing her head to settle her long hair.

 

“Actually,” said Leonard in reply, “I noticed as I was working in the office that today is Sari's birthday,” he shared, causing Kari and Sari to squeal in delight. “I should have noticed that sooner, but I think there is enough time to prepare a party for her, don't you think, Gretchen?” he asked. She nodded.

 

“Of course, Leo,” she agreed immediately. Leonard stood, his hand resting on Kana's shoulder as he did so.

 

“Well, how about you and I get that taken care of, then?” he asked Gretchen. “If Kaname will agree to keep Sari and Kari company, of course,” he said. Kaname smiled at the two younger girls.

 

“Sure,” she said easily. She did like the two, in spite of their flaws, and anything was better than being in close proximity to Leonard. “Ok with you two?” she asked the two, who both nodded eagerly. Gretchen rose and departed with Leonard, discussing food and gifts. Kaname briefly thought about that. If you didn't know any better, you could mistake these four for a family, she thought. Leonard does a pretty good job playing concerned alpha-male, and Gretchen - at times - shows an almost motherly concern for Sari and Kari. Anyone can see that Sari and Kari consider the two of them to be their `parent figures'. Put it together, and squint enough, and you have a family, she thought.

 

Crushing the twinge from her conscience, she refused to allow herself to consider them in that regard. It's all an illusion, of course, she told herself. Leo is a murdering, kidnapping, arms-dealing psycho, while Gretchen is his bed-warming, brain-washing project manager. Sari and Kari are little more than possessions to them, and are as much damaged goods, emotional-wise, as anyone I can think of, she forced herself to re-acknowledge. Even so, she realized, if I don't get out of here soon, I might begin to lose sight of all that.

 

Kaname knew about the so-called `Stockholm Syndrome', where the captive begins to identify with the captors; sometimes to the point of losing their own identity to the one their captor project onto them. She had read about it in psychology books, but never really understood how that could happen. Until now, she thought grimly. It is taking more and more effort to remember that I am a captive here, and Leo is trying to take control of me. Sousuke, you have to hurry, she silently begged him.

 

“Kana?” came Kari's voice, dispelling the dark turn her thoughts had taken.

 

“Yes?” she asked, focusing on Kari. The two young girls were already standing, the cards gathered up.

 

“Sari and I want to go for a swim,” she said. Kaname smiled at them.

 

“Well, that sounds good to me, as well,” she agreed, standing and following them into the gentle surf of the cove. Surfacing after a shallow dive, Kaname wiped the seawater from her eyes before watching Sari and Kari energetically play in the water like a pair of otters. Damaged goods or not, I can't help but want to try and save them, she admitted to herself. Splashing Sari, she swiftly chased the two giggling girls with a powerful, yet economic breast stroke.

 

Forty minutes later, a panting Kaname dragged herself out of the surf, followed by two far-less-tired-than-her girls, who nevertheless had decided that they had had enough swimming for the time being. Collapsing to her knees on a towel, Kaname caught her breath. It's really fun to be with them, she thought, grinning at the two girls, who dropped beside her on the towel. “So,” she asked between pants, “what do you want to do after we catch our breaths?”

 

“Oh! Let's go to the cliff on the north point of the island!” exclaimed Kari. “The birds should be gliding there,” she suggested to Sari, who lit up. Seeing that, Kaname laughed lightly.

 

“I think that is a `yes'”, she said to Kari. So, that rocky cliff area is north, is it? she noted to herself. Fifteen minutes later, they gathered up their towels, the blanket and cards, dropping them off on the stone floor of the patio as they moved through the house. Passing the kitchen, Kaname saw Gretchen and Leo in the kitchen, working on the food for the party that night. Gretchen was using a machine to make fresh fruit juice, while Leonard was busy with some cheese blocks and meats. Wish I could find out where he was getting the supplies, thought Kaname as she followed the girls out the front door and down the narrow, but well-maintained trails that snaked through the heavy green growth that blanketed the island almost completely.

 

It took them nearly an hour to make the trek to the cliff peak, though it wasn't a big island. Kaname had discovered early on that the trails weren't set up for easy use, being more of a nature trail that snaked back and forth through the vegetation, avoiding what rough terrain it could, but at the cost of direct efficiency. Reaching the base of the cliff - it looked like part of the volcano or earthquake upheaval that had formed this island had collapsed at some point, leaving a sharp, slightly angled cliff face all the way to the surf - Kaname and the girls began to climb the slope. It wasn't exactly easy, since the cliff was made up of crumbly rock, sand and was covered in coarse sea-grass and the odd weathered tree.

 

Reaching the top, Kaname found that the effort was worth it, as the view was excellent, the breeze cool and fresh, and the vista presented to her worthy of a postcard. Seagulls and some of the native birds slowly rode the air currents, nearly motionless from her perspective, while to her left, she could see Leo's `orchid island'. Squinting slightly, she could make out a couple of darker specs on the horizon, which were likely more islands. Beyond the foaming breakers and narrow band of greenish water, the deep blue of the sea was beautiful. Darker blue than the Caribbean, less turbulent than the sea off Japan, she mused, comparing it to the oceans and islands she had seen. A little less clear than the Atlantic Ocean; at least, what it was like when dad and I took that deep sea fishing trip off New England, she thought, smiling as she recalled how, as a young girl, her father had taken her on an all-day fishing trip. She had been indifferent to the fishing, but the ocean had been interesting, some of the fish caught had been tasty, and spending time with her dad had been the most important thing to her.

 

Seems so long ago, she thought, recalling that for the first time in more than six years. She and her father rarely spoke these days; with him in New York City, working for the UN, and her in Tokyo and going to high school, there just wasn't many times that they could catch each other. Since mom died, Kaname thought, dad and I have each drifted apart. Maybe it's because we are both using our outside lives to cope with her loss, she considered. Her father had spent more and more time at work, and his attention to anything outside work slipped more and more, while Kaname went through middle school and junior high with more and more club activities. When she was ready to start high school, she had told her dad that she wanted to go back to Japan.

 

It wasn't even an issue, she recalled. In a way, it was a sign that he considered her to be self-reliant. Taken another way, it was a sign that he and she had parted ways enough that her choice to go back to Japan wasn't an issue. In either case, she was glad that she had gone back. Living by herself had taught her a lot, and had she not gone back, she would most likely have never met Sousuke. I wonder, she thought, exploring that idea, what would have happened if I had stayed in America? Tessa told me that she was in the Pacific division of Tactical, so there must be an Atlantic division that covers that part of America and Europe, and if that is the case, who would have been assigned to guard me? She frowned as a possible answer occurred to her. They would likely have assigned someone from Intelligence to `observe' me; someone like that Wraith loser, she considered. Fat lot of good he did! she thought resentfully.

 

Suddenly, she blinked. “Where was he when I got nabbed?” she murmured under her breath. He should have been `observing' me, right? So, Intelligence must have known what was going down at Jindai, but it was Tessa who called in the cavalry - not Intelligence. What the hell is going on? she wondered. Someone tugged on her hand. Her attention captured, she looked over to see Sari looking up at her with an inquiring look. “Sorry, what?” she asked.

 

“I asked what you said,” said the girl. “I didn't catch it,” she apologized. Kaname smiled at her, absently stroking the girl's hair.

 

“Just talking to myself,” she said. “It's really beautiful up here, isn't it?” she distracted the girl's attention from her inadvertent slip of the tongue. Sari beamed at her and nodded.

 

“It's my favorite place on the island,” she said. On Kaname's other side, she felt Kari step under her arm, the younger girl's arm snaking around her bare waist. Settling her own arm comfortably over Kari and Sari's shoulders, Kaname took in the view, consciously pushing the topic of Wraith, her kidnapping and the much-hoped-for appearance of Sousuke from her mind. Now was the time to enjoy a pretty sight; there would be time enough later for her to attack her obstacles. I think I will try to resonate with Tessa again tonight, she decided absently, her hand idly rubbing the girl's shoulders fondly.

 

The trio headed back well before the sun touched the horizon, since it would take them a while to get back to the house. By the time that they could see the lights inside the house, the trail they were on was already felt, rather than seen, as the last light of the sun was blocked by the thick vegetation of the island. Kaname wondered if anyone flying over the island could even seen the house; she knew that unless a ship was in just the right spot - and very close - the house blended into the background. With Sari leading her, she found herself being pulled and pushed into the house by the two younger girls.

 

“Welcome back,” came Leo's voice as the three entered, pausing to hastily kick off the simple flip-flops that that they had for running the trails. While Kaname had been assured that most of the scorpions, poisonous snakes, dangerous spiders and disease-carrying mosquitoes had been dealt with long ago, she was still not eager to test her luck with some of the animal kingdom's most skilled killers. “We have just now finished the food,” he said, tossing his pony-tailed silver hair toward the kitchen, where Gretchen was wiping her hands on a dish cloth.

 

“Good timing,” giggled Kari, hugging Sari. The two usually did the vast majority of the cooking and cleaning, and were glad to miss a turn or two. Kaname had made it a point to help them out from time to time; not only because she felt that they deserved some genuine help, but also because it allowed her to vary her day enough to prevent boredom.

 

“What say we dish up the table and eat?” suggested Gretchen, smiling at the younger two. Both scampered off to the bathroom to wash their hands before reappearing at the table. Kaname stepped down to her room to do likewise, getting back as Gretchen put the last tray of food on the table. Looking at the seating arrangement, she saw that her normal and preferred place between the two youngest girls was blocked out, with Sari and Kari sitting side by side, Gretchen and Leo bracketing them, leaving her no other place but between the two.

 

“Happy birthday, Sari,” said Leo, once the group was seated. Sari blushed happily. “Now, let's eat!” he proclaimed, the two instantly falling on the food like barbarians sacking Rome. Kaname was hungry as well, and began to pile up her own plate, the food mostly light and relatively un-filling, but tasty. Fruit punch was served, and Kaname saw that Leo also had a bottle of wine open, he and Gretchen having glasses. When he started to reach for her glass, she pulled it away from him, sending him an annoyed look. He smiled and shrugged.

 

Like I'm going to let him get me drunk! she scoffed. Honestly, she had no objection to trying wine; just not with the present company. She accepted a refill of fruit punch loaded with sherbet from Kari. As soon as the trays were emptied, Leo got up and moved into the kitchen, pulling a decorated cake from the small oven. Kaname judged that it was likely the work of Gretchen, given the colors and general presentation of the cake. On top of it were the fifteen candles, denoting her new age.

 

“Make you wish, Sari,” urged Kaname, seeing the young girl eagerly lean closer to the lit candles. The dark-skinned girl tittered briefly, then blew out the candles in one go.

 

“Yay!” cheered Kari and Kana with the jubilant girl. Gretchen silently began to cut up the cake, the first piece going to Sari. It wasn't a large cake, but it was rich and filling, so when the last piece was gone, the group was full. Kaname found herself wondering if there would be gifts or not.

 

Apparently not, she thought, seeing Leo get up to help Gretchen clear the table. “Kana,” said Sari, “let's watch the stars,” she asked/begged. Kaname stood, feeling a little lethargic after the sweets and food.

 

“Sure,” she said. “I could use some fresh air,” she added to herself. Kari grabbed the blanket from before the three of them moved down to the beach, spreading the blanket out and settling down. It's a good night to watch the stars, thought Kana. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, the moon was almost perfectly half-phase, and there didn't seem to be any light pollution out where they were. A coolly-warm breeze came off the seas, with the soft, almost-muted sound of the waves breaking on the beach a few meters from them joining with the sound of small insects to soothe her after a long day.

 

She wasn't sure when Leo and Gretchen joined them, but at some point, she found that Leo was beside her, dressed in a pair of loose swim trunks, while Gretchen was sitting next to Kari on his other side, the young American girl's head resting on Gretchen's lap. Shutting Leo out of her mind, she watched the stars, wondering if she had paid more attention to astronomy if she could narrow down her location now.

 

A warm, soft weight against her side brought her attention back to the beach she was on, finding that Sari had shifted to rest against her side, much like Kari was doing with Gretchen. Smiling, Kaname draped an arm over the girl, gently rubbing her side briefly. Sari hummed softly. As time passed unnoticed, the girls modest weight began to cause her trouble with her balance, and with one arm around the girl, she couldn't shift back to rest on her elbows. Looking for a solution, she found that if she turned slightly away from Leo, she could rest against his side without disturbing Sari, who was rapidly losing the fight with sleep.

 

Kaname shifted, Leonard wrapping his own arm around her bare back to steady her against his side. Kaname found that she was fighting back a yawn herself as Sari shifted to get more comfortable herself. In the end, she was lying with her head on Kaname's thigh. Since Kaname was sitting on the sand like she would sit at a low table - feet folded back under her rear - the girl had a nearly-perfect pillow, and soon drifted off to sleep. Turning her head a little later, she saw that Kari's head was on Gretchen's chest, the girl asleep. She couldn't be sure, but she thought that Gretchen was asleep as well.

 

Covering her mouth, she yawned. This is pretty comfortable, thought Kaname absently, her eyes idly drifting through the stars. “Mm,” she sighed softly, feeling a soft, gentle stroke on her stomach. Slow, light touches gradually expanded out from her belly button, firm enough not to tickle, but light enough not to focus her attention. Feeling a warm tingle from the caresses, Kaname shifted slightly, a sleeping complaint from Sari the only reaction to her move. With her back now to Leo's side, she closed her eyes, enjoying the moment. The slow caressing shifted to cover a new area, methodically covering her entire belly from side to side, and from the waistband of her bikini bottoms upward, each circuit easing a little higher, finally reaching the base of her breasts.

 

Without pause, the warm, soft hand drifted lower, tracing her abdominal muscles down to her hip, pausing, before delicately slipping under the edge of her swim suit bottom ever so slightly and moving across. Kaname made a small sound, but didn't physically react, being too comfortable. Too much sugar after a long day, she decided. Her arm - the one not resting on Sari's shoulder - sought a comfortable position, ending up partially bracing itself on Leo's thigh, right where the loose shorts ended. By now, his hand was moving up the opposite side of her body, this time brushing the backs of his fingers along the side of her bare breasts. Kaname knew that her nipples were hard, but didn't really see that as an issue.

 

Another soft moan escaped her throat as the fingers brushed against her opposite breast before moving back down, meandering down to her hip, where it spent a little time playing with her bikini bottom. Sighing softly at the vaguely annoying feeling of the warm hand stalling there, Kaname pushed gently on the thigh her hand rested on, urging the caresses to continue. The hand did so, slowly moving along the waistband of her bottoms again, two fingers just under the only garment she wore. Kaname felt the bikini bottom shift downward slightly, but it wasn't enough to worry about, so she focused on the night sounds and the gentle lapping of the waves.

 

Sousuke, she thought to herself languidly. Recalling her lover, she smiled to herself, feeling her body grow warmer. I can't wait to get back to you, she thought, imagining several things she wanted to do. The hand stroking her paused at her opposite hip, again playing with the bikini bottom strap for a moment. Kaname prompted the hand to move on with another couple of pushes against the thigh. It did as she wished, tracing slowly back up her side, this time pausing to cup her full breasts tenderly before moving to the other. Kaname shivered, humming quietly. The hand slowly, slowly slid down her belly, pausing when it reached her belly button. There, it toyed with her cute innie with feather-light touches for a several moments.

 

A nearly-inaudible whine came from her throat as she shifted in reaction to the attentions. As she shifted, she felt something brush the underside of her forearm. Through the fog of comfortable relaxation in her mind, she wondered what it was. She moved her hand up a little, her fingers brushing the hard object. Oh, that's what it is, she realized. The fingers at her belly button stilled. Kaname nudged the thigh again, but the hand didn't move, resting between her belly button and the bikini bottoms. Kaname hazily decided to try a more direct approach.

 

Twisting her wrist, she wrapped her hand around the hard dick, squeezing it twice lightly. The hand moved slightly. Oh, right, she thought absently. Slowly, she stroked it, the hand on her belly mimicking the move. Kaname fought down a silly giggle, feeling the reciprocal movement. Remote control? she joked with herself. She lengthened her stroke slightly, the hand meeting the top of her bottoms, where paused. Kaname was feeling tingly all over, and didn't appreciate it when the hand stopped. Frowning, she stroked the hard length in her hand, but the hand didn't mimic the action exactly, stopping when it reached her bikini bottoms.

 

Kaname frowned. What is the problem now? she wondered, confused. Stroking the length though the swim trunks only got her a light stroke between her bellybutton and the bikini bottom's waistband, and she wanted some relief from the tingly sensation lower than that. Why won't it…? she wondered. A fingertip made an idle circle around her bellybutton, the trail of warmth from the skin on skin almost unbearably teasing. Kaname sucked in a breath. Of course! she thought, understanding instinctively.

 

Impatiently, she released the dick in her hand, hurriedly moving her hand up to the waistband of the loose swim trunks and working her fingers under the material. Once she had her hand inside the shorts, she wrapped her fingers back around the warm, soft, pulsing shaft. On her belly, the hand dipped down, pausing once more at the waistband to her own article of clothing. Kaname sucked in a breath, tilting her hips a little, the move causing the bottoms to loosen slightly in invitation. Accepting that invitation, the hand dipped underneath the material, moving down.

 

“Ah!” she gasped when the fingertips grazed her semi-erect clit. Instinctively, her hand tightened on the dick she held, a minor orgasm rolling through her at the unexpected reaction to the touch. The half-asleep fog in her mind cleared as the tiny orgasm rolled through, Kaname focusing on what was going on in greater detail.

 

“Kana?” mumbled Sari, sitting up a little and blinking at Kaname. Kaname grabbed the wrist attached to the hand that was in her bikini bottoms, jerking it out as she hastily snatched her own hand back out of Leonard's swim trunks. “Something wrong?” mumbled Sari.

 

“N…no,” said Kana, “Just…got a cramp,” she said hastily, fighting to her feet. “I think I better go to bed,” she said before dashing off as quickly as she could. Sari yawned as the commotion woke Kari and Gretchen up as well.

 

“I think we should all get some sleep,” said Leo, adjusting himself. “Sari, you're sleeping with me tonight,” he said, rising. Sari scrambled up, smiling happily.

 

“Thank you, Leo,” she said happily. Leonard glanced at Gretchen and the still-mostly-asleep Gretchen.

 

“Get her to bed, will you, my dear Gretchen,” he directed his assistant. “I will see you in the morning,” he added, his hand slipping down to cup Sari's firm little ass as he entered the house. Gretchen frowned as she helped Kari to her feet, gathered the blanket and guided the girl back to her room. She is starting to react to him, thought Gretchen unhappily. She hadn't been asleep, after all, and had seen the whole incident.

 

In Kana's room, the girl was scrubbing her face in cold water. Well, at least I'm not throwing up, she told herself, feeling queasy and ill. Remembering what had almost happened, she cringed. Drying her face, she nearly tore the bikini bottoms off, dashing to her bed and diving into it, her hand swiftly finding the small device she had been hiding. Clasping it in her hands, she once more repeated her earlier steps before holding it over her heart. She fell asleep clutching it tightly to her.

 

-

 

“Captain,” said Kalinin, saluting Tessa, “I thought that you would like to know that the last of your crew has reported back from shore leave,” he said, handing her a sheet of paper. Looking at the names on the list, she smiled. “Thank you, Commander,” she said. “Do you know where we are in regard to the repairs, maintenance and upgrades?” she asked. He wasn't tasked with keeping tabs on that, but she suspected that he was anyway.

 

“As a matter of fact,” said the tall Russian, smiling slightly, “I happen to have discussed that with the head of the shipyard just yesterday,” he said, confirming her suspicions. “He said that all the repairs are done, the maintenance should be finished by tomorrow afternoon, and the upgrades to the systems should be wrapped up shortly after that,” he said. “Or, time to sea is about thirty six hours, give or take,” he said. Tessa nodded.

 

“Thank you, Commander,” she said, glancing at her workstation screen.

 

“I assume that you will be…eager to weigh anchor for a trial run of the repairs and upgrades?” he said innocently. Tessa nodded.

 

“It is imperative that maintain a vigil against AMALGAM and the lesser idiots of the world,” she said, meeting his gaze. “To that ends, have you seen the latest directives from MITHRIL?” Kalinin maintained a bland expression.

 

“I have not yet had time to read them all, Captain,” he said. “Anything in particular in those directives?” he asked. Tessa held his gaze.

 

“Command has decided to…augment our AS unit, since most of it is…not available,” she said carefully. “We are supposed to be receiving four new AS pilots sometime in the new few days, to re-form our Urzu team,” she said. Kalinin nodded.

 

“Understood, Captain,” he said. “I will look into getting them situated, then,” he said. Tessa glanced at her screen.

 

“And it seems that Technical has gotten the approval from the council to update our secure communications capabilities,” she said. Kalinin's eyes narrowed slightly.

 

“How fortunate for us,” he said blandly. “With the recent security concerns, it makes me feel better to know that Technical has finally been allowed to fix our signal traffic protocol.”

 

“Isn't it, though?” she said. “To facilitate that upgrade, I would like for you to coordinate with my communications officer about it, and make sure that we are ready for the upgrade,” she directed him. Kalinin nodded.

 

“Anything else, Captain?” he asked. Tessa glanced at her screen.

 

“Actually, yes,” said Tessa. “With Sergeant Sagara AWOL, I think this is the perfect time to run that diagnostic sweep in the Arbalest, don't you?” she hinted. Kalinin nodded.

 

“I had been meaning to do that for some time now,” he said. “I will see to it, Captain,” he assured her. “Has your request been approved yet?” he wondered. Tessa offered him a thin smile.

 

“As a matter of fact, our M9s have already been released to Supply for shipment to the training facility, and we should be getting our new M9 mark II units today or tomorrow,” she smiled viciously. “Please be sure that no one loads Mao's access codes into any unit, will you?” she asked. Kalinin saluted.

 

“I will personally tell the ship's AS mechanics not to do that,” he said. Tessa stood swiftly, grabbing her safe key from around her neck. Turning, she opened her safe and withdrew a small high-density data stick. Relocking the safe, she tucked the key back under her uniform blouse. Handing the data stick to Kalinin, she went on. “And please be sure that the information on that is safely locked away,” she said.

 

“Is this dealing with the experiment?” he asked carefully. Tessa nodded once. “Well, we certainly don't want that getting out, now do we?” he agreed, tucking the data stick into his pocket. Tessa debated sharing an idea she had been toying with for the last few days.

 

“Commander,” she said quietly. Glancing at him, she saw that he was focused on her. “Do we have any way of obtaining an example of the enemy Chodarl M units that AMAGLAM fielded in Hong Kong?” she asked. Kalinin hummed as he considered that.

 

“Not that I am aware of, Captain,” he said. “Most of the units we have encountered have been completely destroyed in the course of the engagement, and what little was left was immediately scavenged by Technical's R&D department,” he noted. “Not to put too fine a point on it, Captain,” he said, “but those units are as guarded by our enemy as our own M9 mark II units are.”

 

“I am aware of that,” said Tessa firmly. “It would, however, be prudent to look into obtaining an undamaged unit; for training and familiarization training for the Urzu team, of course,” she added. Kalinin was clearly not following her thoughts on this matter, judging by the look in his eyes, but he was nevertheless prepared to follow her lead.

 

“I will see if that can be arranged,” he said. Tessa nodded.

 

“Thank you, Commander,” she said. Kalinin opened his mouth to speak, but Tessa's phone rang just then. Picking it up, Tessa held up a finger, pausing Kalinin and cautioning him to silence. “Captain Testarossa,” said the girl crisply.

 

“Captain,” came the voice of the base communication chief, “I need you to come down here right away,” he said, he sounded confused.

 

“Is there a problem?” asked Tessa, opening her upper right drawer and withdrawing her SIG P230, carefully easing the slide back to check that a round was chambered before tucking it into the back of her uniform skirt in the custom-made and custom-fitted suede holster Mao had given her three years ago. Straightening her uniform jacket, she caught sight of the faint grin on Kalinin's face.

 

“Not exactly,” said the man, “it's just…please come down here, Captain,” he repeated.

 

“Very well,” said Tessa, “I am on my way,” she said, cradling the phone. “Commander, if you would accompany me?” she directed, moving out from behind her desk, but not before she tapped in the command that locked and secured her terminal. Kalinin followed the slim girl down the corridors, arriving at the communication room in short order.

 

“What is the problem?” asked Tessa crisply of the man. He saluted her.

 

“We're getting an odd signal echo on the tactical carrier band, ma'am,” he said.

 

“Signal echo?” asked Tessa. “That shouldn't be possible, chief,” she said. We are using Black Technology for phase-tuned frequency cohesive wave transmissions, so how could there be an echo? she wondered.

 

“I know, Captain,” he said, “but I have run the diagnostic five times, and it isn't a glitch!” he insisted. “After that, I began to back-trace the anomaly, and managed to limit it to the long-distance tactical carrier band. When I ran it through a washer routine, I got this,” he said, tapping a few commands that changed the display on the wall-sized monitor. A portion of it split into two boxes, one a diagram of the `anomaly' and the other an acoustic breakdown of the echo effect. Tessa frowned.

 

“It seems to be piggybacking on an open channel,” she noted. The chief nodded.

 

“Aye, Captain,” he agreed. “That is supposed to be impossible, as well,” he pointed out. “None of the analysis programs can make heads or tales of it; like it's some sort of alien message,” he complained. Tessa watched the screen, sure that this was somehow familiar to her.

 

The answer hit her like a physical blow, causing her stagger on her feet, Kalinin swiftly catching her and steadying her. “Captain?” he asked, concerned. She waved it off.

 

“It's nothing,” said the small woman. “Chief, please excuse us for a moment,” she said to the tech boss. He blinked at her, but she just tossed her head toward the door.

 

“Aye, Captain,” he said, moving past them. Tessa swiftly moved over to the control board and began to input commands. Kalinin tried to figure out what she was looking for, but wasn't seeing it. A minute later, Tessa scratched around for a piece of paper and a pen, swiftly writing down some numbers before tucking the scrap of paper into her blouse pocket. Wiping the board of the anomaly, she typed furiously for a few seconds, then sighed.

 

“Finally,” she murmured. Kalinin looked up to see a `Delete Log and Record? Y/N' screen flicker once. Straightening, Tessa glanced at Kalinin. “Commander,” she said, “please prepare to depart on short notice, day or night, if I give the order,” she said. He picked up on her aggressive undertone.

 

“Yes, Captain,” he said.

 

“Furthermore, I want you to personally verify that the De Danaan is fully armed, provisioned and equipped for a sustained combat patrol. I will be moving my command back to the ship today,” she said. “And be sure that we have at least two ballistic delivery units for the M9s,” she added, almost as an afterthought. Silently, Kalinin saluted her.

 

Opening the door, she called the communication chief back over. “Sorry, chief,” she said cutely, “it was just a little thing with the technology,” she assured him. “I was supposed to have taken care of that yesterday, but it slipped my mind,” she said, her cheeks coloring. “Please, keep this our little secret, will you?” she asked. The chief was completely sand-bagged by this.

 

“O..of course, Captain Testarossa!” he promised her. Giggling softly, she batted her eyelashes at him before moving off with Kalinin. Once they were several meters away, Kalinin looked down at the young woman.

 

“Was that really necessary?” he asked her, smiling faintly. She offered him an enigmatic half-smile.

 

“Perhaps not,” she said, “but better safe than sorry, right?” He had to agree with her there, in light of the recent events. “Besides,” she added several seconds later, “it was fun!” Kalinin made a mental note not to underestimate his commanding officer - ever.

 

“Where to now, Captain?” he asked her. Her face grew serious.

 

“I have to check my email,” she said quietly, “and you have work to do, do you not?” she asked pointedly. He saluted her.

 

“Understood, ma'am,” he confirmed her orders. Tessa moved back to her cabin, already configuring the message she would cast into the void to her lost friends.

 

-

 

“Morning,” said Mao as Revy stirred. The woman was clearly feeling the effects of her drinking the night before, and Mao was almost enjoying tormenting her cousin. “Rock went out to get some food,” she said, seeing Revy stretch and straighten the tank top she wore.

 

“What time is it?” asked the tattooed woman, rubbing her head. Coughing, she began to pat herself down, looking for her morning smoke.

 

“Half past nine,” said Mao, offering her a smoke from her own pack of Marlboros. Revy took the offered cigarette, having found her lighter before her pack of smokes. Looking around, she saw that Dutch and Benny were missing.

 

“Where're Dutch and Benny boy?” she asked Mao as she stood up from the floor. Mao shrugged.

 

“Something about errands,” she said. Revy wrinkled her nose as she sniffed at her shirt.

 

“I need a shower,” she remarked. “Where are doom and gloom?” she asked, referring to Yu Fan and Sousuke. Mao cracked a smile.

 

“Running a weapons check in the office,” she said, tossing her head toward the partially-open door to the room they rented. Glancing inside, she saw the two, topless but in their fatigues, systematically stripping, cleaning, inspecting and reassembling the guns they had in their kits.

 

“Not joining them?” wondered Revy. Mao shook her head.

 

“Already did mine while you slept,” she said. “How are you fixed up for showering? Here or another location?” she asked her cousin.

 

“I have an apartment in town,” shrugged Revy, “but it's even less than here, so I'm never over there,” she offered. “Anyway, the only good showers are in the hotels downtown,” she explained. “Not like I'm wasting the cash to do that route, so when we switched docks after the last one was torched, I got Dutch to rig us up a little deal here,” she said. “It isn't fancy, but it'll get the sweat off you; or the blood,” she added, a crazed look in her eyes.

 

“Sousuke?” called Mao.

 

“Agreed,” he said, standing and setting the rifle against Mao's pack. Together with Yu Fan, he exited the small room they rented and followed Mao as she and her cousin moved deeper into the dock building. The PT boat descendant was housed in a covered slip, and at the back corner of the slip, opposite the refueling arm, was a rough shower area, fed from a two hundred gallon tank secured above the flex-head nozzle. A crooked half-circle of pipe held up an OD plastic sheet that served as the shower curtain, and the wood of the dock let the water drain down into the bay.

 

“Such as it is, this is it,” shrugged Revy. Mao nodded.

 

“No different from boot, really,” she said dismissively. Glancing at Sousuke and Yu Fan, she spoke again. “And I can't see these two caring,” she noted dryly. Revy glanced at Sousuke and Yu Fan. Both Sousuke and Yu Fan were showcases of scars, though Yu Fan's scarring was mostly from the Hong Kong brush with death and on her arms, while Sousuke was pretty much covered with smaller scars all over his lean, strong frame.

 

“I call dibs,” said Revy, impatiently stepping out of her worn combat boots. “Soaps on those two nails, but could one of you bring me a towel? They're somewhere in the boat - probably near the engine compartment,” she added. Sousuke nodded.

 

“Not a problem,” he said, lightly jumping onto the boat and ducking down into the cabin. He emerged a moment later with a couple of towels.

 

“Thanks,” muttered Revy, catching the tossed towel, “now beat it; and make sure that if Rock gets back before I'm done that he knows I'm here,” she directed. Mao nodded.

 

“Sure, cousin,” she said. Sousuke and Yu Fan moved back up toward the main office. “Unless one of you is in a hurry, I'll go next,” she added. Yu Fan glanced at Sousuke, who just shrugged.

 

“Not a problem,” he said. He suddenly stopped, looking over at the main door. “What is that?” he asked. The other two looked, seeing a manila folder laying on the floor just past the threshold of the metal door. He carefully approached it, Yu Fan and Mao shifting to cover him and each other. In Roanapur, there was no such thing as `paranoid': everyone was out to get you, even if there wasn't a price on your head.

 

Carefully checking the envelope, Sousuke finally picked it up, seeing some Chinese characters on the front. “I presume this is for you, Yu,” he said, offering it to Yu Fan, who glanced at the characters.

 

“It is from sifu,” she said quietly, slitting the envelope open and extracting a single sheet of paper, which bore several lines of hand-written Chinese characters, and an iconic sketch that was clearly meant to be Shenhua above two crossed kukri-bladed knives. Yu Fan scanned the text. “There was no one matching Chidori seen at the facility during the time period mentioned, but she heard through a source that a girl matching Chidori's description was seen by a cook in their employ while preparing a meal at a small villa not that far from the target area,” she related. “She was in the company of a man with platinum hair,” she added. “Sifu adds that the two left shortly after dinner, on a private jet. Destination unknown,” she finished.

 

“Damn it,” snarled Sousuke. We're falling behind if this is going to be a case of leap-frog, he thought angrily. If we can't get in front of him somehow, then we will never rescue Kana! The feeling of helpless rage that roared through him at that thought was almost frightening in its intensity. Sousuke wanted to hurt Leonard Testarossa; and he wanted to hurt him very, very badly - for a very long time, if possible.

 

A hand on his arm disrupted his planning of what he would like to do to Leonard. Looking over, he saw Yu Fan looking back at him. “We will not fail,” she said quietly. Sousuke took a deep, calming breath.

 

“You are correct,” he said, forcefully exhaling. “We will not fail,” he repeated back. Behind the two, Mao wondered where Yu Fan was going with this sudden `team effort' deal. And Sousuke seems to be shifting more toward her than toward me, she noted. Swiftly reviewing the mission so far, she could only think of one reason for that. She and he operate on a different format than I do, she admitted to herself. What happened in the Philippines was proof of that. Sousuke, she thought to her young comrade, I hope you aren't losing your perspective when it comes to Yu Fan, she silently warned him. Resolving to speak with him the next time they were alone about the issue, she pushed it from her mind.

 

“Hey, what's going on?” came the voice of Revy. Turning, the three saw her standing in the doorway to the dock area, a towel around her shoulders, her Daisy Dukes on and a fresh tee shirt covering her chest.

 

“We heard from the Triads,” said Sousuke. “Our target was there, but moved on after less than three hours,” he said. “Back to square one,” he added grimly.

 

“I'm going to grab a shower,” said Mao, stepping past Revy. Sousuke nodded as Yu Fan moved into their office area, re-emerging with her and Sousuke's shirts. Sousuke nodded his thanks, draping his shirt over his shoulder as he sat on the couch.

 

“Yu,” he said to the assassin, “what can you tell me about the man-sized AS units?” he asked the girl. She sat next to him, her shirt haphazardly on her.

 

“Not much,” she said. “Only mister Silver has them. Sensei was distrustful of them for some reason,” she explained. “All I know are that they are tough and strong, and there is no way to subvert them.”

 

“Any idea on limitations?” asked Sousuke. He had seen them move, and they seemed to be relatively light for being AS units. Their movements were stiff - like all machines - but close enough to human to pass for one. He had experienced their armor first hand, and while he was sure that heavy enough weapons were available to penetrate the armor, it was unlikely that they would be lugging them when they next encountered the Alastor units.

 

“Some,” said Yu Fan. “Sensei told me that their weight and density meant that they could not swim in water without a flotation unit, and even if waterproof, would be more vulnerable while in water than not. Also, the weight factor makes high, narrow or lightly-built locations advantageous when engaging them,” she noted. Sousuke nodded.

 

“Sensei once told us that he had seen one of the units begin to malfunction near an ionizing field generated by a plasma reaction in a Polycharidal propulsion system prototype. Likewise, he observed one shut down when it inadvertently wandered into the focused solar collector beam at an AMALGAM research facility,” she related.

 

“Weight and cooling capability, then,” he muttered. Revy cracked a beer, listening to their talk.

 

“You mind talking something I can understand?” she asked crossly, dropping down opposite them. “What the fuck's a Polycharidal propulsion system?”

 

“I do not know,” replied Yu Fan. “It is something that AMALGAM was working on to overcome the advantage that the Paladinium reactors on the De Danaan gave MITHRIL,” she said.

 

“Oh,” retorted Revy sarcastically, “why didn't you say so in the first place?”

 

“We aren't being rude, Revy,” said Sousuke. “It is just that neither of us understand Black Technology,” he assured her.

 

“Black Technology?” parroted Revy. “Is that like the black market?” she wondered. Sousuke nodded.

 

“That is an apt comparison,” he agreed. “More than that, I cannot tell you,” he added. Revy studied the two carefully.

 

“So, this asset that that girl supposedly knows where is,” she said slowly, “is probably some of this `Black Technology' stuff then?”

 

“Whatever it might be is not your concern,” said Sousuke firmly. “Our mission is to recover whatever it might be, not determine what it is,” he insisted. Revy leered at him.

 

“Things like that could make a lot of money,” she noted. Sousuke met her gaze with one that was as cold and hard as any that Revy had ever seen.

 

“I do not advise allowing your greed to skew your decision making,” he warned her. Revy scowled at him.

 

“I don't react well to threats, kid,” she barked. Sousuke didn't flinch.

 

“That is not a threat, Revy,” he said firmly. “It is just fair warning, since you are Mao's cousin.” Revy grunted.

 

Hearing a key in the lock, the three turned to see Dutch and Benny enter the office. Taking in the sight before them, Dutch shook his head. “Revy, try not to stir things up any more,” he sighed.

 

“Me?” she barked.

 

“It's not a problem,” Sousuke interjected. Benny set down a paper bag on the coffee table, then rummaged around before pulling out a carton of Marlboros and tossing it to Revy.

 

“You owe me,” he said, going back to the bag.

 

“Where's Rock?” asked Dutch, not seeing their newest crewman.

 

“Went after food a while ago,” said Revy. “Want me to go find him?” she asked.

 

“Nah,” said Dutch, “give him a bit of a head-start, eh?” he chuckled. Revy grinned. “Where's your cousin?” he wondered.

 

“Shower,” said Revy. “Planning to go peek?” she leered.

 

“Matter of fact, no,” said Dutch. “Ten to one she's got a gun with her,” he counter-offered.

 

“No bet,” laughed Revy.

 

“Benny,” said Sousuke, seeing the blonde man pull a bottle of Jack Daniels out of the bag.

 

“Oh, want some?” he asked, shaking the new bottle.

 

“No thank you,” said Sousuke. “I wanted to know if you could check that site again for me,” he said. Benny shrugged.

 

“Sure, why not?” he said, cracking the seal on the bottle.

 

“Benny boy,” called out Dutch.

 

“Huh?” grunted the blonde. Turning, he saw Dutch smiling at him, a glass extended toward him. Groaning, he poured Dutch a glass before turning back to his computer.

 

Hearing a board creak, Sousuke glanced over to see Mao step through the doorway to the dock area. Her hair was still dripping, and her tee shirt was water-spotted, but she was smiling happily. “Showers open,” she said.

 

Sousuke glanced at Yu, flicking his head toward the door. Silently, Yu rose and slipped past Mao like she wasn't there. Revy scowled at the departed assassin. “That bitch moves like Shenhua did,” said the gunfighter.

 

“Not surprising,” said Sousuke. “Shenhua taught her and her sister blade work,” he shared. Mao shook her head.

 

“I guess I should be glad that it wasn't this Shenhua in that tunnel,” she said. Sousuke nodded.

 

“Yu Lan was a gifted student, it would seem, but clearly, Shenhua has more experience,” he replied.

 

“Tunnel?” asked Revy of her cousin. Mao glanced at Sousuke, who shrugged.

 

“Little more than a year ago, we hit a tunnel in China,” said Mao. “It was supposed to be a simple rescue op, but it was a trap. I ended up tangling with Yu Fan's little sister; and she damn near sliced me into fish bait,” growled the Sergeant Major. “She did get five of my men, though,” she added darkly. “Hey, Sousuke,” she said, suddenly realizing something, “it was probably Yu Fan in that second Chodarl unit that ripped up Kurz and tried to make Swiss cheese out of you before we figured out that rat was compromising us, wasn't it?!”

 

“Affirmative,” he replied casually. “Her performance that day was better than our own,” he noted with detached coolness. “Had it not been for the Lambda driver, I do not think that any of us would have made it out of there,” he added. Mao gaped at him.

 

“How can you be so cool about it?!” she hissed. “You knew every man we lost that day, you know!” she snarled. Sousuke nodded.

 

“Yes,” said Sousuke. “And it is unfortunate that they were killed,” he added. “But we killed their friends as well, Mao. That is what happens in our line of work,” he reminded her. Mao clenched her jaw.

 

“You…Sousuke, I can't believe you can sit there like that, knowing that she and her sister killed your comrades!” she insisted. Sousuke stood and moved over to look Mao in the eyes.

 

“Mao,” he said levelly, “perhaps it is time for Yu Fan and I to continue this mission on our own; I am not sure that you will be able to finish it in your current emotional state,” he said evenly. Mao's jaw dropped back open.

 

“What the fuck are you saying, Sousuke?!” she demanded. “I'm this up to my fucking tits, so you can forget the `going back' speech,” she snapped, thrusting face in front of his face, “I just want to know how you can work with that murderer so calmly, knowing what she did,” she said through locked teeth.

 

Sousuke considered that for a moment. “It is not unlike what happened in the Philippines,” he said. “I can work with her because she and I are similar,” he said. Mao opened her mouth to speak, but Sousuke cut her off. “Did I ever tell you about how I came to run with Kalinin?” he asked. Mao shook her head.

 

“No, you didn't,” she said. Sousuke grunted.

 

“Then, I will tell you now,” he said. “I was a guerilla fighter from the time I could carry an AK, and the first group I ever fought were the Soviets when they invaded neighboring Afghanistan,” he said. “At the time, Commander Kalinin was just a captain in the Soviet army's Special Forces unit. He and I were enemies. For years, we fought in the rugged hills of my homeland and Afghanistan. He killed many of my friends - even some of my family - and I, in turn, killed his men and even shot him twice over the time we hunted each other,” he said.

 

“But then, a third side joined the fray, and we were introduced to the Rk Ninety two `Savage'. From that point on, the war changed. Both our sides took heavy losses, and eventually, only a handful of both my group and Kalinin's command were left. By then, we knew that we were facing a mercenary army lead by Gauron. He and I set aside our differences in order to slay our mutual foe,” he went on.

 

“Yeah, Tessa told me that Kalinin baited Gauron into the open, and you shot him in the head with a rifle, but he survived,” Mao said. Sousuke nodded.

 

“True,” he said. “My point was that you can't hold on to what happens on the battlefield. Yu Fan and her sister killed our friends and comrades, and we killed theirs. That was then, this is now. It is how it is, Mao,” he said. “Your understanding of the situation is different than our understanding of the situation,” he said. “That is how I can work with her,” he said. Besides, she compliments my methodology better than anyone I have yet worked with, he didn't say out loud.

 

“Well, that explains a lot,” came the deep rumble of Dutch's voice. “I figured you weren't a normal sort of merc,” he added. He raised his glass of JD in a toast. “Cut your teeth the hard way,” he saluted him with the booze.

 

“That picture,” mused Mao. “That's who they were,” she put the pieces together. Sousuke nodded.

 

“Correct,” he said. Mao was fitting this new information into her perception of Sousuke.

 

“Then, when you volunteered for that mission, and ran into Gauron again…” she trailed off. Sousuke nodded.

 

“Again, correct,” he said. “Lieutenant Grey realized too late that she and the others in that unit were doomed. I do not want to see that happen again,” he said. Mao nodded.

 

“Doomed or not, I'm staying,” she said. “God knows what I would tell Tessa if I abandoned you,” she added, her lips twitching into a small smile. “Besides, while you were out pounding on Chodarl units, I promised a certain someone that I make sure you got back. Can't very well break my word, now can I?” she said. Sousuke nodded once.

 

“Hate to interrupt story time,” said Benny, “but I think you should see this,” he said, leaning back and point to the screen. Sousuke nearly ran over to the monitor. Looking at the post in the discussion group, he swiftly began to mumble to himself.

 

“I need a map,” he said a moment later.

 

“Try the cabin,” suggested Dutch. Sousuke did run this time. Moments later, he was back with all the maps that were in the boat. Sweeping his arm, he cleared the coffee table, swiftly sorting the maps until he had a nautical chart of the area around Thailand. Silently, Yu Fan moved next to him, still completely wet from the shower, her fatigues on, and the towel over her shoulders, gun in hand.

 

“New intelligence?” she asked quietly. Sousuke nodded.

 

“Partial signal track,” he said. “Kana must have found a way to make a signal beacon that Leonard doesn't know about,” he said darkly. “Line tracking puts it along this route,” he said, making a line on the map. Dutch ambled over.

 

“Lots of small islands there,” he said. “Smugglers don't use it much, but they are big enough for a small base,” he said. “Of course,” he added, “you'll need a better fix on the position, since there are literally hundreds of them, if you count all the islands. Few dozen that are big enough to have an actual base, and they are all patrolled irregularly by Burmese patrol boats and local gangs,” he noted.

 

“Tessa will attempt to swing a satellite over then today,” said Sousuke. “If there is any reasonable amount of man-made structure, the sweep will pick it up. Also, she is trying to get SIGINT to sweep the area, to see if there is signal traffic from any of them,” he added absently.

 

“Either way, we need to get over there,” said Mao. “Cut across the finger to Burma and go from there?” she wondered. Sousuke considered that.

 

“Bad idea,” said Dutch. “It might be a few hours faster, but you would be left without a boat to get to the islands, and that part of Burma is tough; back-breaking tough,” he repeated himself. “It might even be faster to hire us to run you around the tip and up there,” he added, grinning.

 

“Agreed,” said Sousuke.

 

“Funds,” murmured Yu Fan. Sousuke glanced at her.

 

“We'll knock over a bank if we have to,” he murmured back. Either way, Kana is coming back with me, he promised himself. “Dutch, how long a transit time is it from here to these islands?” he asked.

 

“Two days, more or less, depending on weather and conditions,” he said. “It will take me a day to rig the extra fuel cells,” he warned them. Sousuke nodded.

 

“Very well,” he said, rising. “Mao, we have some shopping to do,” he ordered. Melissa blinked.

 

“No problem,” she said, “but, why me?” she wondered. Sousuke gave her a serious look.

 

“Isn't storming beaches a Marine tradition?” he asked her.