Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Coming Home ❯ 80 ( Chapter 80 )

80

 

I'm gettin' real shot down and I - I'm feeling mean.

 

Elbow on the windowsill and head cradled against my hand, I stared blankly out the window as Brad drove westward. No one spoke. It was as though someone had woven a spell, and we were all caught up in it, moving in the only direction left to us. I wondered how much Nagi and Farfarello understood, in spite of Brad's reluctance to tell them his real reason for this journey.

 

Those three days in the hotel had left us refreshed and scared. Followed by another three days on the road, during which time I tried to psych myself up for battle. Now that we had a target, we couldn't pretend that it would ever be over, though I was the only one who had ever really thought that. We were in it for real, now.

 

The only way out is through.

 

Beside the highway, trees in early autumn blush painted a deceptively innocent landscape. But I knew better. Behind that pretty mask lay a centuries-old rot. Eastern Europe: once the home of royals and long-held riches, cultures old and known and respected. Now it was the playground for Esset. Countries weary of war and division purchased dubious safety from a willing seller, paying in gold and their unquestioning loyalty.

 

I sighed, fresh disgust for our former master settling into my chest in a weary tight knot.

 

Throughout the brutality of the twentieth century, Esset had been reshaping Europe and northern Asia, sculpting it the way an artist shaves chips of granite away from the imagined perfect form beneath. The chips, of course, are discarded: Jews, Gypsies, hopeful immigrants, the different. Discarded, in the swell of empire.

 

I barely remembered my earliest classes at Rosenkreuz, but ironically I remembered my few weeks at Berlin all too well. The history of the world, Esset-style. Nothing too specific, of course; we were a bunch of twelve-year-olds, for crying out loud. But still, the taste of dominion was there, the bitter seed, the dregs of civilization. Esset claimed that it had already designed a perfect world, and all we had to do was fill it with perfect men.

 

Perfect men do not have red hair and bad attitudes.

 

“Hey, are you listening to me?”

 

I blinked out of my reverie. “Huh? Sorry, Brad. What is it?”

 

“We're six hours out from Poland. The office I'm looking for is just inside the border. We'll have to move fast once we get there. I was asking if you're ready for it.”

 

I nodded and reached for a bottle of water. “Yeah, I'm ready. What's the plan? Or are we winging it?”

 

Brad shook his head. “Not yet. I'm not risking discovery until we absolutely have to.” He glanced at me. “Nothing personal, but I trust my own shields more than yours, Schuldig. You understand.”

 

Instead of saying any more, I took a drink and turned my attention back to the scenery. Six hours. And the way he was acting, Brad wouldn't give us any information until we were pulling into the parking lot. Well, I could handle that. I'd be a basket case, sure, but at least I'd be content about it.

 

But Brad surprised me. “Stop with the water and have some caffeine. I want you working on those shields. I'll go over what I can of the plans, what I have to arrange in advance, as soon as you're a little more secure.”

 

Fair enough, I thought. Besides, the water was already gone; seemed like an awfully small bottle, actually. I reached for a soda, and some headache pills for good measure. The ones with caffeine in them. May as well do this right. Then I put on my headphones and let the music cover my thoughts with translucent steel.

 

If I were weary, the caffeine would actually slow me down and let me rest, but today I felt energized. I pushed a tempting fantasy from my thoughts before it could take form: if there were any agents spying on me, I didn't want them finding a daydream about Esset surrendering to Brad Crawford. It would only piss them off.

 

Still, I had to smile at the idea.

 

I woke to a gentle shaking at my shoulder. Nagi leaned over my seat and nudged me again until my eyes opened the rest of the way. Startled, I took a quick inventory: it was dark, my CD player's batteries had run down, and someone had relieved me of my soda.

 

“He's awake, Crawford,” Nagi stated, settling back in his seat.

 

Yawning, I tried to get my brain working a little faster. It bothered me that I could drop off like that; I must have been more tired than I realized. That seemed to be happening a lot lately. “Yeah, I'm awake. Where are we?”

 

“We're at the border,” Brad stated. “About an hour till showtime.”

 

I debated between water and caffeine before grabbing a bottled water and chugging it. If caffeine made me sluggish today, I didn't want it. At least I didn't wake up with a headache. ::So, am I clear?::

 

::Doesn't matter. We're out of time,:: Brad told me with a sidelong glance. Then he addressed the team out loud. “The first checkpoint is coming up. We will go right through their front door, then pick up a car on the other side. There will be cameras in the parking lot; they'll see us the moment we leave this vehicle. There will be cameras inside as well; let's make a lasting impression. Schuldig, I need you to deal with as many as you can telepathically. Nagi, disrupt their communications and databases. Fry them, but try to leave the videos intact. Farfarello, the main desk should have validation stamps for travel documents. Take as many as you can carry. Also anything else lying about that looks useful. Any questions?”

 

“If they fight?” I asked. “What's you policy on combat?”

 

“I would prefer not to resort to firearms, or any overt violence,” Brad told us. “It would unnerve Esset far more if we can do this without bloodshed. I want the video record to show the four of us, moving as a team and waltzing right through their precious checkpoint.”

 

“Then what, Crawford?” Nagi asked. “Once we leave there, where do we go next?”

 

“There are two more checkpoints to the south that I want to hit before heading toward Berlin. That way, if things go sour, we keep on southward until we reach the mountains. But I've Seen this working, gentlemen. We clear out the Polish checkpoints, then aim for Germany. Esset will scramble to head us off, and they will no doubt try to offer us a chance to surrender.” He smiled grimly and added, “They only do that when they know they're losing. And that's what I'm after: the moment I have that offer, both sides will know who won.”

 

“And then?” I murmured. “What will they do when we spit in their eye?” I didn't want to consider what would happen if Brad meant to accept their terms.

 

“With any luck, they will have another round of housecleaning, and our mouse problem will be over. Esset doesn't tolerate failure, especially at the command level.” His eyes went dark, and for just a moment he looked a little sad. “He's playing my game now.”

 

I knew better than to ask.

 

 

A/N:

I'm gettin' real shot down and I - I'm feeling mean.

“No More Mr. Nice Guy” - Alice Cooper Billion Dollar Babies

 

Schuldig knows that this isn't really his fight, it's something between Brad and Esset; Schwarz is more observer than player. This, naturally, pisses the redhead off big time.