Silence In Numbers: File One (28 page)

“No,” Revan replied with finality. “We will track it if we can, but capture is preferable to elimination.”

“This is a very dangerous creature we are dealing with,” Victoria said as she shot Revan a glare. “If it is allowed to take physical form, the damage and death toll could be catastrophic.”

“If we wait and watch,” Lucius countered smoothly, “then perhaps it will lead us to an even bigger threat. We all know the plans these things have are never small.”

“I agree with this assessment,” Nathaniel added. “I say we wait for a bigger opportunity.”

“The only window of opportunity may be closing now,” M argued, for once without a smile. “This is a foolish course of action. If we wait-“

“Enough,” Hackett cut him off. “We will put it to a vote. All in favor of quick disposal?”

M, Adrian, Victoria and Kell stated, “Aye.”

“All in favor of a wait-and-see approach?”

Revan, Lucius, Nathaniel, and Julia stated, “Aye.”

“Aye,” Hackett added, looking at M. “It’s decided. You will inform your Captain to track the Ancient One, but make no direct attacks until it is absolutely necessary. We want as much information as we can get.”

M’s smile had returned; though it was false, most of them couldn’t tell. “Very well. That concludes my business, then. Ladies, Gentlemen.” The screen cut out as the call was ended.

As the board members began to leave, Revan looked at Hackett. “Do you think he will follow orders?”

“I don’t know if even
he’s
decided whether he will or not,” Hackett replied gruffly. “We will keep an eye on him, however. The time may be coming when we have to do something about him.”

As Hackett spoke he didn’t notice the eye that was currently on him; the single eye that watched him with growing distrust. Victoria left without saying a word, but contacting M was the first thing the general planned to do once she was out of the building.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“You know what I like about days like this?”

Katsumi let the restaurant doors close behind them as they exited into the cool air, watching her sister walk in that sort of dreamy way she often did when happy, hands clasped behind her and feet meandering rather than walking in a straight line. “You don’t have to stay in a hospital bed?”

Ayane smiled. “Well, yes, that too.” She was looking up at the overcast sky; it seemed they would be getting rain soon. “But when the weather’s like this, everything just feels so new. I smell the coming rain and not the city, and hear the cool wind instead of cars.”

“Only you could think of old-as-the-earth weather as newer than modern technology.”

Ayane laughed, turning to her. “Come on, don’t you feel it too?”

They passed Shinjuku Station, heading east as they walked. Katsumi looked up at the sky after they crossed a street, studying the clouds. “You know what this reminds me of?”

Ayane tilted her head in curiosity. “What?”

“Kobe.” She gave a slight smile.

A similar smile, triggered by memory, spread across Ayane’s face as she thought back. “Oh yeah…”

July 28th, 2049… It was a bad year for the Samakuras in general. Naomi was dead, Joseph was mad (in both definitions), and their two little girls… Well, they had vanished, using all the skills they’d been forced to learn for the better part of a decade.

Ayane was twelve at the time, and her older sister was fifteen. It was only a month and a half after their mother’s death; they’d spent that time running, hiding, and running again. They moved around in erratic directions, leaving no trace and staying unpredictable. They had no choice, no alternative; if they were found by their father that would be it. Their freedom- their lives- would be gone forever.

On this day they found themselves in Kobe, a big city that felt like a small town. It was perfect; tons of people going about their daily lives - lots of families - who wouldn’t notice two young girls, and where two young girls wouldn’t be a rarity. Ayane remembered hating her lighter brown hair at the time (something she got from their father), thinking it’d make her easier to recognize.

Katsumi had such beautiful black hair like their mother, silky and easily styled. Her older sister told her she was being silly, though; she liked her hair, said it showed her uniqueness. A simple thing, really, but Ayane remembered taking such pleasure in the compliment.

The sky looked fairly intimidating that day, and their warning had only lasted an hour before the rain came down in droves, soaking the two girls to the bone. Ayane pulled her jacket close around her and looked up at the sky. “We should find some shelter… There are a lot of buildings around here…”

“No,” Katsumi said, continuing to walk forward purposefully. “I’m tired of huddling in alleys.”

Ayane didn’t see what was so wrong with the option but she went quiet anyway, following her sister. They soon arrived at a hotel where Katsumi managed to pass herself off as older than she was, securing a room with a bit of the small amount of money they had left. “Katsumi,” Ayane whispered worriedly after the woman had left them in their new room, “We don’t have a lot of money, we should save it!”

Katsumi turned around, shutting the door. “No! Aya, this is our life now. We can’t just keep running and hope something better comes along, we have to make it better ourselves.”

Ayane pulled her jacket off before Katsumi came over with one of the room’s towels, throwing it over her head and rubbing her hair. “Hey- Sumi! You’re gonna mess it up!”

Katsumi smiled in amusement as she dried her sister’s hair. “It’s already messed up from the rain, it can’t get any worse.” After she pulled back she laughed at the hair sticking out every direction and the glare on Ayane’s face. “Okay, so it can.”

“Gimme that!” Ayane grabbed the towel and jumped, managing to reach her older sister’s head and throw the towel over it.

“Wha- hey! I was being nice!” They ended up wrestling for the towel until they were lying on the ground panting, looking at each other and realizing their hair was even worse now. “Okay… Truce?”

Ayane caught her breath, looking up at the ceiling. “Truce.” She looked back over and smiled. “If you say I win.”

Katsumi returned the smile, getting up. “Okay, you win. Again.” She tossed the towel back into the bathroom before moving over to the room’s window, leaning against it and looking out, listening to the pattering of the rain against the glass.

Ayane sat up, watching her older sister. “What are you looking for?” she asked, wondering if Katsumi was watching for tails or hunters or their father.

“I’m not looking for anything.”

“Then what are you doing?”

“I’m just looking.”

Ayane stood up and took a seat on the bed instead, continuing to watch her. There was something… different now, about her older sister, she could tell that. It had only seemed to happen today, but she didn’t know what to think about it. “Katsumi? Are you… okay?”

“Of course I am,” Katsumi said with the hint of a smile. Unlike the smiles she’d learned to fake years earlier, this one seemed subconscious, maybe even unnoticed by her. Still, she kept looking out that window at the rain, at the city; watching, listening, but idly now, not alertly. “This city is pretty,” she said softly. “I like it. I wonder how much else of the world I’ll like.”

Ayane sat on the edge of the bed, listening to her sister’s strangely content tone with wonder. She was more curious about Katsumi’s attitude now, rather than afraid. She seemed… happy. “Katsumi?”

“Hmm?”

“If you could go anywhere in the world right now, where would you go?”

Katsumi smiled, turning back from the window to look at her with genuine sincerity. “This is the only place I want to be.”

They’d reached their destination now: Shinjuku Gyoen, a large park with wide lawns, beautiful trees and large ponds. The main reason they came was that it was Spring and the cherry blossoms there were amazing this time of year, drawing smiles from them both as they walked beneath the branches. “It took me a long time to figure out what happened that day,” Ayane said as she caught one of the pink blossoms as it fell.

“Even I wasn’t entirely sure,” Katsumi admitted. “Suddenly my goals had just changed. I didn’t just want to survive anymore; I wanted us to be happy.”

“And after realizing that, you were happy,” Ayane said with a smile, remembering the days following that one, days full of just as many hardships as before, but many more smiles. It hadn’t all been running anymore; sneaking into movies, exploring parks, spending a day in a museum – she and Katsumi had started doing all sorts of things just for fun. “And I couldn’t help but be happy too.”

Ayane watched her sister sigh and give her a look full of so many emotions only she would understand it. “Every hour I’m thankful you got out of there with me. If only I’d escaped-“

“Shh,” Ayane said as she laid her hand on her older sister’s cheek, giving her a soft smile. “Thinking about that won’t do you any good,” she admonished quietly, knowing how that line of thought would affect Katsumi. “And it doesn’t matter anyway. I’m here. We’re both here, almost twenty years later.”

Katsumi looked away. “I’m sorry… It’s just…. Seeing him…”

“I know,” Ayane said. Of course it brought everything back. How could it not? “He won’t get me though; he didn’t then and he won’t now.”

“He won’t,” Katsumi said in a much harder tone. She looked at Ayane with an intense gaze. “I won’t let him.”

Her look and tone would’ve scared most others but Ayane just smiled, taking her hand. “I trust you. I’m not afraid.” Katsumi started to smile again until a different, pained look crossed her face, one that Ayane unfortunately recognized. “Katsumi?” Ayane watched her sister waver on her feet for a moment before she fell. “Katsumi!” Fortunately Ayane was fast, managing to catch her before she hit the ground.

“Oh, no,” Ayane moaned as it started to rain, looking down at her sister. She sat on her knees, holding Katsumi’s head in her lap and cradling her. “Don’t worry, I’ll get you out of here.”

“No…” Katsumi opened her eyes, speaking quietly. “I’m awake. I’m here.”

“Katsumi, you’ll get soaked! And you’re sick! I have to get you home, get you in bed!”

“Water is good. And… what does a bed have… that this spot doesn’t?” She watched her lift her hand and felt her touch her cheek, smiling weakly. “This is the only place I want to be. Just… stay here with me. Please.”

Ayane caught her hand as she lowered it, squeezing it. “Okay.” She smiled softly; at least they were comfortable. “You’re still tired of hiding, aren’t you?”

“Yes… Tired of hiding in… beds, in hospital rooms…” Katsumi closed her eyes until a wave of pain had passed, but she remained conscious, opening them afterwards. “I just want it all to be over… the surviving.”

“I know. So do I.” Ayane knew they were both as worried, and as tired, as they tried to pretend they weren’t. At the same time that
she
seemed to be getting a bit better,
Katsumi
seemed to be getting worse. Who knew if, come this time next year, Katsumi would be the one living in a hospital bed? If she lived at all, that was. All it would take was one attack of this sickness during a dangerous situation…

Ayane shook her head, throwing aside those worries. She threw aside her fear, too, and her anger for good measure. None of those things would help either of them right now, and they could deal with them later, together. For now, this was their day, and no matter what tried to ruin it they were going to enjoy it. “Keep that Kobe feeling, Sumi,” Ayane said, smiling down at her older sister as she saw her open her lavender eyes again. “Let’s be happy while we can, when we can.”

“That’s the spirit,” Katsumi said with an understanding smile. “As long as we’re both alive…”

“…we’re both happy,” Ayane finished. “So I won’t let Father, or my sickness, or your sickness, or the fact that I’m currently being soaked by freezing rain because my sister’s a stubborn mule, dampen my spirits.”

Katsumi chuckled, closing her eyes. “Please tell me that pun wasn’t intentional.”

“Sorry, I never lie to you,” Ayane said with a grin. “And if you think I’m going to forget you made me sit out here in the rain, you’re all wet.”

Katsumi laughed. “Oh God that was stupid… I’m sorry to throw cold water on your dreams, but your jokes are dead in the water.”

Ayane laughed and shook her head. “Insult me, will you? Oh, you’re in hot water now!”

Katsumi was laughing much harder than she knew she should be because the jokes really weren’t funny, but she couldn’t help it. “It doesn’t… doesn’t matter… You won’t hurt me, because… blood is thicker than water!”

The two sisters virtually dissolved into laughter as they were drenched by the rain, receiving many odd looks from passers-by who were fleeing the park to find cover, wondering what was wrong with the two girls laughing hysterically over stupid water puns while they were drenched
by freezing rain. Ayane and Katsumi didn’t even notice, though; it didn’t matter to them. For that moment, nothing did.

It was a dreary day; days like this almost always were, as if the weather matched the emotions of those experiencing it. The wind was colder than it should have been this time of year, rustling the leaves of the trees beneath the overcast sky. A small group of people, only a dozen or so, gathered around a pale blue casket, placing flowers and saying goodbyes. Soon the casket would be taken to the crematorium.

Two girls stood a fair distance away, far enough that they couldn’t make out the priest’s chants. They’d missed the wake the day before, but they risked coming here on this day. It was unfair; they should’ve stood at the casket themselves. They should’ve been able to go with the casket to the crematorium and put their mother’s bones to rest with their own hands.

It couldn’t be risked, though. Their father was present; he knew this was a good opportunity to catch them. Katsumi watched him accept condolences from the other mourners with a sad smile, as if he hadn’t been the cause of his own wife’s death. Her fists clenched in rage, but thankfully Ayane’s hand on her arm prevented her from making the mistake of going after him.

Hours later, long after night had fallen and the cold had more strongly embraced the world, Katsumi and Ayane stood at the family grave the ashes had been placed in. There was a new name engraved on the front of the monument: Naomi Samakura. Katsumi stared at it as Ayane laid their flowers before the grave. Both girls were crying, but Katsumi made no sounds. Her eyes burned with darker emotions, rage and hatred that seemed to twist their brown color into a darker black.

She trembled with barely contained emotion, fists clenched so hard her nails pierced the skin on her palms. At that moment she was torn between grief and hatred. Apologies to her mother died on her lips without making a sound, condemnations of her father did the same, and frustration and hopeless tore at her until a flicker of something worse crossed her eyes. A scream of anguish left her lips as she slammed a fist into the stone, bloodying her knuckles and causing a small crack.

A soft touch distracted her from the torrent of negative emotion. She felt Ayane’s fingers brush hers and she opened her hand on reflex, letting go of the fist and feeling her sister’s hand slip into hers. She gripped it tightly but refused to look at her, fearing the emotions she could barely control would target her innocent sister against her will. They stood like that for a long while, as long as they dared, before disappearing again.

That night Katsumi’s dreams would be no surprise to anyone but her. She saw once more the face of her mother, twisted into an expression of hate she’d never worn in life. She was back in that moment, watching what was once their mother coming towards her and Ayane with a murderous intent that left no doubts about the change. She tried to fight her off, she did, but Joseph had done something worse to Naomi, something that had made her a thing beyond human.

In the end, Katsumi had no choice but to fire, tears falling as she pulled the trigger. The dream continued past that moment, and suddenly Katsumi was back at the grave. Fifteen years old, she watched the grave rip open and the ashes pour out, reforming into her mother as she’d looked throughout their life. But the smile was gone and the look of hatred was back, directed at Katsumi as she spat her words with a venom that was the opposite of her true personality. “You… murdered me… Your own mother!” she screamed in rage. “Everything I did for you and you threw it away!”

The strong Katsumi was gone in the face of this accusation. She was timid, unsure, stammering out words even she didn’t believe. “I had no choice… I tried to-“

“LIAR!” Naomi’s words echoed powerfully, nearly deafening Katsumi. The young girl tried to cover her ears but it did nothing. “You didn’t even look for a way to help me, to fix me! I would have done anything for you, and you barely tried! So willing to give up on me, to cast me aside, to rob the sister you claim to care about of her loving mother!”

“That’s not true!” Katsumi shook her head, glaring in response as some of her strength and conviction returned. “I did what I had to do to protect Ayane! There was nothing that could’ve been done… We would’ve died!”

“You gave up,” Naomi stated with far more conviction than Katsumi had. “You turned on me just like your father.”

“She’s right,” Ayane said as she stepped into the scene, looking at her older sister with the same hatred Katsumi’s own eyes had been filled with earlier. “You’re the one that killed her.”

“Aya…”

“No!” Ayane shook her head. “You’re as much an enemy as he is! You’re the one that pulled the trigger!”

The nightmare, it seemed, had learned how to win. Katsumi’s resistance shattered with Ayane’s words and she dropped to her knees, arms hanging limply as emptiness filled her. “You’re right…” Her words were weak as the negative emotions from earlier turned on herself like hungry wolves.

“Katsumi…” Suddenly Ayane held the gun she’d used, aiming it at her older sister. Katsumi didn’t even try to move, no longer having the will to fight her own death. “Sumi!”

Katsumi jerked awake, sitting up with a gasp. Sweat covered her and made the sheets cling to her skin and her hair stick to her neck and face. Her eyes darted around in a search for the visions that had tormented her, but the room was quiet. Finally her eyes landed on Ayane and she noticed the girl was crying and staring at her in concern.

“I saw it…” Ayane said in a whisper. Katsumi realized her intense dream must have been shown over their link, like the most intense thoughts and emotions they had often were. Suddenly Katsumi hated herself even more for causing her sister such distress. “Stop it!” Ayane yelled, glaring at her now.

Katsumi looked away, knowing what she meant. “I can’t,” she muttered in a broken voice. “I keep… seeing it…”

“We’ll always see it,” Ayane replied, sounding far older than her twelve years of age should allow. “We share that. But what we don’t share is blaming you for it!”

“How can you not?” Katsumi nearly growled, looking back at her angrily. “I pulled the trigger.”

Ayane matched her glare with one of her own. “That was
not
our mother. That was something Father created. All of this is
his
fault, not yours. And I hate him as much as you do.” She took her sister’s face with both hands. “But don’t you go down that road, Sumi, do you hear me? Hating him is good, and I have nothing against anger, but I
need
you. I don’t want you to be obsessed with him, or even with mother. I want to keep my sister.”

Katsumi swallowed and nodded, trying to let those emotions go. “I’ll… I’ll try.” She sighed, pulling Ayane into a hug. “I’ll never leave you alone, Aya. These feelings will never be as strong as the ones I have for you.” She took a deep breath, determination replacing the hatred in her eyes. “I promise.”

Ayane smiled then, returning the hug. “You better keep that promise. Father’s the one that focuses only on hate; mother was never like that.”

Katsumi pulled back to look at her, smiling softly. “You’re a lot like her, you know. Just a little more selfish about me.”

Ayane gave a happier smile. “I think I’m allowed to be a bit possessive of my sister.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ayane yawned, looking around the room with tired – but happy – eyes. Katsumi sat in a chair in the corner of the room while Ayane sat sideways in her lap with her head on her older sister’s shoulder, watching the others in the room (the whole team was there, including Hitomi) as she mainly stayed in her thoughts and out of the conversation.

She’d spent much of the night taking care of Katsumi, who had only gotten worse as the day went on. She’d managed to stay conscious until evening, but after that it she alternated between being awake and unconscious. Katsumi told Ayane to sleep, but honestly Ayane had appreciated being able to take care of Katsumi for once since she was still feeling fine.

Still, both of them were pretty tired today, and relatively quiet, but the others seemed to know enough not to ask about it. Instead they talked amongst themselves as Ayane and Katsumi simply enjoyed the company. Ayane yawned again, shifting to get a little more comfortable and drawing a smile from her older sister. “What are they talking about?” Ayane mumbled softly. “I tuned out.”

Her sister looked over the group with a smirk. They were in the room Hitomi was staying in; Law was sitting in the chair not occupied by the sisters, Rufus was leaning against the wall near the door, Reno was sitting on the floor against the bed, and Sano and Hitomi sat on the bed with their backs against the wall. “They’re debating the validity of several ghost-hunting shows,” Katsumi replied in a soft tone.

“Sounds important,” Ayane said with a smile.

Across the room, while Reno was extolling the virtues of a certain night vision camera to Rufus, Hitomi was watching the two sisters as she leaned towards Kurasano and said quietly, “They’re really cute.”

Sano smirked. “You should tell her that.”

“Why?” Hitomi looked at him curiously. “Would she not appreciate it?”

Sano looked thoughtful. “Actually… I don’t know. I mean, before three days ago, I never even knew Katsumi could be like that.”

Hitomi frowned, looking even more confused now. “What do you mean? I thought you’d known her for years.”

“Going on eight years now, yeah. But it’s… complicated. Of all of us, only Law and M knew she had a sister. She was kept secret for safety reasons.”

“Oh. And that changed?”

“Not really. I mean, it changed in that the person she was being protected from found her anyway, so Katsumi decided it’d be better if her allies knew about her now that her enemies did.”

“That’s terrible,” Hitomi said as she watched Katsumi whisper something to Ayane, making the younger girl grin. “Is she in danger?”

“We’re all in danger,” Sano muttered morosely. “But at least we’ll all help each other. Don’t you worry about Ayane; not only will everyone in this room fight for her, but Katsumi’s the best protector she could have.”

“Well, they look happy, so I guess it doesn’t bother them a lot.”

Sano shrugged. “I dunno. When you live the way we all do, I think you just learn to take happiness when you can get it.”

“Sano seems to know what he’s talking about,” Katsumi said softly with a smirk, still pretending she wasn’t listening.

Ayane smiled. “Think we can just get him to explain things to all new people for us? He’s good at it.”

“He does like to talk,” Rufus muttered, bringing Ayane’s eyes to him. She noticed Reno had switched to talking to Law, so Rufus had begun paying attention to the sisters.

“Are you worried he’ll say more than he should?” Ayane asked.

Rufus tilted his head. “Sano…? Nah. Not intentionally, anyway. Though you might wanna make sure he knows exactly what he shouldn’t give away.”

“Probably a good idea,” Katsumi mumbled, looking over at him.

Ayane looked up at her sister.
What exactly does he know?

Let’s see… He knows we want to kill Father. He knows a two-sentence description of our childhoods, but no details. He knows what happened to Mother. Those are the things he knows that the others don’t, none if which I want him telling anyone else.

Yeah…
Ayane sighed, laying her head back down.

I’m sorry,
Katsumi said as she stroked her sister’s hair.
I didn’t mean to ruin your mood.

You didn’t
, Ayane replied as she smiled.
I’m pretty happy today. This is nice. I like being here, being part of this group.

It’s a good group.

Ayane closed her eyes, listening to the voices around her. Katsumi was right, it was a good group. It was hard to feel safer than she felt at this moment.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"They’re being foolish,” Victoria Gray, Director of Military Action, stated over her secure phone, staring out the window of the café she sat in. It was sad, she reflected, that she trusted this place more than her office or home.

“I agree with your assessment,” M replied as he walked past Hitomi’s room with a smile, hearing snippets of the conversation within. “But I do not feel as if they are being entirely honest.”

“You think the other directors have ulterior motives?” Victoria frowned. She’d considered that, but hearing that M did as well made it seem far more valid, and
that
she did not like.

“I do, General. I think there’s a bigger reason they want us to capture this Ancient One alive than simply ‘more information’.”

“You think…” The General shook her head. “You don’t think they want to use him, do you?”

“I do. In fact, I believe they want to use him to restart Project Origin.”

“Project - but that’s…” She sighed, rubbing the patch over her missing eye as the spot ached.