Silence In Numbers: File One (47 page)

Katsumi barely managed to save her own life once more, deflecting the stab meant for her and backing away, but Joseph came after her now, his two blades pushing her to her very limits. She backpedaled a few feet before standing her ground, knowing she couldn’t let him back her up to the wall. He was relentless and she had to summon up everything she had to stay alive, driving her body past its limits, feeling her muscles burning and straining. And somewhere, in the back of her mind, there was a realization of a fact that she didn’t want to face.

Ayane saw it first – the stumble in Katsumi’s step, the loss of balance. The others noticed it soon after, distracted from their fight; even Sigma turned as a dark grin took over his expression. Her sickness was hitting her at the worst time possible, as Ayane had feared would happen for so long. Katsumi tried; she shook her head in an attempt to clear it, gripped her sword tighter in pain… It didn’t matter, though; Joseph saw it as clearly as any of them and deflected her angry, desperate strike with little trouble.

His blade went through her as if it met no resistance at all. The point erupted from her back like an explosion but hung there like some horrible fang, dripping blood. Katsumi’s eyes went wide and the expression on her face was one of frozen shock, as if her mind was struggling to understand what was happening. Joseph kept the sword through her stomach and lifted her off the ground, calmly removing the stone from her jacket before tossing her aside like trash. Katsumi hit the ground and skidded a few feet before landing facedown.  Her father flicked the blood from his blade before dropping the stone he’d taken into a pocket.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

They all heard Ayane scream her sister’s name, and as soon as their eyes found Katsumi’s body, several of them did the same as well. Sano took off in a sprint towards her, while Rufus just backed into the shadows and vanished out of sight. Hitomi clapped her hands over her mouth in horror, Reno looked utterly defeated, and Law went into a rage, rushing to follow Sano. Before Sano could get to the doorway, though, Sigma appeared in his way, smiling. “Come now, you can’t be willing to abandon our game for some dead girl.”

Sano lashed out in anger, but of course Sigma was better; he countered each move without trouble, chuckling to himself as he did – he was certainly having fun. He caught Sano’s wrist and yanked it behind his back, forcing the man to his knees. “It doesn’t look like anger makes you any better.”

Sano grunted, looking over his shoulder. “It doesn’t have to.”

Sigma tilted his head. “Hmm?” He didn’t get to question him, however – in that moment Rufus appeared out of the shadows behind him, driving a knife directly into the side of his neck. Sigma gave a cry of surprise and spun around to throw Rufus away from him, who was thrown off by the shock that Sigma was still alive and able to move. Sano stood up and turned around as he drew his pistol, firing several shots directly into Sigma’s back. The man gave a growl of both pain and rage, turning around to deal with Sano only to find that Sano had stepped aside to make way for Law. The giant man barreled into him like a freight train, his large hand catching his head and driving it straight into the ground with enough force to shatter the floor and send a web of cracks outwards from the point of impact.

A massive fist punching him further into the ground stunned him for a few more seconds, but once Sigma regained his bearings he realized that all of them had backed away. A grenade landed right beside him as he looked up to see Reno wave, and he tried to dodge away only to find that he couldn’t move – Hitomi was using the last of her power to keep him there. A grin spread across his face and he began laughing, harder every second until the explosion blinded them all, tearing him apart.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ayane barely even registered the explosion. All of her attention was focused on her sister and the pool of blood that was gradually expanding from her body. The entirety of her being wanted to be there, but she couldn’t reach her. Joseph stood in her way, and no matter what direction she tried to take to get around him, he wouldn’t let her. Joseph refused to either let her by or finish her off, seeming to prefer forcing her to watch her sister bleed out slowly. Tears coursed down her cheeks but her expression was one of rage as she threw herself at Joseph, her sword clashing off his every time.

Faster and faster she tried, every way she could, using every maneuver she had ever learned, but he calmly knocked her away each time, barely even moving from his position, preventing her from reaching her older sister. Finally, it was just too much, and Ayane… snapped. Her limits shattered as she reached her breaking point and the true depths of her power were unleashed. She slammed into Joseph and both of them were blasted back from the point of impact. Joseph looked surprised as she came at him harder and a white flame ignited in her eyes as all color drained from her hair, leaving it a blinding white. Blue flames erupted around her and her sword whistled through the air, nicking Joseph’s cheek followed by his arm. Another tear appeared in his coat and, though he was still able to defend himself, he was forced to back off.

“Maybe not such a waste,” he said quietly to himself as Ayane flew past him. His eyes travelled over to spot Sigma’s remains but he showed no change of emotion, merely checking that the stone was still in his pocket.

Ayane slid to her knees beside Katsumi, her appearance returning to normal as she gently turned her over. She was surprised to find that Katsumi was still conscious as she opened her eyes.

Katsumi looked up at her, forcing a breath as she spoke in a quiet voice. “If I die,” Katsumi started, making Aya lean down to hear her, “you have to forget about him.”

Ayane shook her head. “You better not die, then, because we both know I won’t do that.”

“I figured as much. Just… thought I’d try asking.”

“If you ever do again, I’ll hit you myself.”

Katsumi smiled a little, closing her eyes again. “Yes, sister…”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

We’re all dead
, Sano thought as he slid backwards. They had attempted to stop Joseph, but they were so far out of their league that even trying to perform a single attack on him had an extremely high risk of death. At this point all of them had simply backed away, but he didn’t seem willing to let any of them survive. Suddenly a massive chunk of the ceiling landed between Sano and Reno, sending up a cloud of dust that had them all coughing. “What the hell is going on?!” Sano asked, covering his mouth to filter out the dust.

“This tower’s creator no longer exists,” Joseph answered him, looking up at the cracks spreading through the walls and ceiling. “It has been weakening since his death, and is now beginning to fall apart.”

Ayane appeared beside Sano, carrying Katsumi. “We have to get out of here, now.”

“You aren’t taking her,” Joseph stated, readying his sword. “The two of you have been troublesome enough – either I’m taking you both with me to fix this disobedience issue, or she dies here.”

Sano put a hand across Ayane. “Go!” Law came and took Katsumi from her arms, both of them looking back as they started to run back towards the elevator. Sano drew both of his pistols, spreading out his stance and beginning to fire on Joseph as he backed away, forcing the man to focus on deflecting the shots. Sano entered the hallway and, as soon as his pistols were empty, Reno stopped beside him, unloading his SMG in Joseph’s direction and forcing him to dodge.

The team continued running as Rufus met them in the next room, tossing an explosive in to collapse the hallway. The elevator was in sight now as the rubble suddenly exploded outwards a few seconds later, diced by Joseph’s sword. Sano, Rufus and Reno all opened fire on him as they moved towards the elevator. Law set Katsumi down gently inside, moving away as Ayane joined her. “I was gonna tell you somethin’, but it might be better if I don’t now,” Law said as he looked outside. “Still, I never was one to listen to logic, an’ I did make a promise…”

“I’m out!” Reno said, beginning to run as Sano and Rufus followed.

“What are you talking about…?” Katsumi asked, fighting her blurring vision and keeping a hand to her stomach to staunch the blood as best she could.

Law chuckled, stepping out of the elevator. “Always did wanna be a hero,” he said as Reno ran past him into the elevator.

“Law…?”

Rufus moved past him and Law gripped Sano’s shoulder, shoving him into the elevator as well. Law then turned to meet Joseph, who didn’t slow – he was determined to make it to that elevator. Law heard Katsumi yell his name, but he knew she didn’t have the strength to follow. Joseph flicked his sword up to dispatch him quickly, but Law blocked it with an arm, feeling it cleave through and bounce off the steel beneath his skin. He stepped forward and knocked Joseph back by throwing out his arm. As the elevator started to move, those inside were able to see the saber dart back in and pierce Law’s heart, sliding out through his back.

“LAW!” Katsumi threw herself forward but all the others had a grip on her, restraining her as she fought against them. “SAMUEL! DAMN YOU!”

Law grinned as he reached up and grabbed the hilt of Joseph’s sword and his arm, pulling it in further. With an iron grip like a machine, Law kept hold of Joseph and charged ahead, enjoying the look of surprise on the man’s face. Samuel Lawrence didn’t bother giving a final line or quip – he just let out a yell that rose in volume with every step despite his struggling heart until he, and Joseph with him, smashed through a window of the sixty-sixth floor and out into space, letting gravity do the rest.

As the elevator dropped below the floor, Katsumi dropped to her knees, the only sensation she could feel being Ayane’s hand gripping hers tightly. Silence reigned in the elevator as each person sat in shock, listening to the sounds of the tower falling around them. What none of the others aside from Ayane noticed was that, seconds later, Katsumi’s expression was suddenly overcome with a shocked and pained look. Her eyes darted up, looking outwards as she listened to something – and her look was almost as broken as Ayane had ever seen her. There was no time to ask about it, though; everything was falling apart, and now it seemed like it wasn’t just the building.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Flashing lights were nearly blinding Katsumi as she sat outside the rubble in the back of an ambulance. They had more or less stopped the bleeding for now, but she refused to go to the hospital until she knew. She was struggling to stay awake, keeping a hand to her stomach and forcing her breathing to remain even. Ayane sat beside her, hand still in hers – nearby stood Kurasano, Reno (who was on the phone with his likely worried wife), Hitomi, and Rufus. None of the team were willing to leave, either. Their clean-up team was currently scanning the area – they would have a lot of work to do to get rid of all the rubble that had suddenly appeared, of a tower that hadn’t existed the day before. Thinking up excuses and explanations wasn’t Katsumi’s job, though; no, her job was just to lead people to their deaths.

The sisters sat apart from the others even though they were physically close, in their own world as visible tears ran down their cheeks. Despite all their experiences and hardships, losing their oldest friend was a new one for them, and they would have to deal with and acknowledge that on their own. At the moment they were putting it off, but it wouldn’t be for long.

All of them looked up as one of the clean-up team approached, and Reno told Lenora to hold on. The man removed his helmet, meeting Katsumi’s eyes. “I’m sorry. We… found Sergeant Lawrence.”

Katsumi nodded slightly; it was the answer she had expected. “And…” Her voice broke and she cleared her throat, beginning again, “And Joseph Elwood? Did you find his body?”

The man shook his head. “No, ma’am.”

She sighed and felt Ayane lean against her; of course it was too much to hope he was dead.

“What we did find was the terrorist you said you had killed, but…”

Katsumi rubbed her cheek, letting out another sigh. “But what?”’

The man shrugged. “It… wasn’t real, ma’am. It was just a robotic body with no human parts at all.”

Katsumi’s head shot up. “It was
what
?”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Joseph entered the hideout and turned on a small lamp, removing his tattered coat and pulling the stone from its pocket. He set the stone in a place that had already been prepared for it before hanging up his coat and switching on a computer. The machine powered up and the screen flickered on; seconds later, Sigma’s face appeared on it, and smiled.

It was raining – of course it was raining. The day was as dreary as could be, with a solid grey sky and no sign of sunlight. It was a military funeral, so soldiers were lined up nearby. Katsumi stood in her dress uniform with Ayane beside her. Looking to her side she could see the rest of her team, including their family if they had them; practically everyone Katsumi knew was there, from Lenora to Winter to Sano and Ayane’s friends. Not everyone knew what Samuel Lawrence had died for, but they all at least knew of him. Even M seemed grim today, exhibiting none of his usual smile.

Katsumi looked ahead as the casket was moved into position; because of the fact that Law had been born in the United States they were giving him a Western burial. The casket was a tasteful black, but Katsumi’s eyes saw it as pale blue. As she and Ayane watched others lay flowers upon the casket and say final words, instead they felt themselves watching the proceedings from a hidden and distant position, watching their father accept condolences.

Katsumi didn’t hear anything the priest said; she barely moved as the casket was lowered into the ground; she didn’t flinch when the rifles were fired twenty-one times. As people filed past she didn’t even notice; as it grew later and the weather grew colder, less and less people remained, but she didn’t leave. Finally there was only the team left. An hour passed, and Reno and Lenora had to leave due to their daughter; Sano and Ayane’s friends had long since left, and Winter had business to attend to so Rufus left to drive her. Sano finally left to take Hitomi back to the HQ, and M was the last to leave. At the end, only Katsumi and Ayane remained standing there, staring at the grave as evening came upon them.

Katsumi walked up to the gravestone and brushed her finger over the name, watching it change to “Naomi” in her mind. Katsumi’s hand trembled and she nearly fell; her scream of pure emotion startled Ayane as she slammed her fist into the stone, cracking it just above the name. Her anger boiled over so much that she felt physical pain from its intensity, and she had absolutely no control over it. Ayane knelt beside her and hugged her, but she didn’t say anything. Neither of them had anything to say.

Katsumi had tried to be strong for a long time, but these days, crying wasn’t something she could even pretend she didn’t do.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“So it’s settled, then.”

“Yes.”

“We can’t let M know about it beforehand – are you sure of your choice?”

“Indeed. Rufus is the perfect selection – he is the least loyal and the most self-interested. There is a lot we can offer.”

H stood up and turned away from the table, clasping his hands behind his back. “Then let’s do it.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Rufus left the bedroom quietly, looking at the message on his phone once more as he entered his office and shut the door. He switched on his computer screen and instantly the view was taken up by L, the Aegis Director of Special Protection. Rufus snapped to attention and instantly wished that he had grabbed his shades – he never liked others being able to see his eyes, as he felt that eyes gave too much away. “Specialist Ivanov,” the Director stated. “Aegis has an important mission for you, and if you accept it, the rewards will be quite satisfactory.”

Rufus raised an eyebrow; he didn’t hear anything he didn’t like. “What is it that you want me to do?”
And why me
, he thought but didn’t say out loud.

L steepled his fingers before him after brushing aside his black bangs, looking over his hands. “There is something that has suddenly become incredibly important for us to attain. While your team failed to acquire the demon, a new avenue has been discovered – and the key is within your reach. The target’s name is Ayane Samakura.”

Rufus went quiet, thinking it over. “You want me to
acquire
her.”

“You will have the aid of a team,” L said as he opened a file on his computer. “She has apparently checked in with Major Samakura at the hospital they’ve used previously.”

“Major Samakura won’t allow this,” Rufus stated cautiously.

L gave him a direct look. “That is why we came to you. Do it without her knowledge if you can; no one else is to know about this so we need someone involved that knows her, which means a member of her team.”

“What if she finds out and gets in the way?”

L gave a slight smile. “Specialist Ivanov, everyone is replaceable.”

Rufus gave a nod, picking up a knife and spinning it between his fingers, his eyes watching the blade glint in the low light. “Understood, sir.” He looked back up at L and smiled. “I
have
been looking for a challenge…”

“And now you have been provided one. Do well, and you could get whatever you wanted.”

“I won’t let you down.” After the call cut off, Rufus turned off his computer and left the room, moving into the hall and slipping on his white coat.

“Rufus?” He turned to see Winter standing at the bedroom door. “Where are you going? It’s the middle of the night.”

He turned away and slid his shades on, opening the door. “I have something important to do.” He stepped outside, looking back with a smile. “I don’t know when I’ll be back… I’ve been waiting for this for a long time, though, and I’m not coming back without a victory.” With that, he pulled the door shut behind him and headed for the hospital.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Okay, still a little sore,” Katsumi admitted as Ayane helped her sit up with a laugh.

“Most people are after surgery. Then again, most people also sleep through the night.”

Katsumi groaned. “I’ve been in bed enough as it is over the past few weeks.”

Ayane grinned at her. “Maybe we can actually take a break now, huh?”

Katsumi sighed. “I wish we could, but… Despite everything we gave – and sacrificed – we still lost. Our father is still out there, and he has what he wanted. And Sigma may be out there in some form, too, whatever he is, or was. After all this time we still don’t know anything, and we haven’t accomplished anything.”

Ayane sat on the bed beside her. “We defeated the demon – you protected the city, which is your job. Father has been a problem all our lives, that’s nothing new. And whatever this Sigma is, we’ll find out – you still have a great team, and all of them are with you. This isn’t over yet, Sumi. Law didn’t die so we could lose.”

Katsumi rubbed at her face. “I know that… You’re right, I know, you’re right. It’s just… It feels like… I just…”

“I miss him too,” Ayane said sadly as Katsumi turned to face her.

“There was nothing I could do. I just keep thinking… If I’d been able to kill Father, or if I’d managed not to get injured and been able to help hold him off Law wouldn’t have had to-“

“That’s just going to drive you crazy,” Ayane cut her off. “We knew him longer than anyone, Sumi – you know that’s not what he was thinking when he did it.”

“No…” Katsumi looked away sadly. “That’s not what he was thinking…”

Ayane studied her for a moment, frowning at her sister’s fallen demeanor. “Katsumi?”

Katsumi hesitated, biting her lip before looking back at her. “Ayane, I-“

“Katsumi.” Katsumi looked at her sister, who was glancing over her shoulder; her tone and expression had both grown serious. “Roof of the building opposite – sniper.”

Katsumi didn’t visibly react, but she did stand and stretch, moving with Ayane out of the view of the window. “We need to get out of the room.”

“I wouldn’t do that.” Both of them looked over as Rufus pushed open the door and entered the room. Six soldiers filed in past him, surrounding them.

“What’s this about, Rufus?”

Rufus smiled at Katsumi. “The Board just wants your sister to come visit them, as they feel she could be an important asset,” he stated casually. Katsumi and Ayane watched as the soldiers tightened their grips on their guns – this was no invitation, that much was obvious.

“I see…” Katsumi looked from the soldiers to Rufus. “So they asked you to bring her in.”

She watched as a knife slid into each of Rufus’ hands. “It’s nothing personal – they dealt me a Full House.”

Katsumi met his eyes through the shades. “Not even a Royal Flush, huh?”

Rufus shook his head, smiling. “Unfortunately…”

In the next instant, Rufus’ knifes were buried in the necks of the two soldiers on either side of the sisters. Before the soldiers could even react, Rufus was driving a new knife into the throat of the soldier to his left, and Katsumi and Ayane had torn the knives from the other two soldiers’ throats and killed two more. The last went down after Ayane kicked his gun, throwing off his aim and making his shots hit the ceiling; Katsumi grabbed the rifle of the soldier she’d just killed and pulled the trigger, gunning down the last one.

As soon as they were down Rufus looked at Katsumi. “They’ve got a car outside, a sniper on the building over there, and a spotter on a building to the northeast.”

“We’ll head out the south, then.”

“Take a window, avoid the first alley – and head for the alley next to the bank two blocks south; enter the parking garage on the other side.”

“Got it.” Katsumi smiled at him. “Straight Flush beats Full House, huh?”

“You’re just lucky this sounded more fun, boss,” Rufus replied, making her chuckle. He drew his pistol and flipped it around, handing it to her. “You know what you’re going to have to do – just try to find a balance between ‘looks real’ and ‘fatal’, if you can.”

Katsumi sighed as she leveled the pistol. “I really am very sorry for this…”

She winced as she shot him in the side and he grunted, leaning back against the wall. “Not the first time…”

“That looks like it hurt…” Ayane said with a grimace.

“No, no… Feels fine…”

Katsumi stopped beside him, setting a hand on his shoulder. “Thank you,” she whispered softly; he just nodded as they moved past him and out into the hall.

Rufus sighed, pushing himself off the wall and keeping an arm pressed against the wound as he made his way to the North exit, making sure he was visible as he stumbled out of the building. He knew the spotter would see him and call back-up; as soon as they arrived and the medic began inspecting Rufus’ wound, he spoke to the commander. “They jumped us… I overheard them planning to head to the Major’s apartment north of here.” As the commander got his soldiers together, Rufus had to hide his smirk.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Katsumi and Ayane made their way around the soldiers, slipping by buildings and using their considerable experience at remaining hidden. Entering the alley Rufus had pointed them to, they found the parking garage just past it, and entered as he had said. Inside they discovered Sano and Reno waiting for them beside two cars, one of which was running. Katsumi recognized the sleek black vehicle as hers, and the two men smiled as they approached.

“Hey, you didn’t die!” Sano said with a smile.

“Hey boss, you ever think about visiting a casino?” Reno offered. “I don’t think the odds would be nearly as bad as all the ones you’ve beaten so far.”

Katsumi smirked. “I don’t exactly like facing bad odds, Reno.”

“All your things are in there,” Sano said with a nod towards the car. “Guns, swords, clothing, pictures, pretty much everything we could find in your apartment. Rufus is pointing them towards your apartment, so they’ll think you just got there ahead of them.”

Ayane looked surprised. “How did you set all this up?”

Sano shrugged. “It wasn’t hard – Rufus called me right after he got his orders, and since I live like twenty feet from Katsumi’s apartment I had all your stuff packed by the time Reno arrived with her car.”

“Also, I already knew where all the tracking and ID transceivers were on the car, so I’ve removed them all, too,” Reno added. “And then Sano changed the license plate because apparently you keep a spare one around your apartment?”

Katsumi shrugged. “It pays to be paranoid, doesn’t it?”

“I guess so. Oh yeah, uh…” Reno rubbed his head. “I kinda told Lenora and she made me bring a bunch of food for you, too, so you shouldn’t have to stop for a while.”

Katsumi grinned. “You’ll have to thank her for me. And thank you, too – I know the risks you’re both taking for us.”

Ayane nodded. “We aren’t really used to people putting themselves on the line for us like this, so… thank you.”

“Just be careful,” Sano cautioned. “This is all worth it, but it won’t be if you get caught anyway.”

Katsumi smiled as she opened the door for Ayane. “Don’t worry, we’re pretty damn good at this.” She shut the door after her sister was inside, pointing at Sano as she walked around the car. “You’re their leader while I’m gone, Sano. Don’t let any of them get hurt.”

“I won’t, boss – I promise.”

Katsumi smiled at him a final time before getting in. Sano and Reno stood aside as the car backed out and then drove away, soon turning out of sight. Reno sighed and looked at his friend. “When did we all become crazy?”