Silence In Numbers: File One (8 page)

Lenora smiled. “Stick with that one. I like it.”

Reno snapped out of his thoughts once he saw the flashing red light telling him to check in. He hit the button to reply and then sat back with a sigh. He couldn’t wait to be back home. With a grin, he thought it might be fun to try out some new lines he’d come up with on the beautiful woman waiting for him; she’d roll her eyes and groan, but he knew she enjoyed it.

“Head down closer to street level. Take a route between buildings starting with the Levicorp building.”

Reno nodded at Katsumi’s new instructions, guiding the chopper lower and through the area. He looked back and suddenly straightened, noticing Katsumi’s face was hard. He could tell by the look on her face she was talking with someone, maybe someone had seen something suspicious. He put his focus fully back into flying, keeping his eyes open and following what his Captain said. If things were finally happening, there was no telling what could –

The sudden explosion rocked the helicopter, jerking Reno violently. He fought to get it under control, taking a quick glance and noting with relief that Katsumi had managed to stay in the chopper. Several floors of the building beside them had just exploded; red lights were flashing along with a warning siren inside the aircraft, and Reno knew why; that much sudden, intensely heated air erupting right beside them was wreaking havoc and making it impossible to fly with any sort of control. As a result the chopper went into a spin and the tail slammed into a building, smashing off with sparks, flame and shredded glass and metal. They were going down and there was nothing Reno could do about it. Unlike his Captain he only had a Cyber Percentage of 5%. In other words, he was dead.

In the wild rush of air, metal and flame, he managed to focus his thoughts on his family one last time as regret washed through him.

Then he felt Katsumi’s strong hand on his shoulder, saw her rip through his restraints and felt her hug him to her. There was a sudden feeling of weightlessness and a mad rush of wind as she leapt from the chopper with him in her arms. The spinning aircraft’s tail slammed her before they were away from it but somehow she kept hold; Reno wasn’t even able to breathe, only watch with wide-open eyes. Katsumi hit a building and slammed her hand into it as they fell. The shriek of tearing metal was intense and blood sprayed above them as he watched her hand shred, but it did slow them down some. She spun and slammed into the street hard, cracking it beneath her feet and knees.

Reno was in shock as she dropped him; the two feet to the ground was the only impact he felt. Katsumi knelt in front of him, panting and sweating with obvious effort, her right hand leaking blood and fluid. He was about to say something when his eyes widened again, looking at the helicopter that was falling right on top of them. There was nowhere to go and nothing to do,
but once again Katsumi’s hand gripped him, the front of his shirt this time. He gasped as he was lifted and flung from the street, landing and tumbling in the nearby alley. Reno only managed to sit up and look in time to see Katsumi’s lavender eyes staring at him for half a second before the burning aircraft slammed down on top of her, sending a wave of heat and shrapnel over him. For the third time in under a minute, all he could do was stare.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ayane…

The girl jerked upright in her bed, her sheets falling around her.
Katsumi?
Something about the way her sister had said her name bothered her. It wasn’t a normal call; it was more similar to the way Katsumi had said it the first time the sickness had hit her and she wasn’t sure she’d wake up from it – there was something in her tone that had tried to convey her feelings for Ayane just by saying her name. Ayane watched the number on the dark hospital room’s clock change, still with no response. She hesitated for a few seconds before trying again.
Katsumi? Are you there?

Her cyber link assured her the message had been received. Ayane slowly went from nervous to terrified, trying again a few more times and still getting nothing. It wasn’t what she’d hoped for, not after hearing Katsumi say her name in that emotional manner. Ayane threw off her sheets, slipping out of bed and moving towards the door, but falling as she did so. Her weakness was bad tonight, but she growled and pushed herself up, grabbing the door handle and pulling it open.

Then she leaned against the wall, staring out into the dark hallway helplessly. She knew she had no idea where to go or what to do. Katsumi had always told her to try to let logic control her actions rather than emotions, so she backed up and slammed the door shut, tears beginning to run down her cheeks as she ran her hands through her hair. She dropped back onto the bed, reaching behind her pillow and pulling out her stuffed moogle. While she had a lot of stuffed animals, it had always been her favorite – the moogle had been a gift from Katsumi when they’d first been forced to separate due to her job and Ayane being hospitalized.

It’d been meant for exactly this sort of situation, when Ayane had no idea if her sister was still alive or not, or where she was. She hugged the moogle to her as she cried, remembering many nights spent just like this when she was younger. Unfortunately, all those times when she’d cried as a child, she’d had Katsumi to hug onto, and right now she had no way of knowing if that’d ever happen again.

Screams. Fire. Metal. Blood.

Screams from people on the street and from his own lips.

Fire spreading due to the fuel from the helicopter’s wreckage.

Metal, the helicopter’s wreckage itself and the pieces taken from the building above.

Blood visible everywhere.

He couldn’t see anything under the wreckage, couldn’t even get close enough due to the heat of the burning fuel. Others were arriving but he couldn’t shake the feeling of “too late” that settled onto his shoulders like a physical weight, dropping him to his knees in the alley and leaving him to simply stare.

“Honey…”

Reno slid his hands down his face, looking over them at the opposite wall. He was sitting on a bench in a sterile hallway on the 43rd floor of the Tokyo Tech and Healing Center. His elbows rested on his knees and his face had been in his hands on and off for the past few minutes until his wife’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts for the seventh time. He looked to his right and saw her, eyes red, watching him with concern. He thought he should say something but he couldn’t. It was one of those times where you felt removed, as if you were just watching your own life without the ability or inclination to actually influence it.

His eyes drifted left. Law sat on a bench against the other wall to their right, arms on his knees and gaze on the floor. Reno couldn’t read him at all; he still had sunglasses on and his face was a mask as usual anyway. He’d been almost as quiet as Reno had. Looking further left, Reno noted the last two members of their team.

Rufus was leaning against the wall with his arms folded, one leg crossed in front of the other. He looked relaxed, or maybe just distant. Reno would never be able to tell what he was actually thinking. Kurasano, however, was much easier to read, as the man was pacing back and forth in the hallway as he’d been doing restlessly for the past hour. Silence reigned in the hallway except for his muttering every so often.

Reno shook his head, lowering it and running both hands through his ragged brown hair. He took a moment to gather himself before leaning back and taking his wife’s hand, knowing the night wasn’t much easier for her. She knew how close he’d come to dying, but in reality all he had were a few small cuts and a couple light bruises. Meanwhile, he was distracted by the knowledge that what was left of his Captain was on the same floor, maybe alive, maybe not. He’d thought about losing his family earlier that night, but as he looked around the hallway he found that he’d thought a little too exclusively. After all, there was a lot more to family than blood.

Sano kicked the wall, then backed up from it and ran a hand through his hair before spinning to look at Reno. “Seriously, what kind of condition was she in?”

It wasn’t the first time he’d asked and Reno could only answer as he had the first time, with a shrug and a shake of his head. “Like I said, I didn’t see.”

“Bullshit!” The others in the hall turned as Sano yelled. The Lieutenant bent down in front of Reno. “How could you just sit there and not try to get to her?”

“There was too much fire, and the wreckage-“

“Wreckage?!” Sano laughed, but it was completely devoid of humor. He straightened, backing up a step as he threw his arms wide. “Wreckage stopped you? It sure as hell wouldn’t have stopped her if your positions had been reversed, would it?”

Lenora stood up. “You listen to me, my husband-“

Sano pointed at her. “Your husband crashed the fucking helicopter.”

“It wasn’t his fault!”

“Right, yeah, the explosion. That still doesn’t change the fact that he somehow got out with barely a few scratches while she’s-“

Lenora put her face directly in front of Sano’s, her eyes narrowing. “You need to back the hell off. He did everything right but things got out of control. He couldn’t do anything more than you could. He’s unharmed because Captain Samakura decided to make his life a priority, and as his friend you should be grateful he’s okay instead of blaming him. Reno doesn’t need guilt on top of everything else.” She looked around at everyone in the hallway. “Do any of you need that guilt?! Or is this situation bad enough without making it worse?”

Sano stepped back, his eyes wide for a moment before he shook his head, running a hand through his hair once more. “You’re right… Sorry, Reno, I just… There’s nothing to do.”

Lenora placed her hand on his shoulder. “There’s nothing any of us can do. Trust me; every person in this hallway is going crazy wishing they could do something besides waiting.”

Reno smiled at his wife, squeezing her hand in gratitude that she was here to help with the situation, getting a smile in return.

“I can’t believe you three are surprised.” They all turned to look at Rufus, who only moved enough to tilt his head towards them. “This job is always surrounded by death and pain, either ours or someone else’s. You sign up, you know someone’s going to die. Our retirement plans might as well be gravestones.”

Sano folded his arms. “So what, you’re saying we should just accept that she might be dead?”

“Of course you should. Didn’t you already?”

“What? No!”

Rufus smiled at him. “Come on now. This isn’t the first time one of us has been nearly killed. This definitely isn’t the first time she’s been nearly killed. I’m not surprised and you shouldn’t be.” He nodded past them. “Sam isn’t.”

They turned to look at Law, who’d more or less remained in the same place the whole time. Sano studied him. “You aren’t surprised?”

Law shrugged, not bothering to look at them. “Not happy but not surprised. This job is basically being a soldier in a never-ending war. Never know when someone will die but the chances are high. I’m not giving up on her until we’re told, but none of this surprises me.”

They looked back to Rufus as Lenora voiced their thoughts. “But what about Captain Samakura?”

Rufus tilted his head to look at Reno. “Did she look surprised?” Reno shook his head and Rufus shrugged. “There you go. At first she didn’t accept either of you dying, but obviously she accepted her own death at the end there. The only thing she didn’t accept was Reno dying, which is why she got him out of the way. After the fall she could only save herself or Reno so it’s a logical move.”

“Logical?” Sano shook his head. “What about that move is logical?”

“Logical to her, I mean. She accepted her death years ago. Also…” He looked pointedly at Lenora. “She doesn’t have a family. Any family.”

Law grunted at that, grimacing – though it wasn’t noticed by the others. Unbeknownst to them, half his thoughts were currently on Katsumi’s family – as far as he knew, Ayane had no idea anything was going on, which was the entire reason he hadn’t called her; he knew the effect it would have on her to be unsure like they were. Unfortunately, he had no way of knowing that she did know something was happening – and was even more in the dark than the rest of them.

Lenora sat down, gripping Reno’s hand tightly as she thought about what Rufus had said. Sano looked at them and back to Rufus, sighing. “Just ‘cause it makes sense doesn’t mean we can be emotionless about it like you.”

“I’m not emotionless.” Rufus looked at him over his shades. “Just calm.”

“Ah…” Sano nodded, leaving it at that. He now realized that Rufus wasn’t any less affected by the events than the rest of them; he was just more prepared. Sano kind of wished he had the same emotional walls Rufus, Law and Katsumi seemed to have, but at the same time he didn’t. It definitely seemed like a double-edged sword.

Lenora snapped them all out of their thoughts with her own question. “How is it… I mean, knowing what happened… How is it possible she could be alive?”

“Her Cyber Percentage.” Sano turned towards her, folding his arms as he transitioned into what Katsumi often jokingly called his ‘Serious Teacher Time Mode’. It was usually at these points when people would see the brilliance underlying his attitude, or at least that’s what Katsumi had said once during a moment of rare honest praise. “Captain Samakura isn’t like most people. The average citizen has a CP of 4%, meaning four percent of them is cybernetic parts - tech. As you probably know your husband has 5% CP, which is really low for a member of the military.”

She nodded. “I’m a nurse, so I know most of this… I wasn’t aware Reno’s was relatively low, though.”

Sano continued, “Well, he can mostly get away with that because he’s a crazy-good pilot and isn’t on the field itself. The average solder has 15% CP. I myself have a much higher CP, 32%.”

“So… 32% of your body is cybernetic?”

“Yep.”

“Why so high?”

Sano shrugged. “Generally not a good question to ask someone. You’d be surprised how often it has bad memories attached.”

“Sorry. So what does this have to do with Samakura, her CP is higher, too?”

“83%.”

Lenora blinked. “Eighty… three? But that’s-“

“A lot, yeah. Most actually. She’s almost full-body. Of course, tech is so advanced these days you’d never be able to tell unless you were told, at least until you saw her put her fist through a concrete wall. Her body still works as much as anyone else’s but it’s mostly synthetic.”

“And we can’t ask why…”

“I wouldn’t.”

Reno shook his head. “I wouldn’t either, ever. There’s no guarantee what response you’ll get from her and none of the ones I can think of are good. I mean, I can only imagine the story behind a CP of eighty-three.”

Lenora looked between them. “So she can survive a lot more than the ordinary person.”

Sano nodded. “Yeah, but… obviously she’s not invincible.”

“Obviously…”

The fell silent again after that. Time passed with them all in their own thoughts until the click of boots on the floor drew their attention.

M walked up to them with his trademark smile on his face, shining glasses hiding his eyes beneath the brim of his hat. In short he looked the same as always so none of them could read him at all. “Hello gentlemen, lady. I am assuming you aren’t doing as well as you could be.”

They all stood and Sano nodded at him. “Good eyes Director. You got any news for us?”

“Of course, First Lieutenant Lionel, I didn’t come simply to tease you. And to prevent doing so, I will first state that you may put aside your fears, Captain Samakura will recover in time.” There was a collective sigh and a heavy feeling of relief. M paused to allow the rest of them to process the good news before continuing. “Tonight did not go well for us, but it could have gone worse. It has been a rather expensive night, however, and the others on the board tend to forget their gratefulness for your survival rather quickly and focus more on the bill.”

“Which means?”

“Captain Samakura is in a bit of trouble with the company leaders.” M held up a hand to stop Reno speaking even as he opened his mouth. “It was not your fault Corporal Hillford, the mission was the Captain’s idea and responsibility, and we both know she won’t argue that. And no, the fact that she saved your life doesn’t mean anything to the board, sad but true. They only appreciate hard facts, and those facts are that we lost a very expensive aircraft and nearly lost a very important asset.”

Reno blinked. “Asset?”

Sano growled. “Captain Sama’s more than-“

“Yes, yes, I know, do calm down, Lieutenant. But you must understand, they are businessmen, and to them an asset is all any of you are. The fact remains that this was a failed mission on all counts.”

“So what do we do?!”

M smiled. “I’m glad you asked. We fix things.”

“How the hell do we do that?!”

“Patience. Let’s wait until the team is back together, shall we?” M pointed down the hall. “If you take the elevator up one floor you’ll find I’ve secured rooms for the night for anyone who wishes to stay. If all goes well you might be able to visit the Captain tomorrow if you wish.” His glasses seemed to flash as he grinned. “Though I am almost certain she will not wish it and you will get a less-than-friendly greeting.” He turned to head back down the hallway. “But then, this team is nothing if not stubborn…”

Law bid them goodnight before heading after M towards the building’s exit. Rufus gave a wave and followed them, leaving Sano, Reno and Lenora behind looking at each other. Sano shrugged, turning to head towards the rooms. “Guess they’re not willing to risk her wrath. Cowards.”

Lenora smiled as she and Reno followed him. “Maybe they’d just prefer not to see her in such a position.”

“Nah. Cowards.”

“You say that,” Reno countered, “but they aren’t the ones who ran scared out of the building two weeks ago after trying to sneak in to her locker room while she was changing.”

“She had a gun!”

“Coward.”

“She was firing the gun! At my head! I like my head! Preferably in one piece!”

“Cooooooowaaaaaard.”

“Bah! I’d like to see you stand your ground against bullets.”

“I wasn’t stupid enough to bring it on myself in the first place.”

“I wasn’t trying to sneak in, I just wasn’t thinking!”

Lenora intruded with a smile. “So you’re not stupid, just ignorant?”